Sorry for the lack of updates—I'll try to make that up!
Chapter 3
She was unceremoniously pushed onto the stone floor of the basement, the place where she had been kept prisoner for years. She stifled a quiet sob that had unconsciously emerged as she looked at the wretchedly familiar room; for a few seconds, she could not help but curse herself for not running when she had the chance. She might have, could have, would have been finally free from this horrifying prison, from Kanryuu, and from the Oniwabanshu. But the sight of Hannya lying so vulnerably in the arms of the others, shaking like a brittle leaf, stopped the scream raging in her throat and the mist scorching her eyes.
As did the memory of the okashira's intense eyes burning into hers…
The three remaining member—Beshimi, Hyottoko, and Shikijou, she reminded herself, trying to calm down her uptight nerves and growing apprehension—indicated to the okashira that they were going to bring Hannya to a better room upstairs. She imagined it would be a spacious room, one with a fireplace, a warm bed, and that Western flooring that Kanryuu called carpet. In other words, it would be much better room than the freezing, dank, decaying space that surrounded her now; one much better than any of the rooms she'd ever been in during her captivity to the depraved drug dealer…
Her bitter scowl turned into a wide-eyed, fearful tremble. Her tongue was suddenly parched, and she felt her body sway heavily on her feet as the blood rushed to her head.
No, she had been in such a luxurious room before. She did not care to remember the terrifying, disgusting thing had happened in that beautiful room, behind its heavy, soundproof gold doors…
She gasped down air in hushed, sobbing gulps, trying to fight the growing waves of panic that were breaking over her. It would not do to panic right now, when she needed her presence of mind the most. She closed her eyes tightly, dug her fingernails deep into her damp palms, and bit the inside of her bottom lip. Block out the sounds, she mentally coached herself, the light, the cold blade, the presence behind you. Breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe…
Slowly, she felt her pulse beat against less painfully against her ribs, her breathes escape less erratically. A clear, though uneasy, calm rested over her mind. The harsh lights and shadows cast on the wall by the torch's flames faded away. The suffocating dank walls that had threatened to fall on her now disappeared from her senses; the shuffling of the Oniwabanshu had trickled into the darkness. Even the cold blade against her throat seemed to have melted into her skin, becoming a part of her. But, try as she might, she could not get rid of the presence behind her. His unnerving presence hung to her like fragrance that wouldn't wash away.
In the meditative darkness of her mind, she could feel him shift slightly, tilting his head downward to observe the lady doctor through his shield of black hair. She could see his eyes cut quietly at her, narrow slightly as he took in her sudden stiffness. In her mind's eye, she saw one lean hand reach slowly—possibly with…concern?—to gently touch her shoulder...abruptly, the hand jumped back as though it were struck, just before the fingers grazed the kimono fabric. It withdrew back the owner's side, as though it were afraid of the contact.
Afraid? Since when had the okashira been afraid of anything?
She could feel his powerful eyes bore into the back of her head, a smoky emotion swimming in his eyes. Then his eyes flickered back to the Oniwabanshu as they ascended the stairs. She felt him start, reacting almost guiltily at the sight; the liquid steel eyes solidified into cold, condensed orbs, and the mask tangibly fell on his face again. His voice iced over, becoming as hard as his eyes.
"Get what you need, and go upstairs. Now."
"I can't possibly bring everything I need upstairs…" she began angrily, assertion fading when she saw his dark eyes narrow dangerously.
"That is not my concern. You know full well the consequences if you cannot do your job." the okashira stated coldly, turning away into the shadow of the stairs.
Her eyes flashed, her opened mouth about to spit back an angry insult. She stopped herself, nails digging into her palm in barely restrained patience. It was not the time to fight childishly, not when Hannya was dying and time was of the essence. She clenched her jaw, straightened, and nodded stiffly.
But where to begin? Her built-up anger quickly changed into insecurity as she looked around her. Though she meticulously organized her medicine inventory, she didn't know what she needed, and where in the inventory they were. She didn't know how the thornapple poison acted, whether she had the knowledge and time needed to stop the poison, if there was even an antidote. Her head throbbed and hot tears threatened to spill from her tired eyes.
Instead, she blinked her eyes hard, and started walking around the room, as though she knew what she was doing. It would not do to draw the unsettling attention of the okashira. Wandering quickly around in the barely lit dark, her hand unconsciously reached for her well-worn notebook hidden in her obi. She fingered its crisp edges. It was a treasure chest of information about the poisons, plants, antidotes, and medicines that Takanis, past and present, had encountered over their centuries of medical practice. She took it out and clutched it to her chest, its firm, tightly-bound pages and musty ink scent lending her the strength she needed.
Her dark wooden medicine chest came next. She set it on the floor near the stairs, checking to make sure that all its shelves were generously stocked. The touch of the smoothly worn wooden under her fingers sparked a memory, and a picture of her gentle, smiling father reaching to pull a bandage from the topmost shelf flickered in her mind. The thought brought tears to her eyes, but in that instance, her shoulders straightened, and her cool confidence in her abilities returned.
The remembrance made her feel less alone.
It was as though her father's presence guided her around the room, pointing to the bucket of ice that she would need to cool the raging fever; to the hidden, cracked leather case containing tiny glass vials of chemical and poison indicators; to the bitter powdered medicine she had recently discovered and prepared from an unknown plant she had gleaned in the woods. All these and more, she found and set before the first step of the central staircase, in preparation for the arduous task of carrying them up winding central stairs.
When she was finally finished, she tried her best to hoist all the equipment and medicine with her all at once. Her slender arms strained to hold on to the large bulky items with moist, anxious hands; her weary fingers struggled to hold on to the smaller vials and tools. Unsuccessful, she gritted her teeth and let the some of the items fall gently to the ground. It took all her strength to hold on to the items. She could barely move. A frown slipped on her pale face; having to make multiple trips up and down the long stairs would waste valuable time. But she had no other choice. She had no help. She had no one.
Slowly, the nagging thoughts preyed on the confidence instilled in her by what she knew—what she thought—was her father's spirit. Slowly, she started to tremble, and her eyelashes fluttered closed. Her father's presence seemed to slip further and further away…in desperation and utter hopelessness, she dropped to her knees, weighed down by her physical and emotional cargo. Her fingers loosened their grip around the items, which fell to the floor with a clash like thunder, and a strained whimper burst from her lips:
"Father! Don't abandon me now…"
She expected to feel the emptiness again, the coldness seeping into the air around her, and she cringed in expectation. But instead, she felt a hand on her shoulder, an unusually warm hand with a weighted, firm touch, and a voice from deep within her memories whispered:
"I promise you, Meg-chan, whenever you need me, no matter where I am or how I am, I'll be there to give you a hand."
"Pinky-swear, Daddy?"
A warm chuckle, then "Of course. I promise. Forever and ever…."
Her pinky finger curled subconsciously around that of her memories, and then a deep voice, with a rich, comforting timbre that almost sounded of the real world, the present, told her, low and hesitatingly, "Take what you can. Leave the rest here."
It took her a while to realize that the voice had not been her father's.
It had been the voice of the okashira.
The okashira would not meet her searching gaze, his own narrowed eyes peering off into the distant dark corner of the basement cell. He stood, unyielding and dispassionate, and the only evidence that he had been the speaker was that his mouth had just closed, and his hand lay on her shoulder.
Her mind was swimming, and she did not fully comprehend the meaning of his words. She just saw the okashira's long fingers touching the dirty fabric of her kimono. Stuck in the confusion and prejudices of her mind, she desperately clutched the remaining medicine vial in her hand more tightly to her chest, and stammered, haltingly, "But—but..I need these items to cure H-Hannya…would you deny me these items so that I may fail? Think of your friend—"
His hand stiffened on her shoulder, and he raised it, effectively silencing her thoughts. His narrowed dark eyes bored straight into hers in response. In that instant when his troubled eyes connected with hers, she suddenly understood the meaning entrenched deep inside the fathomless eyes, and she hid her understanding with a barely suppressed gasp.
I will carry the rest upstairs.
It seemed to ring through the silent room, louder than a gunshot, and she recoiled in surprise. Did she understand correctly? He—the leader of the Oniwabanshu himself—would help her? She quickly stood up, trying to avoid the powerful gaze of the okashira, afraid of further contact with his eyes and his mind. But her curiosity overtook her fear, and she could not help but glance strangely at the man. Did he really have a—?
His eyes narrowed, and unexpectedly, he forcefully shoved her towards the items scattered on the floor. She fell and landed on her knees before the items. She glanced sideways out of her wet, burning eyes, shocked. His whole demeanor was suddenly defensive and stiff, his eyes turned swiftly towards a blank wall, his voice straining to be coldly impassionate and threatening. "What are you waiting for?" he gritted through his teeth.
This time, he avoided her gaze.
She could not understand the sudden mood change. Hastily grabbing her medicine case and some smaller cases of chemicals, she hurried upstairs before he could change his mind, her wooden geta clicking quickly on the cold marble of the stairs. From behind, she felt him relax, shift, and turn his eyes to look at her once more.
As she fled up the stairs, she bit her lip in hopes of clearing her bewildered mind.
What just happened?
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Well, how'd you like it? It was ready a long time ago, but I had to rework it. I'm just glad it's out.
I promise I'll have the rest of the story out before March. Besides, I have to return "Poisoning by Drugs and Chemicals" back to the library really really soon. ; )
Dumdeedum: Thanks! I try to make each chapter better than the one before…keyword: try. I'm glad that they're all in character. Feel free to correct me if I go a little off track!
Kelly: Thanks for the review. I'm really intrigued by the pasts of the RK characters, particularly Megumi and Aoshi, since they're so mysterious. Hope you continue to enjoy the fic!
Eriesalia: Thanks for all your reviews as well as your on-the-side encouraging e-mails! Yeah I know. I'm going to fail! The horror! The horror! I have a plan though; we fail school, start a website that promotes fanfics and fanpics of Rurouni Kenshin (especially Megumi and Aoshi!) and make loads of money off that and become multi-million—no, multibillionaires! Oh wait. It's called ff.net. Dang. I think I meant 'resting on', but arresting would be a great choice too. Even better, in fact. Well, I hope you liked this chapter. And yes, I studied and took a physics test before I wrote this. :)
Cherie Dee: You don't know how honored I am that you reviewed my fic. It means a lot to me that the seasoned veteran who inspired me to write Megumi/Aoshi took time out to write a review. Does this sound like sucking up? In a way, yes. Please keep on writing your fics! I'm languishing from lack of new Realizations chapters. Thanks!
Mij: heya! Thanks for reviewing so faithfully! And thanks for the pics and inspirations! By the way, "Icicle Lovin'" will be officially coming out sometime soon. Hope you like it! I've added some of your suggestions. And yes, as a future doctor and current pre-med student, I do know that arteries aren't exposed ; )…I meant to emphasize the beating of her heart and the delicate flow of her lifeblood under the sharp blades…hehe, guess I missed on that one. Buuuut, thanks for the suggestion! Thanks again!
Kongykun: Awww, thanks for the good lucks! And as for why Hannya saved Megumi, it's because he respected her and cared for her like a daughter, kind of like the way he took care of Misao. But also, Megumi and Hannya are on the same side: anti-Kanryuu. Crazed drug-dealers can do that to you. Hopefully, I can develop the Megumi-Hannya relationship in later chapters. Thanks for the review, and hope you're still reading! (hehe, lonnnnng breaks between updates…)
Shimizu Hitomi: my fellow on-sabatical Megumi/Aoshi-er! Thanks so much for your reviews. I get great inspiration from your fics. As for the infamous two kodachis: I thought over the whole thing before I wrote, and decided to give Aoshi two kodachis for a certain reason. This elusive reason will become more apparent at the end…soooo, you'll have to wait! ;) I'm glad you like the fic ideas. Let's just say that the Pride and Prejudice fic, Icicle Lovin', and Her Touch should be coming out soon! And please, have a nice sabbatical from RK, but come back soon!
EEevee: my muse of comedy! I'm very happy with the last two chapters of "Drifter". Keep it up! And yes, Aoshi is obsessed with power, partially because he is completely under Kanryuu's control at the moment, and he's trying to retain all the dignity (which he equates with power) that he can. It's also because he is the okashira, and like you said, at such a young age, and his side of the war lost. At least, that's what I think. O_O;;; Hehe, it could be wrong…I hope you do write a fic about Megumi and Aoshi's past. I'm glad other people are intrigued by their past.
Gabriela-chan: Awww, thank you! I hope I do convert you! It's a very interesting, fascinating coupling. I'm glad you enjoy my story so much, and hope you keep reading. I try to write well; please tell me if I'm failing you in any way.
BarbaraSheridan: Thanks for your review. I love your Aoshi/Megumi story, and I love the twists and turn and the ending. Please write an epilogue? Please?
Queen Ali B: Ah, a reviewer from my Yu-Gi-Oh days! In fact, your encouragement has renewed my interest in my Yu-Gi-Oh fics…I might update just for you! Thanks for putting me on your favorites list. I'm very honored. And thank you so much; your compliments are almost too much! Almost ; )
Heaven-Dragon: It's amazing that you found this fic hidden under so many new ones! Thanks to you, I'm updating. Hope you liked this chapter!
That's all for now. Until we meet again,
~Tru
