Another Chance: Dinner at the Aoiya pt 2
A fanfic set in the Rurouni Kenshin universe
standard disclaimers apply
Megumi was a fine white floury mess. Freed from the ceremony, she had voluntarily wandered back into the kitchen, her mind set on two things. First -- to finish cleaning up the mess she had made earlier and second -- to prepare what was needed for the next tea ceremony the day after tomorrow.
It eased her mind to be able to do this for the ladies she had worked with earlier this afternoon. She had disrupted their work today, and would disrupt it further with her request for help from both Aoshi and Okina.
From the kitchen she could hear the noisy revelry of the Aoiya inhabitants as the last of the restaurant patrons left. Tomorrow was their day off, and from what she had been told tradition stated that they dined together before indulging in several rounds of sake and song.
As she finished in the kitchen, she peeked in through a small opening in one of the panel doors to the dining area. More than a dozen persons were inside already knee deep in their food. Megumi knew she should go in to say her goodbyes, but something drew her back. She felt by doing so, she would be intruding on their happy little mood. There was too much to do back at the hotel to dawdle. The note she had in her pocket would do; she'd leave it in the hallway on her way out.
Megumi nearly jumped as two pairs of hands grabbed her from behind. "There you are!".
When she turned, Okon and Omasu were smiling cheerfully back at her. "Sorry to have startled you!"
Megumi smiled weakly. "No, no problem." They were Oniwaban after all, and of course could creep up without being noticed on any unsuspecting person. It was her fault for being so unobservant. "I am glad I found you. I was about to leave –"
"Leave?" Omasu narrowed her eyes slightly. "Just why?"
"I have to return to the hotel and pack my things and arrange for a coach."
"Nonsense," Okon smiled at her. "Those things were taken care of. Your things are here and your ride will be waiting for you early in the morning."
"But, I—"
"Okina-san insisted that one of us take care of it," Omasu grinned.
"Omasu," Okon said sharply as Megumi cringed, "You will just make her even more comfortable."
"Oh, alright," Omasu rolled her eyes. "It's not like it was Okina's idea in the first place. We all asked Aoshi-sama if you could stay and he took care of all the arrangements."
Megumi bit her lip. She wasn't sure whether to be pleased or concerned. Certainly she appreciated their welcoming her into their home, but she felt like things had been taken out of her control. Regardless, it was a kindness that she would not refuse. "Thank you."
"Please let us help you change for dinner, Megumi-san," Okon said politely.
"Yeah, you're a mess," Omasu looked at her closely.
"There is no need to inconvenience yourself. I—have eaten already," Megumi hesitated. Never mind that her dinner had consisted of sampling some of the things she had made, but at the moment, she still felt as if she were intruding.
"Well how about we have some sake?" Omasu persistedcheerfully.
Megumi wavered. She really was quite tired and things were weighing heavily on her mind. She had thought to spend time alone now, but it would be impolite to refuse the woman a second time. "Alright," she smiled.
"Oh good!" Omasu and Okon each took one of Megumi's arms and led her upstairs into their quarters. As they entered the room that they shared, she noticed that they had laid out a deep red kimono. When they saw her confused expression, Okon spoke up immediately, "It's Okina's apology gift. Misao-chan had mentioned to him that your pink kimono was certainly going to need to be cleaned after today, and he asked that we be the ones to offer it to you."
Megumi reached down to touch the silky fabric, whose lustrous surface had been embroidered with swans and chrysanthemums. "It's much too generous. I couldn't possibly --"
"That's Okina-san for you," Omasu shrugged. "Heaven knows where he managed to find it."
Okon more accurate sensed Megumi's worry. "I am sure Okina will not mind if you don't wear it. It is a bit much."
"No, that's alright," Megumi began to unfasten her obi. She would wear it – extravagant as it was – in order to show him that she appreciated his apology and more. Despite the constant friction between them, she remembered that now she was indebted to him for his help as well.
~
Dinner was always a noisy affair at the Aoiya. But with no overnight guests this evening and plenty of Kyoto's finest sake present, it was starting to become very loud.
Three women entered the main dining area and bowed. "Our apologies," Omasu and Okon bowed in the direction of Okina. "We had to help Megumi-san change."
"Okon and Omasu--" Okina jumped up happily from the table as he spotted Megumi. "Your tardiness is forgiven. Please go be seated and eat. Megumi-san will join us."
"Okina-san," Megumi bowed to the man. "Good evening. Thank you for the kimono."
The man of no shame clapped his hands together and appeared to be blinking back joyful tears. "No, no, by accepting my apology and beautifully wearing that kimono, you have given me the greater honor. Alas, to see the day when --"
"Okina," Aoshi looked up from his tea.
Misao frowned as she looked back and forth between Okina and Aoshi. Both Okina and Aoshi had differing expressions on their faces. Neither could be relied on to do the polite thing which at the moment was to let Megumi sit down and not be ogled by the rest of the Aoiya, so Misao ignored them and smiled at Megumi. "Megumi-san, please join us."
Megumi shot her a look of gratitude as she settled in next to her.
Misao poured her tea. "You disappeared after the ceremony, Megumi-san,"
"I did not mean to be rude. I had wanted to check on the kitchen." Megumi bowed her thanks and took the small cup. She took a small sip of the tea, and added quietly, "I left something for you there."
Misao's eyes gleamed. "Something to eat perhaps?"
"Perhaps," Megumi whispered.
Misao gave Megumi's arm a quiet squeeze. "Thank you."
"Now, now, what's this?" Okina glared at Misao and Megumi.
"Nothing, Okina-san," they both smiled prettily at Okina.
"Not that whispering, you idiots," he muttered, "I'm not that much of a busy body that I have to know what two women are whispering about. But chatting with such serious faces." He looked at his empty sake cup forlornly. "Chatting so seriously, while I am the only one having sake -- the sake that is best in Kyoto, the sake that everyone else is having, except for those at our table."
Putting aside the man's sense of drama, Megumi realized that he, in fact, was right. Everyone else was sitting around happily partaking of the sake and yet this table seemed to be poor company in comparison. "Poor Okina," she gave him a sly grin as she turned on her charm, "To be at a table with both Shinomori-san and Misao -- who don't even know the first thing about sake. It would be an honor to pour your sake."
He beamed as he watched the woman rise elegantly and retrieve a small tray from another table. As she returned, she smoothly poured the sake into a small cup.
"My, my!" Okina gave her a look of surprise. "You do it so beautifully. But where did you learn that?"
She gave a jovial laugh. "A woman doesn't reveal all her secrets, Okina-san." As he drank it swiftly, she quietly refilled it again.
"More, Okina-san?" Megumi asked sweetly.
"Wait," Okina was hardly affected by the sake, but it did take him a few seconds to notice that he still was drinking alone. "Won't you join me please?"
"Oh, Okina-san," Megumi fluttered her eyelashes, "You know women are terrible with sake. But I do know that it is rather lonely to drink alone." She poured a generous amount of sake into Okina's cup, and then winked at Misao as she poured some into Misao's cup and her own. As for Shinomori, he had quietly refused the offer.
Okina's eyes gleamed back at Megumi. "Don't think I can't see that you have given me the most generous portion of the sake." He moved her hand towards her own cup and gently forced her to pour more. "I insist that you and Misao have as much as I have."
"Really, how generous!" Megumi's knit her brows together as she realized that this had somehow devolved into a game for Okina. No reason to involve Misao in this. She poured one shot and drank it, and then poured the remainder back into her cup. "I believe that finishes it for now. My apologies to you, Misao."
Misao gave her an embarrassed nod. "Of course not, Megumi. I'm glad you enjoyed it."
Okina sat there a moment, shocked and saddened by the empty bottle. His face brightened as Omasu ventured over, with another bottle in hand.
Okina smiled up at Omasu with glee. "Megumi needs to have some more of that sake before she leaves tomorrow. Best sake in Kyoto."
Megumi's fingers twitched slightly as he clumsily poured more sake into her cup and then his own. So the man was determined to continue this game, was he? She grasped the small cup and drank it haughtily. That victory, however was short-lived. She could feel her face growing hot.
"Megumi-san!" Misao looked at her worriedly.
"I'm fine." She managed to state, but not as coolly as she intended it to sound. "I'm not an old man like Okina-san," she smiled coolly in Okina's direction.
Okina glared at her and moved for the bottle.
"I think that is enough, Okina." Shinomori had already taken the bottle away. "Everyone else is cleaning up. Perhaps we should do the same."
"Oh, alriiii-" Okina's head was between his hands. "I'm really tired now."
Misao and Megumi stared at Okina, surprised by how quickly he had slipped from sober to flat out drunk.
As the man continued to stare at the table, Misao whispered to Megumi."I think you won, Megumi,"
"Silly man," Megumi sighed, as she brought her own hand to her head. "He should have known better to challenge me. I've had plenty of experience dealing with Sanosuke and Kaoru."
"Wow," Misao's eyes widened.
"Not that that is a good thing, mind you," Megumi added with an embarrassed laugh. They both knew that Sanosuke was notoriously immune to sake. As for Kaoru, she was notoriously bad at holding it in, but still treated sake drinking not as an art, but as a competitive sport.
As Okina finally slumped over snoring, Aoshi stood up. "I'll take him upstairs," Aoshi pulled the man up and looked carefully at the doctor. "Misao, could you take Megumi-san outside? She looks like she needs some air."
"Yes, Aoshi-sama." Misao nodded and offered her arm for support. Megumi wisely took it and allowed the girl to guide her outside.
"I'm going to regret this tomorrow," Megumi sighed as she sat on a bench and leaned back against the tree that it was under.
Misao laughed. "Still you should know it's worth it. Okina has never looked like he was having so much fun. Honestly, Megumi, you're the first woman to ever hold her own like that against Okina. He may bother you a lot, but that's only because I think you impress him."
Megumi noted the wistful tone in her voice. Did the girl still feel somewhat insecure around the others in the household? She turned her head and looked at the girl. "You're pretty impressive yourself, Misao."
"But no one ever treats me like their equal, Megumi-san." Misao frowned.
Megumi paused, trying to find the right words to use with the younger woman.."It all depends on the situation, Misao. In a fight, do you ever feel that way?"
"Well," Misao considered carefully, "I am not as strong as Ken-san or Aoshi-sama, but no. I don't really ever feel like I can't take care of myself."
"I envy that in you, Misao." Megumi looked away. "It's one thing to make cakes and drink sake, but another to defend yourself and protect others. If I were strong and confident like you . . . maybe my family would still be alive and maybe I would have never been forced to make opium for Kanryuu Takeda."
Misao's eyes widened as she thought over Megumi's words carefully.
"That's true, Megumi-san." After a few moments of silence, Misao added thoughtfully, "But if none of those things had happened, we would have never met, would we? Maybe you and Kenshin, Kaoru, Sanosuke and Yahiko would never become friends."
Megumi knew the statement sounded rather naive, but the girl was right. And she couldn't even imagine what life would be like now had she never know them. "You're right. Which is why I can't obsess over the past, can I, or what I am or what I am not?"
"Of course not," Misao looked at her seriously and appreciatively.
Megumi returned the look of appreciation. They had each given the other woman something to think upon.
The sound of Omasu's voice from the door jarred their conversation."Misaaao!"
"Drat." Misao sighed as she stood up. "I know she's going to ask me to help her clean that room. I have to go . Would you like me to help you back to your room first?"
"No," Megumi waved her off. "I'd like to sit here a little while longer."
"Alright then, goodnight!!" Misao happily waved and bounded off towards the door. Halfway there, she stopped and turned around. "Megumi-san?"
"Yes?" Megumi answered sleepily.
Misao bowed deeply. "Thank you."
"It's nothing, Misao." Megumi answered. "But you're welcome."
"Hai!"
As Misao ran inside, her usual energetic self, Megumi's mouth quirked somewhat wistfully. No matter what the circumstances -- that girl was always happy.
