Another Chance: Danger
A fanfic set in the Rurouni Kenshin universe
standard disclaimers apply
They made a solemn procession, with Aoshi Shinomori at the head of the line
of several groups of Oniwaban on horseback.
He was leader, and therefore should ride first. But as he rode ahead with his back to the rest of them, he also was not riding with them.
Megumi shifted slightly in her seat. To the others, it was nothing out of the ordinary. But to her—it was clear that the convenient arrangement allowed the man to avoid talking to her today, as he did yesterday.
Yesterday, her riding companion had been Shoji. From before dawn until after dusk, he had been the one to keep a watchful eye on her – until they had reached the home of Nomi and Atasuke Yamanami, a sister and brother who had once too had been Oniwaban. As they left this morning, Nomi took Shoji's place watching her, allowing Shoji to ride behind their leader while her brother lingered behind and brought up the rear. Others had joined Yamanami-san as the day wore on. From where they came from she didn't know nor ask -- as they kept their distance.
She pulled the cloak tighter to her. It had originally been procured by Nomi as one of several presents to the Okashira's bride. Okina's message to them had apparently been garbled; the Yamanamis had been among those who had thought their former leader married. What they had been told, she did not know; but both later apologized for their mistake. Megumi then had tried to return the cloak to them, but both refused to accept that and the other gifts.
Megumi was a pragmatic person, and chose not to argue the point too much; the cloak was a fine one – for both protection against the cold and against the curious eye of those that they occasionally passed on the road. But there was more to it; she sensed from its feel that it was also uniquely made in other ways – perhaps possessing other characteristics which were considered useful to a ninja.
With their party growing throughout the day, she felt that the window of opportunity to explain herself to Aoshi was slowly shutting. Not only had he been carefully aloof during the past two days, but there was the issue of Nomi, her designated shadow. Nomi's obedience and devotion to the task of watching her even surpassed Shoji's talents. Megumi could not go anywhere without her behind her, near her or next to her.
But for one thing she was grateful; Nomi was the only one of this strange band of the Oniwaban willing to talk to her. And at the moment, that was useful.
"Nomi," Megumi found her voice.
"Yes, Megumi-san."
"How long were you part of the clan?"
"All my life," the girl responded automatically. "At least until the Tokugawa family was overthrown."
"Then you had been in Tokyo."
"Yes," Nomi answered somewhat proudly. "I was entrusted with guarding the daughters of the family."
"You served under Shinomori-san. You've known him for that long—"
"I've known him longer than simply that," the woman answered. "We were all fostered together -- Shoji, my brother, and Ryuji and Matsui and Yachi and Tatsu. We trained with him under the former Okashira and when Shinomori became leader, we followed him to Edo and served there."
Megumi looked ahead at Aoshi, whose days prior to his service to Kanryuu Takeda were a complete mystery to her. "Then you know the okashira well."
"All of us vowed to die for him," Nomi answered quietly. "It is not a vow to take blindly or lightly, Megumi-san."
They were strong words for a woman her age, or any age. And yet, if Megumi considered it – they were not wholly surprising. In addition to personal strength of body and strength of conviction, unwavering devotion to their leader was also something characteristic of the Oniwaban. Kaoru and Yahiko had once described what had happened that day she had been locked in the tower at Kanryuu Takeda's estate and how the remaining of the Tokyo Oniwaban perished. It was odd to think of such self-sacrifice then, but her understanding of him had changed substantially since that time and even more so with each member she met since then.
In some ways, she was envious of the woman's confidence; they knew him better than she did.
"I angered him," Megumi admitted to this strange woman who, from the look on her face, had known that this line of questioning was heading somewhere. "I believe it was a misunderstanding. But he keeps his distance so I can't tell him the reason or the truth."
Nomi was quiet as she thought for a moment. "As you have noticed, as we continue further down this road we have been joined by others."
Megumi nodded.
"There are many things on his mind regarding both present and future, among them the clan." The female onmitsu had a look of sympathy on her face. "My brother and I do not know what those things might be. However, it is enough that he allows our presence. We gladly follow."
Megumi was then glad for the hood on her cloak. She was certain if she did not have it on, Nomi would notice her concerned frown. Aoshi was a man who did not always share his thoughts or his plans. That she was part of the reason was something that disturbed her. That they did not question him bothered her.
She realized that she was not like them -- the Oniwaban. Therefore, she did not have to simply accept his unspoken will and instruction because of past history or duty. She did not have to simply allow more to be unwittingly entangled in her affairs.
She suddenly understood what she was to do next.
"Thank you, Nomi-san." Megumi gripped the reins tightly as she dug in her heels into the sides of her horse. She ignored the startled cry from Nomi as she broke rank with her and her horse galloped forward.
She forged past Shoji, ignoring the fact that the hood on her cloak had slipped. She was aware of the dangerous speed at which she was riding, but it would be a means to make Aoshi Shinomori pay attention. As she drew closer to him, she did not slow her horse. Instead she passed, only allowing herself one careful glance back, to see if he would take the bait.
And indeed he had. She could hear the hoof beats of his horse as it and its rider gained ground. She was aware of him bringing his horse alongside hers and herding it gently, coaxing it to slow. And when the horses had returned to a slower speed, she realized that he had grabbed the reins of her horse and taken command of it.
As they stopped, his eyes glanced over her quickly to assess both her and the horse. She knew that she did not look even remotely afraid of what had just happened. Upon realizing that she had not lost control of her horse but had been deliberately reckless, his voice assumed a calm fury. "What are you doing riding like that! You could have broken your neck!"
The tenor of his voice and the frustration of the previous two days brought her own temper to the surface. "Can I help it if I have to resort to this? I want to talk to you and you won't let me! You keep turning away!"
Her anger startled him. "Megumi—"
"Sir!—" As both Shoji and Nomi rode up, Megumi saw the anxiety on their faces.
"It's alright." Aoshi's voice had lost some of its edge, but it was still hard.
"My apologies, leader for failing you." Nomi bowed her head.
"You did not fail," he looked at Megumi before turning his attention back to the embarrassed Nomi. "This woman has a will of her own that can not be managed so easily."
The words were condemning, perhaps especially so to Nomi who did not know her all that well. Nomi's face flushed in embarrassment on her behalf, but Megumi simply lowered her eyes and hid a smile. At least, the words were delivered in a matter which was more familiar to her.
"That is so, I'm afraid. I apologize to you Nomi." Megumi sighed. "I wanted to test whether the Okashira really was as good as a rider as I've heard."
The slight gasp of surprise from Nomi at her impertinence did not detract from the satisfaction she received when she saw Aoshi narrow his eyes slightly.
"I'll watch her for now." Aoshi tightened his hold on the reins to her horse. "Shoji, you ride as lookout and Nomi, you bring up the rear. Tell the others to fall back again."
They both nodded, and quickly moved to carry out his directives. He pulled the reins of her horse, forcing her horse to move alongside his as they continued to ride.
Megumi turned, trying hard to read his emotions. But his eyes were still trained ahead, and hidden from her. "Now that you have my attention, talk."
She took a moment to pull her hood back up, allowing herself a few seconds to think before speaking. She decided to first bring up a somewhat neutral topic. "You haven't told them why they're going to Kyoto. Is that not wrong, Aoshi?"
"They do not question, nor do they care. That is how our clan is. If one of our own is in need, they will come, even if they do not know the end result or destination. Whether an enemy is heading to Kyoto or not is irrelevant to them, just as who or what they are called to protect. "
Even with her hood on, he was able to see the resulting frown. "You do not understand."
"I do. But I don't approve. I don't want there to be any more fights or battles on my account. "
"I allow their presence, but not on your account. Watching you and protecting you is my duty alone."
Several days before he had made a similar declaration before dismissing the two clansmen at the temple in Tokyo. And yet it had been Shoji and Nomi who had watched her and protected her the past two days. "If that is so, then why are the others here?"
"For themselves. For the Oniwaban and the last memorial to its existence – the Aoiya. They can not ignore the earlier threats to it, as well as another warning from an ally."
He would be the one to understand them. And as always, his reasons sounded logical. But she had heard the slight hesitation before he had answered. That logic, she knew, was being used to avoid addressing with how the two of them dealt with one another. "There is still one inconsistency to all this."
He turned his head slightly, surprised by the sudden challenge in her voice.
"If it is your burden alone, then why do you have Shoji and Nomi baby-sit me?" She raised up her chin somewhat defiantly.. "And why have you avoided talking to me these past two days?"
Aoshi's hands tightened their grip on her reins. "There is nothing further to discuss."
She cried out. "There was no discussion because you walked away! You wouldn't let me tell you that it was not you I was ashamed of, Aoshi Shinomori!"
The horses neighed nervously at her outburst.
She softened her voice, realizing that if she were not careful, they would lose control of both horses. "If you had waited, you would have known that your past or present doesn't matter to me now. I forgave you for that long ago."
His eyes flickered slightly. "Then you—"
"I was ashamed for myself." Megumi turned her head away and focused on the road. As she considered the things that happened the last few days and what everyone had told her to be true, she couldn't quite bring herself to look him in the face. "I felt like I was using you."
He was silent, perhaps considering her words. When he finally spoke, he still didn't sound quite convinced of her explanation. "We've discussed this before. When we came back from America--"
"That is true," she found herself recalling that time. She had been confused and her spirits low then. "But that was almost like a lifetime ago. That was before I died and before you were poisoned. That was before you--" Her voice faltered; she was uncertain if he remembered anything of that strange evening where she nursed him and was afraid to say more.
For a moment they continued on, the sound of the horses' steps drawing attention to the awkward silence between them..
"Before I tried to tell you I love you," he said somewhat impassively.
If she had not known it somehow already, his blunt declaration would have startled her. Instead, she bowed her head.
"Megumi," his voice was patient, but firm. "What I feel and what I do is freely given and with no expectation. You need not be ashamed if you do not return those feelings, nor feel obligated in any way to do so."
She was startled when he gently pressed the reins back into her hand. "Aoshi—"
"We should pick up our speed." His voice was brisk again, but she discerned it was not angry or cold. "The next safehouse should be an hour and a half away. There we'll rest for a few hours."
She nodded, aware that he had decided to include her in his confidence. And yet, she wondered at the meaning of it, and whether it meant that things had returned to normalcy.
"Keep close, Megumi." He waited a fraction of a second to make sure that he was understood, before nudging his horse slightly to move ahead.
But he did not go far. Instead, he took his place in front of her, blocking the wind for her. His back was to her this time, but this time it reminded her only of his quiet thoughtfulness and his protection.
It demonstrated that some things had returned to as they had been. And yet the words spoken just a few moments earlier confirmed that something else was still true. The eyes that he turned upon her before telling her to stay near were not angry, but protective. And the bluntly offered confession of love was stated in such a way that hinted the feelings he had were not dead.
But with that knowledge, there was a certain kind of danger. He was not a simple man and did not come without his own past and present burdens. The Oniwaban who rode with him now testified to that. Yet their trust and respect for the man and his skills had impressed her. The gifts they had tried to give her as the bride of such a man had also demonstrated the greatness of the person he had been -- the man she had slowly come to know over the past year. He was a man whose affections were not to be taken lightly.
And she realized now that the incident the other evening had been full proof that she had unwittingly begun to take those affections very seriously.
Underneath her hood, she blushed. If her sense of modesty and his sense of honor had not prevailed, things might have turned out differently.
Indeed, there was a danger.
~
A policeman stood off the side of the street, smoking a particularly disagreeable
cigarette while glancing at a scrap of paper in his hands.
Once it served its purpose, he used his cigarette to light the paper. He watched the flame eat away the corners of the paper before dropping it on the ground.
The note had come from Shirotome, as it usually did, passed by the food vendor along with his customary bowl of soba. Today's message was simply confirming that the old man of the Oniwaban had left. As he had expected.
It was only a matter of days now until the old ninja and the others arrived in Kyoto.
The rapid return of the Oniwaban leaders to Kyoto, along with the appearance of the Juppongatana, would be certain to create small ripples through Internal Affairs. Granted the Juppongatana and the Oniwaban were no longer considered enemies – except only to someone with something to hide. However that someone -- in their nervousness at what was unfolding --would make a mistake.
One that Saitou Hajime would be there to ensure was fatal.
~
Three men, looking somewhat worse for wear, wandered the busy streets of Kyoto.
It was late -- well past the dinner hour. And the street was dark.
Sanosuke Sagara gave a low whistle as he looked up at the front building of the Aoiya. Time had been more than kind to her and the clan that now ran it.
"It has changed," Anji noted, not particularly affected by the differences between the building that had stood many years ago and the one that had taken its place since he had once lived in Kyoto.
Sanosuke envied that unflappable quality in the monk. As of late, he was all too aware that time had moved forward and that the word -- along those he knew within it -- had changed.
"Well are we going in?" Cho looked irritably at his party. But it was to Sanosuke whose his comments were directed to in particular. "Or did you make me show you the way here so you could just stand outside and look at it?"
"The lights are out," Sano noted. It appeared that it would be
better to come back.
He turned to look at the impatient one of their party. "Don't you
have other things to do anyways?"
Cho had dropped off the witness Taka at a safe place, but Anji's presence reminded Sano that there were still other matters to settle.
"Exactly. And coming here is one of those things." Cho ignored him and pushed forward.
Anji followed reluctantly. Cho was still his guard and it was required that he follow him, despite the lack of sense that the guard occasionally exhibited.
Sano felt something a bit odd in the air. He hurried after to pull back his companions. "Wait—"
He flinched as something grazed his cheek. He ignored the trickle of wetness on his cheek and tried quickly to sense where that annoying weapon had come from. But before he could find his assailant, he had been grabbed and pinned to the ground.
A string of unpleasant words informed him then that Cho too had been trapped. "What the bloody hell is going on here?" He was surrounded by a group of darkly clad persons. "Why the hell are there so damn many of you? And who's in charge here!"
"I am," a young clear voice rang out.
Sanosuke squinted for a moment, trying to match that oddly familiar voice to a face.
"You weasel!" Cho scabbered furiously, "Were you going to just stand there and let them cut us up to pieces?"
Sanosuke sighed as he recognized both the nickname and the owner of that voice. Cho was most definitely going about this the wrong way. He deserved whatever followed.
"Weasel?!" Misao Makimachi was practically gnashing her teeth. "I told you stop calling me that a long time ago! Just for that I should see how well you dance when I start hurling my knives at your feet."
"Oi." Sanosuke finally decided that he was tired of having his face in the ground. "If you two will stop with the love-fest, maybe you could let the rest of us could just quietly go our way and come back after you're done with the broomhead?"
"Sano!" Misao's face suddenly lit up as she realized he was there. "We weren't expecting you. "
"Obviously," he said dryly as he found himself being put back on his feet, and watched the men in the courtyard step slowly away from both Cho and Anji to keep watch from a more respectful distance. "You always greet guests this way?"
She shrugged and smiled. "Things changed. Ever since Okina and Aoshi-sama left for Tokyo, we've been on our guard."
"That bad huh?" Sanosuke frowned.
"We got Cho's message." Misao nodded in the direction of Cho. "And another from Okina and we've decided to take extra precautions. We've had a lot of strange things happen lately."
Misao's brief summary was cut short when someone else stepped into the courtyard.
"Anji-san." A tall youth wielding a blade at his side had taken his place next to the young ninja and looked curiously at the monk.
Sanosuke found his mouth agape as he placed both face and voice as belonging to one of Kenshin's greatest opponents. He could only wonder what was going on as the youth bowed to the monk.
"Soujiro." For the first time during this entire trip, the monk looked truly surprised. "It has been a long time."
"Yes," Soujiro looked confused. "I had heard that you were serving out your sentence."
"—I still am." Anji looked at Cho. "And yet why I am here I still do not know."
The two men continue to evaluate one another carefully, perhaps trying to see if either still bore any resemblance to the persons they had once been. When both were satisfied by what they saw, Anji returned to his quiet observation, while Soujiro turned to address the last of the guests.
"Sagara-san." Soujiro bowed politely.
Sano found himself giving only a startled nod in return. Somewhere along the way, no one had ever told him that the wandering swordsman had returned to society. But to turn up here of all places was even more surprising.
"Cho-san." Soujiro smiled. "So you have returned. Our apologies for your reception."
"Apologies," Cho grumbled. "You both knew full well who I was once I came in the courtyard. You let her say nothing knowing full well that these Oniwaban who don't know who I am would be crawling all over me! "
Misao surprised Sano by grinning at the broomhead. "So did we scare you?"
"Of course not," Cho scoffed. "I figured you might pull something like this, weasel-girl."
"Weasel-girl?" Misao's fingers twitched at that hated nickname.
Sano knew that look to know that it usually was followed by major violence on part of the girl. "Don't be stupid broomhead—"
As if to confirm his suspicions, several kunai had found their way into her hands.
Soujiro placed a restraining hand on her arm "Misao-san. I think Megumi-chan would like very much to see our guests."
"Megumi-chan?" Misao's face shifted suddenly back into its usually sunny self at the sound of the little girl's name. "She's probably still pretending to be asleep. I'll go convince her she won't get in trouble if she comes down. She'll be so excited to see everyone."
As Misao thankfully disappeared, Cho shot Soujiro an amused look. "Just as soon I figure out all the ways to annoy her, you have to go and figure out how to do the opposite and ruin my fun?"
As Cho continued to chuckle to himself, Soujiro smothered a quiet laugh and turned his attention back to the two other men and bowed. "I'm sorry for our rudeness. We did not mean to exclude you from our fun."
"Lot's happened." Cho grinned.
Soujiro tilted his head in agreement and smiled before taking a step back onto the porch and sliding open one of the doors to one of the rooms. "Indeed. There is much to share. And not much time to tell it all."
Intrigued, the three men followed.
The morning came, and more gathered around the table in the large dining room
to discuss the events of the past few weeks.
It was an odd arrangement. Okon, Omasu, Kuro, Shiro, Misao – those who, along with Shinomori and Okina – had at once been the last official remnants of the Oniwaban sat on one side, while Soujiro, Anji and Cho -- three men of the Juppongatana sat on the other.
Sanosuke sat in the middle and watched the former enemies drink their tea calmly.
The conversation continued from where they had left off the previous night, discussing what had happened in the weeks that led up to the decision Misao had made to allow those who were formerly of their clan to return to Kyoto.
The child that napped in Misao's lap was one of the key factors. Another was the attack on Okina. And yet there was something more to it, which Sano realized had more to do with what Misao had seen while traveling with Cho and Soujiro. Whatever she had experienced had changed her slightly.
Today they listened to him as he retold what he could from the point Shinomori had showed up at the dojo until the last day he had seen both him and Megumi.
He could see their expressions of concern – particularly that of Misao. While Sanosuke had done his best to downplay Aoshi's poisoning, he hadn't done an adequate job.
He saw the Oniwaban present exchange a glance. He knew they too understood the reason for the look on her face.
Omasu cleared her throat. "Okina telegraphed us and told us to expect him by morning. He'll be riding a steamship into Osaka and ride here. I'm sure Misao-chan that there is no reason to worry so much for both Okina and Aoshi."
Misao shook her head, "We also received word that they parted ways. Why would they do that?"
As Cho stirred restlessly, Sano shot a glance in his direction. Cho's earlier comments, along with this strange set of circumstances suddenly made sense. "Unless they wanted to throw off anyone who might follow. One of them must be transporting the sensei back to Kyoto." He turned to Cho, "Isn't that right?"
Cho crossed his arms over his chest, clearly reluctant to say anything. But the sight of Misao's hopeful expression appeared to weaken his resolve to stay silent. He sighed as he reached across the table to pat her on the head. "Yeah, something like that. But—" he glared at the others, "I don't know more than that, so stop bothering me about it. "
As the others around the table murmured their relief, Sano felt a sense of unease. Saitou literally had his fingers in every twist and turn along the way of many of the events that affected all of them. He had a sinking feeling that he knew who accompanied Megumi Takani at this very moment.
Author's notes:: Intentionally and unintentionally I have been pulling family names from the Shinsengumi. "Yamanami" I was deliberately paying homage. However, with "Shimada" I was not. My apologies to Shimada!
A special thanks to mij for looking at an early part of the first half. It's changed since then, but hope she likes it. I think some of the romantic tension got sacrificed to make way for Megumi's confidence to return. As for Sano, he provides our view back into the Aoiya and a look at some interesting interactions.
Leila Winters - You get the virtual cookie for leaving the first review.
As for keeping up with appearances, it got drop-kicked out of the way.
Jieli
- Hmm. An interesting thought. I don't know if this part addressed some
of his thought process.
Kenni – I'm not sure of Cho's age. I should go look
at my Kaden, but I'm lazy. But based on his hair and his nature, I always
thought he'd be near Sano's age. Chibi-Aoshi sounds cute... especially
the part where he gets poked a lot.
Eevee- Okina … nah. He's about as subtle as a pink elephant.
If he were involved, he would have locked those two into a room personally.
And yeah, I feel badly for Anji. But it's all good.
Author looks at Cookie's review and assigns her homework. Answer the
following question. You root for Aoshi. Is it a general "I love Aoshi"
sort of thing? Or is it the pairing you like?
The Great Thing - Ahem.If Megumi did what you proposed, this fic would
have to be rated R or banned. :-p
Cindy -Patience, Cindy. Patience.
Oh where, oh where has Cherie Dee gone, oh where oh where can she be?
I think I saw her doing laundry instead of writeeeeng. Girl... where are you?
Finish your fics!
Shinomori no Kami Daiji references the fanworks contest at the shrine.
The "How Okina Broke His Hand" contest is going to continue forward.
Hopefully in a few days you'll see the rest of her entry there as well as
some of yours. *coughcough*.
Hope to have the next part up next weekend assuming school and work in combination don't kick my butt. In 49: Everyone starts trickling into the Aoiya. And with too many people underfoot, people get confused. Until then, have fun everyone!
