A/N.  The eve of December 31, the last day of the Westernized Japanese year, is a very important holiday for the Japanese.  It's the longest holiday they've got, often extending to a whole week of festivities to mark the new year, or Omisoka.

December is sometimes called "Shiwasu," since work is allowed to stop in this month.  Basically, on what we know as New Year's Eve, they clean out their houses (susu harai) put up traditional home decorations to ward off evil and entice good fortune for the coming year.  The family gathers to eat a dinner of toshikoshi soba, a noodle dish that symbolizes long life and prosperity, as well as whatever other food they decide to have.

Then they wait for midnight, when temple bells start to toll 108 times (joya no kane), to signify the (hoped-for) liberation of man from Buddhism's 108 desires (attachment to which basically causes human suffering).  They wish one another a happy new year and then pray at the temple (or their house shrine) for their wishes for the new year.  In some areas, people compete to get to the temple first, because they believe that the first wish/prayer to be made at a temple after midnight has, so to speak, higher chances of being granted.  Kirei, ne?  Credit to those webpages that I got this information from. ^.^

glossary:

-baasan (obaasan) = suffix denoting a grandmother-type person

kadomatsu = a traditional New Year's plant decoration of bamboo, pine, and straw symbolizing longevity, prosperity, and purity; believed to attract good fortune for the coming year

shimekazari = another decoration hung over the front door; indicates a purified place to welcome the "toshigami," or deities of the new year; believed to bring happiness and ward off evil

soba = thin, grayish buckwheat noodles

tomete yo. = stop!, plain form

atashi mo. = "me too."  "Atashi" is used almost exclusively by females.

gaijin = foreigner(s)

-basan = suffix denoting an aunt-type relationship

hashi = chopsticks

Yoake Mae no Yami ni

by Mirune Keishiko

Seventeen:  Omisoka

Sitting down with her third cup of tea for the evening, Megumi heaved a sigh and eyed the stack of papers on top of her desk with distaste.

The clock read eleven o'clock, which meant she had been doing paperwork for the last two and a half hours.  On New Year's Eve.  Megumi took off her spectacles and sat back, closing bleary eyes. 

 "Takani-sensei?  Are you all right?" came a solicitous voice.  Megumi found an elderly woman bearing a small tray peering in her open door.

She quickly  rose to her feet with a smile.  "I'm fine, Keiko-baasan.  Just a little tired, but it's nothing to worry about.  How is your husband doing?"

The older woman beamed.  "He's all right, talking now with my son who just arrived from Nara."  She appeared to hesitate, then bowed low.  "I'm sorry that it's a very poor sort of celebration, but if Takani-sensei would care to join us in the room for the toshikoshi soba, we would be very honored to have her company.  It's the least we can do when you've looked so well after us."

Megumi stifled a sigh.  This wouldn't be the first time she would spend Omisoka with a family not her own.  Most of her recent New Year'ses would have been celebrated alone, were it not for friends who went out of their way to include her in the traditional rituals.  Then as now, Megumi was torn between feeling touched by their sympathy and embarrassed that they should take pity on her in her solitude.  But this anxiously smiling old wife of one of her humblest patients, she felt, could not be refused.

 "I would hate to get in the way of your private gathering, though," Megumi murmured.

 "Oh, but you've been so kind to Hirobu, he talks about you like a daughter already.  We're the ones who must apologize that we can't share with you anything grander."  Keiko bowed again affably, well-lined face creasing further into pleased wrinkles.  "You will indulge this old couple's wish, won't you, dear?"

Megumi smiled and bowed in return.  "I cannot possibly decline your kind hospitality, obaasan."

 "Nobody ought to spend Omisoka alone, especially not you, my dear, when you already feel like family to us.  Do come by our room when you're free, then, and we'll be only too happy to have you."  And the old woman gracefully bowed herself out of the room.

Megumi half smiled to herself at the old lady's innocent words.  You already feel like family to us.  The Murasakis were not natives of Aizu, had in fact settled in the area only a few years before; Megumi had little reason to suspect that they knew anything about her past, about the vanished family with whom she should have been eating the traditional soba tonight.  But on this night of all nights, kindness from yet another compassionate acquaintance weighted her heart with a hollow, chill sadness she tried to assuage by clasping the cup of hot tea to her chest.

She still observed the old rituals; if nothing else, it felt too much like a betrayal of her own lineage to neglect them.  And so, on the last day of the year, Megumi had assiduously cleaned her apartment—had grappled with the tatami mats that were a little too wide for her arms' reach, had scrubbed every inch of flooring spotless—placed the kadomatsu by the entrance, and hung the shimekazari.  She had even made some toshikoshi soba of her own.  Then—as she did nearly every year—she had packed the soba carefully and brought it to the hospital, cheerfully sending home the skeleton crew of nurses and assistants who were clearly torn between their duty to their families and their self-imposed duty to keep the hospital open much later than usual, in order to accommodate whatever emergencies might occur.

They protested, of course, but as always Megumi insisted that she, at least, was of better use at the hospital than at home.  And, as always, she was finally left in the quiet stillness of the hospital, tending to the few patients too ill to leave for the traditional temple visits.  She would leave when the overnight nurses began trickling back to work.  But, as always, Megumi wasn't quite sure whether she longed for or dreaded the return to her apartment, whose restfulness was due to its emptiness.

Although the Aizu winter was cold as ever on this last night of the year, she preferred to keep the window in her office partly open.  She liked feeling fresh air tickle her cheeks, and as midnight approached, she amused herself by looking out at the people walking toward the temples, dressed in their most festive clothing.  Brightly decorated lanterns often bobbed from their hands, more for tradition than for any practical use since electric lamps already provided ample light along the streets.

Decorum forbade that she should keep the kind Murasakis waiting while the soba got cold; but Megumi lingered at the window, unable to remove her gaze from the street outside.  Deeper in her heart than she wanted to admit, she knew that this year, she wasn't watching just the lanterns and the kimonos.

Tomete yo!  Megumi shook her head with a frown, willing herself at last to move away from the window, to tear her gaze and her thoughts from the people outside.  He'll be at the dojo with Yahiko and Kenji, wolfing down everything in sight, as usual.  He never said anything about coming here, anyway.  He'll be here when he can get here... in the spring, he said.  I just have to be patient...

She sighed.  It was now almost a month of saying much the same thing over and over to herself.  Moving quickly over to her desk, she clicked off the electric lamp, decisively consigning her office with its unfinished paperwork to the darkness.  It was Shiwasu after all.

She was just heading out the door, affixing her best "Happy New Year!" smile to her face, when the faint clatter of horse's hoofs out in the street caught her hearing.

She stilled in the doorway, listening intently.  Sure enough, the hoofs rapidly grew louder and soon turned onto the brick-laid driveway of the hospital.  Thoughts of soba abandoned for the moment, Megumi snatched up a clean smock that hung near her door and hurried out of her office and down the stairs.  Frantic visits such as this were the reason she insisted on keeping the hospital open all night despite the holidays; with all the other clinics in town closed and their residents at the temples, the Sanada hospital was the only option left for accidents and unexpected illnesses.

Hurrying along the hall, she heard a shrill, familiar voice echoing from the lobby.  The rather high-strung, unmarried sister of a patient on the third floor, she occasionally went out on the hospital grounds to smoke a cigarette, since it was prohibited inside the building.  As Megumi's quick pace brought her closer to the lobby, the woman's nasal voice became clearer, sounding annoyed.

 "—She's upstairs, but she doesn't see anyone unless it's something serious.  It's New Year's Eve, for heaven's sake.  You can wait another week..."

 "Morisawa-san, is there a problem?" said Megumi briskly, turning the corner and bracing for the worst.  Then she stopped dead with a little gasp, her eyes widening.

Sanosuke stood in the wide doorway, looming over the petulant woman who stared up at him defiantly, seemingly unintimidated by his great height and build and the rich, albeit travel-worn cloak that hung from his shoulders.  He had been staring rather desperately down at the woman when Megumi arrived, but had quickly looked up at the doctor's approach; and the intensity of his eyes—relief and satisfaction shifting swiftly in their gaze—and the quick open grin burned clear through her mind as she stood absolutely still in the hallway, staring at him in stark astonishment.

Morisawa took her amazement for displeasure; she gave Sano a triumphant little grin.  "Shall I see him out, Takani-san?" she said archly, placing fists on her hips.

 "Oi, Takani-sensei," Sano drawled teasingly past the irate woman, "couldja tell her please to let me through?"

It took all of Megumi's self-control to keep herself from running across the hall into his embrace like a girl; it took all of her charm to persuade Morisawa that Sanosuke was not just another loiterer hoping to catch a glimpse of the bewitching onna-sensei with which to bless the coming year.  Megumi ushered Sanosuke into her office, away from Morisawa's sharp eyes, chattering cheerily all the while about the hospital, the patients spending the holidays in confinement, the invitation for the traditional soba—and sputtered to a halt when he abuptly gathered her into his arms, burying his face in her hair.

 "I've missed you."

Warm breath tickled the fine hairs on the back of her neck.  Closing her eyes, Megumi rested her cheek against the warm, strong, silk-covered chest and gave a long, shivering sigh.  "Atashi mo."

 "Did I surprise ya?"

He sounded like a little boy, eager to know if his gift had pleased.  Megumi laughed and nodded.  "Yes, you did.  I wasn't expecting you till spring.  That is"—she chuckled—"I was trying not to expect you before spring.  I wasn't succeeding very well, though."

 "Sorry I'm late.  Fuuko cut the time by half, but first Tae roped me into helping get a huge pine tree for the Akabeko—silly foreign customs, for the Western customers and all that.  She's been workin' me out haulin' trees everyday to her place since Christmas.  I told her you're supposed to take it down the day right after, but apparently the gaijin like to see something so familiar at the inn.  Then I wasted time stoppin' by your apartment first, I didn't know you'd be here..."

He sounded truly apologetic.  Megumi interrupted him with a chuckle, fondly rubbing his back through his shirt.

 "It's all right.  You're here now, ne?"

And for a good long while, that was all that mattered, as their lips met in a hungry kiss heavy with weeks of unsated wanting.

 "Megitsune."

 "...Mm?"

 "I hate to ruin the moment, too, but some old lady just came by.  She's gone now, but she looked pretty poleaxed."

Obaasan.

The soba.

Omisoka.

Megumi came to herself with a small gasp, pulling reluctantly away from the warm shelter of Sano's arms.  "Keiko-baasan!  She must have wondered why I didn't..."  She paused, suddenly indecisive, knowing she was obliged to respond however belatedly to the old woman's invitation, yet wary of what might meet her there.  A thirty-seven-year-old spinster doctor found liplocked with an unknown man was a guarantee for scandal.

 "Should I disappear?"  Sano's dark eyes searched her own.

 "Iie," she said without thinking, clutching tightly at his hand as it started to slip from her grasp.  Then she looked up at him, her rosy, kiss-swollen mouth set.  "It won't matter.  Things will be known soon anyway—"

At first it irritated her that he was not looking down at her, but away toward the door; but then the clink of ceramic reached her ears, and she too glanced in that direction just in time to catch a glimpse of Keiko-baasan's leaf-print kimono whisking away out of sight.

 "Obaasan?"  As she hurried to the door, she cursed the unexpected plaintive tone in her voice; she sounded like a girl caught with an illicit lover, now begging for a mother's understanding.  But down the hall, the door to Keiko and Hirobu's room slid firmly shut.  Megumi was left for a moment staring down an empty corridor, unease gnawing at her insides.

 "Oei, she left somethin' here.  Smells pretty good, too."

She turned to find Sanosuke eagerly poking among the covered bowls and dishes on a tray that had not been there ten minutes ago.  Megumi lifted the lid off one large bowl and caught her breath in surprise.

 "Toshikoshi soba..."

 "Two bowls and two hashi."  Sanosuke grinned.

Megumi, looking up at the open satisfaction on his face, could not help but chuckle back.  Arigatou, obaasan.  As she carried the tray into the office, she smiled back at Sano over her shoulder.  "How long has it been since you last had this, toriatama?"

As she stooped to set the tray down on a low table by the window, she was startled by his long arms suddenly encircling her, large warm hands covering hers.

 "Far too long, kitsune," he growled in her ear, and this time Megumi made sure the door was shut before she turned to him with a sly smile.

 "How long are you staying?" she murmured against his mouth.

 "Not long enough.  Three days.  Two 'n' a half if you count travel time."

 "Not long enough," echoed Megumi with a sigh, nuzzling his throat.  "But at least I get to drag you to Sanada-sensei and his family tomorrow evening.  They invite me to dinner every year.  Aoi-basan will be so happy if I finally bring an escort this time.  I bet you'll look absolutely dashing in one of those Western suits."  And she tugged at his jacket, smiling up at him with a meaningful glint in her cinnamon eyes.

 "Never liked 'em, but if you'll take me outta this suit to get me into one o' those, I guess that's an acceptable compromise."  He returned her sly look with a half-meant leer.  "What time do you go home?" he whispered hungrily into her ear, hot breath and swift tongue teasing an irrepressible shiver out of her slender body.  "You will go home, won't you?"

 "Not—not till around three."  Megumi, much distracted by the light rasp of his rough fingertips against the soft flesh of her upper arm, fought the growing haze in her mind to reply.  "I have to wait for the staff and the other doctors to start arriving first."

 "So I can't ravage your maidenly perfection with my manly urges for another three whole hours?"

The part disappointed, part impatient growl elicited a shaky laugh from deep in Megumi's throat.   "I'm afraid not, toriatama," she purred, slipping a pale hand into the shadows of his jacket; as chilled fingers skated over warm skin, his arm tightened convulsively around her waist.  "But that should make the ravaging even more enjoyable later on, ne?"

Brown eyes and white teeth flashed in a wry grin in the moonlight.  "Maybe I'll just kidnap those damn doctors from their houses..."

She frowned with mock severity.  "Don't tempt me.  I was already thinking of the same thing."

With some difficulty, she extricated herself from his embrace and walked over to the rapidly cooling noodles.  He lit the lamps as she knelt on the tatami and daintily set out the meal.

 "Shall we, then?"

He grinned back at her.  Two long, swift strides covered the distance, and he folded himself gracefully into a seat at the low table.  As the aroma of traditional Japanese cuisine enveloped him, he felt his grin grow even wider, more enthusiastic.  Megumi laughed, offering him the hashi.

 "To a new year, then?"

His hand covered hers as he took the chopsticks.  At the light, affectionate touch, the warm, clear gaze that accompanied it, Megumi felt a most un-spinsterlike heat bloom deep in her gut.

 "Aa."

In the distance, the solemn, joyous bells began to ring.

~ tsuzuku ~

Yes, "tsuzuku."  Sorry if you're sick to death already of this never-ending end...  Well you could stop reading right here, but I still intend to tack on a proper epilogue, like any mushy waffy happy-ending romance fic... ^.^

 (Although, no, I don't think I'll be doing a wedding chapter.  I'd want an authentic traditional Buddhist/Shinto Japanese wedding for these two, but as I'm not a Nipponjin myself and anyway eriesalia-sama already did such a scene with great accuracy in "Another Chance" (plug! plug! If you haven't read this scrumptious Aoshi/Megumi fic yet, go NOW and search for it!! ^.^), can we just be happy instead with the visions in our imagination? ^.^)

Trivial note:  In the last two lines of dialogue above, I suppose it's not clearly indicated that it's first Megumi, then Sano talking.  But in a way I did mean for that to happen... the lines could be said by one to the other, and also the other way around; and it could be not just the new year they're talking about. (blather, blather.)

Sigh!  Such a sap I've become in these later chapters.  This last chapter is basically all fluff, ne? ^.^;  Well, well.  The next chapter will—I promise—end with "owari."  To the kind souls who reviewed (Monigue, Sailor-Earth13, redbandana, Shiomei, loyanini, Lychee2, ChunkyMunky241, Aislinn6, eriesalia) --my perennial thanks for your appreciation and constructive criticism! g3ozLizh, the epilogue is brewing as we speak! And yes, I'm afraid I will succumb to the kokitsune cliche. Nyarhar. ^.^ redbandana, i hope you're back to normal now after your bout with sickness. Hope this little mushy-gushy story somehow helped you feel better. :( Linay, thanks for stopping by too; it's so cool to connect with a fellow Filipina living all the way over on the other side of the planet! ^.^ Domo arigatou, minna-dono!  (bows repeatedly with a huge irrepressible watery smile of thanks) ^.^