**Pechan disclaims all rights to Rurouni Kenshin.

~Megumi's Burden~

Tokio could feel her clothes being removed, on a bed. Not a futon. A bed. A hospital bed. She opened one of her eyes, "Hajime.......?"

A woman with flowing black hair and tinted lips tight with worry glanced at her, "Don't worry Tokio, everything's going to be fine." The pretty woman tied her hair up under a kerchief, to keep her raven tresses from dragging in Tokio's wounds.

Tokio didn't understand. Why is she here? She had to go home, had to fix Hajime his dinner......

She lifted her arm to get up, and gasped. It hurt!!

The woman quickly laid Tokio back down, "Tokio, don't move!! You'll only open your wounds wider-"

"Megumi."

Megumi gasped, as Tokio smiled.

"You're Megumi. My husband think's you're a nice lady."

Megumi gulped, and smiled, "That's nice, Tokio. Try to stay focused, don't slip out again, okay?"

Tokio rolled her head to her shoulder. But it stung, so she rolled it the other way.

Megumi sighed, and washed the bullet hole on Tokio's knee. It was shattered forever, but maybe she could stand again. Megumi bit her lips, and removed the bandages. And just as she feared, the bleeding didn't stop. She sighed, tossing away the soggy, red strips. Oh God, she wouldn't stop bleeding, just as that Chou idiot said.........

Megumi had removed the bullets in her legs, but that cause the blood to flow more freely. That was a mistake. So, she didn't touch the other ones for now. Normal wounds didn't require extracting a bullet-

Megumi sighed, mopping her face, "God, Tokio, why did you have to go play a hero? You should have ran with Kaoru."

Kaoru.

Tokio gasped, "Shinta. Did the baby.....?"

"Yes, he's fine. And Kaoru's fine, she's at your house, waiting for your husband."

Tokio smiled, eyes closed, "He won't like that. He said she brown noses. Heh heh, h-he doesn't like me hanging out with y-you guys-"

Suddenly, she coughed again, blood bubbling from the corners of her mouth. Megumi gasped, "Tokio, please, don't talk or move, just rest!! Please, don't-"

"But I gotta tell Kaoru not to go to my house-" she whispered.

"Tokio, it's okay! Everything else will be taken care of. I promise."

Tokio smiled, turning her face slowly to Megumi, and rested her fingers on her hand. "Thanks. I'm gonna hold you to that."

Megumi gasped, feeling those fingers. They were already getting cold. Tokio's lips started to lose their color, and her skin was growing waxy. She was dying. Megumi breathed somewhat heavily. She was dying.

Tokio was dying.

Megumi had many patients, but she had saved them all. Of course, none had wounds as extreme as Tokio's. In all her years, this would be the first patient Megumi couldn't save. Figures, it would be one of her friends.

Megumi once again covered her face with her hands. God, she was dying, and she couldn't do anything about it. But keep her warm.

How terrible it felt, easing Tokio into a gentle death.

And here Tokio was, thanking the doctor that couldn't even tell her that she was dying. Megumi wasn't strong enough. She wasn't. She might have before, but seeing Tokio's eyes............ so expectant on seeing her husband........

Megumi finally sniffed, whispering, "Tokio..........."

Tokio opened her eyes again, "Awwww, I'm sorry Megumi. I didn't mean to ruin you're bed. I bleed too much."

Megumi couldn't take this. The bleeding above her ear had affected her brain. She seemed to lose some sense of reality.

Of all the patients she couldn't save............

Megumi dipped her head down, and as her vision blurred under the film of tears. She couldn't believe this. She could do nothing. Her vow, her oath to save lives. It was being broken. She couldn't save this one. All she could do was watch.

Tokio's fingers once again lingered down, and patted Megumi's head. "There there, I'll clean it later."

Megumi grabbed her hand, her fingers shaking.

-You're dying. And all I can do is watch you.-

~~ At the Fujita Residence ~~

Hajime Saito stepped through the gates to his house. He removed the police hat, his guise for his earlier prey. He began to tug off his gloves, and stepped onto his porch, stepping out of his shoes. He slid open the door to his house, "Tadaima." and started to unbutton his jacket, when he stopped. He smelled blood. He walked quickly to where it was emanating, and slid open the door to the guest room.

That Himura woman was sitting there, nervously looking at him. He narrowed his eyes, "Lost?"

She gulped, "Saito, you need to come with me. I have to tell you something."

"I'll have to decline, Miss Himura. I have a wife, and she might get jealous," he smirked.

She sighed, "Saito, please, you have to come with me. It's about Tokio."

He smirked, unbuttoning his jacket's top button, "Yes, where is she? She's usually feeding me right about now."

She bit her lip, closing her eyes, and clasping her hands, "You take her for granted."

"I suppose I do. Why, does it upset you?" he asked, turning away, and removing his jacket.

She followed him into the hall, "Look, I'm only going to say this once. There's been an accident, and she's in the hospital."

Saito stopped, and turned to Kaoru. She gulped again, and her bottom lip trembled. This was not typical of her, he knew. Though the woman was whiny and he couldn't stand her most of the time, she was not one for crying without good reason. She usually did it, when someone she loved was in grave danger.

He narrowed his eyes to her kimono. It was browning, the blood drying on it, and her bandages could be seen through the tear. "What happened?"

Kaoru brought her fingers to her lips, and whispered, "Tokio was protecting me. And then she-"

"Protected? From what?"

"A man, some guy, he was crazy, he was ranting, a-and he attacked us-"

"Attacked. Attacked how?"

"He, he cut me, Tokio fended him off, she told me to run, and take Sh- Shinta, I ran, I-"

Now he fully faced her, "How did Tokio get hurt?"

"She......," Kaoru glanced up at this wolf, who would have once torn her lover into shreds with his fangs, his Gatotsu. But upon meeting Tokio, befriending her, it was different for the Kenshingumi. He seemed to be a different man, even though he still slew men. And Kaoru thought she could tell him all the details, but seeing his face........ the face of one who does not yet understand the full awful truth..........

Kaoru lowered her head, away from his cold amber eyes, and whispered, "........... he had a revolver."

Saito stopped speaking, and was looking right at her. Kaoru shivered. His eyes, the pupils had shrunken. It was blatantly clear he was upset through his eyes, though his face didn't change. And he narrowed those wolf eyes again, "What hospital is she in, Himura?"

Kaoru bit her lip, "With Megumi's, Chou-"

"Chou?"

"He brought her there, he saved her-"

Saito quickly walked passed Kaoru, deciding he had heard enough, "Lock up."

"Huh?"

He opened the door, "You got yourself in here. Tokio must have given you a key. Lock up when you leave."

Kaoru bit her lip, and ran after him, "Wait, I want to come!!"

"You've done more than your share of help for today, Himura," he snapped, glancing at her.

Kaoru stopped. His eyes........... they were accusing her.

**How could he not? I was no help at all.....................** Kaoru sniffed, and rubbed her eyes, "I'm sorry."

Saito kept his eyes on her, and shrugged into his jacket. He opened the gate, and said tightly, "It is not your fault. I speak out of turn. My apologies."

He gently slammed the gate behind him; more out of hurrying rather than in anger. Kaoru was left in their house. Their silent, cold house, that she remembered laughing and giggling in with Tokio and Ryu just a few hours ago. She was looking at her hands, under the moonlight. Her vision blurred, and she dropped to her knees, sobbing. Chou said Tokio had no chance of living. When he said that, Kaoru slapped him. He didn't mean it as an insult, he explained. It was just the truth. Kaoru didn't want to believe him. She never wanted any of her friends to leave her. Tokio had been an odd one, being the wife of that man who pushed Kenshin over the edge once..........

But Tokio was one of the kindest, most generous souls she ever met. A woman whose life was laden with sorrow, but pulled through with a grin and a new start. She even found comfort and warmth in the man who slew her father. And bore two, beautiful kids, whom everyone looks up to. A woman who was raped twice, who was mutilated in the most secret of places. One who trained to kill, and was too weak to kill. Did that necessarily make her weak? No. It made her even tougher, bearing another loss one right after the other.

Ryu was born too quickly; the doctors said he had no chance. Tokio wouldn't have it. She explained to Kaoru, how can she put the death sentence on her son, whom she hadn't even met yet? It had taken a good four years for the red coughing to be clear of his lungs, and now Ryu was fine. Even better than fine. He held the same fighting spirit as his father. Minus the man slaying.

That made Tokio happy. Seeing Ryu, devoid of guilt or sin. Ryu made Tokio imagine what Saito might have been like, if he didn't kill people.

Tokio would later laugh, saying 'Silly me. My husband giving up killing people. Imagine that. Silly me.......'

Kaoru sobbed into her hands. Tokio was never fine with her husband killing, but forgave him. When he'd come home, she'd forgive him, all his sins. Lifting his burden, she was the only one. In a way, Tokio was his angel. For no God can forgive a sinner, one who has taken so many. Saito didn't seem to mind, he was not religious. He had only followed one rule his whole life, and refused to believe otherwise. Tokio had taken it upon herself, by being by his side for the rest of his life. Giving some comfort.

But she never really could completely forgive him. And when she had announced that, she declared herself a terrible wife. A wife should have loved her husband completely. Tokio had tried, and said she could not.

Kaoru wiped her tears, looking at the moon. "Tokio, you loved him enough. More than enough. You gave him mercy where it shouldn't be allowed."

She sniffed, and slumped back. "Please tell him that before you p-pass on.........."