Disclaimer: Crickets may chirp, camels may spit, and sure, hippos may be rather smelly creatures, but that doesn't mean I claim any ownership of Rurouni Kenshin…
NOTE: Aizu is NOT a city in Japan in my story. It is the name of a separate kingdom. This is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE fic, although you may find many things similar with Nubohiro Watsuki's world.
~ Blessing of the Cursed ~~ a rurouni kenshin fanfic ~
~Scroll Two~"It's so warm…" Megumi hazily thought as she slowly regained consciousness. She really didn't know what warmth was anymore, having spent so long in these snowy mountains. That enormous snowstorm had caught her unawares. Megumi slowly opened her eyes. And blinked again. But there was no difference, despite that she felt that her eyes were wide open. Darkness still surrounded her. Something was wrapped around her, limiting her movement. Suddenly, the warmth she was so comfortably bathed in seemed much too hot, surrounding her in a suffocating embrace. It was just like that fire so long ago, so painfully hot, smothering her breath. Megumi began to struggle wildly against her bonds, barking and whimpering fearfully. She tore at the stuff around her with her sharp little teeth, writhing her lithe body like that of a rabid creature. No, NO, NO! Not this again! It was too warm, too hot, burning painfully…
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! How did you get yourself all tangled up like this?" a deep human male's voice asked as strong hands gripped her and took away her asphyxiating darkness. Megumi stopped struggling as fresh light and cool air rushed to her face, looking dazedly up at the man holding her. Spiky brown hair topped his head, barely tamed by a red bandana. Deep brown eyes studied her curiously, set over a straight prominent nose and a mouth made for lopsided grins. He had a sharp brow and defined cheekbones, as well as a firm stubborn chin, yet all this was softened to boyishly handsome features by the curve of his tanned cheeks. Megumi blinked away her disoriented state, looking away from him to this strange forest clearing she was in. The wood was unusually smooth and even, the clearing strangely squareish. The sky was blocked away by odd horizontal tree trunks. There was too much light to be a den of some sort. No…it was a human home. The others have spoken of such structures. Megumi then looked to the ground, glancing at the human nest and pile of armor to one side on the even dark floor.
The little fox stiffened.
She could recognize the badge fixed upon the armor even a mile away. The badge of an Aizu samurai. They were coming after her again. Snarling, Megumi bared her sharp white teeth at the brown haired man.
"What the --?" he uttered as Megumi turned her head to one side.
"Fuck!!!" he roared as she sank her fangs one of the bandaged hands he used to hold her. Dropping Megumi to the ground, he cradled his injured hand. She landed gracefully on the ground and bared her fangs at the tall Aizu samurai again, her white haunches raised. The soft snowy fur along the entirety of her back stood on an end.
"You little piece of shit!" the samurai yelled at Megumi as she trotted over to his discarded armor. "What the hell didja do that for, I save your life for Kami's sakes!" The little white fox ignored him with a haughty sniff of her delicate nose and promptly tore the Aizu badge from the fabric of the battle gear, growling as she chewed it hatefully to a small ball of wasted threads.
"Hey~! Come back here, stupid kitsune! What are you doing to my badge?!" the man growled as he reached to pick the little fox up. Megumi turned slanted cinnamon eyes full of loathing to the samurai, burning with hateful flames. The man faltered, surprised at the degree of intelligence and pain compressed within the amber orbs. Seizing the opportunity of the Aizu samurai's shock, Megumi darted out the room, white bushy tail brandished mockingly at the man.
Despite her head start, the brown haired man soon jerked out of his stupor and raced after the impudent little fox quite angrily. His long legs quickly overtook her much shorter ones. Storming up to her, he picked Megumi up by the scruff of her neck.
"I am one dead fox…" Megumi thought. "But I'm taking at least one of his hands with me!" The fiery little kitsune snarled, pulling back her lip menacingly and snapped at the hand that clamped firmly onto the scruff of her neck. Her teeth snapped close over thin air, as the man deftly removed his wrist out of harm's way and rotated Megumi around to face him.
"Spirited little thing, aren't you?" the man asked dryly, lifting one eyebrow. Crimson liquid still trickled steadily down his other arm, lax at his side. He was answered with another snappish attempt at his uninjured hand.
"I'm not going to hurt you," the samurai finally said bluntly, frowning at the lucid gaze. He seemed discomfited by the piercing intelligence and burning hate of those orbs, but continued to glare with great annoyance into them.
"Really, Tori-atama [Rooster-head]!" Megumi snapped back mentally, referring the mop of spiky brown hair that much resembled the crown of a rooster. She ground her teeth against the wad of thread that used to resemble a badge in her mouth, making sure to render it beyond repair. Throwing her head back to one side, she flung the soggy wet wad straight at the Tori's face; as the man was now labeled within Megumi's mind. She then wriggled frantically to escape his grasp, taking advantage of the temporary loosening of his hand. Tori-atama cursed, fumbling to keep his grip on the slippery fox.
"I'm smarter than to believe an Aizu samurai," Megumi thought smugly as she landed with nary a sound upon the smooth wooden floors. She ran down the hall, ensuring the distance between the Aizu samurai and herself, before turning around and snarled again warningly at the Rooster.
"But I do thank you for taking me in from the cold…"
~*~
Sanosuke sighed and slowly followed the little white fox down the hall, entering the prayers room just in time to catch sight of a bushy tail disappear through the hole in the roof. It had climbed up along the rafter that the samurai had rolled along into the temple yesterday. He chuckled and returned back to the small dorm room he had staked as his bedroom, sure now that the little kitsune had gotten out safely. That was no ordinary fox, with its piercing cinnamon eyes and strange tactics. For the slightest moment, the thought that it could be a fox spirit crossed Sanosuke's mind.
"Nah, all those kitsune spirit thingies were pure black. That one was completely white. Probably just a really smart fox," he dismissed the idea quickly, and sauntered to the trunk for the medicine box.
"I better not catch some disease from that fox…" Sanosuke grumbled to himself as he unraveled the red stained bandages on his hand and slathered the waxy salve he had used the day before upon the broken skin of his hand. Tearing another strip of fabric from his quickly shrinking robes, Sanosuke wrapped up his hand. He pulled his long fingers into a tight fist, testing the bonds of the new bandages. Good.
"Now next in line for business," Sanosuke told himself as he entered the temple's main room, "Cleaning up that big mess I made."
He approached the large pile of rubble wood with another boyish grin, not looking forward to working with the pile of splinters galore. But it should be done, as it was the least he can do for his life. With a sigh, Sanosuke began to pick his way through the soggy broken wood, methodically traveling back and forth between the pile and the temple gates as he gradually disposed of the mess.
Unbeknownst to the young Aizu samurai, a pair of light brown eyes laced with confusion curiously watched him work from the gaping hole in the roof above.
~*~
Megumi didn't understand. It seemed at first the Tori-atama was trying to hurt her, but then, he had let her escape intentionally. Otherwise, the tall brown-haired man would have easily caught with her. She tilted her head to one side, searching for possibilities within her sharp mind as she following the smooth movements of the Aizu samurai below from her perch.
"He must be trying to fool me," Megumi finally decided, for she knew that the sharp intelligence and acuity of the Shadow Foxes was widespread knowledge among the humans. For centuries, her ancestors had used their amazing knowledge of the healing arts to save human lives. Slipping in and out of houses like shadows, they would pull back from the brink of death the feverish child or the gravely wounded Aizu samurai, leaving everybody stumped the next day when someone discovered the healthy patient. The best doctors throughout the country couldn't even explain these phenomenons, as the only thing the healed patients could always remember was a sleek black fox. The people of Aizu finally accredited these miraculous incidents to that Kami looked upon Aizu with favor. The black fox was quickly associated with death itself, a dark demise that Kami saved the patient from.
However, after years of these miracles, the people of Aizu began to get arrogant. "We have the favor of Kami," they would say proudly to the other lands. When other lands invaded, they would pray and sit back, expecting their great Kami to dispose of the trespassers rather than taking up arms and doing something about it all themselves. Things soon got worse, as all the surrounding lands began clamoring for a piece of the undefended Aizu. Afraid and in need of someone to blame, fingers began to point to the black foxes all the healed patients saw. Megumi chuckled grimly at the irony of the entire situation. The older kitsunes of her family took great care to hide their presences each time they slipped into a residence to heal a human. Now they were blamed for the gradual death of the land.
The very last straw had been placed when a farmer claimed he found the den of a family of black foxes.
~*~flashback~*~
Five years back:
Young Megumi pranced about, hardly able to wait until it grew dark. Her first healing was tonight! For several days now, she had been slowly gathering the free-floating energy around her, now at her maximum strength. Tonight, she will seek out those in great need and help them, all by herself. Tonight, she will be given a chance to prove herself and become a true Healer kitsune. Just like her Mom!
"Megumi-chan! Stop it! You'll disturb your little cousins in the next room!" Megumi's mom gently chastened her, though even she could not hide the amusement and pride weaved within her soft voice. Megumi twirled on her hind paws, black bushy tail high in the air.
"I can't wait, Kaa-chan! I've been working so hard for so many years for this day! The Elders finally deemed me ready to do this all by myself! I can help people and be Healer just like you!" Megumi answered, bright cinnamon eyes glittering with excitement. Her Kaa-chan laughed lightly and elegantly curled her dark tail around her paws.
"It's almost time. Why don't you go outside for some fresh air and clear your head? The Elders are placing their trust upon you, Megumi-chan. You'll do wonderfully," Megumi's mother suggested, a fond smile upon her muzzle. Megumi nodded and pranced happily to the exit of the room mother and daughter currently occupied. Her mother looked after her with a warm curve to her mouth. It quickly disappeared in slight surprise when Megumi returned within a few moments.
"The main entranceway's block, Kaa-chan…so are the side doors," Megumi reported, a worried and perplexed frown upon her face.
"Get your aunt Naomi…maybe she forgot to inform us of any storms that are coming up…" Megumi nodded worriedly and darted away. Her mother, after making sure Megumi was gone, approached the blocked main entrance. She nudged it forcefully with her dark pointed nose, and then leapt sharply away from it as if it bit her.
"Not again…" she whispered harshly, staring with disbelief at the solid wall of stacked boulders. Her sister Naomi, a kitsune particularly sensitive to the subtle workings of Nature, has nothing to do with this. Jerking herself forcefully from her state of shock, the vixen uttered a sharp high-pitched bark. Similar barks were quickly returned and different members of the kitsune spirit family soon turned up at the entrance, the questions swirling within their cinnamon eyes answered at first sight of the solid barrier.
"Not again…" one of the elder foxes sadly whispered, repeating what Megumi's mom had breathed minutes before.
"Check the other entrances," a deep commanding voice boomed through the uneasy silence. A tall proud male fox parted the crowd, his sharp amber eyes taking everything in within seconds. "We can't jump to conclusions so quickly, everyone, GO!" The crowd of black bodies dispersed, everyone running for different exits.
"Naoko, can it be?" Megumi father asked grimly when the entrance area was emptied of all save himself and his mate. Megumi's mother turned sadly to her mate.
"Hai, Yuusuke, love. Can't you smell the scent of men and oil? They are waiting outside, to make sure none of us escape," she replied, nudging the faintly damp rocks, hardly unnoticeable unless carefully perused.
"Kaa-chan! It's not Naomi-san!" Megumi exclaimed as she arrived through one of the forking tunnels to the entrance. She halted to a stop, almost crashing into the strong chest of her father. "To-chan! Someone told me…that…they're going to b-burn this place down and we can't…can't…" Megumi trailed away, reluctant to voice the source of tension in the air.
"That someone is jumping to conclusions, Megumi-chan," Naoko reassured, her gentle voice calm and steady, affectionately nuzzling her daughter. Her unusually calm gaze met with Yuusuke's, silently questioning. He nodded curtly without hesitation.
"Megumi-chan, come with me," Naoko said, blinking at Yuusuke. She kept her eyes closed for a fraction of a second longer than usual. He understood. "I need to show you something." Megumi curiously followed her mother, leaving Yuusuke behind at the entrance. As soon as the pair had disappeared around the corner, he allowed his store of Kitsune energy to flow around him, calling silently to all members of his pack save Naoko and Megumi. Despite that his power level was at a minimum, Yuusuke easily summoned them.
"Come, my children, come to me…prepare yourselves…"
"Kaa-chan?" Megumi asked uneasily. Was it her, did it seem unnaturally warm? Naoko turned to her daughter, her delicate face grave.
"I was talking with your father, and we decided that you still need to go out to seek those who need your powers," she held a firm paw up, silencing her daughter's protests. "Though normally we send out several experienced Healers with a neophyte Healer, the Seers only feel need for one Healer today. If you do not go outside, an innocent child, a brave samurai, or someone else could loose the life that they deserve. Can you really deprive them of that just because a small meaningless avalanche blocked our exits?"
"But no one can get out! At this rate, we'll die of asphyxiation, if not starvat—"
"There is one last exit here that can only be used by a Healer at full power, as you are, just in case some natural disaster like this occurs," Naoko said, knocking down Megumi's argument down. "The Elders that dug this home were meticulous beyond reason." Megumi giggled along with her mother at the understatement of the century, reassured by the fact that her Kaa-chan could still joke so about the much-respected Elders. It must be nothing after all. Although the room still felt uncomfortably warm, Megumi dismissed her misgivings, blaming the heat on the temporary lack of proper ventilation.
"You should start the spell now. Chant all your illumination verses, blood order. Careful though, less you end up only getting half of you transported away," Naoko instructed as she trotted over to the tall shelves tucked away on the far wall. As the younger vixen chanted strange words, the elder retrieved a jar of fox salve, small enough to be carried comfortably within the mouth of a Healer. Highly effective and undetectable by the human eye within an hour's time, the fox salve was popular among the less experienced Healers to take on their night runs.
"This is it?" Megumi inquired incredulously as she completed all her spells. Only a faint circle glowing faintly around her paws on the packed dirt stood show for her efforts. She tried to step to her mom, only to find her movement was limited within the circle. Megumi ducked her head, slightly embarrassed by her doubt of the work of the Elders.
"It takes away no energy on your part, as Healers need to be at their full strength in order for a successful run. So it'll take a while to gather energy from its surroundings to actually transport you outside. Perhaps 10 to 15 minutes," Naoko commented lightly after she tossed the small jar of salve to her daughter. "Don't worry, Megumi-chan, you'll get used to all this after a little while," she added with a small laugh at Megumi's frustrated face. Megumi glared playfully at Naoko, before bursting into small giggles herself, realizing how ridiculous she most likely looked with a salve jar bulge in her cheek and a perplexed frown upon her face. Her giggles abruptly cut off as she cocked her head to one side, sniffing the air suspiciously.
"Is that smoke?" Megumi questioned Naoko with alarm at the traces of smoke in the air that reached her nose. The small jar of kitsune medicine fell unnoticed to the ground. Naoko suddenly found her front paws extremely interesting.
"Kaa-chan?" the young fox asked uncertainly, her pleading voice desperate for answers. Something was wrong, very wrong. Her instincts were going wild. A high cry of pain pierced through the air. Megumi fought against her circle bonds, straining to reach her mother. Naoko turned her head to one side, squeezing her elegant eyes with despair as she braced her shaking figure against the heart wrenching yelps.
"Kaa-chan, answer me! You lied to me didn't you? Why?" Megumi asked, hurt, frantically fight against her invisible barriers.
"She did what she had to, Megumi. Stop fighting the barrier, you'll only tire yourself out," Yuusuke's deep voice reverberated as he entered the kitchen, gently nuzzling Naoko's bowed form in a rare act of affection.
"They're dying, aren't they?!!" Megumi hysterically yelled back at her father, ignoring his advice as she danced in panicked circles. "I can hear they! They're dying, To-chan!!! THEY'RE FUCKING DYING!!!" She threw herself particularly hard against the invisible wall around her before collapsing on the ground, harsh sobs racking her limp form. Yuusuke said nothing, looking at her silently.
"You know why, Megumi-chan…" Naoko whispered. "You're no commonplace Healer. The potential within you is beyond what either your father nor myself could ever hope to achieve. If we wish for a kitsune to carry on this line, it must be you…"
"Big brother…big sister…my cousins…uncles…aunts…grandparents…Kaa-chan…To-chan…" Megumi listed repeatedly in a small voice, lying on her side. She heard her mother, but made no effort to acknowledge it. Her eyes were shut tightly as she struggled against the thick choking waves of heat.
By now, laughing flames had worked their way into the room, basking the trio of kitsunes in the room with an ethereal glow against the darkness of the underground den. The cold fire seemed to cast no light upon the room, only saving their sights to the three. The cries for help had long ceased to the nothingness of death. The air wrapped around the Healers in a burning embrace, pulling and pushing at their labored breath. Naoko coughed, hiding her discomfort while Yuusuke stood forever proud and tall, golden eyes glittering with unreadable emotion, seemingly impervious to the deadly fire. Licking red-orange flames wrapped around them, dangerously close.
Megumi watched her parents, forlornly gazing at them. Despite the hazy smoke that slowly permeated throughout the room, her parents stood with unreal clarity in her eyes. She shakily stood up, snarling at herself at an attempt to ward off the painful twisting of her chest. She ignored with amazing will the sharp endless sting of close flames, struggling defiantly against the results of human fear.
"I don't want it to be this way…" she hissed childishly. "It's not fair…" Naoko swayed slightly, the effects of heavy smoke and unbearable heat. She softly laid her head against her mate's strong shoulder, leaning into his warm support.
"It's not fair…" Megumi barked out harshly, this time her wavering voice filled with indignance. She watched her weakening parents with distant glazed eyes. The faint line of the circle around her feet began to glow softly.
"Takani Megumi," Yuusuke finally said. "Do not forget this gift we bestow upon you." He remained strong against the murderous flames, black chest high with pride despite the pain of his gradual destruction. Naoko opened her eyes weakly as a large chunk of the room ceiling crashed down, sending plumes of dusty gray smoke rolling throughout the room. No one flinched.
"The ultimate gift…don't forget our love…my daughter…" she added, a peaceful smile upon her face. Her long black fur swayed softly from the wavering heat, small floating bits of burning materials decorating the air much like fireflies. Yuusuke nodded his agreement, allowing a small fond curve to his lips.
"IT'S NOT FAIR!!!" Megumi screamed to her parents, her eyes full of love, pain, and regret. The circle was now glowing with an almost blinding amber light. With an even bright flash, she disappeared.
Yuusuke and Naoko looked at each other, and embraced. Megumi's father and mother then closed their eyes, a single tear rolling down each of their cheeks.
Outside, Megumi weakly dragged herself to the wall that kept her from her parents. She batted vainly at the hard dirt. Narrowing her eyes, the young black fox backed away, intending to ram bodily into the wall. Her paw hit something and she looked down. It was the small jar of kitsune salve her mother had given to her. The sight of the jar seemed snap something deep within the vixen. Megumi gently picked the jar up in her mouth, and turning with slow hesitance, bounded away to the nearby line of trees. She paused right before she ventured among the dark tall figures, looking back with tear-filled eyes. Her shining eyes narrowed at the armored figures that stood so coldly around the tomb of the Shadow Kitsunes, their cold fire reflecting in Aizu's last Healer's dark gaze.
Two teardrops fell to the ground as young Takani Megumi whipped her head furiously around and melted away into the shadows of the forest, shattering to a thousand gems as they hit. Two drops for all the innocent lives that left this world today. Two teardrops from a Kitsune spirit, a creature who cannot cry…
~*~
Megumi shook her white head, blinking owlishly as she pulled back from her thoughts. She had seen the badge worn by those self-upped samurai. She seen that emblem that those supposedly debonair men had carried so proudly upon their chest when they destroyed her life. Aizu's people are never to be trusted. Never.
"I'll be watching you, Rooster-boy," Megumi told him with a disdainful curl of her upper lip as she watched the Aizu samurai below. "Don't think you can so easily fool this one after what your kind of has done to mine…"
~*~
~End of Scroll Two~
AN: Wow! I didn't expect you to like my ficcy. I'm definitely open to suggestions. Any particular moments you want to be included? One thing for sure about this fic, no, two. One: this is going to be one LONG fic, definitely longer than I had expected, so please bear with me (it's my first Kenshin fic!) and Two: this is a Sano/Megumi fic….I know…way to state the obvious. Do review and tell me whatcha think of this chappie as well!