Healer
By Meii-chan
Chapter 4-Incidents Involving Over Zealous Policemen
The over zealous policeman caught up to the rurouni, panting heavily as he held up a pair of handcuffs. "You're all under arrest for disturbing the peace!"
"Oro!"
Megumi gaped at him. "But we didn't do anything!" she protested.
"Maybe if we listen to him, he'll let us off?" Kenshin suggested. Yanosuke and Megumi glared at him.
A young woman was walking along the outskirts of Yokohama. No one knew why she was out so early, as only the docks were bustling with activity at this time. They knew she was not a serf—the old feudal systems were gone—and her fair complexion did not mark her as a rustic peasant.
Yet she stopped at a small rice paddy to pluck diseased leaves from the plant. The muddy waters at the paddy were no nuisance to her, for she wore no sandals or socks. She simply ties up her gaudy maroon kimono up where the waters would not reach them. And as she toiled, wavy, dark claret hair escaped the confines of two blue dragonfly hair-sticks and cascaded down her back.
She did not hear the group of bandits sneaking up behind her. Only when she heard the tale-tell splashes of the muddy water did she realize she wasn't alone.
The group of bandits was poorly armed, as they did not see a great danger in the field girl. The leader, or rather, the biggest and most egocentric one seemed to know her.
"Yumi-chan, you seem to be in a bit of trouble. Why don't you come with us rather than work in that stinking mud pit for the landlady…"
She didn't need to hear anymore; she took off, sloshing through the murky waters of the inundated rice paddy.
"It was just an idea." Kenshin tried to defend himself as the group sat in a row of western chairs in the office of the police chief. He sat in the middle of the row, Soujiro and Megumi to his right, and Yanosuke on his left. Ichiro was firmly tied to his chair left of his brother, as he refused to stop sputtering out insults and threats to the rest of the police.
"It was extremely stupid." Yanosuke muttered. "I can't be arrested for getting rid of some brat that no one cares about."
"I agreed to it!" Megumi yelled from the other side of Kenshin. "Besides, who are you calling a 'brat'?"
"Not you." Yanosuke replied in an infuriating calm. "You're just some sly little girl who lures people in with your charm and then destroys them. You're a kitsune. (1)"
"Who are you calling 'kitsune'?!"
The rising decibels of their heated argument stopped as the police chief entered the room. Dressed in western attire with an oddly colored green coat, his eyes widened when he saw who was in the room.
"Himura-kun?"
Kenshin turned in his seat and recognized who it was. "Hello, Houji-san."
Megumi and Soujiro looked at Kenshin. How did Kenshin know the police chief? "How come you know each other?"
"It seems that no one in here in Yokohama seems to know who you really are Himura-kun." Houji dispassionately said to him. "But it doesn't matter. I would need to know what happened today at approximately seven o'clock in the morning."
"No problem," Yanosuke said. "My brother, who is currently expressing his anger at being wrongfully arrested, and I were simply going on a morning stroll when these two kids attacked us for absolutely no reason."
"Hey! That's not true, you filthy, lying—" Kenshin clapped a hand over Megumi's mouth.
"Like I was saying," he continued, "we were attacked, and then I noticed that they were the pair of kids that were seen around our house earlier this week. When my sister found out that some bandages were missing from the house, we realized that they had taken them. We went to confront them, and they both admitted that they were hiding the rebel from the war. So, we realized who they were, and Ichiro was trying to get them to admit where they were hiding him. The girl got scared and enlisted the help of some hobo who promptly injured my brother for no reason. This is injustice! I demand that you free us and kill the others!"
"Is this true?" Houji asked Megumi and Soujiro.
Megumi shook her head violently. "Absolutely not! He was lying about all of it!"
"So what really happened?"
"We were eating noodles at the noodle stand when they attacked us. That person's brother started to beat up Sou-chan, so I ran to get help. Then Ken-san came and saved us." Megumi stated confidently. "And we weren't hiding the rebel."
"How can you explain the missing bandages, then?" Yanosuke questioned her.
"Because Yoshimaru-sensei told me to use them for that injured policeman we were treating at your house!"
"You have plenty of medical supplies with you. You didn't need ours. That just explains how you were helping the rebel!"
"No, it doesn't! You're just using the whole rebel affair to get the police on your side!"
"Thus, you did hide him."
"I did not!"
"Maa maa, (2) we're getting off topic." Kenshin tried to stop the bickering between Megumi and Yanosuke.
"Yeah, screaming at each other doesn't help me." Houji said. "Hey, kid. Why are you smiling at me? Do you know why they attacked you?"
"Uh…" Soujiro clenched his hands. "They said they would kill me the next time they saw us. So they did…or tried to."
"Why's that?"
Ichiro's anger flared up suddenly. "Because he's a little bastard that always gets in society's way. Even when we took him in to save face in public he'll always be so useless! I can't stand the fact that's he's still alive…"
"Nii-san!" Yanosuke was shocked. Ichiro had just blown off their cover.
"People tell the truth when they are passionately angry, Houji-san." Kenshin advised him.
"Right. Do you have anything to say for yourselves? I'm locking you two up; Ichiro for assaulting children and you for lying to cover it up. Everyone else can just walk away unscathed."
He left, leaving the lower ranked policeman to drag Yanosuke and Ichiro to jail. The same overzealous policeman who arrested the group came up to him.
"You aren't going to charge the swordsman for the sword?"
"No, you can't just tear a sword away from a Hitokiri. It's the way they live, by the sword. Mere laws can't stop them. It'll be the same as stripping a bird of its feathers."
"My wife does that when she prepares meals. But you did jail some people, didn't you?"
"Of course." Houji walked out of the building and climbed into an awaiting carriage. "I am loyal to the police department, after all. But I'm also loyal to those who saved me during the war."
Yumi ran deeper into the countryside, past the rice paddies and desolate farmhouses. Her lungs burned with every breath she took. She did not consider herself to have any talent in athletics; most people only expected her to sit around and look pretty. Unfortunately, those two things didn't help her in fleeing the bandits, who were gradually closing in around her.
Panicking, she failed to notice an un-fortuitously placed root sticking out in the middle of the road. She tripped, and fell to the ground, shrieking in surprise and pain.
"I'll give you credit for running that much until we caught you." The bandit leader said. "We just need to bring you back to Chou-sama's lair, and then he decides what happens to you. Be a good girl and come with us now." He said as politely as a bandit possibly could.
"Can't…walk…now…" Yumi panted, trying to breathe in desperately needed oxygen.
"Pity, I'm not that nice. I'll just have to drag you there. Hiro! Koushi!" the bandit leader commanded them to drag off Yumi. He was surprised when the two didn't answer back. "Stupid insubordinates…"he muttered.
"Leave the lady." A voice said behind the bandit leader. He turned around and began to sweat profusely.
"The rebel…" he scrambled to get away, but crashed into the person standing next to him. The bandit leader and his fellow thugs were immediately cut down by the rebel's sword.
As he began to clean off his sword with a piece of the bandit leader's clothing, he glanced at Yumi. "You've already forgotten who I am, right, Yumi?"
"Who?" she looked at him in shock.
"Maybe all these bandages hinder your perception. Anyway, I must lie low now. I do love you; but say anything, and I'll make it my personal mission to kill you."
The rebel left, leaving Yumi alone in the middle of pile of corpses.
A few minutes later, yet another over zealous policeman happened to come across her. Without so much as a second thought, he handcuffed her and charged her with manslaughter.
"Houji-san! Houji-san!" A police officer in a pristine brown uniform called out to him from beside the carriage.
"What is it?" Houji demanded, sticking his head out of the carriage window. If he couldn't have peace and quiet in his office, he could at least have it in his carriage, but no…
"There's been another massacre of civilians. This time we found the culprit. At least, that's what squad four reports. They're on their way to the police station now." The officer reported in a rehearsed manner.
"Very well. Why can't you solve these problems on your own?" he exasperatedly said, then ordered the horseman to turn them around.
Megumi watched the policemen take the two brothers away to the jail cell. "Serves them right." She muttered.
"That's not very nice." Kenshin chided her, shaking his head.
"Well it's true. If I was intentionally hurting people, I'll kill myself first!" she stated without a second thought in her head. "Oh, thank you for before! I don't know what would have happened if you didn't show up."
"It was nothing. All this unworthy one wanted to is to protect the oppressed people." Kenshin said, dusting of any praise that Megumi had just bestowed upon him. "This unworthy one wanders the world to repent for the sins this unworthy one has committed in the past."
"Himura-san…" Soujiro started to say "…is that your last name? The policeman called you that didn't he?"
"Yeah, you only said your name was 'Kenshin.' How come you didn't tell us your full name? Are you running from the law?" It was until after Megumi had spoke this did she notice her mistake.
"This unworthy one is Himura Kenshin. But, if this unworthy one was running from the law, this unworthy one wouldn't have gone so eagerly to a police station, right? On the other hand, you haven't given your names either."
"Seta Soujiro."
"Takani Megumi."
"Takani?" Kenshin's eyes snapped open. "Isn't the Takani clan a great group of doctors in Aizu?"
"Yup! Our goal is to help people overcome disease and sickness no matter what social class they are from." Megumi announced proudly. "But, I don't know where my parents are, so I'm traveling around helping people. I'll eventually get to Aizu and see them again."
Kenshin nodded with understanding. "Ah, the fourth main battle of the Boshin war took place there, didn't it?"
"Yeah. I'm not sure which one it was, but if you say so—"
"I tell you I'm innocent! I didn't kill those people! Even though I really wanted to, I can't!" a woman's loud scream preceded her entrance into the room. A moment later, a group of policemen were dragging her into the room.
"Oro."
The next moment, Houji entered the room.
"Areh."
"They really can't solve these problems on their own."
Yumi had plopped down on a seat next to Kenshin, glaring at the policemen as they held up a rope to bind her to the chair. "I'm not that violent." The policemen backed down and Yumi turned her attention to Houji. "I didn't kill them. Does it look like I killed them?"
There was not a speck of blood on her, and she obviously possessed no weapon. "No."
"So let me go on my merry way."
"I cannot allow that." He said simply.
"What?" Yumi's temper rose again. She was more hot-headed than Megumi would ever be.
"You need to identify the culprit."
Yumi quieted down. "I don't know him."
"Of course you don't. The majority of witnesses have no clue as to what they witness. What does he look like?"
Yumi remembered what he had told her. She decided lying was her best choice. "Tall and mysterious-looking. He has two swords with him and he was wearing a red shirt. Happy?"
Houji glanced at her incredulously.
"Give it a chance." Kenshin said. "You can't really find out the truth by your policemen anyway."
Kenshin's advice seemed to change Houji's mind. "Fine. I'll follow your lead, but if what you said is wrong, I am throwing you in jail."
"Fine." It wasn't like she had much of anything to live for anyway. She got up and headed towards the door.
"Are you just going to sit here forever, Himura-kun?" Houji asked.
"No. But this unworthy one doesn't know what to do with these children. This unworthy one is a rurouni." Kenshin pointed out the obvious fact. "Do you think this unworthy one should take them with this unworthy one?"
"Whatever you do, I don't care. Just don't break the law."
"You can come with me, if you want." Yumi offered while halfway out the door.
"No need to thank this unworthy one for pulling you out of that situation." Kenshin said humbly.
"Who said I needed your help?" Yumi glared at him. "I just don't want little kids roaming around on the streets. But anyway, follow me." She led them out of the police station.
"How did you manage to change the policeman's mind anyway?" she asked Kenshin.
Kenshin shrugged. "This unworthy one doesn't really know. Maybe it has to something with the time this unworthy one protected him during the war."
"So you used to be a professional guard, huh? Oh well, then you can do something when we get there."
"Oro?"
"For some influential person, you're an idiot." Yumi sighed, rubbing her temples. "What's your name? No, I already know your name is Himura. I meant them."
"I'm Megumi, and this is Soujiro." Megumi was slightly annoyed by the fact that Yumi treated them like little kids. She guessed that the older girl was only two to four years older.
"Right. We're here." She stopped at a rather long house at the edge of town. She didn't enter right away. "By the way, I'm Yumi. You can call me Yumi-nee-chan!" she told Soujiro and Megumi.
"Areh? Why would I call you that? Don't you want to be called Yumi-san or something like that?" Soujiro never met someone who actually insisted on him calling her older sister.
"I always wanted to have younger siblings."
"Oh." That made sense.
"Well, I hope the landlady likes you. Yeah, she probably would. Kirashi-san loves children."
End Chapter Four
Glossary-
1. Kitsune- a fox spirit that can take on the form of people.
2. Maa maa- Kenshin's way of saying 'there, there' or 'calm down.'
Author's notes: Yeah, I know what you are all thinking. "What could have made you so insane as to add Houji and Yumi into this?" The simple thing to say would be the stress of getting an A in History, Chemistry, English, and Gym class. I detest gym class (playing volleyball is fine, but running is not). On a more reasonable note, yet still lazy reason, I don't feel like writing out the whole Kyoto arc and I need some plot between the 10 year gap between the first part of the fanfic and the Kanryuu incident. Thus, I am sticking in Shishio into the gap. And if I stick in Shishio here, I would have to do something with the nine remaining Jupongatana members. Therefore, I am writing them in now.
Houji, in my mind, doesn't hate the Meiji government. I think he only hated them in the end because they wanted him to shut up about Shishio. So I made his incredibly loyal to the police and Kenshin, like he was with Shishio. If you ask me, anyone who stabs himself in the hand isn't loyal, just incredibly insane. This Houji is incredibly like Saitou, but I don't really like him…
And Yumi… I know that she is a prostitute, but lets just all pretend that the Meiji government did away with that already. So yeah, Yumi is considered an outcast of society, so that is why she's not living the glorious life a person can have…
And fanfiction.net has some wierd thingy that doesn't let me put down stars for scene changes. So now, the horizontal lines have to work.
And again, thank you for all the reviews that motivate me to write more!
Lord Cirenmas: Thank you, I just hope I don't mess up the rest of this fanfic by making it longer.
Twilight Sky: I will add more action to this fanfic, maybe mini story arcs or something. I generally dislike rewriting a character's past, because it changes who they are. But in Soujiro's case, his personality pretty much stays the same, so I don't mind it so much.
EEevee: I actually find over zealous policemen to be funny! (Although others might think otherwise.) Wouldn't running in Megumi's shoes be like running in flip flops? In that case, it would probably be the kimono that would be the problem. But then, Watsuki had Megumi run away pretty quickly when Kanryuu's men were chasing her.
Abby: Urk. Poor Kenshin…is he a vegetarian? Because then he wouldn't be fishing or something…
Fallen: I sort of wanted to kill them off too, but then, that isn't the most pleasant thought in the world. Having two sons in jail is bad enough for their reputation, isn't it? And Soujiro will be happy…in the end, that is. Urk…I'm getting too sadistic…;