Memory's Touch: Part 3 - Meetings
A RK fanfiction by eriesalia: onigirichan @ mindspring dot com
Standard disclaimer applies.


"Will you watch Kenji for me?"

Megumi looked up at the seat across from her, somewhat startled by the gentle request.

But as she saw Kaoru's head drooping on Kenshin's shoulder she understood and took the sleeping child into her arms.
Poor Kaoru's face was troubled. And if anything, this was her fault. Had she not been so observant, or insistent, none of them would be on this torturous train ride.


The journey to Kyoto was already long. Not as long to her as the one she had made five years ago, when Kenshin had faced Shishio and had lain, gravely ill. She remembered her impatience then to be there – to tend to the man that she had heard was gravely injured and that she had loved deeply.

That trip had indeed cost her much. She had realized then Kenshin's fallibility. She had seen the extent of his injuries and the lengths he was willing to fight for what he believed. She had warned Kaoru even then to watch him. And during that same trip, she had wisely given up her romantic feelings for Kenshin.

But she still cared for him immensely. His health and well-being to her were always her primary concern. She did not mince words that one day in the dojo when she told a shocked audience about Kenshin's deterioration – and that he would lose his abilities over time. She had done so to make sure that they would not allow him to overstep the limits of his body; and to ensure he would have the life of peace he deserved.

Kenji's birth – in its own ironic way – relieved her and likely others. It showed that his health at least in good enough condition to father a child. And a child would keep Kenshin firmly rooted at the dojo, at least for a time.

And five years had come and gone – and Kenshin had looked well. But in the back of her mind, she also felt that suspicion – that there were also signs of change. The thing that she did not know, even Kenshin himself, was how much more was to come and how quickly.

Hiko Seijuro the Thirteenth would know, she was certain.

The man who had taught Kenshin the Hiten Mitsurugi Style and was still its master would have to.

Kenji shifted slightly in her arms, his head finding a more comfortable place under the crook of her neck. She felt a queer sense of contentment in the way he had appeared to accept her. And yet, she regretted that he and his mother had come.

None of them really spoke of the real reason they were coming to Kyoto. It was, on the surface nothing more than a fun trip -- for all of their sakes. But Kaoru knew – Megumi had warned her so many times in the past of Kenshin's limits – and therefore, was not fooled one bit by the promise of finally receiving the grand tour that Okina had promised years back..

And now that they traveled as a group of four, they could not avoid the inevitable invitation that would come from Misao to stay at the Aoiya. She would preferred to stay at the Shirobeko, with Sae – but Misao had insisted, and Kaoru was only happy to accept the invitation on all of their behalf.

She could have opted to go her own way -- but that would have raised more questions from those she did not wish to burden further at this time and it would have acknowledged the fact that she did in fact have a problem facing him.

She was a pragmatic woman. And she had become better over the years of masking her own feelings. But the truth was that several weeks had not erased the overwhelming feeling of excitement at being held in someone's arms and the cold reality of the truth. And that was – even rational, reasonable people experienced serious lapses in logic.

She was certain he knew that as well… and that her dismissal of his proposal had quenched whatever notions he had of behaving according whatever noble dogma he held in mind regarding women.

She would rely on logic to make sure that mistake did not happen again.


~

For three days she was able to succeed in avoiding him.

But on the fourth day in Kyoto, it could not be helped.

Kenshin had waited to see his master. He had waited until his wife and son had settled in before he had suddenly announced that morning that it was time to look for the medicinal herbs "that Megumi-dono needed."

She had lied as well, stating that she was sorry for inconveniencing Kaoru – when she knew in fact that their little excursion was a pretense to go seek Hiko. It was really a bald-faced lie meant for Kenji's sake. It had been obvious to everyone that there was more to it. Particularly when Kenshin added something else.

Shinomori was to accompany them. Okina – the only other among the Oniwaban with the old knowledge of medicinal plants – had suddenly come down with a cold, Kenshin had explained. .

And so they had departed the Aoiya together, she and Kenshin walking near one another and the third member of their party lagging quietly behind.

If Kenshin sensed any of her unease, he did not mention it. She was grateful; in the past, Kenshin had an uncanny ability to pick apart her feelings and thoughts and was not afraid to confront her on it. But she was also intelligent enough to know that there was a reason for Shinomori's presence. Had she and Shinomori been complete strangers – she might have found a way to tease the reasons why out of the former rurouni. But things were too awkward for that now.

To her relief, his own path diverged with theirs after a few hours of walking. But as soon as he had disappeared, she worried. Kenshin had made it appear that Aoshi would accompany them all the way – but now it appeared it had also been a cover for something else. What could it be that couldn't be shared in front of the others?

Kenshin coughed politely, too aware of her unexpressed curiousity. "Shinomori-san has much on his mind."

"He does?" She was startled by Kenshin's perceptiveness.

"As does Megumi-dono," his eyes closed briefly and he smiled. "Perhaps—"

"It isn't polite to pry into a woman's affairs—" Megumi felt old words coming back to her.

Kenshin laughed at her saucy tone of voice. Just as he always used to.

"Omasu and Okon seemed quite upset with me this morning," Megumi changed the topic. She added airily, "And I hardly know why."

"Omasu and Okon are very fond of my master, that they are."

"Really?" Megumi frowned somewhat puzzled. Kaoru and Yahiko had described his assistance to them in defending the Aoiya against the Juppongatana – but their descriptions had only been of his skill, not of much else.

"Master has a strong presence," Kenshin explained as they began moving down the slope of a very carefully hidden path.

Megumi moved more slowly aware of the sound of running water nearby – and knowing that while she couldn't see much beyond the trees, that one careless step could likely result in her falling down the side of some mountain and breaking her neck on whatever rocks and water lay below.

"I would expect that," she answered dutifully, while picking her way through some of the dirt and rocks that sat loosely on the ground. Kenshin's words could be used to describe many of the men he had included among his former enemies and allies. However, none of them had turned out be much like one another. "Most of the persons in your acquaintance are," she added as she thought briefly of Sanosuke, Saitou, Enishi, and Aoshi.

Hiko Seijuro certainly would be different, of that she was most confident. The truth was she had always been somewhat curious about the man who had raised Kenshin – who she still upheld as one of the most decent and honorable men she had ever known. That he was a recluse surprised her – he who had fostered a person like Kenshin, who was the apparent opposite.

"There it is," Kenshin announced suddenly as he drew to a stop and pointed downwards.

"What?" Megumi caught up and stood alongside him, looking at a small valleyed area below. Her eyes quickly picked out the trail of smoke extending up from what appeared to be a messy brick structure, and then a sad looking shack next to it. She wondered if Okon and Omasu's enthusiasm for the great master would have been tempered when they saw the humble life the man so clearly favored. She said somewhat sarcastically as she stepped forward for a better look,"Is that the home to the great potter Kakunoshin Niitsu?"

"Megumi!"

She realized then that she had stepped too far, and suddenly she was slipping down the steep path, rocks and debris stinging her hands and face as she desperately tried to stop herself by grabbing onto anything that passed by.

'What a stupid way to die,' she thought to herself as she mentally calculated that at the current speed she was progressing that she would eventually hit something, sustain massive injuries and likely lapse into a coma.

And suddenly she was no longer moving.

"Stupid pupil," the man who had caught her was muttering. "He could have just taken the river path."

Automatically she moved her mouth to insist that this stranger put her down. But as Megumi looked up into the handsome face of her rescuer, she suddenly swallowed.


Author's Notes:
har har har har har. Start off thinking quiet drama, and then start thinking, heck… just drama works for me. Enter Hiko! *rubs hands together* Chisaiilammy and I couldn't resurrect him from our comedy fic on tfme.net and so I decided in part 2 that he was sadly neglected in ficdom and therefore had to be used. He's already protesting.

Comments: "another Meg/Aoshi" fic.Well... I don't know. I like Hiko. So lazy reviewers, you better let me know how much you love him or hate him. And Tami-chan: "proposal" is exactly what you think it is. Aoshi, being the proper honorable sort, proposed marriage. And got turned down flat. heh. I will come back to Aoshi, but not quite yet.