Disclaimer: As usual, I do not own this wonderful work of art and writing known as 'Rurouni Kenshin'. If I did, I'd be rich.
Flame's Shadow…
(This is into the Megumi Arc, after Jin-e and Sano's fight. Yeah, I'm skipping around, but it'll make sense when the flashbacks start, both for Sana and for Kenshin.)
Sanashii:
"This place seems familiar…" Han'nya and Beshimi looked up at my words.
"What do you mean?" My former teacher's glance was somewhat suspicious.
"I'm not sure. The Kamiya dojo you said, right Beshimi?"
"Yeah. It's run by some woman-"
"That's it!" Now they all, Hyottoko included, stared into my face. I grinned in the moonlight.
"I met Kamiya Kaoru almost a year ago in Tokyo. You know, when I went on that little quest of mine." Then the realization of what we were doing dawned on me. "We are just here for Megumi, aren't we?" Han'nya sighed.
"Only if the two fighters that currently reside there choose to fight do we. Otherwise, it will be a peaceful return. Worried?"
"A little. Can you tell me about these fighters?" Beshimi answered me, somewhat outraged.
"They broke my nose when I went to catch Megumi. The swordsman is much better, but the other was a former fight merchant, and incredibly strong. That damn redhead…"
"Enough, I get the picture. A bit of a note, Beshimi; if you hold grudges toward everyone who beat you up, I'd be at the top of you list."
"That's just training, Sanashii!"
"When you're getting pummeled?"
"Enough. We three will go to the dojo. Sana…for the girl's sake, you might want to watch from the trees." I sighed, then stopped him with a hand.
"Han'nya, she had no clue that I was a woman then. She honestly though that I was male. If I go in like this, about the only way she could recognize me is from my eyes." The face behind his mask scrutinized the rather revealing shinobi robes, the long, pony-tailed braid….and my swords.
"Those, however, will be a big reminder. Not many swordsmen are adept with even a wakizashi and a katana, let alone two full length katanas. You would be a fool to allow her to see those." He was right, and so I sighed, again. From beneath his frightening mask came a gentle chuckle. "Worry not, child. You will have you chance. Tokyo is slow to change, and Kyoto had you for four years. Someday, you will be a legend." I had to smile then, and when Beshimi snarled us onward, felt a warm peace. Han'nya never lied, and though what he often said sounded far-fetched, he was rarely wrong.
The dojo walls came into view rather quickly, and at Han'nya's signal, I darted into the trees. Settling into a nice oak, I had a clear view of the dojo's yard, with little in the way of interference. And so I saw perfectly when Hyottoko's punch blasted a monstrous hole in the wall. At the sound of splintering wood and stone, five people raced outside.
Two men, two women, and a boy. Only Takani Megumi, strangely enough, looked out of place here, staying with Kaoru back beside the lad. But it was both men who made my hackles rise. The first was an obvious swordsman, with a long ponytail of red hair, and a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. His eyes were not facing me, and yet a shiver of sudden, unmistakable fear crawled up my spine. Han'nya and Beshimi had disappeared, and with only Hyottoko facing the two, a terror sank into me. Could I really take on that man, and the other, whom I recognized as 'Zanza', with only myself and Fatso? I truly feared not.
"Sana…" Two strong arms slid around my waist, but the soft voice stopped my reach for my kunai.
"Han'nya, please stop doing that."
"Worried?"
"Worried I'll hurt you. You know how tense I am nowadays." Those long fingered hands smooth the cloth over my legs with their usual grace, my goosebumps easing.
"Indeed, I know. Do you sense something?" I leaned back into his chest, letting his eyes watch for a change.
"The swordsman. He is no ordinary samurai. I could not see his eyes, but his ki is unbelievably strong. And once again, familiar."
"How many people do you know here!"
"He is different. While you were sneaking up behind me, I was trying to remember where I'd felt that same fighting ki before. And what I've remembered is rather disturbing…But that suspicion I'll keep. Go help Hyottoko." I replied as the aforementioned onmitsu had his ass handed to him by Zanza. As Han'nya left, though, I caught sight of Beshimi in the tree closest to the battle, and had to strangle my own yell. His hand let loose a poison dart, straight at Takani Megumi.
But the wonders never cease. The boy leapt and interrupted the dart, and his cry echoed up to me. Caught in his wrist, he managed to stand up, just in time for Kaoru to run over and jerk him to her. What was said next astonished me. The boy, Yahiko, was her student, and from his reflexes, a born swordsman at least. But the poison in Beshimi's Rasenpyo acts quickly, and within minutes the boy was unconscious. The redhead was the one to find Beshimi. And my fellow onmitsu was taken down with the precision of a move I hadn't seen outside my own training in nearly six years. And one by a person I hadn't seen in eleven long years…
Kenshin:
Sano had just defeated Hyottoko when above our heads, the Oniwabanshu from the gambling parlor fired off a dart at Megumi-dono. Yahiko, however, was the one who took it in his wrist, and almost immediately after Kaoru-dono let go of his arm, Yahiko collapsed. Though my heart wanted to race to his side, knowing that his life was endangered, my head guided my hand to bring down a vengeful Ryutsuisen down on the onmitsu's head. But when I landed, only a log lay in his jacket, and a tall masked man held him. But rather than fight, he held up a hand.
"Enough. Capturing Takani Megumi at this point is impossible. What I wish now is to collect my fallen comrades and report in." My anger must have shown, because he stiffened.
"If you want to leave, this one won't stop you. But the short one stays--we need an antidote to the poison." His voice remained calm.
"You are the enemy. I have no duty to you." Rage spurred, I leapt.
"Then--You shall leave him despite that!" But as I brought my sakabatou down, he pushed it aside, as though it were merely a thought.
"Contrary to your cool demeanor…you are quite passionate." His fist connected with my face just then, and I sailed back into the tree. His next words troubled me in their clarity, and their chilling truth.
"Keep harboring Takani Megumi, and sooner or later, we fight. We will finish this then." He gathered up his comrades, and was about to spring into the night when a flash of black and orange landed in between us. His shock was apparent; this was not in his plans, no matter what.
"Leave, Han'nya. Take them back to the Okashira, then wait for me."
"Don't be foolish, what are you trying-"
"Nothing. I've a private affair here. Now leave!" The imperious tone in her voice was strong and unflinching, and the man left. Now she turned to me, and in the faint starlight I made out the figure of a young woman in skintight pants, a loose gi lined with orange, and two katanas strapped to her back. She drew neither, only gazed down at me, those strange eyes glittering a demonic tangerine. A long braid danced around her knees, and though I couldn't quite place its color, I supposed it to be brown. She sighed softly, and fell to her knees, surprising me.
"You don't recognize me."
"This one doesn't understand." Now her eyes met mine, and instead of deadly orange, they were a soft gray-blue. Something in my soul told me I did know her, though it had been a very long time since the last time I'd seen her.
"Who are you?" I asked as those eyes begged me to remember.
"My name now you may not know, but once upon a time, I was known as Himura Saname." That gentle name was the key, and I felt a great lightness in my heart.
"Sana…Is it really..?"
"Kenshin, it's me." Those eyes now held tears, and her arms latched around my neck as I hugged her tight. That wonderful child had grown up, indeed, but she was still the little girl I had once held…
I'm sure a few old readers are going to be telling me to give it up. Heh, if only it was that easy. Hell, I put Sanashii in an original fic, and I still can't get her out of my stories. Sigh. Hopefully this version will gain a happier following…and no, Sana will not replace Kaoru. That's just wrong. No, no, Sana will have her loves, and losses, quite soon in fact. Just take a guess who I throw to her!
Laters!
KD!