CHAPTER 3: Light… Then Darkness

"Oi, Meiou-chan!"

Meiou turned to the door to see Sano waving at her. She smiled as she waved back.

Waity wiped a hand on her forehead and smiled at her, "Meiou, you did a wonderful job today. Your shift is over now, I'm sure Tsubame will come along any moment."

Meiou wiped her hands on her apron, "Are you sure you don't need any help? I can help while Tsubame isn't here yet. There's still some dishes left in the sink that I can wash for you…"

The older woman waved her off, "No, you don't have to do that. Tsubame will be more than willing to do dishes. Besides, I think you need to look around the town for a moment…since it was such a horrible sight when you first came here." Tae smiled again as she undid the ribbons of Meiou's apron and gently pushed her to the door.

Meiou smiled gratefully at the head waitress, "Uh… arigato. I'll be back tomorrow. Sayonara desu…"

The woman nodded as she added, "Oh… and tell Sano to pay up his tab."

Meiou smirked up at Sano as he stood beside her scratching his head, "A…ano… I meant to pay them sooner or later…"

Meiou giggled at Sano's expression as she started walking down the street. Sano caught up a step beside her and said, "Ano… Kenshin told me to ask you if maybe you would like to help me buy the groceries. I can't really carry all the stuff he wants me to buy."

She smiled up at him and said, "Sure! I'll be glad to help."

The smile she bestowed was rather sweet and childish, but beautiful altogether. It made him lose his thinking for a moment before saying, "Ahaha! Okay, let's go! I'll buy you a treat before we go home."

They went to the marketplace, with Meiou in the lead since Sano doesn't really know how to buy the right type of vegetables or how to pick which one is fresh. Meiou kept smiling, and soon enough, the vendors were smiling with her and even began giving her discounts. After a few minutes, they bought some cakes for themselves and some other pastries for the people in the dojo. They started heading home, but Sano insisted that they rest by the river and eat the cake there.

Sano laid down the sack of rice he had been carrying and sat down the grass. He saw Meiou still standing up and he patted a place beside him, "Why don't you sit down for a moment? It's still early, and let's eat the cake here. I'm kind of hungry from carrying this sack."

Meiou arranged her kimono and sat beside him as she handed him his part of the cake. She giggled as she said, "Do you want to eat the cake here because you're hungry or because you don't want to share with Yahiko when we get home?"

Sano sweat-dropped as he said, "Heh… I guess you found me out."

Meiou laughed as she opened up her cake, "It's okay. I already knew you were going to say that. That's why I bought some pastries. I hope Yahiko and Kaoru will like this…"

Sano laughed out loud as he answered, "Yahiko will eat anything as long as it isn't Kaoru's cooking."

They both laughed out loud but Meiou sobered up quickly. She bit on her cake and gazed at the blue, running water of the river. Sano poked her slightly, and she turned to him, "Nani?"

"You know, I only met you yesterday, but I feel like I know you already." He smiled as he said, "When you tend to remember something from your past, your eyes get all misty and you start staring out into space."

She giggled a she pushed a lock of her hair our of her eyes, "I just remembered something…"

Sano was silent for a moment before saying, "Shogo and Sayo…?"

A sigh escaped her lips before saying, "Yes. I miss them very much… I write letters to Shogo now and then, but… it's different from seeing him personally."

He shifted his body as he asked, "What was it like to be with Shogo and Sayo?"

She shrugged, "I wasn't able to spent much time with them. After the burning of Shimabara, we were separated. They lived with Uncle Hyoe in China, while I was raised and adopted by my Aunt Maya. Four years ago, we were reunited, when Aunt Maya and I studied culinary arts in China. I was only there for a few months, but I could see that they really missed Japan, and all their people in Shimabara. Sayo was very excited about having her cousin visit her; I remembered that she never left me alone. Hmm, she was very sophisticated… I used to envy her a lot." She giggled slightly, "I used to tell her that I had a huge crush on her brother, but she just laughed and waved it off like it was nothing."

Sano grinned at the thought and poked her again, "Nee, you had a crush on Shogo?"

Meiou face turned beet-red as she hushed him, "Shhh! Please don't tell!"

He shrugged as he bit a piece of his cake, "Of course, I'm going to tell! It's not like Shogo's going to know about it!"

"No! Sano!"

He laughed even more at her expression and began prancing around, his cake scattering crumbs on the soft grass, "Meiou and Shogo sitting under a tree… K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love! Then comes marriage…"

"Sanosuke!"

Sano wasn't able to shout when Meiou's whole body weight came crashing down on him. Both of them plunged into the cold river. He tried to breathe in, but when he did, he swallowed globs of water. He coughed and tried to swim up, and in the process, felt Meiou's kimono drifting around him. He pulled her up and gasped for air as he reached for the muddy bank.

He raised himself up with one arm while the other brought Meiou to shore. Breathing in the precious air, he was able to gasp out a question. "What the devil do you think are you doing! You could have killed me!"

He looked beside him to see that Meiou had not risen herself up. In fact, she was pale and white as a sheet and she hasn't opened her eyes. Her lips were slack and loosing color. Sano poked her, "Oi, Meiou! Stop kidding! This isn't funny!"

His brown eyes widened to see something that he had not seen when he pulled her up.

A shuriken stuck itself on Meiou's back, making her blood run from her wound to the river, tinting the blue water with red and darkening her green kimono.

Sano checked her breathing. Not a single breath. He looked around him to see who threw the shuriken, but no one was there.

He desperately tried to wake her. But still, no use.

Finally, he did what the first thing that registered to his mind.

"OI, MINNA! TASUKETE KUDASAI!"

Sano sat on the futon, his tea untouched and his hand clasped together in earnest prayer. Kenshin sat behind his friend, watching him worriedly with violet eyes, while Kaoru placed a caring hand on Sano's shoulder. Yahiko positioned himself on the door, pressing his ear close to the wood so he could hear every sound. He had tried to comfort Sano, but he just kept ignoring everyone and praying for all his worth. It was the first time they saw Sano like this, and it made each one of them nervous.

Sano raised his head and sighed, "God, I'm going to blame myself if she dies…"

Kaoru patted his shoulder, "She's not going to. Megumi's going to do everything she can to help her."

"Kaoru-dono is right de gozaru." Kenshin said, shifting his position, "Meiou-dono will be fine… you'll see."

Kaoru looked worriedly at Sano who had once again bowed his head and has started praying. He kept on mumbling prayers, which were slightly incoherent, since the only thing she could hear was 'Please don't take her… not yet…"

She looked at Yahiko, who returned her questioning look with a negative. She sighed, "Everything will be okay, Sano."

It seemed an eternity before Megumi came out of the door, removing the cloth that prevented her hair from falling to her face. She wiped her hands on her apron, before looking at all of them.

Sano stood up immediately and rushed to Megumi, "How is she? Will she be alright?"

Megumi nodded, "She'll be fine. Her wound was deep, but fortunately, the shuriken didn't even come close to her heart or lung." She sighed, "It was only a flesh wound, but she lost a huge amount of blood."

Kenshin stood beside Sano, "Her body will be able to restore the lost blood, can it?"

"Yes, it can." Megumi said, "What she really needs now is rest and the proper foods. You'd better tell Tae and Tsubame what happened, so that they'll be able to handle her work load."

Yahiko immediately took up the offer of going to Tsubame to tell them what happened. And after lighting a small lamp to light his way, he went off.

After cleaning up their things and giving Sano some laudanum for Meiou, Megumi and Genzai-sensei left, after promising the group that they will be returning tomorrow to check up on Meiou. Kenshin and Kaoru offered to look after Meiou, but knowing their duties, Sano decided that he was the one who's going to guard her. The couple left after saying goodbye to Sano.

As soon as everyone had left, Sano opened the door to Meiou's room. Only a single lamp burned, and Sano could see Meiou's pale face on the pillow. He closed the door and made his way to her. He placed the laudanum on a table near her, and he squatted down beside her. He watched her face intently, looking for some sort of sign that she's okay. When he saw her eyelids flicker as if in some kind of dream, he sighed in relief.

He reached down underneath the blanket that covered her and lifted her hand. He placed her hand on his cheek. He whispered, "Don't worry, Meiou. Sano's here. I won't leave you. Just relax and rest. There's nothing to be afraid of anymore."

He bent his head and prayed until he fell asleep, his hand clutching hers. He slept fitfully, dreaming of a silver-haired, blue-eyed angel, not noticing the drop of tear that fell from Meiou's closed eye.