Within the Shadows- Sanosuke's Adventure in London

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Rurouni Kenshin.

Special thanks to Lizeth for drawing a gorgeous pic of Sanosuke and Mary! Head on over to Lizeth's Loft, anime2/loft1050/kenshin/sano_ and check it out.

Chapter 3

The smile on her face made him want to kiss her. Her hand went up to cover her giggles, but he had already caught her. He had taken her hand away from her lips and pressed his own against them, losing himself as he felt her melt against him and fall into his embrace. His arms encircled her and his hands trailed up to cup her face beneath the mass of silky raven hair that flowed down the length of her back. It felt good to hold her close, to run his fingers through her hair and to tell her how much he wanted to be with her. He wished that the image wouldn't end but he felt himself come out of the deep end of his slumber and the image of her vanished when he opened his eyes.

Another smiling face looked down on him. "Good evening, Love. My goodness, you've been asleep for the entire day. I was beginning to worry that your sickness was serious." A moist towel was draped over his forehead its coolness giving his warm head immediate comfort. He wished that he could go back to his dream and finish his kiss. It was so unlikely for that to happen in real life, but the dream gave him the opportunity to experience it for a few moments, which was enough under the circumstances. So many countries, and bodies of water separated them. He had put so much distance between them without realizing it and now he wondered if he would ever venture to that part of the world again.

I've been gone for more than a year. I left without an explanation and I never said if I'd ever be back. She probably hates me, and never wants to see me again.

The towel was lifted from his forehead and it was replaced with a soft hand that draped over him to feel if his fever had gone down. The expression of relief on her face told him that he had indeed survived it.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. His eyes were glazed over from the remnants of the fever but he was able to blink it away and grant her a weak smile.

"I'm better. I'd like to sleep some more but I think that I better be going now," he said and threw the covers off so that he could swing his legs over the side of the bed. He stopped when he noticed the unmistakable feeling of a draft creeping over him. He looked down at himself and immediately pulled the blanket back over his lower half. When he looked at his caregiver he was embarrassed to see that she seemed pleased with what she saw. She smiled at him with much appreciation.

"That was quite a show you just gave me."

Sano felt his cheeks burn. "Where are my clothes?"

"Are you getting shy with me now? Really, it's nothing that I haven't seen before. I did have to take your clothes off in order to put those cold towels on your body. Those bandages that you were wrapped with gave me much trouble, damn them. I was beginning to think that you were some sort of mummy that escaped from the British Museum!"

Sano fidgeted uncomfortably under her gaze and she finally relented snatching something off the back of a nearby chair, and tossing him a pair of long black pants. He held them out, looked them over and then turned to her for an explanation of what he was supposed to do with them.

"They're trousers. You have worn trousers before, haven't you? I overheard you talking with Inspector Reid, and I think that he's right. If you want to try and fit in then you should wear those with a shirt and a waste coat. I have a few items that my friend left behind which you may use, but the trousers I had to pick up from the merchant down the street. You are much too tall to fit into his pants."

Sano looked the pants over again and decided that they weren't much different from his gi pants. They were longer and didn't look to be as loose fitting but they would be good enough for him to pass through without much trouble. Plus they were black so the color would go great with the black stitching of the "Aku" on his jacket. Forgetting that there was a woman in the room, he stood up dropped the blanket and pulled on the pants. He looked up when he heard a plate crash onto the floor.

"Oi, are you okay?" he asked and rushed over to pick up the pieces of the plate Mary had dropped. He put the broken pieces aside, and when he stood up again he noticed the flush on her cheeks his embarrassment returned. "Oh, sorry about that. For a second there I forgot that you were in the room. Uh, thanks for taking care of me. I really appreciate it."

She shook her head dismissing his words. "Oh, not at all. It was my pleasure… Um, I mean, it was not a problem. It was the least that I could do." She held out her hand. "I'm Mary Kelly, and if I remember it correctly from this morning, your name is Sagara Sanosuke?"

Sano took her hand, the carefully bandaged one, and lifted it toward his bowing head to give her a soft kiss. "Call me Sano. I really do appreciate what you've done for me. My fever would have gotten worse if you hadn't found me."

Mary's mind momentarily concentrated on the kiss that he had just given her hand. She snapped out of that quickly. "I know. I don't think that the police would have cared if you died in the streets or not. But I couldn't let that happen to you. You're such a sweet fellow to help a woman in trouble. Not many men like you exist anymore. I have my pick of ruffians, and laborers who can barely make ends meet. It's nice to see a new face around here," she said and reached up to brush her fingers against Sano's cheek. The shock of her touch startled him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so casual with you. It's just that I haven't met a man as handsome as you in quite a while."

Her words made Sano's cheeks flush again. Those same words were said to him on numerous occasions in America. He reached up to scratch the back of his head. "Uh, thanks. You foreign ladies sure do say what's on your mind. I never got comments like that where I come from."

Mary moved farther in so that she was close enough to give Sano a kiss. He wasn't sure if his personal space was being invaded or if she was normally this friendly with strange people who rescued her. "Where exactly do you come from? All I know about you is that you came off a ship that docked early this morning." Her fingertips brushed against his cheek again. "Where has my guardian come from?"

Sano was surprised that she remembered what she had said the night before. He figured someone that drunk would have blocked it all out. "The ship came from America, which is where I settled in for a while. I got into some trouble back home and so to keep my friends out of it I thought that it would be best for me to take a trip. They would have helped me out of it, especially my best friend Kenshin but our friendship seems to center on me asking him for help all of the time. He's a guy with a murky past, but he put it all behind him and turned into the best human being I've ever met. He's too good a person to take for granted. I couldn't keep running to him with my problems, so the best way that I could handle it was to take off." He wasn't sure why he told her all of this, but talking to her about his past did not seem wrong at all. He had kept it all a secret from those he came across in America, but with this woman he felt that he didn't have to hide anything from her.

Mary looked thrilled. "Oh my, I must have an outlaw in my house then. How exciting!"

"I didn't do anything major. Just roughed up some guy who ended up being a government official. Now he wants to put me in jail for longer than all the deadly killers combined." That word stopped his train of thought and let another one invade his mind. Killer. That's right. I had gotten into a fight today because one man accused me of being a killer. A killer named, Jack the Ripper. Sano gently pushed Mary's hand away and fixed her with a firm gaze. "Tell me, who is Jack the Ripper?"

The dramatic shift in his mood caused her excitement to fade. That particular topic seemed to have that affect on everyone. "Jack the Ripper is someone who began to murder people at the end of August. As of now he has killed four women, all prostitutes whom I knew very well. They were good women. They were only trying to survive. That killer doesn't realize that no matter how indecent their way of survival was, they did not deserve to die so horribly."

Sano was afraid to ask how horrible the deaths were, but Mary continued to reveal the details. "That monster mutilated them. He cut their throats from ear to ear, and then he cut them open to remove their insides. The newspapers say that he has a precise hand, as if he knows where his organ of choice is located, and just how deeply he has to cut to remove it. He appears and disappears as if he were a ghost killer because there is no trace left of him once he is gone. The police have no clues about who committed the murders, but they received letters from someone who tells them how much he enjoyed the killings. Those letters were signed, Jack the Ripper and with one of those letters he was brazen enough to include a kidney." Mary wrapped her arms around herself to keep from shaking. "That kidney he sent with the letter belonged to my friend Cathy."

Sano felt his chest grow tight once again. It was the same feeling he had when that man approach them that morning. Why does it all seem to connect somehow? Mary was walking the streets by herself this morning. Suppose she was supposed to be killed? Suppose that the gang harbored the Ripper? Or suppose that man…?

Sano thought back to the fight and remembered the sight of the man who had suddenly appeared. That jackass came out of nowhere, and then he sneaked away when the cops arrived. Dammit, he really gave me the creeps- and he was really interested in Mary. Something about him still bothers me, as if the name Jack the Ripper fits him somehow. If I see him again we're going to continue our chat on hospitality towards tourists- and then maybe my fists can teach him the proper way to treat women.

Sano's thoughts were disturbed when he heard the sound of a pot clattering on top of a stove. The aroma of something warm filled the air and it stimulated his senses causing his stomach to growl. When Mary was done working at the stove she turned to him and held out a steaming bowl of stew. "We've been talking too much about morbid things. I thought that we could change the subject and enjoy a nice dinner together. It's not much since I'm not a very good cook, but it will help bring your strength back. You still look pale." The concern in her eyes was back and he smiled down at her incredible kindness. She was the complete opposite of the woman he had met the night before. This lady was gentle, gracious and nurturing toward all life. It hurt to think that she could have been a target for a murder, but it was her profession that put her in that dangerous situation. He wondered what would make her choose such a way of life. Weren't there any other opportunities in London? The food looked inviting, and he momentarily put his thoughts aside. He took the bowl and bowed graciously.

"Arigato, Mary. It looks delicious," he said and took the spoon she offered to shovel the food into his mouth. He gripped the spoon the way a child did with the handle in his balled up fist, and she couldn't help but giggle at that. She reached over and maneuvered his hand so that he held the utensil correctly. Sano gave her a questioning look but when he figured out what it was she was implying he continued with his meal. After he sent a few pieces of meat flying to the window he began to get the hang of it, and by the time he had his second helping of dinner he handled the spoon like a pro. It felt good to eat a hot meal, and his strength came back to him with every spoonful he consumed.

The fighter let out a satisfied sigh when he was finished and patted his stomach. The meal was actually tasty, as opposed to his close friend Jo-chan who made you want to pray for a quick death every time she stepped into her kitchen. A delicious meal prepared by Kaoru would be a nice surprise should he ever find himself back in Japan. While Mary busied herself with cleaning up Sano took this time to check out his surroundings. He looked around the tiny room and noted that it was much smaller than the apartment he had kept in Tokyo. Even though a candle was lit to give them some light the room still remained dim and drab. He imagined that London would have large houses, and streets filled with merchants, tourists, and passersby on their way to and from work. What he saw in just a few hours of being here was a place more cramped than his apartment building, and streets filled with enough troublemakers to keep Saitoh and his Aku Soku Zan philosophy very busy. If a killer like Jack the Ripper existed in Japan, he wouldn't have eluded the police for long. As much as Sano hated to admit it, the bastard Saitoh had a knack for tracking down the nastiest of killers and stopping their murderous sprees usually with one round of his Gatotsu attack. If cops like that existed in London, then maybe this Ripper man wouldn't be so quick to mock them.

Sano leaned against the stove caught up in his own world of thoughts when Mary came to him and placed her hand over his. Her soft skin brushed against the roughness of his, and she traced a finger over the veins that stuck out from beneath his flesh. She stopped when she reached his knuckles and as if finding something of interest she leaned forward to inspect them closely. Sano watched her wondering what could be so interesting about hands that have been broken and mended too many times to count. When she looked up at him her eyes were filled with disbelief.

"There are no marks on it," she stated flatly and then took hold of his other hand to inspect that one as well. "And none on this one. How can that be? You fought twenty men, and you left without a scratch?"

Sano shrugged his shoulders unmoved by her shock. "It was just twenty guys. They didn't have anything on them that could seriously hurt me. Besides I'm used to fights like that. It's been a while since I've been in one and if you want to know the truth I was kind of psyched about it."

"But you punched a WALL! You made a brick wall into a pile of dust. Don't tell me that you do things like that everyday."

Sano shook his head. "Not lately, no. There weren't many chances to practice while I was on the ship and from what I've seen of this city so far, I won't be able to find any kind of forest to practice in. Oh well. I don't think I'll lose my skills if I stick around for a few days. Maybe when I get to France I can find some nice woodland area and get in some good practice time. I want to try those strikes with my legs to see if I can get the same effect. Then once I get that down I want to see if I can get the projection through my shins and forearms to possibly use it to deflect someone's punch." Sano turned to face Mary and found that she stared blankly up at him. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to bombard you with all of that. It's probably really boring."

Mary shook her head slowly her eyes growing wide. "You're not boring. You are the most interesting young man that I've ever met. You talk so passionately about fighting that I'm starting to believe that it is an important part of your life."

Sano nodded impressed with how quickly she caught on. "It is. Rough times in my country forced me to either fight or perish beneath the conflict. Many people died during the time when I was growing up, and I didn't want to be one of those who had no choice. It's not much different than those women who were killed recently. They weren't given a choice. Some evil presence in society has decided to cause an uprising and so it sheds the blood of the innocent to make its point. I hated it then, and I hate it more now because it seems to be something that exists all over. Instead of disappearing, it grows and spreads like a disease. I fight because I want to get rid of the disease and for your kindness towards me, I'll risk getting arrested to protect you from the one that's loose in this city."

Mary couldn't believe what she had just heard. The boy was mad. "Protect…me? Why would you want to protect me? I'm just a low-class whore. I sleep with men to earn my living. I contribute nothing else to society."

Normally Sano would have bitten her head off for making such a comment, but something in her voice caused him to hold his tongue and listen to what she was really saying. "So that means that it's okay for you to be murdered?"

She shrugged her shoulders not wanting to meet his gaze. "What else is there for me? It's not as if I enjoy my life. I would like to do something other than sell favors for a few shillings but in this city there is nothing much for a girl like me. I'm like you. I'm not from these parts. However I didn't come here because the police wanted me. The police didn't want me- and neither did my parents. So here I am."

Sano shook his head sadly although what he really wanted to do was shake some sense into this woman. "You're in too much of a hurry to end it all. You talk as if you're stuck in this place and doomed to die here. You've got nothing holding you back. There is a world out there that can benefit from your kindness and you're willing to give it up if some psycho decides he wants to kill you next. If you let that happen then your life really would have been a waste."

Mary felt the shock of that last statement pierce through her mind making more sense than any decision she had ever made since her arrival in London. She looked up at him again and saw that he was indeed very young. How someone so young could have such an immense amount of wisdom was something she could never guess. Perhaps he grew through the events of his rough life, but as far as she knew with her own rough life, he was a lot wiser than she was. She was okay with that. His protection and wisdom would be a welcome change for the few days that he would be here, but Mary found herself growing rather fond of him. Perhaps it was his insistence on helping her when no one else would give her a second glance. His imposing presence made her feel safe, but him standing half-naked in her room did something else to her as well.

Mary smiled shyly up at him and shifted her hand so that she gripped his tightly. Sano felt the firmness of her hold, and wondered if his words had gotten through but he wasn't prepared for what she had in mind. One moment he was gazing down at her sharing small talk-the next he was yanked forward into her arms. Her hand slipped to the back of his neck to steady him and she kissed him so deeply he thought he would never be able to breathe again. His knees grew weak and his mind threatened to blank out all of the memories of the one whom he had just dreamt of. She let go of his hand and slid them up to his naked shoulders to pull him close. He had no control over his own movements and he mirrored her actions, kissing her in return and crushing her against him so that he could feel the quickening beat of her heart. It had been a while since he held a woman, and it had been even longer since he had fully given himself over to a kiss. The one who he wanted to kiss like this was so far away. He had never kissed her, had never held her, but he couldn't stop thinking about her. Mary's hands were on his chest now, pushing him back inch by inch until they reached the bed, and without a second thought he laid down with her on top of him. He was afraid that his memories would have faded but bits of his dream began to filter into his mind. Her lips on his, her skin against his, things that they had never done before that consumed his mind for the year that he had been away from her. He wondered why he thought about her constantly with such intensity, but at that moment it was the thought of wanting her so badly that made him push Mary away from him. He sat up and slid over to kneel at the foot of the bed.

Why does she keep coming into my thoughts? I can't do anything about getting her out of my mind.

It was definitely time for him to go before things became more confusing. With Megumi invading his mind at that moment it was hard to concentrate on the pretty woman who offered something he hadn't experienced since he was traveling cross-country toward the East coast of America. Now that the opportunity was in front of him he felt as if he couldn't go through with it.

Kuso, I've never had a problem before. That damned fox is ruining my sex life!

When he felt a hand on his shoulder he cursed the day he ever met the beautiful doctor and wished that her face didn't haunt his memories at the most inopportune times. His shoulders sagged and he turned to face Mary. "I'm sorry."

She smiled knowingly and reached out to muss his wild hair. "It's all right. You have a lady on your mind, is that it?"

Sano marveled at how quickly she picked that up. Damn, it's true then. Women do have that weird intuition thing. Chikusho, they must all be psychic or possessed or something!

When he didn't answer she moved so that she could wrap her arms around his neck. Sano felt her soft body against his back and the side of her face brushed against his. Her body molded itself perfectly against his and for a moment he wished that they could remain that way and do nothing else. But Mary knew what she was doing. She wasn't going to be content with just holding him, and she knew that her closeness would eventually awaken something from within the gangster that would remind him of his love. How right she was- it was all he could do to keep himself from pinning her down on the sheets.

"If you're thinking about her so intensely then she must be very special to you. I wonder why you left her if she makes you feel like this. I can make it all real for you just this once. If you want it, I can be her just for you."

Sano couldn't believe what he had just heard. Be Megumi…so that I can be with Megumi. This woman is very generous to do that for me. None of this has ever happened between the fox and I. Who knows if it ever will? I may never return home again-I may never see my Megumi.

Sano wanted to know what loving her would be like. He turned around, pulled Mary to him, and gave her a kiss that brought an image of Megumi into his mind. It was the foxy doctor whom he pushed down onto the bed, and it was her bodice that he worked on to untie. Mary pulled away from their kiss and fixed her delirious gaze at Sano.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Sano nodded. "Be her for me," was all he said and when he closed his eyes and saw her once again. Her coy smile beckoned to him and in answer to her call he pinned his fox down.

End of Chapter 3

P.S. For all of you who have not yet been to , what are you waiting for? Head on over there and read up on "Run to You"! Then if you've got some creativity to share send in those Sano's Travel Stories to Arashi! So far he's been to Alaska, mainland America, and England. The man has traveled for five years- where do you see the lovable rooster heading?