DISCLAIMER: I do not own nor will I ever own Rurouni Kenshin. I am making no profit from this and I will remove this if requested to do so for any legitimate reason.
WARNING: This story is rated R for violence, so if you do not like graphic depictions of people dying I suggest you find something else to read.
Author's Notes: Well this had five reviews but due to the turmoil it is back to two. Thanks to those people who had reviewed but then got deleted, I did read and appreciate them. Anyway the story continues for those who still read this, if there is anyone who still is. I've written fourteen chapters in total but uploading the remaining five will slow.
The Last Battle of the Bakumatsu
Chapter 9
They came to the last room on the second floor after they found every other room empty and so their enemies had to be inside. Sano took the lead and walked into the room first with Misao and Katsu behind him. In the room were the six Shinsengumi who had been watching from the top of the stairs. The grey haired man was kneeling at the far end of the room with his sword lying in front of him. The remaining men were standing against the opposite wall studying the new arrivals.
"Good to see you are still here. That little distraction down stairs wasn't as interesting as I had hoped," Sano confident voice echoed in the empty room.
"Well I am sure that we will provide something more to your liking," the old man's voice was strong, belying his frail appearance.
"That remains to be seen," Sano coldly stated as the old man climbed to his feet. The other Shinsengumi also drew their swords and prepared to split up. Sano quickly noticed that they were going to go two on one and he didn't feel Misao capable of taking two swordsmen. They waited for their commander to draw his sword before they advanced and Sano made sure to keep things even.
He suddenly sprinted at one of them and made out he was going to punch. The Shinsengumi trying to attack him lifted his guard to defend the imaginary punch and was shocked to receive a kick to his side. There was enough power in the kick to knock him out and propel him into one of the men attempting to attack Misao. The man caught his fallen comrade and that was his mistake. It left him unable to defend as Sano punched him in the face, leaving both men to fall to the ground unconscious.
"Not very impressive so far old man," Sano chided as Misao smiled at having only one opponent. She stood steady as her other attacker hesitated after Sano's assault. He quickly forgot about it though as Sano ran at the old man.
Misao waited for her opponent to attack with her left hand resting on Sano's sword. As he lunged forward she drew the sword and deflected it to the left side of her body. She threw a right punch but her opponents left forearm blocked it. However he didn't expect her to shift the punch into a right elbow that struck him above his left eye, splitting the skin open. Stunned the man was unable to defend against Misao's left knee that buried itself in his stomach. With the advantage Misao slashed the sword horizontally across his chest producing a deep gash. She continued to spin and shifted to a right round house kick that hit her opponent in the face and finished the fight.
Misao looked up to see Sano and Katsu both locked in a deadlock against their opponents. Neither of Katsu's attackers knew what to make of the unarmed man and they were waiting for him to make the first move. Only one of them noticed the bombs drop into Katsu's fingers and the other didn't react until they were thrown. The bomb meant for him, hit him in the middle of the chest and became lost in the folds of his clothes. The more alert of the two swiped at the bomb with his sword but striking it had the same effect as letting the fuse run out. Consequently both men were blasted back past Sano and the last Shinsengumi soldier.
"I'm disappointed old man," Sano sighed as he held his opponents sword between his palms. The blade was only inches from Sano's chest but he looked absolutely calm. In contrast the old Shinsengumi soldier was straining quite heavily as he tried to force his sword through Sano's grip. Sano was quickly losing the amusement that he found in this situation and decided to end it quickly. His hands twisted, snapping the sword in half and as the old man fell forward he pounded his stomach with a powerful punch. The grey haired man doubled over, vomiting up the contents of his stomach and then falling unconscious on the ground.
"And I was hoping that I'd at least get a decent fight out of one of these guys," Sano groaned as he stood over the fallen man.
"What are you complaining about? We won and easily, what's the problem?" Misao asked Sano as he hoisted the man over his shoulder.
"The problem is that I'd rather have a hard battle than walk over these wimps here. It's embarrassing how easily they were beaten," Sano complained as Katsu lead the way out.
"You are starting to sound like Saito," Misao complained as she followed the two men out.
"It's a point we'd both agree on. It's more enjoyable to fight a close battle than to beat a bunch of weaklings. In terms of a decent fight, this was a waste of my time," Sano stated as Katsu opened the front door and let him leave first. Sano walked outside and heard a sound he had heard only a couple of times before and none of them had been good. The sound was of a lot of guns being loaded, cocked and then aimed at the trio as they left the house.
"You guys are a little late," Sano dryly remarked as he was confronted with a couple of dozen police officers with their guns trained on him.
"They were perfectly on time till a moron interfered," Saito's cold voice came from behind a line of officers.
"And you were planning on sending a bunch of police and their guns in there," Sano scoffed as he looked over the officers. "You probably would have lost a vital source of information because of that," Sano walked forward to where the officers parted so that Saito had a clear view.
"You not as valuable as you presume to be," Saito stated flatly but only making Sano grin.
"I wasn't referring to me. I was referring to this guy," Sano held out the old man to Saito by the scruff of his neck. Saito leaned closer and narrowed his eyes when he recognised the wrinkled face.
"Lieutenant, take this man to an interrogation cell," Saito ordered. The nearby officer quickly took a group of men and carried the unconscious man to the police station.
"So I take it you don't need us around anymore," Sano smirked as Saito started to follow after his officers. Saito turned around and deliberated on the decision as he looked over the three meddlers.
"I don't need to talk to you at the moment but I can't say the same thing about Shinomori." Saito's lips curled slightly as he noticed Misao trying to hide from Aoshi by standing behind Sano. Aoshi stood by the gate studying both Misao and Sano as they trailed after Saito on the way out.
"Do you require my assistance?" Aoshi unemotionally asked as Saito reached the gate.
"That won't be necessary but come past my office later and I might have some more work for you," Aoshi nodded and Saito left. Sano continued walking not bothering to acknowledge Aoshi and Misao hesitantly followed him.
"We need to talk," Aoshi stated forcefully but it was not quite a demand. Misao shrunk away from him slightly but Sano looked unconcerned.
"If you want to talk fine but Misao probably needs her arm stitched and I think I popped a few of my own stitches. We were going to go to the clinic so if you want to talk I guess you can come along." Sano spoke casually, trying to relieve the tension from Aoshi's serious demeanour.
"That would be acceptable," Aoshi acknowledged before turning out the gate and walking towards the clinic.
"Who's he?" Katsu asked Sano as they followed Aoshi.
"The leader of the Oniwabanshu," Misao answered gloomily as she walked alongside Sano with Katsu on the other side.
"I thought you were?" Sano inquired as he saw Misao stare at Aoshi's back with a little dissatisfied.
"It's a long story," Misao's voice made it clear that she would rather not discuss the matter, so both Sano and Katsu remained silent.
The journey to the clinic was made in silence as Aoshi lead the way with Misao and Sano following behind. Katsu was going in the opposite direction, stating he still had to take care of some errands. Misao continually fidgeted with her bandaged arm and the sword weighing heavy on her side. She felt guilty not of what she had done but more because Aoshi had again seen her with blood on her hands. Sano on his part had noticed Misao's distracted behaviour but was quite comfortable with his own situation. After all he had a reason to bother the Fox.
"Are you hurt Aoshi?" Kenshin asked, not seeing the two people behind him. Aoshi had entered silently and Kenshin was carrying some tea to Megumi who was sitting at her desk.
"I think his a little upset," Misao offered as Aoshi stepped aside.
"How can you tell?" Sano inquired stopping to make a closer inspection of Aoshi's face. "I mean he always looks like this," Aoshi didn't flinch and Sano lost interest and dropped into a chair.
"I take it you are here because you injured yourself again," Megumi chastised as she noticed the blood coloured blotches on Sano's bandages.
"Yeah, I think I popped some stitches but you should take care of Misao's arm first," Sano nonchalantly informed Megumi. Misao begrudgingly allowed Megumi to look at her arm and she was about to remove the bandages when Kenshin spoke up.
"Megumi-dono, maybe it would be better if you did that in the other room." Both women seemed happy to oblige him and they left without a fuss leaving the three men alone.
"You know it is rude to stare," Sano announced after Megumi and Misao had left. Aoshi had been watching Sano since he had entered the room and it was one of the reasons Kenshin had asked the women to leave.
"Not only did you take Misao into a dangerous situation but you also gave her your sword. I know that most of the blood on her is not hers and I don't think you realise how much damage you may have done to her." Sano gazed up at Aoshi meeting the icy stare with a fiery glare.
"I gave her a choice and she choose to fight. If you really cared you would have trained her properly rather than giving up the moment she got blood on her hands. She wants to be strong and you have no right to deny her that," Sano's voice was restrained but he had a firm grip on his chair.
"You have no idea of her situation or what she has endured. There is no need for her to be strong because there is no one left to fight. There is no need for her to bloody her hands again," Aoshi stared down but Sano didn't flinch.
"There may be no one left to fight but there are plenty of people left to protect. She should be allowed to choose her own path and if you won't train her then I will," Sano stated defiantly. Kenshin smiled slightly as he observed, not feeling the need to interrupt just yet.
"What could you possibly teach her?" Aoshi asked unemotionally.
"I suppose it's very little compared with three hundred years of Oniwabanshu history but it's enough to make her stronger. In the end that'll be what counts," Sano was getting slightly uncomfortable having to look up. However he was trying to resist standing, fearing he may trigger a physical confrontation.
"Teaching her your technique would disrespect that Oniwabanshu history that she has already been taught." Aoshi's hands were balled into tight fists but he couldn't quite fathom why.
"I wouldn't worry about that, I mean if Misao respected you as the leader of the Oniwabanshu then she would call you Aoshi-sama." For the briefest of moments there was a flash of some emotion in Aoshi's cold blue eyes. It was the only indication that Sano and Kenshin saw the showed that the remark had any effect on Aoshi. Any further comments were stopped as Misao and Megumi returned to the room. Misao marched right up to Aoshi and stopped directly in front of him.
"I don't know what you have talked to Sano about Aoshi but this is the truth. I chose to fight even when Sano said that I could quite possibly kill someone and I have no regrets in doing so. That is what happened and this is what I'm going to do. I'm going back to the dojo where I will have a bath and change clothes. After that, I'll have something to eat and then if I feel like it I will speak with you again." Misao waited to see if Aoshi would try to rebuke anything she had said and when he didn't she walked briskly out of the room.
"You didn't happen to have anything to do with that, did you Fox?" Sano turned to Megumi who just shrugged her shoulders and tried to look innocent.
"I should be going as well, Kaoru will be waiting for me," Kenshin bowed and followed Aoshi out of the room.
"I'll never get used to that man," Megumi commented in reference to Aoshi.
"Well it helps that he is hardly ever around," Sano remarked as he headed for the room Megumi was just in. "Why was Kenshin here?" Sano asked as he removed his gi and sat down on one of the beds.
"When he found out that both you and Misao were gone he realised that something might be happening, so he escorted me here to make sure I was safe." Megumi replied as she helped him remove the bandages. After a cursorily examination, Megumi went to collect what she needed from a nearby cabinet. Sano removed his gauntlets and tossed them onto the other bed where Misao had left his sword.
"Lie down so I can stitch you back up," Megumi sighed in defeat.
"Just like old times," Sano chuckled but Megumi remained unimpressed.
"Too much like old times," Megumi complained with a little more strength in her voice. Sano lay down on the bed and closed his eyes as Megumi treated his wounds. If it weren't for the fact that Megumi's fingers were constantly brushing against his skin, Sano would have quickly fallen asleep. The sensation was only dulled by the fact Megumi had numbed his wounds and the surrounding area so that she could restitch them. It came as a minor disappointment to Sano when she had finished and needed to rewrap his upper body with bandages.
"Could you try not to damage yourself again? I can't spend all my time stitching you back up," Megumi tiredly spoke as she led Sano back into the other room.
"I'll try but I make no guarantees," Sano said solemnly as he dropped into a chair.
"Do you really think I can trust what you say?" Megumi suspiciously asked. Sano pouted and attempted to look hurt by her comment but that only increased her suspicion.
"I am nothing if not a man of my word," Sano proclaimed to Megumi who was studying him.
"You have changed Sanosuke," Megumi wistfully responded as she found that her tea was cold.
"I could say the same thing about you," Sano smiled in reply to Megumi's small smile.
"Are you planning on spending all day here?" Megumi inquired feeling a little uncomfortable with the relaxed atmosphere.
"Well I have nowhere else to be and if I stay here I'm not likely to get into trouble, am I?" Sano grinned impishly but before Megumi could voice a retort, someone knocked at the door.
"Can I help you?" Megumi asked as she opened the door to find a woman cradling her arm.
"I think I've sprained my wrist," the woman informed Megumi as she entered the room.
"Okay, you'd better let me have a look at it then," Megumi ushered the woman to a chair. As an afterthought she realised that Sano had been sitting in that chair and was now absent from the room. Giving a reassuring smile to the woman, who is looking at her with a puzzled face, Megumi got back to helping her with her wrist.
She was the first of a string of patients that occupied Megumi for a couple of hours that ended around lunchtime. She had entered the room where she had treated Sano to find that the bloodied bandages and his weapons were gone. All thoughts of his sudden disappearance had been put on hold until the rush of patients had been taken care of. She had been amazed at how much work she needed to do at the clinic, realising just how much Dr Genzai had helped her before she had left. She sat down and looked around to see that she had some more work to do but unusually she didn't feel like doing it. Normally she would keep going until the job was done but at the moment she would much rather be somewhere else.
As she tried to work up the motivation to put everything back in order, the aroma of food made it to her. A rumbling from her stomach reminded her that she had only had a light breakfast since Kaoru cooked. With that in mind she warily moved to the kitchen at the back of the clinic. She stood dumbstruck in the doorway as she noticed Sano mulling over some steaming bowls on the stove. His weapons were wrapped in his gi and pushed out of the way on the counter.
"Shocked speechless I see," Sano jokingly called out. Megumi was a little startled because he hadn't looked over his shoulder to see that she was there.
"It's not everyday I see Sagara Sanosuke cooking," Megumi jibed light heartedly as Sano began setting up the meal.
"Well it's only basic but I guarantee it's better than Kaoru's cooking," Sano said as he placed the food down. It was only a simple soup, grilled fish, rice and some tea but the smell was appetising.
"That's not much of a challenge," Megumi responded as she tentatively tried her soup. "Better than Kaoru but not as good as Ken-san," Megumi commented before swallowing some more of the soup. As she did she glanced up to see a happy Sano getting started after he had waited with baited breath for her opinion.
"So why are you making lunch for me?" Megumi queried with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. Megumi had to wait for his answer though, as he finished his mouthful of food before answering.
"Consider it a thank you gesture, for everything you have done," Sano's voice was relaxed but he seemed serious.
"Normally you would thank me by injuring yourself again or trying to scrounge a free meal," Megumi's response only brought a smile to his face.
"Like you said, I've changed," Sano continued to grin as Megumi shook her head but she was also smiling.
"I guess you really must have hit your head hard on your little trip," Megumi flatly stated as Sano started on his soup.
"If you don't like the idea of this as a thank you lunch, then how about a farewell lunch," Sano replied coldly, feeling a little unappreciated.
"You're leaving already?" a stunned Megumi spluttered and quickly hid her eyes by bowing her head as a look of curiosity crossed Sano's face. "So where are you going this time?" Megumi asked sullenly.
"Shinsuu," Sano stated as he carefully studied Megumi's reaction. "Yahiko got hurt on our way here and since Shinsuu was close and I was in a hurry I left him there. I was going to leave tomorrow morning," Megumi looked up relieved but quickly hid it when she saw Sano was watching her. They lapsed into silence as they finished off the meal and they started on the tea.
"It was a nice thank you lunch and thank you for making it," Sano had one eyebrow raised in question.
"I though this was a farewell lunch," Sano stated feeling a little disturbed by Megumi's upbeat demeanour.
"How can it be a farewell lunch if I am going with you," Megumi announced leaving Sano a little aghast. "You did say that Yahiko was hurt and I think it only proper that a doctor make sure it is safe for him to travel." Sano grumbled to himself as Megumi chuckled in her fox like manner. Sano was uncertain why Megumi seemed happy to be travelling with him to Shinsuu. However he stopped trying to figure out why when he realised that it would be a hell of a lot more fun with her than alone.