Disclaimer- I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or any of the hot bishies that are included in the package. I do, however, own a copy of Soul Calibur III and my very own pixel produced copy of Yun-seong AND Killik! 2 bishies for the price of one! whoopee!
Clap for the friends!
Ducky- Oh, ducky. she has been long awaiting this fic. Long, LONG awaiting this fic. therefore, I proudly present it, in all of its hopefully fluffy glory, in her honor. (read my profile to get the inside joke.)
Chia- Did you people know she's in Paris? So NOT FAIR.
Illista- This girl is so kind. Really, she's achieved a saintly level. She says she'll definitely, DEFINITELY join band next year and DEFINEITLY play clarinet because we need one. ( seriously. We only have 4.) (and I'm kidding. she says she's going to be in pit…. but she's not going to be, because I'm forcing her to be a clarinet.)
Xiao-Chan- She is my idol in everything I do, especially being drum major, because she will DEFINITELY get it next year.
L.H.G- I'm actually kinda angry at her right now because she got a DARK MOUSIE WALLSCROLL! ( so not fair. I'm the rabid fangirl here. ME!) anyways, I still love ya.
And a new addition to the list……
Little Miss Tuba Mute- Ok, where the nickname comes from; Little Miss Tuba Mute, or T.M for short, is so tiny that we decided that she could be stuffed into a tuba. Thus, a tuba mute was born. If anyone wants to buy her, she has a special feature that allows her to do interpretive hand motions to the music. And she's Asian! that's got to be a plus! Seriously though, she's really not for sale; we here in the band love her waaaaaaay too much.
On with the fic!
An Apple a Day…
Megumi Takani made her way to Sanosuke Sagara's house with only two thoughts in her mind.
The first was quite simple, really. She wondered if she said it enough times in her head, maybe she would start to believe it.
I was drunk. I had to be drunk.
Why else would she be dancing around in the rain like a moron?
Why else would she had asked that stupid rooster head to stay?
And worst of all….
Why in the hell would she have let him kiss her?
So that settled that. She had been drunk.
Really, really drunk.
The second thought, however, wasn't quite as simple as the first. It actually involved some doubt, because she couldn't convince him that he was drunk, ill, or in any other way mentally unstable at the time. She couldn't convince him that it was an accident.
And she couldn't seem to convince herself, either.
The truth was, Megumi couldn't bring herself to believe that it was an accident because the more she thought about it, the more she realized how much she had wanted it to happen. From the moment she had first seen Sanosuke Sagara out in the rain when she was a little girl, she remembered wanting to know him better. And years later, when she saw him in the gambling den with Kenshin, she knew… She knew that he would be different... She wasn't sure how, or why…. just different.
The way he carried himself resonated with a type of "bad boy" energy that she was drawn to like a magnet. And at first glance, Megumi had assumed that he really was a "bad boy"; just another idiot with his head up his ass. His mark of "bad" on his back just added to the effect. But now, after knowing him for nearly a year, she couldn't bring herself to think of him in a negative way. No matter how she turned it, Sanosuke Sagara was always evaluated the same way in her mind:
A kind man.
A generous man.
A good man.
And that was just his personality.
Whenever Megumi even started to consider his looks, she would quickly try to force the thoughts out of her mind. Innocent thoughts about his warm, cinnamon eyes, his luxurious, brown hair, or his strong arms made her crazy with thoughts about him that… weren't quite so innocent.
And now, thanks to the previous night, her head was flooded with even more "innocent" thoughts…
Sighing, she paused at the bridge where all the chaos had begun. After he'd…. kissed her, he carried her home and insisted that she use all the blankets to get warm. The mere thought of it sent shivers up and down her spine.
He'd stood there, soaking wet, undoubtedly freezing, and yet he still made sure that she was safe before he headed home to his leaky shack of a house.
Megumi rolled her eyes as she stepped forward once again. That idiot… He's bound to end up with some dreadful disease, and then I'll have to fix him up again…
She paused.
I'll have to fix him up again…Somehow, the phrase just sounded right as it echoed through her mind.
again…
Yes, Megumi screamed to herself. AGAIN! He's always getting himself into trouble and injured…. It's a miracle that he's still alive! It's probably those western apples I've been giving him. The salesperson I bought them from said they were good for health….
Taking a tighter grip around her medical supplies, she rounded the final corner to the Ruffian Row. Just to check on him… she told herself. Just to check…
She arrived at Sano's tiny house minutes later. Knocking on the wooden frame, she yelled. " Hey, rooster! Get up! It's almost noon!"
No response.
Rolling her eyes, she merely knocked again. "Get up, moron! You didn't get home that late!"
Nothing.
Megumi sighed. This was typical Sanosuke. Pushing back the curtain, she marched her way into the dimly lit, leaky hut, expecting to see Sano sound asleep, drooling and everything.
The Sano that lie there did not fit her expectations.
He was curled up in a single sheet, shivering violently. Beads of sweat dripped down his face, and his teeth were clenched in pain.
"Sanosuke!"
She quickly sat down beside him and laid a palm across his head, frowning upon contact.
"Oh god… He's burning up!" She promptly stood up and began to search around the room for any signs of a blanket or some kind of sheet.
Finally, she found one crammed in the corner. It was thin and tattered in places, but it would have to do. Cursing the ex- fighter-for-hire for not having any proper supplies, she grabbed the blanket and quickly made her way back to feverish man lying on the floor…
But not before tripping over something.
She fell flat on top of Sano, who didn't flinch at all. Instead, in his unconscious state, he slowly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
Megumi blushed violently. She squirmed a bit in an attempt to get away, but his arm only held her tighter. She groaned. Oh for the love of…..! Why do I have to be such a damn klutz? Honestly! She paused for a moment.
And why…. Why does he have to smell so good?
Laying her head on his chest, she let out a sigh. Stupid rooster… he's sick all because of me. She absent mindedly stroked his face with her hand, and much to her surprise, he relaxed a little.
Maybe I could just stay here…. I don't need to get up. He doesn't mind or anything- Megumi gasped at her own thoughts. What…. What am I doing? I… he…. This is an accident! Biting her lip, she willed herself to pull away from him.
I… I don't want it to be an accident.
Sitting up straight, she thought for a minute. What the heck did I trip over in the first place?
Her eyes immediately went to a red sphere on the ground. Squinting, she quickly realized that the red sphere had a stem.
An apple? she thought to herself, raising an eyebrow. But I thought he was….
Slowly, her eyes traced a trail from the apple to the corner, and she let out a quiet sob.
All of them…?All of the apples that she had given him lay in a pile on the ground.
Megumi's heart sank. Her attempts to keep him alive and healthy amounted to a pile of junk in the corner… That's how much she really meant to him. She was worthless.
She stiffled a sob.
"Well, I guess I shouldn't be that surprised…" she whispered to herself. Maybe if she said it enough times, she would start to believe it…
"Surprised…. about what?"
Megumi whipped around to see Sano sitting upright, clasping the blanket around his shoulders.
She quickly blinked her tears away. "Nothing, nothing… I'm just not surprised that a big idiot like you is sick."
Sano chuckled weakly. "Yeah, yeah. I know…"
Megumi shook her head. "Really though. You're such an idiot…. You didn't even eat the apples I gave you. Those things would have kept you healthy you know…" She cast her gaze down onto the floor as her eyes started to sting with tears.
Sano's eyes narrowed in concern. "Hey…Are you okay?" He placed his hand on hers and she shuddered.
She bit her lip as she tried desperately to hold back her tears. "Yes, of course I'm okay! Why wouldn't I be okay!"
He gently lifted her chin to look him in the eyes. "Because... crying people tend… to be upset…"
Megumi felt the tears fall freely now. " Why would I be crying? I'm fine! Just because you're always getting yourself into trouble doesn't mean that you'd get sick! So why would you eat the apples I gave you! I mean, seriously…. If you're perfectly healthy, like you clearly are… then why…." She broke down and collapsed into his arms.
Sano chuckled a bit as he stroked her raven hair. " So that's…. What this is about…" He wiped a bead of sweat off of his forehead as he lifted her up to be eye level with him.
"An apple… a day…keeps the doctor away…That's… what they say…. right?"
Megumi's eyes widened. " What?"
He grinned. "If I ate the apples you gave me…. " He coughed weakly. "If I ate them, I wouldn't have…. a reason to see you…."
She cocked an eyebrow in confusion, and he let out a weak laugh. "You're… a doctor…. If I got sick… I could see….. You…"
Megumi gasped. It all made sense now… He did it to… be with her.
Sano lifted her chin to meet his eyes. "Do you… get it now?"
She nodded, and quickly pressed her lips against his. She saw his eyes widen in surprise, but she didn't care. Eventually, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her back, and she again turned to a pile of boneless goo in his arms.
And the best part was, she knew she wasn't drunk. She knew that she wasn't ill or in any other way mentally unstable.
It wasn't an accident.
Owari!
A/N: Oh god, that was so unsually mushy! Maybe I really do need a boyfriend….. Nah! (A.L.L for LIFE DAMMIT!) Anyways, I hope that my good friend ducky approves of this fic when she reads it… I worked my butt off for her!
Another note; I know that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" is an American saying, and therefore Sano of all people DEFINITELY would not be saying it. but for all purposes of this story, Sanosuke is just brilliant that way and came up with the phrase before us Americans did. Okay?
One other note; this story would make a lot more sense to you if you read the prequel, "Remember the Rain". In all honesty, that fic is actually probably better than this one. Read it and give me your thoughts!