MadiSano: Here I am, again. This chapter is a bit more serious than the last two, but hey...More SanoMeg...I laughed a little at Megumi. You'll see why. Have fun!

CHICKEN LITTLE (continued)

"I can't take this anymore!" Sanosuke shouted, making all three of the people around him jump. He turned on Megumi, who unblinkingly shifted to meet his angry gaze. "You—you lying vixen! I—I can't believe that ya did that to me…! You know I…I mean…you…I…t-the sky…t-the sake…the…the whole...STUPID...THING—! URAAH! I'm outta here!"

Turning on his heel and fleeing the dojo, Sanosuke disappeared.

A silence followed, until, Kaoru said surreptitiously to Megumi, "I think he likes you."

Sanosuke flew down the dirt road, not caring where he went as long as he got there. To put it politely, he needed something to decapitate. His dust-ridden shoes pounded rhythmically on the path, carrying him far from the dojo into a meadow Sanosuke had never seen before.

"Stupid fox," Sanosuke hissed under his breath, pausing underneath a lone tree to catch his breath. "Traitor…augh…now I've got the whole dojo against me…"

His anger was taken over by an aching hurt in the center of his stomach. Why did she lie like that? he wondered, feeling like someone had wounded him. I told her the truth, and she…aw, why do I care!

Scowling and folding his arms, the former gangster leaned up against the trunk of the large tree. Megumi's a backbiting vixen. What was wrong with me when I told her that the sky was falling? Of course, she'd take advantage of me! Stupid, stupid, baka tori-atama! He scolded himself, clenching his teeth.

Brooding in his dark thoughts, Sanosuke looked up into the sky. The clouds were a dark gray, and the wind was picking up. Nothing like the morning had been.

Sanosuke clicked his tongue in irritation. And of course, it's gonna rain.

Closing his chocolate eyes, Sanosuke sighed. I came all th'way out here, just to get soaked.

Suddenly, a brief flicker of movement caught Sanosuke's eye. It had come from the branches of the tree above, and Sanosuke looked up cautiously, wondering what it could be.

Deciding that it would be better to take on a relaxed sham, Sanosuke put his hands behind his head, and leaned back against the tree again. A few moments passed by, with no activity.

And then—

"HYOOOHHH!"

Sanosuke stood up in a swiveling action, grabbing the attacking person by the ankle and whipping them upside-down, tearing the wooden sword from the small one's grasp. Sanosuke's captive wriggled and squirmed, yelling inanely.

"Yahiko?" Sanosuke said, surprised. "How did you catch up with me so quickly—?"

Abruptly, a smashing pain erupted in the joint where Sanosuke's neck and head came together, causing the fighter to fall forwards. Yahiko landed on his face, free. The boy scrambled to his feet, crying, "Kenshin!"

Sanosuke moaned, seeing steadily darkening flashes of light gleam before his eyes. He gripped the grass beneath him, unsuccessfully trying to get to his knees. "Ken…shin…?"

"I am sorry, Sano, but this is for your own good; that it is," came Kenshin's soft voice.

"Uhn…" was Sanosuke's lightheaded reply.

Sanosuke remained conscious just long enough to feel Kenshin fasten his wrists up behind his back.

Yahiko nervously watched Kenshin loop his arms under Sanosuke's, and with a nod, Kenshin signaled for Yahiko to lift the fighter's feet from the earth. Together, under the darkening skies, they carried an unconscious Rooster-Head all the way to the Oguni Clinic.

There, Megumi awaited her patient.

At first, the lady doctor was quite pleasant about the whole situation. But that changed when she opened her door to two sopping-wet boys, and one saturated Rooster.

"Get in here!" she hissed crossly, narrowing her eyes as the three entered the office. She looked disapprovingly at the puddles of water collecting on her floor, and switched her gaze to meet the two sheepish swordsmen.

"May Kami turn me to a fox if I won't have to treat all three of you for pneumonia," Megumi remarked, and motioned to the back room. "Drop him off on the futon in there. You can stay here if you'd like, Sir Ken."

"Arigatou, Megumi-dono; but Sessha is afraid we must get home to Kaoru-dono, that he is." Kenshin said, as he and Yahiko carried Sanosuke to the back room. "She often tends to worry."

Megumi smiled foxily, muttering to herself as the three disappeared. "Oh? And I wonder why the Raccoon is so worried about Sir Ken staying a while?"

Her chuckles were cut off when Kenshin and Yahiko appeared once more. "Won't you take an umbrella?" Megumi offered, motioning to a sunshade leaning in the corner.

Kenshin hesitated, but then bowed to Megumi and accepted the device. "Thank you, again, Megumi-dono—and please let us know how Sano is doing, soon?"

"Of course," Megumi smiled, but only Yahiko seemed to notice the evil glint in her cinnamon pupils.

Kenshin and the young trainee left after saying goodbye to the Fox.

Megumi sighed, running a hand through her sable hair. This was going to be the beginning of a very long treatment.

Turning on her heel, and click-clacking to the back room, Megumi opened the door to reveal a cataleptic Rooster.

Approaching him with caution, Megumi ran her eyes over Sanosuke.

The fighter lie on his side, his wrists tied together with rope behind his clear-cut chest. Sanosuke's usually springy brunette hair was mussed from the heavy rain, hanging over his faded bandanna, and dangling awkwardly into his eyes. His white attire was dyed gray from wetness, and clung like Velcro to his body. Sanosuke's tight bandages were fraying around his chest and ankles. The black footwear that encased his toes was soaked right through with chilly water.

Plainly, Sanosuke was a sopping mess.

He'll catch hypothermia if he doesn't get that cold water off him, Megumi concluded. She then mentally cursed herself—she shouldn't have let Kenshin and Yahiko run out into the rain like that again! Even if the umbrella shielded them from the raindrops, the wind would chill them to the bone.

Some doctor, Megumi thought dryly, but then returned her focus back to Sanosuke.

Fitful shivers wracked the fist fighter's lean form, and panic seized Megumi. She pulled off one of his black shoes, watching in amazement as a fair amount of water dribbled from the heel and to the floor. The same event occurred with the other shoe, save for that a little orange fish flopped from the footwear.

In astonishment, Megumi delicately picked up the fish and put it into a glass of water nearby, naming it Sir Kin.

Megumi untied the rope, freeing Sanosuke's sore-looking wrists from the restraint. She rolled Sanosuke over onto his back, pulling his arms up in front of him. Megumi rubbed his wrists with a docile air to regulate circulation, but she couldn't hide the small redness working its way across her face.

He looks so peaceful when he's sleeping, thought Megumi, gazing at Sanosuke's closed eyes. His eyelashes stuck to the curve of his cheeks, dampened by the beads of rain gathering and dripping down his skin. His pale lips were parted slightly, meeting every few seconds when inhaling, making small noises of hissing air.

Megumi immediately reprimanded herself for staring, and continued her work. She relieved Sanosuke of his jacket with slight difficulty, and tossed the article to the floor. The unconscious man's bandanna and chest wrappings soon joined it.

Unsure of what to do next, Megumi stared nervously at her patient, who was stripped down to all but his pants. There is no way in all of Hell that I am going any further, Megumi thought stubbornly, glancing over at Sir Kin the fish. He stared at her blankly, waiting to see what the fox doc would do next.

"Genzai-sensei can do it," Megumi told Sir Kin, stubbornly turning on her heel to go fetch the other doctor, wherever he was. She paused at the doorway, and looked back at the shivering Sanosuke. But can Sanosuke wait that long?

A few moments of indecision frolicked through Megumi's mind, until the painful truth came to her: No. I am a doctor and I'll do what's best for my patients. Sanosuke cannot remain in those wet clothes any longer without getting extremely sick, and it's my responsibility to take care of him.

Reluctantly slinking back over to the side of the futon, Megumi again got down on her knees. A moment of silence followed, before Megumi (it'd be the lie of the century to say she wasn't shaking) began to untie Sanosuke's pants.

MadiSano: And yes, I did end it here. Gomen nasai! ...Stop giving me weird looks...Megumi IS a doctor. It's not like she hasn't seen anyone without their shorts. But Sanosuke seems to be a different case, ne? > I'm evil. Hate me! MWAHAHAHA! But if you say that you hate me in your reviews, I might not update anymore...ohohohoho. Dang, there's those fox ears...see ya in the next chapter!