Winter Days

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki and all affiliates.

The chill in the air woke him out of his dreams, and he pulled his blanket tighter around him to block out any drafts of cold that tried to sneak in beneath the covers. It didn't work. His shivering body knocked the fogginess out of him and he was now fully awake and aware of another freezing day. Winter days never put him in a good mood. It was always cold, and the snow that fell was more of a nuisance to walk through for his usually sore and achy leg muscles. Today was no exception. He felt it down to his bones and wondered if this was how old folks felt. If this was how old folks felt then he was in bad shape!

He rolled out of his chilled futon, folded it up and headed out the door to a place where he knew he would be guaranteed breakfast and warmth. Sanosuke trudged slowly through the snow, his footsteps quickly covered by a new layer of white that drifted softly all over the road he always walked to the Kamiya Dojo. He wore a heavier gi jacket, which he tied closed and wore extra bandages to keep warm, but for some reason the low temperature didn't seem to bother him anymore. He didn't have his mind on how cold it was. He had his mind on who he hoped to see in the yard of the Kamiya Dojo. That certain someone had the day off from the clinic today and he knew she would definitely be visiting Kenshin, and maybe visiting Kaoru. If he was right about that then he was sure to get a glimpse of her today, and that thought alone seemed to keep him from feeling the chill in the air.

He wasn't sure why, but he thought a lot about her lately. The image of her face seemed to show up when he was in places she would never come to mind. He saw her when he was at the gambling hall, and when he was hanging out with Katsu. He even wondered what she had for dinner whenever he stopped into the Akabeko, and this invasion into his thoughts resulted in him actually paying his bill one day. You never saw a more shocked restaurant owner than Sekihara Tae when Sano handed her the money for his meal and didn't bother to wait for his change. But with just one look in his eyes Tae knew exactly what was going on with the gangster.

Today as he walked to the dojo he thought about her playing in the snow. In his mind he saw her teaching Ayame and Suzume how to make snowballs, he saw her chasing them around the dojo yard and then falling onto the ground with the two little girls to make snow angels. They were having so much fun in his vision that it made him smile.

The gangster stopped his trek and looked up into the air. White flecks fell onto his face, the tiny snowflakes like kisses on his nose, mouth and cheeks. If only these kisses came from the Fox Lady, he thought as he shifted his focus back to the road and continued on ahead. He wondered if Kaoru would be training Yahiko today. The snow would be pretty deep to move from one part of the dojo to another. Maybe she would make him clear it up with Kenshin. Sano shook his head at the thought of his two dopey friends. Kaoru had a weird way of showing Kenshin that she loved him, and he had his own passive way of showing his fondness for her. She dumped all of the household chores on him and he seemed all too pleased to take them on. They made a perfect pair.

Sano stopped in his tracks when he heard laughter come from the direction of the dojo. He was just a few feet from the yard gate and he knew that the laughter definitely came from Ayame and Suzume. Those two girls were so energetic. No wonder their grandfather always left them here with Kenshin and Kaoru. As he crept closer their laughter turned into excited screams. What are they up to, he wondered as he arrived at the gate and reached out to push it open. Then something cold and mushy hit him right in the face.

The laughter was replaced by horrified gasps. He saw nothing because a wad of snow was imbedded in his eye sockets but Sano felt an anxious hush fill the air and he heard the terrified voice of one of the sisters meekly tell the other, "Look what you did."

He leaned forward as he wiped the snow out of his eyes and when he was able to open them he saw the face of Suzume looking up at him. She was right in front of him reaching her tiny hand up to help him clean his face. When she met his eyes she stopped and held her breath anticipating the worst.

"Sano-ni?" The tone of her voice was that of fear, anxiety and concern.

He wiped the last of the snow out of his eyes and lowered his body so that he crouched before her.

"Yes, Suzume?"

She looked so ashamed. "I'm sorry."

He smiled at her and then grabbed her beneath the shoulders and stood up so that he could hoist her up into his arms. It made her squeal in delight.

"It's okay. That was a good shot." He carried her over to her sister Ayame, who had been waiting with as much anxiety as her little sister and the three of them picked up where they had left off in a snowball fight that pitted the two sisters against the ex-member of the Sekihou Tai. Needless to say Sano was pummeled with snowballs, as he had no time to make his own supply before the two sisters ambushed him with their ready-made ammunition. It was a pitiful sight to see, and one that brought forth a familiar laugh that rang through the air to reach his ears. As Sano lay in the snow, beaten by two sneaky little renegades, he slowly sat upright and scanned the area to find where the laugher came from. She was here. The Foxy doctor was nearby, and she probably saw him get his ass handed to him. How humiliating.

He sank back into the snow and wished a huge pile would fall out of one the trees and finish the job. But that didn't happen. He heard the two sisters laughing as they chased each other around the yard, and among all that racket his ears picked up the sound of slow steady footsteps heading in his direction. He turned his head and saw her figure walking carefully through the snow. He remained where he was and let his eyes focus on her graceful movements. The air was still so her mane of black hair lay neatly down her back and around her shoulders, speckled with bits of white. He wondered what her reaction would be if he pulled her down into the snow with him. His fantasy consisted of them kissing and rolling around, but he knew the reality would be that he would be pummeled again only this time it would be with fists.

She finally reached him and she looked down at him, surveying the damage and shaking her head with pity. Sano groaned inwardly. Where the hell was that damn snow pile?

"They really did a number on you," she observed pointedly, emphasizing her statement with a raise of her eyebrows. She bent a little and held out her hand. The fantasy came back and he stared at that hand for the longest time. This was just too easy. But he reminded himself of what would really happen if he pulled that trick so he let the thought of her warm body against his flitter away, and he sat up and took the hand that she offered. When he was on his feet he dusted his pants and gi jacket, and shook the excess snow out of his hair. He felt a few flakes tickle his cheek and lifted his hand to wipe them away, but her hand got to them first.

He thought he would fall back into the snow again. This was torture. She used her fingers to daintily wipe at the snow on his cheek until all traces of it were gone. Did she have any idea what this was doing to him? What did this mean? She pulled her hand away and looked him over scrutinizing his appearance.

"There's not much that can be done to make you look respectable, so we'll have to settle for presentable." She sighed, and then used the same hand she had put on his face to flip her hair over her shoulder. "Let me guess, you're here for breakfast, right?"

Those words yanked him out of his haze and back to the real world. No, not the words but the tone she used. She sounded like she objected to his being there. Well excuse me, Fox Lady!

"You're damn right I'm here for breakfast. Kenshin's cooking," he added as if that should explain his presence. She pursed her lips and almost rolled her eyes. This was the side of her he didn't like very much. Unfortunately this was the side he always came in contact with. "Besides, he invited me. Why are you here, Fox?" He decided to use an implying tone of his own to rile her up, but she was too smart to fall for it.

"When I saw Yahiko yesterday he complained he had a sore throat so I thought I would come over and check on him. It seems he has the beginnings of a cold. The child has to learn to cover himself up in the cold weather." She then quirked a meaningful eyebrow at the gangster after taking in his appearance, as if implying the same about him. The jacket had opened to reveal thick bandages wrapped around his ribs and abdomen. His chest was bare and exposed to the cold, which made her worry that he would catch pneumonia. Little did she know that with her standing so close to Sano he actually felt more comfortable with the open jacket. If he could get away with it, he'd take the damn thing off all together and sling it over his shoulder.

Sano knew that underneath her attitude she actually worried about him- sometimes. If she cared enough to casually point out that he was almost half naked in the snow, she had to have some kind of feeling for him, right? That philosophy alone was what kept him coming back for more. Sure, he liked Kaoru, Yahiko, Kenshin and Kenshin's cooking but his reasons for coming to the dojo were all about Megumi. And with that he liked to think that her visits to the dojo involved the hopes of running into him.

He focused on her now, and met her beautiful fiery gaze. She wrapped her thick shawl tightly around herself and turned to leave. "If you're here to eat then come on. It won't be ready for a while so maybe you can make yourself useful while you wait."

She began to walk back toward the porch and he silently followed. The girls were back on the porch clearing away new fallen snow that blew onto it. When they caught sight of the pair they quickly abandoned their chore and ran to meet them. Ayame and Suzume forgot about their earlier battle with Sanosuke and surrounded the gangster, happily grabbing his hands and pulling him over to middle of the yard. He went with them willingly, stopping after just a short distance so that the sisters could present him with two huge balls of snow. They were almost as tall as the younger Suzume, and he wondered if they planned to throw those at him.

But the girls went to work smoothing out each snowball so that they were almost perfectly round. Sano turned to Megumi who just watched them at work. "Fox, what are they doing?"

Megumi looked up at Sano, her brows knotted in disbelief. "They're making a snowman. Haven't you ever made one before?"

A snowman, huh? Sure he had made one. He and Katsu had one of those rare peaceful days with Captain Sagara once, where they spent an afternoon making a snowman while he watched on. He remembered that peaceful day very well. The Sekihou Tai didn't have many of those, so that wintry day had brought out the kid in all of the members.

When the girls were done they turned to Sano. "Sano-ni, help us?"

"Help us, help us!" Suzume chimed in, jumping up and down excitedly.

He let his memory fade away and he focused on the girls again. "Uh, sure. What do you want me to do?" He turned to Megumi whose gaze brightened.

"You girls did such a good job," she commented and then turned her gaze to meet Sano's. He held his breath. "Now what we want you to do Sano is lift one of the snowballs and place it on top of the other. Then all we'll have to do is put in his face and his arms, and maybe some buttons to look like he has a shirt." She stopped suddenly because she felt an intense pull come from Sano. He seemed to be taking in more than her instructions. That wasn't good, so she turned to the sisters again. "Uh, why don't you two go around and gather some sticks, and dig around for some rocks and pebbles while Sano puts the snowman together?"

Both girls nodded and scampered away leaving Megumi alone in the yard with Sanosuke. She didn't feel his eyes on her anymore and she dared a glance at him to find him eyeing the snowballs thoughtfully. His eyes darted from one snow pile to the other until he finally chose one and bent down to place his hands on it. He rolled it around on the ground to give it a rounder shape than the other snowball and then rolled it over so that it was right next to it. When he was about to lift it he paused and turned suddenly to Megumi. Her breath caught this time as he fixed her with a steady gaze.

"Instead of watching me do all the work why don't you help me lift this thing. It's not that light, you know?"

Megumi recovered from her initial trance and immediately let him have it. What was he trying to say?

"You can't lift that all by yourself? I thought your strength and stamina had no limits."

That comment made him stand upright so that he could tower over her and glare. She had no idea what effect she had on him. Sure he was unbelievably strong, but being around her made more than his knees wobbly. His imposing stature and stare seemed to make her uncomfortable. Good.

"No, that's not it. I just figured since no one is really good enough for you, you'd be the expert on building the perfect man." He said it flatly, not even bothering to pretend he was teasing her.

Her mouth dropped open at his comment. She was so shocked that it made her speechless. This was a first for him but he never intended to have this kind of reaction. He almost wished he could take back what he said.

It didn't take her long to find her voice. "What is that supposed to mean?"

She sounded insulted, which he expected, but he didn't expect to hear the faint crack in her voice that told him she was also hurt. Crap. He certainly didn't mean to hurt her feelings. After all her bad experiences with men, that was the last thing he wanted to do to her. What he really wanted to do was make her laugh and smile, the way she seemed to do around Kenshin. The red head had that magic touch with her, but then again it was easy to be that way around him. His attraction was for Kaoru, so his interaction with Megumi didn't involve hopeful glances, and lustful thoughts.

Sano wondered if she really wanted a guy like Kenshin. He was pretty much the perfect catch. Strong, humble, honorable, committed. He didn't have it in him to hurt anybody, on purpose anyway, which Megumi latched onto immediately. That had to be it then. Her perfect man would be someone who would never intentionally hurt her.

And, boy did I blow that, he thought to himself as he replayed his comment to her in his head. How could he have so insensitive? Why would a woman like her even want to get involved with anyone after all she had been through? The perfect guy just didn't exist at all. No one was good enough to take the pain out of her heart. He definitely wasn't good enough now. He reached a hand up to scratch the back of his head. The grin on his face was the fakest one he had ever flashed.

"Oh, quit getting all riled up Fox. I'm just teasing you. Now get over here and help me, and don't try to get out of it by saying that you're supervising."

He turned away from her, unable to bear the fake smile any longer and bowed his head so he looked like he was struggling to lift the heavy snowball. His bangs did their job and covered his face. He wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible and hurry on his way. He didn't feel like eating breakfast anymore. All he wanted to do now was disappear for a while, maybe long enough for the stupid wound he probably caused to heal.

He planned to wait a few seconds to see if she would actually come and help him and then he would put on the masquerade again and give her hell about being a lazy boss. He didn't have to wait that long. She was next to him now and bending over to grab at the cold mound of snow. He put on his most devilish face and looked up to face her. They were so close that their noses almost bumped into each other. If he had been leaning over a bit more he was sure his forehead would have crashed into hers. He expected her to pull away but she stayed where she was, breathing cold white smoke into his face. He also expected her to look somber, but the fire was back in her eyes. He admired her ability to hide her pain so well.

"Why are you being so macho Rooster? Are you embarrassed that I saw two little girls cream you in a snowball fight?"

She was bringing up that shameful incident? Boy did she know how to hit a guy where it hurt. "What are you talking about, Fox? I let them beat me."

She didn't bother trying to hide her doubt. "Whatever, it gave me a good laugh. I should thank you for that." She moved to lift the snowball and Sano followed suit, resting the snowy mass on top of the other. Megumi stood back to see if they had done it right, and Sano maneuvered it so that they formed the body and head. As he did some last minute touch ups to smooth the snow out, he thought about what Megumi had said before.

His encounter with Ayame and Suzume had made Megumi laugh. He remembered hearing her laughter in the air and it definitely sounded like she had enjoyed what she saw. If he was able to make her laugh then maybe he could be the kind of guy who could make her smile as well. If he could do that then maybe he had a shot with her after all. He stepped back as well as Ayame and Suzume came rushing back to them with their arms full of what Megumi had requested. As they went to work making the face, Sano leaned into Megumi's ear and whispered, "I'm sorry Fox."

She turned up to look at him, a look of confusion on her face. "For what?"

Her mask was undetectable. She was good. "For nothing in particular. Just for being a jerk with you sometimes." He gave her a smile, a sincere one this time. She looked thoughtful.

"Sometimes?" she asked.

The Foxy doctor wasn't going to make this easy was she? Well, he deserved it. "Alright, fine. I'm sorry for being a jerk with you a lot of times."

Megumi didn't know what to make of that. She looked blankly at the gangster not knowing how to respond. They had fallen into a comfortable routine of insults and arguments. She felt blindsided by the unexpected apology, especially since the look in his eyes told her that he meant it. This was a strange development in their interaction. One that felt really nice. She could get used to this, one step at a time.

"Sanosuke, on your way home stop by my house for some tea."

The gangster looked blankly at her. He couldn't believe his ears. Then his expression relaxed and his mouth spread into a wry grin. "Is that an official invite, Fox?"

She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. "It is, for tea," she clarified setting him straight before he got the wrong idea.

He was still smiling but his features softened so that he looked genuinely thrilled with the invitation. "Sounds good, Fox. I'll be there."

Megumi nodded and then turned to look over at the girls. They were finally finished with their snowman. "Oh my, it's adorable! You girls did a wonderful job."

Sano crouched next to the snow mound to inspect it and let out a slow whistle. "Looks almost like a real person." He took note of the pink shawl wrapped around its body and wondered if that was their way of making it resemble a certain rurouni. If so, then he would surely get a kick out of it.

Everyone was ready for breakfast now, even Sano who was glad to feel the grumble in his stomach return. Megumi and Suzume went ahead to set the table, and Ayame lingered behind to make last minute adjustments on the shawl to make sure it wouldn't fall off. Sano moved to stand and join everyone inside but a tug on his sleeve stopped him.

"Yes, Ayame?"

The little girl was standing next to him now and gesturing for him to lean closer to her. She had a secret she wanted to tell him. She was so cute. The gangster complied and moved in closer so that Ayame could cup her hand around his ear. He wondered what was so secret that she waited for everyone else to clear out.

"If you're going to Megumi-nee's house she has dinner at six o'clock. Don't be late." She uncovered his ear and turned to leave. Sano scrambled to his feet and caught up with her.

"Whoa, Ayame wait a second! What are you talking about? Why would I go to Megumi's house at dinnertime?" She might think I'm going to start leeching food off her too!

Ayame looked at him as if he had no clue at all. "So she won't eat dinner by herself. Grandpa wants to stay in tonight so we won't be eating dinner with Megumi-nee. So be on time, okay?" She had her hands on her hips and a stare in her eyes that told him this was non-negotiable. He wasn't about to disagree with her.

"Six o'clock, huh? Okay, I'll be there."

Ayame's face brightened and she took his hand so that they could walk inside together. This winter day was turning into a pretty good one after all, one that actually had him in a good mood. Maybe this could be the start of more good winter days to come. Each cold day pass one at a time, and he would use them all to show that maybe a Rooster could be a good match for a Fox.