Title: Step to the New Road

Series: Rurouni Kenshin

Rated: T for Teen

Started: 25-June-2006

Finished: In Progress

Summary: Everyone has an adventure when they start something new.

Why: Because I wanted my own version of what happens to all the characters when they all leave Kenshin and Kaoru at the end of the manga. I also have the ability to type up what I want and stick it on the internet. Hooray for Duh, I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Is my name on the front cover of all the manga books? No.

Second is Megumi.

It's always a difficult decision deciding whether to stay where you are, or to go back home. The decision hadn't come easy for Megumi. She loved every single person she was with in Tokyo, even if she didn't like them very much. But the truth was, she had a need to go back home. Ever since the incident with Kanryu, she had wanted to go back to Aizu, and start up her own clinic, in hopes of catching the attention of her family, if they were still alive. And even though she had wanted that so much, she decided to stay in Tokyo for a while.

She had had a wonderful time. Being able to be friends with and treat the one and only Hitokiri Battousai was something incredibly amazing. She had learned each time she healed him how to make the wounds heal faster. Sano and Yahiko were a handful. They were constantly getting hurt, even when they weren't fighting actual battles. And Megumi could tell that Kaoru had grown up since their first encounter. Even though she was still just a child, she no longer thought only of herself. Kaoru was all about the others, and would do anything for them, even if she had to cook. (No one asked her to.)

After all of the battles her friends had gone through, she was the one that patched them up. During the first fight with Enishi, Megumi had secretly decided that she was going to go back home. She had gotten many offers in the mail and in person from all over Tokyo, and in Aizu. She wanted to stay with everyone, but she needed to go home.

"You're going back to Aizu? Why so suddenly?" asked Kaoru.

"It's not like I decided this today. I have had offers to open a clinic in Aizu." Megumi smiled at everyone. "This last incident seems to have come to a close, and my treatment of Ken-san and Yahiko-kun is almost over. I plan to leave Tokyo in a week."

It was settled like that. Megumi would leave the Kamiya Dojo in a week, and go back to Aizu. When Kenshin told her that they would all send her off, she thanked them, and looked to the ground.

"Also…Ken-san…there is something I have been hiding from you, but as a doctor…I must tell you this…"

Kenshin smiled and closed his eyes.

"Is it about this one's body?"

She was heart broken to have to tell this to Kenshin, but when she said that in about four or five years he would no longer be able to use Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, he told her that he had the feeling that his body would no longer be able to handle it. She was glad that he knew and that he had taken the news so well, but at the same time it was very depressing. Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu was what had stopped every opponent that had ever tried to defeat Kenshin. In a way, it almost was him. How would he be able to deal with the change? Kenshin didn't elaborate on the matter more than was already spoken, and Megumi didn't ask. She rose from her seat, and excused herself from the room to go back to the clinic. She had patients waiting for her.

During her final week in Tokyo, she had many people come up and tell her how sad they were that she was leaving. She also got about the same amount of patients in that single week as she did in three weeks. Interestingly enough, Sanosuke did not visit once. For some reason, it made Megumi mad.

When the week was over with, everyone headed to the Shinbashi Station. Aoshi and Misao left first thing in the morning, and then it was Megumi's turn.

"It was only for a short while…but thank you…for everything."

"Are you going to walk back?" asked Yahiko.

"No way! I am getting a ride in a carriage owned by Oguni-sensei's friend." Megumi turned her attention to Kenshin, handing him a piece of paper. "If you sense anything wrong with your body, please contact me here. I'll come as soon as I can."

Kenshin accepted the piece of paper with a smile. "Thank you. But when that time comes, this one and friends will come to you." Closing his eyes, he started up again. "It is a doctor's duty to help those who are sick and wounded. But you will find joy as well as duty."

Megumi mimicked his actions, closing her eyes as well. "Yes. I'll do my best." Turning towards Kaoru, the doctor stuck out her left arm which held medications. "And for you…take this. These are medications and prescriptions for when Ken-san and the rest get hurt…um…" Megumi stopped midway through her sentence, because the Kamiya girl looked incredibly sad. "Hey! Why are you all depressed? I thought you didn't like me."

"Yeah, I didn't." Megumi was about to retort when the girl started up again. "But…with all these partings…"

Sanosuke's hand flew to Kaoru's head.

"Hey, don't get so down. It's only Aizu. You can get there in a day, right?"

"Only you can!" replied the doctor.

"And you'll be going to Kyoto once a year to visit Tomoe's grave. This isn't goodbye for good. You can go see anyone if you want to."

Megumi looked to Sanosuke. "Every once in a long while, you have something good to say."

"I always have something good to say," the rooster said.

She smiled. "Come to Aizu when your right hand starts acting up. I'll take a look for you."

Sanosuke nodded his head. "Why, thank you."

The Aizu beauty gave the box of medications to Kaoru. "There you go. You need to lose the somber face." The next sentence was said softer. "Ken-san chose you. Not Tomoe-san, or me. Smiles are the best medicine for Ken-san's scars. So if at all times…you watch over Ken-san with smiles, one day..." She paused and tapped the Kamiya girl on the head. "Before and after the Kyoto battle, and now this…it seems like I scold you a lot. I always play the bad cop."

Megumi faced the carriage, took a breath, and turned around, giving a little bow. "Well everyone…take care."

"Yes, take care," answered Kaoru.

And just like that, Takani Megumi left, and didn't turn around even once.

Two Years Later

The sun scorched down on the streets of Aizu. It had been hot all week, and more than a fair share of the city's occupants had ended up at Megumi's clinic with heat stroke. She was in the middle of attending to one of her patients when Nishikawa-san, the other doctor that she worked with, popped his head in.

"Megumi-san, you have a visitor."

The doctor kept on working as she talked. "Please tell them that I will see them as soon a possible. Do you have any idea who the person is?"

"Well…it's a man with spiky hair…kind of like a rooster."

A small smile came to her face.

"Alright, I'll be out there in a moment." Nishikawa nodded, and closed the door. Megumi finished tending to her patient, and let them go. Passing a mirror on her way to the door, the doctor did a quick fix with her hair. She hadn't seen Sanosuke in two years, so she felt she should at least have her hair looking decent.

When she slid the door open, the first thing she noticed was that the rooster-head was in an all black, western-style suit instead of his usual white. He still had the bandages on his right arm, but she wouldn't have recognized him in the street if she hadn't looked twice. He was leaning against the wall with his legs crossed, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Well look at you Sagara Sanosuke. I hadn't pictured you to be someone wearing a suit," the fox said with a smile.

Sanosuke grinned, and pushed himself off the wall. He walked over to stand in front of Megumi, and gave her a hug.

"I had to wear them all the time in America. They didn't like my Japanese clothes, so I had to find something more 'suitable' for their tastes."

"What did you do over there?" the fox asked as they broke the hug.

"I did a lot of negotiating with ships in a harbor on the coast of California. I'd tell them the prices my company would pay. They would tell me what they would pay. I'd make them see it our way—"

"You didn't hit anyone, did you?"

Sanosuke chuckled. "No, I didn't fight anyone there…although I did enter a few boxing matches. I only did that when I was low on money."

"Was that all the time?"

"C'mon Megumi, what do you think I am, a cheapskate?"

"Yes," replied the doctor. "Anyway, why did you come back to Japan? I thought you liked it in America?"

"I did. The people are really nice. They thought it was cool that I hitchhiked from boat to boat to get there. And there was this nice old woman named Elizabeth who let me stay at her house when I needed to. They were awesome, but after a while, it got boring. I went to the other states, but I got sick of the English, so I decided to come back here. Besides, I've got people here who love me."

Megumi snorted, and ran into a back room. When she came out, she was holding her purse.

"The Akabeko opened a restaurant here about six months ago. Are you hungry?"

"You bet I am."

Sano and Megumi talked about a lot that day. Sanosuke shared his greatest adventures from America, and how different the culture was. He also talked about how Tokyo looked more like a western city every day, and the latest news from Kenshin and Kaoru. Megumi had attended the wedding, and Sano was happy to announce that Kaoru was pregnant, and the two lovers were excited over their first child.

Megumi talked about her career as a doctor. She mentioned how the clinic was small at first, and then how she teamed up with Nishikawa-san, and the clinic grew. They were able to switch on days if they needed to, and they had just gotten a brand new doctor who was in need of training.

"Mmm…so, is this Nishikawa guy handsome?" asked Sanosuke while slurping soba noodles.

"Yes. There are many women in Aizu that want to marry him."

"What about you? You've been husbandless for a while now. Aren't you past the marrying age?"

Megumi threw a chopstick at his face. "Just because I haven't married anyone doesn't mean that I don't want to. And as a matter of fact, I am not interested in Nishikawa-san. He is not my type."

"Really," said Sanosuke with a grin. "What kind of man is your type?"

"Well…I don't know. I suppose if I had to pick a man, it would be someone strong. He has to look good…hmm…" said Megumi as she placed her chin in her palm. "He would have to be kind, and love me very much…and be a really good kisser."

Sanosuke laughed.

"Well, excuse me for wanting qualities in a man!" Megumi stood up, paid the waitress at the front, and walked out the door. Sanosuke was quick to follow, and caught up to the beauty easily, taking her left wrist in his right hand.

"Let go of me," demanded the doctor as she tried to pull free from his grasp.

"Aw, c'mon fox, don't be mad. I didn't mean to make fun of you. I was just surprised at how well you described me."

"What? When did I ever say I was talking about you?" asked the woman.

"Well, look at me. I'm strong, I look good. I'm kind—"

"When you want to be," she interjected.

"—and I'm an awesome kisser," said Sanosuke without skipping a beat. "Want me to prove it?" he asked.

Before Megumi could protest, the rooster-head placed his lips against hers. The doctor tried to push him away, but he took her wrists in his hands, and put them by her side. They continued to kiss, and when Megumi kissed him back, Sanosuke grinned. People on the street were shocked, but the doctor didn't care. She felt a hand brush back some of her hair, and she mover her right hand up his arm a bit. They stayed locked together, kissing until they needed air. After breaking apart, Megumi kept her eyes closed as she tried to catch her breath. When she finally did, she said,

"You are such a stupid man, Sagara Sanosuke."

"No I'm not," he replied. Taking her left hand in his right, he continued. "Oh, by the way…I'm looking for a woman who's a doctor. She's strong, smart, beautiful, and a good kisser." He grinned again. "Care to be her?"

A few months passed, and the two got married. After the wedding, someone asked her why she married him.

"Oh that's easy. I married him because he happened to be what I was looking for. He's strong, he looks good…and I love his kisses."

Fin

Author's notes: Okay…I don't really know about that chapter. I have a hard time writing the relationship between Sanosuke and Megumi. Those two are so different, and just have a harder time with them. Please review.

Next up is Saito.

Tamababymiko-chan