Author's Notes: Oh wow, thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed thus far. I'm glad people have actually taken interest! Please continue to read, and of course, I would love to know how I'm doing.

(Hi again LadyBattousai! Thanks for checking this fic out! hehe... And yes, I'm mad that RK has been taken off Cartoon Network, and yes, I did send in a comment to CN in an attempt to make them re-air the series...Hopefully our attempts will not be wasted.)

Disclaimer: I don't know how many times I must repeat this, but no, I don't own any part of the original Rurouni Kenshin series. (otherwise I'd be stinking rich)

chap. 3 - echoes

Clouded images reeled past her, but Megumi paid them no mind. She couldn't pay them any mind. Her whole head was enveloped in the turmoil that had just crashed down upon her, engulfing her in emotions she had never thought she'd feel again.

Sanosuke never wanted to see her again, and the words cut through her like a sword through flesh.

The clatter and clamor continued on, rustling in the noises of everyday life, but she could not concentrate on her surroundings. Her feet carried her where she wanted to go, yes, somewhere deep in her mind she knew where she was going, but made no attempt to acknowledge that fact.

She passed through the streets like a wandering shadow.

Suddenly, her feet stopped walking, and she tore herself out of her misery, staring at the iron gates of the place she called home. After years of dealing the opium the thought alone made her flinch her earnings had been able to buy her a satisfactory place to live. She decided she wouldn't buy a large estate, for she figured it would draw attention to her, but purchased a moderate-sized house, and it kept her satisfied.

Until now.

Suddenly, the place she had once thought of as an escape, was now a looming creature whose shadow hung black and bleak. Her eyes filled, and tears streamed down her face. Her back was to the public road; no one could see her tears. Of course...no one ever has seen my tears...I've been alone this whole time.

The words echoed in her mind, repeating again and again, and she tiredly trudged through her house, pushing herself to at least making it to her futon, where she could collapse onto her futon, and sleep for an eternity.

Sleeping forever is like death...maybe it's a peaceful one.

The thought had entered her mind, but she could not register it. The figures before her began to whirl and tip, cascading in alternating dips. A wave of nausea suddenly swept over her, and a foul taste retched at the back of her throat.

She felt herself tipping forward as she passed out, the blackness rushing up to greet her.

When she next awoke, she felt a cold surface pressed against her cheek. Her skin was flaked with dried tears, sticky and dirty. She lay there for awhile, wondering what she could possibly do to convince her to keep on going with her life. This whole time, the thought of meeting Sanosuke again had driven her forward, it had inspired her to do the things she had done...but now...she had met him again, and he had pushed her away.

Weakly, she pushed herself up with her arms, letting her hair fall onto the ground, framing her face. Slowly, she forced herself to sit up, and gasped at the sudden pain that pounded at her head. She put her hand to her head, and tiredly sighed, blinking at the brown floorboards beneath her.

What she was going to do next, she knew not. Possibilities ran through her mind like a runaway train, but each seemed as desperate and hopeless as the next. She didn't know if she had the heart to continue what she had been doing in China for so long. The guilt would tear at her, slowly eat away at her, and Sano's words would echo in her mind in a never-ending cycle, tormenting her. Always she had been able to justify her actions, telling herself, reassuring herself that it was for the better that in the end, her sins would bring her the happiness she was longing for.

But the price had been paid.

She couldn't sell herself out, she knew the punishment for opium dealers, and she did not have the courage to face it. She had little courage to do much of anything.

So what is it then? Am I to sit here forever, locked in these four walls and grieve?

Megumi wished she could.

Her mind searched for something that would comfort her in times that she needed most. She could come up with nothing, but nonetheless, drove herself to stand up. She stood on two wobbly legs, staggering to the small kitchen towards the back. She lit a fire and boiled water to make tea.

She collapsed onto a cushion, directly in front of her low, Japanese-style table. She stared at the tea leaves that lay buried beneath the tinted water, and forced herself to drink. The liquid warmed her throat, but had to be swallowed down, gulped down along with the lump in her throat each time.

Her mind wandered to the tea leaves tea leaves were eagerly traded to the British in exchange for the opium that flowed into China. The leaves, silk, paper, and any valuable Chinese good was traded. The Silk Road in Canton had its uses.

Her eyes filled at the simple thought of tea leaves. Everywhere she went, everything she did, was connected to opium and the thoughts of Sano. As if almost being raped weren't enough, Sanosuke's face had to haunt her.

The next few days were empty ones, filled with nothing but mindless wandering and mindless chores of things that had no need to be accomplished. Whatever appointments Megumi had set up with her clients, she avoided, and remained holed up in her house. However, when she did leave her home, sometimes, when she found she needed to, she kept her face well-hidden beneath a scarf or handkerchief.

Of course, these days were blurs, groggy reels of black-and-white films that were scratched and unmemorable. She avoided the touch of others, whether it be the slight brush against the shoulder, or other things. She decided thoroughly that she would rather keep her distance from others, as she now preferred it this way. The simplest touch from another would send shivers running down her spine, and unwelcomed memories playing through her mind.

On one such particular day, when she felt the need to get out and about, she walked up and down the streets of Canton. Many rickshaw boys scampered up to her, talking in rapid Cantonese, asking if she would need a ride. She shook her head at these boys, and sighed at the poor lives these boys lived. After days of work, their feet would blister, their backs would bend unnaturally, and the younger rickshaw peddlers would get the majority of the business.

But she continued down the narrow street, avoiding others, not sure where to go. The people around her hustled and bustled about at their own pace, and jostling about at their own business to attend to. She sighed ruefully, Why did I leave the house if I don't need anything?

She passed a group of Russians, who eyed her monotonously as she passed. After the Red War in Russia, many Russians had fled to China, some as far as Shanghai. There were enough of them so they could form what everyone called "The Little Russia" in China. But Russians weren't the only ones. The French, the British, the Americans...they all flocked to China in some hopes of obtaining the slightest piece of the China pie.

But the Chinese were not so pleasant with Japan. The relations between the two Asian countries had been declining, as China had banned all imports from the country. Megumi kept it to herself that she was of Japanese origin; of course, little bothered to ask, as all they were after was her opium. She had been able to improve her Cantonese over the years, and she was near-fluent by now.

Megumi shook her head, as if attempting to toss the thoughts from her mind. She had almost been able to think of other things besides opium, Sanosuke, and her near-rape, but her thoughts had circled back again, and she was shoved back into her original depressed state.

The blood-red sun was slowly sinking into the horizon, melting into the line that divided ground from sky. I really should be heading home...Megumi thought hopelessly. But she suddenly discovered that she had wandered far from home, and it would take her another half an hour for the return journey on foot; she did not wish to ride the rickshaws.

Sanosuke's camp is nearby, I think...

The thoughts sprang into her mind instantaneously, and a sudden, sad frown came upon her lips. Perhaps she would eat dinner at a restaurant before trekking home by foot, alone...

"Oy, Sanosuke!"

Sanosuke turned at the sound of his name.

"That's Captain to you."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the soldier grunted, and a troupe of his friends trudged right along with him, approaching their Captain with smirks on their faces.

"So whatcha get at with that pretty woman?" he smirked, speaking his words softly as if they were words only meant for Sano's ears.

Sano was taken aback by the question, but answered nonetheless, "Nothing."

"Aw, come on, Cap'n! We know you got somethin' serious goin' on wit' 'er," he sighed, "I know I would've had myself a lil' fun...She was a pretty one, tha' she was."

Sanosuke rolled his eyes and began to walk away.

"Jus' gonna let ya know, Cap'n, you had a funny look on y'er face when ya left y'er tent," the man sniggered, and led his friends away.

Sanosuke felt a small tinge of red grow on his ears, but immediately cooled down as he decided to walk around the camp. Many of his soldiers, as useful as they were in battle, had taken full advantage of China's now growing popularity among prostitutes. He also knew fully well that most of them had had their fun with the sing-song girls, but Sano himself had never taken part in any of it. Ever since he left Japan, he kept a low-profile, until, of course, recently, when he formed his troops. Besides, the thought of ten-year-old-prostitutes was enough to make the hairs on the back of his hair stand.

As he passed, the brown-haired man nodded at several uniformed men, who saluted him in return.

Thinking about it, Sano did not seriously intend for there to be a uniform among his men. The collared red-and-white jacket that the men wore was what he wore as well, with the exception of the Aku symbol printed on his jacket and not the others'. They all wore loose black pants, but besides that, the men were free to do what they wished with their attire. Of course, they bore the headband with the "bad" symbol printed upon the center, but that was always fashioned to each individual's likings. Sanosuke would never let go of the symbol, and after discarding his white fighter's outfit, his current uniform would do more than compensate. Such uniformity among his men was merely a wistful wish...

Speaking of wishes...

Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine he would come face to face with the Fox again. Never. Alright, maybe in my wildest dreams, but never in reality, Sano thought grudgingly. He was swept away with so many emotions he did not know what to do. He kept his composure, of course, but deep inside, he wanted to take her back into his arms. But he figured she would hate him for leaving her so long ago...

Ten years it's been, I think...

Those emotions had welled up so strongly within him. But yet...when she told him of her activities in China...dealing opium? She was the last person he would expect to be doing that shit. He thought she had left opium behind her; opium was what had almost driven her to kill herself when she was forced to make it by Takeda Kanryu. So why did she return to producing opium to destroy more lives? The unbearable anger and disgust at the word had allowed the forceful words to escape his mouth.

But what he feared most was that he meant those words. He did not want to see Megumi again so long as she continued to produce and deal opium. He never wanted to come within ten feet of her presence if she had affected so many lives with her lethal opium.

Before he knew it, Sano had reached the edge of his camp, and he found himself staring at the horizon, where the orange-blazed sun started to melt into the ground, casting long, black shadows.

Just the thought of opium and Fox Eyes made his soul burn with such a rage that had always been lying within him.

If seeing her again meant giving up his morals, he would kill her himself.