Author's Notes: First off, I apologize for the extremely long wait! I'm sorry! But secondly, I thank everyone who has reviewed. They've certainly helped me keep my spirits up when my writing had reached a low. Thank you!

Let's see... The flashbacks will continue along...as usual, they're in italics.

I really hope you guys didn't wait for nothing. I hope you all like this chapter, and of course, what's to come!

Disclaimer: Yet again, RK does not belong to me.

Notes to Readers:

To roosterboy: Thank you very much for the detailed and well-thought reviews. They were very much appreciated. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter as well. As always, please keep reading...I'm hoping it'll just get better and better.

To Lara: Wow, I am flattered to have received so many! Thanks so much. I'm really sorry to keep you waiting! But I hope this chapter makes up for that. (We shall see what Sano means...ahahaha...) Haha, please enjoy!

ToCrewel:I feel kinda bad for makingyou sleepless! But anyways, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy this one!

To EveryoneElse(must I say it again?): Ohwow. I am thoroughly thoroughly flattered by all the reviews. Every single last one of them. To me, it's not the number of reviews, but the contents of them, and might I say, I am speechless. No words can express my gratitude. All I can say is that I'm going todo the best I can, andI hope that you all will keep reading and keep up with the fic, becauseas long asI know at least one person is reading, that's all I need!...Oh, and all questions will be answered...in due time...

chap. 7 - broken

"It's not as easy as that, you know," Megumi said as she allowed herself to be led back to Sano's camp. A few stray tears still dripped from her eyes.

Sano's response came delayed, "Yes, I know. But it'll do for now."

Megumi didn't know what that meant, but kept walking behind Sano, preferring not to be touched. Suddenly a thought crossed her mind, and she abruptly halted to a stop. Sano, sensing that Megumi wasn't behind him, turned around as he stared at her, wondering what was going through her mind.

"I can't Sano..." Megumi whispered, "What use is there for me to go back with you to your camp? I'm just a burden. There's no reason for me to stay with you here."

There was a buzz that resounded in the silence, and Sano wished he knew what to say. He really didn't know why he was inviting Megumi back into camp, but somehow, he thought it might ease the pain that was tearing at his heart. An internal conflict still took place within him, but he had to find some way to move forward.

Sanosuke opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly a voice shattered the air first,

"Captain! We've got a problem!"

Sano's eyes closed, pulling his face into a troubled and conflicting expression. He closed his mouth wordlessly.

"Captain Sagara!"

He opened his eyes again and took Megumi's hands in his. She flinched at the touch.

"Listen Megumi. It's up to you. You can go home to where ever and do whatever. You live your life how ever you want to. But my offer still stands. I have to go now."

He dropped Megumi's hands, and took one last look at her as he ran off towards the source of the voice, to whatever problem had arisen.

Megumi stared off at his retreating back, wondering what she was going to do.

It seemed that there were stains on her cheeks where, so often, tears ran amiss, streaming, pouring, dripping down her face in a river of salty tears. Her hair lay in tangles, and her clothes rumpled, wrinkled, crinkled where she had failed to take notice. She was a mess.

Light always hit her skin, which was now white and pale, weak with the grief that pounded within her.

Megumi hadn't the heart to go on.

Kaoru tried so hard so often to offer her condolences and words of comfort. But Megumi wouldn't listen...

Sanosuke was gone...

Kenshin said she needed time.

Kaoru said she needed a friend.

Yahiko said she was being stupid.

But she heard none of it.

Or maybe she had, because one morning, under the hard glare of the sun's rays, they found a scrawled note written in ink, the paper stained with tears.

Megumi had left...

"He has a broken leg. Maybe a concussion and some fractured ribs."

Sanosuke jumped at the voice as he turned around to find Megumi standing right behind him. He was surprised for a split second before he half-smiled at her. He moved aside and allowed Megumi to move towards the injured man that had been carried in. He lay on an elevated futon in a small, ransack tent.

Megumi stepped forward, and allowed her dexterous hands to peel the blood-crusted cloth off of the man's leg. He moaned in pain.

Her voice came mechanical, almost monotonous, "Boil some water. I'm going to need something to be used as a splint, and sturdy bandages."

She turned her head, and faced the soldiers who had gathered, now staring open-mouthed at her.

Sano took action, "You heard her! Get the stuff!"

The men immediately scattered, running off to retrieve what Megumi had requested.

"So I take it this is the problem?" Megumi asked, beginning to clean the cuts on the man's leg. The broken bone would have to be set into place.

"Yeah." Sano did not elaborate, and Megumi did not ask him to.

One of Sano's uniformed men came soon after the supplies and tapped the Captain on the soldier, requesting to talk with him in private.

They left the medical tent in hushed voices. As quiet as their voices may have been, the two stood right outside the tent's entrance, and their conversation carried in on a quiet wind,

"We don't know how Giichi got to be like that, Captain. He's usually one of our best scouts, and can usually cover ground quickly without being spotted." The soldier's voice came in a barely-audible whisper.

"Have you been able to get anything out of him?" Sano asked.

"No Sir, he's half out of it. We're hoping that after he gets his bones reset and rests a bit that he'll be able to talk."

"Make it sooner than that."

"Yessir."

Megumi hurriedly set back to work, pretending not to have heard as Sanosuke made his way back into the tent.

"How is he?" he inquired, looking at Megumi.

"He'll be alright. He'll have to lay off his right leg for awhile after we put the bone back into place. That is...if the bone broke cleanly," Megumi commented crisply.

There was a pause, "Why'd you come back Megumi?" Sanosuke's voice came quiet and curious.

She laughed sadly and shrugged, "I don't know. Why did you invite me back?"

"I don't know. Why are you doing this?"

"I hate to see someone in pain. Why did you leave in the first place?"

"...What d'you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

"No, I don't."

Megumi sighed, "Why did you leave Kyoto before we returned to Tokyo? Why did you leave?"

"You mean why did I leave without telling you."

"No, I'm asking why you left."

"Listen, I know I should've told you --"

"You're avoiding the question." Megumi stopped her work for a split second and looked up at Sanosuke, a disappointed expression on her face. She exhaled tiredly, "Now's not the time. Help me reset this man's leg bone."

"Aren't ya tired, Fox?" Sano asked wearily; they had just finished treating Giichi's wounds and broken bones, and night had fallen. Megumi had deduced that the bones had been broken cleanly, and although Giichi's right leg may be centimeters shorter than his left, he would make a full recovery. After all that, if Megumi wasn't tired, then he was as tired as he thought she was. If that made any sense. "Huh, Fox? Ya gotta be."

Megumi turned to the sound of Sanosuke's voice, and nearly winced at the sound of her old nickname. Her eyes went unfocused, and her answer was at a small, almost pleading whisper, "Don't call me that."

"Sorry Fox, old habits die hard."

Fox Eyes sighed, "Of course I'm tired."

"Well, then, you're in luck."

"Oh? And how's that?"

Captain Sanosuke grinned widely, as if he'd just discovered the answer to the world's most difficult riddle, "We've got a hot spring nearby."

Megumi thought she had heard him wrong, "Yeah...sure..."

"We do!" Sano said dismally, then paused before adding, "I'll keep the men away from the spring. You go ahead and take a soak."

Megumi didn't know whether to trust him or not.

"Go on," he urged, "You're a mess anyways. If you don't go on your own, I'll drag you there and toss you in."

The black-haired woman felt the tight lines across her mouth loosen just-slightly as she responded, "Well, then, I guess you've left me no choice."

The dark trees shrouded and cloaked the opening where a steaming hot spring lay, open and inviting. Though there was a thick forest of trees, Megumi glared suspiciously around, as if she were expecting the gaze of a peeper, wide-eyed. Sano had directed her to the spring, and she was glad that he did not lead her to the spring. She preferred it this way.

Positive that there was no one else around, Megumi slipped off her clothes, and shivered slightly at the breezy night air. Pinning her long, wavy hair up in an elegant knot on top of her head, she lay her washing cloth and small washing tub on the rocks nearby.

The spring was spacious, and was practically calling her name as she sank into the hot water, sighing in satisfaction as the liquid washed over her bare, tense shoulders. The white steam curled to her face and flushed her cheeks a brilliant red.

She lay her head backwards as she let the soothing effect of the hot spring take over, her muscles relaxed, and for the first time in days, she felt peaceful. She stayed like this in that hot spring for quite awhile, content to floating there, immersed in such a relaxing position.

After a little bit, she reached over for her washing cloth to clean her body and scrub away the dirt and grime of the previous days. She soaked the rag in the hot water a bit, and wrung the water out. Smoothing the damp cloth across her shoulders, she sighed contentedly, but flinched as she reached a big, ugly black-and-blue bruise spread across her arms and upper back, nearly at her delicate shoulders.

Megumi paused, and stopped scrubbing at her body. She knew what had caused these bruises a long time ago, but had made no attempt to treat them. The bruises could have easily been gone in a couple of days, and they should have been gone by now. But Megumi made no move to make the physical wounds go away, in some perverse, deranged way, the pain left there from her rape reminded her of reality.

Over time, yes, the black-and-blue spots would disappear, and perhaps she would be alright. Physically. But inside her mind, mentally, she would never forget. The simplest whisper of touch from someone sent shivers up her spine. Of course, she told no one this. Who was there to tell? Sano? He'd laugh.

She didn't even know why he had invited her to stay at his camp. As she had told him repeatedly, she was no use to him or his troops. She was a frightened child among men. Maybe he invited her back out of sympathy? If so, it was a pitiful way to show sympathy, but regardless, Megumi guessed that was just Sanosuke's sad way of trying. Maybe because she was actually useful and she was just being used? She doubted this. Maybe she was here because Sano just plain cared. But this was the last thing that she thought would be apart of Sano's logic.

Just a night ago, he had told her that he did not forgive her. And not days before that, he had said that he had never wanted to see her again, much less speak with her. So what had brought about the change of mind, much less such a dramatic one? If she didn't know better, she'd say he was being ridiculously illogical and acted rashly based on strong emotions.

It was all just a bunch of "what if's" and questions...meaningless thoughts that would not be answered unless she asked them.

Megumi laughed sadly, and finished up her soak, drying herself off, and made her way slowly back to Sano's camp.

A thunderous roar of a boat's horn pierced the sky, shattering the clouds and erupting ashes of thick, grey smoke. These wisps of dirty clouds drifted across the landscape of the busy and prosperous city of Canton.

Megumi had just stepped off of this boat, and onto the streets of Guangzhou, the known Chinese name of Canton. The feeling was overwhelming, this sense of being at the center of the rush, and she stood there for awhile, dumb-founded and full of questions.

By now, she had been at nearly every city of China, scouring the streets and questioning individuals who may know the whereabouts of Sanosuke. She had gone through Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and now, she had reached Canton. She had decided a long time ago that Sano would never waste time in a small city, but take his chances in a well-known and grand place. At the time, she didn't know how right she was.

With the sun's rays beating down on her, she knew that her chances of finding Sano was slim to none, but she kept going. It had been nearly ten years, and she found no reason to stop.

Sighing, she went through the usual procedure of attempting to settle in the city. Shadows passed her feet, dotting her face and concealing her figure as she passed through a marketplace, the rings and calls of eager venders filling the air. She would find a place to stay for the night, rest up, and hopefully by morning find a place to work to keep up with the financial callings.

However, as she passed through the streets, she stopped as a sign caught her eye. Written in elegant Chinese calligraphy, the black ink pronounced a worker was needed. Her gaze shifted as she found that the building was a medical clinic. Her first instinct was to find a place to stay first, then find work, but her judgment got the better of her as she walked through the swinging wooden door, a tiny bell tinkling above her as she entered.

The smell of burning incense and smoky ashes greeted her in one powerful wave. The fumes from the lighted candles produced smoky wisps that floated and curled to the roof, gathering there and creating an eerie effect of upside-down fog. Megumi coughed once, and lifted her hand to her mouth,

"Hello? Is anybody here?" Immediately, she clamped her mouth shut as she realized she had said the words in Japanese. Not expecting a response, she opened her mouth to call again, but she was cut off as an old, broken voice responded,

"My, my, I don't recall ever coming across a Japanese before." A shadowed figure came into view, and soon from the shadows came a hobbled old man, who wobbled on a crooked wooden cane. The old man's voice came in an equally fluent Japanese tongue.

Megumi smiled nervously as she gestured to the sign that was hanging precariously from the building's dusty window, "So...you are offering a job?" This time, she spoke in Cantonese.

"Yes indeed," came the man's response, still in Japanese. He paused for a moment, as if assessing Megumi before adding, "My dear child, there is no need to speak in a language that you are not comfortable with. Take pride in your ethnicity. I myself am part-Cantonese and part-Japanese, so there is no need to speak in your second language."

Megumi nodded slowly, not sure how to respond to this, "Erm...as for the job?"

The white hairs on the old man's head quivered as he shook his head, "Hasty, now are we?"

Megumi stayed silent.

He smiled again and motioned for Megumi to follow him. She did so, and found herself waving away cloth flaps that hung from a doorway that led into a small room. The walls were lined with intricate ink paintings, but otherwise, lay simple and clean. He beckoned her to sit, and she did as he hobbled over to a corner of the room to fetch a steaming ceramic teapot. Setting it down on the low table, he slowly sat down across from Megumi, and poured the green tea into two cups. At the center of the mahogany table stood another incense candle, scented smoke drifting upwards.

The old man got himself situated before asking, "Well, now what experience do you possess?"

Megumi hesitated before speaking clearly, "My family has a history of prestigious doctors, and my medical background is quite thorough...I just arrived here at Canton, and I was hoping for a job having to do with medicine."

The old man smiled and laughed, "No, no, my dear, you must have misunderstood. What experience do you possess?" He grinned widely, and took a small pipe out of his sleeve. Placing the carved pipe on the table, he reached into his pockets again, this time coming out with a small packet. Eying Megumi in the most unreadable way, he gently opened the small paper triangle, unfolding the edges and revealing a fine, white powder. Still carrying the same expression, he carefully poured the powder into his pipe before lighting the mixture with a small, thin, lighted match.

The black-haired woman sat confused and befuddled, not exactly sure what the old man was getting at. "Well...er...I can reset broken bones, mix medicinal herbs and powders...--"

The old man suddenly leaned forward, the table creaking beneath him. Megumi stopped speaking immediately, and had to strain her ears to hear the carefully whispered words leaving the man's mouth,

"My dear...can you mix opium or not?"

Megumi thought she had heard wrong, and that it was all a big joke. She gave the old man a strange look before answering slowly, almost stuttering,

"Do you mean...for medicine use?"

The man smiled, revealing missing teeth, as well as a gold one, "My dear, opium has been illegal since 1836...it has been three years since that day opium was banned from Canton's streets...but the devil's drug still exists...oh, yes, it still remains."

He paused, gazing at Megumi's still form; she dared not take a breath.

"So...my dear, answer the question...can you produce opium for me or not? You will be paid in large sums...cash, of course."

A heavy silence filled the room, and Megumi found it suffocating. It was then that Megumi realized that the candle burning in the room was not burning incense, but opium.

"I...I'm sorry," Megumi finally breathed, "I must have been mistaken...I am looking for a job as a doctor." Megumi stood to move to leave the room, but the old man's voice echoed behind her,

"My dear...you will never find a job here as a doctor...not while you remain here in Canton. Money is scarce, and to live, you are either used, a user, or an oblivious soul."

Megumi did not reply, and stepped forward.

"What drives you forward, eager Fox?"

The question stopped Megumi dead in her tracks, not wanting to answer the question, but did anyway.

"Someone."

The old man sighed, a huff of smoke leaving his lips as he exhaled the opium, "Well, then, I would take this job for that someone. Or your want to live may diminish soon. My dear, you have the ability to produce opium, I can see it in your eyes...in your motions..."

Megumi still did not turn around as the old man's voice vibrated across the room,

"My dear, because I hold you in such high regard, I will allow my offer to stand. Think about it. Perhaps you may scour for another job, chasing your ambition to serve in this city as a doctor...but after awhile, my guess is you will find it futile, and come crawling back to me, begging me to take you in. However, consider my generosity...if you utter a word of this place to another soul, like, let us say, an official...then you will find yourself robbed of much more than just your dreams."

Megumi paused, telling herself...reassuring herself, that she would find Sano another way.

She walked out of the room.

Only weeks later, she walked back in.

"So Fox, how'd you know I was in Canton?"

Megumi lifted her head at the question, and stared blankly at Sanosuke, not sure what kind of answer he was searching for. She had just returned from the hot spring and once again, found herself inside Sano's large tent, still wondering how she wound up in the same place twice. Night had fallen, and crickets chirped rhythmically, adding melody to the flickering candlelight. She breathed deeply before responding,
"I didn't."

Sano frowned, "C'mon, you didn't get this far without a tip-off or somethin'. You didn't go to the cops did'ya?"

Megumi gave him a strange look, "Sano, you ran away because of the police."

"I didn't run away."

"Then what do you want to call it? Heroically fleeing?"

"Hah hah, very funny; I'm laughing."

Megumi sighed, saying seriously, "I'm not laughing, Sano. Kenshin told me that you had gone to China, and that's it. I guess I acted before thinking and ran off to China without asking Kenshin if he knew anything else. I realized too soon that China is a big country."

"Yeah, she sure is," this time Sanosuke smiled, "So what are the chances that we'd run into each other again?"

Megumi shrugged, "I guess there was always that possibility that I would never find you..." Megumi trailed off, suddenly conscious that she was saying too much. An uncomfortable silence hung in the tent, and neither wanted to tread into dangerous waters. Neither wanted to admit that they had once had a relationship far stronger than friendship. Neither wanted to admit what they were feeling at that very moment.

The brown-haired man grinned broadly, breaking the silence, "But I guess you found me."

Megumi nodded, "Sano...I want to know...and I know I keep asking...but... What did the police have pinned on you that made you walk out on us in Japan? Was it that terrible that it made you that scared --"

"I wasn't scared," Sano interjected. A strange look had overcome his face.

"But you left," Megumi countered, "What were you being blamed for?"

Sanosuke frowned deeply, the shadowed lines curving at the edges of his mouth, "I don't want to talk about it."

"But Sano --"

"Don't even mention it," Sano said monotonously. He got up abruptly, almost knocking over the candle in the process. The hot, melted wax dripped from the top as it swayed and hardened as it hit the ground.

"Sanosuke --"

"You can sleep in here again, obviously. Maybe we'll get you your own tent. That way I can get my own tent back," Sano said succinctly, apparently in a hurry to leave.

"Why are you running away?"

"I'm not."

The candle went out.

Sanosuke sighed, and tilted his chair back a bit in a vague attempt to stretch out his back. The wooden counter before him was laden with several ceramic cups and bowls, dishes filled with a variety of exotic foods. But before Sano sat merely a cup steaming with warm sake. Downing another shot, Sanosuke sighed contentedly, and his mind wandered yet again, as it so often did since he arrived in Canton.

He had found a comfortably almost-affordable inn he could rest at, complete with a bar and restaurant below the guest rooms. Sano actually had no idea how he was going to pay for everything, and the thought of getting a job sent shivers of unpleasant thoughts down his spine. Regardless, he would find a way.

Sanosuke yawned, and shifted his elbows on the countertop, resting his chin in the palm of his upturned hand. Closing his eyes, he almost fell asleep, but was immediately interrupted by a loud, British voice,

"Well now, how are you doing, mister? You look awfully tired."

It took Sano a couple of moments before realizing the man was talking to him. The British man was rather stout and had a plump figure, but appeared to be in-shape. He dressed eloquently, and addressed Sano with a distinct, civilized voice, reasonably laced with a British accent.

Sano replied in English, almost muttering the words, "Yeah, I'm pretty tired."

The British man looked behind him, as if expecting someone, before turning back to Sano, holding out a small white object between his thumb and forefinger, "Have a little bit of this here, mate. It'll soothe your nerves and everything."

Sano picked up his head from his palm, staring curiously at the smoking object in the man's hand. "What is that?"

"Nothing you should concern yourself with. All you need to know is that it soothes your soul. It's what everyone in China is doing."

It took Sano's brain less than five seconds to comprehend what was in the man's hand: opium. The spiky-haired man scowled and said in an almost-angry voice, "No thanks, that stuff'll kill me. I've heard too much of that drug, and I already know it's a waste of everything."
The Britain's face turned smug before taking a drag himself, and muttering bitter words beneath his breath, "'Fraid you're behind on times, mate. You don't know what you're missing." He exhaled, and a white smoke trailed to the roof of the building.

Sano laughed, "Sorry, I know exactly what I'm missing. Opium's a devil's drug that'll kill you. It's killed half of China."

"Now, now, no need to be bitter. I respect that you don't have anything to do with opium, mate, but there's no need to criticize what other people do for a living." The Britain's expression was almost-angry now, and a red, offended glare filled his eyes.

Sano opened his mouth to argue, when suddenly a loud crack issued from behind him. He flung his head around, and his breath was caught in his throat as he saw two Chinese policemen standing in the doorway, their black shiny boots clicking on the wooden floor boards. Beside him, the Britain hastily extinguished his opium, and shoved the joint in his mouth, swallowing it in one tremendous gulp.

"Nobody move," one of the policemen said in a fast Cantonese tongue, "We have been informed that a wanted criminal is in the facility. Nobody is permitted to leave the area until our inspection is complete."

Sano gulped, sweat suddenly forming at his temples. His heart was racing, and he knew he had to somehow get out of the inn. Even if the police weren't specifically looking for him, he could be discovered, and everything would have gone to waste. He could lose much more than a few years in prison.

It was as if time had slowed, and everything was moving as if they were underwater. It took Sano seconds later to realize the policeman was walking up to him, and pointing at him.

Words left the man's mouth, and Sanosuke heard them, solid and sentencing.