Author's Notes: So sorry. I admit, I do not look forward to this fic coming to a close. But alas, I cannot prolong it any longer. I'm still considering the ending, and it is in the works. For now, here is Chapter 15. It is a little on the short side, but I hope the occurances in this chapter make up for its length. Please continue to review, I love your reviews to no end.

Disclaimer: Nopes.

chap. 15 - pieces

Pretty soon, Sanosuke had gained back enough strength so that he could stand on his feet. However, he was still weakened enough that he could not walk for an extended amount of time, but he could still manage his way across the room and back -- not that he could see where he was walking.

Life without vision had stripped Sano of what he had always assumed would always be there. No longer could he see the vibrant colors of a room or of his own flesh, but always he was enveloped in a darkness that made his eyes sting with soreness. Whenever he awoke, he squinted, half-expecting to open his eyes to a bright tent filled with yellow sunshine. But always it was black.

Often times the blankness made him feel like he could not hear either. Like someone had turned off his eyes and ears. But he knew he could hear. He just could not see.

The first time a meal was placed before him, it took a good amount of time for him to distinguish where his chopsticks were, where his bowl was, and where his tea was.

But the robbing of one of his senses made his other ones keener. His sense of hearing, for example, was heightened, and he began to notice the pettiest sounds that he would normally not acknowledge. He also relied on his sense of touch, and began to practice walking, by feeling his way across the room.

The long days he took to recover gave him plenty of time to think and to recollect memories. Knowing that he was in the house of the woman he had turned away so often brought a weight on his heart, regrets stinging deep. There were times he sat on his futon, thinking of what he would have said to Hoji, not able to accept that he was gone.

One night, he woke up from a nightmare that took him seconds to realize it was no nightmare, but a memory... He had said to himself, shortly before he left to fight, that he would apologize to his friend. For hitting him, for blaming him. But now...he was gone, and the only time Sanosuke would ever say his heart-lifting words would be in Hell or Heaven. He had never felt such a wrenching pain tear at his heart.

Combined with current events, his thoughts on Megumi were no help. He wanted so badly to say something, to make the heavy silence lift. He wanted so badly to take her heart and make it light again...knowing fully well that her heart was cold and heavy, just as his.

Long after she had taken away the remnants of his dinner, he found he could not sleep and began to restlessly pace the room in his darkness, lost in the whirls of his mind and the cold night. Outside, it had begun to rain again; rain especially hard. The torrents of pounding rain bellowed on the roof of the house, thunder screaming across the sky, muffled by the four walls enclosing him.

He reached a wall, then paused, hearing vibrations reverberate across the room, not like the sounds of the rain. Immediately, he sensed a presence, and immediately, the same pounding of pain shrieked in his being. She was standing there, in the doorway, observing him with the same cold stare he could imagine on her face. He knew she stood there, in her blue kimono. Her cheeks would be tender with old tears, and her hair would be a mess, tangled and tussled from sleepless nights. He knew her forehead would be creased with stress and pain.

All this he could imagine, and he knew to be true.

She was suffering.

And he knew he was the cause.

His head hung bowed, and he stood there silently. Slowly, his lips moved, penetrating the darkness, a slow whisper ushered in a faintest tone that barely made its way to her. "Gomen..."

She stiffened; he could feel it. She didn't know he knew she was there; he could sense it.

With a detached sort of voice, she replied wryly, "You think that's all it takes?"

It was his turn to be quiet. "I don't know. I don't know what else to do. I don't know what I can do."

"And what do you know?" Her tone resonated with a slight sneer that struck a needle in his heart.

That darkness again. He lifted his head up, hearing the thunder crack across the sky, hearing the walls creak and groan with the merciless winds.

"It's not easy," her voice uttered, low and freezing cold, sending shivers up his spine, "I was humiliated and wrongly accused. I died that day, Sanosuke. When your men found me on that port, I had planned on leaving Canton, going back to Japan, and forgetting you. I was only deterred by the battle. I didn't plan on returning here. But yet, I'm here, standing across from you, of all people. You, the person I thought I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, but now I know otherwise." She paused and walked closer to him, standing by the wall and remaining a good three feet away from him.

His ears buzzed with the sound of rain.

"I thought I would be happy when I found you. I never thought I would find you. But I did, and guess wut? I'm not happy. I'm torn and broken. You're immature and unreliable. You won't open up to me, won't even tell me why you left Japan in the first place --"

Her words were abruptly cut short as he advanced in one sweeping motion, his arms on either side of her. He felt his hands pound against the wall, trapping her in front of him. He leaned in, pressing every part of him against her, and he felt her tremble beneath him. Her warmth emanated from her body, pressed against the hard wall. His mouth moved to her ear, whispering quiet words that were almost lost in the next crack of thunder.

"You want to know why I left? I was never going to tell you, because you were never meant to know. But you want to know so badly. So listen carefully. And know."

The day was exceptionally sunny. Bright sunshine tinkled across the sky, blinding one immediately with the vibrant blue that held not a speck of cloud in its grasp.

Sanosuke was in a good mood. He whistled cheerfully as he strolled down the dirt pathway, on his way to a local teahouse, where he had promised Megumi he would meet her. Unfortunately, he had left later than he had anticipated, and in his mind's eye, he could see her scowling impatience, already seated and waiting for him, cursing his tardiness.

But he kept his moderate pace, knowing fully well he was keeping his Fox waiting. He laughed out loud at her seriousness towards him and shook his head.

Upon reaching the half-way mark between where he had left and his destination, he was stopped. Immediately, he could sense the heavy cloud of grim countenances; stern faces surrounded him with a foreboding effect, but he kept his head cool, stopping with a lax expression and allowing his hands to find their way into his pockets, slouching half-heartedly.

Surrounding him (whether intentionally or no) were the police force of Kyoto. Among their company was Saitoh, the former Shinsen Gumi captain, leading the pack of Japan's most elite secret police, staring at Sanosuke with the upmost of contempt. The last person in the world Sanosuke wanted to see, the pale skinned, dark-haired man stood directly in front of Sanosuke, while his men kept him within their grasp.

"Well, Sagara, it looks as if you're going to have to come with us," Saitoh breathed softly, lethally, without a word of explanation.

Sanosuke smirked at the former-captain, cocking his head mockingly to one side before replying with equal cunningness, "Sorry to disappoint you, but you're going to have to go to the bottom of my to-do list." Those words being said, Sanosuke straightened from his slouch and began to step forward, only to have the ring of police authorities tighten the circle surrounding him.

Sano's eyebrows raised inquiring at the nearest officer, and he turned to Saitoh, "I believe your men are deaf as well as stupid; I'm not going anywhere with you."

Saitoh chuckled softly, his arms folding behind his back. He walked up to the brown-haired fighter, his expression unreadable as he leaned in uncomfortably close, breathing words meant only for Sanosuke's ears, "I suggest you don't put up a fight...or your lady friend waiting in the teahouse will be in for a surprise when we show up looking for her." Saitoh arched back, pulling away as he stared, amused, at the steely expression on Sanosuke's face.

"You black-mailing bastard," Sanosuke whispered in reply. Grudgingly, he held up his hands in a sign of surrender, glaring at the former captain with a look of murder in his eyes. Saitoh smiled maliciously at this and beckoned his men to follow him, Sano in tow.

They reached an unmarked building, and the officers dragged Sanosuke inside. The inner chambers were no more welcoming than the inside of a cavern. Dark, dank, and constricting, Sanosuke would have much preferred being interrogated (for whatever reason) outside rather than in. However, it was soon proven that he had no say in the matter as he was shoved into a nearby chair, watched with sharp eyes by the men following Saitoh.

"Whatever the hell it is, I didn't do it," Sanosuke fumed as he glared at Saitoh. The leader of the secret police only smirked knowingly in return, pulling a match towards an unlighted cigarette dangling precariously between his lips. The flare of the flame briefly illuminated the high cheek bones of the former Shinsen Gumi captain, as well as the sneering stare.

"Guilty conscience, Sagara?" The tip of the cigarette burned a brilliant orange before dulling, and Saitoh inhaled deeply, expelling the white puffs of smoke into the air in one breath. Leaning on a wall and taking one last cold glare at Sano, Saitoh began to speak,

"Believe it or not, baka, you're not here for you. You know a Megumi Takani well, do you not?"

There was a pause, as Sanosuke forced himself through the confusion bubbling in his mind, "What does she have anything to do with police business?"

Another drag, another cloud of smoke. "Much. We are well aware that she has been...ah, shall we say, tangled, with the very dangerous, very complicated business of opium. It seems that she previously produced an extremely deadly form of the drug for the entrepreneur, Kanryu Takeda."

"She was dropped of those charges."

Saitoh smirked, the cigarette quivering. "Ah, but only by a petty, local officer. We are no unknown authority figure, Sagara, we investigate these crimes in detail. Whether or not she was arrested at the same moment as Kanryu is hardly the matter. Further speculation dictates that her actions were undeniably illicit and constitutes an arrest. You're only here to confirm so we can make that arrest. Sadly, without a witness's statement that confirms our suspicion, we can't take any sort of immediate action."

Sanosuke's mind was in a whirlwind. What? Why now? Of all times...she had lived out her life determined to make amends, and at that very moment, it amounted to nothing.

"You are thinking that this has all been in the past and should have been forgotten. I agree, but this was no small crime that we can merely push to the side. There have to be consequences, Sagara." The dark-haired man pulled the cigarette from his lips with two fingers, tapping the burning ashes away. "So save yourself the trouble at tell us she was the one who made the opium, and you're free to go where ever your heart desires."

But she doesn't go free... Sano weighed the chances, considered the possibilities. She was coerced into making it...Sano thought, She may have made it, but it wasn't of her free will...she shouldn't have to pay...that price was already paid by Kanryu. They have their main man, why won't they leave her alone?

"We're waiting."

"It wasn't her." The words left his mouth fluidly.

"Excuse me?"

"It was me."

Saitoh emerged from the wall, staring intently at Sanosuke, trying to read the expression that had briefly flickered across the figher's face. "You're taking the blame for her, aren't you?"

Sanosuke said nothing.

"You're going to have to run that by me again."

"I take full responsibility. Don't arrest her, arrest me. It wasn't her."

Mildly surprised, Saitoh took one last breath from his cigarette before dropping it to the ground, crushing the smothered ashes with his heel. "You understand, Sagara, that we are now going to take this time to arrest you. If you know what's good for you, come quietly." From the corners of his eyes, Sanosuke could spot the men advancing on him.

It was now Sano broke from his calm, stolid expression, his lips curving into an amused smile, "Oh, but who says I'll come quietly?" Jumping from his seat, he side-stepped, getting a grip on the chair as he flung it at the nearest officer. Amidst the ruckus, Sanosuke could make out Saitoh's command: "Don't let him get away." Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sano wondered why Saitoh's tone was so calm...but then again, it was Saitoh.

A uniformed man came tumbling towards him with a sword and a fist. Ducking downwards, Sanosuke tripped him and went messily sprawling towards the exit of the building.

Please don't let them have guns...Sanosuke thought wildly, urging his feet to move. He knew that he would stand no chance in getting away if they began shooting at him. He wouldn't be able to get pass that kind of ammunition.

His heart pounded without mercy, and he squinted at the sudden change of lighting -- he found himself outside, standing before the busy street. Looking back, he saw that strangely, no one had followed him. Saitoh was playing a game.

Thinking Saitoh had a trick up his sleeve, Sano took the long way towards the Aoiya, through the busiest and most crowded paths. Saitoh would have most likely have every back alley prowling with his officers, and Sanosuke was in no mood to be caught. Slowly, he was getting further and further away from the teahouse, where a furious Megumi cursed at Sano and began to leave the restaurant in a huff.

He made it back safely, quickly packed his few belongings, said a good-bye to Kenshin...and began his life as a wanted criminal.

He never told Megumi. He never said good-bye to her.

"Why did I yell at you so much? Why was there hatred in my voice? Because, Megumi, I had protected you. I owed you something, and I gave my life to those officials. I thought you'd never mix with opium again. I thought you had learned your lesson. That's why I took the blame. That's why. I was wrong."

His story breathed to her with a soft tone, never raising above a whisper, while all the while she remained with her back against the wall, the dark room surrounding her and Sanosuke trapping her beneath him.

He finished with both a sad look on his face and a sad quality to his voice. His face was so close to hers, and he tilted forward, his lips a breath away from hers...but he stepped back, and she fell to the ground, trembling.

The vicious sound of thunder at her feet, she ran out.