A/N: I am back and determined to finish this story! It's been so long since I've last wrote though...my writing is so rusty and weak! Arghhh...please bear with my poor grammar and lack of creativity and cracker-like dry style. Hopefully it'll get better!
Disclaimer: If I owned RK, I would definitely not be sitting in the corner of the local cafe stealing their wifi...so no, I do not own own Rurouni Kenshin. Also, standard disclaimer applies to the songs I used in this chappie.
Chapter 4. The Rabbit Hole
Megumi opened her eyes to find herself in the boat harbor. Behind her, Mt. Marathon stood tall and proud with snow glistening and in front, the majestic Resurrection Bay glittered underneath the bright sunlight. It was one of those rare sunny winter days and that should put her in a good mood...
But she knew where this dream was going.
After all these years, I will not…Megumi closed her eyes and concentrated.
She has trained her mind over the years to shift the dream to a more favorable location, like her toxicology laboratory or Fairbanks, where her fiancé was from.
She opened her eyes again, but nothing.
She was still there, in the warm sunlight with the clouds drifting lazily above her. The sounds of sea gulls seem to be mocking her.
Determined, Megumi closed her eyes again. She pictured her fiancé with the crooked grin and the small pair of glasses. He always wore suits even on the hottest days.
"Megumi."
She froze. It was too late.
"Ooh na na what's my name? Ooh na na what's my name-"Before Rihanna could answer her own question, Misao turned the alarm ringtone off and buried herself deeper into her blanket.
"Just five more minute…"She mumbled.
Sadly, her wish was not granted.
"Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no river wi-" Misao fumbled around with her phone and sighed.
Why did she sign up for the 6am shift again?
She rolled herself out of bed and opened her bedroom door, trying to be discreet so she doesn't wake her roommate up.
"Megumi?" If Misao wasn't awake before, she was now. Megumi has always been the worst out of the three of them in terms of waking up in the morning. There was a reason why most of her classes were in the afternoon and evening.
"Hi Misao." Sitting in the dark corner with the lamp light dimmed, Megumi managed a weak smile.
"Are you okay?"
"Just a nightmare," The older girl shrugged," I'm fine."
"It's 5 in the morning," Young as Misao may be, she was not naive, "Night owls like you don't just wake up and perch on the sofa like a ghost because of a nightmare."
"You're right," Megumi got up, her hair falling perfectly on her back," I should be in bed. Have fun at work."
Staring at the now-empty living room, Misao pouted.
And here she thought she and Megumi were going to have a heart-to-heart conversation on the meaning of life and the matter of death.
She sighed again. She hated morning shifts.
"Hey you. Come over here." The Head of the History Department waved unceremoniously at his student.
"Yes, Professor Hiko." Kenshin muttered. I almost made it to the stairs!
"No respect for your elders these days. Hmph. Anyways, this is the new assistant for the Center for Japanese Studies."
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Kenshin Himura," The redhead smiled and extended a hand, "I'm a history major with a focus in Japanese history, so I'm sure I'll be visiting you lots."
"The pleasure's all mine," Warm chocolate brown eyes sparkled as he shook Kenshin's hand, "I'm Sanosuke Sagara, but you can call me Sano."
"Where you from, Sano?"
"Seward, Alaska."
"Megumi, are you okay?"
It took her a second to realize the question was directed at her.
"I'm fine." She grabbed the toy he just finished sanitizing and put it on the towel to air dry.
"You don't seem fine." Megumi and him both have been volunteers at the Children's Hospital in the activity department for last year together, so they know each other pretty well. At the session today, he noticed the dazed look in her eyes and the random answers she gave to the little patients.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He repeated his question.
"What happened to the I'm-cooler-than-all-of-you-cucumbers attitude? And I'm-a-man-of-few-words persona? And I'm-a-walking-icebox image?" Megumi winced as soon as the last bit came out, "Sorry…I'm having a bad day."
"Oh yeah?" He waited patiently.
"I had another dream of Seward." Megumi admitted reluctantly.
"Nebraska?"
"Oh for chocolate's sake, you know which Seward I'm talking about. I never ask you which Valley you are referring to when you talk about the Valley, do I?" The two of them were both from Alaska and have had multiple discussions regarding the differences between the Last Frontier and the Lower 48.
"Just clarifying." He took a yellow plastic teacup and started washing it.
"It was okay," Megumi finally said and stared blankly at the cart of toys they have to wash, "It didn't go very far. I was at the Small Boat Harbor and he called my name. I turned, saw him, and that was it…I've had worse versions."
"Hm." Was all her colleague said.
"I would tell my fiancé this but he's still away on his business trip."
"I'm sure you will."
"He called me, after all these years…"
Her partner's hand stopped on the spray bottle.
"But it's too late," Megumi continued, "I'm engaged to Kanryu."
"And you don't want to go down that rabbit hole again, do you?" He turned to face his companion.
Megumi looked into her fiance's friend's blue eyes with determination, "I refuse to, Aoshi."
The stage is set...for DRAMA! (I think haha...I'm a sucker for drama.
Anyways...just so we are all on the same page. The Valley where Aoshi is from refers to two different cities within Alaska, Wasilla and Palmer. Because both of these cities are located in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, some people call them the Valley or the Matsu Valley for short. However, people actually from that area do not like the nickname. Also Seward, Alaska is one of the cutest little towns ever and is near where I currently reside. I thought about it and figured it'd be easier to describe places that I'm actually familiar with, and hence, Ann Arbor, Indianapolis, and Alaska.
Is it a surprise Megumi's fiancé is Kanryu? There's a reason for it and I think it'll all make sense!
I almost had Hiko call Kenshin baka denshi, but I thought about it and it was weird...I may have him say it in future chapters, but who knows.
And Sano is an expert in Japanese History! Yay! I figured his research area would the Bakamatsu and the Sekiho Army :3 Fanfics usually don't give Sano enough intellectual credits, so I'm giving him lots in mine because I can! Haha
Last but not least, sorry for the short chapter. I'm still learning to balance work with academia with hobbies :)
Leave a review and let me know what you think!
