Sano strode casually along the dusty street, fish bone between his teeth and hands shoved deep into his pockets. His white gi stuck uncomfortably to his skin; it was a hot day and the young ex fighter was sweating profusely. "Damn this bloody heat!" He mumbled to himself. Just then he was passing by the Akabeko when a group of rough looking men stepped out into the hot afternoon sun.
"No, I'm tellin' you he went to that lady doctor but she turned him down right then and there; wouldn't even take a look at his busted arm!"
"Well maybe she had a good reason? I mean after all, you know Ji-han has a bit of thing for her; fool probably faked the whole thing!"
The tallest man in the group shook his head, his thick brows furrowed together in anger. "That ain't the point! The point is, that woman's got a duty to look after any and every patient that comes her way. She doesn't have a right to question their motives and she sure as hell ain't got a right standing up my brother! She's nothing more than a scheming opium cookin' whore."
Sanouske's blood boiled and his fists clenched—his nails digging into his palms till they drew blood. No one had any right to talk about the doc that way and especially not with him around—he couldn't believe the audacity of this ruffian, smearing Megumi's reputation as a doctor was bad enough but then to start saying dirty things about his fox…that was it, Sano snapped.
Whirling around, he faced the group of four men. "You know, if I was you, I'd be real careful about what I said about the lady doctor around here. There are a lot of folks who love her and even a couple more who would be more than happy to knock your teeth out on account of your dirtying up her name."
"Oh yeah? And just who the hell do you think you are?!" the tall man yelled at Sanouske, shaking his fist at him and gritting his teeth.
"Well it just so happens I'm the one that falls into the category of knocking your teeth out—you're not gonna be going around talking about Megumi like that—I won't allow it!" And true to his word, Sanouske charged the group of four men, fists flying and eyes blazing with rage and fire.
# # # #
It was nearly four thirty and Megumi had just bid farewell to her last patient of the day; a sweet old man who'd been over-working himself in the fields and caught a spell of heat stroke. Megumi sent him home with his fretful granddaughter with the instructions of plenty of fluids and rest and no work in the fields. He'd protested, declaring he was as strong as an ox; his granddaughter scolded him and Megumi only giggled and smiled. "I understand, Chenpo-san but please heed my instructions; you want to still be around to welcome that little great-grandchild into this world, don't you?"
The old man took one glance at his granddaughter's swollen belly and offered a consenting smile.
They left with waves and promises to obey her instructions and Megumi turned back to her clinic, gathering up tools, medicines and linens as she prepared to tidy up and close for the day. She was just putting away the last few vials of Peppermint herb when she heard heavy footsteps outside the door followed by a slow knock. "Well that's odd—hopefully there isn't an emergency…" She wiped her hands on the front of her smock and headed for the door. Opening it, she was met with the tall, broad-shouldered form of Sano—not to mention a decent gash above his left eye, a busted bleeding lip and of course, his right hand mangled…again.
"Uh hey there, Kitsune…I know it's about time you close usually but I uh…" The young man scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly down at her.
Megumi Rolled her eyes but said nothing as she stepped to the side, allowing him to enter. It wasn't until she slammed the door somewhat forcefully behind him that Sano winced and braced himself for a good hot scolding.
"Really, Sano?! How many times are we going to go through this! No matter what I tell you, or Kenshin or Karou, you still manage to get yourself into these ridiculous brawls and then I'm left with fixing up your hand, again just for you to go out and break it again!"
"Hey look, I can't help it if trouble finds me, Fox okay? There's stupid, reckless people everywhere lookin' for a fight and I can't help it if they choose to cross paths with me."
She only rolled her eyes and groaned as she went to fetch the gauze, linens, disinfectant needle and thread. "Come here. Sit down right there." She instructed him firmly.
Sano grinned once her back was turned; he had to admit, he loved it when the fox ordered him around with that tone of hers—he'd never tell anyone but it always seemed to somewhat turn him on when she got all business with him; her fire always left him intrigued.
Having seated himself on one of the empty hospital cots reserved for when Megumi performed surgery, he waited patiently as Megumi settled herself on a stool before him, laying her supplies on a nearby table.
"Lean forward, please."
He did as he was told, leaning his elbows heavily on his knees.
A period of silence fell between the two but it wasn't uncomfortable; they were used to this dynamic between them.
Megumi rolled up her sleeves, tied her hair back away from her face with a long sash and started tending to Sano's wounds. "Well…this is certainly a new one; I don't think I've seen you with a—gash and bloody lip—in quite some time." She mused as her eyes fixated on his foreign injuries.
"Well they got a few more hits in on me than usual but I handled 'em just fine." The man's chocolate brown eyes sparkled somewhat triumphantly as Megumi shook her head, leaning forward as she cleaned the wound site with disinfectant.
It stung sharply at first and Sano couldn't hold back a wince.
"Sorry, Sano—this stings at first."
"Whoa really? Did I just hear and apology from you, Kitsune? Hell I must be doing something right then." He chuckled warmly.
Megumi scoffed but she couldn't hold back a smile. "Yes, you're managing to keep me more than busy; honestly even if I were to lose every other patient I have, I think you could keep my business running just fine!"
"Is that a compliment I'm hearing?"
"Oh I don't know if getting into brawls every day of the week should be considered an accomplishment, Rooster head; more like reckless behavior."
He watched her face carefully as she continued to minister to him; something in the air between them seemed different; subtle changes had been happening in their friendship since the Lover's Festival last month but Sano couldn't for the life of him, pinpoint what it was.
Megumi worked diligently but the feeling of Sano's steady gaze on her, compromised her concentration and she shifted uncomfortable in her seat.
"Somethin' botherin' you Kitsune?" His voice was surprisingly quiet and the rich timber—which Megumi had never really noticed before—caused heat to raise to her cheeks. Hoping to disguise it, she turned away from him as she reached for the needle and thread.
"This cut you have needs stitches, Sano."
"Well by all means, stitch me up Doc, I'm all yours."
The last word seemed to hold more emphasis to it and Megumi squirmed, suspicious of s deeper meaning behind it.
Sanouske caught the slight blush in her cheeks as she cleared her throat and he barely hid a smile. Seems the kitsune is a little nervous or maybe even bashful…aw well that's sweet and to think it's because of me! This must be my lucky day. Just as Megumi was turning back to face him, Sano purposely leaned in closer so that when she turned, his face was now barely inches from hers.
Megumi startled and a tiny gasp escaped her lips.
Sanouske's face was just inches from hers; she hadn't even noticed he'd moved and now his chocolate brown eyes were boring into her wine colored orbs.
"Uh-S-sano what are you doing?" She hated the sound of her voice as it shook ever so slightly. Damn it, what is up with Sanouske and what is he trying to pull?
"Just giving you a better look at my cut, Meg…wouldn't want you to make any mistakes now would we?" He breathed her nickname softly; the warmth of his breath ghosted across her cheeks making the few unruly raven black tendrils that framed her face, flutter ever so slightly.
In that moment, Megumi couldn't hold it back anymore; color completely flooded her cheeks and her eyes misted as she felt her heart constrict and her throat tighten. Oh damn him! Get ahold of yourself, Takani! You're not gonna just melt in a puddle at his feet are you?! you're stronger than this, besides it's Sanouske Sagara, he shouldn't be having this effect on you!
Megumi willed her nerves to settle and as calmly as she could, she pressed a hand to the center of his chest, pushing him back and out of her personal space.
Sanouske barely suppressed a hiss as her hand burned deliciously against his skin. He'd wondered what Megumi's skin would feel like; soft like silk had always been his first guess but this…this was so much more; her skin was soft but hot like white fire—and it suited his kitsune better than any sensation he could've conjured up.
Megumi felt a shock wave shiver down her spine when she felt Sano's warm copper skin burning and tingling beneath her fingers. She felt a moan rise in her throat but shoved it down, willing herself to calm down as she gently pushed him away from her. Her breath quickened, making her throat ache and her heart was pounding so hard, she almost felt dizzy. Praying to Kami that Sano wouldn't notice, she finally set to stitching up the gash just above his brow.
Next, she dabbed a little disinfectant on his lip; the ex-fighter hissed again but this time, his tongue flicked out unexpectedly as if to ease the sting, and it caught the tip of her finger before her mind could even register to pull away.
Megumi gasped, yanking her hand away and sputtering. "S-Sanouske?!"
The young man's eyes widened innocently at her. "What? It stung, Megumi! What did you expect me to do?! What the hell is that stuff anyway?"
Attempting to recover from the velvety touch of his tongue against her finger, Megumi buried her hands in her lap and squared her shoulders. "Well I'm sorry; it's disinfectant and those cuts need it or else there's a high risk of infection! You can handle the brunt of a man's knuckles hitting you in the jaw, a nasty cut to your brow—doubtlessly by a knife—and broken bones in your own hand but you wince and whine at a little disinfectant to a bloody lip?" She couldn't help but smirk skeptically at him and Sano's shoulders sagged as he pouted.
"Aw com'on Meg, give me a break will ya? It's not like I did this all on purpose alright will you just give it a rest already?"
"Honestly Sano, we both know you're not taking responsibility like you should; everyone knows you like to fight, you get into it with other people all the time and your confrontations never end any other way than fists getting thrown and broken jaws! I don't know what you expect me to think when you've made it a habit of coming into my clinic nearly every day with a broken hand and God-knows what else. Sometimes I honestly think you like getting beaten up or you're looking for some kind of outlet for your—"
Sano stood to his feet angrily and turned on Megumi, fists clenched at his sides. "Would you stop for one damn second with all of your stupid assumptions and for once listen to my side of it?!"
Megumi balked at him. She hadn't seen an outburst from Sano like this since the day she'd tried to kill herself and Sanouske had cut his own hand, stopping her. He had been so furious back then, yelling and cursing full on in her face about how completely weak and selfish she was being to think killing herself was the solution. He'd told her that she was only being a coward and that if she really wanted to make amends for what she'd done, she should turn her efforts to helping people. Megumi would never forget his words—or his anger. But right now, he seemed even more furious with her and she trembled a little at the fire flashing in his eyes.
"You're always going around making judgments about me when you don't even know the whole god-damn story, Meg! I don't get what it is with you but you really need to stop assuming things about me! Yeah I have a past and most of that past is drenched in blood and fighting but we can't all be as noble and magically reformed as Kenshin, okay? Some of us have a harder time with letting things go and putting them in the past; hell, maybe Kenshin could hear a bunch of no-good scum bags going around saying nasty things about you, dirtying up your reputation, and he'd be able to just go about his merry peaceful way but I can't do that, Meg!"
Suddenly, Megumi froze; Sanouske's words hitting her hard as realization slowly began to dawn on her. "You…w-what did you say?"
"Yeah, that's right; a bunch of idiots coming out of the Akabeko were sayin' stuff about you and I just—I couldn't take it!"
Megumi slowly stood to her feet, her wine eyes gazing startled upon this tall, dark-eyed man who had made a career of getting into fights and she—never thinking that there could be another motive—always assumed it had been for sport. "So—you're telling me that—you've been getting into fights—breaking your hand over and over again, and getting a bloody lip because—b-because people have been saying things about—me?"
Sanouske sighed heavily as his shoulders sagged and his hand rubbed the back of his neck. He hadn't ever intended for Megumi to find out about the reasons for his fights especially not like this. The young man had been perfectly content with letting the pretty doctor fix him up whenever he got into a scuffle; she'd scold him, he'd antagonize her playfully and they'd go about as they always had been. But something inside of him snapped and he couldn't keep it inside anymore. "Ah damn it…look Meg, I never intended for you to find out…and definitely not like this but…well the cat's out of the bag so I guess there's really no point in me lyin' about it." He dropped into a nearby chair and waited as Megumi slowly lowered herself back onto her stool, her silence indicative that she was waiting expectantly.
"Look, people are heartless and stupid and they say things; I mean I know I did when I first met ya but that's because I didn't really know what you had gone through; that you had no choice in what you were doin'. But I've known you for over a year now and I think I can safely say that I know you pretty much better than anyone else around here does. I know you've done more things than you've had to, to atone for your past, Fox and honestly, sometimes I think you do too much because of it but still—I respect you for that but honestly I…I admire you."
Megumi's eyes widened as they clashed with his gentle chocolate orbs. "S-Sano…"
He held up his hand. "Yeah, I know don't go givin' me a hard time and laughing at my expense here; I'm not finished yet."
A lump grew in her throat as she caught his trademark grin and the boyish sparkle in his eyes. "I admire you because you really help people and I'm not just saying when they're physically hurtin' you heal them emotionally and spiritually too; I've seen it and I've never seen anyone touch people's lives like you do; it's really a mystery to me—it's magical to me and I…well I'm honored that I've been one of the few to witness it. But when those same people that you've worked so hard to help and be there for, start goin around talking trash about ya, saying filthy shit when they don't even know you; when they haven't even seen what I've seen…it gets me angry. It gets me downright furious, Meg I can't help it! I know you hate me getting into fights and God-knows, you're plain sick and tired of having to patch me up all the time when you know damn well, I'm headin' right back out there to get myself beat up but…I just can't let those filthy people say those things about you. Not when I'm there and I have the power to stop it; not when I have what it takes to defend your honor. And if defending your honor means having a bloodied lip and a busted up hand for the rest of my life, well then that's all fine by me."
Megumi's eyes were watering now with unshed tears; the raw emotion she felt was clawing its way out and she knew she wouldn't be able to keep it together much longer—especially not when she could see the deep loyalty in Sano's eyes. The gentleness and admiration in his voice caressed her ears as she listened to him and finally, a tear managed to escape beneath her eyelashes, running a wet trail down her pale cheek.
"I'll take any bodily harm dished out to me, defending you, Meg—can't you just stop being so angry with me, long enough to see that I'd do anything for you?"
His words—spoken with such ardor and certainty—reached into her heart and touched her soul.
Catching the few tears that fell from her wine-colored eyes, Sanouske's chest ached; it took everything he had not to grab her up in his arms and kiss her senseless right then and there. But to his inexplicable astonishment, Megumi Takani did something he never thought in a thousand lifetimes, she'd ever do.
Crossing the room, she came to stand right in front of him, her eyes looking down at him with the deepest affection he'd ever seen her display outwardly. Her red lips trembled with emotion and her eyes glistened but she was smiling at him—the most breathtakingly beautiful smile he had ever seen. "Sanouske Sagara." She took his face in her hands, lightly caressing his cheek bones with her thumbs. "You are the most reckless, stubborn, hot-headed, kind-hearted and loyal man I have ever met."
His lips parted, a small gasp elicited from them as her words struck a chord in his heart. Then he almost died of pure happiness when she leaned down and placed the softest most feather-light kiss on the corner of his mouth. Oh dear God, she's practically kissin' me…hold it together, Sagara, damn it hold yourself together!
Her lips lingered there for a moment longer than what would probably constitute an innocent kiss between friends, and Sanouske's heart soared even higher, his breath quickened and his heart throbbed painfully. She pulled away just enough to meet his eyes and once again, she graced him with that gorgeous smile that had him thanking the gods that this was his reality.
Finally, Sanouske's soaring heart came back to earth and registering her beautiful wine colored eyes gazing meaningfully into his, he gave her a dazzling wide grin that had her cheeks flushing that irresistible rosy pink. "Well that's 'cuz I got people like you believin' in me, Meg." He scratched the back of his neck, snickering. "And you're probably gonna use this against me later but you're opinion of me…well it kinda means a lot to me."
She smiled warmly at him, her left hand once again reaching up and gently stroking his cheek. "Well that's nice to hear since I thought I was the only one who cared about what you thought of me…I mean—not that I was ever—well I guess what I meant was that—" she fumbled for a cover, fearing she'd revealed way too much to him than she had ever meant to.
But Sano only winked at her, his trademark grin playing at the corners of his mouth. "Aw well like I said before anything for you, Kitsune."
Megumi felt deep affection for this man, slowly blooming in the center of her heart. For the first time, she decided she wouldn't try to reason it away, deny it or smother it—no, she was going to revel in it and let it grow.