A/N: Thank you for the reviews
A/N: Thank you for the reviews!! I was dancing and I got my mouth plastered while reading your reviews to keep it from reaching my ears…… ehhemm… that's right.
Here's another chapter. Same convention goes here. Paragraphs on Italics are in a flashback form or a train of thoughts of the characters. And oh!!, I wrote a little romantic scenes here before you get bored of waiting when I'm gonna get them together. You know whom I'm talking about. Enjoy!!
CHAPTER X
ESCALATING PLOT
Megumi sighed relief when she finally reached her door, feeling the welcome warmth against her skin. She felt like soaked to the bones by the chilly late autumn night air.
The house was dark and quite. Where could Ryusei be?
She was tired. She had just been to a family afflicted by sickness. A young man had approached her while she was walking her way home from the cemetery. He knew her and had asked her help.
When she got to his house, she was confronted with a pitiable situation. The young man's mother was suffering a lung ailment. His two siblings had fever due to poor health and unclean surroundings. The father of the family was also suffering an infection from a big wound on his leg. He cut it with his ax while chopping firewood. She had attended to each sick member and helped them clean the whole house, giving them instructions about their health and sanitary. She lost track of time and had finished when the sky was completely dark.
She had refused the young man's offer to escort her back to her house and advised him to tend to his family instead. Consequently, she walked her way home all alone.
She was making her way to the kitchen. Her eyes scanned the dark area, slowly adjusting to the dimness. Then, out from the corner, she saw a shadow leaning casually against the kitchen door.
"Staying awake?" She walked towards him with silent grace.
"Staying late?" he countered flatly.
"I've been to a poor, sick family," she explained. "Ryusei?"
"Asleep."
"So you made dinner already. I hope you did not wreck my kitchen."
She walked past him to where her hungry stomach was leading her.
"You shouldn't have gone alone. It's dangerous." His tone was serious and cold as usual.
"I can't forsake a sick family just because I worry about going home all by myself at night," she reasoned, ignoring the faint irritation that was swelling inside due to her tiredness and the fact that his warning implied what he had told her yesterday about his real business.
"T-Takeda Kanryuu?"
Megumi's eyes stared at him unfocused. But that was only for a brief moment. She recovered immediately from her shock. He knew then, that she wasn't as affected as he thought she would be at the mention of Takeda's name.
"But he was already jailed, right? What you are dealing right now is just a branch protected by the influence of some Kyoto politician."
"Aa,' he agreed.
He watched her staring at his bandages, still looking vulnerable, unable to completely collect back her guard. He decided then to get through her defenses while she's open.
"Initial investigation points a finger to one of the Kyoto Takatoris."
She was completely unmoved at the mention of Takeda's name. What Aoshi was working with right now was a mere offshoot of what used to be Takeda's syndicate. But the mention of the Takatoris made Megumi lost her balance that Aoshi had to hold her shoulders firmly.
Megumi's knees felt soft and wobbly. She couldn't stand anymore. She would have slumped on the floor if not for Aoshi who held her to keep her standing in front of him. Her mind was clouded, out of kilter, with myriad of fragmented thoughts.
"Do you happen to know them?"
She heard Aoshi spoke but her mind couldn't formulate anything to excuse her utter state of shock and disconcertment. Her tongue was as incapable to formulate words as her mind. Worst, her body expressed the commotion that was going on inside her. She was still and tensed, and Aoshi felt the slight shaking of her hand.
Apparently, she was controlling the physical manifestation of her panic.
"I can take care of myself, Aoshi-san," she said, picking up to where her thoughts had left.
"Sure you can. How about the boy?"
Megumi's lips tightened and it took her few minutes to wage a war against her pride and admit that she couldn't have completely handled Ryusei's current issues without this man.
"Truly, I'm grateful for your help, Aoshi-san. And I want you to know that my son adores you."
"He had a need of masculine attention that we both recognized. And a gruesome fascination with the bits and pieces of me that belonged to the past."
"I bet he spent the whole afternoon irking you." Megumi half-smiled.
"Aa."
She said nothing for a moment, her eyes dark, her mouth unmoving.
"I'm sorry about that," she said finally. "I'll speak to him."
"You can't begrudge a child's innocent curiosity."
"I just thought it bothered you."
"Not at all."
Then, Megumi's lips tilted with a slight teasing pout.
"Though, I'm wondering why of all adults Ryusei met, he chose you."
"Why? You see me unfit for that adoration?" His voice was almost inaudible that Megumi almost didn't hear it.
The atmosphere between them suddenly became awkward.
"I don't mean that. It's just that he met a lot of adults before you. He could have chosen Ken-san. Ryusei met him before you but still-"
"You would rather favor Himura for that space in your boy than me." He overrode her sentence with frigid almost bitter tone.
Megumi's brow twitched. The atmosphere around them definitely felt like impregnated with something that's close to a clashing of charge energies. Something was suddenly wrong at his tone, she thought.
"What gave you that idea?"
"Never mind."
"But I do mind!" her tone was hard.
Aoshi stared at her for a moment.
"Go to sleep, Megumi-san. It's late."
"I'm not until you tell me what's wrong," she said stubbornly. Then, after a few seconds, she spoke.
"You are getting tired of this arrangement, aren't you?"
"……….."
"I'm sorry if I've dragged you into this. I told you already that once we get to Kyoto, it's over. Besides, I never really asked you to do this in the first place."
"I'd given my word."
"I never obliged-"
"I felt obliged," he superimposed his words coldly, enough to silence her for few seconds.
Megumi looked straight at his eyes, almost daring the truth out of him.
"Why?" she asked quietly.
He met her gaze with obvious hostility. At the back of his thoughts, though, he saw the unblinking blue gaze of Ryusei in her place. He saw the admirable courage she possessed that was already evident in her son's attitudes. At a very young age, Ryusei already took his mother's willfulness and clever ways.
"Go to sleep, Megumi-san," his tone was filled with subtle warning.
"Why?" she repeated, undeterred.
Aoshi, however, had no intention to answer that. In fact, he can't formulate any rationale. He was aware, of course, that Megumi demanded an answer and she would never drop the subject until she obtained an acceptable explanation. Thus, he tried to find something to say as fast as he can.
After a tedious mental calculation, he came up with a very unusual explanation. Something that his shinobi brain could not have conceived, but one that the instinct of the man he came to be was capable of.
"He would have been as tall as Ryusei now, perhaps taller. Smart and active. They had the same eyes." Aoshi's tone was quite, flat and devoid of emotion, and even if he wasn't meeting her bewildered gaze, Megumi saw at once the silent, veiled pain in his ice blue eyes.
Megumi's hazel eyes mellowed at the unusual reply from the Shinomori Aoshi she knew. She bit her lower lip regretfully. It never occurred to her that Aoshi could have been seeing his dead son in Ryusei's place. She was at lost of words in turn.
Her friend, Misao, lost both battles. That of her life and her son's. If she would have been there, she could have done something, Megumi thought bitterly. Perhaps, something could have been done to save one and win even a single battle. But then again, didn't she lost her own battle almost a year after that of her friend's? What right did she have to think she could have save even a single life?
She was rather fortunate because she had saved one and had been given a chance to care and mould a new life. She had been given a chance to love unconditionally even to the point of lying and becoming the person she never was. She had been given a precious gift, a hope, and a little boy, her Ryusei. Whilst Aoshi, he lost both and was left with nothing.
Her little discovery made her feel like a very inconsiderable idiot. Besides the unpleasant notion that she might have just trespassed Aoshi's private space.
"I felt obliged." Aoshi's dark tone suggested finality of the subject and his intention to drop it completely, now and in the future.
To Megumi, however, what he said was more than enough to explain himself, which he seldom does. He was not the kind who allowed transparency of his thoughts and intentions. He could have ignored her and left, but he did the opposite. He had just allowed her an idea of the things he would rather keep. It was a privilege he just bestowed her, she realized. Something that he does only on extraordinary circumstances. Was this confrontation some sort of 'extraordinary circumstance'?
Meeting his gaze and finding no trace of the previous animosity she saw in them, Megumi finally found her speech.
"Believe me," she said softly, "I'm grateful."
"I'm grateful as well." Aoshi's jaw tensed with the effort to say those words as gentle as could manage.
He held her gaze a little longer before he bid her goodnight and left confusion in her eyes.
Megumi watched him unbelievingly, as he disappeared at the darkened hallway. Aoshi's oblique explanation had just cleared up the suspicion that had always been getting in the way of completely submitting herself into trusting his intentions. She felt relieved then.
But then again, he left her with another unsettling statement.
Shinomori Aoshi never really failed to disturb and perplex her. Just when she thought she understood him, he proved himself an enigma.
Megumi was fuming while wounding the bandage around Aoshi's torso. She was pulling at it harshly. The poor cloth, close to being ripped, tightened around Aoshi's body with each pull, earning a gasp from the man who gave her a sharp disapproving look. Half-seated at the tall desk-table of Megumi's clinic, he was flustered that he looked like a child being scolded.
"What I hate about men like you is that you are very stubborn. Sure thing, you don't heed pain because you prided at being a warrior. Damn it, warriors are masochists and that includes you." She made an abrupt tug at the cloth again earning another gasp from the man.
"And you are wasting my efforts, besides wasting bandages. I could have wrapped you with rags, instead of linen, but I simply can't risk infection."
Aoshi, on the other hand, was silently vexed but was more amused. He was fighting the strong urge to smile at her fussing. He was doing well at it although he had to be careful, or else, he would suffer the wrath of a foxy onna-sensei.
Megumi glanced annoyingly at his face, unaware of his musings. All she saw was the clear ocean blue orbs which reflected annoyance that rivaled her own.
"Your boy is learning faster," Aoshi spoke to fill the empty air between them.
"He hit you?" Megumi stopped, awed at the information, the issue about wasted efforts and bandages completely forgotten. "He actually did?"
"Unwittingly, he made a stroke on my left," he said indicating the wound. "Strong enough to upset it."
"How unfortunate," Megumi taunted and laughed with sweet sarcasm.
When the two came inside the house after their afternoon exercise, Ryusei came in first excitedly bringing the freshness of the outside air with him, oblivious of his hero's case. Megumi hadn't had noticed if not for the faint, brief painful grimace in his face when Ryusei tugged at his left arm to make him come inside the kitchen where Megumi prepared a snack for them. When they finished eating, only then did Megumi excused Ryusei's presence by instructing the boy to wash and change his sweated clothes, directing Aoshi to her clinic.
Aoshi glared at her and grunted inwardly.
"Megumi…"
"What?" she stopped laughing at the sound of his voice.
"I can't breath," he whispered hoarsely.
Megumi's gaze dropped to her handwork. She was still holding both ends of the bandage that had wrapped too tightly around his body.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Why didn't you tell me?" she goaded foxily.
Suddenly, she jerked the cloth, tightening it further around him. Aoshi drew a sharp breath instantly at the torture. Megumi flashed him a perfectly devised version of a smile that portrayed the kitsune in her. Her expression was of pure innocence but her lips tilted with undeniable cruelty. How did she do that? Then, he felt her released and started to unwind the cloth from around him.
"You couldn't have heard it," he replied softly with an undisguised sigh of relief.
A satisfied smile crossed Megumi's lips, knowing that she had thoroughly avenged her self for his disregard of her efforts.
"If it wasn't for the good news about my Ryu-chan's development, I would have wrapped you to death! You really should be grateful, Aoshi-kun," Megumi's foxing was back again.
He knew she was playing with him, putting him under utter submission of her ministrations like she does with Ryusei. Aoshi knew very well that the Megumi was aware that she was humiliating his shinobi ego. Apparently, the fox was enjoying herself.
"Oh?" he whispered slyly.
"Yes."
Their eyes clashed, daring each other over an undetermined mental argument.
Then the world around them stopped, time was forgotten. Aoshi cupped her chin and gently brought her face an inch away from his. Megumi had done nothing to stop him, still daring his ego, mesmerized at the same time by the seductive glow of the ocean blue orbs that seemed to drown her in its vastness, flooding her consciousness with its forceful tide.
Aoshi, on the other hand, was awed at the way her sly, knowing smile was making him chill inside. He felt a cold draft shot through him when he felt Megumi's warm, thin breath hit the side of his lips.
They lost track of their surrounding just staring at each other's eyes. Megumi's grip on the ends of the forgotten bandage unconsciously tightened. Aoshi's free hand came to her waist and pulled her gently closer to him. Very slowly, but surely, they were closing the gap between them.
Just when they thought they had all the time in the world, a small raven-haired boy appeared on the clinic door, blue eyes widening with what he was about to witness.
"MAMA!?" Ryusei's high-pitched alarm broke the spell between the potential lovebirds.
Megumi's eyes rose to find her son at the clinic's entrance, almond eyes expanded with a bewildered and surprised look. She stepped away from Aoshi and pasted a welcome expression on her face for Ryusei.
"Ryu-chan, dear, finished bathing already?" Megumi addressed her son calmly.
Aoshi groaned with both disappointment and admiration. Dammit, they lost a valuable moment and a very inquisitive and smart boy has just caught them, for goodness sake! He would have to prepare himself from Ryusei's prodding for the next few days. Worst, he might just be dealing with Ryusei's wrath if it ever occurred to him that 'his Aoshi-sama' was screwing his mother.
Even if their arrangement suggested a relationship that purposely discredits the scandal that endangered Ryusei, it was for the village people alone to believe and not to confuse Ryusei.
Megumi heard the guttural sound Aoshi made and tugged slightly at the bandage as a sign of warning that Ryusei might heard him.
He can't help but admire the way Megumi handled the awkward situation with ease. Inwardly, he laughed at the way her face automatically changed its expression, almost mechanical. He would have to admire, all the more, how her brilliant brain worked smartly and without-delay.
"I bathed quickly. Aoshi-sama said boys should not take long just bathing, unlike girls."
Ryusei was hesitant to enter the room. Slowly, he made his short strides towards her mother who was currently busy securing the knot of Aoshi's bandage.
Megumi made a soundless 'Oh' and smiled at her boy cheerily, not looking at Aoshi but was tugging again at his bandage's knot in silent communication. Whatever that was, Ryusei was still oblivious of what's going on between the two adults of his life.
Suddenly, Ryusei's eyes widened again at the sight of his Aoshi-sama's bandaged upper body.
"D-did I hurt you, Aoshi-sama?" the little boy came to Aoshi's side and gaze at his mother's neat handwork as if he can look through it and see the naked wound.
"Did I caused you that?" he asked, his tone wavered slightly, starting to feel sorry.
"No, it had been there," Aoshi replied with assurance.
"Then it must have hurt when I hit you."
"No," he half-lied.
Although Ryusei's stroke was far from hurting him on normal basis, it hit a weak spot, earning him a throbbing pain all through their way home, while Ryusei hopped cheerfully, unaware.
Megumi gathered her materials while Aoshi and Ryusei were chatting. As usual, Ryusei made most of the talking. She placed each tool back to their respective places in her cabinet, glancing time after time on her cabinet's glass door where their reflection was somehow distinguishable. She overheard Ryusei exclaiming a 'wow' in admiration, rapidly followed with 'I wanna be like you' in his ever the same excited and smart tone.
"I could go with you and keep company."
She heard Ryusei said, after a while. Obviously, he was asking Aoshi's permission about something that Aoshi had said earlier, which she had missed hearing while she busied herself with organizing her cabinet.
"We've already discussed this, Ryusei. Another time. Another trip," was Aoshi's firm reply.
Whatever they had agreed about, Megumi decided to leave it between them for the time being. She would know later, anyway. If Aoshi would take long to tell her what it was all about, she had Ryusei to narrate willingly the details of his 'adventures' with the man whose company he considered himself to belong.
Going back to them, she gathered the bloodied white cloths and threw them to the garbage. Just when she turned, she saw Aoshi, in time, lifting Ryusei to sit beside him on the high table.
"You might be over-exerting yourself again, Aoshi-kun. If you soaked those bandages again from bleeding, I would wrap you like a mummy this time," she warned him annoyingly.
Aoshi only gave her an amused, secretive and suggestive half-smirk. The spontaneous way she said his name with the new suffix only provoked a spark in his eyes. That annoyed her further.
"You two, find another place to stay and wait while I prepare dinner," she ordered sternly.
Obediently, Ryusei jumped down from his position and ran up to where his mother was, waiting for them to exit the clinic room before she could close the door. Aoshi made his way to the door after Ryusei, his shirt hanging on his shoulder, a knowing look still grazed his face, teasing her, igniting her annoyance.
"You look much like your mother," Megumi handed back the photograph to the younger woman.
"Tou-san kept saying that," Izumi replied.
"And your eldest brother's the exact copy of your father's facial features," Megumi commented.
"Nii-san took father's attitude, too."
"How was that?"
"He was groomed and educated to become the next political figure after Tou-san. Consequently, Keishi-niisan became as uptight and firm like him."
"It's not surprising for old traditional families like yours. The eldest son usually shoulders the burden of expectations from the family."
"Very true, aneko," Izumi replied quietly. "It's a pity, though. Because of that burden, he distanced himself from us, even from mother. Mother understood him. He had to live up to Tou-san's standards, thus, he refrained from showing any gentleness."
"You had mentioned about your second brother being closed to your mother."
"Oh….y-yes…" Izumi's pupils dilated. She hesitated before she finally spoke. "Kaa-san found the son in him she never had with Keishi-niisan."
"What was that his name again?" Megumi asked.
Izumi was silent for a moment.
"Izumi-chan? Something's wrong?" The older woman was worried. Izumi was holding her four months bell, tears threatening to fell her eyes.
"N-nothing, aneko," she replied, brushing her eyes from the moisture formation. "I missed Kaa-san. That's all." That was a good excuse.
"Where you close to her?"
"Yes. Very close. The same way as I am to Tou-san."
"Oh! So, you're father had been soft and bending to you," Megumi's analysis was precise.
"The reason why Keishi-niisan doesn't like me. He envied my closeness with Kaa-san and father's gentleness with me. He was never hostile to me, though, neither does he like me. He simply ignores me. It had been better if he had also been that way to my second brother."
"Why?"
" Keishi-niisan doesn't like him too. He despised him. Worst, he was hostile and would get physical with second brother."
"He's jealous with him too?"
"Yes. Because he was close to Kaa-san and Tou-san simply ignores him and lets him be on his own ways."
"In short, your eldest brother envied the second son's freedom."
"Yes. Keishi-niisan was angered more when he watched Kaa-san held only the two of us while she was dying. Keishi-niisan only stood at the bedroom door looking, he never even cried. He was angry, when in fact, it was him who never found the courage to hold Kaa-san even for the last time."
"What happened to your other brother after your mother's death?"
"Tou-san sent him to England to study and to keep him away after nii-san almost killed second on one of their fights. Instead of calming down, Keishi-niisan hated him more because second was given more freedom and privilege to be away and study on a foreign land."
"And he came back recently after how many years was that?"
"Five years."
"That's quite long, considering he was alone with the pain of losing your mother."
"Y-yes."
"He must have been very lonely."
"Y-yes…"
"Were you close to him, Izumi-chan?"
"Used to be…"
"What do you mean?"
"Before he left for England, that is. Then, we lost communication."
Izumi's answers were quite and concise. Megumi was getting worried and was sensing something at Izumi's consistency of not mentioning her second brother's name. It's strange. She had a cryptic feeling about it.
The moon flickered out from behind a silvery gray cloud while Megumi stared, lost in the train of her thoughts. The velvety blackness around her was illuminated by the fullness of Selene's disk, accompanied by countless of twinkling stars that's suppose to be a constituent of a band of constellations that represented a foreign mythological figure.
The night air was chilly, pricking the exposed skin that was uncovered by her sleeping yukata. She had her arms hugging herself but she seemed unconcerned of the perfect ambiance accented by the herbal smell from her garden and a subtle scent of jasmine in the air.
Wherever her thoughts were leading her into, she doesn't know. One thing was certain though, everytime she allowed herself to indulge deeply with her emotions, and it never failed to bring back ghosts of her past. Suppressed, forgotten pain blossomed inside and threatens to resurface. Tears she bottled up for years boiled and spilled some drops out of her eyes. She would have to wipe them again and again, and resume her state staring at the beautiful, placid façade of Diana's abode, mocking her troubled thoughts and emotions with its serenity.
Suddenly, she was captured from behind in a playful embrace. She shrieked in surprise but was hushed by Aoshi's deep voice. She calmed immediately but was struggling to free herself from his arms. Soon she realized that Aoshi caged her with both her arms still around her. She felt like a cornered prey, her slender body engulfed completely with his.
"Aoshi, you never learned," she admonished quietly. "Ryusei will see us."
Aoshi let out a seductive groan, hearing her dropped the suffix for his name.
"We both knew he's asleep."
"What do you think you're doing?" her tone was firm. However, Aoshi intended to keep her close to him that way.
"Finishing what you started at the clinic," he answered. Seduction was crystal clear in his tone.
"Oh? Which one?" she taunted.
"The most recent."
"Aoshi…"
"What were you doing here?"
His tone was back to normal but the velvety black soft to her ears.
"I was just thinking."
Aoshi then released her and turned her so she was facing him, meeting his intent gaze.
"How about thinking of telling me the truth."
Megumi's breath hitched. He was leading her into something she wasn't sure was safe for her.
"What truth?" She tried to appear innocent.
"About what made you panicked to end up hurting the boy?"
Her eyes widened slightly, but then she hid them with the downward sweep of her lashes. However, she knew she would never be able to hide even such subtle hints with someone like him.
"I don't know what you mean," she said calmly. Her chin had risen squarely when she looked up again. Resolutely, Aoshi kept his eyes on her face, reading her expressions. And he found it difficult to unmask the face of a very determined woman.
"There was something…" she began, and then she shook her head.
"Something threatened you?"
"There was nothing like that." God's, I hope I wasn't obvious.
"Still not ready to confide in me, Megumi?" he asked quietly. "I can keep a confidence."
"I know," she said. Then after a moment, she added.
"But I haven't had any to make." Liar.
She noticed Aoshi had continued scrutinizing her, so she thought of something to divert the topic.
"There are other issues that need to be discussed," she began.
"Aa." His usual monotonous reply was replaced with a seductive whisper that made Megumi's heartbeat falter.
Gently, he brought her face to him, brushing an experimental kiss to her naked lips. Megumi's surprise was short. She wanted this as well, thus, decided on it her way. She brought her arms around his neck and pulled him to her. He found no rejection in her eyes, no hesitation in her response. So, he lowered his face again to her and claimed her fully.
It seemed to him that he had always known he would kiss Megumi. And that it would send a scalding rush of heat through his body.
Her mouth trembled under his. So soft. He pushed his tongue against their frail barrier, demanding entrance. Demanding response. Finally he was answered. Her mouth opened, breathe sighing out in sweet release, even as his tongue invaded and conquered. Unwilling to be denied. He held nothing back, his mouth demanding. His hand came to her back, joining with the other, pulling her more firmly against him.
Her body was pliant, seeming to melt into his, welcoming his touch. Realizing that, he deepened the kiss. She had trembled in his arms, responding to him. Her mouth moved hungrily against his. As hungry for this, it seemed, as he had been during that night they crossed that bridge. Back then, she looked like an apparition with the silvery waters and the fireflies as her backdrop, and he wanted so much to crush her in his arms. He didn't know what possessed him that time but that was a far away feeling compared to what was burning him right now.
They finally broke the kiss, short of breathing, their lungs starving.
"Aoshi-san, what are we trying to do? Don't tell me we're consummating our arrangement." She laughed nervously.
He was silent, and then he looked away from her not releasing her hands
"Why not? Why can't we?" he asked.
"What's exactly between us?" Megumi's interjected. Her voice wavered, almost uncertain.
"An arrangement," his tone was slow and bitter.
"Yes," Megumi almost whispered. Her eyes dimmed. She hadn't expected that answer. She expected something else. She felt frustration at his insensitivity.
"Can't we digress from that?" he asked softly.
Hearing it, Megumi felt alive again. Suddenly, a thought hit her reasoning. It came out of the blue. Rather, it was there all along, denied and had surfaced just now to be considered. His words suddenly echoed loudly inside her mind.
"He would have been as tall as Ryusei now, perhaps taller. Smart and active. They had the same eyes."
"I felt obliged"
"It's complicated," she answered.
"Yes, but we can, can't we?"
"I can't…"
"Why?" his tone was becoming firm.
"Aoshi-san, Misao was my friend." Megumi blurted out, hating her words.
"And you are feeling guilty?" Aoshi asked coldly.
She bit her lower lip.
"It's not that." Megumi was looking for an easy way to verbalize the matter about Misao's memory that kept her hesitating about the escalating state of their relationship.
"Then explain." She heard the necessity in his hardly controlled voice.
"Aoshi, you might only be seeing Misao and your dead son in me and Ryusei's place."
It was blunt and it obviously hit him. His gaze became unfocused briefly. Then his eyes lit sharply, piercing through her. It started to unnerve Megumi. He didn't spoke a single word. He didn't even seem to breathe. She started to get worried.
"Aoshi…"
"You have tried to figure me out." his voice was harsh and dangerous.
She felt his grip on her hands tightened.
"No, I didn't. It's not that. You can't blame me. She was a friend and…"
"You've tried to read my feelings but your analysis came out confused and flawed."
Megumi swallowed the hard lump that crowded her throat. Her gaze became resolute.
"Aoshi-"
"Didn't I told you I won't hurt you?" he asked, gone was the coldness in his voice.
"You did." Megumi met his gaze and found it burning with sincerity. "So, you're not…"
"Do I need to say it?" he pulled her closer.
"I need to know.
"You're right, it's complicated. But it's not the way you're thinking."
She tried to look through his eyes and saw that neither he was sure about the 'it' in his statement.
"How about trying to resolve it out first?"
His eyes turned dark again.
She grinned charmingly at him and brought her arms around his waist.
"Maybe I'll reconsider…." She buried her face on the crevice of his neck.
"Are you sure?"
"Not yet." Megumi said honestly, but the feel of her arms tightening around him said otherwise.
Aoshi smirked.
"Listen. I would be gone again to finish my work and it will take longer this time."
"Leaving already?" she asked.
"I'll return to get you out from here."
"That's good to hear."
She watched him slipped his hand inside his pocket and brought out a small red velvet box. Megumi's eyes considered it for a moment before they lifted to his.
"For you," he said softly.
Even as he watched, her eyes flickered with bewilderment.
"It isn't much," he warned and broke into his own version of smile.
Megumi's eyes fell to the package. Slowly, her fingers removed it from his palm. She made no attempt to open it and reveal what he had given her.
"What's this for?" she asked, puzzled.
"Nothing in particular."
"You can't give something like this for nothing at all."
"Whatever you think," he said simply.
"I'm thinking about what you have in mind when you bought this," she teased.
He answered her with a faint smile.
"When I return, I want you to be ready to move back with me to Kyoto at once. I won't accept anymore alibis. Do you understand?"
"You're buying me with this?" She glared at him playfully.
"Sort of." He was playing her game. "And to secure your approval."
Megumi laughed. They had a very unusual relationship. It's complicated and she wasn't sure what's really between them.
"Ever wondered why I made alibis?" Megumi asked, her expression the same with that one she used when she was torturing him at the clinic and he found himself fighting the pull of it.
"You wanted me, all along," his voice was enticing.
"Oh?"
"I thought so." Aoshi's voice turned thick and sensual that sent a chill assault on Megumi's skin.
Megumi broke into a shady luring smile, her face flushed. He pulled her to him and kissed her temple.
"So?" Aoshi asked, his voice husky.
Surprised, he shivered openly, feeling a spark cursed through him when Megumi pressed a kiss on his collarbone before she pulled herself gently from his arms.
She stood facing him, her eyes dull and her face derisive.
"Seriously, Aoshi, maybe you should really determine your feelings first. I don't mean to insult you neither do I want to become a replacement for what you lost. I don't want it for my son."
Aoshi's blue eyes became devoid of emotion. He felt his fury inside. He felt enraged at the sudden swings of Megumi's mood. She had always been difficult to read. Just when he thought the matter between them was resolved…
"I hope you understand. Ryusei had been through a lot and I don't want him to experience further emotional torture with someone he admired and respected. He might only end up being compared to what would have been your son if he lived. I hope you understand."
He nodded stiffly. He would have to leave tomorrow with a question that demanded an honest and difficult answer. He hadn't thought about it before but, what if she was right. She was smart enough to raise such question before she would have to lay her cards to a confused man as Shinomori Aoshi. And he admired her more for that.
Megumi rubbed her arms when the night wind blew at the awkward silence between them.
"Don't you think it's getting chilly out here," she told him but stood there unmoving. The he breathe deeply staring at her.
"I would still want to hear your answer when I return," he said finally. He was giving her time to decide on his proposal.
"Only when I heard yours," she replied calmly.
"Aa. It's a deal."
She beamed at him. "Shall we go inside?"
"Aa."