Part VII
Three weeks had passed, and Ishioka Hiro became a regular visitor to both the clinic and the dojo. It was clear to all of them that though he was fond of the girls, he genuinely enjoyed the company of the doctor - and she seemed to like him. Even Kaoru, however, was getting annoyed that all they ever seemed to do was talk of intellectual things. She was reasonably sure that they never saw each other away from their friends or his school.
"What is WITH those two," she seethed one day to her husband. Her son cooed in his father's arms as they watched Kaoru and Yahiko training. Kenshin smiled at his wife's evident frustration.
"Well, Ishiokadono is very shy."
"Megumi isn't."
"Maybe Megumidono is waiting for him to assert himself?"
Kaoru snorted. "Yeah. She does go for the aggressive type, sort of," she said. Suddenly embarrassed, she picked up the pace. Yahiko shook his head, smiling, and kept up. Sometimes listening to his teacher was even more entertaining than baiting her - it certainly hurt him less!
Kenji gurgled. "Oro! Kenji, PLEASE don't do that!" Pausing a moment, Kaoru and Yahiko glanced over to see that Kenshin's son had grabbed hold of a lock of his hair and was pulling with all of his young might.
Kaoru smiled fondly. "Definitely his father's son..."
"You ain't that weak yourself, you ugly toad," Yahiko snickered. Kaoru was too distracted to be upset, watching her husband try to extricate himself from his son's grip.
Still struggling to free his hair, Kenshin looked at his wife. "Please don't think about getting involved... It is their situation," he said quietly.
"Kenshin, if they don't do SOMETHING about it, I am going to have to hurt them both!"
"It's only been a few weeks. Remember, I was... shy... before we got together," the redhead reminded the hothead.
"And don't think I wasn't ready to hurt you for it then either!" With a glare, Kaoru resumed practice. Yahiko followed suit without missing a beat. "It's simple, really. All we have to do is get them to go out on a date. But Megumi's going back to Aizu soon, so it better be VERY soon."
"Get who to go out on a date?" Genzai leaned on the doorpost, looking for all the world as if he'd come for no other purpose than juicy gossip.
"Kaoru thinks Megumisan and Hirosan need to go on a date so they can confess their love for each other and get married so she doesn't have to be afraid that Kenshin may still fall for Megumi anyway," Yahiko sniggered.
"Orororo..." Kenshin hung his head in despair, while Kaoru used Yahiko for target practice.
Genzai danced around gleefully before sinking into deep thought. "That may not be a bad idea. She has been somewhat distracted lately. And they do seem to get along well."
"I think Megumisan needs Hirosan to take the initiative... She's really sensitive about that sort of thing," Kaoru said, as if the earlier conversation had never happened.
"I wonder," Genzai mused. It was all true. He knew his associate well enough to understand that she needed someone to chase her, to show his interest in her. She was too proud to lower herself to openly expressing an interest in a man she wasn't sure of, but it was clear that she was interested. She had proven many a time that she was no fool in matters of the heart. Generally speaking. Shrugging, the old doctor straightened up. "Well, does anyone have any bright ideas, or am I going to have to lock them in the clinic?"
"Maa, maa, I don't think we need to go that far, Genzaisensei." Kenshin smiled, having finally gotten Kenji's fist distracted with something other than his hair. As a matter of fact, the little boy was clinging to his father's finger and hanging free, giggling maniacally.
"KENSHIN! YOU DO NOT LET MY SON DANGLE LIKE THAT!" Kaoru was in his face, and he backed off, son now tucked under one arm and the other raised in a placating gesture.
"He's fine, Kaoru. If there was any reason to worry, you know I know better."
"Kensan, were you letting your son hang from your finger again?" I had heard Kaoru's outraged squawk from the road outside as I came in.
"!AGAIN!" I was hardly surprised when a flock of birds flew away from several streets over; my friend's screech was so sharply indignant. I couldn't help it, I snickered.
"Oh, please, Kaoruchan. You know Kensan would never endanger anyone, least of all his own son." I shook my head at her. She was still fuming. "I came to see if anyone wanted to come to the clinic for dinner tonight."
Kenshin blinked, but Genzai grinned. "Actually, Megumisan, I came to ask them if they'd keep an eye on the girls. I'm going to meet some old friends and I didn't want to impose on you tonight. I thought you could use a real night off, since you've been staying with the girls so often lately."
I blinked this time. "This is unexpected," I said cautiously.
"It's really no problem with us," Kaoru said hurriedly. "We miss having the girls here lately. And I know if I were you I'd kill for a night to myself..." Her voice trailed off wistfully and I understood what she meant. So did Kensan. He winced, embarrassed.
"But tonight is fine! Go have a good time, Genzaisensei! Don't worry about the girls. And Megumisan, if you don't have a nice relaxing time tonight..." The threat in her voice was clear - not that my friend ever had a problem hiding it when she was annoyed or preparing to be. How was I supposed to argue with that, with Kensan and my colleague nodding?
"Well, if you don't need me, then I'm off to work," Yahiko grinned. In the past few years, he had learned much about the restaurant business and several of us suspected that, when Tae decided in the very distant future to retire, that he and Tsubamechan would be taking over in her stead. He was proving to be quite adept at managing figures and ill-mannered customers, and was a decent hand in the kitchen as well.
"See you later!"
"Bring us some leftovers," Kaoru said. "I'm not going to be in the mood to make breakfast."
"When are you ever?" her student quipped, ducking out of the way of her bokken and slipping inside to change.
Kaoru only shrugged. "I can't really argue with him when he's right," she grinned.
So, I was to be left alone tonight. Alone with my thoughts. I didn't like the sound of it, but how could I possibly say so, without causing everyone to worry? Going back to Aizu was more and more tempting; I was beginning to think I should cut my visit short.
"Hirosan should be here with the girls any moment," my mentor said. "Once they're here, I'm going to duck back to the clinic to get ready. I'll probably be very late, Megumisan. We're going drinking!" he said with particular relish. I sighed. Drunken Genzaisensei was NOT a pretty sight. "Lucky for you," he continued, "they'll be paying for a room for the night anyway, so I won't be stumbling in at some horrible hour!"
That was a bit of a relief, but still, I didn't want to stay the night alone. Nothing to do but make the best of it. Maybe I'd draw myself that long bath I'd been wanting. The mere thought of hot water easing out all my tension, of drowsing off in a delicious floating haze of relaxation, was a sore temptation - the more so for the likelihood of interruptions being reduced to nil, as long as no one had an emergency. Maybe being alone tonight wasn't such a bad thing...
"Grandpa!" Two voices in unison interrupted my thoughts and two laughing girls catapulted off the hands of their teacher to dance adoringly around the old man who greeted them with an enthusiastic hug.
"Girls, Kenshin and Kaoru have invited us to stay for dinner, but I'm going to meet some other old doctors and have a long boring night," he said. Suzume and Ayame snickered; they knew better.
"Grandpa, can we stay here tonight?" With a shy glance in my direction, Suzume said less loudly, "I think Megumisan needs a night off."
I smiled at them. I loved the girls very much, and in fact they had become part of the family I had made for myself, but it was true that I had gotten my hopes up for a solitary evening with a hot bath and a good medical text. I blinked at myself; was I really getting that boring?
"What is it, Megumidono?"
"Iie... It's nothing. I found myself looking forward to the latest medical journals. I must be getting old," I said ruefully.
"Oh, not that, never that, Takanisensei!"
"Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes, but I couldn't help smiling.
I turned my steps towards the clinic, promising I'd see everyone tomorrow and no, I would not get attacked, assaulted, abducted, aggravated, or otherwise antagonized during my one solitary night alone. Somehow, none of them believed me. Admittedly, my track record indicated differently, but I was a firm believer in change.
About three hours later, I was finally crawling out of the remains of a hot bath, my skin more wrinkled than a prune and still flushed from the heat. I felt deliciously relaxed, and didn't bother getting dressed again, even keeping my hair in the towel. O Indulgence! I walked around my room wearing the towel on my head and the one on my body, just because I could. Still, I couldn't bring myself to move outside my room thus clad; I curled up as I'd threatened to do with the latest medical journals and thumbed through them.
A knock on the clinic door disturbed my concentration. Actually, I had begun to doze off, if the truth be known, and the towel had come loose.
"Just a moment," I called, praying that this wasn't an emergency and I could send whoever it was quickly on their way.
"Megumisensei? It's me, Ishioka Hiro... do you have a moment?"
"Is everything all right?" I asked, pulling on my kimono.
"Yes, everything is fine. Kaorusan told me I could find you here."
I raised my eyebrows. Oh, the dojo crowd would be hearing about this tomorrow! It had been their idea, after all, to allow me my solitude. But then to have... Oh. OH no.
Of course they had. Why was I surprised by this? That's it. Magic mushroom mix for all of them. Sigh.
I decided not to tie my kimono properly, and answered the door, towel still atop my head. "Then what is it?"
He said nothing for a moment, staring at me in shock. I had planned not to feel self conscious but something about the way he was acting was making me very uncomfortable. I took a half step back, pulling the loose kimono tighter around my neck.
"I... aahh... Gomen nasai, Megumisensei. I was... that is, I'd been wondering... But I..."
And then I GOT IT. Poor Hirosan was a pawn, and I was a pawn, and we were supposed to play their game. Well, why not? After all, it was I who they thought would be entertained.
"Come in," I said, stepping aside. I put on a sultry expression. If that's what they thought they wanted me to have, then why should I disappoint? It seemed to me that because of the part of my past they knew, they expected me to fulfill the apparent promises I had once made of "entertainment". To the contrary, my experience – I should specify, my voluntary experience with men was extremely limited. What Takeda Kanryuu had done to me could not be counted.
He stepped inside, reminding me more of a nervous horse than anything else. His words tripped over themselves like a raw adolescent meeting a girl for the first time. His eyes were struggling to look anywhere but at me – much like Kensan on many occasions, the idea of looking at me seemed to terrify him.
He was a beautiful man, I mused. Certainly that dream had not been unwarranted, and I might consider something with him once things got to be more comfortable with us. For now, I mostly planned to frighten him off, and few knew better than I how an aggressive woman could break a man down.
"I have to ask; did Kaoru send you or did you come looking for me on your own?"
"She, ahh, sent me." His face grew redder still.
"Because you were wondering?"
"I was wondering if you would mind coming to the school one day actually to teach the kids a little about some basic medicine," he said, his eyes fixed on the wall somewhere above and behind my left shoulder.
I blinked. That wasn't quite what I had been expecting. "And for this she sent you now?"
"She said you were probably reading some boring medical journals and would be grateful for the interruption."
I sighed. "Hirokun, you've been had." I used the overly familiar name deliberately.
Finally he looked at my face. "Huh?"
I shook my head. "Kaoruchan thinks I need a lover. Apparently she and her cohorts in crime have decided you'll do." I could not keep the sarcasm from my voice. Interestingly, he went very pale, then very red again.
"They want… What?" he finally choked out.
Was this guy dense or what? I'd just spelled it out as black-and-white as I could. "I have to be honest with you, I do find you a very attractive man. But I love Kensan, and I don't believe that there is another man in this country who could possibly make me feel the way he does." There had been, perhaps, one other, but I was reasonably sure he was not in the country. And he had been gone for years now; I did not believe he would ever come back in spite of the letter he'd sent. "Besides, I'll be going back to my own clinic in Aizu very soon. And while it's very kind of them and you to try…" I trailed off; the look on his face was so peculiar, I could not narrow it down to any one particular emotion.
"Megumisensei, I… I'm flattered. Terribly flattered. But there's one small problem." He looked ready to laugh, or cry. It might have been both; I could not be sure. "You are very probably one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. And I don't doubt there would be a great many men honored to be so well regarded as to even be considered worthy of you for even a moment.
"Unfortunately, well… There's no easy way to say this," he said, looking uncomfortable.
"You're married?" It was not entirely uncommon for married couples to live apart.
He shook his head. "I'm not. Nor will I ever be. It isn't anything personal, Megumisensei," he could not look at me as he said this, and I began to take it personally anyway. "You're not my type." Something in the way he said it made me pause.
"I know my propensities are not always well regarded, and so I stay quiet about myself. Let's see. I guess you could say, I find Himurasan himself more to my tastes, although he's a bit… scrawny for me." His face was so red at this time, and I could feel myself blushing to match him. And here I had thought he was hoping to seduce me!
"Well," I said finally. "This is awkward indeed."
"Yes. Yes it is." He agreed ruefully, casting me a wary glance. I caught his eye and suddenly we were both laughing, the tension gone as though it had never been there.
"I'd be more than happy to teach the children some basic first aid," I said once we finally regained some composure. "You're certainly welcome to stay a while, if you'd like. At least it would give those busybodies something to occupy themselves with." I sighed in irritation.
"And if I left?"
"If you left, I'd go back to reading medical journals. Which, by the way, are not boring."
"And your friends?"
I sighed again. "Let them think what they want," I rolled my eyes. "They will anyway."
"I could give you a backrub," he said slyly.
"I could fall in love with you after all," I grinned.
"Whoah, hold up!" he said, feigning panic. We laughed again and I allowed him to give me the best massage I'd had in, oh, probably ever. The thought wobbled its way to the surface that it was a shame to waste such dexterity, but I didn't realize I'd spoken aloud until Hirosan snickered.
"Oh, I agree. It's a waste to have such a beautiful back stuck on a woman." I was too relaxed to argue, and as he kneaded away the last of the tension that hot water hadn't soothed, I drifted off to sleep.
I awoke the next morning, feeling more rested than I had in a long time. Hirosan had gone, of course, but left a brief note thanking me for understanding and requesting that I keep the truth to myself. He suggested I tell anyone who asked that he was married and trying to bring his wife to live with him. Later, he thought, she could have found another husband and decided not to move with him after all. I knew that Kensan and Kaoru would assume that we had indeed been intimate – and the truth of the matter was, Hirosan's massage was far more satisfying than I'd ever imagined such intimacy could be. I felt almost luxurious as I rose and prepared for the day. Genzaisensei should be returning shortly, and who knew what shape he'd be in after a night of drunken debauchery with his lecherous friends?
I had a feeling he was going to want every intimate detail. I was inordinately fond of Oguni Genzai, who was a wonderful mentor, but the old man was a total pervert. I almost hated to disappoint him… Almost.
I opened the doors and looked outside; it promised to be a beautiful day. I had good friends who were like a family to me.
In the nearly three years since the chaos following Kensan's final duel with Enishi, things had been quiet, almost boring. I, at least, was fairly content with the way things were. Yes, I was lonely and would not mind a companion in my life, but perhaps things were better this way. I had enjoyed my visit, and would stay a little longer, but it would be time to return soon. There was only one other thing I truly wanted fiercely, but I was not yet ready to face that particular road alone. Japan was (largely) at peace and if things got to be a little boring sometimes, what difference did it make? Boring, I was learning, was no bad thing.