a/n: It's taken me forever, but here it is! The first real chapter of Shatter Me. Stick with me on this one, people! Reviews inspire me!

Shatter Me
Chapter One: Arguments

Megumi hummed cheerfully as she and Tae walked to where the captive was being held. She really didn't care for humans. She supposed it stemmed from the fact that she herself had been forced to live in the mortal world for a time longer than she cared to remember.

She didn't want to help him.

But Kaoru had ordered treatment and food for him so that was what she would give him. Kaoru knew what she was doing and for all her purposes she wanted this man alive.

They arrived to find him in a cage. He was sleeping. Megumi's brows furrowed. She didn't like humans, she thought again. They were so lazy and they caused all sorts of trouble…

She kicked at the cage.

"Hey rooster head!"

Tae cast her a look that plainly said 'I don't think that's going to work.' Tae set the food down and moved closer to the cage.

"Sir?"

"Tae, you can't be so gentle! He's never going to wake up if you're whispering!" Megumi chided, stepping even closer. "Tori Atama!! Get your lazy ass out of bed!!"

He started and glanced around until he came face to face with Megumi. He smiled. She was cute. And flustered, he noted. She had dark hair that fell to her waist in layers as it framed her face. Her dark eyes shot off warning signals. And she had the most adorable flush…

"Oi, Kitsune, you gotta be so loud in the morning?"

"Kitsune?! I have a name you know! You-You stupid chicken head!!"

"Well so do I!"

"Oh really? Cause you just look like a big, dumb rooster head to me!"

"Yeah?! Well you look like a damn fine fox!"

Tae looked on, not knowing what to do. They were arguing as if they'd known each other for a long time, but it was also clear that they had only just met. She looked from one to the next, wondering if she should interfere.

"Um…"

"Stay out of it!!" They both yelled.

"What's going on here?" Kaoru demanded, coming up. "Megumi?"

Megumi was breathing heavily and glaring daggers at their human captive. "It's all his fault!"

"It always is," Kaoru finished, eyes twinkling. "Tae, why don't you give Sagara-san his breakfast so Megumi can check him out as quickly as possible."

"Hmph! I'm not going to help him!"

"Yeah, well do you really think I want to help me?!"

"You should be grateful that someone as skilled as I am is going to look at you!!"

"I don't give a flying fuck-"

"Let's all just calm down!" Kaoru insisted. "Megumi why don't you sit down? Sagara-san, enjoy your breakfast. We'll be back later."

Tae served Sagara while Megumi cooled down and Kaoru gave her a lecture.

"You know, I thought you had outgrown temper tantrums, Meg," Kaoru said, giggling slightly. "I really didn't think it was you doing all the screaming when people told me."

"It is out of character," she sniffed. "But he pisses me off so much!"

Kaoru chuckled. "Sounds like a match made in heaven."

"Yeah. Right. Do I really have to give him a physical? Can't Aoshi do it? He has medical experience."

"Aoshi doesn't feel comfortable," Kaoru said.

Megumi sighed. "I can't stand him."

"Just one insy weensy physical. For me," she added. "Please?"

"Fine. But just because you're my leader and I respect you."

Kaoru merely smiled.

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Much later that day, after Tae had brought Sagara a generous lunch, Megumi had to go confront him with a physical. She had bitched about it, but it hadn't done her any good. She sighed. He was so…

When she thought about it, he was good looking. She scowled at the direction of her thoughts, but she couldn't stop. Yeah. He was handsome, but he was a total jack ass. She sighed again.

She stepped outside his cage and dropped her bag. He was napping. She rapped her palm against the bars.

"Hey! Get up! I don't want to waste any more time than I have to!"

He shifted and snored louder.

"Heeey!"

"Whaaaat?" he demanded, sitting up. "Oh. It's you again."

"I'm not happy to see you either, so let's just get this finished, okay?" she said, gesturing to the guard to let him out.

"Hey, hey! Freedom!"

"It's temporary," she assured. "Take your shirt off."

"You sure move fast-"

"Take your shirt off. It'll make things easier." '

And it's most definitely not because I want to see the expanse of the muscles he so evidently has…' she told herself.

"Sure thing, fox."

She grit her teeth. She would never get this physical done if she let him bait her every other second. So she put on her professional face and did her job. Once Sagara had his shirt off she pulled out her stethoscope and listened to his heart. She was eerily quiet and did her work efficiently. She checked his blood pressure, noting that it was slightly high.

She wrote down observations about his overall health and then more specific observations. Like the bloody knuckles that looked like they'd been broken more than once. And the bruises on his face that indicated a fight. He also had lacerations on his chest that looked like they'd been caused by a sword.

"When was the last time you were in a fight?" she asked politely, lifting a page on her charts.

"Pft," he mumbled. "Just about everyday."

"I didn't ask you how often you fight, I asked when your last fight was," she answered coldly.

"Uh… Yesterday. Last night. When they caught me…"

She nodded. It made sense after all. She took some more notes on his frequent violent behavior. She pointed her pen towards his chest.

"And those? When did you get those?"

He stared at her for a moment, trying to think. "A couple days ago."

She nodded again. "How did you treat them? Did you clean them out with anything? Soap and water? Peroxide?"

"Soap and water."

"Next time use peroxide. It cleans it out more effectively and you won't get the nasty infection your sporting in this laceration." She nudged a slash across his waist with her pen. "You'll have to have antibiotics for that now."

"Do demon antibiotics do the same thing?"

"They're actually better," she told him, closing the file she'd started on him. "The guard will give them to you twice a day as prescribed. I expect you to take them."

"I will."

"Good. You can put him back now," she said to the guards.

The guards nodded and eased Sagara back into his cage. He spat at the ground before looking back up at Megumi.

"Hey fox," he called before she had a chance to walk away.

"What?"

"Thanks…"

"…your welcome," she answered, surprised.

"And I'm sorry."

She started. "You're forgiven, Sagara-san."

"Sanosuke," he corrected. "Sano."

She nodded and smiled. "I'll see you later then, Sano-san."

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"He told you his whole name? Really?" Kaoru said, eyes wide.

"I'm still more content with calling him a rooster," she grumbled.

"Well then," she said, standing up, "Megumi you're in charge of interrogation from now on."

"What?!"

"He responds to you. I want you to be interrogating for the rest of his stay," she answered.

Megumi sighed. It looked like she was stuck with a rooster head for a very long time…

a/n: one last note on this chapter. I'm not a doctor and even though I've seen a plethora of them lately, I can't really be expected to know what they would reccommend in Sano's situation. Don't forget to review!