Pride Vs. Desire
By:: Melissa

Disclaimer:: I do not own anything of this story except for the storyline and the one made up character. Everything else belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki, creator of Rurouni Kenshin. Constructive criticism is welcome. No flames please.

Chapter 8

"Megumi, are you alright?" Sanosuke ran down into the forest, helping Megumi up from the tangled branches and leaves on the forest floor.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. But Kenshin…we have to help him." Megumi picked herself up and brushed off her shirt. She started walking but winced and fell back to the ground, grabbing her ankle in pain.

"What's wrong?" Sanosuke asked, kneeling beside her.

"Nothing, it's just my ankle is all." Megumi ripped off some of her shirt and picked up two smooth branches and made a brace for her leg. She tied it tight and got back up. She started walking, limping slightly. Sanosuke held onto her elbow gently, leading her and making sure she didn't fall.

"Why did you come after me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why did you save me? Why did you bother to rescue me?"

"Because I care about you."

"Didn't your pride stop you from saving me?"

Megumi had stopped walking. She sat down on a rock, catching her breath. Sanosuke looked at her, surprised. He thought about her question and the answer he would give her.

"Well, at first my pride tried to stop me from saving you but something made me realize that you mean more to me than my pride will ever mean to me." Sanosuke sat down next to Megumi on the rock and looked her in the eyes.

Megumi had to admit that she was surprised by his answer. She had expected for him to answer with a lie. A bold face lie. But she knew that he was telling the truth. She could see it in his eyes. She changed her expression to anger suddenly and glared at Sanosuke.

"If I mean so much to you, then what is this talk of an engagement?" Megumi asked, looking crossly at Sanosuke.

"How did you know about that?" Sanosuke's face turned to panic as he thought his secret had been found out.

"I heard you talking to Tsukioka about it. You were talking about telling me about some engagement."

"Oh…that! No no no….you don't understand…let me explain…"Sanosuke gathered his thoughts together and looked at Megumi softly. He took hold of her hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Megumi, I had meant to tell you this a long time ago but I never did have the guts to tell you. I let my pride get in the way. And because of that, I could've lost my chance forever. But now I'm not going to wait any longer. I'm going to tell you what I've wanted to tell you for so long."

"Just tell me, birdhead."

"I love you, Megumi. With all of my heart. And nothing in the world can change that. I've loved you for so long and I just haven't told you. You're the only fox for me, Megumi."

"Sanosuke, I…."

"Wait. Let me finish." Sanosuke put a finger up to Megumi's lips, silencing her. "The engagement I was talking about with Tsukioka was about you. It had everything to do with you. But again, I let my pride get to me. I let it get in the way. But that's gone now and I want you with me forever." Sanosuke got off the rock and kneeled in front of Megumi. Megumi put a hand to her mouth, a tear trickling down her cheek.

"Takani Megumi, will you marry me?"

Megumi was speechless. She didn't expect this at all. She would've never had thought that Sanosuke felt the same way for her. She didn't even let it fool her that he would feel the same way. She put her hand down away from her mouth and smiled, tears falling down her face.

"Yes, Sanosuke, yes." She moved forward to give him a hug and hold him to her. They held each other for what seemed like hours before they heard a yell coming from the clearing.

"Oh my gosh, Kenshin!" Megumi exclaimed. She scrambled up the steep hill and came into the clearing. She gasped and screamed just as Sanosuke came up behind her.

Kenshin was on the ground, bleeding badly. Kento was standing over him, holding Kenshin's head up by his hair.

"How do you like this, you filthy scum?!" Kento screamed, punching Kenshin hard in the face. A groan escaped from Kenshin lips as Kento's fist made contact with his face.

"Stop this! Stop it now!" Megumi screamed, slamming her foot onto the ground. Kento looked over at them and threw Kenshin against the bamboo walls of the house. Kenshin slid down the wall, his sword falling out of his hands.

"You're next." Kento looked at Sanosuke menacingly, pointing in his direction. Megumi grabbed hold of Sanosuke's hand and squeezed it tightly. He looked down at her and saw fear and dread written in her eyes. He frowned slightly, looking back at the defeated Kenshin, his blood dripping down the house wall.

To Be Continued…..

Another chapter done. One more chapter to go. The ending is not what you think it's going to be. There's a twist. Please let me know if you want an alternate ending or an epilogue. If i have time, i'll update this weekend but if not, i'll get the last chapter up next week/weekend. If you would like to see another SanosukeXMegumi fanfic, let me know! Please review, thanks! 3