Sanosuke

Sanosuke was not usually a person who ever felt uncomfortable. He prided himself on being very 'chilled out' and 'laid-back', able to easily feel relaxed in any situation. But this was a bit too much for him. It had all started when he entered the first-class cabin. I don't think they're called cabins on train, but whatever. But damn, that is not what I should be thinking. What kinda dough does this foxy lady have?! This place is huge! I could probably fit my entire room back in Chicago here and there'd be tons of space left over.

He looked over his shoulder back at Megumi, a bead of sweat running down his cheek and the corner of his mouth twitching in a frightened smile. "Uh, so I'm staying in there? How illegal is this favor exactly?"

Megumi raised an eyebrow. "It's not even that big, Rooster-head. Where have you been staying?"

"Well, damn, lady. I've been livin' it up in a normal apartment room. Sorry I'm not rich enough to afford a mansion like you." He snorted.

Rolling her eyes, Megumi walked across the room and opened the adjoining door. "There's my room. Don't go in there if you value your life." She smiled. "Have fun in your mansion, Rooster-head."

"Oi, oi." He muttered. "You don't have to be jerky about it."

Throwing his jacket off and tossing down his pack on the seat across from himself, he sat down on the floor and leaned his head back against the seat, exhaling. Whatever this is I've gotten myself into, there's no backing out now. I'm a man who keeps his promises – and that's a mysterious lady who I don't know anything about. But that'll happen later. I'll cross those bridges when I come to 'em.

I just gotta focus on the good stuff. Captain Sagara is alive!

But… The thought suddenly came to Sanosuke and he spoke aloud. "Why hasn't he contacted anyone?" He could've at least told me or Katsu that he was alive! That he was okay! Sanosuke stood up and drove his fist into the upholstery of the seat with a growl. Am I angry at him? Am I just sad? What the hell is this?! His fist was buried in the soft seat with another punch. I…! A punch. "Don't…!" Another punch. "Understand!"

He sank to his knees with a frustrated growl. "What the hell is this…?" Shouldn't I be so happy? Shouldn't I?

Sanosuke lay stretched out on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. How was he supposed to understand this? He couldn't. So, lulled by the slight rocking of the train he closed his eyes and figured, y'know, things usually make more sense after sleep.

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Sagara Sanosuke woke up slightly disoriented. He was laying down on a carpeted floor, staring up at a slightly swaying light, and a stilettoed foot was poking him in the ribs. "Come on, come on. Oh, just wake up, Rooster-head." Muttered an annoyed woman's voice.

He sat up, blinking and yawning, the world coming back into focus. "Oh… Hey there, Fox-lady."

She smiled wryly. "Do you always sleep like a log?"

Grinning, he stood up, dusting himself off. "Not always. Sometimes I sleep like an entire cabin."

Megumi snorted. "That's not even funny."

"You laughed." He raised an eyebrow.

"It was less of a laugh than a derisive snort at your failed attempt to be amusing."

"Ouch, Fox-lady. You really don't pull your punches."

"And you're an idiot."

"That's completely not related to the subject at hand here." He retorted. "I'm a funny guy, admit it."

"Never." She smirked.

"I bet you that you'll admit it at some point." He smirked back.

"You're on, Rooster-head." Megumi rolled her eyes. "Why am I even wasting time here." She muttered. "I came to wake you up and tell you that it's dinner time soon. They're serving it in the dining car, so try and look presentable." Noticing his wary glance she waved her hand. "The food's on me, so don't worry."

At that, Sanosuke grinned and ran a hand through his hair. "What's wrong with how I look now, Fox-lady? I think I look plenty presentable."

"Hm." She snorted. Rolling her eyes again, she turned and stepped back into her quarters. "Try again, Rooster-head. Be ready in fifteen minutes." She poked her head back out of the door before closing it as an afterthought. "There's a hole in the elbow of your shirt." Then the door swung closed with a snap.

Sanosuke scratched the back of his neck, trying not to grin, but unable. "…Yeah."

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"Hurry up, Rooster-head!" there was the frustrated sound of heels clicking as she tapped her foot pointedly. Megumi's door opened and she raised a finger to berate him when she blinked. "What… What are you doing?"

Sanosuke was sitting cross-legged on the floor, his shirt off and a thread in his mouth, a needle dangling between his fingers. He bit the thread and stood up, holding up the shirt and examining his handiwork. The hole in the elbow had been sewn up, by no means professionally, but passably. "Fixin' my shirt." He said. "Thanks for pointing that hole out." He said with a smirk. "I've been sewing it up."

Megumi crossed her arms and didn't look at him, her cheeks tinged a slightly darker shade of pink than usual. "Put your shirt back on. Idiot."

His smirk widened and he laughed a little. "Sure thing, Fox-lady." He turned his back to her and slipped his shirt over his shoulder and began to button it up, before realizing that he had made a mistake. He had turned his back towards her – and he knew she had noticed by the sharp intake of breath.

"You know what it means, right?" she slowly asked. "That tattoo?"

Pausing in his buttoning, he took a deep breath, slowly, in and out. "Evil." He said. "It means evil." His shoulders rose and fell with a laugh devoid of mirth. "Believe me, Fox-lady, I know exactly what it means."

He turned back to face her and took note of the shock and confusion on her face. "Why would you have that tattooed on your back?"

Sanosuke looked down, took another deep breath and opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, looking slightly surprised at himself. Was I seriously about to tell this woman just now? He thought, his eyes widening a little. He looked up again and his face split into a grin. "'Cause I'm a bad boy, that's why." He said laughingly, the wide grin somehow not reaching his eyes. He threw on his jacket and opened the door leading to the hallway. "Come on, Fox-lady, I'm hungry." He grinned again.

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"Dif if real' goo' foo''." Sanosuke said through a mouthful. With a large swallow he managed to make more sense. "I swear, this food is great." He managed, before beginning to stuff himself again, shoveling food into his mouth at a high speed.

Megumi raised an eyebrow, daintily lifting a fork to her mouth. "You're eating like you've lived through a famine." She said with a good-natured smile. "Make sure you remember to breathe, huh, Rooster-head?"

Sanosuke swallowed forcefully again and shrugged a little. "Well, I dunno if a fancy Fox-lady would understand, but…" he grinned, showing that he was joking. "For a guy like me, who doesn't know where his next meal is coming from, or if his next meal is coming at all, I gotta eat as much as I can, 'cause I dunno when I'll be eating again, yeah?"

Slowly nodding, Megumi flagged down a waiter and ordered more mashed potatoes and gravy – Sanosuke's favorite out of the menu items. "Eat all you want, Rooster-head." she said quietly.

He looked at her oddly but didn't say anything, chewing away. He noticed how she sat a bit too straight, ate very slowly and carefully and how her eyes would always slowly drift to the table at the back and then quickly dart back to her food., Sano craned his neck to see who was sitting at that table and noticed there a short Chinese man eating pasta with four hulking men sat. Does she know him? He looks like a tough customer. Look at those guys. Whew! And look at that suit and that cigar! He must be hella rich. Mobster? Or businessman? Diplomat, maybe?

"Hey, so, Fox-lady…" said Sanosuke after finishing his fourth plate of food. "I figured, y'know, mystery gives a lady allure and whatever, but I gotta know what I'm doin'. Exactly how dangerous is this job? What's the chance of me ending up in the clink? Who are you, really?"

Megumi took her time, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin, reapplying lipstick and straightening in her chair. "I have to ask you a question too."

Sanosuke raised his eyebrows, awaiting. "Shoot."

"What do you think of poppy? Opium."

"Well, that's a cheerful topic around the dinner table." He muttered. There was no hesitation. "Hate it. Well, the flowers are pretty – I hate the people who turn it into a thing like that. I hate 'em." His mouth was set in a grim line and he looked her in the eyes. "I knew a guy, good gambling buddy of mine, sweet wife, cute kid. He invited me over to his place a few times and his kid would be cimbin' all over me and the missus made the best coffee ever – ain't no coffee like that in all of Chicago. We'd get together on the weekends, y'know, go out throw the dice, then out for a drink. One day though, he stopped comin'." Sanosuke paused, then sighed, looking at her worriedly. "Are you sure you wanna hear this? This isn't something you talk about to ladies over dinner."

She nodded wordlessly, her knuckles white from clutching at the tablecloth.

He sighed again and took a deep breath. "Well, I show up to his house, I'm worried, y'know? He's gone, he and his family packed up and gone too. That's when I got real worried, see. I tracked them for a few days, askin' people everywhere across town. Finally found 'em. Slums. Total hellhole. His place looked even worse than mine on a bad day. I found out that he'd been addicted to the stuff, then the price'd gone up so he'd sold everything." Sanosuke was shaking with anger, remembering. "Everything. Just to smoke some more of that shit. The missus was sellin' 'er body just to get by, the kid was starvin', picking pockets to feed himself. Guy himself is just laying there in the corner, collecting flies until he gets up and starts beating them. That shit… It turns even the greatest guys into monsters. That's why I hate the people who make and sell it."

Megumi's face was expressionless, save for a single tear running down her cheek. Sanosuke paused, noticing it. "Come on, Fox-lady, don't force yourself. If you don't wanna hear no more, just tell me." He said gently. "You don't gotta cry, alright? I figured something out for them, see? It's not your fault."

At that, another tear dropped and she shifted, bringing the napkin to her eyes. "No." she said sharply. "Please continue. I apologize."

Sanosuke looked at her with concern but shrugged. "If you're sure, lady." He said, then continued. "I was so angry at him, I just left him there. He probably needed help, and when I think back, I was probably a coward and it was my fault he died. He'd jumped off a bridge after there were no more drugs for him. But I took the missus and the kid and put them up at my place." He looked at Megumi to make sure she was alright and patted her hand on the table, then pulled away, realizing how that must've come across. "I got part-time job as a mechanic, a part-time job at a canning factory and another part-time job at a restaurant." He snorted. "I might've stolen a few cans from the factory and a bit of food from the restaurant also, but… Shh." He sighed, looking down. "See, this was all during the winter and the missus got sick pretty bad. It was the pneumonia an' she… She started coughing up blood. I did my best but… Before the winter was out…" his jaw tightened. "It was just me and the kid."

Megumi bit her lip.

He paused, pouring himself a full glass of sparkling water and downing it. "I wasn't gonna let anything happen to him. That kid… He had nobody else, see? I couldn't just put him into an orphanage, those place are shit." He drank more. "I knew that the factories would accept a ten-year-old kid but… I couldn't do that to him. And I'd just lost my restaurant job, and got fired from the mechanic job. So I went ahead and joined the mob."

"…Just like that?" she blinked.

Sanosuke smiled tiredly. "No, not just like that. I had to call in a few favors, bash a few heads." He sighed, smiling a little. "Things sort of evened out from there. Boss Shinomori might be one hell of a ruthless bastard, but he's as fair as blind justice and takes care of his people better than some take care of their families. I was in the bottom of the hierarchy, see? So even though we were better off, every day was a fight. That's when I met Kenshin." Sanosuke laughed out loud and shook his head. "Oh damn that was hilarious."

Megumi raised an eyebrow. "Hilarious?"

"Well, you see…" said Sanosuke with a grin, taking a swig of sparkling water straight from the bottle, not noticing Megumi's wince. "You got this shortass who looks like a girl, right? But he takes me down like that." Sanosuke snapped his fingers with a loud laugh. "Takes me out, then makes me re-evaluate my life choices, ropes me into a crazy adventure involving some insane hypnosis hitman after some senator, then adopts the kid. I don't think the kid ended up taking Kenshin's last name though. He's still Myojin Yahiko, not Himura."

Slowly nodding, Megumi winced as Sanosuke, yet again, took a swig of sparkling water from the bottle. "I see." She said quietly. "…I understand."