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A Road to Aizu: Chapter 5 - Primary Education

by ShoshanaFlower ::: 14.Jul.2004

"Megumi-sensei?"

"Yes?"

"Am I your apprentice?"

Soujiro looked up at her as he knelt over the bucket of water. The two were outside doing laundry together. Megumi had thought of Kaoru when she told Soujiro to come outside and help her clean. Kaoru did have a way of keeping her freeloaders in order, she had to admit.

"My apprentice?" she stalled.

"Naoko-sensei said I was your apprentice. Am I?"

Megumi really hated being stuck in these conversations. Why did Soujiro bring these kinds of questions to her? "Well, not really . . . An apprentice would be someone who would work at the clinic when their training was through. You said you couldn't stay here permanently, and you're not really being trained anyway."

"Oh."

Megumi had previously decided that Soujiro had to be the most difficult person on earth to read. Even Shinomori Aoshi had ways of letting on how he felt about certain things. One blank expression meant he intended to kill you, while another meant he felt you were wasting his time. With Soujiro, there was nothing.

"Had you wanted to be?" Megumi glanced down at the un-kept head leaning over a sock. "An apprentice, I mean?"

"I don't know. I was just wondering, since Naoko-sensei called me that. I guess not since I'm not staying anyway, like you said. Doctoring is kind of interesting, though. It's almost like kendo reversed."

" . . . I suppose so." That was a new thought. Stitching up wounds rather than creating them. Trying to save blood rather than shed it. Wait. Megumi stopped to think about that. Soujiro found that interesting? That was a good sign, right?

"Is that something you'd like to learn? Medicinal arts?" she asked him.

Soujiro didn't look up from washing. "I don't know. I guess I really should learn something, since I don't exactly have a place as a swordsman anymore." Curious, brown eyes were suddenly fixed upon the doctor. "Could you teach me? Would that be okay?"

Well why not. She'd already taken him into her home, taken him on as an assistant, and now turned him into a cleaning servant. And teaching him to heal seemed like something Kenshin would approve of. "Yes, I can. It'll be harder than just helping me, though."

"Oh that's okay. I can do it." Soujiro smiled

A year ago, Megumi would have hated the young man for everything he'd done. Now, she was truly beginning to like having him around. And she wasn't entirely comfortable with that.

"Megumi-sensei?"

"Yes?"

"How do you know Himura-san?"

Megumi put down the obi she'd be finger-cleaning. He was as bad as Arata, as far as perpetual questions were concerned. Even so, she'd been wondering when he'd ask about that. "He saved my life when I was in Tokyo."

"So you did live in Tokyo? What made you move here?"

"For someone with no answers about himself, you have a lot of questions about me. You're not exactly a gentleman, are you?"

Soujiro didn't realize she was teasing him. "I suppose not … but since I'm not, can you tell me anyway?"

Megumi tried not to be amused. "I just wanted to come back to the place I grew up in. This is where my family lived. And died."

"I wanted to ask you about that too."

There was no reason not to tell him, she reflected. "My family died here during the war. Do you know about that?"

Soujiro nodded.

Of course he'd know about that. His former mentor was a hitokiri turned military stratigist. "I was young at the time, but eventually I found my way to Tokyo and apprenticed myself to a doctor there." Megumi paused, considering how to best phrase the next part. "Sometime after that, the doctor was killed and I fell into the hands of another man, who forced me to make a certain drug. I was always trying to escape him, through one mean or another. Once, when I ran away from him, Ken-san intervened and rescued me." Megumi picked up her wash again and seemed to find Naoko's plain obi very consuming.

Soujiro, meanwhile, had stopped washing and sat in thought for a moment. "Takeda Kanryuu?" he asked.

Megumi let the cloth drop into the water. "How do you know that?"

"That was the name of the man who employed Shinomori-san and his spies, wasn't it? In Tokyo. All I knew was that he sold opium on the black market, and that's where Shinomori-san met up with Himura-san." In perfect calm, he asked, "You were a part of that too?"

" 'A part of that?' What else do you know about me?" Megumi raised her voice, staring at the surprised young man.

"Don't be mad, please. I didn't even know I knew that about you. I had no idea that's where you came in to play."

" 'Came into play?' Soujiro, this isn't a strategy game! How dare you speak of this so lightly." Surprises never ended with Soujiro, did they?

"I didn't mean to, Megumi-sensei. Shishio-san sent me to do some research on Shinomori-san when we were in Kyoto. I found out that the Oniwabban had acted as guards to Takeda, who was the liaison between them and Himura-san. That's all I know, really. I only just put it together." Soujiro had to wonder why everything he seemed to say concerning the past made Megumi angry with him.

Megumi put her head in her damp hands and sighed. Soujiro waited for her to speak, timid to make a move. If there was one thing he'd learned from Yumi, it was to never speak while a woman was angry with you.

Lifting her head, Megumi continued, "Yes, Soujiro, I was a part of that. I made the drug Takeda Kanryu sold."

When they spoke to you, it was okay to speak back. "Oh." Also, never underestimate the power of apologies. "I'm sorry, Megumi-sensei."

Megumi only turned back to her work, stood and draped the garment to dry. She didn't say much else to Soujiro that afternoon.

The former Soujiro no Tenken fell a few steps behind Takani Yuri and Megumi. An hour or two before noon, the two women had brought him along with them on a trip to a local school. Before the three of them had set out, Naoko had taken his sons out to speak to the teacher. Apparently, it was decided that Haru was old enough to start attending school. Arata had tagged along for the ride.

The schoolhouse was rather shabby, in Soujiro's opinion. The wood frame was dusty and dirty, as well as being splintered in several places. The sign next to the door had layers of muddy fingerprints on the lower portion, as though the students made a habit of touching it as they entered. Definitely not a place Yumi would have wanted to be seen in, Soujiro thought.

Timidly, Yuri walked up to the opened door and looked in.

"Yuri, come in." Naoko's voice carried from the inside. Yuri glanced back at Megumi and stepped inside. Megumi followed. For lack of anything else to do, Sou followed as well.

The interior of the building seemed so different from the exterior, that Soujiro was surprised. It wasn't any cleaner or better up kept, but it had a much different feeling. Copied poems and kanji hung from a cord strung over the length of one wall. By another wall, colored paper chains were suspended from the ceiling. The mat-covered floor was scratched and even torn in places, but it seemed like the presence of rough-housing kids emanated from each tear. It was as if some of morning's activeness was still caught inside the room. Megumi was looking around too, Sou noticed.

"This is my wife, Yuri," Naoko was telling the teacher. Soujiro now set his eyes on the man kneeling next to Naoko. He, at least, seemed cleaner than his school. His dark hair was brushed back, with about an inch or so tied at the nape of his neck. His kimono was about as rich as Naoko's - not very extravagant, but a little nicer than most in the area. From where Soujiro stood, the man's face was not visible.

"I'm honored to meet you, Takani-san," the teacher said, standing up to bow to Yuri. She returned the gesture. "Your son seems very bright for his age. You should be proud."

Yuri bowed again, lightly. "We are, Sakuragi-sensei. Thank you."

"This is my cousin," Naoko said, now standing as well and looking towards Megumi. "Takani Megumi."

After the formalities were exchanged for a second time, the teacher finally turned his attention to Soujiro. "Another son?" he asked.

"Oh no," Naoko responded casually. "This is Soujiro. He's our apprentice." When the man turned to look at him, Soujiro saw that his face looked older than the rest of him. Lines were worn into his forehead, cheeks, and at the corners of his eyes.

"I see," the teacher said. Turning back to Yuri, he said, "As I've already told your husband, Haru-chan can start here tomorrow. We all look forward to having him as a student."

While the Haru's parents and the teacher took turns licking each other's feet (figuratively, of course), Soujiro took time to study the school room again. He had developed an odd feeling that there was something in there he needed to see. Whatever it was, though, he couldn't find it.

"That sounds wonderful, sensei. Thank you again." Naoko said, smilingly. "Soujiro, the kids are in the yard out back. Will you go get them?"

"Sure." Soujiro left the building via a side door and walked over the dry, dusty ground to the back of the schoolhouse. As expected, Haru and Arata were there playing in the dust with two other children.

"Hey, Arata, Haru," he called. "Your mother's here and we're leaving."

"Hi Sou-san!" Arata yelled across the yard. Haru stopped to wave. "We have to go now," Arata told his new friends. "Bye!"

"Bye," Haru echoed, literally leaving his new friends in the dust. Both brothers ran over to Soujiro, and then walked with him back to the front of the building.

"Who were those children?" Soujiro asked Arata.

"That was Sumiko and her brother Sai. They go to this school. I'm going to go to that school too," the younger boy continued.

"You are not, Ara-chan. I'm going."

"No, I can go too!" Arata's voice increased in pitch as he argued with his brother. At the sight of his mother, though, he was sidetracked. "Okasan! Guess what? We went to school today!" Off went Arata in a torrent of words, while Haru told him at every turn that he was the only one who would be going to school.

Soujiro went along quietly, his thoughts unable to leave the schoolroom. Something there held his attention, yet he hadn't a clue what it was. There was just something that he felt he should be thinking about . . .

Once everyone was home again and settled in, Megumi found a moment of solitude in the empty clinic. The conversations she'd had earlier with Soujiro loomed around her. She still didn't like to think about any of it. His casualty about the time she was held captive still irritated her, but she was now mostly thinking of when she'd had to tell her family. "Hello, I'm your cousin Takani Megumi. I'm looking for a new carrer since my job of making opium recently fell through."

The young doctor much preferred to forget about those times altogether, if she could. Even after Kenshin rescued her from that life, it took a long time for her to allow herself to be happy again. Megumi had felt as though she didn't remember how. Of course, everyone helped her, whether they meant to or not. Ayame and Suzume's cheerful childishness was highly contagious, as was Kenshin's kindness. And, of course, Sanoske's knack for ending up in embarrassing situations always brought a smile to her face. It wasn't in her nature to go around grinning, but she had slowly learned to smile and laugh again. Takeda Kannryu and the Spider's Web faded into the back of her mind and stayed there for some time.

When she'd left for Aizu, she didn't plan on seeing any of her family. She'd merely wanted to go back home and open up her own clinic, and to carry on her father's principles in medicine. Every now and again, she wondered how long it would have taken her to find her cousins had someone not told her they were living there.

"Long day traveling, dear?" the innkeeper had asked her. Megumi had arrived in Aizu well past dark. One of the carriage wheels had broken while they were about half way between Tokyo and Aizu, and it had taken the driver three hours to repair. Yahiko would have burst a blood vessel at the man's incompetence.

Megumi was sitting over a cup of tea when the woman had asked her that. Tired from her journey, she merely nodded at the old woman.

"Well, you're here now. That's the important part. It's dangerous out on the roads at night. I never go out if I can help it. You never know what thieves might be out there - or worse." The woman nodded to herself. "What's your name again, dear? When you get old like me you forget things."

"It's my fault, I didn't say. I'm Takani Megumi."

"Oh. My name's Toshi. Any relation to the Takani doctors?"

Megumi was suddenly very attentive. "Yes. You knew them? I'm Ryuusei's daughter."

"Ah yes. Rest his soul. Yes, I know them. You're visiting them, then?"

"What?" Visiting them? Megumi wondered if she heard the woman correctly, or if she'd only thought she said that.

"You're visiting the Takani's? They don't live that far from here. Why aren't you staying with them? I'm certainly glad to have you, but you might enjoy your visit more if you stayed with your family."

Thoughts were flying through Megumi's mind like sparrows in a frenzy. "What?? Who . . . who are you talking about? Who lives nearby?"

The woman looked at Megumi as though wondering if she'd been stranded out in the heat of the day for too long. "Didn't you say you were related to the Takani doctors? Ryuusei-sensei's daughter?"

"Yes, yes I am. Please tell me, who lives nearby? What doctors?"

"Hisoka-sensei and his son, dear. Ryuusei-sensei's brother? Do you feel all right, child?"

The minutes seemed to slow to an unbearable rate as Megumi tried to find the words to speak. "Where? Where do they live?"

"Only about ten or fifteen streets away. You can't miss the house. The clinic is small, but the house is very striking. Are you sure you're all right?"

The only thing Megumi could think of was to pick up her bags and go find that house. Wordlessly she stood up and went to the door. Her two bags where still there. She picked up the lighter of the two and unlocked and opened the door.

"Wait a minute, girl, where do you think you're going?" The old woman stood up and began to make her way towards Megumi, but the doctor was already gone, closing the door behind her.

The streets were almost pitch dark, and Megumi half realized that she'd become used to the brightness of Tokyo. Even so, she found her way past the first ten streets she came to. Everything she did, every thought that passed through her head was entirely methodical. One, two, three, four, five . . . she counted every street. Six, seven, eight, nine . . . the tenth. She stopped running (running as best she could in a kimono) and strained to see down the street. Was this it? The woman had said ten or fifteen. Maybe she should keep going. But she didn't want to go too far and miss it. Megumi walked quickly past the next two streets. Alive. They were alive. Anything down this street? It curved, so she couldn't be sure. Next street. They were alive. They were here.

Were they?

What if the woman had been telling her something that wasn't true? What if she'd been mistaken? What if the woman was too old to distinguish between the past and present any longer. Megumi was stricken with fears. It couldn't be. They had to be here. The old woman had to be right. She had to be. She had to find her family.

She turned down the twelfth street - or was it thirteenth or fourteenth? "Striking house." She would recognize the clinic. It would be made visible so that patients would know where to find it. Was this the wrong street? How many streets had she passed? There's a small building. With a house behind it. A striking house. A truly striking house.

Oh please. Please let this be it. Please let me be right. Please let them be here. Please let them still be alive. Oh please . . .

Megumi thought she heard her kimono tear at a seam somewhere as she tried to run. It didn't matter. There was a sign by the door of the small building. Oh let it be a clinic sign. She was afraid to read it, but she was too afraid to stop. If she stopped, her thoughts might catch up to her and she'd realize how ridiculous all of this was. She strained her eyes to read it.

"Takani Clinic."

Megumi raced past the clinic and towards the house. It was true. They were here. It was taking forever to reach the house. It was only a few yards away from her, but she couldn't reach it. Like being in a dream right before you wake up . . .

"Hello!" She called out in a whisper. Where was her voice? "Hello!" she shouted. "Hello! Please let me in. Hello? Hello?!" She stood there for several moments, calling to any inhabitants who could hear her. Finally, she saw a light through one of the windows. The door slid open to reveal a tall man in his sleeping yukata holding a candle.

"What is it? Do you need a doctor?"

Who was this? She was supposed to know him, but she couldn't place him. She couldn't even see his features well enough to determine if he was related to her.

"Onna, are you hurt? What's the matter? Why are you here?"

"I'm Takani Megumi. My name is Megumi. Please, is there anyone inside . . ."

"Who?" the man pulled back slightly, to block her from entering the house.

"Please, you have to let me in. I'm looking for someone. I'm looking for Hisoka-san . He's my uncle. Please let me in." Megumi had seen hysterical patients enough times to realize she was on the verge.

"Here," the man set the candle down on the floor and led her in. "You say Hisoka is your uncle? Here, Onna-san, it's okay. Don't start crying now."

"What's going on, Naoko? Someone's hurt? Who is it?" A voice from behind them came.

"This woman says you're her uncle, Otousan. She's says her name's Megumi?" The man in the doorway, suddenly looked back at Megumi. "Meg-chan?" he said skeptically.

Megumi heard slow footsteps approach her. She looked up.

"Yes, I'm Takani Megumi," she wanted to scream out her name. "Please, tell me you're my uncle." She still couldn't see his face clearly, but she did see a look of astonishment come over the older man. He absently moved his son aside and took hold of Megumi's arms.

"Megumi-chan?" His gaze moved up and down her, and back to her face. "Megumi?"

The younger man to seemed to finally understand what she'd been saying. "Meg-chan?" he said again. "We were told you were dead! Everyone said you'd been killed in a fire with Sakura-neesan and Jiro. What are you doing here?"

The old woman was right. They were alive. They were here. She'd found them. "Looking for you."

She'd stayed with them the night and gone back to the inn for the rest of her things the next morning. Yuri had been woken up as well, and the two women were introduced. Megumi had met Haru and Arata the next morning. Like most children she'd encountered, they adopted her without a second thought. Megumi-neesan once again.

The opium had come up later. Megumi felt like not telling them would be lying. To her great relief, they seemed to feel the same way her friends in Tokyo did. Naoko remained aloof from her for a day or two, but then seemed to treat her none the worse for the knowledge. The children, of course, never knew.

Well, at least she'd never have to tell Soujiro. Not that she had any plans to do so anyway. Soujiro . . . She'd become his mentor tomorrow. It occurred to Megumi that she'd always been the student, and never the teacher. It couldn't be that hard. Just tell him what she knew. And don't pass on a recipe for opium and then die and leave him in the hands of a callous, greedy, young entrepreneur. Yes. That should be easy enough.