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A Road to Aizu: Chapter 7 - Spider's Web

by ShoshanaFlower ::: 05.Dec.2004

Dust. Soujiro had never before realized how much dust could accumulate in one small room. Nor had he ever realized how menial a task dusting was. Nor had he ever realized how many menial tasks doctor’s apprentices had to do. He was standing in the back room of the clinic, dust rag in hand, when he noticed that Megumi had left a pile of her things on the floor. Her apron lay on top. Soujiro mentally added ‘cleaning up after the doctor’ to his list of chores that ranged from washing bloody surgical instruments to washing dirty dinner dishes. Because her apron did not belong there, Soujiro picked it up to put it away in the front room. When he did, a note fell from one of the front pockets. He picked it up and read it.

“Bring your web, Spider, to the shrine tomorrow at dusk. Asking any questions could prove harmful to some of your family.”

Soujiro recognized the first part as a code, and the second part as a definite threat. ‘Who could have sent this to her?’ he immediately wondered. Megumi had no enemies that he knew of. The Takani family seemed well liked by their patients and their neighbors - regardless of political standpoints. Really, he wondered, who would have anything against a woman who spent her time helping the sick?

Finding no answers there, Soujiro turned back to the first sentence. The writer addressed Megumi as a spider. Spiders spun webs to catch insects and feed upon their blood. And the note called for her to bring her web…

Sou was standing still, trying to decipher the note in his hand, when it was snatched from him. Startled, he looked up to see a rather angry woman doctor.

“How dare you read my things,” she hissed at him.

Sou stood with no response. He had been caught in the act. Megumi hid the note in her sleeve and swiftly walked through the curtain into the front room.

“Megumi-sensei!” More curious about the note than ashamed about reading it, Soujiro followed his teacher. “Megumi-sensei, who sent you that note?”

“It’s none of your business. Forget it.” Megumi brushed past him and walked through the doorway to the front room.

“When did you get it?”

“It’s not your concern, Soujiro. Don’t ask me about it again. Isn’t there something you need to be doing right now?”

“I guess so . . .”

“Then go do it.”

“What does the ‘spider web’ part mean?”

Megumi stopped and did an about face. “Soujiro! I said stop talking about it,” she finally raised her voice. “I’ll deal with it. And don’t tell anyone about that note. Do you understand me?”

He nodded.

“Good. Go get Haru and Arata ready for dinner. Tell Yuri that I’ll be late because I went to look in on a patient.” She stooped a little to look at him eye-level. “I mean it, Soujiro, you can’t say a word about this. You have secrets too. You keep mine, and I’ll continue to keep yours.”

Double blackmail, Soujiro thought. Megumi turned away from him and left through the front door.

………………….

Megumi walked through the streets, with apparent calm, looking at her feet. Soujiro, following at a distance, looked around to see if anyone was watching his instructor.

The said shrine stood behind a row of dingy shops, in a disgraceful state of disrepair. Megumi paused at the edge of the buildings and looked around. Seeing no one, she moved forward. Soujiro deftly made his way to the side of one of the delapeted shops, and waited there, hidden, but unable to see Megumi. After a moment, when he thought it was safe enough to do so, Soujiro crept closer to the edge of the building and looked toward the shrine. His teacher's back was to him. She wasn't alone, though. Two men, one smaller than the other, were steadily walking towards her. She must have seen them, but Megumi didn't move.

Soujiro strained to hear what the men said. The shorter one spoke first.

"So this is the infamous Takani Megumi."

"What do you want?" was Megumi's ready answer.

"What do you think? Give me what we asked for and we'll leave you alone."

"I don't have any made," she looked towards the ground.

The smaller man frowned at her, before going on. "Stop playing, woman. We don't want the opium itself, anyway. We only want the recipe."

Megumi didn't answer him, but she looked at him steadily.

"We're most willing to pay for it, rest assured. Only name your price."

"I have no intention of selling anything to you. I no longer make opium, and I won't give anyone else, least of all you, the means to do so."

"I really don't have time for this. Stop fooling around. You have nothing to bargain with, so you're lucky we're offering you money at all. If you were the assistant of Kanryu Takeda, than you must be wise enough to see when you're out of options, and when you're being offered grace."

"I wasn't his assistant," Megumi glared at the man. "And I'm not out of options yet."

"Stop talking. You're at the end, here, so give it up."

When Megumi said nothing, the man frowned at her again. "You've made a bad business move, Takani-san. You should start being very careful." With a look to the tall man, who'd said nothing the entire time, the two left Megumi standing before the shrine.

When they were out of sight and earshot, Soujiro left his hiding place and went to Megumi.

"Um, Megumi-sensei?"

Megumi jumped and spun around when she heard him. "Soujiro!" she said, relaxing her tense posture. "You little brat."

"I'm sorry for following you and eavesdropping."

"No you're not."

"Oh. heh. Well, since the deed is done, I guess I know better what's going on."

Megumi sighed and looked away. "I suppose so. Does Yuri know where you are?"

"I told them that I was with you, looking in on your patient. And since you'd already told me to lie, I really can't get in trouble just for adding onto your lie."

"Well as long as you've taken care of yourself." What should have been sarcastic came across as detached.

"Megumi-sensei? What are you going to do?"

Slowly, Megumi looked back to Soujiro. "I don't know."

"Why don't you tell the police?"

"What would I say?"

"That someone threatened you for your opium recipe." As soon as Sou said it, he realized how stupid it sounded. "Never mind, then. Why don't you at least tell your family what's going on?"

"I can't tell them something like this, Soujiro. Everyone who knows will immediately become involved. I can't put them in that place. It's already dangerous for them."

"The man you talked to could have been lying to you. How do you know he has the means to hurt anyone?"

"It doesn't take much to light a house on fire, or a clinic. Besides, the note you read came home with Haru."

Even Soujiro knew what that meant. The man had access to Haru. "Wow. Someone really thought this through."

Megumi shook her head and smiled sardonically. "Is this so very interesting to you? Why don't you take notes while you’re at this?"

"I'm sorry, Megumi-sensei. I didn't mean that in a bad way. If I may," he suggested, "why don't you just give them the opium? It seems like that would solve all your problems."

"Soujiro, did you learn anything at all from Kenshin? Do you know why he has his vow not to kill?"

"Because he thinks it's wrong?"

"Yes. So wrong, that he won't give anyone else the means or opportunity to kill, either. He's repenting for all the lives he's taken. Can you understand that?"

"I guess so. If you sold the opium recipe ... every death from it would be your fault."

"Yes. Like that."

"So then, what are you going to do?"

Megumi was quiet for a time. "I'm not sure yet. But you should leave."

"What? Leave where?"

"Leave Aizu. You're a wanderer, right? You should leave Aizu and keep going."

"Why? You said I could stay. And so did Naoko-sensei. And I haven't done anything wro-" Soujiro considered all the things he had to apologize for that day - "especially wrong. Why do I have to leave?"

"Because it's not safe for you here anymore. If anything should happen to me, they'll come after you."

"Why would they come after me? And what do you mean, 'if anything should happen to you?'"

"Because you're my apprentice, Soujiro. They'll think you know how to make the Spider's Web opium. And they won't believe you if you tell them otherwise."

"But, that doesn't mean I need to leave. I could help you. I could protect you from them. You know as well as I do that I could have killed Himura-san. If I'm better than him, I'm better than anyone living."

Soujiro's words stopped Megumi for a moment. She quite clearly remembered the one condition she'd given him, in order for him to continue living with the Takani's. Even so...

"Don't talk about this anymore right now. We need to go back before it gets dark, and before they start to worry."

Soujiro agreed, and the two walked home in silence.

After dinner was eaten, and the dishes were cleaned, Soujiro quietly slipped away from the Takani's and found his way to the room where the eldest Takani doctor's swords were displayed. He stood in front of them, and thought of the promise he'd made to Megumi. If he tried to hurt anyone, or kill anyone, he'd have to leave. On the other hand, if he didn't help Megumi, he'd eventually have to leave anyway.

After several minutes' hesitation, he took the katana off of its mount on the wall. It had been such a long time since he'd held a sword. Habitually, he tested its craftsmanship by balancing the sword on his finger, next to the hilt. It wavered only slightly. Taking the sword back into his hand, he fell into the familiar battojutsu stance. He stared down his imaginary opponent, drew and cleaved the invisible body in two. The sword wasn't as good as those he was accustomed to, but it was still a good piece.

Sou recognized that the Takani's were the closest thing to family he had. A family who, even though he was in no way related to them, treated him far better than his own flesh and blood had. In fact, nowhere he'd been during his year or so of travels had ever been so kind.

No matter what he chose to do, it seemed, he'd end up out of a home. Sighing, he carefully placed the katana back in its place, and left the room.