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Recovery: Chapter 4 - Fireflies & Street Fighters

by Haku Baikou ::: 01.Mar.2003

Megumi cut strips of cloth by the dim light of a lone oil lamp in Kenshin's room. She worked quietly, making new bandages for the rurouni's wounds. She would boil these strips once she was done to sterilize them. She had insisted on boiling all water and bandages used to clean his wounds. It was a decided inconvenience, but she had never cut corners professionally in her life, and she surely wasn't going to start now. Not with this particular patient.

It was a quiet evening, unusually cool for this time of year. The nearby window was open, and Megumi breathed in the night air, feeling rested and at peace for the first time in weeks. She'd taken a much needed nap after drinking sake with Hiko. Her efforts at extracting information from him had been woefully unsuccessful. Instead, she had babbled on about her own childhood and past woes while he sat quietly and listened, commenting briefly when appropriate. Megumi cringed at the thought of that arrogant man knowing some secrets that she really ought not to have told him. But she trusted that he would be as reticent with her secrets as he was with everything else. And truly, he was decent enough company when he was tipsy. Arrogant still, but by no means unpleasant.

Kaoru was sitting next to Kenshin now, talking steadily in hushed tones. The girl had been doing so for hours, stopping only occasionally to sip some warm tea to soothe her throat and keep her voice from becoming hoarse. Megumi had to admit: the girl's presence was definitely helpful now that Ken-san was awake and could hear a friendly voice. The rurouni had been quiet since Kaoru had arrived, though his eyes retained their far-off look, and he didn't seem to be consciously aware of her presence beside him. Still, Kenshin was calm, at least, and had finally allowed Megumi and Hiko to change his dressings without any resistance as long as Kaoru continued to talk. The girl had even managed to get Kenshin to drink some tea. For once, he hadn't choked on the liquid as he'd done in the past when Megumi and Sae had had no choice but to force the fluid down his throat.

To Megumi's relief, Ken-san had made no more mention of the name Tomoe, nor had he had any repeated displays of the worrisome agitation from earlier in the afternoon. He'd merely murmured various cryptic remarks that, taken out of context, didn't always make sense. Some of them, Megumi and Kaoru had been able to figure out. He'd spoken of doing laundry at one point, and the two women, who had been on edge for so long, had burst into tired giggles at the oddity of seeing the famed battousai murmuring about how clean and white the sheets were. Other ramblings—such as his insistences that daikon radishes really weren't necessary—made no sense to the two women whatsoever.

Listening to the girl talk now, Megumi grudgingly admitted to herself that even she was calmed by Kaoru's steady stream of stories. And she was impressed, also, that Kaoru had retained her calm, had not fallen apart at the seams as she'd done so when Ken-san first left for Kyoto. Kaoru had changed in these last few weeks, Megumi noted. She was still the boisterous sweaty little tomboy. That would probably always be the case. But there was something else in the girl's eyes now, a calm or maturity that hadn't been there before. Megumi couldn't put her finger on the exact difference, and she didn't know what had happened to the girl to make her this way, but Kaoru had grown since she'd come to Kyoto. She still wasn't a woman in Megumi's eyes, but she'd taken an important step closer to becoming one.

The girl was currently talking about the morning after she'd first met the rurouni, how she had awakened to the smell of miso soup and was then served rice balls shaped into ridiculous little rodent creatures. Megumi couldn't help smiling as she pictured Ayame and Suzume presenting Kaoru with mouse-shaped rice balls with raisins for eyes. Kaoru grinned. "Of course, they tasted much better than any rice balls I ever made, despite the shape. I almost didn't have the heart to eat them. They looked so adorable."

Megumi laughed. "Ayame and Suzume never fail to bring out Ken-san's silly streak. I wish I'd been there to see that."

And at that, Megumi felt suddenly sad. She didn't know why. Perhaps she felt like she had missed out on some of Ken-san's happiest carefree moments. Perhaps it was because her own first meeting with Ken-san had been of a much darker nature, and that it had taken him some time to be comfortable enough around her to joke around and be silly with her. Or maybe it was just the old jealousy she felt whenever Kaoru was around, the bitterness in knowing that the fates had sided with the girl. Kaoru had met Kenshin first. Had won over his heart long before Megumi had ever had her chance....

"Megumi?"

She made an effort to smile, feeling genuine warmth towards the girl despite the pain Kaoru caused her whenever she was near. "Daijoubu." And at Kaoru's worried look, "Really, I'm fine. I think I had a bit too much sake this afternoon. Hiko can drink like a fish."

Kaoru smiled, about to say something when the rurouni beside her stirred briefly, mumbling and turning his fevered gaze upon the oil lamp, seemingly fascinated by its light. He reached for it, but was fortunately too far away to touch it and burn himself. Kaoru laid her hand lightly upon his arm, frowning slightly as she pushed it gently down. "That's just the oil lamp, Kenshin. It's all ri-"

"There are beautiful fireflies," Kenshin murmured.

Kaoru froze.

It was Megumi's turn to look at her friend in uncomprehending concern.

"Sessha wa rurouni," Kenshin continued, his voice barely audible. "Time to wander again."

It must have been what he said to Kaoru the night he left for Kyoto. Kaoru sat tensed, her back straight, her eyes fixed on Kenshin. Megumi expected to see tears in the girl's eyes, but there were none. Instead, she could see moisture glistening in the eyes of the rurouni as he continued to stare, transfixed by the light. A small objective corner of Megumi's mind noted that she had never seen Kenshin cry before.

Kaoru stood up suddenly. "There's not enough air in here," she said breathlessly as she quickly left the room. Megumi stared dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events. She sat for a moment, absorbing the scene she had just witnessed. And then, when her brain finally began working again, she hurried down the stairs and out the front door, calling Kaoru's name. But the girl was far faster than Megumi could ever be. Kaoru was nowhere to be found.

"I don't think she wanted to be followed," came a voice from behind her.

She turned to find Sanosuke seated on the front porch of the Shirobeko, leaning against a post and chewing thoughtfully on a leftover fishbone from dinner.

"Baka, we can't just let her wander off into the night alone."

"Jou-chan can take care of herself," he said quietly. "And she's not alone. Oumime was on the roof and sneaked off after her. She'll make sure jou-chan doesn't get into any trouble."

Oumime. It took a moment for the unfamiliar name to register. One of the Oniwabanshu women, Megumi remembered. The tall one with the long hair.

"What was Oumime doing out on the roof?"

"Guarding Kenshin's room," said Sano. He looked at her. "Didn't you know? The Oniwabanshu have been doing that since the day after Kenshin's fight."

Megumi opened her mouth, couldn't say a word, then closed it. No, she had not known.

"Anyway, Masukami's taking Oumime's place, so don't worry. Kenshin will be safe as well."

She didn't know what to say. All this time, she'd been so focused on her own job, she hadn't noticed that others were watching after Ken-san in their own way. She sat down heavily next to Sanosuke before her knees gave out on her. It had been a rather stressful day.

She looked up towards the roof and saw the small Oniwabanshu woman seated on the roof near Ken-san's room. They had been watching. All this time.... She felt a new appreciation for the Oniwabanshu, an appreciation that was not easily won from her considering her previous painful history with their group. But these folks with Okina and Misao. They were good people. Megumi hung her head in shame for underestimating them.

It was then that she noticed Sano was favoring his injured hand more so than usual.

"Sanosuke, did you hurt yourself again?"

He grinned sheepishly. "Weasel Girl accidentally hit me with a board she was carrying. She had it in her arms like so, and when she turned around with it...Heh, I was in the way."

"Oh no," she sighed. "That's the second time in three days."

He shrugged. "You shoulda been there. I let loose a string of cuss words that had her ears red and her jaw on the floor." He laughed gruffly, eyes twinkling with mischief in the roguish way only Sanosuke's eyes could.

"Let me take a look at it."

"Iya, you have more important things to do. And it's not that bad."

She took his hand in hers and examined it anyway. He was right, it seemed. The new damage wasn't as bad as she'd feared. But still, the careless idiot....

"Sanosuke, you can't keep hurting your hand like this. You have to rest it. In fact, you shouldn't be out at the Aoiya at all with this. There's too much risk of injuring it again."

"But I have to be there. The po—" He slammed his mouth shut, eyes widening slightly.

"The 'puh'?" She looked at him, her eyes narrowing. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Baka," he muttered to himself, avoiding eye contact. "Promise you won't tell jou-chan. She's got enough worries."

"Won't tell her what? Sanosuke!" she said, exasperated.

He shrugged. "The police came by the Aoiya for a short visit today. They were worried about us all being there since some of Shishio's followers are still at large."

"What? I thought they'd caught them all."

"Most, but not all." He scratched his head absently. "I guess the police are worried some of them may be carrying a bit of a grudge. Considering Kenshin fried their beloved leader. We were told to keep an eye out, is all. No specific dangers that they know of. So I gotta be there. In case anything does happen."

It was sobering news. She looked up towards the roof again. "Do you think Ken-san's in danger here?"

"Doubt it," he smiled. "How would any folks in Kyoto know of our connections to the Shirobeko? Way Okina saw it, it's safer here than at the Aoiya right now. Besides," he smacked his fist against his hand in enthusiasm, then paled, when the motion must've sent shockwaves of pain up his right arm. (Baka, thought Megumi.) "Besides," he continued more carefully, "We can always fight 'em off. Don't worry. Kenshin's safe. We won't let anything happen."

"Sanosuke, baka, if you keep fighting, and your hand will never heal."

"Hmph, I'd cut my hand off if it would guarantee Kenshin's well-being." Sagara looked at her, eyes intent. "I'd do that for any of you, you know," added the ex-street fighter with that half-crazed look in his eye that meant he was utterly serious.

She had to admire the idiot for his loyalty. First to that Captain Sagara of his, now to Kenshin, and finally even to Saitoh, of all people. And Sanosuke hadn't even liked Saitoh. But once a person had Sanosuke as an ally, that person would have a defender for life. The man was like that.

"I know," she said, smiling at him in a rare display of genuine affection for the dolt.

He blinked in mild surprise, apparently expecting her to say something snide about how great an idiot he was. He leaned against the post again, looking up at the moon, sighing. In an oddly tender mood, Megumi leaned lightly against him, resting her head on his shoulder. A small part of her mind was shocked, telling herself that, yes, indeed, she'd had a bit too much sake that afternoon. The other part ignored her and simply sat, enjoying the warm presence of a friend.

Hesitantly: "Megumi."

"Yes?"

Gruffly: "Arigatou."

"For what?"

"For taking care of Kenshin. For taking care of me." He hesitated a moment. "For being kind to jou-chan when it must hurt you seeing her with Kenshin all the time."

She looked up at him in muted surprise, but he was studiously avoiding her gaze. Megumi swallowed, suddenly feeling a pained tightness in her throat at Sanosuke's surprising sensitivity. The big idiot was more observant than she gave him credit for. Sano shifted against her and looked at her finally. Megumi didn't know what he saw in her eyes, but whatever it was, he suddenly blushed and cleared his throat.

"Well, I ought to be going" he said airily.

"Going where?"

"Kurojou and Shirojou are meeting some friends for another game of dice tonight." He laughed and dusted off his pants as he got up. "They're amateurs, all of them. Completely naïve when it comes to gambling. Finally, a group of guys with worse luck than myself. I made a killing offa them yesterday night."

He looked at her and grinned, the fishbone dangling crookedly from his teeth. "We're all going to be fine, Megumi-sensei. Get some rest. Your fox ears are looking a bit worn."

Before she could work up a proper indignant response, he waved his hand and with a casual "ja ne", headed off at a leisurely pace.

"Oyasumi nasai... baka," she said quietly. And smiled at the tall figure walking easily down the road with his jacket and red headband flapping lazily in the breeze.