This chapter is dedicated to Karina Kineshi. Thank you for all of your enthusiastic support!
Comments: QuatreLuva@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: You know the drill. I own no part of Rurouni Kenshin; the amazing Nobuhiro Watsuki does, so don’t sue. Fanfiction: the illegal pastime enjoyed by millions, and more popular and prolific than Columbian drugs.
By Kat
Chapter 10: Dreams of Rain
She was in heaven.
That was the only way to describe how she felt at that moment, surrounded on all sides by a cool darkness tainted with moisture, the cushy grass under her feet and her eyes to the stars. Daytime might’ve been vivacious and bright, but nighttime was enchanting and seductive. Although she loved the busy and eclectic world of the city by day, it was oppressively hot and stifling and constricting. Night, however, was rich and lush and breezy, not to mention shrouded in mystery.
Just like herself.
She smiled as she once again recalled Kaoru’s favorite phrase to describe her: beautiful, smart, and riddled with more secrets than the catacombs of ancient Temphiki. Well, I may not have hundreds of scrolls written about me, but I’m sure I could easily compose a few dozen, she mused as she sat lightly upon the edge of a white marble fountain. It was a full moon that night, and the soft light seemed to illuminate the entire gardens with an ethereal glow. Her reflection hid the white circle of the moon in the water’s face.
Somewhere, a lonely insect began to pluck a melancholy tune on its legs, and, pretty soon, the sounds of dozens of similar songs filled the once quiet night air. Closing her eyes, she let herself be absorbed in the smells, sounds, and feeling of the darkness on her skin and all around her. It was divine, to put it lightly. Within the first week of her visit, she had found that, despite whatever kind of mayhem life was currently throwing her way, she could always find peace and solstice after sundown. The night had always welcomed her with open arms, just like…him…
A lonely tear slipped down her pale cheek, losing itself in the water below.
Damnit, Megumi, don’t cry. Especially not over him,
she ordered herself.
She’s right, you know. Just because he was the most perfect man you’ve ever met…another silent voice chimed in.
He was not perfect! What good is perfection, anyway?
They bait you, hook you, reel you in, and leave you.
Repetition is so boring…
I thought he was
different. And then…I hope I never have to lay eyes on him again.
You miss him. Admit it. You can’t lie to us; you can’t
lie to yourself.
The tears came unbidden now.
Suddenly, the night was no longer the blissful mother it had always been. It was a cruel tormentor, one that seemed to delight in making her remember all her past mistakes. No, not mistakes, but…fatal wounds. And even with all of her doctoring skills, she couldn’t help anyone with something like this, least of all herself. She began to cry uncontrollably.
Then, she found herself encircled by a pair of strong, warm arms. She didn’t even know that someone had been watching her.
They were oddly familiar arms.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
“So how do you like that? I ask her if she could give me an exam, just a normal exam, you know, and what does she do? She tells me to remove my clothes and then she locks me out of the room! In the middle of the damned hallway! I mean, the nerve…”
Kenshin just sighed. His friend had been going on in the same fashion for about ten minutes now, and if he didn’t know any better…
“Sano.”
“…and to think she could just…,” he stopped, turning. “Yeah?”
“Shut up, get over it, and admit you like her.”
Sanosuke simply stared, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. The Battousai had just silenced him, ordered him, and humiliated all in the same sentence. He laughed outright. What has come over him lately, I wonder…?
“Kenshin…I…you just…wow.”
The emperor wasn’t the only one who was surprised by this sudden outburst. Kenshin himself was beginning to doubt if he’d even said anything at all. After all, he was the legendary Battousai, leader of the infamous Hitokiris and best swordsman in the land, with temper and patience enough to rival that of a newlywed mother of two. And he had just offered the ruling sovereign, friend or not, love advice. Love advice! The world must be ending before his eyes.
“Gomen, Sano,” he quickly amended. “It’s just, well, it’s obvious you like the woman, so why not act on it?”
“Because I don’t!” the emperor retorted, a small blush spreading across his face. “She’s disrespectful, spiteful, has an bad temper…”
“You’re acting like a five-year old, you know.”
Sanosuke was stunned into silence for the second time in three minutes.
“Look,” Kenshin sighed, his voice a little quieter, “the banquet is coming up soon, right? Why don’t you just ask her to accompany you?”
“Kenshin, I…I can’t,” he answered, shaking his head. “I don’t even know the first thing about her. How could I possibly…”
“Then get to know her. You’ve got ample time between now and then.”
There was no winning with the Battousai. Smiling in defeat, the sovereign nodded his head. “Yes, yes I do, don’t I?”
The bandit smiled, slightly nodding his head. He turned to leave; it was well past sun down, and the camp wasn’t going to run itself.
“Oh, and Kenshin?”
He stopped at the door, waiting for his friend to catch up to him.
“You also have a few weeks to get to know Jou-chan. And that’s an order.”
Kenshin didn’t have time to reply before the spiky-haired ruler had run down the hallway and disappeared around a corner.
“Yes, yes I do.”
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
After the shock had worn off, Megumi gave in and lost herself in those arms, seeking the comfort she had desired for all those long years. She felt warm, safe, and excited all at the same time, though she had no idea why. She couldn’t remember the last time she allowed a man to touch her like this. It had been so hard…The tears continued to fall of their own accord.
Minutes passed in what seemed like hours before the soothing silence was broken. “Are you all right, Megumi-san?”
His voice was filled with concern…for her?
“Please, call me Megumi,” she replied softly.
“And you can call me Sanosuke, Megumi,” he smiled into her hair.
His closeness, his breath on her skin…she couldn’t take it. She wouldn’t let it happen. Again.
“What, no Rooster-Head?” she retorted playfully, gently pulling out of his embrace as she did so. She turned to face him. And stopped breathing.
In the pale light of the full moon, his formerly handsome features were enhanced ten-fold. His features were more defined, highlighted by the moonlight streaming down from above, and his eyes were dark and sensuous, twinkling with that ubiquitous undertone of mischief. He wore only his white, loose fitting pants and a light, white jacket: an outfit designed for combat training, no doubt. She couldn’t keep her eyes from appreciating his well-toned, muscular body. She quickly looked away as she realized she was staring.
He smiled quietly, amused by her obviously wandering eyes. So she didn’t think he was a complete idiot after all.
“No, name-calling’s not nice,” he rejoined, the small smile still present. Then, his countenance became serious as she turned, revealing her tear-stained face to him. “What were you crying about?”
Inwardly, she froze. But outside, she somehow managed to keep her composure. “Don’t worry about it. It was nothing. Really,” she answered, her voice cool and calm.
He didn’t buy a word of it. “It must have been a pretty big nothing to make you cry like that. Are you sure you don’t want to tell me? I’m a good listener,” he assured her.
“No, really, you don’t need to trouble yourself with…”
“I want to listen,” he interrupted gently, his gaze holding hers.
“I…all right,” she replied softly, her eyes a mixture of defeat, tears, and thankfulness. For some unknown, slightly frightening reason, she found herself almost eager to tell him, to share this pain with him. What are you doing?! You’ve only known him for a matter of weeks!
She couldn’t stop the words from coming.
“I was born in a small village in a land far to the west of here called Izkaban. We were only a population of about seventy or so, but we were so happy together…I lived with my mother and father, and my two older brothers. The village people worked as a whole, everyone doing their share and benefiting equally. There were trees, rivers, grass, and sand…If I were to see heaven, I know that’s what it would look like.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones who appreciated our village. The emperor had had his eye on our home for quite a while; it was located at the border, just thirty miles from our neighboring county’s capitol. War between our nations had been building for quite some time before then. It would be an invaluable asset to the army if they could occupy our village. Of course we said no; it was our home and land, and we were not uprooting ourselves for a bunch of soldiers. My father, who was the village head, refused the emperor’s offer.
“So they attacked.
“Everything was destroyed, along with everyone. All of our homes were burnt to the ground, and the families were locked inside by the soldiers and burned as well. I can still hear their screams in my nightmares…
“My father spared me. That day, he had sent me out to the nearest village on some errand or another. I think he knew what was going to happen. My brothers must have known as well, because they refused to leave and insisted to stay behind. They always were bull-headed like that. By the time I returned, it was too late. The huts were already burning and there was nothing I could do to stop it. My house must have been the first one set aflame, because it was already a pile of smoldering cinders and bones when I got there.
“I set out into the desert, wandering aimlessly for days on end. Sometime during that span of time, my seventeenth birthday passed. I couldn’t remember the date anymore; it didn’t seem important. Eventually, I began to think the world must have been made of nothing but sand and sun and death. My feet moved almost of their own accord; I never stopped walking. I finally came across a small city, but I had gone for too many days without food or water or shelter. I collapsed just a few miles from the city gates.
“The next thing I remember, I awoke to the smell of something delicious. I couldn’t remember the last time I had smelled an aroma like that. But after my senses came back, I screamed. I wasn’t in my home, wasn’t in any place familiar to me at all. A young man came running into the room, pulling back the translucent drapes around the bed. He whispered to me, assured me he hadn’t and wouldn’t hurt me, and would I like some dinner? Of course, I was too hungry to say no.
“His name was Mamoru. He had found me a few hours after I had passed out, and brought me to his home. It was then I learned just how far my wanderings had brought me: I was in Pihara, the capitol of the land to the northeast. Mamoru took me, and nursed me until I had recovered my strength and health. Then, he began taking me on tours of the city, showing me important places like the market and the palace. He also began teaching me the basics of medicinal healing, and that lead me to realize my life’s pursuit: I wanted to become a physician. His word was law to me, and he promised he would get me the proper training to fulfill my dream. He was so kind and handsome and never asked me about what had happened prior to the day he found me. I only thought he was trying to be polite…
“Eventually, the inevitable happened: we fell in love. I won’t go into detail on that part. However, as soon as we became serious about our future, things began to change. Not long after he proposed to me, I discovered he had an entire other life besides the one he had been living with me for the past year. He was a drug trafficker, the biggest in the city. He asked me to start manufacturing drugs for him, opium to be exact; he said it would be good practice for my skills and he was only doing it for the extra money to support us. Being the fool I was, I believed him. I believed he loved me, and would never lie to me. Gods, I was so blind!
“We lived like that for months: I would make the opium, he would dispense it to his distributors, and he would collect the profit. It was a tolerable life, until the night I realized how much this meant to him and how little I did. I finally went to him and begged him to let me stop; I had discovered that the kind of opium I was making was the sort that kills without warning. He refused, and I pleaded harder, threatening to leave him. He beat me. After that, my eyes were opened for the first time. All along, he had never really cared for me; he had been planning to use me from the start. So I ran.
“I ended up at a small house in front of the palace, and curled up into a tight ball on the doorstep. I stayed like that until the next morning, when a kindly old man opened the door and found me. Immediately, I ran from him; my trust in the kindness of strangers was shattered. But every day I would walk by his house, and there would always be a plate of food beside the door every morning and evening. After a few days of this, I finished one of the evening meals and then knocked on his door. He let me in, and we talked for several hours. I learned his name was Dr.Genzai, and he was the royal family’s physician. When I heard that, I immediately told him of my dream of becoming a physician as well. After that, he took me in and let me stay at his house, and eventually he began taking me up to the palace with him. As for what happened after that, well, Kaoru can tell you.”
As she had been telling her story, the tears had begun to come again, and soon she was sobbing uncontrollably. Sanosuke once again wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair and urging her to continue. He knew she needed this more than anything he could give her at that point. After she had finished, he softly questioned, “Why were you crying again tonight, Megumi?”
She wiped her face with her sleeve, the material darkening with the salted water. “Sometimes, I remember…my family, my life, him…and I can’t do anything but cry until I’m too tired to cry anymore,” she replied hoarsely, her throat dry and sore.
“You’ve never told anyone before, have you?” he muttered gently, more a statement than a question.
She shook her head. “Not even Kaoru knows the whole story.”
His gaze turned to the moon above, which was making its way towards the western horizon. Streaks of gray could be seen far to the east. After a few moments, his eyes sought hers once more. “Megumi, I want you to promise me something. Promise me that, whenever you’re crying or troubled or anything, you’ll come to me?”
She closed her eyes, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from her heart. “I promise, Sano.”
And the two remained there until the sky began to grow light, drawing protection, comfort, and composure from one another. Finally, they rose quietly and returned to their separate rooms, each feeling inexplicably lighter and warmer than either had ever been.
Each feeling inexplicably loved.