She was uncertain, that was for sure.

History told her that he was to be feared, but she pushed those thoughts out of her mind which would only serve to heighten the anxiety she felt at the moment.

Instead, she sought something more neutral, the last time she had run into Aoshi Shinomori.

It had been a warm day nearly a year ago. She had ventured from Aizu and her new life to see old friends... Kenshin... Kaoru... Yahiko. Misao had also come, with Shinomori in tow. The sight of him had startled her at first, and her instinct had been to keep her distance. As the day progressed, that feeling had slowly waned into wariness, then ambivalence, then amusement. She had long been aware of Misao's infatuation with the elder member of the Oniwaban, and despite his rather untalkative nature, Misao kept up a constant stream of chatter and paid considerable attention to him.

It made things seem almost...normal.

In actuality, that unexpected meeting held other more bittersweet insights. The sight of Kenshin and his family's happiness did her glad, but it only reminded her of the loose ends in her own life. The people she loved were no longer part of her life. She had left intentionally - to build a name for her family, and to hope to draw any of them back to her, to Aizu. She had also done it to allow Kaoru and Kenshin some peace and quiet to build their lives - without adding to Kaoru's insecurities with her constant presence. She envied that happiness.

The letter from Sanosuke that Kaoru had shared was also welcome; but in some sense, it also made a mockery of her feelings up to that point. Despite whatever Yahiko thought all those years had existed between her and Sanosuke Sagara, a letter never came to her once in the five years since he'd left.

'Wonderful,' she frowned to herself. Her attempts to calm herself had only resulted in depressing her.

"They approach." Shinomori's voice stopped her from scolding herself further and reminded her of the gravity of their current situation. "Stay calm."

She looked up at his face for a moment surprised by the utter lack of tension in his voice. She found him staring at the road behind them. She followed his gaze and saw more than a dozen pair of eyes glowing in the darkness. The wolves had stopped barking and howling and instead were padding softly towards them sniffing the air.

Suddenly, they stopped on the road and looked towards them. Several yawned, displaying their impressively cruel teeth and others just pawed at the ground.

He shifted so that his sword remained in a neutral stance and continued to look back at the wolves passively.

As one wolf, likely the leader, walked lightly towards them with its tail aloft, her initial fear was replaced by fascination. Up close, the creature looked more like a large wild dog. The wolf approached close enough that she could see its eyes. At that moment, the wolf bared its teeth, asserting its dominance. She shuddered slightly then. This was no dog.

Light danced off Shinomori's sword as he altered its position. The wolf shifted its attention back towards Shinomori.

For a moment, the two creatures stood there staring at one another, while Megumi and the other wolves looked back and forth.

Then suddenly, the wolf dropped its tail and bowed its head. With a short bark that was almost a whimper, it turned and ran into the darkness, with its pack close behind it.

At that moment, Shinomori's grip on her relaxed.

"What...what just happened?" She stared openly at him now. She was too curious to care if she sounded or looked like a complete idiot.

The corner of his mouth turned slightly downward. His version of a smirk, she supposed. "The leader and I came to an understanding."

"An understanding?"

"Yes." His curt answer told her he would say no more. "You must stop dawdling out here and return to town."

"Oh yes," she blinked, realizing that it was foolish to stand out here chatting as if nothing had just happened. "Shinomori, I have to thank you for what you did. If you are not in a hurry, I and my clinic staff would be honored to have your company for dinner ."

"They have gone home by now. Your last patient had left."

She masked her surprise and started to walk down the road. "I had thought it odd to find you coincidentally out here in the middle of the road. You stopped by the clinic earlier?"

He was at least following her now, although he chose to stay a few steps behind. (Rather improper, too, Megumi started to think to herself somewhat crossly.) "Yes."

His brief answers irritated her, but knowing full well that he was not a mild Kenshin, or a predictably loud Sanosuke, she kept her temptation to tease or scold him in check. She continued on quietly, waiting for him to continue as he logically should. But when no explanation followed, she turned her head slightly to look back at him, "Something has happened."

He answered her with a slight cough.

Her eyes widened. "You're sick!" She ran back to him and despite his protests, supported him. "I mean," she said really to herself,"Of course, you must be sick." She now realized she sounded really idiotic. "We're almost home."

He attempted to nod, but the cough prevented him from doing more than that. She hushed him and instead kept focused on the road and the sound of his breathing. It was definitely more than a cold, she decided. If it weren't so important to get him back inside, she would have stopped him in the road, felt his head for a temperature and listened to his chest more closely. Somehow, though, she didn't think he would have particularly appreciated that.

As they neared the clinic and noticed the lights, she breathed a sigh of relief. Despite what Aoshi Shinomori had said, her staff had not all left.

"Doctor Takani!" Morimoto and his wife came out as soon as she had unlatched the gate. "You're back!"

"Of course I'm back!" she smiled at the elderly couple. "With a patient, I'm afraid."

They looked at Aoshi, and then back at one another, clearly surprised. "He found you."

"Yes," she nodded, "but he's rather ill with some kind of cough, so if you please will prepare the baths, I will give him something to relieve his cough."

"It is unnecessary," Aoshi muttered as he followed her inside. "There is no time for this."

"Nonsense," Megumi gave him a sharp enough look to indicate that she would not listen. "Once you enter the clinic, we follow my rules until you are in a position to argue otherwise. Your cough is terrible, Shinomori. You should be back home resting."

Before he could answer, she had somehow forced a warm liquid down his throat. He coughed some more into the handkerchief which she had magically produced from one of her kimono sleeves.

Morimoto had moved also into the room and bowing politely, asked 'Shinomori- san' to please follow him to the baths. Aoshi gave Megumi a look that indicated his impatience, but she simply took the handkerchief away and ordered him to go. "I have to look at this more carefully, Shinomori," she leveled a stare at him, "and prepare another herbal infusion. We will talk in a few minutes."

His eyes flickered his amusement, and followed the stammering Morimoto with his "Shinomori-san"s to the back of the clinic property.

While Aoshi Shinomori was in the baths, Megumi completed preparing an herbal concoction and also another salve. The sputum in handkerchief was cloudy, but not bloody. She was certain that he could be treated just as her patients she had seen earlier this evening were also treatable.

Morimoto's wife, Sakiko, came in and softly closed the screen door that separated Megumi's workspace from the rest of the clinic. "Doctor, we are glad to see you back safely. We were worried for you."

"I am lucky to be here. The wolves did find me, but Shinomori was there to protect me."

"Yes," the woman paused, "he did say he would go out and find you when he came by earlier this evening. My husband was about to go out on horse to find you, but Shinomori offered to go instead. But," she looked puzzled, "he told us to not wait for you and that if you did not return tomorrow, to tell the patients that you would not be back for awhile."

"Something has happened," Megumi stopped her work to offer a comforting arm to the woman. "He has not told me yet, but he is not the sort of man who would come unless it is important."

"So you did make up your mind to go with him, should he ask?"

"I can not say no to the man who just saved my life, should he ask, Sakiko- san. I am preparing more salve and medicines for my time away. I have written down everything that is needed for this illness that is going around, and you and your husband are definitely able to handle the clinic or refer people to the other doctors."

"Yes." Sakiko smiled apologetically, "You must forgive me for worrying about you."

"There is no need," Megumi smiled, "I will be safe with Shinomori."

Sakiko looked back at the younger woman and shook her head. "Listen to the words of an old woman, Megumi-chan. He may have saved you, but remember this: That kind of man is never safe."