Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Separate Lives ❯ chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter 9

Megumi trailed slightly behind Aoshi and once they'd rounded the corner past the dojo he took Megumi's hand in his. They walked in silence through the deserted side streets which would be overflowing with festival goes in less than two days' time.

Aoshi veered off to the left and kept walking until they came to a small grassy area just beneath a bridge spanning the Sumida River. "Do you remember this place?"

Megumi laughed softly. "How could I forget. It's the place where you got me drunk on sake for the first time."

"I got you drunk?"

She smiled up at him, her spirits rising. She felt so much lighter than before at the memory of that wonderful spring night so long ago. "You were the older, wiser one, it was your fault definitely."

"And do you remember what happened after---"

Aoshi broke off and the lightness in Megumi's heart fell as she watched Aoshi's relaxed, handsome face return to that of the cruel, calculating Oniwabanshu Okashira.

"Wha-" Aoshi placed his fingertips against lips to silence her. It was then that she heard the movement in the bushes and the glint of something in the faint light.

A shadowy figure appeared behind Aoshi and she tried to shift her position to see who it was but Aoshi shifted with her blocking her view or rather shielding her from the intruder's sight.

"How much good fortune can one man have? To fatten my purse and extract revenge for my brother's death at the hands of Kanryuu Takeda's lackey, " the shadowy man said in a voice that reminded Megumi of a snake's hiss.

Aoshi made a move for his trouser pocket and the man placed a knife at the side of his throat.

"Now that wouldn't be wise. I don't see that kodachi sheath you used to carry but I'm sure you have a weapon hidden."

"I was reaching for my money. Take it and go."

The man extracted the small bag of coins from Aoshi's pocket, the knife still in place. "This is just the start. I want to watch your blood flow and then I think I'll help myself to whatever pleasures the oiran here was going to show you."

Megumi watched Aoshi's lean body grow tense, she heard a growl like sound rumble deep in his chest and in an instant he'd spun around and the bandit was lying unconscious and bleeding at the river's edge.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, are you?" she asked reaching out to touch Aoshi's bleeding neck.

He took a linen square from his suit jacket and dabbed at the cut. "I'll be fine," he said, reaching for his coin bag that was on the ground. He prodded the bandit with his boot. The man didn't move.

"Did you...kill him?"

"No, but he'll be out for some time," Aoshi said in a dull tone. "Let's notify the police and get you back to the inn."

"All right," Megumi answered, the sadness she'd felt earlier returning twofold.

"Please, let me bandage that for you," she said when Aoshi escorted her to her room.

"It's nothing, really."

"It could become infected."

The corners of his mouth rising ever so slightly, he nodded. "All right, Dr. Takani. I leave myself in your hands."

If only you would, Megumi's heart sighed.

She suggested they go to his room so as not to wake Kae and Sakura who shared hers.

Megumi cleaned and began to bandage the wound. "That man. He said you killed his brother..." her words faded as the coldness returned to Aoshi's eyes and she wished she could take back the words.

"Takeda had many enemies. Assassins were sent his way often enough. We were paid to protect him."

"I didn't mean-"

"I know," Aoshi said, touching her free hand. "I'm not proud of the man I was then, but I can't change it."

"You don't have to change who you are Aoshi. I'm proud to know the man you are, the man you've always been inside."

He offered a faint smile in return and caressed Megumi's soft cheek with his fingertips. "Things are different around you. I feel different..."

He pulled back his hand when his warrior instincts reminded him that the incident tonight could be repeated a thousand times over if he listened to his foolish heart. And the next time an old foe crossed his path and saw what Megumi and her son meant to him they might very well wait to strike when he wasn't there to protect them.

He stood. "I'll walk you back to your room. Thank you for tending my injury."

"Is it something I've done?" Megumi asked when he reached the door.

Aoshi turned and he felt so guilty seeing her standing there with her medical box clutched protectively in front of her, her dark eyes close to brimming with tears.

He walked towards her, caressed her face and kissed her forehead. "You've done nothing but give me more happiness than I have a right to experience."

"Everyone deserves happiness."

"Perhaps some more than others."

Megumi pulled back and turned away. "If that man hadn't accosted us I was going to ask if you'd be staying here in Tokyo. I was thinking of staying for a day or two so Kae could see the fireworks when the festival opens."

The silence seemed endless and again Megumi lectured herself for saying such stupid things to someone who had made their position quite clear.

"Kaemon will enjoy the fireworks," Aoshi said at last. "And I would be honored to escort you."

The tears Megumi blinked back before she turned were ones of happiness.

****

Aoshi had breakfast sent up for Megumi, Sakura and Kae the following morning and included a note saying that he would gladly escort her to the dojo when she went to check on Kaoru.

"My, my," Sakura said when Megumi told her. "This summer should be much more interesting than the last."

A wistful smile curved Megumi's mouth. "I hope so."

****

The sight of Kenshin and Kaoru with their son was easier for Megumi to bear and she knew in her heart that she was doing the right thing by holding on to her secret about Kae. True, he could benefit from a fatherly figure in his life but he was loved beyond belief by not only herself, Sakura and Dr. Oguni but also by many of the clinic patients who cared for him as though he were part of their own families. Megumi was brought out of her thoughts by the gentle press of Aoshi's hand on her back as they sat with Kenshin and Kaoru over tea.

"We should get going. The festival will be starting soon and I don't want Kae to miss any of it. He had such a good time at the Aizu festival last year."

Megumi felt her cheeks flame when the Himuras exchanged a surprised, questioning look.

After a quick round of farewells she followed Aoshi out of the dojo and back to the inn to ready herself for the special evening had planned for them all.

****

More than once Aoshi thought he caught a spectral glimpse of Hannya watching him and a few times he heard the distinct sound of his old friend's voice echoing deep inside his mind.

You can't waste these precious moments by worrying over ghosts of the past, Aoshi-sama. You know how happy they make you, you can see they feel the same.

Every word of it was true, and yet Aoshi refused to let go of that part of him that demanded he keep himself at a distance once these few days were over.

As darkness fell, Aoshi escorted Megumi, Sakura, and Kaemon to an overlook that afforded them a perfect view of the fireworks yet was far enough to lessen the noise so that the baby wouldn't become afraid of the loudness. He sat Kae upon his shoulders and rested one arm possessively around Megumi's shoulders, heedless of the knowing grin of the housekeeper.

The past with its chaos and the future with its uncertainty faded away for both Megumi and Aoshi as the fireworks commenced and they immersed themselves in the simple yet wondrous experience.

The excitement of the day caught up with little Kae once the fireworks ended and he grew sleepy as Aoshi led them back to town. Sakura yawned a few times as well.

"I guess we'd better head back to the inn," Megumi said, feeling sad that the perfect day had to come to an end.

"I'll put Kaemon to sleep. The night is still young enough for you two to enjoy."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Megumi asked.

Sakura smiled. "It's what I'm here for."

Megumi kissed the older woman's cheek once she'd tucked her son into his bed. "Thank you."

Sakura hugged her. "Enjoy yourself and go where your heart leads you this night."

****

To Megumi's delight Aoshi led her through the festival crowd the same as he had on that night so long ago. They stopped and had some sake, just a little this time, and then strolled along that same river path where the cherry trees bloomed.

Her pulse pounded when Aoshi playfully pulled her to a shadowy spot and swept her into an amorous embrace. His kiss was slow and deep and his hands roamed possessively over her until her skin was on fire and her body ached for a more intimate touch. She pressed against him, moaning slightly at the feel of his hardness against her thigh.

His kisses moved to her neck and he loosened the collar of her kimono to run his tongue along her throat and up to her ear. His breath was hot, his voice laden with sexual hunger when he whispered. "I want you, Megumi. Stay with me tonight."

Tonight and always, his heart added knowing the words would not be spoken.

"Yes," she whispered back before losing herself in another scorching kiss.

Their lovemaking was more experienced than that first time and far more intense and the last time and as they drifted back to reality from the latest soul-stirring climax, Aoshi was on the brink of heeding his heart's pleas to confess to Megumi his growing love for her.

But then a knock sounded on the door.

A growl rumbling in his chest, Aoshi threw on a yukata and went to answer the door, expecting to find Sakura or even Himura needing Megumi's medical services. He never expected to see the smirking face of one Hajime Saitou in full police uniform.