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Concessions	By : lawless Category: Rurouni Kenshin > General Views: 3636 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
CONCESSIONS
by Lawless

"And those eyes, the break of day; Lights that do mislead the morn..." ~ Shakespeare

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DISCLAIMER: This is a fanfic. I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters.

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Chapter 12: Swords, Needles, and Stitches

Sano felt the sting of the blade slicing through the skin in his forearm. He took three side steps to get himself out of danger but the black-clad onmitsu had turned as well, following him and increasing the vigor of his attacks. His double swords shone and his wrists were a blur, making it difficult for Sano to judge their movements. Suddenly, the two blades dove towards his heart and when he tried to move sideways, the blades switched positions. Their fight became an endless dance of shining metal and blurred figures and the fighters began to tire.
Huang Li Wei watched the scene stoically. Her onyx eyes followed every move, taking in all aspects. The two fighters were too engrossed with each other to notice her presence, which was just as well. So fierce was the fight that distraction of any form could very well mean the death of either one. It was clear that Osaga had the advantage of extended reach. Even without his speed, his double swords could injure the opponent much more quickly and efficiently. But Sano had power and stamina on his side. Despite his defensive stance and being unable to retaliate, he still managed to hold his own against the deathly speed of Osaga's double swords. It did not look as though this fight was going to be over soon.
Making her decision, Li Wei fished out something from beneath her cloak and contemplated her next move.
Sano felt sweat trickling down his back and he strived hard to concentrate on the onmitsu's shadowed eyes. It was the only constant in his wildly changing landscape as he continued to deftly dodge the flying blades. Somehow, somewhere, he had managed to sneak in blows of his own - a clip to the jaw, a quick jab to the ribs, a chop to the shoulders. But his blows, though highly calculated, did little to incapacitate the opponent. Osaga was still as fast as ever.
The double swords shone once more as they flew towards him. Suddenly, Sano made a left feint and then banked sharply to the right, the lethal blades barely grazing his neck. As he did so, he saw an opening in Osaga's defenses. He did not stop to think. Lunging forward, he raised his hand to form a loose fist and propelled himself towards the opponent. The bend of his fingers were the first to make contact with Osaga's right shoulder blade and then his knuckles followed, slamming down hard.
A crack, an agonized cry, and then the unmistakable sound of metal clattering to the ground. Osaga was standing, face contorted in what must be excruciating pain as he clutched his dangling right arm, rendered swollen and useless, the bones damaged beyond repair.
Sano was about to rush him when he was arrested by a sharp prick at the back of his neck and a stinging sensation traveling through his whole body, growing more painful by the minute. He instinctively reached behind him and raised the tiny needle in line with his rapidly fading vision. The thin strip of metal shone under the sunlight and Sano realized then what just happened.
Poison.
The world began to tilt and then, he was lying flat on his back, staring at a pair of onyx black eyes that grew larger and larger as she drew closer. He felt the cold touch of her fingers as they brushed against his face before the merciful blanket of darkness engulfed him. And then, there was nothing.

o0o
Megumi sighed as she closed the door to the Genzai Clinic behind her. It was almost noon and she had spent the entire morning doing inventory and making lists of what herbs and medical concoctions were needed before the apothecary would be ready for practice. All in all, her day was quiet and she hoped that the relative tranquility would stretch on at least until lunch. She perhaps hoped wrong for standing before her at the bottom of the steps was Sano, his clothes tattered and stained with blood.
"Megitsune," he said, grinning weakly despite the feverish tint to his face.
She did not wait for him to say anything else as she rushed towards him before he fell down from sheer exhaustion. She caught his left arm and placed it around her shoulders, laboring under his weight as she helped him take tentative steps back inside the clinic.
She smelled dried blood on him and sweat and dust. The wound on his right shoulder was nasty and there were several small cuts on his forearms. Defensive wounds, she thought, Superficial. What really worried her was the one on his shoulder. It was a clean gash - accomplished with a sword, no doubt - and he must have lost a lot of blood if he was this weak.
They were inside the clinic now and by the time Megumi maneuvered both of them to the examining room, she was panting from the exertion. Sano was slipping from consciousness, she could see that as she laid him down on the futon, struggling to keep herself from collapsing under his weight. She paused, hands resting on her bent knees as she tried to regain her breath. But there was no moment to lose.
After barely a minute, she hurriedly went to work, taking out a pair of scissors from the low table nearby where the instruments were kept. She snipped at his bloodied shirt, noticing for the first time (and perhaps unnecessarily) that it was made of rich material. Finally, his upper torso was bared before her and she saw that the shoulder wound was indeed nasty but not as deep as she had previously thought. The blood was already congealing around it but for every minute that passed with the wound exposed like this the risk of infection increased.
"What did you do this time, toriatama, that earned such ire? Cheat at dice?" She said, glaring at his sleeping form even as she felt something in her chest tighten at the pain that must be causing that grimace on his face. She debated whether to leave him exposed like that while she went to boil water and get some clean rags. But what am I thinking? Of course, I need those rags if I have to cleanse his wounds, she scolded herself. I'm slipping, she thought with some alarm. Why? It couldn't be because Sano was her friend. She'd treated dozens more friends. Besides, didn't she used to treat him before? She ignored the tiny voice in her head that told her it was because her feelings then and her feelings now were just a tad bit different. Her introspection of last night had caused that change. Or perhaps, it merely caused her to realize that there was a change. No matter. She couldn't afford to think about feelings now, not when a man's life was on the line.
There was no one to assist her so she must do everything herself. She looked around her for something to tie her hair back, caught sight of the bloodied pieces of clothing on the floor and wrinkled her nose delicately. Then, she glanced down at Sano who was still sleeping and saw the red bandanna that he always kept with him.
"You don't mind if I borrow this, do you?" She muttered under her breath as she reached forward to grasp the cloth that covered his forehead. It was a little damp on the edges where his sweat stained the cloth. Megumi didn't mind it so much as she explored the back of his head for the knot that secured the cloth there. She felt it loosen at the same moment that a warm hand grasped one of her wrists. She met Sano's half-closed eyes as he turned her palm over and kissed the center. Then, he let her go and closed his eyes, finally giving in to the call of slumber.
Megumi quickly tied her hair back using the bandanna, her palms still tingling from Sano's strange gesture. She rose and padded towards the kitchen, but not before allowing a tender look in his direction. She returned a moment later, a basin of clean water in her arms and several cloth strips draped on her shoulders. She knelt beside his futon and began the process of cleaning Sano's wounds.

o0o
He felt himself being hurled across space, his body slamming against the hard concrete of the police interrogation room. He cried, raising his arms protectively over his head as he watched with dread in his gut the man called Fujita Goro take a step towards him. There were other men in the room as well. At least, two of them. But none generated as much threat and menace as Officer Fujita, his amber eyes narrowed in that wolvish glare and a casual smirk decorating his lean features. He seemed to take inordinate pleasure in being nasty.
"Start talking," Saitou drawled, taking a stick of cigarette from his pack and calmly lighting it.
"I don't know anything!" Yamattori Kensai said hoarsely. "I swear by the gods!"
The amber eyes narrowed ever so slightly but the voice remained unfazed. "If you must swear, Yamattori, swear by something more tangible. Your life, for instance," he suggested helpfully.
Yamattori's eyes widened in panic. "No, please, don't kill me. I really don't know anything!"
Saitou stared at him for a moment, nose wrinkled in disdain at his cowering form. Then, he sighed and calmly pulled his sword from its sheath. "Very well, is that your final answer?" He examined his sword under the faint rays of sunlight that found its way through the underground room.
It didn't seem possible but Yamattori's eyes widened even more until it almost bulged from its sockets. "Alright! Alright! I'll tell you what I know. Just please, please don't...don't kill me, please. I beg of you!"
Saitou gave him a leisurely smile. "Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Grabbing hold of Yamattori's collar, he pulled him up until he was half-kneeling, half-sprawled on the hard floor. The sword made a swishing sound as it returned to its scabbard and Saitou took a long drag at his cigarette before he spoke, "Start by telling me why Yazaki Gi is after the onna-sensei."

o0o
Sano opened his eyes to find himself staring at a very familiar-looking ceiling.The monotonous pattern of the wood had a strange, calming effect over him so that for several moments, he lay staring at it until a sound from the doorway brought his gaze towards it.
Megumi rose from her kneeling position outside the shoji and padded towards where Sano lay. She knelt once more, placing the tray she was holding on the floor and lifting the cup to hand it to him. Sano smelled something like cinnamon and the subtlest hint of jasmine in the air and he raised questioning eyes at Megumi.
"Medicine. Something to counteract the sleep-inducer you were injected with," she replied to his unspoken question.

"Sleep-inducer?" Sano repeated, frowning as he absently placed the cup on the floor beside him. He pondered for a moment before he remembered the needle that he found stuck to the back of his neck.
Megumi nodded. "I was wondering why you were greatly weakened," she told him, "At first, I thought it was from loss of blood. But if it was, there should have been blood all over you."
"Hai," Sano replied thoughtfully. So instead of poison, Huang Li Wei used a sleep inducer drug on him. That was how he was able to force himself out of unconsciousness and managed to drag himself back to the city. He wasn't even aware of where he was going. His only thought was to get to someplace where people would find him and perhaps take pity on him. Instinct led him to the clinic.
"What am I wearing?" Sano suddenly asked, inspecting himself for the first time and noticing the pile of bloodied cloth that was his shirt and pants sitting in the corner of the room.
An embarassed look came over Megumi's countenance as she told him, "I had to cut you out of your clothes. Those are Genzai-sensei's."
Sano lifted his brows. "You did this?"
A blush crept up to stain Megumi's cheeks even as she scowled. "Well, do you see anyone else here?"
Sano settled back on his pillow as he stared at the ceiling. "Don't be mad, Megitsune. It's just that in all my fantasies of you undressing me, it never involved me being unconscious the whole time." Grinning, he turned and cocked a brow at her.
Although flabbergasted, Megumi arched a single brow, her saucy smile in place. "Obviously, you didn't fantasize enough, toriatama."
Suddenly, Sano sat up and started to shrug out of the gray kimono he was made to wear. It was a little too short for him and a little too tight, bringing attention to his broad shoulders.

"Ano, what are you doing?" Megumi asked, the faintest trace of panic in her voice.
Sano glanced at her and grinned at the furious blush on her face. "What does it look to you, kitsune? I'm done fantasizing."
"I'm warning you," she said, scowling.
He continued with what he was doing, all the while keeping his gaze on Megumi's rapidly reddening self. She was staring mesmerized at his bared flesh as though she hadn't seen it the whole time she was treating his wounds. "Megitsune," he spoke, causing her to wrench her gaze from his chest. He wiggled his brows at her when he met her smoky eyes and then he glanced down at the stiches on his shoulders. "I hope you're thinking what I think you're thinking," he said, his voice teasing. He tentatively touched the florid skin around the wound and then also inspected the neat bandages that covered the small cuts on his forearms. "You did a very good job, by the way," he said, still with that lightly teasing note.
Horrified by what she was doing and thinking, Megumi did the only thing she could. She scowled at him and wordlessly handed him his cup of medicinal tea.
Sano continued to grin as he took a big whiff of the steaming liquid. The enticing smell made him realize that he was famished so with a gulp, he downed the whole cup and came out with a grimace, coughing in disgust. "What the hell is this thing?" He exclaimed, casting a glare at Megumi who sat, pleased-looking.
"What's the matter, toriatama? Is the taste not to your liking?" She asked innocently.
"To my liking?" Sano sputtered. "This thing is vile! What are you trying to do? Poison me?"
Megumi chuckled, looking for all intents and purposes pleased with herself. Sano's scowl deepened, serving only to increase her amusement. Finally, Sano sighed and said, "Arigatou, Megitsune."
She gave him a sharp look but softened when she saw that he was back to staring contentedly at the ceiling, one hand resting behind his head. With a half-smile, she quietly took his cup and returned it to the tray.
"Megitsune."
"Hmm?"
"I'm sorry. About the kiss."
"..."
"I'm not sorry I kissed you. I just - I'm sorry."
"It's alright."
"Megitsune."
"Yes, toriatama?"
"I'm hungry."
"..."
-
"Toriatama."
"Hai."
"I'm not cooking."

- oo - TO BE CONTINUED - oo -

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A/N I don't know if there is such a thing as a sleep-inducer at that period however I do know that there are lots of herbs that can actually induce sleep. Let's just say that Huang Li Wei knows her herbs. After all, that's what her last name connotes.
Thank you all for sticking it out with me. The update should have come earlier but I've been really, really busy. I mean, really.
I realized that some reviewers have expressed confusion with all the name-droppings so let me do a little explanatory note here. Huang Li Wei (Chinese girl with connections to the Red Lanterns), Yazaki Gi (Japanese businessman who is connected with San Tiulung), San Tiulung (name of a Hong Kong syndicate and the Red Lanterns' greatest rival), Mu Long (one of the leaders of San Tiulung), Osaga (leader of an onmitsu group whom Li Wei contacted to help with her mission when Okina refused), Fujita Goro (is Saitou Hajime, of course), and Yamattori Kensai (Saitou's informant).
Thanks again. Peace out.
- 12
- 13
- 14
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Concessions