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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
- 13
- 14
- 15
CONCESSIONS
by Lawless

"It is when we are weak that we realize we are strong. It is when we are strong that we realize we are weak." ~ Anonymous

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

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Chapter 13: Turbulent Emotions

"I thought you're not cooking, kitsune," Sano commented as Megumi reentered the room. They were at the dojo, having made their way from the clinic as soon as Sano recovered enough from Li Wei's drug. He still felt a little woozy but the pain of his wounds and bruises had dissipated to something like a dull throbbing which he was able to relegate to the back of his mind.
"I didn't," Megumi replied. "You should thank Tsubame-chan for her forethought though," she added, placing the tray on the low table beside Sano. "She knew I forgot to bring bento with me when I set out for the clinic this morning. So, she prepared a light meal before she left."
Sano nodded thoughtfully, picking up his hashish and then handing the other pair to Megumi who was preparing to kneel down opposite him. "Where is everyone anyway? It seems every time I come here, someone's always gone."
It was true. During his previous visits, Yahiko was always away, Yutaro busy with his students, and Tsubame occupied with chores here and there. It seemed to him that the only person he has ever had a real decent conversation with was Megumi. That is, if one could call their conversations decent. Not that he was complaining, of course.
It was crazy, he knew, but it appeared that the more time he spent with the feisty doctor, the more he realized how much she meant to him. Perhaps, Li Wei was right and Megumi had become his reason for staying. And as he thought this, he felt that familiar warmth settle somewhere in his stomach. Familiar because he always felt this way around her even when she piqued him to no end. Despite himself, Sano did used to blame her for Yoita's death, ready to believe the worst in her though he could not have known how her fate was unwittingly thrust into the hateful hands of Takeda Kanryuu and his opium ring.
He thought her weak, broken against her will. And it was only after he stopped that tanto from plunging down her heart did he realize the extent of her despair and the strength of will that gave her the courage of her convictions. That moment witnessed the transformation of his disdain to something like grudging respect which progressed to something deeper and deeper still as the years wore on. He couldn't quite describe it. It was like a wrenching feeling inside, almost like pain but not quite. Is this love? If so, then, he supposed he was in far bigger trouble than he had ever been in his entire twenty-six years.
He took a bite of his food and stole a glance at Megumi, wondering why she had grown quiet. She was looking out, the shadowed room making her eyes more brown than gold as she pondered over something. Curious, he asked, "What are you thinking?" She didn't turn but he continued to watch her, his vigilance rewarded by a serene smile that made his heart perform tiny leaps.
"I'm thinking how beautiful autumn is," Megumi replied, almost dreamily. Then, she fired him a grin that was self-chastising before she picked up her cup and carefully sipped from it, returning her attention to the scene outside as she did so.
Following her gaze, Sano nodded. "I think I know what you mean, kitsune. The trees catch fire even with the cold coming in full force. Funny how things become so much more interesting when they almost come to an end." He watched for her reaction and she didn't disappoint.
Megumi arched her eyebrows and she chuckled lightly, only seeing now this side of Sano that was strange indeed. "You surprise me, toriatama," she declared as much. Her wonderment increased when she noticed the telltale blush creep up his throat to hide under the strong jaws rendered dark with stubbles. She laughed outright. "And I think I embarassed you!" She gave him a playful glance, finding his squirming thoroughly amusing.
"Che," Sano managed to mutter in his discomfort. "Well, if you ask me," he huffed, "I'd say we're even, Megitsune." She gave him a haughty smirk and Sano had to grin. "You never fail to amaze me," he declared, his mocking grin hiding the honesty in his eyes. Then, pointing at her osagi, he lifted his brows and asked, "Are you going to eat that?"
Megumi looked at him, amusement and disbelief warring in her features. "You're incorrigible," she exclaimed. Then, picking up her osagi with her hashish, she added, "As a matter of fact, yes, I'm going to eat this. I'm hungry, too, you know."
"But I'm injured," Sano protested. "Don't you doctors take some sort of oath, promising not to starve your patients to death?"
"Actually, toriatama," Megumi retorted, giving him a saccarine smile, "I took an oath to save people's lives. There was no mention of any rule about giving up my food to feed starving patients." Still grinning, she quirked her eyebrows at him expectantly and had to laugh when he merely made a face.
It felt exhilirating being with him like this. No insults for once. No barbed comments. Certainly, it was different from their last two encounters which ended in either bitterness or...a kiss. At the thought of that passionate encounter, Megumi's smile faltered. Sano already gave his apology but he also said in the same breath that he was not sorry at all. So which was it? He wasn't sorry that he kissed her but he wished she were someone else? Or, he wasn't sorry he did it but he wished he didn't because she was engaged?
Suddenly, the unbidden image of David's smiling blue eyes entered her mind, a sharp reminder that whatever she had with Sano, it couldn't progress to anything more. It was nothing but fascination for something that could never be. It couldn't be anything more. What she had with David.... It was real. David, she thought, repeating the name in her head like a mantra even as she felt something twist painfully inside her.
"Megitsune?" Sano asked quietly, notcing the change in her demeanor which was evident in her set lips and turbulent eyes so different from the laughing gold ones he had glimpsed only a second ago. "Kitsune, what is it?"
Megumi looked at him, momentarily pulled from her thoughts. Then, she gave him an abstracted frown as she rose to her feet and prepared to leave the room. Sano's brow furrowed, taking note of her unfinished meal, wondering what he did or said wrong this time.

o0o
What am I doing? Why did I leave him like that? Without word? Without indication? What is wrong with me? Everything was just so confusing. Megumi leaned heavily against a post, finding support from the sturdy wood. She was standing at the engawa, facing the backyard of the dojo which afforded her an unmitigated view of bamboo swaying gracefully in the wind. But instead of calming her like they used to countless times before, the convergence of thoughts and emotions were like claws on her nerves.
"Kitsune," Sano's deep voice spoke from behind her, causing her to react more violently than necessary.
"What?" She said with vehemence in her tone, turning just in time to catch the unguarded hurt look enter his brown eyes. But the revelation was brief and Sano's defenses quickly went up, the beginnings of ire sparking in his person.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked, the sharpness of his tone matching her own.
"Nothing," she returned stonily, trying to stalk past him but Sano refused to budge. Eyes shooting daggers at him, she glared and said, "Let me pass."
"No."
His single-worded answer drove her to an exasperated sigh. "Mou, I'm not in the mood for any of your games, toriatama," she said, "Now, let me pass."
But Sano was already cornering her against the wall, an arm on either side of her. He leaned close to her face so he could level gazes with her and his proximity was Megumi's undoing as she found herself (to her horror) staring at his incredibly male mouth, the memory of yesterday's kiss still fresh on her mind.
Sano did not seem to notice her heightened discomfort as he said scathingly, "Games? You're the one who's playing games. Hell, everything with you is a game, isn't it?" He pinned her with a hard glare which she returned unflinchingly.
Now, it was her turn to scowl. "What is your problem?" She said in clipped tones but she caught her breath when Sano chose this moment to run the back of his hand against her smooth cheeks in a disturbing caress. If she felt her nerves raw before, no doubt they were chafed now. Kami-sama, what was he doing to her? The brush of skin against skin was making her head reel so that she had to force herself to concentrate on what he was saying.
"My problem, kitsune," Sano was saying almost growlingly, "is you." What was wrong with him? Everytime she made him angry, his passion overruled him, leaving him feeling like a boy who's having his first crush. He just couldn't seem to control himself when he was with her.
His thumb strayed to venture against her lips, taking particular delight in making contact with her soft bottom lip. The intimate touch made Megumi's eyelids droop and the golden depths darkly languid. Sano continued what he was doing as he went on with his monologue, "The truth is that you disturb me, kitsune. You affect me like no other woman has. You asked me before what I wanted from you." He cupped her chin and raised it to meet her gaze. "My answer is you. I want you, all of you, everything that you are. Your mind." She shivered when she felt the brush of his mouth against her temple. "Your thoughts." His lips touched her forehead. "Your wit." He nibbled along her jaw. "Your scent." He breathed deeply of her perfume. "All of you." He stared at her a moment, his eyes darker and stormier than normal and Megumi had to close hers, afraid to see his words confirmed in that one look.

Her breath hitched as Sano's mouth finally claimed hers in a searing kiss that drove all thoughts from her head. She stiffened even as she felt robbed of will as Sano buried his hands in her hair and slanted his mouth over hers, coaxing her lips apart. She shuddered as she felt his tongue run insistently along her bottom lip, asking entrace, and then demanding it until she was left with no choice but to acquiesce. Her surrender made Sano's hands to move from her face to the erratic pulse at her neck, then going downwards to clasp the slim curve of her waist, drawing her closer as he continued his slow seduction of her mouth.
Megumi was lost. She realized she had been the moment she saw him outside the dojo, smiling as though seven years had not passed. She lost herself looking into those stormy eyes, so dark yet so bright. With a soft moan, she abandoned all control as she allowed herself to respond, crushing her lips against his and raising her hands to clutch the thick mane of hair, urging him closer even as she rose on her toes to meet him halfway.
Sano instinctively tightened his grip as he felt the shy touch of her tongue, darting in and withdrawing just as quickly. He groaned. She was driving him insane. He had to stop. He had to force himself to stop. He splayed his hands along the sides of her face and gently pushed, finding little resistance as he drew her head to rest against his chest instead. In a surge of emotion, he gathered her to him, holding her close as he inhaled the sweet jasmine scent that was hers alone. "Aisheteru, Megumi," he said softly in the gathering dusk, the wind nearly drowning the gentle words he spoke.
Megumi did not answer but she buried her face in his chest, taking deep shuddering breaths, hearing the rapid thump of his heart - the organ of fire that burned for her. A single tear rolled down her cheek, dropped, and disappeared in the soft fabric of his yukata as he continued to hold her, demanding nothing from her, seemingly content in her silence.
She didn't know how long they stood like that but Megumi knew that the others should be coming home soon. They couldn't find them like this. So she stirred and quietly disengaged herself from his arms. Sano let her go without protest but when she turned from him, he caught her arm and sought her gaze. "Megitsune..."
"Sano...I can't...I can't talk about this right now. I just can't. I'm sorry." She looked at him then and what he must have found there did not seem to please him as his jaw hardened and a glint appeared in his eyes.
"My God, you can't tell me you're still marrying him," he told her, tone raised in disbelief and anger.
Megumi raised her chin and faced down his fury with an unflinching gaze. She really did not want to think about David now, not after this betrayal, but his anger was unreasonable. Certainly, he couldn't expect her to just break off her engagement just like that? "So, what if I am?" She told him.
Sano was running his hand in his hair in a gesture of frustration. "You don't love him," he said.
She raised a slender brow. "And you do?"

"By God, yes!" He said, misunderstanding the verbal trap she made, grabbing her arms hard enough to make her flinch. "What do I have to do to make you believe that? I love you! I've always loved you. I thought I made that abundantly clear."
"I don't know, toriatama," she said in that hateful scathing tone of hers as she eyed him from head to toe. "It seems the only thing you made abundantly clear is your lust." You don't love me. You can't. And I won't let you because I'm only going to hurt us both. She watched as her words began to settle, making his eyes harden in understanding. She didn't give him any chance to counter her argument as she said, "Your silence serves as confirmation. You men are always the same. You confuse what's carnal for the real thing."
Sano felt as though the ground he had been standing on was caving in. He felt his heart...break. He knew she was speaking out of her past but he couldn't stop himself from feeling this devastated helplessness. After he bared his soul to her, how could she just throw it away? He never thought he'd loathe her more than he did at that moment. But then he remembered the sweetness of her surrender only moments ago, the way her pulse quickened for him, her eyes growing soft. He loved her. Kami-sama, he loved her, he realized that only now, and already, he had lost her. He closed his eyes in agonized pain as he lowered his arms and stepped away from her. Then, he spoke,
"Megumi, you can't compare me to the other men in your life. Takeda Kanryuu was consumed by his own greed to see what treasure he had in you. Kenshin couldn't love you because he already had someone else to love. And I -" he closed his eyes "- I couldn't give you what you wanted then because I was afraid you'd laugh at what little I had to offer." He searched her features, trying to read her thoughts but failing.
After a weighted moment, Megumi spoke, "Laugh? Did you really think me so shallow?"
Sano gave her a sad little smile. "Never. But let's face it, a ruffian and a doctor? It's far from a match made in heaven."
Megumi shook her head, smiling despite herself. "I won't lie and say I never entertained such thoughts." A hopeful look entered Sano's eyes but she shook her head. "Do you know when I accepted David's proposal?" Sano frowned but she went on anyway, "The night before we set out from Aizu."
"That was the night I asked Yahiko about you," Sano said quietly, leaning against the wooden post as he stared ahead. He was silent for a while as he seemed to ponder over their predicament. Nothing was made clear. So she admitted she felt something for him, but obviously not enough to dissuade her from marrying the gaijin. When he finally spoke, his voice bore a trace of melancholy, "It seems that we always meet at the wrong time, Megitsune. It's always been missed chances between us. Think fate is telling us something?" He glanced at her, finding that she had positioned herself on the hard wood, her feet carefully folded under her. She, too, was staring ahead.
"It can't happen, toriatama," she told him softly.
Somehow, he knew she was going to say that but he was still unprepared for the pain that viciously tore at his insides. So, instead of calmly accepting her declaration, he asked, "And the kiss?"
"It was -" she closed her eyes as though to calm her wayward thoughts "- a luxury to be indulged only once."
"It happened twice," Sano calmly pointed out.
Her eyebrows quirked. "It can't happen," she repeated.
"Hai."
Megumi looked at him, a little surprised by how well he was taking this. Sano chose that moment to glance down at her, a lopsided grin making him look younger than his years.
"A luxury, huh? You, at least, agree that you enjoyed it."
Megumi felt her jaws drop and she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The man was incorrigible, insufferable, intolerable, and very good at what he did. But before she could give him a piece of her mind, he stood from his leaning position and began heading towards the front. Megumi watched him, feeling a part of her break off as he retreated.
At the corner, he gave her a sidelong glance, saying, "Ja ne, Megitsune. You made your decision -" he grinned then "- but don't expect me to conform." And with a mocking airy wave of his hand, he sauntered off, apparently pleased with himself.

o0o
Saitou watched with a detached air as Yamattori's unconscious form was dragged away from the interrogation room. He removed his gloves, a slight sneer marking his angular features when he noticed a spatter of blood, dark against the pristine whiteness.
"I'm sure Tokio-san will not be pleased by such a stain."
The voice made the amber eyes turn sharp. "Shinomori," he spoke.
The tiny form of a young woman stepped from the shadow. The blue onmitsu uniform marked her as an Oniwabanshuu member and the long, slender braid that trailed down her back identified her as their leader.
The years had been kind to Makimachi Misao. Outwardly, she was still the same, bubbly, innocent, endlessly cheerful young onmitsu girl from Kyoto. Looking at her, no one would have guessed that she was the recognized leader of a powerful network of spies whose roots went back to the days of Edo. Her marriage to the stoic Shinomori, Saitou had been told, was one of convenience to keep her influence within the group but he knew better. After all, his started out as one, too.
They were alone in the room. The last of the guards left with the prisoner. Saitou glanced at her fleetingly, before returning his gaze to his hands which were starting to remove the offending gloves. "Yamattori's confession is useless. You brought me an informant who turns out to be a complete waste of time." He trailed his amber eyes at her.
Misao frowned. "Most of what he said was unimportant, I give you that. But he confirmed the link between Yazaki and San Tiulung."
"Hmph," Saitou snorted, refusing to acknowledge that she was right. "And what of this Red Lanterns you told me about? Yamattori doesn't seem to know about them."
This time, it was Misao who snorted as she waived her hand airily. "Leave that part to me."
Saitou raised a brow discretely.
"Alright," Misao gave in, rolling her eyes. "But you should ask Sagara about them. He seems to be chummy with one of their members."
The raised eyebrow was joined by its pair.
Misao decided to ignore this one. "Meanwhile, I suggest you check old prison records. I'm sure there's something out there that mentions the escape of a convict believed to be dead."
"Hm." The amber eyes glinted as Saitou thoughtfully contemplated what the brat onmitsu just told him. She had her uses after all. He'd have to thank Okina for sending her. The old man must be having fits by now, wondering where his wayward granddaughter was off this time. And of course, Shinomori. The thought of her husband's reaction brought a smile to his angular features, stretching his lips and turning his amber eyes into narrow slits like that of a wolf on the prowl.

- oo - TO BE CONTINUED - oo -

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A/N Hey! Another update. And as requested, lots of SxM goodness. I hope I did the characters justice. I'm not sure about the last part with Saitou and Misao but it just seemed right to put them there. Gosh, this chapter is long. I hope I didn't bore you to tears. And as always, I have the nicest reviewers around. Watch it or you're going to make me think you're trying to spoil me. *grins*
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Concessions