Always Then, Always Forever

Anything between ~~~~ italics ~~~~ are scenes set in the past. Sorry about the confusion

Chapter one: Greetings and goodbye

“Good morning!”, Megumi called out. An answering chorus of hellos greeted her as she stepped into the compound. Shading her eyes from the harsh glare of the afternoon sun, she grinned as she spotted a petite red-haired man being towed around the yard by two little children. He managed a sheepish grin before yelping an “Oro!” when a ball came out of no where and whacked him on the head.

“Ken-ni! Come play ball with us!”.

“Play ball! Play ball!”, the younger of the two chorused, squealing out happily as he hoisted her atop his shoulder. Megumi chuckled slightly; Kenshin always did have a soft spot for Genzai-sensei’s grandchildren.

“Ohayo, Megumi-san”. Turning around, the lady doctor waved a hello to Kaoru. The raven-haired woman was in her dojo outfit, evidently having just finished teaching a class. “So what brings you here?”.

The question gnawed at her insides; she didn’t quite know how to tell her. Buying time, she flashed a grin. “I just happened to pass by so I thought I’d drop in”, she said innocently, “Besides, I’m sure Kenshin missed me just as much as I missed him”. Noticing the way the other woman’s eyes flicked between her and the samurai, Megumi laughed inwardly; it wasn’t her fault that it was so fun teasing the both of them when it was so obvious they only had eyes for each other.

Kaoru’s expression darkened. Megumi smiled sweetly.

“Oro…”, Kenshin looked at both women apprehensively. Should one bother, they would be able to see a large sweat-drop forming on his forehead.

Thankfully, Kaoru’s death glare was interrupted by a boisterous “Oii! Fox woman!”.

Megumi automatically jerked her head to the side, a growl in her throat, dark eyes narrowing as she spotted a familiar figure strolling up the street. Wild unkempt hair. Lazy ‘devil may care’ features. The cocky swagger of his tall frame. She ‘hmpfed’, turning her back on the newcomer.

“What are you doing here?”, Sanosuke drawled once he was within earshot, “Don’t you have patients to torture?”.

“What about you?”, she retorted, “Looking for more people to borrow money from?”.

“What’re you trying to say, fox-eyes?!”.

“What’s wrong, cock-head?”, she mocked, her words mostly referring to his rooster-hairstyle. Mostly. “Need illustrations to understand me?”.

“Hey, hey…”, Kaoru injected nervously, her previous tiff with Megumi obviously forgotten. All that was in her mind right now was how to placate the two and prevent world war on her grounds.

Sanosuke was about to snap something back when a sudden movement caught his eye.

-Thunk-

A knife was buried halfway into the ground a mere inch away from Megumi’s toes. Dimly, she heard Sanosuke curse out loud, but only just. Her attention was focused to the paper tied to the glinting weapon. She reached out to grab it, but Sanosuke had noticed the strange flicker in her eyes and snatched it away from her fingers.

“If this is from a lover,” he smirked, “You’ve got shit taste in men”.

“Give that back!”.

The ferocity in her tone took him aback. Took everyone aback. Kenshin and Kaoru were staring at her with jaws agape. Sanosuke blinked a couple of times as though processing what she had just screamed, and when he realized she wasn’t joking, growled, “If it’s so damned important, lets just see what it says!”.

“No!”.

Ignoring her threats whilst holding the letter high above her head, he read out loud, voice mocking, “Ah, Megumi-chan, you should have paid attention to those letters we sent you, ne? We only have to get lucky once”. His voice faltered here, becoming confused, “You and your little loyal dog will have to be lucky all the time”.

Puzzled sorrel eyes met hers then. “Megumi, is this a death threat?”.

“Death threat?”, Kaoru exclaimed, shocked, “Who would want to kill you?!”.

Megumi averted her eyes away, her whole body trembling; fury to Sanosuke emanating from her slight form, shame at having been caught out etched in every line of her body.

Kenshin, having assured himself that the source of the weapon was indeed gone, gave her a concerned look. “Megumi-dono, how long has this been going on?”.

“3 weeks”.

Megumi flinched visibly; Kenshin, Kaoru and Sanosuke turning to see who had answered.

For the second time that day, their jaws dropped with shock.

A man strode into the dojo grounds, wiping blood off his kodachi* with a handy cloth. The gesture was very casual, as though he had done it a lot of times before. Not to mention he held no aversion to the blood dripping onto the ground. He made an imposing figure standing there, dark clothes set off by the pale cream-coloured coat he wore. A fringe of jet black hair hid his eyes as he turned to face Megumi.

Trying to ignore the questioning looks from her friends, Megumi asked hastily, “Did you…”. Her eyes were still averted though, as though she couldn’t bring herself to look at his.

“Not this time”.

“Aoshi… why are you here?”, Kenshin finally found his tongue.

The young man merely sheathed his sword and turned away slightly, ice-blue eyes flickering over the surroundings checking for any other unwelcome presence.

“Hey, asshole, did you hear Kenshin?”, Sanosuke growled.

“Kaoru, could we go inside, please?”, Megumi softly asked the wide-eyed woman, “I have a lot to things to tell all of you”.

Her friend nodded wordlessly.

Once inside and seated, Megumi toyed with the folds of her kimono, trying not to fidget under everyone’s gaze. She could practically read the questions going through their minds. Why does someone want to kill her? 3 weeks? Why didn’t she tell us? And perhaps, when they’d glance at the stoic figure leaning against the doorway, What’s Shinomori Aoshi doing here?

Whereas the only thing going through her mind was; I’m going to kill that son-of-a-bitch the moment we step out of here. The nerve of him! It was bad enough that he had to show up several weeks ago bearing the news of assassins hired to kill her, even worse when he had taken it upon himself to shadow her at night, but now this! She couldn’t even tell her friends in her own time!

But you had to tell them soon anyway, especially since you’ve given Aoshi your reply. Growling at the treacherous thoughts, she couldn’t help herself and glowered at the young man.

He noticed her frown and acknowledged it with a very faint twitch of his lips. The uncharacteristic gesture from the normally apathetic young man only infuriated her further. Why you… if it weren’t for the fact that I know you’re hi–

Kenshin’s voice broke through her thoughts, “Megumi-dono, why don’t you tell us what’s been going on?”. She dropped her glare, turning to face the concerned samurai and favouring him with a weak smile. His worried expression made the smile genuine; Kenshin cared much for his friends.

“And you can tell us why that bastard is here”, Sanosuke spoke up gruffly, motioning to Aoshi. To his credit, he remained unaffected by the hostility the ex-gangster directed to him.

Megumi sighed; where was she to begin?

~~~~

Megumi sat herself down in the corner of her study, deciding it was the safest place in her home. A couple of candles were lit and placed on her study desk – the flicker of the flames causing shadows to dance eerily on the bare wooden floor.

She eyed them warily. She was tired, her half-stifled yawns and heavy lidded eyes attested to the fact, and yet sleep eluded her. Given the circumstances though, who could blame her? Strange letters had arrived on her doorstep for the past week or so, all bearing the same basic message; We don’t want a female doctor around. She suspected the ‘we’ in question were just some old-fashioned people who still clung to the belief that women should be restricted to stay at home and deal with mundane household chores. That, or –and she smiled dryly at this- the other practitioners out there who couldn’t bear their patients deserting them for a highly attractive, skilled young woman.

She had laughed it off, thrown the letters into the trash and promptly forgot about them.

However…

She couldn’t help but feel as though there were eyes following her, watching as she went about her usual routines. She could have sworn as well there were some times when there was a strange glint that caught her eye, only for it to vanish. In a couple of cases she felt as though fingers had reached out and touched her, only to find no one there when she turned around.

And then there were those murders. About 3 people had been found dead within her area ever since those letters had arrived; one by apparent ‘drowning’, the other two had their throats slit. She would have passed it off as coincidence but the fact that 3 people had died within a week was just too much even though she found no connection.

Her friends had expressed their concern that there was someone going around killing people. That she was a doctor and knew of no combat skills to protect herself. Sanosuke had even grudgingly asked if she wanted him to walk her to and fro from work. She declined, of course, but sometimes she found herself wondering if she should have, and whether she should tell them about those letters.

The last straw had been today. Just this morning. Just as she was stepping out of her home, something zinged past her and thudded into the doorway. The blade of the half-embedded throwing dagger vibrated slightly from the strength behind the throw. She could only stare in shock, realizing only a second later the attacker could still be around.

But nothing more had happened.

It had taken her all her courage to walk back out of the house again. And though she continued to act as though nothing had happened for the rest of the day, the thought never strayed far from her mind.

After she came back home from work, yet another letter was waiting for her. But this time… this time it was left inside. Inside her house. Inside her bedroom. Lying on her bed, with a throwing dagger deliberately left across it.

You got lucky. Those three words. Simple. Short. But enough to shatter her nerves.

She took deep breaths then, trying to still her rising fear at the memory. Seeking reassurance, she grasped the short sword by her side, finding herself calming at the touch of the solid hilt. –If whoever it was dares come back, at least I can protect myself-

The thought gave her a small measure of comfort.

Eventually, lulled by the soft chirping of crickets outside the room, the cooling breeze of the night and the assurance of the sword she clutched close to her chest, she drifted to sleep.

“Mmm…”.

A soft rustle from the side of the room roused her from sleep. Muttering slightly, Megumi rolled on her side, brushing strands of her long hair back from her face. Sunlight streamed through the cracks of the window into the room, falling on her and effectively preventing her from dozing off.

She gave a faint growl, drew the blanket over her head and tried to burrow further into the futon, and scowled harder when there was nothing but hard wood.

Wait… wood? Blanket? Last she recalled, she was just huddled in the corner. That would explain the wood. But… blanket? Wha…

A gasp escaped her as she jerked upright, her hand feverishly groping around for a hilt that was not there while her eyes darted all over the room before coming to rest on a figure sitting in the corner. In her corner. While she was in the middle of the room…

All thoughts broke off as she studied her ‘guest’. He was tall, of lean build, dressed in dark colours. Finely chiseled features set in an indifferent air. Dark fringe of hair…

“Takani Megumi, I want to talk to you”.

“Tea?”.

Cold blue eyes regarded her out of an expressionless mask for a moment before he tilted his head and held his mug out. Doing so and refilling her own in the process, she sat back, not bothering to hide the weariness in her face. Yawning and wearily trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes, she discarded all notions of etiquette and rested her head on the table. The action would have shocked her friends who saw her as charming and well-mannered, but this was her house. She was entitled to let herself go. And this being only six past in the morning, she didn’t even care if her visitor’s mug had little blue bears dancing ribbons around red hearts.

Across her, Shinomori Aoshi took a sip of his tea. Realizing she still had to show some form of manners, she grudgingly nudged a plate of biscuits in his direction. “I have an offer for you”.

“Straight to the point as usual”, she mumbled, unruffled by his aloofness and instead changing the subject. “I haven’t seen you since you tried to persuade me to tell you where Kenshin was. What are you doing here now, at this time in the morning? And…”, she paused to pop a biscuit in her mouth, “How did you get into my house?”. Her tone was demanding for the last bit.

He gave her a Look – brows slightly arched upwards, narrow eyes looking decidedly bored – one she had previously labeled #37, the What Kind Of Question Is That? You Should Know Better Than Ask That look. The memory caused a slight quirk in the corner of her lips. She refused to be discouraged from the topic though, “And have you, by any chance, left some ‘letters’ here for me?”.

The Look was dismissed, replaced by #23’s ‘Stop Asking Stupid Questions’. It was amazing what he could relay just by a twitch of a muscle in the otherwise impassive features of his. But, she supposed, if you’ve hung around him long enough…

“We would like to hire you”. The question caught her off-guard; she certainly wasn’t expecting that. Before she could ask about it, he expounded, “Your skills are required back in Kyoto”.

“What happened?”. The question popped out of her lips before she even thought about it.

“Nothing happened. It’s just that Okina-“.

“No”, she interrupted, knowing and yet not really caring that it wasn’t in survival’s best interest, “I am not playing nursemaid for a perverted old man like him”. Despite the fact that she had never met the man, Kaoru’s anecdotes of Kyoto served as extremely vivid warnings. Ignoring the sudden chill emanating from him, she held up a teapot, “More tea?”.

“May I continue without being interrupted?”. His tone, never warm from the beginning, would have frozen air itself. He waited for her nod, then continued, “You have received death threats and it is no longer safe for you to remain here. I need a reliable doctor who I can trust for my people. Moving into Kyoto benefits the both of us”.

“Death threats?”, Megumi laughed, easily masking her own concerns, “They’re just threats”. Forcing the memory of her panic and fear of last night away, she gave him a bright smile that was meant to reassure.

Just one look at him however told her he had seen though her façade. “Assassins have been sent after you. I’ve dispatched 3 of them, not including the attempt yesterday morning”.

She couldn’t hide her shock at that. “You’ve been trailing me?!”. Her anger was palpable. “How dare you! Even Sanosuke wouldn’t dare do that!”. The last time he did, she had stalked off in anger while leaving him as a withering heap on the ground.

A pause. “It is in our best interests that you should not be harmed before making your decision”. She glared at his words. The way he phrased it, it sounded as if she replied in the negative, the assassins wouldn’t be the only ones after her. “Megumi, we are offering you the chance to open up your own clinic with a guarantee of protection from any life threats. Accommodation and all living expenses are covered, including-”.

“I like handling my own affairs”, she snapped, “And I have my own friends here who can help protect me”. She felt so foolish saying the last sentence, but something about the offer set her nerves on edge. It sounded too good to be true, but what was in it for him?

“It is your choice”, he said softly, this time taking no offence from her interruption, “But there are better career options available in Kyoto. There are even openings in the local University for medical lecturers”.

She had nothing to say to that. He knew it just as well as the fact that her ambitions would not let this opportunity pass. “This isn’t just for Okina-sama and the rest, is it?”, she finally asked.

“It is”, his answer was matter-of-fact, “There are still people out there who want the Oniwa Banshu dead. I need a doctor I can trust”.

Despite herself, a smile curved her lips. He needs a doctor he can trust? There definitely was something else. If he knew she knew he was lying, which she suspected he did, he didn’t show it. She sat back, cradling her mug in her hands, “You’ll have to give me some time to think about this. I have everything I want right here, and if I do agree it will be hard to start all over again”.

Aoshi dipped his head, the gesture conveying his words, ‘Of course’.

She blew on the cup, cooling the tea slightly before taking a sip, “Now if there’s nothing else you want to harass me about, I have to go ready myself for work. Excuse me”. She drained the cup then. He nodded once more, finished his own tea and got up.

She gave him a puzzled look when he made no further move to leave. “My coat”, he said simply.

“Coat?”. Blinking in puzzlement, she suddenly realized that her ‘blanket’ was actually a large cream coat. In her sleepy daze to prepare breakfast, she had forgotten all about it. “It’s still in the study. Let me get it”.

“I’ll get it myself”.

“Oh. Um…”, and here, for the first time in a long time, she started to feel shy. She could even feel her cheeks warm. “Thank you”.

~~~~

“Megumi, are you sure you want to move?”, Kaoru asked unhappily. Usually surrounded by the very imperceptive Kenshin, the infuriatingly cheeky little Yahiko and the extremely crass Sanosuke, she had come to view Megumi’s calm presence as a life-line to keeping her sanity. Besides, Megumi was the only other woman in the so-called ‘Kenshin-gumi’. Needless to say, she wasn’t too thrilled when Megumi told them she was moving to Kyoto.

Shinomori Aoshi’s presence didn’t help either.

“There are opportunities available in Kyoto that I don’t have here”, Megumi told her calmly, supporting her words with a slightly forced looking smile. It seemed to Kaoru that she was familiar with this argument.

Sighing quietly to herself, Kaoru glanced once again at Aoshi who currently was arranging Megumi’s surprisingly little luggage onto one of the horses and once again found herself wondering about him. Why was he in Tokyo, for one? Besides telling the Kenshin-gumi that the threats had lasted 3 weeks, he had said nothing at all, contributed nothing to the discussion of Megumi moving. All he had done was lean against the door, either staring off at some inestimable spot in the distance or looking at every one of them as though memorizing their features for further analysis.

It was very unnerving.

Megumi herself had shed no light to his presence either, simply saying that she had been thinking about Kyoto for over two weeks and had finally decided it was the best place for her. Aoshi just happened to be in Tokyo and she had asked him to accompany her on her journey. Judging from everyone’s faces then, neither Kenshin nor Sanosuke believed the excuse. She herself thought it was ridiculous but Megumi had stuck to that story and when Kenshin asked for a reconfirmation from Aoshi himself, all he had gotten in return was a monotonous, “Aaa”.

What was the real reason Megumi was moving? Why was Aoshi here? Why… The questions swirled around in her head, and in her rather confused state, a solution presented itself, albeit a rather shocking and unlikely one. Her eyes widened and she grabbed Megumi’s sleeve, pointing to Aoshi and asking in alarm, “He’s not one of your opportunities, is he?!”.

“What?!!”.

Leaning against a fence nearby, Sanosuke winced. Damn, but Megumi’s enraged screams could cause eardrums within miles around to implode. Idly chewing on one of his ever-present fish-bones, he decided to turn his attention somewhere else, just in case the lady ‘fox’ decided to direct her sudden anger elsewhere. He decided on Aoshi.

When Megumi had left, along with Aoshi trailing after her like a silent and very disturbingly deadly shadow, he announced there was something strange going on. Kaoru was more than ready to back him up and the two started tossing around possible scenarios on what had happened. Kenshin just looked on with a confused and even more confused expression, eventually earning himself a frustrated and annoyed Kaoru to deal with.

In the end though, the best way would be to find out for himself. He grinned happily then, confrontations were his kinda way. “Hey, aho”, he finally called out, flicking the fishbone over a shoulder and hauling his lanky frame off the fence to saunter over to Aoshi. Aoshi took no notice of him, concentrating instead on tightening the luggage straps. The horse snorted its protest and tried to move off but his firm hand on the reins persuaded it otherwise. It instead settled for stomping an indignant hoof onto the ground.

Or rather, onto Sanosuke’s foot.

“Fuuuccccckkk!!”.

“Oii”.

Aoshi, having just swung himself into the saddle, turned slightly at the sullen tone and found a pair of cantankerous sorrel eyes glowering at him. Its owner, a tall man with disheveled hair that had to be wrapped with a bandanna to prevent it from falling into said eyes, grabbed onto the horse’s reins and demanded, “Does Megumi think we can’t protect her?”.

It would have come off with an unsaid threat, but the effect was rather spoiled when the horse decided there and then that random rein-grabbing was extremely offensive and decided to stomp once again.

Right onto Sanosuke’s good foot.

Yahiko watched Sanosuke’s screaming and hurtling of obscenities with interest, then with the usual attention-span of the younger generation, glanced up to a silently contemplating Kenshin, saying offhandedly, “Why doesn’t Megumi just hire a carriage or something and travel in style?”.

Kenshin was silent for a moment, his fingers tracing the cross-scar on his left cheek absently. Seeing that the young boy was impatient for an answer, he offered the most likely explanation, “A carriage attracts a lot of attention. And with horses, it’s faster”.

Yahiko snorted, “Since when does Megumi not want to attract attention?”. Kenshin sighed. The youth had a point, but he wasn’t willing to tell Yahiko the other reason to Megumi’s transfer.

After listening to Sanosuke and Kaoru’s heated discussion, he had come up with his own theory. That there was something more to the threats than just overzealous traditional doctors, and that Aoshi knew about it.

Kenshin’s frown deepened. He had been watching as Aoshi prepared for the journey, and several details worried him. The horses Aoshi had brought with him were finely-lined and sleek; both appeared to be well-bred and very, very fast. All the belongings that were loaded onto the steeds were in such a way that, if need be, a simple tug on the strap would release the burden. And in any case, Megumi had packed very lightly, suspiciously lightly for a woman. No doubt Aoshi had a hand in the packing.

The added detail that the stoic young man wore his wide-collared cream coat open, allowing for easy access to his swords, made Kenshin a very worried samurai.

By this time, Sanosuke was already starting to demand an answer to his previously asked question, this time with a slight tendency towards explicit swearing. Realizing that the ex-gangster would refuse to leave him alone until he answered, Aoshi finally replied, “If a woman wishes to further her career, you should respect her ambitions”.

“You didn’t answer my fucking question”. Sanosuke defiantly glared back at the now slightly frowning and annoyed Aoshi. He did feel more cautious now though; this was the man who managed to wound Kenshin on several occasions. Not really the best person to aggravate.

Instead of the challenge he was expecting though, Aoshi’s answer both surprised and further infuriated him. “For this matter, brains are needed instead of brawn”.

“What the fuck do you mean by that?!”.

By this time however, Aoshi had already moved next to Megumi, telling her softly that it was time to leave. Sanosuke saw Megumi nod slightly before turning to wish everyone a final goodbye. Kaoru gave her a firm hug, while Kenshin yelped a startled “Oro!” when Megumi gave him a tight hug.

Even from this distance, he saw the impending storm on Kaoru’s face. Megumi smiled cheekily at her, and looked around. Realizing she was searching for him, Sanosuke heaved a sigh and trotted over to her.

After being pleasantly surprised at her hugging him, he motioned to Aoshi who was looking at them intently, his voice brusque as he directed his warning to Megumi, “Watch out for him. If he pulls anything on you, bust his balls”.

He was rewarded with an affectionate smile.

Aoshi, evidently tired of waiting around, told her once again it was about time they left. Nodding unhappily, she looked at the other horse and a slightly worried expression took over her delicate features.

It was suddenly evident to everyone that kimonos and saddles would not mix.

Aoshi surprised everyone with a sigh and held his hand out. Megumi, blushing slightly – ‘What’s she blushing for? She never blushes!’, Sanosuke frowned to himself – accepted it. He pulled her into the saddle with surprising ease.

She settled against him, using him to balance herself since riding side-saddled required precarious balancing. She shifted herself to rest against his broad chest while her head leaned against the crook of his neck and shoulder. In a gentle gesture that seemed pure reflex, he brushed away the stray strands of her hair from his face to trap it between them.

Their motions also seemed disturbingly routine. Sanosuke felt his frown deepen. There was definitely something wrong here.

Finally, with a nod from Aoshi and a rather strained goodbye from Megumi, they were off. Kaoru and Yahiko waved, shouting their farewells. Kenshin had a cheery smile, waving as well though not as energetically as the other two. Sanosuke continued frowning.

Whatever it is, I’m gonna find out.