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Rurouni Kenshin Fanfic

Rurouni Kenshin & Samurai X Original Japanese Version ©N. Watsuki/Shueisha * Fuji-TV * SME Visual Works Inc. * Sony Pictures Entertainment

All Fanfics created by Chiruken (me) were written for the sole purpose of shared entertainment and not intended for publication or sale.

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A Love Story

Fanfic By:  Chiruken

 

 

Part 8

 

Oddity

“Our books are false by being fragmentary:  Their sentences are bon mots and not parts of natural discourse; childish expressions of surprise or pleasure in nature; or, worse, owing a brief notoriety to their petulance, or aversion from the order of nature—being some curiosity or oddity, designedly not in harmony with nature, and purposely framed to excite surprise, as jugglers do by concealing their means.”

--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882)

         

 

 

 

 

        Takani Megumi, dark eyes large in her deathly pale face, stared in horrified shock, heart thudding painfully in her chest as she tried to catch her breath, one hand, long slender fingers splayed, pressed against her trembling lips, as several heartbeats passed before she stood and ran to aid her fallen comrade.  Falling to her knees, ignoring the dust smudging her impeccable le kimono and smock, she leaned forward, features tight with concern, breath still unsteady with shock and fright, and checked for signs of life in the still form of her friend.  Closing her eyes and drawing in a deep, steadying breath to calm herself, Megumi relaxed slightly as relief flooded her senses when she pressed her trembling fingers against the pulse point and felt the steady reassuring beat, a sure sign of continued life.  “Thank kami-sama!”  She whispered before opening her eyes to look into the concerned green gaze of her lover.  “Aoshi…please go to my room and bring my medical bag.”  She looked down again and gently brushed strands of hair from her friend’s unnaturally pale face, studying the still features for a moment before looking up at Shinomori Aoshi again.  “Please hurry.”

 

        Aoshi nodded once, sharply, in acknowledgement of the urgency reflected in her soft, anxious voice and fearful dark gaze, before turning and hurrying inside the Aoiya, ignoring the startled looks he received for his uncharacteristic and unseemly haste, taking the stairs two at a time until he reached the second floor landing.  He swiftly moved down the hall until he was standing outside the closed shouji of the room Megumi shared with Kamiya Kaoru.  He quickly entered, not bothering with the customary polite knock, resolving to apologize later, after he retrieved the black medical bag Megumi needed so desperately to treat her unconscious patient.  Of course, the knock wasn’t really necessary, as he knew full well that Kaoru wasn’t in the room.  His eyes moved over the small cramped room, taking in the details and memorizing them for future analysis, the action automatic and born of long years of practice.  A moment later his assessing green gaze fell on the black bag he’d been set to retrieve.  Grabbing it by its well-worn handles, he turned and hurried back to the garden and the waiting doctor and her patient.

 

        Megumi looked up as Aoshi reached her side, offering him a grateful smile as she took the bag he held out to her.  Her smile faded, dark eyes dimming with renewed worry, as her gaze fell on her prone patient once again.  “Aoshi…Have you seen Ken-san?”  Her voice, usually so vibrant and full of teasing taunts, emerged as a subdued whisper.

 

        He gaze her a searching look before answering slowly.  “Not recently, no.  Why?”  He crouched down beside her, expression blank, eyes concerned, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently in silent reassurance.  His eyebrows drew together in a puzzled frown.  Megumi had witnessed Himura Kenshin’s abrupt departure mere moments before the…incident.

 

        She sighed and reached up to cover his strong, sword-callused hand with her smaller, softer one, long slender fingers curving around his, giving and receiving comfort at the simple contact at the same time.  “Someone has to tell him what happened.  He needs to know.”  She turned tear-filled eyes to the former leader of the Oniwabanshu.  “Would you do it?”  Wordlessly he nodded and stood, striding away in search of the ex-Hitokiri Battousai, hoping against hope that he’d be in better frame of mind when Aoshi eventually found him.

 

**To Be Continued…**

 

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