Opium Dreams

A mysterious woman arrives in Tokyo . She has the face of an innocent, but behind her peaceful amber eyes lie dark secrets she alone knew...

It was then that Megumi opened her eyes. She gasped at the sight that greeted her. It was Sano\'s bleeding hand, clutching the tanto and effectively stopping its descent. She watched fascinated as thin rivulets of blood flowed from the cut in his hand yet she noticed that he did not even flinch at the pain it must be causing him. She could feel the rage in his whole person, the way he was taking deep, rapid breaths told her that the brown-haired man was struggling to control his temper.

\"What are you doing, kitsune?\" He asked.

Megumi heard the accusation in his voice and this sparked her own anger. Amber eyes turned to flame as they finally rested on Sano\'s dark ones. \'Idiot\', he called her. She was trying to end her pain in the most honorable way possible, how could he call it \'idiocy?\' Megumi\'s delicate nostrils flared slightly as she glared at him and tugged hard at the tanto. When Sano did not let go, she said furiously, \"Release the blade!\"

\"Not unless you tell me what you\'re trying to do!\" Sano returned with equal fervor.

But Megumi tightened her grip on the tanto and tugged harder. Sano used his free hand to grab the handle and also tugged but in the opposite direction. He was too strong. Tears of frustration watered Megumi\'s eyes and she spat out, \"I said, let go! Let go!\" Her anger made her voice tremble and made her eyes appear like molten amber.

In an effort to keep her away, Sano had raised his hands high to level with his head. This forced Megumi to stand on tiptoe just so she could keep her grip on the steel weapon. In so doing, she found herself leaning against Sano\'s tall frame, her body pressed against Sano\'s torso. Her annoyance grew when she caught sight of the amusement lurking in his dark, brown eyes.

Despite herself, Megumi found herself blushing from the proximity. She was so close to him she could smell the faint scent of alcohol in his breath. Sano was slowly backing up, still holding fast to the tanto until his back came into contact with the wall. Still, he did not relinquish his hold.

Megumi gritted her teeth in annoyance. Every inch of her was now pressed hard against an amused Sano and she couldn\'t even pull free for the rooster head before her was not only holding the tanto but was also holding her hand to keep her from pulling away. Unable to do anything else, she stared up at him hatefully which served only to amuse him even more.

\"Why are you doing this?\" Megumi asked him. \"Why can\'t you let me be? This is my business. You have nothing to do with it!\"

Sano\'s eyes at once turned serious. There was a searching look in their dark, brown depths as he said to her instead of answering, \"What do you hope to accomplish? Do you think that by killing yourself you can make things better?\"

Megumi faltered a little but she kept on. Her words were born of stubborness as she said, \"What do you know? You live off the streets. You cannot hope to understand the concept of honor and culture!\"

She knew her scathing remarks would cut deep. In fact, that was her aim but when she saw the brief flare of temper in Sano\'s soulful eyes and the dejection that quickly followed, Megumi felt regret bearing heavily down on her. How could she feel regret when it was he who hurt her first? And this, coupled with the overwhelming guilt she felt over those lives she had ruined, spurred her to continue, \"Give me the knife! It is the only way for me to regain my family\'s honor. My life would serve as payment for everything I did, for all the crimes I committed, for every life I ruined --\"

SLAP!

Megumi\'s eyes widened and then slowly, she felt them tear up from the pain. Sano had slapped her.

Sagara Sanosuke glared at the pale woman before him, his face taut in suppressed anger. A clattering sound could be heard as the tanto fell on the floor, forgotten. \"Stop it!\" He growled, lifting his hands and forcing Megumi to look at him. When he caught her eyes, he continued in a dead tone, \"You will speak no more of this. Hate me if you must but never, never speak like this again.\"

Megumi frowned and pulled back sharply. \"How can you ask me that?\" She said sharply, her voice taking on a hissing tone. She took a step back and Sano\'s hands dropped limply to their sides. Megumi was shaking her head as she repeated, \"How can you ask me that? After all that I did.... Have you forgotten that it was I who killed your friend?\" Sano did not answer and Megumi continued, \"Well, he was not the only one! I killed people, honest men who only wanted to realize their dreams! I gave them opium and from the sidelines, I watched them die and their family suffer. I am a murderer, Sanosuke-san. How can you care about the life of a murderer?\"

Sano ran his hands briefly through his hair. A devastated expression suddenly came over him and he leaned back against the wall, his head bowed. After what seemed like an eternity, he slowly looked up, \"I don\'t know, Megumi-san.\" Then he closed his eyes tightly as he allowed himself to slide down the wall to sit on the cold floor.

Megumi watched him with face pale from tension and jumbled emotions. The seated figure of Sano reminded her sharply of another forlorn figure, a child in Aizu who just found out that her family was massacred.

Cradling his head on his forearms which rested on top of his knees, Sano listened to the sounds of Megumi slowly approaching. He felt her slide down beside him and give out a deep sigh as though she could exhale all the pain inside with that one brief outburst of air.

Both of them were quiet. Minutes passed and still, they couldn\'t bare to look at each other. They were exhausted, they realized. Their outburst of only minutes ago took much of their energy.

Finally Sano lifted his head and leaned it against the wall behind him. Megumi did the same before wearily resting her head against Sano\'s solid soldiers. They still did not exchange words.

And then at last, Sano turned to look at her at the same time that Megumi lifted her gaze. Their eyes met and again, there was that spark that was always there since the beginning. Sano supposed that it would always be there. He smiled at her then and Megumi said softly, \"I hate you, you know.\"

Sano replied, \"I know.\" He then lifted his left arm and rested it around Megumi\'s shoulders, pulling her against him. She did not move to protest and instead, rested her head on his chest where she could hear the faint thumping of his heart. \"Hate. Love. I suppose, there will always be strong emotions between us, kitsune,\" Sano mused.

They continued to sit like that until sounds of rapid gunfire brought them sharply to their feet. They stared at each other, the same question flowing through their mind.

\"Takada Kanryuu!\" Megumi suddenly said.

** TO BE CONTINUED **

This chapter is probably going to weird you guys out but there\'s a reason for this. If you\'re really perceptive, you\'ll know even now. I am experiencing a strange burst of writing fever so the updates are going to be a lot faster this week. Hopefully.