"Hey, Foxy! How long do we have to
wait till we get there?"

Megumi rolled her eyes, "Long enough
for me to see you faint in your seat,
I hope, chicken-head."

Yahiko chortled when he saw Sano
whiten. "I don't think it's
gonna be a long wait, Megumi!"

Megumi grinned at Sano mischievously.
"You have a point there, Yahiko. I have
never seen a guy go through so many,
er, color variations in the space
of a few minutes. Interesting." She
cocked an eyebrow at Sano as she
inched closer to where he sat, letting
her hand slide tantalizingly down his
taut arm. "What's next, I wonder?" she
murmured breathily.

Sano's complexion immediately moved a 
few degrees up the color spectrum.

Yahiko laughed, "Oh man... Sano's
blushing!"

Megumi moved back, a smug smile
curving her lips, "I thought so..."

"I swear, Megumi..." Sano muttered.

At that moment, the train chose
to give a timely and rather
unfortunate lurch coupled with
a piercingly loud shriek for
good measure.

The effect was electric.

Sano winced, "Hell..."

"Sano, are you gonna get sick?" Yahiko
asked mock-seriously. "You look so--
green."

Megumi winked at Yahiko over the
top of Sano's bent head, "Well then..."
She tightened her grip on Sano's arm.
"Let Dr. Megumi treat you, huh?" she
whispered as she sidled close to his
side.

"Uh..." Sano said in a strangled voice,
"I'd rather not..."

By then, Yahiko was doubling over
in laughter, "Sano, you look like
a rainbow...!"

"Very colorful..." Megumi commented,
smiling widely, "Oh my, Sano. Red,
green, pasty white...make up your
mind." She flipped her hair over
her shoulder in what she hoped was a
suggestive gesture.

"Red is winning," Yahiko chuckled. 
"Duck, Megumi...He's gonna explode."

"You guys!" Sano shouted.

The door to their compartment slid open
suddenly.

"Tsk, tsk... Picking on Sano again?"
Kaoru asked teasingly as she walked
inside, Kenshin shuffling along right
behind her, carrying a couple of
bags.

"You can say that," Megumi murmured.
"His train complex is acting up again."

Kaoru grinned, "Oh yeah. I was expecting
this. He hasn't curled up in a ball 
yet, right?"

"Well..." Megumi began as she leaned
over Sano who promptly scooted away
from her. "Not yet, unfortunately."
She squinted at Sano, "He must still
be in the early stages..."

Kaoru sat on Sano's other side. "Hmm...
That means he hasn't started screaming
yet, huh?"

"Or scratched his--"

"Yahiko!" Sano growled.

Yahiko smiled at him innocently, "I was
gonna say 'head.'

"Nope. 'Fraid not," Megumi shook her head solemnly.
"But he does look awfully--upset. Do
you think we should, er, restrain him?
Just in case."

"Too early to tell," Kaoru responded. She
gently patted Sano's head. "I think we could
take his hair as a general standard of measurement,
Takani-sensei."

Megumi's eyes brightened, "Ah yes, you're absolutely
right, Kamiya-sensei. It's still kinda stiff now, 
ne?"

"Yep," Kaoru nodded. She poked a little harder
as Sano tried to wrench his head away from her
seeking fingers.  "When it starts to, uh,
deflate, we can safely assume that Sagara-sama is
in dire need of treatment and we can thus take the
appropriate measures to--help him in his
time of need."

Megumi smiled wickedly, "I give it ten minutes."

"Counting," Kaoru said, laughter choking
her voice.

Sano glared at them furiously, "Look. I'm glad that 
you're so AMUSED, guys, but this is hardly the time
to make fun of--Yahiko! Can't you gimme a break?"
And his voice promptly broke on the last word.

"Oh dear," Megumi murmured. "He's getting
worse."

"He's acting up," Kaoru agreed.

"Hysteria is one of the most telling symptoms
of, er, fear of moving objects..."

"I am not afraid!" Sano snapped.

"...along with a severe case of denial," Megumi
continued without a break. 

"Damn it, Fox!"

"And hallucinations of course," she said,
winking at the giggling Kaoru. "Involving 
animals, in most cases."

"When I get my hands on you, I swear
you're gonna regret this...!"

Kenshin decided that the situation
was getting too, er, volatile 
for his taste. "Now, Sano... Megumi-
dono was just joking..."

"Sure I was," Megumi said perkily
as she abruptly flounced out
of her seat so that it rocked rather
uncomfortably. 

Sano muttered a curse.

"Uh, minna, I think we'd better give
Sano some space to rest," Kenshin
said calmly. "He must be rather
scared and his hands are shaking
and..."

"Kenshin..." Sano growled.

Kenshin blinked at him, "Nani?"
He sat on the place which Megumi
vacated with a hard swoosh.

Sano yelped.

"Sano, Sano," he murmured. "Repeat
after me..."

"Excuse me?"

"You have to meditate. You know,
get your mind off stuff..." Kenshin
nudged him and closed his eyes, "Now
say, "The train is not gonna hurt
me" ten times and..."

"I'll kill you all!" Sano screamed.

Kenshin opened one eye and regarded
him reproachfully, "Gently, Sano,
gently..."

Kaoru laughed and shook her head.
She turned to Megumi, "Who's 
gonna meet us at the station?"

Megumi shrugged, "The caretaker
of the place, I guess. But only
to open doors for us, give
instructions, etc. Shizuku-san
said that we'll have the place
to ourselves for the entire week."

"I hope they left a cook for us,"
Yahiko muttered. "Can't have
Kaoru loose in the kitchen. I'll
evacuate if that happens."

Kaoru glared at him, "What was that?"

"Uh, Megumi-dono, where exactly
is this place?" Kenshin cut in
hurriedly, trying to avert a possible
brawl which could turn ugly in so
constricted a space. Besides, Sano
will probably lose it if that happened.

"It's not that remote," Megumi answered.
"The town is just a fifteen-minute
walk away and the roads are good. Lots
of mountain springs nearby and the
scenery is beautiful, or so I've been
told."

Kenshin smiled at her, "Your patient
must really be thankful, huh? I mean
to offer the place and all... And
to pay for our trip, besides."

"Yeah, I guess," Megumi smiled reminiscently.

"You must have saved him from a fate worse
than death, then," Yahiko observed.

Sano snorted, "I'll bet."

Megumi's smile widened, "Let's just say
that I restored something very--important
to him. And quite nicely too, modesty
aside."

Yahiko whistled. "Oh boy. If something
like that happened to me... I'll give
you ten houses, tax-free."

"Yahiko!" Kaoru snapped at him, her
cheeks flushing slightly. 

"Humph," Sano turned his nose up. "I'll never
entrust something like *that* to Fox at
all. The guy must be crazy."

Megumi clenched her teeth, "Well, I wouldn't
touch yours with a mile-long rod, anyway!
Heaven help me if I get to even an inch
of it..."

"Uh...Megumi-dono," Kenshin interrupted,
his hands raised in a conciliatory gesture.
"We're venturing on, er, unsafe territory
here."

"Damn right we are!" Sano bit out and
promptly doubled over when Kaoru
rammed her elbow back on his ribs.

"Hey!"

"Shut up," she growled.

A change of topic was clearly in order.

"I'm sure we'll have a great vacation!"
Kenshin said cheerfully. 

Everyone sweatdropped.

"A boring vacation," Yahiko cut in.
"I mean that I should be stuck with
such old nitwits..."

"Someone is getting a bit too
arrogant for comfort here, ne, Yahiko-chan?"
Megumi glared at him. "After all, 
a ten year-old is hardly qualified to
pass judgments regarding stupidity
and--other facts of life, ne?"

"Bah!" Yahiko snorted. "Unless the house
where we're staying is a haunted house..."
He shook his head and slumped down
on his seat. "Yeah, right, and Sano
committed suicide lying down on
railroad tracks in his past life..."

Kaoru winced at him, "Really, Yahiko...
Haunted houses indeed! The second assertion
was far more believable." She winked
at Megumi, "Sano is frightening enough
for us, ne?"

"I resent that," Sano muttered.

Kenshin shook his head, smiling, "I'm
afraid Kaoru-dono's right, Yahiko. 
The only ghosts that I know of are those
we create." He glanced outside at the passing
scenery, feeling the wind sweep against
his face in a welcoming gust. "And fear, 
of course. But ghosts can never be
stronger than us," he continued, his
voice dropping to a reflective murmur. 

He glanced at the now-silent group,
his violet eyes suddenly somber. 
"Because if that should happen, then
they become real."

The Road Less Traveled
by Tin Mandigma


--------------------------------------

This is a Rurouni Kenshin-inspired fanfic
written entirely for entertainment
purposes only. Standard disclaimers apply.

-------------------------------------

1: First Stirrings


Megumi watched the afternoon sun
set in a blaze of golden glory, reaching
out with its last fingers of light
to illuminate the entire valley
in a splendid rush of color, before
retreating slowly into the bosom of the
nearby mountains. Almost immediately,
the breeze responded to the onslaught
of twilight with a distinct chill
in the air. Refreshing yes, but
biting still.

Megumi shivered involuntarily as she
leaned against the window, drawing
her blanket tightly around her. She
loved the coming of evenings here. It
was so peaceful, so gentle, so beautiful.
Like perpetual dawn caught in the grasp
of silken night.

Megumi's lips twitched. Gods, she
was beginning to sound--poetic.
Almost but not quite. Bad sign. Her
surroundings were dangerous. Corrosive.
In the space of a few days, she could
practically feel the chinks in her
armor. And they were sure as hell showing.
She remembered Sano's expression when
she had so graciously offered to do
his chores while he took a much-needed
dip in the nearby river. He was so
surprised he actually forgot to call
her Fox. Ah, the dreaded nickname. Her
smile assumed a bitter cast. So a dose
of good ol' kindness and smiling sweetness
was just the combination to shock him
into acting like a human being around
her, huh? Very interesting.

But it wasn't such a bad thing, after
all, she reflected. They all needed
this respite, to get their acts
together after the Kyoto episode. She
shivered again and this time, it
was not from the cold. Kyoto had
been horror, fear, torture, denial,
anguish all rolled into one. And
self-examination, too. Of course.
The gods know just how much reevaluation
her values and beliefs and feelings have 
been forced to undergo these past few weeks.
She had changed. All of them had, in
one way or another. Too many cracks
have shown, vulnerabilities, unexpected
weaknesses. And now, she frowned, the
question they all seemed to be facing
was one of choice--repair or renewal.
To heal or to create. Or both.
Whatever. Hell, she was beginning
to get confused again.

This vacation was indeed a blessing.
She thanked the gods for sending
Shizuku and his, she smiled, delicate
problem along her way. They certainly
needed the break. This chance.

"Oi, Megumi..."

The soft whisper made her start. Megumi
turned abruptly and saw Kaoru bending
over her smiling gently, her blue eyes
questioning and just a bit worried.

Oh yes. They needed this. Kaoru and
Kenshin, especially. She had long
since acknowledged that her feelings
for Kenshin would never, and in
fact have never, gone beyond the
limits set by friendship. And warm
gratitude. She knew deep inside that
Kaoru realized this, too, and she
was glad. She had grown to love the
girl as a sister and she knew better
than most just how much petty misunderstandings
could ruin even the strongest and
most durable of friendships. And she
and Kaoru still had a long way to go.

"Hey," she murmured. "What's up?"

Kaoru laughed, "I should be asking you
that. You have been staring outside
so long, I was beginning to wonder
if you're hiding things from us."

Megumi stretched, "Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know," Kaoru said
as she sat down in front her. "Naked
men in the dark, probably."

Megumi slapped her playfully
on the arm, "Naked men, huh? Ken-san
will be horrified if he knew just
how much your imagination grows
by leaps and bounds by simply staring
out of a window."

Kaoru grinned at her, "Oh, I don't know.
I'll bet his imagination is even more
active than that... I mean, just by
saying "Oro" you could--"

"Kaoru!" Megumi shook her head mock-sternly.
"How very improper...! I'm shocked! 
Scandalized!" 

Kaoru smirked at her, "Hypocrite."

Megumi smirked back, "Now who's talking?"

Kaoru settled down more comfortably, "Whatever."

"Where are the men?" Megumi asked. "Standing
guard? Fetching our bath water? Washing our
clothes? Cleaning the house?"

"Nope." Kaoru chuckled. "Cooking dinner."

"Seriously?" Megumi laughed. "We should
get down, then... Ken-san cooks real
fast."

"I think we should be more worried about
them eating fast," Kaoru said. "I overheard
Sano telling Yahiko that rice are just
like women."

Megumi raised an eyebrow, "What?!"

"They have this way of calling out to you,"
Kaoru chortled. "And you just can't resist."

"I don't believe it..." Megumi shook her
head. "Sano is seduced by--rice?!"

"You said it," Kaoru laughed. "Gods, Megumi, 
you have tough competition."

Megumi grimaced, "As if I care." She ignored
Kaoru's sly nudge. "Who wants a guy who's
obssessed with rice, anyway?"

Kaoru leaned back, still smiling, "OK.
I won't push." She looked out at the still twilight. 
"It sure gets dark early here, doesn't it?"

Megumi made a murmur of agreement.

"But it's so beautiful...And the house is
absolutely perfect," she sighed dreamily.
"It must be hundreds of years old." She
ran her hands gently down the wood panelling,
which glinted in polished tones in the flickering
firelight.

"Not really," Megumi answered. "According to
the caretaker, the house itself isn't that old.
The grounds have belonged to Shizuku-san's 
family since the fifteenth century, yes, but
the house was built only around a century ago."
She adjusted her blanket around her. "The
original family mansion burned down at around 
that time, I think."

Kaoru shuddered, "Horrible." She gently
eased her knees up to her chest and
laid her cheek thoughtfully on top.

"Yes," Megumi said softly. "I don't
know the whole story. Shizuku-san
never mentioned it to me and the caretaker
didn't know that much, either."

They fell silent after that. Megumi closed
her eyes, listening to the hum of crickets
outside in the gardens. The fragrant
scent of the spring flowers drifted inside
the room, blown along by the evening
breeze.

"I like this room the best," Kaoru whispered.

Megumi started, "Hmm?"

"I said that I like this room the best," Kaoru
repeated as she rubbed her cheek against the
sleeve of her kimono. "I don't know why. 
I guess it's because it faces the mountains 
and you could see the sun rise from here..."

Another gust of wind blew in. Almost as if they
were swayed along by its sudden movement, the
shadows seemed to darken ominously as the
light flickered.

Megumi shivered, wondering at the sudden
cold--draft, actually--which pervaded the
room. She glanced at Kaoru but the girl
did not seem to notice the chill. And she
was not wearing an evening jacket.

"Kaoru?" 

Kaoru stirred. "Yes?"

"Would you like to go down now?"

"Hmm? Why?"

Megumi's teeth were chattering, "It's terribly
cold. You might catch something." She stood
up abruptly and held out a hand to the
other girl. "Come on."

Kaoru looked up at her, surprised. "But
I don't feel anything, Megumi."

"What?" Megumi stared at her. She could
practically feel the goosebumps prickling
her skin. "It's freezing!"

Kaoru frowned, "Maybe *you* caught
something, Megumi." She swung her legs
down the floor as she reached out for
her friend's hand. "Ara," she murmured
as she put an arm around Megumi's
shaking shoulders, "You *are* cold.
You're right. We should go down. I 
left some hot tea brewing in the
kitchen." She gently propelled the
other girl out to the door.

"But I'm feeling well, really, " Megumi
protested. "It's just the cold..." She
looked back at the dark room and felt
something gnawing at her insides--fear?
She dismissed it hastily. Don't be silly,
Megumi, she scolded herself even as
she wondered where that particular
bit of feeling came from. Kaoru was
watching her in concern and she forced
a smile on her lips, "Yes. I just
need something hot..."

A gasp escaped her throat when she saw
something reach out towards Kaoru. It
wasn't a tangible entity. More like
a shadow... But what?!

She took a startled Kaoru by the arm,
pushed her out to the hallway, before
rushing back to the window and looking
outside. The yard was empty. No one
was there. Megumi swallowed nervously.
She could have sworn that the air actually
got--heavier in the few moments that 
she and Kaoru had been sitting here.
And the dark, which had seemed so
inviting, now breathed of something
ominous. Threatening.

"Megumi?"

Kaoru's voice shook her out of her 
reverie. Damn. She was being paranoid
now. What next? Megumi shook her
head and closed the windows hurriedly
before kneeling down to snuff the light
out from the gas lamp. 

As the light finally faded from the 
room, Megumi wondered just what it 
was which disturbed the cool tranquillity
of the evening. Because something did.
She was sure of that.


Dinner was an uneventful affair. Sano
and Yahiko fought over food. Kenshin,
as usual, was caught in the middle of 
flying fish bones and frisbees posing
as soup bowls. Yahiko made
some crack about Kaoru's tea tasting
like spoiled fish. A general ducking
under the table followed that remark.

Yahiko volunteered to wash the dishes.
Well, actually, Kaoru pushed and
prodded and whacked him into 'volunteering.'
They had all agreed to an early night,
since they had made plans to trek to
the nearby hills for the next day.
Megumi yawned as she shuffled along
the hallway to her room, the memories
of the early evening's events fleeing
from her mind with the advent of
drowsiness. She probably imagined it
all...

Megumi reached out to slide her door
open when a large hand suddenly covered
her own. Terror immediately shot
through her and she remembered
the shadows...the cold... Oh gods.

Megumi uttered a muffled scream
and instinctively kicked at the direction
of the intruder. 

"Ouch! What the hell...?!"

Megumi squinted in the darkness, "Sano?"

"Yeah," he answered, his voice coming out
in a groan. "Ouch... Gods..."

Megumi sighed in relief, "It's you."

"Who did you expect?" Sano muttered as
he limped towards her, his hands
covering a very--sensitive place in
a painfully obvious manner.

Megumi fought the urge to burst out
in laughter. Sano's pride was hurt
enough as it is... Sano was hurt. Period.
"Well, you really shouldn't go sneaking around
people like that," Megumi retorted. "What
are you doing here, anyway?"

Sano muttered a reply.

"What was that?" Megumi asked. "I didn't hear."

"I said, are you all right?!" Sano snapped.

Megumi frowned slightly, "Of course I am. Why
shouldn't I be?"

"Jo-chan said something about your feeling, uh,
cold this evening," Sano said roughly.

Megumi stared up at him wide-eyed, "I--Yeah,
I was---but I'm feeling OK now..." She felt
herself blushing. Kami-sama.

Sano coughed, "Uh, yeah... I'm glad... I
mean I hope you're not sick or anything..."
She saw him avert his profile and wondered
if he was blushing, too.

Stop it, Megumi.

"I'm OK," she said in what she hoped was
a calm enough voice. "Really." She
softened her voice, "Thanks for asking,
anyway."

"Sure," Sano whispered back. He suddenly
seemed so close in the dark. "Sleep
tight, Fox."

Megumi shook her head, "You too, chicken-head,"
she murmured. 

Before he turned away, Megumi could have
sworn that he winked at her.

Still, her imagination was playing 
so many tricks with her today, she couldn't
be sure.

But that didn't stop her from hoping.


Megumi wasn't sure what woke her. The
room was absolutely still and even the wind
had abated.  She blinked blearily at the ceiling 
before rolling over to bury her face on her pillow. She
had drifted into a restless half-sleep when
she heard it again.

Someone was calling.

Megumi sat up quickly, gripping her bed clothes
tightly. What the hell--? She strained her
ears to listen... 

"Misa... Misa..." the voice called out mournfully,
longingly, gently. "Misa..."

Misa?

Megumi waited breathlessly as the voice
finally faded into the distance. When she
didn't hear anything again, she slid
out of her futon and padded over to her
open window. She peered out but again,
she saw nothing in the darkness.

Frowning, Megumi her way back to
bed. As she tucked the covers more
securely around her shoulders, she
wondered who could be wandering in
the roads at this hour. Probably
someone looking for his pet. That
voice was definitely male. She
should ask the caretaker about it.

As sleep finally claimed her, Megumi's
last thought was:

'Misa? What an odd name for a cat...'

End of Part 1