The Road Less Traveled
by Tin Mandigma

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

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2: Next Beat


The next day dawned bright and sunny. Megumi
stretched her arms with a lazy yawn before
collapsing contentedly on her
futon. The early morning light poured in bursts
through her open window and crept more
stealthily through the slats in the wall. She
was still feeling a little sleepy but the 
morning was too glorious to spend in bed.
Besides, she could already hear Sano
and Yahiko in the courtyard arguing in their 
usual vocal--perfection. Ahh... The day 
was inviting indeed.

As she dressed, Megumi thought briefly about
the voice she heard last night. "I hope
the guy found his pet," she muttered as
she smoothed the sleeves of her kimono.
"Can't have him running through the streets
at dawn..." Her lips twisted wryly as she
remembered the rather--strange events last 
night, Sano's surprise visit included. Everything
probably happened by fluke, no two ways about
it. But still... Megumi shook her head to
clear it from the ridiculous and quite *useless*
thoughts which were beginning to flood her
imagination. She still remembered the tremendous 
cold which engulfed her last night and it wasn't 
a pleasant memory. And when those shadows had started
crawling...Bah. Megumi pushed her hair
back with impatient fingers. Better forget
all about that night. She chalked it up
to the combined effect of sunset and sake
mixed with a healthy dose of nostalgia. 
She really should dust up her reality
'checks.'  They were getting too rusty for
comfort.

Right, Megumi, my girl. That night is best
relegated to the dustbin of thy memory. Zip. Kaput. 
'Everything about that night?' a sly voice inside her
whispered. A memory of Sano came to her
mind. 

"Oh yeah. *Everything*," she muttered. 
"Especially that."

Of course that last part would have sounded
more convincing if it had been a tad less
wistful, ne? 


Megumi found Kaoru already seated in the
dining room, sipping a cup of tea. She 
smiled widely when she saw the basket of 
eggs along with a steaming bowl of rice set 
carefully on the polished table. 

"Ohayo," she said cheerfully as she
took a seat beside Kaoru. "The food
looks great!"

The other girl smiled at her. "Yeah. The
guys prepared breakfast."

Megumi put a hand over her heart. "Pardon
me while I faint."

Kaoru shook her head, still smiling
faintly. "I'm serious. When I woke up, 
everything was ready. I nearly fainted, too, 
but I don't think the men of the house 
would have appreciated that reaction." 

Megumi grinned as she carefully poured
a cup of tea. "Actions speak louder than
words," she deadpanned.

Kaoru made a face. "In this case, I think
that subtlety will be wasted," she
said wryly. "Oh, by the way, Sano cooked
the rice."

Megumi choked. "Kami-sama...what an--impressive
achievement. The call of the rice must have
been, uh, too strong to be ignored."

"Seduction at its finest," Kaoru quipped.

Megumi eyed her mock-sternly. "Girl, your
vocabulary seems to have undergone a rather
drastic change since we went to this place.
Do you just like to shock me or is this
practice for Ken-san?"

Kaoru wriggled her eyebrows suggestively. 
"Both."

Megumi shook her head, trying hard not
to laugh as she sipped her tea. She and
Kaoru sat for a while in companionable
silence which was broken only by Megumi's 
query:

"By the way, where are the others?"

"They went for a walk," Kaoru answered. 
"Exercise, Sano called it." She pulled
a wry face. "Funny but I never took him 
to be a health freak." She sighed. 
"Kenshin, too."

"I'm beginning to feel guilty," Megumi muttered
even as she heaped a generous helping of
rice on her bowl. She peered at it anxiously
before taking a bite. It looked normal. Not
toxic. Not Sano. 

"Don't I know it, " Kaoru responded. "You
weren't here this morning when I went
down and they were all geared up. I felt
so out of place. I hadn't washed my
face then!" She laughed lightly, "That'll
teach me to sleep late next time..."

Megumi looked at her sharply. "I thought you felt
awfully sleepy last night. You were the
first one who went to bed, remember?"

Kaoru avoided her gaze. "Uh, yeah, and
I fell asleep at once, really..."

Megumi studied Kaoru closely, noting the other's
unusually pale cheeks and the barely
discernible shadows under the
bright blue eyes. "And..." she prodded.

Kaoru fiddled with her tea cup restlessly. "And
something woke me... I guess..."

Megumi felt a faint stirring of trepidation. 
She shook it off impatiently. "What?"

"I don't know," Kaoru frowned. "Someone calling...
Just my imagination, probably," she said with
a shrug. "But I wasn't able to sleep afterwards.
Not surprising since it was nearly dawn and all..."
She glanced at Megumi, "Why? Did you hear
it, too?"

"Uh..." Megumi hesitated and then nodded abruptly.
"Yes," she answered. "I did." 

If Kaoru noticed her momentary hesitation, she
gave no sign. "It was really weird, wasn't it?"
A distant look passed over her face. "More like
a plea than a call...It sounded so sad..."

Megumi cleared her throat. "I thought that it actually
sounded like someone was calling for his pet,"
she said carefully, studying Kaoru's abstracted
expression. 

"Yeah," Kaoru responded almost absent-mindedly. 
And then, as quickly as it came, the blank look
faded from her face. She smiled at Megumi. 
"My imagination must've been working overtime 
again, huh?"

Megumi forced herself to smile back, "You
said it." She sipped her tea again, noting
morosely that it was lukewarm. So Kaoru heard
the 'call,' too. And she thought it was
'weird.' That was certainly true. But what
troubled Megumi was that Kaoru even heard
it at all. Her room was at the back of
the house, facing a small patch of garden
bordered by a high stone wall. There was no
way that the guy or whoever he was could've
sneaked in *and* called out while standing
practically under Kaoru's window without
going through the main room of the house
first and waking Kenshin or Sano who
slept in the ground-floor rooms in the process.
She pondered dubiously that Sano could sleep
through a hundred years' worth of New Year
celebrations if he had to but Kenshin was
certainly not a light sleeper. He would've
known and the entire household would've
been alerted and... Damn. Megumi noticed
that she was clutching her cup so tightly
her knuckles were turning white. She put
the cup down quickly as she took a 
couple of deep breaths, forcing herself to
relax. 

Takani Megumi, zero. Paranoia, infinity.

Megumi glanced at Kaoru who was was still
sipping her tea happily, oblivious of Megumi's
scrutiny. She looked--normal, anyway. There
was nothing there to merit worry in the first
place, Megumi told herself fiercely as she
began to nibble on her rice cake. She should
concentrate on more pertinent matters like
their upcoming hike, the trip to the market,
swimming in the river... Mundane, yes, but
definitely less taxing on one's brain
cells. She hoped. 

She looked up as Kenshin, Sano, and Yahiko
came in, laughing and talking boisterously.
Their faces and clothes were damp from
sweat. That must have been quite an exercise, Megumi
thought appreciatively as she eyed a disheveled 
Kenshin with his gi half-open to the waist. She
felt rather than saw Kaoru blush beside her
and she nudged the girl slyly, throwing
a teasing smile in her direction.

"Hey, Fox," a raspy voice muttered in her
ear.

Megumi turned to see Sano sitting down
beside her and she felt her mouth go
dry. He was bare-chested, glistening
with sweat and early-morning sun,
and he had removed his headband so
that his hair fell rakishly on his
eyes in silky black waves. He grinned
at her and Megumi jolted in her
seat, her hands shaking slightly. To
'plagiarize' Ken-san...Ororororooo....

"Did you sleep well?" Sano asked her,
his brown eyes fixed steadily on her
face, still smiling slightly. And
smugly, too. He must've caught
her drooling. The jerk.

Megumi could sense the others watching
them with studied casually interested 
glances, the effect of which was ruined
by the presence of not-so-casual smiles 
plastered on their faces. A sarcastic
retort hovered on her lips when she suddenly
realized that she didn't want to be
so predictable, after all. Especially when
Sano--a half-naked Sano at that--was
doing the baiting. Besides, she had 
promised herself that she would concentrate
on more 'mundane' matters, right?

Megumi smiled back at Sano, her own
eyes gleaming. "Yeah," she purred. "I
did...And you?" she inquired lazily,
lifting an eyebrow at what she estimated
to be exactly the right height.

She watched bemusedly as Sano's grin
widened even further. "Sure," he
murmured, his eyes never leaving hers.
"I had the sweetest dreams."

Oh yes. This certainly qualified as mundane.
And more pleasurable, too, Megumi thought
amusedly. Definitely.


She should have known it wouldn't last.
They were back to their 'standard' fare
by midday. Megumi grumbled under her
breath as she stumbled after the rest
of the group. She wiped off the beads
of sweat which clung tenaciously
to her forehead with a clammy hand.
It was *hot* She felt sticky,
uncomfortable, and she was beginning
to see a spring in every corner of
the forest. And Sano wasn't helping matters.
He and Kenshin looked rested and unfairly
cool as if they haven't spent the morning
trudging in the forests in what Megumi
privately thought was a *very* rushed pace.
They probably never even broke a sweat.
But she and Kaoru and Yahiko... well,
Kaoru was holding her own, Megumi thought
grudgingly. Not a single complaint. Of
course, the fact that Kenshin was always
by her side, both of them talking in
quiet murmurs, smiling constantly
at each other, her hand securely
clasped in his... Kenshin was
the sweetest, the kindest, the most
perfect man in the entire world. 
He was obviously way up front when
good looks, talent and personality
were given out but it wasn't his
fault that other members of his 
sex--Megumi glared at Sano's broad back balefully-- 
had absolutely nothing to offer in those
areas at all.  

"Come on, Fox, hurry up!" Sano barked
at her. 

Megumi decided then that she had had
enough.

"Look, chicken-head," she snapped back. 
"You could go speeding to Hokkaido
for all I care but I'm--" and here
she flung her rucksack to the ground,
"--am tired!" She knew that she was
being childish but she really didn't
care. She was hot, exhausted and, most
of all, disillusioned that her cherished 
hiking trip was turning out to be Sano's
version of military boot camp. "So there,"
she growled.

"Oh yeah?" Sano challenged her angrily.

"Yeah!" she all but screamed.

Kenshin glanced at Kaoru worriedly
and then turned to the warring couple
who stood facing each other with
arms akimbo. "Uh guys..." He
stopped when Kaoru tugged gently
at his sleeve.

"It's OK," she murmured. "Let them
be. I think they're both tired.
They just needed the excuse to
rest." They watched as Megumi
and Sano finally broke their
staring contest and slunk toward
opposite directions.

Kenshin grinned wryly. Was it just 
his imagination or were those two
fighting more than 'usual?' Or
should he have said sweeter on
each other than usual? He shook
his head slightly. Sano and Megumi
were both always on two exteme if not 
perpetually opposing points. But
there was a definite spark, he
reflected. He wondered if...

He heard Kaoru take a trembling
sigh beside him. He looked down
at her quickly, alarmed, and was
relieved when she smiled up at him.
But she was pale. "You're tired,
too," he said softly. He had noticed
that she was preoccupied that 
morning and she had also been unusually
subdued throughout their walk. He
had said nothing about it, biding
his time, and she didn't really
act like anything was wrong. But
he had this feeling...

He was only slightly surprised when
he saw her hesitate before shaking
her head. Something *was* troubling
her. He stared at her, his look
gently questioning. She opened her mouth, 
about to speak, when Yahiko
and Ichiro, the caretaker of the
house and their self-appointed guide
for the day, burst through the trees.

"What the heck are you guys doing?"
Yahiko shouted in exasperation. 
"We've been waiting for you for
the gods know how long..."

"What do you think?" Kaoru shot
back. 

"They were probably tired, " Ichiro
said softly to Yahiko.

Yahiko grinned. "Hah. Yeah. I should
have remembered that I was traveling
with old guys and Kaoru's positively
ancient... She probably fainted or
somethin'..."

"Excuse me?" Kaoru asked with an
outraged snort.

Kenshin sighed. "Minna..." 

Megumi pushed her hair back from
her eyes, trying to stave
off the sudden feeling of nausea which
assailed her. Probably hunger, she
deduced. It was way beyond lunchtime.
She ignored Sano who was muttering
something about bossy women with
health problems. Was he still at
it?! She swept her gaze over at Kenshin,
Kaoru and Yahiko, the latter finally
lasping into grumpy silence after
a particularly heated retort from
Kaoru. Megumi watched as Kaoru collapsed
on the ground, hugging her bag to
her chest. *She* looked way too pale
for comfort. Megumi frowned as the 
morning's worries came back to haunt
her with a vengeance. Throughout
the entire trip, she had the vague
feeling that something was about
to happen. And it would be sudden
and threatening and totally
unexpected... Where did that come
from? Megumi snapped the twig
she was playing around with her
fingers with an audible snap. She
took a deep breath and turned
to Ichiro, hoping to distract
herself from what was turning out
to be a potentially self-destructive
train of thought. "Ichiro-san, are
there any tourist spots or landmarks
nearby?" From the corner of her eye,
she saw Kenshin take a seat
beside Kaoru. She promised herself
to ask him later if he heard 
what they--she and Kaoru--got
an earful of last night. She wondered
if Kaoru had already told him but
the girl had not mentioned the incident
again to Megumi. Maybe Kaoru had already 
forgotten all about it and Megumi
berated herself for not doing the same.
The fact that, unlike Kaoru, she had also 
been treated to enough cold to guarantee her 
pneumonia for the entire year was a moot point.
There was nothing to it. Nothing. Nothing.
Nothing. Just some guy calling for
his pet...Megumi didn't know why but she
was beginning to find that line of 
reasoning almost--ridiculous. As well it
might, she thought as she forced
herself to listen to Ichiro who was
expounding on forests, hot springs, 
old houses...

Old houses?

"There are a lot of them actually," he
was saying. "Prominent family seats. Most
of them are quite large and very well-
maintained. The owners don't really live
theren anymore, however. But family
members usually spend their summers
here. Famous people, I guess," he continued 
with a shrug. "Those families trace their roots to 
this place to gods know how many 
centuries. Most of 'em have lived here
forever."

"And Shizuku-san's family?" Kenshin asked
him.

"Them especially," Ichiro answered with a
tug at his mustache. "I don't know
that much about the house itself except
that it burned to the ground a long
time ago and was later rebuilt. But
I've already told Megumi-san about that," he
said, gesturing at the latter. 

"No ghosts?" Yahiko asked.

Ichiro smiled at him. "None that 
I know of, Yahiko-kun. Of course
the place *is* very old but it's
always been quiet as far as I know.
No stories, if you know what I
mean. But there were rumors..." his
voice drifted off reflectively. He
sighed. "But I can't recall anything right
now." He patted Yahiko on the
shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

Sano snorted, "I really don't
think he is worried, Ichiro-san. If
anything, he's disapointed."

Ichiro laughed. " Is that so? I'm sorry, 
Yahiko-kun. But...no ghosts. Maybe there are some
in the old houses nearby, though. Some
of them have *very* colorful histories..."

"And the Shizukus have none?" Kenshin
asked interestedly.

Ichiro shrugged. "As I said earlier, they've
always been a very respectable and 
conservative clan. If something--untoward
ever did happen, they kept it under wraps."

"Shizuku-san, do you think we could have
a look at those houses you were speaking about?"
Kaoru asked softly. "Shizuku-san's house
is so beautiful...I was wondering what the
others looked like, too."

"Yes, that will be nice," Megumi agreed.

"You women and your houses!" Yahiko groaned.

Kenshin laughed. "Now, Yahiko. Be patient. 
Who knows? You might just encounter your ghost 
somewhere along the way."

Megumi decided that she *will* ignore 
the distinct feeling of foreboding which
crept up her spine at that rejoinder. 
"You men and your ghosts," she quipped
and regretted saying it immediately.
Somehow that didn't sound right. 
"Looking for ghosts in other people's
backyard..."

"When your own house is full of 'em
already..." Kaoru murmured.

Megumi stared at her, definitely feeling
sick now. 

*That* sounded even worse.


End of Part 2

NOTES:

This is a set-the-stage chapter so
I hope you'll forgive the relative
lack of activity and coherence in
this part ^^;; Besides, I've run
out of things to say and it's 2:00 A.M.
and I'm thinking that if I don't stop,
I might just ramble on and spook myself,
too ^__^; But a lot more will happen 
next chapter. Definitely ^__^ Kaoru
gets a most unpleasant surprise, Kenshin
an  *un*healthy scare and Megumi another
losing bout with her paranoia. Thanks!

2:24 AM 4/15/99