From: "P. Rico" Hello, hello. This little fic is a follow up to "By Chance." I hope you all enjoy it. Disclaimer: I am one of the depressed millions who wishes RK belonged to them but alas, it doesn't. P.S. If somebody can suggest a better title, please do. I suck at titles. *********************** Reunion By. P.Rico ---- Takani Megumi placed the pot of water on the fire then sat back and waited for it to boil. Her eyes fell on the blue scarf that was neatly folded on the table. She had found it in a trunk full of her old possessions her family had saved for her. She had forgotten where she had gotten it from. That is, until last night. When Shinomori Aoshi had appeared at bleeding on her clinic's doorstep, carrying the unconscious Makimachi Misao. Shinomori looked like death, but had insisted that she look at Misao first. As Megumi had suspected, he was the worse off of the two. Misao had a few scrapes and bruises, and a minor concussion. Shinomori had lost a lot of blood from several wounds. Now the two of them were under her care. Megumi couldn't imaging what they were doing in Aizu. Probably some Oniwabanshuu business. Whatever it was, she hoped it had been resolved. Although there was no way she would turn them away, she also didn't want to put her clinic and her other patients in danger. She ran her hand across the soft fabric of the scarf. She had often wondered what had happened to that mysterious young man that had literally stumbled upon her in the forest. She never dreamed she would find out so many years later. She had hardly recognized him when they met again at Kanryuu's. He didn't show any sign of recognition then. Of course, he didn't show much of anything. She wondered if he even remembered. Megumi noticed the water had begun to boil. She removed it from the fire and poured the water into a small teapot. She placed the teapot, along with a couple of cups, on a small tray. Then, gathering up the tray and the scarf, went to attend to her patients. ---- Shinomori Aoshi looked over at and sighed. She was sleeping at on a bed across the room from his. Takani Megumi had arranged for them to have a private room rather than share the main ward room. Takani-sensei had assured him that Misao would be fine and told him the he should concentrate on taking care of himself. But he still couldn't help but worry about her. He closed the book he was reading and leaned back against the headboard. How history repeats itself. Here he was in Aizu on Oniwabanshuu business. Once again, there was an unexpected confrontation and both he and Misao had been injured. And once again, he was under Takani Megumi's care. Only this time, he wasn't alone, and he had sought out Takani-sensei's assistance instead of running into her in the forest. He heard the door slide open and turned to see Megumi entering with a tray and a folded blue cloth. "I see you're doing better," she said pleasantly, in a quite voice so as not to awaken Misao. "I thought you might like some tea." She placed the tray on the table besides Aoshi's bed and poured a cup then handed it to Aoshi. Aoshi took a sip of the hot liquid. "It's my own special tea," Megumi said. "It'll help you relax and recuperate." "Arigatou, Takani-sensei." Megumi noticed Aoshi wasn't looking at her. He was looking at the sleeping Misao. "She's going to be fine." Aoshi turned to her and nodded. "I know. Demo, I still can't help but worry." Megumi smiled. //Shinomori's changed a lot since we were at Kanryuu's. That girl must be a good influence.// "One other thing." she said aloud. "I've been meaning to return this to you." She handed Aoshi the fold, blue cloth. He slowly unfolded it. Megumi couldn't suppress a smile when she saw his eyes widen slightly. "This is..." Megumi nodded. "My mother managed to get the blood stains out." Aoshi's gazed fell on Misao once again. "She gave this to me for my twelfth birthday. She was furious when I came home without it." Megumi could've sworn she saw a hint of a smile on his lips. //Yes, she definitely is a good influence.// "I never did thank you for that." "No." "Then allow me to take this opportunity to do so. And to thank you for treating both me and Misao now." "I'm a doctor. It's my job. I wasn't sure if you remembered. At Kanryuu's you didn't seem to recognize me." Aoshi lowered his gaze. "I remembered. I just didn't care then." There was a short pause. Megumi broke the silence. "So why did you leave?" "I didn't want to get you family involved." "I figured it was something like that. So what happened?" "I managed to reach the Oniwabanshuu base outside of Aizu and they treated me there." "And the guys that were chasing you?" "They were members of a rival ninja clan who were terrorizing Westerners. We managed to defeat them." "And the people you battled last night?" Aoshi knew what Megumi was getting at. "You don't have to worry. They won't be bothering anybody else." Megumi nodded. "Well, I best tend to my other patients now. Try to get some rest." With that she left. Aoshi looked down at the blue scarf in his hands. He had often wondered what had become of the girl he had ran into in the forest. He heard Misao moan softly and looked up to see her just waking up. "Good morning, Misao." Misao turned toward him and smiled. "Good morning, Aoshi-sama. How are you feeling?" "Better." "That's good." She sat up and straighten her bed robe. "Would you like some tea?" Aoshi offered. "I'll get it." Before Aoshi could protest, Misao was on her feet and heading around his bed toward the pot of tea. She poured herself a cup and sat down on the edge of Aoshi's bed. "Are you sure you should be up?" "I'll be fine Aoshi-sama. Remember what Megumi-sensei said." "I know, I know." Misao caught sight of the scarf on Aoshi's lap. With a gasp, she snatched it up. "Hey! Isn't this..?" Aoshi nodded. "Where did you find it?" "Takani-sensei had it." "Nani?" Misao said, giving Aoshi as suspicious look. Realizing what she must be thinking, Aoshi quickly told her about that chance meeting ten years earlier. "Oh," was all Misao said afterwards, but Aoshi could tell she was relieved. She folded the scarf and handed it to him. Aoshi reached out to accept it. That small movement seemed to have zapped the energy out of him. He sighed wearily and leaned back against the headboard. "You should rest," said Misao with a concerned expression on her face. "This mission is over. Now is the time to recover for the next mission. And I know there'll be a next mission." Misao gasped lightly as Aoshi placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Misao." Misao shook her head. "I'm Oniwabanshuu. You don't have to apologize to me. You wouldn't be apologizing to Shiro or Okon would you?" "Not out loud," replied Aoshi. "But you..." He stopped abruptly. "Yes?" Aoshi hesitated. "You're much younger than they are," he said finally. //What must she be thinking?// wondered Aoshi as Misao stared at him, evidently deciding whether or not she believed him. Aoshi let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding when Misao finally smiled again. "That's sweet Aoshi-sama, but I'm not a child anymore." "I'll have to remember that." Misao was curious as to what Aoshi was about to say. But he looked so pale and tired, she felt bad about pressing him for a answer. She stood and took the cup from his hands. "I'll take these back to Megumi-sensei. You get some rest." Aoshi nodded and, with the scarf still in his hand, settled into the bed. Misao arranged the blanket around him. "Arigatou, Misao," said Aoshi, closing his eyes. Misao smiled then leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. Aoshi opened his eyes to see Misao already at the door, her back to him. "Misao?" Misao looked at him over her shoulder. Aoshi could see she was blushing. "Sweet dreams, Aoshi-sama." ***************** Well, there it is. I didn't turn out quite as planned, but I couldn't think of an ending so I just kept writing. Even so, this ending wasn't all that great. Just a little note, this story and "By Chance" are along the same time line as another Aoshi fic I wrote, "Stepping Stones" http://www.angelfire.com/or/roro/aoshific.html (shameless plug) In that one, I had Misao giving Aoshi the scarf. Thanks for reading. --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- GRAB THE GATOR! FREE SOFTWARE DOES ALL THE TYPING FOR YOU! Tired of filling out forms and remembering passwords? Gator fills in forms and passwords with just one click! Comes with $50 in free coupons! Click Here ------------------------------------------------------------------------