|
|
|
Four Seasons
by Sheila Benedicto
“Tsubame! Wait up!”
Tsubame turned to see Yahiko running up to her. “Yahiko-chan!” She smiled. “Ohayou!”
“Geez, Tsubame-chan! We’re already 16 and you’re STILL calling me ‘Yahiko-chan’!”
Tsubame laughed. “But I think it’s cute.”
“Well, I don’t think it is, but, whatever you say.” He sighed. “So, where are you going?”
She laughed again. “Don’t you see the basket I’m holding? I’m going to the market, silly.”
“Oh. Well,” he said, taking the basket from her arm, “I’m coming with you then.”
Tsubame blinked and smiled. “Of course.”
When Spring blooms…
It was almost lunch by the time Tsubame finished her marketing. The basket Yahiko carried now had an assortment of fish, vegetables, and the ever-existent tofu. It was more than the usual amount of items she normally shopped for, not to mention undeniably heavier, but Yahiko didn’t seem to complain. He carried the goods as proudly as he would hold Kenshin’s sword. Tsubame smiled at that.
“What are you smiling at?” Yahiko suddenly asked, noticing her sudden smile.
“Nothing,” she evaded. “I was just thinking about the Sakura Festival. It’s going to be in two weeks, right? There are sure to be a lot of tourists by then.”
“Is that why Tae had you shop for all this stuff?” he said, gesturing to the basket he carried.
“Sort of. Actually, she said I could add to the items randomly if I thought we would need them. How are Kaoru and Kenshin preparing for the festival?”
Yahiko smirked. “Oh, the usual. Kenshin will be cooking. Although Kaoru’s slowly getting the hang of it. But with Kenji around, and another baby coming soon, I don’t think she’ll have the time to…uh… ‘practice’.”
He caught her smiling up at him again. “What is it now?”
“Don’t you think it’s pretty romantic how they ended up? I’m really happy for both of them.” She turned her face upwards, watching as each sakura tree they passed waited for its petals to bloom. “And with Sanosuke-san back in Japan, life must be very exciting back in the dojo, ne, Ya... oh!”
Tsubame’s view registered the rapid change between sky and road, and she closed her eyes fully expecting to hit the ground, but…
“Hey, are you okay?” Yahiko asked, his free arm wrapped around her waist, catching her in mid-fall. Both of them looked at the position they were in and blushed.
“Yes, I’m fine. Thanks. I guess I wasn’t looking where I was going, silly me…,” Tsubame replied as she straightened.
“No problem. You know I’d catch you anytime, Tsubame-chan,” Yahiko said, the statement making both of them blush even more. He coughed.
“Well, we better get this stuff to Tae-san before lunch,” he nonchalantly declared, walking a few steps ahead of her.
Tsubame grinned as she caught up with him. “Do you remember the time when we first met, Yahiko?”
When Summer blazes…
“Do you remember the time when we first met?” Sanosuke asked Megumi as she bandaged up yet another broken arm, wrapping it so tightly that it made him yelp in pain.
“Yes! You were such an asshole, then, like you are now.” Another yelp, the sound somehow pleasing her. “Some things never change. You come back and the first thing you do, you present your arm. Don’t you EVER get tired of it?!”
“Heck, no! I live for broken bones!” he joked, then winced as she tightened the bandage yet again, before tying it up. “For gods’ sakes, Fox! That hurts!”
“And I thought you were beneath pain. You live for broken bones, remember?” Megumi sarcastically pointed out. She stood up and placed her medicine box on a shelf.
“I thought you missed me, Megumi,” he muttered thoughtfully.
Megumi sat in front of him and looked at his downcast expression. “Don’t tell me this is your attempt at being cute because I’m not buying it. However, if it makes you happy, I must admit that I do miss having you in my clinic…”
He perked up. “See?”
“… BUT not ALL the time! There’s a limit to my tolerance when it comes to my patients. I don’t like it when I heal them and they go out getting their newly-set arms broken again. If you don’t care as to your condition, then would you please care about the time and effort spent on you? Really, Sano!”
“Can I help it if trouble likes me?” Sanosuke asserted.
“If you’re just going to sit there and make excuses, you might as well leave.” When he didn’t budge, she added, “And if you don’t want to do that, *I* might as well leave. I have a lot more important things to do than sit here and listen to you…”
“No, Megumi, wait!” Sano said, grabbing her wrist as she started to rise. He saw her eyebrow go up a notch and sighed.
“Look, I didn’t go here just to get you mad at me again. I thought, that, maybe…”
“Maybe what?”
“Maybe since I just got back, we could, uh, start over? I promise not to rile you for the rest of the week, at least.”
Megumi’s eyebrows went down somewhat. “This is new. Sanosuke, is this your version of an apology?”
“Heck, you’re really making this harder for me, huh?” he said, making her brows go up again, this time in challenge. “Fine. This is my version of an apology. So, how ‘bout it?”
“My, not rile me in a week? Now, that is something I can’t refuse. But since you’ve just arrived and all, I guess it won’t hurt…”
Sano grinned as Megumi settled herself in front of him. “Going back to my first question, so, do you remember the time when we first met?”
“How could I forget? I remember, you stopped me from doing what I now know I would have deeply regretted.”
Sano blushed at that. ‘Wow, when you get Fox-lady started, she doesn’t stop.’
Fortunately, Megumi didn’t notice his cheeks redden, so intent was she on her memories.
“I was running away from Takada and Aoshi and his oniwanbanshuu that time.” She shook her head wistfully. “Do you realize how much time has passed since then? How much has changed? Sometimes, I can’t believe Aoshi and the oniwanbanshuu, who were once my torturers, are now our… friends…”
continued...
[ prev article ] [ top ] [ next page ]
|
|
