Disclaimer: All standard disclaimers apply. None of the Rurouni Kenshin
characters belong to me. (Damn it!) Also, the title is taken from a Hong
Kong film and I acknowledge all rights of the associations associated
with it and again, the title is NOT MINE! Nothing here belongs to me
except the plot.




(Okay, Okay, my turn now. I can't believe it. What me, chasing after the
Fox Lady? As if! So what if it's late at night and she doesn't know
kenjutsu? Doesn't mean that since she was stalked once before by Karryuu
and the Oniwabanshuu that it might happen again ya know? Not that I
think much about the danger she is in. Kami knows what is in
Gracey-san's mind and ahhh! ...call Saitou off now...cheh, just a joke
ya know. Anyways, since Kenshin got to whine about his part, so do I.
Can you imagine me, baring my feelings to my 'best buddy' only to
realise that the Kitsune is trapped in there having to listen to me?
Grrr ...and when I think of my attempts to get the Kitsune alone
...yucks ....no wonder 'she' was running away from me. Actually it was
Kenshin, only in her body. What, confusing? Then read the fic man and
tell me you don't feel sorry for me!)




(ii)
An Exchange of Sorts


Sano hurried through the streets. Just where was that woman? Then he saw
her as the crowd parted a little. The swing of her long hair, the sway
of her hips was unmistakable. Kuso, he cursed. Here he was, incensed
with her and all fired up for a good verbal match and somehow she was
able to seduce him without even meaning to. Hell, she didn't even have
to do anything. She had him, flat out.

"Kitsune," he growled as he took her elbow. When she turned to face him,
Sano was struck by the paleness of her complexion. She looked ill.
"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," she said coldly. "Let me go."

"Nope. You and I are gonna have a good talk. After all, that's what you
wanted, wasn't it?" Ignoring Megumi's furious hisses and struggles, Sano
pulled her gently along with him. His place was just two streets away.
They could have some privacy there.

Strange warmth was suffusing Megumi's body. She suspected a great deal
of it had to do with Sano's touch and the unusual seriousness of his
manner but even before he had shown up she was already feeling hot and
her breathing slightly constricted. By the time Sano prodded her past
his doorway, Megumi was battling dizziness.

"Are you sure you are fine?" he asked sceptically, handing her a cup of
tea. She looked awful, beautiful but still awful. Her lips were terribly
red against the ashy white of her skin, her eyes oddly dilated and very
bright.

"Sano no baka," she muttered and with an effort he shut his mouth.
Megumi seemed to feel the need to run him down constantly. If he had
even an ounce of self-respect he would toss her out. Instead he sat down
in front of her and waited until she was done with the tea. Amazingly
she gulped it all down and daintily dried her mouth with the edge of her
sleeve.

"Well? Talk," he demanded and she gave him a dirty look. Right before
she dropped the cup and slumped forward. Porcelain cracked as it hit the
tatami mat but Megumi was safely in Sano's arms. "Oi, Kitsune!"

What was happening to her? The world was collapsing into a kaleidoscope
of bright colours and she felt as though a void was swallowing her
whole. She was falling ...falling... "Sano, help!" she screamed and the
words came out in the softest of whispers from her lips.

"Megumi!" His wide brown eyes were so panic-stricken, his face almost wild.

Before Megumi lost consciousness, she realised that he had finally done
it. He had finally called her by her name.

.............................

The next morning when Kenshin woke up, he had a massive headache and his
body felt so weak that even turning his head was an accomplishment. What
had happened? Ah, yes. Now he remembered. After dinner he and Kaoru had
been walking back to the dojo when the worst dizzy spell he had ever
suffered hit him like a blow from Shishio and Enishi combined. And then
a whirlwind had descended upon him, or at least what he thought was a
whirlwind. Like the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki's second 'strike', he
thought that he was being sucked into a void, made of light and
darkness. Kaoru's screams seemed to come from a great distance away. The
last thing he had felt were her warm hands as he hit the ground. And
then everything had gone black.

All things considered, he was grateful to be alive. The first thing on
his mind was Kaoru. So it was with no little amount of perplexity and
anxiety that Kenshin turned his head to discover that none other than
Sagara Sanosuke was in the room with him, looking at him with an
intensity that Kenshin had never seen before.

"Sano, sessha is okay. Where is Kaoru-donno?" At least he meant to say
that but a stream of incoherent mumblings issued from his lips instead.
So, even his vocal chords were tired.

"Don't say a word, you'll be fine. You're in the dojo and Dr. Genzai has
had a look at you. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong but you are
on some medication." Kenshin was about to smile when Sano suddenly
reached down and ...laid a tender hand on his forehead!

"Oro?"

"Shush, keep quiet. You need your strength. I must admit, you frightened
me back there when you suddenly fainted."

How in the good Kami-sama's name could Sano have known about his
collapse? Only Kaoru had been present. Where was Kaoru, Kenshin thought
anxiously. And why was Sano looking at him ...like that? And now Kenshin
felt those warm callused fingers move over his skin. Orororo! Sano was
..was... 'Iie, iie, iie, Sano isn't like that. True there have been
times when sessha has suspected but ...oro! Not with sessha!'

"It figures that you would do anything to interrupt our talk, Fox. Next
time, please don't do that anymore, 'kay? I don't think I can take it."

'Fox? Fox? What Fox?' With superhuman strength, Kenshin forced himself
to look around the room. Megumi was not here and why should Sano be
looking at him and addressing him by Megumi's nickname?

"You know, Kenshin had a little fainting spell too. Jou-chan had to
carry him all the way back to the dojo. What a disgrace," Sano chuckled
teasingly but Kenshin felt his hackles rise. So Sano thought he was a
sissy eh? Then it dawned on him that Sano was speaking as though he,
Himura Kenshin, was not even there.

"Nani? Will someone please tell sessha what is going on? Is this a joke,
Sano?" Kenshin raised his voice as best he could and finally got the
words out. Sano gazed back at him, slightly surprised.

"Kitsune, since when did you start speaking like Kenshin? Only he uses
the word 'Sessha'."

What happened next to Kenshin was perfectly understandable. There was
only one recourse left. He fainted.

...........................

After two days, Kenshin and Megumi recovered physically although the
mental trauma was quite beyond anything that a doctor, short of Sigmund
Freud, could cure. Kenshin swiftly surmised the situation, especially
when he discovered his breasts.

"I'm stuck in your body and you are stuck in sessha's," he whispered to
Megumi. Livid violet eyes stared back at his and in their depths he
spotted a little amber. Oh no. Could Megumi, in his body, actually turn
Battousai? He didn't think she could use his sakabatou, could she?

"Oh, thank you for stating the obvious, 'Megumi'," she spat and
proceeded to chop the vegetables with blinding speed. His body, used to
such speed and effort, with all its gifts and skills were at Megumi's
disposal.

"Maa, maa, please don't be angry with sessha, Megumi-donno," Kenshin
pleaded and wrung his hands, purely on instinct. It seemed that this
body had a mind of its own as well.

"This has got to be your fault. I don't care how it is but it is your
fault." Megumi tossed the vegetables into the pot behind her without
turning around. Not even the leaves fell out. Everything landed inside
nicely. 'I never knew I could do that,' Kenshin thought absently. "Do
you know that Sanosuke was about to have a serious talk with me? Do you
know that he was about to confess his feelings to me? I saw the way he
looked at me, Kenshin, just before I fainted. You have no idea how it
made me feel."

"I know how it makes me feel. I've been getting that look everyday,"
Kenshin remarked sourly, perching his hip against the table. Quickly he
corrected the pose and folded his arms over his chest, anything to
appear less feminine. Megumi glared at him. "Oro, gomen. Sessha didn't
mean to..." Kenshin blushed.

"Don't touch my breasts, Himura. Not unless you can help it," Megumi
grumbled. "And what do you mean you get that look everyday?" she asked,
an interested gleam now entering those violet eyes.

"Sessha has been trying my best Megumi-donno but ..." Kenshin sighed
helplessly. "Sano just won't leave me ...well...won't leave 'you' alone.
He keeps ...hounding me. And looking at sessha." Kenshin shuddered.

"Looking at you how?" A fly circled the air close to the rice balls and
without thinking twice, Megumi yanked the sakabatou out and sliced the
pest into half. "Eh, how odd. Your body just reacted on a notion of
mine. Ohohoho, this is interesting, from a purely medical point of view."

Kenshin wiped a bead of sweat that had formed at his temple. This doctor
was downright scary in her own way, especially in his body! "As sessha
was saying, Sano keeps looking at me with ...with ..."

"Oh just spit it out Himura."

Kenshin scowled. "Very well. He keeps looking at me the way a man would
look at a woman when he is in love with her."

At once Megumi turned to him. Her hand reached up and started twirling a
red lock coyly. "Really? I mean, are you sure?"

"Megumi-donno, sessha is ...was...IS a man and I know the way a man
looks at a woman he loves. Kami-sama knows, I looked at Tomoe like that
and Kaoru-donno as well." He wished Megumi would stop doing that thing
with his hair. Shishou had often made jokes about how girly he looked.
With Megumi-donno doing that, hell, even he had to admit he looked just
like one at the moment. Maybe he should cut his hair.

"Well, I guess it's only fair to tell you that Kaoru-san has been giving
me lovey-dovey looks like that too." Megumi squirmed under the intensity
of her own brown-black eyes. Was she always so severe looking when she
got serious? No wonder Sano was always teasing her, telling her to
lighten up. And to think she had taken offence.

"Truly?" Kenshin asked softly.

"Hai. And she has been so very careful about me because she thinks I'm
you. Ken-san, Kaoru-san ...even by a woman's standards I must say that
she has done a wonderful job looking after you, well me, but she thinks
it's you. Her love for you is so strong, so powerful. Even this body,
this body with its heightened senses can feel it. I feel her through
this body and I know she loves you with all her soul."

Kenshin fell silent. He turned away. How could this be? Megumi was not
lying, he knew that. But she was telling him things that he had not
experienced before. Kaoru's presence he could sense always. But not this
force of love that Megumi was speaking of.

"Kenshin?" It was Kaoru.

"Hai," Kenshin responded without thinking twice. Kaoru stared at him
blankly and too late he realised his mistake. 'Oh Kaoru, if only you
knew sessha was in this body' ...

"Yes, Kaoru-sa-ahh ...Kaoru-donno?" Smoothly Megumi stepped in, cursing
Kenshin for a fool. 'That baka better not ruin my reputation and make
people think I'm an idiot.'

"Kenshin, I wanted to ask you if you would like to accompany me to town.
I need to pick-up some tofu."

She wanted to talk. Megumi could see that at once. Maybe a man wouldn't
notice the subtle way a woman used her words, the nuances in the tones,
the hidden shyness and hope in the eyes. But another woman could read
those signs as clearly as day. 'This isn't right,' Megumi panicked.
'Kaoru-san is going to think she's talking to Kenshin but it'll be me.
I'll be deceiving her. I'll be-'

Hurt glimmered in those blue eyes and Kaoru flinched slightly. From the
corner of her eye Megumi could see Kenshin, trapped in her body,
pleading silently with her to go with Kaoru, not to hurt Kaoru. Megumi
knew that if it had been Sanosuke standing there, asking for her to
accompany him, she would want Kenshin to carry out the farce as well.

"Kaoru-donno, sessha" ...Gads, she hated that word. What kind of kick
did Ken-san get from demeaning himself verbally day after day? "Sessha
will gladly accompany you to the town and anywhere else you may like to go."

At once Kaoru cheered up visibly. A faint blush touched her cheeks and
she looked at 'Megumi' awkwardly. Taking the hint, Kenshin turned his
back at once and pretended to be absorbed in the soup. To Megumi's
horror he wasn't aware that a lock of black hair was dangling
dangerously close to the bubbling liquid.

"Megumi, please be careful," she smiled through clenched teeth and
Kenshin at once yanked the hair back with a horrified look on his face
...her face...his face...Megumi couldn't quite decide how to address the
issue. "I'll be going with Kaoru-donno now. Please don't ruin anything."

As Megumi left with Kaoru, Kenshin heard Kaoru asking 'him' plaintively
how could an expert in the kitchen like Megumi-san ruin anything.
Megumi's ego must be bursting now, he thought, amused. On any ordinary
day his koishii would rather swallow her tongue than praise the female
doctor so frankly and openly. "I owe you one, Megumi-donno," Kenshin
murmured.

"Oi, Kitsune."

It was Sano, lounging in the doorway with That Look. More than that,
there was a gleam in his eye that Kenshin did not like at all. Suddenly,
Kenshin was feeling very afraid for his modesty. ..well...both he and
Megumi's modesties.

'Megumi-donno, you owe sessha one.'

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