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.




(Mou! I can't believe that Kenshin didn't tell me what happen. I mean,
yes, maybe his manly ego is affected and all, plus there are all kinds
of issues raised by his being stuck in Megumi-san's body ...hmm...I
wonder how both of them managed to endure bathing. Ack! I can't believe
that Megumi managed to get her hands on my Kenshin after all, though not
in 'that' way but in another way. Anyways, I can't believe he let me go
along with the whole act and that he wouldn't let Megumi-san tell me the
truth. But then again, if she had told me, I would have simply gotten Dr
Genzai to medicate them. I don't know what Sano would have done,
probably Futae no Kiwami my precious dojo. Read on, minna to find out
what happens!)





(iii)
Wishes Do Come True, Sort Of


It had been a week after the exchange. By now, Megumi had gotten to know
much more than she had ever imagined she possibly could. She saw herself
in a different light, saw Sano in a different light as he pursued poor
Ken-san. What she used to think was childish heckling and irritating
mannerisms became adorable as she saw him try those on Kenshin. Okay,
not adorable, Megumi corrected. But she could see Sano was trying his
best to get 'her' to talk to him. Thanks to Ken-san's less than
admirable acting skills, Sano was beginning to suspect that 'she' was
not entirely 'herself', had chalked it up to some problem 'she' was
keeping from him and was trying his best to dig it out of 'her'. But
where she would really have snapped and sniped, Ken-san deflected those
questions with a sensitivity and care that was borne out of true
friendship. To Megumi's horrified guilt, she saw that Kenshin was
treating Sano with a respect that she had never extended to him. At
first she tried to tell herself that Kenshin knew Sano in a way that she
could not. After all, they had fought Shishio and Enishi together. But
when she reflected honestly, Kenshin was simply respectful of Sano as a
person, perhaps more so than ever before now that Sano was technically
being deceived by him.

However, as enlightening as all this was for Megumi, it was making Sano
worried. The Fox Doctor was actually treating him with some semblance of
respect. She had never respected him before. Worse, she was actually
being nice, NICE to him. Twice or thrice he had caught her looking at
him apologetically, as though she had done or was about to do something
horrible to him. The worst thing that popped into his mind was that she
was going to leave him somehow. Maybe she would get that dumb idea of
returning to Aizu again. But her brother had made her go back when he
saw her pining away. At least that's what Jou-chan had told him.

Times like these called for emergencies. So Sanosuke did what every man
does in his time of crisis. He went to seek his best friend's advice.
Kenshin might be a ditz when it came to Kaoru but heck, he had been
married before.

"Whaddya think Kenshin? Am I right? The Fox Lady must be in trouble to
be behaving like this. I mean, she's actually being nice to me for once.
Not that I don't appreciate it," Sano hurried on when Kenshin glared at
him. What was with Kenshin? He was being extremely touchy with the
subject of Megumi all of a sudden. "I mean, I dream about her being nice
to me. The other day she smiled at me and it was free from sarcasm. She
rarely smiles at me like that," he added softly. "I think it's beautiful."

"Umm ..." That was all his wise friend had to say. Worse, Kenshin was
sniffling since as he explained, he had a cold. Apparently the cold was
affecting his eyes too, he was so teary at times.

"What do you think I should do? I wanna help her, I'd do anything for
her." Sano balled his fists. "I swear, if anyone's threatening her ..."

It was all Megumi could do to keep herself where she was. Instead of
throwing herself at Sano and weeping in his arms, all she could do was
sniffle and fiddle with the sakabatou. "Why don't you tell her all those
things you told me? Maybe she'll be more open with you then," Megumi
suggested hopefully. If only she could switch back to her real body
right now and have Sano repeat all those things he had said. But being
stuck in Kenshin's body was serving an unexpected purpose. She got to
listen to Sano's heart and mind like never before. Stripped of her body,
Megumi was without her usual defences, she didn't need them since Sano
wasn't behaving like the usual Sano he showed her. And perhaps because
she was in a strange body, she could see things, examine things from
different angles she had not had the liberty of looking from before.
Instead of a boorish, irresponsible young man, he was displaying a
deeper maturity and sensibility that she had never seen. Perhaps she had
caught a glimpse or two when he had been fighting by Kenshin's side but
she had never experienced it fully for herself. She still thought he was
brash, and occasionally he still said something that she scoffed at
(inwardly of course, because Ken-san never, never scoffed) but to put
things simply, she was seeing a whole different Sano.

But the problem with being Kenshin was that Sano was also unabashedly
honest about what he thought of her, Megumi. It was, as Megumi was about
to find out, a double-edged sword.

"What, tell the Kitsune how I feel? Boy Kenshin, you must be ill!" Sano
threw back his head and crowed. Accidentally the sakabatou knocked him
on the back of his head as Kenshin sneezed.

"Oro, sorry Sano," Kenshin said with a positively evil smile which
disappeared so fast that Sano wondered if he had been imagining things.
"What were you saying?"

"Kuso, Kenshin. Watch where you put that thing. As I was saying, I
cannot tell the Fox what's on my mind."

"Why not? What's so horrible about that?" Megumi decided she should shut
up after Sano shot a disgusted look her way.

"Kenshin, either you have been asleep or blind all these past months.
Don't you know what she'll do?" Sano's voice had dropped a few octaves
and he had turned partially away from her. Curious, Megumi crept
forward, almost tripping on the sakabatou as it caught in her hakama.
Kaoru had commented just that morning that the little bows that she had
made out of the hakama ties were the prettiest she had ever seen.
Kenshin had just looked sick, prompting Sano to act all concerned.

"Iie, Sano. Do tell sessha. Onegai." She couldn't quite keep the
huskiness out of her tone. Thankfully Sano didn't notice as he was too
caught up in his own emotions. His broad shoulders tensed and he pressed
his lips together in a firm thin line. Then he said it.

"Megumi will laugh at me."

It felt like he had slapped her. Megumi sat back, stunned.

'I won't. I'm not that cruel. Am I?'

"She's always putting me down and everything. Sure, she does tease me
and I know she doesn't mean to completely destroy me but ..." Sano broke
off and a bitter smile crept over his face. "It does something to a guy
to hear that all the time ya know? Sometimes I think about finding a
job, I have been trying but I daren't tell her because she'll just say
something to crush my ego."

She was a bitch. A total and complete bitch for doing this to the man
she purportedly loved.

'Oh Sano, Sanosuke. Forgive me.'

Sano shrugged and leaning back on his hands, threw her a grin. "Don't
look so sad Kenshin. I'm used to it. In her eyes I could never be you."

"She doesn't want you to be me!" The words burst out with a passion and
will of their own. "Well, maybe at first," she hedged as Sano's
surprised gaze landed on her. "I mean, Megumi-donno has all these ideals
and ideas but ...ideals and ideas aren't anything compared to the real
thing. I think Megumi-donno knows that."

"Ya think?" Sano grunted and Megumi almost whacked him with the
sakabatou again.

"Yes, Sessha does think so. Megumi-donno has changed as well these past
months. I mean, if she completely looked down on you, she wouldn't
always be nagging you about your hand, neh?" Encouraged by the faint
shadow of a real smile at that, she continued, searching her mind for
all the things that she did for Sano that showed she cared. "I know that
when you fought one of the Four Stars, she was worried about you. Why
else would she throw her medicine box at you?"

"She sure has a funny way of showing she cares."

Yes she does, Megumi agreed silently. "Sano, Megumi-donno has serious
problems with showing she cares." You do and you know it, Megumi told
herself sternly even as pride protested the admission. "You see, when
Megumi-donno was little, she ...lost everything. And when she finally
found some work she loved, she threw herself into it totally. And then
it was taken away. And Karryuu found especial joy in knowing how much it
hurt her because he had seen how much her work meant to her. So to
protect herself in the future, Megumi-donno decided that she would
always act flippant about the things she cared about. Perhaps it also is
a silly superstition on her part," Megumi mused aloud. "But people are
like that."

Sano listened carefully. After a few moments' thought he spoke. "So,
what you are saying is that her acting all sarcastic and uncaring is
really some defence mechanism?"

"Precisely," Megumi pronounced, triumphantly.

"Sheesh, why didn't you just say that instead of going in one big
circle?" Sano noted the flare of outrage in Kenshin's eyes and decided
he had better get going. "Thanks for everything buddy. I guess you
really are better at figuring out people than me. Maybe you could go
figure out when you are going to propose to Jou-chan neh? Then you'd put
her and you out of your misery." With that he scooted off, winked at Tae
and indicated that Kenshin would pay the bill.

"Sagara Sanosuke, come back here now! You were the one who invited me to
lunch and besides, Sessha Has No Money!"

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

Kenshin had seen Sano drag Megumi, or rather, drag his body off to the
Akabeko and had to fight back the urge to shout a warning to Megumi to
bring some money. Sano always bummed a meal off him there and poor
Megumi would be left dealing with a stern Tae while Sano did his usual
disappearing act. "Sano will be lucky if he doesn't get Ryu Tsui Tsen'd
to death," Kenshin muttered, scrubbing angrily at the laundry. Kaoru had
given him the strangest look when she saw him hike to the backyard with
the clothes bucket but Kenshin didn't care. He was having his period
dammit and he was going to do as he pleased, so said the hormones.

'How did Yahiko get such horrible stains on his clothes,' Kenshin almost
tore the gi in his efforts. Naturally even doing the laundry was a real
chore now. Previously every form of housework was effortless. Now in
Megumi's body, he actually felt the strain of it all. Even scrubbing the
clothes made his muscles ache. Then he broke a nail and Kenshin did the
unthinkable. He cursed. Aloud.

"Shit!"

"Oh boy, you are in a bad mood. Let me guess, it must be that time of
the month again eh?" Kaoru dropped a stool beside him and sat herself
down. She really shouldn't be sitting so close to him, Kenshin thought
but realised that for all Kaoru knew, she was sitting next to Megumi.

"Or---I mean, how did you know?"

"Err ...I'm a woman. I know these things too."

'Well, Sessha is not. Sessha does not know such things.' He had actually
checked himself frantically for wounds this morning when he found stains
on his yukata. Thankfully Megumi had remembered the date and rushed to
help him. Now he was sitting here with something wedged up in his
underwear. Women. They deserved a prize for putting up with this twelve
times a year. It made his knees weak just to experience this.

"Megumi, I would like to ask you some things," Kaoru asked hesitatingly,
sweet blue eyes all wide and trusting. Kenshin felt himself melt at once.

"Anything, Kaoru-san. I mean, anything you ask me I know the answer to,"
he said with as much hauteur as he could muster up. Megumi had seized
the chance today to inform him that at the rate he was going, Kaoru,
Sano and Yahiko were going to make her a saint soon. Luckily his shishou
had given him a flawless model of the Inflated Ego. Kenshin took his
tips from there.

"I see taking a holiday from working at the clinic hasn't improved your
ego," Kaoru muttered. That had been the excuse concocted by them to
explain why 'Megumi' wanted to stay at the dojo. "But speaking of
improvements, I notice that you've been awfully nice to Sano nowadays.
How come?"

"What do you mean, how come? I ...I just decided to," Kenshin replied
hastily. Let it never be said that he was the quickest of wits when it
came to making up stories. Slay that man, sure no problem. Fight that
war, you got it. Protect that official, consider it done. Lie through
your teeth, no siree. Why not? Don't have the brains to.

"Well, what made you decide to? Did Sano give you a sign?"

"A sign?"

"A sign that he cares. You told me once that you weren't sure whether he
has feelings for you. I'm telling you, the man has it bad for you,
Megumi-san. Look at the way he's been treating you since that fainting
spell."

How could he fail to notice, Kenshin almost ground his teeth. Sano was
in his face everyday. Oooh, nasty, nasty hormones. They were making him
sarcastic, heaven forbid. "I know that Kaoru-san. I just decided that if
...maybe if I treated Sano differently it would help him to ahh
..express himself better."

"Well, lucky you. I treat Kenshin with respect, I show him that if I
were his wife I would honour him in every way and what does he do?
'Kaoru-donno' this and 'Kaoru-donno' that," she mimicked in frustration.
The scrubbing brush fell from Megumi's hands and the lady doctor looked
so shocked that Kaoru grinned.

"Come on, I may love the man but I don't think he's perfect, neh?"

She didn't think he was perfect? He should be offended but instead he
felt relieved. 'How odd.'

"I mean, the government expects Kenshin to be this perfect saviour to
their national crisis. People expect him to be able to help with all
their problems. I ...I just want to help him. But instead he treats me
like I'm glass, like I'll break under the least bit of pressure!"

"But you are fragile, Kaoru-san." If she had had a bokken then she might
just have hit him on the head. He knew that look all too well. But
because she thought he was Megumi, she restrained herself.

"I am not. I have been taking care of myself since I was sixteen. I am
feeding three freeloaders ..well, Kenshin and Yahiko don't count. One is
my housekeeper and the other my student."

"Housekeeper?!"

"Well yes. It's only fair isn't it? Where was I- oh yes, back to the
fragile part. I am certainly capable of looking after myself. And after
all I have proved it, haven't I? I was able to help defend the Aoiya, I
was able to sit and wait for Kenshin to come back. Quite frankly," Kaoru
said, looking off into the distance, her eyes cloudy and far away, "I
think waiting for Kenshin was the more frightening of the two."

"Why was that?" Kenshin couldn't help himself from asking. Kaoru ...the
thought of Kaoru waiting for him had ultimately saved him in the end
but...he might also have died and caused her sadness. She shouldn't have
done that. The dream of her waiting for him was enough.

"It involved a lot of hope, more hope than I knew I had. Of course
Kenshin came back so I was saved from ...from a lot of sadness and
disappointment. But he probably thinks I don't know that, or that I
wasn't prepared to pay that price for my hope. I chose to hope in him. I
didn't do that and expect him to come back and fulfil my expectations. I
did it because ...because I love him," she burst out unhappily. "I don't
ask that Kenshin be a perfect prince on a white horse to come riding to
my rescue but he insists on being that for me! That's why he won't love me."

The wind blew softly over the surface of the water, tossing soapy suds
in the air. Kenshin was absolutely still. Revelation was breaking over
him. He thought Kaoru had deserved what he was giving her, perfection.
He had held the highest standards for himself where she was concerned
only to find out now that she scorned it all. Somewhere he was sure his
shishou was gleefully shouting "Baka deshi!"

"Do you know what people do with their glass ornaments, Megumi-san? They
put them on shelves to display and never touch them. Kenshin treats me
like glass. He's so frightened I'll break that he won't touch me at all.
So I'm always left alone and watching from the distance he has put
between us. And I can't reach out and touch him."

She was so sad. And it was his fault. Numbly Kenshin just sat there and
stared at her. He had thought that all he did was for her happiness, her
safety; that he was doing what she needed because she didn't know better
than to love him. Now he felt not just foolish but ashamed of his lack
of wisdom and sensitivity. He had been hurting her all this while not
just with his actions but also with his condescending attitude. Kaoru
was right, she was no longer a child. She knew what she was doing, was
capable of weighing out the consequences. And he had thought, albeit
lovingly, that he would decide for her because he believed she was not
wise enough.

"I'm sure Ken-san doesn't know any of this Kaoru-san. He just thinks he
is doing what is best for you. He is a very foolish man," Kenshin
intoned quietly.

"Mou, I know that Megumi-san. But please don't get me wrong or think
worse of Kenshin. He's the best thing that walked into my life.
Sometimes he disappoints me, but that's only human. I won't let him get
away," Kaoru chirped determinedly. "Sooner or later I'll get him to see
things the way I do and I know he will understand."

"Hai. I know he will." The lady doctor looked so very grave that Kaoru
felt a smidgen of alarm.

"Promise me you won't scold Kenshin behind my back?" She eyed Megumi
warily. The older woman smiled before chuckling.

"Of course not. Like you said, Ken-san is only human and it's normal to
make mistakes. Give him some time Kaoru, he'll learn and make it up to you."

'Sessha swears I will. I'll spend the rest of my life loving you the way
I should have done. The way I want to ...' It took all his control not
to reach out and caress her cheek. 'My light, my Kaoru...'

Now if only he could get his body back. Then he could make everything
right. Perhaps this was Fate. He could divine no other possible
explanation for the incredible thing that had befallen Megumi-donno and
himself. But to hear the truth from Kaoru's lips, to finally begin to
understand her and himself ...it was worth it.

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