Part I -- The Saga Begins

    Passersby stopped to stare at the large man sweeping past them on the streets.  He was almost too tall, his hair almost too long, his features too sharp and hard.  The immense cape he wore flowed out behind him dramatically, yet he wore it well, carrying himself like a true king.  Yet he was alone, burdened with only the rather bulky sack on his back (which sloshed, if one listened closely enough) and the large jug of sake strapped to his arm.
    He reached an intersection and sighed, looking around in frustration.  He should have known better than to trust directions given by a wanderer, and he had every intention of letting the man know -- just as soon as he found him.
    A woman passing by caught his eye.  She struck him as someone almost worthy of himself, beautiful and quick witted -- he could tell by looking at her that she was intelligent and sharp.  She carried a medical kit with her, and by the way she moved he knew at once she was a well-bred doctor.  He called out to her.  "Onnasensei!"
    Dark hair perhaps as long as his own cascaded down her back, blown lightly in the breeze and further moved by the turn of her head as she oriented on his voice.  Cinnamon eyes narrowed briefly in an attempt to recall where she knew him from, then she dismissed the feeling.  "May I help you?"
    He approached her, towering over her though she was no waif.  Closer still, he could appreciate the shape of her mouth, her fair skin.  She would make a nice trophy bride, he thought in passing, well able to support them both.  He filed the thought away for future reference; he was only here to ask directions under the assumption that a doctor would know where everything was.  "I was given terrible directions to find the Kamiya Dojo.  Tell me how to get there."
    At the mention of the dojo, however, the doctor's eyes widened in surprise, but suspicion narrowed them quickly.  "What do you want with the Kamiya Dojo?"
    "I'm looking for my baka deshi.  You may have heard of him.  Himura Kenshin."  For good measure, the arrogant man flashed his best smile at the woman.
    She seemed unimpressed.  "What do you want with him?"  If anything, she seemed more suspicious of him than before.
    "I'm expected."
    She studied him for a long moment.  Indifferently she turned and walked away.
    No one had ever treated him like THAT before...  His jaw dropped the barest inch for an entire second before he recovered his composure and strode after her.  "What do you --"
    Without looking back or slowing down, and with a toss of her lustrous hair, the woman kept walking and cut him off mid sentence.  "I'm going there myself.  Follow me if you insist."
    That was twice she'd floored him.  Left with nothing to say, he took a long swig from the jar at his wrist without losing pace.  There was something familiar about the woman; perhaps he'd seen her before.  Whatever it was, he didn't think very highly of her.  Who did she think she was anyway, to treat him like any old stranger?  Lady physician or no, beautiful or not, he deserved far better than that.
    "Is someone at the dojo unwell?"
    The woman ahead of him snorted delicately.  "That's simply a matter of definition," she said drily.
    The man nodded to himself.  So no one was sick; that was good.  He had no desire to be around disease.  Even better, he'd learned something else: the woman doctor was not without humor.
    He looked around, wondering how long it would take.  He suspected the woman was leading him on a roundabout route.  "Are we there yet?" he said, the impatience creeping into his voice.
    "Almost," she said, but not before looking back over her shoulder at him in irritation.
    A moment later she rounded a corner and approached a rather dilapidated compound.  It was well lived in and cared for, but clearly money was a concern.  He heard the sounds of preparation and practice coming from within its doors, and hmphed.
    "Here we are," she said as she opened the doors.
     A young man, not yet in his teens, was practicing in the yard under the guidance of a woman somewhat younger than the doctor.  Both were wearing hakama and gi that showed signs of considerable wear.  Inside the doors, the signs were much more obvious.  Here was a place that was not making enough to support itself well and attract more students.  He recognized the practicing pair at once, but was too involved in looking around.
    "Is this a dojo?" he asked incredulously.  The woman doctor, sitting now on the porch, almost smiled but hid it behind her hand as the other woman bristled furiously.
    "Hikosan, I don't care if you were Kenshin's shishou, or if you did save our lives back in Kyoto...  STOP KNOCKING MY DOJO!!"  Kaoru looked ready to bust her bokken over his head.
    "Oiy, Hikosan!!"  Yahiko kept his pace, calling his greeting with a grin.  "Don't let the ugly toad scare you off."
    He might have blocked it if he'd been a split second faster, but the exaggerated face he'd been pulling distracted him.  Kaoru's bokken never hesitated in its repetitive flurry of blows over his head.
    "I never have.  Where is he, anyway?"
    At that moment, Kenshin emerged from within.  "At least you aren't trying to get me back for my last visit," he smiled.  Hiko glared at him, remembering how his former student had tried to sneak up behind him and attack while he'd been working on his pottery.
    "Little you know."  Just then he looked around again, noticing the doctor was still there.  "I suppose I should thank you for getting me unlost.  The directions I was given were, as usual, as useless as my student who gave them."  Though he addressed the doctor the entire time, his last words were directed very pointedly at Kenshin.
    "Shishou, you never follow directions anyway.  What difference if the ones I gave you were good or not?" Kenshin said with feigned innocence.  Kaoru and Yahiko had drifted over in the meantime.
    "Megumisan, did you bring any onigiri today?"  Yahiko looked plaintively at the beautiful woman.
    "I'm afraid not, Yahiko.  Genzaisensei and the girls got to them before I could pack them up," she said.
    "You gotta start sneaking around them.  We haven't had your onigiri in too long," he grumbled.
    "Oiy, did the Kitsune bring them?" Sano entered the gates with a hopeful look.
    Yahiko shook his head.  "We're stuck with whatever Kenshin made, or we'll have to suffer through the toad's cooking," he sighed.  "She has to start sneaking them past the old man and the kids, or we're never gonna get any either."
    Hiko watched the by-play with some interest.  So, the woman doctor was named Megumi, and she seemed to be friends with the small group that lived here.  Watching her surreptitiously, he noticed that she was watching Kenshin the same way.  So, she was also in love with that stubborn student of his, was she.  When she could have him, he wondered, what was wrong with her?  She clearly deserved better than that, and he was evidently hung up on the girl instructor.  Still, she would only give Kenshin what he deserved, while this Megumi just as obviously could give so much, and deserved so much better than the redhead.
    Which, of course, would be where he came in.
    He took a swig of sake and sat on the porch as if he owned the place.  Megumi moved over, making room for him on the steps as she knelt by one of the supports.  Sano leaned on the wall behind her, chewing on a fish bone.  "Tell me about it.  Oiy, Kenshin, ain't ya gonna introduce me to this guy?"
    "Oro...  Suman de gozaru!"  Hiko turned a sarcastic eyebrow on his former disciple.  "Shishou, you didn't get to meet Sano in Kyoto.  Hiko Seijuurou, meet my friend Sagara Sanosuke."  The two men eyed each other, each forming an opinion that, if they'd compared, would have matched one another's closely.
    "Takani Megumidono is a very skilled physician and a good friend as well," Kenshin added.  At that, Hiko actually rose and bowed graciously and formally to the startled woman.
    "Hajimemashite.  And I am glad to have been formally introduced," he added with another raised eyebrow in Kenshin's direction.  "Please, don't bother getting up, sensei."
    He didn't miss the gaping stares he was getting from Kenshin, Kaoru, and Yahiko.  He just chose to ignore them.
    She inclined her head, not entirely sure what he was about.  Talk about sending mixed messages; to Megumi he seemed entirely too arrogant, but this sudden display of chivalry towards her threw her off.  "Hajimemashite," she replied almost automatically.
    "So, what brings you here?" Sano asked.  "I know Kenshin mentioned you were planning a visit but we expected you hours ago."
    "That one can't give directions to save his life."
    "Actually, Kenshin gives good directions," Yahiko chimed in.  "If you remember to reverse everything," he grinned.
    Kenshin gave the younger man a look that clearly told him what he could do with his comments.
    Even Kaoru was laughing.  "Kenshin, didn't you have refreshments ready for Hikosan?"
    The former rurouni nodded and retreated into the kitchen.
    "Kenshin mentioned you wanted to talk to him about something, but wouldn't say what," Yahiko addressed their visitor.  "Do we get to go off and save the world again?"
    "I don't think I'd go that far, brat.  It was only Japan we saved last time."  Sano grinned at his young friend.
    Yahiko shrugged.  "Close enough."
    The master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu shook his head.  "It's nothing like that.  This time, it's personal," he said, looking up and away, as though it was too much for them to be aware of.  "I wouldn't even discuss it with Kenshin, except that it's too important."
    Kenshin emerged with a tray at that moment, passing it around.  "What is?"
    "The reason he's here," Sano said, rolling his eyes.
    "I've come for a bride.  When I arrived, I found one."  Rising, he looked straight at Megumi.  "She will be my wife."
    "Ororororo..."  Kenshin looked as if he'd been beaten about the head again, and the others felt no less floored.  Hiko Seijuurou wanted Megumi to marry him?
    Megumi looked ready to throw him out by his cape, but Sano was the first to recover.
    "Marry the Kitsune?  Are you nuts or just stupid?"  The tall ex-gangster nearly fell over.
    He pretended not to notice how Megumi's glare turned on him.
    "Granted, she can cook, and she does a decent job of healing and stuff, but she's...  she's..."
    Now it was him the others turned to look at with incredulous expressions.  Suddenly he seemed at a loss for words, his face reddening with embarrassed frustration.
    "Do tell," Hiko invited drily.
    "Forget it," Sano muttered, suddenly intent on stuffing his face.
    Another piece fell into place for the big man.  So this loudmouth was in love with Megumi, was he?  It was an interesting triangle -- though perhaps it was more of a quadrangle, he mused.  Sanosuke loved Megumi, who along with Kaoru was in love Kenshin, who loved Kaoru in return -- maybe.  Still, as far as he was concerned, she was available.  She didn't seem to like the loudmouth that much, which ought to make it easier for him.  Now all he had to do was convince her she deserved better than his baka deshi, who proved just how foolish he was by not having taken her for himself.  All to his benefit, Hiko figured.
    What he didn't take into account was just how much of a challenge it would be to convince her that he was worth taking care of.  For that was his intention, after all; a bride was someone to bear children and care for her husband.  If she could support them as well as look after their home and his needs, that was better yet, saving him the trouble of earning a steady living and giving him still more time to work on his pottery.
    "Just what makes you think I'd marry you anyway?  I don't know a thing about you."  Megumi managed to keep her cool, though she was clearly on the edge of a major eruption.  She seemed to be concentrating on the ends of her magnificent hair, but Kenshin could clearly see the tic of anger.  "Nor do you know anything about me."
    "I know enough."  Hiko smiled, cranking up his best sparkle for her benefit.  She didn't even seem to notice.  He tried harder.
    The Kenshingumi just stared at the both of them, unsure if they ought to be amused or afraid, so they settled for intrigued.  "I used to wonder what would happen if they met," Yahiko confessed softly to Sano.  "You shoulda seen him back at the Aoiya.  Omasu and Ochika were way into him, with the show he put on."
    "Yeah.  The Kitsune ain't into flashy guys.  Wonder how long it'll take him to figure out?  Hey, do you think we should tell him she thinks heavy drinkin's a major turnoff?"
    "No way.  Much more fun this way," Yahiko sniggered.  "I gotta say the guy's too cool for words, but this is too funny to pass up."
    "Look at that jerk, strikin' poses like she'd go for that!"  Sano looked disgusted; Hiko was indeed all but flexing his muscles for her.  Every line of his body said, "Look at me, I'm a hunk and you want me!"  The ex gangster was no more impressed than Yahiko or Kenshin, but they seemed interested next to Megumi.  Kaoru, however, was another story.
    "Still, you have to admit it's an impressive show," Kenshin added quietly.
    "Impressive?  What is wrong with her!?" Kaoru demanded in a sharp whisper.  "Hiko Seijuurou is interested in her and she couldn't care less!  If I were her I'd be all over him!"  Suddenly she blushed furiously.  "Umm. I'm glad I'm not though," she blurted with a nervous look at Kenshin, who hardly seemed to have noticed.
    "What's wrong with me is, I'm not so easily swayed by an oversized ego and a bunch of big muscles.  Big muscles just take more stitches," she said offhandedly.  "And I don't have patience for this nonsense," she added to Hiko.  "I won't marry some drunk off the street, even if you did teach Kensan everything he knows.  My guess is, he learned better than you could ever have taught."  With a toss of lustrous, long black hair, she rose and gathered up her medicine bag.  "Now if you'll excuse me, I promised Genzaisensei I'd not be long."
    "May I escort you?" Hiko said smoothly.
    Megumi shook her head.  "Thank you but it won't be necessary.  It's not far and I need time to think," she said coolly.
    "Ooh, rejected!" Yahiko murmured.
    Kaoru elbowed him in the ribs.  "Hush you!"
    Hiko Seijuurou, master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, potter (and drinker) extraordinaire, mountain of a man with an ego to match, nodded meekly.  "As you wish, then, Takanisensei."  The meekness was an act.  The dejection wasn't...  Megumi saw that even before she turned and walked away.  They all watched her go.
    Once she was out of sight, Hiko turned back to Kenshin.  "And that, student-turned-teacher, is why I've come.  I want you to teach me how you did it."
    "Oro?"
    "Made two women love you so strongly."
    "Ororororroo...."