❝My Rescuer❞ Shipping Meme
There is no possible way the two of you could have gotten off on better footing. One of you saved the other. You were complete strangers - or just as good as - yet someone put aside that fact and swooped in when they saw trouble like a guardian angel, whether because of their own moral reasoning or just being at the right place at the right time. The one who was saved? Well, they can't help but be grateful to their rescuer...and, perhaps, all that high octane emotion will lead to more. After all, you've never felt so much towards one person.
Will you be able to finally have peace alongside this person, or is all really as it seems?
How to Play
- Comment with your character, preferences, and etc. Is your character more likely to rescue, be rescued, or either?
- Reply to others.
- RNG for your prompt and thread!
Prompts
- No Hope: They were in a situation that looked incredibly bleak, such as being kidnapped or held prisoner. It was likely they would never see freedom or happiness again. That was something you couldn't stand for.
- Life Threatening: It was a simple accident, but it could have ended their life. You stepped in and pushed them out of the way or caught them as they fell.
- Harassment: Hey, leave them alone, pal! They clearly don't want your attention or your perverse remarks.
- Stand Up: You're being tormented and verbally abused by your peers. Finally, though, someone steps in and defends you.
- See Myself in You: They're different - like you are. You don't think they deserve to be treated this way...and neither would you.
- Ridiculous: Uh oh. A giant octopus is attacking you! Can anyone, will anyone save you from certain doom?
- Saved...From Boredom: Your life seemed like it was in black and white before this person introduced you to color.
- Superhero: Saving people is your job. Why is this case any different?
- Justice: What's happening before you is disgusting. You have to get justice for this victim; of course, that "justice" may also be needed for yourself and your sense of fragile reality.
- Spur of the Moment: Rescuing someone was never in your plan, but you couldn't pass up the chance.
- Love at First Sight: They saved you, and you fell. Or the other way around.
- Bring Back Happiness: All that was good has faded until you got a new lease on life.
- Guilt Complex: In the past, you failed. You'll never let anyone get hurt again.
- Not Only a Job: Technically, you were hired to take this person from their captor to another captor, yet in the end, you changed your mind.
- Warming Up: You can't help but soften towards someone you owe your life to.
- Honor Among Thieves: Your record may not be squeaky clean, but there are acts even you cannot condone.
- Gone Too Far: Your rage at seeing a living being treated this way has welled up, and the one who was victimized has to pull you back. Can they?
- Hurt Because of Me: In your defense, your savior has been injured. You feel a certain sense of sinking culpability.
- Patched Up: After the fight, both of you care for each others' mental and physical wounds.
- Who Rescued Who?: They may have physically saved you, but you emotionally saved them.
- The Truth Comes Out: You learned that your "rescue" was a fabrication to gain your trust. Has your relationship changed them? Even if it has, can you ever believe them again?
- All's Well: Once out of the limelight and out of harms way, you two can explore the prospect of getting to know each other better.
- Violent Delights Have Violent Ends: Your relationship ends as it began: with violence and despair.
- Doesn't Last: All of your attractions are a flash in the pan. When it comes down to it, you can't make it work between you when there's no danger to draw you close.
- WILDCARD
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bakerstreet2015-01-21 07:28 am
Oi, hello again! =D GET OVER HERE.
/soars toward!!
/wraps in... coat! X3
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[There were some wounds that never truly healed, and Megumi's past was one as such. Kanryuu's ghost would always haunt her, as would the spirits of those that she'd inadvertently killed with her opium. Sometimes, when the clinic was silent and moon was lost in the sky, Megumi could swear that she heard Kanryuu's footsteps, the cold insincerity of his laugh, and the oily poison of his words.]
[Those nights came less and less when she kept herself busy, and even more in the presence of friends. Aoshi and Misao were in Tokyo for a visit, and Misao had gone with Kaoru while Aoshi came to see Megumi at the clinic. The last time had been - well, when Megumi believed Kaoru to be dead.]
[She was glad that he'd come under more pleasant circumstances this time.]
How is everything in Kyoto?
[The doctor passed Aoshi a cup of hot tea over the table where they were seated.]
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[Is that why she can welcome him so freely now, despite having every reason to call upon old grudges and reject him at her very doorstep? He doesn't know, and might not care. Today is what matters.]
The tranquility has helped us rebuild. On our own, despite a slew of job offers from the government.
[Strong steady hands accept the teacup, their fingers lightly and briefly making contact. Closing his eyes, he breathes in its vapors.]
Okina wanted to know if---
[Anything else he would've said is lost to a rapping at the Oguni Clinic's door. Very loud and very insistent.]
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[More than that, they were all trying to find atonement in the new world, and lent their strength to one another when they needed it. Megumi knew that these were the reasons that they all understood each other, and she was glad for it.]
[Her mouth thinned into a line. The government hadn't done well by her in putting Kenshin in the position that they did.]
I am glad to hear it. Imagine having to work with a policeman like the one we know.
[No need to say Saitou's name - they all knew who she meant.]
If? . . .
[She cut herself off, immediately rising to her feet, her brows knit.]
There might be an emergency - wait here, Aoshi-san.
[Megumi hurried to the gates, opening the door to admit a man who seemed to be groaning in pain. He specifically asked for Takani-sensei, and she shut the door behind him.]
What's the matter?
[When she went to touch his forehead, feeling it to be neither feverish nor cold and clammy, and seeing no further real signs of pain, she knew something was wrong.]
What is going on here?
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[The man's eyes--- not unlike a wounded dog's trying to invoke sympathy in passers-by--- suddenly shrink to hawk-like slits. His right hand, hidden beneath his kimono to hold a stomach decidedly not churning in pain, suddenly lashes out like a leaping cobra. The cold steel of an American revolver is now inches away from Megumi's forehead.]
So he sent me.
[His lips curl into a diabolic sneer. It's like a conduit has opened between a patch of Heaven--- this very clinic--- and a slice of Hell--- where the blackest part of her past lairs behind bars. The devil himself is laughing at her through his emissary. Telling Megumi that her 'new life' and 'bright future' are utter lies. Did she really think herself free of him? Her soul had always been forfeit.]
[And now, as the assassin's finger tightens on the trigger, perhaps Megumi will realize one thing with awful clarity: he's finally come to collect.]
[OOC: Stopping here for Megumi's reaction. This is all happening in the space of seconds. 8D]
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[Perhaps it was deja vu for Aoshi to witness this again - to see that same terror in her eyes when she saw the leader of the Oniwabanshuu standing in the Kamiya dojo after believing it was all over. Just like then, she had fallen to her knees, frozen in abject fear. The difference was that this time, she truly believed she was going to die.]
[Megumi wished she could say something, but no words came. She hoped that Ken-san and her friends wouldn't take her death too badly . . . she hated to see them in pain.]
[She stared into the man's eyes, waiting for the bullet. She didn't even have time to say goodbye.]
[ooc; thanks!]
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[And when he reaches the clinic's foyer, time seems to fold back upon itself. He's looking back on the day he'd come to challenge Battousai. But now, Megumi's not kneeling before some embittered warrior out to reclaim his pride. It's a coward with a gun, acting on behalf of another coward who wouldn't leave her alone. To be confronted with two reminders of old wounds is as paralyzing as the waters of a freezing lake; to Aoshi's mind, all of his demons have finally come to drown him.]
[But in the blink of an eye, that shock gives way to cold rage and determination. Give him the strength to swim up and away from those dark waters. This time, he can protect what must truly be cherished. This time... he can make things right.]
[And with his swords too far away to even think of reaching for, he does the only thing there is to do: he hurls the teacup straight into the assassin's face. The target screams, throwing his hands up to wipe scalding brew out of his eyes. With that window of opportunity, a couple of long strides are all Aoshi needs to cross the room and leap past Megumi. The gunman's able to recover just enough to pull the trigger before the onmitsu's fist crashes into his nose.]
[It's hard to tell what's louder: the gunshot or the snap of broken cartilage. The force of the blow sends the assassin out the door and onto the street. The screams tell Aoshi that the police will be here soon. He turns to face Megumi, chest heaving. The look in her eyes is deja vu of the most soul-rending kind, even if it's not meant for him. There is a fleeting hint of sympathy, even softness, in his voice when he speaks to her:]
Get back inside. There may be more of---
[It's not concern for her that suddenly brings him to his knees; it's the sharp burning pain that suddenly lances up his chest. He holds his hands to it... and is not surprised when they come away crimson. As he stares, the spot of blood marking the bullet's nest spreads over the plain white of his kimono. A bloodstained letter from the devil, telling him that if he can't have Megumi's soul, he'll be just as glad to have his.]
Ta...kani...
[He tries to reach for her. To get her to safety until help arrives. Maybe tell her, at long last, that he's sorry for their past and hopes that she'll live well. But as red begins to creep into the corners of his vision, he knows his time is up.]
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[She could finally move again, and she scrambled to her feet, but she barely had time to do anything else before there was the sound of a gunshot and an instantaneous, crimson mark of Aoshi's chest.]
No!
[The scream was ripped from her throat, and she watched as it was Aoshi's turn to fall to his knees. This time - this time she was jolted into action. She didn't have time to pause, not when every second counted. She wasn't strong enough to carry him to an operating table by herself, so she yelled for help from passersby.]
Please - please, somebody help me, I can't carry him!
[Some men who had come to see what the commotion was all about came to her aid, offering to hold Aoshi up by his shoulders to get him into the operating room. She instructed one of them to press down on the bullet wound to staunch the bleeding. Megumi couldn't care about the assassin or about Kanryuu right now - not when there was someone wounded and in need of medical assistance. Let the police take care of them. She was a doctor, first and foremost. Everything else could wait.]
[Without hesitation, she donned her surgical gown and tucked her hair back with a cloth. Her instruments were ready, and she disinfected her hands as quickly and as thoroughly as she could. The men asked her what they could do, and she told them to hold Aoshi still.]
I won't let you die.
[Her eyes were steely as she faced Aoshi again, opening his kimono to begin the procedure. Death was a very real possibility, even if the bullet hadn't hit any vital organs - if he bled dry, death would still claim him.]
[She wouldn't allow it to come under her watch.]
Hold still . . .
[She gave him cloth to bite - it would be painful, and with no anesthetics available, he needed any way to cope. Megumi poured disinfectant onto the area and began the procedure to find the bullet, take it out, and close the wound.]
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[A jolt of wet searing pain brings him back into the real world. The agony is so white-hot intense that he would most certainly have bitten his tongue off if not for the cloth in his mouth. Through the bloody haze of his vision, he's able to make out the presence of strangers holding him down. And of Megumi Takani, her face a steely focused mask as she races against the clock. So unlike the frightened doe she's been just seconds ago.]
[There was a time when he'd been able to end her life with a mere command from their mutual master. How the tides have shifted. Now... it's him who's completely at her mercy.]
I won't let you die.
[He has enough time to meet her eyes before she starts making good on this vow. He's never needed words, and one slow blink is all he needs to convey his thoughts to her.]
My life is in your hands.
[The pain flares anew and Aoshi Shinomori bites down hard. He does not scream; even here, hovering between life and death, he's too proud for that. All he will do is groan and sometimes strain against those keeping him strapped to the table. The heat from the bullet still lodged inside him seems to be burning him from within and getting worse by the moment. His face has long gone pale, bangs matted to his brows from the sweat streaming down his forehead.]
[There's a part of him begging for sweet release. To succumb and let the devil has his due. But there's a far stronger part of him that calls him weak and foolish for even considering that. There are people waiting for his return. More immediately, to die here would be a grave dishonor to the one working to bring him back.]
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[She found the bullet quickly, extracting it with a pair of forceps and discarding it. After this was the meticulous part - sewing the wound closed. Her hands were steady, her movements certain; she was, in fact, known amongst the locals for how smoothly she conducted surgery, no doubt spread around by Sanosuke's friends after watching her patch one of their guys up. Now, she had an audience yet again, half of whom were terrified and repulsed, the other half awe-struck as she slowly but surely closed the wound in Aoshi's flesh.]
[She could feel the resolve radiating off him - this was a man whose dedication was strong as hers. He had people to live for. Her eyes found his, and she understood.]
Wipe his forehead and neck.
[She all but barked orders at the man closest to her, who hurried to grab a piece of linen from the nearest cabinet. There were little comforts one could offer during a surgery in those days, and it was better if the patient had passed out. However, it would take more than a bullet wound to send Aoshi to sleep; she knew that much.]
[Millimeter by millimeter, she sutured his flesh until the wound was finally, mercifully closed. She finished the surgery with another wash of disinfectant, a topical anesthetic that would at least alleviate the pain a little, and a spread of her family's special medicine to stop the bleeding.]
The surgery is finished. Thank you.
[She nodded to the men surrounding Aoshi, who all nodded to her as well and expressed their awe at her skill. She shook her head, waving their compliments away. When she offered them compensation for their time, they all denied the money and showed themselves out.]
[Megumi glimpsed the police outside the operating room. Knowing that Aoshi would be safe, she cleaned up quickly, then went to the police chief to tell him of what happened. He promised that he would investigate Kanryuu thoroughly, and Megumi watched tiredly as he too departed through the wrecked gate.]
[She walked back towards the operating room where Aoshi was resting, finding a stool and sitting beside him wordlessly.]
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[That's when half-lidded blue eyes open, meeting her studious brown ones as she sits down. Slowly, he lifts a hand to his bare chest, fingers settling very lightly upon the bandage that's now there. He's looking at it, seemingly marveling at it like he's never seen anything like it his whole life. Then he turns to her again, voice as low and husky as anyone's would be after surviving untold torment.]
Up until today, I have never seen you at work.
[And the irony that his first time would see himself as the patient wasn't lost on him.]
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You're welcome to come and observe my practice here at the clinic whenever you want.
[She leaned against the side of the operating table, letting the stress of the evening slowly wash away. It had taken about an hour to suture his wound, another half-hour to talk to the chief of police - to think that earlier that evening, they'd simply been having tea.]
[No doubt Kaoru, Misao, and everyone else would be horrified. She briefly wondered if she could get Sanosuke to fix the gate.]
Thank you for saving me.
[She would've been dead if he hadn't stepped in.]
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[He's thinking of Misao and how it would take a whole precint's worth of policemen to keep her away from Kanryuu's jail cell. She'd never met him, but by Kwannon, he knows very well that she would beat him to a bloody pulp till he looked nothing remotely human. Then he would wish Battousai had killed him all those months ago.]
[With color since returned to his face, he seems to be back to his usual stone-cold disposition. He stares at the ceiling, watching shadows shift up there via the streetlights cast through the window.]
[Then:]
Was it your intent to let him have you so easily?
[He doesn't mean the assassin.]
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[As for Aoshi's question . . . she looked down at her hands.]
I will atone for my sins the best that I can, but if death has come to claim me because of what I've done, I will let it.
That being said . . . [I was afraid. I couldn't move. I believed that I was going to die. She couldn't bring herself to say it. She still had her pride, after all.]
[Megumi looked away, hiding the tears that squeezed themselves out of her eyes. She always tried to be strong, not just for herself but for her family, whose name she bore, and for Ken-san and their friends. She didn't want Aoshi to see her cry, but then, it wouldn't be the first time, would it?]
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[Despair is treacherously infectious, and for awhile, Megumi's manages to overwhelm him. Lesser men would've risen right there and left without a word. Perhaps abandoned all that mattered today and find another despicable crime lord to work for. Or take those swords up to throw himself at the strongest opponents again and again, until there can be no doubt about who is the mightiest of all.]
[But like the best of spies, Aoshi Shinomori is able to step back and see the bigger picture. This had always been his gift, and with his mind so much clearer than it had been that final night in Kanryuu's estate, he needs it now more than ever. She needs it now.]
The night Battousai came to rescue you.
[He lets his words dangle on purpose so that Megumi will have no choice but to turn to him. Not without wiping her tears away first, no doubt. Out of respect for her dignity, he keeps his eyes shut.]
Do you remember what I said to you then?
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"A painful life or an easy death."
[She squared her shoulders, balling her hands into fists in momentary anger. Anger at herself, at Kanryuu, at everything that had happened. And then she lets it all out in a tired, pursed breath.]
I've already made my choice.
[Of course she did - Ken-san, Kaoru, Sanosuke, Yahiko - they all depended on her. But it was one thing to fight against death, and another to accept one's fate.]
I will pay for what I'd done in whatever way I can. The police said that if Ken-san didn't take care of Shishio, they'd try me for my crimes. I said that I'd rather face the noose.
If the end of the road has come for me, I'll accept it. In the meantime, I won't forget what I have to do.
[She hoped Aoshi understood.]
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Then you know that death will come when it pleases, and not when you want it to. No matter how badly that might be.
[He opens his eyes now, curling his fingers around the bed's railing in thought.]
Between that and still having a whole life left to atone with... kneeling before your past again would be a step backward.
[Their eyes meet and he holds her gaze. It's complicated, of course; she's no onmitsu or hardened hitokiri. She couldn't possibly have responded to the assassin the way those from his 'world' would have. She'd seemed too resigned to her fate, too willing to be punished, and that's what had bothered him.]
And believe what you like, but that is a step no one who values you wants you to take.
[This is about more than just living, which is something they'd both learned from Battousai. It's about breaking free, whether it's kneeling in terror before an assassin or seeing your misdeeds repeated before your very eyes.]
[He'd understood Megumi. Now he hopes she understands him. His tone softens.]
The next time you face death... try to make things a little easier for those who want you alive.
[Kneeling certainly hadn't helped. Anyone else, Sagara maybe, would've made that clear with a wry smirk. Not Aoshi. His blank slate of a face would put that Egyptian Sphinx to shame.]
[...though, he could have let something slip between his lips, hidden by the rim of the water glass he's now sipping. Hard to tell. Women have their secrets but so do spies.]
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[She remembered how Kenshin had simply given up when they believed that Kaoru was dead. Aoshi had been the voice of reason then, despite their sorrow. Megumi was quick to surrender as well today, and that again, it was Aoshi trying to make things right.]
[She couldn't help the quirk of her lips. It was all so ironic.]
Maybe I should start meditating like you do.
[Her voice shook, but it was at least a way for her to say that she understood.]
Thank you, again.
[She would never truly be rid of her fatalistic mindset - after all, she remembered all too clearly how she told Kaoru that she was willing to die for love, just like Tomoe, or to die for her sins, as she told the police when they came to Kenshin about Shishio. But Megumi would remember the things Aoshi said and see the wisdom in his words.]
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If you do it in Kyoto, see that you pass the Aoiya. Okina misses your vulpine beauty and scintillating wit.
[A beat, followed by a non-vocalized internal sigh.]
His words. Not mine.
[And this time, when her gratitude is voiced again, he meets it not with a thoughtful grunt or even a blunt reminder that she didn't have to do it twice. Neither of them feel... right... at this moment in time, with the two of them pulling each other out of the dark mires of yesterday.]
[This time, he touches the bandage on his chest anew and moves his head in a curt but reverent nod-bow. And though his low voice whispers a sincere and meaningful, "You're welcome.", Megumi wouldn't have a hard time realizing what he's really saying.]
Thank you.
[It's not her time to die yet. Neither is it Aoshi's. But for this? It would certainly be worth it.]
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Surely Kyoto has its share of beautiful ladies - enough to satisfy Okina-san, at least.
[A small, wry smile quirked at her lips, but her voice was soft and kind when she replied.]
You're welcome.
[She sat there in silence a moment, allowing the two of them that brief pause to collect their thoughts before she rose up from her chair.]
No doubt Misao-chan has already heard what happened here - or if she hasn't, she will when she gets back from her day out with Kaoru-san. You'll have to stay here for the night, and I'm also certain Misao-chan will do the same, to keep an eye on you and me.
[Another dry smile.]
I'd advise that you stay here for a week at the very least - I don't want you tearing those stitches out, even if you don't mean to.
I'll just prepare some dinner. I'm sure everyone will be visiting, so expect company.
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[Because he has something far better in mind.]
*
[Two weeks later, at Tokyo's largest prison, star inmate Takeda Kanryuu--- up until now the proud recipient of his own luxurious quarters, expensive food from a personal chef, and constant contact with the outside world through messengers--- requested for transfer to maximum security.]
[Officially, he did it out of fear of his fellow inmates, jealous of what his wealth and connections have brought him even behind bars. Further probing, though, reveals a different story.]
[It seems that two weeks after the failed attack on Megumi Takani, Kanryuu opened the silver platter on his morning's breakfast to find a large tuft of his own hair. It had been taken from the back of his head sometime during the night. SWiftly, silently, and almost surely with some kind of blade. Kanryuu would've blamed this on another inmate or some guard with a grudge, but there had been a slip of paper tucked with the hair. On it had been these words:]
Better to count your money than lose hair over appointments you cannot keep.
[Strangely, prison officials saw no more than a blank slip of paper by the time Kanryuu showed it to them. But he knew what he'd seen and he knew exactly who'd done it. And that was why he'd been more than happy to trade his once-safe suite for the 24/7 presence of unforgiving guards and inmates much more hardened than him.]
[For the rest of his days, Takeda Kanryuu--- once Tokyo's undisputed opium lord and would-be merchant of death--- knew what it was to live in abject fear of shadows from the past.]
*
[That same day, Misao wondered where the bottle of Oniwabanshu invisible ink she'd meant to show Suzume and Ayame* had gone to. Aoshi was more than happy to return it.]
((*OOC: They're from the anime, of course, but I couldn't resist using them. XD Oh, that's a wrap? =3))
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