Chapter 4:  Doesn't Really Matter When

Early morning sunlight streamed through the paper doors of the Kamiya dojo, the rays of light reflecting off a tiny head of flame-colored hair. The boy sat next to a futon, silently eyeing the large man who lay tucked underneath the white, sparkling covers. The boy's gaze drifted to the man's face, taking in the rugged planes of his features and the shock of spiky brown hair on his head. It wasn't a displeasing face, and Himura Kenji knew instinctively that if the man was awake, he probably would have been grinning.

The boy's curiosity was so great that some time passed before he noticed the wide brown eyes looking at him warily.

"Who do you belong to, kid?" The deep voice was harsh from disuse and the words resembled a mere croak. Sanosuke leaned back in the futon, searching the innocent violet eyes of the boy beside him. Such an unusual shade of purple was rare, and he couldn't shake the feeling that those eyes were somehow familiar...

Instead of answering his question, the boy shot to his feet with lightning speed and raced toward the paper doors. "Mom! Dad! He's awake!"

Sanosuke winced inwardly at the holler, which caused his head to pound in regular intervals of pain. The shout was soon followed by the sound of rushing feet, and before he knew what was happening, a large crowd of people began to gather in the room, led by a dark-haired woman who looked at him expectantly through clear blue eyes.

"You're okay! I thought you'd never wake up!" Kaoru was soon beside the futon and enveloping Sanosuke in a huge bear hug.

"Hey, hag, you keep squeezing the guy like that and he won't be okay for much longer," muttered Yahiko as he entered the room, pausing only to lift Kenji up into his arms. Kenshin merely smiled as he watched Kaoru draw away from the ex-gangster to give her student an angry glare.

"Okay, everyone, you can calm down," ordered Megumi as she pushed her way forward and knelt beside Kaoru. Putting a hand on Sanosuke's forehead, she nodded approvingly. "Well, Rooster, it appears your fever has gone down. How do you feel?"

Caught up in their own relief, nobody noticed that their patient was staring around the room with a blank expression.

"I feel fine," replied Sanosuke a bit uncertainly. "But who are all you people? And where the hell am I?"

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"He's lost his memory?" gasped Kaoru in shock. "How did that happen?"

Megumi took a sip of her tea before exchanging a knowing glance with Genzai-sensei. "Not all of his memories, raccoon girl, but most of them. He seems to know who he is, but he doesn't remember meeting any of us or what happened afterwards. Even his memories before meeting us are pretty hazy."

"Is something like that even possible?" asked Kenshin with a frown, his violet eyes hidden beneath flame-colored bangs.

"It's called amnesia," replied Genzai-sensei. "If someone suffers an injury to the head, it can sometimes cause memory loss. Most people suffer only some momentary confusion or lose a couple of days worth of memories. But some..."

His words trailed off uncertainly, as if voicing his fears out loud would make them come true.

"What?" demanded Kaoru, her blue eyes widening with worry. Kenshin leaned forward and covered his wife's hand with his own in a calming gesture.

"Others can lose several months worth of memories, some even years," replied Megumi in a low tone.

"There's got to be a way to fix all that," argued Yahiko doggedly. "I mean, you guys are the doctors. Can't you give him something that'll make him remember us again?"

Megumi shook her head. "It doesn't work that way. Most patients will recover on their own. The only thing we can do is make him comfortable and try to trigger Sanosuke's memory by exposing him to things that might seem familiar."

"Yes, things that he may have associated with all of us in the past," added Genzai-sensei. "But there's also the possibility that he may never recover."

Kaoru's eyes narrowed at that grim statement. "No. I refuse to accept that."

"I agree," murmured Kenshin softly, as all eyes turned towards the soft-spoken rurouni. "Sano is a fighter, and we have to believe in him. It may take some time, but he'll pull through."

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"So then what happened?" asked Sanosuke, grinning with amusement at the tiny boy sitting on the edge of his futon.

Kenji waved his small hands in the air excitedly, his exaggerated gestures punctuating his speech. "Then Shishio's fort in the mountain went "BOOM!" But you, Daddy, Aoshi-niichan, and that cop were still stuck inside. Somehow you and Aoshi-niichan got out, but you had to carry Daddy all the way back because he was really hurt."

"Kid, I can't believe your parents would tell you stories like that," muttered Sanosuke under his breath, but his words were just loud enough for Kenji to hear.

"They don't. But I hear them talking about it when they think I'm not listening. And Yahiko-niichan and Misao-neechan told me everything about how all of you fought that mummy-man, Shishio!"

"Everyone came out of the fight okay, right?" Sanosuke found himself hanging on the child's every word, even though it was difficult to decide how much of Kenji's tale was in fact true.

"Yeah! But you all had to stay with Misao-neechan until Daddy got better. Megumi-neechan went all the way to Kyoto to fix everyone up! She even fixed your hand and your head, Sano-niichan."

Kenji paused as a sudden thought struck him. "Don't worry about not remembering. Megumi-neechan will make it all better. She always makes me feel better."

Sanosuke raised an eyebrow. "Megumi. She's the foxy doctor with the long hair, right?"

Kenji nodded solemnly. "She's nice! And really, really smart. But she always makes you swallow medicine that tastes bad, even though she says it will make you feel better.

Kenji wrinkled his nose, much to Sanosuke's amusement.

"Well kid, if the stuff tasted good, it wouldn't be medicine, would it?"

Kenji shrugged his small shoulders thoughtfully. "Her cooking is really, really good though. Much better than Mommy's."

The boy suddenly fell silent, a guilty look on his face.

"What's the matter?" asked Sanosuke, wondering what was eating at the kid now. He'd seen grown men with less energy than this small boy, but he had to admit that Kenji's tales and antics amused him.

Kenji hung his head and focused his violet eyes on the floor. "Daddy says I'm not supposed to say bad things about Mommy's cooking. It hurts her feelings and makes her sad."

"That's right, Kenji," came a voice from the doorway. Both Sanosuke and Kenji looked up to find Kaoru and Megumi watching them with amusement.

"Kenji, it's time to start dinner. You come with me and let Megumi check on her patient."

Kenji nodded and trailed after his mother obediently. Megumi settled herself beside Sanosuke and gave him a questioning look.

Sano grinned. "That kid is something else."

"With parents like his, who would expect anything less?" murmured Megumi as she reached for the fighter's hand to examine it. Unwrapping the bandages, she continued to gently probe the bones.

"Well, Rooster, you must have been doing something right these past few years because your hand is in pretty good shape."

"Really? Well, it ain't like I remember what I did. Hell, I don't even know who *you* are. And this man would never forget a pretty face, I can tell ya that!"

Megumi looked up and gave him a sly grin. "I'll bet. But that definitely wasn't your reaction when we first met. You disliked me on sight."

"Come on, lady-doctor, I'm sure that ain't true!"

Megumi sighed in mock exasperation. "Rooster-head, you've lost almost all your memories but you're *still* arguing with me."

"What can I say? You're a whole lotta fun to provoke." He grinned, his tired brown eyes sparkling.

"We probably have about half an hour before dinner," continued Megumi. "That's enough time for me to tell you about your exact reaction during our first meeting."

She settled herself into a comfortable position on the floor, and Megumi's brown eyes became unfocused as her thoughts drifted to the past. Sanosuke leaned back in his futon and gave the doctor his full attention.

"It all started over six years ago. You and Ken-san were busy gambling when I first ran into you two..."