How Okina Broke his Hand

submitted by aoi_tsuki

"Gramps?" Misao tapped the old man on the shoulder. "Shouldn't you say
goodbye to Megumi-san now?"

A glazed, suspiciously heart-shaped look had come over Okina, who was all but drooling as Megumi headed out the door.

"He'll live to regret it if he tries," Aoshi said from a safe distance, watching with resigned disapproval as Okina began to creep towards his target.

"I'm warning you, Gramps! Keep your hands off!" Misao hissed, but it was too late: Megumi had paused to say something and turned around just in time to crash right into Okina as he lunged for her.

Megumi had only a second to ascertain the old man's intentions, but they were clear enough, and she instantly twisted away, swinging the small basket in her right hand so that his grasping hands caught empty air and he fell in a heap across the doorway.

"I just wanted a bit," he whined, giving the doctor his best innocent look, and was rewarded with a sandal to the forehead.

"You may NOT," Megumi snapped, kneeling to see if he'd hurt himself in the fall. "You know very well that I would never permit--"

But it was too late. Okina had already pulled himself up with lighting speed and was rummaging through the basket.

One swift flurry of movement later, Aoshi, looking even more dour than usual, was holding Okina down while Megumi set his broken hand with a minimum of gentleness. "Honestly, if you wanted some of my cooking so badly, you should have said something!"

Okina's only reply was a mumble: "Remind me again how you can make a wicker basket break a man's hand?"