Brief intro!! Okay, I do not own the Characters, and, lets just say that Tomoe is alive and ran away after the war because Kenshin wanted her to be safe.. dun dun dun! Let the fic begin!!!! ^^

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*` Chapter One: Secrets

As the snow fell on her kimono, she looked at the man beside her, the only man she had ever loved and sat on the bench amidst the cherry blossoms. "I'll be waiting here...waiting for your return... Kenshin, 7 years from now..."

"Kenshin!! Get off your lazy butt and help me with the laundry!" Kaoru yelled as she rolled up her sleeves and started pulling off clothes from the clothesline. "Hai hai Kaoru- dono..." Kenshin answered as he toppled over a few baskets as he made his way towards Kaoru. It's been 5 months since their encounter with the Demi-god Shojo Amakusa, and nothing just as exciting has been happening around town.

The townsfolk go over the same monotonous routine everyday of the week, 24 hours a day. They get up in the morning, make themselves spic and span, do their laundry, and get to work. Nothing seems to go in their way for the next couple of months at least. These boring months without any adventure at all even made Kenshin wish that Shishio was still alive. Meanwhile, life in the dojo hasn't changed for the passed few months too. About 3 weeks after the Shojo Amakusa incident, the town was bursting with rumors, gossips and etc.

"Hey did you know what Kenshin did when he went face to face with Shojo Amakusa? It was really rad!" Well, the intensity died out eventually, and people got tired of talking about it when they practically told everyone in town about it. Even thought 7 months has already passed since Sayo's death, Sano can't bear to forget the memory of her, which still lives inside of him. Kaoru wouldn't even bother to make Sano help out with the chores since she knew what he'd been through. But this even made Yahiko mutter, "You lucky stiff." Under his breath every time he passed Sano with a rag on his hand.

"Yahiko! Get your sword and start warming up! I'll be right there in a sec." Kaoru said as she made her hair into the usual ponytail. "Alright, alright." Yahiko said as he stiffled a yawn and dragged his feet towards the sword stand and pulled out his bamboo sword. He was practicing his sword techniques for the past 5 months, hoping that something far more exciting would happen, but unfortunately, that day didn't come. Finally, Kaoru entered the dojo dragging a 6-foot mannequin made out of dry leaves and old clothes for Yahiko's personal practice guinea pig.

"Remember to imagine that this is a real person, okay? Also remember to hit it in a person's weak points. The head, the stomach and the knees. I'm going to go to the market to buy food for tonight alright?" Kaoru instructed as she swung the doors and walked towards the gate. From here, she can still see Kenshin running from one place to another carrying the basket, this time, with clothes in it. She smiled and locked the gates behind her and made her way down the street towards the Town Square, the busiest part of town where most of the shops are found. Kenshin...I've been meaning to tell you...how much I care for you, but I don't know if it's time yet... She thought.

Kenshin has been tirelessly running back and forth in and out of the dojo as he did the laundry. Sano has been sitting on the porch for at least half a day chewing on his fish bone. (Like he usually does) After all this time, he still can't forget the warm smile of Sayo, or the sweet sound of her voice, ringing in his head. He still can't believe he had let her die...

Tomoe...I wonder what you're doing now...Kenshin thought as he dropped the last batch of his laundry inside the dojo. It's been 6 years since he last talked to her, and he couldn't help but think about the promise they made. He smiled weakly as he began folding the clothes one by one, neatly into a pile. He can still hear muffled sounds of Yahiko's battle cries inside the dojo. "Heeya! Waya!" A small smile spread across his lips as he imagined Yahiko hitting the mannequin that Sano made with his sword, predicting that Yahiko will be crying later on fussing over some scratch he made on his sword while training.

"KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNSHIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!" A piercing scream broke the silence in the dojo. Kenshin quickly recognized it as Yahiko's and dropped the kimono that he was folding a moment ago and ran towards the other dojo. He swung the doors and found Yahiko in a crumpled heap on the ground...stunned. His face was pale..as if he'd just seen a ghost walk passed him. He was shaking, and his jaw was wide open. His pupil had gone two times smaller than it's normal size and his sword was on the other side of the room. Kenshin heard plopping sounds on the corner of the room. plip it went again. ploop. It was the sound or dripping water. Kenshin followed Yahiko's eyes and came across a crack on the wall. Red liquid... Blood

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Kaoru had reached the town's square 15 minutes after she left. She was holding an empty basket on one hand and her grocery list on the other. She had bought a few vegetables and fruits and put them in her basket. Tofu and meatballs came next. When she finally bought everything she had listed, she just couldn't resist going through the bargains. It was already sunset when she finished with her "shopping" and made her way back to the dojo. On her way, she came across a deserted road. There were 2 mean looking guys who were trying to rob a little girl.

Kaoru stopped dead on her tracks when she overheard their conversation. "Give me all your valuables missy...if you don't want to get hurt." The bigger one said ( Code name "B") "Yeah...you don't want to go home with broken bones now, do you, little girl?" The smaller one (Code name "S") retorted, pasting an evil grin on his face. The girl was hiding her face in her hands as she sobbed violently. Kaoru couldn't take it anymore. She dropped her basket and ran towards the little girl's rescue. "Hey you brutes! Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?" She yelled as she put her fists infront of her. "Hah! You have got to be kidding miss. You're not even half my size!" B said as he clenched his teeth. "You go bro." S cheered as he clutched his sword. A sword...I didn't notice that a while ago. Kaoru thought as sweat ran down her face. "Let's get her bro!" B said as he charged towards Kaoru. She quickly released a high kick and hit the man's face. The other one came rushing to his brother's aid when he got hit by Kaoru's punch. S couldn't take it anymore, so he brought out his sword and is going to swing at Kaoru. She hid under her hands as she waited impatiently for the sword to sink in her skin. She couldn't do anything now. Miraculously...the blow didn't come.

Kaoru opened an eye, then the other, and found a man infront of her, carrying a sword himself. he had made the 2 robbers unconscious on the ground and brought back his sword. He turned to Kaoru, and smiled. He had short jet-black hair, with blue-green eyes and the cutest smile she has ever seen. Kaoru couldn't help but notice how cute he was. "Are you okay miss?" He asked as he offered a hand to Kaoru. "Um...yes...I think so." She said as she pretended to brush herself off, when she was really hiding her scarlet face. "Good." The man said as he turned around and walked towards the opposite direction. "Wait! I don't know your name!!" Kaoru called in after him. But, he was gone before her voice could reach him.

Kaoru suddenly remembered the little girl. She quickly looked at the little girl, still kneeling on the floor, her head bowed down, as it had been before. She was holding something that hung around her neck. Kaoru walked towards her and knelt before her. "Hey...Daijobu ka?" She asked, as she lifted the little girl's head with her finger. The girl was unusually pretty. She had long brownish-red hair that's tied in a braid, her face was round, and she had two dimples on either side of her mouth. She had Chestnut eyes that are still swollen because of her crying a while ago. Kaoru saw what she was holding. It was a golden locket that hung on her neck, with a symbol of an "X" on the cover. "Yes...I'm fine..." The little girl said, wiping tears that just rolled down her cheek. "What are you doing alone, little girl? Where's your mom?"

"My mom...she's at the dojo."

"Why? Isn't she with you?"

"No."

"What?! She allowed you to go out alone?"

"No...I ran away because she always makes me do chores."

Kaori suddenly remembered Yahiko... Nahh...Yahiko would never run away. He already had too much experience out her in the streets.

"Why would you do that?"

"I don't know."

Kaoru sighed as she helped the girl up. "Do you know the way back to your dojo?"

"Yes...thank you miss...uh..."

"Kaoru."

"Arigatou Kaoru-san." The girl said as she bowed her head.

"What's your name little girl?"

" Himura Yume, Kaoru -san."