A Cup of Sake

by Kaori Misaki

It's basically just my friends, a few enemies, and myself mixed with the Rurouni Kenshin characters. I know it's a long story, but if you take the time to read it, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. It's not complete, but I'm working on it! CHAPT. 2 UP SOON!

A Cup of Sake.

The story of a love that blossomed between two of the most unlikely people,

that started with a cup of sake.

Well, if I wanted my story to be a successive hit, I'd write a summary, but
since that would spoil the whole story and it's ending too.o.O I'm just gonna let you at it. Also, if you're not familiar with the Rurouni Kenshin
series, I suggest that you don't even bother to read this story at all.
Another pointer would be that I have added some Japanese words to this
story, but for those who aren't fluent in the language.(don't worry, neither am I. ^.^ ). I've added subtitles. One last thing before you start
to throw things at me for taking so long, I've added a total of new
characters to the mix. Namely, myself (as Kaori), and..6 friends to the
mix. 3 are evil (Sakon-male, Kazumi-female, and Kazuma-male), and three good charrys (Yuki-female, Yoriko-female, and Chizuru-female). Uhh.oh, yea. I just love feedback, and don't be afraid to write back, I'm really easy to
get along with! ;-3 @}~~~}~~~~}~~~~

It was fall. Summer had passed and the sun was just barely warming the earth, setting an unattractive scene on the kamiya dojo. It seemed as though winter had reared its ugly head early. The sky was bleak and gray fog misted over the countryside, rising up from the ground and swirling about the roots of the naked trees. They were all bare, stripped of their delicate sakura blossoms, their trunks stark and white as they bent in the howling wind, tearing through their branches.

With a slight sigh, Kaori blinked the sleep out of her eyes, trying to be more responsive of her surroundings. She felt a heavy presence upon her back, for she had been laying face down. She squirmed a bit, thinking that it was merely Luna or Jolt lying on her. After realizing that she hadn't felt a sudden lightening of the pressure, she rolled over onto her side and looked upon the face of a sleepy -yet happy- Sanosuke Sagara. "Myrew?"

A deep chuckle arose from deep within Sano's throat. "Morning, love." A gentle kiss was placed upon her cheek.

"Sanosuke?! What are you doing?" She drew her covers around her more securely. "Get out at once!"

"What?" Sano sat up and looked down at her, not sure why she was so alarmed. Perhaps she was always this way early in the morning? "What's wrong?" An arm was placed around her shoulder. "It's just the two of us." He merely thought that she had seen a shadow -or some such thing- and wanted to comfort her.

"Get out of here!!!" She wasn't sure of what had been going on, all that she knew was that Sano was in her room, and more alarmingly *in her bed*! "Get out now, Sano!!!" She picked up the closest thing in her reach -that happened to be a pillow- and threw it at him, aiming for his head.

Sano caught the soft pillow with ease. "What's tha matter?" He set down the pillow beside him and tilted his head in a questioning manner. "You're acting kinda strange."

"Sano.get.out.now." Her eyes narrowed, a sign that she was in no mood to be questioned.

Sano's eyes widened a bit as he chuckled nervously. "Hey, calm down. There's no need to get angry."

"Star! Blaze! Get out here!!" Kaori screamed as loud as she could.

Appearing from the shadows of the darkest corner of the room, Luna sat; the golden rings were glistening brightly in the dim light. Blaze was sitting on top of the windowsill nearest Sanosuke, the flames that covered its body suddenly grew to an intimidating size. Simultaneously, they both growled and bared her fangs, giving Sano threatening looks.

"I suggest that you leave now." Kaori turned her head up, and away from Sano. "And quickly at that."

"H--hey!! What did I do?!" Sano stood, getting quite uneasy. "If you want me to leave all you have to do is ask!"

"Blast him!" Kaori pointed in Sano's way, trying to direct her dearest friends toward the enemy.

Star and Jolt leaped into the air and charged Sano. The flames on Blaze's back rose to incredible heights. The room itself seemed to grow hotter ever second. The rings on Luna shimmered brightly, temporarily blinding Sano.

Sano didn't stay for long; he turned tail, opened the sliding door, and darted outside. He had tried to get further away but the door behind him was blasted apart, sending debris, flames, and parts of the door flying. Although she had gotten rid of Sano, she had woken just about everyone in the Kamiya dojo.

"Kaori?" The voice that was calling her name sort of sounded like Kenshin.

"Kenshin? Where are you?"

"I'm coming!" Kenshin Himoura rounded the corner of the dojo. "Kaori, are you okay?" He stood where the door had been, with a sweat drop on the side of his head. "Uh.Kaori, why did you break down the door?"

Neko ears folded against her head as she gave Kenshin a sincere look of apology. "I'm sorry, Kenshin. It's just that Sano."

"Hmm." Kenshin thought for a moment. "Don't worry about it, Kaori. I'll get Sano to fix it. By the way, have you seen Sano?"

"Umm." Kaori laughed nervously. "He's behind you." She murmured, as she looked down, blushing a bit.

"Behind me?" Kenshin had turned to face the debris but all he saw was the rubble of the destroyed door and some spots that were on fire, though nothing that couldn't be controlled. "But I don't see." Rubble started to move, and a very filthy Sanosuke emerged from it. "Sano?" Kenshin had noticed that one of Sano's hairs was on fire.

"Kaori!!" Sano completely ignored Kenshin. "What tha hell is your problem?! Tame, you almost killed me!!!"
(Damn it)

"You snuck into my room!!!" Kaori snapped back.

"Me?! I didn't sneak anywhere!!! You invited me!!" Sano raised a fist menacingly.

"Lair!!!" Kaori was starting to grow tired of this argument. She knew that she hadn't invited Sano into her room.

Sano strode past Kenshin and over to Kaori. "You are so lucky that I don't hit women!"

With a sweat drop upon his brow, Kenshin intervened the two. "Now, now. This isn't time for fighting. It's breakfast time!" Kenshin had tried his best to sound cheerful, hoping to make the two stop arguing. With a bit of brute force, Kenshin pushed Sano away from Kaori and towards the kitchen.

Kaori stuck out her tongue at Sano and pulled down the bottom of her eyelid.

"Baka!!" Sano yelled back at Kaori, as he was still being pushed and pulled away. (Stupid)

"Bakayarou!!!!" Kaori retorted. (Asshole)

Breakfast was long and unusually quiet.that is until a string of complaints reared its ugly head.

"Kaoru!" Yahiko fought back a wave of revulsion as he stared down at the miso soup.

"You call this miso?" Sano spoke, a bit of anger in his tone of voice.

Sano took the spoon from the bowl, scooped some soup inside it and studied it carefully as he poured it back out. "This soup looks, and I'm sure it also tastes, disgusting." He dropped the spoon back into the bowl, and watched it land with a slight splash.

"Man, this stuff doesn't even have any meat in it!" Yahiko glared at the soup, hating every ounce of it.

"And?!" Kaoru set her bowl back down on the table forcefully. "What do you want me to do about it?!" Kaoru put her face close to theirs, giving them menacing looks. "It's not like you can cook anything better!! You don't cook! You don't clean! You don't wash anything! You don't even have a job!!!" Kaoru picked up her spoon and brandished it. "If I ever hear you two complain again, I'll--"

"I like it, Miss Kaoru." Kenshin spoke with happiness in his tone. "You don't mind if I have some more, do you?"

"You can have as much as you want, Kenshin!!" Kaoru chirped happily. She poured more of the golden yellow soup into his bowl. "Eat to your heart's content!"

Both Sano and Yahiko sighed a relieved sigh. Kenshin even smiled at them, as a way of silently saying 'You're welcome'. Sano quietly whispered. "Thanks, Kenshin, I owe you one."

"Ooo!!!" Yahiko laughed. "Kaoru and Kenshin sitting in a tree!!" Yahiko laughed harder as he teased them. "K-i-s-s-i-n-g!!"

Kaoru's eyes focused on Yahiko. Judging by her look she was trying to determine the best way to break his bones. "Why you little--!!" Kaoru snatched up her wooden spoon and repeatedly hit Yahiko over the head with it.

"Kaoru, I was just--! Ow!! I was just kidding!! Ow, ow!! Yahiko yelped as he scrambled to his feet and shot off out the door with Kaoru very close behind.

"Can't you take a joke, Ugly?!" Yahiko was definitely pushing his luck when it came to Kaoru.

"Ugly?! How dare you?!" It was as if her eyes were on fire, she had her mind set on hurting this boy if it was the last thing she ever did.

"Hahaha! Can't catch me!!!"

A sweat drop appeared on both Kenshin's and Sano's head.

"Well, I guess I had better start to clean up." Kenshin gingerly picked up the bowls left by his family, put them inside the washtub, filled the washtub with water and proceeded to was all the dishes. "Hey, Sano?"

"Yeah, Kenshin?"

"Why exactly did Kaori blast down her door?"

"How the hell should I know? She just went ballistic on me." Sano lifted the straw mat that he had been sitting on, to reveal the spine, and tail of a fish. He picked it up and tucked the beginning of the spine under his tongue as he continued to speak. "You'll have to remind me never to take her out for sake again."

Kenshin chuckled. The house was now deadly silent, except for the little cheery clinking noises Kenshin made in the kitchen as he washed the morning dishes. "Well, why were you in her room in the first place?"

A dark blush spread across Sano's face as he realized he had been caught. "I. We.uhh. pass?"

"Uh-uh. Not gonna work, Sano. Tell me." Kenshin took his hands out of the water and started to dry them on his yukata.

"Kenshin." He looked up into the worried eyes of his friend. "No one knows yet. Kaori.she and I...we."

"OH MY GOD, you FUCKED her???" Kenshin started to screech, but Sano's hand clapped securely over his mouth, and the rest came out in a horrified muffle.

"NO!!" Sano whispered fiercely, and they sat inside the now quiet dojo, staring intensely at each other. For a moment, they gazed hard into each other's eyes, and then they began to giggle their shoulders shaking, their cheeks pink in their disbelieving laughter. The tension in the air dissipated, and Sano felt the hard knot in his stomach dissolve.

"No," Sano repeated, shaking his head blissfully, and he gave the boy a playful push, grinning. "I did NOT...do that.exactly."

"What?!" Kenshin slipped an arm around Sano's shoulders and leaned closer. "Sanosuke, Sanosuke," he purred wickedly, a gleam dancing in his eyes. "Finally busted a move on Kaori-chan, eh?"

Sano's eyes immediately lowered, and he stumbled over his words, his fingers fumbling on the wrapping on his bandana, nervously. "Nani desu ka, Kenshin?"
(What do you mean, Kenshin?)

Kenshin chuckled yet again. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah? So what if I did? Is it such a bad thing to do?" Sano was trying to take the defensive but knew that he was failing miserably.

"No. Not at all." Kenshin stood and smoothed out his yukata. "Perhaps you should apologize?"

"No way. If anything, she owes me an apology!" Sano folded his arms across his chest stubbornly and looked away.

"You know as well as I do that she's as stubborn as you are, so go apologize." Kenshin helped his friend off his feet, and started to coax him towards the bamboo reeds door that led outside. "Just say you're sorry. It won't kill you."

"Hey! Kenshin!" Sano had tried to turn to face Kenshin, but each time the battousai managed to be one step ahead of him as they continued to inch closer and closer to the door. "Kenshin! Let me go!"

"Sorry." Kenshin let out a tiny grunt as Sano continued to move away. "I'm doing this for your own good."

The bamboo reeds made a clatter that attracted Kaori's attention. "Myrew?" She saw that Sano was -once again- being pushed somewhere he didn't want to go. Remembering that morning, she turned her head away and continued to fan the hibachi that was cooking her trout.

Sano's stomach started to growl. The soup Kaoru had prepared was too sickening to eat, so he was pretty much starving.

A sigh escaped from her mouth as she finally gathered the courage to speak first. "Hey there, Sano."

Sano blinked a few times. He never thought that Kaori would speak first. "Yeah.uh. Hey."

"Hungry, Sano?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

Kaori gave him a skeptical look. "Has anyone ever told you how much of a jerk you really are, Sano?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're ugly?" Sano wasn't quite sure what had made him react so meanly, but he had the feeling that he would soon regret it.

Kaori took a deep breath and tried to keep her cool. The last thing that she wanted to do was get into a fight, and most likely hurt Sano beyond repair.

"What's wrong little kitty? Cat got your tongue? Huh?" For some unknown reason, he picked up a rock and chucked it at her head.

Without even glancing in his direction, her hand shot up to easily catch the rock. In a blur she had dropped the rock, picked the fish up by the tail, raced over to Sano, and slap him across the face with the fish. "Sano, you jerk!!"

Sanosuke was a little taken back by the sudden action, but he soon got over it. "Me? A jerk? I'm not the one who blasted down a door just to get someone out of my room!!!"

"You were in my bed!!!"

"It's not my fault that you got drunk!!"

"Drunk?"

"Don't try and play dumb!"

"But I'm not.."

"You mean, you don't remember?"

Kaori nodded slowly. "I don't remember anything at all and I have the strangest feeling that I don't want to know."

"I suppose I should still explain.."

"It would surely help." Kaori tossed the fish easily back onto the hibachi, and then placed her hands on her hips.

"Well, after everybody had dinner last night and had gone to bed, you and I stayed up for a sake drinking contest."

"A drinking contest?"

Sanouske nodded. "After a few hours of guzzling sake we were completely wasted and had no idea of what was going on."

"What? Drunk? I was drunk?!"

"What do you think what happens to you when you drink down over a gallon of sake?!" Sano sighed, trying not to yell just yet. "And well, how do I explain it?"

"No!!! Tell me we didn't! Please tell me that we didn't!!!" Kaori was looking up at him with watery eyes.

Sano lowered his head, in an apologizing way. "We did."

"Sanosuke!!!" Kaori whined. All of a sudden she felt sick to her stomach.

"Sorry." Sano's hand traveled to the back of his head where he scratched his head nervously. Never had he thought he would see Kaori cry. Here she was whining, whimpering, and clutching her head in both hands.

Nasty, unpleasant, hentaish images ran throughout her mind. "I can't remember!!!" She whined again.

"I remember." Sano said with a bit of a blush upon his face, as he spoke.

Kaori scoffed. "I'm sure that you do." She sighed, suddenly going dramatic again. "Why me? Why me?"

Sano blinked a few times. "Aww. Hey come on, Kaori. What's so bad about it?" Sano hugged her from behind, trying to comfort her, and not noticing the way her fists clenched as he did so.

"Let go of me, now." A growl emerged deep from inside her throat.

Sano didn't let go, nor did he loosen his grip, instead he hugged her tighter.

"Sano. You're pushing it."

"Aww. Come on, Kaori." His hand traveled to the back of her neck, easily moving her hair out of the way as he allowed his tongue to delve out of his mouth and gently taste the back of her neck.

Kaori felt her body freeze from head to toe. The warm feeling of his tongue on the back of her neck sent shivers to dance up and down her spine.

"Like that?" Being the devil that he was, he continued to lick her neck again and again, loving every second of it.

"SANO!!" Finally she had found her voice. "Back off!!!" Kaori turned to face Sano. With a swift kick, she hit him in the groin.

"SHIT!!!" Sano fell to his knees, groaning in pain, and cupping himself. "Damn it!!! His head fell to the ground and he stayed in that position, trying to regain his composure.

"Serves you right!!" Kaori turned her back to him, feeling strangely proud of herself to render Sano so helpless.

Sano's hand shot out to grip Kaori's tail. His hand tightly clutched her tail, not giving any leeway.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!!!" Kaori felt her energy leaking from her body and she fell to her knees. "Let.go."

"Gotcha." The pain had mostly gone from Sano's groin and he was certainly in better condition than Kaori was.

"Hn." Everything was starting to grow dimmer and dimmer, so cold. So very cold. All feeling to her hands and feet had gone completely. Her face fell to the cold hard ground. A small groan escaped form her parted lips as her eyes fell closed and she lost all consciousness.

A malevolent smile found its way onto Sano's face. "Nap time, Kaori-chan."

Sano gingerly scooped Kaori into his arms. Though he had rendered her unconscious he really had no desire to hurt her. "Sorry, love." With a quick toss, Kaori had her stomach on his shoulder, her head by Sano's back, legs held by Sano's arms, and was being carried out of the Kamiya dojo. Sano silently crept across the yard, trying his best not to make a sound.

"Sano?" Kenshin had been sitting on the porch of the dojo; simply gazing up at the sky when he had suddenly noticed Sano making his way across the yard and strangely stopped in his tracks when Kenshin had called his name.

Sano was trying his best to think of an excuse for not only blacking out Kaori, but for trying to take her away from the dojo as well. With a heavy sigh, Sano turned to face Kenshin. "Oi, Kenshin. I didn't see you there."

The Rurouni gave him a quick smile before noticing that Kaori seemed to be sleeping. "I guess Kaori didn't get enough sleep, eh?"

"Yea! You're right!" Sano was sure to quickly respond, he hadn't a clue of an excuse to use, so why not use Kenshin's? "She seemed to pass out right there on the grass." Sano gave Kenshin a broad smile.

"Would you like me to take her to her room to sleep, Sano?" Kenshin had started to rise, happy by the idea of helping.

"No!" Sano seemed to screech the word, making Kenshin stare at him strangely. "I mean, that's okay Kenshin, but we were planning to go the Akabeko later on, and I just thought that she could stay at my place until she came to, but thanks anyway."

"Oh. Alright then." Kenshin plopped back down onto the porch. "Have fun."

"Yea, I will." Sano turned from Kenshin, giving him a slight wave, and then walked out the gate. Dealing with Kenshin was the easy part; it's getting through town to his shack that he called home that is the hard part. Perhaps it would be easier to use a horse? Or maybe he could take the back way to his house, though it would take a lot longer to get there. "Hmmm." Sano stopped in his tracks; a quick glance to his right gave him evidence that he was being followed.

A cigarette? Behind a tree? Dangling in long, slender, gloved fingers, a lit cigarette resided. Suddenly the cigarette was dropped and stomped on. Then he of all people came out from behind the tree, with a slightly wide grin on his face. "Hello, there Sano." His eyes dropped to Kaori, still unconscious and then back to Sano. "A bit of a primitive way to get a woman, yes?"

Sano scoffed. "Primitive, but efficient. Now, back off." Sano turned back towards the path he had been walking on and continued on his way. Hopefully, Saitoh would leave him be and go his own way.

"She doesn't seem to be in the best condition." Saitoh seemed to move like a blur when he suddenly appeared in front of Sano. "Turn her over to me."

"What?! No way!" Sano wrapped his right arm more securely around Kaori's legs. "Go near her and get your head knocked off." Even Saitoh could tell that Sano was completely serious about that.

"Hmm. I just want to make sure she isn't hurt. I frankly wouldn't be surprised if she was, especially in your care." Saitoh pulled down on his left glove, making it fit more snugly on his hand, then placed it by his side, almost blindingly white against the dark blue of his uniform.

"Why the hell should I trust you?" Sano didn't like Saitoh. Never has, never will.

"Because I'm offering my help, and you know how rarely that happens." Saitou seemed to be willing to help.

"Fine. It's not like you can do any damage." With a gentle push, Kaori was placed a bit higher on Sano's shoulder. "Alright then 'Jime. Lead the way."

"Hnn. Don't call me that." Saitoh abruptly turned back towards the wooded area that was on both sides of the path, and whistled loudly. Neighing, a horse trotted out of the woods with a saddle upon its back. It stopped next to Saitoh, seemingly ready to ride.

"Put her on." Saitoh tightened the saddle on the horse and held the reins. "Go on."

"You seem to have this all planned out." Sano lifted her off of his shoulder and laid her on the horse so her arms were hanging on one side and her legs on the other. "I'll hold the reins. You can lead." Sano easily took the reins from Saitoh and followed, making sure to keep close to Kaori.

"So tell me," Saitoh lit another cigarette and placed it between his lips. "What are you really doing with the woman?"

"Nothing that concerns you." An idea came to Sano's mind. "And since when did you become a doctor?"

"It's not that hard to know when someone is ill. Especially since her face is turning a very light shade of purple." Saitoh pointed his thumb in Kaori's direction. "I do believe that she's not getting enough air. The saddle is poking her in the stomach, rather hard actually."

"What?" Sano turned back to see Kaori, now that he looked close enough, her face was really starting to turn purple. "Shit!" Sano quickly picked up Kaori and moved her so the curve in the saddle perfectly fitted her stomach. Sano let a sigh of relief escape from him.

After a few minutes of silence, a sudden thud along with a neigh filled the air. The horse had tripped, causing its back to rise and fall suddenly, making Kaori fall off his back, accidentally causing the horse to step on one of her legs.

Kaori's eyes flew open as a sudden screeching of sorts filled the air for miles. She sat up, her pupils had narrowed into slits, her canines obviously bared, and her hands gripped her thigh. Then, as suddenly as she had awoken, her eyelids grew heavy as her head fell back to the earth as she fell back into a deep slumber once more.

"Damn it!!" Sano ran on the other side of the horse and scooped Kaori up in her arms. "Damned horse!" Judging by the way Kaori's leg was disfigured, she wouldn't be walking for a while. Luckily, there was no blood.

"The horse didn't do anything, it's just the road isn't flat." Saitoh calmly said as he took a long drag from his cigarette and gently blew the smoke into Sano's face.

"Whatever. We're close now, right?" Sano waved the smoke from his face and continued to follow Saitoh, who hadn't once stopped.

"Yea. Not too far now."

"'Jime?"

A slight growl. "Yeah?"

"Why are you helping us?"

"I'm not helping you; I'm helping Kaori. I owe her a great deal."

"Really?"

"Yea."

"Why?"

"She saved my wife."

"And how did this happen?"

"Others that have a problem with me attacked y house, luckily my wife and Kaori talk often, and she just happened to be visiting and just happened to beat the snot out of them.." Saitoh took another long drag.

"Oh."

"We're here now." Just a few feet away was a larger than average sized house that seemed like a private estate. Saitoh let the horse wander away on its own. "Now then," He turned to face Sano. "You go get the doctor and I'll tend to her leg."

"What?! Hell, no! You expect me to trust you?!"

"I've already told you once before, I owe Kaori my wife's life, there's no way I would bring more harm to her."

"Hnn." Sano put Kaori into Saitoh's arms. "If you even hurt one hair on her head, your wife will end up being a widow."

"Right."

"And I'm taking your horse, too." Quickly Sano tailed the horse and grabbed it by the reins, hopped onto its back, and looked down at Saitoh. "I'll be back shortly." Then, he turned the horse to the left and galloped steadily down the trail.

"Hmm." Saitoh let his eyes travel up and down Kaori's body and then rest on the injured left leg. "Doesn't seem too serious to me." Saitoh murmured to himself.

"Mmm." Kaori slowly stirred from her slumber. One eye slowly opened, then both eyes opened, her eyes stayed wide open for a few seconds. She hadn't gathered all of her mind and was debating whether to claw, punch, and kick this man to death or not. Though she hadn't made an action to kill the man she did however let out a savage growl come up from deep within her throat.

"Whoa. Calm down, Kaori." He placed his hand upon her head and gently patted her.

"Saitoh? How'd I get he--" Her sentence was cut off by a sudden wince of pain. She tightly closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. "Why the heck does my leg hurt so much?" She started to flail her uninjured leg, but Saitoh held her tight. "I want down!"

"Sano dropped you on my horse on the way over here. Now, shh. Calm down. If you continue to struggle you'll upset your injuries even more." Saitoh let out a tiny grunt as Kaori punched him in the chest.

"Put me down, Saitoh!" Kaori started to growl. "I can take care of myself!"

"Hnn. Fine." Saitoh dropped Kaori, with no intention of helping her up.

"Eeek!!" There was a sudden thud, followed by a cloud of dust rising from the ground. "Ow!!" Kaori rubbed her backside. "Saitoh!!"

"What? You said that you could take care of yourself." Saitoh straitened his police uniform and fir his hands more securely into his gloves. "Now that you're conscious, you can take care of yourself. Besides, I couldn't care less of what the ahou thinks."

"Ahou?"

"Sanosuke."

"Sanosuke is an ahou?"

"Yeah, very much so."

"Saitoh?"

"Yes?"

"Can you help me up?"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"No."

"Saitoh. Please?" Kaori was growing weary of this game.

"No."

"Saitoh, stop it. Now please help me up."

"No."

Kaori growled in frustration.

@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~ Meanwhile, Sano was in town heading for the local hospital. He tied the horse's reins to a post, not really taking the time to make sure it was tied tightly, after all, it wasn't his horse. Quietly, he walked in through the door, trying his best to make sure that he disturbed no one in their rooms. Then he stopped in his tracks. He looked up one hallway and down another, wondering which hall to go down. "Hey, Genzai! You here?

"Sanosuke Sagara!!" The fox woman entered from one of the many doors in the hall. "Be quiet!" She came over to Sano, waving her index finger in his face, telling him by no means to ever do it again. "There are sick and injured people trying to rest here! So, be quiet!!" A sudden hushing noise came from the patients in their rooms.

"M-Megumi? What are you doing here?" Questioned a very baffled Sano.

"I work here you idiot." Megumi folded her arms across her chest and turned her back to him, slyly looking over her shoulder at him. "You know, the homeless shelter is just down the road. I do believe that you can get that free meal that you're looking for over there."

"What did you say?!" Sano allowed himself the guilty pleasure of imagining Megumi getting punched across the face. "You are so lucky that I'm above hitting a woman."

"Sano? Megumi? Is that you two?" The kind, endearing voice of Dr. Genzai could be heard.

"Uncle Sano!!!! Aunt Megumi!!!" Ayame came running down the hall and over to Megumi, diving for her waist and tugging on her kimono.

Susume came barreling afterward. "Uncle Sanny!!" She stopped at his feet and tugged at his pant leg. "Piggy back!!"

"Okay, okay." Sano lifted her high, and placed her upon his shoulder. "You've grown Susume! Anyway, I need you to come with me, Genzai."

"Really what for?" The much older man gently tugged at his beard, giving Sano a questioning look.

"Unfortunately, Kaori's gotten herself hurt." He was sure to whisper so that the girls wouldn't make such a fuss over it.

"Sano, Dr. Genzai is far too busy to take care of Kaori right now." Megumi had little Ayame standing by her left leg, then, she gently placed her hand upon the little one's head. "And I'm needed here to help look after both the little girls and the patients."

"Aww. Come on! Kaori can't walk! I need a doctor!"

"There are plenty of other doctors, Sano."

"I want the best one!"

"Alright then." Megumi tossed her head so all of her hair was behind her back. "I'll go with you. Dr. Genzai can find someone else. Right, Genzai?"

"Of course, Megumi." Dr Genzai was gathering Susume off of Sano's shoulder. "It's no problem at all. Now, come along, girls." Both Ayame and Susume ran after their grandfather, giggling happily.

"Well, let's go."

"Go?"

"Yes. To where Kaori is."

"I said that I needed the best doctor. Not his assistant."

"Sano, you know very well that I'm just as good of a doctor as Dr. Genzai!!"

"That's your opinion." Sano looked away, a bit anxious to leave.

"What?!" Megumi was furious.

"Look Megumi, I just want the best care for Kaori, okay?"

"Kaori, Kaori, Kaori. Is that all you think about?"

Sano scoffed. "What do you care?"

"I don't!!"

"Then why ask?"

"Huh?" Megumi seemed to be at a loss for words. "B-because!" Megumi blushed, feeling slightly stupid for dealing such a lame response.

Sano thought about that statement for a moment, then it dawned on him. "You're jealous, ain't ya?"

"What?! Outlandish!" Megumi turned away from him, slightly blushing.

A snicker could be heard, then that snicker burst out into a tidal wave of laughter.

"Shut up, Sano!!" Megumi shoved him, but he just kept laughing. Megumi growled. "Fine! Go and find another doctor!!" She turned away and stomped into an empty patient's room, slamming the sliding door behind her.

Sano immediately stopped laughing. "Megumi? Damn it! Megumi, wait!! I was just kidding!" Sano slid open the door only to have a medium sized vase thrown at him, flowers and water included. "Ack!!!" The vase hit him directly in the forehead. "Uhh." Swirlys appeared in his eyes as he fell on his back, a large lump growing on his head. "Oww."

@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~ "Saitoh?"

"What is it, Kaori?"

Some time had passed since she had been dropped, and Saitoh had decided to help her up. Now, they were both sitting outside. Kaori was sitting on a rock; her injured leg had a cool washcloth on her injury, thanks to Saitoh. Saitoh was sitting on the ground, not minding getting his pants dirty. "Just where is Sano?"

"He's out looking for a doctor to treat your leg." Saitoh took a long drag upon his newly lit cigarette.

"But." She removed the cloth and looked down at her leg. "It's already started to heal." The fractured bones seemed to have realigned all by themselves.

"Hmm. Seems to me that you're a fast healer." Saitoh blew out a big puff of smoke.

"Yup!" Kaori smiled back at him innocently. "Perhaps I should go." Her facial expression totally changed. "I'd hate to still be here when Sano arrives."

"Then let's leave." Aoshi Shinimouri emerged from the bushes just beside the house.

"Aoshi!!" Kaori smiled broadly. "I can't believe that you're here!" She had tried to stand but was set back by her leg. "Owww." She muttered quietly to herself.

"Kaori? You okay?" Slowly he approached her.

Kaori pointed down at her leg. "What does it look like?"

Aoshi chuckled, despite the fact that his sister was in pain. "I see."

"I could use some help here."

Aoshi started to walk over, but was stopped by Saitoh. "Move."

"No." Saitoh still had his cigarette in between his fingers.

"Saitoh.?" Kaori was wondering why in the world Saitoh would be trying to stop her own brother from getting to her.

"Move aside, Saitoh." Aoshi said this for the last time, allowing Saitoh to see him reach for his katana. "If need be for me to take action, so be it."

"Kaori, why is Aoshi here?" Saitoh had reached for his sword as well.

"One: He's my brother, and two: I sent for him." Kaori smiled up at them both.

Blaze's head was peeking out from behind Aoshi's legs. Then as she saw her master, she bounder over to her with happiness in her eyes, and jumped into her arms, yipping and licking at her cheek.

"Blaze!!" Kaori hugged her dearest friend tightly. "I sent little Blaze here to get my brother." She conjured up the mental image of Sano. "Just before he knocked me out."

Saitoh tried his very best not to scowl as Aoshi tapped his foot impatiently. Suddenly Saitoh moved aside on Kaori's behalf, and only on Kaori's behalf.

With a slight scowl on his face Aoshi noticed that Kaori was still wincing in pain, then turned back to face Saitoh. "What have you done to my little sister?"

"Hey, now. Don't fight." Yoriko emerged from within the bushes. "Miss me, sis?"

"Yoriko!!!" Kaori held out her arms, welcoming her younger sister to a hug. "It's been so long!" She hugged her sister even tighter.

"Yea, I know." Yoriko also hugged her sister tighter.

"Hnn." Saitoh turned and headed for the door of his home, not saying so much as a 'goodbye'.

Aoshi cleared his throat, feeling slightly happy that Saitoh was gone. "Now that this reunion is over, are we ready to leave now?"

"Yeah!" Yoriko declared.

"Well, I would go if I could." Kaori sighed. "It's a bit difficult to walk."

"Did Saitoh do it to you?" Aoshi asked, intent on getting an answer.

"No! No, you've got it all wrong! Saitoh helped me and was even kind enough to let me relax at his home." Kaori said urgently.

"Never mind him." Aoshi scooped her up into his arms. "We need to find a doctor to tend to your wounds."

"Wounds?" Yoriko hadn't noticed yet that her sister was injured. "Oh, Kaori!" There was a bit of urgency in her voice.

"Don't fret. They're not that bad Yoriko." Kaori reassured her.

"Blaze! Let's roll!" In a blistering flare of flames, Blaze transformed into her much larger self. The flames on its chest, tail, and head, increased, making the heat around her almost unbearable. Then, suddenly, the air around her cooled as she calmed down, though let a savage growl escape from her throat, showing her long, saber like, fangs.

Aoshi set Kaori upon Blaze's back, surprised that the flames didn't burn her at all. Then he jumped on, himself, feeling a bit strange that he was sitting on flames but not getting burnt at all.

"Hey! Wait for me!!" Yoriko jumped onto Blaze's back as well. "Alright, Blaze! Let's get going!"

Blaze nodded and started to trot down the path, she worked that trot into a run, and that run into a wild sprint.

Yoriko tightly clutched her brother's jacket, hanging on for dear life.

"Slow down, Blaze!!" Yoriko screamed at the top of her lungs.

Luna didn't slow. Instead, she sped up a bit, to reach their destination even faster.

Kaori closed her eyes and sighed not really feeling like yelling at Blaze just to get her to stop.

"Kaori, how are you holding out?"

Kaori winced a bit as Blaze had jumped over a large rock and landed hard, making her legs hit Blaze's side rather hard, and almost making her cry out in pain.

Aoshi gripped one of Blaze's ears and pulled it back with all his might. Luna still didn't stop. Aoshi scowled as the wild animal ignored him.

"Leave Blaze alone." Kaori said meekly. "She knows what she's doing."

Aoshi frowned in his disapproval, and released Blaze's ear. "If you say so..."

@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~ As Blaze continued to towards the town, Sano had stirred a bit, starting to regain consciousness.

"Fuck it!!" Sano sat up abruptly and rubbed his forehead. "Megumi." He muttered under his breath.

"Hey you!!" And angry, scratchy, old voice screeched. "Where's my cocoa?! I want my cocoa right now!!!!"

"Huh?" Sano turned around to come face to face with a very old man, leaning on his cane, and looming over him.

"I want my cocoa now!!" The old man lifted up his cane and whacked Sano on the head. "Give me my cocoa!!" Another whack. "Right now!!" Four more whacks.

"I don't have your cocoa!" Sano caught the cane and snatched it away from him. "Back off!!"

The old man waved a wrinkly, old fist at Sano menacingly as he fled.

"Darn old fool." Sano tossed the cane aside and stood, and rubbed his aching head.

"Excuse me, mister."

Sano felt a slight tug at his sleeve. "Huh?" Sano looked over his shoulder and saw a young woman, about the age of sixteen or so.with a pair of nun- chucks at her side?

"Would you happen to know of a girl by the name of Kaori Shinimouri?" She asked inquisitively.

"Hmm." Sano stared at the young girl. "And who might you be?"

She smiled wryly. "Well, I might be Yuki." She giggled, obviously flirting with the older man. "And who might you be?"

Sano smiled. "I might be Sanosuke Sagara." He looked in the direction of the main door leading outside. "And what would you want with Kaori?"

"I'll tell you after I see her."

"Hmm. Alright." Sano shrugged, he figured that this girl was nothing threatening.

"So.?" Yuki asked.

"Sooo.what?" Sano was a bit confused.

"Where is she?" Yuki put her hands on her hips.

"I'll show you as soon as you tell me what you want with her." Sano chuckled.

@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~ "Blaze, stop!!!!" Yoriko's voice could be heard inside the hospital.

A sudden screeching sound was heard as Blaze skidded to a stop.

"What was that?" Yoriko looked at the doors that led outside.

"I'm checking it out." Sano headed for the door.

"Me, too." Yuki ran after towards the door as well.

Sano and Yuki burst open the double doors leading outside. Aoshi was on Blaze's back with Kaori in his lap. Kaori was looking down at her poor sister lying on the ground. Yoriko was on the ground, her face completely in the dirt.

"Yoriko? Sissy? Yoo-hoo!" Kaori anxiously waited for her sister to respond.

Yoriko rolled over on her back, with swirlys in her eyes. "Ouch."

Aoshi jumped down from Blaze's back and knelt before his sister, a bit of concern on his face. "Are you alright?"

Yoriko weakly responded, "Yes." The swirlys disappeared from her eyes as she suddenly stood. Not only did she want to prove to her brother that she was strong, but someone in the doorway of the hospital doors caught her eye.

"Huh?" Sano looked from Kaori to Aoshi to Yuki and then to the strange girl staring at him.

All of a sudden it was just Yoriko and Sano. Yoriko put her hands to her cheeks, which were growing slightly warm from her frantic blushing. Pinkened bubbles surrounded them both along with some pinkened mist. "Oh, my."

Sano just stared at the strange girl, and then his attention went back to Kaori. "My dearest cat!" Sano rushed to her and held her in his arms. "Miss me, my darling cat?"

Kaori glared at him. "Not at all."

A sweat drop formed on the side of his head. "But I missed you!" Sano nuzzled her affectionately.

Sano lied on the ground, groaning in pain, for Kitty had just dealt a punch to Sano's left cheek.

Kaori stood, ignoring the pain that swept over her body, with a fist waving in the air. "Don't do that!" Kaori bared a fang. "Come near me again and I'll have Blaze burn you so bad, you'll look like Shishio, and we both know that you don't want that!"

"Kaori!" Yoriko knelt beside Sano and tried to help him to his feet. "Please excuse my sister for being so rude." Yoriko wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Sano chuckled. "Yea." He rubbed his swollen cheek. "I'll be fine but."

"But what?" Yoriko was sure to pay attention to his every word.

"If only your sister was as kind as you." Sano smiled down upon her.

Yoriko blushed. "You think I'm kind?" Yoriko looked down at her feet, hoping Sano couldn't see her blush. "Thank you."

Yuki walked over to Kaori, watching her cousin obviously flirt with the older man, and whispered in her ear. "What a cutie huh?" Yuki walked over to Sano and helped him as well.

Yoriko glared at Yuki. "What do you think you are doing?!" She hissed.

"Helping out this young man, little cousin."

"I don't think so!" Sano was jerked in Yoriko's direction. "I'm helping him!"

"No you're not!" Sano was jerked in Yuki's direction. "I am!"

"No!" Yuki and Yoriko yelled simultaneously and pushed Sano out of the way and faced each other face to face.

"He's mine!" Yoriko yelled.

"Mine!" Yuki screamed back.

"Mine!"

"Mine!!"

"MINE!"

"MIIIINE!!!"

Kaori had come up behind the two and knocked their heads together. "Shut your mouth."

Sano smirked and threw an arm around her shoulder. "So you really do like me?"

"No." Kaori took his arm off of her and moved away. "I just can't stand to hear them yell." She suddenly turned away, towards her brother Aoshi. "Aoshi can we please leave now?"

"Why the hurry?" Yoriko threw an arm around her shoulder. "Does this mean that Sano's mine?"

"I don't care."

"Hey! What makes you so special?" Yuki was listening over Yoriko's shoulder.

A sweat drop had formed on the side of Yoriko's head. "Ummm. This means that." There was a long moment of silence. "Sano's mine!" Yoriko took off in a mad dash towards Sano.

"Hey! Get back here!!" Yuki sprinted in Yoriko's direction. "He's mine!"

"Huh?!" Sano's eyes grew wide. "Whoa!" He turned tail back towards the hospital doors.

"Sano!" Both Yuki and Yoriko called out his name. "Get back here!" Both jumped into the air and landed on Sano with a loud thud and a large cloud of dust rising from the ground.

Neko ears twitched as she cringed from the loud noise. She had started to debate over whether to turn around and see the awful sight or to just start walking.

"Uhhhhh."

She looked over her shoulder. What a horrible sight it was. Yuki had grabbed hold of Sano's hair and was pulling him away from Yoriko. Yoriko had Sano's right arm in hand and was pulling him away too.

"Mine!" Yoriko screamed.

"Mine!!" Yuki screamed back.

"Mine!!!"

"MINE!"

"MINE!!"

"MIIIIIIIINE!!!"

Yoriko hissed loudly at her cousin.

Yuki growled. "There's only one way to settle this!" Yuki pulled out her nun-chucks that were tucked in the sash, keeping her suit together. "Let's roll!"

"Right!" Yoriko took a defensive fighting stance. "Bring it!"

They had both released Sano who fell back to the ground with dirt all over his clothes. "Ow."

"Ahh!!!" They both cried out as they charged each other, only to be stopped by Aoshi.

Skillfully he had grabbed them both by the back of their yukatas and raised them both in the air, leaving them struggling. "Calm down."

"Why should we?" Yoriko kept trying to kick at Yuki with all her might. "She's trying to take my man!"

"Your man?" Every time Yoriko kicked at her she gracefully moved to the right, left, up, or down to avoid it. "He's mine, and you know it!"

"Yeah right!"

Meaningless squawking could be heard as Sano had sat up from his painful position to rub at his aching head. "Ow."

His eyes remained closed from the pain of his aching head. Occasionally he opened them to look at his hand to see if his head had started to bleed.

Both of them gasped as they saw that Sano was hurt. "Sano!"

They both squirmed out of his reach and rushed over to Sano.

"Sano are you okay?" Yuki had knelt beside Sano and was looking at his head.

"I think I hit my head a bit too hard, that's all. And besides, how could I get hurt by two lovely women?" He chuckled a bit.

Yuki blushed before wryly speaking. "Don't you mean one lovely woman?"

Yoriko ignored that statement. "I can help!" Yoriko had pulled a small vial of a strange silvery liquid from her pocket. "This will make it all better."

Yoriko had carefully knelt beside Sano, pushing Yuki out of the way. "Here, let me do it."

Yoriko reached her hands to Sano's scalp.

He could hear the slight 'pop' of the bottle's cork open and felt a cool feeling spread over his scalp. A slight blush of happiness spread over Yoriko's face as she massaged the cool fluid over his head. All the while she gave wry looks at Yuki and stuck out her tongue at her as well.

"Shinata." Yuki mumbled under her breath as she walked towards Kitty.

"All done." Yoriko chirped happily as she helped Sano to his feet.

"Thanks Yoriko." Sano dusted himself off, all of a sudden feeling a lot better.

Yoriko blushed from head to toe. "Anything for you, Sano." She purred as Sano gently patted her on the head.

"That's enough!" Kaori had been listening all along and didn't like a word of what was being said.

Yuki and Yoriko let out an 'eep' of surprise.

"Get away from him, now!"

Both Yuki and Yoriko scooted away from Sano.

"Farther!!!"

"Eep!" Both Yuki and Yoriko hid behind Aoshi.

Sano blinked a few times before smiling broadly. "Ehehe. So you really do care about me, huh?"

"I only separated you three so all this arguing would stop."

"Hmm. I see your ribs are feeling better. But just to make sure, why don't I check them?" Sano rushed to Kaori's side and started to untie the sash holding her clothes together.

A dark blush covered Kaori's face. "Sano!!!" A large fist smacked down upon Sano's head, followed by a knee to his chin as his face fell, and followed up by a punch to his face, sending him flying backwards. Furiously she tied her sash back the way it was, constantly muttering the word 'pervert' under her breath.

"Umm.Kaori?" Yoriko said nervously.

"What?!" Kaori snapped.

"I think you killed him." Yoriko looked over where Sano had landed. He had remained motionless.

"He's faking it."

"How can you be so sure, Kaori?"

"I know Sano better than anyone." She tied the sash into a knot once more.

Sano sat up, rubbing his chin. "Quite a hard left you've got there." He chuckled aloud.

"Sano?" Yuki and Yoriko both looked worried.

"I'm okay, don't worry about me." Sano stood once more and dusted himself off. "Her punches weren't all that bad. As a matter of fact, I think I felt a bit of love in a punch or two." Sano winked at Kaori.

"That's proof that you got hit too hard." Kaori cracked her knuckles in a menacing way. "Don't even think that I wont hit you again."

Sano just laughed. "Right, right. Anyway, let's go."

"Go? Go where?" Kaori stared at him in a questioning manner.

"Even though you feel better, we should at least get Dr. Genzai to see--"

"What's going on out here? This is a hospital, you have to be quiet." Megumi had just stepped out of the hospital doors and was overlooking the small crowd that had gathered in the front of the hospital.

Sano had stridden towards Kaori, gently grabbed her by the arm and led her into the hospital with Yuki and Yoriko close behind.

Suddenly, Yoriko stopped, noticing that neither Blaze nor Aoshi were following. "Aoshi? Blaze? Aren't you coming?"

Aoshi slowly shook his head, as Blaze converted to her smaller self and jumped up on Aoshi's shoulder. "I have business to attend to." He placed a gentle kiss upon her head. "Watch out for your sister, okay? And make sure she doesn't kill Sanosuke."

"Okay, Aoshi." Gentle arms wrapped around him in a loving embrace. "Don't get yourself killed, okay?"

"Of course I won't." He gently hugged his sister back. "Take care." Regretfully, he released his sister and started off in the other direction, slowly waving to his sister with one of those rare, happy smiles upon his face.

"Come on, Yoriko!" Yuki grabbed her by the arm and followed Sano and Kaori.

"Stop, this instant!" Megumi had rushed to the front of the strangely formed line, in front of Sanosuke.

"Not now, Megumi. We need to find Dr. Genzai."

"Well, Dr. Genzai is busy at the moment. And I cannot have you disturbing him."

"Fine. Then tell us where we can find another doctor."

"You're staring at her." Megumi put her hands on her hips.

"Hmm?" Everyone in the line started to look up and down and around, not really knowing what she was talking about.

A large vein pulse appeared on her head. "THAT DOCTOR IS ME!!!"

All eyes fell upon Megumi. A long moment of silence passed. Then, suddenly, they all burst out into uncontrollable laughter.

"Shut it!" Megumi was on the verge of kicking them all out of the hospital. "Now, follow me." Megumi led them down the hall, into a private room. "In here."

They all entered the slightly large room. Yuki noted that the chairs' cushions were made of silk.

"Is this a patient's room or a house?"

"It's a patient's room, believe me." Megumi closed the door behind them and the checkup began.

@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~ "Hmm." Kenshin quietly sipped his green tea as he looked up at the sky. There wasn't a cloud in the sky today, which made him a bit unhappy. Kenshin always enjoyed lying back on the grass, enjoying the cool breeze and try to make heads or tails of what the clouds resembled.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru rounded the corner of the dojo.

"I'm here, Kaoru."

"Kenshin, have you seen Sano lately?"

"No, Kaoru. I haven't seen him since this morning."

"What about Kaori?"

"No, Kaoru. I haven't seen her either."

Kaoru took a seat next to Kenshin. "I'm starting to grow a bit worried."

"Why do you say that, Kaoru?"

"Well. I heard them yelling at each other this morning, and I was afraid that they might have done something bad to each other."

"Don't worry, Kaoru, I don't think that they would even try to hit one another. They love each other too much for that."

"Love?! Sano and Kaori?! Kenshin, you must be crazy!"

"No, Kaoru, It's true. They really do love one another."

Kaoru placed a hand upon Kenshin's forehead, testing his temperature.

"Well, you don't seem to have a fever.."

"Oro.?"

Kaoru sighed heavily and looked away from Kenshin, towards the dojo's yard.

"You must have had too much sake then." She turned abruptly to face Kenshin.

"Oro? I didn't have any sake, Kaoru."

Kaoru blinked a few times. "Then why are you saying such strange and practically unbelievable things?"

Kenshin smiled one of those caring, considerate, understanding smiles.

"Kaoru, have Sanosuke and Kitty ever gotten into a serious fight before?"

There was a long moment of silence.

"No, Kenshin. No, they haven't."

"And has Kitty ever done any permanent damage to Sano when he was being a.well.you know what I mean?"

"Not really. Except for the time she tried to run Sano over with a horse and carriage.."

"Oro?"

Kaoru giggled a bit. "But it was rather funny. I never knew Sano could jump so high and scream so loud!

"But in the end they did get over it. They even went to the Akabeko to have some sake together." She sighed again. "I guess you were right after all."

"Miss Kaoru?"

"Yes, Kenshin?"

A slightly calloused hand was placed upon Kaoru's.

"Huh?" Kaoru looked up at Kenshin's face. Faint traces of a blush were visible on his features.

"Thank you for letting me stay here all this time, Kaoru."

Kaoru blushed and tore her eyes away from his. "It's no problem, Kenshin. I was happy to."

"Kaoru?"

"Yes?"

"I've been thinking. Before I got to truly know you, or Sano, or Miss Megumi, or Yahiko, or anyone else, I was thinking that I might leave and not likely return. But now." Another hand was placed under Kaoru's chin as Kenshin lifted her face to his. ".I'd like to stay, permanently. That is, if you wouldn't mind." He smiled.

"Of course you can stay, Kenshin!" Kaoru was smiling broadly. "This is great! I can't wait to tell the others!" Kaoru had kinda forcefully grabbed Kenshin by the arm and dragged him off down the hall to find the closest person nearby and willing to listen.

"Kaoru, slow down!" Kenshin cried out as she continued to drag him down the hall.

@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~ "She seems to be okay. It's amazing how fast her injuries have healed." Megumi was kneeling beside Kaori.

"I told you that I was fine!" Kaori sat up abruptly and glared at Sano.

"Can you blame me for trying to be careful?" Sano sent a wink in return for Kaori's glare.

*anime sigh* "You should be in the circus." Kaori grabbed her sash that Megumi had taken off for the examination and securely tied it around her waist. ".as the man who can't be angered."

"Nah." Sano sat up in his chair. "I only have tolerance when it comes to pretty women." Sano winked at her once more before standing and heading towards the door. "Who's up for a drink at the Akabeko?"

"I am!!" Both Yuki and Yoriko simultaneously raised their hands. "Let's go!"

Sano laughed heartily as Yuki and Yoriko hooked their arms onto Sanosuke's. Sano turned back to face Kaori. "Coming?"

"I think I'll pass." Kaori placed her hands upon her hips.

"Aww. Come on!" Both Yuki and Yoriko begged.

Kaori smiled upon their attempts to coax her into going with them. "Okay, okay." She approached them and hooked her left arm into Yoriko's right. "Let's go."

@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~ "Yahiko! Megumi! Dr. Genzai! Susume! Ayame! I have good news!"

There was a long lasting moment of silence.

"Miss Megumi? Are you here?" Kenshin had finally stopped being dragged and was now standing, searching for any signs of their company.

"I suppose they've all gone out." Kaoru looked very solemn.

"What's all the commotion about? I'm not deaf, you know!" Yahiko emerged from the kitchen with a rice cake in hand, with little crumbs on his face.

"Yahiko!" Kaoru looked extremely happy, though Yahiko didn't know why. "Kenshin's staying with us, permanently!"

"What?! Really?!" Yahiko's face brightened considerably at the mention of those three, almost heavenly, words.

Kaoru had had enough talk. "Enough talk! We go celebrate now!" Kaoru raced by Kenshin and grabbed his arm, in turn Kenshin grabbed Yahiko's arm as they both were being dragged away by Kaoru.
@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~

Sano blinked a few times. "Umm. I just remembered that I don't have any money." A sweat drop formed on the side of his head while Yoriko, Yuki, and Kaori all fell anime style.

"I don't have any money." Yuki said.

"Well, don't look at me." Yoriko secretly pushed her coin purse into her sash a little more securely.

*Blink, blink* All eyes fell on Kaori.

"What?"

They all cleared their throats and smiled politely.

"No way." She took a few steps back then a slight gleam appeared in her eye. She took a side step towards Yoriko and slipped the coin purse from her sash. "What have we here?"

"Hey!!" Yoriko frantically tried to reach her purse as Kaori teasingly raised it above her head.

"What's that? You'd like to pay for the sake and snacks? Oh, sis, you're too kind!" Kaori smiled mischievously smiled as she sat down at a table and waved toward her friends. "Found a good seat!"

*Grr* "How dare you take my money?!" Yoriko held Kaori up by the collar of her shirt as her eye twitched menacingly. "I'm saving up!"

"For what? You don't need anything."

Yoriko snatched away her purse. "It's my money and I choose to save it!!"

Sano placed a hand on Yoriko's shoulder. "Aww. Come on now, Little Kaori. Won't you treat us? Just this once?"

Yoriko felt her face go crimson. "Of course I will!!" She smiled a broad smile up at Sanosuke. "And if you like, we can order some beef bowls too!"

*Anime fall* A groan escaped from both Kaori's and Yuki's mouth.

*Sweat drop* "She's hopeless." Kaori sighed.

"Did you just now figure that out?"

"Kaori? Sano? Hey!" Kaoru, Kenshin, and even little Yahiko approached the two smiling back towards them.

"Hey, Kaoru. Hello, Kenshin." Kaori waved a small wave.

"Hey there, Little Missy. Hey there, Kenshin." Sano waved too, and then chuckled. "Hey there Little Yahiko."

"What? Who are you calling little!?"

"You of course." Yoriko stood form out behind Sano.

"Wha--? Who are you?" Yahiko stared up at the stranger.

"Well, I might be Yoriko. Or I might be someone else. You never can tell when it comes to me." Yoriko smiled at the obviously younger boy.

"Oh." Kenshin smiled upon Yoriko. "Hello there. My name is Kenshin. Kenshin Himoura." Kenshin was sure to keep his voice low so he wouldn't scare the people sitting by.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kenshin. By the way, have you met my boyfriend, Sanosuke?" Yoriko hooked her arm into Sano's.

"Oro?"

"What?!" Kaori was standing over Yoriko's shoulder and heard the whole thing.

*One of those jagged yellow thingies that looks like you noticed something* "I didn't say anything. Nothing at all!" Yoriko noticeably scooted away from Sano.

Kaori completely forgot the statement she had just made and asked Kenshin and the others to join them for some lunch. They all were very obliged, and took their seats in a circle. Kaoru was next to Kenshin, followed by Yahiko, then Kaori, then Sano then Yoriko, and last, Yuki.

"So tell me." Kenshin looked over in Yuki's direction as he waited for their meal to arrive. ".who might you be?"

"I'm Yuki, the cousin of Yoriko and Kaori Shinimouri. It is a pleasure to meet you Kenshin Himoura, or otherwise known as the hitokiri battousai. Am I right?"

Kenshin reflexively grabbed his reverse blade sword. "I take it you do not wish to fight? Especially with so many around?"

"Of course I don't. Not that I couldn't beat you." Yuki calmly sipped her sake.

"Now, now, Yuki. Mind your manners." Yoriko giggled bubbly as she took another swig of her sake.

"Whoa, whoa!" Sano took the jug from her. "I think that you had better slow down, Little Kitty. I don't want ya to get sick tomorrow."

"Calm down." She took back her sake. "I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." She laughed loudly once more before taking such a huge gulp of her sake that she almost choked, though she smiled all the same. "That's good stuff!!"

*Blink, blink* "Are you sure you guys are related?"

"Huh?" Everyone gave Yahiko blank stares.

"I mean Yoriko is a lot nicer than you, Kaori." Yahiko looked down as he blushed and murmured to himself. "And prettier."

"What?!" Though everyone else heard nothing, Kaori heard it all. Her eye started to twitch. "You're pushing it." Her glance fell to Yoriko. She was blushing. "Eww. Don't tell me that you actually like this twerp!" She suddenly switched places with Sano and whispered in her sister's ear, though loud enough for people close by to hear. "He wets the bed, you know." There was some stifled laughter by all except Yahiko. Then, suddenly, they all burst out laughing as loud as they could. Sano was on his back, rolling. Yoriko and Yuki looked as though they were cherries, practically glowing, bright red, and ripe to bursting. That's how hard they were laughing.

Kenshin had placed his hand over his mouth to try and not tease Yahiko but laughed too. Kaoru didn't dare use any energy to try and stop the tidal wave of laughter that spread over her. And Kitty? She was getting her hair pulled out by Yahiko as he jumped to her back and started to bite down on her head. "OW! That's attached!!" A simple toss and Yahiko was on his back with Kaori sitting at his side, tickling him mercilessly. "Ha! Say Uncle Kenny!"

"N-" *laugh* "Never!!!" Yahiko was trying his best not to laugh.

"Come on! Say it!" Sano had joined in the fun and was tickling the little boy by the waist.

"St- stop it!!" Yahiko's face started to change to bright pink, and then to red. It looked like he was going to bust wide open.

"UNCLE KENNY!!!!!!"

People leaned out from their stall-booths to see just what all the noise was about. Tae even came over to see. "You guys, is everything okay?"

"Yea, Tae. Sorry about all the noise." Sano smiled at her, giving her an innocent look that he knew she couldn't resist.

"Okay. Well, could you guys at least keep it down? Please?" There seemed to be a bit of desperation in her voice.

"Yea. Sure. No prob, Tae. We'll be good." Sano winked up at her. "We promise."

Tae left their booth and headed towards the kitchen, hurrying to get everyone's food. After a few short minutes Tae and another waitress appeared out of the kitchen and set their pot of soup and placed it before them on the stand. China and chopsticks were passed around as they all dug in and ate.

Lunch passed by quickly and was very entertaining. It consisted of one very small food fight, two cases of wrestling, one strangling episode, and one de-toupeeing of the manager's hair that almost got them kicked out.

Yahiko had fallen asleep, which meant 'adult time'. "Who wants more?" Sano was holding up a large jug of sake and was blushing uncontrollably. "Anyone?"

"Over here, Sano!" Yuki held up her cup. "Fill it to tha brim!"

Sano did so, accidentally spilling some sake onto Yuki's kimono. "Oops."

"It's no problem!" Yuki was obviously drunk and not aware of much of anything that was going on. And still, she drank down gulp after gulp of sake.

"Whoa!" Hold on now, Yuki!" Yoriko had grabbed the cup from out of her hand, and set it on the floor. "I think you've had too much, yes?"

"No." Yuki looked up at her innocently. "Why? Do you think so?"

"Yes. You're acting like a fool. Stop it." Yoriko stared at her sternly. "Now."

"Uhhh. No!" Yuki snatched up the cup and drank the last bit down. "Now I'm all done." Almost instantly, she fell down onto her back and stared blankly at the ceiling, on the verge of whiting out.

"See? I told you." Yoriko looked down at her disabled sibling.

".uh" She managed weakly as she closed her eyes and dove into a nice, deep slumber.

A sweat drop formed on the side of everyone's head as they looked upon the sleeping form of Yuki.

A yawn escaped form Kaori's parted lips. "I'm tired." She stood from her position and made her way towards the flap of bamboo reeds that served as a door. "I'll see you guys at the dojo." Quietly she made her way out onto the street; perhaps instead of going to the dojo, she might talk with some friends. Or maybe visit Aoshi? By the way, where was Aoshi? She hadn't really noticed that he was gone until now. So, she set off into a jog down the street, seeing that the sun was starting to set and she didn't want to be out after hours.
@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~

"So we finally meet." Aoshi stood in his usual position facing the one named Saitoh. "I'm not sure of what happened with you and my sister before I found her, but, for your sake, I hope that it was something formal." Aoshi stood with his left hand buried deep in his coat pocket and with his right hand upon his sword.

"Hmm." Cool as ever. That cigarette constantly present between those long, spindly fingers twitched, and the red ashes falling from it's butt end drifted down to shred upon Aoshi's shoes as a breeze ruffled the long bangs of the man standing against the red brick wall. His hand still lazily rested upon his gabotusu and a long, evil smirk quirked the policeman's lips up as Aoshi growled. "Why so anxious? Afraid I might have hurt your sister? Or worse? Afraid that I fucked her? Even though I am married, I must admit that your sister is quite a tease." A slow, wry chuckle arose from deep within his throat. Then, he brought his lips to the cigarette for another puff.

In a fierce attack that seemed like a blur, Aoshi had Saitoh pinned against the wall, his cigarette no longer between his slender fingers, but on the ground. Aoshi seemed different from usual. There was a harsh scowl planted upon his face that seemed to have no intention of leaving. "Utter those words once more if your wish is to die painfully slowly."

Saitoh laughed, satisfied with his terrorizing, and he simply brushed away the younger man's hands and continued on his way, disappearing down a darkening alleyway, leaving Aoshi there shaking in anger.

He wasn't sure why he hadn't beaten the man to a pulp. He would have loved to see the man lying down on the ground, writhing in pain, all balled up in a weak state of mind and body. With a mix of anger and disgust, he spat upon the ground and turned on his heel and advanced away, hoping to vent some anger.
@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~

"Aoshi! Aoshi!" Kaori searched desperately as she ran down the streets, hoping to find her dearest brother. "Ahh!" She had run directly into the back of someone and bounced off of them and fell onto her butt. "Oww."

"Oh, sorry." The person turned around. He was a man a very handsome man. He was dressed in a mixture of gray and tan pants that seemed to cling to his legs, a white shirt with the top button undone, and a coat with a collar of indescribable size.

"No. It's my fault." She rubbed her backside. "I'm sorry. I should have been watching where I was going."

"Oh. Well, if you say so." The man turned around again and headed away.

"Huh? You're not even going to offer to help me up?" She stared at him, not believing just how rude he was.

"Oh. Well, would you like me to help you up?" The man turned around once more to face her.

"I would certainly appreciate it!" She took the man's hand into her own and picked herself up. "Thank you."

"Sure. No problem." The man turned to leave once more.

"Wait a minute. Um, have you seen a man about 6'3, black hair, bad scowl, yet a pretty face?" She hoped that he had seen her brother.

The man seemed to not care about the certain situation and simply dug his pinky finger into his ear, practically ignoring her.

"Excuse me." She spoke with a much softer tone, trying not to loose her cool and punch the stranger's lights out. ".but I asked you a question."

"And I'm thinking that question over." His finger was removed from his ear as he looked thoughtfully up at the darkening sky. "And no. I haven't seen a man that fits the description you provided."

"Oh." Neko ears folded against her head as she sighed, now feeling as though she would never find Aoshi again for some time.

"But I suppose that I could help you find him." The man looked down upon her with a slight look of pity in his eyes. ".that is.if you want me to."

"Yes! I would love your help." Her neko ears perked up suddenly, feeling overjoyed that she would have some help.

The older man chuckled. "Well then, I suppose that I should introduce myself. My name is Hiko. Hiko Seijuurou."

She gasped. "Hiko Seijuurou?! My friend, Kenshin, he's told me about you. So that would make you his master, right?" She seemed very excited to meet Kenshin's teacher. The one who taught him everything that he knows about the Hiten Mitsurugu Ryuu style.

"Yes. I suppose it would. Now tell me, who might you be?" Hiko turned around, motioning that she should follow.

Happily she followed after him. "My name's Kitty, or that's my nickname. My real name is Kaori. Kaori Shinimouri."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." His eyes raked up and down her body then back and up again. 'A real pleasure to meet you.' He thought.

Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks as her neko ears twitched over and over, listening carefully to the slightest sound. "I think." Her eyes narrowed a bit as she looked out of the corner of her eye. ".that we're being followed."
@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~

"Ugh." Sano patted his full stomach. "I ate too much."

"And drank too much." Kenshin added with a smile.

"And talked too much." Kaoru smiled wryly.

"And flirted to much." Yuki said afterwards followed by a disgusting burp that left and awful taste in her mouth.

"Nah. "Cause when you've got it, you've got it, and I got it." Sano smirked at his own attempt to confuse and confound his friends.

"The only thing you've got, or gonna get, is diarrhea." Yoriko said with a snicker.

Everyone except Sano nodded agreeingly. "Hey!! I've got a pretty decent stomach." Sano patted his gut yet again.

"Too bad your brain isn't as big as your stomach. Then you'd be the smartest person alive." Everyone laughed heartily at that.

Sano liked the joke but figured that he might as well burn some other people as well. "If only your brain was as big as your mouth, you'd be ten times smarted than me."

A silent hush fell over them.

"Uh-oh." Sano could tell that Kaoru was seriously angry.

"RUN FOR IT, SANO!!" Kenshin yelled at his friend.

"AHHH!!!!!" Sano had started to get up and run away but was soon tackled to the ground, the dishes and the pot filled with their food went flying as he had his arms and legs pinned down, and was getting beaten on the back of his head. "OW, OW, OW, OW, OW!!!!!!"

"HOW dare YOU!!!!!" Kaoru had taken Kenshin's sword and was beating Sano across the head with it. "You bokiado!!!! Shitnata, baka ne!!!!!!"
(bastard) (damn you, idiot)

Of course all the yelling, banging, and screeches of pain were drawing lots of attention; customers leaned over their tables to see what the commotion was about.

Kaoru had stopped pummeling Sano when she noticed that *several* people were staring at her, including the manager of the Akabeko. She laughed and smiled nervously. "Hehehe.."

"OUT!!!" Who knew that one word could put such a damper on their fun for the night? Kenshin had scooped up Yahiko's sleeping form curled and comfortable, snoring softly, and even drooling a bit.

They all proceeded out of the building, though they had been kicked out, they had never had such a good time before. Laughing, they walked down the dark, dank street. As they headed towards the dojo, they all were delved into conversation. They mostly talked about the bad fishing this year.

Slyly, Yuki hooked her arm into Sano's, blushing darkly.

Sano simply grinned down at her. "Cold, huh?"

Yuki giggled. "Just a little bit."

The rest of the walk home was put to its full use. Yoriko kept giving icy glares at Yuki, and then finally had the nerve to hook her arm onto Sano's as well.

Yuki looked over at Yoriko. "What do you think you're doing?" She hissed.

Yoriko looked over at her. "Just loving on my man." She placed her head on Sano's shoulder as they walked.

*Grr* "Your man? I think not!"

"I do!" Yoriko nuzzled her head against Sano's shoulder.

"Calm down, girls." Sano chuckled and easily slipped his arms out of theirs. "There's nothing to get upset about, because you both know that I'm reserved for Kaori." Sano shoved his hands deep inside his jacket pockets, and continued to walk, leaving both Yuki and Yoriko stunned.
@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~

"Hmmm. That would make you correct." Hajime Saitoh was standing just behind them his hand gripped her arm, and a long, evil smirk quirked the policeman's lips up as Kaori glared. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" Saitoh asked smoothly. "To see your man?"

Kaori shrugged off his hand roughly, pulling her kimono around her with a slight 'meow'. "None of your business, psycho," She grunted, and tried to fight off the rising feeling of sick dread she always felt in this man's presence. She didn't like the way Saitoh looked at her with those feral, golden eyes. She didn't like the way her skin crawled where Saitoh had touched her. Those eyes raked over her slowly as Saitoh took a long drag on his cigarette, and blew smoke gently into Kaori's face. She coughed, waving it away. "Besides. You know as well as I do that I'm not anyone's woman, especially not Sano's."

"That's good." Saitoh chuckled deeply, and that made Kaori nervous.

"Why?" She frowned. Of all things, he certainly didn't think that she was interested in him, did he? She already had enough problems. "Just stay away from me, I'm not interested in people like *you*."

"Calm your raging hormones," Saitoh grinned, his teeth bared, and he leaned to Kaori's chin in his long fingers, tilting her head, his eyes glittering. Kaori looked confused for a moment, trying to free her mind from Saitoh's grip, but the mad eyes of the policeman drew nearer, Kaori gasped aloud as he brushed cold, dry lips over Kaori's young, soft ones.

"SHIT!" Kaori cried, pushing away from the man desperately, and stumbling in the street, trying to fight off the wave of revulsion that overtook her. "Kuso, kuso, kuso!!!"

(Shit, shit, shit)

Saitoh laughed, enjoying the sight of her frantically spitting, trying to get the taste of him out of her mouth. "I see you liked it."

"Hey! That's enough!" Hiko had had enough of this cat and mouse game, and had stood in front of Kaori. "Leave the woman alone. She has enough problems right now."

"Hmm. Hiko Seijuurou." Saitoh took a step back, not in a retreating way, just so he'd have room to blow his smoke. "What brings you to Tokyo? Last I heard, you were Kyoto."

"That is none of your business." Hiko turned his back to Saitoh, and at the same time gripped Kaori's arm.

"Eep!" Kaori was starting to be pulled away from Saitoh. Suddenly, she was turned around and her arm hooked into Hiko's. "Hiko!" She whispered into his ear. "Why are we leaving?!" She whispered more fiercely than before. She slightly turned her head to see what Saitoh was up to.

"I'd rather walk away then make him crawl away." Hiko looked down at her and smiled. "Besides, I have no grudge with the man."

Saitoh had stood still the entire time, seemingly stunned. His cigarette was still delicately tucked in between his fingers, but he hadn't taken another drag on it.

"But you're not the one who was kissed by him." Kaori said solemnly.

"The feeling of illness will pass." Hiko released her arm and continued on his way, looking up at the dark sky. "It's too late to find anyone at this hour, and I'm not sure if you wouldn't be followed by that man if I let you alone." Hiko walked with his eyes closed, thinking hard, head still faced up at the sky. His eyes opened suddenly. "I suppose that you should stay at my place until morning." He stopped walking. "Is that okay with you?"

"Of course! Anything would be ten times better than being followed by that creep." She eagerly grabbed her arm and coaxed him to follow. "Let's hurry! He's giving me the creeps."

"Don't you think I should lead the way?" Hiko once again took the lead position and led his guest down winding alleyways to a quaint inn. Just then a sudden pattering of little feet could be heard, both Kaori and Hiko turned to see who or what it was.

"Myrew!!!" Blaze leaped up into the air, and bounded into Kaori's arms.

"Blaze!!" Kaori wrapped her arms around her dearest friend. "Oh! I thought I had lost you!!" Kaori hugged her even more, as her pet myewed happily and licked her cheek.

"Hmm." Hiko opened the door of the inn. "Are you and your friend coming?"

"Huh?" Kaori faced Hiko as he walked inside. "Oh! Yea! We're coming!" Hurriedly she rushed inside, being sure to take in the newest surroundings.

The tour of the inn went by too slowly. Hiko talked the whole way through, only because he had to. "Bathroom on the left, bedroom upstairs on the right, closet straight ahead, we just passed the laundry room."

Kaori yawned loudly, feeling quite bored with such a boring tour, even Blaze yawned once or twice. "I would like to go to bed now. I don't think I can stay awake much longer." She yawned again.

Hiko stopped in mid sentence. "Oh. Well, you know where the bedroom is."

Kaori just stared at him. "But I have nothing to change into."

*blink, blink* "Well, I don't have anything for you to change into either." Hiko said honestly.

*anime fall* "That doesn't help me one bit!!!!" Kaori started to make her way upstairs when a thought suddenly crossed her mind. She looked down at Hiko. "Where will you sleep?"

Hiko shrugged. "In the same room as you, I guess."

"What?!" The fur on her tail stood on end. "You don't actually think--"

"I never said that I would be sleeping with you. I said that I would be sleeping in the same room." Hiko chuckled at her sudden panic.

"Not to be rude, but let's make sure that that one word stays the same. Agreed?"

"Right." Hiko started up the steps as well. "And how am I to know that you won't do something?"

"Please." She turned her head away. "I have higher goals in mind."

Hiko stood a step above her. "Goals? As in, as high as Sano goals?"

"Nope. Too low." She walked all the way up the stairs. "Way too low." Kaori walked inside the bedroom, and slid it shut behind her.

"Hmm." Hiko walked up to the door, slid it open, and boldly walked inside. From what he could see, Kaori had already taken off her obi, and was sliding the kimono down her shoulders, when she suddenly turned to see him.

"Hiko!!" She pulled the kimono around her shoulders, protectively. "Get out of here!!"

"Calm down." Strangely Hiko walked over to the small table in the room and sat beside it on the straw mat. "There's a bathroom behind that door. You can change in there."

She scoffed. "It would've helped if you had given a girl a warning."

"Sorry." Hiko smiled up at her innocently as she went into the bathroom to change.

@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~ Kenshin let a yawn escape from his tired out body as they all had come home. Kaori had already gone to bed, and Yahiko had been put to bed, leaving Kenshin, Sano, Yuki, and Yoriko to talk amongst themselves.

Yuki had been sitting by Kenshin, taking a stick and making abstract pictures in the dirt. It was Kenshin's part of the game to try and figure out what the shapes looked like. "A.cat?"

"Nope." Yuki laughed. "Try again."

Kenshin's face twisted in confusion as he stared hard at the picture. Finally, he sighed. "I give up. What is it?"

"You know. I'm not so sure myself." Yuki stared at Kenshin.

Kenshin stared back. There was a long moment of silence then they both burst out into laughter.

Sano was leaning his back against one of the columns, watching Yoriko out in the courtyard, practicing her kickboxing. He figured that he should stop pestering Kaori for now and let her sleep peacefully in her room.for now at least. He looked at her hard, trying his best to memorize her pattern of movements. One kick.two punch.double spin kick.uppercut.two kick.one punch.two uppercuts, one with each arm.spin kick. He slowly closed his eyes and relaxed greatly; letting his thoughts drift over to Kaori. He had dozed off for some time now until he was awakened.

"Sano?" Yoriko looked over at him, something strange was going on. She walked over to him and leaned over him, staring down at him curiously. "Sano?"

Sano stirred for a moment, but didn't awaken.

She gently kicked him. "Sano, wake up!"

"What?" Sano kept his eyes closed.

"Where's Kaori?"

"What do you mean 'Where is she'?" Sano shifted to a better position.

"I mean exactly what I said! Where is she? I've looked all over and haven't found her."

"Yea. I haven't seen her since she left the Akabeko." Yuki was leaning against the wall listening in on the conversation.

"Nah. You guys are over reacting. If she decided not to got to bed and somewhere else, that's perfectly fine." Sano finally opened his eyes and sat up, now that the girls had caught his full attention. "And, as she said before, she's a big girl, she can take care of herself." Sano stood and stretched. "I guess I should show you guys to your rooms before I hit the sack."

"Not necessary." Both Yuki and Yoriko smiled. "Kenshin showed us to our rooms after you conked out."

"Oh. Well then, I'm off to bed." He gave them both a slight wave. "I'll see you guys in the morning." They all said their goodnights and Sano walked towards his room. The happy grin he had set up for the girls turned into a mask of deadly seriousness. 'Gone? But why? I didn't think that I pushed her too much today.' Sano slid open the door to his room and closed it behind him. 'It was the same as any other day. What would make her leave?' Sano quickly changed out of his clothes and sat down upon his futon wondering what could have caused such a dramatic change. After a few hours of thinking, he had finally given up and went to sleep.

@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~ A small yawn escaped form Kaori as she emerged from the bathroom, with only a bathrobe covering her. "You don't mind if I wear this, do you?"

Hiko was sitting Indian style, back against the wall, head down, bangs covering his features, a slight snore coming from him.

"Huh?" Kaori walked over to him and got down on her knees before him. She lowered her face to see his face. "Hiko?"

Another snore escaped from him as he continued to sleep blissfully.

Kaori smiled, thinking the sight of Hiko sleeping so contentedly was so adorable. She said her prayers just before blowing out the candle, and snuggling under the covers of her bed.
@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~

A long way from Tokyo, in the familiar land of Kyoto, the real story has begun to unfurl.

"Have you found them?"

"Yes, sir."

"Where?"

"Tokyo."

A wicked smile. "Good." A chuckle. "Good." An ominous laugh echoed throughout the night air, striking fear in the weak of heart to all that heard. A toothy smile shone in the darkness of the room. "We'll meet soon enough, Shinimouri." Dark, shadowed orbs rested on the one in the corner. "Sakon. Take care of him. Make it bloody."

"How bloody, sir?" A large silver scythe glittered in the dim light.

"Splatter the walls with it."

"Yes sir." In a flash the one in the corner was gone, the only part of him visible was his scythe glittering in the darkness as he ran in the moonlight. "You're dead, Shinimouri."

@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~ It was morning. Strangely enough, the weather from yesterday seemed to progress into the next stage, today. White snow had formed on the branches of the many sakura trees in the Kamiya yard. There were spots on the yard where grass peeked out of the freshly fallen snow. You would have thought that it was nice and peaceful, but oh, no. The icy cold wind was swirling about the snow that was on the ground, sending snow flying into the face of those who weren't wary. Kaoru shivered as the wind swept through her kimono, chilling her to the bone. "Kenshin, do you think that Kaori will be okay in this kind of weather?"

Kaoru and Kenshin had made their way into the room where Kaoru taught her students. Kenshin was pouring Kaoru green tea. "I'm sure that she will be just fine, Kaoru." Kenshin picked up his glass and gently sipped at his tea.

"Yes. I suppose that you're right." Kaoru picked up her glass too, enjoying the silence spent between them, listening to the wind howl outside.

"Kenshin!" The sound of running footsteps could be heard. "Kenshin!" Sanosuke quickly slid open the door. Sano was a sight, his unruly hair was covered in the white flakes. "Kenshin! Have you seen the weather?!"

Kenshin blinked a few times them timidly responded. "Yes, Sano, but I don't think that there is anything to fuss about, indeed I don't."

"Don't you see?!" Sano sat down beside Kenshin. "Kaori's out there!" Sano pointed to the window. "Out there!!! In that weather!!!"

"Sano, you need to calm down." Kaoru sipped at her green tea again. "You know as well as I do that Kaori can very well take care of herself. You worry too much."

"I do not." Sano uncomfortably fidgeted with his fingers.

"Do to," Kaoru set down her cup. "And you know it."

"Nah, I'm outta here." Sano stood with his hands buried deep inside his pockets. "I'm going out for a walk." Abruptly Sano turned and left the room, making a chill fill the air as he opened the door and closed it behind him.

"Aah-choo!!!" Kaoru sneezed loudly.

"Perhaps I should make some soup?" Kenshin happily suggested.

Sano sat down upon the porch of the dojo Indian style, trying his hardest not to notice the howling wind and flurry of freezing snow that stung his cheeks. The wind ripped right through his jacket as though it was paper, and the snow on his face didn't help either. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and concentrated on better thoughts. Sitting down in the Akabeko. Miso soup warming his chilled bones. Surrounded by close friends. Kenshin, Little Missy, Yahiko, Dr. Genzai, the girls, maybe Megumi, even Yuki and Yoriko.and Kaori. His cheeks warmed a bit. He could barely even feel the howling wind, though it might have been due to his fingers and face numbing.

@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~

Elsewhere in town Kaori was wide-awake and frantically running from one side of the room to the other. The howling winds and snow had torn the paper placed in the windows, sending a freezing chill in the inn from top to bottom. "Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold!!!!!!" Kaori snatched up the blanked she had been sleeping with that night and wrapped it tightly around her. "Hiko! Aren't you cold?"

Hiko wrapped his jacket more tightly around him. "I can fix it." He opened the door. "I'll be back, until then try and use something to cover the windows." He slipped out the door, and onto the damp street.

"Hiko?" Kaori just stared at the door Hiko had taken his leave in. "But." *blink, blink* There came a sudden snow and wind through the window, that immediately dragged Kaori back to the main problem at the moment. "Shit, that's cold!!!" She wrapped the blanket around herself more securely; she for one was too cold to do anything at the moment.

Hiko emerged through the door with a yukata, hammer, and nails in hand. He walked over to the open window, ripped the yukata in half, and placed it over the window. "Nail it down, won't ya?"

"Yea, sure." Kaori eagerly ran over to him, snatching up the hammer and nails. "Hold it still." Carefully she placed down a nail, gently tapping at it before hammering it down with all her might. "Done."

"Other side."

"Right, right." She placed down a nail on the other side, gently striking it, before beating down on it again. "OW!!!"

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!!!!!" Kaori stuck the injured finger in her mouth.

Hiko chuckled. "Got your finger, huh?"

Kaori glared at him for asking such a stupid question. Then, she took her finger out of her mouth, looked at the enlarged tip, grimaced at its own ugliness, and stuck it back in her mouth.

"Don't do that." Hiko gently grabbed her wrist. "Here. Let me look at it."

"Mmm-umm!!" Kaori abruptly turned her head away.

"Hey, stop being stubborn." Hiko grabbed her wrist this time with a little more force. "Now, let me see it."

"Mmm-umm!!!" Kaori pulled away yet again and sat down, giving icy glares at Hiko the entire time. He could fix the other window by himself.

Hiko snatched up the other piece of the yukata, and placed it above the other window, making sure it was securely in place. He put down the hammer and sat down beside, Kaori. "Stop sucking your index finger like some child." Hiko gently grabbed her hand and with a simple twist he had her back to his, her left hand in his right, and her right hand pinned down by his left. He ran his thumb over the injured flesh. "That hurt?"

"OWWW!!! Shit, Hiko!!!" Kaori bit down upon the inside of her cheek. She had been through much worse pain, but it really hurt! "Let go of me, Hiko! I can take care of myself!"

"No you can't. When you mash your thumb, you suckle on it like a child. How very adult of you." Hiko gently ran his thumb over the injury again. "I'll be back." Hiko abruptly stood, causing Kaori to fall on her back. He walked into the bathroom, minutes later emerging with a damp washcloth in hand. "Here. Let me." Hiko helped Kaori up and wrapped the washcloth around her finger.

"Hmm." Kaori looked down at her finger then back up at Hiko. "Hmmm."

"Is that all you're going to say?" Hiko smiled down at her. "A 'Thank you ever so much, Hiko' would be nice."

"Only in your dreams, Hiko."

"That would be a nice dream." Hiko looked over at the makeshift windows, then back at Kaori. "So, I guess you won't be looking for your brother in this weather, huh?"

"Of course I am." Kaori fingered the cloth. "Why wouldn't I?"

Blaze had just awakened with a yawn, stretched, and then yawned again. "Myrew." She happily trotted over to Kaori, lying in her lap.

"The weather's horrible out there. You can't walk three feet without being covered from head to toe in snow."

"So? In case you haven't noticed," She held up Blaze, "Blaze is covered in flames, which makes her perfect for a snow traveling partner."

"Listen, I know that we've only met just yesterday, but it would make me feel better if you would stay, or if I knew that you were safe somewhere else."

Kaori looked at the window again. "I'm going out there, and I'm going to find Aoshi and bring him home. That's where he belongs."

"Aoshi? Aoshi Shinimouri?"

"Is there any other Aoshi?"

"I suppose not. It's just that I never knew that you were Shinimouri's kid sister." Hiko looked at the window. "I guess you should go now, huh?"

"Yea." She slowly stood, gently cradling Blaze in her arms, she mad a movement for the door when she suddenly stopped. "Umm.thank you Hiko, for everything." She smiled at him before walking towards the door, opening it, and sliding it closed behind her. She waved towards the innkeeper before heading out the main door. She suddenly stopped when she felt Blaze squirm out of her arms, wanting to go play in the snow.

"Wait a sec, Blaze." Hiko's voice could be heard behind them. "I'm no expert when it comes to Blaze, but I know that she'll get cold and want to take a rest. So, when that moment comes, you can shield her with this." Hiko gently tossed a parasol to her. "Good luck, Kaori, and be careful."

She caught the parasol with ease. She looked up at Hiko, with her eyes a bit watery. "I'll be careful.and....thank you Hiko. I hope to see you again."

"Don't worry. You will."

She smiled at him one last time before opening the parasol, making sure it was placed above Blaze's body, then ran out into the down pouring snow. "I'm coming, Aoshi. You can count on it."

@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~ "Ahh-ahh-ahh-chooo!!!" Sano sniffed loudly before wiping the snot dripping from his nose with his sleeve. "Darn it. Kaori where are you?"

"Sano?" Kenshin's face appeared from out of an open door, leading into the kitchen. "Sano!" Kenshin ran over to his friend. "Sano, you're going to catch your death of cold out here!!" Kenshin tried his best to help Sano to his feet. "Come on. You're not going to do Kaori any good if you're a snowman when she gets back!"

"Maybe you're right but." Sano was dragged to his feet. His arm was wrapped around Kenshin's shoulder, as Kenshin took him inside. "Kaori.."

Kenshin gently sat down Sano on a straw mat by the table. "Stay here, I'll make some more green tea. That should warm you up." Kenshin hurriedly went to fetch a teakettle to make green tea.

Sano just sat there, then, in a sudden burst of anger, his hands flew to his head and scratched it so. "Darn it!!! Why?!" He fell to his back and started to flail his legs in the air. "Why?!" His body suddenly relaxed when he saw Kenshin stare at him, in an unusual way. "I think Kaori's placed a curse on me, Kenshin."

"What makes you say that?" Kenshin had turned his back to Sano again, with a sweat drop hanging on the side of his head. Still, he was tinkering china, in an effort to prepare the green tea.

"Why else am I acting so crazy?" Sano stared up at the ceiling. "She's just so.intoxicating." Sano sighed a deep sigh then chuckled. "Pretty crazy, huh?"

"No, not really." Kenshin came over to where Sano was laying, and placed the pot on the table, then easily lay on his back with his friend. "I actually feel the same way about, Miss Kaoru."

"What?! Really?" Sano sat up abruptly at that statement.

Kenshin's face turned a bright red. "Well. Yea."

Sano laughed loudly, wrapping his arm around Kenshin's head, putting him in a headlock. Then he formed his right hand into a fist, which he ran across Kenshin's burgundy hair. "Why, you little devil!!" Both Kenshin and Sano laughed heartily.

"Let me go, Sanosuke." Kenshin carefully slid out of Sano's grip.

"So?" Sano gave Kenshin a sly look. "When's the wedding?"

"What?!" Kenshin's face turned a bright shade of red just then. "Nani desu ka??!!"

"You know what I mean!" Sano slapped Kenshin's shoulder. "Aww! Lucky Kaoru- chan!"

"Keep it down, Sano." Kenshin looked down at his feet.

"Why? I think that the whole world needs to know!"

"You wouldn't tell!"

"Of course not."

Kenshin gave a relieved sigh. "Promise?"

"You can trust me, Kenshin."

"Right." Kenshin fell onto his back again.

"Ehehehe." Sano fell onto his back, alongside Kenshin. "Kenshin?"

"Yea?"

"Do you think Kaori will be okay?"

"Yea, of course."

"Really?"

"Really, really."

"I need the encouragement right now."

"Don't worry about her, Sano. I'm sure that Kaori will make it home safe and sound." Kenshin yawned once before sitting back up.

Sano blinked, clicking his teeth against the dry fish bone he'd retrieved from Kaoru's kitchen only an hour ago. "I hope that you're right, Kenshin."

"Sanosuke, Sanosuke. I don't think that I've ever seen you so worried before." Kenshin gave the boy a playful shove. "You had better stop it before I catch it.

Sanosuke chuckled deeply for the first time all morning. "Right, right. I'll be sure to stop." Sano propped himself up on his elbows. "But I can't guarantee just how long I can keep being happy like this." A strong arm was placed around Kenshin's neck as his scarlet tresses were mussed. "You'll be sure to help me, won't ya, Kenshin?

Kenshin laughed with pleasure. "Of course I will, Sano." A sweat drop formed on the side of his head. "Now, can you let me go, please?"

"Kenshin, you wuss." Instead of loosening, his grip was tightened. "Ya gotta say uncle."

"Wha?" When Kenshin started to gag, he beat upon Sano's shoulder "S-Sano!! I can't breathe."

"Say uncle, Kenshin."

"Uncle, Kenshin, Uncle, Kenshin!!" Kenshin gasped loudly as air finally flowed into his lungs, bringing relief to him. A few seconds were spent catching his breath as he saw Sano was laughing heartily.

At last the laughing stopped and Sano wiped a tear from his eye. "Sorry, Kenshin. I didn't mean for you to suffocate."

A cough. "I-It's okay, Sano. I think I'll live." Kenshin smiled a weak smile as he rubbed his throat.

"Ya sure, Kenshin? I think that I mighta bruised ya a little bit." Sano tilted his head and looked carefully at Kenshin's throat. "You'll be okay. After all, I wouldn't expect the hitokiri battousai to get a bruise just from a headlock."

Kenshin smiled. "Yea, I guess that it would be too bad." Kenshin dusted himself down of as he stood. "I suppose that I can't get the shopping done on account of the weather, indeed I don't."

"I guess so." Sano yawned. "Well, I've had all I can stand." At last, he stood. "I'm going to go look for her, and Kenshin," Sano's once happy face became a mask of deadly seriousness, "don't try and stop me. This is something that I have to do."

"But." Kenshin sighed. "Alright, Sano. If you say so. Just promise that you'll be careful?"

"Aren't I always?" Sano smiled.

An accusing look. "No, not at all."

*anime fall* "Right. I guess that I had that coming." Sano rose to his feet and buried his hands inside his pockets. "Well, I might as well be on my way." With a swift turn Sano faced the door. "And Kenshin?"

Kenshin looked up. "Huh? W-what is it, Sano?"

"If Kaori happens to come by, I want you to make sure that she stays here." Sano's head lowered. "No matter what you do, please, just hold her here until I get back." He turned his head to face Kenshin with a smile. "Can you do that for me...Kenshin?"

So worried.so very worried. "I'm not sure if I can manage to go as far as bounding and gagging her, but I'll do my very best to hold her here, indeed I will."

"Okay, then. I'm outta here!" Sano slid open the sliding door, and walked outside. He stood on the all-around porch as he looked out at the yard. "I'll find you, Kaori. Ya hear?" Sano smiled. "I'll find you!" A sudden shaking could be heard. "Huh?" A great pile of snow enveloped Sano in its snowy blanket softness.

"Oro?" Kenshin was standing in the doorway, now. After all, the winds had died down some since early that morning.

Sano shook himself off. "Shit, that's freezing!!"

"Well, if you want, you could borrow something of mine, Sano, indeed you can." Kenshin looked over at him.

"No offense, Kenshin, but I don't think that I could wear anything of yours." Sano rubbed his hands together before rubbing his shoulders as he marched out into the half knee-deep snow. "I'll be back. Hopefully, with Kaori."

"Good luck, Sano!" Kenshin waved to the young boy as he headed back into the dojo. He carefully slipped it closed behind him. "Good luck." He whispered to himself one last time.

@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~ "Ahh!" Kaori bent her head down in the wind. Although it wasn't windy at the dojo, all the way across town, it seemed like a hurricane was coming through. "Blaze?" The constant wind also sent snow flying in her face, so she couldn't see five feet ahead of her. "Blaze, come out!" There was a sudden explosion of flames that easily caught her eye. Blaze had enlarged the flames on her back so that Kaori could notice her.

In a few moments Kaori had made her way over to Blaze. "I think that we need to go back until the snow dies down, okay?"

Blaze shook her head in refusal, wanting to continue to search for Aoshi.

"Blaze, I don't have flames coming out of my body! I'm cold! We need to turn back!"

Again, Blaze shook her head.

"Blaze, stop being stubbo--" Just then her parasol was blown out of her hands and carried off by the winds. Kaori moved a strand of hair out of her face. "Well, that's just great."

"Okay, Blaze, I need you to turn to your larger form for me, okay?"

A confounded Blaze looked up at her. "Reowl?"

"Pleeease, Blaze. Just do it." Kaori had her arms wrapped around her and was shivering persistently. "I'll cooperate, but I need your help, okay?" A loud sneeze escaped from her lips.

An obvious smile formed on Blaze's maw, and then she shook her head agreeingly. Though her master was cold, Blaze was certainly content with the weather around them. In a scorching flash of blazing flames, Blaze changed into her much larger nature. The flames on its upper body, end, and skull, increased, changing the air around her to an almost sweltering heat. Then, suddenly, the air around her cooled as she calmed down, though let a fearsome snarl break away from her, showing her long, curved fangs.

"T-t-t-thank you." With a simple jump, Kaori was contentedly seated on Blaze's back. "O-o-okay, Blaze." Another sneeze. "We can go now." Sniffle.

Blaze looked over her shoulder as her red eyes traveled over to her master, seemingly to ask 'Are you okay?'.

"Yes!" Kaori wiped her running nose. "I'll be fine as soon as we find Aoshi, okay?" Kaori sniffled again. "And I'd be good if I had some tissue."

Blaze looked away with a bit of regret in her eyes. She knew now that she had pushed her master too far. Kaori was cold and tired, but she just had to go find Aoshi.

"Are we going?"

Blaze nodded her head, and took off down the street.

Kaori was sure to bend her head down low as Blaze bounded across the street. She closed her eyes as she laid her head against Blaze's mane.so warm.so very warm. She unknowingly allowed her mind to drift off into a deep slumber.

Blaze peered through the snow, doing her best to navigate in the flurry of frost. A figure? Perhaps it was Aoshi. Blaze sniffed the air. No.it was a different scent.but still...it was familiar. She started to run faster, barking at the figure now.

"Huh?" The figure turned towards Blaze. "Ahh!!"

Blaze leaped into the air, and landed on the man with an earth shaking crash. Blaze smiled as she eagerly licked the face of the man. Each gentle lick was placed along the man's cheek.

"B-blaze?" A somewhat surprised Sanosuke Sagara lay under Blaze's body. He chuckled. "Get off of me, ya big brute."

Blaze purred as she climbed off of him, she even nuzzled him onto his feet.

"Thanks, Blaze. I owe ya." Sano around. "Uhh.have you seen, Kaori around here?"

Blaze barked. Gladly, she turned so that Sano came to face Kaori, lying on her back. With a quick jolt of her body, Kaori was tossed into the air.

Sano caught her with ease. "Kaori? You awake?"

A snore could be heard.

A sweat drop formed on the side of Sano's head. "I guess not." Sano gently slapped Kaori's cheek. "Kaori." *slap* "Come on." *slap* "You've got to wake up." *slap, slap*

A whine escaped from Kaori's mouth, along with some other illegible words. She snuggled her head closer to Sano's chest, trying her best, even in the cold, to keep warm.

Sano blushed. "Busting moves on me even in your sleep, eh?"

*BONK!!* It seemed that even in her sleep, Kaori was able to send a well- aimed punch at Sano's jaw.

Sano groaned. "Guess I had better watch myself, even while you're asleep."

Kaori just purred in her sleep.

"Okay, Blaze. Let's go home. We need to get Kaori back to the dojo."

With that, both Sano and Blaze dashed down the road and towards the Kamiya dojo.

Minutes later Sano ran through the front gate of the Kamiya courtyard. Blaze was at his side, though in her smaller form, wanting so very badly to help him.

"Let's get her into bed." The snow had picked up a bit since the run to the Kamiya dojo and it was even harder now to navigate in this type of weather. "Uhh.Blaze, can you see where we're going?"

Blaze simply stood behind Sano's leg, trying to use his leg as a shield for cover.

"Yeeeeah." Sano carefully made his way up the steps and stood so that he was on the side of the dojo where the wind and snow could not reach them. "Kaori?" Sano ran a hand through her hair. "Kaori, you need to wake up." He nudged her cheek. "KAORI!!!"

"Myrew?" Kaori opened one eye and then the other. "Sano, why are you so loud?" She yawned as she sat up in his arms.

"I needed to wake you up; I can't carry you around forever." Sano patted her head.

She smiled. "Are you calling me fat?"

Sano froze. "N-no! I'm not!" He winced. "Are you going to hit me?"

"No. Why would I?"

"Oh. N-no reason." Sano placed his right hand on her forehead. "Kaori?"

"Yes, what is it, Sano?" Kaori looked up at him with pure innocence on her face.

"Did you hit your head?"

"No." She sneezed then sniffled. "Sano can we go inside now? It's awfully cold out here." Another sniffle.

"Of course." Sano helped Kaori off of his lap and stood up himself. "You know, there's something different about you."

"W-what makes you think that?!" Kaori looked up at him with a bit of worry in her eyes.

"Whoa, calm down. I just meant that...well...you seem a lot nicer now."

"You mean I wasn't nice before?"

*anime fall* "No. Uh.not exactly."

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Kaori, you don't need to apologize for anything. I mean, if anything, I should be the one apologizing."

"Y-you?"

"Yea. I mean, of all the times that you got mad, I caused half of them."

"Well, if.you say so."

"C'mon, let's go inside. Your sisters were worried about you, and honestly," A slight blush formed on his face, "I was worried about you, too." Sano chuckled. "But I guess that you already knew that, huh?"

"Perhaps." Kaori smiled as they walked in silence.

"Kaori!!" Yoriko came running down the porch.

"Y-yoriko?" Kaori blinked a few times. "Yoriko, slow down!"

"Hyah!!!" Yoriko jumped into the air and landed on Kaori, sending her sister flying backwards and then landing on her back. "How dare you leave without telling me!!"

"W-what?" Kaori looked up at her. "I didn't get into any trouble or anything so there is no need for you to worry."

*smack!* A firm slap was placed on Kaori's cheek. "You know what happened yesterday! You were supposed to be here," She punched at the porch, landing the punch by her sister's head. "At the dojo!!"

"I." Kaori blinked a few times. "Yoriko.I'm sorry. I-I just went to go look for Aoshi. and you're crushing me."

"Wha?" Yoriko jumped off of her. "Oops, sorry." A sweat drop formed on the side of her head.

Sano stood where he had been and looked over at the two. "O-o-o-o-o-okay."

Kaori coughed before sitting up. "I'm sorry Yoriko, I really am."

Yoriko blinked. "Kaori? Is that you?" Yoriko peered close at her. Not once had her sister ever apologized for anything. "I didn't think that the eclipse would be over so soon. Hmm. Well, it does end when winter comes, or at least around that time."

Kaori blinked. "Yes, it's me, and you know that we're not supposed to talk about that."

"Hmm?" Sano tilted his head. "Talk about what?"

"Ack!" Yoriko looked over at Sano. "Nothing! Absolutely, nothing!"

"Yoriko, don't lie." Kaori smiled at Sano. "I'm sorry, but we can't tell you."

"What? Aww, come on. Pwease?" Sano looked at them with his lower lip pouting out just a bit.

"I suppose that we could." Kaori's smile widened.

"Kaori, are you crazy?!" She clasped her hand around her sister's mouth. "We can't say anything!"

Kaori mumbled under her sister's hand. With a quick bite, Yoriko was more than happy to let go of her mouth. "You see, there comes a time in every Ctarl's life when they go through a major mood swing, and mine just ended. The way that I was before, unpleasant and vicious, was just part of the mood. I'm not really like that at all." She smiled. "Understand?"

"No." Sano blinked.

"Oh. Never mind, then." She stood and sniffled. "I'm outta here." She walked down the hall and disappeared into one of the many doors in the passage.

"Is it me, or does she seem like a dumb blonde?" Sano looked over at Yoriko.

"It's not just you, it's me too." Yoriko blinked several times.

"I'm gonna go talk to her." Sano entered the same door that Kaori went into.

"Well, leave me out here, why don't you!!"

"Kaori?" Sano closed the door behind him. "Are you okay?"

Kaori was sitting on a straw mat, looking out a window and admiring the fallen snow, and then she looked up at Sano. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?" She turned so that she faced Sano. "Sometimes I think that it's you who's not okay."

"It's just that.you seem different. So much kinder than what you used to be." Sano sat down beside her. "Got any sake?" He chuckled.

Kaori just stared at him.

Sano's chuckle soon died out and the room plunged into silence once more.

"Yea, I do, but I would prefer water." Kaori rose to her feet and walked towards a door in the corner of the room. "I'll be right back."

Sano watched as Kaori went inside and disappeared for several minutes. Finally, she emerged carrying a large jug, her body seemed to show some strain in carrying the heavy jug. "Need some help?"

"N.no." Kaori set down the jug where she stood. She took a few seconds to catch her breath. "Heavy thing."

Sano chuckled. "I'll help you." Sano gladly got to his feet, picked up the jug and carried it over to the table where they sat. "That is a cellar, right?"

"Yes. What else would it be?" She giggled as she popped the cork off of the jug and generously poured the cool water into two, much smaller jugs, about a 1/5 of the original jug's size. "Here ya go." She handed him his jug.

"Thanks." Sano leaned back and drank from the jug. "Mmm."

"Something wrong?" Kaori plopped down beside him with her own jug in hand.

"Nah. It's just that sake would be better."

"Sorry, but I think that I won't be drinking for some time now, you understand."

He chuckled. "Yea, yea, I understand alright."

She took a long drink from her jug, and then burped.

"Excuse you."

"Myrew?"

"Is that the best you can do?"

"W-what do you mean?"

Sano took a long drink, and then burped much louder than Kaori did. It was kinda hard to have a burping contest with only water, but he still figured that he would win.

"Oh. Think that you're bad do ya?"

Kaori took another long swallow, then waited for it. *BURP!!* Kaori blushed. "Excuse me."

"Whoa!" Sano gently elbowed her. "I surrender from your awesome burping power!" Sano threw up his hands in defeat, then laughed.

"Stop it." Kaori gently pushed him back.

"What if I don't want to?" Sano pushed her back.

"Are you getting smart with me?" She pushed him back with a little more force.

"Yea, I am. What of it?" Sano wrapped an arm around her neck and put her into a headlock. "Ha!"

"Hey!" Kaori gripped Sano's arm and kicked her legs in the air as she was flipped over onto her back, and as Sano laid next to her.

Sano chuckled. "Take it easy."

Kaori blinked a few times then uncomfortably let her body relax. And there they lay, enjoying the silence shared between them. Before that faithful night, they had both shared moments like this before, usually with Kenshin, Kaoru, or Yahiko in the same room, but now it was just the two of them. Kaori swallowed hard. "You know, you can let go of my neck now."

"Alright." Sano's arm easily unwrapped itself from Kaori's neck and rested on her stomach.

Kaori blinked. "You know, that's not exactly any better."

"Oh. Sorry." Sano placed both arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling.

"Sanosuke?"

"Yea, Kaori?"

"Do you love me?"

Sano looked over at her, a slight blush on his face. "Do I what?"

"You heard me. I said 'Do you love me'."

"Umm." Sanosuke sat up, looking down at her. "Why do you want to know?"

"I mean, after the 'incident' I figured that we might as well make the relationship work out a little bit better. You know what I mean?"

"Yea, but is that the only reason?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is that the only reason that you want to have this relationship?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Kaori, come on!" Sano sat up, looking down at Kaori with deadly seriousness in his eyes. "There just has to be some other reason that you want to be with me."

"Um."

Sano heaved a sigh. "I see." He stood, shoving his hands deep down into his pockets with an obvious scowl implanted on his face. "I'm gone." With that, Sano stormed out of the room, being sure to slam the door closed.

"Sano?" Kaori sat up as she watched the door close. She blinked a few times with an evident look of confusion on her face. "W-what did I do?"

Sano stomped across the porch and into the main training room where he spent most of his time. He sighed heavily as he plopped down onto the floor. His head was bent low, his long bangs covering his eyes. His slender shoulders were hunched over, his long, blood red bandana trickled down his back "She lied." He sighed again. "She lied like there was no tomorrow.. How could you have been such a fool?"

"Sanosuke?" Yahiko had just trotted into the room with his wooden sword over his shoulder.

"What?" Sanosuke kept his head bent low, not even bothering to look up at the young boy.

"What's your problem?" Yahiko sat down beside him. "You seem kinda down."

"Gee, ya think?"

"Hey, no need to get smart with me."

"I'm not really in the mood, Yahiko."

"What's wrong? You can tell me."

"You wouldn't understand.."

"Then.let's talk about something else." Though Yahiko was only a boy, he did know when it was time to leave a person alone before he got the stuffing knocked out of him.

"Like?"

"Weeeeell, there's always the weather." Yahiko stood up and walked over to the window. Peering outside, he saw that the snow was still falling as hard as ever. "Think it'll let up anytime soon?"

"Does it even matter, Yahiko?"

"Okay, Sanosuke. I get that you're upset about something, but in case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to make you feel a little bit better, and the least thing that you could do is go along with it!"

"Yahiko.." Sanosuke looked up at him, his eyes unusually empty of their usual sparkle. "I just want to be left alone right now, okay."

"Hmm. Fine." Yahiko thrust his free hand into his pocket and headed towards the door. "You know, Sanosuke," He turned back towards him. "In case you forgot, Kenshin, Kaoru, and everyone else are kind of like a part of your family. Although we're not blood relatives, we still act like a family, so that means that you can tell us anything, alright?"

Sano looked up at him. For such a young kid, he sure did have quite a perception on life. "Yea. Gotcha."

Yahiko smiled as he opened the door then closed it behind him.
@}~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~~~}~~

"Sanosuke?" Kaori had finally gotten the courage to wander into the room, a bit of snow falling on the washed floor before she managed to close the door.

A slight growl was heard as a seriously irritated Sanosuke Sagara turned his head slightly so that his face was just in profile. "What?"

Neko ears folded against her head. "I just.. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." She started to walk closer. "It took me a while to figure it out, but I know now." Warily, she sat down beside him, half expecting him to lunge at her for disturbing him.

"You do?" Sano's tone of skepticism was obvious.

"Yes." She said trying to prove to him that she had. "I know now how you feel, and, to tell you the truth, I never thought you actually cared."

"What?"

Kaori gasped as Sanosuke suddenly turned towards her, his eyes shimmering just so. His hands had grasped hers, holding them tightly in his own strong hands.

"Kaori, I know that all those times that I acted like a fool embarrassed you deeply, but did you even stop to ask what was running through my mind at the time?" He leaned in closer, his face about a foot away from hers. "I know you may have thought that I was being a fool just to embarrass you, but that was just my own little way of showing affection." Sano leaned in even closer still, something in his eyes changed, he seemed so.different.

"Sano." Kaori felt her body tremble slightly. "Please, let go." She turned her head away from his, knowing exactly what he intended to do and not wishing to do it.

"Kaori, for once, can't you let someone get close to you? I mean, you're always backing out of going to the Akabeko for family dinners and even on the fishing trips that Kenshin, Yahiko, Kaoru, and I take."

"First of all, Sanosuke Sagara," She pulled her hands away from his own, causing a small grumble escape from Sanosuke. "I, not wanting to kiss you, doesn't mean that I'm not close to you."

Sanosuke looked a bit guilty, but tried to play it off. Had she really seen through his intended goal so easily?

"Second of all, I don't really like the food at the Akabeko and I also prefer to just eat the fish, rather than catch them. Third of all," A waving finger was placed in his face. "did you ever think that you might be wrong in saying that I'm not close to anyone. So, let's just leave it at that." She scooted a bit further away from him.

"You don't have to put up a front with me, Kaori. If you want to tell me how you feel, then tell me. Don't hold back. I'll always be there for you."

"Sanosuke Sagara, I know that you'll be there for me, but sometimes there are things that I would much rather keep to myself than tell you. Even if I were to tell you, I highly doubt that you would even talk about it, let alone understand it."

"Could you at least give me a chance, Kaori? Just one chance, would that really do so much damage?" He moved a bit closer to her. "Kaori, I love you, you know that I love you. But once, just once, I wish that you could at least try to--"

Kaori unexpectedly cut off Sanosuke's sentence. Her gentle lips were placed on his.

He was unprepared for the sweet gentleness of her mouth. It moved softly under his, as though she were seeking the precise angle at which their lips would be perfectly joined. One rounded swell pressed against the other as though they had been formed for just this divine union. He felt her hand at the nape of his neck, stroking caressing, deft fingers cool on his bare flesh as she held his head to hers.

Kaori's eye widened a bit. 'Oh, no. Dear God, no' In a darkened corner of the room, a small dagger piercing the heart of a piece of paper. She knew this sign well.it was the sign of him. The one who had killed her father. She broke away from Sanosuke

Suddenly, the kiss came to a horribly immediate stop. She had pulled away from him, gasping for air. His eyes were wide. Wider than he thought. His heart was pounding hard in his chest. Never had he thought that Kaori would be the one to kiss him.

"Sanosuke." Kaori bit down on her bottom lip hard as she suddenly rose to her feet, making a mad dash for the door. "I'm sorry!"

"Kaori! Wait!" Sanosuke rushed to his feet. "Kaori!" As soon as he got to his feet, the sliding door was slammed shut.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!" Kaori rushed into her room, searching in piles of clothing for something warm to wear. She had to leave. She just had to. She knew that a life with Sanosuke wouldn't be a happy one. "Finally!" She cried as she put on a heavy jacket and rushed out of her room, catching a glimpse of Sanosuke, bursting out of the training room.

"Kaori!" Sanosuke ran towards her.

"No! Stay away, Sanosuke!" She turned running out into the snow, across the yard, and out the gate. She stumbled only once as she rushed into the woods. No, no, no. Tears started to stream down her cheeks. She would only cause him trouble. More trouble than she was worth. They would only come after her.after Kenshin, Kaoru, Yahiko, Megumi, Yoriko, Yuki, and Sanosuke.. They would all be dead, lying on the ground before her. Blood everywhere.. No one left anyone left.

"KAORI!!!!!" Sanosuke leaped into the air, landing on Kaori hard, sending her falling face down into the snow. Immediately, he got off of her and turned her onto her back. "What the hell is wrong with you? You kiss me, then you take off running and screaming like an idiot." He shook her roughly. "What's wrong? Tell me, and tell me now."

She sniffled. "Not you." She turned her head to the side. Her eyes filled to the brim with tears.

"No! No! You look at me." He roughly turned her head to face him. He was a bit more gentle when he wiped a tear from her eye. "Tell me what's wrong."

All she could make out through her blurry eyes was his bandana. Blood red.blood. There was sure to be lots of it. "They're going to kill you." She choked on the words, almost unable to say anything.

"What? Kill? Who?" Sanosuke had made her sit up now, allowing her to lean her head onto his chest. "Tell me, Kaori. Who's going to kill?"

"They're murderers..damn them.damn them all.." She sniffed again and nestled her head closer to Sanosuke. "I love you too, Sanosuke." She noticed that his breath slightly hitched in his throat as this was said. "And I don't want you to die. Please.don't die."

"Kaori." He picked her up and cradled her in his arms as though she were just a child. "Yea.that's right." He encouraged her to cry, to let all the pain and sorrow out. After all, if crying is something that even God does, it's all right for you to do it too.

"Please don't die." She clung to his shoulder as though he would disappear forever if she were to even loosen her grip.

"I'm not going to die, Kaori." He hugged her the best he could as he walked back to the dojo.

"They'll kill him. They'll kill Kenshin and Kaoru and all the others."

"Well," He wiped away some more of her tears. "whoever 'they' are, they won't succeed."

"You don't know them like I do, Sanosuke. They killed my father and my mother."

Sanosuke stopped in his tracks. "They what?" He started to walk again, but only at the sound of Kaori's voice.

"That's how my mother and father died. They were killed by them. It was done painfully slowly. First, my father, just to see the sorrowful reaction of my mother. And then.then, they killed her too, in front of my sister and I. We cried so hard that we both felt our eyes would pop out." She sniffed. "Then, they offered us to go with them. We were only four or five back then, and.it was either the life of a criminal or no life at all. Early on, we only acted as spies so they could gather military information. My sister and I would be playing out in the street, listening to officers talking about their latest plans or schemes."

"Oh, Kaori.." His eyes looked as though they were of deep remorse as he opened up the gate, seeing Kenshin at the front door of the dojo. "Kenshin."

"Is Miss Kaori alright, Sanosuke?"

"She's a little shaken up, but she'll be fine."

Kaori didn't even say hello to Kenshin. She merely kept a tight grip onto Sanosuke as she was carried over to Kenshin so Sanosuke could talk to him.

"Kaori, maybe you want to go rest?" Sanosuke looked down at her, hoping that she would leave so that Kenshin and he could discuss the turn of events.

"Mmm.." Kaori held even tighter, not wanting to go anywhere without him being there. She had always felt very safe with Sanosuke, and right now, she needed to feel safe, warm, and secure.

"Okay, okay." Sanosuke turned to Kenshin. "I'll be back Kenshin." Sanosuke carried Kaori into her room, helped her out of her big, bulky jacket, and watched as she nestled herself into her bed. "I'll be back in a bit. Okay, Kaori?"

She simply nodded. Her eyes closed, her cheeks feeling strange after having her tears dry on them. But to her, it wasn't okay. She wanted Sanosuke to be here with her. Holding her in his arms, making her feel welcome, safe and sound, making her feel.loved.

"What do you think scared Kaori so much that made her run away from the dojo, Sanosuke?" He and Sanosuke had met in Kaoru's teaching room where she taught her students, if any. Kenshin had quickly gone to the kitchen and made some rice cakes, thinking that they would surely lighten the mood.

"I don't know." He bit into a rice cake, chewed, and then swallowed. "But if I were you, I'd feel sorry for whoever did it."

"Hmm? What's that?" Kenshin got up and walked over to a corner of the room. A shimmering dagger was stabbed into the floor, puncturing a paper in the process. "A note." Kenshin's smiling face turned into a mask of deadly seriousness as he picked up the dagger and paper.

"What is it, Kenshin?" Sanosuke stood and walked over to him, looking over his shoulder and down at the paper. A small gasp came from Sanosuke. "So that's it." The paper had the words 'You'll all be next.' printed sloppily and written in red, obviously someone's blood. Just below those words a small symbol, also printed sloppily, was the word 'Firestorm'. "We'll be next? The next to what?"

"Perhaps we should talk this over with Kaori?" Kenshin tightened his grip on the paper. Without Sanosuke's agreement, he headed out the door and advanced towards Kaori's door.

"Kenshin!" Sanosuke whispered fiercely. "Can't you see that Kaori's scared! We can't just barge in and start asking questions!"

"I'm not barging in Sanosuke. And in order for Kaori's protection, I need to know that all this is about. What I might be defending her against, who I might be defending her against." Kenshin knocked gently on the door. "Miss Kaori, are you awake?"

Kaori roused from a sound sleep. "Hm? Kenshin?" She sat up in her futon as Kenshin opened the door. "Oh. Come in." She smiled a tired smile.

"Thank you, Miss Kaori." Both he and Sanosuke came inside, sitting down on either side of her. "Not to sound rude, Miss Kaori, but we would like to ask you some questions about this and why you ran away so suddenly." He handed the paper to her.

"Mm.." She looked down somewhat. "That symbol. It's him." A tear fell paper. "He's going to kill you all." She sniffed. "He won't stop until he's killed you all."

"Who Kaori? What makes you think that he'll kill us? Who is he?"

"His name is Sakon Kusangi also known as 'Firestorm. He's one of those that I told you about, Sanosuke, the ones that introduced me into the criminal life. He, himself, doesn't necessarily have a fighting style like you, Kenshin. He seems to be fascinated by the power of fire. In all of his victim's deaths, fire was used. He enjoys hearing the screams and cries of the innocent."

"I see." Kenshin was looking attentively at Kaori. "Please, go on."

"It's just that he seems to be unbeatable. I know that his power seems to revolve around fire, but when he can't use his fire, he uses brute force, punching, strangling, or pummeling his victims to death."

Sanosuke sent a hard punch to the floor, making the floorboards give way and make a large, gaping hole that produced a gasp from Kaori. "If he even dares to take one step in this dojo, I'll be the one who's going to do the pummeling!"

Kenshin ignored Sanosuke's gesture of anger and continued with his questioning. "Miss Kaori, this man.he isn't after me, is he?" Kenshin looked deep into her own eyes, slightly knowing that they weren't after the hitokiri battousai, but after Kaori.

"No, Kenshin. I suppose that they're after myself and my sister. The leader of their group, Kazuma Fyang, found that we were a priceless addition to his group. If he wanted, he would send us into an official building. Hiding in the shadows, Yoriko and I would take our positions, waiting, watching for our target. When that time came, we used poison darts, rather than brute force, to kill them. My sister and I were never proud of what we did," A tear slid down her cheek. "that's why we tried to escape."

"Tried? But you two succeeded." Sanosuke was sitting a bit closer to Kaori, now wrapping an arm around her shoulder, allowing her to rest her head on his bare chest. "Did something go wrong?"

She nodded once. "Unfortunately, we were spotted by his many henchmen. We easily defeated them, but that's when Sakon came. We knew that we couldn't do a thing against him, so we ran. We hugged each other, then we ran different ways. He came after me, rather than my sister, which filled me with two emotions: happiness and fear. I was glad that my sister was safe, but I was scared to death. Luckily, Luna had come out a thicket and brawled with him long enough for me to get away."

Sanosuke, hugged her even tighter, running a hand through her hair and doing his best to try and comfort her. "Don't worry, Kaori. Everything's gonna be alright." Sanosuke's deep brown orbs traveled to Kenshin. "Hey, Kenshin? Could you leave me and Kaori alone for a minute?"

Kenshin smiled considerately. "Of course, Sano." He stood up, patting his clothes down as he did so many times. "I'll be back in a little while to check up on you, Kaori." With that, Kenshin left the room.

"What is it Sanosuke?" Kaori looked up at him inquisitively.

"I just. Kaori, were you really that scared? I mean, you fled as though the devil was at your heels."

"Sanosuke.the man killed my father! Why wouldn't I run?"

"Kaori." Sanosuke wrapped both arms around her with such gentleness that it surprised even himself. "Kaori, no matter what I'll protect you. I won't let anyone or anything bring harm to you. If..if you somehow left me, I'd die of misery." He squeezed her even tighter.

"Oh, Sanosuke." 'How could I have been such a fool? Sanosuke cares for me, he loves me. Why? Why did I run away as if he meant nothing to me?' This, and many more thoughts, raced through her mind. She felt the strange pricking of guilt at her heart. "I'm sorry, Sanosuke."

"Sorry for what?"

"I-I left you, fleeing for my life and not even looking back."

"Kaori." Sanosuke smiled understandingly. "You were just overcome by fear, that's all. It'll be alright."

"No." She clung to him, never wanting to let go. "I shouldn't have let fear overwhelm me so easily."

"Kaori, you're being hard on yourself." He moved away from her slightly, so he could look directly in her eyes. "Kaori, if I can forgive you, then you should forgive yourself." He smiled a gentle smile.

"I can't, I can't, I--"

Her words were cut off by a small kiss to her lips, nothing too deep, just a mere brush of his lips against hers. "Please? Will you forgive yourself?"

A long period of silence was spent between them. Both chocolate-brown pairs of eyes staring so deeply into one another. With a weak smile, she nodded. "Okay, Sanosuke."

A relieved sigh came from Sanosuke as he lowered his head all the more, reaching, getting closer, and closer still to her lips.

The door suddenly burst open, revealing the whole family: Kenshin, Kaoru, Yahiko, Yoriko, Yuki, Megumi, Dr. Genzai, and even the little girls. "Heeeeeey!" Yuki smiled broadly. "What are you two doing here all by your lonesome? There's snow to be played with and green tea to make!"

"Yea, right." Yahiko was wearing a black and white, big, bulky, and heavy looking jacket, making him resemble a fat rice cake. His face had the look of disgruntlement.

"Don't mind him." Yuki said cheerfully. "He's just upset with his jacket that I got for him. I think that he looks practically adorable in it!" She smiled again.

"Ack!" Blushing, Sanosuke and Kaori moved away from each other, hoping that the others didn't see what they were about to do.

"Sooo, let's go!" Yoriko and Yuki both grabbed one of Kaori's arms and hauled her up to her feet. "Let's go make a snowman!"

"Wait, wait!" Kaori was finally able to wrench her hands free of their grasp. "I don't exactly have the proper attire for playing in the snow."

Yuki and Yoriko both smiled as they held up a jacket that seemed as equally as massive as Yahiko's.

"Um. I think that I'll manage with what I have."

Sanosuke smiled as he stood and hugged Kaori from behind, resting his chin on her right shoulder. "I'll be out in a minute, I just need to change clothes." He kissed her cheek, then bypassed the family and headed towards his room.

"Well what are we waiting for?" The cheery, yet wavery, voice of Dr. Genzai was heard. "Iyame and Suzume are ready to make some snowmen."

"Yea!" Yoriko dashed off of the porch and jumped into the knee-deep snow. She laughed happily. "Come on guys!" She picked up a bit of snow, rolled it in a tight ball and chucked it straight at Megumi's head. It landed with a 'splat' and certainly surprised Megumi.

"Yoriko!" Megumi picked up some freshly fallen snow on the porch, rolled it up, and hurled it towards Yoriko, which she easily dodged.

"Yay!" Iyame and Suzume both eagerly plunged into the snow, but it came up more to their waists than their knees.

Yoriko giggled as she picked up the two young ones. "Wanna help me make a snowman?"

They both nodded. "Yeah! We want to, we want to!" Sitting on top of either one of Yoriko's shoulders, they were carried off to an area of the courtyard where the snow was a bit less shallow.

Though Yoriko had given up on the snowball fight, she, herself, wasn't quite done. She rushed through the snow, rolled up some snow, and hurled it at the back of Yoriko's head. "Ha!"

Yoriko smiled as she turned around and easily blocked the snowball with her forearm. As she lowered her arm she smiled over at Megumi. "Nice try." Her smile widened. "And you should really try and aim a bit higher. That snowball was nowhere near my face." She turned, her braided ponytail flying, and put down the two little ones. Squatting, so that she was at their eye level, she asked if they were ready to make some snowmen.

"Yea!" Their shrill little voices cheered. Picking up bits of snow, Iyame and Suzume rolled little snowballs.

"That's the way to do it." Yoriko laughed as she, herself, picked up a snowball and started to roll it tight.

Sitting on the porch and watching the others play seemed to fill her heart with bliss and joy. 'I can't remember the last time I was so happy.' She thought to herself. 'Sanosuke.' "Mmm." She found herself smiling at a passing thought. "What?" She sat up suddenly, blushing like crazy, and very surprised with herself. She slapped herself. "Kaori, snap out of it."

"Alright, Yuki. I'll race ya over to where Yoriko is." His arms sticking out, making the boy under the jacket form a cross, he waddled over to the edge of the porch at a turtle's pace. "I'm gonna beat ya!"

Yawning as she walked over to the side of the porch, she looked over a Yahiko and at his swelled jacket. "Can you run in that thing? I don't think you can."

"Or course I can!" Arms waving in the air he tried to jump off the porch, only to trip, fall his head, and roll across the ground somewhat until he finally stopped. Swirleys in his eyes, he groaned painfully. "Ouch.."

"I'll be nice and not say 'I told you so.'" Yuki said as she easily walked past him and over to Yoriko and the young ones. As soon as they saw her, the two girls raced over to her, each one grabbing a hold of a leg. She laughed. "All aboard! The train is leaving the station! Whooo-whoooo!" Carrying the girls, she walked back to Yoriko, each of them letting go and going back to carrying snow over to their half-built snow man.

"Lookie, lookie! We're almost done!" The two girls smiled and continued to work the snow in their gloved hands, giggling all the while.

"Hey, cous'?" Yuki gently nudged Yoriko. "Dya think that Kaori's gonna be o.k.?"

"About what?"

"You know." She pointed to the sky.

"Oh! That full moon thing? It's nothing too serious..yet."

"Yet?" Gently holding onto her cousin's collar she dragged her closer. "What do you mean 'yet'?"

"Well. It's prob'ly gonna get worse."

"Kaori?" Sanosuke was standing just behind her, now wearing a brown jacket nowhere near as bulky as Yahiko's. "Are you okay?"

"Hmm?" She turned just so to see Sanosuke, beaming a smile down at her. "Oh. I'm just fine." She smiled back up at him.

"Hey, come on."

She blinked. "Come on? Come on where?"

Gently grasping her hand, he helped her to her feet. "There's something that I want to show you." Quietly leading her away from the rest of the group, they made their was to the back entrance of the dojo. Shutting the large gates behind him, Sanosuke smiled devilishly. 'Ehehehe. Sometimes I'm too smart for my own good' He thought to himself. Turning to face Kaori, he smiled. "Ready?"

"Ready to do what?"

"Ready to die, of course." He chuckled.

"Sanosuke? W-what are you talking about?"

"I'm not Sanosuke, you silly little girl."

"What?" She took a few steps back, trying her best to not be afraid, but to remember some of the defensive stances that her brother had once taught her. Using one of them, she glared at him. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Come, come now. Don't you remember me?" His hands reached up to his face, his face was slowly yet surely being pulled off. With a slight 'snap' the rest of the rubbery mask came off, revealing his face. His golden eyes boring into her own and filling her with fear. Voice deepening, he spoke. "It's Sakon. I know that you remember me. A face like mine is hard to forget."

If he didn't like killing everyone in his sight, he surely would have been an attractive man; his golden hair, with one part covering his left eye, and equally yellow eyes made him seem different from most other men, his muscled figure also added to the mix. He wasn't one of those body builder type guys, he merely took himself to his own limits. Taking off his jacket, she could easily see his tightly muscled chest and the slim waist that was just under them. Quickly, He put on his own custom made jacket, leaving it open just enough to show his chest. "Let's go."

"Go? You actually think that I'm going with you?"

"Well, not of your own free will, of course." His hand snatched her own so amazingly fast that she didn't even see his hand move.

"Hey! Let go of me!" She jerked her arm back, but only to have his hand clench down on hers like a steel clamp. "Ow, ow, ow, ow." He twisted her arm so that she had to fall to her knees to keep her arm from breaking.

"I take it that you're ready to go?" He smiled wickedly. "Of course you are." He released her from his grip. "Now get up and follow me." He turned away from her and walked down the snow-covered path that led away from the dojo.

Panting she sat up. "Why don't you just drag me all the way to Kyoto? After all, you won't be able to get me there any other way."

"I was hoping not to hurt you.." He turned to face her. "But it seems that you can't cooperate at all to my liking. So." He cracked his knuckles. "It seems that I'll have to be rough." He advanced towards her. "Any last words?"

"Yeah, but you won't kill me. You know that Kazuma needs me and if you kill me, he'll kill you." She stood, feeling rather confident. "And if you were to hit me, I'm sure that you would suffer much worse."

"Hmm." 'Stupid little broad.' He thought to himself. "Still, if hurting you is the only way to get you to Kyoto, then Kazuma won't mind." Her took her hand into his own and led her away from the run-down dojo.

"Let go! Let go of me! Sanosuke!! Sanosu-" Her sentence was cut off short when jabbed in her stomach, cutting off her air supply and knocking the wind out of her. She Coughed a bit, trying to regain her breath

"Now, now Kaori. You know that you have to be quiet, but you just had to open your mouth didn't you?" He scooped her up into his arms. "Let's go. Kazuma is waiting." Off they went, Kaori on his shoulder and he, feeling as though he had done a good deed, went off without a smidge of regret.

"Kaori? Kaori?!" Sanosuke busted out of his room, he had heard someone call out his name and it had sounded like Kaori. "Kaori, where are you?" Sanosuke jumped off the porch. "Yuki! Yoriko! Where's Kaori?"

"Sanosuke?" Yoriko stood facing him. "What are you talking about? Kaori just went off with you."

"What? I was in my room changing! Damn it!" Sanosuke looked around. "Blaze! Blaze, get out here!"

"Myrew?" From out under the dojo Blaze came, looking quite upset that she had just been awakened form a very sound sleep.

"Where's Kaori? Sniff her out, find her, do something!" Sanosuke was growing quite worried now.

Blaze tilted her head to the side looking very confused at the moment. She didn't understand what he was saying. She had no idea of what he wanted. "Meow?"

"Blaze!!" Sanosuke picked her up, his hands placed under her forearm pits, shaking her roughly. "Can't you do something besides look up at me?!" He shook her again. "Kaori is missing, you've got to do something!! Don't you understand? Your master is gone!!!"

The only word in that sentence that she understood was 'master', but being constantly shaken drove that out of her mind. She growled baring a fang then opened her mouth wide. She barked once which was followed by a powerful spray of flames, covering Sanosuke's entire face.

"Ow.." Sanosuke dropped Blaze who landed gracefully on her feet. "I'll take that as a 'no'." Sanosuke coughed, smoke coming from his mouth. "Sorry about that."

Blaze looked up at him, still feeling quite angry. "Myew?" Blaze gingerly sniffed the air. Something smelled strange. "Meow!" Blaze put her nose down to the snow, sniffing over and over again, and then took off across the yard, the deep snow not even being an issue.

"Blaze? Blaze where are you going? Wait up!" Sanosuke took off after her, doing his best to keep up with the nimble little creature.

Blaze barked over and over again, as though she had lost her mind. She advanced towards the back gate, not even taking the time to stop and wait for Sanosuke to open it, but instead transformed into her much larger self and busted down the wooden door.

"Whoa! Blaze, Kenshin's probably gonna make me fix that!" He said as he quickly jumped over the fallen, broken gate.

Blaze ignored him completely as she sped up, leaving Sanosuke to eat her dust. She barked as she approached Sakon. She didn't know exactly who he was, but her master was knocked out and lying on his shoulder. She let out a vicious roar as she leapt into the air, though in a split second, he disappeared on her. She landed hard on her feet, though quickly turned around to face the enemy, growling all the while.

"Stupid animal." Sakon pushed Kaori up higher on his shoulder. "I remember you. You were a lot smaller then though. No matter. You'll be a throw rug soon enough." He allowed Kaori to fall off his shoulder on onto the ground. "I don't usually use swords, but I don't want to singe that lovely pelt of yours." A katana remained sheathed at his left side, hanging loosely.

Blaze merely growled at him, showing both canines and a lot more sharp teeth, indicating that there was no way in heaven that she would lose to this human. She roared once more before charging him, tackling him to the ground, and sinking her teeth into his left arm, but she was very puzzled that he wasn't screaming in pain.

"Nice attempt." In a swift and sudden movement, he pulled a dagger from his pocket, stabbing it just behind Blaze's ribcage, sending blood squirting out from the deep wound, drenching Sakon's yukata. He smiled evilly as his ears savored the pained screams coming from her. "Time for the kill." Moving at great speeds, he found his way out from underneath her with only a bit of blood falling from the wound in his arm. In his right hand he held a small bomb and tossed it into the air leisurely before catching it time and time again. "I hope you've lived a full life." Grasping the fuse between his thumb and index fingernail, he scrapped the nails against one another, lighting the fuse. "Fire in the hole!" He tossed it into the air, watching as it exploded into a thousand pieces, raining down slender needles down upon the injured form of Blaze. Each one pierced through her body, sending out sprays of blood, and two in particular pierced directly though her heart and head. She fell to the ground with a moan, her eyes glazed as the cold, icy blanket of death swept over her, engulfing every bit of her. The flames that blazed in anger flickered for a bit before going out completely. Her lifeless, motionless body lay just a distance away from Sanosuke who had just come on the scene.

"No!!" Sanosuke's eyes came in contact with Sakon's. He clenched his fists in anger. "Bastard." His eyes closed tight. "You BASTARD!!!!!"

"You act as though the thing was human, but don't fret, she'll make a handsome throw rug, and I'll even be kind enough to wipe my feet before walking on her." He chuckled. "Well, I must be on my way..you understand."

"Take one step towards her and you'll get a free meal at the ass kickin' buffet." He remained where he was, his chocolate-brown eyes fixed on Sakon with the white-hot intensity of a thousand burning suns. "Then again, if you remain where you are you'll still get a free meal at the ass kickin' buffet."

"Sanosuke!" Yoriko, Yuki, Kenshin, Kaoru, and Yahiko, had arrived on the scene as well. Suddenly, they all stopped in their tracks as their eyes befell Blaze.

"Sanosuke!" Kenshin came next to his friend. "What happened?" Kenshin looked over at Yoriko, who also started to advance.

"Stay back! Get away!!" Sanosuke looked over at her, completely serious about what he had just said. "He's gonna hurt you, get back!" Yoriko paid no mind as she continued to walk. "Blaze. You killed her. You killed her! You KILLED HER!!!" She faced Sakon. "I'll kill you, I swear I will!!"

"Damn. What are you, a bunch of animal lovers?" Sakon gathered up Blaze, hanging her on his shoulder and holding her up by her tail. "I swear, I'm gonna barf soon. Now, if you'll move, I'll gladly gather up the wench and be on my way."

"Fuck you." Sanosuke seemed to be driven off the edge; he had clenched his fists so hard that his blunt fingernails dug had punctured his palms and caused him to bleed. Under his long bangs, his eyes remained focused on Sakon, no way was he going to make off with Kaori, too.

Yoriko retreated back to Sanosuke's side, cracking her knuckles before raising her clenched fists. "Ditto." Kaori was her sister and by no miracle was he even gonna lay a hand on her.

Kenshin unsheathed his sword. "I hate to curse, but it seems that I agree, indeed, I do." Taking his stand next to Yoriko, the three of them stood facing Sakon with Sanosuke on the left, Yoriko in the middle, and Kenshin on the right. They stood a triangle, the motionless form of Kaori at the top, Sakon on the left base side, and Kaori, Sanosuke, and Kenshin on the right.

'Damn. Didn't know the job would be this hard.. Maybe I should bide my time, but if I left now, it would just give them a chance to prepare for my next move...' "Well, look at you all. You're just one big, happy family, ain't ya? Well, continue this stupid love fest. You can bet that I'll be back, and next time you'll all be dead by the time I leave. So." He suddenly moved towards Sanosuke, his left fist, striking him hard in his gut just before backing away and disappearing into the shadows, taking Blaze along with him. "..enjoy life while you can."

Sanosuke's right leg gave way and his left arm clutched his stomach, but he still stood. His eyes traveled to his stomach. He was bleeding. "He had a knife hidden in his hand.bastard.." With that he fell to his knees, his right arm propped his body off of the ground.

"Sanosuke!" Kenshin helped his friend to his feet.

"Don't mind me, get Kaori! Shit." His muttered; it hurt like hell when he talked.

"But Yoriko's already gotten her." Kenshin smiled at Sanosuke's eagerness to help the one he loved.

"Oh. Well, I guess that's okay." Sanosuke stood, his left arm wrapped around Kenshin's neck. He smiled and thanked his friend as they both headed back towards the dojo. "Kaori's not hurt is she?"

"No. Not yet." Kenshin's friendly smile had withered a bit.

"Not yet? What's that supposed to mean?" He watched as Yoriko and Yuki carried Kaori off with both Yahiko and Kaoru following close behind, anxious to see if she was all right.

"Well, when she comes to, she'll want to know about Blaze.." Kenshin looked down somewhat as they both made their way over the shattered gate.

"Yeah.. I guess that issue would be hard to overlook. I'm not sure if I know how to break it to her."

"Yes. That's understandable." Kenshin smiled again. "I know that this should probably be a time of mourning, but we have to keep in mind that this isn't the end of the world. I believe that in time, Kaori's heartache will cease and she'll move on, indeed, I do. And I'm sure that she'll get better much faster if you were to comfort her."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Sanosuke grunted as they both plopped their butts down on the polished wood floor.

"Shouldn't you go to Miss Megumi so that she can check your wounds?" Kenshin asked as he closed the door behind them.

"I guess so.." He moved his cupped hand away from his stomach; his was still bleeding, but it had gone down some. "Dammit.can't believe that I could have let him catch me off guard like that. I didn't even see him move."

"Don't feel bad, Sanosuke. It's not like you don't get your butt kicked every other day." Megumi smiled as she poked her head around the corner.

"Watch it, Megumi. Now is not a good time to get me riled up." Sanosuke sat Indian style on the floor, his eyes falling closed.

"Oh, shut up and take off your shirt." Megumi stood beside him. "I need to check your wound."

"No."

"No?" Megumi looked a bit puzzled.

"That's right. 'No'."

"And why not?"

"One: Have you taken care of Kaori?"

"Yes. She was only knocked out."

"Two: You're the one who's gonna take off my shirt."

"And why is that?"

"Because I'm injured and it hurts to move." He looked up at her, smiling wryly.

"Whatever, Sanosuke. Just lie down."

He easily laid back, folding his hands under his head and propping his left leg up. "So.? Is it serious?"

"It depends on how much you move around." She smiled as she looked over to Kenshin. "Sir, Ken, could I ask you to fetch me some bandages?"

"Of course, Miss Megumi." He turned to leave, but looked back over at her. "Is there something else that I could get for you, Miss Megumi?"

"Oh, yes, there is. If you would get some alcohol, that would be lovely." She smiled.

"Right away, Miss Megumi." He happily walked down the hall and into the storage room, where most items-such as medical items- were kept.

"Now then." Megumi looked down at Sanosuke. "As soon as Kenshin gets back, we can begin. Until that time comes, I'll be examining you, thoroughly." A wicked smile came to her lips. "Won't that be fun?"

Sanosuke swallowed. "No need to be thorough. As a matter of fact, I don't think that we even need to have this checkup. It's only a scratch, no need to get all worked up about it." With a nervous smile, he tried to sit up, only to be pushed back down by Megumi.

"But I still want to make sure that you'll make a full recovery." She looked over her shoulder as Kenshin came back into the room with bandage wrappings in one hand and a bottle of alcohol in the other.

"These bandages are alright, aren't they?"

"Oh, yes, Sir Ken. They'll do wonderfully. Oh! I see that you even brought me a cloth for applying the alcohol. Thank you, Sir Ken." She took the items from him and turned back towards Sanosuke. "Time to begin." She popped open the lid of the bottle. "First, we clean the wound of all dried blood."

She poured more than a bit of alcohol onto the cloth, which made him grow quite nervous. "Isn't that enough alcohol?" He watched her shake her head and pour even more onto the cloth.

"Hold still, this might hurt." She slapped down the cloth directly on the wound, letting the alcohol disinfect the wound.

"AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!" Sanosuke jerked away, sending the cloth flying. "Shit! Are you trying to kill me?! Anymore alcohol, and I'll need a designated driver!"

"Don't be mad at me. You're the one who got yourself injured. Now hold still, we still need to put more on it."

"Hell, no!" Sanosuke stood, pain no longer being an issue. "If I have to, I'll treat the damned thing myself, but certainly no like this!"

"Sanosuke, please, calm down."

He had to admit that he wasn't really angry or anything, but it did really hurt. "Yeah, yeah." He sat down next to Megumi, who was giggling a bit. "And what's so funny, fox lady?"

"Your reaction." She snickered. "I didn't think that you would react like this, but you have to admit that it was rather funny."

"Rather funny, my ass. That hurt like hell." He rubbed his stomach. "Anyway, just hurry up and apply those bandages so I can go."

A few minutes later, Kaori stepped into the room. "Hey, you guys? Could someone explain why Yoriko and Yuki seem a bit sad?"

"Oh." Kenshin scratched the back of his head uneasily; Sanosuke was doing the same.

"Well? Aren't you guys going to tell me?" She cocked her head to the side and stared at them in a questioning manner. "Come on, I want to know."

"Um. Kaori, you should come with me." Sanosuke stood and walked over to her, his hand gently took her own and entwined his fingers with hers as he led her out of the room and out on the porch.

"Sanosuke, what's all this about?"

Sanosuke continued to lead, a solemn look on his face. Finally, they made it to her room. "I figure that you'll be able to take it better in a place you find comfortable." They both made their way inside and sat down where they had sat not even two hours ago. "Sanosuke, please, just tell me what's going on."

"Umm.. Kaori."

"Yes?" She blinked a few times, feeling quite confused.

"It's Blaze.she.she's dead." Sanosuke's eyes slightly lowered as he finally delivered the bad news.

"W-what.? Sanosuke, stop playing around. That's not funny!"

"Kaori." He wrapped his arms around her, placing her head on his shoulder. "I'm not playing around. Blaze really is dead."

With her hands on his shoulders, she pushed herself back, wanting to make eye contact as they spoke. "Sanosuke, please, tell me that you're joking."

"I hate to say it, Kaori, but I'm not joking. I'm afraid that she's gone now."

She lowered her gaze, not wanting to look at him any longer. "Please leave now."

"Kaori, until I know that you'll be fine, I won't leave your side."

She sniffled. "Sanosuke!" He flung her arms around him, laid her head on his chest, and wept openly, finally

"There ya go. Go ahead and let it all out." His hands gently stroked her back, doing his best to comfort her. He also tried to do his best to make out the heart-wrenching babble that flowed from her. She spoke of good times with Blaze and sad times with Blaze and upsetting moments with Blaze and fights she had won.with Blaze. Using his sleeve, he wiped some of her tears away. Some time later, she had finished her crying and was merely lying in his arms. "Feel better now?"

She nodded though she stayed silent. "Sanosuke?"

"Yes?" He looked down at her, his eyes were filled with concern for her.

"Where is she? Blaze, I mean."

"Uh...before we could recover her body, Sakon made off with her."

"God.. Could this day be any worse that it already is..?"

Prob'ly."

"How so?"

"Well.." He kissed her forehead. "Sakon could come back or--"

He was silenced by a quick kiss to his cheek. "Aren't you supposed to comfort me?"

"Well, you asked." He grinned.

"There you go, being the immature goofball that you are."

"You say like it's a bad thing."

"Oh, be quiet."

"If I'm quiet, will you give me another kiss?"

She smiled. "Perhaps, and perhaps not."

"Aww. Come on, Kaori." He pulled her closer.

"Isn't this supposed to be a time of mourning and not of hornyness?"

"Aww, but what about little Sanosuke?" His eyes looked from his pants then back at her to indicate just what he was talking about

"Sanosuke!" She blushed at the thought of his engorged erection.

"Sorry, babe." He kissed her forehead. "It's just kinda hard for a man to control himself when it comes to sex." He chuckled and being the devil that he was, he thrusted his hips into hers, causing her to feel the growing lump in his pants. "And with you just laying here with me, it's doin' somethin' to me."

She giggled. Even though that she found this situation to be awkward, she still found herself getting quite aroused. Then it hit her. "Sanosuke, we can't do it here."

"And why not?"

"In case you didn't notice, there are nine other people in this dojo, it's still broad daylight outside, and I'm not sure if I want to."

"My dearest Kaori that can easily be arranged." He said with a smirk as he rolled over, making her lie on her back. He straddled her waist, with one leg on either side. "Not too heavy, am I?"

She squirmed a bit. "I'm afraid that you are."

He smiled. "Good. Then I should be enough to keep you pinned down."

"What? Sanosuke, what on earth are you going to do to me?"

"Make sweet, sweet love to you, of course." He purred the word 'love', wanting that one word to stay in her memory.

A crimson blush took hold of her face. "S-sanosuke?"

"Yes, love?"

She cringed, she was willing to go through with this, but she still had some doubts. "Will this hurt?"

"Not unless you want me to make it hurt. Now, lie still."

She did as she was told and remained as still as she could. "Please...," She whispered. "...be gentle.."

He untied his blood red bandana and tied it around her head, using it as a blindfold.

"Wha--"

"Shh. Everything's gonna be alright." He soothed her, and with that, he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her ever so gently. Then, like a wild animal let loose, his tongue hungrily searched out hers.

A soft moan came from her. This was the first time that Sanosuke had ever kissed her this way. In the back of her mind, she kept screaming out for more. As Sanosuke deepened the kiss, Kaori wrapped her arms around Sanosuke's neck, pulling him closer so that they would be able to kiss more comfortably. After a scorching minute, they broke the kiss, gasping for air. She felt a faint line of saliva trailing down the corner of her mouth But..

Sanosuke saw it before she felt it, and quickly held her hand still when she had tried to wipe it away. 'Uh-uh' He thought as he lowered his tongue to lick the saliva off, leaving a moist mark of his own. His right hand slowly worked the sash of her kimono as he showered her neck in loving kisses.

"Sanosuke.." She moaned loudly, relishing the sweet delight of his soft, warm tongue moving across her soft skin. She buried her hands in the thick mass of unruly hair, mussing it even more and sometimes even pulling on it. "Sanosuke!" If she weren't blindfolded, her eyes would have grown twice their normal size. He had somehow untied the knot her sash was worked into, parted her kimono, baring her legs, lowered her underwear, and had just grasped her most private of places.

Sanosuke chuckled, pleased with her reaction. Slowly, he slid his fingers over her nether lips, making sure that they didn't enter her, but merely stroked her clit. He felt her tighten her previous grip on his hair. 'Oh. This is gonna be good.' With a devilish smile, he slid his middle finger inside her, enjoying the way that she looked when she gasped in surprise. "Are you ready?"

Panting, she replied. "Ready? Ready for what?"

"Miss Kaori?" Kaoru was knocking on her door. "Kaori, are you in there?"

"Eep! J-just a minute!" Kaori quickly pulled up undergarment up, closed her kimono, and wrapped her sash around her waist, while Sanosuke tried to get rid of the stuff on his fingers. "Hold on!" She took her seat next to Sanosuke and put her hair into a ponytail. "Come in!"

Kaoru opened up the sliding door and beamed a smile down on Sanosuke and Kaoru. "It seems that we have a guest who will be staying for lunch so..do you think that you could make lunch today, Miss Kaori?"

"Oh, of course I will." Kaori stood up. "By the way, who is the guest?"

"A friend of Kenshin's. Hiko Seijuurou." Then she turned away, closing the door behind her and left.

"Oh, wow! I never would have thought that Hiko would have come in this kind of weather!" She hurriedly helped Sanosuke to his feet. "Come on! I want you to meet him!"

Sanosuke was willingly dragged along the front porch and into the dining room, where Kenshin, Kaoru, Yahiko, Megumi, Dr. Genzai, the two girls, and a stranger that assumed was Hiko.

"Hello, Kaori. You're looking lovelier than ever." Hiko smiled. 'Who's that guy with her? Boyfriend? No way.' He shook his head decisively.

A slight blush formed on her cheeks. "Oh, thank you, Hiko."

"Ahem." Sanosuke nudged her with his elbow, indicating that she should introduce everyone.

"Oh! Hiko, as you know, that's Kenshin, and that's Dr. Genzai, one of the best doctors in Tokyo, that's Miss Megumi, one of the best doctors' assistants in Tokyo, that's Yahiko, one of Kaoru's students, and that's Kaoru, the assistant master at the dojo. And this man standing next to me is Sanosuke."

"But you can call me Sagara." He wrapped his arm around Kaori's waist. "Or Kaori's man, whichever you prefer."

"Sanosuke!" Kaori elbowed him in the stomach.

"Whoa! Is that true?" This piqued Yahiko's interest. "So, when's the wedding?" Yahiko teased.

"Yahiko!!!" Kaori's glare seemed to freeze him.

"What? I'm just jokin'. Nobody knows how to take a joke anymore!"

"Whatever. Anyway, are there any suggestions for lunch?" Now she was speaking on a much lighter tone.

"Ohake!!!"

"Beef bowls!"

"Ramen!"

"Miso!"

"Um.okay?" Kaori scratched the back of her head. "We can't have all of that so. you'll all just have to settle for some of my beef/chicken stew!"

"We've never had your beef/chicken stew before.." Kenshin tilted his head in a questioning manner.

"That's because I just thought of it." Kaori smiled. "I'm so brilliant!"

*everyone except Kaori falls anime style*

"I'll be in the kitchen if you need me!" She happily walked into the kitchen while everyone else sat back up.

"So, Sanos--. I mean, Sagara, what's your relationship towards Kaori?" He picked up his glass of green tea and drank from it. 'Hehehe.. So the big collar man is jealous, eh?' "Well, let's see. There are just so many different angles that this could be seen from. Well, there's boyfriend, bodyguard, comforter, lover.. need I go on?"

'Lover?' A pan came flying through the bamboo reed door that separated the kitchen and dining room, and landed with a 'konk' onto Sanosuke's head, sending him onto his back. Everyone's gaze fell to the gaping hole in the door. Kaori's head appeared behind the door and where the hole was. "Oops. My pan accidentally slipped from my hand and somehow went through the door and hit.Sanosuke.you know..on the head. Yeah." She sighed. "I'm gonna get that stew started now." And then the head was gone.

"Ouch.." Sanosuke sat up. "What did I do?!" On the other side of the hole, another pan was being held as a warning that he had better not screw up again. Not wanting to get hit again, he decided to keep the 'lover' stuff at a low level.

"Uncle Sanny, you have a lump on your head." Ayame pointed to his head.

"You have a lump on your head, Uncle Sanny." Susume pointed to his head as well.

"Really? Gee. I didn't know it was there. Thanks for pointin' that out for me."

"You're welcome, Uncle Sanny." Ayame said.

"You're welcome, Uncle Sanny." Susume said.

"What adorable nieces you have." Hiko smiled down at the young ones.

"They're not my nieces."

"Then why would they call you 'uncle'?"

"I dunno ask them. They started callin' Kenshin that and now they've started calling me that. Heck, who knows, they might start calling you that!"

"I'd be okay with it." Hiko smiled as the two girls came over to him.

"We can't call you uncle!"

"Oh?" Hiko looked puzzled. "Why not?"

"Because, we just met you today, silly!" Ayame and Susume burst into giggles.

"Ah. I see." He picked up Ayame. "Now, you'll have to remind me which one of you is which. You two look so much alike. Why, you must be twins!"

Ayame giggled. "No. We're not twins."

"Hey guys!" Kaori called them from the kitchen. "I made some riceballs for appetizers and I need someone to open the door!"

Sanosuke's eyes traveled to Hiko. "Hmm."

Hiko's eyes traveled to Sanosuke, as he set Ayame down. "Hmm."

They both rose to their feet at the same time, their eyes locked on to one another. If Hiko took a step, Sanosuke took a step, and if Sanosuke took a step, Hiko took a step. They nodded towards each other and held out their left fist. They made their fists rise and fall three times, and on the third time they fell, one's hand was on rock, and the other's was on paper.

'Damn it.' Sanosuke sat back down, knowing that he was defeated.

'Sorry, but you lose.' In his mind, he laughed victoriously. He headed towards the door, just before he could open the door is had slid open, revealing a smiling Kaori.

"I got it!" She made her way past Hiko, who looked as though his jaw had dropped to the floor. As she set the dish with the riceballs down, she noticed that Sanosuke seemed to be smirking at the sight of Hiko being so taken back. "Oh, yes. I completely forgot about the salt. Hiko, would you be a dear and go fetch a bag of salt for me?"

He seemed to instantly regain his composure. "I would be happy to so." In his mind, he chuckled. 'Sagara: 1 Hiko: 2' "Although, I'm not certain of the whereabouts of where you place the salt." He admitted.

"Oh. That's no problem, Sanosuke will help you." With that, she went back into the kitchen.