"STOP! THIEF!" screamed a male voice from the market. There was the crash of dishes breaking as a young woman, around the age of seventeen, came running out. Her long dark hair was messily tied into loose pig tales. Her clothing was tattered, and dirty. In her left hand she clenched a single rice ball. "HELP! POLICE!" screamed the man, gesturing towards the girl. Soon the police were chasing after her. Gunshots were fired at her. She ran faster. "Isn't he over reacting?" she cried, "I mean! It's just one rice ball!" She turned a corner and ran smack into a stranger who was carrying a bag of groceries.
Groceries went flying everywhere as the two fell to the ground. "I'm so sorry!" said the girl, looking over her shoulder, and then tenderly patting the rice ball back together. She looked over at the man she had collided into. At least she thought it was a man. He had long red hair, and a cross-shaped scar on his cheek. At his side he carried a sword. "Oro?" he muttered. His eyes were swirling around. He seemed very disoriented.
"What the-?" stammered the young lady, still skittish from the chase.
"You'll have to excuse Kenshin," said a tall man with pointy hair, and white clothing. He extended his hand to the girl, and pulled her up. She smiled at him. "THERES THE THIEF!" came a sudden shout.
"Uh-oh," said the girl starting to run again, but unfortunately for her, the tall man grabbed her wrist.
"Thief?" he asked, his face showing more curiosity than disgust.
"Me?" she said batting her eyelashes, "A thief? Don't be silly. NOW LET GO!" She tried to get away from him. She almost resorted to biting when the redheaded man spoke.
"What has this young lady has stolen?"
"A RICEBALL!" said a man, pushing through the crowd of policemen. At the sound of this nearly everyone over from sheer surprise.
"You mean we have been chasing this kid halfway through town after a rice ball thief?" asked a policeman, a vein popping.
"Well, yeah," said the man. The pressure around the girl's wrist was loosened. "Lets go men," said the policemen.
"Aren't you going to do something about her?" exclaimed the shop owner, clearly even more furious from the police reactions.
"It is wrong to steal, that it is," said the redheaded man, "so this one will pay for the rice ball." The redhead paid for her rice ball, and the young woman ate it with out a single look of regret.
"Thanks a lot," she said, grinning at the pair-mouth still full of rice, "You guys saved my life!"
They smiled back at her. "No problem kid," said the tall one.
"Kid?" said the girl, "I'll have you know I am seventeen! Just how old are you? Chicken-head?"
"Chicken-head? Didn't you just say I saved your life?"
"If the red-head hadn't been here, you would have handed me over to the cops!" announced the girl, determined to be contradictory.
"This 'red-head' has a name, and it's Kenshin Himura, that it is."
"I'm sorry," said the girl, a bit embarrassed, "I have a name too Mr. Himura," she paused for a moment, "Now what was it again?"
"You don't even know your own name?" said the tall one, grinning from ear to ear.
"Of coarse I know my name... It's—err—not your business!."
The tall one frowned. "Well," he said rubbing his arm, "I'm Sanosuke."
"Sanosuke?" she repeated, disbelief in her eyes.
"Yeah," said the man, "Something wrong?"
"Oh nothing," she mumbled. She shook her head. It couldn't be him. She bowed, avoiding their eyes. "Thank you for kindness Sirs, now I must be on my way."
"Wait," Himura said, "Wouldn't you like a warm meal at our dojo? Miss Karou's cooking is very good, that it is!"
"You don't even know me," she said softly, but then her stomach rumbled.
"That's a yes," said Sanosuke, grabbing her arm. "The food ain't great," he laughed, "but it's better than nothing."
Her eyes thinned. "I don't need your sympathy." She yanked her arm away. "I can take care myself."
"By stealing," said Kenshin grimly.
"It's better than having someone feeling sorry for you! I have taken care of myself for the past ten years! I don't need any help now." She turned away, and began to leave when Sano spoke up.
"It must have been tough," he began, "having your brother die while you were just a seven year old kid," She stopped in her tracks.
"How'd y-"
"Shai Sagara," he said, "It's been a long time."
The young woman began to visibly tremble. She turned slowly to size up the man from her past. "I can't believe it's you," she blurted out, falling into a full embrace with a man she hadn't seen in ten years. Only, he hadn't been a man back then. Sanosuke Sagara, at nine, had been little more than a boy. And Shai—she was a little girl. Now, Sano was as tall as Souzou had been. A lump began to form in her throat, and soon she would be choking back tears. She buried her head into his chest. Sanosuke squeezed her gently. "I was certain you were dead," he told her softly.
Kenshin cleared his throat awkwardly. "This one can see you two have quite the history. Perhaps this tearful reunion would be better spent inside Miss Karou's dojo." The girl smiled at the kind redhead's—Himura's thoughtful words. "Besides," he added, "Miss Karou will have dinner made soon, that she will."
Shai's stomach growled at the mention of food. "Dinner sounds wonderful."
Sanosuke grimaced. "You say that now," he said ominously.
"Pay no mind to Sano," Himura chuckled, walking forward carrying his bag of groceries along with him. "He hates Miss Karou's food."
"Only because it's disgusting," Sano added, grinning wolfishly.
Shai Sagara laughed, and followed the slightly odd, but friendly Mister Himura. She spent the walk thinking of the days spent following the Sekihotai, and mainly her brother, Souzou. She and Sanosuke chatted idly mostly about how the pair had faired the past ten years. Sanosuke had taken to acting as a fighter for hire—until recently. Shai had taken to wandering from town to town, taking up odd jobs when she could, but mostly wandering. Every now and then she would get caught and pushed into an orphanage or foster family that she would run away from. Over the years she had gotten pretty good at being invisible. Sometimes, like today, she would hit rock bottom and would have to steal for food. Usually she didn't get caught or if she did the kindly shop keepers would let her slip by. Mister Himura informed her that he, too, had been a wanderer. They would save the heavy talk—the night Souzou and the others were brutally murdered—for later when the pair could find privacy.
Sanosuke stayed close to his old friend. How he had recognized her just then, he couldn't say. She was anything but the scrawny kid sister he remembered. She certainly still had the tom boyish appearance of her youth, but now she was so much more, well, shapely. Sanosuke couldn't help but focus on the curves of her body or the gentle curl in her hair. She was wearing tattered clothes too big for her and ugly, but she still managed to look attractive. The excess cloth did not manage to hide all of her body. The pants, made for easy getaways, perhaps, or honest work, did not cover the curves of her legs. He was a man, after all, and his childhood companion had turned into a beautiful woman. He couldn't stop himself from thinking about her in ways he never would have imagined at nine. She had been the slightly annoying, rambunctious little sister of the man he idolized. Often, he and Tsunan got charged with babysitting Shai. "Tsunan," he remembered, as the trio arrived at the gate to the dojo. "He survived as well!"
Shai grinned. "So the Sekihotai junior division all live," she said triumphantly, eyes twinkling with more joy than she had experienced in ten long years. "We should celebrate."
A lady's voice called, "Kenshin, is that you?"
"Yes, Miss Karou," replied Himura, walking through the gate, "I brought the tofu just as you asked, also an old friend of Sanosuke's."
A woman walked around the corner of the house. "Hello," she said, bowing to the new comer.
"Miss Karou," said Kenshin, motioning towards the girl, "This is Miss Shai Sagara." At the name Karou's eyes widened. She knew Sanosuke's story well, and recognized the name. "I told her you wouldn't mind another mouth at dinner tonight, that I did."
"Thank you for inviting me into your home," the raggedy girl said politely, in a deep bow.
"It's no problem, really," said Karou, "Any friend of Sanosuke's is a friend of mine. Dinner won't be too long now that I have the tofu, please feel free to look around." With that, Kenshin and Miss Karou left to finish the cooking.
Shai gazed sideways at Sanosuke. "Your friends are very kind," she said.
"They really are," said Sano, smiling. "They've helped me out more than I even care to think on."
"It must be nice," Shai said solemnly, "having a family again."
Sano smiled, and leaned against a post on the porch. "It really is," he breathed. Shai walked up and sat beside him. For a moment, the two of them shared a moment in silence looking into the near by trees. Shai still couldn't believe her two dearest friends were alive. She had been alone for so long.
"Tsunan lives near by," Sanosuke informed her, breaking the silence. "He hates Karou's food, but I doubt he would be opposed to a drink between friends later tonight. He's an artist now."
"I'm not surprised," giggled Shai, "He was always sketching such funny pictures of the men." She sighed, and leaned her head against Sanosuke. "This is the happiest I've felt in years."
"Who is the girlfriend?" came a youthful voice from behind them. Sano turned around, perhaps to hide his blush from his childhood friend, and had the kid in an arm lock in a matter of seconds.
"Another friend?" asked Shai, playfully. She looked the youngster over. He appeared to be around the age Sanosuke was when she last saw him. He was obviously a strong minded one, by the way he struggled with Sanosuke.
"You could call him that," said Sano, tightening the hold as the boy scrambled for freedom.
"LET GO OF ME YOU OAF!" the youngster yelled, waving his arms about.
"This is Yahiko," said Sanosuke. "Yahiko, this is my friend Shai."
"A pleasure," breathed Yahiko, finally giving up on the battle. Sano loosened his grip, and Yahiko hit him square in the head with a bamboo sword. Shai could tell this sort of thing happened often. After a short skirmish, Yahiko bowed to the young lady. "Karou sent me out here to tell you she has a bath ready for you as well as some clean clothes."
Shai blushed. The kindness of these people was incredible. Was it only because she was a friend of Sano's? Or would they have treated her in this manner any way? She was baffled. "Th—thank you very much."
"Hey, it's no problem," said Yahiko, "Kenshin told us you're practically homeless. Karou insisted I make up a bath for you before dinner."
Shai smiled at Sanosuke one last time, before following the young man.