My first Rurouni Kenshin fic! Hope you all like it ^_^

*I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or it's characters*

Chapter 1 - Sacrifices
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Yahiko Myoujin walked down the dimly lit street of Tokyo at nine pm on a warm fall night. He was on his way back to the Kamiya Dojo from getting the groceries Kaoru had been nagging him to get all day.

Stupid Kaoru, he thought, why doesn't she get the food? It's her dojo. Yahiko yawned and continued on his way down the road. Soon the Kamiya Dojo was in sight. He was passing the final alley when a hand put itself over his mouth and dragged him into the darkness.
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"K-Kenshin..." The swordsman heard his name being called by a trembling voice. Kenshin recognized it immediately to be Kaoru's, but it's stronger tone had faded into nothing replaced by her trembling words and stutters. Slowly he opened his eyes letting them adjust to the light.

Kaoru was shaking badly, and her eyes were glossy with tears, and the wet stains on her kimono showed she had been crying for awhile. Kenshin couldn't remember seeing her this way, save for the time when he left for Kyoto.

"What's wrong Miss Kaoru?" he asked.

"K-Kenshin...Yahiko...he's disappeared...we c-can't find him anywhere...he didn't come home last night," Kaoru fell apart and started crying harder then before. Kenshin's eyes widened at her statement.

"What? Miss Kaoru he has to be somewhere, that he must. Have you waken Sano yet?" Kenshin questioned.

"Y-yes, he's been out looking for a few minutes..." Kaoru sobbed.

"Please don't cry Miss Kaoru, you have to be strong right now. When was the last time anyone saw Yahiko?" Kenshin tried to comfort her. She sniffed and continued.

"Last night...the person who sold the food to him saw him...and I did," she started crying harder again.

"Miss Kaoru please," Kenshin tried to calm her down.

"Kenshin you don't understand. It's my fault he's gone!" Kaoru said. When he didn't say anything she explained, "Yesterday he wouldn't go out and get the food for today no matter how many times I told him to. Last night I told him he couldn't stay at the dojo if he didn't start doing something other then practice constantly so he went out to get the groceries. That's when he went missing! Kenshin if I hadn't said that to him and let him go out today he would still be here."

"Miss Kaoru it's all right. It was a mistake, please don't blame yourself for this," he said, "who ever took Yahiko would have found another opportunity to take him if it wasn't last night." Kaoru tried to pull herself together. "We have to keep searching for him, he'll turn up eventually."

"No one knows where he could be, I've talked to everyone near by the dojo. One man saw him walking back here with a bag in his hand but after that no one saw him," Sanosuke walked in the room.

"Where was he when the man saw him Sano?" Kenshin asked. Kaoru was still crying.

"He was on the street that turns onto this one," Sanosuke said, "he was really close to here. I don't get how he could disappear within a few feet of the dojo."

"How could he have disappeared on this street? There's no where for anyone to jump him without being obvious," Kenshin wondered aloud.

"There is one..." Kaoru piped up. Kenshin and Sano turned to her. "There's an alley next to the corner where you turn onto this street."

"That's the only place that wouldn't have been in sight," Kenshin said.

"But why would anyone want to kidnap Yahiko?!" Kaoru cried.

"We don't know Missy, you gotta pull yourself together!" Sano scolded. Kenshin stood up.

"We're going to go look around that alley you mentioned Miss Kaoru, your welcome to come, but maybe you should stay here and calm down a little," Kenshin smiled and pulled Sano out the door. When they were outside he said, "try to be a little bit less harsh with her Sano, she's blaming herself for Yahiko's disappearance that she is."

"Why is she doing that?" Sano asked as they started walking.

"She's the one who sent him out to get the food when he disappeared," Kenshin explained, and Sano nodded. They reached the alley and began looking for anything that could help them.

~~~~~~~~In the Dojo~~~~~~~~

Kenshin's right, some other time that person would have tried to steal Yahiko away. Kaoru thought. She was sitting in a corner, and had pulled her legs to her chest and put her arms around them. Her eyes were red from crying. But he could have been with us longer if I didn't send him out. Maybe whoever it was would have given up after awhile, maybe more people would have had information to help us. No, I can't think like that. I have to be strong like Kenshin said. For Yahiko, she encouraged herself. "It can't be all my fault!" she shouted.

"But it is Kaoru Kamiya," someone's voice came through the walls behind her. Her head shot up and she looked frantically around for the source of the unfamiliar voice.

"No...no it's not!" Kaoru shouted to the man who was talking to her.

"Stop denying it, if you hadn't told him to go out no one would have gotten him. I wouldn't have gotten him," the man spoke again. Kaoru's eyes widened.

"Your the one who took Yahiko? Where is he? Where are you?" Kaoru asked shakily.

"Come out side and I'll tell you everything you want to know," the voice coaxed.

This could be a trick. But if there's any chance I can get Yahiko back it's worth it, Kaoru thought. She picked up her wooden sword and walked out of the room. She circled the dojo until she saw a tall man standing in front of her. He had some what tanned skin, with black hair pulled into a pony tail falling a little past his shoulders, and deep blue eyes. He was dressed in a blue uniform with a long dark coat draped over it.

"I'm glad you came Miss Kamiya, it was wise of you," the man taunted.

"Stop teasing me, just tell me what you were going to," she spat out.

"Just follow me please," the man turned around and beckoned her to come with him. Kaoru hesitated at first, but walked behind him.

The man lead her down a series of back alleys, as not to be seen by anyone. I never knew these existed...she thought as they continued. Soon they were on the outskirts of the city. "Where are we going?! We're almost out of Tokyo!" Kaoru yelled at him.

"I'm taking you to Yahiko. Do you think I would have kept him in the city? I know you and your friends would have turned the whole city upside down looking for him," the man said. His tone was eerily calm. Kaoru shot him another glare and they continued down the dirt road. The trees over shadowed most of the path, making it darker then it would normally seem.

Soon they reached a small hut and the man opened the door for Kaoru. He's oddly polite considering he kidnapped Yahiko, Kaoru thought. She watched him as she walked inside. When she turned her head she was facing Yahiko. "Yahiko!" Kaoru cried and ran over to him. He was tied to a wooden chair with his head hanging down and his arms behind his back. Kaoru dropped to her knees and stared. "What did you do to him?!" she yelled at the man.

"He's just unconscious I haven't harmed him in anyway Miss Kamiya," the man said, "if I did that I could never get you to work with me." Kaoru turned around slowly with a look of curiosity and disgust on her face.

"What do you mean work with you?" Kaoru asked.

"Well, not really work with me, more along the lines of for me," the man explained.

"Why would I do that? I don't even know your name!" she shouted at him.

"My name is Suboshi -" he said before Kaoru cut him off.

"Okay now that we have that matter cleared up WHY would I work for you?!" she ranted.

"Because I control Yahiko's future. If I wish for him to perish then..." Suboshi pulled a knife from underneath his coat sleeve and put it to Yahiko's throat. Kaoru's eyes widened.

"Don't!" She yelled, "Don't...please...I'll do anything." Kaoru lowered her head in defeat.

"That's what I thought you would say Miss Kaoru," the man returned the knife to it's resting place.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked distastefully.

"Many people have crossed me and I would like them taken care of." Suboshi answered smirking. "I'd like you to handle those affairs for me."

"Y-you want me to become an assassin?" Kaoru couldn't believe what she was being asked to do.

"Technically, yes," Suboshi said.

"But my sword style is about saving people with swords, not killing!" Kaoru said.

"A sword is a weapon Miss, it's something you have to come to grips with. Swords were made for murder and that is that," he said firmly. "So, will you accept my offer?"

"Isn't there any other way?" Kaoru pleaded desperately.

"Yahiko could -" Suboshi showed a glint of silver from him sleeve.

"Stop!" Kaoru shouted, and Suboshi lowered his knife. Can I really become a murderer? Sacrifice my father's ideals? I...I don't want to, but if I don't Yahiko will die...she thought. "Fine. I'll do as you want..." Kaoru agreed reluctantly, tears welling up in her eyes. Yahiko, Sanosuke, everyone else back at the dojo...and most of all to you Kenshin, I'm so sorry.

"That's very wise of you, I'm glad you've seen it my way," Suboshi said.

"When I get out of this, you'll be the last person I'll ever assassinate," she swore her revenge on him then.

"Revenge is sweet isn't it Miss Kamiya?" he taunted. Kaoru only glared at him. "Until I decide to release him, Yahiko will remain in this house and you will remain my assassin."

"And when will that be?" Kaoru spat out, her head down. She refused to look at this man.

"Whenever I feel like," Suboshi answered simply. "Until then you must do as I say. Whatever you do will reflect directly on the boy." Kaoru looked up with a puzzled look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Be good, he'll be fine. Be disobedient and bad things will happen to him," Suboshi said.

"Can...can I say good bye to everyone at the dojo? At least give them notice that I...won't be coming back for a while..." Kaoru's voice faded as she tried to hold back her tears.

"No, you can't tell them that you will be leaving. They'll figure out where you are eventually," Suboshi replied and turned his back to leave. Soon after Yahiko woke up.

"Kaoru? Where...are we?" Yahiko asked confused once he had waken up a bit. Kaoru broke down into uncontrolled sobs and slowly told the story.