"At last, I found it," said Kae. She looked at the wooden gate in front of her. She saw and read the Japanese nameplate above it. "The Kamiya Kasshin sword arts dojo." Kae had long silver hair loosely braided down her back. Her eyes were bright purple. She was wearing a baggy royal blue Haiori top and red Haiori pants. On her bare feet she wore flat woven sandals. At her side was a folded fan and on her back was strapped a sheath with a sword in it. She pushed open the gate and walked inside.

"Hello, I am Kaoru Kamiya, Assistant Master of this dojo. Can I help you?" asked a lady who was kneeling on a pillow on the other end of the main dojo, drinking a cup of tea, as Kae walked in, leaving her sandals on the wooden patio outside the sliding door.

"Yes, that you can. I am told that a man who calls himself Rurouni has been seen around here, that I have," said Kae, as she walked up to Kaoru. "Is this true?"

"Yes, he is, but he is not here at the moment. You may wait here until he returns if you wish," offered Kaoru. "We have plenty of room if you need to stay for a while."

"Thank you, I think I will do that, that I will. I myself, am a Rurouni, that I am, but you can call me Kae, Kae Sagara," said Kae as she bowed to Kaoru for her kind and generous hospitality.

The next day, Kae, Kaoru, and an older man name Kihei were walking through Tokyo Town Square. Kae was no longer wearing the sword on her back, but she still had the fan at her side. Kae, Kaoru, and Kihei were carrying groceries back to the dojo when they heard a police whistle ahead of them.

Kae looked ahead and saw a crowd of people gathered around some police officers. "Oh, an arrest."

"Stop struggling! Come along!" they heard a police officer say from the midst of the crowd.

"Kae, Kihei, stay here. I'm going to go see what is going on," said Kaoru, as she ran into the crowd.

The police were holding a man with long red hair tied back in a ponytail, and a cross-shaped scar on his cheek to the ground.

"Oro!" stammered the man from the ground.

"Rurouni!" yelled Kaoru when she saw him. "You're still here?"

The man looked up at Kaoru. "Oh, Kaoru, dressed like a lady, you seem so different."

Kaoru shot the man an angry look and turned to walk away. "Guess you don't want my help!"

"Wait!" yelled the man as he reached out for her.

"Mmmg!" groaned Kaoru as she turned to the police officer that was now holding the man by the back of his maroon Haiori top. "Okay, what did he do?"

"He's violating the sword banning act, as you can…" stated the officer. He took a closer look at Kaoru. "Hm? Aren't you the one from that Hitokiri Battosai School?"

"I told you we were framed!" shot Kaoru.

"Don't you yell at a police officer!" yelled the police officer.

"You don't have the power to tell me who I can yell at!" argued Kaoru.

"Now, now…Let's all calm down," said Kihei, as he walked towards Kaoru with Kae behind him.

"Kihei?" asked Kae as she stopped next to Kaoru.

"Who are you?" asked the police officer.

Kihei grabbed the officer's hand. "Is there any need for anger, really?"

As the old man removed his hand, Kae noticed that he had slipped the officer some yen (money). "What a dirty trick," Kae thought to herself. "Something about the old man isn't right. I'll have to watch him closely from now on, that I will."

The officer dropped the man who walked over to Kae and Kaoru. "All right. We'll let it go just this once, but next time won't be so easy. Don't make trouble, Little Girl," he said to Kaoru.

Kaoru made a face as the officer turned to walk away. "Oh, not me!"

Kae stared after the police officer. "Weak in body and in spirit, that he is…" she said to herself out loud.

Kaoru looked at Kae. "Huh?"

"Oh, nothing," answered Kae.

Kaoru turned to the Rurouni. "So, you're still in town. Do you have some business here?"

"Um…not exactly…" answered the Rurouni. "Anyways, how's the hunt for the murderer going?" He smiled.

"Murderer?" thought Kae.

"Oh…well…I do have one likely suspect," said Kaoru. "There's a dojo called 'Kiheikan' on the outskirts of the next town over."

"A dojo?" asked Kae and the Rurouni at the same time.

"No, more like an ex-dojo. Now it's a gathering place for gamblers and rogues," explained Kaoru. "A former Samurai took it over about two months ago. A giant of a man. They say he's 6 feet 5 inches. Two months ago. When the murders started. There aren't many men that big and skilled with swords." Kaoru cracked her knuckles. "I have no proof, so I can't do anything…but soon!"

"Miss Kaoru, I must leave to prepare dinner," said Kihei.

"Oh, yes. Thank you," answered Kaoru.

"If you'll excuse me…" said the old man as he turned and left.

Kae turned to Kaoru. "That fellow we were with before…" she started.

"Who, Kihei? He's sort of a live-in apprentice," explained Kaoru. "It was right after my father passed away. Kihei collapsed in front of the dojo and I helped him out. He doesn't really believe in girls practicing swordsmanship. He says I should sell the dojo and go live quietly somewhere."

"Where's he from?" asked the man with red hair.

"I don't know. I never asked," answered Kaoru.

"Never asked?!" asked the man and Kae at the same time.

"Should I have? Why would it matter? We all have things in our past that we don't want to talk about. You two do, don't you?" Kaoru asked Kae and the Rurouni. "That's why you're Rurouni's."

"True," stated the Rurouni.

"So, you can't have much money, Rurouni. Do you want to stay with me and Kae?" asked Kaoru.

"Oh, no. This one has an errand to run," stated the Rurouni.

"But you just said…"

"How forgetful. Excuse me," he said as he turned to leave.

Kae put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm coming with you, Rurouni. I won't cause any trouble, that I won't." She smiled as the Rurouni nodded. They started to walk away from Kaoru.

"B-but, wait…" Kaoru called after them.

"There's more?" asked the Rurouni, as he turned to look at her.

"The other day, I never thanked you for saving my life, and well, I'm sorry…"

The man walked up to Kaoru and put a hand on her forehead. "Do you have a fever?"

Kaoru began hitting the man on the head. "Why can't I just apologize!?"

"Indeed, why not?" agreed the Rurouni. He backed up and stood next to Kae. He smiled at Kaoru. "Well, this Rurouni doesn't mind such things. Miss Kaoru shouldn't worry either. Bye now." He and Kae turned to leave.

"I'll be back to the dojo later, Kaoru!" said Kae as she waved. "That I will."