She ran through the forest as quickly as she could. Her heart was beating hard and rapid against the inside of her chest, which she held tightly as blood seeped from between her fingers. Sweat was racing down the side of her face as she turned back to see if they were still behind her. They weren't.. She had lost them. But she would still keep running. They would eventually find her, and she didn't want that. She wanted to get away, and stay away forever.

They would never hurt her again; she wouldn't let them. An empty sheath was banging against the back of her leg. "Dammit!" She yelled, panting. She held her chest tighter.. She could feel her strength just melting away. She needed to get somewhere to hide.. She could stay like this forever.

Pain was racing through her as she turned her head again, to see if they were behind her. She screamed out as she dropped to the ground, tripping over a rock in the path. She winced, but she managed to pull herself up.

"There she is! Get her!" She could hear them. They were back there. And they would never give up until they got her. Many times, giving herself up has went through her mind. But, then.. She thought of going back, and she wouldn't be able to bear it.. Never..

The trees swayed back and forth from the harsh wind that blew her hair behind her. She was getting weaker.. A blood trail was left behind, leading them to wherever she was. She dropped to the ground panting, her eyelids heavy. "I can't…" She panted, closing her eyes as she seen two blurry figures coming up to her. She could barely hear their voices as she drifted into unconsciousness.

"You can't get away now.." They said, picking her up and throwing her over their shoulders.

"Uncle Ken!" Suzume yelled with a smile on her face as she held Kenshin's hand walking through the village. "Can I have a piggy back ride?" She asked, her voice childish and filled with joy.

Kenshin looked down to her and smiled. "Sure!" He said, bending down to pick her up. Suddenly, his eyes went to the middle of town where a group of men gathered, pulling an injured woman behind them. His eyes narrowed. What were they doing?

"Uncle Ken! Uncle Ken!" Both Ayame and Suzume pulled at his shirt. "Uncle Ken!" Kenshin's attention was torn away from the woman and smiled down to Ayame. He bent down again and looked into their eyes. "I want you two, to go home.. Run as quickly as you can. Alright?"

Both the girls looked at each other confused than back up to him. "But, Uncle Ken!" They whined.

"Now, now.. Just do as I say, and I'll give you a piggy back ride later. The both of you. I promise." He smiled and waved to them as they grabbed each others hand and started walking back to the Kamiya Dojo.

Kenshin looked back up to the police and then to the woman. His eyes narrowed, seeing that she had an empty sheath on her belt. He stepped closer, to see what was happening.
"This will be a public execution!" One of the officers said, ripping his rapier from his sheath. "This woman has committed murder! She will pay for her crimes!"

Her eyes widened. "No…" She whispered. Her hands were moving, but slowly. She looked around her, seeing many people watch her and the soldiers. She looked up to see the blade of the rapier being put to her neck. She grinned widely and in an instant, she was out of her binds. She threw herself up, and kicked the officer in the head. "I don't think so!" She yelled, ripping the rapier from his hands and landing like a cat on her feet.

Her eyes were glowing golden under the darkness of her hair. "Don't fuck with me!" She screamed, and then almost dropped to the ground, holding her wounds.

The police attacked. She looked up again and growled, throwing the blade of the rapier to the left, catching one of the men's arms. He screamed as he held his shoulder as the severed arm dropped to her feet. She chuckled insanely. "Dropped something." She turned and started running, more like limping away.

Kenshin stared at her intensely. What was wrong with her? What had she done? Who had she killed? It must have been someone of great importance.. Or it wouldn't have been a public execution. Unless, these soldiers were like the ones before. He didn't know what to believe. But, he would soon find out.

Sano leaned on wall of one of the buildings. He chuckled, seeing her run by. "You can't run forever!" He yelled, opening his eyes slowly and stepping from the darkness.

She shot her head around. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"I think I do.. You just showed you true colors over there. Don't you think? You murdered someone.. You should pay the price." He looked straight into her golden eyes.

She growled. "Stay out of my way.. Or you'll end up just like him." She turned and started to run again, rushing through the crowd of people. She could hear her heartbeat in her head, echoing and echoing over and over again. She wouldn't let them win this time.. She would get away, and she wouldn't let anyone or anything stop her.

She came to a clearing back into the woods and slid to a stop. There was that man again. "I said don't get in my way!" She yelled to him.

Sano glared at her as the wind caught the red ribbon around his head, letting it fly into the breeze. He took his hand from his pocket and got into stance. "I can't let you get away."

"You don't understand!" She yelled to him, tears rushing down her cheeks. "You never will.. Get out of my way!" She threw the blade of the katana to the ground, holding herself up. Her eyes glowed brightly. "OUT OF MY WAY!" She screamed, charging for Sano.

His eyes widened. She was so fast, even for being injured. He barely dodged the blade.. It was like.. It was like Kenshin's technique. She dropped to the ground.

"I won't go back there! I won't let them hurt me anymore!" She yelled, attacking him once again. He surprised himself, throwing a punch that made contact her wound. She screamed in pain as she fell to the ground limp. She looked up into his eyes, tears making their way down her red cheeks. "Ki-kill me… Pl-please?" She closed her eyes and let her head fall to the left.

Sano looked to her. "What the-?" He looked to the men running up behind him.

"Good job, sir. You caught this felon!" The officer gave an evil grin and sheathed his sword. The other two picked her up and dragged her closer to them. He growled and raised his hand. "You, slut!" He yelled, slapping her across the face.

Sano just stood there.. He said nothing. This was all going so fast. Had he done the wrong thing? Helped the wrong person? He wiped that look off of his face and looked to the police officer. "Can you tell me what she did, again?" He slid his fist into his pocket.

"She was in the whore house not too far from here.. She killed one of our men." The guy chuckled. "Now, this whore will pay."

Sano closed his eyes. You could hear the cracking of his knuckles as they turned white. His head hung low. Dammit, he thought. That's what she meant. Something happened. She was only protecting herself!

She slowly pushed herself up from the ground. Her body was throbbing. She could hear them but their voices were so distorted she could barely tell what they were talking about. Sano growled. "Wait!" He opened his eyes. "..She was only protecting herself. Let her go."

The officer's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? She's a killer! She deserves to die!"

Sano rushed up to him and punched him to the ground. He gathered her into his arms and started running back to the Dojo. She was so light in his arms, fragile even. He looked down to her as he ran. How could this woman have so much power? So much speed and anger behind her eyes? He cursed at himself mentally. He shouldn't of gotten involved. Now, he had only gotten her into deeper shit.. "Dammit." He said again, running faster and faster with her in his arms.