Drum roll please! It's here at last, the long awaited sequel to American Orphan is HERE! YAYYYYYYY! Please do forgive me for taking so long. As a senior in high school, I do have priorities. So here it is! If you don't know about American Orphan, then I highly suggest looking up American Orphan: Who Is Koji Really, before reading this, otherwise, there is going to be a whole lot of stuff that you're not going to get. Sorry.

I hope that my writing is going to be a lot better than it was three years ago. Groan Has it really been that long! Sheesh. And I am an avid collector of the RuorKen Manga series, so Kenshin's speech will mirror that in the story. Anyway, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, (how sad). I do however own Koji, Takuro, and Waotaka.

American Orphan: Return to America

Chapter One: Sorrows of the Betto

Two American men were standing on a dark street. They appeared to be talking with each other, but there was a third voice that came from shadows.

"Am I to understand that you had the girl within your grasp, but she escaped?" asked the voice.

The two men bowed their heads in shame. "It's not our fault," said one man nervously. "We managed to trail her all the way to the dojo, but the swordsman soon joined her. He is hardly ever away from her. We couldn't do anything!"

"You mean wouldn't!" scolded the voice. "Your employer will not be pleased."

"We won't fail next time!" said one man confidently, and his comrade nodded.

"No," said the voice. "You've been playing this game for almost a year now. You don't get a second chance."

And the men were struck down before they could cry out.

"YAHHH!"

Koji cried out, waking up from her nightmare. Yahiko, who was sitting across the room from her stood up quickly. "Are you alright?" he asked quickly. Koji sat up and nodded at him.

"Sorry to have worried you," she told him. "It was just another nightmare."

"That's okay," said Yahiko. "I don't mind."

Koji could see dim sunlight creeping into the room, and sighed. No use trying to get anymore sleep at this point.

"Yahiko," she said slowly, "could I have some time alone, please?" She hated telling him to leave her alone so much, but with every new nightmare, she needed time alone to contemplate its meaning.

Yahiko nodded somberly, and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. There had always been someone to watch her while she slept. Kenshin didn't want Koji to be alone at any time.

Koji sat quietly on her futon for a few moments. She knew the two men in her dream well. They were the ones responsible for her parents' deaths, she knew that now, and she had seen them every so often around Tokyo. Whenever she caught a glimpse of them, she knew to run to the Kamiya Dojo, or to seek out Kenshin, Sanosuke, or Takuro.

Somehow, she knew that whoever was after her did not send her this dream on purpose. This was something that she wasn't supposed to know; that this told her that she and Kenshin had the upper hand so far. She also had a grim satisfaction knowing that those who had killed her parents were dead. Her mother and father had at last been avenged.

But now Koji had something else to worry about. Who was the man hiding in the shadow, and what sort of threat would he pose to her?

Koji laughed under her breath. One year ago, her only worry was trying to find out who she was, and trying to break through her amnesia. Other than that she was perfectly normal. She wouldn't be evaluating a new possible threat that she had seen in a dream.

She laughed again. She was nowhere normal anymore.

One year ago, Koji's amnesia went away, and she remembered everything about her life in America, and how she had come to Japan. She learned that her real name was Leigh Carver, but decided to keep the name Takuro gave her, since it fit her best. Koji did mean orphan, after all, and her parents were dead. Sad to say, the name fit. Her memories also brought out a dark side of her past into the light, although she had no idea what it would mean for her at the time. It had been decided that she was to move from Takuro's home to the Kamiya Dojo for better protection, and also, for training.

But it wasn't sword arts that Koji was training in.

Last year, Koji learned that she was a Betto, a person who possessed special powers. During the Meiji Revolution, the Bettos were exploited to disgusting extremes to win the war for the Ishin Shishi.

She closed her eyes and sighed, the meaning of her dream clear to her. She stood up, quickly trading her sleeping robe for her favorite purple kimono. She tied up her long, auburn hair in a violet ribbon, and slipped into socks and sandals.

She ventured out of her room and into the courtyard of the dojo, where she found Kenshin washing clothes, and saw Yahiko leave off to work at the Akabeko.

"Good morning, Koji," said Kenshin pleasantly as he scrubbed a towel. "Did you sleep well?" But the somber look on Koji's face was answer enough.

"Another one?" asked Kenshin quietly. Koji nodded. "Would you like to tell this one about it?" Kenshin asked gently. Sometimes Koji's dreams were very distressing to her, and it would be days before she would say anything about them. However, Koji gave him a hollow smile.

"The men who killed my parents are dead. My mother and father can rest in peace at last."

"You saw this?" Kenshin asked, and Koji nodded again. "They were supposed to capture me," she said. "But they failed, obviously," she added with a laugh. "But there is a new man I need to be on the look out for."

"Do you have any idea who this might be?" Kenshin asked, and Koji shook her head.

"I didn't see him," she said. "I only heard his voice."

"You didn't see how he killed your followers?" Koji only shook her head. "I think I was about to see, as my parent's killers were going to fall, but then I woke up." Kenshin stood in thought for a while, and Koji added after a moment, "I don't think I was meant to see this dream. Would I eventually be able to see the things that I want to see, and not just things that are sent to me?"

Kenshin thought long and hard before he answered her. "Perhaps," he said slowly, "This one is not sure of a betto's entire abilities. And you must remember that you are able to learn how to use your powers in a very different environment that the bettos that this one knew did, so you have a chance to learn and perhaps expand on your powers. You are already more adept than most of the bettos this one knew. Given all this, you have the potential to be the most powerful Betto the world has ever known."

Koji shook her head. "I don't want to be 'the most powerful Betto the world has ever known," she whined. "I never asked for this!" she exclaimed stamping her foot on the ground. Kenshin frowned.

"In a way you did," said Kenshin gently. "This one remembers the young girl who asked for her past to return to her, and asked for an identity. The answer that you are Leigh Carver, the Betto from America."

Koji glared at him, and could feel the burn of tears threatening to fall. She said nothing, but deep down she knew he was absolutely right.

"The powers of bettos are dangerous," continued Kenshin, "and even more so when the Betto is untrained. There is no telling what can happen."

"I don't want to hear this!" Koji shrieked. "Yes, I asked for a past, but I didn't ask for a power that could destroy people! I don't want to be a Betto! I don't want to be an orphan! I just want to be with my parents again back home in America! I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE!"

"Koji," said Kenshin softly, "we both know that what you want or do not want is not possible."

"I DON'T CARE!" yelled Koji. She was crying now. "I DON'T WANT THIS!"

"Koji…" said Kenshin again, but she wouldn't hear the rest of it.

"JUST SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" She shouted at him. And with that, she ran out of the dojo's courtyard, and into town.

Kenshin didn't make any motion to chase after her. He sighed, and picked up another towel to wash. He was used to her outbursts. Normally she was very eager to learn how to use her powers, but on other days, she was not. Kenshin could understand. Not many people would like to wake up to find out that they had no family to return home to, and to discover they had an incredible and deadly power. He certainly wouldn't. He thought of Kaoru and Kenji, and the little 'family' that had accumulated at the dojo, and wondered what it would be like to forget all of them, suddenly remembers them, only to discover that they were dead. Indeed, Koji has every right to be upset.

He continued washing laundry, knowing that Koji would return soon.