It had been a few days since the alley-way incident, and after much research I'd found the dojo that was 'home' to my newfound friend.

The owner of the dojo was a kind and gentle man, called Kondou. He seemed to have only two students at the time, and he wasn't much older than I was at the time. He couldn't be much older than 15.

Kondou-san had informed me that the boy I described, Okita, had only recently joined his dojo and that he could likely be found in the courtyard.

When I found him he was leaning casually against a post, twirling a bamboo-copter in his fingers as he gazed up at the sky.

"O-Okita-san?"

I felt awfully out-of-place here. I wasn't sure how he would react to my presence, or if he even remembered saving me.

Still, I had come with a thank you gift that I had made all on my own. I hoped he liked onigiri.

"Why are you here," He didn't even look at me, "girls don't belong in dojos either."

His words were a bit off-putting, and for a moment I felt like I should leave. Still, I had yet to thank him for his actions in the alley-way, and it would be rude, now, to leave without answering his question. "I-I wanted t-to thank you," I stammered, "For saving me the other day."

He looked over at me, that wolfish smirk of his playing across his face, "You gonna kiss me? Is that it?"

I felt my face heat up, and waved my hands in front of me in embarrassment, "N-No nothing like that! I-I j-just came to give you these!"

I pulled the bento box out and held it out to him.

His grin widened as his eyes slid back to the sky, "Good, Cause if you kiss me, I might have to kill you."

For the next few weeks I became a regular at Kondou-san's dojo. I came by when ever I could, using up all my free-time at my mother's shop to visit my new found friends.

"Dammit Souji! How come you always win?"

"Neh~ It's because you eat too much Heisuke-kun." Okita's tone was light and teasing.

I peeked around the corner, shyly.

"Ah! Mogami-san! How long have you been standing there?" It was Heisuke who spotted me first, worried that I might have seen his loss.

"N-Not long…" I murmured.

Okita approached us grinning, "Neh~ Heisuke-kun she's lying, she watched the whole match," Green eyes fixed onto me, "Girls aren't supposed to lie Mogami-san, if you keep it up I might have to kill you."

I fidgeted nervously under his gaze before Heisuke caught my hand and pulled me along after him, "C'mon Mogami-san! I want to show you something!"

I looked back at Okita-san, just by chance, and for an instant I was sure I'd seen the ghost of a frown.

Heisuke had found a young sakura tree near the back of the compound, it hadn't started to bloom yet, which was odd since it was sakura season.

"What's wrong with it Heisuke-kun?"

He shrugged, frowning slightly, "I dunno, I was kind of hoping you could tell me."

I giggled at his sheepish words, and Heisuke grinned, "Hey what's so funny? Don't girls usually know about this sort of stuff?"

I grinned, "Well maybe it just needs someone to talk to."

Heisuke looked at me oddly, "Why would it need that? Trees can't talk."

I shrugged, "I had a flower once that grew really well because I talked to it everyday."

Heisuke's grin came back full force, "You don't say…"

"When it blooms it will probably be the most beautiful Sakura tree around," I said with a little more confidence than usual.

As I started home, Kondou-san stopped me, "It's getting dark outside Mogami-chan, maybe I should walk you home."

I shook my head, "I'll be alright Kondou-san ," I beamed up at him, "I've walked home in the dark before." I left out that all those times before I'd been with my mother.

Kondou hesitated, "Are you sure? Edo's pretty dangerous at night."

I nodded, "If I hurry I can make it home before it gets too dark, so don't worry okay Kondou-san?"

I didn't make it home before dark, in fact I didn't make it home at all.

Some ronin had found me in the street and recognized me as the daughter of one of their former companions. They insisted that I pay them what my father owed them, but my father had already paid off his debt to them. I tried to explain this to them.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes as one of the men slammed his fist into my face, "Don't feed us that crap! Just because your pa died don't mean you get off without paying us what you owe! If you don't have the money then you'll have to work for us!"

My head ached, and I was terrified, "My father paid you in full! You can't do this! You can't make me steal!"

I knew better of course, these men were giants to me, they could probably snap my neck without any effort at all.

This time the punch sent me crashing into some wooden crates.

The next morning found me huddled up behind some crates in the market, sobbing. I didn't want to steal from people, but it seemed I didn't have much of a choice. The thugs, who insisted they were samurai, had promised me that in two days time both myself and my mother would be dead, unless I paid them in full.

I hadn't gone home, mother would have cried if she'd seen me like this. I couldn't bear to go back to her, not until my bruises healed. She would blame herself, when really it had been all my fault for wondering off on my own.

"What did I tell you about pretty girls and dark alleys?"

I jumped, startled at the familiar voice, refusing to look up at Okita. I didn't want him to see me cry, I didn't want him to see how stupid I'd been to go out on my own.

"Are you gonna kill me then?" I asked, sniffling.

He seemed surprised by my question, but I could feel that grin of his a moment later, "Only if you don't stop crying."

I scrubbed at my eyes, glancing up at him from the shadows.

He sat down awkwardly, "So just what's wrong with you anyway? You can tell me you know?"

I shook my head, "I-It's nothing," I murmured, "I-I fell down is all."

There was something odd about his grin and his tone of voice, an undercurrent of some sort, "Neh~ Mogami-chan you're lying again. Besides, that doesn't explain the bruises on your face and arms."

My gaze snapped to him, how had he seen my injuries through the dark?

"You want to explain those to me Mogami-chan?" His voice was still light, and playful.

I shook my head, "It won't make any difference."

Still some seconds later I found myself telling Okita what had happened.

He'd left soon afterwards, voice still cheerful, "Stay here alright Mogami-chan? If I come back and you aren't here I might have to kill you."

Something about his words had made me laugh.

When Okita returned several hours later, I had begun to dose off.

My eyes shot open the moment a small sack of money landed on the ground at my feet.

I looked up at a grinning Okita, "That's how much you owe them right?"

I opened my mouth to protest.

He still had on that roguish grin of his, "And don't say anything stupid like 'I can't take this' or I might end up killing you."

I walked to the shady old shack the ronin called headquarters, with the money in hand, but somehow I knew no matter how much was in the sack, it wouldn't be enough. Okita trailed along behind me, seemingly unbothered by all the shifting shadows and strange noises that surrounded us.

I felt a little bit more confident with Okita at my back and I entered the headquarters with my chin held just a tiny bit higher.

"Hey you little rat! You better not be here without our money!" Before I even had time to react one of the ronin had reached out to catch me by the collar of my kimono.

"Hey, hey, it isn't nice to pick on girls you know. If you're not careful I might have to kill you."

Okita's green eyes seemed to glow eerily in the night, but the ronin weren't afraid.

"You're just a kid! Don't you realize who you're dealing with? We're the Hayakawa! What can a runt like you do to us?" They all had a good laugh about it.

I tried to free myself while they were distracted, but the man tightened his grip on me, and slung me towards the wall. "So you thought you'd try and fight us is that it you little bitch?"

I braced myself for the impact of the wall, only to find it much less painful than I'd imagined, I looked up to see Okita grinning at the man.

"I told you to be careful didn't I?" his words sounded menacing, though the tone of his voice hadn't changed. His grin was almost terrifying.

It was over before I could blink, two of the men had lunged for him, and now lay unconscious on the ground, another bigger man had a frightened look on his face, "D-Demon!" he cried, before fleeing the scene.

"That's no fun," Okita half whined, before his gaze flickered to me, "You alright Mogami-san?"

All I could do was nod.