Chapter Two

The night lasted for what felt like an eternity. I looked up at the window to see a red sun rising from the ground, and sighed. Morning. I stood up and stretched with a yawn. I had slept for about two hours that night. Another sigh escaping from me; I folded my futon and set it in the corner of my room. Quietly, I slipped out of my room and down the hallway. The kitchen sat there watching me; saying 'good morning!' and inviting me to make breakfast.

I don't feel like it.

The thought said quietly in the back of my mind. I hesitated. I knew that Kaoru and Yahiko would not be awake for another hour or so, but it was almost tradition for me to make breakfast.

I don't want to.

The thought was louder this time. I swallowed hard, eyeing the kitchen's counter. Every morning I would walk over to that counter and happily make breakfast for Kaoru and Yahiko, and sometimes Sanosuke. They would thank me kindly and eat it slowly to savor the taste. . . except for Yahiko and Sanosuke; whom always ate quick, fast and in a hurry.

Kaoru would always eat it slowly.

I don't want to make their stupid breakfast! They can make it themselves!

I walked past the kitchen and out to the front porch. I blinked. Why did I do that? I wondered fleetingly. But the thought passed quickly and I sat down on the porch to watch the sun rise. My sakabatou itched on my left hip. I smiled slightly and jumped up; running to the clearing in front of Kaoru's house. I drew my sakabatou, took a deep breath, and began a –

My right arm suddenly gave way and I dropped my sakabatou with a cry. I fell to my knees and grasped my right arm. I haven't felt pain like this for a decade. The thought ran through my mind. I pushed back my gi for a moment and glanced down at the cut on my shoulder. It had turned an ugly shade of green. I knew had I to run to Megumi; the cut had gotten far too serious.

Why run to a doctor just because of a tiny cut? I suddenly asked myself. Why run to a woman, crying, "Come kiss my boo-boo better!" when it's just a little tiny cut?

I glared at the cut and slowly sheathed my sword with my left hand. Taking in a deep breath, I looked up at the porch to see-

-Kaoru standing there watching me?

"Uh, Kaoru. .dono. . ." I muttered. Did she see me in pain? Did she see my arm? From the look on her face, I'd probably guess so.

"Kenshin," she stated thickly. "Good morning." Was that sarcasm in her voice?

I smiled shakily, "Good morning Kaoru-dono." . . . We stood there in silence. Kaoru staring at me with questioning eyes and me standing there biting back the pain in my right arm and praying to God that she didn't notice it.

"I suppose I'll just go make breakfast, won't I?" Kaoru sniffed. She saw my panicked face and turned on her heels. She's obviously not forgotten my torn gi. . which by the way, I still have to mend. . .

I tried to follow Kaoru, walking up the steps to the porch, "Kaoru-dono, I can explain everything. You see-" My foot suddenly shifted to the right and fell down a step, with me following. "Oh shit!" I cursed-and then suddenly realized my mistake and said, "I mean. . . Oro!"

Kaoru gaped at me for a moment, raised her eyebrow, then put on her mask and walked into the kitchen. I sighed. What was that about? I wondered for the millionth time. But I didn't wonder about for long because at that very moment, Sanosuke popped out of thin-air.

"Hey Kenshin! What-cha doin'?" he asked loudly.

I smiled flakily at him, "Mornin' Sano." I frowned somewhat at my use of slang.

But Sanosuke grinned from ear to ear. "Good to see you're feeling good, this morning. Well," he turned to Kaoru, ignoring my befuddled look. "What's for breakfast?"

"I'm about to make it," Kaoru growled.

Sanosuke's grin fell to the floor. "Oh. Then I'm outa here. Comin' with me, Kenshin?" he grabbed my right arm and dragged me outside. I bit my lower lip to stop my outburst of pain. Sanosuke continued to drag me all the way outside of the Kamiya residence. As soon as we were well out of sight of Kaoru, I pushed Sanosuke away. Amazingly, he flew a few feet more than I had expected.

When he got up and looked at me straight in the eye, he grinned once more from ear to ear. I realized that my eyes were probably still amber. He was just noticing it now? "I see," he muttered.

"See what." It was not a question.

Sanosuke grinned wider, "That. . . you're hungry and in desperate need of some grub! Let's go." He pushed me towards the market until I was simply walking on my own. I was glaring at the ground the entire time. "You need to loosen up a little, Kenshin," Sanosuke told me. He led me toward a bar.

"It's morning, Sano," I argued, but I couldn't argue when the cup of sake was in front of me. I gulped it down as quickly as I could; shaking my head a bit to clear it. Sanosuke laughed beside me; not drinking anything. "Why don't you drink?" I asked, my voice a bit deeper than normal. That's odd, I thought. But the thought was gone.

"Nahh," he said. "I don't drink in the morning. You go ahead." I was about to complain but another cup of sake was in front of me, and before I knew it, several cups of sake were gone. Sanosuke grinned, "Feeling better?"

I grinned with him, "What now?"

"Now," he stated. "We walk the town." Putting his arm around my left shoulder, he walked me out of the bar. My legs felt loopy but I didn't care. Even the pain in my right shoulder had lessened. Suddenly I was on the ground and Sanosuke was roaring in laughter. I glared up at him. "Sorry buddy," he said, helping me up. "Didn't have a tight enough grip on ya."

We walked on a bumblebee trail through the best and worst parts of Tokyo. We said hello to people we didn't know, and got in several fights: all of which, Sanosuke fought in. I stood behind, but it didn't matter to me. Sanosuke did not need to know about my handicap.

"What do you say to a little beef-pot?" Sanosuke asked, pointing to the Akebeko. I grinned and nodded. Beef-pot sounded like exactly what I needed. We made our way to the Akebeko and sat down at a table. Our waitress was Tae.

"Well, I didn't expect to see just the two of you here," she informed us with her crazy Texan accent. "But I can guess what you want. It'll be here momentarily." She left us with an odd look on her face. I figured it to be my eyes, but there was something else bothering her. Could it be that she was worried about Kaoru and Yahiko not being here?

Sanosuke punched me lightly on my right arm (I tried to contain my grimace), "Oi, what would you say to a little gambling after this?"

Gambling is a horrible sport, which steals people of their money! "Sure thing, Sano," the words spilled from my lips before I could stop them. The expression on Sanosuke's face told me that he didn't expect them either. And then suddenly, his eyes sparkled in a way I knew meant he was up to something. "What?" I asked.

"Nothin'," he told me; but I knew something was going on in that small. . . very small brain of his. "Ahh! Here's our food. A toast!" Sanosuke raised his sake glass. I hesitantly toasted with him, but I had no idea what we were toasting, for Sanosuke did not say.

We ate our beef-pot quickly. I ate mine at almost the same pace as Sanosuke. It reminded me of how I used to eat as a soldier of the Bakumatsu. . .Scratch that. Why on Earth is this happening? I'm acting like. . .like. .

"You better gamble with me, Kenshin, or else!" Sanosuke told me with a fist raised.

I grinned, "I'm going to beat you so bad, you won't know what hit you!"

"Yeah, right!" Sanosuke laughed. I laughed with him. It felt. . perfect to laugh like this with my best friend; forgetting all formality and respect and simply. . going for the gold. It felt perfect.

We scrambled to the gambling alley, laughing all the way there. "-And. . . and then. . ." Sanosuke burst into hysterical laughter, his arm around my left shoulder. "Yahiko looked up at me and said," he shook his head, trying not to laugh. "He said, 'It was you, wasn't it?'" We both cracked up as though the pathetic story Sanosuke had told was the funniest thing we had ever heard in our lives.

"Keep laughing. I'd love to see your face when I punch it in."

I looked up to see the men in black that I had defeated the night before. They all had bruises where I had struck them down. And they didn't look very happy about it.

"Where's our money?" the leader asked.

Sanosuke frowned, "I'll give it to you tomorrow. I already told you that."

My eyes widened, "What!" He set them up. My best friend paid these men to attack me. "You. . you paid these men to attack me!" My anger was building up inside of me more than it ever had in a long time. Was all our laughter fake? Was my trust in him wrong? My hands crunched into fists; my sakabatou itching on my hip.

"Now, Kenshin," Sanosuke put up his hands. "It isn't what you think it is. Believe me!" But I was far from believing him. "Kenshin, please! It isn't what you think!" But I was shaking my head, growling. The men in black were starting to surround Sanosuke, muttering complaints of not being 'paid for going easy on a pathetic swordsman.'

Me? A pathetic swordsman! My anger turned to the men in black. "I'll give you pathetic swordsman!" with that said, I drew my sakabatou and-

-Growled in pain like a defeated lion, dropped my sakabatou with a clattering sound and clutched my right arm; gasping for air. The men laughed at me. They laughed at me as they might laugh at a child who had dropped his ice cream and had started crying. The laughter spun in my head; it made me yearn for my katana.

My katana? The tiny voice in the back of my mind asked. But it was muffled by the fierce growling coming from the back of my throat. "Stop. . laughing," I whispered. They continued to laugh. "Stop laughing. Stop laughing at me. STOP LAUGHING!" And I was on my feet, sakabatou in hand, despite the extreme pain. Suddenly, the laughter disappeared and was replaced by screams of agony.

I knew Sanosuke was watching me fearlessly attack the men, but I didn't care. A slice here, a thunk there. . . the men went down even faster than they had the night before. As soon as each of them was on the ground, I dropped my sakabatou. The silence in the alley was disturbing. I realized that every man who had been gambling around us had seen me.

And Sanosuke had seen me fight in a way he had never seen me fight before. Out of pure rage.

I suddenly had a great urge to run. Fulfilling it was not hard. Comforting my right arm inside of my gi, I ran as fast as I could away from the gambling alley; without even looking back at Sanosuke. I didn't want to. I didn't need to. I knew what expression was on his face.

It felt like rain was pouring on my head. I looked up to see that it was. The sky was dark and cloudy. I glanced at the forest bordering town and nodded. I quickly ran into the maze of trees, taking in the sweet smell of bamboo that I hadn't smelled in what felt like forever. I suddenly thought of Kaoru. She was probably still upset with me.

It's probably for the best if she continues to be angry with me. I thought sadly. Then she won't miss me when I'm gone.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Gosh. Freakin' idiot!

Author's Notes: Oh my gosh! So many reviewers! I am terribly sorry for not updating soon enough: I was on vacation for a week. Thank you to everybody who has read and reviewed. You guys are so cool. I hope that this chapter has given you answers and given you more questions because I ain't gonna tell ya! (evil laughter) Ahem. Thank you for reading, and, if possible, could you leave a review and gimmie some feedback please?