Disclaimer: YuYu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin belong to Shonen Jump, not me.
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Independence, Kentucky
He brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes in irritation. "Come on, Kia, come out," he murmured. The door of the farmhouse creaked open and a pixyish face peeked out.
"Sano!" she gasped. She ran into the yard and flung her arms around his neck. Kia kissed his tan cheek, tears trickling down her face. "Where have you been? You've been gone for ten years!"
He set his little sister on her feet. "It's a long story, Kia," he said.
A child's cry startled them. Kia pulled away. "That's Owen," she said. "He's probably wondering where I am."
"Owen?" Sano repeated. "Who's he?"
Kia turned around, her soft nutmeg hair swishing around her face. "That's right. You left long before he was born," she remembered. "Owen is our little brother."
The boy called for Kia again. Sano caught her arm. "Stay, Kia," he pleaded. "Let Mom get him."
Kia shook her head. "Sano, our mother died when Owen was born," she said. She disappeared into the house, Sano staring in disbelief after her.
Westington, Massachusetts
Her heart pounded as the man approached her. If her father was worse than they had suspected…
"I'm sorry, Miss Campbell," the white-coated doctor said. "Your father is dead."
She nodded in faked understanding and left the hospital. Kaoru unlocked her battered sedan and sank into the tattered front seat. She leaned her forehead against the steering wheel. "Oh, God," she moaned. "What can I do?" The girl stayed in her car, sobbing, for a long time.
Dublin, Ireland
He cleared his throat for the third time. "Excuse me," he said politely. The students kept chattering. He banged his fist on the desk, causing the clock to jump in shock and shatter to the floor. The students silenced. "Thank you," he said. "I'm going to be your history teacher this year." He slid his reading glasses up the bridge of his nose and scribbled on the chalkboard. "My name is Shaughnessy-"
"He's a Jap that talks like a mick," a voice in the back row said.
Kenshin turned to the student. "Would like to say that again?" he asked. He gave the pulverized clock a slight nudge with his foot. It shuddered a few weak ticks before dying. The student gulped and shook his head.
"Thank you," he said. "We're going to be focusing on the years between 1850 and 2050 to begin with…"
Rakkin, Texas
He crept into the cellar, trembling. Blood soaked through the tattered remnants of his clothes and dripped from his mouth when he tried to draw a breath.
"We'll find him eventually," he heard a voice say. "He couldn't have gone far."
Soujiro whimpered. Around his foster family he only smiled, but he wept when he was alone. He wrapped his skinny arms around himself, trying to draw warmth back to his frail body. Desperately he tried to draw the picture back to his mind. It was only a soft haze, but he could dimly conjure up the image of a very young girl cradling him in her arms. He didn't know who the girl was, or where he was, or if what he saw was a memory or only wishful thinking, but it comforted him as he slipped into the blackness of unconsciousness.
New York City, New York
She pulled up the collar of her coat as she wended her way through the crowded streets. Unlike the other young women, she didn't pause or even glance up to look at the fashions in the shop windows. Khan would know if she bought anything other than the clothes he provided for her. She was confident he had her followed everywhere she went and even if he didn't, she didn't want to take any chances.
"Meg!" a voice hissed. "Down here, Meg."
Megumi didn't even glance down. Her contact snuck the packet out of her hand as she took the money- all without even slowing down her quick pace. She was a practiced hand at this. But she was so ashamed of it all.
Chicago, Illinois
He refused to listen to his comrades' calls. "C'mon! It's too dangerous!" they shouted. "Get outta here while your hide's in one piece!" He raised the handgun and blasted away. Blood spurted from the victim. He gazed at the corpse coolly.
"Not my style, but you had it coming," he said. "Sorry about that."
Aoshi turned and walked away. The visions of his friends, fellow Red-dragons, lying dead in a pool of blood, was an ever-present companion. It was worth the pain and the nightmares to know that at least one of the murderers was dead.
Seaside, California
She blew experimentally into her flute, then settled down cross-legged on her bed and began to play. Her slim fingers danced along the keys, playing the tune that had been drilling in her skull for as long as she could remember. It was like the song that never ended, always singing through her head, and she didn't know a single word or even know where she'd heard it.
"Lights out, Missy!" her grandfather called.
Missy scowled at her childish name and set down the flute. "Just a minute, old man!" she yelled back.
"Don't 'just a minute' me, Missy!" her grandfather hollered. "Go to bed! You have school tomorrow!"
"So?" she called. Missy grinned as she heard Gramps mutter to himself and stomp down the stairs. She set down her flute, but the song still sang in her head.
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