Misao and Aoshi met the Kenshingumi at the train station the following day, having heard from their links of the group's arrival

Misao and Aoshi met the Kenshingumi at the train station the following day, having heard from their links of the group's arrival. Having had no preceding letter, they had assumed it was important. Misao waved excitedly as the train pulled up. Kaoru exploded from a nearby door and hugged Misao furiously. She was just so happy to see friendly faces. She hoped that maybe they'd know something about Kenshin already. She was proved wrong, however, when Misao looked over the group.

"Where's Himura?" Kaoru's face fell, and Sano stepped up to them, leading the way from the station.

"Kenshin's gone all weird again. We wanted you to help us track him down." Misao's mouth fell open, and her eyes flickered to the previously unnoticed sling on Kaoru's arm. Kaoru saw her notice and waved off her gaze.

"Don't worry about this. Megumi made me wear it as a precaution." Aoshi had remained silent, but as they got into the Aoiya he quickly disappeared. The others were so used to his frequent appearing and disappearing that they took no notice, and simply walked into the room Misao led them too. Okina was sitting with a tray of tea, and watched all enter silently. He duly noted the absence of Kenshin and promptly handed around the tea, a single solitary cup sitting alone on the tray. Kaoru's eyes fell on it immediately, and she began wondering where Kenshin was right then.

Little did she know, Kenshin had slipped into Kyoto unseen by the Oniwabanshu's intimate spy system. He kept on his guard, however, as he looked around for work. Preferably work with as little human contact as possible.

"I see. So that's what happened." Okina said flatly, and Misao still had her mouth open by the time Kaoru had finished. Aoshi materialised out of seemingly nowhere and both Kaoru and Megumi jumped as he stepped out of the shadows. They put their hands over their hearts and sighed as he leant down to whisper to Okina. Then he disappeared once more. Okina was nodding silently, and Misao was looking disappointed. She had such sharp hearing from her Oniwabanshu training that they assumed she'd overheard the message. They waited with baited breath, but help out little hope due to Misao's obvious disappointment. "It appears there has been no sign of Kenshin. The last sighting of him was in the woods just outside Tokyo, and then…" Misao's head shot up. She hadn't heard the entire message. "He… Disappeared." Kaoru's eyebrow went up of its own volition. That wasn't the whole story, she knew.

"Hey gramps. Tell us the details. None of us here mind 'em. Vixen here's seen more than me, and Jou-chan ain't no girl either." Kaoru was considering taken offence when Okina spoke again, deadly grave against the dull buzz of the crowd milling around outside.

"The spy who last reported the sighting was found critically injured. He has yet to come around." Kaoru, Megumi and Misao's mouths all fell open, but Sano and Yahiko simply grimaced.

"Kenshin… killed?" Kaoru's voice was barely a whisper.

"No. He has not yet come around, but he is alive… Just." There was silence. No one knew what to say or do.

Kenshin had managed to get a labouring job, carrying sacks to load ships going overseas. He wasn't exactly strong, but it paid well and he had no time to meet people. He knew he needed money. With the job he got free living space, but had to buy his own food. He settled for simple rice to cook at home, saving up most of it for a katana which he'd undoubtedly need at some point. He also needed to spend quite a bit on aesthetics to keep his identity hidden from right under the nose of the Oniwabanshu. He didn't mind being in the same town as them, but the proximity to which he was made even his steel nerves twinge. That and this close he knew Aoshi would most likely be able to sense his presence, so he kept it as low as possible. He glanced over his shoulder to the Aoiya as he left his boarding place, only a few doors away. He turned back to his way, heading towards the docks for his work. It was early morning, and the sun was only just rising. Only the dockyard labourers and some shop owners were milling about in the early morning mist.

Kaoru yawned and sat up. It was way too early to be awake, but she couldn't get back to sleep. She slowly got up and dressed, and then went as quietly as she could down the stairs. The fires in the kitchen were already roaring, and a few of the Oniwabanshu were already milling around making breakfasts and tea. Kaoru pulled back her sleeves and tromped up to the sideboard determinedly. Omasu quickly took her shoulders and pointed to the door, not wishing to demoralise her, but not wanting her to poison the guests either.

"You should be out there looking for Himura. Misao is already out there, she seems to think that he's here. Something about not looking on our home turf and proving him wrong." Kaoru smiled appreciatively and let herself be led to the front door. She waved a goodbye and set off, not really knowing where she was going.

Kenshin was already sweating hard, his small frame finding the workload tough in comparison to his life at the dojo. He was better at laundry. He felt the nagging of the Battosai inside him, but refused to let it take him over. He'd never let it out again. Not after he'd hurt Kaoru. He'd never give in to it again, even on pain of death, but as he wasn't intending to go back, he was finding it harder to resist. He sighed and pulled his load further up his aching back, then continued on his way.

Kaoru looked around herself. Why was she standing on the pier? She sighed and turned back around, looking over the workers already hauling their cargo into the large wooden ships. She sighed and walked back into the town, looking around half-heartedly.

Kenshin looked after her small figure eyes wide. He'd not expected her to follow this time. Not after he'd… Wait. He had expected her to be looking for him. That was the reason he had changed his appearance, wasn't it? He sighed and got back to work before he was spotted standing still for too long. For the rest of the day he'd try to think of nothing by the slow, rhythmic pounding of his footsteps on the wooden pier, only to find they reminded him of her warm heartbeat. He sighed as he laid back in his lumpy futon that night, staring up at the wooden ceiling and trying to block out the sounds of the burly men snoring around him. He heard the floorboard creak outside and sat up immediately, leaning against the wall. He moved to clench his sakabatou, and cursed when he remembered it was no longer there. The shoji slipped open, and Kenshin's mouth fell open before he regained his composure and promptly pretended to be sleeping, suppressing his kenki as far as he could. He felt Aoshi's gaze bore into his head, but then it was gone, and the shoji creaked shut. Kenshin stayed silent, unmoving. That had been too close. He still wasn't entirely sure he hadn't been noticed.

Kaoru was leaning against the wall in her room. Again she'd only been asleep for a few hours and had woken up. She hadn't been having bad dreams or anything, but she just couldn't sleep. She sighed and got up, sliding open her shoji to come face to face with Misao. They both let out a yelp of surprise, but put their hands over each others mouths immediately. In a house full of Oniwabanshu, it was a bad move to make noises in the night. They both sighed after a moment of silence, and walked downstairs. When they were safely into the kitchen, Misao spoke up quietly.

"I figured you'd probably be awake. I wanted to tell you as soon as I found out." Kaoru leant across the table. Misao seemed excited. Had she had news of Kenshin? "Aoshi-sama was here a moment ago. He said he was sure he felt Himura's kenki nearby. As in, really really nearby. Maybe as close as next door." Kaoru gasped and stood up so quickly it took all Misao's speed to catch her wrist before she ran off. "I know you want to go, Kaoru, but Aoshi is the best one for the job. He went off to look. Said he'd be back in a moment. It's better to just wait for him to get back." Kaoru looked to the door just as she finished speaking and saw Aoshi standing there in his ninja outfit. He walked slowly down the stairs and sat at the table calmly. Misao and Kaoru took their seats once more, and sat in an excruciating silence. Kaoru was beginning to fidget and was about to speak when Aoshi's cool voice cut off her attempt.

"Misao, please get me a list of all labour workers in the docks." Misao was up and gone in the blink of an eye, and Kaoru felt a little uneasy being in the former okashira's presence alone. "Kaoru. Himura Kenshin is definitely here in Kyoto. However, he suppressed his kenki when he felt my presence nearby and I was unable to locate him. You know how sharp his senses are. And if he is the Battosai as you suggest, then they will be even more so." Kaoru nodded disappointedly. "Do not be disheartened. He is in Kyoto. That is a good start. It will be easy to find him in one town over many, especially since he chose the Oniwabanshu's hometown." Kaoru nodded, smiling slightly. He was right. She was about to get up to begin looking again when Aoshi got up and walked to the counter. She felt it rude to leave while his back was turned, and yet didn't want to speak to him if she could help it. His emotionless voice made her feel ill at ease.

He set a cup of tea down before her just as Misao entered the room, and they turned to look at her expectantly. She was panting hard, and set a list down on the table with a thump. Aoshi picked it up, unfurled it, and used Kaoru's cup to hold one end down. He looked over the names.

"No Himura Kenshin." Misao said despondently. Aoshi raised an eyebrow.

"He is too wise to use his real name if hiding is his goal. He will be using a fake one." Misao mentally berated herself. Of course he'd use a fake name!

"Not that I know everyone in Kyoto, but I do not recall hearing this name before. Kira Wakato. What do you think, Misao? Kaoru?" Misao was looking thoughtful, but Kaoru was frowning.

"Wakato roughly means 'young one', but I'm not familiar with the name Kira." Aoshi looked up momentarily.

"Dark." Kaoru sighed in an exasperated kind of way.

"That could be him. He's always belittling himself." Aoshi nodded slightly.

"Unless he is in fact Battosai in which case it would be something a little more dangerous sounding." Kaoru shook her head.

"If he was Battosai, then he wouldn't be working, surely?" Aoshi nodded mutely. It was a fair point. When he had looked in on the workers he had noticed that one had been sitting up. If it was that same man who held this name, then he would make sure to look at him closer. "Let's go. They'll be starting to get up by now. We can watch them leave from the balcony and see if one of them is Kenshin." Kaoru sounded excited, and Misao was nodding enthusiastically.

"Good idea Kaoru! Let's do it, Aoshi-sama!" Aoshi nodded and they left the tea steaming on the table. Misao snatched the list from its surface so quickly that the cup didn't shift in the slightest.