A/N: Yay for chapter 3! And some of you told me in my fic Idle Chitchat that you couldn't review the last chapter, it's because you reviewed chapter two when I had the filler up. That's why you couldn't review, it thought you already reviewed once.
REVIEWERS! (And those who reviewed to Idle Chitchat)
omasuoniwabanshi - Mean old bratty people. What we ever do to them?
enchantedsleeper - Glad you liked Idle Chitchat!
skenshingumi - No, it's more like 95 of the fanfics about Kenshin are: Hi Kenshin! I'm a Mary Sue long lost sister/lover who's way better at swords than you. Forget about Kaoru and marry me! There, I've just given away the plot for nearly every single fic on this site. Oh. And lets not forget the setting! HIGHSCHOOL! And for added kicks! They're all vampires!
Terry-McElrath - Yay for torture!
lolo popoki - You should be able to review this time.
Hitokiri Musei - Glad you liked chapter 2!
Kokari - Sorry for the long wait! Unless I get a major writer's block (unlikely) I shouldn't take so long when it comes to updating.
Shauntell - I don't want to sound rude, but everything you said you'd like to see happen won't be happening it's just too… cliché. And fear not! For as you probably saw, my summary said traditional pairings! And it shall stay that way!
AuburnMoonlight - We shall see, Neko's changed quite a lot.
Kenshin'sorrow - Glad to see you're still around. I must admit, I thought I lost all my readers taking so long to update.
aznpuffyhair - I thought I answered this already… but I forgot if I did or not, but you had important question so I'd better answer them again in case I haven't done so already. Saito let Kenshin go when he was hiding behind the desk because Hiroko had broken a lot of Shinsengumi's rules. It was just his way to pay Kenshin back for the underhanded way Hiroko used to get him. A way of restoring the Shinsengumi's name sort to speak. Also, Neko's leg did heal, but it didn't heal correctly. That's why she's still limping around. They didn't have the medical advances back then to fix an injury like the one she had.
Chapter 3 - Neko's Companion
Neko was over bright and early the next day. She brought with her a small basket with a blanket over it. Yahiko was training with Kaoru when she stopped by, so she chatted with Kenshin, rebuilding their friendship.
"So what have you been up to all these years?" Neko asked as they sat side by side on the porch, idly watching as Yahiko and Kaoru trained outside.
"Not much. After the war I wandered from place to place." He smiled; it actually felt good to say that in the past tense. He shut his eyes as he remembered Kaoru standing there, hand opened to him, a smile on her face as she said something Kenshin thought he'd never hear and feel so good hearing it. 'Welcome home.'
She smiled back. "No wonder it was so hard to find you. You've must have been all over the place, seeing so many people."
Kenshin nodded, thinking briefly over the people he had met. Neko leaned closer to him, so she was gently resting her weight against him. "Tell me a story, please. About some of your wandering." She closed her eyes as Kenshin began, he spoke of boats at sea, a girl named Senko, small villages where he would help out at inns, or any place that would take him in and accept his help. He kept the story light and amusing; cutting out or distorting parts that he thought would make Neko worry. So they sat together, like they had done so long ago. When the stories stopped they sat in silence together and watched Kaoru and Yahiko spar with each other.
The training was just about done when Dr. Genzai brought his two granddaughters over.
"Why! Aren't you two cute?" Neko said smiling at the both of them.
Introductions were given and before Dr. Genzai left, Neko revealed what she had in her basket. She smiled warmly at everyone. "It's called chocolate," she said matter-of-factly. "I met some French traders and they gave me a bunch of it!"
Kaoru practically squealed. "You have chocolate? I heard it's so tasty and it melts in your mouth."
"It will melt in your hand too if you're not careful," Neko handed everyone a piece. "I wanted everyone to have a chance to try it, so I brought some with me."
They were all sampling the chocolate when Misao came back from her search for Aoshi. She sighed as she made her way to the group. After searching so long all over Japan to find him it was like he had never been found, the way he was always wandering off in the morning and hardly ever returning before dusk.
She was starting to feel really depressed until she saw what everyone was eating. "Is that chocolate!" She ran over to see if there was any left for her. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad day after all if she could get some sweets.
A big grin came over Neko's face as she handed Misao a piece. "Want some?" Cheerfully, Misao took the offered piece. Neko was a great person in her book!
Everyone munched on the chocolate, thanking Neko for bringing it over to share. Neko smiled brightly. She was glad Kenshin's friends liked her. They ate their chocolate and then everyone started talking.
Neko asked a bunch of questions about Kenshin, trying to figure out how he had been living his life. Everyone was having a rather enjoyable time until Sano came. He walked up grinning and waved to the group. "Hey, everyone! Guess who came to pay a visit."
Everyone looked around for someone, but Sano was alone. He snickered slightly as a large brown chow came bounding around the corner. "Notaro!" Ayame and Suzume cried out in joy at seeing the big dog again. They were about the only ones who were happy to see him. Yahiko and Kaoru just looked annoyed. Kenshin laughed weakly, amused by the half angry looks, until he saw Neko.
All the color had drained from her face, she was breathing quickly, and she was shaking. Kenshin quickly noticed she was subconsciously rubbing her bad leg; instantly he knew what was wrong.
Only he figured it out a bit too slowly. Smelling the chocolate Neko had been saving for Sano, Notaro came waddling up to her. Frightened, Neko's hand clutched her cane tightly. "Stay back!" she yelled at the hungry dog.
"It's okay, Notaro is a good doggie," Ayame explained.
"Yeah! Notaro good doggie!" Suzume agreed.
Now everyone noticed how tense Neko was. "Notaro may be annoying and wrecks a lot of things, but he's a nice dog," Kaoru admitted, trying to clam Neko down.
"Get him away from me!" she shouted, quickly getting to her feet and backing away. Kenshin quickly intervened. He stepped in front of the curious dog and took Neko's hand.
"It's all right Neko, he won't bite you. How about you wait inside? I'll be right in."
She nodded numbly, slowly heading to the door, eyes never leaving Notaro. Kenshin sighed once she was inside.
Sano sucked in his breath through his teeth. "Sorry about that, didn't know she was so afraid of dogs. It's just that Notaro's owner was in town and thought we'd like to see him again."
"It's all right Sano, you didn't know." Kenshin was quiet a moment, before excusing himself to find Neko.
She was sitting on the floor, her knuckles white around her cane as she clutched it close to her. His heart dropped slightly when he saw the pure panic in her eyes, it was clear she was on the edge of having a nervous breakdown. She was still so haunted by what had happened, so scared, that even ten years after being attacked by Muroi's dogs she still carried that fear.
She looked up at him when he entered the room. She whispered hoarsely to him, eyes wide. "Don't let him bite me."
He knelt down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Notaro is a good dog Neko, he won't bite you. Not all dogs are mean."
"I don't care!" she snapped, tears running down her face. She screamed again, "I don't CARE!" She clutched her cane tighter and Kenshin wondered if she planned on using it as a weapon if Notaro came inside.
She was frantic now, and it was clear she wasn't going to calm down any time soon, at least not without help. Kenshin reached out and pulled the frightened girl in to his embrace. He whispered soft comforting things until her crying had died down to choked sobs. He let her go and held her out at arms length.
She smiled weakly at him. "Gomen, I know all dogs aren't bad, I just get so scared."
He carefully wiped a tear away from her eye with his thumb. "It's all right, you're safe now." His hand drifted away from her face as Yahiko came inside to let them know that Sano had taken Notaro to the clinic to visit Megumi and the others.
Neko took a few more minutes to compose herself before going back outside. No one mentioned what had happened or the redness of her eyes, conversation eventually picked up again and the day passed by happily.
Aoshi was heading back to the dojo as the sun was beginning to lower in the sky. He was just about at the gate when he looked up and saw a man walking up from the other direction wearing a western style suit. The suit was a lighter brown than his dark brown hair, cut neatly about his face. He walked straight and held himself like he was an important man, yet his brown carefree eyes said that he could care little of titles and importance. He was smiling warmly as he walked up fearlessly to Aoshi.
Aoshi had stopped in front of the gate and watched the man walk up to him. "Hello, is this the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu dojo?" He spoke warmly and the smile never left his face. "I'm looking for someone."
Aoshi eyed him for a minute. He didn't seem threatening… but then again not everyone out for revenge looked threatening. "Who are you looking for?"
"It's getting late," Neko mentioned sadly as she glanced up at the sky. "I should get going." She suddenly brightened. "Why don't you all join me? I could show you some of the western customs!"
"That sounds fun!" Misao chattered excitedly, going on about all the things she heard about western culture. The others agreed and they were heading out when the gate opened and Aoshi and the man stepped through.
The group stopped as Misao cried happily at seeing Aoshi. Kenshin's eyes were attracted to the other man. He looked so familiar, yet, he couldn't figure out who it was. He was still trying to figure it out when Neko yelled. "What are you doing here!"
The man smiled. "I finished early, and I figured I'd help walk you home. And I really wanted to see Kenshin again."
Kenshin tensed a little bit; so he did know him, but who was he? He was sure he knew this man.
Neko hurried forward, going as fast as her leg would allow, wrapping her arms around the man's middle. She grinned as she looked up into the man's face. "That was nice of you, anata." She turned to the rest of them, Misao's mouth having dropped at the word anata. Neko smiled brightly as she raised her hand to point at the man. "Everyone, this is my husband, Kanai."
A/N: Some of you may have recognized the name Senko, most of you, probably didn't. That's alright, she's an OC from my fics Kenshin Lost At Sea and The Winds Revenge. Two of my older (and crappier) stories. I just like to be cute and make references to my other stories within a new story. I'm weird like that. And if you don't know who the dog Notaro is, that's okay too. He's from one of the dreaded filler episodes, it was just easier using him then writing that the group came along a strange dog in the streets.
