Disclaimer: I wouldn't be publishing fanfiction if I actually owned Rurouni Kenshin, now would I?

I was ruthless. Or so I'd been told.

In a world not meant for women and geared only for bloodshed and death, I survived. Sort of.

Fate had slung me an ungodly hand and I was forced to roll with the proverbial punches that came along with my life. A rough and tumble, hard knocks sort of situation. Because of that, I was a lot of things that a young girl shouldn't be.

"Neji!" Came the barked call.

I was good at what I did. When the time came I could go from naive, little, twin-tailed girl, to a profanity spewing street rat with restless hands. I could cry on command or blind myself to hideous pain. I wasn't proud of what I was. But, I couldn't quit.

Not until today, that is…

"Neji," It came again. "He's here."

In the vile horror's of Japan's Bakumatsu, I served as a neutral haven for any side with money. Put here out of desperation. Used to the bone. I worked for anyone, be it Ishinshishi, Shinsengumi, independent individuals or some bastard Yakuza that thought they had a dog in this fight. It mattered not.

Sukoshi Tora… That was the name that preceded me when mine own was unavailable, but yet it was still but a term tossed about in the darkness of the underworld.

Indeed, I am a Little Tiger.

There was a random few who knew of me, my existence, and what I did. A few dirty politicians had used me; a goodly amount of backwater soldiers somehow stumbled across me and threw me around amongst themselves whenever I was in town, or they saw fit; I worked amidst the lower class, and upper class, as well, earning trust and then killed or collected information till the spout ran dry- then killed.

I was more bloodsoaked than anyone in Japan, or so I was inclined to think. I was only eight.

Backing smoothly out of my reverie, I shifted the cap on my head that was being used to mask my long hair, made sure there were smudges of dirt in all the right places, and adjusted my posture to accept my employer as he came to find me.

"Neji! There you are you little brat. If you hadn't come so highly recommended-" He stopped there. I, personally, was thankful for his forgone tirade. What had stopped him, though, I couldn't fathom.

I smirked. Today- finally- I would be free. Or, rather, as free as someone like me could ever get. "I hear ya, you old geezer. Stop yapping will ya? I'll get the job done." I put on my best 'put-out' expression and shouldered my way out into the main hall where the customers all came to dine on cheap miso, soba, and sake.

The place was drab, at best, and only attracted soldiers, desperately trying to slip in and out as quick as possible, or lowly bottom feeders with barely a Sen to their name. The food was cheap, the sake was watery, and the tea was usually lukewarm and tasteless. Perfect for no one, not even the poor deserved the crap this man tried to throw at them.

The blue of my eyes caught an edge of amber. I still had no idea why someone like him bothered to show his face here. Nor had I a clue as to why I was here. I had no illusions of grandeur as I approached, dagger concealed at my back.

I knew I wasn't going to survive.

I didn't even feel the pain when it dared to rear its head.

I didn't feel for a long while.

A year, in fact, passed before I was somehow brought out of my coma. Still, to this day, I don't remember what went on that day, I doubt I ever will. Still, to this day, I had no earthly idea how I was still alive.

When I woke, I learned that a lot had happened. A lot had changed. I had changed.

A mirror showed a gauntness in my face and eyes that portrayed me, not as human, not as alive, but as a spector. My long black hair was brittle and lusterless. My eyes were gray. Dead. Shadowed. They were not the vivid cerulean they had once been… and they wouldn't be again, for quite some time.

I learned that my father had passed on. Another life lost to the voracious appetite of the Bakumatsu. I was now the sole survivor of his teachings and I couldn't have been more grateful.

Every day that yielded breath for me, was spent with a bokken tight in my grasp. Of course, I dare not have tried anything until the doctor claimed me able to do so. It was agonizing work, getting myself built up again.

Three years after that day, I was almost completely recovered, physically. Mentally, however, I had made almost no progress.

Nightmares.

Daydreams.

Hallucinations.

Attempts at suicide…

It was against the laws of nature that I was still standing; living; breathing. But, I didn't come out clean. A ragged scar on my chest was the brand mark of a killing blow. Faint white lines showed on my ankles, neck and wrists, permanent jewelry to show for all my time spent bound. A few more scars crossed, like characters, along my upper thighs and along, all the way, to my chest. It was a wonder my face had remained relatively untouched.

My life, though fraught with self generated demons of an era long since past, had begun to climb, again, with the gain of a student. A simple thing though it may be, it gave me a new focus and drive. I now had something to live for and look forward to.

A sigh flitted from my parted lips as I swung my legs from the edge of the dojo's engawa. The thin silk of my sleeping yukata waved a bit and showed off a bit of my pale legs. Above my head, deep red tones of a maple framed the pale moon as it curled like a cat's claw, slicing into the void and allowing millions of stars to spray out against the black.

My head fell to the side and I felt my hair fan slightly against my back. An odd time for a nostalgia wave.

I could practically feel my eyes dim to gray at my abject thoughts. It was as if my past had a supernatural ability to drain the life and color out of me… Literally. I suddenly felt a bit imbalanced and allowed my sword worn hands to slip behind me and brace myself.

Now, of all times.

I was so distracted, I didn't notice another presence beside me, until a worried voice filtered through my internal sea of melancholy.

"Kaoru-dono?"

Reality crashed into me like cannonfire. I felt my head jerk painfully towards the voice. It wasn't quite a ghost, but at this inopportune time, the rurouni certainly spooked me like one.

I hadn't noticed that I'd moved until an upper portion of my spine collided painfully with a support beam. My face contorted into a flinch and my body instinctively arched away from it, trying to run from itself and the pain; as impossible as it may be.

"Daijoubu desu ka?" Came the somehow more worried inquiry of the lithe man. A little recovered now from my encounter with the beam, I cracked an eye open and was met with a wash of violet.

"Not amber…" I mentally assured myself, though I had no clue why. I had never feared Battousai as much as I feared losing his milder half. So, why the need for self assurance?

I shook my head to clear it, before meeting Kenshin's concerned look again. This time, though, I wore a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, Kenshin," I assured him. To his credit, he managed to look relieved, though not quite convinced.

"What is it that has you out so late, Kaoru-dono?" I blinked. He wasn't going to press me?

As glad as I was that he was allowing me some privacy, I couldn't help but feel a bit anxious at his casualness. Why, again, I couldn't tell you.

"Couldn't sleep," I replied vaguely.

"Ah, neither could sessha." His words were strained slightly, as he shifted position and adjusted himself so that he was sitting more comfortably on the wooden planks.

A huff escaped me at the demeaning term. He merely flashed a knowing smile before turning to look at the moon through the branches.

Openly, my gaze rested on his profile. I admired his strong jaw and the way his hair framed his face and brought out the gorgeous hue of his eyes. It wasn't long, however, until my thoughts diverted to a darker, more twisted, confusing path.

I knew I loved him. I had known that for a long while. I just couldn't get passed the fact that, not too long ago-

Kenshin had attempted to kill me…

A/N: Forgive me, Minna-san! I wrote this long ago and I recently unearthed it and decided it would go nicely in my drabble collection. I believe I was heavily influenced by The Spy and the Hitokiri by Adamant Eve aka Anna-neko (pardon if I misspelled it.) I do intend to continue this, because I'm just as eager as you guys to find out what happens, but it may be a while. As it were, I'm in a bit of an odd situation and my writing is not totally… predictable? Please bare with me. I also seem to have foregone disclaimers in the other chapters, I'm sorry for that.

Hmm, on another note, my partner seems to be a bit lax in his writing, perhaps a few good reviews may provoke him enough to get him in gear? Eh? Ah well, review anyway please!

Wool