Disclaimer: I do not own any of Nobuhiro Watsuki's creations. I'm just playing with them a bit.

A/N: Yo, I'm back with another chapter! I hope you like this. I worked hard on this so please review and tell me what you think. I got the "quotes" from the manga itself… so yay for me! xD

The manga is so different from the Anime… I am torn between which one I enjoy more. If only the Anime stayed exactly the same as the Manga… I so enjoy the character voices. 'Specially Aoshi's voice… he pronounces everything perfectly and I just want to lick the TV screen when they have a view of him…

And no, I wasn't drinking when I wrote Tae's dialogue… in the Anime she has a heavy Southern accent, and I went with that.

Anyway! Enjoy chapter 3!

Chapter 3


"Kaoru-chan! Kaoru-chan?!"

"Sensei! Please, answer us!"

"Kamiya-san? Where are you?!"

"Kaoru! Hey, busu, answer us! Kaoru!!"

'Where is that busu?' Yahiko thought to himself as he chewed worriedly on his lower lip. Where could she have gone? She had been waiting outside the change rooms when they went to gather their things and when they came out, not even minutes later, she was gone!

'Oooh… I hope nothing happened to her..' Yahiko looked up at the night sky, and folded his arms over his chest. It had been mid-day when they had first started looking for her. They had looked around the stadium, then Akabeko, the dojo… everywhere! Desperate, they had all arranged a search party for the young miss. Almost everyone knew her and loved her joyous disposition, and were happy to help. Even Saitou had lended a few officers to help search for the young Shihandai, agreeing that this was serious.

It was so unlike her to just run off like that without telling anyone. And with how much trouble their group had attracted in the past.. It was very likely something bad had happened.

Poor Yahiko was almost frantic. He had failed to protect the one person who had always been a constant in his life. He covered his eyes with his hand, rubbing at them. He was so tired, but he had to keep looking! He would do this all night if it meant finding her safe and sound. Hell, even all week! Forever, if needed be!

"Kaoru..! Where are you..?! Busu!" His voice was fading. He had been yelling just about all day. Cheering during the tournament, and now shouting for Kaoru… it put a lot of strain on his voice.

He was down at the river with three others, Tae, one of his peers at the dojo, and a neighbor. He leaned against the bridge and looked out at the lake. So many memories here… He had not been here in a long time, not able to deal with the pain of remembering all the time he spent here with everyone.

Sanosuke…

Megumi…

Kenshin…

They were all gone. He was left alone again. He placed his arms on the railing and buried his face in them. And now Kaoru was gone too! He released a ragged breath, and sagged against the wood, not able to stop the flood of memories.

The first time he met Kenshin and Kaoru. It was on this same bridge when he first conversed with them.

"I'm Myojin Yahiko-- Tokyo Samurai! I haven't fallen far enough to be pitied by strangers!"

"You look like a child, but it's obvious your soul is mature. Sorry, didn't mean to underestimate you." Kenshin smiled apologetically, seeming truly sorry for offending for what he knew to be a little thief.

The first time he had fought along side Sanosuke in Kanryu's Courtyard; Sanosuke had hurled him into the gun squad…

"What's the idea, throwing me like a rock?!"

Sanosuke looked down with that shit-eating grin of his. "You made your dent, kid. THANK me!"

The first time he had joked around with Megumi; it was in Kanryu's Mansion, right after the pond-scum had been arrested. Color rose to his cheeks when he thought about how he had smacked her rear. Looking back on it, he was grateful that she didn't slap the everything out of him.

"Betcha run into your family that way, too!" He swatted her rear, a grin identical to Sano's on his face.

"Eek!" Megumi quickly looked down at him with a bemused expression on her face, shaking her head at his antics.

Yahiko missed them all terribly. He understood their reasons to leave, but he wished it didn't have to be this way. He wished Megumi didn't have to go to Aizu. He wished Sanosuke didn't have to run to a foreign country to escape a crime he didn't commit! He wished Kenshin, his idol, didn't have to leave on that stupid journey! And he wished that he hadn't failed in protecting Kaoru!

Tears stung his tired eyes. He was somewhat glad they weren't here to see his failure; but that was selfish and just plain idiotic. They wouldn't have let Kaoru get kidnapped! They would have found her already. And he was a weak child, and couldn't find his own misplaced tabi to save his pathetic life! Kenshin always found them for him… and Kenshin never rested until his task was done!

He almost slammed his face into the railing repeatedly.

What was he doing?! Wallowing in self pity like this while Kaoru was Kami-knows where! He pushed away from the railing and swiftly turned around--right into Tae!

"Oh! Gomen ne, Tae-san," Yahiko quickly apologized, looking to the side, too ashamed to look one of Kaoru's best female friends in the eye.

Tae smoothed her Akabeko uniform. "It's quite alright, dear." Tae cooed softly. She had noticed his dejected form on the bridge and had come to see if she could help him. Knowing more than likely the boy was blaming himself, she decided to come over and see if she could give some words of encouragement. It seemed that she could very well do that.

She placed a hand on Yahiko's shoulder. "We'll find her, 'kay? Don't you worry!" She tilted her head to the side, smiling gently. She removed her hand from his shoulder, folding her hands in front of her. "It what'nt your fault, dear. No one could've foreseen this… and you must stop blamin' yourself. I know you're worried, and I am too… but we can't give up, y'know?"

Yahikobrought his eyes to Tae's, nodding curtly. "I agree, we can't give up. Thank you, Tae, for helping me… I can't thank you enough." Yahiko quickly hugged the woman and nodded over towards the road that led into town. "You must be tired, having worked all day and then having to search for Kaoru. Why don't you go back to the Akabeko and rest. Plus, if Kaoru manages to get back and heads for the Akabeko, you'll be there waiting for her, okay?"

Tae was feeling quite weary. It wouldn't help the search if she just suddenly passed out from exhaustion on them all; but she wanted to help too though. She mulled over it for a moment, then she finally nodded.

"Okay, Yahiko. I'll be at the Akabeko if you need me! Don't think twice about coming to me, if you need anything, I'm more than happy to help, dear!" She waved farewell to him and turned, walking down the bridge, back into town.

Yahiko slapped his hands to his face to wake himself up. He focused on the sting that burned his cheeks. Okay! He was ready to find Kaoru! He ran the opposite way that Tae had taken, towards the police officer and one of his friends. She didn't seem to be at the river, so there was plenty more places that they had yet to look!


A groan escaped her lips as consciousness slowly came back to her. It was so cold; she was freezing! Why was it so cold? Blah… and she felt horrible. Maybe she had been run over by one of those horse-drawn carriages.

With her luck, that was completely possible.

She was laying on an ice cold… stone floor? What the-? If she had been injured, wouldn't she either be on a futon at the Clinic or in her room at the dojo? She wouldn't be on a stone floor in either of those places. How did she know? Well, it wasn't exactly the smoothest stone in Japan! She could feel the rough texture beneath her hands and cheek. Also, she could smell dirt and dust… too make things worse, there was more horrid smells that followed that she couldn't and did not want to identify.

She went very still. Something was very wrong. She couldn't remember exactly how she had got here, or why she was where she was… but she remembered the feeling of fear and red inhuman eyes. That didn't add up to just an accident at the dojo or at the tournament…

'Wait… what?'

The tournament!

Everything flooded back to her in a rush, and she felt bile rise in her throat. She had been kidnapped! She had heard that woman in trouble and went to rescue her, but someone hit her from behind! Oh! That poor woman… she was too late. Her fingers twitched. She was almost certain that they had taken her bokken away from her, since it wasn't in her hands. And surely they had saw her in the tournament, they'd have to be idiots to leave her with a weapon!

She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, trying to concentrate on scanning her surroundings and not the bloody headache that throbbed behind her eyelids. Damn, her head hurt! Whoever snuck up behind her sure had an arm.

Okay, that train of thought wasn't productive.

What to do?

Well, she couldn't sense any ki around here, so hopefully she was alone. It was dark, she knew… if there was light, even with her eyes closed she'd be able to detect it. She opened her eyes just a tiny bit, looking through her eyelashes. At first the world spun, but she was able to get a grip on it and turn everything right-side-up.

It would do her no good if she alerted the person (if there was someone) that she was conscious by just sitting up. She had to make sure she was alone before she did, so she would maybe have the advantage of surprise... sorta.

Well, she saw no feet in front of her, so that meant there was nobody on the side of the room she was facing. She didn't feel any presence behind her, so she was almost sure she was alone. Kami, she prayed she was alone. She took a deep breath and slowly sat up. Her hand instantly shot up to cradle her abused cranium. Ugh, she felt like her head was going to just fall off her shoulders! When she found that no-good dirty bastard that hit her from behind…Oooh, what a coward!

Concentrate!

'Whoa… okay, here we go..' Kaoru blinked rapidly and looked around. She smothered her initial gasp with her hand. She was in a… jail cell?! What in the Seven Hells?! The whole room looked like it was made of stone. There was no decorations. Oh, Kami… but something that looked an awful lot like dried blood was all over the back wall and floor! And there were chains and manacles bolted into the stone… what were they planning to do to her?! She quickly turned where she sat to look behind her and noticed a small tea-candle, along with a few what she hoped were water spots… And it smelled like stale tabi that had been stuck in a water bucket and just thrown in a bundle in a corner. Yuck!

She looked for the door(she doubted any windows were built in). She grimaced when she saw the western-style black door. Only reason why she could see it was the glint of the handle in the tiny bit of candle light that she did have. She seriously doubted that it was oh so conveniently unlocked… but she had to try!

Kaoru slowly pushed herself into a crouching position, testing her wobbly legs. She slowly exhaled and stood to her full height. She looked herself over, and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She looked like she'd been dragged through a pile of dirt! It stained her blue gi, and her hakama was totally destroyed. The ends were torn, like they'd been snagged on something repeatedly. And her breast binding was loose… she very quickly fixed that as best she could without taking off her gi.

She tip-toed over to the door and placed her hand on the smooth and cold wood. Why did everything in this dank cell have to be cold?! She wasn't dressed for this. She slowly reached for the handle with her free hand, almost terrified of what could be on the other side of this black door…

She gripped the handle tightly and turned it, pushing on the door very slowly. She was tense and ready to intercept an on-coming attack as she continued to slowly push on the wood. She heard a small click, and excitement jolted through her as she realized the door was unlocked! Yes! But her joy was short lived as she considered why would they leave the door unlocked, and just what could be waiting for her on the other side.

She took a deep breath and peeked out. The lighting was dim in the short hallway that obviously led to where she was. Another black door was directly in front of her- the exit! She took a few heartbeats to look at the walls and ceiling, looking for traps.

Scarlet tapestries hung on the the walls, and two torches were lit in the middle of the dark hall. She guessed for decoration? She looked down at her feet. Even the carpet was red.

Suddenly, low growling sounds reached her ears and she froze. She slowly looked up to meet three pairs of amber eyes reflecting back at her in the darkness.

'Oh no…'

The growling got louder as three, huge, black wolves stepped into the light, as they stared her down, hackles raised. Their fangs were bared and they slowly advanced forward, as if she had become the prey that they were hunting. Kaoru decided that they blended perfectly in this Hell that she was abruptly thrown in!

Kaoru swallowed hard, gripping the door handle tightly. "Uh… good doggies… I won't hurt you…" 'But I bet you can't wait to eat me…!!'

As if they had heard her silent omission, the wolves suddenly snarled and launched off the floor, running full speed at her. Saliva flew from their snapping jaws; the loud snapping sounds crawled straight down her spine.

Kaoru gasped and wasted no time in darting back into the cell and slammed the door closed, pressing herself against it. Seconds later three resounding thuds slammed against the door, and she could hear their agitated snarls through the door.

Fear laced through her as they suddenly started scratching at the base of the door, trying to get in. To tear her apart! Kaoru whimpered as tears welled up in her blue eyes. She held her breath, praying that they would stop and leave her alone. Well, now she knew why they left the door unlocked!

After a few moments the scratching stopped, and she breathed a sigh of relief, going limp against the door. She dropped her head back against the door, breathing heavily.

Kaoru then did something she didn't do very often. She cursed.

"Fuck!"


A/N: Hiya! I hope you liked the chapter. Please review and give me some feedback! Love you all!

Terms (in order of use

-chan: an honorific used for someone who is younger or little. Also used between females who are friends.

Sensei: Teacher, Master, or Doctor.

-san: an honorific for someone who is older or a stranger. Or in this case, in place of "Mr." or "Ms."

Busu: Ugly- Yahiko's nickname for Kaoru.

Shihandai: Assistant Master (Kaoru, since she teaches in place of her deceased Father).

Tabi: Socks that are specially made to be worn with sandals.

Kami: God.

Gomen ne: I'm Sorry.

Bokken: Wooden Sword.

Gi: a top worn by swordsman. (check me on that one)

Hakama: traditional Japanese pants.

My thanks to all who reviewed:

Paramecio: Thank you for your encouragement! Here's your update, sorry it's a bit late. I hope you enjoyed this! Please review again! LadyNorth176: Thank you for your review, and here's the update! I'm glad you love my story! LemonMan: Uh, well… I haven't got that far yet. But I promise there will be some soon!

And to all who added me to their Alert, Favorites or Author list:

LadyNorth176; Lanie29; Kizuna31; dela1

A/N: Some of the names directly above may be for my One-Shot "Passion", but I didn't want to take the chance on leaving someone out. Well, love you all and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Feedback is very welcome! Have a wonderful day/night!

Kiyo-chan