Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of the characters other than my OC's.

"Zanza?" She peeked around the door when she heard his voice, "If you're looking for Kenshin, he went to some dojo with Kaoru this morning."

"Darn. I was looking for a free meal too." He groaned, leaning back to lie on the porch.

"Hello?"

Kyoka had joined the boy on the porch, "Hello… And who…"

The squinty eyes gave him away instantly. His hair was slicked back as usual and it appeared that he was forcing a smile as he stepped forward to set a large box on the floor in front of them, "How are you today? I've come from Tama to sell an Ishida powder medicine. Fujita Goro is the name."

Kyoka was about give him away but when Sanosuke leaned down to at least look at the medicine, Fujita Goro signaled for her to leave with his signature glare.

She smirked and shook her head, mouthing, "What are you after?"

He mouthed back, "You'll die."

Sanosuke glanced back up, "You know… You have really squinty eyes."

"I was born with them." Saito gave the boy his fake smile again, it was starting to annoy the girl.

"Is that right? Then where does a medicine seller get callouses like these?" Sanosuke pulled the man's palm toward him, examining them suspiciously. "Who are you really?"

"Oh my." Saito's fake smile was practically plastered onto his face, "You're quite observant, Sagara Sanosuke. So if Battosai isn't home then I'll leave him a few presents."

Saito reached back to reveal a hidden sword. Sanosuke growled, "A hidden sword. You came to fight didn't you?"

Saito glared at the girl again, giving her one last chance. When she shook her head, he drew the sword and pointed it at her. Sanosuke stepped between them, "If you want to fight that's fine with me!"

Saito flew back when Sanosuke's fist connected with his face. He crouched down, holding his sword at the ready, "A good punch, you live up to your reputation but only in this peaceful era of Meiji. During the Bakumatsu, that kind of punch would be nothing."

He lunged forward with unmatched speed, his sword stabbing into Sanosuke's shoulder. Kyoka drew her tanto warily, "Fujita-san… Or do you prefer Saito?"

The man's eyes cracked open, amused, "You think you can beat me with a toy like that?"

"You didn't answer my question." She crouched in a similar style to his but in a much more serious way.

He glared down at her, "Saito is fine."

When he lunged forward again, she was ready. Jumping to the side, she lashed out at him as he passed. He spun around, slashing out at her again. She flipped, jumped, and spun out of the way. She blocked his sword, her arm shaking under the weight of his strike, "Saito-san… Could I persuade you to just leave?"

Ignoring her question, he mumbled, "I see you got my payment."

She heard Sanosuke cough as he struggled to recover from Saito's attack. She gasped when the man increased the amount of strength he pushed down on her with. His height already gave him the advantage in more ways than one. He jumped back just in time to avoid her kick. He shook his head, "I wasted too much time already."

She let her guard down for one moment and it was over. Saito had slammed the hilt of his sword into her neck and she slumped forward, out cold.

Kyoka sat straight up, "Zanza!"

Megumi glared at the girl, "Finally, you're awake. What happened?"

Kyoka frowned, "How long have I been out? Where's Zanza?"

"24 hours. Sanosuke's in another room." Megumi repeated, "What happened?"

"Saito Hajime…" She reached for her tanto. It was still intact and so was she. Why? She couldn't think of any reason for her to remain alive. Did he come to kill someone? He was a police officer, and she was a hired assassin but if he was trying to arrest her, he could've done it. She dashed out to find Sanosuke, he had probably gotten more out of him than she did, or so she thought. Megumi called out for her to stop but she couldn't think of anything but Saito's attack, "Zanza are y-…"

She stopped at the door, looking down at the heavily wounded boy. Megumi pulled the girl away, "What did you expect? He's barely alive."

She dropped to her knees and shook her head. She couldn't even be angry. Megumi patted the girl's back gently, "He'll live."

Sanosuke was paler than usual, probably from blood loss. She hadn't even cried for the Oniwabanshu, she wasn't about to cry for someone she knew for less than a year but it was tempting for a reason unknown to her. Megumi ushered the girl into Sanosuke's room, "It's not your fault. Don't worry."

"And Kenshin?" Kyoka asked, "Saito came for Kenshin so he's in danger."

Megumi comforted the girl one last time, "Don't worry. He'll live. I'll tell Ken-san, so you stay here."

Kyoka didn't really bother to reply, she sat silently beside the wounded boy. She couldn't do anything for him at this point but she laughed to herself in a slightly crazy way. Why was it him? Saito left her but almost killed Sanosuke. Just like Kanryu had shot down all the members of the Oniwabanshu and she was the only survivor. The two had driven Saito away somehow. Kyoka let out a frustrated sigh, she was annoying herself. Why couldn't she just forget about it? That's right. You can't forget someone who was that important to you. She frowned down at Sanosuke's sleeping face. He was noticeably paler than usual, which was obviously a bad thing. Her face fell further, what if he was dead. She reached down to touch his face, half expecting him to be completely cold but he was still warm. She smiled to herself but then frowned again, she had been out cold for a whole day. Saito was stronger than any of them and now she knew it but more importantly, he knew it.

Sanosuke groaned and turned his head toward her. Megumi had returned with something to eat, she handed it to the girl and commanded, "Eat."

And that's exactly what she did for three more days. She ate and sat with Sanosuke. She didn't even bother to sleep. Actually, how could she sleep with a guilty conscience? She didn't bother to move even when Kaoru had told her a police officer had come to take care of them for a while. Of course, if she was in her right mind, she would've at least assumed it was Saito but she didn't even think of the possibility. The sound of hysterical laughter coming from the dojo, finally got her to get up. She checked Sanosuke's pulse one more time and when she was sure he wasn't going to die, she called for Megumi to switch with her. She grabbed her tanto and dashed out to the main room of the dojo.

Saito glared at her when she entered the room but it wasn't a threatening glare, it was just his normal expression, "This Rurouni refusal to kill has clearly made you weak."

"Saito, think whatever you wish but it's enough to have a rurouni's strength to protect those who require it. A hitokiri's strength isn't needed." Kenshin stared the man down.

"Then you're a failure as a rurouni as well." Saito drew his blade slowly, "Because you fell into my trap and left the dojo, I was able to come here. Since I was a police man, these people didn't even suspect me."

Kyoka opened her mouth to say something but of course, Saito didn't even mention her. He wasn't putting any blame on her, "So while you were off fighting with some low-life, I could've killed these people ten times over. This isn't the first time either. You've had those that you wanted to protect, taken by the enemy. If we're only talking about physically then that's one thing but some have experienced mental scars as well. That incident with Raijuta, inflicted a wound on a boy that would last a life time. And mental pain, that time with Kanryu has probably scarred some for life. Unused strength is the same as none. Your hypocrisy disgusts me."

Kyoka frowned, he had made it quite obvious that he was talking about her, even glancing in her direction when he said 'Kanryu'. Was he trying to say that he was after Kenshin for her? She doubted it, he was after something else. She just couldn't put her finger on it. They clashed blades. And again. And again. It looked like Saito had the upper hand but she made no move to stop them. Kaoru on the other hand, was irritating her. She was in the way, clearly. Kyoka moved the girl out of the way, pulling her away from the battle that was taking place. She felt the older girl struggle but she only tightened her grip. Kyoka frowned, there was no place for them there. Kenshin's eyes flashed with murderous intent as he slammed his sword into Saito's neck. Sanosuke had entered the room at some point but she couldn't take her eyes off the battle in front of her, as a sign of respect, she continued to watch. But she wouldn't necessarily say that she wasn't happy that Sanosuke was okay. She would probably just deny it if he asked though.

Saito had dropped his now broken sword in frustration but he was still winning. With his bare hands, he disarmed Kenshin and began strangling him with his jacket. Kyoka wanted to intervene but she had no choice but to watch. Kaoru screamed out but someone screamed even louder and more threateningly, "SAITO, STOP THIS AT ONCE!"

"I've lived for this. Not even you can stop me."

"I don't want you or Himura wasting your lives here." A second man stepped forward.

"Okubo Toshimichi…" Kyoka's eyes widened, "The Chief of Internal Affairs is here."

"Let's talk now. You were only supposed to test his strength." Okubo was a man with a lot of facial hair; mustache and beard covered a majority of his face.

Saito snorted, "The best duel I've had in years and suddenly it's a conversation."

"You're lucky." Kenshin growled.

"YOU'RE lucky." Saito snorted, stomping out. Kyoka took the chance to follow him out.

"Saito!"

He snorted, "What?"

She felt herself cringe at the cold tone of his voice, "Thanks… For this."

He spared her one look as she tugged her gi awkwardly, "You better be grateful."

Her eyebrow began to twitch in annoyance, "You wasted a whole sheet of paper to tell me that you were repaying your debt and Kanryu was in jail."

He glared back at her, well he might not have been glaring but his squinty eyes made it look like he was constantly glaring, "I don't waste."

Her eyebrow twitched furiously, "You haven't changed at all…"

"You have." He snorted walking away, ignoring all her questionings and insults.

She sighed, he seriously hadn't changed at all. He was still the straightforward, cold-hearted man that he was before. She didn't think she had changed much. It had only been about six months since they had met but he said she had changed, impossible. Why was she getting the feeling that he was talking about some other time? She reentered the dojo, not so discreetly but the story Okubo was telling was way too important for anyone to bother with her. He spoke gravely, "Shishio Makoto survived and he is plotting a war, with Kyoto as his base. He's planning to take revenge on the government for trying to have his dispatched."

"So you want Kenshin to assassinate this guy?" Sanosuke asked.

"Yes. In short. Please go to Kyoto once more."

The officer that sat with Okubo spoke up, "Of course, you won't be asked to work for free. We'll be able to generously take care of your allies, like pardoning Takani Megumi from her crimes of making and selling opium."

"Don't mess with me. If I am to be a tool to force Ken-san into something dirty, I would rather take the death penalty." Megumi glared at the officer, her glare rivaling that of Saito's.

"This whole thing is because the Meiji Government did some dirty deeds. It's your fault. Why should Kenshin have to wipe your butts?" Sanosuke growled.

Yahiko mumbled to himself in the corner, "I don't get it at all."

Kyoka patted his head, "No big deal. You don't have to understand."

Okubo finally sighed, "At least think about it over the week. I will return here on May 14th. At least think about it."

Sanosuke slammed his foot angrily into Kenshin's behind, "Don't you dare go to Kyoto."

"Orooo…" Kenshin whined.

Kyoka snorted, the week had passed way too fast for her liking. Sanosuke stomped on the ex-rurouni angrily, "Don't do it. Something smells bad. The government itself stinks, you don't expect the man at the top to smell like flowers."

"Sano… You hate the government from the bottom of your heart, that you do." Kenshin rubbed his slightly sore backside, rolling away from Sanosuke's angry stomps.

"I was with the Sekihotai! I should!" He stomped on the samurai's head.

"But Okubo-dono isn't living for wealth and fame. If he were, Saito would have already killed him that he would."

"That police officer? He's just a government dog." Yahiko yelped when his sister's foot connected angrily with his behind.

"Saito spoke of justice, no government dog would dare to use that word." Kenshin grumbled, "Meaning… He's not someone to be friends with."

"Duh." Yahiko grumbled, earning another kick.

"You said it!" And Sanosuke earned himself a kick.

"I hate him!" Kaoru was the only one who got away with it.

"This one is heading to Okubo-dono's mansion." Kenshin dusted himself off and headed to the gate.

"Good morning Ken-san!" Megumi's voice was awfully cheerful.

"What are you doing here?" Sanosuke grunted.

"You do realize that you're talking to someone who saved your life right?"

"I saved your life too."

"Men are supposed to save women's lives."

"What do you want?" Kaoru prompted the woman.

"Today is the day to decide right? So I brought something to help Ken-san decide!" In a flash, Megumi had a collar around Kenshin's neck.

"Oro…" While the remaining members of the Kenshin-gumi argued about the collar, Kenshin snuck out.

Kyoka sighed, "I'm off too."

"Eh?" Sanosuke blinked a few times, "Where are you going on such an important day?"

"Saito asked to see me today." Kyoka waved over her shoulder without turning back.

She calmly headed down the streets and entered an unfamiliar noodle place. Saito waved her over without looking up from his lunch.

She frowned, "Saito. Why did you pick today out of all days?"

"Battosai is coming with us for sure." He glared across the table at the girl.

"You called me here to argue? Kenshin's not leaving us." Kyoka grumbled.

"Oh, I'm sure he won't be leaving you." Saito snorted.

"Was that supposed to be sarcastic?"

"You'll see." Saito left his pay on the table and motioned for the girl to follow him. Kyoka noticed the strange way he carried his sword. It was slipped into his belt from the back instead of the front. If she remembered it correctly from her battle with him a few days earlier, he was left handed but he carried his blade on the left side. Normally samurai would carry their sword on the opposite side of their dominant hand so the blade would be easier to draw, was Saito not an ex-samurai? Is he ambidextrous? Was that his idea of giving people a handicap when they fought him? She would probably never know.

Eventually, the duo ended up at the Department of Internal Affairs. By then, the news had reached their ears. Okubo had been assassinated. The man who had been with Okubo a week earlier was raging, "THESE ARE THE METHODS OF SHISHIO!"

Saito locked eyes with the girl as if to tell her, this is how the real world is. She lifted an eyebrow warily, as if to tell him that she already knew that. Kenshin was already there, since Okubo was killed he had to come tell the Department of his decision instead. The three fighters left the room together. Saito snorted, "Now the last of the three greatest revolutionaries are gone. Now the government is in the hands of drones. Now surely chaos will engulf Japan."

"Why did you bring me here?" Kyoka scoffed.

"Be grateful you brat." Saito wasn't exactly trying to be nice.

"That wasn't an answer." She felt like smacking the man but held back.

Kenshin had departed for the dojo but Kyoka had been pulled aside by Saito, "What do you want?"

"You will spend the night at the police station." Saito wasn't giving her any choice, "If you return to the dojo, they will pry into your day's activities."

"Why would you care about that?"

"The government had something in mind for you." Saito's eyes were either really chinky or he was giving her the most evil-looking glare she had ever seen.

"Oh boy."