A/N: Let's sees what happens to Hiko shall we....you'll all lov this chapter...I promise.

"As with anything, our family had a set of rules that we had to follow. We called them the Ten Commandments, as all families did. If there was one thing that we all had in common, it was our devotion to following these rules, and when they were broken, making sure that someone was punished for the "crime" that they had committed. Often it seemed, as examples were made, these were not broken. (Interviewer asks what the 'Ten Commandments' are.) What they are?...well, why would I tell you? These are our sacred rules, it's no use for you to know.

"If there is one thing that we do it's take our secrets to our graves."

-Katsura Kogoro

I ran over to him, my heart pounding worse than ever. My knees hit the floor, shaking his shoulder wildly, telling him to wake up and stop playing jokes on us. His face was ashen, his breathing was near none existent. Someone else came up to me, pushing me away. I was sure that it was Sozo, but I was too dazed to know. He turned Hiko on his back, someone else going into Hiko's office and dialing for help. I calmed myself on the outside, my face neutral. Inside I was burning and aching, as if my intestines were bleeding.

Sozo performed CPR that day; he was the only one that had ever thought that learning it would be resourceful. See back then CPR and the Heimlich weren't widely taught, you just called for an emergency and wondered if your family member would be alright. By the time that they came I saw Hiko's lips turn blue. Physically I looked almost indifferent but they couldn't ever see my mind.

I flashed back to my father, slumped over in the chair, the charred birthday cake on the table. I wondered, in times like these, if I was meant to be happy. If my life was meant to have some sort of decent ending to it. Every time something came up, something that was worthwhile, something I was sure that I could count on or believe in, the door was slammed in my face in some way. I didn't know that until years later, after thinking over it long and hard.

I watched them just take him away, pulling away his shirt. By then the restaurant looked like a ghost town. Our patrons had left, the floor looking as though it were serving souls instead of people. The food lie ate at, still hot, the bread still sweet. I let go of myself, leaning against the wall trying not to panic. No one else really knew what had happened to my Dad because me and Hiko had never told them. It was 'Dad died, the end' and there were no more questions asked, not that anyone wanted to know.

He didn't die; not permenantly. He'd went into cardiac arrest, but they were able to revive him.

I sat by the bed, my coat draped on my shoulders like a blanket, my fingers massaging my temples. It had been two days since it happened, and I had kept myself next to him, watching him as he breathed steadily. He really didn't talk to anyone that came in, just laid there quietly, hands folded over his lap, his eyes on the television in the corner. I wasn't sure he was there at first.

"Hiko?" I asked every now and then, to see if he would look over to me. When he did, his eyes questioning why I asked anything, I shook my head and looked down at my feet. He didn't wonder why. I wondered why he didn't wonder why. I didn't want to think that there was anything mentally wrong with him initially. I mean, it was strange. He was quiet as a normal person would be, but he was almost not there.

I had fallen asleep in my chair on the third night. The moon was high, an unnatural amount of glowing light flowing through the blinds. At first the heart monitor was methodical, annoying. After a while it put me to sleep. I was awoken, however, by a sharp noise; a flat line. It wasn't anything bad, in fact there was nothing wrong. I was fearful at first, but then I took a moment to scan the room. The bed was empty, the stickers and wires setting on the messed up sheets. I looked behind me where he sat, his hands in his lap still, his eyes out the window.

The nurses clammered down the hall like elephants, so it was only a matter of time before they entered. Just before that I heard him say: "Beware a bright morning hour; its night time will be black as coal." I thought he was just muttering to himself nonsensically. By the time that the nurses had him back in bed, I was asleep.

Waking the next morning and looking at him, sound asleep in the bed, I could hear what he had said echoing inside my skull. It wasn't how prophetic or philosophical that struck me, more that it was so simplistic.

A week after he spoke those words he was released, doctors told him that for the next few months that he needed to get on a better diet and relax. I had to laugh at the advice. Hiko already had a good diet, and 'relax' just wasn't in his vocabulary. To make sure that the doctor's orders were followed however, Katsura Kogoro joined us for extended stays at the restaurant. For an outsider this may have been because he was concerned about Hiko's overall health, which it partially was, but also because I was sure he was concerned for losing his second in command who just so happened to be his adviser. Known by the Italians as a consigliere, advisers often weren't even of high rank in the system, but they were like brothers or cousins to the bosses. It was unusual, but not unheard of, that a second in command was also the adviser to the patriarch of the family.

During that time Kogoro and I spoke often. I, also concerned for Hiko's health, said that for his sake I would hold off all the extreme wedding arrangements which Hiko seemed to want to have his hands dipped in. Kogoro urged me to keep going. More for Hiko's sake than my own. He said it would give Hiko something to do since he wasn't being allowed to do any managerial business with the restaurant.

Two months of long planning had me frayed more than anything else in my life, but at the end of it all, things came out right. Kaoru was dressed up like a princess, sparkling white with a long flowing veil. What stood out on her most was her eyes which shined bright that night; brighter than any star I could ever point out. And her smile; she couldn't stop smiling throughout the whole thing.

At the reception there were many people there that she wasn't familiar with. In fact, I even had a hard time trying to come up with some of the names. Hiko and Kogoro together named just about everyone off to Kaoru for her benefit later on. I explained to her the benefit was being friends with the women, just because they were nice. I didn't tell her that this lifestyle was like an exclusive club. She would most likely mingle with only those that were in the family; the women of course. It wasn't like they were going to ban her from seeing old friends ot anything, but there was only a slim chance that she'd be making new ones. It was odd to say the least. It wouldn't be like they were keeping her from making new friends, just that she wouldn't really need to. Believe it or not she fit right in. A little idealistic but she didn't pursue her ideals. She was just sitting on them, complaining to the other women about them.

I just knew they'd get along well.

After all the meet and greet, the guests came up to us, handing us envelope after envelope of what I presumed to be cash and checks. Things that couldn't be traced back to the sender, and that were harmless. We were, after all, a new couple. There was no reason people wouldn't give us money to get us up on our feet. Right?

We danced the night away, swaying with one another to the music. In those moments on that dance floor I was in a standstill. The past, for those moments, were nonexsistent, and I didn't even bother concerning with the future half as much. It was just the lovely person in my arms that mattered. Just the present moment and nothing else. Her arms hugged around my chest, her chin rested on my shoulder. I wasn't a good dancer and I knew it, but I didn't have to be for her. I never had to be anything to her other than the person she'd known since she was eight years old. Ten years of memories to start us on our journey.

What a journey that would be.

That night we were both drunk, even if she was underage at the time, and we were a little restless once we were left alone in my apartment. As per tradition I picked her up and carried her through the threshold of our new home, some of her belongings already stacked up in my living room. We really weren't paying too much attention to the surroundings. I kissed her all the way to the bedroom. A lot of it, I figured, was all those years of strife I'd gone through to get her. All that work I'd done with her in the back of my mind, those moments piling up until the big finale which wasn't really a finale yet.

But I did get one prize from her.

I'm not trying to be conceited or anything, but I knew well that Kaoru was abstinent up until now. It was like popping the top to a very shaken bottle of Coke. She was pushier than I thought she would be. At least I got a little enjoyment out of it. She was sweeter than Tomoe, stronger than Tomoe, more passionate than Tomoe. But then, I had an emotional connection with this woman. For once, there was a light shining on me; I finally did something right.

Nothing interesting really happened after that with us, sorry to say. Things flowed rather naturally. We lived our lives, played our respective parts. I was the husband, she was the wife. It was hard to adjust to at first, but after a while we got comfortable around each other in the vacinity. Call us a little lovestruck, but there was never a dull moment around one another. We fit much like puzzle pieces. I could know what she was thinking and vice versa. Of course we disagreed on things, as people naturally did. We fought even, but it wasn't anything we couldn't work out.

Often it was because I worked too much. And I really didn't work too much because I wasn't really working when I was at work. Mostly it was me being there because that was where everyone else was. I had to more or less be there. I had a lot of control in dealing with things with everyone else. I was trusted among some of our top clients. I began carrying out late night deeds with Sanosuke.

Once, in early 1976, Sanosuke and I were at a bar. He was thinking that maybe he would take it and run it. He had a lot of experience when it came to controlling a kitchen since he'd been around his Dad. And though it didn't appear so, he was a natural born leader. He could do it if he put his mind to it. While there Sanosuke ran into an old friend (I use friend loosely mind you). Sanosuke was a bit of a loose canon that night; looser than usual. He was drinking, talking to the manager about handing the business over. This man came in, some guy that was like a a gangster wannabe. He had his hair greased back, and his coat looked a little small. I didn't say anything to him, just drank the Scotch that I had ordered. After a heated discussion, I turned around to see Sanosuke start wailing on the guy.

I was never sure what the man had said to piss Sanosuke off, not that it took all the much, but by the time that Sanosuke was finished there wasn't much left of hs face to be recognized. Sanosuke was wiping his hands off on a napkin, glaring down the barkeep who was frightened by the sudden outrage. In exchange for quiet I passed the barkeep fifty dollars, hoping that maybe it would make an impact. He pocketed it and watched as Sanosuke picked the guy up and took him outside, like his friend was merely drunk. I shrugged it off until he came back in a tugged at my shoulder.

"What?" I asked. Sanosuke nodded his head toward the door. I looked to the barkeep and sighed, setting my glass down and paying for the drink. "You're reckless sometimes."

After we got outside I asked: "How bad is he?"

"I don't know. Out."

"Out?" He nodded. "How out 'out'?"

"It doesn't look too good."

I rolled my shoulders. "What do you wanna do then?" I asked, knowing well that Sanosuke had done something stupid and therefore, we were both going to have to deal with it. He lead me to his car, he had drove us there that night. The man was sitting in the back seat. Well, not so much sitting as he was leaning his head against the window. I got in the front seat. "Where are you going?"

"Don't know. Somewhere hidden," he said.

"You intended to kill him didn't you?"

He kept his head straight, but I could see, just from his eyes, that there was something strange going on in his head. After several moments he nodded. "I guess."

"You guess? You can't go around doing that."

"He knew too much."

"Knew...Jesus Sano!"

He tensed his shoulders. "Ken, don't start on me. It's one fuckin' guy, it won't hurt a soul. I'm probably savin' a few people form getting ripped off in fact."

I massaged my temples and leaned against the window, trying to enjoy the scenery. There was no reasoning with Sanosuke, no matter who you were or what you said. Once he had made up his mind on something, he was set in stone the rest of the way.

We drove far out to a secluded place, Sanosuke parking next to a guardrail. He checked around the area, a dense forested place, before he got out and went to the back of the car. The whole time the man was stirring, though he really wasn't coming into consciousness, if there was any left in him at all. I saw Sanosuke pull a .22 out of the back of his pants. I faced away from him, ducking my head. There was more that I could have done, but I didn't. I just sat there, a few blood droplets landing on the back of my ears. I sighed as Sanosuke dragged the man out of the car. I was going to have to help bury the body.

We dug for a few hours, until we were certain that it would have been a deep enough grave. He threw the body into the ditch and covered it back up, laying brush and leaves over the patch so it didn't look so obvious among all the trees. I wiped off the blood and looked back at the spot solemnly. I was never religious, but I said a short prayer for the man knowing he hadn't done a thing to deserve the fate that he got. After that, I got in the car and pretended that nothing ever happened, as it should have been.

As anyone should know, 1976 was the bicentennial for the American people. The whole year was one big celebration, one party after the next. We yucked it up; the customers came in bunches, just as we wanted and expected them to. The once sloppy business was now one of the best restaurants in town, just like it should have been.

I'd been focusing on our new president. Once Ford was gone we elected a Washington outsider, no doubt in fear of another scandal, who was also a peanut farmer. Makes you wonder what kind of country we were founded on but I could see what the American people were thinking, if they were thinking that is.

Other than arms, as it was still a top seller on the black market, there was also something else we sold to come of our best customers behind closed doors. None of us would admit we dabbled in narcotics, but the truth was it made some of the most money from our well off clinetel. We sort of just brushed it off since there was nothing else we could do. Our job was being done for us, all we had to do was take the money and make sure the supply was running smoothly.

The closer it got to July 4th, as I noticed, the faster things came and went. There was so much more celebration. Everything was a big cheer yet, I felt there was a storm coming. I had been watching Hiko for the longest time fearing that he was going to overexert himself or something. After the heart attack I was afraid, truly. It made me realize that this man, this invincible man, wasn't so invincible after all. He was fallible just like everyone else, and there was nothing that he was immune to. So I watched him, just to be safe.

The surprise of my life came on July 4th that year. Hiko had given me the day off to spend with Kaoru who was in a very festive mood you could say. That day really was one big firework, even before the sun went down. I hadn't known it at the time, but it seemed that she really wanted a kid; I couldn't blame her, I sort of wanted something to call my own. My own flesh and blood. A boy if at all possible.

Around nine thirty that night we sat out on the porch taking a break, the sky lit up with fireworks from every which way. We were lucky to be able to see so many from where my apartment was. In the middle of her nibbling on my earlobe there came a knock at the door. Kaoru was trying to make me ignore it, and I nearly did, until the knocking became a very shrill pounding. I told Kaoru to hold off for just a few moments to which she groaned, but let me go knowing it could be something important.

I opened the door and my heart stopped.

There she was, glowing lightly in the dim hallway light. Her eyes were tired and her face was riddled at, her skin ever so ashen. Her hair had lost it's sheen, and she no longer seemed to be as happy as she once was. Tomoe was at my door, and as I travelled downward, I noticed that she wasn't alone. Standing just below her knee, grabbing her leg to stand, was a small boy, his eyes gleaming as he stared up at me. His eyes were dark blue, his hair a dingy red color like mine. I gripped one lock of my hair, then looked up at her.

"What is this?" I asked.

"It's your son," she was so silent, as she always was. The energy was gone from her voice and it was almost depressing. "His name's Kenji."

"Tomoe..."

"He needs a good home," she said, letting go of his hand and shaking him off her leg. "He is no longer welcome in my; a child of bad blood," she scoffed, pushing him through the threshold of the door. He could barely walk at two years old, but he was a sweet looking little boy. He had that innocence to him that everyone wanted. I reached down and picked him up, inspecting him.

"Why?" I asked her, more because I was at a loss for words.

"Because I can't," she said. I could hear it in her voice. She wanted to give him up even though it was her baby. It didn't matter to her anymore, there was something that was more important like family honor and dignity. I set the boy down between us wondering if maybe he would choose his own path. He sat down on the floor and played with my socks, stretched out much too big for my feet. "And because he's yours."

I bit my lip and held myself back. "This should be legal."

She snorted. "You really have grown up soft," she said and turned around. "Don't try to find me for money or something," she called, "I won't be where you can find me."

The boy crawled over to my leg and latched to it, his teeth digging into my skin. I tried not to notice it at first but it was beginning to hurt.

"Kenshin, who was that?" Kaoru called out, still on the balcony watching the fireworks. I was stunned at the moment, unable to say a word. It was going to be rather hard to explain...

N/A: Tadah! till next time, KenSan out!