Disclaimer: I still don't own Rurouni Kenshin or any of the characters other than my OC.

The group took a medium sized wooden ship to a port town where they would switch boats and head to Shimabara. The trip didn't take more than twenty minutes or so but Yahiko and Misao went crazy, looking at the foreign vessels that passed by. Kyoka made no attempt to talk to Sanosuke but she did notice that he carried around a beaded necklace, obviously belonging to someone other than him. Her eyes narrowed, "A girl…"

"Hmm? Did you say something Kyoka-dono?" Kenshin, who stood beside her in a kind gesture, asked.

"A-Ah. Noo…" She hoped that she wasn't making it too obvious that she was staring but she couldn't help but wonder, does he have some sort of lover in Shimabara?

"Who? Sano?"

Her face heated up lightly, "Did I just say that out loud?"

Kenshin nodded but was still smiling, "Does it bother you, Kyoka-dono?"

She nodded slowly, making sure that no one was looking, "Do you know what that is?"

"He didn't say but it's certainly not his."

"Well thanks, Captain Obvious." She snorted.

"Oro…" Kenshin laughed nervously, "I don't think you have anything to worry about. Sano doesn't think much about anything in general but he thinks about you a lot."

Kyoka snorted, "Yeah? Well I'm sure he thinks about Takani a lot too. And whoever that thing belongs too."

"This one might not know the details but Sano wants to apologize, if you would just let him, it might be better for both of you."

"Suddenly, you're an expert." She elbowed him in the side, "Forgetting about Zanza, when are you going to make a move on Kaoru-san?"

"Orooo…" Kenshin turned his head to the side and thought for about a second before awkwardly excusing himself and running away.

She smiled to herself and exited the ship with the rest of the group. The instant they hit the street, Misao flittered around from store to store. She browsed the windows, screaming happily.

Kyoka shook her head, "What's wrong with her?"

"Not everyone is as calm as you." Sanosuke snorted but then caught her eye more seriously, "Kyoka, about yesterday. I-!"

"Yahiko. Be careful!" She dashed forward when she spotted a carriage speeding down the road toward him. She managed to pull him back before the horses trampled on him but the carriage stopped anyways and a foreigner stepped down to apologize.

"I'm sorry. Is anyone hurt?" He removed his hat, revealing blonde hair and a receding hairline.

"N-no. We're all okay." Yahiko answered, smiling up at his sister gratefully.

"Elsten-dono?" Kenshin seemed to recognize the man from somewhere.

"Himura-san!" The blonde man smiled widely upon seeing the red-haired man and he immediately invited their whole group to his place for some cake and tea.

Upon seeing the western style of the mansion, Kyoka stubbornly refused to enter, "Never."

"Nee-san!" Yahiko tugged at her shirt furiously but to no avail.

Kyoka managed to get away and sat in the garden quietly until Sanosuke joined her. He squatted down in front of her, "Kyoka… If you'd just let me explain, i-."

Her eyes flickered to the beads wrapped around his right hand, "You don't have to… I'm not an idiot… Just go away."

"Kyoka, just listen…" He reached out to touch her but she cringed away, "I didn't mean to call Saito an old grouch… Th-!"

She slapped his hand away when he tried to touch her again, "Keep your hands to yourself… More importantly, keep those weird beads away from me."

"Beads?" Sanosuke's face showed pure confusion, "What the…. Oh that girl…"

The words rang in her head as she turned and ran. Without looking back, she ran and ran with that burning feeling in her chest. It was burning with an emotion that she couldn't describe but it was the same painful feeling as when she thought about Sanosuke liking Megumi or carrying Komagata Yumi. It was a miserable feeling. Before she knew it she had run into the mansion in a move of desperation.

Kenshin looked surprised when he saw her, "Kyoka-dono! What happened?"

"Nothing…" She sucked in a breath as Sanosuke stomped in behind her, "Are you ready to leave yet?"

"Yes. The boat should be here soon too."

Shimabara was a fairly short distance away but the sun had set by the time they arrived. The group sat on sturdy rocks by the shore that they had landed on. Misao charged off saying she would contact other members of the Oniwabanshu, leaving the rest to do as they pleased. Sanosuke and Kenshin decided to explore the island, "Kyoka-dono, would you like to join us?"

"No way." She might've answered a little too coldly and a little too hastily. Judging by the look on Sanosuke's face, he wasn't happy with her answer.

"Then you can stay here with Kaoru-dono and Yahiko." Kenshin and Sanosuke each took up a torch and with a slight farewell, they were gone.

Kaoru explained the history of Christianity in Japan to Yahiko, who questioned the people who believed in Amakusa Shougo, their current enemy. Kyoka was only half listening. She refused to think too much about anything because surprisingly, every other word reminded her of Sanosuke. She felt bad. No matter how angry she was, he hadn't done her any harm and she hadn't even given him a chance to explain the whole situation. With a sigh, she leaned back against the boulder that she sat on. She counted the stars without any particular reason and somehow, she resolved to apologize to Sanosuke when he came back. She pulled her wakizashi toward herself upon feeling a presence in the bushes behind them but when she turned to look she felt a little stupid, "They're kids…"

Kaoru looked up and approached the bush, "Maybe they can tell us about Amakusa Shougo."

Suddenly, the children jumped out and knocked Kaoru over and ran off. Yahiko shouted in protest, "Hey, you brats! Get back here!"

"Yahiko, don't chase them!" Kyoka dashed after her brother, who didn't have much luck in catching kids.

"They got away." Yahiko whined.

"That's okay. Let's go back." But when they got back Kaoru was missing. Kyoka slapped her forehead and groaned, "Why can't anyone follow directions? They told us to wait here!"

"Let's look for her!" Yahiko took off running again.

"Agh!" Kyoka let out a frustrated growl and took off after him, "Yahiko! Wait!"

They searched the beach but didn't find anything but on the way back they managed to catch a glimpse of a ship and Santou, the man who was driving Elsten's carriage. Kyoka's eyes narrowed, "He's one of them."

"He-He can't be!"

Kyoka's eyes flickered to a cliff beside them and when Kenshin came flying off it, she was more than surprised, "Yahiko, let's go!"

Yahiko spotted Kaoru coming down the cliff in a more careful manner and went to help her down, "Kaoru! Where have you been?"

"Kyoka-chan!"

Kyoka didn't think twice before dropping her wakizashi on the sandy shores of the beach and diving in to help Kenshin, who looked like he was about to drown any minute. She grasped his arm tightly and pulled him to shore. She collapsed onto her back and gasped for breath the minute she hit the sand, "Damn! What was that, you idiot?"

"I'm sorry. Kaoru-dono, Kyoka-dono, I made you both worry."

"Shut up!"

Kaoru was much more gentle, "You're still alive so it doesn't matter."

"Kenshin!"

"Yahiko? This one is glad you're alright." He opened his eyes to greet them but he seemed to freeze up.

Kyoka peered into his eyes and gasped, "He's blind."

"Blind?!" Yahiko and Kaoru both began to panic.

"Kenshin, where's Zanza?"

"Sano is… I don't know."

"Don't know…?" Kyoka didn't know what to feel, should she be grateful that he was gone. If he died then she wouldn't have to apologize for anything and she would have something to say in front of Saito's grave someday. Somehow, the idea didn't sit right with her. She didn't like the idea of Sanosuke being dead or even injured. What if he was dead? She would never get to say that she was sorry or tell him…. Tell him what? She shook her head, "Anyways, let's get you to a safe place first and then I'll look for Zanza."

"Thank you…" Kenshin didn't complain when she hoisted him onto her back.

Lucky for him, he was a small man. Or perhaps it was lucky for her because if he was heavy she would've suffered on the way to an abandoned house that Kaoru had seen on her short wandering time. Kyoka gasped for breath for the second time that day, right after setting Kenshin down, "God… You said it was only a short distance."

"It was…" Kaoru laughed nervously.

"Whatever." She leaped to her feet, "I'll go and look for Zanza so you all have to stay here. I'm serious, Yahiko."

He gulped, "Nee-san, it's dangerous on your own. I'll go with you."

"It's okay. You have to protect Kenshin and Kaoru and wait for Misao." She shifted her wakizashi onto her back, "I'll be back."

Even though she said that, all she knew was that Sanosuke and Kenshin had wandered off in the same general direction and from what Kenshin had told her, there was some sort of cave. Kenshin had warned her not to go there and he had told her that rabid dogs owned the cave now but she had no choice. She carefully stepped into the cave that seemed to go almost straight down. Her nose burned with the stench of wet dog, confusing her senses. Kenshin didn't find it important to tell her that the cave smelled like crap, why? She held in her tears on the way in, the smell of dog urine was worse than tear gas. Her goal was to find Sanosuke, not get lost in the caves but she had no other choice. He was down here somewhere and all she had to do was find him.

She didn't meet with any trouble but the problem was that she couldn't find Sanosuke anywhere. He was nowhere to be found but then her eyes snapped into the endless blackness that seemed to invite her to fall, "No way. Don't tell me he fell in there. If he fell, he's dead for sure…."

She turned to leave but she couldn't deny that she felt guilty, "Alright! I'm doing it!"

She slid down as carefully as possible but the cliff was way too steep to be safe, even for a former ninja spy. Kyoka ended up with quite the rough landing and various scrapes and bruises. She groaned and dusted off her posterior as she stood. The wet dog smell had subsided but it wasn't exactly a pleasant smelling place anyways. Something shiny caught her eye and she almost thought to ignore it but she didn't. She bent down to pick it up and immediately recognized it, "Zanza's creepy beads…"

"Hey! You there!"

Kyoka's hand was securely on her wakizashi before she turned around, "Who are you?"

A man with short blonde hair looked down at her and then exchanged looks with the man beside him. The blonde haired man smiled down at her instantly, "Oh! You've found my master's medallion! How could we ever thank you?"

"Medallion?" She clenched the bead in her hands, "So that's what this is called… Uhh… Actually, I'm looking for someone…"

"We could help you out!" The blonde haired man led her further into the cave, "Kaiou-sama would be pleased to know that you've found his precious medallion."

"Kaiou?" She clenched the bead tightly. She didn't want to assume but she didn't like the look these guys were giving her. She wanted to say that the medallion didn't belong to their master but if it really did then she would just hand it over.

"Right this way." The blonde man led her around the corner and into a hollowed out portion of the cave. A candle was flickering on the desk at the end of the cave. A bald man with a giant, collared cape swiveled his chair around and looked at them.

"Kaiou-sama! This girl found the medallion." The blonde man bowed.

"Magdalia's medallion?!" Kaiou smirked and held out his hand, "We are so very grateful."

"Hmm…" Kyoka smirked, "Magdalia? Wasn't it your master's medallion?"

The blonde haired man froze in his bowing position at the inconsistencies in their stories, "Ahh y-yes, well…"

She clenched the bead and ran, "No good thieves."

She didn't have to worry about being caught. She just ran and ran, her speed was a level or two above any normal person's so there wasn't anything to worry about. She managed to find a spot to hide and when the coast was clear, she wandered back into the caves slowly. The caves had a really unnatural appearance, as if someone had created this place. Kyoka thought that she wouldn't mind living in a cave if she could live in a cave like this one. Her brow furrowed, "Why does it feel like this cave could go on forever? What's wrong with this place?"

There seemed to be doors on either side of the hallway-like cave. She growled. It would take forever and it could be potentially dangerous for her to check all the doors one by one. Then again, if Sanosuke was here, he wasn't really a quiet type so she would probably be able to find him if she went to the noisiest place. The doors all had windows on them for some reason or another so she peeked through the windows just in case.

A low growl signaled Sanosuke's position, "Brute this, brute that. I have a great name, Sagara Sanosuke!"

Kyoka's eyes flickered to the next window, "Found him."

She peered into the window to find Sanosuke sitting with some girl at a table in the middle of the room. Sanosuke's body was facing the door but he was facing the girl with an angry look on his face. The girl was no doubt beautiful, it looked like she was wrapping bandages for him. Did he get into a fight or something? The girl was saying something so Kyoka strained her ears to listen in, "Sagara… Sanosuke…"

"That's right." Sanosuke's voice was easier to hear, "Don't go assuming things about me. You don't know anything about me."

"I can figure out the likes of you." She didn't look up, "I'm sure you pick fights all the time and eat up a storm on your tab or make other people pay for you and go to someone else's house and lounge around all day. Was I right?"

Kyoka held in her laughter but kept listening.

Sanosuke growled, turning his head the other way, "Kind of."

"Oh! You have a cut here too." The girl leaned forward, much too close to his face.

Sanosuke turned to face the girl but after realizing their proximity, he turned away a light pink on his face. Kyoka clenched the medallion tightly, suddenly wanting to stomp in and hit the girl. On top of that she realized that Sanosuke was shirtless and his torso was covered with bandages.

Sanosuke kept talking, "Magdalia, is a strange name isn't it? Is it a nickname?"

Oh, so that's Magdalia. Kyoka lifted the necklace examining it for only a second before clenching her hand around it and returning her eyes to the window with petty feelings. If the medallion belonged to that girl, she wasn't going to give it back. The girl snapped, "How rude! Magdalia is my Christianized name."

"Then your real name?" Sanosuke asked.

The ex-ninja let out a frustrated growl and whispered to herself, "That's none of his business."

"I have no reason to tell you." Magdalia didn't meet his gaze but continued to clean his wounds, "The only person that can use my given name is my older brother. Him and nobody else."

"Oh, is that so?" Sanosuke rolled his eyes, "I'm sure your brother is SO honored by that. But why are you being so nice to me?"

"Put your foot up!" She commanded, picking up a glass bottle filled with some sort of liquid, "I'm just doing my duty. If I see someone injured I have to help them or I'm opposing the teachings of God. God thinks highly of a kind heart."

"I don't get it at all!" Sanosuke growled, his expression looked slightly pained, "What are you saying at this about God for? Your brother is Amakusa Shougo, right? He's a bad guy who wants to change this whole country into his own land! If you really do cherish kind hearts then why don't you stop your brother?"

"My brother holds in countless sorrows! ... "

Kyoka stopped listening there. She wasn't really interested in learning about Amakusa Shougo's personal life, that would only make it harder to defeat him when the time comes. Kyoka was sure of it. Forgetting about the medallion in hand she wandered down the length of the cave, back in the direction that she came. She wandered back into the boring portion of the cave, the portion that actually looked like a cave.

She found a decent place to sit and rest. She couldn't go back without Sanosuke but she didn't want to see him either. When she thought he was missing, she felt some sort of terrible panic at the thought of never being able to see him again but now that she knew he was okay, she didn't want to see him.

Kyoka rested her head against the wall of the cave and sighed. Life had a way of messing with her and she knew it but she didn't have the time to feel sorry for herself. Kenshin was blind and Sanosuke looked like he had too many wounds to fight. Kaoru wasn't even prepared for battle and Kyoka was not about to let Yahiko fight with Amakusa Shougo. There was Misao… But Kyoka still didn't feel comfortable with that girl. That meant that if it came down to fighting, Kyoka would have to be the one to fight unless Kenshin regained his sight.

She didn't know how long she had rested there but when an odd presence entered the cave she quickly found a place to hide. Her eyes twitched in an irritated manner, instantly recognizing the presence as Magdalia. If that girl was wandering around here, where was Sanosuke? Silently and swiftly, Kyoka followed the girl through the cave and into a small room. She instantly felt another presence but ignored it since it disappeared quickly. The room was filled with what looked like human organs. Her nose cringed at the smell of liquid preservatives and alcohol. Magdalia had gone through and open door and Kyoka was not too eager to follow but she had no choice. She climbed down the stairs slowly and found herself in an underground basement type of place.

Magdalia stood in the center of the room with a terrified look and Kyoka instantly found a place to hide in the almost barren room. She grasped the stalactites on the ceiling of the cave tightly with her hand and with her feet. Her back was pressed up against a portion of the ceiling that was clear of stalactites. Her body disagreed with the hiding position but she had no other choice. That was the only place she could hide, in the darkness of the cave, created by the stalactites. She was right to hide. The presence that was in the room with them earlier had finally decided to show himself and taunt Magdalia a little, "That will become a reality tomorrow."

Kyoka noticed the painting on the other side of the cave. A man was crucified and held up by thorny vines with flames dancing in the back. Magdalia gasped, "Kaiou! You're betraying us?"

"Betraying?" Kaiou snorted, "From the beginning, the only thing on my mind was how to kill you and your brother off."

Kyoka tuned the man out as soon as she felt two more presences enter the cave. Her body protested against the position she was in but she couldn't get down yet, not until she figured out what kind of danger was coming. Her eyes narrowed and in the dark she was able to recognize Sanosuke and another man. He stepped forward bravely, "You sure like to talk a lot, Kaiou!"

"Sanosuke!" The girl cried, "Shouzo!"

Kyoka almost, ALMOST, fell from her position when Magdalia called out to Sanosuke in that slightly flirtatious tone. Her nose crinkled at the thought but then she shook her head, thinking that she must have imagined the flirty part. Shouzo ran out to stand next to Magdalia, "Magdalia-sama! Don't worry. We won't let his plan come to be."

"You know where monsters like you end up?" Sanosuke cracked his knuckles, "I'll pound you down to the pool of blood in hell!"

Kaiou smirked and began to laugh maniacally as a barbed-wire prison rose from the ground to trap the three on the cave floor, "What a perfect fate for rats!"

"You're the devil!" Magdalia cried, "God will never forgive you! My brother won't be killed by someone like you!"

Kyoka's nose cringed again and her entire body screamed for her to get down there and hurt Magdalia. She didn't like the girl from the start and now the girl was screaming nonsense.

Kaiou growled, "Magdalia, next time I see you, it'll be in heaven."

Kyoka sucked in a breath and despite her shaking arms, held her place on the ceiling as Kaiou turned to leave. She had to keep reminding herself that she could get down as soon as Kaiou left and it was just a little longer until then. Kyoka just wanted to kill Magdalia for saying something else to the man but he didn't stop so she was grateful. Just then, a portion of the ceiling blew up. Kyoka sweat dropped, "Good thing I wasn't over there…"

And then she realized where the rubble was falling, right towards Sanosuke's prison. She could care less for the other two but she almost dropped from her position until she realized that Kaiou was still looking over his shoulder. The three ended up surviving but Kaiou had left already. Despite that, Kyoka still felt another presence watching them. Glancing over at the rubble, she managed to catch a glimpse of Magdalia and Shouzo. Sanosuke was already standing and helping the girl up. Suddenly, the pain and complaints of her aching body were gone. Her throat felt dry and her heart clenched with that unknown emotion. Was it hate? It seemed to be hate, towards Magdalia but she felt like ripping Sanosuke away from her at the same time. Did she hate Sanosuke?

When Magdalia started to cry, Sanosuke looked guilty and Kyoka turned her eyes towards the entrance of the cave instead, unable to keep her eyes on them. Her grip on the stalactites tightened and her eyes snapped wide open when she realized that she was still holding Magdalia's medallion. Kyoka barely registered the fact that Magdalia was coughing when an iron rod completely destroyed a portion of the cave. When the dust cleared, Kyoka was able to recognize the blonde man and the bald man who had seen her with the medallion earlier. Shouzo was running off somewhere, leaving Sanosuke alone with Magdalia. There were two of them and Kyoka was in a bad mood. Much to her body's pleasure, she finally dropped down to the ground and stretched her muscles.

Sanosuke instantly smiled upon seeing her but then controlled his expression carefully, "Kyoka…"

He frowned when she didn't turn and look at him. Instead, she pulled her wakizashi from its sheath. Sanosuke shook his head. Of course she wouldn't look, they were in danger. Clear away the thugs first and then talk to her, he reminded himself. Sanosuke charged forward with a battle cry and demanding snap, "Hey! I have something to ask you baldy! Where's Magdalia's medallion?!"

Kyoka frowned, "I have it…"

The blond man charged forward to attack, "And I want it!"

She felt tempted to hold it out but shook it away, "If you want it, you have to go through me…"

The blond man went flying as Kyoka's foot connected with his nose. He growled and lunged forward again, a dagger in hand. Kyoka's anger was building as Sanosuke took care to continuously move and protect Magdalia. Kenshin's smiling image came into her head and she closed her eyes for only a moment before growling and sheathing her sword. If she lost it and killed the man, Kenshin would probably be beyond angry.

She flipped out of the way before the man could reach her. She slid forward to knock his feet out from under him before backing out of his reach, only narrowly avoiding the man's knife. Kyoka shook her head again, attempting to ignore Sanosuke's kind acts but the feeling she thought was hate or anger continued to fill her head. With an almost feral growl, she grabbed the man's knife with her hand. The blade dug into her palm as she pulled it out of his grasp. With a final blow to the man's neck, he fell to the floor. She spat and dropped the knife next to him.

"Kyoka!" Sanosuke, who had defeated the bald man, grabbed her wrist, holding it up to examine her palm, "Are you okay?"

She pulled her arm away and turned a glare passed the boy and onto Magdalia who gasped and began to cough.

Sanosuke turned and ran over to her instantly, "Hey! Magdalia!"

The girl fell forward and was out cold. Kyoka slammed her palm onto her forehead and growled, "How convenient for her! Get his attention by passing out!"

Sanosuke's eyes had snapped up to the girl's face wide-eyed, "What did you say?"

"I said you're a jerk!" She flung the medallion back at him, "That's what you're looking for right? Those creepy beads…"

"You found them…" Sanosuke pressed the necklace to his forehead, relieved.

Magdalia groaned and opened her eyes cringing when she locked eyes with an angry Kyoka, "He-hello."

"Magdalia, you must have some sort of serious illness." Sanosuke frowned.

"I'm going to heaven soon." She admitted, "Only a miracle from God can save me."

Kyoka clenched her fist and grumbled to herself, "You're not going to heaven. You're going to hell, even if I have to push you down there."

Thankfully, Sanosuke didn't hear her, "Are you stupid?! God doesn't determine who lives or dies! Your will to live does! Human lives are saved by humans! I have friends, Kenshin, Jou-chan, Yahiko… And…"

Kyoka glared at the boy, "That's nice."

"And Kyoka…" Sanosuke mentioned her anyways, "Even Misao. They can't create any miracles but they lend me their strength until the end I'll believe in them until I die."

Kyoka growled and spun around to meet the blond man who was charging at her again with his knife in hand, "You're persistent!"

"Magdalia!" Sanosuke pulled the girl up into his arms, turning his back on the bald man who was charging forward with his iron ball and chain.

Kyoka planted a bone-crushing round-house kick to the blond man's face and lunged out to attack the bald man but a shinai slammed into the man's back before she could get there. Yahiko dropped his shinai and practically jumped into his sister's arms, "Nee-san! We made it!"

Kyoka held her brother as tightly as possible with one arm, "Thank you."

"Kenshin! Your eyes…" Sanosuke picked up on it quickly.

"That's okay!" Misao jumped up, "He showed us what he was made of on the way here!"

"That's right!" Kaoru held up her fist for emphasis but then pointed passed Sanosuke, "Sanosuke! Magdalia-san is…"

Sanosuke dashed over and lifted the girl, who was struggling to breathe, onto his back and carried her on his back all the way up the stairs. Kyoka didn't look back once. She stood as far away from the two as possible. Regardless of how immature she was being, she didn't care. She didn't hear a single word of what any of the others were saying and stomped up the stairs until they ended up completely above ground in a meadow of green grass and fireflies. Magdalia was coughing as she spoke but Kyoka didn't hear a word of what the girl was saying. The only thing she knew was that she was suddenly splitting ways with Sanosuke and Magdalia to find Amakusa Shougo. Her eyes narrowed once again at the sight of Magdalia on Sanosuke back.

"Kyoka!"

The blue-haired girl blinked a few times, "What?"

"Can you see what's on the hill?!" Misao sighed, "What are you spacing out for?"

She turned her eyes over to the hill, squinting to see the situation, "It's surrounded by police officers."

Her heart clenched as she said 'police officers'. Saito. Suddenly, she felt like she had just lost everything.

Yahiko tugged at her gi, "Are they ready to attack?"

She nodded, "We should hurry."

She had Yahiko. He was the only person that she would never let go. He was the reason she fought, her only brother, her only family left. Shaking the feeling of great loss from her head, she realized that they were well on their way to the Hill of Holy Spirits and Misao had left them some time ago. By the time their group made it to the Hill of Holy Spirits, the battle had already begun.

Kenshin charged in, "STOP! I will not allow any more useless waste of lives!"

Kyoka pulled a weapon from the hand of a police officer and an elderly Christian, "What's wrong with you people?"

"I'm going to heaven with Shougo-sama." The civilian replied.

Kyoka turned a deadly glare on the man, "What makes you think you're going to heaven? What is with all you arrogant people?"

"Shougo-sama said we're going to go to heaven together!" Another man joined in.

"Are you crazy? You're all just going to die. Forget heaven!" She grumbled the last part to herself, "They're all going to hell with that Magdalia girl…"

"We'll go anywhere with Shougo-sama!"

"Then go to hell." She suddenly felt like attacking these crazy people. Seriously, if they're all going to die, they should just die quietly. The thing that irritated her more than these crazy people and Magdalia was the fact that she didn't know why she was irritated.

"Kyoka-chan!" Kaoru called out, waving her arms madly, "Misao-chan is taking a long time, what if something happened to her?"

Suddenly her sense came back to her, "I smell gunpowder… Cannons?"

Surely enough, the two girls could see the cannons moving into position on the hills around them. Kaoru shoved Kyoka forward, "Hurry and stop them!"

"You got it." She moved as quickly as her feet could carry her. She stopped the first policeman she could get her hands on, "Hey, you! Take me to your commander!"

"You can't be here!" The officer protested, "Please leave at once."

"Kyoka!"

The girl's head snapped to find the owner of the familiar voice, her hair probably slapped the officer in the face but she could care less, "Misao!"

Two policemen held the girl on either side a bearded officer came up behind them along with Elsten, the owner of the Western Style mansion they had stopped at before boarding the ship to Shimabara. Misao struggled out of the officers' reach and scrambled over to her, "Kyoka, they won't listen to me!"

"I don't have time to argue with you. If you're real officers then you'll understand what I'm trying to say." The girl locked eyes with the bearded officer and then Elsten, "There are innocent people down there, Shougo is the only murderer. If you set off those cannons, innocent people will be caught in the blast as well."

"I understand what you're trying to say but they must all be wiped out. They've sided with Amakusa Shougo and they've chosen to die."

"They'll surrender."

The officer examined her eyes carefully, "How can you be so sure?"

"Himura Kenshin is down there. He'll get them to surrender."

"You have one hour. If they don't surrender by then, we're going to kill them all." The officer turned and addressed his men, "Prepare for an all-out attack to commence in one hour!"

Kyoka inclined her head to show her gratitude, "That won't be necessary."

Misao wrapped her arms around the older girl's neck, "Kyoka! You're so cool!"

The blue-haired girl peeled her arms off, "Strangling me isn't necessary either."

"Now we wait?"

"We wait…"

Well I know this was all just a filler in the anime but I felt that it would be more fun if I added it in for all the plot development it would give to the romantic portion of my story. I personally didn't like this filler but I know some people do so I added it in.

And again, thank you all for your reviews.