Annnnnddd I'm BACKK! :O

DAMN, I MISSED YOU GUYS!111! I hope you missed me too, 'cause if you didn't then this is just super awkward for everyone!11! :D :D

That hiatus was just ridiculously long and I do apologise. I will try my best to get stuck back into it. It's just so damn haaarrrdddd when you have no idea how the story will end (yeah I probably should know by now since I'm the writer, buuuttt I'm useless like that heh).

Anywho, won't bore you with my ramblings, you've all waited long enough (and I thank you kindly for all the reviews of encouragement and being so patient with me; I LOVE YOU!)

Now onward! GO GO GO!

Chapter 35- Cottage in the Wreckage

The woman led Haru through the burnt alleyways of broken homes and vegetation. She didn't turn around once, as she kept up a swift pace. Hatsuharu had dismounted his horse and was keeping Tohru from sliding off the steed. The alleys were sometimes quite narrow, and caused Haru to make both horses walk single file through the village. When this happened he noticed the woman slowed her pace, to his relief. He didn't trust his skills in finding his way out of this maze of destruction; much less find where this woman was leading them.

After a few minutes the vegetation thickened and the rubble began to thin out. They were heading back into another part of the forest, away from the burnt village. Haru kept having to swipe at ferns and branches that stood in his path. However his guide seemed indifferent to the greenery that brushed through her hair and clung to her clothes. Just when Haru was about to question where the woman was taking him, the forest parted into a clearing. The sun filtered greedily onto the grass, revealing a small lone cottage in the light.

Sighing softly in relief, Haru stopped at the edge of the clearing watching the woman walk purposefully toward the house. She finally turned to notice that he wasn't following her anymore.

"Come on, you can tie the horses up over there. The sooner I can treat your friend, the better," she called before continuing into the cottage, not waiting for a reply.

Hatsuharu led the horses over to the wooden stake she had gestured to, tying them up securely to the post. Reaching into his coat, the stablehand produced two large carrots. One in each hand, the man offered them to the two horses who gobbled them greedily. Patting both chewing muzzles, Haru moved to Riceball's side where the princess still lay slumped against her mane. Tentatively, he gripped her shoulders to sit her up right. Softly pushing her till she leant on his arm, he then moved his other arm to push under her knees. Slowly he dragged the unconscious princess off her steed, until she was securely in his arms. She didn't stir as he carried her into the cottage.

The Fudoushin dungeons were exactly what one would have expected. Damp, cold and completely devoid of sunlight. Rusted chains clung to the cobbled walls, used for obvious detainment. Barred cells nestled further down the long, dank corridor on both sides of the hall. Lanterns situated between each locked door, doing little to light through the murkiness inside each cell.

An eerily quiet Kyo and unconscious Kazuma were dragged down the spiralling steps leading down to the dungeons. Kyo had said little else after the first few punches to his gut and a sharp hit to the face. It wasn't the fear of pain that kept him quiet though. He was in a complete state of shock. His burgundy eyes stared disbelieving at the mossy steps as he all but let the guards carry him down. His mind was reeling, painfully so, as a headache began to pulse in his skull.

Occasionally he would try to twist his head around to look at Kazuma behind him. The man was little more than a rag doll in the guards' grips, head lolling and feet dragging behind. A trail of blood trickled from his hairline down his left eyelid, evidence of the club that had come down on him moments before. Kyo's stomach twisted at the sight of his mentor like this, but he said nothing and turned back around when one of the guards growled and tugged harshly on his arm. These guards were clearly not ones he had seen before; probably Akito's new recruits. The guards Kyo knew were not nearly as aggressive as these ones.

Finally the ground flattened out as they reached the dungeon, the dirt crunching under heavy boots. Roughly the guards took Kyo to the back of the long corridor of cages, throwing him unceremoniously into a corner cell. Grunting as his hands and knees met painfully with the gritty stone, he turned to see Kazuma get thrown into the cell next to him. The older man still didn't wake when his stomach and face connected with the ground.

The creak and slam of the doors echoed eerily in the dark, silence. Clicks of the locks followed, trapping Kyo and Kazuma in their cells for who knew how long. Kyo pushed himself off the stone with a barely concealed cry, shakily moving to the door.

"You can't just leave him like that! He needs help!" Kyo yelled through the bars, throwing a hand in the direction that his mentor laid worryingly still.

The guards ignored him, their retreating footsteps fading into nothing. Kyo cursed and shook the bars in his fists angrily, before gasping as his back suddenly flared up in agony. Resting his forehead between two rusted bars, he slid down into a crouched position, an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness settling into his bruised being. He glanced over at the still unconscious Kazuma, noting how hard it was becoming to simply turn his head.

"You love torturing Kyo, knowing that he'll never know the truth. Never know that his real family doesn't live under this roof!"

Kazuma's words rang through Kyo's pounding head.

His real family.

The room began to spin violently, Kyo's head felt like it was about to explode. His grip on the bars lessened as he felt himself begin to pass out.

"My...real...?" Kyo's damaged body fell with a soft thud on the damp, stoney ground.

The cottage was small. Haru noted as he ducked to get through the door whilst making sure Tohru's head didn't hit the frame. Thankfully the ceiling heightened after the initial threshold, allowing the man to straighten his back as he looked around. The simplicity of the exterior remained unchanged on the interior. Only the bare necessities were on display with what Haru could see. A small fireplace sat at the back wall adjacent to the door, a small pot hung over the burnt firewood. The woman was tucking a tan blanket over a worn mattress toward the right of him. She looked up when she was done, gesturing him over.

"Place her down here," the brunette ordered briskly, as she moved over to the singular cupboard above the stone sink.

Haru knelt down and carefully moved Tohru onto the quilted mattress. He placed his hand on her forehead, sighing in relief at the seemingly normal temperature. She wasn't running a fever. That was a good sign, he hoped.

"Has she eaten recently?" A soft voice sounded behind him.

Haru turned his head and looked up from his knelt position. The woman was holding a wooden bowl, the smell of herbs wafting from it. Had Tohru eaten recently? He remembered Rin voicing her concerns about the princess not leaving her room for 2 days. Rin had told him Tohru hadn't even touched the food she left outside her door every morning, noon and evening.

Hatusharu's eyebrows knitted together in concern, "...No. I don't think she's eaten much of anything for two days..." His voice trailed off as if he was embarrassed that he hadn't made the connection before.

The woman sighed as she knelt down next to Haru, "As I thought. I won't bother asking why she hasn't been eating at the moment, first we need to get her to chew these." She gestured to the herbs in the bowl.

Haru raised an eyebrow, "But she's unconscious?" He stated obviously, making the woman roll her eyes.

"I can see that. I meant when she wakes up," the woman explained exasperatedly.

Haru huffed indignantly. He wasn't stupid by any means, but this lady had a way of making him look like an ignorant child. "And if she doesn't wake up?" He retorted.

The woman placed the bowl on the ground near Tohru's head, "Don't worry, she will. Her body's just preserving what little energy she has. She'll wake up after she's somewhat, in the lack of a better word, recharged." Hatsuharu looked to Tohru's sleeping face with a frown, but nodded in understanding. A note of silence hung in the air of the cottage, until the woman cleared her throat. "My name is Haruka, by the way," she introduced, turning her ruby-chocolate eyes toward Haru.

"Hatsuharu. And this is Tohru," he nodded to the sleeping form, deliberately forgoing her title. He didn't think it was wise to let outsiders know that this was the Kenshin princess. It was much easier to protect a princess if no one knew that she actually WAS a princess. Haruka nodded and moved to stand, heading back over to the sink.

Haru watched her for a moment before looking around the small cottage. "Do you live here alone?" He asked finally, not really caring if his question was answered or not.

There was a pause, and Hatusharu wondered if she heard him before she stated simply, "Yes. For quite a few years now." There was tenseness to her voice, as if it was difficult to admit her solitude.

"I see," Haru answered uselessly. He thought about the burnt village they'd travelled through. It was completely deserted from what Haru could see, this woman being the sole person who still traversed its ashen paths. "May I ask why you still live here? Everyone in the village seems to have moved on," or perished Haru added grimly in his head. The clank of ceramic mugs could be heard behind him, and he turned to watch Haruka pull out a kettle. She filled it with water and moved over to the dwindling fire. Placing the worn kettle over the hearth, she stoked the fire until it flared up again.

"This is where my husband is buried, and it's where I will be too." She answered simply, distracting herself with poking the flames with a poker. She paused, "It's also where I last saw my son."

"I'm sorry. Is your son also...?" "No! He is not dead," Haruka reeled around to glare at the monochrome-haired man. "He was taken from me, but I know he is not dead. He can't be," she whispered with conviction. Hatsuharu blinked, taken aback by the seemingly quiet woman's sudden outburst.

"He was taken, you mean kidnapped?"

Haruka turned back to face the fire, "That's what I said, wasn't it," she clipped irritably. "The same people to set this village ablaze. Seventeen years ago. Heartless bastards. They demanded custody of my son, and when we refused they set the village on fire... Then they took him anyway..." Her voice trailed off into a quivered whisper. Haru stayed silent, unsure of what one was expected to say in these kinds of situations.

A small groan came from his side causing both Hatsuharu and Haruka to turn toward the noise. Tohru's forehead creased as another groan escaped her lips. Haruka swiftly moved over to the bedside where Haru was still kneeling. She smoothed a palm across the princess' forehead shifting her bangs as Haru watched with concern. Tohru's eyes flittered open briefly, noticing Haruka first. She half-opened then again to stare at Haruka's face with perplexing crease in her forehead.

"...eyes..." The princess whispered, still staring at the woman. Before anyone could question her, Tohru bolted up like lightning. "Kyo!" She yelled in a distraught voice, as she unexpectedly wrapped her arms around Haruka's neck. The woman was taken aback by the sudden embrace, her confused expression mirrored in Hatsuharu's face as well. She hesitantly patted the trembling girl's back as Tohru cried uncontrollably on her shoulder. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Kyo... I'm so so sorry..." The princess sobbed into Haruka's shoulder, still not realising her mistake as tears streamed through her closed eyes. The woman looked to Hatsuharu with a concerned expression as she held the girl tighter, still utterly confused. Haru finally snapped out of his stupor to try and help right the situation.

"Um... Tohru? That's not Kyo," he murmured awkwardly, feeling saddened by her tears. Tohru froze, an audible intake of breath being heard from behind Haruka's back. She opened her eyes to take in that not only did the person she was embracing have long brown hair (not short orange), but they also appeared to have a much smaller build to that of Kyo's... a feminine build actually.

Tohru let go of Haruka with the same speed she displayed in latching onto her. Face still wet with tears, she stared in horror at the woman in front of her, feeling her cheeks rise in overwhelming embarrassment. Tohru looked over at Haru then back at the woman, her mouth moving but no words coming out. Finally she found her voice after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"I...I...I'M SO SORRY!" She yelled as she bowed apologetically in her seated position on the bed. "It's just your eyes... And I didn't really see anything else... And they just reminded me of someone... And I'm so so sorry!" She floundered; face feeling like it was on fire. Haruka simply smiled apathetically at her, waving a hand in dismissal.

"Don't worry about it, dear. It's quite alright," she replied softly. Tohru let out a small breath, the relief coming in a dizzying amount that made her lie back down on the pillow; maybe it wasn't just the relief. Haruka's eyebrows knitted briefly before picking up the herbs she left by the bed.

"Tohru, do you think you can stomach these for me, it'll give you back your strength so you can try eating something more substantial." She spoke with a soft tone, as Tohru shifted her head to face her. Tohru looked unsure and she looked over to Hatsuharu for confirmation.

Haru nodded, "She's here to help," is all he said, but it's all he really needed to say. Tohru trusted her friend's judgement. Pushing off from the lumpy mattress again, Tohru reached out for the bowl that the woman was holding.

"Thank you for this, I really am sorry for being such a burden," Tohru added as she inspected the leafy herbs.

"You are no such thing. What kind of person would I be if I didn't help people who needed my help?" The brunette woman scoffed good-naturedly, and then she added after a pause, "My name is Haruka by the way."

Tohru swallowed the bitter leaf she was chewing before smiling and extending a hand, "My name's Tohru." The women conversed a little more happily as Haru sat silently on the side watching the scene. He looked at Tohru and noticed the colour in her cheeks coming back. Hatsuharu smiled and breathed a soft sigh of relief.

And I'm not even going to say anything more about my long hiatus simply because I have absolutely no liable excuse for it. I could say laziness but somehow I don't think that cuts it. All I will say is that I am incredibly sorry to those that have been waiting for an update.

I'm just unbelievably good at procrastinating. Like unhealthily good. Ugh. What a horrible talent to have haha... See you next update (and I promise it won't take another six months, I'm not THAT evil... or am I? NAHH).