Chapter 2

"Ah.. ah..." Yahiko stared wide-eyed at the empty space.

"AHHH! SHIT! DAMMIT!" He ran to the bedside, stepping on broken glass with his bare feet. "Ah.. damnit..." He was nursing his bleeding foot when he caught sight of the note on the bed. Confused, he took the note and read it.

i"We've taken your precious little son, Battousai. You must have really deteriorated if we were able to do this.

If you want to see him again, I recommend you come to the Shirobeko in Kyoto for more instructions.

I look forward to defeating you."/i

"S... shit.. Ahh..." Yahiko buried his head in his hands. "Damn... dammit.."

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"YAAA!" Amaya growled out, slashing at the trees with her sword. A few seconds later Hiko inspected the victim trees.

"You dare to call this a Ryu Son Sen? There's barely a scratch there!" He thoughtfully stared at the suprisingly deep cuts for awhile. "Hmm.. your execution was fine, for once, but your body mass and muscle are still far too light. Come on, get inside and clean your sword. It's all dirty. Then you can eat, and do 50 rounds of the excerise we layed out."

"B.. but-" Amaya protested, pointing at the slashes.

"No, no excuses. Come on." Hiko headed toward his house, with a wide-eyed, exasperated Amaya in tow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, who are you seeking revenge against?"

Amaya picked up her sword and started cleaning it. "Someone named Battousai. /ow!/"

"Really?" Amaya nodded. "Why?"

"He killed everyone who was ever important to me. /ow! dammit!/"

"I see." Hiko sipped his sake. "Don't hold it like that. Place it in your lap and clean it that way."

"Mm. Okay."

"So how do you think killing this guy is gonna help you?"

Amaya shrugged. "Dunno. But I figured if everyone else is doing it, there must be something good."

"Everyone else is wrong."

"Mm. Really, you think so?" Amaya looked up at Hiko for a minute.

"No. I /know/ so. And look at your sword while cleaning it."

"Right." She looked down again and didn't say a word for the rest of the evening.

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Kenshin knocked on the door to the dojo where he lived. Waiting, he kissed his wife's cheek. "You look tired."

"Mm.. I am.." Kaoru groaned out of exhaustion. It was then that Yahiko opened the door.

The first thing Kenshin and his wife noticed was the bloody bandage on Yahiko's foot. Travelling up with their eyes, they noticed a note. Kenshin took it and read it. He sighed and frowned, then gave it to his wife. He noticed that Yahiko was looking down at the ground as if ashamed.

"What's that look for, Yahiko? It's not your fault. Look up at me." His young friend obeyed, allowing him to see the tear tracks down his face. It broke his heart to see such anguish in Yahiko. "Hey, it's okay Yahiko. Don't cry anymore, alright? We'll get Kenji back just fine. You don't need to feel guilty about anything."

Yahiko smiled slightly. "Ya.. sure. Ya, we'll get 'im back." He looked down for a minute, then looked back up, grinning. "Gimme the letter." Without waiting for Kenshin to offer it to him, Yahiko snapped the letter away from his friend's hand. "The Shirobeko? That's easy to find, Kaoru and I have been there before. We can get there on ship." He looked at Kaoru and Kenshin expectantly. "Well? What are we waiting for?

"Let's go!"