Author¡¯s Note: Thanks to the few people who have reviewed my chapters so far ^^;;Well¡¦..back to

Fire

I slashed forward, my body slid and spun, I finally bought my blow down and stopped midway reversing the blade sideways.

Damn him.

I cut through the side, my right leg behind my left- I then swung upwards

Curse him.

The memory of that blasted Shinsengumi had occupied my thoughts since yesterday.

Who the hell did he think he was-

I fluidly sliced the air

And- who the hell was he?

I angrily tossed my sword aside, briefly wiping the sweat off my brow.

I sadly looked at my abandoned weapon, I had to train alone now¡¦¡¦nobody to help me finish my training¡¦

¡°Ijaou san¡¦..¡± my heart was still heavy with sorrow.

I groaned, my shoulder ached but was healing much faster than before.

My thoughts were once again consumed by the Miburo I had met last night.

I growled inwardly at my stupidity and weakness- wishing that I could go back in time and beat the heck out of that Shinsengumi.

Last night I had rushed to sneak back home only to realize that the dead old man was still lying by himself in the streets.

I had sprinted back to bury the poor man in nearby lonely grassland and ran back home smelling like dirt and blood.

I barely escaped my father¡¯s notice and had trouble washing bloodstains on me. Exhausted from the night¡¯s events I had wearily begun to rest only to still feel the sting of humiliation the cursed Shinsengumi had caused.

Ever since last night the Shinsengumi and the death of the old man had plagued my mind, I bitterly thought.

¡°Tokio san¡±

I turned from my thoughts and looked up.

It was Hiriko san the small young maid

¡°Yes?¡± I smiled putting my sheathed my sword.

¡°I brought you some food¡± the maid held up a small plate of fruits, ¡° You work too hard Tokio san¡±

¡°Thank you Hiriko san¡± I accepted the plate and sat down

¡°Tokio san- where were you last night?¡±

The question immediately left me stunned and amazed, ¡°What do you mean Hiriko?¡±

The young maid blushed, ¡°I was to check up on you in orders of your father but you were gone-¡±

¡°Eh?!?!¡± my eyes wide, ¡°I-I was under the covers!!¡±

¡°But there were clothes sticking out from the blanket¡±

I fell, disappointed at my inability to fool my own maid.

¡°Eh¡¦¡¦¡± I helplessly thought

¡°Don¡¯t worry Tokio san¡± Hiriko said, ¡°I didn¡¯t tell your father¡±

My heart leaped, ¡°Thank you¡±

¡°I guess you wouldn¡¯t want to tell me where you went Tokio san¡± Hiriko murmured, ¡°Huh? What happened to your shoulder?¡±

I reflexively jerked back at her touch.

¡°Do you want me to treat it-¡±

I glared, ¡°Of course not!¡±

¡°Eh¡¦¡¦well okay¡± Hiriko grinned hesitantly, ¡°I overheard an interesting conversation between your father and his friend¡±

I bit into a fruit, ¡°Mmmph?¡±

¡°Well- your father wants you to marry by the end of this season¡±

¡°MMPHA?!¡± I spat out the fruit and hissed, ¡°WHAT?¡±

Hiriko grinned proudly, ¡°You will be a wife soon Tokio san!¡±

¡°I-I don¡¯t want to marry, Hiriko!¡± I fiercely exclaimed, ¡°And besides- I¡¯ll be a bad wife¡±

Hiriko snorted, ¡°Well you will marry sooner or later¡±

¡°I refuse!¡±

¡°But!¡±

¡°I¡¯m never going to marry a stranger I won¡¯t love¡± I defiantly spoke

¡°You will grow to love Tokio san¡±

¡°Eh!¡± I scowled, ¡°I¡¯m not even beautiful to make my husband love me¡±

Hiriko stared at me, ¡°What are you talking about Tokio san?¡±

I grinned, ¡°I¡¯m a tomboy- a rebel to our society- you want to make a bet that the person I¡¯ll marry will instantly divorce me?¡±

Hiriko gasped, ¡°No- Tokio san! Don¡¯t be stupid! (I snorted) You¡¯re beautiful! You have your beautiful dark hair, those sensitive bright grey eyes,- a perfect smile- well not if you smile like a maniac-like you had been just before¡±

¡°Don¡¯t flatter me¡± I dismissed

¡°It¡¯s the truth! If only you¡¯d stop your sword practicing and started to wear a kimono and makeup, every man in town would ask your hand in marriage¡±

I shrugged, ¡° I can¡¯t give up sword fighting Hiriko¡±

¡°Why not Tokio san?¡±

I swallowed the fruit, ¡°Then who¡¯s going to protect our family Hiriko?¡±

¡°Certainly not you¡±

¡°Then who?¡±

¡°¡¦¡¦.Well-well¡¦..your future husband of course!¡±

I smiled distantly, ¡°You¡¯re hopeless Hiriko san¡±

Hiriko laughed, ¡°So are you Tokio san¡±

Hiriko finally left the room muttering about burning the rice or whatever.

Feeling refreshed and happy by the weather, I strolled outside, the sky was light blue with soft patches of clouds floating above, the nice warm sun melting on my face, the cool wind blowing against my cheeks¡¦..

¡°Ahhhhh¡± I contently stretched

I stopped when I got to the markets. Construction and rebuilding ¡¦.after that horrible night

I quietly encouraged the groups of men that worked hard with their steel hammers and woody ladders.

The smell of burning was still here, but most of the ashes have been cleared out.

I walked for a few minutes until I stopped by a vacant building.

Ijaou¡¯s bakery¡¦..

Thankfully, it had not been burnt to the ground. In fact the building had not been touched at all.

Heart pounding, I entered the small store.

The smell of dust, smoke, and fresh bread made me cough.

I could smell Ijaou here too¡¦.

I missed him.

Instantly, my eyes instantly welled up.

Darn- I promised myself not to cry-

I quickly staggered out.

¡°Eh?¡± I blinked when I noticed a group of Shinsengumi soldiers wandering aimlessly around shouting for identification.

Not wanting to get picked by a Shinsengumi, I quickly quickened my pace.

¡°Beautiful morning isn¡¯t it?¡± a loud abrupt cheery voice made me spring up in surprise.

¡°Okita san?¡± I gaped at the captain¡¯s seemingly innocent smile.

¡°I never thought you knew my first name Tokio!¡± Okita Souji grinned

¡°I wouldn¡¯t have if you weren¡¯t so notorious in Kyoto¡± I dryly replied but felt a little better talking to the captain.

Okita chuckled weakly as he smothered another violent cough.

I felt eyes on me as I looked around.

Yes, it must look strange for a little female Kyoto citizen to be talking casually to the hateful Shinsengumi.

My voice dropped to a whisper, ¡°Okita san-¡±

¡°Okita, you shouldn¡¯t be here¡± a deep familiar voice called.

¡°Saitou san!¡± Okita muffled a cough, motioning a Shinsengumi to come here.

Who was that familiar Shinsengumi- I¡¯ve met him somewhere-

Those cold amber eyes.

That strange fire in those eyes.

It was-

Him.

Shit.

¡°Saitou- meet Tokio san, she¡¯s the Takagi heir¡± Okita cheerfully motioned to me.

The tall Miburo seemed not a bit surprised- his eyes ran over me once and did not look at me again.

¡°Tokio san- this is Saitou Hajime of Shinsengumi¡¯s third squad" Okita said

Blood rushing up my face.

I could feel the pounding of my veins.

The iron grip of his hand

The hard knock on my burning shoulder

My eyes widened.

That sculpted stone face, that cruel smile¡¦.

A dark confused wave hardened Okita¡¯s boyish face, ¡°Were the two of you introduced before?¡±

From far away I could hear myself reply in a faint voice, ¡°W-well- h-he does kind of look familiar¡±

A grunt came from the wolf with yellow eyes.

A hesitant voice came from Okita, ¡°Yes- I should go through the east market- bye Tokio san¡±

With one last look at me, Okita sprinted, and yelled for his men to follow him.

¡°Why are you gaping at me Takagi? Hasn¡¯t your father taught you a few manners?¡± a soft mocking voice woke me up.

I blinked.

¡°Excuse me?¡± a hiss escaped from my lips

With a smirk, Saitou Hajime walked before briefly touching my heavily bandaged shoulder.

Pain flared up.

I bit myself from wincing, and gave that bastard a defiant smile.

¡°Until we meet again Tokio san¡± he whispered in my ear as he passed.

Confused, I stared after him, walking lazily away, his black hair shining in the sunlight.

Who did he think he was?

Angrily, I stomped the other way.

¡°I¡¯ve checked the east markets- it¡¯s all cleared¡± Okita absentmindly murmured, a worried expression etched on his face.

I resisted a sigh.

¡°Saitou- san sir!¡±

Irritating amateur

I was getting annoyed

I glanced at the recruit who was shaking, ¡°Sir- another body- found dead and this time a young girl¡±

My mind flashed to the Takagi girl.

¡°What¡¯s her identification?¡±

¡°Tachike, Hikari- sir¡±

¡°Where is this body?¡±

¡°Already buried- but was found to be dead throughout last night¡±

A spark of interest.

¡°Last night? Where?¡±

¡°The west district-¡±

¡°That¡¯s where Takagi resides!¡± Okita bursted

¡°Well-y-yes sir¡±

¡°You may leave¡± Okita commanded, watching the recruit scramble out.

Mysterious deaths of citizens living around the Takagi residence¡¦.how¡¦.convenient-

Were these deaths a threat? A mockery? A trap?

I idly fingered the hilt of my sword.

¡°Saitou- we¡¯re going to the Takagi residence at night¡± Okita¡¯s face was masked with seriousness

¡°Very well- my sword has been dying for blood¡±

Okita sternly watched me, ¡°Aku Soku Zan Saitou san- we must destroy him quickly, and there will be no witnesses¡±

I raised an eyebrow, ¡°What about the Takagi? Wouldn¡¯t they want to see him dead?¡±

Okita sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t want this to get personal for them Saitou san- we must finish our job efficiently¡±

¡°Very well Okita¡± I paused.

Justice demands blood.

¡°But the death blow of Choruke will be mine¡±

Author¡¯s Notes: Yeah I kno I kinda suck at writing but please excuse whatever problems you have with my story¡¦.I¡¯m kinda new at writing so bear with me T~T

Well I just got into the Rurouni Kenshin series about two months ago and I¡¯m not really familiar with the dates/specific info.

Please ppl- REVIEW I need to kno what im doing here T_____T how my process goes ¡®cause yur reviews make me feel motivated and encouraged!!!!

ITS ALL UP TO YOU READERS!! YOU HAVE THE POWER!!! So stare at that nice friendly box in the left corner and click it¡¦..

^^;;;;

Anyway sorry about the long speech xD

Until next time¡¦¡¦¡¦

Dark Myst~*