Sano's jaw dropped as he watched Kaori fall. But she just smiled at him and blew him a kiss. Getting out of the stupor that he was in, he chased after Kaori throwing himself off of the cliff. His wings were folded to go as fast as he could. He plummeted at Kaori. 'What were you thinking!?! God, Kaori!' Sano thought as he fell.

With a flick of a wing, and another wink to Sano, Kaori flared her wings and hovered. This didn't register to Sano right away and he continued to fall. With three or four wing beats though, Sano was right back up to her. She smiled sweetly at him and his whole speech about scaring him half to death dissolved on his tongue.

"Heya Sano, I forgot to mention something. Yeah, the Hunters cut my flight feathers. They're back though."

Sano blinked a few times and Kaori crossed her arms over her chest. Sano didn't say anything and Kaori began to grow inpatient.

"Say SOMETHING Sano!"

"Let's.. Let's go," he stammered and began to fly away from her.

"Sano-" Kaori began but she let it drop. He was lost in his own thoughts. She followed him silently, thinking her own thoughts.

Neither spoke the entire flight back to Kenshin's palace. Sano didn't even look at Kaori, even when he told her to go to her room because it was late and she needed rest. He walked away before she could tell him she didn't know where the room was.

So Kaori began to wander, looking for her room. Every fifteen to thirty feet there was another door, tall and oaken, indistinguishable from the one that was on the room she had stayed in. Kaori sighed as she walked for what seemed like hours. She wasn't tired though. The sun had set about an hour ago and all she wanted to do was get some of the energy out. Open a door, peek in, find nothing, and close the door. That was how her night was going as of yet. That is until Kaori came on a set of double oaken doors. She pushed one open and smiled at her luck. It was a large open room; no furnishings, padded walls and a reed mat covered the entire floor.

'Either this is for one very large crazy person room or its for training. I think I'll use it for the latter.' And with an extra nod of determination, Kaori walked in and surveyed the room. Large enough to spar with someone, yet not too big. She leaned her bow and quiver against a wall and drew her katana. Katana is probably not the correct word for her unique sword. It was wider and longer than a katana and the end of it bent back kind of like a sharp hook. Kaori rested the sheath with the bow and began to run through her stances.

Beads of sweat formed on her face as she immersed herself in total concentration. She was one with her sword, one with the floor, one with the air. She looked upon everything with an absence and a knowing look in her eyes.

'Forward, side, dodge, slice, sweep. I'm human, not Icari. I am not something to be hunted!' She thought. "I am not to be hunted, I AM NOT GOING TO FALL!" She said aloud, using more intensity. The blade flew in her hands, if you blinked, you would have missed several stances. Kaori's anger and passion was part of the blade and was just as deadly. A fire burned in her eyes as she imagined the Hunters before her, falling to her blade. It wasn't until she saw Shishio before her that she noticed someone else in the room. She let her muscles relax and her sword down to her side. Closing her eyes, she turned to face whoever it was in the room.

"You're bleeding," Kenshin's voice met her ears.

Kaori's eyes flew open. She looked at him steadily and unblinking. It was actually him that broke her stare by looking away.

"What do you want? I'm not intruding or anything, am I?" she asked sweetly.

"No. How did you learn to fight like that? It was intense, even I don't even train that hard," he said walking into the room and leaning on a wall.

"I was frustrated. How do you think you'd feel if someone did this to you?" she asked gesturing to her wings.

"The same. You have a cut on your face and it's bleeding," he said again.

She lifted her hand and at the corner of her left eye she met wetness. A cut, about a half-inch arced down her eye. She wiped her hand on it and examined the blood.

"Hmmm," she said to herself, "that's never happened before."

"Want someone to spar with?" Kenshin asked drawing his katana. "Unless you're tire-"

"Let's go. I'm not tired," Kaori said hastily, lifting her sword again.

Kaori lunged at him and her sword met metal. Kenshin smirked at him and she snarled. Again and again she attacked, getting nowhere but tired. She waited, tired of attacking, for him to do something. She did not have to wait long. He faked right and swung left with his katana ready to strike her bare side, until she flipped out of the way. With cat-like surefootedness, she landed on one foot and used the other to knock him off balance. He teetered and fell. She was on him like a whale on a wounded seal. Her sword was at his neck.

"Give?"

"Never."

And he rolled away, only to meet her sword again. He kicked her feet out from underneath her and she fell hard onto the mat. The fall knocked the wind out of her and he got to his feet. She flipped up and stood ready again. Her lip had broken open and a slight trail of blood ran down her chin. A bruise was already beginning to form on his cheekbone and his back was red. Again and again, each other's parries were blocked by the other. The 'sparring match' was practically at a standstill, if you could even call it a sparring match anymore. It seemed each was out for the other's blood. They stood facing each other; swords ready, panting heavily.

"Are you guys done yet?"

Kaori spun around and Kenshin looked around Kaori. Sano and Kaoru were standing in the doors. Sano was leaning against the doorframe and Kaoru had her arms crossed. If you didn't look closely, it would seem that the two sweaty Icari (well, Icari and half Icari) were one and the same.

"How long have you been standing there?" Kenshin asked.

"A little before she matted you bro. She got you down hard," Sano said with a smile and a wink at Kaori. Kaori took a slight bow.

"Yeah, well," Kenshin started to try to save his ego until Kaoru practically dragged him out of the training room by his ear.

"Come ON! You promised to help me with my flowers," Kaoru said dragging him behind her.

Kaori walked over to the wall and sheathed her sword and picked up her bow and quiver. Her hair was loose and clung to her sweaty neck. Her lip was still bleeding and her eye was too.

"Sano, could you show me to my room? I'm a little lost here," she asked and Sano nodded.

He began to walk and Kaori walked at his side.

"You were kicking his ass. It was funny. He's never been beaten like that. He's never been beaten period," he laughed to himself. "his ego's going to be seriously wounded."

Kaori smiled too. "He deserved to be knocked a peg or two. No one puts a sharp object to my throat and gets away with it."

Sano stopped walking for a moment.

"Can I ask you something," Sano asked adding quickly to his question, "without getting what he did?"

Kaori smiled. "Fine, amnesty once. But use it wisely my friend," she said with a giggle.

"Are you sure that you've never met Kenshin before, long lost relatives or something. I swear that there's something there-" Sano said.

Kaori said nothing but continued to walk, leaving Sano standing there.

"Kaori-" he called, but she continued to walk.

She found her room and crashed on the cushions, tossing her weapons on a far cushion. Kaori studied the ceiling. There were ridges, like upside-down mountains that made patterns. The patterns became less and less interesting as she fell into sleep.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^^*^*^*^*^*^ Kaori climbed down from the cherry tree that her mother had put her in when she was six, only she was 21 instead of six. Uncertainty filled her. Where was her family? She stood in the small clearing and began to cry.

"It's ok Kaori, everything's fine now. Shinta's here. Don't cry."

Strong arms wrapped around her as her tears stopped falling. She opened her eyes and looked at the back of her brother. It too wasn't eleven as when she saw him last, but 26. She buried her face in the deep red hair that was her brother's.

"I missed you Shinta. Where were you? Where did they take you?" Kaori asked. And as she said that, white wings sprouted from his back. He yelled in agony.

"I'm sorry Kaori!" he said and he released her from his embrace and began to run away. Before he was enveloped in the forest, she caught sight of a cross-shaped scar and violet eyes.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Kaori bolted upright and was panting heavily. The dream was so real. Could it have been? She shook with a chill. 'Could that really have been Shinta? Is he Shinta?' She drew her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

At the same time, Kenshin awoke with a start. He shook his head. 'Only a dream, that's it. It's just a dream. Just all of the sparring before bed, or something.' But in the back of his mind, he knew that wasn't true. The dream was not 'just a dream'. "Why would I run? Why didn't I see this sooner?" he asked himself as he rose from his cushions and pulled his pants on over his boxers.

Barefooted, he ran down the dim halls. He sprinted all of the way to Kaori's door and entered without knocking. She looked up bewildered from her knees and he stood in the door.

"Kaori, I-" he began but she cut him off by lunging at him for a hug.

"Shinta," she whispered in tears.

Kenshin hugged her as hard as she did to him and tears nipped at the corners of his eyes.

"I knew that dream- God, Shinta," she said through her tears. Kaori's mind was a blur. Everything seemed to meld together. It was finally Kenshin that broke their hug. Kaori ran her hand over her eyes and smiled up at her brother.

"Get some sleep. We'll talk tomorrow," he said with a smile then turned to leave.

"I missed you Shinta," Kaori said as Kenshin stepped through the threshold. Kenshin paused, but soon stepped out of view of the door. Kaori smiled and fell back onto her cushions and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

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So, whaddya think? Good eh?

Katiekins sent me 2 review! I know that you're reading this too Kyle and you'd better review! Same for the rest of ya! Hop two!