"Hey there, Kiddo." Ren was going back to her own apartment when she met Kaoru and Yutaro in the hall. Her nephew gave her a peculiar look at the sight of her there in her pajamas, but said nothing, simply greeted her with a hug.

She stroked back his hair. At twelve going on thirteen, Yutaro was starved for attention. His father was too busy for him, he had no friends and there was no one his own age in the apartment he and his father lived in. He loved to see Ren because she treated him like he was special, not like he was a rich brat.

"Hi, Aunt Ren." He said quietly, "How are you feeling? Mrs. Himura said you fell down the stairs." He was smart enough to know this wasn't true. Just looking at her face, he could tell. A person had done that to her and he intended to find out who.

"I've been better. You hungry? Come on; I'll make you some dinner." She looked over her shoulder at Kaoru, "Thanks for bringing him home for me. I owe you one."

"No problem, Ren. I was coming anyway, you know. You take care of yourself this weekend and if you, you know, need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Kenshin and I are always willing to help out."

A faint smile lit her face. "Okay. I'll see you, Kaoru."

Yutaro looked up, his blue eyes flitting from one woman to the other. Kaoru, attractive in her own way; dark hair, dark eyes, motherly attitude and Ren, slight and frightened; short brown hair, hazel eyes, suspicious nature. They couldn't be more different if they tried.

He followed Ren into the apartment, not saying a single word until the door was closed and he knew Kaoru could no longer hear him. "You didn't really fall down the stairs, did you?"

"What do you think?" She regarded him evenly, her hazel eyes never leaving his childish face.

"I think some one beat you up, Aunt Ren. I think they punched you in the face and slapped you and I don't understand why any one would do that."

"Oh, Yutaro…" Her expression softened, "I don't understand it either. But sometimes there are things we can never understand."

"But it isn't fair…You didn't do anything wrong, did you? You aren't in trouble, right? You wouldn't do things like that."

"No…It's not anything I did. I had a boyfriend a while ago and he had a few problems. It's not his fault. You can't help those sort of problems. But when he gets angry, he thinks I need to suffer to make him feel better."

"That's sad…"

"Yes; but I'm getting it taken care of. Don't you worry about it."

"I can't help worrying, Aunt Ren. Because I care about you and it isn't fair."

"Life's not fair, Kiddo. Now what do you want for dinner?"

He frowned as she puttered around the kitchen. Ren was hiding something and he wouldn't stand for it. He had to know what was going on.

***

"I'm home!" Kaoru pushed open the door to apartment 206 and shoved her keys back into her pocket. What a tiring day it had been; Yutaro and Yahiko bickering constantly, a spelling test that had gone poorly, Okita telling her Ren was absent again…

"Mama!" Kenji toddled towards her, his arms raised up, indicating he wanted a hug.

"Hi, Baby." She pulled him into her arms, "Did you have a good day with Daddy?"

"Meh…" His little arms wrapped around her neck.

"Aww…Better than going to daycare though, huh?" She rubbed his back, smiling. She adored her small son. He was such a cute little kid.

"Evening, Kaoru." Kenshin appeared in the kitchen doorway, wiping his hands on a towel.

"Kenshin." Her smile widened and she crossed the room to him, setting Kenji back down on the floor. She wrapped her arms around him, her head on his shoulder.

"Tough day, Kaoru?" He stroked her hair lovingly as Kenji crawled over to them and stood up, using her pant leg as support.

"Yeah…Sometimes, I hate this job. It's just one big headache. But it's not that that's bothering me. It's Ren. I took Yutaro to her house and she's a mess. She was with Katsu all day, crying. Yutaro knows that something is wrong. I'm worried about them both."

"You worry to much about other people; that you do." He buried his face in her hair, "You need to worry about yourself. You need to let them deal with things on their own."

She looked up at him, smiling. She loved the way he fretted over her, the way he worried but tried not to seem overly concerned. "I can't help it. I'm good at worrying."

"Yes, I know." He grinned, his amethyst eyes sparkling, "That's part of why I love you. You care so much about other people."

"I care most," She kissed him firmly, "About you."

"I care most about you too; that I do." He brushed back her hair, "I love you, Kaoru."

"Oh, Kenshin…"

"Maaaa!" Kenji tugged on her pant-leg again, interrupting his parents moment and frowning up at them, his turquoise eyes lit with disapproval. He glared at his father, then looked at his mother, a sweet smile on his face.

"Oh, Kenji!" She laughed and scooped him up into her arms. He wrapped his chubby arms around her neck, looked at Kenshin and stuck out his tongue.

The redhead blinked his violet eyes. Then a slow smile crossed his face. Of course Kenji hadn't done that on purpose…He was just a baby. But the timing was impeccable. The little boy had ruined yet another intimate moment between him and his wife. Perhaps Kenji wanted to remain an only child.

"Come on," He smiled affectionately at his wife and child, "Dinner's almost ready."

***

Sojiro was thinking. He was thinking about that poor girl who had come to the firm the day before with her face all banged up; the one that knew Kamatari. He wondered what had happened to her and how she had gotten all banged up like that. If some one was beating her…That would affect him in personal ways.

He thought back to his family; the people who should have loved him. His father, his step mother, his half-siblings…They should have protected him and taken care of him. They should have made sure he had food to eat and a warm bed to sleep in.

Instead, they had beaten and belittled him, forced him to sleep on the fire escape, starved him half to death.

And they had all died.

A slight frown crossed his face at the memories swirling within his mind. He hadn't thought about any of this for a long time. Seeing Miss Ren made it all come back to me. I remember being as scared and unloved as she looked.

But she isn't unloved…

The look in Kamatari's eyes when he came back said it all. Miss Ren has some one who cares about her. Kamatari said he hadn't seen her in ten years, but it was still there; that expression saying he cared for her. She is some one special to him, whether or not either of them realize it.

Kamatari is strong. He can help Miss Ren. Mister Shishio will only belittle her because she is weak and she does not need that. I should tell him…If Miss Ren is truly like me -and I saw myself within her- she will be hurt even more than she will be helped…

***

Aoshi was just coming out of the bathroom when he heard the sound of footsteps in the hall. He made sure the towel around his waist was secure before opening the door all the way. He hadn't been expecting Misao back so soon so he'd been wearing nothing but a towel after he finished showering.

"Oh, hey Aoshi." She paused at her bedroom door to greet him.

He regarded her, water dripping from his damp hair and into his eyes. She was dressed in slippers and what looked like pajamas and looked extremely childish, but he knew he couldn't keep thinking of her that way. She was eighteen years old -her birthday had been the month before- and was becoming a beautiful young woman; some one he loved greatly. "Good afternoon, Misao." Did I keep my voice non-committal? Does she suspect anything?

"Did you sleep well?" She looked at one of her slippers, rather than up at him.

"Yes; thank you." What the hell are we doing? We sound like two people who barely know each other, not people who have been living together for the past ten years. I hate this. I hate the way things are.

While he was thinking, she had slipped into her room. He sighed, entering his own room to get dressed.

Emerging a little while later, having had the revelation that things needed to change between him and Misao, Aoshi sauntered down the hall, running his fingers through his long bangs.

Misao was lounging languidly on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. The TV was blaring some music video; it was loud, obscene music and the lyrics spoke ill of nearly everything.

He switched the TV off and she sat up, looking at him curiously. Usually he didn't care what she did so long as she went to school every day.

"Misao, are you happy?" He asked, his face a sea of empty emotions.

"Sure." She shrugged, "I don't think I could expect more out of life."

"That's not what I meant." A pregnant pause followed this statement as they stared at one another for a long time. He took a deep breath, about to say something that would change the course of both their lives forever. "Are you happy with me, Misao?"

"A-Aoshi…" She stammered, unsure of how to respond. She had always been infatuated with him, always trusted him blindly. Now, he was unsure about something. Of course she was happy with him. She could have been happy with him anywhere, under any circumstances. "Well, yes…I'm happy with you. I love being with you. But…Well…" She trailed off, unsure how to finish.

"Are you…in love with me?" He asked slowly, praying to every conceivable god that she wouldn't laugh at him; that the answer would be yes.

"Am I in love with you?" Misao repeated slowly.

Her voice sounded numb, empty, devoid of all feeling, and Aoshi wondered what had possessed him to ask such a foolish question. Of course she didn't love him. He was ten years older than her, a pathetic loser with a shady past, and also a man she looked up to as a brother. How could I be so stupid?

She was silent for a long time, not quite knowing what to say. She had always dreamed he would ask something like that or tell her he loved her, but she had never actually expected him to do it. Now that he had, she was speechless.

A frown crossed his handsome face. Why hadn't she said anything yet? His mind raced. Perhaps he had been wrong. Perhaps she didn't love him. Perhaps she wanted to leave after she graduated. Perhaps-

"Aoshi…?"

He snapped back to attention at the sound of her voice. She was looking at him, her blue eyes like twin seas floating amidst the innocent beauty of her face. Oh, to dive into those eyes; to hold her the way he had the night she had cried. To kiss her -Get a hold of yourself, Shinomori!

"Why did you ask me that? Are you making fun of me?" She looked at her feet, her face flushed slightly red.

"Making fun of you?" He echoed stupidly, "I would never make fun of you." He sat down beside her on the couch, his hand finding it's way to hers where it rested on her lap. "I ask you because I love you."

***

A few snowflakes drifted to the ground, passing through Kamatari's field of vision on their way by. He blinked his ginger eyes, brushing snowflakes from his long lashes. Winter weather depresses me…It's so gray and gloomy…

He paused in front of a window, looking at himself as he was mirrored back in the glass. His dull hair hung limply around his pale face; his eyes looked mournful and empty. Never in his life had he felt less attractive than at that moment. Never in his life, in fact, had he ever felt anything but attractive.

He though back to when he had called into work that morning. Yumi had answered the phone on the fifth ring, sounding harried and slightly agitated. He'd said he wouldn't be in because he had a hangover and felt like shit. She had been, as expected, less than sympathetic. He swore he's heard her mumbling "no loss there" as she hung up the phone.

This only served to increase his current state of depression.

Expendable, am I? A sigh escaped his lips as he continued to peer at his reflection in the plate-glass window. Something suddenly caught his attention; a slight movement in the reflection. He turned around, in time only to catch a glimpse of a man with spiky blond hair rounding the corner.

I'm in Ren's neighborhood. He finally realized this when he looked up. His legs had unconsciously carried him there. He'd been filing her paperwork the day before and couldn't resist looking at her address. 'You never do know when something like that will come in handy' he'd told himself. Maybe I'll go visit her…

'But…She won't want to see you.' A voice in the back of his mind argued, 'She thinks you're disgusting, remember? She told you to get away from her; to never speak to her again.'

Shut up. He frowned, trying to force back the voice. Shut up; you don't know what you're talking about. She was nice to me yesterday. So shut up and stop trying to make me feel even more like shit.

'You just keep telling yourself that.' The voice finished. 'You'll see what happens when you show up at her door. Then we'll see who's right.'

He stopped outside the apartment, looking up at it as snow continued to fall. The snow landed on his face, melting the second it touched his flushed cheeks. He blinked twice, wondering what other kind of people lived in the apartment and how they would allow Ren to be beaten.

Then a determined expression crossed his face and he pushed open the door. It's now or never…