Author's Note-Well, here is the next chapter. Sorry I didn't post one yesterday, but I didn't have the chance to get on the computer. But I made this one a bit longer. So enjoy!

~Ax~

"Let's head back to the dojo." Kenshin said. "We have dinner there if you are all hungry."

"Don't eat it unless you wish to die." The kid whispered to us.

{Is the food poisoned?} I inquired.

"It tastes so bad, you'd think it was."

"Yahiko! Kaoru-dono's food tastes fine, de gozaru yo." Kenshin reprimanded.

"You don't have taste buds, Kenshin." Yahiko said as we started back to the house.

The girl-I supposed she was Kaoru-hit Yahiko over the head. "Brat!" she scolded.

"Busu!" the kid shot back. They then proceeded fighting/stretching each other's faces out. We all sweatdropped.

I looked over at Kenshin. A human that could match Andalite speed. . .I didn't think it was possible, yet I was proved wrong. He must have been practicing all his life. Humans never cease to amaze and confuse me.

Though despite his cheerful, naïve, and airheaded demeanor, I could recognize it as a mere guise. It was the way he grew serious immediately, the way he carried himself (usually), and the look in his eyes that gave evidence that he was an experienced warrior. It somewhat reminded me of Jake and Elfangor. Now there was one thing that confused me. Two things, actually. I may as well ask him now.

{Who is sessha and what does oro mean?} I asked.

Kenshin blinked over at me. "Oro?" he asked. He smiled and sweatdropped. "Sessha means 'this unworthy one' and oro. . .sessha just made up."

{How humble.} Tobias commented as he fluttered down to sit on Rachel's shoulder. Rachel stroked his head gently.

"Anyways, there's one problem." Kaoru said.

"Hm?" Prince Jake asked. We all stared at her, blinking.

"I can't afford any more freeloaders." She glared at Sanosuke, then back at us. "You guys will have to get jobs." Her stern look proved that it was not up for negotiation. Several of the Animorphs groaned.

~Cassie~

We continued to the dojo. When we finally arrived, we went inside where Kaoru started serving dinner. In the light of the dojo, I could see the people a bit better. Kaoru was slightly taller than me, and wore a yellow Japanese dress. Her long black hair was up in a ponytail and her eyes were blue.

Yahiko had spiky black hair with a yellow shirt. He wore a green skirt like Kenshin and had a stick strapped to his back. His skin was tan and his eyes were brown. He looked around ten, maybe eleven.

Sanosuke had brown hair with a long red headband. His eyes were brown. His jacket had some kind of Japanese word on it. His right hand was in a splint.

When I saw Kenshin in the light, his odd appearance only grew odder. His long hair was bright red. I didn't know much about Japan in that time, but I did know that even in our time, red hair was pretty uncommon. His eyes were an unnatural color. Violet. Yes, violet. He had sort of an innocent, puppyish look to him.

We all sat around the table. Yahiko and Sano picked up their bowls and pretended to eat. Kenshin and Kaoru were eating like the food was fine. Ax decided to morph human and walked inside, picked up a bowl, and began to chow down like there was no tomorrow. But then, seeing as how Ax ate an entire tray of stale cinnamon buns once, you can't really trust his taste. Tobias didn't decide to come inside, so he sat outside on a tree branch.

The Animorphs and I exchanged glances. After what Yahiko had said, none of us were really willing to try it.

"Well?" Kaoru asked us.

I sighed as all the Animorphs looked pointedly at me. I took a bite of the sticky rice and burnt chicken. It tasted horrible. To be polite though, I tried to turn my grimace into a smile. "It's. . .great. . ." I managed to grind out.

"Yes, Kaoru! It is very tasty! Veee-re-eee taaassssty-eee. . ." Ax said. Andalites don't have mouths, so not only do they go crazy around food in human morph, they love to sound out words. And it can tend to be annoying.

Kaoru, Yahiko, and Sano just stared, noticing Ax for the first time. ". . .Who's this kid?" Sano asked.

"That's Ax-man." Marco said, moving his food to the sides of the bowl so it looked like he'd eaten some. My polite act must not have been very convincing to most of the people there. Oh well. Hopefully she'd believe Ax.

"But. . .he was just an Andalite!"

"He morphed." Jake said simply.

I set my bowl down when dinner was over and smiled at Sano. "Hey," I said, "can I see your hand? I mainly doctor animals, but I'm pretty familiar with human bones too."

Sano shrugged. "Sure." He walked over to me.

~Kenshin~

I smiled over at Cassie-dono and Sano. Cassie-dono seemed pretty familiar with medicine and bones. I would have to introduce her to Megumi- dono. I kept up my cheerful front until I slipped outside. I jumped onto the roof and sat down. I noted that the temperature had dropped, creating a chill in the air.

My breath turned to smoke in the night air. I stared blankly at the stars as my thoughts turned to the war.

War. The very thought of the word made me feel a bit sick inside. Memories flooded my consciousness, right down to the very stench of blood, to the last whispers of slaughtered soldiers, to the very feeling of steel cutting through the bone of the opponent. And. . .

"To. . .mo. . .e. . ." I whispered, a tiny tear trickling down my cheek. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut. I would not cry. I did that enough the day she died. The day I killed her.

{Something wrong, Kenshin?}

I blinked and looked over at the bird of prey fluttering down to sit beside me. I had come to learn that this was Tobias. I smiled, masking my emotions. "Everything is fine, Tobias, de gozaru yo." I said cheerfully.

{Uh huh. Yeah, I cry when I'm happy too.} Tobias said dryly.

I blinked, surprised. "You saw that tear?!" I asked.

{I can see the fleas on that dog over there. My vision is that good.}

I scanned the area, my eyes unable to pick up any animals. "But. . .sessha sees no dog." I said.

{Exactly.}

So, Tobias did have good vision. I smiled. "Having a bird morph must make things very convenient, de gozaru yo." I said.

Tobias was quiet for a moment. Then he said, {I guess. I mean, that all depends on the bird morph you morph into. Birds of prey have good vision and good hearing. Owls can see in the dark. Seagulls. . .um. . .clean up edible garbage. And they look pretty common when near the beach. Pigeons are good for nothing. Crows are uncontrollable psychos that are good for absolutely nothing. Yeah. I'm glad I'm a hawk.}

I blinked. "Speaking of which, sessha has never seen you demorph."

{That's because I can't. I went over the time limit and got stuck in morph. I suppose the others were planning on telling you guys about it right before you were givin the power to morph.} Tobias replied. Time limit? I didn't remember being told about a time limit.

"What time limit?" I asked.

{If you go into morph for over two hours, you're stuck in that morph. . .forever.}

~Tobias~

"Oh." The former samurai said.

{Yeah.} I thought for a moment. {Now, a question for you. You were in a war when you were our age. How. . .did you manage to kill so many people, yet remain untouched, the way you are now?}

There was a long silence. Finally, Kenshin replied, "Sessha doesn't know. Sessha had to give up a lot. But he knew that so long as he was helping people, and getting rid of the evil in the world bit by bit, or at least what he had perceived as evil at the time, he could be at peace for then. Now he is repenting and that helps him be at peace even more."

{Ah. Deep.} I commented. {Well, I'm going to find myself a nice comfy tree limb and get some shuteye. You should too. Night, Kenshin.} I flapped my wings and took off. I saw Kenshin wave and jump off the roof. But I didn't sleep. Not just yet.

I flew around in the star-speckled sky for a while. I knew it was dangerous, what with the threat of owls and all, and without thermals it was hard to fly, but I felt restless. Suddenly, I saw a light in the trees. What was that? I swooped down and saw a much, much greater threat than thermal-less air and owls: Yeerks.

I perched on a branch and watched as the humans and Hork-Bajir warmed themselves next to campfires. I listened to their conversations as I perched on a branch.

"I knew this was a bad idea." One of the humans grumbled as he warmed himself by the fire.

"Then you should have complained." Said another.

"And be pleading for mercy from Visser Three a split second later? No thanks. I'd rather be cold."

"I wonder if the Andalite Bandits followed us here."

"I hope not. Our mission is hard enough as it is. Hopefully this is an Andalite Bandit-free time."

"Or not." Said the other one, glaring up at me.

{Uh oh. . .} I said.

"Andalite! Andalite Bandit!" The man yelled.

I flew into the air, and not a moment too soon. I wanted as the controllers followed me. It was a group of at least twenty-five humans, five Hork-Bajir, and five Taxxons, easily tromping through the forest.

{Woah!} I yelled, swooping out of the way of a column of light shooting into the sky. Lasers. Dracon beams. I couldn't stay in the air; I had to take to hiding, and not in the forest. I swooped down into the dark streets of the nearby Tokyo. Hiding behind the barrels, I began to morph to human.

I grew larger in size. My wings began to shrivel up and smoothed out into human arms. My scaly bird legs softened into human skin. My face softened as well and my feathers on the top of my head stuck up, thinning until turning into messy, brown hair. My razor-sharp, ripping talons dulled and shrank into human fingernails. I was now human Tobias.

I shivered. It was too cold out to be wearing spandex. I stood up and walked out into the empty streets. "Now this doesn't look too odd." I muttered to myself. "A kid walking around in a biker outfit in the empty streets of Meiji Tokyo in the middle of the night."

I walked down the street, barefoot. I wasn't sure how to get back to the dojo by foot, but I had a good, general idea.

I passed a dark alleyway and looked around warily, tensing slightly. I felt defenseless like this. I was picked on a lot when I was a human. And as a human I felt blind and deaf. Suddenly I felt something poking me in the back. I stiffened in surprise.

"Now what," a quiet, calm voice asked behind me, "is a young boy doing walking around the streets of Tokyo at this hour?"

Author's Note-Well, there's the chapter. Once again, thank you for the reviews so far! Please review! Ja ne!