KK: Sry about the way my last two chapters looked. I tried to load them a different way, and it didn't work. So I'm going back to my original way. Read and review plz. Enjoy!

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Chapter 4: The Fight

Suruka leaned up against the wall behind the akabeko. She had her eyes closed, and she looked like she was sleeping, but she smiled as she heard the sound of four shuffling feet. She walked away from the wall and smiled innocently at the four people before her.

"Thank you for coming out here," she said, "I need to talk to you."

"Who are you?" Yahiko challenged.

Suruka waved her hand, "It's not important. Besides, Sanosuke there can tell you my name at the very least." Two faces turned to look at the taller man. "Don't worry about that. I brought you all out here so that I could ask you something."

They looked at her expectantly. "What do you wish to ask?" Kenshin said when she didn't respond.

The girl's face changed, so that she wasn't smiling. Instead she looked very grave, "I want to fight Kaoru Kamiya."

"What?" Kaoru exclaimed, "But why do you want to fight me?"

Suruka turned, ignoring the question. "I'll come to the dojo in an hour. Be ready by then." Then she walked away.

"But why do you want to fight?" Kaoru yelled after the retreating girl. Suruka didn't turn, and soon disappeared into the crowded Tokyo streets.

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Kaoru changed into her blue gi and gray hakama. Then she took down one of the bokken and began to fight imaginary people.

Yahiko watched her with interest, "Are you really going to fight?" he asked.

"Of course," Kaoru said and blocked an "attack", "Why shouldn't I? This will be a good demonstration of the Kamiya Kasshin style. You should pay attention, Yahiko."

Yahiko looked at the ground. He had a bad feeling about this fight. 'I don't think that girl would simply want to fight Kaoru unless she had something else in mind. It seems kind of pointless.'

Out in the yard, Kenshin was talking to Sano.

"You really have no idea who she is?" he asked.

"Yah," Sano said around the fish bone in his mouth, "I've only met her once. After you beat me, she visited me in the hospital. She said her name was Suruka Sagara."

Kenshin looked up, "Sagara. Is she related to you?"

Sano lay back on the ground next to Kenshin, who was hanging the laundry, "No. That's what I can't figure out. She also seemed to know about the Sekihoutai. She said her brother wouldn't be pleased with what I was doin', or something like that."

Kenshin said nothing for a moment. Then he sighed, "Kaoru will have to be careful. We should both keep an eye on Suruka while she's here. I do not like this, that I don't" he stood up and started to take the empty laundry basket back inside. But he stopped and turned. "She's coming."

Yahiko walked out of the dojo with a grim look on his face. Suddenly, the door to the Kamiya Dojo property swung open.

Suruka smirked with satisfaction at the shocked looks on Sanosuke and the boy's faces. She walked in and touched the hilt of her brother's sword. She was, once again, wearing her gi and hakama. "What? Did you expect me not to come?" she asked smugly.

"Yahiko, go get Kaoru," Kenshin said.

"I'm here!" Kaoru said and walked out of the dojo.

Suruka stepped forward. She took off her tie and set it on the ground. Then she pulled out a bokken of her own.

"I thought you might use one of those," she said.

Sano and Yahiko looked at each other. Maybe this girl just did want to fight.

"Ok," Kaoru said, "I'll fight you. But I want to know why you want to fight."

Suruka shrugged, "I want to see if the Kamiya Kasshin style is worth learning."

Kaoru smiled at the thought of getting another student, "I think you'll see it is."

"Let's hope so," Suruka shrugged. Then she shifted the bokken into both hands and charged at Kaoru. Kaoru barely blocked Suruka's attack, which was aimed at her wrist.

'She's fast!' Kaoru thought, 'I could barely see her.'

Suruka jumped back and got in a defensive stance as Kaoru attacked her, hitting the bokken just above Suruka's hand. Suruka aimed for Kaoru's head in an attack that could knock her out if it wasn't blocked. It was, and Suruka found her stomach wide open. Kaoru aimed to hit there, but Suruka dropped to knees and hit Kaoru hard in the shins. Then she shot out from under her and hit Kaoru in the chest. The blow had so much force that Kaoru went flying into the wall.

"Kaoru!" Yahiko yelled.

Kenshin watched Suruka while Kaoru struggled to stand. Suruka didn't try to hit her opponent while she caught her breath. It was only when Kaoru looked ready to fight that Suruka disappearing again. Kaoru struggled to see where her opponent had gone.

Suruka ran low to the ground. Instead of heading straight at Kaoru, she ran to where her sword lay and drew it quickly out of the sheath. She dropped the bokken and the continued to Kaoru, sword in hand.

Kenshin saw all of this, and to his horror realized what Suruka intended. He quickly drew his reverse blade sword and ran in between Kaoru and Suruka. CRASH! Suruka heard the sound as her sword struck Kenshin's. She grimaced and double back flipped away from him.

"Damn it!" she muttered and held her sword in a defensive stance.

Kaoru looked in disbelief from Kenshin to Suruka. She tried to figure out what had happened, but was too shocked to put it all together.

"Oh yah!" Yahiko shouted, "Kenshin stopped the girl from killing Kaoru! Go Kenshin!"

Suruka smiled evilly, "You saw what I did, didn't you Battousai. I should have known that my speed would never trick you. Now I know what that man meant. You're good."

Kenshin ignored the compliment. "Why did you come here?"

Suruka put one hand on her hip and looked at him as though he was stupid, "I came here to fight."

"You didn't come here only to fight," Kenshin corrected, "Otherwise you would never have pulled out that sword."

Suruka looked at the sword, as if thinking, "Hmm. I guess I did come here to do more than fight. But I planed to start with one." she shifted the sword back into both hands, "I'll fight you, if I can't kill Kaoru."

"I don't wish to fight you, but I will if you plan to hurt my friends."

Suruka smiled, and charged at Kenshin again. She, this time, aimed for his neck. It would be better if she could finish him off quickly. Kenshin blocked her attacks easily. Suruka crouched down, aiming for Kenshin's knees. But Kenshin jumped up away from her. Suruka turned, grimaced, and ran at him again.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Style, do ryu sen!" Kenshin said and slammed his sword into the ground. Suruka watched with horror as earth and rocks sprayed along the ground towards her. She tried to avoid it, but it blew her backwards and into a wall.

Suruka cried out in pain as she was slammed against an outside wall of the dojo. Then she fell to the ground, unable to catch herself. She struggled to get up from the ground. When she finally got to her feet, she saw that the world was spinning. 'I can't be this weak,' she thought. Finally, she was able to focus. She jumped up, trying one of her favorite attacks. She landed behind Kenshin, and quickly rushed at him to slam his back. But he jumped up too.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Style, ryu tsui sen!" he yelled, and his sword slammed into Suruka's back.

'That's it,' she thought to herself, 'I'm dead.' But she didn't feel his sword cut her. 'What...' she thought, and then fainted.

Kenshin looked at the girl at his feet, his expression sad. He sheathed his sword as Yahiko, Sano, and Kaoru ran up.

"Wow! You were awesome, Kenshin!" Yahiko praised.

Sano chuckled, "Looks like no one can stop you."

Kaoru bent down and turned Suruka over, "But why did she want to kill me?"

"There she is!" a man's voice suddenly boomed.

All four people turned and Kenshin's eyes narrowed.

There stood that man that had hired Suruka, "Thank you for finding my niece," he said, "We've been so worried, my family and I. She ran away a week ago and we didn't think we'd ever find her."

"Um, excuse me sir," said Kaoru, "But who are you?"

"It's not matter. I only care that my niece is safe," he picked Suruka up. Then he picked up her tie, sword, and bokken. "Again, thank you." Then he left.

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KK: Review this plz.