Disclaimer: Mine, mine, MINE!!!!!! *Gets whacked out by a tough cookie and goes all swirly-eyed* @_@ Oro~ Shigano Sakura *is* mine though!

A/N: Hey ya'll! Glad to see everyone who is still here with the fic, and here comes the new chapter! Sorry if some parts in this chapter are slightly disjointed, but I've been pretty busy this week, with BKA, an accounting test, a law test, 2 accounting assignments, a bio quiz and a law presentation _ Not to mention that I was dragged on a boating trip, and also had to look after a hyper 7-year-old who regularly drives me up the wall! So ya see? I have really good excuses! :p Anyways, here's chapter 17, and hope you enjoy it! Whee! OOCness and laughter abound! Hiko and Saitou are off to BD headquarters; intimidating of poor locals ensues! ^^;; oh dear, Kenshin's gonna get it! Thanks to all for reviewing! I've got over 200+ reviews now! Keep 'em coming!

Reviewers' Space!

Uenki – Yup, that I will! Do continue reading, and thanks so much for R&Ring!

Kaoru23 – Hey girl! Holiday but not a good holiday? Meh~ Anyways, glad to see you around again! Yeah, the last chapter was sad indeed, but this one's much better and pretty much humour-induced. ^^;; ok…I guess that I urm…won't take your advice then? ^^;;; No matter, it's good that I get some anyway ^^ Yeah, school has taken a toll on me, and I'm still trying to write as much as I can, so thanks for R&Ring, and I'll see you again in the next chapter!

Cherry – Oro~ you really think so? XD thank you! Anyway, here's the next chapter! ^^ I enjoy mixing humour and angst together (even though that's kinda a strange combination o_O) so that it isn't an angsty story all the way through. XD Yesh, *waves flag* go Kenshin, go Kenshin go! Lol, don't mind me, I just love KxK WAFF and fluff. But you probably could tell anyway. Gonna stay with this story to the very end huh? Thanks in advance, and thanks so much for R&Ring! See you again in the next chapter then!

Lee anne – Ah, another new reviewer! ^^ Yay! I'm glad that you're finding the dictionary bit of every chapter useful! At least my efforts are somewhat appreciated, hehe. Kewl! A K/K fan ^^ same here. I'll do my best to update as much as possible, and thanks so much for R&Ring. Hope ta see ya around again!

Dragowolf – More humour in this one, so not to worry! ^^;; Poor Kenshin will be in for it! Hiko has come to visit! *_O Megumi should be showing up soon too. Thanks for R&Ring and see ya again in the chapters to come!

Shattered Sword – Ooh! *Waves* A new reviewer! O_O Wow, read all of the chapters through in one shot huh? Kudos to you for being so patient enough to do so! ^^ Thanks so much for reading and reviewing and hope to see you again in the chapters to come!

Rekka's Angel – Mmhmm, we know loads more about Sano now! ^^ Glad that you're still enjoying it! They really have gone through a lot ne? Hopefully fate will be kinder to them soon enough. Thanks so much for R&Ring, and I'll see you in the next chapter!!

Baka-Ryu - _ Ah, mou! ^^;;; I took forever to write it and you read it in 5 minutes! Nooo! Lol, j/k. Glad that you liked the chapter! ^^ Yesh, do be patient ne? I need time to put up good, quality chapters so that I don't let my reviewers down. Thanks for R&Ring and I'll see you again in the next chapter!

AnImEfReAk34 – Glad that you think so! Hope that you stay around to read more! Thanks for R&Ring!

Eeevee – o_O Oro~ ^^;; I have no idea what to say to that. Hope that's not the only point that sticks out in my fic, hehe. Yup, it sure is human nature, and well, 'tis natural after all. It wouldn't be humane otherwise, no? Thanks for R&Ring and see ya in the next chapter!

Irksome one – Yeah, Yahiko needs more company of his age, ne? ^^ Yesh, Tsubame will be good company for him besides the tori-atama. Hrrmmm…yesh, it is indeed a kinda turning point in the story, but we're not exactly there yet :p Getting there slowly. Anyways, thanx for R&Ring and see ya next chapter!

Chris37 - @_@;;;; Ororororo~!! I'm so sorry for the mistake!! _ Egads, I have to admit, the name really did me in! Lol ^^;;; Chris or bel? Depends what it's short for I guess, both sound pretty good to me! ^^ Anyway, are you sure you're not a mind reader or something? ^^;; coz you're pretty good at determining parts and pieces of my plot! Who indeed? ^^ Ah, all will be revealed. Yup, will update soon soon, and hehe Kaoru is truly becoming a mother figure XD (*snicker* she needs practice if she's gonna have a million and one kids with Kenshin or something! Lol) Anyway, thanx for R&Ring girl, and see ya in the next chapter!

Jezika- The Girl Who Cried Oro – o_O Wow, that is some nickname you've got there! ^^ very interesting ^^ Glad that you're loving the story so far, and yes, I'm a SDK fan too! XD wow, haven't seen one in ages (or should I say, haven't seen one at all!) I prefer the manga to the anime though (XD Mwahah~ especially Kyo molesting Yuya! *snicker* Thanks, I got your email and that's some useful information there ^^ mucho gracias! I'll try to update ASAP, and hopefully I'll see you again in the chapters to come, ne? Thanks for R&Ring!

DragonTamer9741 – Mmm… ^^ yesh, I guess that would be the philosophy ne? Hehen~ I cried watching Seisouhen and even Escaflowne was sad! Hehe, keep a watch out for Sou-chan on your computer, ne? ^^ I'll send him through the wire phone soon, lol. See you again next chapter then, and thanx for R&Ring!

Flyinangel777 – Ooh~ ^^ Thanks for putting me onto your fave list! Hehe, I get all that good morning/good afternoon/good night thing, don't worry ^^ Glad that you're loving the story so far, so stay tuned for more, ne? thanks for R&Ring!

Poppy2 – Ah! The culprit of cliffhangers! Glad to see you here again! XD lol, wouldn't figure that Sano was that much of a talker huh? And that he actually gives good advice too! Yeah, Sou is probably gonna get back to normal pretty soon, and if he doesn't, well, XD Saitou will help him with that, and Kaoru too! Nyah, just pop around whenever you're free, so that's cool ^^ I enjoy your story lots and lots! More cookies needed? XD then finish that chapter! Mwahahhah~ ^^;; thanks for R&Ring!

KeNsHiN – Mmm… that chapter took quite some time to write, that it did. It wasn't as angsty as the last one, but you can't expect them to go from mourning in one chapter to their ole bouncy selves in the next ne? So yeah, ^^;; grieve for one chapter, and then bounce back in the next! Lol, that's just my funny logic talking again. I'll update as soon as I can and as for the chapters being long, yeah, I'll probably have at least 3000 words per chapter *sigh* so much for wanting to keep to my 1000 word limit per chapter. Thanks anyway for R&Ring and hopefully I'll see you around in the chapters to come!

Missaw – o_O They definitely have loooooooooooooads of characters. I'm already having my hands full dealing with Black Dawn alone, and let's not even start on the rest of the Ishinshishi! _ Oroooooooo~ Nyah, guess there's just been all the focus on the characters that were all there, ne? Glad you enjoyed the chapter, and yup, I'll update ASAP! Thanx for R&Ring and see ya next time!

InuYasha22 – Yup! New chapter up, but less sad in this one! The group are gonna be going back to normal pretty soon, so don't worry about all the mopiness of the last 2 chapters, ne? Will update ASAP, and ok, I'll read your next chapter too! Thanx for R&Ring!

Whoo~ and let's get on with the show!

Chapter 17: Proof of Life

Thoughts are in ' '

Speech is in " "

Telepathy is in italics.

People on the train jerked nervous glances to the two intimidating men in the compartment, shrinking away as far as they possibly could. One was a towering giant of a man, dressed in a billowing white cloak and dark colours underneath, dark brown hair tied up in a low ponytail that flowed over the collar of the cloak; the other was dressed simply in what looked to be a police uniform, and had what looked like a sheathed katana hanging in his belt. Anyone who got too close to them soon got glared at by the one with burnished golden eyes or backed down under the stare of the imperious dark eyes. So it was that even though the little compartment was packed full of people, that a gap was formed between the two men who stood in the corner of the train away from the rest of the population.

The doors of the compartment slid open, and the men made their way out easily, the other occupants of the train making way for them like scared mice, terrified that any wrong move would make the men react in…terrifying ways. As the doors slid shut behind them, the announcer reciting the next stop, the people in the train heaved a collective sigh, relief flooding through them now that the overbearing presences of the men were gone.

Sharp eyes a shade of brown so dark flitted around the area as he took in his surroundings. It had been a long time since he had been here and many things had changed, while many things remained the same. He shrugged the inquisitive glances that people in the station were giving him; for a Japanese man, he was tall and well built, unlike the frame of those who only had a small frame and were short, as was typical of Japanese men. He flashed an arrogant smile at a few women who seemed to be staring intently at him, ego inflating as they blushed and chattered in hushed tones among themselves. The figure beside him rolled his eyes and proceeded to weave through the throng of people in the station, not really caring if the other man got lost in the crowd or not (although that was fairly impossible, considering that the exit wasn't all that far off). Noticing that Saitou was starting to move off, Hiko Seijurou abandoned his smirking tendencies at the inquisitive stares and followed after the man, white cloak billowing out behind him. After all, it wouldn't do to get lost in Tokyo even before he saw his baka-deshi.

Katsura had made a 3-way phone conversation to both of the men a few days earlier, requesting that they go check on the Black Dawn headquarters. The group had reported that their mission had failed, and that the vehicle that was supposed to bring the children to a one of the Ishinshishi's safe houses had been sabotaged, killing 15 out of the 16 charges, as well as one of the Ishinshishi's employees. The criminals had been assassinated as per orders, but Hiko knew that even though that half of the mission was a success, the fact that the children had not been saved weighed heavy over their heads. Saitou and Hiko had both been shocked that Katsura had not 'Seen' that such a thing would come to pass, to which he had given them an answer that was caused more worry than reassurement.

The Seer had told them he feared that the reason why he had not Seen such a thing come to pass was because someone might have been blocking his visions (1). That bit of information had made Saitou and Hiko wary; not only was this unknown enemy aware of Katsura's ability as a Seer, but could also block off his visions. It was very dangerous for all of the groups working under the Ishinshishi if such a thing was to continue, especially the assassin groups like Black Dawn which relied on the accuracy of Katsura's visions (even if they didn't tell them so) for the safety of those that they needed to save, as well as the safety of their employees.

There was no doubt that the sabotage of the van had merely been a warning, a prelude to something more to come, and if they weren't careful, then everything would go up in flames.

And that was the very reason why Katsura had asked the men to check the Black Dawn headquarters. Not only would they check the premises, but they would also have to give the whole team some vigorous training just in case something happened, and also to check up on the two charges that Black Dawn had saved on their previous missions. It went without mentioning that it would also give Hiko a chance to see his one and only disciple whom he had not laid eyes on for over a decade, and it would give Saitou some time off his work in the police precinct to check up on his favourite (almost) nephews and niece.

The men finally exited the crowded station, the cold wind blowing into their faces as they reached the entrance of the station. They trudged on, crossing the road as gravel crunched under their feet, loud in the cold mid-morning even above the noise of the few people who were out on a Sunday morning. As they made their way closer to the Black Dawn headquarters, there were fewer and fewer people, and the silence stretched out, not uncomfortable but just companionable; words were unnecessary, and both Saitou and Hiko were men of few words (and lots of sarcasm), so there was no reason to make idle conversation.

As they reached what looked like a desolate forest, Saitou's eyes glanced around quickly as his senses reached out to see if there was anyone else in the vicinity. Satisfied that there was nobody else around, he muttered something inaudible under his breath before lifting an arm to part some of the greenery before him. The air seemed to shimmer slightly, as if from the result of a heat wave, but another second later, it flattened out again, and the men and the forest were nowhere to be seen (2). If anyone else had been passing by, all that they would have seen would have been a spot which seemed to have quite a few scrawny specimens of weeds, and nothing more.

They had now entered the headquarters of Black Dawn.

~*~

Kenshin cocked his head slightly, as if hearing an invisible sound, fingers lifting from the soapsuds in the sink momentarily, 'listening' for a moment more before returning to the dishes. He must have heard wrongly, he decided. It was probably his senses being oversensitive again. The sweet tinkle of laughter from the living room made him smile and he inclined his head towards the noise. Kaoru was in the living room with Yahiko on the PS2, and from the muttering grumbles from the boy and Soujirou's light chuckles, it sounded like Kaoru had won the match once again. Sanosuke was cursing lightly under his breath; he had lost yet another go match to Soujirou. It had been slightly more than two weeks after Tsubame had arrived with them, and the team had more or less returned to normal after the unfortunate events that had happened. The wintery March weather had turned into the spring of April which was just three days away, and the sakura blossoms were starting to bloom, pink flutters of petals sweeping through the air at all times of day.

Aoshi and Misao had returned again to the Aoiya back in Kyoto to report to Okina, and they seemed somewhat closer than they had been before. The smile on Kenshin's face grew at the affection that the okashira was sharing with the young budding ninja. He had, surprisingly, pulled her out of her depression and she in turn had uncovered the icy mask that he hid behind. Soujirou spent more time with both Sanosuke and Kenshin, as well as Kaoru, giving them more and more real smiles and truly living for himself for once. Tsubame had become less timid and more open, and had joined in on teasing Yahiko, who seemed to have more than a mild crush on the girl. His relationship with Kaoru was going on pretty well too, and they spent almost all of their time together, Kaoru sometimes using Kenshin as some adorable cuddly toy to sleep with.

Yes, it was indeed a good thing that their patchwork family (3) happy again.

But oh, chaos would descend soon enough!

A series of loud knocks on the door made them freeze in their actions for the moment before they jumped to action. Kaoru got into a defensive position, making the children back up behind her; Sanosuke and Soujirou grabbed their gloves and katana respectively taking up positions of attack on either side of the door. Kenshin grabbed a knife, hand poised to open the door as his eyes narrowed. He could sense two people outside the door, and they were very good at hiding their ki; they would have been unnoticeable if they hadn't made themselves known. The voice that he heard next surprised him to no end.

"Quit sneaking around and just open the door, baka-deshi." It was an arrogant command, not a request. Amethyst eyes widened in recognition. There was only one person who could be that arrogant and yet, get away from it.

"Shishou?!" All members of the household turned questioning eyes towards him. 'Shishou?' Was the unanimous thought.

Another voice spoke. "Just open the door, chibi-gaki. We haven't got all day."

Soujirou's and Kaoru's eyes met, surprised. Saitou-ojisan? What on earth was he doing here with Kenshin's shishou? And for that reason, why was Kenshin's master even here in the first place? The two seconds that it took for them to process these thoughts was all that it took for Hiko Seijurou to bellow again.

"Did you not hear me the first time, baka-deshi? I said open the door!" Kenshin's brow twitched slightly at his voice. His shishou was the most arrogant man alive (or at least Kenshin thought so, and the rest of Black Dawn would soon agree), not to mention impatient, demanding – 'and probably a sadist too!' Kenshin thought grumpily – all these flattering traits and more undoubtedly. The disgruntled red haired assassin opened the door to reveal his master and Mibu's Wolf, glaring first at Hiko, and then at Saitou. Neither were affected by his glare, and just brushed past him to move into the house.

"Ho. So you're the one that my baka-deshi chose." Hiko's eyes took in Soujirou and Sanosuke first, before lighting upon Kaoru's unyielding face and the two children peeking from behind her. The man stalked towards Kaoru easily while ignoring Kenshin's protests and stopped three feet away from her. The arrogant smirk on his face made her scowl up at him defensively; Kenshin's shishou or no, she wasn't going to give an inch to him! The red head muttered an apology to her through their HalfSoul link, and she could feel his slight irritation for the man, as well as grudging respect. Her scowl deepened as he continued to stare at her and the smirk on his face grew larger. 'So this must be his HalfSoul that Katsura was talking about. She's feisty enough.' Out loud he said:

"You'll do." Now that he had finished his 'inspection' on her, he seemed to be bored and glanced around the rest of the house. Kaoru bristled slightly at such a flippant comment. 'Why the nerve of the man! I'm not some kind of—of object or something! Ooh, I'll show him! That arrogant, pompous, stuck-up---!' A sweat drop formed on Kenshin's head as she saw where her thoughts were going and promptly interrupted, trying to calm her down. Maa, maa, koishii. He's always like this, so it's no use getting mad at him. She calmed down slightly at his pleading tone; she would do this for Kenshin only, and nothing else. However… if he goes on like this again, I won't hesitate to yell at him! Kenshin nodded his assent quickly; just as long as she didn't get mad!

Saitou lit a cigarette as Kaoru continued to glare at Hiko. He seemed to be the only one who was not surprised by the strange events and he continued to remain nonchalant as a puff of smoke left his mouth. Only his eyes held a tiny spark of interest and he fought hard not to let the edges of his lips turn up into a smile as the 13th Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu master continued to smirk and the bristling blue-eyed assassin. Soujirou blinked twice at the strange situation and then broke the silence, an amused smile gracing his face.

"Maybe you can tell us why you're here, Saitou-ojisan?" Kaoru abandoned her staring match with Kenshin's master to look at Saitou. "Sou da, Saitou-ojisan. Why are you here? And why do you have your katana with you?"

Another puff of smoke left his mouth before he answered the question. "I just missed my lovely nephew and niece to much." Now a smile did break onto his face, albeit a rather sarcastic one. Sanosuke rolled his eyes, completely relaxed now. "Ah, just get to the point, spider-face. We know that you're never here for a social visit." The dark gold eyes turned to meet Sanosuke.

"If a certain tori-atama would stop interrupting me, then maybe I'd be able to get to the point." He took a long drag on his cigarette, using that to punctuate his sentence. A vein popped in Sano's head but he restrained himself. "We're here to train you."

"Train us?" Kenshin echoed. "Whatever for?" 'So that may explain what shishou is here for, but that still doesn't explain why he had to come all the way from Izu (3); I could have trained with Soujirou or Sano. So why exactly is he here?' Mibu's wolf turned his eyes to the red head. "Well, the training sure seems necessary enough, because we walked through here and you didn't even sense us until we knocked on the door. If the Bakufu ever find this place, they won't be as considerate." Kenshin winced slightly; Saitou was blatant about it, but he did have a point.

"So that answers the question of why you're here, but what about Mr. Superman over there?" Everyone sweat dropped at the nickname that Sanosuke had just given Hiko as he jerked a thumb in the man's direction. Kenshin was trying very hard not to laugh; the nickname seemed to match Hiko very much, considering that he was always wearing that ridiculous cloak everywhere he went. Kaoru's mental laughter was already echoing through his mind although the only trace of it on her face was a little quirk of her lips. Kenshin flashed a quick smile at his HalfSoul, but unfortunately for the red head, his shishou caught this action and promptly marched over to his disciple, grabbing his ear and twisting painfully. The unexpected pain made Kenshin yelp slightly.

"Ow! Shishou, what are you—ow!" He tried to walk straight as Hiko dragged him none-too-nicely by his ear towards the door. "Let go of my ear, shishou! Itai yo!" The red head protested painfully. For two seconds, Kaoru stood there, amused, before snapping back to her senses in realization that her HalfSoul was suffering from Hiko-itis (4) and was close to getting his ear twisted off. "Hey! What do you think you're doing to him?" She demanded of the bulky man as she stalked up to him, whacking his hand to try to make him let go of Kenshin's ear. "Let him go!" In the course of hitting Hiko's hand (which didn't seem to have much effect on the man), she was also accidentally whacking Kenshin's head, and the poor man was soon going swirly-eyed and "Oro"-ing.

Kaoru was unprepared for the pat that Hiko gave her head and she blinked in surprise. 'Did he just…pat me on the head?!' Soujirou hid his sudden burst of laughter behind his hand, turning it into a cough as Kaoru went from surprised to furious in one second. Saitou leaned back against the wall to watch the pandemonium that he knew would ensue. 'Here we go again.' Somewhere in the hidden depths of the history of anime, a volcano erupted. At the same time, Kaoru erupted.

"You impertinent man! You walk into our headquarters without so much of a greeting, and then start insulting Kenshin and I, then you almost wrench his ear off without so much as an explanation as to why, and where on earth you think you're dragging him, and then you pat me on the head as if I'm some kind of pet! I won't stand for it! Just who on earth do you think you are, you-you-you weirdo!" Kaoru fumed angrily at him, as she continued to pummel her fists into his arm, trying to make him let go of Kenshin. Hiko stared at her for a minute before bursting out into loud laughter, letting go of Kenshin's ear as he clutched at his sides, his great frame wracking with laughter as it echoed all around the house; the swirly-eyed assassin would have plummeted to the floor unceremoniously if Kaoru hadn't caught him before he fell. Everyone watched incredulously as the man continued to guffaw loudly. By the time his laughter had finally died down, Kenshin was scowling, rubbing at his ear painfully as Kaoru sat by his side, glaring at Hiko.

He flashed a grin at the room as he wiped the corners of his eyes with a finger; he had laughed so hard that tears had squeaked out. "That was the funniest thing that I ever heard." He glanced at Kenshin, nodding in approval as the usual arrogant look reappeared on his face. "I like this one. You've got good choice, baka-deshi. Feisty to the boot and has the skills to back it up too." Kenshin grumbled in warning. "Shishou…"

He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Whatever. We can talk about it later. Just get your katana and let's go already. There are many things that we have to catch up on, and your training is one of them. Now stop asking so many stupid questions so we can get a full day of training already, baka-deshi." Kenshin muttered a few choice words under his breath, shooting Kaoru an apologetic glance before getting up from the floor and making his way towards the stairs; when his shishou made up his mind, there was just no way of arguing with him. Kaoru followed him, curious.

"And where do you think you're going, tanuki-musume?" Saitou spoke for the first time since Kaoru's rant had come to an end. "I'm going with Kenshin." She replied automatically; it was a given now that both of them would spend as much time together as possible, and besides, she wanted to see how good Kenshin's shishou was.

"Well, you're staying here, and that's final." Kaoru stopped in mid-step as she turned to him in surprise. "I'm training you as well as the other two in the backyard. It won't kill you to be separated from him for a day anyway." *Puff* went the smoke. "Besides, I want to talk to you three alone, and we need to watch over your charges anyway." He gestured towards the two teenagers who were now sitting on a couch, watching the situation with interest.

Kaoru felt her shoulders slump slightly in disappointment. Quality time with Kenshin was hard to come by, especially since she spent half her time at school, and the other half of the time studying for the mid-term finals, which were coming up pretty soon. Her emotions floated through the silver cord towards Kenshin, and he gave her a mental hug, voice reassuring as he promised her that he would be back by nightfall before dinner. Gathering up a change of clothes and a black leather duster, he dumped them into a sports bag, grabbing his katana as he went along, closing the door to his room silently. He planted a kiss onto her upturned lips as he found her on the stairs, not caring that everyone downstairs was probably watching; they could stare for all he cared! If they thought he was being too open with his affections, well, that would be their problem wouldn't it? They were the ones who had interrupted his quality time with Kaoru. She responded by moving her lips along his, wrapping her arms around his neck momentarily before she drew back, smiling at him. He returned the smile and kissed her forehead before moving down the stairs back to the living room.

Sanosuke shook his head. "Geez. You guys aren't even married yet, and there's already all this lovey-doveyness. I don't even want to imagine what it'll be like when you guys finally tie the knot." Kenshin flashed him an innocent smile as he followed Hiko out the door.

"Ittekimasu."

"Itterasshai!" The chorus of voices answered him as he closed the door.

Hiko had already started off down the pebbly path without him and Kenshin jogged up towards his master, slowing down to keep pace alongside him as they walked on in silence. Neither master nor student had seen each other for eleven years, but now that they were walking alongside each other, they seemed to be at a loss as to what to say.

The older man was the first to break the silence. His voice was serious, devoid of any arrogance that was part of his usual demeanour. "I meant what I said back there. I like that girl. It's obvious that you two are a perfect match for each other and she's balancing you, just like you're balancing her." Kenshin didn't answer the statement, so he continued to speak. "She's nothing like Sakura (5)." Out of the corner of his eye, Hiko could see the muscles in his student's shoulders tense slightly at the mention of the name.

This time, Kenshin did speak, and his voice was soft and low. "Sakura-san was something else, that she was. And she didn't deserve what he did to her. But even if she were alive and well, it would change nothing. Kaoru is my HalfSoul and I am glad that I found her." Memory was a bitch sometimes. Kenshin had met Shigano Sakura in an alleyway back when he was 14 and had saved her from being gang-raped. She had fainted and he had had no choice but to bring her back to the little cottage that he stayed in with Hiko. His relationship with Sakura had been purely platonic, but he had only known her for two weeks before she wound up been killed by the Bakufu. "And I won't let the same thing happen to her either."

Hiko nodded absentmindedly; he could hear the steel determination hidden within his student's tone, and sincerely hoped that Kenshin would be able to keep his words. He knew more than anyone else what Kenshin had been forced to go through during his teenage years, and how hard he had tried to keep himself together after the death of both Sakura and his sister. He had been broken once already, and now he had found a 'glue' so to speak, to keep him together, but if anything happened to Kaoru, it would be the last straw.

If anything happened to Kaoru, all hell would break loose. And this time, Kenshin might not be able to come back.

Although Hiko did enjoy throwing sarcastic barbs at his student, they both knew that he was only joking. The 'jokes' however, would not include his fragile form of sanity. Hiko hoped that it would stay that way, but if things were happening like Katsura said, it would be hard pressed to keep things as they were.

A smirk returned to Hiko's face once again as the men fell silent, reaching the edge of the forest.

'But we're definitely not going down without a fight.'

~*~

The sound of footsteps in a desolate hallway echoed loudly in the silence. A door opened, and the footsteps paused for a second before walking in. Yukishiro Enishi looked up from his desk to see his subordinate Gein standing there. Red eyes narrowed at the mask.

"It went well, I trust."

The masked figure bowed in reply. "The bomb was planted as per your orders sir. The van blew up right in front of their eyes."

An insane light seemed to give fire to Enishi's eyes as his face twisted into a sadistic smile. "Good. You may proceed to the second level of the plans." The figure bowed again. "Now get out." A moment later, Gein had left and Enishi's room was once again plummeted into darkness. Picking up a knife from his desk, he pressed a finger onto its sharp edge, watching as his blood welled up and flowed slowly down the knife. Satisfied, he brought the knife to his lips and his tongue flicked at the blood that had collected there. His red eyes seemed to burn and his grin bordered on demonic.

"The game is far from over, katzchen*."

~*~

The metallic screech of metal upon metal ended as Kaoru came to a halt two meters away from her uncle, kicking up soil and breathing heavily as she braced a hand upon the ground. Saitou held his katana out, seemingly unruffled and barely sweating as he approached his niece. The weak afternoon sunlight rebounded off his sword. She stood up quickly, taking a defensive stance as he suddenly leapt into action with Gatotsu, right hand splayed at the tip of his katana as he rushed towards her. Kaoru stood there unmoving until the last possible movement, ducking under the katana and bringing up her own in one fluid motion to clang against his. She was barely able to avoid the elbow that almost came down on her head and she rolled away to avoid it. Kaoru dusted herself off as Saitou wiped some sweat off his brow.

"Good. You need to work on your second line of defence though. You mustn't let your enemy have an opening that could very easily leave you headless if he's fast enough." Kaoru nodded; Saitou's training methods were hard and he often pounded you relentlessly, but you were all the better for it.

Yahiko and Tsubame stood near the house, watching as Saitou and Kaoru leapt into action again, becoming blurs to their untrained eyes. "Wow." The boy breathed. "They sure are fast. I wish I could learn to fight like that." Tsubame cocked her head sideways to look at him. "I'm sure Kaoru-san would be willing to teach you, Yahiko-kun." She blushed slightly as he smiled at her. "Nah, busu doesn't have enough time on her hands already as it is, having to deal with university and all the missions that come her way and stuff." He turned his head back to the fighters. "It would be pretty cool though."

"What would be cool?" Sanosuke rounded the corner of the house with Soujirou behind him, chest bare.

Yahiko shrugged, turning to the spiky-haired man. "If busu could teach me how to fight like that."

Sanosuke grinned. "I'm sure she would. Just ask her, Yahiko-chan!"

"Don't call me CHAN!" The boy protested in outrage. "Kaoru doesn't really have a lot of time though, and I don't want to eat up the little time that she barely has with Kenshin."

Soujirou smiled at the boy's consideration for his surrogate sister. "Well, I don't see why I couldn't teach you how to wield a bokken at least." The trio turned to look at him. "I won't teach you how to fight with a katana, but I can teach you how to defend yourself at least with a bokken." He continued to speak, a finger tapping his chin as he thought about something for a while. "Sanosuke could teach you to fight with bare knuckles alone, so you can build up your strength. You can learn too if you want, Tsubame."

"Really?!" Yahiko's eyes lit up at the sound of finally being able to have something to do all day rather than just bumming around the house a lot (6). The young girl nodded; she didn't have much to do either, other than helping Kenshin around the house with chores.

"Yup." Kaoru's voice came from behind them. "I'll teach you judo too. Kenshin would be glad to help you." She smiled at them. "Don't be afraid to ask Yahiko. I can always make time for you." The Empath's eyes softened considerably and he looked away to hide his embarrassment to mutter an almost inaudible "Thank you."

"Train now, bond later." Saitou's voice added to the mix. "All three of you take me on at once." They gaped at him. "You heard me." The trio walked away from the teenagers towards Saitou, taking up attacking stances immediately. Saitou stood stock-still in the middle, katana tip pointed towards the ground, eyes closed. Neither of them moved for a whole minute, and their eyes darted to each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. Kaoru nodded almost imperceptibly towards Sanosuke and they suddenly charged the man in the middle. Just before Kaoru's katana and Sanosuke's bugnuks connected with him, he seemed to blur slightly and he disappeared from in front of them to stand behind them.

Kaoru was agile enough to spin around almost instantly and she brought up her katana to meet Saitou's, their blades clanging as he bore down upon her. Sanosuke on the other hand, was not as fast, and Saitou landed a hard kick in the middle of his back, sending him sprawling on the ground to eat the proverbial dust as the ex-street fighter muttered profanities. Kaoru spared him an unholy grin before turning her attention back to her uncle, watching Soujirou suddenly appear behind her uncle, bringing up his arm to strike down hard into his shoulder. Saitou continued to bore down hard on her sword when suddenly the resistance disappeared as Kaoru blurred before him. His eyes widened too late as his hand touched the ground and he spun around to find two katanas at his throat, the twins grinning at him as they high-fived each other. He granted them a rare smile before snapping a leg out to sweep their feet out from underneath them. The twins leapt upwards to avoid it and Saitou was soon standing again as the three assassins stood around him with their weapons poised to attack. Saitou shook his head, sheathing his katana, signalling the end of their training.

"That's enough for today." He looked at each of them in turn. "I'm glad that none of you have lost your edge, but as for tori-atama---" he bestowed a sardonic grin on Sanosuke. "You've got to work on your agility there."

"I'm leaving now." He turned his back on them and reached to the floor to grab his jacket which he had disposed off on the floor when he had started training them. He stopped abruptly, turning around to meet Kaoru's eyes. "A word with you, tanuki-musume." Kaoru nodded and complied, walking after Saitou. They soon disappeared into from the others' sight and he started talking.

"You'd do well to keep your eyes open for any signs of trouble, Kaoru." She looked up at him sharply; he never used her name unless he was really serious about something. "We have reason to believe that the Bakufu has been interfering with some of our activities, and that that something has targeted your beloved chibi-gaki." Kaoru opened her mouth to ask but his eyes flicked to her and she closed it. "His past isn't exactly tidy, if you get what I mean and Katsura thinks that someone from his past is hell-bent on revenge, and you might be targeted as well." They reached the edge of the forest and he turned to face her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Just be careful." He turned and bent to lift the foliage.

"Thanks, oji-san." Kaoru smiled at him, and the quirk of his lips turned up in return before he disappeared from the kekkai of the Black Dawn headquarters to rejoin the world outside. Kaoru stood there on the edge of the kekkai, deep in thought, continuing to watch even though there was nothing left to see and her uncle was long gone.

If her uncle was worried then it was definitely a serious issue, and not something to overlook easily. It seemed that time was against her and Kenshin; she would have to ask him to tell her about his past pretty darned soon, so that she wouldn't be caught off guard if one of his old enemies turned up from nowhere.

Her eyes looked up to the skies in a plea. 'Kami-sama, mou sukoshi dake…' The blue sky matched her deep blue eyes, but offered no reply.

~*~

The sound of the waterfall crashing behind them barely hid the sounds of their swords clashing together in rapid blows. Kenshin and Hiko separated, swords still held in attack positions as they leapt from the ground to propel themselves high into the air, exchanging hard blows as they used the cliffs as stepping stones. Neither of the men held back any of their strength, but hit hard. They had changed into the traditional gi and hakama that they wore during training and Kenshin's blue gi was drenched in both sweat and water as he landed in the water. Hiko landed a second later, returning his katana into the saya and stepped into a battoujutsu stance, hand hovering over the hilt. Kenshin did the same, his eyes a mixed swirl of amethyst and amber, as he leaned into the stance. Silence reigned for two seconds before their figures blurred, swords meeting in a metallic clash again.

Hiko nodded his approval before sheathing his sword once again. "That's enough for now. Take a break before you collapse on me." Kenshin was thankful and nodded in acquiescence, dragging himself out of the pond and onto a nearby rock, sprawling upon it to look at the sky. Dark clouds were gathering; it would rain soon. It had been a long time since he had gotten such vigorous practice, and the match that he had had almost a month ago with Soujirou didn't compare to a training session with Hiko. As Kenshin rested on the rock, regaining his breath, Hiko swigged a mouthful of sake down, breathing a satisfactory hiss as the sake went down his throat. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he too sat down on another rock.

"I'm satisfied to see that you haven't forgotten all that I've taught you, baka-deshi." Kenshin threw his shishou a wilted glance; it was rather impossible to forget anything that Hiko taught because he literally whacked it into you to make you remember. The Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu master sipped his sake again before continuing. "I guess it's time to teach you the ougi." Kenshin's eyes widened in memory. His shishou had refused to teach him the ougi so many years ago when he had been assigned as one of the assassins of the Ishinshishi, claiming that he was still not ready to learn it. "You'll find that it's the one attack that covers both your attack and defense, and even if you don't manage to hit the blow, you'll have a second chance to attack your enemy." He got up from the rock and looked over his shoulder at Kenshin. "I'll see you back at the cottage. I expect to see you there in 5 minutes, baka-deshi." He left, leaving Kenshin behind with the roar of the waterfall.

The red head's thoughts were muddled as he wondered why his shishou had chosen now of all times to show up and train him again. His eyes narrowed slightly. It couldn't be a mere coincidence that one of their missions had been botched up two weeks ago, and then his shishou showed up out of nowhere after eleven years. Not to mention the fact that Katsura had been 'seeing' something lately. There was clearly something going on, and Kenshin planned to get to the bottom of it. Closing his eyes to the glaring sun, he allowed his clothes to dry a little before following the path that his master had taken back to the small cottage.

The assassin blinked as something was thrown his way when he opened the door, and he automatically caught it in one hand. To his surprise, it was a sword, and he looked at his master in question. Hiko gestured for him to draw the katana, and he did so. Kenshin blinked stupidly at the sword for a moment; there was definitely something wrong with it but he couldn't understand why. A glint of light that reflected off it soon showed him the answer and he found that the edge of the sword was reversed.

"Sakabatou?" He queried. 'What on earth is this for?' "Dou iu tsumori desuka, shishou?" Hiko got up from his little corner of the cottage, picking up his own sakabatou. "We're gonna train with sakabatous for the ougi." His eyes narrowed at his disciple. "Unless of course, you'd like to 'accidentally' die while learning it." He exited the cottage to stand aways from the house, Kenshin trailing him. "For every style of kenjutsu that exists, there are nine points of attack or defense; the head, shoulders, chest, arms, groin and knees." He gestured with the sheathed sakabatou as he explained. "The Kuzuryusen is used to attack all of those points simultaneously, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to defend all the nine points at once. The only way that you would be able to deflect all of the blows is if you move before the Kuzuryusen is executed. Watch and learn, baka-deshi. Don't move a muscle otherwise you'll suffer the consequences." He sheathed his sword and leaned into the familiar battoujutsu stance.

Kenshin's eyes widened as the full impact of the nine blows flashed by him at once, and he stumbled back slightly to keep himself from falling. Hiko was right; if he had been using his normal katana, and if Kenshin had even moved, he would have been dead by now. "Your turn now. My Kuzuryusen against yours." To any other person, Hiko's demand would seem overly ridiculous, considering that Kenshin had only seen the technique once, but to both master and disciple, it was a well-learned practice. After all, Kenshin couldn't possibly have learned all of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu in just two years if Hiko hadn't pushed him hard enough.

Both men held their swords out, waiting for the right time to move. Their sakabatous flashed in the sunlight as they drew their blades, movement unseen, swords held in finishing stabs. Kenshin hit the ground a second later, coughing hard and dry retching; Hiko on the other hand, just turned to face his baka-deshi, seemingly unperturbed by the Kuzuryusen that Kenshin had just dealt him. He once again sheathed his sword.

"Very good. It is not that your Kuzuryusen was done incorrectly, but rather, you do not have the strength that I have to back it up. If you'd just allow yourself to build up more muscles on your frame, then you'd be able to match your Kuzuryusen against mine." The trademark arrogant smirk lit his face. "I can see that it's far from likely though. The only thing that can cancel out the Kuzuryusen is the Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki." Kenshin had recovered from the blows and he was standing up now, albeit some slight shakiness. "We'd better finish off the ougi now, or your woman will have my head for keeping you for so long." Kenshin blinked, still not quite recovered from the blows of the Kuzuryusen. 'Eh? Wasn't that the ougi?'

Seeing the surprised look on Kenshin's face, he answered the question that he knew his disciple wanted. "The Kuzuryusen was not the ougi, baka-deshi. It was merely a technique that was created while trying to achieve the final goal of the ougi. Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki is the real thing. However, the Kuzuryusen is the step towards achieving the ougi. If you think about it hard enough, you'll be able to find out the connection between the two. Before we start though, let me ask you something." The sky rumbled and then the rain fell upon them.

"What do you fight for? Who do you fight for?" Kenshin was unprepared for the questions; it was the last thing that he thought Hiko would ask. They had been through this line of speech before, and Kenshin knew better than to recite something; Hiko was looking for an answer that came straight from his heart.

"For the ones who live in ignorant bliss. For the ones who need protection. For the ones who suffer. To clear the streets of the filth and muck that desecrate Japan." His eyes burned. "I fight for my team. And for Kaoru."

Hiko smiled in reply. It was déjà vu all over again; it seemed that Kenshin's values still held true; he had given much the same answers when he had asked the question eleven years ago. "Ah yes, the girl. How much would you be willing to give up for her?" Hiko knew the answer already, but maybe, just maybe, his baka-deshi would for once, prove him wrong.

"My life." 'Or not.' "And if you died now for her?"

"It would be worth it." Came the reply.

Hiko would have slapped his palm against his head if Kenshin had not been there. 'He's making the same mistake again.' Instead, he offered no reply. "I see. You really are a baka-deshi." His dark eyes hardened; once again, his baka-deshi would have to learn it the hard way. He turned his back on Kenshin, leaving the red head gaping in shock. "Shishou?" His cloak swept around him as he turned to face Kenshin, features hardened in slight anger. "You aren't ready to master the Ama Kakeru Ryuu no Hirameki yet. You still haven't found what's holding you back." He turned his back on Kenshin once again, walking back towards the cottage. "I'll give you time to find what it is that's holding you back. But if you still can't discover what it is, you'll not only be a failure to me, but also your friends and yourself. And even the ones who you choose to protect."

The door to the cottage snapped shut as the rain continued to pour down upon Kenshin, once again drenching him thoroughly. 'What is holding me back?' He wondered. Time seemed to be repeating itself again, as if caught in a loophole; the same questions being asked, the same answers given. So it was that he stood there for three hours, stiff in his thoughts.

~*~

Hiko looked up through the windows of his cottage; sunlight was filtering in, and the rain had stopped. 'Has he figured it out yet? Does he finally understand what's holding him back?'. It was time for both master and disciple to find out. He grabbed the sakabatou from its corner and made his way out the door to find Kenshin in the same spot that he had left him in. His boots sank into the muddy puddles as he approached the red head.

"Have you discovered what is holding you back?" Kenshin shook his head in reply, red bangs clinging to his face.

"No."

The burly man flung his signature white cloak off, allowing it to flutter into a puddle; he could just send it to the drycleaners' later. "I can give you the questions, but can you understand and answer them? If you cannot even answer the question of life, then you will never be able to face your past and its demons. As your master, this is my last duty to you." Hiko's slipped his sword out of its saya, boots splashing into the puddle as he moved towards Kenshin.

Kenshin stepped back involuntarily as Hiko approached. 'Am I afraid of Hiko Seijurou? Or am I merely afraid of the death that I see behind him?' Kenshin shook his head mentally. 'But how can that be? Throughout all my years of being an assassin, I have never been afraid of death; rather, I longed for an end to my life so that I could be sane again.' He watched as Hiko charged him, ready to perform the Kuzuryusen.

'What is it that I'm missing? What is it that I lack?' Hiko was silent as he executed the Kuzuryusen against Kenshin. The red head sucked in a lungful of air. Suddenly it seemed so clear as memories flashed by his eyes, encompassing the map of his life and the people that had been fundamental to it. Katsura, Tomoe, Hiko, Takasugi, Sakura, Aoshi, Saitou, Tsubame, Misao, Yahiko, Sanosuke, Soujirou; all their images flashed before his eyes, and finally overlapping them was Kaoru's smiling face.

In that moment he found his answer.

His right hand leapt to the hilt of his sword and he uttered a loud kiai as he unsheathed it against Hiko, cancelling out the impacts of the Kuzuryusen and drawing a deep trench-like mark into his master's chest before landing gracefully where his master had started off, katana still drawn back in the thrust that it had ended with. Hiko smiled as he sheathed his sword, wincing painfully at the blow that Kenshin had left on his body as he turned around to face his disciple.

"Good. You finally understood. If you think that dying for your girl would make her happy, then think again. How would she fare in this world without you? If you think that you'd be able to leave your duty to this world behind when you died, then think again. How would you be able to protect those innocents if you left it? Do you think that you'd be able to make amends to the world if you're dead? All the answers to those questions are no, and you know it. So stop trying to throw your life away as if it's a useless piece of paper, and live, baka-deshi, LIVE!" The long speech took the last of his energy that he had been using to stand, and he slumped forward into the puddle he had been standing in.

"Shishou!" Kenshin hurriedly rushed towards his fallen master, helping him up and dragging him back to the cottage. As soon as they got in, Kenshin helped his master move to the futon before rummaging through the cupboards for medicine. When he finally found it along with bandages, he turned back to find that his master had seemingly dropped asleep. He applied the medicine to the wound carefully, trying not to wake Hiko up; the 13th master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu master of course, woke up without his disciple even knowing it.

"Go 'way back to your girl. I can finish this off on my own." Kenshin stared momentarily at his master who was now awake, opening his mouth to protest. "I said 'Shoo!' or do you not even understand a simple word, baka-deshi?"

"But shishou, your wound!"

"I said out! Off with you before she gets worried! And take the sakabatou with you!" Glancing at his master again, Kenshin moved past him to grab his bag and katana, still holding the sakabatou, before making to leave the cottage.

"Oi. Matte." He turned to regard his shishou. "You'd better tell that girl about your past as soon as you get home. Something ugly is brewing and if you don't want her to be defenceless when the attacks start, then you'd better tell her. Saitou definitely won't forgive you if you lie to her, and you know that." The red head nodded silently. "Now scoot, I don't want to see you again unless you're getting married!"

As Kenshin made his way down from the hills, he pondered hard on his master's words. It was truly necessary to tell Kaoru of his past because there was no knowing when Enishi would rear his head again to take revenge on him for screwing up his plans so many years ago. His eyes narrowed in anger and turned a slight amber. 'If he even dares lay a hand on Kaoru, he will pay.'

But for now, he would have to settle for telling his HalfSoul his past, and he only hoped that she wouldn't be scared of him when he finally finished his tale. The sun started its descent as he left the hills, making his way towards the train station.

Dictionary

Baka-deshi – Literally means 'idiot pupil/disciple'. Hiko's lil' nickname for his beloved pupil.

Ishinshishi – group that Black Dawn works for

Ki – aura

Shishou – master. What Kenshin calls Hiko.

Koishii – beloved. What guys call their girlfriend or wife.

Ojisan – uncle

Chibi-gaki – literally means 'little brat'. Saitou's nickname for Kenshin.

Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu – Kenshin and Hiko's style of kenjutsu.

Tori-atama – Rooster head; Sano's nickname

Busu – Ugly, hag. Yahiko's nickname for Kaoru.

Tanuki-musume – Racoon girl; Saitou's nickname for Kaoru.

Ittekimasu – what you usually say when you leave the house in Japan. Translates loosely to 'I'm leaving now.'

Itterasshai – Reply to 'Ittekimasu'. Translates loosely to 'Have a good trip.'

Kekkai – mmm…something like a ward. As in like, witchy type of ward, not like hospital wards. If you get what I mean.

Kami-sama, mou sukoshi dake - God, please give us some more [time]. Did you know there's a drama series called this in Japan? It was really good too.

Gi – tadah! What Kenshin wears in the manga and the anime. The shirt thingy. Blah, can't be bothered to explain it.

Hakama – according to the dictionary I have: 'man's formal divided skirt'. ^^;; but we all know that it's the 'pants' that Kenshin wears in the manga and anime.

Kuzuryusen – Literally means 'Nine-headed Dragon Flash'. Technique in Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu

Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki – Literally means 'Heaven Flight Dragon's Inspiration'. Ultimate technique of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu.

Ougi – secret, mystery. In the context of sword-fighting, an ougi is the final, hardest and strongest technique of any kenjutsu style to master.

Dou iu tsumori desuka? – What do you mean?

Sakabatou – Reverse-edged sword that Kenshin uses in the manga and anime.

Oi – Hey (informal and rude male way of calling somebody.)

Matte – Wait

Notes:

*katzchen - German for kitten! ^^ SchuSchu uses this a lot in Schwarz; he refers to Weiss as kittens. o_O

(1) Tadah! Yup, there is indeed a way to block the visions of a Seer (at least in this fic it exists!). The blocker (so to speak) of a Seers visions has to either be a) a Seer himself; b) a very strong telepath who can build mental shields around that part of a Seer's mind, thus blocking off the visions.

(2) Black Dawn headquarters and kinda…um…sectioned off from the world, I guess you could say. A kekkai covers it, which is like a ward of protection that shields/hides it so that ordinary people won't be able to find it. In this fic, you've got to know that there's a kekkai in the place, and you've got to know exactly where the 'opening spot' is, before you can enter it.

(3) Tadah! The phrase 'patchwork family' was borrowed from sayochama's fic, "Patchwork Family". Good story, go read!

(4) Hiko-itis. ^^;; lol, couldn't help myself. Allergy to Hiko? Eheheeh

(5) Shigano Sakura. An OC created; part of Kenshin's past. Ah, you'll find out all about her when I finally finish working on this fic and start work again on the prequel to it. Until then, ya'll shall be left in the darkness! XD Mwahahha~

(6) No school for Yahiko or Tsubame. They get some form of home-schooling from Kenshin, because it's too dangerous for both of them to go to school, what with the Bakufu after them all the time.

A/N: God! That took forever to write! _ Urrrrrrrgh. Can't be bothered to beta-read the whole thing all over again, coz I'm darned tired now! Ker-ist! That's 8162 words for ya'll, and my eyes hurt now! As you can see, Kenshin has now learned the Kuzuryusen and Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki. I was watching the episode to that while writing this chapter, and fine-tuned it slightly to match my purposes for this fic. Now you know who the culprit was who sabotaged the van! -_- Never knew that it would take this long to write though. Yuck. Never writing 5000+ words in one shot ever again! My brain cells will be screwed for all eternity! Anyway, hoped that you enjoyed this more light-hearted chapter and I'll see ya'll in the next!