Changing

Disclaimer: I do not own RK in anyway.

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Aoshi-kun...: Well, it should be addressed to my Aoshi-nee-chan. Yes... I'm sorry. But you're my older brother!

Everyone stared in surprise.

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Sano blinked.

Misao blinked.

Yahiko blinked twice.

Kenshin... stood... staring off into space.

Megumi seemed to regain her composure after awhile and urged Aoshi to finish reading.

"There is a drop of blood on the letter..." he stated quietly.

Kenshin's eyes widened but before he could get his hands on the letter Aoshi began to read again.

Ack!! Don't mind the blood. Ayame and Suzume's stupid cat bit me!! I'm wondering how the cat- Mou!! I'm getting off the subject.

Well, Aoshi-san. You're probably... well, most likely wanting an explanation... I... Uhh... yeah... That's why letters are so handy... I don't exactly have to be there to tell you. See. Umm... Ja!!

P.S. I want to see all of you when I get back. I don't exactly know how long my training is going to take... I hope you will be there... I know it's asking a lot of you Misao, but I... You're like a little sister to me... And I hope your face is one of the first I see when I get back to Tokyo. And you guys better keep the dojo clean!!

I love you all!!

Kaoru Kamiya, Assistant Master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu.

"Oi. Did she really expect us to stay at this dojo? Waiting for her?" Sano smirked.

"I'm one step ahead of you rooster!" Misao yelled as she ran out the door.

And only a moment later, silence greeted the dojo.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* (A/N: I understand that this will be a big skip, but I really want to get down to business!!)

3 weeks later.

Kenshin sat there... doing absolutely nothing. Misao seemed half dead. Yahiko seemed drained of emotion. Aoshi sat there... waiting for his sister to come back... and give him answers. Megumi, after failing to do the simplest of the tasks, got vacation from Gensai-sensei, saying that she needed some time off, that she was too young and needed to enjoy life. Sanosuke was chewing on his fishbone, no smirk gracing his features or any childish gleam in his eyes.

And this... was how the residents of Kamiya dojo lived.

Ahh... There was three other resident that just moved in.

Hajime Saitou.

He insisted on it after he discovered that his wife, to the shock of others that he had one, and Kaoru was missing. Together. (A/N: By the way... if you didn't get it yet, Tokio IS Hajime Saitou's wife.)

Daily, before and after work, or even during work, he would come check out to dojo, seeing if his wife was there. He also slept in the Kamiya Dojo.

Tae and Tsubame also lived in the dojo. After hearing the news about her, they chose it. Tae was secretly hurt that Kaoru would not write her a note but despair and the melancholy of losing her took place of the hurt. They would get up early in the morning to attend to Akabeko, and it was Tae who did all the cooking and 'womanly' jobs.

Tsubame tried to cheer up Yahiko. She really did. But he didn't seem to have the sparkle that he always had. He forced a smile on his face when she was around but that's not what she wanted. She wanted to share his joys and agonies. Tsubame had known Kaoru, not much, but enough to know that she was very loved in the, Kenshin-gumi, as Yahiko-kun puts it. But now that she was gone to some God forsaken place, it seemed no one wanted to smile anymore.

Surprise. Surprise. No laughter rang in the Dojo anymore. No 'Busu' rang through the halls. No 'Kenshin-no-baka!!" rang, and the sound of bokken cracking skulls were heard.

No nothing.

"This is stupid." Yahiko stated dryly, as he did every few minutes.

"What is stupid?" Misao asked back, with just as much enthusiasm.

"I don't know."

"Baka..."

"Weasel..."

"…"

"Misao." Aoshi called out to her.

"Yes, Aoshi-sama?"

"We're leaving... Now. I will not let ourselves sit here, dreading the next day, when the sun will rise. Just waiting and hoping for the moment that she would come back!"

Misao looked shocked.

"I'm not leaving."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me Aoshi. I'm not leaving."

Everyone gasped.

Then Misao took a deep breath before continuing, "I will wait! I didn't see her but she trusts me!! I will wait for her!!"

Then she huffed into her makeshift room.

Aoshi stood there, looking shocked. But he did stay at the dojo, also waiting for our favorite raccoon girl.

3 months later since Kaoru left.

For the residents of the Kamiya Dojo.

If you wish to see your tanuki-cha, you will fight me.

Midnight. At the dojo. Do not fall asleep. I will visit you.

That was it. No signature. No nothing. It wasn't even addressed to a single person. So they waited, all of them awake...

Waiting...

Then he came.

He laughed like a crazy maniac. It was actually more of a giggle.

Dressed in black, hiding in the shadows.

"Who will I fight?" the voice chanted over and over.

Kenshin took a step forward. "I will fight you. But this is your last chance, give up Kaoru-dono and you may leave with your life."

Then the person giggled again.

"But why? It would be sooooooo much fun to fight the Battousai. Not to mention, Zanza, Miburo and the two Okashiras." The voice cackled.

Misao bristled. "Don't make fun of me!"

"I'm not dear. I think it's so nice that women are in charge. Men are bakas after all and they need a woman to back them up. If you know what I mean!"

"I'm guessing we know this person's gender?" Aoshi said dryly.

"Any of you will do... I could really careless who I fight first. I will beat all of you."

"Now... I think that's pure stupidity don't you think?"

Then Yahiko looked around. "Who said that?" he asked out loud.

"I didn't..." Sano stated, then he looked around. Then he saw another shadow merging from the darkness.

"SOU!!" the fighter shrieked, hugging the person called Sou.

"Ahh... Yes... it is I! Nice to see you again! Also nice to see you, too, Himura-san. Saitou-san. Shinomori-san. Makimachi-san is also here too!"

The person called Sou surprised them all.

"Soujiro?" Kenshin asked weakly.

Soujiro bowed. "Hello, Himura-san! It's very nice to see you again! Is it not? By the way, is Kaoru-chan here?"

Soujiro did have a way of putting things in blunt.

Kaoru: That was only five pages.

Me: So what?

Kaoru: I didn't get to play a part in it.

Me: How do you know?

Kaoru: Are you saying that- that- that person is me?

Me: Maaaaaaaaaaybe!

Kaoru: You know... you're a liar. If it were me, how come Sou would have asked for me?

Me: Darn Kaoru!! Stop giving away hints!!

Kaoru: Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell, let's just call it bribing. They'll review!! Won't they? They better review!!

Me: They will review... If they want to see the next chapter anytime soon...

Kaoru: ((sweat drop)) please review!! I'd really like to see my self in the next chapter!!

Me: By the way, if you review a lot, I will upate within the week!!