Author's Notes: Wwweeellllllllll. IF I DON'T GET [i]SOME[/i] REVIEWS I'M NOT UPDATING!!! I just want to know that some people are actually reading this story... But I really want people to review. I don't care if it's a flamer either, it's still a review! Even if it is a flamer, but if it is really bad I will flame you right back... and trust me it won't be pretty...

Sano: oh trust me... She can be one cruel authoress sometimes!

Another Chance at Life By Weasel1029 (rokinevilweasel@hotmail.com)

*****Chapter 7 ~ Getting Started*****

Ajisai woke that morning with a head ache. 'Hm, maybe it's the fact that I fell from the tree I was sleeping in... I hope Kujiro made breakfast, damn I'm hungry!'

Ajisai's stomach whined in protest when she walked into the kitchen to find nothing... (A/N:*cricket, cricket* Sorry I had to...) Ajisai pouted, she wasn't used to making breakfast herself. She nearly burned down the apartment that Kujiro and her shared when they worked together. Let's just say that Kujiro never let Ajisai go into the kitchen unsupervised again. Ajisai didn't feel like doing anything else at the moment and started to pick out the twigs from her hair since they were still there from falling down.

"What happened to you," Sano asked.

Ajisai frowned, "I fell out of the tree I was sleeping in."

Sano cracked up, "You [i]sleep[/i] in trees?!"

"They are rather comfortable once you get used to them."

"What losers sleep in trees?"

"Oh stop giving me reasons to hurt you," Ajisai replied in a flat tone.

The change in Sano's face surprised Ajisai. At first she thought that it was because of her threat but there was an underlying meaning to it. Ajisai wanted to find out what the subtle smugness in his face was about, "What is it?"

"I know about Kujiro."

Ajisai cocked her eyebrow, 'Well, there is more than one secret that Kujiro and I have. Maybe he just knows that she wasn't just a man slayer in Kyoto... Well I wasn't either. But I'm sure she wouldn't tell him that she was a wicca this early... Kami-sama (God) she better not have.'

"And what did Kujiro tell you exactly Sano?" Ajisai asked with interest.

"About her magic and stuff..."

Ajisai was shocked. 'Was she really that stupid to tell him like that?!'

"Why would Kujiro tell YOU?!"

Sano was a little offended by that. 'why does everyone think I'm an idiot?'

"Why wouldn't she?"

"She's smarter that THAT."

"Hey, I'm not stupid, you loser."

Ajisai just rolled her eyes, "I mean she's not as stupid to go blabbing all her secrets to people she doesn't know. Even rooster heads."

Sano HATED that stupid nickname! She didn't' even know him and she already was calling him a rooster head, "Don't say that!"

"Oooohhh. Touchy? Well then Rooster head..." She blocked out his rants and went into thought. "Kujiro is clever, she must have not had the right amount of time to get herself out of it as she always does.' She smirked remembering Kujiro getting her out of trouble,

~*~ ~*~

[i] Ajisai looked through the food stores they ship had. None of the blood from her victims got on the food, Kujiro was up on deck checking that all were dead. She sensed Kujiro coming down.

"They're all dead." She said in a flat voice with no emotion what-so- ever as though she was talking about the weather.

Ajisai looked at her. Kujiro's hands had blood on them and her outfit was stained with it. But you couldn't tell since it was black and it just looked wet unlike hers. She had blood stains on her grey hakama and black gi. Something in Kujiro's face said something was wrong.

"What is it?"

Kujiro's eyes were grey, not good. She icily replied, "We attacked the wrong ship."

Ajisai's eyes widened. 'Death.' The penalty for attacking the wrong ship. "Wait are you sure?!"

Kujiro nodded her head, "But there can be a way out of this whole thing..."

Ajisai doubted that, "Yeah what would that be?!"

"It's rather simple, we just get paint and repaint over the ship title giving it a name of another ship."

"Where are we going to get the paint genius?"

"Ships always have paint to repair war damages no baka."

"Oh! Good idea!"

They found letter tracers (A/N: I have no clue what they are called) and paint. They hung off the boat and painted the letters to say, "Santa Maria."

~*~

The inspector came around, every one hated the bastard. He was a very critical man. Ajisai hated the fact that he yelled at them when they didn't have a clean cut. Who was HE to criticize?! He wasn't even a swordsman. She could kill him and no one would care, they would probably congratulate her. But her contract was for about another year. Kujiro and her had both agreed to not re-sign the contract and travel around the world. Maybe even being fighters-for-hire when they needed money.

The inspector's critical eyes examined the dead men. Ajisai was thrown off when he smiled. "These cuts, they are nice and clean, but..." He looked over board to look at the ships name to make sure they got the right enemy ship. Oddly, the paint was wet. Suspicion grew as he examined it a little longer. "Why is the ships name wet? The paint is fresh, I can smell it."

Ajisai stood hiding all emotions, but she was panicking. Thankfully Kujiro had a response,

"Oh, it was like that when we got on board Sir. You see I guess pirates attacked them and they had to repair the ship. So they probably just patched that part of the ship up." Kujiro sounded as she did before. Emotionless, Ajisai could tell that she was making it up as she went. She had worked along with her for a long time and had a sense when she was lying, not many could. She had a creative mind that could think of excuses quickly; her ki was always calm when she did it. But there was a small change that only skilled swordsman could really tell. And her fellow colleges were not very skilled.

And the inspector took the bait, as excepted. Kujiro flipped him the finger when his back was turned. Ajisai stifled a laugh and waited for the inspector to be out of ear shot to laugh. Kujiro cracked a smile as well and was soon laughing. Why they were laughing? Maybe because the inspector was so stupid, or that they almost died...[/i]

~*~ ~*~

Sano was annoyed; Ajisai wasn't listening to what he was saying or his rants about her being dead. The far away look in her eyes was pissing him off.

"AJISAI!"

"What?!" She snapped back.

"You were day dreaming!"

"Oh Kami-sama, I'm getting like Kujiro day dreaming... But why did she tell YOU?!"

"I found a letter."

Ajisai smiled evilly, 'Oh, THAT letter! Man! I wish I was there! It would have been hilarious!' Ajisai started to laugh at the thought. She couldn't help it.

Sano was a little weirded out by this girl, 'Man is she weird.'

Kenshin walked out to see a hunched over Ajisai and a slightly urked out Sano. Kenshin smiled, but it soon turned into a frown realizing that he couldn't sense Kujiro-dono's ki any where.

"Ajisai-dono where is Kujiro-dono?"

"Oh she is out doing stuff."

"What [i]stuff[/i]?

"Oh, well Kenshin you see-"

"Urusai baka tori atama!" (Shut up idiot rooster head) Ajisai yelled.

This only increased Kenshin's curiosity. They were hiding something about Kujiro's where-a bout's.

"Where is Kujiro-dono?" this time his voice was a little stern.

Ajisai sighed. She didn't really know where Kujiro was but she had an idea, probably Nochinoyo. 'I might as well tell them while she is gone.'

"Kenshin-san, you should get Yahiko, and Kaoru here, then I'll tell you."

Now Kenshin was totally confused and let a soft oro escape his lips.

When everyone was there, Ajisai got apprehensions. Would they accept her? Would they accept them both?

"Alright, I'm not gonna sugar coat this. That's just not the way I am. You see Kujiro is a Wicca and I am a demon. Kujiro was taken by her master to Nochinoyo where she grew up, and learned the sword and magic. I am a water demon; I'm about 500 years old... I lost count. So you can let us stay here, we pose no threat to you. If you let us stay here we will both be very thankful, if not, it was nice knowing ya."

Yahiko, Kaoru, and Kenshin were all confused on how to respond.

"Wait, that's impossible! I mean, isn't it Kenshin?!" Kaoru didn't know what to do.

"Ajisai-dono isn't lying Kaoru-dono."

Sano was in shock that Ajisai was a demon, but wasn't so sure that he could not believe her after what Kujiro showed him. "It's true. Kujiro showed me, it was amazing. She spoke some ancient language and a fire appeared in her palm. She then made it get bigger and go black and spelled out my name in the fire, then she made it disappear... it was amazing!"

Ajisai raised her eyebrow in interest, "Kujiro did that trick with me too."

"That's awesome! I hope Kujiro can teach me!" Yahiko exclaimed. Since Kenshin wasn't going to teach him his sword style, maybe Kujiro would teach him her magic... That would be awesome.

"Don't get your hopes up kid," Sano replied.

Yahiko growled, "I'M NOT A KID YOU ROOSTER HEAD!"

"Oh really? I could have sworn that no grown ups are half my size."

Yahiko had enough and was on Sano's head in an instant chewing on Sano's hair.

"Yuck your hair tastes horrible!"

Ajisai started to crack up over this.

"Well maybe you shouldn't be chewing on it!"

Yahiko ignored him and continued to chew on Sano's poor head.

Ajisai's stomach growled, and a little loud at that. Everyone heard it.

"Oro!"

"Well I'm hungry! I need some food for my demon stomach!"

Kaoru didn't know why this had to happen to her... why her? "It's more company right? You defiantly won't be alone anymore!'

"Hey! Kenshin can I try to make dinner tonight?!"

"Um. Jou-chan, do you want to wait for Kujiro to come back and cook dinner?"

Kaoru looked at him chibi form with tears streaming down her face, "Are you saying that Kujiro is better than me?"

"Oro, Kaoru-dono, why don't you make dinner tonight alright?"

Kaoru smiled brightly at Kenshin and he smiled right back his famous rurouni smile.

Ajisai whispered to Sano, "Is she a bad cook or something?"

"Lets just say that if you want to keep your taste buds, don't eat too much of it."

"Yeah, busu's cooking is horrible, I don't want Kujiro to leave the dojo during meal hours anymore!"

Kujiro got back to see Ajisai, Sano and Yahiko whispering with Yahiko on Sano's head.

"Well, Yahiko, you make a nice decoration on Sano's head. Where do you think I could get one," Kujiro joked.

"Kujiro! Go stop Busu from cooking! I like being able to taste stuff!"

"Yahiko! Her cooking can't be that bad!"

Sano chuckled, "Oh just you wait."

Ajisai just looked at Kujiro to see a wrapped package in her arms, "What's [i]that[/i]?!"

"Ingredients."

"So you are going to stop busu from cooking! You were just caught up in the streets, ne?!"

"Sorry Yahiko. It's a different kind of ingredients."

Ajisai understood what Kujiro meant, "What spell are you going to perform that you need ingredients?"

Kujiro looked at Ajisai as though she lost her head, "Ajisai have you forgotten that there are others here?!"

"Oh we already know, hey can I see that fire trick you showed Sano?!" Yahiko exclaimed.

"Ajisai," Kujiro said in a dangerous voice.

"Hai?" Ajisai replied innocently.

"Run, before I can catch you."

"MEEP!"

With that Ajisai ran off.

~*~

Kujiro lit the essences in her room until the perfumed aroma filled the room. Kujiro then meditated praying to the gods to go easy on her when she performed the sarai. She had never performed it on a human and hoped she wouldn't die in the process.

She also extended her power to an extent that left her very tired and weak to bother trying to find out were Sagara was buried, feeling exhausted she went to sleep.

~*~

Kaoru sat on the porch of the dojo and looked at the stars. It relaxed her but reminded her of her father. They used to look at the stars and try to count how many there where. It was a way to get her tired and in bed, since Kaoru wanted to stay up with him. After about 100 Kaoru would start to nod off. Tears came to her eyes when she remembered this. Kami-sama she missed him so much. But at least she was no longer alone, she had Kenshin, Sano, Yahiko, Ajisai and Kujiro. Why was Kaoru so reluctant to accept them? She accepted the hitokiri battousai without a thought, why was she holding their pasts against them? Was it because they were women? Was it because she was jealous of Kenshin locking the door and speaking with them? He did that with Megumi too, how she hated it.

"Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin's soft voice called out to her, like a flowing river, the words just rolled off his tongue.

"Hai Kenshin?"

"Is there something wrong Kaoru-dono?"

'Well lets see, I hate 2 people for no reason, I have a lot of stress on me right now... I must be great!'

"I'm fine Kenshin, I just wanted to look at the stars," She sighed once again remembering her father and once again tears welled in her eyes.

"Kaoru-dono, you are crying," He wiped away her tears with the pad of his thumb. He looked into Kaoru's surprised eyes and saw her emotions, confusions, anger, loneliness, and sadness. It hurt him to see all these emotions take their toll on her.

"My father and I used to look up at the stars and try to count them," A few more tears streamed her face, "and we would always try to count them all."

Kenshin sat down next to Kaoru and put his arm around her to comfort her until she fell asleep. Not realizing that he himself fell asleep too.

~*~

Kujiro woke at the crack of dawn and looked at the mesh of colors. Oranges, pinks, purples, reds, and some blue spots were there were no clouds. She stretched and walked out of her room. She could probably train before Ajisai got too hungry.

~*~

Sano woke in his apartment, and his stomach growled signaling his morning visit to the dojo. He always walked through the town past all the vendors ignoring their cries of things for sale. 'They actually think that I have the money.'

He was walking along the bridge over the river when he saw a girl in the river with a sword. She looked like she was practicing; her long black hair was in the water and being pulled by the semi-calm rapids. 'She must be strong to be practicing in there... hey is that-?'

The girl looking up at him smiled and waved, "Hey Sano!"

"Oh hey Kujiro, what are you doing in the river?!"

"I'm training no baka!" She jumped high into the air and landed safely on shore.

"Oh, but why in the river?!"

"No baka, it helps me become faster. But I need to talk to you after breakfast."

"About what," Sano suspiciously asked.

"Oh, stuff, like Captain Sagara for that matter. But I gotta go make breakfast before Ajisai gets to hungry..." She sped off in the direction of the dojo.

~*~

Ajisai woke up to a weird feeling on her face. It felt shiny yet rough, weirdly enough when she opened her eyes... 'Grass.'

"WHY do UI fall out of the trees?! Is it that hard to stay in them for a whole night?!" She rubbed her cheek to feel that there were imprints of grass. 'Great just great, Kujiro is gonna get a laugh outta this one.'

She walked into the kitchen to see Kujiro making rice balls. Ajisai knew that Kujiro sensed her.

When Kujiro saw Ajisai's face she giggled.

"Urusai (shut up)."

"Nice face."

"Urusai."

"I assume you didn't last the night in the tree, ne?"

"Just urusai."

Kujiro smirked at Ajisai's glare, "Well breakfast is ready."

~*~

After breakfast Kujiro meet with Sano near the river.

"What did you want to tell me?"

"I need to know where your Captain was buried."

"Your going to bring him back?!"

"I owe him a life debt, it's the only way I can repay him."

"A life debt?! You saw him recently?!"

"Oh, yeah. He warned me that a demon was throwing a knife at me while I was fighting another demon. I owe him his death and he is a good person, or so they say in his files."

"Files?"

"Yeah, every person who dies has a file. Some times the thugs down there get a hold of them, that's were I got the information from. I then arrested the idiot because of other illegal stuff he had."

"You're a police officer?!"

"Not really, I just help the government, but we need to get Sagara's body. So we will leave today unless you have other plans."

"So soon?"

"Would you rather wait 10 years?! Yes! Now! C'mon, I wanna know if Ajisai would like to come."

~*~

When Kaoru woke up Kenshin wasn't there. She found him in the kitchen reading a letter.

"Who's it from Kenshin?"

"Kujiro-dono."

"Why would she send a letter if she lives here?!"

"She left it behind for us to read, here read it."

Kaoru took the letter form him and began to read,

[i]Dear Kaoru, Kenshin, and Yahiko,

Consider yourselves lucky, Sano, Ajisai, and I have gone on a trip. I will tell you more about it when we return, but have a week free of Sano's free loading. Get Megumi to come over when we get back as well, we will need her.

Kujiro [/i]

"What is she talking about?!"

"I don't know Kaoru-dono that I don't."

~*~

The week went on as a usual one would before Kujiro and Ajisai came. Kenshin would do the laundry, Yahiko would practice and make fun of her; she would run and chase him. Scolding him and giving him extra chops. Kenshin would make dinner and Kaoru would clean around the dojo with Yahiko's help.

The end of the week came and just as they promised they came back with a huge package, enough for a full grown man to fit inside. What made Kaoru fill with anger was that they refused to say what it was until morning. It gave off some stench too, she tried to get them to put it outside, but Kujiro said that she needed, "to prepare it, or it won't work." So Kaoru couldn't' fall asleep that night because of her pure curiosity of what was inside the damn bag.

Author's Notes: I fixed the whole, 4 and a-half-chapters on one page!!! ^_^ God, I hope your smart enough to know what's inside the bag... now remember, click the button down there and review. Or I won't post chapter 8. I only want like 5 or so, its not that hard!!! But if I didn't thank you for your review since I know I missed someone but when I went to look for that person the email wasn't there!!! I AM SOOO SORRY!!! Don't think that I missed you, you were the only reviewer that REALLY gave me a nice review... except Crystal Renee but then again she is the editor person... Ja ne minna-san!

Weasel ^o^