Disclaimer: we don't own rurouni kenshin. Would be nice if we did…

Heh, long time no update. Been very busy, gomen nasai!

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            Sakura and Amaya ran back to Amaya's room and shoved the door shut. Sakura leaned against it and sighed.

            "Wow.." she said, smiling, "That was so much fun!" She giggled. "It's so much more exciting to practice when there are guys like that around!"

            Amaya stared dreamily at the ceiling. "I know…" She twirled a loose piece of long hair around her finger and blushed.

            "Girls! It's time for dinner!" Amaya's mother called.

            "Ok, Mom!" Amaya yelled back. The girls changed back into kimonos as rapidly as possible and joined their families for the meal.

            "So, did you have fun at the dojo?" Amaya's father asked conversationally.

            "Yea," Amaya answered, glancing at her friend. Both tried not to blush.

            "Girls, I have some excellent news for you!" announced Sakura's mother.

            "Really?" Amaya squealed? "What?"

            "Do either of you remember Thomas, our neightbour before we moved?"

            Both teens nodded, recalling the redheaded boy who had shared in many childish games with them.

            "He's being sent to Japan to help his father's business, and he will be staying with us!"

            "Yay!" cried Amaya.

            "We haven't seen him in… a really long time!" Sakura exclaimed.

            "Well, if all goes well, he should get in to Kyoto tomorrow!" Sakura's mother informed them.

            "No way!" Amaya said as she jumped to her feet. "Why didn't you tell us!"

            "We wanted it to be a surprise," the adults laughed.

            Sakura jumped up and almost lost her balance. "Come on, we have to go get ready!" she said as she grabbed Amaya's arm and dragged the other girl off to her room.

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            "I can't believe he's coming today!" Amaya exclaimed as she finished brushing her hair. "This is so exciting!" she bounced up and down. "We haven't seen him in ten years! That makes him…"

            "…Nineteen?" Sakura finished. She sighed as she finished tying a blue ribbon in her hair. Both girls were wearing their favorite (non dressy) kimonos: Sakura in blue, and Amaya in green. Sakura's parents had, as usual, offered up her room for the guest to stay in, but Amaya had insisted that it was her family's turn to host. This meant that Amaya's essential belongings had been moved into Sakura's room and the two could stay together. As they finished getting ready, a knock came on the front door.

            "I got it!" Amaya yelled as she walked as quickly as possible to the door.

            "Nooo, I got it!" Sakura protested as she tried to run. She didn't go far, tripping and falling onto the floor within a few feet. "Never mind…" she muttered, slowly standing up.

            Amaya was the first to reach the door. She quickly tucked her loose strands of hair behind her ears and slid the door open.

            She stared at the young man standing nervously in the street in front of the house. He was much taller than the gangly nine-year-old she remembered, and his eyes bluer, but had the same bright red hair. He smiled crookedly, and she knew him.

            "Jenny?" he asked, hesitantly.

           Amaya grinned back. "Thomas! It's so wonderful to see you again!" she cried! And looking very very wonderful too, she added internally. "Come in, please!"

            Sakura had managed to straighten out her kimono, and bowed politely before rushing over.

            "Colleen?" Thomas asked.

            "Yup!" she replied.

            "Mom! Thomas is here!" Amaya called as she reached to take the guest's suitcase.

            "I got it," he said, pulling his hand back.

            "But you're the guest!" both girls protested. Before they could argue further, both mothers came into the hall.

            "Thomas! It's so nice to see you! How have you been? How was the trip over?" they cried in rapid succession. Without waiting for an answer, the greeting continued. "Come on, come in! I'm sure you're exhausted…" the voices trailed off as both women led Thomas into the house. Following a few steps behind, the two teenagers glanced at each other.

            "He looks great," giggled Amaya, and Sakura agreed with a fervent nod. They caught up with everyone else. Thomas had been led to Amaya's cleaned room, to put his belongings down and freshen up from the trip.

            "Here, just put your things in Amaya's room, and then come in for tea and we'll catch up," suggested Amaya's mother.

            "Amaya?" Thomas asked, looking confused.

            "That would be me," the girl in question waved. "It's my Japanese name."

            "Mine's Sakura," Sakura added on. Thomas nodded, understanding.

            "Is it alright that your mother volunteered your room? I can stay somewhere else," Thomas offered.

            "Oh, it's fine," reassured Amaya. "I'll stay with Sakura."

            "Sakura…" Thomas shook his head. "I really have to get used to your new names. You've been the same in my head for so long now. I kept picturing the same chubby six-year-olds waving as the boat pulled away from the harbour, but you've changed a lot since then."

            "We weren't chubby!" Sakura fumed. Thomas laughed at her outrage.

            "Yes, you were, but not anymore."

            "Oh, go wash up," Amaya said, sticking out her tongue.

            "That looks more familiar," he teased. Both girls glared back.

"We'll be out in the garden," Sakure told him. The girls went to prepare the tea.

A few minutes later, Thomas emerged into the garden. The girls had set up a low table near one of the delicately shaped bonsai trees. Copying their example, Thomas knelt on a cushion.

"So, Thomas!" Sakura's mother said. "How is your family? We haven't gotten a letter in a few months, now."

"Doing very well, thank-you," he replied.

"What is Emily like?" asked Sakura. "I'd like to meet her." Emily was Thomas's sister, born after they had last seen himn.

"Very energetic. She'd love to see you, too," he answered.

"How're the O'Patricks?" queried Amaya's mother, after some old neighbours in Ireland. Thomas proceeded to fill everyone in on ten years worth of missed gossip.

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            Thomas laughed. "I've really missed you both," he said, sighing. "We used to do everything together!"

            "I know," Amaya said. "I can't believe how much you've changed."

            "Same," said Thomas with a smile. "You've both gotten so pretty."

            Amaya flushed red. "Well, maybe that makes up for the chubby remark," she decided.

            Sakura tried not to giggle. Amaya could be very dense at some times. Looking up at the sky, she noticed the gathering clouds and darkness. Thomas's first three days in Japan had been beautifully clear, but it looked like that streak was about to end. She felt a drop of rain, and smiled.

            "Yes! Rain!" she exclaimed happily. "I love rain!"

            Amaya laughed. She stood up and straightened her kimono.

            "We should probably go inside. It's pretty late, and it's going to rain harder, judging by those clouds." She pointed.

            Thomas got up, and Amaya noticed again how very tall he was. "Yea, let's go inside." He agreed.

            "That's ok," Sakura said, "I think I'll go for a walk. You two can go inside and talk."

            "Are you sure?" Thomas asked, concerned. "It's not safe for a girl to walk at night by herself."

            Sakura giggled. "It's ok, I can take care of myself," she reassured him.

            "Yes, she'll be fine," Amaya agreed. "Let's go onto the porch, at least." She and Thomas began moving toward the house. "Bye, Sakura-chan!" she yelled.

            "Bye! Have fun!" Sakura called back, trying not to laugh. She left the garden and went into the deserted street.

            She sighed. The rain felt lovely on her head and face. Her mother would probably curse her for walking alone and for getting wet, but she didn't care. She wandered through the empty streets of Kyoto humming.

            "Hmm, maybe an umbrella would have been smart," she mused to herself a little while later. She was soaked through the skin.

            "I guess I'll go and change."

            A noise sounded in the dark nearby, and she froze.

            "Probably someone else walking and they bumped into something," she told herself, feeling much less brave than she had when leaving the house. She slowly turned and headed home, which unfortunately was in the same direction as the noise had been.

            She continued walking until she got to a side street where the sounds were coming from. Peering down the narrow road, she stood paralyzed at what unfolded before her.

            Two men fought, swords clashing in the night air. As the one man attacked the smaller, the shorter swung swiftly and cut through him. The taller fighter fell to the ground in two pieces.

            Sakura stared, unable to look away from the scene. The killer moved towards her. He was young, she was surprised to see. His long red hair was pulled into a ponytail at the back of his skull. As his reached her, she noticed that they were of a height.

            Without realizing what she was doing, her hand moved up to the gash on his left cheek.

            "You're..hurt…" she whispered. Then what she had seen hit her. Her consciousness ebbed away. As she fell, she felt herself being caught.

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