Disclaimer's apply- I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. It belongs to Sony Entertainment Jump Comics and its creator. This goes for chapter one.

Chapter Two begin

I looked at the horizon my azure eyes filling with the tears that had been shed not two hours ago. My hand let itself spread out on the shined wood of the engnawa. Battle cries filled my ears as I saw my father training about ten feet from where I sat. I saw the tears or beads of sweat flash in the sun every time he did a stroke with his shinai. He says the sparkles that I see now are just beads of sweat. I knew other wise. Father always tried to act tough even though on the inside he is crying. We are both crying on the inside. Pain was all we've ever felt since mother died. She died about a about a year ago from a disease. I forgot what father said what it was but I had a feeling I would witness it in the future.

My father cried louder as he did his next stroke. Will he ever forget the pain and suffering this has caused the two of us?

"Kiyaaa!" He his battle cry echoed as if we were in a canyon.

I heard the clatter of the shinai as it his the ground. Father dropped to his knees. I stared at him, not wanting to go and talk to him. I don't want to talk to him...I'm not trying to sound cruel or mean, but father says it a weak for one to seek help from a child or a woman .So the only thing I could do was watch as he took all that anger and pain out on his self. I ran my hand across my face and smiled At least he cares.....

That's my father...He never stops caring.

I got up and brushed off my pale yukata as I let my ebony hair blow in the breeze.

I just wonder if he'll ever stop crying....

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A jolt and then a shake, I sprang up in my futon and let my cover fly off me and lay in a heap around my ankles. My hand unconsciously brought my braided hair over my right shoulder.

"It was all a dream..." I murmured.

But where am I? This is not the dojo. Where's Kenshin and where's.....

My thoughts ceased when bright light flared up in the room. I found my eyes squinting and my hands starting to tremble. The shoji snapped to reveal a man. He looked young. All That I could see of him, that is. He didn't seem too bulky. His silhouette was sort of angelic, if you please. Long hair with a delicate face.

"Who are you?" I inquired in a small voice.

"That is not of concern," he replied, nonchalantly.

I squirmed a bit when I found him behind me. His presence was what I felt. Sword training can have certain advantages. I'm just not able to see good in the dark.

"Wh--What are you doing?" I inquired yet again.

My voice was a bit shaky. I wondered why. I'm not usually like this!

He didn't reply. I heard him rustling with something in the corner of the room. I frowned when I had waited for his answer and hadn't received it.

I jolted up on both of my feet, finding my self taking drunken steps to the corner where that man's presence was. Oh, but why does it feel like I'm so weak? I can't feel my legs or my arms.The man flicked something against something else and the lantern, he was trying to light, came to life, allowing its dancing flame to bounce off the ivory walls of the room. The man looked at me quizzically as I found my way to the wall. He chuckled a bit and walked to the shoji and stood in front of it and snapped it shut. He was still in the room. I watched as he leaned into it, letting his white hair settle in the folds of his....what was that thing he had on?

His ice blue eyes locked with my ocean blue eyes. It was like he was searching for something in my head. My legs fell from underneath me and I hit the floor with a thump. Why is it so hard for me to stand straight?! Who's this strange man with weird clothes? I squirmed again when I felt his gaze on me. Now I was really starting to get frustrated. My eyes wondered back to him, staring at him through my bangs. He had an orange tint to him from the flame of the lantern. His body was leaned against the shoji, one foot tapping of the wooden floors. A Face had a smirked mouth and narrow ice blue eyes was what he had.

"What is your name? Mine is Kamiya Kaoru," I tried to strike a conversation.

But he didn't answer. I gave a small frown. It was the best I could do since I was pretty much drained of all my energy.

"Why won't you answer?!" I yelled.

It was like my voice was staring to fade away. What's going on with me?

He pulled something out from his strange clothing and threw it to my feet. I pulled my bowed head up slightly and stared at him.

"You've been out of it for two days. You'll feel like the way you do for about a weak. Once you have awoken again put these on the best you can," He explained flatly.

"Why--" I started.

"No questions! No comments! Just do as you're told!" He yelled and walked out of the shoji and slammed the frail door shut.

I stared at the closed paper door for a moment. My vision was staring to blur.

"Now what's happening?" I murmured weakly.

The door seem to come and go. Soon I fell to another involuntary sleep.

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"Oh Kenshin! You're hand looks hurt. How come you didn't tell me you got into another fight and got hurt? I swear at times you can be so stupid." I complained to the grinning rurouni.

I looked at his bloody hand as we sat under the sakura trees by the river bank. The rippling was so serene to me. The sakura were so beautiful. The pink petals danced around us as I started caring for his hand.

Sometimes he can be be so stupid. He doesn't want me to worry so he'll never tell me what's wrong with him. I know he means well but why can't he take care of himself at least once in a while. I closed my eyes as I dipped his hand into the cool water of the river. The blood spread out and seemed to float like scarlet ribbons in the water. Kenshin squeaked a bit when the water had started to clean his hand.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

I used my slender hand to rub the rest of the dried blood off his hand.

"Miss Kaoru please...this isn't necessary you should go back to the dojo, that you should. Perhaps Sano or Yahiko might be raiding the kitchen," he pleaded with me.

"You're so stubborn. I can deal with those two when we both go home," I replied, emphasizing both.

Kenshin sighed in defeat and gazed at our hand in the water. My azure eyes wandered to his serene face. That silly grin was still tweaking his lips. He looked over at me with a silly look on his face. His eyes closed as he grinned at me. I shook my head and went back to the task of his hand. It seemed to have stopped the bleeding so I pulled it from the water and used the sleeve of my earth coloured kimono to wipe of the water. Kenshin tried to yank his hand away but I gripped it tighter. He smiled at me face when I looked up at him.

"Kenshin...Please just stop smiling flaky," I said, bowing my head back to his hands.

I couldn't stand to see that sad smile on his face no longer. Dropping his dried hand in my lap, in a gentle way of course, I used my hands to pull the green ribbon out of my hair. My hair draped around my trained shoulders like a silken curtain. Some of the hair fell into the folds of my kimono. I used the ribbon for something like a bandage for his hand. It was one of my good ribbons that I bought from our trip to Yokohama, but he needed it for his hand. Wrapping the ribbon gently, but tightly, around his calloused hand, I tied a good tight knot around and laid his hand on his lap and stood.

His smile was gone. Did my words effect him that much? Now how I regretted saying those words to him.

He cupped his hand in his unwounded hand and stared blankly at the blue river. All the frogs and the crickets were playing music and the sun was scorching with all it's light and heat. I gazed at a small bush that was the other side of the river. A small kid was playing and twirling in all the falling sakura petals. He was laughing wildly. His arms were rose in the air and his chubby face looked up to the sky. He looked so cute to me. I smiled and chuckled when he giggled as a pink petal landed on his white yukata. The petals were landing on my kimono as well. Kenshin's hair had a few of them tangled in his fury locks. The only thing that kept his wild hair tame was a blue hair tie at the nape of his neck. Kenshin didn't wear his hair in the two knot on top of his head as a samurai is supposed to do to show their ranks or honorability. What and unusual man he was.

"You know," I looked to him,"that little child over there...."

"Yes go on," I encouaged him.

"He reminds me of a little kid I killed during the revoulution..." he trailed off.

My face fell at his words. What a thing to remember. Kenshin never goes over his past. At least he never tells about his past to me. Perhaps he is just trying not to burden me with such a thing...

"Miss Kaoru....I smile for my own painful reasons...my past..." I stopped him right there with a finger on his lips.

His eyes were wide from the touch. Was a woman's touch always this shocking to him? I was knelt before him ,my eyes half-lidded with slight tear coming from his eyes.

"Kenshin don't say that. Your past is gone. You've made a new life. You've got a home," I pointed to ivory gate that surrounded the nearby dojo," You have a family and you have me. You're past... it has faded...it needs to be forgotten. Kenshin you've worked so hard for what's here now. Don't let your past burden your present or future. If you ever refer back to your past back to anything think of me or Sanosuke. Kenshin we can all help you make that past fade for good. But you have to let us."

Kenshin looked at me with his amethyst eyes. He grabbed my finger from his lip and laid my hand on my lap. He then brought his hand to wipe away all my tears. We locked eyes for a moment and I grabbed a sakura petal and laid it in his hand. He frowned and threw the delicate petal to the ground. I was curious. Kenshin never acted aggressive.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

He looked down at the ground at the shattered petal. Amber flames seem to dance in his eyes.

"The Revolution was some what like this, that it was. The way the sakura petals fall are like the way blood fell. I cannot stand this time of the year, that I cannot. It is like my past will never fade. But this season can, Miss Kaoru. Perhaps my fate is to live only in sorrow for those I've killed..." Kenshin replied my question in a sorrowful voice.

"Kenshin......" I trailed off.

One day your past will go away. I promise....

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I awoke again. This time the lantern was no longer on. I thought I was going to be resting up on the the wall I had fell asleep against but I was back in the futon. My body felt like it had more energy. The numbness in my arms and legs seemed to have gone away a bit. They still felt some what numb. The smell of the ocean got got caught in my nose as I sat up. Eyes wandered around the room I was in. I kind of liked it. It was way fancier than my room at home. A red dresser was at the far wall with a mirror resting on top of it. Tatami matts littered one half of the room. It was the half of the room I was in. A screen the spit the room was what drew my most attention. It was beautiful. Silver cranes standing in an enchanted sparkling stream with tall grasses surrounding it. Fireflies painted with the brightest yellow I've ever seen, diamond stars in a navy sky, crescent moon hanging lazily in the night sky, casting it enchanting glow and reflection into the stream. I gasped when I saw a girl in the screen that resembled me...

She had a white kimono and long ebony hair, tied with a white ribbon. Her eyes weren't mine though. They were black and soft with not a lot of shine. Her obi was red with pink cloths holding it at the top. Her face reminded me of a bird's gentle curves as it would soar over the land. Her skin was pale and clasped in each elbow was a purple cloth that made her look even fancier.

My hand went to my mouth when I saw the girl.

"Do you like it?" came a soft voice behind me.

I jumped and felt my heart start to race. I turned quickly to the direction the voice came form only to face the rude gentleman I had met earlier. He seemed different now. He had on Japanese attire. It wasn't those weird things he was wearing before. I smiled but then frowned to him. He got a curious look on his perfect face and came nearer to me. I turned my head and snorted.

"What? Now you're going to talk?!" I asked on the edge of my patience.

"Oh, I forgot I was very rude before. Forgive me. Sometimes I can be a whole different person," He chuckled and rubbed his long white hair with his pale hand.

I looked at him. What a strange man. But why am I thinking of him? I need to get back to Kenshin. I want to know if he's okay.

"Don't worry you're friend is fine," the man said.

Now was he reading my thoughts?! My eyes widened. What kind of man is he? Maybe I can get his name? I wonder...Kenshin I'll be home soon...

I can change the subject so much when I think...

"Oh, yes. You know I don't know where your from! An--" I was interrupted before I could finish.

"I'm from New York. It's in---" Now it was my turn to interrupt him.

"It's in the United States of America. But as I---" now he interrupted me.

"My name is Daniel Esamula. I was born in London. Now how do you know of the U.S. I thought Japan had it's ports closed for so long that they lost all knowledge of foreign affairs." He finished.

I was taken back. Was he insulting me?!

"Listen, who do you think you are telling me I don't know about overseas affairs. No body said I didn't have friends that live back in Germany!" I practically yelled at the young man.

My thoughts went back on Yutaro. I miss him... I scratched my head and listened to him talk.

"So that's how you know. Well it seems as though you have much knowledge Lady Kaoru," He finished with a bow.

What the...

"Hey now you're covering it up by attempting me at flattery. I knew it! All Barbarians are the same!" I growled.

His eyes narrowed as he got a dark gleam in them.

"Barbarian?" He asked.

I jumped up to surprisingly find myself the same height as him. But that's besides the point.

"Yes, people in the west are all a like. Long-nosed Barbarians," I snarled.

My index finger jabbed into his chest and I started to tower over him.

"We're not all like..." he grabbed my hand and I looked away as he towered over me now,"I am not like them. I never will be. I came---"

"You came to this country to steal our riches and take over!" I yelled.

Why was I getting so angry? He gripped my hand hard and that made me turned my face to his. The warmth of his breath beat on my face. That's how close he was to me.

"I came to this country to try to find some way of atoning for a past that I have..." He let go of my hand and walked out of the room snapping the shoji shut.

I looked down at my hand for a moment.

"Atone for what?" I murmured, regretting the words I just said to him.

My head bolted up when I heard a light knock at the shoji. The rattling noise rang in my ears. Daniel's voice came to be the next sound.

"Put on the garments I gave you the first time you woke up. They're by the window. Yell if you need help with them." He explained.

My face was puzzled. That was what he tossed me earlier? Clothes? What kind of people are these? For what reasons did they kidnap me? I didn't get to ask because I was too busy yelling at him. I made him feel bad....

What more can I say to regret only moments later...?

Chapter Two End

The Days Before

Did you like second chapter. I never think I get so many reviews. I update soon enough did I? Thanks you very much for reviewing. A special thank go to flyingwithoutwings. Thank you for telling me of errors. Remember Pen Pal translates my Japanese story to English so you read. She probley mess up. It okay though. I ask teacher to help! IcE-bLuE - aRcTiC aZuRe ( sorry had to write your name like that so it show up) and geckohawaii thank you also fr saying english is good. I try really hard. Although With out penpal I not survive on this site. heh! Thanks to all other reviewers. Please leave more good reviews.

Bye bye!

Saki