Once again, sorry for the horribly long delay. I've been searching for a new job, along with school, and a series of minor disasters have delayed my updates. My company cancelled my medical benefits with out notifying me (which is against the law here), and it took over a month to get them reinstated. The stress was horrible, since I consider my medical benefits more important than an actual paycheck (I had surgery last year to remove some possibly cancerous tissue and my son has hearing issues)…needless to say, writing was the last thing on my mind. It's all squared away now, benefits back in place, but I'm sick of this job and the people…it took them a month to fix the screw up with my benefits and in the end cost me over 200 dollars to make sure everything was retroactive to the date they actually cancelled them. Nice huh…now I'll be leaving this place soon, hopefully my next job will be better than this one…sigh…anyway, I have not forgotten this story, I never would, nor have I forgotten all of you who have supported and encouraged me through out it all. Thank you so very much, words cannot express my gratitude!

Standard Disclaimers apply…I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, never will, and I have no money….

Kenji and Yu sat on the bank of the river, far enough away from the water's edge for Kenji to be comfortable with the sounds and sight of the running river. Yu asked him on several occasions to accompany him into the water, to catch young fish fry to, but the boy adamantly refused her suggestions. Instead, the two hunched over a small bog of mud, made by the swelling river, and inspected the contents critically. The young girl was curious about the boy's fear of water, but the look on his face indicated she should not inquire any further, and she left it at that.

The adults sat under a grove of trees, not far from view of the children, and talked quietly among themselves, while an ostracized Hideki pouted behind them. His father forbade him from leaving the blanket, while his mother scolded him for taking advantage of small children and setting a poor example. Kenji hid a triumphant smirk while Yu was not so discreet. She openly taunted her older brother until her mother threatened the same fate for her and sent her on her way.

Kenshin smiled at the young girls antics, amazed at how alike she and her father were. The cunning, wit, and blatant disregard of tact made it obvious she was Saito's child. Her will was strong, and she held little fear of her surroundings or strangers. She was so like his son, but so different. Kenji was so quiet, reserved, seeming almost timid in some circumstances, but Kenshin knew that was not the case. His son was far from timid. A little cautious, but the boy's silence was the product of his quick mind working at incredible speeds. He sized up every situation, analyzing, thinking, and plotting. Nothing got by Kenji. Never.

Kenshin imagined that those two children could probably cause a world of damage if left to their own devices for to long. He grinned, watching as Yu tossed a clod of mud at Kenji. The boy jumped back, narrowly missing being hit with the gunk, and scowled at his new friend. If that was Yahiko, the two of them would be face down in the bog, wrestling for all they were worth, but it was obvious Kenji wasn't too certain how to react to the little girl. Kaoru indicated their son retaliated earlier, hence another destroyed kimono, but she'd given him a stern lecture on how young men were suppose to treat women.

Kaoru touched his arm, causing him to turn and look at his wife's smiling face. She could see the joy in his expression as he watched the children play, and gazed at him knowingly. He relived his life through the eyes of his son, every move, every lesson, every breath was like being born again when he was with Kenji. His son was his savior, and Kaoru knew it. He smiled back, taking her hand in his own discreetly, a thumb brushing over her soft skin in an affectionate gesture.

"YU! Stop throwing mud at that boy," Tokio shouted sternly, noticing her daughter's torture of the Himura child. She sighed in exasperation and fixed her husband in a knowing glare.

"She's just having fun, Tokio san, " Kaoru interjected with a laugh, watching as Yu wiped her hands off on her kimono and drug Kenji away from the bog, throwing her mother a scowl.

"Such a willful child," the older woman muttered, a hint of a smile playing at her lips, "She's just like her father…in constant need of supervision."

The group fell silent, all eyes fixed on Tokio, astonished at the woman's public slander of her husband. They all assumed the Saito family to be a traditional family, adhered to rules and formality, compared to their own lax standards. Tokio looked the part of a proper wife, her demeanor quiet and meek, attending to her husband and children's needs with out a word. It was difficult to believe such a willowy, mild woman would disrespect her powerful husband in such an outward manner.

Aoshi coughed into his hand, while Misao squirmed next to him.

Kenshin uttered a soft, "oro," of surprise and glanced at Saito, who glared at his wife for a brief second before reaching into his pocket for a cigarette.

"Woman, you best watch you tongue," he muttered, patting at his pockets for a book of matches.

Tokio snorted at him, and waved a hand dismissingly, "I was only speaking the truth, Hajime, and you know it." She turned back to Kaoru and the others, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly as she reached for the teapot. "It's difficult caring for five children, you know," she stated, addressing the group.

"Five?" Kenshin asked, only remembering meeting four of the Saito children.

Tokio nodded curtly, pouring a cup of tea and passing it back to her husband. "Yes, four boys and a girl who thinks she's a boy. It gets quite hectic at our home."

Kenshin furrowed his brow in confusion, along with the rest of the group.

"Yes, Hajime is the worst of the bunch, at least the others know how to pick up after themselves. I swear, he wouldn't know what a laundry bin was if it hit him in the head, nor would he know where his clean clothes were if I wasn't around to show him."

Saito growled at Tokio, blowing a curling smoke trail in her direction. "That's not true, woman," he snapped.

Tokio laughed, and patted her husband's knee, he dark eyes glinting. "There, there," she replied soothingly, "I was teasing, you're such a good house helper when you're at home."

The lanky man sighed, leaning back against a tree, defeated.

Aoshi arched a brow while the rest of the group laughed out right at the expense of Saito. Tokio was a genius. She was obviously aware that the rest of the group was uncomfortable with her husband's presence and took the liberty of making them more at ease. They were not enemies here, not even rivals, but instead a group of people with similar lives and interests. The former okashira admired the woman's intuition and her ability to defuse the tension. Saito Tokio was not a normal housewife, that he was sure of, and the hold she had on the Wolf of Mibu was admirable.

************

Kenji glanced over at Yu, watching as the young girl carefully spelled his name into the dirt. The ground was littered with simple drawings and miscellaneous kanji, all evidence of their newfound game. Kenji had a sneaking suspicion Yu was testing him, trying to see how smart he actually was. He wrinkled his nose slightly, insulted at the thought, but played along anyway. He knew he was smart, far smarter than other children his age, but it was nothing to brag about. That was just the way it was. Yu was extremely intelligent too, he observed, for a girl. She knew all her numbers and numerous spellings for various things. She was a lot like him, in many ways, and he supposed that was why he liked her company…sort of.

"Hey, baka, are you paying attention?" Yu snapped, looking up from her crouching position.

Kenji jumped, then frowned at her. She had such a nasty mouth sometimes, it was hard to think of her as a girl. "Ya," he muttered, glaring at her.

Yu snorted and dropped her stick next to her rendition of Kenji's name. She stood swiftly, poking him in the chest with a slender finger and eyeing him carefully. "No you weren't. You had that dumb look on your face again."

Kenji's mouth dropped open and he made a couple choking sounds at he insult. "No I didn't!" he yelped, astonished at her rude manner.

Yu nodded stiffly. "Yes you did. You looked like this," she made a face, her eyes wide and mouth drawn into a little circle. It was the perfect imitation of his father's characteristic rurouni face, the one he'd grown up mimicking impeccably,

Kenji smoldered at the young girl, gritting his teeth angrily. "Yu, you have very bad manners," he remarked suddenly, "Especially for a girl."

Even as the words fell out of his mouth, he realized it was the wrong thing to say and suddenly regretted it. Why couldn't he learn to keep his mouth shut? Why? Why? Why? His father often told him there were time thing were best left unsaid and this was obviously one of them, but did he listen? Noooooo. He took a step back as the girl's golden eyes flashed and her mouth drew into a pinched, thin line. Her small hands clenched into tight, white fists and for a moment, Kenji though she'd strike him.

"What's that suppose to mean, Himura…chan," she hissed, "Are boy's suppose to have different manners than girls?"

Well, he thought there was suppose to be a difference, though it wasn't obvious in his house hold who was the master of the home. When guests came calling, it was addressed as his father's residence, not his mother's, even though she'd grown up there and maintained it herself for so many years. His parents shared the duties of the home, and it wasn't strange to see his father doing what would normally be considered a woman's chores. Kenji wasn't sure where his comment came from, now that he thought about it. None of the girls he knew were normal by any means. Auntie Misao was a ninja and expert martial artist, his mother an accomplished swordswoman, and Auntie Megumi was doctor, all trades that were so explicitly male.

He sighed, deciding it best to apologize, though the idea of admitting he'd been wrong set heavily in his stomach. He scuffed the ground with a foot, working himself up to say the words he felt he owed the young girl when Yu's sharp, bell like voice snapped him to attention.

"You think you're better than me 'cause I'm a girl?" she asked, her tone angry.

Kenji's eye's widened and he shook his head. "I didn't say that! I said your manners are bad, that's all…and it's the truth."

Kenji narrowly dodged a flying foot as it whizzed by his head, brushing across the flaming bangs of his hair and forcing him to falter backwards. He stared in astonishment at the young girl as she crouched into a defensive stance, looking so much like her father. Her movements were skilled, quick and deadly accurate. If it hadn't been for his impeccable reflexes, Yu's tiny slipper would be immortalized on the side of his head. He glared at her as a sinister smirk crept across her delicate features.

"That would have hurt, Yu!" Kenji snapped, glowering at her, "What do you think you're doing?"

Yu, sneered at him, her eyes flashing, "Showing you that girls are just as good as boys." In an instant she was on him, felling them both onto the shore of the bank. Kenji rolled away, his eyes wide and mouth gaping. What was she doing? She attacked him, tried to hit him, and was smiling about it! At that very moment he decided that all girls were crazy, not a sane thought in their heads, and he prayed he never had a little sister.

It was obvious that Yu was skilled in martial arts and it was all Kenji could do to keep out of her way as she came at him with a fury. He was naturally quick and agile, but had no formal training to help his cause. Desperately he glanced at the adults, but they were oblivious to his plight and too far away to really see what was going on. He glanced at Yu, wondering if she'd really hurt him if he just gave up. Friends didn't really kill each other did they? Or was he to hasty in assuming this small girl he'd met only a few days ago was a friend? He yelped as a small fist whizzed by his cheek and leapt backwards.

"Stop it, Yu!" he shouted.

Yu laughed at him, her smile gleaming in the afternoon sun. She stood up, placing a hand on her hip and eyed him critically. "Come on, Kenji chan! Your papa's a swordsman and so is your mama, don't you know anything?" She was disappointed that the boy hadn't made a move at her, not even one to defend himself. She didn't understand how he could not even be schooled in the basics of martial arts or sword skill with parents such as his.

Kenji glared at her, baring his teeth angrily. "I know lots of stuff, just not that!" he remarked, defensively.

Yu smirked at him and crouched again, "So they haven't taught you anything? Well, I'll teach you then!" With that, she jumped at her friend, a fist drawn back to attack.

Kenji made a cry of distress. He didn't like this game, not one bit. His family told him it wasn't nice to hit girls, but the more Yu advanced on him, the more his resolve began to tatter. Nothing would satisfy him more than seeing her laid out on the dirt right about now, but he still couldn't bring himself to lay a hand on her. He continued to dodge her attacks, ducking this way and that, using his speed and agility to it's fullest.

Unfortunately, being untrained and unskilled in the art of battle, he lost perception of his surroundings, focusing only on the one who threatened him. All sense of direction was lost, and it wasn't until he heard Yu shout at him and felt the clammy coolness of wet wood against the back of his calves that he realized his mistake.

"Kenji! Watch out!"

It was too late, he went over the top of the log, his feet careening above his head at an awkward angle as his momentum carried him through the air. He landed with a mighty splash into the river, completely submerging into the water.

The panic was instantaneous, and quick and white hot as a flash of lightening. He saw nothing but blinding explosions behind his eyes as he was consumed with a spiraling, coiling, terror. He could feel the water over his head, around his ears, in his nose. It stank with the remnants of dirt and river grime and chilled him to the bone. Cognitive thought was washed from his mind as pure survival instinct took over his tiny body. He felt his rear end hit the sandy bottom and he quickly flailed about, managing to get his feet underneath him. With a mighty heave, he pushed himself to the surface.

The moment his head broke through the glassy river, he inhaled sharply, drawing in water and air alike, and let forth a petrifying scream. It didn't matter that the water was only shoulder high at best, that Yu had waded in to help him, or that his parents were not far off. His rational was erased by the phobia and his only thoughts were the memories of an accident long since past. He continued to cry, once the scream was spent, and cough, unable to will his muscles into movement. He stood, stationary, in the river, wailing like a wounded animal.

The hair's on the back of Yu's neck stood erect at the terrifying sound of Kenji's voice as he broke through the surface of the water. Never before had she heard anything some intensely frightening come from another human's mouth. She feared he'd been bitten by a snake, or perhaps skewered by some hidden debris in the water. Without a moment's hesitation, she made a rush into the river, not caring that he own swimming skills were lacking or that her kimono would be completely ruined.

She stopped short, knee deep in the water, as a tall figure stepped out of the tree line of the other bank and strode towards them rapidly. It was a man, a very, very tall man, with long hair and a sword on his hip. He looked menacing, the way the breeze caught the wisps of ebony hair that had worked free of the loose ponytail. His face was set in an alarming scowl, and he barely gave Yu a look as he stopped short on the opposite bank, unsheathing his sword.