Some of the names are really stupid, but that was all I could think about. And the rose part in Migoto's title comes from her brother's favorite flower. Jin Hyungie

"The truth is like a broken glass, everyone has bits and pieces but no one has all of it!" Anonymous

The silence of the night was killing Sanosuke. He wanted a conversation going on, but both Kenshin and Migoto were deep in thought. The two guys trailed behind Migoto as she led the way to her home. Sanosuke looked around. Now he was really glad he had offered to walk with her. They were in a really bad neighborhood. This was a place where you could find whores and drunks on the corners, and if you weren't careful, your house could get robbed. And that is what exactly had happened to Migoto.

Her house lay in front of her, the door was in pieces on her porch. She and the other two stepped into the house. Everything was a mess. Things were turned over, the place had been ransacked. Migoto sighed, then actually started to pick things up.

"Migoto-dono, I think it would be best if you didn't stay here. It is very unsafe for a girl like you." Kenshin was scanning the room. It had been a living room. There was a table overturned, and a couple of seat cushions scattered around.

"Where would I stay? This was the only place that I could afford." Migoto looked around. It had taken months to save enough to buy the house, and now it was ruined. The people that had robbed her house was obviously looking for money and anything valuable. Luckily, she kept her money and most treasured things hidden.

"Come back to the dojo with us. Kaoru-dono wouldn't mind. I know she wouldn't. Besides, the people that did this to your house could come back, and I would feel better if I knew you were safe." Kenshin smiled at her.

"Okay, let me pack though." They followed Migoto into another room. This was a bedroom. Her futon was a heap on the floor, and a chest had clothes hanging out of it.

Migoto grabbed a large bag, then started to stuff it full of clothes. She motioned Sanosuke over, she was standing next to a wall.

"Could you punch into the wall right here?" She pointed a specific spot on the wall. Sanosuke reeled his arm back, and punched the wall. He made a gapeing hole. Migoto reached into it, and pulled out a pouch that jingled, and a large box. She smiled at the two men, and walked out. Sanosuke grabbed the bag that had Migoto's clothes in it.

In the living room, Kenshin took the box that Migoto was carrying.

"Here, allow me to carry this for you Migoto-dono." Sanosuke had the bag, Kenshin had the box, and Migoto had the pouch. Together, they walked back toward the dojo.

The three had arrived at the dojo late at night. Sanosuke took the bag and put it in a spare room. It was right next to Kenshin's. On the other side of Kenshin was Yahiko's room, and on the other side of Yahiko was Kaoru's room. Kenshin put the box in Migoto's new room.

"I hope that you'll stay here for as long as you need to." Kenshin smiled at her, and left the room with Sanosuke behind him.

Migoto scanned the room. There was a futon set on top of a dresser. The room was pretty large. She opened her bag and started to arrange her clothes in the dresser. Then she pulled the kimono she had on off, and slipped into a night gown that reached her knees, curved in the middle, and had flowery straps. She had bought it from a western trader. It was white, and if it every got wet, it would become completely see through. She set up the futon, laid down, and fell asleep. In the room next to her's, Kenshin got ready for bed, thinking about how a girl like you, someone that seemed so fragile, got through her life when it seemed so hard for her.

The next morning, Migoto got up pretty early. She took a bath, then dressed in a cream colored kimono with red roses stitched beautifully on the bottom, and sleeves. A red obi wrapped around her waist, and she used her brother's bandana as a ribbon and tied her hair up in a high ponytail. After getting ready, she carefully folded the borrowed kimono, and headed over to Kaoru's room.

Migoto carefully knocked. "Come in," Kaoru's voice rang out.

"Thank you for lending me your kimono, and allowing me to stay here." Migoto smiled, and handed over the kimono to Kaoru.

"No problem. You can stay here as long as you need to. It'll be nice to have another girl around here. Oh, and your kimono is beautiful." Kaoru herself was in her normal yellow kimono.

"Thank you, it is my favorite. My brother's favorite flowers were red roses." Together Migoto and Kaoru walked out of her room and headed to the room to eat. Sanosuke and Yahiko were arguing about something, and Kenshin was distributing the rice out. Everybody sat around the table and ate.

When they were done, everybody headed outside. Kaoru and Yahiko were training, Kenshin was doing the laundry, Migoto was sitting watching Yahiko, and Sanosuke was loitering around the porch.

Knock Knock. It was the front gates. Kaoru answered the door, and let a tall man with strands of hair as bangs, and a police uniform on.

"Saito, what are you doing here?!" Sanosuke hated Hajime Saito with the bottom of his heart.

"I have come here to talk to the Hitokiri Rose. I heard in town that she was staying here." Saito looked at the shocked people, then he spotted Migoto. "I see, so it is true. Hitokiri Rose, what are you doing here? I never expected you in a dojo."

Migoto got up and walked toward Saito. "Officer, I have never killed anyone, so my title as Hitokiri Rose is irrevalent." Everybody stared at Migoto. She was the legendary Hitokiri Rose? They had heard that she was deadlier than the Battousai himself.

"I need you to do the country a favor. There is a killer going around and killing everybody in his path. He has not only killed men, but innocent women and children. We need to stop him, and who better than to hire the legendary Hitokiri Rose." Saito smirked at her.

"No, I won't spill blood, even if it is of someone as despicable as a killer with no ambition. Find somebody else to do it." Migoto stared at him, her face stern, showing that her choice was final.

"How about this, I have a fight with you. If you win, I'll go away, but if I win, then you go out and get rid of this pest for the police." Saito knew he didn't have a chance to win, but he could try.

Migoto motioned Kenshin for his sword. Kenshin untied his sakabato, and tossed it to her.

Migoto unsheathed it, happy to find it a sakabato, and not a katana. Saito unsheathed his own sword, and charged at Migoto. Migoto, even though she was in a kimono, disappeared and reappeared behind Saito. She did that a few times, and just dodged Saito's attacks.

Finally, Saito stood in his notorious form. His left leg straight and in front. His right leg bent. His katana sticking straight in front of him, and a few fingers of his left hand held the end of his katana.

Migoto stood in a form that was similar to Saito, but her sword was above her head, her right arm bent, holding the sword parallel to the ground. The end of her sword rested on the space of her hand between her index finger and thumb. Everybody was staring at this fight. Neither had anything damage done, but Saito had been on offense the whole time, and Migoto just dodged all his attacks.

Then Saito charged. Everything seemed to go in slow motion for the watchers. As Saito stabbed his sword in front of him, Migoto brought down the tip of her own sword down hard, hitting Saito's katana in the center. There was a crack, then the slow motion ended. Migoto stood there with Kenshin's sakabato in her right hand, and Saito stood with his katana in his hand, half of it stick from the ground. A broken katana was in Saito's hand. Everybody stared at Migoto.

Saito started to laugh. "I should've known I wouldn't beat you. Only you would be able to come out unharmed, and crack my katana in a kimono against me."

"Will you leave now?" She tossed the sakabato back to Kenshin.

Chuckling, Saito left the dojo.

"THAT WAS SO COOL! ARE YOU STRONGER THAN KENSHIN? CAN YOU TEACH ME SWORDSMANSHIP INSTEAD OF UGLY HERE!?" Yahiko was hopping up and down in excitement.

Migoto turned around and smiled. "I guess that came as a really surprise for you guys didn't it?" She was so calm about everything.

"I would like to have a friendly fight against you. Do you mind me having one?" Kenshin looked towards Migoto. The way she was calm about everything, and her recent fight with Saito proved to Kenshin that she had a good chance of beating Kenshin.

"Sure, I don't mind." She took Yahiko's wooden sword from him, and got into a fighting stance.

The match ended soon. Migoto was sitting on top of Kenshin with the wooden sword pointed at the back of his head. Kenshin was on the ground, stomach down. Kenshin had lost, but it was still a nice fight for him.

Migoto got off of him, and help him up.

"You know the Hitenmitsarugi-ryu don't you?"

"I do. My old master had taught it to me. As I got older, I learned the Forbidden Death technique." Migoto fixed her hair.

"Who was your master that taught you?" Kenshin had a feeling it was Hiko Seijirou. He was the only one other than Kenshin to know that technique.

"I think his name was Hiko. And the other technique I had learned on my own." Migoto clasped her hand together and streached.

"Migoto, can you teach me please. Those techniques look so cool." Yahiko was trying to imitate the stances that he had never seen Kenshin use, that obviously from the Forbidden Death.

"No, the Hitenmitsarugi-ryu might live on, but the Forbidden Death end with me. I won't teach it to you."