Let's be real. The entire year sucked. (And that's putting it lightly.) You know which year I'm talking about. Just thinking about that year makes my heart hurt. So much pain and anger and sadness circulated into every aspect of life. It felt like there was no outlet, no escape. After being bombarded with so much hatred… it made me feel so very sorry for the world. For quite a while… I lost my hope for humanity. Which made it extremely hard to even want to write, let alone try. After surviving (because there can be no other word for anyone who made it into this year), and spending a lot of time trying to focus myself away from everything being shoved into my face, I realized that the reason it felt like that entire year was so full of hatred and evil, was because that was all anyone wanted to talk about: to broadcast and emphasize. That wasn't the ONLY thing that happened, but that was all anyone saw. There is still so much love in this world, and that is what I want to focus on. I want to focus on the love that people can and do have for one another. The bad things are a part of life, but we cannot forget that there is good, too. It's hard. It's definitely not easy, and to help myself with that, I wanted to write a story that would focus me on love and comfort. And I want to share it, in case it might help someone else, too. For anyone else who feels the same sorrow that I feel watching others hate so much. For anyone who felt lost or too alone while trapped inside by themselves with nothing to focus on but negativity. If there is anything that I want you to know, it is only this:

Wherever you are. No mater what. You. Are. Loved.

Disclaimer: Fairly standard. I do not own the original characters, but enjoyed them enough to allow them to live rent-free inside my imagination.

Chapter One

Heat swirled in the air like an oppressive blanket of thick humidity and shimmering mirages. It was well into summer, and the streets of Neo-Tokyo were hot enough to fry eggs. The sun high overhead beat down onto the city like a club determined to cause dizziness, and there was not one cloud in the clear blue sky to signal hope for cool rain, or even hot rain. Though mid-day, the few brave pedestrians milling about on the sidewalks appeared drained, and walked as though they had been stranded for days without water. With the exception of one.

Kenshin walked at a brisk, almost refreshed pace. Summer was his favorite season, and he felt none of the wear that others did from the heat. On the contrary, he felt energized, like a re-charged battery or a sunflower basking in the rays of daylight. Even better, he did not have to fight the crowds to get to his destination.

Not that he was in a particular hurry. The lunch date he was on his way to had been forced upon him. Despite his protests, he was still running early. Frankly because he really just had nothing else to do. The restaurant was closed for the day, and his services were not needed elsewhere. While typically not social, and not afraid to inform others of the same, he had been hard pressed to make excuses on this particular occasion. It did not, however, stop him from actively trying to find a way out as he walked.

Focused as he was on his own plight, the hubbub of jeers and laughter coming from up the street caught him by surprise. It was, unfortunately, not uncommon for the larger demons to pick on the smaller ones, and Kenshin sighed in resignation as the reminder pushed his shoulders down so that he was finally at the same level of weariness as everyone else. As he drew closer to the spectacle, he was able to translate the demands from one of the three demons who were cornering a fourth.

"Aren't you going to apologize? You hit me so hard when you walked by. I'm going to need a doctor."

Another laughed, and pushed down at the smaller demon that was shielded by their hulking frames. "Yeah, can't you see how much pain he's in? You obviously broke his arm."

Red lashes lowered over violet eyes. It's not your problem. You shouldn't get involved. A second of thought later, and Kenshin's eyes parted into slits as a slight smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. Or should I? Thinking of the lunch date he was currently trying to get out of, he nodded his head slightly in agreement. What if someone gets hurt? That wouldn't be right to ignore.

Observation and well-honed reflexes informed him in advance that he should move if he still wished to remain outside of the altercation. Firmly decided on becoming part of the dispute, Kenshin took the hit to his side with an exaggerated amount of alarm. Stumbling, he steadied the small demon that had been shoved into him, but tactfully placed himself in the way of the others.

"Nice catch, old timer." Laughter erupted from the one on the left, loud and abrupt like a hyena.

Old timer? A brief frown tugged at his brow line, but he replaced it quickly with a harmless smile. "Is everything alright here?"

"Sure, old timer. Just hand her back over." The one in the back was speaking now, and his voice was a little less humorous.

Her? A fleeting look out of the corner of his eye was directed at the demon sadly trying to slump out of his grip, and the frown dug back into his features. "She seems to be a bit distressed. Did she do something wrong? If so, I'm certain she's quite sorry for troubling you."

"It's none of your business, old man. Now hand her over. I want to hear her apologize." The largest one at the right reached forward to snag her out of his hands, but Kenshin stepped neatly to one side and wrapped his palm around the extended forearm lightly. An offended yell, tinged lightly with pain, tore from the demon's throat, and he jerked back to cradle his now seared forearm to his chest.

"A… a fire demon?!" Spooked, the one at the front, who was clearly the muscle, took a step back. To his credit, he threw out his uninjured arm to block his friend still standing behind him. "Let's get outta here, boss. Fire demons are bad luck."

The hyena to the left laughed. "Fire demons went extinct ages ago, you chicken-shit. He's probably just a coal demon." Lunging forward with a more cynical titter, he latched onto the small demon with both hands like a child trying to rip a toy away from another. Caught slightly off-guard by how straight-forward he was, Kenshin smacked a hand to the side of his face to knock him away. Another cry ripped through the air, and his assailant slammed into the side of the building as he cradled his burned cheek.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Kenshin reached in his pocket and pulled out a card. That was stupid. With an outstretched hand he offered it with a slight bow to the muscled demon still protecting the silent one at the back. "You'll have to forgive me. Hot days make it harder to control my temperature. Get yourself and your friend to the hospital. I'll pay for your treatment." Hesitantly the larger demon took the card, and then ushered his friend back down the street. The no-longer-laughing hyena was left to stumble after. Before Kenshin turned his attention back to the small demon, he caught the third demon cast a scowl back over his shoulder.

Watching them warily, he sighed once they had disappeared around a corner. Sudden movement redirected his attention to the ground at his feet, and frowned once more as the small female demon started crawling away from him on all fours. She was dirty. Extremely dirty, and she was wearing a heavy long-sleeved shirt as well as sweatpants despite the heat of summer. Stranger still, she was bare-foot, and the bottoms of her feet were red, cracked, and aggravated from the heat-seared concrete.

"Are you alright, miss?" She didn't appear to hear him as she kept creeping away, or was perhaps ignoring him. Crouching down next to her, he tapped her lightly on the shoulder only to watch her flinch violently enough to flip onto her backside. Holding up both hands to show he was not a threat, he lowered them slowly as she breathed in deep heavy breaths of fear. Hair as black as night cascaded around her shoulders and over her face in dirty strings of unkempt disaster, and what skin he could see through the clumped strands was smeared with unknown grime. One eye peered back at him, wide and full of fear. Kenshin knew that fear well. It was the fear of punishment. The fear of pain.

But that eye was also blue. So blue it put the sky to shame. So blue it humbled the proudest sea. So blue. It rivaled the purest of flames. Shaking his head, Kenshin tore his gaze away from hers, and focused instead on something else. Anything else. With a shaky breath, his eyes landed once more on her feet and he was again steadied. "Where are your shoes, miss? It's too hot to be bare-foot." As if only just aware of the temperature herself, she scooted back so that she was sitting upright, and then rubbed her palms together from where they had been touching the sidewalk. Well, she's definitely not a demon that tolerates heat. "Do you… have any shoes?"

Her one uncovered eye glanced at him again, before she ducked her chin. A moment later, she shook her head. Kindly, he smiled. "Wait here."

At a small shop around the corner, he found a cheap pair of slippers. The soles of her feet were obviously torn up, and he was afraid sandals would be painful. When he came back, she had already crept her way into a nearby alley to hide. She ducked behind a pile of trash when he noticed her, so he made sure to approach her slowly. "You should wear these." Gently he placed the slippers between them, and then shuffled back. That blue eye glanced downward, quickly, as if afraid to focus her attention away from him for even a second. She did not move to take them. "Are you hurt, miss?" Silence met his questioning, and she did nothing but continue to stare. "Do you have any family I could call for you?" A blink. Then her eye lowered, and a frown finally formed along her brow. "Should I… take you to the hospital… or the police?" He lifted his hand unconsciously, perhaps to offer it, or perhaps to push back her hair so that he could see both of her amazing eyes. The action was interpreted as a threat, however, and she recoiled into the pile of trash bags.

"I'm sorry, miss." For a moment he chewed his lip, and then he stood. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I'll leave now, but… please stay safe." It was as he was standing, looking down at her, that her expression finally melted into something other than fear. The hair covering her face slid to the side, and both of her blue eyes stared up at him, as if startled. He tried another smile for her, but it seemed awkward now, so he bowed slightly at the waist and turned to leave.

It seems wrong to leave her there. She obviously needs some help. Should I make a report to the police? They might be able to help her find her family. After all, she looked really young. Decided, Kenshin stopped at a crosswalk to wait for the light, his destination now the nearest police station. A light jog put him on the other side of the road, but it was by chance that he glanced behind him. Chance, or perhaps worry. Out in the middle of the road, stranded in the medium as traffic whizzed by, was the young woman. She was crouched down fearfully, and her head kept turning this way and that as she watched the cars pass so close by her vulnerable form. Both of his red eyebrows shot up, and he slowed to a stop in surprise. Is she following me?

Once the light changed again and the traffic stopped, the small demon stood and limped the rest of the way across the road. Safely on the same side as him, she bent at the knees and sucked in a few deep breaths. A helpless grin twitched his lips, and he was happy to notice that she was wearing the slippers he had left for her. The fact that she was limping confirmed that she was in pain. When she glanced up to find him watching, she tensed and frantically looked around for somewhere to hide. In a rather obvious, if not cute, dash, she ducked behind a nearby sign where she peeked after him through the large, wooden handle at the top.

Al-right… perhaps I can lead her to the police station. Turning deliberately away, Kenshin took three careful steps, before surreptitiously looking back over his shoulder. She's following. Glad for it, Kenshin made sure to walk slowly to accommodate for her no-doubt painful gait.

The police station was fortunately not far, and he was eager for her to be inside where there was air-conditioning and a real chair to sit in to relieve her feet. So eager was he to be inside, that the sudden fist in the back of his shirt jerked the collar hard into his throat and caused him to wheeze. Off-balance, he waved his arms out to either side, and earned several strange looks from passersby. With both feet finally steady underneath him once more, he turned to find that the young woman had been the culprit of his less than graceful halt in stride.

Normally he would have questioned her quite forcefully on her reasons for nearly choking him to death, but her posture was so ducked and frightened that he couldn't. The hand still grasping his shirt was shaking as well. Instead, he took a long breath in and glanced at a curious cat demon as it sauntered by. "Is everything alright, miss?" Immediately she shook her head. It was the first time she had immediately answered anything. "What is it? What's wrong?" Again, she shook her head, but this time her eyes swung to the police station and an officer that had just exited. Glancing towards the station himself, Kenshin frowned. "Don't worry, miss. This is a police station. They can help you find…" A rough, whiny noise ground against her vocal cords, and her head shook hard enough to whip her hair around. Now they were getting attention from the police officer, and out of the corner of his eye he watched the stocky dog demon dressed in uniform turn towards them with a frown. "You don't want the police to help you?" Large pleading blue eyes turned on him, and when her head shook again it was much more pitiful. For some reason, he just couldn't deny those eyes.

A resigned sigh relaxed his shoulders, and Kenshin turned to the officer with a smile. "Is everything alright over here?" The officer's no-nonsense voice spoke of authority and wariness.

"Yes, sir."

The searching brown eyes of the officer slid to the young woman. "Is this man bothering you, miss?"

Wide blue eyes shot to him, and she half-ducked herself behind Kenshin before she shook her head. Kenshin's smile did not waver. "My cousin has had an unfortunately rough day, officer. I've been looking for her everywhere, and what do I find when she turns up? It looks like she jumped in the river to cool herself off. And she lost her shoes. Her mother is going to take it out of her hide, and then mine when I get her back." A light smile cracked the hard expression on the dog demon's face.

"You realize it's illegal to go swimming in the river, don't you?" The small demon behind him ducked as the officer was now speaking with her, and Kenshin jumped in quickly.

"We're really sorry about that, officer. I promise it won't happen again. Right?" He looked pointedly over his shoulder, and those pure blue eyes glanced up at him before sliding over to the officer. A slower nod of her head agreed. Kenshin turned his harmless smile back on the dog demon. "If there's some kind of fine, you can give it to me. I know her family can't afford it, and I don't want her to get in any more trouble."

Brown eyes closed on an outward breath. "Just… don't do it again. We'll skip the fine this time." The stocky dog demon shifted his weight to one side as he once again addressed the young woman. "Make your cousin here take you to a pool next time. You'll have more fun that way. Good day." He bowed to them both, and then turned to head out. Presumably to patrol the surrounding area. Kenshin let out a long breath of relief, and tossed a grin over his shoulder.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather he help you out? He seemed pretty nice." Timidly, the young woman released his shirt and stepped back, but once more shook her head in negation. "Alright, but you'll eventually have to tell me why." Studying her thoughtfully, Kenshin bowed slightly in greeting. "My name is Himura Kenshin. May I have your name as well?" A startled breath pulled fast past her teeth and produced a light whistle of air, but when she looked at him again, there was sorrow in her eyes. There was just something about those eyes. "Okay, you don't have to tell me." His concession only seemed to sadden her further, though, and he watched as her entire body hunched. Slowly, one of her hands reached to ball under her chin, and the very tip of her tongue flickered out to skate over her dry, cracked lips. Almost as if she had to strain for it to reach.

"Are you thirsty?" Her eyes widened in wonder, and his smile became genuine. "We can at least take care of that."

Her pained gait made sure it took them awhile to reach the nearest convenience store, but though she had willingly hidden behind him at the station, she had resumed her distance afterwards. She would not allow him to help her walk. He did, however, make sure to find her a bench to sit on while he bought her a bottle of water.

The bottle was emptied greedily while he sat on the opposite end of the bench and debated on what to do with her. He wasn't sure why she had followed him, or why she had denied the assistance of the police. An old human adage whispered in the back of his mind about feeding stray dogs, and he cracked a smile that he had to hide in his shoulder. It was at that moment that his phone rang, and he suddenly remembered his forgotten lunch date.

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry. I came upon something… urgent and was unable to make it. Could you apologize to her for me? …No, I'm not making this up…" Kenshin sighed and raked a hand back through his red hair. "You're right. I'll apologize myself… she's not still waiting, is she?" A soft wince hissed between his lips. "Dammit. Yeah, I know… bye." The phone dropped into his lap where he cradled it with both hands, and he stared for a while at the sidewalk.

Rustling reminded him of his new companion, and he glanced at her to find she had scrunched herself into a ball on the seat. Both of her knees were pushed into her chest, and she was dangling the now empty water bottle by two fingers in front of her legs. It was strange enough to pull a chuckle from him. "You are an odd duck, aren't you?" Her head tilted, as if she didn't really understand what he meant. "Well, I suppose we need to figure out something for you." A frown crunched his forehead, and he glanced again at her cracked and bleeding feet. "You should really go to the hospital and have those looked at." She blinked at him, but there was no immediate denial. "Of course, they'll want to know who you are when we get there. Are you sure I can't call someone for you?" For reference he held up his phone, and she glanced between him and it, confused. "Don't you have family? Or maybe a friend?"

Blue eyes studied him for a moment, then drifted away to gaze across at the other side of the road. A minute later her shoulders lifted in a half shrug and her head shook slowly. But then a deep frown creased her forehead, like she wasn't quite sure of herself. Maybe she doesn't remember? Could she have amnesia? That might be why she won't tell me her name. "Alright, well we can at least get your feet taken care of. I'll cover your expenses for now, but you'll owe me." He stood and offered her a hand with a smile. A couple of blinks determined that he was being genuine, and she hesitantly placed her dirty hand in his.

As she stood to her feet, the front of her large sweatshirt became visible. The cloth around her neck appeared dark and wet, where before it had been simply dirty. "Did you spill your drink on yourself?" She must have been really thirsty. The thought birthed amusement at first, but as he continued to study the damp cloth, he noticed that her neck was also wet. Her chin, however, was bone dry. Slowly, so as not to startle her, his hand reached for her chin. Anxiously, her blue eyes flitted back and forth, back and forth in quick succession, as she allowed him to tilt her head up. Rivulets of water drew multiple grimy lines outward from a single, circular area just behind the forward round of her jawbone. At its center, a flat piece of steel was pulled flush against her skin, and red patches of irritation could be seen surrounding it.

Something leaden dropped into his stomach as he could and could not imagine what it meant. Now, he had to know. "Open your mouth." The words came out like a command, and while she ducked, she obeyed.

Sitting like a perverted pearl at the center of her tongue was a large metal ball to match the steel plate.

Someone had literally pinned her tongue to the bottom of her mouth.

X

A/N: This story has been gestating in the back of my mind for a few years now. It wasn't originally like this at all. In fact, it's changed from light to dark to light multiple times. With the way things are right now, I really just wanted something light that focused more on love than hate. And this story fit that bill the best. This story is in no way meant to reflect anything that is happening now or in real life at any time. It is a fictional story that has only one purpose, and that is escape. No one needs to read more into it than there is. I only want it to relax those that read it, without feeling like they have to dig for some deeper meaning. Because there really isn't one. I just love to create made-up things, and I love to write about those made-up things, and I love to share it with anyone who loves it, too. To that end, if you've enjoyed it so far, and wish for me to continue, please leave a review.