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The Reluctant Half-Sibling

Part 3

They had all finished their dinner, and Sano was a bit tipsy from his sake, Megumi groaned, "I'd best take him to my home."

"I'll help you Megumi!" Yahiko grinned.

"I will take Neko… home," Kenshin turned to the girl that stood next to him, and watched her as frowned at Sano's drunkenness.

"Hey (hic!) Kenshin, where's she live?" Sano nearly fell on top of Yahiko.

"The Kamiya Dojo," Kenshin replied.

"I wonder…" Neko whispered softly, Kenshin barely heard it, but he frowned when she quickly took off towards the dojo. Kenshin ran quickly to catch up to her. He had lost sight of her, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Neko's scream of fright urged him in the right direction. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"

"I suggest that you release her," Kenshin's hand was on the hilt of his reverse-blade. Kenshin was surprised when Neko's captor let out a cry of pain, as she bit his hand that had covered her mouth. Then she stomped on his toes, and lastly she turned and kneed him. The man went down in pain, but he managed to grasp her dirty gi as he fell, causing her to tumble to the ground.

A second man sneered at the one who had fallen, and he grabbed Neko, pressing her back to him, and a knife to her throat, "After what this wench just did, I think she owes me friend and me something." His lips turned up into a lustful grin. He ground his pelvis into her lower back.

Kenshin watched as Neko shivered with revulsion and fear in the man's arms. Kenshin finally snapped, letting loose an angry growl, he unleashed his fury, his sword unsheathed in mere moments, the blade gleaming in the light of the moon. As Kenshin stabbed the man in the shoulder, Neko fell to the ground. Kenshin placed himself between the would-be rapist, and Neko.

A third man came from the shadows, but he only went to the man on the ground, slung him over his shoulder, and left. The man that had caused Kenshin to loose his control was crying in pain. The knife he had held to Neko's neck, now lodged in his lung. How he did that remains unknown to any mortal.

Neko watched in horror as the man's eyes went dim. Kenshin was breathing hard, anger still in his eyes. There was a flicker of gold, but Neko did not think anything about it, "Kenshin…" Kenshin's head and eyes jerked toward her, "Kenshin?" Neko stared at him, her eyes pleading and trusting.

Kenshin's breathing became near normal, and his eyes returned to purple, "Are you injured?"

"No," Neko shivered. "Just scared," she began to panic as Kenshin began to walk away from her… "KENSHIN!" She ran forward and threw herself into his arms, hugging him for all he was worth.

"You said that you were scared. I scared you…" Kenshin sighed tiredly and tried to continue.

"No!" Neko refused to release him, "You didn't scare me! Those men did!"

Kenshin closed his eyes, and let himself wrap his arms around her, "I am sorry I could not get here sooner."

"Kenshin, you saved me, and that's all that matters to me," Neko still refused to release Kenshin.

"Neko, why are you called that?" Kenshin asked.

"I… I guess because I've more curiosity than a cat, and always got into trouble…" Neko frowned.

"What is your real name?"

"Ureshii," Neko released Kenshin. "I'm Ureshii Kamiya, Kaoru Kamiya's younger half-sister."

"You are called 'happy'?" Kenshin blinked in surprise as he turned and looked at the younger girl, the mere child standing before him.

"I bring anyone anything but what my name claims," Neko/Ureshii muttered harshly. "It was a fine day, when a group of men came down the streets. I was playing on the wall outside. I watched them, but one of them saw me and began to throw things at me. I turned and ran back home. They followed me, slaughtered both my parents and almost caught me… but Kaoru saved me. She fought them off long enough for men from the village to get here. She saved me, but when I tried to talk to her, she was cold to me. I just didn't understand what I did wrong, until today. I had a long time to think about what I did wrong. I understand why she blames me for their deaths, even though it was not truly me who caused their deaths. I later learned that they were sent to kill all of the Kamiya line. It was because my mother had killed her last husband, and it was thought that I was her last husband's child. The family I knew was destroyed, because my mother was a murderess. Kaoru was grieving in the garden, when an old woman walked by. She cursed Kaoru to hate all her family, and sent an evil spirit to dwell within her. I tried but once to find a miko and exterminate my sister's curse, but I was locked away and tortured by the demon. I could tell no one and then I became afraid of the demon. Once in a while, Kaoru would come back to me, if only but a moment… It was then I would always try to encourage her to fight the demon, but she failed."

"You lied to all of us," Kenshin frowned down Ureshii. "How do I know you do not lie now?"

"I was scared, alright? You saved me from the demon, but took me away from Kaoru! I don't even know where any miko or monk resides to break the curse! I needed help! I admit it! I lied to you, your friends… I even lied to myself! I believed that if I did tell the truth you would not want my sister to return to the way she used to be! I was afraid! I'm just a kid!"

"You should not have lied," Kenshin continued to frown. "Yet, if Miss Kaoru can be returned to normal… I will help you."

"So, where's the nearest temple?" Neko/Ureshii stared up at the man before her in awe.

"A few houses down."

"Monk or miko?"

"Monk."

"Where is my sister being held?"

"The police station," Kenshin glared down the road, and refused to look at the young girl. Neko/Ureshii resigned herself to follow him the rest of the way, in silence.

WhiteRabbit5: Thanks for all the compliments! I haven't really watched Rurouni Kenshin enough to know anything but the main characters names and dispositions. And frankly, I have no clue what a 'shishou' is, maybe you could enlighten me! I do know that neko means 'cat' and when it popped into my head, it wouldn't leave until I let it out in my story. Plus, this chapter explins that 'Neko' is just Ureshii's nickname.

Seraphina2: I'm getting predictable? Hm, I guess I'm glad you told me, but changing a writer's style of writing is near impossible, however, I hope the changes in this chapter throw away my 'predictability.' Thanks for telling me how to correctly spell Kaoru's name! I'm sorry, but I really have no clue about who invented calamari, I just know that many people, in the oriental areas, eat squid. I really don't know anything about Japanese food except that they eat miso soup, oden, and created a wonderful dish called ramen. I know that ramen wasn't evented until way after the Meiji Era... and I wasn't and still do not know where calamari came from, but it does taste wonderful!

sYaOrAnRoXmiSoX: Thanks for the encouragement, I hope this chapter is a bit better than the last one!