Act Eight: "Sayõnara."

Kenshin stood across the yard from me, holding up a crisp and clean sheet as he folded it after washing it. He smiled, caught up in the simplistic pleasure of the job well done. He bent down to pick up another sheet, and I grinned, jumping the railing of the porch and running across the yard silently, using the lightest possible movements of my feet, not letting them stay on one piece of ground long enough to even make a slight sound.

He straightened up, and I sprang forward, my arms making contact around his shoulders as the curled around them, and I clung to his back, smiling. "Got'cha," I whispered in his ear, and he turned his face slightly to me, the smile resting lightly on his face a dead-giveaway that he had known I was coming and that he had let me jump onto him on purpose.

"But…how?" I managed, and he smiled, hiking me up higher onto his back and threading his arms through my legs that laced around his slender waist.

"This one doesn't reveal his secrets," he said, and then turned back, so that my peering face around his shoulder and his were pressed together, nose-tip to nose-tip. "But it has something to do with the vibrations of your feet hitting the ground."

"But my feet weren't even touching the ground for more then a fraction of a second at a time!"

"Something to work on, this one thinks." Kenshin laughed quietly, and I lifted my face up to the warm sunlight.

Maekawa looked at me sharply. "So it appears that these old eyes didn't fool this quick mind. There was something more to you then met the eyes. But I berate myself on not seeing it sooner. It's harder when the deeds are done in the shadows at night to know who committed them."

"I humbly beg your forgiveness for my deception, and ask you if you would continue to be my sensei, even though I am probably not worthy of such kindness," I asked evenly, bowing low to my knees.

"Hmm. Give me one reason why I should take you back."

"Because I have yet much to learn if I am even to master 'blades that teach' rather then 'blades that kill'. My honor demands that I give back what I have taken, and through teaching those who would learn for love rather then hate is the way that I can see best."

Images of the younger generation of students flashed through my head, the eager faces on children holding sticks and playing at being samurai in the town's streets in front of their houses, or in Yahiko's face as he swung his shinai in the dojo yard, listening to whoever voiced instruction.

"And how could an assassin have a samurai's honor?" Maekawa-sensei demanded. My eyes bored into him steadily.

"Because in the long run, all a samurai is is an assassin who kills to protect. And who is not to say that I didn't kill to protect?"

"But you didn't. You killed for money, from orders."

"True. That is why I repent now by serving and guarding those in need. Who is more in need then the children?" I made my point triumphantly, and then pressed on, not able to keep another point in. "And, samurai kill from orders from their lord, to defend him. And they are paid by his actions toward them and their families, keeping them on his land and caring for them."

Maekawa's face twitched at the corners of his mouth suddenly, and then flattened out again. "You always find some way to prove me wrong, Shinrin-kun. Keeping you at this dojo would continue to be an education not only for you and your future with swords, but also for me and your endless word-games. Besides, how else am I supposed to learn some of this 'assassin-style' kenjutsu if you don't stay, neh?"

We smiled at each other, and I let out a breath. "It's called Yoruyousha–ken. 'Swords of Night-Mercy'."

"'Night-Mercy', neh? Sounds to me like it was specifically made for assassin training."

"It was. Murder isn't called 'murder' in assassin groups. It's called 'mercy of the night'."

"Is that so?"

"Would I lie to you?" I asked with a quick sideways grin as I followed the sensei out the door to the training grounds.

"Hmph."

"Kenshin." He wasn't in the room we shared.

"Kenshin!" He wasn't in the training hall either. My heart began to race again. Even he wouldn't have left without saying something. This was the Rurouni who wouldn't even leave to go into town without telling me where and why he left. Always offering an explanation, it was if he made it his mission not to worry me again. Once burned by him, he was determined not to make that mistake again.

But he was a Hitokiri, as I always remembered not far out of my trains of thought. I wouldn't find him until he wanted me to.

I burst out of the dojo doors, flinging them wide and ignoring them as they slammed back against the walls. "KENSHIN!" I yelled to the yard. Nothing.

Closing my eyes, I breathed deep, centering myself and thinking of who I was looking for. Any energy in the area of his I would find. And from somewhere behind me, I felt him.

Whirling around, I sprinted through the opened doors again and down the halls of the house, flinging Sano to the side as I passed him in the hall and he didn't move as fast as I wanted him to.

"Hey! Watch it! Where're you heading?!"

I shook my head to him, and continued to the back doors, and out them, stopping sharply and looking into the darkening back yard. Under the back cherry trees I found the person I was looking for, where he stood next to Kaoru. Something about his expression, even from my distance, stopped me from running to them, and I bit my lower lip and gave them their space, shifting from foot to foot in suspense.

I saw him say something to the girl in low tones, and then embrace her in a hug. Letting her go, I heard him clearly say 'sayõnara.' The long-time tense of the good-bye made my heart jump in surprise. He said something else, and Kaoru fell to her knees suddenly.

Kenshin turned away, looking up to the dojo, and to me. I realized he hadn't missed me running out and very well knew I was there. "Sachi."

Without waiting for my mind to move them, my feet walked down to them, and I looked at Kaoru, whose face was haunted with pain and longing. I gave her a look of regret and placed a hand on her shoulder, dipping my head down. "I guess this is sayõnara for me too. Take care of yourself, Kaoru-dono."

Kenshin stopped and looked back at Kaoru, who was on the ground, tears pouring from her wide eyes. "In the world of old memories, there's no room for visitors," he said with a sad half-smile. "I never meant to hurt you, Kaoru-dono, but this is something that is meant for us."

As he turned to go out the back gate, I reached out and grabbed onto the back of his gi. "Where are we going?" I asked carefully.

"To Kyoto."

"Shishio?"

"Hai."

"Then you are going for him."

He turned profile and looked down the road that led away from Tokyo and all that we knew and to Kyoto and the uncertain future ahead, Kenshin reached out a hand to me, palm facing up. "Ready, bijin?"

I smiled at him, seeing the manifestation as if all the answers to the questions of the world were concealed inside the eyes of someone next to you. Slipping my own hand into his, I grasped it like one would hold something rare and precious.

"Always."

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Glossary for Sakabatô Crossing.

Now, I don't know about you, (heh, for all I know, you could be natively Japanese!) but for me, a glossary of unfamiliar words is always helpful. So I decided I would try to snuggle my way into good favor by including one, and also to be helpful! (Helpful people are always nice.)

I got most of my phrases from Japanese Phrases for Dummies, and then the spellings of most other words from Rurouni Kenshin. (Funny story: While reading JPfD, I discovered that for people like me, there needs to be something lower. So I decided there must be a Japanese Phrases for Complete Idiots. (Because I am one, much of the time, in between smart writer moments, and sleeping. Heh.)

So I would like you to stick with me and my affectionately-labeled:

Japanese Glossary and Phrases for Dummies (and Complete Idiots)

Bokotu – A wooden practice sword.

-chan – Used after a name to denote familiarity, or said to a child. Like, "-, my dear."

Domo – Thanks, Thank you.

Domo arigatô – Thank you very much.

-dono – Used after a name to indicate high honor, such as "lord" or "lady", or in some cases, the person's humility who is saying it.

Edo – Tokyo's name before it was renamed at the beginning of the Meiji Era.

Gi – A man's shirt that looks like a kimono or yukata that was cut off half-way.

Hai – Yes.

Hajimemashite, yoroshiku onegaishimasu – No real English interpretation. Roughly means about "Beginning, (of meeting you,) I hope you'll be as nice to me as I am to you." (Used when meeting someone for the first time, to signify you haven't ever met them before.)

Hakama – Wide pant-legged pants that tie around your waist.

Haori – A man's mid-length over-coat or jacket.

Îe – No.

Îe, heta desu – No, I'm bad. (In response to Domo arigatô, or a compliment.)

Katana – A Japanese sword, used by samurai, hitokiri, and others.

Kimono – Women's formal versions of yukatas, only much more expensive, gaudy and elaborate. They reach down to the ground.

Kochirakoso yoroshiku onegaishimasu – (In response to 'Hajimemashite, yoroshiku onegaishimasu', meaning roughly, "It's I who should be saying that."

Kon'nichiwa – Good afternoon, informal.

Kowtow - And extreme bow, in which one gets on their knees and presses their forehead to the ground. Used only with far superior people, or in Kenshin's case, to show his humility to Sachi.

-kun – Used after a name of another student or person, such as a colleague to show respect.

Obi – A wide sash used to tie a yukata or kimono.

Ohayô – Good Morning, informal.

Okiya – A geisha house.

Sakabatô – A katana with the blade and flat edge reversed, so that killing doesn't occur when wielded normally. Kenshin carries one so he doesn't kill anyone, like he vowed not to.

-san – Used after a name to denote honor, like "Mrs." "Mr." Or "Miss".

Sasuga – I'm impressed by you, as always. (A compliment in response to something someone does.)

Sensei – A teacher.

Shinai – A practice sword made of four split pieces of dried bamboo, usually with a metal cap on the end to give it some weight and balance.

Shoji screen – The thing paper-like material used in doors, walls, and partitions in Japanese houses.

Tatami – A woven reed-like floor covering used in Japanese houses.

Yukata – A thin cotton kimono, but much less decorative. Worn for leisure, after baths, dinner, and around houses. Much like the equivalent of a bath-robe, only one you wouldn't be afraid to go out in public in.

Zanbatô – A gigantic sword used in earlier times by warriors in Japan to take down a horse and rider with one swing, (Sano's weapon.)