Authors Note: This is a revised version of Safe house, not big changes, just little ones. Please enjoy and put your hands together for my awsome beta, Hikari Tsuki Chi.

Chapter One: I Don't Love Him...Really I Don't

That day it was especially dreary. The dark rain clouds foretelling some ominous happenstance that was sure to come about.

The girl at the dojo wasn't even paying attention to the weather, though. She was arguing with her own consciousness. You love him! Her mind screamed at her. But the girl stubbornly refused to acknowledge these traitorous thoughts. She most certainly did not love him. Just look what he had put her through, Jin-e, the Oniwaban, Raijuta, Saito, Shishio, and those were just the major offences, not mentioning the minor ones he had inflicted upon her, Yahiko, Sanosuke, and the dreaded Miss Megumi. But all this paled in comparison when she thought of how hehad just left her to go fight in Kyoto.

And what's worse, now that he was back in Tokyo, safe at home, he had the nerve to act as if nothing had happened.

But it didn't matter, because she really didn't love Kenshin, not one whit. Who are you trying to fool... Her heart whispered, her mood unknowingly matching the encroaching rain clouds.

Somewhere Too Near

"Come on, talk to me. You know if you look at this the right way, it's all your fault. If you had stayed in Kyoto, none of this would have happened, the Oniwaban would still be alive and we would have never been in this mess. So it's all your fault. And even so, you
were supposed to be protecting me. If you had been there, I wouldn't have been taken and they would never have had the chance to blackmail you. So it's all you fault."

Yeah right, Aoshi thought, but I'll let you go on believing it.

Still Too Near

"If you don't talk to me soon, I'm going to use your own sword to cut your head off. I'm sorry that I let myself get kidnapped. But really, you can't blame them. You three are really dangerous. We can just count our blessings they didn't try to assassinate you. I'm sure living with them won't be so bad."

Yeah right, Saito thought, but I'll let you go on believing it.