How about that? It takes me two weeks to put out chapter 4 and I put out chapter 5 in…five days? Huh. I guess I was a little more motivated to do this chapter because this is when I unveil the twist I've been looking forward to. Anyone see it coming?

Disclaimer: I am American. I am female. My name is not Nobuhiro Watsuki. Hence, I do not write Rurouni Kenshin. Nor did I publish it. So I don't own it.

Around mid-afternoon the next day, Kenshin could be found strolling down the walkway, several groceries in hand. Kaoru-dono always had to buy so much at once…He walked to the door of the training hall and heard the sounds of Kaoru and Yahiko training within. Around the corner of the dojo, on an area of the walkway protected by shade, Kenshin noticed Sano's arm flopped lazily against the wood.

"Sano?" Kenshin asked.

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen Kazue-chan at all today? It's almost as if she disappeared."

Sano shifted and looked around the corner at Kenshin, only one eye open. "Haven't seen her." He said. "I wouldn't worry about it though. The kid can take care of herself."

Kenshin smiled and nodded. "I suppose you're right." He said. "I've just gotten use to hearing her trip over things and crash into walls, it's surprising for it to be so quiet."

Sano smirked in reply and disappeared behind the wall again. "Yeah, she's something else."

Kenshin nodded again, opened the door to the dojo, and disappeared within.

Sano leaned back against the wall, placed his hands behind his head, and shut his eyes. Now that Kenshin mentioned it, it was suspiciously quiet. The last time he remembered it being this quiet was…before Kazue came.

Slowly he shook his head. It really did shock him how quickly she could go from quiet and somber, to evil little imp, to raving lunatic and back again. She really was something else.

Then, threw the silence, Sano heard the quiet sound of someone tip-toeing across the walkway. He peeked around the corner, moving slowly as to not attract attention to himself. Kazue was walking cautiously around the opposite corner, watching the door for any movement. Her shoes were in hand, and she was stepping rather lightly.

'Speak of the devil and she appears.' Thought Sano, leaning forward for a better look without giving away his position.

Kazue sat down quietly and slipped on her shoes, turning to look at the door every few seconds. Apparently, whatever she was doing, she didn't want to be caught. Sano watched with amusement at the terrified look on Kazue's face every time she turned around. What was even more amusing that she only looked at the door and no where else. Someone could easily sneak up behind her, or even in front of her, and she wouldn't notice. Apparently she wasn't that use to the whole "sneaking around" thing.

"Where're you going?" asked Sano, unable to resist.

Kazue, who had been oblivious of his presence, yelped in surprise and jumped backwards, almost falling off the walkway. She shot a frightened look Sano's way, which he returned with a raised eyebrow.

"S-Sano…" she said nervously, getting to her feet. "I didn't see you…"

"Obviously."

A moment of silence followed, Kazue fidgeting uneasily. It was almost as if she were weighing her answer.

"I'm going into town." She said simply, plunging her hands deep into her pockets. She didn't look him in the eye as she spoke, and her face held the same expression as a dog that knew it had done something wrong. "I should be back before dinner."

"All right kid." Said Sano, waving her away lazily.

Kazue in turn waved as she turned to go. Unfortunately, her shoe caught on the wood and sent her tumbling down the steps from the walkway to the ground.

Sano watched as Kazue tumbled down the steps, his head bobbing after each step she fell down. Three, four, five…When she came to a halt, Sano got to his feet, stepped off the walkway, and headed toward her.

"You're pretty talented kid." He said. "It's gotta take some serious talent to do that when there are only two steps."

However, Kazue wasn't listening. She propped herself up into a kneeling position and carefully pulled her right hand out of her pocket, making a pained hissing noise in the process. As Sano got closer, he noticed a seeping line of crimson running across her palm.

"Hey, did you-"

However, he didn't get to finish his sentence. At hearing his voice, Kazue jumped to her feet and darted out the gate with a rushed, "Ja ne!"

Sano blinked in surprise as the gate banged shut behind her (only to bounce back from the force).

"What was that about?" he asked, perplexed. After a few moments he shook his head and headed back to his spot in the shade. "I'll ask her when she gets back."

However, even when darkness had descended, all that could be heard was the clicking of chopsticks. Kazue still hadn't returned. Kaoru, who kept looking at the closed door every few minutes, was particularly nervous.

"I hope she's all right…" said Kaoru for the fifth time, her brow furrowed in concern.

"I'm sure she's fine Kaoru-dono." Said Kenshin reassuringly. However, when she had looked down, Sano noticed Kenshin stare at the door with apprehension.

The rest of the meal was basically silent, except for a few random, nerve-driven comments from Kaoru, mostly about one of her kitchen knives having gone missing.

As he finished, Sano sighed and set down his bowl and chopsticks.

"I'm gonna head home." He said, getting to his feet and shoving her fists into his pockets. "See you guys."

As he slid the door back, he heard Kaoru mutter something about ungrateful moochers, but he ignored it. He had something on his mind, and he didn't even care on a regular day.

As he walked, passing through the gate and down the streets, he started thinking. Why had Kazue been so anxious before leaving? What was in her pocket that she had cut her hand on? Why did she panic when he tried to ask about the cut?

He wanted to brush it off with a solution like, "She's just weird," or "She's always like that," or "It probably wasn't important." However, after her little disappearing act, those options had gone right out the window.

Before he knew it, he was walking through the underground, almost at the row houses. Light and sound were still abundant in the bars and brothels as Sano walked past. Ah the drunkards and perverts. It was as if they never slept.

"Ah come on hon. Don't lie." Said a voice of to Sano's right. "We know you have money."

"You're a dumbass." Replied a female voice. "For the last time, I'm poor! Leave me alone!"

"Then you must be down here for some action." Said a third voice.

"Fuck off." The female voice again. "I use to live here, unfortunately."

There was a moment of silence before the first male voice replied, laughing. "I thought you looked familiar. Your eyes look just like hers. Big and stupid."

Hearing this, Sano stopped. Big eyes?

"…her?" asked the female voice. The voice's tone suggested that it already knew what the answer would be.

"Ezakiya's whore." Replied the second male voice. "Didn't talk much. Akechi Erika was her name?"

Now Sano was very interested. Immediately, the memory of the two back-to-back murders filled his mind, especially the bit about Ezakiya's murderer, who had yet to be captured. Since Akechi had apparently had no family, the case had run cold, for the police hadn't a single lead. Maybe this person had something to do with it…

That's when all hell broke loose.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?????" screamed the female voice, the ferocious shriek echoing through the street. It was accompanied by a loud, wet thumping noise, like someone being stabbed.

"AUGH!" screamed the second male voice. "She stabbed me! That bitch stabbed me!!"

The sounds of a scuffle broke out, and Sano could hear a body being kicked around.

"LET GO OF ME!!!" screamed the female voice maliciously.

Sano's eyes widened in horror when he heard it. He'd heard that exact scream before…just before a shinai was snapped in half over his head…

"Oh my God." He said, then ran off towards the fight. "It can't be her. She can't possibly be that stupid…"

As the figures silhouettes came into view, Sano could faintly see two figures, obviously the two males, kicking at something on the ground, obviously the female.

With one punch, the first guy was down and out. Stupid weakling. The second guy however, was more of a challenge. He had a knife in hand, and really wasn't afraid to use it. Five seconds later, he was on the ground, twisted like some sort of pretzel.

He turned toward the female, who was still laying on the ground, groaning and holding her face.

"Kazue." Said Sano, stepping up to her and kneeling down. It wasn't a question. He already knew.

"Sano?" came a dazed and pained reply. The girl lifted herself onto an elbow, not without difficulty, and moved her hands from her face. Though Sano couldn't see it, her nose was bleeding profusely from behind punched in the face. Being kicked in the head hadn't done much for her mind either.

"Idiot." said Sano curtly, helping Kazue into a kneeling position. "What were you thinking?"

"They insulted my mother." Said Kazue dizzily, clinging tightly to Sano's shirt. Apparently, the kick to the head had done its damage.

Sano narrowed his eyes, considering her. "What did you stab that guy with?" he asked, speaking slowly.

"A kitchen knife." She responded, waving her hand behind her. "They knocked it out of my hand. It somewhere over there."

'Hm.' Thought Sano. 'So that's where Missy's knife went.' (Even he was surprised he'd been listening).

"Come on kid." He said, pulling her up onto her feet. "I gotta get you back to the dojo. Missy's pretty worried about you."

As Kazue stood up, the damages of the blow to the head were even more apparent. She held her forehead and groaned, leaning too far over to the left. Add in her bleeding nose and stained gi, and she really was a mess.

She attempted to walk forward but only succeeded in quickly losing her footing. She stumbled, Sano catching her arm as she fell. Sano sighed. There was no way she could walk back.

"Come on kid." He said. "I'll carry you back."

A few minutes later they were well on their way back, Sano carrying Kazue on her back. Here eyes had flitted shut and her arms hung loosely around his neck. Her head rested on his shoulder but unfortunately, her nose hadn't completely stopped bleeding yet. As a result, Sano's shirt had a large crimson stain on the shoulder. However, for a man who'd constantly gotten his hands dirty from street brawls, it wasn't anything worth whining about.

"I'm sorry." Said Kazue groggily.

"I thought you were asleep," said Sano, turning his head and looking over his shoulder at her. Her eyes were still shut gently, and her face was fairly relaxed. The only sign that she hadn't drifted off again was her firm grip on his shirt.

"Nu uh." She replied, shaking her head.

"What are you so sorry about now?" he asked.

"Causing you trouble." She answered.

Silence followed as they past through the empty uptown streets of Tokyo. Another ten minutes to the dojo. After only a few minutes, Kazue's grip slackened and she began to snore lightly.

Sano continued on, looking ahead at the road. As he went, he griped to himself about having to walk double the distance that he would have had to. If Kazue hadn't needed saving, he'd already be home.

'Why was she in the underground anyway?' he thought. 'And in a place like that?'

As the dojo came in view, he turned to look at Kazue again. Her nose had stopped bleeding, though a crusty line of red still remained on her face (not to mention the blood on Sano's shirt). Besides that, she looked rather peaceful. It really was a shame to wake her, but he did it anyway.

"Hey kid." He said, bucking Kazue and jolting her from her sleep. "Why were you down there?"

"Huh?" asked Kazue, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Why were you in the underground." Repeated Sano. Ahead, he could see light coming from the dojo. Missy must have left a few candles burning.

"I go down here sometimes to see if I can find him." She answered.

"Him?" Sano asked, raising an eyebrow. Couldn't she be even a little bit more descriptive than that?

"The man who ruined my life." She said, starting to drift off again. Sano only had a moment to seem perplexed before Kazue nuzzled into his shoulder, making him feel incredibly uncomfortable. He bit his tongue however, waiting for her to continue.

"Maybe you could help me find him." She said, opening her eyes. "I mean, you live in the underground, and you seem to know your way around. Maybe you know him."

"Maybe." Sano repeated in response.

"Everyone in the underground seems to know about him, but nobody will give me any information without payment. Greedy bastards."

"Do you know this guy's name?"

"Uh huh." Kazue responded. "Everybody does."

Sano listened, waiting for her to say this apparently famous name. However, when he heard it, he wished he hadn't.

"His name is Zanza." She said.

Wow. Seven pages of text and only a few hundreds words of 2000. Weird eh? So, what do you guys think of that? R/R so I know!