KD's Notes: Heee… you're all making me blush!  Wow, seriously, you all are the best, I have to say.  You're just showering me with complements, which make me want to write more! Even though finals are coming up! Oh crap I'm in trouble!  Oh well, over it now.  I've decided that I will, from this point on, reference all comments, cause you guys are all so nice to me!!  Thank you, ever so much.  I've got a special treat planned for you all after the prologue is done; I hope that you'll enjoy that as much as you have this one so far.  On with thank yous though.

Serenity Blossom:  Thanks a lot!  It's good to know that I have someone who's looking at this both object and subjectively.

  HarukoNigihayami:  Actually, this kind of reminds me of what happened in my relationship a few months ago.  You could be right about Kenshin, and I KNOW you're right about Meg, how'd you get so smart? ^^  Yeah, I always knew Saito was an ass… . I like the fact that I could let him laugh, cause that just seems like something he'd do to the rooster-head.

Eeevee:  Yes… among other things… . ^^  Glad you like my characterization of the wolf, he's one of my favorite characters in the series, so I feel I had to do him justice.

Dough Monkey:  =^^=  Please!  You're far too kind!

Estelle Stafford:  I'm glad you enjoyed it, cause I enjoyed writing it.  =^^= And even though I don't think it's uber fantastically amazing, you all, the public, really decide that for yourselves… and help boost my confidence!

Angie:  Heh… thanks a lot… *blush*

anj:  Longer chapters?  Huh, they're already kind of long, but I suppose I can try.

Puck:  Here you go, another chapter, just as asked.  You'll have to wait and see my friend.  And yet another foreign reader!  Wow, I didn't think I was that good to reach out to other countries… *blush, hide*

            Wow, that's a lot of reviews!  Thanks a lot you all!  You really are one of the driving forces behind my continuing to write this fanfiction, so be proud.

            This update's brought to you from lovely Lexington, KY, instead of Bethany, WV, seeing as how I'm home on break.

            Right, I'm babbling on again, so lets get on to the meaty, nitty-gritty stuff that you're all here for, sap-o-rama… INITIATE!!!

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Waiting

            Kaoru took a deep breath, swinging her shinai back and forth in a vertical arc in the middle of the dojo grounds.  A thin layer of sweat had appeared on her body, the early morning sun giving it a slight glint, as if she were covered in dew.  Kenshin couldn't think of a better way to spend a morning, then watching the young assistant master run through her routine.

            "She's like a flower," he thought, smiling.  "Fragile, beautiful, just waiting to be plu…"  He laughed, shaking his head as he cut off the thought.  Kaoru-dono wouldn't be interested in anything like that, even though she'd expressed her love for him on countless occasions.  He still lived thinking that he was, in a word, unworthy.  Not just of her, but of anything that he had in his life now.

            He glanced at the sobakasu, resting now in his left hand.  A dozen years ago, he'd been out killing the followers of the current government.  He'd helped to bring in the Meiji era, creating a seemingly peaceful and serene environment.  Still, all governments had flaws, but he did not regret his decision to side with the Imperialist rebels.  That didn't change the fact that his hands were still stained with blood that had, visibly, washed away long ago.  His mind though, his feelings, emotions, wouldn't let him live the deaths down.  At night, he was often plagued by dreams of death, killings, massacres, suffering silently, pressed against one of the dojo walls, sleeping fitfully, never complaining, never admitting that there was anything wrong.

            "Kaoru-dono's perfection must not be stained by my hand, I'm too far gone to be redeemed, everything I wish I had with her is a foolish fantasy.  She is, after all, a beautiful, caring, graceful flow…" his thoughts were interrupted again by shouting, footsteps, and finally, being trampled by the stampeding Yahiko, trying in vain to escape the wrath of his 'busu' instructor.  Kaoru, as usual, had taken great offense to the name calling, and was now proceeding to beat her captive student into a senseless oblivion.

            Kenshin smiled, shaking his head after recovering from having his back used as a doormat.  "She may be beautiful, like a flower, but she's got the temper of a caged beast, that she does."

            Laughing inwardly, he walked over towards the pair, intent on making sure that not too much bodily harm came to the young swordsman.  "Maa, maa, will you both calm down, please?" he smiled that silly little smile of his, waving his hands in the air, like he often did around them, trying to separate the two.  Surprisingly, Kaoru gave up quite easily today.

            "She seems distracted," he thought, sighing inwardly.  "We all are though, especially Megumi-dono, what with Sano being arrested.  But there's nothing we can do right now.  Doubtless we'll be hearing plans for his execution or exile sooner than any of us would like…" he sighed, shaking his head.

            Yahiko, noticing the motion and the sound, turned to the red-haired wanderer.   He tilted his head to the side, and asked, "Hey Kenshin, what's up?"

            Putting on his usual smile, he waved a hand in front of him.  "Nothing Yahiko, nothing at all."

            The young boy shrugged, and walked back out into the center off the dojo yard, picking up his practice back at the beginning, after much insistence and arguing between Kaoru and he.  Shaking his head again, Kenshin smiled a bit, but his eyes turned back to Kaoru.  Though she seemed fine and normal, there was something unusual, something he couldn't quite place.  He'd had this feeling ever since they were told that Sano had been captured, and was currently facing execution or excommunication for the murder of a government official.  She knew something, and she didn't seem to be planning on telling anyone about it, at least not yet.  He wouldn't force her to though, if she wanted to, she would in her own time.

"At least… I hope she will, for her own sake."

*********

            Outside, Kaoru tried to appear as she usually did, strong, yet gentle, quick to anger, devoted to keeping the Kamiya Kasshin style alive, though the bratty Yahiko, who she didn't have to pretend still irritated her to no end.

            "That's one thing I'll never have to worry about having to fake.  Stupid kid," she thought, nursing her wounded pride.  The small hole poked in her pride by Yahiko's relentless prodding and name-calling was nothing compared to the gaping chasm in her heart though.  Sanosuke was as good as dead, especially now that Saito had caught wind of the announcement of his capture; she'd seen him earlier that day, heading into the jailhouse where they were keeping the former gangster.

            "If only they'd let me see him, I have to," she thought, her mind wandering from watching her pupil to the tall, irritating, obnoxious, though very handsome rooster head.  "What ever attracted me to him?" she wondered, as she had countless times before.  "It's not like he can offer me anything Kenshin can't, in fact, Kenshin can offer me more!  He's well known, favored among the officials in the government, he cleans, and he's willing to work.  Sano… all he can do is lounge around, gamble, poke fun at people, drink…and be the one stable thing in my life." 

            Her eyes widened a little as she came to that realization, and tried immediately to shake it off, to get that haunting thought out of her head as quickly as possible, but, it was not to be.  Over and over in ran though her mind, "He's stood beside me, no matter what happened, even when Kenshin went off to battle Shishio.  Sano stayed for a few days, and at least tried to make me feel better, then he promised to go off and bring him back for me.  As lazy and cruel as he might seem, he's really a good-hearted person, just like Kenshin, who's trying to make his friends more comfortable.  Sure, he has some bad habits, like drinking and gambling, but so does Kenshin with laundry and being far too proper with everyone he talks to."  Her eyes wandered a little, stopping on the rurouni for a moment.  "It seems, sometimes, that he's afraid of me, or of what he could do to me.  He knows I'm attached to him, but he's afraid to act on it.  Sano wasn't though, all his teasing, the winks, the sly remarks, I just feel so much more comfortable around him, because he can be himself."

            "And besides all that," she thought, sadly, "Kenshin could run away from me at the first sign of trouble, while Sano would at least be able to stand by me, wouldn't he?  He did stop by the dojo, took a chance, just to see me.  He could have used it on Megumi, but he came to see me, to talk with me, to hug me, to…" her face flushed visibly as she remembered that night not yet a week ago.  It had seemed so right, clinging to the idiot rooster, kissing him, having him hold her.  It all seemed like a dream now, but it was so very real.  She could almost feel his lips on hers again, the warm scent of his body, covered in sweat from the run over to the dojo, avoiding being spotted, the way he made her…

            "Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin asked, tapping her on the shoulder, seeing her face redden as she had been staring off into space, instead of watching her pupil run through his practice.

            Her cheeks brightened further, if that was possible, her blue eyes standing out brilliantly against the redness that had wormed its way onto her face.  "Y-yes Kenshin?"

            He smiled, scratching the back of his head a little, most likely out of nervousness.  "Well, you seemed a bit flushed, that you did.  So I thought I would ask if you were all right…" his voice trailed off, as he smiled, awaiting an answer.

            "I'm fine Kenshin, really I am," she smiled back, the blush finally beginning to fade back to her cheeks, and then disappear.  Kenshin nodded slightly, walking back up to the porch of the dojo, and sitting down.

            "As much as he cares, he's really just too timid," she realized.  "Sano's far bolder indeed, at times anyway, and I need someone who isn't always waiting for my approval before wrapping me in his arms, holding me, kissing me, making me…" her thoughts stopped suddenly, as she shook her head, dispersing the blood that was rushing to her cheeks again.  "Focus on Yahiko, not Sano, there's nothing you can do now, except hope, and pray that somehow, someway, he'll be able to get away, and you can finally go to him, where you belong."

*********

            From his perch on the porch, Kenshin watched silently, wondering, "Since when did Kaoru have a thing for Yahiko?  She can't seem to stop blushing while she's watching him practice.  That concerns me a little; maybe I should confront her about it.  A relationship like that would definitely be looked down upon, even in this day and age."  He nodded, deciding he'd bring it up after dinner tonight.  Kaoru had begun making a habit of walking out to the docks at night, that would be the best time, no distractions.  His decision made, he smiled, and turned back to watching the pair in the dojo yard.  Kaoru had stopped his practice, and was now adding in something new, not that it concerned Kenshin at all.  He was quite content with the Hiten Mitsurugi style, and had no intentions of taking on another style, at least not in this lifetime.  Settling down, he waited for the sun to rise higher, so he could finally get started on the laundry that he and his companions had neglected on their journey to meet with Enishi less than two weeks ago.  With things beginning to return to normal, minus one Sanosuke Sagara, he could try and get back into a routine, and take his mind off his best and closest friend's current situation.

*********

            Sanosuke was bored out of his mind.  He'd been in prison for almost a week, waiting for Saito to show back up, and the officer had yet to show.  As much as he hated that stupid wolf, Saito did hold his only chance at freedom, and he was willing to do anything to get it.

            While he'd been waiting, he'd taken to staring at the walls, the bars, and the ceiling, trying to find designs warped in the wood, or playing little unsolvable mind games with himself, which only served to frustrate him further.  As of now, he was focused on the ceiling, his thoughts trying to decide if one particularly warped plank was more like a flat-chested woman, or a  naked Kenshin.

            "They do bear quite a resemblance to each other," he smiled, chuckling at the thought.

            *Rap rap rap*

            Sano sighed, turning his head a little from the ceiling, thankful for the distraction that might be able to take his mind off wondering what Kenshin would look like naked, not that he hadn't seen before.  It just didn't seem right that he would be thinking about it while locked away from all civilization.  Well, except for the guards, who changed so often that Sano had no hope of keeping track of their names, much less starting a conversation with them.  They seemed like they didn't want to have anything to do with the captured gangster.

He groaned inwardly, seeing Saito standing in front of his cell, that smug little smirk, complete with cigarette hanging out of the left side of his mouth, layered across his face.  As promised, The Wolf had returned.

            "So…" Sano mumbled from where he lay, turning his attention back to the ceiling.  "I'd rather look at a naked Kenshin then the smart-ass wolf any day," he thought.

            "So I've got something set up, interested?" Saito asked, taking a long draw off of his cigarette.

            "Che, like I've got any plans to lie and rot in this cell?  I'd take death over this situation Saito," Sano snorted, sitting up, glaring at the police officer before getting up and walking over as close as he could get.

            Saito let the breath he'd been holding out, flooding the younger man's face with the noxious fumes of the cigarette the now grinning wolf held in his right hand.  "That can be arranged without sending you out on this mission you know."

            "Cut through the shit Saito, I'm really not interested in it."

            Shrugging, the former Shinsingumi 3rd squad leader pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to the gangster.  "All you need to know is on here, I'll be here tomorrow, bright and early to get you, and offer you one more chance to stay here, or be executed for your crimes.  If you continue on, there's no turning back."  He glared as Sanosuke, his gold eyes narrowing sharply, taking on an even more slanted look than usual, as he took the paper, glancing over it.  "Make now mistake moron, if you try to escape and quit on this job, I will personally hunt you down, and kill you myself.  My wife won't be able to save you if you're dead."  Turning, he marched back down the corridor, glaring at the two officers on guard, who stepped aside quickly, fearing for their lives.

            Turning the paper over a couple times, he folded it over on itself twice, then placed it down in the waistband of his pants.

            "Don't worry Saito, I've got problems to take care of with this guy anyway, and it goes back further than you'll ever realize…" he thought, watching the retreating wolf, who shot him one more hard glance before leaving.  Sighing, he went back to his bed, lying down on the hard wood.  Pinching the bridge of his nose, he shook his head several times.

            "All for you little missy, wait for me," he thought, closing his eyes, and trying to get some sleep, he'd need it for tomorrow.

            Sleep failed to come for the young gangster though, his thoughts drifting back to his mission.  Saito wanted him to get involved in a fighting tournament on the other side of the country.  Simple enough, though the orders specifically stated that he couldn't use the Futae No Kiwami during the tournament.  Still, no worries, he was confident enough in his own abilities as a fighter, and his hand had yet to fully heal anyway.  However, one thing did trouble him, the sponsor of the tournament.

            "Garret Minokin…" he mumbled, growling as the name crossed his lips for the first time in well over three years.  "Damn foreigners, think they can come in and show us all how to live?  Well, won't he be surprised to see me again?"  He chuckled a bit, taking out the orders again, reading the objective.

            Target is to be killed, dispose of the body in anyway that you see fit.

            Smiling, the young man closed his eyes again, envisioning each and every way that he would make Minokin suffer for his crimes, not only against him, but against his friends as well.

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            ^^  I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, as it's most definitely one of my longer ones.  Sorry this took so long to write, I'm caught up in preparing for finals (two weeks away as of this Thursday, EEEEE! *Panic*), projects, waking up at 4:15 in the morning to go help stores get ready for the 'Thanksgiving Rush' (you grocery store workers know what I'm talking about), and coming home, but I'll try to start the REAL story before I head back to school, next Sunday, maybe post a chapter or two.  Until December 14th though, don't expect very many, if any, updates.  ^^  If there are some, consider them gifts, from me to all of you.  Responses, good and bad, are welcome!

-KD