"What's going on?" kenshin asked, confused.

"Take a seat. She'll be back. I'll tell you what i know." Sanosuke said, biting off another chunk of bagel.

"But, she's.."

"She'll be fine, ruroni. Someone's keeping an eye on her for us." Sanosuke said sitting down. "You see, today is the day her mother died..." Sano began, it was a long story, one even he didn't like.

Before starting on the story, he pulled out a small reciever, he tossed it to Kenshin.

kenshin stared down at the little black box, trying to figure out what it is.

When he pressed a button, the black turned grey and a little blip shone through the grey, moving away from them.

Beside that, a heart blinked in rhythm with his own, and a little gague was beside that.

"The heart is for her pulse rate, The guage measures her blood pressure, and the monitor shows where she is. Remember the charm i gave her?" Sanosuke said, grinning.

"All in that?" Kenshin asked, confused.

"Yup. I love tech." Sano said, laying back. "That's yours. I got my own." He said.

"So, where is she going?" Kenshin asked, curious.

"That. You see..

She felt the jolt from her seat. Found herself upside-down. She saw redness.

She reached out and touched it and her tiny hand came back sticky and red. She cried for her momma.

They had promised that she and Sano could go to the park.

Now, Sano was next to her, trying to get her undone.

"Where's my mamma?" She asked him in her small, five year olds voice.

"I dunno. C'mon, Kaoru, we gots to get out." He said, catching her as she fell, his strong eight-year-old body able to carry her.

"Momma!" she screamed, not seeing the familiar brownish black hair. "Daddy!" She saw his short brown hair. Stained with the sticky red liquid. He didn't move. She clutched at his hair, shaking him. "Daddy! Daddy! Please wake up!" She screamed, her small body barely able to shake his head.

His eyes fluttered open to see her. Then traveled beyond her to the fire licking at the widsheild.

He smiled his warmest smile. "Run, baby. Go find your mommy. She's outside. Find her and keep her safe for me, okay?" He said, his voice warm, but worried.

"daddy, No! Come on!" She screamed as Sanosuke tried to drag her away.

"Go ahead, baby. I'll be right there, i promise." He said, closing his eyes.

"Sano, take care of her, okay?" Sanosuke nodded solomnly, seeing the flames getting bigger. Seeing the crushed metal trapping Kaoru's father.

"I promise." He said, taking her out into the harsh light of the sun. "Come on, Kao, Your mom's probably over here." He said, running toward the other embankment.

As soon as they reached the ditch, a loud thunder shook the ground, and then a hot blast threw them there. Scarring her left shoulder in the shape of a thirteen point star.

Scarring the back of his left hand, and burning away some of his hair as he tried to protect her. kaoru.

When the blast ended, she squirmed out from under him, running at the flames that shot strait into the sky to block out the sun with black smoke.

Sano caught her. Stopped her. "Daddy!" Her voice shreiked through his ears.

that voice haunted him in his dreams. That one scream, melded with her fathers, and, with the visions of red and black flames shooting toward the sun, the smell of burning flesh.

At that, Kaoru curled into a ball and cried.

She didn't stop crying for almost a year. Then, she just stopped.

He hadn't seen or heard of her crying since then. Since the day she turned six.

They had found her mom, the cops, with a broken neck and back about four hundred feet down the road. long dead.

Kaoru sat on the double grave, her thoughts blank.

Her birthday. Why on her birthday?

Closing her eyes, she sighed. Laying a black rose on each grave, she stood and walked away. The rain coming down in waves meant nothing to her. Only more black clouds to black out the sun.

aww. poor Kaoru. It's soo sad. i'm gonna cry!

Actually, no i'm not. i'm going to bed. G'night yall.

let the bodies hit the floor!