It was a gray day in summer and a slight drizzle fell, reflecting Karou's dark and gloomy mood. Today was the day she had been dreading since the moment she had found out the news. It was the day the man she loved would go to fight in a war. It had been the day of Karou's birthday when the messenger arrived, calling Kenshin to come and fight. And at first, she had been enraged. Cursing anything and everything that came in her path, creating chaos and havoc as she went and not caring about the consequences. As the days went by, her protests fell upon deaf ears; and a stone heart. Karou sighed, then started picked up her bokken, hoping to ease the pain through some rigorous training. She bent down, and was reaching for the bokken when a pair of strong arms encircled her. Tears flooded from Karou's indigo eyes and the arms only hugged her tighter. Kenshin's voice softly whispered in her ear "Goodbye dear one; I'll come back for you one day, I swear it." and gently gave her a kiss on the cheek. The wanderer released her and turned, his feet padding softly across the dojo's wooden floor. Karou slumped to the floor, as limp as a rag doll when a rattle was heard, and a sound of a door closing echoed loudly within the silent dojo. "KENSHIN!" shouted Karou, and stood up and haphazardly dashed for the door. But the wanderer was nowhere in sight. Karou fell to the ground, sobbing harshly upon the doorframe. Her tears streaked freely down her face, and she unashamedly wept. She cursed herself for not telling him before he left, and being such a coward about it. She hadn't told anyone yet, since she had been hiding it for so long… This is where Sano and Yahiko found her, hours later and still crying. This is also where our story begins.