Dedication: To Sara-chan, who listens to my nightmares and is constant to spur me on to embrace my dreams.

"He woke this morning she never told him/
He never realized, but now she showed him/
The sheets were folded, early that morning/
He opened up his eyes, but she was stolen/

I do not want to sleep/
Or have you separate from me/
I want you inside my dreams/
That's what she said to me/"

- "Ballad of a Boy Who Woke Up to a Nightmare" (Campfire Girls)

Caged Bird

"Damn it all!"

She cringed against the flurry of language flying from the other side of the grungy room. Miyuu paced miserably back and forth in front of Kaoru.

"What am I going to do?" She moaned, running her fingers through her hair. Her blazing eyes found her captive, smoldering with a dark dislike and a desperation that severely unnerved the younger woman. Kaoru's eyes were only beginning to adjust to the light, or lack thereof.

It was a simple and somewhat cramped room, only one door that apparently led outside, no windows. A bed sat in one corner, but it look as though it hadn't been slept in for years, the covers accompanied only a thick, brackish mold. There was a decrepit desk with a fresh white piece of paper and the beginnings of a letter, along with a sputtering candle that provided the only light. Otherwise the only piece of furniture was the chair that Kaoru was tied to.

She had given up on struggling hours ago, around the time Miyuu had returned and gave her the look that was even now sending chills down her spine. She slumped against the chair, exhausted, as Miyuzuko muttered only half-sanely to her.

"It was so simple… kill the girl, run. That was all. But no. I had to go make it hard for myself. I had to leave you alive, didn't I?" She glared, then sighed and surrendered to the disgusting bed, sprawling out on it.

"I'll leave you here, then I'll go. The boss will know you're dead and I won't have to kill you myself. You'll stay here until some animal claims you."

"Why…?" Kaoru's voice resounded, the voice of a fearful young woman, terrified, but equally curious. "Why won't you kill me?"

"Because…" Miyuu's voice was cracking fast. "Because you remind me of myself, just a little while ago." Apparently, Miyuu had decided that she had to speak her past to someone, and Kaoru was a convenient ear.

"It's been ten years since I saw my parents, you know. And the last I saw was their corpses." Her voice was weighted by bitterness. "They were killed, by an assassin. My father was important to the government. I never even asked what exactly he did… My mother was completely innocent. She'd done nothing at all, she was just… there. A man with a black cape, and a red moustache. He killed them." She looked at Kaoru.

"My father died as well…**" Kaoru quietly spoke, her eyes to the floor. "But in war. He was a good father. He always lived by the motto, 'the sword that protects life.'"

**A/N: Just a tid-bit. Contrary to some popular belief, Kaoru's father survived the Bakamatsu, the war that put the Meiji government into power, but was killed in the southwest war, of which I have little knowledge. When the series begins, he has only been dead for 6 months. I just found this interesting. End A/N**

The trace of a smile painted Miyuzuko's face. "My papa, he'd lift my sister and I into the air and how we'd laugh. My sister was kidnapped by the assassin, I looked for her for the longest time." Her eyes were bright, for the first time, but looked off into a cobweb-coated corner. "Then Toshiki found me. He was so kind to me. He got me out of the house after it burned down and he took me to the Kuro Hikari dojo. They trained me, day in and day out for five years. I wanted to go find my sister, save her. I was your age when I met Hiro. He was everything I wanted and more. He loved me.

"But they wouldn't have it. They said he'd committed suicide. I was so stupid. I thought it was my fault, I thought they were telling me the truth." She concealed a heavy sob behind a cough. From outside Kaoru's line of vision she pulled a bottle of whiskey. Ripping off the cap, she gulped down a mouthful quickly. "Then I knew. Three days ago, after four years of thinking the only man I loved had killed himself. He was killed, but not by his own hand. I found his body downstream of a little river near my hometown. Such a beautiful face, you'd think he was only napping in the river again."

Kaoru was shaking slightly, unsure of whether or not Miyuu was in touch with reason at all. She was casually swing a knife as she spoke and paced about the room. She stopped, looking thoughtful for a moment, then, suddenly her knife was poised over Kaoru's head, shaking wildly.

The door ripped clean off its rusty hinges as a new figure exploded into the room.

"Miyuu?"

"Sano? What happened?"

A bleary-eyed Sano looked up at Kenshin's fearful face again. The samurai's eyes darted about, looking at the wreck left in Miyuu's wake. There were pieces of wood broken off the dojo wall and one of Kaoru's favorite trees was more or less destroyed. The property could be replaced, but Sano was bleeding heavily from a cut in his side and Yahiko was nowhere in sight.

"Jou-chan. She has Jou-chan." Sano's breath was labored, but his wound was rather superficial. He would likely recover fine.

"Who has her?" Desperation was unconcealed in Kenshin's voice.

"…"

"Sanosuke! Who has Kaoru?"

"A lady came. She knew you." Yahiko crawled out from under the bathhouse. He was not without injuries of his own. A small cut bled on his shoulder, fear burned in his eyes, but he seemed fine otherwise.

His stomach dropped about a foot. He knew exactly who the lady was. Kaoru could be gone already. He spoke quickly. "Which way?"

Yahiko pointed down the road. "Go get Megumi-dono." He called over her shoulder. Yahiko, without a sound, took off in the opposite direction.

"Miyuu?"

The dark figure grabbed her from behind, flipping her around. Toshiki stared at her, trying to read her tear-stained face. Miyuu collapsed into him, crying again. The cold steel knife crashed against the floor deafeningly.

"What were you thinking?" he reprimanded quietly.

Kaoru shuddered wildly, to shocked to do so much as cry out. She had no idea what was going on, and she was growing more and more frightened as the numbness was replaced by realization. Toshiki left a recovering Miyuu to lean down to Kaoru. He reached to brush some dirt from her face, but she jerked away rebelliously. He smiled, but didn't untie her.

"You're real tiny for a dojo master, ain't 'cha?"

No answer.

"Kenshin will come. Then you'll be sorry." She growled.

"Small world. Kenshin, eh? Himura, maybe?"

"Kenshin…" His name caught in her throat. He was okay… "When-?"

"About a day ago. Seemed shook up over something. He was on his way to Tokyo, had a lady friend, I believe." He smiled knowingly at Kaoru, who returned a disdainful gaze. These people had kidnapped her, there was little for her to trust about them.

Miyuu was cowering in the corner, apparently appalled with herself. Kaoru could only pity her…

"We best wrap up this little escapade, don't you think? Miyuu, we'll head north, away from the dojo. Little missy, you ought make yourself as visible as possible, cause I have a feeling they're looking for you. I'm gonna go pick up our bags, Miyuu. Stay, and don't do anything too stupid." He slipped the knife from Miyuu's grasp and freed Kaoru. In a moment, Toshiki was gone.

"I suggest you not go out there." Miyuu whispered from a corner of the room as Kaoru rose a few minutes later.

"Why?" She asked defiantly. She opened the door slightly and found strangely dressed students. She slammed the door shut at their discontent faces. They were not here for a friendly chat and a cup of tea… A bullet exploded into the air and Kaoru bit her lip until it almost bled to keep from screaming. What did these men want?

His path wound around a large, steep mountain. Forests dotted the place, but much of the path was rock.

He sat again on a jagged shard of rock jutting from the earth. "A sign, please, anything." He pleaded aloud with no one. "Miss Kaoru… I don't want to lose anyone else." A shot rang out. Oh, he hated guns. He identified the shot to have come from a small cottage hanging on the edge of a precipice. His feet carried him swiftly; he had a bad feeling about the whole affair.

"Open up, we know you're in there!"

Thunmp!

Thunmp!

Thunmp!

"Don't move." Miyuu was rational again, commanding Kaoru swiftly as she crept through the house to blow out the candle. Her voice was followed by silence.

A sword was drawn in the darkness as the candle spat thin wisps of smoke in its dying.

"Miyuzuko! You're dead either way; just make it easier on yourself! "

She inhaled. So this was how it would end. "Let them come."

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+**+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Yep… this is turning into my typical bad guy-turned-good guy story. DEAL WITH IT! Ahem. I'll update pretty soon I think. Everything is written on paper; so I only need to write it into Word, and then upload… Cya soon. (Encouragement makes me want to update faster.)