Disclaimer: Singing I do not own Rurouni Kenshiiiiiiiiiiiin! Whole room cringes

Thought I'd try something different because I'm having trouble with formatting.

Normal text is happening now

Things in italics happened in the past or are thoughts

If this works, I'll be converting the rest of the chapters to this format shortly .

Chapter 8

Fatigue & Mischief

Kenshin woke slowly to the sound of soft singing; he tried to open his eyes to scan his surroundings, another deeply ingrained habit from his past as a hitokiri. When he found that his eyes didn't want to open he was surprised to find he didn't really care.

The singing was so soothing, so relaxing that he felt his overtired body relax beyond his control, Kenshin found he just wanted to lay there like that forever. In one corner of his exhausted mind he realised that he shouldn't be as tired as he was, something must have happened to him but, he just couldn't summon the strength to search his memory for what it was.

The singing continued unbroken and peaceful, the kind of pure, unselfconscious singing of one who didn't know they had an audience. The ex-assassin sighed softly and allowed himself to slip back into the darkness.

Kaoru looked up as she heard her friend sigh quietly.

'Kenshin?' she tried. There was no response, she watched him sleep peacefully for a few moments, but he didn't stir, she shrugged and continued humming absently, her hands on automatic while she stitched a small hole in a pair of her training hakama.

She glanced up at the clock that was hanging over a small bonsai tree that had been placed decoratively in the corner before sighing softly, it had been three hours since their encounter with the water puppet and still there had been no movement from Kenshin. She allowed her eyes to glaze over as she though back to the conversation she had, had with Sanosuke shortly after the incident.

'I just don't know Jou-chan,' Sanosuke had muttered, after the initial shock of being attacked by a cape wearing water puppet had somewhat worn off the group and he and Kaoru were left alone to watch Kenshin. 'This whole thing just doesn't seem right, you know?' he sat down heavily on the tatami matting, his back supported by a wall, he crossed his legs comfortably and then continued thoughtfully. 'I mean, I've always known Kenshin was good at what he does, but since when can he shoot green fire from the sakabatou?' He ruffled his hair in both hands and groaned in frustration. 'How many more secrets can one guy possibly have?' He asked in helpless annoyance.

'To be honest Sano, I don't think even Kenshin knew he could do that.' Kaoru told the other reasonably, while she felt the sleeping man's forehead for any sign of fever.

Sano dropped his hands back into his lap. 'Yeah, you're probably right, Jou-chan,' he admitted wearily. 'Do you think we'll find out how he did it?'

Kaoru nodded once, deep in thought. 'I'm more interested in how he can do it.' Kaoru told him, apparently satisfied that the rurouni wasn't burning up and settling back down on her knees. At Sanosuke's confused look she embellished. 'Like, where did that fire actually come from?' She paused. 'Things don't just catch fire like that, and that was unlike any fire I've ever seen before.' Sano nodded thoughtfully while she continued. 'I'd also like to know why he and Saitoh have been acting so strangely recently.'

Sano nodded again and crossed his arms across his chest. 'I know what you mean,' he agreed. 'For arch enemies they sure have been getting on well lately.'

'It's not just that it was Saitoh who carried Kenshin up here in the first place that was so odd, although that was unexpected.' Sano nodded again, casting an eye at their sleeping friend. 'It's that lately, whenever they're together Kenshin.' She paused, trying to find the right word. 'He… teases Saitoh, and Saitoh doesn't get angry.'

Sano shuddered at the thought. 'I know what you mean, you wouldn't catch me teasing the Wolf of Mibu like that…but the really strange thing is, even when Saitoh does bite back, there isn't any malice there, only mischief.'

Kaoru drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. 'Yeah, that's what I thought too.' She shook her head in confusion. 'But why so suddenly, and why both of them?' She asked slowly. Sano leant his head back against the wall and looked at the ceiling.

'I don't know yet, Jou-chan, but we will find out.' He prepared to stand up, while she grinned a little at his confidence. 'I'm going to go and have a word with Aoshi and the others.' He informed her. 'See if I can get some answers. You're staying here?

She nodded, her eyes back on the sleeping red-head. Sano clasped her shoulder comfortingly and walked out, sliding the shouji carefully behind him.

Kaoru jolted back to the present as Omasu poked her head through the doorway.

'Kaoru-chan,' she asked quietly, looking briefly at Kenshin's prone form before lowering her voice further. 'Could you come downstairs for a moment? Aoshi would like to speak to all of us.'

'But…' Kaoru looked back at Kenshin not wanting to leave him alone when he was unconscious. Omasu understood and stepped back in the hallway to speak with someone Kaoru couldn't see. She heard footsteps heading away from the room and Omasu poked her head back in quickly and winked at Kaoru. 'The replacement will be here in a moment.' She informed the surprised girl, before turning and walking back down stairs.

She could hear two sets of footsteps coming down the hallway towards her and the sound of low arguing.

'Please Hajime,' Kaoru heard Tokio say to her husband. 'It will only be for a moment, and you are the only one who can do it at this moment.'

'Absolutely not,' came the low growl of Saitoh through the thin paper. 'You know how I feel about the man. Now you say you want me to guard him, I refuse.' Kaoru heard the sound of material rustling, and guessed Saitoh had crossed his arms in front of his chest.

'Hajime…' came the feminine voice again, this time with a hint of iron to it.

'No…' the Wolf sounded immovable.

'If you don't, I'm afraid I won't be able to…' Kaoru didn't hear the rest of the sentence as it was whispered directly into Saitoh's ear. Again she heard the rustling of material as Saitoh uncrossed his arms. There was a long pause.

'All right.' His voice said gruffly. 'But only for a few moments.'

'Thank you, Hajime.' Tokio's said demurely as she slid open the shouji to Kenshin's room and beckoned to Kaoru. 'I won't forget this.'

Saitoh just snorted and raised an eyebrow. 'No,' he said as Kaoru moved out of the room and he walked in. 'and neither will I.' the shouji snapped shut and the two women moved down the hallway.

Saitoh settled by the doorway, his sensitive ears hearing Kaoru ask, 'Tokio-san, how did you do that?' And his wife reply

'You will learn more when you are older, but there is one piece of advice I would like to give you for whenever you deal with men in the future.' came Tokio's voice, tinged with a little mischief.

'Really?' Came Kaoru's voice, more than a little interested, Saitoh pricked up his ears too, a little interested himself. 'What is that?'

'If asking doesn't get what you require, a little blackmail surely will.' Tokio laughed delicately as Kaoru sweatdropped and the pair continued down the hallway, leaving Saitoh to groan quietly to himself where they had left him.

Saitoh glanced at Kenshin. 'Ahou, this is all your fault.' He accused the unconscious red-head.

As expected, Kenshin ignored him. Saitoh glared once more at the sleeping man, then cast an already impatient eye at the clock on the wall, trying to pass the time in meditation. For some reason, the feared wolf found that he couldn't concentrate and re-opened his eyes irritably after only a few minutes.

Having nothing else to look at, Saitoh found his eyes straying to Kenshin's sleeping face. The Shinsengumi squinted slightly, trying to compare the man before him to the boy in his vision. There's too much hair. He thought to himself. I can't see properly. He hesitated for a moment before reaching out to very gently brush some of the red bangs from his enemies' face, his curiosity overcoming old hatreds for a few moments.

He sat back to observe, Yes there is no doubt; Saitoh thought He and the boy are almost identical. But why did he appear in my vision? Was it some kind of dream bringing outside influences from my memory and making them seem real? Or was it something else?

He shook his head slightly in confusion and leant back against the wall again. What's wrong with me? He thought, covering his face with one gloved hand. Why can't I make sense of anything lately? He took a deep breath and attempted to centre himself again.

His eyes flew open as he felt a flash of ki emanate from the open window almost directly across the room from him. He whipped his head a few inches to the right on instinct, cursing himself for not bringing his katana. A second later a message stuck to a long sharp object flew into the room and pinned itself, quivering, exactly where Saitoh's head had been a moment before.

He dove quickly out of the line of fire, and in the direction of the only blade in the room, Kenshin's sakabatou, he unsheathed it as he rolled to his feet with his back against the wall, to the left of the window. The ex-shinsengumi edged silently toward the open window, careful not to cast a shadow across the pane in the afternoon light.

He closed his eyes to sharpen his other senses and felt for the presence of the one who had thrown the spike. He stood there tense and silent for a long moment, listening for anything unusual. There was a faint rustling of fabric outside, to the right of the window.

There! His eyes snapped open and he dove to the floor somersaulting underneath the window to the other side, before rolling silently to his knees and thrusting the sakabatou through the wall with a quiet grunt of exertion, aiming at whoever was outside. The wolf grinned ferally as he heard the sound of ripping material. Got you! He thought victoriously, pulling the blade back through.

The tall policeman sensed for a ki, and finding nothing at all, stood to look carefully out the window, all the time keeping his guard up for a sudden attack. He swore mentally when all he saw was a drenched cloak, hanging on a loose nail on the other side of the hole he had made through the wall, a huge rip perforating the hood. It appeared his opponent had been another water puppet.

Saitoh plucked the cloak from the nail and pulled it back inside where he could examine it properly. Stepping carelessly over Kenshin's prone form to where the sharp nail like weapon was still embedded in the wall. He gasped softly as he touched it. Somehow his assailant had managed to bury an ice sliver no more than ½ a centimetre wide, 2 inches into a solid wood doorframe.

'Ice?' he muttered, trying to pull it out so he could read the message it had pinned. Who could have done this? He thought, as the ice refused to budge.

Almost as if his thought had triggered it, a faint purple light began emanating from his right hand, which was touching the doorframe near the ice sliver.

What…? He raised his hand to his eyes curiously, before his hand, moving as though it was out of his control, placed itself back on the sliver, but this time, the ice that he hadn't been able to remove earlier with brute strength, melted into a small puddle as soon as he touched it.

His eyes widened slightly in astonishment as he watched the now freed note flutter to the floor. 'What's happening? He raised his still glowing hand to his eyes once more, eyebrows narrowed in confusion. The shinsengumi blinked, and the purple light flickered out as if it had never been there.

Saitoh stared at it for a moment, before an incredibly powerful wave of fatigue washed over him, he sank to the floor shaking and gasping for breath, finding himself temporarily unable to move.

After a few moments, he took a deep breath and pushed with all his strength until he had seated himself against the wall again. He leant there while his mind worked, eventually his exhausted brain refused to figure out what had just happened, and the Wolf of Mibu drifted off into sleep in his enemies room, Kenshin's sakabatou still unsheathed in his left hand, the message and cloak, forgotten in his right.

Kenshin groaned softly, his mind deciding to finally click back into action

A/N: So there you go minna, I honestly want to thank everyone who sent me reviews for the last chapter, because without those this chapter would not have been written.

Real life was pretty hectic there for a while, and to be honest I was thinking of not even continuing this story. Every time I got a review asking me for another chapter, I started thinking about it again, and how I would love to finish it. Finally I got my butt into action and started a new chapter. Bows deeply so thank you all! x.

So, as I sit here, eating a hash brown with chopsticks because I am too lazy to wash up a knife and fork. I just thought I'd send cyber cupcakes to everyone who has reviewed so far! Sends out cyber cupcakes (better than cyber cookies, ne? x)