The Fires of Vengeance

by Halcyon Seraphim

After realizing that his very presence is a danger to Kaoru and the others, Kenshin leaves the Kamiya dojo, unaware that he's leaving a little something more behind than just his friends. And years later, that something wants him dead... UPDATED! Chapter

7. Healing the Burns

The Fires of Vengeance- Chapter 7: Healing the Burns

                 

JK: Hi, all! I'm back with another chapter of "The Fires of Vengeance"! Who missed me?
(Cricket sounds fill the room.)

JK (while laughing sheepishly): Thanks for the support. Now…I've decided to bring back those nice author's notes that exist solely for comic relief. Hope no one minds.

Happy Beauty Yoshimi (dryly): Yeah, we don't mind them at all.

JK: Hey, you should be hailing me. These are your three lines of spotlight. It's the time you have to preach about how sake is bad for you when you're really attempting to steal it all and then get hopelessly drunk.

Kaoru: Been there, done that.

Sanosuke: Wasn't that the time she nearly told Kenshin she was head over heels in love with him?

Kaoru: I WHAT?!
Hiko: SHE WHAT?!

Kenshin: ORO?!

Megumi: Yo, Rooster-Head, you should be more careful with how you throw around random phrases such as that and illuminate what should've been a period of character development!

Yoshimi: Duh…what did she just say?
(Everyone, save for Megumi, shrugs.)

Megumi: It should've been a make-out scene, all right?! And now Sano exposed that!

Hiko: Well in that case…weird insane sadistic girl who's trying to steal my sake! GIVE IT BACK!

Yoshimi: Psh. And why would I do that?

Hiko: Simple. I need it. If my idiot apprentice can get himself a girl by getting her drunk, then that is obviously what I have to do. I mean, I'm in my forties and I'm not married yet!

Sanosuke: You've got a point there. I mean, even Saitou was able to land himself a wife!

Kenshin: I wonder when he managed that…being a member of the Shinsengumi and a cop must've taken up a lot of time, after all.

Yoshimi: I can explain that! He got her drunk! Who would marry that guy otherwise? And, of course, sake is the universal substance of misery and we—

JK: Your three lines of fame are up, Yoshimi.

Yoshimi: What are you talking about?! I haven't convinced anyone that sake is bad for you!

JK: You weren't doing that well a job anyway.

Hiko: So…does this mean I can get my sake back?

Yoshimi: NO!

Hiko (twitching): Stop depriving me!

JK: Don't worry, Hiko. You get to drink lots of sake in this chapter!

Hiko (brightens immediately): You mean I'm more than a one-line character in this chapter?!

(JK nods.)

Hiko: HELL YES! SAKE, HERE I COME! Am I married?

Kenshin: Shishou, you're a hermit. I don't see how you were expecting to get yourself a wife without the use of sake, which you apparently didn't know you could use for such a purpose until approximately three minutes ago.

Kaoru: Wow, Kenshin. That's the longest monologue from you for the past…four chapters!

Hiko: Shut up, baka deshi. I, at least, would not leave my pregnant…Raccoon Girl…as I set off to go gallivanting across Japan and save the lives of people who don't stop to thank me anyway.

Penny, Angel of Darkest Dreams: Is the "Raccoon Girl" thing a running gag in this or something?

JK: Apparently.

Kenshin: THAT'S NOT TRUE! THEY DO THANK ME!

Sanosuke: Ah! So that means you admit to leaving Kaoru even though she was pregnant! Everyone knows my reason for hating you now!

Kenshin: Wait, that's not what I—

JK: Yes, I noticed that there was some confusion about the last chapter and why Sanosuke has such a deep loathing for Kenshin. So I have decided that it will all be explained in this chapter. (uncharacteristically hyper smile)

Yoshimi: Yeah, right.

JK (slightly annoyed but still smiling cheerfully): Shut up, Yoshimi.

Yoshimi: Why are you so happy? It's not like you.

JK (after sighing): I'm imitating Soujirou, okay?
Yoshimi: SETACHKA! (glomps JK)

JK: Oof.

Penny: I am so proud of myself for not being involved in this stupidity. (smiles happily)

Seta: You should be. And to think, these people control our lives in this fic. (shakes head) They're crazy, mm hmm, mm hmm.

Yoshimi: ACTUAL SETACHKA! (glomps Seta mercilessly)

JK: I can breathe again!

Kenshin: But I don't think the same can be said for Soujirou…he appears to be turning purple.

JK: Yoshimi, lay off Soujirou-san.

Yoshimi: Oh, come on. If I can't have sake, can't I at least have Setachka?

Penny and JK: NO!

(Yoshimi sticks out her tongue.)

Hiko (to Kenshin, while sipping the sake he stole from Yoshimi while she was distracted with Seta): This would be an opportune moment for you to intervene and earn some favor with the authoress.

Kenshin: Oro?
Hiko: Get Seta away from Yoshimi, fool!

Kenshin: What would that do me?

Hiko: Well…for one thing, JK would like you a lot more for preventing Yoshimi from hogging all the bishounens.

Shishio: What do you mean, all the bishounens? I'm still available!

Kamatari: You mean Yumi died?! YES! FINALLY! (glomps Shishio)

Penny (to JK): There seems to be a lot of glomping going around…

(Kenshin proceeds to separate Yoshimi and Soujirou, much to Soujirou's obvious relief.)

Yumi: (grabs one of Kaoru's rice balls and smashes it on Kamatari's head, knocking him out) Hands off.

Kenshin: Those things have got some kind of power!

(Kaoru glares at Kenshin fiercely.)

Kenshin: Oro.

(Aoshi enters the room.)

Aoshi: Has anyone seen my tea?

All: AOSHI SPOKE!

JK: It's the apocalypse! (grabs Kenshin's sakabatou and goes to auction it off on Ebay while there's still time) Don't own that, by the way.

(Penny glomps Aoshi.)

Penny: YAY! I feel better now!

Aoshi: …

Penny: ¬.¬

(Yoshimi, meanwhile, glares fiercely at Kenshin.)

JK (after returning with a pretty thick wad of cash): Anyway, onto a more serious note. My friend Jenrya asked me why Reiko was so disrespectful. The answer is that it's more of a façade to cover up the fact that Reiko feels like she's been living a lie, not knowing that she was the spawn of the Battousai the Manslayer.

Kenshin: Spawn? What am I, a frog?

JK: Moving on…she's also in immeasurable pain, only she's buried it and convinced herself that she's fine. It's also changing her personality quite a bit, which will become more visible as the story progresses. But in truth, even though the disrespect she shows is very thick, Reiko still cares for everyone.

Yoshimi (gagging): Aw…how touching. Can we get to the blood or at least some more romance?

JK: Okay, okay. I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or the reverse-blade sword I just sold! It's all property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, the genius who came up with this series.

(Yoshimi looks bored.)

JK: …and the bishies in the series.

(Yoshimi perks up.)

JK: And without further ado, I present you with chapter seven! Enjoy.

As soon as the words escaped, Reiko immediately regretted uttering them. Seijuro Hiko the thirteenth! Hah! As though the Battousai would actually break tradition and stifle his blade, allowing his mentor to live. According to that book, disciple murders master in the history of Hiten Mitsurugi. It's part of succession. My damn hallucinations have got my imagination running amok, Reiko thought, rising to her feet and commencing to brush herself off. And yet…his voice, his appearance, his mannerisms…somehow, they echoed the man Reiko had only seen in her dreams.

Seijuro Hiko the thirteenth had not been happy to begin with. On his way to Tokyo, he had wandered off course a total of three times. He had spent several days without food, for he had left his sack carelessly unattended to as he bargained with a street vendor on the most reasonable price for a jug of sake. Needless to say, the enticing sack of food and money did not remain "unattended to" for long. I really am getting old, he thought disconsolately at the time. Tch. As if the damn gray hairs haven't already assured me of that. Hiko now regretted not having been to Tokyo since it was still known as Edo. But even with his lack of navigational skills, he had still expected walking to Tokyo to be a rather fulfilling, and perhaps even strengthening, experience. After all, his baka deshi had partaken in such an endeavor numerous times.

          Of course, few things in life that are blissfully planned actually follow that blissful plan. The trip hadn't turned out to be a nice little stroll through a field of daisies, as had been expected. It had been a trip full of annoyances, revelations, and sobriety. Indeed, Hiko's passage from Kyoto to Tokyo had been nothing short of a stroll through the corridors of Hell. And now some sniveling whelp had spent a full twenty seconds staring at him as though he were one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse! (A/N: Yep…I seem to like that word now. sweatdrops)

          In short, he had gone from unhappy to downright pissed off in seconds.

          "What?!" he snapped. The child rose, and Hiko could easily discern her gender. She put a meticulous amount of effort in concealing her chest, which her loose gi would have otherwise blatantly displayed. He diverted his attention from her body and looked at her face, and what he saw nearly made him blanch in shock.

          The girl was a replica of someone he knew all too well. Her bluish-lavender eyes glittered with a trace of arrogance, an arrogance few would allow to grace their eyes in Seijuro Hiko's presence. It was the same arrogance that had overpowered that someone's judgment years ago, the arrogance that had cost him his innocence and naïveté. Hiko also took into account her thick, puffy black hair, arranged in the same style as that of that someone when he had seen him last.

          There was no mistaking it. She was the daughter of Kenshin Himura.

          She offered no answer to his previous question, so Hiko decided to voice another. "What's your name, child?" Again, he was met with a steely silence and a penetrating gaze. It's as though she's weighing and measuring me, trying to decide if I'm worth her time, he thought. She doesn't seem to believe I deserve an answer from her, that's for sure. Perhaps I've already been declared unworthy in her eyes. Hiko sighed. She seems to know who I am…but she doesn't pay me the respect that is due to the thirteenth master of a sword style with which I could chop her head off faster than it would take her to blink. Sighing once again, he turned away from her. If my analysis of her personality is correct, she won't let my turning my back to her go by without a response.

          And Hiko couldn't have been any more correct about whether Reiko would choose to respond, nor anymore wrong about his character analysis. True, Reiko was slightly arrogant. But she hadn't been weighing, measuring, or declaring anyone unworthy.

          She had been plotting how to approach him. After all, she was stranded in the middle of a very delicate matter, one that could possibly decide the path her life would take. It was not an occurrence that could be dealt with lightly. There's no way that this man isn't Seijuro Hiko. He looks like, sounds like, even acts like the man in my dream. He is the thirteenth master if the Hiten Mitsurugi ryuu. Reiko concluded. And now…the question is: Why is he still alive? Tradition dictated that the Hitokiri Battousai should've killed him in order to become the fourteenth master of the technique. The only logical explanation for his existence if he is indeed Seijuro Hiko the thirteenth—which happens not to seem all that logical—is that my father never mastered the Hiten Mitsurugi ryuu.

          Likely fed up with the cloak of ice Reiko now donned, the man began walking away. Not wanting to lose such a golden opportunity when fate had so conveniently presented it to her, Reiko said her first comment since her shocked utterance earlier.

          "Seijurou Hiko…" she drawled. The man stopped short. "Ah, so that is your name."

          Hiko turned around and eyed her coolly. "And who might you be? I didn't know that I had attained fame in the hearts of sniveling little brats," he said simply, unfazed by her comment.

          Reiko smiled slightly. "But you must've noticed that I am not just any sniveling little brat. After all, I look too much like my dear daddy for it to go by unnoticed," she said calmly, twisting his insult to fit her own purpose.

          Well, this is odd. She speaks of my baka deshi as though she hates him. Hiko noted, slightly disconcerted. But even as the thought played out in his mind, Hiko said nothing and just blinked at Reiko.

          "You know the man of whom I speak, Hiko-san. Do not attempt to deny that. How could you not? You helped shape the person he is today. You took the child he once was and turned him into a killing machine…your teachings turned Shinta Himura into the Hitokiri Battousai," Reiko said with a slight hint of accusation in her voice. "But don't misinterpret what I meant, Hiko-san. I hold you not in contempt, but in reverence. It takes skill to cause that sort of transformation." She smiled bitterly at her own words. I hold you in reverence, that I do. But I am not grateful to you for handing my father his first sword, she thought, looking down at her sandaled feet. Aw, pull yourself together, Reiko! How the hell are you going to exact revenge on him if thinking about the man he could've been and the life you could've had makes you pity yourself?! A voice inside her mind scolded.

          Hiko, still standing with his back facing Reiko, let out a wry chuckle. If you only knew the true story of that half-wit's transformation… He thought, resuming his departure.

          Reiko silently began to fume. The man was obviously paying her no heed! Could she have been wrong? No, her mind shouted at her, this is the man you had so wanted to meet. Reiko scoffed at that. This was also the man who had so enjoyed hearing her talk to herself…but, then again, if he wasn't in the mood for conversation now, Reiko had no objections to waiting until it was convenient for him. She stood immoving until he had walked a short distance away and then began trailing him.

Reiko yawned. Her pursuit was becoming utterly tedious. The man hadn't stopped for a moment since he began walking, and Reiko was sure they had passed the tree stump she now stood next to at least three times. He must have realized that I am trying to follow him, Reiko realized, and now he's trying to shake me off his trail. Well, I can't say he's doing a sufficient job. It doesn't seem like he even knows where he's headed. Abruptly, the man Reiko had identified as Seijuro Hiko stopped. Well it's about time, she thought dryly.

          "Well, you can come out now," he snapped, glancing in her direction. "I know you're there, you three-foot-tall annoyance."

          With the most spiteful glare she could muster, Reiko came out of hiding and grudgingly said, "I was wondering when you'd find the place you were looking for, you sake-loving old fart."

          "I'm still wondering about that," he responded, choosing to ignore her choice of titles for him, as well as the ever-growing urge to drop-kick her several cities away.

          "So…" Reiko said tentatively. "You knew I was following you the whole time?"
          Hiko scoffed. "Please. You have a pathetic amount of ki, but even someone like you should've been able to hide it. You have a wooden sword strapped to your waist. Hasn't anyone taught you the meaning of stealth?" he said airily. Reiko blinked.

          "It was my ki that gave me away?" she inquired slowly. I didn't even know that someone could be located by those types of means! The Kamiya Kassin ryuu never mentioned being able to sense someone else's ki! Reiko thought, shocked. Or…maybe no one has bothered to teach me that yet. After all, my mother's been a tad busy…and Yahiko probably has his own lessons to deal with.

          "That, and the fact that you have no idea how to trail someone. Even a person who couldn't locate your pitiful amount of swordsman spirit would've been able to hear the numerous twigs you stepped on while following me," Hiko replied, sitting down on a nearby boulder. "You have obviously not inherited my baka deshi's covertness, child." At that statement, Reiko felt like hopping around because it indicated that she had been right after all. She decided against it, however, once she pictured how utterly undignified and simple she would look when partaking in such an action. She did, however, climb up on a boulder situated close to where Hiko sat.

          "So you're finally admitting to being my father's mentor!" she said triumphantly.

          Hiko rolled his eyes. "I'm only doing that because I see this as a desperate situation," he stated simply.

          "What's that supposed to mean?"
          "It means that I'm not telling you anything more unless you tell me where I could find the cheapest inn in Tokyo," he replied.

          "I am neither a map, nor an employee of several brothels in the city. I know of only one inn, and I never bothered to inquire as to price ranges," Reiko said coldly.

          "Well…I am neither a walking biography nor a rich man, so unless I benefit from this as much as you do, you're not getting any more information out of me." Reiko heaved a sigh. There was nothing that she could think of in response to his comment, and she knew they were at a stalemate.

          "I'll take you to that inn, but I'm not promising a fair price there," Reiko gave in. "I do, however, want you to answer a few of my questions." Hiko must not have heard her, for he jumped up and began jogging in the same direction he had been walking before. He seemed to have an abnormal amount of energy for someone his age.

          "Don't just stand there! Lead the way!" he called back to Reiko. Reiko stared at his diminishing back with half-lidded eyes.

          "YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY, YOU SAKE-LOVING OLD FART!" she shouted at him. Hiko stopped short, and then proceeded to walk towards her. As he passed by, he slapped her upside the head. "What the hell was that for?!" she shrieked.

          "Don't call me old," he mumbled, not even stopping to view her reaction. Reiko shook her head wearily. This was not turning out the way she had planned at all. Running past him, she thought, He certainly acts just like the way I imagined he would…which is not at all a good thing. A man like him would never willingly teach an eight-year-old girl the secrets of Hiten Mitsurugi. Then I'm afraid I'll have to assure him that I am different from any girl he has met thus far in his life. The fire in Reiko's eyes danced mischievously. Oh and how I will assure him of that…

Satoshi Yagami stood bent over, his palms on his knees and gasping for air. "Damn…" he murmured weakly. "Didn't…think…it…would be this hard." He bent down to pick up his fallen sword, and then forced himself to stand. "I'll just have to try again." He gripped his sword tighter and faced the metal post he was using for practice…

          …only to discover that the most imposing man he had ever met in his life was standing before it.

          "Otou-san," Satoshi greeted, wiping his brow. (A/N: Otou-san is the Japanese term for "father.")

          "Don't greet me and behave all innocent! What, may I ask, are you doing to our yard?" his father snapped.

          "Practicing," he answered.

          "And practicing involves trying to dent the lamp?" Satoshi's father questioned wryly.

          Satoshi glanced down so that his father wouldn't be able to notice his fervent glare. "I was trying to do more than just dent it," Satoshi snapped.

          "Ah…so you were trying to dismantle my property. Very good, Satoshi. Your training is over for today," Mr. Yagami announced. Satoshi looked up swiftly.

          "What?! Dad, that's not fair! I've only been practicing for a little over an hour!" he protested.

          "Don't argue, Satoshi. You should not have been using the adornments for our yard to practice at all," he replied calmly. "Into the house."

          "Dad! There's no way I'll ever master swordsmanship unless I practice!" Satoshi went on pleadingly. "Just a little longe—"

          "You insolent whelp!" his father interrupted furiously. "You know that this post"—he waved at it with his hand—"was far from cheap! I'm fed up with you using anything and everything for your 'practice,' Satoshi! Get inside the house now and start on your schoolwork!"

          Satoshi sighed. "I don't have any. We just spent the day learning about the Battousai," he explained.

          "So now they're teaching you swordsmanship at school," his father said wearily. "What am I going to do with you? Why didn't you want to attend a more prestigious school rather than that dump?"

          His son, rolling his eyes as he picked up his fallen sheath to cover his sword, barked, "Because I didn't want to spend my days with a whole bunch of arrogant fools who like to compare the amount of money their parents make in a week!"

          "Get used to it, Satoshi. You're going to be dealing with money quite frequently when the time comes."

          "If you think I'm taking your place as some hotshot politician, stamp the idiot notion out of your mind now, Father!" Satoshi retorted. His father looked away, and he could discern the disappointment in his eyes all too simply. It's obvious I'm not the one he wants to become his heir. He's just obligated to give me that title because I'm his oldest son, Satoshi thought silently. And about that… "Does Hideki need help with his work today? I'd be more than happy to help him now, since I have nothing better to do anyway."

          "Yes, your brother was asking for you a few minutes ago. Go clean yourself up and see him, Satoshi," Mr. Yagami ordered.

          "Sure," Satoshi replied, uttering his first agreeable sentence since their conversation began. He dusted off his black gi and white hakama, and then turned to head to his brother's room.

          "I meant change your clothing, Satoshi," his father remarked tiredly.

          "Oh. All right."

          "And don't start sparring with Hideki while I'm gone."

          "I wasn't going to, but thanks for the idea!" Satoshi called back.

          "SATOSHI!"
          "I was just kidding, old man!"

          "SATOSHI!"
          "I was kidding about the 'old man' thing as well."

          "Good. Off you go." Walking away from his father, Satoshi couldn't help but wonder why his life had steered onto such a path. Ever since his mother's death, his father had become obsessed with training Satoshi in political matters and preparing him to one day take his place. It was only after his mother's tragic demise that Satoshi had taken up swordsmanship. After all, of what use was he if he didn't even have the power to protect one person from the cruelty that so many were capable of? He continued walking as the image of his mother's cold, lifeless body and the pool of blood it lay in occupied his thoughts. Satoshi shook his head. I shouldn't think about her like that…it always brings me close to tears. I'll find some way to avenge your death, mom. And until then, I won't show my weakness. I won't cry. I refuse to cry, he thought, although his thoughts were directed more at himself than his mother. I wonder…what does Reiko have to do once she comes home from school? He didn't know why his thoughts tended to focus on her so much…it was perhaps the fact that she seemed about as lonely as he felt, despite his many friends at school. I hope she's at least permitted to practice swordsmanship freely. And I know she lied about how she got those wounds…

"Well, here we are. The Ishimori Inn. Welcome to my friend's humble abode," Reiko announced as they halted in front of the inn Minako's family ran. Hiko stood silently for a moment, taking in the rather impressive looking establishment, before rounding on Reiko.

          "I thought you said you'd take me to an inn I could afford!"

          "Actually…all I said was that I'd take you to the only inn I knew, and this would be the place," Reiko answered with a shrug. "And you still haven't upheld your end of the bargain, Hiko-san…"

          "I'll uphold my end of the deal once you uphold yours, Himura-san," Hiko replied with a false smile. At the words, "Himura-san," Reiko winced noticeably.

          "My surname is not Himura," she said distastefully. Hiko blinked.

          "It…isn't?" My god, is there one tradition that my baka deshi doesn't enjoy breaking?! He wondered.

          "No."

          Hiko intended to inquire as to what it actually was, but one of the residents of the inn must've heard the noise outside and decided to inspect what was causing it, so he was interrupted as he prepared to speak.

          "Reiko-chan!" someone called. Reiko looked away from Hiko and saw Minako running towards them with a pad of paper clutched in her hand and waving with her free one. "What brings you here?"

          "Hello, Minako," Reiko greeted. "I've come here to show my…grandfather…a nice place to stay, since he can't stay with us." If looks could kill, the glare Seijuro Hiko shot at Reiko would've made her drop dead in an instant.

          "Silly girl," he said with a forced smile, hitting Reiko on the head slightly. "I'm her uncle," he added to Minako.

          "Oh. Mother's brother, or father's?" Minako asked. To anyone else, it would've seemed like an entirely normal question, but Reiko knew the real motive behind it.

          "Fa—"

          "Mother's," interrupted Reiko quickly. "So, Minako, just how much does it cost to stay here?"

          "That all depends on how long someone intends to stay," she answered, and looked up at Hiko expectantly.

          "I don't know…a few weeks?" Minako removed the brush that was sticking out of her obi, as well as a small vial filled with a black liquid.

          "You've come prepared, that you have," Reiko said with a smile.

          "This makes taking down people's orders much simpler. I don't have to remember what they order," Minako replied, commencing to write a bunch of numerical figures on her paper. "Now…let's see…" Reiko watched Minako calculate a few values and then jot them down in the upper-left corner of the sheet of paper. "These are the prices for each number of weeks you might wish to stay," she explained, handing the paper to Hiko.

          Hiko accepted the paper, and looked down at the values. After a second of…delicate consideration, Hiko looked at Reiko with half-lidded eyes. "Reiko-chan­, do I look rich to you?"

          "Not at all, Uncle Seijuro," she answered with a wry smile.

          "Then you can't expect me to stay here, dear child." Hiko handed her the paper. Reiko glanced at it, and the prices made her eyes bulge out in shock.

          "Damn, Minako! With fares like those, you people should be millionaires!" she exclaimed. Minako chuckled.

          "We sometimes make exceptions. I'm sure we could reduce the prices considerably for your uncle," Minako said. "Follow me." She led the way inside the inn. "Kaa-san! We have new customers!"

          "Kami-sama, Minako! Please tell me you weren't outside begging people to stay here like you did when you were a child," her mother said wearily, sliding a door shut behind her as she entered the reception room. "Remember the man whose leg you latched onto and begged to marry you when you were…what was it? Four?"

          "Okaa-san!" Minako shrieked, blushing. Reiko couldn't help but laugh—lady-like, dignified Minako hugging a man's leg and asking him to marry her at the age of four? It was a comical image to behold, to say the very least.

          "What was his name, Minako?" Reiko inquired.

          "I…well…never asked."

          "You asked him to marry you before asking his name?"

          "I was young and stupid, all right?!" Hiko cleared his throat, interrupting the "friendly" exchange between the two girls. "Oh, yes. 'Kaa-san, this is Reiko's uncle. He wants to stay in Tokyo for a bit, but Reiko's mother is away in China and her Uncle Sano's house apparently has no room…"

          "Say no more, Minako," Mrs. Ishimori said, turning away from Minako and facing Hiko. "We always let friends and family stay for half price."

          "Well there you go, Uncle Seijuro," Reiko said happily. "I'm sure you have enough money when they cut it in half." Hiko nodded, thanking the gods that he hadn't left all of his money in his sack.

          "Well then, I'll help you get settled in, sir. Minako, you have potatoes to peel. Reiko-chan, you can help her," Mrs. Ishimori said, ushering Reiko and Minako into the kitchen.

          "Sorry about that," Minako said sheepishly, "but my mother likes to give work to every free pair of hands she sees when we're short-handed. A few of our workers didn't show up today, so we've been extremely busy."

          "It's all right. I'm used to having plenty of chores to do, so peeling a few potatoes is no problem."

          "Okay then." Minako handed Reiko a standard kitchen knife and sat down in front of a basin of potatoes. "When you're done peeling a potato, just put it into the bowl of water right there." Reiko nodded and sat down beside her.

          "So…how's my good friend Sora doing?" Reiko asked sarcastically.

          "I wouldn't know. I haven't spoken to her since that time she called you…well…we know what she called you."

          "Why haven't you talked to her? Is it because of what she said to me?"

          "Of course! I was astonished! But then again…Sora's been changing at an alarming rate over the past few months," Minako said thoughtfully.

          "Are you referring to her new-found obsession with boys?" Reiko asked.

          "Yes." Reiko shook her head.

          "My, she's an idiot. You've got to be brain-dead in order to actually like men! Honestly, the only thing any of them care about is how many women they can—"

          "Reiko, let's not finish that sentence," Minako interrupted lightly.

          "Sorry," Reiko said.

          "And Sora wasn't very happy when Satoshi and his friends crowded around you and were practically hailing you," Minako pointed out. "She told me all about it."

          "They were interested in how I was wounded, that's all!" Reiko said quickly.

          "I know, I know," the older girl replied. "But that doesn't change the fact that Sora desperately wanted to be in your shoes at that point."

          "There we go! Yet another reason why she's an idiot! Who the he—I mean, who in their right mind would want to be in my shoes?"

          "Like I said, Sora changed to the point where we didn't know her anymore, nor did she know us."

          "That's true."

          "And…well…" Minako hesitated. "She was becoming rather friendly with Masashi Ikeda." Reiko's knife missed the potato and cut her thumb at that statement. She was bleeding quite steadily, but she ignored it.

          "Nande kuso, Minako?!" Reiko asked incredulously. "Sora was going over to the dark side?"

          Minako nodded and handed Reiko a towel to wipe the blood with. "Now, enough about Sora. I have a question to ask you, Reiko."

          "Yes?"

          "That man isn't really your mother's brother, is he?" she asked. Reiko had been rather honest with Minako on matters concerning her father, but the fact that she wanted to learn her father's sword technique and punish him was something she could not share. No sane person would let me complete my goal. Minako mustn't find out about my desire to destroy the Battousai until it's too late to stop me, Reiko decided. Of course, I would prefer it if she never learned about it at all.

          "Of course he is, Minako!" Reiko said with a truly innocent smile. "Who did you think he was?"

          "A relative of your father."

          "Oh, come on, Minako. As though I'd bring a killer's relatives to your house!"

          "Reiko…you're related to the Battousai."

          "Chikusho," Reiko swore. Minako shot her a displeased look. "Sorry, again."

          "Now, tell me the truth. The man is not related to your mother, right?"

          "He's her older brother," Reiko said flatly.

          "Well…he certainly does look to be about the right age," Minako noted. (A/N: All hail Hiko for looking fifteen years younger than his actual age. Penny: And for passing the talent on to Kenshin. JK: No da.)

          Mrs. Ishimori entered the kitchen. "Enough small talk, ladies. I'd like to see some more potato peeling going on!" she ordered.

          "Mom, we're not workers here," Minako pointed out. Mrs. Ishimori didn't hear her, as she was looking at Reiko's and Minako's handiwork.

          "Minako, you're not peeling right. Half the potato remains with the peel. Include less of the actual potato when you cut," she reprimanded. "Reiko, your peeling's excellent! And just one thin peel, too, for the whole potato!"

          Minako rolled her eyes. "This is like science for her," she said.

          "I do get plenty of practice at home, Ishimori-dono. And it's not really my skill or anything. This knife just slices incredibly well," Reiko said modestly.

          "Well, my husband always did brag that his knives could slice vegetables and that the vegetables could always be attached again," Mrs. Ishimori noted. "In order to do that, you must cut without altering the cell structure of the vegetables in the slightest. It does take some amount of skill, though."

          "You mean your father makes knives, Minako?" Reiko asked, surprised.

          "Yes. He used to make swords, but there's no demand for them now so he makes knives as a sort of side business to the inn," Minako replied. Reiko tried not to openly gape at Minako. "He sold quite a few before the Meiji Era began, right, mom?"

          "Indeed. Now, enough stalling. Let's get to work." Reiko picked up a knife, and then lowered her hand.

          "What time is it?" she questioned urgently.

          Mrs. Ishimori glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's a quarter to six."

          "Oh no! I had to be home right after school!" Reiko bowed quickly and said, "Gomen, Ishimori-dono, but I really must be getting home!" Reiko was about to run towards the door, but Mrs. Ishimori's authoritative voice halted her.

          "Reiko-chan, your uncle wants to speak to you. He didn't specify as to what the topic of conversation will be, but it seemed important." Reiko sighed. Sano's going to flay me alive… She thought morbidly.

          "Okay, Ishimori-dono," Reiko answered. "Where can I find him?"

          "He's out in the yard. Don't know why, though…" she added in an afterthought. "There's nothing special to look at there. Even the garden isn't much, despite all of Minako's efforts."

          "Thanks, mom," Minako said drably.

          "Thank you, Ishimori-dono," Reiko said quickly, exiting the kitchen. As she walked, she tried to formulate her approach to convincing Seijuro Hiko to become her teacher. He'll never agree without a bit of persuasion, that's for sure. Perhaps he might be more confident about my abilities if I show him that I know the futae no kiwami… Reiko thought as she walked.

          "Well, now. You've definitely found me fitting accommodations. Now I will answer your questions, whatever they may be. But make it fast. I've had enough fresh air over the course of the past few days," Hiko said as soon as he saw Reiko come forth from the shadows by the inn's back entrance.

          "Hello to you, too, Hiko-san," Reiko greeted. "Honestly, if you hate the fresh air so much, then there was no reason for us to meet here."

          "Child, I doubt that the questions you intend to ask are suitable for other listeners besides the two of us," Hiko answered. Reiko looked around. The yard certainly did offer plenty of privacy. "Now, can we get this over with?"

          "Er…Hiko-san?"

          "Yes?"

          "My questions…they don't really require long explanations or anything of the sort. I have more of…a favor to ask," Reiko said, with slight reluctance.

          "And what might this favor be?" Reiko approached Hiko until she was a foot from him, far out of the earshot of any servants who may have been attending to duties nearby.

          "I am asking you to teach me the Hiten Mitsurugi ryuu," she said, slowly and forcefully. Hiko looked at her strangely for a moment, as if he was unable to believe what she was requesting.

          After the brief period of skepticism on Hiko's part, he said, "What is your father's name, Reiko?"

          The question struck her as odd, but she answered it anyway. "Shinta Himura, although most know him by a different name…that of the Hitokiri Battousai."

          "And who was his mentor?" Hiko went on.

          "Um…you were?"

          "So then, who was it that taught him all he knows?"

          "I'm assuming it was you," Reiko answered, getting more baffled by the second.

          "So then, why in all the hells would you come to me for lessons when the perfect person for teaching you was right in front of your nose?" Hiko asked. "Well, quite obviously, he's not the perfect person. There's no way he can teach as well as I, since he only mastered the technique at twenty eight years of age." Reiko raised her eyebrows. This is rather useful information, that it is. It may indeed come in handy, Reiko thought.

          "You're assuming that I actually know my father," Reiko answered. "I do not." Hiko stared at Reiko.

          "Don't tell me that my baka deshi has gotten himself killed!" he exclaimed.

          "I wouldn't know. I've never met the man," Reiko said simply. She watched a look of astonishment register on Hiko's face, or at least as surprised a look as Hiko could allow to grace his features. "That's right. My father—the person to whom you entrusted the secrets of your technique—left me and my mother before I was even born, Hiko. That is the reason why my last name isn't Himura, but Kamiya. He's killed countless people…so it's rather shocking that an act of such cowardice could've come from him. But come it did."

          Hiko folded his arms and turned away from his former pupil's child. Could what she is saying possibly be true? Kenshin definitely loved Kaoru. He wouldn't have run away from the prospect of starting a new life with her! Why would he leave the both of them? It just doesn't make sense. Unless…he didn't want to face what had happened with his first love, even if it doesn't seem like him. But nevertheless, my baka deshi, despite what my nickname implies, was not foolish enough to run off without a suitable explanation, Hiko thought. And now, a more puzzling question. This girl seems to despise him. Why would she want to learn a technique that the man she hates became famous for?

          Reiko noticed the puzzled expression on the man's face and chuckled. "If you have any questions, Hiko-san, feel free to ask."

          "Why do you seem to think yourself capable of learning the Hiten Mitsurugi ryuu?" he asked. Reiko smirked, not at all surprised that he voiced such a question. I knew when this began that he would underestimate me… She thought.

          "Why? I'll tell you why! Because I am just as capable of learning a style of swordsmanship as any boy! And let's not forget that the blood of the man you taught runs through my veins! I already have quite an advantage to learning the technique, as I'm sure you would agree!" Reiko answered vehemently. At this, Hiko smiled knowingly.

          Putting his hand on her head, he said shrewdly, "Listen to me. You are a child now, but you will soon cease to be a little girl and become a woman. And women are ill-suited for learning swordsmanship because they are very emotional beings, and I am sure that you especially will be very tempestuous. You lack the clarity of thought that is necessary for becoming a swordsman."

          "You only say so because you are a male," she spat.

          "Reiko, there will come a point in your life where blood will repel you. Its sight will make you reel, as it does most women," Hiko went on.

          "I dream of it, Hiko-san, and of the man who shed so much of it. If there's one thing that blood will not make me do, it is reel," Reiko assured him. Although, for a moment, it seemed as though the words were spoken to reassure herself. Will I really be able to overcome the fact that it makes me nauseous when I think of it? She wondered.

          "Even so, your mentality is not the only thing that will change about you. Although I'm sure you can match your strength to many of the boys you know, this will not remain true forever. As you grow older, the males around you will continue to grow stronger. And the same will probably hold true for you. However, your strength will never be able to compare to theirs. Theirs will increase on an astonishing scale…while yours will increase only by a small amount. You will not be able to challenge them for long," the older man continued, his voice becoming more forceful. She was trying his patience, but he would not let her emerge victorious. I have undergone far worse tests with your father…and this is yet another way in which you will never be able to surpass him. He noted.

          "I am not just any girl, Hiko!" Reiko replied angrily.

          "Why? Because your father is the Battousai? His blood does not grant you immortality, Reiko! You are relying on his reputation far too much!" Hiko countered.

          Reiko paused for a moment. "Speaking of him…I don't think it is accurate for you to say that I won't be able to stand up to most men, considering many of the accounts I've read about the Hitokiri Battousai describe him as being mistaken for a woman at first glance. I may not be able to match men when it comes to brute force, but I will be able to surpass them in terms of speed."

          "Their force won't be the only thing that prevents you from challenging them."

          "Really, now? And how would you know this, Hiko-san? I know they say that with great age comes great wisdom…but I have not yet challenged any real men…so how can you truly know whether your hypothesis is accurate?" Reiko questioned, fully aware that her comment about his age had touched a nerve. That much was obvious from the way Hiko's eye slightly twitched.

          "For your information, whelp, you will not be able to slay men simply because a woman's heart is much softer than a man's. Especially when facing a man she may have feelings for. Now, picture this scenario. Your friend, your comrade, someone whom you trusted with your life…has turned against you. Will you be able to slay him?" Hiko asked.

          Reiko did not reply for a while, causing Hiko to mistake her silence for submission.

          "You wouldn't be able to, would you?"

          "I'm afraid such a situation will never come about, Hiko-san. There is not one living soul on this Earth whom I trust with my life…and such a person will never exist. On that, I can bet my life," Reiko answered confidently. After all, she had cast her desires for friendship aside since Sora had made her little comment on Reiko's attire. People can and will change, and their changes should not have to disrupt my life. From now on…I am a lone wolf. No one should dampen my spirits the way Sora did that day. Reiko thought. Besides…I have no attachment to my life anymore. Once I kill the Battousai, if I die…if destiny has preordained that my life must end soon…then so be it. I have no regrets.

          "Fine then. But the teachings of Hiten Mitsurugi will be worthless to you. You were born into an era where killing is unnecessary. You have no need for slaying others, which is basically what Hiten Mitsurugi is designed for. For what purpose would you want to learn the Hiten Mitsurugi ryuu?"

          "You are mistaken, Hiko. I have a desperate need to slay one particular person, but that one person alone."

          "Hmm? And who might this be?"

          "The Hitokiri Battousai." Hiko smirked. I expected no less… He thought.

          "You do realize, of course, that I have no desire to teach you," he pointed out to her. Reiko nodded.

          "You've made that rather obvious."

          "Give me one good reason as to why I would teach you. My life's clock is ticking. As you have made rather obvious, I am not a young man anymore. Why should I spend what precious little time I have left instructing you?" Hiko asked.

          "You don't have that much to teach me, Hiko-san. I already have considerable skill with a sword," Reiko answered, "since I have been learning the Kamiya Kasshin ryuu since the age of six."

          Hiko laughed heartily. "Please, child. Do you honestly believe that all sword techniques are the same? The teachings behind each are very different, as are the philosophies and the actual skills you will learn. The Hiten Mitsurugi can teach you to slay dozens of men at one time. The Kamiya Kasshin ryuu, however, promotes not killing."

          "Ah, well, what can I say? Both teach you how to kick ass, so it doesn't matter, really."

          "Kamiya, do you have a sword?"

          "Of course."

          "May I see it?"

          Reiko removed her bokuto from her waist and handed it to the man whom she so wanted to become her master. He accepted it and, after glancing at it with a sardonic grin plastered on his face, broke it over his knee. Hiko tossed the fragments of Reiko's sword aside, and it landed in a pile of used firewood. "That, my dear, is the purpose you should reserve for a 'sword' such as that. Kindling."

          Reiko stared in shock at her once perfectly effective sword. True, it was a wooden sword, but it had served the purpose of a real sword nonetheless! And now Seijuro Hiko had reduced it to nothing more than…kindling, as he so eloquently put it. She knew it was an inanimate object, but with its breaking she felt an inexplicable loss. Many of the attachments to her joyous past were being destroyed…one by one, starting with her own personality.

          "I distinctly refuse to teach you the Hiten Mitsurugi ryuu until you can find a suitable sword. Come see me once you have found someone foolish enough to forge you a blade, and maybe then I will teach you," he told Reiko, interrupting her thoughts. Despite her utter disbelief, Reiko still heard his words, and they still managed to register on her furious mind. So he refuses to teach me with a sword that cannot possibly kill…I should've expected no less. So now, I must attain a sword. But how? Who in their right mind would make an eight-year-old girl a sword in the Meiji era? Reiko wondered hopelessly. Then, nearly keeling over with self-reproach at the fact that it hadn't reached her before, Reiko remembered Minako's father. He might be willing…but it might take some convincing.

          "So," Reiko said, thrusting her hand in front of Hiko—the part of him that she could reach, anyway—for him to shake, "it's a deal, then?"

          Hiko smiled, but did not shake her hand. "It's unlikely that I'll ever teach you. You do realize that?"

          Turning towards the inn, Reiko glanced back to make one parting remark. "Ah…but there are plenty of things about me, Seijuro Hiko, that you might deem unlikely…and although you might not have realized it, you are mistaken."

Sanosuke rummaged through his drawers, his eyes half-lidded in an annoyed manner. "Damn it, where the hell are the chopsticks?!" he snapped.

          Entering the kitchen with a basket of laundry in her hands, Megumi answered dryly, "The ones that are in two pieces, three pieces, four pieces, greater amounts of pieces, or the ones that are intact?"

          "All of 'em! Dammit, Megumi, if you threw out my chopsticks—"

          "Calm down, Sanosuke. I only threw out the chopsticks that were no longer usable," she interrupted. "And I pretty much reorganized your kitchen…I do hope you don't mind. You really need to get yourself together. I don't know how you manage to locate anything when you're trying to cook!"

          "Who says I try when I cook? It's more like I throw a whole bunch of crap into a pot and boil it."

          "I'll keep that in mind for the next time I consider eating something you concoct."

          "And what the hell is your problem, anyway? Are you moving in or something? Where do you come from, rearranging my kitchen?" Sanosuke snapped again. Megumi sighed.

          "If you'd like, I'll put everything back the way I found it. Including your dirty dishes, your dirty floors, your dirty—"

          "All right, all right. I get it. It's okay. I suppose I should be thanking you for cleaning my house," Sanosuke interrupted.

          "Yes, you should be," Megumi answered, looking at him pointedly.

          "All right, woman! Thank you," he said grudgingly. Megumi smiled and wiped her brow with the back of her hand, proceeding to sit down afterwards.

          "The weather's getting rather warm…"

          "No kidding. June's coming up." At his statement, the two adults froze.

          "June…meaning Kaoru's returning…and Reiko will have to go back home…" Megumi said slowly.

          "You realize she's not going to go home willingly, I presume?"

          "Oh, I realize that we're going to have to drag her back to the dojo kicking and screaming," Megumi remarked. After a few extended moments of silence, Megumi asked softly, "How did it come to this, Sano?"

          "Hmm?" Sanosuke questioned, cocking his head to one side.

          "Kenshin…he'd been with us for so long that it seemed as though he'd never leave," Megumi said quietly. Suddenly, she looked up at Sanosuke with renewed interest, and quickly offered an explanation for her action. "You were the last person Kenshin spoke to before he left. What did he say?"

          "What do you mean, 'what did he say?' He turned around and left without a plausible explanation!" Sanosuke retorted.

          "But there was an explanation involved."

          "Not really. It seemed more like he was running away."

          "Sanosuke, what really happened as Kenshin left? What did he say to excuse himself?" Megumi asked, pulling Sanosuke down to sit beside her for she was expecting a long story.

          "Fine. He mentioned that crap Saitou once spouted about how a manslayer will always be a manslayer and how he was leaving to make sure that he wouldn't cause any unnecessary pain," he said quickly.

          "Oh…Sano, don't you get it? He didn't abandon us at all! He left to protect us!"

          "Megumi, don't be naïve! Where the hell was Kenshin when Kaoru bore his child? Where the hell was Kenshin when she tried to kill herself?! And where the hell was he when his daughter—his own flesh and blood—was attacked?! I'd say we sure could've used some of his protection right about then!" Sanosuke barked.

          "Sano—"

          "Shut up, Megumi! Stop making excuses for him! I, too, used to believe that Kenshin left in an effort to protect us! But that was a lie! He was covering up for the fact that he was running away! The Battousai was running from the prospect of becoming a father! And you know it, Megumi!" Sanosuke shouted.

          "You're being ridiculous, Sano," Megumi said crossly. "Kaoru couldn't have been a month pregnant. There was no way Kenshin could've known."

          "Kami-sama! You do not have s—"

          "Sanosuke…" Megumi interrupted warningly.

          "Okay. You do not scre—"

          "Sanosuke!"

          Sanosuke shook his head. "Fine then. You don't stick your—"

          "SANOSUKE SAGARA!" Megumi shrieked.

          "—into someone and then expect there to be no consequences! He knew full well what he and Kaoru did, and he knew full well what Kaoru's condition would be after the little 'incident!'" Sanosuke went on as though she hadn't interrupted, thankfully editing out the word he had planned to use earlier. He shook his head, folding his legs. "Besides, the whole point is that he chose to tell me that he was going to leave for good, and not Kaoru. I don't know what Kenshin's views on good manners are, but I'd say that after getting a woman pregnant, he could at least say 'farewell.' I mean, I would've."

          Megumi smiled slightly. "I don't think you're the best person Kenshin could've gotten etiquette lessons from."

          "Thanks, Megumi," Sanosuke answered dryly. Megumi smiled wider.

          "After all, you deny having had a relationship with a woman. I suppose I overestimated your actions yesterday," Megumi remarked, her smile disappearing once she was finished. She rose and heaved the laundry basket. "You must've been too drunk to have meant any of it, and too drunk to remember it afterwards." She smiled again, and Sanosuke realized it was a pained, sorrowful smile. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her down the way she had earlier.

          "Stupid Fox Lady," he said quietly. "Of course I remembered. But you do, of course, realize that Reiko planned all of that? She was obviously expecting something to happen, and I hardly wanted to prove her right."

          "That shouldn't have mattered, Sanosuke. What other people think shouldn't ever matter," Megumi responded flatly. "But don't worry. I'm used to having feelings that can never be requited. No matter how colorful or convincing a lie is, it will never change the fact that it's still a lie." She rose and proceeded on her way to Sanosuke's yard. "Tell Reiko she can cook dinner once she gets home if she wants to, but she won't have to do the laundry."

          Sanosuke stared after her, wondering if they were all cursed never to have a normal relationship with someone of the opposite gender. He began to sigh, but broke off when he heard the door to his home being slid open. He wandered over to meet Reiko, for that was the only person it could be, but at first glance, he couldn't recognize the girl.

          Her eyes were downcast and her left hand was playing with her sash. She looked utterly crestfallen, and it was only after Sanosuke realized what she was lacking that he understood why.

          Reiko's sword was not at her waist, although he was sure that she had left with it earlier that day.

          "Um…Reiko?" he asked tentatively. "Are you okay?" She looked up at him with a vacant expression in her eyes.

          "Okay? Me? Yeah. I'm fine."
          "You don't look it. Where's your sword?"

          She hesitated at first, before replying, "I have no more use for a bokuto. I'm not going to be learning the Kamiya Kasshin ryuu any longer. It is pointless."

          Sanosuke stared at Reiko, bewildered. "It's…pointless? Since when?! Reiko, you've been learning the Kamiya Kasshin ryuu for the past two years! It's never been pointless! What about your conflict with Fujitaka Wakamaru? The Kamiya Kasshin ryuu helped you to overpower—"

          "Sanosuke, stop talking. You have the kanji for 'aku' on your back, not 'baka.' The Kamiya Kasshin ryuu helped me overpower Fujitaka Wakamaru, you think? I don't. The fact that I escaped him with my life intact was mere luck. I couldn't fight Masashi with a bokuto. What do I need it for? The thing offers me no protection from even the weakest of foes." Reiko's cold, blue eyes darted across the clean kitchen and her expression softened. "Megumi has been busy, I see."

          Sanosuke looked vexed. "What makes you think Megumi is responsible for all this?" he inquired.

          "Do you mean to tell me that you cleaned the house?"

          "…no."

          "Didn't think so," Reiko answered triumphantly.

          "Anyway, you're not doing the laundry today because Megumi's gotten to it. She has a different chore for you. You get to cook," Sanosuke said.

          "Sure," Reiko said, proceeding to gather the supplies she needed for whatever she intended to cook. "Damn, Sano! Megumi even reorganized your kitchen! You should hail her! It's not taking me several hours to locate the ingredients I need."

          "Yeah, yeah. Megumi's great. We should all hail her for her 'greatness,'" Sanosuke said drably. Reiko grinned knowingly at Sanosuke, causing him shake his head forcefully. "Oh hell no, Reiko! I know what that look means!"

          Reiko cocked her head to one side in what she hoped looked like innocent confusion. "I don't know what you mean, Sano."

          "That's the look you give Yahiko before asking him how far he and Tsubame have gone," Sanosuke replied.

          "Then you already know the question I'm about to ask."

          "Forget that, Reiko. We have more pressing matters to deal with. For example, where did you go after school?" he questioned.

          "Home," was the simple reply he received.

          "It took you, oh, three hours to walk home?" Sanosuke asked disbelievingly.

          "Yes," Reiko answered, chopping up bits of seaweed. She still managed to handle her knife rather professionally, despite the fact that she was blatantly lying to her guardian. Is lying well another trait I've picked up from you, Father? She wondered.

          "You realize I'm not buying any of this, right?" Sanosuke remarked.

          "Of course, although I can't understand why you don't believe me. Let's just say that I've had a pretty difficult day at school and I needed to go for an extensive walk after school was over. I went on a little detour on my way home," Reiko explained. It wasn't exactly a lie—it was just an omission of the truth…an omission of a large portion of the truth. Now that she thought about it, Reiko tended to lie by omission quite often.

          "What happened? Don't tell me Masashi tried to settle the score," Sanosuke said skeptically.

          "He didn't. In fact, he didn't even show up for school today, nor will he ever again," Reiko said, using a nearby cloth to wipe her hands. "I have to go get some water now." As she passed by him on her way out of the kitchen, Sanosuke grabbed her hand.

          "What exactly do you mean by that, Reiko?" He didn't like the finality of her tone, and the morbid possibility it seemed to imply.

          "Ikeda changed schools. Apparently the beating I gave him scared him off for good," she answered.

          "I see."

          Outside, as Reiko approached the well in Sanosuke's yard, she noticed Megumi muttering darkly as she washed the clothing purposefully not too far off. Reiko couldn't help but chuckle. I don't even do the laundry like that. At this rate, she'll rub the clothing hard enough to leave holes.

          "I leave you two children alone for one day and look what happens," she said once she was close enough for Megumi to actually hear her.

          Megumi looked up. "Hello, Reiko," she greeted her.

          "Hi, auntie Megumi."

          "What are you making for dinner?"

          "Miso soup."

          "Er…that may not be the best idea…"

          "Why not?"

          "We have no tofu."

          "What?!" Reiko shrieked, glaring. These people should've known by now how she got when she didn't have her ingredients!

          "I'm sorry. I told Sanosuke to go buy the things we were missing several hours ago…but he decided to take a nap. And I was still busy cleaning so I didn't get a chance," Megumi explained.

          Reiko grinned mischievously. "It's okay, Megumi. We'll see how Sanosuke likes taking a permanent nap!" she shouted, reaching for her wooden sword. She froze when she realized it wasn't there. I can't believe I forgot! Wait…this might turn out well after all…the money for my new sword has to come from somewhere. Reiko thought. "I have a better idea, Megumi. Why don't you give me the money, and I'll buy the tofu. Rather than sending Sano off, I could be the one to buy the food. I'm more reliable than he is."

          "How do you figure that?"

          "I'm not going to get side-tracked by the nearest gambling joint."

          "…good point."

Three minutes later, Reiko left Sanosuke's miserable little hovel and set out to find the cheapest possible place to purchase tofu. On the way to the nearest marketplace, she was sure to pick up any spare change some unsuspecting person may have dropped. It made her feel like a beggar, but she could hardly ask Sanosuke or Megumi for several hundred yen without a serious interrogation afterwards.

          "How much for the tofu?" Reiko asked sweetly.

          The old woman seated behind the counter glanced up. "Three yen." Reiko winced inwardly. She only had four yen from the start. Without bothering to bid the woman farewell, Reiko set out for her next destination.

          Her luck did not improve. The next salesperson would sell his tofu for no less than four yen.

          "Damn it, what the hell do I have to do to find some nice decent tofu for two yen?!" Reiko swore and kicked a rock as she walked away from his booth. Completely apathetic to where she was going or whom she might've ended up treading on, Reiko walked right into an innocent old man buying vegetables.
          "Today is just not my day," Reiko muttered from the ground. She looked up and opened her mouth to apologize to the old man for being so careless, but her words were caught in her throat. She openly gaped at the slightly opened wallet protruding from the man's pocket, in which she could plainly see a substantial amount of money. Having an uncle who used to be a pickpocket has just become very beneficial, she thought to herself, fighting the irresistible to smile widely.

          The man was looking at her pointedly. "You just bumped into me, child. Do you have anything to say for yourself?" he asked.

          Reiko put her hand behind her head sheepishly, still on the ground. "Moushi wake arimasen!" she said apologetically. (A/N: Moushi wake arimasen is the most formal way of saying, "I'm sorry," in Japanese. It's usually used for clients, customers, and superiors, but I think it would make sense to use it when apologizing to a complete and total stranger. It literally translates to, "I have no excuse for myself." This information is brought to you by Shonen Jump. ; What, you didn't actually think I knew anything about Japanese without help, did you? Yoshimi: Hell no. No one has that much faith in you. JK: (glares) That's it! I'm killing you in the next author's note! Penny: Shut up and type, JK.) The man, satisfied, turned back to deliberating whether to buy the vegetables or not. Muttering a quick "Thank God," Reiko grabbed the man's wallet and sped off without him even realizing his pocket was empty, all within the course of a second. After she was a considerable distance away from the marketplace, Reiko sat down on the ground and burst into hysterical laughter. "THAT WAS TOO EASY, IT WAS!" Still laughing to herself, Reiko decided to return to the first place she had visited on her shopping experience.

          And it was in such a manner that Reiko managed to attain forty-six yen over the course of the next few weeks. For those few weeks, she was content to go to school, come home to Sanosuke and Megumi, and hear them bicker. She even ignored any snide comments that were being made about her in school, to which Sora was beginning to contribute significantly. But Reiko wasn't the only person waging war with Sora and her new friends…Satoshi seemed to have become fed up with Reiko being taunted and was beginning to clamp Sora's mouth shut quite tightly. It wasn't so much Satoshi's witty remarks that achieved this, but merely the fact that he chose to utter them in the first place.

          So Reiko was happy…for a while. But the coming of June brought an end to many things—not just the month of May. With it came the conclusion of Reiko's childhood, her past, her laughter, and above all else…her happiness.

June 1, 1888

"Hell freaking no, Sano!" Reiko said flatly, grabbing onto the pane of her door as Sanosuke carried her out of her room. "I am not going back to the dojo!"

          "Reiko, no one's asking you. You always go back in June," Sanosuke replied, also with finality.

          "Um…Sano…I know you're dense, but in case you haven't realized…I CAN'T GO BACK TO THE DOJO BECAUSE THE PERSON WHO CURRENTLY RESIDES THERE TRIED TO KILL ME!" she ended with a scream.

          "Reiko, your mother was not in her right mind! You know that! She wants to see you, I'm sure. So stop being such a prissy show-off and go make amends with her!" he shouted back.

          Reiko was silent for a moment, letting go of the edge of her and allowing Sanosuke to carry her off. Then, after a few seconds of consideration, she spoke. "Sano…would you like to go make amends with Saitou, for example? I mean, I know all about the stories…and after all those times he tried to kill you…would you become his friend after one simple apology?" she asked quietly.

          Eyes shut firmly in defiance, he answered, "That's completely different, Reiko, and you know it."

          "I do…but how can I forgive her? She tried to kill me. I'm her flesh and blood. I was a part of her at one point. How could she try to deny me my right to live?" Reiko said faintly, which led Sanosuke not to be able to fathom whether she was talking to him or to herself. She spoke once again, but raised her voice by a vast amount. "Set me down, Uncle Sano. I will neither run nor defy you anymore. If it is what you wish, then I'll return to the dojo without any further complaint. Just give me five minutes to get ready."

          Grudgingly, Sanosuke complied. After he had apparently gone to tell Megumi to get ready to leave, Reiko dashed to the kitchen. She dug into the wicker basket in which the knives were kept and dug to the bottom. Finally, she found what she was looking for. She drew out an elegantly forged knife with a black handle that had white flowers adorning it, along with a matching casing. Reiko was sure that Sanosuke didn't even remember that it existed, and was also sure that it was way beyond his price range judging by its quality. She noticed it only once she knocked the knives over a few days ago, causing the fabric-covered weapon to drop to the floor. (And she was sure it was a weapon, for it was much too dagger-like to be a common kitchen knife.)Curious, she unwrapped the knife and studied it. There's no way Sanosuke could've bought this! He must have won it through gambling or something… She remembered thinking at the time. She pulled the case off and tested the blade's sharpness by running her finger across, not even so much as wincing when it began to bleed quite steadily. At that moment, she knew that without her bokuto or a real sword, the thing that would serve as her protection in addition to her fists would be that knife.

          Now, Reiko slid the dagger into the back part of her obi, hoping that she wouldn't need to resort to using it. She did, however, realize that it was most likely be a futile hope, for she had managed to make many enemies in the eight years she had been alive.

          "Reiko, dammit, are you coming?! I DON'T HAVE ETERNITY TO WAIT FOR YOU!" she heard Sanosuke call.

          Shaking her head, she ran to the door, expecting to see Megumi all packed and ready to go—as she was. Strangely, Megumi wasn't even present.

          "Where's Megumi?" Reiko asked curiously.

          "Hold on!" Megumi called before Sanosuke could reply. She approached them, carrying her many belongings. Once she was directly in front of Sanosuke, she set them down at his feet.

          "I'm not carrying those, Megumi," Sanosuke told her conclusively.

          "What?"

          "I refuse to carry your things."

          "So you expect me to carry all of this, Sanosuke?"

          "I sure as hell ain't carrying anything," Reiko interjected.

          "You're not, I'm not, and neither is Megumi," Sanosuke said. Megumi furrowed her brow in frustration.

          "Just what does that mean?" she demanded, vexed.

          "This." Sanosuke took Megumi's arm and pulled her to him. Before the two astonished females realized what was happening, Sanosuke laid his lips on Megumi's, kissing her deeply. Reiko, being a mere onlooker, seemed to notice Megumi tense up, but then relax and return it. She stood there, blinking repeatedly, until the two finally broke away. "You're not going anywhere, Megumi."

          There was silence for a moment after Sanosuke's statement, until Reiko shattered it with a bout of laughter. "I knew it! I knew it was going to happen!" she shouted gleefully. She hugged both Megumi and Sanosuke in turn. "I was wondering when you two would finally overcome your stubbornness! It happened when Sanosuke got drunk, right? HAH! YOU CAN'T FIGHT FATE!"

          "Glad you think this is so hilarious!" Sanosuke said loudly.

          "Oh, shut up Sano," Megumi said with a smile, elbowing him gently. "This is the happiest I've seen her in days."

          "Now I can have cousins! Or…whatever. Can I help out when you have kids, Megumi?" Reiko asked expectantly.

          "Hold on a minute, there, Reiko!" Sanosuke snapped. "We haven't come anywhere near having kids!"

          "Damn…you people are taking longer than Yahiko and Tsubame!"

          Megumi chuckled. "Stop, Reiko. You're embarrassing Sano." Sanosuke and Megumi hadn't failed to notice the sudden change in Reiko's mood…and her eye color. They were back to their amethyst color and their innocent expression, and neither of them wished to bring her cold persona back. (A/N: Yoshimi: …you made her bipolar. JK: She's not bipolar! She's just going to become all rurouni every once in a while! 'CAUSE I DON'T WANT HER TO BE HEARTLESS ALL THE TIME! But…those times will decrease. Yoshimi: Yeah…sure…you're just coveri— JK: YOSHIMI I WILL HURT YOU!)

          "Let's set out, shall we?" Megumi asked.

But as they approached the dojo, Reiko's eyes were steadily making their transition from pale purple to steely blue. It appeared that nothing could keep her melted for long.

          As they entered the dojo—Reiko being reluctant and entering last—they saw Yahiko and Kaoru seated across from one another, eating their midday meal. They both looked up as the group entered. Reiko was too young to remember clearly every other time she came home after her mother's alleged trips to China, but she somehow seemed different this time. Every other time, Reiko remembered her mother appearing tired, wasted somehow…but this time, Kaoru appeared to have been thinking lucidly for a while, and didn't appear at all weary.

          As she spotted Reiko, Kaoru stood up. They watched each other, in complete silence, for a few moments. In these few moments, Reiko reached into her obi and slid the scabbard of her dagger off slightly.

          Suddenly, Kaoru took a few steps forward, with one arm outstretched towards her. "Reiko…" she said softly, and regretfully. Scoffing, Reiko drew the dagger completely out, and then pointed it at the center of Kaoru's torso.

          "You take one step closer to me and I swear it'll be the last step you take," she said darkly, causing everyone in the room to blanch in shock.

          "But…I—"

          "Don't you dare try to come up with an excuse."

          "Reiko—"

          "I will not hesitate to thrust this into you as you did not hesitate to try and thrust a similar knife into me," Reiko interrupted again. "You have long since lost my trust, and don't expect to gain it back so easily. In fact, I don't think you should be expecting to gain it back at all…" Lowering her weapon, Reiko pushed passed Kaoru and stormed to her room, shutting her door firmly behind her.

          With a sigh, Megumi said, "I was afraid of this…" She put a reassuring hand on Kaoru's shoulder. Kaoru, however, shrugged it off.

          "Don't offer me consolation, Megumi. I don't deserve it. Reiko has every right to behave as she just did. After all, I've been behaving worse for a total of eight months. Nine, if you count what happened when I first found out that Kenshin was gone. If Reiko never speaks to me again, then it won't be unwarranted," Kaoru stated angrily.

          "Kaoru…you know this isn't your fault…" Sanosuke began tentatively. "It's his fa—"

          "A stronger woman would've forgotten about Kenshin's existence by now!" Kaoru exclaimed. "But no more. I'm through with mourning his absence and wishing he would come back. I'm through with acting the way I do every May. It's just not fair to any of you." She sighed heavily. "I've given you all such a burden to deal with for the past eight years…knowing what's happening to me…knowing that Reiko should know the truth…and yet knowing that you can't tell her."

          "Kaoru, please. It's nothing compared to what you were going through these past eight years!" Sanosuke pointed out.

          "What exactly have I been going through, Sano? All I've been doing is wallowing in my self-pity! But that's all going to end. I'll be taking no more trips to China…" With those final words, Kaoru walked away from them swiftly, heading towards the yard where she normally trained her students.

          "Where's she going?" Sanosuke asked, slightly puzzled.

          "To train her students," Yahiko answered. "It's weird…she's been teaching throughout most of the month. One day, I came back and Kaoru was perfectly fine. I think it was her encounter with Reiko that might have snapped her out of it."

          "Wait, how do you know about that?" Sanosuke asked.

          "Kaoru told me."

          "She actually told you she tried to kill Reiko?"

          "Yes. Only the way she said it…her voice was full of self-disgust. But I think she needed to relay it to someone for fear of exploding," Yahiko explained.

          "That's good…" Megumi said.

          "Oh, so now it's a good thing that Kaoru feels disgusted with herself?!" Sanosuke barked.

          "You twit, I meant it's a good thing that she told him!" Megumi shrieked. "Stop twisting everything I say, Sano!"

          "Maybe I wouldn't have to if Fox Ladies such as yourself would learn how to be more specific when they talk!"

          "Oh, so now it's my fault!"

          "It's always your fault!"

          "At least I wasn't the one who brought something as ugly as you are into this world!"

          "You say that like someone would actually be willing to have you give birth to their kids!"

          Yahiko stood up and grabbed his sword, attaching it to his waist. Both Megumi and Sanosuke were forced to stop arguing, for Yahiko was looking strangely despondent.

          As he walked by them in complete silence, approaching the door through which they entered, Sanosuke felt that there was a question that the two adults in the room were dying to voice. And so he did.

          "Something the matter, Yahiko?"

          Yahiko stopped and looked back at Sanosuke, with a slightly dejected expression on his face. "I just know that this won't end well," he said softly. "Especially not for me…"

          And with that cryptic statement, Yahiko exited, leaving Megumi and Sanosuke standing there with blank expressions plastered upon their faces, utterly bewildered.

JK: Phew! Another chappie is complete! I didn't think I'd actually make it to the end of chapter seven, but here I am, typing the lame author's note! I hope everyone enjoyed it!

Penny: Um…JK? I think you'd better come and take a look at this.

(Penny leads JK to a room where the cast and Yoshimi are standing and staring at something in complete silence. JK pushes through to see what the cause of such shock might be. Saitou and Kenshin and seated across from one another, laughing heartily and clutching sake cups in their hands.)

JK: What…the…hell?

Saitou: Oh, and remember the time where we met for the first time in ten years, and you reverted back to your old self?

Kenshin: How could I forget?

Saitou: That only happened when I snapped your hair band. It was like, "My name is Himura the Battousai. You snapped my hair band. Now die."

Kenshin (chuckling): Ah, yes.

Saitou: What the hell, Kenshin? Did that thing hold some sort of special meaning to you?

Kenshin: Nah…I was just pissed because you now caused my long, beautiful hair to get in my way as I prepared to kick your ass. (smiles sweetly) Honestly, Hajime…why the hair band?!

Saitou (sheepishly): Sorry…but you broke my sword in half!

Kenshin: On the bright side…I was aiming for your head.

Saitou: And that's supposed to make me feel better?

Kenshin: You snapped my treasured hair band; I snapped your crappy sword. It's all fair.

Saitou: That sword cost money, I'll have you know!

Kenshin: So did the hair band.

Both (sighing after a moment): Those were the days…

JK: What the hell is this?! Rurouni Kenshin cast gone wild?

Kenshin: Well…we're not really part of the Rurouni Kenshin cast, considering we haven't been in the past five chapters!

Saitou: I mean, if you're going to come up with a show with as stupid a title as Rurouni Kenshin, the least you could do is put Kenshin in it!

Kenshin: And my worst nemesis/best friend Hajime should be in it too!

JK: (can only openly gape, along with the rest of the spectators, at the two former Hitokiri)

Saitou: We've been forced to freakin' retire!

Kenshin: JK, he receives a pension since he looks a lot older than me and can pass off as a senior citizen. He also got a job as the Grim in the Prisoner of Azkaban! I'M ON WELFARE, DAMN IT!

All except Kenshin and Saitou: (burst out laughing at those last statements)

Kenshin and Saitou: IT'S NOT FUNNY!

JK (out of breath): All right, all right. Gomen! I'll include you both soon! Saitou, you're in the next chapter. And Kenshin…you're…well…um…don't get off Welfare any time soon.

Kenshin: ¬¬ Thanks.

JK: And Saitou? The Grim is an actual dog…it's not like you being a Wolf of Mibu.

Saitou: … (blinks) Aw, damn, and I was wondering what the huge dog outfit was for!

JK: …you've seen your costume and you still thought that you…you…

Saitou: (laughs sheepishly) Heh…you see…the filming is sort of…over.

All except Saitou and Kenshin: (burst out laughing again)

Kenshin: DO YOU SEE WHAT WE'VE BEEN FORCED TO RESORT TO?!

JK (patting Saitou on the head): It's okay…at least you're playing an omen of death!

Saitou: Stop patting my head. Do I look like a dog to you?

JK (with an evil grin): You will on June 4!

Saitou: Why you…

Kenshin: Stop, Saitou! If you disrespect and/or kill her, you'll never land another job back in the Meiji era!

JK: Yep. (turns to Yoshimi) And as promised… (grabs Saitou's sword and begins chasing after Yoshimi)

Penny: (sighs) Oi the stupidity…

(All stand there watching as JK eventually gains on Yoshimi and ties her up and gags her with rope that just happened to be at the right place at the right time.)

All: …ouch.

(JK delivers Yoshimi to Kaoru.)

JK: You can use her as target practice.

Kaoru: Er…sure.

Yoshimi: MMMMPH! MMMMMPH!

JK: Anyway…thanks to all the readers who have actually read this far! I LOVE YOU PEOPLE! (sniffles) You're all too good to me…

Penny: In other words, flames are welcome.

JK: QUIET, PENNY! FLAMES ARE NOT WELCOME! But I would like to know if anyone can figure out what's wrong with Yahiko. Er…just send your idea in a review. The person who guesses correctly gets a cookie!

Penny (raising an eyebrow): A cookie?

JK: Okay…a buck.

Kenshin: That's less than my weekly spending money!

JK: Why, how much do you get?

Kenshin: A dollar and five cents.

JK: (sweatdrops) Anyway, I'll let you have a million dollar bill!

Kenshin: (gapes) HOW MUCH?!

JK: …a virtual million dollar bill. I receive no pay for this, unfortunately. (Although if I were paid for each word, I would be a millionaire by now…considering how annoyingly long my chapters are.)

(Kaoru screams.)

JK: Um…I think Yoshimi managed to escape… (gulps) I better go grab Reiko's dagger now…please review! Thanks! (dashes off)