Disclaimer: I don't really have to say it, do I?

A/N: Wow, I'm really blow away by the response for last chapter! I know I was supposed to update within ten days, but yesterday was my mom's birthday, so we have to make allowances, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Just as a heads up, it's fairly long and all over the place. Try and pay attention to the important stuff!

Tanoshimu!


Chapter 12

Yahiko: Decisions of a Hero

-

He should have just told them. He should have just spit it out. Last night, after receiving the shock of a lifetime, Yahiko had said nothing.

Nothing about how he had seen Soujiro talking with Enizu. Conspiring with Enizu. Yahiko had even run home to the dojo, ready to bust in and save the day with his knowledge.

And that was when Yahiko learned that saving the day wasn't always so easy. He had arrived at the dojo and on the front porch Misao and Naruku sat, knees curled up to their chins, chatting and talking with so little care. They were smiling and laughing, and that's why Yahiko couldn't say anything. It had nothing to do with doubt, he knew what he had seen, what he had heard. Soujiro was against them. Enizu really was in Tokyo. It was just by coincidence that the first people Yahiko had seen after getting burdened with this news were the same two people he couldn't bear to tell. And then he couldn't tell anyone.

Yahiko sighed and started toward the dojo as boredom set in. As far as he knew, Kenshin and Naruku were down by the river training and Misao was helping to clean up the dojo. Aoshi and Kaoru…eugh, Yahiko didn't even want to know. It was bad enough to just have the knowledge that Kaoru was getting that kind of attention from Aoshi. He really didn't need a mental picture to go along with it.

"Excuse me?" a voice broke through Yahiko's barriers of thought.

Yahiko spun around and located the source of the voice. He froze. Staring at him with a cheery smile was Soujiro. Soujiro who he had seen the day before, talking about how much he wanted Kenshin dead. Soujiro, who Yahiko couldn't confront if he wanted to remain alive. Soujiro, who was as dangerous as an errant blade.

"Is Misao here?" Soujiro asked, unaware of Yahiko's hesitation.

Unable to get a word out of his dry throat, Yahiko mutely nodded. He bit back a hundred different rude statements, fifty different accusations.

"Can you take me to her?" Soujiro asked, his smile widening.

"Sure," the word was dry and hollow sounding.

He led Soujiro through the courtyard toward the drill hall. What else could he do?

Well for starters, he could have said Misao was gone.

Yahiko closed his eyes in anger and frustration. He definitely should have told someone.

-

As soon as Yahiko and Soujiro entered the drill hall, Misao looked up. She did not jump to her feet right away, nor did she call out to Soujiro. Instead they found her backed into a corner of the drill hall, looking fearful and upset.

"Misao?" Yahiko ventured.

Shaking, Misao bit her thumb and gestured to the floor in front of her. "C-c-c…"

Yahiko shook his head. The girl couldn't even get a word out. Had she noticed Soujiro? Was that why? Was she still so upset over what Soujiro had done…would she not speak to him? Was she tucked into a fearful cocoon because of him?

"CATERPILLAR!" Misao screamed at the top of her lungs.

Yahiko couldn't really do anything but fall over in exasperation. He should have known that Misao wasn't as deep as all that. Nope, the weasel girl was worked up because of some furry green bug in front of her.

Soujiro flew forward, unsheathing his sword as he did so. He was in the air, sword glinting in his hand as he rained down upon Misao.

Yahiko was astonished. "Soujiro—no!"

It took a few moments to register that Soujiro had not sliced Misao in half like Yahiko had originally thought. Instead he was kneeling in front of Misao, scooping the ferocious caterpillar beast onto the flat of his sword. As soon as he had stood up again, caterpillar riding safely, albeit perplexed, to be dropped outdoors.

Cautiously, Misao crept forward on her hands and knees. "I-is…" she began in a shaky voice.

In the doorway, Soujiro smiled and waved. "It's all clear Misao-chan!" he sang.

Misao dared to crawl even further. Then, suddenly she stopped as if a rock had suddenly hit her in the head and given her the secrets to the universe. She scrambled to her feet, tripping over herself as she ran toward Soujiro and launched herself onto him. From there ensued much laughter, tackling, hugging, swatting, rolling and even a kiss that Yahiko failed to overlook.

The young boy turned away from the happily reunited couple towards the doorway again. He shielded his eyes from the sun's orange glow, the kind of blinding sunlight that came just before sunset. Yahiko looked down on the ground and for a fleeting second saw a small green bug crawl underneath a rock.

"He didn't even kill it…"

-

It was hours later and just after dinner that Sano showed up. And that was surprising in itself. Sanosuke, showing up not before a meal, not during a meal, but after it? And he had even failed to show up in time to eat one of the delicious almond pastries that Soujiro had brought.

If Yahiko hadn't been there, he never would have believed it. However, when Sano arrived, Yahiko welcomed the distraction from Misao and Soujiro's laughing and displays of affection, which only make Yahiko feel exceedingly guilty. As a matter of fact, Aoshi didn't seem too fond of the way Misao was interacting with Soujiro. To say he was jealous would be quickly proven false, but Yahiko could see that Aoshi was suspicious of Soujiro…and for that Yahiko was glad.

"Hey everyone," Sano called out as he strode purposefully across the courtyard to where the Kenshin-gumi sat, enjoying the faint chirping crickets and fading daylight.

"Sanosuke," Kaoru said, surprised. "I haven't seen you in a few days."

"Yeah, well, I'm here for a reason," Sano replied.

That was the other surprising thing. Sano was there to talk, to do something…whatever it was, it was very serious. He knelt down by Kenshin.

"Listen up, guys, Megumi sent me here to tell you," he began in a low voice. "She saw Enizu. He was in the marketplace yesterday."

Everyone snapped to attention. Yahiko was slowly working out this new information in his head. Megumi had seen Enizu on the very same day Soujiro had spoken with him. Joined sides with him. Had Megumi seen Soujiro there as well?

"Did she speak to him?" Aoshi asked quickly.

Sano grimaced, annoyed that Aoshi didn't seem particularly concerned with Megumi's well-being. "Yes," he said matter-of-factly. "She did."

Aoshi's expression darkened. "Well, why?"

"Maybe because Enizu was practically assaulting her right then and there!" he replied waspishly. As soon as he had said it, he regretted it.

Kaoru gasped. "Megumi-san!" she cried, fighting tears back.

Awkwardly, Yahiko moved forward to comfort her, inexplicably glaring at everyone else. "Kaoru, she's fine…"

Sano leaned forward again. "I don't know a lot about what happened, but I promise you Megumi didn't say anything. Nothing about you or Misao," he said to Aoshi, and then turned to address the whole group. "But she did give him reason to believe that Naruku is here." Sano looked around carefully. "I don't know if he knew that before or not, but…"

Yahiko caught Kenshin's gaze flicker toward Naruku. She seemed to be taking the news about the same as everyone else.

"Enizu threatened Megumi. He threatened to kill Kenshin and myself, as well," Sano went on.

At those words, Kaoru let out a loud moan of anguish. Yahiko found himself being pushed away from his sensei as Aoshi wrapped an arm around her in comfort.

"As far as—"

"Wait just a second," Soujiro's cheery voice piped. "Just who is this Enizu person?"

"An enemy," Yahiko replied coolly, before anyone could get in a word.

Misao turned around in Soujiro's lap to face him. "You remember, ne? I told you about him before. He's the one who came to the dojo, befriended everyone and then tried to kill Kenshin."

Soujiro chuckled sheepishly and Yahiko gritted his teeth. "Ano…I guess I forgot what it was you said to me, Misao-chan. Now I do recall you saying something about Enizu. But didn't you say you hadn't heard from him in months?"

Misao nodded. "Yeah. Sano just recently brought news of Enizu rising to power again, and now, well…this."

Aoshi cleared his throat carefully. "Can we get back to the subject on hand?"

Sano nodded. "Right. So obviously Enizu means to get back at every single one of us. He still doesn't know about Aoshi and Misao. Or Soujiro," he added as an afterthought.

Yahiko resisted a strong urge to say something. Why didn't he say anything? The words would not reach his lips. Actually, he's quite aware of Soujiro-san, isn't that right? But he couldn't. Not with Misao sitting in the culprit's lap, Soujiro twisting a strand of her hair around his finger. Not with Naruku sitting right there.

But then there was Kenshin, and Yahiko felt like the older man's eyes were boring into him. Say something before it's too late.

"Kaoru-dono," Kenshin spoke. "I think it may be a good idea to cancel your kendo classes until this whole matter is resolved."

Kaoru gasped. "But—why? None of the students pose a threat and—"

"I really don't think we should be involving anyone else in this. No more trips to the Akabeko. We should buy groceries tomorrow that will last us until the end of this. Make sure that Megumi is very safe around the clinic and that—"

"What, so we're just going to barricade ourselves here?" Kaoru demanded hotly.

Kenshin nodded gravely. "I'm sorry Kaoru-dono, but we must take precautions."

She gritted her teeth and balled up her fists, but then relaxed. "I…" she sighed. "I know that. It just seems so…unfair!"

Aoshi put his hands on her shoulders lightly. "Relax, Kaoru, we'll get through this."

She nodded again and the two of them stood up, followed by Soujiro, Misao and Yahiko who stretched and started toward the house.

Kenshin turned to Naruku who had been very quiet the whole time. "Naruku-dono, you—"

She flashed a brief smile. "I know, Kenshin. I'll stay in the dojo as much as I can, like a good little girl. I'll stay out of trouble and—"

"That's not what I was going to say," Kenshin cut her off. He leaned nearer to her. "Naruku-dono, keep Akeri-san's dagger close by you."

She froze. "I…" she gaped, staring off vacantly.

"I want you to be careful," he replied. "But there may come a time where that will not be enough. I want you to have something you can defend yourself with."

Kenshin stood up before she could say anything more.

"Aoshi, Sano, Soujiro," he beckoned for the three of them. Thinking a moment, he added, "Yahiko."

The four men redirected themselves toward Kenshin while the girls took off.

"What is it, Kenshin?" Sano asked.

"I want us to start keeping watch in the nighttime," Kenshin replied. Aoshi nodded in approval, Soujiro looked curious and Yahiko looked thrilled.

"Yahiko, you'll have the first shift," he directed.

It took a lot of strength for Yahiko to not jump up and cheer.

"Himura," Aoshi moved forward. "Is it really a good idea to keep this a secret from Kamiya-san and the other girls?"

Kenshin looked at Aoshi quizzically. "I never said that. Tell them when you want, but try not to worry them, Kaoru-dono especially."

The other four men nodded.

"I'll take the next shift after Yahiko," Sano volunteered.

Kenshin nodded. "I'll take the one after that. Aoshi, you can have the next one and Soujiro, the last shift."

They nodded and split off in different directions.

Aoshi walked side-by-side with Kenshin. "A few nights ago I offered this protection. You said you had no fears for that night."

"I do now," Kenshin replied simply, turning into his bedroom. Aoshi stood there a second longer before continuing on his way.

­-

Yahiko had not expected anything to happen during his shift. That's why Kenshin had given it to him, Yahiko figured.

But late into his shift, Yahiko spotted Naruku stepping outside the house, shutting the door quietly behind her. He surveyed the patio, wondering where Naruku was going at that time of night. He expected her to acknowledge him and move on, but instead she sat down right at his feet, saying nothing.

"What are you doing up?" Yahiko wanted to know.

Naruku seemed to be stretching and didn't answer at once. "I'm more interested in why you're up," she replied, yawning.

Yahiko couldn't help but tell her. "Kenshin asked me to stand guard," he replied boastfully.

"That doesn't make me as worried as it would have two nights ago," Naruku answered. Her voice sounded sad and wistful.

Yahiko's expression softened. "Why are you up? Couldn't sleep?"

Naruku yawned again and this time turned to look at him. "Not exactly," she said. "I'm just thinking about the old times." She turned back to face the dark, empty courtyard.

Yahiko was momentarily startled. The tone of her voice was the one she used when she spoke to Kenshin. Soft, peaceful and completely carefree. She sounded like she was talking to someone with twice Yahiko's maturity.

"Remember when I first came to the dojo?" she went on, starting to laugh. "I was trying to act serious and aloof all the time. Truth is, I was trying not to rely on any of you."

Yahiko was silent, waiting for her to continue.

"Now I'm glad that I can," she said, a smile manifesting itself in her voice.

For some reason, Yahiko felt strangely relieved and proud at the same time. He couldn't think of anything to say, however, so he stayed quiet, knowing Naruku probably preferred the silence to words he didn't mean.

"My shift is over," he announced after a while. "I'm going in to bed."

Naruku nodded as he began to walk away. "I think I'll stay out here a little longer."

Yahiko nodded to himself, entering the house and shutting the door just as Naruku began to hum a few notes. He passed Kenshin in the hall, and knew it was his chance.

"Kenshin," Yahiko said quietly, not wanting to alert anyone else who might've been awake.

"Going to bed, Yahiko?" Kenshin asked.

Yahiko nodded quickly. "But before I do—listen."

Kenshin nodded and came closer to the younger boy. "What is it, Yahiko?"

"I—I think Soujiro might have something to do with Enizu," Yahiko replied in a rush. He shook his head. "No—No, I know that he does. I heard them! He wants you dead, Kenshin."

Yahiko was worried when Kenshin didn't say anything and just stood there, an odd look on his face.

Yahiko blanched, as though he had said something wrong. A new thought arose, one that he had not even considered before. Should he have stayed quiet? Was it wrong to say that?

"Thank you, Yahiko," Kenshin said quietly. "Go to bed now."

The flat seriousness of his voice scared Yahiko, so he immediately did as he was told.

Kenshin stood in the hallways a second or two longer before slowly making his way out onto the patio. He was only moderately surprised to see Naruku sitting there, fidgeting with the strings on her belt.

"Good evening, Kenshin," she greeted.

"Are you all right, Naruku?" Kenshin asked quietly, coming to sit next to her.

She did not move away, nor did she turn so he could not see her. "I'm all right," she replied. "I've been better. I've most definitely been worse."

"You were very quiet today when Sanosuke told us what happened to Megumi-dono," Kenshin remarked. "Were you scared?"

"No," she replied, and he was surprised. It was not like her to hide fear. Did she really have none? "I think I'm over that. I feel disgusted, angry, very betrayed and even guilty. But I can't feel fear for him anymore." Then in a dark whisper, she added, "He can't scare me."

Kenshin moved closer.

"And what about you?" she asked, turned toward him. "You usually have a lot to say when that kind of thing happens. But this time you didn't. You let Aoshi take charge of the situation."

"It's because I trust Aoshi," he replied.

Naruku furrowed her brow, trying to figure this out. She bit the inside of her lip uncertainly. Finally, she cast her cavernous green eyes on him. "Does that mean you don't trust yourself?"

"I suppose so," Kenshin replied. "It's upsetting. I've never…felt that way about someone before."

"About Aoshi?" she asked, her voice taking on a jokingly skeptical tone.

"About Enizu," he said fiercely.

"Don't do that," she said forcefully. "Don't—say his name. Please…don't say his name like that."

"Like what?" Kenshin asked, turning speculative violet orbs onto Naruku's face, outlined in pastel moonlight.

"Like you want to kill him," Naruku replied, her eyes darkening, her breaths growing weighty and her heart pounding inside the walls of her head.

Kenshin turned his face up to the stars and put his hand on Naruku's knee. "I'm sorry," he affirmed. His tone was not apologetic, but as if he were stating a fact.

Naruku was quiet for a moment or two, and Kenshin wondered how troubled she really was. "How do you feel about him?" she asked at last.

"Hatred," Kenshin replied. "It does scare me, because I never have felt this way before. Shishio was strictly business, though there was definite dislike in him as a person and his ethics. Saitou was just an old grudge. I certainly don't like him, but I do respect him. The closest thing I can think of is how I felt about Jinei." He paused. "Did I tell you about him?"

Naruku shook her head. "Sano told me. He kidnapped Kaoru-chan, right?"

Kenshin nodded. "I wasn't just angry. I was bloodthirsty. But with Enizu it's different…I…don't know what about him makes me loathe him like this. Jinei had done something to me, and to Kaoru-dono, and all I wanted was for him to pay. Enizu owes me no debts, nothing."

He didn't continue, but Naruku didn't feel like it was the end, either. "Are you going to say more?" she asked.

"No, though perhaps I could say something you might want to hear," Kenshin replied self-depreciatingly. He turned to her with a smile. "Good night Naruku."

She nodded and stood up, leaving him on the porch with the doubts and worries that were not his alone.

-

The day after the Kenshin-gumi had gone into lockdown, Kaoru found herself having to break the news to her class. Every single student had shown up.

"Listen up, everyone," Kaoru said to the young teens. "Class is going to be cancelled until further notice. Please respect the decisions of this dojo and its assistant master."

Aoshi's hand on her back was one of the only things that stopped Kaoru from throwing herself to the floor and begging the students to stay. That, her own self-dignity and Momoru's leering face amongst the sea of disappointed expressions. Kaoru pointedly did not look at him.

She had been debating this issue with herself, though would not allow her brain to dwell on it for more than five minutes. They had more important problems, Kaoru had reminded herself. Real dangers.

But Momoru was a problem, and Kaoru couldn't help that.

"You did good," Aoshi said to Kaoru as they walked away from the disgruntled and bewildered students who slowly made there way back down the road.

Kaoru breathed in. Aoshi's words were comforting.

On the second day of dojo lockdown, only one student showed up. Aoshi greeted him at the gate.

"Momoru," he practically growled. He couldn't help it if the young man ticked him off so badly. He was a sly, cocky little scumbag who didn't seem to mind disrespecting the one woman who tried so hard to teach him and everyone else the way of the sword. The one woman that Aoshi himself had so much respect for, though loath he was to admit it.

"Shinomori-san," Momoru replied smoothly. "How pleasant to see you. Unfortunately, I'm here to speak to Kaoru."

Without second thought, Aoshi slammed Momoru against the gate. "Kaoru-sensei," Aoshi snarled into Momoru's face.

For a split second, the younger man looked afraid, but then his face resumed its sly, condescending expression.

Disgusted, Aoshi grabbed him by the front of the shirt and shoved him away. "What are you really here for?"

Momoru grinned. "Just a nice little chat with Kaoru."

"She's out," Aoshi replied at once, not wanting to tell the truth and say Kaoru was in the bath. That was the last thing he wanted Momoru to be thinking about.

"Really?" Momoru looked utterly surprised. "And you're allowing her out…on her own?"

"Kaoru can take care of herself," Aoshi replied.

Momoru stepped closer. "Really? Even when you're under crisis, trying to hide from an enemy?" he inquired.

Aoshi took a step back, his face betraying nothing.

"So tell me…where is Kaoru…really?"

Aoshi pushed Momoru forcefully away. "It is not your business."

Momoru chuckled. "Very well. Then I'd like to ask you to give this to her. From me."

He held out a neatly folded slip of paper.

Aoshi snatched it from Momoru's hands. A big part of him wanted to rip it to shreds, but he knew it was unfair to Kaoru. And Aoshi's own integrity wouldn't allow him to read the note before it reached Kaoru.

"Can I trust you with this very important paper?" Momoru said mockingly.

Aoshi didn't answer, but took the paper.

"I know a respectable man like yourself won't read it," Momoru said jeeringly. "Send Kaoru my love, and tell her I can't wait to—"

With quiet precision, Aoshi had Momoru's left arm twisted around his back in less than two seconds. "You probably don't want to finish that sentence," Aoshi advised.

Glaring, Momoru struggled out of Aoshi's iron grasp. Aoshi relented and let go. "Be on your way," he said, picking up the 'important note', which had fallen to the ground.

Looking at it curiously, he walked across the courtyard and up the steps of the patio, making sure that Momoru was walking quickly away in the opposite direction.

Aoshi fingered the note as he reached the door and stepped inside the house. He should probably screen it, in case there was any perverse language that Kaoru should not be exposed to. Or in case it was a threat or blackmail. Anything that would offend her.

As he was muddling silently over this, Kaoru walked right up to him.

"Aoshi," she said flippantly, grinning up at him.

He was momentarily distracted from his conundrum at the site of Kaoru. She was dressed in a simple kimono of a light green and yellow color. Her eyes seemed darker, steamier thank usual and her hair hung loose around her face, still wet from her recent bath.

"Kaoru," he regarded her carefully, not wanting his personal feelings and desire to show up uninvited again.

"What's that?" Kaoru asked in a very light-hearted manner. Her eyes flickered to the paper in Aoshi's hands.

"It's a note that Momoru asked me to give to you," Aoshi replied.

"Momoru was here?" Kaoru asked. Her tone sounded purely curious.

"Yes. And he asked me to give this to you," Aoshi repeated.

Kaoru bobbed her head and took the note from him. She flipped it over, ready to unfold it but then stopped. "Aoshi," she said, slowly raising her eyes to meet his. "This isn't for me."

Aoshi looked baffled. He didn't say anything, knowing that Kaoru would soon answer his unspoken question.

"It's for Naruku," Kaoru said slowly, looking down at the paper again as if to make sure.

Now Aoshi was just plain confused. He looked down at the paper and found that there were perfectly scripted characters that spelled out not Kaoru, but Naruku. What could Momoru possibly want from her?

Before he could even begin to formulate a theory, Kaoru was yelling, "Naruku! Can you come over here for a—"

"What are you doing?" Aoshi asked in a low whisper.

"What do you think? I'm telling Naruku that Momoru brought a note for her!" Kaoru replied with exasperation.

"Does she really need to know?"

"She has a right to!" Kaoru shot back.

Aoshi grunted and rubbed the back of his neck. Before either could say anything more on the matter, Naruku had found her way over to them.

"What is it?" she asked, and both Kaoru and Aoshi noticed the presence of an apron and a spatula in her hand. Her eyes fell to the note and she voiced the same question that Kaoru had just moments before.

"It's for you," was Aoshi's quiet reply.

Naruku gingerly took the note and opened it. She read the contents quickly; there must not have been a lot written there. When she was done, she folded the paper down, raising her eyes to look at the anxious faces of Kaoru and Aoshi.

"It's from Enizu," Naruku spoke listlessly. She felt oddly nauseas and dizzy. "He…"

Aoshi's eyes flashed and Kaoru seemed to be going into shock. Momoru had contact with Enizu. He had figured out how to blackmail them.

"He wants to meet with me," Naruku finished in the same empty tone. "Enizu wants to…"

Kaoru surged forward, grabbing hold of Naruku's shoulders. She didn't need to hear it again. "You're not going to, are you?" she asked in a piercing tone.

Naruku's eyes couldn't seem to focus. She shook her head and stepped away from Kaoru. "I might have to."


A/N: I know, not as much Misao/Soujiro as we all would have hoped. The reason that their reunion scene wasn't very glorious is because it's told from Yahiko's point of view. And that was because I can't keep having these wonderful reunions or else it'll lose its meaning. Anyway, stuff is definitely starting to happen. Next chapter should be very exciting!

I want to say again how utterly shocked at how phenomenal the response to last chapter was. I can only hope I'll get a similar one this chapter. You guys have been great, truly.

Zioncross: Wow, you're really reading into the Kaoru thing. She is having a really tough time, no matter how hard she tries to pretend she's not because more important things are happening. I do find it kinda weird that you compared Shishio to Kaoru. I think you might be the first person to ever do that. If you ask me, Kaoru should ban Momoru from the dojo, like what happened with Gohei. I feel really bad because I had to make her lessons go on hiatus. Thank you for always being so helpful and flattering and we will get that fanfiction up and running soon!

Insane Reader: I'm glad! (Please don't eat my chapters! Haha…) Of course I'll continue! You didn't have to chase off my bodyguards though, did you?

Chibi Assassin, "Oro" Object, Chibi-Flamer, Leona Westley, Random Person: Thank you very much! I'm glad to know that I'm a favorite with you! I'll try and be quick with updates

Love in War: A lot of people are starting to like Aoshi/Kaoru. I'm glad you liked last chapter. And no, Soujiro isn't exactly brainwashed. Sorry!

Himura Kaoru: Judging by your penname, you don't seem to be the type of person who would enjoy this fic, but I'm very glad that you do!

One and Only: Momoru is a creep! I'm surprised that you think Aoshi was hard on Kaoru…I guess he kind of was! I'm sorry that there wasn't a lot of Misao/Soujiro in this chapter…I thought there was going to be a lot more! I hope you liked Naruku and Kenshin in this chapter. I'm glad you think I'm really smart. So flattered…

Noname: My pleasure! Haha…but I can't right now.

Seta Misao: Hm…good thing no one has told Misao anything, right? I'm really glad that you're liking the Aoshi/Kaoru pairing. It's awesome, huh?

Iaaaoh-chan: Thank you, and you're welcome!

Erica Mandarine: Thanks! I hope you feel the same way about this one. Yup, that's pretty important. It's going to be a little while before Misao finds out. No one has the heart to tell her!

Sou/Mi's Angel: I guess I really improved a lot, right? Not for a little while. They say crisis brings people together, but I don't think Naruku and Kenshin are about to confess their love for each other under the circumstances. I'm glad you like all the pairings!

Some Fan: I'm glad that you randomly found this fanfiction…haha, it makes me happy that you decided to read it. I hope it's pretty understandable without reading the first four. I hope so, I worked very hard on this one and even I like it the best. I'm sorry; it's really hard for me to pick one pairing because it's not centered on just one. I hope you don't have too hard of a time trying to find it. It'll either be in Sano/Megumi, Aoshi/Kaoru or Soujiro/Misao, since fanfiction does not have an "original pairing" option.

Kha'nh: I'll be updating every 8-11 days. I would be happy to notify you if you'd leave your e-mail address!

Again, thank you everyone, you really motivate me to write quickly. You make me love this story so much! This fanfiction has the record of reviews for me, even more than Steps of Courage, which has almost twice as many chapters! I love getting reviews of all types and I hope you'll keep sending them my way. Really grateful, everyone.

Important: This chapter was Misao/Soujiro. Next chapter, which was undecided, is going to be Aoshi/Kaoru. Just so I don't feel so guilty again, it won't be exactly CENTERED on these two, since some very important events are going to happen elsewhere, but there will definately be substantial Aoshi/Kaoru.