A/N: Just a little notice. I'm leaving to move into my dorm room in the next two days. So my life will be a little hectic getting my classes smoothed out and meeting my new roommate and all that fun stuff. So the next update may be delayed. Sorry! Thanks go to Nekotsuki for the beta work!

REVIEWS!

Tokichic - Yup, another cliffhanger. BUW HA HA! How I love them!

droparmor - Kenshin's isn't waking up because he's body has gone through too much stress. It's basically his body forcing him to rest so he can recover.

Insane Chipmunk - Hope you're ankle gets better! I'm always sprain my ankles. The best thing really is to walk it off… gently!

WolfDaughter - Fear my cliffhangers! BUW HA HA! I'm glad you liked Kanai's little scene where he returned Kenshin's sword.

Shadow Wolf of the Blue Moon - It's a race! It's a race! It's a ra…zzzzzzzzz (Disclaimer: I don't own Rat Race. -looks around for attacking lawyers)

FairyMage - Glad you're enjoying my OCs.

lolo popoki - I'm glad I'm getting such positive reviews to Kanai's character.

Hitokiri Musei - I hope this update came fast enough!

Chapter 20 - Found

Kanai wasn't allowed out of his house that night. He thought about sneaking some food to Neko, but he just couldn't sneak past his parents, who were very upset with him. "What where you thinking! You could have gotten lost, then what? Maybe even picked up by slavers!" His father's angry words echoed in his head and the mention of slavers made his heart ache for Neko. So Neko and Kenshin were left alone in her house.

Kenshin's subconscious floated from darkness, to his times in Outsu, days long past with his Shishou, and even beyond that. Sometimes his dreams were memories; other were only dreams, but they were all peaceful. "Play 'it' with me Kenshin!" Neko said, tugging on his sleeve. "I want to run!" She ran, calling for him to follow. A smile spread across his face as he chased her. Faster and faster they ran until he was able to reach out his hand and tag her.

"Got you!" he said playfully, but when he pulled his hand back all joy drained from his face. Where he had touched Neko was a dark, red handprint. He stared at the red spot a moment, then lifted his hands; they were covered in blood. A frightened gasp escaped him as he backed up, trying to get away from his own hands.

Looking up from his hands, he saw hundreds of faceless men, women, and children staring at him, accusing him silently. "You never had anyone to protect." The words echoed in his head. "You just steal the happiness of others!" He screamed and it drowned out the angry echo; he shut his eyes and ran. He had to get away, away from the eyes that so rightfully accused him of all the wrong he had committed against them.

'So many! I've hurt so many!' He wasn't sure when he realized that he was now carrying a sword in his hand, but it had come. 'I have killed people in order to protect the happiness of those who are weak. But it was because of me that you lost your happiness. I have stolen that precious thing away from you, in ignorance. Tomoe, I had no right to protect your happiness.' He brought the sword up and with all his strength brought it down. The sound of his sword cutting through another body filled his ears. 'Not again!' he pleaded. 'Not again!' He opened his eyes and saw the image that would forever haunt him. "TOMOE!" His beloved fell back on him, bleeding from a wound he, himself, had inflicted.

'I can't take this anymore,' he thought, holding her close and pinching his eyes shut. 'Everything I touch becomes tainted. Everything I try to save dies. I'm nothing but a killer, I could never bring anyone happiness.' He opened his eyes to look at her beautiful, pale face once more. He nearly screamed in fear when he saw it was no longer her he was holding. Instead it was a man, his face hidden by a mask, cut neatly in two, a sword with a chain on it, clutched in the dead man's hand. 'It's the assassin from that night.'

He looked up; bodies were everywhere. He recognized them as his victims. Why wouldn't the dead just leave him alone? A light rain began to fall, instantly soaking him. He held out his hand to catch the droplets. "You make the bloody rain fall." It was red, tiny red dots fell from the sky.

The rain quickly made puddles of red water. The puddles grew and grew and soon everything was covered in a layer of blood. Kenshin ran, his footsteps splashing the wet, sticky liquid all around. He had to get away, away from the blood. His heart beat faster and faster; he stepped on the ground again, but found it missing. He sank into the bloody water.

He splashed around trying to stay above the surface. In the midst of his struggles, Neko came walking up, the blood pulling away from her steps, changing into pure water underneath her feet. She stopped and watched Kenshin for a while. "You're covered in blood," she whispered.

Soaked in the bloody water, rivers of it pouring off his face, he was indeed soaked in blood. "Help me, please!"

"You'll pull me under," she said, crossing her arms in front of herself. "I'm disappointed in you, we all are." He could feel himself sinking deeper as she continued. "I am clean, unlike you, and I don't want to be stained. Goodbye, Battousai." She turned her back on him and without even looking back once, walked away.

"NEKO! WAIT!" He reached for her, but as he did so a bony arm reached up from the thick blood and grabbed his shoulder. Kenshin gave a yell and tried to pull it off him. Another arm rose from the murky depths of the water and latched onto him. Soon it was joined by another and another. It was too much for Kenshin; they began to pull him under. "NO! NO!" He screamed just before his head disappeared under the water, the arms dragging him to hell.

His eyes snapped open, his chest heaving. His nerves were on high alert and his body was tense. 'A dream!' he told himself. 'It was a dream.' It didn't make him feel any better. As he tried to calm himself he noticed that a ceiling was over his head. 'Where am I? What's going on!' A new panic crept over him. How long had he been out? What had happened? What is this place? "Neko!" He sat up, but a wave of pain rushed over him, and with a cry he fell back onto the futon.

His sides and chest burned with the pain that moving had caused. He turned his head from side to side, taking in the room. He felt relief wash over him when he saw Neko sleeping to his left. It didn't last long, as he realized she was not only sweating under all the blankets piled on top of her, but most of the blankets were soaking wet. He pulled out his right arm from under his own blankets and felt her forehead, immediately pulling his hand back, she was burning up.

Quickly he propped himself up on his elbow, ignoring the pain his movements were causing, and began ripping the blankets from Neko's body. 'What were they thinking?' He was upset at no one in particular, but he guessed someone must have been taking care of them, so he blamed whoever that might be. 'If her temperature gets too high, she'll die!' As he flung the blankets away, Neko opened her eyes.

"I'm cold!" she snapped, holding the blanket Kenshin was trying to take away from her.

"No, you're not. You just think you are. Neko, let go, if you get much hotter..."

"Who are you?"

Kenshin stopped what he was doing and looked down at her. 'Kuso, she's really sick.'

Neko studied the man trying to take her warmth. Finally she recognized him. "Kenshin! You're up!" She let go of the blanket to hug him. Quickly throwing the now surrendered blanket off her, he allowed her to hug his arm.

Kanai quietly tiptoed out of his room. It was too early for either of his parents to be awake, and he wanted to get out of the house before they could stop him. He was almost to the door when a loud and urgent knocking rang through the house startling him. 'Who would be here this early in the morning?' In his parents' room he could hear his father grumbling about the same thing. Not wanting to be caught trying to sneak out of the house, Kanai quickly ran back to his room. He pushed the door almost shut and peered out the tiny space he had left open.

His dad walked by, still in his sleeping garments; he hadn't even bothered to put a robe on. Kanai watched his father head towards the door, grumbling about how some people slept this early in the morning. "Not everyone is up at the crack of dawn." His mother followed shortly pulling a robe over her as she walked.

"Then it must be important, now please, calm down. You'll wake Kanai," she spoke, while stifling a yawn. After they passed, he crept out of his room and peered around the corner to see who was at the door.

His stomach flipped and his heart jumped into this throat. "Shinsengumi!" His voice a panicked whisper at the sight of the group of men standing in the open door. From what he could see, there were six of them. 'What are they doing here? They already checked here? What if they find Neko?' His brain couldn't process his thoughts quickly enough. "Oh, Neko!"

Kenshin rose and Neko looked at him questioningly. His body was tense and his eyes were a hard, cold amber. She wasn't afraid of those eyes, she loved the power they placed in her, but even looking into his eyes couldn't quell the feeling of danger that was churning in her stomach. She didn't know why she was so scared and that scared her a little more.

Carefully, Kenshin walked out of the room. "Kenshin? Where are you going?" He turned and put his finger to his lips. Neko clapped a hand over her mouth and he moved slowly down the hall. Feeling vulnerable all alone, Neko pulled herself out of bed, pulling with her arms and using her good leg. The other leg she dragged behind her. She stopped and lay half in the doorway, half out of it. Just enough so she could watch Kenshin make his way to the front door.

There were people near here. He could feel them. He stretched out his senses as far as he could go. 'I can't tell if they are friend or foe.' He was weaker then he had originally thought; it shouldn't be this hard to decipher between an enemy and an ally. He tried to at least count and get a number of how many were out there. Kenshin closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. He could feel a few people all around, lost in slumber; he must be in some sort of village. Ignoring those sleeping he moved to those awake. Some were panicked, as if just going through a frightening ordeal; he guessed they weren't the ones setting off the alarms in his head. Moving in closer he finally found the threat.

He could feel a large group of swordsmen just off to the side. There were nine total, but five of them stood out among the rest. They seemed skilled enough that alone in this condition he would be no match for them. He hated to admit it, but it was true. He cursed his luck, still trying to figure out what was going on. He could feel hate and terrifying fear radiating off one of the nine swordsmen. Behind that one he could also feel a woman's ki and a small child's. Unfathomable fear pooled from the kid, as if his life was in danger. The other eight seemed slightly annoyed, yet very determined in what they were trying to do.

Slowly he opened the door and peered out a tiny crack. "Shimatta, Shinsengumi." He growled at the sight of the easily recognizable uniforms. A couple of the men turned their heads towards him, sensing the sudden spike of anger. Kenshin snapped the door shut. "Now what!"

"We're here to search your house again."

Kanai's father's face scrunched in annoyance. "You have already torn my house apart once. I will not permit it again, unless you give me a good reason why I should."

"Koishii!" Kanai's mother gasped, afraid of what would come from his rudeness, but he stood firm, his hand yearning for his sword.

The Shinsengumi member that had been doing the speaking thus far, narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "We do not have to explain ourselves to you. Now step aside and let us search or we will be forced to move you."

He simply crossed his arms in front of his chest. Kanai's breath got stuck in his throat when he saw the other man's hand going for his weapon. Not knowing what else to do, Kanai stepped forward. "What's going on daddy?"

Everyone seemed startled by the arrival of the boy. "Kanai! You should be in bed!" his mother cried, rushing towards him and holding him against her legs. It was as if she was afraid of the Shinsengumi stealing him away. His father uncrossed his arms and stepped aside; he didn't want his son to see any violence that might come from crossing the Shinsengumi.

The men started to file into the house, but one stopped and looked towards the house next door. Another man by his side spoke to him. "That was the house that was abandoned before." The first man nodded an agreement, eyes never leaving the house. "But just now, I felt the presence of a strong and upset fighter in there. Didn't you?"

A shrug. "I felt one very scared child." The other smirked. "We should skip this house and head for that one."

The other thought a moment. "But these people are hiding something, I can feel it. We should check here, just in case."

"Then we must finish with this house quickly."

Kanai watched the two whisper to each other as they looked over at Neko's house. "Are you going to search my room?" he asked, trying to take their attention away from her house.

"Kanai!" his mother scolded.

"Yes kid, we're going to search the whole house." One said, finally taking his eyes off Neko's house, while the other still watched it intensely, as if the house was going to grow legs and run away.

"But my room is so messy!" he whined. "I don't want you to see it messy."

The man stepped into the house and joined the search with the others. That one still would not look away from Neko's house. "Are you really the Shinsengumi?" His mother moved to hush her son, but the man chuckled slightly and gestured with his hand to leave Kanai be.

"Yes, I am."

"Wow! You must be really strong!"

"I am."

"That's so cool!" He was hating every word that came from his mouth. "I wish I could be as strong as you!"

The man smirked. "Well, I don't think you could handle being a member of the Shinsengumi."

'I would never want to be like you.' He forced himself to look disappointed. "Aw." The others were coming back. Kanai could see now that his first guess of six was wrong. There were eight of them. They had been a lot faster then last time. Breaking away from his mother's vicelike grip on his shoulders he moved in front of their exit. He continued to talk to the man, pretending he didn't notice that the others were trying to move around him. "Are you good with your sword?" he asked, pointing at the man's sword.

The man tapped his sword. "Yes, I am." Someone tried to forcibly move Kanai, but the man stopped him. "The boy is merely curious."

Kanai asked every question he could think of. 'I've got to buy her time,' he thought wildly. 'Reizo was supposed to be here! He was supposed to come! Did the Innkeeper send these men?' Question after question flew from his tiny mouth.

"Shinsengumi?" Neko questioned, fearfully. "There're here!"

Kenshin didn't answer her. He was too busy trying to think. 'What do I do now? I can't fight them like this. Should we flee?' He thought about it, but he felt like he was being watched. 'It wouldn't take them long to track us down, we can't go very fast.' He looked down at Neko, who looked back at him. Her eyes were wild with fear, on the verge of tears. 'I could face them, then they would have me. They won't care about Neko.' He walked past Neko and found his sword. Picking it up he put it through his belt; for the first time, he noticed he was wearing a different gi. He touched it, wondering where it came from.

"It was my dad's," Neko said quietly, seeing the question in Kenshin's eyes.

'Her dad's? That means…' Well, now he knew where he was. He started to head back towards the door.

"Where are you going?" she yelled, panic running through her as she grabbed his hakama. "What are you doing?"

He knelt down beside her, clenching his teeth against the pain. "I'm going to have to fight them." She slowly shook her head as he continued. "I may lose, but no matter what happens to me I want you to stay here."

"NO!" She started to cry. "Don't leave me! Please, don't leave me alone! We can hide! We can hide! We can hide!" She repeated it over and over. "Please! We can hide!"

"They'll find us." He tried to pull her hands off his hakama which she still held onto for dear life.

"But they might not! Hide! Please hide! If they find us, then fight! Please don't go! They'll kill you!" He got one of her hands free, but she quickly grabbed his ankle instead. "I don't want you to die!"

"Neko, let go!"

"Please! Please don't die! Please, Kenshin, please! DON'T DIE!"

"Alright!" He yelled a little louder than he meant to. "Alright," he repeated more quietly. "Where do you suggest we hide?"

"In the closet!"

"In the closet," Kenshin sighed. 'I'm going to hide in a closet. Well, I suppose it's better then hiding behind a desk.' He couldn't help feeling slightly annoyed. "Alright then," he sighed. "We'll hide in the closet." Steeling himself against the pain he knew was going to come, he picked Neko up and made his way to the closet.

Kanai was running out of questions to ask. "I, uh, um..."

"We need to get going," the man said, as if finally realizing how much time he had been wasting. "We need to get to the next house." He gave a nod of his head, and the other men Kanai had been blocking, gently pushed him aside so they could get through.

"Uh, I bet you're not as strong as the Battousai!" he blurted out.

The man stopped and looked at Kanai with cold, angry eyes. "Are you saying we cannot handle the Battousai?"

"I heard he was the strongest man alive."

"Well, that's what the rumors say." The man gave a confident smirk. "I'm much stronger than the Battousai."

"How do you know? Have you ever seen the Battousai? Do you even know what he looks like?"

Kanai was starting to annoy the man. "I've seen him, but I'm guessing you don't know what he looks like." He was becoming suspicious of this little boy he had been talking to. 'He's hiding something,'

"Yes I do!" Kanai snapped back.

His mother gasped. Kanai once told her that he had seen the Battousai and that he had been taking care of Neko. 'Please don't say anything, Kanai. Please don't tell them a lie.' She begged her son silently.

"Then what dose he look like?"

"He's seven feet tall!" Kanai exclaimed enthusiastically, reaching above his head as far as he could go. "And he's as big as a house! His hair is actually fire and he's a demon!" He rattled off every single rumor he now knew was false about Kenshin. "And he drinks blood!"

The man chuckled. "You're a little off kid, the Battousai is a man with red hair and a cross shaped scar on his left cheek. Now we really must leave." He said, more to his men than to Kanai. They began to take their leave.

"Wa-wait!" Kanai moved to chase after them, but his mother grabbed his shoulders.

"What were you thinking!" she yelled at him. Tears that had long been held back now flowed down her face. He was hurt by the pain he had caused her, and scared as well; his mother never yelled at him. "Don't you know who those men are?"

"You don't understand!"

"Those were Shinsengumi members!" his dad yelled, his face red. "They could have killed you if you had pissed them off." He was furious.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Now he was crying. "You don't understand." He paused a moment. He couldn't take the lying anymore. "Neko, she's..."

"Neko's gone! She's not coming back!" his dad yelled.

"Yes, she is! She's hurt and she needs help! I've been hiding her in her house!"

His father rolled his eyes as his mother looked him in the eye. "Honey, Neko and her parents are probably dead. They haven't been home."

"NEKO ISN'T DEAD!" Why wouldn't they believe him? "I told you! When her parents died, Battousai started to take care of her. And now..."

"I'm tired of your lies, Kanai," his dad snapped. "It's time that you grew up and accepted that Neko is gone and she's not coming back."

"LISTEN TO ME!" He was angry now, he turned and glared at his own father. "She's here! Neko's here and so is Battousai. They've been here for nearly three days. They're hiding in Neko's house, but they need help! Neko is sick and Battousai won't wake up. Father, you must help them! You've got to stop the Shinsengumi from finding them!"

"Kanai," his father said as a warning.

"You've got to believe me! I'm not lying! Dad, if you don't help then Neko's going to think you sent the Shinsengumi after the Battousai, and she'll think I told you! You've got to save her! Please dad! Please!" He turned to his mother. "You believe don't you? Don't you?"

Her mouth hung open for a moment, then she closed it. "Kanai, go to your room. You need to stop lying."

Kanai's lips curled up in a snarl and he growled, pronouncing each word slowly. "I'm, not, lying!"

His father opened his mouth, but what he was going to say never came. He froze at the sound of fighting coming from outside. A battle cry rang out along with the sound of swords clanging together.

"NEKO!" Kanai ran outside, followed closely by his parents.

Kenshin pulled the door shut. He leaned his head against the other wall and swatted a kimono that was hanging up out of his way. He did not like hiding like this; he knew they were going to be found. He looked over at Neko, who was breathing hard and shaking rather badly. "I'm scared," she said, when she found him looking at her.

"It's alright, you need to relax." If they were going to stand any kind of chance of getting out of this, then Neko needed to calm down. Her ki was laced with easy to read fear and he had a feeling some of the men searching for him would be able to pick it up easily.

"I can't! I'm scared." She pulled herself towards him and laid her head against his chest. "I'm so scared."

He thought a moment, then wrapped his arms around the frightened girl. "I'll keep you safe, but you have to calm down." She was already starting to relax. "Take deep breaths, and try not to think of anything." Neko did as she was told. With her ear against his chest, she could hear his heart beating and felt him take in breath after breath. It became a lullaby. Slowly she relaxed as Kenshin instructed her on what to do. Soon she was masking her ki and she didn't even realize it.

He was proud of her. She listened to what he said and now she was doing something it had taken him years to acquire. Granted, it wasn't perfect, but he hoped it would be enough to fool their pursuers. "Just relax," he whispered.

They were coming closer; soon they would be knocking on the door, demanding entrance. He held Neko tighter. 'I'm sorry, I did not want you to get mixed up in this.' The knock came and Neko jumped, her fear returning. "Stay calm, relax. You're safe. Think of nothing, they will not find us." In a soft voice, he coaxed Neko to mask her ki again.

Kenshin waited, moving one of his arms to the sword's hilt. It was only a matter of time. Suddenly he felt more ki walking towards the house. He guessed there were only about seven men in this new group. A muffled voice called out: "Who are you?"

A yell rang out, and the two groups charged each other. The ringing of swords colliding filled the house. Neko yelled into Kenshin's chest, frightened. Kenshin worked to figure out what was going on. 'What's happening out there?' A flash of a familiar, and very angry, ki brought a face from Kenshin's memory. 'I don't believe it.' He was shocked. A member of the first group's ki disappeared. Followed by another. Kenshin pushed Neko off him so he could stand as yet another life faded.

"Kenshin, what's going on?" she asked, terrified by the noises coming from outside.

"It's alright, Neko." He moved to pick her up. "You're going to be alright." He didn't want to tell her who he thought was outside until he saw him with his own eyes. He carried Neko out of her parent's room and towards the door leading outside. 'You'll be safe now.' Another ki from the group of eight vaniahed. 'You'll get help, they'll take you to a doctor.' He could tell Neko was afraid to go outside. He stopped a moment, the world spinning too much for him to go on, as another man's ki disappeared. He reached the door just as the last few men fell; he steadied himself, gathering his energy to stand straight. "Close your eyes." Neko did as he asked. He opened the door.

Seven men stood, some panting, looking around at the eight bodies of the Shinsengumi. All their heads snapped towards the door that suddenly opened. One looked relieved and overjoyed to see the man and child standing in the doorway. "Himura!"

"Reizo." He didn't know what else to say.

Neko turned her head and opened her eyes. The sight of seeing Reizo once again blocked out any thoughts of the blood on his clothes or the bodies on the ground. "Reizo! You're here! Kanai found you!" She felt so relaxed all of a sudden. Reizo could take care of things. Everything was going to be all right. Her strength gone, Neko fainted, a smile on her face.

Kanai and his parents ran out of the house, just as the last of the men were killed. All their mouths hung open. When the battle was over, the door to Neko's old house opened and a man, carrying Neko, stepped out. His parents couldn't believe it. They looked down at their son; he had been telling the truth.

"Reizo! You're here! Kanai found you!" He was proud of the joy that came from Neko, but he was startled when she passed out.

"Neko?" Kanai ran to Kenshin's side. "What's wrong with her?" he asked the red head. "Is she dead!" he asked, panicking.

Kenshin shook his head. "She's just tired, and sick." He looked towards Reizo. "We have to get her to a doctor."

Reizo nodded in agreement, then turned towards Kanai. "Are you the boy who told us to come here?"

"Hai," He said proudly, as his parents stepped up behind him. Mouths still open, eyes wide. "Are you Reizo?"

"I am, you did a good job." He smiled at the boy.

"You'll take care of Neko, right?"

"Yes, she'll be fine." He turned back to Kenshin. "We'd better get going." He eyed Kenshin and the visible bruising. "Can you walk?"

"Hai, but take her." He held Neko's limp form to Reizo and he carefully took her from him. Now she was safe, he couldn't do anything else to help her. It felt like a burden had been lifted off his shoulders. The pain from the wound on his side and his rib that he had been pushing to the back of his mind while caring for Neko came rushing forward with a vengeance. With a soft moan, his eyes rolled back, and he pitched forward to the ground. The last thing he heard was Reizo yelling his name.

With his hands full, Reizo couldn't catch Kenshin. Luckily two men quickly rushed up and grabbed him before he fell. With Neko shivering in his arms, Kenshin's face scrunched in pain, and both having passed out, the urgency of the situation came rushing back to everyone standing there. Reizo quickly ordered a couple of his men to stay behind and take care of the bodies. He gave one last thank-you to Kanai before leaving.

"Please take care of Neko." Once more, Kanai watched his friend go. He tried very hard to be strong and grown up and not cry, but the tears came anyway. "Goodbye, Neko."

Katsura waited impatiently at the safehouse. He had wanted desperately to go with Reizo and the others, but he was needed here. The note they had received suggested that Kenshin might have been hurt, so the three doctors were waiting for their return as well. 'What's taking so long? Did they run into trouble?' He felt like the room he waited in was shrinking with each passing second. He tried to concentrate on the paperwork in front of him, but it was just a jumble of words he couldn't focus on. His mind kept returning to that day.

Reizo had returned, his arm injured. As a doctor treated it he had explained what happened. "We couldn't find her body, then this boy from the Shinsengumi came with a note for Himura." He sighed. "Himura read it and stormed off. I tried to follow him but he lost me." He broke eye contact with Katsura. "I'm sorry sir, I looked all over and I couldn't find him anywhere."

Katsura had quickly formed a search party, but they had come up empty. The only thing they had discovered was his swords, that appeared to have been cast aside. Along with the swords they had found foot prints and a few drops of blood. Something had happened, but no one knew what.

A rumor on the streets started quickly that the Shinsengumi had captured and killed the Battousai. It was a rumor many believed. Reizo had a hard time accepting the fact and blamed himself; after a week had passed and still no word had surfaced about Himura's whereabouts even he believed him to be dead.

Now Katsura had to admit that he too, had thought the boy to be dead. He prayed the letter Reizo had received was not a trap, but they had really found Himura.

"Katsura-san?" A voice called behind the shoji.

"What?" His head snapped towards the door.

"Reizo has returned, with Himura."

He jumped to his feet and threw the door open. "Where is he?"

"They just arrived, the doctors are already looking at them."

'Then they're both injured.' Katsura nearly flew down the halls, finally arriving. "How are they?" He asked the nearest doctor.

He shook his head. "We're worried about the girl, she has a very high temperature," Reizo was already moving down the hall with the other two doctors, Neko still in his arms. They disappeared into another room. "Himura doesn't look too bad from what I can see. I'll need to take him into an examining room to be sure." The two men who had carried Kenshin here made their way down the hall, being careful not to hurt him. Katsura followed the doctor into the room as the two rested Kenshin on an already prepared futon.

Kenshin moaned slightly; the four men in the room held their breaths. Kenshin partially opened his eyes. "Katsura?"

"Himura, you..."

"You're safe," Kenshin interrupted him. "Good. And Neko?"

"The doctors are looking after her right now." He went to say more, but Kenshin sighed and fell back into darkness.