Thanks to a very wonderful reviewer, wink u know who u b, I have much more confidence to write this now. This chapter is SO long, I don't know why I kept writing either. I finally found out what "wolf" was in Japanese. Now Ama's last name makes much more sense in the story, tha'ts kind of why I used it over and over again in the chap. I don't know if I should bother updating the other chapters with the new name or not. REVIEW! Begging will commence if not, and there will be more exciting things later. This is a bit of a depressing chap, well I think it is.
"Um, Ayame?" Amaterasu asked the young child dragged her through the streets. She had to stoop a bit to keep hold of her hand, so she was not having an easy time. "Where exactly are we going? I don't see the others anywhere!"
"I know where the Akebeko is," the little girl huffed. Amaterasu sighed and thought herself lucky that she at least had taken off her blindfold, so she tried to slow down the young girl by wrapping the black fabric around her free hand. This did not halt the girl in the least.
Just when she was starting to loose hope of ever finding the others, a white figure stepped in front of the swooping up Ayame onto their shoulders. "No where do you think you're leading Miss Ama around eh kid?"
"Hi Sano!" she laughed mussing with his hair.
"I'm glad it was you," Amaterasu chuckled. Zanza looked up curiously as Ayame amused herself with braiding part of his hair that was standing straight up. "I was about to punch your lights out for kidnapping her."
He raised an eyebrow and was about to speak until he felt a sharp tug at his head. "OW! Just what is it you're doing to my head kid?" She only giggled and pointed in the direction they had been heading.
"We'll be late for the Akebeko! Come on! Yahiko will eat all the food!" The little girl kicked her little feet trying to egg him onward.
"Alright, alright!" he laughed. "Well come on then Miss Ama, let's get going." He started off down the road with the little girl on his shoulders laughing and playing with the girl's feet and making her giggle. He's quite the pushover when it comes to these people. From what I heard, Zanza left people with nightmares. Amaterasu chuckled to herself following along with them. "You haven't' had beef stew until you've eaten at the Akebeko."
"Best in town?" Ama asked laughing. Ayame started again with her braiding making a second and third one in his hair. Sanosuke smiled nodding which made the poor girl on his shoulders bop around a little. "Be careful! Don't wan her to fall!"
"Huh?" he steadied the girl again. "Sorry about that kid. Hang on tight huh? You're so tiny I forget you're up there." She giggled again smiling brighter than before. Amaterasu walked in silence next to them listening to the young girl babble on and on about all the fun things she had done with 'Uncle Kenny' and 'Aunty Kaoru' and Yahiko and Sanosuke and someone else named Megumi. "Kid you got a mouth that's faster than any horse you know that?" he teased cringing in mock pain.
"She can't help it," Ama defended. "Little children love talking to people they like. If exciting things happen in their lives they love to tell it to everyone around them they trust."
Zanza cocked an eyebrow looking down at her, "And how did you become a kid expert?"
She stayed silent for a few moments but looked up again feeling awkward. It had been a long time since she had talked freely with anyone, and even longer since she talked about her home. "There were a lot of children in the town I lived in. The older kids were supposed to watch over them, but they were too busy doing other things. I never had much to do, so I was naturally the one they ran to. It didn't help that most of the older kids were boys and were quite harsh to the younger children. They thought of me as someone they trusted."
"And because you have pretty eyes!" Ayame squealed from her perch. Ama blushed furiously and looked to the ground closing her eyes.
"Shouldn't be embarrassed by them Miss Ama," Zanza said quietly looking down at her. "Shouldn't hide them either, I don't think I've ever seen silver eyes like that." She nearly missed a step once he had said that. No one's ever spoken like that to me before. At least not in a good way, and not in a way that it was kind either. "There it is up ahead. Looks like the others decided to wait for us."
"So it does," she sighed looking up the path. There stood the red haired man of the Imperialist army, smiling and laughing with the others as if nothing else in his life had ever happened. He has to know, if he doesn't my life might as well end now. I will find him!
"There you are Miss Sorayookami," Kenshin smiled as she approached with Sanosuke and Ayame. "We were wondering if she had gotten you into any trouble. Is everything alright?"
"Fine," Sano laughed setting the young girl on the ground. "This little tyke just dragged poor Ama around the whole town, but I think we're ok."
"Well let's all go get a table! I'm starved!" Kaoru cheered. They all filed in with Ayame and Suzume both staying close to Amaterasu. Kenshin caught this and smiled a little. It's a good thing to see them both taking a liking to her. She's a very fierce opponent when she wants to be, but I think Miss Sorayookami is kinder than we've been led to believe. He sat in between Kaoru and Yahiko while the two girls both plopped down in between Sanosuke and Amaterasu. She seemed very shocked by this and looked like she almost didn't know what to do. Eventually she smiled at them giving a playful wink to Ayame, who giggled uncontrollably for about thirty seconds.
Tae wandered over to them smiling and seeming not to notice their extra member, "Hey y'all! What can I get you folks today?" She then saw Amaterasu for the first time and stopped, "Oh hello there! Who's your new friend?"
"That's Sanosuke's girlfriend," Yahiko teased smirking. Sano reached over the table and grabbed the kid by the throat lifting him into the air as he stood.
"What was that you little brat? You want to live to ever see Kyoto?" Sano growled towering over the table.
"Please," Yahiko laughed, "like you could ever hurt me. Kenshin would kick your butt again if you tried anything."
"Want to test that?"
"Go ahead! I dare ya!" Sanosuke dropped him to the side of the table and started yelling at him catching the attention on the entire restaurant.
"You punk ass kid, you don't have any respect for anyone! I seem to remember the first time you ever saw me fight you were shaking in fear!"
Yahiko growled back, "I was not! And I'm not a kid!"
"Sure you aren't," Sano scoffed, "Little Yahiko."
"DON'T CALL ME LITTLE!" the young boy screamed at the top of his lungs. He reached for his sword ready to beat the gang fighter into submission. "You'll pay for that Sanosuke!"
He lunged for the taller man swinging wildly and seeming to forget all of his lessons on the Kamiya Kashin style in those brief moments. Sanosuke only dodged effortlessly, until he had backed into another table and fell over. He was lucky that there was only a bottle of sake or two on it. He grabbed one with his spare hand blocking Yahiko's swing of his sword.
"Oh please stop it you two!" Tae begged hiding along with most of the patrons. "Please don't fight! Your tab is bad enough as is Sano, I don't need you to have to pay for property damage!"
"I think your pleas are falling on deaf ears Tae," Kaoru sighed. "Kenshin what are we going to do about them?"
The former Battousai looked down at the two girls hiding behind him and pat their heads in reassurance. "I'll go stop them," he sighed starting for them.
"You two are the most childish human beings I have ever met!" Kenshin, Kaoru, Tae, and the rest of the patrons of the Akebeko all looked up in shock. Sanosuke and Yahiko were back in the aisle in between tables, but Amaterasu had joined them. She was facing Sanosuke, and she had Yahiko's weapon firmly grasped in her hand as if it were a mere fly trying to wriggle free. She was glaring at the both of them were harsh eyes that seemed like crystals of ice trapped in her face. "I can't believe you!
"Have you no respect for anyone else around you? Not only was that a petty reason to start a fight, but a stupid one as well." She tugged lightly on Yahiko's sword pulling it sharply from his grasp. She looked down at him coldly, "You need to learn manners. If you are known for having an attitude, I don't care, but complete strangers shouldn't have to put up with it."
Sanosuke smirked at him, "You tell him."
"Don't think I wasn't going to scold you either," she half laughed rounding on him. "A grown man picking fights with a little boy. You're dumber than he is! I agree that it was a rude comment and I nearly wanted to slap him myself, but that is NO reason to start a fight here." She calmly handed the sword back and bowed to the rest of the customers, "Please forgive them and myself. I am truly sorry to have disrupted your meals." She turned and sat back down at the table giving the two boys a look that dared them not to sit down. Once they did Kenshin caught her mutter, "If you wanted to fight you should have taken it outside."
Sanosuke crossed his arms and grunted looking away from her, Yahiko saw this and did the same. Tae came back after fixing the table sighing with a bit of relief, "Well. Now can I take your order? As long as you don't start any more fights that is."
"I think the usual would be best," Kenshin sighed sitting down as well. The others joined and nodded their agreement. Kenshin looked to Amaterasu as she was having the 'usual' explained to her by Dr. Gensai's grandchildren. I've never seen eyes like hers. Comforting and soft one moment, then harsh and cold the next. It really hits hard knowing my eyes were once like that, that it does. She laughed at the two girls politely warming up to them. Kaoru touched his hand lightly.
"Is something wrong Kenshin?" she asked.
"No nothing at all Miss Kaoru," he laughed. "Just thinking about how well Miss Sorayookami handled that situation. You were quite commanding, that you were."
"Well they were being quite foolish," she chuckled. Sano glared at her, but she ignored it. "Besides, I think our poor waitress was going to pass out if they caused any serious damage."
"Yeah last time Sano was in a big fight he went through a wall!" Yahiko laughed.
Sanosuke slammed a fist by his knee glaring, "Watch it punk. Or you won't live to know what it's like to get laid." Kenshin and Kaoru were both shocked at his brash statement, then again coming from a man who spent his life on the streets it wasn't odd to hear him say it.
"Zanza!" Amaterasu scolded. She tried not to smile, but started laughing, "That was uncalled for." After a moment she laughed freely, "But it was funny."
"Ah so she does have a sense of humor!" Sanosuke laughed.
"Of course I do!" she defended looking hurt. "I've just had it rough lately; no time for jokes and all. Too much humor can get you in trouble."
"Sanosuke knows about that first hand," Yahiko muttered.
"And so do you," Kaoru snapped whapping him on the head. The meal was slightly uneventful, except for when Sano and Yahiko nearly burst into another fight over the last piece of tofu. The meal had finally ended and the check was all that was left to handle. "Here you go Tae, this should be enough for it."
Amaterasu grabbed her hand and handed Tae some money of her own. "Don't you dare think of paying. You are being hospitable enough as is, even though I'm a stranger who tried to fight your friend a few hours ago. It will be no set back to me, so I'm paying."
"I, uh," Kaoru stammered taking her hand and money back, "thank you. I suppose." Ama only nodded her head in respect as they rose to leave. "That was very nice of you."
"The least I could do," she answered. Sano quickened his pace to join Kenshin and Yahiko. The girls both caught the Doctor's eye as he left a patient's house nearby and returned home with him.
Sano gave a cautious glance to Ama as he spoke with Kenshin. "Why do you think it is she wanted information so badly from an Imperialist officer?"
"I do not know, that I don't. Whatever her reason it seems to affect her deeply."
"Think it has something to do with her family?" Sano asked thinking about her earlier conversations.
Kenshin looked back at the girls nodding his head, "Most likely. Her face seems sadder when her family is mentioned than anything else. They might have been high ranking officials in the Edo era."
"As long as it wasn't you." Sano sighed, "then I think we won't have a problem."
"I agree," Kenshin nodded. He turned back calling out to the girls, "Miss Sorayookami?"
She looked up in response, "Yes Mister Himura?"
"Do you mind if, once we return to the dojo, we speak more of your reason for visiting earlier?" She thought it over a nodded. "That will make things much easier that it will."
The walk home was quiet, for once.
Kaoru made some tea for everyone and Kenshin, Ama, Sano, and her all sat down in one room while Yahiko was sent on errands. Ama quietly sipped at her tea facing Kenshin and the others solemnly. Sano refused to have any and stood with his arms crossed near the doorway, as was his custom when hearing most stories like this. Kaoru sat protectively near Kenshin waiting patiently for one of them to speak.
"Sit down Zanza, you're being very distracting." Amaterasu looked up at him smirking, "You act as if I'm going to run out the door for my life any second. I'm the one who came to see Mister Himura if you recall."
"She has a point Sano, that she does," Kenshin smiled. Sanosuke huffed and sat down where he was, still within grasp of the door. "Alright, so why is it you came to me Miss Sorayookami?"
"As I said when I first met you in the meadow," she explained, "information is what I seek." That answer didn't seem to be good enough for Sano.
"What kind of information?" he asked gruffly.
"Be patient Sano," Kenshin warned.
Ama only smiled at them for a moment. The her face went grave and she became sad, "Ten years ago during the Revolution, my parents were part of the Imperialist army. The members of the Sorayookami family were considered some of the best double agents ever to work for the beliefs of the revolution. We lived just inside the borders of Kyoto where my parents were assigned to keep an eye on the Royalists. When the fighting broke out, my parents had let in the Revolutionary army by the main gates and were about to join the fray. For some reason, even though my father was aiding the Imperialists in the fight, they captured him saying he was an enemy." She looked away tears welling in her eyes. Kenshin looked upon her thoughtfully, she wouldn't let herself cry in front of anyone, but she didn't mind showing her feelings of pain as she spoke. "No matter how many passwords, codes, or names my parents told them, the head officer didn't care.
"He said we were working for the Royalists and needed to die, that they wouldn't fool him so easily. My father begged him, pleaded with him that if he didn't believe him to at least spare his wife and children."
She fell silent for a few moments pulling herself together. It had obviously been a long time since she had ever told anyone her story. Sano took the opportunity to move closer to the group asking, "So what happened? Where were you during all this?"
"I-I was," she stammered staring off into space. "I was fighting too. I had one of my father's old swords in my hand and had been fighting by his side. My hair was cut so short back then I could have easily been mistaken for a boy. I was captured along with my mother, my father, and my little brother. My father pleaded to have us let go. He begged for them to find Master Himura and he would explain everything.
"The leader of the small squad who captured us, I'll never forget his words he said, 'If the Royalists think that fools who beg for their lives make good spies then they are fiercely mistaken. If you wanted your family spared, you should have left them at home where they belong.' My mother, she was so infuriated by his words shot away from the men holding her back and cut a slice in his arm. She cursed him for being so stupid, for not believing them, for not doing a simple thing as finding the Battousai. The leader was so angry that he automatically ordered my parents to be executed. My brother and I were made to watch, so that we would be taught a lesson before death."
"What did you do?" Kaoru gasped. "Weren't they going to kill you too?"
"Of course they were. The moment that the leader ordered us to be brought forward, my brother stabbed his guard and I took the chance to knock mine out cold. We both ran for our lives out into the forests beyond the city barriers. They came after us of course, so I told my brother, 'Run for the east, and I to the west! We'll meet in two days back at home!' Then I ran, but before I had gone too far I took a glance back at my brother. He was running faster than I had ever seen, but at least I knew he was safe. When I went to our home to meet him, he never came. I searched the whole city within the shadows for two straight days and I couldn't find him! I finally realized that it was foolish to continue and I needed to move on before I was killed myself." She looked back up into Kenshin's eyes begging, "Please Mister Himura. I know that there must be someone who knows who that man was. Who the leader of the band of Imperialists was. I must know, if at least I can name the murderer of my family, for I cannot rest and will not give up my search until I have done so."
The others were quiet for a long time; it was a very tragic story. However, they had heard many tragic stories of Revolutionary days, Sano's for instance. And he was the first to speak, "So Kenshin, you got any idea who this jerk might be?"
Wow. That was difficult for me. I'm usually into the comedy and not into the drama. Sigh. Review? Please? Wuv to all who do especially those that help me come up with random in between scene ideas, hint! I kinda liked my little cliffhanger thing I had going on there…heh.