Sentiments of gip-k: -The dead fanfiction has been resurrected (resurrects fanfiction). The cries of the hungry fan-people were heard. The author decided to go and look over the story again, and discovered she thoroughly enjoyed reading it. She realized The Silly Koneko was right about Sanosuke being very OOC, so she will fix that now in further chapters. The author also thought the story might still have potential. She, however, was terribly displeased to realize she had not even started chapter 9! So she had no basis and would have to start off all on her own again by using chapter 8, which made things complicated. She, however, would try exceedingly hard to make the story good.

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin does not belong to me. D:

Chapter 9: Help Arrives?---

Kenshin strolled through the streets of Tokyo, his sandals making a gentle pitter-patter as they splashed on the countless puddles. It was still basically raining cats and dogs, but luckily for Kenshin, Kaoru had given him an umbrella. He had already been at the dojo gate, but she had come running through the mud and the cold to give him her only umbrella.

"Stupid Kenshin! Do you want to catch a cold? Take this..."

He remembered her saying. He smiled faintly to himself, but that smile soon faded. It was no time to be thinking about Lady Kaoru, now. If he was to protect her, he had better concentrate on reaching his destination. It was important that he spoke to Saito immediately.

Kenshin arrived at the police station to find the place heavily guarded. Before he could even advance 30 feet in front of the place, an officer was running up to him, holding a lantern in one hand, whilst motioning him to halt with the other.

"Stop right there!" the man shouted. "No one's to be allowed into the police station at this hour- Chief Saito's orders! If you have some sort of problem, we'll handle it from out here."

"Tell your chief that Kenshin Himura is outside and would like to speak with him," Kenshin replied simply.

The man took the lantern and shone it in Kenshin's face. He looked visibly surprised.

"Oh- its you, Himura-san," the officer replied. "All right. I will inform Chief Saito that you are here."

With that, he turned and walked into the police station. He, however, was not even allowed to enter before he had presenting an ID card.Kenshin was very surprised. He realized something had likely taken place concerning Lady Tokio, but he was unsure as of what.

After what seemed an eternity, Kenshin was finally inside the police station and being escorted to Saito's office. The door opened to reveal Saito, who was sitting down at his desk, sifting through some papers, his pipe in his mouth. Without looking up, he addressed his officers.

"You may leave us," he said curtly.

The three officers turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. Saito still did not look up from his work, but Kenshin had no doubt that he was both noticed and acknowledged.

"Saito," Kenshin said in greeting.

"Battousai," Saito replied likewise.

Then there was a moment of silence, as there usually was after the two greeted one another.

"So what brings you here, Battousai?" Saito asked. The smoke from his pipe ascended in puffy gray rings.

"You know I do not go by that name anymore, Saito."

"Of course I do, but I doubt you came here to whine to me about not trying to bring you out of denial, did you?" Saito replied. He finally looked up at Kenshin, his eyes narrow slits. To Kenshin, he looked slightly tired, but Kenshin was fully aware he was completely alert. Low thunder boomed outside, and the soft patter of rain on the roof continued.

"I came to inform you that there is a dangerous assassin that has been slithering about in the city, that I did," Kenshin said seriously.

"No, actually, Battousai, I doubt that you came to inform- you came to help me," Saito said simply. "Your assistance is unnecessary."

"So you know of him, then?" Kenshin asked.

"He attacked my wife today," Saito said. His darkly eyes smoldered like hot coals.

"He did? Is she all right?" Kenshin asked, a wave of sudden worry coming over him.

"She is well," Saito replied. "If I had not been with her in the park that day, though, she might have been killed. Which would have been quite evil. You know how I hate evil, Battousai."

"I do and I am not trying to discredit your…abilities, Saito," Kenshin said, trying to keep from aggravating the man too much. Even after they fought together against Shishio, Saito still treated him as a sort of rival, in the most bizarre way. "I came because…" Kenshin's eyes darkened. "This assassin appeared at the dojo less than an hour ago. I am disturbed by the fact I could not sense his ki until the last moment. Then it could have been too late, and-"

"I understand, Battousai," Saito interrupted in an almost casual voice. He had an odd way of knowing what Kenshin was about to say, and quickly caught on from his words. "You would not have wanted your precious flower to perish. Do you think that gives us something in common? Perhaps it does. Since you could not sense his ki, perhaps you are insufficient to deal with this matter."

"I am quite aware that you could not sense it either," Kenshin replied. "From the look in your eyes, I could tell that Miss Saito had been injured, though not fatally. Furthermore, had you been able to fully predict that attack, you and I both know we would not even be having this conversation right now." Because the man would be dead. Kenshin finished inside his head.

Saito smiled his familiar smile.

"Perceptive, are you, Battousai?" he said in a sarcastic manner. Saito took his pipe and put it away. He then rose from his seat, and stared down at Kenshin from his full height, his eyes extremely serious. "Very well then. Tell me of what you think of this… assassin."

Kenshin had had no doubts that Saito would eventually agree to cooperate. The man might not accept Kenshin as his 'best' friend or even really a friend at all, but much of their old enmity was diminished. Saito, also, was no fool. He was not now so old he was stubborn to the point of blindness; working with others who were on a similar level as you would always be better than working alone or working with scores of inferiors. It was important to have someone who could watch your back.

"I think he is doing this for money," Kenshin replied. Then he frowned. "Then again, he also behaves in like manner as Jinei… the man who threatened Miss Kaoru in able to get to me. That man cared for nothing but for bloodshed and murder."

"I like those things, as well," Saito said hungrily, his mouth twisting into a devious smile.

Kenshin's eyes widened.

"Don't be foolish, Battousai, I was only kidding," he said, his face returning to its serious state.

Kenshin scratched the back of his head, smiling nervously.

"Oro!" then he stopped, and his face returned to normal. "Then we shall return to the topic at hand, shall we not?"

"Yes," Saito said. "I also… shared your sentiments. I do not believe this man has a personal vendetta against me, but clearly, he cannot be working alone. He's only being used as the puppet of some fattened coward who could never face me. Yet, in trying to target me even whilst hiding behind the face of an assassin, he was courageous."

Saito stopped, and Kenshin used this silence to spend a few moments in thought.

"Well… then I suppose all we can do is be on high alert, I say," Kenshin replied finally. "So we work together again, Saito?" Kenshin extended his hand toward Saito, who hesitated only a moment before shaking it. They both smiled.

"Thank you, Saito," Kenshin replied, then released Saito's hand. "Alas, I must now be going."

"Back to the dojo, then?" Saito asked.

Kenshin turned and looked at him, smiling.

"No, I am attempting to recruit the help of a friend, that I am," Kenshin replied. "Farewell, Saito."

Later…

Kenshin had finally arrived at Sanosuke's apartments. He walked up the few steps there were, and knocked on the green door that he thought might be Sano's. He knocked a little bit harder. Something crashed to the ground abruptly, making Kenshin flinch. I hope I did not catch him at a bad time… He thought worriedly. From inside the house came a slew of very, very vulgar words, and then the door was pulled violently open, and Sanosuke appeared at the door, his fist raised. His face was the picture of absolute fury.

"Who the f -! Kenshin? What the hell are you doing here at this hour?" Sanosuke grumbled. His eyes were still heavy with sleep, and his voice was slightly slurred, as though he had had a drink or two before retiring to bed. He was also without coat or headband, and his hair was basically a mess.

"I need your help for something, Sano," Kenshin said. "Come, let's go to the dojo- I'll explain everything on the way, I say."

…

Kaoru, Misao, and Yahiko were all still awake, though it was quite late into the night. They all wanted to be on sharp alert because of the assassin. Kaoru felt that she probably could not have slept even if she wanted to- she was too worried about Kenshin. The rhythmic sounds of rain pounding down on the dojo roof continued.

Suddenly, the shoji began to open. Kaoru sucked in a breath. Yahiko, who had been somewhere around the corner, jumped in front of her, shinai out and ready. The door opened slowly. Kaoru's face slowly turned up into a smile.

"Kenshin!" she exclaimed at the sight of him, the relief heavy in her voice. "Don't startle me like that again- come in, you're soaked!"

Kenshin walked in, followed by Sanosuke. Yahiko hurried away to get some towels so that they could dry off. At that moment, Misao entered the room, and greeted them as well.

Finally, they were all gathered together, sitting cross-legged on the wooden floorboards. Here, they filled Sanosuke in on the current events, and discussed the plan.

"This all sounds like it'll be really fun, but do you really think it's the best way to go about it all?" Sanosuke asked finally. They had engineered the basics of the plan and written down guidelines on paper so they could be clear for everyone in the group to understand. Now they were trying to discuss what would be the best and most efficient way for them to make their plan work, and considering changes and details.

"Yes," Kenshin said, lowering his voice in case the assassin was nearby. "It's the best way, that it is."

"But how do we know he'll fall for it?" Misao asked, her brows furrowed and darkly blue eyes radiating seriousness.

"And how do we know we're all fast enough? Can we really protect her?" Kaoru said, lifting up the papers and sifting through them once more. "These plans seem really good, Kenshin, but I'm still not sure if we can pull it off."

"Of course we can pull it off!" Yahiko exclaimed. When they all looked at him, he returned their surprised stares with one of incredulity, as though he could hardly believe they were questioning their abilities. "Kenshin's really smart you know- he came up with most of the plan, and I know we can trust it. As for all of our abilities… well, we have taken risks before, haven't we? What's the big deal this time? We can't let this guy think we're scared. If we really try our best we can kick his butt!"

"I appreciate your, err- compliment on my intelligence, Yahiko," Kenshin said, looking slightly embarrassed. Then he glanced around to the others to see what their reaction would be.

"You know for once…something stupid isn't coming out of this kid's mouth," Sanosuke said. Yahiko's face reddened with anger, but he stayed still because he obviously appreciated Sanosuke's support.

"I still don't know…" Kaoru said. She glanced downward, a fleeting flash of pain in her eyes. "I- I don't really want any of you to get hurt." Kenshin smiled at her reassuringly and placed one of his hands on one of hers. She started, and then looked back up at him, blushing and smiling back. Then he turned his attention to Misao.

"My pardons- what do you have to say, Miss Makamachi?" Kenshin asked, again growing serious.

Misao seemed to be thinking further. Then her face split into a grin.

"I have to agree with the brat. It's crazy enough it just might work!"

"Yeah!" Yahiko exclaimed, then he extended his arm so his hand would be in the center of them all. Misao placed her hand on top of his, and Sanosuke on top of hers. Then Kenshin placed his hand atop Sanosuke's. Kaoru exchanged smiles with Kenshin, then placed her hand on top of all of theirs.

"For Tokio," she stated.

"For Tokio," they all chorused together- well, all except Yahiko, who added "and for the Kenshingumi who's going to kick some serious assassin butt!"

…

It was a beautiful afternoon the next day, despite all the rain of the evening before. The assassin peered down from his position atop a very tall tree, staring down at Saito and his wife, who were strolling along, surrounded by heavily armed officers.

"Fools," the assassin uttered, unable to keep from grinning. "They would have had so much better luck just staying with the police officers, but high and mighty Saito could never even consider leaving the police station with his precious little wife inside it, even if it was extremely guarded. So he decided to take her with him, heh, heh. Even I would've had trouble getting in there. This was a foolish decision. They have left themselves wide open." The assassin mentally focused on the woman. He lowered his special goggles on to his eyes. These goggles would keep the poison dust from getting into his eyes. The bombs were thin, small, and green, so they could easily be confused with leaves by the untrained eye. Now, all he had to do, was place them on the branches, then, when they would walk underneath him…

Right while Tokio and Saito walked underneath, he shook the tree branch- just a little… the bird in the nest that he chased out helped the illusion.

Immediately his bombs fell along with the leaves, and the area was covered in smoke. All he was going to do now was wait for it to take effect.

"PASTRY CAT!" a boy across the street cried.

Then, just as soon as he had done this, he saw a kunai whiz through the air and plant itself into his tree.

"What the -?" the assassin thought confusedly. Then before he knew it, he saw a tall soldier come out of the smoke, and punch into the tree he was in. Before he knew it, the tree was toppling over. If he did not wish to get smashed, he had to jump out, and quickly, even though that would cause him to reveal himself.

The assassin stood in the middle of the street, waiting for the smoke to clear so he could see what the hell was going wrong with his plan. He figured now it might just be more beneficial to fight face to face with Saito. When he heard the profuse coughing around him, even of that of the man who had punched the tree, he felt a little bit more at ease. Perhaps the smoke had got them all. They would pass out soon, and even if they did not they would probably be unable to see or function for a long while, leaving them highly vulnerable.

When the smoke did clear, three people were standing: Saito, Tokio, and a soldier. The assassin's eyes widened in temporary surprise, then he regained his focus and thinking quickly he hurled one of his swords at Tokio. That was one of his specialties, throwing was. He could do it so fast that even if you did manage to dodge it, you would walk away with some injury. He knew that the only way Saito could protect his wife would be to throw him directly in front of the blade, and this was what he wanted.

Something that defied all possible reason occurred. The soldier, who was standing at Tokio's right, threw his own katana, and the two hit each other and both fell to the ground in broken pieces, none of which even touched Tokio. The assassin, almost overwhelmed with shock, turned toward the soldier, and they locked eyes. The soldier had vibrant amethyst orbs, which did not have the look of any other soldier. Then suddenly the assassin realized this was no ordinary soldier.

"Kenshin Himura…" he said almost immediately. Then he looked at Tokio, who pulled her purple hair- a wig apparently- off to reveal raven dark locks. Her eyes, which were startlingly not jade green but navy blue, though bleeding, were filled with defiance. The assassin then directed his gaze at Saito, who happened to be, just Saito. He also noted that all three of them had paper masks over their mouths to protect them from his gas, as though they had anticipated his attack.

All three of them regarded him coolly. The assassin figured this might be a difficult battle…

Gip-k's Post Chapter Statements: -Is Sanosuke still OOC? Hopefully that's a negative! I'm just basically pretty happy I made it to the end of this chapter. I'd like to thank my reviews, Carrie the Open Minded, Nakashima-Michiyo, lio, Senaca, Moronicus, Zanza-chan, and all the others. I think of you finally got your wish of this story being updated. Lucky you guy, eh? XD