Author's note:

There has been a slight change in plans. My blasted cousin crept into my room one night when I was up late (pretending like I was working, but really writing fanfiction) and "suggested" something to me concerning Sandalwood. It was a little something I only meant to account but not intricate, and she thought it might be nice if I made a bigger event out of it.

She quickly fled just as I started to reach for the hand-and-a-half sword mounted on the wall above my desk, but she's fast enough that chasing her down gave me time to remind myself Kenshin probably wouldn't approve of me practicing the dragon hammer strike on a living target. Alas, she lives on, taxing my sanity and driving my blood pressure to unpleasant highs.

Besides, maybe it's not such a bad idea. I think Sano likes the idea of the different approach as well. So, one last game of musical chairs. At least, I hope this is the last game… Since it was part of the story all along, it won't break my stride anyway.

Keh. You'd think I'd know better by now. I haven't really been in control of this fic from the beginning. If Filly doesn't want something, then Sano wants something. The next time I make a prediction of how many chapters until the end, ignore me.

Ice is thick on my eyelashes, my skin is all blue
I can still make it, but…I mean…
Are you looking for me too?
Maybe I can really make it if you come to meet me…

12
Another Yukishiro

Somehow, when I wasn't paying attention, two years passed.

I married Shino in the spring of the year before. She did wear a kimono, making it one of only two times I would ever see her in one. She even allowed for her hair to be put up. I realize a lot of men must say this, but I still haven't seen a bride more beautiful than mine. I gave her my name. The days of slavery and of wandering were behind her.

A lot can happen in two years. There were a few bumps and tumbles, but we carved a place for ourselves in that world. I can still remember our house. It was a small thing, not really all that much bigger than my flat back in my Tokyo, but it was a little darker, a little warmer. Shino was creative, and made a nice home of it. Especially the outside, where she showed a talent for gardening. Lots of nice things in her garden, from veggies to flowers to herbs.

It was also pleasantly isolated from people. I think I chose it for that reason almost as much as I chose it because it was a good midway point from Rei-baba's to Kaoru's. Shino just never did enjoy being around people. And I guess that was fine. She seemed happy with just me and our few friends. My job was to keep her safe and happy, fed and clothed and warm and all that. The role of provider was really different for me, but I thought I pulled it off pretty well.

One of the first things Shino did shortly after we got a home of our own was to drag me back to Kyoto where we rounded up some familiar little urchins and lead them straight to Rei-baba's door.

The old lady had no idea what to say when she was faced off with "Dai-sama" and little Akira at his heels. But her stern old face softened a little the instant she saw them. Heh. Somehow, Shino just knew…and maybe I did too. Lonely herb hag plus lonely orphan kids equals…a happy kind of chaos.

That meant I had to come and help her build on to the hut to make room for the kids, but…she kept paying me, and building was actually less backbreaking than digging up hundred-year-old sandal trees, so I couldn't say I minded much.

Shino kept learning swords from Kaoru, though a mutual over-protectiveness on both our parts had us forbidding her going into town alone. Shino got just a little frustrated at us, and maybe we were going a bit overboard…but Horibuchi still lived in Tokyo only a couple hours' run from the Kamiya dojo. He had a lot of goons who could be crawling around the city. We couldn't mark them all. Shino was mine now. Nobody save myself was going to lay a finger on her again.

Annoyed or not, she didn't seem inclined to disobey me on the don't-go-out-alone rule, so I was relaxed most of the time.

And I was…happy. Couldn't remember being that happy. Ever. I thought about the others sometimes. The other Tokyo, the other Kamiya dojo. I still missed them, but I was certain they were happy as well. They were okay, I was okay. It was all right, to just let myself be happy.

There was a little thorn in that, though. The damn kid. Yahiko. No matter what I tried, I still couldn't find his twin, not anywhere.

I even broke down and looked in on one yakuza group after another until I couldn't find anymore. As I predicted, I ended up thumping a lot of heads, but it was more therapeutic than I thought it would be. I hadn't had a really good vigorous fight in months. The results were always the same, though. No one had ever heard of a girl named Myojin.

In the time that passed, she and Yahiko would have turned seventeen. The girl-Yahiko might even be married, and would have changed her name. Could have before I even started looking for her. Maybe she didn't even live in Tokyo. Japan wasn't all that big in proportion to the rest of the world, but it was plenty big enough that I could search for the rest of my life and never find a trace of a single girl.

I fretted a little over it, but I couldn't keep from melting into my new life if I wanted to. I never imagined being so content, of dragging home from Rei-baba's every day and falling into the soft, warm arms of a smiling redhead. How could I get so much pleasure just by looking in her face and seeing the happiness there? Especially when comparing it to the memory of how she looked when I first met her.

The hurt was so much better. Hers and mine. There were scars, but once healed scars don't hurt anymore.

But then, I'd forgotten--and I am someone who should know, but--sometimes just because you're hurting, that doesn't mean that it's a bad kind of pain. There are such things as "good hurts". I just needed to learn that again, is all.

It was sometime in the spring when I got Kaoru out of his dojo to stir up some fun with me.

The irony always struck me, another quirk of role-reversals between Kaoru/Jou-chan and Kenshin/Shino. At home, it was Kenshin I'd coax out to keep me company and Jou-chan we'd leave behind. But there was no way in hell I was taking Shino to some of the places I liked to frequent in the reversed Tokyo.

She was going to spend the day with Rei-baba and the urchins. I almost started to escort her there myself, but…

"I don't suppose," she'd said with very strained patience, "that I can be given credit for taking care of myself for a few decades before I met you and without the martial skills you've had me learn?"

Sheepish, let her go her way alone and went mine. It was kind of silly for me to walk all that distance twice anyway.

I brightened when I got back to town, though. Kaoru was actually a lot more willing a drinking buddy than Kenshin was anyway. He could cut loose too. Whiling away time with him wasn't bad at all.

Looking back, I suppose I also felt just a touch guilty…not so much exactly for Shino choosing to be with me, but, I remembered well from things Jou-chan had said. She'd been pretty lonely before Kenshin and Yahiko had come to her. Kaoru never said as much, but I figured he might be too.

Ah, well. I was glad to be a buddy, and Shino was a good friend to him too, as well as Dai, who had jumped at Shino's suggestion that he also learn swords. In fact, I wondered if I shouldn't suggest the kid board at the dojo for a while. He was used to calling the shots back on the streets and wasn't adjusting so well to having to listen to the nutty grandma. Bumps on the head lingered when they came from Rei.

As we came into the Akabeko, I felt Kaoru's hand clap my shoulder. "Hey, I haven't congratulated you yet, have I, Sano?" he said cheerfully.

"Huh? For what?'' I sat down, looking around for someone to come take our order. I was starved.

I looked back at Kaoru, who was still standing, a blank look on his face.

"You mean…she hasn't told you?" he said, voice small.

"What? Who hasn't told me what?"

He went a little pale, and sat down quickly, grinning foolishly. "Oh, nothing. Uh…it's just…Shino was thinking about asking you to build a fence around your house."

"A fence? What do we need a fence for? We don't even have any neighbors."

"Oh, yeah, that's right," he said quickly, also looking around for a server like his life depended on it.

I frowned at him. What the heck? Congratulating me because my wife wanted me to do some kind of weird, extra work around the house? He was getting as crazy as the old lady.

But that didn't matter as much as a nice beef pot did, and that's exactly what I got. Kaoru talked about Dai a bit. He was becoming very fond of the boy. A good sign, but I'd definitely discuss asking Kaoru to board him with Shino first. She became cross with me if I even suggested I wasn't smart, but there have been times I didn't use those smarts she seemed to believe I had.

Oh, man. I smiled to myself while Kaoru went on about Dai's potential…was it possible to become henpecked when your wife wasn't a hen and didn't do any pecking? Exactly what was she doing to me, anyway? Whatever it was, I wasn't so sure that I didn't like it.

Where I was sitting, I had a clear view of the door. And of the next person who came through it.

The man who came in drew my attention at once. I wasn't particularly alarmed, he just had a very dark presence. Not an evil one, just…dark. Like the dark and gloom of a midnight rainstorm, strong but calm, without the fury of thunder and lightning.

Kaoru saw me frowning and turned to look.

"Something wrong, Sano?" he asked quietly.

"I guess not," I muttered, watching as the man found himself a table. He movements were slow, but his stride was long and smooth. He had long black hair, worn pulled back.

I pulled my eyes away. His was a heavy presence, but not in any way my business unless he became a threat. And I wasn't getting that from him, so…

"Sano?"

Kaoru was staring hard at me, and I felt a little pulse of what was probably similar irritation that I had probably made Shino feel earlier that morning. "I don't have a fever, Kaoru."

He took a deep breath and puffed out his cheeks letting it out. "Well, I certainly hope not. Seeing your wife lose her temper once was quite enough in one lifetime."

I grinned. "I don't know. Sometimes she awfully cute on those rare occasions she gets mad."

He snorted. "You only enjoy it when she gets on Rei-baba's case for calling you a moron."

"Well, it's about time someone was on my side!"

Kaoru shook his head. "You've been really good for that girl, Sano."

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "She's just…stronger. When she fights for you, it's like she's a different person."

I was too full to fidget, so I just rubbed the back of my head instead. "Yeah, well…it's in her…"

There was a banging noise, and then a shout. Kaoru and I turned, in time to see that stranger stand, lifting a small boy up with him by his arm.

"Oh, no," Kaoru murmured, recognizing the kid. Ichigo…one of Dai's group.

"Excuse us!" Kaoru said loudly at the man.

Ichigo's eyes swung toward us, his mouth dropping open wide. "Erm…h-hello, Kamiya-san, Sano…"

"Hello nothing," I said. "What have you done? Pickpocketing again?"

He looked at the ground, fidgeting. "I'm sorry."

"You'll be even more sorry when I tell Dai what you've done."

"No, please, Sano! Don't tell him!"

"Dai doesn't like thieves in his group," I said.

"I…I know. I'm really sorry. I'll never do it again, so please don't tell, Dai-sama, Sano! He'll kick me out of the gang!"

"Ichigo, you don't need to steal or trick people any more!" Kaoru gritted sternly. "You have a home now. Why would you do this?"

His eyes found something more interesting to look at on the ground again. "I have to keep my skill sharp," he murmured.

"Skills?" Kaoru snorted, extracting the boy's hand from the stranger's grasp. "You will march your rear end straight to the dojo and wait for me there. We'll have a long talk. If you're not there when I come, we'll let Dai deal with you."

Eyes wide, Ichigo fled the Akabeko. He'd go to the dojo. Anything, so long as his lord didn't hear about his crime.

"We're really sorry," Kaoru was apologizing to the stranger.

I turned to see his face clearly for the first time. Familiarity tugged at my brain, but I was sure I'd never seen him--or anyone like him--before. He wasn't that striking, just a bit dark and sad in the eyes.

He nodded at Kaoru, not looking like he was going to say anything more.

Later I'd think about that moment. If I hadn't gone to Tokyo that day, if I hadn't brought Kaoru with me, if Ichigo hadn't tried to pick the man's pocket, if Kaoru had just known when to keep his mouth shut…then maybe I could have avoided him entirely…he might have passed us by. Maybe…

"I'm Kamiya Kaoru and this is Sagara Sanosuke-san," Kaoru said amiably. "The little boy was Ichigo. I hope you can forgive him. He's picked up some bad habits growing up on the streets, but we've been trying to teach him some manners."

"Yes…it is all right, there's no harm done," the stranger said. He wasn't exactly friendly, but trying to be polite.

"I'm glad you're so understanding…?" I had half-turned to head back to my table and my meal as Kaoru prompted the man for his name.

The answer almost made me fall flat on my face.

"It's quite all right, really, Kamiya-san. I am Enishi. Yukishiro Enishi."

I turned around very slowly, whatever conversation Kaoru was still carrying on with the stranger drowned out by a powerful beating against my eardrums. My blood had turned into winter rainwater.

Enishi…

Enishi?

Enishi?

How? How could that be? But he wasn't Yukishiro Enishi. Didn't look anything like him. Well, maybe a bit in the cheekbones, but…

Suddenly it was very hard to breath. God, this was worse than two years ago when Shino whispered "Tomoe" in her sleep.

He wasn't Enishi. He wasn't Enishi because he was Tomoe. He was Kenshin's Tomoe. He was Yukishiro Tomoe's twin. He was alive in this world.

His parents must have already had the name Enishi picked out for a son or something…chances were he might have a little sister named Tomoe, the twin of the Enishi back in my world.

I could have started laughing. This world was going to kill me yet… Bad for the heart. Yes, very, very, very bad for the heart…

"Sano!"

Kaoru clutched my shoulder. "Are you all right? I knew there was something wrong! You do have a fever, don't you? Shino's going to--"

"I don't have a fever, Kaoru!" I choked out.

His fingers touched my forehead. He frowned. "You don't," he confirmed. "But then, what's wrong with--?"

"Excuse me?" Yukishiro said politely. "But did you mention Shino? I'm looking for a woman named Himura Shino."

There was such a high and hopeful note as he spoke Shino's name, so I guess Kaoru didn't think anything of it as he turned and opened his mouth--until my hand came down on his shoulder.

Without guilt, I listened to his bones creak and watched his face go white. "My friend refers to Sagara Shino--my wife," I said tightly. "S'cuse us. Sorry again about the boy. We'll have a talk with him. Come on, Kaoru."

I nearly dragged him outside, though he was more than willing to walk, to get away from the pressure I was still putting on his shoulder. "You're hurting me, Sano," he gritted.

Once we were back in the sunshine, I let him go. "Sorry," I said, without meaning it.

"What was that all about?" he demanded, gripping his shoulder. I imagined there'd quite a bruise there later. "One hell of an attack of jealousy, or what?"

"Kaoru, listen," I said as evenly as I could. "You stay away from that man."

He blinked, looking back at the Akabeko. "Why? Is he with Horibuchi or something?"

I shuddered, once again seeing my Jou-chan in Kaoru, thrust through with Enishi's sword. I couldn't stop the old horror from flowing over me. It wasn't real, but it still freaking hurt like it was real.

I swallowed carefully. "He…I don't think he's with Horibuchi. Stay away from him anyway. In fact…in fact, will you get Ichigo and stay with Rei-baba and the kids tonight? That way you can bring them back to the dojo with you for their class tomorrow."

"But, I--"

"Please, Kaoru."

"Sano, what is--"

"I don't know! I don't know anything, yet. I've got to talk to Shino. Please, Kaoru, just listen to me."

He studied my face for just a second, still rubbing his shoulder. "All right, Sano."

"Good. Come on."

I took off for the dojo, with him just a step or two behind me. "I just remembered something."

"What?"

"We forgot to pay our bill."

Well, damn.

Dai was the first to greet us as we passed into the glade where the old lady kept her home.

The hut looked strange now, the old moss-covered place connected with a newer part with two new rooms for the boys to share.

The leader of them glared at Ichigo, who hunched his shoulders guiltily. "Where have you been?"

"Ichigo was helping me out with a few chores, Dai-kun," Kaoru said smoothly. "Do you know where Shino is?"

Dai frowned, looking over his shoulder. "Shin, where are you?"

I was almost light-headed with relief when Shino's head poked out door. I hadn't expected anything different, but still…she was all right. And she'd stay that way.

I almost ran to her. She knew something was wrong the moment she laid eyes on me, so I didn't bother to hide it. I pulled her to me. There was a lot of honeysuckle mixed in with her usual scent today.

"Mendo, what's wrong?"

"We have to go home. We have to talk about something. Right now. Okay?"

"O-okay."

"Then will you come back and explain things to me? I tired of being left in the dark," Kaoru grumbled behind me.

"All right, Kaoru."

I wanted to go home for the privacy we wouldn't get if we stayed at Rei's with two curious adults and half a dozen children listening at the walls or behind the trees. But I also knew Shino felt secure there. Maybe I did too.

One usually makes tea when going into a long discussion, but I didn't have the patience or the concentration for it. Setting Shino down, I blurted, "How did you get that scar on your face?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn't this.

"I'll tell you how Kenshin got his," I said quickly, hoping to make it easier for her. The scar on her face was a sore, sore spot for her. We still did that "healing touch" every night like our own personal ritual, and I knew very well the look in her eyes every time I touched that one.

I told her about Kenshin scar…on his left cheek instead of on the right like hers. I told the story just as he told it to me, almost word for word, watching her face for reaction.

It remained blank, and that could mean any number of things. Like shortly after she found out I was from another world, and I'd told her all about Kenshin at her insistence. The Bakamatsu and his legend as a hitokiri. I wished she had told me how she felt about that, knowing there were parts of her capable of doing the things Kenshin had done and could do.

She wouldn't, but it did help that she liked Kenshin. She asked me to tell her stories of our time together often, and smiling fondly at my memories like I was telling her about a long-lost brother she'd never known. I was relieved, that she still liked him…if she didn't feel badly toward him for the things he had done, might that mean that Kenshin didn't feel badly toward himself, and Shino didn't feel badly toward herself?

"Tomoe married him?" she asked softly when I ran out of words.

It was several steps back, but that had come as a surprise the first time I heard it as well.

"Did you know a Tomoe?" I said slowly.

"Yes."

"And Enishi?"

"Yes. Sano…why?"

"Because Kaoru and I met Yukishiro Enishi at the Akabeko today."

There was a long moment of silence neither of us were sure how to get past.

"The Enishi I met was the twin of the Tomoe back in my world. The woman my friend married. He asked about you. He heard Kaoru say your name and asked about you. If he wasn't connected to my friend's wife, I think I might still be putting him out of my misery right now. But I also didn't know if he was a threat to you. So tell me something…did you get your scars any way similar to the way Kenshin got his?"

Her mouth opened, and then slowly shut again. Her damn hair was over her eyes, I couldn't tell her expression.

I took a deep breath, reaching deep down to dredge up patience. "Listen to me, Shiden. I know I'm treading in a place I've been carefully avoiding since I met you. But Enishi hurt us badly. There is very, very little that can touch Kenshin, but Enishi got right to his core. He was almost destroyed. The kid and I had to bury someone we loved…or thought we did… I was losing my mind…

"I'm not going to pretend I don't know that it was because of Tomoe, in one way or another, that we were able to pull ourselves together and make things right again, but I do also know that she went after Kenshin once. He met her because she was after his life for killing her fiancé. She obviously changed her mind, but I also know most men aren't as soft-hearted as women. And I can't go through it again, Koishii. Not another crazy revenge.

"So I need to know. I need you to tell me whether or not I need to be worried about something bad happening. I need to know what I need to do to protect you, and Kaoru and Rei and the boys. Because if you don't tell me something, I'm going to do something crazy. Like go -find-that-guy-again-crazy, or drag-you-all-on-a-boat-and-see-what-the-mirror-China-looks-like-crazy. Are you understanding me here?"

She nodded slowly and I dragged up more patience, knowing what certain red-heads are like when they're trying to gather their thoughts.

After another moment, she let out a long breath. "You know…those things that you and Kaoru and Rei-baba are always trying to change about me?"

I nodded, wondering idly if she could see it underneath her hair.

"I used to be worse."

"Worse," I repeated dully.

"Yes. I should make some tea, Sano. It's going to be a long story, and I think I'll get thirsty."

The sense of déjà vu nearly made me dizzy. How similar this seemed to be, when Kenshin once sat and poured out his history. He talked so long and got thirsty then, too, and ran out of breath. And he hadn't smiled for a long, long time after.

I nodded and she got up to prepare it. There wasn't a trace of a wind anywhere, and I cursed myself for not approaching this sooner. But the truth was, I didn't want to go through it again. Kept my mind from it, slapped away the parts of me that wondered, that were curious. Now it was about to come undone whether I wanted it to or not.

I listened to the sounds of Shino making tea, ran a hand through my hair.

Kenshin…I got through all of this with you. I can't possibly be any worse, can it? Things aren't exactly the same, but I kind of know what to expect this time around, right? Right…Kenshin?

Author's note:

I have some of the most awesome reviewers ever, but this story seems to make some of them a little bit anxious.

So to help ease things just a little, I'm going to let you know what to expect for the next chapter. Next time, we delve deeply into Shino's past, find out what it was like to grow up a slave in the Horibuchi mansion, what she was doing for the nineteen years after that before she met Sano. This includes meeting this world's version of Yukishiro Enishi and Tomoe.

On a less tense note, Sano is also about to find out that no matter how complete he thinks he is, something more can always be added.

Don't how much that helped, but I hope it did.

Also: Just as when my cousin wanted a nickname for Sano to give to Shino, she wanted Shino to have one for him too. She decided she liked "Mendo" which means "trouble" or "complications". So Shino has nicknamed Sanosuke "Trouble."

My cousin thinks it's cute. (-shrug-)