Hello! No, I wasn't dead, sillies, just horribly busy! OKAY, so I know I haven't updated in a month, but I've been living out of a suitcase for three weeks, trying to memorize band music, and blah blah blah blahblah I'm a slacker! Well, I hope this makes up for the wait (HA).

Archergirl87- Glad you can relate to Kakiku! And hold yer horses missy! May I remind you that Running Late was a one-shot. Meaning, no more chapters (Though I'm happy you like it so much..)

Miburo Kid- Holy crap, don't tell me I got your gender wrong...embarrassing. AW, you don't think a moehawk would look good? How bout in pink!

Saitouu Ryuuji- Gald you like the story! Thanks for reviewing!

omasuoniwabanshi- Oh good, you could tell what I was trying to say there (how exactly do you describ the act of french braiding?). It was trying to write that thing about telling a blind person how to tie their shoes...not fun.

Disclaimer- What? You gonna sue? Go ahead, have the lent in my pockets. I ain't afraid. Baddabing baby. (Mine Kakiku, Ashira, and plot)

0o. Chapter 6 .o0

Kenshin could not say that he was expecting anything at all when he knocked on the door to Saito's house. However he did not very much expect to be greeted by a girl with long blond hair and dark merry eyes when the door opened; nor did he anticipate the strange girl almost immediately closing the door in his face as he was introducing himself. He turned and looked towards his companions to find them perplexed as well.

On the other side of the now closed door, Ashira was finding herself in a similar shocked state of mind as Kenshin with her mouth hanging slightly ajar. Kakiku however was at ease with what she had just done, having the satisfied look about her of one who had just completed a long, grueling job, and was beginning to walk away when she saw that Ashira was staring at her, her golden eyes wide with disbelief.

"He was the guy from yesterday." She reasoned, pointing to the door. Ashira looked towards the door then back again to Kakiku, trying to find the logic behind her sister's actions.

Just as Ashira had the thought of rebuking the action of shutting the door in a visitor's face as he was speaking, a louder and distinctly angrier knocking (rather banging) sounded from the door. Shooting her sister a look that promised that a sisterly scolding was in order later, Ashira reached for the door and opened it to find a very annoyed looking girl.

Ashira noted momentarily that the girl in front of her would have looked fairly pretty if it were not for the scowl on her face, before the afore mentioned girl began to speak.

"Excuse me, but what makes you think that you could just shut a door in some one's face like that?" She demanded. Ashira was going to reply, trying to be truly apologetic, when Kakiku decided to state her mind.

"Would you believe me if I said that it was because you aren't welcomed here?"

The girl and her three companions on the other side of the door frame blinked owlishly at her, looking as if they truly did not believe Kakiku. Then the one who had knocked found her voice and her temper.

"What do you mean 'not welcomed'! All we're here to do is welcome you to the town!" the girl shot back.

With the need to act properly thrown out the figurative window, Ashira smacked her open palm on her forehead whilst Kakiku continued her verbal battle from behind her.

"All I know is that when those two," She jerked her head towards the short red-head and the lanky man, "showed up yesterday they weren't welcomed either, so why should I welcome you now?"

The girl outside was a lost for words at the moment as it looked like she was struggling to contain a mounting anger; thankfully neither girl could retaliate further as the very towering man in the back of the group spoke.

"Seems kinda odd that Saito would allow his servants to be so rude." He drawled.

The girl outside the gate stopped the grinding of her teeth with a surprised blink of her eyes and decided to take a closer look at just who she had been arguing with. With a sweep of her blue eyes she noted the fabric of their kimonos were rough and faded, the patterns looking like the ones sported by old wizened farmers rather then girls their age. She also realized that the blond girl had been brandishing what looked to be a scrubbing rag at her as they were arguing. She could barely make out the shape of a broom lying on the ground behind the two.

Two eyebrows were raised in comprehension and her mouth shaped into a small 'o'.

The two girls in the doorway were in a state of shock as well; though their reactions were polar opposite of that of the girl outside. While Kakiku was gapping her mouth open and closed like a fish deprived of water, Ashira straightened her spine and addressed the group in a frosty tone.

"Excuse me sir," adding an almost mocking emphasis on the word, "but we are not servants of this household, and I also believe that you aren't welcomed here. So kindly leave." With icy politeness Ashira closed the door; the sound of the plank that locked the door being put into place left a threat that promised immense pain to anyone who knocked again, lingering in the air.

O0o…o0OO0o…o0O

Tokio hefted the barrel or rice to a more comfortable position on her shoulder as she walked along the street; all the while ignoring the strange looks from various passerby. She suppressed a sigh. Was it that all the women in this town were unable to carry a burden of any kind? It would seem that way judging from the barely concealed looks of open-mouthed shock Tokio was getting from the women in the street. A lone memory drifted into her mind and she smiled. The man she had bought the rice from had repeatedly offered to have his assistant carry the rice home for her, but Tokio had refused. Who knew when an older and much feebler woman would need that sort of help in the near future?

A right and two left turns later Tokio was walking along that near-deserted road she called her own. Shifting the bulky barrel of rice to one side she used her now freed hand to push open her home's door, only to find it quite unmovable and locked.

"Ashira? Kakiku?" she called while knocking, "I'm back from the market with the rice. Is everything alright?"

For a moment nothing was heard beyond the wooden planks. Then she heard a soft, hurried shuffling, followed by what sounded like the wooden plank that barred the door being moved, and finally the sight of a somewhat panting Ashira in the opened doorway.

"I'm so sorry Mrs. Saito, I didn't hear you knock at first!" she apologized, stepping aside to let Tokio in.

"You don't have to apologize Ashira, it's alright." Tokio said dismissively, once again positioning the rice to her hip and walking through the doorway. About halfway into the cleanly swept courtyard something occurred to her.

"And Ashira," she said while turning to her, ", call me Tokio if you'd like."

Ashira stood next to the closed gate, her palms laid flat against the rough wood, and she look back at the older woman. A look of surprise flitted through her features before it was replaced by a small smile and a confirming nod, and Tokio nodded back.

Feeling as if a bridge of some sort had been crossed, both turned their own ways; Ashira to finally put away the broom and Tokio to place the rice in its rightful place.

O0o…o0OO0o…o0O

Anger, once utilized, can prove to be a very driving force. Kakiku was proof of that; seeing as how she had cleaned almost every inch of floor in such a short period of time. Right now she was on her hands and knees in front of the outside kitchen door, scrubbing away as if each and every floor board was stained with insults to everything she held dear. Not that all this anger of hers had stemmed from unknowingly made insults from earlier, but from the fact that Ashira had talked to her already about shutting the gate in that man's face.

Gritting her teeth as she scrubbed harder at an unruly stain (which was in fact a knothole), Kakiku became aware that someone was walking towards her. Gripping the poor rag in a powerful grip, she leaned back against her calf and addressed the person without looking around.

"Okay, so I admit that shutting the gate in that guy's face while he was speaking was wrong, you don't have to keep telling me that! Besides, with the way Saito treated them yesterday I doubt that he'll care what we did." Kakiku paused for a second, but when she heard the one behind her begin to speak she plunged straight back into ranting. "You really have no room for telling me off when it was you who gave them the glare-down after they called us servants!"

"Excuse me?"

The rag dropped to the floor with a wet plop as Kakiku squeaked and turned around with a half jump half fidget. Behind her stood Tokio, looking terribly perplexed as she set the rice on the floor. Kakiku opened her mouth to start a torrent of apologizes, but Tokio held up her hand for silence.

"Were the men you were talking about the ones from yesterday?" She asked.

Kakiku nodded dumbly, unsure as to how to respond when she was thinking that she was in trouble. Tokio, however, was paying no mind to the girl in front of her, as she was deep in thought, squinting out into the sky to her right. Suddenly, and a little to Kakiku's horror, a sly smile spread across Tokio's lips.

"Don't worry about those two men anymore Kakiku. The problem with them will be solved soon." And without further statements Tokio neatly sidestepped the dumbfounded Kakiku and entering the kitchen. AS the door slid closed Kakiku blinked once and looked out into the sky, as if searching it would provide an answer as to what Tokio had meant.

O0o…o0OO0o…o0O

"Excuse me, but I am in need of a carpenter. Do you know of any in the area?"

The fish-stall owner looked at the tall policeman before him, noting at once the narrow eyes and almost goofy smile and labeled him harmless instantly.

"Well, there were about three of 'em at one time, but one hasn't been seen for half a year and the other was called to Kyoto for some building projects and no one knows when he'll be back."

"And the other one?"

"Eh, just some Westerner."

"A Westerner? And why is he here?"

"Don't rightly know. All I hear was that he came down here to do some work and then decided to stay to teach some Japanese kid his trade. But those are just rumors."

The stall owner, obviously finished with talking to the policeman, had set about rearranging his display of fish. The policeman, who had no more questions to ask, left the stall without a word and melted into the clusters of people on the street.

Still with the same smile etched on his face Saito, cloaked in the persona of officer Fujita, wove his way threw the people in the street; half his mind on his job of patrolling and half on the matters of his home. Every stall owner and shop keeper he talked to had given him more or less the same information: of the three carpenters in the city, two were away and one was a newly arrived foreigner.

Slipping into a side street Saito let his mask slip for a second as he glared out into space. The need for a carpenter's skills was growing everyday. Should it rain, the shed's roof would most certainly leak, causing further damage to the floor. Without missing a step in his pace Saito turned and walked down the street that the woman selling tofu had said would lead him to the Western carpenter.

O0o…o0OO0o…o0O

The man must not have known enough Japanese to realize he was being cheated. Thought Saito as he stared at the building before him.

The location of the building itself was away from any main streets and almost a literal hole in the wall. But taken from the newly patched roof and apparent upkeep of the building, the owner was trying to make the best of his situation.

Walking towards the time-worn, western styled door, Saito noticed the sigh written in none too perfect Japanese nailed to the front.

John Thomas: Carpenter

The strange sounding name fitted into his memory as Saito knocked. Three solid footsteps that made the door faintly vibrate were the only warning before the door was opened from the inside to reveal a rather large man. The width of his shoulders alone filled the doorframe and for once in his life Saito had to look up to meet the man's eyes.

"Good afternoon! Can I help you with anything?" The man's words were surprisingly fluid, not like the choppy speech Saito was expecting.

"I'm here looking for John Thomas. Are you him sir?" He asked.

"Yes I am, please come in sir." John Thomas replied grinning, most likely from the fact that he had heard his name pronounced so well.

John turned and walked back into his shop, with Saito following behind. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the light Saito took stock of his surroundings.

The room they entered was about forty feet long and just as wide, with large glass windows lining the walls to either side of Saito. There was however, a low wall that divided the room into two parts: one side was the actual shop and the other was seemed to be the workshop. The shop part was sparsely filled with only a table and three chairs which severed as a desk of some sorts; while on the other side of the barrier every available spot along the wall was used to store wood or tools and two tables with half completed projects were placed in the center, thus making that part of the room seem much more used. All in all it would seem as if Saito had walked into a typical shop in Europe, save for the Japanese calendar on the wall.

"Well Officer, what can I do for you today?" Said John sitting down in one of the available chairs.

Saito stopped his examination of the room and sat across from the taller man, now inspecting him. John Thomas had the built of a man who had lived through many years of hard labor. He had deep wrinkles set in his tan face a grey streaked liberally throughout his light-brown hair, but nevertheless his whole demeanor said that he was ready and willing to do any job set before him.

"I was wondering if you could do a job for me." Answered Saito.

""Oh, you're a customer? For a moment back there I thought I was in trouble." Replied John, laughing a bit.

Saito did not return the smile or the laugh; his purpose here was for business only.

"Would you be able to replace a roof and possibly repair a floor also?"

The social, friendly look in John's eyes faded and was replaced by something more businesslike.

"Yes I would be able to. How damaged is the floor?"

"I wasn't able to examine the floor at all, but I assume that it will most likely need to be replaced." Saito stated.

John leaned back in his chair rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb, thinking. After a moment he sighed deeply, laying his hands down upon his knees.

"Yes, I believe that I'll be able to do that job for you, but first I'll have to take a look at the roof and floor before I begin. Unfortunately I'm busy this week. Would you mind if I sent over my apprentice over to take a look?"

"Not at all." Saito replied, feeling relief grown within him, "When can I expect him to come by?"

"Later this week at the earliest."

Saito wrote down his new address on a scrap of paper and ahnded to the Westerner. With that done he stood from his seat and left the shop with a curt nod; at once setting off towards his new home.

O0o…o0OO0o…o0O

The dinner that night was much like the one before, with the one exception that tonight Ashira could actually taste and enjoy the food. However Kakiku, sitting beside her sister, was in a confused and unsure sate of mind. What had Tokio meant by 'the problem with them will be solved soon'? Kakiku chewed on the ends of her chopsticks thoughtfully. Whatever Tokio had planned, Kakiku was sure that Saito would have different plans entirely.

Across from the eating-utensil-gnawing Kakiku, Tokio sat waiting for an opportune moment; much as a hunter would wait days in the woods for an ideal prey. The meal was nearly over, Ashira was quietly sipping her tea, Kakiku had stopped chewing her chopsticks, and Saito beside her was finishing off his rice. Tokio laid her hands on her lap in a demure manner and spoke in a quiet voice.

"Hajime, I was wondering about those two men from yesterday that looked like they had come over to visit, and I thought that it would be nice to have them over for dinner some time." A mischievous light glinted in her eyes as she saw she had acquired the desired affect from Saito: he had stopped eating and was looking at her with an unreadable look that only she knew as surprise, with his bowl halfway to his mouth. Ashira on the other hand, had just taken a gulp of tea when she heard this and was now sputtering with Kakiku patting her back in a helpful manner. As Ashira coughed and gasped, Saito was still looking in his wife's eyes, trying to find her strategy. When the poor girl's coughs had subsided to a polite level Saito turned back to his bowl, at the same time giving his answer.

"Fine."

Eh, summer's almost over. Bleh. So I guess that means I'm back to my regular update schedual (sp?). Which means, write whenever I get the chance! Whooo. Oh, I also have a few maore one-shot (ONE-shots peoples) up my sleeve so keep checking!
Peace out, ah, ice...homies?