Thanks for the concern. I suppose you've noticed the severe drop in the quality of the writing starting in chapter 10. Really sorry about that. I lost the rush to the brain that makes the nice chapter, at least for this story, and I've been blocked for the longest time. It also happened in the GB fic; it's just less obvious there. A long enough rush happened to create chapter 10 and 11, but even then I knew I was forcing the issue. Let's see if I can make this chapter…..without getting….very….sleepy….zzzz…..oh, on to the story.

And if you are wondering if this kind of thing can actually happen to anyone besides Kenshin, take it from someone who has been there….Yes, it can.

………………………….

Something was still wrong with the general manager's right hand for the next few days. Sure, he came to work early, earlier than most of the accountants and suppliers. But they all saw him seated just outside the boss' office, asleep. Which was rather odd, because the young man would have been dozing off the rest of the previous day, and would go home with the rest of the workers. When Yuan made him go out to check on a supplier or deliver a message, he returned an hour later, smiling but dazed.

"When are the screws coming, Seta?" Yuan met him at the door.

Jiro looked straight ahead of him, past his employer. "Tomorrow afternoon."

"How many boxes?"

The assistant remained silent, staring at the clock.

"Seta!"

Jiro snapped out of his reverie, and looked at his boss. "Oh, sorry, sir. Four boxes."

Yuan shook his head. "How long will you stay like this?" he asked so only the assistant heard. But it was lost on the assistant as well, whose eyes began to droop.

However, if the accountants and messengers asked the assistant himself if they could do anything for him, he gave them such a bright, happy smile that they did not know what to think. "Just tired, that's all," he said. "I will be alright."

It surely did not look that way.

This observation, of course, eventually reached the Akabeko. Accountants were customers. Otherwise, accountants had little brothers learning kendo at the Kamiya dojo. It worried Tae more than it did Tsubame, the first time that they heard. Tae had heard stories of dazed and depressed young men before, and some of them because of Tsubame.

It was disheartening, like it was many years ago, to see such a nice and kind young man, fall from the inside.

Jiro had not visited the Akabeko since Yahiko and Tsubame returned from their weekend away. Tsubame did not know how he found out about the engagement, although, in their neighborhood, finding out anything was rather easy. But she was still in the emotional high from that weekend with Yahiko, and its effect on his chief rival had not hit her yet. It was also quite the same with Yahiko, and with his surprising victory, he forgot about the pain of defeat.

It was not lost on the Himuras, though. Kenshin actually went to the medium-sized business and inquired.

"Well?" his wife asked when he returned.

"It is much the same as the information from the Akabeko," he sighed and said. "Poor Soujirou. Especially now that…."

"What?"

He rubbed his chin. "Or maybe that is why….."

"What?"

He nodded his head. "Yes, it might work to his advantage…."

"KENSHIN, will you please explain what you're muttering about?" Kaoru suddenly cried out.

"I cannot, sorry, koishii," he evaded. "Classified information."

"What do you mean, 'classified information'? You tell me everything!"

"When it involves myself, koishii," he said. "Not when it deals with the police work of others."

His wife shrugged her shoulders. "But will he be alright, dearest? Soujirou-san?"

"I could only hope so."

Yahiko came to the Kamiya dojo that evening for some dinner, and the information from an exultant precinct that the murderer had been captured. The prisoner was found unconscious, but unharmed, his current murder weapon found in his hand. Yahiko then continued to ramble a bit about taking Tsubame to the night market in a few days.

"So, I guess he is alright?" Kenshin muttered vaguely when he heard.

"Who?" Yahiko asked.

Kenshin did not reply.

…………………………….

Another day passed.

It was a busy early evening. Many young people were happy to be up and about, after several nights of being cooped up at home. The news spread like wildfire that the murderer had finally been caught, and it was safe again to be out in the streets. It was good for business. It was rather tiring on the waitresses and the cooks of the Akabeko, though.

Tsubame was more than glad to finally close the restaurant that night. She wiped her hands on her apron as she walked to lock the front door. But as she got there, the door slid open, and a young man with blue-black hair bowed politely.

The poor young woman did not know how to address him anymore. Seta-san? Soujiro-san? Just Soujirou? Jiro-san?

"I am sorry for bothering you this late," he interrupted her thoughts, "but would you mind if I have dinner here?"

"Of course, not…..um….erm…."

"Please call me Jiro, like before," he begged.

"Come in, Jiro-san," she smiled sadly. She can no longer be completely familiar.

He walked in and sat down at a corner booth. She stood, like a good waitress, just outside the booth, but her questions were different. "How have you been, Jiro-san?"

"Congratulations on the engagement," he said.

"Thank you," she answered, uneasily.

A long silence.

"Please let us not talk about the weather," she begged finally.

He recognized the way their first long conversation started. "Nor about the engagement."

"I'm glad the criminal had been caught already," she began, wringing her hands. "The people are happy to be out for walks in the night air."

He grinned and nodded.

"Did you hear how?" she sat down at the edge of the booth, getting tired of just standing. "We kept getting rumors about it all day today. The man was caught almost red-handed, at a government office. The potential victim resisted, but that just helped. There was someone who came in and stopped the man, even knocked him unconscious! Some of the people near the office heard the noises and contacted the police. But when they came, it was all over, and the police just had to capture the criminal……"

Eventually she noticed that Jiro was no longer nodding his head. He was just smiling differently. Triumphant, but alone in his triumph, and trying to hide it. Like the emperor bestowed such a large award on him, but he did not want the country to know it was him who got it. It was so unusual that she suddenly understood. "You did that?" she asked, astounded.

He nodded just slightly, just enough for her to see, and grinned. "It's a secret, alright?"

"Oh, alright," she smiled back and giggled. "But why?"

The smile on the young man's face got smaller and sadder. He spoke softly. "If I can't make you love me, at least I'll make you proud of me."

She was not sure if she heard right, and she forgot for a moment. "Jiro?"

He waved it off. "An order of oyakudon, and some tea, please?"

She suddenly remembered her place. She bowed and left to get the order.

It took a few minutes to heat some water and to scramble the eggs for the order, and she was alone with her thoughts. She was not making a mistake, she was sure of that. She was not making a mistake. She was not making a mistake.

Right?

She loved Yahiko. She knew Yahiko better. She would be happy with him, she was sure, absolutely sure, now.

So, who was Jiro to her now? She had more or less heard about how Jiro took the blow hard. It was slowly sinking in how painful it must have been to him. She wanted to still be his friend, because, indeed, he was a gentleman and a good young man. But what kind of friend? How could she be friends with him, and not make her future husband jealous? Would that even be possible?

She returned to the dining room with no solid answers in her brain.

She found him asleep, a hand under his chin, his head bobbing up and down. He looked absolutely exhausted. And now that she had a better look at him from under the restaurant lights, she noticed how dusty his clothes were. She also noticed a few traces of blood on his face and the hand that held his head.

He had come from a similar case. He had silently taken down another wanted criminal.

The warning came back to her. He can kill if he wanted. He had killed before. Many times. He was dangerous.

So why did she want to keep him at least as a friend, if not as a husband?

Because as she looked down at his face, she saw the need for it there. The need for someone to understand him, to know him. The need for a friend.

She was scared of having a sword at her throat, all the same, if she tapped him on the shoulder to wake up. She instead tried to make a slight clatter as she placed the teapot and rice bowl on the table. "Jiro-san, your dinner." She was relieved to find out that it was sufficient. He opened his eyes and said his thanks.

She moved around the shop, closed the windows and swept the floor, while he ate. She blew out the rest of the lamps, leaving the ones in the kitchen and the one just above the last remaining diner. Finally, with nothing else to do, she went to the booth where he was, and sat opposite him. Just watching him, wondering.

He neatly finished all the rice, placed the chopsticks over the bowl, and sipped the last of the tea. He fumbled in his clothes, took out a few coins and placed them on the table. He smiled sadly at her as he stood and walked to the door. She followed him.

"Thank you, Tsubame," he said and bowed to her.

She held his hand. "You are still my friend, Jiro."

"I am glad to know that," he sighed and let go. He made a final bow and exited the Akabeko.

……………………………..

A version of Enishi's scolding of Sou-chan in the earlier choppy short chapter actually happened to me; it just made its way into the chapter before I could stop it.

I have my groove back, I think. The next chapter will hopefully get the story going nicely again. Sorry this chapter is short. Hopefully they will get longer from here.

To everybody: Sorry for such un-perky review replies. zantaz: Yes, I know it was sleep-inducing, sorry. Sorry about that sentence, it was supposed to be "You will be….". Warg: As I said in the last chapter, I will somehow finish this before April next year. Maeko-Nohara: Yes, I was at that time, as tired as he was. Thank you for the support. Tofumice: You did not offend, don't worry. Sorry for it being choppy and undescriptive. It was a rush hack job. I tried to read over what I already have, thanks. Chiki: I can't write like you and go on forever. I have to write with an ending in mind. That's the frustrating thing with this story, I'm now wandering a bit aimlessly, and I don't like it. And it's not just individual subjects. It's now the whole course that's sleep-inducing to me. Junyortrakr: Thanks for the comments.