Disclaimer: Yeah, obviously I don't own rurouni Kenshin (which I think he's kind of glad about considering that I've just separated him from his wife)

OK, mild spoilers for OVA Trust & Betrayal!

((())) Kenshin & Tomoe's cabin, Otsu ((()))

It's been 4 days. I hope nothings happened to her thought Kenshin as he got up from the garden. Of course Tomoe hadn't exactly told him how long she'd be gone, but that didn't stop him from worrying. And he was bored. He'd never admit it to anyone but he'd never actually been alone for longer than a few hours in his whole life. Emotionally, yes. Since he joined the Imperialists he'd always felt alone but he'd also always been surrounded by people. From when he was born to when he was 6 he had his parents. After that it was the slave traders. Then he met Hiko. Kenshin normally emotionless face twisted into a scowl at the thought. It would have been easier if he hadn't been with Hiko all the time. It would have spared him the humiliation. He shuddered just thinking about it.

Anyway after training he'd been in Kyoto where, once again he'd felt alone he was usually among the crowds since it would make him harder to recognize. And now, of course, he was living with Tomoe. Living with her up in a cabin and pretending to be farmers brought back memories of when he was young. Not many, since his parents had died when he was six, but still more than he'd ever remembered before. Probably courtesy of Hiko's training.

Now, he was sick of being on his own all the time. He was so bored that he'd even gotten his daisho out and practiced a bit, the first time since leaving Kyoto. He decided to go to Otsu and find out what was taking her so long. After all 3 days is a few days, right? He hoped because although Tomoe wasn't one to complain, she wouldn't be happy if he interrupted her in the middle of her 'lessons'.

So that morning, after eating (and making a mental note to get Tomoe to teach him how to cook since everything he tried didn't seem to turn out so well), he got ready to leave. He paused at the doorway, trying to decide whether to take his daisho. If something was wrong, it would be useful to have them but could he really afford to have the whole town seeing him with the swords of a samurai? In the end he decided to take just his katana, leave the wakizashi and if anyone asked just say it was a gift from someone. Ok, so he was making excuses. But he was justified wasn't he? I mean half of Kyoto wanted to kill him!

If Tomoe were here, then she'd convince him to leave them, but she wasn't so he went by his normal paranoid thoughts and took them. (A good thing as it happened…)

So he went down to Otsu and started his search by asking what the name of Kari's mother was. (Kari was the girl Tomoe was supposed to teach)

"Hmm, I believe her name is Akane…," said one of the merchants. Kenshin winced. Why, of all the names in Japan, did it have to be one of theirs, he thought darkly, the name springing forth a lot of old memories.

((())) Flashback ((()))

The smell of death was in the air, and the entire ground was covered in blood. Between the blood stood dozens of hand-crafted crosses, and right in the middle of this clearing were 3 stones, and next to them stood a small red-haired boy and a tall, well-muscled swordsman in a white and red cape.

"What are these stones for?" asked Hiko.

"Akane-san, Sakura-san and Kasumi-san. They were taken from their families because of debts. I only met them the day before, but I was the only boy and we didn't have any parents. I thought even if it cost me my life, I had to protect them. But instead they protected me. So I tried to find good rocks for them. But these stones were all I could find."

Hiko pours sake onto the stones.

((())) End Flashback ((()))

That was the very first day of his life as a swordsman. A life built on those three graves. Even though he understood that they were trying to protect him, he still felt guilty whenever he thought about it. If only he could have protected them. But he couldn't dwell on the past. He would just have try not to think about it; otherwise he wouldn't be able to find Tomoe.

He kept walking, remembering that there was another merchant further up the road that knew everyone that lived in Otsu and where they lived. However his plan was interrupted in the form of a dozen six-year-olds.

One of them, a young girl went up to Kenshin and said, "Excuse me, mister?" Kenshin sighed, knowing that considering that he had no proof that Tomoe was gone he really should humour the girl, so he bent down to her level and said, "Did you need something?"

The little girl just stared at him and a moment later Kenshin found out why. About ten young boys and girls all ran up to him and grabbed his arms and started tugging on them. Then the last young boy walked up to him and started tugging on Kenshin's bright red locks. He groaned and said, "Can you please let go of me, I have to find my…" But the kids wouldn't let him finish his sentence.

"We wanna play with pretty fox-tail hair!" said the girl. And then she jumped on Kenshin's lap and also started tugging on his hair. Not for the first time, Kenshin cursed his unusual red hair. All it ever did was get him in trouble. He stood up carefully, but unfortunately forgot about the two kids currently tugging on his hair. The girl reacted quickly, throwing her arms around Kenshin and holding on tightly. The boy, however, did not have such quick reflexes and instead kept gripping the hair. He also wrapped his legs around Kenshin's stomach but most of his weight was on the fire red hair. And his head felt like it was on fire.

He winced, reaching up to try and disentangle the kids hand from his hair but it didn't work and the other kids decided to take advantage of his preoccupied state and pushed him right at the knees, causing him to fall on the ground, flat on his face. The rest of the kids took the advantage to sit on his back and then continued playing with his hair as though nothing had happened.

Kenshin groaned as he lifted his head. All this just to play with my hair! He though incredulously. This is just wonderful. I'm one of the best damned swordsmen in the world and I get outsmarted by a bunch of kids!

A bunch of strong and determined kids he amended slightly, wincing at a particularly strong tug. "Ok kids, play times over, now let me go!" he said as calmly as he could.

"Shan't" said the kids stubbornly. Wouldn't it just be wonderful if Tomoe walked around the corner right now he thought sarcastically to himself. At the moment I'm just glad that Hikos not here. He'd never let me hear the end of it.

"Come on kids, I've really got to go," he said groaning from the stress on both his back and his hair, both courtesy of the kids. "Don't you have something else to do?"

"Nope. Somebody was supposed to come and teach me stuff but she never came, so now I've got nothing better to do except play with fox tail hair," answered the girl.

Kenshin insides froze as the girls words registered, however the mask he had developed as a shadow assassin stayed true, betraying none of his rising panic. "Is your name Kari?" he asked calmly, inside begging her to answer no.

"Um, yes it is, how did you know?" she asked him, surprised.

Kenshin groaned and added, just to make sure, "And is your mother's name Akan-OW-e?" The OW came from someone giving his hair an almighty tug. He craned his neck around as he waited for Kari's answer. To his horror one of the girls was trying to plait his hair. The legendary Himura the Battousai…in plaits! Ok now I'm really glad that Masters not here! He thought to himself.

"Yes, my mothers name is Akane, she met a woman called Tomoe-san and asked her to teach me some stuff but she never came to our house," said Kari, unknowingly causing Kenshin's panic to escalate.

"Ok, guys let go of me now because I really have to find my wife," said Kenshin through gritted teeth. It took all of his legendary willpower to not start yelling at the brats.

"Hiroshi! What on earth are you doing!" yelled a horrified voice. Everyone turned to see a young woman running towards Kenshin and his 'captors'. "Let him go at once," she snapped at them. Then to Kenshin she added, "I'm so sorry about them, I don't know what was going through their heads. Are you all right?"

Once again Kenshin was using all of his legendary willpower but this time it was so as not to blush. "Yes, I'm all right now if you'll excuse me, I have to go," he said turning around and walking quickly towards the outskirts of town. What would the Shinsengumi think, knowing that the man that they've been hunting for the last year has just been 'caught' by a bunch of kids and had to be rescued by their mother!

He suddenly stopped in front of an alleyway, a familiar smell assaulting him. The smell of blood and death. Back in Kyoto, this smell wouldn't surprise him; after all not a day went by that there hadn't been a murder and the Shogunate randomly slaying those they suspected of being a patriots were practically a common occurrence in the streets. However, here in Otsu…murder was practically unheard of. The Shogunate? He wondered, the very thought of them finding Tomoe made his blood run cold.

He cautiously walked into the alleyway, thanking Kami-sama that not many people came this way which meant that the bodies had not been seen as of yet. He sighed in relief when he saw that the bodies belonged to a group of bandits and not a single young woman was there. However he frowned when he noticed something else.

Over by the wall, there were a few strands of black hair stuck in the wall. He walked over and leaned next to it and took the hair in his hand. He thought deeply for a few moments, trying to figure out whether it could be Tomoe's or not. His mind was made up for him when he noticed one more thing. Lower down from the wall, was a piece of blue material. Tomoe's obi he thought grimly.

Well at least she's not dead, he thought to himself, for he couldn't see any blood near this area. But she could be a prisoner, which could be worse.

He turned around to closer inspect the bodies, perhaps get a clue to what kind of person could have done this. What he noticed got past even his emotionless mask and made him show pure surprise. This…this was done by the Hiten Mitsurugi Style! But I didn't do it which must mean that…Kenshin blinked in surprise when he realised that his master of all people had found and helped his wife. But then they widened when he realised something.

She must be hurt! Otherwise Master would just leave her be. But if she's hurt then…Kenshin groaned when he realised that he would have to go up that damned mountain again. At least she's safe he thought as he turned away from the alley to the direction of the mountain Hiko had been living on for years. However the thought didn't quite comfort him knowing that he'd have to face the man that he'd only just abandoned last year. And the fact that this particular mans greatest joy in life was embarrassing and teasing a Kenshin…

Meanwhile in Kyoto, the captains of the 1st and 3rd troops of the Shinsengumi were getting ready to go up that same mountain…

((())) Authors Notes ((()))

So, what did you think of this chapter? I hope you liked our favourite red-heads search. I couldn't help but add the kids. I though it was funny… but please, let me know what you think!

Oh, and I'm glad that everyone liked Sho! Hiko's still grumbling about last chapter... Lol ;-)

Thank you very much to my reviewers! I hope this chapter is satisfactory! Please, drop me another comment!

Thanks to: MikaylaMae, inuwolf04, FireSenshi2, TeZukAb0ch0u, starfruit-22, TrisakAminawn, akisu-san, Misao Oneill (thanx for the good luck wishes!), DragonWolfStar and korrd! You guys rock!

Oh and just so you know, I do have school in July, coz I live in Australia and it's winter so its only 3rd term! So yeah I do have school unfortunately. But I promise to update soon, 3-4 days max!

So hope your enjoying this so far and please drop me a review!