Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin and its characters do not belong to me. Ami Yasuragi does not either.

So here is the first chapter of my OC Exchange project! I did the project on Wistful Eyes's OC Ami. (If you don't know what The OC Exchange is,check out my forum.)

Please enjoy!

Place Called Home

I.

He stopped moving for several moments and no one asked why. They all trusted him, unwaveringly. As he gazed out at the setting sun behind them, the men stood patiently, several turning to look as well. No one saw what he saw.

Peace in beauty, and beauty in peace. In the midst of a war, the orange and pink watercolors that splashed the sky were serenity. A moment to reflect.

The captain turned back to the road in front of him, his back facing the brilliant hues of the sky. The soldiers stood to attentions and followed along faithfully behind him.

His breath smelled of sake. Ami knew immediately that he was drunk. She had seen drunken men before in the village, but one had never come so close to her before. She was scared.

He was saying things to her, she didn't know what for her terror was blocking out all thought, all sound. He came closer, he had his hand on her and he was tugging her. Hard. She thrashed about fiercely, hissing and kicking like a cat. Her black hair flew everywhere, obstructing her vision and getting tangled in the struggle.

She heard herself scream, unknown words to someone who wasn't there. Maybe she cried for help, or maybe she just cried.

It was then a deranged smile crossed the drunk man's face. His fist came out of nowhere, and before Ami could think about ducking, her eyes closed and her body slumped forward. Unmoving and powerless.

As stars slowly bloomed in the sky, the captain stood outside the inn, drinking. His men were inside, joking and laughing and having a good time. They were settled here for the night and could relax and play games, worrying not about what was to come in the morning.

Sake was purchased in exorbitant amounts, but the captain preferred his tea and its delicate taste. It comforted him to know he could still enjoy the flavors, gentle and subtle as they were.

"There's no moon out tonight, sir," a young boy's voice piped from the captain's left.

He took another long sip. "No, I suppose there isn't."

They stood together in silence for a few moments and the captain brought his teacup to his lips again. Before he could take another sip, his whole body went rigid and he froze completely.

"Sir?"

"Did you hear that?" the captain asked, urgency in his voice.

"N-no I didn't hear any—"

It came again, a shrill scream that pierced the air. They both heard it this time.

"Stay here," the captain ordered, shoving his teacup into the boy's hands as the screaming continued.

"Wait, but—"

"Stay. That's an order," the captain said brusquely, and then he disappeared into the night.

The boy paused to put down the cup before following without a moment's hesitation.

In his haste, he knocked the teacup over. It rolled, spilling its contents over the edge of the table. A gentle drip, drip, drip was all that could be heard. The screaming had ceased.

Ami crouched in the corner, huddled up with what was left of her raggedy clothing. The large man advanced, his eyes veiled over with intoxication. A large bruise was blooming on Ami's left cheek, below her eye. If he kept up like this, she was going to pass out again. Whimpering as he neared, Ami felt her vision patch out…she didn't know what was going on. Some moments were stark and clear, and some were a woozy mess of scuffles and cries.

Suddenly everything was still. For a moment Ami thought she had slipped into the blissful calm of unconsciousness, but once the thought scooted its way into her mind, she realized she was still very much awake. Vision returned at a rapid pace and she found herself sprawled on the floor, staring up at the large man who had attacked her.

But his eyes were fixed ahead of him, on something that Ami could not see since his hulking figure obstructed it. Then he started to back up, hesitantly, tentatively, and Ami could sense the fear radiating off of him.

He was quickly backed against the wall, leaving the rest of the room free for Ami to look about. And what she saw made her heart leap.

For there, in the doorway stood a rescuer—tall in stature, but slender, one piercing gray eye peeking out from the curtain of black bangs. The complete darkness of the outside cast its distorted shadow in a jagged-like pattern across his face. Ami was suddenly aware of how frightening this man looked—no wonder her attacker was now shivering against a wall.

"What's going on here?" Ami's rescuer asked in cold, dark tones.

The large man answered, the panic evident in his voice, "N—nothing…there wasn't nothing going on, sir."

The slender man's look darkened. "Good. I hate to think what it says about this nation when children are taken advantage of and are beaten by common men."

The drunken man seemed to have nothing to say about this and instead stayed pressed up against the wall, not daring to move.

Ami glanced back at her rescuer, and thought that perhaps there was more to this man than just a fearsome countenance. There had to be, to make a man so large back down so completely.

Ami nearly jumped in fright when her inspecting gaze was returned by her savior. But his expression softened upon seeing her. She heard a dull thud that told her the drunken man had collapsed in a heap at the wall.

With his eyes steadily trained on hers, the tall man came nearer, his movements slow and sure as if bracing her for closer proximity. She gave no indication of how fast her heart was beating—like a scared rabbit's—and stayed put as he came closer. As anxious as she was, her curiosity about this man won out in the end.

"Hey, Captain!" a loud yell came from the doorway.

The eye contact between the captain and Ami was broken as they both focused their vision on the new arrival.

"Sanosuke," the captain said in mild annoyance. "I thought I told you—"

"I know, I know, stay put," the boy, Sanosuke, answered, shuffling his feet. "You always say it."

"And you never listen," instead of exasperation, Ami heard only affection in the voice of the captain.

"Who's that?" Sanosuke asked, peeking around at Ami who still sat crumpled in the corner. "Hey, is she the one who was all screamin' and—"

"Sanosuke."

The boy went quiet. He strode up next to where the captain stood. Their matching red bandanas standing out starkly to Ami's eyes as she studied their faces.

She began to feel her vision fade again, but she erected herself against the wall. I won't faint, she thought fiercely.

"What's your name, small one?" the captain asked in a soft, cooing voice.

She liked the sound of it. It had a deep, melodious quality. It reminded her of Hiro, her brother. And that thought some how made her much more alert.

"I'm Ami, sir," she answered tentatively.

"Hello Ami," the captain answered warmly. "I'm Sagara-san."

"Sagara-san?" Ami asked, testing it out. She had heard men talk of a man called 'Sagara' before. Just in passing, but she recalled that Sagara was the leader of a group of bandits…no, soldiers…no, revolutionaries…In any case, he was always called 'Captain Sagara.'

"And I'm Sanosuke!" the grinning kid added.

"Sanosuke…"

His affability was both appeasing and rather frightening to Ami. She was rather overwhelmed by the whole day, and to her luck, Captain Sagara happened to be tired as well.

"But sir isn't—" Sano began as the three vacated the little shack when the drunk man had taken Ami.

"Sano," Captain Sagara shot him a warning look. Then he said lightly, "Why don't you go down to the police office and make them aware of what has happened. Ami-san and I will go back to the inn and settle for the night."

Sanosuke nodded promptly and split off from them, hollering, "See ya later Ami!"

Captain Sagara then turned to Ami as they continued their way back to the inn. "You may stay with us and our group of…travelers, for tonight. I'll have to figure out what to do with you in the morning."

He spoke in soft tones that made it clear he was trying to put her at ease.

"I know that you lead a group of soldiers," she told him.

"Ah," Sagara answered simply. He should have known that it wasn't so easy to pull a veil over a child's eyes. They were not quite as easily deceived as they seemed, and often times had intuition that even Sagara himself did not possess.

The rest of the walk was taken in silence. Captain Sagara was relieved to find the inn much quieter than it had been when he left. Most of his men seemed to have settled down for the night, and for that he was glad. Ami was beset by the night as it was.

Captain Sagara graciously asked the innkeeper if they had another vacancy in the inn, to which the good man replied that he could find a place for Ami.

"I'll pay for it, of course," Sagara added quietly. The innkeeper nodded and Captain Sagara turned back to Ami, nudging her forward with a hand.

"You don't have to do this for me, sir," she said very respectfully as Captain Sagara continued to move her along. "I'm used to sleeping outside. It's really no bother."

"Of course," Sagara answered. "I'm sure you'd be fine. But if you were to sleep outside, I would be worried. You wouldn't want that, right?"

Ami's eyes searched the good captain's face. "Oh. No, of course not. I'm sorry."

"Please don't apologize, little one."

They had stopped at an empty room and Ami knew it was time to bid Sagara a good night. She did so pleasantly and Sagara patted her affectionately on the head.

"You've had a rough night. Please sleep well."

With that he left her to find his own room, or perhaps to meet up with Sanosuke. She watched him go and then slowly slid the door open and entered the room alone.

"Ami-san?"

Captain Sagara turned to her and she snapped out of her daydreams. Glancing down she saw white steam rising slowly from her soup into her face.

"Ami, do you have any family? Someone who could take care of you?"

Ami nodded her head. "My brother Hiro," she answered.

"Well, is he—"

"But he can't take care of me," Ami went on hurriedly. "I…I don't know where he is."

Captain Sagara nodded wisely and watched her for several moments.

She finished her soup quietly and turned back to the captain. "Sir, couldn't I…"

She looked down at her empty bowl, unsure.

"Ami, you can't stay with the Sekihoutai," he said quietly, reading her mind.

She looked up.

"A soldier's barracks are no place for a young girl."

"But I won't be any trouble!" Ami burst out. She averted her eyes and covered her mouth. "I mean…I'm used to sleeping outside, and I'm a fast traveler. I won't…"

Captain Sagara shook his head. "I'm sorry Ami, but we are soldiers. We fight in this war. It's much too dangerous for a little girl, no matter how strong you may be."

She lowered her head. "I know…I'm sorry." War is where people kill people, she thought to herself. Even Captain Sagara has killed.

"You really have nowhere else to go?" he asked her.

Her stringy black hair fell in front of her face as she shook her head.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair in aggravation. "I didn't want to have to do this, but I'm left with no other choice."

"Captain Sagara?" Ami questioned in a small voice.

"I know a place you can stay, Ami," he answered.

As she stared at him she saw a shadow of regret in his eyes. She blinked, and it was gone.

A/N: So that is chapter one. I don't know how often I will get to update this, as I have many other fics and responsibilities, but hopefully a new chapter will be up sometime in the next month. Thanks for reading and please review!