Disclaimer: The characters of Rurouni Kenshin are not mine. I am using them without the permission of their owner. By writing and posting this story I am in no way gaining profit.

Line brakes are changes in view, time and/or scene.

:: Words :: in colons dictate setting.

Words in Italics are thoughts and emphasis.

Words in Bold are sixth sense perceptions. (i.e. ki sense.)

Words in Bold and Italic are the inner speech of Hitokiri. (i.e. Battousai talking to Kenshin)

Author's Note: Please pay attention to the dates. They're there for a reason. Story rated for some moderate to hard language. Thank you. —TS


:: March 31st ::

:: 1.11 pm ::

:: JE 394 ::

"What happened to you guys using phones? At least then I could hang up on you."

"Well, I suppose you could slam the door in my face." It was said in the most polite tone possible, yet . . . Sanosuke wasn't sure what it was, but something in that sentence screamed danger. Like slamming the door in the face of this man was a bad idea.

Something was wrong. Mrs. Yukimura, Kenshin's neighbor, was quiet. She threw a tantrum if she was disturbed, and took pleasure in spreading her misery. If the man had stopped at her apartment to sell, she'd be banging the walls and furniture. So the salesman must not have gone to her apartment yet. But Sanosuke had come from the other direction, and he hadn't seen the man.

The only explanation was that he had come strait here, to this apartment. Pushing away his thoughts and the sound of the salesman's droning, Sanosuke called upon the abilities that Captain Sagara had taught him and Kenshin had later perfected.


:: May 16th ::

:: 8.48 am ::

:: JE 394 ::

The more he thought about it, the more he didn't like the implications. Sanosuke was acting normal, goofing off and pretending to sleep. But Kenshin could see the tension in his eyes, the worry that now hung over him. Sano hadn't thought anything of it at first, had brushed it off as an odd happening in an odd world, like he usually did. When he'd heard Kenshin's grave recounting of Yumi's abilities, his confidence that it was just another strange thing that had happened to or around him (out of a multitude of strange things) vanished.

He'd seen Sano after that fight last night; his partner had been confused, disoriented. Something had happened. Sano could no longer brush it off, and the look on his face when he'd recounted the story had been the same look from the night before. Worried, confused, unsure – emotions Sanosuke was not associated with.


:: May 16th ::

:: 9.00 am ::

:: JE 394 ::

The meeting started at exactly nine o'clock. Sanosuke and Kenshin went into detail about the raid from the night before, giving their report to the boss. He was pleased. Boss read over the report, congratulated them, and then dismissed them. He told them to come back in tomorrow for their next assignment.

"Oh, and boys? Who was it that took down this…Yumi Minamino? She was very powerful." Sanosuke froze. He'd thought it over, and the more he'd thought about it the more he decided that his boss shouldn't know, at least until he understood himself. The last thing Sanosuke wanted was more tests. As he opened his mouth, thinking an answer inevitable, Kenshin spoke up.

"I did." Sanosuke glanced at him, trying to keep his shock off of his face.

"And how did you resist her spells?"

"Simple." Kenshin said with one of his smiles. "I didn't look in her eyes. Without eye contact her spells are useless against Touched." As they left the office Sanosuke looked at his partner. "How does breakfast at the Akubeko sound, Sano?" Well, he wasn't one to turn down a meal.

"Sure Ken. And thanks."

"Whatever for?"


:: March 31st ::

:: 1.13 pm ::

:: JE 394 ::

Pull there, tug here, gather ki, and see. Opening his eyes Sanosukegazed at the other man's ki. It was small, golden, nothing dangerous to him, and . . .-what was that!? Thin black bands were wrapped horizontally across this man's ki. Binds, Sanosuke realized with a start. He blinked when the salesman's voice filtered in, grip on his sight falling with his surprise.

"So if you'd like to buy-"

"Hold on, I don't even live here. The owner of the place is out."

"Oh my," He said, smile still on his face as he began to pack up. That smile reminded him way too much of Kenshin's trust-me-I'm-harmless smile. No way was Sanosuke letting it go that easy.

"You have really narrow eyes, mister." The eyes; he needed to see this guy's eyes. They said everything, and they'd been squinted nearly closed the entire time.

"I can't help what I'm born with." The hell you can't. Sanosuke shot out his hand, grabbing the guy's wrist, eyes fixed on the stranger's face.

"You weren't born with these. Gonna tell me how a pharmacist got sword calluses?" Open your eyes, Sanosuke willed. And then the man did just that, revealing a pair of shining, golden orbs.


:: May 16th ::

:: 10.01 pm ::

:: JE 394 ::

Breakfast went well, neither of them bringing up the subject of the night before. They parted ways afterwards, and Sanosuke found himself at the Missy's Dojo, helping to fix the place up for some cash, which he had promptly gone gambling with. After cutting short his winning streak (figures, now that he had no need for more money) Sanosuke went to a pub and got smashingly drunk.

The bartender eventually kicked him out, so Sanosuke staggered down the road to his flat, drunk, tired, and being followed. Not that Sanosukeknew that, but that's what was happing. He paused to lean against a wall, to steady his steps and the world around him. It was then that he was jumped.

Five men, all Touched, pounced on him. A struggle went on for a few minutes, Sanosuke loosing horribly due to his inebriated state. He was sober enough to be beyond frustrated as his slow thoughts and even slower reaction time refused to improve, but still too drunk to do anything about it.

One of them caught his right arm in a half hold. He wrenched it behind Sanosuke's back. Then one, two, three fists to his stomach. Pain flared. Sano struck out blindly with a leg. It hit air. Sanosuke made a sound. He swung his free arm around to his left. It caught another in the eye, hard. The man went down.

His left arm was immobilized, suddenly. Sano had no idea when it'd happened. Both men pushed hard on their respective arms, sending him to his knees.

Then something strange happened, just as he was subdued. His sight started to white out, a roaring sound filled his ears, and his blood was suddenly on fire, burning him from the inside out. Then everythingcleared, in a sudden Déjà Vu of the night before. An animalistic snarl escaped him, lips pulling back to bare his teeth at his attackers. With strength beyond a human, beyond Sanosuke, he pushed up and out, dislodging all of his assaulters.

"Shit! He's-!"

"No way!"

"He can't be!"

"Master said-!" And blood flew.