Author's Notes: Thanks for all the lovely reviews! They keep me fueled for the next chapters! (really! they do!) Sorry that I did not update for such a long time, but things were really hectic over finals. (Yay! They're done! I'm freeee!) Anyways, I have a month off now in which I can write in peace, so expect many updates. This story will start picking more very soon, I predict. Probably next chapter, things will heat up. More action, more suspense, and hopefully some humor inserted to keep things nice and level. Please enjoy! (and review!)

Disclaimer: I own nothing. No tengo nada. There, covered that in two languages!

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Sanosuke took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves, and knocked on the door for the first time in years. The noise inside silenced, then he could hear soft footsteps approaching the door. The shoji slid open and Kaoru's sweet face looked out.

"Yes? Who is...?" Kaoru halted, her pupils dialating in shock. "S-sano!" she shrieked finally after a moment's hesitation.

Grinning, Sanosuke replied, "Yeah, it's me, jou-san!"

"Sanosuke!" came a yell from inside, definitely the brat, an older one albiet, but still a brat. Yahiko ran from the dinning room and jumped on his old friend. Sanosuke, if he had not been blessed- or cursed- with both his human strength and rakshasa strength, would have been bowled over by the not-so-small-as-before brat.

In the bustle of saying hello and asking questions like: where were you? how are you? what have you been doing? the other rakshasa were pretty much ignored, except by Hiko. The preternatural creatures stared at each other, trying to decide what to do- is he friend? or is he enemy? Their insticts told the rakshasa to either fight or take flight, but logic saw that the chiang-shi had made a motion with his hands, which said: I'm not here to fight. The group decided to stay. Even an enemy such as this would not fight in front of a human friend or ally. It just would not be good manners, and this one looked like he had a few.

Invited in, the group and Sano sat opposite Hiko, Kaoru, Yahiko and Kenshin. Eying Sanosuke's friend curiously, Kenshin asked, "Who are you?"

Bai Ru, their spokesperson, replied, "I'm Bai Ru." Waving a hand at the tallest of them, the one with black hair and eyes the same color as Kenshin's, yet darker, he said, "This is Li Jin." And on he went, introducing each of the raksha from tallest to shortest, ending with the black haired, green-eyed Osamu.

"How did you meet Sano?" asked Kaoru, no less the curious despite the introductions.

"We met him at a job in China, and we were impressed with how he handled himself so well. We offered to let him join our group, so we've been working together for three years now," Bai Ru responded.

Sanosuke, while the intros were being made, stared at Hiko. Why did he get these bad vibes off the tall swordsman? He remembered the man to be Kenshin's old master. So why did he smell like a rotting corpse, charcoal, and clay? There was no sense to this riddle. Hiko was staring right back at him too. Kami knew what he was thinking...

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Saitoh did like this smell he caught a whiff from. It meandered through the streets and was at least five hours old. The owners of the scent passed this route around sunset. He was shocked when he recognized one of the threads, it was Sanosuke's. That ahou left for China years ago, yet now he was back? But the scent, though definitely of the same person, had altered from those years ago. There was something very different, yet the same, what was it?

He trailed the strange scents to Kenshin and Kaoru's home, then back-tracked it to the gate facing the road to Kyoto. So, more trouble to deal with other than the normal oni murders now. Wonderful.

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Author's Notes: I've found that I have an unhealthy addiction. I am totally hooked on cheddar cheese and raspberry yogurt! It's so yummy together! sigh Must...get...more! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please keep reviewing! (keeps story going, ya know! Power to the mind fuel!)

Review Responses:

Cleo: Glad you enjoy it so much, hope you like this chapter as well.

Miharu Kawashi: I did? Must be a bug...makes a note to swat it when doing revisions and polishing Thank you for the compliments! Makes me happy...

omasuoniwabanshi: It's not that he smells bad...well, maybe to them he does...i always envisioned the smell of charcoal and clay to hang about him since he works with pottery...cough Anyways, Tokio? Hmm...I was trying to think of what to do with her...the Buddha woman...hmm..that gives me an idea...grin And as for your tea choice, I drink that stuff as well. It's very good. I don't like sweet tea (!que horror!), but I like sweet coffee (figures...). Caffeine can actually be helpful to you, but it all depends on the amount you ingest and how often you take it. Heheh,tea drinkingcan be pretty complicated, just like how lifeis very complicated and all those knots are just a bitch to untangle. All the perks of being human.