-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

/ Unforgettable /

&&

Kaoru walked into the large house, kissing Misao softly on her cheek, giving her a tiny smile afterwards. Misao returned the small smile, closing the door shut when she saw the Detective get in his car and drive off. Kaoru had agreed to go to the station tomorrow in the afternoon, getting the address from the gorgeous man. Misao led her cousin up the stairs, opening one of the bedroom doors and pointing to the bed.

"This will be Yahiko's room. We cleaned the sheets and everything, there's a small bathroom over there, and if he needs anything, your room is right next to his."

"That works out great," Kaoru spoke softly, walking into the room and pulling the comforter back, placing her brother down carefully. He stirred, his brows knitting together before rolling over onto his side, his eyes remaining shut. She pulled the comforter over him, briefly running her fingers through his hair before standing up straight. She turned to her seventeen year old cousin, smiling apologetically.

"Misao, I'm really sorry for intruding—"

"Kaoru! You're not intruding! We grew up together, we're cousins! Like I care about you two staying here. It'll be great—it'll be like we're sisters and we can do everything together." Her big smile slowly faded, "I'm sorry I didn't attend the funeral—"

"It's fine. I completely understand. I showed up though, shocking our family members. After seeing my parents at our place like that..I didn't want to go. I said I wouldn't. This is all like a dream. I didn't believe they were killed and I just wanted to pretend it never occurred. But it did."

"Kaoru.."

"I have to be strong for Yahiko. I can't cry or anything, because then he'll worry. He's so sad. You should see his eyes. There's nothing there. The therapist says he probably blames himself or he feels extreme guilt not being able to help our parents."

"That's understandable," she replied, walking out of the room with Kaoru. "He was there through the whole thing, hiding. He probably felt useless. Is he doing all right? I heard he doesn't speak much—"

"He doesn't speak at all," she interrupted softly, getting led to her room. Misao opened the door, walking in and sitting on the bed as Kaoru stood at the door. Kaoru glanced back down the hall, noticing the gap between her door and Yahiko's. She wanted to be closer. She walked into her new room, glancing around and smiling at the colors that painted the wall. Some of her favorite colors, purple and blue, were in the shape of flowers. She went and sat down next to Misao, lying down on her back. "All he does is cry. He cries as he wakes up from sleep and he cries as he falls asleep. Yesterday, he was eating and just broke down, crying in the backseat next to me. He won't speak to me. I don't know what he's thinking or anything."

"Hey, don't worry. He'll get better and slowly open up to you, I'm sure. He just needs some time. By the way, sorry to change the subject—but who was that man outside?"

"Oh, it's okay. His name..well, he didn't tell me, but he's a detective. Detective Himura. He wants me to come and answer questions, so I agreed. I have to go tomorrow around twelve, so I'll be leaving Yahiko here. Is that all right, Misao?"

"It's perfectly fine. I have no plans for tomorrow until later on in the night anyway."

She nodded, letting her gaze travel to the ceiling. "Okay, thanks Misao."

She tilted her head, smiling down at her eighteen-year-old cousin. "No problem."


&&

Kenshin entered the building while removing his coat, giving a warm smile to a female police officer that was heading out. She returned the smile shyly, nodding to him as she passed, a light blush appearing on her cheeks. Kenshin tossed his coat on a nearby desk as he came to a stop, waiting for his partner to get off of his cell phone. His much taller and less talkative partner glanced his way, ending the call immediately when he noticed him. He slipped his cell phone away, turning to the shorter man.

"Did you get a hold of the girl?"

"Yes, I did. She has agreed to come by tomorrow to answer some questions."

Aoshi nodded, "That's great. Is she bringing the little boy, also?"

Kenshin shook his head, "No, I didn't bother asking either. Apparently, he isn't able to speak. He doesn't even speak to her, so I'm positive that he wouldn't speak to us when asked questions. Anyway, has anything been found at the house?"

"Fingerprints," he murmured. "People are searching through the database at this very moment to find any matches. They were also thinking of doing a line-up also. Possibly the boy can point someone out. We found a man heading away from the house with a scratch on his face. He's being held in custody until we hear from the lab. The autopsy of the mother and father will be done soon."

"Good to hear."


&&

Makimachi Residence

After speaking on the phone for several minutes, Misao held out the phone for Kaoru, walking off afterwards. Kaoru watched her head into the kitchen, planning what was going to be for dinner with her parents. She swallowed, lifting the phone up to her ear slowly. "Hello?"

"Kaoru," came a soft voice that she recognized immediately, "I caught a glimpse of you at the funeral. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing all right, Aunt Megumi. I would've stayed and talked, but I wanted to get away from there as soon as possible. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," she murmured, closing her eyes briefly. Megumi closed her eyes briefly, feeling strong hands on her shoulders that squeezed gently. A small smile came to her lips, knowing that the hands belonged to her husband who was trying to comfort her. "Sanosuke and I were thinking of coming for dinner."

"That'd be great. I haven't seen that rooster for awhile now."

Megumi let out a giggle, "He's no different. Still a loud freeloader who loves money and fighting."

Kaoru let a smile come to her lips when she heard Sano protest in the background. Sano was possibly her favorite uncle though he loved to tease her. She drew in a shaky breath, "Well, I can't wait to see you two tonight. Drive safely on your way here."

"I will, don't you worry. Goodbye, Kaoru."

"Bye," she murmured, listening as she hung up and continued to stand even as the beeping soon came afterwards. She slowly removed the phone from her ear, hanging it up and placing it on the small table that was placed against the wall. She listened as she heard mumbling in the kitchen, then a small laugh come from her cousin. Kaoru felt the urge to help cook the dinner, though she wasn't the best cook last she heard. She felt as if she needed to repay them somehow for letting her stay anyway, so she made her way into the kitchen.

Misao turned to the door when it swung open, a smile on her face. "What did aunt Megumi say?"

"That she and Sano are coming over for dinner," she told her. "Do you need any help cooking anything? I could whip something up myself."

As soon as she spoke those words, everyone cringed slightly and stared at her. Kaoru blinked in surprise at their faces, glaring dangerously as she crossed her arms. "Geez! I'm not that bad! You guys' are awful!"

Misao laughed nervously, "Kaoru, you're bad. Last Thanksgiving, the turkey wasn't even fully cooked through..and you're the one who helped make it."

"Blame the timer."


&&

Kaoru glanced towards the stairs when she heard knocks, knowing that Megumi and Sano had arrived for the dinner. She turned to face the door, turning the knob quietly and pushing the door open, her blue eyes drifting to her younger brother. He was still sleeping. She closed the door shut, standing there for a moment. She debated on whether or not to wake him since he needed to eat. He hadn't eaten much in a few days, so she worried. She worried more about him instead of herself, who also needed to eat and get much needed sleep.

Her hand fell away from the doorknob and she headed downstairs silently, plastering a smile on her pretty face when she saw her aunt and uncle. Sano immediately embraced her in one of his bear hugs, almost squeezing all of the air out of her. He didn't need to speak words of sadness to tell her that he was sorry for her loss. She let a real smile come to her face as he pulled away, standing on her tiptoes to place a soft kiss to his cheek. Megumi moved him away from her niece, giving her a hug as well and placing a kiss on her forehead. She stepped back to get a good look of her niece, sighing softly.

"You're pale."

"Yes, I know," she replied gently.

"Take care of yourself, Kaoru," she told her before walking off after her husband. Kaoru nodded slowly, knowing that she should listen to her aunt. She was always someone to go to for advice, no matter what the subject. She made her way to the dinner room, taking a seat next to Misao with a small smile on her face.

"Yahiko still sleeping?"

She nodded at Misao's question. "He'll probably wake up later to get something to eat. The food looks great."

"Better than anything you've ever made," Sano blurted, eyeing the delicious-looking food. Kaoru allowed herself to shoot him a look. If looks could kill. Plates and bowls were passed around so everyone could get what they wanted to eat. Kaoru stared at the potatoes as she scooped them onto her plate, remembering that Yahiko always teamed up with Sano to make fun of her cooking. Sano was always a bad influence on the younger boy, but that was all right. She wanted Yahiko to tease her, to call her ugly, to call her an hag, and to—

Everyone at the table jumped as they heard a deafening scream from upstairs, Kaoru immediately leaving her seat and knocking it over. Everyone got up to follow, knowing that the screaming was coming from Yahiko. She tripped up the stairs, but stood back up and raced up the stairs and down the hall.

Yahiko let his fear-filled eyes dart to the door, his hands gripping his hair. Kaoru turned on the light, her eyes full of worry and fright. Tears raced down his cheeks and his body trembled violently, his eyes locked with Kaoru's. He let out another cry, reaching for her and she quickly went to him, getting on the bed and wrapping her arms around him. He broke down, his fingers clenching the back of her shirt, Kaoru holding in a wince when he dug his nails into her back. Misao, Megumi, and Sano stood at the door, looking on at the scene that played out in front of them. They didn't know what to do or say to the younger boy. They couldn't say 'everything will be okay', because they didn't know if things would be okay.

Someone had killed their relatives for an unknown reason. Sano was sure that their deaths weren't the end of it.

Kaoru looked over her shoulder at them, "I'll be down in a little bit. I need to stay here with him—"

"We understand," Megumi interrupted, closing the door after several seconds of staring at the sobbing boy. Kaoru tore her gaze away from the door, looking down at her brother who was starting to soak her shirt. She tightened her embrace, trying to stop his trembling form.

"Yahiko, what's wrong? Yahiko, did you have another nightmare?"

Yahiko choked on a sob, his wild eyes staring at her shirt as tears continued to spill. He shut his eyes tightly—

"Stop it! Please—let go! Don't do this!"

He re-opened them, trying to erase the memories and visions. He closed them once more, letting out a strangled cry when he heard gunshots in his head. Kaoru watched on helplessly, wanting him to calm down. She pulled him to her, letting him continue crying in her chest. She closed her eyes briefly, knowing that all she saw once she closed her eyes were the bodies of her parents. She swallowed hard, blood behind her eyes. "Yahiko, it's okay. I'm here. Please, stop crying. I'm here; I'll always be here. I'm always by your side; no one will hurt you. I won't let anyone touch you. I-I swear, Yahiko."

He rubbed his face into her shirt, the trembling decreasing as she spoke to him. He sniffled, exhaling loudly as she rubbed his back soothingly. His body was tired and worn out, along with his mind. He leaned against her, relaxing as she continued moving her hands on his back. His grip remained tightened on her as his lids slid shut, several more tears escaping as silence entered the room.


&&

Kaoru picked at her food as she sat at the dinner table by herself at midnight. She had fallen asleep next to Yahiko, Megumi and Sanosuke long gone after dinner. Misao had gone to bed after checking on Kaoru, finding her sleeping. Kaoru, amazingly, managed to escape Yahiko's grip without waking him up. His eyes were moving rapidly beneath his lids, Kaoru figuring that he was having yet another nightmare and would soon wake.

She took a bite of her potatoes, staring at the forest green wall.

"Daddy, do you think I could get my belly-button pierced?"

He looked at his eighteen year old in shock, but it quickly turned into a glare. "No! Not at all! You shouldn't be showing your stomach anyway to men!"

"..But I didn't plan on showing my stomach to men. I just want one to have one."

"Yes, but men will look."

"Oh, dad—"

He gave her a warm smile, "I'll think about it."

She had gotten her belly button pierced a week later, her father tagging along with her. He had always been protective and he never wanted Kaoru with a man. She only had one boyfriend in her whole life that she dated for a year. Soujirou Seta. Her father only approved of him because he was a close friend on the family and he liked that Soujirou smiled all the time. It lasted before Soujirou broke it off with her. They remained close friends and Kaoru held no hard feelings towards him.

"You ugly hag!"

Kaoru looked at Yahiko as he spat those words, upsetting the boy by accidentally tripping over a cord. His PlayStation 2 happened to be plugged in by that plug. Kaoru returned the glare, placing her hands on her hips and ready to scold the younger boy.

"Yahiko, clearly your sister isn't ugly," their mother broke in, giving them a cute smile. "And she isn't old, either."

He frowned cutely, "W-well……she's still fat."

He failed miserably at the attempt to offend Kaoru any further, earning a laugh from their mother. Kaoru smiled, looking at her mother and staring at her beautiful smile.

The smile was quickly replaced with the image of her mother's bloodied face and wide eyes. Kaoru choked on her food, her stomach churning as she got up to hurry to the bathroom.


&&

Next Day

Kaoru slowly opened her eyes, her vision blurred before she blinked several times. She rubbed her eyes gently, swallowing and cringing at the horrible taste in her mouth. Her blue eyes drifted to the door, Yahiko standing quietly in the doorway of the bathroom. She glanced next to her, seeing the toilet a few inches away from her. She stood up, leaning against the bathtub previously. She flushed the toilet, looking back to Yahiko.

"Are you hungry, Yahiko?"

He nodded after a moment.

"I can take you downstairs to get some cereal. Let me brush my teeth first, all right?"

He nodded once again, moving into the bathroom when he heard a noise downstairs. Kaoru turned on the faucet, feeling his hands on her waist as he moved closer, staring at the door. She patted him on his head, "It's all right. They're just downstairs making breakfast. We're safe here, Yahiko." She started to brush her teeth, scrubbing at her tongue for a moment. She finished several minutes later, turning off the faucet and drying off her mouth with a washcloth resting on the counter. She reached down, slipping her hand into Yahiko's and guiding him out of the bathroom. She glanced at the clock, reading that it was ten in the morning. She had plenty of time to get ready. As she made her way to the top of the stairs, she decided to speak with Yahiko.

"Yahiko, I have to leave in a little bit to go answer questions with a detective."

He squeezed her hand, his eyes darting up to hers.

"You want to come?"

He nodded and Kaoru nodded slowly, realizing that he didn't want to be on his own.


&&

"Ah, Miss Kamiya," Kenshin spoke as he saw her. His violet eyes drifted down quickly, noticing the little boy hiding behind her as she neared him. Yahiko was glancing around, flinching at every loud noise that occurred around them. Kaoru stopped in front of Kenshin, glancing down at Yahiko as Kenshin bent down.

She gave his hand a slight tug to get his attention and Yahiko looked ahead, blinking in surprise at the redhead. "You must be Yahiko. I'm detective Himura, but you can just call me Kenshin if you'd like."

Yahiko continued to stare, recognizing Kenshin from their house. It took a minute, but Yahiko eventually nodded, his hand still attached to Kaoru's. Kenshin gave him a warm smile before standing up, looking to Kaoru. "Are you ready? Yahiko could be in the room if you'd like."

"Yes, he won't leave my side."

"All alright," he replied, motioning for her to follow him. "We also have a line-up ready."

"..A line-up?"

"Yes, of several suspects. Would Yahiko possibly want to participate since he was there?"

"He probably would—but what if they see him—"

"You can see them, but they can't see you." He glanced at her over his shoulder, giving her a kind smile, "I wouldn't put you in danger, Miss Kamiya."

She stared at him, feeling her cheeks warm up at his smile. She nodded dumbly, "Kaoru."

"Excuse me?"

"My name—its Kaoru."

He came to a stop, turning to face her. "Kenshin."


&&

"First question, where were you on the night that your parents were murdered?"

Kaoru clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. Yahiko sat next to her, staring lifelessly at Kenshin, eyeing his cross scar on his left cheek. 'I've answered this question already with a different person, but I'm sure they're just trying to see if I have the same story.' "At my friends house, Sakura Teison. She's the one that dropped me off at home that night."

"Do you know if your parents had any enemies?"

Kaoru glanced up at him from her lap before returning her gaze there. From behind the glass, Aoshi watched silently along with two other policemen. Kaoru slowly shook her head, thinking about the question. Her parents' were kind people. "I don't know of any. My parents' were kind to everyone they met, so I don't see why anyone would want…them dead."

"Were you aware of your father having a relationship with Makoto Shishio?"

"Yes," she answered softly. She knew him as a gangster, one of the most feared in their city. She had met him once and the man was frightening in a few ways, but he treated her nicely along with her father. "They were friends. If you were going to ask me if my father was involved in anything that Makoto Shishio did in his life, I wouldn't know. I never asked questions about their relationship. I felt as if it were none of my business."

"I understand."

"Do you think he had anything to do with it?"

"It was a possibility until we were able to reach him. He had an alibi. Being your father's friend, he said he would never do such a thing. He even attended the funeral."

"I see.."

"You know, Kaoru, at first you were a suspect."

This caught her full attention. "What?"

"Don't become upset. In every murder case, everyone is a suspect until proven innocent. Since we checked the story of you being with your friend, you weren't a suspect anymore. There's several cases where children have killed their own parents." He paused, "Do you have any idea of why your parents would be killed? A fight or misunderstanding with someone? Anything?"

Aoshi watched as she became silent, her eyes drifting to Yahiko. Yahiko glanced up at her, very well aware of why his parents' were killed. He averted his gaze from her, guilt invading his body as he stared at the floor.

"Yahiko."

Yahiko turned on the balcony, a smile springing onto his face when he looked up at his father. He made his way over to him, getting down on his knees to match his height. "Yeah?"

"I know a secret," he murmured, "and I'm going to tell you."

"Awesome! What is it? Can I tell mom and Kaoru?"

"Your mother already knows and so does your sister. There's..money that I'm hiding. It's my money, but other people want it. Yahiko, they'll do anything to get it. There's a secret code to get the money though."

"You're going to tell me the code?"

"Yes, but you can't tell anyone. I'm telling you the code because if anything ever happens to me..or your mother, the money will be yours."

"Does Kaoru know the code?"

"No, she doesn't." He forced a smile, "You know Kaoru can't keep secrets that long."

Yahiko nodded, "I won't tell anyone, I swear! It c-can be a secret of men!"

He laughed, "Yes, a secret between two men." He messed his hair up, losing his smile. He knew that if he told Kaoru the code, people would go after her. Yahiko was nothing but a child, so he assumed they wouldn't bother trying to hurt a mere kid. He was wrong.

Kaoru shook her head. "No clue," she lied gently. She had a feeling that the money had everything to do with their deaths and Yahiko knew the code. People wanted that code; she knew it. Her parents' wouldn't tell the people that came to get it, so they killed them in their own home. "Are we done?"

"Yes, that's enough."


&&

"Since when did you start calling her by her first name?"

Kenshin held a file under his arm, glancing up at Aoshi. "Since she got here. I guess Miss Kamiya sounded too formal for her." He opened a door to a room, smiling slightly at Kaoru and Yahiko, Aoshi close behind. Kaoru looked at the second man, recognizing him as the man that chased her up the stairs, trying to spare her the sight of her parents'. "Kaoru, this is my partner, Aoshi Shinomori."

"Nice to meet you," she spoke, receiving a curt nod from the man.

"Now, there will be seven men coming out and we want Yahiko to see if he recognizes any of them." He sat down next to Kaoru, "Did he agree to do it?"

"Yes, I had a talk with him. A-Are you sure they can't see us?"

"Positive."

Aoshi pushed a button, telling the men to step up and line up underneath the numbers. Kaoru reached over, lacing her fingers together with Yahiko's, causing him to look up through the window. He watched as the rough looking men came one by one, Yahiko studying their profiles and faces as they slowly turned. As soon as they all stood still, facing forward, Yahiko stared at the first man. His eyes drifted to the next man after a moment.

As he reached the fourth man, his eyes widened and he stiffened. He eyed the blonde hair that stook up and the purple bandana around his forehead. He closed his eyes tightly, seeing that he was the man that kicked the door open and was the first to step in, gun in hand and a playful grin on his lips. His hand shot up, his finger pointed directly at the blonde man and Kenshin looked through the file as he saw this, pulling out the information on the man. "It's him, is he sure?"

Kaoru pulled her hand away from his, getting up to stand in front of Yahiko and bend down, grabbing his shoulders. "Yahiko, do you recognize him?"

Tears fell as continued to stare, as if he was looking right through her. She shook him gently, "Yahiko, is that him? Was he at our house!"

He nodded, suddenly shutting his eyes once more, reaching up and pulling his hair as the incident started to replay in his mind. Kenshin stood up, placing the information down on the table. "Meet Chou Sawagejo, his skin cells found underneath your mother's fingernails."

It was a small step, but it was big enough for Kaoru and Yahiko.


- - - - - - -

Another long chapter. I hope it's coming along well. I like it when there's so many hits, but not as many reviews–review guys'! Don't be scared, tell me what you think! Flame or not. Hope everyone who reads liked this chapter :o) Sorry for grammar/misspellings. R&R!

Wolf Jade: I think I answered your questions in here? If not, let me know. Thanks for reviewing, first reviewer!

Faust: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked the first chapter.