Author's Notes: This chapter was longer, but it was getting close to 10,000 words before I even finished it, so I felt the need to shorten it down to 7,000. I'm going to be drawing my own cover for the story but before I do, I'd like to get your thoughts on the story so far.

A strong breeze blew in rustling the surrounding trees and their leaves in the dense forest. Light has long broke through the trees illuminating the colorful array of leaves as they began to shower the forest floor from the gust of wind. Soujiro was startled from his sleep from the sound of leaves roaring with the wind that could be liken to the sound of waves crashing upon the seashore. If it wasn't the sound of the leaves that woke him up, it was instantly being showered upon by the them falling all around him. He scrunched his nose and shifted his head when he felt a leaf brush against his face. He rubbed his cheek absent-mindedly as he shifted completely on his side in an effort to avoid the leaves still falling upon him.

After his meeting with Cho and Aritomo, he had fled Kyoto as fast as he could and decided to head north. Winter would soon be approaching and he sought to find Haven to the north there, at least for the time being during the colder season. Surely, anyone who might manage to locate him and track him might be turned off if he traveled far enough north where the winters were more brutal. Even if he made it to the north, he would still have to find a place to settle down for the time being, and that alone would be a challenge if he ever managed to get there before the snow settled in.

It was only in the past few days he finally began to slow in his run from Kyoto. He was determined to not let himself be followed again. Besides killing, assassins were known to be able to disappear without leaving a trace of their presence behind and that was just what he planned to do… for good. He even stayed off the main road and relied on the sun during the day to travel north. He still carried the sword from the policeman he had struck down feeling the need to keep it close. He wasn't helpless without one, but by chance if certain individuals came looking for him again, he needed to be ready. Whether it happened now, his run to the north, or what would come long afterwards this winter had passed, he would need to be ready. His past wasn't just going to let him move forward so easily.

After feeling he could somewhat relax and travel at a more easy going pace instead of being on the constant run, he had practically collapsed in his exhaustion upon the spot he was on now and slept the longest he had in a long time. He was usually up at the first of light, but didn't feel the need to rush it this one time and take his time waking up. Though, if he had planned on sleeping longer, he was about to have another rude awakening.

Being the apt assassin he was trained to be, he had a talent in being able to sense danger nearby and conceal himself if he had to. As of now, he sensed no particular danger of the sort, but had long realized he was not alone in the forest. He opened his eyes slowly hearing the leaves above him rustling and at first, he tried ignoring the nuisance. When the rustling continued, he finally turned his gaze upwards in the tree that was sheltering him to see a girl, no older than twelve, high on the branch and slowly moving across the branch to reach a certain peach. He had been so exhausted, he didn't even realize he fell asleep under a peach tree.

"Just don't look down, just don't look down," she whimpered. Her knee slipped off the side of the branch before she fell forward and hugged the branch to stop her fall. It was then her dark eyes met that of Soujiro's and for a few seconds that lasted too long, they just stared.

"Hey, where did you come from? " She yelled like he had just invaded her space. She tried sitting up in her efforts to appear brave. "You better-" she pointed a finger threateningly before she lost her balance again. "Ah!" She flailed her arms out as she lost her balance in her efforts to be brave. In the process, she finally managed to reach her peach, but at the cost of falling off the branch. She shrieked out loud while managing to hug the same branch to stop her fall… upside down now. She looked rather amusing with her shaggy, ebony braids hanging from her head like antennas now and tied at the end with blue ribbons. What was even more peculiar about the girl was how she was wearing boy clothes. She clearly wasn't trying to disguise herself as a boy, but the combination of her messy braids and ribbons mixed with such clothing was just as strange.

She had managed to hold on to her peach as she hung upside down. "Hey!" She yelled. "I'm talking to you, aoi-tori!"

Soujiro slowly sat up with a yawn as he stretched his arms upwards. He hadn't spoken a word to her and she had already decided to nickname him bluebird, as if he needed assurance it was him she was yelling out to.

"Hey!" She continued to yell, annoyed he was giving little acknowledgement of her presence.

Soujiro finally turned his head upwards to meet her gaze. "I was sleeping. My question for you is why you're climbing so high for that peach? There's others closer in reach you could have grabbed."

"This one is the prettiest." She held it out like it was a prize to be had. "It's going to taste the best-ah-" she accidentally dropped it. "Oh…."

It landed beside Soujiro. Before anymore words could be exchanged, another gust of wind began sweeping the leaves around them and swaying the branches about fiercely. The girl let out a scream of terror as she clung to her branch like her life depended on it.

What a strange girl, Soujiro thought. She's clearly afraid of heights but took the risk for this. He held up the peach as he stood to his feet. He looked up again when she let out another scream of fright when the branch she held failed to hold up against the wind and her frantically trying to hold on. It started succumbing to her weight. "Let go!" Soujiro shouted, like it should have been the obvious to do.

She obeyed and let go before the branch could fully break off the tree, but it came at the cost of her back slamming against the next branch and breaking the limb as she continued her fall down. She fell not so gracefully as she screamed and frantically grabbed for another tree limp to stop her fall to no avail. She dropped like a rock when there were no limbs left to grab. Soujiro felt his leg take a step backwards and reach his arms out to catch her because of how she was about to land. He was unable to catch her in his arms, due to how she was falling head first, but she still managed to plummet straight into him and toss him on his back against the ground.

"Ow, I think I landed on a rock," He groaned. Soujiro sat up slightly to rub his lower back. The girl was sprawled across his torso still and her weight was limp against him. "Did you… pass out?" He asked out loud as he nudged her shoulder. When she didn't move on her own, he shifted to his side to get her off him. "All this for a fruit." He muttered. He was still partially in a daze when he heard the branch above she had originally held onto break completely off the tree and dragged the other down she had struck. Both limbs came hurling straight for them.

The girl softly moaned. She was just starting to come around when Soujiro wrapped his arm around her body while both were still on the ground. He didn't even have time to stand straight before he hurled both their bodies forward away from the tree and the branches crashed in the spot they were just at seconds ago. Both were now sprawled out on their stomachs next to each other.

Soujiro rolled away from her on his back to see the branches had landed right at his heels. "You should know that peaches tend to taste the same regardless of its so called beauty."

The girl was sitting over her knees when she saw the peach Soujiro had left next to her. She took it in hand. Just as Soujiro was recovering from their tree incident and distracted with ruffling his hair to get all the leaves out , the girl stood and suddenly hurled the peach into the side of Soujiro's skull.

"Ah! What the - " He clutched his head in pain. There was a sickening thud when the peach struck his skull, and he fell back on his elbow clasping the side of his head from the surprising pain it caused. While he was down, she lunged at him to clutch the hilt of his katana and drew it from his scabbard. By the time Soujiro could focus his gaze before him, he saw he was faced with the blade of his sword.

"Thought you were going to use this on me, weren't you?" She raised her voice triumphantly.

Soujiro rolled his eyes. "Yes, I just saved you twice to kill you later. I'm regretting it now."

"Give me your money!" She threatened with his sword to his face.

Soujiro only slumped back on his elbows to rub his skull once more. He hardly looked threatened by her or even cared she was trying to mug him with his own sword. "I have to say, I've never been attacked by a piece of fruit before. That's going to leave a bruise."

"Did you hear me? Give me all your money… or… or I'll cut your face, " she shook the unsteady blade at his face.

Soujiro placed his hand over the flat side of the blade to direct it from his face. "I don't have any money. I'm not sleeping on the ground because I like it."

"Yeah, right. How were you able to afford this sword?"

"I stole it." He plainly stated.

"Well, I guess I'm going to have to take it now since you have nothing else to offer. See you, aoi-tori," she snickered before she turned on her heel and made off with his sword as fast as she could.

Soujiro got to his feet. "It's really not a good idea to run like that with an open blade!" He tried calling out to her. Of course, she didn't listen. Not a very bright girl, is she? No matter. This won't take long. He started into a run after her when something agleam by sunlight reflecting off the ground caught his eyes within the leaves. He knelt down and picked it up to find it was some strange looking mechanical contraption that fit in the palm of his hand. It had a lever on the side that could be turned over and over again with a cylinder shape object that had notches all around and what looked to be some sort of comb that barely touched the notches on the cylinder shape device. It appeared to be something like that of a music box, but not one he had ever seen or heard of. Maybe it once belonged inside of a music box. She must have dropped it when she fell, he thought as he put it in his pocket. At least I can make a trade with her when I catch her.

Even when the girl decided to risk looking over her shoulder, she saw Soujiro already within view and quickly gaining on her. She let out a cry as she tried to hasten her steps to keep ahead. When she decided to look again, he had his hand out about to grab her.

"No!" She screamed. She threw herself between some bushes and tripped in the midst before landing on her stomach on a main road. In the process, she had cut off a wagon being pulled by the two horses, and the sword flew from her grasp across the road. She screamed again when the horses leapt back on their hind legs, being as startled as she was. She tried standing to get out of the way, but fell short back on her rear in her frantic attempt to escape the hooves about to crush her. When all hope seemed lost, she felt a strong pull on the back of her gi as her rear was slid back just a few more inches just as the hooves struck the ground where she was. She looked up to see a very annoyed Soujiro, who, for some reason, decided to save her again, and she coward slightly under his stern gaze. His eyes were directed back to the horses who were far from being calmed as the man on the wagon yanked at the reins to keep them in control, but it was only further agitating the confused horses. Soujiro released the back of her gi and rushed in front of her as one of the horses reared on its hind legs about to take off. He reached up for the reins draped around the horse while trying to avoid its hooves kicking in the air. He grasped the reins of the stubborn horse and forced the horse down before immediately placing his palm on the nose of the horse to calm it. "Easy there," he stroked the soft nose of the horse. He wasn't much of a horse rider, but had some experience when he tended to Shishio's horse for him. "That's better." He patted the horse fondly. He finally turned his gaze to the perturbed man on the wagon. "Sorry about that," he smiled as he raised a friendly hand.

"No harm done. But I think your sword is getting away from you," the man pointed down the road where the girl could be seen making off with the sword. It was almost too easy for the stranger to put together what happen to Soujiro seeing his empty scabbard at his side and having been chasing her. She turned around once to meet Soujiro's ever indignant eyes upon her. Soujiro started to go after her. but reluctantly came to a stop. He only had to recently enter a rural village before he was somehow tracked by Cho. This girl didn't just randomly show up. Before Soujiro was no village, but a town and his heart was sinking at the sight of it. He had been doing everything he could to avoid such places because he didn't want to take any risks this time. He didn't even realize he had accidently traveled too close to a main road. It wasn't uncommon for thieves to linger near such main roads and prey on travelers passing through to get into town. The girl must have been attempting such a thing before she stumbled upon him… literally. He slumped his shoulders in dread at watching his only weapon headed into the one place he was trying to avoid.

"Isn't it illegal to carry such weapons?" The man asked.

"You'd think she would remember that," he muttered in disdain. Not only was she bringing his sword into such a town, but a sword without a cover on the blade. A sword with the scabbard drew enough attention. Soujiro turned to face the man and noted how well the man was dressed in expensive garments and being able to afford two strong horses to pull his wagon along. He was a merchant. What Soujiro particularly noticed was the straw hat he wore.

"You… wouldn't want to make a trade for that hat, would you?" Soujiro asked, hoping the merchant wouldn't think of the request as being too strange.

"My hat?" He touched the edge of his hat.

"You see –" he tried to come up with an explanation before the man interrupted.

"What do you want to trade it for?"

"Oh, um," Soujiro started patting down his gi and then his pockets where he found that strange, metal contraption the girl had dropped. He took it into his palm and contemplated if he should give it up already.

Before he was going to reveal it to the merchant, the man spoke up once more. "Tell you what, I'll give it to you. You saved and calmed the horses, saving my merchandise as well. It's the least I can do."

Soujiro released the music box back in his pocket and bowed his head in thanks. "Doumo arigatou gozaimasuI."

The man chuckled at Soujiro enthusiasm. "Easy there kid, it's just a hat. It can be easily replaced."

In truth, it took some burden off of Soujiro shoulders in hopes it would lower his risk at being recognized. With his lack of response to Aritomo, he couldn't be sure if it had been more widely broadcast the want of his capture.

"What's the name of that town?" he asked as the man passed him the hat.

"Gifu," the man replied. "Would you like a ride into town?"

Soujiro at first was going to decline the offer, but was quick to change his mind. He wanted to be able to run in, retrieve his sword and get out as fast as possible, but even that would draw unwanted attention. He had to find a way to blend in and still somehow retrieve a sword that was already going to be an eyesore. It would still be blending in if he rode in on a wagon and he'd get there more quickly than having to walk by foot. He accepted the man's offer.

Soujiro climbed on the bench beside the merchant and then off they were to the town of Gifu. Soujiro had no choice but to humor the man as he talked about his experience as a traveling merchant. The only thing Soujiro would really remember of the merchant was that he sold expansive dyes and that he claimed he retrieved them from overseas. He would acknowledge the man with an occasional nod and add a thought or two, but other than that, he mainly focused on the sight ahead.

Before them was the Nagara River and the town of Gifu just on the other side. The merchant directed the horses over a bridge that allowed safe passage across the wide river. Soujiro shifted uneasily in his seat watching the land open up before him. He had felt safe in the thick of the forest and now felt fully exposed as he entered into the open plains surrounding Gifu.

Once they found their way into the humble town, Soujiro didn't delay leaving the man's side. He thanked him one last time and they finally went their separate ways. The town of Gifu was bustling about very much like Kyoto, but had a far more rural feel to it with the plains being seen at all four corners of the town and the river flowing just behind it. It gave the bustling town a quaint feel.

"Now, where did that little thief go? That sword would have been quick to draw attention," he muttered as he shouldered through the crowd. "If she's as dense as she looks, she would have failed to hide it right away."

He pushed on through, ignoring the marketers trying to lure him in to buy something. He focused on trying to best anticipate where the girl might have gone as soon as she had entered. If she had any lick of sense about bringing the sword into such a place, she would have darted into less populated streets and hid the sword where only she could find it. But Soujiro was not counting on that possibility.

Just as he thought, he didn't have to travel too long before he heard that familiar, girlish scream just around the corner of the street from where he was. He picked up the pace as the locals started pushing against him having become attracted to what had caused such a scream. He pushed ahead of them and just as he finally managed to turn to the next street, the girl plowed into his legs nearly making him fall over again. She still held his sword and had a long cut running down her arm and bleeding profusely all over her sleeve, ground and upon his sword. She had, no doubt, fallen and hurt herself running around with such a weapon.

"You-" he started in an angry tone of voice.

"Help," she mewled.

Just as she spoke, two policemen pushed through the crowd on the opposite side from Soujiro. Before Soujiro could respond to her plea, she got up and hid behind him. So much for not drawing attention. He thought bitterly.

"Hey! Are you responsible for this girl?" One of the policemen questioned him.

"Uh," Soujiro stepped back, tempted to just run. He stumbled into the girl standing directly behind him. He looked down over his shoulder to see the fear, dread and regret in the girl's eyes. She deserves to be reprimanded for what she's done, right? He immediately rebuked himself for the thought. What am I saying? I'm a murderer on the run. She's just not very bright.

"Is that your sword she has?" The second policemen questioned, noting the empty scabbard at his side.

Soujiro looked around to see the surrounding people with their eyes all on him now. Too many witnesses. How am I going to get away without word being spread of my appearance here. Word would spread eventually that a young, lone samurai was seen in Gifu, especially if the policemen here wrote a record of it.

Just before he was going to deny knowing the girl, he quickly devised a plan to perhaps save himself. "Ha-hai," he uttered softly. "To both questions." The girl's expression peaked at his unexpected response. "You see, this sword here is our grandfather's. We were just on our way to have it… polished." He shook his head in shame at the sorry lie he was concocting.

"She's your sister?" The first policeman asked in a slightly surprised tone.

Soujiro hesitated and had to swallow his pride before he spoke again. "… hai." It was one of the stranger lies he told, but he had reason to go this route. If anyone ever did come looking for him here, they would certainly have to disregard this whole incident involving him if it were reported as two siblings seen with a sword and not a lone samurai. "We were… teasing each other and I guess it got a little out of hand. I lost sight of her and-"

"I see lying runs in the family," the policeman sneered.

"Excuse me?"

"This little miscreant has been caught stealing and going as far as breaking in restaurants to take food. Sometimes she walks in broad daylight and takes meals right off the table."

"And she just threatened us with that sword of yours," the other policeman added.

At that, Soujiro turned a cold gaze towards her, which she pretended to not notice.

"You understand we have to arrest you both and you'll be charged with a fine each. Your grandfather's or not, it's still illegal to carry a sword."

Soujiro continued to try reasoning with them. "No one was harmed but my sister, which I know were of her own actions. Let that be her lesson. Can't you leave me off with a warning?"

"We might be able to," the first policeman said. "But you still have to pay the fine you both each owe."

Soujiro was becoming short of exasperation and his patience was wearing thin. "I don't have the money."

"Then it looks like you'll both be spending a long time in confinement until you can pay what you owe." He abruptly grabbed at Soujiro's shoulder to take him in before Soujiro instinctively twisted out of his hold. "Why you little – " he attempted to grab him again before Soujiro fell upon his palms as he swung his leg out to trip the man. The man was thrown on his back.

"Wow!" The girl cheered.

Soujiro wasn't much of a fist fighter, but knew if he had to, he had confidence in his ability to ward off his opponents with his strong legs. He thought it best to refrain from using his sword if he could, so it would never be recorded he used one against them. He hoped avoiding using the sword, as well as claiming this girl as his sister would give him decent cover if anyone came along to question the incident. No one would hardly think the Teken acting in such a way.

Soujiro stood to face the second policeman only to find he had received backup from the attention Soujiro drew from resisting the first policeman. He was now faced with four more policemen, plus the original two. Soujiro didn't know what else to do but get in a street fighter's stance. He couldn't go to jail, that's for sure. They would eventually come to know of it and come for him to stain his hands with more blood.

"Surrender boy! There's no way you're getting out of this."

Soujiro said nothing in response, but his fighter stance never slacked in form.

"Have it your way. Get him!" The first policeman ordered.

Just before Soujiro was going to attack, the girl reached around him and grabbed at his wrist and yanked at it with surprising strength. "Come on!"

Soujiro thrust his leg out in time as he let her pull him around and struck the policeman about to attack him first. The man was thrown with his feet in the air as he was catapulted into two others that were charging in.

"Move!" The girl hollered as she shoved a spectator aside.

Soujiro had to do the same as he fought to keep up with her while she still pulled at his wrist. She looked up at Soujiro as their path cleared. "This way!"

As soon as they cleared the crowd and began running down the next street around the corner, Soujiro pried his wrist free from her grasp and snatched his sword back from her. The girl whirled around and watched as Soujiro swiftly sheathed the blade. He could run now, and leave her completely vulnerable. He could be long gone, out of reach of the town police within the next few minutes if he wanted to. He could leave her and not give it a second thought. But the thought hardly had crossed his mind at that point.

Instead, he promptly knelt down to her grasping her wounded arm around her sleeve. "It's going to do us no good to out run them when you're leaving a trail of blood." He looked over his shoulder to see the progress the police were making in fighting through the crowd. They hadn't even turned the corner yet. He looked around frantically trying to figure out how to stop her from bleeding everywhere.

"Are you going to leave?" She asked candidly.

Soujiro was startled by the stress in her voice and struggled to answer right away. Before he could come up with an answer, he heard the heavy footsteps of the policemen approaching and looked over his shoulder to see them nearing. What would Kenshin do? Wait, what am I thinking? Finally, he didn't know what else to do in that moment but wrench the sleeve tightly around her arm.

"Ow! That hurts!" She whined.

He took her other hand and made her hold the tightly wound sleeve to keep pressure on the cut and slow the bleeding. "Keep holding it like this-

"Look out!" She cried.

The first policeman that caught up grabbed at the scalp of Soujiro's hair and yanked him back. "You're under arrest, boy!"

His face twisted in pain as he latched his hands around the man's wrist as the policeman tried to drag him by his hair. He only allowed the policeman to drag him back so far until he was able to balance on his one leg as he faced the sky and swiftly raised his other leg, showing off his flexibility and adaptability as he struck the man in his face. Before the policeman realized what had happened, Soujiro was already following up on the attack by twisting on his balancing leg while still holding the man's wrist and used the momentum to twist and break the man's arm. The policeman let out a blood curdling scream before Soujiro finished his attack by stepping forward and thrust another kick into the man's stomach. He was struck with enough force, he was thrown back into the others attempting to lay their hands on Soujiro to take him in. He wasted no time and was already turned around to focus back on the girl, who's jaw was wide open at his fighting abilities.

"You're not keeping it tight!" He yelled in an irritable tone at her.

She had loosened her hold on her sleeve in her astonishment. "You're incredible!" She praised as he knelt back down to her. "Ow!" She yelled when he tightened the sleeve to make her hold again.

"Start running. I'll follow close behind and hold them off."

"Hai." She said as she started back in a run, as confident as ever in his ability to ward them off.

Soujiro was following closely with her and for a moment, he thought they were about to escape for good. If they kept up this pace without anymore interference, he could get away without having to rely on his skills of the sword or his other skills that earned him the name Teken.

Just when he felt he was finally getting ahead, two gunshots went off. The first one struck Soujiro's hat and knocked it from his head to the ground. He fell over his knee feeling the second bullet penetrate his side just below his ribs. His eyes were wide as he clutched the side of his waist feeling the familiar touch of blood gush in between his fingers. The bullet had only grazed him, but he had been shot at, nonetheless.

"Hey!" He heard the familiar shrill voice fill his ears. He focused his senses to see those dark, frightened eyes staring back into his own. "You're hurt," she cried.

Another shot was fired and the dirt beside Soujiro erupted in the air where the bullet had struck. "I told you to keep running," he yelled as he forced himself back up to his feet. He grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the wall of the closest building. He fell against the wall grasping his side and closed his eyes trying to calm himself before he resorted to more drastic measures. Baka, I shouldn't have attacked the policeman like that. I haven't just resisted them. I just broke that man's arm. Of course they are going to take these drastic measures to stop me. He was running out of options. He hadn't solemnly sworn like Kenshin to not kill, but even going far as to do such a thing would turn a lot of unwanted eyes back in his direction. He was trying to disappear. He had even tried blending in. Now, he was becoming desperate. His hand was resting on the hilt of his sword as he contemplated different means to end this chase. Even using the shukuchi or leaping off rooftops to quickly escape their view would draw too much unwanted attention if they saw him attempting it. Still, it would be a better option than to kill.

"Are you okay?" the girls eyes were wide with concern for him. "Are you just going to stand there? They're coming!"

"Just go. I'll take care of them," his hand slightly tugged at his sword.

"You're hurt. I'm not just going – "

"Go!"

"I don't have anywhere to go!"

The policeman that had first shot at them skidded to a stop when he found them cornered against the building wall. He turned the gun on Soujiro. "You resist anymore, I'll make sure to not miss again," he threatened. The other policemen were still catching up after Soujiro broke the man's arm and tossed him into the others chasing after him

Soujiro was being pushed to his limit, both by the girl's impertinence and being dragged into something that clearly had not been his fault. He had thought it would be easier to claim his sword back than to find another. He was now wishing he had just let it go. It wasn't worth all this trouble.

"Just leave us alone!" The girl got in front of Soujiro as she yelled defiantly.

Is she trying to protect me? He wondered and was amused. He was only a amused for a few seconds until the policeman directed his gun at her. The police would probably never have shot her, but it didn't stop Soujiro from acting impulsively as he tightened his hold on the hilt of the sword. At the sight of seeing Soujiro resisting and reaching for his weapon, he turned the gun back on him and fired.

"No!" The girl cried out in horror.

Soujiro was thrown back against the wall, his sword out in front of him. Somewhere between the time the gun was fired and before Soujiro's back struck the wall, he had drawn his sword. One hand held the hilt, and the other hand was raised on the flat side of the blade over his chest. A second later, the bullet could be heard dropping to the ground in front of Soujiro.

The policeman was dumbfounded as he lowered the gun. "Did you just block a bullet with a sword?"

Soujiro pretended to be just as surprised. "I guess I did," he smiled.

"I didn't even see you draw the sword. Only that you were about to."

"You bastard!" The girl suddenly screamed as she tossed a rock she had found on the ground towards him.

Again, her strength surprised Soujiro when the rock struck the man's mouth. He had to suppress a chuckle when the man ended up spitting out a bloody tooth. She clearly had experience with this sort of thing, be it a peach or rock.

"Come on!" She grabbed at his arm and began pulling him through the other end of the narrow street they were on.

Once she knew she got Soujiro to follow her, she did as he instructed before and clutched her sleeve and wrenched it tight to continue slowing the bleeding.

"Are you trying to lead me somewhere or have we just been going in random directions?" Soujiro questioned her.

She was having him cut between several clusters of homes before leading him back on a main street. "A little of both. We have to lose them first, don't we? Can't you actually use that sword of yours? That might help."

"You think I should kill them?" Soujiro questioned her in surprise.

"Well, no," she said. "Can't you use your sword without killing? Like knock them out or something?"

Maybe if I had a reverse blade like Kenshin. Even then, he was trying to avoid assaulting a police officer with his sword. So far, he merely used it to defend himself, but he never attacked with it.

"I know where we can go. We just have to lose them," she reminded him.

"You said earlier you didn't have anywhere to go. " He looked down towards her when she didn't respond and only saw the guilty expression on her face. He decided to let it go for now and check on the progress the police were making to reprimand them. They were still being chased but were once again, finally making it ahead of them. Since they were on a more crowded street, the police had to refrain from using guns to take him down. Wait, why are there that much less policemen chasing us? He had incapacitated at least one. He probably was taken by at least one other for help, but still…. Then, Soujiro realized too late what one other policeman had done to keep up. He rounded a corner of a business home and threw himself into Soujiro and tried pinning him to the ground. It was the same policeman that the girl had hurled the rock at and knocked the tooth out of. He had continued to cut between the buildings like the other two, but had kept at it until he was able to cut Soujiro off. He wouldn't have been able to take down the Teken so easily had he not been injured and being led by a child through a crowded street.

He first tried restraining Soujiro's arms, but couldn't get a good hold as Soujiro fought relentlessly to free himself. The policeman then clutched at the collar of his shirt to pull him up and threw a punch in an attempt to incapacitate him, at least until his backup arrived. Another crowd was forming around the fight, including someone pulling their wagon to a stop to make sense of what was going on and why his passage through had been blocked. Soujiro hardly noticed yet as the policeman continued to hold him down and thrust his knee into Soujiro's injured side to weaken him. Soujiro's body twisted in pain as he grunted out loud, his strength slowly leaving him. I shouldn't have tried to do it this way. This isn't like me to lose so easily.

His eyes opened when he heard that girl's shrill voice fill the air again.

"No! Stop it!" The girl had flew at their side and clawed at the policeman's jacket in an effort to free Soujiro. "Leave him alone!"

The man at that point had more reason to be more furious at her than Soujiro. He lashed out with his back hand slapping the side of her face and tossed her on the ground. In that moment, Soujiro's hand finally tightened into a fist seeing in that small window of opportunity where the policeman was distracted. Soujiro shot his first upwards, more in an uppercut motion and struck the man in the jaw. When the strike forced the policeman to finally release him, Soujiro forced himself to sit upright as he swung his fists in striking each side of the man's face. He finally got the policeman away from him when he sat back on his palms and thrust another kick into the man's face. It finally resulted into the man's unconsciousness before he spat out another tooth.

"That's enough! You're surrounded!" The police officer leading the original group yelled, as they fought their way through the crowd.

Soujiro had finally had it and had long regretted not doing this the easier way, despite the attention it may draw. He stood to his feet, still holding his injured side, but the fire in his eyes showed he was not about to give up.

"Stand down, boy! There's no way you're getting out of this!"

Soujiro looked beside him to see the girl slowly getting over her hands and knees. She was still in a daze. Soujiro suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her up at his side and thrust his foot into the ground. He could not use the shukuchi in his injured state and while carrying the girl, but he was still quick and practically disappeared for a second until they saw him leap upon the wagon that had parked to oversee the fight. From there, he leapt from the wagon and jumped towards the side of the closest building while the girl screamed at his side. He built enough momentum to run the few steps up the side of the building before leaping onto the roof. The moment his feet landed on the roof, however, his foot slipped off the edge from his lack of strength to be able to pull both the girl and his injured self in at a safer distance. Instantly, as if he had already predicted the outcome, he drew his sword and thrust it into the tiles of the roof, stopping his fall. His leg was over the edge, the other knelt before his sword he clutched so tightly to keep from falling. He took a moment to catch his breath. He looked over at the girl he had tucked under his other arm and saw she had passed out. He didn't know if it was her fear of heights that had done it or the speed he still managed to work up to that caused her unconsciousness. It had probably been a little bit of both. He pulled himself closer to his sword until he got his other leg over the safe side of the roof and slowly stood. He finally risked looking over his shoulder to see everyone in the crowd with their mouths agape, including the policemen at the stunt he just pulled.

"What are you waiting for? Get him!" The leading policeman yelled out.

The few other policemen exchanged looks before looking back at the leading officer.

"How?"

"Idiots! Shoot him!"

By the time they turned their attention back to the roof, Soujiro was gone from view. He had finally escaped, but at a price he had not want to pay.