There were four large men, as tall as Sanosuke, but bulkier than him. Sinewy muscles budged under their gis. Only one man wore western clothing. They crackled their knuckles as they chuckled about the sudden change of events. From experience, Kaoru knew a year ago she stood a good chance of facing each opponent and coming out with a fair amount of bruises and a couple of broken bones. But this time, she couldn't predict her outcome. Maybe she could take out two of the four men but she was going to either end up with many broken bones or be knocked out.

'I can't protect the both of us,' Kaoru mentally thought. 'Which means I lapsed in my year of training.'

It was true. Himura was the one who came last minute to her rescue. Under his protection, no one could physically touch her.

'Only he's not here.'

There were no flowery words or steely eyes to hide beneath long red bangs. She couldn't stand behind someone and offer words of support. Instead, the tables turned. She was the protector and Tsubame was the one who needed protecting. Only how was she going to battle four burly men with no escape routes?

Kaoru's hands tightened on her bokken as she switched into a defensive position. Her feet spread apart, planted firmly on the ground. She parted her hands until she could maneuver her bokken with great ease. Her eyes narrowed as she assessed the scene before her. The man with the western clothing seemed to be hovering back as if he was carefully watching everything; a flash of calculation glinting in his deadly eyes. Three men moved before him. Her eyes widened a fraction. That man must be their leader.

"Tsubame," she called to girl behind her.

"Y-ye-s," the frightened girl answered with a shaky voice.

"No matter what happens, I need you to stay behind me," she admonished. "And if I'm incapable of fighting these men, run to the dojo."

"Y-e-ss…"

Kaoru narrowed her gaze. She hoped with all her heart that Isao returned from wherever he went and he would protect the innocent waitress.

Her father's voice revved in her head. His words, for some reason, were a reminder of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu's meaning.

"I want to beat people. I want to be able to defend myself because other girls can't do that!" A younger version of an enthusiastic Kaoru cheered in the dojo yard. Her father had watched with careful eyes as she practiced her katas.

"Kaoru," her father said with infinite patience born from training so many eager students. "The Kamiya Kasshin Ryu is not a sword style to use for selfish means. It's a sword style to protect those who can't protect themselves."

"Yeah, but am I not protecting myself too?" Kaoru stopped her bokken in mid strike and glanced at her father. He sat cross-legged on the porch as his eyes were shut. A gust of wind passed through the air, blowing at her long hair. She swiped the heavy and dark locks away from her sweaty face.

"The Kamiya Kasshin Ryu does protect you as a sword wielder but your strength comes from those who you are trying to protect."

"Are you sure about that? Doesn't the strength come from ourselves because we are fighting for our lives?"

"No," her father said. Kaoru blinked at him. "The moment you find you are fighting for yourself, your opponent has already won the battle."

"What do you mean?" Kaoru dropped her wooden sword on the ground. It bounced before it rolled and lay uselessly at her feet.

He sighed. "The moment you start fighting for yourself, you have given into the monster that wants to take a life."

"I still don't get it, dad."

"When you fight to win base on your needs, you forget that all life is precious. What is the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu's motto?"

"To protect life."

"Your opponent's life matter as well. But if you desperately have to beat him or her, it means you will kill him or her."

Kaoru's eyes widened. She ran to her dad and dropped on her knees before him. "No! I don't want to kill anyone!"

"You won't kill anyone, my little Kaoru," her father comforted her. He brushed a hand through her hair before he affectionately patted her head. "As long as you remember that the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu protects those who needs it and your opponent from death, you will use the swordsman style the right way."

Her father's style was meant to protect all life. He had trained her to endure pain inflicted by opponents while she restrained her strength and energy to hurt her enemies without taking their lives. The vital points were their elbows, knees, private area, the sides of their neck, their wrists, and their ankles. Without proper functioning of the joints, a person temporarily loses the advantage of the fight.

Kaoru inhaled a breath. The muscles in her body relaxed as the grip on her bokken loosened. Her mind was clearer. She let her breath go. Her eyes drifted shut as a slow smile spread across her lips. Kaoru might play at being reckless, instinctive, and moral but her placid state and her stance reveal the truth.

Kaoru could fight at whatever was the cost.

Two male occupants were to share one room in the inn while the female occupant had her own room. It was only right that the female had private space for many reasons but one of the most important reasons had to do with what the foxy woman would do to the men while they were sleeping.

An angry face with a bokken raised in the air caused Kenshin to shiver. "Oro," he muttered to himself as the image left as fast it popped into his mind.

Miss Kaoru would be very unhappy indeed, only he couldn't help but wonder why he thought of her at a time like this. It was considered inappropriate because for a male to think of a female at night led him to think of some rather….

Kenshin shook his head. He didn't think of Miss Kaoru beyond someone who was his ally and someone to protect. Besides, he couldn't allow himself the luxury of getting too close to anyone. Everyone around him was either severely hurt or wounded up dead. He couldn't allow such a fate to happen to Miss Kaoru. She was too innocent and too sweet besides her fighting spirit. He could never forgive himself if he returned to path of bloodshed while she was with him.

No, her ideals were to remain his motivation, his drive to continue to walk the path of a wanderer. He would protect her from everyone, including himself.

And again, he had to wonder why he thought of her. Silently, he got to his feet and walked toward the shoji. He opened it with careful hands so as not to wake the snoring Sanosuke on his futon from the other side of the room. A tepid breeze made it's way into the room but he didn't mind the sudden assault against his exposed skin. Instead, he tilted his head to the sky and watched as the moon glowed eerily amongst the clouds.

"Kenshin," he could almost hear Kaoru's voice calling out to him as clearly as Sano's snores. He closed his eyes as he leaned against the side of the shoji's frame. He put his hands into his gi.

"Kenshin," the voice said again but from a different place. A young woman with long black hair tied in high ponytail glanced at him over her shoulder. A bright smile greeted him. Her blue eyes sparkled with mirth. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asked. She twirled around in a circle and Kenshin almost forgot to breathe. The royal blue kimono with butterflies accentuated her eyes. It also brought out the clear curves that Kenshin preferred to hide under bulky clothes like the gi and hakama. The black obi tied at her waist reminded him how small Miss Kaoru was compared to him. How fragile she was.

"Ahh… It is beautiful, Miss Kaoru," he said lightly.

Her eyes shined brighter than the stars in the night sky. Her smiled widened even more as she ran to him. All of all sudden, she tripped over the long hem of her kimono and was about to fall on the ground but Kenshin used his god like speed to get to her. He gently but firmly grabbed at her forearms. But he was unprepared for what her closeness did to his senses. Her face pressed against his throat. He could feel the softness of her lips against the side of his neck.

He trembled as he stepped back and forced a pleasant smile on his lips. The look in her eyes almost made him groan.

'No, don't give in. This unworthy one does not deserve her,' he reminded himself.

And before he knew what he was doing, he turned away from her. He showed her his back, but he didn't miss how her smile dimmed or how the light faded from her eyes. He cursed himself for bringing sadness into her life and how because of him she could never have the chance to live a normal life. Not when enemies were constantly searching for him due to his bloody past.

'She deserves so much better than me,' he thought.

Which brought him out of his daze. Clearly in front of him, he saw another image of Kaoru wearing a gi and hakama. Her hair was tied in its usual high ponytail. Only this time she was wielding a bokken. Fire flashed in her blue eyes. She was in a stance evidently used for fighting.

'No! Miss Kaoru should never have to fight against other people,' he denied. 'She should be happy and safe at home.'

Then why did he feel dread building in his stomach? Why was he only thinking of her tonight?

'Could she be in trouble?' His instincts never failed him when something was wrong. Apparently, his instincts were on high alert about Kaoru. Maybe it was a better idea if he could get word to her without notifying his whereabouts.

Nodding his head at the idea of writing a letter, he pulled his hands from his gi and made his way back to the room he shared with Sanosuke to get some writing utensils. He was going to write her a letter and have it sent to the police station in Tokyo. Saito was back and he could contact Kaoru. It was the least Saito could do since he was working for the police. With his mindset, Kenshin focused on his task while he tried his best not to worry about a certain kendo teacher he left in Tokyo.

Yahiko stopped in his tracks as he bent over to catch his breath. He had been running around the back streets of Tokyo in search of Tsubame. The girl was obviously quick enough to evade many pedestrians. Whenever he asked someone if they saw a young girl with short hair pass by them, he received many baffled looks. The ones who saw the girl of his description led him on a wild goose chase. Clearly, he didn't know where to find her and he just had the urge to stop off at the Kamiya dojo to see if she was there.

Maybe Tsubame visited Kaoru to check in on her. Since he was kicked out earlier, Tsubame and Tae were the only ones whom the kendo teacher would talk too without getting upset. But then again could he blame his teacher for not getting upset at him? He was in the room when Saito requested for Kenshin's help and he was just a young boy.

Shaking his head, he straightened to his full height. He turned the corner to see the familiar fence of the dojo. On the other side of the fence, Kaoru and Tsubame were probably sitting down on the veranda and were having their late cups of tea or so Yahiko hoped. He didn't want to think of either of them getting into trouble. At least Kaoru was too depressed to get out of the dojo and go wandering by herself in the dark alleyways of Tokyo. Who knew what perils lay in the dark?

He strolled to the main dojo gates that had been his home for quite sometime and he raised a closed fist to tap on the wooden door. For some reason, his fist began to shake and he found himself pausing. Maybe right now was not the right time, but he ran all around Tokyo in search of Tsubame.

"What the hell? What do I have to lose?" he asked himself before he banged heavily on the wooden door. There was an edge of eerie silence to the dojo. He squinted his eyes to get a better view of his home, when he realized he didn't see any of the lamps on. Perhaps Tsubame had stayed the night and they were sleeping.

He banged on the dojo doors again, hoping to wake someone up. He didn't care if Kaoru got mad at him again, as long as she and Tsubame were okay. He tried again but no one answered the gates.

He kicked one of the dojo doors with his foot when it suddenly opened. He was greeted with a dreadful sight. There was a hunched over figure on the floor. Short tangled hair covered a pale face. The kimono looked rumpled and dirty. He heard sobs as he approached the figure, thinking Kaoru was still crying.

"Kaoru," he called out. The figure stopped crying and lifted her head. Automatically, he saw shiny tears spilling down pale cheeks. The person stood up and ran to him. She clutched at his gi and she pressed her wet face to his chest.

"I couldn't stop them," she sobbed.

"Tsubame," he said as it dawned on him that he found the main person he was looking for. He raised his head to glance around the dojo and he noticed there were no lamps lit to notify that Kaoru was aware of Tsuabme's presence.

"I tried to stop them," the distraught girl whispered through her tears. "But… weak…."

And then her words became incoherent. Wariness started bubbling in Yahiko's chest. "Where's Kaoru?" he asked her. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away from him so he could look into her eyes. "What happened to Kaoru?"

Tsubame shook her head. Her short, stringy hair waved crazily in her face. At first, he couldn't hear her words but then the words he did hear caused him to still. "I don't know."

I greatly apologize for the long overdue update. I have no excuses since I've been updating in between the long periods on other stories; therefore, I won't give a date for the next update. I'm so sorry. *Blushes and dodges a lot things being thrown at her.* I hope this chapter was able to entertain you until the next chapter. Also, thank you so much to the readers for reading and leaving a review. Please tell me what you think and I will try my best to respond to your review.