The day of Jinchu had arrived.

Enishi looked across the balcony at the sunrise with a bright smile.

…..Neechan, just a while more….

He smiled at the reflection of his sister in his mind. That's right, his sister was always with him, now, always and forever. The Hitokiri Battousai would pay for what he did.

...

"Natsuo dono, where is Tomoe?" Kenshin asked. He had already searched the inn, trying to locate Tomoe. He was certain he saw her that morning when he reported to work in the inn. There was something he needed to tell her, he did not have the courage to tell her about the Jinchu the previous time. Yet, there was no time to waste. He needed to get back to Kamiya Kasshin dojo before midafternoon to be with his companions in the dojo.

"Tomoe went out to deliver something for my mother," answered Natsuo, looking up from the basin as she wiped the bowls dry with a cloth.

"When will she be back?"

"Let's see, it would probably just before dinner time. The place is rather far. Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing,"Kenshin said as he calculated the time he was going to leave the inn and get back to the dojo. It was unlikely Tomoe would be back in time to see him. He pursed his lips and frowned, he should have informed her about the Jinchu in the morning. He mentally whacked his head. "Natsuo dono, I have a favour to ask."

…...

Tomoe was on her way back to the inn when she saw the sky lit up by fireworks in a distance. She stopped and looked at the fireworks in awe. She wondered if there was any special event going on in town. The town council would usually inform the residents about such firework displays. As soon as the fireworks diminished, the sky was clear again.

That is rather odd.

Normally, the firework displays would take about five minutes, yet this time it was only a few seconds. Tomoe shrugged her shoulder and continued her journey back to the inn with the paper lantern in her hand, guiding her.

"What took you so long?" Natsuo chided as she greeted Tomoe when she finally reached the inn.

"Eh? Did anything happen?" Tomoe asked, bending down to take off her shoes.

"Don't bother taking your shoes off," Natsuo said hurriedly and she explained, "Himura san said he wanted you to go to Kamiya Kasshin dojo immediately. He did not state the reason but the matter is very important."

"But-"

"I already told my mother. Now, get going," Natsuo said as she pushed Tomoe's back gently out of the main door of the inn. She paused and took out a piece of paper, "Ah, wait, the dojo is situated across the river. You will have to pass two streets and turn left before walking straight to the dojo. Here, I drew a map just in case. Please be careful."

Before Tomoe could mumble a small thank-you, Natsuo urged her once again to walk quickly to the dojo.

…...

"If the heavens refuse to dole out justice, punishment will come from my own hand. That is the Jinchu!" Enishi announced as he slashed his sword at Kenshin, countering the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu with his own Zetsugi.

Kenshin slide back from the impact but stood on both feet. Kenshin eyed Enishi every moment, Enishi had moved with the lethal grace of a leopard and his Wattojutsu techniques was unique and aggressive.

Not wasting another moment, Enishi raised his swords for his next attack while Kenshin prepared to counter it.

Tomoe reached the Kamiya Kasshin dojo panting and gasping for air to breath. She staggered into the already opened door and was surprised at the scene that greeted her. The roofs were crumpled and the fusama doors of the dojo were torn and there were debris everywhere. There were a group of people standing among the fallen debris and their attention were engaged in the fighting that was taking place. Her eyes immediately recognized one the man in the fight. She heard the clash of the two swords before the two men stopped moving, both holding their swords in their ready stance, waiting for the other's next move.

She did not know the reason why she was invited to the dojo. She definitely did not expect a fight to take place, not much that one of the opponents was actually the man who asked her to come. Kenshin's back was facing her, while his opponent, a young man with white hair was standing opposite him. She could not differentiate who was the one who initiated the fight but she knew they had to put an end to the dispute before anything worse happened.

Not caring about her safety, she stepped a few steps closer to the scene of the fight. Tomoe took a deep breath to calm her palpitating heart before she spoke louder than usual, "Himura san! Good evening."

Her voice caught the orange-red hair man attention and he turned his head back slightly to look at her. He beamed, "Tomoe, you came."

Tomoe gave him a small nod, "Stop this fight now. You owe me an explanation as to why i am supposed to come here."

...

"Tomoe? That woman is Kenshin's wife?" Megumi exclaimed as the group stared at the new comer in disbelief. They were told she was dead.

"So that is Tomoe?" Kaoru muttered as she felt a wealth of emotions.

"What a beautiful woman," Sanosuke said and placed a hand under his chin. "Wait…if she is Tomoe. Kenshin mentioned she was older than him by two years old. How old is she this year?"

"Thirty," Saito answered nonchantly as he puffed the smoke out of his mouth, one hand holding on to a cigarette while the other was on his hip.

"You are joking right?" Sanosuke gasped.

"She looks so much younger."

"Unbelievable," Yahiko exclaimed as he looked at the youthful face of Kenshin's wife.

Before Kenshin could start his explanation, the voice of Enishi cut him off, "Tomoe?"

Enishi gazed at the woman with widened eyes. He was at a sense of loss; he did not know how to react to this situation. It was impossible. How could his sister be still alive. He growled and shouted, "What is this? Another trick of yours, Battousai?"

Kenshin turned his head back to look at Enishi and said, "Enishi, she is Yukishiro Tomoe."

"Lies," Enishi retorted as he glared at Kenshin with pure hatred. How could he try to trick him with this low tactic.

At the sound of his brother's name, Tomoe focused her attention to the white haired man. The man was supposed to be her younger brother. He certainly did not look anything like what she expected. She vaguely remembered the Jinchu Kenshin mentioned the other day. She was starting to understand what was happening in the dojo.

"Enishi, this one knows it is hard for you to believe. But she is really Tomoe. She bears the scar."

"If it is true, then you, show it to me," Enishi said cooly as he turned his gaze to the woman. He was confident this woman was not his sister. His sister was dead. She was murdered by hitokiri battousai.

At that suggestion, Tomoe grew livid and glared at the younger man, "Never! You pervert!"

"If it is indeed true, you would not be afraid to show it to me, "said Enishi as he smirked. He believed he was winning this game. This woman may look like his sister but he would not fall for Battousai's trick. She did not even recognize him, her own little brother.

Tomoe was boiling with cool anger. She clenched her fist to control herself from lashing out. She could not believe this strange young man was her younger brother. He was worse than Himura. Maybe Himura got it all wrong. Maybe she was not the Tomoe he believed to be after all.

Kenshin gripped onto his katana tightly, there was no way Enishi was going to believe Tomoe was indeed alive, standing right in front of him. It did not do any help that Tomoe could not remember anything about her past and she may not accept that Enishi was indeed her brother. He knew he was losing time. There was only one way to save Enishi from drowning into madness. To show Enishi that she was indeed Tomoe, his wife, Enishi's sister, their loved one.

"Battousai!" Suddenly, the voice of Kujiranami Hyōgo roared in the dojo while his footsteps echoed and shook the ground of the dojo. Hyogo came crashing through the debris and aiming his grip at Kenshin, not caring about the fact that Tomoe was standing right between him and Kenshin.

"Danger!" Kenshin shouted as he leaped forward and grabbed Tomoe by her waist, pushing her out of the way, just in time, before they landed on the uneven ground, with Kenshin's laying below her.

At the same time, Enishi slashed his sword at Hyogo unexpectedly, sending whirling winds of attack on the huge man, causing the huge man to fall unconscious on the ground with a loud thud. Enishi glanced at Hyogo in disgust. Just a few moments ago, he saw the scene that his sister was slashed at the back. That was when he lost control. He was trying to save the woman. He breathed hard to calm down his shivering body and glanced at the woman. She was in one piece. Other than her disarranged kimono as her obi loosened, she was safe. The kimono was slid back slightly, exposing some length of her back. That was….

Tomoe felt her breath knocked out and groaned as she tried to stand up. She froze as she realized she was lying on Kenshin and quickly got off him. "Tha-nk you, are you alright?" she mumbled, trying hard to stop herself from blushing as she pulled the collars of her kimono together, so as to wear it properly.

Kenshin sat up beside her and brushed off the dust on his back, "Do not worry, this one is not hurt." After he made sure Tomoe was unhurt, his eyes glanced to find Hyogo's unconscious body and Enishi stupefied look.

"Nee-chan?" Enishi whispered, his voice sounded like a lost child. He stared at the ghastly image that stood in front of him. No, the image was not a transparent form of his sister that he saw in his dreams, but a real living human being. His sister was alive. The image of the scar on her back was vivid in his mind. He wondered if he was starting to go insane or sane again.

He looked on as his sister stood up with the man, whom he blamed for all of his misery. Gazing closely the woman who stood a few feet in front of him, he caught the sight of those black jet eyes watching him with a confused expression.

Why did the kami play games on him? Why did his sister not recognize him? Why did she stand beside the man who stole away her happiness? Did she not love her younger brother anymore? Was he so easily forgotten? Why did he have to suffer so much? What was he really fighting for? If Tomoe was indeed alive, then what was he training for the past years? What was his plan for revenge for? It was meaningless now. His hatred and his anger towards the killer were meaningless. If only he had stayed behind in Otsu….. If only…..

It was all too much to take, too much to handle. Overwhelmed by the painful truth, Enishi kneeled out the ground and let out an anguish howl.

Darn it. Darn them all. He looked at the ground as tears began to fall down his cheeks rapidly "Why? Nee-chan. Do you not remember me?"

He tried to control his tears from falling. He would not cry. He would not cry in front of people. His body continued to shudder but tensed when he felt a pair of soft and gentle arms wrapped around him, trapping him in a loving embrace that he longed for.

"I may not be able to remember now. But I will try. So please don't cry," Tomoe said.

At her gentle words, Enishi could not help but buried his face into her kimono and cried like a child he used to. She hugged him tightly and touched his splashed white hair.

"I promise I will remember one day, so please don't cry. Everything is alright now." She said in a soothing voice, trying her best to comfort this lost soul. Even though she said not to cry, tears began to flow down her eyes as well. The sight of her brother's wretched form gave her heartache. Enishi's hair must have turned snow white from the stress and grief of losing her.

This is the way it should be. So please don't cry.

"Tomoe…" Kenshin whispered as his eyes grew gentle upon the scene.

"I am sorry, nee-chan,"Enishi choke out in between sobs, "All I wanted was to keep you safe. All I wanted..."

"Shh…I know. Everything is alright now."

"Just don't leave me again…."

"I won't leave you…..younger brother," Tomoe said as she kept a tight hold on her brother, continuing to try to soothe him.

"…Nee….chan…." Enishi continued to cry, though more out of relief than anything else. All that mattered was that his sister was with him now, always and forever.