It was some time later when Hiko heard the doorbell ring. He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there silently in the kitchen, the feeling of numbness still strong within him. He wondered who would be calling as he slowly rose from his chair. He made his way down the hall, halfheartedly reaching for the door. He was surprised, upon opening it, to find Sano and Megumi standing there.

"Hey Hiko!" greeted Sano with a large grin.

"Sano," hissed Megumi. "Show some respect."

"Why?" retorted Sano. "We're all friends here."

Megumi was about to respond but Hiko interrupted her. "What're you two doing here?" he asked, pushing the screen door open so they weren't talking through it.

"Well," answered Megumi, turning her attention away from Sano. "Sir Ken wasn't at school today. We were worried, we came to see if everything was alright."

"Sir Ken?" repeated Hiko incredulously. He couldn't help the tone of surprise in his voice.

"Fox ears here sees Kenshin as her knight in shining armour," answered Sano. Megumi's face turned red as she struck him over the head. Neither noticed the twitch in Hiko's expression at the redhead's name.

"Watch it rooster head," she growled, fist still raised.

"It's true though," he pointed out, rubbing the blow that had been dealt to him. "You're alwaysgoingon Sir Ken th-"

Whack, whack, WHACK!

Hiko stared dumbly at where Sano lay, three new lumps rising from his skull. Megumi glared, standing menacingly over Sano, her eyes daring him to move. Hiko swallowed nervously, he knew better then to cross the wrath of a woman. "Kenshin… uh, caught a cold. He's been in bed all day," he informed them. He was surprised how calm his voice was, telling nothing of the conflict that had occurred earlier.

"That must be some cold," commented Megumi, eyes still watching Sano warily. "Sir Ken doesn't strike me as the type to get sick a lot."

"No, he isn't," answered Hiko quietly. "He… can't stand being cooped up for too long in one place."

"When do you think he'll be back at school?" she inquired.

Hiko hesitated before giving a quick shrug. "Not for a while."

A frown crossed her face. "Is it really that bad?"

"No," answered Hiko truthfully.

"I have doctor's training if you want me to take a look at him."

"No, no thanks. I… I just think it's best to let him rest for the time being, sorry."

"That's alright," replied Megumi. "I hope he gets well soon. Tell him we dropped by, alright?" Hiko nodded, saying farewell to them before closing the door. She turned her attention back to Sano. "Will you get up already you lazy rooster head."

He scowled at her from where he lay. "You don't have to be so bossy fox ears," he complained. She glowered at him, raising her fist. He was on his feet in an instant, diving off the porch and out of her reach. "Jou-chan isn't going to be happy about this," commented Sano, distracting her from trying to hit him. "Maybe she can drop by later to see him."

"Something's up," muttered Megumi as she slowly followed after him, her plans to hit him rescheduled for a later date.

"Oh really?" commented Sano with disbelief.

She nodded. "Call it a women's intuition."

"Intuition? My gambling senses weren't picking up anything," teased Sano, a goofy smile on his face.

She decided against pointing out the fact that his 'gambling sense', as he called it, hadn't won him a penny. "I mean it rooster head," she glowered.

He immediately cringed, fearful of another blow. "Exactly what do you think is up then?" he asked hesitantly.

She thought about it for a moment. "It's something my doctor training is picking up," she said after a while.

Sano cocked an eyebrow. "So it's your doctor intuition going off?" Megumi nodded her head. "So what are they telling you almighty doctor of the fox ears?"

"Are you making fun of me?" she demanded a scowl on her face.

"I'm just asking," he replied with a slight nervous edge. He took a step back fearful of her wrath.

"Right…" she commented, regarding him suspiciously for a moment. "Well I can't exactly put my finger on it but, Hiko seemed a little… off."

"Off? How so, he seemed fine to me."

"He seemed rattled about something."

A silence fell over them, as a cold breeze whipped passed. "We should go, Jou-chan's waiting for us," Sano told her after a moment.

"Right," she nodded still lost in deep thought.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kaoru smiled as Sano and Megumi entered the hospital room. "Where's Kenshin?" she asked, noticing the redhead wasn't with them. She tried, unsuccessfully, to hide the feeling of disappointment she felt. A small backpack lay on the bed beside her, she'd been discharged a few minutes ago and was looking forwards to getting out of there.

"He wasn't feeling well," answered Megumi.

"Out in the rain too long yesterday," supplied Sano. "He was really soakedwhenIfoundhim."

Kaoru was silent staring down at her bag. "I see…" She didn't sound entirely convinced.

"Don't get so down," Megumi said, coming up beside her friend. "He'll be back on his feet in no time." She quickly shot Sano a glare, daring him to disagree. He took a step back, mouth clamped firmly shut.

Kaoru was silent as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "He isn't… mad is he?" She glanced up at them, guilt filling her sapphire eyes. "About… yesterday?"

"Why would he be?" asked Sano, coming up beside her. "Come on Jou-chan, this is Kenshin we're talking about. He has no reason to be mad at you."

Kaoru didn't look at him. Her hands sat in her lap twisting nervously at each other. "Are you sure? I mean… after what happened… he said…" she trailed off, biting her lip.

"What did he say?" asked Sano. She hesitated not speaking. "Jou-chan don't you start keeping secrets as well."

"I think," she bean slowly, "he's planning on going against the Juppongatanna… I don't know for sure though. He didn't say it but… he swore he wouldn't let them hurt me again." Her cheeks turned slightly pink at that. "I asked him if he was going to try and stop them and… he wouldn't say anything."

The room went still for a moment. "What do we do?" asked Megumi, breaking the quiet.

"We have to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," answered Sano. "My friend Katsu is looking around for information about where the Juppongatanna head quarters are. But if Kenshin is going after them, then he must know where he can find them."

"You're talking about spying on Sir Ken," snapped Megumi. "You don't even know for sure if he knows where they're located."

"It's a safe bet," he retorted.

"That's disgusting Sano," she barked, eyes flashing with anger. "How can you even think of doing that to him?"

"Would you prefer he goes toddling off on his own?" asked Sano seriously. "Where we'll have no idea, no clue, as to where he is. Shishio has a grudge against Kenshin and the guy's not afraid to throw the full force of the Juppongatanna against our friend, even if that means collateral damage in the process."

"Collateral?"

"Us," answered Kaoru. She took a deep breath. "I admit I don't like the fact that Kenshin might go wandering off on his own but how can you expect him to trust us when we don't even trust him?"

"This isn't a matter of trust Jou-chan," retorted Sano. "Kenshin doesn't feel any obligation to tell us anything. He keeps a lot of it to himself, at the moment he has the most information. He knows how Shishio's mind works- he said so himself. Knowing that goofy redhead he wouldn't hesitate to put himself into danger to protect us all on his own." Silence followed after that. The only noise was the hum from the fluorescent light above them.

"So what does that leave us with?" Megumi questioned.

Kaoru's voice was soft as she answered. "Protected or collateral."

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Wha'cha waiting for? Go! Onto the next chapter with you! (grin)