Chapter 9: Missing!

Starlite: Can you do anything besides cause trouble?

Ryuichi: Yes.

Starlite: What then?

Ryuichi: I'm too shy to tell you. He he he!

Starlite: Anyway, I don't own RK or the characters, but I do own Ryuichi and her family and friends that you wouldn't actually see in the anime.

Ryuichi: Duh!

Starlite: Grrrr.....

...............................

"So Ryuichi, where have you been these four long years." asked an older man.

"Many places. How are things going for you, Tatsumi?"

"I've been better, but I came back in town to ask you a favor. I need you to kill somebody for me."

"I was hoping you would say that. Heh heh. This vacation was boring me."

"You seem different than you were then, something is missing. You broke one of your vows didn't you?"

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice. Yes sir, I broke a few vows."

"How many? Which ones?"

"Why does it matter to you?! You got your assassin and you should be happy! Tell me where he lives so I can get him and get on with my life."

"I know just what vows you broke. You fell in love, got married, and lost your virginity. I can read you like a book, my daughter."

"Ugh, you scare me sometimes. Anyway, tell me now before I get angry!"

...................................

At the Himura Dojo

"That's it! I've waited too long on her! I'm going to go find her!" yelled Sanosuke.

"That might not be such a good idea. You don't know how she might have been brainwashed," said Kenshin. "Besides, she is a big girl. She can take care of herself."

"Yes, but there are a bunch of weirdos in Japan and I don't want the 'Til death do us part' section of my vows to be fulfilled just yet!"

"Sano, I don't think you are thinking clearly..."

"Kenshin, you are the one who isn't thinking! You would do the same thing for Jou-chan or Kenji! It's the same thing! Ryuichi is my wife and I will protect her 'til the day that I die! She's all I've got!"

"Sano..."

"Goodbye!"

...............................

In the woods

"It's very quiet here. I wonder if I am going in the right direction. Did he even give me the right directions? Hmmmm...This will not do. I need noise or some sort of action," said Ryuichi as she walked slowly through the forest. "He wouldn't even tell me the name of the guy I'm gonna kill! The bastard probably has some sort of plot against me..."

WHOOSH!!!

Suddenly, a sword buzzed by her ear, plunging into a nearby tree.

"So it is you that Tatsumi wanted me to kill. Quite interesting how things turned out. How is your brother? I haven't talked to him in a year or so. I hope you are a better swordsman than him, Torii Yukimoto."

"It's a real shame. You would have made such a nice sister-in-law too. Then again, I don't know what Toba saw in you. I never understood my brother."

"Quit stalling and draw your sword." said Ryuichi who again had the eyes of an assassin.

"I knew this would happen. This argument between dojos ends with you and me, Ryuichi. You die today!"

As she gracefully drew her sword, Torii appeared behind her about to attack her from behind. Luckily she quickly turned around or the fight would have been ended very soon. She caught his hand that held his sword, but carelessly forgot about his other hand. Using the one that was free, he grabbed his sheath and drove it into Ryuichi's right cheek.

She put her hand to the cheek that was now throbbing uncontrollably and again grabbed her sword. This time she was the one who appeared behind him and slashed at him, hitting his arm and side. He fell to the ground but shortly got back up as if nothing happened.

"It'll take more than that to kill me, Ryuichi."

"Not much. I still have lots of energy left." She slurred through her broken jaw.

She ran and sparks flew as the two rivals clashed. He was struggling to hold her back, so he decided to let her force him back. If his sword was free he could attack her again. He let her push him back, but his plan back fired. She shoved him back hard and he lost his balance and she smashed his head between her sword and her sheath. Bleeding greatly from the side of his head, Torii fell. He watched as his own blood spilled down the rest of his body. If he wasn't dying it wouldn't be so bad. It was very warm and relaxing and reminded him of summertime. Ryuichi approached him with caution, but when she realized he was down for the count she walked more swiftly smirking.

"You haven't improved since you were 16, I do believe even you're brother has surpassed you. If I were your sensei I would be ashamed..."

"You don't have the right to talk about my sensei! He would be very proud of what I have accomplished and wouldn't care if I lost a few battles." yelled Torii as the usual fire returned to his eyes, "This battle isn't over yet! I finish it now!"

Slightly confused about what he meant, Ryuichi though about it for a minute, but before she knew what happened Torii had raised up quickly enough to force his sword through her side and fall back down again. Ryuichi just stood there kind of stunned by the trick that would have been easy to evade if she had been paying attention. She reached for her lower back, checking to see if the blade had gone completely through her. Sure enough, when she found the area there was protrusion of sword about two inches long and she needed to get it out of there. She pushed on the tip of it and pulled with the handle until it was removed from her side. As she tossed away the blade that pierced her side, but before she got her bearings again, she coughed up a large amount of blood.

"Ok, you are defiantly going to die within the next five minutes now."

"Fine, kill me, but either way without medical attention you aren't going to survive the night."

"Shut up!" yelled Ryuichi as she stabbed her fallen enemy in the forehead with her weapon. He died on contact.

"Now to get out of this wretched place without bleeding to death." said Ryuichi as she slowly made her way out of the forest.

...................................

Tatsumi's House

"I wonder how Ryuichi is doing. I hope you don't mind me sending her to kill your brother." smirked Tatsumi.

"Of course I don't mind! I've hated my brother ever since we were children and I like Ryuichi much more." laughed Toba who was calmly sipping his tea.

"Oh, I sense some jealousy in your voice. I do believe you are jealous of her new husband. Heh heh! You are mad because he got the thing that you wanted most in life. Shame on you, Toba!"

"That is a load of bull! You need to stop assuming things!" blushed Toba, "As if you didn't think about her like that. She would walk around in skimpy outfits most of the time, who wouldn't?!"

"I did not! She was my adopted daughter!"

"Yes, but you aren't blood relations. Although you had the papers there that said she was your daughter, it was only natural for you to lust after her. Everybody in your dojo did!"

"Can we please change the subject..." replied Tatsumi weakly.

Suddenly the door slid open and revealed a very angry Sanosuke. He was breathing heavily and had sweat dripping from his long bangs, it looked like he ran the whole way.

"Where the hell is my wife, Tatsumi Yamatara?!" he yelled.

"I don't know what you are talking about." he replied smugly.

"You know damn well where she is! Or should I mention to the masses that you lusted after your married, adopted daughter!" Sanosuke shot back.

"But how did you?!?!"

"I heard your whole conversation. Every word."

"Ugh...I can explain!"

"Just tell me where you sent her and I won't have to be a bad guy."

"I sent her in the woods beside this house to kill Toba's brother. Whether she or he is still alive is questionable. They are both quite good."

"Cut the chit-chat and answer this last question. Was she still in a decent outfit?"

"Yes."

"Ok, gotta go, bye!" said Sanosuke as he ran out the door.

"Poor boy...Ryuichi's cast her spell on him too."

"Yeah, and he was dumb enough to propose to her." yawned Toba.

...................................

In the woods

After walking for hours, Ryuichi collapsed by a nearby rice field from lack of blood. She was still coughing it up and wondered if anyone would ever find her in this place. Luckily she had collapsed in the right place at the right time because an older couple saw her fall from their porch.

"What do you think happened to her? She looks like she's lost a lot of blood." said the man.

"It appears that she was in a fight and got stabbed." replied the woman.

The only thing that Ryuichi was able to mumble before she blacked out was a simple, "No duh..."

The kind man picked her up and carried her to their house and put her on a futon in a small room. She laid for almost four hours until she finally woke up. She was still dressed in the same bloody clothes that she had been wearing, but the couple had laid some clean clothes out for her and they had a note attached to them. It said

Dear Miss,

We have gone out to the store to get some bandages and antibiotics for those nasty scratches you

have there and we should be back shortly. As for the clothes, they belonged to our son's ex-girlfriend

and she was about your size. Help yourself to anything we have in the house, including our bath and food.

Please get plenty of rest and be sure to drink plenty of water. If you died, we are sorry for bothering you with

the first part of the note. Hope you feel better.

Sincerely,

Mr. and Mrs. Yukimoto

"Well isn't that weird? It was their son that almost killed me and the clothes that she is lending me are mine anyway. That is why I am about her son's ex-girlfriend's size, cause I am her son's ex-girlfriend! These people are Toba's parents!" said Ryuichi. "How incredibly screwed up! I just killed their son and I'm now mooching off of them! I feel very dirty...But I just need a bath and a change of clothes and I should be..." Before she could finish her sentence she had coughed up more blood. This was the only thing about her injury that was worrying her because it could mean that she has internal bleeding somewhere.

"Dammit! Why can't I stop this? I wonder if they have any remedy books? It might be handy about now."

"Hullo! Miss, we're home!" yelled the man.

"Thank God!" she sighed.

"Well I see that you haven't got any better!" the man laughed.

"What on earth gave you that idea?" she growled.

"You look awfully familiar. Have I seen you before somewhere?" the woman asked.

"As a matter of fact, I used to be your son's girlfriend. I think we met a few years ago."

"Oh, now I remember you! You are the bad-mouthed, sarcastic one!"

"I'm glad if I die today I'll be remembered for something!" she yelled using her trademark sarcasm.

"Here, let's put some flour on that to stem the bleeding. And you need to try to keep it clean."

"Flour?"

"Yes! Flour is a sanitary way to get the bleeding to stop. And we also brought you some peppermint tea for your upset stomach." the woman said. (A/N: Those are real remedies. Peppermint tea will sooth stomach cramps and aches and flour will control bleeding.)

"I wouldn't call it upset, more like no longer there...That kid just might be the end of me."

"Well I see that you don't have much faith in yourself. I think you just need a little TLC."

"Enough with the "all is well and good" act. Incase you didn't know, I just killed your son."

"What son?" the man asked.

"You know, the loud and annoying one. His name is Torii Yukimoto, Toba's brother."

"He died a long time ago according to his sensei. It was about six years ago when he gave me the news, although I was not surprised. Any fool who trains in swords is just asking to die. Nowadays it is useless to carry a sword for anything besides self-protection, all it's other purposes are too gruesome to suit this government."

They all knew that his sensei had lied to keep his mother from getting mad at him. His parents were just too surprised to be upset.

As Ryuichi was lying down later that night, she was thinking about what the old woman had said. The words kept going through her head over and over. All it's other purposes are too gruesome to suit this government. Someone had finally told her the exact words she needed to hear, without knowing it.

..........................................

Two weeks later

Sanosuke had been looking for her so long that he had almost given up hope. He was tired, hungry, dirty, and hadn't even seen a shred of evidence that told him that she was still around. They spent one whole night together as husband and wife and the next thing he knows she is gone. Kenshin and the others hadn't seen Sano or Ryuichi for weeks and Kaoru was very upset about them being gone for so long. they all figured that Ryuichi was dead and Sano would be spending the rest of his life looking for her. They were sort of right, Sano would look for her all his life if that is what it would take to find her, but Ryuichi was far from dead. She was thriving with the Yukimoto's, but was not yet strong enough to go home by herself.

Sanosuke had lived off donations from kind strangers, but because of the city he was traveling in there wasn't many good people. He wandered everywhere asking people if they had see her. One idiot thought that he was describing his overweight wife, but because he was taken to their house he got a free meal. Finally after being so tired, he collapsed. He laid in the back alleys of that city for about a day until a man found him. He seemed nice, but at this point Sano didn't care what that man was as long as he had a house and lots of food.

It was early in the morning and as they came over the hill the beautiful farmhouse came into view. Sano thought he had died, nobody could be that lucky as to get picked up by a guy that had a good deal of money. The man brought him into his house and his wife was fixing breakfast.

"Go wash up and when you get back I'll give you some clothes and then you can eat, but try to be quiet our daughter is sleeping and she hates to get up early." the man said.

As Sanosuke was washing up, he wondered how Ryuichi was being treated, if she was being treated this good. He wanted to believe that she was alive but he couldn't help think that she had been killed weeks ago.

"Breakfast is ready! Come and eat!" the woman yelled. If she only knew how good that sounded to him right now. This was a dramatic change from what he had grown used to.

He sat down and ate until he thought he was going to burst. It was all good and because they were farmers they had plenty of food. That was the more than he had eaten since Ryuichi went missing and he was enjoying every morsel of it.

"What's that awful (cough) smell? It smells like death in here." said a young girl that came down the hallway with a cloth held over her nose and mouth to protect herself from the stench that was coming from Sanosuke.

"Please be a little less blunt. We have a visitor, he hasn't bathed in a while."

"Well excuse me for caring about my wife! It's not like I can prevent my renegade mistress from running away and attacking various people depending on whom her daddy has a grudge against." Sano yelled as his regular sarcasm and energy returned. The girl looked shocked, maybe because he had yelled at her or maybe it was something different. She dropped the rag she held to her face and slowly made her way across the room to where Sanosuke was sitting.

"Sanosuke, (sniffle) am I really a renegade wife?" said the girl who was almost in tears.

"Ryuichi?! What the hell are you doing here?! And why are you pretending that these people are your parents?"

"Because I killed a guy and I'm trying to keep people from getting suspicious." she yelled, having a mood swing.

She grabbed him by the collar of his gi and glared into his eyes with the normal "I love you but you need to get some common sense" look on her face. But as he reached up to grab her, she doubled over, started coughing and clutching her stomach. Blood spilled over her knees and onto the floor as she gasped for a good breath of air.

"Damn. I've ruined another kimono." she muttered.

"Ryuichi, how long has this been going on?"

"Most of the time I've been gone."

"And you were never treated?! We need to get you to Dr. Genzai. Now!"

"Sanosuke, it's not that bad honestly. It's not what you think!"

"Come here. Let's talk in private."

When they got to her room he stood there kind of mad at her for not going to a doctor but mostly relieved that she was alright.

"I guess you might be right. If you've lived this long without a doctor, what's another week or two?" he laughed.

She fell silent with a small smirk on her face as he walked up to her and passionately wrapped her in his arms and kissed her lustily. She just let him do all they work, she was still weak from being anemic. As he grabbed the bow at the back of her kimono they fell down on her futon. She started to fight him, like she might die if he touched her bare flesh, but he won. As her bloody kimono draped open, a slight bulge in her stomach was revealed and she was blushing for the first time in their relationship.

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Starlite: What do you think about that twist? I've planned that one for a long time and there will be more ahead. Be sure to REVIEW!!!!! I NEED REVIEWS!!! Flames will be used to warm my cold heart.