Okay, I know it's been forever since I posted, but I've been working working like mad on finding a new job, essays, and other problems you guys probably don't want to hear about…

I'm trying to keep the beginning shorts so on a final note I want to thank my new editors Twilight-kun and Gerry-sama who have been working so had on editing my unworthy stories, you two are wonderful, and greatly loved. And yes, I'm posting because you guys have been on my ass for the past month.

Now everyone Remember to Read, Review, and tell me if you enjoyed.

Hiraru arrived back at the Dojo just before sunset; she'd changed back into her normal clothes in the outhouse of a tea house. She was chewing absently on a bit of her thumb, thinking deeply. She did a face plant into Sano's chest before she knew she was even in the house part of the Dojo. Without thinking she apologized and walked around him. Sano grabbed her arm, stopping her progress, "Haru? What's wrong?"

Hiraru blinked at him, it took her a minute to remember that Haru was her nickname, and another minute to realize she's run into Sano. "Oh… Sano, sorry… I'm kind of out of it right now… I've got a lot on my mind…" She pulled out of his hold and continued to walk towards the backyard, chewing on her thumb again.

Sano followed, "What's happened?" He asked, wondering what could have the normally ever observant Hiraru thinking so deeply she didn't even notice the people around her.

"I met with one of my father's men," She said through her thumb, "He gave me some interesting information about the only other living member of my father's army… I'm trying to figure out how to approach this person… He's very… very, well… very short-sighted, if I've judged him right…" She sat on the back porch watching the young girls play with Kenshin and Yahiko, but she did not see them. "I trust him, he's a good man, but he rarely sees any long term goals, and I'm never sure if he's trying to take care of himself, or if he's taking care of those around him. He believes strongly in my father, in the army he was a part of, and in having people show him their real faces… And I've been lying to him…" She crossed her legs, tucking her feet under her knees, and began chewing on her thumb again. "I have to talk to him… He may have the last piece to the puzzle that lost my father's swords…"

Sano is silent for several minutes, thinking about what she said. Finally he speaks, "So that thing you told us about months ago…it was to find your father's swords?"

"Yes," She looked at him out of the corner of her eye before turning back to watch the front yard, "But that's just the tip of the ice-burg. Both my father and my mother's father were samurai. My grandfather wanted my mother to marry another man, a great swordsman apparently; she refused, and married my father. My grandfather never forgave her. When my father died and my mother took us back to the shrine, my grandfather assumed that my father had run off, or left my mother penniless. He hadn't, but my mother never told my grandfather that. When I asked my grandfather how I could make him believe that my father was a good man, he told me, 'find his swords. You can tell a good man by the way he treats his swords,' I went looking for them to bring some pride back to my grandfather's eyes." Hiraru sighed, "Have I told you my brother's hate each other?"

Sano nodded.

"They hate each other because of their view of responsibility. My eldest brother," She explained, "became the father of the family after my father was killed. He had to act the part, and expected the same thing from the rest of us. He was suppose to be the business man, my twin brother the soldier who obeyed every order given, I the caregiver of the shrine, and my youngest brother the scholar. Well, to say the least, that's not what happened. My twin became a traveler, he wanted to see the world, and he was the business man. I learned to fight, pray, and in general take care of the shrine, and I don't mind that, but I want to live my life first. I let my twin go first, I told him I'd leave and take Sozo, my youngest brother, with me. I promised to find him in Kyoto, and that we'd build a Dojo or something like that… but I couldn't let my grandfather die thinking I'd abandoned them, I love my family too much to do that. So I made a deal with my eldest brother." She combed her fingers through her hair, "He'd let me look for the swords, and if I didn't find them by my twenty-first birthday, I'd stop looking and talk my twin into coming back to the shrine…"

She paused, "Really, I just want the two of them to take out whatever aggressions they have for each other and just beat the crap out of each other. Maybe then they'd see that neither of them is right, and that their bickering is breaking us apart…" She leaned against a pillar of the roof, "If I can find those swords, I'd be able to get my brothers in one place and have them deal with their problems. They'd see how much this damn fight has to do with their stupid image of a father… Maybe I just need to drag their whiny asses down here and sit them in the same room as my father's men and let them see what dad was really about…"

Sano was silent after that last comment, waiting for Hiraru so say something else, in case she wanted to complain some more. This was after all the most he'd ever heard her talk about her problems. To bear the weight of 'bad' on his own shoulders had been tough for the past ten years, but Hiraru was trying to bear the weight of her father's name, her own wants, and her responsibilities to her family. That was a lot for one 'guy' to deal with. Personally, Sano would tell them all to get over themselves and beat the crap out of them, but that was him.

For a second he thought about his little sister, how she'd turned out after he'd left and then his mother dying. Hiraru had lost her father, mother, grandmother, was losing her grandfather, and at the same time was at risk of losing two brothers. Granted, she was a guy and wasn't supposed to deal with it like Sano's sister, but somehow the situation seemed similar. Finally, after several minutes of surprisingly deep thought, he spoke, "So this guy that use to be a part of your old man's army, what's he like?"

Hiraru looked at Sano; the question had caught her off guard. She'd just explained her situation to him, amazingly without giving up any real personal information, like names, and he wasn't asking more about her family? Was he sick? "Surprisingly…like you," She said, watching him.

Sano's eyebrow twitched, "You think I'm short sighted?"

"No," She smiled, "Just… pig-headed."

Sano's eyebrow twitched again, "I'll ignore that, but only because I like you. Now then, if this guy's like me why don't you test out the way you'd talk to him, on me?"

Hiraru's jaw dropped, "Uh…" He had to be sick that would be the only reason he'd offer this. Then another thought hit her. How would she talk to him without having him realize the truth, which she didn't what him to know yet? She thought about it for a second, and then almost grinned at the idea that came to mind. "Okay you can help me, but you're reaction won't be very realistic if I don't use someone you know and trust, and look up to…who did you look up to most when you were a kid? Your father? A close family member?"

Sano actually had to think about it, "Not my dad, though I did look up to him when I was younger, but you know… I guess the only other person I can think of would have to be the Captain…"

"Captain?" Hiraru asked, having to pretend she didn't know, "Captain what?"

Sano shrugged, "Captain Sagara Sozo of the Sekiho Army."

Hiraru blinked using the reaction she'd had drilled into her head since she was little, "Sekiho? You mean the one that was called the false army?"

Sano's glare turned icy, "They weren't a false army."

Hiraru held up her hands in an 'I surrender' gesture, "Sorry, sorry, my fault." She sighed, "If it's alright, I'm going to use your captain in my… problem."

Sano's glare softened but only a little, "I guess…"

"How were you connected to the Sekiho?" Hiraru asked.

"Why does it matter?" Sano looked at her oddly.

"I makes it more real," Hiraru sighed, Sano was beyond thick headed.

"I was a Cadet, within the Sekiho. I was with the Captain until almost the end," Sano's face became almost sad. Hiraru felt something in her stomach tighten about the fact that she was about to tell Sano the truth of who she was, or almost the truth…

Hiraru took a deep breath, and shifted her seat so she was sitting on her feet. She straightened her back and looked Sano in the eye. "Cadet Sagara Sanosuke, I know my father never told you this but I am Hiraru Sagara, the child of Sozo Sagara."

Sano's face went still, and his eyes wide. Silence passed between them for several minutes until Sanosuke's jaw unhinged itself and he made almost pained noises while he opened and closed his mouth like a fish. He swallowed and finally said something, "That's definitely… an interesting way to break the ice…"

Hiraru snorted, "I highly doubt if you were not expecting some profound information about your Captain you would react that way."

Sano looked taken back then crossed his arms over his chest, "Your right, I'd be angry. I'd demand proof. I'd probably hit you…"

Hiraru smiled, "I'm use to having people not believe me, and get angry. I have proof in both my appearance and on my person. I can also defend myself, so I understand the hitting me part."

Sano blinked, "So… you look like your dad?"

Hiraru nodded, "My mom said I could have been a shorter version of him, even though I act more like my grandmother." Hiraru paused for a minute, thinking about a good way to bring up the next subject that had been harassing her mind. "Sano…" She said, "You said you didn't think of your father when I asked about someone you trusted… Isn't Captain Sagara Sozo your father?"

Sano shook his head, "Na, my dad is Higashidani Kamishimoemon. I took the name Sagara after the captain died, I wanted to honor him." Sano sighed, "I mean back then I didn't even have a last name, I use to joke with the Captain about taking his name…" Sano shrugged, "I guess I didn't think he'd mind me taking it."

Hiraru shifted again so that she could wrap her arms around one of her legs, and her chin rested on her knee, "Did you ever think about finding his family and asking if you could use the last name?"

Sano wouldn't look at her, "He didn't have one… He would have told us if he did. I mean we trusted him, and he trusted us, he knew he could trust us with anything…"

Hiraru spent several minutes watching him until she was sure he wasn't going to say anything else, "Well," She stood, "I think I have a better idea of what I'm going to do when I meet with my father's man…it's just a matter of whether he can help me or not…"

Kenshin walked in at that moment, "Haru, Sano, dinner's ready…" He stopped when he saw the seriousness of the two, "Is everything alright?"

Hiraru nodded and stood up, "Everything's fine, Sano was just helping me figure out a problem."

Kenshin froze in place, "Sano? Helping with a problem?"

"Yeah me," Sano's eyebrow twitched, "got a problem with that Kenshin."

"Oro," Kenshin went into the 'I surrender' pose, "Of course not Sano, this one was just surprised is all…"

Hiraru snickered behind a fist as the three of them walked down the hall to dinner.

Am I great or what?

(Twilight-kun) Yeah, the size of your head is amazing

(Me) What was that, LITTLE BOY? (Tries to strangle him)

(Gerry-sama puts me in head lock) That's it young lady, I'm tired of you trying to kill your male editors. Did you ever fight with Syldoran-chan this much?

(Me) Let go, I'm going to kick his ass!!

(Gerry-sama to Twilight-kun) Alright, Twilight-kun, you do this more often than I do, please handle is.

(Twilight-kun) Of course, readers while Gerry-sama is forcing Ruroni-chan to take an anger management class, please remember the more reviews she gets the more likely she is to post the next chapter. She'd also like to thank everyone who's added her to their favorite list and update alerts. Ruroni-chan feels very loved.

(Me bracing myself from a frame of a car) REVIEW!! OR I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!! I'M NOT GOING TO A SHRINK!! STOP PUSHING ME INTO THE CAR!!

4