So yeah… Problems with my internet, distractions, and other things have kept me from posting. To my best reviewers… I'M SO SORRY! I'll make a double post to make up for it.

After Megumi cleaned up Hiraru's feet the Kenshingumi was finally able to relax. Her Grandfather, Akira-san, made them feel welcome. He was friendly, telling them jokes and embarrassing stories. When Shiro returned they even managed to make him join the fun, though he frowned as often as he could. Sozo and Yahiko had an amazing amount in common and while it was still light out the two boys went out into the woods, so Yahiko could learn to walk quietly in the forest, and Sozo could pick up a few things about Yahiko's fighting style. The three women ended up going to make dinner, leaving the four men alone in the room. Kenshin eventually just sat on the porch enjoying the evening view, and Akira-san joined him, not saying anything.

Shiro shifted in the corner he was leaning on, as Sano tried to ignore him, and relax after the long journey. Shiro cleared his throat several times, until finally Sano got fed up, "Hey you need the Vixen to take a look down your throat or are you going to let a guy get some rest around here?" He asked tartly, after all, his last memories of this man were not friendly.

Shiro looked at him for a minute then cleared his throat again, "You were one of Sagara Sozo's men?"

Sano crossed his leg, so he could sit up without straining his arm, "Yeah, what of it?"

"He was my father…" Shiro looked away embarrassed then looked back, "What was your position?"

Sano blinked, "I was a Cadet, with my friend. We were the youngest members of the Captain's section."

Shiro glared at him suddenly, "I remember you… You push Hiraru out of a tree… What the hell is she thinking bringing you here?"

Sano snorted

Shiro shot his glare back at the other male in the room, "What was that for?"

"Hiraru and I settled that disagreement ten years ago," Sano said bored and angry with this conversation, "You need to learn to bury the hatchet buddy. Your sister sure did, she asked me to come back when she turned twenty-one and be her 'guardian' whatever that is. She asked me that the night after I pushed her out of the tree."

Shiro's face turned white then red. Maybe this would be fun after all, Sano thought before the man shoved off the wall, "YOU LYING SON OF A BITCH! MY SISTER WOULD SOONER ASK A LUMP OF DIRT TO BE THAT THEN YOU! YOU FILTH BASTARD!" The other man roared, drawing the attention of Kenshin and Akira

"Shiro-" The old man tried to cut in but failed.

"I'M NO BASTARD, YOU LAZY PIECE OF SHIT! AND MY MOTHER WASN'T A BITCH!" Sano roared back, leaping to his feet to defend his family, something he never expected to do. "I GUESS YOUR SISTER IS JUST A BETTER PERSON THAN YOU, YOU SPOILED RICH BOY!"

"Sano-" Kenshin said trying to calm the tall nineteen year old

The two fighting just got louder, grabbing the front of each other's shirts in preparation to hit one another. They never got a chance because another set of fists collided with their heads, "SANOSUKE, YOU FOOL!" Megumi yelled at him dragging him to his feet, after he'd hit him over the head, "You are a guest here show some respect! NO FIGHTING!"

"ONII-SAN! I' M DISAPPOINTED IN YOU!" Hiraru was shouting at her brother, apparently she wasn't as lenient as Megumi. The bruise on Shiro's face had darkened, it didn't take a genius to figure out she'd punched him. "You have no right to say what I do or what I do not do. You are NOT my guardian, and you are NOT my husband, AND YOU ARE MOST DIFFINENTLY NOT MY FATHER! I don't care if you think you're right or wrong, don't pick a fight with my friends!"

Sano had no choice but to listen to Megumi, he hadn't started the fight, but apparently Shiro thought he had space to fight Hiraru. "How can you call that gutter rat your friend?" The older youth yelled, "He pushed you out of a tree when you were nine! He's got BAD written on his back! He THINKS he's worthy to be YOUR guardian! I'M GOING TO BE YOUR GUARDIAN!"

"I believe that's for me to decide, Onii-san," Hiraru crossed her arms and dropped her voice, but not giving up the fight, "He pushed me out by accident, he has a good reason for the Kanji on his back, and I asked him to be my guardian ten years ago! Weather I choose him or not is up to me. Trust me Onii-san you will not be my guardian, you don't understand enough to be my guardian."

Sano cut in, "Does someone want to tell us what the hell a guardian is?"

Hiraru turned and looked at him a little surprised She softened her expression and went over to where he sat. She knelt down, a smile on her lips, "A guardian is someone from outside the temple whom the Hiraru asks to join her in taking care of the shrine and the path to the heavens. Sometimes they are men, sometimes women, but they are always strong in both body and mind. My grandfather is the last official guardian, he took that title when he married my grandmother. The last three guardians before him were all warriors who came through the town and ended up marrying the Hiraru. That's not expected, but it is what typically happens. Guardians are like the other half of the Hiraru, they are the protectors of the Hiraru, therefore they must be able to do something the Hiraru cannot."

Megumi and Kaoru had been standing nearby listening, entrapped by the story telling voice Hiraru had used, Kaoru's curiosity got the better of her. "What?" She asked, softly not wanting to break whatever spell had brought calm to the room. "What do the Guardians do that the Hirarus can't?"

Hiraru turned and smiled at the younger woman, "They free us. They free us of that which we cannot free ourselves. They break the heavy chain that keeps us tethered, and build a lighter bridge so that we can still have that thing without having to be kept to it."

Megumi spoke next, "What are you chained by."

Hiraru's smile fell, she stood and looked around her, her eyes pausing on Sano and Shiro, "I wonder about that sometimes, you see the Guardian is suppose to figure that part out. I would like to help whoever it will be, but I can't find my problem or a solution to it, that won't break it." She walked towards the kitchen, pulling her polite smile back on, "Come on, I don't want the food to burn."

The other two women exchanged looks and followed Hiraru to the Kitchen. Shiro had stormed out sometime earlier to sweep the garden, and Kenshin and Akira-san moved back to the porch. Sano was left alone in the room. He knew what was binding Hiraru, it was something she was too afraid to break away from. He looked out to the garden, his eyes fixing on the back of Shiro. He wondered how anyone could be expected to break those binds. They were binds even Hiraru didn't want to break.

Sano woke with a start, he'd had another dream about the Captain's death day. It had been more fire and darkness than he remembered. He sat up slowly trying to remember where he was. That's right, Haru's home. She'd brought them there because she thought her grandfather was ill. He looked around the room, he and Kenshin were staying in Haru's Brother's room, Tatsou's room, Kenshin had done his best to clean the floor and air out the futon. Yahiko was in Sozo's room, the girls' where in Haru's mother's room which they had spent the time after dinner cleaning, and Haru had spent the afternoon cleaning her room so she could sleep in it. Haru had decided letting Kenshin and Sano share Tatsou's room would cause fewer fights than if she split them up and had them share rooms with Akira-san and Shiro.

Sano climbed out of his futon, he'd need to change into a sleeping kimono, now this one was sticky with sweat. He reached for a fresh set of clothes as Kenshin stirred. "Sanosuke? What is it?"

"Nothing, Kenshin," He replied, peeling the sweaty kimono off, "I'm just going to change, and go get some water, go ahead and go back to sleep. I'm fine."

Kenshin watched him for a minute, surprised by the serious tone and soft voice he was using, and then lay back down. Sano finished tucking a clean white sleeping kimono around himself and opened the screen door to the rest of the house. Even though he knew Kenshin had lain down, the ex- Battosai's attention was on him as he left. Carefully he slid the door closed behind him. He walked barefoot down the hall and around a corner. His attention changed when he noticed a light coming from a room at the head of the stairs; Akira-san's room Haru had told them. He tried to move silently closer to the door. He picked up Megumi's voice as he came closer, "Why did you insist on me speaking with you after Hiraru went to sleep?"

"I wanted to make sure she and the boys wouldn't hear," Came Akira's voice. Sano made it to the edge of the door and could peek into the room. Akira-san was kneeling on a cushion in his room, he still wore his hakama, but Megumi was seated across from him in a sleeping kimono. "Now then, what is the truth you did not tell my granddaughter this evening? I'm dying, aren't I?"

Megumi blinked at him, "You knew?"

He smiled that all knowing smile, "An old man knows when his time is coming, however he does not always know when that is. How much longer do I have?"

Megumi looked at her hands, "Maybe a year, maybe less."

Akira-san sighed, "I thought as much."

"If you don't mind…" Megumi shifted, "May I ask why you seem so bothered?"

Akira-san smiled, "If I tell my grandchildren I'm dying, Shiro-chan will pressure Hiraru-chibi into becoming the priestess before she is ready. And because she loves her family and she wishes to do well by us, she will take the ceremony without complaint, and then she will be trapped. That is the last thing she wants."

Megumi tilted her head to one side, "I don't understand…"

"I know, but Sanosuke-san understands. Don't you, young man?" Akira-san said looking to the door. Sano took a deep breath and opened the door the rest of the way. Megumi was more than a little surprised. "I'm glad you decided to join us rather than attempt to disappear."

Sano stepped in, "How did you know I was there?"

Akira-san smiled, "I've had more than one teenager try to sneak by my rooms as though they could slip out. Please, come join us." He gestured to an extra cushion, which had been conventionally left out.

"How do you know what Haru wants and doesn't?" He sat cross legged, his sleeping kimono keeping everything covered, "She seemed pretty uneasy about the whole being here thing, but still she's known she was to be the priestess, and she hasn't said anything about being unhappy here…"

Akira shrugged his shoulders, "I'm the guardian of the last Hiraru. You learn things about them when you live through three of them. My own wife never said what she was feeling, she always kept it to herself in an attempt to keep me from worrying. My daughter was the same way. I did not know she did not love the man I had chosen for her until she disappeared. Hiraru-chibi is more vocal about things that displease her, but she would never think about not being a Hiraru, even if it meant she was leaving behind the other things she loved."

"Okay," Sano sat back crossing his arms, "That I don't follow."

"Hiraru-chibi swore to her mother that she'd become the next in the line," Akira-san explained, "She learned everything there was to learn from her grandmother as quickly as she could, and she made a deal with Shiro-chan so she could go looking for her father's swords. She has given up her new life with her friends," He gestured to the two people sitting in front of him, "To keep those promises, and deals, and to make myself and her grandmother happy. Because that is what is expected of her." Akira looked from one confused face to the other, "Sano-san when you fought with my son-in-law you did what you could to help him, yes?" Sano nodded, "And Megumi-san, when someone comes to you who is sick, you tend to them, do you not?" Megumi nodded, "Why?" The old man asked both of them.

"Because I wanted to help the Captain," Sano said without missing a beat.

"Because I wish to find my family," Megumi said, placing a hand over the front of her kimono.

"Hiraru is on the brink of losing her family," Akira said to the two faces, "I will die soon, even Sozo knows I have little time left, then all she will have is her brothers, and maybe a loved one. If she becomes the Hiraru by choice she will please Shiro, and make Tatsou accept her choice, thus drawing it back to her. Helping it," He insisted, "If she frees herself from the title Hiraru, she gives up the biggest piece of her life, not to mention Shiro and Sozo, because Shiro will disown her. Sano when she told you the legend of the Guardian, you knew what her bind was didn't you?"

Sano swallow, and nodded, casting a nervous glance at Megumi, "Kinda."

Akira nodded as well, "So did I, but it is not my place to help her with it. She sees before her two paths to fix her bind, the two largest ones. It is the job of the guardian to show her the other paths, the ones that are woven from bits and pieces of the other two. When my daughter left, I was blind to her paths, I saw only the one I wished her to take, with Hiraru-chibi I don't have that luxury." He looked at Megumi then Sano, "Megumi-san, Hiraru trusts you with her body, you have been a great friend to her, she would trust the judgment you made, whatever it might be. You could be her Guardian. Sano, Hiraru has known you for ten years, you she trusts with her thoughts. While she doesn't always trust you decisions, she respects them, and she finds solace in your presence, and in speaking with you. You could also be her Guardian."

Megumi looked taken back, "But she trusts Kenshin and Kaoru as well, how do you not know that they are one of her guardians? And what about Yahiko? Sozo? Shiro? That other brother?"

Akira smiled to himself, "Four shall the next generation be. One shall be the Hiraru with confused heart and saddened eyes, but willing all the same. One shall be the traveler, the one with a business man mind but a heart that looks after the Hiraru. The next is a warrior, stubborn as his grandfather, with tradition running through his veins. The final shall be the Scholar, his mind focused on the future, towards the strength of his country, not just his family. So shall the Next generation stand, their lives held together by loss, and thinly tied by love for Hiraru." He looked at the two, "My wife prophesied that before my daughter was even married, I told it to the children when I thought they were ready. Shiro assumed he was the Traveler, because the traveler was mentioned first, and he was the oldest. I saw different. Tatsou was always the adventurer, Sozo the Scholar, and Shiro the warrior. None of them can be Hiraru-chibi's guardian."

"Well then what about Kaoru? Kenshin? Yahiko?" Megumi pressed.

"The red head and the girl are meant for one another. I wish I could live long enough to see their marriage. They could not be the guardian, because they are the other half of each other," Akira smiled, "The boy is not meant to be Hiraru's guardian, they fight far too much, and Hiraru teaches him more than he teaches her."

"But why us?" Sano asked.

Akira smiled again, "When my wife prophesied my grandchildren, I also asked about the next guardian. The reply was simple; it shall be the one the Hiraru asks to step down. At the time I thought my daughter would be the next Hiraru, I didn't realize it would be my granddaughter." He sighed, a frown on his lips, "Hiraru would never ask either of you to be her guardian. In fact I believe she may not choose one at all, she will not last long if she chooses to be the Hiraru without a guardian. I mean this physically. It would kill her."

Megumi paled, but she took a deep breath, "So what? You want us to give up our lives to become some blessed protector of a priestess? I'm a doctor, I have patients back in Tokyo."

Akira bowed his head, "I understand that, which is why I'm not asking either of you to give up anything." Both Sano and Megumi looked at him wide eyed. "I'm asking," he continued after a deep breath, "That you return to Tokyo with Hiraru and not let her return here. The Hiraru is not necessary any more. We no longer guard anything the people still believe in. We are merely reminders of a long gone past. Take my Granddaughter and give her a life. Don't let her loose herself to a damn tradition."

Both young people were speechless. They had expected Akira to ask them to talk Hiraru into staying. Akira stood slowly, "Just think it over. You need not answer today or tomorrow. Let your hearts guide your actions. Now, it is very late the two of you should go back to sleep." He held the sliding door open as the two left, and then closed it promptly.

Megumi and Sano were plunged into the darkness of the hallway. They stood there for a moment, looking into the darkness towards Hiraru's room. "I couldn't do this…" Megumi muttered after several moments.

Sano looked at her, his night vision coming back, "Do what?"

"Give up everything I want just to please my family, or give up my family history to live the life I wanted," She said wrapping her arms around herself.

"I did," Sano said, "I gave up my parents and sister to become a Cadet to the Captain. I never regretted it, but I sometimes think I miss them." He turned at walked towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Megumi asked.

"I got up to get some water," Sano said with a wave over his shoulder, "I'm still thirsty."

*Fidgts* This has to be an awkward moment or something between those two, or maybe Megumi just rolled her eyes and walked back to her own room. Any way review then read the next chapter!