Here's the next one. I know it is a lot shorter, I'm sorry. Thanks for all the reviews :).

The Students

The hospital was chaotic, at least the area he was in. He had gotten to the hospital as quickly as he could and had easily found Dr. Megumi. The moment she had heard who he was, she had snorted and said something about Karou and how she was now taking in brats. Suffice it to say, he didn't exactly like her, but Karou had told him to help her, so he did. She had taken him to a separate building that she had just called the Box, telling him this was the first-place people who had been enslaved were taken. Once they were stable, they were sent to smaller rehab centers depending on where they originally came from. The inside of the building was rather colorful. He had just expected more white, like the rest of the hospital.

"Whats with the rooms?" He asked as they passed small rooms with padded walls, celling, and floors. There were no bed or anything else.

"One stage of the drug can be rather violent," she said looking at her phone but not slowing down. "The detox process isn't pleasant either," she said after a moment. "It's easier to do this then tie patients down. This place was expensive to build but not maintain, bindings have to be replaced frequently so it would add up."

"How long does the process take?"

"It depends on how long they have been exposed to the drug. Now, see this rack here," she said pointing to a rack full of sheets. "I need you to make up rooms 30-40. I need you to place a fitted sheet over the mattress, then put a sheet and blanket on the bed. Take a pillow form the closet over there, put a case on it, and put it on the bed," she said pointing while talking. "If a room looks dirty push the call button next to the door."

"I though you said you didn't use beds."

"These rooms are for the patients who have been fully trained."

"Is the detox different?"

"They aren't on the drug. They have been fully broken by it. We simply help them find themselves again."

"How long does that take."

"Honestly, it rarely works. We can usually only get them to a place where they don't see everyone as a potential master. Normally they stay here until we can find family or a permanent place for them to live. Sometimes, over time, they can relearn how to make decisions but most of the time they spend the rest of their lives following orders. Now get to work. When you finish that come find me."

He nodded but his mind was on what she had just told him. They broke people so thoroughly that they rarely were able to come back. Just imaging what the people must act like made him shiver. He was now glad Karou had prevented him from coming to the den.

Karou was annoying and a horrible cook, but she cared. It had been a long time since someone had cared about him. He was never sure how to act. Thankfully, Karou never pushed him. Instead she gave him things to do, made him feel useful. It helped so he didn't feel like he was freeloading. He hated being indebted to people, even someone like Karou who would never hold it over him.

He felt someone behind him right before there was a soft knock. The feeling was fleeting but it was a start. His training was starting to pay off, even if he thought fighting with a wooden sword was pointless.

"Excuse me, Dr. Megumi told me to come help you. I'm Tsubame, I help out. My sister works here." A young girl was standing in the doorway, if he had to guess she was close to his age. She had short hair and was wearing scrubs.

Yahiko found himself unable to talk. She was cute. He opened his mouth to say something but when no words came out he closed it again. Great, he thought, now I look like a fish. Deciding non-verbal communication was best, he nodded and motioned her to come in. She smiled and started helping. They worked in silence until he found his voice again, then they chatted idly. Once he found his voice, he found it easy to talk to her. She was interesting and funny.

He got home before Karou. Megumi had made him and Tsubame leave before the patients showed up. He had walked Tsubame home, he at least knew how to be a gentleman, and then returned home to wait for Karou. She came home looking like hell, she was trying to hide it but was failing. The strong person he had come to know was suddenly so weak. Doing what she did took a toll, she used her strength to hide that toll most of the time, but she couldn't this time. Sometimes you cant catch yourself when you fall and you need someone to catch you, that's what she needed right now, so that is what he would do. She sat down on the couch and put her head in her hands, trying to hide the weakness and become herself again.

Moving to the kitchen he made a pot of the jasmine tea she liked. He took it to the couch, poured her a cup, shoved the cup under her nose, and did the only thing he could think of that would help, talk.

"The hospital was interesting," he said, starting to talk. "Dr. Megumi is an interesting person. She's even more rude than you, which is annoying. At the same time, she doesn't try to pad what she says despite me being a kid. I also met a girl named Tsubame, she's nice."

Karou let out a soft laugh, "Tsubame is a good girl. Her sister works part time at the hospital. Their parents own a restaurant near here. Tsubame works there and helps out at the hospital when they need extra hands. She's cute isn't she," Karou teased.

He fought the blush rising in his cheeks, deciding to ignore her last comment. "She invited us to come eat at the restaurant whenever we want. She says you use to come by a lot more, but she hasn't seen you for a while."

Karou sighed and he kicked himself. Obviously, this was a touchy subject. Good job, he told himself. "I used to go before the dojo burned down. Tae is a good friend. When the dojo burned down, I lost a lot of money because the insurance company didn't pull through."

"Maybe I could start working there part time, when you don't need me. Tsubame said they could use some extra help during rush hour. Then I could bring home some edible food."

Karou smiled at this, "I think it's a great idea." He smiled, he could do something for her for a change. "Then you can really get to know the cute Tsubame," Karou added and he groaned. He wasn't going to hear the end of this any time soon. He shouldn't have told her about Tsubame, but she was smiling and looking better so it was worth it.

Misao cautiously knocked on the door. She had had an idea, she just didn't know if the others would listen. They still saw her as a child. She knew she could be young and impulsive, but that didn't mean she didn't have good ideas…occasionally. And she was getting better. Aoshi had devoted a lot of time to training her, she had to prove to him that his time hadn't been wasted.

"What is it Misao?" Kenshin called.

"I had an idea about the slaves," she said coming in. Kenshin, Aoshi, Sano, and Hiko-san were all sitting drinking tea.

"What is it?" Aoshi prompted.

"Well I was thinking. The place where they keep the people, with the hidden basement and cadges," Kenshin had showed them once the police had gone. It had been horrifying and she had almost thrown up. Only her training had stopped her for doing so. "There can't be a lot of places like that and building them takes a lot of time. If I was in their shoes, I would just return to the places that had already been busted. The police wouldn't think to look there again since it had already been busted."

"That's a good point. Well done Misao," Kenshin said and Aoshi nodded in agreement. She would have burst into a smile, but that would just make them see her as a child again.

"I was thinking I could break into the police station and get a copy of all the places they have busted. I was able to break in easily last time."

"Sounds good," Kenshin said. "Be careful," she nodded and turned to leave. Aoshi grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Retrieve a list of the places and then come straight back. Do not investigate any of them by yourself," The intensity of her eyes caught her off guard. He was being serious. All she could do was nod and he let go. She would have been upset at Aoshi for not trusting her, except for the fact that such an idea had crossed her mind.

Breaking into the police station was as easy as it had been the last time. They were so sure of their power they didn't even think anyone would try to break in, and since she hadn't left any traces of her last break in, it was easy. Once inside she just had to search the computer. Sano had given her a USB with a program on it that quickly bypassed the computers security. Finding what she wanted, she quickly wrote down the locations of all the places the police had busted and any other useful information.

All in all, it only took her an hour. Returning back, she happily delivered the information. She silently rejoiced when Aoshi complimented her on a job well done. With that complete, she retired to her room for some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.