Sorry for the late update, I was traveling. I am always open to suggestions if you want something in the story. No guarantee I will put it in, but I can try. As for Kenshin and Karou, I am getting there I promise. It's just taking longer to get to their relationship than I anticipated.

The Missing

He was an idiot. He had known something was off. Felt it in his gut, but he had ignored it. Misao had been too perfect on her last mission. Not once had she let her hyperactive energy get the better of her. She had stayed serious and focused the whole time. It had been strange, but he had just brushed off the feeling, telling himself that she was growing up. Now he was paying the price.

Aoshi turned from the door way. It had been two days since they had last seen Misao, she was officially missing. He had just returned from searching the areas she frequented. She hadn't been there. He needed to let the others know, so they could start searching.

They didn't need to ask when they saw his face, "Is there anywhere else she could have gone?" Kenshin asked.

"Not that I know of."

"So, what do we think?" Sano asked.

"Either she left the city, is lying dead somewhere, or has been caught by someone," Hiko-san said. Aoshi wanted to hit him, but what he said was true. Except for running away. He knew she would never willingly leave the city without telling anyone, no matter what had happened.

"So, we spread out. Look around the city and keep our ears open. Start eliminating places and groups as quickly as possible without letting on what is going on. We have angered a lot of people and they would love to take advantage of this," Kenshin said. Again, Aoshi resisted the urge to punch someone. He knew this is all they could do until they got a clue of what had happened, but it was frustrating. The longer they took the less likely it was that they would ever find her.

After two days of fruitless searching Aoshi was starting to lose hope. They hadn't heard about any dead bodies, so that was a relief. On the other hand, they hadn't heard anything at all. He was beginning to wonder if maybe she had left the city. Maybe the slaves had been too much for her. Maybe he should have tried to protect her from them. He thought she would at least say something before leaving but maybe she thought he would be disappointed. He thought she knew she could always rely on him. She always seemed to know what he was thinking even though he didn't show it. He thought…but now she was gone, maybe he had been wrong, let his emotions cloud his judgement.

"Don't lose hope yet," Kenshin said handing him some food.

"We are running out of places to look," he said, letting his mood get the better of him.

"I was going to head over and talk to Karou, see if she has heard anything."

"Why do you think she would know?"

"Well, she hears more gossip than we do. And she seems to know a lot about what is going on in this city. Do you have a better idea?"

"No."

"Then let's go," Kenshin said, he grudgingly followed.

It didn't take them long to get to Karou's home. Then it was just a matter of making sure there weren't any else there before knocking on the door. Karou let them in without a word, closing the door and locking it before speaking.

"I'm glad you are looking better," Kenshin said before she could speak. Aoshi could tell he had not meant to say anything by the way his ears turned red. Kenshin had been worried about her since the den. He and Hiko-san had had to talk him out of sneaking into her apartment to check on her, telling him she would probably take it the wrong way.

Karou blushed slightly and looked away nodding. After an awkward pause, she collected herself and got down to business. "Why are you here?"

Kenshin shook off the embarrassment, "One of our members, Misao, is missing. We were wondering if you might have heard anything," Kenshin said. Aoshi stayed quiet, leaning against the wall and watching the kid that sat in the living room, watching the conversation. The kid was relaxed but looked ready to jump to the girls aid if necessary.

"She's the one who scared me after my shower?" Kenshin nodded. "I haven't heard anything. When did she go missing?"

"Four days ago."

"No, I haven't heard anything. Yahiko, have you heard anything about a young girl a couple of years older than you?" The boy, Yahiko, shook his head.

"When did you last see her?"

"After she completed a mission for us."

"If you can tell me, what was she doing?"

"We thought it would be a good idea to recheck the locations of dens that had been busted. To see if they were being used again."

Suddenly his mind snapped to what had been bothering him. He stood up abruptly which caught everyone's attention. "Is there a den near the east side tracks?" It was strange that there wasn't a den there. It was a poor part of the city.

"There's an old one I think. One sec, I have the addresses," she said moving to her desk.

"What are you thinking?" Kenshin asked.

"It's where she's from. If she saw there was an old den there, she might have wanted to take care of it herself since it is her home. She cares about the people there. If the den is running again, she could have gotten caught," he didn't let his mind wander to what state she could be in if he was right.

"I have the address. Let's go. Yahiko, I need you to go to Dr. Gensai and ask him to go pick more Castor Oil Plant seeds, then head over to Megumi and let her know what is going on in case we find something." The kid nodded and ran out the door.

"You're coming with us?" Kenshin asked, trying and failing to hide his concern.

"If Aoshi is right, then you will need me," She said grabbing a jug that he assumed was the concoction Kenshin had told them about.

Kenshin was worried. Not only was Aoshi out of sorts because of Misao, but he was also worried about Karou. She had looked so fragile after the last den. She was looking better now but it had only been a few days and now they were bringing her to another one.

"Why don't you wait outside Miss. Karou, while we check it out."

Karou let out a quiet laugh, "I'm fine Kenshin," she said placing a hand on his arm. "And Karou is fine."

He wanted to order her to stay back but he knew it wouldn't work. She wasn't one of his men. If he tried something like that, he guessed she would charge headlong through the front doors of the den just to prove him wrong. She was a little headstrong when she got angry.

They waited for her police friend to show up before going in. It didn't take them long to find that the den was once again active and to take care of the guards. Karou at least stayed back for the fighting, letting them take care of the guards with guns. He felt her watching him through the fight.

When the fighting was done she was looking at him strangely. Without a word she walked up to him and grabbed his sword. It was startling but thankfully he didn't attack her.

"Your sword, it's a reverse blade, why?" There was no judgement in her voice.

"I don't kill any more."

"Why?" Kenshin wasn't sure what to say. He didn't like talking about his past.

"Maybe we should save this conversation for later," Saito thankfully cut in. Karou nodded and they got to work. He and Aoshi followed her into the basement while Saito called the police and hospital.

"We'll start with the first cage if she's not in there we will have to wait until the police get here before checking the other cadges. If we find her, don't try talking to her," She was mostly looking at Aoshi when she said this.

He started helping Karou with the first cage, Aoshi stayed off to the side and out of the way. "Eichi's here," Saito said joining them once the police got there. Karou did not look pleased about this.

"Is he going to stay up there?"

"He wanted to come down, but I reminded him what happened last time. He wasn't happy, but he agreed to stay up there and help."

"Good," she said, and they got back to work. It wasn't long before they found Misao curled up in a corner. "She's in here, that's good. Not great but better than the alternatives."

"You're not going to give her the drug," he asked when she didn't pour the liquid down Misao's throat as she had done for the rest.

"No. It takes over an hour to get back to my home and its best that she is in a bed before the drug takes effect. Saito can help me get her home. You two will have to meet us there."

"We can take her," Aoshi said.

"There would be multiple problems with that. I want to get the drug in her system as soon as possible and the only way to do that and get her back to my apartment in time is driving. Once we are done here we can leave the rest to Eichi. I'll bring her up and explain what's going on. Use that time to get out of here before they gas it." Aoshi looked ready to hit her. He put a calming hand on Aoshi's arm.

"We will meet you back at the apartment," he said, Aoshi grunted in agreement.

They finished quickly, Karou dosed Misao last before picking up the smaller girl and gently carrying her up the stairs. He and Aoshi waited out of sight at the top of the stairs. It wasn't long before a shouting match started, making it easy for them to leave.

"She's a friend Aoshi," Karou said.

"So, the hospital is the best place for her," a man, who he assumed was Eichi, replied.

"We busted two dens in a week. Megumi is going to have her hands full. I can take care of one person. Besides I know her parents, they would be happier if she was with me."

"You sure you're not just trying to hide another criminal?"

"I don't know Eichi. You're the policeman. Is she a criminal?" There was a long pause. Thankfully they had been able to keep Misao off the polices radar. To his knowledge they didn't know she was tied to them. The man let out a sigh. "Exactly. I know we have our differences but seriously. There are more important things right now."

"Sorry," The man said softly. The startled reaction from Karou told them she hadn't been expecting an apology.

Her posture softened, "It's ok. I'm leaving the rest to you." With that she got into Saito's car and they left.