I'm sorry this is so late. I'm back home now so I will try to be better about posting weekly again, but no promises. Hope you enjoy.

The Friend

She sat on the balcony of the second floor of the house and looked towards the main house. She had spent almost half of her childhood there, playing with Raku. They had done everything together. Raku had even supported her when she got married to a commoner. No one else had done that. Now, she questioned if all of that had just been a dream. If the girl she remembered was just a figment of her imagination.

"You alright?" Sano said sitting a respectful distance away from her.

"I had hoped that Raku had gotten involved with the slaves because she didn't know any better. That I could change her. She was my best friend. She was there for me when no one else was. I had hoped…but I guess I was a fool."

"What brought this on?"

"Yahiko being saved."

"I don't understand," Sano said.

"You don't find it odd that Yahiko was saved the same day Raku's merchandise goes missing."

"It is odd. You think Yahiko was her merchandise?"

She nodded, "I think Raku readily engages in the slave trade and training. And I think she's been playing us the entire time. Think about it, she's the one who offered me a place to stay. She waits until I'm comfortable before bringing Tau out. She says her mother got Tau for her but she's the one that goes to auctions. She's the one person who has never asked about my hospital work. And she acts like an air- head so we are comfortable around her."

"You think she was the one to kidnap Yahiko?"

"No one did anything until she spoke. Yahiko ended up in her possession. And my guess is, Yahiko would have ended up here after he was broken, as a final test. That's why she was so angry he was gone."

"But why go after Yahiko?"

"Because she can't get Karou?"

"Will she go after the others?"

"Maybe. My guess is, if she's going to try again it will be Tae or Tsubame. They are the next closest to me."

"Do you think she suspects us even after the ball?"

"I think the ball assuaged some of her concerns. But the longer I refuse to buy a slave, the more suspicious she will get."

Sano sighed, "For now we warn the others. Then we see if there is a way around that problem. We know her game now, we won't be fooled again."

"But we can't act until we have her convinced. The other's listen to her."

"One step at a time," Sano said.

She sighed and held her head in her hands, "She was a good person. What happened to change her?"

"You went one way, she went the other. You learned that the lower class were humans while she didn't." Sano said quietly.

"But what makes someone so cruel as to kidnap a child just to test someone? What causes something to go from a living creature to an object?"

"People," Sano said sadly. "When you trust someone, and they tell you something. You believe them. When no one criticizes the way you act, you come to believe you are in the right. If you never question why things are the way they are, then things never change. If we had fought this when it started, maybe we could have stopped it. But now it is ingrained in the way they live. They do not know life without slaves. They fight us because they believe they are in the right and, like all humans, they fear change.

"At it's core, this fight isn't about slavery or class distinction. It is simply about change. We are changing the way people live. And that is not an easy battle to win. We can't just end slavery. We must completely destroy their lifestyle to even stand a chance at making a better life. Which is hard, because we need them to keep order. We can't just change everything, that would just cause chaos. We need to change everything to stand a chance, but we can't destroy everything without causing chaos. We walk on a very thin line. True success is nearly impossible and failure is easy."

She looked at the man sitting across from her. Those were not things she ever expected to come from the man who showed up on her doorstep beaten up, drunk, or both almost every night. "Where'd you learn something like that," she teased lightly.

"From the man who raised me," he said smiling. "He dreamed of a better future, but he understood how delicate order is and how dangerous chaos is. It's why he tried to work with the upper-class, to bridge that gap." Sano's fist's tightened, "But in the end they were just using us. We were a means to an end and were disposed of afterwards."

She knew a little about his life. How he was raised by a man who lead a small group of fighters. He talked about his childhood often when he was drunk. She also knew he had met Kenshin while trying to get revenge for his fallen comrades. He was the one to help Kenshin get away from the grasp of the upper class. But, Sano never willingly talked about how his foster father and comrades had fallen.

"Why did he choose to fight for the upper-class?" She pushed. "What did he think it would do?"

"Captain Sagara thought that if we were all fighting towards the same goal. Status could be forgotten. He just didn't realize that the goals were different."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"He might not be alive any more, but his beliefs live on. They could get rid of him, but not what he stood for."

"Let us hope we can seceded where he did not. Let us hope we can win this fight."

"Hope is what's got us this far. What do we do now?" Sano asked.

"We pay closer attention to Raku and try to figure out what she is planning. We might also be able to use her to find other leaders and locations where slaves are being kept. We know her game now, let's get ahead of her before she pulls another stunt like she did with Yahiko. I also want you to keep an eye on Tau."

"Why?"

"He's not as broken as he appears. It's an act. I want to know if there are more like him. Keep track of the other slaves he interacts with."

"When did you find that out?" He asked grumpily, she just smirked.

"Tau might be able to help us with the slave problem. If we can find someone like him, we might be able to assuage Raku's fears without…well without losing our humanity. Just keep an eye on him and leave the communicating up to me," She knew Sano meant well, but she didn't trust him to be discrete enough. The last thing she wanted was for Tau to be hurt because of their actions.

"Do you think he helped Yahiko escape?" Sano asked.

She hesitated, she hadn't even thought about that, but Sano was right. Tau probably had something to do with that. "Probably," she said softly. "Keep an eye on him. If something goes wrong I don't want him dying."

Sano nodded, "I can do that. You just be careful around Raku, she's a lot more dangerous than either of us expected."

"Raku, Raku Eden. What do you know about her?" She asked, looking across the table at Eichi. Their friendship was barley intact and she didn't know which side he stood on, but he had information. Information Saito didn't have because Saito didn't take bribes.

"She's the young heiress of the Eden family. They have a shipping company. Why?"

"She's an old friend of Megumi. I'm just curious."

"Karou, I want to help. If I was going to turn you guys in you think I would have done something by now. I'm not an idiot. I know Megumi's re-entry into society has something to do with the Battousai. If I was going to say anything, don't you think I would have by now."

"How do I know you haven't? Yahiko was just kidnapped."

"I swear I had nothing to do with that," Eichi said.

"I want to believe you," she said honestly. "You have no idea how much. But I don't. I can't. Not after everything that's happened."

"How can I get you to trust me again. We might have our differences, but I'm as against the slave trade as you are."

"Time. You have to give me time Eichi. What happened between us isn't going to heal quickly. No apology can fix that."

Eichi sighed, "I know. I'll see what I can dig up on her."

"Discreetly," she said, he nodded, and she stood up. "Thank you. I should get going, but Eichi," he looked up at her. "If you take bribes from the upper class, then you support the slave trade."

She left him to think about that. Then she started the long walk back home. When Eichi had asked to meet, she had wanted to just refuse but then the things with Raku came up and she needed information. She knew there was every chance Eichi was working with Raku, but they had decided it was worth the risk. Megumi knew what she was doing and had an escape plan in place incase things went wrong.

"How'd it go?" Master Hiko asked, appearing at her side. It was still day time, so it was too dangerous for Kenshin to be walking around outside. Instead Master Hiko had accompanied her in case it was a trap. Thought she doubted whether the man would have been much help in his hung-over state.

"He said he would look into her."

"Do you believe him?"

"He seemed sincere…but I don't know. I still want to believe he's a good person. Even after everything he's done. My judgement is probably clouded. Only time will tell."

"If it's any conciliation, I believed he was sincere," Master Hiko said. She looked over at the man, wondering how such a large man had overheard their conversation without being noticed.

"Is someone following him?"

"Aoshi is. He was rather annoyed when we couldn't find anything at that woman's house. He needed something to keep him occupied."

"We'll find something eventually. Raku is good at staying hidden. If we had found something the first time we searched her house, I would have been surprised. She fooled Megumi, which is not an easy thing to do. It will take time. But we know what she is, we won't stop until she is stopped."

"We know, but we can all be a little illogical when it comes to those we care about. Even Aoshi is no exception to that."

She nodded, they were all on edge. It was infuriating to finally have a lead but be unable to find anything. The longer it took, the more people would be hurt. The longer it took for them to know what Raku was up to, the higher the chances that Raku would try something again.

"Is there a reason you want information on the heiress of the Eden family?" A tall man asked Eichi. After talking to Karou, Eichi had returned to the police station. He had done what Hiko-san had instructed and followed. So far Eichi had done nothing suspecious, but he had decided to stick around to see what happened. So far, Eichi was failing at indiscreetly looking into Raku.

"Just some follow us stuff. She had some stuff stolen a few days ago."

"I didn't think you were assigned to that case," the man said.

"I had some time, so I thought I would help out," Eichi said smoothly. He had to give Eichi credit, the man knew how to lie convincingly.

"This doesn't have anything to do with Miss Raku potentially being connected to the slave trade, does it?" The man said. Eichi's shock reflected his own, he was now cursing himself that he didn't know who this man was.

"What are you talking about Inspector Yamagata?" Eichi gritted out, trying to hide his shock. He remembered the name for later investigation.

"Why don't you grab Captain Saito and come meet me in my office," The Inspector said and walked away. He watched Eichi go and get Saito and then followed them into the office. It was kind of depressing how easy it was for him to sneak around the station. He was a full-grown man in a cramped police station and yet no one had noticed him.

The Inspector was sitting at his desk looking at the two men. Saito was doing a much better job of hiding his nervousness. He mentally planned out some escape routes for Saito incase things went south.

"So," the inspector said. "Mind filling me in on your investigation into the slave industry?"

"I'm sorry," Eichi said, failing at hiding his nervousness.

"It's rather convenient that one of the top doctors for the slave recovery unit just happens to be from the upper class."

"Miss Megumi is from the upper class," Saito pointed out.

"I am well aware of her heritage. I did work the case of her parents being murdered. I just find her timing a little convenient. So, mind filling me in on what's going on."

The room was silent for a while before Saito eventually spoke, "There is no need to tell you what you already know."

The inspector laughed, "Fair. Well, as Chief Inspector of the police, I cannot publicly support your actions, at least not yet. I suggest you do your digging a little more discreetly. There are still those in the force that report to the upper class. Don't want them becoming suspicious until we are ready to move."

He studied the man who just a few minutes ago was just the police inspector. Now he saw more than that. This man's words indicated that he was planning something. They might have more of the police force on their side than they initially suspected.

"How are you so informed about our actions?" Saito asked, looking completely relaxed but his words revealed the tension he was hiding.

"Aside from recent events that puts both of you in a rather odd light, I happen to be friends with Okubo Toshimichi. Miss Takani has dropped a few hints at her true alliances. He asked me to look into it."

"And where do you stand?" Saito asked.

"I lost someone I loved to the slave trade. Like you, I am against it. I have been trying to bring it down for some time, but I have a moral obligation to follow the law, which makes it hard to do much. Thankfully you're now friends with those that do not have issues breaking the law."

All three of them stared back at the inspector in shock. The man smiled, "Kenshin and I are also acquainted. He helped me with a problem a few years back."

He resisted the urge to leave right then and there and go back and throttle Kenshin for keeping his connection to the Police Chief Inspector a secret.

"Good to know," Eichi said.

"Well, now that we are all on the same page, maybe we can work together," the Inspector said. "I think we can both profit from the exchange of information. I cannot help directly, but I can help discreetly if the need arises."

"We will discuss it with the others," Saito said.

"Good, dismissed," Saito and Eichi turned to leave when the Inspector stopped them. "Oh, if you want information of Miss Eden, you might want to look into Miss Takani's first husbands family." With that the Inspector pushed them out of his office and left to go talk to some other people.

He knew he should keep an eye on Eichi, but he decided reporting to the others with the new information was more important. He would report and then come back and continuing monitoring Eichi. Hopefully Saito would keep an eye in Eichi while he was gone.