Chapter Three

        The sky was starting to darken with the coming rain, the
morning sky turning from it's azure blue to the dark greys and charcoal
smudges of coming storms. Sano had been hoping to tell his entire story
before the rains arrived, but it seemed that it was not to be. The
tingling at the base of his neck turned into a fire that shot down his
back as someone delicately coughed behind him. Whirling about faster
than lightning, he was upon his assailant in the blink of an eye, his
left hand coming in low for the solar plexus, intent on bringing his
attackers nose down into his hard right fist for a quick combination
strike. Noting something wrong at the last second, he pulled his strike
while it was still an inch from... her... nose.... 

        "Oh... crap......" Sano muttered...

*****

        Tsubame was in shock. Once second she was trying to get
Sanosuke's attention, and the next she found a fist filling her
vision...

        Now, despite many people's beliefs to the contrary, Tsubame had
been living in a well known kendo dojo for the last eleven years.
Though not practicing more than her husband, she DID get training from
him in basic self defense. Specifically, he had helped her with that
little Judo he acutally knew, and had drilled her in how to handle this
sort of situation. Due, more than likey to the shock of the moment (and
not this authors desire to watch Sano get tossed around by pretty
women.) her training in the Art kicked in, and, though nearly a head
taller than her, with years more experience, her pivoted righthanded
hipthrow caught Sano under his right wrist, transferred the motion of
his punch into momentum, and had him seeing the world upside down
before crashing to the ground heavily, stars in his eyes.

        "Owwwwwww............." Sano groaned while fighthing to figure
out which way was up and which was was down again.

        By this time, Tsubame was looking at her arms like they were
from some great deep dark dungon. Suddenly she realized that SHE had
just taken Sagara Sanosuke... THE Sagara Sanosuke out with a simple hip
toss. Then, shocked, she realized that she had prolly just knocked one
of her oldest friends out completely by accident.

        "Oh, my........." was her slight response to the spinning eyed
man now lying stunned on the ground.

*****

        "Wel, that was a new one...." Sano though to himself before
looking up at his... assailant. Straight black hair, quiet maroon eyes,
western style black unform dress that fell to her ankles... he should
know this girl, from somewhere. A memory long buried jogged to his
awareness. A shinai, a dark ally, a fight that Yahiko wouldn't lose for
a girl in a well work kimono...

        "Tsubame?" Sano ventured carefully....

        "Gomen gomen gomen gomen gomen gomen gomen nassai!!!!" Tsubame
chanted as she fell to her knees and bowed her head to the ground of
the cemetery at his feet. "You surprised me, and I didn't really think,
and Yahiko taught me, and oooh......" she said before prompty falling
to the ground unconscious in a dead faint.

        Sighing deeply, Sano quickly thought about the situation. A
deserted cemetery, a unconscious girl, and an aging martial artist were
not the best scene for the passing person on the street to see.
Thinking quickly, he remembered that Tsubame used to work at the
Akabeko. Scooping her up in his arms, and half bowing to Kaoru and
Kenshin's stone, he bounded out of the cemetery on his way to to what
he still hoped was the Akabeko.

*****

        Yahiko was in a good mood. Well, as good as could be expected
considering the fact that the storm that had sprung up on this late
fall afternoon had him soaked to the bone, cold, and hungry. He and his
son, Shinya, had just returned from Okinawa on a trip to help an old
friend with the death of his wife. He had been away from home for
nearly three weeks, and was anxious to see Tsubame again. Yahiko made a
point to take his son traveling with him when he was younger, and
though he wished that it has been a better trip, he travels with his
son were still happy times. However, his son missed his mother as much
as Yahiko, and both were moving at a good clip to get back to the
Akabeko and see her, however miserable and wet they looked at the
moment. However, the trek had been long, and very tiring for the young,
short legged Shinya, and Yahiko had dropped him at the dojo to get
cleaned up and rested before he saw his mother.

        Yahiko set off at a brisk pace, wanting to catch Tsubame for
lunch, and tell her about his trip. Rounding the corner near the
cemetery, however, Yahiko stopped in his tracks, his battle sense
telling him something was off in the air. Suddenly, a man bounced out
of the gate of of the cemetery, a very familar young woman in his arms.

        "TSUBAME!!!!" Yahiko shouted, quickly attempting to close the
distance between his wife's assailant, his hand already reaching for
the sakabatou at his side. 

        Though he practiced Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, and had a vow to never
kill, that didn't stopYahiko from dealing(?) out a great deal of pain
when the situation required it. Right now, his eyes blazed in anger,
and he saw where punishment was needed. Oh yes... quite needed, indeed.
No one messed with his family, and he was going to teach this thug just
that....

To Be Continued

Authors Notes:

oh yes... *evil grin* What do you do when the hardest headed rooster
and the hottest tempered tanuki trained fighter meet? :)

Jeremy Bennett

Chapter Four

        Sano quickly came to the same conclusion that he had thousands
of times before. Women were Trouble. Always. Take for instance the fact
Tsubame had fainted without anything more than a "gomen gomen gomen."
Now, he was hauling her halfway across town, under the threat of a
thunderstorm, to somewhere he hopes she USED to work. Quietly sighing
to himself, he scooped Tsubame up into his arms and set off for the
Akebato. No sooner had he had begun his trek, his senses were suddenly
assaulted with the sounds of "You BASTARD!!!!!!" from down the road.
Turning slightly, he noticed a young man, maybe 25 running at him with
a sword at his hip, his blue hakama and gi seeming oddly familar. By
the look in his eye, he could plainly tell the man had seen him leave
with Tsubame, and had naturally thought the worst. A ruffian kidnapping
a woman, with some evil intent. Not having any time to think about what
he was doing, he dropped Tsubame as gently to the ground as possible
and prepared for the oncoming assault......

*****

        Yahiko cringed as he saw Tsubame hit the ground. His already
strained senses told him to get this over with quickly, so with a speed
he rarely displayed outside of the most serious of battles, he came at
the stupid idiot who would attack his wife with all the strength he
could muster after both the long trek, and the stress of seeing his
wife being nearly abducted by such a villian. He knew there were few
people who could actively stand up to one of his attacks without
serious injury, and was not expecting this man to be much of a
challenge, attacking nearly defenseless young women in a cemetery, no
less. Drawing his sakabatou in a running battoujutsu, his lateral
strike was intended to slam into the side of the man's right ribs, and
throwing him to his left, hopefully unconscious. It was a very large
surprise to him, when the man shifting his postion just slighly to the
right, allowing Yahiko's strike to pass him by just scant centimeters
from his right side, and brought his knee up directly into Yahiko's
solar plexus like a loaded shot of lead. The last thing Yahiko
remembered before unconsciousness took him went something along the
lines of "Boy that hairdo looks familar...."

*****

        Sano looked down at the fallen man, slightly who had slumped
over in his unconscious state. He could always remember trouble
following him around when he was younger, but this was just plan
stupid. Bending over, he turned the man face up, and for the first time
got a good, long look at him.

        "Well damn, I should'a figured on something like that... must
be geetting feeble in my old age..." Looking one more time just to make
sure, I confirm that, yah, I just knocked Yahiko out, and not only
that, he was sloppy enough to let me do it in one blow... Maybe it is a
good thing that I came back to Tokyo.......

        Figuring that I had puttered about with the kids long enough, I
picked Yahiko up off the ground, propped him up on a nearby wall, and
slapped his face, hard.

*****

        Yahiko stood in the dojo, quietly contemplating the sign in
front of him. He had been meditating, trying to understand the
character written on the white piece of silk when he heard someone come
into the dojo. Turning around, he noted Tsubame coming towards him with
a bokken in hand, a gentle smile on her face. Uhoh... this can't be
good, he thought to himself. Turning around and standing, he came up
and gently pulled her into a hug, her words coming like silk, she began
carressing his face... "Yahiko-kun..... Yahiko-kun....." she gently
mumbled, their faces getting closer and closer.... suddenly, her hand
came up for the greatest smack he had ever felt in his entire life...."

        "YAHIKO, you baka! Wake the hell up!" Jeez, people just
couldn't handle a little love tap anymore, could they.

        "Tsubame.... why'd you hit me....?" Yahiko mumbled before
reality came crashing back on his senses. His eye's flying wide open,
Yahiko looked up into the aged face of Sagara Sanosuke for the first
time in ten years.

        "How you doing Yahiko-chan. Nice to know that you are still
carrying on th traditions of 'baka-deshi-ken.' Kaoru would be so proud.
Now if you don't mind, could you take your hands off my waist... it's
really starting to bother me....." 

        "Okay," Yahiko thought to himself, I am still dreaming. I can
not have my hands around another man's waist, cause I know Sano can't
be back in Tokyo. Therefore, whoever is over me must be impersonating
Sano to try to gain my trust, then slip a tanto in my back. Well, I
will show him. Moving slowly, he rested his left hand at the pommel of
his sakabatou, and using a skill gleaned through many years of repeated
attempts, drove the hilt directly into the man's chin. Crowing in
triumph, he watched as the man went over backwards, unconsious.

        Tsubame chose that moment to stir, her eye's fluttering like a
butterfly in the breeze. She took in the scene before her, with
Sanosuke lying unconsious a few feet from an obvious dazed Yahiko.
Making a quick judgement, she quickly ran up and checked on her
husband.

        "Anata, are you okay?" She quickly began inspecting her husband
for injuries.

        "Yes, who the hell is that?" Yahiko nodded toward the
slumbering form of Sano.

        "Dear, don't you recognize Sanosuke? I found him meeting at
Kaoru and Kenshin's gravesite, he startled me, and I hurt him a bit
before... well... the rest is kinda fuzzy, but maybe tea would be a
good way to bring this whole mess back into control, don't you?"
Tsubame asked mildly, her eye's glittering with mirth.....

        "Hooo boy... I have a feeling it's gonna be a long day......"
Yahiko muttered before nodding his head at his wife's suggestion.

To Be Continued.

Chapter Four

        Something was wrong. I was lying on my back, with a splitting
headache. Not that unusual an experience, after so many years of long
sake parties, American beer, and Russian vodkas, you know what a
hangover feels like. Problem is, this didn't FEEL like a hangover. In
fact, it felt a lot like someone had slugged me. Wait.... I was
sleeping on something soft. A futon? How odd. I haven't slept on one of
those in nearly two years. Come to think about it.... where am I? One
minute I had my screwy experience with Tsubame at the gravesite, next
thing I know I run into Yahiko, and be knocks the piss outta me... HOLD
ON........Yahiko beat the piss out of ME??? WHAT THE HELL?!

****

        Tsubame and Yahiko were sitting quietly on the egawa, the rain
leaving a smattering of puddles in the sandy courtyard next to the
dojo. Trying to remain inconspicious, Shinya listened quietly from
behind one of the sliding shoji as his parents chatted about their
guest.

        "Jeez, Sano's not been slouching off, has he?" Yahiko commented
while still rubbing his sore stomach after that strike he'd recieved.
Tsubame was trying very hard not to laugh at her husband's discomfort.
She couldn't help but be amazed that Yahiko and Sano saw each other
less than thirty seconds and were already causing each other no end of
grief. Then again, helping lug Sanosuke's gangly frame back to the dojo
had given her a backache, as well.

        "Well, if you would have a little consideration for the people
you are about to fight with, maybe a misunderstanding like this won't
happen again, dear." Tsubame chided.

        "Well, what did you expect me to do, I saw a guy trying to
kidnap my wife! I've made enough enemies in my life that it isn't
entirely insane to think that, you know. That's why I trained you, why
I am training Shinya. I don't know what would happen if I lost you
two."

        "I know, and it was sweet of you... but not even I thought you
would forget what Sano always wore, and besides, he STILL had 'evil' on
his back, so how could you miss THAT if anything?"

        Yahiko sighed in the face of his wife's gentle, but very
logical argument. He had over-reacted. Maybe it was the stress of
seeing what happened when husbands lost their wives. He realized he
would have to applogize to Sano. Damn he hated being wrong. He REALLY
being wrong and needing to be called to it by that roosterhead only
made matters worse. Oh well, he thought, there isn't much I can do. 

        "Shinya, come out from behind there and get a broom to start
sweeping the courtyard with. Your mother has been trying to do it for
the last two weeks by herself, and I would imagine there are a few
spots that could be done again." Yahiko called out to where his son had
been trying to eavesdrop from behind the shoji leading to the kitchen.

        "Hai, tousan......" Shinya sheepishly replied, coming out from
his hiding spot. "But, Dad, is that the REAL Sano? the Sano that helped
you and Ken-san fight Shishio, and beat up 500 men single handed?"

        "Yes, Shin-chan, it is." Yahiko replied, remembering all the
stories and fables that grew up around the Kenshin-gumi all those years
ago, about the fights, and the fun. Shinya was just utterly enthralled
with the facts, and always told the stories to his friends. .

        "Sugoi...... I can't wait to tell Outa! He always wanted to
meet Sano. He was always his favorite!."

        "Well, there will be time for that later young man. Now go do
as your father told you to, and then we will talk later. Okay?" Tsubame
broke in with the "don't mess with me, I am the mother" look.

        "Hai, mamma...." With that, Shinya trudged off toward the
cleaning shed, intent on his work.

        Turning back to Tsubame, Yahiko suddenly thought of something.
"Dear, shouldn't you be at work by this time?"

        Tsubame went quite pale. "Oh no...." she stated before rushing
off toward the gates... "Tae is gonna KILL me" was all that was heard
as she faded into the distance.

*****

        I wander my way through the Kamiya home. It's been ten years
since I was last here. Time seems to have changed it little. Plants are
still in the same locations. Little things that Kaoru had done seem to
have been continued by Tsubame and Yahiko. They have taken over the
main room, it seems. Looking around, I notice the occupation of
children. Kids. Perfect. More trouble to get me into. The whole
experience brings back memories. Yahiko spending countless hours out
there polishing the floor for Kaoru as part of her ab... training, then
doing two thousand strokes Kaoru beating on Kenshin with a bokken.
Kaoru beating on Kenshin with a pot, a spoon, a shinai... I was broken
out of my memory induced trance by the sound of someone walking up
behind me. Turning around, quickly, I quickly look at what Yahiko has
become, and am quite happy. Grinning wrying, I figure he's prolly as
easy to bait as he was ten years ago......

        "Hey, brat. You hit hard, you know that?"

        "I could say the same about you, you damn roosterhead. In town
less than a day, and you're already groping my wife, jeez!"

        "Oh come on, I didn't have my hands anywhere near her bre...."
I cut myself off quickly at seeing the mischif in Yahikos eyes.

        "Oh, so now you're denying that my wife tossed you around like
a rag doll this morning?" Yahiko stated archly.

        "Hey, she caught me off gaurd, I wasn't expecting to see anyone
there."

        "That's fine, she explained everything to me. It's good to see
you again. We haven't had a card from you in nearly three years. I was
starting to wonder where you'd gotten off to."

        "Oh, you know me. The road catches my attention, and I follow
it where it needs to take me." My stomach rumbles quietly, showing it's
annoyance at being ignored up until now. Laughing gently, Yahiko just
beckons me out of the door, and stopping in the dojo to tell the kid
cleaning the floor, he starts leading me out the gates.

        "Come on, We can prolly catch up to Tsubame if we hurry up. We
have a lot of catching up to do!"

To Be Continued

Chapter Five

        �You�re kidding, three in one day�� I trailed off as we
approached the Akebato. It had been a long time since I had been here,
and the sounds and smells of good food cooking still had the old effect
of making my stomach rumble in complaint at being neglected. Chuckling
to himself, Yahiko just rolled his eyes at the sky and muttered
something about unchanging rocks.

*****

        �Welcome to the Akebato, my name is� SANOSUKE?!� Tae yelled
loud enough to rattle the rafters of the building.

        �Hey Tae, it�s�.� I only got out before a large flaming demon
head appeared before Yahiko and I. If not for the five-foot head, the
lizard tongue, the flaming hair, and the obvious murderous glint in her
eye, I would have said she was happy to see me.

        �You OWE me, Sagara.� The demon head seemed to go from deep
purple to nearly black. �One Hundred and Fifty THOUSAND yen, Sagara.
Pay up, get out, or I take it out on your hide RIGHT NOW!�

        �Oh, is that all? Here.� Fumbling into my pocket, I quickly
pull a large wad of bills out, put them on the counter, and bow deeply.
�Sorry it took me so long to pay you back, but I hope that this covers
most of it. If you need more, it will take me a day or two to get it,
but that should cover a good chunk.�

        The demon head suddenly popped out of existence, Tae patted her
hair where it was slightly mussed, then snagged the bills off the
counter. �Oh, well, that�s different. Right this way.� Turning to
follow Tae, I notice that Yahiko has a shell-shocked expression on his
face. His hair was blown back, and it was actually was doing a pretty
good impression of my hairstyle at the moment. Touching him gently on
the shoulder, I laughed to myself when he fell over, stiff as a board
and out like a light. Picking him up, I carried him under my arm back
to a private room near the kitchen.

*****

        �Yahiko, dear, would you please get me the dried miso out of
the storage shed?� Tsubame called out of the kitchen. Quickly doing as
his wife asked, Yahiko returned with the small wooden container under
one arm, to be greeted to the sight of his wife wearing little more
than a short, gray yukuta and a smile. 

        �I was thinking of something� different� for breakfast this
morning, anata� something� sweet�� Tsubame slowly started walking
towards her husband, her hands toying with the simple tie at her waist.
Yahiko moved his hands out towards his willing wife, grasping her
lightly and running his hands along her shapely� WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM

        �WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, BAKA?!� I bellow as Yahiko
attempts to fondle my rear as I haul him to our table. Dropping him
quickly, I restrain myself from stomping down on his thick skull and
ending his misery for all time.

*****

        �Ugh� what the hell did you do that for Tsub�� Yahiko trails
off as he notices someone towering above him, foot poised to crack his
skull. Rolling quickly, he slapped his right hand on the floor to pivot
from, and rotated his knee through a sharp arc, catching Sano�s ankle
neatly, he droped him onto a patron smirking about the spectacle. This
caused the man to fall into the young couple sitting next to him to
lose balance, triping forward into the kitchen uncontrollably. Several
crashes and clatters later, loud cursing, followed by VERY angry and
muttering Tsubame out of the kitchen just in time to see her husband
pick himself up off the floor. Miso soup was everywhere, people were
scattered, Sano and groaning as he tried to get up from the remains of
the table.

        Yahiko smirked as he jumped up, and attempted to dust himself
off. There, that should show Sano what happens when you tick me off
NOW. Suddenly, his danger sense pinged, and he slowly turned around to
note his wife, a small fire burning in her eyes, and a large� heavy�
ladle� in her hands. This.. didn't look good.

        �Umm� heh� sorry, my dear, darling lovely wife??� Much violence
commenced.

*****

        �You know, that lil firecracker you call a wife could be a
really good artist if she just worked a little...� I told the twisted
and mutilated Yahiko as we sat at a low table. The mess had been
cleaned, the food replaced, and general order restored, though Tae was
watching us to make sure we did not cause any more little incidents

        �So, what have you been doing? We haven�t heard from you in so
long we were starting to worry.� Yahiko opened with while wincing and
shifting uncomfortably. 

        �Oh, you know me. Traveling, moving around a lot. Doing what I
do best.� I replied with a small grin.

        �Mooching, fighting, and chasing women in other words.� Tae
said, approaching from the kitchen area with some maki sushi rolls.

        �Oi, I am not that bad! Jeez, like I have time to settle down
with anyone�� 

        �Really?� Tae seemed unimpressed. �I can think of a couple of
people who want to see YOU, Sagara.�

        �And who would that be?� I gritted out though I could already
guess.

        �Megumi, for one.� Tae said with a touch of anger.

        �Yah, Foxlady can wait.� I replied promptly

        �Your sister, for another.� 

        That brought me up short. Sister?? Here?? Oh� Crap.

To Be Continued�

Chapter Six

        "Sister?!" I shouted in shock, nearly falling over. This was
the last thing that I needed today.

        "Yah, sister. Little blonde thing, maybe twenty years old..."
Yahiko stated, obviously confused.

        Wait. Little blon... oh no. Anyone, ANYTHING but her... I
decided that an explanation was in order, and quickly, before the
little monster found m...

        With a deafening roar, the force of a blonde blur blew in the
doors to the Akebato. The blur homed in, approaching like some
unstoppable force, then proceeded to attach itself to my arm. It
resolved itself into a young woman, with a shock of wild blond hair,
clear blue eyes, and slightly elfin features below long bangs.

        "Sano-neechan!! I've looked all over for you, and I couldn't
find you, and you were gone when I woke up, and I couldn't get anyone
to tell me where you went, so I started wandering, and I remember you
talking about your old friends in Tokyo, and how you needed to go there
someday, and that was so long ago! So I went searching for you, and I
got here, and there were these mean men, and Ken-neechan beat them up,
and then I found out that he was the same one you knew and..." With a
sick grin, I disentangled my arm from her grip, and, giving the out of
breath girl to Yahiko, told him, "I see you've met Chisai."

        "Yes, and she does seem to have quite an attachment to you."
Yahiko replied with a slight grin. "She wandered in about two months
ago, and was getting roughed up by a couple of local boys. Shinta came
through and stopped them, and she... as she put it, "adopted" him. Then
she asked about her other 'neechan' Sanosuke, and has been here ever
since. It's been quite an experience for Shinta, let me tell you."

        "I can understand that." Boy, this was going to be hard to
explain to everyone.

*****

        With Tsubame's help, I quickly filled Yahiko in on the story up
to the point where I had been... interrupted. By this time, the Akebato
had slowed down considerably, most of the regular patrons having left
for other business. Tae had brought out some more food (at my expense)
of course, and I was ready to continue my tale. Settling back again,
for the second time that day, I continued.

*****

        

        . We had just finished cleaning up Chisai's wounds, the cut
from the pottery shard was not as bad as I had first thought, and I had
wrapped it up with some of my bandages that I had brought with me. She
had finally settled down enough that I believed she wasn't going to try
and gut me in the middle of the night. After roughing up my straw futon
for night, I noticed that she had just sat and watched me the whole
time. 

        "What did you bring to sleep with?" I asked her with what I
hopped was an authoritative tone in my voice.

        "mmfm" she mumbled back at me.

        "What, I can't hear a word you're saying."

        "I didn't..." she mumbled again.

        Realizing that she didn't bring anything to sleep with, I
sighed to myself, picked up my dogi jacket from where I had stowed it
in my pack, and tossed it over to her. "You sleep on the floor, over
there, facing away from me." Pointing at a small cubby between two
barrels, I watched as she shuffled over and looked at the space
distastefully. "Use that until I can find you something better," I said
diplomatically.

        "Why can't I use the mattress?" she wailed.

        "Cause, I booked it, you tried to loot me, and you're
annoying." I replied in a curt voice.

        "You're nothing but a old mean man!" She replied back.

        "Yah, well, I still get the mat!" With that, I turned over,
closed my eyes, and ignored the little monster so that I could get some
sleep. Hearing a rustle behind me, I cracked an eye and noted that she
did as she was told, though I heard the grumble about "Baka old men"
before she pulled my dogi over her shoulders, glaring back at me one
last time, then turning over and closing her eyes.

*****

        The process of slugging water and rigging sails for my trip
wasn't difficult, once I got into the rhythm of it. Moving about the
ship was good exercise, and I quickly got the hang of moving with the
sway of the vessel to avoid the seasickness that seemed to catch people
who were not used to sea travel. I might have been perfectly happy with
that, but for the fact that every time I turned around, I had a little
blonde in my shadow glaring at me when she thought I wasn't looking. 

        This was added by the fact that several of the crew were
looking at Chisai like the stinking dogs that I was rapidly coming to
believe they were. It was really starting to get on my nerves some of
the looks that I was getting as well, and decided to bite the problem
off the best way I knew how. Picking one of the more... disturbing...
men staring at Chisai, I set down my bucket and walked up to him.
Noting that I was again being shadowed, I mentally thanked my stars
that Chisai was so terrified that she wasn't willing to start a war
with me.

        "Gendou, isn't it?" I decided to try a little tact before
beating his skull in. "I noticed that you've kept a close eye on me
since I came on board. Can I do something for ya?"

        He looked at me, then changed his expression and looked Chisai,
standing behind me. "How much?"

        "Excuse me?" I asked, though already guessing what he meant.

        "For the kid. How much? I've got about four hundred yen with me
right now." He again asked, the lecherous and sadistic look in his eye
mirroring the captains from the night before.

        "Ah..." I replied in complete understanding. Stepping forward
quickly, I lifted him up with my left hand, while at the same time
landing a blow with my right in his unprotected solar plexus. After he
doubled over, I grabbed him with my right hand, and quickly shifting my
weight, tossed him into the small crowd that had gathered to watch what
might happen. Looming over the mass of arms and legs at my feet, I
again re-iterated what I had said the night before. "Anyone, ANYONE
touches her, and I break every bone in their body, understand?"

        "You just want to hold her for yourself. You want all the tail
for your own damn..." was as far as the idiot made it before I tossed
him overboard, head first. As he sailed over the railing, a cry of "GET
HIM" came from the bodies still lying at my feet, which caused the
fight to degrade into a free for all. People were throwing themselves
at me, thinking they had a chance if all of them rushed me en mass. 

        They were wrong. 

        It was a brawl for several minutes, until I heard a cry from
behind making me whirl quickly, forgetting a heavyset man with a
moustache I had just kicked over the railing into the water below.

        The first man that I had 'handled' had a large knife out, and
was holding Chisai's arm in a painful overhand grip whle he waved the
blade in front of her face like a snake. Now, you know how I get when
life is on the line. Sure, I like fighting as much as the next guy, but
when a life is in danger, I get more serious. Sure, the little snot
annoyed me, but she was in danger, and I didn't have the time to be
nice. Blurring forward, I grabbed Gendou's knife hand, and, yanking
hard, heard the brittle snap of bones before throwing a open palm
strike into the middle of his face. He went over backwards, a spray of
blood pouring from his nose, and dropping like a sack of rice to the
deck of the ship. 

        All motion stopped, everyone looking at the fate of Gendou.
Most of them thought he was dead. I knew better, though. He would live,
unfortunately. I looked down, noting that Chisai had a small trickle of
blood running down her face from a small slash running across her
forehead. The blade of the knife had evidently nicked her as it
traveled up.

        The captain, being drawn by the commotion, made his way to see
what the fight was all about, noted Gendou, Chisai, and then my
challenging glare.

        "Go clean up Gendou, I want to talk to him when he wakes up.
Lock those two up until the trip is done. We will figure out what the
Chinese want done with them when we hit port." Understanding that this
was the only way to prevent more bloodshed on board, I relented, and
Chisai and I kept the cockroaches company in the forward hold for the
rest of the trip to China.

*****

        "He was SOOOO cool, I didn't know he cared so much about me,
even back then!" Chisai gushed, her exuberance plain. By the time I had
finished the story, it had grown to late afternoon, and the evening
rush was beginning once again. Tae had wandered off, to be replaced by
Tsubame, who laughed and cried in rounds at the story.

        "Well, I think it's about time we started back, don't you,
Sano?" Yahiko stated.

        "Sure, I need to find an inn yet, anyway." I replied back to
him.

        "I will have no such thing. You will stay with us, and that's
the end of it!" Tsubame chimed in. "You are an old friend, one who has
helped us more in the past than I care to remember, and you will be
staying with us." The steel, hidden behind her voice, was suddenly
quite strong, and I smiled to myself before relenting and allowing
myself to be dragged outside by Chisai, being followed behind by Yahiko
and Tsubame.

*****

        "So, what do you think of his story?" Tsubame asked her husband
as they settled down for the evening. 

        "I don't know, it seems straight forward enough, and Chisai
SAID that she met him on a boat... it just seems there is something
else more to it than he is saying." Yahiko seemed deep in thought,
something nagging at the back of his mind.

        "Anata..." Yahiko was still distracted.

        "Anaata..." The whisper of fabric on skin could be heard.
Yahiko's eyes widened, turned, and looked. 

        "Maybe we could worry about it in the morning... Yahiko-chan?"
Tsubame used her most coy voice, the one that set Yahiko off every
time. 

*****

        The sound of yelling in the middle of the nigh brought Yahiko
running down the hallway to the spare room, Tsubame close on his heels.
Flinging the door to the spare room open, Yahiko noted Chisai sleeping
peacefully in Sanosuke's bed, then noted Sano plastered against the
wall, looking like a man who just found a naked woman in his bed.

        Yahiko's left eye twitched...

To Be Continued 

Authors Notes

I want to thank Nightman and chendo for their work in helping with this
chapter. The comments and help have made this a much easier fiction to
write than some of my other writing. I also want to thank everyone in
#fanfic on irc.nabiki.com for their help and input.

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