End of A Weary Day--Formating Revised 12/21

A/N:This is nearly the end, my friends. Kenshin, Kaoru, and myself are all ready for a bit of new scenery after this rollercoaster of a ride. I know this fiction has been through a lot, and the story I finally wrung out of it is not one of my best because I had to make it up after the dead was already done, but I hope we had some fun along the way. I promise my next offering will be much better thought out, better contrived, and much better planned. I owe you that much for hanging out with me through all of this... and for your kind words of encouragement. So, I warn you all, there may be only 1 or 2 chapters at the most left to go, and \'Weary Day\' will be at an end... but hopefully it was a little bit of fun while it lasted.
I promise my Lemons will be much better too... *winks*.
Arigato to you all, and God Bless. Tsuki-san

Chapter Twelve

Enemy Alliances?

Tokyo, 4 days past Rain Storm
Massive Flood Damage

It did not take Kenshin long to discover that Megumi was not at the clinic, nor did it appear
she had been there at all for several days. Her futon remained neatly folded and tucked away in the corner of the room as well as the bedding and pillow. His forehead wrinkled in concern and confusion as he tried to think where she could be. He had left her here and as far as he knew, she did not have any reason to leave for more than a few hours at a time. He left and went to find Dr.Gensai whom he found up to his nose with walking wounded left over from the storm and questioned as to the female doctors where abouts. Unfortunately, the older man had no idea where she could have gone. All he was aware of was that Megumi had seen all of her patients the day of the storm, closed the clinic just as she did every afternoon, and then retreated to her room. He had not seen her since then. He had been far to occupied with the wounded and homeless that kept turning up at his clinic to keep track of her personal/professional activities. Kenshin graciously thanked the old doctor and walked back to the Dojo more worried than when he had left.

\"Did you find her?\" Kaoru looked up from what she was doing and noticing Kenshin\'s
worried face, stood up and walked over to him. \"What is wrong, Kenshin? You didn\'t find
Megumi, did you?\" She laid a tender hand on his chest and felt him sigh.

\"No, I did not. I do not know where she could be, Kaoru... Dr. Gensai does not know where
she is either.\" The deep concern of his violet eyes turned to gaze into the worried face of his beloved and he lifted his hand to cup her face. \"Her room does look as though anyone has been in it for several days... which could possibly indicate she left it sometime before the storm hit and then never made it back.\"

\"Oh Kenshin... you don\'t think... You don\'t think she could have...\" Kaoru\'s hand
convulsively clutched a handful of his gi as a vision of Megumi drowned and floating in the dirty river water suddenly flashed before her minds eye causing a shudder of fear to quake through her.

‘NO... I don\'t.\" Kenshin pulled Kaoru hard against his chest and wrapped his arms tightly
around her trembling form. \"Don\'t even think that way, Kaoru. If you do, you will convince
yourself everyone is dead long before we know anything... so, stop... do you understand me?\" His voice was rough and tender at the same time, but she nodded against him as her arms snaked around his waist and held on.

\"Yes... but I cannot help but be a little afraid... Kenshin, what are we going to do with all of
them?\" He pulled away slightly and followed her gaze considering the cold shivering people who had sought refuge within the walls of the Dojo after the storm had rousted them from their homes in one way or another. Many were wounded with cuts, scrapes, and broken bones and in desperate need of a doctor which was the main reason that had sent Kenshin looking for the dark-haired doctor in the first place.

\"We will do the best we can, Saiai. That is all we can do. You have set broken bones before, and I have dressed wounds. Together we will do what has to be done and hope it is enough, and then we will try to find a way across the river to check on the rest of our ‘family\'. Hai?\"

\"Yes.\" She agreed as she buried her face against his neck soaking up the strength of him for the few moments they had before having to face the tragedies that awaited them in the courtyard. \"I do not know what I would do without you, Kenshin... I do not ever want to find out... not ever.\"

\"You won\'t have to, Saiai.\" He breathed against the soft warmth of her throat. \"I swear,
you will not ever have to know.\" And as she leaned back from him and looked up into his
handsome yet weary face, Kaoru could feel how much he loved her and it humbled her spirit in such a way that she knew she would die before she would let herself be parted from this man.

\"Aishiteru, Kenshin.\" She said and tenderly kissed his mouth before turning and walking
back toward the wounded and frightened people crowded into the Dojo\'s yard.

\"Aishiteru my Angel.\" Kenshin\'s voice was barely above a whisper as it followed her
slender form across the cold wet ground. \"I will be with you always... always and a day.\" Then he adjusted his sakobatou on his hip and followed her.

The wounded and homeless had been straggling into the sanctuary the Kamiya Dojo represented for the last three or four days since the night of the torrential rain and the horrible flooding that followed, and slowly but surely the empty rooms and the courtyard filled the lost and hungry as they sought out refuge in the one place they could think of where they would not be turned away. Now, there was so much to do and so few hands to do it with. Thankfully there were several women from the surrounding homes who were more than willing to come and lend their assistance to the tiring couple, but without the proper supplies and medicines and enough food to go around, it was a more than difficult task for anyone to meet. It was a heart breaking one as well taking its tole on everyone as the hours without word from across the river stretched into days, and soon anxieties and fears began to surface bringing with them the ugly weight of responsibility.

\"What will en ten to us with the bridge gone?\"

\"How will we get enough food and fresh water to survive?\"

\"How will we get medicine and clean bandages?\"

\"Where is the Doctor? Are we all going to die?\"

\"Do you think anyone is trying to find a way to get to us?\"

\"How will we know if any of our families on the other side have survived?\"

\"Wha\"What is to become of us?\"

Dozen\'s of questions that Kenshin could not answer were suddenly being hurled at him as he tried to promote as much calm and peace among his ‘guests\' as he possibly could, but it was a fruitless effort on his part. It did not seem to matter what manner of soothing answers or words of hope and encouragement he gave them, there was a wash tub full of doubts and discouragement thrown back at him by those he was trying to help, and by mid-afternoon of the fourth day, he was far beyond frazzled, and bordering on despair himself.

Kaoru could see the frustrated exhaustion on his pale, weary face and felt the rise of an
angry indignation surge through her soul. Could they not see how hard he was trying to help them keep their spirits up and not lose heart? Were they so blind and selfish that they could not see he was all but bearing the entire burden of their loses upon his shoulders as if they were his own? The enormous kindness of his heart was cradling them like frightened children, and in their infinite self-centered blindness, they were letting him do it, and, in their selfish fear, they were abusing him for it.

And, as another round of whining questions and demands were heaped upon Kenshin\'s shoulders, Kaoru knew she could not stand it anymore, and she exploded into a righteous rage that had them all gapping and cringing from her in wide eyed shock and fear.

\"STOP IT!\" She shouted angrily as she wildly waved her arms in front of her indicating
everyone sitting withing the confines of the yard. \"It is enough what you\'ve been doing here the last few days... It is enough, I say and I demand that you all stop it right now.\" Her brilliant sapphire blue eyes snapped dangerously of fury that was barely being held in check, and every eye that was upon her dared not look away for fear of the punishment of her wrath. \"Don\'t you think Kenshin is doing the best he can? Don\'t you think he has worries of his own without you heaping all of yours on top of him as well? Don\'t you think ‘we\' are worried about what is going to happen to ‘our\' family and friends on the other side of the river? Do you t you you are the only ones who are frightened and wondering what is going on?\" Placing her hands on her hips, she glared daggers at the shrinking crowd of worried individuals but felt no pity for them as she continued. \"Don\'t you think he\'s done enough trying to alleviate your bloody fears all this time... What about his own? My own? Do OUR
lives matter to any of you? Have you even asked us how WE are doing? We opened up our home to you willingly because you each have lost your own, and have you spoken one word of gratitude to us? NO! All you can do is set and whine like lost children waiting for Kenshin to wave his magic wand and make everything all better. Well, it doesn\'t work that way, people. We are all in the middle of this tragedy together... You aren\'t the only ones affected by it, and Kenshin is not here to be your personal savior. He is only one man, and he can only do so much... Now, get a grip on yourselves and start taking some responsibility for your own personal tragedy here. It is not for him to worry for all of you. He has enough to worry about within his very own family in case you had forgotten he has one... Now leave him the hell alone!\" With that Kaoru turned away from the white faced speechless crowd and took her speechless lover by the hand and pulled him down the engowa to their room. Once there, she opened the fusuma, all but shoved him inside, followed him in, and then slammed the door behind them hard enough to rattle the support poles.

The courtyard remained deathly quiet as one then another then another began to look at each another and the heavy blanket of guilt drifted over the group and settled uncomfortably upon them. They knew Kaoru was right. Each and every one of them knew it, and heads bowed in shame as her harsh words tore bloody pathways of realization through their terrified souls. It had been easy to let someone else shoulder the burden of worry and despair for them, and it had been even easier to make that someone responsible for things not working out, for their fears, and for all of the problems they were facing. And because of the goodness of his soul, Himura Kenshin had let them do it while he had patiently and consistently tried to give them hope and something to believe in. Kaoru was right, it was not his place to do all of the worrying, nor was he there to be their personal savior... he was only one man, a remarkable man for certain, but still only one man and he had despairing
worries of his own. They had abused his hospitality and his goodness as well as that of Kamiya Kaoru. There was much to repent for.

\"Kaoru...\" Kenshin\'s voice was slightly apprehensive as he stood in the middle of their room and watched her slam the fusuma. \"Ahhh, Koishii... what are you doing?\"

\"I\'m getting you away from those rotten blood-sucking ingrates, Kenshin, that is what I am
doing.\"

\"But Kaoru, there is still much to do, Koishii... I still have dinner to cook, and...\"

\"Not tonight you don\'t, Kenshin. You have hovered over those people all day and then
some, and not one of them has so much as mumbled one single ‘Thank-you\' or offered to help. If it were not for Minna-san, Kiima-san, and the others who have come to help, we would have had that pack of parasites all to ourselves the last four days, and Kami knows where THAT would have left us.\"

\"Don\'t you think you are being a bit hard on them, Saiai?\" Kenshin\'s quiet step carried him across spacspace that separated them and gently put his hands on her shoulders. \"They have lost much because of the storm, and it is in our power to assist them. If you were in their position, how do you think you would feel? Hmmmm?\"

\"I would feel awful... I have no doubt about that, but I would not give up and let someone else shoulder the burden\'s of my pain and loss. Not the way they are doing to you.\" Blue sapphires glittered with angry indignation as Kaoru pulled away from Kenshin\'s gentle grip. \"They are acting like sheep waiting for the Farmers knife to gut them clean and feed them to the masses... I would never do that. I would fight for myself long before I ever gave up.\"

\"You are right.\" A low chuckle of pure irony escaped Kenshin\'s throat as he shook his head in defeat beneath her irrefutable logic. \"You would never act this way... you would never give up and disappear into the ‘herd\' like one more sheep to be slaughtered.\" Then he looked up and found her standing several feet away from him her back a rigid barrier between them. He knew she was angry at the behavior of the people outside, but he also knew she was battling with her inner sense of duty toward them as well. \"So, what do you propose to do about all of this then? Do you wish me to ask them all to leave?\"

\"No... of course I don\'t... but, Kenshin...\" a long pause stretched out and he could tell she was having trouble finding the right way to say what she wanted to tell him. It never did set well with him when she struggled with herself. It always made him feel so helpless and useless like he had failed to do something important for her and that was why she felt so confused and inept.

\"It\'s all right, Kaoru... I think I understand what you are trying to say.\" Once more he
approached her stiff form and tried to gently pull her back into his arms. Reluctantly she allowed him to wrap his arms around her, and then he pressed the warmth of his chest against her back while dropping his chin down onto her shoulder. \"You want to help them, but you think they should try to help themselves as much as possible as well. Hai?\"

\"Yes, but that is not what I was trying to say.\" Long black locks of her hair fell over her
shoulder and cascaded across his forearms raising gooseflesh in their wake as they tickled his
sensitive skin. \"I wanted to say that you needed to stop trying to always be the one to bear the heaviest burden whenever things go wrong.\"

\"But I don\'t do that, Kaoru... Not anymore... do I?\" Tilting his head a fraction, Kenshin tried to look into Kaoru\'s face but it was obscured by the heavy curtain of her hair so he could not see the look on her features.

\"Yes you do, Kenshin. You always do.\" Once more Kaoru tried to move away from him, but this time he held onto her refusing to let her walk away.

\"What do you mean, ‘I always do\'? I stopped trying to be ‘the only sacrifice\' long ago, Kaoru. I don\'t look at the world that way anymore. I have you now, and you are what is most important to me not trying to save every soul in Japan.\"

\"I know that is what you think, Kenshin, but you really have not changed so very much from the Rurouni you were when you first came to the Dojo. You still have to be the one to take control of the tragedy and try to find the answer that will most benefit EVERYONE involved, and they let you... those sniveling, pitiful, weakling morons... they just set back and let you do it. They let you worry and ponder and try to find all of the answers for them while they set by and huddle together like drenched mice hiding from the Sun. I can\'t stand it, Kenshin.\" A ragged sob quaked though the slender strength of her lithe frame. \"I just can\'t stand it anymore... watching people take advantage of you every time something happens. When will they ever be there for YOU? What has to happen that they will ever be there to help YOU or US? Do they even think about that? Would they have come to help us if the tables were turned today and it was us who had lost everything and lay wounded and destitute in the street? Would they?\" An angry sob caught in her throat and Kaoru clenched her fists in frustration as she struggled to gain control over herself. \"I just can\'t help but
wonder if any of them ever think of anybody but themselves?\"

\"Koishii...\" Kenshin tightened his arms around her trembling body and pushed his face deep into the curve of her neck. \"Of course they do, but sometimes fear and grief bring out a person\'s most helpless nature, and they instinctively attach themselves to the strength of another they know can bear them up through the hard times. We are all ‘guilty\' of that at one time or another.\"

\"I-I suppose, but do you always have to be the one they attach themselves too?\"

\"Perhaps, Koishii, this is one of the reason\'s Kami-sama brought me here to you and gave me a reason to stop wandering so I could be here for THESE people. Have you thought of that?\"

\"No, I have not, but now that you mention it. I suppose it is better to have you here than
wandering all over Japan again.\" A not so delicate sniffle followed the low spoken admission and Kaoru finally relaxed in Kenshin\'s embrace letting her body soften and mold back into his. \"If you were still doing that, I would never see you... would I?\"

A low rumbling noise vibrated through Kenshin\'s chest causing a mild tickling sensation along Kaoru\'s back as the low laughter worked its way up and out until whispered along the sensitive flesh of her throat. \"No, Saiai, you would not get to see me very often if I had continued my rurouni ways instead of deciding to stay here with you.\"

\"I don\'t think I would have liked that very much, Kenshin.\" Kaoru turned her head and rubbed her chin against the bridge of his nose and forehead. \"In fact, I think I would have really hated it... a lot.\"

\"Would you have?\" He murmured as his lips pressed soft feathery kisses against her pulse point. \"Would you have hated my being gone all of the time?\"

\"Mmmmmmm.... very much. Especially if you had ever made love to me before you left... then having you gone would have been completely unbearable.... ooooooo Kenshin, that feels sooo good... don\'t stop.\" Her head dropped languidly back onto his shoulder giving Kenshin full access to the creamy flesh of her throat.

\"I had not planned on stopping, Aman.\" The husky tenor of his voice sent shivers of delight and anticipation down her spine as his hands began to slowly roam over her warm rounded curves. \"But the fact remains we have a yard full of wounded hungry people that we are bound to care for, and the Sun is still high in the sky... There is always tonight to finish what we have started, and the privacy of the darkness to hide up from any prying eyes.\"

\"You are right.\" The disappointment in her voice brought another bout of laughter from the red-haired man holding her so intimately, and that brought a much needed smile to her own lips. \"I expect you will make this up to me then, won\'t you, Anata?\" Kaoru turned in his arms so she could face him and found herself looking into a pair of warm gold-tinged violet eyes.

\"I will, Aisai.\" Kenshin breathed against her mouth as he stole her lips with his own. \"That
I will.\" And he enfolded his lover in a deep moist passionate kiss that had her trembling and sharing a heady dance of tongues with him before he pulled away.

\"You better, you rotten rurouni.\" She said in a teasing voice that made Kenshin\'s skin flash hot for a brief moment, and then she was pulling him out of the fusuma behind her in almost the same manner that she had pulled him in. \"Come on then, we have dinner to cook for the whimpering masses.\"

\"Kaoru...\" Kenshin chided gently with a tone of laughter in his voice as he followed her. He had never been able to keep up with her mood changes, but then if he could, where would the fun be in that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a slow arduous process trying to regain some sort of sense of calm or well being within the lower westside district where so much damage and death had occurred during the storm and the resulting flood. Several parties of the remaining men had to be pulled together for the dismal and unappetising task of searching out and attempting to recover the bodies of the dead and missing, and the sounds of grief and loss were becoming more common place than the sound of children ever had been.

The heavy black cloud of death hung low over the grieving district, and no manner of soothe saying by anyone; priest or otherwise could bring comfort to soften the depth of loss that was being suffered by nearly every household that had once held life in it. The dark smoke of funeral fires darkened the skies for days and showed no signs of diminishing as the hazy afternoon Sun of the fourth day began to slowly slid its way toward the horizon.

The Day of The Dead continued as another cart laden with the drowned bloated bodies of
the dead was pulled into the grief-laden world of tears and smoke. It was not over yet... far from over.

Homes and lives had yet to be rebuilt... if ever they could be.

\"Oh my God... Sano... look at them... look at all of them... I-I\'ve never seen anything like
this... not ever.\" Megumi\'s voice broke with grief and disbelief as she stopped and stared at the surrounding devastation she and Sanosuke had walked into upon entering the edges of the westend district that had been hit the hardest by the storm. They had smelled the death and the smoke long before they had ever arrived into the actual neighborhood, but still, neither of them were quite prepared for what greeted them once they arrived.

Two days before Sano had received a message from an old friend of his by the name of
Masuka Edo, who had been around in Sano\'s ‘Zanza\' days, and when the ex-gangster read the hastily written note that was delivered to him, he had gone pale as mother\'s milk.

\"Sano...?\" Megumi had rushed to his side as it seemed he might actually collapse to the
floor if she did not catch him. \"What is it, Koishii? What does that say?\" He had simply handed her the note while he had slid to the floor holding his head in his hands. Megumi had quickly skimmed the horrifying words and then dropped to her knees beside her lover trying to understand what it all meant. \"What does he mean, ‘their all dead ‘cause the water came up\'?\"

\"The river over flowed, Kitsune... The river flooded its banks and washed everything away... including the people.\"

\"You... you mean they all drowned?\" He had nodded woodenly and she had gasped in
horror covering her mouth in the process. \"Oh Kami... all of them?\"

\"Pretty much it sounds like... I knew so many of the people down there... I used to hang out down there back when... well, when I was... oh hell, you know...\"

\"I know. When you were ‘Zanza\'.\"

\"Yeah. When I was ‘him\'. That was where I lived most of the time.\" Sano had tried to
wipe the tears off his face, but Megumi had ended up doing it for him. \"I can\'t believe their all gone...\" Then he had just finally given in and cried while she held him close to her. She cried with him... not because she knew the people he grieved for, but because he was grieving at all. Sagara Sanosuke was not a man to show much emotion, and for him to cry... well, it was just more than she could bear.

Once he had regained control over himself, Sano had told Megumi that they were going to have to go and ‘help out\'. \"They are going to need somebody to help get things back on track... somebody to help get stuff organized and working again.\"

\"I know, Koishii. I know... and the people down there need someone they can trust to help, right?\"

\"Right... I guess that just about leaves me and Edo since everyone else is... well... yeah.\"

\"I know.\" She hugged him in her strong slim arms and held him close until at last he pulled away so he could look at her.

\"Will you come? I mean, you\'re a doctor and all, and they could probably use one...\"

\"Yes, I\'ll come... You know you don\'t even have to ask.\"

\"I know... I guess, but I wanted you to come with me anyway...\"

\"You did?\" Brown earth searched Sano\'s sad face. \"Why?\"

\"Because I can\'t bloody do this on my own.\" He whispered and then buried his face against her neck letting his arms crush her body against him. \"I just can\'t do it alone... I can\'t do it without you... I need you with me, Kitsune... I need you.\"

\"Then I\'ll go... I would have gone anyway.\"

\"You would? Why?\" His voice was muffled by her hair.

\"Because I would not want you to have to go through this alone... I want to be here to help
you bear this pain... and every other pain or burden you have. I love you, and that is what I\'m here for... to help you.\"

\"I love you too... God... I really do.\"

\"I know.\"

Now they stood in the middle of a calamity that could only be matched by the destruction of the Bakumatsu, and the pain from the loss of so many souls hung heavy in the smokey air.

\"It looks like my worst nightmare.\" Sano whispered as he looked around at piles of debris and left over dried mud and shattered lives. \"It\'s a wonder any of them lived though this.\"

\"Yes it is... Of course, if you ask any of them right now, no one has lived through it yet.\"
Sano looked down sharply at Megumi not quite understanding what she meant by that, but feeling somehow he would before all of this was over. \"Where do you think your friend, Edo is?\"

\"I\'m not altogether sure. I guess we should just start wandering around... we will probably run into somebody I know before too long... I hope.\" Nodding in agreement, Megumi slipped her hand into his large brown one and they began to walk slowly through the devastation trying not to become to engrossed by what surrounded them, but it was difficult to ignore the shells of crushed huts, odds and ends of household items laying broken and strewn across the road, and the endless litany of grieving voices that floated on the smokey air. It was a battlefield. Natures battlefield, but a battlefield nonetheless.

\"Zanza!\" A loud male voice stopped them in their tracks and Sano turned toward the sound trying to see through the haze but could only make out the silhouette of a man running in their direction.

\"Who is that?\" He shouted back as he raised a hand trying to shade his eyes, and then they widened in recognition. \"Edo!\" In a moment the two men were embracing each other tightly and pounding each other on the back in fierce welcome.

\"Damn... but it is good to see you.\" Edo pulled away and grinned up into the tall ex-gangsters smiling face. \"Damn good.\"

\"Good to see you too... it\'s been way too long.\" Sano gave the other man a good natured
punch in the shoulder to which he was returned one of the same, and then the two men burst out laughing and hugged each other again. \"You still hit like a girl, Edo. Hasn\'t anybody taught you how to throw a decent punch yet?\"

\"Awwwwww, nobody decent to fight with since you left, Man. Nothin\' down here but lousy
drifters most of the time.\"

\"The old gang?\" Sano cast his friend an exceptionally worried glance, and the other man
lowered his eyes for a long moment.

\"Most of them are... gone, Zanza. The water got ‘em. There\'s just you, me, Fyka, Miko,
and Needo.\"

\"That\'s it...? That\'s all...? Nobody else made it out?!!\" Sano\'s eyes filled with horrified
disbelief as he watched Edo nod his head in humble acknowledgment. \"Oh Kami.... Kuso!\" He slammed his fist hard into the palm of his other hand as he swore. \"Gone... They are all gone? I can\'t believe it... I just can\'t believe it...\" The burn of tears filled his dark brown eyes and he stabbed furiously at them with the sleeve of his jacket before he faced his friend once more. \"Have you found them all?\"

\"All except Limny... nobodies been able to find her... been looking for days we have. But
haven\'t had any luck.\" Edo\'s eyes were deeply sad as he met Sano\'s tragic brown ones. \"We are just hoping she didn\'t suffer much, Zanza... you know how old she was.\"

\"I know,\" His voice was a raspy whisper as he thought of the old woman who had been like
a Mother to half of the wild teens who had made up their gang when they were roaming the streets like hungry wolves. She always had a hot meal a w a warm bed no matter what time of day or night someone showed up on her doorstep. Fyka was her son, but she had loved the whole gang because they were his friends, so she made them all her kids. This was not a loss Sano had even considered and the squeeze in his guts was harsh and painful and the tears he had been trying to avoid fell down his face anyway. \"Limny... God, not you... Oh Limny... Dammit!\"

\"I know,\" Edo\'s voice was harsh with emotion as he watched Sano dissolve into despair. \"I
been where you are already, old friend... It doesn\'t get any easier.\" Reaching out, he laid a
comforting hand on Sano\'s shoulder and gave it a strong squeeze. \"But I really need you to get a grip, Buddy. We need you to be your old self again.\"

\"What are you talking about, Edo? My ‘old self\'?\" Questioning brown eyes looked hard
into Edo\'s weary worn face. \"What\'s going on that you need the ‘old me\'?\"

\"The people down here... they\'re lost Zanza... they\'re confused and lost, Man. They don\'t
know which end is up, and they don\'t know where to go, or what to do. All they understand is that there are a bunch of dead bodies that have to be burned and everyday there are more... There is a man down here now... he showed up the first day...\"

\"What man? What are you talking about?\"

\"He\'s some rich European... got more money than he knows what to do with... seems he\'s got a taste for the ‘district\' if you know what I mean?\"

\"Yeah... Ok, go on, what about him?\"

\"Well, he wants to help out... He wants to help these people rebuild and renovate, but they don\'t trust him. He\'s not one of ‘us\', you know what I mean?\"

\"Yeah, I know.\"

\"Well, he\'s got this girl with him. A real looker she is, and she\'s from down here. I\'ve seen her a couple of times... a high-priced girl... anyway, she was the one who made the suggestion we try and find you to come back and take charge of everything.\"

\"Take Charge?? You never said shit about me taking charge of nothing, Edo. What the hell are you trying to get me into here?\" Anger and confusion flushed across Sano\'s face as he stared at the shorter man. \"Take charge of what?\"

\"The whole thing, Man. You were the Leader of the Pack before... remember? You ran the
streets... You ran ‘us\', you ran ‘everything\'... everybody knows who you are and they still respect you for that... they would listen to you, and they would do whatever you told them to.\"

\"And just what in the hell am I supposed to tell them to do? Get a hold of themselves and get to rebuilding? What?\"

\"No, No, No... Kuso! You aren\'t any more level headed than you ever were are you? Still a
fucking hot-head... Listen to me for a minute, you Baka. We need someone to ‘Lead\' the effort, not to do the organizing. You couldn\'t organize your own closet if you had too.\"

\"Hey! That is not a nice thing to say to me, especially after not seeing me for so long.\"

\"Maybe, but it\'s true... ne?\"

\"Yeah, well...\"

\"Ok, then shut-up and listen. This European Guy, he\'s got all the organization skills and
connections we need... we just need someone who can convince the people that he\'s on the up and up and let him help. We need a bloody ‘Leader\' Zanza... and that\'s YOU. Do you get it NOW?\"

\"Ok, ok... I get it... I think. So who is this guy? Anybody you know?\"

\"No, never met him before the other day, but I\'ll tell you what, he\'s got it going on where it
counts. He\'s smart as hell, richer than the Emperor ever was, and he really wants to help.\"

\"Sounds to good to be true... and you know what they say about that...\"

\"Yeah, I know what they say, but it\'s not true in this case. This guy is genuine.\"

\"You believe that?\"

\"Yes, I do.\"

\"Alright. Then lets go meet him... I imagine you know right where he is, don\'t you?\"

\"Course.\" Edo gave Sano and Megumi a tired smile and then motioned for them to follow
him. \"This way, and watch out for rats, ok. Seems we have a ton of them the last couple of days.\"

\"Great... rats.\"

\"That is not a good thing, Sanosuke.\" Megumi mumbled as she started to scan the surrounding area. \"Rats mean disease.\"

\"How do you know that?\" Edo was suddenly very interested in the dark-haired woman
following his friend.

\"Because I\'m a doctor, Mr. Masuka, and I have seen what ‘a ton\' of rats can do to an infirm population.\"

\"Infirm?\" He looked at her quizzically as they walked.

\"Poverty stricken. The poor... the needy.\"

\"Oh.\"

\"It\'s not pretty... An infestation of rats can destroy a poplous of poverty stricken people in a matter of weeks.\"

\"That fast?\" Edo and Sano voiced the stunned question together.

\"Yes, that fast. They carry the Plague, Typhoid, Small Pox, and a few other diseases that I really don\'t need to mention. Those few are enough alone to wipe out a population of 300 to 500 people in a matter of two to three weeks.\"

\"The Plague?\" Edo looked at Megumi horrified. \"There hasn\'t been a major out break of the Plague for near 20 years.\"

\"I know, but that doesn\'t mean it is not still around. Rats and mice carry it very easily and it is transmitted through their droppings into the soil and drinking water after they have been feeding on dead putrefied flesh.\"

\"You mean the dead bodies laying about, don\'t you?\"

\"Yes... and that is precisely why you have so many rats all of a sudden as well.\"

\"Kuso... we need to hurry.\" And Edo picked up the step rushing his two companions along the dirt pathway they had turned onto. It led through what was left of another neighborhood and then broke out onto a cobblestone street. From there he led them to a three-story apartment complex which they quietly entered. \"It\'s on the top floor.\" He informed them as they began the long climb.

At last they reached the top landing, and Edo led them to the end of the hallway where he
knocked on the fusuma and then waited for someone to answer. It only took a minute before a soft voice asked who was there.

\"It\'s Masuka Edo... And I\'ve brought Zanza with me.\" A rustling noise was heard and then
the fusuma was pulled open revealing a small black haired woman wearing a red kimono with a black obi.

\"Please, come in and be welcome,\" She bowed low and ushered the three people through the door quietly closing it behind them. \"Please, wait here while I get my Master.\" Once more she bowed and then scurried away out of sight.

\"Take your shoes off, Edo.\" Sano whispered fiercely as he noticed his friend was still
wearing his muddy sandals. \"Where the hell are your manners? Leave them in your other coat?\"

\"Shut-up, Zanza!\" He growled as he hurriedly pulled the muddy footwear off and deposited them outside the door. \"I forgot, alright. I\'m not used to all this high and mighty high-society shit, Ok?\"

\"This isn\'t high and might high-society shit, you Baka... It\'s just plain being polite, stupid.\"
Edo glared at his old friend, but before he could summon another scathing retort he was
interrupted by the smooth cultured voice of Alexander Whitman as it floated across the room to them.

\"Konechiwa, Zanza. It has been many years, ne? Old Friend?\"

Sano\'s head snapped up at the sound of that smooth tenor voice and found himself staring in the sharp intelligent blue eyes of a man he thought he would never see again, and as the shock wore off and reality sank in he began to wonder just what the hell he had gotten himself into.

\"Hello, Xander... I see no one has slit your throat... yet.\"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun finally slipped behind the smoke hazed horizon and the battle worn inhabitants of
Tokyo were at last allowed to lay their weary bodies to rest once more. The days since the storm and the flood had left many wounded and many more homeless and hungry, but there were scant signs of life and the fight to survive beginning to show through the gloom of despair as each living soul started to return to the world of the light.

It was coming time to start trying to pick up the pieces, salvage what could be saved, and lay to rest what could not. It was time to start over. Time to put the past away and close the door on what could not be changed or rectified, and begin focusing on those things that could be changed and mended. Time to hold the ones who remained alive close to the warmth a beating heart and share the love that still burned like beacon of hope in the dark of the night, and allow the bonds that existed to grow stronger, fiercer, and deeper than any thought or any emotion had ever been before.

It was time for Life to begin anew.


The Bathhouse... Midnight

Her flesh burned beneath his lips and his hands as he removed the light blue sweat stained kimono she had worn all that day while working among the weak and wounded. The light, breezy material of her under kimono lifted away easily and fell to the floor around her ankles adding to the pile already created by the first garment. Then, with much practiced fingers, he deftly unwound the support bandages that kept the soft mounds of her breasts bound to her chest while she labored.

Hearing her sigh in pleasurable relief as he removed the confining wraps, a wicked smile
played across his lips and he began to gently massage the newly freed flesh feeling the indented marks caused from the tightness of the bandages disappearing beneath his fingertips. A deep groan echoed in her throat as her hands rose to bury themselves deeply into the thick mane of his hair urging his mouth to go where only his hands were at the moment.

\"Onegai... Kenshin... Onegai.\" It was a husky plea from a place within her soul that only he had ever been able to touch, and with a gentle murmured reply of assent, he lowered his head toward her chest and began nuzzling her aching flesh with his nose. A great shudder of desire traveled through her body and she tried to pull him even closer by wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing. This action brought a rumbling chuckle from the red-haired man that held her so close, and he raised his face to gaze lovingly into her passion filled features.

\"Impatient, are we?\" He teased as he ran the tip of his tongue across the fullness of her lower lip bringing about yet another shuddering shiver of desire from his lover. \"Calm yourself, Saiai...\" His voice was a moist whisper across her mouth as he toyed with her lips nipping and licking at them until she groaned and tried to force a full contact, but he pulled back avoiding her seeking tongue as it reached for him.

\"Kenshin...\" Her arms tightened around his neck and she urged her lower body against his
grinding her hips into his maleness trying to see if she could entice him that way, but he merely smiled at her and shook his head.

\"Not yet, Aisai. There is much yet to do before ‘that\'.\" And at her bewildered look, he bent down and swung her up into his arms and proceeded to lower her into the heated water of the bathtub, and then he picked up a sponge which he proceeded to dunk into the steaming water. \"You worked very hard today, my Koishii,\" He said in a soothing voice as he gently rubbed the soap bar over the sponge. \"I want to spoil you just a bit... and YOU are going to let me.\"

\"But, Kensh...\"

\"No, buts Kaoru...\" Crystalline amethyst orbs met and held the passion filled sapphires as he tenderly, but deliberately began to wash the sweat and dust from her beautiful body. \"It is my right to spoil and pamper you whenever I wish... and I wish it, NOW.\" So, Kaoru tried her best to relax and let her lover bath her, although her emotions battled between embarrassment and arousal the way his hands were touching her... and where they were touching her. Finally, she just decided to try and enjoy what he was trying to do for her, so she leaned back onto the curved lip of the tub and closed her eyes allowing her muscles to relax, and then she let her mind to go blank of all thought except what Kenshin was doing. It was not long after until she was lost in a world of golden pleasure and relaxation where nothing existed except Kenshin and her, and Kaoru could feel the need for him to possess her rising within her body in a new languid, almost lazy way. It felt like they had all night...

Kenshin smiled a knowing male smile as he watched the expressions of pleasure and then the slow burning desire cross his beloved\'s face while his hands slid slowly, sensuously over her warm pliant curves. This was something she had never allowed him to do before, and he was going to make it last as long as possible, that he was. Touching her was an erotic experience all in and of itself, and knowing that she was experiencing pleasure at his touch only enhanced the emotions he was feeling. Never in his life had he dared believe he would be able to bring about such amazing and decadent responses in a woman like he did this one just by touching her, and the more time they spent together exploring the world of love and sex, the more he began to understand how the two were inexorably connected for him and this incredible woman.

The stronger their love connection became, the deeper their level of emotional bonding, the more intense their sexual responses to one another were becoming. It was as if their passions and hungers knew no bounds, and the sky was the limit... or perhaps the universe. They had yet to touch the top. ‘Perhaps we never will.\' He mused to himself as he moved his hand over the flattened curve of her belly. He had long since stopped using the sponge and was simply tracing the patterns and outlines of her body with his hands and fingertips letting himself touch and ‘feel\' every delicious inch of her, and as he languidly dipped his fingers into the small space created between her thighs where they conjoined, he listened to a low purr of contentment as it slithered from between her smiling lips even as she shifted her hips in the heated water and spread her thighs a bit giving him more room to ‘play\'.

‘Ready for that are you?\' The thought smoldered in Kenshin\'s mind as he let his fingers twiddle with the mass of black curls that covered her sex feeling the unmistakable slickness of her own ‘wetness\' as it began to spill outward preparing her body for the inevitable possession of his. Hooded golden eyes raked her hungrily as he let one finger slyly slip inside of her warm slippery hole, then flashed a brilliant, yellow-gold as low feral growl of desire escaped her in a ragged breath.

Slowly the Battousai removed Kenshin\'s gi and then his white hakama and undergarments. It was time. The Rurouni had played around long enough. The takuni was more than relaxed and ready, and HE had a hunger that needed to be satisfied.

Carefully lowering himself into the heated water, Battousai let out a hissing sound as the
steaming liquid closed over his swollen manhood. That was a bit of a shock, but not one he could not deal with. Quickly he caught up the soapy sponge and washed himself clean noticing all the while that a pair of hooded smouldering sapphires were watching him very closely, and as he dunked his body to rinse the suds off, Battousai suddenly felt the surprising grip of a gentle yet firm hand close around his stiff shaft. This brought him sputtering to the surface where he met those same sapphires, only now they were over flowing with mischievous passion.

\"Hmmmm... I think I found something.\" Her voice was nearly as devious sounding as the look in her eyes promised him she was. \"I cannot imagine what it is... can you?\" The look was now deceptively innocent as she drew her legs up beneath her and leaned forward toward his chest, her head down low to the water as she gazed suggestively at him from behind a curtain of thick black eyelashes.

\"Aisai...\" His voice held the hint of a playful warning as his beautiful golden eyes held her mock innocent gaze for the moment. \"What are you planning, little takuni? Hmmmm?\" He reached out and put a hand beneath her chin so he could stare pointedly into her dancing blue eyes and caught the flash of wicked delight as it glittered within those shimmering gems.

\"Planning? Me? What makes you think I\'m planning anything, Koishii?\" Her voice sounded innocent but her eyes glittered dangerously and, beneath the surface of the soapy water, her hand began to play erotic games as it started sliding up and down the rigid erection she so fondly held captive in her grasp.

An unbidden shudder of desire and pleasure quaked through Battousai\'s frame and his eyes narrowed into slits as he clenched his teeth for a moment. \"Bad girl,\" He muttered as he reached under the water for her hand, but she stopped him with her free hand before he could reach her.

\"Bad? What do you mean ‘bad\'?\" A pretty pout pursed her full lips as she moved to all but straddle him while continuing her stroking ministrations along his highly sensitized shaft. \"Am I not doing ‘this\' right?\" The question was spoken in the disappointed tone\'s of a spoiled little girl\'s voice, and she cast a pouting look down between them at her busy hand and the ripples it was causing in the water. \"Hmmm... I guess I will just have to try it a different way.\" And suddenly she had seized him with both hands in a tight ball-jarring grasp that brought a loud hissing gasp of surprise followed by a string of ragged curses to his lips as his body turned rigid beneath her.

\"Aisai... for godsake...\" Battousai\'s hands were at once beneath her grabbing her butt and pulling her roughly into his lap. \"Are you trying to make me cum... or are you just trying to drive me over the edge?\" It was a deep groan that was all but lost against the creamy moist flesh of her pink-tipped breasts as the heat of his mouth opened to devour them. First one then the other nipple was drawn deeply into his mouth for a long hard pull that dragged harsh groaning sounds from the woman he held, and then he was covering her breasts with wet open-mouth kisses and loving licks from his tongue as he it swirled around the hard pink nubs over and over until she was shivering against him in passionate need.

Deep throated groans and high-pitched whimpering noises rained down upon his as as Kaoru began to shudder violently against him. Her hands continued their near frantic pace along his penis, but he began noticing that there were intervals when she would stop as if forgetting what she was doing. An inner smile of satisfaction crossed Battousai\'s face. He was finally getting to her. She was losing her concentration. It would not be long until, once more, HE would be the one in control, although; he had to admit, having her in control for a little while had been more than acceptable, and he would be more than willing to let THAT happen again. The vixen... she had caught him completely off guard, and he had nearly lost it, but he had IT back now... and he was going to make her lose IT. After all, wasn\'t that his job? To make her happy? To satisfy her before he satisfied himself? Yes, that is was.

‘Kuso!\' Battousai swore in his mind. ‘I\'m starting to sound like that damn rurouni more and more all the time.\' And then he pushed that disturbing thought away as he pulled Kaoru down to him so he could find her panting lips with his and finally give her what she had been craving from him all night. A kiss. A real kiss. But, once more, Battousai found himself caught completely off guard and it was the passion filled takuni that began kissing him.

As her lips moistly captured and then conformed to the shape of his mouth, Kaoru used her strong, rough tongue to push past his teeth and then thrust it deeply into his mouth while rubbing it around his larger one in a long luxurious circle of desire that tore a ragged groan from his air starved lungs. Vaguely he noticed that her hands were no longer wrapped around his throbbing manhood, but had risen to fist themselves into the hair on either side of his head thus holding him nearly motionless beneath her onslaught of his captive mouth. Again and again her tongue slid over his lips to wreck havoc with his already frazzled and befuddled senses as she filled his mouth with her essence and rubbed the hard points of her stiff nipples against his breathless chest.

\"Saiai...\" His breath was hot and wet against her mouth as both of his hands lifted to cup the beauty of her face, and he suckled almost feverishly on the honey sweetness of her tongue as it once more laved across his. \"The things you make me feel... Dear God.\"

\"What?\" Kaoru dipped her head again nibbling and kissing the hollows of his throat causing him to tremble as his hands slid down the smooth slickness of her back urging her closer to him. \"What do I make you feel, Anata... Tell me what I make you feel?\"

\"Alive, Aisai... You make me feel alive.\" Feeling her shudder against him was his undoing, and Battousai gripped her hips and lifted her above him and out of the water bringing her dripping venus even with his mouth. As he nuzzled his way into her quivering folds, he was satisfied to hear a cascade of hungry whimpering cries fall from her lips even as her hands wound themselves tighter into his hair. \"So sweet...\" He murmured against her honey slick folds as the steamy musk of her scent billowed out to over whelm and consume him. \"So very sweet... my beautiful Angel.\" And then Battousai arched his head back and drove the hunger of his burgeoning desire home as his tongue thrust deep inside of her slippery folds.

\"Oooooooooo..... Goooood........\" Kaoru\'s eyes were closed and she could see little blue and white stars bursting open behind the fragile darkness of her eyelids. Her head was swimming with sensation and a warmth that had nothing to do with the water suffused her body as she was consumed by the pleasure of having her Battousai\'s tongue working its way inside and out of her most sensitive core. A twinging ache had begun low in her belly and was spreading through the muscles of her back telling her that very soon she would be wanting much, much more from the man who was making love to her, and as a spasm of hunger clamped around his pumping tongue, her head dropped back and a cry of agonized need tore itself free from her fragile throat.

A wave of honey washed over Battousai\'s tongue as his lover reached her first peak, and he greedily lapped up every tangy drop as it slid free from the pulsing center of her.

\"That\'s it...\" He murmured against her shuddering thighs as he pressed moist kisses against the trembling flesh. \"Moan for me, Aisai... cum for me.\" It was instinct that told him to keep supporting her as he maneuvered his way out from beneath her. Somehow he knew if he removed his hands from her, she would collapse back into the water, and that was not what he wanted at this moment. That it was not.

As Battousai regained his footing, he gently swung the body of his dazed lover up into his
arms and then stepped out over the edge of the tub. Carefully he set her on her feet long enough to wrap her and himself in a towel, and then he was out the bathhouse sho-ji and on a deliberate path to their room.

\"Our...clothes...Kenshin...what about our clothes...\"

\"What about them, Aisai? They are not going anywhere, are they?\"

\"No.\"

\"Then do not worry about them... they will still be there in the morning.\" Battousai\'s foot
deftly opened the fusuma allowing him to slide inside with his tender burden and then he closed it behind him the same way. Gently he set her on the floor while he unfolded their futon and laid out the bedding, and then once more he scooped her into his arms, turned to deposit her into the freshly made bed, and then covering her with the weight of his upper body.

Kaoru\'s arms opened for him eagerly, and as he settled against her, they closed around his neck and shoulders in a tender lovers embrace. Her mouth opened willingly beneath his as he tapped his tongue against the barrier of her teeth urging them to spread and let him inside. With a low moan of anticipation, she dropped her jaw giving her lover complete access to the moist heat of her mouth which he hungrily invaded with his tongue seeking out the sweetness of her and tasting of it deeply.

A growl of desire rumbled within the Battousai as his hands delved between them and began loosening the confining towels which he quickly removed leaving only bare flesh touching bare flesh. Tearing his mouth away from hers, he greedily sucked one of her taut nipples between his lips and began lolling it about with his tongue. Beneath him, Kaoru moaned and writhed arching her back trying to bring her throbbing nipples closer to him... closer to his touch, and he was definitely in the mood to appease her now. The time for teasing and arousing was over. It was time for giving and taking so as she offered, he took.

Shifting his weight, Battousai lifted his hand and grasp Kaoru\'s opposite breast in a firm grip squeezing it almost painfully as she sobbed and buried his hands in his hair pulling him closer. Her hips were moving and pushing beneath his thigh as her body pleaded for him to take her...

\"Onegai... Anata.\" She sobbed in a broken whisper of smoldering passion as she swung her leg over his hip and tried to pull him on top of her. \"I-I need you... Onegai...\"

\"What, Kaoru...\" He rasped against her breast just before he rose up and stared into her
flushed face his golden eyes burning into her smokey blue. \"What do you need? Tell me?\"

\"I-I need you...\" Once more she arched upward into his body her hips straining against his thigh where it rested close to her quivering need. \"God... Onegai Kenshin...\"

\"Tell me first, Saiai... tell me first what you need...\" He lowered his face to hers and traced the line of her lips with the tip of his tongue as he listened to the labored sound of her heavy breathing. \"Tell me what you want, Aisai... and I will give it to you.\" His lips and tongue moved across her cheek and down over the line of her jaw, and then dipped into the hollow of her throat bringing a violent shudder to her heated flesh. \"Tell me...\"

\"Ooooo God, Onegai...\" She whimpered as her hands found their way between them and
began to caress the sinuous muscles of his back and buttocks. I... I need...I...\" She was so breathless that it was difficult to form words despite the fact that it was difficult to formulate coherent thought in her passion drugged mind at all, but if he wanted to know what she wanted, she would tell him. Somehow, she would tell him.

\"You... Anata... I-I want... you... here...\" Her trembling hand found his and pulled it away
from her breast and led it to the throbbing ache between her legs. Pressing his fingers against the sloppy wetness of her sex, she trembled and whispered again. \"I w-want you... here... inside of me... Onegai... Kenshin-saiai... make-love to me... I-I need...\" With a low wolfish growl, Battousai rolled on top of her and shoved his knee between her trembling thighs parting them in a single vicious move.

\"Then you can have me... that you can.\" His voice was a ragged growl next to her ear that
barely registered because suddenly she was filled with the full length and roundness of him causing her to arch her back and cry out with a passionate joy. The joy of being so achingly full after feeling so painfully empty... It was glorious.

Battousai, too, was feeling the joy of at last being fully joined with his mate and slid both
hands beneath her buttocks pulling her even more closely into his penetration wringing yet another cry of pleasure from the woman he loved. Then, with his breath hissing heavily between gritted teeth, he levered both of her knees over his forearms, braced his hands flat on the futon beside her upper arms causing her legs to spread wide open for him, and leaned deeply into her vulnerable pelvis beginning a slow long stroking rhythm in and out of her body. She could do nothing but grip her own thighs and stare up into the burning golden crystals that were devouring her face as his body devoured hers in wave after wave of deep thrusting pleasure-pain.

He watched her... He loved to watch her. The expressions that crossed her face as the
pleasure and need within her increased; he had become nearly perfectly attuned to her sexual moods nowthat he could almost tell when she was ready to reach the peak, and he had learned how to control his need until she was nearly there. That way, he could assure they would reach it at almost the same time... but most of all, it assured him that he had taken care of her more difficult to satisfy needs before his own more easily satiated ones. And now, as he watched the flush of red that was beginning to stain her face, neck, and chest; and the heaviness of her breathing; and the intensity of her whimpering as well as the movements of her body beneath him, Battousai knew it was time to give his lover the ultimate release she so desperately needed, and so richly deserved.

Burying himself as deeply inside of her as he could, Battousai leaned over Kaoru and seized her mouth in a blistering kiss of hunger, passion, need, and love. Then he lifted her ankles up and placed them behind his neck so that when he reared back onto his knees, her hips and buttocks were pulled up onto his upper thighs. Once more she was completely helpless beneath his power, but she had been here before, and her eyes sparked with wild anticipation as she waited breathlessly for him to continue.

\"Aishiteru, My Angel...\" He spoke in a husky almost foreign voice, and before Kaoru could
answer, Battousai threw his head back, and with a feral cry of passion, began to slam in and out of her body with a near bone breaking force that sent a soundless scream of ecstasy from her lips as her whole body arched up off the futon in wild response. The hands that gripped her legs were going to leave bruises in her pale flesh, but she would not care... she never did.

\"What are we going to do about our clothes, Kenshin?\"

\"Koishii...\" The voice was slightly exasperated. \"I told you already. They will still be there
in the morning. They are not going anywhere.\"

\"But what if someone finds them? What on earth will we say?\" Worry was most evident,
although embarrassment was not far behind.

\"I do not think anyone gets up as early as I do, Saiai, so I do not believe that is going to be a concern. Now, stop worrying about it and go to sleep. We have both had a tiring day.\"

\"But Kenshin... what if someone...\"

\"Kaoru, No one is going to find our clothes in the bathhouse. Besides, if they did... what is so wrong with that?\" Now the voice turned slightly teasing.

\"Kenshin!\" Full blown embarrassed outrage.

\"What? What did I say?\" Warm chuckling laughter followed by the soft rustling of bed
covers was soon followed by the bubbling giggles of a more than content woman.

\"All right, all right... I believe you already... stop tickling me for Kami\'s sake.\"

\"Will you go to sleep now and stop worrying about something as foolish as someone finding our clothes in the bathhouse?\"

\"Yes.\"

\"Good. Besides, there is one thing you have not thought about, Aisai.\"

\"Nani?\"

\"It is OUR bathhouse.\" Once more the darkness was filled with deep male and higher
pitched female laughter but it soon trailed off into silence as the lovers snuggled into each other\'s warmth and drifted off to sleep.


Even in the midst of so much tragedy and grief there was still a place for the simple
pleasures in life like love and laughter, and with these would come the first petals of new growth and healing.

It was a new beginning, a time of new life and the Moon shone brightly once more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thar she blows.... Please review and let me know if I remain satisfactory. I am having a hard time coming up with finishing ideas for this story... and I find myself just wanting to get it out of the way... Gomen nasi to those of you who like it. *blushes*.