The following morning, Yahiko was waiting at the door, yelling up the stairs, "Come on, busu! We don't have all day!"

"You little brat! I'm coming!" She knew the only reason he wasn't leaving without her was because of the walk. Now that the locals had realized that the two of them could see and sense them, it was going to be a much more difficult walk this morning. Yahiko was going to need her and she was going to need him if they weren't going to get overwhelmed. Once they got used to the area, they'd probably be able to make the walk alone, but for now, every walk to and from school was going to be made together.

Running down the stairs and slipping into her shoes, she grabbed her little brother's hand and rushed out. They weren't exactly running late, but if she was going to talk with the ghost in the middle school and see if it would leave Yahiko alone, they'd need to get there early.

Sano was across the street and waved them a good morning as they raced down the street. Neither cared about that as they proceeded. Kaoru kept a firm grip on her brother; if yesterday was any indication, they'd need the contact and the chances of Yahiko initiating that kind of contact were abysmal at best.

However, about half way to school, as they crossed a busy street, they started to appear. It was such a shock that Kaoru stopped short and Yahiko suddenly clutched his head, involuntarily leaning into his older sister.

"Busu! What..." Yahiko's voice trailed off into a grunt as he buried his head deeper into her side.

Kaoru ran over the past few minutes in her head. Yesterday, the walk from their home to school had been filled with ghosts. It wasn't until the last quarter of their walk that the spirits hadn't had so much pressure. However, in their run here, she hadn't seen a single ghost and Yahiko hadn't felt any. Once they crossed this street however, they were suddenly inundated.

"This unworthy one wishes to know what has occurred, if it is not too much trouble?" she asked in an older tongue, turning her eyes to one of the dead. The old lord looked down his nose; then snorted.

"He's awake. We cannot enter his territory while he is."

"Bitch! I'll kill you!"

Kaoru held Yahiko close, ignoring the strange looks living passers-by gave them. It was a sudden transition, from peace to all at once. And somehow, their home was evidently in "his" territory; whoever "he" was. And he'd just awakened. Great. Just what they needed.

Yahiko gave a little tug. He pulled out of her side, looking better, if still a little pale. This time, he grabbed her wrist and pulled. "We're going to be late!" He didn't let go until they were within sight of the school. Then, he headed to the middle school while she raced to the high school, rearranging things in her head. The ghost of the middle school still needed addressing. Oh well, a skipped lunch one day wouldn't hurt.

That afternoon, Yahiko waited at the high school gates for his sister. This afternoon was the kendo club and Kaoru was going to try out, even if it was only one semester left. It wasn't the same as teaching, which she preferred, but it would give them a place that was close to the dojo. The club, after all, didn't have any rules about Yahiko not watching. Or joining in.

And it would provide a good respite from the ghost at the middle school. It was such a bitter spirit, and Yahiko could feel the anger and cynicism wherever he went in the building. It only made Yahiko pale and irritable, and if there was one thing he didn't need, was to be irritable. He didn't want to get into trouble with the teachers so early on, but if this kept up, he wasn't going to be able to keep his tongue.

Bitter. Angry. Why did this happen? Bitter.

Yahiko sucked in a breath and bit his lip, wincing. That was his middle school ghost. What the hell was it doing at the high school?

The bitterness passed and he looked up. Kaoru stood before him, also looking pale, smiling.

"Busu!" he snapped, "What the hell are you smiling about?" Then he growled. The irritability he got from sensing that spirit so unexpectedly was uncontrolled. He hadn't meant to say that.

Kaoru rumpled his hair affectionately. "Well, Yahiko-chan, that's one less worry for you."

"Don't call me--what?"

Together they started to walk back home. "I talked to your spirit at lunch." She made a face. "From right around Meiji. Wouldn't do anything unless you beat him in kendo."

Yahiko made a noise. "I coulda done that easily."

"I agree, except you can't see him and he's insubstantial."

Nodding, Yahiko admitted the drawback. If the ghost didn't have enough power to manifest even moving objects, there was no way for him to beat that spirit's misty ass.

"So I told him if I could beat the kendo club, he'd have to be on the other side of the building from you, wherever you are."

"Of course, you beat the club."

"I am a senior. All but one," she said. "Raijuta-sensei was definitely glad to have me on the team, and Yutaro-kun is actually quite smitten with him."

"Yutaro? Isn't that a guy's name!"

"Yep. But this boy is definitely all about somehow getting Raijuta-sensei to teach him more about kendo."

Yahiko sighed in relief. One less problem to deal with. One of these days, he'd be strong enough to deal with the spirits on his own and not have to constantly ask Kaoru to help him out. Someday. But for now, this would have to do.

"Wait, does this mean he's going to haunt the kendo hall?" he whined. The kendo hall was supposed to be the one place they could practice with other living people.

"Thanks to our bargain, no," Kaoru replied. "But he may show up from time to time."

"Yay."

"Oh I don't know," was the teasing tone. "It'll be good to have someone your age around while you're giving lessons to those juniors and seniors."

"Busu! What have you gotten me into?"

Kaoru laughed, prancing ahead of him. He chased after her, ignoring the growing headache from the local spirits. She kept evading him in the busy streets, both calling names at each other and laughing.

"Gotcha!" he leapt and latched onto her back, reaching up to give her a noogie. When Kaoru didn't respond, however, he froze, looking around. She only got serious if something happened. Aside from his headache (which contact with her was helping to decrease) he didn't sense anything. "Kaoru," he whispered, unsure what stilled her.

"This street."

Yahiko looked around again. This was the street where they suddenly got inundated this morning. Given his current headache, ghosts were definitely in the area. But he couldn't tell where, he didn't have that kind of skill.

"What do you see," he whispered back.

"Across the street. No more spirits. At all."

"But the place was teeming with them yesterday."

Kaoru nodded. "... I know."

The rest of the walk was blessedly, but eerily, quiet. The pressure released for Yahiko, and Kaoru didn't see a hint of anything. They walked home carefully, not sure what to expect. This had never happened before, their presence was always there.

Practice was a well-needed release of tension. They practiced their strikes at the edge of the trees of their yard. Kaoru saw Sanosuke's head pop over the fence once in a while, a fishbone in his mouth. She had no idea who her other neighbor was; had knocked on their door once or twice to introduce herself but no one was ever home.

There was an odd rustle in the woods, and both siblings paused, looking behind them.

"Red hair?"

Yahiko looked to his sister. "A ghost? I didn't feel anything; at least I don't think I did."

Kaoru stared intensely were she had seen the hair. The woods were dark, the green fading to darker and darker shades until she could only see blackness. Nothing moved; there was absolute stillness.

Finally, she turned around. "Come on, Yahiko, let's get diner going."

It was like that for the next two weeks. There was stillness and quiet right up until that one street - some kind of boundary? - where the ghosts bombarded their senses at once. One Sunday, Kaoru bravely ventured out. It took some prodding to say nothing of how many miles she biked, but the former assistant master was able to discover that ghosts refrained themselves from entering her neighborhood. In fact, it was a near perfect three mile radius around their house.

She had no idea if it was because of a ghost or something else. Their mother, whom had given her children the gift, had once told Kaoru of spiritual beings much more powerful than ghosts. One such monster had eaten half her mother's, Kaoru's grandmother's, soul. While Kaoru was not sure she believed the story, she was slowly becoming to believe that she had some kind of powerful spirit living near her home.

It was Wednesday, a freezing rain falling and soaking through her coat and clothes. She had been running for several minutes, anxious to get back home and take the clothes off the line. Yahiko couldn't do it; he had suffering from a fever for the last two days. Oh, she'd hate to have to do the laundry again!

Shivering, she finally jogged up her driveway and around to the back of her home. Somewhere between frantic and hurried, she pulled the sweaters, blazers, socks, and other clothes from her line, stuffing them on her arm before pulling at the next. The grass was icy, slippery, and her feet were completely numb as she continued to slide around to get her precious articles of clothing.

She ran into the house to drop off her armful, returning into the poor weather for the second trip when her foot slid forward unexpectedly. Pinwheeling her arms, Kaoru could not keep her balance and she pitched backward, striking her head on the stone step.

Kaoru didn't know how long she lay in the rain, water up her skirt and penetrating all of her clothing. But, she did very quickly become aware of the red hair that she had been catching glimpses of. It was attached to a head; with lavender eyes; with a cross-shaped scar; with a sword at his belt.

"You," she whispered, the rain falling through his face and onto hers, almost like tears. The cold ran through her suddenly and she shuddered.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice a rich but quiet contralto. He bent down further, his hand reaching to touch her but stopping inches from doing so. "You hit your head very hard. Is there something this one can do?"

Only then was Kaoru aware of the hideous throbbing sensation bombarding her skull. Groaning, she rolled over, the icy wet grass soaking even further into her coat and uniform.

"Miss, you should not try to move. You may have done yourself injury."

"I'm fine," she muttered, clutching her head. "What are you doing here?"

The violet eyed man smiled gently. "This one saw you fall, he did. This one was concerned."

Kaoru sat up slowly. She could see now that the red headed specter must have been a low level samurai. His clothes were far from rich, in fact they were worn, almost threadbare. But the sword was clearly well maintained, the scabbard freshly lacquered and the hilt seemingly new. A recent promotion before his death?

Then she saw her clothes littered about the muddy, icy grass.

Cursing in apathy, she numbly began gathering the fallen laundry.

"Miss, this one must ask that you go inside. The laundry can wait until tomorrow."

"What's your name?" she asked, ignoring his concern.

The lavender eyed man blinked, as if thinking about it for the first time.

"... Himura Kenshin."

"Well, Himura-sama, I don't wish to be rude, but I am very busy." She stood up and took a moment to get her bearings, fighting back the head rush and hoping she was being polite enough. Samurai were always so sensitive about how you addressed them.

This one seemed shocked, however. "No, no! Do not call this unworthy one Himura-sama! Kenshin will do."

Kaoru paused, not expecting that reaction. The samurai, Kenshin, bowed. "This one is sorry to have disturbed you, he is. However, may there be another visit? If only to check up on your well-being."

"... Okay," she said softly, bowing her head lightly. She adjusted the rest of her soaked clothing and went back inside. Yahiko, thick comforter wrapped around him, was in the hall, sleepily staring.

"What was that?" he asked. "It didn't feel like a ghost, but..." He left it hanging.

Kaoru answered honestly. "I don't know."