The next few hours were grueling for the Kamiya siblings. An ambulance arrived shortly after Saitou's little bombshell, rushing both to the hospital. The EMTs had difficulty treating Yahiko without Kaoru in some sort of physical contact. Whenever she let go, the boy would scream and start convulsing, like Kaoru was the only life line that he recognized and clung to. By the time they reached the hospital, the burns seemed to have faded to something less severe, but there were still concerns given how bad they were when the ambulance arrived. Kaoru was relieved that the doctors didn't question them too much.

Saitou arrived later to find Kaoru hugging Yahiko close. They had originally been given separate rooms, but Yahiko didn't calm until Kaoru was nearby, so she snuck into his room, lay by him on the bed, and whispered soothing words to him while her bandaged fingers played with his hair. Saitou didn't interview them about the "accident". He interrogated them. Kaoru answered as best she could and Yahiko was just rude when he was awake enough to answer. It was only the arrival of a nurse that finally got him to leave the two siblings alone.

They were released the following morning and both Kamiya took the following two days off from school. Yahiko, despite bravado, wouldn't stray far from his older sister. He was extremely irritable and Kaoru was just exhausted. Sanosuke visited frequently, making sure they were okay and commenting on how, in the middle of winter, the temperature had raised to a warm spring or cool summer day. The snow was gone.

Kenshin also visited, though he stayed outside, looking in with guilt and shame. Oddly enough, it was Yahiko's snappish insults that tended to make him smile and not look so forlorn.

The following day was difficult to say the least. The lovely little barrier that had made the first half of the walk pleasant was gone, meaning that once they were out of the house and down the street, ghosts started appearing from the woodwork, demanding their time. Kaoru didn't even try to placate them; she just ignored them, held onto Yahiko's hand, and let him through the maelstrom. Yahiko's temper got shorter and shorter as they went to school, and frankly, Kaoru's wasn't doing much better. They were both the talk of the school on the "incident" with questions and comments directed both to them and in whispers when they walked by. Yahiko got into trouble with his teachers about his behavior and Kaoru was overly harsh during kendo practice. Then came the grueling trek home.

Once home, both breathed a sigh of relief, changed, and curled up on the back engawa, temporarily forgetting their bickering ways and just staying in each other's embrace.

Yahiko suddenly shivered and looked up. Kaoru quickly glanced up, seeing a girl even smaller than herself in ninja apparel standing before them, with rain blue eyes and ebony braid blowing in an unseen wind.

"Hi. "

"Um, hi."

"We're going to need to question you as soon as your partner in crime arrives. "

"What?"

"Ah! Here they are!"

From thin air, Kenshin appeared, his long mane of red hair grasped tightly in the hand of a tall man, also in ninja clothing, with eyes of sunlit ice.

"EH?"

Yahiko shivered in her arms again. "Wind and ice," he mumbled.

"Yahiko, why don't you go inside and prepare some tea. I think we need some."

"Nice! " The rain-eyed girl floated over to Yahiko's vacated seat and hovered by Kaoru. "I'm Makimachi Misao. Nice to meet you. "

"Um, a pleasure."

"This is Shinomori Aoshi-sama. "

Kaoru nodded vaguely. "Um, Shinomori-san? Could you release Kenshin now? He doesn't seem to like you're hold of his hair."

Without a word, the rurouni was released, and he quickly reappeared in front of Kaoru. "This one does not appreciate threats towards the two who live in this house, he does not!"

"What?"

"Oh come on! " Misao whined, reappearing by the tall Aoshi. "You weren't coming along with anything else we said; did you really leave us any choice? "

"With no choice, we did what we had to, " the tall ninja added. "We will do what we must to maintain. "

"Maintain what?" Kaoru asked, nerves fraying after a long three days.

"Peace. " The girl's face dropped from smiling to serious. "We are Oniwabanshuu. We are the police of the dead. We make sure that spirits, demons, and malevolents don't cross the line. "

"The police of the dead," Kenshin translated. "What need do you have from this one and Kaoru-dono?"

"Shishio Makoto. "

"This one defeated him when he died. He is in the hell."

"Sorry, Himura, that's not quite the case, " Misao replied. How did she even know his name? "But you already knew that. You're just trying to protect the live. "

"Kenshin," Kaoru murmured. "What is she talking about?"

The transparent rurouni turned to her, eyes like lavender flying in the wind. "Shishio was the smoke, he was. He has become much more powerful in death than he was in life."

"A mid-ranking demon, to be precise, " Aoshi stated. "And upon your death you were assigned to guard him. What happened? "

"Guard him? What do you mean?"

Kenshin sighed. Removing his freshly lacquered sword from his belt, he sat down, resting the hilt on his shoulder. "This one's memories from after his death are...muddled."

"To be expected. "

"This one remembers someone explaining that Shishio's hatred and thirst for vengeance had somehow given him power after death. This one agreed to seal Shishio, he did, and there are vague memories of a shrine being constructed. After many years, this one rested," he paused, twisting to look up to Kaoru, "until two racing in the woods awakened him. This one's memories are still faded in regards to Shishio, but he does not understand how his old enemy became so powerful."

Misao huffed. "Oh yes you do! He's essentially been baking in the shrine since Meiji! Nothing to do but plot, plan, and feed his anger! Of course he's more powerful, he's like a beef stock left on the fire! How did this happen? " The female ninja's partner placed a hand on her shoulder.

"This one awakened and was in a sleep-like fog, slowly awakening. It was some time before this one could show himself to Kaoru-dono, it was."

"And?"

The rurouni didn't answer.

"You and you're brother have touched Shishio. You two are marked, as well as any other live that touches Shishio. That demon now has some level of power over you. " Aoshi's explanation was clinical and succinct. It gave Kaoru little comfort.

"That's why we need to know as much as possible, " Misao added. "If we are to catch him, and hopefully destroy him, we need as much information as possible. Himura can tell us about Bandage-Face, but you need to tell us how he awoke. Probably your brother as well, but he's still too raw to be with a spirit nearby for extended periods of time. "

Kaoru did the smart thing and ignored all the talk of dangers to focus on that little tidbit about her brother. "Will he be okay? What happened to him exactly?"

"Shishio touched him," Kenshin replied simply.

"Yahiko is in the most danger of Shishio, because he had prolonged contact, " the smaller ninja answered, sadness in her rain-blue eyes. "Any spirits your brother feels will cause him great discomfort, or at least more than normal. "

"However, Shishio will still be in a sleep-fog, as Himura was. Your brother is safe for the time being. " Aoshi's words were hardly that of comfort.

Kaoru bristled. "You seem to know an awful lot about me and my brother!"

"You can see and sense us. All who have that gift are monitored. Your sensitivity makes you easier prey for malevolents, " Misao explained. "Whenever you interact with the dead, we are immediately notified and we start watching. To ensure your safety. "

Anger filled Kaoru briefly before the thought of what this Shishio did to Yahiko reasserted itself, reminding her that if they were susceptible to such things, it was better to have someone looking out for you. Even if she really would rather have known.

"So! " Misao exclaimed, appearing by the kendo practitioner's shoulder. "You and I are going to visit Megumi and talk while Himura and Aoshi-sama talk. That okay with you? "

"It is not," Kenshin asserted.

"Fine by me," Kaoru replied. The ruruouni turned, his lacquered sword glinting in the setting sun.

"Kaoru-dono, this one does not wish for you to be alone with them, he does not."

Kaoru merely offered her smile. "The sooner this is over with, the better."

"Yay! Thank you very much! Trust me, you're in good hands, and so is Himura. He and Aoshi-sama will get along swell! "

Kaoru nodded and headed inside, Misao bounding impishly close to her. First stop, the kitchen. "Yahiko?" Kaoru whispered.

Sure enough, the boy was sitting over a cool cup of tea and staring at it, and he flinched when she came in. Misao backed away.

"The wind is in here."

"That's Misao-san," Kaoru replied. She quickly told him the basics of what she had learned and where she was going. "Stay inside. Kenshin and Aoshi-san will stay outside." She turned to the braided ninja. "Right?"

"You betcha! "

Her little brother looked up. "You're in danger because of me, aren't you."

"No, Yahiko. We're safe with Kenshin and the Oniwabanshuu. They protect people like us."

Yahiko said nothing, and stared down at his tea again. Feeling suddenly needy, Kaoru rushed forward and swept Yahiko up into a fierce hug. He didn't even protest.

Later, once at Megumi's house, the three women sat down. Sano was gone, probably at some sort of fight, but Kaoru didn't know for sure. Megumi was sly and cautious, but as Misao explained, the homeowner kept her biting commentary lighter. The interrogation began, if it could even be called an interrogation. Misao was very gentle in her questioning, careful to get every detail she could from Kaoru, but not by pressing or demanding. Kaoru's respect for the ninja-like girl grew incredibly from the gentleness she used. Kenshin may be worried, but Kaoru felt utterly safe.

Once the interview was done, Kaoru even ventured to ask some questions, and soon, the three were involving themselves in some (for Kaoru at least) much needed girl talk. Misao explained that she and Aoshi had joined the Oniwabanshu together at around the beginning of the Sengoku Jidai. As such, they've had time to learn their spiritual abilities and were granted a few extras to help keep the peace. Megumi shared how she had been in medical school and perished in a bad fall down the stairs in a freak occurrence. They shared anecdotes about their lives and just grew closer. Kaoru couldn't express how grateful she was to actually be able to talk to someone other than her brother about this stuff. Yahiko was still a child in many aspects and she sometimes just couldn't speak to him about some of what she actually saw. She had now doubt that he felt it, but he didn't see it.

Kenshin and Aoshi had a much more succinct and precise interview. Kenshin willingly gave all the information he knew and had, minus a few personal details, and Aoshi would only nod. Once information was gathered, Aoshi offered thoughts and suggestions on how the two might work together to bring down Shishio. Aoshi would need someone who'd fought the man before, and Kenshin would need Aoshi's network of information.

As promised, Misao and Aoshi returned the following day to interview Yahiko. Both spirits kept a respectable distance from the boy, in an effort to not make him uncomfortable. It took a long time with Kaoru continuously repeating the questions that they had. As the interview wore on, Yahiko started to understand what was being asked without the translation, though he always had Kaoru clarify what was inquired. Kenshin watched from the yard. There were several points in Yahiko's narrative where he had great difficulty with describing the details, and Kaoru would without question, hold him tight. He never initiated the contact, but Kaoru felt needy enough after the burning ordeal that she did it more for herself that her brother. Not that he would mind.

Information was finally gathered. It was time to plan how to take down Shishio.