"I’m coming too!" Yahiko cried, somewhat quarrelously.There was a resounding, "NO!!" from all the adults present. He pouted. "Why not?""Because somebody has to guard, Iida, is it?" Kaoru said, taking both of Yahiko’s shoulders. She glanced at the younger boy for confermation, and he nodded shyly. "We can’t just leave him here all alone!""Get the crab-man to watch him! Or Misao or something! I want to come too, Kaoru!" he complained, gesturing in the general direction of Kyoto. Kaoru just shook her head."You know, Yahiko," Enishi mused quietly. "The first step to becoming a successful swordsman is the ability to take orders." Yahiko glared at him.

"You’re just telling me that, aren’t you," he said suspiciously. All the adults shook their heads. "Fine! I’ll guard Iida!" He threw his hands in the air in a gesture of helplessness, but his look at Iida was kindly."Do, do you not like me, Yahiko-san?" The younger boy asked mournfully. Enishi glared at Yahiko, but his response was prompt."Of course I like you!" He said cheerfully. "I just didn’t want to be left out!" Iida nodded sagely."I don’t like being left out either. I like to go where my friends go, but sometimes they leave me because I’m too slow."

"I won’t leave you, Iida!" Yahiko promised. "Do you want to go do something fun without these spoil-sports?" He threw an arm about Iida’s shoulders and tossed a haughty look back over his shoulder at the adults in the courtyard.

"Yeah!""Do you like to fish?""Yeah! I love to fish!""Would you like a friend of mine to cook them any way you want?""I would love it!"The two of them headed down to the Akabeko, trading fish stories. As soon as they were out of earshot, Enishi turned to Kenshin. "Will he be safe with that boy?"Kaoru nodded earnestly. "Of course. Yahiko is a very capable fighter. He can hold his own. And he won’t be alone, either." Enishi grunted skeptically, watching Iida disapear into town."Tell me about this girl we’re finding, Enishi," Kenshin said briskly, sitting down on the steps. Enishi walked over to him and leaned against the wall with his arms folded.

"She’s nineteen, a bit taller than her," he jabbed his thumb at Kaoru. "She’s got really long hair that she wears in a braid." Kenshin nodded thoughtfully, piecing together a picture in his mind. "She’s too skinny, kind of lanky," Enishi continued, delving deeper into his memories. "She kind of a country girl; a little plain but pretty in an average way." Suddenly he clamped his mouth shut. Don’t let him find out too much, he told himself.

Kenshin nodded again, a vague look glazing over his features. "Where did she live?""Osaka.""How did she go missing?""A man came into her house with some others and forcefully took her away," Enishi spat out. Kenshin glanced up at him, saw a muscle twitch in his jaw and quickly glanced back down."How many?"

"At least two. Maybe more. One took her and one hit me over the head after drugging us all with…" he shrugged after a moment, at a loss for how to describe the drug."Did you notice anything, hmmm, strange about your food? Drink? Clothes?" Megumi said suddenly, stepping closer to Enishi."Well, the air in the room was, overpowering," he said weakly, emphasising his lack of words with a shrug. This was apparently what the doctor wanted to hear.

"Did she, this woman, wear perfume?" She asked excitedly, becoming more exited when Enishi shook his head."Chloroform!" She exclaimed triumphantly, stabbing a finger at the sky. "It’s the easiest to come by, the hardest to trace, the quickest reacting, and induces all of the symptems that Yukishiro experienced." She paused suddenly. "Sorry, but did you feel slightly groggy? Yes? Just as I thought. Chloroform." She nodded confedently.

"I also had a headache, if that matters," he added weakly, slightly overwhelmed by her exuberence. She froze."A headache? How bad?""Terrible. It was the thing that woke me up," Enishi replied."This is new," Megumi murmured, turning away, fidgeting with a lock of her hair as she thought hard about it. "No!" She cried, straightening suddenly. "It isn’t! I should know that! Gaseous drug that induces sleep, leaves the victem groggy with a big headache upon awakening," she mumbled, getting louder as she went on. "Why can’t I