The world can be an amazing place. Of course, that's really only when you know where you belong in the world. Me? I've dedicated my life to finding my place. Though I'm beginning to not care if I ever find it at all.

Maybe I don't have a place and I'm meant to be like the lightning; Here for a moment to dazzle you and then it's on to somewhere new. Guess it's fitting since people have taken to calling me Lightning. In a way, it does suit me. Quick and dangerous, yet beautiful in a way.

Of course, at first glance, you'd never guess that. Being a woman of a small build, others often assume that I'm helpless and fragile. My naturally kind and gentle personality only helps that as well. But on the battlefield, I'm like lightning. You won't see me coming until it's too late.

At this moment, when a man dared to insult me when I had done nothing, I felt like lightning. The words from his mouth did not matter as his hand went to his sword. He drew his sword and swung at me, though I dodged it easily. Seeing him prepare to try again, I drew my weapon and struck before he could. As I'd expected, he blocked my blade easily, but this battle was mine.

The man's eyes grew wide and his body trembled slightly. My other sword's tip just barely touched his throat. Had I been a heartless killer, he'd have been dead before he could even see it coming. But in my kindness, I returned my twin katanas to their scabbards, leaving the man unharmed.

"There's a saying I've heard a thousand times." The man still hadn't moved. "Play with fire and you'll get burned. That's true enough, but I have a saying of my own," I said, my voice calm and gentle as if I were talking to a child. "Mess with Lightning, and you'll be in for a shock."

Whether he heard me or not, I couldn't tell. Maybe it didn't even matter anyway. He ran off quickly, nearly tripping over his own feet several times before he'd gotten out of sight.

"Well, I'd say he was pretty shocked," a familiar voice laughed not far behind me. Turning around, I smiled as I saw the face of Sanosuke Harada. "I certainly was. Didn't think a sweet little girl like you could fight like that."

A smile spread across my face. Once again, someone had been fooled by my appearance. "Well, they don't call me Lightning for nothing." Slowly, I approached the Shinsengumi captain and together we walked along. "And I'm not a little girl."

Harada was a handsome man, as well as kind and honest. It really was no wonder that women loved him. Being a woman myself, I was quite attracted to him. Though I never dared to consider he might ever return my affections. For now, at least, his friendship was enough.

Looking up at him now, I felt content. Here I was with a man I loved, even if he had no idea. With the sun setting and coloring the world with a beautiful orange glow, this moment almost felt like one out of a fairytale.

"Everything looks so lovely like this..." I said softly. Stealing a glance at Harada, I noticed that he also looked even better in the light of sunset. Just seeing him like that made my heart flutter and my face grow warm.

"You always look beautiful..."

At first, I didn't think I'd heard him right. But knowing him, he'd likely said exactly what I thought I'd heard. After all, Sanosuke Harada always seemed to be flirting with the ladies, even if he didn't realize it.

Such a line would never fool me. "I'll bet you say that to every girl," I sighed, sounding a lot sadder than I'd meant to.

Harada seemed to be hurt by my gentle accusation. "Hey, I'm not Shinpachi. I only say things like that if they're true."

I turned my gaze up to the quickly darkening sky. "Yeah, you're right..." Of course he was right. He wouldn't say something he didn't mean. "Lightning's beautiful... but it also hurts... If you're not careful, you'll get struck. She'll shock you and disappear before you even know what happened... Better to stay away from lightning..."

Before I even realized it, a tear rolled down my cheek. Like the lightning, it appeared and was gone. A hand reached over and brushed away another that was forming and then turned my head to look at Harada.

"I'll take my chances," he whispered, leaning down to capture my lips in a gentle kiss. As he pulled away, Harada gave a small laugh. "I think I just shocked Lightning..."