Disclaimer: Of course, Sojiro Seta, Kenshin, Yumi, Shishio... errm... Karou, and... I feel like I'm missing someone, don't belong to me, but so Watsuki-sama. The rest though, i.e. Yasue and Shizokuma, do, so don't steal them without permission. If you have permission you can steal them. : )

This story is about the adventures after Sojiro finds emotion. I've read others where Sojiro becomes insane with the effort to understand them, but in this, he is sane. I rated this PG, but later chapters WILL NOT BE! Perhaps... there is a lemon one, though it's not very explicit. Enjoy


Chapter one - I Shall Become Myself (The Threads of Past and Present)

To this day he had never had someone to shed tears of caring for him. If he had someone like that I'm sure he would have had a completely different life… that he would…

"Do you believe me when I say I love you"

"Sojiro"

Sojiro's head snapped up, his eyes wide open

"Sojiro, you must not do that. The soup is hot! It will burn your face if you nod off into it" Shizokuma said, chuckling.

"Oh yes Shizo-sama. I apologize for worrying you" Sojiro replied, bobbing his head up and down. Shizokuma chuckled again.

"What is it that you do all night to make you so tired" she asked, walking away. Sojiro continued to smile. "You've created quite a debt here you know, but I'm willing to forget it if you do me a favor" she said, turning to peer at him. Sojiro smiled, waiting for her to continue. "I got in a load of rice and a few barrels need to go to the back shed. I'll feed you before you leave."

Sojiro stood and bowed. "Thank you Shizo-sama! Thank you very much. I would like that." he said. She nodded. Shizokuma showed him the back shed and then the rice barrels. The familiar objects sparked something deep inside.

"Just put those in the shed and I'll let you off." She said, patting Sojiro on his shoulder before walking back into her restaurant. Sojiro turned to the barrels, staring at them a moment before swinging his arms into the straps and loading the barrel onto his back. He'd done this before, a long time ago. All day he'd be forced to carry barrels back and fourth. Hundreds a day. For his reward he was fed little and beaten a lot.

What the hell are you smiling for?

Sojiro paused and touched his forehead. The sake bottle flew through the air and crashed into his head. The blood ran down his face, dripping over his eye, down his cheek, over his smile...

Sojiro stepped foreword, balancing himself. Since his battle with the Battousai, his logic had begun to twist. Shishio, the strongest man, lost to a weak fighter whose morals were… wrong. How could a wanderer, a protector, defeat the man whose name meant death and destruction? Were the weak strong? Was Mr. Shishio wrong? No... yes...

Sojiro stepped forward again. He'd been out there for five minutes and hadn't even made it twenty steps to the shed. With a sigh, he smiled and began to walk. It was true he had learned that what Shishio had taught him was wrong, but did that mean the Battousai was right? He had thought at one point he was, but now he wasn't so sure. He couldn't just forget what Shishio had taught him so easily. The one rule he had lived his whole life by couldn't be forgotten so quickly.

The strong live and the weak die. He had thought about that on his walk north. Shishio was defeated and the Battousai went home on his companion's shoulders. He had to leave that place. He had to go somewhere where the past couldn't catch up to him.

The shed was small, only big enough to hold the extra supplies, but it harbored the same scent that the other one had. The water from rain and snow had seeped deep into the wood and let off musty fumes. Sojiro let the rice barrel slip off of his shoulders and land in front of him. The weight was gladly discharged and Sojiro allowed himself a short rest before he would go back and get the others.

I think I might stay here for a while

Sojiro looked up, seeing Shishio leaning against the wall, his hands resting behind his head and a contented smile on his face. He looked as he had the first time they met. "Mr. Shishio. Is it true what you said? Do the weak die" Sojiro asked him, hiding his body behind the rice. Shishio disappeared. Sojiro tried to smile, but found that the simple task wasn't as simple as he'd thought. The sight of Shishio had relieved him slightly. The charred body of his strong master had set him at ease for a moment and then the burning sensation of unanswered questions flared up deep in his soul. "That is why I lost. That is why I'm weak. What was Senkaku talking about? Why was he so jubilant that Himura had shown him mercy? That's why I killed him, after all. Just to see him by the water so calm after he had been defeated so easily..."

Not killing… protecting the weak…

"Goodbye Shizo-sama. Thank you for the meal." Sojiro said. He was finally able to leave after putting the rice barrels away, washing the dishes, sweeping the walk, and cleaning the floor. Sojiro walked out of Shizokuma's and stared at the sky. The moon was big tonight. Mr. Shishio was greater... or had been.

"Oh Sojiro! You must be careful out there. There have been a lot of raids by some group of bandits. I think they call themselves the Gundashi or something. Anyway, I don't think they're any match for you kiddo, but still, be alert and watch your back."

What's wrong kiddo?

"Yes Yumi, I will be." Sojiro smiled and plodded away, a grin upon his face. Shizokuma blinked and creased her brow.

"Yumi" Shrugging, she went back inside her restaurant and closed up.