She had heard many stories about this place. The men jokily spoke about it as the Eye of Heaven, an ironic claim since the cell lay in the utmost bottom floor of the entire prison and therefore seldom met even the slightest of light. Only monsters who were going straight for hell would find themselves here. It was cold, dark and filled with a foul stench than no one would ever bother to try to get rid of. It was no use, since the scent by now was so imbedded in the very stone that covered the floor as well for the walls and ceiling. One would have to mind their footing well, since it would be fatal to slip and harm a leg or two in the damp corridor when only one person would be let down at a time.

Kaoru shivered slightly and pressed her arms closer to her body, carefully minding the tray she had firmly gripped in front of her. This was her first day as the new warden of the Eye. The one before her had passed on only yesterday evening; the prison chief reassuring everyone that it was due to a sudden illness. The guards were of another opinion though, suspecting one of the prisoners to be of cause - more precisely, the very same prisoner that Kaoru was heading to bring breakfast to this very moment.

She hadn't suggested to take this job herself of course – not to say that she wasn't brave enough or hadn't seen enough of what the world's most wretched men looked like to be unprepared – it was just that all the stories and the rumors about what lurked down in the Eye had finally gotten to her after months helping out in the prison. Actually, she would have been just fine minding her own business to clean the headquarter, the cells and occasionally giving a lesson or two in swordsmanship to the guards and their children, but since she were the lowest in rank here (and there were no one at the moment who were willingly to take the job after the warden's mysterious death) it fell on her to manage it. Kaoru had no other choice to nod in agreement at her new post and thank her superiors for the opportunity to prove herself further, disregarding the tingling feeling of fear at the deepest corner of her heart. She had to pull through. She needed the money.

The young woman shivered again and bit her bottom lip as she carefully walked the dark stairs down to the Eye. The man guarding the door had let her pass without even glancing at her twice and as he shut the door behind her and locked it Kaoru stopped and slowly jumped once to make sure that she still had her keys in her pocket. She wouldn't want to be stuck here any longer than she needed to.

Kaoru gazed upon the food she was supposed to deliver and felt her deep blue eyes narrow at the sight. The tray contained a gray, lifeless pudding made of rice and meat, a dry, lonely piece of bread and a jug of water – the same menu all the other prisoners shared. While recalling this, the swordswoman felt her tense shoulders relax slightly, as she came to the conclusion that no matter what kind of evil souls the Eye inhabited, they were still humans. Although she couldn't help but wonder what were truly the reason for depriving their eyes from the light of life – their lack of freedom or this terrible excuse for food. She had put real effort in the beginning not to pity the villains, but soon found it to be very much too hard of a task not to, and she was most likely not being able to stop today either.

As Kaoru met the end of the stairs the darkness engulfed her. She frowned and tried to look ahead of the corridor but soon found it useless, so she gently put the tray aside and made fast work of the torch on the wall, lightning it easily with her experienced hands. The warmth of the fire lit up the darkened path ahead and spread a somewhat encouraging touch in the usual coldness. She put the flint away and took the torch in one hand, balancing the tray on the other and continued forward.

To be entirely honest, Kaoru had no idea of how many men were kept in the Eye. So far, she had heard enough stories not to be surprised if it contained quite a few. What she was met by on the other hand was four empty cells on either side of her. She scanned them thoroughly with the torch until she was entirely sure. Feeling quite uneasy, the woman walked on further down the corridor only to find a dead end in sight. She watched the last of cells, first to her right, concluding that this one too inhabited nothing but air alike, and lastly the one on her left…

She froze as a presence could be made out from within the shadows in one of the corners of the room. A man sat there, back resting against the stone wall with his head lowered. Dark bangs covered most of his face and he stirred as the light remained intact, staying in the same place with Kaoru's yet awaiting shape. The prisoner looked up, revealing glistening hard amber eyes that could pierce through her soul if she remained too long. His gaze woke her up from her sudden trance and she hurried to bow slightly.

"Good morning. My name is Kamiya Kaoru and I'll be the new warden from now on…"

The man said nothing in response but kept his eyes fixed on her. The swordswoman had seen worse reactions and moved on with the motions. She placed the torch in its holder on the last wall and bent down to ground level with the tray. A small hatch could be found in the wooden bars and she opened with only a little difficulty, pushing the bowl, bread and jug inside before closing it again. She quickly got to her feet once more and retrieved her light out.

"Enjoy your breakfast," she said politely before turning her back and began to walk back through the corridor again.

"Kamiya Kaoru."

The warden stopped abruptly in her tracks as she heard her name echo back over the silent floor. The voice that had greeted her was clear and pensive, not exactly what she had been expecting from such a rugged figure. She slowly turned and found his intense eyes still lingering on her.

"What are you doing in the Devil's nest, Kamiya Kaoru?"

It was something in the way he accentuated her name that sent shivers down her spine. The uneasiness returned with it and she had to mind her footing when she returned outside his bars. An outburst of Ki suddenly poured out for her, making the woman's knees almost buckle. Surprised and even though she wouldn't admit it to herself, feeling the sharp hand of fear grasping her heart, it took several seconds before she could find her tongue again and answer his question.

"Just working," she said trying to loose some of the tension in her shoulders, determined not to show anything but composure outwards. Kaoru swallowed quickly when she saw that the prisoner came to his feet and slowly walked closer to the bars with a smooth walk. The light fell on his features, showing a more than torn gi and hakama in dark grey – standard prisoner clothing – being held up by a lean but strong frame and rust red hair tied up in a high ponytail. The golden orbs he wore as eyes ate her up as fell as took her in and the moving light from the torch had them come alive as bursting flames licking the sharp lines that formed them. His face was covered in several layers of dirt that not even the weekly bucket of water to wash with could remove properly. While being so close to the bars and the torch in hand, Kaoru could still make out that the features behind the filth were delicate.

"What school do you practice?" he suddenly asked, eyeing her gi and hakama as well as the bokken at her side with interest. Kaoru lowered her free hand to rest against the cool wooden hilt, pride lightening up her face.

"It's called the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. It's a sword that protects life."

The prisoner remained perfectly still, not even moving a finger.

"I've never heard of it."

"It's a kenjutsu created by my father," Kaoru eagerly explained. "Even now – ten years in the Meiji Era – chaos still has a common place in ordinary people's life. Kamiya Kasshin Ryu is helping them to protect themselves and the ones most close to them. It brings harmony and peace to those in need, without unnecessary bloodshed."

Her joyful smile shrank a couple of teeth as the man in front of her began to laugh whole-heartedly. An unusual deep frown graces her features instead by the time he'd stop to wheeze for air.

"What's so funny?"

The prisoner found his breath once more and eased the grasp of his knees. He slowly stood and walked up to the bars again, this time even closer as if making sure that the mocking could be seen clearly from his eyes.

"It's all bullshit," he said, half a grin fast covering the left side of his face. When shock turned into fury from the woman he continued before she had time to open her mouth to respond.

"I can tell that you've never killed before. The sword is a weapon. Kenjutsu is murder. Claiming it to be something else is only done by someone who's never stained their own hands, like you, Kaoru-dono." He gestured with a filthy hand towards her. "It's one very sweet fairytale, I'll give you that, but I wouldn't want to share it."

The prisoner left her there and went to one of the walls to sit down against and casually place his hands behind his head. Kaoru was way to angry to come up with a retort and simply stood there for several seconds trying to contain her fury until she did.

"Why are you still here?"

He glanced at her still wearing the taunting smile.

"Go home and practice. You need it."

In one swift motion the swordswoman had placed the torch back on the wall and gripped her bokken, grasping it hard but not pulling it. The man turned his head at the last movement.

"So what if I've never killed anyone? I never had to and I will never need to either-"

"How would you know?" he interrupted bluntly. She had to strain herself now to make her voice sound calm.

"I can fight for the weak and dear with this and the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. It's worked before and it'll work again. As long as I keep fighting, foes will be defeated and better times will come – for everyone."

"The world doesn't work that way, Kaoru-dono."

"Then tell me how it works. Is it by just killing people endlessly?"

"Why yes." While leaning his head in her direction, the soft light from the torch played over his dark face, showing how the hard eyes danced. He continued.

"When evil emerge, it is in the shapes of men. But men are seldom immortal. All men can be slain, one way or the other…"

"You as well then." In her still barely contained rage, she couldn't help but add in. The man behind bars snickered.

"That's correct. You have rather keen eyes, Kaoru-dono, to see through my illusion so quickly. But yes, I'm just a man like any other, and therefore that goes for me too."

Kaoru frowned slightly; not quite following in the new direction the conversation had gone.

"However, there are different kinds of evil – as many as there are different kinds of men," the prisoner went on. "There are those who are too weak to do what is right, or those who are too ignorant, too selfish, too corrupt or just too human." He gazed over at her again. "You have seen them before and you will see them again. Men like this never change. Instead, their faults give birth to new individuals with the same raw ambition. The only way to halter this progress is to eliminate the source from the beginning."

Kaoru gripped her bokken hilt even harder. Even though no swordfight had occurred, she felt it as if a battle hade already been sprung. It was a matter of will and experience - and of honor, as she had no intention of letting this man getting away with insulting her family's most sacred treasure.

"I don't believe you," she replied firmly. "More precisely, I don't believe that not at least one out of all these people cannot be saved. People can change, over time and with the right motivation. I dread to ponder over what you've been through to turn out like this!"

The prisoner started to laugh again, this time a little softer but nonetheless mockingly.

"You're so ridiculously naïve that it almost hurts," he grinned. "You may believe that I'm just cynical, but I still speak the truth. I pity you for not being more experienced with life by now. I honestly do."

"Well, I'd rather be naïve than merciless. What if you'd come across someone that you were wrong about, someone that could still change or that was indeed innocent. You'd slay them too, without a second thought?"

Something darkened in the man's gaze and Kaoru flinched unwillingly.

"My objective has never been to harm any innocents. Don't take me for such a weak spirited scum."

"I still won't buy it. There is some goodness in everyone."

"There is not some goodness in everyone. How can you possibly say something like that with a clear conscience while seeing so much suffering in the world caused only by evil and evil alone? Can you look the husband that just murdered his wife and children for money in the eye and claim that there is good in him as well?"

Kaoru's hesitation was barely visible.

"Yes," she answered and nodded confidently. His gaze lingered upon her for several intense seconds, before he faced the ground and gentle shook his head.

"I rest my case. You may go now. I have a breakfast to attend to and some sanity to regain." He went up to pick up the bowl, bread and water and sat down again in the same spot. Kaoru remained motionless for a while, not sure what to say or do.

"First I'd like an apology for what you said about the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu," she heard herself say loud and clear. The prisoner didn't even pause his eating.

"Well, no. I carry a different opinion than you. Why should I apologize for it?"

"Fine, but you don't have to be so utterly disrespectful."

The man eyed her seriously while raising the chopsticks for another mouthful. Only the smallest of twitches in his face revealed how disturbing the taste was.

"The truth isn't always beautiful," he said calmly, his voice deprived of any teasing tone of before. "As for your case, the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu is in fact no more than an excuse to live on believing that you're doing something for the world when you're actually not. It's an illusion to make you feel better, when the truth is that you're just too weak to really make a difference. I will not take that back, nor will I rephrase it."

The young swordswoman could feel her blood boiling behind her ears. After her father's tragic death, she had put up with a lot of people telling her to quit the school or that it would be too tough of a task for her to try and continue the vision her father had had. Truth to be told, Kaoru was fed up with such talk now, and wouldn't just sit around being spit on by some criminal who wouldn't have a clue about what she was going through in the first place.

She quickly eyed him over a last time. The strong wave of ki from earlier still had her hair in the neck rising by just recalling the memory, but that didn't mean that his fighting skills were anything other than rusty. She took a deep breath (trying hard not to show how much the stench ravished her poor nose) and straightened her back.

"If you won't apologize, then I'll have to challenge you."

He stopped eating in mid-air, slowly lowering the chopsticks.

"Oh, would you now?" he drawled and put away the bowl to stand by the bars again, the grin creeping back and showing of a set of hungry teeth.

"What are your terms?"

Kaoru could make out just enough interest to become a little suspicious, but in her anger she let it pass.

"We fight, in there," she nodded towards his cell, "with bokkens. Can you use one?"

The prisoner glanced down at her hip and up to her eyes again. His amber eyes revealed nothing.

"Not my natural choice, but I might," he answered. Kaoru didn't take the hint.

"If I win… well, you know what I want by now," she said, glaring from under her bangs. The man's half-grin went to a full one.

"And if I lose… then I'll owe you a favor for the trouble, one you can decide for yourself."

A small light were lit in those cold eyes.

"That's rich of you, Kaoru-dono. Then, as a fitting request – I want you to help me escape this place."

The girl shook her head calmly.

"I'll accept anything but that."

"It's a deal." He stretched out his hand towards her.

"No, wait. Not anything, obviously," she said, realizing her mistake just in time. The offered handshake slowly sank in front of her.

"Something that I'd actually allow," she finally declared after some thinking. The prisoner shrugged casually.

"I take what I can get."

"I figured. Time's tonight, after dinner."

"Agree."

It wasn't until she gripped his dirty hand and not only felt the strength that lingered in it, but the many callouses in his palm that she realized that she hadn't thought this one through entirely.

Hi there! I've had this idea for some time now and I'm not entirely sure where to go with it yet, but I feel greatly inspired and that's enough for now! For the record, I've really missed this place and I plan to start spending way more time here once more. Feels real good to be back. But enough of me now - hope you enjoyed and let me know what you think!

~Theoris