Disclaimer: See previous chapter

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Night...

He was just walkering about in the darkness of night, with a heavy basket of rice on his back. His chores had almost been done for the day; chores issued by a family that cared little if any of his well-being or even if he lived or not, using him as a slave to their wishes. It was during this time of night when, on his way home, he heard a scuffle. Turning to look, he saw two figures. One, whom he recognized as a police officer, let out a loud cry as he charged toward the other with a sword in hand. But the cry soon changed to one of pain and death as the second figure slashed out with a blade of his own, not only cutting the officer down, but engulfing him in a fiery spew. It was enough for the boy to fall down to the ground in amazement. It was also enough to catch the attention of the figure with the demon blade

"Eh?"

The man standing before him was completely disfigured. Torn rags of clothing covered his scarred-skinned body. Was this creature even human? Turning toward the boy, the creature snarled.

"You saw that, boy? Now you must die."

The boy was frozen in place, fear seizing him as the demon approached him; the sword in his hand that had already tasted blood dripping as though it hungered for more. The boy was dead and he knew it. He couldn't run; he couldn't hide; and he couldn't fight.

He did the only thing he could do.

He smiled...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Soujiro's eyes opened with a snap as he awoke from his sleep. His body was stiff and motionless, aside from his breathing, and his forehead was lightly damp with sweat. He has been having these dreams for some time now, ever since his duel with Himura. No. Not dreams...

Memories...

Rising up from the bed, he quickly cleaned himself and made ready to leave. The sun had yet to rise outside, yet it presence was evident by the purple-orange hue of the morning sky. Silently, Soujiro exited his room, hoping not to run into anyone. Given the early time of the morning, it should be relatively easy. He could have gone out the window, but he didn't want to be rude to his hosts. Unfortunately, as he turned around a corner, he bumped into one of them, the very person who invited him in to begin with.

"Oh!"

Both Soujiro and Misao fell to the floor after crashing right into each other. Soujiro winced lightly while Misao groaned aloud.

"Owweee..." Rising us, the young girl rubbed her rear to soothe the pain. "Geez... I didn't think anyone else would be up this early."

"Sorry." was Soujiro's reply as he lifted himself from the ground as well. Misao wasn't satisfied, however, and glared back.

"What's your rush anyway? Try to skip out on the bill?"

The young man waved his hands up. "No, not at all. I just wanted to get an early start."

"Oh?" She then blinked in memory. "You're not trying to go to the outskirts again, are you?"

"Yes."

"It's still dangerous out there." she warned.

"I appreciate your concern, miss." Soujiro smiled (a fraction more than usual). "But I'll be just fine."

Misao frowned at the title. "You don't always have to be so polite, you know."

"Well I can't help it." Soujiro shrugged pleasantly. "I haven't even gotten your name."

This caused the girl to blink questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"Well...you never told me."

"Oh." Another blink, this time out of slight embarrassment. Scratching the back of her head, she chuckled. "Hehehe. I guess I did kind of forget yesterday." With that said, she bowed her head. "My name is Makimachi Misao."

"Seta Soujiro." The boy returned the gesture. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Misao-dono."

Misao frowned again, but it turned to shock as Soujiro turned and went for the exit. "Hey wait." When Soujiro stopped, she continued. "Are you really serious about going out there?"

"Yes. There's something I have to do."

"Well, you can't go without at least getting a good breakfast. Gramps always tells me it's better to have a full stomach than an empty one." She then looked up thoughtfully. "Or was it better to eat with you mouth closed than open?" Grabbing hold of his hand, she led him toward the exit. "Anyway, come on."

"But... Misao-dono..."

"I'm sure whatever it is that you have to do can wait until at least eaten." she assured him. "Come on."

Helpless against the girl's demands, Soujiro had no choice but to allow himself to be dragged along as Misao continued to lead him down the street and through Kyoto.

"Welcome. Why hello, Misao-chan."

The two youths had stopped off at the Shirobeko pot-house. It was still morning, but now the sun was now evident in the blue sky. Misao smiled at the shop owner and waved a hello.

"Can we get a table please?"

"Of course." Her eyes shifted over to boy beside her. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Soujiro. He's staying at the inn for a while and I wanted him to get some breakfast."

"Why that's so sweet of you, Misao-chan." Sae replied, clapping her hands together. Turning around to the left, she led then to a clear table. "Make yourselves comfortable while I get you something."

A couple of minutes later, the two were served their breakfast. Soujiro ordered a lesser meal so that Misao would have to pay so much. Beside that, he really didn't need to eat that much. Regardless, he took the time to show his appreciation to his host.

"Thank you for the meal, Misao-dono."

Misao frowned again at his polite use, but replied. "That's okay, really. I'm not usually up this early, so I figured, why not."

Soujiro nodded at this and continued with his meal. Misao too, began to eat, but stopped after awhile to talk further with him.

"So why are you going into the outskirts, anyway?"

At this Soujiro raised his eyes to her. Although he was still smiling, his eyes did not seem to match his pleasant expression. They appeared distant and very close to being...sad. However, before anything more could happen, a loud sound alerted their attention.

"You call this food? I've had slop that tasted better!"

A large man nearby had tossed aside a plate of food, much to Sae's chagrin. As others looked over at the commotion, Misao rose up from her seat, upset at the man's rudeness. Despite his rugged appearance and the scar on his face that made him look intimidating, the young kunoichi was unafraid as she approached the man from behind.

"Hey! What's the big idea?"

Turning to her, the man narrowed his bloodshot eyes, indicating that he was either drunk or getting over a hangover. Either way, it spelled trouble as Misao soon found out when the man suddenly and roughly shoved her aside hard.

"Butt out, little girl!"

"Whoa!"

Misao braced herself for the fall to the hard ground, but found herself in the gentle grasp instead. Looking up, she saw that she was not on the floor, but rather in the arms of Soujiro. Lifting her to her feet, the young man soon addressed the larger one.

"Excuse me sir. But you shouldn't push people like that."

"What?" the man snarled, rising up from his seat. "What did you say?"

"It's rude to shove people like that and to insult the owner of the inn." Despite his words, the boy continued to hold his pleasant face. "You should apologize to both ladies."

"Who's gonna make me? You, boy?" he laughed. "You think you can beat me just because you have a sword?"

Misao blinked and looked back at Soujiro to see the cloth-wrapped sword on his side. 'When did he have that?' She had never noticed it before, not even on the night before when she invited him into the inn. But given the way the cloth matched his garments, she could see why. It wasn't completely hidden, but it was enough not to attract attention.

"Hey." Unaware of Misao's gaze, he held up his hands to the man. "Let's not get carried away. I was just saying..."

"Come on, boy. Show me what you've got."

"I don't want to fight you." Soujiro pleaded pleasantly. "Please, let's just take this calmly..."

Annoyed that Soujiro was still smiling, the man reached to his side and produced a large knife. "You think you can mock me! You pig!"

The large man suddenly lunged at Soujiro full force. Misao bent her knees, ready to launch a kick to his face. But in the second it took her to do that was the second that the man had been subdued...courtesy of Soujiro.

"Sorry about this. But you left me no choice."

Misao stared wide-eyed at the scene, not quite believing it. In a blink of an eye, Soujiro had dashed forward and jabbed the hilt of the sword he had right into the man's gut. The large man was both stunned and shocked by the power of the blow and unable to do anything more but gasp in pain. Soujiro backed away as the man, now holding his stomach, slumped to the ground in pain. As if the force of the blow was not enough, the alcohol he had previously had severely upset his stomach. Needless to say, it wasn't a pretty sight.

"Wow. That was pretty good." Misao cheered.

"It was just an accident, Misao-dono." he replied, putting the wrapped sword back to his side. "Really."

"Are you kidding?" Misao exclaimed. "You took that guy down in one blow. No way could that be an accident."

Soujiro shrugged. "Well, he was intoxicated. I guess he just passed out." He then moved toward the exit. "Anyway, it's best to go and let the police do their job now."

"Hm?" Misao blinked. "Oh sure."

With that, Soujiro and Misao left the Shirobeko while the police entered in to learn what the problem was. It was all the more better for Soujiro to leave after all. It was bad enough to be arrested for having a sword on him in violation of the sword ban.

It would be worse if he was recognized as the Tenken...