Mikoto was on her hands and knees, diligently scrubbing clean the floors of the common room where everyone had eaten breakfast. It had been five days since she had been brought into the Shinsengumi. Despite having been what she was, she welcomed by everybody with open arms. Almost everybody. Souji had yet to show her any warmth or kindness. For the first three days, he didn't talk to her, other than to give her orders. For the past two days, he had talked to her, but the conversations had been curt and cold, not to mention nerve wracking and painful. Not that she blamed him. She knew she deserved no more than what he was giving her, but it still cut her deeply. She sat up on her knees and wiped her forehead with a sigh.

"What are you doing?" Mikoto jumped at the voice behind her. She turned to see Souji leaning against the doorway, arms folded across his chest. His green eyes were as cold as the steel of his blade.

"Okita sama!" she exclaimed, startled. She couldn't help but shrink whenever his gaze fell on her. "I'm just cleaning the floors after breakfast...as you told me to do every day…" she explained, somewhat anxious.

"I have patrol this afternoon. You're a member of the 1st division, so you're welcome to join," he stated. She had a spark of hope for a moment. Perhaps walking the streets of Kyoto as they had before could fix their broken bond. That spark fizzled quickly though. As she scanned his face, there wasn't even the slightest hint of a smile or kindness of any sort. He remained expressionless. She got the feeling that he was asking as a formality. She looked to the ground.

"I...I think it's best if I finish up here." He shrugged.

"Fine." He turned to walk away, but he stopped. "You aren't a page you know," he said, without turning to face her. "You don't have to act like one." With those words he left her. As he made his way to gather his men for the patrol, Souji let out a forlorn sigh. He had hoped she would join him. His days were beginning to feel empty now that they hadn't been speaking. He wanted to change that. "Oh well…" he murmured.

Everyone had decided to gather in the training hall to have a few friendly matches with one another. Mikoto was currently in a practice match with Heisuke. Everyone cheered the two on, save for Souji. He sat just outside of the building, listening to the cracks of bokken hitting bokken. He heard Heisuke let out a yelp, then there was a crash as he fell. Souji smirked, peeking inside. He had underestimated her speed and limber form. She quickly bent over.

"Heisuke kun! I'm sorry, are you alright?" She held a hand out to help him up. He looked up at her with a good natured smile, letting out a quick laugh.

"It's alright Mikoto chan. Guess you beat me, huh?" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Shinpachi roared with laughter.

"You got beat by a girl Heisuke!" Mikoto laughed, a little embarrassed.

"Nah, it was just luck, really," she tried to explain. Sanosuke slapped her on the back, pushing her forward a little.

"Don't be so modest. You really have a lot of skill," he said with a grin. "Right Souji?" Souji flinched. He'd been caught. Mikoto's grip on her bokken tightened as her eyes immediately moved to the entrance of the training hall. He got to his feet and stepped into view. Mikoto unconsciously took a step back. Souji avoided her sorrowful, worried gaze. "Why doesn't her captain give it a go?" Before he had a chance to respond, Heisuke threw the bokken he had been using at him. Souji caught it, putting on a smile.

"Fine. I don't see why not. Ready Mikoto chan?" His words had come out more threatening than he had intended. He had to keep himself from grimacing. She nodded nervously. They stood across from one another, readying themselves. "First move is yours," he offered. She took a breath, and in a quick fluid movement, got to his side. Her strike came fast, almost too quickly for him to stop. He was impressed. His smile was now genuine. He quickly retaliated with his own strikes. She dodged several of them, and blocked the last one. She needed no time to rebalance herself. Mikoto quickly moved and made a swipe at his legs. He got low, blocking it. "No need to take it easy on you," he stated. Their eyes locked for a good minute. Souji began to lose himself in those eyes, as he had several times before. The grip on his bokken loosened. "Mikoto chan-" he started, but was instantly stopped as alarm flashed through her eyes. A sudden wave of aggravation crashed over him. Aggravation with the situation. Aggravation with her. Aggravation with himself. His grip tightened once more, and he lashed out in the only way he knew how. Before Mikoto knew what was happening, Souji lunged, hitting her square in the gut. She doubled over, the wind knocked out of her. As she straightened up, gasping for breath, pain shot through her ribs as Souji delivered another sharp whack to her side. He gave another brutal blow to her other side. She fell to her knees, coughing. Souji brought his bokken above his head, ready to deliver the finishing blow to the head.

"Souji!"

"Souji stop!" He was deaf to their cries. All he could focus on was his own disquiet. He brought the bokken down, but it would never hit its mark. Saito stepped between them, his sword drawn. The bokken splintered and snapped upon impact with the steel blade.

"That's enough Souji," Saitou said sternly. "Open your eyes." As the broken half of the bokken clattered to the wooden floor, Souji came to his senses. He looked around, and saw Sanosuke and Shinpachi glaring at him, while Heisuke wore a horrified expression. He met Saito's stony gaze. Looking beyond Saito, he saw what he had done. Mikoto was on the ground, panting heavily. She was holding her undoubtedly injured sides, her expression twisted by pain. He shook his head. He wanted to reach out to her, apologize and comfort her. He wanted to beg for forgiveness. Even more, he wanted to take it back. Instead, all he could do was drop the broken bokken and run out of the training hall.

Souji channeled all of his frustrations into the swinging of his sword. Each swing downward became more forceful. He wanted nothing more than to speak with Mikoto as they had before the truth had come out, but he just couldn't. He was no longer angry with her. He understood her actions, and realized he was no better. In fact, he was worse. What held him back now was the way he'd treated her in the days to follow. Of course, now there was also the guilt from the match they had had just yesterday, hanging over him. After being so cruel, how could he ever hope to make amends? Especially when he hadn't the slightest clue how to communicate these things her. His swings became gradually weaker as his frustration faded to sadness, and eventually stopped altogether. Feeling more subdued, he sheathed his blade. He had to talk to her. He knew that in two days time would be his next patrol. He would bring her a long. He couldn't take no for an answer.