Lalalalala…ok…once again…I said Yahiko and Tsubame had twins right? Well I just discovered they actually had a canon son, but since I don't feel like changing the continuity of the story…in order to accommodate the son w/ my twin idea, I'm gonna use Ayame (Suzume's sister in the anime), and their son, Shinya, and make them twins…so Ayame will be younger than her anime counter part, and I've no idea how 'Shinya' looks, so yeah…that is all…the twins will be Shinya and Ayame.

And no…Suzume is Kaoru's daughter w/ her new husband….sorry 4 any confusion…

"Soujiro, do you recognize that man from somewhere?" Misao asked.

"No, but he seemed familiar."

"See I told you, so then where have you seen him from?"

"I can't tell you exactly, but I think it was one of those merchants that are always in the city."

"Hmmm….I don't know…but if you think it's one of those merchants, then it has to be since you have a better memory than I."

He smiled at his wife.

Why was Kenji back?

He held no grudge against him; both were very similar in many aspects, but he did want to know what he was planning to do.

The boy didn't seem as angry anymore, something had happened, but still, Soujiro knew that his arrival would open many wounds that were only half-healed.

Kaoru would surely break and who knew if she'd be able to bounce back. For the sake of the little girl that she had now Soujiro really hoped that Kenji had a very good reason for his return.

For the most part Kenji kept away from Soujiro and tried to avoid being alone with him for too long.

"I want to know what are you planning?" Soujiro asked Kenji.

He surprised Kenji who had been facing away from him.

"Soujiro-san?" he asked lamely.

Soujiro smiled at him. " You don't have to be so scared. What happened to all that spunk you had when you left? Look don't worry I am not going to tell Misao yet, but I want to know why you've returned?"

"I…I had to. I realized that I did some very bad things and I needed to apologize. I know that apologizing won't do much, but I want a closure to all this. I have a new life in Russia, but in order to completely become 'Alexei' I have to close this chapter of my life. That is why I have returned."

"Sounds fair, but I want you to know something Kenji, be very careful when approaching your mother. She's remarried and has a little girl, so now a whole family is in your hands. I don't know if your mother is strong enough to face you yet. I don't know if she'll ever be able to face you. I know you want closure, and I really think that is the right thing to do, but you have to take into consideration that girl and her new husband."

"She remarried?" Kenji asked a little incredulous.

"Why do you sound so surprised? Did you not want her to remake her life after you destroyed her previous home?"

"It…it has nothing to do with me. It's just…she loved so intensely that it seems too soon to have remarried."

"She did, and she still does. At her core your mother will always give much love to everyone no matter how much she's been hurt. And yes, it did seem a little too soon, but that man arrived at the best moment possible."

"Do you think that she will be able to forgive me?"

"I don't know if she will forgive you, but I am almost certain that she blames herself for everything that happened."

"Soujiro-san, I apologize for what I did to you."

"No, you don't need to apologize to me. I also have a dark past that very few people know about. That is why I hold no resentment towards you."

"A dark past?" What could Soujiro possibly have done that made him not resent him?

"Yes a very dark secret that not even Misao knows about. I killed my entire family."

Kenji was speechless. It was not that he was appalled or disappointed in Soujiro; it was just that it was a shocking revelation. He really knew nothing about this man only that he was a very strong fighter.

"I was the bastard son and because of that I was treated like a slave and beaten at every opportunity. Then one day I learned that if I kept smiling as they beat me, they would become unnerved and stop. Suddenly my life got a little better, but I still held much resentment towards them, and one day I met the man that would lead me to the decision to kill my family. One day I met Shishio Makoto and he became my mentor. He taught me his philosophy that only the strong survive, and I really believed him. I took his words to heart and to prove it I slaughtered the whole family in cold blood. That was the day I buried my emotions and it wouldn't be until many years later that Kenshin-san, your father, unlocked the emotions I had locked in my heart and made me doubt my own philosophy. I have repented many times over, and even if those people deserved that, I am not happy for what I did. I have lost my family three times already. Once by my own hand, then I lost Shishio, whom even if he was twisted, I looked up to as a father, then I lost Kenshin-san at your hands."

Kenji was speechless.

"But you still have Misao-san." Said Kenji after a moment.

"Yes, with all her faults, I am glad that I met her when I did."

'Look at you, you are a mess, weren't you supposed to be strong? If I leave you here I'll feel guilty later so I'll take you to The Aoyia.'

"Kenji, why did you change your hair color?"

"It was a disguise. I didn't want people to recognize me too soon. I wanted to scout the area first."

"Good idea. It works. I would have been fooled if it weren't for your eyes. That is the only thing you cannot change."

"Soujiro-san…Thank you."

"No don't thank me. I understood you all to well, but you do have to apologize to Misao."

"Yes…I know, but I don't know how I am going to approach her. I cannot come up to her and say 'Misao-san it's me Kenji and I want to apologize.'"

But he didn't need to think of a way to approach her because she had heard the whole confession.

She dropped what she was holding, making her presence known.

The two men turned around to see her standing there, a look of utter shock written on her face.

"You…you are…"

Soujiro left the floor and tried to approach her, but she recoiled from his touch.

"Don't…don't get near me!" she stammered and ran from there.

A feeling of dread suddenly fell on the usually happy home.