Babygirl - Thanks lovey! And yeah... he still calls her Miss >. and ... lovey, don't get me in any kind of trouble! Haha, but keep reading, I love your reviews! shh!
Hopeless Lady - haha, it's funny, a lot of people had problems with the whole 'miss' thing. Dunno... he just does I spose. Bwahahhaa.
EK - Yeah... I sorta saw the loss of the 'Sojiro-ness' a little too late. Then I didn't know how to fix it. Curses... but I figured, with the help of Yasue, his mad and confused perception of life would be smoothed out slightly. And you are welcome to say whatever you like, Miss, as long as it's constructive!
Streetwise Girl - Hee hee, I'm so proud of them myself. I finally got around to typing out another chapter. A measly two pages, but enough I hope. Thanks for sticking in there with me.
Another Baka - I really have no idea what your last comment was referring to... ;
bubblegun2000 - Bwahaha. Yes, silly indeed how he calls her Miss. But there had to be a better reason for the Gundashi to trail after Yasue other than having their pride dented from their plan of theivery being foiled... so I threw in that little plot twist.
Some Slut - Heh, well yes, most of my little lemon is just a guess... but.. thanks for the credit I suppose.
Yuna (FFX) - Oh lovey, you are most welcome! Glad I could make you happy!
Huge - Thank you!

Chapter Twelve – Shattered

"Sojiro!"

Yasue looked up as the shoji was swung open, Sojiro craning his head back and watching Yoshi's face morph into that of horror as his gaze settled on the two of them. Then after a moment of silence, his face of disgust turned into a deep frown.

"Yoshi? What are you doing here?" Sojiro asked, still pushing himself up from the ground so he could see. Yoshi's frown pulled down farther and he looked away.

"What are you doing there?" he inquired, walking into the room uninvited. Behind him stood an old man, wringing his hands nervously to stop his shaking. "Come on old man," Yoshi snapped and the man jumped, hopping into the room and averting his eyes. Yasue kicked herself off of Sojiro and sat at his side, looking bashfully from one visitor to the other, then to Sojiro as he stood up and brushed himself clean.

"Mr. Notaru. What are you doing here? I apologize for not showing up at the bridge and I did say for Yoshi to tell you I would not be coming. I doubt anything you have to say is so important that you would trouble yourself with walking through this weather to tell me." Sojiro smiled, looking over at Yoshi with the same expression that was really, none at all. Yoshi seemed to recede slightly under Sojiro's gaze, but Sojiro didn't look away, just kept steady contact.

The fire in the room was glowing brightly though the logs had long since turned gray. Yoshi had already seated himself in front of it and Mr. Notaru beside him, still looking out of place. Sojiro turned and looked back down at Yasue, holding out his hand for her and guiding her to the fire to sit with the guests. The four of them were all seated around the warm glow of the fire, eyes focused on the jittery old man who's face seemed to age under the light of the flames. "What important news do you have for me Mr. Notaru?" Sojiro asked quietly, fingers pressing into his thighs.

"I was waiting on the bridge where we usually meet when I overheard a conversation between two young people wearing a matching uniform of black and red. When I turned to look it was a young man and a young woman, one with a sword strapped around his waist and the girl had some sort of weapon bound to her back, but because they were covered against the weather, I could not discern what kind they were," the man said excitedly. "They started talking about an attack, an ambush, and I started listening to what it was they were whispering between each other. They said something about a boy and a fight between him and the leader. I remember you mentioning something about an attack at one of our visits. I think they might be coming for you, Sojiro," he finished, hands sinking into his lap now that his mind had been cleared.

"Probably. Thank you, Mr. Notaru. So they must be planning their attack for tonight," Sojiro said quietly, smiling to himself for a minute before glancing at Yasue and frowning. Yoshi looked at Sojiro curiously before turning a death glare to Yasue who recoiled away from the gaze. Some swordsman he was if a ditsy young girl could soften him this much in such a short time. Mr. Notaru seemed to sense the tension between them and once again his hands engaged in their small jerky dance.

"You should go to the shelter of the captains safe house," Yoshi yelled, standing up. His fists clenched together as Sojiro peered up at him with the same half-smirk he always wore.

"Yoshi-"

"Wrap the broad in a blanket for goodness sake! She shouldn't be the reason you risk your life!" Yoshi screamed angrily. Sojiro stood up calmly and brushed himself off before staring directly into Yoshi's eyes. His eyes seemed to blaze with an alien sort of amusement, the same look of cunning and evil he had seen in them when they fought in the alley.

"You'd do it for Shizokuma-sama, Yoshi," Sojiro stated, almost in a mocking way though his voice didn't seem to harbor any of the scorn his eyes did. Yoshi gritted his teeth in rage.

"If there was a safer way, I'd take the chance and so would she." Yoshi shot a look of disgust at Yasue, who flinched and lowered her gaze. Sojiro's jeering face stared at Yoshi steadily. "You can't stay here. It's not safe Sojiro. You deserve to live!"

"Everyone deserves to live," Sojiro said sharply, gasping afterwards and furrowing his brow. He stared at Yoshi in dismay, taking a step back. A silence fell over the room as the three watched the boy who usually seemed so calm and collected, struggle in front of them. 'Everyone deserves to live!' his voice screamed at him. Senkaku… and all his other victims…

You don't seem to take the gift of mercy with a grateful hand.

He gave Senkaku the gift of mercy…

You never gave mercy to anyone and when they begged for it, you thought they meant freedom and did not hesitate to steal their last breath.

… and I took it away.

"Sojiro?" Yasue called quietly, standing up and clutching her hands to her chest. She'd never seem him so ruffled before and whatever it was that had upset him this badly, she could not tell. He looked frightened to death and equally enraged by the fact that he was afraid. "Are you okay?" Sojiro turned to her and blinked, shaking his head phlegmatically. "Sojiro, what's wrong?" Yasue asked tentatively, glancing at Yoshi who had gone from furious to stunned silent. Sojiro looked like a trapped animal, staring at the ground with wide eyes. Finally, he face fell to a frown and he peered at her. "Sojiro?"

"Is that true? Is that true what I just said?" Sojiro whispered. Yasue stared at him, not sure what to say. "Does everyone deserve to live?" he asked, his voice shaking with emotion.

"Yes. Everyone deserves to live."

"Then I… murdered…" Sojiro mumbled and Yasue tried to touch him, but he pushed her away passionately and threw himself into the cold of the outside, burying his hands into the snow so his fingers froze. "I murdered Senkaku. I'm a murderer. I killed them, but didn't they deserve to die? Didn't they? Saito had told me they did," he whispered to himself, thoughts erupting in his head so violently loud his head throbbed. He felt gentle hands flatten themselves against his back and he bowed his head to the sting of the cold below him and turned his head away from her. "You fell in love with a murderer."

"No, I fell in love with you."

"What do you think I am?" he muttered, dropping his head into the snow so the white snowflakes shriveled against his skin and turned it to ice. Yasue leaned over his body and hugged his shaking body tightly. He was a killer, cold blooded, unforgiving, guiltless. Why hadn't he realized it earlier? He'd had the blood on his hands for so long, but he had never once realized all the destruction he had wrought upon the people of Kyoto and the death he had almost plagued his very own Japan with.

"You may have been an assassin before, but what you are now is something completely different." Her voice cracked as the tears rolled down her face and Sojiro sat up to see them fall. She pulled him in roughly to her chest and sobbed over his shoulder.

Yoshi and Mr. Notaru watched from the door. Mr. Notaru's dusty gray eyes flicked to the young man next to him and his coarse voice emitted a grunt. "You're silly to be angry at them or her I should say."

"I'm not anymore."

"No? Why not?" the man laughed. Yoshi looked at him, at the old man's bald white head and sighed.

"Because … she comforts him. I know the kids not exactly right in the head, but she's helping him through that. I realized when he asked her if everyone deserved life," Yoshi said, turning his gaze away from the smirking elder and back to the couple in the snow. She's not making him stronger, he thought, but she's making him better.