It was late in the morning, a soft rain falling from a sky darkened by large, heavy clouds. Mikoto was on her hands and knees, listening to its pitter patter on the roof above as she diligently scrubbed the floors of the common room clean. It had been nearly two weeks since she had been brought into the Shinsengumi. Despite her history, she had been welcomed by everyone with open arms. At least, almost everyone. Souji had yet to show her any warmth. As close as they had been, now it was as if they were complete strangers with an invisible wall between them. For the first few days, he had refused to even speak to her unless he was barking orders. After that, they slowly worked their way back into having conversations again, but they were always curt. She didn't blame him, but it still cut her deeply. She wanted nothing more than to begin chipping away at that wall, but hadn't the slightest idea where to start if he wouldn't let her. She sat up on her knees and used her sleeve to wipe her forehead with a sigh.

"What are you doing?" Mikoto jumped, startled by the familiar voice behind her. She hadn't even heard him approach. The slightest bit of panic gripped her heart as she wondered if he had known that she was thinking about him, but it left her quickly as she realized just how silly the thought was. She turned to see Souji leaning against the open doorway, arms folded across his chest. His green eyes betrayed no emotion as he looked down at her through his bangs, which were dripping with rain water.

"Oh, Okita-sama!" she exclaimed. Addressing him that way still felt wrong as the words left her lips. "I'm just getting the floors cleaned, they were a little dirty after breakfast…" she explained, feeling a little anxious. She couldn't help but shrink whenever his gaze lingered on her now.

"I'm on patrol duty this afternoon. You're a member of my unit, so you're welcome to join," he stated flatly. His words ignited a spark of hope in her. Walking the streets of Kyoto side by side again, as they had so many times could be exactly what they needed for their relationship to begin its healing. The spark, however, fizzled out just as quickly as it had come as she scanned his face. He remained expressionless, nothing about his features hinting that he actually wanted her to be there. She looked to the ground, now realizing that he must have only been asking as a formality, since he was her captain.

"I think it's best if I finish up the cleaning today…" she said quietly. He shrugged casually which only dug the knife further into her heart.

"Fine." He turned to leave, but stopped. "You aren't a page, you know." He didn't even bother to turn to look at her as he spoke. "You don't have to act like one." With those words, he left her. As he made his way to gather his other men for the patrol, his dampening clothes doing little to phase him, he let out a forlorn sigh. Keeping his distance from her was proving more difficult than he had hoped. Despite his lingering anger at her betrayal, he still cared deeply for her, and seeing the way she looked at him with such apprehension almost felt worse than the lies. His days were beginning to feel empty without their conversations, and he was beginning to question if distance really was the best thing for them. He just feared that if they tried again to be close, it would never be the same, and they each would have to live with that painful, awkward gap for the remainder of their days. He looked to the sky, bitterly amused by how well it reflected his own feelings.

It had been a warm day, but the sun was setting, taking the warmth along with it. This wasn't enough, however, to diminish the energy levels of Shinsengumi captains. It was the first time since Mikoto had joined, other than a few mealtimes, that all of the captains had been together. Taking advantage of this time, Genazaburo Inoue, the oldest of the Shinsenguimi's captains, suggested some friendly training matches. They had invited Mikoto along, as they were curious to see the skills for which Souji himself had vouched. Now everyone was gathered in the training hall, watching and cheering on a practice match between her and Heisuke. Everyone aside from Souji that is. He had found himself a seat just outside the door, listening to the cracks of bokken on bokken. He wanted her to enjoy her matches, and wasn't entirely sure he was willing to face her, so chose to sit out. It wasn't long before he heard Heisuke let out a surprised yelp, followed by the crash of him hitting the wooden floor. He smirked, peeking inside. The younger fighter had underestimated her speed and limber movements, an easy mistake to make when facing her seemingly delicate form. Mikoto quickly bent over.

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

"It's alright Mikoto-chan, I guess I just wasn't expecting you to beat me." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Shinpachi roared with cheerful laughter.

"That was impressive!" Mikoto laughed as well, a little embarrassed.

"Nah, it was just luck, really," she tried to explain. Heisuke slapped her on the back, pushing her forwards a bit.

"Don't be so modest, you beat me fair and square," he assured with a grin.

"You really do have a lot of skill," Sanosuke chimed in. "Right Souji?" He flinched at the sound of his name. He'd been caught. Mikoto's grip subconsciously tightened on her bokken as her eyes moved to the doorway of the training hall. Reluctantly, he got to his feet and stepped into view. He avoided her golden eyes, and instead looked at Sanosuke. "Why doesn't her captain give it a go?" he suggested, a knowing look in his amber eyes. Mikoto shot the redhead an unsure look, but it was ignored.

"Well, I-" Before having a chance to really protest, Heisuke threw his bokken at him. Souji instinctively caught it, forcing a smile. "Fine, I don't see why not. Ready Mikoto-chan?" He tried to speak casually, but his words came out more threatening than he intended. He grimaced internally. She nodded nervously. They stood across from one another, readying themselves into a fighting stance. Her hands trembled as they had that night. The last time they had faced one another like this, Souji had done so with the intent to kill, of course she was nervous. "First move is yours," he offered, moved by guilt. She took a calming breath, and in one fluid movement, she was at his side. Her first strike came fast, almost too fast for him to stop. He was impressed, his guilt fading and the smile on his lips now a little more genuine. He quickly retaliated with his own strikes. She was able to dodge several of them before blocking the last one. She needed no time to rebalance herself as she moved to make a swipe at his legs. He got low, blocking her attack, which would have easily caught someone less adept off guard. "No need to take it easy on you," he stated as they jumped back from one another. Their eyes locked for a moment. It was clear that her nerves had subsided, as her expression was now one of pure determination. Determination to make him see her again. If beating him was the only way, that's what she would do.

"No, there's not. You better start taking me seriously, Okita!" This sent a wave of excitement up his spine. Looking at her now was the first time since everything that had happened that his emotions seemed clear. No anger or hurt clouded his vision, simply pride at the strength of this woman that he cared for, and an eagerness to give her the fight she was looking for. As if given a specific cue, they charged at one another, meeting within seconds. Though she was strong, Souji simply had more power and size behind his swing and she was forced back a few steps. Realizing she was losing the battle of brute force, she decided she had to be more tactical. She spun to the left, quickly avoiding his blade and positioning herself behind him. She had him, she knew she could strike faster than he could turn to face her. She raised her bokken, ready to bring it down with all of her strength, but before she knew what was happening, her breath was rushing out of her lungs. She had underestimated Souji's speed. He had managed to spin on his bracing foot and lunge, sending a blow directly into her unguarded gut. She found herself doubled over before she could do a thing to stop it. Unwilling to give up, she straightened up, gasping for breath, but adjusting her grip on her weapon. Souji was ready to call it there, but her eyes urged him to continue on. His first blow had slowed her down too much to overcome, however, and pain shot through her ribs as he delivered a sharp whack to her side that she had been too slow to block. Giving her no time to recover, he sent another brutal blow to her other side. She fell to her knees, coughing.

"Mikoto-chan…" She looked up at him, her eyes blazing with an intensity he'd never seen from her before. She tried to get back up, but it was clearly a struggle.

"I'm...not done," she spat out between haggard breaths. "I'm not done with you, Souji!" He watched her, both shocked and intrigued, with the distinct feeling that her words weren't only referring to their match. He certainly wasn't going to force her to give up, on their fight or on them, if she wasn't ready. He raised his bokken, ready to deliver the finishing blow.

"Souji!"

"Souji, stop!" He ignored the other men's cries, focus remaining locked on the woman before him who was trying her best to keep this fight going. He brought his weapon 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, both of you," Saito said sternly. As the broken half of the bokken clattered to the ground, Souji looked around. Sanosuke and Shinpachi were both glaring at him, while Heisuke wore a horrified expression. He brought his focus back to meet Saito's stony gaze. "What are you thinking, Souji? Even if the girl doesn't know when to stop, you should certainly know when enough is enough," he scolded. He ignored his friend, and looked past him at Mikoto. She had finally dropped her bokken, and was now just kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily. She was holding her undoubtedly injured ribs, her expression twisted by pain. When she noticed him looking at her, she looked away. Though she knew Saito stopping his Souji's last blow was for the best, she was glad Souji had kept going. This fight had been both the conversation and the release they had needed to reconnect. He pushed past Saito without a word and kneeled in front of her. He rested a hand on her head, looking down at her, his eyes warm for the first time in weeks

"Looks like we both have some things to work on, eh Mikoto-chan? We'll get there." She blinked, registering what he had said. She realized his words weren't referring to their match, and she couldn't help but grin, her heavy heart suddenly growing lighter.