Michika yawned loudly and sat up. Something felt wrong. Problem was, figuring out what 'wrong' was. It could have been anywhere from the absence of a certain younger brother to the strange itch on her face. All compounded, it meant that Michika was waking up on the 'wrong side of bed'. She yawned and stretched, slipping the covers off as she padded over to the only window in the hotel room.

Opening it, she judged it must have been about midday. It was a bit hard though, considering the way those clouds were darkening the sky. She held a hand out, catching some of the warm rain in her hand and stared at it. After a moment, she let the water dribble through her fingers and shut the window, muttering something insulting about the rain.

Opening her pack, she pulled out the first piece of clothing and changed, her sleep-hazed eyes not registering much. She grabbed some of the left-over food and munched on it as she searched the hotel for her brother and his pint-sized companion. She asked a couple of the other wandering patrons if they had seen Natsuo and the child, but other than recieving a few strange looks, no one knew where the two were.

Finally realizing he'd probably gone off to annoy Masatake again, she rested her head against the wall by their room. Then began banging it against said wall. He still had the child with him. He was going to the manor... with the child. That wasn't a very smart idea on Natsuo's part and she'd have to beat him for it the next she saw him. Possibly torture him if the let the child die.

What was he hated most again? Kyouki was pink bunnies, Masatake was perverted men... oh yeah! She grinned in spite of her bad mood, trying to ignore that draft. Someone must have left a window open somewhere. At least, that was what she thought until a passing old lady kindly informed her that she needed to check the back of her kimono. The aging woman left, chuckling, and Michika did as directed. The scream of pure fury that rang through the inn shortly after convinced anyone eating lunch in the dining room that it was time to go.

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"Temporarius."

Masatake hissed as he spotted Natsuo perched on the wall, a small blonde child next to him. He quickly turned his attention to Kyouki, though. Seeing this, Kenshin and Sano did as well. Kyouki stared back in silence. A minute later, they blinked at each other shaking their heads. "What..." Kyouki asked, trailing off.

Sano scratched his head and shrugged. "Got me."

Masatake nodded to himself, as if assured of something and smirked. Up on the wall, Natsuo groaned and slapped his forehead. "I must have gotten the inflections wrong. Damn." The small girl beside him snickered and he sent a quieting glare her way.

Kenshin tilted his head to get a better look at the Chushin. "Just what was it you were hoping would happen, de gozaru ka?"

Natsuo swung his legs as he sat comfortably on the wall. "Oh, nothing much. Really."

Masatake sniffed. "That idiot was trying to send Kyouki into a sort of controled bersek mode. A bit of an oxymoron, perhaps, but true, nevertheless." The Nentou shook his head. "You should toy with things you don't understand, mongrel."

Natsuo rolled his eyes. "So my mother always said." He yawned, ignoring the glare he was getting from Sano. He whispered something in the child's ear and her eyes grew wide and she stared down at the fighter, making Sano arched a curious eyebrow at the two. As Natsuo pulled away, she suddenly burst into giggles, nearly sliding from her precarious perch.

Sanosuke growled. "So who's this guy? And what's with the kid?"

Everyone stared at him as if he'd grown a second head. Then Kenshin smiled. "Oh, that's right. You don't know, yet, de gozaru."

Kyouki frowned. "But he knows Michika."

"Yes, but that doesn't imply he would be able to recognize them on sight, de gozaru yo."

"Ah, you have a point."

Kenshin smiled at the girl. "Sessha will let you explain this time, de gozaru."

"Coward," she mumbled under her breath. Kyouki pointed at the pair perched on the wall. "He's the Chushin."

They all sat in silence while Sano stared dumbly at Kyouki, trying to digest the information. "He's..." he looked over at the younger man, still sitting with the child, "...the Chushin?" Kyouki nodded slowly. Sano frowned, furrowing his brow. "But... he's an idiot." Again, Kyouki nodded. "And he's so girly looking." Kyouki just sighed this time while Kenshin resisted smacking the taller man. Finally, Sano shook his head. "I get the feeling the future of Japan is going to be full of girly bishounen assassins waging war in the streets..." Sweatdrops all around was the only response to this statement.

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Misao sat proudly on the throne the bandits had erected for her after she kicked their butts into submission. Now the bandits were carrying her in the chair on the last stretch of her journey to the Kamiya Dojo. There were a few strange looks, partly from the few people who'd never seen Misao before and partly because she had six men carrying her like an empress.

Just as they were passing one of the many inns in Tokyo, a woman streaked from the building, her feet carrying her directly into their path. The men skidded to a halt, jarring Misao a bit, but she didn't complain. They were all a little pre-occupied staring at the woman as she raced down the street, coincidently heading straight for the Kamiya Dojo.

Misao blinked. "The back of her kimono was..." The men nodded stupidly, having never been witness to such an event before. Misao shook her head, clearing it, and pointed imperiously down the path the woman had taken. "Follow that bare-assed woman!"