Author: Hey! Thanks for the reviews everyone! I'll answer some of the questions now.

Chiki: From what I remember of History class, not many people in the eastern part of the world liked the Americans, English, or French at that time. The English and the French were colonizing China, Japan, and other countries there, and the Americans were doing what they do best: throw other countries' economic structure into the dumps by exporting stuff to their country for low prices and importing while forcing them to pay a high shipping cost. And they colonized as well, but they didn't call it colonizing. They called it "helping underdeveloped countries." Something like that. I think that all changed around the time of World War 2 for some of the countries. Bah, I suck at history. If I'm thinking of the wrong time period here, please tell me. My grades in history are bad enough.

Keiko: Don't worry, here's the next chapter. No need to hurt me. ^^ but you can hurt Shishio-san for messing up Soujirou's mind. *laughs* If I had a thousand dollars, I'd be so happy. I don't even have fifty. Maybe I should get a job…….

Crystal: ^^ thanks!

Well, on with the story! Oh, and I forgot to put the disclaimer in the first chapter, so here it is.

Disclaimer: I have an outfit that looks like Soujirou's. ^^ I made it myself. So, I guess you could say I own his clothes…..o.O;;;;; But I don't own him! (or any other Rurouni Kenshin character)

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Mid-December, 1878

Soujirou sighed. He and Yuki had been traveling for over a week, and they still hadn't found the village. This was beginning to worry him. It was getting colder by the day, and it was getting dangerous to travel. If they didn't find the village soon, they might freeze to death. And freezing to death is not a very pleasant way to go.

Yuki said, "Sou-chan, when are we going to reach the village?"

"Soon," Soujirou said, "Very soon….."

"I Guess that we just gotta have faith, ne," Yuki said. Soujirou looked at the small girl and said, "Nani?"

Yuki suddenly became very interested in her shoes. Then, she said, "Well, Grandpa always said that you gotta have faith. If you do, then things will turn out alright."

Soujirou never had any real experience in faith. During his time with the Ju Pon Gatana, he hadn't really thought about faith or prayer. All he had to do was complete his mission, and he was set to go. And before that, well, he just got beat up a lot, so he focused more on surviving another day. So, to comfort Yuki, Soujirou said, "Makatari-san was a very wise man."

Yuki smiled and said, "He sure was! He taught me all the stuff I know! I know how to play lots of games, I know lots of wise stuff, I know how to cook a little…….."

Yuki went on and on for a while. Soujirou just smiled and listened to her. It was nice to hear something besides the wind and wild animals. That's all that he had heard while on the road up until he met Makatari-san and Yuki. Then, Soujirou saw something on the horizon. It looked like smoke. Soujirou sped up a little, trying to get up over the hill they were walking up. Yuki noticed the change in pace and said, "Sou-chan, what's wrong?"

Soujirou didn't answer. Instead, he sped up more. Now he was practically running. He reached the top, looked over, and saw……….

"The village," Yuki cried out when she reached the top, "We made it!"

Soujirou nodded and said, "Yes, we did. Now let's go find your grandfather's friend, alright?"

Yuki said, "Yeah," as she ran down the hill.

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"What do you mean he's dead?!"

"I'm sorry, little girl. Akari-san passed away several weeks ago. We would have sent word, but we didn't know that he had any family left alive."

"…………….."

"I am sorry, but you will have to leave. My master, the new owner of this house, does not like visitors. He will get angry if you are here."

Yuki looked like she was going to kick the maid, but Soujirou stopped her. He said, "Alright. We shall leave. Thank you for your time."

Soujirou then turned and walked away, Yuki not far behind. They walked for a while, not heading in any particular direction. Then, Yuki's temper got the better of her, and she stomped on Soujirou's foot. Soujirou definitely felt it, since his eyes went wide in pain for a moment and he said 'itai.' Yuki said, "Why did you just leave?!"

After Soujirou recovered, he said, "There was nothing we could have done. It would have only been a burden to that maid if we would have stayed."

"But what do we do now," Yuki yelled, tears in her eyes, "I can't go home, and I can't stay with Akari-san!"

Soujirou appeared to be calm, but in reality he was having an internal dispute. He couldn't just leave Yuki here. Nobody would take care of her. She would either end up in one of those orphanages, or she would freeze to death. But he didn't want to take her with him, either. The police were still after him, and he didn't have a steady source of income. It would be a hard life for Yuki if she went with him.

But not as hard of a life as it would be if I leave her here, Soujirou said, finally reaching a decision. He said, "Yuki-chan, if you want, you can come with me."

Yuki's eyes lit up. She said, "Really?! I can come with you?!"

Soujirou nodded, smiling slightly at the joy Yuki was expressing. Yuki jumped up and shouted, "Yay!"

Soujirou chuckled and said, "Well, that's settled. How would you like to get some lunch?"

Yuki said, "Sounds good!"

While they were walking to the restaurant, Yuki made an observation. "You know, it is gonna get really cold soon. I mean, there's already snow on the ground. And it's just gonna get colder. Where are we gonna stay?"

Truth be told, Soujirou hadn't even thought about that. It would be his first winter on his own, and he still didn't have any set plans. After all, he had been living day-to-day for the last six months. Soujirou said, "I am not sure yet."

Yuki smiled and said, " 'we just gotta have faith, and everything will turn out alright,' right?"

Soujirou smiled and nodded.

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The place they choose to eat was a restaurant combined with an inn. The prices didn't look too expensive, so it was a good choice for them. They sat and ate in silence. While he was eating, Soujirou was contemplating on what to do for shelter for the winter. He remembered that somebody a while ago suggested him getting a temporary job in a town to get through winter. That would have been a good idea, but Soujirou didn't know where to get a job! Soujirou also remembered what Yuki had been saying about having faith. At this point, Soujirou didn't have a better plan, so he decided to try "having faith."

Not even two minutes later, the sound of pots being thrown was heard from the kitchen. It was followed shortly by screaming and yelling. As Soujirou looked towards the entrance to the kitchen, he saw two teenage boys run out of the kitchen. They were followed shortly by a teenage girl waving a pan in her hand. The two boys looked very scared, and the girl looked angry. The two boys ran out the door and down the street. The girl called out after them, "And don't come back, you losers!"

Everyone in the dining area was now staring at the teenage girl. She noticed this, and said, "What are you all staring at me for? Eat your food and mind your own business!"

The teenage girl turned to go back into the kitchen, but Yuki said, "Miss? Are you alright?"

The girl looked to Yuki. Yuki continued, "You have some red stuff on your hand."

The girl looked to her hand and said, "Aha, it's just some sauce. Don't worry about it."

Yuki held out a napkin for the girl. The girl took the invitation, and sat down on the edge of the sitting area and cleaned off her hand. Yuki said, "What was that about?"

"I was just gettin' rid of some bums," the girl said, "Though Azuma-sama is gonna be mad at me. That's the third pair of kitchen hands this month I've gotten rid of."

The girl set the napkin down and straightened her pony tail, which was tied at the base of her neck. Soujirou made a mental note of how that hairstyle made this girl look kind of like Himura-san, only with brown hair instead of red. The girl said, "Well, if you know anybody who needs a job and isn't afraid of hard work, send them this way. I gotta get back to work now. Thanks, little girl."

Yuki waved goodbye as the girl left, but Soujirou stopped her. He said, "Wait, miss?"

The girl turned to face Soujirou. Soujirou said, "Actually, Yuko-chan and I are looking for work. We would be glad to help you."

The girl studied Yuki and Soujirou for a minute, then said, "The girl's too small. She wouldn't be able to do all her required work."

"But I could do the work she can't do for her," Soujirou said, a hint of desperation in his voice. His chance was slipping away. "Please. We really need a place to stay this winter. We will both work hard."

The girl considered it for a moment, then said, "Alright. Azuma-sama will probably go easy on me if I bring replacements, anyways. But remember: if you slack off, you are out of here."

"We won't," Soujirou and Yuki said in unison. The girl said, "Follow me, then."

She led them to the kitchen, then up a flight of narrow stairs. They went up two floors, then went down a hallway. At the end of the hallway, there was a door. When they reached the door, the girl stopped them. She said, "Don't insult Azuma-sama. Don't speak unless spoken to," then knocked on the door. A gruff voice said, "What do you want?"

"I need to speak with you," the girl said, "It's important."

"Come in," the gruff voice said, not sounding all too pleased. The girl opened the door, revealing an office. There was a file cabinet to the left, right by a window. On the right was another door. In front of them was a desk with lots of paperwork on it, and one man bent over it. The man was quite burly, and he looked like he could hold his own in a fight. Soujirou made a mental note of all of this. The man said, "Woman, who are these people?"

"I have a name you know," the girl said, "and these two are the replacements for the two slackers that Izumi unskillfully picked to be my assistants."

The man, who was presumably Azuma-sama, looked at Soujirou and Yuki. He said, "Are you sure? The girl looks kind of small. Will she be able to work?"

"I'm sure of it," the girl said, "I picked these two myself. And you know how good my judgment is. If you had listened to me the first time, we wouldn't have had all those slackers trying to work."

Azuma-sama furrowed his brow as he thought about this situation. Then he said, "Alright. But I'm warning you: if these two are trouble, then they are out on the streets, and you are back where you came from as well."

The girl stiffened a little, but maintained her outward appearance as best as possible. Then, Azuma-sama said, "Dismissed," and the girl walked out of the room. Soujirou and Yuki followed her. Once the door was closed, the girl breathed a sigh of relief. She said, "Man, I always get so tense when talkin' to that guy……."

"What's so bad about him," Yuki asked. The girl said, "Well, he owns this place. So, his word is law. He wants a full day's work from each person. No less. If you slack off, you are out of here. And that's on a good day. On a bad day….well, you don't wannah know."

Soujirou didn't like the sound of that. As they walked down the stairs, the girl said, "But, I'm not complainin'. I have a roof over my head, good food, and some extra money. It's better than being a beggar."

Once downstairs, the girl led them to a closet. She pulled out two aprons and said, "When you are working, you are to wear these. No exceptions. Off duty, you don't have to. You will get rooms later tonight. The stairs we came down are the stairs you are to use at all times. If you are a little slow at first, that's alright. You'll be learning how things work over the next couple days. But once I've explained things, you better get it done fast. I don't tolerate slackers. Now, let's hear your names."

Yuki smiled and said, "I am Makatari Yuki."

Soujirou said, "Seta Soujirou."

"Good," the girl said, "And you can call me Inoue Miyako."

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Author: that's the end of chapter two! Oh, and a note: The Inoue Miyako in this story isn't the same Inoue Miyako from season 2 of digimon. I just really like that name. Well, that's it for now! Be sure to review!

The almighty list of Japanese translations:

Nani - what?

Itai - ow or painful