Soujiro closed his eyes and sighed. Today had been a long day, but he now had a companion to journey with him to Tokyo. Soujiro turned over and smiled. The kid was fast asleep on the other side of the clearing. Soujiro closed his eyes and he too fell asleep.
A bandaged man smirking in the moonlight.
A deep voice chanting, "Only the strong survive."
A heavy rain drenching the ground covered in corpses.
A smiling child, no more than five or six, holding a short sword dripping with the essence of life from others.
A red haired man with a cross-shaped scar on his cheek saying, "Don't you think that despite what's happened, that you can start over?"
A goodbye to Miss Yumi, and a trail of tears flowing down cheeks from eyes that haven't cried in years.
Soujiro woke early the next morning, remembering his dream. Every night he was reminded of the fact that he was once an assassin that he had killed when he was but a young boy.
Soujiro regretted every life that he had taken with his sword. In Kyoto, years ago Soujiro had fought a hard battle against Kenshin Himura. During that battle, Kenshin had asked probing questions that eventually caused a breakdown in Soujiro. Soujiro, the boy without emotions, became furious and attacked Kenshin one last time. Losing, Soujiro realized that the weak could survive just as well as the strong. This is why Shojiro is traveling to Tokyo, to give his thanks to the one who saved him.
After the sun had risen, Soujiro woke Aya up. Maki, surprised, grabbed her dagger and leapt to her feet in an instant.
Realizing who was standing before her, Maki Hastily apologized. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Soujiro. You startled me."
"Why are you always on your guard Aya? I'll not harm you."
"One can never be too careful, Mr. Soujiro. Eventually, everyone turns against oneself in the end. That's the way life is. Only those who are safeguarded from deceit survive without harm."
"Aya, I too used to think similar things. What reason do you have for your thoughts?"
Maki was surprised by his question. As a slave, people never had listened to her, but here, this man who made her heart pound, actually wanted to know. This made Maki like him even more.
"Well—My parents died when I was only ten and my aunt took me in. She used me as another servant for her household. About two months ago, a group of slave traders came into town. My aunt sold me without a single guilty thought. After all the beatings, I finally gathered my courage and ran away. In the end, people always succumb to their greed and can never be trusted."
"Why are you heading to Tokyo?" Soujiro asked.
"It's a relatively big town where I can lose myself in a crowd. There's bound to be a place that needs work too."
Soujiro thought quickly. What Aya needs is to learn how to protect himself? Maybe I should take him to Miss Kaoru, Assistant Master of the Kamiya Kesshin Style. She'd probably be glad to take on another student. More importantly, I won't worry about that boy getting hurt by others.
"Aya, how would you like to study sword fighting? I know someone that would be ecstatic to have another student. You'd be able to protect yourself from others."
"I'll think about it Mr. Soujiro." Learn swordsmanship?! I'd be happy to. Finally I'll be able to stand up to those slave traders. I'll never be forced back into bondage again. "Mr. Soujiro, I'll gladly accept your offer. Thank you for everything."
Maki and Soujiro walked through the forest, only stopping for lunch. Hours later, they set up camp together.
"We'll start out again at first light Aya, so catch your sleep while you can."
Soujiro sat down and leaned against a thick tree, placing his sword nearby in case of attack. Closing his eyes, Soujiro fell asleep only to dream the same dream.
Maki took much longer to fall asleep. She couldn't stop thinking about recent events. So much had happened in the last few days. Finally, she too fell asleep, only to have a horrible nightmare.
"There you are, you stupid girl! Get to work or I'll have you whipped. It's not an empty threat. You were born to serve." The owner of the harsh voice raised a whip high over his head and brought it down hard on the back of a young girl. The man wanted to see the girl cry out in pain, but she stubbornly kept silent. After a few minutes, the man, bored with his game, cursed and exited the room.
Only then would the girl allow herself to whimper in pain, but yet she continued working.
A woman screaming, "You ugly imbecile! You're of no use to me if you keep messing up."
"I'm sorry aunt. I'll try harder."
A hand landed a heavy blow on a young face. "Don't you ever claim me to be your aunt. All you are is a servant. All you ever will be is an ugly workhorse, born to serve until the day you die. And believe me, your death will be a blessing. So stop your daydreams and get the hell to work!"
Still amidst her sorrowful dreams, a tear rolled down Maki's cheek.