Endless Pasts By: Mizu- chan a.k.a Vanilla_fox Summary: Sujirou finally finds the one for him- but she can't settle down- or get attached. She's running away from her past- and a lot of people. Of course, the dear boy is to help, isn't he? Btw, read and suggest a title pleeeese!

Notes: I think, I like this fic. so I'm going to continue it. I really, really want to thank Nia for suggesting a title! And I'm using it. The explanation is. because the two of them are running away from their pasts, which they can't escape from, so it means their pasts are endless. Right?

Disclaimer: Ruroni Kenshin, all characters and related indicia are property of someone else. They don't belong to me!

Last Chapter: "Thank you so much, Seta- san." Aoi told him, bowing slightly. Sujirou shook his head, slightly coloured. "It's nothing. really! And I think, Sujirou would be alright." Aoi nodded. "Then Aoi is fine as well." They nodded, and as if nothing happened, continued walking on in silence, headed for Kyoto- and Kamiya- Kasshin Dojo.

"Himura-san!" Soujirou called. The door opened, and a red- haired man, wearing a magenta (Is that the colour?) shirt, opened the door. " Oh. Soujirou! Come in, come in!" He looked at Aoi, and then back at Soujirou. Both of them reddened. "No! No!" Soujirou exclaimed. "Its not what you think!!" Kenshin nodded, and smiled. "Alright." Aoi, still blushing, bowed. "Gomenasai. Atashi wa Yumemiya Aoi." Kenshin bowed back. "Atashi wa Himura Kenshin." Aoi nodded. "Domo arigato, Himura- san, for letting me come." Kenshin smiled and let them in.

"Kaoru! Kaoru!" Moments later, Himura Kaoru came out, wiping her hands on a piece of white cloth. "Soujirou! I see you brought someone. Atashi wa Himura Kaoru. Nice to meet you." Aoi bowed. "Yumemiya Aoi." Kaoru looked back and forth, from Soujirou, to Aoi. "Are the two of you.?" Both blushed and shook their heads. "Iie!" Kaoru laughed, and gave them one last sly smile, and led them to a large living room, where there were eleven or so other people. Aoi bowed, and sat down. Curious glances were cast towards them, and Soujirou fidgeted, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. Husband and wife exchanged glances, and smiled. "Everyone, this is Yumemiya Aoi, Soujirou's FRIEND." Everyone exchanged glances or looked away, much to the Tenken's relief. "Aoi- chan, this is Yahiko Myoujin." Kaoru began, and everyone introduced themselves. "I'm the number one student of the Kamiya-Kasshin Style! "Sagara Sanosuke." "He's the resident street punk, gambler, fighter, etc." "Hey! You can call me Sano." Aoi laughed as the woman with long black hair fought a glaring match with Sano, who looked away, slightly red. The woman turned on Aoi and Soujirou. She could've sworn, there were fox ears on the woman's head. She laughed as Aoi looked at her. "You can call me Megumi. I'm a doctor." Aoi nodded, and smiled. The old man beside her, suddenly appeared between her and Soujirou. "You can call me. Okina." He said, with much acting. Aoi, feeling uncomfortable, inched away slightly, and suddenly, a flying blur came out of nowhere. "YAMERO! HENTAI!"

Aoi's eyes went wide. "Was. was that a weasel? A flying weasel?" Everyone went silent and laughed. Meaning everyone. "Iie," One woman said, she was very beautiful. "That's Makimachi Misao. I'm Midori." Another woman, who looked much younger, sat next to her. "I'm Akai." Then, the two men across them introduced themselves as Kuro, the larger one, and Shiro, who seemed to be looking at Midori. Aoi nodded. Finally, the flying weasel came back. She was a young looking girl, with long blue hair and cyan eyes. She smiled and extended her hand. "Makimachi Misao. Nice to meet you."

Aoi nodded, and finally, the old man introduced himself as Doctor Gensai. Aoi expectantly, turned towards the last person, who had his eyes closed. But she could see that he was a very handsome man. Everyone looked at him, then he opened his eyes. Aoi almost gasped. It was Him. Him. He was the One who had told her. He was the one who had. "Shinomori Aoshi." She nodded, and everyone, with their usual skills, noticed that even though she kept her expression and aura neutral, her eyes were a fraction wider. "You changed your name." Aoi shook herself from her reverie. "Pardon?" she asked weakly. Everyone was quiet, and looking at her and Aoshi. Misao especially.

Icy blue met steel gray, and a force held the gazes together. "You changed your name, Monou Tsukishiro." Everyone's thoughts raced as Aoi's eyes went completely wide, and her pupils dilated. "It IS you then.." Aoshi nodded. "How could I forget."

===Flashback=== The rain fell ominously, and thunder flashed, creating a very threatening scene. Twelve black, silent shapes ran across a large expanse of forest, ending up on a cliff looking over a large compound. Silent orders, from hand signals, came from the leader of the group, or so it seemed. The black shapes moved away silently, and the only one left was a shape that would probably have belonged to a teenager. She turned to the forest behind her. "Why aren't you attacking? I am pretty sure you aren't on our side, if you're not of our kind." From the shadows, one man seemingly came out of nowhere, followed by numerous other, most likely triple the black figure's numbers. "Of course we aren't."

And the other men left on his hand signal , leaving only two men. Himself, and a masked one with striped sleeves. The same gave, held by the same force, held. Cold, icy blue met the colder steely gray. The black figure stood up and held full height, about a foot or so less than Aoshi's.

The Oniwabanshu's youngest Okashira drew his kodachis and got into defensive stance. The black figure drew out two whips and got into the same stance. Hanya watched on as seconds ticked by, the both eyeing up the other, for any openings. Then, without any warning, the whips lashed out, and Aoshi attacked, dodging one, and getting hit by the other, only to find out that it was metal. Both jumped away from each other, and the woman, still in the same spot, flicked her wrist, and the metal snakes came to life. Aoshi dodged again.

"Monou Tsukishiro. From the Arashi Clan." The black figure stiffened. "Fifteen years old. Leader of the Kunoichis of the 'Sisterhood', a group of women, who fight for themselves. Expert on the whips, and trained by the village Jonin, her father. Monou Kaze." Tsukishiro/ Aoi's eyes narrowed, and from under the black mask, steel gray eyes flashed. "Shinomori Aoshi- youngest Okashira of the Oniwabanshu, age unknown, uses Kodachis, lethal attacks are of the flowing water and the sword's dance, successor of Okina." Both kept quiet, and finally Aoshi attacked. The whips regained life again, and headed in different directions.

But Aoshi dodged, and headed straight for the young kunoichi, who couldn't dodge completely, and escaped with a half torn mask. A young face looked out, anger on its surface. Strands of gray hair fell over one eye. Then, suddenly, she smiled, surprising both men, who didn't show it. "Even the Oniwabanshu cannot find out everything about me. That's good. I thought that you would know. about certain things. But it seems to me, that your people failed." She said pointedly, looking at the burning building below. "Thank you for the entertainment. I will tell Her about you, you know. I have to." Then, her smiling façade dropped again, this time, for a much longer time. Aoshi looked coolly at her eyes, full of pain, death and desperation.

Suddenly, he smiled. It wasn't a warm smile, or a sardonic one, he just smiled. "I see, you're wishing that I can just surprise an attack on you and kill you? I think you aren't meant to be a kunoichi. It seems to me that you know the darker parts of killing the men you loathe so much, and how it affects the very cause you fight for. the wives and the children?" He turned serious as she visibly flinched. "You see how stupid your cause is, don't you? Hey, if you don't like what you do, why do you do it? You kill an official, then rescue his wife and children, whom he actually loved! So they have to go into your cause, because they think that you are the good guys. Don't you see that you're a pawn?" With that, he disappeared, and Tsukishiro/ Aoi ran away, to the other direction.

===End===

A/N: How was this chapter? I'm working on the next one already. I hope that you guys like it, though I'm sure that there are a very few of you who are actually reading this. I'm really hoping that you can. well, review? Please?

Mizu- chan