Author's Note: Woohoo! Finally! I'm bbbaaaccckkk! My vacation was good I
guess. I found a replacement hat!!! *puts on my Union hat* I didn't expect
to get twenty reviews for just two chapters. I feel loved. Thank you all!
And happy late Easter! *gives everyone who's ready Easter bags full of
candy and stuff* And my other gift is this chapter. Read and enjoy!
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"Done eating Misao?" asked Soujiro, eating another rice ball as he turned to the weasel girl.
"Yes," she replied, the annoyance and hatred for the Tenken still evident in her voice.
Soujiro blinked at the answer. It wasn't that Misao didn't eat a lot. On the contrary, she had already devoured her share of rice balls and miso soup by the time Soujiro finished his soup. When Soujiro asked if Misao wanted some of his rice balls, she answered by eating his until there was only one rice ball left for him. How a small girl like her can eat that much in such a short amount of time puzzled Soujiro. Misao was just full of surprises.
Soujiro popped the rest of the rice ball in his mouth and finished it off. Looking to the, obviously, still angry Misao, he asked, "How did you get captured anyway?"
"None of your business!" she immediately snapped.
'Such a violent girl,' Soujiro thought to himself. 'But then again, that's what makes her fun.' There was a silence, with Misao staring at the ceiling, eyes narrowed, and Soujiro smiling while staring at nothing in particular.
"Why do you do it?"
"Hm?" Soujiro turned to stare at Misao, who had turned her face from the ceiling so she could look at him.
"Killing other people. Why do you do it?"
"Because Shishio tells me to."
"Stupid reason," Misao said. "Why do you do everything he tells you to do?"
"Because Shishio is right."
Misao raised an eyebrow at him. "Right about what?"
"Everything."
This time Misao rolled her eyes. 'He needs to be more specific,' she thought to herself. Then aloud she asked, "An example please?"
"The strong survive and the weak die," replied Soujiro, the lesson he had learned to believe in for years flowing freely in the words he had just spoken.
"And you believe that?"
"Of course."
"That's so stupid!" Misao was now up and staring at Soujiro face to face. "Why would you believe something like that!?"
"Because it's right." He stared back at Misao, his blue eyes staring into her green ones. "I have been proven that."
It was then, as Misao stared into his eyes, did she see a sudden change. Something flickered within those blue eyes, and it almost looked as if Soujiro's smile had suddenly faltered for a second. But Misao only needed a second to see what she saw. It almost as if Soujiro seemed to appear.....fragile.
Though it was a flicker, Misao had seen a sadness that showed a destroyed innocence within him. And the smile that graced his face, was actually a fake smile, hiding the sad one behind it. However, as Misao blinked and looked again, she found nothing.
An emotion bled into Misao's heart. It didn't take her as long as Soujiro had to find out that the emotion was pity. She immediately scolded herself mentally. 'You're feeling pity over your enemy Misao! Are you nuts!?'
"What are you doing Misao?" asked Soujiro, pulling Misao away from her thoughts. Noticing how close her face suddenly was to Soujiro's, she immediately pulled back, a little bit of redness appearing on her face. Soujiro tilted his head to one side, confused at Misao's actions.
'Strange girl,' he thought as he watched her with curious eyes. Shrugging, he picked up Misao's empty bowl and placed it on the tray with his. "I will be back Misao." Not waiting for Misao to acknowledge or not, Soujiro opened the door and left the room.
Misao watched him go, and even stared at the closed door for a minute. But soon her gaze left the door and ended up at the ceiling yet again. Thoughts troubled her mind, most of them about Soujiro, and the rest about Aoshi.
This kidnapping thing was making her very confused.
Probably the one thing that was confusing was feeling pity for her enemy. She can't do that right? Not exactly a smart thing. Feeling pity for someone that kills people and is now making sure you stay a prisoner. Like she thought, very confusing.
Misao suddenly yelped when a puff of white smoke appeared on her chest. As the smoke clear she found herself staring at.....herself? Well, not exactly herself. This Misao had wings on her back, carried a harp, wore a toga, and even had a little halo hovering on top of her head. Oh yeah, this Misao was very very very small.
"Why shouldn't you feel pity for him?" asked the Angel Misao, staring down at the wide-eyed Misao. "It's obvious he had a rough past."
"Um.....who are you?" asked Misao, rubbing her eyes with her hand. She looked again, only to find that the Angel Misao was still there.
"I'm your shoulder angel."
"And I'm your shoulder devil," a voice suddenly broke in.
This time a flame appeared before quickly disappearing. And in the flame's place was another Misao. She wore a red skin tight leather suit, had a trident in her hand, and little horns poking out of the top of her head.
'I'm going crazy,' thought Misao, as she stared at the two other Misaos.
"The question isn't why shouldn't you feel pity for him," the Devil Misao explained. "The real question is why should you feel pity for him?"
"Uh....." was all Misao was able to say, still trying to figure out if she somehow lost it. She stared at Angel Misao, then turned to Devil Misao before blinking and rubbing her eyes, only to repeat the process again.
"No you're not crazy," Angel Misao answered the ninja girl's silent question. "I am your guide to all things that are right."
"That's so corny," snorted Devil Misao. "And who says everything you say is right? What about me!?"
"What about you? If you haven't noticed, you're the DEVIL Misao. I'm the ANGEL Misao."
"So what!? You really think someone is going to listen to you!? I mean.....look at you!"
"Look who's talking! Have you even noticed what you're wearing!?"
"Hm?" Devil Misao held a hand to her chin as she looked down at her outfit, the leather suit hugging her body. She looked back at Angel Misao with a grin. "At least people will pay attention to me."
"Yeah, the perverts."
"I'm sure Aoshi wouldn't complain."
Angel Misao's face went red, both from anger and embarrassment. "Why did I have to get stuck with you as my counterpart?"
"Well who else is there?" asked Devil Misao. "If it weren't for me you would just be a goody two shoes that can never take care of herself. Oh wait.....you still are."
"Why you little!" Angel Misao tackled Devil Misao and soon the two were in a catfight, with Misao watching with wide eyes. The beginning of the catfight started with hair pulling and biting. Of course, it became more violent later on. For example, Devil Misao tried to stab Angel Misao with her trident, and Angel Misao would pull off a string from her harp and try to strangle Devil Misao with it.
Misao held a hand to her now throbbing head as the two other Misaos fought. 'What have I gotten myself into?' she asked herself silently.
*************************************************************
Back to Soujiro, the Tenken seemed to be having his own problems. But instead of his thoughts about being about Misao, they were more about the battle between Kenshin and Senkaku. That little talk about the strong survive and the weak die with the ninja girl had caused Soujiro to question about that battle.
It was strange. Himura was strong, despite Soujiro having broken his sword. But.....why did he use the Ryu-Sho-Sen? Soujiro knew that Himura had revealed it on purpose. The question was why?
Senkaku was weak. Weak enough that Kenshin wouldn't even need to use any of his attacks on him. But he still did.
"I'll make sure to ask him when I fight him again," Soujiro said to himself. An image of Misao suddenly appeared in his mind. "Or I can ask Misao. She says that what Shishio told me was wrong, so maybe she can tell me why Himura revealed the Ryu-Sho-Sen."
Another reason for the sudden thoughts of Senkaku was because of what Soujiro had learned.
It seemed that Senkaku had escaped from prison. Truthfully, Soujiro was amazed. He didn't think Senkaku would've been able to escape. And the Tenken had a few questions he needed answers to that only Senkaku could give him.
Shishio did say Senkaku wasn't a problem since he didn't tell him anything important or give him any real responsibility. Shishio said that but how could Senkaku stand being alive? Kenshin defeated him.
Soujiro held a hand to his chin, thinking the thoughts over. Though his smile and eyes showed his lack of emotions, behind them he was confused. Why would Senkaku want to live after being defeated? Soujiro did not really like the idea of living when you were defeated, proving your weakness. Why live after you've been defeated?
Those were the questions he wanted to ask. And they were what he wanted answers to.
'First this Misao,' he suddenly though. 'And now Senakaku. For some reason, a part of me likes where this is going. But another part.....doesn't. Strange.'
He left his thoughts at the back of his mind as he made his way to the exit of Shishio's lair. He disappeared in thin air soon after as he used his Shukuchi.
*************************************************************
"Okay okay!" Misao suddenly shouted. "Enough!"
Her shoulder angel and devil stopped, having been fighting on top of a nearby chair. Angel Misao had a broken wing and her halo was bent. She had a black eye and her harp was missing a few strings. Devil Misao had a bent trident, one of her horns had been broken off, and a few pieces of string from Angel Misao's harp were still around her neck, leaving some marks there.
"You two are driving me crazy!" continued Misao. "Stop fighting!"
"Hey don't yell at us," said Devil Misao. "We represent your different halves. I represent your dark half and she," she pointed to Angel Misao, "is your light half. Though I still think she has some darkness in her." To prove her point, she pulled off the strings from Angel Misao's harp from around her neck and felt the marks that were left there.
"Ok.....so why are you two here?" Misao asked.
"Because we're here to help you make choices," explained Angel Misao.
"You are?" Misao then glared at the two. "Then where were you two when I was thinking about going to look for Aoshi?"
"Uh....." both Angel and Devil Misao said.
"What about when I was going to decide whether to hide Hanya's mask and switch it with a stupid looking mask?"
"Uh....."
"What about-."
"Okay enough!" interrupted Devil Misao.
"To make it simple we're just lazy," admitted Angel Misao, bowing her head in shame.
"The contract didn't say we had to look after you 24/7," said the Devil Misao.
Misao only narrowed her eyes at the two. "Then why are you here?"
"We're here to help you with this predicament you got yourself into," said Angel Misao.
"What you're going to help me escape?"
"My counterpart should've been more specific," said Devil Misao. "The predicament she was talking about is your feelings for the smiling idiot that you met."
"Soujiro!? What feelings for him!?"
"Well whether you should feel pity for him," exclaimed Angel Misao.
"My counterpart is just crazy though," said Devil Misao. "We hadn't done anything in a long time and she's going off the deep end about this."
"Why should I feel pity for Soujiro?" asked Misao, turning to Angel Misao. "He's one that's making sure I don't escape."
"But do you wonder why?"
Misao blinked at that. "What?"
"Well, look at you for example," said Angel Misao. "You lost your parents. What do you think might've happened in Soujiro's past? There could be a reason why he smiles all the time and saw what you saw in him."
"I'll tell you why he smiles," put in Devil Misao. "He's crazy! Obviously he went farther off the deep end then Angel here. He kills people because some burnt up bacon man tells him to!"
"But WHY does he do whatever bacon man says?"
"He's crazy! I just said that!"
Angel Misao shook her head, rubbing her temples with her hand. "The only one that's crazy is you."
"You want a piece of me again?" asked Devil Misao, waving her bent trident at Angel Misao.
Angel Misao sighed. Then, quickly, she raised a hand and grasped her bent halo in her hand. With one swift motion, she threw the halo forward at Devil Misao. There was a loud crack as the halo connected with her nose and Devil Misao ended up falling off the chair. And because of how small she was, the fall was kind of far.
When she hit the ground, a flame surrounded her. As the flame dissipated, it was revealed that Devil Misao had disappeared.
"That was easy enough," said Angel Misao, raising a hand to catch her halo like a boomerang before setting it back over her head. "Now back to business." She hopped off the chair and landed on Misao's shoulder, who was now sitting up.
"Are you sure you're not a devil in disguise?" asked Misao, looking at Angel Misao suspiciously.
Angel Misao laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head with her hand. "The last time I checked I was an angel. Anyway back to business."
Misao only sighed.
*************************************************************
Bushes suddenly parted as a large form ran through them. Not having seen the hill behind the bushes, the man fell and rolled all the way down. Dirt rose into the air as the bald headed man with a head shaped as a cone rolled before finally coming to a stop. Lying on his back, the man laid.
A river streamed next to him as he lied on the ground, taking deep breaths of fresh air. For a while he never thought he could get out of that prison. But now, here he was, free. And was alive because of the former Hitokiri known as Kenshin Himura.
For a while, the man lied on his back, the wonderful scent of freedom filling his nostrils. The river gave his ears something to relax him. Sweat, dirty, bruised, the man didn't care. He was free and alive.
All thanks to Kenshin Himura.
"You're amazing!" a voice suddenly broke the man's time of relaxation. "I didn't think you'd escape!"
The man shot up from his lying position and turned to where he heard the voice. He found the owner of the voice soon enough, the person standing over him and staring at him with an emotionless gaze.
"S.....Soujiro," Senkaku gasped out, seeing the smiling face of the Tenken.
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Author's Note: Woohoo! Finally! Done! Hope you guys give me lots of reviews like the two chapters!
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"Done eating Misao?" asked Soujiro, eating another rice ball as he turned to the weasel girl.
"Yes," she replied, the annoyance and hatred for the Tenken still evident in her voice.
Soujiro blinked at the answer. It wasn't that Misao didn't eat a lot. On the contrary, she had already devoured her share of rice balls and miso soup by the time Soujiro finished his soup. When Soujiro asked if Misao wanted some of his rice balls, she answered by eating his until there was only one rice ball left for him. How a small girl like her can eat that much in such a short amount of time puzzled Soujiro. Misao was just full of surprises.
Soujiro popped the rest of the rice ball in his mouth and finished it off. Looking to the, obviously, still angry Misao, he asked, "How did you get captured anyway?"
"None of your business!" she immediately snapped.
'Such a violent girl,' Soujiro thought to himself. 'But then again, that's what makes her fun.' There was a silence, with Misao staring at the ceiling, eyes narrowed, and Soujiro smiling while staring at nothing in particular.
"Why do you do it?"
"Hm?" Soujiro turned to stare at Misao, who had turned her face from the ceiling so she could look at him.
"Killing other people. Why do you do it?"
"Because Shishio tells me to."
"Stupid reason," Misao said. "Why do you do everything he tells you to do?"
"Because Shishio is right."
Misao raised an eyebrow at him. "Right about what?"
"Everything."
This time Misao rolled her eyes. 'He needs to be more specific,' she thought to herself. Then aloud she asked, "An example please?"
"The strong survive and the weak die," replied Soujiro, the lesson he had learned to believe in for years flowing freely in the words he had just spoken.
"And you believe that?"
"Of course."
"That's so stupid!" Misao was now up and staring at Soujiro face to face. "Why would you believe something like that!?"
"Because it's right." He stared back at Misao, his blue eyes staring into her green ones. "I have been proven that."
It was then, as Misao stared into his eyes, did she see a sudden change. Something flickered within those blue eyes, and it almost looked as if Soujiro's smile had suddenly faltered for a second. But Misao only needed a second to see what she saw. It almost as if Soujiro seemed to appear.....fragile.
Though it was a flicker, Misao had seen a sadness that showed a destroyed innocence within him. And the smile that graced his face, was actually a fake smile, hiding the sad one behind it. However, as Misao blinked and looked again, she found nothing.
An emotion bled into Misao's heart. It didn't take her as long as Soujiro had to find out that the emotion was pity. She immediately scolded herself mentally. 'You're feeling pity over your enemy Misao! Are you nuts!?'
"What are you doing Misao?" asked Soujiro, pulling Misao away from her thoughts. Noticing how close her face suddenly was to Soujiro's, she immediately pulled back, a little bit of redness appearing on her face. Soujiro tilted his head to one side, confused at Misao's actions.
'Strange girl,' he thought as he watched her with curious eyes. Shrugging, he picked up Misao's empty bowl and placed it on the tray with his. "I will be back Misao." Not waiting for Misao to acknowledge or not, Soujiro opened the door and left the room.
Misao watched him go, and even stared at the closed door for a minute. But soon her gaze left the door and ended up at the ceiling yet again. Thoughts troubled her mind, most of them about Soujiro, and the rest about Aoshi.
This kidnapping thing was making her very confused.
Probably the one thing that was confusing was feeling pity for her enemy. She can't do that right? Not exactly a smart thing. Feeling pity for someone that kills people and is now making sure you stay a prisoner. Like she thought, very confusing.
Misao suddenly yelped when a puff of white smoke appeared on her chest. As the smoke clear she found herself staring at.....herself? Well, not exactly herself. This Misao had wings on her back, carried a harp, wore a toga, and even had a little halo hovering on top of her head. Oh yeah, this Misao was very very very small.
"Why shouldn't you feel pity for him?" asked the Angel Misao, staring down at the wide-eyed Misao. "It's obvious he had a rough past."
"Um.....who are you?" asked Misao, rubbing her eyes with her hand. She looked again, only to find that the Angel Misao was still there.
"I'm your shoulder angel."
"And I'm your shoulder devil," a voice suddenly broke in.
This time a flame appeared before quickly disappearing. And in the flame's place was another Misao. She wore a red skin tight leather suit, had a trident in her hand, and little horns poking out of the top of her head.
'I'm going crazy,' thought Misao, as she stared at the two other Misaos.
"The question isn't why shouldn't you feel pity for him," the Devil Misao explained. "The real question is why should you feel pity for him?"
"Uh....." was all Misao was able to say, still trying to figure out if she somehow lost it. She stared at Angel Misao, then turned to Devil Misao before blinking and rubbing her eyes, only to repeat the process again.
"No you're not crazy," Angel Misao answered the ninja girl's silent question. "I am your guide to all things that are right."
"That's so corny," snorted Devil Misao. "And who says everything you say is right? What about me!?"
"What about you? If you haven't noticed, you're the DEVIL Misao. I'm the ANGEL Misao."
"So what!? You really think someone is going to listen to you!? I mean.....look at you!"
"Look who's talking! Have you even noticed what you're wearing!?"
"Hm?" Devil Misao held a hand to her chin as she looked down at her outfit, the leather suit hugging her body. She looked back at Angel Misao with a grin. "At least people will pay attention to me."
"Yeah, the perverts."
"I'm sure Aoshi wouldn't complain."
Angel Misao's face went red, both from anger and embarrassment. "Why did I have to get stuck with you as my counterpart?"
"Well who else is there?" asked Devil Misao. "If it weren't for me you would just be a goody two shoes that can never take care of herself. Oh wait.....you still are."
"Why you little!" Angel Misao tackled Devil Misao and soon the two were in a catfight, with Misao watching with wide eyes. The beginning of the catfight started with hair pulling and biting. Of course, it became more violent later on. For example, Devil Misao tried to stab Angel Misao with her trident, and Angel Misao would pull off a string from her harp and try to strangle Devil Misao with it.
Misao held a hand to her now throbbing head as the two other Misaos fought. 'What have I gotten myself into?' she asked herself silently.
*************************************************************
Back to Soujiro, the Tenken seemed to be having his own problems. But instead of his thoughts about being about Misao, they were more about the battle between Kenshin and Senkaku. That little talk about the strong survive and the weak die with the ninja girl had caused Soujiro to question about that battle.
It was strange. Himura was strong, despite Soujiro having broken his sword. But.....why did he use the Ryu-Sho-Sen? Soujiro knew that Himura had revealed it on purpose. The question was why?
Senkaku was weak. Weak enough that Kenshin wouldn't even need to use any of his attacks on him. But he still did.
"I'll make sure to ask him when I fight him again," Soujiro said to himself. An image of Misao suddenly appeared in his mind. "Or I can ask Misao. She says that what Shishio told me was wrong, so maybe she can tell me why Himura revealed the Ryu-Sho-Sen."
Another reason for the sudden thoughts of Senkaku was because of what Soujiro had learned.
It seemed that Senkaku had escaped from prison. Truthfully, Soujiro was amazed. He didn't think Senkaku would've been able to escape. And the Tenken had a few questions he needed answers to that only Senkaku could give him.
Shishio did say Senkaku wasn't a problem since he didn't tell him anything important or give him any real responsibility. Shishio said that but how could Senkaku stand being alive? Kenshin defeated him.
Soujiro held a hand to his chin, thinking the thoughts over. Though his smile and eyes showed his lack of emotions, behind them he was confused. Why would Senkaku want to live after being defeated? Soujiro did not really like the idea of living when you were defeated, proving your weakness. Why live after you've been defeated?
Those were the questions he wanted to ask. And they were what he wanted answers to.
'First this Misao,' he suddenly though. 'And now Senakaku. For some reason, a part of me likes where this is going. But another part.....doesn't. Strange.'
He left his thoughts at the back of his mind as he made his way to the exit of Shishio's lair. He disappeared in thin air soon after as he used his Shukuchi.
*************************************************************
"Okay okay!" Misao suddenly shouted. "Enough!"
Her shoulder angel and devil stopped, having been fighting on top of a nearby chair. Angel Misao had a broken wing and her halo was bent. She had a black eye and her harp was missing a few strings. Devil Misao had a bent trident, one of her horns had been broken off, and a few pieces of string from Angel Misao's harp were still around her neck, leaving some marks there.
"You two are driving me crazy!" continued Misao. "Stop fighting!"
"Hey don't yell at us," said Devil Misao. "We represent your different halves. I represent your dark half and she," she pointed to Angel Misao, "is your light half. Though I still think she has some darkness in her." To prove her point, she pulled off the strings from Angel Misao's harp from around her neck and felt the marks that were left there.
"Ok.....so why are you two here?" Misao asked.
"Because we're here to help you make choices," explained Angel Misao.
"You are?" Misao then glared at the two. "Then where were you two when I was thinking about going to look for Aoshi?"
"Uh....." both Angel and Devil Misao said.
"What about when I was going to decide whether to hide Hanya's mask and switch it with a stupid looking mask?"
"Uh....."
"What about-."
"Okay enough!" interrupted Devil Misao.
"To make it simple we're just lazy," admitted Angel Misao, bowing her head in shame.
"The contract didn't say we had to look after you 24/7," said the Devil Misao.
Misao only narrowed her eyes at the two. "Then why are you here?"
"We're here to help you with this predicament you got yourself into," said Angel Misao.
"What you're going to help me escape?"
"My counterpart should've been more specific," said Devil Misao. "The predicament she was talking about is your feelings for the smiling idiot that you met."
"Soujiro!? What feelings for him!?"
"Well whether you should feel pity for him," exclaimed Angel Misao.
"My counterpart is just crazy though," said Devil Misao. "We hadn't done anything in a long time and she's going off the deep end about this."
"Why should I feel pity for Soujiro?" asked Misao, turning to Angel Misao. "He's one that's making sure I don't escape."
"But do you wonder why?"
Misao blinked at that. "What?"
"Well, look at you for example," said Angel Misao. "You lost your parents. What do you think might've happened in Soujiro's past? There could be a reason why he smiles all the time and saw what you saw in him."
"I'll tell you why he smiles," put in Devil Misao. "He's crazy! Obviously he went farther off the deep end then Angel here. He kills people because some burnt up bacon man tells him to!"
"But WHY does he do whatever bacon man says?"
"He's crazy! I just said that!"
Angel Misao shook her head, rubbing her temples with her hand. "The only one that's crazy is you."
"You want a piece of me again?" asked Devil Misao, waving her bent trident at Angel Misao.
Angel Misao sighed. Then, quickly, she raised a hand and grasped her bent halo in her hand. With one swift motion, she threw the halo forward at Devil Misao. There was a loud crack as the halo connected with her nose and Devil Misao ended up falling off the chair. And because of how small she was, the fall was kind of far.
When she hit the ground, a flame surrounded her. As the flame dissipated, it was revealed that Devil Misao had disappeared.
"That was easy enough," said Angel Misao, raising a hand to catch her halo like a boomerang before setting it back over her head. "Now back to business." She hopped off the chair and landed on Misao's shoulder, who was now sitting up.
"Are you sure you're not a devil in disguise?" asked Misao, looking at Angel Misao suspiciously.
Angel Misao laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head with her hand. "The last time I checked I was an angel. Anyway back to business."
Misao only sighed.
*************************************************************
Bushes suddenly parted as a large form ran through them. Not having seen the hill behind the bushes, the man fell and rolled all the way down. Dirt rose into the air as the bald headed man with a head shaped as a cone rolled before finally coming to a stop. Lying on his back, the man laid.
A river streamed next to him as he lied on the ground, taking deep breaths of fresh air. For a while he never thought he could get out of that prison. But now, here he was, free. And was alive because of the former Hitokiri known as Kenshin Himura.
For a while, the man lied on his back, the wonderful scent of freedom filling his nostrils. The river gave his ears something to relax him. Sweat, dirty, bruised, the man didn't care. He was free and alive.
All thanks to Kenshin Himura.
"You're amazing!" a voice suddenly broke the man's time of relaxation. "I didn't think you'd escape!"
The man shot up from his lying position and turned to where he heard the voice. He found the owner of the voice soon enough, the person standing over him and staring at him with an emotionless gaze.
"S.....Soujiro," Senkaku gasped out, seeing the smiling face of the Tenken.
*************************************************************
Author's Note: Woohoo! Finally! Done! Hope you guys give me lots of reviews like the two chapters!