Chapter 1

By Crystal Snowflakes

Author's Notes: Another chapter revised... This a few hundred words longer... So, please enjoy!

Disclaimers: Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki and not to Crystal Snowflakes :(


She sighed yet again as she stood in the rain, not seeking any shelter, allowing the cold drops to make contact with her skin and clothes... Her green eyes were closed, a look of peace on her face as she walked... A growl erupted from her stomach as her eyes snapped opened, a look of delight on her face...

Although I can't remember the last time I've had a decent meal... I'm happy. I've been gone for two weeks... And I guess, living alone, knowing that you aren't going to return home is hard. You have to watch how to spend your money and use the least amount possible, you have to find a job... Speaking of which, I have to find one very soon. I'm going to run out of money in a week or two... I hope there are fruits around here. Maybe apples? Ahh... What I'd do for some miso...

...And a hot bath. I haven't had a bath for three days... The last time was near a riverbank in the cold freezing water... Even though it wasn't the greatest life... For the first time in years, I felt complete. Even in the wilderness day and night, lacking food and sleep and traveling like a rurouni, I was content.

I didn't need to care about how I acted... I didn't need to care about what anyone thought about me. I could act childish and nobody would say anything, I could pout all day and no one would dare scold me... This isn't similar to my life in the Aoiya... Right now, I didn't have to watch what I was saying so that Aoshi-sama would think I was immature... I tried to act ladylike around him and I had to be strong... But in the end, it had done nothing for me. Now, I could curse all I want, jump around like a monkey, hop on my foot the whole day and nobody would dare question my sanity or tell me I was immature... I could cry and no one would think I was weak.

I hated being weak... It was because I was weak that Aoshi-sama never loved me, not that I really cared any longer... I had given up. There was no point in pining after him anymore. The only thing I cared about right now was traveling... And perhaps finding a job. I want to wander around Japan, perhaps even wander to other countries... I want to see the world... And I could wander around my whole life and nobody would come for me, or find me... I have no ties to this place... I would miss everyone a lot at the Aoiya...

...But now it's different. There's no reason for me to stay. And sometimes, I wish I was never born in the Oniwabanshuu... As much as I love family and my clan, I can feel when I'm not wanted. Perhaps wanted, but they don't want me to be a ninja. I'm too weak... Or so they say. Perhaps I should just get stronger and show them... They treat me like the fragile child that I am not, but then again, none of this really matters anymore. I left them, for good.

I love waking up, the sun shining in my eyes, the fresh air burning my lungs... Mother Nature was truly beautiful. I loved walking in the rain. It seems rather calming to me... The raindrops falling on the leaves make a beautiful plopping sound. The wind howls, chilling me to the bones...

Right. Cold. It's almost winter... I really should get winter clothes... Winter was fast approaching and even with my warm clothing, it's not enough, I can assure you that. Perhaps I can find some decent warm clothing next town... A few more hours of walking in the rain, that is. I can only hope that I don't get sick... The cold is getting to me... Perhaps I should really grab the clothes from my bag so that I don't get hypothermic.

Knowing that she had spent enough time standing in the rain and that if she didn't hurry up, she would get sick, she continued her walking, the pace faster than usual, trying to get to the next town as soon as she could.

The rain continued falling on her head, her body temperature lowering slightly every minute. She had grabbed the warm clothes from her bag and slipped it on, hoping that it would warm her up slightly, but it had not helped. The water soon soaked through the cloth and her already wet clothes had not helped either.

She sighed softly as she began shivering, knowing that it wasn't a good sign and that she probably should find some shelter and build a fire to wait for the rain to subside, but Makimachi Misao was a very stubborn woman. And plus, there were no shelter available in the middle of a forest. It would be so much better if I had some company to keep me from thinking about the cold... She thought to herself, wincing slightly at the clothes that had become very heavy from the amount of water...

A few minutes later, she sniffled as she felt another sneeze coming... And she knew that she was in trouble. She couldn't catch sight of the next town, and she knew that her trouble had trouble keeping up... Everything was getting number by the second and not having enough food the past few days had not helped with this predicament.

Kami-sama... She stifled another sneeze. Please send someone to bring me to the next town...

She stopped in her tracks as she clutched her head, suddenly feeling dizzy... Her ears pounded loudly as suddenly, her breaths came in short gasps... Her eyes closed for a mere second and when she opened them, she noticed that everything was darkening...

As her knees buckled and her figure collapsed, she felt a pair of warm hands encircle her waist...

Thank Kami-sama...


"Arigatou Ito-san..."

The woman smiled kindly, "You're welcome, boy. Just take care of your wife, ne? It's a good thing you came here so early, or she would really have gotten really sick."

The young man nodded, "Arigatou."

"Well, I'll be downstairs if you need anything. Just call." She gave another smile as she left the room, leaving two trays of food.

The young man stared at his dinner, and started eating it as he watched the woman wrapped tightly up in blankets and he wondered why she would be alone, in the rain... His mind wandered quickly as he ate slowly...

A groan.

He stood up, laying down the food as he grabbed the rag from the young woman's forehead, dipped it in the basin filled with hot water, and applied it to her forehead again.

The woman struggled gently, but when she felt the tight fabric around her legs, her eyes snapped opened and met the eyes of her savior.

The boy had dark blue eyes that were filled with concern, his hair short... "Are you all right, Makimachi-san?" He asked.

She frowned slightly, wondering how he had known her name, and finally feeling that she should know this boy... His face was familiar, his voice as well... And his smile... But then, where do I know him from? Brushing the question from her mind, she shed the blankets around, then changed her thought as she felt the cold air. She looked down, at her clothes, recognizing it, then finally noticing that it was the kimono she had packed two weeks ago... "I'm fine... But... You better tell me that you didn't change my clothes..."

He chuckled, "Iie. I was walking when I saw you fainting, so I hauled you along and arrived at this town, where I rented a room and got the landlady to change your drenched clothes for you. She's drying them right now... So I'm afraid you're going to be stuck with that."

"Oh." Misao replied, "Domo Arigatou..."

"You're welcome." He smiled widely again.

Misao looked at the boy, once again feeling that she should really know him. "Ano... Do I know you from somewhere? Is that why you know my name?"

The man grinned, "I'm surprised you don't remember, Makimachi-san..." His eyes darkened slightly, "Seta Soujiro."

Her eyes widened, "Tenken no Soujiro."

"Hai." His smile faltered, "Demo... I don't go by that name anymore, Makimachi-san. I'm just a rurouni now."

Seeing his look, she smiled, "Aa... Gomen nasai... And arigatou, Seta-san." I wouldn't have forgiven an enemy so easily... But... Why? "I'm surprised you remember me."

He chuckled, feeling the tension was gone, "I remember you well, Makimachi-san..."

She gave him a bright smile, "Ironic how after a couple years, we end up together on a rainy road..." She snuggled in her blankets, "Tenken no Soujiro..." She murmured to herself, "You're a rurouni now though, aren't you?"

"Aa..."

"Rurouni... I guess I'm a rurouni now too." She said softly, snuggling deeper into her blankets.

He looked up, the smile still plastered on his lips. "Why are you a rurouni?"

A sad smile illustrated itself on her beautiful face, "...Sometimes, the past becomes a heavy burden... The past becomes something that was too painful for me to bear, so like a coward, I ran away from reality... And I began traveling. Perhaps this way, I can find answers in my life."

"Answers in life..." He muttered. "Demo, I thought you and Shinomori-san were..." He stopped, studying her face.

Her eyes had becoming dark, but had become damp, "Aoshi-sama..." She whispered, softly, "I don't know... For the longest time, I thought so too... But he told me to move on... And I decided to travel instead. Maybe this way, I can find someone else. At least I tried... Instead of waiting for a stupid ice block like him." She muttered the last sentence angrily.

Soujiro chuckled, "Ice block?"

Misao flushed, "I..."

He grinned, "I think it's a fair comparison."

For a second, her face froze and the former Tenken was afraid that he had said something offensive... And he was surprised a few seconds later as a laugh erupted. "A fair comparison..." Misao repeated, then smiled again.

"Makimachi-san?"

"Hai?" She asked, a smile still on her face.

"Ito-san, the landlady brought us some food... It might be a little cold by now..."

Her smile brightened once again, "Did you say food!"

Soujiro, chuckling at her antics, stood up and brought the two trays over to the wrapped up ninja.

"Arigatou!" She chirped as she began overstuffing her mouth.

He watched, eyes wide open in a laughable manner, shocked at the young woman in front of him... As shock turned into amusement, the young man finished his own dinner, all the while watching the Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu across him.

When they finished both their dinner, Misao glanced at the single futon sitting on the floor. "Ne, Soujiro?"

"Hai, Makimachi-san?" He asked, his eyes wandering to the futon as well. His eyes blinked, "Ara... I told Ito-san that we were newlyweds because she had only one room..." He looked apologetic. "I'll sleep against the wall." He smiled.

She shook her head, "There's no way I'll let you sleep against the wall... It's so uncomfortable. And plus, you saved me... Since it's a double futon, we can sleep without touching each other much... What do you think? I don't exactly want you to catch a cold... But as long as there isn't any funny business..."

"Are you sure, Makimachi-san?"

She nodded, "Positive, as long as you don't try something funny."

"Nothing funny." He agreed as he settled in the futon.

Misao blew the candles out, then slipped into it beside him, laying there for a few minutes before her eyes opened. "Soujiro?"

"Hai?"

"Call me Misao... I don't like it when people are too formal."

This answer brought her a chuckle and the young ninja punched the swordsman playfully as she scowled. "Don't laugh at me, or you'll feel the wrath of Makimachi Misao!" She said in a dangerous voice, then yawned, ruining the threat.

He smiled, "Hai hai, Maki— Misao-san. Oyasumi nasai!"

Yawning again, her eyes closed slowly, "Oyasumi... Soujiro." At least it's not Makimachi-san... One of these days, I'll force him to say Misao... He annoys me as much as Himura does... Misao-dono. She snorted inwardly, then her mind drifted again... I feel safe... It's quite strange, really. Lying in the same futon as my so-called-enemy, I felt safe...

As she fell into a dreamless sleep, the young man lying beside her opened his eyes. Is she not scared of me? I'm Tenken no Soujiro... One of the most feared swordsman... But... How could she sleep, knowing that such a dangerous man, who was once her enemy, was sleeping less than a meter away from her?


"Misao-san... Wake up!" Soujiro shook the groaning ninja.

She growled, "Leave me alone!" As she heard a chuckle, she snarled. "I swear, whoever it is, I'm going to kill you... Painfully." She opened her eyes, then shut them immediately, regretting her awful decision.

The sun was shining brightly and illuminating the room as the bird chirped.

"Soujiro! What time is it?" She sighed as she brought the covers over her head, attempting to block her eyes from the light.

"Eleven... You were very tired from the cold you had yesterday, but you should be fine now." He said cheerfully. "Ito-san said that lunch would be served soon, so I wanted to wake you up."

She groaned, "You're always so bloody cheerful."

"And you're always so grumpy!" He grinned.

"Am not."

He chuckled, "Maa, maa... Get up! Lunch!" He tugged at the blankets, easily winning Misao.

She winced as she saw the light, "Ooh! That's it! Wait till I have my hands on my kunai, Seta Soujiro. You'll regret it when I stick one of those up your—"

"Misao-san!"

"...Ass." She finished as she sat up.

Soujiro had his mouth opened, then started laughing merrily.

She grinned as she stood up, "Kimonos are so bothersome." She muttered, looking down at her clothes, "Ah well... Let's go for lunch, and we'll leave this town after we get some provisions."

"We?" He asked.

She looked at him as if he had three heads, "Of course! Did you think that you would be able to leave alone?" She grinned, "I didn't think so, Sou-chan. Anyways, I'm going to change, so turn around!"

He did so without any complaints.

When she was dressed again, she smiled. "Well, we're going to get some warmer clothing for me and you..." She said, "I think I have enough for both of us."

"Both of us?" He asked again.

"Well, you're going to freeze when it gets any colder... And plus, we'll work to get some money later."

"Hai... Arigatou, Misao-san."

She nodded in acknowledgement as she began mumbling to herself again, "And gotta get those guy clothes..."

"Guy clothes?"

She nodded again, "Kimonos are hard to fight in... Soon enough, when I get something comfortable, I'm going to ditch this uniform." She said, looking at the Oniwabanshuu uniform. "Too many memories..."

"Maa..." Soujiro interrupted, "If you want to fight in a kimono... I can help you train..."

"Honto?" She asked.

He nodded.

Exited, she flung her arms around him and embraced him tightly, "Arigatou, Sou-chan!" Then headed out the room, leaving a completely clueless Soujiro behind.

Sou-chan? He asked himself, wondering when he had agreed to let her to call him such.


Author's Notes: Yay! Done! Hope you enjoy! Two more chapters to revise!

-Crystal Snowflakes

Sunday, March 27, 2005