Hey guys! This is one of those chapters I mentioned in the beginning of this story where Kenshin isn't narrator. These types of chapters will be popping up throughout the story. If you're wondering why I'm writing like this, it's because I believe these chapters show you the depth of the characters, instead of simply having Kenshin's description of them.

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Shishio Makoto sat on a plush, velvet couch, contemplating what he was about to do. Two servants were in the process of wrapping him in fresh bandages before his guests arrived and the emperor smirked as he felt their hands shake out of fear.

'They would be petrified if they knew what was in store for them.' he mused.

What the poor servants didn't know was that after they had finished wrapping their leader in bandages, guards would escort them to the courtyard where the firing squad awaited them.

No one, in the past ten years, had seen the Emperors burnt body and lived to tell the tale. There were only three exceptions to this rule, three people who had seen. One was dead, one was directly under Shishio's thumb, and the other... he had escaped.

"You can go now." He dismissed them with a wave of his hand. The servants bowed and began to collect their things before placing a shoji screen in front of the Emperor.

"And have a nice day."

This seemed to put them in ease, and one of them actually smiled as he left. As they were exiting, a soldier entered and bowed.

"General Komagata and his wife have arrived, my lord."

Shishio smirked again. "Send them in."

A tall man with graying hair and a woman wearing a traditional purple kimono came in, kneeled, and bowed so low that there heads nearly touched the floor.

Komagata-san lifted his head but his wife remained in her position.

"Emperor, I'm grateful to you for seeing me."

"Komagata, get to the reason of your visit." Shishio despised General Komagata and it irritated him just to hear the man speak. He then reminded himself of the reward that would be his at the end of this 'meeting'.

"Yes. You see sir; there was an uprising at one of the schools in Austria. The students, as well as the teachers, joined forces and utterly demolished the entire complex. After that, they attempted an attack on the militia base."

Shishio knew exactly where the old man was going with his report. Komagata was in charge of the army division that was stationed in Europe, a job in which he took great pride. If the revolt had succeeded, the Emperor knew that the old man would've killed himself to avoid the shame.

Shishio had given the man this position after the end of World War III, in which the General (then a Lieutenant Colonel) had proved extremely useful in his rise to power. However, the times had changed, and old ties were being severed.

"Of course, their attempts were futile and we crushed them easily."

"Of course."

Shishio emitted a sound that seemed to be a cross between a sigh and a chuckle. He shifted slightly in his seat, sticking his hand underneath the cushions and withdrawing something, unbeknownst to Komagatawho could only see his outline through the shoji.

"I suppose you want a reward for your accomplishments?"

"Oh no, my lord, I just thought..." Komagata began to sweat a bit. True, he had come to receive some sort of praise but something in the Emperors' voice was making him nervous, just as intended.

"And why not?" Shishio had changed his tone as if he was chatting with his best friend. "A man of your stature should definitely be commended on such an accomplishment."

Shishio smirked again. It was something he did quite often when he was toying with his 'puppets', as he liked to call them.

"It's alright sir… I really don't need anything." Komagata began to regain his confidence, assured that he wasn't in any trouble.

"Ah… but you see, I already have the perfect gift for you."

Before General Komagata could even respond, he saw a flash of light from behind the shoji and felt a searing pain in the left side of his chest. The force of the bullet pushed him backwards and he was dead before he even hit the floor.

His wife remained in her position, tears streaming down her face.

The guards ran in upon hearing the gunshot but they stopped in their tracks when they saw Komagata's body in small pool of blood instead of their Emperor's.

"Are you alright, my lord?"

"Yes, I'm fine." He got up and headed towards a door situated behind the couch. "Clean this mess up."

"And the woman, my lord?"

Shishio stopped and thought for a few moments. "Take her to my chambers. And have one of the maids get her some new clothes, preferably, something red."

With that, he left and in the distance, a volley of bullets being fired could be heard.

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A/N: Yeah... I guess you can figure out what kind of person our lovable Makoto-chan is. In other news, I finally got Volume's 6 & 7 of the Rurouni Kenshin mangas! I'm so happy! I can't wait for the eighth one to come out next month, Kenshin's off to Kyoto! Meaning Shishio will be in it, therefore helping with my stories.

I made a watercolor of Kenshin. I wish I had a scanner, so I could post it on the net. Then you guys could tell me how much it sucks as my loving brother put it. It seriously does! The pencil sketch was great, but once I started putting color to it… the eyes smuged, his gi is all blotchy, and do- :gets hit with a brick and survives in a way only possible in anime: OW! What the? Hey there's a note:

You're rambling! Thank the reviewers, and finish the chapter. Then go and update your other stories!

Hitokiri Battousai

What? turns to see a redhead running around the corner wearing a jacket that says 'Greenwood Varsity Soccer' Aha! Stupid Kenny! Thinks he's Battousai. For those of you who don't know him, he's a character in my other story, the Dawn of Time. And no, he's not Kenshin. I guess I have been neglecting that story a bit…

To the reviewers:

K.G.: Thanks for your review. Enjoy your cookie!

Cartoon-Protector: Thanks for your review. I know this story is a bit weird but it'll make more sense with the later chapters.

Elliot Damion Dailly: Changed our name huh? Guess I can't refer to you as Santa Claus anymore. Thanks for your review. I'm glad you liked the touché. Yeah this is another short chapter but the next one will be kind of long because it's the combination of two chapters. I promise!

REVIEW PLEASE!