Nikki's Notes: To the prologue reviewers Thanks for the reviews (keep 'em coming!). Some are asking just what the prologue means. Here's a hint: the prologue is an important part of this story because it resembles HALF of the ending (so there's a lot more for y'all). This story has a certain twist in it, and unlike any other stories, the important events are in the climax, not in the ending. Though the ending itself is important too, the story gives stress to certain events in which Soujiro finds happiness and how he struggles to keep it (this ain't just a sequence of happy events; the story has a deeper plot). So that's about it and I hope y'all read and review the next chapters! This is just the beginning. )

Chapter 1: Wanderlust

After Kenshin Himura defeated The Tenken, he left him a choice to live his own life. Their duel became very emotional at the end, making Kenshin see through Soujiro's hidden thoughts beneath the smile. What Soujiro didn't realize all the while was his choice to part from his Sensei, Makoto Shishio, but now that Battousai gave him the perfect chance, he made a good decision to wander about and find the answers to his own questions.

Wandering. That was his idea. There were so much more than killing and getting paid. Though his salary as an elite assassin would help him a lot, Soujiro knows it will take a lot more than money to start his own, new life.

He first started walking the streets of Aioya until his feet gave up on him and he had to take a rest in an inn. Nobody knew who he was fortunately, but he could never tell. The government was enraged by the Juppon Gatana and executed every living member that they have arrested. There were still those who remained alive, himself included, but for how long?

When the last candle blew out, Soujiro stared at the dark ceiling and though of endless, senseless things. California Maki or Tempura? How does Shishio take a bath with all those bandages? How many sheep should I count before I fall asleep? Endless worry kept him busy for a few moments , when all else that he did not think about started to come out one by one.

Why should I sleep now in this comfy bedroom? Have I carried enough sacks of rice for me to finally rest?

This made him jump from surprise. He went totally berserk when Himura had told him how he analyzed his true feelings. Now, Himura is gone. What is with that question!

Cold sweat was coming out from his fore head as he laid back, panting. Did the experience of child abuse permanently stayed within his brain and never let go? Truly, he wanted to find out every answer to his question. That is why he wandered. To have time to ask himself and to find out the answer. And these were only few of the questions that kept him awake:

Do sons of prostitutes like me really have to be punished?

Is it justice to kill someone who had done you wrong?

Would I ever have my own family?

If so, would I make love to a prostitute and give her a child?

And will I make my child carry 100 sacks of rice everyday?

"I cant sleep, dammit!", he cursed, throwing the pillow repeatedly across the bed and later on to his own face. Not very long after, footsteps were heard outside is room and Soujiro found a sleepless innkeeper cursing at his door.

"Are you nuts, boy? Do you have any idea what time it is! You're disturbing a lot of people here!"

He grinned to his fullest after receiving that harsh scolding, and after having enough of that stupid, smiling face, the innkeeper gave up and returned to his room with stomping feet.

So how did Soujiro sleep that night? Simple. He imagined Houji giving a speech about their missions for the nth time. Houji. The most effective sleeping device. May he rest in peace.

The next morning, Soujiro crawled out of bed lazily and fell on top of something stiff. His eyes wont help him detect what it is, but his nose helped him recognize the thing he had landed on.

Newspaper.

The thick collection of paper laid there in front of his face. Slowly, he rubbed his eyes and cleared them, only to be shocked at the headline.

"KYOTO POLICE STATION BOMBED"

Who the hell would bomb Kyoto police station? He asked himself. Could it be another underground group of rebels who wants to overthrow the Meiji government? Certainly.

The Meiji government had so many affiliations which not everybody knew. Those were no secrets to Soujiro himself, and surely those who bombed the police station knew of it, too.

Yes. It could be another group of rebels. But not the Juppon Gatana.

Soujiro paused, raised his head and then stared at nowhere.

How sure am I?

Heavy was the feeling of losing the people that you have worked with every day. This feeling, Soujiro was not spared. He loved every one of them, especially Yuri and Shishio, the first people who treated him like a person. There were nights when he longed for Yuri's hand running through his hair, like what she did when Himura gave him justice not long ago. And there were times too, when he wished Shishio would be there to give him orders, no matter how silly they would be.

At his third day of being a rurouni, he got out of the inn and explored the streets of Aioya once more. Aroma of the restaurants, yelling of the people, sounds of the carriages greeted him every corner. Though he kept his samurai instincts with him, he left the emotionless smile which Himura had seen through. The smile which is the key to his utmost secrets was no longer within him. If he would smile again, it would be an honest expression of joy.

There were no newspapers that day for him. He did not know who bombed the Kyoto police station. However, the knowledge that it will never be a Juppon Gatana member calmed his heart.

Passing through the streets slowly, he thought of a place where he could settle.

Should he be working in a restaurant?

Should he be building his own dojo?

Or, as what his friends suggested to him for having those quick, graceful movements, should he be a dancer?

He smiled at the thought, remembering how they teased his perfect body coordination. Raising his head, he searched for a bar where he could apply those "skills". But then… at the corner of the wall, something familiar to him can be seen.

Stealthily, he moved towards the cold, rough wall to have a view of it. The he saw it: a poster with a sketch of a boy's face with a smile on his lips.

"WANTED: SOUJIRO SETA, JUPPON GATANA MEMBER.

SUSPECT FOR KYOTO POLICE STATION BOMBING."