Nikki's Notes: Thanks for the reviews, and again PEACE OUT to Soujiro's girl fans. Of course our Tenken isn't going to be a weakling in this story. He's just injured and need more time to recover from that broken leg of his. I wanna tell y'all something: ( this might be a spoiler, but I think it wouldn't do no harm) there will be a part on this story in which Misao flirts with Soujiro by challenging him to a friendly duel. Who knows what they would end up doing… That's all, and I hope that y'all read on to know where that part comes in. Go, Sou-chan! (grabs pompoms)

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"Damn Meiji government! They would risk anything to save themselves!"

Her cheeks turned red from anger. This is so unfair! Angrily she collected her reactions when she first met Soujiro Seta in person. First, she saw him crawling on the ground with all those terrible wounds all over his body. Secondly, even at the pain of his injuries, he wanted to tell her that he's innocent. How miserable, she thought. If she imagined her fate if she was in his shoes right now, she could punch a hole in the stone wall in anger.

From Kenshin's stories, Soujiro was a ruthless but misguided youth who claimed the lives of many. But that was a long time ago. He has changed! That's what Kenshin said, and Kenshin is always right.

"You're damn right, Misao, but you speak as if you already know him..", Kaoru commented.

Misao blushed at her comment. Truly, she has a tendency to let herself feel so close to a person when she had only met him a day or even an hour ago. That was how friendly she was, and now she did it again. "W-well..", she defended herself, "Well I do know him now! And I know why he's framed too!". She paused, thinking harder. "Hey, Kaoru! What do you think will happen to him now?"

Kaoru shrugged her shoulders. "The best thing we could do is to keep him until he's nursed back to health. I don't know what to do next… perhaps Kenshin knows."

Misao nodded confidently. "I bet he does. I bet he could help him."

Kaoru smiled at her and winked an eye. "Sincerely, this is your house and I expect that you do most of the work for that boy."

"Huh? What?", Misao thought out loud. "Kenshin is the only one who could get him out of this! You cant expect me to correct things for him like what Kenshin plans to do!"

"No, I don't mean that!", Kaoru shook her head. "What I said was, maybe you could do take care of him while Kenshin is planning to get things straight. After all, you're the first person whom he found security..", she stopped, giving the dumbstruck Misao a time to think. "Do you get me now?"

Misao nodded. "Okay. Only if you promise to help me."

"Oh, yes, why not?", Kaoru replied. "But Misao, I cant help you all the time, so there will be moments when you have to do it yourself."

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Even if it was all true, Soujiro still cant believe that he's being framed because of government issues. He stared blankly on the wall, thinking of what Makoto Shishio had always reminded him. The government has to be changed. Though all his Sensei wants is power and more power, Soujiro clearly knows of each issue that makes the government drive people to overthrow them.

He knows where the citizens' taxes all end up in.

He knows who are the officials who ordered the assassination of fellow officials.

He knows most of them who contribute to graft and corruption.

Those are only few of the things that he knew. There are still many more; he could even point out all those involved in pyramid scams and those who had children by prostitutes. And because of all these knowledge, they wanted him killed. They feared that eventually, he would build his own association and squeal each scandal to the mass. All members of the Juppon Gatana knew little of these things, but, being Shishio's right-hand man, Soujiro knows perfectly as his Sensei does.

What bothered him more is the hospitality of Himura's colleagues. How could they help someone who was their enemy before? He would understand if Himura himself wanted to help him, but his friends… especially that ninja girl….

Soujiro expects that Himura's companions were only forced to go along with him in saving other's lives. They would probably listen to Kenshin because he is a good man, but that doesn't mean that they liked what they're doing. Especially if it's for him. A former Juppon Gatana member. One of its deadliest. And not to mention, a loyal servant to Shishio Makoto.

"Hey! Your breakfast is here!", a girl cheekily called out.

Soujiro turned to see the ninja girl holding a tray of hot soup and tea. "You don't need to worry. I cooked this stuff, Kaoru didn't." She carefully placed the tray on his lap. "I bet you haven't eaten since yesterday, Seta."

It was no surprise she knows his surname too. His face was all over Aoiya. He remembered what she asked yesterday, if he is or he's not Soujiro Seta, and how he hesitated because she might kill him. Well, so much for a girl who wanted to help.

"This is too much… I cant thank you enough.", he whispered shyly, but in truth he wanted to gobble up the food before him in hunger.

"That's okay, to tell you the truth, I was rather guilty because I was really hesitant to help you.", she whispered back.

Soujiro's smiley face started to change. I knew it.

"I-I understand. But isnt it bothering you that you're involved now..?", he erased the stupid look off his face and asked.

"Look. Someone has to stand up to those Meiji guys. And this is what Kenshin and I do! We help!", she said confidently.

He looked at her and smiled, then scratched his head, "I didn't catch your name."

"Misao Makimachi! Leader of the Oni gang!", she stood up and strikes a pose.

"Misao, neh?", he jeered. You're such a bubbly girl!

She sat back down, this time closer to him. "Kenshin told me you were very energetic. How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Man, you don't look like it! People would see you as my little brother, don't you think? You must be smiling a lot to retain that baby face…", Misao paused, surprised. Oops. Did I just remind him of his killer smile? I mean, literally speaking, KILLER smile…?

Ouch. She thinks it's the perfect time to bring back my memories. Ooh, such painful memories… "I wanted to tell you that I don't fake my smiles anymore.", he said honestly.

I didn't mean it….her lip curled as she muffled her apologies. "Yeah, an honest smile is prettier than a fake one I guess.."

"Aww, never mind!", Soujiro smirked. Once again, he looked at the feisty lady, eyeing her from her slim, flawless legs to her rather "small" bosom then to her bright, pretty face. She looked much like his age, energetic and talkative like him. It's a strange feeling to Soujiro though, he had never compared himself to others like her before, but it was a nice feeling to have a sense of connectivity. Perhaps, he thought, this is the point where friendships begin.

"You might want to start your breakfast.", Misao said thoughtfully. "I cooked it. I wanna know if it's great!"

So I'm your guinea pig, neh? He thought sarcastically. But maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. After all, his stomach was growling for the last few minutes that she brought in the breakfast. It smells so great and looked worth trying. He picked up the bowl and sipped from the lid. Misao waited excitedly for a reaction.

Soujiro's face brightened. "You're a master chef in the making!"

"Don't lie to me!", she frowned. Soujiro shook his head repeatedly.

"Na-ah.", he winked. "I love to eat and I can tell this is genuine cooking."

Though she wasn't sure if she heard him correct, a smile emerged from her lips. She has been praised for her cooking before, by Sanosuke and Yahiko and even Kenshin himself, but she had always thought that they needed someone to save them from eating the meals that Kaoru had prepared. This time, someone whom she barely knew praised her. Not to mention that he had never tasted her cooking before, so there really is no point of comparison except for gourmet cooking that he had tried. "I'm glad you like it!", she said.

One more thing that she felt within her is good companionship. She never could imagine that not so long ago he was one of the most dangerous enemies that they ever dealt with. Now, there they are, speaking like they have known each other for years. Whenever she was beside him, she would ask herself whether she felt wrong about even talking to him, but whenever she finds the answer it would always be a feeling of security and joy. He wasnt so cruel after all. I could easily make friends but I never felt so ecstatic like this!

Misao got up, wearing a happy face. "Finish that up! I wanna see what you're made of!"