The Juppongatana.

They are Shishio's elite, and before I can face him, I have to get through them, but I am not alone in this.

I had wished not to put any outsider in danger, but since I am staying at the Oniwabanshu's place, they got involved. They are a strong group of fighters, and they promised to cover me so I can focus on the major threat, which is Shishio.

Before I even accommodated myself in Kyoto, I faced Shishio's strongest man, Seta Soujirou. In our first encounter he managed to break my precious sakabato, and now I have to go look for the man that gave me the sword to get a new one.

Misao-dono and her grandfather accompanied me on my search of the man, only to find out he was dead and his son who took over makes no weapons.

I am now in a desperate situation, for I need a weapon, but I can't force the man to make me a sword if he gave up on making weapons.

I will need to find somebody that is willing to make me another sakabato.

'Who's going to do it?' Misao-dono asked me. I shrugged, not knowing, but in an

unfortunate stroke of luck, I learned that the man who gave me my sakabato had left behind one last sword at a temple. The bad news was that one of the Juppongatana also found out, and since he was a sword collector, he wanted the sword for himself, but in order to get it, he kidnapped the dead man's grandchild.

Sawagejou Chou was the man I was going to face. To say the truth, he was not very strong, but since I was weapon-less, it became more of a challenge. At a crucial moment in the battle, Misao-dono managed to grab the sword from the temple and throw it at me, but another problem aroused. I did not know if the sword was a sakabato or not, and taking it out in the middle of the battle with out knowing was a dangerous move. Finally I drew my sword and closed my eyes, not wanting to see what I was holding, but when I did open my eyes, Chou was defeated and I had a new sakabato.

And now, I carry a new sakabato. I do not know if a sakabato will defeat a madman like Shishio, but that is the only weapon I have.

I leave the Aoyia with a heavy heart, worrying about their safety, but they have assured me that they will be fine. I just have to believe in them.

I am now standing before Shishio's stronghold. What awaits for me in there is anyone's guess.

As I entered, I find myself face-to-face with Soujirou-san. I know what that means, before I can fight Shishio, I'll have to defeat him. I sigh, and pull out my sword.

The kid is good, very good, but my resolve in the end was stronger and I managed to defeat him. Now he is string at the floor, his expression blank. I feel for him, he has no place in this world, and I know exactly how that feels. The feelings of displacement, of not fitting in, of the unporpusenessless of life, those are all awful feelings to carry in one's soul.

Yumi-san walks into the room and she gives Soujirou-san a sad look before she focused on me.

'Come with me.' she tells me.

I follow her out of the room giving Soujirou-san's fallen form one last glance. I am worried of what he might do. Learning that what you believed in might be wrong can be painful, and in some cases it can lead to disaster. I just hope Soujirou-san will be smart, and not do anything he'll repent for the rest of his life.

Yumi-san leads me through a maze of rooms until we reach a door that leads to a yard. Shishio is standing there.

'I see you managed to defeat Soujirou.'

I don't respond, but place my hand on the hilt of my sword.

He laughs. 'Yumi.' he calls. Yumi-san comes to his side, and he gives her a passionate kiss, then he walks towards me.

'No playing games.' he warns me and pulls his sword. I had to be quick to dodge such a sudden attack. I knew he was good, for he was my successor after Tomoe died, but I had never seen his strength personally.

The fight was intense, and he had the upper hand. Once he managed to strike and bring me down. I lost all sense of anything, the world went black.

I could feel myself letting go. I was floating around in a pool of blackness, nothing filled the void; then I saw her. Her hand was outstretched, and she was smiling.

'My love, have you come for me?' I asked her.

She kept smiling, her smile unfaltering, her hand still stretched. As I extended my hand towards hers, I heard a voice.

'You can't leave me, please don't leave me.' It was her, it was Kaoru. It was at that moment that I remembered I had promised to come back to her, to return to Tokyo in one piece.

'Forgive me, but I cannot go with you. There's somebody waiting for me, but save that smile for me when it's time.' She disappeared, and I could feel my heart ache for her, but she was now a part of the past. I awoke once again in the midst of my battle with Shishio. I had only been gone for a few seconds, but it seemed as if I had been gone forever.

Yumi-san pleaded for Shishio to stop, that his body couldn't handle it and he was going to over heat, but Shishio, like me in my battle against Saitoh, would not listen to the voice of reason. He was so determined to fight that he cut through the one person that loved him.

I was in over my head, then it happened; Shishio fell to the floor on his knees and started having convulsions. I did not know what was happening, but I guessed it had to do with what Yumi-san was saying before she got mercilessly slaughtered by Shishio. Just as suddenly as all had started, it ended, and Shishio was no more.

I am on my way to Tokyo now. I have returned safely.

It was hard saying good-bye to all the new friends I made at the Aoyia, but they promised to come visit Tokyo, and I promised to bring Kaoru to Kyoto.

I have come to an important decision. I haven't told Kaoru about Tomoe yet, and I think it is now time.

I know it won't be easy, but I have to be honest with her.