Disclaimer: EVERYTHING BELONGS TO Nobuhiro Watsuki. THIS FIC IS NOT FOR PROFIT.


Surprisingly, it wasn't Misao who made Aoshi smile. Hannya, like the rest of the members of the Oniwabanshu, knew that Aoshi had had a difficult life and that the Oniwabanshu was the only thing he had, they were his family and he would never abandon them. Although they all loved his leader and obeyed him without question, he had always seemed lonely to them. Misao always intended to make him smile, but Aoshi considered her too childish. She couldn't understand him, she was too young and everyone was trying to protect her from life and the things they did. Gone is the legend of the Oniwabanshu, now those legendary warriors were nothing more than mercenaries.

When Kenshin saved Shikijo, Beshimi, Hyottoko and Hannya from dying in Edo Castle, Aoshi set out to chase him to show that the Oniwabanshu didn't need help, that they were the strongest. But Hannya, who knew him best and was closest to him, knew that his motives lay elsewhere. Kenshin had saved the Oniwabanshu, had impressed Aoshi, and now Aoshi was in his debt. Hannya could see it in his leader's eyes. That deep admiration, almost impossible to achieve, but Kenshin had achieved it. He couldn't blame him, Kenshin had impressed the members of the Oniwabanshu and if it wasn't for Aoshi calling him out and trying to get Kenshin to notice him in a subtle way, Hannya would also be interested in Kenshin in the same way.

Kenshin, like Aoshi, were men of war. Neither Kaoru nor Misao could ever understand it. They couldn't settle down with anyone. Not even Kenshin, as a wanderer, had given up the fight. He may have given up killing, for the times, a way to adapt and survive, like Aoshi, who also had to adapt to the circumstances so as not to abandon his companions. But both had remained true to their principles and morals, which, in a sense, were practically identical. Fighting was a necessity for all of them, that's why they could never adapt to peaceful times. Kenshin's blunt sword sometimes cut. If Kenshin had given up fighting, he would have given up his sword, and yet, despite the peace and the ban on carrying swords, he still carried it.

The members of the Oniwabanshu used to talk about Kenshin when Aoshi wasn't listening. They knew that their leader would not take too well their words of admiration for Battousai, because he was almost as good or better than him and that hurt his ego, but the Oniwabanshu wanted Kenshin to be one of them, because they had seen the way Aoshi looked at him and Kenshin challenged him, some of them had sworn they saw in Aoshi the hint of a smile, something they rarely saw. His leader was having too much fun fighting him and that was part of the reason for the strange pursuit of him. As much as Hannya adored his leader, he had to admit that this was getting ridiculous and Aoshi was behaving worse than Misao with her crush, becoming childish and insecure. The only way to conquer men like them was with loyalty, between fights to prove that he is on the same level, that they are their equal. That's why everyone wanted Misao to stay away from them, for her to have a normal life, but despite everything they taught her to defend herself in case she ever needed it and they couldn't be there to defend her.

Men like them lived a short time. They were obsessed with finding someone worthy of them, so that if they died, they would do with honor. Love had never been in their plans, so Hannya knew that Aoshi did not know how to react to Kenshin and this was leading to many misunderstandings, especially with Kaoru who was trying to tame Kenshin, something that Aoshi hated and any day would have a confrontation between them if this continued, because neither of them was willing to give up on Kenshin and Kenshin didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, or he didn't know what was going on. For a Battousai, he was too clueless, although Hannya suspected that most of the time, Kenshin pretended to be clueless so that everyone would believe that he was no longer Battousai and was a harmless swordsman. But Hannya could not be fooled. At this time everyone pretended to be someone they were not, appearing to be more meek than they really were, but sometimes, in the heat of battle, they let glimpses of who they really were, thus demonstrating that the docility with which they masked their bravery was just a mask that they could throw off whenever they wanted. That was what Hannya had tried to tell Kanryo, men like them could not be bought, it is true that they needed money to survive in this world, but neither their souls nor their morals were for sale. The reason the Oniwabanshu were mercenaries was not for money, but to fight and quench their bloodlust, it was the same reason Kenshin defended the defenseless. Men like Kanryo could never understand it.

Hannya can see the similarities between Kenshin and Aoshi, the way they both try to hold back in battle when they have spectators. Kenshin does it so that Kaoru doesn't get scared, Aoshi, like the rest of the Oniwabanshu do it so that Misao doesn't get scared of them. When Kenshin escorted Misao to Kyoto, without demanding anything in return, he earned the respect of the more reluctant Oniwabanshu and if Aoshi had had any doubts then, from that moment his attitude towards Kenshin changed completely. That was the first time Hannya saw him really smile. Kenshin may not have been an Oniwabanshu, but in a way, they all considered him part of them, so they tended to stay close to him, watch his back when he needed it, as happened in the battle against Shishio, in which Aoshi participated to pay his debt to Kenshin and make sure he got out of the battle alive, while the Oniwabanshu took it upon themselves to protect Kaoru and the rest of Kenshin's friends.

No matter how hard Misao tried, Aoshi's heart already had an owner. Hannya and the rest of the Oniwabanshu wondered how long it would take for Kenshin to join them. They expected him to be there shortly. The warriors had to stick together to protect each other's backs. And Aoshi had been alone long enough. If Kenshin didn't hurry, Hannya and the rest of the Oniwabanshu would go looking for him themselves and drag him in if necessary, even if they had to face Sanosuke and the entire Kamiya Dojo. Everything would be to ensure the happiness of their leader and win a new brother in arms, but they would see Aoshi smile once again.