Hello! Thanks for reading my story! And I apologize for any mistakes you may find…as I told you before I am not an English native speaker and I am doing my best :D thanks…reviews please.

Disclaimer: Anythig related to the anime or manga "Rurouni Kenshin" belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

"How many miles to next town?" she stood up after their meal

"I am not sure, but it might take us 5 to 7 days to arrive" he calmly answered and stood up.

"5 TO 7 DAYS!?" she screamed, it was too long. 'How am I going to live with that smile of his for 7 more days?'

"Yep, so make yourself comfortable, it is a long trip" he grabbed his sword and started walking.

"Oh I hate you" she whispered loud enough for him to hear and began walking behind him.

They had been walking for three hours already, she was really tired, but there was really nothing she could do about it. Soujiro seemed to endure; he didn't show the slightest sign of tiredness. Silence had ruled between the both of them, there was nothing to talk about, besides, she had just met him. However, silence didn't seem to bother either one.

She was thinking about lots of things: The Oniwaban group, Tokyo, Soujiro, and of course, Shinomori Aoshi. She couldn't believe she was about to see him! It was her first clue to finding all of them and she wasn't going to waste it.

"Miss, hmm are you tired?" he asked and turned around "You are walking pretty slow"

It was actually true; she had slowed down her pace as she got tired. "Well of course I am tired! Why wouldn't I? We have been walking non-stop for three hours already!"

"We can rest, I guess" Though he didn't need it, he knew she was really tired "Let's sit down"

"Fine" she said and sat down

Silence...

"Hm Soujiro?" she called him and he met her gaze "Thank you, you know for being so…good I guess"

"You are more than welcome" he smiled, 'why did he always smile?'

Soujiro was an eighteen year old man, though he seemed to be a happy person, he was really miserable in the inside. He had been working for a man named Shishio for years as a result of a painful childhood. Seta Soujiro was no ordinary swordsman; he was a trained killer and the strongest of the Juppongatana (Shishio's personal guard). He was trained to be an emotionless man, so all he could ever feel was joy. He had learnt to hide his inner emotions and to show only but happiness. He had no killing ki whatsoever, so fighting Soujiro was one of the most challenging things.

"Are you okay now? He asked politely after being seated for 10 minutes.

"I guess I am okay now, we can keep walking" she answered and stood up.

"So, who is this man you are looking for?" though he knew, because Shishio ordered him to ask Aoshi to join Shishio's army, he was still curious.

"Hm, he is just an old friend" she lied "I've been trying to find him for years already, and one day I heard he was in Tokyo"

"And how do you know that's true?" he asked, smile on his face, as always.

"I don't" she looked down and hid from his gaze "But it is the only clue I have to him"

"I understand, it might be just a coincidence, but the man I am looking for is also in Tokyo" he told her and she looked at him.

"Well then it is a good thing I found you" She laughed and began walking faster; she wanted to arrive and see him!

"This man, is he only a friend of yours?" he asked with genuine curiosity, though he really didn't care.

"What makes you think he is more than a friend!?" she replied annoyed and her face started blushing "Mind your own business"

"I am sorry, you are right it is none of my business" he politely replied "Let's keep walking, we only have five more hours of sunlight and we need to stop to eat something any time soon"

'HE REALLY SHOULDN'T HAVE MENTIONED FOOD'she thought, now she was really starving to death. 'One more reason to hate him'

They walked for two more hours but he didn't seem tired or hungry! Was he some kind of machine or something alike? She really needed to rest and eat.

"HEY YOU STUPID BABY! she screamed, but he didn't hear her because he was far too ahead of her. "FAT COW! SMILING FERRET!" Ok, she had run out of insults, so she threw her bag full of money on his fat head and hit him…hard.

"Hey! What was that for?!" he asked, but he was laughing "What is it?"

"I've already tried every kind of insult and you just don't turn around!" she told him annoyed.

"You could have tried Soujiro and I may have turned around" he picked up the bag of money and handed it to her "Now, what do you need miss Misao?"

"I am starving to death!" she shouted "What did you exactly mean by 'we need to stop to eat something any time soon'?"

"I am sorry miss Misao, I didn't know you were hungry" he apologized and sat down against a tree. "here, take it"

"But it is the last piece of bread left, aren't you hungry?" she asked surprised by his generosity.

"Oh don't worry about me" he replied "I've survived more than one day without food, but I will go tomorrow to find some water"

"Water! I completely forgot" she broke the bread in half and handed him the other half "take it, after all you bought it"

"No miss Misao, you take it" he refused and waved his hand to express he didn't wanted it "You need it more than me"

"Well, hmm, thanks I guess" she wasn't used to this kind of treatment, but she liked it.

"You are welcome" he smiled and sat down next to her. "So why are you alone?"

"I escaped from home some time ago" she looked down "I was left alone with an old man in Tokyo, he raised me after the Oniwaban members left me"

"So this Aoshi, is he an Oniwaban member?" he asked

"Yes! In fact he is the leader and he has been the leader since he was fifteen!" she answered cheerfully.

"I see, and what would happen if you didn't find him in Tokyo?" Soujiro asked, she was pissed and tired of his questions.

"Well, I think I will return to Tokyo, but that won't happen, I know I will find my sweethea…I am sorry, Shinomori Aoshi" she blushed and he laughed.

"I wish you luck on your search" he told her

"Well thank you, I wish you luck as well" she replied "And who are you looking for?"

"I am not supposed to say, but I guess he is Tokyo as well" he answered and looked down, letting her know he didn't want to talk about it.

He waited for her to finish, but by then, the sun had already disappeared. They walked an incredible distance that day and he was not tired. He was proud of himself but he later realized he was sleepy. It was a really cold day, he was just wearing his gi, so he was a little cold, but when he looked at her in nothing but her ninja outfit he felt sorry for her. But he wasn't supposed to feel anything for anyone, he reminded himself and forgot his thought. He just wanted to sleep.

"I am going to sleep now miss Misao" he told her "I hope you don't mind"

"Oh not at all, I am pretty tired as well" she answered and a cold breeze hit her "Ouch, it is really cold, aren't you freezing?"

"Hm no, I am used to this kind of weather, how about you?" he asked

"I am freezing, this hasn't been a good day, I have starved to death, walked miles and it is freezing cold!" she screamed annoyed

"Too bad, hope tomorrow is better" he said and closed his eyes.

They fell asleep, both lying down, side by side, however they didn't even notice. She slept well next to him, he was really warm so being next to him helped her stay hot.