"The cavalry battle between the four provinces came in August", Iizuka told Miryu and Kenshin in the fields of Otsu. "Two months later, the purge of popular movements began. We had barely evaded the first suppression of Choushu from the Bakufu, and soon, rumors of a second reached us. Then, on the 15th of this month, Takasugi got fed up, and led the Kiheitai back to Choushu Province. It's utter chaos for our faction, I tell you"
"Then we need to surface sooner or later", Miryu said, "We have to, Iizuka-san. Who will protect Choushu if not the both of us?" There was truth in her words, but they had to remain in hiding for their own safety. It was especially so in her case, being the daughter of a very famous (and very much missed) woman Samurai that fought for the Bakufu. She resented her fate, being sent to a place with little or no human contact, except with Kenshin and Tomoe. She hated the silence that Katsura had suddenly brought into her life, with only Iizuka to tell her and Kenshin what was happening in Kyoto every now and then. Some hitokiri with a mission of vengeance she was.
Kenshin however, was more patient with Katsura's orders. For one thing, he had adjusted well to country life, the life that he lived until his parents died of cholera. And the other, as much as he hated to say it, he had slowly fallen for the ice-cold Tomoe, who showed him how happy life could be without using the sword, without taking any life. "Is there any news from Katsura-san" he asked Iizuka.
"Not this time", came Iizuka's reply. We've never any, to be honest. No one knows where he fled to, and since he was the only one who managed to get out of the Ikeda House Affair, people are calling him 'run-away Kogoro'… Maybe Choushu has come to an end…"
Miryu was about to open her mouth in protest, but something in Kenshin's violet eyes stopped her from doing so. She couldn't not explain the soft glow in those eyes that she was so accustomed to. Those soft eyes that would go blank when he would utter the meaningless, but very entertaining "Oro…" when Hiko hit him hard during their training, or when she played her usual practical jokes on him… Those days were gone from us long ago, she said to herself.
"That is not true", Kenshin replied. "Takasugi will win, and Katsura-san will come back" Once again, the pure innocence in his eyes could be seen, but whether he was still the naïve child wanting to protect the happiness of others' with the sword, no one could be sure of. He even abandoned his training in the Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryuu just because of his ideals. Miryu, however, stayed on, and completed her training.
"What about the capital, Iizuka-san?" Miryu asked. "With the Shinsen-Gumi there, it would be extremely hard to keep a low profile" She knew that Iizuka was familiar with her ancestry. Everyone in the Choushu faction was. Most of them had seen her mother before, proud, tall and cold. Every characteristic of iron could be found in Reiyama Ryumiko. Miryu was far different from her mother, she was rebellious, and had a mind of her own. Her sole missions were peace, and vengeance. The superiors of the Choushu faction knew that she would be far harder to control than Kenshin was; she was not as pure-hearted as he was, as well.
The expression on Iizuka's face darkened. It was not a good sign. They had rarely seen Iizuka so grave, even when he was giving them the worst of information, like that of the Ikeda House Affair. "Kyoto is completely under the control of the Shinsen-Gumi. Everyday, more and more people of the Ishin-Ishishi factions are being hunted down, and killed by the Wolves of Mibu in their blue haori", he said, his voice glum, his eyes droopier than ever. "The Kyoto Mimawari-gumi and other Bakufu groups are doing their best to outdo them. It's completely different from before--the city is running with blood." His eyes then rested on Miryu, yet he was speaking to the both of them. "You should be careful as well. Who knows, maybe the Shinsen-Gumi may be after anyone that they can get their hands on"
The Shinsen-Gumi, everywhere they went, there was sure to hear news of the Wolves of Mibu and of their deeds. With their financial backer, and owner, Reiyama Reiji, their leaders, Kondo and Hijikata and the leaders of their ten Divisions, they were nigh invincible, the best weapon of the Bakufu, as the Kiheitai was to the Ishin-Ishishi factions. "Their first mission is to instill order in Kyoto. Until that is accomplished, they will never look here" His thoughts then raced back to the ninja that wielding the chain-sword that attacked him and Miryu months before. That man they killed was exactly like the both of them; they would not be recorded in history, unless they were betrayed. Like their unseen enemies, they would do anything, just anything to achieve their goals.
"Well, all of this is bad news one way or another" Iizuka said, shouldering his medicine-pack. "They even get me down these days. What about you, Himura, you do not look as disturbed and depressed as our darling Tsubasa is right now"
Miryu gave a small pout, but did not say anything. That was exactly like him; teasing and irritating her with every given opportunity. "Thanks for the compliment", she replied in a sweet voice, laced thickly with poison.
"It's thanks to you" Kenshin answered to Iizuka's question.
"I'd thought that you would be bored out here in the sticks, like Tsubasa, being a hitokiri and all"
"It's not like that. I love Kenjutsu, but I don't love killing. These five months have opened my eyes to any number of boring things" he replied. He was not like Miryu, who had vengeance stuck firmly into her mind. His hatred for the Bakufu was not as strong or personal than hers. But the tyrants did oppress the weaker and poorer ones, and he wanted all of that to stop. That was why he became a hitokiri, and nothing more. The happiness of others was now his main concern, especially that of Tomoe's, not that he did not care for Miryu any longer, the one whom he regarded as the sister he could not have.