No matter where they went, Kenshin and Miryu were sure to find echoes of the Bakamatsu haunting them, and this time, they resided in the children that often played with them. They were playing as Katsura Kogoro and Takasugi Shinsaku against Kondo Ishami. They even managed to get her to play as the "Iron Wolf-Maiden of Mibu", as her own mother. What made it worse was that they gave her a set of "fangs" to get her in character.

"Tell me, Kenshin, why am I not killing these brats right now?" Miryu asked Kenshin through her gritted teeth. It was obviously noticeable that she did not enjoy pretending to be her mother, but for the sake of the kids, she had to. It was either that, or they would play "Stick the worm into Miryu 'ne-chan's hair", which far worse than opening old, emotional wounds. If only those kids were just ten years older… she would have hacked them into pretty little fillets and feed them to the dogs and the ravens.

"Hmmm, maybe it's because you're tall enough, beautiful enough, and are able to wield a katana better than their fathers?" Kenshin replied, with as much innocence as he could fake. He had just stated the obvious truth, which earned him a hard stomp on his foot. "Or… you are the only female around to play with them"

Miryu laughed. "Much better", she said, before the children told them to get their "places". How she giggled uncontrollably when the children complained that Kenshin was far too short to pretend to be Kondo Ishami. It really intrigued her that they, being children living in the country, could have a general idea of the height of the commander of the Shinsen-Gumi. If they were grown-up adults fighting in Kyoto, the last thing they would have seen alive could be the face of that terrible leader, what could any child comprehend of the bloodshed and violence in Kyoto?

After many rounds of "fighting", a few kids saw a young boy walking towards them. His eyes and hair darker than coal, but the expression on his face sullen, but determined. The children then began to crowd over him, asking him many questions, but he answered none of them. Kenshin went with the children, but Miryu stayed behind. The very presence of the boy gave a sense of uneasiness to Miryu, but she could not explain why. Just looking at him made her take a step back sub-consciously, but why?

"Hey!" she could hear Kenshin exclaim when the boy hit one of the children. Seconds later, he bit Kenshin's hand. She looked at his eyes, and found that they were cold, and somewhat filled with anger. Anger that she had seen before… In Tomoe's eyes, when she had just arrived in the inn where the Choushu faction called their headquarters. They could be related, could they?

Without having to ask herself any more questions, Tomoe opened the shoji door that led to their house, and cried, "Enishi? Enishi, is that you?"

"One-san!" the boy named Enishi answered back. He looked happy to see Tomoe, and ran to her immediately. He hugged her for as long as he could, and Miryu could see little drops of tears at the corner of his eyes. He must have been overjoyed to see Tomoe. She smiled, but still dared not let her guard down; having learnt too many times that appearance may be deceiving. However, Kenshin seemed to be just fine around him, was she being too paranoid?

Then, Tomoe spoke. "Miryu-chan, anata, this is Enishi, my brother" Tomoe too, looked happy to have seen her brother again, and Miryu knew that it lightened Kenshin's heart a whole lot.

"Hmmm, now that you mention it, the both of you have the same eyes", Kenshin said, petting Enishi's head, earning yet another bite on his hand. Miryu comforted her brother-figure by putting her hand on his shoulder and said,

"I like him, he has spunk"

But Enishi glared daggers at her, really taking her aback. How could a boy his age be filled with so much anger and hatred that even his eyes seemed to be bathing in those emotions? Perhaps he has too much spunk… she said to herself.

Kenshin decided to break the silence, and said, "The both of you probably will have a lot to talk about", his eyes also filled with shock that only Miryu could see. "Miryu and I will be in the fields"

Tomoe bowed low, saying, "Thank you, anata"