While white snow fell onto the roofs of the ancient buildings of Kyoto, and where Reiyama Reiji was headed was certainly not a wholesome place. At the temple on the outskirts of the city, he bypassed many suspicious looks, all of them which he knew and despised. He was on his way to meet the secret sect of dangerous ninja, one that promised the delivery of his granddaughter to him.
But a few weeks had passed, and there was no sign of Miryu in Kyoto. No sign of the sapphire-eyed hitokiri born to parents loyal to the Bakufu. Deep down, he was guilty for not bringing up Miryu by himself, for he knew that once she found out about her parents, she would definitely switch sides. His honor and the honor of the Shinsen-Gumi would be jeopardized then; it was a risk that he dared not gamble with. Hiko held a grudge with him ever since his precious daughter's death, not that begrudged raising Miryu, but he was also pissed off that Reiji did not even take the initiative to at least look at his granddaughter grow into the woman she was becoming, A woman exactly like her mother, Reiyama Ryumiko, the Iron Wolf-Maiden of Mibu.
Upon reaching the temple, a kunai was thrown at him, but he caught it with his age-graced hand without even blinking. "You promised me Tsubasa Battouryu" he said to the large man who threw the kunai towards him. "Where is she?"
The man just looked at him, and told Reiji to follow him. He led the financial backer and original founder of the Shinsen-Gumi to the courtyard of the temple. Laid on the dying grass was not Miryu, but the ninja she had killed, found a few nights before. "Your dear Battouryu killed five of our most talented brothers and fled to the countryside, where our little puppets are now."
Reiji then said, "Whatever you do is fine with me, but I want Battouryu alive and unharmed" His chestnut eyes then widened at the sight that he saw. The injuries that those ninja bore, the way their limbs were severed exactly matched the attacks of the Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryuu. Those wounds proved one thing: that Battouryu was stronger than Battousai, judging from the victims that Battousai claimed. The marks of those wounds also told him one more thing; she was using Ryumiko's titanium katana. Not a usual one made of tamahagane, or carbonized steel.
"She is a strong woman, I have seen from the shadows", the man added. "I heard from sources that she actually withstood Jin'Eh Udo's Shin-No-Ippo. Why are you so interested in her, Reiyama?"
"It is not of your business" Reiji snapped. He would be doomed if other Bakufu agents knew that his granddaughter was Tsubasa Battouryu. "The important is that she is delivered to me safe and unspoiled. She may be easier to be turned to our side than Battousai"
"As you wish… but we do not guarantee that we can actually accomplish it"
"If you do, your organization would be sanctioned by the Shinsen-Gumi"
Of course, he was sure to fail, and Reiji would never get his hands on Miryu. For what happened later in Otsu would not only bring an end to those ninja, but also expose Kenshin and Miryu into the complexities of war and troubled times that they unconsciously stepped into.