"I never thought I'd run into you here, but I guess I'm not too surprised. You always did have a way of appearing out of nowhere." Marie was walking with Kenshin.

"Well, I didn't think you were in Tokyo this whole time."

"Yeah, that's because the government wanted to keep my presence a secret. You saw how angry that crowd was. If I didn't have my swords, well, I'd be really sore right now."

"True, but how did you get your swords?"

"It seems that the government wanted me to have them. They probably realized that I'd need some sort of protection."

"So, where are you planning to go?"

"I was planning on going back to Shinsomi village. The people there are really nice and besides, my house is there. Also, they might be able to tell me what happened to my father."

"I suppose so. Anyway, you can probably stay at the Kamiya dojo for a few days. Then I can take you back to the village. I wouldn't be surprised if you forgot the way to the village after all these years."

"Hmm. Ten years is a long time to be in captivity, but for some reason, I'm not very excited about being free. I guess that has something to do with the fact that a lot of people don't like me. I don't blame the people at all though. They had nothing to do with the rumor. And for some reason, I don't hold too much against the government because they did what they had to do. I won't kill off government officials, because most of them probably had nothing to do with anything."

"I'm glad to hear that. I know how bad things can be when you go on a rampage. Fortunately, you've never killed any innocent people."

Marie stopped. "That's not true. You see, there are two sides to every story. In the eyes of the Imperialists, I did not kill any innocents, except when the rumor began. However, in the eyes of the rebels, I killed many innocent people. The rebels believed their comrades to be innocent, so in their eyes they were. I killed hundreds of rebels. In one view, I just did my duty. In another, I was a mass-murdering bitch that deserved to die in the most horrible way. And, I believe the same thing goes for you, Kenshin. You were a manslayer during the Revolution and you also killed many rebels."

Kenshin frowned. "You are right, that you are. However, I swore never to kill again, so as to repent for all the people I have killed. What about you?"

Marie looked at him calmly. "I can never make such a promise. Killing is a part of who I am. Though, I won't kill if I can avoid doing so." Kenshin laughed. "What's funny?"

"Oh, sorry. It's just that what you said is something I wouldn't expect you to say."

"Why not?"

"Well, because you're a European and most people wouldn't expect to hear something like that out of a European."

"I may be a European, but I was born and raised here in Japan."

"True. Ah, there's the Kamiya dojo. You'll like Miss Koaru. She's another woman that fights for what she believes in." The two of them walked into the dojo. They saw two men, but not a woman. "Miss Koaru, are you here?"

"KENSHIN!"

"Oro?"