"Miryu… Where are you?" she heard the voice calling out to her. She knew that voice, it was clear, as clear as the bell on the tsuba of her katana, no, her mother's katana. Yet, the voice of that man who owned that voice, she could not recognize. Who was he? How did he know her? How did all these fit into her life? It was strange, very, very strange, and she could not decipher everything. Why was she fighting against the army, when she was the Emperor Meiji's loyal bodyguard and sometimes mistress? What was she doing? She was in an open field, in the embrace and coolness of Spring, where a lone sakura tree stood over hundreds and hundreds of combatants, readily fighting for a cause that was unclear to her? She looked towards the man who called to her, and found that he was no Japanese man, he was a Caucasian, with eyes deeper than the sea…

She knew his name… Yes, she knew it well. She had met him from the moment he came to the port of Yokohama, and they met once again when he had an audience with the Emperor. "Algren…" she murmured, before allowing herself to kill yet another soldier dressed in the Westernized uniforms. He was not one of the brothers who had fought with her ten years ago in the disaster that was the Bakamatsu. He was not one of her brothers that had lived and died by the sword to restore peace and equality to Japan. He was just another peasant boy in the army, fighting for a lost cause and a corrupt Prime Minister…

"Miryu, get out of here!" the man known as Algren shouted, waving his own katana like a madman. She did not want to leave him. She could not leave him. She could not leave all that she had fought for! She knew her destiny that she had to stand her ground… "You told me that you use the sword to defend those who cannot, Miryu! If you die, who will defend them?" There is always Kenshin… She thought, grasping her katana tighter. No matter what happens, there would always be Kenshin. He was the true heir of the Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryuu, not her. She was only a vassal, the only soul to aid Kenshin in upholding the principles of the Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryuu. "What would your Master say? He loved you as a daughter, he loved your mother! Would you want him to endure the pain of losing another loved one to a lost cause?"

Shishou… Hiko Seijurou XIII… He loved her greatly, as his own daughter, and gave her the gift of the sword in an age where women were exploited and cast down. His wisdom became her teachings, and she knew it very well that he was loath to see her fight, even though he was proud of her. I cannot lose you, Miryu, I have already lost your mother… he told her once before.

She looked towards the man beside her, the bald, but tall leader of the resistance. "Tsubasa-san, you have honored me with your help, but if you die here, who would enlighten the Emperor? Who would open his eyes if not for the one woman who knows him for what he is?" Katsumoto looked at her tensely, knowing that he could not endure any more injuries. "Your mother did not die to protect you to die here, Miryu!" Of course he knew of the Iron Wolf-Maiden of the Shinsen-Gumi. He was no fool, nor did he feign ignorance. He was among the few among the Ishin-Ishishi who knew her, and befriended her, despite her heritage.

There was too much for her to live for. Nodding, she took up her sword, and regarded the two men with fear and hope before backing away from them. Before anyone could recognize the sapphire eyes she had, before anyone in the army knew that Tsubasa Battouryu was there in that very battlefield. Her horse was already ready for her, courtesy of Katsumoto and his men. Once she was out of sight, she fled, shedding tears for her comrades. It was not supposed to end this way. It was never supposed to end this way at all! But she had to live, to live by the sword to protect those who could not do so themselves, to be the voice of those who had none…

"I will find you," she screamed to the two men who finally convince her to run. "I swear upon my life that I will find you!"