Opium Dreams

A mysterious woman arrives in Tokyo . She has the face of an innocent, but behind her peaceful amber eyes lie dark secrets she alone knew...

\"I beg your pardon?\" Takada asked, staring at the quiet Aoshi with a comical expression on his face. He couldn\'t quite believe that Aoshi was serious yet he was not the type of man who would make jokes. However, Takada\'s ego did not allow him to believe that he had heard right. Aoshi couldn\'t possibly fire him. He was Takada Kanryu. The richest man in Tokyo. Why, he is the moneymaker in this damned gang...

Aoshi completely ignored his second-in-command as he gave Hanya crisp instructions on what to do with the Takani woman. The ninja merely nodded, his dark eyes visible under the slits of his demonic mask. And then finally, Aoshi turned to Takada and said, \"Takada-san, Hannya will take care of recapturing the Takani woman. In the meantime, you will wait here but you will no longer participate in any actions by the gang. Understood?\" His voice broke no questions but Takada still could not find it in himself to accept Aoshi\'s sentence.

\"B-but you can\'t fire me!\" He protested, a slight whine perceptible in his voice. \"I\'m second-in-command,\" he continued. \"I made this gang! I made it richer than any other gang in Edo or in Tokyo!\"

Aoshi\'s eyes flashed dangerously then. He hissed, \"You used the Oniwabanshuu and twisted it to suit your needs and fatten your pockets. We were better off without you.\"

\"Ha!\" Takada laughed crazily. \"Were it not for me, nobody would even recognize the Oniwabanshuu name,\" he declared arrogantly. \"I gave you guys a name, a reputation to be feared! I gave you power and wealth and --\"

\"You gave us nothing!\" Aoshi shouted, suddenly lunging forward his kadachi drawn against the other man\'s throat. Takada\'s eyes bulged in their sockets as he felt the cool metal of the sword touch his skin. \"Before you came,\" Aoshi continued, \"the name \'Oniwabanshuu\' was associated with honor and pride. Today, it is a name identified with corruption and greed. You\'ve made us into nothing but a pack of thieves, murderers, and petty criminals.\" He paused, closing his eyes as though pained, and then he added, \"You and your kind might find this appealing but the Oniwabanshuu was not created for that. We live by a code and you, Takada Kanryu, have broken that code.\"

Sanosuke had been staring at the same spot in the ceiling for quite some time now. His head was filled with thoughts on the conversation of a few hours ago. And to make matters worse, these thoughts were interpersed with his memories -- not dreams -- from last night.

He recalled how Megumi had looked when she confirmed Sano\'s suspicions with a heavy silence. And he was supposed to draw his own conclusions from that. There\'s every possibility, of course, that it was all as he had thought previously...just a dream, albeit a very pleasant one, but a dream nonetheless. But the mark on her neck dispelled all hopes of that.

It happened.

It was irreversible.

If only it hadn\'t.... But was he being honest with himself? There was no denying that he took pleasure out of the whole incident. He wanted her right from the start, from the time she entered the restaurant and fell into Kenshin\'s arms. He wanted her. Perhaps even loved her. But it was too soon for that.

Subconsciously, he knew he wanted it to happen. But not like this. Not this feeling of emptiness...a draining feeling of guilt...

She was a virgin when he took her. And she was vulnerable...running away from a past that threatened to overwhelm her. And he, all hot-blooded and delirious, took advantage of her vulnerability. Took her like a common whore when she wasn\'t. Not in the least.

\"Ah, Zanza,\" he softly admonished himself. What have you gotten yourself into this time? He stood up then, grabbing his white robe from the floor beside him. He pulled it on, taking care not to strain his left shoulder where the wound was quietly healing. She has good hands, he observed, checking his well-bandaged wound. After a moment, he stepped out.

** TO BE CONTINUED **