End of A Weary Day--Formating Revised 12/21

Glossary:

Chapter Six
Gone Looking For Trouble (Original Chapter)


\"You said he went \'WHERE?\'\" Kenshin\'s eyes grew into huge round amethyst balloons as she listened in shocked outrage to what Megumi was telling him.

\"He has gone to \'The Black Pearl\' looking for that... that woman. He stopped by earlier
just before noontime and told I that was where he was going, and said he would not be back until after dark. I guess that was his way of trying to be honest with me.\" She snuffed loudly in arrogant female pique and folded her arms angrily across her chest. \"Well, he can just go straight to...\"

\"Megumi-dono,\" Kenshin quickly cut her off before she could finish her before she could quite finish cursing Sano. \'Women.\' He thought. \'Why do they always have to curse US when they get mad? I will never understand.\' \"Do you know what \'The Black Pearl\' is?\" He asked her carefully.

\"No, not really, but I presume it is one of those drinking and gambling establishments where all the real choice, high-grade floosies hang out.\" The sarcasm in her voice was thick enough to cut with the sharp side of Kenshin\'s sakobatou.

\"Hai,\" He nodded his head briefly. \"I just wanted to make certain you were truly aware of where he was going.\"

\"Why? What difference does that make? He is still a liar and a cheater.\" Her brown eyes were glittering with feminine anger as she turned to look at Kenshin\'s bland expression.

\"Perhaps, perhaps not, but Megumi-dono, this shows that he is attempting to show you that he is trying very hard to be honest with you NOW. Does it not?\" He raised a brown eyebrow and looked at her questioningly.

\"Oh, I suppose so, but it still does not make up for all of the other lies he has told about this whole terrible situation.\" She stubbornly set her jaw and resumed looking off into space. \"Still, you are going to have to go a long, long way to convince me that he is telling me the truth about anything. I just do not trust him anymore.\"

\"I understand that, Megumi-dono, but have you ever stopped to think that perhaps your
informer did not see exactly what she thought she saw?\"

\"What?\" Her eyes darted to his face and blew open wide with shock and confusion. \"What is that supposed to mean? Are you saying that T.. that the person who told me about him carousing around in that bloody bar is lying?\" Her voice rose in fury as she spoke, and her cheeks turned a rosy red as her anger and frustration grew.

\"No, that is NOT what I am saying.\" Kenshin\'s own violet eyes began to harden dangerously as he faced down the woman\'s needless emotional out burst. \"I am saying that there is always a possibility that when one witnesses something he or she is not prepared to see, especially if it is shocking in nature, there is always the potential for emotions to become an important factor in the perception of what is being seen.\" Leaning forward, he made Megumi meet his eyes more directly. \"When emotions are involved, nothing can ever be perceived objectively because the added ingredient of the emotion whatever it may be, will always alter the perception. Hence, Love is blind, Hate is biased and unforgiving, Shock and Outrage are exaggerators, Denial and Grief are unrelenting and untouchable, Anger is unreasonable and nonnegotiable, and so on.\" He leaned back and became silent allowing his words to sink into Megumi\'s mind and heart. He watched her face as she pondered over what he had said, and Kenshin could see the conflicting emotions as they fought and collided upon her face.

\"What you are saying then, is that you think Tae saw something, but perhaps it was not exactly the way she thought she saw it?\"

\"Hai that is exactly what I am saying.\" He nodded and then continued. \"Imagine yourself
walking down the street in a part of the city you are unfamiliar with, and you happen to glance
inside the open door or window of a... a rather rambunctious establishment. Probably for no more reason that because the large amount of \'noise\' caught your attention as you were passing by. There you see, for a moment only because you do not dare stay any longer than that, a friend, and this friend \'appears\' to be doing something terribly wrong. But, it is late at night and you are unfamiliar with the streets and the people there, so you hurry on by taking with you the memory of what was only a fleeting glance. Is what you saw what you saw, or is it something completely different? Was it a happen stance that you happened upon at just the precise moment to see? What would you believe? What would you say to Kaoru? Did you really see what you thought you saw in that one fleeting instant, or was it something totally different that your emotions are telling you is something else because of the \'way it looked\'?\"

Now Megumi sat looking at Kenshin with her eyes wide open in bewildered astonishment and her mouth gapping open in shock. Not once had she considered the perspective that Kenshin had just pointed out to her. Not once had she considered that Tae may have only caught a moments glance at Sano and that Woman, instead she had simply \'assumed\' that Tae knew exactly what she was talking about and Sano was a guilty cheating jerk? Was Tae the type of person who would stand at the door of an establishment like \'The Fisher\'s Sea\' and watch what was going on inside for several minutes so that she would have all the facts to tell? Would she even go into a place like that or near a place like that at that time of night? \'No, she would not.\' Megumi lowered her head in shame and began to wonder just exactly WHAT Tae had seen, and if any of what she had said to her was true? Sano could have been telling the truth the whole time... that was except for...

\"But he admitted to you, he remembered a woman with green eyes and yellow kimono with a pink obi. You said that yourself.\"

\"Hai. that I did, but that does not mean that Tae saw what she thought she saw. That does not mean that Sano and the Green-eyed woman was doing anything. It may be as simple as she had tripped and fallen into him, or something else. My point, Megumi-dono is this. You cannot blindly accept the testimony of one shocked and outraged woman who was also probably so nervous and jittery about being where she was not comfortable being that her perception of anything was bound to be... a little off.\"

\"All right, I am beginning to see your point, Ken-san, but you and Sano are still going to have to prove it to me. I want to know who that woman is before In thn think about forgiving him, and I want to know what she was doing there that night. Maybe Tae was mistaken, but, then again, maybe Sano was just too drunk to remember. It would not be the first time that happened to him.\"

Kenshin sighed heavily and shook his head in frustrated defeat. He suddenly felt as if he had just wasted his time talking to Megumi because even if she was seeing his point of view, she was still too stubborn to change her mind.

\'Women.\'
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As Kenshin walked out of Dr. Gensai\'s clinic, Kaoru walked over to him. She had been
waiting patiently outside while he had talked to Megumi, and now she was looking at him
quizzically as she noticed the frustrated look on his face.

\"Doushita, Kenshin? Does she know where Sano is?\"

\"Hai, she knows.\" Kenshigrilgrily shifted his sakobatou in his belt. \"He came by before
noon and told her he was going to \'The Black Pearl\' to look for that woman.\"

\"Well that is good, isn\'t it? That he told her I mean?\"

\"I suppose. She believes it is another bar and gambling establishment.\"

\"You mean it is not?\" Kaoru looked at him warily.

\"No, it is not. It is a Teahouse.\" Kenshin\'s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits and a muscle began jumping in his jaw as his anger began to show.

\"A Teahouse?\" Kaoru\'s voice was an astonished squeak. \"Oh my! If she finds that out...
She will absolutely kill him. I mean kill him dead.\"

\"Hai, that she will.\" Looking into his lover\'s wide-eyed face, Kenshin once more began to
feel the strange sense of urgency that he needed to make certain she always knew he would never betray or abandon her. He slowly lifted his hand to touch the angle of her jaw, and then he tenderly stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles. \"Aishiteru, Kaoru-aijou.\" He said in a soft whisper that fanned her cheek with the warmth of his breath.

\"I love you too, Kenshin.\" She looked at him with concern. Ever since this whole thing with
Sano and Megumi he had been acting very strangely. He had told her that it was because he did not want her to ever think he would be unfaithful to her or leave her, but his behavior had not changed despite her reassurances that she believed him. In point of fact, they seemed to be getting more intense. \"Doushita Koishii? Are you all right?\"

\"Hai.\" He replied and then offered her a weak half smile. \"I am fine, Saiai. Come, let\'s go and see if we can find that baka-rooster-head.\" Kenshin took Kaoru\'s hand into his and pulled her along with him as he headed in the general direction of the red-light district of Tokyo.

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The red-light district was a separate world from Tokyo even though it lay on the lower southeast side not far from the docks. Once one stepped across the boundaries that cut it off from the civilized, cultured, and educated inhabitants of the upper and middle class, it became tantamount that one is alert at all times for pickpockets, mugger-gangs, prostitutes and their pimps, the lone desperate mugger with his knife or gun, and any other criminal who had chosen that part of the city as a place to disappear in. Life inside the district was cheap, and whether one died of starvation, disease, suicide, or murder, no one much cared as long as you did not do it to close to them.

The stench of decay and human excrements almost made the air to foul to breathe, and the site of filthy naked children running through the crowded streets was not an uncommon thing to see, nor were the huddled forms of the sick and dying as they leaned up against ally walls begging for money and food.

Tuberculosis, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Leprosy, and the Plague were frequent visitors to the district as were the huge sewer rats that helped to spread the deadly diseases among the weaker population including the prostitutes. The prostitutes that worked the district were not of the same breed as the higher paid courtesans who worked the upper class parts of the city where the rich and powerful men required \'clean and healthy girls\'. They demanded a higher price for their \'services\' which allowed them a better opportunity to take care of their health and be more selective in their customer\'s choices. Rarely did an accomplished Courtesan ever die of one of the more despicable diseases the prostitutes in the district were prone to. So, it was fairly well known that the district was a risky place for a man to go to find his pleasures, but even that knowledge did not seem to prevent the ever in and out flowing of omeromers looking for some \'unique\' and \'affordable\' satisfaction for each of their personal sexual needs.

The Black Pearl was such a place to go for it was well known that the girls and pretty young
boys kept there were disease free and of a higher quality than most, and they had been trained to do anything their paying client asked them to do. Some of the rooms\' were fully equipt with a bondage bed and posts, and all of the leather and whipping items the sadist/masochist could hope for or desire. There were rooms\' fitted with over large beds so that more than one playmate at a time could be enjoyed, or they couldusedused as viewing rooms as well. Depending upon the clients personal tastes.

The Black Pearl catered to all tastes and desires. Men and very young boys, Men and Men who liked to, or liked to be Dominated, Men who liked rape, and violent sex, and Men who only wanted blow-jobs. The Black Pearl had everything and anything, and if it did not have it, it would find a way to provide it. And one of their biggest boasts and customer draws was that they were discriminating upon just whom they let come through their doors. If anyone looked suspicious, or like perhaps he might be sick, he was immediately subject to a full body search, and if he was found To have anything upon his person that looked even remotely infectious, he was ejected from the establishment and told to never come back.

The Black Pearl was adamant about remaining as disease free as possible; therefore, they could offer a disease free environment to those who were also disease free, and thus, they attracted the better customers from about and around the southeast side of Tokyo turning a very good profit as they did.

This was Kenshin\'s destination as he navigated his way through the crowded and cluttered streets pulling Kaoru behind him. He despised coming to this part of the city even more than he did the gambling and drinking sect. This particular district touched too many parts inside of his soul, and it brought back too many unwanted memories and feelings from his past. Memories and feelings he did not like to look at or face, but when he came here, it was impossible not to.

As he looked at the filth, poverty, and disease that devoured these pitiful people every day, the eyes of his mind would roll back to another time long ago when he had been another person... when he had been Hitokiri Battousai, and he lived by the swiftness of his sword and his knowledge of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. The unwanted vision of other pitiful people leaning up against cold stonewalls sped passed him only these people were missing arms, legs, heads, or had their insides strewn about them in bloody tangles upon the ground. There was always blood in his visions, so much blood and so much sorrow. He remembered the waves and waves of sorrow that had passed through Kyoto during the Bakumatsu as the poverty of the people grew beneath the weight of the war and the growing number of the dead, and the number of rats.

Rats had brought diseases with them as they fed upon the bodies of the dead and wallowed in the foul excretions and rotting refuge that filled the streets and allies, and the number of dying among the civilian population had exploded into the hundreds. Fear had exploded with them. Fear of the spread of the illnesses, and fear of the possibility of the reoccurrence of the plague that had killed thousands only a decade or so before as it had swept across the country like a wild fire. That was when the unspeakable had begun. The uninfected began to murder the ill and dying. If one who was obviously sick was caught out on the streets of the city, a mob of self-righteous vigilantes would be upon that pitiful soul in moments, and he would be cut to pieces in a matter of seconds. Thus, the incredible number of bloody dead covering the ally walls.

What these foolish people did not understand was that by killing the ill, they were simply
spreading the disease farther by providing the rats with more food to eat thus, increasing their
population and the number of furry disease carriers that already infested the cities. Kenshin recalled the day when the Ishin Shishi was ordered to cover themselves with heavy garments, and then go out into the streets to dispose of these dead. Each man was given a jug of kerosine and a torch. The task itself was simple. Splash some kerosine on the body then light it on fire. By burning the body the disease ridden flesh would be destroyed. It seemed the only way to attempt a start at getting the epidemic under control.

It had been one of the most horrible days of Kenshin\'s life. The stench of burning rotted flesh had filled the air until each man was forced to find a way to cover his mouth and nose in order to finish his job. They had all worked long into the night before the task was finished, and then when the fires were out, they and the remaining civilians set about cleaning up the ashes. The whole process took about six days to complete, but it had been well worth it. After that, each person who was ill was kept in strict quarantine, and when someone died, their body was immediately burned.

As a result, the rat population decreased rapidly as did the nr ofr of infected, but Kenshin
had never been able to forget what those pitiful people or their slaughtered bodies had looked like and coming down to the red-light district never failed to bring those memories rushing back. So many of the smells were the same, as were the images. He hated it down here.

\'Damn Sano to Hell!\' He snarled to himself. \'What makes him think \'She\' is down here, and what in Kami\'s name is he doing coming down here in the first place? \'This\' is the kind of place you ask someone to \'come to for you.\' He shook his head angrily causing Kaoru to look at his stony profile in mute question wondering what was getting him so upset. \'Baka-Roosterhead! Do you not ever think about what you are doing before you do it? NO! You never do. You just do it and expect me to bail you out.\' \"Humph.\" He snorted and Kaoru looked at him again becoming more concerned by the moment.

\"Kenshin? Doushita? What are you thinking about that is making you so angry?\"

\"Sanosuke!\" He growled.

\"Oh. I guess that explains it.\" She nodded and squeezed his hand reassuringly. \"You do not approve of him coming down here, do you?\"

\"No, I do not. I think he is behaving foolishly, that I do.\"

\"Well, Koishii, he is Sano, and Sano is not known for his intelligence you know.\" She was
trying to be logical, but her words came out more amused than analytical and Kenshin found it
difficult not to smile at her unintentional insult of their friend.

\"That is quite true.\" He said in an even tone as he tried to control his abrupt change in
emotion from anger to amusement. \"He can be quite... stupid, can\'t he.\"

\"Yes, he can.\" She chimed in believing. They were still having a meaningful conversation
about Sano\'s faults, foolish behaviors, and poor judgements. \"Sometimes I think he half expects you to be his babysitter, Kenshin. I swear, that boy does not have brain one in his head.\"

\"Hmmm... must be all that pointy hair on top of his head. It just never did let his mind
mature into anything useful. That is a fairly common defect among taller men that it is, though it is not very widely known.\"

\"It is?\" She looked at him in shock. \"I have never heard that before.\" Her face took on a
confused skeptical look as she studied his innocent appearing face, and then her eyes narrowed into glittering diamond slits as she caught the look of mischief that he could not quite conceal dancing in the back of his eyes. \"Kenshin!\" She yelled in angry embarrassment and doubled up her fist in preparation of taking a good swing at him.

\"Now Kaoru...\" He stammered as his voice filled with laughter and entreaty and his hands came up in front of him in preparation of fending off her powerful right hook. \"Honey, I was just teasing you a little bit....\" But his eyes were twinkling with unabashed merriment by then, and her bruised feminine pride was demanding retribution.

\"You better run you rotten rurouni.\" She seethed into his laughing face even as she felt her anger rapidly dissolving beneath the onslaught of his gentle teasing. She just could not stay angry at him for very long anymore especially when only moments before he had been so upset, and it had inadvertently been something she had said that had gotten him going like this. Kaoru had decided sometime ago that she would much rather see Kenshin full of laughter and mischief than morose and brooding, and if it meant enduring his never-ending teasing of her then she would. Besides, she usually got a kiss and a hug out of it, or else something much, much better depending up \'where\' they were at the time. She decided at that point that it was too bad that they were in the middle of the street instead of back home at the dojo . . . close to their room . . . and the futon.

But instead of running or really even trying to dodge her half-hearted swing, Kenshin simply ducked beneath Kaoru\'s out stretched arm and seized her around the waist and scooped her up off her feet so that her toes dangled uselessly just above the ground while the rest of her was effectively captured tightly against his hard muscled chest. She squealed with shocked and excited delight as her arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders, and her head fell backwards on her slender neck as he swung her around in a wild circle. When he finally stopped and let her back down so she was once again standing on her own, they were both breathless with laughter and flushed with the glow of heightened emotions. Mischievous violet eyes smiled into Kaoru\'s sparking sapphires\' as Kenshin pulled her in for a close hug pressing his nose against the sensitive spot behind her right ear.

\"I am wishing we were home, Koishii.\" His voice was filled with both amusement and
desire as he nuzzled her sensitive flesh. \"This is much too public a place for what is going through my mind at the moment.\"

\"Mine too, Saiai-Kenshin.\" And Kaoru snuggled her nose into the warm curve of his neck
and breathed in the scent of ginger spice that was so much a part of him. \"Let\'s get this done
quickly, and go home, Kenshin.\" A deep chuckle rumbled up from his chest and Kaoru trembled against him as she felt the heat of his lips caress the softness of her throat and jaw. \"Kenshin...\" Her voice was the tiniest whisper of desire wafting across the curve of his jaw, and he caught his breath as a hard jolt of lust and need coursed through his system making his arms tighten almost painfully around her slender body.

\"Saiai...\" He nuzzled the smoothness of her pale cheek and then pulled away to look into
her deep blue eyes reading easily the hunger that was burning inside of their shifting pools of molten cobalt. It still had the power to both humble and amaze him that the incredible hungers and passions of this beautiful woman came alive at his merest touch, and the knowledge that she loved him as well had yet to fully sink into his stunned heart and soul. Within his logical mind, he could not understand why one so sweet and pure could or would want a man such as himself, but now that they were together, Kenshin knew he would do whatever it took to keep her beside him. He could not, and would not lose her. Tenderly he bent his head to one side, and then pressed his parted lips into the softness of hers. He felt her respond immediately to his gentle touch by opening her mouth against his and allowing the kiss to deepen just enough to bring them close together. \"Aishiteru, my Angel.\" He said as he brought a hand up to cup her face slowly caressing the arch of her cheekbone with his thumb. \"You are beautiful.\" Kaoru raised one hand and wrapped trembling fingers around
his wrist and then leaned her forehead into his.

\"Aishiteru, Kenshin. Come Kiobito. Let\'s find Sano and then let\'s go home.\"

\"Hai. Let\'s go.\" And he took her trembling hand into his as they resumed their journey
toward the teahouse oblivious to all the stares and smiles they had attracted with their little display of affection for each other. That was something that the people down in the district did not get to see very often; genuine love and affection between its inhabitants was not a profitable venture. Everything could be bought or sold in the district. Even Love was for sale for a price. It depended, of course, upon what was wanted or required. Everything was for sale in the district. Nothing was ever given away for free.

\"Finally,\" Kenshin pulled Kaoru up next to him as he pointed to a large tan bricked building across the street from them. \"I think that is It over there.\"

\"How do you know?\"

\"Well, it matches the description that old man gave up back there, and plus, I do not see any other buildings close by that are big enough to contain everything this one is supposed to have inside.\" He looked over at her with a dry look and watched her blush furiously before she looked down at her feet in embarrassment.

\"Oh,\" She said in a small voice. \"I guess that would be true. I-I had not actually considered THAT.\"

\"That is why you have me along, Koishii. So that I can consider all of the things you forget
to think about.\" He laughed softly and kissed her cheek before wrapping an arm around her
shoulders and hugging her close. \"It is all right, Kaoru. I did not expect you to be thinking about such things, Koishii. In fact, if you had been, I might have been a bit worried.\"

\"Worried?\" She looked into his face with a confused expression on hers. \"Why would you
be worried?\"

\"Well, I would have to wonder where you learned about such places, AND where did you
learn about the THINGS that go on INSIDE of them or the PEOPLE that tend to use them.\"

\"OH.\" She squeaked in horror and covered her mouth at the thought of what he was getting at. \"But I... I don\'t... I would never... I can\'t... You don\'t think.... I mean, you wouldn\'t think that I... Oh Kenshin!\" And Kaoru threw herself into his arms and buried her flaming face against his neck. He could not help the laughter that bubbled up in his throat even though he knew it would only add to her embarrassment.

\"No, Kaoru-koishii. I do not think, and I would never think, and I know you would never...
You are far too innocent to know any thing about this type of place, my aijou.\" And then he just could not help himself. Kenshin burst into loud laughter as he hugged her close and kissed her nose and cheeks. \"You are so wonderful, little tanuki. Please do not ever change.\" Then he pulled her across the street and approached the front door of The Black Pearl.

\"Do you wish to go inside with me, Kaoru, or would you rather wait in the foyer?\" Kenshin
did not want to inflict any more of this hideous world onto his lovers innocent soul than was
absolutely necessary, so he decided to ask Her what she wanted. He watched her face closely as she mulled her decision over in her mind.

\"Perhaps... I think I would rather wait for you here.\" She said in a timid voice. \"I will be all right here, won\'t I?\" Her face was touched with a look of anxiety as she gazed at him. \"You don\'t think any one will... approach me for... for things do you?\"

Kenshin considered her legitimate worry for a moment, and then he indicated for her to wait as he disappeared through the strange curtains that covered the doorway leading into the parlor. They were contrived of red, yellow, orange, and brilliant green sashes that hung in a thick swaying gaudy mass of colorful confusion. He was only gone for a brief moment, and when he returned, there was a very large man with him.

\"This is My Wife,\" He waved with a flourish of his hand toward Kaoru, and the large man bowed deeply to her while she looked in horror at Kenshin who just grinned and winked at her. \"She and I are here looking for her brother, who has been missing for several days. Neither of us are interested in any of Your Mistresses services, but I do not want My Wife to be . . . exposed to the activities that occur inside. Nor do I want her to be disturbed by being mistaken for one of the ‘young ladies\' that offer those services. Do you see my dilemma?\"

\"Hai, Sir. How may I assist you?\" The large man sounded surprisingly educated and cultured for being employed in such an establishment.

\"I would be most grateful if she could either be taken to a private room where she can wait for me, or have someone can come to sit with her to make certain she is protected from unwanted advances. Can you offer me either of those things, My Good Man?\"

\"Of course, Sir. We are accustomed to offering either. You are not the first Gentleman to come to our establishment with a Lady and have not wanted to take her inside, but have also not wanted her to be, shall we say, accosted?\"

\"Hai. That is a very good description. That it is.\" Kenshin smiled in approval at the large
man\'s understanding of his needs.

\"Which would you prefer, Sir? The quiet room or the attendant?\"

\"My Dear?\" Kenshin turned to look at the stunned and nearly speechless Kaoru and waited for her to answer. \"Which would you prefer, My Love?\" Oh, but he was enjoying this little charade, perhaps too much.

\"I-I... ummm, the room would be nice, thank-you.\" She finally stammered.

\"Very good, Madam. If you will follow me, I will gladly take you to a private room away from the rest of the, ah, activities.\"

Kaoru shot a look at Kenshin that told him what she thought of this whole idea, and it was
not a pleasant look but she continued to follow the large man as he led her through another door neither of them had noticed before.

As Kaoru disappeared, Kenshin laughed to himself in irony. He had brought his lover into a ‘house of ‘disrepute\' where sex was for sale at almost any price. Yet, he had no intentions of eliciting ‘favors\' from any one of the young women who were wandering about the room. Quite the contrary, as he stood in the main parlor surrounded by sensuous, half-dressed beautiful females, all he could think about was getting this over with as quickly as possible so he could get Kaoru home and out of her kimono. As he considered the seemingly odd implications of that fact, Kenshin wondered briefly if that meant there was something wrong with him? He was a man after all, was he not? Should he not at least find being surrounded by so much desirable flesh at least somewhat arousing, or at least pleasurable? Instead, he was standing in the center of the room patiently waiting for the Mistress to appear so he could ask her about Sano, and the abundance of nude and seminude bodies was not affecting him in the least. He was as flaccid and uninterested as he would be if he were looking over tofu at the Market.

‘Hmmmm,\' He thought to himself. ‘Perhaps there is something wrong with me? Other men
are faithful to their mates but still enjoy looking at other females like this. Sano talks about places like this frequently, and tells me about the types of men who come inside. Some do not even go into the rooms with the girls. They just want to set and look or touch because it is pleasurable to them, but they continue to remain faithful.\" His brow furrowed in thought as he continued his insightful examinations of his contradicting behavior.

\"May I be of some assistance, Siiirrr?\" A husky feminine voice smoothly purred into
Kenshin\'s ear and he was startled back into the land of awareness. As he did, his eyes widened into huge pools of dark velvety purple, and, to his utter shame, he felt his manhood suddenly come to attention and fall heavily against his thigh.

\"I... ah... I am looking f...for a friend of m..mine.\" He stuttered in embarrassment as he
looked into the most amazing lime-green crystalline eyes he had ever seen. Those eyes were
unfortunately attached to an exotic face that could only be described as breathtaking. The woman\'s skin color was a pale brown while her bone structure gave her high cheekbones cutting down to a narrow chin. She was elegantly draped with a brilliant green scarf that wove itself around her bodies seductive curves and then opened up into a beautiful hood-like back drop for her long shining mass of ebony hair.

He was staring at her he realized and made himself blink as well as breath. She tossed her hair over one shoulder and pulled the hood off her head revealing an intricate jeweled chain hanging around down over her forehead. He finally realized she was from the Eastern lands. India perhaps. It was becoming fairly well known that the Indian\'s knew many things about the ways of Love and Making Love. Kenshin had even heard about a book that the Europeans were all talking about that explained techniques and even had color illistrations.

As he looked at this incredibly beautiful woman, he could finally understand why the
Maharaja kept a harem. It would be much too difficult to choose one woman if they all looked like this one.

\"Everyone comes to The Black Pearl looking for a friend.\" She smiled at Kenshin and
reached out to run a sensuously liquid finger across the scar on his cheek. \"What sort of friend would you like,\" She glanced down at his sword, and then looked back into his huge wary eyes. \"Ihave many ‘friends\' that would please you, Master Swordsman. You only have to tell me what it is you wish, and I will be more than pleased to provide it for you.\" She wandered into a smaller room located just off to the side of the parlor, and Kenshin reluctantly followed her. She was making him very nervous.

When he entered the room behind her, he found it to be an office of sorts, but it was the
strangest office he had ever been in. The floor was covered with pillows and the skins of several unfortunate animals. The subtle scent of musky perfume hung in the air soft as a whisper and Kenshin realized rather quickly that this whole room was prepared for one thing and one thing only. Seduction. This was a bad idea. He needed to get the information he needed from her, and then he needed to leave as quickly as possible.

\"You seem to have misunderstood, Madam. I said I was looking for a friend in that He is
already here.\" Kenshin stood uncomfortable in the room with his hands clasped behind his back, and his feet spread wide enough to accommodate his ‘other\' problem. \"I am not interested in procuring any ‘services\' for myself. I am... attached to someone I care about very much, and I do not wish to create difficulties for myself. I am sure you understand.\"

She began to laugh in a low rich sound that sent little tingles of awareness rushing along his nerve endings which served as a reminder to his already confused manhood that he was, indeed, physically attracted to this woman, and Kenshin was not dealing with those feelings very well.

\"Oh, my handsome sword master, everyone is attached to someone, but that does not mean you cannot ‘indulge\' yourself on the odd occasion. Letting our inner most passions and lusts run free every so often is the thing that keeps us young and in love with the one we love.\"

\"I think not.\" He choked on the words as his breathing became somewhat constricted. \"I am very content where I am at this time.\"

\"Are you?\" She rose gracefully to her feet and approached him like a she-cat on the prowl
for a mate. \"If you are, then why are your eyes devouring me, and why is your ‘sword\',\" Deftly and with amazing accuracy, she reached out and grasped Kenshin\'s swollen erection through the material of his white hakama. \"Why is your ‘sword\' unsheathed for me?\"

He gasped hoarsely at her brazen actions and reached between them to grab her wrist. As his strong fingers closed around the slender bones, their eyes met and held across the very short distance between their faces. With gentle but firm force, Kenshin tried to stop her from doing anything else to him, and she pouted making it obvious that she had every intention of groping him out up to that point, which was something she had been dying to do ever since she had noticed his erection bouncing against his thigh. Thus, they stood face to face for several seconds until he felt her hand begin to move. At that moment he thought she was going to let go, but he was wrong.

She may not be able to move her hand, but she still had fingers and they worked very well
when put to use properly, and she was determined to try and discover if the treasure she held in her hand was as magnificent as she thought it was.

A deep throated agonized groan squeezed it\'s way free from behind Kenshin\'s gritted teeth as her nimble fingers began a decadently pleasurable exploration of his swollen rod. Her wrist was amazingly flexible despite the grip he had on it, and she was managing to reach nearly his entire length.

\"Kuso...\" He swore harshly beneath his breath as he attempted to pull her hand away, but
found that his own hand was not listening to the orders his mind was giving it. ‘Oh God...\' His mind was in a state of pleasurable denial. ‘You have to make her stop, Himura... you have to make her stop.... make her stop... make her... oh Kami...\' Kenshin suddenly found himself letting go of her wrist and reaching up to grab a handful of her silky hair so he could yank her head back roughly.

\"You do not know what you are doing,\" He rasped just before he crushed her astonished
mouth beneath the hard ruthlessness of the Battousai\'s angry passion. It took only a moment before she started to struggle against him, and Battousai allowed her to push him away. He watched with a mixture of regret and satisfaction as she stumbled several steps before regaining her balance, and then she turned furious lime-green eyes upon him.

\"What is wrong with you? What are you trying to do? I have girls who enjoy being raped. I
do not!\"

\"You were the one who started this, Madam, not I. I only came looking for my friend. I did not come here looking for an interlude with anyone. I have to admit I find you very attractive, which is very uncomfortable for me. I humbly ask your forgiveness for my, er, behavior, but as I said, you do not know what you are doing, nor do you know who you are dealing with.\" Kenshin paused to catch his breath. \"Now then, I am looking for a very tall man who wears white pants and a white fighting jacket with the symbol of ‘Evil\' printed on the back. He has a red cloth tied around his head, he has dark brown hair, brown eyes, and tends to be very dense. Have you seen him today?\"

\"You mean Sagara Sanosuke? He left about an hour or so ago.\"

\"He left?\" Kenshin was beginning to feel a shadow of anger climbing up his spine. \"Did he
find what he was looking for? Do you know?\"

\"He was asking about a girl.\"

\"Hai. I know that. Do you know her?\"

\"Yes. Her name is Kazuio. She comes in here to work sometimes, but I have not seen her
for a couple of days.\"

\"Kazuio? I see. Thank you for your time, Madam.\"

\"You are welcome.\" As Kenshin turned to leave, she reached out and grasped the sleeve of his gi. \"If you ever change your mind, and have the desire to try something... less aggressive, please consider coming back. I will always have room for you.\"

\"I... ahhh... Good-day, Madam.\" He turned and hurried from the room as quickly as he
could without being rude, and then went looking for Kaoru. The guilt he was feeling at that moment was staggering, and he had absolutely no idea what he was going to tell her.