Disclaimer: I don't own Saiyuki or any of the guys. That honor belongs to Kazuya Minekura. The character of Kai is property of GojyoLoverForever. Kai and Kenren's story can be found in the fantastic story, Saiyuki Extreme, on Fanfiction dot net, under the author's name, GojyoLoverForever or on deviantart dot com under the author's name, Last-Remnant. She has generously lent me Kai for this story.

General Kenren Taisho whistled as he made his way to Tenpou's office. Kenren had just spent a very nice afternoon with Kai, a beautiful little healer, that Kenren had fallen in love with. Kenren shook his head and laughed at himself. "Love-em and Leave-em Kenren", was what the men he commanded had nicknamed him. That's who he was before he met Kai.

Kenren had been beaten and left to rot in one of the dungeon's in the palace, imprisoned by a man who held a grudge against him. Tenpou had rescued him and brought Kai to heal him.

Kenren got to his friend's door and knocked. He waited for an answer but there was none. He knocked again, louder this time and yelled out Tenpou's name.

"Hey, Tenpou! Ya in there?" A sound of books falling and a muffled yelp was the only response Kenren got. Kenren opened the door and went in to the messy office. Books, maps and scrolls were littered around the office. There was a huge pile of them on the floor next to one of the bookcases and Kenren could see a sandal poking out the top.

He went to the pile and shifted the books around until he uncovered his best friend, Field Marshall Tenpou Gensui. He was wearing his usual attire of dark pants, a light colored shirt and a white lab coat. A black tie hung loosely around his neck. Kenren held out a hand to his friend.

Tenpou looked surprised to see a hand. He didn't even hear anyone come in but that could be because he had almost been buried alive under a pile of books and maps. He looked up to see the smiling face of Kenren. "Oh, hello." Tenpou smiled back at his friend. Kenren shook his head. Tenpou really was hopeless.

Tenpou crawled off the pile of maps and books and stood up, brushing himself off. He was tall and thin with shoulder length dark hair. He didn't wear it tied back, that would take too much effort. Tenpou wasn't concerned with his appearance. His clothes looked like he slept in them and he usually did. His frog ashtray on his desk was crammed with cigarette butts that he never seemed to find the time to empty. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that Goku loved to play with the little frog, it probably would never be emptied. But, that was a job that the little golden eyed boy took it upon himself to do for his Ten-chan.

Tenpou turned back to his bookshelves, already forgetting Kenren had come in and saved him. His long, graceful fingers searched through the maps on the shelves. He was muttering to himself. "Eastern edge of heaven, not that one…Western ridge, no, I don't want that…ah, here it is! The Southern Seas!" Tenpou removed the map from the shelf, bringing down several more with it.

Kenren watched his friend, his arms across his chest and one black eyebrow arched. This was getting ridiculous. You could barely move in this office without something falling on you and no matter how many times he, Konzen and Goku came to help clean, Tenpou let it get this way again.

For awhile, Kenren had been thinking about bringing up the subject of Tenpou having someone come in daily and clean, but either the timing never seemed right or they got roped into helping clean and the subject was closed. Kenren really didn't mind helping but he didn't want to spend his spare time in here. He wanted to spend it in dark corners of the palace with Kai.

"Oi, Tenpou!"

Tenpou looked up from the map on his desk, a look of surprise on his face. Kenren rolled his eyes. Tenpou had been concentrating on the map and had forgotten Kenren was in here. That man needed a distraction. And what better distraction than a pretty woman. Kenren laughed out loud as an idea came to him but he needed to talk it over with Kai first.

Kenren turned on his heel and made his way through an obstacle course of books and maps to the door. He raised his hand and waved to Tenpou. "See ya, buddy." Tenpou gave a half-hearted wave, his mind already returning to his map.

Later that night, Kenren and Kai were in his apartment. Kenren was stretched out with his back up against the arm of his couch and Kai was on his lap, cuddled against his chest. They hadn't consummated their relationship. Kenren respected her too much to make love to her before he married her. He hadn't asked her yet, but the subject of marriage was on his mind much more lately. He played with her long, silky hair while he thought of the best way to bring up the subject of Tenpou and his office.

"I've never asked you this before but do you have a lot of friends? Close friends?" Kai shifted around to get a better look at Kenren's face. "Any friends who have a job in the palace that they hate and would be willing to leave?"

Kai thought for a moment. "Yes, I have a friend named Chizuru. We've been friends since we were children. Why do you ask?"

"What's she like?" Kai's heart sank. Maybe Kenren was getting tired of her and didn't want to be with her anymore. Chizuru was pretty. She had long ash blonde hair and a welcoming smile. She was a little taller than Kai and a more womanly shape. She had a loving personality and found joy in the littlest things.

Chizuru met Kai soon after Kai's parents were killed. She was walking through the sakura trees one day and overheard Kai crying. She kneeled down next to the sobbing girl and hugged her. Kai was shocked at first, but was soon crying on the girl's kimono. From that moment on, they were the best of friends.

"She's nice…" Kai trailed off and began twisting her hair. Kenren knew Kai did this when something was bothering her and didn't want to tell him. Kenren took her hands in his and brought them to his lips and kissed them.

"Hey, look at me." He tilted her face up and saw unshed tears in her eyes. "Sweetheart, what's wrong? Did you and Chizuru have a fight? Is that why you're crying?" He really didn't handle crying women very well. He got more concerned when she started to cry in earnest. "Come on, tell me what's wrong."

"I thought you liked me." She hid her face in her hands. "But if it's Chizuru you want, I won't stand in your way." She struggled to break from Kenren's embrace.

If Kenren lived to be a hundred, he knew he would never understand women. He had never even met this Chizuru and here was Kai, ready to hand him over to her. Kenren pulled Kai's hands away from her face and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Kai, I've never even met your friend. What makes you think I would want her? It's you I love." He kissed her lips softly, tasting the saltiness of her tears.

Kai responded by crying harder. Kenren gathered her in his arms and waited until she stopped crying. A few minutes later, her crying had subsided enough that she could talk again. "Why are you interested in Chizuru?"

"I'm not interested in Chizuru for me, I'm interested in her for Tenpou. His office is beyond once-in-awhile help and he needs someone to come in everyday and clean it. Books aren't in alphabetical order, maps strewn all over the place and let's not talk about his clothes! Both he and his office need serious help."

"But hasn't Tenpou always said he didn't need help?"

"Yeah, but today I went to his office looking for him and he was buried under a pile of maps and books. I wouldn't have known he was under there if it wasn't for his sandal poking out through the top of the pile." Kai giggled, imagining the sight. "So, I got to thinking. Instead of Tenpou hiring someone, why don't I do it? I am a general after all and while Chizuru wouldn't be in the army, she could work for me." Kenren kissed the top of Kai's head. "Where does she work now?"

"In the palace kitchens and she hates it. She says it makes her hot and sweaty." Kenren wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Kai and she slapped his arm. She laughed. She really did love this man, although sometimes, he was impossible. "I'm sure she would jump at the chance to get out of the kitchens and work for Tenpou. Would you like me to bring her here tomorrow? Around 11 am?" Kenren nodded and hugged her close. All other thoughts left his mind as he captured Kai's lips in a searing kiss.

The next day, Kai brought Chizuru to meet Kenren. Kai had told Kenren all about her the night before and she was just like Kai had said, bright, cheerful and full of life. Just the opposite of Tenpou.

Chizuru bowed before Kenren. "I am honored to meet you, General. Kai has told me a lot about you and I am glad you make her happy." She rose and met his eyes. "Although, if you break her heart, I'll cut your manhood off." She said the last part with a big smile but Kenren could see she was serious. Damn! She seemed a little blood thirsty. Maybe she was more like Tenpou than he first thought.

"Kai, can I talk to you…now?" Kenren motioned Kai over to a corner of the room. Kai left Chizuru and the girl sat on the couch. "What the hell were you thinking?" Kai crossed her arms over her chest, her expression stormy, while she waited for Kenren to explain himself. "This…this…wench is all wrong for the job."

"Did you just call my best friend a wench?" Oops, Kenren thought. "I'll have you know she's loyal, a hard worker, fun to be around and would do anything for the ones she loves!" Kai poked Kenren in the chest with her index finger each time she listed a point in Chizuru's favor. God, she was sexy like this. Her eyes were blazing, her cheeks flushed and her touch was driving him crazy. " You wanted me to find someone that would be willing to help Tenpou and I did and now you change your mind?" She licked her lips, getting ready to give Kenren another piece of her mind.

That did it. Kenren grabbed Kai and with one hand on her shoulders and one hand spanning her lower back, kissed her with all the pent up passion he had. She melted against him, her hands grabbing his leather jacket and bringing him closer to her.

Chizuru coughed to try and get their attention. They kept on kissing. She tapped her foot and looked at the ceiling. This could be awhile, she thought. Might as well find this Tenpou Gensui and introduce herself.

She left the lovers in Kenren's rooms and went in search of Tenpou. She knew what he looked like, but she was sure she had never met the man in person. She walked along the blocks of apartments, wishing that these people had their names on the doors. She peeked into open doors now and then but not one of them led to Tenpou's apartment.

A blur of brown ran by her. She watched the child known as Goku knock on a door, fling it open and yell, "Ten-chan!" This must be it, she thought and went to the door Goku had entered.

Even though it was open, she didn't want to just barge in, so she knocked on the frame of the door. The little boy with the gold diadem on his head was rummaging through a huge desk. She heard him squeal with glee and watched as he took out crayons and paper. He pushed books and maps aside to make room for himself on the floor of the office.

Kai wasn't kidding. This place was a disaster area. Books were crammed on shelves with no order, maps crammed into corners of the room and on one small table, scrolls were piled on top of each other, threatening to collapse. Cigarette butts poured out of a frog ashtray. There wasn't one surface that didn't have some sort of clutter on it. She shook her head. She hoped Kenren paid well.

She knocked on the door frame harder and yelled a greeting. Goku looked up from the floor and Chizuru thought she saw some brown hair from behind a pile of books on the massive desk. She waved at Goku. He smiled at her and bounded up to her.

"Hi! My name is Goku! What's yours?" He took her hands in his and led her where he had been drawing. He was a friendly little thing. Many people in the palace spoke of Goku in whispers. He was a heretic and he was feared by many. Chizuru took in his smiling face and happy attitude. People were judgmental in this place, so it was entirely possible they were wrong about Goku.

I'm Chizuru and I'm here to help." She sat down and admired the crude, childish drawing.

"Help with what?" Tenpou poked his head over the stack of books surrounding the top of his desk. Chizuru stood up to get a better look at Tenpou.

Chizuru smiled at him. "General Kenren has offered me a new job as your personal assistant. I used to work in the kitchens and I hated it. My friend, Kai, told the general how much I hated working there and he offered me this job and I accepted." Well, that was stretching the truth a bit. Kenren hadn't exactly gotten around to offering her the job. He was too busy kissing Kai. "I would be happy for work for you, Field Marshall Tenpou. If you want, I can get started right away." She bowed.

Tenpou came from behind his desk to stand in front of the woman. He was flabbergasted! The nerve of Kenren. To go behind his back and hire someone to come in and clean. Why, Kenren might as well have come out and said that he was a slob. So, his clothes were rumpled and he'd been wearing the same tie for a week, that didn't mean he was a…Tenpou sighed. Maybe he was a little messy.

As if his possessions were determined to prove the point, the scrolls that were balanced precariously on a table, came rolling down. Goku ran out of the way of the avalanche of scrolls and bumped into Tenpou's desk. The tower of books swayed for several seconds, everyone in the room holding their breath to see if the tower would stand. The tower righted itself. Goku jumped up, his thin arms high in the air, cheering. However, his landing was just enough to send the books tumbling down. The sound was horrendous and Goku ran for cover behind his new friend, Chizuru.

He grabbed her kimono and hid his face in the folds of the fabric, frightened that Tenpou might yell at him for knocking the books over. Chizuru reached behind her and put her arm around Goku's shoulders, reassuring him that she would protect him.

When the dust settled, Tenpou looked at his office. Maps were falling off the walls, scrolls unrolled and decorated the mountain of fallen books, like discarded ribbons from a birthday party. His emerald green eyes met Chizuru's deep brown eyes. She almost smiled at the look of total dejection on his face, but managed to hide her smile.

"You're hired."