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Part III – Sophistry

''Embark' isn't spelt with a C,' he informed her crossing his arms in the process. He was cold. And he wasn't wearing any clothes. How was it possible that he was losing at this stupid game?

'I was just testing' she drawled out before adding and rearranging the letters from the scrabble board so it spelt 'became' instead.

'There' she lifted her shoulder before replacing her lost letters.

Kenshin glanced down at his letters and barely held back a grimace. What kind of word was he supposed to make from X, Y, L, A, K, V and U. He was definitely going to lose more clothes if he kept this up. He looked back up at Kaoru who was happily seated cross legged on the floor across from him. Fully clothed. What had induced him to play strip scrabble he would never know.

He liked to think he was a smart man. Better than average at the very least, but this woman was making him feel a lot less than that. He'd lost his thin cotton shirt in the last turn because he had passed and replaced a letter. Damn letters. Caving in to the very thing he didn't want to do he arranged the A and Y under the B of her 'BECAME' so that he could get three measly points for the word 'BAY'. Could he get any more pathetic? He sincerely hoped not.

'Don't use too many big words Mr. Himura,' she grinned.

Kaoru watched as his mouth tightened in annoyance. He was probably annoyed that he was losing the game let alone losing his clothes. She had feeling that Kenshin Himura would strip down to his last bit of clothing if it meant that he would win and she wasn't about to let that happen.

'Kamatari said you weren't good at Scrabbles,' he muttered.

'Mmm,' she agreed wordlessly. 'He also said to you that he didn't know me and that you were gay,' she stated one side of her mouth lifting in suppressed laughter.

Kenshin's eye's narrowed at her statement his face tightening with frustration. Did he look gay? She leaned forward and arranged more letters on the board to spell 'RETREAT' using the E at the end of BECAME.

Looking down at his letters again Kenshin saw no absolution. X, E, L, J, K, V and U. Then he made 'AXLE" from the A in 'RETREAT'. Things were looking up a bit.

'So what were the terms of the deal again Kenshin?' asked Kaoru as she settled into a lying position on the floor, her arm crooked with her hand supporting her head.

Darting a glance at her he rumbled out the agreement.

'If I win I get 3 dates and a financing agreement with Kamatari.' He sighed before continuing, 'If you win I have to be your slave for a week.'

'What kind of slave,' she asked sweetly as she placed the last of her letters onto the board.

'Any kind of slave,' he murmured slowly as he realised what was happening.

Kaoru had no letters left, and the score clearly showed that he was 34 points behind. There was no way he had won. Absolutely none. Slowly pushing the board out of the way Kaoru crawled towards the now semi naked and entirely frustrated Kenshin.

'I always did love a challenge,' she whispered. He could feel her breath feathering against his face.

'That was hardly a challenge. You annihilated me.'

Giggling she settled herself in his lap running her hands through his hair.

'You're all mine now, slave.'


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Iuvenalis.