Chapter Eleven: Rescued...sort of.

"KENSHIN, YOU JERK! SANOSUKE WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS, SURE! BUT YOU?"--Kamiya Kaoru, Rurouni Kenshin Volume 3

Kenshin and Aoshi were sitting at a local ramen stand. They had no luck or lead on Sanosuke or the yellow-eyed man, and decided to take a lunch break.

Kenshin swallowed his noodles, casting Aoshi a look. "You know she's following us, don't you?"

"Yes." Aoshi nodded, stirring his soup with the cheap chopsticks.

Misao had followed them from Aoshi's house, playing ninja-girl as she crept along in the crouds, hoping to follow the two until they had no choice but to let her come. She was now hiding behind a nearby trashcan, sneaking looks out at Kenshin and Aoshi to see if they had moved yet.

"Are you going to tell her to go home, de gozaru ka?" Kenshin inquired Aoshi.

The latter didn't respond for a moment. "No. She'll lose us eventually," he said at last.

Kenshin doubted this, but went back to silently munching his noodles. When they were finished, they paid and left, strolling down the busy streets.

"Where are your friends staying?" Aoshi asked.

Kenshin began leading him in the direction of the hotel. "An inn nearby...though I doubt they are there any longer. They're probably out searching for us, since we did not return last night, de gozaru."

There was a particularly guilty and worried look in Kenshin's eyes that compelled Aoshi to ask, "Among those companions, your girlfriend?"

"N-Nani?" Kenshin stammered, wondering of how Aoshi could possibly know that he had been thinking of blue-eyed Kaoru. "N-no...not my girlfriend...I don't have one..."

Aoshi straightened the collar of his coat, and said nothing.

When the reached the hotel room that Kenshin had rented, he opened it to find some of their possessions put in the proper places. Some of Anji's bags and such were propped up against the far wall, near the window. There were two beds and a couch, and already Kenshin knew that Sanosuke would be the one taking the couch.

If we ever find him, Kenshin thought heavily, turning to see Sanosuke's traveling blanket, bag, and spare bandages strewn carelessly on the sofa.

Moving next door to the girl's room, Kenshin hesitantly knocked before entering. Of course, no one was inside; but he wanted to make sure. Inside, Megumi's doctor possessions were neatly placed on her bedside table, and Kaoru's bag flopped obviously in the corner, a few coins lying on the floor.

"Hm," said Aoshi. "It seems you have a variety of company...a religious man, from the Bible in the other room; a doctor, a treasure-hunter, and from the bandages and blankets on the sofa...a leper?"

Kenshin almost laughed. "No...a fistfighter, actually."

Aoshi made a soft chuckling noise, but was cut off when suddenly a black shape tackled him to the floor. "What are you doing in onee-san's room?" the wolf snarled in the surprised bartender's face.

"Yahiko!" Kenshin cried. "Leave him be, it's only Aoshi--!"

Yahiko gave Kenshin a menacing growl, his golden eyes narrowing angrily. "She's not here! It's all your fault we were seperated--you and that stupid Rooster-Head! My sister might be in danger, or worse; all because you forced me to go drinking with you!"

"What?" Kenshin said, shocked. "Yahiko, you said you wanted to go--"

Yahiko seemed to be on the edge of panic, jumping off Aoshi and pacing about the room. "She left her treasure here--she never leaves that behind! So carelessly, when Kaoru worked so hard to win it--something's wrong! Maybe she was kidnapped!"

His tail frizzled up at the thought, a chill racing down Yahiko's spine. "Kami-sama!"

Aoshi sat up, quite confused. "Am I to understand that...?"

"Yes," Kenshin sighed heavily. This man was getting to know too much, too quickly. "Yahiko is a wolf changeling."

Aoshi nodded, saying nothing once more. They watched the poor wolf boy continue his rant, jumping onto Kaoru's bed, and then onto the couch; and onto the windowsill to desperately get a bird's-eye view of the city.

"My Lord, she could be ANYWHERE!" Yahiko yelled, now passing the point of franticness. "Anywhere, I tell you..."

"Yahiko," Kenshin said, trying to calm the youth down. "Kaoru-san is probably fine. There's no need to worry, she has Miss Megumi and Anji-san with her--"

Yahiko suddenly transformed into a human again, seizing Kenshin's collar and shaking him angrily. "You--don't--understand!" Yahiko snarled, for every word giving Kenshin a shake. "Kaoru--might--need--my--help! I--won't--rest--until--she's--in--my--sight--again! That--stupid--Rooster--might--be--trying--to--hit--on--her--or--something!"

Kenshin's eyes were now swirls, and he stammered, "Yahiko you should try to--oro!--calm down, that you--oro!--should, before you--oro!--kill me, de gozaru--oro!"

Yahiko ran out of breath, and released Kenshin. "What's your excuse? Where did my sister go?"

"Kaoru-san and Megumi-san are most likely out looking for us, along with Anji." said Kenshin. "Right now, we're trying to find Sanosuke, though... he's been kidnapped, and we're worried that he could be in extreme danger."

Yahiko was outraged. "You're looking for that idiot instead of my sister!" he shouted. "You really are a weak good-for-nothing! Anji must be nuts to think you're the rightful heir to the throne! Out to ensure a worthless idiot's safety over a missing woman! Hmph!"

And he promptly stormed out of the room.

There was a little silence as Kenshin turned to look sheepishly at Aoshi. Aoshi had an eyebrow raised, looking at the poor man like a teacher catching his pupil cheating. "'The rightful heir to the throne', eh?" Aoshi said after a minute. "It seems there is, indeed, a lot more to you than meets the eye, Kenshin-san."

"I suppose so," Kenshin answered sheepishly, "even to my own eyes, de gozaru yo."

-

"Kowareru hodo aishitemo--!"

"Stop singing."

"Sanbun no ichi mo tsutawaranai--!"

"I will kill you."

"Junjou na kanjou wa karamawari--!"

Saitou was quietly losing his mind. The idiot Bird-Head had refused to answer any more of his questions, and had taken up singing as loudly as he could. Sano had already gone through two others.

Sanosuke was quite pleased with the wolfish man's reaction (from the way Saitou's left eye twitched, it was quite easy to tell he was irritated), and sang even louder.

"I love you sae ienaideiru my heeaaaaaaaaart!"

Saitou had enough. His headache that had been threatening to surface had pounced into full attack. Drawing his sword, he pressed it to Sanosuke's nose and told him in a dead serious voice, "If one unbidden peep comes from you, I will use my sword in the mose unpleasant mannerisms that I can think of."

Sanosuke knew that Saitou wasn't the type of guy to easily lose his composure. He smirked against the razor blade of Saitou's sword. Just as Saitou pulled away, Sano whispered in a barely audible voice: "Peep!"

Instead of turning around again to face him, Saitou kicked backwards, managing to hit the seat of Sanosuke's chair. Toppling backwards, Sano let out a frightened yelp.

Now lying on the floor, strapped to the chair, Sanosuke found that Saitou had left the room...most likely to go smoke outside, in peace, and free of singing roosters.

"Great," Sano smirked to himself, "now I just gotta escape somehow."

Twitching to the left, Sano figured that wriggling wouldn't do much else besides give him sore spots on his wrists. Screaming for help wouldn't do, either--Saitou would hear him first and kill him without hesitation. The Futae No Kiwami was no help, since Sano's arms were tied down.

There was only one other option.

"Okay, Kami," Sanosuke prayed out loud. "I've gotten in trouble again...erm, I need some help...getting out of this chair. I'm strapped down, as you can see, so would you mind sending someone my way who can help me get free?"

Silence.

Sanosuke waited...and then he heard voices.

Female voices.

Wondering who it could be, Sanosuke tensed as the door opened. He focused his ears, as an elegant voice said, "And this is where Saitou-san keeps all of his weaponry, and where he questions the--oh my goodness!"

Sanosuke wanted to die. Who else had tip-toed through the door than a trio of geisha, or female entertainers. No, Kami! No, Kami! he repeated over in his mind. NOT WOMEN! NO! ANYONE ELSE BUT--!

"Why, there's a boy in here!" one geisha cried, as the three of them padded over to inspect the restrained fighter. Her long blonde hair was swirled up in a fancy haircut with a red-brown pin. "And he's tied up, too..."

They giggled, and Sanosuke glared at them. "Oh my," the second geisha whispered. She had long, curly black hair and dead green eyes. Sanosuke's face was turning red by simply looking at her; she was gorgeous. "He's certainly not in a very pleasant mood..."

"I bet we can fix that," the third geisha giggled. She had sleek brown hair that was slung over her shoulder in a loose ponytail, jewels and sparkling hairpeices intertwined.

"Leave me alone," Sanosuke grumbled, indeed hoping they would. Megumi, Megumi, MEGUMI! THINK OF MEGUMI! "I'm waiting for someone."

One laughed. "Tied up? Hun, either you're waiting to be killed or you're waiting for a good time. Come with us!"

The third geisha picked up a hatchet from the wall, marching over to Sano. She raised it over her head, savoring the terrified look on Sanosuke's face before bringing it down on his wrist.

His handcuffs cracked, and Sanosuke found that his right arm had been freed. "Awright..." he mumbled, grinning. He ignored the geisha momentarily, using a light Two-Layers to destroy his other restraint.

The girls were impressed. "Oooh, did you see that?" one asked the other as Sanosuke got to his feet. "He's so strong! And so young!" That sent them into another fit of giggles.

Sanosuke, red-faced, attempted to sneak out of the room and escape these dangerously beautiful women. Unfortunately, one caught his arm and held him back. "Where are you going?" she pouted. "You said you'd come with us!"

"I...I really--" Sanosuke stammered, turning redder by the minute. The other geisha snickered in the background, amused by Sano's innocent nervousness. "I really don't--I can't--I mean, no...I mean...I didn't say--"

"Come." the raven-haired geisha whispered, taking Sano from the brunette and leading him down the hall. Sanosuke squirmed fitfully in her firm grasp, but he was unwilling to hurt her.

"I really have to go--if Saitou finds me--!"

"Saitou-san won't," the geisha whispered. "Saitou-san is smoking outside, and won't be back in for a few minutes...he wouldn't intrude on a geisha and her customer...he knows better. Mother would have his head."

"Nani?" Sanosuke muttered. "Mother?"

"In a geisha house, or an okiya," the raven-haired geisha whispered in her soft voice, "there is a woman who is in charge of the geisha living there: we are required to call her Mother... Saitou-san is renting the upstairs of our okiya so that he may conduct his business for the government, and remain inconspicuous. My name is Rei."

Sanosuke's face was utterly scarlet as Rei pushed him into an empty room. He stumbled, and fell backwards onto the floor. As the giesha closed the door, Sanosuke sat up and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Rei-san...I think--" Sano tried to speak, but was cut off when Rei turned about and put a slender finger to Sanosuke's lips.

She looked right into his eyes, pretending like she didn't know Sanosuke was a blushing, seventeen-year-old mess. "Hush."

"I don't wanna 'hush'," Sano shot back, narrowing his eyes.

Rei seemed to find this amusing, because she laughed. "I didn't catch your name," she said softly, kneeling down before him.

"Uhm..." Sano hesitated. Why give this girl my name? Because, Sano realized, somehow, she'd know I was lying if I didn't. "S-Sagara...Sanosuke..."

"Why, Sagara-san," Rei told him sleekly, feigning surprise, "if I didn't know better, I'd say Sagara-san was intimidated by me!" She smiled, as though she were joking.

Sanosuke tried to maintain a poker face, but in the presence of this oddly melencholy beauty, it was quite hard. "I am not intimidated. I ain't afraid o'nothin'."

She snickered, and Sano began to get this odd wish that she was actually a guy so he could beat the stuffing out of her. "Surely, Sagara-san must be afraid of something..."

Spiders, Sano thought. But of course, he wouldn't tell anyone that. Death? Sanosuke wondered. No. Then it hit him, and before he could quite process it, Sanosuke had uttered the word, "Failure."

Rei looked surprised at his somber answer. "Ah...Sagara-san is afraid to fail. Of course, Sagara-san has to do badly in some things, am I wrong?"

Sanosuke looked at Rei strangely. "Yeah...some things..."

"Well, I simply cannot play Go," Rei announced in her quiet voice, though she sounded quite jaded at the thought. "Suko-chan and Mimi-chan...my friends that you met earlier... are simply wonderful at it! And I fail to take a single peice of the other's. It's quite awful, don't you think?"

Sanosuke had hardly an idea of Go. He knew what it was, but had no idea of how to play. Unsure of what to say, he mumbled, "You've gotta be belittling yourself, Rei-san..." He froze and flushed scarlet, realizing that he had just allowed himself to flirt with the geisha across from him.

Rei smiled in victory, though it normally would have been simply a smile. "You're too kind, Sagara-san...mm!" Rei suddenly flipped out an elaborate fan, gasping. "My, it's so hot in here, Sagara-san! Don't you think?"

MY GOD, I'M GONNA DIE! Sanosuke, in reply, gave a nervous little shrug. His inner thoughts barely showed through to expression, for he was frozen stiff. MEGUMI! Think of Megumi...ano, Megumi's hair! Megumi has nice hair...wait...who the Hell gives a crap about the hair! Uhm...Megumi's legs! Wait, no, I've never seen her legs. She wears a long skirt. Er...how about her--

"Yes, it's definately warm," Rei sighed, flapping her fan. "Aren't you warm, too, Sagara-san?"

"N-Not really..." Sano tried to say, but instead of that; he found himself shrugging again.

Rei got to her feet, and padded silently over to him in her cotton socks. Sanosuke stared at her as she knelt down next to him, allowing herself to curl her arm around his and fan the both of them.

The cool air did nothing to slay Sanosuke's fiery face, but it banished most of the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead. Rei leaned her head on Sano's shoulder, and pretended to be shocked at how stiff and nervous Sano was.

"Sagara-san, are you ill? You are so warm," Rei said, perfectly expressionless.

"Uh--erm--no--I mean, yeah...I mean, I just...sort of...er...gotta...gotta go to the bathroom!" Sanosuke said at last, and inwardly praised God for the idea.

Rei wasn't to let him go so easily. "Let me accompany Sagara-san."

"Huh!" Sanosuke stammered, looking at Rei as though he hadn't heard her correctly. She didn't say that--oh nooo, she did NOT say that! GOD SAVE ME!

Helping Sano to his feet, Rei put a hand on his partially bare chest and whispered, "It's custom for a geisha to guide their customers to the bathroom..." she giggled, as Sanosuke's face contorted in dread. "...I can see that Sagara-san has not had much experience in a geisha's presence, am I wrong? Sagara-san still has his privacy, of course...unless you'd rather not."

Rei's eyes flicked to lower territory for a moment, before glancing up to see Sanosuke's utterly embarrassed expression. She snickered, and led him into the hall.

"Does Sagara-san like the okiya?" Rei whispered to him, smiling. When Sano mumbled something under his breath, Rei said, "Sagara-san is so quiet! A boy of his age should be outspoken and excessive in courting young ladies. Does Sagara-san have anyone special?"

What kind of question is that, coming from a geisha? Sanosuke wondered, and shrugged. "Sorta." he whispered, eyes clouding at the thought of Megumi, and how she treated him like a annoying brat. How he wished for her to simply...just smile a real, happy smile...at him, just once...

Rei's face momentarily contorted in a wicked grin at Sanosuke's far-off expression. She tugged at his sleeve, smiling. "Why, how wonderful, Sagara-san! I'm sure she is very lucky to have caught your attention. You seem quite stand-offish--"

"There you are!"

Sanosuke's face contorted in terror as Saitou came dashing down the hall. Rei looked surprised, and said, "Why, Saitou-san! Can you possibly know Sagara-san?"

"Out of the way," Saitou said rudely, gripping Sano's collar and proceeding to drag him down the hall. Wrestling free, Sanosuke pushed Saitou away. The elder man glared at him, as the two men turned to face one another with evil glowers.

Sano folded his arms, scowling. "I answered yer damned questions, old man. Now leave me alone, already! I--"

"You're going to come with me whether you like it or not," Saitou hissed in an uncanny, intimidating voice, making Sanosuke's eyes widen. "I'm not going to have you go off and tell your snotty little friends about me. You were brought here, and you're going to stay here."

Sano wasn't sure what to say as Saitou took another step forwards. Sanosuke stepped back, feeling fear arise in him as Saitou pushed his sword out of the sheathe, ready to draw.

And, then, quite suddenly--Rei was there. She smiled behind her hand, and cried, "Why, Saitou-san! I never Saitou-san and Sagara-san had a relationship! I apologize, Sagara-san...no wonder you seemed so nervous around me..."

Sanosuke glowered at her. "That's sick!" he yelled angrily. "I would never even go near that bastard! He's a stuck-up, cruel, bloodthirsty--MAN!"

"Tell me something I haven't bragged about," Saitou growled, and then turned to Rei. He was beginning to get a headache again--and not because of his cigarettes. "Leave."

Rei's eyes narrowed. "Saitou-san knows quite well that it is not his place to order me around. I am currently entertaining Sagara-san, and it is mother's blunt orders for Saitou-san never to interrupt such things. If Saitou-san continues to make a bother of himself, then Mother will most likely kick him out."

Before Saitou could up and kill her for the heck of it, Rei added, "Besides, what kind of geisha would I be if I let a handsome boy like Sagara-san escape to the afterlife as a virgin?"

Sanosuke's face exploded into a bright, bright red; and he yelled at her, "HOW THE HELL DID YOU KNOW THAT!"

-

Kenshin stared at Aoshi in disbelief. "How--or why--would Sanosuke end up in there!"

Aoshi rolled his eyes. "It's the only place we haven't checked yet, Kenshin-san. We'll simply step inside and take a look around. We're not here for anything else."

"If you insist..." Kenshin sighed, covering his eyes with a hand. This is going to be a disaster... Kenshin thought, as he followed Aoshi into the gates of the local geisha lounge. He looked around back into the street suspiciously, and sighed. Misao had lost their trail, and wasn't to be seen.

Turning about, Kenshin entered the front yard of the okiya. The gardens were bright and decorative, with ponds and plants and a narrow stone walkway, leading up to the building before them.

Several entertainers were exploring the gardens, and called friendly hellos upon spotting the two handsome men. Kenshin's face burned bright scarlet, while Aoshi's remained expressionless...as usual.

When they had finally made it through the door and into the front room, they proceeded to take off their shoes.

A lively young woman greeted them. "Why, hello! I've never met such people before, must you be new? Are you here to see someone specific?"

"Actually," Aoshi said in his majestic voice. Kenshin was amused but embarassed to see the girl blush a bit and give him a rather lovesick look. "We're here to see a friend of ours...we were wondering if he's here."

"May I ask his name?" the woman inquired, turning her gaze to inspect Kenshin with great interest. Kenshin looked shyly at the floor, his face scarlet. He dared to glance up at Aoshi.

Aoshi met Kenshin's eyes for a brief moment, before replying to the doorgirl, "I'm afraid we're here on the motive of a friend of his, that he intended on meeting today. We were only given his description, and the possibility that he might be seeing this okiya today."

"And his description?" the girl said, looking back up at Aoshi.

"Tall, black hair, and frightening yellow eyes," Aoshi replied. "He sometimes carries a katana, and has the tendency to smoke."

The girl, at first, didn't know what to say. "I..." she mumbled, but then spoke in a clear voice. "I'm afraid Saitou-san is unavailable right now. He's speaking with a guest, and--"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

All three of them jumped in surprise at the terrified cry that issued from the ceiling. "That sounded like Sanosuke!" Kenshin cried, and began racing up the stairs. Aoshi followed directly after, ignoring the protests of the doorgirl.

"No, wait!" the woman shouted. "You can't go up there! Come back!"

Racing down the hallway, following the desperate cries of a frightened Rooster, Aoshi and Kenshin were relieved to find him at last.

Suddenly, Kenshin froze. Aoshi used his almighty ninjutsu skills to come to an abrupt halt, preventing himself from bowling Kenshin over. Looking up, Aoshi found what had disturbed Kenshin so.

Three lovely geisha were attempting to force Sanosuke into a secluded room, where it was obvious of what they planned to do to him. He gripped the ground, scrabbling desperately at the tatami floor.

"NO! LET--ME--GO!" Sanosuke yelled, trying to squirm his way out of their arms. "GET OFF ME! I'M--I'M ENGAGED! I'M MARRIED! I'VE--HEY! URK--LEGGO! OI, DON'T--STOP THAT!"

One geisha had discovered Sano's discreet weakness. Wiggling her long fingers over his abdomen, Sanosuke began to laugh hysterically. "He's ticklish!" the geisha announced, and immediately the trio went away at tickling Sano all over.

"NOOOO!" Sanosuke howled, writhing. He fell backwards, flying inside the room due to the sudden release of force; causing the geisha to squeal and burst into giggles.

"We've got him!" one yelled from inside the room. "Shut the door!"

"NO! NO! NO! HELP MEEE! ANYONE--SOMEONE! SAITOU, YOU JERK, HELP MEEEE!"

A smirking geisha emerged in the doorway, about to shut it. Then she spotted Aoshi and Kenshin standing, dumbfounded, in the hall. She smiled sweetly, and cried, "My, what do we have here? Two striking gentlemen just outside the door! And they're just as handsome as Sagara-san..."

Kenshin sweatdropped, glancing at Aoshi. "I thought geisha were nice ladies who poured tea at parties," he murmured to him, looking unnerved.

Aoshi sighed. "Apparently, not these ones."

"Why don't you come in with Sagara-san?" the geisha offered sleekly, slipping over to Kenshin. The wanderer's eyes grew huge, but the lady seemed undeterred as she put a seductive hand on Kenshin's chest. "Maybe you could give him some tips to feel more comfortable." Her hand slid up Kenshin's chest, his neck, so that the geisha was gently gripping Kenshin's chin.

The poor redhead had never been so traumatized in his life. And then--

"GET YOUR HANDS OFFA ME! GIT! AWAY! GRR!"

Of course, it was not Kenshin who said these things, though the geisha that had been touching him spun around to discover the shouting one. Kenshin was relieved to be released, and backed up a good five feet.

Sanosuke burst out into the hallway, tripping over his own feet and landing smack on his face. His jacket was missing, and a few suspicious red marks dotted his chest and neck. His face flushed, eyes wide in terror; Sanosuke didn't care whether he appeared cowardly or not as he got to his feet and hid behind Kenshin.

"Kami, Kenshin! Where've you been? I've been through Hell since you... you... you... ABANDONED ME, YOU ROTTEN DRUNK!" Sanosuke gave the small man a good thump on the head. "As your apology, use your Hiten-Mitsurugi-Whatchamacallits on these vicious beasts!"

Kenshin went spinney-eyed, mumbling, "Gomen, Sano...I was worried about you, that I was... but I had no idea your kidnapper would take you to a... place like this..."

"Isn't it obvious?" Sanosuke hissed, shaking the poor man relentlessly. "Saitou wanted to torture me! So he sent all these crazy women after me! Look what they've done--they're vampires! They tried to chomp out my jugular and suck my blood! See?"

Sanosuke pointed shakily to a particular red blotch on his neck. "They're evil demons, all of them!"

Kenshin sweatdropped. "Actually, Sano... I don't think that's quite it..."

But Sano was too hysterical to listen. "Let's leave, before they get evil kitsune and tanuki for reinforcements! Maybe even some oni and those weird little nut-eating fuzzy animals--squirrels! Damn, you ever been bit by a squirrel? They're the meanest little monsters you'd ever meet, I tell you! Almost as bad as women!"

Sanosuke grabbed Kenshin and began dragging him down the hall. He royally ignored Aoshi, but the tall man didn't take offense. The teen was obviously traumatized.

"Sagara-saaaan!" came a feminine, amused call.

"QUICK! RUUUUN! THEY'RE AFTER US!" Sanosuke screamed, about to take off running when he noticed Rei standing a few feet behind them.

Rei was holding his jacket in her hands, smirking. "You've forgotten something."

Sanosuke stared helplessly at his hostage coat. "That's mine..." he mumbled, holding out an arm as though he was restricted by some invisible barrier from dashing to his beloved jacket.

"Well, aren't you going to come and get it?" Rei asked sweetly, cocking her head to one side, innocently.

Sanosuke felt heat rise to his face. "I...I..." he wasn't sure of what to do or say--if he tried to get at his jacket, then he would most likely be attacked by geisha again. But if he walked away bare-chested, Megumi might see those 'vampire bites' on his body...

I can't have Megumi thinking I'm a demon! Sanosuke thought desperately. She'll hate me and--and--and-- "GIMME MY JACKET!" he roared, charging at Rei in determination to reclaim his coat.

"Sano! Watch out!" Kenshin cried, but it was too late.

Suddenly, Sanosuke saw stars. Something evil had slapped him right upside the head, and when Sano turned to look, he saw the scolding face of a fox.

"Naaa?" Sanosuke stammered. He meant to say 'Nani?', but only half the word came out. "Fox...?"

"YOU UTTER, SICK PERVERT!" she screamed, beating him over the head with a purse. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! KAORU, ANJI AND I SPENT ALL MORNING LOOKING FOR YOU AND THIS IS WHERE WE FIND YOU? IN A PLACE LIKE THIS! YOU ARE A ROTTEN MAN! AUGH!"

Turning on her heel, Megumi marched down the hall to Kenshin, giving him a glare. She did the same to Aoshi, though Aoshi had no idea of who she could possibly be.

Kaoru, accompanied by Yahiko, came racing down the hallway, yelling, "Hey, Megumi! Did you find them--what the..."

Kaoru's mouth fell open at the sight of one stoic Aoshi, one ashamed Kenshin, and one hickey-covered Sano. "What in the world is going on!" she cried. She looked at Aoshi in realization. "You must be Shinomori Aoshi!"

"I am," Aoshi replied, wondering how this girl knew his name

"Misao's here," Kaoru explained. "She's been looking for you--we found her sobbing on the street curb... she said she saw you and Kenshin go inside a geisha house...something about you not loving her anymore, or something..."

Aoshi's face contorted in horror.

Yahiko rolled his eyes. "Why bother chasing after a bunch of sick men, anyways?"

"I don't know!" Megumi said loudly, glaring at Sanosuke angrily. "Especially one like that!" She jabbed her forefinger accusingly at the Rooster, making him flinch as though he had been cut.

"I don't get it..." Sanosuke scratched his head. "What did I...? It's not my fault they tried to freakin' eat me!"

"I'll explain it later," Kenshin sighed, rubbing his temple. He then turned to Megumi and Kaoru, saying cheerfully, "Why don't we all discuss this over a nice dinner, de gozaru ka? This seems to be such an innapropriate place..."

Sanosuke took the opportunity to snatch his jacket out of Rei's fingers, putting it on and giving the geisha an evil glare. She giggled, and walked away.

"Yes, and I suppose you'll count on Kaoru to buy?" Megumi snapped, but she was still looking angrily at Sano. "I declare it a poor idea, if so."

Scratching his hair, Sanosuke continuously blushed. "I'll do whatever... I don't care..."

Megumi grit her teeth in rage. "Yes, I suppose men tend to be like that, when they've just had SEX!" Spinning about on her heel, Megumi jadedly growled to Kaoru, "Come on, Kaoru-san. Let's find Misao-chan, and get out of here."

Sanosuke's mouth formed the perfect shape of an O, as the realization of what exactly had taken place hit him. So that's why... k'so! Shit, they're prostitutes! The undeniably, uniquely intelligent Rooster nearly fainted on the spot.

Kaoru nodded, seemingly on the brink of tears. Kenshin...he didn't really...did he? she wondered, but then sniffed the tears back and smothered her broken expression. But I am not weak! I am strong, and I...I don't need Kenshin, if he's so desperate that he'd go to someplace like this! So what if I have a crush on him... he doesn't even know I exist.

Storming after Megumi, Kaoru barely noticed as Yahiko followed her. He paused before turning the corner with the two girls, looked back at the confused and ashamed men, and let out a deep, angry growl.

"Serves you," Yahiko hissed, smirking. He then turned the corner, and out of sight.

A little silence ensued, as Sanosuke, Aoshi, and Kenshin stood in the hallway. They all were looking at their shoes, even though they had done nothing exactly wrong. Aoshi and Kenshin had entered the okiya only to find and rescue Sano, and Sano had been protesting against the geisha for the entire time.

I made Misao-chan cry? Aoshi thought. Misao... I must have really hurt her... Aoshi fiddled with the strap of his jacket, his eyebrows descending into a displeased frown. She must not know... how much I love her... Aoshi sighed softly, looking up at the ceiling without moving his head. What have I done to deserve such a thing as Misao's love, when I cannot even live up to it?

Sanosuke leaned against the wall, hugging his jacket tightly closed. Self-hatred and the bitter presence of regret colored his hazel eyes. Megumi must really hate me now... he thought, biting his lip. So much for your smooth, sexy moves, Sagara. He sighed, closing his eyes.

Kenshin continuously stared at the corner where Kaoru had gone. Miss Kaoru... she looked so upset... for just a moment, but she looked like she was about to weep... was she upset over me? A smile of flattered disbelief overtook Kenshin's lips, but it quickly disappeared. Or was it...

Yahiko's words flew back to Kenshin: "That stupid Rooster might be hitting on her, or something!"

The memory of Sanosuke persuading Kaoru to let them go drinking leapt at Kenshin as well. How red she turned, and how close Sano scooted to Kaoru to get her attention...

All the memories Kenshin had of Sanosuke interacting even a little with Kaoru flashed before Kenshin's eyes as he grew more and more tense. How Sanosuke leapt in to protect Kaoru from being killed by that Kairyuu pirate...or how about when Sano returned from the battle, and fell asleep next to Kaoru...or when they were standing on the beach looking out at the sea, Sano had been standing right behind Kaoru...

And Megumi, who obviously had feelings for the idiot, was always uneasy and jealous of Kaoru whenever Sanosuke had even been near her...that was a dead giveaway...

A pit of the ugliest, angriest feeling balled up inside Kenshin's gut. His eyes hardened and narrowed, his fingers crunching violently into fists at his side. He glowered at the lovesick boy, wishing that Sanosuke would simply...

...back off.

Reversed blade or no, nothing stopped Himura Kenshin from beating threatening competition in such away they'd never dare to defy him ever again. And Sanosuke had awoken the rage of the Battousai, the flipside of Kenshin's reversed-blade sword. Jealousy in the truest sense, but rage.

The oblivious Sano sighed from across the hall, ruffling his messy hair anxiously.

End of Chapter Eleven

MadiSano: SEVERE BOREDOM AND SELF-ANGER DUE TO NOT UPDATING CAUSED STRANGE, NO-PLOT HUMOR TO APPEAR IN THE CHAPTER THAT YOU HAVE JUST READ. HUMOR-RELIEF WAS NEEDED SINCE THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN TORTURED FOR THE LAST PAST WEEK WITH TESTS AND SUCH. Anyways, the plot will resume in the next chapter, so don't worry.I've actually figured out how totake my insanity and put it into the story! Yay! So this wasn't completely retarded... Ijust needed some way tosave Sano, and reuinite him with Kenshin and Aoshi, and get the girls totally ticked with their men. You'll see soon enough...

STARSHIPDELTA: I'm glad you like Misao. I'm planning on weaving in some AoshiMisao pairing in here...if you can't tell already. Lol. Thanks for the info about Aoshi, and I'm glad I'm writing Saitou well enough. He might have been a little OOC in this chapter, but I was a little desperate, sinceit seems Ihaven't updated in ages. And I solemnly swear that once RK is taken over, Aoshi and Saitou will be lawfully handed over to you. Bound with iron-twined ropes and handcuffed as well, so the only fuss they'll make while you drag them home is verbal. Okay, you might wanna gag them... Saitou gets pretty nasty when he's mad... lol! See ya!

CREWEL: I thought I'd let you know. SM moments will become more often from this point onwards! Yaaay! See ya!

MISSTEAK: I realize, you're right! Aoshi is smirking too much, so I've edited this chapter so that he's a bit more expressionless. I'll try to satisfy that from now on. Thanks so much! And Shesshomaru...hehehe, he is...undescribably awesomely...undesribably awesome! Lol!

ENCHANTED SLEEPER: Ah, rhyming! Man, it's contagious! I started rhyming after reading your review...it was so funny! And yes, Sano's price upon his head would eventually sink into his thick Rooster hair, and we'd have to shave him bald to get it out. Heck, he'd grow his hair back overnight, so... haha, see ya!

ANONYMOUS-CHAN: Aoshi's past will be revealed in later chapters. Heh. As to the money currency, I wasn't sure of what to use. I don't know how to count Japanese yen or sen or whatever the heck they're called (lol), but I decided it would be too boring to use American money. But then I just decided I would use US dollars...so whatever price you read here is equivelant to the US amount, but it isn't really our money. Get it?I hope so. As to your reply of my opinion on Yahiko... now that I think about it, I agree with you overall. About Kaoru and the Jasmine flower, I don't get it either. I mean, there are romance fics where Kenshin or Sano or Aoshi or whoever is supposed to be with Kaoru leans in towards her and catches the scent of jasmine, and thinks it's pretty. My opinion? I've smelled jasmine before in bath supplies. I do NOT like it. You know why? It smells like something my grandma would wear! So that means... Kaoru smells like an old lady? And the RK guys think it's ATTRACTIVE? Oro...I won't even try to figure this out... lol. I've only read in fanfics that Kaoru smells of jasmine, never in the manga. But if I had to pick, I'd say Kaoru resembles a blue violet. When I study a blue cluster of violets, I see a lot of Kaoru's traits: a smooth, gentle outside, with relaxed colors (this shows Kaoru's outside, her pretty blue eyes and beautiful smile), and a vibrant splash of yellow in the center, which resembles Kaoru's passionate and determined spirit. The violets often comes in clusters, so that shows me that she works well with others and loves to be with friends, and never wants to be alone. And Kaoru goes on and on in the anime/manga of how she never wants to be alone again. I'm really not all that experienced with flower types, so that's pretty much the only flower I can think of! Heh. I tried my best. Ja!

TENSHI N'ONGAKU:Lol! I'm glad you're pleased with my updates (sorry, this one was a bit late) and my writing. This chapter was a bit strange, but I need some humor, since trauma is on its way! Lol! I'm a crazy person living in my downstairs at the age of thirteen, hissing at people when they try to kick me off the internet. It's my computer! Mine! ...Okay, I'll calm down now...and no, I don't hiss at people when they ask to use the computer... okay, yes, I'm officially flipping out! I have to go get ready for the next chapter, so I can get back into my normal updating process. Lol. Thanks for the encouragement...see ya!

SHAUNTELL: I did know that geisha were usually simple entertainers at first, but since Meiji is all about westernization (as you said), I decided to give my geisha a bit more flirty character. Believe it or not, I actually useda mix of Megumi and Tomoe to create her! Wow--scary! Lol! Really, the only purpose for me to do the whole geisha thing was to put some humor in the story, relieve my stress, reunite Kenshin, Aoshi, and Sano; give Saitou a bit of a lead on Kaoru, and laugh at the fact that Sano's a virgin. Lol, a guy like him...who knew? I suppose he had a pretty tight schedule at home, what, working all the time and spending the rest of it sleeping, eating, and having fun with his family. Besides, with a dad like Souzou, I don't think Sano was exactly brought up like that... ah well. Kenshin's getting irritated, too! I plan on really agitating him and getting him into a few fights in the next chapter, along with some Kenshin thinking about Kaoru stuffs. And plotting to bite off any man's head if he dare lay a hand on Kenshin's Kaoru. Oro. Lol. See ya, and thanks...

Well, that's about it, minna. Hope you liked it...if I get enough reviews, I'll update tomorrow night or on Sunday. Heh. Ja!