Disclaimer: I do NOT own PMK or its characters.

An Assassin's Tale

Chapter 5

The night was late. The Trio knew they were testing the outer limits of the curfew, still there's always one more place to check out…

"Shinpattsan! You got lipstick on your cheek," Harada guffawed as he staggered from too much drink. His yukata hung open to display his painted belly, courtesy of his two pals. "Kumi will be mad at you for that." Nagakura shrugged, turned to a ditch and threw up.

"Say, gentlemen, I don't think we've checked out this part of Shimabara yet…" Toudou murmured as they unknowingly entered the gay quarter.

"Hey, that's Okita!" Harada exclaimed.

"Where?"

"There with that, er, guy? What the hell are they doing? Did he just kiss him?" Harada rubbed his eyes as Kichi doled out a passionate goodbye kiss to his client in Yogotoya's doorway. "I didn't know Okita's into older men…"

"Ahou, I thought you might have guessed from the way he hangs about the Demon and Kondou-san… Wait, shouldn't he be paying that man instead?" Nagakura blinked as he observed the satisfied customer handing money to Kichi. "What's going on?"

"One way to find out…" Puffed up with sake-induced bravado, Toudou strolled up to Kichi. "Say, Okita-san. What's going on here?" His two pals ran up to join him. The young man looked just like Okita. Kichi was momentarily taken aback to hear his almost forgotten name but he swiftly recovered his composure. Now inside the building, the trio took in the sordid surroundings through their sake-numbed senses.

"Saa, this is no place for a Shinsengumi captain to hang out… Souji, if you are looking for some excitement, I'm sure they have better places…" Nagakura remarked, wrinkling his nose from the smell of the place.

Kichi decided he would have some fun with the trio. "My day job's not paying too well, so I'm moonlighting…"

"Moonlighting? The Demon vice-chief will gut you!" A Shinsengumi captain moonlighting as a… Oh Buddha! Hijikata will personally flay the offender. The trio could feel the sake leaving their systems as the implications of their little discovery hit home.

"Say, how about you gentlemen have some fun since you're here?" Smiling seductively, Kichi leaned back against the wall in a move to expose as much of his pale neck and chest as possible in the V of his kimono. "Maybe we can do it upstairs… I normally do a threesome, so we might have to make adjustments for you all."

"Souji, please! We wouldn't tell the Demon. If you're really that hard up for cash, I'm sure we can…" Even Toudou was serious now.

"You know, I think it is you lot whoare hard up." Kichi grinned wickedly, flung his arms around the tallest captain's neck and kissed him full on the lips, pressing his hips against his. Harada let out a scream, broke free of the unwanted embrace and bolted with his two drinking buddies on his heels…

Kichi laughed at the sight of his victims fleeing the joint as if all the demons of hell were on their tail. Too bad the fun's over for now. A bitter taste filled his mouth. Wonder what the real Okita Souji's doing? Certainly not turning tricks for a decent meal.

"I didn't do anything to him! You guys saw it. He kissed me!" Harada was still in a state of shock when they made it back to the HQ. The trio went into the compound's main hall…

"Welcome home!" Okita greeted them as they stepped into the hall. He had just ended a kendo match with Saitou and gave an impromptu lecture on close-quarters combat for the recruits. "Sano, you look pale…" Out of concern, he placed a hand on Harada's shoulder. The man jerked at his touch.

"Argh! Don't touch me, y-you perv!" he screamed. Okita frowned. What was going on? "I may act a bit goofy at times, but let's get this clear. Harada Sanosuke is not into men! Please don't do that to me again!"

"Do what?"

"You tried to hump Sano in a certain establishment in Shimabara just fifteen minutes ago…" The look of bewilderment on Okita's face convinced Nagakura he had no idea what they were talking about.

"Fifteen minutes ago, Okita was sparring with me in front of about thirty recruits," Saitou stepped out from where he was leaning against the wall, unnoticed, as usual. "The three of you seem to have a drop too much…" he remarked critically.

"Ya, maybe we mistook someone else for Okita," Harada laughed uneasily. "Souji would never kiss me, right?"

"That's it…" Nagakura agreed. "Maybe it was someone who happened to look like Okita…"

"I don't think you would mind that much if it were Miss Sakura of Hanatoya who kissed you… I think that person must be desperate to put the moves on you…" Toudou tried to soothe his friend. Harada shot him a dirty look before catching him in a headlock. "Oi! Sano! Quit choking Hei-kun!" Nagakura tried to pry Toudou loose.

"Sumimasen, Nagakura-san, where was this place in Shimabara?" Okita asked. That person could be Akira.

"Sorry, we can't recall where that building is or any names… Too busy running and too drunk…" They sounded sincere. Looks like he would have to bother Yamazaki to check out a few things…

It was a busy night at Yogotoya. A client got violent with one of the boys and had to be dealt with. The boy would be okay, after his ribs healed. The customer was another matter, especially when Kichi decided to get involved. The youth's in a foul mood this evening. Osu had made the necessary arrangements to have the corpse floated downstream. She stopped in mid-stride and stared at the ceiling. Something was wrong. She knew what it was.

"Come out!" The shadowy figure landed a few feet away on the floor. "Thought it might be you. What do you want?" The ninja before her was known for dabbling in certain occult arts. Osu did not wish to cross him in any way, but having him watching her house, its occupants, one of them in particular, was starting to irritate her.

"I have a business proposition to discuss with your little assassin…"

"In your next life, perhaps…" Osu held her ground. "Especially if you are still working for his crazed Lordship." Drawn by the commotion, Kichi poked his head out from his room. "Osu, let me hear the proposition."

"No, Kichi. This one's bad news," Osu warned.

"Not as bad as having to do certain things in the futon…" Kichi stared her straight in the face. The warning tone was clear. Osu backed off. "If this thing blows up in your pretty face, boy, I'm not gonna save your sorry butt!" Shaking a fist at the ninja, she stalked off.

"Now let's hear your proposition…" Kichi smiled coldly.

Author's notes:

I really don't know how the story'll progress. There might be the possibility of a reunion later... The name of the spooky sorcerer ninja guy slipped me. Osu is turning out a better OC than I expected. Perhaps she may be playing a bigger role in later chapters.

Thank you for all the reviews.