Chapter 5: Found

"I just had to give her work, the poor girl," Tae smiled sheepishly at Yutarou as

she glanced at the girl sitting in the booth not too far away. "You could practically feel her hunger! Anyway, I gave her an easy job…though it turned out to be harder than it looked, since it took a while to get her to understand what she had to do."

"I'll translate for you next time," Yutarou grinned. "But for now, could you bring out a pot of beef stew? I think it'd be best to just feed her for now." He noticed the reluctance in Tae (she was thinking of a certain moocher rooster-head), then added, "I'll pay."

"All right, coming right up!" she beamed as she walked away. Yutarou turned and went to sit by Mei-mei, who was currently gazing into nothing.

"Hellooo," he said as he waved his hand in front of her face. She blinked and looked up at him with a slightly startled face.

"Sorry," she smiled, "I was just thinking."

"I gathered," Yutarou grinned. "About what?"

"Just… things," she answered as her eyes misted over again.

Past

An enormous crash suddenly jerked her out of her uneasy sleep, making her bolt up in shock. She looked around wildly, brushing her hair out of her eyes as she remembered where she was. She stood up hurriedly, ignoring her body's protests from sitting up all night.

She made her way outside, using the same path she had used the night before, to find a huge cloud of dust partially obscuring her view.

When the dust finally cleared, she realized that the tall tree she had climbed the night before had been conquered, its branches cracked and leaves hanging limply as it lay sadly on the ground. Her "master" was standing beside it, expression indifferent as he shouldered a large, oddly shaped sword.

He didn't… had he really cut that down by himself?

"You're finally awake," he said, turning to face her as he grinned slightly. She frowned, crossing her arms and refusing to answer him. He glanced at the large tree, then back at her. "I figured I might as well get rid of any temptations." Her scowl deepened even more as she tightened her grip on her arms.

He walked to the porch, taking his sword and sheathing it. "Anyway, I'll be gone for the rest of the day. Find something to keep yourself busy, I don't care. Just don't leave the mansion." With that he walked calmly out of the yard, leaving her standing there emanating hatred.

When she finally reentered the house, she decided to explore her new living space. The part of the house she was staying in was huge, complete with several unused bathrooms and bedrooms. She figured this was the master's wing, since it seemed completely devoid of life. Even the servants that she knew had to be around seemed to keep away from this area.

As she was looking in one of the many closets for some clothes that could actually fit her, a small voice said, "Excuse me, madam." Mei-Mei spun around and was surprised to see a young girl standing before her, her head bowed. The girl looked up, meeting Mei-Mei's gaze shyly.

"I was ordered by Master Enishi to come and serve you," she said softly. "If you are in need of anything, please let me know."

"I have a servant?" Mei-Mei wondered in aloud. She had never been treated so well in any of the brothels.

"Yes," the young girl replied, bowing her head once again, "My name is Lindo."

"Okay," Mei-Mei shrugged. "I guess it'd be nice to take a bath…could you find me some clothes?" The young girl faltered, her eyes darting around the room nervously.

"I-I'm afraid there are no clothes suitable for you to wear here," she said. "We have never had the privilege of having a mistress, so there was never any need to buy clothes. I will go out to buy some immediately, but it may take a while. Please be patient."

"I don't need anything fancy," Mei-Mei shrugged distractedly, glancing at the pottery around her. "Just bring me a dress like yours." Lindo looked down, gazing at the plain white cotton dress that all the servants wore.

"Mistress, please!" Lindo replied, shocked, "I could never allow you to dress like a servant! I will go find something for you wear!"

"Forget it," Mei-Mei said, casting an appraising glance at Lindo. "I don't need fancy clothes, just bring me a cotton dress."

"Y-yes, ma'am," the young girl faltered, not daring to go against her mistress' wishes.

"Mistress Mei-Mei, lunch is ready," Lindo said, pushing in a cart as she looked at Mei-mei who was busily working at a table.

"Almost done," Mei-Mei smirked contentedly. She pushed her work away from her so Lindo could serve her the hot stew. Soon she was slurping up the thick broth, always eager to eat in order to stave off the hunger that had plagued her during most of her youth. It wasn't until she was halfway done that she noticed Lindo gazing at the soup forlornly.

"Why don't you eat?" Mei-Mei asked, wiping her mouth indelicately.

Lindo looked startled, blushing with embarrassment at being caught, "Oh, no, I couldn't, Mistress Mei-Mei."

"It's okay, it'll be our secret," Mei-Mei smiled. "It's not like I could finish this by myself." Lindo looked around nervously, as if checking to see if anyone was watching, but she was obviously tempted by the thick stew.

"Well, all right," she said finally, serving herself a little bit on one of the extra plates. Soon both girls were eating in a comfortable silence, content to have each other's company.

"May I ask what you are working on, Mistress?" Lindo asked timidly after a while. Mei-Mei nodded, handing her a small bundle of fabric. The young servant took it gingerly, gazing at it with wonder and surprise.

"Is this…?" she asked, gaping.

Mei-Mei shrugged, "I hated that dress anyways."

"Won't Master Enishi be angry?"

"I won't care if he is," Mei-Mei replied nonchalantly as she stirred her soup.

"And who is it for?"

At this Mei-Mei smiled, "It's for whoever I can find."

Enishi closed his eyes for a few moments, trying to recollect his unusually indiscriminate thoughts. He couldn't concentrate on the tasks set before him during the meeting that day, although he had been very good at hiding it. He had to pinch himself to keep from falling asleep as his subordinates argued and babbled on and on.

Perhaps a nice bath would wake him up.

He opened his eyes, turning to look out the window. They had nearly arrived at his mansion, and he watched as people scurried to the sides of the road as his carriage barreled through the crowded street.

Soon the carriage pulled to a stop in front of his mansion and he stepped out. As usual, he was bombarded by the greetings of his servants, which he thoroughly ignored as he walked to the gate. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a servant holding a basket in one arm move away from the gate down the street. There was something different about this servant, he noted, so he turned his head to look at them.

He watched as the young girl with pitch black hair tied into two buns quickly rounded the corner. He caught a glimpse of her face, and saw the unmistakable blue eyes set in a determined face.

So the girl was trying to run away. Again.

He turned abruptly and began to follow her as he gave an annoyed snort, leaving his baffled servants standing at the gate. They were about to follow, but he shot them a look that clearly said, "Don't follow me."

Enishi walked to the corner, glanced around, and saw the girl. She was down on her haunches, talking to a little street beggar girl. He couldn't see what it was, but the girl handed the child an object, making the child's eyes light up with delight. He watched as the child gushed out a thank you, then ran down the street away from him, clutching the object tightly. The girl stood up and walked a ways farther down the street, then to the wall. She knocked on the door, the servant's entrance, which opened to admit her. She closed the door behind her, oblivious to the observer watching from the corner.

Enishi remained emotionless as he turned around and walked back to the gate, thinking as he walked. Why would the girl be meeting a child in the street? She wasn't even supposed to be allowed out of the house. And what exactly was it that she had given the child? Enishi couldn't help thinking about all the enemies he had made these past ten years, all the powerful men that wanted him dead. She could've been making contact with them, conspiring against him. It wasn't unbelievable, as it had happened before with another servant. Needless to say, the servant had been killed and disposed of, and the syndicate controlling the spy had been taken over.

That's why there were people even in his own syndicate who wanted him dead.

He'd head her off and confront her now.

He stalked down the halls of his home with an air of deadly purpose, causing the servants to scuttle to the sides to avoid him at any cost. He knew exactly where he was going, having memorized every part of his mansion--including the servants' quarters. He glanced down halls and into rooms, hunting for his prey.

At last, he saw the girl as she hurried down a hall, still clutching the basket in one hand. He swiftly walked towards her, leaving her no time to react as he grabbed her by the wrist and pushed her against the wall, pinning her with a hard look from his cold eyes.

"What were you doing?" he growled menacingly as he gripped her wrist tightly, making her wince. She clenched her teeth and glared at him defiantly, making the anger in him boil. He slowly twisted her wrist, making her cringe and letting out a small gasp from her lips.

"I'll ask again, what were you doing?" his voice was dripping with venom, unsaid caustic threats thinly veiled. She gave him a pained, fearful look.

"You're hurting me," she said, a barely contained whimper. She looked at him again, but this time her eyes were small blue pools of sadness.

For the first time in his life, Enishi regretted being so menacing.

He loosened his grip slightly, allowing her a sigh of relief. She gave him a wary look as she reached into the basket over her arm. She pulled out a small object, and glanced at it nervously. He looked down to see what she was holding.

She was clasping a small rag doll that hung limply in her hands, looking up at him with curious round black eyes. He recognized the gold silk that made up most of the doll and its little Chinese dress. He gave her a skeptical look.

"When I was little I always wanted a doll," she said softly, avoiding his gaze and answering his unasked question. He stared at the doll, then at her.

She began to fidget under his gaze, feeling nervous and threatened, like a trapped animal. She turned her wrist slightly, silently urging him to let go.

He looked at his fingers that were wrapped around her wrist, and noticed something he hadn't before.

Thin pink lines crisscrossed on her pale white flesh, her blue veins visible under the thin layer of skin. He looked at her, and saw that she had her head turned away from him, her eyes downcast.

"How many times have you tried?" he asked.

"I've lost count," she muttered as she bit her lip miserably.

"And yet you're still here," he remarked. There was something in his voice that made her throat ache from holding back a sob and her teeth grit together in frustration.

He was mocking her.

"Please excuse me, Master," she said as she pulled her hand away from him and he let go. He didn't move as he looked down at her one more time. She was clenching her fist and was shaking slightly. He shrugged, and finally stepped to the side. As soon as she saw an opening, she gave him a slight bow and quickly strode away, fleeing from his hard gaze.

She stormed into her room, flung herself onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow. A storm of angry thoughts crashed through her head, disorienting her and making the sense of helplessness within her rise to extremes.

Tears pooled in her eyes as her chest heaved with silent sobs, her throat aching and her face burning.

She would make him pay.

He would pay for all the pain he caused her. For every thin pink line that crossed her wrist, for every moment of suffering she had endured under countless men, for the complete loss she had felt that day when it snowed in Shanghai, she would make him suffer. She didn't know how, but she'd find a way.

She'd find a way to hurt him just as he hurt her.

Enishi stood outside her door, his face set in its usual scowl as he gazed down at the intricately woven carpet with his aquamarine blue eyes.

There was something unnerving about hearing her quiet sobs, the sound of her body moving in the silk comforters as she squirmed with anger. These sounds entered his mind in such a vivid form, as if swirling together to paint a mental picture for him, that he could practically see the streams of tears running down her cheeks from her slate blue eyes as she gripped her pillow fiercely.

He couldn't stand it--he couldn't stand hearing her like that.

He gruffly walked away, grabbing his sword from where he had left it that morning, heading out to vent all this unexpected anger that had suddenly erupted in him, leaving the girl to sink in her despair.

Present

"Finally!" Yutarou cheered when Tae came, carrying a large pot of beef stew. He grinned at Mei-Mei, "Let's dig in!"

Mei-Mei smiled, picking up her chopsticks and scooping up the food into her bowl. They both ate voraciously, enjoying every bit of food that entered their mouths. Mei-Mei realized that her young friend was probably only stuffing his face so she could feel comfortable doing the same, especially since he kept glancing at her to gauge the speed he should be going. Once they were satisfied, she looked at him gratefully, smiling one of her rare true smiles and making him blush.

"Oh, hey, it's Kaoru-san!" Yutarou exclaimed happily as he turned his gaze, his face still red, to his friends--Kaoru, Kenshin, and Megumi--that were walking through the entrance.

"Yutarou, I thought you'd be here," Kaoru smiled. She noticed Mei-Mei, and bowed politely, "Konnichiwa, jou-san."Mei-mei bowed back, smiling slightly at the raven haired girl.

"Yutarou-kun, it's been a while," Megumi smiled, gazing down at her former patient. "How is your arm?"

"Much better, thank you Megumi-san," Yutarou grinned. "How's Aizu?"

"Fine, thank you."

He glanced at Mei-Mei, then said, "This is Mei-Mei, she's here from Shanghai."

"Oh," Megumi smiled politely at the Chinese girl. So this was the woman that had come looking for Yukishiro Enishi. "Pleasure to meet you." She bowed as Mei-mei bowed back. Kenshin also greeted the girl amiably, as if the fact that she was looking for someone that had tried to kill him not long ago didn't bother him at all. Yutarou had heard the story from Yahiko, and he was amazed at how calm Kenshin was. If it was him, he'd definitely be a bit more wary around the girl.

Kenshin, it seemed, was the only one that was truly calm around Mei-Mei. Though Kaoru was acting rather cheerful, it was obvious that there was something unnerving about Mei-Mei's presence, which probably had to do with the fact that she herself was also deeply worried about Enishi. Megumi, on the other hand, seemed to flat out distrust the girl, and was visibly keeping her distance.

Mei-Mei smiled, mostly to herself, then turned to Yutarou, "Excuse me, but I think I have to go now."

Yutarou's face fell sadly, "Aww, you can stick around and talk here for a while! I'll translate for you!"

Mei-mei shook her head, still smiling at the young boy, "No, it's about time I continued my search. Thank you for lunch, I am deeply grateful."

Yutarou sighed, but grinned, "No problem. Come by the dojo if you ever need help or anything."

She smiled one last time at him before getting up, but Kenshin stopped her.

"Have you had any luck yet?" he asked, his light blue eyeswarm with concern. Yutarou hurriedly translated, and Mei-Mei shook her head sadly.

"He seems to have completely disappeared," she said glumly. "But I have to find him." She looked at Kenshin with determination, and he smiled warmly as Yutarou translated.

"Try Rakuninmura," he suggested cheerfully. "It's where he is most likely to get help, and I doubt the police would've looked there." As soon as Yutarou translated, Mei-mei's eyes widened. She gushed a quick "arigatou" and hurriedly left the restaurant, rushing out into the street.

"That girl has a strong will," Kenshin noted. Megumi shrugged grudgingly, but Kaoru smiled happily.

Maybe she was the one that could help Enishi.

"Look, for the last fucking time, I can't understand you," Kuma growled in frustration at the young girl that was currently being restrained by two other men. She continued to glare at him, then let out a long string of Chinese words (many of which were probably cuss words).

"This is stupid," one of the guys said. "Let's just boot her out of here. No one's allowed in Rakuninmura anyways."

"Idiots, she has to have an important reason if she came all the way from China," Kuma shot back, crossing his arms.

"Maybe she just got lost?" the other put in lamely. There was a moment of silence as they all pondered this.

Kuma sighed heavily, shaking his head, "Fine, boot her out of here already." They were stopped, however, by some loud and raucous singing that filled the air.

"Oh, well, what the hell! Oh, well, what the hell! Oh, well, what the--"

"Oibore, shut up already," Kuma frowned, "Can't you see we're in the middle of something?"

"Eh…?" the old man stopped, a large, almost toothless, grin spread across his face. He waddled up to Mei-mei, drawing his face up right next to hers.

She gave him the most intense glare she could muster.

He did, after all, have horrible breath.

"Hoh!" Oibore laughed, "This one has a strong spirit! I doubt she'll be a new resident, ne?"

"Nah, we don't know what she wants here," Kuma shrugged grumpily. "We can't even understand her."

"A poor little Chinese girl among a bunch of Japanese lowlifes," Oibore laughed heartily. "Sounds kind of romantic, doesn't it?"

"Idiot," everyone muttered in a single breath.

"Still," he continued, unperturbed, "Why not ask the one Chinese guy that's staying here?"

"Who?" Kuma asked, arching his eyebrows.

"The white haired fellow, of course!"

"How do you know he's Chinese?"

"Fool, one look at his clothes tells you!" All the men that were standing around glanced at each other, then gave a simultaneous shrug.

"Fine," Kuma sighed, "Not like there's any harm in it." The two guys that were holding onto Mei-Mei picked her up by her arms, causing her to give a shout of surprise and another string of curses as she flailed her legs around. None of them cared, however, and they casually made their way deeper into Rakuninmura.

"Let go, you bastards, or I swear by the graves of my ancestors that I'll castrate each and every one of you!" Mei-Mei yelled angrily, but to her dismay no one seemed to be listening to her, and it wasn't like they could understand her, anyway. At last she gave up, allowing herself to be carried to wherever they were taking her. It seemed, however, that the old annoying man was the one that was leading them.

It had taken long enough to actually get here, and now this place was turning out to be more of a pain than ever.

She took this time to glance at her surroundings, noting the familiarity she saw between here and Shanghai. It seemed that it didn't matter what country you were in, there'd always be slums around.

She let out a small shriek when they finally dumped her on the ground, her face flushed with surprise. She cursed at them again, but stopped when she noticed the man that was slumped against the wall in front of her.

"E-enishi…" she gasped as she took in the blood stained white hair and dull green eyes.

Note: OMFG, I UPDATED! To any of you that have read this fic (-glances at WhiteRabbit-), you must all be pretty surprised. It took me a while since I had to remember just what I had planned out for this fic, and to remember where I was (I had to re-read it). Still, I'm getting back into this, and will probably be working on this too!

Rakuninmura is where Kenshin experienced his hell on earth, and it's where all the losers go. Kuma is one of the guys that was at Rakuninmura (the guy with the eye patch that let Tsubame pass that one time). Oibore is the old guy with glasses that helped Ken-san out.

There will be more Enishi next chapter, and I'm hoping that will be ready pretty soon!