The Middle Man

Kaoru and Kenshin made their way to Takeda Kanryu's mansion on the outskirts of Tokyo. It was true Kanryu was a wealthy man, but most people weren't sure why. Many called him a man of industry, while others called him an opium dealer. One thing was for sure. Takeda Kanryu was a powerful leader of the underworld, and he wouldn't be pushed around.

"You ready?" Kaoru asked her partner. He nodded, giving her the go ahead to ring the doorbell.

A butler answered the door and asked who they were. He then ushered them in and told them to wait in the hallway. While waiting, Kaoru took in how impressive the house was. The hallway led to a grand staircase and to six other rooms on the first floor. She couldn't guess how many rooms were in the entire house, but she knew she had never seen a home this big before.

After gawking at the room for five minutes, the butler returned and signaled them to follow him into a study, where a man in a blue business suit sat. He had short tan hair, tiny blue eyes covered by rectangle glasses, and a pointy nose. Kaoru compared him to a rat, which is what she expected a man like Takeda Kanryu to look like. Kanryu stood up and shook Kenshin's hand and then looked at Kaoru. She felt like he was undressing her with his eyes, but she decided to let it slide.

"Welcome to my home. I am Takeda Kanryu. And you are?"

"Himura Kenshin. This is Kamiya Kaoru. We would like to talk to you." Kanryu continued to look at Kaoru with a lustful smile.

"Yes, please sit. We can discuss your business." Kaoru and Kenshin sat in two chairs in front of a desk while Kanryu took his spot behind it. He then placed his elbows on the cedar desk and folded his hands so he could rest his chin on them. "I must say. You are quite a legend underground, Himura-san, or should I call you Battousai?"

Kaoru looked at Kenshin. It seemed that everyone that met him always wanted to call him Battousai. She knew that Kenshin had killed some men in his day, but what police officer didn't? What could he have possibly done to earn himself a name as Battousai the manslayer?

"You can just call me Kenshin, Kanryu-san," Kenshin stated. "For now, we should really get down to business." Kanryu eyed him with interest, keeping his sly smile on his face.

"Of course, Kenshin, as long as you call me Kanryu. And you are right. We should get down to business, but I'm curious. I've never had a detective bring me a girl. You are a bad man, aren't you?" Kenshin's eyes started to narrow as if he was getting angry.

"Excuse me?" Kenshin asked. Kaoru was wondering what Kanryu was getting at as well, but Kanryu came right out with it.

"She is a little younger than most girls I have dealt with, maybe 21? But with a body like that, I'm sure she will get a lot of business. You just name the price. $500? $750? I would even pay $1000 to have this little piece of ass under my control." Kenshin's eyebrows were now twitching, but Kaoru was the one to tell Kanryu off this time.

"Listen here! I am a detective of the Tokyo Police Department, not some prostitute for your little escort service! If I wanted to, I could arrest you right now! I think I will just beat you to a pulp!" Kaoru was about to tackle Kanryu when Kenshin grabbed her and pushed her back into her seat. She finally calmed down, but the popping veins indicated that she could go off at any second.

"She is feisty, but I would have never guessed you worked for the TPD with that body. You must be incredibly smart. A good brain is something you usually don't see with a good set of tits." Kanryu laughed, but Kenshin gave him a discerning look, so Kanryu decided to play it smart from now on. "Alright, I get it. So what would you like to talk about, detectives?" Kaoru pulled out a sheet of paper and pushed it towards Kanryu. After reading it, he looked up with a confused look. "What is this?"

"It is a list of women that have been murdered in the past four months. There are eight woman total ranging from the ages of 22 to 34, and all of them are beautiful with average jobs, usually waitresses or something to that extent. Do any of them look familiar to you, Kanryu?" The business man tried to think of a way to answer Kaoru's question without giving away too much information.

"I think I saw this one a couple of weeks ago. Her name was Tomoe. That's the only one I really know about." Kaoru tightened her jaw as he pointed to his sister. Kenshin pulled out his laptop and inserted his flash drive.

"Really?" Kaoru asked, "This tape tells us otherwise." Kenshin started to play the tape. The first clip was a man in a business hat and suit walking with a woman. Kanryu's eyes started to grow when he saw the woman. "Shintaro Yuki was seen walking out of this strip bar the night of her murder, August 5. Recognize the man walking next to her?" Kanryu didn't have to look. It was clear that the man next to her was Takeda Kanryu.

"Yes, Yuki was with me that night. She was part of my service, but that isn't enough to pin her death on me. It is just one of the women on your list." Kaoru scowled at him and signaled Kenshin to fast forward to the next clip.

"Yamoto Ayame, August 25 outside one of your strip bars, and you are getting pretty friendly with her." Kanryu watched as he and the woman in the video made out in the alley. He was about to defend himself when Kenshin played the next clip with Kaoru's commentary.

"Hatsuhito Shiori, September 14 in your strip bar while you fondled her. And here is Kentaro Tsubara on October 4 in another strip bar dancing for you. You are in the alley again with Usamaki Ura October 24. Here you are walking to your car outside your strip club with Minamoto Kanna on November 15. Last but not least, Kamiya Tomoe walking down the sidewalk with you on December 2. Try to explain why all these women were with you on the night of their deaths."

Kanryu was completely speechless. He tried to mouth something, but no words were granted to his tongue. He finally composed himself and whipped out his checkbook.

"Alright, how much would you like? I could write you a check for one million right now if you close this case." Kaoru slammed her hands on his desk, making the man jump.

"We don't accept bribes, but we will arrest you for bribery, pimping, obstruction of the law, and eight counts of murder, including my sister Tomoe's."

"Now hold on! I didn't do anything wrong. Please, can't we work this out?"

"If you point us in the right direction," Kenshin stated, "we will leave without causing you any trouble, Kanryu." The man knew when he was beat, especially when he saw the look in Kenshin's eyes. If Kenshin had his way, Kanryu was sure he would be taking his head back to the TPD. Kanryu slouched in his chair and told his story.

"All these women were part of my escort service. They made me some good money. It was a shame when I found out all of them were dead. I lost a mint, especially on Tomoe. She was my main source of income for almost three years." Kaoru was about to club him, but it was Kenshin that drew his sword. It stopped right next to Kanryu's throat.

"We don't need all the details," Kenshin said. Kaoru was almost as scared as Kanryu. His eyes had turned gold, and his voice had death in it. "Just tell us what happened the last time you saw them." Kanryu shook violently. Kaoru suddenly heard liquid drizzle to the floor under his desk. She would have smiled if the situation wasn't so serious.

"I-I gave them to a man," Kanryu managed to get out.

"Describe him well," Kenshin grunted. Kanryu gulped and continued.

"A t-tall, skinny man with short, white hair and deadly, green eyes. He had round glassed. He wore a blue cape and a black pearl earring in his left ear. He wore Chinese clothes, but he was definitely Japanese. He also carried a sword in a pouch on his back. That's all I remember."

"Tell me his name!" Kaoru was starting to get worried. She wondered if she should stop him, but she knew they needed a name.

"Y-Yukishiro E-Enishi. That's all I know! I swear! Please! I'm just a middle man!" Kenshin sighed and sheathed his sword. He then turned to leave and Kaoru soon followed. They were almost at the door when they heard something rolling towards them. They turned around and found themselves face to face with a machine gun. "You fools! How dare you make a mockery of me! I never intended to be a pimp for the rest of my life. I have made enough money to sell my guns on the Black Market. The one with the most money has all the power, not the strongest swordsman."

"So you want to be a merchant of death? Would you go as low as to selling weapons to terrorists?" Kaoru asked. Kanryu only yelled louder as he took his place behind the gun.

"Silence, bitch! I will crush you with my almighty power!" He was about to pull the trigger when he saw something flash next to him. His gun fell into pieces as he spotted Kenshin next to him. He shook in fear whiled he begged for his life.

"Please, Battousai. I'll give you a position in my private army and pay you fifty men's wages. What do you say?" Kenshin took a step forward, causing Kanryu to step back as well. "Alright, how about 100 men's wages?" Kenshin only took another step forward as sweat ran down Kanryu's face. "200!" Kanryu took another step back and tripped over his steps. Kenshin looked like he was ready to strike when Kanryu held his hand up. "S-spare me-e-e!"

"If you're going to beg, then you should pray to you money!" Kenshin swung his sword down and Kanryu across the face, sending him flying into the air. Kenshin had his sword sheathed before the beaten man hit the ground. Kaoru walked over to check his vital signs, but realized he was well aware and alive.

"Please…help…me…" Kanryu whimpered. His jaw had been dislocated, making it hard for Kaoru to understand him. The broken nose didn't help either. Kaoru just sighed as she spoke to the man.

"I can protect you, Kanryu, but you will have to come with me to the Police Station." Kanryu looked back at Kenshin, who shot him another death glare. The man started to shake in fear again.

"Please, anything to get away from him! Help me!" Kaoru turned him on his belly and handcuffed him as she read him his Miranda Rights. When she was sure he understood them, she put him in the car and locked the door. She then turned to Kenshin with a smile.

"It looks like we have a lead," she said. Kenshin looked at her with a smile. His killer look had disappeared.

"Yes, we are farther along than before. We should get Kanryu back to the station and then start looking for Enishi." Kaoru looked back at Kanryu, who was passed out in the back seat.

"Did you really have to beat him up so much?"

"You know what they say. "We eliminate the middle man." Kaoru laughed as she got into the car with Kenshin. All she could think about was the progress they made with Kanryu. They had arrested one of the biggest leaders in the Black Market, and they had a lead to the "rose serial killer." All they had to do was find Yukishiro Enishi in twelve days.

Sorry for such a long update. I made the chapter extra long for you guys. Please forgive me.

Just so you know, I've been using a lot of stuff from the manga. I've never looked at my Rurouni Kenshin books so much since I read them for the first time. I absolutely love them though. Rurouni Kenshin is one of my favorites along with Chrono Crusade, and I will always treasure the books I have.

Also, whether or not you know about it, Phillip Margolin, another one of my favorite authors, has a book called "Gone, But Not Forgotten". I started writing this story before I read the book. I didn't even realize that they called the killer the "rose serial killer". Please don't kill me, Mr. Margolin. I would like to use some things from Margolin's books, but it will mostly be from Rurouni Kenshin.

Again, thank you for being so patient with me. I'll try to update soon, so keep your eyes open. Cya.