A/N: This chapter is...well... definitely darker than the previous ones. I hope you enjoy it anyway! Thanks for reading and please drop a comment and let me know what you think!

"Loosen the front of your kimono. You have to advertise yourself a little more."

The wrinkled woman stood over Kaoru with tired eyes, painting rouge on her lips in thick globs with a worn-out calligraphy brush. Kaoru's eyes were almost completely black and had a glassy look to them. "…Don't worry, you get used to the drugs, little one. They give them to you to make things….easier for everyone." She tugged on the front of Kaoru's kimono to accentuate her cleavage. "Your first priority is to get a customer tonight. You don't want to make the boss unhappy, okay? If you want to live, you will get a customer. Simple as that. It gets easier."

Kaoru's languid eyes moved around the room, her drugged thoughts were focused on completing simple tasks like walking and trying to speak. She woke up on a ship and was knocked unconscious again soon thereafter. She then woke up inside of a tatami room with bars on the windows. She was administered drugs every few hours and was now standing in front of a woman she had never met, in a place she had never been, having a hard time recalling simple information like her own name.

She looked down to find herself in a silky, thin kimono. The color was a bright red and had a flower design running up the sides of the sleeves. She pressed the fabric between her fingers and tried to focus on the situation. 'What am I doing here and what the Hell am I wearing?!'

"Alright ladies it's time to line up!" shouted a husky man's voice from the other room.

"Kenshin!"

A rather large, muscular man pushed through the crowd in the streets of Osaka. "It's been a long time! …You look like you're on a mission. What's up?"

"Indeed, that I am. I'm looking for a man involved in the slaying of more than 50 government officials. He's wearing a grey kimono and a wide brimmed hat. He's at least 7 feet tall."

"Hmm…" The man raised his fingers to stroke his beard. "The best place to look for information would be the local pub. I've already got reservations with a friend of mine. You should join us."

Inside the pub, a hostess greeted the two men. "My friend should already be here."

"Ah, yes, I see you have reservations. Will this man be joining you as well?" The hostess smiled politely and waited for the man's reply. "Yes, this is an old friend. Kenshin Himura. We fought together in the war." "Oh, how wonderful! Please be seated."

Kenshin sat down gingerly on the floor cushion, setting down his sword and scanning the room. "Kenshin this is my friend Sanosuke. He has quite the reputation in this town." "Nice to meet you, Sanosuke. My name is Kenshin Himura. I am looking for someone." "Yeah, yeah, yeah, we can get to that. Let's have a toast first." Sanosuke poured sake into three small cups and smiled lightly. "To Kenshin! …Our honored guest! …Any excuse to drink! Banzaiii!" he belted out, attracting a few eyes.

The three men drank glass after glass, Kenshin waiting to get a word in edgewise about his assailant. Suddenly the two men leaned in towards Kenshin with mischievous expressions. "Listen, Kenshin. You need to just…..relax." Sanosuke was slurring his speech and waving around his sake cup, splashing out the contents onto the table and floor. "We've got a present for you."
The two men leapt to their feet and picked up Kenshin's small frame by the arms, leading him to the next room of the pub. "We purchased one of the newest editions to this pub's nightly entertainment if you know what I mean…"

"No, no, no, no, no I'm not-…." Kenshin stopped in his words, a confused and shocked expression on his face. 'Was that girl I saw just now…No...It couldn't be….' He slowly relaxed his position and turned to the two men. "You know what? I think I will take you up on that offer."
The two men cheered and high fived one another. "Alright Kenshin! Good luck my man!" Sanosuke patted him a little too hard on the back and the two men walked back to their table.

A middle aged woman in a rather revealing kimono approached him. Your entertainment is waiting in that room over there." She pointed down the hallway. "The third door to the left."

Kaoru walked into the room catatonically and nearly collapsed on the futon spread out in the corner of the small room. She was given a double dosage of drugs. Her captures knew how fiery she could be and thought it would be best if she didn't try to resist her customers.

The dark room was only lit by a small red light coming from outside of the window. Kenshin entered the dark room as a shadow—calm and collected, making no sound. He kneeled down next to her and whispered, "So…what is my entertainment for the night?" He was angry to see Kaoru as a prostitute and wanted answers, but he also wanted to play the role of the customer, as a sort of jealous payback.

Kaoru was completely intoxicated from the effects of the drugs. In the darkness all she could hear was the soft voice of the man kneeling down next to her. The invigorating scent that reminded her of someone she wanted desperately. In a quick moment of drug-induced passion, she grabbed his arms and pulled him towards her. Kenshin was taken by surprise and lost his footing, falling on top of her on the futon. Kaoru felt his warmth surrounding her, her face nuzzled deep into his neck, feeling his flowing hair brush against her nose and taking in a deep breath of his aroma. He could have moved away from her, but he didn't want to. The woman he thought he would never see again, the woman who flooded his thoughts and filled his senses with desire and want was underneath him. He wanted her so badly and couldn't bear the thought of another man having her. She pressed her lips onto his neck and began kissing up and down the area, sending chills of passion throughout his body. It was more than he could take and he quickly pulled himself off of her.

He leaned over her body with both his arms supporting him on each side of her. His hair flowed freely down from his face and he blushed a soft crimson red in his cheeks. "Kenshin?" Kaoru's eyes were beginning to adjust in the light and the effects of the drugs were beginning to fade slightly.

"Kaoru…why? Why are you here in such a place as this? Dressed in a kimono that lets me see every curve of your body?" "Kenshin…I was captured and put on a ship. They drugged me…I don't even…" The tears began pooling at the edges of her eyes. She curled up in the bed facing away from Kenshin. "How long have you been here? Am I…the first customer?" Kenshin's eyes began lighting up with anger, glowing to an amber hue even in the darkness. "I've only been here…one day…I think. You are the first…."

Kenshin sat her up in bed and brushed his fingers against her face. "It's okay. We're going to leave this place. Stay here until I come for you." He stood up firmly and grabbed his sword from the floor. He walked to the sliding door and hesitated for a moment, gritting his teeth.

'It's going to take a lot of willpower to avoid killing tonight.'

-End of Chapter 7-