Disclaimer: Yea, I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. But I do know who does. Maybe if I can find him, marry him and then, if he 'mysteriously' dies I'll be able to own RuroKen? Fufufu!

Mm, this Chex Mix is so good…um, I mean yea, hey look I'm actually updating. And not just updating. I'm updating and its not almost three months since the last chapter. I guess that resolution I made really did pay off. Of course it didn't help with my Chex Mix addiction, I'm still a Chex Mixaholic (I've gone thru two whole bags today and I'm on my third, I'm not kidding). Okay enough about me and my addiction, on with the story.

Chp. 4

Misao paced across the room, her hands behind her back and her head down. "So, he's been in a Kyoto brothel and in two days Saitou and the police are going to infiltrate the brothel", she said nodding her head up and down. "Yes", Kaoru said sweat dropping, "That's what I just told you".

Misao finally stopped pacing, her hands dropping from her back and onto her sides. "How…how could we not have noticed?", she asked looking mournfully at Kaoru from across the room. "It's not your fault" Kaoru said, shaking her head, "No one knew where he was". When Kenji had disappeared Misao and Aoshi hadn't pulled any stops as far as looking for him. They had used every ninja tool as their disposal to try and figure out where the ship that had taken him went. But the ship had left no trace and no record and it was almost like no one had seen the ship at all. Except that is for little Tsuya, who turned out to be the only eye witness. After the police and everyone else had gotten all the descriptions from the little girl they had found a nice home for her. But all the same the boat was never found and neither was Kenji.

With a mighty sigh Misao fell down heavily on the ground. "But we're ninja of Kyoto", Misao whined throwing her head back, "He was right under our noses this whole time and we didn't even notice, dammit!"

Kaoru shook her head, "No Misao, we don't know how long he's been in Kyoto, for all we know, he might've only just gotten here".

"No" Misao said shaking her head, "When he first went missing we had alerts all over Tokyo and Kyoto, and judging by what Saitou said it was just luck that, that agent saw him on the roof." Misao shook her head again "I just can't believe we didn't find him first".

"It doesn't matter who found him first or not" Kaoru said smiling, "I'm just glad that someone found him and we can finally get him back."

Misao smiled, "Yea, I guess you're right. You guys can stay here for as long as you want!" Suddenly Misao's smile widened and she squealed in pleasure, "Oh Kaoru, we can have so much fun together while you're here!"

Kaoru's eye twitched a bit. I think, she thought as Misao grabbed her arm, that Misao has already forgotten the real reason why we're here. But Misao was already dragging her out the door and into the hallway.

---

Kenshin walked calmly and briskly down Kyoto's old streets dodging women buying groceries and men going to work, all manner of people. His X-scar was now fully healed and so there was no need to cover it. But it didn't matter anymore, not really, whether or not it was still there or if he covered it up or not. Anyone could recognize him for his red hair and eyes. They tended to be a lasting impression on people something that they remembered about him. The same way they drew attention to him is the same way they drew attention to Kenji.

Kenshin stopped and looked up at the police station. He had wanted to receive more information on this infiltration plan, and the only way to get it was to see Saitou. Though he wasn't relishing seeing the wolf again he had to find out what time it started, what was exactly going to on, and most importantly, how they were going to get Kenji out. Kenshin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as he opened the door to the large western building.

---

Kenshin eyed the wolf across from him sullenly as he smoked a cigarette. "Are you going to answer me or just sit there smoking?" Kenshin asked lifting up an eyebrow as Saitou took another long drag from his cigarette. The whole room smelt like smoke and the trash can was filled to the brim with papers and cigarette butts. In fact the cigarette butts were spilling over the trash can. Kenshin took a second look at Saitou who was acting like he hadn't heard a word he had said. Did he smoke a new cigarette every time the old one went out?

"Fine" Kenshin said getting up out of his chair, "If you wont tell me anything I'll have to go gather information myself." Kenshin walked toward the door and Saitou looked up. Though Kenshin was harmless and the threat empty (there was no one else to get information from),the implications were not. Saitou knew the Battousai would go to great lengths to find his son, even if it meant breaking a few laws and tearing the whole city apart.

He had barely gotten his hand on the doors handle when Kenshin felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck. He quickly grabbed the back of his neck to find a still slightly smoldering cigarette butt in his hand. Kenshin turned angrily to Saitou who had a very wolfish grin on his face. "In regards to your question on the exact way we're going to infiltrate the brothel, well that's not for you to know" Saitou said not even looking at Kenshin, "I only gave you this information so that you could come get your son". "However", Saitou turned toward Kenshin looking him straight in the eye, "As for your question on how to get your son out, well, I do have a definitive answer for that." "

"Well?" Kenshin asked all ears now.

Saitou took another long drag from his cigarette and looked out the window. "In fact" he said slowly, "You can be of use Battousai…"

---

"Hey Yahiko, you guys!" Kai yelled from atop the Aoi-Ya's roof, "Fathers

coming back!" Everyone at Aoi-Ya stopped what they were doing and went to the main room. Kenshin walked thru the front door and down the hallway hoping to get some much needed sleep when he stopped. He felt someone…watching him. Kenshin turned to the right only to see everyone at Aoi-Ya staring at him. "Oro?" He said as everyone continued to look at him, waiting for a in depth explanation of his visit with Saitou.

"C'mon Kenshin what did Saitou say?" Yahiko asked. "Yea what did that wolf say?" Sano added.

Kenshin took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Sano, Yahiko, Kai and Aoshi may I ask you all a favor?"

---

Kenji lay silently in his room, on his stomach, watching his goldfish swim lazily in their bowl. We're so much alike, he thought, as he tapped at the glass. We're both trapped, because we're beautiful and we provide pleasure. We're both in a glass cage, we can see others going on about their lives happy and free, while we're confined here. And, we both don't have parents.

"I used to have parents," Kenji said out loud, though not loud enough to be heard. "I had a mother, and a father, and a brother and sister. I think I even might've had another brother to and aunts and uncles. I think we ran a dojo, or something like that…" Kenji turned over onto his back and looked at his ceiling. How many times have I been in this position, Kenji thought on my back staring at the ceiling?

What would mother or father say, if they could see me like that, Kenji thought suddenly, if they could see me on my back with some man on top of me? Would mother cry? Would father beat them up? Or would they just turn their backs and disown me? Kenji quickly shook his head violently.

"It doesn't matter" Kenji said, suddenly hysterical, "It doesn't matter because their never going to see me! Their never going to see me like this! Their never going to see me!" He shot up quickly in his anxiety only to knock over his fishbowl and send the water and the fish flying.

Kenji quickly tried to save his fish picking them up and setting them as gently as he could back in their bowl, but it was no use. There was no more water left in the bowl for the fish and he watched mournfully as they struggled to breath and one by one died.

When the last fish had died Kenji crawled to a corner of his room and sat down. He put his knees to his chest and looked around at his room. It was so sparsely decorated, with only his futon, wrapped, in a corner and a single flower in a clear vase near his window. The fish bowl had formerly been near the front wall so that as soon as he got out of bed he could see it. But now the bowl lay tilted on its side, with the dead fish laying in it. Water was still splayed across the floor where the bowl had fell.

Kenji looked around the room and felt a sudden emptiness. Not even just from the room but from his self to. Then suddenly the whole world felt empty, like his room, like his body, like his life. All because of a stupid stunt he made as a child. Even though he couldn't remember his parents faces or a life before the brothel, he did remember what he had done, why he was here. He was here because of himself.

Kenji put his head on his knees and began to cry. The whimper eventually turned into sobbing, up till the point that Kenji had wrapped his arms around himself and started rocking back and forth. "Mother…father…"Kenji whimpered, in-between sobs, "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" Kenji cried like this for about an hour or so. When Chizura found him later on to play cards, he had cried himself to sleep, curled in a ball on the floor.

---

Saitou walked up to the Aoi-Ya and knocked on the door, with his gloved hands and his ever present cigarette. Kenshin opened the door and walked out, with Saitou following close behind.

"So, is he on board?" Saitou asked.

Kenshin nodded his head, looking straight ahead, "Yes, Sano, Yahiko, Kai and Aoshi are coming."

Saitou looked down frowning at his former enemy, "I didn't ask for the rooster head, the brat or your son."

"Well you got them" Kenshin said looking up at Saitou, "They are coming with me."

Saitou sighed and took a long drag on his cigarette, "Fine, just make sure that they don't mess this up."

Kenshin only closed his eyes and smiled in response thinking back to the conversation he had had with everyone earlier.

~(flashback)~

"What do you want us to do?" Yahiko asked voicing everyone's thoughts.

Kenshin sighed and folded his arms, "Well" he started, "Saitou needs to figure out the layout of the brothel to make it easier for when his team attacks. But he's also concerned because he doesn't know how much the owners of the brothel know about the polices plan."

"What does that have to do with Kenji?" Kai asked his eyes locked on his father.

"Let me finish" Kenshin said smiling, "If the brothel finds out about Saitou's plan than they are going to move away most of their people, quickly."

Aoshi nodded his head in understanding, "Which means…"

"Yes" Kenshin said nodding his head, "They'd move Kenji away somewhere, where we probably would never be able to find him."

"Like they did before…" Kaoru whispered.

The Aoi-Ya grew quiet with the prospect of loosing Kenji again after he was so close. It would be devastating to say the least.

"So" Kai spoke up in the noiseless room, "I still don't understand what exactly you want us to do."

"You have to let me finish my whole explanation" Kenshin said shaking his head, "It'll make more sense what I'm asking you all to do. Saitou has to focus on his men and not only that we have to focus on getting Kenji out. But this objective could conflict with Saitou's. Kenji could get hurt in the fighting, Saitous men could accidentally shoot at us. So it would better for us to get Kenji before the invasion."

Kenshin let this sink into everyone's heads before he spoke again. "Saitou has proposed, and I agree, that we could kill two birds with one stone. We can go with Saitou tonight and help him map out the brothel, and get Kenji while we're there."

"But wait," Kaori said looking around at everyone, "Doesn't he have agents and officers who can do this with him, why does he want us to help him?"

"Yes he has them" Kenshin said nodding his head, "But why bring all of them out? Like I said before it's a matter of killing two birds with one stone. And plus Saitou is hoping that with Kenji's capture it'll get the brothel owners minds off of the possibility of a police crack down."

"Well I'm in, but this is no favor, I came to help." Sano smiled chewing on his fishbone.

"Yea, of course I'll come!" Yahiko leaned back scratching at the back of neck grinning.

Aoshi solemnly nodded his head, ever so cool.

Suddenly everyone's eyes were on Kai who was bending over picking at his fingernails. "Well idiot!?" Kaori yelled, embarrassed at her brothers sudden lack of voice. Just before she was about to throw her shoe at him, he looked up and gave Kenshin a small smile. "Did you really even have to ask?" he questioned.

Kenshin's eyes smiled at his son and he shook his head. "Well since that's all settled, we have some preparation to do." Kenshin reached into his hakama's pocket and pulled out two dark glasses, throwing one to Kai. "You'll have to wear this our else our eye color might give us away."

Kai nodded trying on the glasses when suddenly Misao thought of something. "Say Kenshin" she said asked scratching her head a little, "What are you going to do about your hair?"

Kenshin smiled, "I was just about to get to that Misao-chan! He turned to Aoshi, "Aoshi, do you have any inkwells lying around?"

Suddenly Kaoru snapped toward Kenshin, her face stormy, "You aren't!"

Kenshin smiled again completely innocent but with a hint of fear, "I am".

~(end flashback)~

Saitou looked down at Kenshin, ending his flashback, "I'm ready to go, go get the gang of idiots so that we can leave."

Kenshin simply shook his head at Saitou before walking back to Aoi-Ya where everyone had assembled to see them off.

"Wow" Misao whispered to Kaoru, "Kenshin sure looks weird with black hair." Kaoru nodded as shocked as Misao and everyone was when he had come out of the bathroom with black hair (even his eyebrows). When she had looked at Kenshin and Kai she noticed similarities that she hadn't seen before. They looked more alike than she had given them credit for.

"Alright Father's here, its time for us to go" Kai said putting on his black glasses and giving his sister a farewell ponytail tug.

Megumi stood next to Yahiko and Sano, "I'll want you to be safe and bring Kenji back you here?!" she exclaimed pocking poor Sano in the chest. "And as for you" she said turning to Yahiko, "We have to nag you about being safe for Tsubame".

"Yes!" Kaoru said grabbing Yahiko from behind and turning him around shaking him, "This is a be safe wish from Tsubame!"

"Tsubame doesn't nag like this!" Yahiko yelled as he got shaken back and forth by Kaoru.

Kaoru stopped shacking him and her and Megumi looked back and forth at each other.

"Oh" Megumi said her hands to her mouth, "You're saying Tsubame nags are you?"

"Wait till she hears about this!" Kaoru smiled wickedly letting him go so that she could talk to Kenshin.

Kaoru gently touched Kenshin's shoulder and pulled herself up to his ear whispering only, "Bring him back safe" before stalking over to stop Kaori from ripping Kai's throat out.

Finally Saitou walked over and motioned for Kenshin that he was ready to go.

Kenshin turned toward everyone who had stopped what they were doing, "All right everyone!" he said, his the light in his eyes dancing, "Lets go get Kenji!"

---

Finally! We are upon the moment of truth! And good thing to because this was one f***ing long chapter! Did you know I was thinking about making it even longer? I really wanted to add in the meeting with Kenji but I figured the chapter was already to long and that I had better leave that to the next chapter. Also you don't know how badly I was fighting with myself over Hiko being in this story. I wanted to add him in somehow so badly but I just don't see how, it wouldn't make any sense. It would be a WTF moment, like WTF, what is Hiko doing here?! So no I couldn't add him. Oh well, next chapter, Kenshin gets to see Kenji, oh my goodness the excitement is to much!!!