Disclaimer: I don't own RuroKen. Pity that.

I Forgot! I forgot to add in this to the end of the last chapter! I was typing so fast that I completely forgot about the plot! I know about the rescue scene, I know but this has to come first, its VERY important to the plot. I'm working on the rescue scene as we speak! Just view this as an extension of the already lengthy chapter 4!

Chp. 4: Interlude

Around 12pm at the mansion of Isei Harada, a wealthy politician.

Isei Harada stood on his balcony sipping some wine, eyeing the city below him bustling with life and vitality. He smiled feeling powerful and wise viewing the people of the country he served. He ruled over them. Harada's large chest puffed out, his sudden wealth of ego overpowering and he laughed dropping his wine glass, not caring as it shattered on the floor. "I am a powerful, powerful man" he thought, his face going red with the power that he thought he had, "I am rich and I am powerful and there is nothing in this world that I cannot have." Suddenly his thoughts turned sour. "I have everything…except that image…except him" Harada said out loud his face clouding over.

Suddenly there was a knocking on the door, and Harada's face changed as suddenly as the weather in May. "Come in, come in!" he scuffled over to the door and opened only to see a small bald head. "Oh" Harada said his face returning gloomy, "It's only you". The old bald man wore a western style shirt, with crisp trousers and was carrying a broom. When he spoke his voice sounded almost older than he looked, worn from looking after an almost 50 something man who acted like he was 3.

"I heard a crash" his skeleton voice growled, "did sir break another glass?" Harada glowered at the old man but stepped aside to let him in. "Really Nobori-san you don't have to stay here, I told you that there is a perfectly good house in the country, I'd pay for your food and give you a daily allowance…"

Harada was cut off when the old man suddenly spit over the balcony. "Yoshio Nobori is not one of your politician friends who you can wheel and deal around" the old mans grave like voice had suddenly put on an edge and Harada looked on in complete silence. "When sir's parents died , in the will they told Nobori to look after Isei, their only son, and yes I did" Nobori was not looking at Harada instead focusing all his attention on cleaning up the broken glass on the floor. "Nobori took good care of sir, yes I did, but there is a reason Nobori does not have children." The old man let out a small chuckle showing numerous missing teeth but then suddenly was all seriousness again.

"Nobori made a mistake, yes I did, Nobori was too soft on Isei-chan. Nobori let Isei-chan hang around with bad men, who drink and rape and hurt. So sir grew up selfish, and ignorant and twisted, oh, yes he did." Harada scrunched up his face, tired of the old mans monologue. "But Nobori knows…" the old man stopped sweeping and leaning on his broom like a cane, his eyes bored into Harada's. "Nobori knows that when sir breaks an expensive wine glass he is ill content and wants more than what he already has. What does sir want now?"

Harada sat on the bed, rubbing the soft silken sheets with his meaty hand. "There's a boy that I met last night Nobori-san he is…Nobori-san don't spit on the floor, that's so vulgar!" Harada looked at Nobori in distaste as he spat vehemently on the floor.

"Sir!" Nobori's old clouded eyes shown with a new light in them and Harada was paralyzed under their glare. "Sir has enough little boys, yes he does! There are already to many in the basement. Sir buys little boys from mainland or Japan and brings them here, yes he does! Sir plays with new one all night and day and then locks him in the basement when he grows tired of him. Sir has enough little boys!"

"Nobori-san please calm down" Harada said waving his arms and giving a weak smile and attempt at placating the old man, "This boy is different, he's everything I've dreamed of!"

"Bah!" Nobori waved his free arm as if swiping a meddlesome fly away, "Sir gets the boys but Nobori has to chain them, Nobori has to feed them, Nobori has to listen to their tears and moans. And while sir sleeps at night, Nobori has to bury the boys in the backyard when they grow ill and die, yes, yes he does!"

Harada sighed, not at all moved by what Nobori was saying. "I'm going to the brothel later tonight to try and get and estimate of how much the boy would cost" Harada got up started moving toward the door.

"Please" Nobori was shuffling his feet toward the door looking like a worn down old man who had been thru enough, "Please sir, Nobori is to old. Do not make Nobori sin more before he must meet Kami-sama and answer for his crimes."

Harada turned his back against Nobori clicking open the door, "Don't worry about dinner tonight, I expect to stay with the boy for the rest of this evening."

"Sir there is not enough room!" Nobori said a sudden desperate attempt at stopping Harada.

Harada looked back at Nobori, his eyes steely and ice cold. "Well then make some room…put poison in that Otani child's food or something…he eats to much anyway and he no longer…pleases me." And with that, Harada walked out the door, Nobori heard his steps going down the stairway.

Nobori shook his head and resigned himself to his task of sweeping up the glass shards on the floor, his mind reeling. Forgive me Satoru-sama, Akiko-sama, Nobori thought, his eyes glazing over. Even though my family has served the Harada family for generations, we three grew up together and servant though I was, you treated me like a brother. And I have failed you both in the one task you trusted the most in me, to raise your only child well. And now, I must betray your trust again. Forgive me, I must turn Harada in to the police.

Later on, at the brothel, at around 9pm

"Solitaire!"

"Oh, well in that case Go Fish!"

"Well, you're the Old Maid!"

"Ha! Royal Flush!"

"Yea, well Counter Revolution!"

"Uno!"

"What the hell are you two playing?" Kido asked, chewing sourly on a rice ball. He had walked into the meeting room, expecting it to be a nice quiet place where he could get some shut eye. But then here are Kenji and Chizura playing some weird ass game with cards, and with those two here, there was no possibility of sleep.

Chizura turned around her bright eyes sparkling, "We couldn't agree on what card game to play, so we combined all the card games that we know together to create one card game. We call it the Super Special Complete Card Game…Game!"

"Hey!" Kenji barked, his eyes narrowing, "Stop saying we, I didn't agree on that stupid name!"

Chizura turned around and stuck her tongue out at Kenji, "That's because I didn't ask you, you would've just thought up a stupid name anyway!"

"It's already a stupid name!" But Chizura wasn't listening anymore and turned back to Kido.

"Kido, do you want to join? Between anti-social over there (Kenji gave her a dirty look) and me we don't know many card games

"Nah, I'll just watch you two play" Kido sat himself down at the wall next to Kenji and watched the two of them play.

"Okay Kenji, my two cards are going to attack your cards!"

"What?!"

Those two are such idiots, Kido thought to himself as Chizura threw a card at Kenji. In a different place…maybe I different time, I might've been able to… Then suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a loud knocking at the front door of the brothel.

Kenji and Chizura both looked to him, their game altogether forgotten. "Alright, alright, I'll go get it!" Kido said getting up heavily and marching over to the front of the brothel.

I wonder who this is…Kido thought as he opened the door.

…this story is turning out less dark then I thought…maybe I should change my summary again? This chapter was necessary, even though I said last chapter that the next chapter was going to be the rescue. Sorry, but Harada is the main "villain". Kido isn't really a villain, he's sort of a nice guy but he has to make a living somehow. About the card game to, I know there was no Uno and probably no Solitaire but I thought it was funny so I added it. I just needed something to ease into the next chapter, so I figured, why not do humor? So, I did!

I know its shallow but I love getting reviews. Its not the reason I write, I love writing just to write, but the reviews make the deal all the more sweeter. So, I think I should thank my reviewers for taking the time out to review my story. But also thank you to the people who read but don't review. I appreciate you the same as the reviewers, but I don't know your names so I can't thank you individually. But thanks none the less.

Blueheaven25, Twilight Solstice, (Meridia-Marjani however don't get a thank you, they get me putting my hot cigarette on their arms), NovembersAsh, Zakksu (your reviews make me laugh), silver fox 5224, chocolate pug, Ali-chan et Vani-chan(your reviews make me smile), Mini, epic fail girl, JumpingPantsSauce, Holding On To Heart (you reviewed every single chapter, you really made my day so I'll try to make yours and answer the only question you had that I can answer without revealing anything about the rest of the plot!)

Does Kenji always wear a kimono?-No, in this story he suffers from severe male ego issues seeing as he's always mistaken for a women. Whenever he can, he wears a gi and hakama.

Alright incase you haven't noticed yet, I love being polite and I love talking…so I'll shut myself up and go write the next chapter, oh yes I will!