Lesson 3: Field trips are usually tiring.

[SAKATA GINTOKI]

The silver haired man yawned. He wanted to go to the bar and get drunk already. Well, a 'proper' one at least. He was sitting at the bar downstairs with an old lady pouring his drink, the drink was good, just not the company. Kagura was eating again, copious amounts as usual and Shinpachi… well, Shinpachi was being Shinpachi. But he had to be here, he was waiting for someone.

"Oi, Kagura, when is this customer of yours coming?" Gin asked, taking another sip of his sake. Seita the 8 year old who had just started helping out at Otose's bar piped up.

"She said that she was looking for Yoshiwara right? Did she say why?"

"Nope. I told her about us and she said that she wants to hire us so I told her to meet us here! She's really nice and pretty too! Oi, Gin-chan, you better not perv on her okay?"

"Yeah, Yeah I won't. I don't trust your judgement sometimes Kagura!"

"But…," Kagura muttered, turning the attention onto the usually loud girl, "She's strong. She lifted my umbrella like it was nothing."

"Maybe she's one of you."

"No that's impossible! She was in the sun and it didn't affect her at all!"

They waited for a few more minutes. Now Gin was starting to get worried. Kagura's umbrella was not easy to lift and he even admitted that. He could lift it and he tried to make it look effortless but it was still damn heavy. That umbrella weighed a ton.

But before he could ponder further the door opened and he could hear Kagura's voice, "Oh, you're here!"

With his head still resting on his hand he took another sip and he glanced out of the corner of his eyes at the figure that had just walked in. His maroon eyes widen at the woman standing beside Kagura. Her pitch black hair was still the same but much longer, her skin was still the same, the only thing different were her clothes. He stared into her eyes as she returned the stare. He felt sick, as if his dinner was about to regurgitate and he felt his hands get sweaty.

CLASH

The sound of Gin dropping his glass made everyone stare. The woman in front of him gave him a small smile, "Yo."

"R-Ren?"

"Gin-san, it has been a while."

[REN]

"This is Yoshiwara?"

Ren looked at the scene in front of her. There was countless brothels with women being displayed like animals at a pet store, all beckoning for someone to pay for their time. The women were pretty all right, they smiled and giggled as they walked with their hands on the arms of the men who bought them for the night. Yoshiwara was an underground sex den, Ren knew it, but seeing it in person after searching for so long made her even angrier.

When she found out that Haru's grandfather, her only living relative had sold her to Yoshiwara she was angry. In a flash of rage she had killed him. She had always doubted herself, should she have let the grandfather live? Would Haru had wanted him to? But now she stood in Yoshiwara the only thing she doubted was whether or not she paused him enough pain. Her eyes darted to every woman who passed her, perhaps she was Haru, no… maybe the other one?

She felt a smack on her head and turned to face Gin who still had his hand on her head, "Stop gawking at the women. They'll either think you're a pervert or someone suspicious."

"I will find Haru and you go ahead with your business. Thank you."

Gin watched as Ren walked away. He nodded at Seita, Kagura and Shinpachi (who had taken upon themselves to dress up in kimonos). The three of them left and Gin walked towards Ren, just as he passed her he whispered.

"Meet us in 3 hours."

She looked at him with surprise but he ruffled her hair, "Don't think I'm going to let you disappear on me again Ren."

With that he left her standing there in the middle of the street. Nothing had change after all and she was glad that the man she knew was the same. He didn't need to tell her where to meet, she would know. She could spot that silver haired man from miles away. He would be waiting for her with that lazy expression on his face and a finger up his nose.

'3 hours, that should be enough time.' She thought.

She walked into a brothel to see a man standing there with his arms crossed waiting to greet her. Upon seeing a woman his eyes narrowed with curiosity, "What can I help you with?"

"I'm trying to find a girl. If I remember correctly she had brown hair and green eyes, around the age of 18. You know anyone like that?"

"Why would you want a girl? Lost sister you're trying to rescue?" He retorted, gripping the katana on his waist.

Ren smirked, "No, I just had a good time with her but I was so drunk I couldn't remember which brothel I walked into. If you give me the information I need, you'll be compensated."

The man rose his eyebrow and grinned. This was how business was done. She pulled out an envelope of money and waved around at him- business owners like this always fell for this crap.

"You got a name?"

"Haru."

"Oi girls! Do you know a Haru? Brown hair, green eyes?"

"No… sorry but we don't know anyone like that." One of the girls answered back after a few minutes of muttering.

"She's got a birthmark on her shoulder, it looks like two circles." She asked the ladies who just shook their head again but one of them smiled at Ren.

"How about you come play with us? I'm sure we'll give you a good time." She said with a wink.

"Thanks but no thanks."

Ren tossed the envelope of money to the man and continued. She had money, lots of it so she did this over and over again. It had been around 2 hours and she didn't have much time left. She had gotten a lead, someone told her about a brothel down the street, the one with the white sign and green lights. The prostitute was so sure that she was there, Ren was weary about trusting her but she didn't have a choice. She knew her description of Haru was vague but she didn't know if she had grown over the past few years- it had been 4 years since she last saw the girl. She finally found it, with a deep breath she entered a much nicer establishment this time and walked up to the woman who was at the front.

"How can I help you miss?"

"I'm looking for some company tonight." Ren said.

The woman in front of her tried to hide her surprise, it was rare to get women asking for other women's company but she would happily complied. More customers, more money.

"Prices range, go ahead and look at the girls." The woman said, lighting up a cigarette and pointed Ren to a small room with windows like bars and guards standing at the door. The guards let her go through and when she entered she smelled nothing but strong perfume and cigarette smoke. The women stared at her in confusion but they soon realised what she was there for. They didn't care, work was work, regardless of who they were with.

"Have you found your pick yet?" The old woman asked. Ren scanned the room at the smiling women but none looked like Haru. She continued looking but one woman caught her eye, she wasn't looking at Ren but simply staring out onto the streets. She had a long tobacco pipe hanging loosely from her lips as she blew out the smoke.

"Her."

"Haru!" the old woman called out.

She got up at sound of her name, brushing small flecks of ash off the kimono and walked across the room without her eyes leaving the floor. She stood in front of Ren but was only staring at her feet. She finally looked up at her customer and smiled, a smile which Ren knew was fake. While her lips smiled and her pretty face lit up, her eyes looked dead, "Hello, my name is Haru, I'm pleased to be in your company tonight."

Ren smiled at her and Haru froze. Her green eyes widen as she felt her knees start to go weak but she straighten them and kept strong. Ren reached for her hand, gently and followed the old woman to a room with the woman in tow.

A/N: Ren finally found Haru! Yay! I love writing this story so I hope anyone reading likes it too. Please review, I want to know what people think of this story and whether or not I should continue publishing it. I think it's safe to say that every writer loves reviews. Shinsengumi will not appear just yet, this is the Yoshiwara in Flames arc so they don't come in at this time but they will appear later. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it and I know I sound like a broken record but reviews! please! :)