Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ A Certain Clarity ❯ 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Title: A Certain Clarity (3/30)

Author: Franzi Dickson

E-mail: fdickson@ix.netcom.com

Archive: The SxSAS Archive, fanfiction.net and others (eventually). If you want it on your site, just ask.

Rating: NC-17 for wet dreams, sex, drugs, violence and other badness.

Warnings: m/m sex, lemon, assorted bad things in this part and future ones

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me. I'm just doing bad things with them. Don't sue me.

They were definitely home, Saitou thought as he approached the gate of the Kamiya dojo. From somewhere inside came the sound of yelling and a loud crash. He entered the gate.

"But, Kaoru-dono it's true that your rice balls…"

A louder crash. It seemed they were having dinner outside.

Saitou rounded the corner of the building and came face to face (well, perhaps not face to *face* he reflected) with the diminutive, fuming owner. Her scowl dissipated into a look of surprise.

"Saitou-san?" She looked nervously over her shoulder to where Kenshin was sprawled against the edge of the porch, two small girls pulling at his sleeves.

"Ken-niichan! The funny looking man is here."

Funny looking!

The dazed expression slowly left the redhead's face and he looked at Saitou inquiringly.

"Good evening" said the policeman, politely.

"Give it back, Yahiko! That one's mine!"

"Make me! Nyaa" the boy spit back at him. They stopped, finally noticing Kaoru's silence.

Ah, good, the ahou was here after all. Saitou smiled to himself; they certainly did look surprised to see him.

"What the hell are you doing here, psycho cop?"

"A man can't pay a visit to his old friends?" He turned a bland smile towards Sano. His pulse raced. He looked the same; the same spiky black hair, the same grumpy scowl on his face as he stared at Saitou. They were just dreams. He was a fool to let them affect him this way.

"I thought you were in Hokkaido, Saitou-san? Is there something we can help you with?" The violet eyes were worried.

"It's really just routine." He could tell that the Battousai didn't find his smile reassuring. It was true, they wouldn't have sent him back to the capital for anything that was merely `routine'.

"The loser probably hasn't gotten enough of fighting you, huh Kenshin." My, my; the ahou *was* looking hostile this evening.

Saitou wondered if asking the young idiot for help was really such a good idea after all. It was true that the usual police informants had failed to turn up much of anything, but perhaps his sudden intuition that the ahou would be useful was merely a product of his current mental state. He had to get ahold of himself.

"Well? What do you want, psycho cop?"

He looked into the brown eyes and wondered what to say.

"Ken-san? Ken-san, are you here?" A welcome interruption. The lady doctor rounded the corner of the building and stood staring at him. "You?" She glanced at Kenshin.

Really, these women. Not everything in the universe revolved around the Battousai. "Doctor." He bowed. "May I ask your medical opinion on something?" This was better than talking to the ahou. He at least had some real reason to think she would be of help. Perhaps the trip here would not be entirely wasted.

"What's this about?" The young man was on his feet now, looking threatening.

"Drugs."

"What?!"

Saitou raised an eyebrow. "Chemicals that people take for pleasure or to block out their miserable existances. Surely, someone like you has heard of them, ahou."

The younger man looked ready to explode. "Megumi was cleared of all that stuff. What are you trying to pull?" He stalked towards the policeman, fists clenching.

"Megumi-dono isn't in any trouble, is she?" Kenshin's expression was serious.

"I would simply like a second opinion to that of our police surgeon." He turned to the lady doctor. "Perhaps I could accompany you back to your clinic and we could discuss the matter?"

She nodded. "Thank you. I was just on my way there now."

"Anything you need to say to Megumi, you can say here, in front of us" Sano interrupted protectively.

"Even if it involves the less pleasant details of a drug overdose?" Saitou's eyebrow was threatening to ascend into his hairline. He nodded at the children. They stared at him, openmouthed.

Megumi hid a smile. "That's quite all right. It's getting late and I should really be going anyway."

"What the hell? You don't actually trust this creep, do you?"

"Why Sano-chan, you don't think the policeman has impure designs on me, do you?"

The young man spluttered and began to blush. She really did look like a fox, Saitou reflected.

As they left the compound, he could hear the children's voices, raised in delight; "Ken-niichan why did the man have such funny hair?" "Funny hair, funny hair."

Damn children.

As they walked, Saitou explained about the bodies. "There were bruises on the most recent one too, so whatever it was may have given him convulsions. The doctor said he thought it was ingested, perhaps in a drink of some kind."

"And you say he fasted first?"

"Well, we can't be sure, but he was cleaner than they usually are."

Sano looked a little green. Saitou snorted; it was the ahou's own fault for insisting on coming along.

"Would it be possible for me to examine the body?"

"Unfortunatly, no. By now he will have been returned to his family. The others were… less fresh when we found them. They are no longer available. I know it will be difficult without the body, but is there anything you can tell me."

The doctor was silent for some time. "Saitou-san… Was there any sign that he'd had sex not long before he died."

Saitou was surprised. "Actually, yes."

"With a man?"

Sano's eyes widened. "You mean like…"

Saitou ignored his shocked reaction. "Yes, with a man. Have you thought of something, doctor?"

She frowned. "We'll, there is a type of poison that might induce those symptoms. It is purported to be an aphrodisiac, though as far as I know all it brings is pain and death. It's really quite rare. I'm probably on the wrong track entirely. I only thought of it because I read an article about it recently: A man fed it to a prostitute and ended up killing her."

"How did you know it was with a man." Sano was blushing.

She eyed him. "Well, given the rather painful effects of taking it, I don't imagine he would have been able to perform with a woman, and it isn't unusual to find a boy of that age involved with a much older man." Megumi's face was the picture of innocence.

Saitou eyed her nervously. Was she trying to imply something? He thought he was controlling his face better than that. Really, those dreams were starting to make him paranoid.

"No way! Who would…" Sano was looking green again.

"Actually, there is quite a large demand for male prostitutes, especially here in the capital. I've treated quite a number of them for… job related complaints."

"They'd really whore themselves out like that?"

"Oh, it isn't only prostitution. Nowadays, it's quite common with actors and such people, though I'm told it used to be the done thing among the samurai. Really, it used to be practically indemic. Oh, here we are." She paused with her hand on the gate. "Good night to you both. I hope I could be of help, Saitou-san. If you find another case of it, I'd be happy to examine the victim." She smiled sweetly and slipped out of sight.

Saitou regarded the closed gate through narrowed eyes. The remarks had seemed so off-handed, but he could swear he'd seem amusement dancing in her eyes. What the hell was she up to? Women! He decided not to think about it anymore. It was time he returned to the police station and compared notes with Chou. Now if only he could lose the ahou.