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A cultivated whisper, belying his earlier disinterest

Following this adht sleeve and dipped his brush in ink oncethe bristles above the washi paper at a perfect angle "Perhaps it would be nice to share some tea with us later, Kenshin-sama," he said, his voice as ned lack of interest

But spoken in a tenorservants and chance observers alike

In his zeal to learn the truth, Kenshin had alotten

Inako was--first and foremost--a city of secrets Ones to be stolen and sold off to the highest bidder at first chance

Nodding in understanding, Raiden stood swiftly "Will you be our guest this evening, Kenshin-sah to question the conversation’s rapid change in course Heeon of Kai, and he knew the sharp tang of fresh blood Of a path to be followed Quietly Carefully

"I would be honored, o?"

Raiden grinned, and the sight greatly re bear His voice dropped until it became more breath than sound

"The finest teahouse in Hanami"

HANAMI

Mariko had been to Inako once, when she was younger

As a girl

As a boy, the sights of the imperial city were entirely different And it was not merely because a blindfold had been torn fro seemed crisper Colors seehts flashed across her vision-- over an open fla above bolts of lustrous silk, displays of painted fans and freshly sliced persi in barrels of cold water She s in the air with the abandon of a girl in a fevered drea in quite so

At least in Inako there’s little chance ofpelted by sharp rocks

Ranlee "Is this your first visit to the iht quickly "Yes" Her answer more easily explained how enthralled she was It also helped circumvent any further inquiries about her past The Black Clan had been blessedly uninterested in who she was before she came to the forest, and Mariko wished to keep it that way for as long as she could

"Try not to appear so green once we arrive at the teahouse," Ōkaht

Mariko wrapped her fingers tightly around her reins, struggling to bite her tongue To ignore the rope trailing fro her tethered to the Wolf’s side

At her left, Ran "Or when you first set eyes on Yuirl in the eeiko before in his life," Ōkairl" Even as he provoked her, Ōkami eiko?

So they were not traveling to a eiko would never set foot in such a den of iniquity

Regardless Mariko kept silent Stewing in unspoken reprisals

Ranmaru’s brows arched "Tell us, Lord Lackbeard Are you indeed untried?"

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat Of all the questions for Ranmaru to ask, of course he would choose that one Men left to their own devices were so sadly predictable "I am not untried I have been withmany woer a h the one and only occasion had not involved another girl

It had involved rebellion

Mariko recalled the face of the young stable boy fated to acco not so long ago She remembered the boy’s kind smile His enthusiasm His obliviousness

It was his smile that had drawn Mariko to him Drawn him into a sun-drenched hayloft to while away a moment in her embrace