Sanosuke had dragged Kenshin
along with him to the Shuueiya, a gambling hall. Kenshin
predicts accurately how the dice will turn up each round,
yet, he feels uncomfortable in someplace illegal. Sanosuke
reminds his rurouni friend that his sword is illegal as
well. The Shuueiya is a place where Sanosuke and friends
all like to gamble. No one wins or loses, he claims, it's
just all fun and games.
After winning quite a bit,
Sanosuke asks his friends where someone by the name of
Yoita is. Yoita, one of Sanosuke's many friends, is said
to be dead. Sanosuke's friends tell him that Yoita had
an overdose of opium earlier in the month. Once he hears
the news, Sanosuke grows a quiet rage. Suddenly, a young
woman rushes into the Shuueiya and demands help from Kenshin,
as he is first one she spots carrying a sword. Two men
who were chasing the woman follow her in, but are beaten
up by Sanosuke, who isn't in the happiest of moods. One
of the men say that messing with them is messing with
Kanryuu. The whole room stirs with commotion because Takeda
Kanryuu is a wealthy businessman who is feared by many.
The one who settles down
all the talk is a rather small, scrawny man sitting in
the corner. He is another hired man under Kanryuu after
the woman who he refers to as Megumi. Megumi tells the
runt that she won't be returning to Kanryuu's side anytime
soon. To show off his weapons, the scrawny man flicks
two rasenbyou at two of Sanosuke's friends. Once he targets
Megumi and flicks a rasenbyou at her, Kenshin slams his
hand on a tatami mat, causing it to lift up quickly in
order to shield Megumi from getting hit. Afterwards, he
is quickly disposed of by both Kenshin and Sanosuke.
With three of Kanryuu's
men down, Megumi asks Kenshin and Sanosuke if they would
like to protect her, promising a handsome reward in the
end. Sanosuke doesn't taken too kindly to Megumi's proposal.
He physically grabs her by the wrist, demanding that medical
attention to his two friends is the most important thing
at the time being. Out of Megumi's sleeves fall a few
paper packets. Kenshin picks one up and breaks it open,
then asks if Megumi was planning on rewarding them with
opium.
