A/N: Suddenly we are back here and already it's my 8th anniversary. To celebrate I have new stories started as I usually do and will continue to release the rest tomorrow.

Thank you so much to all the critics, Lurkers, reviewers, and loyal followers. Without all of you, there would never have been eight years of Thrill from this Authoress. Thank you so much for putting up with fickle dates of updating and Thank you for always reviewing and being persistent with PM's to get me to update. THAT is what makes me work my butt off to bring you these.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own PoT or the lovable characters in there.

Yoshiwara

Rated: M

Summary: [AU] Sold into Yoshiwara, Ryoma learns that to survive here he must climb in a world where money, manipulation and betrayals is the key to the top.

Chapter I: Tsukihana

Edo

Yoshiwara

12 PM

Ryoma smiled slightly as he viewed the peaceful face of his favorite woman sleeping the day away. Her lip parted slightly as she adjusted her body into a more comfortable position. Ryoma bit his lip in an attempt to hide amusement that some things about the most wanted woman never changed; including her habit of fidgeting in her sleep. Ryoma's finger trailed softly down the length of the woman's arm in slight admiration that the skin could be so soft and yet so sensitive to his very touch. He prodded harder on her shoulder.

"Unnnh" Her lips slightly opened in protest. Her eyebrows scrunched as her eyes squinted to the dim lighting in her room as she searched out the culprit for the person prodding her.

"Do you want to die today?" She whispered pulling her blanket higher to cover her shoulder.

"But it's time to get up Ayu…" Ryoma said softly. He pressed a kiss to the back of her ear and smiled when he heard her groan in frustration.

"You are a slave driver…" She muttered as she sat up slowly.

In Ryoma's opinion, Ayu was most beautiful like this. Her hair in disarray from the night, a childish pout that made her reachable and her glorious violet eyes bore at him which made others swore was witchcraft.

"Ayu is beautiful…" Ryoma uttered to her as he caught a wisp of her midnight, black hair and twirled it loosely on his finger in wonder of how soft it was to the touch.

"So he says every morning," Ayu said with a slight smile before she yawned behind slender fingers and shifted.

"And so I do," Ryoma nodded in agreement as he pulled her expensive kimono over her shoulders to hide her naked breasts.

"Get out," Ayu commanded as she pulled the blanket off and adjusted her kimono to her comfort. "I have to prepare for day shift… where are my attendants?"

"Awaiting you," Ryoma said with a fleeting smile before he stood to do as told.

She nodded regally and swept out with the full force of a queen.

Ryoma exited Ayumi's bedroom then parlor and started down the hall to his own duties. He slightly heard the murmurs of others talking about how well Ayumi gets treated because of the extra benefits she gives to Ryoma but he ignored it. Living with women's like these for the past ten or so years have taught him that jealousy was always lurking behind their beautiful faces.

Heading down the stairs, Ryoma frown slightly at some who were taking their time in duties and barked at the loitering bath boy who was supposed to have readied the baths. Here at Tsukihana, everything ran smoothly thanks to him. He was the manager of Tsukihana, the sole person who controlled over a hundred workers and was well respected for his management… but that hadn't always been true.

"Sumane Kaicho (Excuse me manager)"

Ryoma turned slightly as ushered the man forward. His hair as usual looked as if he had just rolled out of bed and no matter how he claimed to have brushed or comb it; it always looked like seaweed hanging down his head.

"What is it Kirihara?" Ryoma asked ushering him forward.

"The water is ready for the ladies." Kirihara said with a respectful bow.

Ryoma nodded and continued on his way. "Have the girls ready themselves then, time does not wait for anyone."

"Hai," Kirihara said before running off to do as told.

Ryoma headed up on another set of stairs and slid the door open to the other girl's room.

"Saki, to your bath," Ryoma said as he glanced into her parlor where she was being attended to by her three attendants.

"Hai, Ryoma- kaicho," She said with a sigh as she adjusted herself on the pallet she was sitting on. She smiled softly and her doe-like brown eyes softened as well to make a picture perfect woman. There was no doubt that they way she looked were what made her a Zashiki-mochi hirusan (High-end Courtesan with her own parlor).

"I'm already up Ryoma-kaichou…" A melodious voice said jolting his look down the hall to where he was headed next. Her sensual figure moved towards him slowly yet the smile that touched her lips was one of mystery and hidden promises.

"That's good Hikari," Ryoma greeted her with a slight brush of cheek with the back of her hand. He nodded slightly to the Shinzo (Novice Courtesan) following behind her. She nodded back with a greeting and flush as they passed.

It was his job to get all the girls up and ready before two when the day shift would start. A good day would start there and hopefully night shift would be even better.

Satisfied that the girls were filing out themselves, Ryoma headed down the back stairs and went to see if the food was ready for the girls. Tsukihana was a strict place that placed perfect timing as one of its finest attributes.

Edo

Yoshiwara

2 PM

Ryoma watched in silent approval as a line of men were already filling the quota outside their doors to see their girls. By the time the girls filed into the showcase room and Oiran (Top-Rank Courtesan) had settled, many already were offering for Oiran and others.

"Shall we open business?" Kirihara asked looking at the crowd of men.

Ryoma nodded ready to take offers for the day.

'Life hadn't always been this way for Ayu or for me in fact. It had been very hard at one time…"

BACK TO THE PAST

Elsewhere

Twelve years earlier

'I lived in a small, peaceful town once. I had a family, Ayu had a family, and we had everything we needed.'

"Come on," Ryoga called out as he skidded to a stop with a grin slightly breathless from running. He pushed his dark green locks back and looked at the blue sky in slight wonder as a large white cloud passed overhead. He was fourteen this year but he had big dreams to be more than a farmer as his father was. He wanted to go to Edo, master swordsmanship and become a real samurai.

Ryoma followed his brother as he came to a stop beside his brother not saying a word. He too had his brother's green locks and gold piercing eyes. Though he had no ambition like his brother to swing tree branches as if he was a samurai, he was quite talented in sums and organization. Ayu's father had once told him after patting his head softly that he'd make a very good merchant.

"Oi!"

Both turned to see Ayu waving at them from her gate. Her dark hair blew gently in the breeze as the boys rushed towards where she waited. They had lessons today and then they could play on the hill afterwards if Ayu's nanny went with them.

Here in their small town, Ayu's family was the most prosperous and educated since her father and mother both were from samurai families. Sadly Ayu's father was the second son and didn't inherit much but he had worked hard and become a moderately powerful merchant.

Their parents had been great friends though since the day Ryoga had saved Ayu from drowning. As repayment for saving their only daughter, Ayu's parents had allowed Ryoga and Ryoma to be educated by Ayu's tutors when she had lessons.

They lived a moderately exciting yet peaceful life.

'I remembered the days we waited for Ayu when she was forced to sit through her tea ceremonies and flower arrangement with her mother, the lessons on proper etiquette we slept through, the calligraphy ink we drew instead of wrote with and the food Ayu's mother always prepared for all of us. Each memory was still intact if I looked far enough… their faces still etched deeply in mind. Little did we know that going to the hills by ourselves that one day would alter the rest of our lives'

"Ne, let's go see if hahaue (mother) made some snacks for us." Ayu prompted after hearing Ryoga's stomach groan.

Ryoga nodded his agreement as he stood looking at the sky. "We have to send you back and head home. Our parents will be worried by now, the sun is sinking."

"We can play tomorrow," Ryoma added and stood beside his brother. He watched as Ryoga helped Ayu up and all three headed down one hill and back through the thick trees back towards the village. They didn't realize the chaos until they heard steel clashing and Ryoga had pushed them behind him.

"What's?" Ayu started

"Shh!'" Ryoga warned as he advanced cautiously and motioned them to follow along the houses.

Ayu yelped slightly when she saw a body lying face down on the ground. Blood pooled around the body and it frightened her enough to grab for Ryoma's hand.

"It must be bandits!" Ryoga said with widened eyes. He gripped his bokken( wooden sword) that Ayu's father had gifted him earlier that day tightly as he led them through their secret path they usually took towards their houses.

"Hah…. My house!" Ayu said in alarm as she realized the servants running from the house being slashed by soldiers dressed in their armor with no regrets as their clearly demented smiles showcased their love for the destruction they were causing around them.

"Ayu…" Ryoma called out as she broke away in a hurry from both of them to get in through the hidden side door.

"Ryoma, I'm going to check on hahaue and oyaji!" Ryoga called out heading through another path.

"What about-"

"Go with Ayu-chan!" Ryoga called out before disappearing behind the smoke and houses.

There was no time to think as he scrambled to do as his brother told him to do. They could argue later about how he needed to quit being so bossy despite being older. Sneaking in amidst the screams of mercy and twisted laughter wasn't so hard when you were kid Ryoma found. Still, the danger that he could be spotted through the fiery blazes and haze from the smoke made his heart pound loudly as he felt more clumsy with fear than usual.

"Hahaue!"

Ryoma spotted Ayu at the same time her mother spotted both of them. She looked hassled and had tears streaming down her eyes but she still pulled them both into her arms and into the room they used as the play room.

"What's going on?" Ayu asked looking at her mother's terrified face.

"Ayumi… you have to grow up and live." Her mother said brokenly holding her close. "You're just a little girl and I-"

"THAT BITCH RAN DOWN THIS WAY SOMEWHERE!"

Ayu's mother let out a sob as she pressed a kiss to Ayu and pulled Ryoma in front of her.

"Take care of her Ryoma," Ayu's mother said with a small smile though tears fell from her eyes. "I know you're younger than Ayu but it's a man's duty to protect a lady."

"I understand," Ryoma said feeling that his agreement would make Ayu's mother happy.

She nodded and pressed a kiss onto his cheek as well. "I'll distract them while you two hide and when you have the chance, run."

Ryoma nodded and she took that as enough time while she pushed them towards the closet and pressed them into the secret alcove niche.

"Shh…" Ayu's mother said pulling the closet door almost close before she let out a scream when a man holding a bloody katana pulled her hair hard.

"Stupid bitch is trying to hide in the closet!" The man said to his partner that came into the room as well.

"I'm going to have myself a little fun with the mistress of the household…" The man said with a grin as he pinned Ayu's mother to the ground and moved her kimono aside roughly.

"Fuck! Authorities coming down from the hills, we got to go man! Kill the bitch and be done with it!"

"Che!" The man said swing his katana down straight through Ayu's mother's heart.

"Hahaue!" Ayu screamed ripping the closet door open to go to her mother's side in tears.

"Shit, there's a kid!" The guy said turning his bloodied sword towards Ayu now.

"I'm getting out of here!" his partner said and started running.

He swung to finish Ayu off but Ryoma gathered his courage and charged out of his hiding spot without a word and kicked the man hard while pulling on the man's necklace that he wore.

"Gahh!" He screamed letting his sword fall. "You little brat!"

"Let's GO!"

"You little brats are lucky!" He said savagely before he sheathed his sword and went running from the room.

"Ryoma… Hahaue…hahaue…" Ayu blabbered incoherently through her tears as she leaned against Ryoma.

Ryoma swallowed hard as he held Ayu close looking at the woman who had treated him like her own son. It had been hard to believe that seconds before she had been alive and was well but now lying still.

Ryoma had no idea how long they sat there beside Ayu's mother, he had no idea how many tears they had cried as they clung onto each other but he did know that when he felt a hand on his shoulder he had been too weak to even turn.

Thankfully it was just Ryoga and some of the soldiers from Ayu's uncle who served him.

Ryoma didn't have the strength to ask Ryoga about their parents. His quiet demeanor and cold eyes were telling enough that it must have been similar to Ayu's mother.

Ayu added Ryoga into the hold and all three held onto each other knowing now they had no one but each other left. While Ayu summoned fresh tears, Ryoma rubbed the headache that numbed him and watched as his brother clung to Ayu with one arm and the other held tightly onto his bloodied bokken…. What had Ryoga went through?

Days Later

Ryoga hated it. Ayu's aunt had no qualms as she established herself immediately as the guardian over Ayu. Her uncle had been busy serving under the daimyo (powerful lord of the area) and had sent her aunt to care for everything. Sadly she was selling everything…including Ayu and both of them.

She had hired out the slave traders to come in the middle of the night to ambush them. The two men had knocked out Ryoma and Ayu in one go but Ryoga had heard and put up a good fight. Still, he was no match for stronger guys and when they teamed up on him, he was tied up and could only watch angrily as the greedy bitch collected her two gold ryo 's and the last gift that Ayu's father gave him laid lost to him in the room they had been sleeping in.

There was no escape as they traveled on wagon with other kids that had been sold in much the same way as they had. All three had huddled close to one another and took comfort in knowing that they were together.

"You'll fetch us a nice price"

That's what they had said to all the kids. Still, Ayu knew better. She knew the road to Edo would keep them together but the outcome would be all of them sold to different places. So she did the only thing she could. She became friendly with the merchant leader and through their journey, she was able to convince him that her brothers and she sold together could be a bigger profit then apart.

So they arrived in Edo and each time children were selected and tossed to new owners, all three feared where they'd end up. All three of them who had never ventured out of their village at that time knew nothing of where they had entered at that time. They had merely stared at the gates they rolled through in slight interest, the women's who walked by in awe and when they were unloaded in front of a middle aged woman who puffed her tobacco in her kiseru(Japanese smoking pipe). Her eyes darted between all three when the merchant explained how all three were to be sold together and frowned a bit as she continued to view all three of them.

"They are good-looking so we should be looking at four gold ryo for them all."

Ryoga frowned as he realized the profit the merchant would be making when he had only paid two gold Ryo for all three of them.

She made no move to offer or refuse them for several long moments as they stood in front of her. She merely puffed away in silence till all three of them felt frustrated and stared back at her in the same manner she gave them.

A smile cracked across her face then and she waved a young girl standing at the door forward.

"I'll take them," She said turning away as she took the money from the girl and paid the merchant. Looking to the side, she indicated for two young males to come forward.

"Yes Yuka-dono?"

"Send the girl to Taki and take both down to learn the ways of our teahouse." She ordered.

"Hai!" Both acknowledged and moved to do as told.

Ayu nodded slightly to both in acceptance that she'd be okay and both were shoved to another door to await their new life here.

Sold into the Tokinawa Teahouse in Yoshiwara, Ryoga who was oldest understood most what this would be like. They were slaves from this moment on and from the moment they changed into the attire, they were forced to learn to work as serving males who cook, clean, show guests in and heat baths and be runners that run errands outside for the teahouse for the owners and girl's.

Looking at his brother as they worked hard, Ryoga grit his teeth and planned mentally on how they all were going to get out of here. Surely outside would be better than in here.

Elsewhere

Ayu glanced around at the other girls sitting in the room as the girl who guided her up explained the situation to the richly garbed woman who sat opposite of them staring out the window. It seemed the woman was not interested nor was anyone else who sat in the room with her.

Ayu couldn't help but eye how her hair was styled nothing like how her mother had done her hair. She had rouge on her lips and cheek, pretty brown eyes, and a certain look that made her look delectable.

"Get her dressed as a kamuro." She merely said after a while. "It seems the old lady thinks I need to support more girls than the five I already have."

Ayu merely followed and did as told since she had no reason to refuse yet. She was bathed and dressed while the girl told her how grateful she should be to Taki-onee because she would be footing her food and clothes until she could fend for herself. She was told that Taki was the Oiran and happens to be the most popular Oiran in Yoshiwara as well since it's said she had serviced the Shogun as well and he said she was a delectable woman.

Ayu barely knew what that meant but she didn't question it. After all, all three of them had made a promise to escape as soon as possible together.

And try they did.

They lasted a week in the servitude before getting their chance to escape. They had ran and dodged, kicked and shoved just to make it to the gate before they were caught. Still, the gates shut them in, the people held them down and Ryoma could only watch as the open gates that could've been there freedom shut sealing not only his fate but his aniki's and Ayu-chan's.

Perhaps it was because they were valuable, or maybe it was because so much was spent on them that they were merely tied to a tree for the night and whipped across the legs with bamboo. Still, all three didn't cry out though tears escaped their eyes. They were strong and together, each knew without having to say, that they could bare anything together.

"Do you know that we may not be able to carve you up but there are worse tortures than death." The mistress said with a sneer. "No one has ever escaped from my clutches and you brats won't be the first."

"Being ungrateful towards me deserves no reward." Taki said harshly slapping Ayu with a deadly look of her own. "I put you under my wing and give you a place to sleep well and you run? Do you really want to be outside with the others? Your lives aren't your own anymore!"

Ayu didn't say a single word back to her. Her eyes never wavered as she stared the Oiran down with her violet eyes and set jaw of defiance. She had never been one to break down like a girl and she wouldn't start now with Ryoga and Ryoma defending her vehemently next to her. She wouldn't break down… she promised her mother she'd be strong, she'd bare her future if only no one would take Ryoma or Ryoga away from her.

'Suddenly life took this turn and we were thrust deeper and deeper into this life. We hated it but it was as the Oiran said… our lives weren't our own anymore and if we wanted to have a say in it then we'd have to grasp whatever we could and climb using our own strengths. We made our first promises then. We'd climb; we'd take down the evil owners and escape together.'

Four Years Later

Ryoma looked at his brother from the corner of his eye as they laid next to each other in the dark. Though they had told Ayu not to go through with becoming a Shinzo, (Courtesan-in-training) she had to. The mistress had ordered it and after being the quiet attendant behind the Oiran, now she would be seated at the same table and be serving the men the Oiran entertained as well.

Ryoga had been extremely angry but as usual, Ayu calmed him with a sincere talk. Ryoma didn't need the same treatment as that. He could understand by just looking at her expression. She had tried her best and she knew she could no longer prevent the inevitable. When they were first sold here, none of them understood what it meant to be here besides being a slave. But after four years of watching the trade, Ryoma himself no longer could see life innocently. All the dirt, the lies were exposed and he couldn't even cling onto the memory of his childhood to save himself now. Each day Ryoma was starting to feel numb in the mind, he was starting to push everything farther. The darkness was swallowing him and yet he felt always a glimmer of hope beneath all that because his brother and Ayu were still within grasp.

"Ryoma,"

"What?" Ryoma asked.

His brother looked at him seriously in the dark and Ryoma knew one thing instantly. They were going to have a serious talk.

'Aniki told me to be strong and protect Ayu. I promised of course. I wasn't physically as strong like Aniki but he always said I was exceptionally bright and quick-witted; I had no idea that the day after Aniki would abandon us and disappear from Yoshiwara. He had gone out to run an errand and never returned. I was punished and Ayu but in the end nothing could be done about it so we were worked extra hard and forgiven slightly.'

Back to the Present

"Daichi-dono is here for Oiran" Kirihara interrupted

"Sou… Let's get a move on then." Ryoma said walking towards the front which was already bustling with people and excitement. He pushed his thoughts aside and for the sake of business tried to focus.

It was time to make money.

A/N: Sudden interest in thrusting Thrill into the past. Hope you all enjoyed the opening and crave for more. Do review and give me your thoughts on the story so far.