Book 8

Hojo Ujimasa actually tells Kagetora quite a bit about his past. I really feel bad for Takaya, who's probably feeling a bit traumatized at this point, first from hearing all those lewd proposals from Naoe and then Ujimasa telling him how Saburo had this look in his eyes that drove men around him wild (well, we all already know what Kagetora's Tiger's Eyes does to Naoe ^^).

What's interesting is that I couldn't really detect any malice in Ujimasa's tone. It was almost like he was being very matter-of-fact and telling Kagetora of the rumors that he'd heard - that some men at Echigo were sentenced to death for lusting after Saburo because Kenshin himself had his eye on Kagetora. (I'm pretty sure they're just rumors)

I don't know if this was meant to be funny but I found Ujimasa's questions horrifically amusing (could be because I'm reading this at 2 o'clock in the morning). He actually asked Kagetora, very blatantly, just how many men he slept with in Echigo? And whether the men in Echigo were 'stronger' than Hojo men... O.o

Takaya of course, was beyond shocked...

And that Asaoka Maiko woman was actually in love with Naoe ?!