Propping her elbow against the car door, Kaoru pressed her forehead to the window, closing her eyes as she silently listened to the steady droning of the engine. At the moment, she was in no mood to argue with Kenshin, having been arguing with him for the past half hour, the moment since she set foot outside the cabin. He refused to listen to her anyway, so what good would it do to try?
They were on their way to the meeting, a fact Kaoru could not ignore. Why she was even being forced to attend the meeting, she didn’t know. Nor did she want to. The only reason she was being kept alive and healthy was because of the key that seemed to be guarding some type of grand treasure. Other than that, she more than likely would be dead by now.
That was fine. She could accept her fate, but she would never hand her key over to Himura’s boss without a fight, even a petty one. The only way they would acquire the key would be to go through her to get it, and as of now, they had no choice but to let her live; at least until they figured out exactly how the key was used and where its lock was located.
She had a week, possibly longer, to contemplate an escape route.
Too soon, Kenshin parked the sleek, black car on the side of the road near a lively building where men and women of all ages mingled about the front entrance, taking note of the hulking figure of a bodyguard guarding the entrance. Kaoru stared fixedly at the couples arguing with the huge man to allow them passage through the flamboyant, double glass doors. He simply ignored them as he stood in their way, his bulging arms folded across his wide breadth of chest. It was apparent he refused to move from where he stood. Frightening man, Kaoru mused, but nearly not as frightening as Battousai. What was so strange about that assumption was the fact that Himura was such a small man; at least, undersized compared to men nowadays. He was, perhaps, five or six inches taller than she was, but that did not say much about his height.
“Will I have to carry you inside, Kaoru? You seem to be immobile.” Clearly annoyed, yet amused all at once. Kaoru’s indigo-blue gaze pivoted onto Kenshin, noting with surprise that he held the door open for her. Such gentlemanly assets did not fit the person she knew him to be.
“Oh, well, sorry,” she muttered ineptly as she slid out of the seat and stood with the help of Kenshin, whose strong fingers warmed her hand the moment they wrapped firmly around her palm. It was just a mite strange considering the insistence in which Kenshin held her hand as he led her towards the front entrance, where that large mass of bulging muscles guarded the twin set of doors. Normally, his behavior would have alerted her to the possibility of insanity. As of lately, however, anything seemed possible. Yet, to be treated with respect by an assassin who, on a few occasions, had threatened to take her very life…she found that to be quite anomalous.
“Himura,” the deep, cold voice greeted Kenshin when he halted before the bodyguard, ignoring the angry glares cast his way from the unwanted guests, forcing Kaoru to a stop beside him. “Well, well, who’s your lady friend, Himura? She looks fresh. Finally decided to take up with a whore? I knew the day would come where you wouldn’t be able to decline a whore’s offer.”
Kaoru’s eyes widened in shock as angry splotches of scarlet stained her cheeks with its furious hue. She had never before met this man in her entire life, and his first assumption of her and Himura’s relationship, though they didn’t even have one, was that she was some common whore Himura had picked up somewhere. Disgraceful as it was, she couldn’t exactly fault this man for asking. It seemed to her that the syndicate in which Himura worked for was used to the city whores. Perhaps, they weren’t ready to settle down with one woman. Maybe even some men believed they weren’t good enough for a decent woman.
“No,” Himura growled, his infuriated, golden orbs fixated on Marc’s narrowed, sneering eyes. “I would rather not associate myself with loose women. This one is my assignment.”
Assignment; it was spoken so coldly. Kaoru’s gaze flicked towards Kenshin, trying her hardest to mask the hurt she was suddenly experiencing from the hired murderer’s callous remark. His assignment, indeed. She was being used by Himura and his boss, and most definitely will be used for illegal crimes in the future. She already knew that her key unlocked some fantastic secret that would most likely fall under the category of illegal. Still, she refused to give them her key.
“Ah, yes. Kanryuu’s expecting you.” Marc’s lips curved into a malicious smile as his dark, smirking eyes focused on the woman standing beside Himura, her hand still within his firm grasp. She was a pretty little flower, and obviously Himura saw it too, even though he referred to her as an assignment. He knew Himura well. The man was protective of any object he held possession of for however long Kogoro ordered him to. This one was no exception.
Kenshin had noticed where Marc’s attention had strayed, and quite frankly, he didn’t like it one damn bit. Narrowed, guarded eyes the color of gold trained on Marc, Himura snapped, “I don’t work for Takeda.”
And that was the God’s honest truth.
His boss—Kogoro Katsura.
Takeda Kanryuu was merely an acquaintance of his instead of the ruler the greedy bastard wanted to be.
“I will be late to the meeting, Marc.” The warning was clear; Get the hell out of my way or face the consequences. Kaoru frowned, her eyes uneasily averting to the ground as she listened to the exchange between monster and slayer. This Marc was an employee of Himura’s boss, it seemed, yet Himura treated him with the same indifference he treated her. Perchance, Himura treated everyone as such, even his very own boss. It wouldn’t surprise her if he did.
Kenshin didn’t give Marc a chance to move out of his way before he forcefully pushed through the double doors, dragging Kaoru along behind him. His lips twitched at their corners when Marc muttered a string of profanities under his breath, clearly unhappy with Kenshin’s rude departure.
“You enjoyed that,” Kaoru rolled her eyes, shaking her head as Kenshin’s narrowed, intense orbs fastened on her. “You enjoy taunting people, don’t you? Do you always treat the people who work in your syndicate coldly?”
He simply chose to shrug off her questions as though they weren’t important enough to answer. In his opinion, her questions might not be. Exasperated, Kaoru’s indigo-blue gaze traveled along the lengthy, dimly lit hallway Himura was guiding her through. On either side, ancient portraits of past swordsmen hung on the walls. That didn’t surprise her at all. What else was she to expect of a club that hosted assassin meetings?
One portrait in particular caught her eye just as she and Himura passed it, causing her to falter in step, her eyes wide with awe. The man in the portrait wore his gorgeous, crimson tresses pulled back at his nape tightly, and his right hand was poised above the hilt of the deadly weapon he wore at his waist, tucked within the many, navy-blue folds of his traditional, Japanese chinos. He reminded her of—
“Move, Kaoru.” The issued demand was a calm one; he gently pulled her forward until she was far away from the odd, yet, intriguing painting hanging on the right side of the hall. Then, Kenshin’s pace quickened, forcing Kaoru to keep pace with him, as the various, faint voices and the soft music drifting along the dark passage increased in volume. The hallway led the costumers and guests right into the center of the large, one-room club, the neon lights nearly blinding Kaoru with their clarity. Before she could even take two steps towards the bar, where she had intended to ask for a drink of water, she was hauled through the rough crowd of playful guests and set in front of a pair of large, forbidding doors.
With uncertainty Kaoru turned to look at Kenshin. His intense, golden eyes, noting rather quickly that they were trained on the doors, startled her into looking away. If she didn’t know any better, she would think that he wanted nothing to do with this club, the people who owned it, or even the meeting he was ordered to attend.
He still had a chance to leave.
If he truly didn’t want to be here, with his boss and co-workers, he could always return to the cabin. Lord knows Kaoru would rather be anywhere but here. The club smelled of spicy vinegar, alcohol, and sweat; and her stomach churned with the atrocious sensation of nausea, the awful odor berating her senses. If Kenshin decided to leave right at that moment, she wouldn’t stop him.
Too late.
Kenshin knocked lightly on the large door on the right and too soon a man heeded his call. Smiling in satisfaction as he trained his dark, friendly eyes on the burgundy of Kenshin’s hair before they settled on the narrow of gold scrutinizing him through a veil of suspicion, the older man inclined his head in a gesture of appreciation. “It’s nice of you to join us, even if you are late. Oh, you brought the girl. Good. Come in, Himura, and make yourself at home.”
There was something about this man that made her uneasy. He seemed friendly enough, but although his eyes shown with affability, there was something cold slandering his benevolence.
Kenshin saw it too; the assassin’s narrowed, amber gaze had yet to turn away from the older man and those smiling, brown eyes of his. It seemed that hours had passed before Kenshin stepped forward, clearly ready to enter the office. When Kaoru moved to follow him, the older man pinned her with his observant stare; yet, something was very different about his eyes. They held no warmth.
“You girl, will wait your turn. We must talk to Himura first. Then, we will call for you.”
“But what am I supposed to do—“
The man retreated into the office as soon as she uttered the last of her question and slammed the door in her face. Shocked, Kaoru could only stare. Never had she met someone with so little manners. She had been right to think that there was something fishy about him. If Kenshin didn’t trust him, then why should she? Once the thought settled within her mind, Kaoru’s indigo eyes widened.
Since when did she trust Kenshin’s judgment?
“Good to see you again, Himura,” Katsura smiled in greeting when Kenshin entered the office, the burgundy crown of his head lowered in a grudging show of respect. He had expected the man to show an hour earlier, but Himura had obviously been held up by some unknown reason.
The girl, perhaps?
Maybe.
“The woman?”
“I brought her, Sir.”
“The key?”
“Safe.”
Katsura nearly breathed a sigh of relief before he caught himself, a slight frown upon his lips. He had been so worried Himura had refused to bring her to the club with him. He had been wrong. Himura always clung to his promises no matter how horrid or awful they might be.
“Good, good. Have you succeeded in retaining the key?”
Himura pursed his lips thoughtfully as his golden hues locked on the curiosity brimming within the friendly brown of Katsura’s gaze. “I have not succeeded in taking possession of the key, if that is what you mean. The woman still wears it.” Contemplating the reason as to why he had yet to try to claim possession of the key, Himura gently fingered the hilt of the long, Japanese sword he could barely contain within the many, heavy folds of his large coat.
“How eccentric, Battousai. Don’t you find that odd, Katsura?”
Narrowed, golden eyes pivoted onto the man who dared interrupt their important meeting as Katsura offered the intruder a welcoming smile. Takeda Kanryuu stood near Katsura’s desk, a simple lifting of his lips the only indication that he had spoken at all.
Himura was not fond of that man. Nor would he ever be.
“I see you followed through with your orders, Battousai. Congratulations. Now, I have a favor to ask of you; an order, if you will.”
“I don’t work for you.” The reply was lowly uttered and furious. Himura didn’t even try to hide the contempt in which he could not help but feel towards Takeda every time he laid eyes on the man.
It didn’t seem to bother Takeda one bit. “Oh, really?” Kanryuu’s lips slowly lifted into a smile of derision. “We’ll see what Katsura has to say about that. Katsura?”
Himura’s pupils dilated until the gold of his furious gaze was barely seen among the vast emptiness while cold fury coursed through his veins upon listening to Takeda speak as though he and his boss were on the same social level. Swiftly, his fuming gaze swiveled onto the silent man who sat behind the large, wooden desk, watching Takeda with an expression no one could possibly name. When Katsura remained quiet despite the silent warning Takeda issued, Himura clenched his fingers tightly into fists.
Takeda’s smile faltered when he too took note of the quietness in which Katsura observed him.
“Well, Katsura, do you plan to tell your fool assassin about our new working agreement?”
Unobtrusive Silence.
Then- “It’s true, Himura. Kanryuu and I have formed a coalition. Every order he gives you, you must think of it as another order I would give. If, perchance, the issued order is not one I believe should be made, we will talk it over until we come to an agreement. For now, listen to him.”
Golden eyes narrowed dangerously to intense slits as an enraged scowl graced Himura’s otherwise calm, impassive features. Katsura wished for him to listen to Takeda as though the bastard was his boss. Utterly impossible; he would never see Takeda as his superior. Nor will he treat him as such. As his lips parted upon preparing to utter a contradiction, the door to the office flung open harshly with the pressure of a person’s body, and a young, nineteen year old man threw himself into Katsura’s desk, his eyes wide with excited anxiety.
“Isurugi’s gotten himself drunk real bad!”
Katsura arched a single, dark brow in question.
“He’s harassing that blue-eyed woman, the one who has the key.”
Almost instantly, every pair of eyes within the office turned to gaze upon the deathly silent assassin.
“He’s got the whole club riled. He’s—“
Nothing more was said. Himura exited the office as swiftly as he had entered it. Katsura frowned thoughtfully as he nodded at the ‘barer of bad news,’ giving him permission to return to his station at one of the four bars in the club. Without another word, the young man left. Katsura wasted no time in standing, his arms folded across his broad chest.
“Isurugi’s becoming quite the nuisance.”
“Indeed?” Kanryuu murmured as a slight smile of ease curved his lips. Isurugi would definitely be getting a raise in his pay. He was responsible for sending their plan into action. He undeniably deserved a raise. “Nuisance or not, the man has quite a few redeeming qualities.”
Redeeming qualities, indeed.
Kaoru stared nervously at the tall glass of sake Isurugi practically shoved under her nose. She knew him only because of Kenshin; though, she had yet to officially meet him. Of course, that hadn’t stopped the unusually large man from introducing himself in his drunken stupor. It was quite obvious the man was drunk. He could barely stand on his own two feet.
“No thank you. I don’t drink—“
“But you should. Take a sip. Trust me. You’ll enjoy it.” A lazy smile lifted the corners of Isurugi’s lips in satisfaction as he thrust the glass into Kaoru’s hand, pleased when her fingers wrapped around the glass in order to prevent it from falling to the floor.
“I really don’t want to—“
“Why?” His smile faltered as his dark eyes narrowed on Kaoru’s face. “You denying it because I’m offering?” He didn’t allow her to visibly assure him that she meant no such thing by refusing to drink the sake. Wrapping strong, unyielding fingers around the woman’s wrist, he lifted the glass to her lips, and when she would have protested, he poured the bitter liquid into the warm cavern of her mouth, allowing the alcohol to slide along her tongue until she had a chance to swallow it.
Kaoru choked on the liquid as it sidled down her throat, warming her entire body as well as causing her eyes to water, while she grasped Isurugi’s hand tightly, trying her hardest to remove it from her wrist. It wouldn’t budge. Before she had another chance to try forcing his hand away, she was forced to swallow more of that pungent-tasting sake.
“Please!” She sputtered around the liquid streaming through the parted creases of her lips. “No more.” It wasn’t like her to beg for anything, but if this man didn’t stop forcing her to drink such a foul liquor, she would resort to beseeching.
It seemed Isurugi would rather not listen to her.
His cold, satisfied smile fading into a scowl of annoyance, Isurugi wrapped a powerful arm around Kaoru’s waist and hauled her against his heaving, broad chest, his grip tightening upon her waist when he glimpsed the surprise that briefly flickered within the wide indigo of her eyes before they narrowed, assessing Isurugi’s behavior with a defiant tilt of her stubborn chin.
“Let go of me,” Kaoru hissed through clenched teeth, fighting the urge to present Isurugi with the bony knuckles of her right hand. The sake forgotten, she glared into the smirking depths of Isurugi’s gaze, refusing to look away when her conscious was telling her to do exactly that. She flinched when Isurugi pressed his lips to her ear, his warm breath reeking of alcohol. Kaoru despised the mean drunks, and she knew that Isurugi was a mean drunk. Why else would he be hanging all over her, forcing her to stay by his side against her will? Inhaling sharply, Kaoru snapped, “Did you not hear me? I said let go of me!”
When Isurugi still ignored her, Kaoru quickly came to the conclusion of how she was going to coerce Isurugi into releasing her. Silently, she stomped on the man’s right boot, her heel connecting with the largest toe.
Isurugi howled with rage as he abruptly released Kaoru, immediately taking a seat on the nearest barstool in order to recover his fleeing disposition. “Damn it,” he muttered furiously under his breath as he pounded a tightly clenched fist upon the counter, causing the closest glass of sake to tip over before it shattered against the hard, wooden table. “You bitch,” Isurugi snarled at Kaoru as he stood, preparing to launch himself at the paling woman.
Kaoru didn’t know what had come over her. She wasn’t one to fight, even if it was only stomping on another’s foot. But Isurugi had made her so mad. Peering over her shoulder towards the double doors, where Kenshin was having his meeting with his boss, she rolled her lower lip between her teeth nervously. She was beginning to dread her latest decision.
Isurugi looked about ready to kill her…
…And no one else in the club was paying him the slightest bit of attention, not even the bartender who served Isurugi his sake. The entire club was bathed in neon lights while couples swayed to the music in the center of the room. The guests who were not dancing stayed close to the four different bars, drinking and conversing with one another.
Did no one care about what happened to the other guests? Were they only looking after themselves? It seemed that way.
Isurugi swiftly grabbed Kaoru’s forearm in a firm, unyielding grasp and yanked her forcibly against his chest as his free arm wrapped tightly around her slender waist, making it impossible for her to escape. Kaoru could hardly breathe while Isurugi held her, his arms so tight around her body that if he had wanted to, he could completely cut off her air supply. And she believed he wanted to…
“Let—let me go!” Kaoru gasped when Isurugi’s arms tightened around her waist yet again, leaving her no room to breathe. He was surely going to kill her. In fact, that was his every intention. “Please,” she rasped painfully when she felt the air from her body leave her, suffocating within the strong arms of Isurugi.
Kaoru closed her eyes for the briefest of moments, as though she meant to collect her wits, before the pained indigo of her eyes snapped open, large, salty drops of water cascading silently down her cheeks. She was in no condition to stop the dreadful tears from falling.
She could hardly breathe.
Death was but a door a way, and she knew that her time would soon be here to knock on that door.
“Let her go.”
Almost instantly, everyone quieted.
The deathly soft command issued from behind Kaoru’s slightly squirming body had silenced the entire club. Even Kaoru herself stilled, her eyes wide with surprise. She nearly forgot the reason why she was struggling against Isurugi’s strength when she glimpsed the calm, brilliant amber of Himura’s gaze trained on the narrowed, glazed brown of Isurugi’s eyes.
“Must I repeat myself?” A burgundy brow mockingly questioned Isurugi’s intelligence as an unpleasantly incensed frown curled his lips, folding his muscular arms covered in smooth, black leather across his chest in a gesture of sardonic patience. “I repeat, let her go.”
Isurugi scowled, his eyes darkening with drunken rage as he shifted Kaoru against his chest, refusing to heed the warning within the unrelenting gold of the assassin’s eyes. “Bastard,” he murmured as his gaze wandered towards that of the woman who had abruptly ceased struggling the moment Kenshin presented himself to the club.
“Weren’t you supposed to be in a meeting?”
Though, he might not exactly be himself, he remembered the reason why he and Himura both had decided to visit the club this night, quite well actually. “I bet Kanryuu sent you away. I wouldn’t blame him. You can’t do nothing. You couldn’t even come save your precious little girl when she needed help.”
His scowl deepening, Isurugi tightened his hold on Kaoru, inwardly smiling when she winced from the pain of having his grip so tight around her waist. “What do you want, Himura? Can’t you see that I’m busy?”
Kenshin calmly observed Isurugi through the burgundy veil shielding his flashing, golden eyes from view, overcome with the need to bury the blade of his weapon within the large width of Isurugi’s chest and even wishing for the sight of blood, specifically Isurugi’s blood. “Do not make me repeat myself, Isurugi. I will not tolerate you harassing a woman who is to come to no harm while in my care unless I’m the one to harm her.”
Kaoru paled, her heart’s pace quickening with dread as she searched the assassin’s face, who stood calmly before her and Isurugi. She was disappointed when his façade remained impassive and his eyes remained hidden from her view. Sometimes, Himura’s calm nature frightened her, even more than the crazed assassin would. How could a person speak of death so coolly? He must not have a conscious at all.
Kaoru was shocked when Isurugi’s arms fell away from her waist, unable to move when she was given the chance. Isurugi was glaring at Himura with so much fury that she was surprised when Himura didn’t act sooner in order to wipe that glare from off his face. As though coming out of a daze, Kaoru glanced at the huge man who had tried to hurt her simply because she had been defiant before she quickly slipped to Kenshin’s side. She felt safer knowing he was near, which would have confused anyone who knew of such a feeling. Himura wasn’t known to be a safe bodyguard for anyone, let alone an assignment his boss had given him. That was all she was to him; an assignment.
Kenshin, as soon as Kaoru came to stand beside him, moved to shield her from Isurugi’s view when the unnaturally massive man’s gaze followed the woman’s quick movements with a diligence that made Kaoru uneasy. Kenshin was able to feel the shudder that rippled through her body, and he despised the fear she felt every time she laid eyes on Isurugi, and loathed Isurugi for setting that fear into her heart. Turning to look at a rather pale Kaoru, Kenshin murmured, “My boss is ready to see you now.”
Kaoru simply nodded as she started for the double doors, her strides quick. Kenshin observed the retreating back of Kaoru as she passed Isurugi on her way towards Katsura’s office. When Isurugi’s hand lifted, as though he meant to grab Kaoru’s arm, Kenshin swiftly wrapped calloused, steel-like fingers around the man’s wrist. Kaoru didn’t even seem to notice as she neared the office, color gradually returning to her cheeks.
“I warn you now, Isurugi, stay away from her.”
Kaoru knocked gently on the large, wooden door, the one on the right. She wasn’t completely prepared to meet the man of whom Kenshin received orders from. In fact, she was rather dreading this meeting. She was still just a mite upset from the last event that had nearly taken place because of her. Isurugi’s size and cruel nature startled her, but Kenshin’s calm, cold disposition terrified her.
When she began to debate on whether or not she should turn around and run as fast as she possibly could away from the office, the door opened, giving her no time at all to depart, even if she had the nerve to.
“Welcome, my dear. I was wondering when you would join us.”
Kaoru’s startled, indigo gaze fastened on the slightly tall man standing in the doorway, a pair of glasses settling on the bridge of his nose as he tilted his head to the side, scrutinizing her with uneasy interest. Could this possibly be Kenshin’s boss? His voice sounded familiar.
“You are…” Her voice trailed off uncertainly when the man’s dark eyes swept the length of her with an intensity that set her nerves on edge.
“Takeda Kanryuu; come in and make yourself at home. You have some explaining to do,” Kanryuu said as he casually wrapped an arm around Kaoru’s trembling shoulders, a nonchalant smile upon his lips, and led her into the office.
“I—I do?” She stuttered as Kanryuu gently settled her onto the comfortable chair closest to the door, wishing to bolt before he or the other man could question her. Her blue gaze focusing on the smiling man sitting behind the only large, wooden desk within the office, his cordiality evident in the way his dark eyes sparkled with a friendliness Kanryuu lacked, Kaoru pursed her lips, wondering who the other man might be.
“Welcome, Miss Kamiya. Would you care for a mint? I have various flavors, if you would like.”
Kaoru politely shook her head, not trusting her voice at the moment. All she wanted from these men were the questions they obviously planned to ask her, nothing more.
“No?” The man shrugged carelessly as he set the bowl of mints he had held out for Kaoru back upon his desk. “Well, Miss Kaoru, you’re probably wondering who I am and what I want from you. It’s quite simple really. Kogoro Katsura, at your service; I am the man who hired Himura, and firstly, I want you to explain the history behind the key you wear around your neck.”