Kaoru stared numbly at the man who sat so calmly at the table, wondering why he was acting so peaceful even though she knew his body was taut with the irritation coursing through his veins. Nervously, she inhaled. If she could only be granted enough courage to face Battousai, Kaoru wouldn’t feel so threatened by his mere presence, as overwhelming as it appeared to be.
Himura’s unwavering, intense orbs bored into Kaoru’s frightened soul as he watched her steadily approach him. Smart woman; she knew the danger she faced by merely interrupting his troubled peace while he had been lost in his thoughts. The fire of defiance that had raged within her body the entire time she had been in his company had drained her of her energy. Now, exhaustion embraced her peaceful spirit, taking control of its fiery nature. Her usually sparking, bright blue eyes drooped from her lack of a good nights’ rest. He hadn’t expected her to sleep well knowing she was in grave danger, especially after she witnessed the decapitation of one man.
“Battousai,” Kaoru murmured softly as she sank onto the comfortable, wooden chair facing the intimidating presence of Hitokiri Battousai, a man known not for his mercy but for his cruelty. Her thoughts were in a turmoil. Kaoru wanted to discuss the situation with Himura, wanted to reason with the calculated man, and perhaps come to a decision concerning her worth in this syndicate Himura worked for.
“Why do you want my key?”
Himura narrowed his eyes. “Pardon?”
“What does my key have to do with you and your boss?” She rephrased the question, hoping that it wouldn’t anger Himura. She really didn’t want to infuriate the man more than was necessary.
Himura pursed his lips, remaining silent as he observed the woman through his burgundy bangs, his gaze guarded and attentive.
“Well, what I mean to ask you is the reason why you have to keep me locked away here. Where are we, anyway? And don’t tell me that this is your house. I already know that.” Chewing on her quivering, lower lip anxiously, Kaoru entwined her fingers, her hands settling upon her slightly trembling knees. Never had Kaoru been so afraid in her entire life.
She wasn’t used to feeling so much fear, wasn’t used to wishing for death to grace her presence quickly if that were to be her fate.
She felt so useless, helpless, and alone.
Kaoru already knew that Himura most likely lived in the middle of nowhere, probably to escape the police so their search for the man responsible for the killings would be fruitless. Now that she thought about it, the newspaper’s articles had been centered on many of the political deaths that had occurred recently. Could Himura be responsible for those deaths? It was a possibility Kaoru didn’t want to consider.
“You've killed so many people,” she voiced her troubled thoughts aloud, her blue eyes scrutinizing the fair complexion of Himura. She felt appalled with herself because even though he was a cold murderer, she still found his harsh features attractive, even when he donned a scowl. “Do you enjoy it? Do you ever think of your victims’ family and friends when you end their lives?”
Himura was troubled by Kaoru’s bold question, and he loathed himself for ever allowing such an honest display of emotion surface. Did she truly believe that he enjoyed his profession? He was a hired assassin, a man who participated in all these horrible acts of violence, and he would never be anything else.
He didn’t expect other people to understand.
He didn’t want other people to understand. For his reasons alone, he did what he had to do.
Masking the unwanted sadness that lurked just beneath the ice enveloping his bitter heart, Himura folded his arms across his chest and settled comfortably against the wooden chair, his gaze never leaving Kaoru’s ivory-perfected, heart-shaped face he found so fascinating. Inwardly scowling at himself for indulging in such thoughts, he forced his mind to return to the matter at hand; Kaoru’s bothersome questions.
“Do you?” Kaoru all but demanded, her steady, defiant gaze trained on his face and the cold sadness she could barely detect under the rough exterior. Something about this man intrigued her, but she didn’t know what it could be.
“No,” he muttered briskly as he glared across the table at her. “Do you honestly believe I enjoy my work?”
Kaoru could only stare as she fought to understand the reason why Himura was in such a profession if he didn’t like working as an assassin. Perhaps, he was merely toying with her. For all she knew, he was rather fond of mutilating his victims. “Well,” she murmured thoughtfully as she studied the way Himura’s shoulders stiffened upon her mentioning his profession. Only a few hours ago she had told herself to tread cautiously around the topic of his profession. Now, it was too late to take anything she might have said to offend Himura back. Sometimes, she ignored her better judgment of a situation. The next time, if there was a next time, she would have to watch her mouth.
“If you don’t like working as a murderer, then why do you do it?”
Overwrought silence welcomed her question.
Then, the inexpressive voice of Himura answered with a calm indifference that startled her. “I know nothing but war. I am expected to murder.”
Kaoru shivered. To be able to give such a cold, ruthless explanation as to the reason why he eliminated so many men, the man truly must have no feelings. Or, perhaps, no heart. “And you do this because…?”
Himura’s impassive features hardened, his lips curving down into a deep frown of annoyance. He did this because, well, because, it was expected of him. He had his reasons, but he would never confide in Kaoru. He couldn’t trust her not to pity the life he chose to lead at a young age. “I do it because it is expected of me.”
“But there has to be a reason for it,” Kaoru pressed as she leaned forward, determined to learn of Himura’s reasons for taking up the profession of an assassin.
“Enough,” he growled. No more questions. She had asked him all the questions he would allow her to ask him. The woman’s sudden interest in his life was annoying him, and he knew that if she didn’t stop questioning his motives or reasons, he would do something they both would regret in the future. Leave it to a woman to complicate matters. Pinning Kaoru with a furious gaze, his frown deepened. To even think this woman was fascinating; he didn’t understand why he thought such a thing. It couldn’t be farther from the truth.
However, there was one thing about Kamiya Kaoru he found intriguing, and that would be her eyes. Twin pools of deep, stormy blue watched him vigilantly as his irately flashing, amber gaze narrowed dangerously.
Kaoru mentally trembled when Himura’s eyes darkened to a russet, but she refused to back down from his stare. She took it as a challenge, in which it was. He was challenging her daring nature. Squaring her shoulders while she thrust her chin out in a gesture of insolence, Kaoru asked, “Why do I have to meet with your boss? And you never answered my question about the location of this house!”
Himura was taken aback by Kaoru’s abrupt change of subject. Arching a slick, burgundy brow in her direction questioningly, he shrugged his oddly relaxed shoulders, “The meeting will be about the key, so naturally you are invited to come. He will have a few questions to ask you.” Pausing as a distant smile twitched at the corners of his mouth, taking him by complete surprise, Himura continued with a shake of his head, “You are in the center of the Takani Forest, named for its ancient houses built to accommodate the Japanese family, the Takani’s. You have no chance at escaping, if that were the reason you asked about the location of my house, because I would always find you. I know these woods like I know the back of my hand.”
“How comforting,” Kaoru muttered, and when she glimpsed the peculiar amusement that slightly brightened Himura’s golden hues, her lips took the shape of a scowl. “And I have to go to this meeting?” She already knew she must go, but she really didn’t want to. Besides that, she didn’t have any cloths to wear other than the filthy cloths she now donned. “Oh, never mind. I don’t have anything to wear to the meeting, so at least I don’t have to impress your lousy boss.”
His amusement faltering, Himura tilted his head to the side, as if he was questioning her sudden acts of bold frustration. If his boss was ever insulted by another man, even if the insult was a petty one, he would always make that man pay. Hearing Kaoru insult his boss, however, pushed thoughts of revenge from his mind. She was just a female; a high-spirited, fiery-natured female who thought her opinions should matter. If he truly cared whether or not her opinions mattered to him, then, he would have surely done something to her already, something horrible.
But, of course, he hadn’t.
He really didn’t see a need to. Females complained. That was mostly what they did no matter how petty their objections seemed to be to them. And what struck him as surprising was the fact that it didn’t bother him as he thought it should. If Kaoru wanted to complain, he’d let her complain.
Kaoru’s cheeks reddened when Himura’s brightened, interested gaze rested on her face, the small sign of amusement lingering within their golden depths. He hadn’t said a word against her insult to his boss, even if one would hardly call it an insult.
She was dumbfounded.
Himura was not a man who would let an insult pass, especially not if that insult was directed at his boss.
“Please, don’t make me go,” Kaoru blurted out, her blue eyes widening as soon as the urge to plead to be left to stay in Himura’s house while the assassin met with his boss and fellow employees passed. Feeling the need to continue, she uttered, “I won’t be any help! I don’t know what you or your boss want with my key, but I swear on my father’s grave that I only have it because it was given to me as a gift! What possible questions could I answer if I didn’t know what this key guarded? It has to be made especially for a lock somewhere. I just don’t know what or where that lock might be!”
“You have no choice. I have my orders.”
“But it makes no sense! How could I help you if I don’t know—“
“If you are so dead set against going, then, why don’t you hand the key over to me and I’ll go alone?” Himura interrupted calmly, his gaze intent on having his way or the other way. It was only a matter of the woman following such instructions that posed as a problem. If he could help it, he would rather not have to worry about bringing her to the bar, but if she stubbornly refused to give him the key, he would have no choice. “Either hand the key over to me, or you must come to the meeting. I am positive my boss will want to inspect the key. The choice is yours.”
“No!” Kaoru snapped tenaciously as she pressed her hand against the small, silver key, meaning it to be a gesture of protection, in which she could feel it through the thin layer of material.
“Then, you have no choice but to come to the meeting.” It really didn’t matter to him whether he went alone or with her. One way or another, that key would fall into the hands of Katsura. When Kaoru would have protested, Himura silenced her with a level stare. “I made your choices abundantly clear. You chose to go to the conference above giving me the key, so don’t think you can get out of going by arguing with me. Mark my words, woman, arguing a foolish point does not affect me.”
“Pig-headed, stubborn, bastard of a babysitter,” Kaoru grumbled under her breath as she glared across the small, kitchen table at him. Then, gazing around the spacious, tidy kitchen in an attempt to escape the sharp, persistent eyes of Himura, she stood up from the table. “I think I’ll go take a walk around the house, if that’s alright with you.” Pursing her lips irritably, she awaited the argument that would soon take place. Himura was her kidnapper, her captor. She was his prisoner. He had no reason to allow her to do anything she desired, especially if it consisted of taking a walk outside the four-walled long cabin where she had been confined to.
Though, he didn’t argue with her.
He barely acknowledged her request.
She knew he was thinking over her suggestion by the tense set of his jaw. It came down to this simple question; could he trust her?
And apparently he did for he granted her permission to leave the cabin. Kaoru’s mouth fell open in shock when he nodded towards the kitchen window, a stern frown grazing his lips. He was warning her not to run. As much as the idea would have appealed to her earlier, Kaoru found that she hadn’t even thought of running. She had been confined to the cabin for not even a full day, a few hours at the most, but she wanted to stand in the sunlight, wanted to feel fresh once more. Her cloths might be dirty from everything that had happened last night, but it didn’t matter at the moment. She just wanted to feel, well, she wanted to feel free…
Kaoru stood on the large, wooden porch, gazing across the woodsy area that surrounded the cabin. Himura hadn’t been lying when he said his cabin was located in the center of a forest. She saw nothing but forest for as far as her vision traveled. But it was beautiful. The sun shimmered through the large willows standing guard outside the cabin, giving Kaoru the shade she needed in order to study the area she had been brought to. It was, indeed, isolated from the world, and as much as Kaoru missed the noise from the city and the interesting people she usually saw walking along the streets, the peacefulness of the forest intrigued her into wanting to stay.
How odd.
She had been abducted all for the purpose of her key, but now, she was admitting to enjoying the light breeze that swept through the long, tangled, ebony strands of her hair. So quiet, yet, she could hear every little sound the forest made. It caused a smile of appreciation to touch her lips.
She wouldn’t mind staying in such an isolated place. She even liked the look of the cabin with its tidy, calm atmosphere. However, she didn’t quite know much about its occupant just yet. She intended to learn all she could about him, though; that was her only chance for survival.
Her blue eyes happily drifted closed.
Kaoru was completely unaware of the pair of intrigued, intense orbs watching her from the kitchen window.
Himura observed the woman through the windowpane, witnessing the happiness that shined within the deep blue depths of her eyes. Despite her situation, she had reason to smile, and that captivated his attention. She was only eighteen years old, a year into womanhood, yet she was an innocent. She didn’t know the evils of the world. Perhaps she knew of the men who sought to inflict discomfort and pain onto others, but she didn’t know what evils truly hid beneath the surface of the rude cruelty she saw mostly everyday. Courage and boldness, the woman had plenty of, possibly too much to claim hold to, but she was lacking in wisdom and knowledge. If she truly knew of the dangers she faced, she certainly would not be standing on his porch, leaning against the wooden railing with a carefree smile upon her lips. She would be cowering in a dark corner of a room. Any room would do.
He could not enlighten her of the dangers seeking to threaten her very life. Her innocence stood in the way of rational thinking. Her fiery nature would be her downfall. She would surely fall under the control of men such as Takeda Kanryuu.
Suddenly, as if he just now realized how his thoughts strayed in such a dangerous direction, Himura glowered with vexation. He had known her for such a short period of time. He didn’t quite understand why Kamiya Kaoru, this eighteen year old woman, would be so different from anyone else. If it had been anyone else holding the key in their possession, he would have certainly killed them to obtain it.
But not Kaoru.
She had been the exception.
Why?
The question could not be answered for he didn’t know the true answer himself, at least not the answer he sought.
She thought she wasn’t important to his cause, but she was. The woman had the key. She was the ‘key’ to everything his boss worked hard to acquire. She didn’t know it just yet, but he already knew what his boss would decide for her fate. It might not be what she thought was best for her, but she would still be kept alive.
The front door gently swung forward, the creaking of its hinges seizing Himura’s attention. His troubled gaze rising to meet the uncertainty of Kaoru’s blue eyes, he watched as she gradually entered the kitchen, cautious of where she treaded.
Something was on the woman’s mind.
“Do you mind,” Kaoru murmured hesitantly as she halted before Himura’s relaxed, yet, tense figure, averting her eyes to the floor nervously. “…If I could take a bath?” She finished in a whisper, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.
Himura lost all sense to remain impassive upon hearing Kaoru’s request. His eyes widened in surprise. Kamiya looked as though she was ready to bolt at any given minute if he didn’t hurry and make a decision. Who knew that keeping a woman in his house would be the cause of all his confusion? Kaoru sometimes would be angry, then, her mood would abruptly sway towards that of timidity.
He didn’t like these abrupt mood swings.
He didn’t like having a woman in his house.
He especially didn’t like the fact that he found her just a mite different from the common whores his boss and the employees kept around. Of course, he hadn’t expected her to be anything like a whore, but she didn’t behave much like a normal woman would in her situation.
Damn that Takeda for placing her under his care. He could have easily given her to Raijuuta when he had had the chance, but quite frankly, he didn’t want the man touching her. She deserved better than what would have been in store for her if she had gone with Isurugi.
Kaoru fidgeted nervously under Himura’s thoughtful, beguiling gaze. All she wanted was a warm bath to cleanse the filth from her body. She wasn’t asking for much, yet, her request sounded quite childish once she heard herself ask it.
“I don’t mind.”
Kaoru, surprise evident in the way her eyes widened, smiled appreciatively.
“The bathroom is down the hallway, third door on the right. Towels are already stacked neatly on the shelf. I suppose you do not wish to wear the clothes you wear now, correct?”
Diffidently, she nodded her head.
“Then, for today and only today, I will allow you to borrow Tamara’s old clothes. When I leave sometime today, I will bring you back your own cloths.” Lips thinning, eyes hardening, Himura fought back the smile he so wished to sport. He had never smiled much in the eight years of his past as he had the moment Kaoru stepped into his life, and he didn’t know if he liked it or not. His thoughts were in a turmoil, which was odd for him. Himura’s calculated mind never wavered from an assignment, and before now, his assignment for tonight had been forgotten. Standing, he started down the hallway, his features darkening as he reflected on the past few hours. This woman was definitely throwing his thoughts out of order, and it was highly aggravating.
Kaoru followed after Himura, unsure of the reason why he had abruptly changed into a dour mood. The man was certainly unpredictable.
“The bathroom,” Himura nodded towards the third, wooden door left ajar while he passed it in order to enter another room. Kaoru stared after Himura’s retreating back, furrowing her brows in confusion. He was so distant all of a sudden, so indifferent. She supposed she shouldn’t expect more out of a man who was trained in the field of murder. Still, she found his behavior to be rather peculiar.
Entering the slightly small bathroom, the blinding white of the walls once she flipped the light switch on resulting in blinking her eyes several times in an attempt to fall accustom to the bright light, she looked around. It was such a contrast to the rest of the house, which she knew to be dark. The darkness rather fit Battousai’s character. This orderly, white bathroom did not. Gazing down thankfully at the tub large enough to accommodate two people, Kaoru sat down on the edge. She felt so grimy from last night. Dirt mixed with the blood of Kimi and herself caked onto the front of her blouse and her jeans, not to mention the sogginess from the rain.
Turning the knob marked with an H, she felt the temperature of the water, as though she meant to find the temperature that would be best to bath in. Only turning the other knob a notch, soon the cold combined with the hot of the water gave it a warmth that curled Kaoru’s toes satisfactorily.
The water felt nice to the touch.
Her smile broadening blissfully, Kaoru was just about to pull her filthy blouse over her head when the door opened a wide crack unexpectedly and Himura entered the humid bathroom.
“Here are Tamara’s clothes.” Ignoring the furious, embarrassed glare Kaoru shot him, he set the neat pile of clothes down on the lid of the commode before he turned to face the woman’s sputtering rage.
“Do—do you not know how to knock?!” She shouted. “I could have been undressing! I could have already been in the tub!”
Himura shrugged his broad shoulders in a gesture of carelessness. Honestly, he hadn’t thought about the consequences of his actions before he acted. But now that he had time to assess the situation, it did little to pique his interest. So, he could have walked in on her bathing in the tub. He could have witnessed a bare limb or two. It wasn’t as though he had never seen one before. In fact, he had seen the nude bodies of various women in the past. What Kaoru had to offer could be no different than what any other woman could show.
“It is of little importance to me. Every woman is the same. Once you have seen a naked woman, there is no need to observe another. I will be gone for most of the day,” Himura informed Kaoru calmly as her glare darkened; her cheeks flushed a rosy hue from sheer discomfiture. “I have an errand to run.”
“Off to kill again?” Kaoru spat out crossly, her embarrassment at having him walk in on her without a care in the world increasing with every second that ticked by. “Off to end yet another life for the sake of your boss’s ignorant dreams? Well, I’ll certainly be looking forward to your return!” She snapped derisively, turning her back on him. Kaoru didn’t need to look at him to know that she had sparked his fury. The very atmosphere changed so swiftly that she would have inhaled sharply if she had not been trying hard not to respond to his anger at all.
She refused to quiver in fear.
If he intended to hurt her for her scorn, then, so be it. Although, her lower lip trembled in clear anticipation of the pain that he would have no trouble giving her. Why she thought he would hurt her now of all times, she didn’t know. He hadn’t moved to lay a hand on her at all yet, and she didn’t think he would start to do so now. Sometimes, however, confidence in another person’s restraint could be that person’s downfall.
Waiting expectantly for Himura’s next move, Kaoru chanced a glimpse of the intimidating, red-haired man’s features over her shoulder. Shockingly, he was staring at her with curiosity, having gotten over his unwanted bout of anger. Then, wordlessly, he left the bathroom.
Kaoru shook her head in wonder, never quite knowing exactly what Himura had in store for her. His abrupt change in attitude was very unnerving, and even more unnerving was the fact that he could grace such emotions with unruffled indifference.
“What did I ever do to deserve this punishment?” Kaoru sighed as she returned to the task at hand; taking a warm, much-needed bath.
Mayor Tyusiki Kuiro gazed down at the expensive, silver, company watch he wore around his wrist rather impatiently as he waited for the familiar ding of the elevator to announce the arrival of the twelfth level, where his and his family’s suite was located. Having come to the large city of Tokyo for political reasons, Kuiro was prepared to return to Kyoto.
When the soft chime of the elevator sounded, announcing the arrival of level twelve, Kuiro smiled openly at the young woman who rode in the elevator along with him. He stood idly by while the double, automatic doors slowly slid open.
Kuiro was prepared to exit the elevator when he first noticed the red-haired man blocking the elevator’s exit. His smile faltered upon observing the man who dared stand in his way purposely. “May I help you, Sir?” There was something peculiar about this young man; something in the atmosphere warned Kuiro of the danger lurking just below the surface, but he didn’t heed the warning. Instead, he ignored it.
“Tyusiki Kuiro?” It was more of a statement rather than a question.
“Yes?”
The red-haired man lowered his head, the burgundy of his bangs contrasting with the paleness of his features. Kuiro’s eyes widened when he was met by a pair of frighteningly intense, gleaming hues the color of tawny.
“Your life is mine.”
Hitokiri Battousai unsheathed his sword with dead accuracy and swift ease.
Tyusiki Kuiro stood no chance in defending himself, especially while his assassin brandished a sword at him. Kuiro died quickly, his eyes glazing over from the sudden abruptness in which the ice-cold fingers encircled his heart as death claimed his body.
Himura watched as the lifeless body crumpled to the floor of the elevator, but not before he removed his sword from the fatal wound it had inflicted upon the mayor. His golden hues darkening to a russet, his cold, calculated gaze wandered towards that of the woman who stood immobile within the elevator, her pallor pale with fright. When her bright, hazel eyes rose to meet the dangerous intensity of Himura’s stare, he frowned.
“Woman, you have witnessed something that was not meant to be watched.”
The frightened woman’s eyes widened with shock, her lips parting as though she meant to scream; albeit she was having trouble finding her voice. She quickly looked away when she saw the deadly blade aim for its intended target.
Her death was swift and painless.
Himura gazed down upon the bodies of his target and witness coolly, ignoring the thick crimson rain that dripped from the edge of his blade. It had been all too easy. The man had barely put up a fight. The woman, he didn’t even count. They both had to be sacrificed. There was no getting around it. Himura disliked murdering the innocent, but even so, if a person was to witness the assassination of one of his targets, he or she must die and quickly.
Sighing softly as he stepped into the elevator, noticing the blood that splattered the walls, Himura pressed the number four button. He was only too happy that his intended target didn’t put up a fight at all. It made his work all the more easy to complete.
Himura silently sheathed his weapon.
His assignment for tonight was complete.