Chapter 4: Compromise

"Well, if it isn't my dear friend," the excessively bandaged man said to Kenshin in a voice coated with poisonous honey.

Kenshin did not reply, and slowly edged in front of Kaoru to shield her; however, the man noticed Kaoru and gave her a long look from her legs up to her top that made her blush a deep crimson.

"And you bring me a little lamb as a gift? I will definitely enjoy this delectable dish tonight," the man said, his bandaged hands making for Kaoru's hand. Kenshin however pushed Kaoru further behind him and glared at the bandaged man.

"I brought the sword as requested. All I ask is from you in return is for you to release me of my title, Shishio."

"I will do all that…" Shishio said, waving Kenshin off with an impatient sweep of his hands. "But you should better than to put fresh meat in front of a hungry lion and expect to keep all of your food," and Shishio grabbed again at Kaoru's hand and pulled her toward him before Kenshin could react. Kaoru felt her heart pumping blood desperately to her head, her mind struggling to formulate a plan to get away from the man's tight grip.

Shishio painfully jerked her back against his chest and laid a bandaged arm across the top of her chest.

"Shishio! Let her go!" Kenshin growled dangerously, pulling out a black-cloth wrapped oblong object from the depths of his cloak. Kenshin pulled at the top of the object and a long thin ebony handle came out with a cold steel blade. The men behind Shishio subsequently pulled out identical guns and took aim at Kenshin. Shishio however halted their attack by merely raising a casual hand. The guards put down their weapons in mild confusion but continued to watch their master for further instructions. Kenshin bared his teeth at Shishio like a feral dog; Shishio responded with a dangerous grin.

"You plan to fight me? Then you will give up your name when you die at my hands Battousai!" Shishio pushed Kaoru out of the way and reached for his own sword and met Kenshin's aggressive attack.

Kaoru fell unceremoniously on the muddy ground. She felt a little wobbly from the adrenaline intoxicating her mind, but then she heard the of steel clash against steel and jerked her head up out of her daze to see Kenshin and Shishio fighting for each other's death, both boasting a feral glint in their eyes, as if they did not notice anything around them but each other and the movement of their swords. Kenshin whipped around Shishio, dodging a jab from him and aimed a sideswipe at his side. Shishio neatly dodged the attack and hit Kenshin over the head with his sheath. Kenshin fell to his knees for a moment and then deflected a dangerous blow to his head with his sheath and used his sword in his other hand to attack Shishio's unguarded side. However, Shishio maneuvered just enough to escape with a flesh wound. Kenshin flipped backward and landed on his feet, sword ready when Shishio lunged at him again. Kaoru felt faint and felt her mind grow numb and she began to tilt from side to side.

Suddenly, Kaoru felt a pair of strong hands scoop her up into a bridal lift and she found her face a few inches away from Sano's, worry etched across his chiseled features.

"Are you okay, Kaoru? The police are coming in a few minutes. Who are they?" he added, nodding at the fight and the burly bodyguards who were looking on in semi-interest.

"Um…well…you called the cops?" Kaoru said a little too quickly; Sano raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, I figured you were in some sort of trouble when you ran off from lunch so I…" he got cut off when a loud "thud" resounded through the alleyway, distracting him from Kaoru's plight. Kenshin lay sprawled on the dirty cement ground, his sword a few feet away from his twitching hand, and Shishio stood over him with a triumphant gleam in his eyes. A dribble of blood spilled over his brow into his eyes; Kenshin's face was stretched taut with pain, his golden eyes glaring through squinting eyelids at Shishio.

"These past years have dulled your sword as well as your skills. You are now renounced of your title, Battousai." Shishio swiftly picked up Kenshin's fallen weapon and raised the sword in the air.

"NO!!" Kaoru screamed at the top of her lungs.

Shishio paused for a moment eyeing her with fiendish delight before bringing down the sword at Kenshin's head. Kenshin, right before the sword touched him, rolled out of the way, but the sword still managed to pierce his chest. Sano placed the franticly kicking Kaoru on the ground and ran toward Shishio. He aimed a well placed punch at Shishio and caught him unprepared in the jaw. Kaoru scrambled up and ran toward Kenshin, who was struggling to pull the long blade out of his chest, his fingers cut during the arduous process.

Shishio scrambled up and was about to attack Sano when his guards yelled out a warning to him.

"The cops, sir!"

Shishio paused in mid-strike, his fist inches from Sano's face while his heavily bandaged face contorted in fury. Shishio glanced back in the direction of his guards, then at Sano, and then at the dying Kenshin. Without warning, he finished the punch, knocking Sano aside, ran toward Kenshin, and yanked out the sword from Kenshin's blood-splattered chest, pushing Kaoru away in the process.

"Die Battousai! Your name is hereby relinquished!" he spat at the injured man.

Sano got up off the ground and made for Shishio again but the man was already running to the other end of the dimly lit alley and was soon out of sight. Kaoru could now hear the sounds of sirens approaching the alley.

"The police are here. You're going to be alright!" Kaoru said almost pleadingly at the now panting Kenshin. His face flashed in pain again and he grabbed at his wound with a hand to stifle the bleeding.

"Don't take…me…there…police…not…what…I….need now…" he panted, sweat dripping off his brow, his usual bright amber eyes fading into a dim gold. He attempted to sit up but a hand pushed him back on the ground.

"Lie down. You obviously saved Kaoru, and I thank you for that. But right now you need medical attention. Lie still!" Sano demanded, placing a firm hand on the fallen man's shoulder to prevent him from moving again.

"Leave…me alone…you…know nothing! The police…I…can't!" Kenshin grabbed the Sano's and yanked it off his shoulder, staggering up to a sitting position.

"Don't get up! Your injuries will worsen, idiot!" Sano yelled at him and made to stop him but Kenshin shot a deadly glare at him.

"I'm leaving," Kenshin said, somehow managing to pull out his old cold demeanor again despite the mind-numbing pain and stood up on shaky feet. He managed to walk a few feet, but then he staggered against an alley wall and slid down into a crumpled heap, a streak of blood smearing against the wall.

Kaoru ran toward him and gazed frantically at Sano, looking for some sort of aid.

"Sano, he won't accept help from the police for some reason. But we need to get him medical attention as soon as possible!"

"I know that," Sano began, hiding his terror of the scene of the half-dead man who seemed to be unconscious at the moment and of Kaoru's frightened look. "I think I have a solution. One of my clients owns his own private clinic in upper Manhattan. It's a little expensive, but the privacy of the patients is well maintained there. I'll pay. How's that?"

Kaoru gazed back at Kenshin, his head cradled carefully in her lap.

"That will be great. Thanks Sano," Kaoru sighed in relief, her eyes red and tired.

"If you are in this alley, please come out with your hands up!" echoed a police officer's voice, which was accompanied by the sound of car doors opening and slamming shut.

Sano pulled off his black business jacket and draped it across Kaoru's shoulders and swiftly lifted Kenshin, wrapping one of Kenshin's limp arms around his neck while Kaoru took Kenshin's other arm. They ran to the end of the alleyway, Kaoru punching in numbers in her cell for a cab. They reached the end of the alleyway that met Maiden Lane and found a dingy yellow cab waiting for them.

Kaoru sat in the cozy warmly lit waiting room of the posh private clinic, her head resting on Sano's shoulder while his hand was wrapped gently about her shoulders. She hadn't cried a tear during the horrible ordeal but her face was drawn, and fatigue was written across her face. They had entered the clinic at 4:32 in the afternoon and the chief doctor, Dr. Gensai, a wizened and friendly looking old man, was polite enough not to ask any questions, and immediately alerted his staff to bring out a stretcher. He smiled at her and Sano hopefully and entered the O.R. It was now 10:00 p.m. Kaoru was worried sick; Sano kept eyeing the clock and then taking quick glances toward the closed steel doors of the O.R. They hadn't spoken a word to each other the entire time, knowing that no words would help either of them.

Kaoru looked up at Sano's face. His eyes were shut as if in deep concentration, his eyebrows furrowed, and his mouth formed a stern thin line. She looked down at his hand which was gripping the chair's armrest so hard that his veins were popping out. She smiled at the fact that he was worried over a complete stranger. He was a very nice guy.

The steel doors crashed open all of a sudden and the Dr. Gensai literally fell through the door. Kaoru and Sano immediately stood up from the noise, shocked to see the doctor run to a staggering halt in front of them.

"Well?" Sano asked, gripping Kaoru's shoulder.

"He's fine. That man has an amazing will to survive. He's still unconscious from the severe loss of blood, but luckily he was an AB blood type so we have sufficient blood in the clinic's stock to rejuvenate him. I won't ask how he got the injuries and since your company is in charge of my medicine and my practice, I won't question you or charge you for the treatment. He's being moved to Room 17 in an hour and you'll be able to see him. Until then!"

With that, the doctor left with a huge grin on his ancient face.

Kaoru turned to Sano and hugged him tightly.

"Thanks so much!"

Sano blushed at the motion and backed away awkwardly.

"It-It was nothing. It's late; you should go home."

Kaoru's smile faltered when she gazed at the clock. It was 11:30 at night! Her brothers would probably be scouring the streets for her by now, questioning people at random!

"Crap! I forgot to call my brothers!"

Sano held up a hand. "I already called them. Don't worry," he added at the flash of horror on her face. "I told them you were busy at work and you would be home safe and sound. I didn't mention your…friend."

"Whew! Thanks!," Kaoru breathed out in relief. "He is..er…one of my friends. He saved me from a bunch of muggers on my way home one day. So yeah, his name is Kenshin. By the way, can you keep this from the police?"

"Of course. Don't worry about him. Just go to bed. Will you be able to go to work tomorrow? I know you've gone through a rough day today..."

Kaoru shook her head and grabbed her jacket from the couch.

"No. I'll be alright. Thanks again Sano."

And she left Sano alone in the waiting room; Sano smiling at her retreating back.

Then Sano frowned in worry, his eyebrows furrowed, thinking deeply. Someone tapped him on the shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts.

"Mr. Sagara, the patient is in Room 17. He is still sleeping so please try not to disturb him. Good night!" said an exhausted nurse.

Sano bade the nurse a cheery good night and made for Room 17.

He found Kenshin lying on clean white sheets, a white blanket pulled up to his chin and white linen bandage wrapped around his forehead; his crimson hair covered most of his face except for his mouth which was covered by a clear plastic mask that fogged up slightly in long intervals. Sano pulled a leather roller chair towards the bed and sat down, staring at the crimson haired man asleep in front of him. Sano reached forward and brushed away the hair from his left cheek and found what he had been dreading to find.

A cross-shaped scar.

"It is the Battousai," he whispered.

Hello everyone! So sorry its been ages since my last update for any of my stories but school is very stressful and I've been averaging about 5 hours a night for the past 2 weeks! So yeah I finally got time to work on my stories and thanks for being patient!  I know this chapter is a bit confusing but I hope you, the readers, enjoyed it! Something to think about in the next chapter: How does Sano know of "the Battousai" and of the crossed shaped scar?

-Kish

My other stories: I will try and update them as soon as I can. If you have any ideas for Fortune please leave a review and tell me! I'd appreciate it oodles! Thanks!