The Price of Blood

Chapter 16: Anger and Expose

Saitou's angular face slowly began to creep into a smile. A low chuckle erupted from his throat. He seemed to be unaware that a katana was held to his throat, millimeters away from piercing his flesh. The shorter, amber eyed man that was attached to the sword narrowed his eyes even further at the sinister sounding laugh. This was not the reaction that he wanted. Pushing in the blade further, the skin around Saitou's neck indented with the added pressure.

"What is your answer, Wolf?" Kenshin asked lowly.

Saitou raised a dark eyebrow in answer; his own yellow eyes glaring directly back into Kenshin's, unaffected by the haunting color. "And how do I know that you are going to upkeep your part of our bargain?" Saitou drawled out slowly.

Kenshin growled menacingly, letting his displeasure for the comment known. "I will upkeep my part. Perhaps you should worry for about holding up your end. If anything comes to put Kaoru in danger, you will be paying with your life, Wolf," Kenshin replied, his amber eyes flashing in warning to the older man.

Saitou snorted at the shorter man's words. The fact that a sword pricked into the flesh of his neck did not faze him. He had been in worse situations before. Besides, he knew that the manslayer would not kill him. His woman had left an impression upon him, even after such a short time. Unless he posed a threat to the woman, there would be no risk of injury. Still, his hand fished into his pocket to pull out a cigarette.

"Hold still, Wolf, or I will slit your throat," Kenshin growled as he noticed the man's movements.

Saitou raised an eyebrow. "You are too high strung," he older man replied. He swiftly pulled a cigarette from his pocket, flashing the white stick before Kenshin's face.

Kenshin blinked, leaving himself unguarded for the briefest of moments. However, that was all the time that the experienced Saitou needed. In a flash, he had pulled back from Kenshin's blade, pulling out his own katana. Brandishing the steel, he lounged forward. Hissing in agitation, Kenshin countered the attack, bringing his blade up to easily block the sword. The metal clashed loudly in the morning air. However, neither man dared to move afterwards. Each stood tensely, glaring into the golden depths of the other. If one could only see their deadly and calculating eyes, one would think of them as father and son.

It was Saitou who moved first. Without blinking an eye, he fished his free hand into his pocket once more. Pulling free a match, he elegantly arched his hand forward, striking the stick off of his blade, effectively lighting it. Continuing in the smooth arch, he brought the flame up to his mouth, lighting the cigarette that had somehow managed to land there during their clash.

"Well, Battousai, you have still failed to answer my question. I wish to know how I know you are going to live up to your bargain, not if you are," Saitou drawled out tonelessly as he puffed his cigarette..

"You have my word, is that not good enough?" Kenshin countered.

"No. You have stressed our previous alliance. Despite the fact that those assassins were not my people, they were still deaths in my territory. It was still I that had to be left with the mess. This will not happen again. If you back down on your word, I will take the girl from you."

Kenshin roared in anger, his eyes festering with anger and resentment. He flew forward, invisible to the naked eye. With a spin and a flick of his wrist, his contact with Saitou's blade was lost, the blade flying backwards from the force. Kenshin swung his own blade backwards, slamming the blunt edge of the blade across Saitou's chest, effectively knocking the man to the ground and knocking the cigarette out of his mouth. Kenshin hovered above the fallen man, his blade pointed at Saitou's heart while his foot pressed into his stomach.

"You will never lay a finger upon her if you value your life, Wolf. I suggest you pick again," Kenshin growled out evilly, his words so dark and lethal that they could pierce holes into any weaker man's heart.

"What do you have to fear? If your word is good, then you will not have to fear losing her. If you fail, she will be fine to do with as I please. If I fail, you may have my wife," Saitou replied, the ends of his mouth tweaking upwards in a smirk. He still was not afraid of the red-haired demon before him. His eyes focused roughly upon the man above him, not allowing him to look away.

Kenshin breathed heavily, his eyes narrowing until they almost disappeared. His hand trembled in anger. Why did it matter to him so much if the girl was safe or not? 'Because she trusts you,' his mind told him. 'She trusts you. This is what you wanted for so long. She believes in you.' His foot pressed harder into Saitou's chest. He could hear the man grunt, knowing that the air was being forced from his lungs.

"Kenshin," a soft voice called out, breaking the heated moment between the two men.

Kenshin immediately tensed, his head snapping up and his eyes widening. "Kaoru," he whispered. Pulling his blade away from Saitou, he easily replaced it within his sheath. His foot came off of his chest, allowing the man to breathe easily. Quickly backing away, he muttered, "Agreed. Now leave and do not come back until you have what I want."

With that, he turned away from the smirking Saitou, striding hastily to Kaoru. Once he reached her, he lightly grabbed her elbow, pulling her to him.

"Kenshin?" she questioned. Her large eyes were worried and wide, pleading with him to tell her what was wrong.

"Inside, Kaoru," he answered before dragging the woman into the house.

He did not notice Saitou pick up his discarded cigarette from the ground and pause, looking back at the house. He smirked, re-lighting his cigarette before muttering, "You have a deal, Kenshin," and walking away.

"Kenshin," Kaoru muttered anxiously, "what's wrong?" She twisted her head to gaze at the taller man at her side, worry and confusion clouding her vibrant eyes. Her arm was still tightly secured in Kenshin's hand as he continued to lead her into the house and through the halls.

He did not answer her question. Instead, her merely grunted and pulled on Kaoru's arm gently. She fell forward slightly so that she was half leaning upon Kenshin as she continued to be lead. His heart beat wildly. His eyes still burned with anger and other emotions. Despite the fact that he was slightly comforted by Kaoru's body pressing against him, it did not shake the surging feelings that poured through him.

"Kenshin, please!" Kaoru pleaded, tugging slightly upon his grip.

Kenshin growled lightly, continuing to hold her to his side. Kaoru let out a mew of frustration, wanting to know what was going on. The sight of Kenshin fighting with Saitou had frightened her. Narrowing her eyes in determination, Kaoru planted her feet into the ground, ripping her arm from Kenshin. Spinning immediately, she turned to face him, glaring at him.

"What was going on out there?" she cried, looking directly into Kenshin's eyes.

Kenshin jerked his head at her words. He had not been expecting her to pull herself from his grasp, nor had he anticipated her persistence for knowledge. He turned to her slightly, meeting her gaze before he responded.

"Come. I will make tea. Then I will consider discussing the issue," he responded hastily before walking off again in the direction of the kitchen.

Kaoru sat tensely, watching the amber eyed, flamed haired man sip his tea. His eyes were closed as he held the cup with both hands. He held himself properly as if he was at a formal meeting instead of being in the kitchen with Kaoru. He had not opened his eyes since he had seated himself, seemingly concentrating upon the taste and calming effects of the drink. However, the beverage did not seem to bring him any comfort. Every once in a while his brow would furrow slightly in his thoughts, most likely from something that he did not wish to confront. What exactly was he thinking about?

Kaoru sighed, lowering her gaze to the still full cup in front of her. She had not touched the drink since it had been poured. She did not want tea. No, instead she wanted answers to her many questions. But she would have to wait until Kenshin was ready to speak. She knew that pushing him would not bring about the effect that she wanted. It would only serve to anger him and send her farther from the truth.

"Do you know who that man was?"

Kaoru snapped her head up, turning to look at the man beside her. This was what she had wanted, so why did she feel apprehensive about where this conversation would go?

"Yes," she responded quietly. "He is the chief of Tokyo's police force."

"This is true," Kenshin stated, cracking open his eyes to gaze at Kaoru. "But that is not all that he is."

"What are you talking about?" she asked in confusion.

"Saitou Hajime was one of my greatest opponents from many years back. We fought against each other many times, each striving to kill the other, but never being able to complete the task," Kenshin said before taking another sip of his drink.

He watched Kaoru carefully, waiting for her reactions. He watched as the emotions of confusion and disbelief dance over her features before recognition and understanding took their place. He could not help but wonder how she would take the information, or how much he should reveal to her. But he could not lie to her. If she asked, he would answer, but not before.

"But," Kaoru began slowly, her eyes widening as she turned away. "But does that mean that he sent those men to try and kill us?"

"No."

Kaoru's eyes narrowed. "But he is your enemy. It doesn't make any sense. Then why were you two fighting if he was not trying to go against you?" she asked carefully, trying desperately to fully understand what was going on.

"He assumed that I had broken a pact," Kenshin explained. Why was he saying this? Why was he telling her this? He never felt the need to explain to someone before. She would just become frightened if she knew. He could not turn away though. He wanted to tell her. He needed to tell her.

"A pact?" she whispered, turning her head slightly to glance at Kenshin out of the corner of her eye. "What pact?"

"He would not reveal my location if I did not kill any of his citizens."

"Why would you do that…" she began. But halfway through, her eyes filled with sparks of anger. "Did he break his promise? How did those people find you?" she hissed.

"I did it," Kenshin said calmly, "because I did not want that to happen. I did not want people to find me, or place you in danger. However, those fools found us on their own accord."

Sitting up straight, Kaoru cocked her head as she looked at Kenshin. The anger was fading, but doubt was beginning to take its place. Kenshin felt a stab of pain fill him as he watched this. Did she doubt him? And if she did, why did he care so much? Why, damn it, why?

"So he came here to confront you. But neither of you did anything wrong. So why did you have him pinned to the ground?" she asked hesitantly.

"I did not approve of his terms," he said stoically, turning away from Kaoru.

However, Kaoru did not want that to be the end. There were still things she did not understand. "Terms to the agreement that you had formed?"

"No," Kenshin stated, his voice growing firmer. Maybe he did not want her to know after all.

"Then what were the terms? Did you make another agreement?" she prodded.

Kenshin merely grunted. This conversation was not turning out the way he had wished. This woman was too smart for her own good. He had not anticipated that she would ask such things, or wish to know. He did not want her to know the new deal that was set, for he did not want to lose her.

"You did make another pact, didn't you?" she said, shock prevalent in her voice. "Tell, me what was it for?"

"Saitou will find the threat and I will eliminate it," he ground out, rising from his spot in an elegant movement.

"And what are the stakes for that? They must be large if you sided with an enemy."

"It is not important," Kenshin snapped.

Kaoru shot up from her seated position, taking her cup with her. "I think I deserve to know if it concerns our safety. You said you trusted me. If that is true, you would tell me," she retaliated, clenching her hands into fists.

Kenshin turned his head to glare at the woman. Why did she have to say that? Why did she have to bring in the trust? This would only hurt her more.

"It is not important, Kaoru," he repeated slowly.

"Yes, Kenshin, it is," she aid softly, pleading with him through her eyes. "Please," she whispered.

Kenshin bowed his head, forming shaking fists with his hands. He closed his eyes as his mane of red silk fell forward, blocking his face from Kaoru. He did not want to see her face as he said this.

"If I fail," he began in a quiet, shaking voice, "Saitou can take you for his own."

Through the silence that followed, the piercing shattering of china screamed through both of their souls.

TBC…

A/N: Oh, man! Thank goodness that it is finally done! This has taken me forever! Sorry about the wait, but I really have no idea where I want this story to go, for it really doesn't have a plot going on, haha! However, I have a few ideas for it, especially since writing this chapter. I think that it will only be about 3 or so more chapters though. And who knows, maybe there will be a bit of a plot by the time it is over! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, and let me know what you think and if you have any ideas!