A/N: Well, apparently you guys liked my last chapter so I'm updating! Thanx much for all the wonderful reviews, sorry I left you with a cliffy…he he he. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I still don't own it yet, but one day, I will.

Chapter 8: Fate's Decision

Kenshin had to make a choice and he had to do it fast. Kaoru's arm was cut very deeply and she would probably freeze to death if he left her there. Mika was currently getting farther away from him. He had absolutely no time to decide and there was no way he was going to let Mika die. Kenshin quickly bent down and looked at Kaoru. She smiled at him but there was pain in her eyes. He took the ribbon out of her hair and tied it around her arm as tight as he could without hurting her. Despite the freezing cold he took off his gi and put it around her. He saw her begin to protest but there was nothing she was going to be able to do about it. Kenshin scooped her up into his arms and started to run after Akira. He stopped abruptly at the start of the lake. How Akira had run across the ice he did not know, but there was a good chance he'd be able to as well. Kenshin started off on the ice, which was surprisingly thicker than he thought. He felt Kaoru grab on to his body tighter and then start to shiver.

"Kenshin, I'm so cold."

"Please Kaoru hang on. I'm going to get you home soon I promise."

"But Kenshin, what about Mika?"

Kenshin's eyes narrowed. "I won't let anything happen to her. I'm going to leave you off at the start of the woods, do you think you can make it home?"

"I'll try."

Although Kenshin didn't want to risk Kaoru being attacked he was going to have to leave her. He was far behind and knowing Akira there would be a lot of ground to cover. Then, Kenshin heard a crack. He looked down at the ice he was walking on and then up ahead at the edge of the lake. He was so close to getting across. Another crack was heard followed by what sounded like a dull roar. The ice was splitting so he had to move quickly. To avoid any more breaks Kenshin jumped high in the air and landed on his feet at the other side. Now that he was back on solid ground he started to pick up speed. He ran as fast as he could to the edge of the woods. At the start of the road he set Kaoru down on her feet.

"Kenshin aren't you going to freeze?"

"I'll be fine Kaoru just concentrate on getting home."

"What if you don't get there in time?"

"Have you forgotten you are talking to one of the fastest men alive?" he answered with a smirk.

Kaoru blushed. "Please, just be careful."

Kenshin bent down and gave her a quick kiss. "I won't anything happen to Mika I promise Kaoru." With that he sped off back into the woods.

Kaoru was still not registering what had just happened. Something cold and wet hit her face. She looked up at the sky. It was snowing. Akira was currently carrying Mika to her doom. They were moving so fast that she couldn't register where they were. Why did everything bad always happen to her? What did she do to deserve this? Why couldn't she be happy? All these thoughts played heavily upon her mind. She thought back to Kenshin and Kaoru. Part of her burned with jealously but the other part of her was happy. She was happy that Kenshin was happy but still…All the stress came up and she started to cry. She wasn't wailing but she was audibly crying.

Akira looked down at the girl he was carrying. She really was a pretty girl. He didn't understand why the samurai wasn't happy. Why was she crying? He started to feel really bad inside. He did need the money very badly and he hadn't been on an exciting mission in a while but the look on this girl's face didn't seem worth it. NO! He had to finish. He couldn't feel bad for the enemy. In an attempt to convince himself further he started to run faster.

Kenshin had gone up the path in the woods. He bent down on the ground and looked as hard as he could. He spotted a pair of footprints but they were uneven. This was probably from the person carrying something. Kenshin followed these footprints off the path and deeper into the forest. There was so much brush around that he was going to have to start cutting it soon. How had Akira moved through this so quickly? Kenshin stopped and looked at the tracks again. They were farther apart compared to the other ones. Akira was moving faster. Kenshin ran with all the ability he had. The cold air was freezing his lungs and slowing him down. That minor detail couldn't stop him now though.

Kenshin pushed further on through numerous trees and small bushes. The footprints brought him back to the road. Thanks to the new snow on the ground Kenshin could still see the prints. He ran down the road next to the river. The prints took him past the dojo and over a bridge that led to the market. Kenshin knew Akira wasn't stupid enough to go through the market. He would take another route. Kenshin took a path that led down to the docks. He stopped short of the water. Had Akira taken a boat? No, Akira wouldn't take that chance. It would be too easy to get caught. Kenshin dropped his head. It was at this time he noticed another set of prints. There were horseshoe prints in the snow. So Akira had taken Mika on a horse. They would cover more ground and there would be no way Kenshin could catch up. He was going to have to find a horse.

Akira had blindfolded Mika before they got on the horse. Her crying had turned into muffled sobs with the cold. She didn't want to cry, she wanted to be strong. Unfortunately she couldn't control herself. Akira's heart was being torn in two. He really wasn't an evil person. He just used the skills he had to survive, even if it meant working for evil people. What had this girl done to affect his boss so greatly? Normally someone wouldn't let just a little girl bother them. All that Akira knew about the guy was that he owned a fish market and that this girl and her family had effected his production. Akira knew it was more than that though.

Mika started to feel very cold. Her tears weren't making things any better. It was so annoying that she couldn't see anything. Akira had probably blindfolded her so that she wouldn't remember the way to where they were going. The horse was very uncomfortable too. All the bouncing up and down was going to make her sore. She also didn't appreciate the fact that Akira was holding her so tightly to him. His body heat did feel nice though and he had a firm chest. Wait…was she starting to actually like her kidnapper? No way! After about thirty minutes the horse stopped abruptly. Mika's tears had subsided but they were replaced with hiccups. Akira took the blindfold off her. Once off the horse she looked up at him. He had these dark eyes, almost black. Despite this there was a fire burning inside of them. His long black hair was cut at an angle and stopped just below his shoulders. Mika was snapped out of her daze when he began to speak to her.

"Hey listen, we are going to rest here for a while. Then it's back on the horse."

"Why should I listen to a guy like you?"

Akira quickly whipped out his dagger, turned Mika's back to him, and pressed it sharply to her neck. "Because if you don't, your life will end much faster."

"Why don't you just kill me now and save yourself some trouble then?"

Akira's eyes narrowed and darkened even more. "Because I'm under orders," he said in a cold voice. He walked toward a tree and sat down. "Don't move from this area, understand?"

Mika looked around at where she was. Tall trees surrounded them. There seemed to only be trees on each side of her for miles.

"Where exactly are we and what is your name?"

"I can't tell you where we are but the name's Akira. What's yours?"

"Mika," she mumbled.

"What did you do to annoy this guy so badly anyway?" Akira asked. He had pulled out an apple and had started to peel it with one of his daggers.

"The right thing, not that you would know anything about doing the right thing."

Akira looked at her with a hurt look in his eyes but then returned his concentration to peeling his apple. "Sorry I was just asking."

Mika looked enviously at his apple. Yes, she had just eaten a short while ago but the horse ride had made her hungry. Akira noticed her staring at him and smirked. He started to slow down the peeling process so that you could hear every slice it made in the apple. After he was done peeling it he set the peel on the ground and cut off the edge. He looked up at Mika and then popped the piece of apple into his mouth. Although her body language wasn't showing it she had a pleading look in her eyes. Akira cut a couple more slices and ate those too. When he was down to half an apple Mika sighed.

"Oh, did you want any?"

"I'm sorry, did that just occur to you now?"

"Hey, all I'm suppose to do is kidnap you, not make you comfortable."

"Well you could share."

"Do you know what some people do with their prisoners? They keep them tied to trees an torture them."

Mika gulped and looked down at the ground. "Oh," she whispered.

"But…I guess I could spare you a few pieces. I don't need you passing out just yet."

Akira proceeded to cut up the rest of the apple and give the pieces to her. Mika watched as he licked his dagger and then stuck it back in the case strapped to the side of his leg. Her mind registered that she had food in her hands and she inhaled the apple slices in a desperate attempt to satisfy her hunger. Akira watched her eat. He had enjoyed toying with her. It was very amusing. As soon as she was done he approached her. Mika watched him get closer and closer until they were only a few inches apart. She could feel his breath on the top of her head and started to feel tense. Akira leaned down next to her ear and stayed there for a few seconds. Mika was going to die form the suspense of what he planned to do.

"I have to blindfold you again," he whispered.

Mika's face turned bright red. "Akira you slimy—

Before Mika could finish her sentence Akira had blindfolded her and put her back on the horse. He hadn't told her how long it was going to take to get wherever they were going. She didn't feel like asking him either. She just hoped that someone would come for her soon.

A/N: Okay, I had lots of fun writing this chapter. This is probably because I had to crack into the mind of my favorite ex-assassin bishie. Thinking like Kenshin was a challenge but I tried my hardest. Less dialogue in this chapter but I think for plot purposes it is better that way. Can anyone begin to guess where I'm going with Akira and Mika? I hope you liked this as much as I did!