Disclaimer: I don't oWn RurouNI KENshin

JeniNeji Comments:

Special thanks to:

Midnight000shadow, Nadya Lubov, Generated Anomoly, skenshingumi, meantoddy, Brukaoru (thanks for placing your favorite stories on Favorites, I sometimes go to your profile page to read some good stories. You have good taste), Otaku's Moon, Precious Raymond.

Also, special thanks to my beta Gabi1994 who took time for this story from her holidays, so, Happy New Year everyone!

Enjoy!

The Voice

xxoOoxx

7

xxoOoxx

The song you sang

Follows me, haunts me

Resignation.

Nightmares.

xxoOoxx

A series of needy moans and fast breathing were the only sounds in the room, until a woman screamed her pleasure. After that a dark chuckle replaced the scream and the soft sound of ruffling sheets helped ease the unspoken tension within the room.

"I love your sex," the woman with burgundy hair commented faintly, her voice shaking with vivid exhaustion "it leaves me shaking for days."

His immediate reply was another dark chuckle from the pale man below her tired form. He raised his hand and began to play with her wavy hair "Yumi, you devour me each time…it's intoxicating, as if you can never get enough, I swear, if I didn't know better I would believe that you killed your lover, Shishio, and not the company".

A hard slap and a violet glare were his only response and he unwillingly pushed her to the side and brought his hand to his throbbing chest. His dark eyes looked at her confusedly before snarling mutedly.

"Don't you even mention him," she hissed hatefully "his death is no laughing matter Izuka" she finished and turned away, yanking the sheets furiously to cover herself as she stood and collected her discarded clothes.

"I wonder what he thinks about you now, I'm sure he's stewing quite nicely in hell" Izuka commented full of resentment "Opening your legs to another only two weeks after his death…you have to accept it Yumi, either you like the feel of me, since we have been sharing sweat this last year, or you are a whore" he finished full of venom.

"You are so understanding and sweet Izuka", she said her tone bitingly sacrastic "be grateful that you have someone of my caliber to warm your putrid loneliness, you would not have anyone to 'share your sweat' with otherwise" she warned as she began to pull on her dark gray jeans.

"You are right, you got a nice ass" he said and fell once again on the bed, his hands behind his head. His dark eyes were fixed on the white ceiling pensive.

"So, you heard about that mediator? Kamiya? It appears she has come back to Japan…I bet she betrayed us all…she's probably with the white tiger now, helping him eliminate us." Yumi commented as she closed the buttons of her long sleeved shirt.

"For hating the company you sure worry a lot about it," Izuka commented evenly "but that's not the case, she's in Battousai's apartment and while Battousai has abandoned us, I don't think he's a traitor, still, it doesn't really matter anymore since they sent Saitou to dispose of him".

"Katsura did?" Yumi asked perplexed, her ears easily picking up on the name "At least I won't have to worry for now, no one is going to make me leave your side in a casket…everything is under control" the pale, slim woman said as she finally arranged her hair in its usual bum, holding it together with a Chinese fasten.

"Are you crazy?" Izuka asked as he sat on the bed with a laugh. He also stood and rummaged about the room before heading into the bathroom to wash his face "She's Katsura's foster child, he would never hurt her" the ex-assassin, turned informant told her.

Yumi was glad he was in the bathroom and couldn't see her mouth hanging open. Kaoru Kamiya, Battousai's partner, was also Katsura-sama's foster daughter! She shook her head and sighed. "Well then Izuka-love, watch my back so you can get me in bed again, take care" she said and walked to the door.

"Of course my wanton-bitch" Izuka yelled from the bathroom.

Yumi fisted her hands and used all her will power to prevent herself from going back to him and kill him. No, she wouldn't. He was going to die soon anyway. She walked out of the apartment and into her old car, where she hurriedly took out her cell phone. Quickly she punched in a familiar number and after a few rings, the deep voice of her associated greeted her

"Enishi" she said with familiarity and a subtle dark anger "I am pleased that I could contact you, as I told you before, when I could finally contact you after you took the spy, her name is Kamiya Kaoru and it's the sole heir of her sword style, but that's not the most interesting about her…she's Katsura-sama's foster daughter" she said and felt as if she was finally free. Finally she will avenge her lover, she was going to wound Katsura-sama in a way he would never forget.

"Thank you Yumi, I will see that you get your end of the deal, you've been most helpful. For now, lay low and don't attract attention to yourself, ok?" the white tiger ordered.

"Of course not, besides, I am not going to be the one they blame, after all, the only one who knows about any of this is Izuka…I am just his bed partner, he would never tell me such highly classified information, or at least, they won't believe him when he says so." She said with a smirk no one was around to see.

"I hope you are a good actress then" Enishi said and then sighed "Well, I have to leave you, I have some business to attend to" he explained.

"Of course, I will await further instructions," she said and ended the conversation.

xxoOoxx

The tall black haired man smirked as he came face to face with the abandoned house. He walked closer to the falling door and pushed it open, allowing himself in. The place was dim. Even with the bright sunlight outside he could barely make out his surroundings, but his eyes were unnecessary, he could feel the presence of his prey with such ease that he couldn't help the blossoming hope feeding his heart at the chance of such a favorable encounter.

"The Mibu Wolf, what are you doing here?" the Battousai asked, his voice was not like he had expected, it wasn't rough or deep…just something else.

He turned his yellowish eyes towards the corner the voice had come from and smirked at the sight. A red haired man of no more than a few inches over five feet stood there, threatening him. Though his eyes were threatening, the rest of him wasn't, yet, as a fellow assassin, he knew looks could so easily betray.

"I am merely doing as ordered, I was assigned to eliminate the Battousai," the tall black haired man simply replied, with one hand unsheathing his katana and the other taking the cigarette from his lips and puffing some smoke. His eyes seemed to glaze over a fraction of a second before his eyes once again fell over the red head assassin, "Okita was somewhat disappointed when he failed to find you in your apartment, he's been wanting to prove himself against you…imagine how he felt when he only found Kamiya Kaoru--"

The press of steel against his own blade filled the wolf with excitement, he knew the Battousai would be roused with such news, after all, being hunted down in one's own lair was quite disturbing. He was surprised at the brute strength such a tiny man could bring to bear, but more rather than concerning him, it served as a new thing to rejoice in. With skilled manipulation he tangled his sword in Battousai's and pushed it to the side with all the strength his lower arm possessed. Sending the assassin to the side.

"Quite emotional Battousai," Saitou said with the smirk still in place, but his eyes, were steadily becoming colder, wilder, and more ferocious "but Okita is a soft man, he will not kill a woman…unless I order him to, so, worry about this fight, nothing more".

And that was how it all started. Instantly Saitou fell into Gatotsu, his posture relaxed but firm, his eyes attentive and his breathing almost inexistent. He was all power and calm, everything a deadly assassin needed. Saitou charged.

Everything happened fast, in fact, too fast. The Gatotsu flew with almost God speed, but true God speed appeared when Battousai knelt down and with only an inch of opening managed to kick Saitou's jaw and unbalance him. But the wolf was just as talented, and hurriedly flipped back to allow some space to come between the heated steel. Landing on his feet, with katana raised to strike again.

Battousai paced, his smirk becoming more lively with each step "Your swordsmanship is good Wolf of Mibu, but still, only second to me," he taunted and stopped walking, his katana on his right hand, the point almost touching the messy floor because of his small stature, "are you by any means taking this fight personally? That would be such a shame…"

A chuckle escaped Saitou and the taller man readied another Gatotsu "I am second only in name," Saitou replied with ease "prepare yourself Battousai".

And with that another Gatotsu came towards the smaller man, who decided to jump out of the way, but it was clearly a mistake, for, not a second away, Saitou made a quick move and once again adopted the Gatotsu stance and latched an air attack. Battousai was caught unprepared, but even so, his battle ready reflexes automatically moved his katana to stop the attack, but it was not enough. He managed to avoid being cut by half, but the sword slashed his lower right arm, making it sting like hell. Battousai jumped out of the way, landing a good ten feet away.

"So, the legend about you being immortal must be false," Saitou said while inspecting his katana "this is blood I see, you must be mortal then…only rather hard to kill" he finished and turned to Battousai.

Battousai chuckled and his amber eyes looked down at his bleeding arm for a moment. "The amount of hatred you hold towards me is amusing Saitou, it is almost as if you feel threatened by me, who has no interest in you whatsoever," he said and sighed tiredly and sheathed his sword. "It's disheartening how so little blood can excite you so much…"

With a growl Saitou once again attacked. His Gatotsu, instead of piercing air like the last two times met the hard steel of Battousai's katana, which unexpectedly pushed his with such strength that left his whole right side unprotected, with just the right amount of speed at the withdrawal. What he didn't expect though was the strange warp of air that caught up between them and pulled him towards Battousai which he was unable to escape from. With horror he realized Battousai's intent and he gritted his teeth inhumanly as he watched, as if in mocked slow motion, the turn Battousai was making and the smaller sword, the Wazikashi, which suddenly appeared on his left hand.

He somehow, powered by the will to live and the luck of the gods, managed to jump out of the way to prevent the fatal wound that Battousai hadn't hesitated to inflict upon him, but not the wide cut that slashed through his abdomen. He fell to the floor, and blood poured from the gaping wound and he was forced to drop his sword pressing on the wound to stem the bleeding.

"I am impressed, you managed to survive," Battousai said, his eyes as cold as his smirk "how should I kill you now" mused the bloody haired assassin.

Saitou slowly came to his feet, his wound pouring some more blood at the unwanted motion, but both assassins cringed at the sound of Saitou's cell phone ringing. With a scowl Saitou answered the phone call "What?" he growled but then his eyes widened considerably, his hand falling from his wound. "Understood." He replied and hung up, seemingly unmoved but to the deadly assassin in front of him, the wounded man had become a completely different person.

Battousai remained silent, only watching as the man in front of him debated his options. It was half a minute later when their eyes met "Okita is down" Saitou said simply.

The meaning of Mibu's Wolf didn't pass unnoticed by the clever assassin in front of him "Who defeated him?" he asked with an increasing anger.

"The White Tiger"

xxoOoxx

"Good evening!" the voice of a young man interrupted the silence of the guard at the entrance of the apartment building "I am looking for Kenshin Himura" the man explained with a wide smile.

"I am sorry, but Mr. Himura is not in" the guard said cautiously "come later".

The white haired man chuckled "I know he's not in!" exclaimed the man happily "He just called me to say he was out, you see, I am his brother-in-law, and my wife just came to visit a few days ago…I'm supposed to be in China, but I decided to surprise her by coming to visit. So, have you seen her already? She's hot, isn't she?" the white haired man asked with a grin.

"I certainly haven't," the guard replied with a smile "I wonder if she by any chance shared the red hair trait with Mr. Himura. That would be interesting" the guard commented with a smile.

"Sadly she doesn't, she has very long black hair, but is as soft as silk…but you better not come near her because then I will have to kill you, she's mine after all" the white haired man joked.

"I won't, I won't. Very well, I will let you in, but only because I believe surprises are what make life worth living, but I don't want any trouble, you hear me young man?"

"Of course, sir!" mocked Enishi by making a soldier salute "Do not let my wild appearance or my piercings fool you, I am a popular business man in my country" he finished and after a small bow of his head, entered the building.

xxoOoxx

To be continued…

xxoOoxx

JeniNeji's Note:

1. There is a community on LiveJournal . com searching for readers and writers. Also, someone who knows to make banners, so if anyone is interested, this is the link: (without the spaces)

http: // community .livejournal. com /rk_ challenge /

2. I know many of you wouldn't understand, and I'm sorry. But I am making my hardest to make short chapters (10 pages on Microsoft Word) since I was too evil on my last beta Jolee Finch. Yup, there were chapters almost 50 pages long…and readers tire and my beta as well. So, I decided to leave this chapter here, because I know you will all agree that the next part…can't be left hanging. Sorry.

3. I am on my finals too, Fencing and Cellular and Molecular Biology ("My professor here is so evil… there are almost 24 chapter and 32 power point presentations!!! I haven't even been able to sleep, worry consumes me!")

4. Please, review!