A Price to Pay

By Sakura Diaries

Prologue

Sakura Mikan's eyes shone with unshed tears as she felt the bouncing of the wagon none too gently. She knew her body was already bruised and bloody. Her captors seemed not to care that she was becoming more and more battered with the way they were handling the wagon but then again, that was what should be expected. They were heartless creatures. To think that they kidnapped her for just the hell of it – something that they felt like doing since obviously, she wasn't rich nor was she something that should be looked twice at.

Going to the woods that afternoon was not something she had done because of impulses. The woods were dangerous but she needed to go find herbs for the patients. As an apprentice of the village doctor, she was given the task to gather herbs every once in a while. She thought today was just like any other day but as fate would have it, nothing was supposed to.

She let out a small hiss of pain when the wagon suddenly came to a halt, giving her body another harsh hit. She was now starting to wonder why she still wasn't on the verge of passing out. Her body seemed to be made with stronger material than what she had originally thought.

"Get out of the way." One of the bandits who kidnapped her growled angrily but there was a hint of fear in his voice that made Mikan looked her captors. They were all men, in their thirties and heavily built. Their numbers were at least twenty if she had counted correctly and some had wagons while others had horses. She was now heavily confused as to why most of them looked apprehensive. They were men who can handle themselves.

"Gladly." A cool voice made Mikan's head snapped to where all of the bandits were looking. She saw a man with raven hair with a face hidden beneath a mask. Instantly her insides fell cold, she knew that man and the stories that accompany his existence where not pretty. Not pretty at all.

Mikan could tell that the men were shocked. It wasn't everyday humans go unscratched when meeting with the infamous Black Cat. Actually, she never really heard of anyone who directly met the Black Cat in the flesh and lived to tell the tale. Only gossip and some very, very lucky onlookers informed everyone that a masked young man was someone to be feared.

"Go-good." The man who seemed to be the leader stuttered as he regained from his stupor. "It saved us the time from kicking your ass. You're lucky kid." The leader added in an attempt to save his wounded pride in front of his fellow bandits. But he immediately regretted it when the young man suddenly appeared behind him and held a knife to his neck.

"Now what were you saying?" Even if Mikan couldn't see his face, she knew he had on a twisted smirk. She then saw some blood spilled before the leader promptly dropped dead. All of his followers were shock but anger overrode their commonsense as they quickly rushed forward to attack the Black Cat. The masked man seemed to have expected this as he quickly prepared for the attack, falling into a fighting stance.

As all of the bandits attack the Black Cat, Mikan saw the chance to escape. Her wrists were the only things tied behind her back and she knew, with great effort she would be able to stand up and run away. And she did just that.

It was really hard at first but when she had mustered what strength she had left and a much needed adrenaline rush came to her aid, she was able to sprint out of there. Of course, running into the woods blindly and at night was no easy task. She still could hear the sounds of the battle which should have made her go faster but alas, it did exactly the opposite. Her legs completely stopped moving and an overwhelming feeling took over her – guilt.

Why? That was the only question running through her mind at the moment. She may be kind but she was not dumb. Yes, he might have been known to be a dangerous man and had slaughtered thousands but he showed up when she was in desperate need of help though he wasn't really aware of it. The odds were at least 20:1. Even if he was a very skilled fighter, he can't be all of them. He was sure to lose.

Fighting the urge to bang her own head against the tree, she grudgingly went back to the battle site. But of all the things she had expected, it never entered her mind to see the infamous Black Cat breathing haggardly, one hand clutching his side which was covered in blood and the other was… holding the mask. All of the bandits were on the floor, either unconscious or dead. She was surprised to found out that she didn't care.

She knew she was staring. Who wouldn't? As far as she knew, no one has ever seen the Black Cat unmasked. People just assumed he was young because of his steady built and agility. And they were right, for standing before her was a raggedly handsome man. Chiseled face, small but sharp nose, thin lips and crimson eyes framed by scrunched up brows was there to be seen in all its glory. Even if his face was almost like her own – bruise and battered, he was still very good looking.

Mentally, she kicked herself for thinking such thoughts. He was injured for goodness sakes! And here she was – wait! Injured? That made her snap back to reality. He needed medical help as soon as possible. The blood that was pouring out of his side was not to be taken lightly. Fortunately, she was an apprentice and a good one at that so she didn't need to go cry out for help. Suddenly, the danger of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks. SHE was going to go near an infamous killer, who, even in his situation could kill her without a second thought.

Regaining some of her lost commonsense, she weighed the pros and cons of the two things she could do. First, she could turn back and leave him to bleed to death and that should not bother her since he killed a lot of people. She sighed grimly. She knew it will. Her dream was to be a medic and she promised herself to try her hardest not to let people around her die. The Black Cat was not an exception, plus the fact that she also, in someway, owed her freedom to him even if it was only by chance.

This train of thought is leading to her second option – the option which was less appealing to her. She could approach him, and hope for some miracle that he would not kill her once she finished healing him. She shook her head vigorously. She would be killed. He was a murderer and no amount of gratitude from him could save her life if he wanted to take it away. She shivered slightly at the thought of becoming one of the dead. She was still young, in the ripe age of 18 and the sight of her body among those that lay on the Black Cat's feet was something horribly frightening. That thought alone made her step back – unintentionally stepping on a stray twig.

The sound caused her whole body to run cold when she realized she was not exactly hidden and could be easily seen if the Black Cat would turn his head ever so slightly – which he did. His whole body tensed up and his head snapped to where she was. Crimson eyes met amber. At that moment, she knew the Black Cat had her whole image imprinted into his mind. He was staring at her so intently, so seriously. Her messy long auburn hair, swollen frightened eyes and her petite form. She was also already shaking with fear, wondering what could she had been thinking to go back here when she had a perfectly good chance to escape.

He was still staring at her… almost curiously when suddenly, he straightened and a sinister smile appeared on his handsome face.

"I'm giving you three seconds little girl."

Mikan didn't need to be told twice as she bolted out of there.

To be continued…

"Yes, I'm perfectly aware that I haven't updated Toying with Love but I will. I just don't know when this stupid writer's block gets out of my head. So in the meantime, enjoy this story that has been playing in my mind for a while. Thanks for reading! Please review!"

-Sakura Diaries