Disclaimer: *Author lady looks at characters… "I don't own y'all, do I? Nope…"*

A/N: Hehe, Cirya this chapter can be for you ^_^. Nice and hopefully suspenseful toward the ending just for your trip. Though you got back about week ago. Oh well. I was actually planning on finishing this one then. Heh, I'm a bit late… 'Tis the thought that counts…*g*

Chapter 3

Misao stepped into the drivers' side of her silver Porsche, Soujiro getting in on the other side.

"So where are we going?" she asked, turning to face Soujiro. "You did say you knew where he was didn't you?"

"Well, if you don't mind, it would be helpful if we stopped by my apartment first. I need my computer."

"Hey," she eyed him rather suspiciously, "What if you're working with them, and you're just trying to kidnap me too?"

"Then I wouldn't be getting into your car, much less the passenger side,"

"Good point," Misao was starting to like his company. He didn't mind her talking or her asking questions, and he seemed to be listening. So she started up the car, and managed to get them out of the driveway.

"Miss Makimachi?" he said after they had paused for a moment.

"Huh?"

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't think Mr. Himura will hurt your cousin,"

"Why wouldn't he?" It was rather absurd to think someone like the Battousai would just randomly spare his latest victim.

Soujiro was still smiling. "If he took all the trouble to kidnap her, without hurting her, then why would he do it now?"

"Maybe he felt like it?" she quipped.

"But think about it. He made sure she didn't get a scratch when he took her,"

"Well, duh! There's no proof now except what I saw! If there's no blood, no one will think anything bad happened to her! They'll just guess she left on her own."

Soujiro seemed to be thinking about this.

"Let me ask you something. If you weren't in the room when she was kidnapped, then how did you know that it happened? I'm positive Mr. Himura didn't go and knock anything over."

Uh-oh. She was going to have a time getting around the fact that her telepathy had queued her in on this. "I, uh, had gotten up to get a drink and I wasn't exactly asleep yet. I didn't hear him, but I was walking back toward the room, and I saw him."

"But how did you know it was Mr. Himura? It was dark wasn't it?"

"Because it just was!!" Thankfully, he let it the matter drop when she nearly steered off the road, and he had to grab the steering wheel to keep them from going off the side of a bridge. "Miss Makimachi!"

"Just call me Misao. You're probably older than I am anyway,"

"One more thing then, Misao-san. Would there be any reason for your cousin to be kidnapped?" She took back whatever she had thought earlier about him letting her ask the questions. And why was he so bent on formalities?

"What is this, CSI? Yeah, there was something…" she drifted off.

"Sorry," he said. "This is just confusing. But are you planning on telling me?"

She looked at him for a moment, and then starting grinning. "Actually, I haven't decided if I trust you yet,"

* * *

Whatever she had been feeling before suddenly left, and it was replaced with something Kaoru thought could be called 'sick dread'.

If she told Battousai who she was, he had no reason to keep her alive. Especially now that she knew more about him. If she didn't, then her three, five, and ten year old siblings would die. And that was for sure. The first wasn't. But if he knew who she really was, then Misao was in danger as well.

He had been sitting against the couch, katana on his side as always, watching her stare at her hands. Battousai had no idea what was going through her head then, and she hoped he didn't know what had happened only minutes before. Also as always, he remained silent.

Until he finally decided to ask her, "What just happened?"

"Dang," she muttered under her breath. At least he doesn't know…though he will probably find out in a few minutes. And, she reasoned to herself, probably with me at swordpoint. Great.

So she replied simply with a sharp "Nothing,", not bothering to look at him. He waited a few seconds and then asked her again.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't,"

"Then why are you asking?" She snapped back. She figured that probably wasn't the best thing in the world to have said, but most likely he would end up killing her anyway. But not before she made sure her siblings were alright. Somehow, she would stop the vision from coming true…But how?

"If you really want to know, my ten-year-old brother and my five and three-year-old sisters are about to die."

"How do you know?" His tone still didn't change.

"Because I saw them," This time, she looked up at him, glaring. "And it's none of your business anyway."

He decided to ignore the last part. "You've been here the whole time. That's impossible. And, you're only a telepath. You can't see the future." If it weren't for everything that was going on, Kaoru would have laughed out loud at the irony in this, as the words to the Alanis Morissette song popped into her head.

An old man turned ninety-eight
He won the lottery and died the next day
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late
Isn't it ironic... don't you think?

And then she was back in reality, having to decide whose lives were risked. When she realized that it should be about three o'clock, she remembered that the vision would take place only a few hours from now. It was now or never. She just prayed that Misao wouldn't be caught somehow as well.

Looking down again, and digging her nails into her palms, she managed to lift her head back up and say, "I'm not Makimachi Misao,". She paused for a moment, taking a breath, then continued, "I'm Kamiya Kaoru, her cousin." And that was when an idea struck her.

* * *

Misao and Soujiro both hadn't said anything for a while. Misao had turned the radio on and rolled the windows down halfway while Soujiro gave her directions to his apartment.

When a tiny bell sounded, Misao looked at the gas meter. What the…It was practically on empty!

"But I just filled it up yesterday afternoon!" she said aloud. When she looked at Soujiro, she noticed something was slightly off. Behind his seemingly plastered happy expression, he was almost frowning.

"Misao-san, I think we should pull over. Something isn't right," he said, just as he felt the tire beneath his seat abruptly go flat, right before Misao swerved onto the grassy area beside the road. She noticed that strangely enough, there wasn't anyone else around to be seen anywhere.

"Okay, but why is this starting to remind of a scene out of one of those weird horror movies? And who are they?"

Both of them looked out the window at the same time, only to see several armed swordsman standing about ten yards away. What's with the swords?Guns would definitely be more effective…What am I saying?!

When the car's engine suddenly died, Soujiro said, "I don't think staying in the car is going to help us much anymore."

"Neither do I," she said, "But at least I have my kunai with me," She pulled out five tiny daggers in each hand that she had attached to her belt. Soujiro unsheathed the sword that had been hanging at his side. Funny, Misao thought, I didn't even notice it.

"Stupid jerks!," she exclaimed as a knife shattered her left back window. Taking aim, she threw back two kunai at the attacker's shoulder, a hopefully non-lethal place. Killing them didn't seem like a good idea until she knew what they were doing.

Soujiro, on the other hand, was now fighting sword to sword with a tall, dark haired man who looked very surprised that Soujiro had even tried to fight him. Misao didn't think Soujiro would kill the man yet, though she doubted he would mind, but she could tell he was holding back. A lot. The man looked even more surprised when Soujiro started to win. Misao was throwing kunai at the others and fighting a few, trying to make sure none of them attacked her friend from behind.

But she was pretty sure it wouldn't matter if they did. Soujiro's speed was incredible. He hadn't taken a single blow yet. And he was still holding back what she was sure was over half his potential. Watching him was almost more interesting than the fight she was in.

When he knocked the man unconscious, he smiled even more and said, "That was easy enough,"

Misao rolled her eyes and was about to yell something at him, but she had to dodge another attack going towards her head. She wanted to try and read one of their minds and figure out what was happening, but she hardly had time to pause for a second.

Now only four men were left. Misao was out of kunai; all were embedded in various bodies on the ground. So moving as fast as she could, she used the ninja skills she had been training for since she was a child. Three were still standing now.

* * *

"She's the wrong girl," He spoke calmly and coldly into the cell-phone receiver.

"What do you mean?" was the reply.

"Her name isn't Makimachi Misao. She's Kamiya Kaoru,"

"She's not the telepath?" The voice seemed slightly on edge about this.

"No."

"Then where is that one?"

"We don't know. I only know that Himura's keeping Kamiya."

"Then find Makimachi. We need her soon,"

A/N: Uh-oh…Now I need to figure out who the people just on the phone are. Suggestions are welcome *g* Oh, also, I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed; I really, really appreciate it.

To my lovely reviewers~

Gr|ff|n()~ Thanks! And you got close on the guess about the kids. ^_^ *Gives a Hershey bar with a bow on top* Hehe…

dyingrain.reader()~ Thank you, and I plan on it!

aglaia102~ Thanks! You were the first person to review this, and I'm really glad you like it, as this is probably my first fanfic that I actually wrote down and planned on finishing.

Catrina3~ Not quite, but you're close. And thanks for reviewing!!

l3al3yanime~ Lol, I'm probably freaky myself! :-P But thank you!! Glad you like it!

unique-starfish~ Wow, thanks! You said you couldn't think of interesting plots?!, I loved 'Mark of Maturity'!! It was one of my favorite fics! Thanks again, but really, I love your writing!

You guys are awesome!!!