Ssjj: I am already tired of doing the disclaimers. Hm, Aoshi, you're elected to do it.

Aoshi: You're pitiful. Ok, if you insist. –Talking in a monotone, bored voice— Ssjjvash does not own us: the Rurouni Kenshin characters. It's a darn good thing too because look what he's already making me do!

Ssjj: Hmph, thanks for nothing, Aoshi! On to the story.

ThE tHrEaT Chapter 3.

The next morning, Misao got up a little late and went straightway to fix some breakfast for her husband. She had tried to put last night's events out of her mind, but couldn't. After she cooked the food, she brought it to him.

She put the food on the table and sat down and that's when she noticed it. "Aoshi, what are you going to do with that?" She demanded to know. His bow and arrows were resting against the wall next to the door.

He glanced over his shoulder and shrugged. "We need a little extra money so I'm going to sell it in the auction on the weekend. Sanosuke is coming over today to help me with it."

Misao went over to check it out. He already lied to her once and he could do it again.

"It's not like I'm going to kill someone with it or anything..."

Her ears perked up and she walked directly behind him. "Why did you just say that, Aoshi?"

He looked up at her. "Because you're acting as if that's exactly what I plan on doing. Who would I shoot anyway? The former Battousai?" He smirked.

Misao bit her lower lip. She suddenly was not very hungry. –Calm down, it's just your imagination playing tricks on you! Aoshi is a good man and he wouldn't do anything like that anymore. Suzume was just imagining things. – Well, she wished she could believe herself.

"I didn't sleep very well, Aoshi. I'm going to lie down."

"Are you feeling alright? You want me to send for Megumi?"

"No, I just need some sleep."

Aoshi scratched his head. He wondered what had gotten into her all of a sudden. It would be terrible if she was in this mood still when—KNOCK, KNOCK! He smiled and instantly forgot about Misao. That was Sano at the door and they didn't have a lot of time.

Misao didn't even try going to sleep or bother to lie down for that matter. She went straight for the calendar. Maybe he had written something down that would give her a clue as to what he was doing.

"Bingo!" She said when she found it. There was a circle around the upcoming Saturday. What were they up to?? The wheels in her head were spinning rapidly as she tried to come up with an idea. She needed to get over to Kenshin and warn him personally.

"What are you doing, Misao? I thought you said you weren't feeling well." From the terrified look on her face, she really didn't look well! She was snooping around in his things even.

Misao cleared her throat. "I just wanted to check the calendar to see if we had anything planned this weekend. I was thinking about going to see Kaoru and Kenshin sometime soon."

Aoshi put his hand to his chin and thought for a second. It was an agonizing second that felt like an hour to Misao. "We're going to see them this weekend. I guess I forgot to mention it to you. We're having dinner at the Akabeko."

"Sounds good," she said, putting the calendar back. She smiled and then an idea came to her. "You know what: I just remembered I have to go out and get something today. It might take me a while, but I'll be back a little after lunch." Before he gave his approval, she ran out the door.

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"What do you think, Saitou?" Kenshin said. He had finished explaining the situation to him and was awaiting his response.

Saitou tapped his fingers on his desk. "I think she's starting to develop a knack for getting herself into trouble. Why is it that that's exactly what happens to everyone who meets you?" He shook his head.

"Saitou!" Kenshin said harshly. "We need to find out who's after Suzume. This is not her fault. Are you going to help me or not?"

He cracked his knuckles. "Alright, Himura, what do you have in mind?" They chatted for a couple of minutes and then headed to the new archery-training center.

"Kenshin, it could be any one of these people." Saitou said, lighting a cigarette.

Kenshin didn't say anything. He knew what to look for. He believed the arrows were the key to the whole thing.

"Well, well, good afternoon, gentlemen!" A short middle-aged man wobbled over to them. "Can I interest you in some lessons? The first lesson is absolutely free, so you can try it out and decide whether or not you wish to continue—"

"No thanks, old man." Saitou grunted.

"Oh. Well, archery isn't for everyone..." the man droned on.

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to have a lesson right now." Kenshin said politely.

"Certainly," he took them to an open room inside and shut the door.

Kenshin got a look at some of the arrows. "Do you make the arrows yourself, or do you buy them?" He asked.

"No, all of our arrows are hand-made over in the next building. We buy our supplies from other companies, but we design them ourselves. I'll let you in on a little secret: everyone buys their arrows from us because ours is the best around." He stated proudly, rocking back and forth on his feet.

Kenshin took out the arrow he had brought with him and compared it with the others. It was the same except for the arrowhead itself. Someone had replaced the dull black one with a sharp deadly silver one. "Is this one of yours?"

The man only glanced at it. "Nope, not ours. That one was made by hand. You can tell because of the scratch marks they used to get the old arrowhead off. Amazing: whoever made this must have been an extremely sharp shooter!"

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At the dojo:

Misao knocked on the side of Suzume's window. Why would she leave it open for the world to look inside? She was thankful it was open though. She spotted Suzume walking past the door and called out to her.

"Misao, what are you doing here?" Suzume asked incredulously.

"Suzume, is Kenshin here?"

"No, he said he had somewhere urgent he had to go. Kaoru is here still and Sanosuke should be here any minute."

"Okay, that's good I guess. I can't stay very long or Aoshi is going to get more suspicious than he is already. He said we were going to go to the Akabeko this Saturday and you guys are coming too. I hate to say it, Suzume, but I think you're right. Go get Kaoru, would you?"

She told her about how Sano was going to help Aoshi sell his arrows that she saw this morning.

Suzume looked all around the dojo, but couldn't find her. "She's not here; she must have left already."

"Well, you sit tight and wait for Sano. I'm going to try to catch up with Kaoru and then I'll come back." Misao waved goodbye and headed off.

Suzume felt like she had butterflies in her stomach as she waited patiently and quietly for Sano to come. She decided to practice listening for him, kind of like how Kenshin had taught her.

A few minutes later, she heard footsteps on the pavement and went to greet him. He smiled when he saw her. "Hey, Suzume, did everyone leave already?"

"Yeah," she answered.

"Oh, well. I was hoping to talk to Kaoru, Yahiko, and Tsubame before they left. Guess I didn't make it on time then. I'll just leave them a note before I go. Got any paper around?"

She went to get it for him. "What did you want to tell them?" She asked curiously.

"I just want to let them know everyone is meeting at the Akabeko on Saturday night. Hey, don't tell Kenshin though. It's a secret." He looked at her and winked.

All the color seeped out of her face. Sanosuke had met with Aoshi this morning so that meant he was in on it too! She would rip the note up right after he left.

"Suzume, are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost."

"I won't tell Kenshin, I promise!!!!" She said in sudden reaction.

Sano's eyes got big. "Ok," this might be an interesting day.

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Samuraiduck27: Yay! Glad you are enjoying this! I almost forgot I was writing this story, but then I saw your review. Close call.

Can you (or anyone) think of what kind of animal Suzume would relate to? Or should I do that at all? I may or may not, I don't know.