Title – Destined together

Disclaimer – I don't own Cardfight! Vanguard or any of its characters…

A/N – Hello everyone! Thank you for the wonderful reviews and for favs and follows as well! I'm glad you guys are liking the story so far! It makes me happy! So on with the chapter! Leave a review out at the end! Thank you! ^^

'…' - Thoughts

"…" - Speaking

Chapter 9

No one's POV

Shin Nitta sighed as he sat on the chair in his room. He has been searching for his niece, Misaki, since her disappearance but had no luck in finding her. He removed his glasses and closed his eyes as he leaned back on his chair.

'I'm trying hard to find her yet she's not even at the places she sometimes hides… Where could she be? Even Akari-chan doesn't know about her whereabouts the last time I talked with her. Misaki had always trusted her for everything… Aside from that, the directors look like they are not interested in finding her… at least not in front of me… or were they? I'm surprised they are not bugging me now. Looks like they believe me about not knowing the whereabouts of Misaki-chan' he thought as he rubbed his temple.

"I hope she's alright! What if someone kidnap her…? What if-…" he started when his cell phone started ringing. He instantly grabbed it, thinking it was his niece but found out it was 'Akari-chan' calling.

"Hello, Akari-chan…" … "Oh sure, I can. I'll be there in fifteen minutes" said Shin and ended the call. 'I wonder what she needs help with…' he thought as he left the room.

Akari's Café…..

Shin entered the café and saw Akari at the register then glanced around. He went to take a seat when a boy approached him. He looked like a high school student and had an average built. He had black hair spiked and tied back in a ponytail.

"Yo, Shin-san! Long time no see!" he greeted and grinned at Shin. Shin noticed him, the boy named Katsuragi Kamui, a part-time worker at Akari's café.

"Good to see you to, Kamui-kun! How are you?" greeted Shin to the boy and smiled.

"Shin-san, did you find Misaki-chan?" asked Kamui surprising Shin about how did he know about her missing then he recalled… 'Oh, right… the newspaper'

"Not yet… Kamui-kun. I'm sure we will…" replied Shin when…

"Kamui-kun! Stop slacking off! This is the third time now!" roared Akari as she approached them, glaring at Kamui who sweat dropped.

"Yes, yes. Sorry! See ya!" exclaimed Kamui and left towards the kitchen, mumbling "I hope Emi-chan comes today…"

"Anyway, what do you need help with, Akari-chan?" asked Shin, looking at Akari who smiled cheerfully at him.

"Shin-san, I met Misaki-chan a while ago!" exclaimed Akari. Shin looked at her surprised. "She is alright!" she added and smiled as she put a cup of coffee on the table where Shin stood.

"W-Where is she? Can you take me to her?" asked Shin, his voice hinted with relief as he knew Akari would never joke like this when it comes to Misaki.

"Here. Have a seat, Shin-san. I'll tell you" said Akari and smiled, gesturing Shin to sit down and moved the cup of coffee towards him.

Meanwhile…..

Misaki glanced back for the third time now. She was walking back taking a short cut as she knew she had been out for more than one hour. She knew her 'Master' might become 'Monster' if she didn't go back soon. She sighed as she found no one behind her. 'I'm just being paranoid…' she thought as she walked.

She increased her pace in a hurry when she turned around the corner and that's when she heard some footsteps behind her clearly. Now, she knew someone was following her so she ran as fast as she could.

"Stop her!" someone exclaimed few feet behind her, followed by the addition of more stomping behind her.

Misaki's eyes widened at that. It confirmed that whoever was following her was about to reach her. With that she sprinted forward hurriedly and was shocked that the route was empty indicating that she had turned the wrong way in panic. 'Who are they?! How many are they?!' she thought and glanced back through the corner of her eyes.

"On it" said another voice.

She whipped her head to look in front as she heard another voice echoing, now panicked and somewhat scared but saw that someone in the shade was already waiting ahead obstructing her way of escape. Ten more steps and she would crash into him, if she is not caught by her persuaders running behind her of course.

'No… this is happening again… Like that time… No! Not again!' She shook her thoughts from the past. 'I can't let it happen again! Misaki, get grip of yourself!' she thought.

Panicked, she gave a sideway glance to search for other escape and as if heavens answered her prayers, there was a narrow path just a two feet away before she reach the man in the front who was blocking her escape. It seems that the man ahead noticed it as well as he moved towards her. Now she just has to maintain the same speed and take a fast turn through her small escape route.

She almost tumbled over a dumpster at the corner due to the abrupt turn, merely preventing her from falling face first. But she knew they were still behind her, so she kicked and pushed some things along the way, running on adrenaline.

Her feet ached but as soon as she saw the bright light at the end of the narrow alley way, she thanked the heavens when she was out of the alley and on somewhat crowded sidewalk but didn't stop as she could still hear her persuaders' footsteps and grumblings behind.

Panting and panicking, she turned right hurriedly and ran wherever her feet could take her, away from her persuaders. She ran past the people, ignoring the crowds somewhat scared and lost when she spotted the familiar brunette with turquoise eyes who was looking up at something.

For the first time since their meeting, she was glad to see him. She increased her speed and as soon as she reached him, she wrapped her arms around him for an embrace, surprising the young man who stiffened and looked at what had crashed into him.

"Hey! What are you-… Tokura…?" he said, surprised at the sudden hug and more surprised at whom it was. He was about to speak when he felt her tremble and her arms tightened around him. He blinked then frowned.

"T-Thank goodness, it's you…" she said and sighed deeply while Kai glanced sideways as he saw the passerby's looking at them and some even giggled (women) and whispered. He cleared his throat, feeling awkward and strange and was glad she let go suddenly.

Misaki looked back, panting and glanced around while Kai looked her questioningly. Her hands were still trembling and her hair was slightly sticking to her forehead, noticed Kai.

"Tokura, what happened? Why are you-…?" asked Kai but was startled when she suddenly grabbed his hand and that's when he noticed how cold her hand was. 'She's scared of something… Is she running from someone?' he thought.

"Let's go home… Now" said Misaki, her voice hoarse as she started dragging him, tightening her grip on his hand while her eyes darted around. He noticed the urgency in her voice and the emphasis on the word 'now'.

"Hmm" he muttered, looking at her distressed state and took the lead. He was sure that something has happened as he observed her then glanced back from where she came running from but found nothing unusual. He saw she was walking closer to him and still hadn't let go of his hand, leaving him perplexed at her behavior.

Kai's Residence…

Kai sighed, puzzled as he stood at the entrance of his house. As soon as they entered the gates, Misaki left his side and went inside hurriedly. He had went to the café, Shingo had mentioned that Misaki had went. He felt some nagging in his mind when she didn't return for more than two hours and he couldn't reach her through Shingo's cell phone, so he decided to check it himself. Not that he was worried or anything… He was just having a walk around as he was bored… Nothing else…

He was looking for a cafe named 'Café Espresso' and was about to ask its location to someone when she came and surprised him with a hug… well not really a hug… more like she ran into him, almost. And he had felt relieved to see her. He was about to scold her but then he saw her disturbed face making him stop.

Their walk from the main street; as he hadn't brought his car with him, he had to hire a cab till the main street block and had to walk home for ten minutes; was silent. Misaki was acting different which worried him more than he liked. Then again… why would he care?

'May be she was running away from my home and encountered something horrible and accidently crashed into him?' the mere thought made him unsettled and frowned. 'Well… she has some explaining to do…' he thought and sighed. He entered through the door and was greeted by Naoki.

"Oh, you are here, Kai-kun?" asked Naoki as he saw Kai's glare. "That explains why Boss Lady ran off…" he muttered which didn't go unheard by Kai who didn't comment on it.

"What do you want to eat at lunch?" asked Naoki when he saw Kai walking by him without saying anything. Kai shot him a bored look as if questioning why he even bothered asking. It's not like their master complains on the food they cook every day anyway…

"Something that we didn't eat on last Sunday" replied Kai and continued to walk towards the stairs. Naoki sweat dropped and scratched the back of his head, thinking 'What did we eat last Sunday anyway?'

Misaki's room

Misaki stared at her hands as she sat on the bed. Her thoughts were totally jumbled right now as she thought back about the incident not long ago. She couldn't believe that she really was trembling when she held onto him. Was she really that scared…? Was it just an instinct…?

She was surprised herself that the first thing she did was embrace him when she saw him and was so relieved to see him. She felt protected when she held on to him. He felt so warm at that moment that she almost forgot about her persuaders when his voice brought her back to her senses.

She had suddenly let go of him when she noticed her actions but felt the warmth left her so she grasped his hand instead. Perhaps for reassurance that he was there with her as she walked with him and was surprised her hand refused to leave his hand. She was more surprised that he hadn't shook her off then and there. May be he noticed her trembling? 'Why am I thinking about him anyway…?' she thought, clenching her fists in her lap, staring the floor but the other part of her was really grateful to him.

"Tokura… what happened?"

Startled, Misaki looked up to see Kai standing in front of her. Why hadn't she noticed him entering her room? She was surprised at his somewhat gentle tone.

"N-Nothing" replied Misaki, avoiding his gaze. "I… am sorry about earlier…" she said, referring to her 'almost' crash into him. Her cheeks flared a little at that, embarrassed.

Kai raised an eyebrow at her weird behavior then blinked. He bent forward slightly towards her and pushing aside her hair; he put his palm over her forehead, thinking if she was sick. She looked at him, surprised at the close proximity and saw he was staring at her. He frowned when he noticed her face has gone pink now and was a little hot. He sighed and stood straight.

"You have a fever, Tokura?" he asked, staring at her. She looked away from him and put her fringe behind her ear.

"N-No… I'm fine" replied Misaki, looking up at him after composing herself. Kai raised his eyebrow than shrugged.

"You looked like you were running from someone" he said then raised his eyebrows as if he realized something. "I see… Don't tell me you were going to get kidnapped?" he asked that sounded like a statement, causing Misaki to look at him surprised. Well that confirmed it…

Misaki stared at him for a few seconds while he looked at her, waiting for her to speak. He noticed her eyes were filled with what…? Anxiety…? Hesitance…? Fear…? He couldn't figure it out and frowned.

"Tokura…" he called as he put his hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch which didn't go unnoticed by him. "Are you hurt…?" he asked. Misaki blinked and looked his worried face. She shook her head slightly.

"No, I'm fine…" said Misaki as she rubbed her temple and took a deep breath. Kai sat beside her while Misaki looked thoughtful at the moment. However, his next words caused her to shoot a glare at him.

"Hn. You looked like a scared lost kid when you decided to tackle me in public. Now that I mention it, if you wanted to hug me so badly you could have said so, Tokura…" Kai said, smirking at her.

"No! Don't get the wrong idea, Kai!" she suddenly exclaimed, returning to her usual self. She glared at him as she found him smirking at her and looked away. She blinked as a thought crossed her mind 'Did he say that on purpose to distract my mind…? Nah…'. She sighed.

"I think there were three of them who were chasing after me... I don't know who they are and I didn't see them clearly" she said and sighed again. Kai stared at her, surprised that she was telling him while she turned to stare at the floor.

"I was… scared. So… When I saw you… I just acted. Now that I think, I kind of lost it for a moment there. I'm sorry…" she continued then paused for a moment. "I was kind of relieved to see you there…" she told him honestly. He was slightly surprised that she apologized to him and was shocked at her last statement. He felt happy to hear that but frowned that why he felt happy.

"It couldn't have happened if you had obeyed my order and didn't wander around outside. How careless are you? What could I have done if they had succeeded in abducting you?" he said and blinked as if he said something weird. He noticed that he was indirectly saying that he was worried…

"I'm sorry for making you worry… I went to meet my best friend in that café. I wanted to know how things were at Tokura residence… I didn't know this would happen. Strange… what were you doing there…?"

"I was not worried. I was… just strolling around…" replied Kai. Well, it was the half-truth as he didn't mention his intention behind it. "It's not like I noticed you were not present in the house or something" he added. He mentally face palmed that why was he even justifying himself. Misaki rolled her eyes at that.

"Don't go anywhere. You know there is a reward on you if anyone takes you back. And you are still indebted to me" he stated. In truth, he didn't want her to leave his house. Why…? He stood up, running his hand through his hair.

"No need to remind me…" she muttered, rolling her eyes. 'But… he did help me and stayed by me the whole time…' she thought and felt herself smile.

His face was returned to his stoic one as he decided to leave when she stopped him by holding his sleeve, causing him to look at her. She was looking aside and looked a little hesitant before she spoke.

"And… Thank you, Kai" she said quietly, hiding her face with her hair and he knew for what…

"Uh… Hn. It's not like I helped you or anything" he muttered, looking away. He felt strange when he saw her thanking him like that. It was like they had started understanding each other. He shook his head and left when she let go of his sleeve. "Now stop stalling time and get back to work. Go and help in the kitchen" he added, through the door before exiting.

Meanwhile…

"Where could she be? She has no other friends except Akari-chan where she could go…" said a woman with short brown hair loosely tied at the back, her hazel eyes looking out of the window, named Usui Yuri. She folded the newspaper in her hands and sighed.

"May be she has some other friend…? May be she might have thought of contacting you as you are her high school friend but couldn't? The first thing we come from Singapore and we hear this…" said a man with short blonde hair and silver eyes named Mitsusada Kenji often called as Koutei and ran his hand through his hair.

"I should contact Kai as well considering he had a failed marriage interview. Well… I don't think it would have affected him except… it might have hurt his pride a little after he got rejected. I'm still surprised to hear that… A lady who's not interested in him, that's new. My friend got rejected and your friend went missing… How strange is that…?"

"Wait… Koutei? You mean 'The great Kai Toshiki' was rejected…? How do you know this anyway?" asked Yuri, raising her eyebrows. Koutei shrugged. "I know he's your friend but I don't think he will tell you that" she added and rolled her eyes.

"Ren told me. I'm thinking of visiting him later by the way. Wanna come along?" asked Koutei as he stood up from the couch. "Anyway, Yuri, Gai had called me and said to meet up. Let's go" he added and sighed.

"Okay… Wait, Koutei… Why did Brother called you and not me?" asked Yuri as she followed him out the door and saw him shrug in reply.

To be continued…

A/N – Okay! So how was the chapter? I hope you guys enjoyed! Leave a review out please! Thank you! ^^