All right another chapter! ^_^. If you thought the last one was a cliffhanger, just wait til you read this one =). I'm really excited because this is going to set the stage for some cool stuff XD!!! I hope you all like it. There's a bit of Ryosuke-Yasmine interaction here and a bit of action. So I sincerely hope you guys like it!! Thank you for sticking the story out this long, and please do review and let me know what you think. I look forward to comments, they wake me up in the morning and add a bounce to my step :D

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"It's going to take us a day to get to your location. You should probably get some sleep. You've been up all night."

Changed and once again fully clothed, Yasmine got into the drivers seat. "I don't sleep." She turned on the ignition, and they flew towards their destination.

It was morning now, and Ryosuke had just finished calling his brother and reassuring him that everything was okay not to worry. He'd also spoken to his father and gave him a general idea of what was happening. He hadn't mentioned what they were up to or that Yasmine had a lead, for fear that it would mess with her plan. He wanted to get out of this predicament as quickly and quietly as possible. Then there was the fact that she was a journalist and was bound to do an expose. What did she care about how it affected the hospital? He'd have to find a way to quiet her later. Right now it was solving this that was most important.

The ride there was tense and awkward, neither of them breaking the silence. Ryosuke wasn't quite sure how to handle this woman. She annoyed him for reasons he could even comprehend. And for Ryosuke, that was a first. But she stirred up something in him. He couldn't analyze her or predict her actions in anyway possible. Sometimes he'd catch glimpses of her personality but most of the time, she was monotonous. Not the way Takumi was, but more like she had some deep, dark secret that she didn't want to let out. Or to keep people from seeing who she really was. She was focused and passionate, even though she didn't always seem like it. But that was as far as he knew. Who she was, what she was doing here, where she came from? She'd chosen not to disclose that. He felt like such a stereotypical open book in front of her. The well-bred, intelligent, calm, collected type that takes over the family business due to obligation.

"Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to stare? You'll make me blush," Yasmine broke the silence. She'd felt Ryosuke look at her through his peripheral vision and it was making her feel more awkward than she already did.

"Sorry, I didn't realize, I was just thinking." He stammered, now embarrassed.

"Thinking about what exactly? I suppose a man such as yourself is always analyzing things. So what are you working out in that brain of yours now?"

"You." He figured honesty was going to get him further in this conversation than small talk would. "Journalists don't have contacts like Rei."

"What would you know about Rei?"

"Nothing. Why don't you tell me? I didn't miss how you tensed up when I only grabbed your shoulder, but you let him feel you up on that couch."

"Cute. Are you jealous?"

"Not quite. Just curious. Special relationship? Or does he just come by once in a while and does what he wants?" Ryosuke knew he was acting like a jerk. He didn't know where this was coming form, but he was obviously bitter about the skeaze feeling her up, when she'd clearly been repulsed by him only touching her shoulder.

"Don't talk about him that way. You don't know him at all. Not that I have to justify my actions to you, but just to set the record straight, the room we were in was bugged and the mirror was false." Choosing her words carefully, she continued. "Rei… he used to work for this gang. Long story short, he saved me and got in a lot of crap. He's under surveillance now. So the only way we could've discussed anything is if we got close enough to whisper. He won't leave the yakuza, but he's not all bad. He's never wronged me, at least. Anyway, I suggest you get those useless thoughts out of your head, before you give yourself a migraine."

"I'm sorry I didn't know." He wanted to know what had happened between them, but it was clear she wouldn't budge. "Well, then tell me this, you obviously don't seem to like me much. What'd I even do to you?"

She thought about this for a moment. He'd caught her off guard. "It's not that I dislike you. I just dislike your type." She said sighing. "You've got everything going for you. You have a future, a family, a brother who, from the looks of it, refuses to see you disrespected. I'm sure you've had your problems, and I know it's unfair of me, but somehow, people like you always take things for granted. I guess that's what sets me off." She hated this part of herself, along with a long list of other flaws. He didn't need to know her past, nor the fact that when he spoke to her, her walls broke down.

"That IS unfair. Listen, let me drive for a while. I'll take care of your car. Don't worry. You should get some sleep, we won't be there until evening anyway."

"I can't sleep. What if they did something to Hikaru-kun?"

"They won't. They'll need a patient before they kill him. You can't store organs indefinitely, and the fresher the better."

"Alright." She pulled over, Ryosuke got in, and continued to drive. She hated to admit it, but his presence was comforting. She knew he wasn't a bad person, even if she couldn't quite trust him yet. And though she hadn't done this in a long time, she fell asleep in front of him. She'd finally fallen asleep in front of another man.

Unbeknownst to her, Ryosuke's attentions were more on her innocent face rather than the road. Of course, to the pro-racer, this wasn't really a problem.

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Waking up abruptly, Yasmine, realized she'd slept like a baby the whole way through. They stopped to eat and continued on their way, finally reaching the corner of 54th and Souzen.

"Alright, Rei, we're here, what now?" She asked on her cell phone.

"Listen, you're going into a warehouse, make sure Ryosuke Takahashi isn't with you. A monkey could recognize him, and you didn't give him enough cover last time."

"Just get to the point."

"Fine. Inside the warehouse, you'll come by Dr. Kuro Hei. He's a cardiologist. I couldn't set you up with Midou or Kitagawa, it would have blown your cover. The only way to do this is if you convince him you have an actual heart issue. You have Ryosuke to help, you should be fine. They'll take you to their underground lab where they work and from there you can find the kids who were taken. I suppose that's what you were trying to do in the first place right?"

"Thank you. I owe you another favor."

"Marry me and we'll call it even."

"Yes… Don't push your luck."

"Forget it, you don't owe me anything." With that Rei hung up and Yasmine was left to figure out a plausible condition in 20 mins.

"Okay… lets see," Ryosuke cut in. "You have a few options. You could say you were in an accident before and have hyper-angiogensis caused by hypoxia. It's plausible, and it would require the reconstruction of your cardiac muscles and vasculature."

"Okay, I can work with that. I can't see normal physicians because I'm not a citizen of this country. I could pretend to be a refugee."

"Great, I could pretend to be your husband and explain everything in detail."

"Or you could wait here and follow the car when it comes out?"

It was almost comical how dumbstruck he looked. "You're telling me you want to go by yourself?"

"Yes, that's the plan. I go in, they take me to their hospital for testing, I find Hikaru-kun, and bust out."

"No. Not happening. Either you take me with you, or we call the cops now."

"Are you sure you want that? If you call the cops, there'll be media coverage, and your hospital's reputation would suffer. Isn't that why you didn't call them in the first place? Yeah… Now that I think about it, I bet you were so chatty earlier to find a way to keep my mouth shut about this when it was all over." She accused. She was almost hurt. She hadn't thought that he'd been pumping her for blackmail information. Just another lesson of life. You can't trust anyone.

"Listen! That's not it." He didn't understand why she insisted on making him the bad guy and excluding him.

"Okay, let me spell this out for you. You are Takahashi Ryosuke. Anybody who's anybody in the medical field knows your face. You want me to take you? I might as well hold up a sign asking directions to be killed! Right now, you're only a liability. I'm guessing, when they take me to this hospital of theirs, they'll put me under so I don't know where I'm going. I'm going to need you to follow me in the car."

"I refuse, it's too dangerous. I'm calling the cops."

It didn't seem like she was going to get through to him. It wouldn't do any good now if they called the cops, he wouldn't talk so easily. It didn't seem like she had a choice, so she counted to three, and as fast as lightening punched him unconscious. Taking those martial arts classes had come in use after all! Sorry. Actually, not that sorry. Come find me when you're awake.

Heading inside the warehouse, she followed a few signs and headed to the allocated room. Behind a desk sat Hei-sensei.

"Hello Hei-sensei."

"Well, seems we'll be doing a heart transplant today. Give me the details."

Yasmine spilled the details of the disease as much as she could remember. In a think accent she said, "Ne, sensei… I'm not too bright with the medical terminology, so I'm not sure exactly what I have. I just know I need a transplant and I can't get one because I'm a refugee. Money is not an obstacle. I will pay as much as I have to, to get the care I need. You understand what I'm saying don't you?"

He observed her for a few moments. She'd come alone, so it didn't seem like a threat. "Alright I will transport you to our hospital. You will be put under. Count to 10."

She put on a mask and by the time she'd counted down she was out. Her last thought was hoping that Ryosuke would wake up soon and find her.

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Meanwhile, Ryosuke awoke with a throbbing ache in his neck. The little… THING has knocked him out! For someone so tiny, she sure did hit hard. Then it hit him. She'd gone in by herself. She could be anywhere by now! Dammit! Why does she have to be so obstinate!

He gathered himself and treaded carefully towards the warehouse, undetected in case they were still there. He couldn't find her anywhere, and the car was nowhere to be seen. How the hell does she expect me to find her now?!

He sat inside the car. Looked around and noticed the GPS was missing. Perfect! I'll just hack into the main satellite system and track her. She hadn't left him clueless after all. He got out his laptop and after a few furious clicks and some rapid typing, managed to track her real time. She was about 3 hours away. Hopefully, he'd get there in time.

He drove as furiously as possible, breaking every speed limit there was, running reds, and out running traffic police. Finally, he reached the hospital. What he saw nearly made him crash into the fence. There it was. The hospital was burning up in flames, windows exploding, and Yasmine nowhere to be found.