The Next Client

March had already arrived not too long ago. In fact, it was already nearing the middle of the second week. While many people were out enjoying their lives or focused on popular careers, a group of bodyguards were working on a private matter. Yes—it was something the public didn't know about unless they were working for the Japanese government. Many things weren't known about what government employees did, but they certainly weren't of concern for most of the residents in Tokyo, unless it involved danger for someone.

But…

It seemed like a perfectly nice day for some time off from work. Yet, most of the bodyguards and government officials, including the prime minister, were busier than ever before. Perhaps something great was about to happen. After all, there was one bodyguard in particular who had the day off.

"Hmm? Sora, are you going already?" a bodyguard with spiky black hair turned around.

Sora Hirosue, another bodyguard whose stature was a bit shorter than the other's, smiled pleasantly. "Yeah, I'll be going to Ikebukuro today for my day off. You guys are going to be working hard again today, right, Kaiji?"

"Of course we are!" Kaiji exclaimed. Then he frowned. "It's about our next client, Sora. You were there with us when the chief announced it, remember? It should be a given by now that we have to put in more time and effort when it comes to finding out about our clients."

"Ahaha!" the copper-haired bodyguard laughed delightedly. With a wink, he continued. "Look, don't worry about it. I'm sure it won't take too long for you guys to gather up all that information. Besides, we've all done this many times before, so it shouldn't be much of a hassle without me today."

Kaiji folded his arms and looked at the older bodyguard. "Honestly, what are we going to do with you? You're the older one, you know. How can you be so playful at a time like this? Although, I guess that's what makes you who you are."

"Well," Sora said. "Isn't it better to be positive, rather than to be negative at a time like this? Anyway, I better get going. See you, Kaiji."

Hearing those words from his senior bodyguard, Kaiji couldn't help but smile back. "See you later, Sora."

And so, the copper-haired young man turned around and made his way to what used to be the most dangerous city in all of Tokyo. It was his first time visiting the city, but he was also looking forward to it. There was something about Ikebukuro that attracted him to it, and yet… Little did he know that he was going meet someone who would change his life forever.

When he arrived in Ikebukuro, Sora could not believe his eyes. The city was calm and peaceful, unlike how it was up until near the end of May 2010. It was indeed a sight to behold. To think that this was a city that once had color gangs and violence to it... It was something that Sora himself could not believe.

So this is the city that was once known for being the most dangerous of all, huh, he thought.

"Ikebukuro," the copper-haired young man breathed. "It really has changed since 2010. The way it is now, you would hardly believe it was the number one most feared city out of all the ones in Tokyo."

That's right, isn't it? Even now... the world is constantly changing. But this place…

"…has changed much more rapidly than anywhere else," he finished for himself. Then, his astonishment turned into a grimacing expression. "What the heck am I thinking? Of course it's changed from then. It's been over 2,500 years since then. Things are going to change no matter what century we're in!"

He took out his cell phone and flipped it open, revealing the time and date. It was currently a Tuesday on March 7, 4524 and it was already 1: 13 p.m. Sora frowned at the sight of the current time period and hurriedly closed his flip phone, jamming it into his pocket as he kept walking, while taking a glance around all of Ikebukuro.

It was not until a moment later that he ended up bumping into someone. And right in front of a modeling agency at that.

"Ow!" a girl's voice was heard.

The sound of it was enough to make him come back to his senses. Sora blinked and opened his eyes in an instant before finally seeing the girl he had collided with. The sight in front of him was enough to take his breath away. Right there was a beauty who had long, wavy sky blue-colored hair and although only her left eye was fully opened, he could tell that she had to have light lavender eyes just by seeing her. She was also wearing a black dress with ruffles on both the top and lower parts with a matching pair of black high-heels.

"Ugh…" the girl said, rubbing the side of her head with her right hand. She had her right eye closed from the impact of the fall as well, giving her a typical pained look anyone, whether fictional or not, would have if they fell back from having a collision with another person. "That really hurts…"

Sora's eyes lowered with a sad look in them.

Yeah, he thought, that must have really done a bit of external damage…

"Sorry," the copper-haired young man apologized, extending his right arm towards the sky blue-haired girl, "are you okay?"

With both of her eyes now fully opened, the girl in front of him nodded as she looked at Sora's face. Then, she took her right hand in his and nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine now."

With a strong grip, the copper-haired bodyguard pulled the both of them up and smiled. "I'm Sora Hirosue, and you are?"

The sky blue-haired girl looked at him and introduced herself. "My name is Kasumi Sakurai. I'm a model at this agency. You walked right into me when I came out."

"Huh?" Sora looked taken aback at hearing those words. "You're Kasumi Sakurai?! Kasumi Sakurai—as in the most famous model in all of Tokyo?!"

Kasumi gave another nod. "That's right. This is where I work."

Sora glanced up at the building they were in front of. The sign at the very top read: "Wonderful Modeling Agency"; a.k.a. (Subarashii Zokei Dairiten/素晴らしい造形代理店). Though it was a strange name for a company, it was acknowledged as the top dairiten, due to the popularity and promotion of their models. The building itself was said to be nearly as old as Sakurai College, having been built around the time Ikebukuro spontaneously changed.

"Ah, you're right," Sora finally said. He looked back at Kasumi and smiled. "Again, sorry about what happened just now. I was kind of lost in thought after coming here."

The sky blue-haired girl blinked. "? Is this your first time in Ikebukuro?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah, I've been pretty busy lately with work, so I've never had a chance to come here until now."

"Now that I think about it," Kasumi continued, "you don't really look like a resident here. Are you a human?"

"Uh, yeah. Aren't you?" the copper-haired young man asked.

"Well…" Kasumi's eyes had a distant look to them as she trailed off, glancing to her right.

Just then, Sora suddenly had an idea.

He smiled at the sky blue-haired girl once more. "Why don't we go somewhere? You know, to make up for what happened."

When she heard his offer, Kasumi turned her head to look at Sora. "Huh…?" She tilted her head down, looking at the ground. "But… You don't know where to go, do you? I mean, you said that this is your first time in Ikebukuro."

"Ahaha…" Sora could feel himself sweat-dropping. "Well, if you don't mind, do you think you could show me around Ikebukuro? Before I knew it, I ended up in front of your agency after spacing out for a bit."

That was when he saw Kasumi's lips curl into a smile. "After bumping into me? You sure have some guts to ask me a favor, and not to mention, helping you around town."

"Well… I can explain." Sora put his hand on the back of his head. "You see…"

"I don't mind," the model continued.

Sora blinked for a couple of seconds. "Wait, what?"

"I said I don't mind," Kasumi reiterated.

"So, you're really going to show me around Ikebukuro?" the copper-haired bodyguard asked.

Kasumi nodded for the third time that day. "You said you would make it up for today, right?" She took hold of Sora's left hand and started walking, intertwining their fingers together, as she led him around the now peaceful city. She couldn't help but feel excited for some reason. "Come on, Sora. A deal's a deal!"

Heehee! For some reason, it feels like we're on a date. Even though I just met him, I feel at ease with Sora.

"W-Wait, Kasumi!" the copper-haired young man exclaimed. "Where are we going?" Sora's face became a light shade of red all of a sudden. "I mean, I don't mind, but… I would at least like to know where we're going."

What's this feeling? I don't know why, but it feels nice having a girl hold my hand for once.

With a softer expression, Kasumi replied with a, "You'll see."

After walking around for some time, the two of them ended up sitting right across from each other inside of a fast-food restaurant. What was even more intriguing was that it wasn't Sora's treat, but Kasumi's. Still, they were at least eating together.

What a strange day this has been, Sora thought. First, I get the day off from work, and then I meet Kasumi shortly after coming to Ikebukuro for a visit. After that, we've basically been hitting it off. Is this supposed to be my lucky day, or what?

He had a somewhat tired expression etched onto his face, which soon became a warm smile when he thought about how his day off has recently turned out.

But… I guess it wasn't so bad. I mean, here I am with the number one mode in all of Japan, after all. I still can't believe I got to meet Kasumi in person. Who knew she would be living in Ikebukuro, and not to mention the fact that she's been living here for a long time, too. Man, I bet Kaiji's gonna be jealous when I tell him.

There came a sigh from the copper-haired young man as his thoughts continued.

I guess this is the day I'll have to owe him one for working his butt off with the others on finding information about the client. At least I'm not doing anything for Subaru this time. Who knows what would happen if I did owe him one.

Kasumi titled her head to the side in confusion when she saw Sora's expression. "? What's wrong, Sora?"

Sora looked up and blinked. Twice. "Huh? Oh, uh, sorry. Did you say something, Kasumi?"

"I just asked if something was wrong," the sky blue-haired girl replied, shaking her head. "Did something happen? You had a pretty foul look on your face."

Oh. Guess I must've worried her a bit.

Without much effort, he gave her a charming smile and winked. "Nothing's wrong, really. I was just thinking about something."

"Is that so? Well, why don't you finish your food? You can eat all you want, you know," Kasumi added. "It is my treat, after all." She took a bit out of her hamburger and smiled delightedly. "It's really delicious here. The food, I mean."

Sora smiled at the sight of the model eating happily. Just looking at Kasumi smile and eat was enough to make his whole day worthwhile. Taking the opportunity in front of him, he began to eat faster, amazing the girl in front of him.

"…" Having finished her portion, Kasumi blinked. She was astonished when she saw how much the copper-haired young man was eating.

Sora, in turn, saw the model's bewilderment, and smiled at her. "Hmm? What's wrong, Kasumi? You look like you've never seen anyone eat this much food before."

"That's because I haven't," the sky blue-haired girl responded, still surprised by how much Sora had already eaten in just less than fifteen minutes. "Not until now, that is." Another smile formed from her mouth as she was now looking at the bodyguard face-to-face. "I'm glad you like the food, though. It really made me happy when you told me that you'd make up for what happened earlier."

Sora gulped, staring back at Kasumi. This time, he was sure of it. A medium tint of reddish pink formed on both of his cheeks, and he felt certain of what was happening. He was falling for the girl across from him more and more as time ticked away.

"Hey, Kasumi?" he asked, trying to shake off the anxious feeling dwelling within his heart.

Kasumi glanced at Sora and gave him yet another smile. "Hmm?"

Thump.

Kasumi's smile was enough to make Sora's heart pound. Of course, he was nervous, but seeing a smile from the top model, was enough to also give him the courage he needed to continue.

"Would you like it, if we could see each other again?" he inquired. "I've started to develop an interest in you the moment we walked around Ikebukuro together, and I'd like to see you again after today. I know we met a few hours ago, but this is how I really feel. That's why, I want to meet you once more."

Kasumi's eyes widened after hearing those words. "You mean, as in start a relationship together?" The sky blue-haired girl looked at her lap for a few seconds before glancing back at Sora. "Are you sure? I might not be suited for someone like you, Sora. I mean, I'm actually quite flattered that you would ask me, and I would love to see you again—really, I would. There's just a problem. You see, I'm actually different from all of the girls you might have been with before. You'd probably be happier if you were with someone else. After all, you know about my status, don't you? I'm…"

"I know," the copper-haired bodyguard said softly. "I know you're engaged to someone else, Kasumi, but that doesn't change the fact that I want to see you. It's fine if you don't want to, but—"

"I never said I didn't want to meet you again, Sora," Kasumi answered, cutting Sora off. "Did you already forget what I told you? I said it, remember? I said that I would really like to see you again, so I've made up my mind. I'll meet up with you again, no matter what."

"Kasumi…"

Before he knew it, Sora was already locking hands with the sky blue-haired girl, and the two exchanged contact information before the sun had begun to set.

Back at the Prime Minister's residence, a conversation could be heard between a few of the employees.

"What? Are you sure?" a voice began.

Another man nodded. "I'm positive about our client. She might as well be the prime minister's daughter."

"Hmm… I do agree that she attracts much attention from the public, just like the prime minister."

"Then, there should be no problem with it," a third voice added. "We must find her tomorrow and bring her here. There is a chance something could happen if we don't."

"Right," one of the men nodded. "My team will take action for securing the client tomorrow afternoon."

"Then I shall leave it to you, Katsuragi."

"Understood."

The next day, Daichi Katsuragi had his entire team gathered. The bodyguards were waiting for their chief's words and instructions. Apparently, the meeting was about the next client they were going to guard, and it was a very serious matter for everyone in the Prime Minister's residence that day.

"Yesterday, we gathered information on our current client," Katsuragi informed his team. "The investigation team and I had a few assumptions about her, as well as a possible relation to the prime minister. Other than that, it seems that the information and our very own assumptions about the client… were leaked by an unknown enemy."

"What?!" Mizuki Fujisaki's eyes widened in shock. His shocked expression was soon overtaken by a stern one. "Is this true, Chief?"

The older man looked down in grief. "Unfortunately, yes. Ishigami, Goto, and I were too focused on our discussion last night that we had not anticipated any signs of it until it was late into the night." Shortly afterwards, he glanced back at his team and a new resolve took over his disappointment. "However, we will be finding our client today and bring her out of harm's way."

"Right," Kaiji agreed. "We have to hurry before the enemy reaches her."

"Aren't we forgetting something, though?" Subaru Ichiyanagi pointed out.

"Huh? What?" spiky-haired bodyguard asked.

Subaru sighed and faced his fellow team member. "Sora, you idiot! We haven't told Sora yet."

"Oh, right," Kaiji looked away. "Sorry…"

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," Mizuki reassured the group. "He should be here soon, anyway."

Just then, the door opened and Sora came in.

"Hey, Kaiji, I have something you'll be dying for!" the copper-haired bodyguard announced. Then, he stopped in his tracks and took a look around. "Hmm? Are we already going to find the client?"

"Sora!" Katsuragi exclaimed. "Good, you're here! We were about to discuss our plans to find the client." He went over to a desk and grabbed what seemed to be a profile on their next client. Then, he handed to Sora and said, "Have a look at the information we have gathered. We'll have to find our client soon."

"Why? What happened?" the copper-haired bodyguard questioned as he took the folder from Daichi.

"Yesterday, the information was leaked," Subaru explained. "The investigation team and Mr. Katsuragi had a discussion about our client and their assumptions were heard by an unknown enemy."

"They even sent a threat to the prime minister after they found out," Mizuki continued. "You'd better hurry and look through the report, Sora. We have to move faster this time."

Sora nodded. "Understood. I'll make sure to memorize everything within a few minutes."

He opened folder and what he saw was something unexpected. As soon as he had given the report a glance, he was shocked to see who their client was. Within a few seconds, the slight bundle of papers had slipped from his hands and fallen onto the carpet floor.

"Kasumi?!"