Disclaimer: I do not own AirMaster or any of the characters pertaining to the series.

An Offer She Can't Refuse

"Now Maki, I can explain."

"You have one minute," the young woman responded coldly, pinning her father with a distasteful look.

The tall male standing on her step rubbed the back of his neck, sighing as he pondered how to enlighten his obviously less-than-pleased daughter. He supposed being honest was the best way to go. "I've come to ask you for a favor."

"A favor?" she repeated skeptically, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Yeah."

"Then what is he doing here?" Maki demanded, pointing stiffly toward the unconscious form slouched against the railing. Of all the people she hoped to never see show up on her doorstep again, Julietta Sakamoto was at the top of that list. That her own father had brought him here… again… couldn't be a good thing.

"Well," Shiro chuckled nervously, "actually… he's kinda the reason I'm here."

Her expression soured immediately. Then, without further preamble, she took a step back and slammed the door… on her father's hand.

"Aahh! Damn it, Maki!"

"Your fingers were in the way," she mumbled uncaringly, pushing the door – now free of the obstruction of body parts – closed with a jarring 'slam'. Shaking her head at the nerve of the man, the blue-eyed woman made her way into the kitchen, ignoring his shouting in favor of scouring her fridge for something eatable.

"C'mon, Maki! You said you'd let me explain! I need your help with this, please!"

'Hmm… how long has this been in here?' she mused, eying a carton of takeout warily. She lifted the box and popped the lid open, peering inside before taking a light whiff. Gagging minutely, she hurriedly reclosed the container and tossed it into the garbage. 'Apparently a little too long…'

"Please, Maki! I'll pay you!"

Oh, she heard that. Perking a bit at the mention of money, the shapely redhead took a moment to consider her options. Well… lack of options, actually. She would be without a place to live if she didn't think of a way to make some cash, but was this 'favor' really worth it?

Hesitantly, she made her way back to the front door, taking hold of the handle and pulling it open just a crack. Peering through, she leveled her father with a quizzical look and inquired, "How much?"

"As much as you need!" Shiro promised, hands clasped together like a beggar.

"What exactly does this favor involve?" she probed, pushing the door completely open so that she could lean on the doorframe. When she noted her father's suddenly nervous expression, she began to suspect that perhaps this particular favor wouldn't be worth the money.

"W-well, I'm having a bit of trouble with the wife-"

"What a surprise."

"Don't interrupt, Maki, it's not polite."

The buxom teen frowned, crossing her arms as quirking a brow in irritation as she rebuked, "A little late for you to be trying to teach me my manners, don't you think, Shiro?"

Clearing his throat, said male went on, "As I was saying, I'm having problems at home, and my biggest concern right now is trying to sort things out with my wife. I don't want this marriage to fall through, Maki. I don't want Miori to have to go through the same thing you went through. Despite what you may think, I have always regretted not having been there for you as a child."

Tiring of the direction the conversation was going in, she clenched her teeth and grumbled, "Yeah, and…?"

"Well, as I'm sure you recall, the last time the two of you… met… he wasn't exactly in the best shape. Both of his legs and one of his arms were fractured in a fight, and he wasn't really in any condition to be taking care of himself."

"So why isn't he in a hospital?" Maki asked, tone bland and disinterested.

"Ahem, I was getting to that," the auburn-haired boxer muttered sourly. "He was originally in the hospital, but I guess he's not all that fond of them. He made… quite a commotion, and I ended up getting lumped with him because they refused to house him any longer. I couldn't turn him away, so I've been watching him for the past few months.

"He healed up quite nicely, but a few weeks ago he got into another fight with that same guy, Yoshi… Yoshi-something-er-other. Big man here won… but he didn't walk away without some bruises. Ended up with a few broken ribs and – needless to say – the hospital isn't willing to take him back in. They patched him up and handed him over to me again."

"So, this involves me how?" Maki asked after a brief period of silence.

Sighing raggedly, Shiro glanced down at his unconscious companion and admitted, "At the rate my marriage is deteriorating, the only way I'll be able to salvage it is to focus on patching things up, y'know, spend more time with the family. I can't really do that and take care of this guy."

"So… you're saying you want me to… take care of him for you?" she stammered, utterly disbelieving that he had the nerve to ask such a thing of her.

"Please, Maki!"

"You do remember that this guy tried to sexually assault me the last time you brought him here, right?" she shouted. Memories of his domineering, unwanted kiss came rushing back to her. The shocking sight of his bared chest and his… his…

She shook her head free of the disturbing images, willing the dark blush that had settled on her cheeks to fade. "No!" she told Shiro firmly. "There is no way I'm having that creep in my apartment!"

The young woman was mildly surprised to feel her father's hands grasping pathetically at the bottom of her shirt, his expression pleading and he stared up at her from his knees. "C'mon, Maki! You're a tough girl; you can take care of yourself! If he tries getting fresh with you, just kick his ass like you did before!"

Glaring down at the pitiful wreck clinging to her clothes, she grumbled, "You're the worst dad in the world, has anyone ever told you that?"

"It'll only be for a little while longer! He'll be out of your hair in a few months, I swear! I'll do anything!"

Her desire to remain housed and her desire to stay far away from this lunatic stalker were currently at war in her head. On one side of the coin, she would be able to keep her apartment, pay her bills, and eat for another couple of month, giving her ample time to find another means of earning cash. On the other side of that same coin… she would be playing hostess to Julietta Sakamoto, stubborn asshole and all-around sketch-bag.

At the end of it all, it came down to two simple factors. She needed the money, and her father was quite right – if he got inappropriate, she could just wail on him.

Sighing begrudgingly, she conceded, "Fine, fine, but you had better pay!"

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!" Shiro beamed, dropping to touch his forehead to the floor in a gracious bow.

Lip curling at the pitiful display, Make clipped, "Stop doing that! Make yourself useful and drag his sorry ass in here, would ya?"

Dipping to the ground, the auburn-haired boxer grabbed hold of one limp arm and pulled his friend onto his back, swaying as he stood. The weight of Julietta's bulk made him almost impossible to maneuver, but he was able to stumble past the threshold and follow his daughter into the little apartment.

"Where do you want him?" Shiro wheezed.

Grumbling and scratching her head, Maki mumbled, "I guess the only place I can put him is the bed." Leading her father and his unconventional baggage into her cramped room, she yanked the sheets from her mattress and motioned for him to place Sakamoto down. Said creep rolled off of Shiro's back with a graceless flop, his large form barely fitting on the narrow bed.

'I had thought this room looked tiny before,' Maki sulked, realizing – with no small amount of distaste – that she would have to be in close proximity with this jerk for some time. 'I suppose I can do my homework in the kitchen or the living area…'

Righting himself with a stretch, Shiro told her, "He isn't all that high maintenance. You just need to make sure he gets lots of water and feed him. Like I said, he won't be here long."

Maki still couldn't quite believe she was allowing this to happen. Yet, she would make it work, for the sake of her apartment. She could easily set up camp in the living area, and the couch – while it was quite short and not all that comfortable – would do as her bed for a time.

But she could think on all that later. Right now, there was a little matter of money to settle.

"How much do you have on you right now?" she queried, eyes slanting toward the tanned male standing next to her.

Shiro hummed, taking his wallet from his back pocket and pulling out a wad of bills. "I'm not entirely-"

"This will do for now," she interrupted, snatching the money from his hand and counting it quickly. "You'll need to come by soon with more, though."

"How much more?" he asked nervously.

"Well… this should cover my rent for the month, but I have bills that need paying, and I'll need money for food. I don't know exactly how much he eats, so that will be a bit extra."

Sighing tiredly, the boxer pulled a hand through his shaggy hair and nodded. "I'll stop in tomorrow with more." Then, with a quirk of his brow, he asked, "How did you manage to get so behind on money?"

Scowling, Maki placed the stack of cash on her dresser and snapped, "None of your business. Now, if you don't mind, get out; I have shit to do."

"You really need to stop swearing, it's unladylike."

"Oh, shut up!"

Gripping the back of her father's shirt, the young woman towed him roughly out of her room and back to the entryway. With a hard jerk, Maki pulled the front door open and pushed Shiro outside. She made to slam it, but after a second of consideration she poked her head out and told her father, "Just so you know, if he does try anything with me, you're getting your ass kicked too."

Before he had a chance to respond, she pushed the heavy door shut with a satisfying 'wham', wandering back into her bedroom to where her unwanted houseguest was sleeping. She placed one hand over the little pile of funds with a relieved sigh, grateful that she had more time to sort out her money issues. Then, frowning, she allowed her eyes to fall upon the unkempt mess of a man lying on her mattress.

"Now I just have to figure out how the hell I'm going to stomach you," she mused aloud, head beginning to hurt at the thought of such a daunting task. One thing was certain: her life was about to get a lot more complicated.

Oh what fun! Just think of all the ways he's going to bug the shit out of her! I wonder how long it'll be before he earns himself a beat-down…

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns! I'll get back to you as soon as humanly possible. Much love for reading!