A/N: Whoa. It's been over a year since I published the first chapter of this story. I know that some people have been looking forward to me resuming this story and I promise to try my best to award your patience. You should know that this story will be updated thrice a week, not just twice. I have finished writing it and the gap between two chapters is just to give the readers some time to R&R. Thank you for your support so far. :)

Feedback: Guest, Xyz fan, ScriptAngel, Lin101, kaorixryo lover, EazyBill K, Taira Kaiko – thank you for your reviews on the first chapter! I hope you are still interested in the story and follow its development. Thanks. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own City Hunter or its characters. And of course, I don't own Pokemon either.

XYZ STRIKES AGAIN: DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THE KIDS!

[Chapter: 2]

Morning came on a high note. Few birds, those in good spirits, circled the building with merry noon songs. Their chirping would be interrupted every other minute with the honking traffic noises below. The music, the smell of lavender (air freshener sprayed every evening in the Saeba household) and the warm presence of sunlight delighted Kaori. She smiled before even opening her eyes. The night had been tiring yet pleasant to both her and Ryo. She was the first to wake up in the house as always.
"Mm", she stretched her right arm, "Sunshine"
That was all she could stretch, because Ryo's heavy arm kept her immobile. She glanced at the wall clock and tapped on Ryo's arm.
"Ryo? Ryo, wake up. It's 7:00 am. Ryo?"
He tightened his hold further on hearing that. Kaori shook the arm which had bound her to bed since after midnight.
"Ryo, wake up. Come on. Wake up. It's 7 o'clock. We have to send the kids to school. Wake up"
"No need", he groaned and hugged her with both arms.
Kaori hated having to scold him first thing in the morning, but he left her no alternative. She got out of his grasp with much effort and slipped out of bed.
"Sleep for another hour like the lazy jerk you are", she picked her shirt from the floor, "I have to send my kids to school"
"Can't we have one morning without you calling me names?", he said.
"If you don't want me to call you names, then you better get out of bed and get the kids ready for school"
He opened an eye, fixing it on her form, he said,
"I will get out of bed on one condition..."
Kaori rolled her eyes and lip-synced to what Ryo said almost every weekday morning,
"We have another fabulous round of mokkori! Then I will get out of bed and make myself useful. What say, Kaori-chan?"
She walked to the closet without answering and picked out clean towels. Ryo was half-sitting up in bed with a bright grin. She looked at him with a pitiful smile,
"I can't imagine how you are going to survive when you get ED in the future"
He objected in a loud voice,
"Hey! I am not going to get ED! Not in the next thirty years, at least. I am only twenty!"
Her snort of laughter wasn't appreciated. Ryo said when she closed the bathroom door from inside,
"I can't get ED. I am impervious to ED. I am the god of mokkori, baby!"
She called from inside,
"God of mokkori, why don't you get your kids ready for school now that you are up, huh?"
"Okay", Ryo sighed.

Ryo didn't mind getting his kids ready for school. Kaori knew that. He would take them through the morning chores of brushing, bathing, checking their school bags and bringing them to the breakfast table while she did the cleaning and cooking. The Saeba family had finished their breakfast a little early that day. Kaori instructed the kids after clearing the table,
"Get your bags now, kids. It's school time"
Yukio said to his sister,
"Hidemi, sit here. I will get your bag"
She was swinging her legs back and forth on the chair,
"Aniki, don't forget my hanky"
"Okay", he said and ran to their room.
Ryo said to his daughter,
"Why do you still let your Aniki carry your bag, Hidemi-chan? We have talked about this before"
She shook her head, drank some water from her glass and said,
"Aniki says I should let him carry my stuff. He says he will become great like Maki-ojichan if he does everything for me"
Kaori was glad that her son idolised her late brother, but it got to out of hand at times. She said,
"Maki-ojichan didn't do everything for me. He taught me do things for myself so that I didn't have to depend on others for everything. Your brother is just spoiling you"
She looked at Ryo,
"I will talk to him on the way to school"
"Don't scare him though"
"What?", she put her hands on her hips, "I scare my own kids – is that what you are saying?"
Ryo gasped,
"No! Who said that? Hidemi-chan, did you say that?"
She giggled,
"No. You did"
"By Jove, I would never say something so despicable about your Mama!", he exclaimed.
"What's 'despicable'?"
Kaori pulled Hidemi's chair behind on seeing Yukio enter the room. She squinted at Ryo and answered Hidemi,
"Despicable is everything your Papa does. Come on, hold hands and walk to the car. No running down the stairs, okay?"
Ryo took a shot at redemption,
"It was a joke, Mama-chan"
He kissed the kids and bid them goodbye for the day. Kaori was near the door when she looked back and said to him,
"I will take care of you when I get back home"
"And I will be waiting", he winked.
"That's not what I meant!"
He dodged an XL hammer with a covert laugh and waved at her. She tossed her hair over one shoulder and followed her kids down.

Whatever he did, Kaori knew she would forgive Ryo on the way back home. That's how things had always been. There was something else altogether that was bothering her that morning. She couldn't shrug off the feeling of being watched. When she parked the car into their compound, she was a trifle restless. The dreadful feeling followed her all the way upstairs. Someone was keeping an eye on her, it seemed. When she looked around, there would be no unusual spectator. But her doubts still remained. What was stranger, she thought, that she felt this only en route to the kids' school and the way back.
'I will ask Ryo to take a look around. This is getting creepy', she thought.

On opening the door to her apartment, Kaori was absorbed in her own thoughts to stay on guard against Ryo's 'morning quickie attack'. She needn't to though; her husband was talking to someone on the phone. She closed the door and put her keys on little Lady Liberty's torch on the table. It was a miniature, ceramic Statue of Liberty her sister had brought for Yukio on her last visit. Kaori passed a hand over Ryo's back to establish her presence and walked to the kitchen. She wanted to tell him about the disturbance she had been experiencing since yesterday. He was talking louder since she had entered the apartment.
"Of course, I will come to meet you! Have I ever denied you anything? Haha!"
Kaori came out of the kitchen with her arms folded. Ryo was still chatting away,
"Yes, darling, I will be there!"
She stood smiling when he turned around after hanging up. Ryo whistled and walked to the stairs. Kaori asked,
"Who were you pretending to be lovey-dovey with?"
"I wasn't pretending", he said, "I was talking to Saeko. She has called me to pay the dues all at once today. We will start in an hour and finish by tomorrow mor -"
A giant mallet struck in his face averted further lies. Kaori clapped off the imaginary dust on her hands, put them behind her back and walked to him. She pulled him up by the collar,
"Now, who was it really?"
"Saeko", he moaned in pain.
"What did she want?"
"She wants to meet in an hour. Her father has something for me to do"
"What did she say when you called her darling?"
"She had already hung up"
Kaori put him down.
"I see", she said, "You better call Tanaka to say you are going to be late today. You don't have a morning batch, do you?"
"No", he stood up, "That's the time for enquiries"
"Okay", she turned to walk upstairs.
Ryo asked,
"Aren't you worried about me meeting Saeko?"
She replied with a calm she had gained in the matter over years,
"Nope. She is not single anymore and you know well that I will dump you if you make a pass at other women"
"Sigh", Ryo hung his head.
The next second, he was hopping behind Kaori in the hopes of what he alternately called a 'morning treat'.

Former sweeper, current father and husband – Ryo Saeba – hadn't known grief for the last eight years. His days started with a smile and ended with ample satisfaction. Kaori had never hurt him and he made sure never to lose her respect. Their kids brought more joy to their life and eased Ryo's uncertainties about being a good father. Above all, it was Kaori who had made it possible for him to live a normal life after quitting the underworld. He did miss the old glory of being City Hunter, but he knew it wasn't worth putting his family life at risk. City Hunter was his past; Kaori, Yukio and Hidemi were his everything. His friends had settled down as well. Umibozu was going to be a father for a second time. Reika was married to an old client of hers, who had spent two years courting her. Saeko had found solace in someone who was very much worthy of her company. Her makeup hid all signs of 30+ ageing and she smiled at Ryo who had been staring at her for the last two minutes. She asked,
"What is it, Ryo? You seem quite thoughtful today"
He said,
"I was just wondering how time and fate's wounds haven't affected that pretty face of yours"
She smirked,
"Says a father of two who is devoted to his wife"
"Does it mean I can't give you a compliment?"
"Thank you for your compliment. You don't look too bad either"
"I turned twenty this year. What else do you expect?"
A dragonfly flew over Saeko's head. Ryo said,
"How is your boyfriend lately?"
Her voice fell on its own. Ryo detected it to be sign of concealment. She said,
"He's great. He is at a conference today for the Saki Nogawa Foundation's establishment day"
"Does he still...", he stopped at that.
Saeko smiled again,
"Yeah. Wherever he is, evening 4 to 5 is his private time. No one is allowed to disturb him then. Everything has changed, but he won't let his private office be renovated, where she used to teach him. He carries an old, used notepad with him at all times. If I dare question his lovelorn actions and why won't he forget her, he doesn't answer. He did answer it once. That was our first and last fight. I said he should just cry and get over it. He said crying will wash away his memories. He won't cry, he won't mourn her. He says grieving her death will just make him forget her with time. And that he would rather die than forget her"
She laughed a little,
"I-I am sorry. I said too much. It's just that... he won't let go of her"
"You are one to talk"
Ryo held up a pair of broken aviator glasses and rusty handcuffs. Saeko's hand went to the pocket on her coat. She said,
"When did you get that?"
"While you were talking about Onoda-san's stubbornness in not forgetting Miss Saki. If he carries her notepad, you carry Makimura's old glasses and police handcuffs with you everywhere"
She snatched both from his hand,
"Some things are hard to let go"
"Some people"
"Ryo, please", she rubbed her forehead, "I called you here for something important. My father needs your help for an important event"
"I am listening"

Kaori listened to what Ryo was saying. The kids were watching Pokémon on TV and their parents were sitting on the couch. Ryo's hand was in Kaori's auburn locks as he spoke,
"That ambassador is a close friend of Saeko's father. He wants me to watch over his security for the time he is in Japan. I would have said no, but it's Saeko's father who is asking. You know how instrumental he has been in getting our academy the government's approval"
"How long will you be gone?", she asked.
He said,
"Three days"
She glanced at her kids, who were lost in their own world as they lied on their stomachs before the TV. Kaori hated everything when Ryo wasn't near her. He could be annoying and demanding more than the kids, but she was used to that now. She loved it, in fact. Ryo must have understood her silence. He gently pulled her head towards his and said,
"Hey. I don't want to go either. If you think I shouldn't go, I won't"
"You should go", she said, "We are not ungrateful people. Do your job"
"That's my partner", he smiled and kissed her.
Kaori smiled too when their lips parted. She looked into his eyes and said in her most adorable tone,
"Before going, you will make sure that I don't miss you too much, right?"
Ryo's mokkori face appeared instantly and Kaori chuckled,
"Right?"
He nodded like a bull that'd been given shots of testosterone,
"Yes, yes. Let's send the kids to bed and start now"
"No", she poked him in the chest, "We will wait till they are asleep. I was thinking, I could wear my Wonder Woman costume tonight"
She could tell how close he was to a nosebleed. He whispered,
"Don't forget the tiara"
"I won't"
Yukio looked back from the TV and said,
"Mama, look! Ash just captured a new Pokémon!"
Kaori nodded and pretended to be interested for her son's sake. Ryo asked him,
"Did you have fun with Max today, Yukio?"
"Yes, Papa", he answered.
Kaori told him,
"We dropped him home at four. Umibozu-san and Miki had an appointment with the gynaecologist at 3:00 pm. She's due this month"
Even when Kaori picked up the kids and Max from school, she couldn't resist looking around. She was going to tell Ryo about it when he got home. However, she decided against it.
'He will be worried for us all the time he is there in Okinawa. Or he might cancel his whole plan. Never mind. I will tell him when he gets back'
"Kaori?"
She looked up in surprise, thought for a minute that he had read her mind. Ryo whispered to her,
"If you use the vibrator while I am gone, make sure to tape your session this time. I will watch it when I get back"
WHAM! CRASH!
Hidemi and Yukio looked back to find their Papa hammered into a wall and part of the roof crashing down on his head due to the impact. Yukio said to Hidemi,
"Papa must have said a bad word, that's why Mama punished him"
Mama stomped upstairs to pack Papa's bags.