The first chapter was written in first person to give Adila's perspective of Teru and his obsession. The rest of the story will be in the past and be told in third person with an omniscient point of view.

First Day, First Meeting

Ten years earlier, first day of fall semester at the University of To'Oh

Adila arrived for her first class early. The class was sure to be interesting because it was abnormal psychology. She had embarked upon a dual major of psychology and criminology much to the distress of her mother. Her mother was afraid that she would go insane herself taking on such an overwhelming academic load and trying to figure out the twisted psyche of criminals. Her overall goal was to become a criminal psychologist and eventually a criminal profiler with the FBI or CIA. She had high aspirations and many goals set for herself.

Adila set her book, a notebook, a pencil, and pen on the table in front of her. Movement to her right caught her eye, and she saw a nice looking guy about her age doing the same. She glanced at him and smiled, but he did not return the smile. She looked away without speaking since he seemed to want to be left alone. Her mind formed an image of him in her head from what she had seen: black, somewhat shaggy, shoulder length hair, dark eyes of an undetermined color, and rectangular glasses with black frames. He was good looking but not very friendly. She did not care for that at all. Cold attitudes and hard looks did not attract her. She had never been enticed by the strong, silent type. That brand of sexiness could be better translated as unfeeling and self-centered. What's so sexy about that?

"Is today your first day?" he inquired, taking her by surprise.

Adila took a deep breath to calm her rapidly beating her. Her weak point was voices, and she liked his. It was a smooth and rich, not too deep but definitely male. She turned her head to look at him, keeping the smile that wanted to blossom off of her lips. Her eyes met his which were a dark, sumptuous reddish brown like cherrywood. The smile would not be denied any longer and his lips turned upwards in response to hers this time. He had such nice lips that appeared to be good for kissing.

"Yes, it is. Is it your first day too?" she asked, feeling her stomach doing somersaults as he continued to look at her.

"No. I'm actually in my second year. I'm studying to be a lawyer. I want to be a prosecutor to put criminals where they belong. I'm only taking this course to gain insight into why they sometimes commit the horrible crimes they do. Not that I really care though. There are only two kinds of people in this world. There are good and bad. I want to lock up the bad ones so that they cannot hurt the good ones," he said, his gaze never wavering from her face.

Now that Adila had his attention, it was unshakable. 'Wow! He's a real talker once he gets going,' she thought to herself. She could tell he was going to be a great lawyer someday. He knew how to piece together an argument quite convincingly.

"But don't you think good people can do bad things sometimes but still be inherently good?" she questioned, watching his brow furrow deeply with an emotion that appeared to be outrage. That was an awfully strong reaction to a simple question.

"What do you mean? How could that be possible?" he asked, leaning toward her.

Adila automatically leaned backwards to distance herself from the intimidating action. "For example, if a man robs a bank to get money to feed his starving children and pay his rent so his family won't freeze on the streets, is he really bad? Or did he just make a mistake in his desperation to take care of his family?"

"He should have gotten a job to take care of his family and he would not have been in that situation," he replied icily, his eyebrows drawing together.

"What if he was laid off from his job of twenty years? Times are tough, jobs are scarce, and he's too old to learn new job skills. What then?" she asked, determined to get him to see all possibilities. "There's sometimes extenuating circumstances. Not everything is always so black and white."

"Yes, it is," he remarked stubbornly, slamming his fist down on the table. "What if that robber shoots the bank manager in his fear, leaving behind a wife and child? What then?"

Oh, yes, he was going to be brilliant. "Then everyone is a loser. The robber's children will be homeless and will eventually starve or go to an orphanage. The manager's wife will have to suffer without a husband and the child will never know his father. However, they will be okay financially because of the life insurance policies."

Impressive. Teru blinked at the pretty woman with light brown hair and cat like emerald green eyes. Her eyes along with her caramel skin color made it obvious she was not from here. If her ability to make a good argument had not caught his attention those eyes certainly would have. He smiled at her again, putting out his hand to her.

"My name is Teru Mikami," he said, squeezing her small soft hand when she placed it in his.

"My name is Adila Sharvani. I'm an exchange student. I'm from America but only my father is an American. My mother is Indian," she explained.

The extra information was unnecessary but fascinating. It also explained her alluring and unique appearance. He was about to pose another scenario to her when the professor and several other students walked in.

"Would you like to have coffee or tea later to continue our discussion?" he asked, letting her hand go. He felt a rush of heat to his cheeks because he had not realized he was still holding her hand. The slight blush across her lovely golden cheeks showed that she had not been aware of it until this moment either.

"I would love to," she replied, smiling until her soft pink lips parted showing perfect white teeth.

'Yes, quite lovely indeed,' he thought to himself.

The professor stepped up to the podium in front of the class with stadium type seating to begin his lecture.

Teru's mind was too busy compiling scenarios to pose to her during their discussion later to worry about what the professor was saying. He slipped in stealthy glimpses of her while she gave the instructor her full attention and began taking notes. His mind raced with all sorts possibilities as to what kind of person the woman beside him could be. He judged her to be a good person with a kind heart and sincere interest in people. She had proven that in the small interaction they had earlier. He looked forward to getting to know her more.

Adila distracted herself by concentrating on the instructor and taking notes. She could see the man beside her sliding her sidelong glances of open curiosity. She found it difficult not to smile but rejected the compulsion to grin like an idiot. He would be a good friend but nothing more. He was too narrow minded in his thinking and viewed people in a singular manner without taking in all considerations. She did not like that about him. Yet there was something intriguing about his sense of fairness. He would make a fantastic prosecutor with such a constricted attitude because he would go after the criminal at all costs.

The professor began speaking about obsessive compulsive disorder which engaged her attention fully causing her to forget about the handsome man beside her.

...

Adila could not help but stare as her black haired companion lined up three little creamer cups on one side of his coffee mug and laid out three packages of sugar on the other side. When everything was arranged in a perfectly straight line, she watched with unbridled fascination as he began from the outside of the row to add the cream and sugar to his coffee. Obsessive – Compulsive Disorder was being enacted in front of her very eyes. She was glad she had paid particular attention to that part of the lecture. Sipping her coffee, she continued to observe the anal man as he painstakingly set about fixing his beverage just right.

"If someone purposely kills criminals who have committed violent crimes such as murder and rape, is that person good or bad?" she asked, feeling antsy after watching his preparations. She could not wait any longer to begin the conversation.

"Good. He's ridding society of trash that does not deserve to live anyway," he responded without even taking time to think.

"But he's still a murderer? How can you call him good?" she prodded, sighing when he stirred his coffee methodically. He paused this time but she believed it was because he was counting his rotations around the cup with the spoon and not considering her questions.

"Well, the criminals could be thought of as computer virus. They would be considered something that is intrinsically harmful to the whole operating system even after being quarantined. They must be deleted for the good of the overall system and all of its components. When they are deleted and destroyed, is the virus program considered something bad?" he asked pointedly, sipping his coffee.

'Finally. He made to actually drink the coffee,' she thought to herself, sighing loudly with relief. She thought for a second about his reply before making one of her own.

"No, of course the virus program isn't bad because it's protecting the computer and other programs from harm. But I'm talking about people, not a computer," she persisted, leaning toward him.

Momentarily distracted by the cleavage revealed to him by her low cut blouse, Teru shook his head. Taking another sip of coffee, he brought his eyes to hers which glittered with passion for making her point. She should be a lawyer and not a criminal psychologist. "What's the difference?"

"Are you serious? But people – " Why were people so much more important? Some people were a bane to society and a danger to the existence of others. Why did they deserve to be treated like human beings after they had done some very inhumane things to their fellow man? Wouldn't it only be right for a murderer to get what he deserves by losing his life too? His victim did not have a choice – why should he?

Adila sat back, struggling for a response. Some criminals seemed incapable of rehabilitation or change and would always be a threat to society and themselves. Why spare them? Because it is impossible tell the difference between the good and the bad. She did not realize that she had spoken these words out loud until she felt him staring at her with his maroon brown eyes. His eyes were so intense she was sure he was going to release a laser beam to bore a hole through her head and zap her brain to change her way of thinking to come into line with his.

"I can tell the difference," he stated emphatically. The resolve behind his voice warned her not to argue. "Have you ever heard the phrase 'actions speak louder than words'?"

"Yes, but what does that have to –"

"It has everything to do with what I'm talking about. There is good and bad contained within all of us. What you chose to let out by your actions determines what kind of person you truly are," he said, pausing to finish off his coffee. "Would you like some more? We have much more to discuss."

Adila looked down at her empty coffee cup and handed it to him. She was mute by his emphatic and emotional response. Her mind raced with a million thoughts. This man frightened her yet captivated her as well. She felt mesmerized and repelled all at once. A startled yelp tore from her lips when he touched her shoulder while he sat the cup down in front of her.

"I didn't mean to scare you. You looked so lost in thought. What other classes are you taking?" Teru asked, sitting back down across from her.

Adila silently took out her printed schedule and handed it to him. She was grateful for a change of subject. Struggling to find her voice again, she took a large gulp of the black, burning hot liquid not noticing that it seared her tongue.

"We have a few more classes together I see. We've got a domestic law class together in the morning then a criminal law class after that. Would you like to study together?" he queried, catching her attention.

"Sure. That would be great," she agreed, taking one of the creams from the bowl in the center of the table. She halted her movements as he started the odd ritual all over again.

Maybe it will be a good idea to study together. 'Mental note to self: always fix tea and never coffee when Teru is over or risk losing my mind.'

~\..'../~

There was a knock on her apartment door at exactly seven. Adila set the water kettle on the stove and went to answer it. She smiled when she saw him standing there looking very handsome and pulled together in a black sweater and black pants. Did he own a pair of jeans? He always wore slacks and button down white shirts to class. On casual days, he left behind the tie but not the jacket. He favored wearing a black trench coat on rainy or cold days as well. He was awfully young to dress like that. She was wearing a pair of jeans and an ugly, oversized sweatshirt that had belonged to her father when he attended university at a prestigious American institution.

"Come on in," she said, ushering him into her clean but cramped apartment.

Adila would swear she saw him blanch at the clutter. Ignoring what she thought she saw, she led him to the living room where her books and other study items were scattered across the coffee table. She gathered everything up placing them in a neat stack after receiving a glance of disapproval from her study mate.

"Dick," she muttered through clenched teeth.

"What?" he inquired, putting his hand to his ear like an old geezer who is hard of hearing.

"I didn't say anything," she lied with a pretty smile. "Would you like some tea?"

"Do you have cream and sugar?"

Damn.

Adila went to the kitchen speaking curses in Hindi that her mother had taught her. She reached into the far corner of the cabinet to retrieve the small cream pitcher shaped like a cow that her mother had given her. Her lips curled into a smile remembering when she had opened it at her high school graduation party. The whole family had gotten a good laugh from the object for many reasons one of which included that fact that cows are considered sacred in India yet an Indian woman had given her this comical cream pitcher as a present. Her mother seemed to relish the ability to fly in the face of tradition every chance that was afforded to her. The first stab in the eye to her family had been when she married a Caucasian American man instead of a proper Indian husband. Adila's patriarchal grandparents always told her she got her fiery, aggressive personality from her mother, and they were correct. She did not know her Indian family because they had disowned her mother when they received the news of her engagement to the American. They regretted allowing their daughter to go to the United States to study. Here her daughter was in Japan studying psychology and law. She did not want her parents to regret anything. Her parents did not understand her decision but had let her go anyway. She had fallen in love with the tradition and culture only to be disappointed when she arrived to see that not much of the 'old ways' remained. But she was here and she would have to make the best of it. Relocating from one country to another was not easy or cheap and her first year of studies had already been paid for in full along with her first year's rent for this dinky little apartment. When her year was up, she would consider her options then decide to stay in Japan or go home to Texas.

"Are you all right in there? Do you need any help?" Teru inquired, walking into the miniscule kitchen that was barely big enough for the both of them.

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking," she replied, reaching for the gorgeous jade colored cups and saucers with a gold line around the edges. They were first things she had bought in Japan. She had bought two, hoping she would have a use for the second one.

"You sure do think a lot for a woman," he said with amazing chauvinism.

"Wow. That was not sexist at all, Mr. Mikami," she snapped, pouring the hot water into the delicate cups. Well, some things were still very traditional. He was straight from the feudal era.

Teru smiled. He liked her spirited charm. She was different than other women their age. She was not giggly and stupid, choosing to get by solely on her looks. He had never liked foreigners and saw them as a disease and a threat to his country until he met her.

"You're enthralling. I think I like you," he said, watching her back go ramrod straight. Did he say something wrong?

"Does that mean I should get down on my knees and kiss your – "

"No, it does not," he interjected before she finished the question spoken with frank contempt. He moved back to the living room when she picked up the tray to carry it to their study area. "I like the cream pitcher. It's cute."

Adila smiled as she watched the stream of white cream pour from the cow's mouth as if it were vomiting in his cup. She knew it was a terrible thought but she could not help herself after his superior attitude and words spoken in conceit in the kitchen. Was she supposed to thank him for his shining endorsement? Should she cry tears of joy because he might like her? She knew there was something about him she did not like when she first laid eyes on him. However, she decided she needed at least one friend, and it seemed like for the moment that friend was him.