Three Days Later

He quickly filled his backpack and hoisted it over his shoulder. As usual, he was running late. He'd have much rather blown off his classes entirely, under the circumstances... but he'd already missed too many school days this term. People would notice, and right now it was very important not to draw attention.

No time to make lunch. He'd have to buy — wait, what was that on the kitchen table? He took a look, and sure enough, Aoi had wrapped up a box lunch for him. It looked big enough to feed a small army.

That girl! If only they'd had time for a real goodbye this morning... ah well. School waited for no man.

He hurried to the door and swung it open. "Okay, I'm... off...?"

A woman was standing in his way. A very tall woman. A very tall, very angry woman.

Act natural. "Er, hi. Can I help you?"

"Where is she?"

"Uh... she? She who?"

"You know very well who I mean. The flower of the Sakurabas. She whose name you are unworthy to speak, and whose safety I will do anything... to anyone... to secure. Lady Aoi! Bring her here NOW!"

He turned around, tugging his collar. "Honey? It's for you."

Aoi was already on her way to the door. "Miss Miyabi! I thought it was your voice I heard." She looked nervous, but determined.

"Come, Lady Aoi," said their uninvited guest. "You must not stay another minute in this hovel."

"I'm not going anywhere. And you must stop delaying a promising young student on his way to school. Come inside and have some tea."

"That is unacceptable! You are..." The look in Aoi's eyes stopped her short. This Miyabi must have realized she had her work cut out for her.

"Darling, you get going," Aoi told him. "I won't have you getting to class late on my account. I'll handle Miss Miyabi."

He leaned in close to her and whispered, "Who is this gorilla?"

"Oh, Kaoru. I've known Miss Miyabi my whole life. I told you my family would be looking for me... well, here they are."

"But you say you can handle her?"

She nodded. "I'm sure of it. Don't worry about a thing."

"Well... okay. Thanks."

He headed for the door, and Miyabi reluctantly stepped out of his way. As he passed, he said to Aoi, "See you later, babe."

Quick as lightning, Miyabi caught his arm in a death grip. She hissed, "If you ever call Lady Aoi 'babe' again, I will relieve you of your sorry man-parts with a rusty knife and feed them to you. It doesn't matter if you do it when I'm not around. I'll KNOW."

"Oh, stop that, Miss Miyabi," scolded Aoi. "Have a nice day, dear."

Miyabi released him, and with a final wave to Aoi, he went for the stairs. He made a point of walking, not running. If this intruder thought she could shake him with crude threats, she didn't know him very well.

When he reached the street, he opened his mouth to mutter "Babe", but decided to wait till he got to the train station.


"I'm surprised at you, Miss Miyabi," said Aoi as she poured the tea. "I appreciate your trying to protect me, but you don't have to be so vicious."

Miyabi's frown didn't slip an inch. "You have no idea of the panic your disappearance has created. I have spent every waking moment trying to track you down. Any patience I had was exhausted long ago."

Aoi bowed apologetically. "I am sorry I troubled you. I wish it had not been necessary."

"Oh, really! 'Necessary'? Who forced you to go off on this foolish quest?"

"Miss Miyabi... you know why I had to do this."

The older woman was silent. She tried not to meet Aoi's eyes.

"I have spent my whole life preparing myself for Kaoru — with your help. I could not give up on him simply because his circumstances changed, or for the sake of Father's business arrangements. I had to see him. I had to know if he could still love me as I love him."

"Well... how did that turn out?"

"Perfectly," said Aoi with an I-told-you-so smile. "Kaoru still wants me. It makes no difference to me that he has lost his family's wealth. We have a lifetime of happiness ahead of us."

Miyabi sighed. On some level, she realized, she'd been hoping Kaoru would reject Aoi. The Sakurabas weren't going to let them stay together either way; it would be easier on Aoi if he broke it off than if the Sakurabas had to tear them apart. At her age, full of passion, she would never forgive them for it.

No way to prevent that now... but Miyabi could at least try to soften the blow with understanding. "Come, Lady Aoi," she said, standing up. "Before we return home, I will come with you to see Kaoru one more time. You should at least have a proper goodbye."

"I'm not leaving! Kaoru and I are old enough to –"

"You must make that case to your parents, not to me. And the sooner you do so, the better. Their worry is not decreasing... nor is their anger."

"I... well..." Aoi had the look of a cornered mouse. Miyabi smiled to herself — her young charge was too bright not to understand. Like it or not, she had to come home sometime.

"I will go," she finally said, "but I need you to promise me that I will not be forbidden to leave again."

"Of course," said Miyabi. It was a white lie. If the Sakurabas tried to imprison Aoi, she doubted very much she could talk them out of it... but getting her home right now was the best way to stop that from happening.

"But must we return today? It's so soon! Can't I have one more day with him?"

Miyabi's crossed arms sent a clear signal: Don't push your luck.

"Well, all right... but let's at least wait until he gets home from school."

"You're stalling."

"No! I just don't want to get in the way of his studies. I've disrupted his life enough already."

Miyabi sighed. "Very well. We can have lunch somewhere near his home and meet him when he returns. What part of the city does he live in?"

Aoi gave her a strange look. "Here, of course."

"Ah. I suppose that's why you're in this ridiculous slum. I take it the boy is a friend of Kaoru's?"

"What?"

"The boy. The one who was leaving as I arrived."

"But Miss Miyabi... that was..."

The truth fell on Miyabi like a ten-ton weight. She sat back down and looked at Aoi with eyes full of pity.

"Oh, Lady Aoi... you don't really believe that child is Kaoru, do you?"


Next: A Case of Identity