Feedback: Many thanks to neha borkar and ScriptAngel for their reviews on the last chapter. I hope the readers enjoy reading this update as well.
Disclaimer: I do not own City Hunter or its characters.
XYZ STRIKES AGAIN: DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THE KIDS!
[Chapter: 3]
Yukio was tugging at his father's shirt. Hidemi mimicked him. He said,
"How long will you be gone, Papa?"
Ryo said,
"It's only for three days. I will be back by Saturday"
"Papa, don't go", Hidemi said, "Who will play with me and Aniki?"
"Your Mama will, sweetheart. Trust me – I won't be gone for long"
"No, Papa", Yukio shook his head, "Don't go"
Ryo sighed,
"I repeat, I will not be away for too long. Here's the thing – I'll be back before your height increases by an inch"
"Inch?", Hidemi scratched her chin.
Yukio said,
"That's 'itch', Hidemi-chan, not inch. Papa, don't go. Take me with you!"
"Yes, yes, me too!", Hidemi jumped up and down.
Kaori laughed in disbelief,
"It's good to know that no one wants to stay behind with me"
Ryo said,
"See? If I take you both with me, who will stay with Mama? And we all know how sad Mama gets when Papa isn't there to hold her, how dependent she is on Papa for her happiness, right?"
Kaori mumbled,
"In your dreams"
Ryo stood up and picked his bag from the bed. He put a hand on Hidemi's head and said,
"I promise that I will be back by Saturday, early if possible. While I am gone, I need everyone to make me a promise. Put your hands here"
Yukio was the first to put his hand on his father's extended palm, Hidemi second and then Kaori. Ryo said,
"Promise me that you will all look after yourself and each other. You two won't trouble Mama. Yukio, you will not call old people from the phone directory to ask them if they are lonely. Hidemi, you will listen to your Mama and not bully your brother. And the beautiful mother of my chubby children..."
Ryo said,
"Promise me that you will call me if anything, and I mean anything goes wrong. You will take care of yourself and not forget that I love you"
She smiled,
"I promise"
"So", Ryo withdrew his hand, "This settles everything. I am going for three days but you people have made me feel like I am going on a year-long voyage. Anyway, remember you have promises to keep, and veggies to eat before you sleep"
"I will not disappoint you, Papa!", Yukio beamed at him.
Ryo stroked his hair,
"You never will, son, I know that. Take care, okay? Come on now. Race you downstairs! One, two, three!"
Hidemi and Yukio ran out of their parents' bedroom over the stairs. Kaori put her arms around Ryo's waist and kissed him. She said,
"Don't forget to call me"
He cupped her face,
"I won't"
"I will miss you"
"What do you do when you miss me?"
Heeding it to be a romantic question which required an equally romantic answer, Kaori smiled,
"I count every minute till you return. What do you do when you miss me?"
He replied,
"I masturbate"
Hidemi and Yukio saw their father kicked from his room upstairs and through the front door, demolishing the entrance and wrecking his suitcase in the process.
Kaori's hand kept reaching for him throughout the night. The last time Ryo wasn't with her was two years ago. He had gone to an old client Setsuko's wedding, which he reported to have been weird and deadly. The couple took their vows in the ruins of an ancient temple and the guests had to walk along a tipsy bridge over a gorge. Setsuko was upset that Kaori couldn't make it to her wedding. She, on the other hand, was glad for staying back. Yukio and Hidemi were both too young for her to attempt those antics with them at that wedding. She looked at the sparsely lit night sky through the window. There are never many stars visible from main Tokyo, just neon lights in the dark. After counting the hours to her husband's return, Kaori Saeba fell asleep at 2:00 am.
Hidemi and Yukio had been talking without a stop about their Papa throughout the whole morning. They did the same on their ride to school. Yukio would say to Hidemi,
"Do you think Papa went to save the poor people?"
Hidemi would shake her head,
"No. Papa went to save the President from aliens. And he is going to catch a Pokémon on his way back. Maybe Jigglypuff. I like Jigglypuff"
Kaori thought it was best to stay out of their baseless and often exaggerated conversations. She looked into the rear view mirror to admire her children. Yukio was a splitting image of his uncle, a bit more round in the face and with sharper features. Hidemi's face was enough to tell that she was Ryo's daughter. Her hair and eyes were like her mother's though. She had begun to show signs of being a fiery redhead at the age of two when she hammered a kid in kindergarten for calling her a 'sissy girl'. Ryo often said,
"The Makimura siblings have been reincarnated as Saebas. There's Yukio, who puts the whole world before himself, and there's Hidemi – who speaks more with her fists and kicks than her mouth"
'As if that's a bad thing', Kaori thought.
She had kept a keen eye on her way to school and on the way back. When she drove to the school in the afternoon, the front gate was flooding with kids eager to get home. She parked her car near the book-store and walked through the throng into the school compound. Yukio, smart little child, was standing under a tree with his sister, far away from the crowd. His presence of mind and maturity was remarkable for a seven year old. Kaori walked, almost dashed, to her kids with a smile.
"Yukio! Hidemi!", she called.
"Mama!", they saw her and waved.
She took their schoolbags in her hand and said,
"The front gate's crowded today, huh?"
"That's why we stayed back", Yukio said.
She acknowledged him,
"Good thinking, honey"
The crowd had begun to recede. Kaori glanced around,
"Did Max come to school today?"
Hidemi pointed at the back-gate,
"He went to get us lollies"
Kaori raised an eyebrow at Yukio. He explained,
"We didn't ask him, Mama. He said he was going to get one for himself and he would buy some for us too"
Kaori held their hands and walked to the school's back gate. The backside of the school was a solitary place. One had to pass a lane to get to the main street. Kaori wanted to make sure before leaving that Umibozu came to take Max, or she could drop him home herself.
"There he is!", Yukio showed her.
Max was buying lollipops from a street vendor, with no one else in the vicinity. Kaori called,
"Max!"
He turned around with a lollipop in his mouth and waved. A black SUV stopped right next to him. Kaori reacted, knowing the consequences well. She said,
"Yukio, take your sister inside the school building. Don't come out till I say. Go! Max!"
Yukio did as told and Kaori ran to the other side of the street. The vendor threw his goods on the pavement and tried to push Max into the vehicle. Max yelled,
"Hey! Get away from me!"
He bit the vendor on his hairy forearm and made an effort to escape. He was pulled back in by snoother guy. Kaori kicked the man right on his jaw. She landed a swift heel to the vendor's groin. Before either of the groaning men could recover or the driver of the SUV could make his move, Kaori picked up Max and ran back inside the school building. She heard them swear behind her back but she didn't stop. Soon, the sound of the car's engine resumed and fainted. Kaori peeked from behind the compound wall and they were gone indeed.
'God, what is it now?'
"Get in", Kaori opened the door to her apartment and almost shoved the three inside.
Max kept talking to Yukio and Hidemi,
"I bit his hand and punched him in the throat, like Nani-Man does!"
Hidemi said,
"If I were there, I would have hit him with my hammer till he started crying!"
Yukio said,
"Hidemi, don't talk like that. Max, you were an idiot today. Those people were trying to kidnap you!"
"But I hit them, Yukio! You should have been there to see it!"
"Quiet, quiet", Kaori bolted the door from inside.
She went to the kitchen, emptied a whole water bottle into her throat, poured some lemonade in three glasses for the kids and brought it to them in the drawing room. She asked Max again,
"Max, are you okay?"
He shrugged.
Kaori thought for a minute of informing the school authorities or police. Umibozu wouldn't agree with that, she knew. She thought otherwise of taking Max home, because there was a possibility that Miki was alone and the kidnappers were waiting there for them.
'It couldn't have been any regular kidnapping. This might have something to do with Umibozu and Miki's enemies. I better call him'
Kaori started at the ringing telephone. It was on the table next to the couch, to Yukio's left. He reached for it but Kaori beat him to it. She didn't say a word, waited to hear a suspicious voice.
"Hello?", she said at last.
"You think you can get rid of me so easy?"
The raspy voice trickled through her ears and thickened her throat. Kaori held the receiver firmly,
"Who is it?"
"I am going to get you, foxy. Your sexy body has kept me awake for many nights"
"Ryo?"
He laughed in his normal voice,
"Haha. You caught me"
"What the hell, Ryo? You scared the shit out of me!"
Ryo shifted the receiver from right to left. His smile was fading,
"Is everything alright?"
Her voice was regular again,
"Yes. Sorry. Sorry. I just... I thought it was really some-some pervert"
"What's going on, Kaori?"
"Nothing", she answered, "It's your fault for scaring me like that"
"Kaori..."
"Wh-why did you call? Are you there yet?"
"We got here in the morning. I caught a five-minute break and thought I should call you. Are you sure everything is alright?"
"Of course it is. Don't be paranoid"
"Did you bring the kids home yet?"
"Yes. Yes, I did", she said, "They are in their room, changing clothes"
Ryo frowned,
"Kaori, you sound really different"
"Someone's at the door, Ryo. I have to go. Call me in the evening, okay? And have your meals on time. Love you. Bye"
"Ka –"
He hadn't heard the slightest hint of a doorbell or knock. Ryo put the receiver back in place. Doubts, questions and fears crept into his mind at an alarming speed.
'She was panting. She didn't let me talk to the kids. She even said 'love you'. What are you trying to hide, Kaori?'
"Saeba-san? We have to go"
Ryo looked at the ambassador's assistant. He said,
"I will be with you in a minute"
Something was not right. Kaori never talked like that. Ryo's wait for the evening call was going to be a torture. He just wanted to know his wife and kids were safe and sound.
Kaori had cooked a quick lunch for the kids and seated them on the dining table. She then dialled Umibozu's cell phone number. His sonorous voice asked her before she could say hello,
"Is Max with you?"
"Yes", she said, "I am sorry but something happened at school. I can't tell you over the phone. Where are you now?"
"I am on the way to your place"
"Don't! Go, check on Miki and wait there. I will bring the kids to your place"
"What happened?"
"I will tell you when I see you. We will be there in fifteen minutes, tops"
She hung up.
Saved someone by herself – check.
Lied to Ryo – check.
Gave incomplete details – check.
Kaori Saeba had taken matters in her own hands again. In the past, this seldom ended well for her. This time, there was no other option. She waited for the kids to finish their meals and drove them to the Cat's Eye Cafe.