Friday morning, Risa hurried into the company lobby just after eleven thirty. She hadn't expected the nanotech project meeting she'd taken at home to run so late. Maybe they shouldn't have spent all that time debating what to code name it now that Kyoya had given it the official green light. Amy was arguing hard for 'Project Jensen' but the boys really wanted 'Project Harmony.' She shook her head. Sometimes her friends were just weird. Obviously the best choice was her suggestion, 'Project DBOD (Dust Bunnies of Doom).'
Figures that the one day in two years she comes in after nine the lobby would be packed with employees lured outside by the warm weather for an early lunch. Even Kyoya and his secretary were there, heading down the steps from the conference rooms on the mezzanine. Risa turned her head and pretended to tuck a stray hair behind her ear, hoping they were too involved in their discussion to see her. She could already hear the snarky comment.
The path to the basement was blocked by a growing crowd at the reception desk where a large foreigner was bellowing at a shell-shocked receptionist in horrendously accented Japanese. Behind him, other visitors were slowly inching their way backwards and pretending they didn't notice anything. Risa veered wide around the throng, praying nobody would try to get her involved.
When she was about halfway towards the door leading towards her lab, the foreigner said something in the slow, loud voice people used when trying to make themselves understood and swept his arm to the side in a broad gesture that encompassed the whole room and rotated him around to face her. Risa halted dead in her tracks, her mouth gaping open like a fish.
"Rissy!" The blonde giant covered the ground between them with a few long strides and picked her up with his arms around her waist.
"Ryan?" Risa threw her arms around his neck in return and hugged him tight. "Ryan! What are you doing here?" Her braid sliced through the air as Ryan spun her around and she couldn't stop laughing. The dead silence that fell over the lobby cut through her happiness. "Ryan, you idiot, put me down!" Still laughing, she beat him feebly around his shoulders. "You can't do this kind of thing here!"
With a quick squeeze that cut off her breath the giant deposited her back on her feet and shot her a sheepish grin. "Sorry, darlin'. Just too excited to see my girl again."
Risa covered her mouth with her hand and tried not to give into the tears of joy prickling behind her eyes. It was all she could do to keep from reaching out and hugging him again just to reassure herself that he was really there.
"Oh sweet merciful heavens, Onii-chan. I've missed you so much."
. . .
The second the stranger had charged towards his wife, Kyoya bolted down the stairs but stopped in his tracks when she started laughing and calling out the man's name. He stood at the base of the stairs adjusting the cuffs of his suit and trying to regain his composure.
What had he been thinking? The man looked to be both taller and more muscled than Mori. The proper response would have been to trust in his security team. His alert eyes hadn't failed to note which of them had promptly reached for weapons to defend against the possible threat and he made a mental note to have Tachibana commend them later.
Kyoya pressed his lips together in a grim line. She was making a scene – laughing and hugging another man in public. Obviously it was someone she knew from America. The stranger had that tell-tale swagger and way of filling up a room with his presence so typical of a race that thought they ran the world.
Around him, he noticed employees who had been frozen in shock beginning to de-thaw and scurry off, shooting him apprehensive looks. He forced a polite smile onto his face and tamped down on his irritation. There was no need to add to the gossip that would already be circulating. He would go over there and be cordial to the person who'd been manhandling his wife if it killed him.
Silently, he made his way towards them, taking the time to catalog and assess the interloper. The blonde was a veritable giant and the closer he got, the larger the man appeared. It was more than height and weight which reminded Kyoya of his silent friend, the American's eyes scanned the room with a watchfulness that belied his gregarious smile and he carried his weight lightly on the balls of his feet as if ready to spring into action at any minute.
Risa's eyes… they were looking at the man like a person in a desert looked at a glass of water.
He knew the minute she became aware of his presence behind her. She flinched slightly then straightened her back as if she had not just been hugging a stranger in front of the entire company. "Kyoya," she said while stepping slightly to the side in a silent invitation for him to join her. "This is my friend, Ryan Wagner." She spoke in the English she'd used since the man first appeared. "Ryan, this is Kyoya Ootori, my…. husband."
He recognized the surname instantly. Obviously he'd miscalculated believing Amy was the RA that Risa spoken so fondly of last night. Now he had to play nice. At the very least, he couldn't kill Ryan or have him thrown in the Black Onion Squad secret prison. Instead, he stuck out his hand for a western greeting. "Mr. Wagner. A pleasure to meet one of my wife's acquaintances."
The Texan grabbed his hand and pumped it up and down, squeezing Kyoya's fingers in a vice grip. "Nice to meet ya' Mr. Atari. My sister loves those old school games."
Kyoya opened his mouth to return fire but was interrupted by an oblivious Risa. "Ryan, what on earth are you doing here?" It sounded like she was asking how Christmas managed to come early this year.
"Just thought I'd swing by and take my best girl out for lunch." Ryan's eyes twinkled and Risa giggled before striking out and landing a feeble punch on his shoulder. The large man pretended to flinch and rub away the pain.
"Goof. What are you doing in Japan? Aren't you supposed to be in Liberia saving humanity from Ebola? Wait, does Amy know?" Risa's eyes sparked with fire at the idea her best friend had kept this secret from her. "That little… she didn't say anything when I was on Skype with her."
"Relax, darlin'." Ryan held out his hands in a gentling motion. "Amy didn't know. I barely knew I was coming – we'd contained the outbreak and I'd just gotten back to Atlanta when they sent me off here to deal with some equine flu the boys at W.H.O. are all hot and bothered about."
"Ryan works for the CDC," Risa informed Kyoya, "He specializes in containing animal outbreaks and gets called in by organizations all over the world."
Kyoya nodded politely at the explanation, but he didn't buy it. The Ootori International Police Force had provided on-the-ground protection to the medical workers in Liberia and there had been much more to that situation than the public realized. Ryan going straight from there to visit his 'old friend,' a noted biochemist, in Japan was quite the coincidence.
Ootoris didn't believe in coincidences.
He caught Kimio's eyes and the older woman gave him the barest nod. She'd already started the background check on the all-too-conveniently-here Mr. Wagner.
"Does that mean you'll be in Japan for awhile?" Risa was asking when Kyoya returned his attention to the conversation. She was staring at the American with big, hopeful eyes.
Ryan grinned apologetically, "In Japan, yes. But not in Tokyo – your health ministry's flyin' me up north this afternoon."
"Oh." Risas's face fell. "I was hoping… we're having a housewarming Sunday and it would have been nice to have a friendly face. I made your mom's chili." Her voice lilted up as she tried to tempt him to stay.
Ryan tilted his head back and made a sound that was a cross between a groan and a laugh. "You don't play fair, honey. I've been eatin' nothin' but MREs and airplane food for three months. But I was only able to get enough time away from all the jibber-jabberin' for lunch."
"Lunch would be delightful," Kyoya replied for the both of them. "I can secure us a table anywhere you'd like. Would you prefer Japanese or American food?" He already had his cell phone out to inform one of the restaurants he used for entertaining clients that they would be coming.
"Oh," interjected Risa, "There's a Yakinuku place near the train station. You'll love it, all the grilled meat you can eat."
"You know me so well, darlin'." Ryan spoke the words to Risa but his eyes didn't leave Kyoya's face. He looped his long arm around Risa's shoulder. "Lead on." Despite the audience, she didn't shrug it off.
Ryan dropped his arm when the stopped at the reception desk to grab a cowboy hat and a large gift bag before they headed out the door. Risa's eyes lit up at the sight of the bag, but she didn't say a word until they'd left the building.
"What's in the bag?" she lilted, skipping backwards down the street with her hands clasped behind her back.
"Well, someone once told me that y'all give a lot a gifts over here…"
"A present?" She practically bounced up and down in her heels. "For me?"
"Who else do I know around here? You just have to wait a bit," Ryan teased, "I didn't smuggle this stuff through customs just to have you rip into it on the street."
Risa stumbled backwards when her heel caught in a crack and both men instinctively reached out to grab an arm and steady her. Silently, their eyes warred over her head but Ryan was the first to flinch and drop his hold. Kyoya's polite smile became a smirk and he turned to his wife, making an overly-proprietary show of confirming that she was okay.
His triumph, though, was short lived as the American struck back by commanding Risa's attention for the rest of the walk with conversation about their ex-classmates until they reached their destination.
The restaurant was barely larger than a hole in the wall, the type of place underpaid single salary men could grab a quick bite to eat. It was mostly empty when they arrived, but seemed to fill up quickly. A few thousand yen slipped to the hostess had assured them of a table towards the back where they'd have some privacy.
Pointing to the meat displayed in the refrigerated case when the waitress couldn't understand him, Ryan ordered almost every piece of beef and pork on the menu. Distrusting the quality, Kyoya settled for rice and an assortment of summer vegetables.
The minute the waitress left, Risa turned to Ryan. "Can I open my present now?"
"Still a little kid, huh?" he laughed and tousled her hair in a familiar gesture. "I remember how you and Amy used to sneak down every Christmas Eve like four-year-olds."
"Of course I did!" She shrugged. "It was the first time I'd ever had presents that weren't bought by one of my parent's secretaries."
Kyoya didn't know what was in the bag, but he was sure that he would be able to find some present to outshine whatever the yokel had brought. She hadn't been very impressed with his last one – an obligatory engagement ring given the day after the Omiai which didn't really suit her. It was too large and, due to her work with chemicals, she only wore it outside the lab and home. Obviously diamonds just weren't her thing. Next time he'd try rubies - she'd look beautiful with rubies arrayed around her neck.
Risa held out her hand imperiously, "Gimme!"
"Yes, ma'am." Ryan reached in and removed a wrapped box from it before handing her the brightly colored bag. "This part is really from Mom, she told me what to get."
Risa dove in, riffling through the tissue paper in a flurry of excitement and pulling out a huge orange bag. "Reese's peanut butter cups! I love your mother so much." Digging down further, she emerged with a set of rectangular boxes. If possible, she looked even more excited about the neon-colored animals peeking through the clear plastic covering than the bag of sugary peanut butter. "Shut the front door! Where'd you get Peeps so far after Easter?" She dropped the boxes on the table and gave him a quick side hug.
"I have my sources." Ryan's lips twitched with delight at her reaction.
"You bought out the store the day after didn't you? I can't believe you didn't finish them off already."
"They had a large amount of unsold inventory this year. And I was in Africa savin' humanity."
Kyoya idly picked up one of the boxes and looked at the row of bright pink bunny rabbits arrayed within. He turned over the box to read an ingredient list that sounded like the contents of Risa's supply cabinet. "What is in these things?" he asked with barely concealed disgust.
"We aren't sure, but it's something that doesn't even dissolve in sulfuric acid." Risa turned to Ryan, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Remember when we decided to try phenol? Melted in minutes."
"Except for the eyes." Ryan replied solemnly. "Just that little puddle of yellow starin' up at us with them creepy eyes."
"We never did figure out how to dissolve those. I'm pretty sure that's what the carnauba wax is for."
"I don't think even Honey would eat these." Kyoya muttered in Japanese.
Risa snatched the box out of his hands. "Hey!" she replied in the same language, "You have your vice, Marlboro man, I have mine."
"Smokin's bad for you," intoned Ryan in English, "Haven't you read all them labels they put on the carton."
"Ryan understands Japanese perfectly." Risa explained to Kyoya, still speaking her native tongue. "He just sounds illiterate because he insists on trying to speak it with a Texan accent."
"Everythin' sounds better in a Texan accent, darlin'." Ryan held out the wrapped box. "Here, this one is from me."
Slightly fuming from having made yet another false assumption about the interloper, Kyoya watched as Risa once again ripped into a present given her by another man.
The second she lifted the lid of the cardboard box inside her demeanor changed from excitement to awe. She snatched a piece of tissue paper from the bag and used it to carefully pull out a book. Kyoya recognized the name of the author on the cover, an ex-astrophysicist whose bestselling debut novel had been turned into a blockbuster movie.
"I didn't even think this was out yet." Risa said with wonder.
Ryan smiled at her and Kyoya wondered if the man realized just how much of himself he gave away. The more than platonic fondness he held for Risa was clear in his eyes. "He has a lot of virology in it and needed a consultant. I gave him some advice in exchange for an advance reader copy."
She opened to the front piece and saw the personalized signature. "You. Are. My. Hero." Her star-struck eyes didn't leave the page until their food arrived.
After a quick demonstration from the waitress, Ryan commandeered the grill. Kyoya had to grudgingly admit that the man did seem to know his way around burning lumps of charcoal.
"So tell me about this flu," Risa commanded, her salt and pepper beef karubi sitting untouched in front of her. "It must be serious to call you out."
Ryan finished scarfing down some spicy pork intestine. "I've got some files if you'd like to take a look." He reached into his satchel and pulled out a manila folder.
"Of course I do!" Risa pounced on the file faster than she had the present. "Just don't tell the Oni-kaicho that I work for that I did some consulting without getting paid." She looked over at Kyoya and winked.
"The Oni-kaicho is willing to donate your services for free this time." He replied, polite social façade firmly in place. "It's always good to be owed a favor by the government."
For rest of the meal, Kyoya might as well have been a piece of furniture for all the attention they paid him. He picked at his vegetables and watched the two of them, heads almost together as they systematically dissected the threat to Japan's horse lovers. Risa seemed so… alive? No, that wasn't the right word. Complete. That was it. It was as if all the empty places inside her had been filled up.
After two months together, and one month sharing the same house, he'd believed that he'd been allowed to see the woman behind the masks. But he didn't know the person sitting there chattering happily about reservoirs and transmission vectors at all. For the first time she had no walls, no defenses up to guard her. She'd let Kyoya past the personas she wore at work and among strangers, but apparently he'd only been allowed to see the surface of who she really was.
His phone chimed and he pulled up the email from Kimio. Most of it was what he already knew or could guess – Ryan Wagner, age thirty, only son of Mary and Hank Wagner of Odessa, Texas. Undergraduate degree from MIT in biology and received a PhD in virology from Harvard four years ago. Immediately began work at the CDC. Expert in animal-to-human diseases. Six years…
Oh. Now that was interesting. Kyoya tucked his phone away and studied the suddenly very intriguing Mr. Wagner.
Kimio really was worth every penny he paid her.
. . .
Risa looked at her watch and gave a depressed sigh. "I hate to say it, but I have to get back to the office for a meeting with our manufacturer."
"Hope everythin's okay with your project." Ryan drawled.
"Nice try," she giggled, "You know I can't tell you that. Not unless you're willing to finally accept my job offer." The last part came out jokingly, but a slight trace of hope lilted up the end of the sentence.
"Sorry, darlin'. When you finally unleash the zombie plague on us, someone has to be standing on the walls protecting the human race."
Risa leaned over and dropped a kiss on his cheek. "Superhero."
"Mad Scientist." The American grinned back at her warmly. "I'll call you when I get back to town. Maybe you can show me around this home of yours."
"It's a da…" Risa cut off the end of the word she'd been about to say and shot a slightly nervous glance at her husband. "It's a deal." She stood and looked at the two men, silently asking if they were joining her.
"I'd like to stick around and get to know this husband of yours, if he has the time." The words were casual, but the sharp look in the American's eyes was unmistakable. "He was a pretty quiet fella during lunch."
Kyoya nodded at him coolly. He and Ryan Wagner had a great deal to discuss. "I'm sure I could spare a few more minutes Mr. Wagner."
Risa's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, clearly uneasy but unable to say why. She placed her hand on Ryan's shoulder and leaned down to whisper something in his ear. Kyoya thought he heard the words 'play nice, Onii-chan.' With a sketchy bow and a goodbye she turned and walked out the door, gift bag swinging jauntily back and forth as she practically skipped away.
Kyoya watched as the American's eyes followed her out the door. Ryan didn't turn away until, thirty seconds after she left, a non-descript woman left the restaurant and casually headed in the same direction. The man smiled appreciatively and turned his attention back to his host. "One of yours?"
"Yes. I assume the American over there with his Japanese girlfriend is yours, Captain Wagner."
"He's supposed to be my backup." Ryan shook his head and sighed. "These embassies are always givin' me marines barely outta high school that stick out like a sore thumb." He popped a bite sized piece of beef into his mouth using his fingers. "I'm impressed, though. Your people are every bit as good as I'd heard. My rank's not a secret, but that information isn't easily found – not at this time of day. By the way, the two men in cheap suits at the bar belong to your government."
"I'd noted them. Are they following you or me?"
"Me." He narrowed his eyes and reassessed his statement. "But probably both of us now."
Kyoya pushed his glasses up and fixed Ryan with his most intimidating stare. "So what are you really here for, Captain?"
"Just checking up on an old friend. Making sure she's safe. And happy."
"And how do your bosses at Army Intelligence feel about your interest in Risa?"
Ryan gave a disarming grin, not at all phased by the accusation. "Aw, shucks. I'm no good at this here cloak and dagger stuff. I think," he said switching instantly to perfectly accented Japanese, "it might be easiest if we continued this conversation without any more lies or games."
Kyoya's return smile could have cut glass. "Agreed. An equine flu is not a very convincing cover story. Our government is more than capable of handling what I know to be a very minor outbreak. Why did your superiors want you to contact my wife?"
"What makes you think she was the one they wanted me to contact?" The American looked unbearably smug as he dropped the next piece of information. "My instructions were to vet you."
Kyoya was convinced he'd managed to keep his surprise hidden. "For what reason?"
Ryan took his time re-positioning another piece of meat on the grill before answering. "I'm sure it wouldn't surprise you to know that several organizations have had Rissy on their radar for years now. At least since her Master's thesis was published, if not earlier."
"Have you been spying on her all this time?"
"I don't spy on my friends. Not even for my government." Ryan's growled outrage convinced Kyoya of his sincerity. The Texan took a sip of his soda and continued in a more measured tone. "As a friend, I've always kept an eye on her. Her marrying you was like sending up a signal flare. Everybody knows the Ootoris wouldn't be getting this closely involved if her research wasn't panning out. If she wasn't a whole lot closer than people had anticipated."
"I'll neither confirm nor deny anything." Kyoya took a sip of his own tea while turning over what to say next. "What interest would the American military have in Risa's research?"
Ryan looked almost disappointed at the question. "Oh, please, Ootori-san. Rissy may have all the naïve optimism of a pre-Hiroshima nuclear physicist but you and I know the realities of this world. You know as well as I do that…"
"Any technique that can be used to heal can also be used to harm." Kyoya finished for him. "Is this an offer of purchase?" he asked dryly.
"Of course not!" Ryan responded in mock indignation and placed his hand over his heart. "I work for the United States government. I'm sure doing something like that is against one of them laws the boys in Washington are so fond of passing." He chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "Besides, if we wanted it we'd simply get your government to do the dirty work for us."
Kyoya nodded his head curtly. It was, after all, how such things usually went.
Ryan dropped his voice just low enough that the numerous interested parties listening in couldn't hear. "There's been chatter on the ground and a lot of people seem very interested in what you are doing here. It's her work with genetically targeted viruses that's garnering the most attention. Imagine being able to drop a vial of something in a crowded room and only one person be affected. Or create a disease that will only kill off a group of people with a shared genetic marker. I know some boys in the Middle East who would simply love to do just that. My government may not want to purchase the tech, at least not publicly, but it is very much concerned that certain other parties, parties in this area of the world in fact, don't get their hands on it."
The genetically targeted part of Risa's research was still highly experimental and not part of the current clinical trials. It was also a closely guarded secret. The American was right about one thing, countries like Russia, China, and especially North Korea would be eager to get their hands on it. Risa was on the verge of ushering in a brand new world. Depending on how things played out, the name Ootori might someday rank up there with Pasteur. Or Oppenheimer.
Kyoya tilted his head back so the overhead light would reflect off his glasses and shield his eyes. "Are you here to deliver a warning or a threat?"
"I was asked to make sure you understand our position on certain governments or organizations becoming your customer." Ryan popped the last bit of grilled food into his mouth and impolitely gestured towards Kyoya with his chopsticks. "You, and your family, have got a certain… reputation. The conventional wisdom is that you don't do anything unless it benefits you and that worries my chain of command. Now me, I think there's a big difference between not doing something without benefit and being willing to do anything for benefit."
The American was interrupted when the waitress came by to see if they wanted to order anything else. Kyoya was mildly shocked when the giant refrained himself from getting more food.
Ryan continued as soon as the woman left. "I've known Rissy since she was a kid. She's always had a hard time trusting people, at letting them get past those walls of hers. The few people she does let into her life, though, tend to be the good ones. I can't say as I'm fond of your reputation, Ootori-san. But, I trust her judgment. I'm hoping she's right about whatever she saw in you."
Before Kyoya could reply, Ryan stood and donned his hat. "Don't worry about the check," he said switching back to English, "your government's givin' me a very generous expense account." He tossed enough bills on the table to cover the meal. "That was the warnin', this here's the threat. Not everyone will be nice if you turn them down and some won't want to spend the money at all. I love Risa like a sister and if anythin' happens to that little girl, anythin' at all, there won't be a place on earth you can hide from me."
"You love her more than a sister, Mr. Wagner," Kyoya fired back, "Since we are being honest."
"That might be true, but…" Ryan gave a wistful smile. "Well, you can take the boy out of the church but you can't take the church out of the boy. My folks didn't raise me to go messin' up another man's marriage."
Left unsaid between them was what would happen should Kyoya mess up his marriage all on his own.
"I assure you that I am fully capable of protecting my wife." Kyoya smile was more intimidating than reassuring. "From all threats."
"Good. As long as we understand each other." Ryan took two steps towards the door before turning back. "Them government boys of yours will probably want to talk to you about our conversation. I'm real sorry 'bout that."
"Yes, I can see you're absolutely devastated," Kyoya snarked.
Ryan laughed and tipped his hat. "Pleasure meetin' ya, Mr. Atari." The American swept out the door as if he owned the city, a trail of observers sprinting after him, trying to keep up with his long strides.
One of the Japanese agents who'd been sitting at the bar stayed behind. As soon as his partner left, he headed towards Kyoya, reaching into his suit pocket to pull out identification. "Ootori-sama, may I ask you a few questions…" Kyoya gestured for the man to sit and donned his polite façade.
It really was a shame he couldn't just have the American killed.
A/N: As promised, here is the continuation of Chapter 13.
Thanks to all who've reviewed, favorited, or followed – especially AusllyBeliever (happy summer vacation, *sob* I don't get those anymore.), SerinaBardon (thanks, I hope you continue to enjoy), PrincessProfiler (glad to know you ship them because **spoiler** they are my OTP), and nanirios10 (sex, sex not gender, sex. They're adults. They're married. It's totally on both of their minds and it will most likely happen at some point).