Kyoko spent her day making phone calls asking local businesses if they would buy an ad for the church's annual talent show. It was still a few months away but sponsors needed to be identified early.
The talent show was for the local teenagers. Anyone aged 13 to 19 could participate. It gave kids from struggling homes a chance to demonstrate they were good at something and able to work hard. Potential employers and scouts from universities were invited to attend. If they liked what they saw, some kids were offered scholarships or jobs.
In order for the event to be a success, food and drinks were provided by the church. Those who placed in the top 3 in the contest also received a prize. All of these things required money which is where the sponsors Kyoko was trying to find came in. All the numbers she was calling were past donors so most said yes. A few were unable to donate this year leaving Kyoko a little short of her budget goal.
She thought for a few minutes of who else might be willing to donate before grabbing her phone and calling work.
"LoveMe Newspaper, how may I help you?" Kyoko heard the receptionist say.
"Hi, this is Kyoko Mogami. One of the new hires shadowing around town this month," Kyoko explained. She wasn't sure if she would be able to reach the person she wanted. "I was hoping to be able to talk to the boss."
"You're in luck. He just got back to his office. I'll check real quick if he's available and patch you through if he is," the receptionist told her before putting her on hold. Kyoko was on hold for about a minute before the receiver was picked up again.
"Ms. Mogami, it's good to hear from you," Lori Takarada said. Kyoko was surprised to hear his voice instead of the receptionist but was glad she could reach him.
"Boss, I was wondering if the Newspaper could sponsor a local event?" She blurted out not sure how to approach the subject so she just word vomited it.
"That depends, what are the details?" Lori asked her over the phone.
"The church I'm shadowing at right now holds a yearly talent show for the local youth. It's an opportunity for them to get noticed by potential schools or employers but they need sponsors to pull it off. A $25 donation guarantees a spot in the program. $100 gets that plus an ad placed on the food table. And $500 adds being announced on stage as a sponsor of one of the talents. The coordinator would send you a list of who's participating and what their talent will be for you to choose who you want to sponsor," she explained.
"Hm, I'd heard that events like this were done from time to time," Lori told her. "LoveMe will donate $100 to be added to the program and get an ad on the food table. I would like to see a list of performances. If any of them have the potential to spread love, I'll donate an extra $500 to sponsor that act," he said seriously.
Kyoko was a little surprised at first that he would give that much money, but the spreading love condition made sense. He was a love monster after all. "Thanks, Boss! I'll put you down for $100 and will let Haruki know to send you more details about the acts."
"Sounds good. By the way, how is the shadowing going?" He asked changing the subject abruptly on her.
"It's going good. I'm learning a lot. Seeing the investigative process last week with Ren showed me how much work is done before arrests are made. This week Haruki is teaching me about providing aid that helps someone and doesn't just make them dependent. They're very different topics but it's interesting how both jobs work towards making the city a better place," Kyoko said thinking out loud. She was enjoying her shadow work. She'd never seen the city from these angles before. Her world had always consisted of getting to a random job, buying groceries, and heading home. How different careers work together to combat the current crime wave to make the city better never would have occurred to her. It really took all kinds of people to accomplish big tasks.
"Keep thinking about that as you continue your shadowing. As a reporter, you need to be able to look at stories from multiple angles in order to get the most complete picture you can. You'll never be able to fully understand a situation. But if you're able to see from multiple perspectives, your articles will help the readers form their own opinions about the topics you write about rather than only be able to see your opinion," he informed her.
Kyoko felt like he just shared a super secret of journalism with her. She would make sure to remember it always. "Thanks, Boss! I'll remember that as I finish out this week and the next!"
She hung up with him after exchanging goodbyes. She sat in her seat staring at her phone. She didn't want to call the next person she thought of. Unfortunately, he was the only other one she could think of who could help.
Ren was walking into Yukihito's lab when his phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket to see who was calling and was surprised by the caller ID.
"Kyoko, I wasn't expecting to hear from you today," he said answering the phone. After the lecture he'd given her the day before, he figured she would avoid him.
"Um, yeah. I'm calling because I have a favor to ask," he heard her say. What kind of favor could she want?"
"What is it?" he asked. She explained the talent show to him and the different amounts for ad placements.
"Do you think the precinct would be willing to sponsor?" She finished.
"I don't know. That's not really my department. You'd have to ask our PR person about it. I'm in Yukihito's lab at the moment. I can swing by the PR desk later and get you a number to call," he told her while nodding at Yukihito who had only just looked up from his work at hearing his name. Apparently, he hadn't noticed Ren before then.
"That works. I'd appreciate it," Kyoko said. Ren thought she was going to hang up but she added one more thing. "I thought about what you said…and figured out an alternative. Um, bye." She quickly hung up without giving him an opportunity to respond. Ren looked at his phone confused as to what she meant. Is she not going to write that scathing article she mentioned?
"Who were you talking to?" Yukihito asked him curious. "You don't usually take calls like that at work."
"It was Kyoko. She was asking if the precinct would donate for an event the church she's shadowing at will host. I'll get her the PR number later," Ren responded.
"Hmm," Yukihito said while looking at Ren contemplatively.
"What is it?" Ren asked feeling a little creeped out by the stare.
"You seem to act differently whenever Kyoko is involved. There's this call but also your behavior last week. Specifically, eating meals with her. You usually skip lunch altogether. But you happily ate with her every day last week," Yukihito said staring at him.
"I can't exactly let a girl eat by herself can I? Especially when we're working together," Ren told him trying to get him to drop it.
"But you let Kanae eat alone and you're working with her this week," Yukihito pushed.
Ren gave him a glare before responding. "That's because she leaves to go eat and comes back on her own. Kyoko either brought extra food for me or we'd be out doing interviews together when it was time to eat," Ren explained. The habits between the women were different so he responded differently. That's all there was too it.
"If you say so," Yukihito said giving him a knowing look.
Ren sighed at his persistence. "Would you just show me the results already?" Ren said turning the conversation back to work.
Kyoko was all done for the day and was waiting for Max before leaving. He promised to stop by after school to let her know if Sho followed through with arresting West for drug trafficking.
She was waiting outside enjoying the warm weather when she spotted someone staring at her from across the street. At first, she thought he just happened to be looking in her direction and looked away to avoid the awkwardness. But he was still looking at her when she peeked back. Feeling creeped out, Kyoko walked back into the church to wait for Max there.
It wasn't much longer before he showed up looking ecstatic. "It was awesome! As West was getting into his drug locker and pulling stuff out, the police showed up and arrested him. He was caught red-handed. He's probably going to be expelled," Max told her before she could even say hi.
"That's great! Now you don't have to worry about paying him money anymore," Kyoko told him.
"Thank you," Max said looking her in the eyes. "I wouldn't have been able to get out of this situation on my own. At least, not in a good way. If there's anything I can ever do to repay you, please let me help." Kyoko was a little surprised at the seriousness of his tone. He meant every word that he said. She didn't know how he could pay her back, but she knew she had to figure out a way for him to do so. It would weigh on him to be in her debt like this.
"If something comes up, I'll definitely let you know," she said nodding at him. "But for now, why don't we head home."
They left the church together with Max filling her in on all the details of the drug bust. Apparently, officers were still at the school going over the locker and searching the surrounding area. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice the man waiting at the bus stop as they approached.
"You're her, aren't you?" He said to Kyoko grabbing both her's and Max's attention. They swiveled their heads to look at him surprised to have their conversation interrupted. It was the same man from earlier who was staring at her from across the street. He had long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. He was clean-shaven and wearing casual clothes.
"What do you mean?" Kyoko asked nervously.
"The woman on TV who was shirtless," he responded shifting his eyes down to look at her chest.
Kyoko turned scarlet at his words and behavior and crossed her arms in front of her while taking a step back. Max stepped forward in front of her at the same time. "Who are you?" He said tersely.
"I'm a fan. It was a horrible accident to happen. But she was so graceful up on stage. I just had to meet her in person," the man told them.
Kyoko was feeling more and more uncomfortable the more he spoke. She couldn't see Max's face from behind but his shoulders looked tense as he stood between her and the man.
"You've met her. Now it's time for you to leave," Kyoko looked at Max surprised. Even though he was just a teenager, he was speaking with authority to the man. It was almost like he'd done this before.
"But I'd love to sit and have dinner with her," the man said pleading. Kyoko definitely did not like where this was going. Before Max had a chance to respond, she spoke up for herself.
"It's time for me to go home now. I can't have dinner with you. My boyfriend is waiting for me." The bus pulled up as she was speaking.
"Why don't you get on, miss?" Max said avoiding using her name in front of the man. "I'll keep this guy entertained for you?" He turned to look at her to make sure she understood. Kyoko needed no plodding.
"Okay then, see you later," she said to Max before getting on the bus.
"We're not getting on. We were just waiting with her," Max told the bus driver who nodded and closed the doors then drove off. Kyoko watched Max in the back window as long as she could before the bus turned a corner. He was still squaring off with the stranger.
Kyoko worried all night. She didn't have Max's number so she couldn't call to check and make sure he got home safely. She got up early and went to work early for the second day in a row. As the bus got closer to the church, she kept glancing around to make sure she couldn't see the man anywhere. Once she got off the bus, she ran to the church to get inside. Thankfully, the janitor was near the door and let her in quickly. She was hoping Max would stop by before school again so she could make sure he was alright.
But he didn't. Kyoko worried all morning about whether or not Max was fine. She worked on writing a new article for the blog as she worried. She posted it when she finished and made herself a paper copy to hang on her wall at home. It was her first official publishing. She wanted to remember it.
Around lunchtime, she looked out the window of the library and saw the man from yesterday staring at the church. I hope Max is alright. She debated calling the cops but she didn't know if anything even happened after she left. Why did I leave him in that situation?! I'm the adult! I shouldn't have left him. She knew she shouldn't have left a high school freshman to deal with the stalker yesterday, but she was so frightened she wasn't thinking straight. She'd never felt so defiled just by having someone look at her. The man's stares made her skin crawl. Max acted so confident when he stepped up to block her from the man. She went with his flow and let him handle the situation. But now she didn't know if he was okay.
She decided to hold off on calling the cops until she could check on Max. If nothing happened yesterday and he was just at school, she would be wasting precious time of the police. She wanted to be sure before she made the call. She would head over to the school before the students were released and wait for him by the gate. If she didn't see him, she would call the cops.
There was only one problem with her plan. To get to the school she had to go outside where the stalker was waiting for her. Kyoko wasn't sure who to ask for help. Haruki left before lunch to go to an appointment and wasn't coming back. Most of the staff took off at lunchtime on Fridays. She would have left as well, but she was busy replying to people who commented on her article. By the time she finished, most everyone else was gone. The stalker being outside prevented her from leaving as she planned.
She didn't mind waiting around until school let out but that only postponed her problem, not solved it.
To keep herself busy until school ended, Kyoko cleaned anything within site. Moving helped keep her fears manageable. Most of the areas didn't need cleaning, the janitor did his job well. But it didn't hurt to re-clean. As she went about her task, her mind turned over her situation trying to find a possible solution.
She was at a loss sitting on the floor staring at the spot she intended to scrub when her phone buzzed. It broke her from her trance as she checked it. She was surprised to see it was from Ren.
Sorry I didn't get back to you yesterday. The number for PR is 555-345-9765.
Kyoko stared at her phone wondering if she was just graced with her answer. Ren could help her. Sure, he didn't like her, but he was a detective and took his job seriously. He wouldn't stand by and do nothing if someone was in trouble. And if Max really was in trouble, he could raise the alarm better than she could.
Before she could think twice about her decision she texted him back.
Could you help me? There's a strange man stalking me and I'm worried someone might not be okay. I'm at the Star Point Church.
Not even a minute passed before she got a response.
On my way.
Kyoko felt immediate relief seeing his reply. Then she panicked. Oh my God! What if I'm just overreacting and this is nothing?! What if Max is completely fine and that dude is harmless? I'll have gotten in the way of his important work for my silly fears.
Kyoko got up and put away her cleaning supplies to wait for Ren. Even though she was worried she was wasting Ren's time, she felt relief underneath it.
She anxiously waited by the door for him to arrive. It was a glass door so she was able to stand safely inside while looking outside. To her surprise, she saw Max coming from down the street. He ran to the door when he noticed her waiting and she let him in.
"Max!" She yelled pulling him into a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried something might have happened to you yesterday! I'm so sorry for leaving you to deal with that situation alone. It was unfair of me to expect you to handle that," Kyoko blurted out while holding him tight. She was so happy to see he was safe.
"Um, Kyoko, you're hurting me," he gasped out. She quickly let go to let him breathe. "I'm fine," he told her after taking a few breaths. "I don't think that guy is all that dangerous. He's a stalker, but not the type to act. He didn't put up much of a fuss after you got on the bus. He just gave me a disappointed look and walked away."
Kyoko breathed a sigh of relief and slumped to the floor. "Thank God," she said as the anxiety she'd kept pent up all day flowed out of her in relief.
"I'm glad you're still here though. I know the church is usually closed on Friday afternoons. I wanted to be able to see you again before you leave. But I woke up late and had to rush to school this morning. So I couldn't stop by on my way. You're only here for this week right?" He asked her looking a little embarrassed.
"Yes, I'll be moving on to another shadow job next week," Kyoko responded feeling warmed by his affection for her. "Even if I'm not working here, we can still meet up from time to time. We're friends now, right?" She said smiling at him while she stood back up.
"R-right," he responded excitedly. "Why are you still here anyway? Isn't most everyone gone?" He added after a moment.
"Yes," Kyoko sighed. "But the stalker is outside," she told him.
"What?! Where? I didn't see him on my way in," Max said shocked.
"Over here," Kyoko said leading him to a window on the other side of the church. Sure enough, the stalker was still standing there. "I was too afraid to go outside with him standing there."
"This could be a problem," Max said after looking out the window. "He didn't seem the type to act. But he's clearly the persistent type," he said thinking over the situation.
"Max, you sound like you know a lot about stalkers," she told him confused by his calculating behavior. "Yesterday too, you reacted really calm and authoritatively."
"My mom's had stalkers before that I've had to help her take care of," he said it like it was no big deal. But Kyoko was shocked to hear that he'd dealt with these situations before. Not only that, but it seemed his mom had frequent stalkers. She couldn't imagine dealing with this more than once. She shivered at the thought.
"I can go out there and distract him while you slip away," Max told her.
"Absolutely not!" She responded fiercely. "I've been so worried since last night that something might have happened to you. Something COULD have happened. We're lucky it didn't. I'm not making that mistake twice," she told him leaving no room for argument.
"Okay," he said taken aback. He wasn't expecting such a strong reaction from her. "A direct confrontation probably won't work. Stalkers who are persistent like this won't listen to reason. You won't be able to convince him to stop, not even with threats." Kyoko listened as Max thought out loud. He really was a smart kid.
The two were focused on their conversation and didn't notice someone approach the entrance on the other side of the room. The knock shocked them both as they looked to see who it was. Kyoko froze in terror upon seeing her stalker out the door. She looked quickly out the window next to her to see that he wasn't there anymore. When did he leave his position and come up to the door? She was very glad that the door was locked. He couldn't get in unless they let him, and they certainly weren't going to do that.
Her stalker knocked again smiling at her. "Let me in," she heard him say through the door. Before Kyoko could think of a way to react, another figure approached the door. This one she was happy to see. "Ren," she said under her breath happier than she ever thought she would be to see him.
"What?" Max said looking at her unsure of what she said.
Ren walked up to the door ignoring the stalker and knocked. "You asked me to come pick you up. I'm here, let's go," he said to her.
Kyoko grabbed Max by the arm and led him to the door. "We're going," she told him as she moved. Max silently obeyed recognizing the man from the other day who picked her up from the school fair.
Ren and the stalker stepped back as Kyoko opened the door outward leading Max outside. She checked the door behind her to make sure it was still locked before turning to Ren. "Thanks for coming," she told him and meant every word.
"Of course," he said nodding to her.
"Who is this?" The stalker asked looking at Ren nervously.
Max spoke up first. "Her boyfriend," he said cooly. Kyoko stood frozen shocked at his words. Max! What are you saying?!
"That's right," Ren said putting his arm around her. "My dear texted me earlier saying she needed a ride home from her volunteer work. So of course, I came. I can't say no to her," Ren swept down and kissed her on top of the head to accentuate his words. It was all Kyoko could do to keep her mouth from dropping in shock.
"Oh, well, um," the stalker stammered at the display of affection. He took a step back in his surprise. What Kyoko didn't know was going on was the glare Ren was giving him. While Ren's lips were kissing the top of her head, his eyes were daggers to the man in front of them with the clear message "she's mine" portrayed in them. "I guess I'd better be going then," he said before turning and running in the opposite direction.
Ren watched the potential stalker run away taking note of his smell. He didn't expect the man to be back. Weak willed individuals like him didn't like challenging anyone who asserted dominance. The glare Ren gave him should have been more than enough to keep him away. Of course, Kyoko didn't belong to Ren, and he had no intention of making her his, but the stalker didn't know that. The boyfriend excuse the kid pulled out worked well.
Still, it was better to be safe than sorry. Ren made sure to make a mental note of his smell.
He let go of Kyoko once the man was out of sight. It was harder to do than he expected. Her scent was just as intoxicating as ever. She stood there looking shocked like she couldn't process what just happened. I guess our relationship has been rather rocky. I can't blame her for being surprised.
Ren turned his attention to the kid while Kyoko got over her shock. He was surprised to find him glaring. "That was quick thinking," he told him trying to soothe whatever had the kid upset. "You seem to work well under stressful situations. You were quick to cover her up during that incident a few days ago as well," Ren smiled trying to be friendly but the kid just kept glaring at him.
He sighed and closed his eyes briefly before responding, "Yeah, you played your part well too." Ren watched as the kid walked over to Kyoko to shake her out of her shock. "Kyoko, you can head home safely now," he told her.
"R-right," Kyoko replied coming out of her shocked state. "Thank you for your help," she said turning to Ren. "I'll be heading home now."
"Um, no, I'll drive you home and on the way, you can explain to me what happened." Ren had no intention of letting her go home by herself after what just happened. He would see her home safely. "Hey kid, I'll give you a ride to. Hop in," he said pointing to his car. Kyoko made her way over without protest. Glad she knows she isn't getting out of this without giving me the full story.
"I'm not a kid, and my name is Max," the kid said suddenly in front of him. Ren was taken aback by the challenge in his face. "I let you take the lead on being her boyfriend because I'm obviously too young. But I could have scared him off like that too."
"O-okay, Max," he responded. Ren smiled as he followed the two to the car. Max, huh? Not sure why he just challenged me but he has spirit.
Kyoko got in the back seat with Max. Why does she keep making me feel like a chauffeur? He thought as he got in the car. "The front seat is free," he informed her.
"I know, but I'd rather sit with Max," she told him.
"Suit yourself," Ren said shrugging. It was quick so he almost didn't see it. Almost. Max had a smug look on his face when Kyoko declined the front seat.
Ren chuckled and started the car. It seemed Kyoko had an admirer.
After getting Max's address to drop him off first, Ren started driving. "So are you going to give me the full story?" Ren asked looking at Kyoko in the rearview mirror.
"Um, yeah," she said hesitantly before telling him everything that happened since the day before.
"Why didn't you call the police as soon as he showed up the second time?" Ren asked her.
"I didn't want to be a bother in case nothing was going on," she told him avoiding his gaze in the rearview mirror.
"You're forgetting I'm a homicide detective. I'd rather rush to a false alarm than investigate your murder," he said catching her eye in the mirror. "Don't be so afraid to ask for help when you need it." Kyoko only nodded in response. "Max, you were pretty brave to stand up for her, but you could have been hurt too." It wasn't just Kyoko he was going to lecture.
Max jumped at having the conversation turn suddenly to him. "I've dealt with guys like that before. I knew what I was doing," he said trying to brush off Ren's concern.
"That doesn't matter. You're what 14? 15? Your body is still developing and is no match for an adult. Especially since you're a little small for your age. I applaud your willingness to stick up for others but you have to think of your own safety too," Ren said hoping he was getting his point across. He didn't really know the kid. He might not be receptive to being lectured by Ren.
"And what would you have done in my shoes? Let the guy continue to harass her?" Max shot back aggravated by the lecture.
Ren thought back to when he was a teen. I probably would have bloodied the guy… He sighed at not having a good answer for him. "I get your point. Just promise you'll consider your own safety next time you stand up for someone," Ren said knowing there would be a next time. He'd seen the kid cover for Kyoko twice this week. Clearly, he acted before thinking whenever someone was in trouble.
"Fine," he heard Max grumble. Ren held back a smile. I really like this kid.
"Alright, I believe this is your place," Ren said pulling up beside an apartment building.
"Oh, thanks," Max said getting out of the car.
"Wait!" Kyoko yelled before he fully got out leaving the door open. "I want your number. I don't want to worry about you again and not have a way to contact you," she told him.
"S-sure," Max said turning slightly pink.
Ren watched as they exchanged numbers. Kyoko was about to say her final goodbye to the boy when she stopped stone cold staring at something behind Max. "Ren, is that what I think it is," he heard her say softly. He couldn't see behind Max well from his angle so he got out of the car to see if he could find what she was looking at. His teeth clenched when he saw it.
"Max, do you know anything about that building?" Ren asked him pointing to one across the street.
Max looked behind him to see which building he meant. "Oh, that one. I don't know what goes on there. Just that there's a creepy looking guy who comes in and out sometimes."
"Creepy how?" Kyoko questioned him.
"Ah, well, he just looks strange," Max said embarrassed. "I've never seen anyone with white hair who wasn't old and sometimes I swear his eyes are white as well. I don't get close to get a good look so I'm sure I'm wrong about that," he told them.
"Kyoko," Ren said without taking his eyes off the building. "Why don't you go inside with Max and lock the door while I check it out."
"What? I want to check it out too!" She demanded.
Ren turned his gaze from the building to look in the car at Kyoko. "If you go with me, Max will likely follow. You don't want him getting involved with this, do you?" Ren said trying to convince her. He didn't want either of them being near while he investigated. If HE was around, it was far too dangerous.
Kyoko stared at him for a moment before replying. "Fine. Max, why don't you show me where you live? If your mom's home I'd like to meet her," Kyoko told him turning away from Ren.
"What's going on?" Max asked looking from one adult to the other.
"It's not a big deal," Kyoko told him. "We just see a potential link to a case Ren is working on. Since he's a detective, he's obligated to check it out. I'm sure it's nothing." Ren was glad to see that she was trying to tone down the situation for Max. They didn't need him getting curious and looking into it himself when they weren't around. Especially since he was around the age of some of the kidnapped kids from a few months ago.
"She probably is home, she works nights," Max told her as he led the way inside the building. Ren watched them go through the door before turning his attention to across the street. He walked paying attention to the smells that were in the air. He didn't smell anything familiar until he got near the door that held the mark of a white flower that only Ren and Kyoko could see.
Phew, that was a long chapter. About twice the size of a normal one. I hope you all enjoyed it. It's the last one for a few weeks. Saturday, my husband is finally coming home. He's been gone since April for work. Then we move next week. It's a lot going on. I don't expect to be able to post a new chapter until February.
I know everyone is eager for Ren to find out about the pregnancy. I have extremely big plans for that event. It'll come at the end of this first act which ends when Kyoko's first trimester ends.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
-Besma0003