"A closet full of clothes and nothing to wear!"
Riko rummaged though her dresses in growing frustration. What she should wear had been the topic of conversation at lunch, between classes, and on the way home from school. Suzu thought the mint-green dress that brought out Riko's eyes, Midori the peach and green sleeveless, and Kohana stuck with the teal.
All good suggestions, all dresses Riko normally adored…but now, spread out on her bed all three looked childish. She sighed, slumping against the closet doorframe. Think, Riko Tachibana. Think about this. Akabane was meeting her at the New York Grill, an exclusive restaurant known for its American cuisine. So, what would be appropriate for such a place?
"White…or black?" Every American movie she'd seen had the heroine attending a fancy dinner dressed in a white or black dress.
Well, she had both. Riko took them out and held them against her, eyeing herself critically in the closet door's full-length mirror. After a few minutes of posing and making faces at herself, she settled on the white. She didn't understand why Americans put so much regard on the color of death, but contrasting Akabane appealed to her artistically. If Akabane wasn't wearing his usual black, well, white went with everything, didn't it?
She glanced at her alarm clock as she put on the dress. Her cab would be here in half an hour; plenty of time to finish getting ready. Her hair hadn't grown long enough for anything fancy, and she didn't wear much make up in any case. She didn't want to look like one of those slutty pop singers.
An hour later, Riko stood outside the New York Grill, clutching her handbag like a shield. Akabane was nowhere in sight.
He couldn't have forgotten, could he? Or changed his mind? Maybe he had been playing with her, setting her up for a cruel joke so he could laugh….
No. Akabane was too cool – too mature – to do such a thing. Either he hadn't arrived yet, or was already waiting for her.
Self-confidence bolstered, Riko opened the door and went inside. The maitre'd approached her immediately.
"May I help you, miss?"
"I'm here to meet someone." Her gaze flicked over the nearest tables; all occupied, and none by Akabane. "I'm certain he had reservations."
"His name?"
"Akabane." It struck Riko that she didn't know his first name. She had never asked, and he had never volunteered.
The maitre'd checked his list. A moment of panic seized her. What if Akabane had had to use a false name, and hadn't been able to tell her? He didn't know her cel phone number –
"Ah, yes." The maitre'd smiled at her. "This way, please."
He led Riko through the crowd of diners to a small table in back of the restaurant. "Would you like something to drink?" he asked, seating her.
Riko shook her head. "No, thank you. I'll wait."
"Very well. Your server will bring menus in just a moment. Enjoy your meal."
Riko looked around. Their table was somewhat apart from the others; not shoved into a corner, but distant enough to ensure their privacy. The tablecloth was white linen. Two tea candles burned in crystal holders. It was, Riko decided, very romantic, like something she would have imagined out of an American movie set.
Their waiter – an attractive young man Riko would have happily flirted with some other time – brought menus and a glass of spring water with a lime slice. Riko sipped it as she looked through the menu. Americans eat a lot of meat, she mused. She flipped back to the poultry.
The waiter returned. "Have you decided? Would you like any appetizers tonight?"
Riko shook her head. She didn't want Akabane to think she accepted his invitation only for the free food "I'm waiting for my friend."
Akabane was her friend. An Internet friend, yes, but that counted, didn't it? Being friends didn't mean you had to talk every day or constantly see each other. Though tonight, that could change…
"Good evening, Riko-chan."
Riko looked up, smiling. "Good evening, Akabane-san!" Lost in daydreams, she hadn't heard him approach. She never did. That was part of what made him so cool.
He sat down across from her. "You look like you are dressed for an occasion."
Riko blushed. "Thank you." He wore his usual black (though his coat looked newer). The white had been a good choice. "This is one of Tokyo's finest restaurants. I didn't want to embarrass you."
"I am afraid the flower I brought does not match your dress." He presented her with a flower, trumpet-shaped with purple petals.
"It's lovely, " Riko said as she took it from him. She didn't recognize it. A lily of some kind? Lilies were usually white, except for tiger lilies; those were orange, yellow and red. She'd never seen a purple lily.
At that moment, the waiter returned with a small porcelain vase – "A courtesy of the New York Grill." Riko fussed with the flower's placement; she wanted everything to be perfect. From the corner of her eye, she saw Akabane smiling at her.
"It is beautiful, is it not? Very deadly."
Riko blinked. "Deadly?"
"Amaryllis belladonna," Akabane explained. "It is poisonous to consume .A perfect companion for our dinner table, do you not think?"
Even taking into account her adventure with the black-haired weirdo and his equally weird pals, that was one of the strangest things she'd ever heard. Was this some weird religious thing? "As a talisman against the food?"
Akabane chuckled, sending a delicious shiver up her spine. "Such an innocent girl. Have you chosen your meal?"
Ordinarily Riko would have objected to being described as "innocent", as she was quite aware of how the world worked. Coming from Akabane… well, anything he said was a compliment. "No, I was waiting for you."
"Come, decide." He gestured their waiter over. I am having the steak tacos."
Riko opened the menu again. "The honey-glazed duck," she said at last. "With the Caesar salad." After a moment's thought, she added, "And a glass of white wine."
"Are you eighteen, Riko-chan?" Akabane asked with polite interest.
"Next week." Next week and next year to be exact. He didn't need to know that, though.
"Then next week, you may have the wine."
Riko's brows dipped down. She opened her mouth to protest what difference a week would make, and then thought better of it. "All right. Though I do have wine at home."
Akabane just smiled in response.
In the end, Riko made do with a club soda. Akabane kept to water himself, asking for a pitcher with his steak tacos. Riko watched him when she thought he wouldn't notice. Even watching him eat was fascinating. When he did eat, that was – he picked at his meal, moving it around more than he ate.
"If you don't like it, I'm sure they'll give you something else, "Riko said.
"It is fine. I am just not hungry."
At that moment, a girl in a deep blue dress and exclusive salon makeup sashayed over to their table. "Hey, there. It's so cute that you're taking your little sister out to eat." Her smile was aimed at Riko, but her eyes were fixed on Akabane.
"I'm not his little sister," Riko said stiffly. Some people were so rude! Couldn't she see they were having a private conversation?
The girl's face twisted in disgust. "Oh. Oh. Well, then." She pivoted on her heel and walked off.
"Ignore her, Riko-chan," Akabane said, sipping his water. "She is jealous."
"Of me?" Then again, not everyone had a handsome, mysterious man like Akabane invite them to dinner. She was probably looking for a meal ticket.
"Of course. A lovely young girl like yourself is bound to attract unsavory types."
Riko stabbed a wayward crouton to cover her surprise. She hadn't thought about that. Akabane-san had a point, she had to admit. "There are a lot of freaks out there." Immediately she regretted her words. This wasn't school or the arcade; she should be more couth. "Forgive my language. I shouldn't speak like that in a place like this."
Akabane smiled. "You are forgiven."
He was so pretty when he smiled…and he had a great sense of humor. Riko found herself smiling back. "Thank you."
The waiter brought more club soda and refilled Akabane's pitcher. When he left, Akabane pushed his plate away.
"Riko-chan, I invited you out because I am worried about you."
At his words, her half-formed fantasies about his motive died a cruel death. "Worried?"
"A young girl like yourself, alone rattling about in that big house of yours."
"There's Chiharu-san, our cook – she comes in every day to make dinner for me. The housekeeper comes in once a week, since it's just me. I check all the doors, and we have an alarm system." It could still feel scary, especially at night. "I didn't think you'd be concerned." You didn't say anything before.
"I am, very concerned!" Akabane patted her hand.
Even through gloves, his touch made Riko blush.
"That is why I have decided to stay at your house until your parents return, to protect you."
Riko gaped at him. "W-why?" she stammered, then plunged ahead. "If you're so concerned, why haven't you tried to see me – really see me – before now? Why haven't you answered all my emails?" Her voice was raised, almost accusing, but at the moment, Riko didn't care. Stay? In her house? What had brought that on? The idea was insane, impossible….tempting…
"You know I am not always at liberty to associate due to the nature of my jobs." Akabane raised his glass to his lips. "I…have many secret jobs."
Riko frowned, chin propped on her fists. Akabane's mysterious jobs. He never explained exactly what he did, but she'd gathered it had something to do with courier work. She remembered hearing him say something about picking up that disc the first time she had seen him. Of course, she'd been too focused on him to really pay attention, not that what he did had been any of her business.
But now…
"That you can't talk about?"
"Yes."
They looked at each other.
Riko thought about her house. It seemed even larger, now that her parents were gone on a three-month vacation, and there wasn't a flow of visitors for both of them. She thought about the talk of the neighborhood's recent Peeping Tom, the rash of robberies over the summer, alarm systems or no alarm systems. The burglar had never been caught. Yanoda-san checked on her every other day, but he never stayed very long. Chiharu-san was old, and Ichigo-san …well, a once-a-week housekeeper wasn't much protection, either.Her parents had said she could have a guest to keep her company…
"You don't want to stay with me because of one of these jobs, too, do you?" Riko asked. Surprise flickered in Akabane's eyes, and Riko chalked up a point for herself. A courier's secret jobs came from the yakuza, corporations or the government. Akabane was too smart to be mixed up with the yakuza and too cool to work for a corporation. That left the government. The government messed in all kinds of stuff, everyone knew that.
Riko took a dainty drink of club soda. "If that's the case, you're welcome to stay." She sounded poised, assured…mature. An adult discussing adult matters. Another drink. "You saved me, right? So it's only fair I save you." She gave him a small smile.
Akabane smiled in return. "You understand me. I am glad. Somehow, I knew a woman of your caliber would."
Riko nodded, poking at her honey-glazed duck and taking a bite. She felt as if she had been drinking wine, a lot of it: exhilarated, a little dizzy, and not certain anything was real. She was blushing – she knew it – but she didn't care. "And, well, it would be nice to have someone else in the house. My parents call twice a week, and my dad's secretary Yanoda-san stops by every other day, but it's not the same at night."
"Secretary?" Akabane repeated.
"That's what I call him," she said between bites, "because that's what he seems to do a lot of. Secretary work, phone calls, things like that. He comes by usually before I leave for school or right after I come home."
"He will not mind my presence, will he?
Riko shook her head. "I was told I could have friends over. As long as he doesn't see you in the morning, everything should be okay. If push came to shove, I could say you were my bodyguard," she added with a lightness she didn't quite feel. She firmly pushed away thoughts of Miyuki and her pet followers. She wouldn't let them spoil her evening.
"The cook comes in between ten and eleven in the morning to make dinner; she's usually gone by one in the afternoon. The housekeeper only comes on Wednesdays, to do the bathrooms and my parents' bedroom and my dad's den, since it's just me."
"Mmm." Akabane steepled his fingers. "A cook?"
"She's very good."
"Sounds wonderful."
"We have three guest rooms." Now that she had agreed to let Akabane-san stay, her mind turned to the details. "You can take your pick."
Akabane nodded solemnly. "That is most generous of you. I appreciate it. Thank you. "
"You're welcome," Riko said simply. "When did you want to come over?"
"Is tonight too soon?"
"Oh, no, no!" Ichigo-san had aired out the guest rooms, hadn't she? She would have to check herself when she got home. "Tonight is fine!"
"I'll be over about an hour after we finish eating."
"All right." Riko fished in her handbag for a pen and a small notepad. "Here's the address," she said, tearing a sheet of paper. "I'll give you the code to the house-alarm tonight."
Akabane tucked it into his coat pocket. "Thank you. I will be there as quickly as possible once I gather my things."
Riko slowly nodded. Part of her wanted to take it all back, to insist she couldn't allow this. She ignored it. She had offered her aid. Retracting it would be dishonorable.
The waiter came around with the dessert menu. Riko ordered chocolate cake, Akabane chocolate pie. He chuckled a little as the waiter left.
"Chocolate is dangerous to a beautiful dress like that."
Riko resisted the urge to stick out her tongue. "I'll be very careful."
"You've grown into quite the woman since we first met."
She was blushing again. That made how many times she had blushed tonight? It had to be a world record. "Thank you."
"I am sure the boys at your school have noticed. "
"Not…." Riko looked down at her dessert. "Not really. There's some boys that are interesting…but they seem so young."
"Give them time," Akabane said. "Boys mature more slowly than girls."
"That's what I've heard."
They are in comfortable silence for a few minutes, then Riko asked, "Who are those guys, anyway? The one with the purple glasses and the other with the spikey blond hair?"
"They call themselves the Get Backers," Akabane replied. "One of them is the former leader of the most powerful street gang in Shinjuku."
Riko stared. "Gang leader?" Neither of them had looked like they could lead a nursery school parade, let alone a gang.
"Hai." Akabane ate more of his pie.
She sat back in her chair. This cast a different light on those two, that was certain. "What about the other one?"
"He is a powerful witch."
He made the statement as casually as if he were commenting on the color of someone's hair. Witches were just stories, weren't they? Akabane didn't seem to think so. Riko shivered. She hadn't been afraid of those Get Backers before, but now…
"I am afraid to say, they are my enemies."
"I – I think I remember that," Riko said slowly," They weren't happy to see you at that garbage collection station."
"No, they were not."
"Or at the restaurant. That explains the name they called you, though."
Akabane looked at her, a forkful of chocolate pie halfway to his mouth. "Hmm?"
"They called you a jackal."
"That is my code name, so please, be quiet about it."
His code name. He was a government courier. Or agent of some kind. "I won't," she said seriously.
Her cake was almost gone. Riko surprised herself by scraping the plate for the last bite of icing; it truly had been excellent cake. She finished her club soda, waving away the waiter when he approached. "We should go now, I suppose."
"Hai." Akabane waved the waiter over and took the slim black leather bill holder from him. "Go on ahead, Riko-chan. I will see you later."
"All right." Riko stood, hands clasped in front of her. "Thank you for dinner, Akabane-san," she said formerly. "It was very, very good."
Akabane smiled his beautiful smile. "You are welcome."
Riko didn't remember her cab ride home. The too-much-wine feeling returned with a vengeance, along with an inexplicable desire to laugh out loud. Akabane-san was coming to stay with her, something she had never even considered, let alone dreamed was possible.
She had dreamed other things, though, and with his soon-to-be-daily presence, well…some of those might be possible after all. She kicked off her shoes, locked the front door, and started to laugh. She was laughing as she went upstairs to check on the guest rooms. The world was a wonderful, wonderful place.
---
The black-clad doctor was, at that moment, sneaking back into his old place of residence while cautiously looking about. He did not want to be watched while "moving out" so to speak, as he did not want to be followed to his new housing. Even if it was only temporary, his whole reason for moving was to avoid the prying eyes of authority.
As he was folding the last of his white shirts into his one suitcase, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He slowly extracted it, flipping up the controls to answer. "Hello?"
"Good evening, Akabane. I trust your mission went well."
He shifted the phone so that he could pack and talk at the same time. "The payment that is in your checking account should say as much."
Kanae chuckled. "You would have paid me regardless. I like to know my efforts are successful, in any case."
"I live to please."
"Indeed? I may have more work for you, Akabane-san. The clients are...wavering in their firmness, so it may take a few days to confirm.
To be truthful, my dear doctor, I was referring to your dinner mission.
He hesitated, uncertain of what to say next. "How did you find out about that?" he asked, a bit nervous. Would Kanae be mad at him for seeing another woman without her permission, even if it wasn't a date?
"I made the reservations, remember?"
"Ah, yes. I am sorry. I am a bit nervous. I am in my old house, and there are possible police around me." He looked over his shoulder as if to emphasize his point, even if she could not possibly see his actions.
She laughed openly at him, her voice musical. "I'm not keeping tabs on you, I was merely curious." She paused for a spell. "Old house'? I take it you found new lodgings? Then I won't keep you. Good-bye, Akabane-san."
"Good-bye, my Kanae."
He could hear her laughing slightly at him as she hung up, and he was confused. What was there to laugh about? He hadn't said anything particularly funny.
Back at her house, Riko waited patiently beside the dining room phone, trying not to think about how much she truly looked like a love-sick girl pining away for the call from her night in shining armor. To her surprise, the phone did not ring. The doorbell, however, did. She ran across the kitchen floor in slippered feet, nearly sliding on the fine waxed wood as she entered the hall where the main door was.
As she opened the door, she smiled. "Akabane-san!"
"Good evening yet again." He set his suitcase down in the hallway, looking curiously all about himself. He seemed to be taking in the room in one breath, like a highly efficient machine.
"Come in, please."
"I see you prepared for my arrival," he noted, observing a pair of black guest slippers set out in the main entryway beside Riko's school sneakers.
She blushed under the weight of his praise. "I thought you'd like these. I can show you to the guest room to put your… things… away," she said, hesitating a bit because she hadn't expected him to travel so lightly. Well, he was just staying as a guest. She was certain he hadn't brought everything he owned. She watched him change shoes, blushing deeper. He moved so smoothly…
She guided him to the first room, where he pulled on his tie and the collar of his white shirt. "This room is much too hot," he protested, backing away.
"Oh," she said. "Would you like a window you can open?"
He'd already moved on to peering into the second room before she could finish her sentence, so she followed him. He pulled his head back out, shivering. "Now this room is much too cold."
"All right," Riko stammered, fearing none of her rooms would be good enough for his gracefulness. She showed him the last room, realizing with a flutter of her teenage heart that it was the room closest to her own.
He stepped neatly onto the gray rug and sniffed the room. "Mmm. This room is just right. Does it have a walk-in closet?"
Riko opened the closet. "Yes, it does!"
Akabane put his bag in the closet. "There." He said, dusting off his gloves on his hips. "Where is your room, Riko-chan?"
Riko, at that point, was doing her darned best to keep her face calm. She hoped she wasn't blushing. That would be the ultimate in embarrassment at the moment. "Right next door."
"Oh. I hope that my presence so close will not disturb you. Where is my bathroom?"
"Down the hall," she replied, padding down the hallway in little slippered feet to show him the room.
"I am very pleased. Do you need the bathroom at a certain time in the morning to get ready for classes?
"I'm glad you like it. I get up at six. I'll just need to shower -- I have a private half-bath."
"I will keep in mind to be out of the shower by six, then."
"Thank you. That's very considerate." Even if she had managed to keep herself cool externally, she was burning up internally. In her mind, there was an image of Akabane in the shower, dripping wet as he ran his scared hands over his muscular chest slowly and in seductive circles.
Akabane, for his part, also had an image of himself in the shower. His vision was radically different. He hadn't had a hot shower in awhile, so he was imagining how wondrous it would feel. "What time do you normally go to bed? I am probably keeping you up right now."
Riko glanced at her teddy bear watch, a matching one that had come with her bag. "I should go to bed. It is later than I thought.
I'll show you the rest of the house, and then turn in."
She led him through the living room, kitchen, the family/tv room, and the first of the dens. He followed, perfectly obedient and silent until she spotted a room that caught his fancy for one reason or another. "What is back here?" He disappeared off to take a peak.
"We have satellite TV, all the platforms… wait, don't go back there!"
"Who in your family is an artist?" he asked, the door pushed open just enough so that he could peer at the studio inside.
Riko lost it and turned absolutely red. "Um. Me."
"Is this your studio? You will have to show me your works."
"Oh, I couldn't! I'm -- I'm not that good. I didn't win the last studio contest." In reality, she was pretty darn good to say the least. The judges had balked at her age. How could someone so young have suffered enough for their art, or be truly dedicated to it, after all? Well, at least that was how the pretentious art world thought. Her parents tolerated her art in an amused fashion, calling it a "good hobby" to have on her way to finding a "good hubby".
"I bet you are better than you think. You can show me everything tomorrow."
"A-all right," she stammered, not wanting to displease him.
He yawned and stretched. "I must turn in now, myself.
"Good night, Akabane-san. Sleep well." Riko pushed a few buttons to set the alarm before following him upstairs, noticing the way the back of his coat swept dramatically on the carpet. It gave her goose bumps. Was there anything that man could do that wasn't fluid poetry in motion?
She finally went to bed, excited, but eventually sleep overtook her and she settled into a beautiful dream of handsome knights in black cloaks and the princesses they worshipped.