39

Last Alarm

Chapter Thirty-Nine

"Enemy at the Gates"

Part Three

"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection."

Sigmund Freud

Location: Tokonosu City

Estate of Soichiro and Yuriko Takagi

Jim's Room

Time: Morning

Spring 2013

Z-Day Plus Four

There is not a man or woman that has ever lived in this world that is not haunted by the mistakes that they've made in their life at one time or another.

But from our past mistakes we eventually learn how to deal with the consequences of what we've done, and perhaps learn not to make the same mistakes again later on in life.

And hopefully from what we've learned, we are then able to teach our loved ones not to make the same mistakes that we did.

Hopefully…..

Unfortunately, there are some individuals who never learn from their mistakes and continue to make the same ones over and over again in a never-ending cycle of frustration and needless calamity because such persons are too stubborn or too stupid to realize just how idiotic they're being, while the rest of us who know better, can only shake our heads in frustration and disbelief.

And then there are some of us who learn from our mistakes too late…

And only then do we realize that there is nothing we can do to reverse the terrible damage that we've done.

There are many things that I have done in my life that I have deeply regretted doing, and while I have learned from most of my mistakes and moved on, it was beginning to seem to me lately in the past few years that many of the mistakes that I had made in the past were coming back to haunt me with a vengeance.

I suppose everyone goes through this at one time or another in their life I'm sure, but for me those old mistakes of the past hadn't just come back to haunt me, but they had also begun to torture me with a viciousness that I had never experienced before and never even thought was possible.

And it was beginning to feel to me as if whatever time I had left to live in this world was going to be one filled with the misery of all the regrets and pain of the decisions and mistakes I've made in my life, and not much else.

Again, there are many things that I have regretted in my life, but recently what had been bothering me the most in the past couple of years were the things that I didn't do in life.

And as a result, it was one of those things that I didn't do in my life so long ago that had been one of the motivating factors in my making the decision to leave the Fire Service and becoming a fill-in medic for a Private Security Team run by former Military Spec Ops Operators.

But even though I had been able to reverse one of the life-changing decisions that I had made so long ago as a youth and was now doing what I had always wanted ….sort of.

There was still something else that troubled me even more above all of my other past mistakes…

And now at the age of 44 after having spent most of my life sacrificing everything I had for the lives of others as well as all that I had done for my family, the biggest regret above all things that I lamented about everyday was the fact that I never had a family of my own.

But unlike many others in this world who pine away over broken relationships and so forth, it wasn't because I couldn't find someone to share my life with and start a family….

It's just that I never did.

And while I've never liked to whine to others about my personal life and have tried to avoid doing so, the fact that I never settled down and had a family of my own had started to weigh more and more heavily on my mind lately.

And now as I was growing older and as I started to look back at a lifetime of sacrifice, duty, terror, pain, fun, laughter, camaraderie, joy, friendship, brotherhood, wild adventure, and hard-earned wisdom and wonderful tales that I wanted desperately to share with someone.

I couldn't…

Because there was no one there in that small apartment back home in Texas to share them with.

But just because I was still alone after all these years didn't mean that I truly regretted the choices I had made in my life….

But what was beginning to nag me the past few years was…..

"Had it all been worth the sacrifices that I had made?"

And one of the bigger questions I had been beginning to ask myself a lot especially after everything that had happened to me in the two years just before I left the Fire Service was…..

"Did I make the right choice?"

And as I began to look even harder at myself, an even bigger question loomed over me like a gloomy cloud.

"What if…?"

I have always been a firm believer that sacrificing oneself for your fellowman is one of the noblest reasons that a person can dedicate his life to an occupation that focuses entirely on the lives and well-being of others.

But like a young person who courageously volunteers for Military Service and goes into battle and somehow manages to survive the horrors of war for years, eventually that young person grows older and becomes a grizzled veteran that has seen enough of war and begins to realize that his own time is running out.

And then that person begins to look back at his life and wonder if the things he did was worth the price of what he personally sacrificed in the process.

I was eighteen when I first took an Emergency Medical Technician-Ambulance course in August of 1986 right after graduating from High School. Five months later, I got my first job for a private ambulance service working 24 hour shifts at a whopping $4.00 an hour with no benefits.

Twenty-five years later I was a 44 year old burned out Firefighter/Paramedic still working in the field on an Engine Squad and wondering where in the hell had all the years of my life gone.

But while all the lost years of my life bothered me greatly recently, it wasn't the regret of past mistakes that was haunting me at this particular moment as I sat in a bed in a luxurious mansion in Japan.

It was what I had just done to a group of teenagers that seemed to be tearing my very soul apart.

And what was making it so hard to deal with was the fact that now, after all those years of living my life alone, here on the other side of the world during the worst possible time in human history the closest thing I've ever had to having my own daughter had just left the room in tears because of the harsh words I had yelled at her and her friends, in anger.

But as bad as I felt for the hurtful things I had said to the teenagers and their school nurse whom I had traveled and fought side-by-side with in the past four days in that living hell outside the walls of this mansion that we had found refuge in…..

It was the pain I had seen in Saeko's eyes as I told her to leave that was torturing me the most now, and I would have gladly welcomed death at that moment just so that image of the pain-filled look in Saeko's eyes would stop popping up in my mind.

I don't know how much time had passed after I heard the door to my room close with a loud slam as Shizuka and the teens beat a hasty exit thanks to my angry outburst, while I sat there on the edge of my bed reflecting upon the horrible thing that I had just done.

And the only thing that snapped me out of my thoughts briefly was the feeling of a slight chill to the shaved area of my scalp that now lay exposed after I had ripped off the bandages earlier.

And as I gingerly touched the side of my head, I suddenly felt sickened by what I could only imagine the horror the kids must have felt at seeing that grotesque wound after I had ripped off the bandages in anger, trying to shock them into the reality of how truly fortunate we had been to even make it here to Saya's home alive.

But even more monstrous than that, the kids had also seen a side of me that I had never wanted them or anyone else in this world to ever see.

Because I had witnessed that same horrible fury in someone else when I was a child.

The very same fury that would erupt from a monster my younger brother and I had lived in fear of most of our childhood.

A fury that I always knew lay dormant within me, and had always fought to keep under control, and had prayed all my life that I myself would never become the very same monster my younger brother and I had feared as well.

But I had failed.

And it had happened so easily that once the monster had finally shown itself there had been no stopping it's fury from going out of control.

Even before that horrible scene erupted, it had been horrible enough to look upon the distraught faces of the kids and tell them that everything they had done was wrong and that I was leaving and would never see them again.

I hated what I was doing, but I did it because, like Yuriko, I thought it was for the best.

Even though I hated myself for the hurt I knew I was causing them.

But then when I saw Saya's father behead the guard whom I had stabbed with the contaminated spear, the guilt I felt for knowing that I was actually the one who was responsible for the death of an innocent man who was only trying to help Saya's parents get their child back, was unbearable.

But unfortunately, it was when Saya had made the accusation that the real reason for everything I had said to try to prevent the teens from leaving the mansion wasn't because I was genuinely afraid of the kids getting hurt or killed, but was really because I had been paid off…..

Well, I just lost it.

And all of my good intentions to keep them from harm and my desire to ease my departure from them all went by the wayside as the monster that I had hated so much and I had always feared also dwelt within me as well…was released.

And the horror and fear that I imagine must have been in the eyes of my little brother and I when we were children, I then saw in the faces of the teens as the beast I had now become roared in rage at all of them.

And my daughter…..

No…..

As much as I wish it were so, she was not my daughter.

Saeko Busujima, a girl I had come to love as my own child had seen the beast and the horror of its fury, and the fear and the hurt in her eyes was all I could see now….and probably always would.

All my life I had wanted a family of my own, and in a small way, for the briefest of moments … I had one.

But because I lost control, in the merest blink of an eye, I had lost them all.

Including the "daughter" that I had become especially fond of….

My sullen thoughts were suddenly interrupted as I winced from a sharp pain that I felt from a tender area on my scalp that I had touched a little too roughly, as I was probing the wound.

And as I cursed myself again for everything that had occurred earlier, I just happened to look up and notice a little doll laying on the coffee table that Alice had left behind in her haste to get away from me earlier.

It was a small plastic doll that had once belonged to Saya who, in a rare moment of kindness, had given it to Alice earlier this morning to play with, in an attempt to help Alice take her mind off the horror of the past few days.

And as I scooped up the doll in my hand and looked at it for a long while, I could not help but wonder why it seemed so familiar somehow.

And then suddenly like a lightning bolt, I remembered an incident from my past that I now realized was one of the reasons why I had become so emotionally attached to Saeko over the other teens, and was also one of the reasons I had wanted a daughter so much when most of my family and friends had always gloated about having a son.

And as I felt my heart groan from that distant memory, the throbbing in my head began to pound away as if someone where deliberately beating me over the head.

But it was the pain of the guilt that I felt coursing through me as I held the little doll that finally overwhelmed me as I grabbed the small coffee table in the middle of the room and slammed it against the wall, shattering it to pieces.

Location: Tokonosu City

Estate of Soichiro and Yuriko Takagi

Northeast Corner of Takagi Mansion

Time: Morning

Spring 2013

Z-Day plus Four

"KNOCK IT OFF BOY, OR SO HELP ME I'LL BREAK YOUR ARM!" The guard shouted as he savagely twisted Takashi's arm as Takashi finally stopped his useless struggles against the much bigger man.

It had all gone so horribly wrong, Takashi thought to himself as he looked over at the plight of his companions and grimaced at the pain shooting up his arm.

After they had successfully carried out their assignment of procuring food that they had stolen from the kitchen and then snuck out of the mansion undetected, Takashi and Rei had then headed towards the large garage on the northeast corner of the mansion and met up with Saeko, hiding near the Humvee.

But it seemed that no sooner had he and Rei joined up with Saeko, than all of the Takagi guards seemed to appear out of nowhere and had quickly pounced upon them, giving the three teens little time to react before they were quickly overwhelmed.

Well, everyone except for Saeko, of course.

Reacting faster than the others, Saeko had immediately gone on the attack, and had fought fiercely against their captors catching all of them off guard with her ferocity as the bigger, stronger men quickly found themselves being disabled by perfectly aimed koppojutsu strikes before being sent flying in all directions from the skilled jujitsu throws by the much smaller teenage girl.

But even despite the ferocity and skill with which she fought; Saeko was unable to hold all of the guards off for very long before she too was finally overwhelmed by the guards who now had her pinned to the ground, although she still struggled stubbornly against her captors.

While some of the guards were busy trying to subdue Saeko, Rei had courageously stayed by Takashi's side and had fought almost as fiercely as Saeko had until the very end.

But despite her valiant efforts, eventually Rei had also been subdued by the guards and like Takashi, was being held with her arms twisted painfully behind her back by one of the guards.

And from the sounds of Saya screaming from the rear of the mansion, Takashi surmised that both she and Kouta had also been captured, or at least were about to be.

"Chikusho!" Takashi swore out loud at the predicament that he and his friends were in.

"What are we supposed to do with these kids, now?!" The guard said scornfully as he twisted Takashi's arm once again in response to Takashi's angry shout.

"Take it easy, Jun, he's just a kid." One of the guards holding Saeko said as they pulled her up from the ground and held her arms behind her back.

"He's a pain in the ass is what he is!" The man holding Takashi shot back. "Him and his friends and that damned gaijin have been nothing but trouble since they got here, as if we didn't have enough crap to deal with right now."

"That may be, but take it easy or Yuriko-san will have your head." Yoshioka's new right hand man Ogata, said as he then stopped talking and paused to listen to some radio traffic coming over the portable radio that he held next to his ear.

"Let's go. Yoshioka-san says to bring them over to the rear of the mansion." Ogata said as he and the rest of the guards then dragged the teens with them where another small group of men were already standing around Kouta who was kneeling on the ground, while Saya was angrily screaming her head off at everyone as she was being held tightly in the arms of one of the guards.

"Stupid, punk kids." Takashi heard his captor grumble as he and the others were being pushed forward. "Bad enough the world has gone to shit, and now we have to babysit your asses too."

"Knock it off you little brat!" The guard holding Rei said as she continued to struggle against him as he then angrily smacked her in the back of her head causing her to start crying from the humiliation she was enduring more so than the pain from the man hitting her.

"YOU BASTARD! LEAVE HER ALONE!" Takashi yelled at the guard who had hit Rei, as his own captor yanked on his arm again, and Takashi then gritted his teeth to prevent himself from crying out.

"Dammit we should just let these kids go ahead and run away!" One of the guards holding Saeko said as she renewed her struggles against her captors after seeing Rei and takashi being treated so horribly by the guards. "They sure as hell aren't worth all this trouble!"

"No shit." Takashi's captor said in agreement. "Nobody here's going to miss these little brats, that's for sure."

"Shit, they wouldn't last five minutes out there without help." The guard holding Rei said laughing as Takashi gritted his teeth in anger.

"Grow up!" Takashi suddenly remembered at that moment as he finally realized the horrible truth of what the American had said earlier. "All of you grow up real quick or you'll be dead five minutes after you jump the wall."

"He was right." Takashi said through gritted teeth as he fought the pain shooting up his arm as the guard pushed him along. "He acted like a real jerk when he said it, but he was right, we wouldn't have survived even five minutes out there beyond these walls."

"Shit, boy. What are you talking about?" Takashi's captor said upon overhearing the teen's words, as another sharp pain went up Takashi's arm as the man twisted it cruelly again.

"You guys didn't even make it to the damned walls….." The guard said laughing as Takashi and his friends were roughly pushed forward.

Location: Tokonosu City

Estate of Soichiro and Yuriko Takagi

Jim's Room

Time: Morning

Spring 2013

Z-Day Plus Four

After the teens had left the room earlier that morning, Yuriko and Shizuka had both explained to me in vivid detail everything that had happened at the condo after I had been knocked unconscious by her Security Chief, including the fact that Yuriko had been about to order my death.

And while I was not really all that surprised by what Yuriko told me about what she and her Security Chief had been planning to do to me, it was when Yuriko described to me what the teenagers had done so that I wouldn't be killed by her and her men, that I was struck with disbelief by the tale she told me.

And then when she described what had happened with the lynch mob outside on the grounds of the estate, I was completely dumbfounded.

But it was when Yuriko and Shizuka told me what Saeko had done to protect me by putting her own life at risk, that I was struck to my very core because I had also seen her putting her life in danger as well when she had tried to put herself between me and the Security Chief who was aiming his pistol at me.

And now I could see just how badly I had screwed up by getting too close emotionally to these teenagers, especially with Saeko, and all I had wanted to do after learning all that was to reverse the damage that I'd done.

But despite the horror I felt at what Yuriko had told me about what Saeko and the others had done, it was what Yuriko recommended that I should do next to remedy the situation that tore away any remaining desire left in me in me to want to ever want to see another sunrise again.

"There is only one way to prevent the children from ever doing anything so reckless ever again, Jim." Yuriko had said as my mind reeled from all that she had told me earlier.

"You need to make it absolutely clear to the children that everything they have done has been completely wrong, and they should never attempt anything like that ever again."

But as much as I realized that what Yuriko was saying was right, I could think of nothing more cruel to say to the kids after all they had gone through to protect me than to tell them they had been wrong to do so, and I my heart sank at what I was forced to have to tell them.

Words that I didn't want to say….

Words that I knew would hurt deeply…

Words that I had to say because I didn't want to see Saeko or her friends get killed.

Words that would make me feel as if my own heart were being ripped right out of my chest as I looked into the faces of the kids, while I said them.

And if that wasn't heart-breaking enough….

"And as cruel as this sounds, Jim….." Yuriko had added as she twisted the knife in my gut even more. "Because of the deep emotional attachment that Saeko and her friends have for you, my husband and I believe it best that you separate yourself from them, immediately."

"Separate myself?" I had said stunned at her words.

"Yes, Jim." Yuriko replied as she glanced over at Shizuka. "You must separate yourself from all of the children."

"And you must not make contact with them ever again."

And like a fool, I had agreed to what Yuriko had asked of me.

And now I hated myself for ever agreeing to something I didn't believe was right in the first place, a mistake I've made time and time again in my life.

And the only reason I had agreed to what Yuriko had said, was because she was right….

I wasn't their father…..

I wasn't their "uncle"…..

I wasn't even a close friend…..

I was just a kindly stranger who happened to come across a bunch of kids needing help and had gone overboard trying to protect them.

And now my job was done and in order not to make things "difficult", it was time for me to do the right thing and go away.

And fool that I am, I had tried to do so as gently as possible, and had not only failed miserably in my attempt, but had severed all ties with the kids in the worst possible way imaginable.

And now as I sat on the edge of the bed, my mind reeling from how disastrously everything had all gone, I felt the dull ache of my wound returning as if the pain were trying to snap me out of my depressing thoughts and force me to focus my attention on my current situation.

Realizing that I was accomplishing nothing more than wallowing in self-pity, I finally got off the edge of the bed and grabbed a couple of dressings and a roll of *Kerlix from off the steel tray next to my bed and walked to the bathroom to re-dress my wound, trying to focus my mind upon something else besides the image of Saeko looking at me with that stricken look on her face that continued to torture me.

(*Kerlix – Soft roller bandage)

As I walked into the bathroom and flipped on the light, I casually tossed the bandages on the countertop of the sink and leaned upon the sink for a moment before I took a good look at myself in the mirror and winced at what I saw.

Talk about looking like shit.

The surgeons hadn't shaved off all of my hair thank goodness, but what was left still wasn't pretty. I guess as busy as the medical staff was here, they weren't all that concerned with shaving off all the hair on my head in order to maintain a sterile area around my wound and had settled for shaving the hair were the scalp had been torn and had left the rest, making it almost look like I just had a lobotomy with the way it had been shaven.

Despite how horrible the wound looked all exposed the way it was, I wasn't all that worried about it considering how fast the hair on my head usually grows.

It had only been four days since my last shave in the teacher's lounge when I first found the kids and already I had a pretty good growth of beard on my face, so I figured my scalp wouldn't look so bad before long.

But as I looked at my reflection, I couldn't help but think about the last time I had looked at myself into a mirror on the day when I had left Saya in tears in the teacher's lounge while I tried to figure out a way to find a peaceful resolution to my screw-up and also try to gain the trust of the teens who were scared to death of me.

And now four days later, I was in the exact same situation I was in four days ago.

Only this time there didn't seem to be a way to reverse the damage that I had done.

After I washed my face with soap and water, I then got to work daubing my wound with betadine to clean the area and then I applied antiseptic ointment over the wound before I placed a sterile dressing over it and then wrapped the whole thing with a Kerlix bandage around my head.

But unlike what the surgical staff had done when they had wrapped my entire head, I only used enough Kerlix to cover the wound only so that I looked more like I was wearing a white-colored bandana and not like someone who had just came out of brain surgery.

And once I was finished with that, I then combed what hair I had left and tried to clean myself up to resemble something that appeared more human, as the guilt that I felt for what I had done to the kids continue to tear away at me.

And with each passing moment, I tried to ignore the overwhelming desire I had to go find the kids and beg their forgiveness for everything that I had said, and then to grab Saeko and hold her in my arms and beg her to forgive me for the horrible way I had hurt her.

But then the other side of me was screaming that I was once again being a sentimental old fool and that I should rid myself of such thoughts because what I had done the right thing and the kids would be safe, and my going back and saying anything would only make the situation even worse.

I can't imagine anything worse than what a parent has to go through when they are trying to do something they know is for their child's benefit, but then are forced to stand back and suffer the pain of watching their child suffer even though they know it's for the best.

I had only wanted to keep the kids safe and keep them from doing something I knew was suicide.

But as much as I cared about them, I had not acted like a loving parent trying to protect his children.

I had acted like a crazed maniac, and it was not at all how I wanted our last moments together to be remembered.

It wasn't at all how I wanted to be remembered.

What I had said to the teens was all true…..

But the way I had said it was unacceptable no matter the circumstances, and I couldn't just walk away out of the kids' lives with them thinking that I was really that angry with them.

True, I could have just left things alone and walked away and that would be the end of it, and it probably would have been for the best, I'm sure.

But as I was wrapping the bandage around my head, the image of the kids looking at me with such horror in their eyes and of Saeko looking at me as though I had ripped her heart out of her chest continued to torment me.

And by the time I was done I finally had to admit to myself that there was no way I could leave things the way they were.

Many times in my career I've had to say or do things to try to reason with a person that we're there to help and make them understand that they really need our help when they try to do something we know will only make matters worse.

You'd be surprised how many times a person calls 911 because they're having a heart attack and then when we arrive, refuse to be transported to the hospital afterwards.

But I've never, ever, yelled in anger at someone like I had at the kids.

And the more I tried to forget about what I had done, the more my guilty conscience continued to plague me with the images of the shattered looks on the faces of the kids until I could stand it no longer.

Screw it.

I've always tried to be a man of my word, and I still intended to follow through with what I promised Yuriko and leave the mansion and never come back in the hopes that the kids would not commit to something as reckless and suicidal as going off on their own to search for their families.

But there was no way I was going to leave their lives forever with their last memory of me as an angry screaming maniac who didn't care about them.

That wasn't me.

That was something else, entirely.

And no matter what it took, I wanted them to know that.

And there was something else…

I also wanted Saeko to know that I….

Twenty-six year old Toraichi Tamiya grunted impatiently as he glanced at his watch and then stared down the hallway in disgust as the other guard standing next to him also cursed under his breath as they both waited impatiently for their relief to arrive.

Already ten minutes late, there had been no sign at all of their relief, the maids, or anyone else for that matter, and both men were quickly growing impatient after having already stood guard in front of the American's room for nearly three hours.

Both of the men's nerves were already frazzled after dealing with the angry protests from the high school kids they had been ordered to keep out of the American's room. And then later after the teens had rudely pushed past them, the two men had gained a brief respite, only to have to deal with the angry yelling and screaming that had gone on inside the room after the teens had entered with orders from Yuriko Takagi not to interfere at all despite all the clamor.

And by the time the uproar had finally stopped and the teenagers and their nurse had hastily left the American's room, the two men were more than ready to hand over the reins to their oncoming relief and grab a beer from the kitchen and finally relax after their nerve-wracking shift.

However, their relief had not yet arrived on schedule, and from all appearances seemed to not be arriving anytime soon.

"What the hell is keeping those pricks?!" Tamiya said as his friend Hikozaemon Otaki shrugged his shoulders in response and started cracking his knuckles.

"I don't know Den-chan." Otaki said as he started to crack his neck as well. "But I guarantee after today those lazy asses are never going to be late again."

"I hear you Dai-chan." Tamiya said as the sound of the door opening behind them startled both him and Otaki as they both turned around and saw the American standing at the door, dressed in green hospital scrubs and wearing a bathrobe wrapped around him.

"Hi guys." The American said in English as Tamiya and Otaki looked at him slightly alarmed at his sudden appearance as the American seemed to notice their surprise, and then bowed slightly.

"Sorry guys, I didn't mean to startle you." The man said with a friendly smile as he held his hand out in greeting.

"My names Jim, what's yours?" The man said as Tamiya and Otaki, both of them still wary of the American mercenary, didn't take the man's offer of a handshake as they both just stared back at the American without saying anything.

"Eigo O hanashimasuka?" The American said lowering his hand after noticing the confused looks on the guards faces as he then tried speaking to them in Japanese.

*"Iye." Tamiya said shaking his head as Otaki followed suit.

(*Iye- Japanese for "no")

"So, desu ka?" The American said frowning as it seemed to Tamiya and Otaki as if the man were struggling to find his words.

"Gomen nasai." The American said finally after a few moments with an apologetic look. "Nihongo O sukoshi hanshimasu."

"Ano, kodomotachi…doko da?" The man said as Tamiya and Otaki recoiled slightly and then looked at each other.

"Why the hell does he want to know where the kids are?" Tamiya said looking at the American with a suspicious look. "Didn't he just throw them out a half hour ago?"

"Probably wants to apologize to them, Den-chan." Otaki said frowning as both men looked back at the American who was just standing there and politely smiling back at them.

"Maybe we should tell him they left a while ago and we haven't seen them since then." Otaki suggested as Tamiya looked at him with a look of disgust.

"And just how the hell do we tell this gaijin that?" Tamiya said with an angry snort his already foul mood growing even fouler by the lateness off the relief crew and the frustration of having to deal with the crazy gaijin and those annoying teens all morning.

"I don't know any English, do you?" Tamiya added angrily as he glanced at his watch for the hundredth time.

"No." Otaki said staring back at Tamiya with a pissed off look. "Just tell him in our language, he seems to know a little bit."

"Screw that, you tell him!" Tamiya said hotly. "See how much you like wasting your time trying to explain yourself to this guy in a language he doesn't understand."

"Fine." Otaki said as he looked at the American.

"The kids left one of the rooms a while ago and went to the Main House." Otaki said in explanation as the American looked back at him with a puzzled look.

"We don't know where they were going, or when they'll be back." Otaki added as the American smiled and then shook his head.

"Gomen nasai." The American finally said in reply as he looked at the two guards sheepishly. "Wakarimasen."

"See, what did I tell you?" Tamiya said in triumph. "You're just wasting your time, the only Japanese that Americans know is what they pick up on watching anime porn, and that's it."

"I guess you're right Den-chan." Otaki said as the American continued to stare at them with a confused look on his face.

"Well then what do we do now?" Otaki said as she scratched the top of his head.

"Not a damn thing." Tamiya said with a snort as he raised his hand and pointed past the American.

"Go." Tamiya said in English as the American turned his head and looked to where Tamiya was pointing for a moment and then frowned as he then realized what Tamiya was wanting him to do.

"Den-chan, what are you doing?" Otaki said as Tamiya took a step in front of the American and then pointed at the interior of his room again.

"Go!" Tamiya said again as the American raised both hands in the air slightly indicating that he didn't want any trouble and began to back away from Tamiya.

"Den-chan, you don't have to be so ugly to the guy." Tamiya said irritated by his friend's rudeness. "The guy probably just wants to make sure the kids are okay after he did all that yelling at them earlier."

"I don't give a shit." Tamiya said as he finally lost his patience and then placed his left hand on the American's chest to roughly shove the man back. "This asshole and those brats have been a pain in the ass enough to me today already."

"And no way in hell am I putting up with anymore of their cra…." Tamiya had said but was cut off in mid-sentence as his eyes suddenly widened in horror as he found himself no longer able to breathe and he began to reflexively claw at his throat.

The guy was probably just doing what he had been ordered to do by trying to force me back into my room even though he was being a real dick about it, if you ask me.

And I suppose if my Japanese were better I could have probably just found some way of reasoning with the guy and eventually got him to agree to escort me to where the kids were, and that would have been that.

But the truth is I really hate rude people, especially ones who try to get physical with you just because they think they can.

And to be honest, I had really run out of patience with any of the Takagi Household at this point and even then, I really wasn't in the mood to take any more shit from this jackass anymore, anyway.

So instead of allowing him to shove me back into my room, I decided to go ahead and introduce my new friend to what we call in Emergency Services…. "A quick introduction to the "ABC's".

While to most people, the "ABC's" normally refers to the letters in the English alphabet, in Emergency Services it actually stands for an acronym that is commonly used in the medical field.

"A" which stands for airway, refers to the mouth, oropharynx and nasopharynx, glottis, and trachea which all leads down to the lungs.

"B" is for breathing, which is the ability of the lungs to provide oxygen to the body.

"C" is for circulation, which is the human circulatory system that keeps oxygen-rich blood circulating throughout the body to keep the body functioning, and basically, keeps you alive.

Now where all that becomes important to EMT's and Paramedics is that we are all taught that if any part of the "ABC's" are compromised, then the body's ability to function is affected and death can ensue if something is not done to restore the body's ability to breathe and thus keep itself alive.

Case in point, if anything affects the airway so that air can't reach the lungs, then the body's ability to exchange oxygen is impeded and harmful carbon dioxide cannot then be expelled from the body.

And if the body is not able to receive oxygen and expel carbon dioxide, eventually the carbon dioxide continues to build up and begins to affect the major organs such as the brain and heart which are the most oxygen dependent and can't survive more than a few minutes without it.

And if the person's ability to breathe normally isn't restored quickly, the major organs will then began to fail rapidly, and if given enough time, irreversible damage from oxygen starvation will then occur which will eventually lead to the death of the patient.

Knowing this principle is one of the basic and most essential principles taught in the medical field and in Emergency Rescue Services in order for rescue workers to save lives.

For the combat soldier however, the ability to understand the principles of the "ABC's" is helpful to him in an entirely different manner.

And so as the guard tried to push me back into my room, the jab to his throat that I gave him as I struck him in the windpipe immediately took away his ability to breathe as he then lost all interest in me and reflexively clutched at his throat as he desperately tried to suck in air despite the fact that his glottis (windpipe) had reflexively closed up in response to the blow.

It doesn't matter how well you've been trained or how tough you are, take away a human's ability to breathe, and there's little else that will occupy his mind other than trying to breathe again.

And as the guard concentrated on sucking in air for all he was worth, I then grabbed the pistol he had tucked in his waistband with one hand as I also grabbed him by one of his arms with my other hand and slammed him hard against his buddy as they both then crashed against the wall and then fell to the floor.

Caught completely off guard and stunned by what had just happened, both men then looked up at me from the floor in shock as I then pointed the muzzle of the pistol at them both and then thumbed back the hammer with a loud "click."

"You really need to lighten up a bit, big boy." I said to the guard who had tried to push me who was slowly beginning to recover, albeit breathing a little raggedly as he leaned back against the wall trying to catch his breath, as I motioned for the other guy to raise his hands while I grabbed his pistol out of his belt.

"Sorry boys." I said as I took a quick glance down the hallway to make sure no one had seen us. "I really didn't want to get rough with you guys."

"But you know, all you had to say was…. wakarimasen." I said as I motioned with my pistol for both men to get off the floor and enter the room, as they both then got up and proceeded to walk through the door with their hands in the air.

After making sure the two guards were thoroughly secured by hog-tying both of their hands and feet with Kerlix and then taping their mouths shut and covering them both with a blanket, I carefully opened the door to my room and did a quick check of the hallway to make sure that it was still empty as I then quietly walked outside and gently closed the door behind me.

Trying to remain as silent as possible, I then walked towards the first room in the corridor, hoping that the kids were still in their rooms so that I could speak to each one privately.

I didn't know what I was going to say to the kids once I found them, but whatever I said I hoped would be a huge improvement over what I had said earlier as I cautiously tested the lock on the first door and found it unlocked.

As I then quietly swung the door open, I could feel my heart beating a thousand times a minute as I swung open the door and found to my disappointment, that the room was actually empty.

But just to be sure, I went ahead and searched the room thoroughly, and then after finding no one inside, I then walked back out into the hallway and quietly shut the door behind me as I walked over to the next door only to find the same result in that room.

Undeterred, I searched the next room, and then the next, until I had searched each room in the hallway and found to my surprise that there no one was occupying any of the rooms.

"Great." I grumbled to myself. "Now what do I do?"

As discouraging as it was that the kids were nowhere around, I decided to continue my search for them nonetheless as I then cautiously walked down the hallway headed for the main section of the mansion, hoping that I wouldn't run into any more guards or any of the other staff who would most likely go off into a panic at the mere sight of the "American mercenary" running free around the mansion.

Not wishing to walk around unarmed lest anyone freak out and try to actually attempt to subdue me, I had decided to remain armed as I carried both of the guard's pistols with me with one tucked in the waistband of my hospital scrubs in the small of my back, while the other one I kept in my hand hidden away in the pocket of my bathrobe ready for action if I needed it.

Although surprisingly enough, as I walked through the hallways of the very impressively-sized mansion, there seemed to be no one around anywhere as I walked around the mansion unchallenged.

After searching the second floor of the mansion without finding anyone, I decided to continue my search downstairs as I walked down a flight of stairs headed towards what appeared to be a parlor.

And as I was walking down the stairs, I couldn't help but notice a wonderful aroma wafting through the house coming from a hallway to my left as my stomach then growled angrily in response, reminding me that I hadn't eaten anything substantial since yesterday.

"Well...since Shizuka's not around, I guess I could grab a quick bite before I go looking around for the kids some more." I said to myself out loud as I headed towards the sound of utensils and dinnerware clanking away at the end of the hallway and then walked through a doorway leading into the kitchen.

Location: Tokonosu City

Estate of Soichiro and Yuriko Takagi

Rear of Takagi Mansion

Time: Morning

Spring 2013

Z-Day plus Four

"HALT!" One of the three guards running next to Yoshioka shouted as they ran across the back lawn of the estate chasing after the fat kid who was attempting to run away from them while still carrying an armful of stolen guns that he and Saya Takagi had tried to sneak out from the armory.

"CUT HIM OFF!" Yoshioka yelled at another group of his men who were approaching from around the opposite side of the yard who immediately spread out, cutting off his escape.

"STOP RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!" Yoshioka yelled as the fat kid finally screeched to halt breathing heavily as Yoshioka and his men surrounded the kid.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, BOY?" Yoshioka roared in anger as the fat kid cringed away from him.

"ANSWER ME!" Yoshioka yelled as the other men around him began to press in closer to the boy who then fell to his knees from exhaustion and fright.

"Are you stupid or what, kid?!" Yoshioka said in disgust as the kid grasped the guns in his arms as if he were a little kid trying to keep a gang of bullies from stealing his favorite toy.

"Are you going to tell me what you and Saya-sama were planning on doing with those guns, or do we have to force you to talk?" Yoshioka said angrily as the kid suddenly started whimpering, which only infuriated Yoshioka even more.

"Nakai-san, take those guns away from him." Yoshioka said finally in disgust. "The rest of you lock him up in his room and then do the same for his friends once the others bring them here."

"NO!" Kouta screamed as the guard named Sakai stepped forward. "These guns aren't mine! You can't have them!"

Surprised by the teenager's sudden outburst, Yoshioka looked down at the kid still kneeling on the ground and then he sneered in disgust as the kid started blubbering.

"Kid, those aren't toys!" Yoshioka snapped at the kid in frustration. "We need those guns to help protect the people here!"

"You can't have them!" Kouta said as tears fell down his face. "They're borrowed, and I have to give them back!"

"You're not making any sense kid." Yoshioka said growing even more frustrated with the teen. "Quit acting like a little kid and grow a pair will you?"

"Now hand over those guns!" Yoshioka said as the kid clutched the guns in a death grip and howled.

"NO!" Kouta screamed as Yoshioka finally lost his temper.

"I don't have time for this crap!" Yoshioka shouted as he threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "Take those guns away from him and get his fat ass out of my sight!"

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" The voice of Soichiro Takagi thundered as Yoshioka whirled around and saw Soichiro with his hand on the hilt of his katana approaching them followed closely by his wife Yuriko, who was walking silently behind him.

"Takagi-dono!" Yoshioka said surprised to see the Head of the Takagi Household suddenly appearing behind him.

"What is the meaning of this Ken-san?!" Soichiro said glaring at the guard who was dragging Saya by the arm as the man then realized that the Lord of Takagi Manor was glaring at him and then immediately let go of the squirming girl only to be kicked painfully in the shin by Saya as he then howled in pain.

"SAYA! THAT IS ENOUGH!" Soichiro yelled as Saya glared at the guard and then at her father, her eyes full of hate.

"Gomen nasai, Takagi-dono." Yoshioka began but was interrupted by the sound of the rest of his men dragging the rest of the teens from around the corner of the mansion, as two more of his men were approaching with the school nurse who was shouting angrily at his men in protest at their rough treatment of her and the teens as she was being led forward along with the little girl who appeared frightened out of her mind.

"Forgive me dono." Yoshioka began again.

"But my men and I caught these…these….these children in the middle of attempting to escape, dono." Yoshioka managed to say, biting his lip to prevent himself from swearing a blue streak from his frustration with the teens, who were proving to be an even bigger headache than he had thought possible.

"ESCAPE?!" Soichiro said scowling angrily as Yuriko gasped in shock as she stared in stunned disbelief at Saya who was glaring at both of her parents with nothing but contempt in her eyes.

"Was my daughter attempting to go along with them as well?" Soichiro asked his face darkening as he glared at his daughter.

"I'm afraid so, Takagi-dono." Yoshioka said hesitantly knowing that his boss was a hairbreadth away from going completely ballistic, and realizing the repercussions of their failure to control the teens were going to affect everyone and not just the kids.

Yuriko however, could no longer hear the words being said around her as the shock and the horror that she felt at realizing that her only daughter had also attempted to run away along with her friends had hit her with the ferocity of a slap in the face, although the effect it had on her was even more painful.

And despite her husband's angry tone and his steely gaze Yuriko knew that her husband was just as heartbroken as she was upon learning of her daughter's betrayal, although she knew that he would not allow anyone to see his true feelings underneath his facade.

Up until now, Yuriko's greatest fear as well as that of her husband's, had been the possibility that the teenagers would attempt an escape to rejoin their families, which had been the entire reason why Yuriko had asked the American to sever all ties with the teens and leave quietly in the hope that his departure would discourage the teens from attempting anything so suicidal.

Unfortunately, Yuriko had underestimated the teenagers resolve to rejoin their families no matter what, and because of her failure to maintain control of the teenagers, even with the American's cooperation, the situation had only gone from bad to worse…

Because never in her wildest imagination had Yuriko or her husband believed that their only daughter would also join her friends in attempting to run away as well…..

And now after learning what their own daughter had done, Yuriko knew that no matter what she did to try to calm her husband, there would be no stopping him from what he was about to do.

And as for Saya, her punishment for her unforgivable betrayal after all that her parents had sacrificed, including the life of one their own men in a disastrous attempt to rescue her, would be far more severe than anything her friends would receive.

And Yuriko's greatest fear now was when it was all over, her daughter would then be truly lost to her forever.

"One of my men saw the fat…." Yuriko heard Yoshioka sputter angrily as he tried to control his own frustration and not make the situation even worse, as if that were even possible at this point.

"I mean…..one of my men saw the young man with the glasses over there trying to run off with the guns he's carrying from the armory, and we immediately gave chase." Yoshioka finally managed to say after calming himself.

"Really?" Soichiro said with genuine surprise. "How was he able to enter the armory? Hadn't you placed it under heavy guard?"

"Gomen nasai, dono." Yoshioka said uncomfortably. "But I'm afraid that a little while ago, Saya-sama had entered our office and had deceived the men that were on duty there into thinking that you had requested their presence immediately, and so they immediately locked up the Security Office and were headed towards your study when I ran into them."

"And then while they were gone, I believe that Saya-sama and her boyfriend must have used the extra Master key that you normally keep in your study to gain entry into the armory and steal the weapons he's carrying and then they both tried to meet up with the others."

"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" Saya shrieked her face turning red with embarrassment as Yuriko snapped at Saya to keep quiet.

"Oh? And how do you know this?" Soichiro asked as he once again turned his attention towards Saya.

"I just happened to bump into my men as they were headed towards your study and asked them why they had left their post." Yoshioka replied bitterly as he glared over at the two men that were standing near Saya who shuddered slightly under his gaze.

"And after speaking to them, I had a suspicion of what was really going on, and so I called an alert over the radio to the rest of my men to be on the watch for Saya-sama and her boy-" Yoshioka said but then corrected himself.

"I mean, the boy with the glasses, and I hurried back to the armory and noticed that the weapons we found in the Humvee yesterday were missing and I then immediately scrambled my men to look for Saya-sama and her friends and detain all of them on sight."

"And we found this on Saya-sama's person after we apprehended her, Takagi- dono." Yoshioka said as he held out the large key he had confiscated from Saya in his hand for Soichiro to observe.

"I see." Soichiro said as he cast an angry glance over at Yuriko and then turned his attention back to Saya as Yuriko lowered her head in embarrassment at her failure to control the teens.

"Where did you find all of them?" Soichiro said finally.

"We found Saya-sama in the back of the mansion as she tried to stop us from finding him." Yoshioka replied pointing towards Kouta.

"He was hiding in the bushes while she was trying to distract us." Yoshioka explained. "And just as soon as I found the key on her and ordered my men to take her back inside the mansion, he screamed at us to let her go. And then when I ordered my men to grab him, he ran off."

"And then we found these three trying to hide in the garage next to the American Humvee, sir." Yoshioka's current right-hand man Ogata, piped up as he pointed at the three teens. "Although we did have a tough time trying to capture one of the girls though, sir."

"Let me guess, the pony-tailed girl with the evil-looking eyes, right?" Yoshioka asked pointing at Saeko as he noticed the bloody noses on two of the guards as well as the torn clothing on Ogata and the rest of the men who had tried to overpower the "Oni-girl", as Yoshioka and his men had begun to call her.

"Yes, sir, and I have to say, her fighting skills took all of us completely by surprise." Ogata replied shaking his head. "Despite the fact she is merely a child, she turned out to be quite a handful, sir."

"You're telling me that a teenage girl half your age and half your size and wearing a full kimono, still managed to kick your asses?" Yoshioka said giving his men a sour look as some of the guards sheepishly hung their heads.

All with the exception of Ogata that is, who merely turned his head so that Yoshioka wouldn't notice him rolling his eyes at the irony of Yoshioka's rebuff, since the Security Chief had himself been knocked unconscious and his nose broken during his own nasty encounter with the "Oni girl".

"And you, Marikawa-sensei?" Soichiro said as he suddenly turned to face the school nurse as she gulped in fright at the man's steely gaze.

"Were you part of this escape plan as well?!" Soichiro thundered as Shizuka suddenly felt very small as she felt Alice trying to hide behind her to escape Soichiro's angry glare.

"N-n- no, Takagi-sama!" Shizuka said bowing quickly. "I was walking in the garden with Arisu-chan and I had no idea what was going on until I heard Saya-chan screaming."

"I see." Soichiro said as he turned to face Saya again and became even more incensed at the look of defiance on her face.

"Yoshioka-san…" Soichiro said gritting his teeth. "Has the security sweep of my daughter's room been completed, yet?"

"Hai, dono." Yoshioka replied. My men had just finished checking her room this morning and we found nothing that Saya-sama could find useful to aid her in any future attempts to escape."

"WHAT BUSINESS DID YOU HAVE GOING INTO MY ROOM?!" Saya screeched her face turning red from both rage and embarrassment from having her privacy violated.

"BE SILENT, SAYA!" Soichiro roared as Saya reflexively stepped back, aghast at the raw fury that she saw in her father's face.

"Yoshioka-san…." Soichiro thundered as he turned his attention to Yoshioka who immediately snapped to attention. "Have your men escort my daughter back to her own room and lock her in, and I want one of your men outside her door at all times."

"Hai, dono." Yoshioka replied as Saya's jaw dropped.

"And from now on I want all of her meals be taken to her room by one of your men and there are to be absolutely no visitors allowed entry into her room, with the exception of her mother or myself." Soichiro continued as Saya looked over at her mother with disbelief as her mother turned her head away, knowing there was nothing she could do or say to sway her husband's decision.

"And also from this moment on….." Soichiro said his voice deepening as he glared at the teens, his eyes blazing.

"She is to have no contact whatsoever with her friends, nor is she allowed to leave her room under any circumstances, is that clear?!" Soichiro said as Saya's mouth dropped in shock at what her father had just commanded.

"Hai, dono." Yoshioka replied sweating slightly.

"Takagi-sama…." Shizuka began trying to intervene despite Yuriko warning glance.

"Marikawa-sensei….." Soichiro said his voice threatening as he glared at her his face a mask of fury.

"Do not interfere." Soichiro said as Shizuka immediately fell silent and held Alice closer to her.

"I want those weapons confiscated and returned to the armory, immediately!" Soichiro said his voice like thunder as he turned his steely gaze upon the rest of the teens.

"And as far as the rest of these young people are concerned…." Soichiro added as his furious gaze seeming to intensify with each second that passed. "I want the rest of these children to be locked in their rooms and placed under guard for the duration of their stay until they can be turned over to the authorities."

"Papa, please don't do this!" Saya finally managed to sputter as Saya took a step towards her father, desperately wanting to beg for him to forgive her.

"Get them out of my sight!" Soichiro said turning his face away, removing any hope from Saya's heart of changing her father's mind, or telling him how sorry she was for hurting him so deeply.

"Hai, dono." Yoshioka acknowledged as he immediately motioned for his men to drag the teens away as they all stared at Soichiro with their mouths open in mute protest, too shocked to speak as the guards began to roughly drag them away.

But as the men struggled with their captives, they had not moved more than a few feet when they suddenly heard Yoshioka shout for all of them to stop.

And after a long moment had passed with Yoshioka not saying anything else, the guards began to look at one another with confused looks, each of them wondering why they had been suddenly ordered to stop and also wondering why Yoshioka and the other guards standing next to Lord and Lady Takagi were all acting as if they had seen a ghost.

As Yuriko watched with sadness as her daughter and the other teens were being led away by Yoshioka's men, Yuriko's heartbreak at seeing her daughter looking at her with such pleading eyes as she was being led away was quickly forgotten as a voice coming from behind her nearly made her heart skip a beat.

"Is this the real reason why you asked me stay away from the kids, Yuriko-san?" A familiar voice said suddenly in a low angry tone from behind her as Yuriko, and everyone else around her immediately stiffened in response, not one of them expecting at all to hear that voice anywhere near their present location.

"You know, I have to admit, you really had me convinced that I was the "bad guy" here." The American said in a voice that sounded almost casual as Yuriko quickly turned to face him.

"But the truth is, I'm not the real threat here to these kids after all, am I?" Jim said as Yuriko gasped as she saw the frightening look in the man's eyes.

"His eyes…" Yuriko thought to herself as she suddenly froze in shock as she met the man's icy gaze.

"They're the same as her's…." Yuriko thought to herself as her husband noticed her frightened expression and reflexively pushed the tsuba of his katana slightly forward with his thumb in order to be able to draw the blade of his katana in a lightning fast iado move and quickly cut the American down should the man pose a threat.

"Click"

"Don't even think about it." The American said in warning as the sound of the safety lever of a pistol being disengaged sounded loudly in Soichiro's ears and his hand immediately froze in place.

"I don't wanna kill you, and you don't wanna be dead." The American said as Yuriko gasped again upon noticing the large pistol in the man's hand that was pointed directly at her husband.

"That being said, I'd highly advise all of you not to f_ck with me, right now." Jim said as Yoshioka, realizing the horrible situation they were all in, cursed himself under his breath for not having placed tighter security over the American.

"Now order your men to let the kids go, if you please." The American ordered as Soichiro bristled at being threatened and purposefully made no attempts to heed the man's command at first as his grip tightened on his katana.

"I know what you're thinking right now." The American said casually as Soichiro remained frozen in place.

"And while I myself have no doubts about your prowess with a sword, bub…."

"As good as you are, you're not that good." The American added as Soichiro glanced over his shoulder and looked into the American's face, and saw what it was in the man's eyes that had frightened Yuriko so much.

"This doesn't have to get ugly, folks." The American said in a calmer tone to Saya's parents and their Security staff. "So if all of you would just remain calm, maybe we can settle this whole thing without things getting any nastier than they already are."

"Now Soichiro-san, please tell your boys to let the kids go…..now." The man said as Yuriko saw her husband's face harden again as Yuriko placed her hand on her husband's arm and squeezed as he looked over at her, her eyes desperately pleading, as Soichiro then finally nodded his head and sighed heavily.

"Yoshioka-san, do as he says." Soichiro growled finally as Yoshioka reluctantly nodded and then shouted to his men to release their captives.

Puzzled by Yoshioka's seemingly contradictory order, the guards balked at first at letting the teens go. But then after noticing the intense look on Yoshioka's face, they finally released their captives as ordered as the teens looked at their former captors in shocked surprise at their suudenly being set free.

Curious as to why all of the adults were acting so strangely all of a sudden, Saya cautiously stepped forward towards her parents, and as she approached, she was shocked at whom she saw was standing directly behind them.

"Jimu-san?!" Saya said in surprise as she finally spotted the American who had apparently somehow snuck up behind her parents while everyone's attention was on the teens.

"Hi, Pumpkin!" The American said cheerfully as he moved over to Soichiro's right in full view of the teens as they all gasped in surprise upon seeing him.

"Jimu-san?" Saeko said in shocked surprise as she also finally saw the American standing there in his bathrobe and slippers, as she then heard Shizuka who was standing next to her, suck in her breath and then shout at the American in anger.

"JIMU-SAN!" Shizuka shouted irritably as she wagged her finger at the American as if she were scolding a child. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT OF BED?!"

"And…And…AND ARE YOU DRINKING COFFEE?!" Shizuka screamed angrily upon noticing an enormous coffee mug in Jim's other hand as steam drifted from the top of the mug.

"Why yes, "Mother" I do believe that I am drinking coffee, now that you mention it." The American said with heavy sarcasm in his voice.

And as if to spite her, a wide grin formed on the American's face as he casually took a sip from the steaming mug in his hand and then let out a long exaggerated sigh of contentment, enjoying the irritated look on Shizuka's face, as Saeko giggled despite herself at the man's antics.

"And I have to say, my sincerest compliments to our hosts for their generous hospitality." Jim said as Saya's parents stiffened in response to the man's taunt as Shizuka continued to glare at him angrily.

"Oh, and the stuffed pork sausage and cheese croissants were to die for." The American continued as he licked his lips to further antagonize Shizuka. "Sure beat the hell out of that crap you tried to make me eat this morning."

"I musta ate about six of them on way down here." The American added as the rest of the teens began to snicker despite themselves when he suddenly belched loudly in front of everyone. "And since the kitchen staff had just brewed a fresh urn of coffee, I thought I'd grab a cup too while I was at it."

"And I have to say, this is truly an exceptionally fine brew." Jim said taking another large swallow of coffee as he looked over at the teens and then met Saeko's gaze.

"Hi baby." The American said smiling slightly as he looked over at Saeko.

"Jimu-san….." Saeko said her face now expressionless, the hurt and anger she still felt after the way he had spoken to her earlier still churning deep inside of her.

And even now the mere sight of the man was stirring Saeko's emotions in all directions, with anger and hurt still coursing through her over the man's angry outburst earlier while another part of her was grateful for the American's timely arrival that Saeko had been secretly hoping for.

"I'm sorry for the horrible things I said awhile ago, guys." Saeko heard the American suddenly say out loud to her and the others, a visible expression of shame and sadness on his face.

"I never meant to hurt any of you, and I can't tell you how sorry I am for what I've done." He continued as Saeko then noticed him turn his attention back to the adults in front of him with a look of fury on his face.

"And from what I can see, it seems I was wrong about a great many other things as well." Jim said with barely controlled anger as he glared at Saya's parents and their staff who were all still standing silently in place.

But it was the words the American said next that made everyone gasp in shock, all of them taken aback by the man's unexpectedly bold statement.

And of all of them, no one was more surprised than Saeko at what the man had boldly said in front of everyone, and the heartfelt meaning behind what he had said that she knew was meant for her.

And many years later when Saeko herself was a mother, her own daughter Oyuki would always remember how her mother's eyes had begun to tear when her mother had told her about what the American had said on that day.

A particularly fond memory that her mother had cherished all her life that had been one of the happiest moments that had occurred between the young Japanese girl and the former American firefighter, so many years ago.

"Don't worry baby girl, everything's gonna be okay now." The American had said, his face softening as he looked up at Saeko and winked.

"Daddy's here."

Author's Notes:

As all of you may have noticed, this chapter was a little smaller than the last one.

While I really wanted to finish up this part of my story and I really didn't want to make shorter chapters because I really want to get to the more exciting parts that are coming up next, I figured I'd post this one even though it's only half of what I intended, and as ya'll might have noticed, it's more of a "rough draft". Maybe one day I can come back to it and add more stuff to it later.

But at least I ended it on a more positive note than the last chapter anyway.

For anyone who's wondering about why the names of the two guards Tamiya and Otaki sound so familiar, these two men were based on characters from the manga "AA! Megamisama!", by Kosuke Fujishima.

In that series, Tamiya and Otaki were the two goofy college sempai from Nekomi Tech, who were often a constant source of goofiness and grief for the story's hero and heroine, Keiichi and Belldandy.

I was trying to picture what the guards at Jim's door would act and sound like and for some reason, those two popped up in my head.

On another note, I think the group has pretty much worn out their welcome at Takagi Manor, wouldn't you agree?

Yeah, I think it's time for Jim and the kids to mosey on too, so bear with me, they'll be leaving in a couple of chapters and when the time comes that they do leave, I think you'll find my version of what happens to Saya's parents, Andrew and Rika, and Jim and the teens after the EMP a little different as compared to what happened in the manga and the anime.

Anyway, thanks again for your support folks.

See you next chapter.