The Drama

Karu- "But sir, if ever there was a break in, one security guard wouldn't be enough. Two would be able to guard it more efficiently."

Boss- "Hmm… you're right Karu. I'm busy making the preparations for the package's arrival. So I'll leave you in charge of finding us a second security guard."

As the boss turns and walks away Karu smiles a mischievous smile and says, "Oh, I know just the man for the job." Karu dials her cell phone as she walks to her car, "Hey Pablo, we're in."

"There are thieves in town. They are very good at what they do and will be difficult to catch. Detective Yahiko Izumi is here to help and he will debrief you." Said the chief of police, the room is full of officers, a white board, and a podium. Detective Izumi steps up to speak.

"The people we are looking for are being called the Manx thieves, named after a mythological creature." Detective Izumi had a commanding atmosphere about him. "We have no information on them. We only know they'll be here in Tokyo because a month before they hit, they always send us a letter with one word. The name of the town they'll hit. They're toying with us. So far, they haven't killed anyone. There hasn't been a need. They're in and out before the banks figure out they've been stolen from. On tape we've caught two people, but they have masks so it doesn't help us much."

"There are three banks in this city, and we have no idea which one they'll hit. That's why you men and women need to use your contacts, go out on the streets and find out if the great vine of gossip in the criminal world has any info. You are dismissed." Detective Izumi stepped down with a hopeless expression on his face.

Just before Kyoko was about to flip the page the Okami-san called to her. "Kyoko, dinner's ready." Within seconds Kyoko was down stairs and at the table then before they knew it, she was back up stairs. "What… just happened?" Okami-san asked to no one in particular. Taisho looked at her empty dish and smiled. "She's working," he said. Back up in her room Kyoko sat down to start reading again.

Karu unlocked the door to her apartment and looked in. Before fully stepping in she scaned it. It's simple enough. Walking in puts one in the living room and kitchen. There are two doors, one for the bathroom and the other for her room. It's all she needs for this job, something cheap.

She sat at her table and slowly started to take items out of her bag and put them on the table. She'd been given items the new security guard would need, a set of keys, a badge, flashlight, and a gun. The gun made her a little nervous. She had no issues with stealing, but death was another thing.

Flashback

"Karu there has to be a better life than this. I work so hard all day that when I come home I feel dead. And you sit here all day doing taxes and people barely pay you for it." Pablo said exasperated. When he got home from work, he was always sweaty and smelly, and today was no exception.

"Oh, I don't mind doing taxes. I pay myself, remember? Most of my clients have more money than they can handle, and I just take some of it off their hands." She said all innocent like.

"Sometimes I swear your evil," he said while looking at her questioningly. "But I'm serious, we deserve better, and I know how to get it. We hold up a bank." By this time he was sitting next to her and Karu could smell him better than she wanted to.

"I think the idea of stealing from the bank is fun, but we don't need to hold it up. There are better ways. But for now, go take a shower."

End of flashback

Karu left all the items on the table and walked into her room.

Why in the world would Karu stay with this stinky, smelly guy? Kyoko wondered to herself. She seemed intelligent and was obviously the brains behind the operation, so why?

There were twenty-two days left, and it was ten past eleven. She was meeting Pablo at this coffee shop to give him the details of the job and the items he would need. When Pablo finally walked in he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He was unusually big for a Japanese guy. His hair was naturally jet-black and was cut short. He wasn't what one would call a good-looking man, but she couldn't help but to love him like a brother.

"Hello Pablo, I'm glad you could make it today," she stood up to greet him.

"No problem, I'm just glad for the offer Ms…. Ah, what was it again," he asked nervously. Good, he's acting like he doesn't know me.

"Karu… Karu Pride." She responded. They sat down and started discussing his new job.

….

We still have nothing. The detective thought to himself. And there are only eighteen days left. He rummaged through the papers on his desk until he found a photograph of two masked people. "Beep, Beep… Beep, Beep… Beep, Beep." Checking his watch the detective saw the time was five o'clock. He had to go pick up his nephew at the airport.

It had been a year since he'd seen his brother, his beautiful wife, and their son. His brother and wife were going out of the country the next day and Yahiko was going to watch his nephew, Kyo Izumi, all day. He already had it planned. They were going to the museum of history. The office would have to take care of the case without him for a day.

The plane was arriving at 5:30. Yahiko still had ten minutes. He couldn't wait to see the boy. "Flight 116 has just arrived." Said someone over the airport intercom. The plane was early, but he didn't mind. Now he just had to wait for his nephew to get off.

"Uncle Yahiko," the boy had been able to find him before he even had a chance to spot him. "I'm so glad mom and dad are letting me stay with you while they're on their business trip. This is going to be so much fun." Kyo had a huge smile on his face.

"Hahaha, yes it is."

…..

"Kyo, get up. You need to get ready," Yahiko said as he walked into the room to open the shades. Kyo groaned as the light hit his face. As an eleven year old, he liked to sleep in. After his uncle had walked out, he got up and got dressed.

Yahiko smiled as his nephew walked into the room. He looked half dead from sleep. Together they made two bentos and left for the museum.

By the time they were halfway there, Kyo had fully woken up. He was excited and looking through the museum's brochure. "Hey Uncle Yahiko, how big is the museum?"

"I've only been in there a couple times, but I know it's big enough that it's hard to see everything in one day." Yahiko couldn't help but smile, he didn't have any kids of his own, but he loved spending time with Kyo.

"Hmm..." was all the response he got as the boy was interested in the buildings they passed. When they arrived at the museum, one of the poster's caught their eye.

"Uncle! We should take the tour!" exclaimed Kyo. The older man nodded and smiled for his reply. "It says the tour starts near the front desk in just a couple minutes. Come on, let's go."

When Yahiko saw who their tour guide was, his heart almost skipped a beat. She had beautiful Auburn hair that made him think of a fox, and she appeared to be athletic and slender.

"Hi," she greeted them with a smile. "If you're here for the tour, it'll be starting in just a few minutes." As the man and boy went to sit on a nearby bench she couldn't help but think the man was good looking. He was tall, had brown hair and a strong build. His son (at least she thought) was cute too.

When it was time, she walked over to them. This museum was really doing poorly; they were the only ones who wanted a tour. Besides them, there weren't many people in the building who didn't work there. True, it was a weekday, so most people were at work, but the weekends weren't as busy as they should be.

"Hello, my name is Karu Pride." She introduced herself with a smile as always. "I'll be your guide today. Apparently, you two are the only ones who want a tour. So you will have my undivided attention."

The little boy jumped out of his seat to introduce himself. "My name is Kyo, and this is my Uncle Yahiko." Yahiko was glad the little boy had introduced them, as he was too mesmerized by her smile to do so.

They spent the morning in the history of Asia and Europe. In the afternoon they would explore the rest of the world. But first was lunch.

Throughout the day the little boy had noticed something. His uncle kept staring at the woman. This was unusual because he had never seen the man even appear attracted to anyone before. Granted he didn't see him that often, but still. So for lunch he cooked up a plan.

"Oh let's go sit over here," the boy had picked a table that sat four people. On two sides of the table there were cushioned benches. The boy sat on one side and when his uncle tried to sit next to him, he said, "Na unh, I wanna sit by myself."

So know Karu was seated with two strangers for lunch. And the one whom she was attracted to was right next to her. When she had told them it was time to break for lunch the little boy had insisted she join them. The man agreed. She had tried to get out of it by saying she had to buy something to eat, but Kyo had insisted that they had enough food in their bentos to feed all three of them, they could feed four people if they had to. According to him, Yahiko-san liked to pack extra food.

They'd grabbed an extra plate from the cafeteria and divided up the food. "Itadakimasu," they all said. Karu thought the food was quite good, and was enjoying it. Kyo excused himself to the bathroom. That left her, and Yahiko-san. She felt like she had to say something because it was so awkward, but he spoke first.

"So, how long have you had this job?"

"A couple of weeks now," she replied.

"Really? You look like you've had this job for at least a year. You're good at it and you know the facts, well, at least enough to sate Kyo's appetite, and that's not easy." She blushed at his compliment.

"Well I have a good memory. Usually I only have to read or hear something once to remember it, so I've learned fast." The blush was slowly fading away from her cheeks.

Sheesh Uncle Yahiko, the boy thought from the corner he was watching from, you'll never get anywhere like this.

Luckily it wasn't too much longer before the boy returned. Immediately he started asking questions about the things he had seen in the morning.

Karu was all too happy to answer his questions as it ended the awkwardness of the situation.

She hadn't even noticed that Kyo was going for his cup. And now she was soaked. He had managed to spill the cup's contents all over her. He quickly apologized and ran to get more napkins. Yahiko-san grabbed the ones that were already at the table and started dabbing the spot where the drink had fell.

He didn't think before he acted, so he ended up dabbing her lap with one hand while the other was on her shoulder. She hadn't realized the situation yet either, for she was trying to soak up the liquid with napkins herself. Then their hands went to the same area to dab and their hands touched. They both looked up and locked eyes.

Now Karu really started to blush. He had seen her blush earlier, but not like this, and not looking directly into her deep-sea eyes. It started as a deep pink at her chin and the higher up her face it climbed the lighter it got. She was so beautiful. Slowly he started to move his hand from her shoulder, to her face.

Karu's heart was racing as she looked directly into Yahiko-san's eyes. They were brown, just like his hair. Her body felt way too hot, especially her face. The problem was she couldn't pull herself away.

Wait a minute. "I'm suppose to do that with Tsuruga-san?" She screamed. "NO, no, no, no, no, no, no." All Kyoko could think of was Ms. Momose falling in love with Tsuruga-san because her character did. She sat for a few minutes in a mixture of shock and despair.

Kyo felt bad now. Spilling his drink all over her was part of the plan, but now she was all wet. He ran back to the table with napkins as fast as he could and pronounced, "I have more napkins." Then he got a good look at the situation. One of his uncle's hands was inches away from her face, the other in her lap and their eyes were locked. Plus she was blushing, and even he, as an eleven year old had to admit made her look really cute. I should have waited a few more minutes. He thought to himself as the two jumped apart.

"THANK YOU KYO!" Kyoko screamed as she jumped up and down. She did NOT want to kiss Tsuruga Ren.

Back in the locker room Karu rested her head against her locker. The cold metal felt good on her forehead after that blushing festival. As soon as Kyo had returned she had excused herself. Luckily, she had a change of clothing, a black skirt that ended just above the knees and a red blouse.

Kyo and Yahiko were waiting for her at the table they had eaten at. When she returned she was wearing a black skirt that showed off her athletic legs, and a red blouse that really helped bring out her curves. The only thing Yahiko was capable of was starring. But once again his nephew saved him, the boy jumped out of his seat to apologize.

"I'm so sorry Karu-chan! I should have been more careful." He may have been feeling guilty, but he felt it was worth it after that little episode he saw.

The rest of the afternoon went well. Kyo thought he had done a pretty good job at getting things started so he thought his uncle could handle it from there. But as they were leaving the stupid man never asked for her number.

"Well, that's the end of the tour," she said while smiling. "I hope you enjoyed it."

"Don't worry, we did," Yahiko-san said this while looking in her eyes. Both of them blushed and looked away. Kyo just smiled and congratulated himself on a job well done. "It's almost supper time, so we better get going home. Thank you for the tour, it was… interesting," he ended. He grabbed Kyo's hand and started walking away. It was at this point the little boy stopped congratulating himself. His uncle never took the next step of getting her number. Noo! What was wrong with this man?

….

At home, all Karu could do was sit on her couch and think about the day. She'd never been so confused. She always had things planned and calculated, and was always in control of her surroundings and her emotions. But today had thrown her for a loop. One man and his nephew had walked into the museum and shattered her confidence. She was glad this night that she didn't share the apartment with Pablo. She needed to think.

……

Sixteen days left. And they barely had any more information.

"Detective Izumi, my contacts said some things that worry me." The officer speaking had a good track record. Before arriving Yahiko had done his research on all the people he would be working with.

"Continue."

"Apparently nobody knows who is doing these robberies." Tell me something I don't know. Yahiko thought. "Not even the local crime lord. According to my contacts he's upset that someone is working his area without his permission. He's planning on taking action."

This was not good. So far there had been no deaths. No one even knew a robbery had taken place until after the fact. So how did the local crime lord plan on tracking them? Maybe the key to finding the Manx thieves was in tracking the crime lord instead of them.

Realizing his superior was lost in thought, the officer who had given the information walked away.

…..

Karu was at her desk finishing up some final things before she went home. It was about three o'clock. She was feeling slightly nervous. Tomorrow was the final day. She had everything planned perfectly, so she shouldn't have been worried, but something wasn't right. Before the other jobs she had felt fine, but for some reason, something felt… off. She couldn't explain it.

"Ms. Pride, do you have a moment?" asked her boss.

"Umm, yes. What do you need?" He nodded his head in the direction of his office and she followed him.

"As you know, tomorrow is a very important day," he started to say after the door was shut. "The item that is coming in is valuable. It doesn't have a price tag." Karu knew all too well this fact.

"It was a good idea to put two guards in the room with it rather than just one. But I also want you here when it arrives." Well this was new, but not problematic. "When you receive the item bring it to me in the biblical history area, and we will put the safety locks on it there. Do you understand?" He looked at her very seriously, like he was trusting her with his life.

"Of course," she replied with a smile.

….

Yahiko Izumi was walking around town trying to think. He had decided to track the local crime lord, but nothing came of it. Tomorrow was the final day and still no knew leads. All new employees at the banks checked out, as did the old ones. He couldn't help but feel he was missing something very important. What was it?

He momentarily stopped to wait for the green light to cross the street. While waiting he noticed someone familiar. No way.

On the way home Karu found herself looking at the sign for Mocha Café. Hot chocolate sounds really good right now. Since she was little, it was the only thing that could calm her down.

"Karu-san?" She turned around to come face-to-face with the best man to excite her nerves even more.

"Oh… hi." She managed.

"I would have never expected to meet you walking down the streets." He looked behind her and noticed the sign she had been looking at. "Would you like to get a cup of coffee?" He was stumped, so might as well take a break anyways.

"Sorry, but I don't like coffee."

"Well then, how about hot chocolate?"

"That sounds nice," She replied with a smile with a will of its own on her face.

They walked into the café and found a small table for two by a window.

"What would you like?" asked the waitress, her nametag said Laurie.

"Two hot chocolates please." Karu couldn't help but feel like this was a date, so she didn't mind letting Yahiko-san do all the talking. It saved her from the awkwardness.

"Coming right up," Laurie said as she went to go get their order.

"Ya know, Kyo really liked the museum. He couldn't stop talking about it. You must have really made on impression on him." Karu couldn't help but blush slightly.

"Well I'm glad he had fun." What was this? All her life she had always been in control. She had always been able to masterfully manipulate her surroundings. But lately things felt out of her control. She was feeling nervous for the first time in a long while. And this man… he confused her beyond anything she'd ever known.

"Here you go. Enjoy." Laurie said with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. She was obviously a happy woman.

"Thank you," they both replied at the same time. Karu turned another shade pink and Yahiko looked to the side embarrassed. Laurie just walked away giggling.

"So…um… where's Kyo?" Karu really wished the little boy was there to break the awkwardness.

"He returned home last week. His family was in town for only a short while."

"Oh." Once again they were thrown into an awkward silence so both decided to drink their hot chocolates. It was only a few short minutes before Karu decided she couldn't stand the situation any longer. "Well, I have a big day at work tomorrow, so I better get going." She took money out of her wallet for the hot chocolate and was out the door before he had a chance to say anything.

Yahiko just sighed and leaned back. "Yeah, me too." Slowly he got up and started to take out cash for his drink.

"Sir, the woman you were with dropped this on her way out. I tried to call out to her but she was in a real hurry. I was hoping you'd be able to return it to her." The waitress was holding out a wallet, to be more precise, Karu's wallet.

"Yeah, I can do that."

"Oh good." She handed him the wallet and walked off giggling again.

…..

Well this was the place, at least according to this little sheet of paper. Why she had a piece of paper with her street address and apartment number written on it, tucked in her wallet, he did not know. But it was convenient.

When he rung the doorbell, it was only a few seconds before she opened the door.

….

As soon as Karu got home she shut the door and heaved a sigh of relief. It had been a long day. She went over to the sink to pour herself a glass of water. She wasn't expecting any visitors. No one except Pablo even knew she lived here, but he knew they had to act like strangers. So she was surprised when she heard the doorbell ring. Not only that, but it jumped her. She ended up spilling her water before she put it down to go open the door. But she was even more surprised when she opened the door. The breath in her lungs caught and it felt like the world stopped.

"Hi… um, you left your wallet at the café and our waitress, Laurie, asked me to come give it to you. You had a piece of paper in your wallet with your address, so that's how I knew where you lived." He was rambling. She didn't expect that but she thought it was cute. When she realized he was nervous, all of a sudden she felt comfortable again. "Come on in." she said.

Walking into her apartment he noticed how it was only big enough for one person. She kept it clean, but there was little decoration. "Well… um, here's your wallet," he said.

"Thank you," she had a beautiful smile on her face as she took the wallet from him and placed it on the table. "Would you like anything to drink?" she asked.

"I guess a glass of milk would be fine." He watched her as she headed toward the cupboard. When she slipped on the wet floor and started her descent, he tried to stop it. He lunged forward to grab her arm but missed entirely, the action flew him off balance and he fell too.

Somehow he had managed to fall directly on top of her. Once again he found himself staring into her deep blue eyes, only this time she wasn't blushing. She looked like she was studying his face. He reached up with his hand to brush away strands of hair that had fallen on her face, the brush turned into a stroke of the cheek, then the lips. His mouth soon followed where his hand had gone.

He never expected her to smell so wonderful, or her lips to taste so sweet. But his greatest surprise and joy was when she kissed back.

If one would have looked into the room of Kyoko Mogami as she read this, no life would have been found, but rather a statue with a look of horror on its face.

It's just like that time. Kyoko was thinking about the time when her sempai had held her in his arms, stroked her lips with his thumb, and then asked her if she had any experience in kissing. Luckily, he didn't kiss her. But in this scene, he would. And he probably would do it with the king of the night look on his face.

Kyoko and all of her minions started shaking in fear. None of them wanted to die. It was several long minutes before she could continue reading.

Karu Pride found herself surprised. She was enjoying this moment very much. At least, until her cell rang. At the sound of it ringing they both were shocked into their senses. He got off her as fast as he could and she ran to her phone.

"Hello," she answered breathless.

"Hey, Karu?"

"Uh… boss?"

"Yes. I have made some changes to the plan tomorrow. When you come to meet me bring the two guards with you."

"Oh, ok." She hung up before he had a chance to say anything more because she would not be able to process it if he did.

"Anything wrong?" Yahiko asked.

"Um no, there is just something important arriving at the museum tomorrow and my boss wanted to give me some final instructions." She couldn't look at him because she didn't know what would happen if she did.

"Well, I've returned your wallet to you, so I'll be going home now." Before she knew it, he was out of her apartment. Slowly she walked into her room. Once there, she curled up into a ball under her blanket.

Thank you Boss! Was all Kyoko could think in her relief. Without that call, the situation could have been much worse. But still… it was bad enough!

During the entire walk home he couldn't stop thinking. Something important at the museum, items in a museum were usually priceless. The Manx thieves had only hit banks so far, but they had no leads with the ones in this city. Maybe they were changing their plans. If so, Karu might get hurt in the process.

The final day.

Personally I don't think this is very good but let me know what you think.