Author's Note: I got indulged once again with what I'm currently doing so I decided to update before I forget it. This is Chapter 2. Please read and review! Thanks! :D


Chapter 2: Homeless

That same afternoon, in the Akiyama home, Genji finished printing an advertisement so they could find a new personal assistant for Ryo. Ryo was watching television so that he could learn any updates regarding the next ramp show.

"I've done it, Ryo!" Genji replied while holding a piece of paper. "What would your father think of you if he found out that you didn't have a PA anymore?"

"Most likely, he'll laugh," Ryo replied while his body was slouching against the couch.

"I agree with you, Ryo," Genji said and held the paper so Ryo could see. "What do you think?"

WANTED: Personal Assistant Of A Model

NOW HIRING

CALL *********

When Ryo saw the advertisement, he instantly laughed his heart out.

"You really suck at this, Genji," Ryo said heartily and returned the sheet of paper to Genji.

"It's not my fault that managing a model is the best thing I can do, you know!" Genji protested light-heartedly.

"Oh well!" Ryo replied and stood from his seat. "Let's scatter the papers so that we could have some applicants for the job. Even at least, tomorrow."

"Right away, Ryo," Genji replied with a grin.


Meanwhile, Alice made some last-minute checks in her apartment before leaving. This was her home after she graduated in college. She got separated from the tamers since Takato and Jeri decided to live under one roof while Henry still resided at the Wong residence and Rika still lived with her mother and grandmother. Unfortunately for her, she was alone since her mother went to America and retired there. But according to Mrs. McCoy, she promised that she would visit in Japan soon and she was looking forward to that as well.

Oh well... I'm set to go! Alice thought. I just wish I could find some place to live just for tonight... and I'll start house-finding as well.

Then, the young woman opened the door while bringing her bags. She was already jobless, homeless and penniless since she would only be receiving her compensation on Friday. Unfortunately, that would not suffice since today was only Monday and she only got four days until she got her last and final salary. And her money that she brought was still insufficient even for herself.

I'm so glad that I have paid three months ago… I only got that problem today… Alice thought while holding her bags.

Fortunately, when she got out of her apartment, the sun was still shining. That would give her ample time to find a house.


Back at the Akiyama residence, Ryo had been browsing through the magazines that contained his pictures. He would sometimes pose with different women but deep inside his mind, he wanted to pose with Alice. Of all the poses he made for magazines, a few of them were with celebrities. Majority of them were of non-showbiz persons and were people from all walks of life. He wished that one day, he could see her and talk to her and most especially, start something with her.

Because of that, his mind drifted to his past with the tamers. He tamed the Digimon in the Digital World and beat Rika in a card game. Then came high school. Rika began opening up and she even transferred to the school where Takato, Henry, Jeri, Kenta and Kazu studied. He also did the same and maintained the friendship they formed during the Digimon period. But he graduated earlier so he eventually lost contact with the tamers especially the special blonde in his eyes.

Oh Alice… Ryo thought suddenly. I really missed you

His thoughts brought back to the day he himself got rejected by the girl he liked. Yes, he used to like Rika but it was pitch black obvious that the auburn-haired girl preferred someone else better so he move on and found an infatuation with a black-haired Japanese girl named Kara Minori. She was the same age as him and definitely, beautiful.

FLASHBACK:

Seven years ago…

Ryo spotted the black-haired Kara in the front porch of her house and walked towards her with a smile. His heart beat faster at the sight of his crush with her hair being blown gently by the wind.

"Hey, Kara!" Ryo smiled as he waved his hand toward her.

The black-haired girl seemed to acknowledge his presence but smiled weakly.

"Hello, Ryo!" she greeted simply.

"How's things?" Ryo asked.

The girl only let out a sigh. "Fine…"

Since the boy had something else in mind, he decided to pop up the question.

"So, Kara, what do you think of guys?" he asked nervously. Him? Nervous? Well, that was something, considering that he was speaking in front of the girl he liked.

Kara seemed nonplussed by the question so she had a straight face. Eventually she smiled a bit.

"Uhm… I don't know…" Kara said and followed it with a sigh.

Ryo smiled shyly and proceeded straight to the point.

"Okay… So what do you think of me? I mean, how do you think of me?" Ryo asked.

The girl sighed again and looked at Ryo directly. She wanted to tell something to the brunet badly.

"Ryo," the girl began. "You know… You're really a nice guy…"

The young teenager waited in anxiety for what the girl was going to say.

"But I'd prefer that we're just friends…" Kara finished.

Ryo's face fell to the ground. His heart sunk and felt the blood beginning to slow down in the circulatory system.

"But why?" Ryo asked.

"I'm not really good when it comes to things like this… I don't want to get hurt again and…" the girl paused. "… we're leaving for England next week. Long distance relationships never seem to work for me, after mine in the past…"

Ryo's face sunk. It hurt him with her saying no. But he understood because of what she justified. Now he totally understood what Alice felt when he rejected her feelings.

END OF FLASHBACK

And now he knew that the girl he took for granted was the girl he now loved.

"Funny because it took a rejection for me to realize that I really liked Alice…" Ryo replied as he smiled at the memory.

With that, he began to stand up and walk towards the kitchen so he could cook for him and his manager.

Meanwhile, back to Alice's location, the blonde was still walking everywhere and approached every apartment she could see.

"Sorry, no vacancies!"

Or she would hear something like…

"We can't let you stay overnight."

Alice felt hopeless and night was already settling, but she found nothing. Because of exhaustion caused by walking around, she eventually gave up and settled to sleep near a garbage can.

"I'm going to sleep here. Maybe near the garbage will be suitable as my house for tonight…" Alice said to herself as she lied down and made her small bag as her pillow. "I'm just here to think, to think and to think only…"


The next day, Jun Kazama passed along the pavement where Alice had spent the night on since he was finished jogging and saw a blonde young woman sleeping with some luggage. Since he did not know who it was and realizing that it could be a street vagrant, he opened the hand and gave alms to her.

"Look what I've found here! A classy beggar with a suitcase! Here's something for you so you could buy something!" Jun said sarcastically and walked away.

Alice woke up because of the reason she heard exactly what Jun said. "EXCUSE ME! I'M NOT A BEGGAR!" she retorted.

At the tone of the lady's voice and the manner of her talking, Jun instantly thought of his officemate Alice McCoy. When he turned back, he realized that it was indeed Alice.

"Alice? Is that you?" Jun asked, taken aback. It is Alice, alright. Blonde, blue-eyed…

Alice was surprised and at the same time embarrassed since she knew the owner of the voice. She remembered that it was the voice of her officemate and again, felt embarrassed since he saw her sleeping near a garbage can. It was indeed Jun Kazama, according to Alice. She saw the tall, wiry and handsome young man with onyx eyes and she could see that he was wearing his plain white shirt and black jogging shorts.

"Jun? What are you doing here?" Alice asked, who was more surprised than she thought.

"I'm gonna ask you the same question. Why are you here?" Jun asked, amused at the blonde girl who was near the garbage can. "Good thing you didn't get raped because you spent the night in the street all alone…"

"Uh… I was having a vacation…" Alice lied. Crap, of all people to meet, why it would be him?

"Beside a garbage can…" Jun teased. "Good one!"

"No, I mean... It's a long story..." Alice replied in surrender.

Jun smiled and extended his right hand towards Alice. When Alice saw the hand, she was surprised.

"What are you doing, Jun?" Alice asked.

"Helping you get up..." Jun replied.

Alice grasped for Jun's hand and stood up. Eventually, she dusted herself.

"IuhThanks!" Alice said sheepishly.

"No problem!" Jun replied. "Anyway, what is the reason behind your camping here in the streets?"

Alice took a deep breath and started her story. "You see... For the past few weeks, I spent everything for the printing in the company so the money that I kept was getting few and might not be sufficient for everything. And, the landlady sent me out since I could not afford to pay for the rental. I've got a big debt and that covered for two months. I told her that I'll pay when I get the money but she did not listen to me. So here I am: homeless, jobless and penniless."

Jun felt sympathetic for Alice. He was thinking on how he could help the blonde until he had an idea.

"Why don't you stay at my house here? It's not far away though… And for our being friends…" Jun offered.

Alice could not decipher what Jun was trying to pull and she was having second thoughts with his chivalry. She felt that her officemate was just aiming a good shot at her. But what can she do if she got nothing to stay for the moment?

"Alright… For the friends…" Alice finally agreed. I don't see any reason but I must keep myself guarded.

"Well then… Is it okay for you to walk?" Jun asked, seeing how Alice lifted her bags.

"Don't worry about me, Jun Kazama… I've been walking for hours since yesterday so I got used to it already…" Alice pointed out as she placed the duffel bag on her shoulder

"Okay. Just making sure…" Jun shrugged. "Anyway, do you need help in your bags?"

"No, thank you. I can manage," Alice said while tugging her trolley with her right hand.

"I hate to tell you this but it will be un-gentlemanly for me if I let you carry them alone…" Jun said and walked as well.

Alice heaved a sigh. Furthermore, he had a point.

"Oh... Alright, Jun! You can help," Alice said because she was still tired due to sleeping near the streets.

They walked from the pavement. Alice felt awkward with the thought of staying in one roof with her friend and officemate.

"So, have you vacated your post already?" Jun asked while holding the duffel bag.

"Some sort of…" Alice said nonchalantly. "How about you?"

"I started but I didn't carry all of them since my car was still at the service station," Jun replied. "I'll be getting my car maybe tomorrow."

"I still can't believe this happened, Jun," Alice said sullenly.

"So do me," Jun replied. "I heard that a rival of the proprietor bought the company but I don't know his name."

"Talk about monopoly in Japan!" Alice chuckled despite the gravity of the situation.

"I agree!" Jun replied.

The two walked for some time until they reached Jun's house. Alice was obviously still tired since she went another round of walking with a trolley bag in tow. She could see that Jun owned a traditional wooden house with white as the over-all color.

"Here's my house, Alice…" Jun said and chuckled.

"Don't you have your parents live with you?" Alice asked, still intrigued at the size of the house.

"They live in Kyushu," Jun explained and unlocked the gate. "I only live here because I'm working. They visit here sometimes."

"But this house looks like as if a married man lives here!" Alice complimented.

"Thank you. If only I could get married!" Jun grinned. "Come inside and feel at home!"

"Why not? Everybody loves you even the girls!" Alice said and went inside the gate. She then realized that her words also referred to a certain person in her life.

"But I don't love them, Alice!" Jun corrected and walked towards the doorway so he could open the door.

"Then who do you love?" Alice inquired. "Eya? Yuriko? Kara? Tara?"

"None of them, Alice. I don't have a crush in one of them!" Jun chuckled.

"Whatever, Jun! I know it can't be me because I'm a blonde!" Alice replied.

Jun laughed because of Alice's statement. "What makes you think I don't like you?" he added.

"Because of the fact that I'm not Japanese!" Alice replied with a shy laugh.

"Very funny, Alice," Jun said with a laugh and let Alice sit on the couch.

"Why? That's a reason, I'm sure!" Alice replied with a low giggle.

"I like you because you're unique. Your being American is what I liked most about you, you know?" Jun commented. If only that like will turn into love…

"Oh, Jun! You always make me laugh!" Alice said heartily as she fidgeted for her phone.

Jun only smiled as he went to the kitchen. "Anyway, why don't you sit and watch television first? I'll make breakfast for the two of us."

Alice eventually sat down. "Sorry about my scent, Jun. I think I need a bath after sleeping near a garbage can and… thanks for being here… I don't know what will happen to me right now."

Jun smiled. "No problem. That's what friends are for. Anyway, you can stay as long as you want. Or, you can live here for free. That is, if you wish to…"

Alice only blushed because of her officemate's act of chivalry. "I'll think about it. Right now, I just need something to accomplish before I move again."

"Like finding a job?" Jun completed.

Alice shrugged. Right now, she did not know what to do because she did not even have the recommendation to get a new one since the closing of their company was very sudden.

"I don't know, Jun… It's just like yesterday when that happened…" Alice said sullenly.

"I know what you feel, Alice…" Jun said as he started to go to the inner kitchen so he could cook.

Since the blonde was not used to being the guest, she followed Jun while he was making his way towards the kitchen. However, Jun sensed that she was following him.

"Alice? Why don't you sit down?" Jun asked.

"I'm not used to being someone's guest in the house, considering that I stayed in an apartment for almost two years already," Alice pointed out.

"Really?" Jun asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah. And I need to ensure that you're not putting unusual ingredients on what you're going to cook!" Alice grinned.

"Well, okay!" Jun chuckled. "Come on, Alice!"

The two officemates walked towards the kitchen. When they made it, they saw the bread that was lying on the area near the stove.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to poison you with my secret recipe," Jun replied with a smirk.

"Of course you won't!" Alice sniggered. "But I'm gonna help you anyway."

Jun immediately lifted the pot and started putting water, vegetables, spices, salt and pepper inside it and started the fire. Alice started slicing the bread as well.

"Do you know how to cook?" Jun asked.

"Yeah… I know…" Alice answered with a chuckle. "One of these days, I'll show you. But probably, you're a better cook than me."

"I wish," Jun said with a laugh.

Then the two continued cooking. While waiting for the soup to boil, Jun leaned against the wall.

"Do you want me to help you find a job?" Jun offered as he looked at the blonde directly.

"Thanks… But I need right now is money. Why do I have to wait until Friday to get my salary?" Alice added with a groan.

"Yeah. That's my problem too," Jun replied. "How I wish I could contact Sir Akihiro to make things quickly."

"Me too. I need money more than you ever know," Alice pointed out.

Eventually, the pot began to boil and Jun removed it from the stove. Alice gave him two bowls so he could pour the soup inside them.

"Thanks!" he said to Alice.

Then the blonde took the tray and transferred the bowls there. She brought them as Jun walked in front of her. When they reached the dining table, both assembled immediately and sat on the table.

"BON APPETIT!" Alice said as she and Jun proceeded in eating.


After breakfast, Jun led Alice to her room so she could rest and unpack. When they arrived at the room, the blonde inspected the room and went inside. It was painted in white and it looked large for her compared to her apartment room. It had a wooden wall and a wooden floor which made her even more amazed.

"This is fine with me, Jun. Thank you…" she replied to Jun.

"You're welcome…" said Jun. "Take a rest, since I know you're still tired."

Alice nodded and went to the bed. After that, Jun left the blonde in her room and walked away.

~ Yesterday, all my troubles seem so far away ~

Alice flopped down after she reached the edge of the bed. When she lied down, she began massaging her temples as she reflected with what just transpired earlier.

"Jun's so kind to adopt me for a while… What am I supposed to do? I'm only twenty-four and jobless!" she said to herself in disdain. "Unless…"

Then as if fate took place, someone called her in her phone. When Alice got it from her pocket, she saw that it was Eya who was calling.

"Hello?" Alice said as she placed the phone to her ear.

"Alice!" Eya said from their other line. "How are you?"

"Homeless… Jobless… Penniless…" Alice could only say. Those were the adjectives she could say for now because of her condition.

"Homeless?! Why?!" Eya repeated.

"I got kicked out of my stupid apartment because I couldn't pay the rent on time," Alice replied wistfully.

"So where are you staying right now?"

"I'm living like a dormer in Jun's house. Anyway, he's so kind to take me under his wing," Alice answered. "But I know this isn't permanent since I'm going to find myself a house while finding a job."

"Jun's so nice! Way to go, Alice!" Eya exclaimed. "Anyway, how did Jun find you anyway?"

"I slept in a street last night and the day after, I heard him saying that I was a vagrant. So, I woke up and told it in his face that I'm not. Then I recognized his voice. It's so embarrassing, Eya!" Alice said and her face turned bright red when she remembered the epic-fail episode in her street.

"It's alright, Alice. He'll admire you even more for sleeping in a street and waking up in one piece. Why don't you just let him ask you out?" Eya remarked. "That guy's totally nuts about you!"

"Sorry, Eya. I'm not in the mood to have a love-life, right now," Alice said, not buying the idea of having a boyfriend for now.

"But you're so damn lucky to live under the same roof as Jun! He's like the hottest guy in the office, you know? He could pass for a model or something!"

"Eya, I don't know about that. Try talking to Jun so you could get some information sometimes!" Alice suggested.

"Why me if you can do it?" Eya said in amusement. "But be careful, girl! I hear that jobs are now rare so better make the most of it!"

"Now you drive me over to my second dilemma, Eya! Anyway, where are you?" Alice said as she remembered that she was also jobless starting today.

"I'm in the office and currently vacating my post with Yukiko. All of us are now having heavy hearts. But it's a blessing in disguise since I had a job offer in America as an executive assistant."

"Lucky you! Well, I'm not going to report to work today because I need to settle some things and start finding a job," Alice said as she started removing her clothes in the luggage.

"Good luck with that, Sister!" Eya cheered. "I wish you all the best!"

"Thanks and same to you, Eya! Anyway, I need to go since I'm going to fix some things," Alice said, ending the call. "Bye."

"Alright. Take care and have fun living with Jun!" Eya teased. "Bye!"

Alice only snorted as she dropped the call. She could not imagine herself living with Jun since for all she knew, he was a complete bachelor. And the question is, how long would she be his housemate? A day? A week? A month?

"Housemate? Nah!" Alice said as she jumped off the bed.

When she finished doing so, she realized that she needed to take a bath after her cold escapade last night. She went to the door and found Jun standing there with a silver kettle of hot water.

"Jun?" Alice asked and noticed the kettle. "What's that?"

Jun laughed at the blonde's confusion. "Hot water. You'll need this."

Alice smiled sheepishly and with this, Jun gave her the kettle. "Thanks, Jun!" she said gratefully.

"No problem, Housemate!" Jun snickered. "Anyway, your room has a personalized bathroom so feel free to spend the entire day taking a bath!"

Alice nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Kazama! I promise that you'll have a reward for being nice to me later!"

"I'll look forward to it," Jun chuckled and started to walk away.

When the young man was gone, Alice immediately closed the door by pushing the door with her body. And from afar, she knew that the white door she was seeing was the bathroom. She carried the kettle inside the bathroom so she could take a bath.

He's so nice, Alice thought as she reached the bathtub and poured the contents of the kettle inside the tub. How can I repay him for what he helped me?


Meanwhile, Ryo and Genji were busy posting advertisements in every lamp post and every wall of the house that they could see. It was lucky for them that no one could recognize them because both were clad in costumes which were worn by characters they see in television. Ryo was wearing a Japanese warrior's outfit while Genji was wearing a samurai's outfit.

"We'll sure attract attention this way, Ryo," Genji replied facetiously as he finished posting the advertisement with the use of a large stapler.

"Just one last paper and we're done for it, Genji," Ryo assured and he finished what he was supposed to do. "Alright. Let's go!"

Then the two left the street full of papers and Genji went to the car so he could start it. When he started it, he pressed the horn so that Ryo could get inside.

"Thanks, Genji!" Ryo smiled and got inside. "Thank you for this."

"No problem, Ryo," Genji said with a grin. "After all, I'm your manager."

With this, Genji stepped on his gear and the black Ferrari was making way around the picturesque city of Shinjuku.

"I'm tired, Genji!" Ryo said as he yawned while sitting in the middle part of the car.

"Take a rest, Ryo! You'll need more energy for tomorrow!" Genji advised.

Ryo smacked his head at the mention of the word "tomorrow".

"Oh man!" he groaned.