Author's Note: HI! I'M BACK! Sorry if I just disappeared like that. Sometimes you can't even predict the trouble coming to you. But I promise to update with the every chance I get.


Chapter 3: Opportunity

The next day, Alice woke up and saw that the sun was already shining. She rolled her eyes and found that breakfast was served on her bedside.

"Breakfast in bed?!" Alice said to herself as she saw the dumplings on the plate. "What time is it, anyway?"

As she looked at the left part of her room, she saw the clock hanging at the higher part of the wall. It read 10:30 A.M.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Alice screamed at the top of her lungs as she could not believe what she saw. "I OVERSLEPT?! WHAT THE FREAKING HELL! SO THAT'S THE STORY BEHIND THAT DUMPLING!"

Alice eventually calmed down as she jumped off the bed. She eventually saw the plate full of dumpling and the orange juice on the bedside table. Along with them was a note.

Hey pretty lady,

I went out today and knew you're tired so I didn't bother to wake you up. Here's a breakfast courtesy of me so better eat it.

Have a great morning! :)

Your knight in shining armor,
Jun Kazama

Alice laughed at the note so she grabbed the dumpling.

"Aww… Funny because Jun never had a girlfriend to tell these things!" she commented as she stuffed the dumpling inside her mouth. She was hungry yet she still observed proper manners.

Eventually, when all the dumplings were gone, Alice fixed her bed and cleaned everything. She took her clothes which were composed of a black shirt, a pair of white shorts and her underwear from the dresser.

"I'd better take a bath!" Alice said to herself as she took a towel and brought along the clothes that she had taken inside the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, Alice splashed herself with the shower to remove some thoughts from her head. She grabbed a shampoo afterwards.

"I really need to find a job. I'm thankful that Jun's around for me. Without him, I don't know… what I'm going to do…" Alice said aloud as she let her hands roam around her hair in the bathroom.

When she was done with her hair, she started using her soap and rinsed her entire body. She dried herself and changed into her clothes. She placed the towel on her hair so it would not make her clothes soggy and started brushing her teeth. When she finished, she spit up and gargled one last time and went outside the bathroom.

"Oh well… I need to…" Alice paused since she could not figure her current train of thought while hanging the towel inside her room.

Eventually, she decided to go outside of the house for fresh air. The blonde walked from her room and made her way downstairs. Her mind seemed to be preoccupied with all the things that had happened to her during the previous days.

"Some things don't seem to work anyway," Alice thought to herself as she reached the doorway and opened the door.

Eventually, as she got out, she found a sheet of paper on the front porch and picked it up. She saw that the note had a black ink and printed in capital letters. It read as:

WANTED: Personal Assistant Of A Model

NOW HIRING

CALL ********* ASAP

"Is this a joke?" Alice asked as she noticed how the imprint of the advertisement was written. "More so, is this a hoax?"

The note for her seemed to be very informal, especially for the nature of the employer. But she was having second thoughts because of what she read yet she was in dire need of money right now. Why pass if there was an opportunity knocking right at her doorstep?

"I'd better confirm if it's a scam or not," Alice said as she continued scanning the paper she was holding. "The note seemed to be so cheap and fake for a model finding a personal assistant."

Right after that, Alice decided to dial the number which was indicated in the paper for more details.

Meanwhile, Ryo was busy because he was in a meeting with another model so his manager Genji was in charge of safekeeping his phone. And as fate let it, Ryo's phone rang.

"Who would call at this ungodly hour?" Genji asked as he fidgeted for the model's phone.

He fumbled through his bag for a couple of seconds and fished out the black phone. He found that it had been ringing for several times already.

"Unknown number?" Genji asked as he saw the untitled contact flashing in the screen. Was this another model trying to set up Ryo on a date?

With this, he decided to answer it so he could have be in peace.

"Hello? Good morning! Boss is not around. Who's this?" Genji said continuously.

When Alice heard the other line finally speak, she immediately told her questions.

"Hi! I found your advertisement scattering around and you're looking for a personal assistant?" Alice replied.

"Yes, we are. As in we need it immediately," Genji said. "Why?"

"I'm just bothered with the way you asked in your advertisement. I thought it was just a hoax because of the way you gave your number and you were so anonymous with it. Why so?" Alice asked ingeniously.

"Well, Boss doesn't want to have so many women crowding over him so he decided to give only his number," Genji explained. "Are you interested in lining up?"

Alice thought for a moment. "For now, I can't give any pertinent information regarding myself. But if you can set an appointment, maybe I can come. Sorry for me being incognito because I really thought that this was a scam and it's just to protect my identity."

"Oh no, it's not a scam but it's alright if you don't want to reveal yourself for now. I understand. Just let me ask, are you a he or she?" Genji asked.

"I'm a she actually. But anyway, what day will you want me to come anyway?" Alice asked.

"Can you try on Friday at ten? I'll let my boss know sometime later since he's busy in a meeting right now," Genji answered.

Friday? Alice thought until she felt that it was best for her. Oh well, I'm going to get my salary on that day anyway.

"Fine, I'll go on Friday. Thank you very much!" Alice replied.

"Alright! See you on Friday!" Genji replied and hung up.

When the other line hung up, Alice felt relieved. This was the start of her long line of finding a job.

"Oh good…" Alice said, feeling a hundred pounds lighter. "Who could be that model I'm applying for?"

Meanwhile, Ryo was finished with his meeting and returned to the lobby where Genji stayed. He saw that the older man had a gleam in his eye.

"What's up, Genji?" Ryo asked curiously. "You seemed happy?"

"Someone found about our ad and she was interested in it," Genji answered, recalling the conversation he had with the blonde earlier.

"Did she give her name?" Ryo asked.

"No, Ryo. She even thought that it was a scam because of the way we presented it in the advertisement," Genji narrated.

"Hope she isn't a fangirl…" Ryo replied.

"I think she's not. During the time I talked to her, she sounded more like a businesswoman rather than a fangirl. That was the reason behind her opinion with our ad that it was just a scam," Genji replied straight to the point.

"Kinda smart. But scam or not, Masashi told me that some of his female friends were up to the idea of being my PA. Take note, female friends from the non-showbiz world," Ryo replied while stroking his chin. "But I only agreed if they decided to show up starting tomorrow."

Genji laughed. "I figured that would happen so I told the girl to be present on Friday."

"Thanks a lot, Genji," Ryo replied with a snort.

"No problem. Knowing you, you wouldn't escape your destiny: girls would always follow you whenever you're around." Genji smirked. "So where are we going now?"

"Let's go to the studio." Ryo snorted.

Whoever you are, Miss Smart Girl, I'm not gonna stop until I get to know you…

He decided to sit back and relax in order for him to get back to his original thoughts.

"Genji, have you ever heard of a model named Rumiko Nonaka in your almost ten years of service?" Ryo asked randomly.

"Yes, Ryo," Genji replied. "My sister was her personal assistant. How come you knew her?"

Ryo laughed a bit. "I'm a friend of her daughter Rika."

"Yes! The most beautiful girl in the modeling industry! Too bad she didn't model like her mom. I heard that she's working big time!" Genji stated.

"Yeah… She is… She's the editorial consultant for the Vanity Shinjuku, by the way," Ryo added.

"But be glad that Vanity's not looking for you! You'll have a hard time with them!" Genji remarked.

"I agree with that, Genji," Ryo replied as he puffed out air in relief.


Back at the Kazama residence, Alice's phone rang once again.

"Hello?" the blonde answered.

"Alice!"

Alice recognized the voice as her mother's. She felt relieved that her mother cared to call her once again.

"Hey, Mom! How are things going?" Alice asked as she sat down on the couch.

"I'm fine here. I missed you so much and I really wanted to see you soon!" Mrs. McCoy replied. "Tell me, where are you staying right now?"

Shoot me please! Alice thought as she remembered that she had not told a thing about the recent events that happened to her so far.

"Mom… Promise me that you won't get mad…" Alice said calmly.

"Why? Is there a problem?" Mrs. McCoy asked.

"Uhm… Things kinda got complicated and…"

"Alice McCoy, please get straight to the point, will you?"

Alice took a deep breath. "FINE! IJUSTLOSTMYJOBANDMYHOUSE!"

The words were too inaudible for the blonde's mother so Mrs. McCoy began to shriek. "WHAT?!"

"Mom, I just lost my job and my house," Alice repeated calmly. One thing was sure: if her mother was here, the latter would throw a fit.

"What happened? You even told me that Shinjuku Publishing is doing okay!"

"I don't even know, Mom. Then the next thing I knew, the company already laid us off," Alice replied. "And I lost my house because of the charges I couldn't afford."

"When were you supposed to tell me these things, Alice?" Mrs. McCoy asked sharply. "When I visit you in Japan?"

"N-No! Absolutely not!" Alice replied sheepishly. "I just couldn't have the guts to tell you these since these events happened only last Monday… and I'm staying at a friend's house temporarily."

The last phrase seemed to calm the mother down. "That's good. Which friend? Rika? Jeri?"

"My officemate who was also my friend. He's a guy," Alice replied. "I think you know him… Jun Kazama."

"Oh! That guy! I've known his mom too."

"Wow! Small world! Well, Mom, I've wound up here since yesterday and I'm still finding myself a job."

"Good luck to you on that! And please let me know where you're working, alright?"

"Thanks a lot, Mom! Don't worry about me! I'll be fine!"

"Well, I'm sure that he will take care of you in his house. But please, Alice… DON'T GET KNOCKED UP WHILE I'M GONE!"

Alice wore a shocking look. "MOTHER!"

"I'm serious, Alice. Flings sometimes abound whenever a girl stays at a guy's house!"

Alice snorted with that fact but her mother was right. However, deep inside her heart, she was not really interested in dating someone right now.

"Oh, fine… I will… Just tell me when exactly you're going to fly to Japan."

"Alright… Take care, okay? Bye and see you soon!"

"Bye! See you! Mwah!" Alice said as parting words.

Eventually, Alice placed the phone on top of the table and drank her coffee. She also turned the television.

"Shinjuku Publishing was already bought by Davis Motomiya…"

With that sentence, Alice choked on what she drank and began coughing violently.

"WHAT THE FREAKING HELL?!" Alice exclaimed as she composed herself once again.

"According to reports, Shinjuku Publishing was losing their profits during the past three months and the generous Davis Motomiya was available to purchase the company in order to raise the funds…"

"THAT ASSHOLE!" Alice could not stop herself from blurting out more obscene words. "FUCK HIM AND HIS BIG FAT EGO!"

Now that Alice knew the truth, she could not help but get mad at what happened. She remembered that Davis Motomiya used to be the richest guy when they were in college. The guy almost asked her out but she did not accept him. She was just tired of hanging out with guys which she thought to have large egos. She had been hurt once and that was enough.

That was the reason why she disliked rich guys ever since. She really knew that they only have big egos but small… never minds.

"Could he have learned that I worked there?" Alice asked herself. "If so, how?"

Until she laughed at the possibility of meeting him.

"How could he see me if I'm laid off already?" Alice laughed at her mistake. "Funny!"

Eventually, Alice drank all the coffee in her mug. Then the next thing Alice saw in the television was Ryo in a shampoo commercial while washing his hair. Literally, she had spit all the contents of what she was drinking.

"In order to have nice hair like mine, use Herbal Shampoo for men!"

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Alice finally had reached her breaking point as she watched the commercial that featured the former Digimon King. "THAT STUPID EGOTISTICAL MAN BECAME A MODEL?! FUCK!"

Alice's mind reverted to the paper she found earlier. She had hoped that the model searching for a personal assistant was not him. But she knew that the note would not come from him since the latter even wanted fame for all of his life.

"DAMN!" Alice said furiously. She finally had enough of cursing and mentioning obscene words for today. "What a nice way to start the morning! Two surprises at the same time! Awesome!"

The next thing Alice knew was she heard a knock on the door.

"Alice?!" the voice began.

Shoot! It was Jun!

"Coming right up!" Alice exclaimed as she dashed towards the door.

When she reached the door, she eventually opened up and she saw Jun.

"Hi, Jun!" Alice greeted with a smile.

"Hey, Alice! Having a bad day?" Jun asked, somehow perplexed with what he just heard. "You never cursed like that."

Alice's face turned dark crimson. She felt embarrassed. Could Jun have heard what she screamed inside the house?

"Uh… Did you…" Alice eventually clamped her hand in alarm.

"Yep! I heard the cursing starting from the start to the finish. I was parking the car when I heard you," Jun replied with a grin.

"Oh… Sorry!" Alice said sheepishly. "It's just… that… I've got news regarding Shinjuku Publishing."

Jun's face lit up. "And what about it?" he inquired.

"My damn ex-suitor Davis Motomiya purchased the company! I think he knew where I worked so he could get in proximity with me!" Alice explained. "By buying our office!"

"Davis Motomiya? You know him?!" Jun's eyes were wide as plates.

"I know him. We attended the same university together," Alice explained. "He was the richest guy in my school before. And yeah, he tried to ask me out before."

"That's surprising me!" Jun replied and smirked.

"So, where did you go anyway? Where have you been exactly?" Alice asked, curious of her friend's adventure.

"I went actually to our former company and they gave us our compensations. I got yours already, Alice!" Jun said and he handed a small envelope to the woman.

Alice turned giddy. "Well at least I could deposit these in my account now. Thanks a lot, Jun!"

"You still owe me one, Alice!" the young man smirked.

"With what?" Alice asked, somehow confused.

Eventually, Alice remembered that she would repay the guy for his kindness to her.

"Oh! Alright!" Alice chuckled and decided to give him a smack in the cheek.

With this, she moved towards the young man's left cheek and pressed her lips gently. After doing so, she eventually placed a fist on the spot gently and smirked evilly.

"What did you do that for?" Jun asked, perplexed with what she just did.

"Just so you know, that's my reward for you," Alice said with a grin. "And sorry, Jun… I'm really not into romances for now…"

Jun only laughed while he felt for his left cheek. "I understand…"

"Now there's nothing to be told, alright?" Alice chuckled.

"Okay…" Jun laughed. "But anyway, thanks for the peck. I appreciated it, no… liked it."

"Then thank you!" Alice sniggered as she placed the money on the table. "And, I have some news."

The young man sat down on the couch and listened intently.

"What is it?" Jun inquired.

"I found an advertisement saying that a model was in search for a personal assistant," Alice answered with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"So, did you get in?" Jun asked.

"Not yet," Alice answered. "I called the number earlier to confirm if it's a scam or not… It turns out that the model wanted to be kept anonymous but the note was legit. But I'm going there on Friday at ten in the morning. It's going be a tough one for me!"

"Wish you luck!" Jun smiled and Alice only smiled.

"How about you, Jun? Have any luck while on the way home?" Alice asked.

"None," Jun replied sheepishly. "But I don't mind yet…"

"You sure are weird!" Alice replied in amazement.


Meanwhile at the Akiyama residence, Ryo was busy with his laptop as he was talking to his father online. He could see his father on screen.

"Hey, Dad!" Ryo said.

"Son! What time is it in Japan?" Mr. Akiyama said.

"It's noontime here, Dad." Ryo sighed.

"What's with the sigh?" Mr. Akiyama asked as he noticed his son's grave look.

"Well, I lost a PA…" Ryo answered, trying to feel calm for his current predicament.

"What happened, Ryo?" the older man asked.

"Well… It's a long story, Dad… But it had something to do with her family…"

"Whatever that was, you should start finding a new one. It would be hard for you especially you're modeling in Japan!" Mr. Akiyama advised.

"Yeah. That's another problem. I don't want to hire someone haphazardly. You know me, Dad…" Ryo answered.

"I know… From the Digimon era, you had been famous… What about now, right? You're modeling!"

"Yeah… Masashi already gave me some girls that he knew who were fitted for the job," Ryo added.

"Well, how about Rika?" Mr. Akiyama suggested.

"Dad, she's the editorial consultant for Vanity Shinjuku. She won't say yes," Ryo answered. "And Jeri, since she owns their tavern right now."

"Oh, I see…" Mr. Akiyama replied. "Well, looks like you're on your own, Ryo."

"Thanks a lot, Dad!" Ryo said with an amused snort.

"But I wanna ask you one more thing… Please take women seriously… Who knows what karma will befall on you."

Ryo was instantly smacked in the face. Sure he had lots of women on the side but they were not serious relationships. His heart belonged to the sapphire-eyed blonde that he had been pining for years and no one could replace her in his heart as well.

"I will, Dad… But I guess I haven't found her yet…" Ryo replied.

"I'm sure you will find her. Good luck in finding a girlfriend and a PA too!" Mr. Akiyama said. "You'd better eat your lunch now, Ryo. Take care of yourself!"

"You too, Dad. Bye!" Ryo said as he ended the conversation.

With that, the screen that contained Mr. Akiyama's image was gone.

"I guess I need to suffer for a while…" Ryo concluded as he jumped off his bed so he could have lunch.

He had been living as a model after he returned to Japan when he was twenty-three. It was also the time after he graduated from college in a university in America. That was the first time he accepted the offer. For three years, he dedicated to modeling so he could also find the girl he loved, Alice McCoy.

Oh, Alice… If only you know how much I love you now…


Back to the Kazama household, the two friends were busy watching a movie entitled "Friends With Benefits" while eating lunch composed of sashimi and sushi along with water.

"What would happen if we're that?" Jun asked. The two of them were sitting on the floor so their lunch would not spill.

Alice laughed at the idea. "Don't ask me that, Kazama."

"Come on, Alice… I think it's funny!" Jun grinned.

"Eww, Jun! Pervert!" Alice exclaimed as she drank water which was located near her.

"I'm just kidding! Why can't you take a joke?" Jun sneered.

"But with the way you're saying it… It's like… ewwwwwww!" Alice replied humorously. "But seriously, I like the fact that you're enjoying movies like this."

"Of course! I'm also a human, Alice! I want to love and relate to it. But that seemed impossible," Jun replied with a light-hearted smile.

"That's true…" Alice replied as she remembered a vital event that caused her to stop falling in love. It was also something that she still carried for the rest of her life.

"Love is impossible, I'd say!" Jun said as they continued watching the movie.

Alice only laughed at the young man's sarcastic way of presenting his envy.


Somewhere in Shinjuku, an auburn-haired woman was seen to be working on the final draft of their magazine when somebody called her.

"Hello?" the auburn-haired woman, known as Rika, asked.

"Hey, Rika!" a feminine voice exclaimed.

"Yes, Jeri?" Rika asked as she placed her phone in between her ear and her right shoulder as she was still busy checking some manuscripts.

"Have you heard the news?" Jeri asked.

"What news?" Rika returned the question.

"Shinjuku Publishing has been bought by Davis Motomiya! You know, the richest guy in college?"

The name Davis Motomiya rang a bell to Rika's mind.

"What happened? Why did he buy it?"

"I just saw it on television. Shinjuku Publishing's been on the rocks lately and nothing was there to save it. So the rich guy bought it."

"I thought of Alice… She's working there…"

"Yeah! I tried to phone her but she never answered!"

"Gee, I wish I know what's up with her… Surely she must be so depressed! Besides, I really wanted to know the real score between their company since it's a part of my news duty," Rika commented. "And Davis Motomiya? Was he the guy who had the hots for Alice in the university?"

"You're correct. I wonder what Alice's reaction after she heard it!"

"Poor Alice…" Rika said in sympathy. "Oh well… I'll try contacting her again…"

"Right… You wanna go with us tonight?" Jeri asked.

Rika checked the time. It read 3:30 PM.

"Sure… That would help me forget about Henry for a while… I really missed him…" Rika said wistfully. "It's been two weeks since I got into overtime…"

"Aww… Why don't you two just get married already? Besides, you already got money anyway!"

"As if it's enough to host a wedding! Besides, we're twenty-four and we're gonna be fine if we'd do that next year…" Rika chuckled.

"Suit yourself… I've gotta admit… You two are really my favorite couple!"

Rika was about to laugh when all of a sudden, she saw Ryo's picture in an eight by eight photo paper lying on her table.

"NO WAY!" Rika exclaimed as her eyes began to widen.

"What do you mean by that?" Jeri asked from the other line. "Are you mad that you're my favorite couple?"

"No silly! An eight by eight picture just showed up!" Rika answered. "You know what that means?"

"WHAT?!"

"Our magazine's gonna put Ryo for cover next month! This is totally new!" Rika exclaimed. "And the article we're supposed to do was about him posing in lingerie which was totally… uhhhhh!"

"Since when did your magazine become a women's magazine?"

"Today?" Rika asked in an uncertain voice. "I don't know…"

"Good luck with that!" Jeri said with optimism shown in her voice. "Anyway, I'm gonna see you later, okay? Bye!"

"Bye! Take care, girl!"

Then Rika resumed to working once again. However, an idea popped into her mind.

"Oh right? I'm an editorial consultant! Not a writer!" Rika smirked victoriously as she threw the crumpled ball of paper in the nearest waste basket.