Author's Note: This is the second part of Chapter 12. Please read and review! Thanks so much! :D
Chapter 13: Perils and Revelations
That moment, Ryo and Alice were already in the middle of an argument when Alice said something that pierced through Ryo's heart.
"Me? Hurt? What do you think of what I'm feeling right now? Am I happy?" she asked with the tone of her voice getting higher already. "And besides, we made it clear that I'm just your assistant and you're my employer. Nothing more, nothing less!"
Alice's words had been playing throughout his mind for seconds. He could not find a word to say.
"Can you just tell me what's going on?" Ryo said in order to know what was going on. "I really don't understand you, Alice. For one moment, you're smiling then you're mad at me. What's your problem?"
Alice had placed her palms on her face as she heard those questions. She was still hurting just like before and still frustrated as ever.
"My problem? There's no problem! Miss Perfect is the one with the problem!" Alice answered as she gathered up her confidence once again.
Ryo finally concluded that Alice must have had an extreme grudge against the ladies that he dated.
"What do you got against Kara anyway?" Ryo asked, feigning concern towards her.
"Sometimes, I wished that I could have thrown you somewhere else so you could have a piece of mind!" Alice answered as she furiously punched her hand and made a pounding sound. "But it's definitely not my face who's the problem! It's her!"
"What do you mean?" Ryo asked and realized that Alice must be mad for something. "Why do you got against Kara?"
"I told you that it's not my face," Alice answered calmly.
"Why would you even care about Kara anyway?" Ryo asked in confusion.
"I don't!" Alice retorted.
"You don't?" Ryo asked, confused with her actions lately.
"No!" Alice added.
"No, what?" Ryo asked again.
"I don't know!" Alice yelled as she shrugged violently.
"What do you mean with YOU DON'T KNOW?" Ryo asked, now confused with the blonde's actions.
Alice began to connect her two fingers together as she was in the middle of figuring something out.
"Just tell me, Ryo… What did she see in you? You told me that she turned you down because she's not ready," Alice asked because she was bitter because when Kara reappeared in Ryo's life, she was already forgotten. "And now, she's trying to get back to you just because you're rich and famous already?"
Even if he knew that he loved Alice more, there was a genuine stance that would keep him wondering why every other girl loved him and that also included Tamiko which he detested at one point.
"At least she treats me like I'm somebody!" Ryo pointed out as he remembered why Kara had been special to him when they were younger.
"Has she always loved you when you're a nobody?!" Alice asked in exclamation.
"Nobody loved me when I was a nobody!" Ryo answered with conviction.
Alice's eyes widened at the fact. Oh yeah, she only told him that she liked him.
"I did!" Alice answered in order to clear Ryo's assumptions.
Ryo looked in shock as he realized that Alice was really into him ever since then. After finally exploding with her feelings, the blonde felt relieved. She placed her heart near her chest as she realized that her feelings were taken for granted because he did not feel it.
"Before the money… And before the fame… Before everything else!" Alice answered as she felt sadness coming up from her throat. "To me you're a somebody, Ryo… Now you're just like everybody else… Somebody on the outside yet nothing in the inside…"
Ryo realized that Alice was still keeping her feelings for him. He could not find the words to say now that he knew that they were true already.
"I'm gonna say it one last time. I loved you and I hate that I still do!" Alice answered in frustration now that the past had engulfed her already. "I already accepted before that we can't be more than friends but I still don't know why fate brought me to you and we became each other's co-worker… Even if I'm always mad at you for playing tricks on me, I realized that I couldn't stay at that point because you're unforgettable to me. Even if you caused so much pain for me."
Ryo finally realized that Alice had a point. He could not believe that the girl he loved the most was still in love with him. He took a deep breath so he could say the right words to say.
"Uh… Alice?" Ryo asked, extending his hand to help her.
Alice immediately shoved Ryo's hand away from her.
"No… Forget it!" Alice answered back as she realized that tears had been welling up in her eyes and were waiting to come out. "Just go. Because I'm tired hearing everything that you had wasn't good enough… including me."
Ryo then decided to go outside so that he could take a rest and ponder what had just occurred earlier. That was why she was sometimes mad at him whenever he talked to him. It was because she was trying her best to avoid her feelings for him. And now that he knew she still loved him, he could not get himself to tell the truth as well. He was gulfed up with the assumption that Alice hated him for rejecting her before so he was trying his best to win her affections so much.
God, I'm such a living bullshit! Ryo thought. I don't even know why I had to keep my pride high and tell everything to her.
Ryo then went to the garage so he could drive also the car and go around so he could rethink of everything he did. what was actually the purpose of his modeling anyway? To get back to the girls who used to flock him during the Digimon era but it only turned out to be worse. He only became famous because of his looks, not because of his personality.
When he started the car radio, the radio played a song that would describe him and Alice.
~ Knife, cuts like a knife
How will I ever heal?
Im so deeply wounded
Knife, cuts like a knife
You cut away the heart of my life ~
And another was also a song about his life and his feelings for her.
~ Don't know what to do whenever you are near
Don't know what to say, my heart is floating in tears
When you pass by I could fly
Every minute, every second of the day
I dream of you in the most special way
You're beside me all the time
All the time... ~
Lastly, it was all about his sincerity this time. Too bad, he ruined it.
~ It's true
I mean it
From the bottom of my heart
Yeah, it's true
Without you I would fall apart ~
Meanwhile, Alice felt that the tears came out from her blue eyes. After keeping her secret for so long, now she realized that the truth had hurt a lot. She was consoling herself in the dining room when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. when she looked up, she saw that it was Genji.
"Did you two have an argument?" Genji asked, trying to sound kindly for her.
Alice nodded sadly and returned to drying her eyes. She sniffed eventually as well.
"Hey… It'll be okay," Genji assured as he rubbed his hands on the blonde's back.
Alice smiled ruefully as she hugged the manager.
"What are your plans now?" Genji asked, hoping that he could change the blonde's mind.
"Well, my one month contract with you two seemed to be getting near already… and America's been calling me as well… I just realized that maybe I needed a fresh start in my life. All the pain in the past had returned already and it hurts," Alice continued with a sigh. "I told you this one already, Genji."
Genji only nodded as he let the blonde continue.
"What about Ryo?" Genji asked, wanting to hear answers from the blonde.
Alice only shrugged because she herself did not know what to do with the model anymore. She was tired already with the events.
"I don't know," Alice answered. "Not that he cared anyway."
Genji was inclined to believe that what transpired earlier was really true.
"Besides, what am I to him anyway?" Alice asked, trying to sort things out. "What does he know about what I feel, right?"
Genji only consoled the young woman. "Just let it out, Alice. When he comes back… I don't even know too. All I know is that you told him everything. I'm not saying that I take sides but I see that your situation is getting more complicated with each passing day, whether you'll treat Ryo as someone else."
"Thanks a lot, Genji… for understanding me…" Alice said as she understood as well what he meant. "But I need to do something for now."
"Same here," Genji answered as he walked away from Alice.
Meanwhile, Ryo went to the bar so he could figure out his thoughts. The bar was full of his friends because of his continuation of celebrating the success of Ryo's fashion line. As he was thinking, he heard a feminine voice.
"Hey, Ryo!" she said.
Ryo turned around and saw Tamiko. His face even looked grim after seeing her.
"All your friends are here…" Tamiko remarked.
"Not all my friends," Ryo countered. Oh Alice.
"Oh let me guess… She told you that she loves you, is that it?" Tamiko asked sarcastically and placed her arm around Ryo's neck. Eventually, she followed it with a sarcastic laugh.
Ryo realized that Tamiko just stated the reason why he was at the bar already today.
"You know… I don't think that this is gonna work out…" Ryo said as he attempted to shove Tamiko away from him.
When Tamiko felt the obvious gesture, she did not understand what Ryo meant.
"Wait… Are you dumping me?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"For the record, Tamiko… We were never together," Ryo explained, straight to the point.
Now that she knew who the girl who actually had Ryo's heart was, Tamiko's blood boiled in anger. For her no one could take her private property.
"Let me explain something to you." Tamiko answered and raised her right hand. With this, she slapped the model straight in the face causing the model to wince.
Ryo felt his stinging cheek with his hand but he realized that the woman he was in love with had a better character than her.
"You will regret that you didn't choose me!" Tamiko demanded angrily as she turned her heels and walked away.
Ryo was not even afraid even his cheek stung in pain. He was now ready to stand and fight for Alice. As he was gathering his strength to stand up, he felt for his phone and saw that it was Genji calling.
"Ryo, we need to talk. Meet me at the downtown cafe."
At the same time, Alice was walking outside so she could accomplish and finalize her flight to America. She decided to resign because being with Ryo would imply another wrong thing happening to them. Everything was fine until that stupid passed came up to her.
Just as she was about to hail a cab, she saw someone familiar. When she squinted, she saw that it was Kara Matsui, the woman that Ryo brought before in his home.
"Hi!" the woman greeted. "Alice McCoy, right?"
Alice wore a surprised look. Why was she greeting her?
"Uhm… hi?" Alice returned reluctantly.
"I have known your name already but I feel like I've seen you somewhere," Kara said.
When we're in high school, Alice thought. "Uhm… Shinjuku High?" she confirmed.
Kara's face lit up and began to smile. "Oh right! I saw you there!" she laughed. "Silly me!"
What does she want anyway? Alice thought. Wasn't she contented for taking back Ryo?
"Uh…" Alice stammered because she did not know what to do for now.
"Anyway, aside from high school, I also think I really saw you here!" Kara recalled. "Here in Ryo's home!"
Alice scratched her head. Why did I forget that she ended up in Ryo's room two days ago?
"How did you know that it's me?" Alice asked.
"You have a picture with Ryo and his manager hanging in his house!" Kara pointed out. "If I'm not mistaken as well, I saw you in his phone. a picture of you was in his phone!"
Alice covered her mouth in embarrassment. Fuck.
"Anyway, I need to say something…" Kara answered.
The blonde listened intently. What is it this time?
"Since you're the girl who's with Ryo right now, I wanna say that… please take care of him," Kara answered and held Alice's hand.
"What do you mean?" Alice asked, confused.
Kara laughed humorously. "The other night when Ryo and I were… you know…"
"What?" the blonde's eyes became wide as plates.
"No, not that!" Kara laughed off. "We just kissed."
Why did she say it? Alice thought in disgust.
"Yeah… We kissed… But I felt that something was bothering Ryo and that led to my conclusion that he was thinking about someone else. Then, as the night went on, I heard that he was mentioning the name Alice. When I figured out, it was you he was mentioning!" Kara answered.
Then what does this have to do with anything? The blonde asked in her mind.
"Me? How could you be so sure?" Alice asked, now getting confused even the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle already fit.
"He mentioned Alice McCoy. Does that ring a bell to you?" Kara explained. "At first, I thought it's just a fidget of my imagination but the words became audible to me. It's you he's mumbling."
"What did he mean with that?" Alice asked.
Kara was only amused at the blonde's confusion.
"Are you really dense, Alice?" Kara asked. "I think, because of that, Ryo's in love with you."
Even Alice did not want to hear it, her heart beat in anticipation as she heard Kara's words. Ryo, in love with her? How come?
What does he know about love? Alice thought.
"Alice?" Kara asked. "Can you hear me?"
Alice's mind returned to reality as she heard the woman saying something.
"Uh… Yeah! I do hear you," Alice confirmed. "You can't be serious, Kara. It's you he loves, not me."
"Oh stop it, Alice…" Kara answered. "He's not in love with me anymore. What happened last time was just an effect of after going to the bar. He loves you, not me. We're just a fidget of each other's past!"
Alice felt glum all of a sudden. But all was said and done so nothing would change it.
At that moment inside her house, Tamiko was calling someone in her phone. she was up to something else.
"Hello?" Tamiko spoke up.
"Hey, Tamiko! What's up?" the man said. It was Davis Motomiya who was from the other line.
"Davis, have you heard of a girl named Alice McCoy?"
"Yeah… She's the one who busted me… And I just saw her at a model's party… Who that model was? oh yeah! That Ryo Akiyama! What about Alice anyway?"
"That girl is a hindrance to me and Ryo! I can't have Ryo just because of Alice!"
"I should've known. She kept on busting me and that made it worse when Ryo was with her. I think they have a relationship or something!"
"I need your help, Davis. I need to eliminate that blonde! She's getting into my way!"
"Are you crazy? I love Alice but you can't just kill her!"
"Of course we won't kill her!" Tamiko replied raucously. "You love her and I love Ryo. It just takes two to remove the excess two!"
"You're right! What's the plan?" Davis said.
Then Tamiko started whispering her plan to Davis.
"That sounds sneaky… But I like it," Davis chuckled.
"But I'm gonna start calling some friends of mine so we could execute the plan… as soon as possible!" Tamiko declared.
"Why don't you start now, Tamiko?" Davis suggested.
"Good idea," Tamiko answered.
When she arrived back at the Akiyama residence, Alice was getting second thoughts after Kara revealed something vital towards her. But even if she knew that it could be partly true or partly false, she was still bent on fixing her trip to America. She already had her passport, ticket and plane reservation to America which she took it from the airport just now.
Whatever Kara told me, it must be a joke, Alice thought. But she's a lady too. She can't just kid around or something!
"Uhm… Miss? We're here already!" the driver hollered towards her.
Her mind returned back to reality as she heard the driver said those words. She fidgeted for her purse and took money from it. she gave it to the driver and hopped off the cab.
"Thanks, Mister," Alice answered.
~ I don't know what to do
There is no easy way of letting go
But I know there's no sense
In holding on too much to something fading
Help me, Help me
Help me get over you ~
I don't know what to feel anymore, Alice thought.
However, just as she was walking towards the house, she felt as if someone was spying on her.
Is that me or I'm just imagining things? Alice thought.
However, at that very moment, there was a black van parked meters away from the Akiyama home. Inside it were three men who were clothed in black.
"Hello, Ma'am? We're here already," the first man said.
"Just make sure that she won't recognize you for now," the woman in the other line commanded. It was actually Tamiko who had the plot to remove Alice away from Ryo's life.
"Sure, Ma'am! Your old safehouse?"
"Yes. My old safehouse! Just do your job and you'll expect your reward," Tamiko replied.
"Yes, Ma'am!" the man said.
When he had hung up, he looked at his fellowmen and began to smile deviously.
"Come on, Men! We've got a big work to do!" he said.
With this, they hopped out of the car and saw the blonde who was just making her way towards the door. They eventually walked quickly towards the front porch and found her immediately.
Alice noticed that she was being followed so she quickened in finding the keys. When she found them successfully, she eventually opened the door with the keys and got inside as quickly as she could. She felt her heart race in anticipation.
Who the hell would be following me here? Alice thought.
Outside stood the three men and they waited for her impatiently because they were set in kidnapping Alice for the reward of five hundred thousand yen.
"Boss, she's inside the house. What shall we do?" the second one asked the first. He was black-haired, wiry yet short in height.
"Let's bang the door down. Men, it's five hundred thousand! What more could you ask for, right?" the leader asked his fellowmen.
"Then let's go!" the third one declared.
Eventually the three men ran towards the Akiyama residence and reached the door. When they reached it, they banged the door.
Inside, Alice felt afraid because she heard banging on the door. Were people following her? Surely her life must be in danger just because she was a subordinate of Ryo and nothing else. With this, she decided to open the door to see if she could face the truth.
When she opened the door, she saw three odd men wearing black. What was going on?
"Hello?" Alice asked as she held the knob tightly. Oh no. Please.
"Are you Alice McCoy?" the first man asked. He was of wiry and medium built height.
Alice did not know what to do if she would say yes or no. She was not ready for these things.
"Let's get her!" the second one declared as he immediately took a spray can and gassed it in front of the blonde.
COUGH! COUGH! Alice coughed as she tried her best to avert the scent.
Unfortunately, the strong smell of the gas irritated the blonde's nose which caused her to pass out and fall towards the floor. The third one, which was wiry and tall, picked her up from her falling stance.
"Now we had finally gotten that Alice! Miss Tamiko will be proud of us!" the third one remarked as he held the young woman.
"Correct!" the first one declared. "We've better get out now before somebody sees us!"
With that, the three thugs went away from the Akiyama home and the bag fell down and left an important clue: Alice's passport. The three closed the door very loudly and the leader informed Tamiko that they got Alice as hostage already.
"Good job, boys!" Tamiko said as she found that her greatest nemesis would be soon gone with her life.
"Yes, Ma'am!" the thug answered and he hung up. "Boys, let's bring her to the safehouse. She will be safe there!"
Meanwhile, Genji and Ryo were at a café. They went out because the manager needed to talk to the model.
"Ryo, can I have a word with you?" Genji asked seriously.
"Yeah. What's it?" Ryo asked, hoping to get a positive answer. "It's about Alice, isn't it?"
"Yes. Ryo, I know you've been blind to see but look, Alice is right there in front of you," Genji sighed. "I'm an avid fan of your team-up so please don't make me feel bad because you were just an idiot to notice a girl who's with you anyway."
Ryo felt that the manager's words struck through his chest. He needed to talk to Alice so he could tell her that he was really sorry for what he did to her. he missed her so bad even for so many hours, she was not yet ready to talk to him.
"You know what, Genji?" Ryo asked.
"What?" Genji asked.
"I'm going to go home and tell Alice how sorry I am and how I really feel," Ryo answered as he smiled as well. "This is what I actually wanted so I just didn't know why everything had to turn out this way."
"That's my lad." Genji smiled.
