TRIGGER WARNING: ATTEMPTED SEXUAL ASSAULT, VIOLENCE

They finished filming for the day around 8:30 PM. Kuu had rushed out to the parking garage to his Jaguar and driven home in a hurry. Surprised that he had not been pulled over for being so reckless, he arrived at his apartment building unscathed and made a mad dash for his suite. When he got there, he tidied up as best he could. If tonight went the way he hoped, he didn't want Julie to think he lived like a pig. Then again, he thought wickedly, if things go the way I hope, she'll be looking at my bedroom, not my living room.

He got into the shower after making sure his place looked neat and orderly, and scrubbed off the day's sweat. The set lights were hot, and by the end of the day, he always smelled bad. He owed this to his space-alien-that-was-actually-probably-of-European-descent father. When he got out of the shower, he styled his hair and then went to his closet. He picked out a pair of black slacks that he knew looked good on his legs and ass, and a long sleeve steel gray button-up. He left the top couple of buttons unbuttoned to expose some of his chest, and dabbed on some cologne. After checking himself out in the mirror, he took a deep breath. All right, Hizuri. Let's go impress this girl.

He headed back out to his car and drove across town to The Kabuki Lounge. He gave his keys to the valet out front, and several camera flashes went off at once.

"Hozu-san! Look here!"

He waved at the paparazzi, and the bouncer lifted the velvet rope for him and waved him in, causing a groan from the line, of mostly guys, waiting outside. He walked down a hallway and through a beaded curtain into a large, dark room that had three levels. On the first level, there was a dance floor and a bar, with tables off to the sides. On the second level, there were private tables with curtains to hide people from view. Kuu looked up at the third level and swallowed. It was an open secret that the Yakuza operated the club. He knew that some really nefarious shit happened on the third level, mostly drug use and prostitution. He made it a point to stay the hell away from the third level.

He weaved through the darkened room toward the bar as the bass from the music pounded through his chest. Colored laser lights cut through the smoke in the room. The whole place smelled like an ashtray. When he reached the bar, he ordered a whisky. He nursed the glass as he looked around the room, hoping to find Julie's beautiful blonde waves bouncing around the crowd. After a few minutes, and after a few different women had come to shoot their shot, he decided to try looking down from the second floor.

He made his way up the stairs and stood by the railing to look down. As he did so, there was a small commotion from behind the curtain of a nearby private table.

"Aw, come on. Don't be like that, babe. You don't wanna do it here? Is that it?"

Kuu almost laughed. He himself had definitely had sex in one of those private booths before, and he knew he wasn't the first, and knew he wouldn't be the last. The curtain opened, and a tall guy with a nose ring and frosted tips in his hair slid out.

"We can go upstairs, baby, it's more private."

Kuu saw a long leg kick out weakly from the booth, and the guy with the nose ring grabbed the girl's ankle. "You ain't gotta kick me, babe. I'm gonna make you feel so good." Kuu's fingers tightened on the railing as he realized the situation probably wasn't as it had seemed before. His search for Julie would have to be postponed. He turned around to confront the guy, and his whisky fell from his hand to shatter on the floor.

"Julie?"

Nose Ring Guy was supporting what seemed to be her full weight against him. It was clear to Kuu that she was unable to stand. He couldn't see her face, but he would know her hair anywhere. The guy with the nose ring pulled her along toward the stairs. Toward the third floor.

Kuu grabbed her hand that was laying limp at her side. "Whoa, dude, where do you think you're going?"

The guy with the nose ring looked over Julie's head. "I'm taking my girl upstairs to fuck. You got a problem with that?"

Julie's head lolled around and she looked at Kuu through hooded, unfocused eyes. Her mouth was moving, but nothing was coming out. Kuu looked up at the Nose Ring Guy. "You fucking drugged her, you piece of shit." He saw red.

The guy dropped her to the floor and tried to run, but Kuu caught him by the collar. He swung him around to face him and planted a right hook firmly on his jaw. The creep fell to the floor, unmoving. When Kuu saw that the guy wasn't going to get up, he knelt beside Julie and patted her cheek.

"Duris-san. Can you hear me?"

The next curtain over opened, and a guy stepped out. "Whoa! What the fuck happened here!?"

Kuu motioned at the nose ring scumbag. "This guy drugged my friend and was trying to take her upstairs."

Security was called, and then the police came. While they questioned the scumbag, Kuu opened Julie's purse in hopes of finding a number he could call to reach her father, or figure out where they were staying. When he found nothing but a glasses case, lipstick, a hotel key card, and condoms, he shut the purse and ran his hand through his hair. Fuck. An officer shined a light in Julie's eyes and checked her pulse. "She's been roofied." He looked up at Kuu. "She is very lucky that you were there, Hozu-san."

Kuu's skin was covered in goosebumps. "Is she going to be okay?"

The officer nodded. "It's going to take a while for the drug to wear off, and she's probably going to have a bad hangover from it, but her pulse is steady and she's breathing fine. Will someone be able to stay with her for the night?"

Kuu nodded. "She can stay with me, I'll handle it."

The officer nodded. "I encourage you to bring her to the station tomorrow. Maybe she can tell us what happened." He gave Kuu a business card, and then helped Kuu get her into the passenger seat of his Jag. Kuu drove home to his apartment a total ball of nerves. This was absolutely not how he had expected to get her to come home with him.

When they got to his place, he put Julie unceremoniously over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes so he could open the doors. Thankfully, she wasn't very heavy. He carried her to the elevator after making excuses to the doorman, and then down the hall to his suite. When they got inside, he took her immediately to his bedroom and laid her down on the futon, on her side.

He smoothed her hair away from her face and pulled her strappy heels off before covering her up. He went to the other room and picked up his cordless phone. He punched in a number and waited.

"Who is this calling at almost 11:00?"

"Lory, it's Kuu."

Lory heard the panic in his friend's voice and sat up in bed. Kouki lay next to him, fast asleep, his hand tucked under his cheek. "Kuu? Are you all right?"

"It's Julie. Some asshole drugged her at the club."

Lory froze. "Jesus Christ! Is she okay!?," he whispered in a panic.

"She's okay, but I didn't know where to take her, so she's at my place. I didn't want Eltra to worry, but I don't have his number."

Lory shook his head. "Don't worry about it, I'll call him. You're sure she's okay?"

"One of the cops checked her out. He said she'll be all right, just needs to sleep it off."

"Are you okay?"

Kuu flexed the fingers of his right hand and winced. "Might have broken my hand on the guy's face, but other than that, peachy."

Lory smirked. "Good man. I'll call you in the morning to check in, okay?"

Kuu nodded. "Thank you, Lory."

"Goodnight, Kuu."

Kuu went back to the other room. Julie was right where he had left her, but she looked somewhat more peaceful. Her eyeliner had smudged against the pillow, and her lipstick was smudged down the side of her mouth, but Kuu could still say that he had never seen a more beautiful woman. He shook his head. I can't keep staring at her like this, it's fucking creepy. He went to his dresser and found a pair of pajama pants and a shirt for himself, and a set for her as well. He left hers folded up next to the futon for her.

He went to the kitchen and got her a glass of water, and fetched his bottle of aspirin from the bathroom, along with the small trash can from the corner. He left those beside the clothes as well. After he checked her again to make sure that she was breathing okay, he ventured out to the living room to find somewhere nice on the floor to sleep.

The following morning, Julienna Duris felt like the inside of her skull had imploded. She opened one of her eyes just a fraction. The thin sliver of light between the curtains felt like a dagger being driven into her eye. She rolled over, and a wave of vertigo overtook her, and then a wave of nausea. She opened her eyes, even though it hurt, to search for a receptacle in which to vomit. She grabbed the tiny trash can and hurled.

When she finished, she set the can down and took stock of her surroundings. Panic gripped her when she realized she was in an unfamiliar place… in an unfamiliar bed. She took a steadying breath and tried to remember the night before. She remembered getting to the club with her friend, Mika, and that Mika had paired off with some guy and left her at the bar by herself. A guy with a nose ring had bought Julie a drink. He had been nice, but not really Julie's type, and that's where everything went fuzzy.

She looked at the glass of water and the bottle of aspirin, and the clothes next to them. Then she looked down at herself. She was fully clothed, except for her shoes. Wherever I am, she thought, they took care of me. That thought brought her some measure of comfort. She swished some of the water around in her mouth to get the taste of vomit out and then spit it into the trash can before using the rest to take some aspirin. Her cute silver sequin spaghetti strap dress smelled awful, like she had rolled around in a pile of cigarettes, so she decided to dress in the clothes that had been left for her.

Kuu, who was busy in the kitchen, did not hear her stirrings. He had his right hand in a bowl of ice water and was using the other to make an omelet, wolf it down, and then make another one so that when Julie awoke, it would seem that he had eaten a perfectly normal amount of food with her. If she chose to eat there. God how he hoped she would have breakfast with him at least.

"...Hozu-san?"

Kuu turned to find Julie barefoot in his oversized pajamas. The light from the living room window shone through her golden hair like a halo. He stared at her for a moment, dumbstruck. Beautiful. He shook himself out of it and turned his stove off. "Duris-san. I'm very glad you're awake. Are you feeling alright?"

She covered her mouth and shook her head as tears started falling down her cheeks. Kuu grabbed one of his kitchen towels and passed it to her. He led her over to one of the chairs in the living room and sat her down in it. When she collected herself, she looked at him fearfully.

"Did we…?"

He shook his head. "No. Absolutely not." He told her how he had found her the night before (conveniently leaving out the part where he had only gone to the club to find her in the first place) and the goings on afterward. She looked down at his hand, which was red, swollen, and bruised.

"I'm so sorry you had to get involved, Hozu-san!"

He shook his head. "I'm just glad I was there, Duris-san." He got to his feet. "I'm making breakfast, if you'd like to eat something."

She waved her hands in front of her. "Oh, I couldn't impose on you like that! I've bothered you enough!"

He chuckled. "You think having a beautiful girl in my apartment is a bother? You'd be doing me a favor by having breakfast with me. Please? I've been told I make a pretty good omelet."

Julie's stomach roared its agreement, but she was scared. What if I overeat in front of him? I'll gross him out for sure! And he's been so kind. Shit! She looked at his face and found the largest, most comical puppy dog eyes staring back at her. "I… okay. I'll have breakfast with you."

Kuu hustled back into the kitchen and made two omelets. When he set the plate on the coffee table in front of Julie, her eyes sparkled. She took a bite, and they went wide. "Where did you learn to cook like this!?"

He smiled. "My Grandmother taught me."

"This is the best thing I've ever tasted!"

At that, he blushed. "Thank you, Duris-san."

She shook her head. "Julie. Please call me Julie, Hozu-san."

Kuu was sure that he had died and gone to paradise. He cleared his throat. "In that case, please call me Kuu."

She raised her eyebrow. "Kuu? Is that a nickname?"

He shook his head, "It's my real name. Kuu Hizuri."

She covered her mouth. "Such secret, privileged information!"

He laughed. "I've never really thought of it like that. I just thought Shuuhei Hozu sounded a lot cooler."

Julie giggled. "Well, Shuuhei Hozu is alright, but Kuu Hizuri can knock a guy out with one punch."

Kuu laughed, but his stomach felt like it was full of butterflies. "Kuu Hizuri can also bust his hand doing that. Shuuhei Hozu probably could have knocked that guy out with a finger flick."

She looked up at him through her lashes. "All the same, I think Kuu Hizuri is pretty cool."

Kuu was fairly extroverted for a Japanese man, but her comment made him blush. He didn't know what to say, and so was happy when his phone rang. He picked it up. "Lory? That you?"

"Sorry, no. It's Tora. May I speak to Julie?" Kuu could hear the panic in Eltra's voice.

"Of course, sir. One moment." He passed the phone to Julie. "It's your father."

She took the phone. "Daddy?" Kuu couldn't hear the entire conversation, but he saw Julie's eyes fill with tears as she smiled. "Yes, Daddy. I'm okay. Kuu took care of me." Then her cheeks burned red and she clapped a hand over her eyes. "No, Daddy. He was a gentleman. He even made me breakfast. Yes, Daddy." She cleared her throat. "Okay. I'll see you then. I love you, too." She hung up and handed the phone back to Kuu. "He'll be here to get me in 15 minutes."

Kuu smiled, but his heart sank. He wanted so badly to keep her there. He wanted to ask her on a date, but after the events of the night before, he didn't feel that it would be appropriate. That in itself made him want to go down to the police precinct and hit Nose Ring Guy again. He started walking back to the bedroom to clean up, but Julie rushed in front of him. "I'll clean it up! Don't worry about it!" She left him out in the hallway and shut the door in his face.

Ah, she must have puked, he thought with a quiet chuckle. He went back to the kitchen to clean up while Julie cleaned out the trash can and washed her makeup off in the bathroom.

When she saw herself in the mirror, she was horrified. He saw me like this!? And then she stilled. Why do I care if he saw me like this? She leaned on the sink and looked herself over in the mirror and thought about his new use of the Russian language, his pajamas she was wearing, the delicious omelet he had made for her, and his injured hand. Shit, she thought. I think I'm falling for him.

She poked her head out of the bathroom. "Um… Kuu-san, do you mind if I wear these clothes home? I'll give them back to you soon."

"Not a problem, Julie-san."

When she came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, she had rolled the pajama pants up to her knees, was wearing the oversized t-shirt off one shoulder, and had her hair in a bun on top of her head. She was also wearing her glasses. She had managed to make Kuu's frumpy old band tee and flannel pajama pants look chic as hell. It didn't even look all that silly when she put her strappy heels on by the door.

He slipped his own shoes on and gestured toward the door. "I'll walk you down."

As they walked, Julie cleared her throat. "I just want to say, thank you for everything you did. I'm really glad you were there last night."

He shook his head. "Don't think anything of it. Anyone else would have done the same thing."

Julie smiled. "I don't know that they would have taken me home and cooked me breakfast, though."

He smiled. "Maybe not."

They went outside where Eltra Duris was standing on the curb. He hugged Julie close to him and kissed the top of her head. "Oh, thank God you're okay." He turned his attention to Kuu and shook his head. "Thank you, Kuu-san. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

Kuu waved his hand at the man. "No. I don't need repayment. I'm just glad Julie-san is okay."

Tora helped Julie into the car and turned back to Kuu. "You say you don't need repayment, but I say that I'm indebted to you. If you ever need help with a job, or anything, you let me know."

Kuu bowed to him. "I appreciate that, sir."

Kuu watched them drive away, his heart falling once more.

In the car, Tora was smiling at Julie. "You like that boy, don't you?"

Julie kept her eyes trained out the window. "Who? Kuu? He's okay."

Tora smirked. "'He's okay', she says, walking out here wearing his clothes."

She blushed. "My clothes smell bad, Daddy."

"I'm sure that's the only reason. And certainly why you styled them so cutely."

"You're just as bad as Lory," she said, crossing her arms and looking out the window in irritation.

Tora laughed. He knew his daughter all too well. He started mentally preparing himself for the coming weeks. He knew they would be anything but quiet.

:3 I hope everyone's enjoying the story. If you're liking it, leave a review! I guess if you're hating it, leave one too so I know what's wrong with it. Just please do so without being needlessly cruel. lol SEE Y'ALL NEXT WEEK! - BO