Dohko had lived a long life and seen it all. Migrated to America after the Chinese cultural revolution, he made a living with his restaurant and giving kung-fu lessons. His customers were his mentees, family, and friends. Among them was Aiolus, an attorney in his thirties who was also one of his many martial arts students when he was in his teens.

Aiolus had called him, saying that he has a client who needs his help. He did say it's a "she", but he did not mention any name. Since Aiolus worked in a law firm that had many wealthy clients, Dohko guessed that it could be some VIP in town.

The door opened and a young woman walked in. She wore a white lace dress and a pair of large shades. She had wavy blonde hair with some purple highlights. After she removed her shades, he could see that she has beautiful blue eyes.

She was attractive, but Dohko found her a little too skinny.

"Hi," she greeted him. "I'm here to see Mr. Dohko."

"That's me."

She looked at him in disbelief. "Aiolus said that you are in your seventies, but you look so much younger."

"I age well," Dohko laughed. Indeed, at first glance, one might think he was only in his late forties.

"Anyway, you see, I have a friend who needs protection," she said uneasily. "There're some crazy people harassing her. She needs a bodyguard. Aiolus said that she should come here to talk to you."

"Is this friend you?"

"Sort of."

"I don't run a bodyguard ring," Dohko said. "But I can give you some names."

"I can't just take anyone," she said. "I have some criteria." She took a seat and went on, "I need someone who's taller than me. Personality-wise he must be humble and loyal and no drama. Physically, he can't be too attractive because I want him to blend in with the crowd. When I need him, he must be on his job. And above all, he has to be a credible witness. You know anyone that fits these criteria?"

"Actually, I do have a name in mind."

"Really?"

"Come tomorrow afternoon, and I'll introduce him to you."

"Can it be early morning? The sun will be too strong for my skin in afternoons."

"Oh my apologies, how could I forget? That's so important. How about let's make it evening?"

"Perfect, I'll come by after six o'clock, when the sun is setting."

She took out a travel size sunscreen spray from her purse and applied it on her neck, arm, and legs. Then, she set her phone's timer on for 30 minutes.

"Would you like to order anything?" Dohko offered her a menu.

"No, thanks," she declined. "Too much sodium. You wouldn't mind if I wait here for a while? A lot of people don't know this but you should wait for 30 minutes after you apply your sunscreen before going out there in the sun."

"What is your name, young lady?"

"Sienna."

"Is that your real name?"

"Yes," she nodded, eying a book on the counter. "You like that novel?"

The Spartan Queen by Isabel Athena

"I never read it," Dohko replied. "But Shunrei loves it. She works for me in the back. A lot of my customers love this book too."

She gave him a smile.

Dohko picked up the phone. "Shiryu," he began and continued in Mandarin. After he hung up, he said to her, "Come tomorrow. I have the perfect candidate for you."

"I'll be here," she said. She sat and played games on her phone until her timer went off. "Okay, I guess it's time for me to head home."

She left in a taxi.

As agreed, she came back the next day at 6 o'clock in the evening. All tables were filled. She sat at the front until a young woman with a long braid came to her.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, Mr. Dohko said that he has someone for me to meet."

"Miss Sienna, right?"

She nodded.

The young woman, Shunrei, headed to the back.

A few minutes later, a young man came to her and sat. She looked at him and found his face quite young but his arms were very muscular. He wore a red T-shirt and simple jeans. He wasn't making eye contact and certainly didn't look too friendly.

"You are the perfect candidate recommended by Mr. Dohko?" She asked him.

"Yeah," he replied. "Some rich girl who needs protection?"

"Okay," she rose from her seat. "Let's head to my place, and we'll talk it out."

He got up and followed her out of the restaurant. She put on her shades and said to him, "If you don't mind, I like to walk."

It took them more than 1 hour and a half to get to her place.

She lived in a gigantic white mansion. There was nobody else in the house except for the two of them.

"First of all, I want to assure you that I'm not in any legal trouble," she began. "When Mr. Dohko asked me for my name, I gave him a false one. My real name is Saori Kido. My attorney is a friend and a martial art student of his."

"Aiolus?"

"You know him?"

"He got me out of trouble pro bono."

Carefully, Saori moved her fruit knife a few inches closer to herself. "What kind of trouble were you in?"

"Street fights," he said simply without a once of shame. "I was an orphan grew up in a group home. Got in some trouble here and there. Aiolus got me out of detention center and introduced me to Dohko."

"He trained you?"

"Yes, he's a good mentor," he replied. "He said that this job will be good for me."

"Your record is clean, I assume? The charges were dropped thanks to Aiolus?"

"How clean is yours?"

Before she could answer, her phone rang; it was an unrecognized number. The caller though, left a voicemail and a text.

"I'm no criminal," Saori said, ignoring her phone. "Aiolus works in a firm with my father's business attorney. Aiolus is Greek as am I, so we have a connection. My parents recently split, and it was an ugly divorce. My father is out of the town with his friend Tatsumi. He has been gone longer than I expected. My mother, or now my stepmother, has been harassing me. She's been spreading malicious rumors about me and her righthand man is very mean. I love walking but I've been hiding in this house and taking taxi to avoid her. Aiolus said that I should get a bodyguard so I can feel safer."

He rolled his eyes.

"Look, I'm serious. All I need is for you to be by my side, a few feet away, when I'm not in this house. If my stepmother's righthand man is being mean to me, just intimidate him with a nasty look. And if it comes to, I need you to step up as a witness."

"How much are you paying me?"

She placed a document and a pen in front of him. "I went through this with Aiolus. I'll pay you-"

"No need," he pushed the document away. "Just pay for my meal. I don't need to be paid big bucks for your rich girl problems."

"Fine," Saori said. "I'm okay with that. I have a very organized schedule, and I can share it with you in the Cloud. I eat breakfast in a Greek diner in the morning, usually about 7. I walk there and back. I do my walks in the evening after sunset for about an hour or two. At times, I'd go out to places here and there. So altogether, just a couple of hours in the morning and a couple of hours in the evening. I guess that means I'm providing you breakfast and dinner."

"Whatever you say boss."

"Don't call me that," Saori said with slight annoyance.

"Fine, princess."

"Can you tell me your name?"

"Seiya."

"You have a phone?"

Seiya gave her his number.

"I'm giving you a code name: Pegasus," Saori said. "When I need you, I'll text you your code name, and please be on your job ."

"Whatever you say, princess." He threw on his jacket and left the mansion without a word.