Security Work for a Broken Maiden

"I thought I'll only be the one to guard her."

"Don't be like that, Rai-kun… Mana just finished her training herself, so I don't want her to just loaf around here and get bored."

"…"

"Besides, it's not like you have to be around Akamine-chan throughout the day. In truth, most of your day would be spent on battling Malignances who has been cropping up and about again since that event in Aokigahara."

Three days after my fight with Miyazono Keiji, I was back to full health and decided to report for service to Yurippe. There, I was given the details about my task of protecting the girl that I saved from her stalker before I awakened as a Psychic. To my surprise though, I learned that my teammate and fellow Psychic, Fujikawa Mana, will be guarding her alongside me.

"Malignances, you say? Didn't we wipe them out last time when our team is active?"

"What are you talking about, Rai? That's already months ago. New Malignances has undoubtedly propped back up this time."

"I guess you're right, Mana… Time went by like a breeze to me that I didn't notice."

"Anyways, I'll be accompanying you in guarding this girl from the Miyazono's goons. Since they might've already knew that she is connected to their star basketball player who is now wanted and at-large, they might kidnap and forcibly silence her to save the reputation of their athletes."

"Wow… You seem to be confident on your combat skills now."

"Of course! I've gave it my all while being trained by Sir Lucas. I have more confidence on my skills now more than ever. See these? Wahaha! I've been working on these babies since I arrived there?"

"You mean that flabby belly of yours? Yep, seems like you've worked on indulging on sweets again."

"ARGH! It was my muscles that grew! And stop reminding me about my tummy! I'm doing extra core exercises to shrink it!"

"Aww~! Look at Mana-chan being conscious about her figure. Finally getting more lady-like, are we?"

"Not you too, Yurippe!"

After seeing that we are confident on our skills and readiness, Yurippe handed us our folders containing the details of our work.

"So… we will bring to school and take her back to her home every morning and evening… and if needed, we will intervene at instances where she is in danger from individuals not affiliated with the Miyazono corporation."

"Looks like Yurippe knows that she will receive bullying after being out of the school for long."

"Yep… add to that the fact that there might be some who would blame her for not accepting Isao's feelings and caused his "disappearance", there might not just be verbal, but at worst, physical bullying."

"You seem to already be pitying this girl…"

"That's because I was on her shoes at one point of time. Remember that jackass baseball team captain and his crew that I beat up after he made a move on me?"

"Oh yeah… I almost forgot about that."

"I only got to get out of that situation because he hit me first and I have the strength to beat them to a pulp… However, this girl seems to be pretty fragile hearted and weak-willed."

"…"

"What? You have something so say?"

"I wouldn't really say that she's weak-willed… more like she's pretty sensitive to others and don't want to impose her own self on them."

"Dude, that's literally what a weak-willed person is."

"…If you say so."

I wanted to deny Mana's thought that Kaori is weak-willed because I've seen her straining herself to save me by lifting me out of that place when I was beat up by Isao. Instead of minding her own safety and running away, she risked being bogged down by helping me get out of that place.

If that's not a proof of her strength of will, I don't know what else to call it.

"In any case, Kaori-chan will undoubtedly face animosity as soon as she gets back to school. There are idiots who idolized Isao and would blame her for it, skanks who would spread malicious rumors about her as a daft woman, or even some jerks who enjoy seeing others suffer because of their insults or actions."

"Right… Gotta check out for those creeps too."

After walking through the administrative office area and reaching the parking lot, we rode the car that was given to me by the Agency for this security mission.

"Geez… what's with this ride? It's a whole lot better than the car you drove when you and the kids stayed over at home."

"You seem to be enjoying yourself pretty well… You like riding in Pol-chan?"

"Pol-chan?"

"Yukari named this car Pol-chan since she can't pronounce "Poltergeist" yet. I thought it was cute, so I stuck with it."

"Heh! Pol-chan, huh? For a former Prime Minister's car, the name sounds really ironic."

"Yeah. Especially when this car has this…"

I pressed a button on the dashboard of the car and from her passenger seat, a hidden drawer popped out which contains two handguns and several loaded magazines.

"Woah! This car's getting more and more awesome!"

"Don't get carried away now… Remember, we're using this car to protect someone that the Agency considers as a VIP. Even if this car is effectively an armored personnel carrier, we're still posing as just a regular chauffeur service for her."

"Yeah, yeah. I know that…"

We drove around the city for a while to check out the desolate streets where unstable psychics or Malignances might be hanging out at. Thankfully, the most frequented and populated places are clear.

"Now, let's go to Akamine household and introduce ourselves to her parents."

"Yeah. I want to know who I am protecting after all."

"You look jolly since we started patrolling… Did you really enjoy riding here?"

"I do! Ah! Let me drive it this time, Rai-kun!"

Seeing that we will be going through a road that aren't normally driven on by any motorists, Mana almost snatched the wheel from me and asked to be the one to drive. However, I immediately and flatly rejected her.

"Nope."

"Eeeehhhh? Come on, just a turn around a corner and a drive on the freeway…?"

"I said no. First of all, you don't have any proper driving experience. Chaa-san said that you almost crashed his truck that contains our guns when you rode with him from Hokkaido after you fooled around in the driver's seat and loosened the hand brake."

"Urk-!"

"Second, you suck at judging distances. If I hand you the wheel, you may end up hitting the curb when turning around a corner or rear-ending a vehicle in front of us when we stop at an intersection."

"H-hey, that hurts already-"

"And lastly! You're underage! If we get caught by the police with you on the wheel, I will be the one who has to take the blame!"

"Darn it-! Wait… underage? Aren't we just the same age?"

"Hm? I am almost 18. I already applied for an early driving exam since my license would be printed after my birthday."

"E-Eighteen?!"

"Why are you so surprised?"

"I-I thought you're just 16! We are second-years in high school, y'know?!"

Huh… seems like I do look a bit younger than I actually am.

"Anyways, you won't be driving anything other than a bike for a while. I'll be glad to give you lessons once you get at least a student driver license, but right now it is too risky."

"Is that a promise?"

"…Sure. It's not that much of a big deal anyway."

Finally, we arrived in front of the house of the Akamine family. We pressed the doorbell and was greeted by the joyful face of Mrs. Akamine who welcomed us to the living room.

"I'm glad to see you again, Agent Rai. It's been a while since we last talked, yes?"

"It do is, madame… How has things been since then? Is your husband doing well at work again after Kaori was discharged?"

"He has, yes… With Kaori being back to full health, he can finally go back to the project that he was given in New Tokyo by the Miyazono architectural firm."

After our opening remarks, she turned to Mana who has been sitting there wordlessly for a while.

"Oh. Let me introduce my colleague who will be assisting me in my security work for Kaori. Her name is Fujikawa Mana."

"Fujikawa-san, is it?"

"Just Mana is enough, madame. I am not really used to too many formalities."

"I see, I see… Well, are you here to introduce yourself to Kaori?"

"Yes, ma'am. We want Kaori to be as comfortable as possible now that she'll be returning to her usual life. Even though we would be there to help her out until her case is resolved, we don't want to make things complicated for her."

"I understand… Well, let me call her from her room and prepare some snacks for you."

"Thank you, ma'am."

As Mrs. Akamine went upstairs, Mana nudged my elbow and pointed with her eye a picture frame on the wall.

"The picture is torn. Someone's head is not there."

"Yeah. It's just like how Sayaka-chan said it… they are half-siblings, and the revelation almost tore this family."

"What are you talking about?"

"Mrs. Akamine had Isao from an affair before Kaori was born."

After hearing that, I was shocked and became uneasy with that truth.

"Mr. Akamine must've doubted that Isao was his son after a while and arranged for a paternity test… when the gig was over, he forced his wife to send Isao to whoever she cheated with and may have contemplated about divorce… but with Mrs. Akamine being pregnant this time with his child, he just sent Isao to the other man and accepted his wife's infidelity for the sake of Kaori."

"…"

"You may have noticed it already but haven't realized it as truth yet… but Mr. Akamine's overprotectiveness for his child is probably due to the fact that she's the only thing mending their relationship as husband and wife… and for Mrs. Akamine, having Isao stalk and later almost assault Kaori was her comeuppance for her cheating."

"This family isn't as functional as I thought it was."

"Yep."

At last, Kaori went downstairs and sat at the couch in front of us with a shy expression on her face. She was wearing a cute shirt and cotton shorts, a normal get-up for someone at home.

"I'm glad to see that you're doing good, Kaori."

"T-Thank you, Rai-senpai…"

"So, you're Akamine-chan, huh? I've heard about you from your classmates and our colleagues."

"U-Um… who are you?"

"Hehe! I am Fujikawa Mana. Formerly from Class 2-D of Old Tokyo Academy. If it would be of any help in remembering me, I… Umm… I am the girl who beat up our baseball team last year which caused our loss during the season."

"Ah! Hot-headed Mana!"

"Urk!"

"Ah! I'm sorry for saying that, Senpai! I just remembered it and-"

"No, no… I deserved that… I definitely deserved that one."

The three of us conversed about small talk while we waited for Mrs. Akamine who is preparing some pastries and coffee for us. When it finally arrived, I asked for her to sit beside her daughter for a moment.

"I know that it is better to say this later when Mr. Akamine is also here, but with our schedule today in our agency, I'm afraid that you and Kaori would be the only ones to hear this from our lips."

"Don't worry, Rai-san. I will communicate it properly to my husband later."

"Mm… Well then, as you already know, I was tasked to provide security protection to Kaori-chan while Isao is still at-large. Although we highly doubt that he can ever come back to Japan through legal means or otherwise, we wish to be proactive and give her adequate protection from anything that may harm her."

"R-Rai-senpai…"

"There's also the issue regarding the possible harassment that she might receive after going back to school… We found out through some concerned students that rumors about Isao being framed by Kaori with a fake sexual assault charge has gone rounds throughout the school… with some of the students forming wilder and wilder hearsays that I'm not going to speak about anymore for the sake of Kaori-chan's feelings and self-esteem."

After hearing that, Kaori's shoulders quivered for a moment, seemingly feeling anxious and frustrated about what was happening behind her back. Mrs. Akamine had a frustrated expression on her face as well as she placed her arms around her daughter in order to comfort her.

"Unfortunately, we cannot do anything in that part… The National Data Privacy law forbids us from having a hand on the instigators' social media and messaging applications to stop the spread of the rumor… and going around to confront them in person would most likely do the opposite of what we want to do."

"We apologize for being the ones who said that you can depend on us and end up admitting right here that even we can do nothing… but right now, Kaori-chan… this is something that you have to resolve through your own strength. Both I and Ephraim want to apologize for our powerlessness."

Having Mana say those words to her was very valuable right now. Since both of them are women, Kaori can relate and accept her words more than me. And since she is aware that Mana had almost the same circumstance back then, that can act as an encouragement for her.

"Rai-san and Fujikawa-san…"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"I… I want to ask something about all of this. As Kaori's mother, I believe that I am entitled to ask this for her own sake."

"Ask away, ma'am."

"Well then… I want to ask about why a government agency seems to be invested in protecting my daughter when the one who assaulted her is already miles away from us and she's deemed to be back to full health again."

"Well…"

"Add to that the fact that you, Rai-san, paid all of our hospital bills in full through a debit account… I'm afraid that an ample explanation is due right now."

"…"

As soon as all of that was revealed, Mana looked at me in surprise. After all, Kaori was in that hospital for several months. Add to that the fee for specialist physicians and treatment like psychiatrists and emotional therapy, and the bill would probably inflate to a six-figure sum.

"For the S.S.S, Kaori-chan is a precious witness against the people that we are scrutinizing right now for their illegal actions. For our superiors, Mana can be crucial to our pursuit to bring their victims justice."

"…And what is it for you?"

"…For me, Kaori-chan saved me back then… and that is something that I will remember forever."

"?"

"I owe my life to her just as much as she believes that she owes her life to me."

"What… do you mean, Rai-san?"

"I will be blunt, everyone… I am a foreigner. I always get reminded that I am an outsider who has no place beside anyone. If I am in danger, I can only depend on myself, and when there is a gathering, I am the last person to come up on everyone's thoughts."

"…"

"And yet, Kaori-chan asked me for protection during that train ride… and when both of us got caught, she was more worried about the injured me than herself who was about to be assaulted… and when I beat Isao and freed her, instead of running away to save herself, she insisted to bring me outside with her even if I am already a deadweight at that point."

"Senpai…"

I looked at Kaori straightly and told her the words that I knew came from my heart at that moment.

"I have already run out of faith in other people and hope that I can ever be treated like a person of equal value… but when Kaori depended on me and tried her best to save me until I ordered her to leave me and run away… that saved me from falling head-first to hopelessness… and reminded me that there are no absolutes in people and there are the rare few who would actually care deeply for you."

"Hik-!"

"Child…?"

"Kaori-chan?"

Kaori stood up from the couch which surprised her mother and Mana. She then walked around the table and towards me. I stood up from my seat and caught her just in time as she wrapped her arms around me and started to cry.

"Thank you, Senpai… for saving me… and helping me even to this point…!"

"Yes… you too, I want to thank you too."

"Thank you… Thank you very much, senpai…!"

"Mm, mm…"

Humans are such fragile creatures when it comes to their emotions.

Some will only break into tears when there really is no more hope in sight… while there are those who already cry at the prospect of an incoming hardship.

But for Kaori… and maybe even me, there are things that take us back to those hard times… and the tears that we may end up shedding after remembering those carries not only our feelings… but also the pain of holding onto those memories that keep us up at night.

Perhaps, me saving Kaori back then wasn't a one-in-a-million event after all… but something that somehow has already been written down to happen for the sake of I and Kaori's hope and peace of mind as we go through our lives.

"We will be here by tomorrow morning. No need to rush yourself though, tomorrow would be your grand return to school. Gotta show your dissenters that you're not going to be just swept aside."

"Umm… Mm!"

"Aw, come on, Kaori-chan! Chin up! Chin up and show everyone that cute and gorgeous face of yours!"

"Eeeehhhh?! Mana-senpai! Stop making me feel giddy!"

"I'm teaching you to be more confident, y'know?!"

While the Mana is teasing Kaori and telling her to be more confident, I talked to Mrs. Akamine about something that she bit her lip lightly about.

"I just learned earlier, ma'am… About Isao being your child from an affair."

"…"

"I want to make this clear right here and right now even if it may hurt you as a parent… Isao has done something so reprehensible that his life will now be in mortal danger until he is either brought to justice or he fights to the very end…"

"Rai-san, this is…"

"I am a parent too, you see…"

"What?"

I took my phone from my pocket and turned it on to show my wallpaper where my three children and I had our family picture. Seeing this, Mrs. Akamine's face became a bit distraught.

"They are the sisters and the niece of my deceased best friend… I took them in as my children and legally speaking, I am their father… that's why what I am about to say is something that I will say to you with full awareness of being a parent myself…"

"…"

"As his parent, I wish to inform you that if he endangers Kaori, I will willingly take his life right there and then."

"-!"

"He has endangered his half-sister once because of his drug addiction and hatred for your family… I know that Mr. Akamine had his own wrongs for just abruptly splitting him away from this family after he learned of your adultery… but you also bear a large part of the blame for even doing that… thing… after you have already been betrothed to your husband and lying to him that Isao was his child…"

Mrs. Akamine shivered in fear after hearing everything that I said… but what must've bothered her the most was that I told her face-to-face that I will definitely kill her child who has become a harm to her other child.

"If… that is what you, someone who has the authority, think is for the best for everyone… I will accept it, Rai-san."

"…"

"Isao is… a child I had from a grievous mistake. It was because I didn't want to just abandon him that I lied to my husband that he is his child… in the bottom of my heart, Isao is still my child and I still have love to give to him as I am his mother…"

Mrs. Akamine held her elbows as she spoke those words that she must've wanted to say all this time but cannot for the sake of keeping the peace at her home.

"…but he has done too much to be redeemable. He has harmed his half-sibling and almost caused your death… in that respect, I cannot go against your decision and wish to kill him if needed."

"…"

"This is my opinion and decision as his mother… please stop him… for the sake of Kaori's future… and the peace of my family whose value I now treat higher than anything else unlike before."

Hearing her full acceptance, I was relieved to know in advance that she already accepts it before I can admit that Isao is already dead. Now, I just have to pick a good enough time to announce it to them later.

"Rai! It's almost time, let's go now!"

"Sure! I'll be right there in a minute!"

"Okay!"

After bidding the mother and daughter a goodbye, I and Mana rode our car and drove off. To my surprise, Mana is laying down on the spacious backseat with her uniform loosened a bit on the chest area.

"Why are you there? Did you get tired that much?"

"Yeah… my body might have already recovered, but my spiritual form is still exhausted a lot after my training. Afternoons and early evenings had been my bane since I feel the most tired during these times of the day."

"Because of Astra energy exhaustion?"

"Yep… because of Astra energy exhaustion… with afternoons and evenings being the point of the day where most people are tired, we get little to no Astra energy from them and we can't recover properly."

"Why not go to Sumeragi estate for a while? The inner courtyard has a Zen garden where you can meditate and quickly recover your spiritual form."

"Even if I want to, I don't have much time in a day to take the hike and meditate there… things have been hectic back at home, you see."

"Hectic? Anything wrong in there?"

"A bit… As you may know, elections are coming up and dad has to either rise up or maintain his position in the ministry. Mom and grandma are telling us to maintain good appearances in TV interviews as our father's children and avoid doing anything that may damage our father's reputation."

"I see… Living as a government official's child seems to be a pain in the neck regardless of where you come from."

"What? You know someone else who is at the same circumstance as me?"

"…I wouldn't say that it is the same, but there do are some glaring similarities that I noticed. Primarily on the appearances and reputation part."

"I see… I'm interested about who this person is! If you're the one who noticed our similarities, that person might help me stay with the rules while still getting away with a mistake or two!"

"…"

"Hey, Rai! Who is this person, anyway? Do I also know her?"

"Her name is Risa Francisco. She's the one who acted as my mother when mom had a relapse on her illness and became unable to take care of me."

"So, she's some kind of surrogate mother to you?"

"Quite near, yes. Even if our bond was like mother and child, I have always treated her like an elder sister, and she treated me like a younger brother."

"And she's a child of a politician like me, huh… Can I talk to her? I'm really bothered with not knowing anything about how to fulfill the rules given by mom and grandma while still having fun outside."

"…I don't think that's possible."

"Eh? What is this? Are you distancing yourself from her since she might blabber about embarrassing things about your childhood? It's one thing to be ashamed about it, but you don't have to be so defensive about your past-"

"Risa is dead."

"…Huh?"

"Ate Risa and the other people whom I grew up with are all dead. They died nine years ago during a failed coup d'état against the government by a rebel group. The rebels thought about kidnapping her in order to force her father who was a senator to bend to their will. But it turns out that it was him who secretly arranged for that rebel group to perform a coup and through the death of his daughter, gather everyone's pity to let him rise to the seat of the president."

"I-I… I wasn't aware… I'm sorry if I-"

"No need to apologize… it was my fault for even raising the issue and presenting her as the example."

"…"

The rest of the car ride back to Shibuya bunker could've been awkward and silent if I didn't decide to speak up as soon as we entered the downtown area.

"In any case, can you button up your shirt already? Looking at the rear-view mirror to make turns is getting awkward since your cleavage is visible through your open uniform."

"E-EHH?! You should've told me that earlier already! Pervert!"

"It was fun earlier when I just noticed it, but now, it doesn't look as good anymore."

"Are you insulting my figure? I may not flaunt them much, but these babies are my pride too, you know?!"

As she said that, she held her chest with both hands in a cupping manner, probably trying to exaggerate the volume of her boobs.

"Yeah, yeah. If that's what you want to say…"

"Argh! Be more sincere, will you? Why can't you be more bestial and say "Fufufu! I'll park this car somewhere isolated and squeeze those fun bags to my heart's content!" or stuff like that?!"

"What kind of man do I seem like to you?! And what kind of delusion did you get into to turn me into a scummy creature like that who pushes himself on women?!"

"Well, excuse me for not knowing many examples of decent men! It's not my fault that much of them went after me like that!"

"Still, keep me away from that!"

I have always seen Mana as a tomboyish girl who would deny her femininity and be ashamed of her female characteristics in an attempt to put up a tough act and not be underestimated by others. After all, our first meeting as teammates had her outright act coldly with me or not bat an eye or ear to me and my words.

That's why her being more casual and feminine around me has become something that I noticed. She started to act more like an easy-going teenage girl and even go as far as tease me around at times either through words or innuendos.

"That reminds me… what kind of person are you romantically attracted to, Rai-kun?"

"Huh?"

"Come on, it can be anything. If you like men or swing both ways, don't worry, your secret is safe and secure with me."

Thus, she says while also having the most untrustworthy expression on her face.

"I'm straight, Mana."

"Oh yeah? Then what are your preferences for women?"

"Hmm… I guess it would be someone that will take care of me through good and bad times, help me overcome my weaknesses while also admiring my strengths… and would proudly conduct herself as my spouse."

"Wuuu… Where is this old man-like standards coming from? I was expecting you to say "a tall woman with a big ass" or something along those lines, never expected you to be such a bore."

"Again, what kind of man do I seem like to you…?"

"I mean, you can at least have higher standards, Rai-kun… Even coming from me, you're a good catch as a husband. You can both run a household or be the breadwinner, add to that the fact that you're also pretty good in a fight and can protect those around you… having that mediocre standard on the women you are interested at is a bit of a waste as how I see it."

"Wow… I am seriously hurt with those words…"

"You should be! Can't you imagine how other women would cry their heart out if a guy as favorable as you got snatched by a mediocre girl?"

"I can't and I don't care. Besides, my dad and Ate Risa's husband both gave me the same advice about it back then."

"Hm?"

"They said that when the time comes for me to choose as well, I should choose to be with the person that I am most comfortable of spending the rest of my life with."

"Ah…"

"Beauty will fade, and feelings will flit away… but who that person is to you and how comfortable it is for you to stay beside them till the very end is something that should never change."

That was exactly the reason why even though he spends months away from her, Dad never once doubted or fell off his love with mother. Both of them treasured, respected and lived for each other… that is the kind of love that I also want to experience later in my life.

But right now, these are things that I cannot reach out for because things are about to get really difficult for me.