He is What?! - Aki

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” While trying to come up with a good plan, Hiro had consumed all of the beers he had brought and could barely stand anymore. It seemed more to do with Kumi being there than the threat to Ryo, but Aki couldn’t be too sure.

“I’ll be fine. You go and talk to your dad.” Ryo’s hand brushed her arm in a comforting way. “I’ll get him home and I’ll see you later.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek before he went out the door with his friend hanging off his shoulders.

Aki met Kumi’s eyes when she turned back from the door. She wanted more news on the two of them, that much was clear.

“Do you want me to come and change the bio-lock access to your bedroom someday soon?” She giggled. “And do I need to start knocking?”

“I was going to ask you about the lock actually.” There just hadn’t been much time and with the tension that had been between Kumi and her person, Aki hadn’t wanted to bring it up. “And yes. You might want to do that.” Aki’s cheeks heated up from the memory of this morning. The feeling of Ryo so close against her. He had said that she wouldn’t get rid of him. That he wouldn’t go away.

“Oh my! What happened?” Kumi embraced her. “Tell me everything on the way to the office.” She pulled away and put her shoes on.

Aki’s father had called while they were scrambling for better solutions. He had said he needed to meet them at the office.

“So?” Kumi grabbed her hand. “What happened?”

“Well, we almost kissed.” At least that’s what Aki thought was about to happen after he had put her up on the counter. “And then the drunk arrived.” She let out a laugh. It really had been an unreal situation.

“Hiro walked in on you?” This was the first time she had heard Kumi refer to him by his first name. She usually almost did, but she always corrected herself.

“No. Unlike you, he knocked.” She squeezed Kumi’s hand. “What about you? How are you holding up? I’m sorry for putting you in a difficult situation.”

Kumi’s eyes wandered across the neon lights and holographic screens. “If I’m honest, I really hope your dad has some idea that would let me get back to work with you.” Her eyes stopped at a tall building. “It’s kind of hard to hear her talk about him.”

“You’re not as over him as you claim?” Aki squeezed her hand again. Of course she had figured it out. They way Kumi spoke about him was always soaked with longing and care.

“I thought I was.”

“No, you didn’t.” Aki stopped by the vending machine and pulled put her thumb on the reader. “You just thought you could stay away.” She pressed the button for a matcha latte and handed the can to her friend. “You were teenagers. You’re both adults now. Why not give it a try?”

“Thank you.” Kumi took the drink and opened it with a pop. “But even if it would be better. What about Rika? I know you two don’t really get along, but I have no plans of being some sort of home-wrecker.” She took a sip from the can.

“Oh, please.” Aki knew Kumi would never go after a taken man. And she loved that about her. But there was a big chance she wouldn’t have to. “When have she ever held a relationship for longer than six months?” Even if they didn’t get along, Rika was very open about her love life. And more often than not, her relationships didn’t even last half that time.

“I might think about it. But after we figure out how to keep the world peace.” She smiled and chugged her latte. “But apart from almost kissing, what happened with you and Ryo? Did you get all clingy while sick again?”

“Maybe.” Something about fevers always made her feel so lonely. Kumi had seen it. “But he did promised to stay as long as I want him to.” Saying it out loud made it seem so stupid. Of course she shouldn’t take his word for it. He could just have said it to keep the peace. Or get her hopes up.

“Don’t start questioning him now.” Kumi giggled. She knew her too well. “The way he looks at you almost made me fall for him.” She laughed and walked a bit faster. Dragging Aki behind her. “You deserve someone who cares about you as much as you care. And I believe he does.”

“There you are.” Her father met them at the entrance. “Let’s go to my office.” Aki hadn’t seen that serious look on his face since he told her her mother died. It gave her an uneasy feeling. Was something wrong?

He was quiet as he led them through the familiar corridors. She knew that it would have to be serious when he opened the door to his office and he had the windows blacked out.

Her father’s office had always been one of the few places in the building that wasn’t supervised by the main system. But he usually never cared to black out the windows.

“Dad? What’s wrong?” She closed the door behind her.

“First of all, it’s nice to see you’re feeling better, Princess.” He sat down, not behind his desk, but on it. “This morning I decided to look up your little roommate. If he really is who you claim he is, then there should be easy to find information on him before he got lost. I even though it would be easy to find without causing suspicion.” He turned his screen around. “But there’s nothing in the system about him.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Aki didn’t see how it would be bad that his records weren’t there. It would make it harder for him to be discovered.

“Are you sure, sir?” Kumi walked up to the screen. “I remember reading a file about him only a couple of days ago.”

“That’s the thing. I have read about him in several files before. But now there’s not a single trace of him.”

“What about the pod in the basement?” Aki had heard the rumors about it, but knew that only the higher ups had access to it.

“It’s still there.” He sighed. “And that’s what makes me worried. Someone must’ve wiped him from the system.”