First Date

"So, I found your mystery man," the private detective reported. "The man's name is Kyosuke Sakurai and get this, the guy used to be a sergeant in the United States Army."

Kimiko Tamatsuki's eyes lit up, "What would a Japanese citizen be doing in the American Army? Family situation I take it?"

The detective nodded. "Emigrated there as a child, grew up in California, good marks from what public records I could dig up. Enlisted when he was eighteen. According to his discharge papers, he served as a Culinary Specialist, basically a cook."

Kimiko snorted. "Bullshit! I've seen the security footage; even in the Army, how many cooks are experts in close-quarters combat."

"Yeah, that got me wondering too," the detective agreed, "so I did some digging. Some of the timelines and deployment locations don't quite match up, and it looks very much like there's been some creative rewriting of his background. If I had to guess, there are parts of his career that aren't listed in the public record and got redacted. Digging that out might take time and money."

"Ooh... as in top secret spy stuff?" Kimiko speculated excitedly. "So, the rich little princess' new boy toy might actually be some kind of Special Forces military assassin or something like that?"

"Well... that's going a little far," the detective demurred. "He might have just been doing sensitive diplomatic assignments because he was fluent in Japanese."

"Ooh... that doesn't sell ad space!" Kimiko protested, before waxing speculatively. "Picture this banner headline... rich cute heiress on the run with ex-military black-ops assassin as her partner! How does that sound?”

The detective rolled his eyes. "Like a defamation lawsuit waiting to happen," he answered drolly.

"Don't worry about it!" Kimiko waved. "The Ikemoto's are considered public figures and the threshold for libel is really high; they're not going to chase down every little rumor mill that mentions them. So, I need you to get one of our photographers to follow them and get me some really juicy pictures I can use! Text those to me and I'll make it worth your while!"

Right... and let's just hope you're not slandering an actual real black-ops assassin, and you should be just fine, the detective thought sarcastically.

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Stepping off the Ueno station, Kyosuke and Kyoko walked the block towards the Ameyoko food markets where they were greeted by the lively street vendors selling the wide variety of street food they were known for. Kyoko watched with fascination as Kyosuke pointed out the various vendors and some of the notable offerings such as chicken karaage, yakitori, and Daifuku mochi. They stopped briefly at one place known for its meat pies and treats shaped like pandas inspired by the nearby Ueno Zoo pandas. Kyosuke offered to buy Kyoko a serving of Chinese dumplings, but she insisted to pay the tab. As they walked away, several of the other guests began to point and whisper with one another, with some others taking pictures and videos.

"So, have you ever walked around in this part of town?" Kyosuke asked.

"I don't think so," Kyoko admitted. "I grew up in Minato City, so other than international travel, I rarely went outside Azabu or Hiroo. After high school, I started attending Keio University."

So basically, the wealthiest parts of Tokyo... "That's practically right down the road from your apartment complex in Minato," Kyosuke noted. "So, you really haven't seen how the other half lives?"

"I suppose I haven't," Kyoko confessed. "Especially ever since my mom passed when I was young, my father's always kept me pretty close for my protection."

"You lost your mom?" Kyosuke noted with surprise, then sighed sympathetically. "I guess I can see why your father would want to shield you from the harsher truths of life."

"What about you, your family traveled to America?" Kyoko asked.

"When I was young, yeah, my dad was low-level manager at Honda, and they were looking for sales managers who could speak fluent English, and it was a career opportunity for him."

"Oh, was he OK with you joining the Army though?"

Kyosuke sighed, "Unfortunately, my parents passed before I graduated high school.  It was part of the reason I joined; to try and find direction in my life."

"Oh, I didn't know..."

"It's OK, I've made peace with it long ago," Kyosuke assured. "After I finished my tours and graduated, I returned to Japan, and the rest is history."

"And here, I thought being in the military was an exciting, action-filled life like in movies or anime characters," Kyoko speculated.

"Oh no, not at all," Kyosuke chuckled, "real military life would disappoint you. Even for the actual front-line soldiers, 95% of the time is sitting around and waiting for orders. Being in the military isn't like what you see in the movies and video games; it's tedious and boring most of the time, with maybe 5% being scared senseless. Almost like being a rich socialite, from what you've said; a lot of boredom and a little excitement sprinkled in as you travel the world. The biggest difference is that the meals you eat onboard your private jets would be a hell of a lot better than your average MRE."

"So... I guess we do have... more in common than it would first appear," Kyoko suggested as they came to a stop near Chano Kiminoen. "We're both orphans who've traveled the world, trying to find direction in our lives."

Kyosuke hesitated for a moment before he offered Kyoko a matcha ice cream cup. Their hands both touched the frozen cup as the two of them came closer together. She looked momentarily surprised before leaning into his arms. 

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Akito Yamamoto got off the train from the train station as two of the security staff came out to meet him. "What the situation?"

"We've been keeping an eye on the principal from a distance ever since she left the mansion, sir," the security agent assured.

Akito grunted; Kyoko might have thought she was once again giving her security detail the slip, but what worked once wasn't going to work again, he vowed. It took multiple agents with overlapping groups working in teams, but truthfully Kyoko wasn't as elusive as she thought she was, once it became clear she wanted to play this game.

What worried Akito more was this new mystery man she was seemingly attracted to. He wasn't concerned when she was dating the usual vapid trust fund wimps throughout her high school and university years. Background checks on all of them had come back clean; they were all the "right kind of people"; safe, harmless, and from the correct social circles. This new man had a questionable background with gaps that he had paid informants even now running down leads to try to fill in, but he was already suspicious when someone clearly wasn't telling him the whole story. Like Kimiko Tamatsuki, he had also seen the security footage from Chez Kooun, and he didn't know too many chefs, Army or not, who were experts in Krav Maga and MMA. Sure, the US Army taught its personnel MAC, but he also knew the vast majority didn't practice it beyond the basics, outside of their Special Forces units.

"We're getting close, sir," the agent reminded, handing Akito a spotter's scope and pointing down the street.

Akito looked down the street and frowned as he watched Kyoko and Kyosuke beginning to hold hands. Oh my... Isamu-san isn't going to like this...