“What else did you figure out?” Kaori asked.
“Not much. That place where we… where we met. That was unquestionably a high-end property. Having this large a park inside Tokyo can’t be cheap, whoever lives there is truly wealthy. The only other centrally located parks are the ones of the Emperor’s palace in Chiyoda and the Yoyogi park. But this is a private place, and I can’t even begin to imagine how rich someone has to be to own a something like that.
“I’m pretty sure that ‘heiress Kaori’ was your cover, which is why you had such a flashy getaway car.
“But you got caught. They tried to kill you and you managed to escape out of the second floor’s window… If you weren’t a spy and people tried to kill you, you would have gone to the police, right? You didn’t.”
“There could be other reasons—” she began.
“Such as?” Ma?l had a little grin, as if to say “let’s see you explain your way out of that one.”
She nodded. “Fine. Suppose you’re right for now. What else?”
“You have been double-crossed.”
“Why?” Kaori asked, wincing. It was too close for comfort.
“That one’s easy. You were sent in on a dangerous mission, one that probably involved a seduction component, judging from your… unusual attire, but you had no backup, no getaway, and you didn’t return to your safe house, which means you either don’t have one, or you didn’t trust the people there. All of this points to a double-cross.
“You’re on your own now, aren’t you?”
Kaori was silent, pensive. In a way, he was kind of right. Oroshi did double-cross her, although not quite the way he imagined it. But what was he supposed to think?
Her billionaire fiancé, sterling reputation and all, sexually abused an underage girl, whipping her to the blood just hours before their wedding? And then he chased after her and tried to shoot her dead? And she—an heiress superstar—jumped naked out of a window while dodging bullets? If anything, his spy fantasy was more sensible than the truth.
And at least with the spy story, she had some agency.
“So, how did I do?” Ma?l asked. He sounded confident about his guesses and she could see he was fishing for compliments.
She waited a moment, staring into his soft green eyes. She could set him straight, but was that really in her best interest? The alternative was so much more fun.
“If you figured out that much, why ask? You’re right on the double-cross and me being on my own, that’s for sure.” Kaori said with a bow. “Without you, I’d be dead by now. Thank you so much.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Ma?l returned the bow. “I’m at your service, Aiko.”
“Actually, call me Kaori for now.”
“Of course, Kaori Boss-sama.”
She chuckled.
“Can I ask some questions too?” She looked straight into his eyes, looking for any sign of a lie. “Who are you, really?”
He sighed.
“I’d like to tell you I’m also in the business, but sadly, my reality is a bit more boring than that. I’m what people call a digital nomad. I write software apps to sell online, and I fight semi-professionally in small MMA shows. When I’m not doing that, I travel to interesting places and I train. I was in Thailand a few days ago where I had a fight, and now I’m in Japan to work on my Judo.”
“That’s a great cover for a spy.” Kaori said with a grin and they both burst out laughing.
“Sure sounds like it. Travel anywhere, whenever, do whatever, money comes online randomly… but my means are more modest than yours.”
“So why are you helping me then? I mean, I understand catching me was instinct, and running out of the line of fire also, I guess. But everything after that is basically you risking your life for a stranger, and you’re clearly smart enough to realize it could go very wrong for you.”
Ma?l thought for a bit.
“You want the truth? On paper, my life sounds very exciting. In reality, I spend my most of my time on the computer or training, and the most exciting part of my day is when I get a notification that someone paid $0.99 for one of my apps.
“Last night, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen fell into my arms and asked for my protection. What was I going to do? Leave you to die alone so I could go check on my Facebook comments?
“This is a dream come true. If I didn’t jump on the opportunity, I’d regret it for the rest of my life. I don’t care about risks; I can do ‘risk’. You need help, let me.”
Kaori sat in silence. For all the smiles and laughs, she could tease out a deep sense of distress about the futility of life, one that very much mirrored her own. They weren’t that different, two strangers alone in the world, both competent, both dealing well with life’s challenges, but in the end, desperately aimless and… lonely? The drama with Oroshi was scary, terrifying even, but the truth bit even deeper: she had been about to marry some guy because he was well connected and played to the norms of her society.
Nothing more. No love, no hope, she had just given up on her happily ever after, settling down for a socially acceptable substitute… and now she didn’t even have that.
She examined the man in front of her.
This blunt declaration of his attraction placed her firmly in charge, and although she had already known he was interested, there was something deeply touching about the simplicity of a direct compliment. It carried an honesty and a longing she had never encountered. No one ever spoke like that to her.
Ironically, pouring his heart out would totally disqualify him as a spy. Good thing she didn’t need a spy. Beside, if what she had seen during the night was any indication, he had all the physical skills and instincts to… to do what exactly?
Kaori placed her hand over his wrist and stroked it with her thumb.
“I’ll accept your help then. Just give me a few days to come up with a plan. For now, we should get back to steering the ship. Come with me, I’ll teach you a bit about sailing. We will need to share watch duties.”
Ma?l had a wide smile across his face.
He is as transparent as a child, she thought. She smiled too, but on the inside.
