Hikaru arrived at the bar, which even from the outside looked seedy. She asked the bouncer at the door, "You slumming Alex?"

He laughed and said "No, but I've got another baby on the way, I'm taking all the work I can get."

Hikaru said, "Well, the problem is, there's a little girl locked in the bathroom here, and I need to get her out."

"She won't come out, the police are on their way," Alex replied.

Hikaru said, "I think she'll come out for me, but I'll have to go in."

He gave her a measuring look and said, "Five minutes." He stepped aside.

Hikaru entered the bar, located the restroom sign and headed over. She pounded on the door and said, "I'm here to pick you up!"

The door popped open and a shorter younger girl tumbled out into Hikaru's arms. The girl looked up at her with wide, startled eyes. "Akira-sama!" the girl cried.

Hikaru frowned at her and said, "I'm not Akira."

The girl clung to her while sobbing.

A man sitting at a table nearby said, "Hey, that girl is mine."

Hikaru looked at him and said, "No." She said to the girl, "We can't stay here, the police are coming, I'll get my permit removed." She tried to pull the girl along.

The girl went limp and sagged against her crying, "Akira-sama, you came to rescue me."

Hikaru grimaced and gave up, she simply scooped the girl up and carried her bodily out the door. The guy who'd claimed the girl stood up and said, "Hey!"

Hikaru said over her shoulder, "I don't have time for this, if you have to talk, step outside." She was barely out the door when the guy grabbed her from behind.

Hikaru stood on the steps holding the girl, face to face with a policeman. The guy grabbing her arm punched her in the back. Hikaru dropped the girl, spun and kicked his feet out from under him, hard. He dropped. Alex stepped in and kept him pinned to the ground.

"Sorry," Alex said. "I was too slow."

The guy on the ground shouted, "I'll have you fired!"

Alex looked at the little girl Hikaru had carried out and said, "Hikaru, I did not let her into the bar."

Hikaru looked at the girl who said sniffling, "You're really not Akira-sama?"

Hikaru said, "I'm Hitoshi Hikaru, Hitoshi Akira was my father, he's been dead for 11 years."

"I have his poster, you look exactly like him," she sniffled.

Hikaru looked at the policeman. "A lot of help you are, can we go?"

The policeman stared at her and recollected his duties. "After you both give name, address and phone number."

The guy on the ground said, "You can't do this, let me up, you are so fucking fired."

The girl said, "He brought us in through the back, but everyone else is already gone, I didn't see them! They left me!" she wailed the last bit.

Hikaru instructed her, "Give the policeman your name, number, and address, and let's go."

Alex said to the guy he was keeping pinned, "You can't get me fired, I'm going to quit as soon as I talk to your father." To Hikaru he added, "You were right, I guess I was slumming, but I had no idea."

Hikaru nodded.

The policeman took their information and they left.

The girl sobbed and sat on the first bench they came to. "I can't go home!" she cried.

Hikaru sighed and called Kiri. He picked up right away, and she explained the situation. He told her to give the phone to his niece. After they'd argued a bit, she gave the phone back to Hikaru.

Kiri said, "Chisaki-chan will let you take her home now, I'm sorry Hikaru, and thank you."

Hikaru said, "It's OK."

Kiri said, "I'll send the address."

Hikaru laughed and asked, "Do you know the bus route?"

Kiri said, "I'll look it up and send that too."

"Thanks," Hikaru replied a little tiredly.

--

She escorted Chisaki-chan to her home. The woman who answered the door looked angry. "Kiri called me," she said to her daughter.

Hikaru said uncertainly, "She's had a rough afternoon onee-sama."

The woman turned to Hikaru and slapped her. "How dare you!? It's probably your fault for taking her there! And you think if you say onee-sama I'll think it's cute and forgive you?"

Hikaru rubbed her cheek and replied coolly, "Even if I had, I think you'd still be better off thanking me for returning her home again."

A tired looking man carrying a small child stepped forward and said, "I'm sorry, my wife is just distraught." He grinned at her suddenly and said, "You can call me onii-sama if you want."

Hikaru laughed unexpectedly.

"Hikaru-chan rescued me!" Chisaki told her mother. "You have to see my poster!" Chisaki demanded, tugging on Hikaru's arm.

A boy a little younger than Chisaki said from the stairs, "You're a girl? You do look just like Chi-nee-chan's poster."

Hikaru was dragged up the stairs to view the poster. She stared at it. The name Akira was blazoned across the life size poster of Hikaru's father. The name of his band and other information was listed in smaller lettering down the side. He was sitting on a tall thin stool, one foot on the floor. His guitar dangled from one hand and the other was raised behind his head.

"Wow," Hikaru said. "My mother always says I look just like him, but I always thought she was exaggerating."

Chisaki and her brother gave Hikaru odd looks. "You don't have any pictures of your father?" Chisaki asked.

"Just a few small ones," Hikaru said, "and he's older than that in them."

She reached out hesitantly to touch the poster. She turned to see Chisaki guiltily lowering her phone. "Sorry, I just wanted to take a picture, it's like a weird mirror," she said.

Hikaru said, "Can you send it to me?"

Chisaki nodded.

Hikaru gave her own contact number. Then she said, "Thanks for letting me see it, I should go home now."

"Thank you Hikaru-chan," their father told her on her way out. She nodded.

--

On the bus home Kiri called her. "How'd it go? Did you get her home?" he asked. "She sent you a photo… of yourself," he added.

"Yeah," Hikaru replied. "Your sister slapped me."

"What the hell?" Kiri said with shock.

Hikaru wondered if she shouldn't have said anything. "It seemed like she mistook me for one of the friends who took your niece there," she explained.

"Hikaru are you OK?" Kiri asked.

"I'm OK, the place the guy at the bar punched me in the back hurts more," she said tiredly.

"Hikaru, go to the hospital," Kiri instructed worriedly.

"I'm fine, I'm sure it's just a bruise," she said.

"Hikaru," Kiri said anxiously.

"Kiri, I'm fine, if it still hurts tomorrow I'll go, OK?" she asked.

Kiri was silent for a moment. Finally he said, "OK, I love you, and I'll see you tonight, very late, if that's OK?"

Hikaru asked, "How late?"

"I don't know, maybe after midnight, but I really want to see that you're OK, and we can trade phones before I leave," he replied.

"Message me, I mean your phone, instead of knocking or ringing the bell?" she asked.

"OK," he said. "See you tonight."

"Yeah" she replied, and he ended the call.

… K to S

Kiri called his sister again.

When she answered he said, "I am so fucking angry with you right now."

"What are you on about?" she asked grumpily.

Kiri demanded, "How dare you hit my girlfriend? After she went in my place and pulled your idiot daughter out of a bad situation and took her home to you even."

"Your girlfriend?" was the stunned reply. "But she was so young?"

"She is my girlfriend," he said bitterly.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's not me you should be apologizing to. Did you even apologize to her?" Kiri demanded.

His sister was silent for too long. "No," she admitted.

Kiri hung up on her.

...

Kiri messaged Hikaru about midnight. "I'm here."

Hikaru came down the stairs quietly and opened the door. Kiri looked exhausted. They traded phones.

"Are you OK to drive?" Hikaru asked quietly.

Kiri gave her a wry smile and asked, "Can I sleep with you instead?"

Hikaru said, "My bed is small, it would probably be more comfortable for you to put you in my brother's room."

He replied, "If I can't sleep with you, I'm going home."

Hikaru reached out and pulled him inside. "OK," she said quietly.

They went up to her room. Kiri emptied his pockets pulled his shirt loose, took off his tie, and climbed into Hikaru's bed.

"You don't want to take off your clothes?" she asked.

"I fully expect to be thrown out as soon as your step father realizes I'm here," he replied. He held his arms open for her.

Hikaru climbed in and they squeezed together to fit.

"I thought you said you wouldn't be able to sleep next to me?" she asked.

He kissed her ear. "Sweetheart, I'm so tired, I could sleep through anything right now."

They slept.

As Kiri had predicted they were woken by Izumi shouting in Hikaru's doorway, "What the hell do you think you're doing? Get out!"

Miri was woken by the yelling and peered through the door beside Izumi as Hikaru and Kiri struggled free of the bed.

"Do you want breakfast Kiri-kun?" Miri asked.

Kiri laughed and collected his tie and the contents of his pockets. "No thanks, I need to run home and get some stuff and get on a plane."

Hikaru asked, "Did you check your phone?"

Kiri nodded and kissed her. He hugged her tightly.

"Miri you can't say he's not screwing her if he's even doing it in our house?!" Izumi demanded of his wife.

Miri looked at the rumpled but fully dressed boyfriend of her daughter and asked her husband, "Aren't you going to be late for work?"

Izumi cursed and left.

Kiri clung to Hikaru for another moment.

Hikaru asked, "Will you be able to call or message? Can you tell me if you've arrived safely?"

Kiri replied, "Yes, and I'll call you every day."

Hikaru asked worriedly, "From China?"

Kiri laughed and said, "It's not Antarctica, they have cell phone service there." He kissed her.

"Be safe," she said.

He looked at her wryly. "You too." He sighed. "OK, if I don't let go now, I'll never leave. See you in a week and a bit." He kissed her once more, released her and left.