The first night I saw him I couldn't seem to take my gaze off of him.

 

“Ryouta-kun, are you ready to order?”
I was snatched out of my daze by one of my colleagues.

 

“Y-Yeah, sorry.” I bowed my head in a flustered apology.

 

“Something wrong?” She asked as she ordered herself a bottle of sake. Even though we were sitting at the restaurant bar, I didn't feel like drinking so I ordered a glass of water instead.

 

“No. Nothing.” I told her.

 

“Nothing? Really?” I scowled at her disbelieving smirk. “You seem more out of it than usual. What's up?”

 

I avoided looking at her as I busied myself by stirring the ice in my glass. “I said it was nothing.”
“C'mon,” she scoffed. “How long have I known you? I know when your mind is in the clouds and when you're in thought. You were clearly concentrating on something. What is it?”

 

I continued to avoid eye contact as I scanned the restaurant. My gaze unintentionally fell on him. He was sitting with a small group of friends. A young girl leaned into him flirtatiously as she laughed at something he said. Her hand rested on his shoulder, longer than it should have, as she spoke to him. Although the leech clung to him, he didn't seem bothered by it. He just smiled down at her and continued to converse with the rest of the group.

 

“Ryouta!” I heard her call my name again.

 

“Sorry, Ishada-san!” I apologized once more which only gained an annoyed rolling of the eyes.

 

“Is there someone else here that has your attention? A woman perhaps?” She craned her neck to gain a better view of the restaurant. “I don't see anyone worthy enough to have the attention of the great Ryouta Fukuda.”

“No,” I hissed. “There isn't a woman here that has caught my eye.” I changed the topic as I noticed her reddening face and pointed to the bottle of alcohol. “I think you've had enough. Let's get you home.” I helped her out of the stool as she stumbled to her feet.

 

“Maybe you're right?” She giggled as she began to walk forward. She wasn't as drunk as I had assumed which I was pleased about. It meant that I didn't have to carry her home.

 

“Come on, Ryou-chan~!” Ishada sang as she exited the restaurant. I stole one last glass at the group of students, my eyes lingering on the one boy. His gentle laugh seemed to warm up the atmosphere around him.

 

“Ryou~chan~!” She sang again as I fought the urge to roll my eyes and instead followed her out of the restaurant.

 

 

We began walking down the sidewalk. My hand rested on her lower back as I guided her through the crowds of people. We reached her apartment building when she seemed to snap out of her drunken haze. “Ryouta! I left my jacket back at the bar. Do you mind getting it for me?”

 

I shook my head. “Rima Ishada, what am I going to do with you?” I pivoted on my heel and turned back the way we had walked.

 

 

Once I made it to the restaurant I pushed the door open and spotted the scarlet red coat resting on the back of the stool Ishada had been occupying. Plucking it from the seat, I turned around to feel disappointed when I spotted that the table the group of students had been sitting at was empty. I didn't know what I had hoped to catch a glimpse of him, but I only agreed to retrieve Ishada's jacket expecting to see the group still there.

 

I left the restaurant once more, draping the clothing over my arm, and began making my way back to the apartment. I was almost there when I heard an intimidating voice sound from the alley I had just passed. Working as a police investigator it was my job to investigate suspicious activities and I did that even when I wasn't clocked in.

 

 

“You decided to take the wrong short cut home, boy.” I heard the voice say.

 

I looked around the corner to see a pair of thugs cornering someone. I couldn't see their victim, but I could tell from the pleasure in their voice that he was terrified.

 

“L-Leave me alone,” the victim stuttered.

 

“Tsk,” the other thug snorted, “and waste a perfect opportunity like this? Don't think so, boy.”

 

“You heard the kid,” I spoke up as I reached for my police badge in my pocket. “Leave him alone.”

“Eh?” The two men whipped around in surprise. Their eyes narrowed at the sight of my badge.

 

“If you don't want to spend the next years of your life in prison, I suggest you get lost,” I threatened.

 

“Oh yeah?” The men scoffed as they exchanged glances. In an instant they were charging like a pair of angry bulls. I managed to side-step one attack, but the other caught me off guard. I felt the painful blow of his strong fist meeting the side of my face. That only angered me and pumped my adrenaline harder as I lifted my knee, smirking as it successfully met with his stomach. He dropped the ground, holding his abdomen.

 

The other guy, seeing that his buddy had taken a quick beating, charged again. His moves were uncontrolled as he swung this way and that way, hoping to hit his target; me.

 

I managed to dodge his swing and hook him in the jaw and in the side of his ribs. He went down beside his partner.

 

 

In the process of the attack, I had dropped Ishada's jacket. I picked it up and brushed the dirt from it. I reached into my jacket pocket and took out my phone, quickly dialling a number. “This is agent Ryouta Fukuda. I have a pair of thugs that require medical attention. They tried attacking an innocent man and me.”

I was about to continue when I finally remembered the thugs' victim. I hung up my mobile and looked to see that the person had curled up against the wall. He was shivering as his hands covered his face. I slid off my jacket and placed it around the boy. He seemed surprised by the action as he removed his hands and looked up at me.

 

My breath caught in my throat as I realized that this was the same boy that I had seen in the restaurant. My gaze instantly softened as I bent down. “Kid, it's going to be alright. There are officers on their way.”

The boy snuggled back into my jacket. I stood up and offered my hand. He took it, seeming to relax some, and got to his feet.

“Thank you, Fukuda-san.”

“How do yo-.” I was about to ask how he knew my name when I realized he heard me calling the dispatcher.

 

“My name is Natsuki Sakurai. Thank you again,” he told me with a weak smile.

 

The sudden action took me by surprise and the blood rushed to my face. I turned away. “I-I'm just doing my job.”

 

“You saved me though,” he continued to smile which continued to make my cheeks turn crimson.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Are you okay?” I ignored the burning sensation and looked down at him.

 

He nodded.

 

“Good. Do I need to have the doctor look at you?” I asked.

 

He shook his head. “No, I'm okay. Just a little shaken up. I thought I was going to get hurt.”

“You could have,” I told him as I instinctively brought my hand up to the top of his head. After my hand touched his soft, mouse-brown hair I realized what I had done and quickly pulled my hand back. The boy didn't seem to notice and if he did, he didn't seem bothered.

 

I was saved from having to continue with my embarrassing actions when I saw the flashing of red and blue. Two police cruisers pulled up to the alleyway. Two uniformed men stepped out of one of the cruisers and headed towards us. One stopped the handcuff the thugs.

 

“You're lucky agent Fukada was around,” the other officer told the boy.

 

He nodded in agreement as he tightened my jacket around him.

 

“I'm going to this boy home,” I told the officer.

“Alright, we got these two here under control. Today was your day off too, maybe tomorrow the inspector will let you off as well,” the officer said as he helped his partner load the now-conscious thugs into the back of the police cruiser.

 

“You don't have to me home,” he said as he began to slip the jacket off. He tried handing it to me, but I held up my hand. “I really don't need an . I just need to take the train bac-.”

“Those thugs held you up. The last train is already gone,” I told him.

 

He frowned at the information.

“Do you have classes tomorrow?” I asked, assuming he was a student. He nodded his head in response.

 

"Which one?" I asked.

 

"Eito University," he replied.

 

“Then you might as well stay at my apartment for tonight. It's not too far from where I live. Just up the road I believe. I drive passed it every morning to get to work."

“I couldn't possibly do that!” He appeared to be rather taken aback by my statement. “After you saving me, it would be rude to accept more service.”

“Nonsense,” I said as I grabbed his wrist and began dragging him to other police car. I opened the back seat and gently pushed him inside. I told the officer in the driver's seat my address and he took off down the busy streets. I don't know why, but I knew I couldn't let this boy leave me. I knew that if I did, there was a possibility of not seeing each other again and I didn't want that.