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Two weeks later....

Upon discharge from the hospital, Lucinda exclaimed, "Finally, fresh air!" gratified at leaving the smell of formaldehyde and death behind.

"What's the trending stuff that's on? Wait, have we moved on to a robot era?" asked Lucinda a bit too chatty, pouting to get Yuri to answer her questions.

"Seriously, you've just been in the hospital for two weeks and you're already hysterical about what's trending? I liked you better when you were in the hospital and less chatty." Yuri whined, trying to get on Lucinda's nerves, making funny faces at her.

Still lost in her emotions and Yuri's dramatic ways, Lucinda bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she apologized sincerely.

"No, it's OK, I wasn't watching where I was heading," stated the person she bumped into, rubbing his hair sheepishly, not knowing what else to say in front of her.

Taking a proper look at him, "Hey, you're the one that saved me" she affirmed.

He didn't know what to say, rather he just nodded his head.

Mrs. Hayashi noticed Lucinda and Yuri weren't beside the bags when she walked in to help carry the bags to the car. When she stood at the entrance, she saw her talking to a young man she had never seen before; he had a skin patch on his forehead and cropped bangs.

Upon approaching, she whispered only to Lucinda, "I've been looking for you."

"Okaachan (mum) it's him, he's the one that saved me," she whispered back, alerting her mum on time.

"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm her mother," explained Mrs. Hayashi, extending her hand out for a handshake.

"Noguchi Kei, nice to meet you as well, Mrs..."

"Hayashi." She filled in for him.

"I've been meaning to meet you, but your doctors refused, saying till you recovered, but who would've guessed that we'd bump into you today? I'm really grateful for what you did for my child. She's the only one I've got left and I'm indebted to you." Mrs. Hayashi voiced out, bowing her head in gratitude.

Kei's heart was moved by the gesture. " Hahaoya (mother) don't, it's alright, I did it on impulse, there's no need for you to bow, you're my elder, you shouldn't do this," he voiced, feeling quite embarrassed.

His phone rang. "Uh, yes, I'm leaving now," he said immediately, turning to the front desk to sign a few papers.

***

The traffic was kind of terrible on the way home. Kei looked out his window, wondering why he'd rushed in to save her. He'd sworn to protect his country when he'd taken the police officers' oath during his graduation. Despite that, he jumped in front of a moving trailer, which wasn't what he had sworn to.

He wouldn't be able to do anyone any good if he was dead, he couldn't have been in a position to protect anyone, thank goodness he was safe. He had a few broken bones and head stitches. However, he managed to get her out of danger and he survived, thanks to her quick reaction. Someone called an ambulance.

'I didn't get her name,' he thought to himself, absently touching his ponytail.

"Kei, Kei, are you even listening to me?" came the female voice from a corner of his room.

He snapped out of his thoughts, "hmm."

"I'm your mother, stop filtering my words out," the woman complained.

As he glanced at his mother, he didn't say anything, but rather let her whine on and then got back to what she was saying.

"Anata o chichioya (your father is back), you should also get some rest. I'll see if I can persuade him to give you a week off from the station. Please stop jumping in to save people impulsively. The last time you did that, you took a bullet wound to your right shoulder. I can't lose my only child when he's not even gotten a girlfriend or even given me a child." Mrs. Noguchi dramatically cried out, trying to persuade Kei to leave the police force.

He wasn't a stranger to this, they always did the usual routine when he came home. He gets up from his chair, walks to where his mother sits, "okasaan, you already know my stand on this,

"I'm doing none of the above. I'll greet my father later, I have a headache, stop crying," he stated firmly, trying his best to console her.

Looking up, she wiped her eyes, "when did I become the Mother of such a cold son? What became of the Kei that used to smile with his okasaan?" She sighed, resigning herself to her faith.

As she left his room, he took a deep breath and released it. He lay on the bed with his thoughts drifting back to the scene of the accident and how they'd bumped into each other at the hospital. He thought, 'she doesn't look Japanese tho, she's brown skinned but beautiful.' His thoughts ran amok while he drifted off to sleep.

***

On their way home, Yuri kept on gushing over Kei and how cute he looked. "If he wasn't leaving the hospital, I would've hit on him. He's too good-looking to be true," Yuri gushed, her cheeks turning crimson red.

"Wasn't that the same thing you said about my doctor? If he wasn't married, would you have hit on him? Girl, aren't you shameless? Get over your chicken ways. When you've given up looking at men, I'll give thanks to Kami-sama (God) for you," taunted Lucinda, laughing at the way Yuri looked.

"Stop chatting and come inside quickly. It's cold out there," complained Mrs. Hayashi, laughing at Lucinda's statement.

The girls walked in with the remaining bags, shrugging off their coats, and Yuri headed for the fridge. "You ate like two hours ago. How do you stuff your face and not get fat?" Lucinda exclaimed, taking a seat on one of the kitchen stools.

"I guess I have a fast metabolism," Yuri said with a full mouth, taking the bags up to their room. Yuri stays over at the Hayashi residents and it's been normal for them because she's been doing it since she became friends with Lucinda.

Yuri's mother died while she was in high school and she had to take extra jobs to keep herself alive. This was because she was the only parent figure she had. She met Lucinda at the bakery they worked in; they became the closest of friends and Lucinda's mother also became her mother, which chased away the lonely feeling she had....

Later that night, after having dinner and retiring to bed early, Lucinda couldn't help herself but let her mind wonder back to the scene of the accident, when Kei had wrapped her in his arms, and they landed on the concrete, the way he'd looked into her eyes trying to affirm her he was okay. The way she brushed her hands on his forehead, trying to stop him from bleeding. His deep emerald eyes, looking deep into hers, scanning her body making sure she was okay, before the ambulance came and broke up their chemistry.

Lucinda found it difficult to sleep; the room felt hot, and it was cold outside. As she studied Yuri's peaceful face, she hugged all the blankets to herself, snoring softly. As her mind wandered back to the time she had bumped into him, his bangs had been cropped short. His hair was tied into a ponytail. His chin had a slight shadow of stubble. He looked so charming; she was lost in her thoughts. Not being able to take it anymore, she forced herself to sleep even if she kept seeing his face throughout the night...