Chapter 17 - Leak

3rd Person POV:

"Time to be a hero…"

Jason walked back towards the kids, and as he expected, Aqua would have an extreme reaction after waking up.

Aqua shook Ruby back and forth with a panicked expression. The only thing he remembered before suddenly falling unconscious was another, far more intimidating man standing in the doorway, wanting to get to Ai. But when he woke up, Ai had disappeared, leaving only her blood on the floor.

"Wh-where is Ai? Where is she!? Is she okay?!" Aqua could feel his heart bursting at the thought of Ai dying. He could still vividly remember the scent of Ai's blood and how it covered her from head to toe.

Ruby answered, her voice trembling slightly from her brother's shaking, "M-mama's okay! Jason-san saved her!" She lifted her left arm, pointing in Jason's direction. "Look!"

Aqua's eyes widened in disbelief, shocked by Ruby's words. He couldn't believe it. Following where she pointed at, his eyes widened at the bloody figure of Jason, and it was as if he had returned to that moment of seeing the stalker holding a bloody knife.

Aqua stood protectively in front of of his sister. "Ruby, stay back!" Unexpectedly, his sister pushed past him. "What are you doing?!"

Ruby narrowed her eyes at her brother and crossed her arms defiantly. "You. Need. To. Calm. Down. Jason-san is the one who saved Mama. He isn't here to harm her or us, and if he was, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Hey," Jason interjected, catching their attention. "Your mother is inside your bedroom, all safe and sound. If you don't believe me…" He stepped aside, gesturing for him to step inside. "You can go and check yourself."

Without replying, Aqua rushed past them and went inside, with Jason and Ruby following him.

"You know. I've never seen my brother like this before," Ruby quietly commented. "He was almost always calm and rational, and even annoying sometimes, so it's strange seeing him being so emotional, but I can understand why. If Mama had really died…" She grew teary-eyed just trying to imagine such a scenario, but a comforting hand fell on top of her head, shaking her out of her imagination.

"Don't worry, Ruby. Your mother's fine now," Jason soothingly said.

"B-but what if another stalker comes again?"

"I'll make sure that won't happen," Jason resolutely said. He was going to start monitoring them after this, but to really make sure they'll be safe, he was going to find out how their new address got leaked. "You have my word that no harm will come to your mother."

"Really? You promise?"

Jason nodded. "You have my promise."

"Mm. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Hero." Ruby gave a thankful smile.

Jason's mouth twitched at the title.

When they entered the room, Aqua was holding his mother's hand, with tears flowing from his eyes.

Aqua couldn't hold his tears back anymore when he saw his mother breathing and alive.

In his past life, he was a doctor. He thought that with all the blood that she had lost, as well as because of how deep the wound was and where it was located, she wouldn't have survived. Yet here she was, alive and not bleeding anymore.

If it wasn't because of the blood staining her clothes and the noticeable paleness of her skin, he would've thought she was perfectly fine.

Aqua wiped his tears and snot away with his sweater's sleeve. "H-how did you save her?" He turned his eyes towards the stitched stab wound, which looked a lot less severe than what he remembered. "She was bleeding excessively from the abdominal aorta. There's no possible way you could've saved her in the state she was in. I also see that you've stitched the wound, but you don't seem to have any of the proper tools on you."

Ruby looked at Jason with curiosity

Jason blinked in surprise at his words. "Huh… You're one smart kid. Where'd you learn all that? Actually, nevermind." Jason then shrugged. "Well, to answer your question… It's a secret." Jason flashed a smile.

"Hmm." Aqua was still curious, but dropped his curiosity in favor of focusing on the warmth of Ai's hand. She was alive. That was all that mattered to him.

Aqua still remembered the feeling of her body growing cold, the sound of her beating heart slow down, and the weakness in her voice as she spoke what were almost her last words.

'It was all because of that stalker…!'

Aqua grit his teeth. He was overcome with a freezing rage that seeped into every corner of his being. More rage and desire to kill than he's ever had in both his lives. He thought back to the stalker that killed him in his last life and how they were the same person, and he began to connect the dots.

'That stalker and the man who killed me are one in the same. How did he pin down the hospital Ai had been admitted to? Why'd he come to her new residence she'd only just moved to? He didn't look like the type of person with special skills of any kind. I simply can't believe he'd be capable of such detective work. Someone was feeding him information.'

'And it must have been someone quite close to Ai. As far as I know, it was only the president who knew about her hospital. But why would he do such a thing to the public face of his agency, who he cherished so greatly? One of her co-workers? No, the B-Komachi girls weren't even that close, and I never saw anyone who seemed like a good friend of Ai. It's evident that Ai didn't have any relatives who were around, and it appeared she didn't know their contact details either… So that only leaves… *our father*.'

'She stubbornly kept him a secret from the president, but considering how narrow Ai's social circle was, there's a high probability the guy is in the same industry. Seeing that he and I are related by blood, I can infer his identity by DNA testing his hair.'

'The guy who put Ai through all of this is someone in the entertainment industry.' A plan began forming in his mind, and a malicious smile grew on his face. 'I won't rest. Not until I find him and make him pay with my own hand!'

Outside, Wheatley, who was acting as a sentry, could sense the growth in dark energy and worriedly contacted Jason. [Uh, Jason. Is everything alright in there? I can detect a sudden spike in dark energy. It's quite concerning.]

'I think I know what you're talking about.' Jason looked at Aqua with concern. From having Cassandra's experience and skills being integrated into his soul, he could now read body language as if it was his primary form of communication. 'I can see the kid's anger and maliciousness. The kid knows something, and it looks like he's made a plan inside that head of his.'

"H-hey, brother?" Ruby called out, shaking Aqua out of his thoughts. "Why are you smiling so creepily like that?"

Aqua wiped the smile off his face, blinking and remembering where he was and who he was with. He cleared his throat and looked away. "It's nothing."

Ruby looked at him doubtfully. "I don't think it's nothing… Come on, spill it."

Aqua looked at her before his eyes shifted over to Jason and shook his head. "I told you. It's nothing."

Even though the man saved Ai's life — which he was very thankful for — he was practically a stranger and he didn't want to involve Ruby in his plan.

Jason crouched to their level, and even then, he was still taller than them by a few inches. "You two, mind if I ask you a question?"

Ruby and Aqua exchanged a look before they turned back to Jason.

"What is your question?" Aqua calmly asked, tightening his hold on Ai's hand.

"Do either of you know how a stalker could've found out where Ai lived? I know it's rude of me to ask, but if I'm going to get to the bottom of this and catch the perpetrators, I'll need information."

Ruby silently shook her head. She had no clue how a stalker could've found their new address.

"Before I answer, do you mind answering some questions of mine?"

The look Aqua sent Jason as he asked was strange. It wasn't something you would expect from a kid of around 3 years old. If he was to be honest, it slightly unnerved him. The contrast of his childlike face and the dissecting look in his eyes was too much.

Jason calmly nodded. "I'll answer as best as I can."

"I'm grateful that you were able to save my mother, but I'm curious — Who are you? Are you a neighbour of ours? And if so, what urged you to help?" Aqua asked. He truly was grateful, but only an idiot would answer a personal question asked by a stranger without knowing if said stranger was trustworthy and wouldn't use it for malicious purposes.

Jason quickly came up with foolproof answers and lied as naturally as he breathed, "To answer your questions in order; my name's Jason Todd and I used to be a doctor before becoming a private investigator in America. I don't live nearby, but I'm looking for a place to move into, and was inspecting another condo on this floor. That's how I was able to hear the screams of that stalker. And I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. I saw that your mother was in danger of dying and I had the ability to help, so I did."

While most of Jason's answers to Aqua's questions were lies or half-truths, he was completely honest in his last answer.

Aqua didn't respond immediately and merely stared at Jason in silence with unblinking eyes.

Jason could tell that Aqua was debating on whether he was trustworthy. Even though he was extremely confident in his ability to lie, Aqua could still refrain from answering his question. While that would be disappointing, he'd understand, and he wasn't going to force a toddler to answer his questions. The only reason he asked in the first place is because they're a likely source of reliable information.

After a moment of silent contemplation, Aqua finally gave a hesitant nod.

He was confident in his ability to judge and read a person's character, and even though he had only known Jason-san for a short amount of time, he had saved Ai from death, had been kind to Ruby and him, and didn't seem to be a hardcore fan or stalker of Ai. He didn't even look shocked about the fact that Ai secretly has two kids and hasn't even mentioned it at all, which meant he either doesn't care or he doesn't know Ai's an idol. Aqua was betting on the latter being the case.

Plus, when he answered his last question, the look in his eyes changed and Aqua thought that Jason-san was someone he could trust, even if just a little. Even though the part about being a doctor and a private detective was slightly unbelievable because they're two completely different professions, he was willing to give Jason-san the benefit of the doubt. It wasn't impossible for someone who looked to be in their 20s to accomplish such things, and he even knew of some child prodigies who have done far more impressive stuff.

Aqua looked at Ai and Ruby before turning to Jason and looking him in the eye, whispering, "I don't think Ai's agency director or her group mates would leak our address to a fan, and she doesn't seem to have any relatives or close friends. That only leaves our father. Jason-san, since you were a private investigator in America, would it be possible for you to investigate this matter for us? I can convince Ai's agency director to pay you for the job."

Ruby pouted. "Hey! Why are you leaving me out of the conversation?"

Just as she was about to shout, Jason pat her head. Ruby blissfully smiled and completely forgave them.

From his body language, Jason could tell Aqua was still leaving some details out, but this amount of information was enough for him.

Jason shook his head. "I was going to do it anyway, and you don't have to pay me. I'll do it for free. Do you have a piece of paper? I'll give you my phone number."

"Ah, here!" Ruby opened a nearby drawer, grabbing a piece of paper and a pen before handing it to Jason.

Jason quickly wrote down his phone number before handing it back. "If you need to contact me, just send a message or call."

Jason then turned his head towards the door. He could hear the distant sound of a siren getting close.

[Jason, an ambu—]

'I can hear it, but thanks for watching for me, Wheatley.'

[—Oh, you can hear it? That's amazing cause from where I'm at, I can barely tell. You're welcome, by the way.]

Jason called the kids' attention. "Hey. It sounds like an ambulance is close."

They blinked in confusion before going silent and trying to listen. The room was only filled with the sound of breathing, and after seconds of trying, they gave up.

Ruby tilted her head. "I can't hear anything. Are you lying?"

"Why would I lie about that? I just have great hearing." Jason shrugged. "But it seems like I have to go now."

Unexpectedly, Ruby sprints and hugs Jason's leg. "Please don't go. You promised to protect Mama and us."

Jason smiled apologetically, leaning down and patting her head. "Sorry, but I have to. Remember that stalker guy? I heard him screaming and I know his type. He doesn't seem to be right in the head, so there's a chance he'll do something drastic. I have to stop him from doing anything like that and find out how he knew where you lived."

Ruby sniffled. "But you'll come and visit us at the hospital, right?"

"I will. Just message me the hospital's address, and I'll be there." He turned towards Aqua. "You two should prioritise taking care of your mother. I'll deal with her stalker."

Aqua quietly nodded with a stern frown on his face while Ruby reluctantly let go of his leg.

"I'll see you two again later, and next time, we can properly introduce ourselves. You okay with that?"

Jason received a nod from each.

Seconds later, Jason exited the condo, looking at his phone. He was specifically looking at the stationary blip on his map.

"Wheatley, let's go. I'm going to get to the bottom of this mess."

Without hesitation, Jason leapt off the railing and into the city below.

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Author's Note:

I have plans to explain why Ai and the others have stars in their eyes, which will be tackled in one of the next few chapters.

Comment any feedback you have or any grammatical mistakes you spot, and as always, thanks for reading!