***Chapter 1***

"Marcia?!"

Gary woke up and sat on his bed. Looked around his empty loft and said out loud "just a dream?". Feeling a bit disappointed he laid down in time to hear the paper arriving. He tried screaming "I just had a lousy night, come back later" but the cat wouldn't stop meowing. Gary stood up and went to the door and got the paper. Scanned the paper and there wasn't nothing important that needed  his attention. So he took a bath and dressed up. On the way
downstairs he said to the cat "if you want anything go ask the people who send the paper, will ya?" and left.

Marissa was on the office taking care of some papers when she heard Gary coming.

"Good Morning, Gary. What's the problem?" she asked while placing some papers on the desk.

"Morning, Marissa. I just have a lousy dream, that's all. The damn cat doesn't let me sleep and the paper doesn't let me have a life." he rubbed his face.

"You dreamt again with Marcia? Don't you find it a bit odd?"

"Should I? I mean, I deal with a lot worse things on the paper still-- oh boy!"

"What did you find on the paper?"

"Ah... the headline says ''unidentified asian woman found dead' on downtown Chicago early this morning a asian woman on her early 30's was found dead. Officials believe it was a robbery as her purse wasn't found.' The paper says she was beaten to death and it might have happened around midday. So I have plenty of time to find something out how to stop it."

"Just be careful, Gary. Whoever did this in day light isn't going to get shy if you show up."

"I'll have plenty of time to realize what will happen. And this time I'll try to get some help from the police. Don't worry, I'll be careful." Gary said while putting the paper on the back pocket of his jeans.

All he needed to do was go to the restaurant where the woman would be attacked, stop the guy and all solved. He got off the cab in a nice neighborhood and checked his clock it was short after 9 AM for his relief. He found the restaurant Sakana no Sekai. Neat place, asian people going in and out pretty often. Japanese writing all over the place making Gary not very comfortable. He decided to go inside hoping to find the victim or the attacker for that matter.

Going inside the place didn't help. While people were talking to him in japanese his attention was caught by the young woman singing on the karaoke. She was gorgeous, dressed in a red kimono and with a long black hair. Her voice sounded so gently on his ears he just stopped and stared at her. He was too distracted to notice the dirty looks the guy next to him was throwing at both of them. Gary was smiling and she looked at him a couple of times. She ended singing, Gary applauded which made half the customers on the restaurant turn to him. Embarrassed he just left the place and looked at the paper. Nothing had changed. "Oh boy!" he placed the paper on his pocket.

Meanwhile the man on the restaurant was furious. He got the young woman by the arm, all the way thru the dinning tables and kitchen screaming at her which got the customers attention once more. He threw her on the ground outside. Furiously screaming "aitsu ga dare? koraerou!" [who is he? answer me now!] while beating her on the face. All she could say was "Shiranai yo!"[I don't know!"] which made him get even more furious. She tried to
apologize in order to make him calm down. After asking a couple of times more who was the guy he got a baseball bat, screamed "subeta!" [bitch] and started to beat her with it.

Gary heard a woman screaming so he ran to find what was going on. He saw the same woman from the karaoke only she was bleeding and almost unconscious. Fortunately Gary was able to grab the bat which didn't get the man any happier about the situation. He punched Gary on the nose, then punched him some more until Gary got in his knees in the ground. Then he got his attention again on the woman, kicking her and screaming "anata
no kareshi ne!". [your boyfriend, isn't he?] While the man was too distracted beating the now unconscious victim Gary was able to knock him down with the bat. He ran to check if the woman was okay, carried her on his arms and tried to leave the place as soon as possible. After a block and a half he couldn't carry her anymore so he stopped and sat on the ground gasping for some air. The woman was by his side, also sitting on the ground staring straight ahead.

"Where's Tarou? And who are you?" she was almost whispering.

"If Tarou is the barbarian who was beating you, I left him unconscious there. And I'm Gary Hobson" he was holding his hand on his nose.

She recognized him was the same guy from the restaurant. "Thank you, Gary. I'm Shizuka... Tanemura. Tarou is my fiancee, he was angry because he got me singing on the karaoke and furious when you were staring at me--"

Gary couldn't believe she was saying it like it was normal "It's NOT a reason to beat someone up like that. So calm down, I won't let anybody lay a finger on you anymore. We'll need to get into a hospital so we'd better get a cab."

"I don't think it's a good idea. It'd be the first place Tarou would look for me."

They arrived at McGinty's so Gary told Shizuka to wait for him on his loft. As she went upstairs he checked the paper. "Chicagoan sat on antique vase - early yesterday morning a chicagoan woman sat on an antique vase that was left on the back seat of a cab. The victim was taken to the hospital and got 20 stitches but she's fine. The vase was worth US$250,000. It happened around 2 PM on Chicago's suburb." It was the only thing that needed his attention. Relieved there wasn't nothing related to her on the paper hew went to his loft and found her on his bathroom. He sat on the sofa, staring at the window while trying to figure out how he'd help her. She went out of the bathroom while he was distracted thinking. So she sat by his side on the sofa.

"I hope you don't mind I used your bathroom to fresh up a bit." Shizuka was still confused after all what happened.

"No. That's fine, feel free to make yourself comfortable. Was it the first time your fiancee did something like this?"

She looked to the ground "I'm afraid not. Our wedding was arranged by our families. In order to keep the tradition I have to stand this kind of thing. I ended up getting used to the idea I guess." A brief moment of silence. "Are you married, Gary?"

Gary couldn't help but getting hurt by the question "I... I'm divorced now. My wife threw my stuff off the window on our anniversary and told me it was over. After four years."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to--"

"Really that's fine. I have a important meeting in an hour but if you feel like you can stay here."

"Thanks. I need to do some thinking so I'll stay here for a while."

Gary nodded and left his loft. Going downstairs in a hurry still thinking about the lucky bastard who had a nice person as fiancee and didn't even care about it. And asking himself why he ran away when she asked if he was married. Then he saw Marissa on the bar. In a table near the corner. He sat there in silence and started to scan the paper. Marissa stopped reading as she realized Gary was next to her.

"Gary, I'm glad you're alright. Did you save the woman on the paper?"

"Yeah. I wasn't able to stop the guy from beating her. I just stopped him from killing her. She's upstairs now." He rested his head on hand.

"So did you find out who was beating her?" She closed the book she was reading.

"Her fiancee was going to beat her to death, Marissa. Then she tells me she has to stand it in order to keep her family tradition."

"It's serious but you can't make the decision for her. And if she chooses sticking to her family you'll have to understand." Marissa knew it would be hard to him too.

"I won't understand it at all." A brief moment of silence "Now I have to save a woman from sitting into an antique vase so I'll see you later." He stood up.

Marissa tried to suppress the laughter "Good luck, Gary!"

Gary was on Archer avenue trying to find a woman who could possible be the one on the paper. There at least five people asking for cabs when he saw who he thought that would be the same person. As she opened the door, Gary appeared on front of her as she was going to sit.

"Pervert, get out of my way!" she started to hit him with her purse.

"Easy lady! There's an antique vase you were about to sit on!" Gary managed to say while she was still suspecting him.

She looked inside and there was the vase. She handed it to the cab driver "I knew you were a freak!" she entered the cab and leave.

Gary had managed to save the vase so to speak. He still had to save a teenage girl from breaking her neck while trying to get her cat off a tree and a robbery on a 7-11 store. After that in the night he finally arrived at McGinty's at the night. He entered, grabbed a beer and start to drink it. Gary once again looked to the empty place. Feeling lonely and tired, he got another sip on the beer. Wondering if he would ever find time to live with the damn paper. Then he heard some noise coming from his loft. Opening the door he found Shizuka writing on a piece of paper. He entered, closed the door and stopped there.

Gary rubbed his hands "Are you leaving, Shizuka?"

"Oh Gary... I can't let you get in trouble. I wish you didn't appear there. So Tarou would give have beaten me, so what?" she kept writing on the piece of paper.

Gary's mouth got wide open. "He'd get you killed, ya know?"

Shizuka was cursing the fact she didn't leave before "Now you're trying to get too much credit. If someone knows what would have happened, that's me. So if you excuse me."

Shizuka wrote some more on the piece of paper while Gary was trying to figure out what to say. She gave the paper to Gary and opened the door. Still not believing what was happening, he heldher hand gently and said "I love you". Surprised with his reaction she avoided looking at him.

Then said "please, just try to forget me." then she ran downstairs. Gary threw his news paper on the sofa and tried to stop himself from going after her. He felt like he could have done so many things, he could have said so many things to her but he just made a fool out of himself.

She left McGinty's in the night. Feeling confused that Gary apparently really liked her and thinking what would happen next time she met Tarou, she got the L to go back home. Arriving ather home she entered saying "Tadaima!" [I'm home] and her sister replied "Okaeri!" [Welcome back]. Shizuka was afraid that Tarou could be there waiting for her.

"Where have you been, Shizuka? Tarou came here in the afternoon and said you were missing." She gave a good look on her sister "Did he beat you today again?!"

"You know him, Miyuki. But I didn't run away... a stranger saved me from Tarou today. This stranger fellow found me on Sakana no Sekai while I was singing on the karaoke" Shizuka was still thinking about Gary.

Miyuki just couldn't believe it happened again "So, was the guy good looking?"

"Mou! Miyuki tara. [Hey! Stop it, Miyuki.] I'll take a bath now."

***Chapter 2***

After three days without listening for her again, there was nothing about her on tomorrow's paper either. Gary was trying to avoid thinking about her still he couldn't forget the fool he made out of himself. He decided to try to find something to eat on the refrigerator. Someone knocked on the door, he thought that finally Shizuka came back to talk to him. He grabbed his pants fast then opened the door, there was Marissa.

"Hi Marissa." Gary just couldn't hold back the disappointment to see her.

"Morning, Gary. Was you expecting someone else?" Marissa smiled.

"Sort of. So what bring you here so early? Is there some problem on McGinty's?" he helped Marissa to sit on the sofa.

"You have been so distant the last days. I'm worried about you, Gary. Did you have problems with your saves?"

The last thing he wanted at the moment was talk but he knew that Marissa could help. So he ran his hand thru his hair "When Shizuka left three days ago I told her I loved her but she just ran away from me. I know, it was really stupid of me but I never felt like that since Marcia, you know?" he sighed.

"But she didn't explain why she left nor anything?"

"She left something written in a paper but I couldn't bring myself to read yet."

"You're not expecting me to read it, are you?" Marissa smiled to tease Gary.

He gave a dirty look to Marissa then got the piece of paper. He thought things couldn't get much worse so he started to read out loud "Gary, I need to go home now. I have to see how things are going to be with my family. Also I need sometime to think about my whole life. I just hope someday you'll be able to forgive me." He couldn't believe. She was saying the same things over and over again. What was she so afraid of? What the heck was wrong with her?

"Go talk to her. You already gave her enough time to think."

"I just hope I won't regret my actions once more."

He watched as Marissa stand up and went to the door. "If you need me, I'll downstairs." Gary nodded.

He went to the restaurant but she wasn't there. He tried to ask a few people on the there but they couldn't understand english enough to know what he wanted. Frustrated he went out and walked for a while on around the neighborhood. Nothing. Then Gary thought it would be better go change some headlines as it wasn't helping him to find Shizuka. Looking at the paper there was an article about a guy who was going to jump off Cortland Street
Bridge.

Shizuka was leaving her house to go work when Tarou appeared. He noticed she looked upset about something. "Can we go inside for a moment?" she was a bit afraid about his reaction as he always was a impulsive guy who didn't think before doing anything.

"Tarou there's no easy way to say that but it's over. Our engagement is over. I already called my parents on Hokkaido and told them."

He just kept looking at her not believing his ears "Is it all about that gaijin [foreigner] guy you're walking around with?"

"Even though it's none of your business, it's not about him. I don't even know him! Now I have to go work."

She left feeling afraid it could be the biggest mistake of her life. So now she didn't know what was going to happen on her future. Shizuka just walked thru the streets of Chicago looking around, feeling lost and confused. There was Gary a rather strange guy who did care about her enough to fight with Tarou. So many questions on her mind and not enough answers.

Gary walked around the Cortland Street Bridge. The paper said it happened in the morning but didn't have much details. So he stayed there trying to find anyone who would fit the description on the paper. He saw the guy preparing himself to jump and screamed "Heeeeeeey! Hey, Todd!" Todd pushed him away. "Stop it, will ya?"

"Is there something wrong, superman?" Todd light up a cigarette. "What?! I'm going to kill myself! Do you think I care if I'd have cancer in the future?"

Gary was lost now. "Uh... why don't you tell me what's wrong?" He checked the paper and the article was still there. "Come on!"

"Besides the fact you're wasting my time... I was fired today and my girlfriend dumped me when I told her about that." he was nervously smoking.

"You know what I think? I think you can get a better job and you still can get your girlfriend back. And don't rush your conclusions." Gary was getting worried about the guy already.

Todd thought for a moment "Ya know what, I guess I'll give myself sometime to think."

Gary saw the article was gone on the paper and just disappeared from the place. Avoiding too much questions was always good. So he had some free time so he called to McGinty's before goingto the last save of the day. Nothing too dangerous just a guy who was going to be ran over while crossing the street while talking in a cell phone. He dialed to McGinty's from the street and Marissa picked up the phone.

"Hello, McGinty's."
 
"It's me, Marissa."

"Gary! Did you find Shizuka already?"

Before he could answer someone walked behind him and he felt a point metallic thing on his back. The man just said "Hang up now!" Gary knew it was gun but didn't know anything else. All he said was "I gotta go now" and hang up. Then he did put his hands up. "Just walk until I tell you to stop" still not able to see how was the guy nor knowing what the person wanted, Gary said "Take my wallet and whatever more you want!" but the gunman didn't reply. They stopped in an alley. Gary managed to turn over and to his surprise it was Tarou.

"You?! What do you want?"

Tarou laughed at his question "You to stop screwing my fiancee behind my back!"

"You see, I'm not screwing nobody's--"

Tarou pointed his gun Gary's forehead. "If you don't stop talking right now, you'll die!"

For Gary's luck a police car passed by so Tarou ran away. Gary just stopped there not believing what could have happened. After a few minutes recovering himself he got into a cab to his next save.

Shizuka left her job and was decided he had to talk to Gary that day too. After all she already had thrown away her marriage why not talk to him too. She was on the L looking at Chicago inthe night. She wasn't prepared to leave that city to go back to Hokkaido, not yet at least. That was the only thing she was sure of. Finally she arrived at McGinty's and it was closing.A waiter told her the bar was already closed but when she said she was looking for Gary, they told her to talk to Marissa.

"You must be Shizuka, is that right?" They shook hands.

Shizuka got surprised "Did Gary talk to you about me?"

Marissa smiled "A lot." After a brief pause "He was looking for you today."

"So I'm glad I came here. Does Gary own this place?"

"Yeah. I'm his partner."

Gary entered thru the front door gasping like he had ran a marathon. He sat on the bar to check the paper not realizing Shizuka was talking to Marissa a few chairs away. For his relief there wasn't nothing needing his care. He folded the paper and placed it inside his jacket. Just then he saw both Marissa and Shizuka standing near him.

"Good night, ladies."

"Are you alright, Gary? What happened when you were talking to me on the phone?" Marissa was really concerned.

Gary still didn't know how he would tell it to them "Shizuka, could you please wait for me upstairs?"

Shizuka didn't mind at all. "Sure, I'll wait for you."

Gary sighed "Marissa... I just hang up because her fiancee was point a gun to my back."

Marissa got shocked "Oh my god! Will you wait until he kills you to stop seeing Shizuka?"

"I'll go upstairs put an end to this before it ends bad to anyone." He sighed.

Gary left the bar still shaking. Not everyday someone pointed a gun to his head. He really liked Shizuka and he didn't mind going thru all this if he was going to end up with her. But that crazy Tarou wasn't going to get happy before killing someone. Each step of the stairs was hard not just because he was tired. Mostly because he was going to end something that haven't started with Shizuka. Getting close to the door he heard her singing inside his loft.
"Okay, you're a grown man Gary. It's for her sake too." He entered the loft and she was singing while looking inside the refrigerator. He smiled. She closed the door just then realized he was there.

"I hope you don't mind..."

They both sat on the sofa. Gary sighed then said "Earlier... I... you see, Tarou pointed a gun to me today when I was talking on the phone."

"Just like him. He likes to scare people around him." Shizuka was looking inside her purse.

"Are you kidding? He's crazy! He'd have got me full of holes today if the police wasn't around!"

Shizuka stood up and went to the bathroom. Gary then again regretted the what he said about Tarou. After all the barbarian was her fiancee. He just wished he had how to make the timego back and change what happened since he met Shizuka. She went out of the bathroom and sat on the bed.

"Tarou flew back to Japan tonight. I was supposed to be with him as we were going to marry next week." She couldn't hold back the tears now "I just hope it wasn't the biggest mistake of my life!"

Gary really didn't know what to say "I'm so sorry! I didn't-- I mean--"

Still fighting her tears, Shizuka smiled and said "I'm tired..." Gary sat next to her on the bed and hugged her. On his arms she didn't feel lost anymore. It felt really nice and she just hoped she would be there forever. Then she kissed him gently. Gary smiled at her and whispered in her ear "I love you" then kissed her in the neck. After a while without saying anything, Shizuka then said "I love you too, Gary." They laid down on the bed until both fell asleep in each others arms.

***Chapter 3***


Shizuka woke up at 5 in the morning. Gary's arms were around her. She looked at him sleeping. He was so cute there sleeping. It was too early to call Miyuki so she decided to watch some TV. She grabbed the remote control and started searching for something to watch. Infomercials, Law & Order, Baywatch which made her miss watching NHK at night. So she finally started to watch Buffy but she fell asleep after a few minutes holding the remote on her hand.

Thump. Meow. Gary grabbed the pillow and placed it on his head. Shizuka was making some coffee so she opened the door and saw the cat on the paper. She petted the cat and got the paper. She left it near the window and got some milk to the cat. Gary woke up and saw her feeding the cat. He got in panic because of the paper and started to look around for it.

"Morning Gary. This kitty is lovely. Is it yours?" She was petting the cat's head.

He was still searching for the paper "Kinda. Uh... have you seen my paper?"

Shizuka was putting some coffee on a mug "You mean the one which was with the cat on the door? It's there." she pointed.

Gary got it and immediately started reading it. Then he noticed she didn't find anything unusual about the paper so he felt relieved. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. Do you mind if I call my sister? She might be worried about me."

He was still reading the paper "Uh... no I don't mind. Go ahead."

Shizuka was finishing her coffee and looking at Gary there reading the paper. He was nice to stare at and also nice to be around too. She thought "Things could be much worse" as Miyuki would say. She smiled at her thought. Gary was going to get some coffee then she kissed him. Then she decided to call Miyuki before going to work. She got the answering machine.

"Miyuki, watashi desu. Kare no uchi ni nemurita. Mou daijoubu, ima shigoto e ikimasu. Ja nee." [It's me. I slept at his place. Everything is fine, now I'm going to work. Bye.]

Gary's attention was on the article on the paper. "Computer programmer gets sued. Unfortunate accident happened when John Smith threw a mouse on a door which made his boss slip and break his arm. John was fired and sued by his boss." He was afraid the paper would keep him busy but apparently it wasn't going to screw up this time.

"So I'll go to work now. I wrote my phone number and my address on your address book I found near the telephone. Now I have to go to work." Shizuka got her purse.

"Okay. Uh... feel free to come over anytime, ok?" Gary wasn't sure himself what was going on between them.

Shizuka waved to him from the door "I have to hurry now. I'll call you later."

Gary still wasn't able to tell what was wrong with Shizuka. She spent the night there but did it mean they were having a relationship?! The paper was going to get between them but what was he going to do about it. He was still confused with all the situation. Well it was better go save the guy's job than wonder too much.

On an office John was trying to compile a file. Over and over but the damn thing wasn't working. His boss passed thru his desk "I want to see that project on my desk before lunch!" He just couldn't stand his boss anymore. "Okay, John you can do it. Just one more time" he was already talking to himself. He made some changes on the file tried to compile it again. The same error message, "that does it!" he was prepared to throw the mouse on his boss' office door when suddenly some guy he never saw before ran on the office.

"You don't want to do it, John!" Gary read again the article on the paper.

"Who the hell are ya and how do you know my name?" John was wanting to just kick the computer.

"Hey, throwing the mouse on that door won't help. But if you--" now reading from the paper "check if there's free space on the hard disk, that might help."

John just saw it was the whole problem that he tried for hours to solve. Thinking it was a bug on the program he was doing. "Thanks man! You saved my job!"

Gary checked the paper and the headline had changed. "Next time read the error message, would ya?" He sneaked out of the office before everyone started to ask how he knew.

Four days later Gary haven't heard from Shizuka. He left a couple of messages on her answering machine but she didn't reply them. Things weren't going fast between them. Not at all. The paper kept him busy the last few days, he was free only in the night. Lonely nights. Like that one. He got the phone and dialed her number.

A female voice answered "Hello?"

"I, I'd like to speak with Shizuka please."

"Hi Gary. It's me."

"I wanted to you if would like to have dinner sometime?" Gary didn't know if he would be able handle the paper in time but it was worth a shot.

"What about tomorrow night? There's a sushi bar near here called Nagareboshi. They have great food there." Shizuka wasn't sure if it was a good idea.

"Sounds nice! What about 8 o'clock?"

"Fine. Pick me up here tomorrow then." Shizuka was happy about going out.

Gary spoke in a serious tone "Are you avoiding me, Shizuka?"

"Of course not! Gary... I've been covering up for a teacher who got sick, that's all." Shizuka wasn't surprised with his question.

"I'm glad you hear that. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

Shizuka hang up and didn't know that to think. She wasn't sure if she wanted a relationship with Gary. But she did agree to have dinner with him. Things were already complicated and thinking wasn't helping. Could she make Gary wait so she could find out? It wouldn't be fair for him. Miyuki heard the last part of her conversation on the phone so she started to tease Shizuka.

"You spent a night over his place and now you're already on saying 'love you'. Way to go!" Miyuki was just trying to make Shizuka laugh for a change.

Shizuka kept silent thinking. She felt like if she thought any harder her head would explode. "Do you think I made a mistake, Miyuki?"

"Actually I think you would never be happy being a house wife so I think it'd be a mistake to don't get together with him." Even though she haven't met Gary yet she knew Shizuka was happy since she met him.

"Now you'll leave me with my thoughts just like mom would do." Shizuka rolled her eyes.

"Are you seriously thinking in dumping the poor guy just because he's a gaijin? Date him for a while at least." Miyuki then thought about how she said that but it was a bit too late.

"I'd like to know where you guys are buying the crystal balls!" Shizuka laughed for a moment then "Is it so obvious?"

Miyuki already had gone something like this herself in the past. "Blame those parents of ours on Japan for this kind of mind we have. Don't worry Shizuka, you'll work this out."

Shizuka got her MD player and went out for a walk. It was a nice night in Chicago, a bit cold but the sky was crystal clear. Walking around without paying much attention to where she was going she ran into a lot of people also some couples. There was one kissing passionately in a corner that got her attention. She could be on Gary's arms right now. She wanted to be on his arms. So why wasn't she? Because she was trying to find problems where there wasn't.

Gary was going thru yet another lonely night. It has been too much time since he last saw her. He couldn't understand why she was avoiding him. In a desperate try to keep his mind busy heturned the TV on. Baywatch marathon, cheesy but didn't need any brain cell. After three episodes he was still wondering about Shizuka. "She would look good in one of those bathing suits"he thought. When he turned the TV off, someone knocked on his
door.

It was already over midnight "do you want me to call a cab for you, Ma--" he saw Shizuka on his door. "Shizuka?!"

"I missed you, Gary."

"I couldn't stop thinking about ya! I'm really glad you came over."

Gary sat on the sofa and the next thing he knows Shizuka was on top of him kissing his neck. "That's really nice but--" she kissed him passionately on his lips. As she unbutton his shirt she started to kiss his bare chest. He was liking it but still a bit worried "You don't have to do this, you know?" She stopped and got her sweater then her bra off. Gary pulled her over him and whispered "I love you". Gary walked her to the bed she laid down. As he laid on top of her he felt something cold and hard on him. He opened his eyes and there was the floor. He climbed back to the sofa, looked around and nothing. "Just a dream?" he turned the TV off and laid on the bed.

The paper that day didn't have much problems for Gary. He was a bit afraid he'd have to cancel the dinner but apparently not. It was 5 PM and as far as he was concerned there was nobody else needing his help. So he got some flowers, went back to McGinty's to get dressed up. Black turtle neck and jeans. He looked at the paper on the front page "Boy ran over on Michigan Avenue - lastnight a young boy was ran over by a car in a hit-and-run. It
happened shortly after 7:30 PM" Gary didn't believe the paper got it on this one. With some luck he would get just a bit late.

He got down the cab on Michigan Avenue. The paper said it was a green Nissan was in high speed. Gary looked around there was a boy with his mother. She got distracted for a moment and the boy started to walk on his own. Then Gary heard the car so he pulled the boy off the street. His mother started to scream hysterically "Let my son go!". She got her son and walked away. Gary said "You're welcome!" looked to his watch and a few minutes over 8 PM.

Shizuka was waiting for Gary. She was afraid he wouldn't show up. When she heard the door bell she thanked heavens he came. Miyuki opened the door where a tall handsome stranger was gasping. She let him in and said "You must be Gary. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Gary Hobson, how do you do? You must be Miyuki, is that so?" Gary said while looking around.

"That's right. Nice to meet you. Shizuka will be down in a minute. I heard a lot about you lately, Gary."

Gary was looking around "Good things I hope." He sat on the sofa.

Miyuki smiled "You're Shizuka's mysterious handsome hero."

"How's that again?"

"You know the way you saved her from Tarou. I needed someone as handsome as you to save me from the boredom of being a house wife." Miyuki noticed he was embarrassed "Say, you don't happen to have a brother, do you?"

"I'm afraid not. But if doesn't work out with Shizuka we can try something out." Gary winked as just teasing her.

Shizuka was going downstairs just in time to hear "So you already have a list of women you'll go out with if it doesn't work out between us, Gary?"

She was wearing a pink sweater and jeans. Gary gave her the flowers. He couldn't believe how pretty she was looking in casual clothes. Not that she didn't look nice in formal clothes likehe saw her before, it's just that she looked so "the girl next door" like that.

"You're really pretty tonight, Shizuka."

"Thank you for the flowers Gary. I loved them."

They left walking on the streets at night, not many people were around. It was a rather calm neighborhood. Gary couldn't help noticing Shizuka seemed disturbed by something.

"Is there anything wrong?"

"Isn't life odd? I came to USA because I got a job as english teacher for japanese business men" Shizuka then smiled "And I ended up falling in love ere."

"I prefer to think if life was predictable it would be boring." Gary smiled.

"Do you regret about your marriage?" Shizuka was really curious about it.

Gary got again hurt about it "I regret I wasn't able to save it. But nowadays I'd say I'm over it already."

They arrived at the bar. Gary felt a bit out of place there. Loud japanese music on his ears and there was lots of food he couldn't even pronounce. He sat while she ordered something to them. He saw on the table just some square cups and chopsticks. "Oh boy!" He got a pair of chopsticks and started trying to use them. Shizuka just ordered the food and came back to the table. It was a cute sight to see him struggling with the chopsticks. She held his hand and explained how to use them.

"It was really cute to see you trying, you have no idea."

Gary got embarrassed "It's just... uh... what are those square cups for?"

"Oh. Those are for sake. I know how you feel, I was a rice fed japanese girl when I came to US." Shizuka then laughed at her own comment.

"I don't feel out of place here. It's nice the feeling around here." Gary was really enjoying the feeling of the place.

The waiter brought the food. Some noodles with meat and vegetables but also the foreigner nightmare, sushi. Gary wasn't sure where to start and even if it was eatable.

"I ordered some noodles and sushi. You're aware sushi is raw fish with rice, right?"

Raw fish. The thought of that made Gary's stomach angry. "I guess I'll stick to the noodles."

After their meal they stayed around the bar for a while. Shizuka sang a bit on the karaoke. She was having a great night. Even though she didn't believe Gary would enjoy that place she was seeing things differently. He wasn't trying to fit in, he was just enjoying being with her there. She was tired herself of trying to fit. It was already two in the morning so the bar was closing. They were the last customers to leave. He held her hand and so they walked
on the empty streets in the night. There wasn't much people around. The moon was full on the sky.

Shizuka was happy "I had a great time there! I wish we could stay there longer though."

"So do I. It was a very nice night." Gary looked at her "So now can I call you my girlfriend?"

She thought for a moment "First your parents have to meet mine. Then my dad will decide either if you're good enough to be my husband..."

He looked away "It's fine as long as you tell me what's the problem."

They arrived at her home but she haven't answered to him yet.  Shizuka just hoped she had made up her mind already. It was hard
to put feelings into words but she had to.

She looked into his eyes "Gary, I love you. I just need a bit more time for my family's sake."

He hugged her "I love you too. Let's try to keep in touch ok?"

They kissed. The rest of the walk was in automatic pilot, Gary wasn't in a mood for getting a cab let alone the L. He was wondering about the night and his life for that matter. Mostly how he was going to end up with her. Without realizing he saw on the end of the block the McGinty's sign. "I'm home finally" he thought.

Some days later, Miyuki got a letter from her parents which asked her to go back to Hokkaido. But her mother said in all words that they didn't want Shizuka back there. She wasn't welcome anymore. Miyuki couldn't help getting really mad at her parents. She didn't want to leave US so fast and she wasn't going to leave Shizuka behind, not at all. Miyuki called Shizuka at her job.

"What's wrong, Miyuki? Don't tell something bad happened!"

Miyuki tried her best to keep calm "I got a letter from our parents asking me to go back."

"Hiroshi doesn't want to leave his job and you two had a fight?" Shizuka thought Miyuki's husband wouldn't be happy about it.

Holding back her anger, Miyuki managed to say "You're not welcome anymore."

Shizuka dropped on her knees. It felt like the world feel on her head. She tears just ran down her cheeks. People were staring at her but she couldn't care less at the moment. She couldn't even speak.

"I'll pick you up on the school and we'll figure out something, ok?" Miyuki knew how much it would hurt.

After some silence from Shizuka "Those parents of ours know how spoil our lives, don't they?"

~*~*~*~

Meow. Thump. The sound of the paper arrival still bothered Gary like it was the first time. He had spent a quality time with the police last night, trying to explain why he knew more than he should. All Gary wanted was to sleep a bit more. "Go bother someone else!" he said, but the cat didn't mind and kept meowing. Giving up, he got the paper. Bending down to get it he said "I have a date tonight so you'd better not spoil it, pal!"

Miyuki promised Shizuka she wasn't going away before they figured out what to do. Shizuka was happy, her job was going well as a teacher and she had a date with Gary. She was looking forward to spending more time with him. She was planning to end up her work as fast as possible andthen meet Gary. She was on her class when someone appeared on the door. Going to check for Shizuka's surprise there was Tarou.

"Eigo no kurasu wa doko ni imasu ka?" (Where's the English class?) Tarou were acting like nothing had happened.

"Asoko desu yo!" (It's there!) she pointed to the door across the hall. "Eigo o benkyo shite iru no?" (Are you studying English?)

Tarou nodded and walked away to the class. Shizuka was sure he had gone back to Japan like he had said. She stopped staring at the hall while millions of questions were on her mind until one student got her attention back to the class. There were only 5 minutes left on her first class, so she dismissed the class.

Gary was reading the paper again "Executive murdered in robbery - the victim had his car robbedshortly after leaving the office building. Police believes it was a revenge as Robert Neal worked as criminal lawyer." So he was trying to figure out what to do. He had already tried to talk to the guy but he didn't have an appointment. Gary saw the possible victim going out of the building so he got close to the person.

"Excuse me, could you please tell me where Michigan avenue is?" Hoping he would get time to scare the robber away.

Robert thought for a moment "You're far away from there, pal. It's all the way to there."

Gary nodded "It's my first time here in Chicago so, uh, maybe--"

"Enjoy your stay. I'm in a hurry." Robert was going to step outside when the receptionist asked him to go back inside.

In the paper the article had changed. It was too easy Gary thought. Fortunately someone needed his attention. Best of all he didn't need to call the police. The rest of the errands weren't that hard either. Gary had time to go back to the bar in time to get ready to wait for Shizuka.

They were having dinner on McGinty's, just the two of them were there. Gary asked the cook to make some gnocchi. Some old song was playing on the jukebox and for a change Gary was just enjoying the dinner. Somehow the paper wasn't against his date, at least he hoped.

"What's the name of this pasta again, Gary?" She was eating it with chopsticks.

"Gnocchi. It's my dad's favorite food too." he smiled.

"I see... I think I'm the first person in the world eating gnocchi with chopsticks." Shizuka laughed at her own comment.

Gary nodded "Shizuka, have your heard from your parents lately?"

She placed her chopsticks on the table "Yes, I had. But I'd rather..." she sighed heavily "They asked Miyuki to go back and mentioned I'm not welcome."

"I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do?" He held her hand.

Shizuka was obviously upset about the fact "Being my boyfriend already helps."

Gary smiled at her "I'm really glad to hear that. But let me know if I can do anything else."

After a few days, Shizuka was still bugged by the fact Tarou was studying on the class across the hall. She couldn't help concentrate on the classes anymore. Miyuki didn't know anything either. Her parents didn't mention anything about him on their letters. He had gone to the US just to take her back to Japan so they could get married.

Even though the paper was keeping Gary busy, he was able to skip the police attention at least. Just another save for the day, a woman was going to be raped in a park. So it was going to be tricky but possible to avoid. Gary kept looking around searching for a blond woman in her 20's to walk around. Gary saw the possible victim walking but nobody suspect were around. He got close to her.

"Excuse me, I'm with the Chicago department of parks and I couldn't help noticing you stepped on the flowers."

The woman got scared "Are you a thief or just a fool?"

"Maybe a fool trying to help you. You see, theres a strange guy following you." Gary was looking around to find who was going to rape her.

"Sure thing. Is it your sick idea of pick up line?" She grabbed her cellphone in her purse "I'm calling the cops!"

Things weren't going the way Gary wanted "You know what, forget it!"

He walked away from her and looked at the paper. The article was gone. Looking back, Gary saw the woman walk away. Looking again at the paper, Gary said "Are you broken!?". He walked away from the park just wishing to get home as soon as possible.

He entered McGinty's just wanting to get some rest. The customers noise plus the song playing out of the juke box were enough to twist Gary's thoughts. He made his way to his loft in a hurry. As he entered the loft, he was ready to take his jacket off when the phone rang. He grabbed the phone quickly.

"Hi Gary, it's me."

"Hey, Shizuka. I'm sorry I didn't call. I had to run some errands." Gary sat on the sofa.

Shizuka didn't mind that "It's just I wanted to thank you for last night. I had a really good time."

"That's nice. I was wondering if you would like to watch a movie sometime?"

"Absolutely. Is friday night alright for you, Gary?"

"Sure. Let's meet here at McGinty's. I'm looking forward to spending sometime with you." Gary was glad they were going to meet again soon.

"So am I. Love you."

"Love you, Shizuka. Take care."

After a long day of errands, Gary got back to the bar. He spoke to Marissa for a while, mostly about the bar, then he went upstairs to change. The cat was meowing on top of the paper. Gary was just too distracted by getting dressed up so that the cat wasn't bothering him. "Get off the furniture, will ya?" Gary was putting the cat on the floor when he saw he headline. "Chemical laboratory burns down, one victim in critical condition"

Shizuka was going out when Miyuki saw her making her way to the door. "Hot date with Gary tonight eh?" Miyuki was impressed to see a smile on Shizukas face for a change.

"I'm going to the movies with him". Getting her purse, Shizuka stopped to stare in the mirror to make the final changes on her hair. Put her earrings on and some lipstick.

"I'm going now, jaa ne!". Shizuka waved to Miyuki as she left. The night was wonderful, the moon was full on the sky. She walked to the EL station as she was enjoying the view even though the wind was a bit too cold.

On a cab going to the University of Chicago, Gary read again the paper. "A group of senior students of chemistry changed the label of an alcohol bottle to water just to bother a new student. The laboratory burnt down and the chemistry teacher is in critical condition in the hospital. Police said it happened around 9 PM". At the University he tried to get inside the laboratory but the security guards didn't let him in.

"I'm tellin' ya! There's going to be problems in the laboratory!" Gary was trying to make a point but the guards weren't listening.

"Sure thing, Mr. knows better than the rest of us. So what's going to happen?"

"Okay, I'll tell ya." Gary started to read the paper "Two senior students changed the label of an alcohol bottle just to make a joke on the new student. So the newbie used what he thought that was water for his experiment which made the laboratory burn down. "Also... uh..."

The guard lost his patience "If you don't leave now, I'll kick you out!"

Gary was going to argue some more when he saw people running and screaming. He passed thru the guards and got into the laboratory. The teacher was on the ground but still alive. Gary helped the teacher to go out of the room without many problems. Gary had to call the ambulance himself as most students just disappeared to avoid trouble with the police. When they arrived Gary was able to get out of there. Checking his clock it was over
10 PM already. He ran some blocks until he was able to get a cab.

He got to McGinty's a bit too late. Shizuka wasn't there anymore. He searched around the place but she hasn't left any notes for him. Feeling frustrated he wasn't sure what he should do. Fast he picked up the phone in the bar and dialed Shizuka's number. After a couple of tries someone answered it.

"Hello, it's Shizuka speaking."

Gary scratched the back of his neck "It's me. I'm really sorry about today."

"Really, that's fine. I enjoyed staying there for a while, I needed to go out." Shizuka was a bit disappointed but not mad at him.

"What about tomorrow night? Here at McGinty's?" He knew the paper would screw up but he had to try.

Shizuka thought for a moment "Tomorrow I have to pick up my brother-in-law at the airport with Miyuki. I don't think I could make it, Gary."

"No problem. Sorry again about today." Gary was hoping it would help him.

"Don't worry about it. I gotta go now, Gary. I love you."

"Love you too, night."Shizuka was happy it was finally Friday.

She was able to avoid Tarou most of the days, even though it was getting on her nerve having to hide from him all day long. She was trying to focus on the future. Hiroshi was coming back and she was hoping he would need to stay longer in the US because of his job. Lessons were almost the same, a different group of people each day of the week but basically the same lesson to everybody. It was nice though, she really liked to teach. At least she enjoyed her job. She was leaving in order to go to the airport when Tarou appeared out of nowhere on the hall way and wanted to talk to her.

"So how are things with you, sensei?" (sensei is the formal way to say 'teacher')

Shizuka tossed her hands up in the air "Aren't you afraid people are going to realize you already speak English, Tarou?"

"Iie, betsu ni" (not at all) now forcing a strong accent "I speak not english, sorry" Tarou was enjoying the fact Shizuka was getting bored.

"I really thought you were going back to Japan" She looked into his eyes "We're thru. Leave me alone!" She walked away.

Gary had saved a woman from slipping from the EL stairs and breaking a leg. He was glad it was rather easy. He was already walking back to McGinty's when he checked the paper. On the first page "Explosion at O'Hare Airport - Yesterday afternoon at O'Hare Airport a bomb was left in the luggage. 2 people died and dozens got wounded." Fortunately he was able to grab a cab which was passing by.

Both Miyuki and Shizuka met at the airport. They were excited to finally see Hiroshi again. He had been to New York for 4 months, working. Miyuki brought her camera and started taking pictures from the airport. Shizuka was walking around because waiting on airports always made her imagination start to wonder about accidents. She stopped on the newsstand.

Still trying to find something more in the paper, Gary arrived at O'Hare. It was crowed and lots of luggage were around him. "Oh boy!" he started to look around trying to find out where the bomb could be. He looked in the paper and in the picture he saw a phone booth in the background. After walking around for a while he found what he believed was the place were the bomb would explode. An employee from the airport left a car full of luggage while he stopped to talk to someone. It was when Gary saw a woman looking for something in the luggage, he said to the crowd "Everybody down!" most people did it but the woman kept searching. Gary pulled her just in time before the bomb exploded.

*Chapter 4*

Shizuka was leaving the newsstand when she heard someone saying "Everybody down". As she turned she saw Gary pulling a woman away from the luggage then something exploded. After a few seconds she looked to see if anybody was hurt. She didn't see Gary so she got closer to were it all happened. Gary was with the woman in his arms. Her head was laying on his chest while he was holding her. All she could do was stop and stare at them.
Wondering about the unusual situation and the sight of another woman in his arms wasn't pleasant.

Gary pulled the woman away and heard the explosion. He just held her in this arms. They were far away enough from the explosion to not get hurt. He opened his eyes to see who the woman in his arms was... Marcia. She was really disturbed by the whole situation.

"Oh my god, Gary! Are you alright?!"

Gary was confused by the fact she was around and to see her so worried. "Yeah, I'm fine." he managed to say.

Marcia then placed her forehead on his chest "I could have..." he just held her, realizing she was disturbed by the near death experience.

"It's alright now. Don't worry." He waited until some paramedics arrived to take care of the wounded people and walked away.

Miyuki ran to find out if Shizuka was okay. She found her sister staring at the crowd. After trying to get information from the security people and getting any straight answers, she was already in panic. After trying to get Shizuka's attention by calling her name Miyuki grabbed her by the shoulders and tried again.

"Shizuka!!! Talk to me!!! Are you alright?!?!?" Miyuki was scared to death.

"I guess so. But look!" She pointed to Gary who was standing next to Marcia.  "Gary was holding that woman after the explosion."

Things were out of control that day. Gary was so tired he wasn't thinking anymore. All he wanted was to arrive at his loft and have some peaceful time alone. He passed thru the customers in the bar in a hurry. He made it to the stairs without problems. He was going up when he saw Shizuka sitting on the last step of the stair case.

Worried about her he asked "Are you alright? Let's go inside, shall we?"

She nodded and entered his loft. Before he could do or say anything she asked "So who was the woman I saw in your arms today at the airport?"

Gary got surprised "So you were there?! It was a crazy day."

"I was waiting for Miyuki's husband to arrive from New York, I told you that! I'm hoping you'll be honest with me, Gary." She was hoping his answer would solve the whole problem.

"That was my ex-wife." Gary made his way to the couch. "The same person who threw my stuff out of the window on our anniversary."

So the mystery was solved about the woman "How did you know about the explosion? I saw you telling everybody to get down and pulling her away before the bomb exploded!"

Even though Gary heard that a million of times it was the hardest. He ran his hand thru his hair and thought for a moment. He was going to take the paper off his jacket when she said "If you can't be honest with me-- you have my number, if you change your mind."

"Wait, Shizuka! Come on... give me a change to explain!"

Shizuka left the loft in a hurry and Gary followed her to the bar. He asked her to stop but she wouldn't, she just stopped when she saw Marcia entering the bar. Gary froze when he saw Marcia. The two women looked at each other for a moment. Not sure what he should do, Gary just kept staring at both of them.

Shizuka turned to Gary "I think you two have to talk so I'm leaving."

Hoping it would help, he said "I'll call you later!" As a waitress asked Marcia, she ordered a drink. Gary was trying to figure out what he should do next so he sat on a chair near her. Serving the drink, the waitress noticed her boss wasn't in his best moments.

"Are you alright, Mr. Hobson?" the waitress asked as a customer on the table called her.

"I guess so." Gary replied in a distant way.

"So who was that? Some girlfriend?" Marcia smiled.

Gary ran his hand thru his hair "That's right. So what's your visit all about?"

"I didn't have a chance to say how grateful I am to you for saving my life. But how did you know?" She sighed as she got a sip of her drink.

"Right place, right time kind of thing." It was an automatic answer for Gary already.

"That near death experience got me thinking about life, Gary. At that moment I thought I was going to die for my job and I didn't even had a family yet." She said it in a serious way.

Marcia walked to the jukebox. She picked a salsa song and started to dance. Gary couldn't stop looking at her, not noticing that the customers were staring at her, too. Looked like she was having a good time there. She waved Gary to join her but he  refused, shaking his head. Marcia didn't give up, she came next to him and grabbed his arm as he stood up. She started to dance so he tried his best to follow her. Memories of the times they used
to dance together popped on his mind. He was going to take her out to dinner and dancing on their 4th anniversary. He was too distracted with his thoughts to pay attention to anything else. Marcia was smiling a lot, she always smiled when she was dancing with him.

"Well done, Gary. It was the first time you didn't twist your knee."

Gary laughed embarrassed by her comment "So, were you leaving Chicago?"

"Actually I came from Boston." After a brief moment she asked "Would you like to grab a bite later?" Marcia got her drink off the bar and sipped it.

Thinking for a while Gary replied "I'm busy lately, you see? Taking care of the bar and everything."

All Gary wanted that night was to lay down for a while. All muscles of his body were aching, even some he didn't know that could ache. After climbing up the stairs to his loft, he collapsed on the sofa. He was just starting to sleep when the phone rang. Jumping as its ring scared him, Gary picked up. Said hello twice but nobody answered. He was about to hang up when he heard a distorted male voice "I'm going to kill you, Gary Hobson." and the person hang up. Gary sat on the sofa wondering *who* would like to do such thing.

The next days flew by to Shizuka. She didn't tell Miyuki what happened and she didn't talk to Gary either. Still she was trying to get as much time as possible without making any major decisions while she was feeling down. But things aren't always as she would hope. Miyuki was waiting for Shizuka to go back home so they could talk. Shizuka arrived home, entering the living room in a hurry. She stopped as she saw concern on her sister's face.

"Okay, Miyuki. You can drop the bomb! Things can't get any worse than that."

"Nope! First tell me what happened between you and Gary."

Shizuka didn't know where to start "That person Gary saved on the airport was his ex-wife. And I asked him how he did know but he didn't tell me!"

Miyuki thought for a moment "He said like 'none of your business' or what?"

"He just didn't answer. Then I left." Shizuka placed her hand on her forehead "I got upset because he couldn't tell me why!"

Taking a deep breath Miyuki said "Hiroshi wants to go back to Japan in 1 month. I have some money if you need help with the rent. And--"

"Don't bother. I'm seriously thinking about going back." Shizuka replied in a serious tone.

Gary had already saved a woman from being robbed then he was going to police station. He was still getting threats thru the phone. A cab just stopped a few feet away from were he was. Someone was leaving the cab so Gary ran to don't loose the cab. He was distracted reading the paper so he said "Hurry up, will ya?". An old lady got off the cab, gave some dirty looks to him.

On the police station, Gary had so many bad memories of that place. But it was worth a shot trying to get some help. Gary asked some policemen around if Armstrong was around but he was told Armstrong was in a meeting. So Gary sat down, read the paper just to be sure he had time and waited. Trying his best to keep his mind busy as unpleasant memories weren't what he needed.

"Hobson!? What brings you here this time?" Brigatti was just passing by him.

Gary got up when he saw her "Brigatti... I... I'm waiting to talk to Armstrong, that's all."

"Let's go to my office. Paul won't have free time today."

Gary was following Brigatti to her office. So the good samaritan got in trouble again, it was time to him to find a better hobby already. She was trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Gary was way too worried for someone who saved so many people on the airport. She closed the door and sat down on her chair.

"So what's wrong, Hobson?" She crossed her arms and rested them on the desk "What's the problem now?"

Gary scratched the back of his head "I've been getting threats thru the phone for a couple of days already."

"Okay. I'd say to you watch your back. Some people think it's funny to scare the hell out of others, few are actually after revenge." Brigatti looked at Gary's worried face "Do you have any idea who would do such a thing?"

"I wish I had." Gary saw in the paper that he had to do another save. "Brigatti, I gotta go now."
 
"Just watch your back, Hobson! And try not to be a hero once in a while, ok?", she said while Gary was leaving her office.

Actually there wasn't any article. Gary just didn't want to spend more time with the police. They wouldn't help much. He was going to try to figure out who was threatening him over the phone alone. He stopped at a flower shop and bought some flowers for Shizuka. Then he walked back to the bar, concerned about the whole situation.

Marissa was waiting for him after McGinty's was closed. She knew sometimes he arrives pretty late but she couldn't stop worrying. She heard the door open, hoping it was Gary. He entered slowly, trying to open the zipper of his jacket.

"Hello Marissa." He said as he placed the flowers on the bar.

"Gary! I'm so glad you're here. Detective Armstrong was here earlier looking for you. What's wrong?" She sounded so concerned, just like a mother whose son had done something naughty.

Still all he wanted was to be left alone for a while "Uh... I didn't want you to worry about it. I've been threatened thru the phone lately."

"Oh my god! Are you taking care, Gary?" Marissa just got even more concerned.

"I went to the police today. I spoke to Brigatti but they can't do anything about it" Gary sighed. "Watch your back was everything she said."

"Just promise me you'll be careful." After a brief pause "What about Shizuka? Did you go out with her again?"

Gary got frustrated "I blew two dates in a row. Ever since I wasn't able to talk to her."

"Go talk to her, Gary. Don't expect her to go after you." Marissa got her purse and was about to leave. "Good night. See you tomorrow." She left Gary to think about what she said, hoping it could help him.

*Chapter 5*

It was 2 AM in the morning. The wind was so cold that Gary felt like it was cutting him. He was tired of a day full of errands and freezing. Having some problems to actually read the paper because he was shaking too much the headline said "Chicagoan leaps to his death". It would happen on the State Street Bridge.

Just thinking about a hot shower already made Gary happier but still he had yet another person to save. He heard someone walking on the other side of the bridge, so Gary tried to hide. The guy was smoking and saying things but Gary was too far to hear it. When apparently the guy was going to jump, Gary got close to the guy "You don't want to do this!".

Exactly at the same moment, both Gary and the jumper pointed their fingers to each other and both said "it's ya!"

Todd started to laugh "I can't believe mister good samaritan came here *again*!"

"So what happened to your 'I'll think about things' attitude?" Gary was trying to warm himself up by walking around.

"Ya know, I had gotten another job at Wal Mart as bag boy. I got fired after two days!" Todd stop for a moment then he asked "How the hell did you know *both* times?!"

So tired and frozen Gary just said the first thing that came to his mind "I'm an angel. God sent me because it's not your time."

Todd's mouth opened and so did his eyes "Like on that show 'Touched by an Angel'?!?! So God does exist... wow! How does He look like?"

"I can't tell you more. I shouldn't have told you I'm an angel. If I tell you more I'll have problems." Gary didn't even know why he said that let alone why Todd believed it.

"Okay. I'll try more. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." Todd said while shaking Gary's hands.

"I'm glad. But remember I'll know if you try again."

Facing McGinty's door, Gary looked at his watch. Almost 4 in the morning. He could get two hours of sleep before the paper arrival. But first he had to climb up to his loft. All he could do was sit on the bed and take his shoes off, lay down and sleep like a rock. The phone rang a few minutes after Gary fell asleep, he stood up and made his way to the phone. Picking it up he heard a man saying "I'm going to kill you... it's all your fault. Because of what you did!"

Shizuka had decided to go back to Japan to try to start a new life there. She was trying to enjoy her last two weeks in Chicago and hoping to spend some time with Gary before going back. As Hiroshi had some business to take care of, Shizuka and Miyuki were going out together. Before going out Shizuka called McGinty's but Gary wasn't around.

Back at the police station, Gary finally was able to talk to Armstrong in this office. After more than a month of threats he couldn't wait to get rid of whoever was doing it. Still it was hard to be sure. Armstrong hadn't thought he would see Gary really worrying and needing help again.

"So Hobson, have you been able to find out why or who the person is that is threatening you?" Armstrong wrote on a piece of paper as he spoke.

Gary rubbed his hands "I think I do. Last time the guy said 'I'm going to kill you because of what you did' so I think it might be the ex-fianci of my girlfriend"

Armstrong kept writing on that paper "Are you sure? We can't go out there arresting people around, you know?" Now in a serious tone and looking at Gary "There's nothing we can do yet. You *think* he's the one--"

"Sure! If you find me floating on a lake then you'll be able to do something, right?" Gary stood up and walked to the door. He turned to Armstrong "I'm sorry... it's just I'm not used to have people threatening me!"
 
Shizuka got home after spending most of the day in a karaoke bar.  Feeling better, she opened the door, smiling as she thought about the date she had with Gary that night, too. As she entered it was too quiet. She could only hear Hiroshi was in the living room working on his laptop. Taking her shoes off she asked

"Where's Miyuki?"

"I thought you knew where she was!" without even taking his eyes off the laptop Hiroshi replied.

"Another deadline, Hiroshi?" Shizuka rolled her eyes.

He didn't even bother to stop typing "Of course. I need to finish this until tomorrow morning."

She sat on the sofa staring at her parents picture on the table. "Hiroshi... did I make a mistake about Tarou?"

Finally he stopped and looked at her "I believe omiai kekkon (arranged marriage) can work as mine worked but I also believe in fate. You two weren't meant to be together, period."

Shizuka looked at him "How do you know who the right person is?"

Still more one errand to take care of, Gary was running to downtown Chicago. The article in the paper was about a freak accident of a man who tried to fix his satellite dish on the roof of his home and fell down to his death. Without much time left, he was searching for the right home. On the street all houses looked alike.

He finally saw a middle aged man climbing up a ladder. "Mr. Brown! Wait!!!" He got close to the ladder "Please, Mr. Brown wait a minute."

Jim got off the ladder without recognizing the young man who was in his yard. "Who are you? How do you know my name?" Jim looked to Gary from up to down.

"I'm from the satellite dish corporation and I'm here to help you. You see, the problem isn't on your roof, sir." Gary was checking the details in the paper.

"And you know this because...? Don't waste my time, I wanna see the Bears game!" Jim was going back to the ladder.

"If you go inside Mr. Brown, and check the cable behind your TV you'll see that's the real problem. Trust me!"

While Jim went inside the house, Gary opened the paper and the article was gone. He folded the paper and walked away. There wasn't anything else in the paper. The afternoon was beautiful, the sun was almost not visible on the horizon. He was going to Shizuka's home. Glad he was going to arrive in time for his date this time. Arriving there, Gary placed the paper in his back pocket and knocked on the door. A man opened the door.

"May I help you?" he asked with a strong japanese accent.

"I'm Gary Hobson. Nice to meet you." They shook hands "I'm here to meet Shizuka."

Hiroshi got surprised and laughed "Oh! Shizuka's boyfriend. By the way, I'm Hiroshi Miwa."

They entered the house and both sat down on the living room. Hiroshi just saved something he had done on his laptop and turned it off "Shizuka will be down in a minute. So you're the mysterious guy who saved her."

Gary was getting embarrassed "It was just a right place, right time kind of thing. So you're Miyuki's husband?"

Hiroshi nodded "Yeah. We're a living proof that omiai kekkon can work."

Trying hard to pronounce it correctly Gary said "What is an omiai kekkon?"

Grabbing a book out of his pocket, Hiroshi searched for a few seconds "I meant arranged marriage."

Gary nodded, then he saw Shizuka coming downstairs. She found both of them talking. She was surprised to see Gary a bit earlier than they had marked. "It's nice to see you again, Gary."

He stood up "You're looking really beautiful tonight, Shizuka."

So they were going for a nice dinner in a restaurant. Enjoyable live music, lots of couples eating around enjoying themselves. Gary then walked her to their table. Shizuka was following the beats on the music shaking her head and not paying much attention to anything else around. Gary ordered the food. Sipping the wine, Shizuka looked at him.

"I got carried away by music, I didn't mean to ignore the waiter." Shizuka blushed.

Gary smiled "That's okay. I don't think he did mind though." Suddenly changing the subject, she asked "Do you believe in fate, Gary?"

Surprised by the question he thought for a moment "Things in my life made me not believe in it, you see?"

Shizuka nodded "Hiroshi told me he thinks he and Miyuki were meant to be together. Only then I realized I don't have an opinion
about fate."

They left the restaurant, walking in the moonlight on a nice evening. Gary was holding her hand while they walked. Going thru some stores on the streets and looking around, they were both having a good time. They entered Shizuka's house. Miyuki was sleeping on the sofa while the TV was on the NHK news.

So both went upstairs to Shizuka's bedroom. She opened the door, a small room. Just a bed, a laptop on a table, a stereo next to it and lots of CDs. Some pictures on the table. Gary sat down on the bed and Shizuka sat down on a chair.

"Welcome to my world, Gary." She placed a CD in the stereo next to her bed "I can isolate myself from everything else when I listen to music here."

Gary looked around "I like the room. It looks so... japanese." he smiled.

Shizuka sat next to him on the bed. She was staring at the wall, trying to figure out what to do. As she looked at Gary, ready to say something, he kissed her. She looked in his eyes "I love you" when Gary pulled her in his arms and kissed her once more. And so they spent the night together.

Gary woke up on his own. Looking outside the window it was already morning but he haven't heard the cat nor the paper. He thought it was because they were on the second floor of the house. Shizuka was laying on his shoulder. He managed to grab his clothes. Shizuka opened her eyes as she heard Gary struggling to put on his pants.

"Good Morning, Gary" she said, rubbing her eyes "Did you sleep well last night?"

Smiling, he replied "Good Morning. I slept quite well."

Gary looked on a clock on her desk, it was 7:15 AM. Wondering where the world the paper would be, he rushed downstairs to find the paper on a table near the stairs. He grabbed it to only then noticing Miyuki and a couple in the living room were staring at him. Embarrassed Gary wasn't sure what to say.

"Good Morning, Miyuki. Mr and Ms. Tanemura, I presume. it's nice to finally meet you both." Gary noticed the worried look on Miyuki's face.

Ms. Tanemura then said "Miyuki-san, ano kata wa dare deshou ka?" (Who's this person?)

Miyuki stood up. "Otosan, okasan chotto omachi kudasai." (Dad, mom please wait a minute) she walked to Gary "What are we going to do now?"

"Didn't you know they were coming?!" Gary looked at the parents but they just ignored him and kept talking to each other.

When things apparently couldn't get any worse, Shizuka was coming downstairs and saw Miyuki next to Gary. "You're already back, Miyuki, I wasn't--" she turned to see her parents there. Still shocked but trying to hide it "Ohayou gozaimasu. Otosan, okasan ogenki desu ka?" (Good Morning. How are you two doing?)

Mr. Tanemura finally said something "Kareshi wa nihongo no hanasu koto ga dekimasen ne?" (Your boyfriend doesn't speak japanese, does he?)
 
"Moriron desu, anata." (Of course not, dear.) Ms. Tanemura added before Shizuka could say anything.

Shizuka got really upset about the comment so she looked at both of them "Koko wa watashi no ie desu kara kimitachi wa kangei sarete inai!" (Because it's my house you both aren't welcome here!)

An awkward silence filled the room.N obody said anything else. Gary was able to go to the second floor just in time to hear Shizuka's speech. Even though he didn't understand, it didn't sound good. In the paper the headline said "Woman dies on car explosion - 38 years old Ming Fey died yesterday shortly after 10 AM when her car exploded. Police affirms the bomb was made exactly like the one found at O'Hare airport" folding the paper, Gary
placed it in the pocket of his jeans.

Upset, Shizuka went upstairs and entered her bedroom. Gary knew she needed support in a moment like that, so he walked to her bedroom. He stopped at the door, seeing her standing next to the desk. Gary entered the room and just held her. "It's gonna be alright, Shizuka. I'm going to stay with you forever." Gary held her tighter.

"I'm sorry they ruined our first morning together, Gary." Shizuka then said "I want to be with you forever!"

Leaving the house together, each one took a different way. Shizuka went to work on the EL while Gary got a cab in order to avoid the car explosion. Arriving at the place, Gary didn't have problems finding the avocado green Nissan. He couldn't see anything wrong with the car so he stayed around until the woman came. A Korean woman was going to place the key in the key hole as Gary took the key off her hand.

"I'm sorry ma'am but I can't let you do that! And you have to get out of here!" Gary said as he held the keys.

Then the woman started to say something to him in Korean and at the same time she struggled to get the key off his hand. She was half his size so not much of a problem to Gary. Only that she kept screaming and apparently didn't understand a word of what he said.

"Wait! Hey, I'm the good guy in this situation. It's for your own sake!" Before Gary could do anything else, a man got near them and started arguing with the woman. Distracted for a moment from the fight, Gary was going to get the paper when the man got a knife out of his jacket "What do you think your are doing, pal?"

Gary recognized that accent "Aren't ya the freak who have been threatening me thru the phone?!"

"Every time I was about to kill this bitch you somehow always appear to save her!" Then again he started arguing with the woman.

"Come on, you don't want to kill her. It's not going to help you!" Gary was trying even though it would be hard to change the guy's
mind.

Laughing, the man said to Gary "See you in hell, pal! I promise I'll kill you fast but for her I have some ideas--"

Gary was cursing the fact there was no one around to help "So why do you want to kill her?"

"As we are having this little conversation, I know about your secret!" The man placed the knife on Gary's neck "So why don't you tell me more about it?"

Scared to death Gary whispered "I don't know what you're talking about."

A police car arrived at the place. As the cops pulled their guns out the guy dropped the knife. Still a bit dizzy from the unusual situation, Gary looked in the paper and said "Everybody down!" as most people ducked and Gary too, about 10 seconds later the Nissan exploded.

One of the cops asked Gary a few questions. Meanwhile the other cop was having a hard time with the man, he was saying "Lock that freak up! He gets tomorrow's paper today, you know?"

So the cop took his eyes off his notepad and said to Gary "Tomorrow's paper eh? I see you brought it with you" he pointed at the paper in Gary's hand.

Believing his secret was finally out, Gary finally said "Yeah. Uh... you're not going to put it in your report, are ya?"

The cop started to write something down "Absolutely. My boss will love to hear what we found out today." looking to Gary's worried face he said "I knew I should be an actor!"

Gary laughed "I'd give ya an award for that one!"

Shizuka was staring at the sunset sitting on a park bench. It was a pretty sight, the sky was crystal clear as the night was starting. She was relaxing after work and she didn't exactly want to go home that day. She closed her eyes and started to sing, not too loud. She sang for a while, then opened her eyes to see Gary on her side.

"How long have you been there, Gary?" She wiped some tears off her eyes.

He placed his arms around her "Long enough to hear your song. What's wrong?"

Shizuka said "It's nothing. Uh..."

Gary then got a serious tone in his voice "I need to tell you something, Shizuka. You see..." he took the paper out of his jacket. "I get tomorrow's newspaper today. And I try to help people with it. Here, take a look yourself" he handed the paper to her.
 
She looked at the date in the paper and the front page. She folded it and gave it back to Gary "So that's why you knew about the bomb at the airport... oh, I see. You read about Tarou and me in it too?"

Nodding he added "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it before."

"Do you know where the paper comes from, Gary?" Shizuka sighed, then continued "I knew you were special since the day I met you."

Gary ran his hand thru his hair "I don't know yet where it comes from. All I know is every morning for the past 6 years that orange cat and the paper are on my doorstep."

Shizuka's eyes got wide open "SIX YEARS?! Oh my god! Whom did you tell about it?"

Looking up as he thought Gary said "Marissa... my parents and my best friend, Chuck."

"Gary... there's something I wanted to say--"

Gary held Shizuka's hand "Please let me finish. I told you about the paper because I wanted to know" after a brief pause he asked "Will you marry me, Sizuka?"

Shizuka kissed Gary on his lips "Yes! I'll marry you, Gary" she kissed him again.

As Gary placed the ring on her finger she couldn't hold back her tears "I just hope it's not just a nice dream."

Five days ater Gary and Shizuka were waiting for Hiroshi and Miyuki. Gary was sitting on a bench reading the paper while Shizuka was walking around. She was way too nervous to wait quietly.

Gary folded the paper and went after her. Shizuka was staring at a crowd that had just arrived on a flight from Japan "I came thru that very same gate 4 years ago, Gary. And now Miyuki is leaving alone."

Gary held her "Come on! Be strong for Miyuki, I'm sure it's hard for her too."

Still in his arms, she said "Don't you know I just said that so you would hold me?" she smiled.

So they waited a few minutes more, then they saw Hiroshi and Miyuki going towards the gate. Shizuka ran and hugged her sister. Hiroshi was carrying some luggage so he placed it near the bench were Gary was standing near.

Hiroshi shook hands with Gary "Take good care of Shizuka, ok? And go visit us someday in Okinawa."

Gary was looking to both sisters "Don't worry. I'll take good care of her. Wait, their parents live in Hokkaido, don't they?!"

"I was transferred to Okinawa, I'm editor of a japanese newspaper." Hiroshi then stared at the sisters.

Surprised, Gary said "Newspaper editor? I didn't know that." Then he stared at the sisters "Do you think those two will survive separated from each other?"

Miyuki held Shizuka's hands "I'm so happy for you about Gary. I'm sure you will be happy."

"Shimatta... (damn it) I promised myself I wouldn't cry but--" Shizuka was chocking on her  tears "I'm going to miss you!"

"Now I'm going to cry!" Miyuki laughed as she wiped a tear off her eye "We will talk to each other. Besides, you can come visit us anytime!"

Speaking about their future plans while waiting for the flight, finally Miyuki got a box out of her luggage and handed it to Shizuka.

"It's mom's wedding kimono. I want you to use it on yours so it will bring luck to you both."
 
Gary did a bow saying "Domo arigatou. (thank you) Kore kara mo yoroshiku onegai shimasu." (Literally something around "I humbly ask you to be kind to me from now on")
 
"Wow! Your pronunciation is wonderful, Gary!" Miyuki couldn't resist to take the opportunity to make her sister jealous.

Shizuka held Gary's arm "Ogenki de ne! (Take care) Ganbare! (Good luck)"

As both entered the gate, Shizuka turned to Gary and said "Hold me."

Trying to cheer her up a bit, Gary said "I know it's hard to say goodbye, Shizuka."

"Why does it hurt so much to miss other people?" Shizuka was still in his arms. "Promise me you'll never let go of me."

"I promise you, Shizuka."


*The End*

Email the author: priscila55@excite.com
 

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