The bird startled the pair, who separated with a yelp of surprise, and an instant freezing by Markus. He’d never had a bird attack him before, and his initial instinct caused him to freeze.

Slowly, his eye swiveled to see what had landed on him. When he saw the massive, black bird preening its feathers on his shoulder, he turned his head slightly away from it.

“Akane? Is that a crow on my shoulder?” he asked, his voice shaky. As his girlfriend slowly nodded, he swallowed hesitantly. “Would you be so kind as to go get someone? I don’t think this is supposed to happen.”

Akane nodded and sidled away, in the direction of their other two friends. Once she had reached Hanako and Yamato-san, she hurriedly explained the situation.

Hanako looked over, seeing Markus standing stock still with a bird on his shoulder. Her eyes widened in shock, and she looked her kouhai in the eye. “Akane, find a park attendant. Yamato-kun and I will watch from here, and make sure that if the bird attacks him, he won’t be far from friends, okay? Run, girl!” she commanded.

Akane ran off to find someone, anyone who could help.

Hanako and Yamato-san simply watched their new friend from a distance, both knowing that the wrong move could cause the bird to start scratching at Markus’ tender neck or eyes.

Markus stilled his breathing slowly, which did little for his hammering heart. Okay. Think, Markus. There is a big-ass crow sitting on your right shoulder right now. It hasn’t tried to hurt you yet, but that doesn’t mean it won’t.

Once his breathing was stilled enough, he did the lamest thing he could think of. “Um…hi? How are you, Mr. Crow?” he asked the crow quietly. Inwardly he cursed his idiocy.

Surprisingly enough, the crow grunted what sounded like a quiet laugh. It turned and began inspecting his short hair, gently nibbling at his head. “Hear you, I do. Hear me?” it asked quietly.

Markus’ eyes went wide, and he wondered if this was going to happen to him everywhere he went. “Yes. What are you up to, if I may ask?” he questioned softly.

“Polite, you are. Answer, I will. Inspecting, I am. Is this good human? Is this bad human? We know not. Find out, we will,” it croaked softly.

“I try to be. Polite and good, that is. Does this have something to do with my new job? The dolphin, maybe?” he asked softly.

The crow croaked another laugh as it moved to Markus’ other shoulder, and began inspecting and preening that side of his head as well. “Maybe yes. Maybe no. Maybe maybe maybe. We watch. We judge. We reward. We punish. Hand. Now.” it croaked.

Markus shakily offered his hand to the bird. It cocked its head this way and that, eyeing the flesh. As Markus raised his hand, palm up, the bird reached out with its beak and moved the hand so that it could hop out onto it.

Once the bird was comfortably standing on his hand, Markus held the bird at half his arm’s length, and looked it up and down, appreciating its beauty. From its blue-black wings to it’s jet black body and massive bill, it was truly beautiful, and he said as much.

“Many thanks. Polite, you are. Honest, too. Treat girl nice. Treat friends nice. No speak of this. Boss says so. Follow rules, be safe. Break rules, be punish. Will see again. Tonight. Expect,” the crow rasped, then turned in his hand, and flew off into the distance, dropping a single metallic blue-black feather.

Markus knelt down and picked the feather up. It was rather large, being nearly a foot in length and quite broad. Hanako and Yamato-san came running up behind him, followed closely by Akane and a park attendant.

“Barton-san! Are you okay? The bird didn’t peck you, did it? Did it scratch you?” Yamato-san asked quickly.

Markus held his hands out in a placating manner as Akane moved to his side, and began inspecting his head and neck.

“I’m okay. Seriously, Akane. I’m fine. The bird just landed on me and began chewing on my hair, of all things. That’s all. It was weird and scary,” Markus said with a laugh and a twitch as Akane’s fingers brushed a particularly sensitive spot on his neck.

“Are you certain, sir? Crow attacks aren’t unheard-of. Is that the bird’s feather? May I see it?” the attendant asked.

Markus handed the feather over to the woman. She inspected it and let out a low whistle. “A jungle crow. Not too common in the city. And a big one, too. Judging from the size of this feather, I’d say it was bigger than most. I would keep this close. It could be a good luck charm!” she said.

“I would say it weighed close to three pounds. A little over a kilogram, maybe?” Markus replied, accepting the feather back.

The attendant nodded. “Then it was definitely bigger than most. They don’t usually get to be over eight hundred grams, or so. You were lucky, sir. As you are unharmed, I will go back to my duties. Please enjoy the rest of your day,” she said, and left with a bow.

Markus looked at the foot-long feather in his hands, and remembered the bird’s final statement. It appeared he would be expecting a visitor tonight.

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Tucking the feather into his left pocket, Markus looked at his companions. He smiled and said, “This kind of shit never happens to me in the States. Shall we continue?”

Akane looked at the others. Her concerns over this man were growing. “Markus? Are you sure you’re okay? This has been a weird day already, and I don’t know if we should tempt the fates any further,” she said quietly, her face drawn into a sorrowful mask.

Markus gently lifted Akane’s chin so he could gaze into her soft brown eyes. “Hey. None of that, now,” he said softly. “I’m fine, Akane. I swear. With as surreal as this week has been so far, none of this is seeming to be too crazy. From my last visit with my mom, to meeting Atsuki, interviewing for and getting my new job, to meeting a beautiful and sweet woman like you… Seriously. This day, while weird, will remain as one of the best I’ve ever had. I’m not afraid of what the rest of this day will bring,” Markus said confidently.

Akane sighed softly. He had courage in the face of the unknown. She was more certain than ever that he was a nexus of change, no matter how safe he and the ones around him seemed. “If you are sure, my Kuma. I will trust you. I can already see how much of a whirlwind life will be with you, if today is any indicator,” she said quietly, then covered her mouth as she realized what she had said.

Markus gave her a lopsided smile. He leaned closer, his mouth next to her ear. “Are you already thinking of being with me for a long time, Usagi-chan? I will warn you that doing so will likely be more adventurous than you might first think. I think, however, that I would like that very much,” he murmured softly.

Akane shivered as his smooth voice met her ear. Unconsciously, she tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck, letting his breath caress the soft skin there. She closed her eyes, imagining what life with this massive bear of a man would be like and shuddered in pleasure.

Markus leaned back, standing straight. He smirked as he saw Akane standing there, eyes closed, a soft smile on her face as she swayed gently from side to side. He looked over at Hanako and Yamato-san who were trying to hide their smiles and failing.

Hanako came closer to Akane as Markus stepped back a little. “Hey lovergirl. It’s time to get moving,” she said with a gentle poke to Akane’s cheek.

Akane stiffened with a jolt, and looked around wildly. “Huh?! What? What happened?” she asked, bringing her clasped hands to her chest.

“Whatever Barton-san said to you, it had you in a trance, Ikeda-chan. You looked quite…um…pleased by it,” Yamato-san said with a smirk.

Akane made a strangled, high-pitched noise and retreated behind Markus, who laughed softly. “Save me! They’re being mean to me again, Kuma-kun!” she wailed.

Hanako and Yamato-san laughed at the younger woman who was hiding behind Markus. “Okay, okay… We are sorry. May we continue our trip through the zoo, now?” Hanako asked gently.

Akane stuck her tongue out at them and took Markus’ hand. They continued their (thankfully uneventful) trip through the zoo, and stopped at the gift shop before leaving.

Once inside, the four split up to examine the offerings within. Hanako found herself next to Markus after a few minutes, and decided to speak with him.

“So, Barton-san. It seems my cute little kouhai has fallen for you. Hard. What are your intentions with her? I love her like my own sister, and I don’t want her hurt,” she asked.

Markus smiled and replied, “My intentions? Simple. Treat her like she truly deserves to be treated. Love and care for her. Heh. ‘Love’. I don’t know quite how things work here, but in the US, love apparently takes time to grow. Real, romantic love, that is. For most people, anyway. At least, that’s the general experience. This, though? This might be much different for me. I’m not used to the way she is acting with me. Is this normal for new couples? Not that I’m complaining.”

Hanako thought for a moment while she made a show of looking at the t-shirts. “Not really. Ikeda-chan has always been different. She often reveals her heart without thinking. It has hurt her in the past. You won’t hurt her, will you?” she asked.

Markus shook his head. “Never intentionally. We all hurt others on occasion. Usually without meaning to. If I ever hurt her, it will be unintentional. So far as I can tell, she makes me happy just by being there. Makes things more bearable. I’ve only kissed her the one time, and I have to say, I’ve never felt so alive. Never before did I ever understand what it meant to feel your heart sing, but I did then. So, no. I’m not going to hurt her if I can help it,” he replied, looking directly into Hanako’s dark eyes.

She smiled and motioned with her chin to somewhere behind Markus. “I’m sure she enjoys hearing that, Barton-kun,” she said and wandered off to find Yamato-san.

Markus turned with a confused look on his face, only to find Akane standing behind him, a delirious smile on her face, and teardrops in her eyes. “I make your heart sing, Kuma-kun?” she asked in a tiny voice. She had a stuffed rabbit in her arms that she was currently clutching the way a young child might.

Markus nodded, shifting nervously from foot to foot. “Yeah. You do. Like I said, I’ve never felt as alive as I did at that moment. I can't quite explain it, but in just these few short hours with you, I've felt happier than I ever have in my entire life. I don’t know how relationships usually work here in Japan, but in the States, most people wouldn’t ever experience something like this. Not this quickly, anyway. I’m willing to explore this to wherever it may lead us, Akane. Whether that may be with me moving to Japan to live here with you for the rest of my days, or you coming to America, I’m going to go wherever this leads,” he said, feeling his body heat rising.

Akane moved closer to him and put her arms around him, hearing the hammering of his heart. She nodded and squeezed him tightly. When she let go, she smiled up at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, then skipped off to pay for the stuffed rabbit.

Markus watched her go with a small amount of sadness. He knew he’d be leaving within the week, and he knew he needed to tell her. He turned back to a selection of stuffed critters and looked for a bear.

As he was perusing the selection, he heard someone clear their throat behind him. Thinking it was just another customer, he quickly murmured an apology and shifted to the side. Until he heard it again.

Turning, he expected to see nearly anything but who he just saw.

Takeda-san simply lifted his hand to the side of his face in the universal sign of a telephone and said, “Call me. Now.”