Streetlights were beginning to turn on as Aiko and MC arrived at the cafe. They each ordered a coffee and found some open seats around a small square table. MC felt sore from his training with GM earlier in the day and rubbed his aching shoulder while thinking about what to say to her. He’d never just sat around and caught up with someone before. He was out of his usual element.

It didn’t help that he felt thrown off by seeing Aiko. He recognized her, but it was like looking at a different version of her. She wore fancy clothes that he guessed had something to do with current fashion trends. She was much taller and her hair was longer than he remembered. Her face had a bit of maturity to it. He’d only seen her twice in the last ten years after all.

Aiko couldn’t stop smiling as she analyzed MC. She noticed a maturity and quietness about him as well. A memory drifted into her head and she broke the silence.

“Hey MC, do you remember the time when Our families went on that camping trip? That bear stumbled into our camp.

MC smiled, remembering that day. “How could I forget? To this day, I’ve never seen an animal behave like that again. I remember the camp ranger telling us later that it had been caught the next day when it was climbing into a dumpster. It had rabies and wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“The memory is a bit blurry, but I remember you falling over backwards as we tried to get away. The bear looked at you and snarled. I picked up the only rock on the ground and only had one shot to stop that thing from charging at you.”

“I’m glad you made a good throw. You hit the bear square in the nose! It turned around and ran away as fast as it could. Must have given it quite the startle.” MC chuckled.

“So Aiko, what are you up to these days? Something heroic I’m sure,” he joked.

“As a matter of fact, I work in the detective unit here in Strongzinburg city.”

A detective? MC felt a sudden sickness to his stomach. How could Aiko be a detective while he was a member of The Organization, one of the biggest criminal organizations in the city? Couldn't she have said that she was a veterinarian or something? He pushed away the feeling and continued the conversation.

“You really were always coming to the rescue back then when we were young. Look at you now, you’re still coming to the rescue, but in a different way. Being a detective means helping people, in a nutshell.”

“I never thought about it that way but I guess I do have a way of always being the hero,” Aiko laughed.

MC smiled, leaned back, and looked out the window. The city was busy. Even in the night, there were plenty of people passing by those large reflective windows. Who cares if she’s a detective. She’s still just Aiko.

“By the way, thanks for rescuing me. You know… at that club.”

“Yeah, no problem. I just did what anyone else would have. It was nothing really.”

Aiko sighed and relaxed a bit. “Anyway, now that I’ve got my thanks out of the way let’s move on. I’d prefer not to dwell on that night.”

MC saw that despite Aiko being a brave detective, she was still human. “So what are you up to these days, MC?” asked Aiko.

“Trying to find my footing in life, you could say.” He chose his words carefully, not wanting to reveal anything about his actual activities of late. “I spent a lot of time on my own, but I’ve made a few friends recently. They're a quirky bunch, but I fit right in with them. I’ve been working on becoming more physically fit with a personal trainer and boy let me tell you he doesn’t make it easy.”

“Great. I’m glad you found some friends. The city can be lonely all on your own. Not to mention, dangerous at times. It looks like you’ve been working out so I doubt anyone tries messing with you, though” she teased with a smile.

MC never thought of his workout routines as a strength in this way. He was usually the aggressor when hunting Black Diamonds.

“The crime in the city has been getting more and more dangerous. You never know when you might get caught up in their crossfire,” she warned.

“Sure sounds like they’re making your job harder.”

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“Tell me about it. We’ve been doing nothing, but going over crime scenes for weeks. There’s even word of some kind of flash bang member who’s been going around lately. He uses flash bang explosives to stun his enemies. That’s totally crazy!”

MC Choked and nearly spit his drink out.

“Are you ok?” she asked, concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said in a raspy voice. “Just went down the wrong tube.”

He reflected on Aiko’s words and her perceptions of the city. Aiko had always been a voice of sounding for him. This is the first time I’ve had mixed feelings about the way I’ve been going about life as a member of The Organization. It’s all to allow me to get closer to Jin. Jin Jin Jin! That’s my sole purpose right now. I need to find him. By taking him out I’ll be doing the entire city a favor too.

“Are you feeling ok? You’re making a pretty serious face.”

He hadn’t realized how focused he was as he completely lost track of their conversation for a moment. “Yeah. I’m ok. Just tired I guess,” he said, forcing a smile.

“Hey, I have an idea,” said Aiko. How about we work out together sometime. We could go on a run or something. I workout most days anyway to stay in shape for my job.”

“You’d really want to do that?”

“Of course. I said it didn’t I?”

They finished their conversations and made plans to meet together for a morning run. MC left feeling happy, but conflicted. He questioned his motivations and actions regarding Jin and The Organization. Never did he think the conversations today would lead to him feeling this way.

As he drove home, he thought back to a time that seemed so long ago. He sat in front of a white frosted birthday cake decorated with seven candles. Around him were various family members along with his mother and father. He remembered Aiko and her family, his parents, and several family friends.

The candles were blown out and presents were opened. A time when he felt so complete and loved. It was a time before he felt the hatred that fueled him so strongly. A time before he’d lost everything. Strangely enough, Jin was at that birthday party. He sang along with the birthday song and even brought a gift. MC remembered how Jin never missed any of his birthdays. It sickened him that his father’s friend ended up killing him.

That evening, as the adults turned the child’s birthday party into a party of their own, MC and Aiko ventured out into the backyard. It was quite spacious for a backyard in the city. They strolled through the garden and past the fountain as they played.

“I’m going to catch all of the bad guys!” Aiko exclaimed as she climbed onto a waist-high decorative boulder.

“Not if I catch them first!” MC yelled.

They ran around wildly swinging sticks like swords.

Times like these were the ones that MC looked back on most fondly. It had been years since he felt that carefree feeling he felt on those summer evenings.

How far he’d come. Wanting to catch the bad guys and ending up becoming one himself. He felt a tug between who he was and who he wanted to be.

Aiko had a stronger meaning to him than he thought. Her words seemed to hit harder than anyone else’s could. He gripped the steering wheel the whole way back to the clubhouse.

That night, Aiko slipped into a pair of cozy pajamas and toweled her wet hair in the bathroom mirror. She admired the highlights, but noticed that she might need to dye them again soon as they were starting to fade. Sure does take a lot of work to be a girl.

Just then, she got a call from Emi. She answered and headed out to the couch where she sat with a plop.

“AIKO! You have to tell me how your date went,” demanded Emi.

“Oh come on Emi, can’t I keep anything to myself?”

“You know I could never have fun and go on dates and meet guys like you do. I’m so busy with work and to be fair, I’m too dang picky.”

“Ok fine. If you insist. It went good. He’s really how I remember him being and I like that. He’s kind and I can tell he really likes me. He seemed a bit nervous.”

“Tell me more!”

“We ordered coffee and talked about life. We mostly just did a bit of catching up.”

“And?”

“Well, I can tell he’s having a bit of trouble in life, but it seems like things are starting to come together for him. He told me about how he’s been making friends and ‘figuring things out’ or something like that. You know, I think that thing that happened to his family really put him in a certain mindset. I think he probably blames himself at least partially or has some sort of guilt or resentment about what happened to his parents.”

“That sounds like baggage.”

“In a way yes, but, it’s still nothing serious for now. I think it’s best to let him figure out whatever he has going on before stepping into a relationship. We made rough plans to go workout together soon.”

“So he at least has one thing going for him huh? A hot bod?”

Aiko blushed. “Well… yeah.”

Emi cackled hysterically.