Right after meeting someone new.

Before the two of you leave the clinic, Maiko tells you to go on ahead to the waiting room without her, as she needs to change out of her doctor’s outfit first.

Stepping out of the office, you find the halls of the clinic barren and quiet; given how late it is, you imagine most of the staff have gone home by now. Fortunately for you, the exit route is laid out with easy to understand arrows, so you have no trouble making it to the front room. It, too, appears empty, but as you go to take a seat in one of the chairs set up around the room’s perimeter, a voice from behind you makes you jump in shock.

“Ah. You’re awake.”

You swivel around, and find yourself looking at a girl standing behind the front desk. For a crazy second you think that Maiko had somehow teleported to there from her office, and though there was certainly some resemblance, you soon realise that the girl was a different person.

She appeared to be around your age, though slightly shorter than you, with long black hair down to her shoulder blades. With her standing there, her hand resting on her hip, you couldn't stop your gaze from running over her body. She wore a low cut dress-like shirt, from beneath protruded a sizable bust; a small D at least. A pair of jeans that clung to her legs and nicely accentuated her hips and round ass helped to complete the look of a fashionably conscious youth.

“Is something the matter?” The girl asks you. Her expression is aloof; you wonder if she’s passive-aggressively calling you out on your staring or not.

“Er, n-no. Not at all.” You respond quickly. I’ve gotta learn not to stare so much…

Shrugging, the girl reaches behind the front desk and picks up something. “I found this lying next to you when you passed out. I’m guessing it’s yours?” She asks as she walks over and hands you a certain plastic bag. Your mind freezes as you take it. Just to confirm, you reach inside and retrieve the box from within.

In your hand is the Mahō Shōjo: Hime Senshi figure box that you won from the crane game. The thing that caused this whole fiasco in the first place was now back in your hands. The box, let alone the figure had even somehow escaped damage when you dropped it.

“Nearly dying to score a piece of Anime merch… I’m a shining example to Otakus everywhere…” You muse.

“Didn’t know you were into the Mahō Shōjo series.” The girl comments, managing to mostly hide her judgemental tone.

“Oh…no, this is a present for my host family,” you explain. “They have a daughter, and she seems to really be into this kinda stuff.”

“Ah, I see…” The girl nods. “Has she been tending to your fever?”

You cough awkwardly. “Well uh…she did help me last night, so…”

“Well, please be sure to remind her to be vigilant with your treatment,” the girl says coldly. “It was pretty stupid of you to walk around without someone there to relieve you.”

A wave of concern flows through you as you realise the truth to her words. Your thoughts turn back to the Fukadas, Emiru especially; Maiko said she was going to phone them to let them know you were OK, but even so, you doubted they were going to look at you the same way again after tonight.

I really am lucky…if Maiko’s daughter hadn’t found me, then I might have actually-

Something clicks in your mind.

“Hold on…where did you say you found this again?” You ask, gesturing to the figure box.

“It was next to you when I found you.” The girl repeated.

“When you found me? Then...are you-”

“Ken!” You’re interrupted by Maiko’s voice. “Are you ready to go?”

Maiko walked out, now dressed in a frilled blouse and a pencil skirt. It made her look professional even without her doctor’s outfit...even though she had left the two top buttons undone on her blouse, creating a nice peek of her cleavage.

Maiko notices you standing right beside the girl, and her face brightens.

“Oh! I see you’ve met Rika!” She exclaims as she walks over. “I’m so happy to see you two getting along.”

"Mum..." The girl, Rika, protests weakly.

Well, what do you know...?

“So, you are Maiko’s daughter then?” You ask, turning back to her. Now that the two of them were standing side-by-side, the family resemblance really was apparent. Rika may very well have been an image of how Maiko looked back in high school.

Rika nods, and bows politely. “Yes. My name is Rika Yamaguchi. It’s nice to meet you in person, Ken Aizawa.”

“And you were the one who found me and called Maiko,” You conclude. You bow lower to show your appreciation. “Thanks a lot for everything you’ve done.”

Rika averts her eyes. “It’s nothing,” She responds, her tone stoic. “Just...be more careful from now on, OK?”

“I will. And again, thanks for taking care of me.”

Putting the figure back in the bag, you nod at Maiko, and she leads you out the clinic into the parking lot. Rika follows you to the entrance, but stops just after the doors close.

“Rika, aren’t you coming?” You ask.

Rika shakes her head. “Our house is in the opposite direction. It’ll be faster for me to walk home than wait for mum to come back.”

“Oh...is-is that safe?”

“What do you mean?” She asks, looking at you questioningly.

“It’s just...you know... It’s not really common for girls to walk home by themselves at night back home. And I’ve heard that men in Japan can get a little...touchy-feely, so...”

Rika’s expression sours. “Look, I don’t know where you heard that, but I’ve walked home many times at night like this without a problem.” She tells you icily. “I’ll be fine. No one actually does...stuff like that.”

“Are you sure? I just thought that...well, if someone came up to you drunk or something-”

“I’ll. Be. Fine.”

“Yeah, OK…” You finally cave in, giving her a weak smile. “Just...get home safely, OK?”

In response, Rika simply nods at you. You turn around to follow Maiko, but then you hear something that causes you to stop.

“Doesn’t matter anyway...since you were my first...”

“Huh?” You look over your shoulder and call back at her.

“Oh, no…nothing. Good night.”

And with that, Rika turns and walks away, presumably in the direction of her home. Though you wonder what she was talking to herself about, you shrug it off and make your way to Maiko’s car, before finally setting off back to the Fukadas’ place.

The drive felt both long and short at the same time. You spent the ride with your eyes set outside the window, watching the streets of Tokyo cruise by. Unfortunately, the beauty of the brightly lit buildings was lost on you; you were too busy trying to figure out how you were going to explain yourself to your hosts.

Putting aside the sheer stupidity of sending back Emiru when you yourself are a foreigner, how would Mr. and Mrs. Fukada react now they know that being left alone caused you to collapse from the fever? Would they blame themselves? Would they blame Emiru? Would they blame you?

You picture yourself stepping through the front door, and seeing the disappointment on Mr. and Mrs. Fukada’s faces. You imagine them interrogating you; asking why you stayed out by yourself, questioning why you didn’t leave with Emiru. They might even ban you from going outside, confining you inside their home for the duration of your stay.

And then...you think about Emiru. You think about her glaring at you, blaming you for getting her in trouble, for not telling her about how long you’ve gone without relief.

“I hate you, Ken!” She would scream, before slamming her door in your face.

“No...that shouldn’t happen.” You desperately try to tell yourself. “The Fukadas are nice people. They wouldn’t blame me...right?”

Your anxious thoughts continue to simmer as Maiko pulls the car up to the Fukadas’ residence. As nervous as you are, staying inside the vehicle will just leave you to fester in your worries. So, with a few deep breaths, you follow Maiko up to the front door, the Mahō Shōjo bag in your hand.

Maiko rings the doorbell, and a few seconds go by without response. Part of you wonders if Mr. and Mrs. Fukada would even be up this late at night, seeing as the clock in Maiko’s car told you it was just after 11 PM. However, you soon hear hurried footsteps approaching the door, with it swinging open to reveal Mrs. Fukada. She still looked as beautiful and put together as ever, but you could see the remnants of concern and stress were apparent in her expression.

Then, the moment Mrs. Fukada’s eyes lay on you, the worry from her face immediately evaporated.

“Ken-kun!” She exclaimed, immediately rushing over to embrace you. For the second time that day, you find yourself squished against her in a tight hug, though this time felt far more relieved than the gentle one that morning.

“Konbanwa, Ayaka-san. Hisashiburi.” Maiko greets Mrs. Fukada cordially in Japanese. You feel the gears inside your head shift as you prime yourself for listening to the language again.

“Maiko-san! It’s been a while,” Mrs. Fukada responds. Eventually, she lets you go, but a slight look of fear remains on her; as if you were fragile glass. “And Ken-kun…”

“Um...good evening, Fukada-san.” It was a cheesy response, but you couldn’t think of what else to say.

Mrs. Fukada’s expression relaxes, seeming to understand that you were OK.

“Yes... Good evening, Ken-kun,” She says, a small smile creeping onto her face, before turning to Maiko. “Um…Maiko-san, have you checked to see that he’s healthy?”

“Don’t worry,” Maiko said reassuringly. “I’ve done all the checks, and he has no lasting effects that I’ve found. He should be fine for a long while.”

“I see…” Mrs. Fukada looks a bit doubtful, but eventually nods in acceptance. She then steps back through the front door, beckoning for you to follow her.

“Night, Maiko,” you say, turning back to the doctor. “Thanks for all your help.”

“It’s all right,” Maiko responds. “Besides, this won’t be our last meeting. I’ll be around to keep a close eye on you.”

In response, you shoot her a bewildered look, to which she laughs.

“I’ll show you tomorrow,” Maiko says, switching back to Japanese. “Good night, Ken-san. And it was nice to see you again, Ayaka-san.”

“Do you not want to stay?” Mrs. Fukada asks her. “I can make some tea…”

“I would like to, but maybe another time. Ken-san has been through a lot today, and he needs to rest. I will come by another time.”

And with that, Maiko waves you both goodbye, and walks back to her car. While you certainly weren’t going to complain at the idea of seeing Maiko again, you wished she worded it a little less ominously.

With one last deep breath, you take off your shoes and finally re-enter the Fukada residence.