Toshi lay in bed staring at the ceiling, his mind still reeling.

Hinako wanted to wait and give Toshi more time, but in her heart she felt that if he was going to find out, there were certain things he needed to know right away. Specifically, how dangerous Naora was. She went over the general details. Kimi was a rising star on the force. She got promoted and started working narcotics and was instantly targeted by the crime families in town. They tried bribing her, they tried blackmailing her, but this only provoked her to go after them harder.

One day a member of the Terauchi family decided to put a bomb in dad's car. Kimi caught the person in the act. There was an exchange of gunfire. Kimi died on scene. Mom called in every favor she was owed and the whole world came down on the Terauchi family. This wasn’t just about revenge, this was about the police force sending a message:

If you go after a cop’s family, don’t expect the cops to follow the rules either.

The head of the Terauchi family made a mistake when the cops came to arrest her. It is rather 'easy' to mistake a cellphone for a 'gun', after all. The thing was, none of the other crime families were of a mind to offer the Terauchi family any help. They were, in fact, all too happy to kick them while they were down. The Terauchi family was whittled down to next to nothing in a matter of months. That was three years ago. The family has been reduced to a minor player in town, but not entirely defanged. Both sides have backed off and gone back to business as usual, a rather polite form of crime and law enforcement. As long as both sides followed the ‘informal rules’, neither side would escalate.

Naora was a nobody and never got involved in any of this nonsense.

Related to the family by blood, but not involved in the slightest, she managed to fly under the radar and avoid any fallout. Her mother was a social outcast who cucked the then current head of the household and banged her man.  Frankly, Naora’s mom was lucky to only be exiled. If she had not been pregnant with Naora, she would have been... disappeared.  They were on the outside and not even looking in.

Today, the Terauchi family is making a comeback, but the current matriarch is too old to have any children. She had no surviving offspring, nor official grandchildren to carry on the family name. The family might be recovering, but it didn't matter to the matriarch. Every victory was but ash in her mouth. Then someone remembered a certain scandal from eighteen years ago.

The Terauchi family might be down, but they aren’t out. They’re finding money somewhere and slowly clawing their way back. The current head of the house is over seventy years old and tough as nails. She came out of retirement to try and bring her family back from the brink. She survived everything that could be thrown at her, which should tell you something. As for Naora, nobody is quite sure what is going on. You’d think she’d be pulled from public schooling and groomed as a replacement, but nope. Naora’s situation is an enigma. Is she next in line? Are there members of the family who would benefit if she was to "disappear"? Would the same thing happen to anyone standing next to her at the time?

“And that’s why I want you to stay away from her.”

Toshi nodded and agreed to do just that. He knew a bad situation when he saw it and whatever was going on, it wasn’t going to be good. He should just avoid her. He'll live his life, she’ll live hers, and never the twain shall meet.

Except she was crying.

Toshi rolled over and pulled a pillow over his head, ~She’s in trouble.~ He lay in the dark, his mind replaying the events on the roof top, ~She was crying because she is screwed.~ He abruptly hit himself in the head through the pillow, ~Stop Thinking That!~ He rolled over the other way and pulled a pillow down to hug, ~Maybe she is just caught up in this. Maybe she’s an innocent in a terrible situation where she just needs a knight in shining armor to save her.~

He rolled over on his back, took a pillow and pulled it down over his face in an attempt to suffocate himself, ~YOU ARE INSANE!~ He pushed the pillow away and stared at the clock. It was three am, ~In this world, I am the helpless princess. She is supposed to be the villain that I am to be rescued from.~ He sighed and closed his eyes, ~I wonder who is supposed to be my knight in shining armor?~ He shook his head to try to clear it, ~Forget about it~

Except she was crying.

“AUGH!” He exclaimed as swung his feet out of bed. He inwardly cursed at being so loud and sat there a while, listening for anyone else to be moving around.

Silence.

He got up and pulled on a robe that he had apparently stolen from a concert. On the back of the fuzzy outerwear were the letters, ‘VIP’.  He went downstairs to the kitchen to look for something to help him sleep. He went to the fridge and pulled out the milk. He stared at the container.

In his mind eye, he saw Naora putting it up to her lips, beginning to drink, then it spilled over, sloshing down her body, soaking her shirt. She pulled the container away and looked down at her clothing. In slow motion, she slowly looked up through her eyelashes at Toshi, tears starting to form in her eyes. Toshi stepped up and performed a wall slam to pin her in place. He tilted his head to lean in close, his lips almost touching hers.

~No sense crying over spilt milk.~

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, ~What is wrong with me?~ He poured the milk in a microwave safe bowl and started to heat it up. He stared through the microwave's window intently to make sure to take it out before the milk was scalded, ~Ruri is right. Don't stick your cock in crazy.~ He sighed and banged his head against the cabinet over the microwave, ~This is a whole hornets nest of crazy. I’d be better off putting it in an upside down lawnmower!~ He turned around and looked about the kitchen. It was dimly lit by glowing LED clocks and the glow of the toaster oven.

He noted how much everything looked exactly like it should be in his old world, except… some things were ten, maybe twenty years too old. Which is to say, the appliances were brand new, but the style was a decade in the past. Not everything, mind you. His cell phone seemed to be almost as modern as his old world. The year was the same, so presumably time passed at the same rate, and yet, it was like this world was lagging behind for some reason. The microwave went ding. Toshi turned around and hurried to check the milk. He wanted it warm, not boiling hot. The milk changes texture if you boil it and as he opened the door, he could see the telltale signs that it was overcooked, “Damnit...”

“I really don’t know how to pull out in time.”