Chapter 38: Her Savior (Part Two)

{It was just like the last time when Mori Ken also saved his childhood friend Hayashi Sakura from those groups of bullies when they were in their third grade at the school playground, catching every grade student's attention present at that time. At school, they rarely talk to each other and act as if they aren't even close during the first stage of their friendship, but that is not the case when both of them are in Sakura's house to play some games.

"Now back off before I beat you to a pulp!" Eight-year-old Mori Ken roared furiously to a group of three elementary boys who were making fun of Sakura's looks not long ago. Ashamed of getting beaten, those boys soon fled Ken's presence, satisfying the young boy right away.

His furious look toned down immediately as soon as Ken turned around to face Sakura, who is now crying in front of him. One of those boys managed to slap her face after trying to fight back with him and acting a little bit brave earlier. The red mark on her face did not escape Ken's meticulous gaze that made him frown a bit.

When Mori Ken offered the handkerchief sewn personally by his mother to the crying girl, he made a sympathetic face and crooned, "Sorry, I'm late…"}

***

"Sorry, I'm late…"

Sakura's eyes snapped in Ken's direction as soon as she heard that familiar phrase from the guy kneeling down in front of him, causing some of the tears in her eyes to roll down her cheeks.

While the moonlight filtered through the glass window near them, slightly creating a dull spotlight in their direction, their gazes met for a brief moment. However, while both of them were deeply immersed in that moment, they were distracted by a siren outside their cafe and some uniformed men barging in through the back door.

Just before that night ended, they were soon interrogated by the police and asked them for the exact details as to what happened inside the cafe for them to file a report to their headquarters. Sakura was able to breathe a sigh of relief when she heard the two suspects who were responsible for assaulting her were immediately captured while they were making their escape outside the establishment.

When all of the interrogations are over, the police soon leave the cafe and go to their respective police mobiles after getting their contact information in case they will need further details from them. As soon as they left, Sakura immediately closed their cafe after making sure that nothing inside the store was damaged. Ken, on the other hand, patiently waited for the maid to finish outside as he folded his arms and leaned in the nearest wall.

With Ken still there, Sakura had no choice but to don her maid's uniform with her mask still on as she carries her backpack strap with all her casual clothes that she is supposed to wear on her way home. The moment Sakura was done with locking the doors, she almost flinched into her place seeing Ken standing outside the back door when she thought he would go home soon.

"M-master… you're still there," Sakura tried her best to act on her maid self in front of the guy standing in front of her.

A lopsided smile appeared on the corner of Ken's lips as he softly chuckled. "Please, you can just call me by my first name. No need for the formality when we're outside the cafe'."

"Y-yes. I suppose you're right, Ken-sama."

"I said no need for the formality."

"Alright then, Ken-kun."

"There. Much better."

When Sakura and Ken both started walking down the long alley to get to the main streets, she almost felt her heart hammer loudly within her chest. They refrained from talking for a few seconds until Sakura was the one to break this awkward silence between them.

Gathering her strength first, Sakura asked, "So, Ken-kun.. I've never seen you around the cafe earlier. How come you knew I was in trouble?"

"I was just lingering around the area, waiting for those bastards to strike…" Ken answered, his face getting pissed off a bit just by thinking about those fools. "I kind of figured out that the reason why they haven't attacked for the past few days is that I was there, so I wanted to test them by not showing up at your cafe for this particular night. It turns out, I was right all along."

That made Sakura's lips part in awe. "You knew that those were the suspects for the cafe raids?"

"Well, sometimes only a guy can see through another guy's intentions. I immediately had my suspicions the first time I saw them, but that was not enough to prove that I'm right, so I had to take some precautionary actions to deal with those thugs once and for all."

Then, just as Sakura least expected it, Ken shifted his gaze in her direction all of a sudden and made a compassionate expression once more as he meticulously looked at the red marks in Sakura's face.

"But then you got hurt in the process. I'm really sorry for that."

Seeing how genuine this guy is beside her immediately made Sakura beamed at him. "Nah, it's okay. At least, it's all worth it."

Ken can't help but smile as well. The maid beside him surely reminded him of a girl that holds a very special place in his heart. Like this maid, despite all the trials that girl encounters in her life, she could still maintain a positive outlook in life that she seldom shows in front of others. Only he could see that rare side of hers….

Moments after Sakura realized that they were both smiling at each other, she suddenly clears her throat and peels her gaze away from him to somehow divert their attention back into the road. Speaking of which, they were now able to reach the main roads by now. From here, she plans to walk all the way home to save for the taxi fare.

"Er… I guess I will see you tomorrow?" Sakura says before they officially part ways.

Ken raised one eyebrow at her. "Don't tell me you're planning to walk all alone to get home… after what just happened to you earlier?"

When the maid remained silent, Ken said, "Come on, I parked my bike nearby. If you want, I'll give you a lift."

Sakura almost panicked in front of him. There's no way she could let Ken drive her towards her apartment, or else her identity will be busted.

As quick as lightning, she replied, "No!"

"No?"

"No… I mean, I'll be fine on my own, don't worry. You've already done enough."

Through her mask, Sakura looked hopefully at the guy and wished that he would just let her off on her own before her identity gets busted right here and then.

After a few minutes of silence, Ken shrugged, "Alright then."

Sakura was just about to sigh in relief when Ken stubbornly fishes his cellphone inside his pocket and clicks the Uber app. "At least let me get you a taxi that would bring you safely home."

"There's no need for that-- sheesh!"

Sakura instead sighed an exasperated sigh when she noticed that Mori Ken is now booking a car online through his phone. Reluctantly, she gave an address that is at least four blocks away from her apartment the moment she was asked for it.

'Still stubborn as always, I see…' she thought to herself as she folded her arms.

A few minutes had passed by before the taxi that Ken booked online finally arrived. Before Sakura could dash her way towards the cab, Ken solely reminded her to treat the red marks on her face with a pack of ice for at least twenty minutes so that the bruise and the pain it causes would immediately go away the following day.

After all his instructions, Sakura faced the guy for the last time and shyly replied, "T-Thank you, Ken-kun… for everything."

Without waiting for his reply, Sakura sprinted her way inside the cab before the driver drove away from the area, leaving Ken dumbfounded for a while.