All For Kiko's Sake, Ch. 6

Roughly twenty minutes later, Kozue walked into the indoor pool building. She pulled off her robe and tossed it aside on the nearby table and dove into the pool, swimming to the far end and then back before she heard the door opening.

"You're late," Kozue smirked as she looked up at Leon, who was approaching. "It's been almost thirty minutes now. You said to meet in twenty."

"I was late because I was talking to Hendrix," Leon said. "And making sure that it was well known that the pool is off-limits and forbidden for any of the staff to enter tonight."

"And you, my dear," Leon smiled, pointing to the swimsuit that Kozue was wearing. "Are not supposed to be wearing that, remember?"

"I know," Kozue smiled as she placed her thumbs under the shoulder straps of her suit and then peeled the suit away, slowly, as if teasing Leon. When it was completely off, she tossed it up onto the pool deck. "There," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Are you happy? Now get in here with me."

"Yes, I am," Leon replied with a smirk as he slipped in and relaxed against the wall of the pool. "And of course, I never could say no to such a beautiful woman."

Kozue chuckled as she dove under the water and kicked off the wall, propelling herself into another lap to the far end of the pool and back. When she returned, she popped her head up right alongside Leon.

Pushing her wet hair back with her hands, she looked at him. "It's amazing how much the water can help to restore one's exhaustion, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Leon smiled. "I'd been almost killing myself working on that bike with you."

"Yeah, I noticed," Kozue noted. "I was beginning to wonder who was becoming more obsessed and fanatical about the construction of the bike there for a while. Because you were really starting to get into it there a little. I wonder if my enthusiasm was starting to rub off on you."

"It might have been." Leon smiled. "But then, how can a guy like myself work in close quarters for hours on end with a vibrant, beautiful woman like you, who is a wonderful mother, and not pick up a thing or two?"

"Well, of course!" Kozue grinned. "I'm like this infectious substance. When I'm with people long enough, I start to influence people. And before you know it, they're starting to pick up my odd traits."

"Infectious substance?" Leon laughed. "It makes you sound like some kind of virus or disease. Still, it is a rather accurate description of you."

Kozue laughed in response, but said nothing in return as she relaxed up against the wall of the pool next to Leon. Slowly, an awkward silence came between them as they both stared in opposite directions.

"Wow," Leon mused. "It's been so long since we've had any quiet time completely alone, that I really don't know what to say. I mean, there are so many things that I want to ask you, and talk to you about. Now here's my chance, and I can't think of what to say."

"Huh?" Kozue asked, as she turned to look at him. "What was that?"

Leon smacked his face. "Weren't you listening?"

"Uhm, sorry," Kozue sighed. "I was just thinking about Kiko. What did you say?"

"Well," Leon hesitated. "It can wait, I suppose. What were you thinking about Kiko?"

"Well, I've been dreading this situation," Kozue explained. "But when I put Kiko to bed tonight, Kiko asked me who her father was. She, of course, sees you as the father figure in her life, but she's old enough to know that you aren't her real father. So, she was confused as to who to call her father. What do I tell her about her father?"

"I don't know," Leon mused. "You could always tell her that he died when she was very little. That seemed to work for me when I was a kid."

"And when she grows up and finds out that I'd lied to her," Kozue responded. "Then what? How can I tell her that her father is probably some man, that I don't even know, who I slept with when I was drunk at a party?"

"Depending on her age," Leon offered. "She might actually thank you for it. I remember being glad when my mother didn't complicate things by telling me that my father ran off with a younger woman and left the two of us to fend for ourselves. At the time, believing my father to be dead was easier to handle, than had I known that my father actually didn't care about us and wanted nothing to do with us. I think it would have seriously altered the person I came to be today."

"When my mother finally told me the truth," Leon continued. "I was a grown man, and it didn't affect me nearly as much as it would have when I was a kid. As an adult, I could just let it roll off my back, and I went on with life. I probably would have held onto that truth as a kid and become a very bitter person."

"I'm glad that it worked for you and all," Kozue replied. "But I made a solemn promise to myself, that I would never lie to Kiko. I would always be honest with her. That way she'd grow up knowing the value of honesty, and pick up the same values herself."

Leon looked straight at Kozue. "Then just don't tell her." he stated. "That's all. Don't tell her that. Is there anything that could be even remotely plausible or true that you could tell her?"

"None that I can think of," Kozue answered. "Or I would have already told her."

"I see," Leon smiled. "Well, between the two of us, I'm sure we can come up with something that's mutually beneficial for both you and Kiko."

"There's just one thing that I'd like to know," Leon said as he ran his hand over her wet hair. "How did it happen, anyway? I seem to remember you not being that much of a drinker back in school. You didn't even smell of sake."

"That's because I hid it well," Kozue explained. "You never saw me come to school with a hangover because I'd learned how to project a positive image, when inside, I felt like puking."

"And the smell?" Leon asked.

"Mouthwash," Kozue answered. "Lots and lots of mouthwash. Surely you must have noticed, at least once or twice, that I always carried a bottle with me."

"Well yeah, of course," Leon nodded. "But I figured that you were just real big on oral hygiene, or something, because your teeth were always so white. But I suppose the whole idea of putting up a facade to cover your drinking isn't all that surprising, seeing as how good you were at that in high school."

"But the real question is," Leon said. "I don't recall you drinking all that much in those places where you'd normally get have the chance to get pregnant in. So how did you do it? I mean, just because I wasn't officially invited to those parties didn't mean that I didn't know how to sneak my way inside."

"I don't clearly know, really," Kozue explained. "I was upset about something during the night of the graduation party. It stemmed from one of the 'friends' that I hung out with. The bitch stabbed me in the back. She knew that I was interested in that boy, so she made her move before I could. She said something to the effect that she was only my friend, because by being friends with me, it gave her opportunities with guys she wouldn't get normally. She was just using me for my popularity status."

"Anyway," Kozue continued. "I was so upset that I took three bottles of sake for myself, and downed all three within the space of an hour."

"Four," Leon added.

"Huh?" Kozue looked at him. "What was that?"

"It was four bottles that night," Leon answered.

"You saw me that night?" Kozue shook her head and looked down at the water. "Great. As if I didn't need that embarrassment."

"Actually," Leon explained. "It was more like, you came up to me and took my bottle, the one time that I was slipping and deciding to try and drink. You said something to the effect that 'a preppy nerd like me couldn't handle it and didn't deserve it anyway.'"

"Oh?" Kozue blinked. "I'll bet you were relieved that I took it then, huh?"

"Actually, no," Leon replied, staring at the far wall. "I was a little more than upset that night as well. I doubt you remember the Senior Prank earlier that day. I was the chosen target, and you were the bait that I couldn't refuse."

"I'm sorry," Kozue apologized. "I'm afraid that I don't remember that one. Maybe you could give me a refresher?"

"It was just before the general assembly," Leon explained. "You came up to me and asked me to meet you backstage, because you wanted to talk about our future together."

"Don't say any more," Kozue requested. "I know what you're talking about now. When you came backstage, I was wearing only my bra and a pair of panties, and I offered to let you be my first. You were skeptical at first, but you finally relented and said yes. And then I had you take your clothes off and close your eyes while I finished undressing. Or at least that's what I said, when in reality, I was putting my own clothes back on and running off with yours."

"And you were back in your normal place," Leon added. "Back with your friends when the curtain was pulled and I was there, completely naked in front of the entire school. Yeah, you could say I was a just a tiny bit furious that day. I needed something to take my mind off of that pent up rage that was just begging to be let loose. That bottle of sake was going to help me get over it and go on with my life."

"I see," Kozue nodded. "And I snatched it from you in my drunken state."

"You downed the whole bottle right there in front of me," Leon said. "And then handed the empty bottle back to me, and then you told me to get lost, because I wasn't invited to that particular party. And then you went off with your friends."

"I'm sorry, Leon," Kozue shook her head. "I was a real bitch back in school. I don't think I could apologize enough for everything I've done to you."

"Shh," Leon said, putting his hand on Kozue's chin and raising it to gaze into her eyes. "It's in the past now. Don't worry about it. So what happened after that?"

"Well," Kozue explained. "All I know is that when I was totally wasted, I wandered into one of the rooms and crashed on the bed. When I woke up the next morning, I had a splitting headache, I was totally naked, all my clothes were on the floor, and I was alone."

"I'll bet," Leon said as he looked away. "Drinking sake in the amount you did that night, would have knocked out a horse."

"Well," Kozue started. "The experience taught me to never, ever drink in public that much, ever again. Especially when I found out that I was pregnant two days later. It was a good thing that I had just graduated, so I didn't have to worry about class."

"It... It must have been tough," Leon said quietly while staring at the water.

"Well I had Rio to fall back on, or it would have been pure hell," Kozue replied. "She showed me what a sister was supposed to be like. If she hadn't been so supportive of me that day she found me crying at the kitchen table after I'd found out, I might have done something really drastic. Because there's nothing more sobering than a doctor's cast iron stare at you just before they tell you that you're going to be a mother, and you're not at all prepared for it."

"Yeah I'll bet it was one hell of a wake-up call," Leon mused, still staring at the water. "And by drastic, you mean...?"

"I mean drastic," Kozue explained. "As in possibly going to the highest point of Rainbow Bridge and jumping off the top of it into the bay below, or going to some shady clinic, taking care of the problem. and then hating myself for the rest of my life, which would have probably would have ended in some form of suicide."

"You would have killed yourself?!" Leon queried as he looked up sharply at Kozue.

"Yeah," Kozue nodded. "I probably would have. Because I was the least possible candidate to be a mother at the time. I didn't want to be tied down. I wanted to party. I was finally free of school and I had some time on my hands to do what I wanted for a change. Of course, Rio has a way with words, and she supported me every step of the way to where I started to realize, that maybe being a mother wasn't so bad after all."

"It looks like I have Rio to thank for your being alive today then, huh?"

"Yeah," Kozue agreed. "I suppose you do."

The sound of the door to the pool house being opened and then closed caused both to look toward it. Hendrix was standing there, not coming any closer.

Kozue gasped slightly and then snatched her swimsuit from the deck and quickly put it on while in the water.

"Hendrix," Leon sighed, with a slight annoyance. "I thought I gave strict instructions that we were not to be disturbed tonight?"

"I understand sir," Hendrix bowed. "I do apologize for the interruption, but this just arrived for Mrs. McNichol. The courier insisted that I deliver it to her right away, as it was most urgent and dated material."

Leon sighed, grumbling slightly and then waved to Kozue. "Go ahead and give it to her then. It's not like we were doing anything earth-shattering out here."

Kozue then got up out of the pool and toweled off before she walked over to where Hendrix was.

"Thank you, Hendrix," she said as she took the envelope from him and opened it. She pulled the note out and began to read it. As she did so, she froze. She then turned the note over and then looked up at Hendrix.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"It is thirty minutes after ten PM, madam," Hendrix replied.

"2230?" Kozue repeated. "That gives me only... FORTY-FIVE MINUTES?!? DAMMIT!"

Kozue then just dropped everything right there and ran out the door back toward the house.

Leon got up out of the pool, slightly annoyed as he began toweling off. "And just as we were starting to actually have a decent conversation without her locking down like she's always done in the past."

He walked over and picked up the note that Kozue dropped and looked at it. One side said "Kototoi Bridge: 2315 and the flipside had a direct and simple note:

"Got yourself a nice life, don't you, Miss Kinezono? But, you know, I have information on you. Some things that you don't want people finding out. I also just happen to know who the father is. The question is, do you want to know?"

"Dammit," Leon cursed as he threw the note to the floor. "Why does this sort of thing always have to happen? That's the fourth person this quarter under my care who's had someone blackmailing them!!"

Leon then stiffened for a moment, as the words of the note passed through his head. "Do you want to know?"

"Ah hell!" he exclaimed. "That means she's gonna...!" He bolted from the pool area and into the house. "KOZUE!!!" he yelled, but was too late, as he heard the sound of motorcycle tires squealing as Kozue sped out of the garage with her new bike.