With his frightened face and sweat-drenched appearance, the young man gasped for air while feeling her embrace around him, arms wrapped around his back and the other holding the back of his head as her concerned eyes were locked with his.
"Carter!" She tearfully cried in relief, hugging him tighter around her. "You're finally awake!" Yumi was relieved and happy. "I was so worried!" She held him tighter than before; her voice was cracking at the thought of seeing his lifeless corpse, while her tears were starting to pour down from her eye sockets.
"Yumi, huh?" Carter, awakened from his devastating nightmare, asked curiously; he could feel his body trembling; he was shaking with his own expression, filled with anxiety from it, "What happened while I was asleep?" He asked.
"You were having a terrifying night terror, master," she responded with her concerned gaze, "so much so that you were sweating, having difficulty breathing, and you were thrashing about." She sounded frantic; her arms were shaking, her body was trembling, and she felt scared for his safety. "I tried waking you up for hours now, but you wouldn't wake up." Her saddening eyes were red and puffy. "I didn't know what to do, until...all of sudden, you woke up!"
A soft giggle was heard as the pinkette released him, wiping the tears from her eyes with her fingers. "Thank god," she exhaled deeply, feeling like a massive weight was lifted off her chest. "You're okay now; that's all that matters," Yumi's hand caressed his cheek in a loving manner.
Closing his eyes for a moment, the young man sat up from his bed before placing his own hand over his face. "Yeah, I'm fine," he uttered in reassurance while attempting to pull himself together. "Don't worry about it," he said as he lowered his hand from his face. "It's just a nightmare," waving his hand in a dismissive manner.
"Just a nightmare...?" She didn't seem convinced; she doesn't know what to do when someone she loves is experiencing this kind of trauma. "But it doesn't sound like it was just a nightmare, Carter," the young man said, turning his head around to her with his eyes open. "From what I just witnessed, that looked more like a terrible, terrifying night terror; whatever it is that you experience must've been very traumatizing," she pointed out in a worrisome manner.
"That's because its..." He stopped himself for a moment, hesitating for a second before letting out a deep sigh. "It's because of what happened to me in the past," he answered truthfully. "All the things I saw and did still haunt me, even in my sleep." The words spoken from his mouth were nothing more than a bitter truth.
"Oh Carter," she moved her body, leaning her forehead on his back head while wrapping her arms around his chest. "Tell me more about it," she murmured softly. "What kind of horrors have you experienced? What did you see in that dream that gave you so much fear and despair that even your own mind can't help but imagine the worst of them?"
Looking down at his own two feet, he doesn't have a single clue if speaking out his insecurities and traumas would be a good idea, especially when they came from previous lives. Would she even believe him if he told her everything about himself?
Wouldn't it be too much for her to handle? Let alone make him sound crazy? He isn't sure; perhaps it would be better to hold this information next time when he is ready because Carter isn't really comfortable revealing it to anyone else, not even his closest friends and colleagues, the most trustworthy of individuals.
"It's...not a good time to talk about it, Yumi," he told her in a grave tone of voice. "Maybe some other time," he concluded with a faint smile on his face. His maid sighed in defeat upon hearing these few wordless sentences exchanged between them.
"I understand," she sounded a bit sad. She wanted to help him through his troubles, but her master's reluctance to share them with her was understandable. "If that is what you wish, then I'll respect your decision, master Carter." Yumi moved her head away, releasing her comforting embrace on him.
"Thank you for understanding," he said, appreciating her consideration before standing up from the edge of his bed, wiping his sweaty forehead off from that vivid nightmare. "Anyways, how long was I out?" Changing the subject in order to move on from this conversation.
"Since yesterday evening," she replied, "it's already early morning now and the sun is coming up, master." The maid commented with a smile on her face as she watched him walk towards the curtain window of his bedroom. Raising both of his arms, the young man opened the curtains, revealing the sun ascending across the atmosphere, filling the outside with a mix of bright orange light and a clear blue sky.
"Yumi," calling his maid's name, "was there a call by any chance?" Focused on staring at the beautiful horizon while listening carefully to the calming sounds of the birds chirping around the trees, Is there anything urgent that needs my immediate attention?" There has to be at least one or two that require his personal presence at HPD Headquarters.
"I have, master," Yumi answered without delay, "one of the people from your workplace had called, something about the recent murder of this so-called Killer Rabbit." Her tone was flat, uninterested on the whole subject. "The strange thing is that they called at least four times in the entire day you were asleep, each time it was from Koysohi," she explained. "He demanded your presence, telling me the importance of investigating the case," which alerted him right away.
Retreating from his spot, he turned to face her and asked, "Where?" He questioned, "Where is the location?" Carter can't delay any further as this is a case regarding a dangerous wanted criminal on the loose who killed and mutilated at least six civilians in a span of two weeks.
Taking a moment to recollect the information; she made sure to remember it in her head. "At 9843 Skyway, Alpharett," she answered. "That's all the details I have." Her finger tips tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Why do you ask? You are planning to visit there, aren't you?" Carter nods his head in reply.
"That's right," confirming with all seriousness written over his face, "this is not a simple investigation," he said without second thought, "since it's The Killer Rabbit," emphasizing the infamous nickname, "I will have to visit there in person as I promised to my men," stating how he personally swore to his fellow colleagues that he'd deal with that criminal, "as commissioner and billionaire philanthropist, I couldn't allow something like this to happen."
His own reasoning seems legit and logical, but the question here is: will the police be enough to deal with the killer rabbit? Would his men be able to apprehend her if they managed to catch this freak? He cannot deal with losing any more of his workers because they hold a special place in his heart like if they were family to him.
This Killer Rabbit has taken the lives of innocent people, murdering them with cruel means. He will not allow it to escalate further while also wanting to learn more about the motive and origin. "Get ready, we are leaving," he said, turning back to the window and shutting the curtains before taking a moment to glance at his maid. "We will have to check out the crime scene, that is all," he said with all seriousness in his voice.
"Of course, Carter," Yumi complied with his orders, getting up from her spot and moving her way towards the door, opening it and bowing her head politely, "after you, master," gesturing for him to go first as he walks across his own bedroom, reaching the door with his maid following behind after having proceeded to leave his room.
Heading straight down in the living room, they went through the spacious hallway with multiple doors, including the bathroom, guest rooms, and so on. Opening one led him to a garage filled with numerous vehicles, such as a sports car, SUV, limousine, and several others.
The garage was clean, neat, and well organized, having one large metal door with each car aligned accordingly, and the spacious hallway was big enough for any vehicle to pass through. The lights were bright, the shelves were filled with many tools, and the concrete floors were perfectly clean, showing no signs of any dirt or debris.
Yumi had no trouble walking through the narrow opening of the garage with so many packed vehicles close to each other. As she followed behind her master, they were heading to the specific vehicle, which is a golden sports car that is worth thousands of dollars.
"Its time to roll out," Carter unlocked the golden sports car by pressing the button, causing all the doors to open upward as the two went inside their respective seats before turning the engine on and reversing the car out of the parking space. "You know, it feels good to do the driving for once," remarking on how he's the one in the driving seat rather than anyone else.
Adjusting his speed, he headed towards the large garage door, automatically opening itself after detecting the moving vehicle as the car's tires rolled through the solid concrete ground of his driveway. Carter stepped on the acceleration pedal, starting to drive across the morning streets of the peaceful city.
The sun was rising, and there were no signs of rain or storm. The warm air was blowing through their hair after opening all the windows with the press of a button at the side of the driver's door. Carter is wearing his favorite suit, a grey trench coat, black tie, and pants, as always whenever he heads outside.
Driving outside his suburb neighborhood and into the main city of Tokyo, where they can see many other vehicles on the road and bystanders going through their daily lives in this wonderful morning, "anything else on your mind, master?" Yumi decided to break the silence, playing her pigtail with her index finger.
"The fact that there is a serial killer running amok in this city is a problem," he said in a grim and serious tone of voice. "That is why I have to make a personal appearance on the site, not only because it's my job," glancing at her, "but also for the safety of this city and the citizens that live in it, the good and the bad." His brown eyes returned back to the road.
She didn't say anything, closing her pink eyes and thinking carefully about his words before suddenly realizing a tiny detail: "Hmm?" Feeling surprised after remembering a certain thing: "both the good and the bad?" Curious about what he meant by those words, the maid cocked her head and asked, "Are you also implying the criminals to?"
To her surprise, he nodded in confirmation. "Unlike some countries, the HPD aren't executioners; our purpose is to keep them away from society and rehabilitate the criminals to become better people, no matter what crimes they committed," he clarified in an honest manner. "You of all people should know, Yumi," the young man thought of his employee in his organization, "if it wasn't for the charity and funds from my money, none of the free therapy programs, education, or healthcare would be possible."
The girl stopped in her seat, lowering her raised arm down as she looked at her opened window. Silence fell upon her, and master, "Your right," she agreed, "without your kindness and efforts in providing the funds and resources, the poverty levels and crime rate wouldn't have dropped significantly." Leaning her head back on her seat, she then said, "It is thanks to you, master Carter, that the people of this country have become a shining beacon throughout the world."
"Believe it or not," it was a much-needed compliment; it is flattering to say the least. "With or without my influence, I don't think I'm someone that important; after all, I'm only doing this to live up to my parents expectations." In the back of his mind, he felt like his mom and dad were watching him proudly. "Even though I'm a selfish guy, I guess some things never change, huh?" He commented thoughtfully as they continued driving on their way.
"Yes, that is true," Yumi tilted her head, a teasing smile on her lips. "But what about me?" Her eyes were sparkling, and her smile was mischievous. "I've been wondering, master, are you even grateful for your faithful and loyal maid who always does the chores and tends to her master's every whim and need?" She was fishing for compliments; he knows it. "I've even gone out of my way to make you meals; even if I had to cook two or three meals, I've been busy making sure your house is clean and the garden is taken care of," she stated confidently. "Do you even appreciate the hard work I do for you, master?"
His head turned to her, giving her an amused look before facing back to the road and laughing at this: "There's no need to exaggerate or fish for compliments." He didn't even need to look back at her; he knew what she was doing. "Of course, I'm grateful," Carter said, acknowledging her without hesitance. "If it weren't for you entering my life, I wouldn't know what to do with myself."
The maid's cheeks turned pink, and she turned her head to stare at him with her beautiful eyes. "Really...?" She asked, hopeful, "You really mean that?" Blushing more red now, her body was tingling and her chest was heavy.
Carter smiled brightly at this. "You're smart, cunning, resourceful, sneaky, even a huge tease sometimes, and to be honest, without you, I'm not sure if I'll be the person I am today," he hummed to himself, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. "Because of that, I really want to thank you for everything, Yumi." His affectionate words touched her heart.
"Your such a tease, master~" She pouted childishly as the girl crossed her arms, trying to suppress her urge to leap and squeeze the life out of him through tight embrace. "And here I was, thinking you don't appreciate my effort and dedication."
Then a soft laugh escaped from her parted lips as she calmly place her hand over her own chest, causing the girl's heart in beating faster for every second that goes by, "I'm glad you see me as someone who truly cares about you."
