Tsunan and I left for the town of Akiba sometimes before eleven o'clock in the morning by bus.
Akiba was forty-five minutes away from the beach and just like the doctor had said, the weather was cooler over there. The town made several times the size of Toda and the Akiba Amusement Park brought many visitors from different parts of Japan.
We took a stroll around town for a moment, before we sat ourselves down on the grass of the public park to eat our lunch; we opted for kebab.
After that, we took a walk around the park which had a large lake with a jetty.
'It's splendid!' I breathed, as I stared into the water of the lake from where we were standing on the jetty.
We could see the clear reflection of the sky in the lake and it was, as if, we were treading the clouds. It looked surreal, procuring a strong sensation of serenity, of appeasement.
We made a stop into a small café afterwards, where we tasted many pastries, each one better than the other, before we headed for the Amusement Park.
It was the very first time in my life that I was seeing an Amusement Park and I found it really exciting.
We watched a magical show, which was followed by animal acrobatics display. And then, we visited an attraction called the Haunted House.
By the time we came out of the said-attraction, the sun was about to set.
'Is there any of the rides that you'd like to try?' Tsunan asked me.
I nodded, shyly and pointed at the Ferris Wheel, murmuring, 'Could we go onto that?'
He smiled at me tenderly, agreeing.
'Sugoi!' I exclaimed, utterly mesmerized by the view from the cabin when we reached the summit.
From there, we could have a complete view over the whole town and we could even perceive the beach in the distance.
With the impending darkness, all the lights in town and in the environs went on almost simultaneously, bringing a singular effect to the scene, coupled with the unearthly beauty of the setting sun.
I looked at Tsunan, filled with joy.
***
On the other side…
Cho Kururugi gave Shirane Nakagiri a questioning look as he let out a small chuckle.
'You have a piece of candy-floss here!'
He pointed at her left cheek.
She flushed up, feeling a bit embarrassed.
She was about to take it off, when he did it in her place, putting it in his mouth.
Cho stared at the red-haired boy, going still.
This action was probably something she wouldn't have paid attention to or would have liked had it been with her boyfriend.
This isn't real! He's blackmailing me! He's blackmailing me! He's blackmailing me!
Something snapped in her head at that particular moment.
All the rage, indignation and feelings of humiliation she had bottled up ever since his blackmail had started, exploded freely to the surface.
Furious, she shoved him violently by his chest, causing him to stumble backward, and she cried, 'That's enough! Enough of your little game! I would never have believed you capable of committing such a twisted and duplicitous act! I won't cede to your blackmail anymore! Do what you want! Go tell Tsunan about the photo! This date is over!'
Shirane stared at the ginger-haired girl, startled.
As she was about to turn around to run away, he grabbed hold of her hand, causing her to stop.
'Let go!' she snapped, and he released her.
He had never seen her this angry and offended before. And he could read the hurt in her eyes.
'I'm sorry,' he told her, sincerely. 'I've never had the intention of telling Tsunan about the photo. Today, I've taken you to all the places I would have wanted to take you, done all the things I would have wanted us do, if this had been my first real date with you. And when I say real, I mean, with your consent.'
For him, this date had been real.
He had only wanted to spend some times with the girl that he loved while hoping that he'd be able to find a place in her heart.
'Do I displease you so much?' he asked her, filled with melancholy, before he averted his eyes, murmuring, 'I apologize. I have been selfish. I've thought only about myself.'
Hanging his head, he began to walk away, feeling utterly miserable.
For a whole moment, Cho remained motionless, thinking over what Shirane had said and pondering over their journey.
They had left the hotel at the appointed time together.
Cho had thought about wearing her usual clothing- a short kimono and leggings- but strangely, she had ended up wearing a dress that came off just above her knees and a hat.
She had blushed when Shirane had complimented about her dress and it hadn't escaped her attention that he had clothed himself in his best for the occasion.
At their arrival in Akiba, they had entered several shops, before Shirane had proposed that they have lunch.
'I'm not hungry!' she had lied, unhappy with the situation. But a gurgling sound from her stomach had given her away.
'Yes, you are!' Shirane had exclaimed with a wide happy grin and he had taken her to a restaurant that served all kinds of dishes of noodles. She loved noodles, and the restaurant making honor to its great reputation, the noodles had been succulent.
Shirane and her had discovered that they had similar tastes in matters of food.
After lunch, they had gone to see a horror movie at the cinema. At the end of the session, Cho had pretended as if she hadn't liked the film and that she didn't like horror movies, while in fact, she was an inveterate fan of the genre and she had found the film truly exciting.
Shirane had proposed that they go the amusement park of Akiba after that and even if she had pulled on a long face in front of him, the truth had been that she was eager to go to the amusement park; she had read about such parks only in magazines and she had always wanted to go to one of them.
The first attraction they had tried was the Haunted House. Then, Shirane had played a game of skill where prizes were won. Shirane had won a good dozen of stuffed animals for her and he would have continued to, had she not pulled him away, for the stall keeper had started casting hostile looks at them.
Shirane had bought them candy-floss after the episode, which had led them to this moment.
Even if Cho had been brooding during the whole day, she had to admit to herself that Shirane and her were having great fun together, that was, until she exploded into a fury.
The truth was that she liked all the things that they did.
With this realization dawning on her, she ran after Shirane and grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.
His head snapped around at her in surprise.
'Shirane, let's end this journey like you planned it!'
He lost his voice for a minute, so much he was astonished, before a feeling of happiness gained over his heart.
The red-haired boy couldn't understand why Cho was doing this, but he kept himself from asking her this question.
'Okay.' He grinned at her and grabbing her hand, he began to pull her away with him. 'Let's go on the Ferris Wheel!'
'The-The Ferris Wheel?!' stammered Cho, becoming nervous all suddenly.
'Look at this!' exclaimed Shirane as he took in the view from the highest point of the wheel.
The sun had already gone down the horizon and all the lights of town were on and the sky was clear.
It was, as if, not only the vast sky was shining with stars but also the earth.
'It's really beautiful!' whispered Cho as she gazed at the scenery, forgetting her fear of heights for a minute.
But then, the most unexpected thing that could have happened, happened.
The wheel came to an abrupt stop and the amusement park, as well as, the whole town became plunged in utter darkness.
'What's going on?' she demanded, her heart jumping to her throat.
'I think that it's a power failure.'
'A power failure?! You mean that we're blocked here?'
How could this have happened?!
Even if Shirane couldn't quite see the ginger-haired girl's expression in the dim light, he could tell by her tone and her rapid breathing that she was starting to panic.
'Hey, it's going to fine! I know that it's dark but-'
'It's not the darkness that bothers me...'
Her words were coming out pretty distortedly now and he became anxious.
She plumped down on her behind, sitting in a ball.
Bending over her, he touched her upper-arm and he realized that she was trembling.
'It's the height. I'm scared of heights!'
He was shocked. He didn't know that she was scared of heights. He guessed that she never told anyone about it, having kept it a secret.
And when he thinks that his great idea of cloture for this special day was a ride on the Ferris Wheel!
'Why did you accept to do this ride if you're scared of heights?' he demanded, getting down onto his knees in front of her.
He wasn't angry with her, but with himself.
She didn't reply, the rate of her breathing becoming alarming.
Seizing her firmly by her shoulders, he told her, very seriously, 'Cho, relax! You're going to have a panic attack if you continue like this!'
Something in his tone caused her to obey to the command in his words and she tried to slow down her breathing, successfully doing it.
The red-haired boy hushed her soothingly until she wasn't trembling anymore.
***
I staggered to a stop as the amusement park became plunged in absolute darkness, out of the blue.
'Shun,' Tsunan's voice came from behind me, where we were standing at the foot of the Ferris Wheel, and I felt a hand closed around mine. 'Don't move away from me!'
My heart, which had picked up speed at the sudden power cut, was palpitating now as I became hyper-conscious of his hand around mine.
I blushed.
***
The following day…
Somewhere off the coast of Hanaori Beach, existed a tiny uninhabited island named Nagashima and it was to this island that we all headed early in the morning by boat.
Master Kagami had planned a special activity for this last day of our seaside trip; a treasure hunt!
The master has hidden a chest that contains a prize somewhere on the island and we needed to find the chest. The teams were composed of duos, which were formed based on the lucky draw of our first night at the hotel for the distribution of rooms.
Hatsu and Heihachi weren't participating in the hunt for they were feeling unwell due to our voyage by boat, as they both suffered from seasickness. Yama-san and Gakkuri weren't participating either for they had helped Master Kagami hide the chest.
No one knew what exactly was the prize to win but, that was what made everything even more fun.
***
From as far as Ayame Tsuge could remember, Katsuya Hattori has always been his idol. His admiration for the ginger-haired boy had no bounds. He looked up to him as an older brother. He wanted to resemble him; make Katsuya proud of him.
So, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous whenever he found himself alone with his idol, like at this moment. Much to Ayame's great pleasure, this trip had allowed them to spend a lot of time together.
'You look nervous!' Katsuya pointed out to the younger boy, turning half-around to face him.
The latter was walking two steps behind Katsuya. He always did that. Ayame didn't consider himself worthy of walking side by side with his idol yet.
The blond male staggered to a stop and flushing deeper, he put his hands up in front of him, saying very quickly, 'Oh, don't pay attention to me!'
Katsuya fixated him for a minute, as if, deliberating about something, before he told the younger boy in a monotonous voice, 'Ayame, there's something that I'd like to tell you; something that I have never told anyone about before.'
Ayame almost cried with joy. His idol was going to reveal something to him that he had shared with no one else ever before; a secret!
The blond was filled with anticipation.
'I was very little when my father left my mother for another woman.'
Ayame was astonished.
As strange as it might appear, Katsuya had never told him anything about his family. He had mentioned only once that his mother was dead, in circumstances that only the master and Tsunan knew and no one else at the organization.
'My mother was all that I had. She represented everything for me. But she had a severe heart disease and she needed a heart transplantation. Her doctor- Shosei Noriasu- was a great and renowned surgeon. The latter's wife had the same heart disease as my mom and she needed a transplantation too. My mother was above her in the list of organ receivers. When we finally found a donor, Shosei Noriasu used his influence and contacts to get the heart transplanted onto his wife- who was also compatible- instead of my mother.'
Ayame was voiceless.
'My mother died before she could find another donor.'
Katsuya gritted his teeth together.
'She was everything for me. Shosei Noriasu took away from me the person that I loved the most in this world and I promised myself that I'd take away from him what he has got of most precious. Years later, I learnt that his wife was already gone from this world, so, I began interesting myself in his daughter, Shizuka. I was eighteen at that time. I became his friend, and then, I made her believe that I had fallen in love with her.'
*Flashback*
Five years ago…
Katsuya walked in the apartment door, carrying the last box that had been left outside.
He froze when his eyes fell onto Shizuka, who was standing by the kitchen counter, with his wallet in hand.
He was helping the brown-haired girl move in her new apartment and since he had been activating a lot, he had left his cellphone and wallet in the kitchen, in order, not to lose them.
A terrible mistake on his part!
Shizuka must have dropped his wallet when she had placed the box he had handed her a few minutes ago, onto the kitchen counter, which had caused her to pick the wallet up and that's when she saw his identity card.
Neither of the two were breathing anymore.
He put the box he was carrying down.
'Hattori… Your family name is Hattori?!' she asked him, in a barely audible voice, her eyes shifting from the identity card to onto him; her expression shocked.
He hadn't given her his real family name, but a false one.
'I know this name!' she breathed, her eyes frantic.
The jig is up!
Even before she could blink, he snatched a kitchen knife on the counter and threw Shizuka on the floor, pinning her there.
'So, you know what your father did?' he shouted, in a devastating rage.
'So, you've never loved me, huh?' she said in a mumble, her eyes watering as everything fell into place for her. 'I was very little at that time,' she told him, answering his question. 'But yes, I know what he did.'
'He killed my mother!' he roared, and she whispered, 'And now, you're going to kill me.'
There was no fear in her eyes anymore, but only sorrow and pain.
'Even if I want to tell you that I'm sorry, I have no words to express how angry and sad I am for what my father has done. You know, my mom didn't come out of the operation...'
His eyes widened a fraction.
He knew that her mother was dead but he didn't know how. Shizuka never talked about it.
'After that, my father got into alcohol and gambling. He dilapidated all the fortune he had amassed and he found himself unemployed, with many debts. He would hit me every time he was drunk and he treated me like his slave. The day that we met, I lied to you. I wasn't going to visit a friend. I had for intention to commit suicide.'
She gave him a grim smile. He couldn't understand how she could smile in such a situation where her life was on the line.
'How ironic it is, to be saved by the person who had come to take it! This life I owe it to you, Katsuya. I was feeling very lonely and miserable. But with you, I was happy to be born. Now, it's my turn to return the favor. If you believe that by taking my life, it'll relieve you of your pain, it'll help you live better, then, do it. I hand my life over to you such that you can find yours back. You may go. You can kill me. But before you do it, let me say thank you to you for having helped me find the courage to move out of my father's house and even if I do realize that you've never had real feelings for me, thank you for having brought me these few days of pure happiness.'
She turned her head on the side in submission and pressed her eyes shut, tears escaping from the corners.
He could almost hear her heart palpitating in her chest.
Kill her, Katsuya! Kill her! Punish Shosei Noriasu for what he has done! No matter the kind of dad that he is, the news of his daughter's murder will not leave him unaffected!
She didn't try to move, as he let go of her wrists.
She simply held her breath, expecting the stab that will put an end to her life.
Grabbing the knife with both hands, he lifted the sharp above his head.
He was astonished to find his arms trembling, not with excitement. He was hesitating.
Why?
Could it be that he had overestimated himself of being capable of killing a person to punish another and satisfy his vengeance?
Could it be that while pretending to be in love with Shizuka, the girl had really gotten under his skin?
He brought the knife down but not upon her.
Her eyes blew open, as the blade planted itself into the flooring, slicing her neck just a tiny bit.
A small wince escaped her mouth at the cut and she stared at Katsuya without blinking her eyes.
Leaving the knife where it was, the latter hurried into the bathroom.
She was puzzled. What is he doing?
She sat up when he returned with the first-aid box.
Sitting down in front of her, the ginger-haired boy tended to her wound, without uttering a word, and when he was finally done, he simply closed the box, stood up and walked out of the door.
Shizuka never saw him again after that.
***
'The other day, I was walking in town with Shun Shutsuki when I came across of Shizuka by chance,' he murmured, with his eyes lowered. Then, looking at Ayame in the eyes, he asserted, 'After hearing this, I'm sure that you must be deeply disappointed in me!'
'You didn't kill her. It's all that counts to me!' declared the blond boy, stunning Katsuya.
Staring at the ground again, the ginger-haired boy clenched his jaws, balling up his fists at his sides. 'But I don't know if I'll be able to refrain myself this time.'
Ayame's heart shook. 'What?'
'No. Nothing. Forget what I've just said!' the older male told him and turning around, he began to stride away to carry on with the hunt.
Ayame stood motionless for a moment, staring after Katsuya anxiously, before he ran to catch up with him.
***
'Say, Cho,' called Shirane, hesitantly.
'Hn?'
When the red-haired boy remained silent, the ginger-haired girl turned to face him, giving him a questioning look.
Averting his eyes, he asked her in a mumble, 'Why did you accept to play along yesterday?'
Cho immediately understood what he meant.
'Well, after you walked away, I realized that we were having great fun together and I didn't want it to stop,' she replied, truthfully.
His eyes widened at her in surprise. 'So, you didn't take me in pity?!'
'Of course not, silly!' She rolled her eyes, shaking her head.
His cheeks took a shade of red.
They continued to walk for a few minutes before Cho asked him, in a hesitant tone, 'Say, Shirane, about my fright for heights, you're not going to tell anyone about it, are you?'
He seemed shocked that she was asking him this question.
'I'd never do that!' he stated, firmly, before he added, more casually, 'Even if, there's nothing for you to feel embarrassed about. I don't think that there exists a person in this world who isn't scared of anything.'
She paused down to fixate him.
Bewildered, he stared back at her.
His heart made a jump, as a smile appeared on her lips.
They began to walk again.
'And you, Shirane, what are you scared of?'
'Well, I have a real horror of spiders!'
'Really? Then you should watch out! These kinds of forests house many species of spiders!'
He stilled and paled, breaking into cold sweat.
She giggled at his reaction.
Realizing that she was pulling his leg, he growled at her, 'It's not nice to mock other people's fears!'
Thank you for reading!