The sounds of Tokyo's night-streets was a sound Akiyama fell asleep to often. But what was so strange was the clarity of it. He had no heat in his apartment – that made the rent cheaper – so he usually kept himself shut up. The cars going by and the crowds below should be muffled – not crystal enough that he could listen in to a group of co-workers if he listened close enough.
Akiyama sat up in bed and gave his apartment a once-over. His door was open, wide-open, letting in the sounds of below. And what was this at the threshold? A pair of colorful flats – female, of course.
There was only one person he knew that wore flats. What was Nao doing in his apartment this late at night?
He walked the halls, searching for his impromptu-charge. At the stairs at the end, on the railing, delicately hung a thin shawl. Akiyama took it in his hands – it was still warm. She had taken it off not too long ago. His bare feet pressed against the steps, going up and up and up. So many floors past, he realized he had reached the roof. His heart hammered in his chest.
Right behind the door, he saw her. Up on the ledge, staring down at the street below. He felt his heart jump up into his throat and he ran across the roof. Akiyama's arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled Nao off the ledge onto the ground. Nao crumpled into a pile, but she would not looking to Akiyama.
"What do you think you're doing!?" He yelled. He could see her flinch and somewhere inside of him he was happy she did. Maybe she would listen to reason and realize that...that was not a solution. Never was a solution.
But this wasn't the way to go. She had never reacted well to anything but her cool and collected Akiyama-san. That was the man she knew as her protector. Screaming at her would do nothing. If anything, it would bring her to jump again.
"Is it the Game again?" He asked, voice octaves lower and tone leveled. The wind blew around them in silence, but he saw her nod after the longest time. He closed his eyes and breathed in and out to once again level his mood.
He kneeled down to her, hand on her shoulder. Through her curtain of hair, she looked up to him with those big, bright eyes. "I thought I told you you don't have to worry about it. I already have a sure-fire success plan in mind. Follow me and trust in me."
Akiyama watched Nao's eyes moistened and softened. Her smile, that smile that was his saving grace, spread across her cheeks. Her hand, warm even in Japan's night air, reached up and cradled his cheek. Akiyama's heart moved down back to it's proper place, beating louder and louder. He had saved himself from losing another important person.
Nao slowly stood and Akiyama helped her to do so. Her hands slowly left his body, but her smile wouldn't lose it's charm. She took steps forward, moving about Akiyama. Back to the roof's ledge. Akiyama's eyes widened, wherein Nao's head turned back to him. "I can't rely on you forever. Goodbye, Akiyama-san."
"No!" Akiyama dived forward, trying to grab Nao before she vanished. With one step, she had vanished. Collasping against the ledge, he could see Nao in her beautiful white dress, falling into the street below. "No!"
"No!" Akiyama sprang straight up, chest heaving up and down in hope to catch his breath. He was back in his apartment, where his windows were closed and his door was closed and most importantly, where Nao was not. He closed his eyes, holding his breath to try and calm his body down. Unfortunately, he could still see that horrible death behind his eyelids.
There was a faint ringing echoing in his apartment. His cellphone, his mind told him. His cellphone. With Nao's ringtone.
He let it ring two more times before answering. "Yes?" He hoped his voice was leveled. There was no reason to think the worse – she had called time and time before, just looking for reassurance. There was no way Nao would actually think of suicide.
"Akiyama-san...Akiyama-san, please help me. I think I have a problem."
Akiyama felt his blood run cold. His heart leapt into his throat and he found it hard to think of any reply. "What...are you okay?"
Nao took her time in answering him. Akiyama could swear that he heard her sniffle. "Could you please come over, Akiyama-san?"
As if she needed to ask. Akiyama was out of bed in a moment, legs slipping into trousers and feet burying into his loafers. "I'll be there soon. Don't do anything foolish." Hitting 'End', his mind berated him for that very warning.
Nao's apartment looked dark through the window, and it put Akiyama off. Nao always had at least one light on. The dream played over and over inside his head and he had to forcibly push those images away, just to keep his face calm as he knocked on her door. It was soft, the pat of her footsteps from the bed to the door. He could hear them only because there were no sounds this late at night. No crickets, no passing cars – it was just really quiet.
Nao opened the door and Akiyama saw the chaos of her face. Her hair distraught and stuck on her cheeks with tears. Her eyes were blood-shot and her nose puffy and rubbed raw. She moved aside to be let him in but he didn't move far. He looked down upon her, trying to find just why Nao looked as Nao did.
"What happened?" In his head, his over-analytical brain over-analyzed every potential cause. The Liar Game, her father passed, the anxiety of this big secret life she led...the dream. No, no, he had to forget that.
Nao didn't answer him, but walked aside, back to her bed. She sat down and hugged a pillow. He saw her eyes bright, but no tears fell down. Nao just seemed...tired.
"Before the Liar Game..." she began, her voice broken and weak, "I never told a lie. I never told anything but the truth. My father...he taught me that God didn't forgive those who lied. So...so I...I..." She bit her lip and took in a loud sniffle. Around the pillow, she crossed her arm and pulled up the sleeve of her sweater.
Akiyama had to hold in the gasp. Across her arms, he could see the parallel scars from her elbow to her wrist. He walked toward Nao in a daze and fell to his knees. Hands gently held her arm and it was proof. Nao had done this to herself. Akiyama looked up at her with big, wide eyes.
Nao sniffled and tears were bubbling out of her eyes again. "It was just...it was just supposed to be penance for the lies I told. I never thought...But, but today...I visited my father. And he asked me if I was okay. I was...I was tired, but I told him I was. And...and when I realized what I did...this...this was the first thing I thought of." She sobbed and finally met Akiyama's eyes. "Akiyama-san...please help me."
The pleading hit him like a stack of bricks. What did she look for him to do? He looked back down at her arm in his hand as he waited for the shock to calm inside of him.
Nao, his saving grace, was asking for his help. Before anything bad could truly happen, she was asking for his help. Something his mother had never done.
Akiyama sat straighter. His other hand wrapped about Nao's neck and he tipped her head forward to kiss the crown of her hair. Nao looked up to him as the tears stopped. Akiyama was surprised at the calmness of his voice as he explained. "You had no choice. The only way you would've done what you've done – saving every single person tied into the Liar Game – without those words." Nao bit her lip, looking away. But Akiyama turned her face right back to her. "God and your father will forgive you - because you never disgraced them in the first place."
"Akiyama-san..."Her eyes were shining again. Akiyama could feel her hand grasp tightly his forearm. Against his usual self, he used that hold to tug on her to pull Nao into his chest. She was crying again and Akiyama had run out of words. He, for once, didn't know what to say to her. So he just combed his fingers through her hair, letting her know that he was here for her.
That he would come running to her side – all she had to do was ask. He would save her – because Nao had saved him.