Chapter 11 His story

Miyu had marched straight back to her room to put some physical distance between Kanata and her. Mindless staring out from her balcony did nothing whatsoever to lift her mood when she suddenly realised that it had stopped raining and a clear blue sky was staring at her promising to lift her mood. She grabbed a light jacket and went downstairs shrugging it on.

Everyone was already out, enjoying the weather to the fullest. She walked over to Nanami who was busy munching on sandwiches. Others occasionally made stops to grab something to eat. Watching all that food she felt hungry. She had not had anything since yesterday night and she was suddenly famished.

"Help yourself Miyu, you haven't had anything since morning" Nanami invited her. Miyu sat next to her grabbing a sandwich and some orange juice. After having finished eating she stood up "care for a walk Nanami?" she asked. "Nope I'm loaded way too much. I think I'll just sit here for sometime till I feel normal again".

"I just don't understand where all that food goes" she commented.

"It has something to with metabolism I think" Nanami winked at her and started to munch yet another sandwich.

Miyu turned to take a good look of the beach. At some distance she spotted few rocks and a small cliff. She headed in that direction. She was all alone but strangely didn't feel lonely at all. She climbed the highest cliff and sat at the top looking over the vastness of the ocean. It was a beautiful sight and despite being a hydrophobic she sat there carefully keeping her distance from the water and wondering at its beauty. The rise and fall of waves were like a beautiful lullaby and she found herself drifting to sleep. She woke up to a dark night sky. Startled she tried to sit up and lost her balance but firm hands were holding her before she could slip down from top of the cliff.

"Careful, quiet a comfortable place to fall asleep" Kanata said.

He's mocking me but she didn't feel that rush of anger like always instead she ignored him completely. His strong hands were holding her firmly and he dragged her towards himself helping her to sit properly.

"Thanks, how long was I out" she asked him.

"Not much, maybe three hours" he said with a straight face.

"And that's not long?" she asked him. He shrugged at her.

"Were you here the whole time" she asked him again.

"For the most part" he nodded his head.

He turned towards the ocean. The water bed gleamed with moonlight and sky was filled with the stars and the mysterious constellations she always wondered about. They sat in silence for a while till Kanata decided to break it "Miyu can I ask you something?"

She turned to look at him "What?"

"What did you mean when you said I was confusing you?" he asked looking into her eyes. She was silent and he thought she wouldn't reply but she did "I honestly don't know".

"You know you're the most honest person I've ever met besides Santa but he's my childhood friend so his opinion doesn't count".

She smiled at him and looked in front at the ocean. The night was beautiful & for some strange reason she felt really happy sitting there.

"I was barely three when my mother died" Miyu stiffened at his words "you really don't have to say anything".

"No I've to before I chicken out I need tell you everything" she took his hand & covered it with hers. God it really felt so natural to do that.

"She died of cancer and I was raised by my caretaker Wanya. My father drowned himself in his work to escape from her memories. I don't remember much of her but I do remember her singing lullaby to me before going to sleep every night. I remember her loving me playing with me till the day she fell suddenly while she was running trying to catch me. I was so scared because she didn't say anything. Wanya called dad, he was in some other country while we took her to the hospital. He came to the hospital next day. I had been crying all the while till I saw him. He picked me up and told me everything will be fine, that mom will be fine. He handed me to Wanya and went to see the doctor. When he came back he didn't look at me, he didn't sooth me like before. I kept calling out to him but he simply left me there all alone, not even sparing a backward glance. I looked at Wanya who was crying. He picked me up and followed dad. I kept crying for my mom who didn't listen to me, for dad who refused to look at me and left me to myself. I cried till I fell asleep. Next day when I woke up I was told mom was gone, left for some place she would never come back from. I don't remember the funeral but my dad went back to his business, leaving me all alone. I cried mostly every day. I cried for my parents, my mother who would never come back and for my father who didn't want to come back, who had left me all alone. I cried till I ran out of tears and stopped asking for anything. I met Santa in kindergarten where he never left my side even when I never spoke to him for almost two years. Then gradually I started warming up to him and we became best friends. I was in Tokyo back then and my father was always on some business tour. He rarely came home and whenever he did he looked older than before. Time flew past and when I turned fourteen a girl named Akira was transferred to my class. She was beautiful and every guy in our school approached her on her first week itself but she rejected all of them politely. One day I saw her being cornered by some seniors of our school in a silent corner. She looked really scared so I went to help her.

Flashback

"Leave her alone" said 14 year old Kanata.

"We're your senior you really think you can take us all by yourself. Go save your ass kiddo".

Sure he was young but he was as tall as any of them and stronger because of his regular taekwondo training. He took up the challenge and dismissed them single handedly.

"Thanks" said Akira.

"No problem, do you walk to your home all by yourself".

"No, not every day. Only when my father doesn't come to pick me"

"Okay I'll drop you home" he said and after dropping her home he turned to his house.

Next day they met in the class. She smiled at him and he nodded at her.

"Ooh Akira what did you do to Saionji. He never talks to girls or anyone and now he's nodding at you".

She kept quiet and with time they started talking and spending time with each other, beginning to know each other. She was really very kind and soft hearted. He had never met someone with such pure heart before. She was the kind of person who would happily donate her kidney to a stranger she met while walking down the road. She was a great cook and she always brought lunch for him and Santa. They became really good friends and he started liking her.

One day he finally confessed to her and was delighted to know that she liked him too. Everyone at school was shocked by their relationship since Kanata was not popular for being social but despite that they were dating. They loved each other very much. She had filled the void in his life with her affection and love. He couldn't imagine his life without her. With time their love only grew stronger and they were inseparable. He was really happy and started going out with his friends. He was slowly becoming friendlier with everyone. Her love was bringing out his brighter side, moulding him into a better person every day. He started warming up to everyone. He no longer stayed in isolation.

Everything was good till the mid-session when suddenly Kanata noticed changes in her. She was always distracted, deep in thought.

One day he asked her "Hey are you okay? I've been noticing you for quite a while and you don't seem like yourself. You're acting weird. What's wrong?"

"Nothing I'm just distracted because daddy's having some trouble at his office. Nothing for you to worry about" she replied smiling at him.

After a week he received a call from her late in the evening. She sounded scared and he grew anxious. He told her he was on his way. When he reached her flat it was unlocked. Everything was scattered in the room.

"Akira, where are you?" he called out to her. He walked to her room and stopped dead at the sight. Everything was in chaos but what held his eyes was the body lying in the middle of the room. Her clothes were torn badly and she was bleeding profusely. Someone had stabbed her with a knife.

He ran to her screaming her name "Akira, god Akira please say something. Who did this? I'll call the ambulance" he picked his cell up and called for the ambulance. He took her head in his lap.

"Kanata I'm so sorry for not keeping our promise. I promised to stay forever but I don't think I'll make it" she said tears running down her face.

"Don't say that, everything will be okay. You're going to be alright. I'm right here" his words sounded hollow even to himself. Too much blood had been lost, her chances to live were slim and he was trying desperately to keep her alive. "Kanata will you promise me something" she asked him.

"Anything baby, anything" he said tears staining his face.

"When I'm gone, you'll not go back to being the way you were when we met. You'll be happy and stay the way you are now. Do you promise me to embrace love when it comes to you" she tried to take his hand into her.

He took her hand "Oh baby that'll never happen. I can't let you go. We'll have our forever".

"Please Kanata, I need you to promise me please" she begged.

"I love you Akira, I can't love anyone else other than you" he said.

"Please Kanata for me promise me you'll give yourself another chance".

He stared at her face while she bled to death, 15 minutes later ambulance arrived but she was already gone. Her body was taken for the autopsy and the results had been shocking. She had been raped before being stabbed to death by a poisonous knife. Further investigations had revealed that she was being stalked by a guy who had threatened her of dire consequences in case if she reported anything to the police. He had been waiting for an opportunity that he chanced upon that day when her father was out of station. He had forced entrance in her flat and had raped her before stabbing her several times. Then he had fled from the place but the police was able to get hold of him. Kanata saw to it that he was convicted for her murder & was awarded death sentence.

"After her death I relapsed, becoming worse than ever. I barely spoke, not even with Santa. But still Santa never left my side and somehow managed to bring me back on track. We moved to Heiomachi far away from her haunting memories. I grew solitary once again, minimising my social life to almost nothing. I started concentrating on my studies and sports instead. And one day I received a letter from my father asking me to bring my girlfriend back home (in Tokyo) for some business party. It was a very important business party but was to be attended by couples only. My father was going with his secretary while I decided to ditch it. But my father's perpetual insistence left me with no choice and I had to ask Christene to be my girlfriend for the evening. Asking her was easy because she was used to attending such parties and she was a good match for someone who could act like she liked me since she obviously likes me. So we went to that party as a couple. Although I had made it clear that it was only for an evening but somehow I think she never really got out of her character".

Kanata breathed deeply after telling her everything. He couldn't seem to look at her face. Recounting everything had caused so much pain but he needed to go through all this in order to let it go, to move on in life. He looked at Miyu. She was looking at him, tears running down her face as she gripped his hands tightly.

"I had no idea you've been through so much. It's cruel to face so much pain at such young age. Sorry I'm bad at handling emotional stuff. All I can do is cry" she said. She tried to smile at him but she couldn't bring herself to do that, after hearing something like that how could someone smile but she still tried just for him. Her heart tore at his pain as she saw tears escaping his eyes.

He is too young to go through so much. It was not fair for him to face all of this all alone. Suddenly she hugged him tightly and after a moment he hugged her back. They remained like that for forever till his tears dried out.

"Are you okay?" she asked him softly after some time. He nodded his head at her. "Don't worry Kanata. I'm here. I'll be here for you. You can always rely on me" she looked up at him smiling.

His eyes widened with surprise and he looked at her "you know why I told you all this because I've decided to fulfil my promise to Akira. Her parting words were for me to move on in my life and I've finally decided to move on" he said his face glowing with determination.

Her heart skipped a beat at his words. What does he mean by moving on? Does he like someone? She felt a pang of jealousy as she imagined him with a girl and she felt her heart constrict at the thought. And then she felt stupid for getting jealous of some invisible, unknown face. Her stupidity almost made her smile as she felt happy for him, happy that he had decided to move on with his life. He truly deserved someone who could take care of him and give him all the love he had been abandoned even if it kills her to watch him with someone else.

She smiled at him "I'm happy for you. You truly deserve someone in your life who can love you. You know you're not that evil when you let your guard down. I guess you should do that more often" she said trying to cheer him up even when she felt her own heart breaking with every word she said. He deserved someone far better than her, someone who could love him equally and someone who was brave enough to love him back with everything wholeheartedly, not somebody damaged like her.

"What do you mean by someone, don't you get it" his voice masked with shock and anger and irritation. "Get what" she asked him innocently looking confused.

"You really didn't understand any of it" he said looking at her.

She watched him in confusion eyebrows drawn together and he looked at her in exasperation.

"Sometimes you really are dense Miyu" he said clutching at her arms.

Miyu was surprised at his outburst "I'm sorry Kanata but what's wrong, did I…" she never completed that sentence as his lips closed on hers. She was too stunned to react at all. Before she could do anything he broke that kiss and she sat wondering why her heart had stopped beating all of a sudden. His forehead was touching hers like they were the same part of two different bodies as they breathed together to calm down their racing hearts, they kept breathing in harmony till their hearts were back to normal.

"Miyu I …" his mobile rang and he was about to disconnect it but then saw the caller id.

"What is it and it better be a good reason or I'll kill you Santa" he snapped, looking furious for being interrupted. Miyu couldn't help but wonder staring at his face. He really did have temper issues didn't he, no wonder he is so distant from others.

"She is with me, okay we'll be right back" he hung up "we've have to go back, apparently they decided this moment to notice our absence and they are worried about you".

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sneek peek into next chapter

"I'm not avoiding you Kanata. Why will I do that, you're over thinking. You are just a friend and I don't avoid my friends".

He inched closer to her and she tried to retreat but in vain because of the wall. "Miyu you know that I like you but I won't force you. I promise I'll never cross my line again after this".

"After what, what do you mean again?" she barely had the time to ask as his lips crashed with hers and she was rendered speechless while he kissed her. She didn't know what to do. After all it was her first proper kiss and it felt damn good and wrong at the same time and after a very long time he broke the kiss and touched his forehead to hers once again trying to convey some of the things he felt for her.