EPISODE 22: TEARS AND RAIN.

Isabelle L. Part

It's funny, I mean… I didn't expect it would happen. Not now Nobu and I seemed to be so well together.

It all began a month after the summer party. And all thanks to press.

As they had ended trying to put dirt over Nana and Ren they began looking into the rest ones lives. And I want to mean, especially us, Blast.

They took a bit to find anything strong enough for release, but they ended up finding something.

I was working at Gaia when I got the call. I was reviewing the last benefits balances when the phone began ringing.

"Gaia Record Firm. Miss Okanzaki on the phone, what can I help you at?" I asked not taking my eyes out of the numbers mountains I had in front of me.

"Isa!" I heard Reira calling me on the other end of the phone. "Is that true?"

"What?" I asked putting my finger over the number I was at and raising my sight from the notebook to look at the phone. "Sorry Reira, but I don't know what you are asking about."

Since we met at the charity live she phoned me from time to time, I suppose Shin gave her my phone number. What surprised me more was she calling me straight to the firm telephone.

"All that story about you being a bitch and having gone out with so much men." She asked me. "They say you have had something with Shin!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked now worried. "Shin is my cousin; I have never had anything with him but for a cousin relationship."

"But you are appearing on the news!" She said.

Then Misato burst in the room sweating and deeply worried.

"Isa!" She said. "You are appearing on news!"

"I have just been told." I said. "Reira, I'll call you later. I need to see something on TV."

Then I hung down the phone and literally ran down the corridor despite of the high heeled shoes and the miss dress I was wearing, avoiding people at the corridor on my ran to the staff room where there was a big TV.

People were already there watching TV when I arrived and stopped at the door to watch it with my eyes opened in shock as I saw the photos taken of me when I was with some of my "boyfriends" and friends.

Henry, James, Kuno, Ayato, Pierre, Marcos, Kevin, Viktor, Nicolai… the list was long. And among all those photos, there was some of Shin and me too. None of them showing a concrete prove of us being going out or dating. But they could obviously being mistaken by love photos too. I must agree it.

I looked at them astonished as the news presenters said a lot of lies about me. I wanted to get there and kill them for spreading such a big amount of lies. I was beginning to see all in red.

Then I concentrated on breathing deep as my breath was beginning to miss me. Then I felt a hand over my shoulder. I turned my face to see the old man that was the manager from our band over my shoulder, his face also showed worry.

"I swear that's a big amount of lies." Is what I said then.

"C'mon, don't listen to this." He said pulling from my arm softly.

I shook my head and got free. I wanted to see it, I needed to know what was being said about me.

Then my mobile phone began ringing mad on my pocket. I took it: Nobu.

I wanted to pick it up but I hung it down. It was matter of seconds that I got a mail at it I decided to open.

"R U ok? Where R U?" Nobu had sent me a message before calling Mishato as I found out later. "We have 2 speak. Where can we meet?"

I didn't answer as Mishato was speaking with him. I then checked the message was not just Nobu's but also Shin's.

Five seconds later I found Yasu there, his shirt a bit wrinkled at the chest and his tie a bit loosened.

"Are you ok?" Was what he just asked me.

"No, I'm mad at it all." I said with a serious face and correct voice tone. "How do they dare to spread such an amount of lies?"

Perhaps my lady training on forms and manners was useful on those situations after all.

"OK, ok." He said passing his arm behind my back and making me lay my face against his chest. "Don't worry, if you swear it's all a lie then it can be solved."

"Nobu and Shin are on their way here." Mishato said coming out of the staff room and seeing us there. She didn't expected Yasu to be there, but he was.

I wanted to shout, to hit and yell in fury, but my education didn't let me do such thing.

I also wanted to cry, but I couldn't either.

Anyway, the worse didn't came there, the worse was when, four days later, press found their news on my relationship with Renato and an English actor that was the one before him. Nobu went jealous and after having been so for all that time, with great sadness, we broke up. In fact, he was the one doing it. It was on our home. He just caught his things and left for his old flat.

Then I ran out of the flat and through the streets with no idea of where I was going. I wanted to get lost of there. I wanted everyone in press leaving me alone for once and forever, but I knew it was not possible. I was now a famous singer, a tycoon daughter and they had turned that good things I got with hard work look silly comparing to the fact that I had lot of friends.

I don't know where I was running towards, I don't know why I ran or for how long. All I know is suddenly I fell down at the grass and I began punching the grass.

I was beginning to cry of fury when I found my fist being held to prevent me hitting the ground again and me being lifted up with no effort.

Who lifted me up was a guy who came looking for fight. He had it.

I ended up spitting some blood and bleeding from my knuckles and from some cuts I got from the guy.

Then I ran away again, and again I fell down after some minutes. This time I was near the river, next to a modern building full of flats. I began hitting the ground once and again leaving blood drops all over the grass and getting my knuckles dirty on earth from the place I was hitting.

I was beginning to form a pool with the blood coming out of my knuckles when I was held by my wrist to prevent me hitting the ground again. I wanted to hit the one holding me but I was stopped again as being held the other wrist too.

Then I looked at the face of the one holding me. I saw nothing cause of the tears filling my eyes.

"Hey, c'mon. Come my home." A soft voice I knew said. "You will be safer there. Oh, my… your knuckles are bleeding!"

Then I buried my face at his chest robes. I didn't knew why I did it, but I just did it without even thinking. I buried my face at Ren's shirtless chest.

He then released my wrists and held my softly by the back as hugging me.

Ren's Part.

I had seen a red glittering coming down my home when I was looking to the river sadly. We had nothing to do then cause the record agency was closed due to personal matters so Takumi was at his house and Naoki was somewhere near Sibuya.

It was now raining outside so that made me even more sad and bored.

As soon as I saw the red glittering was coming from a red haired girl who was running I nearly flight down the stairs when I saw her fall down.

When I reached her I checked it was certainly my friend Isabelle Okanzaki. Yes, her red hair was unmistakable for any of us.

She was punching the ground and her hands were beginning to be dirty with mud from the ground she was hitting.

I then held her wrists, one and then the other when she tried to hit me.

She was crying her eyes out. They were filled with tears and so red I was afraid she had been crying for a long while. She was also soaked till bones and showed a sad appearance.

"Hey, c'mon. Come my home." I then said. "You will be safer there. Oh, my… your knuckles are bleeding!"

I hoped her to kick my balls as I held her arms; but instead she buried her face at my chest. Then I wished to have put on a shirt before going down, not just my leather jacket.

Suddenly I felt how she fainted. I wanted to shout on worry, but I held it. If I shouted no doubt we would call for attention and that would be even worse. No, instead of that I held her better and carried her up to my flat.

There I laid her over the bed. She then curled up at it.

She seemed to have gone through lot of pain and I was a bit worried. I mean… I had never seen her cry.

I left her there as I took my mobile phone to phone Shin, but I just had Yasu's number. I phoned him. I was talking with him about what happened when I heard some steps and I saw her at the door.

"Hello." I told her then. "I'm speaking to Yasu, do you feel better?"

She then nodded and I told Yasu what happened. He then asked me to ask her something.

"Yasu asks me where were Shin and Nobu." I asked her.

Suddenly she began breathing fast and crying again and she fell on her knees. I then shouted and nearly left the phone fall to the ground.

"What's going on?" Yasu shouted at my ear through the phone.

"Don't know!" I said. "She is breathing fast and crying!" I told him.

There was a second of silence and he told me to make her breath on a bag and to make her lay down. He will come and we will take her to hospital. He also asked me to try and make her relax, to comfort her a bit.

I then took her and I made her lay at the sofa looking to the ceiling but she curled back at herself while I looked for a bag to make her breath in. I found a sandwich paper bag from the times Nana lived there with me.

"Yasu told me you have to breathe inside the bag." I said kneeling down at her side.

I then held the bag at her face covering her nose and mouth and forcing her to breathe there. She then fainted again just a minute before Yasu arrived.

Isabelle B. Part.

When Ren mentioned Nobu I couldn't help going over-nervous and I felt as if suddenly I forgot something, as if air was beginning to miss and I began breathing fast as I cried cause of Nobu and I broke up just some hours before.

Ren then ran to pick a paper bag and forced me to breath in it.

I then began to feel dizzy and I ended up by falling unconscious.

When I woke up I was at a taxi lying with my head over Yasu's lap. I felt better now; at least I could breathe back normal.

"Don't panic." Yasu told me. "We are taking you to see a doctor we know. He will see what has gone on."

"Do you think she got Hyperpnoea?" Ren asked then.

I then noticed he was sitting on the other end of the taxi, my legs over him.

"I should sit properly." I said moving to sit down between both.

I tried to look proper, but the truth was that I had my clothes dirty and my hands also dirty and blood stained. I thought it was the guy I had beaten up because I couldn't remember of anything else.

When I sat down Ren put his hand over my forehead and I went pink on my cheeks.

"She has a normal temperature…" He said.

"It seems it was a hyperpnoea attack." Yasu said. "That doesn't make her temperature rise too much."

I was now ashamed of myself causing them so much trouble. Anyway, when we reached the doctor's place and I saw Shin, Nobu and Mr. Gimpei there I went even more ashamed.

They seemed really worried about me, but I knew they had nothing to be frightened at. I mean… I didn't knew, it was more like… feeling they had nothing to be frightened at.

Nobu's Part.

"I can't believe you spit up with her cause of that amount of rubbish." Shin told me when I told him at the doctor friend of Gimpei's house.

"Shin, she has done up half of the male population in the whole world." I told him. "And she has kissed someone while she was with me…" I added softly as it was what hurt me the most.

"And what if she has done lot of men before you?" He asked me. "She was with none of them while she was going out with you!"

"There are photos of her kissing other guy while he was going out with me!" I said furious.

Then he fell silent and surprised. I thought he had seen the photos… I didn't want to keep on with that chat. I just looked down furious clenching my fists. I was furious for what I found out by news at Channel Nana (7); but I was even more worried about her being ok now.

Yasu phoned me when I was settling my things back at my old flat. I had to lay on the bed because everything there remembered me on her.

Anyway, when Yasu called me telling me what has gone on and where will he take her when he picked her up I ran out of my flat to ask for a taxi to take me to the doctor's house.

There was where I met Shin. He also was worried when I saw him.

"I can't understand it…" He then whispered taking me out of my thoughts. "I wonder if you don't have a real problem with women… She was perfect for you and you have left her gone…"

He was really sad now; he had sat down on the ground and hugged his legs against his chest.

Shin's Part.

I couldn't believe what Nobu had just told me. I thought he loved my cousin as much as she loved him. I couldn't believe it was just a silly rumour needed for them to break up. I was now depressed for so many bad news on the same time.

And I was really worried about Isa's health. Yasu said that according to Ren's description of facts she had gone through two hyperpnoea attacks on little time. That was really bad news.

"I can understand you want to hate me for breaking up with your cousin." Nobu told me then with a soft voice as if he had to take it from the very deeps in him.

"Of course it's not that!" I told him shocked. "I'm also your friend! I'm not going to be on a side or the other! And you should not stop being her friend despite of this!"

It was true; he thought that when that happened friends went to a side or the other. But I will not take that position. No, I will live with Isa because she was my cousin, but I will also meet Nobu, and I expected he didn't stop being my cousin's friend. That would only hurt everyone.

"At least give me some days to get over it all." He said. "Just because I don't want to be angry with the singer of our band."

When did Isa past from his girlfriend to just the singer of our band? I couldn't believe how he had gone so cold. No, I could believe it. He was just doing the same that my cousin when she was hurt so much. And the worse was that I couldn't hug him as I would do with her as soon as I would meet her alone.

Then she arrived. She walked still in the waiting room where we were waiting for them to arrive. Behind her came Yasu and Ren. It was true; Yasu said Ren found her next to his house by hazard.

"Is the doctor in?" Yasu asked.

"Yep." We said.

Then I jumped over Isa's neck asking her if she was ok.

"I'm ok." She told me. "It was just a bad minute. I still don't know what happened. Sorry to have made you worried."

I could hear how her heart beat faster when she noticed Nobu. She stayed silent while he spoke.

"I'm happy you feel better now." Nobu told her still a bit worried.

"Thanks." She whispered.

Then the doctor called her.

Isabelle B. Part.

"Hey, I swear it was not such a thing." I told them when we were out of the doctor's house. "Don't you think that if it had been such thing I would have had it before?"

"Perhaps you got it now." Ren told me. "Did you use condom each single time you two did it?"

I then coughed as Nobu shouted at him something about respect and love.

"Listen, now you are ok, I think I'm leaving for home." Nobu then said when we reached the entrance and went into the streets. "I still have to settle my things back there."

"You don't have to leave home." Shin said as Yasu surrounded my arms with his arm.

"I think it's better like that." Nobu just said then. "Anyway, if you organise a Mah-Jongg party again give me a call and I'll be there."

"Then come tonight for a game." Shin said.

"Sorry, tonight I have things to do…" He said while I looked at him by the corner of my eye. "Maybe next time. See you. And Isa, take care, right? You need some rest…"

I nodded as I felt as if tears were beginning to flow again from my eyes. I was now sad, terribly sad. I knew I would feel fury for some time, after all, that was my first state after a break up: Fury, later came the second state: Sadness. The last but one was self-pity and then, the last state: forget and half-recovering. It had always been like that, so not it was weird for me to feel sadness so early; normally the first state lasted for at least for a week or two. Why was I now past from the first to the second state so easily?

I went silent all the way back home. I then was nearly taken up by Yasu and Ren's arms. I didn't say a word; I just sat down at the sofa while the rest went from here to there doing things.

"Isa, c'mon, get to the bathroom and have a long bath." Yasu told me. "It will help you."

I didn't said a word, I just shook my head looking down.

"Hey, wake up." Shin said. "You have to recover. It's not the end of the world. It has happened to you before and you survived."

He kept on trying for a while till Yasu made him a sign for stopping. I knew they all wanted to help, but they couldn't.

"Isa, please." Yasu then said. "Have a hot shower and get in bed. That will help you."

I didn't move at first, but then I stood up and walked straight to my bedroom. There I lay in the bed and got in it.

I didn't want to have meal, I didn't want to have a bath… all I wanted was to wake up from that awful nightmare and check Nobu was still there, by my side.

I close my eyes and tried to sleep while I cried. I suppose I got slept while I was crying cause then I can't remember anything else.

Ren's Part.

"Are you sure you can stay here?" Yasu told me at the door.

Shin had gone into his cousin bedroom in order to be with her. He said something about giving back her favours and making her feel beloved. It sounded weird from my point of view.

"Yes, don't worry." I told him. "I can stay here tonight… Tomorrow I had to get to Cookie's to keep on helping with something Takumi's dealing with. But I can come here after that."

"If she goes wrong again call me immediately, right?" He kept on saying.

"Yes, yes." I said. "If you don't trust me then stay here too."

He then looked at me and took his things.

"Ok, good bye." He said. "I'll come back tomorrow to see how she is."

"Ok, ok." I said. "Bye."

Then I close the door and walked to the living-room. Everything was silent now. I picked up the ashtray and emptied it on the litterbin. I then lighted a cig.

Things were worse than ever for me. Nana didn't speak to me, I was about collapsing due to Takumi and the overload of work we had thanks to him… And now a good friend had gone through a hyperpnoea state due to that silly of Nobu breaking up with her. I didn't mean to blame Nobu of that attack, in fact I didn't know why that lovely couple broke up. And who was the one breaking up? It must have been Nobu; otherwise she would not have gone like that.

I wondered how was she had run for so long since her house to next to mine, and of course how did she got those knuckles wounds.

I was smoking my second cig when I decided to go and check how those two were. I then put off the cig and left the ashtray at the coffee table. I then stood up and went to have a look at the girl's bedroom.

Perhaps I should have knocked first, but I just opened the door slowly trying it not to creep and I put my head in.

Shin was hugging her as if she was a little girl, he was still awakened but with his lips at her hair as if he kissed her head from time to time.

"Hey, how is she?" I asked Shin whispering.

"She has fallen asleep." He answered me back on the same tone. "But she has been crying, her eyes are swollen and she had her face soaked on tears…"

I then nodded.

"I'll be on your bedroom if you don't mind." I said then.

He nodded and I left. I just removed my shirt and I lay over the bed. While I was looking at the ceiling I thought about it all.

I then thought Nobu was silly for leaving her gone away so easily; even when I didn't knew why did they break up I thought it.

Suddenly an idea came to my mind. Perhaps it had something to do with the photos that TV has put up on their gossiping news showing her dating a lot of different guys.

Those photos were so awful that they probed nothing else than the fact that she had lot of guys around her. But perhaps Nobu mistook them and thought something else.

And then there were the photos showing her kissing with an English actor and then with the model guy that came to the recording of their video clip. Ren I think was called, no, Rena… Renato, Renato, that's it.

Maybe he was her boyfriend once, but… I didn't thought she would cheat Nobu. Anyway, there was no use on thinking on that now. I turned around to face the wall and try to sleep.