Kanra stepped outside onto the promenade boat deck, the fresh sea breeze air blowing her hair lightly. Smiling, she breathed in deeply as she closed her eyes, her hands grasping the railing. Savouring these few moments she had to herself, she then opened her eyes to the waving crowds below. There were so many people; she glanced left and right; passengers of all classes had gathered in mass crowds to bid farewell. How many of these were saying goodbye to families, to their loved ones, or even to their friends? Kanra didn't know a single person down there, and yet, she couldn't resist raising her hand up and waving. She half wondered whether she was the only one, there were probably other passengers on board who didn't know any of the people they were waving to either.
Kanra lowered her hand and sighed, a somewhat gloomy expression appeared on her face. Why were these people so happy to leave anyway, and she found herself just a tad envious, wishing just for a moment that she could be free like them? Free, in every sense of the word, not just the carefree kind; she was trapped, and had been for a long time. Kanra wouldn't place the blame on Shiki, and even if she did, he would tell her that it was all her fault anyway, probably. She tried to remember a moment in her life when she was happy, was it back when she was living at home? Or when she and Shiki first met? Kanra slouched for a moment, leaning over the railing, to hell with first class composure.
Living at home, had she been happy? Perhaps, for a moment maybe. When she first met Shiki, life was okay, she could honestly say that was the truth. He looked after her, protected her, cared for her and dare she say it, maybe he even loved her. Now, life was not okay, she didn't know what was true anymore. He still protected her, quite possibly still cared for her, and yet, she was having a very hard time believing he looked after her. The love? Maybe he still loved her, because every time their relationship took a dark turn, she could see the regret in his eyes. Perhaps, it wasn't love, perhaps he simply had grown accustomed to her, maybe their relationship was only physical.
Watching the crowds below as they continued to wave at the passengers, she glanced at her right wrist, the gold glinted in the sunlight. 11:55am. The ship would set sail in five minutes and begin its route toward New York. What was stopping her from leaving? Kanra chewed her lip, she could quite easily leave, she had time, and no one would even notice. Shiki would notice, but he would notice too late, and there would be nothing he could do about it. "I could leave…."
"Why don't you?"
Kanra startled, she turned abruptly, her heart hammering in her chest. The fear of Shiki hearing her was probably evident on her face, but before she could apologise for even uttering such a thing, relief spread throughout her entire body. The one who had spoken to her just now, was not Shiki, nor Taketa either. Not even her personal servant, not that Kanra would expect her to run to Shiki with her found knowledge. No, neither of them was standing before her, a frown soon appeared on her face. "Can I help you with something?" Kanra's eyes roamed up and down the said person's attire, she snorted out of habit. It was a male, blond hair and taller than herself, maybe even a few years older. He was dressed in dark brown pants, and a faded white shirt, suspenders hung loosely over his shoulders to hold up the top half of his pants. Kanra looked at him as if to say, 'typical third class.' She wouldn't voice that part though; she wasn't that cruel.
The blond rolled his eyes at her and then took out a cigarette from his pocket as he leaned over the rail. "Don't fret, I'm just up here because the view is better." He lit the cigarette with a match and took the first drag with a satisfied grunt.
Kanra narrowed her eyes then and stepped beside him. "If you're aware that your presence among this part of the ship is unwelcomed, then leave, and also, I was not in any way fearful."
The blond huffed a laugh then, turning his attention from the crowd below to her. "I'm not leaving, because I really don't care, s'not like you own this ship, is it?" Kanra opened her mouth to say something but it seemed he wasn't quite finished. "And yes, you were." Frowning, Kanra turned to leave, but then he spoke again. "Didn't answer my question."
Kanra sighed and face him. "What question would that be?"
The blond tilted his head for a moment, it was a wild guess if he was honest, and if he was wrong, no harm done, right? Before asking his question again, he switched his dialogue to Japanese. "Why don't you leave?" Kanra's eyes widened upon hearing him speak, and he knew that she understood him.
Kanra quickly changed her dialogue to converse with him. "You speak Japanese…"
The blond nodded, he smiled. "I'm from Iwate prefecture, Honshu, s'where I was born at least, and you?" Kanra's ability to speak was taken for a moment, she hadn't expected to run into any other Japanese people, other then the one she knew was onboard – then her eyes widened again, wait…... could it be? Before she could reply, he spoke again, "You look surprised, pretty sure I saw at least one other on my way to my cabin. Second class, probably, that might just be a guess though. Are you travelling alone?"
Kanra simply stared at him, she registered his question, but instead of replying, she asked her own. "What's your name?"
The blond shrugged off her subtle avoidance of his question, and then replied, "Heiwajima."
The ship gave a slight jolt and Heiwajima glanced over the docks one last time before the ship began to move.
April 10th, 12:20pm.
Shiki looked up from his seating position on the armchair, their private promenade deck. He sighed as Kanra walked across the wooden floor. "There you are." He then turned to Taketa, who he had been currently conversing with. "Leave us." Taketa nodded and then stood up with a slight bow, he turned to leave, but not before giving Kanra a disdainful look. Shiki stood up and stepped in front of her. "I was beginning to worry."
Kanra resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I was gone only thirty minutes," she said before taking a seat on the opposite chair he had occupied before. She looked up at him and he reclaimed his seat.
"The ship set sail twenty minutes ago, you said you wanted to watch it leave; I presumed you would return to me afterward."
Kanra didn't react, she linked her hands together in her lap, glancing down for a second. I nearly didn't. If that blond third-class hadn't approached her, she would have left the ship and escaped…. possibly.
"Have my words upset you? I am only concerned for you," Shiki smiled. "You're looking rather, as the English may say, splendid." Kanra couldn't help but huff a laugh at his words, she shook her head with amusement, but denied herself relaxation. "You can relax, we are alone now."
"He's here," she said quietly. Shiki tensed upon hearing this; his posture straightened with a frown.
"You saw him already?"
Kanra nodded. "Upon the boat deck promenade; there were many passengers bidding farewell to people on the docks, but there was no mistaking him, he spoke Japanese after all."
Shiki leaned forward then, gritting out his next words. "You spoke with him?"
Kanra almost flinched at his tone, but she remained calm. "I didn't have a choice, I wasn't paying attention, he approached me first. He said he wanted to get a better view." She could have kicked herself for what just came out of her mouth; not wanting Shiki to get the wrong idea, she quickly spoke again, "Of the docks, to wave goodbye."
Shiki relaxed with a smile and sat back against his chair. "Well, at least we can confirm his location is on board Titanic." He then shuffled forward and stood up, reaching out for her hand. "Come, we have been invited to have tea with a Mr Sloper and Mr Nourney."
Kanra took his hand and then huffed. "I thought this wasn't a vacation?"
Shiki grinned slightly and pulled her to her feet. "Neither of them is courting, I hoped to show you off."
She hesitated, because there was something else, she should tell him, but she couldn't find the courage to spoil his newfound good mood. She smiled at him and replied, "Then I should change."
It seemed ridiculous to her, to have a change of outfit for every single occasion. It was a joke! No wonder Shiki had her pack some many damn clothes. An outfit for breakfast, for lunch, for tea, for dinners and the evening. Honestly, she had a headache just thinking about it all, and she felt sorry for Nishida, for having to help dress her every single time. Kanra would protest that she could do it herself, but neither Shiki nor Nishida would let her.
Her mind reeled back to her conversation with Heiwajima back on the boat deck, as she followed Shiki down the large grand staircase. She looked up with a squint, the sun was beaming in through the glass dome above them, it was truly magnificent. She would have appreciated its beauty more, taken time to wonder about the art decorating the ceiling above, if her mind wasn't clouded with worry.
April 10th, 12:03pm.
The blond looked back at Kanra as the ship began to move slowly away from the docks. She was looking at him in surprise, he wondered why, then as he thought about it, if she was Japanese, could she have heard about him? Nah, that was impossible, he had been here in England over a year. The fact that she was here and boarding the same ship, was of the same origin, was just a very big coincidence. "What part of Japan are you from?" he asked upon realising that she wasn't going to speak again.
Kanra blinked at the question, why the hell was he speaking so casually to her? Before she could reply however, he snorted and placed his hands in his pockets after throwing out his cigarette.
"Suppose you're going to tell me that it's wrong for me to talk to you, that a third class and a first shouldn't converse?"
Kanra huffed in annoyance, mainly because she had been thinking it, but she wasn't going to say it. "I'm from Tokyo," she said, choosing to respond to his earlier question instead. She continued to stare at him though, something about him puzzled her. Didn't he used to be brown-haired? She was quite sure that he was, then again, who was she to judge a disguise? He likely dyed his hair to hide. Clever, if he hadn't told me his name already, it would have worked.
He leaned against the railing, glancing down at the shifting ocean as the ship sailed ahead now. "This might sound odd, but tell me something," he looked at her with a slight tilt of his head, "do we, do we know each other?"
Kanra gave a short laugh at this. "I hardly think so."
The blond frowned for a second. "Enough with the first-class bull," his frown faded into a thoughtful gaze. "I meant, have we met, I feel like I've seen you before."
Kanra gave him a slight grin. "I might have thought that I was one that nobody would forget, however brief the meeting."
The blond snorted at that, then he looked at her with what could only be recognition, a somewhat knowing expression. "Wanna know what I think?" Kanra rolled her eyes and turned to leave. "I think you're putting on an act."
Kanra spun around, her eyes wide. "What?"
"Yeah, I've met some pretty high-class assholes in my time here, men and women alike. You don't come close; so what I'm seeing is a young woman, just acting the part to please everyone else."
Kanra sighed, she then gave him a scornful look. "You don't know me at all."
The blond laughed. "Nah, at least, not until you gave me that look just now," he smiled slightly at her and then his expression changed to one of – concern? "I remembered then, where I'd seen you before, you gave me that same look back then too, except-"
Kanra began to panic, she had not met him before! No way, she was a hundred percent sure of it! Her hands began to shake, and her voice became quiet as she replied, "Except what?"
"There was a pretty nasty bruise," he pointed to his left eye, "right here. And slightly raised skin," he then lowered his finger to his lip, "here."
Kanra didn't know how she was standing right now, she was feeling very light-headed, nauseous even, because what the blond was telling her, couldn't be true. If it was, then their whole plan was a failure!
February 12th, 1912. 8:25pm.
The bell above the door rang through the empty bar, glancing up to greet his customer, the young brunet said, "Sorry, we're closed for the night. Slow day." Upon further notice, he saw that his customer was a young woman, she could not have been anymore then, seventeen? Maybe even sixteen. "We're closed, and I'm going to guess that you don't match the minimum age requirement." The woman ignored his protests and stepped up to sit on a stool at the bar. "Oi, didn't you hear me at all?" without meaning to, he slammed his hand down on the bar angrily, a splinter of wood broke away. The woman – the girl, looked up at him with a fearful expression on her face. "Shit." Now he could see her properly, and it wasn't her expression toward him that caused him to curse, it was what he saw on her face.
She smiled though, but it didn't quite reach her eyes, looking down at her lap. "Sorry to bother you when you're closing up, but I don't suppose I could trouble you for some ice perhaps?"
He blinked at her and then hurriedly retrieved a bag from the white chest behind him. He scooped some ice into a clean rag and then covered them with it. Turning back, he held the rag toward her. "Here."
She took it gratefully and didn't even flinch as she pressed it to her eye. "What's the charge, barman?"
He shrugged. "It's technically just water, and water is free, right?"
She smiled at that. "I suppose it is."
He turned away for a moment, before coming back with two glass bottles. The liquid was dark, so she assumed it might have been perhaps Guinness, though she really wasn't an expert. The brunet huffed a laugh of embarrassment, and she gave him a questioning look. "Sorry, you probably want a glass…. We don't get many females in here, and those that do come in here are, well, you know…"
She raised an eyebrow. "Prostitutes?" He nodded, a blush creeping up on his face. "I thought I was too young to drink?" she grinned at him.
"No one's here, we are alone. You look like you might appreciate one." He was about to reach for a glass, but she grabbed the bottle and took a gulp. He blinked at her with mild surprise, she huffed a small laugh. "Don't go to the trouble of dirtying a glass for me, I did bother you while you're closing after all." Taking another swig, she then asked, "You don't presume I'm one, a prostitute I mean?"
"At first, I did, when I saw your bruises. Then I considered how young you are, and I changed my mind."
She frowned and placed the ice down on the bar before replying quietly, head hanging low. "Maybe I'm not that far off the mark…."
He clenched a fist and narrowed his eyes, he'd seen how a few men treated their women, so he knew what she was talking about. "You don't have to live this way, get away while you still can."
She looked up at him with a brief smile. "Is this the part where you tell me that you'll save me?"
He frowned. "Maybe. That depends."
"On what?"
"Whether or not you want to be saved."
She took a few gulps of her bottle and stood up from the stool. "What if I don't?"
The brunet gave a sad sigh. "Then I probably will never see you again."
She placed a single pound coin on the bar. "It's too late anyway, but thanks for your show of concern."
He looked at the coin in surprise, and then lifted his head up to the exit, shouting just before she left, "This is way too much money."
She smiled. "Consider it a very nice tip." And then she was gone.
April 10th, 12:10pm.
Kanra stared at him, utter shock on her face, she really couldn't believe it. She had seen him before, what the hell was she supposed to do now? Shiki was going to flip out. Of course, she hadn't meant for them to meet, how was she supposed to know that the one they had tracked here had seen her before. "You used to be brown," she said quietly. The blond simply smiled, he then brought his other hand out of his pocket, took her hand and placed the pound coin in her palm. She gasped lightly and then looked up at him. "You still have it?"
"I kept it with me, I thought it might give me some hope, told myself that if I ever saw you again, I'd give it back."
6:00pm.
Kanra and Shiki retired to their cabin, they had been engaging in polite conversations with some of the other first-class passengers the entire afternoon and into the early evening, when their dinner was announced by the ship's bugler. Conversing with Mr Nourney and Mr Sloper, the two learned that Alfred Nourney, had been a second-class passenger when he first boarded, but was upgraded to first. William Thompson Sloper, was a stockbroker, he had been persuaded to sail on Titanic by some friends.
"You've been quiet, perhaps even melancholy," Shiki said as he shut the door once they stepped into the room. "May I ask why?" Kanra turned to him with a sigh, her nervous expression must have shown, because Shiki stepped forward. "You have been this way since you came back from conversing with Heiwajima."
Kanra flinched but she remained as calm as possible. "Shiki," she began, "He's seen me before."
Shiki's expression changed from a concerned one to one of growing anger. "Repeat that, I don't believe I heard you right."
"I didn't recognise him when he approached, he used to be-"
Shiki gritted his teeth. "I said repeat it!"
Kanra huffed lightly, and with a frown, she complied. "He's seen me before." Shiki's eyes narrowed, he turned away for a moment, fists clenched, trying to calm down. "He's blond now, he probably dyed his hair to hide, I didn't know…. It was two months back, before we learned of Hanejima's real name." Suddenly, Shiki spun around and Kanra was swiped hard across the face.
"How could you be so stupid!"
Wincing, Kanra shifted up into a sitting position on the floor, her fingertips touching her lip. "I really didn't know it was him, I didn't find out his real name until a month later…. I'm sorry."
Shiki looked at her, a shameful expression crossing his face. He knelt beside her, raising his hand, Kanra inched away slightly, but he just swiped his thumb over the trickle of blood that had formed. "Forgive me, I should not have hit you." Kanra nodded as she pulled her knee up to her chest. Shiki stood up with a sigh of regret, he turned for the door of their suite. "I will give you some time alone." Just as he was about to turn for the door, an idea formed in his head, turning back to Kanra, he asked, "Can you be certain he doesn't know why we're onboard the ship?"
Kanra looked up at him. "I highly doubt it."
Shiki smiled, though it was half forming into a grin. "Then I believe I have the perfect plan."