Chapter 2

The unexpected Knight

Everywhere was chaos and she was lost among the sea of moving bodies; policemen, doctors, paramedics and grieving neighbours alike. Miyu was sitting down. She could hardly hear the words that were being spoken. All she knew was that this had to be a dream, some kind of horribly written Tv show. There no way her parents were dead. She found it hard to believe that she would never see her parents again. She vaguely remembered the last thing she had said to them. I HATE YOU. Her head was ringing with these words. It wasn't true she didn't hate her parents. She loved them, god she loved them too much to express in words but now she would never see them again, ever. She won't ever be able to hold their hands, she will never get to thank them for loving her the way she was, she would never get to cook breakfast and do laundry. She didn't remember the last time she had said something nice to them like how grateful and lucky she was to have them as her parents, that they were the best thing in her life, that she was lucky to call them parents but now it was of no use. No matter how much she screamed for them to come back they had gone way too far to return from, they were all in a place with no point of return and her brother, she hadn't even seen him in the morning when she had left for school today.

Something was squeezing her heart so tightly that it was getting impossible to draw any breathe. She was numb. Her mind was completely blank, blocking everything from her surroundings which was probably a blessing as it delayed the eventual shock. Tears refused to appear as if they knew there was no point in falling down her cheeks, as if they knew no number of cries and tears could bring back what she had lost. There was someone holding her and dragging her, she didn't protest. It didn't matter where she goes from here, there was no destination. There was no place to be. There will never be any peace and comfort in her life again. She didn't want to live and suddenly a strong urge came over her to stand in the middle of the highway and just be done with this cruel harsh reality. At least that way she would see her family again and live with them and this time she would tell them how much important they are for her. That she needs them in her life.

Why me? This was the thought wouldn't leave her alone. Why my family?

She had been a responsible and law-abiding person for her whole 16 years of life. She believed that good things happen to good people and she had always been nice to everyone, always helping out others. She was always trying to keep everyone happy. She never bullied anyone and was never mean to anyone then why did her family had to die?

I want to die. I want to go and lie down next to them

"Come Miyu, let's go" Akira said through tears as she held her numb friend in her arms. She was dragging her towards her car. It had been just a phone a few hours ago but she had known instantly that something terrible had happened from the way Miyu had called out her name, just her name. There had been no emotion in it, just a blank robotic voice calling out her name again and again from the other end. She had hurried down here to get the biggest shock of her life. She found out that Miyu's family had been found dead, all three of them. Police was contemplating robbery gone bad and said they will wait for the medical report. Somehow Akira managed to somehow drag Miyu into her car and she got behind the wheels. She took her to her home and tucked her in. she didn't expect her to sleep but she did it anyway and sat next to her bed.

Miyu couldn't remember a thing after she had walked out of her house, it was all a big blank and when she found herself in this strange room, she panicked just for a second. Then door opened and in came her best friend. Akira was carrying a huge tray laid with breakfast and Miyu stared at her while she carried it over to the table.

"I'm not hungry"

"You have to eat something Miyu you need your strength"

She said nothing. She didn't have any strength left to argue so she decided to let it be. Perhaps this is exactly what Akira had expected from her as she walked over to the bed and pushed a plate of scrambled eggs right under her nose. Miyu turned away from it feeling nauseated but Akira simple thrust it again at her face. Anger welled up inside her as she grabbed the plate and threw it away. It crashed onto the floor and before she knew it she was shouting.

"DO YOU REALLY THINK I CARE ABOUT SUCH TRIVIAL THING AS FOOD? CAN'T YOU SEE I'M NOT HUNGERY? I FEEL SICK. I DON'T WANT TO LIVE. I WANT TO DIE SO UNLESS IT'S POISON YOU ARE BRINGING IN, LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE"

"Miyu, I know how you feel but you really do need to eat. Starving yourself is not an answer here. That is not how you cope. You'll never get over it. You'll simply learn to live with it." Her voice cracked as she said that.

"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW? I DON'T SEE YOUR PARENTS LYING DEAD IN A POOL OF BLOOD"

It felt nice to let go and Miyu felt strangely alive taking it all out on someone else. Maybe, just maybe that would lessen the guilt in her for not being home when her family was brutally murdered.

"Your always treated me like their own and I loved them like my own parents" Akira said so quietly that Miyu wouldn't have known it was her if she hadn't been glaring at her.

Of all the things that could have broken her down, Akira's quiet confession is what did it and Miyu broke down for the first time after it all started. She crumbled into pieces right there in the arms of her best friend and she knew life would never be normal again. After an eternity when there were no tears left to shed, she looked at Akira and realised how lucky she was to have a friend who cared this much. If it hadn't been for Akira she didn't know where she would be right now. She didn't have any relatives and her parents had never had any friends over. Akira took her in, her parents decided it was best for Miyu to stay with them for the time being. It was too soon for her to go back to her house. Miyu couldn't face school right now and avoided going in for days but in her heart, she knew she couldn't avoid it forever.

Weeks later when she walked into the class, she was surprised to find it exactly the same like she had left it a million years ago. While her whole life had turned upside down, the world didn't care as it went on about its day. She walked over to her desk and stared at the familiar brown furniture wood full of graffiti carved on it by the hordes of students who had used it before.

Weeks passed by; she barely noticed that her grades had fallen down to dangerous levels. Hardly any teacher mentioned it. None of the teachers called her to their office, nobody cared enough to motivate her or to tell her off for not concentrating enough in class. She knew they all pitied her and she hated them for that. There were times when she wanted to shout at everyone to treat her normally. How the hell did they expect her move on if they couldn't even treat her the normal.

She couldn't take it in, all that pity and sympathetic looks reminded her of what she had lost. She would give anything to have that normal life before everything fell apart.

The only person who didn't treat her differently was Kanata. He was as arrogant and distant as ever, just the way he had been on his first day at school. On her first day back in school he had simply walked into the class after an hour, dumped his school bag on the seat next to her and had walked out without a word or a single glance in her direction. He hadn't appeared till the classes were over. She could almost love him for treating her like that. At least something was normal though it was true that she had been running into him almost everywhere lately. He was there when she was on her way to the library or washroom. She even ran into him on those rare occasions when she went out to supermarket for grocery shopping. She was still having nightmares of strange creatures hidden in the dark. She couldn't sleep on her old room, it reminded her of her time with her brother. She hardly slept for 3-4 hours. She wasn't just having troubles sleeping, she could barely remember the way around the town. She kept getting lost and suddenly she would find herself in places she had no recollection of walking to.

She had been neglecting her duties as class president and finally 2 or so month later was summoned by her homeroom teacher.

"Have a seat Miyu"

"No, I'm fine" she simply stood there.

"I insist, Miyu please sit down" she spoke in a very soft voice as if she was talking to a scared little toddler hiding beneath a bed coaxing them to come out. When Miyu sat down she realized that she couldn't raise her eyes to look at her teachers' face. It became too easy to observe her closely knit fingers in her lap instead and that's exactly what she chose to do.

"Miyu, I know these past few months have been extremely hard for you but you need to start somewhere and try getting back. I'm not asking you to forget, I can't ask you to do that because quite frankly I don't think you will ever forget but it is time for you to start trying. Take charge of your life and don't waste it, start with baby steps. You are an extremely talented child and an incredible human being. I don't say this out of sympathy Miyu. You have been my student for far too long for me to not know the kind of person you are. I'm asking you to start again, take just one step at a time. That is all I'm asking of you and I promise it'll get easier."

"If you want me to continue with my presidential duties then I just can't do them. I'm sorry. I'll resign because I can't continue…"

"No" her teacher interrupted sharply and Miyu looked up to her face for the first time after she had sat down there. There was kindness in her aged face and there was also a slight trace of sternness in the look she gave her.

"I believe in my choice and I know you are a worthy candidate for being school president next year. I absolutely refuse to let you resign and I want you to go home and think of how to start again. Moreover, I have complete faith in you. I know you are a decent child. Life is hardly fare. I know you're hurting but it's time for you to let go now. You're an excellent musician and if it's too hard then just keep yourself busy, as busy as it can get without breaking down because sometimes all we need is to physically over exert ourselves in order to forget. Please Miyu bear in mind that I have nothing but your best interests in my heart. I respect you as a person and love you as my student. I'm proud of the person you are now and the person you will grow into in future because I know what lies in your heart."

She didn't ask her teacher about how she knew that Miyu liked music when she herself had never played in front of an audience. Except for Akira and maybe her music teacher nobody knew she sang or played instruments. She could also tell that there would be no point in arguing further so she simply nodded her head at the desk and walked out of the office back to her class. The day went by without any hassle and before she knew it, she was standing in the living room back at home. It stood empty and neglected without the occasioning sound of turning newspaper pages or scrubbing of floors or the occasional bursts of laughter from the corner where her TV sat, forlorn just the way she felt.

"I miss them too you know" she called out to the empty walls and went off to her room and fell asleep fully dressed.

When she woke up hours later, it was almost evening. She walked over to the kitchen to drink some water and realized for the first time she felt something close to hunger. She opened the fridge but it was empty, except for the water bottles she had kept in god knows when. She searched the cabinets in the kitchen and they were all empty. After searching the kitchen thoroughly, she finally had to accept the fact that there was nothing she could eat and there was no other way but to walk up to supermarket for some grocery shopping. She looked at the wall clock and found it was almost 6:45 in the evening.

It would take little more than half an hour to get back from the supermarket which was fortunately closer, she estimated it was approx. at 10 minutes of walking distance. She headed out. Satisfied with her purchases she started back for her home. Her teachers' words rang in her ears.

I believe in you. You are amazingly talented. I respect you. I love you.

These words still rang inside her head and she hardly noticed where she was walking to. It was too late for her to realize that once again she had wandered off to some place she didn't know. This time as she had walked head first into a group of people who looked like thugs, they were all looking at her staring dumbly at them.

Run! exclaimed her brain but her legs were rooted to the ground by some invisible force and however much she tried she couldn't move them.

"Lost are you sweetheart" called someone who looked like the leader of the group and others laughed.

"No I... I just…I was just going home" she stammered and turned around trying to put as much between her and them as she could but before she knew it three guys were blocking her way ahead and she had nowhere to turn to. She turned back again and this time she really was scared.

"Please, I don't have any money. All I have is some grocery. You can take it if you want and please let me go" she pleaded but knew it was all in vain as they just scorned at her, giving her looks that left her skin in goose bumps. Before she could open her mouth to shout for help her arms were locked behind her back and someone had covered her mouth with a hand easily. She was small and petite, it was easy to restrain. She could hardly put any efforts to free herself or shout. She struggled for a while but felt her struggle dying a quick death.

"That's right honey, no need to make this difficult. Why don't we all enjoy a little. You look much more delicious than any grocery right now" the leader guy took a step forward and raised a hand to push her hairs off her face. She felt herself cringe away from his touch while he simply laughed it off. Soon they were carrying her to a nearby ditch surrounded by trees. The place was completely secluded and there was no point raising her voice for help. They were far too deep into the woods, there was nobody nearby. No one would hear her even if she screamed at the top of her lungs. How could she have been so stupid? How many times had her father warned her against going out after dark?

Helpless tears spilled out of her eyes and she shut them tight as despair claimed her once again. She thought this is it. This is how I'll die. They'll surely kill me once they are done with me. they will probably dump my body in the forest in that lake I keep visiting and no one will ever know. Oh god, what a painful way to die. She was so busy dreading what would happen next that it took her some time to realise that there was no hand covering her mouth. Gone were the hands that were pinning her arms behind her. She was free to move around. She heard a few scuffles and a thump before she could sit up to look around. She saw a heap of unconscious bodies lying on the ground nearby and a solitary figure watching her. She was blinded by the headlights from the car that was parked nearby.

She could hardly make out who was her rescuer. It took her a few moments to calm down and realize that he wouldn't jump her. He had had his chance when she had been lying quite defenceless on the ground. Slowly she gathered herself and walked over to say thank you when she was shocked out of her senses to find Kanata Saionji of all the people in the world staring at her with such anger that she actually took a few steps back.

"What the hell were you thinking walking alone into the forest at night? What was so important that couldn't wait till morning?" she could barely make out these words through his gritting teeth.

"I was hungry and there was nothing at home so I thought I would go buy something and…" her answer died mid-sentence. He gave her one seething look to shut her up before turning around. After dumping all her purchases unceremoniously into the backseat of his car, he came back to shove her into the passenger's seat. It took them less than 5 minutes to get to her home. He got of his car and picked up the bags. He stomped his way to her house. He didn't come back to fetch her and she didn't have enough courage to follow him just now. Minutes later when she thought he must have calmed down a bit she walked through the front door to find all her purchases scattered on the table. She walked a bit further and found him sitting in her father's chair. He had laid down a plate of steaming noodles.

"Sit" he said curtly pointing to the chair next to him. She quietly complied and began to eat. She didn't ask him what was he doing in the forest or how did he find her neither did she ask him how did he know where she lived. She didn't even ask him how the hell had he unlocked the door. He must have used the spare key from under the welcome mat but how did he know there was one. She just ate in silence without raising her head because she had a peculiar feeling that he was watching her eat. When she was done eating as much as she could he picked up the dishes and went back into the kitchen.

What is he doing here? she thought as she heard him wash her dishes. He returned with a cup of steaming hot green tea a few minutes later and placed it in front of her.

She opened her mouth to say thank you when he finally burst with all the anger he had been trying so hard to conceal.

"Don't you have any instinct for self-preservation?"

"What do you mean?" she asked timidly.

"You didn't even call out for help and you weren't even struggling. It was as if they were carrying a log of wood instead of a human. If it hadn't been for me…" he left that sentence hanging in the air.

"I didn't think…"

"Of course, you don't think about anything nowadays, do you? You just walk around like a zombie. You don't use your brain either do you? Your parents were murdered, they didn't exactly die of natural causes. Has it even occurred to you that whoever did that is still at large and they might be looking for a chance to finish you off too?"

She hadn't thought of that. All these months she had been mourning her family without even stopping to think for once that there might have been a reason behind it all.

"What do you …?"

"Never mind that now but what's important is that you don't leave your house especially after dark and don't go anywhere all by yourself not even during the day. Shut the door and windows every night before you go to sleep. Do you hear me?"

She nodded her head in agreement. She thought she saw his shadow edge closer to her but by the time she looked up he had already walked out of the front door into the night.

Upcoming next

It's time to try and move on because brooding over what she had lost isn't going to change her future so Miyu decides to take her teacher's advice and start putting all her efforts into two things - academics and music. There is going to be a musical drama and she really wants to participate in the event but she's not sure if she should or if she's even good enough when help comes from the last person she had expected. While working on her stage fear as well as her music Miyu finds herself falling hard for the person who's determined to keep his distance from everyone or so she thought until she finds out exactly why.

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