Chapter 12
The Disappearance
Time passed too quickly. Soon enough, once Mitsui and Trishna finished their meal at Danny's, it was already dark. In fact, it was so late that a waiter had to go up to them and inform them that they are closing the restaurant for the night. //Oh mi god! It's really that late! Wow…I guess I must have really enjoyed the conversation. I wonder if he did too…// Trishna thought, looking at Mitsui from the corner of her eye as they left the restaurant.
Meanwhile, //Wow…I can't believe I actually like talking to her that much. Beneath that weird exterior, she is rather interesting. I think I really enjoy talking to her. Hey…// Mitsui turned to look at the oblivious Trishna, //Hey…what does this mean? Am I…? No. This can't be right…I… I dunno…oh god. What's happening to me? I can't…no. We just had a good conversation, and I haven't had that in years. So, it is normal that I feel…like this. Right? // questioned Mitsui silently, as he walked Trishna home.
Trishna was unaware of the battle of emotions that Mitsui was having, and was trying to think of a topic to discuss. But both of them had talked about so many things in Danny's that somehow, the ever-resourceful Trishna was empty of ideas. In the end, she gave up, quietly savouring the companionable silence that she was experiencing with Mitsui. Little did she know that Mitsui himself was enjoying the same thing too.
It was full moon that night, casting an ethereal glow on them and their surroundings. Mitsui occasionally turned and look at Trishna, admiring the way how her hair and long eyelashes shone softly under the moonlight. He did notice her silence, but never once thought of it being strange. Somehow, it seemed right. Perfect. And also, somehow Mitsui felt honoured that he was one of the very few people who caught Trishna in this rare moment.
Suddenly he stopped walking. Trishna nearly stumbled as she stopped in time with him, and looked questioningly at him. Mitsui looked at her, noticing for the first time how adorable she looked. //Almost vulnerable// he thought. "Why not I show you something?" he said as a brilliant idea appeared in his mind on how to make this night even more memorable.
"Show me what?" Trishna inquired. Mitsui just smiled. "Show me what?" she continued but before she could fully turn into chibified mode, Mitsui asked, "Do you trust me?"
Stunned for a while with that question, Trishna narrowed her eyes and asked him suspiciously, "Trust you? What kind of question is that? Of course I trust you." And then she continued impatiently, "SHOW ME WHAT?!"
Her voice rang shrilly in the night air, and Mitsui shuddered, thinking that maybe this was a complete mistake. //What am I doing? What am I thinking? Is this right? //
"Please tell me…please tell me…" Trishna whined, turning big Bambi eyes at Mitsui. Mitsui melted. //Who could resist those eyes? But…should I? I mean…I have yet to show anyone this, so why do I feel it would be right if I did show it to her? // But all rational thoughts were erased from his mind when he looked down and found the most adorable chibified version of Trishna tugging at his hand and blinking her most ridiculously large eyes at him.
Mitsui melted further. Damn.
Meanwhile, what he didn't realise was that the walls he so carefully built around himself was slowly crumbling. All he could think of was how Trishna's presence enhanced the beauty of the night and even the commonplaceness of their surroundings seemed strangely magical.
"Woi…wake…up!" Trishna prodded him several times with her index finger. Mitsui was so lost in his thoughts of Trishna that he nearly forgot what he wanted to show her.
"Come with me," he said, which somehow reminded Trishna of a particular scene in 'Casper the Friendly Ghost' (the movie) of Casper's impersonation of the Arnold guy in 'The Terminator'. She giggled as she imagined Mitsui trying to say "Come with me if you want to live" in that accent. //Something is definitely wrong with me tonight, but I don't care. I am gonna remember this night for a long time…// as she stumbled along, trying to keep up with Mitsui's pace but not completely since he had longer legs and that he was holding her hand tightly. //My hand…his hand…// she realized, but she pushed that thought away as she tried to figure out where they were walking towards.
At first, Trishna was afraid that they would get lost since it was already late at night and well… there was not a soul around. But she trusted Mitsui. Somehow, he made her feel secure whenever he was around, and she knew he wouldn't do anything bad to her. Due to that, she managed to relax and concentrate in not tripping over anything and falling flat on her face.
Mitsui knew where he was going. After all, how could he forget? Despite the bright moonlight, Mitsui could still find his way even blindfolded. // Turn right…and now left. Left again. Hmm…this signboard is different…//
Finally, much to Trishna's relief as she was about to fall over in exhaustion, they reached the spot. It was not far away from her neighbourhood, but they had to climb a very steep hill to reach the top. At the peak, there was a small patch of trees and nothing else. What really took Trishna's breath away was that the view from up there was amazing! She stared down from the hilltop and was thrilled to see the bright city lights twinkling brightly like multi-coloured stars in a galaxy. She could even see the Tokyo tower from here! Suddenly she was reminded of Kuala Lumpur, the fact being that at night the city would also be brightly lit, just like what she's seeing at the moment.
"Arigato!" she cried as she immediately hugged Mitsui. "Thank you for showing me this," she added softly, "Thank you." Mitsui felt humbled by this sudden gratefulness this girl was showing, and nodded his head. As Trishna pulled away, he noticed tears sparkling in her eyelashes.
Noticing that Mitsui is looking at her strangely, she wiped her eyes and said with a grin, "Sorry about that. I was just being a bit overemotional. Hope it didn't make you feel horrible," and she continued, "It's just that it reminds me so much of my country. Kuala Lumpur lights up at night, exactly like this too."
"You really miss your home?" he said softly, not wanting to break the spell.
"Yeah. Tell me who doesn't miss their home. Oh, no offence though, I like it here in Japan, I find it very interesting. You understand me right?" she looked at him. Mitsui nodded in reply. "So…what made you bring me to this place?" Trishna changed the subject instantly, secretly hoping that he would forget that emotional scene earlier.
"This is where I come whenever I have problems or in trouble. When I left basketball," to which Trishna looked at him in surprise, not yet knowing Mitsui's dark history, "This place became my sanctuary. An escape from the mistakes I've made in the past, the wrongs I have committed, the debt I owe to my teammates for letting them down. Sometimes, I would even sleep here," he added silently.
Trishna was amazed by this. //He stopped playing basketball? Let his teammates down? Wrongs? I don't understand// A natural reaction from Trishna would be to probe deeper into Mitsui and uncover what really were his problems, but she looked at him, and stopped herself from asking further. //It has taken him considerable amount of effort to tell me this. I am not going to blow it away by making it worse.//
"Would you look at the sky? It's so red! I bet it is going to rain tomorrow morning, and I know Preet would complain about it. And believe me, listening to Preet complain ain't the nicest sound you want to listen to in the morning. Oh…I wouldn't want to imagine what Sammy would do to Preet. Sam is always grumpy in the mornings," she said in triumph as she managed to make Mitsui smile at her joke.
//She's truly special// he thought. //She's trying to cheer me up, and no one has ever done that for me before. I feel…good.// He wanted to give her something in return for her kindness but he didn't know what to say to her. He had a feeling that if he said something, it would end up as a corny statement or a very pathetic attempt at a witty remark. He wasn't afraid of her laughing at him; instead he was worried that she might understand him, and he didn't want that. He was not ready to be understood by another person yet.
Then he remembered that there was bush growing nearby where white fragrant flowers would bloom at night. //Well at least that's better than anything else for now// He looked at Trishna with the same smile on his face. "Wait here. I'll be right back." And then, he took off in search of the flower.
Trishna felt pleased with herself and her attempt in cheering him up. Turning her back on Mitsui's departing figure, she looked once more at the city below her and sighed, half wishing that she was back in Malaysia with her family. She closed her eyes and smiled in contentment, being in peace with her quiet surroundings.
Suddenly, a piece of cloth covered her mouth and nose, and instantly she knew that someone was trying to chloroform her. She tried her best to push her attacker away but she was already exhausted from her climb up the hill and eventually, the chloroform dulled her senses. She fell into a deep sleep with her hands hanging limply by her sides. Silently, her attacker carried her away into the darkness.
When Mitsui came back, he instantly noticed Trishna's disappearance. He called out her name, and grew worried when there was no reply. As he reached the spot where Trishna last stood, he noticed a cigarette packet that was not there earlier. // Strange, I don't smoke and I don't think I have seen Trishna smoking. Hey, wait a minute…I have seen this brand before…// when it suddenly hit him. //Oh my god! Don't tell me…it's him! He did this to her! How could he? I know he wants to get back at me, but he shouldn't have used this tactic! // The bunch of flowers he so carefully selected fell unconsciously from his hands. Mitsui's legs were running down the hill but he didn't know what he was doing or where he was going. Throughout the time, he felt a growing anger; the need to kill the man who did this to an innocent girl just to get back at him! But he was at a loss because he had made a promise not to fight. //What can I do now?// he cried out in exasperation in his head.
Without realizing, he reached a payphone. After staring at it dumbly for a few seconds- his brain unable to work out the payphone's actual function- he instantly fumbled with the coins in his pocket and took out enough to make a phone call.
"Hello? Could I speak to Anzai-sensei?"
~*~
"Hey! Someone is ringing the doorbell!" cried Preeti in annoyance as she tried to understand her Japanese language homework. Sunny was sitting next to her, trying to explain but Preeti was just too preoccupied with listing the many questions to bombard Trishna when she comes back. //First, I shall ask her how it went. No…maybe I should just go straight to the point…did he kiss her? Nah…bad idea…she would probably ignore me…//
"Okay! Hold on! I am coming…" cried Samantha as she raced down the stairs to reach the door, trailing a cloud of flour behind her from the kitchen.
"Oh hello Kogure! This is a very nice surprise! Why don't you come in and have a cake with us? I just baked a cake you know," and then out of nowhere, Samantha shoved a flat chocolate cake in front of him, "And I want you to be the first to sample it!" she finished with a ecstatic glee in her voice.
Kogure was nervous because he had something important to tell Samantha. It might as well be now or never. He cleared his throat nervously, "Samantha, do not panic when I tell you this. Trishna has been kidnapped."
With a wordless gasp, the chocolate cake and the plate slipped from Samantha's grasp, and fell with a loud thunk! on to the doorstep; the plate smashed to smithereens and the cake strangely intact.
~*~
The Disappearance
Time passed too quickly. Soon enough, once Mitsui and Trishna finished their meal at Danny's, it was already dark. In fact, it was so late that a waiter had to go up to them and inform them that they are closing the restaurant for the night. //Oh mi god! It's really that late! Wow…I guess I must have really enjoyed the conversation. I wonder if he did too…// Trishna thought, looking at Mitsui from the corner of her eye as they left the restaurant.
Meanwhile, //Wow…I can't believe I actually like talking to her that much. Beneath that weird exterior, she is rather interesting. I think I really enjoy talking to her. Hey…// Mitsui turned to look at the oblivious Trishna, //Hey…what does this mean? Am I…? No. This can't be right…I… I dunno…oh god. What's happening to me? I can't…no. We just had a good conversation, and I haven't had that in years. So, it is normal that I feel…like this. Right? // questioned Mitsui silently, as he walked Trishna home.
Trishna was unaware of the battle of emotions that Mitsui was having, and was trying to think of a topic to discuss. But both of them had talked about so many things in Danny's that somehow, the ever-resourceful Trishna was empty of ideas. In the end, she gave up, quietly savouring the companionable silence that she was experiencing with Mitsui. Little did she know that Mitsui himself was enjoying the same thing too.
It was full moon that night, casting an ethereal glow on them and their surroundings. Mitsui occasionally turned and look at Trishna, admiring the way how her hair and long eyelashes shone softly under the moonlight. He did notice her silence, but never once thought of it being strange. Somehow, it seemed right. Perfect. And also, somehow Mitsui felt honoured that he was one of the very few people who caught Trishna in this rare moment.
Suddenly he stopped walking. Trishna nearly stumbled as she stopped in time with him, and looked questioningly at him. Mitsui looked at her, noticing for the first time how adorable she looked. //Almost vulnerable// he thought. "Why not I show you something?" he said as a brilliant idea appeared in his mind on how to make this night even more memorable.
"Show me what?" Trishna inquired. Mitsui just smiled. "Show me what?" she continued but before she could fully turn into chibified mode, Mitsui asked, "Do you trust me?"
Stunned for a while with that question, Trishna narrowed her eyes and asked him suspiciously, "Trust you? What kind of question is that? Of course I trust you." And then she continued impatiently, "SHOW ME WHAT?!"
Her voice rang shrilly in the night air, and Mitsui shuddered, thinking that maybe this was a complete mistake. //What am I doing? What am I thinking? Is this right? //
"Please tell me…please tell me…" Trishna whined, turning big Bambi eyes at Mitsui. Mitsui melted. //Who could resist those eyes? But…should I? I mean…I have yet to show anyone this, so why do I feel it would be right if I did show it to her? // But all rational thoughts were erased from his mind when he looked down and found the most adorable chibified version of Trishna tugging at his hand and blinking her most ridiculously large eyes at him.
Mitsui melted further. Damn.
Meanwhile, what he didn't realise was that the walls he so carefully built around himself was slowly crumbling. All he could think of was how Trishna's presence enhanced the beauty of the night and even the commonplaceness of their surroundings seemed strangely magical.
"Woi…wake…up!" Trishna prodded him several times with her index finger. Mitsui was so lost in his thoughts of Trishna that he nearly forgot what he wanted to show her.
"Come with me," he said, which somehow reminded Trishna of a particular scene in 'Casper the Friendly Ghost' (the movie) of Casper's impersonation of the Arnold guy in 'The Terminator'. She giggled as she imagined Mitsui trying to say "Come with me if you want to live" in that accent. //Something is definitely wrong with me tonight, but I don't care. I am gonna remember this night for a long time…// as she stumbled along, trying to keep up with Mitsui's pace but not completely since he had longer legs and that he was holding her hand tightly. //My hand…his hand…// she realized, but she pushed that thought away as she tried to figure out where they were walking towards.
At first, Trishna was afraid that they would get lost since it was already late at night and well… there was not a soul around. But she trusted Mitsui. Somehow, he made her feel secure whenever he was around, and she knew he wouldn't do anything bad to her. Due to that, she managed to relax and concentrate in not tripping over anything and falling flat on her face.
Mitsui knew where he was going. After all, how could he forget? Despite the bright moonlight, Mitsui could still find his way even blindfolded. // Turn right…and now left. Left again. Hmm…this signboard is different…//
Finally, much to Trishna's relief as she was about to fall over in exhaustion, they reached the spot. It was not far away from her neighbourhood, but they had to climb a very steep hill to reach the top. At the peak, there was a small patch of trees and nothing else. What really took Trishna's breath away was that the view from up there was amazing! She stared down from the hilltop and was thrilled to see the bright city lights twinkling brightly like multi-coloured stars in a galaxy. She could even see the Tokyo tower from here! Suddenly she was reminded of Kuala Lumpur, the fact being that at night the city would also be brightly lit, just like what she's seeing at the moment.
"Arigato!" she cried as she immediately hugged Mitsui. "Thank you for showing me this," she added softly, "Thank you." Mitsui felt humbled by this sudden gratefulness this girl was showing, and nodded his head. As Trishna pulled away, he noticed tears sparkling in her eyelashes.
Noticing that Mitsui is looking at her strangely, she wiped her eyes and said with a grin, "Sorry about that. I was just being a bit overemotional. Hope it didn't make you feel horrible," and she continued, "It's just that it reminds me so much of my country. Kuala Lumpur lights up at night, exactly like this too."
"You really miss your home?" he said softly, not wanting to break the spell.
"Yeah. Tell me who doesn't miss their home. Oh, no offence though, I like it here in Japan, I find it very interesting. You understand me right?" she looked at him. Mitsui nodded in reply. "So…what made you bring me to this place?" Trishna changed the subject instantly, secretly hoping that he would forget that emotional scene earlier.
"This is where I come whenever I have problems or in trouble. When I left basketball," to which Trishna looked at him in surprise, not yet knowing Mitsui's dark history, "This place became my sanctuary. An escape from the mistakes I've made in the past, the wrongs I have committed, the debt I owe to my teammates for letting them down. Sometimes, I would even sleep here," he added silently.
Trishna was amazed by this. //He stopped playing basketball? Let his teammates down? Wrongs? I don't understand// A natural reaction from Trishna would be to probe deeper into Mitsui and uncover what really were his problems, but she looked at him, and stopped herself from asking further. //It has taken him considerable amount of effort to tell me this. I am not going to blow it away by making it worse.//
"Would you look at the sky? It's so red! I bet it is going to rain tomorrow morning, and I know Preet would complain about it. And believe me, listening to Preet complain ain't the nicest sound you want to listen to in the morning. Oh…I wouldn't want to imagine what Sammy would do to Preet. Sam is always grumpy in the mornings," she said in triumph as she managed to make Mitsui smile at her joke.
//She's truly special// he thought. //She's trying to cheer me up, and no one has ever done that for me before. I feel…good.// He wanted to give her something in return for her kindness but he didn't know what to say to her. He had a feeling that if he said something, it would end up as a corny statement or a very pathetic attempt at a witty remark. He wasn't afraid of her laughing at him; instead he was worried that she might understand him, and he didn't want that. He was not ready to be understood by another person yet.
Then he remembered that there was bush growing nearby where white fragrant flowers would bloom at night. //Well at least that's better than anything else for now// He looked at Trishna with the same smile on his face. "Wait here. I'll be right back." And then, he took off in search of the flower.
Trishna felt pleased with herself and her attempt in cheering him up. Turning her back on Mitsui's departing figure, she looked once more at the city below her and sighed, half wishing that she was back in Malaysia with her family. She closed her eyes and smiled in contentment, being in peace with her quiet surroundings.
Suddenly, a piece of cloth covered her mouth and nose, and instantly she knew that someone was trying to chloroform her. She tried her best to push her attacker away but she was already exhausted from her climb up the hill and eventually, the chloroform dulled her senses. She fell into a deep sleep with her hands hanging limply by her sides. Silently, her attacker carried her away into the darkness.
When Mitsui came back, he instantly noticed Trishna's disappearance. He called out her name, and grew worried when there was no reply. As he reached the spot where Trishna last stood, he noticed a cigarette packet that was not there earlier. // Strange, I don't smoke and I don't think I have seen Trishna smoking. Hey, wait a minute…I have seen this brand before…// when it suddenly hit him. //Oh my god! Don't tell me…it's him! He did this to her! How could he? I know he wants to get back at me, but he shouldn't have used this tactic! // The bunch of flowers he so carefully selected fell unconsciously from his hands. Mitsui's legs were running down the hill but he didn't know what he was doing or where he was going. Throughout the time, he felt a growing anger; the need to kill the man who did this to an innocent girl just to get back at him! But he was at a loss because he had made a promise not to fight. //What can I do now?// he cried out in exasperation in his head.
Without realizing, he reached a payphone. After staring at it dumbly for a few seconds- his brain unable to work out the payphone's actual function- he instantly fumbled with the coins in his pocket and took out enough to make a phone call.
"Hello? Could I speak to Anzai-sensei?"
~*~
"Hey! Someone is ringing the doorbell!" cried Preeti in annoyance as she tried to understand her Japanese language homework. Sunny was sitting next to her, trying to explain but Preeti was just too preoccupied with listing the many questions to bombard Trishna when she comes back. //First, I shall ask her how it went. No…maybe I should just go straight to the point…did he kiss her? Nah…bad idea…she would probably ignore me…//
"Okay! Hold on! I am coming…" cried Samantha as she raced down the stairs to reach the door, trailing a cloud of flour behind her from the kitchen.
"Oh hello Kogure! This is a very nice surprise! Why don't you come in and have a cake with us? I just baked a cake you know," and then out of nowhere, Samantha shoved a flat chocolate cake in front of him, "And I want you to be the first to sample it!" she finished with a ecstatic glee in her voice.
Kogure was nervous because he had something important to tell Samantha. It might as well be now or never. He cleared his throat nervously, "Samantha, do not panic when I tell you this. Trishna has been kidnapped."
With a wordless gasp, the chocolate cake and the plate slipped from Samantha's grasp, and fell with a loud thunk! on to the doorstep; the plate smashed to smithereens and the cake strangely intact.
~*~