Her pen stopped dead on the disc cover. The ink flowed out but she didn't care. She looked up at me. Those eyes . yes, she must be her. Those eyes, I remember those eyes. I wanted to call out her name but Sakuragi pushed me away.

Sakuragi : My turn!

Anaki hastily broke off the gaze and signed Sakuragi's poster.

Rukawa : Tell me .

Everyone went quiet all of a sudden.

Rukawa : Tell me . Atsi . why did you run away?

No one spoke. I looked up at her.

Rukawa : Why?

Anaki : What are you talking about?

Haruko : Rukawa, are you okay?

I pushed Haruko's hand away and raised my voice a bit, as I had never done before.

Rukawa : Why did you leave without telling me?

Anaki : I . I .

The security guards tried to pull me aside.

Rukawa : Answer me, Atsi.

Ayako : Who is Atsi?

Anaki bit her lip. I knew that she understood me. Yes, it must be her. It has to be.

Rukawa : Atsi, I know that you understand what I am talking about. You can just say it. You don't have to hide anymore.

The others were silent. The do'aho broke the silence. Fo once in my life, I was thankful toward him.

Sakuragi : Anaki is.this.um.Atsi person?

Anaki : .

She looked at me with her eyes, my eyes, our eyes. She took a deep breath and said.

Anaki : Yes, I am. Please, don't tell anyone, I don't want any rumors flying around. They nodded promising not to do so. Still, those words kept playing in my head. My mother and father was glad she was gone. They never reported it to the police and said to promise that I wouldn't do it or they will get me involved as well. I did not want to go to jail. I was only 6 then. Suddenly, all my feelings that I had been keeping so well hidden burst out at her.

Rukawa : Anaki, no, Atsui.tell me why the hell did you run away?!

I punched one of the guards. Sticks were swishing around and one accidentally hit me on the throat. I nearly threw up, choking. My head hung downwards. My feet became limp. My eyes closed and all I could see was darkness. I tried to reach out a hand for her before I passed out cold. My attempt failed.

~ Atsui Rukawa ~ I ran toward my unconscious brother and lifted his head. The guard had hit him too hard. He did not look too good. I asked the girl with curly hair to call an ambulance. It came 5 minutes later. At the hospital.

Doctor : Your name please.

Atsui : Anaki.

He didn't seem surprised meeting a famous singer face to face. It was as if he had done so many times.

Doctor : Your IC please.

Atsui : Sure.

I settled the bills with the doctor. All the patients stared at me when I entered the building. I smiled and continued walking straight toward my brother's ward. The doctor said that the blow on his throat caused an injury at the throat so he may not be able to talk for a while. I was stunned at first but recovered after a while. I never meant to leave without telling him. I opened the door of his ward and went in. There he was, sleeping, in the bed. I saw Haruko, Sakuragi and Ayako sitting at the end of his bed.

Sakuragi : I can't believe that I am in the same room as the stupid kitsune.

Haruko : Shh! You might wake him up.

Ayako : I see that you really care about him, Haruko-chan.

Haruko : Nani?!

Sakuragi : Haruko!!!!

Atsui : Shhhhhs!!! Don't shout.

Sakuragi : Gomene.

Behind the curtains, I could hear him breathing softly. I pulled it back an inch and saw him sleeping peacefully on the bed. It reminded me of the time when we were small. I left a few hours later.