Chapter 7

"Hai, Ozuki-san," Rukawa said softly. "We study in the same school…"

After a short paused, Rukawa turned to Nay who stood quietly next to him watching him anxiously. Without another word he passed the receiver to Nay.

"She wants to talk to you."

Rukawa watched Nay as she tap onto the receiver. It was a code to talk to her mother, after for a few minutes. They hang up and Nay smiled softly at Rukawa.

My mum said its ok but you will have to accompany me home later. Summimasen.

Rukawa nodded.

I never really tell anyone about this. Not even Hisashi know the whole story.

"What exactly happened?"

It started when I was home alone with my older sister. My parents were abroad on a business trip and our nanny was taking care of us. We used to stay at Hana Valley before this incident.

"Hana Valley is still one of the riches housing area in Kanagawa." Rukawa whispered. (A/N: I made that housing area up. It does not exist).

Nay smiled sadly and nodded once slowly.

Hai, it is. My father worked for Taka cooperation. I am sure you heard of it.

Rukawa's eyes widened with surprised for a second. "He works for the largest oil imports in Japan?"

Nay nodded again. Taking a deep breath she started signing very slowly so that Rukawa can catch every word and her story began…

Memories of Nay's past…

"Neechan, I think it's going to rain…" a six years old Nay hugging a teddy bear walked into her older sister's room. "I could hear those thunders again…"

"Nay you should try to be brave." Her twelve years old sister, Nisayo said as she turned towards the door where Nay stood almost in tears. Sighing to herself she smiled and stretched both her arms out towards Nay. "Come here…"

Nay ran into her sister's arms.

"You will be seven soon Nay and I will be going off to a boarding school soon. I can't be here always." Nisayo whispered. "Besides the boy next door, who you always hang out with, can't be with you always too you know."

"Hisashi will never leave me…" Nay said looking up at her sister. "Neechan will never leave me too right."

"There are times when you will have to be brave Nay…" Nisayo continued though her sentence was cut short when the lights in the whole house went out.

Nay shrieked and buried her face on her sister's neck.

Downstairs, they heard a loud crash and then their nanny screamed. Nisayo gasped and put her sister down on the floor. She grabbed a baseball bat in her right hand and put a finger on her lips to tell Nay not to make a sound. Nay nodded once and pressed her teddy bear on her mouth to stop herself from making a sound.

Nisayo pushed Nay into the closet and before she could shut it, Nay pulled onto her sister's sleeves. Nisayo looked down at Nay, she was shaking her head up at her older sister vigorously. Nisayo smiled and knelt down next to her.

"Don't worry, everything will be ok…" Nisayo whispered. "Be brave… and whatever you hear, don't come out of the closet."

That was the last time Nay saw her older sister and how she had smiled sadly at her before she shut the closet door.

Nay could only shut her ears with both her hands when she heard gun shots and her sister's screams. Tears were running down her face as she shut both her eyes tied as she sobbed silently. After seconds had pasts to minutes, silence filled the air. Nay slowly opened her eyes and lowered her hands from her ears. Picking up her teddy bear she had dropped and hugged it closed to her. Slowly, she moved slightly towards the gap between the doors and looked out into the dark room. She saw two men in black, they did not wear any masks but both of them were carrying guns. Even though it was dark, Nay could recognize their faces for the rest of her life.

Three days later in court, Nay was told to witness the murder case of her sister and nanny. Both men were sentence a life time in prison, though Nay could never forget the looks on those men faces as they stared at her before the police took them away.

It was a rainy night again and Nay was alone at home with a new nanny. Her parents had left Japan again right after the court case thinking that Nay would be safe. However, that night while Nay was in bed a loud crash woke her from her slumber. She sat up from her bed immediately and started looking around wildly, Nay reached over to her side table to switch on the lamp and found that the power was cut off again.

Grabbing her teddy with her Nay quickly got off her bed and went to the corner of her room. Slowly sliding down to the floor, she began to sob silently as she heard footsteps coming closer to her room. She watched wide eye as her room door opened slowly and a man in black walked in holding on to what looked like a huge butcher knife.

Nay gasped and cuddled her teddy bear closer to her cowering at the corner of her shadowed room as the man came closer to her. A flash of lightning from the window showed Nay the man's face and she realized that he was that man that was sentence a life time in jail.

What is he doing here? Nay wondered frightened. Wasn't he supposed to be in jail?

"You will pay for putting me and my partner in jail!" The man spoke in a rough voice as he raised the knife in the air. "Your father, had put both of us out of our jobs… he will pay dearly and now you had destroyed both our lives. One by one I will kill Ozuki family."

All Nay could remember was how she screamed into the night when she saw the knife slashed down at her and that was the last time she heard her voice.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"She is at a friend's house?" Mitsui asked incredulously when Mrs. Ozuki told him that Nay was not home. "Did she say who?"

"I spoke to him, he told me he is from the same school, Rukawa Kaede." Mrs. Ozuki said anxiously when she saw how apprehensive Mitsui looked. "Is everything alright? She told me Rukawa-san is someone trustworthy and he wouldn't do anything to her. I mean… I trust my daughter…"

"Don't worry Ozuki-san." Mitsui stopped her at mid-sentence. "Rukawa is player in my basketball team. I will go over to see him now… I will send Nay home tonight…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Rukawa went to the door when he heard the door bell wondering who would be this late at night. When he opened the door, he was greeted by a very annoyed looking Mitsui. Before Mitsui could speak, Rukawa moved aside to make way for him to enter the house.

"She is inside," Rukawa said tonelessly. "Fallen asleep on the couch."

Mitsui rushed passed him into the living room, to see Nay sleeping soundlessly on a two sitter divan. She curled herself into a ball at her side with both her arms under her head, looking peaceful as she slept deeply.

He rushed over to her side and knelt down next to her watching her serene face. Her dark long hair had fallen over her cheeks and nose. Her hair moved slightly as she exhaled while she breathed. Smiling softly, Mitsui gently tugged those strands of hair behind her ear.

"Is that why you are always so worried about her?" Rukawa asked as he stood a distance away behind Mitsui.

Mitsui frowned slightly and turned around to look at Rukawa's impassive expression.

"What are you talking about?" Mitsui asked and stood up.

"What happened to her ten years ago…?" Rukawa replied. "You knew about it didn't you?"

"I was at the court hearing." Mitsui said softly turning back to Nay watching her sadly. "She was only six and I was nine. I was too young to understand what was really happening but that night when she was sent to the hospital nearly tore my heart..."

Mitsui's memories of what happened to Nay…

"Okasan what is happening?" An eight years old Mitsui cried as he ran out of the house. "Why are there police and ambulance at Nay's house?"

"Hisashi-chan get back into the house." His mother said urgently. She didn't want his son to see what had happened.

"Oka, isn't that the man that was suppose to be in prison?" Mitsui asked when he saw the police dragging a man away into the police trunk. "Oka…"

"Hisashi, listen to Okasan and get back inside!"

But before she could push Mitsui back into the house, two nurses appeared from the Ozuki's house carrying a stretcher and what he saw on the stretcher made Mitsui screamed.

"NAAAAAYYYYY!"

Nay lay unconscious on the stretcher, there were long cuts all over her body and her pajamas was drenched in her blood till the original colour of her pajamas was no longer recognizable.

End of Mitsui's memories.

"She was in the verge of death." Mitsui said softly, his head bowed as he sat at the edge of the one sitter divan his hands clasped tightly together as he placed them between his legs. "She was in a coma for almost a month. When she finally woke up, she never talks to anyone again. After she left the hospital I never saw her again until just recently. Anyways, my family moved out of Hana Valley. They said it wasn't safe to stay there after what happened."

"So why did Nay came back?"

Mitsui looked up slowly. "She wanted to lead a normal life that is all…"

"…"

"I tried to make her fit into the school but, she is still different from others."

"…"

"Sometimes I wonder, if she would be happier being in her old school…"

"…"

"Why aren't you saying anything Rukawa?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"Why are you always with Nay anyways?" Mitsui narrowed his eyes at him. "You never take any interest in girls. So why her?"

"You won't understand." Rukawa said shortly looking away from Mitsui suspicious glares.

"Try me…"

"It is none of your business." Rukawa replied and stood up. "If you want to bring Nay home… its better you get going. It's getting really late."