Chapter 11: Deluge

"What are you talking about?" Hajime asked; suppressing the pain in his face with his bare hands.

"You always had everything: smarts, fame, not to mention a heart of gold." The person who gave him a painful jab replied angrily. "You were even favored by dad as the next inheritor to the company. And now you're trying to take away the girl I love? That's unforgivable!"

"What's your problem? I never did anything to ruin your pride! You're just making yourself miserable!"

"You're not getting your wants this time! Let's go, boys."

The threesome fugitives dragged their prize along with them as they left the view deck of Tokyo Tower. Kagami's cry for help proved futile for her shouting proved to be insufficient for her admirer to save a damsel in distress. He was too hurt to even move a muscle, considering that he not only inflicted a powerful jab right in the face but also inflicted several kicks in his body during negotiation. No spectators were around when it happened. He wanted to call the proper authorities to report of a kidnapping situation…at a risk that it would complicate things and have her family worry or even worse blame him for his inability to protect Kagami. He would be humiliated in addition to his blame. He had to resolve the matter on his own. Hajime slowly forced himself to rise up and dragged his bruised body to the elevator; hoping that his rival at love was still there.

Meanwhile, outside the tower premises, the boys hurriedly went inside their blue SUV and made tracks. They weren't in a hurry though but they had more than Hajime to worry about—the cops. Kagami demanded an explanation for such a crime committed right in front of her.

"What do you want from me?! I don't even know you guys!"

"Is that the thanks I get for dragging you away from that fugitive?" Her kidnapper asked.

"Watch your mouth! Besides, you're the fugitive!"

"It will all be explained once we're somewhere safe."

"Let me go! I don't want to be brought to somewhere safe with you three!"

She desired to say more until her words overwhelmed the criminals. Alas, it ended when one of the boys beside her pressed a folded white handkerchief against her nose. Whatever scent she picked up, it made her fall asleep on the way. It turned out that the handkerchief was sprayed with sleeping gas. When Hajime reached ground floor, the fugitives were nowhere in his sights. He was too late to save his love from his rival both in power and love.

"I'm sorry, Kagami-san. I was too careless. Don't worry, I'll save you."

The person who assaulted Hajime Takashi earlier identified by him as his twin brother: Hajime Sano. Although he is from a different school also within Saitama, he's not very distant to see Kagami go home from the campus everyday of his life. Also being Miyuki's cousin, he was formerly the next successor to one of the biggest gaming companies in the country. However, his father was mesmerized by the skills of his twin brother Takashi. As a result, the crown of succession was moved to him instead of Sano. Obviously, this made him very frustrated and decided to live with his grandfather who runs a kendo dojo in Kanagawa. He brought every last one of his possessions with him, including his most cherished treasure: a laminated wallet-size picture of Kagami smiling and flashing a peace sign under the shade of a tree. According to Sano, he could sacrifice everything: riches, fame, power; except the picture—that was how deep his love for her was. When he first received the picture from his cousin Miyuki, he was stunned by an overwhelming and formal feeling just by looking at her picture. He had never met Kagami before because he was too shy to make a move. It just happened that he also planned on confessing on the same day Takashi confessed to Kagami. Awestruck by this event, he even had more of an excuse to be angry at his twin brother. It seemed to him that the only way to win her heart was by force. And so he gathered two of his friends from second year and planned an attempted kidnapping plot on the same day Kagami and Takashi were to go to Tokyo Tower.

"(He had taken everything from me. Now I'm going to take one thing away from him—his pride.)"

Interstates and highways later, the car pulled over to a hut by the seaside. Sunlight bore through some masses of cumulus clouds. The reflection offered a sparkling view of the blue horizon. Sano and the boys went out of their SUV and carried the sleeping beauty inside the hut. The hut itself was deserted—devoid of any residents. It was the perfect place for their hideout; at least until Sano could convince Kagami that Takashi's kindness and sincerity were only skin-deep. Coincidentally, she woke up while she was being tied up to a wooden chair by the two boys. However Sano came in and said that won't be necessary.

"Where am I?" Kagami had no choice but to ask for the sake of her welfare.

"A hut by the seaside…you're lucky to have slept peacefully." Sano answered. "I haven't slept since last night."

"You should've. Kidnapping me won't bring you any good."

"I didn't bring you here because I want to. Another moment and he would've invited you for cold hard ."

"For the second time, watch your mouth! Don't speak of him like that!"

"You think I'm lying? We're twins! We know each other more than anybody in the world."

"You're just speaking like that so you can influence me into thinking that Takashi is a bad person and eventually break up with him. (Break…? Why did I say that? We're not on yet.)"

"Break…? Does it mean you two are together now?"

"No, you misunderstood. Then again, he asked me if I can be his girlfriend. (Pull yourself together, Kagami! It's not like you to say such words!)"

"What was your answer then?"

"Well I…wait a second; it's no business of yours!"

Three hours after twelve, the hut lay quiescent. The sea breeze blew across the shoreline, bringing in wave after wave that washed the sandy coast and not to mention the swaying of nearby trees to the will of the wind. Kagami was stripped off of any means of communication—she had been deprived of her cellular phone. One of the two boys who were with Sano was standing by the hut entrance; while the other just near the window facing the open road. While their boss was getting some shuteye, they were put in charge of being watchdogs for both the hostage and the hammers of justice. They were also instructed not to do anything stupid and regrettable that would threaten or destroy her dignity. Back at the metropolis, Takashi went around without any lead to where his hostile twin brother might have taken Kagami. It wasn't only her that was at stake but also Takashi's promise to Miyuki that he would bring her home safe and sound to Saitama. Everything seemed to hang by a thread that was on the verge of snapping unless a proper course of action was taken as soon as possible.

The two boys suddenly approached her with a dastardly grin on their faces. Judging by the looks on their faces, they were going to go against their boss's strict orders. One of them grabbed a silver spray bottle with the label "sleeping gas" on it.

"W-What are you going to do with that?" Kagami said, terrified.

"This won't hurt a bit." One of them sprayed a considerable amount in front of her face that knocked her out once again.

When she was sound asleep, the boys laid her down on the straw floor. One by one she was stripped off of her clothing button by button. Before anything could be exposed to them, Sano woke up just in time to stop them by giving them a powerful kick that flung them across the hut.

"I told you two: no funny stuff!" Sano yelled in a forceful rage.

"What's your damage? Nobody's around but us." One of them said.

"That's not my point, idiot! We didn't take her away just for this!"

"Isn't this also what you want? To have her as your own…?"

"You son of a …! I'm here to win her heart; not to break it! Now get your asses back to your posts!"

"Forget it! We're through!"

Furious, the two boys left the hut walking the rest of the distance back to the metropolis. He lost two good friends thanks to his elusive objective. All that was left was he, the sleeping beauty, and his blue SUV parked outside the hut. Out of something bad, something good happened in return. Sano had prevented a horrendous scene where Kagami's resolve would be crushed by two tempted teenagers. Such an event could've been dreadful for both of them. However, the problem was far from over.

Back at Saitama in the Hiiragi household, it was Tsukasa's turn to wash the dishes; in accordance with the agreed schedule for household chores. Next to the kitchen sink was a tower of plates stained with today's meal. With a running faucet and a sponge, she washed every single one of them off food stains. When she was down to the last plate, she accidentally dropped the last plate which shattered into pieces upon impact. Although none of the fragments wounded her, she stayed frozen in front of the running water. Her mother heard the crashing sound and hurried to the kitchen.

"Oh my, Tsukasa, that's the third one this month." Her mother said. "Let me take over there."

Tsukasa made no response whatsoever. She just went away from the kitchen then hurried upstairs to her room. From there, the face of fear appeared.

"Onee-san…" She whispered. "Onee-san is in trouble."

She had feared the worst. Grabbing her cellular phone in the desk, she immediately dialed Kagami's number. Unfortunately, an answer machine told her that the number she dialed was out of coverage area or had turned her unit off. Without any reply from her big sister, she continued to think of the possibilities that her big sister was definitely in trouble. Tsukasa was so terrified, she cried all alone in her room, praying that destiny would answer her plea and bring her sister back in one piece.

"Onee-san…onee-san…!"

Back at the deserted hut, Kagami woke up again. She found herself lying down in a hammock with Sano looking out the doorway into the open sea. The events that happened before she was knocked out cold were very blurry—she couldn't remember a thing or two. She noticed that his two lackeys were nowhere to be seen.

"I apologize for whatever those morons have done to you. Believe me I don't have dirty intentions." Sano said, still looking out the doorway.

"You do have a dirty intention: dragging me in the middle of nowhere." Kagami replied.

"Let me ask you something."

"Now what…? Whatever your question is—"

"Do you really love my brother?"

Kagami stopped talking. Her face turned all red with shyness. Shortly afterwards, she regained her courage and bluntly said to him:

"I told you! It's no business of yours! Learn to respect other people's privacy!"

"Do you want to hear my tale? We both lived under one roof in the past so I know much about him."

"All I'm hearing now are lies, lies, and more lies! What did he even do to you? Are you jealous because he's smarter and kinder than you? That isn't my problem anymore! But one thing's for sure: you have to accept that fact and become a better person the hard way."

"You don't understand at all. I AM a better person. It's Takashi's fault that I have to resort to this kind of measure. No matter how hard I try to become a better person, he's always one step ahead of me."

"Are you EVEN trying to become a better person? Do you even call yourself a better person after committing a crime that can spell life sentence in prison?

"I have no choice! Takashi confessing to you was the last straw! It's time to take matters into my own hands!"

"Stop this! You're being foolish!"

"I'll show him that there is more to me than meets the eye. I'll show everyone that I am also capable of doing things that he can do too."

"Nobody's depriving you of your ability to do stuff! But if you're that desperate, fine! Let me hear your story!"

TO BE CONTINUED