Epilogue Part One: The Run Away Princess
"Thank you. Have a safe trip back." The green haired star of the night bowed as his guests took their leave. A security group ushered them out and left him alone once more. Taking off his coat, he slumped on the sofa and leaned back, massaging his temples as he breathed in and out. Tonight's concert was full house and lots of famous people were there. At the backstage, these people started to knock on his door right after he had just taken a little sip of water.
Seven years had passed and Tsuchiura Ryoutarou had earned a title as one of the most sought after musicians of the decade. Along with Tsukimori and Kaji, they were part of a world tour for a famous group of freelance musicians as guest performers. They have only been working with them for about two months now and yet, offers for orchestra memberships and recording deals were already flooding them.
After resting a bit, he took the newspaper on the coffee table in front of him and started to read through it. His eyes slid over the words, finding an article that he would be interested to read. He flipped the second page, then the third and yet, nothing good has appeared. He was about to turn to the last page when his door suddenly went open, making him jump and shout in surprise.
"Search the room!" A familiar voice came behind a mob of men in black coat, ties, gloves and shades. Tsuchiura could only look at the whirling black mass that opened and searched every closet, door, room and even under the sofa he was sitting on. "W-What's happening here? Who are you people?" he squeaked, his voice rising a good two octaves, when the sofa was lifted from the other end, almost toppling him over.
"Sir, there is no sign of her. She is not here." One man in black said, ignoring Tsuchiura's questions. The sofa dropped and he bounced as well, his bottom giving a hard thump despite the fact that the sofa was terribly soft. The mob of black whizzed past him again, miraculously leaving the place neat and more organized, and soon, Tsuchiura found himself face to face with a face he thought he'll never see again.
"Darren…" he whispered, rising from his crouched position, where his hands were gripping the edges of the seat for his dear life. Darren nodded at him and extended an arm. Tsuchiura took it and they shook firmly. "What…what are you doing here?" Tsuchiura could not believe his eyes. "Oh, have a seat." He offered and the guest accepted his offer. The pianist rushed to get two glasses and a wine bottle.
"This is so sudden." Tsuchiura muttered with a chuckle as he poured on the glasses. "Thank you. Your performance was great. You never told me you were a great pianist!" Darren chuckled. The pianist smiled shyly in return. "I didn't thought that it was worth bragging." He said and they toasted. "Anyway, what brings you here?" he asked the noble. The look on Darren's face didn't seem any good.
"Is there something-"
"She's missing for three days now." Darren spoke in a hushed voice. "What?"
Darren looked at Tsuchiura in the eye, his same blue eyes reminding the pianist of a distant past…
"Nami is missing. She ran away." Darren broke the news. Tsuchiura almost fell from his seat upon hearing the news. "What! How did that happen?" the pianist's golden eyes glowed with worry. Darren stood and paced the room. "We thought that she went here to the city proper to watch your concert. She needs to be found as soon as possible. She has a press conference next week." Darren explained. "Really! She hasn't changed that attitude of hers." Tsuchiura growled. "But to consider this concert as her hiding ground…" he stopped on his remark. With all those seven years, he never made any effort to answer her calls or mails or letters. He wanted to put into her mind that he had forgotten all about her; that he has moved on so she could do the same. It seemed to him a bizarre and farfetched idea that Nami would be found here.
"You were our last hope. The Archduke has given us orders to find her before Sunday. This will be cause a lot of trouble for the whole House." Darren ruffled through his hair.
Tsuchiura stood and called Darren. "Yeah?" the noble asked. "I'm willing to help. I'm sort of free until Monday." He offered. Darren's eyes widened and his smile was very transparent of his gladness. "Really? Thank you so much!" Darren said and shook the pianist's hands. "It's nothing. Besides, I wanted to give back to what goodness you have given me before." He reasoned out. "That's seven years ago! But anyway, in behalf of our whole family, we are very happy for your help. I shall make arrangements now." He said and he bid his leave. "You can find me on the hotel across this theater. I'm on room 4775." Tsuchiura informed and the blonde noble left.
Twenty minutes later, Tsuchiura was back to his own hotel suite and was reading some piano scores when a soft tapping on his door broke his silence. "Tsuchiura-san?" Kaji's voice sounded from the outside. Tsuchiura walked to open the door and two blondes greeted him. One was Kaji. The other one was Darren.
"Oh…"
"You have a visitor. I happened to cross the lobby when I heard him inquiring for you." Kaji explained. Tsuchiura nodded at him. "Thanks, Kaji. I'll take it from here." The pianist said and the violist walked back to his own room. "Come in." he offered. "Did I come in an inconvenient time?" Darren asked when he saw the score sheets that lay in a beautiful mess on the coffee table. Tsuchiura chuckled and fixed it. "No, don't worry. I was just scanning these." He replied.
After Tsuchiura had made sure that Darren was comfortable, they started their meeting. Darren gave Tsuchiura the details that the pianist needed and the he contemplated hard on these. "This is tough." The pianist muttered as he looked far away. Missing for three days already. How was she able to hide herself from the public that long? "We were about to announce it to the media but then, news of your concert here gave us a new idea. It was Fate that brought you here." Darren said and a little smile appeared on my face.
Was it really like that?
Was Fate, who had torn them apart, bringing them together again?
Tsuchiura shook his head and stood. "It's just pure coincidence, Darren." He started. Darren stood as well and sighed. "She was so miserable back then. We thought she'd commit suicide." He softly said. "She's a strong woman. She wont do that." The pianist replied. A painful flashback of what happened seven years ago played on his mind again. Her tears, her desperate cries, her declaration of love for him…No amount of time could ever erase that certain part of his past. Even now, he was still dreaming about it like it happened yesterday. The pain, the loneliness, the guilt. Everything was fresh in both his heart and mind. He had always been wounded, pained and desolate the moment he let go of her. The truth was, he has never moved on.
"Have you…thought of something already?" Darren asked. Tsuchiura blinked fast and shook his head but offered a smile. "None yet but I will inform you if I have an idea already." He said. Darren nodded softly and stared off at a distance. "There are…offers already." He said after a few minutes of silence. The pianist looked at him with curiosity. "Offers?" he asked again, clarifying the statement his companion had given. "Marriage proposals, Tsuchiura-kun." Darren gravely and Tsuchiura's eyes dimmed slightly. "Oh…of course, Darren. She would be attracting such attention." He muttered and looked away.
"Aren't you…you do feel a little hurt, right?" he asked him. Tsuchiura chuckled low and shook his head. "It's not really the thing we should we talking about now, Darren. Let's move on to the real reason why we're helping each other." He said then took a little notepad from a drawer and began to scribble something. "I listed here the places and people that you have investigated. I'll ask them again, if it's fine." He said and showed him the paper to be proofread. Darren nodded and gave off a weak smile.
"Maybe a second round of inquiries and searching will be better." Darren said and stood. "It's getting quite late now. Let's continue this tomorrow?" he asked as the two shook hands. "Of course. I'll let you know of the steps that I will take." Tsuchiura replied and he led the noble to the door. "Have a good night, Tsuchiura-san." Darren said and went off.
Soon, he was alone again. He took the slip of paper with him and sat back at the chair. The places and people seem somehow familiar. He tried to recall and fly back to that time so he could clearly picture out the people and places. He knew that Nami would not, no matter what, hide in these places or interact with them. She knows that these places and people will be the most obvious starting points. If he was her…where would he hide? He closed his eyes and thought hard…
"Where are you, Nami?" he muttered before his the slip of paper fell from his hands.
The next thing he knew, he was being nudged awake. He let out a soft grunt and his eyelids finally fluttered. "Tsuchiura-san!" a voice called for him. He strained his eyes from the burst of light that wanted to enter his irises in a flash. "What…?" he asked as he sat up…?
"What do you think are you doing? Sleeping on the floor?" a familiar harsh tone welcomed him so early in the morning. "Tsukimori…what are you doing here?" he asked when he had regained his bearings. "And I was not sleeping on the floor. I was on the…couch…" he faltered as he realized that his companion was right. "What am I doing on the floor?" he asked aloud. "You might have fallen from the couch last night." The third person said. "This place is a mess, Tsuchiura-san. What happened after I left you?" Kaji asked as he helped the pianist stand. Tsukimori's brow rose slightly. "Oh, you brought home a visitor." He muttered. Tsuchiura rolled his eyes and tried to fix his bed head, or this time, floor head. "It's nothing. Just an acquaintance. Anyway," he brushed off the imaginary dust on his rolled up sleeves. "What is that noise all about?" he asked, walking to the window to check out where the muffled shouting came from. Suddenly, Kaji and Tsukimori's hands were pulling him back. "No!" they both said in unison.
Tsuchiura looked back at them with a confused expression. "What's with you two?" he asked as he struggled to get away from the iron grip of the two. "Y-You cannot come near the window and expose yourself, Tsuchiura-san!" Kaji said as he pulled the green head. "Why so, Kaji? Can you explain why?" The pianist stopped. Kaji and Tsukimori looked at him with a weird expression. "Actually, you're the one who needs to do some explaining to us." Tsukimori charged. "What? What are you saying? Me?" Tsuchiura could not understand what the violinist was telling him. "The ones making the noise down there are reporters. They've been trying to get to you for the past hour already." Tsukimori replied.
Tsuchiura's mouth went open at the news. "Why would they be looking for me at such intensity?" he asked the two. "Exactly the point why we're here." Tsukimori sighed with frustration. "There's still something you're not telling me." Tsuchiura said and crossed his arms.
Kaji was about to speak when the door went suddenly open and a panting Darren came. "Darren!" Tsuchiura exclaimed as the noble staggered to get inside. "Tsuchiura-san, I went here as fast as possible. I heard the news." He said. "Wait, what is happening here? Why did I suddenly become the…the newest apple of the eye of those guys?" Tsuchiura could hardly believe he was saying those. Darren sighed and placed a hand on the pianist's shoulder. "They have already found out about your connection with the princess." He said.
Tsuchiura almost jumped.
"What! How did they know about it?" he asked the noble. "I have no idea. The House is in uproar now. I'm guessing it will only take minutes before the Union will release their official statement about this." Darren replied. "Somebody leaked that information, Darren." Tsuchiura muttered.
"Wait up!" Kaji's voice stopped the two and made the violinist's eyes widen a bit. "Tsuchiura-san, you really have a lot of explaining to do to us!" he said as his green eyes darted from Tsuchiura to Darren. The noble nodded and bowed slightly. "I'm sorry for intruding. I haven't introduced myself to you. I am Darren-"
"You don't mean that Darren, right?" Kaji interrupted. The noble blinked at Kaji and nodded blankly. "Uh, actually, I'm that Darren." He confirmed and a glow appeared on Kaji's face. "Goodness! I knew that you were someone when I first saw you. I just couldn't pinpoint it!" Kaji leaned in to shake Darren's hand. The astounded noble gave off a smile. "It's nice to meet you…" Darren trailed off. "Kaji. Kaji Aoi." The violist replied. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kaji-san." Darren said and firmly shook hands with Kaji again. Darren's eyes swam over to Tsukimori. "And you are, sir?" he offered his hand to which Tsukimori accepted without another word. "Tsukimori Len." He said. "Ah, you're that violinist!" Darren said and the two shook hands as well.
"I think we better sit down for a while and set things straight among ourselves." Kaji offered and received a unanimous agreeing decision. Once settled, Tsuchiura and Darren filled everyone with the details. Of course, save for the fact that Nami is the princess.
Kaji leaned back on the sofa and sighed. "I never knew you were friends with a princess!" he said. Tsukimori nodded. "You're quite surprising at times, you know." He added. Tsuchiura waved them off and looked away, his eyes wavering. "You have to help me, guys. I need to get away fast." He said as he searched the pile of papers for that one slip of clues. "And how do we fit the puzzle, Tsuchiura?" The violinist asked, oddly very absorbed with the topic. Their gold eyes met and for a moment, they seem to read each other's thoughts. Tsukimori stood and crossed his arms. "No, I wont." He muttered as Tsuchiura stood as well. "Aw, come on! Just this once, Tsukimori! You're not going to get hurt." The pianist fought. "I said no. Can you seriously think of something better?" Tsukimori was firm on his stand. The two blondes looked at both of them, confused. "Uh…do you guys mind sharing?" Darren asked. Two golden orbs met him with the same heavy intensity.
"I was thinking of using Tsukimori as a decoy for me while I sneak away on the back door with you." Tsuchiura explained. "Like it would work. We don't even have the same body build. Why don't you try Kaji here?" Tsukimori replied. Kaji's eyes widened at the remark. "Hey, easy there Tsukimori. No one will buy the decoy if it's me. I may be almost as tall but I'm kind of skinny compared to his muscles." He defended himself. "Exactly. It's unbelievable that he thought of that kind of plan." Tsukimori snorted. "At least I gave an idea." Tsuchiura shot back. "Okay, okay. Let's be level headed men. No need for this kind of arguments now." Darren stood between the two.
"But what do we do now? How will we get away from this place? We have no more time remaining." Tsuchiura was getting impatient now. He wanted to dart outside and start his search. He wanted to see her.
He wanted to be back at her.
A ring on his cellphone tore everybody else from their own private thoughts. "Hello?" he asked when he answered it. "Yes, this is Tsuchiu-" He was cut midsentence as Darren swatted the phone away. It landed mercilessly on the floor and it gave three rapid blinks before dying. "Sorry. You cant use your mobile phone now, Tsuchiura-san. It might be from the paparazzi out there, trying to reach you." He explained. Tsuchiura nodded, though still shaken. "I understand." He muttered and took the dead phone to a drawer. "Same goes for the two of you. Please be reminded that you cannot just answer calls even if someone in your contacts appears to be calling you. There is a possibility that they are hacked numbers." He told the other musicians.
Tsuchiura glanced out at the mob of reporters at the bottom of the hotel. "This is going to be a tough escape. I still wonder how they knew about my connection to her." He mused. "We really must get our gears working now. There is no time to waste." He added, grabbing a coat from his closet. "And where do you think you're going?" Tsukimori barricaded him. "Well, I'm going to barge right through them. There's no more thing we can do." He said, pushing the violinist away. "Fine. I'll do decoy." Tsukimori hissed and that stopped the three. "Are you…" Tsuchiura looked back at him. "Don't tell me you're going to back down now. Like what you said, there's no more time to lose. That princess friend of yours must be put back to where she should be." He said and took Tsuchiura's coat off him.
"I'm going to wear his clothes and let myself be noticed by the paparazzi. I'll be going down to the front area and while they're at it, rush out from the back." Tsukimori said the plan. "But your hair…" Kaji asked. "I get you. We'll make it look like Tsukimori is Tsuchiura with the use of his clothes. We'll make the reporters assume that what they were seeing was Tsuchiura." Darren joined in.
"Don't you dare make a mistake, Tsuchiura." Tsukimori said and donned a spare identical polo and coat of what Tsuchiura had worn from the concert last night. "Thank you, Tsukimori." The pianist said as Kaji helped Tsukimori. "I'll treat you some tacos after this." Tsuchiura smiled and took a cap from his closet and jacket with an upturned collar. "Just be back before Monday. Don't miss our flight." Kaji added and Darren pushed him to the other side of the hallway.
Crouching by a corner, Tsuchiura and Darren waited for the awaited stampede of the people on the other side. Even if the distance was considerable, they could still hear the cries of the frustrated reporters as they tried to pry their way inside. Whoever let out that information was definitely from the inside, Tsuchiura thought. But who? He thought that there was a mutual understanding from everyone about the secrecy of the matter. It must be a newly employed one who heard of talks from the old servants.
"Tsuchiura-san, this way!" Darren tugged him as the awaited noise came. They dashed quickly, minding no shoulder they bumped as they ran for the door. From his peripheral view, he saw the glimmer of Tsukimomri and Kaji's hair as the light greeted them. Darren tugged him further to an alley went in to its shadows. More people rushed to the front of the hotel. "I'm sure they'll be fine." Darren muttered as he cocked his head to walk on the opposite direction. Tsuchiura pulled his hat lower and pulled up the collar of his jacket. "You look more suspicious that way." Darren said as he tied his hair up and wore a cap of his own. It was only now that he realized how normal Darren looked with a simple jeans and shirt. No one seemed to bother take a glance at him. "You seem to be quite an expert in these kind of escapes and camouflage." The pianist relaxed more. A smug smile appeared from Darren's lips and rolled his head back for a chuckle. "You'll have to reconsider that. It's all because of Nami's tutorials." His voice turned to a sadder note. They hailed a taxi and Darren did the talking. "We cant go to the main house now. I know of a friend's place that we can stay for the time being." He explained to Tsuchiura.
"Earlier, you said that if it wasn't for Nami's tutorials…"
"This is not the first time that she ran away. It's actually her tenth time." He fought hard not to laugh. Tsuchiura sighed and felt more relaxed in talking about these things now. "And where are you finding her? We might get a clue there." He asked.
"We don't find her. She just pops out from her room like she didn't even run away. She wont answer any inquiries about her little adventure." Darren replied. "She's so stubborn that even the Archduke himself gave up asking her again on the repeats." He added and a sad smile swept across his handsome face. "During those escapes…what were the driving forces for her to commit such thing?" Tsuchiura asked.
Darren pursed his lips and curled his brows. "Oh, random stuff, I guess. Nobody knows the truth behind her escapes but we have hints like the first time, she wanted to follow you, actually. And for the second time, it was because she wanted to have piano lessons instead of violin. Then on the fifth, I think, it was she wanted to go to the forest but the Archduke declined her request over security reasons, of course." Darren hushed his voice. Tsuchiura smiled softly, imagining a fuming Nami and her tricks to get away from that house.
The taxi halted to a small house by the small town from seven years ago. This was the same town where Tsuchiura and Amou had stopped over before proceeding to the rest house on a mountain nearby. "Come," Darren beckoned Tsuchiura to follow him. Darren fished out a key from his pocket and unlocked the front door. The house was dim and empty but well furnished. The smell of newly brewed coffee blanketed the air inside.
"Come in, feel at home." Darren directed him to a room by the left. When his companion opened the door, Tsuchiura froze.
"N-Nami?" he could not believe his eyes. He could not be mistaken. Even if she had cut her hair short and dyed it black, he could not be wrong. He knew that blue eyes, that body frame…that beautiful face.
Her lips formed an equal O. She dropped the book she was holding and the orange cat by her foot scamper away.
"Ryou…" she muttered and a tear fell from her eye.