Matsui Rena fluttered her eyes open.
She needed few attempts of blinking to adjust the foreign light before she finally could keep them open. The light was kind of hurting her still vulnerable iris, just like a vampire skin given a touch of sunlight. Her eyelids felt heavy as if glued to each other, she almost believed she had been sleeping for days. Once she could gain her focus back, she stared upwards. It was like déjà vu when she saw the ceiling after what like forever she had been closing her eyes. Except there was only plain white color decorated by few cracks and brown-yellowish marks in here and there instead of Michelangelo-styled painting. The marks resembled of what Rena had seen on the unused water pipes in the storeroom near her cottage before. They were undoubtedly rusts. Relief instantly washed her, as Rena abruptly aware she wasn't in the place she had been trying to run from.
To ensure her theory, she found that the bed she was laying on wasn't as comfortable as she was usually spending her nights on. Though the mattress properly supported her weight, she felt that it was too firm that somehow made her back and hips joints cramped a little bit. In that second Rena wondered about what kind of person could sleep in such discomfort without even complaining like she just did.
Another seconds passed and her shattered memories slowly returning on its own. She recalled yells, lots of yells, unfamiliar streets and buildings, intersections, giant ferris wheel, parking lot, and then a woman. Rena's fingers unconsciously touched her lips, which she found were dry and chapped. Her mind was taken aback to the moment when a pair of soft velvet dancing on them. A distinct heat spread on her cheeks as she felt a slight anger towards the impudent young woman though, had helped her escape but her actions were fairly unforgivable for Rena to fathom.
Wondering where she was currently at, Rena properly sat up, trying to balance her body with the rest of her strength. Her back somewhat screamed asking to not having contact with the mattress any longer. This was also because of her falling on her back earlier. Her eyes now were given the proper view of the room she was now in; Rena was able to scan the whole area.
The wooden floor was clean and looked nice though there were few scratches in some spots. A small low table that Rena guessed for dining firmly stood in the center of the room. There were few magazines and an opened juice can on top of it. One of the magazines was opened and she caught a glimpse of a page where a female foreigner model poses in swimwear and an aviator. Rena assumed the owner of the room was in the middle of reading before disappeared for an unknown reason.
Examining further, there was a study desk right beside the bed. There was no space in between that she thought it would be dangerous if whoever slept on the bed rolled their body, there is no mistake they would hit their head against the solid structure. What interested her wasn't the bad words that were carved on it, but a familiar symbol that was printed on the device on the desk that made her sure the laptop was the product of one of Matsui Enterprise's subsidiaries. Rena instantly frowned.
The Matsui heiress decided to stand up and have a look further. She then realized that no matter how small she thought her cottage was; the room she occupied in was the worst. The whole place was only half her bedroom! Rena saw that a tiny kitchen even tried to fit through, just across the low table, there was a fridge beside the sink and a stove that looked like abandoned for years. Though it was considered rude and discourteous for a person who was raised from well-mannered environment, Rena got curious with the contents of the cabinets above them, as if trying to understand who and what kind of person that had brought her here by just checking.
There was almost nothing except a box of cereal and couple packs of what seemed like snacks she had never seen before, judging from how colorful the wraps were. Rena closed the cabinet shut and decided to check the fridge.
Almost as uninteresting as the cabinets, there were none of groceries instead; a dozen of similar canned juices like on the table filled half of it. The person who owned this small flat must be lazy or just bad at cooking. Rena sighed when she saw a half-eaten ice cream inside the freezer.
Laying her eyes on the other side of the room, across where the low table faced at, there was a small flat screen TV that supposed to be on table, but apparently someone was too indolent to find any that it was put on the floor. The cables attached in the back were just spread around the floor in a disarray manner. In front of the TV there was a set of video player and a stack of DVDs. She noticed some names of Japanese idol groups among them. Judging from how the room was arranged, Rena got hints that the person probably loves watching TV while eating. She suddenly wanted to find out more.
Behind the TV was a large wooden cupboard, the color blended with the floor and the study desk. Rena could see her own reflection in the mirror at its door. She already predicted that this was filled by what that mysterious person probably wearing. And by opening this, could actually determine what kind of person Rena was about to deal with.
The door creaked open, but it wasn't the cupboard's door Rena was about to open, it was the door behind her. A sudden jolt of embarrassment and awkwardness rushed in her veins; as if caught doing something forbidden, while in fact she was about to. She slowly turned her head only to meet a pair of curious eyes stared back at her,
"Oh, you're awake?"
Rena saw a tall figure standing in the doorway. There, the mysterious person she had been curious about finally showed up. She could recognize her face because it was familiar with her fresh returning memories and suddenly the imagery of that person kissing her grazing her mind again.
Not getting any reply from Rena, she proceeded to walk in and closed the door. Then with a loud huff, she put down two plastic bags with a well-known logo printed on it.
"It's hot outside…" she complained the weather as if attempted to start a conversation with the confused Rena. Her short hair was damped. She walked to her desk and pulled the drawer to get a hair band. With a swift move she tied her hair up, showing the back of her neck that was as soaked as her raven mane. Her exposed shoulders were covered in sweat as she only wore a blank tank top under the white crop t-shirt where the young heiress could see a cross necklace over her collarbone. Something that made Rena raised brows was a blonde girl poses nude with her hands covering her body parts printed on it. Couldn't contain her curiosity anymore, she decided to ask,
"So, this place is yours?"
xxx
"I'm sorry, Honey, I can't come tonight."
Though my eyes were focused at my ordered burgers that were being packed by a part-timer high school boy in front of me, my mind couldn't stop worrying about Akane who I was currently talking on the phone with. I was kind of bothered if she were happened to lose interest in me just because I refused her invitation for a coffee.
"No, no. There is no other girl, sweetheart." I noticed the teenager employee glanced at me in oddity when I finished the sentence. Pretending not to see anything, I resumed convincing Akane that I just kind of feeling unwell. It was a lie but there was also the truth. Summer in Japan just killed my mood at doing almost everything and made me wanted nothing more than sleeping under the air conditioner. Moreover, I just had an uninvited guest to take care of.
"No, no. I just need some sleep; you don't have to come over."
"It's all 980 Yen."
"Yes, I'll call you later. I prom-Can I have extra mayonnaise?" I smiled to the now nervous looking boy. He then nodded and brought me an extra pack.
"Sorry, I promise Akane. Yes. Okay. See you later." Hearing the sigh of an old man behind me as he noticed I still haven't handed over the money, I quickly ended the conversation.
Akane was a splendid customer that seemed could burn her money whenever she gets bored. It was all thanks to her I could buy more nice outfits and of course, more for my savings for whatever I would need in the future. Though I knew she might not be the richest person in Nagoya, but I already felt like she was. Simply having dinner or coffee for a romantic talk with her was equal with a day out with two regular customers. I felt like finding the pot of gold in the end of the rainbow! However, where there are great prices, lies the great consequences.
Never had I seen a person who had jealousy level as high as Akane. I always felt that, should she catch me dating with other girl; I would be slapped right at the moment. Here I was ought to combine my sweet talk and seduction two times harder to make sure everything stayed under control and just went as I had planned. Conversely this was easier said than done.
I rushed out the fast food restaurant. The sun was still up and the heat wasn't getting friendlier either. The air conditioner in the diner was nice and made me want to stay longer but more and more hungry customers were dashing in, making the atmosphere getting even nastier along with the smell of food that didn't really challenge my appetite as well. Wiping the sweat on my forehead, I started to walk home.
As I walked, I couldn't help but ponder about the girl who was, probably still sleeping at my place.
I realized that what I had done earlier was considered impolite, especially towards strangers. Nonetheless in a profound way I could say that what I did could be considered heroic. Sadly, I never heard any hero stories about getting slapped after saving someone though. Suddenly I felt sting on my cheek as if getting a fresh slap just like few hours ago.
That was probably her last strength; she just collapsed on me shortly after that. I had a hard time calling a taxi while balancing her body with my shoulders. Her limping limbs and pale skin almost made me believe she was dead anyway, if not because I felt her breathing against my neck. I sighed in relief; she was only tired and needed some rest.
That man in black who wore glasses though, who was he? My mind somehow reconstructed the scene and trying to find any clue and suggestion that come up and might give me a bit of information of what actually happened at the time. I didn't really want to know and butt in on people's problems but since I was aggrieved because of the abrupt incident, I couldn't help but to contemplate.
The old widow who rented the flat next door gave me a smile when I searched for the key to my room. I smiled back at her and her grandson who was still in his kindergarten uniform, about to get into theirs too.
"Jurina-nee!"
I crouched lower so my head is on the same level as his and smiled.
"How's the school today?" I asked cheerfully. He gave me his biggest smile and nodded in fascination.
"Un! We made paper planes and ate chestnut soup together today."
"Sounds fun," I suddenly remembered there were some candies I bought in the convenience store this morning in my shorts pocket. I took them all out, "…do you want some?"
His eyes grew bigger staring at the colorful wraps of the assorted candies in my palm. Without any word he took them all in one go. The old woman smiled,
"Say thanks to Jurina-neesan."
"Un! Thank you Jurina-nee. See you later!" I smiled in return before watching them entering the flat.
Knowing that my entrance door was old and making a loud creaking noise, I opened it slowly, not wanting to wake up the sleeping girl. But what I found as I went through the door was surprising as a pair of mismatched brown eyes stared back at me.
"Oh, you're awake?"
xxx
She was astonished when I told her my name. I wasn't sure what went wrong but when she didn't reply for about three seconds, I started to worry.
"What's wrong?"
Laughing sheepishly, she grinned, "It's just…we coincidentally shared the family name…"
Now is me who was astonished. Matsui indeed not an uncommon name in Japan, but I never actually met another Matsui other than my family, furthermore we just met in an awkward situation.
"I'm Matsui Jurina anyway."
We sat down in the center of the room, near the low table where the magazines at. I silently watched Jurina unwrapping the plastic bags and pulled out smaller paper bags inside. The savory scent was so tempting I didn't realize my stomach loudly grumble in desperation.
"I'm glad I bought food." My face reddened in an instant for behaving improperly in front of a stranger. She giggled and handed me one of the bag and a cup of what I predicted could be soda, as I saw bubbles on the cup lid.
"Are you feeling okay?"
I spotted her staring at me with a concern look. The fact that she was being so attentive and caring somewhat making me wary about this person. And that was reasonable. I nodded in return.
At this moment, I'd like to have conversation as little as possible with her. Though I was still pissed off at her, I could not let my guard down. I was sure everyone in Matsui Headquarters must be looking for me right now. And to make sure everything was going like the plan, I intended not to spill any personal information with anyone. Even with this girl who practically had saved me in an unusual way. I had to keep my eyes on everybody and tried to blend in to the society as perfect as possible. But I seemed to fail doing the first main rule by telling her my real name. I had to be more careful afterwards.
Before I could unpack to reveal the prize inside as my stomach was waiting in anticipation, I felt Jurina's hand on top of mine, fidgeting. She squeezed it and when I turned to her, I saw a pair of big eyes filled with regret looking at me. She bit her lips hesitantly as if wanting to say something.
"Yes?"
Then suddenly she stood up and bowed. I almost had a heart attack seeing such sudden movements.
"I'm really sorry Matsui-san! Sorry for what I did earlier!"
"Eh?"
I had been trying to avoid this conversation since then as I actually had forgiven her anyway. We were in an urgent situation where thinking clearly was probably the least thing we could do. And to think that she actually succeeded, I didn't know what else could be better than that. I just thought she was quite brilliant. But now when she brought up the topic again, I couldn't help but blush.
"Sorry for kis-"
"It-it's fine." I just didn't want her to finish the sentence that made my brain automatically played the scene again. As a girl who was raised in such overly secured environment where getting in touch with other people than Mom, Yuasa, and Father's gofers was highly prohibited, never had I met a person who had a bodily contact with as close as that. Though I always yearned to meet other people like in the story I read and the dramas I watched every day, I never knew that my first encounter would be happening like that. I did feeling embarrassed but at the same time I couldn't deny the excitement in my stomach.
"No, it really is fine. And please call me Rena." My smile apparently calmed her in an instant. Calling each other's family names when we had the same was just awkward to me. Jurina sat down with a sigh, probably still feeling guilty, she then took my share and helping me arranged them on table and placed the magazines on her desk so I could eat with ease. I mumbled thanks as a return.
"You can call me Jurina as well."
When I laid my eyes on the meal, I realized something. It was true that I never ate out and visited fast food restaurants but I forgot that I knew they sell things I couldn't eat. And I didn't blame Jurina for being ignorant about it. Watching her taking her first bite, I daringly let myself to ask.
"I'm sorry, Jurina. But I can't eat this…"
She immediately froze with the burger still half hung onto her mouth. Her eyes grew bigger questioning me. The reaction of hers was actually quite funny I couldn't help but giggle in sympathy. I explained to her my conditions.
"I see…well let's exchange. You can have my fries then." She took the untouched bun and gave me her pack of fries. But she paused and shook her head.
"No, no. This isn't right. You have to eat properly and two packs of fries isn't a good idea. I should go out now and buy you something." Jurina was about to stand up when I held her hand. She had been so helpful and compassionate to me, I felt culpable if I bothered her any longer.
"I didn't eat much to be honest; I doubt I could finish the two packs." It wasn't a lie. Lately since Yuasa brought me news about my brother and Father's revealed plans, I couldn't help but losing my appetite in a saddening condition to the point I suffered a weight loss. And since that suicide attempt, I never knew how much I could actually eat anymore.
Jurina stared at me in disbelief. She kept insisting to buy me proper food but in the end I managed her to follow at what I said.
As we ate, Jurina turned on the TV. Just like what I thought earlier about her habit, judging from how the table was positioned towards the device. After few channels, she stopped on a certain music show and continued to eat. Apparently she didn't like conversation in supper and since I didn't intend to do any, I just tag along watching the dancing idol group on the TV. However, my mind was worrying about something else.
Where should I go after this? What do I want to do with my life? Those thoughts kept lingering in a sickening way as I saw Jurina's excited face focusing at the idols. I couldn't stay and mooch on other people anymore. The notion of everyone and Father would be after me and knowing that Father always had anything and any way to find me, I knew my attempt to escape from that arranged marriage was useless. Just how far a weak woman like me to be able to keep running away from him? Soon they would easily find me again. Until that time, I would be waiting to survive by my own. I would try my best.
As soon as I started to plan everything, the music show suddenly cut off by a breaking news that usually announced about a sudden accident or latest information of some recent events. But my eyes immediately widened in terror as I saw a portrait of me on the left side of the news reader. I accidentally dropped a piece of fries I was about to eat when I heard they put me on the list of missing people. What was more horror was when they even put a large sum of money in return. Too large you could start a ramen shop in here. My body trembled in horror.
Jurina turned off the TV in an instant. Her eyes broaden in shock. She got up and harshly grabbed me by my shoulders and pushed me to the wall; her expression was so unreadable I didn't know what she had in mind after seeing that. But something for sure, I was scared.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
I closed my eyes reflexively as I heard her exclamation. Her raging pant against my face made me didn't dare to look her in the eyes. I was sure she might be getting the wrong idea.
And that was when I finally cried.
Just like that, the buried truth inside my heart burst open and release all the secrets and stories I had been hiding and so desperately trying to forget all the time. I let each moment spewing out without leaving any one bit. I didn't know nor care what Jurina would think about me anymore. I freed all my worries uncontrollably. The fact that I thought I lose my sanity.
"Now I don't know what I-"
Before I could finish my sentence, a pair of lean arms wrapped my body. I continued to weep and sob as I felt a soft palm brushed my hair. It was strange that I thought Jurina would mad and kicked me out of her place right away. But what was stranger what she whispered next,
"Stay with me. I'll protect you."
xxx