Alone

Chapter Five: Meeting the New Master

With his hand on her shoulder, she stepped over the threshold into the darkness of the room, trying to see what lay beyond the overwhelming wickedness. A candle flashed in the far corner of the room. That small candle seemed to light the entire room with ease as she stepped further in. Looking toward the candle, there stood a girl, with a look about her making her seem fearsome. This was where she was going to live while she stayed in the mansion. Chills shivered down her spine. How can she be happy living in such quarters where she will room with someone holding so much malice?

“Akira, you’re to take care of Ayame from now on.” Raiden placed his hand on Ayame's shoulder, but his touch felt cold as ice to her now. When she tilted her head back to see his face, he was looking constantly at Akira. Never once did his eyes come to look down upon her. She noticed his gaze was not cruel, nor did they have the same kindness in them as they had when he looked at her. Still, there was something in the way he looked at Akira that made Ayame feel uneasy. It almost felt as if he had forgotten she was there, even though his hand was gently placed on her shoulder. But his grip began to tighten with every passing moment.

“Ouch!... Raiden, you're hurting me!” Ayame finally spoke up when his grip became too tight for her to bear.

“Sorry, Ayame.” His voice was faint when he spoke to her. He took his hand from her shoulder. “I'll be back later to see how you both are doing.” Ayame knew that even though he spoke to her, the words were meant for Akira. She wanted the words to be hers alone, for his eyes to only see her. Her heart felt as though it were crushing slowly inside her chest. She couldn’t figure out this emotion. Could this feeling be jealousy creeping its way in? She had never had someone catch her eye the way Raiden had. But it couldn’t be, she had only known him for a day, not to mention the whole k********g.

Raiden closed the door silently behind him and was gone before Ayame could whisper a goodbye. Akira stared at her. Her eyes gave Ayame a fear that went right to her heart. What was worse, she could feel her body begin to shake. Those eyes seemed to pierce through her. They frightened her enough that she could feel her legs giving out from under her. “I'm so sorry, are you frightened of me?” There was a spark in her voice, leading Ayame to believe there was mischief hidden in Akira’s mind.

“No, of course not. I’m just a little cold, that's all,” Ayame replied, trying to sound brave. Akira’s expression read that she could care less if Ayame were comfortable or not.

“Well you should be...... because if you get in the way of Raiden and I, you will really know what the word pain means,” she hissed at Ayame.

“Get in the way of what?” Ayame questioned, feeling her heart drop into the pit of her stomach.

“You know what!” Growled Akira.

“How could I get in the way?” Ayame took a startled step back.

“You know how!” She rolled her eyes as she took a step toward her.

Ayame took an additional step back, trying to put some more distance between her and the unstable girl in front of her, “I don't understand what you’re trying to say.”

“You don't need to! You just need to stay out of my way.” Akira responded, agitated by Ayame's continued cluelessness.

“Yes, ma'am,” Ayame whispered, nodding her head, feeling foolish by her own words.

“Good! Now that we understand each other, these will be your quarters.” She pointed toward a door. The room she stood in appeared to be a common area. Ayame went to the room and found there were two medium-sized boxes sitting on the floor. “Oh, Raiden brought those for you.” Akira moved toward the small room, her voice harsh. Ayame’s heart stopped for a moment, wondering what it was he could have put into those boxes. Everything she had in the world was in the bag on top of the small single bed. She steadied her beating heart, assuming Raiden had only done this under Master Tadashi's order. Still, she hoped he had done this out of the kindness of his heart.

“But when would he have had the time to bring them in..... I mean he was with me most of the time,” Ayame questioned. She had not intended the question to be answered, since as she asked she figured out the answer.

“He came in when you went out on the town,” Akira answered, quite irritated.

“I see. That makes sense,” Ayame whispered, no longer wanting Akira standing so close. She bent down and opened up the top box, finding a small stuffed bear, a long baby blue coat, a purple scarf, white mittens and a light pink floppy hat, all for the coming winter. She carefully placed everything back. Then moved the top box onto the floor, and opened the second one. In it she found a medium-sized fluffy blanket and a small white pillow. Going deeper into the box, she lifted out a brand-new kimono. At this point, she could feel Akira tense with anger. She could only assume Raiden had never done this for her.

Without thinking, Ayame turned to see her ready to fight. But before her fist could connect, Raiden opened the door. As soon as he saw what was about to happen, he was at Ayame's side in a matter of seconds, stopping Akira's fist. “Are you okay, Ayame?” All she could do at this time was smile faintly, with tears at the edge of her eyes. He turned his gaze to Akira, “What are you thinking?!” As he stared at her, Ayame noticed something odd about his eye color again; hints of red were creeping in from the outside. She averted her gaze down toward the clothing she held, noticing it was the outfit she had seen in the window earlier that day. She had forgotten about how much she had admired it. Hiroshi must have mentioned it.

“What was I thinking!? What are you thinking?” Akira countered Raiden’s anger with her own, bringing Ayame’s attention back to the matter at hand.

“What do you mean?” Raiden questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“The fact you're falling in love with that sorry excuse for a girl!” Her voice rose with every word.

“What does it matter to you?” Raiden countered as he let go of Ayame's back and released Akira's fist from his grasp. Both girls took a step back from each other.

Akira's eyes shifted from Ayame to Raiden a few times, until she made up her mind about what she was going to say. “You used to say you loved me and wanted to be with me, but now you’ve abandoned my love for her! Was it all a lie?!”

"Akira, you know very well what I meant when I told you I loved you." Raiden sighed, sounding exhausted.

"Falling in love with a mortal, how pitiful." Ayame could feel her legs start shaking and her head starts to spin. She couldn't understand what was happening or what was being said. All the tension in the room seemed to thicken the air, making it harder and harder to breathe. She was never one to handle situations filled with rage. Raiden turned from Akira just in time to see Ayame collapse, losing consciousness. He reached out to catch hold of her before she crashed to the ground, and gently lay her on her new bed.

* * *

Ayame awoke to hear Raiden and Akira still fighting. She kept her eyes closed but continued to listen. Akira's voice held so many emotions with every word, while Raiden seemed almost numb to all emotions. She began to wonder what he had meant when he said he loved Akira. She continued to listen, figuring this was the only way to find out the truth behind Akira’s words.

“Raiden! Why are you putting me through this?” Akira sounded as though she were almost pleading with him.

“I never said those things! You must have imagined them.” Ayame could hear his feet move across the floor, followed by a smash of something hitting the wall. They continued the argument over whether Raiden had meant it when he said he had loved her, or if it was all in her mind. Ayame held hidden hope in her heart that it was not true, that he had not committed himself to her.

“Don't play games with me! You know exactly what you’ve done and said!” Screeched Akira as something else shattered against a wall.

“I don't know where you’re getting all this from.” With every word, Ayame could hear an apologetic tone in his voice. She could tell he felt this was to some extent his fault.

“Look at me!” Raiden turned his head away. “Raiden! Look at me!” She screamed out again. Slowly he turned to her. “Can you see these tears? I love you!” The tears continued down her reddened cheeks.

“Akira, I like you, but I don't love you in the way you want me to. You have misunderstood what I actually meant.” His tone never changed during the conversation. It also never rose. He had calmed his voice to a tone that told of his honesty. Akira fell to the ground sobbing, her hands covering her face.

Ayame finally opened her eyes and sat up. When Akira saw Ayame sit up she raised her eyes to catch Ayame's in her own. “This is all your fault, you wretch!” she screeched. “If you weren't here nothing would have changed!” Ayame closed her eyes only to open them to feel the cold metal against her throat. “This is exactly what you deserve, you little brat!” she whispered into Ayame's ear. Raiden lunged at Akira, reaching for the knife, but it was too late. With one swift motion, the knife ripped through layers of skin. Ayame felt the blood spill from her own throat. Only seconds had passed and Raiden had torn the knife from Akira’s grasp, pushing her away from Ayame, grabbed a towel and wrapped it tightly around her neck.

“Haru! I need Haru now! Quickly go get the doctor!” Raiden shouted toward the door. Ayame heard the sound of footsteps racing down the hallway. Moments later, the door was shoved open and the doctor, Haru, rushed in. No questions asked, he went to Ayame's side and placed his hand on her throat, pressuring the wound to stop the blood from flowing.

The only thought that passed through her mind was, “I'm going to die.” Over and over she played these words through her mind for what seemed an eternity. She could still hear Akira screaming at Raiden, but no longer could she hear Raiden’s replies. He had gone silent.

As she listened, Akira's voice suddenly whimpered out, followed by another crash and then another. Someone seemed to be putting up a struggle. Finally, Ayame forced her eyes to open, just in time to see two husky men carrying Akira from the room. She was only able to keep her eyes open for a short period of time before darkness clouded her vision once more. Still, she could hear Haru's voice yelling out orders to others in the room telling them to get things such as more towels, water, suture thread, needles and bandages. Fear continued to engulf her thoughts. No matter how hard she tried to hold it all in, it was useless at this point.

Haru suddenly yelled out something that she heard clearer than anything else. “We’re losing her!” Ayame felt her chest tighten, her heart exploded in pain and her mind grew tired. More and more she found it harder to breathe. And every time she tried, blood filled her lungs instead of air. Again Haru yelled, “We need to work more quickly or she will never make it.” Fear continued to grip her.

Realization hit her that someone was holding tightly onto her hand. The hand felt as though it were twice the size of hers. Then she heard a voice she knew. “Everything is going to be alright.” His hand tightened around hers, a teardrop touched her hand. That was the last thing she remembered before darkness overtook her and the world around her was silenced. However, some brief thoughts raced through her mind before she was taken away.

“Is this it? Will I end my life with no real beginning?” Thoughts of her family ran through her mind like a dream. It seemed things in her life never really happened, as though she never really existed. “I never made it so that anyone would remember me. I've not made my print on this world. I can’t die. Not now!” Fear was the instigator of these lowly thoughts because no one wishes to die before they are ready. She wished she had more time. She had only just begun to discover feelings she had never known before and now she would have to give them all up. Those foolish feelings of a girl falling for someone who was working for her captor. What a fool.

As the saying goes, it is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved. She had already loved and lost. This time she didn’t wish to lose again, but to have loved again she was not sure of this. What is love? The answer was a whisper in the wind, the melody of the birds, or maybe it was simply the silence in the darkness lit with a flickering candle of hope.