Thank you for embracing me when I was having a bad dream and calming me down. Thank you for holding my hand when I had nobody to hold to. Thank you for being there when no one was. Thank you for giving strength when I had none. Thank you for loving me, for I love you too, Keisuke Baji.
- Nana Osaki
3rd Person's POV (A few hours later; Trinity Land; Parking Lot-3)
It was as the paramedics confirmed; Keisuke Baji had passed away.
After that confirmation, Takemichi didn't know what to do with himself anymore. He saved Senju and himself from the Rokuhara Tandai gang, but in return, Baji's life was sacrificed - the most loyal, bravest, strongest, and most compassionate, caring man that Takemichi had ever known. Since the Bloody Halloween incident up until now, Baji, Nana, and Chifuyu were always there for him thick and thin; didn't matter what the situation was, they always reached out their helping hands to him. Now, one of the three was gone forever. And he was never coming back, ever again. Oh, how Takemichi regretted letting this be. But at the same time, he kept asking himself: where the hell did he go wrong?
Seeing Takemichi staring off into the distance where the ambulance was just a moment ago concerned Senju to an extent as the blonde-haired boy's face still looked pale from the shock.
"Hanagaki..." Senju called out as she walked a bit closer to him, hoping to receive his attention. "Hanagaki!!"
"Huh? What?" Takemichi asked, finally snapping out of his trance and Senju's facial expression softened at this.
"What are you going to do now?" Senju asked in concern, furrowing her eyebrows a bit. "How are we gonna tell Nana about this?"
Hearing that, Takemichi immediately went quiet. He could care less about what to do next. But just thinking about Nana made his stomach twist in worry and discomfort. His guilt was eating him up and now draining his sanity. How was he going to face Nana and break the news of Baji's death to her? What was her reaction going to be? What about her mental and physical health condition? What if something terrible happened to her immediately after finding out about Baji's death?
"Hanagaki!" Senju called out again in a loud tone when Takemichi didn't respond to her back.
Snapping out his daze again, Takemichi looked at her with a tranced face.
"Oh... Sorry... What did you say?" Takemichi trailed off in a distant tone and this worried Senju even more.
Even Senju didn't know what to do from here on out. With Baji passing away, she finally started to feel and understand the burden and pressure of being a leader of a delinquent gang and all the trials and tribulations one must endure.
"Senju!" a familiar voice called out and the said girl looked over to the side to see her oldest brother jogging towards her. "Was Keisuke really killed?!"
Like Senju, Takeomi was also wearing his Brahman uniform, and following him into the scene were the rest of the executives, and a single squad from the gang.
"Takeomi..." Senju trailed off in exhaustion and went quiet upon hearing the question, but it was all Takeomi needed for confirmation.
"Dammit!!" Takeomi cursed out through his gritted teeth, clenching his fists in frustration, upset that Rokuhara Tandai had planned such a desperate scheme. "How did this happen?! I'm gonna destroy Rokuhara Tandai right now."
"What are you saying, Takeomi?!!" Senju asked in shock, her eyes widening at his words but Takeomi ignored her as he had a different mindset that was preventing him from thinking rationally.
Senju didn't want to make any reckless decisions, not on any terms of an impulse. She wanted to be cautious and fulfill the requirements that she vowed to make as the commander.
"Benkei! Assemble everyone in Brahman for an emergency meeting!!" Takeomi ordered with a frowning face.
"Yes, Sir!!" Benkei responded back before he and Wakasa called out the rest of the Brahman underlings.
"Takeomi!! Are you insane?!" Senju scolded her older brother, standing her ground. "We can't do that today!!"
"What?! Then when can we?!" Takeomi snapped back in annoyance.
"I don't know but not today!" Senju replied, frowning as well.
"Then you're just gonna back down?!! Baji was killed, you know?! Don't you get it, Senju?! This is no longer a children's brawl about who's the strongest!! It's a battle to the death!!" Takeomi stated in an angered tone, his rage getting the better of him.
"You're wrong! That sort of thing isn't what I want! Rokuhara are the ones who destroyed that!" Senju argued again in a desperate tone as tears started forming in her eyes again, refusing to let the situation go this way. "And besides we also need to go to the hospital right now. Nana still doesn't know about Baji's involvement with Brahman. We're the reason why Baji died and that's why we need to be there for her and support her!"
Hearing Nana's name caused the former members of Black Dragons to go stiff in their spots. As Wakasa and Benkei looked at each other with concern, Takeomi stared at the ground with a frowning face, contemplating what they should really do now. First Shinichiro and now Baji; Nana lost all her beloved men one after another through some tragic incidents and now she was left all alone with no one by her side. How were they going to break the news to her anyway?
But then all of a sudden, a certain someone walked into the scene.
"Hey, hey, hey, now! Aren't you getting mighty worked up?!" a voice called out and when the Brahman looked over to the source, they noticed it was South and the Rokuhara Tandai gang walking into the scene, all dressed up in their gang uniforms. "We're the ones coming to you, you know?! For Keisuke Baji's requiem!!!"
South's approach to Brahman earned everyone's attention on the first go, including a still-broken Takemichi who finally snapped out of his daze and looked over at the tall foreign man with wide, surprised eyes. It was as if South didn't even feel bad about encouraging his followers to commit the wrongful deed.
"Rokuhara..." Senju trailed off after noticing the said man's cocky presence, her voice laced with anger and hatred.
"Let's start this Armageddon!!" South exclaimed, insisting that a full-out brawl should start this very night and this angered Takeomi even more than before.
"Bring it on! We are gonna end this right here, right now!" Takeomi snarled out, not thinking twice about accepting the invitation.
And just the fight was about to start, a familiar echo of a motorcycle engine from the distance alarmed everyone on the scene. The noise grew louder, drawing closer to the area where they stood.
"That exhaust sound..." Takeomi mumbled, depicting the source in a matter of seconds.
"Who is it?" Senju wondered in confusion.
The rider of the motorcycle soon arrived at the battlefield and parked his ride in between Rokuhara Tendai and Brahman. Everyone, from both gangs, recognized him at first glance - He was the commander of the Kanto Manji Gang, the last of the three deities; Manjiro Sano. A somber-looking Mikey, now 17 years old, had hardly changed, in terms of appearance. Although his hair grew slightly longer, it tamed in the same hairstyle he had kept for many years. And as the commander of his new gang, his uniform consisted of a long high-neck jacket and trousers, all colored in white; a black long-sleeved shirt underneath that jacket and a pair of black boots on his feet. His mere arrival left Takemichi completely stunned.
"Mikey-kun..." Takemichi uttered the name in a shaky tone, feeling relieved as well as concerned.
At last, the blonde-haired time leaper finally came face-to-face with the younger Mikey in the past.
At the Shibuya General Hospital
On the other side of Tokyo city, at the hospital where the air was filled with tears, cries, and melancholy, Draken was busy making phone calls to some familiar people, letting them know about the tragic incident.
"Our friend lost his battle, Mitsuya..." Draken stated in a gloomy tone, causing the other boy to grow confused on the other side of the call.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Mitsuya asked and in front of him, sitting on the couch were Hakkai, Pah-chin, and Peh-yan.
"Baji is dead!" Draken replied a bit loudly, almost choking out as he tried to fight back his tears but failed miserably.
Hearing that, a shocked Mitsuya staggered back a few steps as Draken's words echoed in his mind over and over again, his eyes widening slowly in the process. On the other hand, back at the hospital, in front of the tall, dragon-tattooed boy was a tearful Chifuyu and they were standing in front of the mortuary room. Right outside the room, two ladies were sitting on a bench where the blonde-haired woman was trying to comfort the heartbroken, wailing ravenette woman while clinging to each other's arms; the ravenette one was Ryoko Baji and the blonde one was Chifuyu's mother. Chifuyu looked away from the two sobbing matriarchs when he noticed the tears of Ryoko Baji rolling down her cheeks. The tears, the cries, the heaviness in the air - this was all too much for him. Chifuyu looked ready to drop dead. Maybe he even felt like it as well.
Inside the mortuary where the cold, pale body of Keisuke Baji was lying on a flat bed-like surface, two people were present there standing beside his lifeless form; a wide-eyed stunned Nana was being held by Kazutora in the arms as she simply stared down at her dead lover, shocked and mortified. The silence in the room was deafening and it was killing the tiger-tattooed boy inside out. Stepping into the room hours earlier, Nana probably expected a lot more gruesome sight than that, a mess of blood and wounds, but instead, she got someone who looked like they were sleeping and it most likely hurt even more because it was the case.
"This can't be happening... This isn't real..." Nana mumbled quietly in absolute denial and shock, finally breaking the silence, and hearing her words made Kazutora feel like he couldn't breathe anymore.
She wanted to reach out and touch Baji's cold face but for some reason, she just couldn't bring herself to do it.
"I simply can't think of any words that could save you, Nana... but Baji is dead..." Kazutora sniffled as he stuttered out those painful words, bringing Nana closer to his body to keep her as warm as possible.
This time Kazutora's words hit Nana differently and she immediately lost all her strength to stand straight upon this realization. As she fell more into his arms, Kazutora tightened his grip around her and pulled her even closer into his embrace. She felt like somewhere inside her, one of her lungs collapsed and the air was now leaking into the space between her lung and chest wall. This caused a steady but rapid oxygen shortage within her, lowering her blood pressure and now her body was feeling numb. Nana didn't have asthma but she felt as if she needed an inhaler right now.
Like the ocean waves, darkness un-relentlessly was stretching towards Nana Osaki. She felt as though she would be swallowed by it. It was the exact feeling she felt when Shinichiro passed away years ago. In Nana's mind, Baji's receding figure was getting far away from her, but she didn't want to stop pursuing it. She wanted to reach out and get a hold of Keisuke Baji once again. The year 2008, on the night of July 14th, time stopped moving for Nana Osaki. Baji's sudden demise dealt Nana an unstoppable blow and everyone around her knew about it.
'Baji, please don't take Nana away. Don't trap her in this endless darkness...' Kazutora thought to himself as he looked back at lifeless Baji with tears in his eyes and a still-stunned Nana in his arms.
An hour later the other former members of Toman finally arrived to visit them at the hospital and seeing Baji's deceased body in the mortuary made them realize that what Draken told them over the phone was all true. Draken then went over to Nana and revealed to her the secrets of him and Baji; that they were associated with the Brahman gang and the Rokuhara Tandai gang was responsible for Baji's death. But much to his surprise, Nana didn't give out any reaction. Instead, after hearing Draken's words, she went over to Ryoko and started to apologize to her for not being able to save Baji's life, that she failed to look out for him. Although in response, Ryoko simply pulled the young girl into her warm embrace and started to cry her heart out again, a somber Nana continued to blame herself in a stiff, robotic fashion.
"Blame me... but don't just blame me... Persecute me, again and again. Persecute me until I can't stand up anymore..." Nana told Ryoko who had her arms wrapped around her frame.
"Stop it, Nana-chan! It wasn't your fault!" Ryoko cried out, tightening her grip on Nana but it seemed like nothing was reaching Nana's brain or ears.
On the bench, Chifuyu was still crying silently while Mitsuya and Draken sat beside him with their eyes closed. Only a few hours had passed by yet it seemed like a year had gone through. Why the time was moving so slowly in such a situation that was full of pain and despair, they didn't know. As the former Toman members helplessly continued to witness the breaking and shattering of Nana's mind and soul in front of their own eyes, Inui looked over to his side where Draken was sitting with a worried expression on his face.
"Draken... what about Brahman and Mikey?" Inui asked in a quiet tone, carefully choosing his words. "Takeomi called you a few hours ago..."
"Fuck Brahman, fuck Mikey! I don't give a shit about them anymore!" Draken hissed out in a whispered tone before his eyes trailed over to Nana and Ryoko again. "Nana and Baji's mom are more important right now, not them."
"You're right..." Inui sighed heavily and slowly nodded his head in response, looking away from the man. "Sorry for asking..."
Later on (3rd Person's POV)
And before they all knew it, two days passed by after that night, and came was Keisuke Baji's funeral. It all happened too fast. Baji was cremated and turned into smoke and white bones. It was all too fast; for both Nana and Ryoko Baji - Two women, one who lost her son while the other one who lost her lover. The type of relationship they had with Keisuke Baji was different but their love for him and the pain they were now going through was exactly the same.
Ryoko Baji loved Nana like her own daughter. She had known the young girl for ages and was aware of what good influences the girl had on her son's life. Nana was the only girl Ryoko ever approved of in Baji's life; although there wasn't any other woman in his life aside from herself and the Osaki girl anyway. Nana had all of those good qualities that Baji never had within him and she was the only one who ever dared to tame him, dared to love him so passionately. And those reasons were enough for Ryoko Baji to give her approval of their relationship. Every once a day, Ryoko always wished for a happy, married life for her son and the Osaki girl in the later future, wished that their love would go strong like this forever, but now with her son's death becoming a reality, her wish for their future marriage and happiness would only remain to live as a fantasy in her mind and heart till her dying breath.
Ryoko could still recall back the time when she asked Nana to look after Baji for her. It was the time when she gave her approval to their newfound romantic relationship. From childhood best friends to lovers, the transition in their relationship was pure, beautiful, and heartwarming, and as the mother of the boy, Ryoko couldn't be any happier than this. She knew her son was madly in love with the girl. She knew Nana was also very truly enamored of her son. And despite the differences in their contrasting personalities, the love, trust, and respect they had for each other were beyond Ryoko's comprehension. She didn't even dare to try and understand it. All Ryoko knew was that Nana Osaki and Keisuke Baji were made for each other. They were perfect together but Ryoko Baji was also aware that this cruel world hates perfect things, so maybe that was the reason why it took their Keisuke Baji away from them.
After the funeral ceremony ended, Ryoko requested Nana to come and live with her at her old place because the older woman knew how the younger one would feel after going back to her shared apartment; the apartment that the latter shared with her unruly, dead son. Nana was now left alone with nobody to come home to and it sounded like something out of a psychological horror drama. And Ryoko knew exactly this would be too much for the young girl to handle on her own. She noticed how the shine and color of Nana's raven locks were fading away, just like the glimmer from her brownish-amber eyes and this dreaded the Baji matriarch more. Ryoko knew Nana was exhausted and that she couldn't grieve properly from that night till the funeral day. She also knew that she was being pushy for asking Nana to live with her from now on, but all Nana said to her as a response was - "I'll think about it".
Kazutora Hanemiya was a complicated man; that's what he always thought about himself. The complication in his personality came from his toxic family life. His father was abusive and his mother was abused. And this toxic household made him turn into a complicated person, even toxic as well. He was deadly, he was harmful. He destroyed everything he touched. That's what he always believed. For years he lived with that toxicity within his heart but the one who helped him change into a less complicated person was Keisuke Baji.
He met Baji years ago on one of his birthday evenings and since then he claimed the long-haired ravenette boy to be his best friend. Baji was reckless and violent, but he was also very much loyal and caring; a friend he could actually rely upon no matter what. But sadly for Kazutora, he wasn't able to become that one true best friend for Keisuke Baji like how he always wanted because the designated spot was already reserved for someone else by Baji himself - That someone else was no one but Nana Osaki.
Nana and Baji knew each other longer than anyone else had known them. They were each other's childhood best friends, they were each other's soulmates. Kazutora wasn't there when they first met each other, he wasn't there when they were growing up together. He didn't know anything about their past. So he couldn't judge them and their relationship. Keisuke Baji always promised to walk through hell with him, but if there was a person who Baji would bring forth hell for, it was Nana Osaki. Things were very different from day one and Kazutora knew that he or anyone else simply stood no chance against Nana, ever. Even though in the past he felt an immense amount of pain and jealousy whenever Baji chose or preferred Nana over him for anything, now in the present time, he knew why Baji felt that way or did things he wanted to do.
Keisuke Baji was in love with Nana Osaki - it was just as simple as that. Kazutora didn't need to understand rocket science to figure out Baji's feelings. He knew exactly the reason why Baji felt that way about Nana because he himself started to grow the same feelings for the said ravenette girl for the past few years now.
Kazutora met Nana through Baji back in their elementary school days. When he laid his eyes on her for the very first time, the first word that came to his mind was - pretty. Nana Osaki always had been a pretty girl. No, not pretty. Kazutora would take back that word now; it should be the word - beautiful. Now that sounded more fitting when describing her. Nana Osaki was beautiful, inside out. She was smart and cool, more intellectual than anyone else in their group. She was kind and compassionate enough of wanting to become his friend. There were times when she scolded them for their unruly behavior but then immediately after that, she always showered them with all her love and care. It didn't take Kazutora too long to fall for the ravenette girl, but he was also aware of the situation around him. With the kind of love, passion, and entitlement that Keisuke Baji and Manjiro Sano held for Nana Osaki in their hearts, he knew he would never win this competition in this lifetime of his.
Kazutora Hanemiya would never understand. Despite everything, he came to realize that he would never get it. When he, Draken, Mitsuya, or even Pah-chin came into the picture, there was already a separate group of three in the gang; Nana, Baji, and Mikey. He worded it that way because when he first met the gang, no matter what it was, he and the others always felt a bit excluded from the conversation sometimes. There were those inside jokes they never understood, the topics that they had no knowledge about, the things that simply didn't make sense to them because it was between those three only. It had always been Nana Osaki, Keisuke Baji, and Manjiro Sano from day one.
So, Kazutora gave up on pursuing Nana (for Baji and Mikey's sake) and he didn't want to look back to it ever again. But then again he was a foolish man and immediately fell into her trap one more time as soon as Baji was out of the picture.
When Kazutora stepped into the small apartment, the deafening air almost suffocated him. He hated this feeling because it reminded him of his old household. But all of his negative feelings were pushed to the side when he heard muffled cries and sniffles coming from one of the two bedrooms which were down the hallway. He didn't waste any time and rushed over to the source only to find a tearful Nana on the floor with a photo of Keisuke Baji in her hands.
"Nana!" Kazutora called out in concern as he went up to her and took her form in his arms.
At that very midnight, when Baji's body was transported to the funeral parlor, the boys followed, and under everyone's persuasion, only Nana and Ryoko Baji stayed behind until daylight to rest. But sleep never came to any of them. In the city of Keisuke Baji and Nana Osaki, the former was now silently sleeping forever. What words could possibly be conveyed to Nana now? Kazutora didn't know. Probably he would never know because, after all, he wasn't Keisuke Baji; he was just Kazutora Hanemiya. On the day of the funeral where everyone shed tears in pain and sorrow, Nana didn't utter a single word to anyone. She neither cried nor touched the lifeless body of her lover. All she did was stare dumbly at his beautiful, pale sleeping face. It worried everyone that day but no one said anything to her because they all wanted to give her the time to process things at her own pace.
But now she was crying. She was finally expressing her emotions, mourning over Baji's demise. This had to be a good sign, right?
"Gone... He's gone!" Nana cried out in Kazutora's chest, clenching the back of his shirt in her fists and her voice caused the boy to tighten his grip around her. "He's not here! He's gone! Keisuke! Please don't leave me! Don't... Leave me! Keisuke..."
Her cries were enough to bring tears to Kazutora's golden eyes as well. Was this how she felt and cried when Shinichiro Sano passed away because of him? Oh lord, not Shinichiro Sano again. He didn't want to think about that late Sano man right now at this moment.
"He's gone forever! I'll never see him again!" Nana added, her tears damping his shirt but Kazutora could care less about his cloth at this moment.
And just then, with Nana in his arms, Kazutora came to a sudden realization. When he walked into the apartment a few minutes ago, he was hit by the smell of Baji's perfume, and for a moment, it gave him the false impression that Baji was there in the house. But now he realized for the first time in his life that both Nana and Baji had always worn the same scent since the very beginning.
As the days passed by, Kazutora felt like there wasn't any improvement in Nana's mental health; rather it was deteriorating slowly and steadily with the passage of time ever since the night Baji passed away. Ryoko Baji came by the apartment almost every day to beg Nana to come and live with her, but Nana, in her own fashion, each and every time turned away the poor older woman's requests with cold shoulders. This was the apartment she lived in with Keisuke Baji, there were so many beautiful memories attached to it - these were the excuses she always came up with each time whenever Ryoko was being pushy towards her. And seeing Nana in this state made it even harder for Kazutora to leave her alone. So he decided to pack his stuff and move into the apartment where his friend Keisuke Baji once lived with his lover.
"Why does the sun rise? Why do those people look so happy? Why is the TV giving tomorrow's forecasts? Why...? When Keisuke died, why didn't the world end too...?" a somber Nana asked Kazutora one rainy evening in a quiet, dazed tone as she sat with him on the couch with the TV turned on in front of them, telecasting a weather report.
For hours now, Kazutora was trying to make a conversation with Nana but nothing worked as she wasn't responding to any of his words. It was as if he speaking to a non-living object, a doll of some sort. But suddenly she started speaking again and this brought some relief to his tiny heart. Kazutora could tell how Nana was feeling. Even though he was sitting right beside her, even though the TV was turned on in front of her, even though she was holding a coffee mug in her hands, Nana was empty inside. Because Keisuke Baji wasn't there with her and without him, Nana Osaki was nothing. Despair followed her everywhere she went and Kazutora could clearly see it in her dull eyes. But despite knowing everything, he still couldn't do anything about it - He wasn't Keisuke Baji; he was simply just Kazutora Hanemiya.
"Parents, children, teachers, friends, important people, kids, adults, me, and even Keisuke... No one is necessary, not in this world. No matter who dies, the world doesn't care. The world continues unabated and tomorrow still comes. This world doesn't need anyone but that's the sad truth and it makes us feel lonely. That's why we seek other people. We want someone that's important to us. And we want someone that we are important to... Keisuke... to me, you were that special person. I need you. I want you. I love you. I had finally met the one. No matter where I go, no one's waiting for me now..." Nana went on as if she was talking to herself more than she was talking to him.
Her eyes were still glued to the screen of the TV but her mouth was running on its own, words coming out from the bottom of her heart. Then after that for a while, Nana sat there in silence. She didn't move or talk or cry. She just stared blankly at the TV before her. Her ears rang the longer she sat there. The silence was too loud inside the apartment. Minutes seemed like hours as she sat there. The more she listened to the silence, the more it seemed to grow unbearable. She tried covering her ears, but even that wasn't enough to drown it out.
"Nana?" Kazutora called out in concern and placed a hand on her shoulder when he noticed her covering her ears with her hands.
Then finally, unable to take it anymore, something rose inside of her, and then, it all went quiet. Her mind went numb. She looked absolutely broken and defeated.
"I want to see him..." Nana stated in a shaky tone, tears forming in her eyes and she stood up from the couch, causing Kazutora to mimic her action as well. "I want to go meet him... Where are you, Keisuke? Where should I go to see you? Maybe if I..."
"Nana-"
Kazutora was about to say something to her but was immediately cut off when Nana turned around and quickly rushed out of the apartment. And this shocked him to no extent.
"Nana!" Kazutora called out again, this time in a louder tone, and rushed out of the house as well to follow her trail. "Nana, please! Stop!!"
The rain continued pouring and it drenched them from head to toe. Nana kept on running through the rain, thunder, wind, and mud while Kazutora resumed following her from behind, trying to keep up with her pace. They ran and ran until they reached the harbor of the Shibuya seaport which was located beside the beach; the same beach Baji brought her to on their first date.
"He's gone... Keisuke's gone... I have no one left..." Nana cried out in a shaky tone and this broke Kazutora's heart even more.
Right on cue, thunders rumbled, making them jump in fright as lightning erupted in the sky, finally snapping Nana out of it immediately. Her teeth chattered and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to soak up whatever heat she could. Her black knee-length dress was completely soaked and so were her long raven locks which were clinging to her skin. Her black shoes were covered with mud and when the lightning lighted up the clouded night sky, it revealed to her that she was near the water of the sea beach.
"What the hell am I doing here at the sea beach now...?" Nana stuttered to herself as her fear grew, and her eyes watered. "Keisuke is dead and I'm at the beach in the middle of a storm like this... Nothing is okay! I'm not okay at all!"
Tears ran down her cheeks and she looked up at the sky. The rain was heavy but her tears were heavier. Nana then started to think back to the words that Baji once told her when he confessed his feelings to her for the first time.
I'm in love with you, Nana... I always have been. It was always been you.
I've been in love with you ever since I first met you 11 years ago...
To me, love has to remain simple, pure, easy, and kind.
So, that I love you now is that I love you forever.
Moment, eternity... They are the same to my heart and soul.
I ask you to stay. Just stay. I will too. I'm sure that's all it takes.
I hope that is enough... Because it's all I have to offer.
"Keisuke... I don't know what to do anymore... I'm so lost.." Nana cried out again in a cracked tone, barely above a whisper as thunder rumbled through the sky. "Please tell me what I'm supposed to do now..."
The rain continues to downpour, showing no sympathy while tears flowed down her face, merging with the rain. Just then, lightning pierced the darkness, making her jump again. She looked around, almost expecting something to come at her. Thunder rumbled through the sky again, the wind blowing all around, bringing an echo of someone's voice all of a sudden. Nana stopped and looked around, hearing the voice again and that's when she noticed the silhouette of a man.
"Keisuke...?" Nana called out, her voice quivering a bit, looking harder at the man walking towards her.
"Nana!!" the familiar voice called out again, bringing her to a realization.
"Kazutora?" she asked and her teary eyes widened a bit when Kazutora pulled her into his tight warm embrace.
"Nana, why did you run away like that?! Do you know how worried I was?!" Kazutora cried out in concern, tightening his grip around her. "You scared me, Nana! Please never do this again!"
And hearing those words, Nana immediately hugged him back, wrapping her arms around him, clutching the back of his shirt, and burying her head into his chest. This action of hers made Kazutora let out a sigh of relief. Even through the heavy rainfall, he could still hear her cries and whimpers.
"I'm sorry, Kazutora! I'm so sorry!" Nana sobbed out into his chest.
"Shh... It's alright, Nana. I'm just glad you're okay..." Kazutora stated in a soothing tone, hugging her tighter.
For a split second, after she ran away in front of his eyes, Kazutora thought that he would lose her too, and it scared him more than anything. He then close his eyes, relieved that she was still with him in his arms.
"He's gone... Keisuke's gone..." Nana mumbled through her cries and Kazutora gritted his teeth upon hearing her words, tears filling his eyes as well.
At that moment, Kazutora was feeling powerless. Nothing he could say or do would be enough to help her. He knew this, so instead, he just held onto her tighter.
"I know, Nana..." Kazutora replied, voice cracking.
"What do I do now? How can I live without him? I don't know!" She asked and Kazutora shook his head in response.
"I don't know either, Nana..." Kazutora answered hopelessly. "I wish I had the answers, but I don't..."
Just then Nana shivered from the cold and Kazutora's golden eyes immediately widened when he realized how cold her body was. He quickly took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. As the rain continued to pour on them, Kazutora looked at her silently. She was soaked, and her expression was full of pain and melancholy as if at any moment, she would shatter into millions of pieces. She held his jacket to herself, trying to soak up any warmth she could find from it, and seeing this broke his heart for her.
Kazutora hated seeing her like this. Once Nana Osaki was a woman full of pride, grace, and confidence; a woman who Kazutora secretly fell in love with years ago. Individually, both Nana and Baji weren't so perfect and strong, but together they were the perfect team, the strongest among the many. And now with no Keisuke Baji by her side anymore, Nana Osaki was nothing but a fragile, broken person; an empty shell. But there was nothing Kazutora could do to help. All he could do was stay by her side and support her as much as possible. Because after all, he wasn't Keisuke Baji; he was simply just Kazutora Hanemiya.
Thinking back to that horrifying accident, even after everything that went down in the Shinichiro Sano incident, the Osaki girl was kind enough to forgive Kazutora and move on with her life. And when he finally realized his mistakes after the Bloody Halloween fight, Kazutora wanted to get struck by lightning and then survive just so he could later choke on the air entering his lungs and die in the most pathetic way possible. But just like Baji always told him, Nana was the kindest one among them and so she decided to let go of the past and the grudges. Even though she did take some time to forgive his actions, she came around eventually. And this all possibly happened because Keisuke Baji was there by her side to help her heal and grow. But Kazutora was no Keisuke Baji and he was painfully aware of that fact.
"I'm sorry, Baji... None of us still find it hard to accept the truth..." Kazutora whispered to himself, his eyes fixated on Nana's sleeping form while he sat on a chair beside the bed. "Therefore, please be patient. We'll make sure that your intentions get to Nana. But for now, please forget your pain and rest in peace, my friend..."
Kazutora knew Nana and Baji used to sleep together in the bed where she was currently sleeping and he also knew that they used to dream the same dreams together. Still, Baji left her behind all alone. Perhaps somewhere deep in her heart, Nana would never forgive her lover for that.
Keisuke Baji was gone. The future that they all looked forward to had become as blank as a piece of white paper. Time continued to pass by and Kazutora had yet to add any pattern or color to it. Without Nana recovering back to full health, both mentally and physically, there was no beginning for him or anyone else.
It had been only a few days since that sea beach incident and Nana was still as broken as ever. But despite all the immense pain and hardship, Kazutora decided to keep standing his ground and support Nana no matter what. In Tokyo, it was raining for days now. Perhaps the rain did stop at times, but to Kazutora and Nana, it felt that it never ceased. For Nana, darkness engulfed every corner of the world, giving way to endless hopelessness and witnessing her current helpless state, Kazutora asked himself from time to time - Was there no salvation for eternity?
"It's so noisy..." Nana Osaki, who was simply lying on her bed while curled up on her right side, complained in a soft yet snappy tone and this caught the attention of Kazutora Hanemiya and Chifuyu Matsuno who were playing cards on the floor beside the bed.
Chifuyu usually came by to check up on the Osaki girl whenever he got the time but much to his own dismay there was no improvement in Nana's condition whatsoever.
"I'm sorry, Nana. Did we wake you up?" Kazutora asked in a soft, worried tone as he quickly got up from the ground.
"The rain is so noisy!!" Nana snapped out again in a louder tone this time around, curling up into her blanket while covering her ears and the tone of her voice made the boys flinch in shock and confusion.
And that's when they realized something about the girl; she was suffering from hyperventilation.
"W-What's going on, Kazutora-kun?!" Chifuyu cried out in panic as the said boy quickly went up to her and got onto the bed.
"Nana's hyperventilating!" Kazutora replied in concern after checking her condition, scooping up the girl into his strong arms.
"Huh?! Hyperventilation?! That never happened to her before! What should we do now?!" Chifuyu asked and went over to help Kazutora.
Meanwhile, Nana continued to thrash around in Kazutora's arms on the bed. She was gasping and crying, reaching out for help in desperation. The rate of her heartbeat was gradually increasing and now she was running out of breath. Her chest muscles began to sore like hell and she slowly started to feel light-headed. Gasping like someone drowning underwater, Kazutora had only witnessed such symptoms occurring in movies. When he grabbed her hands tightly in his own ones, her icy fingers felt limp and lifeless. Nana was desperately trying to find help and Kazutora was desperately trying to save her life. They were both desperate at that moment and it was catastrophic, really.
"I heard about some bag technique which helps! Which type of bag was it again?! Paper bags or plastic bags?!" Chifuyu went on by himself, running around the house to find something that might help Nana while a worried, tearful Kazutora kept holding the Osaki girl tightly into his embrace.
What was to be done now? Was there anything he could possibly do? Kazutora thought to himself as he looked down at teary, gasping Nana in his arms. In romance movies, the things heroes usually did are probably unrealistic. One's sorrow couldn't simply be alleviated by a paper bag or plastic bag. Kazutora was well aware that nobody could replace Keisuke Baji in her life, but everyone here would protect Nana Osaki including Kazutora himself. For this purpose, he would gladly sacrifice everything else.
And with that thought in mind, after taking a long deep breath, Kazutora immediately leaned down closer to her face and pressed his mouth against her wide, open one. He then started to give her mouth-to-mouth CPR which he kept on doing until Nana's breathing was normal again and she eventually calmed down. On the other side, when noticing the mouth-to-mouth breathing technique that Kazutora was desperately applying on Nana, a stunned Chifuyu quickly came to a sudden halt in his movement and stared at the scene with wide eyes in complete shock. Sure, Kazutora helped her and saved her life but this CPR technique? Chifuyu thought if he was in Kazutora's position, he won't be able to do such a thing ever in his life, especially to Nana.
After all, they weren't Keisuke Baji and Nana Osaki only belonged to Keisuke Baji.
Later when Nana finally calmed down and began to sob in his arms, Kazutora started sobbing with her as well. He brought her closer to his chest and hid his own face in the crook of her neck. Unable to distinguish love and hate or sacrifice either one despite knowing they would end up hurting each other, Kazutora realized that he and his friends were willing to ensnare themselves at any given time. Only when they leaned on each other's shoulders was the time they learned to face up to reality. And it was such a tragedy.
In this bedroom that was always wide open with Baji's memorial altar in the corner, Kazutora always wondered what Nana spoke to her deceased lover about every day. The amount of things she had to say must exist his own by million over time. Even though Nana smiled over trivial matters on rare occasions, it would be a long while before she could come to terms with Baji's death.
Why did things turn out like this? Kazutora might never get the answer.
'Hey, Baji... Making judgments of right and wrong, even the punishment placed on me is forgiving towards my sin. I shall not put the blame on sorrow. The things left in these hands are precious. Those must be treasured...' Kazutora thought to himself as he continued to sob with Nana in his embrace.
Kazutora had always been stupid but he believed that if one didn't lose their way at least once, they could never find answers to their questions. Even if the world didn't need him, he would still keep on living. He would keep living for someone who needed him. Nana needed him, so for her, he would continue to live in this cruel world.
After Baji's death, Kazutora wondered what kind of life he would live from now on when he willingly took Nana's responsibility on his shoulders. Kazutora always prayed for Nana's happiness. He wanted her to be loved by many people; wanted her to find happiness and endure hardships. Even if she got lost or made mistakes, he wanted her to live the kind of life she could be proud of in the end. That when it was her time to go, people would say to her - You fought well.
So he would continue to be by her side and pray for her. In his mind, that's the least he could do for Nana Osaki because, after all, he wasn't Keisuke Baji; he was simply just Kazutora Hanemiya.