Heart of Despair

Part 5

I was six at the time, the last time I ever spoke to Master Togami, before that, we were very close. At the time, I lived on the Togami estate, and he would sneak down to the servants quarters to play games with me. He taught me to play chess, and to speak french, I taught him how to play hop scotch, and what a mall was. We were worlds apart brought together by such a simple thing, childhood. We never judged each other for the lives we lived. He would tell me how much he hated his lessons, and how harsh his father was. The only thing I felt we had in common was neither of us thought our fathers loved us. He would sit in my bedroom floor for hours just talking with me, and playing games, while my mother worked, in the evening she would come back and say politely. 

"Master Togmai I am sure someone is looking for you, you should run along before you are missed." and he would obey. Then she would say to me. "Akira darling, you shouldn't play with Master Togmai, you are a servant girl, and need to learn your place." She never punished me or reprimanded me otherwise, but I suppose she knew that she couldn't stop him from coming down there, and that wasn't my fault. When I was six it all changed however. We were sitting on the floor playing chess and joking, when all of a sudden the door swung open, and a man enters that I recognized as Byakuya's father. The man grabs Byakuya by the arm, kicking the chess bored in the process so the pieces flew everywhere. He threw Byakuya out of the room shouting things about how he should't interact with the servant girl, and there was no hope in him ever coming out on top, and claiming the Togami name. That was the last time I ever spoke to him, until now. I saw him many times after that, in fact almost daily. I started working  not long after that, as a maid and learned my place. Everyday I would watch him, he seemed so different than the Byukuya who would play games with me. So cold, with his mind on one thing only. Claiming his family name. After I was kidnapped I stopped working for the Togami family, and for another pretty well known family. My hopes in joining this school was to get out of servitude altogether, but it seems to follow me wherever I go. I still carry a chess piece from the bored we used to play with, so maybe I am carrying it with me all on my own volition. 

"What do you think he is doing, this time of night?" Byakuya says snapping back my attention. "We should go investigate." 

"What?" I exclaim. "What if there is a dead body." 

"Oh I am counting on it." Byakuya smiles slightly. I grab his hand, and he flinches before relaxing and squeezing my hand in return. We slowly walk towards girls locker room and open it. In front of us is complete horror. Chihiro is sprawled out across the floor in a pool of her own blood. I gasp clutching onto Byakuya. "Go get me the extension cord from the library." Byakuya demands. 

"What? Why?" I ask.

"Just do it!" He says harshly. I obey walking back into the hallway. When I return Byakua is writing in Chihiro's blood on the wall behind some exercise equipment. I drop the cord in horror. 

"What are you doing?" I ask. "You can't tamper with a crime scene!"

"We both witnessed Mondo leaving the scene, we know what happened, this evidence isn't important." He explains.

"But it's still wrong." I say. "Why would you do it?" 

"I am playing a little game." He starts. 

"A game? That's disgusting Byakuya." I say shocked. "This is a persons life here, it's no game."

"But that's all it is Akira. We are stuck in a game regardless of how abhorrent the rules, that is why this whole place was created, to trap us in this game, and the only means of survival is to play by those rules." He says.

"But that doesn't mean this is okay, making light of this girls life!" I shout. 

"I am not making light. I am merely testing to see who I am up against, if someone can uncover my ruse, they are a problem, if no one can I will simply tell everyone that it was in fact a ruse, and I am sure I have you as a witness, so they will know I am not lying." He continues.

"And what if I refuse to be your witness?" I ask. 

"And I get convicted?" He looks over at me. "We all die. Everyone except Mondo of course. You wouldn't want that, would you?" He is right of course I would fess up to save myself. "Now I am going to lift the body if you will tie the extension cord around her." I reluctantly pick up the cord, and walk over to the equipment. He lifts Chihiro's lifeless body and holds her up. "Now tie it." I follow suit and tie her to the stand. We both stand back to look at the finished product. Disgusting. Almost ritualistic, almost like the work of a serial killer. I understand why he is tampering like this, he wants to know who he would have to worry about uncovering any crimes he may commit, that he plans on committing. I look over at him then glance at the blood stains on his hands. 

"We should head to bed." He says glancing at his watch. "It's half past two in the morning. You better keep quiet about this Akira, understand." I nod.

"As long as you keep secret about tonight." I say. 

"Of course." 

"Byakuya." I say then remain silent. He turns to me.

"Yes?" 

"Do you remember me?" I ask. 

"Yes. I do remember you. I have always remembered you." He says. "I watched you after that night everyday as you would clean, I always wanted to talk to you, but I knew we were from different worlds and I needed to put my family first. One day you didn't come and clean and I worried, I had worried you were ill, after a few weeks I asked my butler about you, and he told me you were gone, that you stopped showing up and it had been a while so he presumed you  had quit without notice. I told him to hire an investigator, but the next day you called and told him you found a new position elsewhere and wouldn't be returning to work. You've changed so much since then, I can't believe I didn't recognize you. I had forgotten your name as well, but there hasn't been a day I haven't thought about you." 

"Really?" I say. "Can I show you something?" He nods and follows me to my room, I unlock it and we both go inside. I walk over to the dresser and open the top drawer. Inside I keep the silver chess piece from our game so many many years ago. The king. I hand it to him. 

"Is this?" He asks and I nod. 

"I never forgot about you either Byakuya." I say. "The real you." I add quietly.

He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a matching chess piece, the queen. I gasp shocked.

"You saved one too?" 

"Yes. To remember you by, and to remember me by.." He says. I grab his hands in mine. 

"Byakuya." I whisper.

"Yes?" He replies, but I don't say anything, I just look into his sparkling blue eyes. "Akira?" I stand up on my toes and kiss him. He seems shocked but then melts into my kiss. I can't believe I was going to kill this man a few hours ago.