Cherish

After a soothing nap, Ryo's eyes found themselves staring at a black striped maroon ceiling with a glistening royal chandelier hanging from a steel frame. Ryo's shirt was removed entirely as he shuffled his body sideways, sensing the woolly texture of a cotton blanket wrapped around his upper body. He was nestling in an elegant master bedroom with Miss Springwell's head resting on a violet-colored vanity. Ryo lifted the cotton blanket and noticed his wound had been tendered, cleaned, and gauzed with bandages. The pain subsided, though it was minimal. He turned to Miss Springwell lightly snoozing with her breath inhaling and exhaling.

"So... she lives here..." Ryo whispered to himself. "What are the odds..."

He stood up from the queen-sized bed, ceasing movement as the bed creaked. He lifted himself off of the bed and walked slowly over to Miss Springwell's figure, resting carefully on her vanity. There was something about her figure that made Ryo sense a hint of familiarity, but he remembered the serene song she had sung at the jazz cafe Sumire recommended to him. He pressed his left hand against her shoulder and shook her gently like a cat's paw.

"Hey. Miss Springwell? Wake up." Ryo began.

Miss Springwell gently lifted her head from her nap, unaware that time had passed by so quickly. Ryo watched as she slowly turned around with a roll of small tissue paper jammed into her left nostril, and a tinge of red blood leaked out from the opening of it. Her elongated sleek blonde hair had frizzes and split ends on the top of her scalp to indicate that she utilized hefty effort to heal Ryo's wound. She removed the tissue from her nostril and placed it in a small trash bin filled with tissue rolls. Ryo didn't want to ignore it, but he knew that it wasn't the perfect time to mention it.

"Oh, you're awake," Miss Springwell's voice nearly cracked from her exhaustion. Her voice was feeble and low as if she was fatigued. "How are you feeling? Does it still hurt?"

"A bit," Ryo was honest. "I'm feeling much better than I was. So... thank you."

Miss Springwell stood up from her vanity seat and moved across the room to adjust some of her clothes hanging by an open window. While Ryo wanted to speak, he knew he would have to take responsibility for his actions. Miss Springwell stopped and returned to face Ryo head-on, gazing into his eyes with a suspicious eye-slanted expression.

"Why are you in my estate?" She plainly asked as she kept her expression.

Ryo had never thought to see this darkened version of April Springwell; he had always believed she was a sweet soul who was delicate to everything. Then again, he was an intruder, so it had made sense that his presence was not welcome. He wanted to take the easy way out of this situation and retrieve the orange crystal that was stolen. "I... I got lost. I was waiting for a friend, and I just-"

"You're lying," Miss Springwell stopped him from speaking any further by stepping harshly on the floor beneath her. "I can see it in your eyes."

"You see it... in my eyes?" Ryo remembered the same comment she had made at the jazz cafe when she could sense the guilty and pain inside his soul. She was not wrong either, for he had suppressed it for an eternity.

"Tell me the truth, or I'll call the police." Miss Springwell coldly stated.

Ryo panicked. "No! Don't. Nobody's supposed to know I'm here. No one's supposed to know that I'm alive. You cannot tell anyone about this!"

"Why not?" Miss Springwell raised her voice. "You're the one who broke into my estate. You're some kind of stalker, aren't you? If you're not, then you're some kind of criminal. I could sense it back then at the jazz club, but-"

"But what!?" Ryo stepped in. "Then why did you bother saving me? If you know I was some kind of delinquent, then why didn't you just leave me outside?"

Miss Springwell stopped in her tracks, gazing down at her feet while placing her hands behind herself nervously. "Because... you saved me from those freaks back at the jazz club. And I can't just leave a person dying. Isn't that common sense to you?" She glanced back at him with rage. "I saved you because I'm... human. I'm human and a criminal like you wouldn't know how it feels to watch someone die..."

Ryo sensed a contradiction in her statement, yet he had realized she must have been playing her rescue like a princess in a lost castle. "Don't make it seem like I saved you there," Ryo clarified. "It was nothing. Those drunken idiots didn't know left from right."

"You're wrong," Miss Springwell disproved, sitting on her bed while clutching her hands together tightly. Ryo was dumbfounded at what her point was about the rescue. "It's not that I owed you anything. Besides, in society these days, no one cares to step in anymore. They're afraid of starting trouble or getting hurt. But you didn't feel that way. That's why I can't tell if you're a bad guy or not. I see the pain in your eyes and the endless path that you're trying to walk... but I can sense a warm feeling like you mean well."

She's right, Ryo thought. Bystanders were all that Ryo despised in society, where they would take the easy route and prevent themselves from standing in and supporting one another. When someone was in grave danger, Ryo was the type of person who had been trained to handle dangerous situations with unyielding force. Yet again, it was simply hypocritical for Ryo to criticize bystanders, for he was one under Sezan's adolescent games. He had become the drunken idiot that he had referred to as the ones who needed banishing from society. The cruelty that he had abhorred for was once in his system, and perhaps it still remained.

"So tell me then," Miss Springwell struggled dubiously to hold in tears. "Who are you?"

Ryo turned around after having an inner debate with his mind and soul, trembling at the thought of his hypocritical attitude. He looked April in the eyes and could smell the light orchid fragrance emitting from her body. The same scent originated from the cherry blossom garden that Ryo had stood by outside when he witnessed the visualized paradise. It reminded him about the bright crystal clear sea near Asahikawa and the scent of its salty waters before it was polluted to hell.

"Ryo Nakai." He introduced with a callous expression, but he was only callous at his behavior. The amount of selfishness and power that he had at such a moment where he was intruding on someone so beautiful was waning down the more he thought about his position in society. Deep down, the villainous aura never subsided. The girl he had hurt had vanished, and no matter how much he longed to see her again, he wondered if she would believe he was a villain or not.

"Ryo Nakai..." Miss Springwell began. "Your eyes. What's wrong with them? You look so sad."

"Huh? I... what?" Ryo snapped out of his callous trance that encompassed his aura. He shook his head and braved through the pain. "It's nothing. Look, the truth is, I..." His heart pounded before he could speak another word. "I got in a mess that I can't get out of. I was forced to do something I had no jurisdiction over. I had something very important, and I'm trying to find it as soon as I can."

"Had something? You mean this?" Miss Springwell pulled out the gleaming orange crystal that he had taken from Genesis Laboratories. It radiated in her palm like a miniature energy source longing to power something equivalent to its strength.

Ryo gradually stepped forward to attempt to snatch it from her grasp, but she dodged just in time. "Yeah, it's that. I need it. Give it back." He pleaded.

"It's not yours, isn't it?" She asked with a stern gaze. "It's almost like it wasn't meant to belong. It's strange. When I look into this thing, I feel it calling my name, as if it knows me."

"W-What?" Ryo confusingly blurted out. "What are you talking about, Miss Springwell-"

"April," She interrupted without glancing back at Ryo's bewildered appearance. "Please. Just call me April," She clasped the orange crystal between her palms and gazed through it like she was examining Ryo's eyes for hints and detections of malice or truth. "The colors of this crystal make me feel at ease. The orange and the amber... I just feel it calling to me. It's such a beautiful color... and it reminds me of home."

All Ryo could do was stand still like a feeble scarecrow. He didn't understand how April was making such hasty conclusions about a crystal's color dynamics, especially if it was an inanimate object. But then again, he remembered the typical phrase of how "one person's trash is another person's treasure." He wondered if it applied to April, even if it was just a blend of magnificent colors to behold. He gently smiled, wondering if he could have a closer look to admire its beauty.

April turned her head to Ryo, noticing his delicate smile appear abruptly. Her smile broke out as well, believing that even the slightest beauty could make anyone smile. "Ryo, before you passed out... you told me that my garden was beautiful. Did you mean it?" April asked.

"I did," He instantly confessed. The cherry blossom trees were still fresh on the top of his mind, and the fragrance outweighed the vision. "It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen in a while. To be honest, I haven't seen that many beautiful things lately. I haven't been used to any of this exposure. Not nearly enough, I'll admit."

April dropped the crystal by her bedside and lunged herself off of the bed with her leg muscles. Her white fluffy lace dress swayed by with an open window bursting gusts of wind from outside. Her temper rose to abnormal heights, unsure of the truth. "Okay, I've had enough. You say my garden's beautiful, but then you steal this crystal from someplace. I know it's not yours. Then you break into my estate, but you're not here to hurt me. Your words speak like a criminal, but your eyes tell another story," April frustratingly stomped on her hardwood floors once more. "Just who exactly are you? And what do you really want?"

Ryo's face turned pale and numb. He knew the answer to her question, but he was hesitant to answer. No one would understand his emotions. Not even his sister who cherished him would understand, he thought."I want... to be free." He confessed, knowing that she would sense the lies in his eyes despite the pressure.

"Free...?" April gazed into Ryo's pale eyes once again, sensing the truth released through his heart. She wanted to know more about what his sole purpose was in Aries, but she was suddenly interrupted by a startling and rattling tap against one of her royal glass windows. She clasped her sweaty palms together in peril as she backed up into her room's corners with Ryo protecting her presence. She twirled around Ryo's stature and snatched a taser from above her vanity's mirror, hidden from plain sight. She clutched it firmly as her pale white skin flushed with rose redness. "Who's there?! I'll shoot! Don't come any closer!"

Ryo stepped in front of April to protect her and prevent her from releasing the taser. The window was forced open by a pair of small stout hands. A slender female wearing black skin-tight pants and a black tanktop forced herself through the opening, roughening up the lavender-colored curtains and drapes hanging above the window.

"Stop! Who's there!?" April screamed, holding the taser tighter yet shaking it even more benevolently.

"Ryo," Sumire's familiar voice came through, but it had only rattled Ryo's mind even further. Her presence was completely unexpected. Her voice was unusually stoic. "It was a good thing I gave you that phone, wasn't it? Otherwise, I wouldn't have ever expected you to hide here."

"My... phone?" Ryo gasped, remembering that the capability of phones would have a GPS tracking device installed preemptively to locate the user's exact location without their inattentive discretion. He pulled it out and realized that its tracking capabilities were invisible for its users. Nevertheless, Ryo knew that Sumire had recklessly saved him from the road assault last night on her motorcycle, and he wanted answers. He shoved the phone back into his pocket and gently pushed April behind him, unsure of what his sister's motives were. "What the hell are you doing in Aries, Sumire? Why did you follow me last night? What are you trying to do?"

"What am I trying to do?" Sumire scoffed, flipping her elegant black ponytail behind her in a tempered manner. "You're one to talk. You're the one who snuck out of the house last night, and for what reason? To partake in some kind of theft all the way in someplace you don't belong in? Who put you up to this? Who-" She suddenly stopped, catching the sunlight's glimmering reflecting upon the orange crystal on April's bedside. She gasped in awe before she reached for it on her own accord.

April, shoving Ryo aside, threatened Sumire multiple times with the taser grasped in her hand by goading it towards her. "Don't move, or I'll shoot you, I swear!" She angrily taunted.

"And then what?" Sumire spat, clenching her teeth. "You're gonna kill me? What do you want with my brother anyway? And it just so happens you have the exact item that I'm looking for and - wait a minute. You're that girl from the jazz club last night. You're April Springwell."

"Guys, settle down..." Ryo attempted to intervene in their conflict.

"So what if I am?" April cried, still taunting her with the taser. "And if you think I kidnapped your brother, you're wrong. He's the one who broke into my estate. He's the one who had this crystal you're talking about. Now I suggest you start explaining before I take you down!"

Ryo was partially shocked at April's unsettling behavior. He understood that he and his sister were intruding, but he had never expected her personality to take such a dramatic hit to the point of being completely unrecognizable from the beauty of her pristine and divine serenade. To think that a woman of such high casual and elegant caliber would appear so menacing still left Ryo motionless on what the perfect action would be to solve this conflict. Even then, Sumire's presence was just as a mystery.

"Now I know why you look so familiar," Sumire approached April who shuddered with the taser in her hand. Her mixture of calm and aggressive facial expressions with a straight mouth only added to her fearlessness. "You're that woman who-"

"STOP IT!" April cried, dropping her taser to the hardwood floor. She clasped her ears tightly and collapsed on her knees to drown out Sumire's explanation. Ryo kneeled down to attempt to assist her and kept his eyes on Sumire. "Don't say it. Don't say it anymore..."

"What are you two talking about?" Ryo asked.

"Forget it," Sumire disbanded, reaching over to grab the amber crystal by April's bedside. "I'll be taking-"

Ryo lunged forward unexpectedly, battling with his sister's control to obtain possession of the unknown crystal. Ryo and Sumire planted their feet sturdily on the floors as they tugged against each other's arms. April remained spiritually broken on the ground, preventing sound from entering her ears by clasping them even tighter.

"What the hell are you doing, Ryo?" Sumire argued as her pupils dilated. "Give it to me! Don't make me take you down!"

"Not unless you start talking!" Ryo spat back. "Tell me why you're here and why you want this thing. You're the one who was tailing me this entire time. I want answers!"

"Pssh, you're the one who's a disobedient lapdog!" Sumire enragingly retorted. "I bet it was Sezan who dragged you into this mess, wasn't it? I told you to never go back to the life you once had, but you just couldn't handle the loneliness, could you? I promised you that I would take good care of you and help you! Why bother going back?!"

"I don't need your damn help if this is what you're going to do!" Ryo retorted once more. "And I was the one that was kidnapped and coerced into doing this stupid heist mission in the first place! I wanted to protect Chiaki. He was the only person in the Yakuza that I actually gave a shit about! Sezan would have killed the both of us if I never accepted! Even my family!"

"Well then, maybe you should rethink your priorities! Start thinking about yourself for a change rather than wanting to change the past!"

April dove in between their scuffle and tackled the amber crystal out of their possession. She slammed face down against her bed and refused to give it away. Her entire face was bound against the bedsheets as her muffled screams cried for help. Sumire grunted in spite and snatched onto April's white sleeved arm to tug her away from the crystal. "Give it to me! Give it to me RIGHT NOW!" Sumire forced.

"Sumire..." Ryo called.

"Stop..." April's muffled voice begged.

"Give it up, or I'll hurt you!" Sumire cried, increasing pressure with each tug on April's sleeve.

"Sumire, that's enough!" Ryo repeated.

"Give me the CRYSTAL!" Sumire shouted.

"I... SAID... STOP!" April's final word sent an ear-piercing shrill through her bedroom, rendering both Sumire and Ryo's bodies numb and unstable. An invisible force levitated Sumire into the air and launched her towards the ceiling, injuring her back in the process. Ryo dove in and caught Sumire in time before she collapsed on the hardwood floors from her injuries. April's uncontrollable tears turned into painful regret as soon as the rumbling in her bedroom ceased, and the force had dissipated. Ryo glanced over at April's condition, seeing blood run rampant underneath her left nostril. Her beautiful complexion had tampered with an unusual psychic presence that was unexplainable, almost as if it was forbidden to the eye.

"Sumire, are you okay?" Ryo asked, seeing her sister fatigued from her constant exertion of energy.

"I'm... fine..." Sumire groaned, kneeling on her own and forcing herself to stand. "I knew it. This was exactly what I expected."

"I told you to stop..." April cried endlessly as she clutched the amber crystal. Her white dress was failing to soak in all of her tears.

"Sumire, stop. Why don't you just tell me why you're here? Please." Ryo begged to keep April safe. He was losing hope and sense from everything that had happened. The psychic presence was almost a makeshift dream. Sumire's appearance was too sudden and unexplained. Ryo was almost about to lose his mind from the confusion.

Sumire sighed, looking away from both Ryo and April in a fit of rage. "I don't know if I can. I'd be lying to my own brother," She admitted as she turned to face Ryo. "Ryo, you're my brother. I-"

"If I'm your brother, then you can tell me anything," Ryo reminded her. "Don't you remember?"

"It's more complicated than that!" Sumire exclaimed, shoving Ryo away and standing up. She crossed her arms and gazed out the window. Ryo and April were both rendered speechless. "It's something I couldn't tell you. Just... not now. My plan was to get you out of here, but now... everything's gone to hell."

Ryo noticed April's feeble body shivering from the paranoia and pain. He scooted over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "April. It's okay. She's my sister. You can calm down now."

"I... I didn't know... I hurt her... I..." April's face shriveled as she dropped the crystal by her side, pushing her temples together with her tear-soaked palms. Blood began seeping out of her nostril once again. Ryo grabbed a bundle of tissues from April's vanity and handed it to her. "I shouldn't have done that. I couldn't control it..."

"It's okay, it's over. Just try to relax," Ryo responded, worrying about her bleeding. Without bringing up her psychic ability, Ryo comforted her and turned to face Sumire, still pondering in front of the windows. "Sumire. Were all those things you said about yourself true? Why do I have a feeling you're not telling me the truth about yourself?"

"Because I'm NOT, okay!?" Sumire bitterly expelled the fear in her heart. "I couldn't because I didn't want you to think I was some kind of freak. I didn't want you to think I had motives for something else. Who I am is something I never wanted, but I realized it helped me in the long term, dealing with what my family did to me. I just wanted to escape my past, just like you did. But... what I am just isn't normal in our family. I just can't."

"Just tell me," Ryo repeated, accepting the consequences. "You can tell me because I'm your brother. You watched me and kept me safe this entire time. Now I want to do the same for you. Please."

Ryo could tell that Sumire was hesitating, for her disorderly body was still, hearts beating and intertwined with conflict and regret. Only Ryo's voice could encourage her to speak the truth, for it was all that she had left in the universe to treasure. Sumire turned her head to face Ryo and April, both clumped up together in the corner waiting for the intense pressure to settle down. For with every suffering came an afterthought; a moment of grace. It was time.

"Everything I told you back at my house was true, Ryo," Sumire clarified. "Don't let that idea of me leave your head. But... when I was so lost, I told you about the man at the jazz club who took me in and protected me when I was a child."

"Claude?" Ryo recalled the bartender with unusual body proportions that served him and his sister the refreshing mint cider.

"Yes, him," Sumire said. "The truth is, he runs the club on the weekdays. On the weekends... he and I run an organized police task force on Aries, where we dedicate our time to solving crime and illegal cases. I didn't think I would be subject to these kinds of things as a kid, but I just felt so ostracized from my parents that I didn't really have any other way out."

"A task force?" Ryo wanted to believe he wasn't misunderstanding the situation. "So... you're a cop?"

"I guess you could say that," Sumire clarified once again, gazing out of the bedroom window. Her fists clenched to combat her decision-making from the past.