19 The Hidden Treasure

There's a slice of heaven for everyone.

"Shizuru, how do you feel about this?" Sayako asked while they were waiting at the airport for Sayako's trip back to Kyoto. Sayako told Shizuru about her meeting with Hayato and Natsuki when she spent the night at her daughter's apartment. Shizuru just nodded and said she's okay with it and Sayako couldn't know for sure how the situation is affecting her daughter.

"Yes, okaa-san, it's been years and I don't really know what to feel. I think I should take a break somewhere to free my mind," Shizuru replied.

"Flight K-14 to Kyoto. All passengers: Please board the plane…"

Sayako picked up her small handbag and kiss her daughter on the temple. "I think you're right. You do need a break, honey. Please call me, if there's anything I can do. If you want to talk about Nat-"

"Mom, I'm okay. I always am. I'll just need time to take in all of this and I promise, I'll…I'll try to see her, when I'm ready. Take care." Shizuru waved goodbye to her mother and when she could no longer see her from the crowd of people walking to and fro the busy airport, she felt alone. She tried to think about the next thing that she must do but she felt lost. She decided that she probably needed tea to lighten up a bit and then she remembered Yukino. Yukino is probably hysterical right now. Shizuru recalled how mad Yukino was when she told her that she's pulling out her article on Natsuki after she learned everything from her mother. Yukino was practically yelling at her for the first time.

"What the hell Shizuru? You were so enthusiastic about it and we even made it our cover story and now you don't want to publish it. Did something happen? Did you have a fight with her? You're acting like an unreasonable child! And you're even telling me this in the middle of the night!" Yukino shouted on the phone.

"I'm sorry, just pull it out and write something better. I won't be there for a few weeks. Please tell Haruka. Bye." Shizuru calmly replied and then she sighed. She looked at her sleeping mother and then she said, "I'm sorry okaa-san, I think I'm not ready for this."

Shizuru entered a tea shop on the airport. She sipped her tea as she recalled the events last night. She was surprised about everything her mother said and she was surprised about her own actions too. Was she mad at Natsuki? Her mother told her that it was nobody's fault. It was an accident. Her mother's wound has obviously healed through the years. It seemed different from her case though. The truth seemed to have stabbed a healed wound and now it all feels fresh again. And who is she going to blame? When she pulled out her article at Natsuki, does it mean that she's mad at her? Shizuru furrowed her brows and she made circular motions with the tip of her fingers against her temple.

The TV screen on the tea shop flashed a commercial about the upcoming anniversary of the Kuga Marketing Company. Shizuru focused on it a bit until she saw Natsuki on the background with the other department heads. The president of the company was being interviewed but Shizuru paid no attention to him. She intently watched Natsuki on the background. She noticed that Natsuki had a bandage around her right fist and she was wearing sunglasses inside the office. Her heart began pounding against her chest. Se picked up her bag and left the shop quickly.

Meanwhile at KMC, Hayato knocked at is daughter's office before entering. Natsuki was resting on her swivel chair while looking at the skyscrapers of Tokyo through the glass walls.

"How are you doing?" he timidly asked. "You seem to have lost control." He pointed at Natsuki's bandaged fist.

"I don't know Dad. I'm sorry, I worried you. It's just that, I was thinking about the situation last night and… The next thing I know my knuckles just hit the wall…"

"Did you realize it was foolish?" Hayato asked chuckling.

"Hey, I'm hurt here Dad. Surely you have better comforting words," Natsuki replied with a smile.

"Natsuki, listen. I have something important to tell you." Hayato began as he took a comfortable seat close to Natsuki. Natsuki sensed Hayato's seriousness so she gave him full attention while caressing her hurt fist.

"Sure Dad, I'm all ears."

"I'm retiring Natsuki. I want to spend the rest of my life relaxing like Sayako. I knew it was time when we got to talk to her. I'm at peace now. You know the mountain resort that I have been working on all these years, I think I want to open it to the public. I can go back to that place now. Come with me at the opening. I will be personally managing it and I'll be living there starting next week." Natsuki was silent for a moment. She felt like Hayato's leaving her now that she needs company the most. But then, she realized the truth in her father's words.

"I see."

"That's it? No whining from my baby girl?" Natsuki smiled and then a tear fell from her eye. Hayato hugged his daughter for comfort. "You can come anytime. I'm offering a discount for all our employees for the first month you know."

"Okay Dad," Natsuki replied. She understood that Hayato wouldn't want to involve himself with Shizuru's case. He's leaving everything to Natsuki.

"And by the way Nat-chan, since I'm leaving, that means you're promoted."

"Not happy about it," Natsuki replied, her voice muffled by her father's shoulder. Hayato just chuckled and then he left.

Natsuki flipped her phone and she absent-mindedly sent a short message to Shizuru.

Hi Shizuru, would you like to come to the mountains with me. You know the place. My father is opening a resort there on Tuesday. I want to talk you. I'm going crazy. I don't even know if this is still your number since you're obviously avoiding me.

Reito was in a bad mood after hearing about Hayato's retirement from one of his secretaries. His day was even made worst by Nao's absence. He picked up his ringing phone irritably.

"What the hell? Why did you call? Didn't I tell you not to call me during office hours?" Reito yelled.

"Yes sir. But it's an emergency. The little girl had an accident," the man in black replied.

"What? I'm paying your men to keep her safe! You idiots! What happened?" Reito's voice cracked and he moved about his office restlessly.

"We were watching her from across the road when she enthusiastically got off her mom's car and then she ran toward the ice cream vendor. It was too late for us when a passing SUV hit her."

"Where is the bastard who hit her?"

"It's just a drunk, spoiled teenager. We brought him at the police station. His parents came and said they would pay for the girl's hospital bills. Nao immediately brought the child to the nearest hospital in the school."

"I'm coming. Help Nao with whatever she needs and talk to the doctor's. Tell them money is not a problem," Reito ended the call abruptly and then he picked up his coat. He told his secretary to cancel all his appointments for the day.

"Your daughter is a smart girl. She has quick reflexes. She told me that when she saw the car approaching her, she quickly ran to the sidewalk but her backpack was caught and she tumbled forward. She extended her arms forward to prevent her head from hitting the road," the doctor explained to Nao.

"Does this mean she's okay? No internal bleeding or anything of that sort?" Nao asked with teary eyes.

"Yes, she lost consciousness due to shock. She has scratches and bruises but no internal damage. She's actually awake now. She's asking for you. She's very smart for a five-year old."

"Oh, thank God. Thanks a lot," Nao said. She opened the door and then she saw her daughter smiling at her. Ritsuko has short jet-black hair perfectly framing her innocent face with lime-colored irises. She was smiling at her mother as if proud of her newly acquired scratches on her face, arms, and knees.

"Don't worry mom. It doesn't hurt." she said reassuringly. Nao hugged her and cried. "I'm okay mom."

"It's because of the medicine, Ritsu. You're not feeling anything because of the doctor's treatment," Nao replied while drying her tears. "You scared me."

"Did he come?" Ritsuko asked.

"I didn't tell him honey. You know the condition right? But on the bright side, his men caught the drunk driver and all the expenses in the hospital are paid. He's doing his job." Nao explained.

"Okay. I just thought I'd see him in person. Tell him I understand. I wouldn't call him Dad," Ritsuko replied. "I'm fine as long as you're here mom." Nao felt tears flowing on her cheeks. She realized how lucky she was to have Ritsuko even though at first, she didn't want to have a child. Ritsuko was so smart. She doesn't know how it is possible for a child to understand the situation but Ritsuko is so easy to handle. Nao and Reito were teenagers when Ritsuko was born so they didn't know what to do until they decided to go on separate ways provided that Reito would support the needs of the child. Reito didn't want to be known as the child's father because of their prominent name in the business world.

Nao was taken aback when she heard someone muffled a cough from the doorway. She let loose of her daughter and then she turned her head around. Her eyes widened when she saw Reito uneasily standing on the doorway. His hair was disheveled and he seemed lost.

"Hi, have a seat." Ritsuko said. Reito blushed at the little girl's welcome. He felt so bad about himself. He felt so small. He was living the life of a bachelor when he has a little girl to take care of. For the first time in a long time, he saw Nao in a different light. How was she able to put up with a trash like me?

"Uhm, hi Ritsu…How are you feeling?" Reito asked tentatively. He sat beside Nao and he couldn't take his eyes off the bandages on his daughter's skin.

"I'm fine. Don't worry I won't tell anyone about you." Ritsuko innocently said. She was smiling. It was too painful for Reito.

"Oh…It's okay. Are you not mad, I'm kinda late?" Nao was silently crying so she kept on wiping her face with a handkerchief. Reito wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Oh no, I'm happy to see you. We have the same hair, see?" Reito chuckled. He paused for a while and mustered up some courage before speaking again.

"Uhm, you have to get better soon because we'll be going out." Nao was utterly speechless. What is Reito doing? He shouldn't be playing with a child's fragile emotions. Nao saw Ritsuko's eyes brightened.

"Really?"

"Yes, we will. With your mom of course," Reito excitedly announced. He was feeling better seeing the smile on Ritsuko's face.

"But…if other people would see me with you, they would think that you are my Dad and it wouldn't be a secret anymore," Ritsuko replied almost in a whisper. Reito's heart leaped when he heard the word Dad from his daughter's lips. He let go of Nao and he held his daughter's shoulders.

"Listen Ritsuko, from now on, I promise that everything would be different. You can tell anyone that your Dad is Reito Kanzaki and the three of us will live together as a family, okay?"

"Reito, you have to think about this before promising anything," Nao quickly interfered despite seeing the joy on her daughter's face.

"Don't worry, I'll prove to you that I'll do it right this time. I'm tired of my life, Nao, living a life of envy because of the pressure in my family. Don't you understand? It's only now that I realized that I am in fact lucky. We are lucky. There's no need to envy anyone because they don't have this thing we have Nao. We have a family. We have something precious which I didn't recognize before. Please, let's try."

Nao was silent and then she felt Reito's lips against her own. It was a quick, chaste kiss. He then hugged her while Ritsuko was amused by the scene before her.

"That was a kiss, right? Can I get one too…Sir?" Reito chuckled with Nao.

"First of all, Ritsu, you should call me Dad. Second, lip kisses are for mom only but I could give you a kiss on the forehead, okay?" Reito stood up and picked up his daughter. He then kissed him on the forehead and the child wrapped her arms around Reito's neck.

On that same day, Reito Kanzaki resigned from KMC.

"She's okay now Viola-san. The KMC commercial you saw was shot this morning. The President asked all the department heads to be on the background. Natsuki was wearing shades because she had bloodshot eyes," Akira said over the phone. He was surprised to get a phone call from Shizuru.

"What about the bandage on her fist?" Shizuru asked. She was calling from a phone booth at the airport.

"Actually, I don't know much about that but this morning while I was cleaning her office, Kuga-san's father came in and I overheard a part of their conversation. The vice-president said something about losing control. Kuga-san said that she was thinking about something and then it happened; she punched a wall. That's how I understand their conversation," Akira went on.

"Oh, okay. Thanks, Akira-san. Could we please keep this a secret?"

"Sure. I don't know what's going on between you two but I think communication is the only solution to conflicts. See you around Fujino-san," Akira ended the conversation and she looked around. The secretaries in Natsuki's department were on tenterhooks. Akira finally said, "She seems to care about Kuga-san and I said everything I know. Please let's keep this a secret."

"Sure, Akira. We all want them to be okay. Kuga-san is in better moods when Fujino-san was here. We can't bear seeing the boss this way. She's grumpy, yes, but she treats us with respect when it comes to work," the secretaries said unanimously before they went back to work.

Shizuru felt a bit better after talking to Akira but she was able to confirm to herself that she is angry at Natsuki. She was angry that Natsuki is not handling the situation like she does. She just wants to go someplace where she could rest and clear her mind of the problem but Natsuki seems to be so stupid to think seriously of the problem. Shizuru was driving along the highway at a hundred kph before she abruptly pulled into a sidewalk.

"Why does she have to care?" Shizuru yelled at the top of her lungs while pounding on the wheels of her car. When she got a hold of herself, she calmly drove to her apartment and then she dropped on her bed. When she woke up, it was evening. She stared at the ceiling for a while and then she decided that maybe it's about time to open her phone. She should probably send a message to Natsuki, tell her that they should probably just forget this little trick that fate has played on them and start to live normally again. Maybe that's how it should be. That's the easiest way out. She stood up and took her phone from her drawer. She turned it on and then she plugged in the charger. She almost leapt when it beeped. She didn't recognize immediately that it was her message tone. She opened the message and to her surprise, it was from Natsuki.

Shizuru sat on the edge of her bed, still dumbfounded by Natsuki's message. She recognized the pounding on her chest and then she began typing a reply. She didn't have the courage to call, afraid that she might lose her voice in the process. Though her mind says that it's not right to see Natsuki, something tells her that she terribly wants to see her, hear her voice, and feel her arms around her. Shizuru stopped herself from musing. She didn't want to remember what she shared with Natsuki at the plantation but it was too late, her fingers had already press the sent button.

Natsuki was lying on her couch with her phone on her chest. She almost fell when it suddenly beeped and vibrated.

"It's Shizuru! Oh my…" Natsuki instantly opened her inbox and then she jumped and shouted "YES" three times. She was running around her kitchen like an idiot and then she went to her room and began packing.

Shizuru's message read:

Okay, I'll come. Please pick me up at my apartment. I'm staying at Armitage-Chrysant Twin Towers, Level 17, Room 69.

Shizuru stared at her phone for a while. "I'm losing my mind," she said and then the phone beeped again.

Ookini Shizuru. Please don't change your mind. I'm sorry, I'm so excited. I'm packing my clothes right now. I can't wait until Tuesday. If it's okay with you, I'll pick you up early in the morning, 5:00AM. You know it's a long drive.

Shizuru couldn't help but smile. Natsuki seemed better now that they're having this conversation. It's crazy, one of them could just call the other but they're sticking to the short messaging service. Shizuru typed her reply.

That's okay. I'll be ready when you come.

"She's talking to me!" Natsuki exclaimed while frantically composing a reply.

Thanks for this chance Shizuru. You just put a big smile on my goofy face. I'm probably disturbing you so goodbye for now. Good night Shizuru.