Chapter 9
Asha drops to the grass, her feet aching from the morning’s travel. “How does Haru-san do this?” she whines.
“We’re used to it,” Hikaru replies. He watches Asha pluck her shoes off and rub her blistered feet, sighing to herself. “But I guess you’re not. If you’re tired, we can take a break.” He sits down and takes off his backpack, pulling out a bag of food. “Hungry?” Asha nods, eagerly accepting the food.
After they have finished eating lunch, Hikaru says, “We’ll never catch up if we don’t keep up a good pace. We need to get moving again.” Asha nods wearily. Hikaru shields his eyes from the sun as he looks up to the sky. “Actually, I think I have an idea of where he might have gone,” he says.
“You do?” Asha asks hopefully.
Hikaru nods. “The next town is a huge, open community where it’s easy to hide out. If Haru was hoping to settle down– which he’ll have to do anyway, since he’s still a little sick– then I’d bet he’d stop there.”
A smile sneaks onto Asha’s face. “Then we’re not that far from Haru-san, after all?”
Hikaru nods. “I doubt he could’ve gone any farther than that anyway.”
Asha pops up from her spot. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
Hikaru gets up and follows after Asha as she trots through the grass. They run across a dirt path that seems to be going toward town and start following it when they encounter a girl with light brown hair standing near the edge of the path. Asha and Hikaru turn to face her as she waves to them. “You two lost?” she asks. “Or are ya lookin’ for something?”
Asha answers, “We’re looking for our friend.”
The other girl smiles. “I can take you into town to look for this friend of yours,” she says. “What does this person look like?”
“You don’t have to do that,” Hikaru interjects. “We’ll be fine on our own.”
The girl cocks her eyebrow at Hikaru. “What’s th’matter?” she asks. “Ya don’t trust me?”
Asha looks questioningly at Hikaru as he fidgets uneasily. “Our friend likes his privacy,” Hikaru says. “We wouldn’t want to put you though the trouble. But thanks, anyway.”
As Asha and Hikaru turn back onto the road, the girl asks, “Is this friend of yours a lonely-looking blonde kid with a headband that has the character for “tiger” on it?”
Hikaru and Asha stop abruptly. Asha runs back toward the girl and cries, “Yes, that’s him! Have you seen him?”
The girl smiles mischievously. “Yup. Saw him just the other day.”
“Hikaru-san, maybe we should let her help us,” Asha pleads. “She’s seen Haru-san.”
“Haru, huh?” the girl asks.
Hikaru sighs and shakes his head. “Yeah, that’s him,” he says. “Why’re you so interested?”
“Just offering a helping hand,” the girl says, shrugging. “Actually, I think I’m familiar with the stories. Everyone talks about ‘im.”
“Really?” Asha asks.
The girl nods. “The kids all talk about this mysterious blonde guy who shows up in one town after the other, then mysteriously vanishes. They say the reason he disappears so quickly is ‘cause he’s a fugitive runnin’ from the law.”
“Who told you that?!” Hikaru blurts out.
“It’s just one of the hundreds of rumors that everyone’s tellin’ about him. Now that word’s out he’s in town, all the hype’s started up all over again.”
“But Haru-san isn’t–!”
Hikaru clamps his hand over Asha’s mouth before she can say any more. “So basically what you’re saying is you’re only interested in finding out more about the town’s mystery tourist attraction, isn’t that right?”
The girl laughs. “You read me. So what’s so wrong with that, hot shot?”
Hikaru glares at her. “You think anyone wants to be treated like they’ve been put on display for a bunch of busybodies? You’re not getting anything out of us.”
The girl shrugs. “Guess that means you don’t wanna find him so bad, after all.”
“We can find him ourselves,” Hikaru says, turning his back on her. “Come on, Asha.”
“What if I told you I knew exactly where he was?”
Asha stops and tugs at Hikaru’s hand again. “Hikaru-san, please?”
Hikaru shoots the girl a suspicious glance. “Do you really know where he is?”
She nods. “C’mon, I’ll take you there,” she says. The girl leads them into town, climbing the grassy hill that leads straight to the town square. “The name’s Ariana,” she says. “But I prefer Ari. So what should I call the two of you?”
“My name is Asha, and this is Hikaru-san,” Asha replies. “It’s nice to meet you, Ari-san.”
Ariana chuckles. “Why so formal?” she asks. “Nobody here addresses anyone like that. Just call me Ari, okay?”
“Sorry,” Asha apologizes.
Ari casts a glance over her shoulder at Asha. “You’re way too polite for my tastes. There’s no need to apologize, kiddo.”
The three of them take their final steps up the hill. A small community lays sprawled out before them. Only a couple tall buildings reach over the small townhouses. “Where do we go from here?” Asha asks.
“Follow me,” Ari directs them. She leads them through town, greeting a neighbor every once in a while.
A little boy runs up to them next. “Ari!” he calls.
“What is it, Ryo?” she asks irritably.
“Who’s this you got with you?” the boy asks.
“Just a couple o’ travelers lookin’ for a friend of theirs. What do you want? I’m in a bit of a hurry.”
“More like in a hurry to get a few quick bucks,” the boy jests. “Anyways, sis, Dad wanted me to tell you you’re gonna get it if you don’t mow the lawn. You better get to it, or he’ll have it at you with his belt.”
“Fine, Ryo. Tell him I’m comin’.” The boy runs off and leaves them behind. Ari turns to Asha and Hikaru and says, “Looks like we’ll have to make a detour. My dad will have my hide if I don’t get home.”
“We’ll just go on our own,” Hikaru objects. “Thanks for your help.”
“Nah, just c’mon; Have a bite to eat, rest your weary feet, the whole jalopy. You’ll just tire yourselves out if you never stop to rest.”
“No thanks–”
“I’d like that!” Asha interrupts.
Ari smiles. “C’mon, then.”
“Yay! My feet are killing me!”
Ari leads them to her house and lets them rest up while she does her chores. When she’s finally done, she flops down on the couch and curls up to sleep. “Hey, I thought we were gonna go look for Haru,” Hikaru snaps. “We don’t have forever to wait. He’s gonna move on if we don’t hurry up.”
Asha joins Hikaru in Ari’s living room. “Please, Ari-san, we have to catch up to him before he leaves again.”
Ari heaves herself to her feet. “You don’t gotta be so pushy about it,” she snaps irritably. She leads them back outside and stops just in front of the door. “Look, it’s a custom around here to pay folks for their troubles,” she says. “So if you don’t mind, a little incentive would be nice before we move on.”
“What?!” Hikaru cries. “You promised to take us to see our friend! You didn’t say anything about us paying you!”
“I been leading you around all day, let you take up boarding in my house, and now I’m goin’ out of my way to take you to your little buddy. If you don’t pay up, I won’t take you.”
Hikaru glares angrily at Ari. “You told us you’d help us find him!” he yells indignantly, “And you made us follow you around! We lost valuable time ‘cause of you, and now you’re adding a price tag to your promise?! Forget it! We’ll find him on our own!” Hikaru stalks off with Asha following reluctantly.
“It’s almost nightfall, y’know,” Ari calls from behind. “You’re gonna get lost in the dark. You got no chance of findin’ ‘im that way.”
“Hikaru-san, she’s right,” Asha whispers. “We can’t find Haru-san in the dark.”
Hikaru stops and turns around. “Okay, so you’ve got a point,” he gripes. “What’ll it take to convince you to take us without paying you?”
“Just gimme a ten spot and we’re good,” Ari says.
“Ten dollars?! That’s absurd!”
“It’s ‘bout the cost of gas for a decent-length trip, isn’t it?”
“All you get is a couple quarters! And this doesn’t mean I dislike you any less for going back on your word, either!” Hikaru shoves three dollars’ worth of quarters into Ari’s palm.
“Cheapskate!” Ari spits.
“Ari-san, that’s all we’ve got–!”
“Quit calling her “san”! She doesn’t deserve it!” Hikaru blurts out. Asha backs down nervously, shocked to see him act so cold.
“Ari!” a voice calls from behind. Her brother emerges from the door. “Y’know that kid? The one everyone’s telling those stories about?” he asks excitedly.
“What about him?” Ari asks. “If you know somethin’, then say it. We’re gonna go find him.”
“You are? So these travelers are lookin’ for the loner?”
Asha and Hikaru turn their attention to him. “The loner?” Asha asks. “Is that what you call him?”
Ari’s brother nods. “He’s never got anyone with ‘im, and no one knows anything about him. So they call him the loner.” Asha and Hikaru exchange a look of disbelief.
“So where is the loner, Ryo?” Ari asks impatiently. “What do you got to say?”
“I thought you knew where he was,” Hikaru gripes. “Was that a lie all along?”
“Oh, put a sock in it!” Ari snaps. “Out with it, Ryo!”
“Some o’ the old folks are sayin’ they’ve seen ‘im wanderin’ around town. Anyway, old gramma Tomo says she may’ve spoke to him and didn’t know who she was talkin’ to! He’s hangin’ around the old factory area!”
“That sounds like him,” Hikaru muses.
“The factory area?” Asha asks. “That’s where Haru-san is?”
“‘Haru?’” Ryo repeats, looking confused. “That’s his name? You’d think somebody with his reputation would have a cooler name than “Haru”. That’s so common.”
“So where is the factory area?” Hikaru asks.
“That’s a long way from here,” Ari replies. “In case you haven’t noticed, there aren’t any factories in this part of town. The only factories around here are hours away. It’s too dangerous to go venturin’ around there after dark.”
“So you’re not going to take us?” Asha asks.
“Not tonight,” Ari answers. “You guys can stay in the shed for tonight. Only place we’ve got for visitors to stay.” Hikaru grimaces, but says nothing.
“Do you promise to take us tomorrow?” Asha asks. Ari hesitates before nodding “yes.” Asha smiles. “Okay. We’ll stay till tomorrow.”
