Chapter 10
“Have you seen her anywhere?” Mrs. Hirahara asks worriedly.
Suzuki shakes her head. “Nothing,” she reports. “I checked everywhere. The skating rink is deserted, she’s not at anyone’s house, she’s not at the park...I don’t know where else she could’ve gone. I’m sorry.”
Mrs. Hirahara breaks into tears. “Where is my little girl...?” she weeps.
Her husband comes in from the kitchen. “I’ve called the police,” he says. “They’re looking for her. She’ll turn up soon.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The kitten curls up at his feet as Haru settles down to sleep on the concrete floor. He shivers in the cold night air, even with his torn blanket draped over him. He sighs as some advice that Hikaru had given him replays through his head. “You can’t run forever,” Hikaru had said, “This constant running isn’t good for you.”
I wish I knew what to do, Haru thinks. I don’t know how to fight back. All I can do is run.
Haru hears rustling somewhere in the back of the building and bolts up. A mouse scuffles around through a pile of cardboard and plastic. He breathes a sigh of relief, then lays back down. Fear. Constant fear is all he’d ever known. Haru always had to live with fear, even in his dreams. All Haru wanted was just a moment’s rest from fear.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“You’d better actually take us there,” Hikaru warns. “If you don’t, then you owe me my three dollars back. I need those quarters.”
“For what?” Ari scoffs. “The vending machine?”
“Aw, shut up!”
“I’m comin’ with you, right?” Ryo asks.
“Of course not,” Ari snaps. “No way am I dragging you to the industrial area. It’s too dangerous for a squirt like you.”
“Ari!”
“No, Ryo.”
“What’s so dangerous about the industrial area?” Asha asks.
Ryo and Ari look at her like she’s crazy. “The industrial area has a bunch of machines and whatnot. Lookin’ for the loner around there could get risky,” Ari says.
“His name is Haru, Ari,” Ryo says. “We don’t have to call him “the loner” anymore.”
“What’s it matter?” Ari says.
“It does matter,” Asha corrects her. “Haru-san wouldn’t like it if you called him “the loner”. It would make him feel...weird.”
“Whatever. All I know is he’s practically a legend and I’m helpin’ you people find him. You should be paying me more than just three measly dollars for this, but I’ve decided to be generous.”
“What’s your deal, sis?” Ryo asks.
“Nothin’. He just doesn’t seem like such a big deal,” Ari replies. “I’ve seen ‘im. He doesn’t look all that special. He’s just an average guy.”
The four of them head off. Despite Ari’s protests, Ryo insists on following along.
After walking for a few hours, they stop to eat at a small family-owned restaurant. “So tell me,” Ari asks between taking a bite of her sandwich, “what’s so special about this kid that you’re so fixated on following him?”
Asha sets her tray on the table and sits down across from Ari. “Well, Haru-san is just a special kid,” Asha replies.
“Yeah, so why’s he so special?”
Asha pauses. She knows that she shouldn’t tell Ari about Haru’s healing powers. “He helped me out and I never got the chance to thank him,” Asha answers. At least that was a truthful reply.
Ari shrugs and goes back to her lunch. The boys bring their trays to the table and sit down next to the girls, Ryo beside his sister, and Hikaru beside Asha. “Is the food any good?” Hikaru asks Asha.
She nods. “It’s delicious!”
“As soon as you slowpokes are done, we’ve gotta get moving. We don’t want to be stuck out here after dark,” Ari says.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The billowing clouds of smoke blotting out the bright blue sky indicate that they are getting close. The buildings with their giant smokestacks are only vaguely visible on the horizon. “We’re almost there!” Asha cries.
“Finally! It took us forever to get here!” Hikaru exclaims.
“Are you sure ol’ gramma Tomo really said the loner was hangin’ around here?” Ari asks Ryo.
“Why would I lie to you?” Ryo snaps, indignation in his voice.
The grassy hills give way to concrete until finally, the factory buildings tower over the kids. “This is it,” Ari says. “It won’t be easy to find your friend here. We’ve gotta stay together, or we’ll end up with someone else missin’.”
Ari leads her brother and Hikaru and Asha into the maze of buildings. Just as she said, they soon found that it was easy to get lost in such a place. No matter how tight the alleyways become, the four of them stick together. “How will we ever find Haru-san in here before dark?” Asha frets.
“One thing’s for sure,” Hikaru says, “that kid sure knows how to pick his hiding places. Finding him here will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.”
“Hey, look!” Ryo shouts, pointing across the street to a small golden-brown cat. “A stray cat! Can we go get ‘im, Ari?”
“That’s Haru-san’s cat!” Asha cries.
Ari and Ryo shoot her confused glances. “You’re tellin’ me that cat belongs to the loner?” Ari asks incredulously.
After a car whizzes by, the kitten streaks across the road and nuzzles Asha’s legs in greeting. Asha scoops up the little tabby and strokes its fur. “Haru’s gotta be somewhere nearby,” Hikaru reasons. “That cat never wanders very far from him.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Asha cries, “Let’s go!” Asha takes off down the sidewalk without a second thought.
“Wait up!” Ari calls. “Be careful!” Ari and the others bolt after her. A small, dirty stream stretches across the landscape before them. A rickety-looking bridge is the only way across without using the street. As Asha dashes across, the decaying planks underneath her give way. Asha shrieks. The cat jumps out of her arms as she tries desperately to grab on to something. Suddenly, something knocks Asha forward and she tumbles across the bridge, bruised but safe. When she hears another shriek behind her, she whirls around in time to see Ari fall through the broken wood to the rocks and dirty water below.
“ARI!” Ryo cries.
Crunching gravel nearby alerts the travelers to a new presence. “Haru?!” Hikaru exclaims. As they all turn to look, sure enough, Haru slides cautiously down the bank toward the stream. Haru picks Ari up and helps her up the steep bank. Asha grabs her hand and pulls her the rest of the way up to the street. As soon as she lets go, Ari doubles over and falls down.
“Are you all right?” Asha asks.
“Do I look all right?!” Ari snaps irritably.
Haru makes his way up after her. “What happened?” he asks, kneeling next to Ari and Asha.
“Ari-san just fell,” Asha replies.
“Did you break something?” Haru asks Ari.
“I may have,” Ari moans.
After several cars speed by, Hikaru and Ryo join Haru and the girls on the other side. “Haru, what are you thinking of doing?” Hikaru asks.
Haru doesn’t even look at him. Instead, he tells Ari to move her arm, and puts his hand to her side. “What the–?!” Before she can finish, Haru removes his hands. The pain she felt had disappeared. “What did you do?!” she asks.
Haru has already begun to walk back down the sidewalk with his kitten following at his feet. “Haru-san, wait!” Asha calls. She runs around him and blocks his way. He pushes past her without so much as giving her a sidelong glance. “Haru-san...are you mad at us?”
Hikaru runs up to join Asha. Ari and Ryo stop just behind them. Haru finally stops. “I don’t know what to think,” he replies without even looking back.
“Please, don’t go,” Asha pleads. “Come back with me and Hikaru-san.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not–?”
“You shouldn’t have followed me here,” Haru interrupts. More mildly, he adds, “Both of you should go back home.” He starts off again, walking briskly down the sidewalk without another word, his friends staring helplessly after him.
“Did we miss something here?” Ryo asks.
Hikaru puts his hand on Asha’s shoulder. “Come on,” he says gently. “It looks like we’re not wanted right now. He just needs a little time.”
“I just wanted...” Hikaru gives Asha a questioning stare, but she casts her eyes down.
“What a weirdo,” Ari comments. “What exactly is he?”
“He’s no different from any other person,” Hikaru says.
“Yeah right! He just touched me, and poof! Pain gone, I can move! What’s up with that?!”
“Haru is a healer,” Hikaru answers. “Don’t ask me how he does it; I just know he can.”
“How come he’s so upset with you guys? What’d you do to him?” Ryo asks.
“I guess he just doesn’t want us here,” Hikaru replies. He turns to Ari and her brother and bows. “Thanks for bringing us all this way,” he says.
Ari shrugs. “No problem.”
Hikaru turns back to Asha. “Let’s go,” he says.
Suddenly Asha takes off down the sidewalk. “Asha!” Hikaru calls. “Where are you going?!” He chases after her, and Ari and her brother follow.
Asha turns corner after corner, then finally sees Haru’s tabby slinking into the entrance of a rundown building. She bolts across the street and goes to the door where she saw the cat disappear. Asha gently pushes the door open and steps inside, closing it almost silently behind her. Across the room, Haru sits propped against a wall, staring straight at her. There is a coldness in his eyes that Asha had never seen before. “What are you doing here?” he asks.
The tone of his voice renders Asha helpless; she stands there, crestfallen, and tries to force words to come out of her mouth. “I– I just wanted...” Asha looks nervously around the room, not wanting to meet Haru’s ice-cold stare. Finally, her gaze rests on an area of the room where light filters through the boarded window. “My mom told me...that you healed my legs....”
Asha casts a quick glance to Haru. His expression has softened, and his eyes now looked warm and welcoming, the way she remembered them. “You left before I got the chance to thank you,” she finishes, finally feeling brave enough to look him in the eyes again.
Haru’s eyes cloud with worry. “Do your parents know where you are?” he asks.
“No,” Asha answers.
Haru frowns. His troubled look frightens Asha. “What’s wrong?” she asks.
“I don’t think...that your parents care for me much,” Haru murmurs.
“I don’t understand why not,” Asha says.
“When people don’t understand something...oftentimes they get scared...”
Asha tries to read the odd mix of fear, shame, and self-pity on his face. “Scared? Of you?” she asks.
Haru nods. Asha can tell that his expression hides a world of grief and loneliness that she could never know, which Haru just wasn’t ready, or even able, to express.
“Why?” Asha asks.
“I wish I knew.” Haru looks down at his hands. “People treat me like I’m some kind of monster...and nothing I say will convince them otherwise.”
“But you’re amazing!”
Haru looks up at her and tries to smile. “You really think so?” he asks. Asha nods. “I only wish other people could see it that way.”
The door opens again as Haru and Asha turn to look. Hikaru, Ari, and Ryo step inside. “So that’s where you went,” Hikaru says. He smiles at Haru.
“Is this really where you stay?” Ari asks. “It’s so ratty.” Haru’s face flushes with embarrassment. “You tired of bein’ a loner yet, kid?” Ari asks Haru. Haru is too embarrassed to look her in the eyes. “Why don’t you come stay with us a while? Then these two can take you home.” Haru gives Ari a surprised look. Ari smiles. “You’re certainly an odd one,” she remarks. Then, bowing, she says, “Thanks for fixing me up back there. Never met a medical expert like you in my life.”
Haru looks flustered. “You’re welcome...”
“And you’re always welcome at our place. Come by whenever you like,” Ari offers. She and Ryo wave goodbye, then step out.
“You’re not going to go back with us...are you?” Hikaru asks.
Asha looks pleadingly at Haru. He shakes his head. “You know I can’t,” he says. “Not after what happened at the rink.”
“Aren’t you sick of running yet?” Hikaru asks. “You’ve got friends who need you, you know.”
Haru glances at Asha. “I couldn’t risk it,” he replies, partly directing his answer to Asha.
Hikaru sighs and nods understandingly. He motions for Asha to follow, then strides to the door. Once Asha walks out, Hikaru turns back and says, “We’ll be seeing you soon.”
