Chapter 2
“Asha! Come back here, young lady!” Mrs. Kurosawa yells.
Asha dashes out of the back door, yelling, “Leave me alone!” She runs down the stairs, across the lawn to Suzuki’s house, where she grabs the pair of skates from next to the garage wall and goes straight to the park.
Once she arrives, she slips on the skates and practices going around the trail. A tan-skinned boy appearing just a bit older than her stands watching her intently. “You’re pretty good at skating,” he comments. “You can even do the jumps. I skate, too. But I do more racing than tricks.”
“Who are you?” Asha asks.
“The name’s Hikaru Yamagata. I’m new in town,” he replies.
“It’s good to meet you,” Asha says.
Hikaru laughs. “Hey, do you like magic tricks?”
“Um…Sure, kind of...”
Hikaru leans over and pulls a coin from Asha’s ear. “Cool, huh?” he asks.
“How’d you do that?” Asha asks excitedly.
“It wouldn’t be any fun if I told you that! A magician never reveals his tricks.”
“Aw, you’re no fun,” Asha grumbles.
“By any chance, is your name Asha?” Hikaru asks.
“Yeah, it is,” Asha answers. “How did you know?”
Hikaru winks at her. “My friend, Haru, told me all about you,” he says.
“You know Haru-san?” Asha asks. “What did he say about me?”
“He said that he ran into you here yesterday, and that you were ‘interesting,’ whatever that means. But in any case, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Hikaru-san,” Asha asks, “do you know where I could find Haru-san?”
“Maybe,” Hikaru says teasingly. “Why’re you so interested?”
“Well, I just want to talk to him,” Asha replies.
“Alright, then. Follow me,” Hikaru says.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
After traversing a maze of backstreets and alleys, Hikaru finally brings Asha to a busted-up building surrounded by piles of wood and rubble. “Are you sure this place is safe?” Asha asks nervously.
“Don’t worry,” Hikaru reassures her, “It’s fine on the inside.”
“So why are we coming here, anyway?” Asha asks.
“This is where Haru comes when he wants to be by himself.”
Finally, the trail of rubble ends, revealing a once-beautiful skating rink. Asha is awed at the sight of it. “This place...it’s a skating rink!”
“That’s right,” Hikaru says, “I hear it used to be one of the best in town. But now the city wants to tear it down to make room for a convenience store. It’s kind of a shame.” Hikaru steps into the darkened room and calls, “Hey, Haru! You there?”
Asha hears a soft “meow”. A little golden-brown cat comes up to her and brushes up against her leg. “Awww, it’s so cute,” Asha coos.
“He’s definitely here,” Hikaru says. “For some reason, he’s just not answering.”
“Is this Haru-san’s cat?” Asha asks, kneeling down to pet the kitten.
“Yup. It’s a stray that he took in. He’s takin’ good care of that little guy.” Hikaru bends down and takes a look at the cat. “Looks like his leg’s healed up real nice. Just yesterday, it was bandaged.”
Finally, Haru walks out from the back of the rink. “Ah, there you are!” Hikaru exclaims. “What took you so long?”
“What’s she doing here?” Haru asks.
“Ouch. That’s kinda cold, don’t you think?” Hikaru says, grimacing.
“I asked him to bring me along,” Asha replies.
“But your parents–!”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Asha says, trying to put him at ease.
“Do they know where you are?” Haru asks, frowning worriedly.
“Not exactly; But it’s not like they’ll come looking for me.” Haru looks even more uneasy. “What are you doing here by yourself?” Asha asks him, “Don’t your folks worry about you?”
“Hey, Asha!” Hikaru calls from the edge of the rink, “I’ve got my roller-blades with me. Do you wanna race?”
Asha looks delighted. “Of course!” she says excitedly.
“Wait! Asha–!” Haru says, hoping to stop her. Asha puts on her skates.
“Don’t be such a worry-wart, Haru-san!” Asha calls back, “I’ll be careful!”
“Haru, why don’t you join us?” Hikaru calls.
“That’s okay...I’ll pass.” Haru mumbles.
“Suit yourself...”
Asha and Hikaru wait near the edge of the rink with their skates on. “Two laps,” Hikaru says, “Whoever makes it back here first at the end of two laps wins. On the count of three...” Hikaru holds three fingers in the air. “One...two...THREE!!!” Hikaru and Asha shoot down the rink, while Haru watches on from the sidelines, his kitten rubbing up against his legs. The skaters complete the first lap, Asha in the lead, with Hikaru right on her heels. I can’t believe she’s beating me!!! Hikaru thinks.
“Come on, slowpoke!” Asha taunts, turning to look at him.
“Keep your eyes ahead!” Hikaru warns her.
At the last turn before the finish line, Asha sees that she is about to crash. She tries to skid to a stop and loses control of the skates. She falls hard onto the floor.
“ASHA!” Hikaru calls worriedly.
Haru moves his kitten aside and rushes into the rink. “ASHA!”
“Asha, are you okay?” Hikaru asks, kneeling down to check and see if she is hurt. Shocked after her fall, Asha can’t bring herself to answer. She tries to get up and sees that she’s scraped her knees up pretty badly. “Asha...”
“My knee,” she cries, “Oh no...”
When Haru sees what she’s done, he helps her up and takes her aside. “Let me get my medicine bag,” he says, “I’ll be right back.”
“Man,” Hikaru exclaims, “That was some wipe-out. Is anything else hurt?”
“I–I don’t think so...” Asha stutters.
Haru comes back with his medicine bag and sits down on the floor, taking out all of his equipment. He washes the scrapes off with a cloth and pulls out a couple of band-aids. “Are you going to be all right?” Haru asks, concerned. Asha nods. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine...”
“Close your eyes for a second,” Haru instructs her. Asha does as she is told.
Hikaru looks a bit surprised. “Are you really going to–?”
Haru hushes him.
“What are you going to do? Will it hurt?” Asha asks nervously.
Haru lightly touches both of her knees, and instantly they are healed. He puts band-aids over where the cuts used to be and then tells Asha that she can open her eyes.
“Is…Is that all?” she asks.
Haru nods. “All done.”
“…Thank you,” Asha says softly.
Haru picks up the kitten, which has crawled up to them, and puts it in Asha’s lap. Asha strokes the kitten contentedly. Haru puts all of his supplies back in his bag and gets up, smiling. “You can keep him if you want,” Haru offers, “After all, the little guy needs a home.”
“Really? Thank you! I’ve always wanted a cat!” Asha says excitedly.
The three of them hear cracking wood outside, and Suzuki walks into the rink. “Asha! What are you doing here?” she yells. “How could you scare us like that! Wandering off on your own, and to this rickety old place…What’s the big idea?!”
“I’m sorry–!”
“It was my fault,” Haru says, taking the blame.
“You again? You brought her here?”
“I’m sorry.”
Suzuki walks closer and sees the band-aids on Asha’s knees. “WHAT HAPPENED?!” she yells, “I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO BRING HER HOME IF SHE GOT HURT!!”
“I–I’m sorry–!”
“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT COULD’VE HAPPENED?!!”
“I’m sorry! ... I’m sorry...” Haru looks down, ashamed.
Suzuki stomps over to Asha. The cat leaps out of her lap before Suzuki picks her up and whisks her away, screaming, “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU!!!”
Once Suzuki and Asha are gone, the cat comes up to Haru and wraps itself around his ankles. “Haru, are you okay?” Hikaru asks.
Haru just walks off to the back of the rink, mumbling, “I need to be alone.”
