Chapter 6
Haru tosses and turns in his ratty blanket. Images of a frightened, sickly child flash through his mind; the pictures come clearer than ever before. The voice of a screaming, frightened woman is drowned out by the sound of vehicles. Several shady men snatch the child and stuff him into their car as the woman cries out in anguish; a sudden darkness swallows up everything until the frightened child disappears.
“Haru!” Haru awakens instantly, still panting from his dream. Hikaru squats next to him, his knapsack flung over his shoulder. “Are you all right?” he asks.
Haru sits up and tries to reorient himself. “What time is it?” he asks.
“Almost time for school. If you get another tardy, you’ll be in detention, pal.”
Haru throws his blanket off and gathers his clothes.
“Then again, you don’t look good,” Hikaru says. “Maybe you oughtta just stay put for today. I’ll tell the secretary you’re sick.”
“No, I’m coming,” Haru insists.
“You are totally out of it,” Hikaru argues. “You can barely walk straight, let alone concentrate in a classroom. Take the day off, Haru.”
Haru changes his clothes on and slings his backpack over his shoulder. He nearly trips, staggering across the room. As he joins Hikaru at the back exit, Hikaru realizes how pale Haru is. “You sure you’re up for this?” he asks.
“I’m fine,” Haru insists stubbornly. As he steps across the threshold into the cold morning air, he suddenly feels light-headed. Haru staggers forward and falls unconscious to the ground.
“HARU!” Hikaru cries.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“What do you mean, Haru-san is sick?!” Asha exclaims worriedly.
“He passed out just like that when we were on our way to school this morning,” Hikaru explains.
“Passed out?!”
Hikaru nods. “I have no idea what’s wrong with him. All I know is I think he had a doozie of a nightmare, then he woke up all pale and disoriented. It was really weird.”
“A nightmare?” Asha inquires. “How can a nightmare make you sick?”
Hikaru shrugs. “That’s all I can tell you. You and I both know that he was fine last night. I can’t imagine what else could’ve caused this.”
Footsteps rustle through the grass. Asha looks up as Suzuki crosses the lawn. “What’s going on here?” Suzuki asks. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school right now?” She eyes Hikaru sternly.
“Can’t,” he says casually.
“What do you mean, you can’t?”
“Haru-san is sick!” Asha explains.
Hikaru nods. “I’ve got to keep an eye on him,” he continues. “I just wanted to tell Asha what was up. I honestly don’t think he’s going anywhere anytime soon.”
“He’s sick? But he was just fine yesterday,” Suzuki says.
“I know. That’s what’s so weird about this whole thing. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“Hikaru-san, can you take us back to the rink with you?” Asha asks.
“Oh, no.” Suzuki refutes, “We’re not doing this again, especially not if he’s sick.”
“She’s right, Asha,” Hikaru says, “It’s best if you stay put ‘till somebody figures out what’s wrong. Wouldn’t want to catch it if it’s contagious.”
“What about you?”
Hikaru winks. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay.”
As Asha and Suzuki watch Hikaru stride off to the rink, Asha murmurs, “I hope Haru-san will be okay...I wonder why Hikaru-san is watching him instead of Haru-san’s parents...”
Suzuki peers at Asha from the corner of her eye. “You know, Asha,” she begins, “I’m not even sure that Haru has a family at all.”
Asha whirls around angrily and faces her. “That’s not true!” she insists. “Haru-san would never lie to me like that!”
“If you say so.” Suzuki feels like blurting out, You don’t even know him that well, but she holds her tongue as she watches Asha stomp off in a huff toward her house. I wonder why he’s hiding this from us. This might mean trouble...
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Hikaru strokes Haru’s kitten as he sits watch. Haru is still out cold, nestled under a small blanket. What could’ve caused this? Hikaru wonders. It came on so suddenly...
Haru starts tossing and turning again, and Hikaru knows immediately that he must be having another nightmare. Hikaru starts shaking him, trying to wake him up. “Haru,” he whispers. “Wake up.” Haru mutters something that Hikaru can’t make out and repeats it over and over. “Haru, wake up!” Hikaru urges him. Suddenly, Haru grabs his arm so tight it hurts. Frightened out of his wits, Hikaru screams and fights to free his arm from Haru’s grip.
Haru starts talking louder and more clearly, the same thing he kept muttering before until Hikaru could finally make out the words: “Don’t let them take me..!”
Hikaru panics. “Let go!” he cries. “Haru, snap out of it!” Haru grips even harder. “STOP IT, YOU’RE HURTING ME!” Hikaru screams. He gets to his feet and wrenches his arm so hard that he drags Haru a few inches over the floor before Haru finally lets go and falls down. Hikaru stiffens up and stands back for a moment. Haru had finally stopped squirming around and now he was silent. His eyes flicker open for an instant, then close again. Cradling his arm, Hikaru takes a cautious step forward. “H-Haru?”
The tap of footsteps on the wooden floor alerts Hikaru to another presence. Hikaru glances toward the entrance; A bewildered Asha stands quivering in the doorway. “I– I’m sorry!” she cries. “I didn’t mean to– I heard you scream.. I...!”
“It’s okay,” Hikaru says in a half- whisper. He looks as pale as a sheet, scared to death, just as Asha is.
“What– What do we do?” Asha stutters.
Hikaru takes another cautious step forward: it seems the danger has passed; Haru is unconscious again. Hikaru drapes the torn blanket over Haru and then turns to Asha. “Sit down,” he says. Asha approaches the boys and sits cross-legged on the wood floor. Hikaru sits down after her. He is still shaking. He doesn’t even make eye contact with Asha for what seems like an eternity.
“What is Haru-san so afraid of?” Asha asks, finally breaking the silence. “Who are ‘they’?”
Hikaru finally looks Asha in the eyes for the first time since she walked in. His eyes are filled with fear and grief. “It’s because of something that happened a long time ago,” Hikaru answers. “Something so terrible, Haru has these horrible nightmares about it. I don’t know exactly what he went through...but the people who did it to him are chasing him.”
“Why?” Asha asks. “What do they want with Haru-san?”
“I don’t know,” Hikaru replies. “Haru never told me. All I know is that they’ve been chasing him for years. He’s been running for who-knows-how-long. I just happened to come along for the ride when he came to my town about a year ago.”
“I don’t understand!” Asha cries. “Haru-san told me his parents move around a lot, and that’s why he’s always traveling. Was that all a lie?!”
Hikaru begins fidgeting guiltily. “The truth is...Haru doesn’t have any parents. It’s just him. Him and the strays he picks up along the way.” Asha stares at him, dumbfounded. Everything Haru had told her was a lie. He has no parents; that is why she never sees them. He lives here at the skating rink; it isn’t just somewhere he goes in his spare time. “Haru makes that stuff up because he has to,” Hikaru tells her. “If anyone knew he was living alone, he’d be an open target. Do you understand? You can’t say a word about this to anyone else, not even Suzuki!”
“Suzuki-san already knows,” Asha says. “She figured it out on her own. But I didn’t believe her. I wanted to believe that what Haru-san said was true.”
Hikaru sighs. “I’m sorry.”
Asha glances over to Haru. “So the real reason Haru-san is leaving...is ‘cause of those people?”
Hikaru nods. “He didn’t want you to know, Asha,” Hikaru explains. “He didn’t want you to worry. He didn’t even mean to get you caught up in all this.”
“I see...”
Haru starts mumbling in his sleep. Both Hikaru and Asha tense up for a moment. “You should go,” Hikaru says.
Asha nods and gets up. As she is walking to the door, she stops and casts a glance over her shoulder. “You guys lied to me,” Asha says. Hikaru frowns. “But you’re still my friends. My best friends. I don’t care what happens. I’ll help you however I can.”
“Asha...”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Hikaru-san.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The men come again under the cover of night. “Now is the perfect time to strike,” says one. “He’s weak thanks to the drug we gave him last night.”
“I agree. We gather backup and take him tomorrow,” decrees the leader.
