A/N; Chapter 2 is engine form this time! And this series now has its own front cover! TA-DAH! It was created by (and therefore belongs to) my talented online sis, Raphianna, who has kindly allowed me to use it for my series. Thanks sis! :D

….

The stars twinkled his green canopy. The moon shone down on his half-restored shape. In the distance, an owl hooted. The wind ruffled the leaves of the trees. The old rails creaked under his wheels.

Hiro let out a breath. It had been an interesting week- after accidentally being discovered by a little tank engine named Thomas, he had met all sorts of engines on the Fat Controller's railway. He had grown fond of them all, as they were so diverse in personality and yet they were all hardworking and loyal to each other, no matter what.

He missed his friends back home in Japan, though.

But he was much happier here on Sodor than he had been n years- his new friends were taking such good care of him, and they enjoyed listening to his much-treasured stories of his homeland.

His only concern, however, was the possibility of being discovered by an engine known as 'Spencer'. Gordon mentioned he and the big silver engine were cousins, and was a cocky, arrogant silver streamlined engine who loved racing Gordon and often put the other engines down.

He had also been stalking Thomas and the other engines, trying to find out what was going on with their strange behavior, as they largely kept Hiro a secret from everyone else on Sodor- even from the Fat Controller.

They had suffered a close call today- he had been talking with James and Toby pleasantly enough whilst Thomas was talking to his friend, Victor- when they heard Spencer sneaking around the woods, too close to the hideout.

Fortunately, James and Toby quickly chased him away from Hiro and out of sight. They had to go after as well, so Hiro never got the chance to thank his friends for their bravery.

….

Hiro closed his eyes, relishing the feeling of the night breeze brush his face ever so gently. He couldn't help but smile with a soft contentment. Even if it was a prison of sorts, he wouldn't be anywhere else in the world right now.

Suddenly, a sound in the distance made him snap his eyes open. He could hear the chuffing sounds of another engine…. Right outside the bushes.

Hiro fought back the urge to call out to see whom it was- for all he knew, Spencer might have returned under the cover of night to find out what it was that James and Toby had chased him away for.

He froze in fright. If it was indeed Spencer, he had no fuel or steam to move. What if Spencer dragged him out of his hiding place to the Smelters?

The bushes in front of him parted, and Hiro accidentally yelped in fright. But when he dared to look in front of him, he saw with relief that it was only James, staring at him worriedly.

"James! You startled me!" the Japanese engine gasped.

"Sorry, Hiro," James apologized. "I didn't know if you were sleeping…"

"I just don't want Spencer finding me." Hiro explained. "I couldn't tell who that was."

James blushed. "Sorry, Hiro. I'll try to avoid that again in future."

"Thank you. All is forgiven, James." Hiro smiled kindly. He knew James hadn't meant any harm. "If Spencer had not been so close to here this afternoon, I won't be so tense." He admitted shakily.

"I get it," Smiled James. "You're hiding for your life, basically."

"That reminds me," Continued Hiro. "I never got the chance to thank you or Toby for your brave efforts earlier in getting Spencer off our tenders, so to speak."

James chuckled "That's okay, Hiro. We're here to help you." He said.

The older engine smiled back- before he realized something. "James, may I ask why you're here so late?" he asked gently.

James looked uncomfortable. "Well... I was out on my nightly coal run, you see, and I ran low on water around here…. So, I thought I could stay here tonight."

"But won't the others be concerned for your disappearance?" Hiro asked.

The red engine just gave him a 'meh' look. "They'll be fine. Henry's coming over tomorrow, anyway- he'll take me home."

Hiro gave a satisfied look and the two engines sat there in silence, admiring the sparkling skies above them.

"Hiro?"

"Yes, James?"

"If your crew put you here, why didn't they come back for you?"

Hiro winced, and James suddenly realized that maybe he went too far. "You… you don't have to tell me if you"-

"No. They will be left in the dust if I keep it in." Hiro said sadly. "Besides, it has hurt me for too long. My driver and fireman really did not want to leave me here. They were eager to fix me themselves if they had to after I broke down that day. But, I was the first non-British engine to run on these rails, James- the parts I needed were not to be found here."

"And what happened to the message sent to your home railway? Why didn't the parts come?" Asked James, horror and curiosity building up in his smokebox.

"I fear the letter detailing my circumstances never reached the Japanese shores."

James bit his lip. "So, what did happen to your crew?" He asked again, gently.

"They came to talk to me and keep my hopes up- I was in despair at my situation and was not as optimistic as they were. They did the best they could for me at the time- but without any news of the parts arriving, I felt it was futile to wait any longer, and I accepted my fate to rust away. My crew stopped coming…. And…" he took a breath. "I feel they both passed away. I could not determine, James, but they would be very old men now if they are still alive."

The number 5 was silent as he processed the grim words. Hiro shook with silent sobs, finally relieved to have expressed some of his pain.

"Hiro….?"

"I'm sorry, James- but I appreciate you hearing that. I wanted to tell someone for so long, but I could not bring myself to do it."

"That's okay, Hiro," Replied James. "If you want to talk again, I'm here to listen. And so are the other engines." He added hastily.

"Thank you, James," Smiled Hiro.

….

And so, the two engines gazed up at the stars, chatting idly about anything coming to mind- before they were both eventually overcome with exhaustion, and fell asleep, snoozing buffer to buffer.