CHAPTER 2

TAKARA

He spent the night at home. It was quiet. As the sun was just peeking up, he knew he wouldn't stay much longer. "This is the first place they'll look", he thought. He sat once more at the kotatsu in the middle of the room soaking in the last seconds he had left here. Sitting on the kotatsu in front of him were the letters he had written to his father and two childhood friends. He kept the letters short; not as short as Koyomine's letter though. "Kiyomine" he thought. His name swirled in his head. The thought made his heart ache. As Takara started to wipe his eyes, he stood up, grabbed his bags and bank book and walked to the door. He turned his head for one last look and said, "goodbye" as he closed the door behind him.

Takara arrived at the train station. It was a bullet train traveling to the farthest areas of Japan. He hadn't decided on where to go exactly; just as long as it was far away. "I'm gonna see the world" Takara thought. He looked in his bag and saw the only electronics he was taking with him: his phone, which he swore would stay off except for emergencies, the camera his dad gave him and the watch he received from Kiyomine. He grabbed the watch and gazed at it for a second. "I should get going" he thought. Takara placed the watch back in his bag and started walking to the ticket booth.

"One ticket, please" said Takara. The lady at the ticket booth gave him his ticket. "Thank you" he said. Takara walked over to the tracks and waited quietly. He looked around. Only a handful of people were boarding the train next to him. One was a harsh-looking man, maybe in his 30s dressed in a flashy suit with what looked like his secretary by his side. "I wonder if his wife knows" he thought. On the other end was an older looking couple, probably going home from visiting family. Everyone else there were average-looking people in there late 20s or so. Takara looked like he was the youngest person as he boarded the train. He glanced once more at the platform. Somewhere deep down in the pit of his stomach he was wishing someone would come screaming after him telling him to stop. "What a stupid thought. What is this a movie?" Takara said out loud to himself as the doors closed. "No one even knows you left". He stared out the window as the train departed.

KIYOMINE

"He was here!", thought Kiyomine as he climbed through the window at Shorty's house. He could feel his presence. "Anything?!" came a voice below him. Kiyomine was standing on Reiichi's shoulders to reach the window. "I don't know" Kiyomine yelled back. "I'm going inside. I'll unlock the door for you". As Kiyomine pushed the window open, he fell into what looked like Shorty's room. He looked around. The room was a bit disheveled. Kiyomine knew Shorty must have been here going through his personal belongings. Kiyomine cursed to himself. "Dammit! If only I went back last night!" he shouted out loud. He knew something was wrong but was pissed about Shorty's last remark on the phone.

Kiyomine walked down the stairs and towards the front door. He turned the knob and let Reiichi and Okuno senpai inside. "Thanks, Kiyomine. Shorty here?" asked Reiichi. "No" said Kiyomine. "We should split up and search the house." Reiichi noticed Kiyomine's hands clenched into fists. "Okay. We'll split up. Okuno senpai and I will go upstairs" said Reiichi. "Who put you in charge?" smirked Okuno senpai. Reiichi grabbed Okuno senpai by the shirt and dragged him upstairs. "We'll let you know if we find anything" shouted Reiichi from afar.

Kiyomine started his search on the lower floor. He walked into the dining room first. At first glance, he noticed three envelopes sitting on the Kotatsu. He immediately ran over and thumbed through them. Kiyomine noticed the one marked "Dad". "Shorty left a clue for his dad?" he thought. The thought infuriated him. Why would he leave a note for his dad who always abandoned him, telling him where he went but not him? He pondered this thought for just a moment. Kiyomine did abandon him yesterday and before that more times than he could count. He blamed Shorty for Ayako's accident and said to his face multiple times how she was most important and "nothing else mattered".

The guilt he felt washed over him. Did he ever tell Shorty that he treasured their friendship? "Friendship?" Kiyomine tasted the word in his mouth. "No. It was more than friendship," he thought. He didn't have a word for it but to him Shorty's existence was like air: natural and he needed it to breath. Kiyomine was going to find out where Shorty went and drag him back. He looked down at the parchment; it was water stained. "Tears" said a voice. Kiyomine jumped into the air. Reiichi's voice from behind him startled him. Reiichi and Okuno were looking over his shoulder down at the letter. "Mind reading it out loud for the class, Kiyomine?" said Reiichi. "Dear Dad, I have decided to leave school. I am sorry I didn't keep my promise to graduate High School. Both being in this house and being in the dorms became too painful to bear anymore. The idea of being left behind anymore scares me to the point that I feel like I am breaking apart. Kiyomine will probably call you before you even read this but I wanted to be the one to say "I'm leaving". I don't know when I will be back but I will contact you sometime in the future. Takara."

The letter ended the last words floating in the air like lead. "What happened last night?" said Reiichi, the first words spoken after 3 min of silence. Kiyomine sat and explained the occurrences of the night prior. He explained how him and Shorty where out together; how Masaya had called saying some ridiculous story about how Ayako was in a marriage interview; how he got up and dashed off to get home as soon as he could after telling Shorty what happened. The expression on Shorty's face as he took off. Kiyomine talked about the phone call they had and the note he found in his room. They all sat in silence. The guilt was flooding them. They all knew Takara had a complex but that he believed he would never be someone's treasured person. They all just believed he was strong enough to carry through.

"We need to call Masaya and Ayako, Kiyomine" Reiichi said fast. Kiyomine gave Reiichi a mean glance but said nothing. He knew he was right but to get Ayako involved in a schoolboy dispute annoyed him and having to ask Masaya for help annoyed him even more. But Kiyomine knew Shorty wasn't completely helpless. He had money and half a brain so he could get far and fast. Kiyomine had to act fast. He was going to find Shorty drag him home and torture him for the rest of their lives.

TAKARA

It was cold. Takara didn't even know exactly where he was in Japan but it didn't matter. There was a post office and government building and that's all he needed for his passport. He knew he would need to find a place to stay which would be another obstacle. Although he looked young, he was 17 and had his ID. All he needed was a story to evade all the "why are you all the way up here?" questions. Takara sat in the government building waiting for his number to be called. As his number was called, he grabbed the paperwork and started filling everythng out. He had finished the paperwork rather fast. It was surprisingly easy and fast to get a passport especially since he was picking it up in person.

His number got called and he finished the legal stuff and handed to the clerk. "It'll be three days until you get it." said the clerk. "Thank you" he said. "Hmmm, now I just need to think of an alibi" Takara thought. "I'll say that I'm visiting my grandmother here before going to fly to see my dad in Africa who's on a job" he thought. People seem to ask lots of questions about his dad's job but that was easy to explain because that part was true. His next mission was lodging for the next few days he would find a place to stay and then book a ticket at the airport. Takara walked out of the building and walked to the nearest lodge. "Well here we go" he said. He entered the lodge.

KIYOMINE

Kiyomine sat in his brother's office impatiently. He seemed to be taking forever. "Does he not realize Shorty may be bordering a train this very second?!" he thought panickingly. As Kiyomine sat in self agony, Masaya opened the door and walked in followed by Reiichi. "Takara has not boarded at any major train stations or taken off from any large airports" said Masaya. "THEN YOU AREN'T LOOKING HARD ENOUGH" Kiyomine shouted back at him. "But.." Masaya continued. "I have the best and most trusted men I know looking at the others. If he boarded a train we will know, okay?" said Masaya.

Kiyomine looked at him. The one man in the world he hated more than any other and sighed. "How long?" Kiyomine asked calmly. "Well", Masaya continued, "that depends on how smart Takara is" he said. "He knows you have family in the police force. I am sure it won't be easy" said Masaya. Kiyomine sunk in his chair. "Shorty was dumb but not stupid" he thought. "He would have figured at least that out" he continued thinking. Masaya stood over Kiyomine and said one last thing before leaving the room. "I said hard. NOT Impossible." Masaya turned and walked out of the room.

TAKARA

Takara was at his 4th hotel. They all turned him away for looking like he was 13! They also told him to go home. "13?! For gods sake he was 17!" Takara thought. He stood outside determined to make his way into a room if his life depended on it. As Takara looked down to the ground a man approached him. "You seem to need some help" the man said. Takara shot his head up and saw the same sharp man dressed in a flashy suit he saw board the train with him. "Well, if by help you mean stop having all these check in clerks deny me a room because I look 13 when I am actually 17 then that would be great" Takara said, looking back down at his hotel map. He expected the man to move on after his little outburst but the man didn't move. "Well if you don't mind providing a favor for me then I will be glad to help."

Takara looked up at him in confusion. "If it's a favor to help you in the bedroom then sorry to disappoint but I am a man so please look elsewhere". The man didn't move. He just looked down at him slightly confused for a moment but quickly gained his composure. "Nothing like that" the man chuckled in his surprisingly smooth voice. "I own a small clothing line for both boys and girls. If you would be willing to take some photos as a model for me so I can present them at my meeting in a couple of days I would call us even. There is only 3 sets of clothes for boys and it does not have to be anything professional; just some quick shots" the man said. Takara looked up at him again. He had modeled before and thought that one favor evened out the other. He stuck out his hand and agreed to his offer.

As Takara checked into his room there was a quiet knock on the door. The woman who seemed to be the man's secretary came with 3 packages. Takara opened the door and greeted her. He found out her name was Sakura and she came with the clothes for him to try on for tomorrow. Takara took the clothes, shut the door and went to bed. He decided he would try on the cloths tomorrow for tonight he was exhausted and needed to rest.