"And you have to admit, if anyone can find Katana, it's Hajiki." Aiko said, watching Takumi pour himself a cup of coffee. After saying goodbye to Hajiki at the train station, they had gone to his apartment, discussing what reasons Hajiki might have for his departure, they weren't sure if they believed he was looking for Katana or not. The blond haired boy she was addressing sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right about that. They do have an odd way of finding one another. But I still don't get what was so important Hajiki had to talk to Katana about. I mean, he said there were things only the two of them could talk about, but what could he talk to that criminal about?" Aiko bit her lip, "It's true; he was a bit mysterious about it." The small female suddenly gasped, an elated look upon her face as she clapped her hands. "Takumi, you don't think ...That Hajiki's in love with Katana, do you? Oh wouldn't it be wonderful if he was?" Takumi, who'd just taken a sip of his coffee, spit it out everywhere, gagging, "What! You can't be serious! Hajiki? In love with that criminal? You gotta be kidding me!"
Startled by this violent reaction, the red head quickly tried to calm him down, "Well, maybe, I mean, it was just a guess, I could be wrong." The boy snorted, tossing his coffee cup into a trashcan beside his counter. "Darn right you could be wrong! Hajiki with that lowlife, it's unbelievable! How could you even think that? There's no way that Hajiki would settle for someone like Katana, he's too good for him." The blond began muttering about how ridiculous the idea was, until the ruby-eyed girl asked hesitantly, "Umm, Takumi?" Seeing the young girl fiddle with the hem of her scarf with a worried expression on her face, Takumi walked over to her, wondering what was wrong. "Yeah?" She glanced up at his face nervously, she really didn't want to ask him this, but she needed an answer, she had to know. "You aren't in love with Hajiki, are you?"
The blond jumped away from her, waving his hands fervently; an exceedingly bright shade of red staining his cheeks. "No, of course not! I just don't see him wind up with a loser like Katana." Besides, I'm already in love with you. Can't you see that, Aiko? "Hajiki's my friend, I just worry about him, that's all." Walking over to a window, he opened it to allow a cooling breeze as the heiress offered him a charming smile. "Okay, then. Since we don't really know if or why Hajiki's going to look for Katana, let's just hope that's he has the best of luck, right?"
Shoving his hands in his pockets, he reluctantly agreed. "Yeah, I guess we can do that." Soulful green eyes turned to the sky as lips parted slightly, allowing a name to be carried away on his breath for only the wind to hear, "Hajiki."
Elsewhere in a bar
The air was stale from cigars, the characters filling the place looked no good; the perfect place for shady dealings. That's what also made it the perfect place to look. A young boy walked over to the nearest waitress he saw, tapping her lightly on the shoulder. "Excuse me," he inquired politely "but have you seen this person? His name's Katana." Directing her attention to a young boy of roughly 16, the waitress looked at the photograph he held in his hand. "Yeah, he comes in at least once a week." The boy seemed ecstatic by this, causing her to stare at him suspiciously, but her gaze went unnoticed. He pushed away a lock of soft brown hair that had fallen into astonishing blue eyes, "Great, when was the last time he was in here?"
"Bout two weeks ago."
His voice rose to a shriek, "What! Bu-but, you said he comes here once a week!" The waitress watched, surprised, as the stranger fell into hysterics, making everyone look at them. "Hey, calm down, would you? You'll scare all the customers doing that. Look, that guy would come in here, have a drink and leave, and he hasn't been here lately. That's all I know, okay?" Eyes downcast, the stranger turned to leave. "Yeah, okay, thanks for your help anyway." The teen's voice sounded choked. His depression made the girl feel sympathy for him, "Uhh, look, kid, if you want, next time I see him, I'll tell him you were looking for him," she called guiltily to retreating figure. He looked over his shoulder at her with a smile, "Thanks, I'd appreciate it."
She smiled back at him, watching as he turned to leave again before she realized something. "Wait up, what's your name? I can't just tell him a boy with blue eyes and brown hair wanted to know where he is." Pausing at the door, the boy called back, "It's Hajiki. Hajiki Sanada." The girl softly repeated the name as the figure disappeared out the doorway, jumping when her boss reminded her about having a job by yelling her name. "Sakura!" She rushed off, "Coming!"
Walking out into the cool night Hajiki cursed his luck of missing Katana. For just an instant, he'd gotten to think his search was over, that he would be able to finally talk with him. But the girl recognized him, so at least he was on the right track; maybe someone at the train station would know where he went.
A Few Night's Later
"Welcome back, cutie."
Positioning himself on one of the stools, Hajiki waved half-heartedly to the brunette walking towards him, it was the waitress he'd talked to last night. "Well, did you find that guy you were looking for?" She asked cheerily, sitting down beside him. Propping his elbow on the counter, the blue-eyed boy put his chin in his hand and looked the other way, offering only a sigh as a response. She bit her lip, maybe that was the wrong thing to say, "Oh. I guess not. Did you try seeing if he left using a train, maybe a guard would remember him or something?" She looked at him with sympathy, even if she didn't know why.
Gloomy, depressed eyes focused on her, "I already did that, nobody's ever seen him. I even asked around town, but they say the same thing! It's like we're the only two that even knows he exists." Laying his head down in his arms on the bar, Hajiki continues in a sullen voice, "Maybe you were wrong, maybe didn't see him, it was somebody else. And I'm no closer to finding him than I was before." He hid his face in his arms, so the girl wouldn't see the tears swelling up in his eyes, but Sakura knew the innocent boy was in distress; she placed her hand on his back to comfort him. "He's really important to you, isn't he?"
"Yeah," Hajiki whispered, "Yeah, he is."
She gently rubbed his back to sooth him. Wanting to know why this poor boy was looking so hard for one person, she asked cautiously, "So, is he your lover?" They would probably make a great couple. Judging by the picture, that Katana guy could protect Hajiki, & in return Hajiki could brighten up his life. While she had barely talked to him, she felt that she had really come to know him in this short time; and had decided he was normally a very caring and happy person.
"No, it's nothing like that." A slight chuckle came with this comment. Katana might have cared about him at one time, but that would have ended when Hajiki left him for the stars, along with the happiness & freedom of flying. Katana was my happiness & freedom. I just didn't realize it until it was too late.
"Oh, is that why you're so emotional about it?" She said mockingly, not believing what he said for a minute. They might not have been lovers, but there had to have been something between the two. Sitting up straight on the stool, the teenaged boy threw his arms up in the air, irritated by the waitress, "I can't help it! Even if there is nothing between us, I really do care about him, & I need to find him!" It looked like she was right, not lovers, but definitely something. "But how can I do that when nobody's even seen him?" Katana was never in this unit & the sixteen year old was just wasting his time, the entire search was hopeless. Why had he even bothered to start searching for that guy in the first place? What made him worth the effort?
Sakura gave a cheeky grin, "Don't worry kid, I'll help you. I saw him, so we know he was here at one time, & if the guards at the train station didn't recognize them, then he must still be here." What these two had couldn't be anything other than true love, the optimistic and hopelessly romantic waitress was sure of it.
"But we don't even know if it really was him!" Hajiki shouted, slamming his fist on the counter. He was on the verge of giving up on the entire thing, all he needed was a reason, and he had plenty, so why didn't he go back home to his family? The search was hopeless, he could give up for that alone, there was nothing to make him keep looking. The smart thing would be to go back home and pretend he'd never left, Katana wasn't that important. But since when did Hajiki always to the smart thing? No, he couldn't give up, he had to talk to Katana, then he could go home, but not before the olive-eyed boy knew the truth.
She completely ignored Hajiki's outburst, "Don't be silly! There's no way I could be mistaken about such a sexy guy. I'm gonna help you find your boyfriend no matter what!" Sakura threw her arms around the shocked Hajiki, hugging him tightly. "But," a blushing Hajiki said in her embrace, "he's not my boyfriend." Hajiki started squirming to get free, glad that he hadn't told her why he was looking for Katana.
Releasing the boy, she corrected him. "Maybe not yet, but he will be! I'm gonna make sure you two lovebirds get together!" Hajiki groaned, wondering how he got himself into this mess. Oh yeah, he came looking for Katana to tell him he loved him.