Notes: Yes, it's true, I still exist. I hope you didn't die of shock. Basically, I had the summer job from hell, but the job has ended and I'm back to writing! So, really, this fic will be finishing fairly soon - this is the last failure before they make it right.

As for this part? Well, there are a few things that I can do very well. Getting lost in Japanese train stations is one of them. Osaka Station has a particularly long and ridiculous story, involving lost bags, broken cell phones and cheap beer on a train to Kyoto at two in the morning, but put me in any major station (Shinjuku, Hamamatsucho, Ginza...) and chances are I will find a way to get hopelessly confused. That's partly the inspiration for this story.

Also, the first line is my best approximation of a Tokyo train station announcement. I'm sure it's not perfect, but I couldn't find what the exact text is, so I made something up (soon, a train will arrive at track two. Because it's dangerous, please wait behind the yellow line). It's close to what you'd hear if you were in Japan, I promise!

Disclaimer: "Leaving You Behind" is a really cool song by Herrmann & Kleine that has Japanese train station announcements sampled into techno music.

VIII. Leaving You Behind

Mamonaku ni ban sen ni densha ga mairimasu. Abunai desu kara kiiro sen no uchigawa ni sagatte omachi kudasai.

Roxas tilted his head slightly to the right and, with his rudimentary Japanese skills, was able to parcel out that another train was arriving. And that something was dangerous. It was very unhelpful and, finally giving up on playing human roulette with the trains, he made his way back through the crowd, up the stairs and away from the platforms because he had no idea what train to take anyway and would probably have guessed wrong.

As he stalked unhappily through the late-night traffic in Shinjuku Station (and just why it was so crowded after eleven o'clock on a Sunday, he would never understand), he muttered aloud to himself, "Follow the signs from the south exit, he said, you can't miss it, he said. Didn't think to mention that there are two fucking south exits, no, of course not!"

A nearby young woman gave him a slightly alarmed look, then turned away quickly in a textbook example of the if-I-can't-see-him-he-can't-see-me approach. Roxas scowled at the back of her perfectly styled and peroxided head and kept walking. He was bound to find something, or someone, helpful at some point, even if he had to walk the entire length and breadth of the station to find it. He really hoped it wouldn't come to that, though, because he really just wanted to get back to his hotel and sleep. He was flying back to Chicago in less than fifteen hours and the trip was going to be very long.

"You lost?"

Roxas started and turned sharply to look at the American who'd somehow managed to materialise out of a sea of Japanese people. How Roxas hadn't noticed him coming was a mystery, too, because he was very tall, very pale and he had ridiculously red hair. Despite his somewhat outrageous appearance, though, he looked like he might have been a businessman, dressed in a pinstripe suit with his hair pulled back neatly.

"Uh, yeah," he said hesitantly, his don't-talk-to-strangers instinct clashing with his oh-thank-God-you-speak-English relief.

The guy grinned wryly. "Shinjuku Station is hell. Hell designed by crazy people. Where are you trying to go?"

"Ikebukuro." Roxas grinned back, giving in to relief. "My friend ditched me with the worst directions ever for how to find my train."

"You want the Yamanote Line," the guy said instantly. "Going clockwise."

Roxas arched an eyebrow, mildly impressed. "You must ride the train a lot."

The guy laughed. It was a pretty nice laugh, too, freer than anything else Roxas had heard in his two weeks in Japan. It took the edge of his extreme irritation. "Yeah, I live in Takadanobaba, so the Yamanote line and I are well-acquainted. I picked my neighbourhood for the name, in case you're wondering." He winked.

Roxas chuckled. "You actually live in this insane city?"

"Yep." Abruptly the guy stuck out his hand. "I'm Axel, by the way."

Roxas shook his hand. "Roxas."

"Roxas," Axel repeated. "I like it - it's memorable. So I take it you're a tourist?"

"How'd you guess?" Roxas replied dryly. "I came to visit an old friend for a couple of weeks and it... wasn't quite as awesome as it could have been." He wasn't sure why he was comfortable telling any of that to a stranger, when he hadn't even considered mentioning it to anyone else, but it was late and he was exhausted and the utter disappointment that had been his two week holiday in Japan had finally just worn him out. "And then he gave me shitty directions and I got lost in Shinjuku Station with only the Japanese language skills instilled in me by a first year class in college to fall back on."

"Sounds like you're having a great time," Axel observed, smirking slightly. "You hungry? There's not much open at this time of night, but I could probably find a ramen place. My treat."

Roxas looked at him for a few seconds, debating his intentions, and then decided that he was hungry enough that he didn't care. "Yeah, okay. Ramen sounds great."

Axel beamed. "Awesome."

As it turned out, an open ramen shop was not to be found at a quarter to midnight, but there was an open McDonald's at the station and, half-apologetic and half-amused, Axel bought him a burger.

"If there is one thing I've learned in this life," he informed Roxas solemnly, "it is that you can always rely on McDonald's."

Roxas rolled his eyes, but said sincerely, "Thanks for this."

Axel waved his hand dismissively. "Don't mention it. You're having a rough night - least I could do to help out my fellow gaijin."

"How long have you lived in Japan?" Roxas took a bite out of his Big Mac. It certainly wasn't his favourite meal ever, but anything tasted good when he was hungry.

Axel tilted his head to one side thoughtfully and toyed with a fry. "About six years now. I came as a student and just never left, you know? I used to live up near Sendai, but I moved to Tokyo about a year and a half ago. Got a better job offer, interpreting for Toshiba execs."

Roxas was rapidly realising that Axel was the sort of person who would probably tell a stranger his life story, if given the time. It was different, and kind of funny. "Do you like it?"

"What, my job or Tokyo?" He sipped his soda.

"Either." Roxas shrugged. "Both."

"Hmm." He tapped a tapered finger against his cheek thoughtfully. "The job is pretty good, even if the hours are a little weird, and Tokyo is Tokyo. One of a kind. I don't think I'll live here forever, though. It's... frenetic, which is good right now, but will probably get a little old after a few years." He blinked slowly and smiled. "What about you? Where do you live? What do you do when you're not have disappointing holidays and getting lost in Shinjuku?"

"I live in Chicago and I'm a freelance photographer, for magazines and whatnot." He smiled wryly. "Not as interesting as a business interpreter in Tokyo, I'm afraid."

"Are you kidding?" Axel grinned at him, flashing white teeth. "You're basically a professional artist! That's so fucking cool."

Roxas had to grin, too, in the face of that sort of enthusiasm. "Yeah, I guess, maybe."

"I'm serious, man," Axel insisted. "Most people would kill to have a job like that. So much better than interpreting boring business meetings all the time. And Chicago's pretty class - I've only been there once, and it was winter, but I had a lot of fun."

"It's a nice city, yeah." Roxas nodded and finished his burger. He was really having a good time, way more than he'd expected when he'd said yes to the late-night dinner offer. Axel was really easy to talk to, and this one conversation was making up for all the bullshit he'd been through over the course of his generally unpleasant attempt at a vacation.

Axel reached across the table suddenly and poked his forehead. "Yo, Roxas. What are you thinking about?" It was a very bold question to ask someone he'd just met and Roxas admired him for having the confidence.

"Just that... this is fun." He snorted. "The most fun I've had since coming to Japan, honestly. It's been a pretty lame trip. My friend, who really wanted me to come, bailed on me at just about every turn, so I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to do with myself alone in Tokyo. This owns everything else I've done in this country, I'm not kidding."

Axel was looking at him in a way that almost made him squirm. It wasn't a questioning look, really, more thoughtful, coloured with what might have been disappointment. "When did you say you were going home, again?"

"Tomorrow... well, today now," Roxas admitted, a little bit reluctantly. It figured that he'd meet someone awesome who, judging by the way he was being stared at, was at least marginally interested right before he got on a plane to go halfway across the world.

"Oh," Axel said softly, sounding a little downcast in the face of the cold fact that Roxas was leaving in a few hours. They definitely didn't have enough time to get to know each other properly, and there wasn't much point to even trying because they'd probably never see each other again, anyway. "That's... yeah."

Roxas bit his lower lip briefly, not really sure what to say. Then, "Well, I guess I should be getting back to the station. I should get some sleep before heading out to the airport. It's a pretty long flight, with a connection in LA, so..."

"Yeah," Axel agreed, sighing softly. Then he forcibly brightened. "This was pretty sweet, though. I hardly ever have time to do anything spontaneous, so you really made my night."

"Same." Roxas smiled at him, sure he was doing a poor job at hiding his unhappiness at having to leave so soon. It was stupid, because they didn't know each other at all and there was no reason to think they'd get along for more than one night regardless, but he couldn't help regretting the lost opportunity.

"I'll walk you to the right gate." Axel smiled back. "Wouldn't want you getting lost again, after all."

Roxas shuddered comically. "No kidding."

Axel got up smoothly, sliding back into his jacket, and then motioned, a little bit dramatically. "After you."

The station was much emptier at half-past one than it had been at a quarter to twelve and Roxas was a little surprised to realise that he missed the busyness. Maybe it was because he felt like he was walking away from a good thing, and the noise would have been a nice distraction.

"This is you," Axel said, breaking the companionable silence and motioning ahead. "They do the announcements on the train in English, too, so you won't be able to miss your station."

Roxas pursed his lips and debated saying something, anything, about their brief rapport. But it felt way too pointless, so he forced a bright smile instead. "Thanks, I really appreciate this." He paused, uncertainly, then said the only thing he could think of, "Take care, Axel."

Axel looked like he was having the same internal debate as Roxas, only to reach the same conclusion. "You, too. Have a good flight."

Roxas summoned up another smile. "Oh, I'm sure." And, not knowing what else to say, turned away.

"See you around," Axel said, voice mostly light with just a hint of resignation and irony.

Roxas pressed his lips together again briefly, biting back a sudden feeling that he was forgetting something very important, then turned back to wave as he walked through the gate.

It was only after he'd got on a train, hopefully the right one, that he realised it.

I never even got his last name.