June 10th, outside the Sekai Hotel, Japan. 10:15

 David is walking towards the Sekai hotel. His hands in his pocket, whistling to himself. How did Kikaru manage to stay in this hotel.. isn’t it very expensive? He thinks to himself.

 He turns right at the street corner, seeing Kikaru in the distance. He wanted to shout his name, but saw that he was talking with someone. It was a small girl that looked angry at him. She was wearing a plain white dress, her brown hair being fairly short.

“Seriously! How could you just leave without telling me you took one of my cases!” The little girl gave Kikaru an earful. Kikaru just laughed it off.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He scratched the back of his neck.

“I just needed it for tonight. You should probably start going now, I got plans with someone.” He told her.

The little girls eyes beamed with excitement. “Oh? Oh! Is it a girl?” She exclaimed proudly.

Kikaru just reacted in shock. But before he could even speak a word, the girl went back in the car. “Well, good luck! Bye bye!” She waved at him as the car drove away.

David just stood at the end of the street in utter shock and confusion, not knowing what he just saw unfold.

Kikaru looks around him, seeing David standing at the end of the street. With his case right behind him he begins walking towards the still confused man.

“Yo, David!” He waves at him. David finally snaps out of it.

“Yo, Kikaru. How’s it going.” He decided to not ask further questions about the girl.

“Doing good, my jaw doesn’t hurt that much anymore after you kicked it.” Kikaru put emphasis on the last few words.

“Good to know!” They both laughed.

They began walking towards a station that was located a few kilometers from where they were. It was a very sunny day, so they didn’t mind it. It was also a very busy day, a lot of people where shopping, drinking at a cafe or just taking pictures of the area.

“So, what was the plan for today?” David asked, walking casually with one hand in his pocket.

“Tom told us about that sacred place last night. So we’re going there!” Kikaru had one hand resting on his sheath. He puts the other one on his chin.

“I wonder what that place has, i’ve never heard of it before. I didn’t have time to do any research too, we were a bit too busy drinking.”

David nodded in agreement. “Yeah, no clue either. But it should be fun! How long is the train ride going to be?”

“4 hours.”

“Shit.”

Kikaru just laughed at his reaction. They arrived at the station.

Inside the station. 10:40

The station was massive, but also very easy to navigate. It was decorated by art from several famous painters. There were 12 platforms. David and Kikaru’s train is at platform 5.

“50 minutes?!” David said in disbelief.

Kikaru wasn’t too pleased either, he sighed. “Turns out that the train we have to take only rides once an hour. We gotta find a way to kill some time.”

He looked around the station, finding a place where you can sit down going alongside a few stores selling food and magazines. They both sat down on one of the many benches.

David sighed, cozily leaning back. “It’s been quite some time since I took the train, I remember my mom trying to contain me and my brothers from running through the coupes while we went on a holiday back when we were little.” He had a smile on his face.

“That sounds like a fun memory.” Kikaru mimicked what David was doing, relaxing himself.

“Can I ask you a question?” Kikaru looked at David.

“Go right ahead.” He responded.

“You were talking about your family’s dojo last night, saying that their motto was to never turn their back on anyone. What is your family like?”

David smiled in response.

“My family’s strong. My father started the dojo long ago, after he was done traveling around most of the world. He met my mother in Germany, they got hitched and he brought her here.  My mom’s the sweetest, even if she’s not much into fighting like the rest of our family. She’s the sweetest woman I’ve ever known. You know, they say that some children inherit some of the traits of their parents. Maybe that explains why I helped you yesterday.” He laughed, scratching the top of his nose.

Kikaru smiled at David’s response.

“That sounds nice, I hope I can meet your family one day. Thank you for traveling with me, this is more fun with someone than all alone.”

“No need to thank me.”

There was a small moment of silence. Kikaru was looking around him, he heard someone playing the piano when they walked in the station. It was usual that stations this large had a piano placed that anyone could play. He saw it, not that far away from David and him.

“Hey David, do you mind if I play the piano for a bit?”

“Not at all, I didn’t know you played the piano.”

Kikaru chuckled. “I play from time to time, but I’m not the best.” He stood up and began walking towards the piano.

He sat down taking one look at the crowd of people all sitting on benches, including David.

He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them again. He starts off with a small warm up. It sounded very nice, Kikaru made one or two mistakes but heads were beginning to turn as he played his second piece.

It was a complex piece, yet very beautiful to listen to, more people started to look at Kikaru who was playing it perfectly. The piece had a melancholic yet very hopeful feeling to it, as if to signify the start of something new and the reminiscing of events that had happened.

There was a smile on Kikaru’s face as he felt the world fade away, only listening to the sound he was playing. David was fully caught in it too, caught entirely off guard by how well his comrade was playing. Kikaru imagined an event playing in his head as his hands softly pressed the piano keys. It was a woman and a man, walking together by the sea. They smiled and reminisced about their past and how they got together. The sun was setting, the sky filled with a pinkish color. The man pushed the woman who was in a wheelchair. A few empty words were spoken in his head as the song finished.

After Kikaru was done playing he noticed that a few people were looking at him, including David. Kikaru’s hands couldn’t stop shaking. A wave of uneasiness flowed over him as he quickly stood up and walked towards David.

5 Minutes until the train on platform 5 departs

Kikaru and David walked towards the platform. They saw the train coming into the station the moment they stood there. They quickly entered and placed down their bags.

The train began to move, Kikaru looked outside the window, seeing a beautiful landscape pass him by.

“Dude.. you lied to me.” David suddenly said.

Kikaru’s eyes shifted towards David, keeping silent.

“You said you were decent… but that was amazing back there! You played those songs so good.”

“N-no.. I made a few mistakes here and there…” Kikaru responded weakly, his face getting red.

“No way, man!” And your last name too! Why does it seem so familiar, who are you?” he asked in utter confusion.

Kikaru caved in, putting his hands in the air as if he was caught.

“Alright, my dad used to be a somewhat known musician. But he stopped when I was born. You might’ve heard some of his music, I played it back there.. he learned me the Piano. But.. I don’t play that much anymore.”

“…that explains a lot, but why don’t you play that much?”

Kikaru went silent for a bit, a memory suddenly flashed inside his head.

“The songs you play.. they’re amazing!” A young girl is talking to him. She was sitting on a chair with crutches besides her. This was a  memory he had hidden away suddenly jumping back. A younger Kikaru responds with a bright smile on his face, followed by innocent laughter. “I’ll always keep playing! Even if you’re my only audience.”
It suddenly went hazy inside Kikaru’s head. He could only hear very faint words coming from outside.

“Kikaru!” David said, Kikaru suddenly snapped back to reality. He looked a bit on edge suddenly.

“Are you okay? You suddenly weren’t responding anymore. I’m sorry for asking.” David felt bad, thinking he had accidentally asked too much.

“No.. don’t worry. It’s okay, I’m alright. I just couldn’t keep my practice up after I began learning swordfighting. I was never striving to be as famous as my dad anyways, so.. it’s not that big of a deal for me.”

David listened carefully to what Kikaru was telling him. “Alright, but still, we’re in this journey together. If anything torments you, tell me. I know the feeling all too well.” David reached his fist out.

Kikaru pushed his fist against it. “Of course, same to you.”

A small lady pushing a cart walked by the two. “Do you two want anything to drink?”

“Do you drink tea?” Kikaru looked at David, who nodded in response.
“Two cups of tea, then, please.” He paid accordingly.

The small lady poured two cups of tea and gave it to them, alongside 3 different teabags. “Thank you very much.” She then walked further.

Kikaru grabbed the strawberry flavor, slowly dipping it into his tea. “This is going to be a long ride, might as well make it as comfortable as we can.”
“Yeah, I didn’t get much sleep last night, I hope you don’t mind me dozing off after this cup.” He chuckled.
“Not at all, man.”
Time passed, David had fallen asleep after finishing his cup of tea. Kikaru tried to sleep, but everytime he closed his eyes he saw the vague smile of a girl in a wheelchair. It kept messing with his feelings. He clutched his sword tightly, uttering a single name very softly under his breath.
“Aria…”
He looked outside the window again, the train had just began passing over a bridge, so he looked out to the ocean. The sad emotion on his face turned towards a faint smile as he looked at the deep blue sea. He became lost in thought again, as the train headed towards it’s destination.