13 Depatures
*This is the story when Mawaru Yoshioka came to Osaka*
Sunday, March 25, 2012. At 01 PM
Shibuya Train Station, Tokyo.
A cute 15-years-old girl standing on the platform was busy pressing her cellphone waiting for the train to come to take her to the airport.
"Hello?" she picked up a call from a mysterious man who was ready to take him to the take-off field, Tokyo International Airport (Narita Airport) in Chiba.
"Yes?" The cute girl replied with a little sigh because she was tired of waiting for the train on the platform for too long.
"Are you ready?" Asked someone mysterious man from her phone while confirming the readiness of himself in this cute girl.
"Yes." Short answer the cute girl.
"The train will arrive in 5 minutes." Announcement on the station.
"The train will arrive in 5 minutes." Announcement on the station that hears twice.
The train arrived and—
She immediately ended the call and put the cellphone in the left pocket of the coat she was wearing. When she was advancing and continuing her steps to enter a train carriage door, a grandfather called her name.
"Mawaru!" cried the grandfather, waving her farewell "Take care of yourself there." The old man walked her off, waving her hands with a smile of affection.
The girl has entered the train carriage. Before the train doors closed, she looked at the grandfather who waved then the girl said goodbye with teary eyes staring at the grandfather.
The girl could not bear to leave her grandfather, she stuttered as she said "Thank you very much." Said softly the girl who bowed to the grandfather while the carriage door now closed automatically.
Now the girl was squatting to hold back the tears of longing, then she stood reaching the train window and saw the grandfather who was still smiling waving at her.
The girl then turned around, stood holding the handrails with her right hand, while her other hand carries the heavy suitcase close to her. She thought gloomily, and thought "Maybe this is the last time I see grandfather..."
It's really hard to leave Tokyo.
....
An hour later.
Upon arrival at the airport, she went straight to the domestic departure point. After skipping her lunch schedule due to waiting too long for the train on the platform, her stomach started rumbling, her eyes fixed on a small shop inside the airport that sold some food.
She put her suitcase into a wheeled basket and pushed it as she walked along the shop porch. "I'm hungry...," she muttered, staring at some of the food in front of her eyes.
The smells of coffee-flavored bread, the smells of brewed cup noodles by pouring some hot water, the smells of warm buns that had just opened the lid from the pot, and the smells of fruit-flavored drinks with toppings or chocolate milk in them.
(This, really smells of the airport!!!)
When this cute girl stopped at a shop inside the airport, suddenly a mysterious man came from behind grabbing her shoulder. The girl was shocked, she turned to face the mysterious man.
"Yo, Mawaru." The mysterious man grinned with a foolish look.
"Ah, yes." The short answer while nodding her head to greet him.
"Let's Check-in first." The mysterious man invited this cute girl named Mawaru to a 'check-in room'.
"Eh-!?" She was forced to follow him, forced to endure her hunger.
....
The man glanced at both sides of the airport atmosphere while holding the hand of this cute girl. Then it stopped before entering the check-in room. Mawaru also stopped then looked at the man's back.
The mysterious man turned to look at Mawaru attentively, "Are you hungry?"
"Y-yes," Mawaru answered embarrassedly and then looked away.
"Hm... I see. Okay," the mysterious man patted Mawaru's head then stroked his hair, "Don't worry, I'll treat you inside." He returned with a smile with a stupid look.
While Mawaru was wondering in her mind, "Who is this person?"
"I don't care who he is or maybe it's just my boss's rent. The important thing is I have to do my best to carry out my mission." She thought while looking away.
Before long, the two of them were at the check-in counter.
"Mawaru, give me your plane ticket." Asked the mysterious man seriously.
"Eh?"
"Don't worry, I'll help you check in because you're still young."
"Oh okay." Mawaru innocently handed the ticket to the mysterious man.
'This time it's my turn...!!' Mawaru felt choked when she checked into the airport for the first time.
"MAWARU YOSHIOKA." Call the airport clerk.
"That is my name!" muttered Mawaru curiously to see the mysterious man taking care of the check-in. She only saw him (the mysterious man and the check-in officer) talking, from behind the mysterious man's back.
After waiting in line for a long time and finished checking in, the man took her to a place like a restaurant inside an airport.
"We'll eat here."
"It's not this..." Mawaru thought it was very expensive.
"Take it easy, I'll pay for it." The mysterious man smiled at Mawaru.
"OK."
They sat in a restaurant chair, then the receptionist gave a list of dishes on his table.
"Please order as you like." The man looked at Mawaru and smiled softly.
Meanwhile, Mawaru just smiled stiffly at the price list.
"Let me order..."
....
The departure time still has 1,5 hours left while it is filled with delicious food.
Mawaru remained silent and enjoyed his meal without asking the identity of this mysterious man.
Her superior's orders were absolute, and Mawaru's main mission in Osaka was...
****
"Excuse-!" Mawaru shyly called out to the mysterious man.
"Yes?" The mysterious man turned towards Mawaru.
"Thank you." Mawaru shyly told the mysterious man.
Again, the mysterious man smiled with a stupid look. Instantly Mawaru smiled with relief. It seemed that this man was around 35 years old (Mawaru's estimate).
Shortly after eating, they headed for the waiting room.
....
The scheduled departure time is 40 minutes.
The mysterious man confirmed the schedule by looking at his watch in his left hand, while the nervous Mawaru sat beside him, glancing right and left and expecting anxiousness.
Mawaru began to pay close attention to the face of the mysterious man who was looking at his watch, then he took out a small music player and took a headset from his shirt pocket.
When the mysterious man felt the many times he was stared at by Mawaru, the mysterious man turned his head without realizing that Mawaru's face flushed blushed, and then looked away from him.
"Hm... is there something strange on my face?" murmured the mysterious man who was busy plugging the headset cable into his music player and then putting the headset speaker into one of his earholes on the right. While Mawaru was bowing embarrassed by the incident just now, then the mysterious man gave the remains of a pair of headset speakers in front of Mawaru. "You want to listen to music too?" Ask the mysterious man while offering by handing the headset speaker.
"U-um," Mawaru nodded in agreement to accept his offer. Then he grabbed the speaker headset from the man's hand and put it on the left ear.
They listen to music together while waiting for their plane to arrive.
....
"Eh, this is it?" Mawaru was surprised to hear the song played by the mysterious man.
Mawaru remembers the song exactly because it was released on her birthday, on January 22, 1997.
*That song name: "One More Time One More Chance" by Masatoshi Yamazaki.
"What is wrong?" The man turned his head to see Mawaru who was surprised with a worried expression that he didn't like the song.
Then Mawaru shook his head as a sign that it was okay, smiling casually "Um, not really."
The mysterious man smiled in relief "Thank goodness," he began to face straight at the plane landing outside the window. "I love this song." He said with a tone full of sadness in his heart.
The mysterious man began to tell a story... "In the past, there was someone I loved very much. She was a beautiful woman but very fragile, we played together in front of the house. She was often sick, but her friend always tried to look after them because of some years older than us. I fell in love at first sight when they saw her. Soon, they moved. I didn't have time to tell her how I felt like her. I often sent her letters, she replied over and over. All these years I harbored this feeling, I was not strong anymore until one day I found her new home address and looked for her."
"Is that woman your wife?" Mawaru asked, thinking it was clear that this man had a wife.
"No" replied the man, pensive, and continued his story.
Illustration of that time:
When the mysterious man was still a teenager... "Finally found it!"
He saw the beautiful girl who looked frail had come down the stairs of his house but the young man's eyes were fixed on a ring that the girl was wearing on the middle finger of her right hand.
It was a feeling of being awkward when this young man met the girl he loved for a long time.
The girl served some drinks and food to welcome the guests into her house, but the thing that hurt the youngest most was the word 'sorry,' which she said for the first time at her meeting in a long time.
"Yes, it's okay." With a heavy heart and deep disappointment, the girl loved was married to another man.
The young man was forced to wander in the city looking for a stable job.
Several years later, the young man married a bar girl whom he knew while he was working. However, the young man's feelings for the beautiful girl who was his first love were still felt today.
****
"Well, this song reminds me of those days." Said the mysterious man as he closed his eyes remembering his youth.
"Eh, really feeling so heavy to be forgotten, huh?" said Mawaru while listening to his story.
"Yes. When I was already married, the person I loved turned out to be canceling his marriage because his chronic illness was explained that he could not promise offspring." It was clear that mysterious man.
"Then my first child was born, a boy has a personality similar to his mother. Then my second child was born on the day—" he added, not yet finished talking suddenly the announcement reads a passenger sign for a flight to Osaka to immediately enter the plane.
"Ng?" Mawaru turned her head towards the plane she was about to board when the headset speaker wire dislodged from her ear. Then the mysterious man packed up, took Mawaru's hand, and delivered her.
"Sorry, I was looking the other way."
"Ah, never mind."
In the mysterious man's heart "Maybe it's not the time for me to say it..."
Mawaru immediately got onto the plane and looked for a seat in the ticket number that each person held.
"Uh, you also boarded the plane? I thought you just drove me to the airport." Said Mawaru when she found a seat then the mysterious man walked over to Mawaru.
"Hmm, I didn't say it like that." He casually stepped in front of Mawaru and sat by the window of the plane.
"Eh-!?" Mawaru was silent, sat stunned to see his face. "But..., may I know who you are?"
"You can't! Even your superiors forbid you to use spiritual abilities here." Answer the mysterious man casually.
"Do you even know my abilities? (Mawaru becomes uncomfortable) Ma-it's not that I think you are a bad person but, from earlier, you kept calling my first name without me knowing your name. Looks like you purposely hid your identity during the check-in earlier." Mawaru boasted on the plane because she was very curious about the existence of a mysterious man who was so good at escorting her.
(The plane has taken off)
"Yes, I did keep it secret from you on purpose. Because this is my mission. My only mission is to make sure you land safely." The man said so while looking at the view from the window of the very small plane he stared at, "Don't you have a mission so important that it involved me in protecting you?" Then the man turned his head to look seriously at Mawaru's face.
So that Mawaru put on a stiff face when looking at each other "Take care of me?" she muttered without blinking for a second.
Mawaru rested her chin in one hand and thought "Maybe you are looking after me because I have to guard my mission."
The man smiled sweetly with a stupid look.
Again, it made Mawaru want to chuckle. The awkward feeling that both of them now began to feel while on the plane. Until the plane arrives at Osaka International Airport (Itami Airport in Ikeda).
(Finally arrived)
After getting off the plane and arriving at the airport, the mysterious man left a letter containing the address Mawaru had to go to. She gave it before leaving awkwardly...
"Mawaru!" He calls "From now on we will part here, you come to this address, the people you meet are here."
"Eh-!? Shouldn't I go to my Abeno? (The address is in my Higashiyodogawa)"
"Ah~ about that, I will go to my Abeno." Answer the mysterious man casually
"Then I'll confirm it in advance with my superior—"
"No need! (The mysterious man pats Mawaru's shoulder) I told Gen directly earlier. He agreed." He said with a smile guaranteeing this is safe, not a fraud, "Well, I also have business with my superiors there." The man scratched his head then looked away.
"He called out his first name (Gen Nishimura - Chairman of the 3rd Rakugaki Division)." In Mawaru's heart while looking at the mysterious man's face with a look of disbelief.
However, Mawaru thought it would not be good to press himself to reveal his identity just because of the mission "A-alright, take care of yourself." Mawaru grabbed the paper with the address in the mysterious man's hand.
"Thank you, Mawaru." Again, the mysterious man smiled with a stupid look.
"Mawaru~ why don't you intend to just call my last name? Stop pretending to be close because we can't possibly meet again—"
"No." He said while rejecting Mawaru's words.
"Because of that name, the only valuable name someone gave you that was so important to you."
His words made Mawaru's face quite blush, then blinked with a little solidification.
"Yes, my name is Mawaru."
Yoshioka Mawaru, the name given by my father from the Yoshioka clan. Even though Mawaru's memory of his father is only in his childhood.
"Alright, bye-bye." The mysterious man walked away waving, "Take care of yourself." He said for the last time
"Yes." Mawaru replied softly, muttering "Thank you for looking after me." Even if it's only for a moment...
Mawaru stepped out of the airport looking for a taxi and then headed for the address.
(Getting into the taxi) "Higashiyodogawa-ward, Chome xx-xx-xx Aikawa." She said while dictating the taxi driver.
"...."
________
My name is Mawaru Yoshioka, I am a spiritual user known as RAIZU, my position this time as vice leader of the 6rd Division and my current mission is to guard the king's key (a precious artifact from the Rakugaki Area in Osaka).
****
