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He had been staring at the other child cowering in the corner of the airport for a good ten minutes. The other child hugged his quivering knees and from where he sat, he could see the other child occasionally sniffle, most likely from a runny nose. He’d hide his head between his knees and, every now and then, his large eyes would scan the area, searching for someone; when his brief search turned up futile, he’d return his face to his knees and his shoulders would shake a little.
The adults didn’t seem to notice the purple haired child, or maybe they were too busy to pay any attention to him. He turned to look at his mom and then to his dad; they were both asleep. Deciding he wouldn’t be missed, he hopped off his seat and walked towards the other child.
“Ne, are you lost?” He asked giving the other the best smile he could offer.
Purple eyes rimmed with red and overflowing with tears turned to look at him. The other child seemed skeptical, shy even. Averting his gaze away, he meekly nodded his head.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said as he sat down next to the other boy. “Hey! I got an idea!” His sudden increase of volume seemed to startle the other boy as he jumped a little. “Gomen,” he apologized scratching the back of his head, smile never wavering. “Anyways, I’ll help you look for your parents, ok?”
At this, the purple haired boy face lit up. Wiping his tears away with the back of his hands he asked, “Really?” to which he responded with a nodded.
“What’s your name?”
“Murasakibara Atsushi.”
“Murosukibaba… muro… m…” giving up on pronouncing the other’s name he ask, “Ne, is it okay if I call you Atsushi instead?” Atsushi nodded. “My name is Himuro Tatsuya.”
“Muro-chin.”
“Eh? You don’t talk much, huh? Well, that’s okay, and you can call me that if you want.”
He stood up and offered his hand to Atsushi. As he pulled him, he couldn’t help but stare at how tall Atsushi was.
“Atsushi, you’re pretty tall. How old are you?”
“Six,” came a quiet reply.
“Wow! I’m seven and you’re so much taller!”
The other boy’s gaze turned to the floor. “I guess.”
Tatsuya noticed the way Atsushi turned to look away, almost embarrassed. “You know what, Atsushi?” he asked as the two started walking around the airport, “you’re really tall, and I’m sure you’ll get even taller! You should play basketball.”
“Basketball?”
“Hai! I love basketball! I play it all the time. I have a basketball, but I couldn’t have it in the airplane with me, so it’s in my luggage! Oh, I’m going to America and I’m going to become a famous basketball player.”
Atsushi didn’t say anything to that, so Tatsuya took his hand and pulled him along. He’d turn to look at his companion every now and then and noticed how Atsushi would stare at the chips, lollipops and snacks other kids where eating.
“Ne, Atsushi? Do you want a lollipop?” he asked as he pulled a small candy out of his pocket. “I was saving it for my flight, but I like you, so you can have it.”
Atsushi smiled and took the candy with glee. His eagerness to open the wrapper caused Tatsuya to giggle.
Both children held hands as they continued walking. Although Tatsuya tried to ignore it, he could feel Atsushi’s eyes on him, studying him.
“Basketball, huh?” Atsushi finally replied.
“Eh? Oh yes. I love it and I’m going to become the best!” Tatsuya beamed.
“Atsushi!!” A beautiful woman with lavender hair up to her waist came running up to the two children. Falling on her knees, he took Atsushi in her arms. “My poor baby! Don’t ever walk away again.”
“Sorry, mom. I ran out of snacks, so I went to get some, but I couldn’t find a store and then I lost you, too,” Atsushi replied wrapping one arm around his mother, the other still firmly attached to Tatsuya.
“Who’s this?” the lady asked as she took notice of Tatsuya.
“He’s Muro-chin. He gave me a lollipop and helped me find you.” At this, Tatsuya smiled and gave a little bow.
“Thank you,” she said as she ruffled his hair. “But where are your parents?”
Flight 125 with destination to Los Angeles to gate 5
“They’re probably looking for me at gate 5.” Tatsuya replied.
“Come,” she said as she pulled both kids with her, “I’ll take you to them and tell them what a beautiful person their son is.”
Her compliment caused a small blush to form on the bridge of his nose, which Atsushi noticed.
“Mom, you embarrassed Muro-chin.”
After taking Tatsuya back to his parent’s, Atsushi’s mom, true to her word, told them what a beautiful son they had.
“Bye, Atsushi. Hope we see each other again.”
“Bye, Muro-chin.”
And, with a deep blush on both their cheeks, they hugged. There was a bright flash from Atsushi’s mom’s phone causing both boys to break apart quickly.
“Bye!”
***
His purple eyes had been following the black haired boy for a while now. Although the other boy was trying to play it cool, Atsushi could tell that he was lost due to the way the other tried to blend into the background and would look around frantically after staring at a piece of paper on his hand.
With a sigh, he stood up and walked towards the boy.
“Hey, are you lost?”
His voice must have startled the other because he jumped a little.
Their eyes meet, and the black haired boy’s surprised expression soften and he smiled.
“Yes.”
“I can help you find your classes if you want.”
“Really? Thank you.” He handed the paper to the taller boy. “You know, you’re really tall,” he said with a smile. “You should consider playing basketball.”
“I do. Someone told me the same thing long ago.”
The black haired boy smiled knowingly. “I see. What’s your name?”
“Murasakibara Atsushi.”
Not even trying to pronounce his last name, he said, “Why don’t I just call you Atsushi? You can call me-”
“Muro-chin.”
The smile on Tatsuya’s face grew. “Well, I guess you can call me that. Want a lollipop?”