10

As Kenji walked back, he noticed that the sun had already set and the sky was a dim blue. He quickened his pace, nearly stumbling over the deep crack in the road; he shook his head as he wondered how he could forget a simple thing like that. Was he that disturbed over the kidnapped human?

Disturbed, uneasy... When was the last time he had felt that way? In the absence of such sensations during his days on Earth, he had forgotten how out of place he had felt at almost all times when he was back home. Why couldn't he be like the others and not feel, not care? Why couldn't he, too, be cold and calculated like his people were supposed to be?

But did he even want to be like that?

The question disturbed him even more. He broke into a run, too busy in his thoughts to notice his gradual transformation back into his actual self.

As the moon rose, the shadow of his alien form ran alongside him, always within reach, but never quite able to catch up. The sky darkened slowly and night became his cover. As he slipped through a series of dimly lit streets, very few people noticed him; and those who did were unable to get a second look, leaving them shrugging and moving on.

*  *  *

'I swear, I'm telling the truth!'

'Yeah, yeah, you'll say he's a vampire or something next!'

'Ssh, he's coming in now!'

Kenji walked into the classroom and wondered why the group of boys in the far right were stealing glances at him.

'He looks normal enough to me,' whispered one of them, thinking Kenji could not hear.

'Yeah, a perfectly normal freak,' snickered another.

'He's glaring at us, beware!'

'Why, are you scared he'll grow long ears again?' chuckled the first one. 'Where did you even come up with something that bizarre?!'

'I swear, I thought I saw him like that!'

'It was just some weird shadow — or maybe you're going crazy, haha!'

The teacher came in and the boys stopped talking. A shade of worry crossed Kenji's eyes and betrayed his usual poker face, but no one noticed — except Airi, who had also heard what the others had said. She felt rather sorry for him.

Kenji tried to pay attention to the class, but his mind was too occupied with doubts and concerns. The weak boy with the glasses — he was the one who had sworn he had seen him last night. How could he not have noticed? He shouldn't have been so careless and gotten late like that, he thought. It could have gotten him in trouble and even been the end of the mission.

Thankfully, none of the boy's friends seemed to believe him. Kenji found this odd; on his planet, no one ever doubted the other; what a friend speaks is the final word. Oh, well. He sighed and looked at Airi by accident — she was looking at him! He quickly looked away. What would she think if she saw him in his real form? Would she dislike him? Of course she would! She would think he was a monster and never talk to him again. The thought saddened him.

Don't be like this, idiot! he told himself. You're not talking to her anyway! And who cares what she thinks or what she would think, anyway?

But the gloom within him persisted. The sad, plain truth was that he was a misfit in both worlds; he belonged nowhere. The bell rang but he hardly heard it. He remained glued to his desk until the very last class ended and he remembered with a jolt that he had to get 'home' before he ended up repeating yesterday's mistake and getting seen again.

Airi watched him slink away and wondered at his dejected manner. When he was gone, she stayed behind in one of the classrooms to chat with a member of the drawing club. She was deep in an animated conversation, when her attention was drawn to a nearby corner where the group of boys from before were laughing amongst themselves. With them were Ryuji and Kaito, two well-known bullies, and they all seemed to be busy in talking about someone.

'I say we sneak up on him when he's getting home, if you're that sure it was him,' said Ryuji.

'Oh, come on! Four-eyes here is telling fibs again just to get attention from the big boys,' scoffed Kaito.

'No, I'm not lying, I swear! There's something weird about that Kenji, I knew it from day one! And when I saw him last night, I was so scared I was rooted to the spot!'

Airi frowned. Why wouldn't they leave that poor boy alone? She took a deep breath and walked up to them determinately.

'What are you talking about?' she asked them crossly.

'None of your business,' said one of them menacingly.

'Look, I know that you're talking about Kenji, and I want you to leave him alone. What is wrong with you all?!'

'But, I saw him last night and—' said the boy in glasses.

'Oh, for Heaven's sake!' exclaimed Airi. 'Saw what? Saw him grow ears and a tail? Maybe he howled a little too? That's really going too far!'

'But I did—'

'Oh, shut up! Just because someone is different from you, or doesn't wish to talk to you doesn't mean you earn the right to turn him into some sort of alien, for Goodness sake!'

'Why are you so concerned about him, huh?' said Ryuji slyly. 'Is that freak your boyfriend or something?'

Airi went red. 'He is not my boyfriend. I hate his guts and he knows it! But that doesn't mean I'm going to just stand by while he has meaningless insults and stupid accusations hurled at him day and night by you all! He is not a freak; he is a human being and he deserves to be treated like one!'

The boys were left agape and Airi gave them no time to recover. She gave them a final glare before picking up her bag and walking off angrily. She was too wrapped up in her thoughts to notice the figure standing behind her in the corridor.

It was Kenji!

He stared at her as she walked off rapidly before disappearing at the main gate. He had had to come back earlier when he had realised mid-walk that he had left his schoolbag behind. Upon his return, he had heard Airi's voice in the same fiery tone that she had used when they had last talked in the library. But this time, she wasn't fighting with him; she was fighting for him.

He had quietly stood against the wall and heard everything. He couldn't understand why she would defend him like that despite the fact that she openly hated him at the same time; it confused him, but it also made him smile. Even after everything, she still cared. The thought warmed his heart.

Airi wasn't like other humans — she was different. And it suddenly struck him that he had been very, very wrong in breaking all contact with her; she was the only person in this world who didn't make him feel out of place; who didn't exhibit any of the unpleasant qualities he had believed all humans possessed. He made up his mind to fix what had broken between them; to throw away his logic and beliefs for a while just to be with her; because she was worth it.

*  *  *

'Oh, Mom,' said Airi, later that evening, 'do we really have to go shopping here, of all places?'

'I heard there's a good bargain here and I'm here for it,' said her mother. 'It pays to be frugal, you know...life isn't as easy as it seems at your age! Pay attention and learn something; when you're my age, you'll realise that dreams don't get you far, practicality does! Kids these days don't understand that — well, anyway, I'll look into the groceries from here, and you go on and find some fresh vegetables from West 3rd street, okay?'

'Yes, Mom,' said Airi, glad to be out of the way before her mother began one of her back-in-my-day tirades again.

She turned the corner into a crowded street and waited in line while other customers bargained to get the best price for the fruits and vegetables laid out in the row of stalls. She stood there patiently, casually looking around, when something caught her eye.

A small girl was crying in the middle of the crowd.

'Mommy!' she called out. 'Where are you?!!'

No one seemed to hear her. Airi looked around anxiously to see if she could spot a mother looking for her child, but she didn't see anyone amidst the hustle and bustle everywhere.

'Mommyyyyy!!!' the little girl called out again, bursting into fresh tears.

'I'll help you find your Mommy, little girl,' said a rough voice with a hint of menace in it. 'Just step in with me and I'll drive you there, hmm?'

Airi watched in horror as a burly man approached the girl and took her hand, leading her away from the street and towards a black van parked nearby.

'No! Stop!!' she yelled, dropping her shopping bags as she ran across to help, but a large bus came in front of her, honking loudly and drowning out her voice, forcing her to stumble backwards.

She waited frantically for the bus to pass by, but when it did, she saw something which made her gasp in surprise.

A shock of green hair, and then a forceful punch slammed into the burly man all at once, making him double over in painful surprise, before falling facedown, knocked out.

Was that who she thought it was?

'Are you all right?' the boy said kindly to the little girl, who nodded.

'Was that man going to hurt me? He said he was going to take me to my Mommy,' she said.

'I'll help you find her. What's your name?'

'Megumi!'

The boy closed his eyes, and Airi could see him clearly this time; yes, it was Kenji!

She shuddered as she felt a strange aura sweep over the marketplace; it reminded her of the first day she had seen him in class.

'There she is!' he said, pointing to a troubled-looking woman in the middle of the crowd.

'Yes, it's her!!' said the girl delightedly.

'I'll take you to her myself,' he said, and he led her carefully through the hordes of people cramming the street until he had united her with her mother again.

'I can't thank you enough, young man—' she heard the mother say, but he had disappeared already.

Airi was impressed. Despite all that Kenji had said about feelings not being necessary and so on, in reality, his actions seemed to be the very opposite of what he claimed to believe in. He was kind and courageous. He was humble. He had practically saved an innocent life today! — he most definitely had a heart, and she realised at that moment that she had been wrong to ever think otherwise.