Lost and Found

T + M

I was still in a slight trance as I stared at the girl who had just bumped into me. I thought it was strange that I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

I snapped out of my trance when she began to speak again.

"Mister, I am really sorry. I wasn't trying to be rude or anything...I just...need to pay more attention to where I'm going". She nervously chuckled while cracking her knuckles. I sighed and nodded my head at her, as if to say, "Whatever", and made my way to sit and wait for the rest of the band to arrive.

I noticed the girl was sitting across from me. She was constantly checking her watch, and kept opening and closing a folder that she had with her. She was licking her lips, and frantically bouncing her right leg up and down, and moving her head from side to side. Watching her jerk around like that was driving me insane...she looked nervous as hell, and she was making ME nervous just watching her.

However, it was difficult for me to take my eyes off of her. I honestly didn't know why, and, well...it was bothering me.

Before I knew it, I heard laughter and knew that the rest of the guys had arrived. It's pretty difficult to not acknowledge Toshiya's loud laugh. I slapped my hands on my thighs, rose up from my seat and started walking over to them.

"Took you all long enough". I said with a tint of annoyance in my voice. If there's one thing I hate, it's waiting...especially alone.

Kaoru spoke up, "Yeah, sorry, we hit traffic". I nodded my head, and then began to speak. "Welp! I'm ready to eat! Did...Mineko arrive yet? That IS her name, right?" Everyone nodded.

"Yeah, she should be here already. I tried calling her before I left, and as soon as I got out of the car, but her cell didn't even ring. It probably died on her", Kaoru said.

"Great, maybe she bailed on us. Not that I really care all that much about a photographer". I don't think the other band members caught onto my joke since they all looked at me as if to say, 'Shut the fuck up, Kyo'. And, that is exactly what I did.

"I'm sure she's here. I'll check the waiting area real quick". Toshiya wandered off to search for our new photographer.

And that's when it hit me! It was the girl that bumped into me!
When she was constantly flipping through her folder, I remember glancing up at one point and seeing glossy paper right on top that looked like an image of a person. Her photography! That must have been her portfolio...Not to mention she was dressed in business attire.

How did she not recognize me?...I must not look like Kyo of Dir en grey under this lighting...hahaha....
Haaaaa.... my jokes are bad.

My head immediately jolted upward and I called to Toshiya before he got any further, and he stopped and turned to look at me raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, she is here. I don't think I'm wrong about it, either. Follow me."

The rest of the guys all followed behind me, and surely enough, there she was looking just as nervous as before, this time eating a granola bar. Just as I was about to call her name, Toshiya approached her saying, "Mineko, right?". She immediately stopped bouncing her leg, and looked up at him wide-eyed. Crumbs fell from her lips as she struggled to get up and bow, realizing who we all were.

"Oh my goodness! I'm all over the place today. I'm sorry, I was so hungry I needed to snack on something...excuse me". She quickly turned around and brushed her face off, shoving the other half of the bar into the purse. She cleared her throat and smiled. "Yes, I am Mineko. Nice to meet you all finally! Kaoru has told me a lot about you guys in the short time we spoke". Her smile was still plastered on her face. Although she was smiling, it was obvious that she was still anxious.

"Haha, it's totally fine. We kept you waiting long enough. Let's go to our table". Toshiya went to the counter to inform the hostess that the entire party was here, and since we had a reservation it didn't take long to be seated.

After about twenty minutes everyone's order came out to the table, and we immediately dug in. Mineko broke the silence by looking at me and apologizing again for bumping into me. "I had no idea it was you. To be honest, I'm a bit starstruck. This is also my first job that I was able to get on my own". I slightly smiled at her and nodded my head again. Her eyes wandered around as if she was waiting for me to say something else, but she sighed when the awkward silence fell upon the table again.

Shinya, Die and I weren't doing much talking. Toshiya was doing a great job at entertaining Mineko, and Kaoru couldn't take his eyes off of her. It was a bit unsettling, to be honest.

We finally began to talk about business and how much Mineko would be getting paid. Kaoru helped her out with filling out forms, and took a look at the photos she had in her folder. He smiled at her and said, "I know we made a great choice. Your work is wonderful, and so are you". She grinned at him blushing a little.

"Thank you. That means a lot". Everyone except for me nodded in agreement with Kaoru. I was too busy gazing off into space, while sipping on my drink when I felt something hit my pant leg. Die dropped his napkin that was resting on his lap. Just as I was reaching over to get it, Mineko beat me to it. I shrugged and looked back up and my eyes made contact with her neck and chest area.

Dangling from it was a necklace that was in the shape of a star, and engraved on it were the letters T+M.

My eyes widened.
Time stopped.
My heart stopped.
My eyes watered.
My heart pained.
My chest tightened.
My breathing was shaky.

Without thinking about it, I grabbed her wrist. "M-M-Mizuki?".

Mineko stared at me confused, and wriggled her hand a bit to loosen my grip on her.
"What?" She said. Everyone at the table stared at us. "Kyo, what's wrong?", asked Kaoru.

"Why do you have that necklace!?" I yelled. Now, the entire restaurant was staring. Mineko slightly gasped.

"It's my lucky necklace! I found it on the street one day while it was snowing and I couldn't get home and once I picked it up and put it on a cab came out of nowhere and---" She ran out of breath. "It's just a necklace I found is all. Is everything alright? You don't look too good, Kyo-San".

I shook my head. "I-I have to go". I got up from the table and stormed out of the restaurant, light headed. Once I got outside, I fell to the curb placing my hands over my face rapidly shaking my head.

"It's not her...it's not her...IT'S NOT MIZUKI!"

It's just her necklace...