Death & The Confused Kid 2
Here it is, the sequel to the surprisingly popular death and the confused kid. It will have plenty of the bizare moments that made the first one what it was, but there will be more action this time around. Hopefully I don't piss off as many people as I did last time, because many readers got angry with me...As you should know this is a self-insert story. Anyway, read on and enjoy and don't be stingy with the reviews!
Return Trip
SYDNEY AIRPORT
Like any great story, it all started in a toilet cubicle. The three hour drive to the airport was bad enough without being busting for the final quarter. I stand before the unfortunate ceramic bowl and heed natures call before stepping out into the main area of the men's room. As I wash my hands I feel an odd presence behind me and as I gaze up at the mirror I notice the door shutting softly.
I shrug my shoulders and study my face which is marred by dark bags under my eyes. It's only seven o'clock right now, so I must've woken up at about four in the morning...
I trudge out into the main terminal and find my many assorted boxes and bags being watched over cautiously by my father. I approach and yawn before thanking him for driving me up to the airport at such an early time.
He goes through the obligatory speech about how it's no problem but his eyes are saying 'You bastard!' He looks at a large board at the other end of the room and reads through the flight times until he comes across mine.
"You flight's due in about an hour..." He murmurs his voice croaky due to his drowsiness.
"I'll be fine from here." I respond quietly.
My father extends a sun scorched hand and I shake it.
"Have fun mate! See you at Christmas." He pats my shoulder and helps me load my possessions onto a trolley. Then we part ways.
I promised him I'd come back once a year at the least to see the family, but that seems quite a bother. I'm not made of money, but despite that I guess I should put in the effort anyway...
I derail my current train of thought and drag the heavy trolley over to the luggage area. The conveyor belt hums quietly as it does its job. I unload my luggage and frown. My whole life was able to fit in a trolley...
I ignore the sobering thought and proceed over to the ticket lady. This woman is different from the last one I met, but she's also a blonde lady with blue eyes (Hitler's favourite apparently.) She looks similar enough for me to fake a familiarity with the staff and I force small talk as she studies my ticket. It's a trial, but it's soon over.
The security guard at the check point is the exact same guard that screened me on my first trip. I wav sarcastically but his glare makes me stop. He either hates his job or me, but signs seem to point to both...That or he's just an asshole. He throws a tray at me and I empty my pockets onto them. I then proceed through the metal detector which thankfully stays silent.
"Didn't you have glasses last time?" He growls in an accent I have never heard of before.
"Anything's possible in Japan!" I smile falsely and he groans.
I take back my belongings and sit down in the waiting area. The seats have been replaced since my first trip and they are more comfy. I could sleep in them, but that would be plain stupid.
I turn on my Ipod and listen intently to the roars and screams of one of the many death metal songs I have. As an old lady walks past me I turn up the volume so that she can hear it. She stares at me and then hurries off. I laugh inside. It's a fun game I've started playing. The rules are quite simple. All you have to do is play loud heavy metal around people and try to scare them. It works about 80% of the time.
While I play the game, I look around, half expecting someone to come talk to me, sort of like deja vu for the first flight. Unfortunately, as the minutes tick by, I make no new friends. Oh well, I wasn't in the mood for socialising right now anyway.
A voice calls out over the P.A and I turn my Ipod off to listen to the mechanical voice.
#The flight to Japan in boarding now. All passengers on the 8:30 flight to Japan please head to the boarding gate.#
I rise to my feet and study the other passengers. Most of them are ordinary looking people, but there are two Goths. I instinctively become afraid, a common thing since the events in Karakura Town last year. I somehow caught Emophobia, but I curse in my mind, reminding myself that not every person with jet black hair and pale skin is a killer.
I join the back of the line and wait impatiently as the line progresses at the speed of an injured snail.
When I finally reach the plane I feel like my legs are going to fall apart. I hurriedly find my seat and sink into it, sighing with relief as my feet have their well earned break.
I'm in a window seat this time so I watch the airport staff scurry about like ants for a while before resorting to watching the passengers more or less do the same thing. An old man sits on the outside seat and I curse inwardly.
No! I don't want to sit next to a freaking dinosaur! If he's got a wife I'm leaving!
I bite my tongue as I watch several old women walk past; thankfully each one goes straight past us...Thankfully.
Eventually a young woman stops beside the man and then at the seat between us. I feel a glimmer of hope, but then the girl checks her ticket and giggles.
"Oops, I'm in the row behind! Silly me!"
Damn it!!
Next, a pregnant woman stops by the seat. She turns around and sits in the row opposite. This waiting game is becoming agonizing now. At long last, another young woman approaches and smiles warmly at the withered old man who gets up to let her through.
I sigh inwardly and eye her up and down while she's still conversing with the old man. When she sits down I stray my eyes away and look outside, waiting for the inevitable 'Hello.'
For a while it doesn't happen. I quickly come to think of her as a snob but then she says it.
"Hello." Right from the script, but whatever, I don't mind. I repeat the word and give a slight smile.
"Looks like we're gonna be friends for a while." She says sweetly.
"How so?" I ask, somewhat confused.
"Well, this flight is a few hours long and it would be pretty boring if nobody spoke, wouldn't it?" She grins and I suddenly get that warm feeling inside like when you see a little puppy roll over. Yes that's right, even metal heads get that...We aren't that evil...Geez!
I laugh like an idiot. "I guess that would be pretty lame." Normally I would have said shit, but I don't want to offend her in the first fifty seconds of our flight. We've got a hell of a long flight ahead and it would be best to enjoy it.
"I'm Alice."
"Alex." I reply.
"This is my grandfather." She points to the wrinkled pile of flesh that once would have looked like a regular person.
"Well, he is a few decades too old to be your father." I joke but I don't hear her laughing. She nods and makes that humming noise that signifies agreement. I apologise and she waves it aside.
"No, don't worry, it was only a joke." Alice looks down at my shirt and then back at my face. "Do you really listen to that stuff?" She jabs a slender finger at the disembowelled zombie emblazoned on my shirt with 'Bloodbath' written in the corner. I nod and she raises an eyebrow. "You don't look like it..."
"Why not?"
"I don't know...You just...Don't." She struggles to form a reason and shrugs.
"Do you?" I ask, trying to keep a conversation for a little while longer.
"A little, but the really heavy stuff is a bit too much." She murmurs.
"It takes specially tuned ears to love it. Thankfully I have them." We both laugh and then the silence ensues.
It's so awkward that at one point I feel like asking something stupid like 'Have you been to Japan before?' but I refrain from it for another few minutes. The girl starts talking to her pet dinosaur/grandfather and I tune out to some metal.
It's not for about three hours until the girl begins tapping my shoulder. I turn to her and realise that her mouth is moving but I can't hear her. I turn the music down and try to listen but still it just looks like she's miming. I take out my headphones and stare at her, but her words are still unheard. She frowns and gestures for me to lean closer. I do so and she attempts to whisper in my ear, but I still can't hear. I begin fearing I've gone deaf then...
"It's a bit loud!!" She yells right in my ear and I recoil, banging my head on the window.
"Argh fuck!" I growl as I grasp my bruised skull. Alice bursts out laughing and then gasps.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean for you to-"
I raise a hand and cut her off. "It's only a tap. Don't worry about it."
"But-"
"I'm fine!" I snarl, frightening her. She stares at me with wide eyes and opens her mouth to speak before stopping herself.
Great, I've screwed this up...
A movie comes on and we forget that the whole thing ever happened, losing ourselves in the magic of Hollywood.
When it's over, we go to sleep.
*****
It's been a restless sleep, my bruised head aches even when it's against a pillow. I open my eyes and my peripheral vision catches Alice watching me cautiously. When I spin my head towards her she tries to look away but fails to do it in time. She smiles awkwardly and rubs the back of her head.
"How's your head?"
"Better...Stop worrying about it..."
"Okay..." She mumbles. "We should be landing soon."
"Great, Rukia's probably tired of waiting..." I notice a sign of distress on her face.
"Who's that?" She asks almost fearfully.
"A friend. I'm going to be living in Japan now." Her face lightens up and I feel a little better inside.
"Wow. That's great. Good luck."
"Thanks. If you're ever in Karakura Town, then stop by and say hi." Another obligatory statement, but it works well.
We continue with small talk until the plane lands, then we say our goodbyes and she chats with her grandfather. I watch her go and wait for the crowd to pass before getting off of the plane.
As I head into the arrivals lounge I notice some familiar faces. It's my new family. Ichigo is loading boxes and bags onto a trolley. Rukia is picking them off of the conveyor belt. Inoue is waving like a fool to get my attention.
I approach them and greet them with an overly cheery hello. Rather than stand around and chat, we go find a taxi-van and begin loading my stuff in. We then clamber inside and greet the driver who just grumbles something under his breath. Seriously, what's up with the taxi drivers here?!
I regale the group with marvellous tales of my time in Australia, though it is somehow less exciting than what happened here a while ago. I don't know, maybe it's just me, or is fighting monsters with swords a bit more awesome than meeting up with family?
I drag the stories out for a while and soon we're at the apartment block. I suddenly feel nostalgic, even though it's only been a few months since I was last here.
We unload everything and then cough on dust as the van speeds off.
I stand outside, marvelling at the building which is my new home. It's been restored in the last few months. I remember how it was damaged in the war with the hollows. Hopefully, nothing like that will happen ever again, though I can't seem to shake the feeling that it will...
It's a real pain in the ass carrying the stuff upstairs. It's a painstaking job which takes about an hour. We get everything in just before sunset and I leave it all unpacked for now. Jetlag takes its toll and I collapse on the bed which has gathered a thin layer of dust in my absence.
The others leave me be and I doze off after only a few minutes and just before I pass out I think to myself...I'm finally home...
I haven't got much to say except...PLEASE REVIEW!!! DO IT!!!!