Short author note: This story has been sitting on the shelf for about two years because I wasn't happy with it after I finished it. But after reading a lovely review for A New Leaf, I decide I will just get it out there and be done with it. This will be my last fanfic for an undetermined time. Currently I don't have any energy to write anything, as whenever I start committing to write something, it becomes a chore and its no longer enjoyable. So here goes, hopefully its fun enough for fans of the series who happen to stumble into this page. Adios!
Disclaimer: The storyline, character background and setting have been written as closely as possible to canon/reality, but please note they are in no way reflecting the actual conditions as I have never been to Japan.
"Our first vacation, finally!" Sammy exclaimed as the private jet they boarded took off en route to Tokyo. "I think this is the first time in God-knows-how-long when I am not flying behind the wheel of some spaceship or rocket."
"That's if you can call a publicity tour a vacation," Eric reminded him.
"I wouldn't give it such a judgmental term," Grant countered patiently. "This is more like a sympathy gesture, a concert of hope of some sort. Japan is one of the countries most affected by the recent tsunami. The people need a little spirit booster, a comforting thought that there's still some good in this chaotic world."
"I know," Eric clarified, "but you can't deny the fact it doesn't hurt the organization's image either. That's what our PR team had in mind when they organized this trip. People want to see the saviors behind the vehicles, to be able to relate to them. The more exposure we get, the more funding we secure. Not that it's a bad thing."
"Well, I couldn't care less." Sammy reclined in his seat. "What matters is I get a trip where I can actually walk around a place instead of just hovering sixty feet above it."
"Don't know if we can actually do that though," Catherine chimed in. "The social visit schedule is pretty packed, and we only have one and a half day before going to Australia tomorrow."
"I think one day should be enough to make all the stops," Grant checked his scheduler. "We still have extra half day tomorrow for sightseeing. Do you have any place you need to go to, Hidaka? Hidaka?"
"Huh?" The only Asian team member looked up from where he'd been staring out of the window in the last thirty minutes. "Sorry, come again?"
"Do you have anybody to see in Tokyo? Maybe a childhood friend or something?" Grant asked again.
"Oh." Raiji shook his head. "No, not there I guess."
"You okay? You've been so quiet since we took off," Catherine asked with a note of concern.
"Yeah...thought you'd be happy to see your homeland again after a year," Sammy added.
"I am," Raiji replied with a small smile. "Was just thinking about the last disaster. It's the second time tsunami had hit Japan in the last ten years. I'm just wondering how people will get back up after such close succession of harrowing experiences."
"Japan is one little fierce fighter," Eric remarked. "They just got better and better despite all that have happened to them in the last century or so. I'm sure this time is no exception."
"Your hometown did not get affected too badly I hope?" Catherine asked his Japanese teammate again.
"It was quite damaged but fortunately no casualties," Raiji responded. "We got it really bad the first time around but in the second time everybody was more prepared, and disaster was anticipated early so there was time for evacuation. The orphanage where I grew up in has to be rebuilt though."
"Where is it?" Sammy dared to probe now that his teammate himself had breached the subject. They rarely talked about Raiji's background, afraid to incite any painful childhood memory. Raiji had lost both his parents in a space accident at an early age.
"Oiso, in the outskirts of Yokohama."
"If you like, you can go there tonight or early in the morning for a visit and come back before twelve tomorrow," Grant offered. "Just tell me the fastest way to get there and I can ask Jackson to arrange a transport for you."
"But what about you guys?" Raiji sounded uncertain. "There'll be no one to show you around Tokyo."
"We'll manage. It's only half a day of free time anyway, so it's not like we'll get to see much." Grant smiled in assurance. "And there's always the city tour."
"Or," Sammy suddenly grinned, "we can all go with Hidaka to visit his childhood home. That's if you don't mind some team bonding in your hometown, Hidaka."
"Of course not!" Raiji responded, his eyes lighting up at the suggestion. "But are you guys sure? The town isn't all that exciting."
"Well, rather than wasting half a day just enough to cover a few blocks in Tokyo, I'd rather go and see my friend's backyard," Sammy winked. "Right, Eric?"
"I have to agree," Eric smiled. "Plus it would be nice to go somewhere where we'll be less noticed."
"Count me in," Catherine piped up, barely able to contain her excitement.
"What happened to the long-planned Harajuku itinerary?" Sammy teased.
"Visiting a friend's hometown seems an obvious choice over shopping when you have limited time, don't you think?" Catherine retorted.
"I didn't say it doesn't," Sammy threw the only girl in the team a knowing grin, not daunted with the murderous look she leveled at him.
"Oiso, Kanagawa it is then," Grant typed into his scheduler, smiling at the banter. It was amusing to the rest of the team how Catherine's interest in her Oriental teammate was obvious to anyone but the object of affection himself. "I've notified Commander Simpson of our schedule. What's the name of the house, Hidaka?"
"Elizabeth Saunders Home," Raiji answered, looking more cheerful at the thought of playing host to his friends. "It's located not far from the beach and the view of the sea is beautiful. You can see green pigeons in this rocky area of the shore and some beautiful fishes in the shallow waters. I used to swim and snorkel a lot there growing up."
He then animatedly highlighted each place of interest in his hometown, showing the rare boyish side more appropriate for his age than the grim seriousness he usually showed when on the job as professional rescue pilot.
"What's the history behind the name?" Eric asked curiously. "Elizabeth Saunders doesn't have any Japanese sound to it."
"It was the name of the British governess who funded the orphanage's establishment," Raiji explained. "The founder herself was a Japanese though. She originally built the house for parentless biracial children abandoned by their parents during World War II."
"Interesting. Any British influence in the teaching system then?"
"A little. We got English lessons earlier and more regularly than most public schools, and some subjects were taught and assessed in English."
"No wonder your English was already perfect when you came to IRO," Sammy commented. Raiji only smiled modestly.
Their conversation was interrupted when the robot attendants offered them breakfast. Eric made good use of his omelets, noting that he'd need a lot of energy waving and smiling and talking to people all day. Suddenly Catherine said, "Hey guys, look who's on TV."
Being a business private jet of IRO, the in-flight entertainment was tuned in to live news instead of movies. The rest of the team looked up just in time to see the NHK World channel showing a shaky footage of TB-1 dodging a violent splash of tsunami wave before landing on a safe spot to evacuate the people in Sydney. It was followed by a footage of TB-2 dropping rescue pods in the city and the refugees running to them for cover. The English caption at the bottom read: "Modern Superheroes: TechnoVoyager is the New Hope for the Afflicted World."
"Well, looks like you were not entirely wrong, partner," Sammy said to Eric as the screen now showed the five of them helping to settle the refugees in the shelter. "We've become bigger than the Beatles."
"At this rate," Grant commented as the news anchor highlighted their skyrocketing popularity, "I don't think you can stroll around any place anytime soon, Sammy."
"Well, I don't mind a bit of that," Sammy smirked as the screen now showed teenage girls gushing and squealing as they waved pictures and action figures of Eric and Raiji.
"Not sure if I wouldn't mind myself being perused as a toy," Eric murmured, "though I certainly would love the female attention."
"The action figures look a little...creepy," Catherine commented, then shuddered as one guy was shown grinning while holding a Barbie-like doll of her.
"Just wait 'til you get to Tokyo," Raiji said with a wink. "I think you'll find the dolls and figurines more agreeable."
Their jet touched down at the VIP terminal of Haneda International Airport and they were greeted by the extremely hospitable airport staff as well as members of the Japanese Special Rescue Team they'd worked with earlier when handling the recent tsunami disaster. Despite their courteous welcome, Catherine could see the special respect the people reserved for Raiji. Which was understandable, considering he was the first Japanese, Asian really, to make it to the elite international rescue team and at such a young age too. Raiji himself looked different among his countrymen, more relaxed and candid somehow. Catherine especially enjoyed the sound of his voice as he talked with them in his mother language, though she couldn't understand a word of it.
"Earth to Catherine," Sammy waved a hand before her, and she swatted it away, irritated. "Our limo is ready. You can have your crash course in Japanese with Hidaka later."
They were whisked to the waiting limousine that would take them to central Tokyo. As the car tore through the highway, Raiji gazed out at the lines of buildings outside the window with a mixture of longing and affection that Catherine had never seen before.
"It's good to be back, isn't it?" she asked. He just smiled.
"When I left, I was not sure when I would return," he said. "For all I knew, I could've been killed on my first mission."
"And now you've become a homeland hero," Sammy nudged him on the ribs. "Seeing the treatment you got in the airport, I daresay they'll kiss your feet when we get to town. Remind me to bring you along on my next trip here."
"You don't need me, Sammy. A very reliable source said you have quite a following here," Raiji nudged his friend back.
Suddenly Grant's wrist comm link beeped. All the other members looked at each other as the Chief talked with someone who was obviously Commander Simpson.
"Sorry, folks," Grant turned off his comm link with a sigh. "Looks like we won't be getting any free time. The Commander just told me there's a worrying volcanic activity in the Phillippines. We need to return to the base tomorrow morning just in case."
His announcement was greeted with several groans. Catherine looked especially deflated.
"What's with all the disasters lately," Sammy lifted both hands and gazed to the roof as if lamenting to the ruler of the universe. "Why can't they just happen all at once and be done with it? Sorry you can't see your folks, Hidaka."
"It's alright. I hadn't expected to go in the first place anyway," Raiji responded with what he hoped was a casual shrug.
"I'll talk with Commander Simpson when we get home," Grant promised. "Maybe he can let you off for one or two days to make it up."
"Don't sweat it, Chief. I can always go to the Commander myself if I need a break," Raiji reassured, aware there was a slim chance he could return to Japan or go anywhere else for that matter for any length of time. In fact, if it wasn't because of the organization's publicity team suggesting a tour to reach out to the public and encourage fund-raising, they wouldn't even have hopped on the jet. Having only started operations for a year or so, the IRO had not gathered enough qualified personnel to expand the core team, and the five of them needed to be on stand-by most of the time to answer emergency calls. Compared to the others, who had not seen their immediate families for more than a year, Raiji did not lose much, though he did miss his school teachers and a few good friends who now helped running the orphanage.
"Okay," Grant again checked his scheduler, "so first on the list is courtesy call to the Prime Minister, then visits to one school and one foster home in the city center before lunch and a brief tour to some disaster-affected prefectures in the vicinity. Looks like we'll only have enough time for dinner and sleep after we finished."
"No offense, but the schedule is so unpractical." Eric rolled his eyes. "Tokyo isn't one of the worse-off cities. It would make more sense if we go to coastal areas that got the brunt of the disaster like Hidaka's hometown, instead of doing all these redundant events in one place just to get major media coverages."
A slow grin surfaced on Sammy's face. "Partner, you're a genius."
"You got that lightbulb moment again, Sammy?" Eric asked.
His co-pilot winked. "I think I know just the way to get our jobs done here and make sure our friend can go home."