Writer: Kyoko-tan
Editor: Sakura-tan
This two-shot is dedicated for all the people and readers who were affected by 9/11. We hope the best for all of you.
Also this is a Ruka x Hotaru story. Aren't they cute?
Disclaimers: We do not own Gakuen Alice. Credit goes to Tachibana Higuchi for creating the lovable characters.
Summary: "We experienced what no human would ever want to experience." When a disaster strikes, two firefighters, a new reporter and a paramedic forces everything aside, even their own lives. Yet even amongst that, they find the strength to move on.
September 11, 2001.
The day started out like any other working day. I saw co-workers tiredly walking out from the fire station as they finished their 24-hour shift. I made my way to the change room to drop my bags off. Brew some coffee. Sit on the couch. Watch some tv.
Buzz, my phone vibrated. It was a text message from my wife. I smiled happily to myself as I read the message. "Tonight Daniel – 7pm. Be safe. ~ Hotaru."
Three years ago today, Hotaru and I tied the knot in a quiet ceremony with family and friends. It took years practicing in front of a mirror before I finally summoned the courage to propose to her. We've been together ever since. And after months of saving up money, I finally decided: 'What is a better time to give a silver bracelet with crystal star and rabbit charms, than our 3rd year anniversary?'
"Ruka," I turned to see my colleague and best friend who walked through the door.
"Morning Natsume," I walked over to the coffee machine and poured two cups. Then I made my way over to the change room, leaning against the doorframe. I offered Natsume a cup. "Mocha without cream."
"Thanks." He locked his locker and took the cup of coffee from my hand. We strolled over to the lounge and lounged on the couches.
"How's Mikan?" I asked.
"Like always." Natsume switched through tv channels. "What about yo – "
We stopped talking as we drew our attention to the tv screen.
Breaking News: 8:46 a.m. Flight 11 crashes into North Tower of the World Trade Center.
Then we got our dispatch call shortly after. Everyone stopped what they were doing and rushed to the locker room. In less than 2 minutes, we were dressed and loaded in the trucks – 4 to 5 people each; we were attempting to drive full speed down New York City's jammed packed streets.
Our fire station was located in a different region, so by the time we've arrived, most firefighters had already ventured into the North Tower to evacuate stranded workers. Others were directing people to safety or manning the hose.
The scene was chaotic. People were running and screaming. Broken glass and paper were scattered across the floors. Smoke clouded the azure blue sky. The fire was blazing on the top floors of the North Tower.
Suddenly, we heard a loud and low rumbling sound that soon followed with a crash. We covered our head to shield from falling debris. As we looked up from our fire truck, we could see that the South Tower has also been hit; however, this time, the plane grazed diagonally through the building around the 80th floors. Our bodies froze in place in disbelief and shock.
"We need to split up," Natsume said monotonously which snapped the team back to reality. "With a disaster this grand, there was no doubt that more firefighters would be called to the scene. In the meantime, it's best to assist people from both buildings."
I gave a curt nod to Natsume and our teams divided into two. One was lead by Natsume and the other one by me. Originally, we were told by the dispatcher to head for the North Tower, but the situation has now changed. The more people that we rescue, the better.
We grabbed our necessary equipment, which included two tanks of oxygen and a radio transmitter. Lowering my transparent mask, I looked over to Natsume.
"Stay safe, Natsume," I quickly bid my farewell to my best friend.
"You too, Ruka," Natsume said with more emotion, giving me a knowing glance. With that, we parted ways to our respective buildings – Natsume to the North and I to the South – dreading with every step of what we will be seeing beyond those once endless glass windows.
"Ruka!"
I stopped running towards the building to face the familiar female voice. The team gave me a questioning look. I motioned them to continue towards the building. "I'll meet up with you guys inside."
I ran over to Hotaru and gripped her petit shoulders. In a serious and worried voice, I asked, "Hotaru, what are you doing here?"
She pointed toward a vehicle, as her crew began to set up behind her. "I'm a reporter," she bluntly replied and took a step to close the distance between us.
"Be careful where you step. There are glass shards everywhere," I said worriedly. I glanced back at the two burning buildings, which with every passing second looked more like smoke stacks than buildings.
"Ruka, there's –"
"Look, I've got to go. We both need to get back to our work," I interrupted Hotaru from finishing her sentence.
"Ru – " I leaned in to give her a peck on the cheeks. She whispered into my ears. "Be safe."
"We'll talk tonight," I promised and hastily ran off towards the South Tower without a second thought of what Hotaru wanted to say to me.
The crew and I were driving along New York's street when we saw smoke coming from the World Trade Center. Moments later, we got a call from our manager to cover the story. Thus we sped as fast as we could to the scene.
Once I felt the car came to a halt, I jumped out from my passenger seat and into the chaotic, disaster zone. I looked up towards the sky and saw the two buildings on fire. I skimmed the crowd, when I saw Ruka.
"Ruka!" I called and walked briskly in my heels in his direction. As he parted ways with his team, he ran over to close the distance, tightly gripping my shoulders as if I would leave once his grip loosened.
"Hotaru, what are you doing here?" It was clear in his voice that he was worried.
I pointed to the NYTC van behind me. I bluntly replied, before taking a step forward. "I'm a reporter."
"Be careful where you step. There are glass shards everywhere," he said and then glanced back at the two burning towers.
"Ruka, there's –" I began.
"Look, I've got to go. We both need to get back to our work," he interrupted me.
"Ru – " He leaned in to give me a peck on the cheeks. I gave up trying to tell him, because I knew he wasn't going to listen. I whispered into his ears. "Be safe."
I watched him run towards the South Tower, as I stopped my urge to yell: 'There's something I need to tell you.'
"Mrs. Nogi!" The cameraman hollered at me. "We're ready!"
They gave me a stapled package of papers and a microphone to clip on my blouse. I quickly skimmed the highlighted parts before taking my position. I began reporting the news:
BREAKING NEWS: You're watching live at 9:05 a.m. on NYTC with Hotaru Nogi. Behind me, is the World Trade Center. At exactly 8:46 a.m., an airplane heading to Los Angeles has crashed into the North Tower. Policeman, firefighters and ambulance were called from all over the city to aide with this disaster. Just minutes ago, another explosion occurred. Reports believe another plane – where it was headed is still unconfirmed – has crashed into the South Tower. We'll keep you updated, so please stay with us as we keep you updated on this developing story.
After confirming the location of my other teammates, I quickly ascended the flights of stairs to the 20th floor. With my flashlight, I was able to make it through the thick smoke to reunite with my teammates. We continued upwards to the 77th floor.
"We'll clear this floor," Shine said as he pointed to him and Haru.
"Ya, you guys go up," Haru responded. He pats himself on the chest. "Leave this floor to us!"
Mochiage and I continued to the next floor. Countless of bodies lay motionless under their desk.
I pushed open the wooden door that once led to an individual room. Like any other place, this room was trashed. Through the smoke, I saw a leg sticking out from behind the desk. I quickly made my way over. "Sir!"
He looked weakly up at me. His legs were fractured and blood was trickling from his head. He coughed and struggled to reply. "Son… I won't make it down those stairs. Won't … you tell my daughter… and wife… I love them?" He closed his eyes temporarily before opening them again. He took one last deep breath. "And… that I'm …sorr…y…"
His eyes closed once more and his head rolled back as he lay limp in my arms. In his arms, he tightly clutched a family photo. "I will," I sadly replied with determination to no one in particular.
"Ruka," I heard Mochiage call me through the radio. "Please come over, I need some help."
I carefully walked through the mess to Mochiage, who was standing before a desk that trapped three people – one male and two females. The male appeared to be in his mid-forties, while the women looked as if they were in their early twenties.
I helped Mochiage carefully move the desk and cabinet. The first woman looked unharmed besides minor scrapes and bruises. It seemed the male had shielded her from the falling cabinet which was on top of his now-broken right leg. The second female was unconscious, but was still breathing.
"Mochiage, you escort the young lady to the ambulance below." I motioned to the first woman, who in return refused. She said she was able to make her way down the stairs and that Mochiage should carry her unconscious co-worker. We complied.
"What about you, commander?" Mochiage asked as he stood up to walk to the stairwell doors. I carried the male on my back.
"I'll be right behind you." I shifted his weight and began to walk over to Mochiage. As we descended the stairs, the female on Mochiage's back woke up. She too insisted that she can walk down by herself.
Faintly, in the distance, I heard a soft cry for help.
"Mochiage, take this man to the ambulance. I need to check something." I slipped the male from my back and helped him onto Mochiage's before continuing to the voice.
This was the 43rd floor. I followed the faint banging noises leading me to a pair of metal doors. The distorted sign on the wall indicated that it was a meeting room. A table blocked the doors, trapping the people inside. Quickly, I pushed the table to the side and slugged open the metal door to reveal a group of 10 people.
"You're safe now." I bent down to push some chairs away. As a neared the group, I offered my hand to help them stand. "Can you guys walk?"
"Yes," a girl meekly said and grasped my hand for support. "Thank you."
"Make your way to Stairwell A. It's passable," I directed them, as I began to piggyback a mid-fifty year old man, who have passed out from stress. "Other firefighters will direct you once you get out."
Carefully I made my way down the stairs. When I reached the 21st floor, I saw Mochiage again. This time he was carrying a woman, instead of the male that I left on his back. "Mochiage!"
He turns around slightly. I could see his tired eyes. "Ahh… Ruka."
"What happened to the male?" I asked curiously.
"Shine met me halfway and took him down." Then gradually, we heard a crack from above. It echoed through the stairwell.
"Run for it!" I yelled to Mochiage, as we ran the rest of the way down the stairs, knowing exactly what was going on.
5th floor, 4th floor, 3rd floor, 2nd floor… through the windows I saw the police cars, ambulance, reporters and fire trucks. Mochiage zoomed out the doors with me trailing about twenty paces behind him.
Crack. Rumble. Boom.
Suddenly, I felt a heavy weight against my head and blackness clouded my vision.
Breaking News: You're watching live on NYTC at 9:45 a.m. with Hotaru Nogi. We are reporting live at the World Trade Center. The North Tower has now been burning for over an hour and many people above the impact zone are still waiting for assistance. Some workers, trapped in the upper floors have lost hope of escaping the burning building – alive, chose to plunge to their deaths from the top floors. We have already witnessed a handful of people jumping one after the other – the exact amount has yet to be confirmed. Firefighters and paramedics are working on-scene as efficiently as possible to recover those trapped and injured, even as we speak. Stay with us as we continue this top story.
I shuffled some papers in my hands, skimming for important points. Then I adjusted the microphone that was clipped on my blouse. I turned as I heard a lot of falling debris behind me.
There on the ground, I saw a paramedic. The world seemed to have stopped for a few seconds, as I stared helplessly at the young, brown-hair female paramedic who was protecting a child from falling debris. For a second, our eyes connected. She had sincere, warm and courageous eyes of a loving mother.
I was pulled away by the cameraman before I could help her. "This way, Mrs. Nogi!" He pulled me into a nearby coffee shop, as we watched the South Tower collapse before us through the glass window. Seconds later, a fog of dust surrounds the coffee shop, obstructing our view.
I thought of the courageous woman who was protecting the child and Ruka. 'Please be safe,' I thought, as I ran out into the dusty roads. I looked around, trying to make out the most from dust, and I was trying to make my way to the World Trade Center. A police blocked me from going closer. "Miss, please stay back!"
I slipped away from the crowds of people who were crying out to their loved ones and looked for another opening. Thankfully due to the dust, I easily slipped through a break in their defence and made my way to the nearest fire truck.
"Ruka?" I tapped a man with the same physical features as him. As he turned around, it was clear that it wasn't the same baby-boy face I loved. I paced frantically around several fire trucks hoping to find my husband.
As I made my way over to the 5th fire truck, I heard Ruka's name being called.
"Ruka! Commander Ruka, please respond!"
Immediately, I jogged over to the voice and instantly recognized the man calling on him as one of Ruka's teammate – Shine. "Where's Ruka?" I asked, for once with a hint of worry. I stood there, hoping that they would direct me to him, instead of the dreadful news that they were going to tell me.
He looked up at me, realizing who I was, and sorrowfully looked away. "We're still finding him. Mochiage said Ruka was right behind him. We'll find him." He placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, but to me it was anything but reassuring. It felt cold and unhopeful. All I wanted at that moment was to be enveloped in those caring arms that I pushed away so many times in the past. Now it all seemed like a distant memory that was fading away.
I woke to the sound of someone calling my name. My head was pounding and I felt a weight on my back. I groggily looked around the area.
A metal plate shielded me and the man (who had now regained consciousness) that I was carrying from concrete walls that fell down. Through the crack I could see the once blue sky had turned gray from the smoke. My radio was a few feet away from me.
"Ruka?" I heard one of my teammate yelling through the radio. "Please respond!"
I moved to grab the radio when I felt a pain up my left leg. I looked and saw blood oozing from my thigh. Ignoring the pain, I continued to crawl forward towards the radio. Then, I leaned against a nearby wall.
"Shine?" I called through the radio. Judging from my injury, I didn't know how long I would last. "There's a man with me and his arm is injured. Umm…I could see a coffee shop nearby. One more thing… could you thank Natsume for me … I hope his wife is safe…" I took a deep breath, recalling Natsume's phone call in the truck. I began to say my last words.
"Ah. Ruka, thank goodness. We'll send someone right away. Yes, I will tell him that." I could hear Shine's relief when he heard my voice. Suddenly, I heard an angel's voice.
"Ruka?" I managed to hear as the static took over the transmission.
"Is that you, Hotaru…?" I replied and smiled happily. To be able to hear my angel's voice before I die; it was any man's wish.
"Help is on the way," she said firmly.
"Mmm… I heard." I grimaced at the pain, but tried to hide it by taking a few breaths. Then I thought about Mochiage, who ran in front of me. "How's…Mochiage?"
"He's fine."
I took a few more breaths. It felt harder to breathe with every breath that I took. Suddenly, I had a flashback moment of when I saw Hotaru outside the South building.
"Ruka, there's – "
'What was she trying to tell me back then?' I thought.
"Ruka?" She raised her voiced. I could hear her voice wavering over the radio. Either she was shaking, or my senses begun to grow dull. I ruled out the first possibility. After years of knowing Hotaru, she wasn't one to show that she's scared. She was one brave woman.
I coughed and wheezed. "What were you … going to tell me…?"
"I'll tell you tonight… You can't die. You promised you'll be safe." Her voice seemed to grow further and further away. I could barely hear the end of the sentence.
"Hmm…I… won't. I still have… a date… with you… tonight…" I struggled to reply. My vision began to fade. In the distance, I thought I heard someone digging and calling out my name, but I couldn't trust my senses anymore. It was probably my imagination.
"Don't say anymore. Save your energy," Hotaru ordered.
Hearing her response, I took once last breath. With the remainder of my energy, I mustered the strength to whisper:
I love you, forever and always.
"Ruka?" One of his teammates continued yelling through the transmitter. "Please respond!"
"Ah. Ruka, thank goodness. We'll send someone right away. Yes, I will tell him that." Before the boy had a chance to take his headphones off, I ripped them from his ears.
"Ruka?" I hastily said through the radio.
I heard a small amount of static before I heard my husband's voice. "Is that you, Hotaru…?" His voice soothed the ring in my ears. It drowned out the chaos around me.
"Help is on the way," I said the first thing that came to mind.
"Mmm… I heard." Something was wrong. His voice was growing softer and softer with every response that he gave me.
"How's…Mochiage?"
"He's fine," I said. I clutched the headphone tightly. For once, my hands were shaking from fear. My voice was slightly higher than my unemotional daily reporter voice.
There was no response from the other side. All I could hear was silence and some more of that stupid static. "Ruka?" I called through the transmitter, raising my voice some more.
He coughed and wheezed. "What were you … going to tell me…?"
"I'll tell you tonight." I tried to keep in contact with him to make sure he was alright. "You can't die. You promised you'll be safe," I had said with more firmness, trying to mask my frightened voice. Ruka was the one in need of help. I had to be strong for my husband.
"Hmm…I… won't. I still have… a date… with you… tonight…" There was more static at the end, as he struggled to reply. I clutched the headphones closer to my ears in hopes that I could better hear his soft response.
"Don't say anymore. Save your energy." I ordered. My voice was sounding more and more desperate.
"I- I … love y – " His voice trailed off. The next thing I heard stopped my heart. It chilled me to the bones, to the point where I couldn't even feel it…
… It was the sound of metal hitting the concrete floors.
As I made my way back to Ruka's grave, I saw a jet-black haired male standing in front. I walked up behind him. Although I have never met him before, I managed to know who he was from Ruka's description of him. "I'm assuming you're Natsume."
He turned around, cocking his eyebrow, before nodding in acknowledgement.
"R-Ruka said a lot about you," I said.
"I'm guessing you're his wife?" Natsume asked, as I nodded back before looking longingly at the gravestone.
"Name's Hotaru." I looked back towards his face. Nonchalantly, I continued. "He told me about you. You were a good friend to him."
He looked at the gravestone. Then, his eyes wandered far into the distance – as if he was searching for something.
"Are you here for him?" I asked bluntly, staring at the field of headstones.
"Not only him." His tone matched mine. "My wife died from saving a young boy from falling rubbles."
My eyes widen slightly as I remembered the courageous woman I saw, shielding the child, moments before I was pulled away to safety. Moments before… the South Tower collapsed.
Quietly, I replied, "I- I saw her... when she saved the young boy. She was a really pretty young lady, and very heroic," I paused several times before I could finish the sentence.
Natsume bent down in front of Ruka's gravestone. His voice was soft and loving. "She was really clumsy and naïve… but she was a great wife."
"She looked like one," I replied. "I… I think we would've been good friends, like you and my husband."
He looked at the flowers.
"A lot of them were from strangers. I think they were the people that Ruka saved."
He nodded in agreement. "He was a great man. He was amazing at his job."
"He must've been," I agreed and complimented him. "After all, you seem like an amazing one yourself."
I couldn't dare say anymore about Ruka because if I did, I knew I would break down right then and there. I didn't want to make this person comfort me. He lost so much more than me… his loving wife and a best friend.
"I… I have to go. My daughter is waiting for me at my wife's grave."
"It was good to meet you in person." I bid my farewell to him.
"You too."
We nodded to each other as I watched him walk away in the direction of an awaiting little girl. She was a mini-version of the loving woman.
I walked up and read Ruka's granite gravestone for the umpteenth time. He was really gone.
Ruka Nogi
1970 – 2001
Beloved son, husband and best friend.
A breeze rippled by, moving the charms on my bracelet. I touched my abdomen.
'Baka. You were going to be a father.'
~La Fin~
Authors Note: Ruka has a 12-hour shift, unlike his other co-worker; hence he would be able to go on a "romantic evening out" with Hotaru.
I hoped you enjoyed reading this first part of the two-shot. Next part of the two-shot is a Natsume x Mikan.