KbN: Well, it's not exactly a secret who the man in this chapter is... don't worry about the ambiguity, you'll be seeing a lot more of him as the story goes on! Please R/R and a special thanks to The Duelist's Heiress & Autumn-Angel-31, for being so constant in their reviews. I really appreciate you guys :)

A Flash of Lights Chapter Two: Stranger on a Plane
Author: KolabyNikola

"Come on, Tea!"

"I'm coming, Kaede!" Tea snapped, shoving her final bag onto the conveyor belt. She had over-packed and had to redistribute clothes amongst her bags. Much unlike Kaede, who had packed a simple suitcase and been ready to go in fifteen minutes.

Tea straightened herself before hurrying over to Kaede, who was waiting impatiently at the foot of the security line.

"I don't see how you packed everything in fifteen minutes," Tea grumbled as they got in line. "I've been packing for a week, and I still don't think I brought everything."

"What is there to pack?" Kaede asked bemusedly. "I really just pulled everything out of the closet and threw it in the suitcase. It's not like, rocket science."

Tea gave her a dirty look, before giving her a half-hearted grin. "I need a lot of options," she explained while the security officer took their tickets and IDs. "I don't know what I'm going to wear… It's been a good two years since I saw all of my friends. I have to look my best."

"I didn't realize you hadn't been home in that long," Kaede remarked, feeling a slight pang of guilt, taking her papers back and throwing her bag onto the X-ray belt. "I mean, this is a big homecoming trip for you and all, I feel-"

Tea didn't let her finish her sentence. "You would not be intruding, Kaede. We both need a break, and I'd love to be able to introduce you to everyone. Besides, my mom really wants to meet you, she's always asking what we're up to."

Kaede grinned shamefacedly, a little embarrassed that Tea had predicted her thoughts so accurately. "Alright," she said, and stepped through the metal detectors.

Kaede settled into her seat, and the past few hours hit her like a brick. Less than twelve hours ago, she'd been having dinner with her… boyfriend? Technically still her boyfriend, she hadn't told Ken yes or no yet. He'd popped the question, so unromantically. Just slid a box across the table and asked those terrifying words.

It was a pretty ring, she thought, not huge but a lovely cut and she knew it would look perfect nestled on her finger. Ken had always had a knack for picking out jewelry, no matter his other faults. But her immediate thought had been no. A resounding, unshakeable no. In that moment she had realized just how much she didn't love him.

And it wasn't that she didn't love Ken, but that it wasn't 'spend the rest of your life together' love.

Kaede refused to settle for anything less than that.

And now she was on a plane to Domino, seated in the business class, next to a rather handsome stranger. He was asleep, his brown hair tousled and dark rings under his eyes. She had rather wished she could sit next to Tea, but this had been the last open seat left on the entire plane.

The leather seat hugged her curves as she leaned back and closed her eyes. She felt the ground beneath their feet separate, and with that, they were airborne. There was something unnerving about being in the air, she mused as drowsiness overtook her.

Wasn't it better to keep your feet on the ground?

A jostle awoke her several hours later. It must have startled the whole plane, Kaede thought as she glanced around the cabin. All around her, executives were shaking their heads and blinking like owls, having been shaken awake.

Even the man next to her, who had been asleep since she had sat down, was startled from his slumber. He looked first out the window and then at Kaede, his eyes a startling blue.

It wasn't the color that held Kaede so spellbound, but the fact that behind the brilliant sapphire of his eyes, there was an icy wall. With that first look, Kaede felt she learned everything she would ever know about this man: he was cold, emotionless, completely calculated.

"How long have I been asleep?" he asked suddenly, his voice hoarse. There was a seductive chill in his words that sent shivers down Kaede's spine.

"About…" Kaede checked her watch, then replied, "Four hours. It's 10:17."

He nodded once at her, perhaps as thanks, and then closed his eyes again, settling back into the seat. Kaede studied him bemusedly as his chest slowly settled back into the steady motions of sleep breathing. He had high cheekbones, ones any girl would be jealous of; a strong chin and jaw that while still clean, showed promise of an impending shadow. Everything about him seemed to be long and lanky, from his neck, to his torso, to his legs that even with the extra room, still had to be slightly bent to fit in the seat.

He was pale, too. Kaede considered brushing his skin, just to see if he was as cold to the touch as he appeared to be. But her own sleepiness was rapidly creeping up on her. Her eyelids fluttered shut and soon it was as though she had never been awoken at all.

The man next to her awoke hours later as the plane flew steadily on. It was a thirteen hours flight to Tokyo, and then he would be picked up and driven an hour north to Domino. The trip to New York had been about damage control more than anything. Lately, the company had just not been able to catch a break: this time, a huge shipment of faulty duel disks had been delivered to the States, and they hadn't caught it in time. He had had to fly directly to New York and meet with the distributors. They hadn't seemed all that fussed about the whole issue; in the end, they knew it wouldn't be them who took the fall. He had boarded the plane smelling lawsuits and falling stock in his future.

He noticed the girl next to him then, which in itself was unusual. He didn't notice women in the traditional sense that other men did. Someday he supposed he would have to get married and she would spit out a son that would take over the company. But the need for that seemed ages away. He was a healthy young man in his prime… Surely he didn't need to worry about marriage until he was at least forty or so.

But this girl was striking in the pale daylight of the cabin. She had dark auburn hair, so dark that it was nearly brown, but even with the dim lighting, it cast a rosy halo about her face. Her eyebrows and lashes were like dark slashes against her pale skin, and somehow, she looked vaguely familiar. Perhaps she was a businesswoman in New York. Maybe one of the Ivy League hounds who would surely be filing suits as he thought this.

But his interest couldn't be held that long by just a girl. He looked out the window instead, and studied the landscape that lay so indistinguishably below them. Sighing, he furrowed his brow as he picked up a scent.

It was light, perfume. Feeling very aware of himself, he leaned closer to the girl next to him, and decided it was definitely her perfume.

Lilacs, he thought, turning away once more. Very pretty.