"Good afternoon everyone, this your captain speaking," crackled the P.A system, "We'll be landing in thirty minutes at Tokyo's international airport, the weather is fairly warm, about 65 degrees Fahrenheit with a slight breeze coming in from the east."
Artea sighed in relief, plane rides had never been his favorite, with a constant nagging feeling that the plane will just fall out of the sky because there was too much on board. He pulled the back of his seat up into an upright position and listened as the captain droned on.
"Be sure to check the overhead bins for your belongings, but open the lids carefully, as the turbulence from before may have shifted them. I hope you had pleasant flight and I wish on behalf of the flight team, a good day."
The P.A crackled once more, before falling silent. The passengers on board started chattering again, some in Japanese, English, or some other language.
Artea released another sigh, this one much more depressing, his seatmate glanced at him in concern, before turning to their friend next to them. Artea turned his head to look out of the circular plane window, he could already see through the clouds the tall towers of Tokyo.
Realization suddenly hit him, leaving him slightly breathless and heart racing. Finally he had some semblance of belonging, even if it wasn't people, then at least it was the land itself and culture that welcomed him.
The seatbelt sign above him lit up, and the tight space was filled with clicking noises as people fastened them. Artea did the same, then gripped the armrests next him as he felt the plane start to descend.
His stomach felt uneasy, doing somersaults inside his body. He bore through the descent, albeit eyes closed. As the plane touched down and bounced a few times, he released the breath he'd been holding.
The plane neared the docking at the airport, he unfastened his seatbelt, ignoring the still lit seatbelt sign. The passengers around him were already on their feet, reaching for their belongings from the overhead bins. A stewardess stood near the bathroom, looking grumpy at the people's disregard to the seatbelt signs.
'The only time people listen is when they're in a life or death situation. Then they'd probably eat shit so they could survive.'
Finally the lit sign above Artea turned off and he stood up. He didn't have any carry-on, just his suitcase that he needed to claim. He shuffled after the people, murmuring a quick good-bye to the stewardess over-seeing the un-boarding passengers.
As he traversed the international airport, avoiding bumping into people as his suitcase rolled after him, his thoughts started to drift back to his brothers, he was anxious as to how his brother's would react to his physical appearance. He was still in his thoughts when and angry woman behind him yelled to get out of the way, probably she was late for her flight.
The passport control and baggage check went by in a flash, and he found himself outside the airport. The shining sun beat down him, a cool breeze blew past him and he felt himself take a deep breath, welcoming the not-co-clean air with fervor.
An empty taxi was already in front him, with the driver waiting by the trunk. Artea pulled his suitcase with him as he neared the taxi, the driver already opening the trunk. He handed over his suitcase and sat himself in the passenger seat.
The driver stepped in and gruffly asked Artea's destination, getting a reply of: "Kichijou, Sunrise apartment complex."
As the taxi got farther away from the airport, a pang of longing hit Artea, his thoughts circling around some of the friends he'd made in America, more importantly around Ray.
Meanwhile
"Masaomi have you told the others about his return?" Ukyo stiffly stood, literally drilling holes into Masaomi.
Masaomi, in turn, sweat-dropped, "Hikaru knows and so does Kaname and Louis, the others don't. It would be great to have his arrival as a surprise."
Ukyo shook his head at the man's antics, knowing that his brother's arrival would cause another chaos, rivaling what Ema had brought. Leaving Masaomi to his own devices, he went back to his room and went through the papers for his next case, his mind drifting to the arrival of his brother.
'I'm finally back'
Artea stood in front of the entrance to the apartment complex, a tight grip on the handle of his suitcase. He scrolled through his phone, searching for a particular contact, and pressed the 'call' button. He'd barely gotten the receiver next to his ear when he heard the soothing voice of his elder brother.
"Hello?" sounded the slightly confused voice of Masaomi. Artea slightly smiled at the familiar tone and shifted his hold on the phone.
"Hi Brother, I'm outside, waiting," the sound of objects falling over met Artea's ears, as Masaomi sprinted toward the entrance. The line went dead and Artea smiled at his brother's excitement.
Artea barely got his thoughts together, when the door was suddenly yanked open, and he was engulfed by a huge figure. The familiar smell of strawberries and hospital met his nose, and he sunk into the warm embrace and blubbering voice of his brother.
Artea dug his nose into Masaomi's shoulder, happy thoughts going through his mind, and he murmured:
"I'm back, Brother."
