A/N's: Hey! I'm sorry this took soooo long! TT I'm quite swamped with all my other stories, but I'm trying to make uber progress on this one, it's my FAV!
So…here we are, in July! I hope you all enjoy this one!
December Air – Chapter 9 – July America Flight
Kaoru could hardly believe her ears. Her brain had to process what Kenshin had just said at least fifty times before she realized…it wasn't a dream.
"Would you like to go to America with me?"
"…" Kaoru, shocked, stood silent in her doorway, where Kenshin had just asked her if she wanted to travel to a foreign country with him. Now it's not as if Kenshin had never asked her to go places with him before. The beach, the mall, the food court, but this—this was different. This time, she was going overseas with him…
"Kaoru-dono?"
"Umm…uh, sure!" She spit out, "I'd love to! Just don't make me sit next to Megumi again!"
"Umm…you won't be," Kenshin laughed nervously, "Because she's not coming."
"Banzai!" Kaoru cheered, "One less fox to haul! I hope that Yahiko and Tsubame's parents will let them come."
"Umm…they aren't coming either…"
"Then just me, you, Misao, Sano, and Aoshi?"
"Uhhh…none of them are coming."
"You and I aren't coming?"
"No, Misao, Sano, and Aoshi aren't coming…"
"Oh! So that means that…" Kaoru paused, searching for one of their friends that would be going with them, but she found none. "J-just the two of us…?"
"Umm…yes, all expenses paid of course, I wouldn't dream of making you pay for this. It'll be fun, won't it Kaoru-dono?"
"…" Kaoru paused once more. Alone. Six thousand miles away from home. Alone. On an airplane 42,000 ft in the air. Alone. Her and Kenshin. Alone. "I-I-I-I…sure."
"Great! Then here's your ticket," Kenshin handed it to her, "Let's meet at the airport on Sunday at 3:00 P.M., okay?"
"O-o-okay."
"See you then Kaoru-dono!" Kenshin gave a small wave and then walked back out to his car. As he slowly drove away, Kaoru clutched the ticket in her fist and stopped. "I don't know Kenshin, I would feel pretty insecure about going alone with you. And anyway, I've never been on an airplane before and they look really scary so I think I'll pass but I'm really honored, please don't hate me, I'm really sorry, don't hate me, I love you, I love you!" But then she realized at the end of her giant run on sentence…he was already gone and that she was too late…
"Ready to go Kaoru-dono?"
"Uhh…yeah Kenshin, I'm coming." Kaoru couldn't believe she was doing this. She was already sitting in the airport that Sunday afternoon with Kenshin, her crimson travel bag next to her. The airline had just announced that they were beginning to board, and Kenshin extended her a hand. She took it, he lifted her up from her seat, and together, they walked over to boarding area.
Kaoru remembered the reaction of the others when they found out that she and Kenshin were traveling abroad, alone.
"WHAT?! How could Tanuki girl swing a date with Ken-san overseas while I'm stuck here with rooster head?!" – Megumi…
"Hey…make sure you get a nice hotel with only one bed, kay?" – Sano…
"Kaoru! OH MY GOD, THIS IS BIG! What are you gonna wear?! Oh my gosh, not this! This! No…no not that, how about this, OH MY GOD THIS IS SO BIG!" – Misao...
"…" –Guess who.
"WHAT?! Ugly and Kenshin?! On a foreign date?! No way!" – Yahiko
"Good for you Kaoru! Kenshin-san and you are so cute together!" – Tsubame
And here she was, already on the airplane, sitting next to Kenshin, who looked as chipper as usual. "Do you want anything to drink Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin asked Kaoru started adjusting to the fact that she was in the first class of an airplane.
"Oh! Yeah, I'm a little thirsty, I guess," Kaoru blushed and nodded.
"Excuse me, miss!" Kenshin waved to a flight attendant, "Could you get us some water?"
"Yes sir, would you like lemon, or olive?" She asked and Kaoru looked to Kenshin for help.
"Straight please," Kenshin told them.
"Oh, sir!" the attendant smiled, "You must be Himura-san! Tell me, if there's anything you need, we'll get it to you right away."
"Oh, we'll be fine, won't we Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin asked her, and she clumsily nodded as the attendant walked off to fetch her drink. "You'll love America Kaoru-dono, we're getting there on July 4th! That's Independence Day!"
"Independence…what?" Kaoru asked, confused.
"It's the day that America signed "The Declaration of Independence"," Kenshin explained, "Which denounced their ties to the British. Every year, they celebrate with fireworks!"
"Fireworks?" Kaoru asked, "So…it's like Tanabata?"
"Kind of," Kenshin laughed, "But it's kind of different when you're in a different place. You'll love it Kaoru-dono, I just know you will!"
"Sounds…romantic…" she whispered.
"Oro?"
"Oh nothing Kenshin," she paused, and then spoke again, "It just sounds romantic, that's all."
"Yeah…" he smiled dreamily, "And next year, we'll bring everyone…" he smiled, and his eyes glazed over, "And jacket girl…"
Kaoru felt needles pierce her heart. Jacket girl…watching romantic fireworks with Kenshin. She hated her…she wanted Jacket girl to just die. She could just imagine her…smiling at her triumphantly… "And we'll be staying in a really nice five star hotel! I even booked us a special spot to watch the fireworks!"
"My gosh!" she sighed, "How rich are you?"
"Not really…Hiko just likes to spoil me I guess…" Kenshin laughed nervously, "And then he calls me stupid and whacks me a lot at home. And when I told him you were coming, he immediately booked us first class top billing seats."
"Here you are ma'am," the attendant came back with a fancy glass that held water and ice, along with a vase and flowers on a tray. She laid it in front of Kaoru as Kaoru lifted down her solid oak tray table. "Please enjoy." As she walked off, Kaoru tasted the water, and it felt good on her parched throat.
"Have you ever been on an airplane Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin asked her, and she paused.
"Oh! Of…of course, loads, just never in First Class."
"Do you not like planes?" Kenshin asked her, "Cause your hands are shaking." Kaoru looked down at her hands and noticed this was true.
"Umm…no, I'm fine, really! Just nervous about all the special treatment!" Kaoru tried to laugh it off, "Don't worry, I won't barf all over you!"
"That's good, that it is!" Kenshin laughed as the final few passengers got onto the plane.
Kaoru tried to sip quietly now, not wanting to draw attention to herself. To tell herself the absolute truth, she'd never been on an airplane, and she was terrified. The wings looked like they were about to fall off for Chrissake! How in the world could this thing fly that high without running into other planes?! It could crash!
"Hello." Kaoru was jerked out of her thoughts as she saw a Japanese and a foreign flight attendant at the front of the cabin.
"Hello." (Bold will be in English.) The foreign one spoke in English.
"Hello!" Kenshin said and Kaoru blushed, "Hello!"
"Kenshin!" Kaoru blushed and rasped at him, "You're not supposed to answer – Hey…where'd you learn to speak English?"
"I take it at the University, and I travel abroad a lot," Kenshin explained.
"We will now go through the basic safety rules for this aircraft," the Japanese one spoke and Kaoru tuned out. Safety features?! There was a chance the plan could actually crash?! It could run out of oxygen…or worse, fall into the ocean! She had to tell Kenshin that they had to get out of the plane immediately, but he was too busy listening intently to the attendants, even though he had obviously heard the speech enough times to last him his life. Soon, the flight attendant speech ended, and Kaoru felt the plane start to move.
"Oh crap!" she screamed and threw her head into Kenshin's chest.
"Oro?" Kenshin asked and looked down at Kaoru nestled in his shirt, "Something wrong Kaoru-dono?"
"Didn't you feel that?!" Kaoru asked, disbelieving, "We just moved!"
"Yes, we need to move to taxi down the runway and take off," Kenshin told her, "I thought you'd know."
"Oh! Oh yeah, duh! Sorry, I…I just forgot, that's all," she laughed and sat back in her seat with her back glued to the back of the seat, making sure that she wouldn't run to Kenshin again.
That plan fell through the roof when they started taxiing down the runway. "Kenshin! We're going really fast!" Kaoru said, trying not to sound too alarmed.
"Huh?" Kenshin asked, taking his earphones out of his ears, "What did you say?"
"WE'RE GOING TOO FAST!" she screamed over the noise.
"We're mowing the mast?" Kenshin asked, confused, "What are you talking about, oro?"
"THIS ISN'T MARCH WHITE DAY, OH CRUD!" Kaoru screamed as the plane lunged into the air and she couldn't take it anymore. She screamed and grabbed Kenshin by the next, making his eyes bulge out of his head.
"Kaoru-dono!" he tried to scream, "I can't breathe!"
"Oh…sorry Kenshin…" Kaoru let go as the plane leveled in the air and breathed heavily, "I'm alive…oh wow…I'm alive…"
"Of course Kaoru-dono," Kenshin smiled, "Are you scared?"
"N-no…I'm fine…"
"If you get scared, just hold onto my hand," Kenshin instructed her, and she blushed crimson as she eyed his hand, "That'll make it better."
"O-okay…"
"They should be serving dinner soon," Kenshin told her, "Just relax until then."
"All right Kenshin…" she nodded. This was the worst…first she was nervous about going far away with Kenshin, and now she was nervous about dieing on the airplane. She decided that there was nothing to do except sit there and look out at the sky…
BADUMPUMPUH! "Passengers, we in the cockpit apologize, there seems to be some rough turbulence up ahead. Please, fasten your seatbelts and do not move around the cabin. Passengers, we in the…"
Kaoru thought she was going to die. The plane was shaking! SHAKING! And yet Kenshin just sat there, reading with his stupid headphones on! Another rough bit of turbulence came up, and Kaoru found herself grasping Kenshin's hand with all her might. Kenshin looked down and smiled. "It's okay Kaoru-dono, we'll be fine."
"I-I just thought you might be scared…that's all…" Kaoru asked, her voice shaky. Still she grasped Kenshin's hand and hung on until the shaking stopped.
Despite the scariness of the flight, Kaoru had managed to fall asleep after eating dinner. (A five course meal that practically melted in her mouth. She thought she had seen Kenshin special order it for her nerves…)
"Passengers, I'm afraid we're coming up on some rough weather here, please, try to remain seated as we try to rise above it."
"Hmm…" Kenshin sighed, finally taking out his headphones and stopping his walkman, "It is getting awfully bumpy…it would be best not to wake Kaoru-dono." He looked over at her sleeping form and smiled, "I think I'll go check with the flight attendants." Kenshin, as silent as a grave, got up and made his way down the cabin to the flight attendant space.
Meanwhile, Kaoru was fast asleep, squirming in her seat uncontrollably. She was sweating lightly, and a look of anguish was spread across her face.
"So sad…isn't it?" Kaoru looked around her, and realized she was in a black, empty space, but a voice was talking to her. She looked all over, searching for the owner, until finally, a figure came into view. Kaoru grimaced as she saw that she was looking at herself, dressed in Kenshin's jacket and warm pants and shoes. The other her smiled wickedly and continued, "So sad that he's so in love with me and doesn't even look at you."
"That's not true!" Kaoru told her, "Kenshin and I are really good friends!"
"But that's all he'll ever be to you," the other her snapped, "Cause he's mine. I captured my prey and I am not letting him go."
"I won't let you have Kenshin!" Kaoru yelled, "I won't let you!"
"What are you going to do about it?" Kaoru's eyes widened as she saw none other than Kenshin, glossy eyed, appear in front of her, exactly the same distance away from her and the other her. "He's in love with me. With Jacket Girl," the other her sneered as Kenshin slowly made his way towards the other her. "And he'll chase after me," she started to walk away, and Kenshin sped up to go after her, "Until the day he dies."
"No!" Kaoru screamed, "I won't let you! I won't let you do this to him!"
"What are you going to do?" Jacket girl asked, "He's still coming towards me after all…and you…you disgust me. Just standing there, expecting him to come to you without you lifting a finger."
"That's not true!" Kaoru said.
"Isn't it?!" the other her screamed and Kaoru flinched, "He's almost at me…you've almost lost him." It was true, Kenshin was almost to Jacket Girl…he was getting closer, and closer, and closer. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GOING TO DO?!"
"KENSHIN!" Kaoru screamed and ran forward, lunging onto Kenshin, "I LOVE YOU!" Kenshin stopped, turned around, looked at her, and then…embraced her in his arms. Jacket Girl smiled faintly, and then…disappeared.
"Hey…Mokuzai…" the American pilot spoke to the Japanese, "This is rough…"
"I know," the Japanese co-pilot responded, "Hey…do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" the other one asked.
"That noise…it sounds like…valves opening or something."
The American pilot stopped and listened. Finally, he stopped, his eyes wide, and he grabbed a switch and pulled it down almost violently. "DAMN!"
"What are you doing?!" the Japanese pilot asked, "That's the manual oxygen bag deployment!"
"Quick!" the pilot grabbed the mask that had fallen and put it on his face, "I think the oxygen is faulty! The passengers will know what to do."
"Oh crap, I don't know what to do!" Is what Kaoru would have said if she was awake. But unfortunately, she was still fast asleep as the bag dropped in front of her.
"Sir!" the flight attendant that had been speaking to Kenshin gasped, "The oxygen bags have been deployed! Please return to you seat!"
"A-ah, of course ma'am!" he bowed and ran back to his seat, making sure that everyone else was okay. "Oh no…" he whispered, "The oxygen is already running out, what happened?" He returned to his seat and was about to grab his mask when he saw the sleeping Kaoru next to him. "Kaoru-dono!" he shook her and her eyelids fluttered, "Wake up! You've got to put on you mask Kaoru-dono!"
"Wh-hack! Hack!" Kaoru coughed from the lack of oxygen, "Kenshin, what's going on?!" she screamed.
"Don't talk!" he said and pointed to the mask, "Put that on!"
"What's going on?!" she asked again, tears flowing down her cheeks, "Kenshin, I'm scared!"
"Don't talk, save your breath!" Kenshin told her, grabbing his mask and putting it on, "You know how to put it on, right?"
"I…think so…" she pulled it down and strapped it over her mouth, "Kenshin, nothing's happening!"
"The bag won't inflate," he told her.
"But, I don't feel like there's any…hack…cou…" she gave a few weak coughs, "Kenshin, there's no…ox…" But before she could finish, Kaoru passed out onto her seat.
"Kaoru-dono!" Kenshin screamed and looked at the bag…the tube had been torn… "DAMMIT!" he screamed and tried to revive her, "Kaoru-dono, please wake up!" He looked and her, and with a determined look in his eye, he undid his mask and put it over Kaoru's nose and mouth. After a few seconds, her eyes fluttered open and she looked up, "Kenshin…where am I…?"
"You're safe Kaoru-dono," he smiled, his eyes drooping, "That's all that matters…" And with that, his eyes closed and he fell into the cabin hall.
"KENSHIN!" Kaoru screamed, running to his side, "You big dummy!" she cried into his chest, "You…you gave your mask to me…you…could die! HELP!" she screamed as much as she could, "HELP, SOMEBODY, ANYBODY!"
"I'm sorry dear…" one woman told her, "I don't know if the crew can leave their seats…this wasn't supposed to happen."
"There's got to be something they can do!" Kaoru said, crying.
"They're doing all they can, I'm sure!" she assured her, "Don't give up hope, they might have an emergency oxygen supply."
"They might not get here in time!" Kaoru cried, "He's…he's already fading…" She looked at him…her Kenshin, lying there…like he was sleeping, with his mouth slightly open and his air over his eyes. "N-no…" she cried, "I…I never even…I never even told him how I…I…" She stopped, and paused. Crying wouldn't do any good to anyone! She had to find a way to save her Kenshin!
"Dear!" the woman spoke as Kaoru lifted her mask off of her face and looked at Kenshin, "It's dangerous, don't do that!"
But Kaoru didn't stop as she took her mask and placed it over Kenshin's mouth. Slowly, but surely, Kenshin's chest started to move up and down more rapidly. "He's safe…" she laughed and sighed, "Well Jacket Girl…I guess he's yours after all…but I have no regr--"
"Passengers, we have encountered and fixed the problem. It seems that one of the valves of the aircraft had been loose and was knocked out of position by the heavy turbulence. But we assure you that the valve has been closed and the oxygen system has been reinstated. I ask you to please wait with your masks on for a few minutes while the oxygen system reloads. We sincerely apologize. Air Japan-America will make sure that…" But Kaoru didn't listen and she cried and embraced Kenshin with all her might. His eyes fluttered open and he blinked a few times to realized what was happening.
"Kaoru-dono!" he cried, "What are you doing?! Put this on--"
"Kenshin, it's okay now! It's okay," she cried, still embracing him, "The oxygen's back on, we'll be fine!"
"I don't care!" Kenshin told her, taking off his mask and placing it over her mouth, "It might take some time for the oxygen to reload! We can't risk it!"
"But…but Kenshin…" Kaoru said as she saw Kenshin's face start to go blue.
"But…I do have a bit of a headache oro!" he laughed and then, fell over, X's for eyes and his tongue out of his mouth.
"Attendent!" the woman from before called, "This couple here had a fault air bag and had to share theirs! They may have suffered severe oxygen deprivation!"
"Oh my gosh!" the attendant ran over to Kenshin, who was now laughing nervously, "We severely apologize sir! This wasn't supposed to happen! Of course, we'll understand if you'd like to file a lawsuit--"
"We're both fine, that's all that matters," Kaoru told her, picking up the now conscious Kenshin, "But I think…that we both need some rest in the Hospital to get our lungs back up to speed."
"Of course! We'll pay fully for a visit!" the attendant bowed and helped both Kaoru and Kenshin into their seats, "We should be landing in a few minutes. We'll both book you at St. Frances Hospital immediately and then we can…"
"Well Kaoru-dono…I'm sorry," Kenshin sighed as they both sat upright in Hospital beds after having their lungs examined by doctors, "I'm afraid that I ruined our vacation."
"It had nothing to do with you!" Kaoru told him, "And it was an exciting first plane ride."
"First?" Kenshin asked and Kaoru facefaulted, realizing her slip of the tongue. Kenshin just giggled, "I see, I'm sorry if you were nervous."
"I was…" Kaoru nodded, "I was scared…" Kenshin nodded as well, but then stopped as Kaoru continued, "But I was terrified…when I thought that you were going to die. That…was the scariest thing of all."
Kenshin stopped, and looked at Kaoru for a while, just looking at her. He had a light blush on his face as Kaoru just smiled peacefully towards him. He shifted his eyes nervously towards a clock on his nightstand and realized that it was 9:00 already. "I'm sorry Kaoru-dono…"
"Kenshin it wasn't your--"
"No, no, I'm sorry that we won't be able to see the fireworks," he told her sullenly, "I was so looking forward to seeing them with you."
Kaoru paused and then, looked outside in the hall and smiled. "Who says we can't?!" she asked, grabbing his hand and jumping out of bed, still in her hospital gown. "C'mon!"
"B-but Kaoru-dono, they won't approve of this!"
"Who cares?!" she laughed, "We're foreigners, remember?! We'll just act dumb or something!"
"But Kaoru-dono!"
"We're almost to the exit!" she laughed and ran down the last flight of stairs and past the receptionist's desk to the glass sliding doors. She threw them open, and threw the two of them outside, just as the first firework exploded in the air. It shined brilliant red, as red as a poppy, and the sparks seemed to fly all over the area, making every building match its brilliant color. The shading of the city seemed to unify it, make it one, and as the next few were shot into the air and exploded, Kaoru understood what was so special about the Fourth of July.
"Kaoru-dono…" Kenshin spoke softly and held onto her hand tightly, "It's…it's beautiful!"
"Isn't it?!" Kaoru laughed, "It's the most wonderful thing I've ever seen!" She sighed as she looked at the lights and then spoke softly once more, "I'm glad I got to see it with you…"
"Me…me too Kaoru-dono…" Kenshin paused and smiled, "Maybe…maybe we should make this annual…you know, come here every year." Kaoru looked over at him, and he smiled brightly back, "Just the two of us." Kaoru paused, enamored, and then, smiled and nodded steadfastly, "I just hope that next time, our plane has oxygen, that I do!"
"Ha, yeah!" Kaoru giggled and nodded. All of a sudden, a giant firework exploded and sent sparks all over the sky making a huge booming sound. "Eeek!" Kaoru screamed, and then…felt Kenshin's hand squeeze hers lightly. She looked at it, red as the fireworks and looked up at him.
"If you get scared, just hold onto my hand," Kenshin told her, smiling, "Always, forever and ever."
"Thanks," Kaoru smiled and looked back up at the fireworks. Maybe, just maybe…Kenshin had taken one small step back towards her…
YAY! The end of chapter 9! OOOHHH NO! We're almost done! Just…
August
September
October
November
And December (which will be REALLY short) to go!
THAT'S 5 FRIGGIN CHAPTERS! NOOO, MUST NOT END!
Sorry, but I have made a professional decision that Kaoru and Kenshin will not get together for another three years so I can write more.
Readers: OO WHAT?! takes out various weapons
Uhh…what I meant to say is R&R please!
P.S. No flames saying "OHMIGOD THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN!" because it's a story, and in story, you need Drama.
P.P.S. Okay…it seems reviews eat people's e-mails, so, please, if you don't have a pen-name, leave your e-mail in an anonymous review. If your e-mail is displayed on your pen-name, just leave note, kay? Thanks!
Until then,
Ciao for now!
