Kite

July 25th, 2010 6:12 a.m.

It was way too early to be awake, in Izumo's opinion, especially on a day where he wasn't supposed to be working. Unfortunately, the kink that had developed in his neck from sleeping in awkward disarray encouraged him to rise. So, he padded over his sleeping brood while nursing the wound the bridge of his nose suffered for forgetting to take his glasses off before he lost consciousness. Then, of course, there was the headache warning him that he probably shouldn't have drunk so much with Mikoto once he decided that he was going to mingle amongst their fellow clansmen.

He dropped his hand from his nose with a dull groan and slipped the arm of his lavender shades over his shirt collar to hang them. "It just had to be me," he reiterated as if scolding himself for ever agreeing to Anna's whims. "I had to be the one who said it."

Izumo startled alertly to the presence of another sitting at his bar that morning by the time he'd wandered out to the sun illuminating the establishment, and he rubbed his eyes to clear his vision. After blinking away the sleep and stopping to scrutinize the face, a small grin was cracking his disbelieving expression with amusement. "Well, I'll be. You're up mighty early."

A startled huff seemed to jostle Saruhiko from his thoughts as he sat alone at a table in the corner of the room, trying to keep himself from falling asleep in his chair. After considering the face to join him, he realized that it wasn't worth reapplying his generally displeased expression, so he turned away instead.

The effort caused Izumo to chuckle. "Good morning to you, too," he drawled. "Don't worry. I know you're not a morning person, so I'll keep it down."

Saruhiko's jaw tightened with the need to instigate that the reason Izumo wanted silence was no doubt to nurse the migraine he'd carry with his hangover.

"I'm going to put some coffee on. Interested?"

Unfortunately, he couldn't resist the need to be snide forever. "Should you really be drinking coffee when you're hungover?"

From where he was beginning to fill a kettle with water, Izumo cringed, faltering with his grip until the stainless steel clattered against the sink. "No mercy, huh?"

Regardless, Izumo boiled the water and made himself a mocha, carrying over a cup of tea with him towards Saruhiko's lonely table despite the silence to proceed the boy's jab. It looked like the vanguard was avoiding eye contact, his gaze remaining on the empty street right up until Izumo sat down his offering. That was when deep blue eyes skirted their surroundings before peeking beneath his brow towards where Izumo hadn't departed immediately after serving.

Izumo met Saruhiko's mistrust with a friendly smile. "Mind if I sit?"

Saruhiko simply diverted his gaze. "It's your bar."

Pulling out a chair opposite of his irritable acquaintance, Izumo took a seat with a gruff snort. "Yeah, sometimes I wonder about that," he teased. He had seen conclusive evidence supporting both that it was no longer a bar, and it no longer belonged to him. Strangely enough, all that evidence remained gathered in the other room. "I've got enough animals around here to open up a zoo, and I'm not even the one who keeps them in line."

The boy didn't face his host as he spoke. "Lions?"

After a long sip of much-needed caffeine, Izumo sighed utter bliss and continued. "Lions, wolves, couple 'a birds." He cocked his head off to one side to prompt Saruhiko's attention. "Pretty sure there's a monkey in there somewhere too." He got it.

From where Saruhiko was holding his lower jaw beneath the support of his palm, he slid his impatient leer over the steam of his tea to connect with Izumo's charming morning personality.

Conceding that Izumo wasn't going to let him drift off on his own, he dropped his hand onto the table with an exhausted sigh, subtly grateful for the warm beverage to be placed in front of him. "You were talking about Totsuka-san just now, weren't you?" Honestly, it frustrated Saruhiko to consider that something other than their king was running the show, but his fellow clanmates didn't seem to hide the fact that Tatara was somehow crucial to their daily operation.

"I get the feeling you two don't get along." Even as he spoke the words, there was a playful smirk on Izumo's face. "That is, to say, you don't like him. I don't think that kid has the capacity to dislike anyone."

"I don't understand people like him," Saruhiko coldly rebuked. "Isn't living a life void of conflict boring?"

Izumo snorted curtly. "That would explain why you're here," he jeered. "This place is a nuthouse, even on a boring day."

Saruhiko's grip on his tea tightened uncomfortably as the conversation progressed. "You think it'll stay that way once she's gone?"

A grave silence stole the bar as the two men both sat with their diverted gazes lingering on vacant space, their thoughts troubling them in different ways. For a while, it seemed like both of them were going to forget that Saruhiko had ever uttered the words, skipping over the comment entirely. Not long after the tension had grown palpable between them, Izumo spoke.

"You really believe that she's not coming back."

"No." Saruhiko wrapped his second hand around the warm mug and wrung his lean fingers around the porcelain. "I just hoped she was better than that…"

While he carefully observed the young man across from him, Izumo raised his cup back to his lips. "Me too…"

Soon, Saruhiko raised his lacklustre gaze to where Izumo began to watch people pass by the large storefront windows on their way about their business. "She's like a sister to you," he pried brazenly. "She talks about Mikoto-san like he saved her from this dark place in her life, but isn't what we do a lot like the Yakuza?" A docile shiver climbed Saruhiko's spine when Izumo tipped his naked hazel gaze into his peripherals to examine the youth over the rim of his coffee mug.

"Do you think we're the same as the Yakuza?"

He was comprehending that his filter hadn't developed adequately that early in the morning, so Saruhiko immediately recoiled and attempted to retract his folly. "It was just a comparison," he nearly whispered. "I mean, some of the things we do aren't much better."

"That's true."

Saruhiko raised his apprehensive gaze towards where Izumo quietly set his cup down on the table between them.

"You're a smart kid, Fushimi," he kindly acknowledged. "But you can tend to see things at face value, and that's too bad. Something like that would make it hard to feel like we were any better than those we'd like to consider ourselves above."

Insulted by Izumo's blunt statement, Saruhiko closed his eyes and clapped his tea back against the table. "Does anyone see any deeper than that?" he instigated. "How can we when we're not even told why we're asked to do things?"

Izumo raised his finger to his ear to give it a twist. "Sounds like you're displeased with the way we do things around here. Tell me it's the coffee talking."

Saruhiko humbled uneasily, wondering why he expected to feel anything else. "It's just an observation. It has nothing to do with being displeased."

After straightening to face Saruhiko squarely, Izumo continued. "Then what are you displeased about, Fushimi-san? You've always got your nose outta place over something or another. It must take great practice to come off that uninterested." When Saruhiko didn't speak, Izumo's expression softened, and he continued. "Or maybe you're more interested than you care to let on."

Without responding, Saruhiko slowly climbed to his feet and left his tea half-finished on the table. "Thank you for the tea. Please tell Yata I'll be heading home now, whenever he wakes up."

Izumo curiously flopped his head to one side. "I'll be waking Neirah soon to take her to the airport."

Saruhiko paused by the door but refused to reconnect their gazes. "So?"

"I thought you might be interested in saying goodbye since you're so convinced that she's not coming back."

His grip on the door handle tightened before Saruhiko was turning the nob and letting himself out of the bar. "You're right. I am uninterested."

The bar remained silent around him for a long moment while Izumo finished his coffee, regretting that he hadn't accompanied it with a tall glass of water, as Saruhiko had suggested. A part of him consciously wished that he had something more reassuring to share with his subordinate, something that would help him understand what they did. But the truth was, they did what they wanted under Mikoto's rein. Even if their intentions seemed well-meaning, it didn't mean that their methods weren't a little unorthodox. They were an unruly vigilante justice, and he supposed he could understand why that bothered Saruhiko.

"Izumo."

With a gentle hum, Izumo turned his head to face the sweet coo of their resident dove, an affectionate smile curling his lips. Maybe they were a little rough around the edges in their approach to righteousness, but he couldn't see that as a bad thing. "Our princess rises," he sang. "Would you like a glass of milk?"

The gentle Strain slowly nodded her head.

A haggard groan filled Izumo's chest as he slowly peeled himself out of his seat, gathering the two cups that Anna had been sure to take notice of. "I'll go fix you some breakfast," he gently offered. "I've still got some time before I need to wake our sleeping lion."

"Saruhiko left?"

It was difficult for him to determine whether the gentle tut was inquisitive or not as Anna trailed after him towards the redwood and climbed onto a crimson stool. "That's right," he murmured. "It looks like he's already said his goodbyes."

Anna ignored Izumo's perceptible shudder when she slowly began to shake her head like she denied his sentiment. "Goodbyes are hard," she whispered. "So, this is easier."

Proceeding a quiet moment of consideration, Izumo grunted softly under his breath and smirked. "If you don't let anyone get close, it won't hurt when they disappear." There was a mocking song in his tone as he turned and looked down the quiet hallway. "Doesn't that sound familiar."

"Saruhiko will miss Onē-san too." Anna's sleepy eyes fell on the sight of her offered glass, brightening slightly to realize that the milk had a faint pink hue noting its strawberry flavour. "That's why she has to come back."

Izumo cocked a brow wryly. "Because of Fushimi?"

After a slow slurp from her ruby-striped straw, Anna slowly shook her head with certainty. "Because this is where Onē-san belongs."

"THIS IS YOUR FINAL BOARDING CALL FOR JAPAN AIRLINES FLIGHT JAL82, NON-STOP FROM TOKYO TO SHANGHAI. PLEASE ADVANCE TO GATE 109 WITH YOUR BOARDING PASS FOR IMMEDIATE LOADING. REPEAT. JAPAN AIRLINES FLIGHT JAL82, GATE 109. THANK YOU."

"Ah! I forgot how big this place was!" Tatara beamed brightly and spun as far as he could with his hand still attached to one of the pull handles on Neirah's large suitcase. "People sure do love to travel these days."

"Not me," Neirah grumbled. "If I were meant to fly, I would have been born with wings." She whimpered when Izumo flopped his hands down onto her shoulders from behind her and leaned by her side to instigate her situation.

"I have a hard enough time getting you to sit still," Izumo purred. "The last thing I need is you flying around at all hours."

Setting Neirah's bag upright on its wheels, Tatara turned to join the conversation. "Both of you are wrong," he teased. "Nei-chan flies all the time from really high places."

The wry look on Neirah's face warned him that it was too early in the morning for his shenanigans. "That's just fancy falling," she firmly interjected. "And it's from hundreds of feet high, not thousands. Plus, I'm in control of it, not at the mercy of a couple of men in ties."

"What do you have against men in ties?" Tatara pried.

"And we all know how much you love being in control, don't we?" Izumo interrupted. "But don't worry. You're only airborne long enough to get comfortable and then before you know it, you'll be in Nagasaki."

"You did this…" she growled.

Izumo straightened by her side and laid his hands on his hips, secretly savouring the way she knotted her face up around the little pink tongue she so rudely flashed him. He didn't once feel guilt for his purchase that led them to pack her across the country on a plane. "Charming as always," he purred. "Did you remember to charge your phone like I asked you?"

"Yes."

"Did you take out some cash to carry just in case."

"Yes…"

"And your toothbrush?"

"Onii-san!"

Izumo dropped his head with a sad smile and shrugged his shoulders. "Right, I guess you can pick one of those up when you land, can't you?"

"Don't worry," Neirah murmured. "I packed everything you told me too, everything Tat-chan told me to-"

"But not what Chitose told you to, right?"

She nodded reassuringly before flashing him a soft smile. "I'll be fine."

It was evident that Izumo didn't want to leave her behind in the lobby as he stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets and lazily felt for his keys. "Well, I guess that's that, then. Good luck, kid." He watched conflicting emotions flicker over her face for a moment as she tried to maintain her smile before he finally reached out and dropped his palm on top of her head. She closed her eyes at first to keep her pressed bangs from disturbing her lashes, but soon, her sad gaze was parting and glowing with affection as she peeked his way.

Surrendering to her need for comfort, he took a single step forward until she bopped her brow against his chest with a defiant sniffle. "I'm glad you're going through with this." He ignored Tatara's nervous smile in his peripherals and playfully ruffled up the woman's roots. "I know it seems scary now, but I think this is gonna be good for you."

"You sound just like Tat-chan…" she muttered.

When he stepped away, he was proud to see that she'd managed to find relief in his assurance worth keeping her eyes dry. He hadn't seen her cry often, but the truth was that every time he did, they walked away from the experience a little closer. "Do me a favour and try not to cause a scene out west, alright, little lion?" He smiled back at her wryly. "That means no pranks, no fighting, and absolutely no fires." She looked like she was going to open her mouth to defy him, but when she did, he interrupted the thought before it could escape.

"None," he reiterated sternly. But with a knowing smile, he reached out and gently poked the centre of her chest. "Just this one. Keep this one hot."

Once Neirah had absorbed his sentiment with a promise to get mushy if he lingered, he returned his hand to his pocket and adjusted his gaze towards Tatara. "Alright, Totsuka. Say your goodbyes and let's get out of here. If I'm out front in a loading zone for much longer, they're gonna tow my ass."

"That's okay. You go on ahead." Tatara reclaimed Neirah's bag and angled it in preparation to drag. "I'm going to stay and help Nei-chan check-in. I'll find my own way back."

Izumo cocked a brow hesitantly before shrugging off his concerns. "Whatever you say."

Before the pair could depart, Izumo threw his index finger out towards the woman and filled his tone with urgency. "I want a text as soon as you're on the ground, you hear me? Neirah? Oi, don't ignore me, young lady." His heart warmed when Neirah raised her hand and casually waved off his concern. It reminded him of something Mikoto might have done, and it couldn't help but make him shake his head. "Give 'em hell, kid," he muttered quietly to himself. "We'll catch ya on the flipside."

It felt like a lifetime as they waited in the queue for the reception desk to receive Neirah's oversized bags, but after she'd finally passed them off and prepared to depart for security, Tatara was stricken by a moment of panic. "Hey, Nei-chan?" He stilled beneath her scrutiny, trying to sort out his words and justify his interruption. "I just realized we left in such a rush that we didn't have any breakfast." His expression was meek as he tried to remain positive in the face of the challenge ahead, and he was helpless to conceal it from her. "What do you say we grab a bite before your flight?"

Neirah did no more than offer his suggestion a kind smile, toting her carry-on duffle over her shoulder as they located their selected eatery. Neither of them really had an appetite, so it became apparent when they ordered no more than teas that they weren't doing it on behalf of a missed breakfast. The truth was that the pair had spent so much time together over the past couple of years that it seemed surreal to think that they were about to spend over a month apart.

Neirah tucked away a pastry for when she landed in Nagasaki but otherwise didn't fill her upset belly. None-the-less, she took a seat on a waiting bench next to her best friend and set the alarm on her phone to remind her to pass through security in a timely fashion.

"Are you excited?"

She turned her hesitant gaze towards Tatara with a bleak grin. "Tat-chan… sometimes you say the most ridiculous things."

With a knowing smile, Tatara quietly diverted his gaze. "It's been so long," he pried softly. "Do you think he'll recognize you?"

Despite her sombre demeanour, his innocent comment caused her to chuckle. "I don't even recognize myself from two years ago. So…"

When Tatara peeked her in his peripherals, he realized that she was shaking, so he calmly wove his fingers between hers and linked their hands against the bench. "It will be fine," he reminded her tenderly. "Everything will work out."

"You always say that…"

It was Tatara's turn to laugh at her dismal groan. "That's because it does, doesn't it?" He gently bounced his knuckles off their seat with her hand secured playfully with his. "What happened to wanting to be more positive? I can't teach you if-"

"Tat-chan…" The grave tone in Neirah's voice stopped Tatara from rambling when she calmly interrupted him. "How many of you think there's a chance that I won't come back?"

Tatara's grip on her hand faltered momentarily before strengthening. Her eyes didn't meet his, but he tried to notice the pain she focussed on hiding. "I… Well, none of us really-"

"King-sama knew, and if he knew, then Kusanagi-san must know too."

Lowering his gaze sheepishly, Tatara slowly reclaimed his fingers from her soft touch and circled both sets around his travel cup. "Maybe a couple of us," he whispered in surrender. "Anna-chan and King knew best, then Kusanagi-san and I, and… maybe everyone else has their suspicions."

"Fushimi-san is the only one I actually told… But after last night, Yata knows too," she admitted dimly. "Though, if I was thinking about it carefully enough, I might even say that the others were acting a little strange all along." Soon, her posture slackened with dismay. "I'm actually surprised Yata didn't try to get King-sama involved. Not that it would have done any good."

Tatara seemed startled by the resentment in her voice. "Why did you say it like that?"

"No reason," she softened. "My mind was just made up, that's all. I wouldn't have let King-sama stop me if he tried."

With a soft smile, Tatara's heart warmed. He understood just as much as she did that Mikoto had no intention of stopping her. "You're right. It's hard to see you like I did the night we met."

Growing slightly more confident in her situation, she turned her fond smile back towards her friend. "But Tat-chan is the very same," she teased. "I guess when you're perfect, there's no need to change."

"H-hey! Don't make fun!" he brayed awkwardly.

"Whose making fun?" Neirah slipped to one side and dropped her temple against his shoulder with an exhausted moan. "Do you think… there will be room for both of us if I come back strange?"

His tone was soft with melancholy as he tried to tease her spirits higher. "Do you think I'm strange?"

"I think it would be strange for me to return and tell Kusanagi-san that I look up to him more than anybody else in the world, say that I think Anna-chan is the most beautiful young lady I have ever seen, or that I love how adorable Yata is when he's angry."

Tatara smiled to consider the reaction Misaki would have to be so boldly demeaned. "I'm sure he'd love that." With a solemn frown, Tatara slowly turned to catch the sight of Neirah raising her hand to the centre of her chest, where Izumo had poked her earlier that morning.

"I keep a lot of things here, lost somewhere between worlds." She closed her eyes and listened to her racing heartbeat sound in her ears for a moment. "I want to be someone who can say these things without fear. Even if it makes me strange, I want to be strong and sincere."

"It's not strange, it's-"

"Interesting?" Neirah giggled softly, albeit a little half-heartedly. She straightened and raised her eyes to meet Tatara's beneath his light bangs before leaning forward and dusting the thin strands from his focus. "King-sama told me to burn in the best way that I knew how. But these feelings are the fuel. I know they are. I can't focus on using my flames the way I want to with all this noise." When she noticed that it was her friend's turn to seem disturbed, she gently reached out and linked her fingers with his. "Our king gave me this power so I could be free. I owe it to him to burn."

Her grip on Tatara's hand tightened as her tapering gaze observed the mundane bustling of people around her. "And I want to set this cold world on fire."

It was fascinating to him, how differently Mikoto and Neirah saw the power they were blessed with by the Dresden Slate. Mikoto seemed to resent it, whereas Neirah cherished it. One wanted it to guide them while the other saw it as a cage. He wondered how it was possible for the same blaze to cause two hearts to burn entirely separately, yet somehow, together. "Lion-chan…"

The pitiful tone of Tatara's voice caused Neirah to turn and face her companion with a startled whimper. The last time she'd heard it was when they'd talked about their king while observing a beautiful red sunset. Just like that day, she felt her fretful tears rising without warning, and she felt like she was crying the tears he couldn't. "No…" She began to shake her head at a frantic pace, sealing her blurred vision from the sight of his loneliness. "No, I can't go. It would be too selfish," she whined. "I don't want to leave you again."

A delicate yip chased more nervous moans from her throat when Tatara quietly tipped forward and connected her brow with his, his smile reassuring even though her eyes remained locked. "Then wouldn't it be selfish to stay?"

"Not now-"

"I want you to stay too, so does that mean I'm selfish?"

Frantically rolling her forehead against his, Neirah shook her head in denial. "Tat-chan is the exact opposite of selfish."

"King wants you to go."

Neirah slowly opened her eyes, staring into Tatara's serene expression. His eyes were closed, and his smile kind as he lingered against her calmly. His tone was filled with certainty and support, but somehow, she felt like it wasn't entirely for her benefit.

"Even though I'm going to miss my roommate, I have to make sure you get on that plane." When Tatara slowly opened his eyes to connect their gazes, his smile broadened fondly. "It's not selfish if you do it for King, is it?"

"But, Tatara…"

"Do you remember what you told me the night we met?" he reasoned soundly. "You wanted to repay King for helping you even if you were powerless. But Nei-chan is not powerless. She is a mighty hunter filled with pride and purpose. HOMRA's Red Lioness."

"Lion…"

When her whisper was almost too soft to comprehend, Tatara gently backed away from their contact and observed her calming expression more directly. "But I thought-?"

"It doesn't matter if I'm a woman or not. I am a red clansman of the Third King Suoh Mikoto." She closed her eyes, a tender flush in her cheeks to recall her mighty king's sentiment. "So, I need to stop indulging myself in strange ways and accept these feelings as a part of me. I need to remember… what it means to be brave."

Neither of them seemed overly startled to the sound of Neirah's alarm, chiming in her lap from her freshly charged mobile, but that didn't mean that there wasn't resentment in each of their hearts. With her free hand, Neirah roughly dragged the back of her hand over her face to dab her tears before banishing the happy song. All she wanted that moment was to be miserable.

An awkward laugh had filled Tatara's uneasy tone with song. "You'd better get through security, so you're at the gate when they call for boarding."

The optimistic hum in Tatara's voice was equally as grating as she tipped her head back with a hearty sigh. "It seems ironic that they're going to check me through without realizing that I don't need to carry a weapon to be armed."

"Now, now," Tatara muffled apprehensively. "Remember what you said about fancy falling? I don't want to imagine you doing that from thousands of feet after committing an act of terrorism."

Noticing his concern, Neirah turned her dry smile his way with a reassuring twinkle in her eye. "Don't worry. It's been a while since I've had any sort of panic attack." Even as she tried to make light of the situation, she could feel her bottom lip trembling to imagine how hard it was for him to maintain his positive façade for her benefit alone.

A moment later, Neirah quietly fell forward and dropped her arms around Tatara's shoulders, causing the man to exhale a sharp, shuddering sigh against her shoulder as he closed his eyes. "Stay safe out there," he whispered against her collar. "King isn't going to be able to protect you if you get into trouble."

With a reminiscent smile, Neirah snuggled into his neck with a tender blush in her cheeks. "I'm not helpless."

"I know…" he whispered somberly. "I've always known, Lion-chan."

The moment she slipped away from him both lasted a lifetime but ended too soon, and the reality of her next few steps caused her heart to palpitate. In a few hours, she would be looking at her father in the eye after too many years apart, and the only family she knew would be miles away. It felt like she was stepping back into a world that had rejected her, but she didn't have time to linger on the terror welling in her throat — not this time.

But as she stepped back, she couldn't help but wonder why everyone else had to suffer for her to move forward.

Tatara immediately felt incomplete, like a piece of him was missing as soon as Neirah had left his side. The songs that filled their home, their laughter, the scent of flowers and a feeling of warmth in their rooms all seemed like a distant memory in less than an instant. He was afraid that they would finally face the day of reckoning he'd predicted, but it wouldn't be fair to stop her. She had the right to find out for herself that it wasn't her presence that caused others to suffer; it was her absence. He only wished he could have made her see that she was never a curse. From the very beginning, he had always considered her a blessing.

"Nei-chan!"

Just before Neirah could vanish entirely from his sight, she heard him call out to her in the busy lobby. She slowly turned, trying not to choke on the welling lump in her throat as her heart palpitated.

Tatara's smile was as deceptively bright as it ever was when he raised his hand up into the air like he was cheering, not waving goodbye. "You know, the circle isn't going to be complete without you."

And there they stood at the crossroad, a thousand lives passing them that day on paths leading to anywhere. As she clutched her duffle strap, she felt the pressure in her chest build when her heart ignited and chased the cold from her trembling body. She couldn't be cold when he smiled back at her the way he did, so she kept that smile in her heart.

She couldn't be afraid. She didn't have time. But at that moment, it had struck her the hardest; Rikio's reassuring palm on her collar in her defence, the bright jade eyes of the lion plush Yō gifted her, Masaomi's gentle encouragement urging her to peek at her dream dress, Saruhiko's bitter tone, the protesting weight of Saburōta's head in her lap.

"I don't… w-want you to leave…"

It was hard for her to determine whether it was her bashful memories warming her face or the threat of boiling tears, but she chased both away to reach for the zipper on her bag. She quickly dug through the duffle, delighted that the article she sought was near to the surface. When she returned her attention back to Tatara, she beamed back a confident grin of her own and swiftly jerked Misaki's hat onto her brow with a meek snicker. It was a hat that Misaki didn't want her to have in the first place, but it was also her promise; her promise that their kind understanding would be rewarded.

Burn.

Burn until the cold can't touch you.

And then, burn some more

...

While sitting quietly in her seat, Neirah stared out the window towards the crystal-clear horizon stretching past the wingtip, past the runway and straight into oblivion. She couldn't help wondering how far the path extended or how vast her world would become when two worlds merged.

In an absent attempt, she flipped through her messages, peeking on the status of the one-sided conversation Gin had abandoned. It had taken all of her strength just to invite him back into her life, and she thought that would be enough. At first, it was enough for her, even if he couldn't understand. But fear was a vulnerable state of mind if she recalled. Convincing herself that she wouldn't be afraid was a pretty thought, but she was more than willing to work for it.

Neirah startled the moment that she was joined by the dull thump of another girl around her age, stuffing her carry-on into the overhead storage of their appointed seats. The violet-haired woman tipped her strawberry shades onto the top of her head and dropped into the chair next to her with a relieved sigh, flinging her bundled pin-straight locks to her back. The intrusion caused Neirah to swiftly retract her arm from the shared rest with wild eyes. Luckily, she'd managed not to graze the civilian.

"How lucky!" the eager woman cheered. After lifting her squared bangs from eyes so dark that they looked like ebony beads, she tilted towards Neirah with a friendly smile. "I was so worried I'd get stuck sitting by some creepy old man, or somebody smelly!"

It was strange, the feeling that Neirah had in her heart as the kind lady prattled. She didn't say anything, but she watched intently with bright, wonderous eyes as the woman's plum ponytail bounced with every exaggerated swish of her head.

"I'm sorry if I hog the armrest," the woman chimed with an impish snigger. "I'm so selfish sometimes, especially when I travel, but it's probably because I hate it so much."

With her guest's generous warning, Neirah felt her lips curling up to either side in an understanding smile. She hadn't been overly fond of travelling herself. "It's fine."

The cheerful woman giggled enthusiastically. "My name is Asuka, and it's super nice to meet you!"

Neirah startled, her face immediately flushing deep crimson shades. "I-I'm sorry?"

"A-su-ka," she sounded out friskily. "Kobayashi Asuka. That's my name."

"A-Asuka … hah…"

Asuka flinched, cocking her soft cashmere features to one side as Neirah began to chuckle, initially, before finally clutching her obliques and keeling over in her seat.

"Ohp, I spoke too soon," Asuka teased. "I'm sitting next to a crazy after all."

"N-no!" Neirah held her index finger under her eye to catch the fond tears beginning to pool. "I'm sorry, that was rude. You just made me think of a friend of mine." Instead of clamming up and avoiding the company, Neirah apprehensively embraced the subtle twist of fate. "I'm Tsukiyo Neirah, and I am also most pleased that you aren't a smelly creep."

Asuka threw her head back into her headrest with a devious cackle. "Right?! If you like it, it's jasmine."

"THANK YOU FOR FLYING JAPAN AIRLINES FLIGHT JAL607 TO NAGASAKI. PLEASE ENSURE THAT ALL MOBILE DEVICES HAVE BEEN SET TO AIRPLANE MODE BEFORE TAKEOFF AND THAT YOU ALWAYS COMPLY WITH SEATBELT AND NO SMOKING SIGNS WITHIN THE AIRCRAFT. FLIGHT DURATION IS AN EXPECTED HUNDRED-AND-TWENTY MINUTES WITH FAVOURABLE WEATHER CONDITIONS."

Taking swift notice of the announcement asking all electronics to be set into airplane mode, a distracted Neirah quickly reached into her pocket to pull out her PDA. "Oh, I almost forgot that part. I don't do this often."

Her breathing caught, her world shrinking for a moment even as Asuka rambled on about what an inconvenience it was to be without the internet for the two-hour-long flight. When Neirah picked up the piece of paper that had fallen out of her pocket and unfolded its edges, she felt her stomach knot.

Have a safe trip, Nei-chan! See you soon!

-Tat-chan

She raised her fingers to cover her mouth and stifle her desperate squeal, afraid that she might scare her seatmate again if she wasn't careful. She quickly crinkled the small note in her palm, clutching it for security as the engines of the BOEING 737 aircraft began to ignite. Her thumb quickly danced over her touchscreen to disable communications as they taxied from gate 5A, but before she could tuck the device away, Asuka was peeking over her shoulder at the background image displayed.

"Ooo! Who's the hottie? Is that your boyfriend~?" Asuka poked her nose into Neirah's bubble, but the brunette didn't put forth much effort to shy away.

Instead, Neirah felt herself leaning as close to the woman as she could without making contact. A genuine smile remained on her lips thanks to the reassuring note she'd just found in her pocket a moment prior when she flashed the image of she and Tatara in a selfie beneath the blooming cherry trees. She had taken it on her birthday earlier that year. "This is my best friend, Tat-chan," she fondly explained. "I have to keep his smile close so that I don't actually go crazy."

Asuka squealed lightly and whipped out her PDA in return, scrolling to a picture of her and her best friend, also by the water. Once she'd found it, she thrust it towards Neirah with a proud grin. "No way! I'm totally the same! I don't know where I'd be without this lovable dork!"

Shifting in the light that began to alter in intensity through her window, Neirah caught the sight of a dark-haired lad in the picture next to a lively Asuka. The lighting was poor, but the bangs peeking beneath his sweater hood made it look like the couple may have shared the same hair colour by choice. The two must have been of a drinking age because the goofy face she was making was undoubtedly not one a sober woman would willingly display, not that he was anymore flattering. Something else they both shared was the sprightly flicker in their eyes, his crimson irises sparkling just as brightly as hers when they were together. Neirah could sympathize with that spark.

Noticing Neirah's struggle, Asuka groaned and reclaimed her phone to browse her picture library. "Here- Let me see if I can find you a better picture of him. Hirota-kun always has his damn hood up."

Before Asuka could find a picture of her hoodless companion, Neirah had pulled out an image to sympathize with her, flashing it fondly. "It could be worse. At least you can still see his face."

Asuka investigated the picture Neirah zoomed of her mixed with a couple of boys. In it, Neirah was draped over Saburōta's shoulders with Rikio's palm on her head. With the way Kōsuke was casually leaning against Saburōta's shoulder, Saburōta looked like he was supporting all three of them in the narrow frame. Asuka's attention was immediately drawn to one of them wearing a hat, a hood, and sunglasses indoors, and the apparent tangent caused her to squeal. "Eee! It's Hirota-kun's little brother!" Without warning, the invasive woman snatched Neirah's mobile device and began to flip through the pictures. Strangely enough, Neirah didn't seem bothered. "Wow, Tsuki-chan, you have a lot of pictures!"

Neirah's face warmed as she let Asuka shamelessly peruse her gallery. "I have a lot of friends," she thoughtfully murmured as she watched other planes taxi past her window. "I spend as much time with them as I can, but when I can't be there, I like to keep them close. I have them send me most of the pictures they take, too, so don't mind the tags." She sheepishly itched her jaw. "They can be… a little vulgar sometimes."

"Nah," Asuka absently dismissed with the flap of her palm. "Don't worry. I can appreciate an honest dude." Not catching the fond flush in Neirah's tan features in her peripherals, Asuka leaned into proximity again to flash Neirah one of the photos. "Ooo! This one's gotta be your boyfriend!"

Neirah tipped her curious gaze towards the picture that caused Asuka to ask the question a second time before giggling and quietly shaking her head. "No," she hummed. "And before you ask me a hundred more times, I don't actually have a boyfriend."

"What?! No way!" She sat back in her seat with poor posture, making Neirah look like the proper woman in their twosome. "You're really pretty, so I just figured-" Seemingly startled by her own realization, Asuka turned her joyful gaze back towards her new friend. "Wait! So, does that mean he's single?" She beamed back a wicked grin. "He's cute. I love guys with wavy hair."

Neirah leaned towards where Asuka had hogged the armrest as promised and pointed at the screen, directing her attention with her finger. "Chitose? I think he's probably single, maybe. I would hope so with the way he talks," she divulged. "The one on the couch taking the picture is his best friend, Dewa. I was actually really sick that night, so everyone did their best to take care of me."

She seemed to bind herself in the memories as she tilted her fond smile and observed her own gallery in another's hands like she was on the outside to be looking in. For whatever reason, it seemed like she was viewing their memories with different eyes, noticing the underlying sentiment hidden in each screenshot. "Chitose-kun is a bit of a player, but he has a really big heart. He's really reliable, and a great listener."

Asuka deviously chuckled as she reclaimed the phone with both hands and examined the tag Masaomi had marked on the image stating that Neirah was the only woman Yō could keep in his life. "Okay, no way. I'm definitely programming my number into your phone, so you have to promise to hook us up, okay?"

Neirah shuddered uncertainly. "I- what?"

"My number," Asuka sang. "You seem like a really interesting person! We're barely in the air, and I'm already having a blast!"

Neirah gasped before whirling and facing her window, her tan skin paling when she realized that somehow, she had managed to miss the fact that they had taken off. Her blood chilled as she watched the city shrink below, and she instantly felt nauseous. "O-oh, wow…"

Asuka finished adding her number in Neirah's contact list with a less-than sign and a three proceeding her name before nosily returning to the woman's gallery. "What about this one here? I notice he's in a lot of the pictures you have too."

It seemed like Neirah had forgotten her suddenly airborne predicament when she turned to the sight of a picture tagged 'Mission Accomplished'. The photo was taken by Rikio, who was in the image too with his free hand displaying a cheerful thumbs-up. It also featured her and Saruhiko in the background as Misaki tried desperately to scrub her red lipstick from his face. Rikio had been one of the people who sent her the most images to add to her collection because he was the only one that she had ever expressed her desire to collect. "That's Rikio. I've known him for a while now too."

"I like his sweater," Asuka pried deep in focus. "It looks super comfy."

Neirah rolled her eyes with a soft flush in her cheeks. "It's in my suitcase if you wanted to try it on."

"Actually?! You stole the guy's sweater?! Savage!"

Neirah laughed, a little guiltily. "Not this time. He actually gave it to me that same night I got really sick. It doesn't fit the winter him so well." Noticing Asuka's confusion, Neirah swiftly waved her hands in front of her face with an awkward laugh. "Oh, but we don't have a long enough flight for me to explain that one!"

Regardless, she turned her bright expression back towards the energetic woman who was more than willing to listen to her stories. "Onii-san teases me all the time for wearing Rikio's clothes more than my own, but they're really warm." Looking back through the glass caused her heart to flutter. "He knows that I really don't like the cold, so he's always making sure I'm comfortable. He's really thoughtful that way."

"That's so cute that I think I'm going to be sick." Asuka turned to look at her with a wry expression. "It must be huge. You're so little compared to him!"

Leaning closer, Neirah swiped her finger across the screen a couple of times until Asuka could see just how big it actually was, and the two burst into delighted laughter.

"Oversized hoodies are my favourite thing in the entire world," Asuka eagerly divulged. "Hirota-kun is always yelling at me for stealing his clothes, but they're sooo much nicer than mine." She smirked impishly and tugged on the front of the charcoal sweater that was falling off one of her shoulders. "There might not be much of a size difference between us, but it's just enough to make me feel safe."

A matching smile tugged on Neirah's lips as she recalled the sweater that she saw the man wear in one of the pictures Asuka shared. "I thought it looked familiar!"

Asuka kicked back in her seat and bunched her knees up against the back of the chair in front of her, causing its passenger to grumble something about today's youth. "We have so much in common," Asuka murmured fondly upon swiping. "And you said you have a brother? Totally jealous. I'm an only child myself."

The laughter subsided, but Neirah's tender smile remained as she browsed a couple more pictures before she found one of her and Izumo. It was one Tatara had sneakily captured. She had stuck her tongue out at her king, and after catching her, Izumo pinched both of her cheeks before pulling on them to punish the offence. "This is my Onii-chan," she started. With an evocative groan, she raised both sets of fingers to her face to give it a rub. "But honestly, I don't have any relatives either. My momma, she actually passed away shortly after I was born."

"Really?" Asuka's tone flattened considerately, but she didn't apologize for bringing the memories to the forefront of Neirah's mind. Instead, she watched Neirah quietly reclaim her phone, only slightly nervous that she might have struck a nerve. "Then who are all those people?"

After digging a little deeper, Neirah found the picture that she loved most of her and her friends gathered around Izumo's bar. When she did, she examined it fondly for a moment before showing it to her circle's newest addition. In a world she sought to make her own, to see a fate shaped by her hands, they were the ones she chose to hold her burning heart. "They're my family."

Asuka's expression grew temperate as she examined the happy faces in the picture from Kōsuke to Yō, but then, her attention was drawn to the sight of Neirah sitting between Tatara and Mikoto with Anna in her lap. "Hah… You have a little sister too?"

Upon noticing Asuka's sudden shift of demeanour, Neirah retracted the photo uncertainly and nodded. "Surrogate sister."

Asuka turned away and smiled kindly, but it was unlike her boisterous introduction. "I totally don't want to be that person, but I almost had a sister," she admitted softly. "She passed away before she turned two."

Neirah startled, surprised that the woman felt so comfortable around her that she could divulge such a truth.

Asuka turned her reassuring smile back over her shoulder to face Neirah. "So, I guess I just think it's great that you made your own family even though you don't have any other brothers or sisters. I can tell they really fill your life with love." She turned her dark eyes towards the front of the plane with her meek smile fading. "It seems like a healthier way to deal with it than mine."

Suddenly, Asuka flinched to the feeling of Neirah reaching into her lap and taking her PDA from her hands. After fiddling with it for a moment, she returned it with a kind smile. When Asuka looked down at the screen, Neirah had programmed her number into the device, putting a colon and a closed bracket at the end of her name.

"I've learned a lot since I met these people," Neirah murmured tenderly. "But the most important thing is to smile through the hard times and invite new people into your life without the fear that you'll lose them."

Asuka shuddered and diverted her attention to where Neirah had reached out her hand like she wanted a handshake. "If you'd let me, I'd like to welcome you to my circle of friends."

After a moment of consideration, and the suspicion that she may have seen Neirah's hand tremble for a moment, Asuka slowly reached out and laid her palm against the kind offer. It was apprehensive at first, on both sides, but soon, Asuka's broad smile was returning in force as her pale cheeks ignited in a beautiful shade of pink. "Hey… Did you want to maybe share the armrest?"

"Actually," Neirah murmured delicately under her breath. "I think we could make that work."