PART TWO

To reach you once again

"Okay, what the heck, was that?" Recca frowned, staring at the door, where Fuuko had disappeared at the speed of light a while earlier.

Domon shrugged. "Beats me."

Yanagi glanced at the empty chair across from Fuuko's, which was empty as well. She shook her head and sighed. "I think she's missing Mikagami-sempai again."

"You've got to be kidding," Recca turned to look at her. "Hasn't she gotten over that yet? For goodness' sake, he left a year ago! He's gone now; didn't that fact get to her? I mean, she didn't even see him off at the airport!"

"Recca-kun no baka," Yanagi pouted disapprovingly. "Of course she's upset that he left! I bet she couldn't bear to see him leave and decided she was better off not seeing him go, thinking she'd get hurt less that way. And now that it's almost a year since he left, she's probably had enough time to let it sink in now, and she's more depressed than ever."

"Sou…demo…didn't they break up before he left…?" Domon protested in honest confusion.

"I know," Yanagi admitted thoughtfully. "Maybe she still likes him…?"

"You are so right," Hanabishi nodded. "She'd just too stubborn to admit it. Or maybe she's afraid we'd tease her or something. Or probably she really loves him and just thought that breaking up with him was for the best, since he was leaving anyway."

"…" Domon looked down speechlessly. Recca's brow twitched as he sneaked a glance at him and noticed that he seemed disappointed. A mischievous grin spread across Recca's face. So Domon was still keeping his hopes up for Fuuko after all these years…?

"And you know," he added, particularly making Domon hear, "I bet she loves Mikagami so much that she practically can't sleep every night just thinking of him. She probably goes crazy with each passing minute, missing those days when Mikagami would give her a passionate, heart-stopping, and breathtaking kiss each and every second of the day. They kissed so much that it's probably the reason why Fuuko doesn't talk much anymore because of her tired lips. Who knows if they'd already done something really naughty and we don't even know about it because they wanted to keep it a secret for as long as they keep doing it again and again and—"

"Oh, shut up, Recca-kun!" Yanagi hit his head forcefully with a frying pan from who-knows-where. "Instead of making up some stupid rumors about them, why don't you just help me think of something to cheer up our friend, okay???"

He rubbed his head, wincing. "Whatever…" he mumbled, looking at Domon. He looked like he was on the verge of breaking down. Recca bit back a satisfied smile. He was successful.

"Okay," Yanagi chewed on her thumbnail. "I want to make Fuuko return to her old, spunky self again."

"And there's no other way but to let her be in Tokiya's arms again," Recca snorted. "But the guy's in China for the fulfillment of his beloved oneechan's promise. How are we supposed to make him come back here? Get those airport agents to drag him away from the Great Wall down here to Japan?" he chuckled, getting a mental picture of Tokiya, flailing and kicking and trying to break free from the travel agent's clutches.

But Yanagi suddenly snapped her fingers that Domon jerked up a bit in surprise. "I've got it!!!" She immediately grabbed her cell phone and started punching in numbers on her keypad.

Recca's eyes widened. "Y-you're not…going to call Mikagami, are you…?" But when Yanagi didn't respond, he started to freak out. "I can't believe you have Mikagami's number!!! And you actually call him often!!!" He began flinging his arms around so much that Domon had to hold him back to keep him from destroying the whole bar.

"I do not have his number and I'm not calling Mikagami-san!" Yanagi frowned.

"You're…not…?" Recca stared at her, dumbfounded.

Yanagi shook her cute head.

"What are you doing, then?" Domon asked impatiently.

It was then that she smiled deviously at both of them.

"I'm booking tickets to China."

***

Recca sniffed for the umpth time. His eyes were tearing up so much that his sight was blurring. He blinked. Again. And again.

He sniffed and sighed. He shut his eyes tightly and opened them again; his sight was clearing a bit now. He blinked again, squinting, trying to see where he was going--

"Ouch!"

--and failed miserably. He reached up to rub his forehead, feeling it throb in pain. He had just successfully hit a post.

"Will you stop moaning now and try to focus on the street you're walking on? All the posts aren't automatically going to just move out of your way, you know," Yanagi scolded him, although examining his forehead with a worried look on her face.

Recca sniffed again. "I can't help it. I've lost more money than my part-time job pays me for a whole year," he said hoarsely. "And I didn't even get anything for me!"

Yanagi smiled. "Daijoubu, itoshii," she said soothingly, "It's going to be worth it. And you'll be paid back, I promise." She tiptoed and kissed his forehead lightly where a lump had formed. "Besides, these are tickets to Beijing. We're going to have a blast! I know I would…" she trailed off, looking at him with a blush.

Recca immediately stopped sobbing. Even the pain on his forehead died away. All he could see now was his koibito's beautiful face, smiling at him…and the thought that they would be away from home…from their parents…together in a foreign country…

He swallowed. They could do whatever they want…and they could even—

He shook his head and the pain throbbed back to him. His face felt hot, and he was flushing too much. Yanagi was looking worriedly at him again. "Recca-kun…?"

"A-ano…Hime-chan…l-let's just go, okay…?" He swallowed again, shaking all his thoughts out of his head.

"H-hai…" Yanagi replied, still looking confused.

Recca took her hand and they continued walking down the street in silence. It wasn't until they reached the local café that Yanagi spoke again.

"Ne, Recca-kun…isn't that…Fuuko-chan…?" she said uncertainly, peering into the café window.

"Hey, you're right! Perfect timing! We could tell her about the trip to Freezer Boy!" he beamed. Yanagi bobbed her head and they stepped inside.

But the moment they did, they realized that perhaps, they could be making a mistake. From the look on Fuuko's face, it seemed like her nervous system had died and she couldn't move a muscle, not even on her face. She didn't seem to have a feeling left in her to emote about anymore. Perhaps she'd cried them all out…?

Yanagi slowly slipped into the seat beside her, watching Fuuko intently. Her head was down low, a hand holding a spoon, which was dipped into a cup of coffee. If it was even coffee. It looked so different you'd think that it had been sitting there on the table for ages, even from the beginning of the prehistoric period. In fact, a small fly was drinking right out of her cup, and Fuuko didn't even realize it yet.

Yanagi shooed the fly away with her hand and looked at Recca meaningfully, who was standing beside her, staring at Fuuko in shock. "Fuuko…?"

Yanagi immediately reached out to feel Fuuko's forehead, and Fuuko jerked up, blinking, staring curiously at Yanagi like she was an Eskimo in the middle of Japan. It took a minute for Fuuko to recognize her. "Y-Yanagi-san!" she looked up at Recca. "Hanabishi! N-nani shiteru yo?"

"Actually, we should be the ones asking you that," Recca took a seat across from her. "What are you doing, getting into a trance like that in a place like this, alone? You're not posing for a painting or something, are you?"

Fuuko didn't seem to hear the joke. She just mumbled a small "nothing".

Recca sighed and nodded at Yanagi. She nodded back and turned to Fuuko. "Fuuko-chan, we all know you're a bit…um…disturbed by the fact that Mikagami-sempai—" she paused; Fuuko seemed to have flinched at the sound of his name, "—left for China a year ago," she continued. "And we all understand that you're having a bit of a hard time trying to get over him; you know, not being able to eat or sleep well and—"

"A hard time?" Fuuko blurted out suddenly. "What do you mean, a hard time? I'm not having a hard time at all! I mean, I don't really think of him much anymore, you know? He's gone now; there's no point in brooding all over it! Why should I moan over something that doesn't even concern me anymore?" Fuuko beamed at them both enthusiastically. "Besides, we've fully graduated now! Hundreds of possibilities in our lives are out there waiting for us! Why think of things back in the past? We should be thinking of our future! You know, look in the ads, search for a job, earn money, and get a life!"

Yanagi and Recca stared at her even more, gaping in utter shock. One minute Fuuko was having a staring contest with a coffee fly, and the next thing they knew she was talking super fast like it was the last day of her life. For goodness sake, she was talking about her future! What the heck was up with that?

"…and did you even hear about the new restaurant that's opening just around the block? I could apply for a waitress right there!" Fuuko continued in her sudden stream of consciousness. "Or hurry on over to the mall and get a job. I could start my own business if I want to, and I can earn big bucks and we can all go to England or something and we can meet the—"

"Whoa, slow down girl! Wait just a darn minute," Recca broke her in. "Are you forgetting that we're all still here in Tokyo's local café, just a day after our graduation? I mean, I haven't even solved my money problem yet. So don't go drifting off to England just yet, okay?"

Fuuko stopped short, blinking at him. But then after a second, she started babbling again.

Recca shook his head. Fuuko wasn't very good at lying to herself. She was no good at hiding her feelings either. She wasn't acting like herself at all, but still she claimed that Mikagami's departure hadn't affected her in any way? She had got to be kidding.

Yanagi was looking worried. Fuuko was so wrapped up in her emotions that she probably didn't know how to feel or what to say anymore. She looked at Recca for help. He took Fuuko's hand and she stopped talking again.

"Fuuko, please, cut the crap and quit fooling yourself. If you're upset about Tokiya, then just tell us, okay? We're willing to listen; you know we'd do anything to help you feel better. So please, just this once, face the truth. It would make it easier for you, and for us," he said.

Fuuko sighed and her shoulders dropped. She was silent for a while, then she whispered in a helpless tone, "Mi-chan has gone to China…there's nothing you can do."

"But there is," Yanagi smiled calmly at her. "There is something we can do. Because if we can't bring Mikagami-san back, we can go over there ourselves!"

Fuuko looked at her. "That's ridiculous," she commented. "Just the plane ticket to Beijing would cost a ton of money (Recca muttered a small, "you can say that again") and once we do get there, it would be impossible to still have enough pocket money to live through a single day in there. And did you even think about the trip back?" she shook her head. "It's insane to think that we can actually—"

But Yanagi held up three tickets that clearly stated that it wasn't impossible. Fuuko's eyes widened and she lost her train of thought. All she could think of was, Oh—my—god.

***

Sugoi, Fuuko mused, gaping around in the plane. She had never been in an airplane before, and she had no idea how nice and comfortable it was inside.

"S-sumimasen, 'neechan, demo…um…you're blocking the way…" the stewardess gave her a faint smile.

"Oh!" Fuuko snapped out of her amazement and smiled apologetically at the stewardess. "Gomen ne," and she slowly walked down the aisle. She fumbled in her pocket for a small piece of paper and squinted in it to see her seat number. Now where am I supposed to go…

"Fuuko-chan!!! Over here!!!" A loud shout over at the left side of the plane caught her attention. She turned to see Hanabishi waving his arms frantically at her for dear life. She rolled her eyes and grinned, hurrying over to him.

"You know, I can see you perfectly well already; so you don't have to wave like you're trying to land a helicopter or something," Fuuko laughed as she reached him.

Hanabishi grinned. "Irrashaimase," and he led her over to where Yanagi was sitting. She beamed at the sight of her. "Ohayo gozaimasu," she greeted.

"Ohayo," Fuuko said, looking around again. "This is really nice," she commented again. "I'm really glad you guys came to this just for me. I appreciate it a lot."

Hanabishi waved his hand around. "Not a problem. I'm always happy to help out a friend. It's no big deal," he forced a smile. Crap…I'm all broke now…he wailed inwardly.

"Really? Because I thought the tickets would be really expensive…thanks anyway; I owe you one," Fuuko clapped Recca on the back, who was trying hard like he meant what he had said back then. Yanagi giggled and Fuuko grinned. But just then, a large shadow fell over her, and she could feel someone's hands closing in on her bag's handle…of all the places to rob her of her stuff--!

She abruptly turned around and raised her fist. "Why you—what the…?" Instead of the robber she was expecting, she immediately saw a nose ring and that oh-so-familiar face that she'd been dreading to see.

"Domon?!?"

The huge man waved his hand dramatically. "That's right!!! I, Ishijima Domon, am here to protect my one and only!!! Forever will I be here to follow and serve my beloved! I am here to protect her from any sort of harm and keep her safe in my arms for all eternity!!! I am—"

"Oh, shut up, you big oaf!" And she planted a huge one on his face, sending him flying down the aisle. Fuuko turned to Yanagi. "Yanagi-san, help me! You never told me he's coming, too!!!"

Yanagi just shrugged and smiled. "Recca-kun only bought tickets for us three. He chose to come himself," she giggled, pointing to Domon. "You heard what he said; he wants to 'protect his beloved'!"

Fuuko moaned out loud. "Don't tell me he gets to sit beside me???"

"Well…"

"Oh no!!!" Fuuko clapped her hand to her forehead just as Domon came up to her side again, puffing up his chest. "Do you need any help with your luggage?" he asked importantly.

Fuuko glared at him. "I can carry my stuff myself, thank you very much," she snapped and slumped down on the window seat behind Recca and Yanagi's seats. Domon sat down beside her, to her utter dismay.

After a while, Hanabishi turned around at her and asked, "Ne, Fuuko-san, what took you so long to get here, anyway? We were starting to wonder if you'd decided to back out."

"It's my first time in an airport, you know. It hard to find your way with so many people bustling around in all directions," she replied. "It's really cool, though," she smiled, setting her eyes on a small device attached to her seat. "Look, it even has some sort of mini-radio here."

"Sou," Domon agreed, moving closer to her. "And I especially like the way the seats are built so close to each other…"

Fuuko stomped her foot forcefully on Domon's and he let out a yelp. "Dream on, Domon."

Recca shook his head, laughing, as he shifted back into his seat beside Yanagi's.

"Attention all passengers, attention all passengers," a voice boomed out from the speakers overhead. "We will be leaving for Beijing in a few minutes' time. Please take your seats. We will be departing shortly. Please fasten your seatbelts and secure your belongings. We hope that you will enjoy your trip. Thank you very much."

Fuuko did as told and looked out the window up at the sky, excitement coursing through her. They were headed for China, and she was going to see Tokiya again.

A few moments later, she could feel the plane starting to move.

They were leaving.