Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Love Hina.
Pre-Read by: Zenapax
I Fell For You In San Francisco: Arrival
"Please fasten your safety belts. We will be arriving at San Francisco International Airport in five minutes," The captain announces over the speaker as Keitaro wakes up from his nap on the plane. With tired eyes, he turns to see Shinobu looking out the window, all smiling and big eyed.
"Like what you see?"
"The city is so big. I can't tell if this place or Tokyo is bigger." She press her face against the window.
"Well, you better buckle up soon. We'll be landing in a few minutes." She takes her face off the window and fasten her safety belt. The landing on the runway is so smooth that they didn't even feel the wheels hit the ground. After getting off the plane, they head to baggage claim and wait twenty-five before grabbing their bags. After getting through customs, Keitaro notices Shinobu's cheery expression and bouncing with each step as they pull their luggage to the front of the airport. "Can't wait to be in the city, can you?" She stops, contemplating the question before noticing that he took a few steps past her.
"HUH...*sweatdrop* yeah! I never been to America before, so I'm very excited to be on a trip like this." She quickly walks over to Keitaro. "You know Sempai, I always dreamed of vacationing in a city in America. Thank you so much for making it come true. What are we going to do in the morning?"
"Hmmm..." He thinks about it as they come to the front of the airport. "I'm not sure. But we're staying in the big city. Whatever we do, it should be fun like visit local monuments or museums."
"Maybe shop in the mall or swim at the beach."
"Yeah! Or maybe..." They take one step out of the airport and into the night air, feeling the coldest wind they've ever felt rush throughout their bodies. "...maybe...freeze...to...death."
"I...I thought...it...was summer?" Shinobu shakily says.
"So...did...I! Let's...get...a...cab...before...we're...icicles." They run to the sidewalk, waiting for a cab.
Ten minutes have gone by and not one cab has come by. He shakes wildly, not counting on San Francisco being cold at night and wishing that he was wearing a jacket and some pants, not the shorts and the short sleeve shirt is has on. He turns to see Shinobu shivering uncontrollably, knowing that she wants a coat to cover up the short-sleeve shirt and the mini-skirt she's wearing. Not wanting to see her in pain like this, he puts his arms around her body. Bewildered by his action, she asks "Sempai! What are...you doing?"
"Trying... to... keep... you...warm." Noticing that he too is trembling, she puts her arms around his waist. Surprised, he looks at her, who is looking at him. Before they can do anything, a bright light shines on the two of them. They both turn to it, where it fades a little, reviling a taxi cab as the cabbie, wearing a green jacket, black cap and khaki pants, steps out.
"Cold huh?" The cabbie says. He goes to the back of his cab and opens the trunk. He then goes around and opens the back door, letting them get inside to get out of the cold winds. It only takes a few minutes for the cabbie to load the suitcases before getting back into the cab. The cabbie turns around and ask "So, where are you two love birds going?"
"Huh?" Keitaro says, regaining some warmth in himself.
"What!? Love birds!?," Shinobu manages to say with a slight blush. "I...I... I'm not his girlfriend!" The cabbie looks at her very hard.
"Whatever you say miss." He turns back around, putting his hands on the steering wheel. "So, where to?"
"The Radisson Miyako Hotel please." Keitaro says.
"A hotel?! And I thought the young lady wasn't your girlfriend?" Keitaro curses the cabbie in Japanese while he starts up the engine and drives off. Because the cabbie never respond to him, he talks to Shinobu in their native tongue.
"Sorry for my language towards him."
"It's OK. I wanted to do the same thing. By the way, how much money did you bring on this trip?"
"Hmm...I'm not sure."
"HUH? What do you mean?"
"Before I left to go to my parents, I took all the money from my account because I was worried that Kitsune would steal it again. I took whatever money I had left along on this trip. So I'm not sure how much I have. All I can tell you is I have at least a thousand American dollars in my wallet."
"A thousand American dollars?"
"Yeah. I read that there is a bank near the hotel that will exchange my yen into dollars. I'll do that tomorrow." Shinobu turns her attention to the sight of San Francisco, mostly looking at buildings and stores that are close for the night. Keitaro turns towards the cab driver and ask "Sir, why is this city so cold?"
"Haven't you heard the old saying? The coldest winter you'll ever face is a summer in San Francisco." Keitaro turns his attention towards the cab driver's picture. He doesn't notice until now that the cab driver almost looks exactly like him: slim face, brown eyes, same skin tone, wears glasses. If the cab driver's hair wasn't black and looked a little Japanese, he could have sworn that he was looking into a mirror or meeting his identical twin. However, something bother the way he looked to him.
"Sir. I was wondering. How old are you?" Unknowingly, Shinobu gives him a funny stare.
"Me? I'm twenty. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, nothing. Really." he says, thinking that he's only three years older then him. "You must have lived here all your life if you're driving a cab and only twenty years old." The cabbie lets out a big laugh. "What's so funny?"
"You!" Still laughing. "Sure. I know my way around this city, but I only lived here for three months."
"You have? How do you know this place so quickly?"
"Well, I go to the University of San Francisco, where I major in photography. Because the city has more things for me to photograph than in West Pittsburg, I pretty much know how to get anywhere in this city."
"Oh. Where's West Pittsburg? Is that a nearby city?"
"No." The cabbie take a hard left down Sutter Street, just before the lights turn red. "It's what I like to call a small town that's far away from here."
"How far is it from West Pittsburg to your school then?" The cab stops as they reach a red light on Hyde Street.
"Let's just say it takes me about an hour and a half to get to the school on bus and the BART train." The cab driver steps on it as the light changes to green. "Luckily for me, I live with a few friends of mine in the Richmond District on Balboa, so it now takes ten minutes.
"What's BART?" Shinobu ask.
"BART stands for Bay Area Rapid Transit. It's a way for people here or from the East Bay to get around San Francisco if they don't want or know how to drive." The cabbie make his way into the hotel. He makes a u-turn before parking the cab in front of the hotel doors. "Your stop. That'll be thirty-six sixty-nine." He pops open the trunk as Keitaro slips him the money.
"Keep the change." The cabbie grabs the money and is surprised to see a fifty dollar bill.
"What? You're kidding me?!"
"No sir. Keep the change."
"Well, if I'm going to keep this then," He opens the glove compartment, grabbing two green tickets and a map. "I want you to have theses." He hands it to Keitaro.
"What are they?"
"The two tickets are muni fast passes. You can use them to get on the buses for free. Plus on the BART train, but only between Embarcadero and Balboa Park."
"WOW!" Shinobu says, grabbing her fast pass. "We can have this?"
"Yeah. You two seem like nice people. It wouldn't feel right for me to have you pay for transportation, unless you use a cab of course."
"But don't you need them?" Keitaro asked.
"Na. I found those two on the street this morning. You wouldn't believe what you can find in this city. By the way, fast passes work only during the month. But since this is the middle of August, you shouldn't worry. The map are bus routes around San Francisco. You might need this if you travel around the city on bus. "
"Thank you sir. Hope to see you around."
"You too. And sir, treat the young lady well. This city had a lot to offer." Keitaro waves to the cabbie and step out of the cab. He lets Shinobu slide out his way before closing the back door.
A bellboy puts all their luggage in a cart while another opens the door for them. They don't enter until they watch the cabbie speed out. Once inside, they walk towards the front desk and get their keys. Then they go to the elevator, where the bellboy is waiting for them with their luggage. Once it stops on their floor, they head towards room 214. Keitaro uses the key and opens the door, letting the bellboy go in to put the luggage away. Once the bellboy finishes, he tips him five dollars and goes back into the room with Shinobu. They're amazed with the room as they see a big screen TV, mini-bar, a small kitchen and a computer.
"WOW! We must have hit the jackpot or something Sempai." Shinobu says, checking out the computer. "I never been in a hotel room like this before."
"Me either. Guess I hit it big at that raffle game." Keitaro opens a door and goes in to see that he's in the bathroom. He's surprised that not only is there both a shower and bathtub in the room, but also a jacuzzi. Before he can test any of it out, he hears a scream. Quickly, he runs back into the room and doesn't see Shinobu. He turns to his left to see that the door is close, but when he turns around, he notices an open shoji door. He slowly walks in and is relieved to see that Shinobu isn't hurt, but is pointing at something. It's hard for him to tell what she's pointing at since her arm is shaking madly. "What's wrong Shinobu?"
"Sempai! There's only one bed!"
GOOD OR BAD, PLEASE REVIEW =)
