Chapter 5
The sun beat down relentlessly on the asphalt runway. The plane touched down, taxied the runway and finally came to a stop at the terminal. Ken stretched his legs and stood up. He had finally arrived in Australia. He thought he'd never really set foot here in his life.
He walked out of the plane into the terminal. The terminal was bustling with people going to gates or to the entrance to the airport. Ken pulled his carry on case, his only luggage, towards the entrance, sidestepping fast-moving people. Outside he stopped and hailed a taxi. It stopped and he got in. "where to, sir?" Said the cabbie, a middle aged, balding man with a distinct Australian accent. "What's the nearest hotel?" Ken asked him. "The Sidney Marriott, sir." "Alright. Take me there please." Replied ken.
A few hours, a hotel room and a shower later, ken stared out of the glass doors to the balcony. Sitting down on the bed, he dropped his head into his hands. 'Now what?' He thought to himself. He had come here on a whim, in search of Yuriko. But where the hell could he look? She was traveling the back roads of Australia on motorcycle. He could end up searching for a long time. Feeling stupid, Ken just laughed at the situation.
A sudden rumbling of his stomach solved the immediate problem of what to do. He remembered seeing a restaurant connected to the lobby. First, however, he went to the information desk there." Excuse me," He said in English, addressing the woman behind the desk. "Could you tell me if there are any motorcycle events happening soon in Sydney?" She looked at him funny. "Of course. The yearly motorcycle show just started yesterday. I'm afraid they are already sold out. She smiled, a little condescendingly, as if only an idiot wouldn't have known about it. "Never mind." He turned his back on her, annoyed.
Suddenly, Ken thought he was dreaming. There in front of him, yuriko walked out if the restaurant. She looked up and their eyes locked. She gasped. "Ken?" She whispered. Suddenly, a young man walked out of the restaurant. "Are you okay?" He said. Looking in the direction she was looking, he saw ken and frowned. Yuriko looked at the young man, snapping out of her shock. "Oh. John, this is ken: a fellow motorcyclist. I'm just surprised to see him here. Ken, this is John." John nodded stiffly. "Can I speak to him alone a few moments? John looked suspiciously at Ken, but just kissed her cheek and said I'll see you upstairs, okay?" " 'Kay." She replied. Once he was gone, she turned to ken. "Yuriko…." He said, apologetically. "Why did you leave me, ken?" She said softly, switching to Japanese. "Without a word! …I thought you loved me!" She said. He moved closer to her. "I do love you, yuriko. I came here to tell you that. I want to be with you. …I…" She cut him off, angrily. "So you think that's it? I'll come running back to you, whenever you want? Life doesn't work like that." She said coldly. "I'm with john now. You're too late." With those words ken felt his shoulders sag, and his heart drop to his boots. He felt himself go numb. "Yuriko." He said, desperately. She just turned her back on him and walked away. He flinched as though she had slapped him. He felt like such a fool. A hopeless fool. How could he have believed that she would forgive him so easily? Dejectedly, he went back to his room and gathered his things. His brief stay in Australia was over.
Later, on the plane back to Japan, ken looked one last time upon Sydney, sadly. Miles below, Yuriko was looking out of the window of her hotel room. John had left to buy some things. She looked up at the passing plane, thinking of ken. Suddenly, she slid to the floor, crying. She drew her knees to her forehead and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Ken…" She sobbed.
(A/N: I'm so sorry to those who keep track of this story, for not updating regularly. I've been really busy and I don't think I'll be able to write continually. But I will try to type up the next chapter as soon as possible once I edit it. That should be within the week if I'm not too busy. Thank you all for your patience. I know well how waiting can become difficult.
P.S: for those who are totally lost as to why yuriko is mad at ken: in the show, she was going to go to Australia to motorcycle cross-country. She bought him a ticket and he took it, but never got on the plane. )