Hey everyone~ I'm glad that you've all been enjoying the story so far! I really just want to get to the good stuff, so this will probably be the last chapter before the actual fun begins. This story wouldn't live up to its title if they just stayed in Japan the whole time. Sorry if that makes it seem a little rushed, though! Enjoy~

My head hits my pillow as I flop onto my back on the bottom bunk, my body exhausted after an hour and a half of nothing but packing. My brain is fried, too; after a week of finals, I'm totally burnt out. I pick up my plane ticket to look over during my well-deserved break. December 16th, 2012, it read. Tomorrow. Time seems to pass so quickly here.

The trip will last until the 24th, so we'll be back in time for Christmas Eve. Just over a week, but I figured they had scheduled it that way to make up for the two 14-hour-long flights. Sanjou-san, our study abroad manager who we all just called Yukari, had managed to book us our very own private plane. Kairi had mentioned that she is his sister – how crazy is that? She also seems close with Utau, so the lady has connections all over the place. We'd depart from Chicago just after breakfast.

Unfortunately, tomorrow's trip wouldn't be quite so easy. Luckily, since it wasn't a public flight, we wouldn't have to stop on the west coast, but it did mean we'd have to be in the air for a couple more hours. Our flight is scheduled to depart at six in the morning, then to arrive at Chicago closer to eight at night, at which point we could only pray that our sleep schedules would not be completely fucked for the duration of the trip.

I glance at the glowing red numbers of my alarm clock. 10:12 PM. I should probably get ready for bed soon. My whole body is so worn out from the past week, and I've been tired all the time. All I needed to do was wash my face...brush my teeth...and, maybe...

"Amu-chi, wakey-wakey! Don't you know how silly it is to sleep in your clothes?"

My eyes shoot open to the sight of Yaya's face pressed up against my own. I scream as I jump up and hit my head on the top bunk. "Yaya, what do you think you're doing? We have to sleep as much as we can so we can leave at four thirty in the mor-...huh?" I look back at my clock as she runs around, grabbing her things. "It's four fifteen?! Why didn't you wake me up?"

Rima remained calm and composed as I jumped out of bed, stripping off my clothes so I could grab my towel and run to the shower. Yaya kept bouncing around, surprisingly energetic at such an early time. "I just did, silly!"

As much as I would like to stay and figure out what goes through that girl's head, I run off to the bathroom for a much-needed shower. I'm in and out in record time, and before I know it I'm back in the dorm throwing some clothes on my wet body. A simple black t-shirt with a black and red plaid skirt will have to do, along with my favorite pair of red and white thigh-high socks. I clip up a section of my damp pink hair before grabbing my bags and glancing at the clock. 4:25 AM. I quickly brush my teeth in the bathroom as I struggle into my winter coat.

As I return, Rima and Yaya are just locking the door, the tiny blonde somehow dragging out my luggage as well as hers. "Come on, Amu, the bus leaves soon," she said, following Yaya towards the exit.

"Coming~," I say, running ahead and taking my bags from her. I shoved my toothbrush into my carry-on and opened the door to the chilly December air.

The half-hour bus ride there took no time at all. Well, it was actually about thirty minutes long, but no one but Yukari, who was driving, would have been able to tell you that. We'd all stumbled off the bus in front of the airport, just waking up from our group nap. Thankfully, everyone else is just about as tousled as I am, save for Utau who is gorgeous as always. Her boyfriend's – whose named I learned is Kukai – hair was ruffled every which way, and it was hard to tell whether it was from just having rolled out of bed, or from their early morning "activities." It suited him well, either way.

After what seemed like an eternity of luggage checking, airport security, and trudging our way to our terminal, we all sat down awaiting our plane. Yaya sat next to Kairi, who was oddly alert for this time of day. I wouldn't be surprised if he was used to it from getting up around five every day to practice kendo. Yaya is playing a handheld video game next to him, like a little kid insisting that she wasn't tired enough for bed yet.

Rima had passed out in the chair next to Nagihiko, using his shoulder as a pillow. His arm was around her shoulder, gently stroking her hair. I wonder what their relationship is really like? They're always running off somewhere together. At least she's seemed to have warmed up to him a little more since the beginning of the year.

Tadase sat next to Nagihiko, quietly chatting with him as to not wake Rima. It's strange, I haven't seen him hanging out with Saaya nearly as much as I used to. It's quite possible that they're both quite busy, but maybe something happened between them. Ikuto sat off a bit isolated from everyone as usual, closing his eyes to continue his catnap.

Utau sits between Kukai and I, her fingers intertwined with his. How nice it must be to be in such a sweet relationship. The more I thought about it, the nicer I thought it to be. Maybe Utau was onto something back in October when she'd asked about my relationship status. I look over at her. She always seems to be smiling when her hand is in Kukai's. Her eyes are closed in relaxation, but not sleep, unlike the boy next to her. I figure some friendly conversation couldn't hurt. "Hey, Utau," I start, not too loudly. Didn't want to wake up Kukai after she'd most likely exhausted him earlier this morning. Her deep purple eyes opened at my words and turned their gaze towards me. "Do you suppose your brother might still be interested in me?"

Her smile turned into one of amusement rather than contentment. "I would say so. It's not like him to act so disinterested in pursuing girls like he has been lately. Though, you did embarrass yourself in front of him pretty badly a while back."

Her words catch me off guard. Embarrass myself? Well, it's not like that's an uncommon occurrence for me. I try to search my memory for the offending incident, then remember that I still don't know who her brother is. I might not mind her setting me up on a blind date, though. We'd grown marginally closer since the beginning of the year, and were scheduled to share a hotel room in Chicago. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited about that. She seems like a really cool girl with evidently good taste in partners, and I'm sure her brother would be equally awesome. But who was he? "Utau, who is-"

Flight 273 is now boarding. Flight 273, Tokyo to Chicago, is now boarding.

Utau kisses Kukai on the cheek, waking him from his nap. "Ah...Chicago already?"

She giggles as he rubs the sleep out of his eyes. "No, silly. Come on, we're boarding."

They pick up their bags as I dig through mine for my ticket. I grab it and stand up, watching Nagihiko gently shake Rima awake. Her eyes flutter open as Yaya and Kairi make their own way to the boarding entrance. Yukari and Professor Nikaidou are both scrambling to produce their tickets as get everything in order, as if the plane would leave without them if they didn't get on immediately.

I almost pass Ikuto, whose eyes are still closed in a content sleep. Yukari and Nikaidou both seemed to preoccupied to notice. I can't just leave him, can I? I shift my black and red plaid carry-on onto my shoulder before approaching him. His face is so angelic when he sleeps, so innocent. I don't know him too well at all, but it does seem like a stark contrast to the dark and mysterious image he usually projects. I grab his shoulder and shake him, hoping to wake him up.

"Amu..." he mutters, his eyes only beginning to flutter open.

"Yeah, it's me. Now wake up, it's time to get on the plane."

He stretches out, catlike, as I go up to the front and show my ticket to the attendee. I'm let in right behind Yukari and Nikaidou. After traversing the length of the connecting tunnel, I take a look around. The plane is surprisingly roomy, with big, comfy-looking seats. There's more than enough room for all of us, and what appears to be multiple cabins. Might be nice, especially if one gets too loud and I want to sleep. I take a seat on the left side of the plane, setting my bag between my feet and stretching out as the others get on behind me.

Kairi and Yaya are first, taking seats on the right side. Rima and Nagihiko are next, and she drags him to the back of our cabin. The poor girl must still be tired. I wouldn't be surprised if she just wanted some company for her nap. "You know, Rima," Nagihiko started, "we could just go to the other cabin and turn off the lights so you can sleep instead of staying here with everyone."

She glares at him a bit as they sit down. "And be alone with you in a dark room? I don't think so."

Alright, so now I'm even more confused about their relationship. No big deal.

Utau and Kukai are next, with Kukai's finger hooked around hers, leading her into the seats near the front just behind Yukari and Nikaidou. They relaxed into the seats, and for that matter, into each other, quite comfortably. Utau seems oddly used to the whole process of flying. Perhaps she studied abroad a lot, or just likes to travel?

Finally, Tadase stepped on board. He glanced around before walking ahead. I didn't even notice him stop in front of my seat until he said my name. "Amu," he started, "do you mind if I sit next to you?"

I didn't exactly see why he would want to. There were rows and rows of empty seats, not to mention the empty cabin behind us.

"I just want to talk. We really haven't spoken too much since the break up, have we?"

I glanced at him hesitantly. Well, there's probably a good reason for that, I wanted to say, but bit my tongue instead. "I don't know, Tadas-"

"Step back, kid. She obviously isn't in the mood for your company right now," a voice came from behind him. I looked over to see Ikuto standing tall in the aisle. Compared to Tadase, he looked even taller than usual. There was a hint of aggression in his voice, and it was almost menacing. Tadase stood his ground, keeping his composure.

Are they...fighting over me? I couldn't just sit back and let them do whatever it is they plan on doing to each other in front of everyone like this. "Ikuto, I never said that," I said in Tadase's defense. I may not love him anymore, but I wasn't ready for this kind of drama at six in the morning.

He glanced at me briefly, his midnight blue eyes searching for something. Confirmation? Permission, perhaps? His gaze quickly turned back to Tadase, locking them both in place. This tension went on for what seemed like an eternity before Ikuto scrunched up his brow and shrugged, looking away. "Suit yourself. I'll be in the back if you need some more adult company." With that, he stepped past Tadase, intentionally bumping him on his way. He stepped through the curtains and vanished into the other cabin. I know he meant that he's much older than my ex, but the "adult" part of that seemed to imply something that I don't think he meant.

Tadase's eyes followed him all the way back, making sure he had left before awkwardly turning back to me. He shifted around with his bag a bit as everyone turned to watch the outcome. "So...is this seat taken?"

Let the fourteen-hour flight begin.

I just love Tuesdays. I have the whole day off of class, and can write a crapton of fanfiction after I finish my homework. :3 Only 6,300 miles to go until it starts getting really good, though the flight chapter itself should be fun. I might update once more this week, but not during the weekend.

Amu: What happens on the weekend?
Honey: Fall break, of course! College is just awesome that way. I'll be spending four days at my boyfriend's house!
Ikuto: I think we can all guess what you'll be doing there.
Honey: Yeah, I'm not too hard to read, am I? :P
Amu: Considering what you usually write about, no...

So yeah! Leave me a lovely little review telling me what you think. I'd really appreciate it. ;) Ja ne, minna!