CHAPTER 2
- DON'T LIE TO ME -
RATING: M
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters... obviously.
WARNING : Adult themes, violence, language and some minor gore. You've been warned.
* * * * * * * *
Tokyo airport, 9.24 AM, that same day.
"Mina, are you sure this delay won't be a problem? I know you're probably very busy with rehearsal and all. I still can't believe it... my best friend in an Off Broadway musical!" Serena exclaimed, barely restraining her excitement, even though that was at least the thousandth time she had said it. "But I'm sure when you become a famous actress they'll never make mistakes with your reservations!" She smiled, winking at her friend.
Mina's face seemed to darken for a moment but soon she smiled back at her friend, "Well, of course not! They'll ask me for autographs and will offer me champagne on the plane." She said, making the 'V' sign.
"Definitely! I'm really sorry I won't be able to watch you perform..." Serena said sadly.
"Come on, don't be sorry! You'll have a brand new life in Japan and soon you won't even remember your old friends from the US!" Mina winked at her friend.
"Oh, that'll never happen, and you know it! You'll be the one to forget us when you become a movie star!" The pigtailed girl giggled. After a little pause she smiled broadly. "Let's go get some ice-cream, I'm hungry!"
"Serena, we've had breakfast only a half hour ago." Mina clucked, shaking her head.
"I know, but airports make me hungry, you know." Her friend moanedas she made her way to the cafeteria.
"Go ahead with Darien,I'll come in a moment." Mina pointed at two handsome stewards approaching.
"Oh... of course. See you later then." She concluded, with a knowing wink and walked away to her dark-haired boyfriend.
With a large smile covering her troubled face, Mina made her way toward the two young men hiding her troubled face.
* * * * * * * *
Unknown place, present.
A couple of hours had passed since the falling wing had crashed into the cabin. The survivors were trying to deal with what had just happened, everyone in their personal way.
"Hi, I'm Umino. I was sitting behind you on the plane." The young man with thick glasses offered his right hand to the pregnant woman pointing towards the wreckage with his left. His English was heavily accented, but decent. Molly looked up at him smiling.
"Hi, Umino. I'm Molly, and this..." she cooed, caressing her swollen belly, "...is Alex,"
"Oh, he's going to be a boy?" He questioned, looking fascinated at her stomach.
"Oh, I don't know yet. It could be Alexandra or Alexander," she said giggling.
He looked at her confused for a moment and then he understood. Blushing, he scratched at the back of his head in embarrassment. The girl laughed and patted the sand beside her, inviting him to take a seat.
A few feet away a makeshift tent had been built with some sticks and towels to offer shelter for the injured. Dr. Mizuno and Ami had taken refuge there to rest. They had attended to all the people they could, with the unexpected help of Rei's grandfather. The Shinto priest had a couple of medical rudiments and an enviable practical sense, both things being extremely useful in the situation.
At the same time Rei was trying to convince Yuiichiro she was alright, but wasn't having any success.
"Don't make such a fuss, baka! I told you I'm OK!" She bellowed in exasperation.
"But Rei-chan..." the young man tried to dissent for the umpteenth time, but was cut off.
"Enough! I won't tolerate another word from you, Kumada-san!" She addressed him with deliberate detachment and the lack of familiarity didn't pass unnoticed.
"Please accept my apologies, Rei-san, I-I'll go now... see if I can help." He whispered and stood up. She looked at him and realized she had overreacted. Her expression softened. "Yuiichiro-kun..." she murmured, but he was already gone.
In a secluded spot under a tree, Furuhata sat fumbling with a sheet of paper. When he managed to unfold it, though, he didn't look at it; he just stared into space instead.
"I'll be a little late, onee-chan..." He murmured into the light breeze.
Near the wreckage, Lita was walking amid corpses, metal fragments and every sort of discarded object. She looked around, taking in the desolate scenery before her. When she looked up she saw a flash of metal where a long-haired man stood smoking a cigarette, their eyes locking for a long moment until he winked at her and turned away.
Not too far away, the three Kou brothers and Michiru had found shelter from the hot sun under a big fragment of the plane.
"I can't believe I passed out and I don't even have a bump!" Yaten complained, searching his head for any sign of a concussion.
"You better search your pants...I think you passed out from fright!" Seiya teased, elbowing his younger brother.
"Seiya!!!" Taiki scolded, "Not in front of a lady!"
"Don't worry, Taiki-san, I think I'm beyond shock today." Michiru said, looking at the wreckage in the distance.
"Gomen ne, Michiru-chan, I've forgot my manners." Seiya apologized. He looked at her searching for a smile at their jokes but she never looked back at him, not even as she stood and walked away to the other survivors.
"I'm gonna check on Hotaru-chan." She said and was gone, much to Seiya's surprise.
Haruka was sitting under a tree with Hotaru asleep in her lap, her gaze lost on the horizon.
"Hey, how are you?" Michiru whispered, not wanting to wake the exhausted child. "Both of you..."
"She's asleep," was the curt reply.
"I can see that..." Michiru commented as she sat down beside them. "How's your shoulder?"
Haruka finally turned, looking at her.
"Oh, it's fine. It'll be as good as new in no time." She gave the aqua-haired beauty a small smile.
"I see..." Michiru murmured looking at the sleeping child, and then they sat in silence, Haruka looking out at the horizon and Michiru caressing Hotaru's head.
* * * * * * * *
Three others sat in a thoughtful silence. Darien embracing Serena from behind, her cheeks stained with tears as she leaned back, taking comfort in her boyfriend's arms. A couple of steps away, Mina was looking down at the sand as it slid between her fingers.
* * * * * * * *
"You have one new message." A slightly metallic-sounding voice said. Hope sparkled in her blue eyes, her hands gripping the handset so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
"Let it be them, let it be them..." She repeated it like a mantra.
"*BIP* Hello, it's me, Serena. Darien and I wanted to remind you about dinner tomorrow night. A friend of Darien's will also be there. Bye! ...Oh! I almost forgot: good luck on your casting. I'm sure it'll be fine. See ya tomorrow! *BIIIIP* You have no more messages."
She stood in disappointmentclosing her watering eyes, the handset loosely held in shaking hands.
"Mina! Mina, damn it! Where the hell are you?!" Shouts came from around the corner. "Ah, there you are. Move that cute ass of yours and get back to work, I don't pay you to fool with the phone!"
Mina hung up the phone andleaned back against the stained wall, slumping down on the plastic floor.
"Mina! You heard me? You think it would be difficult for me to find another cute, desperate-for-a-job chick?"
"Coming! Don't be such a pain!" She yelled back, standing and rubbing away the tears before they had a chance to fall down her cheeks.
She entered the crowded and noisy dining room, still tying the white apron she wore on her very short, pink uniform.
"Remind me again why I don't fire you?" Her boss, a bristly man in his late forties, asked her as she passed by the counter.
"Cause you like to see this every time I pass!" She said, pointing at her rear.
He was left wordless as she approached a table to take the order, her hips swaying suggestively.
* * * * * * * *
"Someone told me you're the one I should talk to."
Haruka opened her eyes, disturbed by the sudden shadow and the brusqueness of the voice. A tall figure towered over her, obscuring the sun. First she looked up at the newcomer, then she looked down at the two sleeping figures: one in her lap, the other curled up against her right shoulder and put her index finger in front of her lips.
"Shhh!" She warned.
"Oh! Sorry." The tall brunette whispered scratching the back of her head and giggling in embarrassment, the previous harsh attitude gone.
At that point Haruka felt stirring at her right side and two ocean-blue eyes blinked open.
"Hey, sleepy-head..." The blonde said, smiling gently. Then it was Michiru's turn to blush when she realized that she had fallen asleep on Haruka's shoulder and they weren't alone either.
"What can I do for you?" Haruka asked.
"Well, I was thinking about... doing something." Lita said, feeling suddenly self-conscious.
"Something like...?" The blonde wasn't sure what the other girl had in mind.
"Anything!" Lita said, turning around and gesturing to the entire beach with a wave of her hand. Haruka continued to stare at her, perplexed. "Anything. Anything but sitting here and waiting." She turned towards the wreckage and continued, "We should start thinking about what we're going to do. Nobody has shown up, no rescue, no ships on the horizon...nothing."
"You're right they should be here by now..." Haruka pondered the situation and stood holding Hotaru, who was still asleep. She winced as she strained her injured shoulder and soon Michiru took the child from her.
"Maybe we should gather the others and decide what to do next." The aqua-haired woman offered. The other two nodded and they all walked to the doctor's tent to talk of their next move
The first shock had passed and it was now time to deal with the situation.
* * * * * * * *
The room was bare, white walls and no windows. The artificial light of the trembling fluorescent bulb sent a blurring flash on the desk's surface. The unkind, gruff assistant pushed her inside unceremoniously. No one was there.
"Get ready, he'll be here soon." And with that she slammed the door, leaving the blond girl alone inside the lackluster room .
Mina swallowed the lump in her throat. She had somehow realized what kind of casting this was. In front of the desk stood a plain plastic chairwhich she stared at for a couple of minutes. She felt suddenly cold despite it being a hot summer day, finally sitting down and beginning unbuttoning her sleeveless shirt slowly, her fingers trembling.
Suddenly a wet sensation on her skin startled her. She looked down and saw a transparent drop sliding down the back of her hand and into the yellow fabric of her shirt. She stared at the slowly enlarging stain until she realized that itwas a tear. Her tear. Soon others followed and she broke down sobbing.
A few minutes later, the other girls waiting in the hall saw a blur of yellow rushing down the corridor and towards the exit.
"You. It's your turnnow." The assistant shrugged, grabbing a dumbfounded brunette by the arm and escorting her to the same room.
* * * * * * * * *
"Mina? Mina? Isn't that your shirt? Isn't that your suitcase? It's incredibly lucky to have found it." Serena held up a yellow, sleeveless shirt to Mina, "I remember you having a shirt like this." The pigtailed girl remembered right, but Mina was absolutely sure that wasn't her shirt. 'I threw it away that same day...'
"No, Serena. That is not my shirt. Now let's move on, we're not supposed to search for clothing, but for medications." She said curtly, searching the large suitcase in front of her.
The doctor had instructed them to search for any kind of medications, sewing kits, and even every form of alcohol. She needed mostly antibiotics, particularly for Hotaru's father. She had said that there was only a small chance of keeping him alive until they were rescued and he could be transported to a hospital.
"You're right. I'd better hurry, I want to see Darien before they go...I still don't understand how the radio could be functioning after the plane crashed, though." Serena mumbled.
"Furuhata said there's a supplemental transmitter on every plane for emergency." Mina replied.
"Well, he seems to be an expert. Hey Mina, do you think he has a girlfriend? 'Cause he's nice and good-looking and I think you could..." Her voice faded off.
"I could what? You should stop trying to set me up with guys, it seems like you don't think I could get one myself." Mina answered half-scolding, half-laughing. When she didn't hear any comment from her friend she turned around.
Serena was unbelievably pale and was trembling, her light blue eyes filling with tears as they stared at the ground. Mina followed her friend's gaze to what seemed to be a dress shoe. After a moment she realized that there was a foot in that shoe and an entire body attached to it. It was the dead body of a middle-age man in an elegant business suit.
"We should start considering taking care of those, sooner or later." Was her composed comment. She kneeled down and searched the corpse's pocket. "Aha! I knew it!" In her hand was a little orange plastic box, half full of white pills. She stood and looked to her pigtailed friend.
Serena's eyes were wide in horror, her mouth agape and large tears falling down her pale cheeks. She seemed utterly horrified, jumping in Mina's arms, crying.
"Oh, you're so brave Mina! You're so practical and brave! I wish I could be strong like you!" She sobbed. Mina caressed her back soothingly.
"Oh, come on Serena, there's no need to cry over that!" She attempted to calm her friend.
"No, you're my idol, ever since kindergarten. You are so strong and brave...and beautiful... and brilliant," she blubbered loudly, "And you're talented too. You'll be a movie star. You've always been successful whatever you were doing." Another sob. "And now you had the sense of doing that and take the medicine! I'll never be able to be like you." She concluded, still sobbing like a child.
"You don't know what you're talking about, Serena. I think you're a bit too emotional right now." She gave her friend a gentle pat on the back, changing the subject, "I think we're finished here, let's take this stuff to the doc so you can give a goodbye kiss to Darien. And you know what? I think I may be going with them."
'Because you continue to remind me how much of a crappy lie my life is...' She added to herself.
* * * * * * * *
"Hey, Four-Eyes, I'm done here, I'll go to the doc for the delivery." The long-haired, cold-eyed man told Umino. Without waiting for an answer, he swung a blue rucksack that appeared to be full of every kind of things on his shoulder and headed into the woods.
"Ok...hey! Wait!" The younger Japanese man called for him. Jade, his steely eyes glancing back, stopped in his tracks, a cold bead of sweat running down his spine. 'What the Hell does the moron want, now?' He thought in exasperation.
Umino ran to Jade's side, offering his hand, panting "We've never been introduced. I'm Gurio Umino, nice to meet you."
The older man ignored the proffered hand and locked his cold eyes with those of the smiling boy.
"The pleasure is all mine, Four-Eyes." He said finally after a long pause, the tone was sarcastic but Umino's smile didn't falter, instead, gazing up at the older man, waiting. After a minute or so of unnerving silence, the long-haired man gave up. "It's Jade, Four-Eyes. Now move. I have to go."
"Oh, yes." Umino beamed, returning to his searching.
* * * * * * * *
"I still don't know if I can trust you."
"There's nothing I can do now to make you trust me." The interlocutor's face was unreadable.
Haruka looked down at the purple-eyed little girl, her expression softening. "Are you going to be alright, Hime-chan?"
"Of course, Haruka-san. Setsuna-mama's nice; you shouldn't be so rude to her. I like her very much." The little girl said in a scolding tone that took the two adults by surprise and elicited a smile from them.
"Mmh...OK, then I'm gonna go. Be a good kid, and don't have too much fun without me." She said with a wink.
Haruka headed to the hospital tent that had been designated as headquarters. Due to the fact that the doctor couldn't leave Souchi Tomoe's - Hotaru's father - bedside.
Just outside the tent she found Lita, the brunette who had come to her earlier, Furuhata, the radio expert who was supposed to be able to find and use the transmitter, Michiru, Seiya and Yaten. After a moment, they were joined by Darien and his girlfriend's friend, the cute blonde with the red ribbon in her hair, whose name she later found out to be Mina.
"Hey Haruka, are we ready?"
"I guess so," She said, looking around at the others. "Before we go can I talk to you...in private?" She added glancing shortly at Mina.
"Of course. Mina, could you excuse us for a minute?" He asked gently. Mina nodded without objection, but couldn't hide a curious look.
"I'm a little worried; we still don't know who was with the Marshall," She explained, "Any clue?"
"No, and I'm not too happy to leave Serena here either, but we have to do this..." He stated.
"Yeah, I know." She glanced briefly to where she had left Hotaru.
"Well, let's keep our eyes open and try to be back as soon as possible." He concluded, resolve in his eyes. Just then, the long-haired Jade approached, several little boxes of medications in hand.
"We're going to try and use the cockpits transmitter to send an S.O.S. Are you coming with us?" Darien asked.
"No, thanks. It's a waste of time. If they wanted to find us they would be here already." He said stiffly with a shake of his shoulders.
At his bitter words all the heads lifted, fear appearing in their eyes and a suffocating silence falling upon them. Haruka shook her head and glared at him, her look ice-cold.
"That's why we're going. If they're not here, it's because they don't know yet."
Everyone looked at her and some hope returned in their eyes, especially Furuhata's. He was the first to move, heading to the forest with a confident smile on his lips. The group followed after him and began their trek towards the thin column of smoke visible in the distance.
* * * * * * * *
The trip was hard due to the nonexistent path and thick woods. During the first hour of their journey they walked in silence, the tension among them clear. They were a bunch of strangers, knowing nothing about each other and Jade's words still echoed in their minds. The only one who seemed confident and optimistic was Furuhata, who guided the group with a steady pace.
Nevertheless, at some point the silence became too much for Mina, whose dark thoughts were eating at her mind lately, even before the plane crashed. Soon, she couldn't stand the tension any longer. She spotted three figures walking a couple of steps ahead and increased her pace to match theirs. She had recognized them immediately, but the previous events had kept her from approaching. Now, she put on her most confident smile and came up beside them.
"You know, even in these crazy circumstances, it's amazing you're here. I'm a huge fan of yours." She blabbered when she was at Yaten's side, who actually was her favorite Threelights member because of his beautiful fashion sense and cool attitude. He looked very delicate in person, she thought, observing his almost feminine features.
He was startled by the sudden break of silence, looking in surprise at the pretty blonde. Almost instantly was it replaced by a smile, he was glad that someone—finally—came to rescue them from that oppressing dark mood which was starting to make him very nervous.
"Oh, thank Kami someone recognizes us. I was starting to think we weren't as famous as our agent said we are." He joked—or was he?
"How could you possibly doubt our success, lil' brother? You'll always be popular with a cool, handsome brother like me!" Seiya intervened, winking at Mina.
Michiru and Yaten rolled their eyes as Mina blinked in confusion. But after a few seconds and one of Seiya's smiles, she concluded it didn't matter because he was right anyway.
Her attempt had been successful in dissipating the heavy silence among the whole group and within minutes Lita, Furuhata and Darien were talking as well. Only Haruka remained silent in the rear of the group.
As Seiya was completely engrossed in the conversation with the adoring fan, Michiru considered it to be the perfect moment to sneak away. As Mina was telling about her promising career in 'show-biz,' Michiru finally slowed her pace.
While observing them from behind, she found herself wondering why she was so willing to be with someone else. After all, these were her friends and colleagues, they were those supposed to understand her and make her feel safe. Sure they were a good company. She loved to discuss fashion with Yaten, Taiki was a real gentleman—he reminded her of her father—always kind and polite; cultured and sophisticated. And Seiya? Well, Seiya was handsome, brilliant, kind, and charming. He was very talented, possibly the most talented of the three, and Michiru had always looked for that kind of attitude in her friends. She had always thought that having someone as talented as herself would feel a little less lonely...
She had spent her childhood feeling like a 'freak'. Of course everybody had always admired her, but they had always looked like they were envious or even scared of her and her talent, and most of all she had always felt as if no one had ever really understood her.
As she thought that, she approached the handsome blonde woman, who was walking in silence obviously lost in her own thoughts as well.
"Hey you there! All alone and brooding..." The aqua-haired woman said with a grin.
"Brooding? I don't brood!" Haruka mumbled, lifting her eyes to meet Michiru's. The smile that greeted her was one that took her breath away. It was slightly amused, but with a bit of tenderness in it that Michiru had been unable to hide.
"What? I have something on my face?" Michiru tilted her head a little, searching her face with her hand. After a moment, Haruka realized she had been staring and shook her head, dismissing her thoughts quickly.
"No, there's nothing there. Why aren't you entertaining your fan?" She said, attempting to change the subject.
Not having considered for a moment that Haruka could be interested in what was happening ahead, Michiru stared at the tall blonde in surprise. Haruka laughed at the dumbfounded expression.
"What? Don't you know you're famous?" Haruka's amusement showed in her teal eyes and Michiru couldn't help but notice how beautiful they were when reached by a smile.
"Of course I'm aware of that...painfully aware, actually." She said suddenly relaxed, "It's just that you don't seem like the kind of person that's fond of music, especially pop." She added honestly.
"I see. And what kind of 'person' do I seem to be?" Haruka asked, smiling slightly. Michiru didn't answer immediately, obviously taken by surprise.
"And by the way, I'm not...fond of pop music. And you neither." That was a statement, not a question. "You wouldn't play the violin for a living." Haruka explained, "But though I don't like pop music, I know who they are," She said, pointing to Seiya and Yaten. "And though you don't like pop, you play with them." There was something in her voice, bitterness it seemed, particularly in the last bit.
An awkward silence fell between the two. Haruka silently scolded herself for her tone, not quite sure as to why she had said that. Michiru, on the other hand, was surprised the blonde knew so many things about her.
"I couldn't help but notice..." Michiru spoke first, moving the subject towards a different route. "That both your Japanese and English are flawless. Where are you from exactly?" She felt slightly uncomfortable to be the object of the conversation and wanted to shift the attention to the blonde, guessing she wouldn't be too keen either.
Haruka remained silent for a moment, pondering an answer. She didn't like to talk about herself, particularly with a stranger, but this woman had a weird and scary effect on her and, without realizing it, she found herself answering sincerely.
"Technically, I'm American." She stated.
"Oh."
The aqua-haired woman seemed almost disappointed at the fact, making Haruka quickly add: "But I've been living in Japan for eleven years now...so I think I'm more Japanese than American." The last words were spoken gravely and Michiru became positive that there was some serious meaning behind her words. Once Haruka seemed unwilling to add anything else, Michiru understood it was better to settle for a less personal topic.
"And what do you do for a living?" The blonde's body language proved Michiru right, because almost immediately, Haruka seemed to relax.
"I work with cars; racing cars." At that, her teal eyes sparkled with passion and Michiru was once more captivated by them. She wasn't at all surprised by the fact the blonde worked in a field usually ruled by men, it suited her perfectly even if she seemed a little too refined to be a mechanic. Before she could come up with another question, Haruka anticipated her.
"Hey, why am I the only one giving off all this personal information?" She chided, playfully and Michiru appreciated her tone.
"Because you haven't asked anything. Besides, you seem to already know everything about me." Michiru countered, now enjoying the conversation and the light tone it had assumed.
"Well, it's hard not to know about you; you're on all the newspapers. Plus, you seem to be the photographers' favorite subject lately...and how can you blame them?" The smile that followed made Michiru's heart skip a beat, the flirtatious attitude she had already experienced on the plane making her feel like a school girl again. And she blushed furiously for the second time that day.
That was what Seiya found when he finally reached the tail of the group, having been searching for Michiru. The image was completely different from the usually composed and aloof woman he knew. The initial surprise faded swiftly as he realized who she was with and annoyance instantly took its place.
With renewed resolve, the dark-haired man grabbed Michiru's arm, interrupting their conversation. "Can I talk to you for a minute, Michi-chan?" He stressed the intimate nickname, but the cold look he received in response told him that it was a mistake.
"What do you want, Seiya?" Though she hated to make a scene, Michiru had the temptation to openly scold her friend for his rudeness.
"Can I talk to you in private, please?" His attitude had made a complete about-face after her glare, which she seemingly took as a form of silent apology.
"Excuse me, Haruka-san." She said to the suddenly steely-eyed blonde. Haruka nodded, but her look clearly stated that she liked Seiya about as much as he liked her.
"What are you doing?" He snapped, accusingly.
"What are you doing?" She replied, giving him such a hard glare that he almost flinched.
"You do know that's a woman, right?" He hissed.
"Of course I do, I'm neither blind nor stupid!" She replied angrily. "And why this would be a problem?" She didn't quite grasp as to why he was so upset. Was he jealous? 'It's not like we're really dating. Besides, what exactly is he jealous of?' Michiru pondered.
"'Cause she—"
"There! It's there!" Furuhata's excited voice cut Seiya's retort short.
The entire group stopped, following Furuhata's hand as he pointed ahead. In front of them was the plane's cockpit, or what remained of it. Trees were crushed under its massive structure, some branches even impaling the metal. Blood was scattered on the windows, but fortunately, despite the smoke, there was no fire.
* * * * * * * *
Darien and Haruka exchanged a few words, and then Darien cleared his throat and addressed the group.
"Haruka and Furuhata will head for the pilot's cabin to try and find the transmitter; everyone else will check if anybody is still alive." He couldn't hide the skepticism lingering in his last words.
For a fraction of a second, no one moved, instead, they stood looking at the wreckage with uncertainty. It was Lita who took a deep breath and stepped in first.
"Oh my God..." They heard after a moment.
"What? What's in there?" Yaten said, suddenly very anxious.
"What do you think is in there, baka!" Seiya said sarcastically, following after Lita.
After them came Darien and Mina, then Michiru. Yaten was the only one to remain outside, but no one seemed to notice.
Haruka and Furuhata circled the nose of the plane, trying to find an alternate entrance directly into the the cockpit. Part of the glass in the front of the plane was shattered, which made the perfect entrance for Furuhata as he attempted to make his way through. Sadly, his endeavors feel short of the mark as he found nothing to hoist himself through the hole with, leaving him dangling half-in, half-out of the window. It took Haruka's good arm to get him through it, pushing him roughly into the cockpit with a soft thump.
"Thank you!" Came Furuhata's muffled voice from the inside. Then he gasped.
"What?" Haruka asked, but received no answer, "I can't get inside from here! I'm coming in from the other side!" She said and hurried back to the side of the frame where the others were.
Once inside, the sight was dreadful. Corpses were everywhere. Some were still tucked in their seats, some laying disorderly on the floor. One was even impaled by a stray branch. However, what was really shocking was the amount of blood, too much for even a crash of this nature.
"Haruka, I need a hand here!" Furuhata called, snapping Haruka out of her stupor.
"I'm coming." She said, but it came out as just a whisper. She made it to the cockpit without a word, forcing herself to look ahead and not at the carnage around her.
Upon entering themselves, Michiru instantly had a hand on her mouth in shock, Lita was panting hard, trying her best not to throw up. Darien's eyes were closed in silence, his lips moving in a prayer, while Mina—though obviously shaken—attempted to check the corpses, searching for a pulse. She didn't speak, simply moving around between her shocked companions. Her eyes were filled by tears as she moved from corpse to corpse, finding no survivor, but still she kept checking.
Meanwhile, on the flight deck, Furuhata was searching for the transmitter. He had tried to move the pilot's seat, finding it too heavy due to the pilot's body still being buckled in it.
"It should be right under the seat." He said to Haruka, who had just stepped in with him. He glanced briefly at her, shocked to see her eyes wide in horror and her face growing paler by the second. "Tenoh-san? What's wrong?"
Haruka didn't answer, instead she tried to move the pilot's seat with her right arm but found it impossible. Furuhata didn't ask again, finding it better to simply join in her efforts. After what seemed like ages of heaving, they finally gave up. Even unbuckling the seatbelt didn't work and in the end, they decided that it would be best to cut it off. It didn't take long, but when they began to move the pilot's body they heard a soft moan.
"He's alive!"
They carefully laid him down on the cockpit floor, clearing a space to prevent further injury.
"Run!" He coughed hard, his body racking with each intake of breath. "Run, hurry! It'll come back!" The badly injured pilot anxiously warned with a voice so soft, they had trouble understanding.
"Hey, it's OK, we're here. We'll take you to a doctor. She's at the beach." Furuhata tried to reassure him, but he was beginning to feel extremely agitated.
"Hurry, take the emergency transmitter…" A trickle of blood came out of his mouth as he coughed once again. "They...they...don't know…out of path...thousand miles out of path...it hasn't finished yet..." Another sickening cough. "It will...back...hurry...thousand miles... Oh God its teeth!..."
He was no longer talking coherently, his words coming out in pieces until they became unintelligible all together. Before he could warn them further, he coughed once more, this time, worse than before, and then went suddenly completely limp, his eyes blankly staring up at the ceiling. Haruka looked to Furuhata and shook her head. They sat in silence for a moment, still shocked at having seen a man just die.
"Come on, we have a job to do." Gently, she moved the pilot's body, allowing Furuhata to reach under the seat. It wasn't long until he finally stood, a triumphant look glowing on his face.
"Here it is!" He exclaimed, a black transmitter in his hand.
GROAR!
* * * * * * * *
"Legs..." Seiya's voice was shaky with fear. "Where are her legs?" He pointed a trembling finger towards a woman who was lacking her lower half.
"Oh my God, ohmygod...ohmygodohmygod..." Lita murmured frantically, looking around at all of the corpses. They seemed to literally have been devoured. Michiru almost lost her balance as she walked down the isle, slipping on a pool of blood covering the floor while Darien and Mina were about to step out of the contraption. Obviously, there were no survivors.
GROAR!
* * * * * * * *
GROAR!
The frame of the airplane quaked making them fall to the ground. It didn't take long for the surprise to wear off before Haruka and Furuhata ran off back to the others, everyone in silence, only their heavy breathing betraying their presence inside.
GROAR!
Again the plane's structure shook dangerously. The noise seemingly came from the cockpit and Haruka, who was closer to it, couldn't help but peek over the seats and into the cabin. She saw the pilot's body slowly being pulled out through the half shattered glass and gasped when blood suddenly splashed on the remains of the window.
Michiru saw Haruka flinch and couldn't help but to stretch to look over the blonde's shoulder to see what was happening. Before she could get that far, Haruka promptly grabbed her arm, pulling the violinist against her chest to protect her from the gruesome view.
"No! Don't..." The blonde murmured, Michiru didn't protest, remaining still as she listened to Haruka's frantic heart beating fast beneath her ear.
Then, as suddenly as it came, whatever had made the noise soon disappeared. Frightened looks were exchanged all around, and slowly, they rose to their feet.
"Kami-sama…Yaten!" Seiya searched around him frantically, terror rising in him as he realized his brother wasn't with them. Calling for his brother, he dashed out of the cabin.
"SEIYA, NO!" Michiru bellowed, disentangling herself from Haruka's arms she rang after her friend. The blonde also tried to run after them, stopped by a sharp pain in her shoulder as her sling became caught on the arm of a seat. Slowly, she removed it and, without further hesitation, exited the plane in a flash, the others behind her.
Outside of the wreckage, Seiya was calling for his brother anxiously and he was soon joined by Michiru and the others. They split up into teams to look for their missing member, making sure to keep an eye out for whatever had made the horrid noise earlier. Luckily, their search didn't take long, and eventually Michiru had glimpsed a sliver of silver among some dark bushes. She walked silently and cautiously towards the foliage finding Yaten crouching and shaking heavily. She approached and stooped beside him.
"Yaten-kun?" She addressed him softly.
"Kami-sama, help me..." He was murmuring, seemingly unaware of her presence.
"Shh...it's over. It's gone. Here..." She said, wrapping her arms around him gently, trying to calm him down.
Haruka, who was searching nearby, saw them and made a move to approach, then thought against it. Yaten would probably become more upset with her presence. Instead, she found herself thinking that Michiru seemed way different from the elegant, snobby, musical genius that the papers pictured. The aqua-haired woman was caressing her friend sweetly, murmuring soothing words in his ear and Haruka couldn't help but think that Michiru looked even more beautiful than usual.
Her thoughts were interrupted as a running Seiya passed by in a flash.
"Are you OK?" He asked, a mix of fear and relief in his voice as he hugged his brother tightly. The silver-haired man simply nodded. Michiru took that as her cue to let Seiya take care of his younger brother and rose to her feet. When she turned, her eyes briefly met with Haruka's alarmed ones, understanding immediately what was on the blonde's mind. Touching Seiya's shoulder gently, she looked at him urgently.
"It's not safe here, we have to go." She said, softly. Seiya nodded and stood, pulling his still shaking brother up next to him.
* * * * * * * *
After an hour of quick-paced walking, they reached the top of a hill, finding that they could see the beach in the distance. The sun was setting and no one felt comfortable walking through the woods in the dark, so they found a large clearing and decided to spend the night.
Furuhata was checking on the transmitter while the others sat around the fire in a heavy silence. Only after several minutes did quiet conversations begin to spread throughout the group, obviously an attempt at loosening the tension but no one spoke of what happened at the wreck.
"You know, Mina, I've never thanked you for coming to Japan with us. It means a lot to Serena." Darien said, tossing thin sticks absentmindedly into the fire.
"No need to thank me, Darien. It was fun. Besides I won't have too many chances of spending time with her once you'll move. I couldn't afford to miss this one." Mina replied, a tinge of sadness evident in her voice.
"I know..." The dark-haired man lowered his gaze, obviously troubled. Mina saw it and immediately tried to reassure him.
"And I'll be too busy myself, you know. I may have made it this time, soon I'll be rehearsing all day and partying all night long." She concluded with a laugh. Those words sounded false to her own ears, but she saw a little smile creeping on Darien's lips.
"I'm glad you made it, it's always been your dream." He said and the genuine support in his voice was like a stab in Mina's heart.
"Yeah..." She faltered for a moment. Her deceit was beginning to take a toll on her, making her sick to her stomach and tired at the same time. Even so, she couldn't help but lie to her friends. The mere thought of disappointment in her friends' eyes sent a shiver down her spine.
"Serena is so proud of you. She walks around bragging about her best friend being a promising actress all the time. That's her. She can be completely happy for someone else without the smallest bit of envy." His eyes lightened up at the thought of his fiancée.
"Yeah, she's amazing. She should be proud of herself most of all...of her life. She's always herself, no matter what...and she's honest." Mina murmured those last words more to herself than to him.
* * * * * * * *
"Miss Aino, we'll be in touch. Next! Come on! We don't have time to waste, ladies."
She picked up the score the pianist returned to her and was out of the theater. It had been the tenth audition of the week and every time it had been: 'We'll be in touch,' but no one had contacted her yet. Every damn time.
"Mina! Mina!" Serena reached her, panting on her way to the subway.
"Serena, what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to surprise you for your audition. I know how important it was for you." The pigtailed girl said with an open smile.
"You're too sweet to be true, Serena. Let's go for ice-cream, my treat." Mina was glad her friend was there with her. She was always supporting, even if it could sometimes be seen the other way around. Sure Serena was clumsy and childish, but she was always positive and optimistic and her happiness was contagious. And you could always count on her presence. For Serena, friendship was something sacred.
"Yes! Ice-cream! Wait...your treat? You mean we're celebrating?! Oh my God, Mina, you've made it!!!!" The pigtailed girl suffocated Mina in a tight embrace, almost lifting her from the ground. "I knew it! You're too talented!" Yes, Serena was always positive and a little too quick jumping at conclusions. Mina was taken aback, especially as Serena soon had happy tears filling her light-blue eyes.
"Calm down Serena! It's not like that—" She started, but was cut off.
"What do you mean? The audition went bad?" Her expression changed so quickly that Mina startled, all the happiness replaced with such sadness and disappointment that Mina couldn't help but...
"Of course it was good! No, it was great! I was great!" A lie. "It's just that...we still haven't had our debut. You know how superstitious actors are. Now let's go celebrate." Off they went to a nearby café, ordering the biggest ice-cream they owned.
"To Mina, the best actress in the world!" Serena cheered, and with their two little spoons high in the air, they giggled loudly, making everyone in the room turn to look at them. They simply laughed and ate their ice-cream happily.
* * * * * * * *
'Sure, that was the best performance ever. Yeah...I'm a very good actress.' Mina thought, returning her attention to Darien.
* * * * * * *
Seiya refused to leave Yaten's side ever since they had left the wreckage, despite the fact the silver-haired boy seemed to be back to normal. For Michiru, the unusual lack of attention from Seiya felt like a relief, leaving her free to go somewhere else. She stood and walked around the fire to where Haruka was sitting in silence, staring at her hands absentmindedly.
"Don't tell me you're not brooding now." Michiru said playfully, sitting next to the blonde without asking for any kind of permission.
Haruka lifted her eyes and smiled. "I told you before, I don't brood. I just think very hard!" Michiru giggled.
"Then sorry, I didn't intend to interrupt all that hard thinking. Please go on, your expression is pretty entertaining itself." Michiru liked to be playful, but it wasn't often she let herself indulge that side of her personality. But strangely enough, Haruka elicited her desire of teasing and Michiru couldn't positively say if it was the desire of seeing those teal eyes lighten up with a smile or embarrassment, or the fact that she felt she could trust Haruka and be herself around the blonde.
"Oh, now I'm an entertainer! Do you like the show?" Haruka inquired with a wink, but was taken aback by the tone of the reply.
"Very much," Michiru said, her voice so sultry and low that it surprised even her. What had possessed her to say it like that? She had intended to be frivolous, but what came out of her mouth was flirtatious, if not kind of...sexy.
Haruka then did something that she rarely let happen. She blushed. Of course, she wasn't new at flirting, in fact quite the contrary. She considered flirting with pretty girls some kind of hobby. Sweet words, compliments, kissing hands or little gestures of gallantry were like second nature to her. Just a flash of her patented smile and a girl was immediately captivated. It made her feel in control, powerful...but she was never the prey.
'And you certainly aren't now!' Her conscience scolded. 'There's no way that was more than teasing. She's straight and she's probably dating that pony-tailed moron.'
Michiru, on the other hand, was pleasantly surprised to see the deep shade of crimson ascending from the blonde's neck to her cheeks and couldn't suppress a chuckle, composing herself when Haruka's sharp glare was shot at her.
Silence fell around them as they stared into the fire. The lighthearted moment had passed, and now dark thoughts returned to haunt their minds. Haruka replayed in her head the mysterious words of the pilot. They were 1000 miles out of their path and the rescue squad was probably searching for them somewhere else. Michiru was trying desperately to shut the sight of devoured bodies and the sound of menacing growling out of her mind, but was having no success. She could even feel the tactile sensation of blood under her feet and shivered. She had to keep her mind occupied some other way!
She looked at Haruka, only to see her massaging her sore shoulder and realized that the handkerchief was gone.
"You shouldn't move that, you know?" Michiru scolded.
"I'm not moving it; beside it's just a little sore." Haruka stopped her fidgeting and turned to look at Furuhata. She was nervous. "Has he made it? I don't like this waiting."
"We have to wait all night anyway." Michiru considered calmly.
"Yeah..." Haruka's short reply seemed to hide more than she was letting on. Something was bothering the blonde, Michiru could sense it. 'Is she scared? Or...' Then Michiru realized what had been Haruka's main concern ever since she had met her after the crash. Hotaru.
"Is it Hotaru-chan? You're worried about her." It was a statement, not a question.
"I'm fine." The blonde was laconic.
"Mmh..." Michiru looked at her skeptically.
"Alright, yes, I'm concerned about her."
"But she's with Setsuna-san, isn't she?" Michiru tried to reassure her.
"Yeah..."
"You don't trust her." Michiru stated, not expecting any explanation from Haruka.
"I don't know about you, but I'm not used to trusting people I just met." She had her eyes fixed on the fire and her fists clenched.
"Of course. Well, actually you don't seem the kind of person who trusts people in general." The violinist spoke softly, sensing the conversation was heading into dangerous waters. She could tell Haruka was uncomfortable talking about her feelings and the lack of a reply was proof enough.
Silence fell upon them once again, this time for what seemed like ages. Michiru suddenly began to feel cold. Haruka was trying her best to reestablish some distance between them and Michiru didn't like it one bit. To keep the blonde from doing so, she took a risk, usually she never needed reassurance seeing that she was a very confident person, but right now, she needed to ask.
"What about me? Do you trust me?" The words were spoken softly. Haruka turned to look at her for the first time in a while and what Michiru saw in those eyes left her confused. It wasn't annoyance, and it wasn't anger like she had expected. It was...
'Fear?! What are you scared of? It is me? It can't be me; I don't scarepeople, do I?' The violinist thought frantically.
"Tenoh-san?"
Fortunately for Haruka, Furuhata called her to his side, saving her from the uncomfortable conversation.
* * * * * * * *
Michiru was left alone to her thoughts, frustrated only until she felt someone come and sit beside her. She smiled, thinking Haruka was already back, but when she opened her eyes she saw two clear blue eyes and Mina's pretty face. Her smile faltered slightly, but not wanting to look impolite, she kept her grin small.
"You were expecting someone else." Mina stated in amusement. "I can't blame you. You have good taste. But, then again, you can afford it." The tone of her words was lighthearted and Michiru found that she wasn't at all offended.
"I think that's a compliment, isn't it?" Michiru asked, smiling in return.
Mina laughed, aware that her words could have sounded a little rude. "Yeah, it definitely was! It just seems natural for you successful people to hang with your own." She explained, still giggling.
"I don't know about that...but thank you. And I was told you're a talented actress as well." Michiru replied, remembering Seiya and Yaten talking about her.
"Oh well, yeah...I..." Mina hesitated. "Yeah, I actually...Well...Oh, never mind!" She dismissed the subject with a wave of her hand. "We were talking about you…lucky you." She finally said, bringing back the conversation on Michiru and winning a little battle with herself.
"Mmh... so tell me, why am I so lucky?" Michiru queried with a gentle chuckle. This girl was funny with her fan attitude and straightforwardness at the same time. She seemed to not be afraid of telling things like it is. Michiru found Mina to be in a way charming and clearly good-looking. Perhaps she could really have a chance in the entertainment world.
"Well, look at yourself, you're beautiful! And you're not even stupid!" Mina marveled, speaking just a little too loud. Michiru's eyes went wide in surprise before she burst out into laughter, tears in her eyes. Mina reddened considerably. "Oh, sorry. But you understand what I mean, right?"
"Yes, I get it." Michiru replied between laughs, "And I think that too was a compliment."
"Yeah, and you're with them." Mina pointed to the other side of the campfire where the others were. "They're very different, but both very charming..." Mina's blue eyes were dreamy, "Ok, Seiya is more my type, if you know what I mean." She winked at the now dumbfounded violinist, "But you can never know what life has in store for you. Besides, in my opinion, you have to experience everything at least once, well almost everything..." The blonde girl concluded with a toothy grin.
Michiru wasn't sure she had completely understood what Mina had said, but smiled at her.
"I thought Yaten was your favorite." Michiru commented, remembering Mina's look when she was talking to her two friends earlier.
"Of course Yaten is my favorite! He's so elegant and handsome and his voice is absolutely heavenly!"
At that, Michiru was completely lost. "But you just said Seiya..."
Mina gasped, realizing that Michiru thought she was talking about the two brothers, her hands waving away the statement frantically.
"Don't tell me you don't know who she is!"
"Who?" Michiru looked around.
"You don't know much about sports, do you?" Mina asked.
"Well...no. Actually, I know absolutely nothing about sports. But, I was in the swimming team back in high school." Michiru offered with a hopeful smile.
"And you don't read gossip magazines either, do you?" Mina questioned, skeptically.
"Well, sometimes…when my agent makes me. He wants me to know the things they write about me, but I hate all that stuff. They're mostly untrue to say the least." She huffed.
"So, you don't have any idea who Haruka Tenoh is." Mina said, every word pronounced slowly, in a sort of theatrical way.
"No, I'm afraid I don't, but now that I think about it...when we were boarding she was...Yeah, she was signing autographs for the flight attendants and they seemed to be really excited." Michiru replayed that moment in her head, the moment when she had been captivated by the mysterious blonde.
"She's the Formula One World Champion, the first female race-car driver to win the top motor-sport class. She's an idol and role model to girls all over the world and even for many boys." Mina rambled, her voice containing such enthusiasm that Michiru thought Mina herself was one of those girls she was talking about. She looked towards Haruka on the other side of the fire, her head bent with Furuhata's, obviously talking about the transmitter.
'I wasn't expecting anything less from you...' She thought as a smile formed on her lips.
Mina observed her face and chuckled, not even Michiru Kaioh was indifferent to the blonde's charm.
* * * * * * * *
"I've got it! I've got it!" Furuhata's excited cry gained the campsite's attention, even though he had yelled in Japanese.
"Mayday! Mayday! Is someone there? Mayday! We are passengers of Flight Oceanic 5186. We have crashed into unknown territory! We need help immediately! Mayday!" He released the transmitting button to hear the reply, but there was nothing, save for the crackle of the transmission. The others had gathered around him, waiting with bated breath.
Then, as if in response to their silent prayers, a voice left the little black transmitter.
"Doctor, the bait is already in the garden, and Teddy has already had his first meal. We're waiting for further instructions." A clear male voice said.
"Ok, good job. Come back home. You're off for today. We just have to wait for them to...*bzz*...pl…*bzzzzzz*...it'll...*bzzzzzzz*...fun...*bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz—" A female voice was cut off and the signal disappeared completely. Those around stared, dumbfounded. That obviously wasn't an answer to their S.O.S.
"What the hell was all that about?" Lita inquired, looking at Furuhata. He shook his head, equally clueless.
"I don't know...it seems like we received someone else's transmission unintentionally. But...it was very clear at the beginning." He added thoughtfully.
"What does that mean?" Darien asked, his voice anxious.
"Well, it could be because they're relatively close, or maybe they have a very powerful transmitter." Furuhata answered.
"If that's true, then why did it go all 'buzzy'?" Seiya asked, skeptically. All seven pairs of eyes were on Furuhata. He gulped, suddenly self-conscious.
"Ehm...it clearly was a private channel, so no one other than the owner and the designated receiver are supposed to be able to intercept it. I think our transmitter just ran into their frequency accidentally while searching for the regular international channels. But I think they were pretty close, it was extremely clear" He concluded confidently.
"How close? You mean on this island? If this is an island." Yaten added.
"Close in order of miles." All eyes looked at him, full of hope, then he added, "...hundreds miles." He smiled apologetically as if it were his fault. They all sighed in disappointment and sat back around the fire.
"We had better try and get some sleep. We still have a long way to go in the morning." Mina offered, practically trying not to think about what had happened.
"Like we're in any rush..." Seiya murmured bitterly in Japanese for just Michiru and Yaten to hear.
They all settled in for the night, even deciding to take guard shifts, still shaken by the happenings of the day. Furuhata drew Haruka to a secluded place where he spoke anxiously.
"We have to tell 'em."
"What?" Haruka asked, though she knew exactly what he was talking about.
"What the pilot said. We have to tell them that we're too far from the path; that they're probably searching for us somewhere else...a thousand miles far from here." His voice was desperate.
"Listen to me, Furuhata-kun, you have to calm down. If we tell them, there will be only panic." She locked her teal eyes on his dark ones. "If that's true, and we actually have to spend a longer time here than expected, do you think that panic would be of any help?" Her voice was calm, but firm. She took his shoulder in her hands, though her left arm protested painfully, and squeezed to emphasize her words. After a moment, Furuhata shook his head in surrender.
"You're right, Haruka-san. Hope could be the only thing for us to hold on to in the future." He said, a little spark igniting in his eyes."OK, we should rest now, it has been a very intense day, hasn't it?"
Haruka chuckled at the understatement. "Yeah, I guess so. Come on." She guided Furuhata back at the fire, leaving him to rest as she sat on a rock to take the first shift.
No one could get any sleep that night. Some expected to hear horrible roars any moment, others couldn't close their eyes without seeing mutilated corpses, and some replayed over and over terrible words that stole every ounce of hope from them. Someone was too busy considering every failure of her life. And someone couldn't close her eyes without another pair of eyes haunting her.
End chapter 2.
To be continued...