We collect our things and slowly make our way toward the exit. I’ve never liked this part of flying. I just want to get off the plane, but it always takes forever for the people ahead of me to get their crap and go. I just want to get out of the aerodynamic tube filled with recycled air and stretch my legs. ESPECIALLY after spending so much time sitting down.
I see Sho tense up as we get closer to the door. It takes all of half a second for me to understand why.
Julia.
The flight attendant is making her customary goodbyes and hasn’t noticed us yet. I imagine Sho’s just waiting for her eyes to land on us. He probably expects her to flip out and make a scene. It’s happened before, sure, but I don’t think he’s giving her enough credit. She obviously knew enough not to disturb us during the flight, which is something I deeply appreciate. I feel like I need to thank her.
Lightbulb!
“Sho, would you hand me the draft you’ve been looking over?”
He starts to open his bag, then freezes.
“… Why?”
“I just want to check something,” I say with a slight smirk.
He sighs and digs it out for me. He gives it one last, almost forlorn look before finally handing it over.
“Thanks,” I smile, then pull out a pen and scribble a short message on the front before tucking it under my arm. Just as Julia spots me. And just like I expected, she keeps it together. When we get close enough for our own farewell I motion Sho on ahead and step to the side.
“It was a real pleasure meeting you, Miss Ikezawa,” she beams. Her face is beet red. I nod, smile and hand her the loosely bound stack of papers under my arm.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t have anything worthwhile to sign for you. I hope this is okay. I wanted to thank you for enjoying my books.”
She hesitates for a moment before reaching out, like she’s afraid it’ll bite. Her eyes jump from the offering in my hands up to my eyes and back again. I give her another smile and a nod.
“It’s okay, really.”
She carefully plucks the bundle from my hands, silently reads my message and gives me another huge grin. We say our goodbyes and I make my way into the connecting tunnel. Sho looks like he’s torn between being pissed off and genuinely touched. He opens his mouth to say something, but gets cut off by the sound of Julia finally realizing what I’d handed her. Whatever he’d planned to say is forgotten as he smiles and shakes his head.
“I’ll print another one out for you when we get back,” I assure him.
I step into the terminal with Sho close behind and take a quick look around. Things are pretty quiet, which strikes me as odd until I remember what time it is. At least the distinct lack of a major crowd should make our meeting a lot easier. Problem is, I don’t see anyone even remotely recognizable.
“Do you see her?” I ask as I turn back to Sho. He shrugs.
Hanako,” he chides, “I have no idea what any of these people look like, remember?”
Oops.
“Y-You’re right, Sho. I’m sorry,” I say as I turn back for another look. Still no luck.
“How about you try to give them a call?” he suggests. It makes sense. Then again, it’s ridiculously early in the morning. I’d hate to wake anyone up. Besides, I sent Lilly a quick text with our arrival time before we got on the plane. She knows we’re here.
So where is she, then?
Our area of the terminal is emptying out fairly quickly, but there are still a decent amount of friends and families catching sight of one another, hugging, laughing and so on. A short man with brown hair, a nice suit, and a handlebar mustache trots over to an old woman who exited behind us and gives her a quick hug. A beautiful Amazon of a woman, blonde hair falling past her shoulders and everything, waves at someone else getting off the plane. I catch myself wishing I had her confidence to wear a shirt cut that low. I’ve gotten a lot more confident with my body since high school –
I could totally pull off wearing pants that tight. Already have, actually - but I still get nervous about showing too much skin.
I hear a sharp, rhythmic tapping and whip my head around. I feel excited and terrified at the same time. After so many years, will Lilly and I still have anything in common? Will we even get along?
Does she hate me?
My shoulders slump as I find the source of the noise. It’s just one of those weird electric vehicles they use in larger airports. Something sticky must be on one of its wheels. I glance back at my phone. It’s only been a few minutes. Maybe they got caught in traffic or are looking for a parking space right now. No need to get anxious, even though I totally am. A lot.
I nearly jump out of my skin when I feel a hand clamp down on my shoulder.
“Heya, kid!”
I look up to see the blonde woman again. Her cleavage is out in full force and a big grin is plastered on her face. I know it’s not out of the question to have some fans in Scotland, but I wouldn’t have expected them to be so direct. Even Julia addressed me by my full-
Wait a second…
My brain finishes connecting the dots and my mouth drops open.
“A… AKIRA?!”
Her grin gets even bigger, “You caught me!”
I’m still totally shell-shocked at this point. I mean really. Akira Satou? With long hair? Wearing GIRLS CLOTHES??? It’s a wonder I’m able to speak at all but I manage to get the ball rolling somehow.
“I-I’m s-sorry, you just l-look so…” the reality of the situation suddenly comes back to me and I find myself desperately fighting back eight years worth of guilt. I’m not doing a very good job of it, either. I focus on the floor while I try to blink back the tears.
I can only manage a whisper at this point, “Akira… I’m sorry I… I didn’t-”
“Shut up and hug me,” she interrupts as she clutches my shirt and yanks me forward, “we can talk about all that sappy shit later itssoGOODTOSEEYOU!!!”
I can’t help but laugh while she locks me in a bear hug and spins me around. It really is good to see her again, and it’s a huge weight off my shoulders to see that she’s not holding a grudge. A few passersby glance our way, no doubt curious about the small girl with the burns and the large blonde falling all over each other while blabbing in Japanese. At this point I could honestly care less. It’s been a VERY long time, and I’m going to do my damnedest to make up for some of it.
She lets me go and we each take a step back. I’m pretty sure I even catch her wiping at her eyes for a second. We both start absorbing all the little details that have changed, but I’m still having trouble getting past her most obvious differences. It just seems so… unnatural to see her showing off her body like that. Not that she has anything to be ashamed of, but wow. I can tell she’s almost as surprised as I am. Almost.
“You cut your hair!”
“You grew out your hair!”
“You’re showing off some skin, girl!”
“You’re wearing girls clothes!”
I clamp a hand over my mouth and feel my face flush. Did I really just say that out loud?
What’s wrong with me?
She smiles and laughs, “Yeah… I finally got tired of working for dad’s company and left. He wasn’t too happy but he got over it. I manage a night club in the city now. Been doing it for a few years. The dress code is a little,” she gestures up and down her body, “different. The pay isn’t quite as good, but it pays the bills and makes us both happy.”
“Oh? You and Lilly are…” I trail off as she shakes her head.
“Heh. No, Lilly and Hi-“ her expression cracks for a second, “Lilly… has her own place. I meant ‘us’ as in me and The Boyfriend.”
Wait, does she mean..?
“Wait, what happened to the guy from Japan?”
She smirks, “I AM talking about the guy from Japan. We’re still together.”
I can’t keep myself from asking, “… You’ve been together this whole time and you haven’t… you know..?”
“Haven’t what? Gotten married? Ha!” she shakes her head but keeps smiling. I suppose it’s something that comes up all the time.
“Anyway, who’s the cutie?” she nods toward Sho who’s been standing beside me in silence this whole time, “He’s with you, right?” she asks with a wink.
Oh crap, I completely forgot about Sho!
“Y-yeah! Sorry. Akira Satou, this is Sho Yamane,” I can see he’s a little taken aback by her comment but he does his best to take it in stride. He reaches out to shake her hand.
“It’s good to meet you.”
“Likewise,” her eyes narrow and she pulls him in closer, “You two are using protection, right?”
The question catches us both off guard. Sho especially. I can’t think of a time I’ve ever seen his face so red. I can’t tell if he’s angry, embarrassed, or terrified.
“Akira!” I protest, “We’re just friends! Sheesh!”
She lets go of him and laughs, “I’m just kidding, calm down!”
We start walking toward the baggage claim. After a few minutes of silence I finally get up the courage to ask Akira about what’s been bugging me since we stepped off the plane.
“So… is Lilly..?”
She shakes her head, “No, she didn’t come with me. She’s had…” she lets out a long, tired sigh, “it’s been a rough couple of days. The parents have been keeping her company and helping with the arrangements, but she’s still a wreck. I can’t blame her.”
“Y-Yeah…” is all I say.
“Those two were really tight, you know? I never admitted it to him but he…” her voice starts to shake a little, “was a great guy. I’m really glad they found each other.”
She stops walking and smacks herself in the head.
“Oh shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” she gives me a desperate, pleading look.
“It’s okay,” I reassure her, “That was a long time ago.”
So? Does that mean I should just automatically not care that my best friend ended up with the guy I wanted to end up with?
Of course not, but that doesn’t mean I can’t also be happy for them. They were happy together. I can take some small consolation in that. We start walking again.
“Um… is Lilly… I-I mean…” I start shaking a little, “Is she still mad about… before?”
Akira doesn’t say anything for a while. Too long, I think. It looks like she’s chewing on the corners of the inside of her mouth while she searches for the right words.
Here it comes…
“She was never mad at you, Hanako.”
I stop dead in my tracks. Sho almost smacks into me but I hardly notice.
“W-What?”
“She was never mad at you,” she repeats as she turns and gives me a very serious look, “She was upset, confused, and more than a little hurt, but she never blamed you. If anything she blamed herself.”
She starts walking again. I have to jog a little to catch up at first.
“W-What do you mean s-she blamed herself? I was the one who…” I can’t say it.
“I know,” she nods, “but you were right, in a way. Sometimes the two of them treated you like you’d fall apart if anyone so much as breathed on you. I can’t say I’d have been all that happy about it, either.”
“B-But,” I argue, “t-they didn’t know! I n-never told them! The only r-reason they thought that was b-because I always shut m-myself off from the world.”
“Okay, so you both fucked up.”
I slow down and turn to face Sho. He seems… sad.
“Look,” he continues, “I know I don’t know much about your life before we met, or your friends, but it seems clear to me that you BOTH made some mistakes. So why don’t you stop dwelling on a past that NEITHER OF YOU CAN CHANGE and deal with the here and now?”
Akira turns to me and jerks her head at Sho.
“I think like this guy,” she says with a smile.
