Whisper of The Cat

New York, New York

Shiho was getting impatient. Shizuku and her boyfriend were taking forever. Ok, so they weren't going to see each other for a while; but it wasn't like they never going to see each other again.

"Hey lovebirds, hurry up, will ya!" she cried impatiently. "The plane won't wait!"

"In a minute!" Shizuku shouted.

"We don't have a minute!"

"I said, IN A MINUTE!"

Seiji chuckled. "Your sister worries too much."

Shizuku rolled her eyes. "Yeah, way too much. Doesn't she realize that I won't see you for a long time?"

Seiji embraced her. "Don't look at this situation from a negative point of view. Instead focus on the fact that your dream is coming true. This is your first big step in becoming a successful writer."

"Seiji..." Shizuku held onto him tightly, not wanting to let go. "I'm going to miss you so much."

Seiji kissed her head. "I'll miss you too. But I'll be with you in spirit."

"Shizuku!" Shiho called.

"I'm coming!"

Seiji chuckled again and gave her one last kiss. Shizuku took control of the kiss, putting all her love and passion into it. Seiji tried to memorize the feeling of her lips against his since he didn't know the next time they would be able to do this.

Their bliss was interrupted by Shiho, who had run out of patience completely. "Keep it PG you two. You'll have time for that when we get back. If we don't leave now, we're going to miss our flight."

She had to practically pry to two apart and drag Shizuku away. Shizuku kept hold on Seiji's hand as far as their arms could stretch before finally letting go. Seiji smiled and waved to her.

"Don't worry, I'll be here wishing you luck!"

"Thank you Seiji!" Shizuku cried. "I love you!"

Ignoring the people who were beginning to stare, he called back, "I love you too!"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Shizuku had never flown in a plane before. It was scary and exciting at the same time. She made sure to pay close attention to everything around her to get ideas to improve 'Porco Rosso'.

'Maybe 'The Crimson Pig' would be a better title.' She thought. 'Hmm, nah, I'll stick with the original name.'

"Shizuku!" Shiho snapped.

"Huh? What?"

"I said, the captain said it's alright to take your seatbelt off. Geez, you need to stay focused."

Shizuku crossed her arms. "I was thinking about my new book, thank you very much."

"I'm just saying to pay more attention. What if the plane was going down and the captain told us to grab parachutes and jump? You would still be off in your own little world."

"I think I would notice if something like that was happening!"

"Hmph, whatever."

Shizuku growled in frustration. "Hey, don't you 'whatever' me!" Shiho merely put on a pair of earphones and began listening to music. "Um, hello! I'm talking to you here! Don't just ignore me!"

Shiho turned the volume up to drown out her sister's whining. Shizuku growled again and turned to look out the window as the plane rose higher and higher. It was actually pretty scary being so high up. Then she remembered how Haru had told her about being this high up while riding on a bunch of crows. Now that was scary. Shizuku didn't think she would be able to do that.