"Can it get any hotter outside?" Nowaki asked himself, he walked down the aisle as he tried not to bump into anyone that were already sitting down.
He grasped his carry-on tighter to his chest as he looked at the numbers above the seats. Having memorized the number, he would sit in; he didn't need to have his ticker in his hand when he walked through the plane. Everything looked remotely comfortable, but he knew he would struggle going to sleep since he was so big. Maybe he would be lucky enough to be the only one in his row and he could take up another seat. From the look of the plane, it didn't seem any more people were going to arrive.
Nowaki placed his carry-on bag in the compartment above his row with ease though he sniffed his armpits to check if he smelled. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, he didn't make it so obvious as he twisted slightly to make it seem that he was pushing his bag properly in the compartment. He wiped his forehead to get rid of the sweat which accumulated before he walked inside of the air conditioned plane. The other passengers were fanning themselves with stacks of paper or newspapers while others were trying to stay hydrated. His tank top and his shorts didn't help cool him off at all, not even the ice cold water he got at the food court provided any relief. He didn't predict this outcome when he was buying his ticket months ago and also the weather wasn't this bad at the beginning of the week.
He closed the compartment door as he let out a sigh. He had high hopes on succeeding in his studies in America but as always, he had to doubt himself before anything else. His professor recommended the program to him, and a variety of other students didn't take this opportunity because they would rather study in Japan. Nowaki was sure it was because a majority of the students were not confident in their English, but he had many chances to speak it in his many part time jobs which sometimes had tourists who didn't understand a word of Japanese. Though, he carried a Japanese to English dictionary in his luggage if he ever got stuck in any of the books he would read or when he conversed with people.
Nowaki had placed what little furniture he had in storage after he finished all the preparations and paperwork. He told his landlord he was leaving for America when he handed him his rent money for the month. The day he was leaving was in the middle of the month, so he didn't want to be booted out before he had a chance to finish any loose ends. He hoped his space was still unoccupied when he returned but he was sure that might be impossible. There were countless students who would want his cheap apartment and his landlord was always looking for ways to rent out apartments in the area.
Before he even got the offer to study in America, he had gotten offers from new students wanting to room in with him. So many people had insisted and begged him to let them stay but he had to refuse them every single time. Nowaki knew they overlooked the fact the space barely fit his large frame to begin with and they would never remain comfortable with the arrangement if he went through sharing the apartment with someone.
He took out a novel from his carry-on bag before he shut the compartment door closed and sat down in his seat. Looking on ahead, he saw a group of guys talking really loud and Nowaki thanked his lucky stars that he had some ear plugs for when he fell asleep later on in the day. In a different occasion, he wouldn't have cared if someone was chatting near him or was in a near vicinity of where he was sitting but he knew he had to fall asleep eventually. He tried not to let his displeasure show as he waited for the pilot to tell them that they were ready to fly.
Tuning everyone out, Nowaki opened up the novel in his hands and started reading. He only picked out this novel because he heard through different people that it was a really good read, and he wouldn't grow bored if he was anywhere for long periods of time. The story already started at a good pace so he predicted that he wouldn't get bored of it during his flight.
The stewardesses began telling everyone about the safety protocols as Nowaki placed his book on his lap and buckled on his seat belt. He kept reading the words while barely hearing the words said by the stewardesses and picked the book back up in his hands.
Ten minutes later, the plane took off as Nowaki broke out of his reading trance and looked around the area. His tall stature made it easier for him to look over the seats and he saw everyone was perfectly seated. The magazines were taken out of behind the seats while others were talking to the people sitting right next to them.
Nowaki turned to his right and saw a young man with a crossword puzzle in his hands. His brown hair was tied back in a small ponytail and his legs were crossed over each other since there was no one occupying the seat right next to his. He wrote in an answer to the puzzle and grinned when it all fit in the squares.
The young man felt he was being watched and saw Nowaki looking right at him. He closed the crossword book in his hands since he felt somewhat self-conscious of having someone look at him.
Nowaki commented as he closed the novel in his hands. "It seems like you are having so much fun, young man."
His face turned slightly pink as he nodded his head. "Y-Yes, I have a few more things in my bag to keep me entertained in this flight. I might fall asleep anyway..." He put out his hand as he nervously said, "I'm Misaki Takahashi."
Nowaki smiled as he grasped Misaki's hand and shook it. "I'm Nowaki Kusama, it's a pleasure to meet you. May I ask, where are you going?"
Misaki answered with a fond smile on his face. "I'm visiting my older brother and his family in Canada; my sister-in-law just gave birth to their daughter so I'm visiting for a few weeks. I haven't seen my nephew in over a year since they moved so I am really excited to see him. I think they named their daughter Michiru." He took out his wallet and grinned. "We are going to take a whole picture of all of us with the baby this time."
"May I see it?" Nowaki asked as Misaki handed it to him.
Nowaki saw a tall black haired man with an arm around Misaki and his wife. He looked incredibly happy to have all the people who were important in his life in the picture. They were all smiling in the photo while the young woman held a toddler in her arms who seemed to be trying to escape from her arms. He chuckled slightly at how animated their facial expressions were, but he could tell they were so content and happy.
Misaki studied Nowaki's reaction to the photo and he swore he saw some sadness in Nowaki's facial expression. If it was there, it disappeared immediately and there was nothing but happiness showing through his face. Nowaki handed the photo back to Misaki who put it back inside of his wallet.
Misaki asked. "What about you? Where are you traveling?"
Nowaki answered him as he made himself more comfortable in his seat. "Well, I am going to New York to study medicine for two years, but I will try to cut it down to one year."
Misaki's eyes widened as he smiled. "That's so cool! I have never met someone studying to become a doctor before! But isn't the path to complete it hard to finish?"
Nowaki smiled when he said. "Well, every program has its difficulties, but I am already half way through what I want to accomplish so I can't quit now. Are you barely entering university?"
Misaki nodded his head. "I studied my butt off and I barely managed to get in. I called it good luck since I usually got pretty bad test scores in high school."
Nowaki shook his head in amusement. "I don't think so, it's called hard work on your part. You really wanted to get into the university you picked and studied really hard. It's not all about luck, it was all you."
Misaki's face flushed in embarrassment. "Thank you."
"You are so welcome." Nowaki said as he reached out and ruffled Misaki's hair, he tried not to laugh when Misaki pouted from the action.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
The downfall of their flight started with the announcement made by the pilot.
The stewardesses went inside of the pilot's cockpit for further explanation, and they returned a few minutes later with nervous smiles on their faces. One of them immediately made sure that the carts were secure and wouldn't roll down the aisles if it got ugly. It was for security reasons, but they have been through many storms to know that sometimes they had to wait it out before it got better. They only hoped this passed on quickly, so the passengers didn't grow anxious that the storm didn't pass quick.
A few passengers asked them what was going on and what the pilot meant by high turbulence. It was wintertime and some knew that something as little as wind could cause an even bigger reaction of the plane. The rowdy teens from earlier were quiet when they listened in on any news because everyone was buckling in their seat belts and making sure they wouldn't fly out their seats.
Nowaki placed his book underneath his leg as he looked around the area. He was concerned by the expressions of worry on the stewardesses faces who declined letting any of the passengers go talk to the pilot and his co-pilot to answer some questions. Nowaki knew it was best to leave the pilots to their job, but it was better to have everyone in terror mode over some bumps in their flight. From the earlier announcement before the one they just received; they were getting close to the state of Hawaii where they would all make transfers to their respective cities.
He checked on Misaki and saw the young man trying to concentrate on the magazines that were provided for their flight but saw him peeking glances at the stewardesses. Nowaki was sure this was all a precaution, and everything will be alright.
Misaki leaned from his seat toward Nowaki when he whispered. "Kusama-san, do you have any idea what's going on?"
Nowaki told him. "Maybe there is a storm coming and they don't want people to get scared, so they are warning us first."
"Oooh that makes sense." Misaki sat on his seat properly and drank the rest of his juice with relief.
Nowaki felt slightly better when he assured Misaki since that did make the most sense. There was a storm in the horizon and the staff were going through their precautions where no one felt the need to panic. He relaxed into his seat as took out from book from under his leg and resumed reading it.
After ten minutes, the speaker went on again as the pilot informed them. "Attention passengers, we will be taking a detour toward Baja California. Thank you very much for your patience."
"Mexico? Couldn't we have landed in one of the other states?" Nowaki muttered to himself as he saw everyone whispering to each other over this news and the plane jerked harshly to the left.
The stewardesses gave their safety speech yet again as they told everyone to buckle in their seat belts. Then, they told them to place their trays underneath their seats since it was too late to collect them all. After they were done talking, they immediately went to their own seats and buckled in.
The plane swerved left to right, there was a particular jerk which made someone fall out of their seat whose seat belt wasn't on. Everyone stared at the person who was terrified enough to scramble back into his seat and finally put on his seat belt. After that, the lights started flickering on and off. Lighting struck loudly and the rain pelted the side of the plane making it move around even more.
They all felt the plane going down in a vertical angle while he the ones sitting at the windows saw the rain was going the same way as the plane. A sickening feeling came in their stomachs when they came to a realization.
"The plane is going down!" Someone screamed and all hell broke loose.
Screams traveled throughout the airplane and the stewardesses had no choice but to scream as well.
The lights flickered on and off at a rapid rate, there were times when there was a blackout, but the lights turned on again.
The plane tipped up slightly due to the efforts of the pilot and co-pilot trying to keep the plane from going down. They stared at each other and shook each other's hands, fully knowing that they might not make it if they hit the ocean. But this didn't mean that they gave up on trying to stabilize the plane. Slowing the impact might lessen the blow so no one would be injured and at least escape freely, though the storm was making this difficult to accomplish.
Nowaki looked around in fear as he watched everyone huddling together. Even if they didn't know each other, they held each other in pure terror and had nothing to lose. All of them were preparing for the impact of the ocean below, their minds blanked as adrenaline ran through their bodies. Some managed to whisper prayers under their breaths, while others cried in each other's arms. Mainly muttering how they didn't want to die so young or voicing their regrets before their doom.
Nowaki closed his eyes tight as he tried his best to make himself into a ball in his seat. If this was his time to leave the Earth, then he wouldn't fight it. He gripped his shorts as he tried to block out the screams of the people which was hard to do. The last thought he had was how the was unable to accomplish the goal he set up throughout all these years in university, but he made it far enough at this point in his life that he didn't regret it.
A few seconds after that thought, it all went silent when the plane hit the ocean.
Xxxxxxxxx
Nowaki slowly opened his eyes after the impact, and he felt a throbbing pain to the left side of his head. He touched the spot; his fingers were coated in blood, and he felt blood dripping down his face. He felt the water slowly rising as the water seeped through his shoes. He turned to look behind him and he saw a young woman slumped in her seat. There was no movement, her breathing was non-existent, and her eyes were slightly open. Part of the plane impaled her side leaving her pinned to her seat.
There were a lot more people scattered all around the plane where he saw more people slumped over their seats. He bit the inside of his cheek as he tried not to scream or freak out. He had seen a variety of dead bodies when he was in his classes back in Japan, but he had never seen a collection of them in one place. He didn't need to check them out to know that they were dead, even if some were awake, there was nothing they could do to save them. Wherever they were, there was no way to get medical attention.
He hastily took off his seat belt and stood up from his seat. His butt hit the seat right behind him as he opened the compartment on top of him and grabbed his bag. He knew he had no chance of getting his bigger suitcase down below but at least he had his essentials in his carry on bag. He felt someone run into his side as he looked down to see Misaki.
Nowaki stared into frightened green eyes. Nowaki met this young man at the beginning of their flight, he spoke eagerly about finally reuniting with his brother and his wife in Canada where he would spoil his nephew and new niece rotten. His trembling hands clenched the photo he was shown earlier in the flight. The bright young man from earlier was now reduced to this shivering mess.
"Misaki-san?" Nowaki inquired, he got closer as he examined Misaki's body and saw that nothing was out of place. "Are you alright?" He knew Misaki was in a state of shock, he had to make sure Misaki didn't panic.
"K-K-kusama-san?" He trembled while he heard an explosion at the far end, and he jumped slightly. "I-I.."
"It's going to be okay Misaki," Nowaki went to his side when he asked him. "Are you hurt at all?" Misaki shook his head rapidly as he let out a cry when something else exploded on the other side of the plane. "We should get going, do you have your things?"
Misaki nodded as his tears streamed down his face. "Y-Yes.." He held up his duffel bag which Nowaki saw was partially wet, maybe Misaki dropped it in a panic when he first woke up.
Nowaki grabbed his arm gently and Misaki immediately held onto his side. He pulled him to the emergency exit where he heard many people talking, and some were screaming to hurry up since the storm was getting worse as the minutes passed on by. Nowaki and Misaki heard the rain hitting the plane and the water was quickly rising, it was already up to Misaki's waist. This prompted Nowaki to go faster toward the exit.
When they got near the exit, he saw someone helping a young lady into the life raft. He made sure Misaki was ahead of him as an older gentleman named Takei helped Misaki onto the life raft when the water rose even higher. Misaki instantly opened his duffel bag, looking through the bag for his rain coat as he placed the picture in the middle and wrapped it up. He placed it back inside of his bag and settled in the middle of the raft.
Nowaki held his bag over his head as the water went to half of his chest and he took deep breaths to try to remain calm, the older man rapidly asked Nowaki. "Are you the only one left?"
Nowaki answered. "Yes..." He looked behind him and he shivered at the lifeless bodies from the seats, and some were already floating from the water level rising. "I'm the only one left."
"Then get in! There is no time to waste, there is only so little time when storm becomes even worse." The man told Nowaki as he pulled him into the life raft and Nowaki settled right beside Misaki.
Nowaki counted about ten people who managed to get on the boat. There were six men, including him and Misaki, and four women who were huddled in the middle of the life raft to give everyone else room to row away from the plane.
Misaki clutched his duffel bag as he tried to keep it from getting any wetter, which was impossible considering the fact that the rain wouldn't let up. He managed to place his picture of his brother and his family inside of a rain coat he packed in case it rained in Canada when he visited his brother. The plastic might keep it from getting ruined, the hope of seeing his brother again was keeping him from giving up on the spot.
Two people started paddling away from the plane, but it was hard considering the fact that the waves were hitting them toward the direction of the plane. The ones who were partially injured huddled together for warmth, their clothes were all soaked through, and their bodies were shivering due to the wind hitting their wet bodies. The oars were passed around to people who had enough strength and didn't look physically injured. Soon, the ones handling the oars were exhausted trying to battle the storm as they gave up.
They let the life raft float along the waves, and everyone huddled against each other to keep anyone from falling over. The waves simply crashed to the side, and they tried scooping any rainwater from the raft to keep it from flooding with their combined weight.
The storm calmed down after an hour as the ones who rowed regained their strength and were ready to row again but they didn't know which direction to turn to. Misaki and the other passengers looked around their surroundings, some already gave up hope in finding land since they saw no indication of land anywhere. They simply relaxed in the realization that they survived, and they needed to focus on being alive.
Nowaki remained on his spot and applied pressure to his wound, the rainwater was sufficient in removing some of the dried blood from his hair. Yet, he wanted to clean it properly on land and use his bandages from his portable first aid kit to cover it up from the elements.
A young lady named Kana, squinted her eyes as a smile came on her face. "Look over there!" She pointed to a dot in the distance when she informed them. "That might be an island! Let's paddle over there!"
Grabbing the oars, Nowaki and Takei started paddling to that direction while everyone else was completely silent. Not ready to accept that they were saved yet, the storm might be gone but they didn't know what to expect when they stepped one foot on that island.
TBC