Flight

After Izumi's sudden disappearance, the society looks for someone to pin the damages on. The Nase siblings decide Mirai Kuriyama's safest option is to flee to America. They do not expect things to take a turn for the worst. Post season finale. One-shot. Inspired by Hands of Fate - akihitopls.

Akihito Kanbara sat slouched on his couch, immeasurably bored. Kuriyama-san was supposed to study with him after school; he had been looking forward to it all day. Only a few minutes into their quiet walk home however, Mirai had spotted a yommu and ordered him – as best as the petite girl could – to continue without her.

"Your test scores are more important, senpai," she'd scolded him. "I'll be fine on my own!" Of course, he was unable to focus more than a few minutes at a time. It had been just over two weeks since he had brought his pink and red girl back from inside Beyond the Boundary, but he felt like they hadn't been able to spend any time together. Mirai who was as stubborn as always felt she had to pay him back for the rent he helped Sakura pay on her apartment; no matter how many times he told her it wasn't important. He told her having her back was compensation enough. She had blushed and furiously wiped at her glasses, stuttering "T-t-that's unpleasant senpai!" At which Hiroomi had winked and given him a thumbs up sign from behind the clueless underclassman.

Akihito smirked at the memory, glancing at his watch. "Ten thirty-four…" He sighed. That should be late enough right? Biting his lip, he scrolled to Kuriyama-san's name in his phone, sending out a quick message.

"I hope your sound is off, Kuriyama-san. I wouldn't want to interfere with your hunt. It's getting late and I just wanted to check in. Please don't hesitate to call me if you need my help." He hit send, trying his hardest not to stare at the phone while waiting for a reply. Oh, who was he kidding? That's exactly what he was doing.

He knew she could handle herself. He knew that. However as strong as she was, she was mortal. She was breakable. That much had been proven by the two times she had literally shattered to pieces in front of him. Bile rose in his throat at the mere thought of it, but he didn't have too much time to dwell on it. His phone vibrated in his hand, and the bespectacled girl's name flashed across the screen.

"I'm fine senpai. I'm going to be home in a few minutes. Please go to sleep, you need to be well rested for your exams tomorrow." He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding at her message, glad to know she safe. However a nervous thrill went down his spine, knowing how upset she would be to find out he had not studied at all.

"I just won't tell her," he sighed to himself. She didn't need to worry about him. The blonde stood and stretched, taking a few steps towards his bedroom before his phone started vibrating angrily between his fingers. "Kur—Mitsuki…? What could she want at this hour?" He hit answer and raised the phone to his ear. "Hel—"

"Akihito." The normally calm and collected girl sounded stressed. He was instantly on high alert.

"…Yes?"

"Come over. We need to talk."

Akihito took her up to the roof the next day for lunch, it was the first warm day of spring and he wanted her to enjoy it, he wanted her to feel the sun on her face after spending three months in a frozen nightmare. They ate in a comfortable silence, as the tallest of the pair worked up the courage to say what he needed to. Lost in thought, he almost didn't notice when the pink haired girl shyly rested her head on his shoulder. "What's wrong, senpai?" She asked him. Her caramel eyes anxiously scanned his face, trying to decode his expression behind those red frames he loved so much.

He sighed. She was too perceptive. "K-Kuriyama-san…are you happy here? Are you happy living in this town?" She bit her lip, thinking about her answer.

"I think…I think I'd be happy wherever Kanbara-senpai is." He chuckled, and rested his chin on top of her messy pink hair.

"I thought you might say that."

So it was decided. Since the disappearance of Izumi Nase and Fujima Miroku, the Society of spirit world warriors was putting more and more pressure on their hunt for Mirai Kuriyama. It's not that they deemed her guilty, really. Her presence just proved more troublesome than it was worth. Although they claimed no connection to Miroku's plans, they were disappointed in the young girls ability to almost single handedly stop them. The Society couldn't rightly say that they had been involved, however. The Nase family was too strong to lose as an ally – or worse – have as an enemy.

They needed the blood manipulator gone. With both Izumi and Mirai out of the picture, they had no doubt they would be able to succeed on a second attempt. They knew that the Nase siblings were suspicious towards them, so they did not interfere when the purchase of two one way tickets to America charged to the Nase estate, were brought to their attention. One departing tomorrow in the name of Akihito Kanbara. And one departing a week later in the name of Mirai Kuriyama.

No, they would not interfere with the tickets. However the leader of the society donned a sinister grin as an idea began to take shape. There will be casualties. But they will never know of our involvement.

"I'm going a week earlier to get us settled in. My mother is also going to be there for a few days, so I'd like to spend some time with her." At the sound of his voice, Mirai looked up from the plates she was wrapping in newspaper. "I have to deliver our transfer papers to the school as well." He frowned and walked to the other side of his apartment, trying to locate the papers in question. Mirai wrung her hands together, drawing up courage.

"S-Senpai!" He paused, lifting his hands out of the box of school files. "You d-don't have to do this, you know," she said quietly, her eyes downcast. "I'll be okay on my own. I know you have a life established here and –" He crossed the room again, kneeling in front of the furiously blinking bespectacled girl to force her to meet his gaze.

"I meant what I said when I went up there to get you…Mirai," he tentatively whispered her first name while he brushed away the moisture budding up in the corner of her eyes. "A life without you means nothing to me. We didn't both risk our lives to be separated now, did we?" He smiled as she shook her head and leaned forward, resting her forehead on his chest. "I go where you go, Kuriyama-san. No question about that." They stayed in that position for a few minutes, Akihito calmly patting her head like he knew she wanted, and waiting for the realization that he wasn't going to leave her to really sink in.

She saw him off at the airport the next morning. They walked as slowly as they could to the check in terminal, the pink haired girl blushing wildly when Akihito casually reached out and took her hand. He didn't let go even while digging out his passport to receive his ticket. All too soon they were standing in front of security, and they knew their time apart was drawing near. He softly squeezed her small hand and took a deep breath.

"I—"

"Um—" He smiled to himself, his face reddening. "You first, Kuriyama-san."

"I…I l-love you!" she stuttered, looking off to the side as her face gradually became a darker shade of red. He started for a moment, after all this was the first time she had said it when the situation wasn't life and death. He recovered smoothly, leaning down and kissing the crown of her head.

"I love you too, Kuriyama-san." She slowly turned around to face him again. "It's only a week. One week apart for a lifetime together. I think we can manage that."

"Unpleasant." She sighed. "One week then." He kissed the top of her head one more time before turning to the security stand and placing his bag onto the motorized belt. Neither said goodbye as he walked away from her, but his hand felt cold and empty as soon as her fingertips slipped away from his. Just before he turned the corner that would cut her off from his field of vision, he turned back and smiled as wide as he could at her. The half yommu boarded his plane – first class thanks to one Hiroomi Nase – and tried to get comfortable. Once he finally drifted off, his dreams were plagued with the thoughts of a future with the bespectacled beauty he left with the promise of a week's time.

Long after his smile and messy blonde hair disappeared around the corner, and long after his flight had departed, Mirai stood watching the place she had last seen him. A knowing woman stopped next to her. "First time apart?" She asked.

"N-no," the pink haired girl replied, trying not to jump as she was shaken from her thoughts. "It's just the first time we know we'll see each other again."

Despite her words, she couldn't shake the foreboding feeling that had lodged itself deep into her gut.

After what seemed like a lifetime, Akihito was finally in front of the apartment he and Mirai would be "temporarily" sharing. Secretly he hoped the arrangement would be permanent, but he wouldn't press any of Kuriyama-san's boundaries. He ignored the boxes stacked in the corners and went straight for the room that Hiroomi had chosen for him when they were looking over the apartment's floor plan. Mirai's room was just next to his, and the sight of the door relaxed him. He wanted to call her and hear her voice, but he knew they couldn't afford the long distance phone conversation. He ran his hands along the wood before crossing through his door and lying on his bed. First class could only do so much to numb the discomfort of an 11 hour flight.

Across the world Mirai Kuriyama was restless, wishing she could confirm that her counterpart had safely landed and found his mother. Her fingers itched to reach for her phone, but she forced herself not to. "He's immortal. Nothing will stop him from being there when I land." She twisted the gold band around her pinkie finger as she repeated the mantra in her head. Eventually she managed to fall into a dreamless sleep.

The days passed unbearably slowly for the distant pair, but they made it through knowing that it was one day closer to being reunited. Akihito spent the days familiarizing himself with the private school Hiroomi had enrolled them in, and the nights playfully arguing with his mother at her hotel. He'd never admit it out loud, but he had missed her. That and he was immensely grateful for her role in getting Kuriyama-san back. He tried not to dwell on the fact that she would be leaving before Kuriyama-san got to meet her. He knew though, that like everything else in his mother's life this would not be permanent. They would meet each other; he just had to be patient.

Finally the day came that they no longer needed patience. Mirai called a cab and fondly looked back at her apartment door one last time. "Too late for second thoughts," she scolded herself. The cab pulled up behind her and she closed her eyes to say a silent goodbye to the place that changed her life. Honestly she was sad to leave, but if Akihito and the Nase siblings thought this was for the best she would trust their judgment. Luckily the cab driver seemed to realize she wasn't in the right mindset for a conversation, and let the ride pass silently. All of the things that were now familiar to her quickly flashed before her as they drove, and she found herself blinking back tears. I'm always going to have these memories, she thought, taking a deep breath. I was lucky to have them. I can make new memories with him, wherever we go.

This train of thoughts calmed her almost immediately and she found herself finally getting excited instead of being restless. Before she knew it, they rolled to a stop in front of the airport. She shyly passed over the card Mitsuki had seriously said to "use as much as you need to until you get settled." It had taken quite a few tries to get the light haired girl to accept it willingly. She made it through security without a hitch, and sat in front of her terminal, writing a message to Hiroomi to let him know she was alright and to thank him for all he's done with the promise of writing once she got settled in. "Flight 249 to Washington DC – now boarding." A voice said over the intercom. She turned her phone off and placed it into her carryon bag and stood, fingering the package in her pocket that Mitsuki had handed to her the day before. She gripped it like it was a lifeline…and to her, it very well might be.

Akihito was anxious from the moment he woke up. After checking that everything in the apartment was unpacked an in its place – several times – he gave into the fact he would be ridiculously early. He picked up flowers at his mother's insistence, he personally thought it was a silly task because it's not like Mirai is his girlfriend or anything. Or was she? He chewed his lip as he walked, suddenly conflicted. Clearly they were more than friends, but Akihito had never thought to put a label on their relationship. She was just Kuriyama-san, and that's all he needed her to be. Obviously their situation was…unique, but the more he thought about it the more he realized they did act like a couple. He shook his head roughly and decided that this would be the first thing they would establish once the spirit warrior settled in.

Although it would be a little over two hours before her flight was scheduled to land, he took a seat in the flight reception area, knowing that he had time to walk around but deciding it wasn't worth losing such a close seat. There was a chance she could land early, after all. In his excitement, the first hour passed quickly. As did the second. Suddenly, three hours had passed with no word of why they were late. The blonde licked his suddenly chapped lips, trying to keep himself calm. Flights run late all the time, he thought to himself. She's fine.

It was at the four hour mark that his ears picked up the hushed whispers of the bar behind him. They had been rowdy his entire wait, but he didn't mind. The sudden lack of volume however put the boy on edge. He stood and turned to see a group huddled around a small television, the bartender reaching to turn up the volume. Curious, he walked over to see what was so interesting.

"—was the result of a mechanical malfunction, the pilots lost control miles above the ground. We have found no survivors as of yet. We have compiled a list of all confirmed passengers, as well as a number to call if you have any questions or information. Those should be on your screen at this time. Again, this is Sarah Walker reporting for CNN at the crash site of scheduled flight 249 in Virginia…" Blood was roaring in Akihito's ears and he could no longer focus on anything but the scrolling list of passengers at the bottom of the screen. …Thomas Iosse…Jessica Jerggins…Linda Kenny…Mirai Kuriyama…

He blinked furiously, he had to have read that wrong. As he waited for the list to alphabetically scroll through again, he scanned the scene displayed on the screen, looking for any kind of sign. What he found made his blood run cold. The bags from the cargo hold were strewn about the ground, spilling from the gash on the underside of the aircraft. And as clear as day, he saw the color pink. The very same pink bag he had purchased for her what seemed like lifetimes ago, but was really only a week and a day. She had laughed and told him she'd never be able to lose it, even if she wanted to. The color was like a neon beacon.

He had ruffled her hair and tied a red ribbon on the handle, joking that no one could doubt the bags ownership if they matched her glasses too. The offending piece of tattered and scalded fabric waved mockingly at him from behind the reporter. "No…" he whispered, "she's okay. She would have been smart. She would have…she would have shielded herself with her blood—" His eyes widened and his mouth went dry, and in the back of his mind he wondered how much longer his knees would support him. "Sleeping pills…"

"You know Kuriyama-san is terrified of flying," the half-yommu sighed, burying his hands in his pockets. "It won't work."

"We are aware of that, however –" Hiroomi spoke, and Akihito tried not to stare at the bags underneath his eyes.

"But," Mitsuki sent a glare towards her older brother. "I am prepared to get the best sleeping pills on the market. If she takes them just after boarding she should sleep through most if not all of the flight. No amount of turbulence should wake her." Her soft spot for the first year cracked her normally carefully composed mask of indifference.

"They want her dead, Akihito." Hiroomi used the blondes full name, hoping it would help him grasp the gravity of the situation. "We will take care of the expenses. There is no other way."

Mitsuki took a bated breath before she spoke again. "We don't see you being in any danger. It's your decision if you stay or go. We will respect it either way."

"Isn't it obvious?" Akihito smiled sadly at his friends. "I go where she goes."

It wasn't until the flowers he had long forgotten about slipped from his cold fingers and hit the ground that the people surrounding him seemed to notice his presence. The man immediately to his right lightly tapped his shoulder, and his mouth was moving as if he was speaking. Akihito was past the point of comprehending words, let alone those in English. His eyes remained locked onto her bag, until the stranger was pulling him away by the arm to god knows where. It didn't matter.

Nothing did.

He wasn't sure how he got home that night. Home, the word was sour. This isn't home. Semantics aside, he found himself in the kitchen staring down at a water bottle and trying to convince himself he needed to drink and stay hydrated. He grit his teeth and hung his head, trying to keep his composure. Suddenly it was too much for him to bear. She hadn't even been to this apartment yet and her presence was suffocating. He needed to get out before he lost control.

He retrieved the backpack he had used as luggage on his trip and shoved things from his neatly packed drawers into it, barely even looking at them. He didn't expect to be gone long, just enough time to get his emotions in check. As he walked away from the apartment he briefly entertained the idea of letting himself lose control. Maybe Hiroomi would have to fly all the way over just to compress his atoms out of existence – for real this time. However he knew that no matter how much pain he was in, he couldn't do that to his friend. He would not force the overburdened Nase heir to shoulder that guilt. Especially if the news of the…accident had reached him.

He walked down the still unfamiliar roads, with no real destination in mind and lost himself in thought. Obviously he would not be going to school tomorrow. He didn't think his sense—teachers would mind. He grimaced, reminding himself yet again to use the foreign terminology. The days he had gone to his lessons and introduced himself, his teachers had seemed to like him. Some of them were even surprised at how "well-mannered" he was. He could miss a day and not cause any ripples.

It's not that anyone knew of how he related to the crash; it's just that news that big is something to be talked about. He couldn't blame his classmates really—under normal circumstances he and the pink haired girl would be sharing the same gossip as all the others. His chest tightened a little at that thought and he pushed it away. He knew he couldn't subject himself to the hushed whispers of the classmates that were blissfully unaware of what they'd lost. At least…not yet. He'd give himself a day to recover – maybe two – but that's it. He knew the last thing she would have wanted was for him to fall behind on her behalf.

His nails dug into the flesh on his palm as he thought of her in the past tense. He'd never understood people who got emotional over things like that. But now he understood. He was painfully aware of the emotional toll it was taking on him. He stopped in front of a motel as his vision blurred, he was too tired to be strong anymore. "It should have been me," he mumbled shakily. "I could have walked away from that. Or protected her. Or…something!" He rested his head against the brick wall and choked back a sob. "Damn it. Damn it!" Before he knew what he was doing, his fist smashed against the brick, again and again. He felt the skin on his knuckles split, and warm sticky blood trickled down his fingers. That didn't stop him for quite some time.

When he finally regained his composure, he held his hand to the light and watched in bitter fascination as the skin knit itself back together. He knew however that the ache that resided deep in his bones would be there for a while, a harsh reminder of his stupid actions. He couldn't bring himself to regret it though. He deserved this much and more. Why had he ever agreed to fly separately? Why would he let her out of his sight, after everything they've been through?

Deep down, he knew the answer. It was safer to keep the Society off of their trail. The Nase siblings had even gone so far as to purchase tickets to multiple destinations in case their accounts were being tracked. He knew sabotage by the society was a possibility, but at this point he was too exhausted to go on a witch hunt. He just needed to mourn. Plus, the news cast had said mechanical failure. If it had been intentional, they would have known it right? He shook his head. The society may be full of monsters, but he believed they wouldn't put that many lives at risk in exchange for one.

He lifted a shaky hand to his face and wiped his eyes. He was too exhausted to walk anymore, or do anything for that matter. It couldn't hurt to stay at this hotel for a night; at least there would be no constant reminders of what he'd lost. He wiped the drying blood off into the inside of his dark sweater; he didn't want to scare the employees after all. The blonde tried to listen as the girl behind the desk explained the rates and blatantly ogled him. He requested the cheapest option – not really caring what the "features" were, if a seedy place like this could even have features – and headed up to the door with the number displayed on the keycard. He dropped his backpack onto the floor and fell onto the bed without bothering to change. For a few moments, he stared at the ceiling and his mind was blissfully blank. But like all good things, it came to an end. The weight of the world came rushing back to his shoulders and pinned him in place.

And for the second time in his life, the man allowed himself to cry.

He stayed at that motel for two days, barely moving unless it was absolutely necessary. He knew that he could not get lucky twice, that he was only entitled to one miracle. He spent the time committing every detail to memory. The color of her eyes, the way she smelled faintly of strawberries when he sat close to her, how the frames of her glasses sat perfectly on top of her nose, as if they were built to rest there. But mostly, he thought about what he didn't get to experience enough. The weight of her small body when it rested against his, the sound of her deep even breathing on the few occasions she had allowed herself to fall asleep in his presence. The warmth of her hand when it was tangled with his.

All of these things, he wished he'd had the chance to take them for granted. The three months that she waged war inside Beyond the Boundary were for nothing. It was back inside of him, and she was gone. He was back where he started. The only difference was the aching pain that he felt to his very core. That was all her doing. But, his two days were up. He knew he had to get back to living or she would never forgive him. By some stroke of luck, his school uniform – which looked suspiciously similar to the one he wore in Japan – was crumpled up in the bag. The blonde couldn't bring himself to care about the wrinkles. Baby steps. Get to school first before you worry about how you look.

He pulled on his button up shirt and his argyle sweater vest and was suddenly assaulted by the smell of the pink haired girl. He inhaled deeply, remembering that this was what he was wearing the last time he saw her. The memory was painful, but he could not bring himself to remove the article of clothing. It could be a good thing, he reasoned. It might help me through the day. He finished getting dressed and checked out of the motel, before asking for directions to a place he had seen near his school.

He was barely even through the school doors when the whispers assaulted him. He'd tried to tune them out at first, but bits and pieces piqued his interest.

"…can't be natural, it has to be dyed!"

"…pink! Eyebrows too. I wonder if…"

"…said she was from Japan. Don't we have another student fr…"

"She was lookin' for someone. Akkeyto? I don't remember." The half-yommu froze at the poorly pronounced mention of his name. His eyes locked onto a small brunette girl, probably a first year…or a freshman? Is that what they called them here?

"Excuse me…" He started, praying to whoever would listen that his limited English wouldn't fail him now. "Can I ask what you were just discussing?"

"O-oh. Um, sure. This cute girl was here earlier, she said she was a new transfer student. But she was lookin' for a guy. Her hair was pink can you believe it? But it looked so natural on her, somehow."

"Did she tell you her name?" he asked, trying not to get his hopes up.

"Yeah, she did. But um…I forgot. I'm not so good with names. But the guy she was lookin' for! His name was uh...Akke—"

"Akihito?"

"Yeah! …How did you know that?" He did not respond, instead bowing deeply to the talkative girl and rendering her temporarily speechless.

"Thank you very much." He murmured before turning on his heel and beginning to run. He sprinted the two miles to the apartment, adrenaline pumping through his veins and preventing him from getting winded. He took the steps three at a time and in seconds he was rapidly knocking on the door, his mind too hazy to remember he had a key. After what seemed like a century, with the crippling fear of being wrong slowly making its way into his system, he heard the slide of the deadbolt and suddenly – impossibly – there she was.

He fell to his knees at the doorstep and she rushed forward with a frantic "Senpai!" As soon as she was within arm's reach he grabbed her and crushed her to his chest, taking in her smell and counting the beats of her heart against his stomach. She was there. She was alive. Somehow, he had gotten a second miracle. But suddenly, surprisingly strong arms were shoving against him. "H-how could you, senpai?!" He stared up at the girl, completely and utterly confused at her rapid change in emotion. "Don't make that face! I get here and you're missing! No one at the school has seen you for two days! I thought…" She sniffed, trying not to let the tears in her eyes fall. "I thought you changed your mind and left me here!"

"Mirai." He whispered. "Shut up."

"W-wha-!" And then he was kissing her and all of the stress just melted from her body. He was still here, he hadn't left her. He still loved her as much as she loved him. She had been worried for nothing.

He pulled away and rested his forehead against hers, his eyes still closed. "Not that I'm not happy about it…but how did you…how are you alive?" He asked, his eyes slowly opening to gauge her expression.

"Senpai? Why wouldn't I be alive?" The concern in her voice was proof to him that she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. He couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it. "Senpai?!" Wordlessly, he stood and took her hand noticing with a flush that their "reunion" had happened in the middle of their complex's stairwell. He led her to the TV that he had gotten connected seemingly years ago. Has it only been 4 days? The blonde knew that although the crash had happened days ago, almost all the news stations were still providing coverage of the…deceased's family members and memorial services. He had made the mistake of glancing into a shop window on his walk to school, and the sight of that mangled plane had almost been enough to turn him right around.

He never let go of her hand as he watched realization slowly dawn on her that that was the plane she had been scheduled for. That her life could have been over. She looked at him with round, watery eyes, and he softly squeezed her hand. "Mirai…what happened?"

"I…saw a yommu. I was on the plane in my seat and I saw him floating around…I thought maybe I could sell his yommu stone here in America to help get us started" her voice quivered as she reached into her pocket and produced the stone. "I had enough money in my wallet from the last yommu I fought to pay for a coach ticket on the flight that departed the same time that…t-this one was supposed to land. I was only a few hours late…" She bowed her head, and Akihito sighed and kissed her hair, just like when they separated at the airport.

"We're not selling that yommu," he said, curling her fingers around the stone. "He saved your life. He's probably lucky." He clenched his fists. "I should have called though, long distance fees be damned."

"I don't know how much that would have helped, Senpai. My phone was in my bag. I was wondering why no one seemed to know where it was when I landed; I thought they just couldn't understand my English." He laughed, the emotional rollercoaster finally taking its toll on him. He sat down heavily on the couch next to the bespectacled beauty, and without a word she leaned onto his shoulder.

"Mirai…" she glanced up at him. "We're…not in Japan anymore. You don't have to call me senpai."

"K-Kanbara…" She blushed and glanced away. He buried his face in her hair and sighed happily.

"It's a start."