****By the way, I do not own Mai Hime or any of the characters featured in this fan fiction. If I did there would be lots of smut, and explosions...then more smut. And maybe even dragons, I dunno.****

Chapter One:

Hypothermic

Hypothermia: Abnormally low body temperature. Someone who falls asleep in a cold temperature may become hypothermic, and the condition can be fatal.

Drowning is not so pitiful
As the attempt to rise
Three times, 'tis said, a sinking man
Comes up to face the skies,
And then declines forever
To that abhorred abode,
Where hope and he part company

-Emily Dickinson

"Excuse me, ma'am? I'm going to need you to turn off your electronic device. We'll be taking off shortly."

I growled underneath my breath at the blonde flight attendant who made a motion towards the MP3 player resting in my lap. I quickly ripped the ear buds from their place and threw an evil look towards the departing woman's back as she made her way towards the front of the plane.

God, I hate flying.

There's just something about being so far off the ground that makes me uneasy. To make matters worse, this was going to be a long flight to Sydney, Australia.

I grab the paperback copy of the latest best-seller that I had propped up on my backpack underneath the seat in front of me. The adventurous tale of a detective-gone-bad was enough to keep my mind occupied as the plane was taxied along the runway, preparing to depart.

I wasn't able to finish three pages before my mind started to wander. I still couldn't believe that I was headed to Sydney. This whole idea was beyond foolish but when I got that call from my now deceased father's lawyer, something inside of me needed to go.

I'm not sure what I'm expecting. Closure, I guess?

All I know is that the father that had abandoned me so long ago had left a will. And apparently, he had left something for me as well as the family he gave me up for. Maybe now that the no-good bastard is dead, I can finally get an answer to the questions I've asked myself since he left me on that orphanage's doorstep.

I was shaken out of my thoughts as the plane hit its altitude, according to the pilot's announcement. I gave up trying to read for now and rested my head against the cool window. The sun was already almost behind the horizon.

A long flight, indeed.

I woke with a start when a particularly loud snore came from the seat next to mine. It came from a balding man that had his head tipped back at an odd angle as his gaping mouth issued loud breaths. I could already feel my eyebrows begin to twitch in annoyance.

According to the dimmed cabin and the completely dark window, I must've been asleep for quite some time. A quick look around confirmed that mostly every passenger was dozing. It was at this time that my bladder made its displeasure known.

Carefully extracting myself from my seat and narrowly missing Mr. Loud Snoring's shinny head with my elbow, I stretch out in the aisle. My knees pop in gratitude as I make my way towards the lavatory. I'm annoyed to discover that it's occupied, as is my bladder. It takes me a matter of minutes to realize that I can't wait any longer for this chump to free up the toilet.

I notice the curtain that separates First Class from the economy seating and make a snap decision.

After peeking behind the flimsy curtain to make sure the coast is clear, I hastily make my way to the toiletry. I reach it just as the folding door opens to reveal an amazingly beautiful woman. The sickly fluorescent light from the lavatory does nothing to take away from her attractiveness. If anything, it enhanced the striking crimson of her eyes and for a moment I completely forget about my close-to-bursting bladder.

"Ara," a sugar-coated voice issues from between full lips, "Pardon me."

I can't help but turn and watch as she makes her way back to her seat. It's then that I notice her crisp business attire, complete with a pin-striped skirt and high heels.

Snapping out of my daze with a blush, I close the folding doors and engage the lock.

I'm pulling up my jeans and buckling my belt when tremors run through the plane and I lose my balance. My body slams against the door painfully before I'm thrown back against the toilet.

I grab hold of the sink's faucet and level myself before crashing the door open. I emerge right at the same time as a flight attendant rushes past me and enters the pilot cabin. The heavy door closes with a sort of finality.

Another tremor rocks the plane hard enough to send me flying face first into the aisle. I hit the carpeted floor hard enough to knock the air from my lungs. The plane makes a horrible groaning sound as another round of quakes shake the plane, passengers screaming in surprise and fear. I'm gasping for breath as I hurriedly crawl on my hands and knees back to my seat.

Mr. Loud Snoring is no longer passed out. His eyes dart towards me nervously as I yank myself into my chair, pulling the seatbelt across my lap and fixing it across my lap tightly. The public address system suddenly crackled to life to announce emergency procedures just as the yellow oxygen masks dislodge themselves from their compartments overhead. My fingers are trembling so badly that I can barely fix the strap around my head.

I watch as a familiar blonde flight attendant makes her way around, helping anyone who needs it adjust their masks. The plane lurches forward suddenly sending the woman flying into the air. I stare in disbelief as her head cracks sickingly against the roof of the plane and her body falls limply to the floor.

I faintly hear someone scream, "Oh my god!" before the lights start to flicker and people start screaming loudly. All around me were people's panicked and disbelieving faces but all I could do was stare as the flight attendants lifeless body as it was jostled about. I only glanced up when the public address system squawked to life once more. The captain was shouting now, no longer worried about keeping the passengers calm. The situation had escalated far beyond that now.

I faintly realized that he was shouting something about the life vests underneath our seats. That was enough to spur me into action. I swiftly yanked out the bright yellow plastic and hung it around my neck. I took notice that my seatmate had yet to acquire his own life jacket and yelled over the sound of the whining engines to get his attention. He turned fearful eyes toward me and said something that I didn't quite catch.

I didn't have time to contemplate what he might have said before my stomach dropped about fifteen stories beneath me, the plane tilting dangerously. The seatbelt dug painfully into my stomach as I fought to urge to vomit. The plane lurched again and the overhead bin above the seats in front of me crashed open, sending large suitcases to slam against the far wall that separated the cockpit from the passenger area. The flimsy curtain that separated First Class had been ripped away by one of the bags, leaving me with a clear view of a passenger flying clear out of their seat and crashing into the same wall.

The plane suddenly righted itself before a loud explosion from behind me blew a hole in the right side of the aircraft. All was dark as the jet took another nosedive towards the stretch of ocean I had no doubt was beneath us.

Then there was only this horrible rushing sound, followed by a deafening scream.

Dear God…

My ears were ringing as I let loose a soundless shriek, the air stealing my voice. My sight was gone from the infinite blackness. I was jerked to the left, my head smacking against something hard, as the ocean rose up to swallow us.

The pressure of the water pushing against my chest was overwhelming. Suddenly I couldn't breathe. The only thing that existed was the terrible weightless feeling and the painful burn in my lungs. Instinct kicked in. I clawed at the belt around my lap, panic making the simple action of lifting the clasp very difficult. With desperate strength I broke free, blindly kicking toward the only difference in color I could make out among the inky darkness. A dark grey amongst the black.

Something sharp bit into my shoulder, starting a slow fire that burned down the length of my arm. But there was a bigger fire that had my chest aching from lack of air.

I broke the surface wheezing for air, taking in large gulps of oxygen that made me feel lightheaded. I splashed along in the darkness as wave after wave crested over me and leaving me gasping each time. I finally realized that I still had the life vest that had somehow miraculously stayed around my neck. Locating the tab, I pulled till it inflated fully. Finally, I was able to rest my exhausted arms and legs.

I could locate nothing nearby. I was surrounded by ocean and stormy sky in every direction and I had never felt so alone in my entire life.

Something brushed against me and I screamed out. Reaching out blindly, I finally realized it was a piece from the wreckage. It was large enough to hold my weight if I distributed it evenly.

I laid my head down against the metal, feeling every cut, bruise, and ache in my body and cried.

When I was a child, I drew a picture in school of my father and me drowning. My art teacher, Mrs. Sakimoto, seemed pretty disturbed by it and brought the incident up with the headmistress of the school. She requested an immediate conference with my father. I sat right next to him in the uncomfortable hardback chairs that sat directly opposite of the headmistress's desk. I remember my feet not being able to touch the ground so I drummed the back of my heels in a steady tempo against the chair legs.

Mrs. Maria, I believe her name was, quickly got to the point of the visit. She held out the picture for my father to examine as she expressed her deep concern. I remember my dad staring for a long time at my crude drawing with emotionless eyes.

I banged my heels against the chair harder.

I didn't see the problem with the drawing. After all, it was just a drawing.

"Natsuki," Mrs. Maria called for my attention, "Why did you draw this picture?"

I shrugged my shoulders, hoping I wouldn't get a scolding. The Headmistress was infamous for her reprimands.

But in truth I knew exactly why I drew that picture. It's because that's how I saw my father and I, drowning in grief. We were both trapped in separate lifeboats. The only thing is, the lifeboats had a hole in the bottom and it's constantly filling up with water. So, we both have to constantly fight this never-ending battle of scooping out the water so we wouldn't sink.

But I had started to notice that father had stopped bothering to scoop water from the boat. He had given up trying to fight the rising water, and so I would as well.

We'd both drown together.

My dad took me home after the conference and he never looked at me again.

A week later he walked me to the doorstep of an orphanage. The only thing he left me was the clothes on my back and a backpack with my stuffed puppy, Duran. He never said a word before he walked off, leaving me there to drown.

I never drew another picture after that.

The odd sound of something scraping against sandpaper startled me from my dreams. It took me a moment to gather my senses and to determine that the entire plane crash incident wasn't a part of my dreaming. It was still dark but the moon finally peeked beyond the clouds, allowing enough light to see that I had washed up on a beach.

I was finally starting to get a feel for where I was. I dragged my exhausted person further up the beach, every part of my body protesting the movement but I didn't want to risk being near the shoreline if the tide started to rise.

I clawed my fingers into the hard-packed sand and heaved myself toward the dark silhouette of trees a few feet in front of me. Reaching my destination and feeling comfortable enough with my distance from the lapping shore, I laid my face the sand. My long, dark hair clung to my face wildly and tickled the corners of my lips. I didn't bother wiping them from my face as the extent of my injuries finally plunged me into a dreamless sleep.

Annnnnnd CUT! Well there you have it folks, my new fanfiction for our two lovely ladies. I know I'm a horrible person for placing our favorite heroines on a deserted island and all but love conquers all! (Plus, it's fun to write) Though I finished this at the butt crack of dawn and I have work in a few hours so I didn't bother to check for spelling and grammar errors. Heh heh...sorry. Well, I'll keep this brief. Let me know what you honestly think.

Over and out!

-Cory