Riku Tsunako

"So this is supposed to determine if I stay behind another year Huh..." Riku looked down at the paper in his hand as he walked to his house. He thought about it for a while as he turned up his music slightly louder, 'Yamazaki-san looks like a really friendly and nice person from what I've seen during class... But I can't exactly say I know her like a friend would... Well, that's alright! I'm sure we can become closer over the trip!' Riku told himself with a smile to himself as he folded the paper and put it into his pocket, 'Kinda gotta wonder why I was picked though...'

~~~

"Tsunako-San, would you mind waiting a bit after class ends? I need to discuss something which Im pretty sure you may want to hear." He said before walking to his desk and getting what looked to be two sheets of paper. Riku tilted his head a bit out of curiosity, but told himself to snap out of it and pay more attention to class.

Once the clas ended, he packed up his things, but stayed afterwards as he was told, watching all the students leave for their house except for one other, 'Yamazaki-san? She's staying behind too?' He wondered to himself while staring at her by accident and snapping himself out of it a moment later when the teacher spoke to them both, handing out the sheets of paper he had in his hands during the beginning of class.

"As you are both in the same summer classes... I need you to do me a favor. Take a plane to Hokkaido, and study the landscape, the culture, and the people. This will affect your grades for this year and chose if you will be moving on, or staying behind. Now only that, but you will also get to learn more about the ones who will in such a peaceful place. Though there is a city which you may explore, try and explore the country side, try something new. You two don't know each other very well either, do you? Well that's just great because this will be the perfect opportunity to make a friend, for both of you. Well, here are you tickets, you leave in a week. In the mean time, pack up, get ready, because you're skipping school and leaving for family for a whole month, stuck with each other. I wish you the best of luck."

"Kay!" Riku said enthusiastically while watching his teacher sit back down at the desk to get some grading done for his students. Riku was actually really excited to go since he loved to go on vacations and go see new places, and it was a bit obvious how jumpy he was by the way he spoke.

Riku then turned to the girl next to him with a wide grin on his face as he simply exclaimed, "If we're going to go onto this trip, might as well get to know each other, right, Yamazaki-san?" He asked cheerfully before introducing himself formally with a bow and all before waving like he would to a friend and heading back home.

~~~

"I'm back!" Riku exclaimed as he took off his shoes at the apartment he that his father lived at, leaving them near the door before stepping inside and setting his bag down first along with his headphones since he only wore them outside rather than in his house. Then, he went to the kitchen after smelling the scent of food. Since his mother was ill and in the hospital, Riku's father was the only person left to take care of his only son.

"Welcome back!" His dad grinned while taking the cigarette out of his mouth and putting it in the trash before going back to cooking the food since it began to burn once he looked away.

"Thanks!" Riku answered back before taking a seat at the table and opening the neatly folded paper he put in his pocket and set it down onto the table, "I have something to talk to you about by the way, regarding my school and grades you know? So I'll tell you about it when we eat."

~~~

"WHAT? MY SON IS LEAVING ME ALREADY?" Riku's father cried loudly, probably disturbing the neighbors as he slammed his hands onto the table and knocked over his water which was quickly picked up and cleaned up by his son.

"It's only a month dad." Riku laughed while soaking up the water, "Im going with a classmate of mine too, Yamazaki Yuko I think? It'll decide if we're going to proceed onto our next year in high school or stay back, so I have to go or I won't make it to college! I need to do that because being a part time waiter won't pay enough for this apartment!"

"Lies! I know you really want to leave! It's fine!" His father said dramatically, and exaggeratedly as he signed the paper, looking as if he was going to cry even though it sounded to humourous, which it was, "Here! Take it! I don't need you to take care of myself anymore!"

Riku only laughed at his day's reaction before calling up his mother in the hospital and telling her about the situation. Of course she supported him, so he had nothing to worry about really. He then walked over to his room and slid down a luggage, deciding he should pack early anyways.



~~~

Riku obviously said goodbyes to his parents after a week sped by. His father was freaking out as he always did to most situations and he even stopped by at the hospital to personally say good bye to his mother. Although it was only a month, he knew it was still hard for both his parents to accept.

After going through security and lines, Riku waited at the gate for the airplane, seeming to have arrived there a bit early. He knew his teacher wouldn't come to see him through since he and Yuko were almost adults, but he managed to make it through on his own.

Riku took out his headset and put on over his ear before turning up the music, checking his phone every now and then to see when the plane would arrive to pick them up, and glancing up once or twice to see if his travel buddy was to arrive soon. He had a bit trouble sitting still too since he was so excited himself, not minding traveling with a girl very much.

Riku Tsunato

When Riku looked up, he saw a girl with brown hair in front of him, and it took him a little while to figure out who she was until it snapped, "Ah! Yamazaki-san!" He exclaimed and got up from his seat, and noticed the plane was getting off, "Well... we can start talking in the plane, it'd be bad to see it leave while we're having a conversation!" He laughed and went off.

Riku sat on the outside seat, allowing Yuko to go forward while he put up their luggage, since he was the male and he felt like it was just his responsibility in the first place after all, which he didn't mind the least bit. Once she took her seat, he took his next to her.

"I guess we haven't really gotten to talk yet, other than last week when we found out we'd be traveling together."

"I suppose not." Riku rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit bad now, "I've seen you in my classes before, but I don't think we've ever really talked at all sadly... But you don't look like a bad person, I feel a bit guilty for not meeting you before now, sorry!"

"My name is Yuko Yamazaki, as you probably already knew, but I thought it would be nice to formally introduce myself."

Riku nodded with a grin and held out his hand, "It would be nice to formally introduce myself also, nice to meet you Yamazaki-san!"

He probably would have just called her by her first name, but seeing how he was the type of person to show respect first, he called her by her last name, with honorifics, at least until they were closer friends like he was with a few other people. In fact, when he looked back on it, he didn't call very many people by their first name, but it didn't bother him too much, so he just shrugged it off.

While the airplane began to take off, he looked at the phone in his hand and said, "Hokkaido's not too far from where we live actually! On a car, I think it may have taken from 3-4 hours, but since we're on a plane, things should be minimized to around just a single hour!" There was a bit of jumpiness in his voice, and a small voice crack which he laughed at afterwards, but it all just showed everyone around him that he was actually really excited.

Riku then looked towards Yuko and asked with a smile, almost like a child, "Neh, you don't mind traveling with me, right? Because I know that rumors start going around, and then it's a little awkward to be going somewhere away from your family for a whoooole entire month with someone you hardly even know... So it would make sense if you did." He laughed, "But in my case, I don't mind! Rumors fade over time, and my family kind of wants me to go and get around, well... half of them that is..." He said, remembering how upset his father was, even though it all looked like a silly little joke.

"Besides, if rumors did start, that'd be fine because you're really nice and cute too!" Riku grinned, not knowing that it may have been embarrassing to say or hear since he was such an innocent young man. Not only that, but he was being honest and spoke his mind quite often without realizing it. It was true what he thought after all.

Riku Tsunato

"It's okay, don't worry about it. We'll get to be together a lot from now on!"

Riku was a bit surprised by her answer, even though plenty of people he knew said it often, but just simply smiled back and nodded, "Yup!" He felt a wave of relief pass over him just then as he let out a sigh along with it, but not a bad one. He was just quite glad he wasn't what some considered a pain in the butt to be near.

"An hour..? Th-That's great..!"

Riku heard Yuko laugh, but it didn't seem well... natural to him, and he didn't want to say that because it'd be rude, but it was what he was thinking at the time. Actually... it sounded much more nervous, or anxious rather than excited or grateful, though, it was only what he anticipated, and not what he knew, 'Should... Should I ask if she's alright...?' But after thinking about it a quick moment, he shook his head and thought to himself, 'No no... that'd be rude! I'll just wait until I'm completely certain about this!'

"No really! it honestly doesn't bother me. My mother forced me to go. I had no choice." Yuko puffed out her cheeks and frowned. "My sister wanted me to leave because she's just a little brat. She actually goes to our school! She's 14, but she skipped a grade, so she went to high school early. Um, my mom wanted me to come because she knows how much I like traveling, and she was super excited. She wants me to tell her everything about this trip."

Riku couldn't help but smile just the slightest bit as Yuko told him about herself. It might have been creepy to others that saw him, but he was a bit happy to know more about her. It'd be awkward to be with someone a whole month and only knowing their name, "Ah, I don't have any siblings so I can't say I know the feeling! My mom only encouraged me to go because she knows I like traveling too, but my dad on the other hand.. well... He was freaking out, a lot." He laughed at the memory, "Since my mom's hospitalized, it's always only my dad and I at home. I guess seeing the last person in the house leave for a long while would disturb someone huh..."

He began to think back again, wondering if it really was a good idea to leave his dad behind, 'Hopefully he's not feeling lonely or sad...' The more he began to think about it, the more a small frown appeared onto his face as he started to feel guiltier, and guiltier. Though, he noticed this after he started thinking and immediately wiped away the strange look on his face with another genuine smile.

After he complimented Yuko, she seemed to have turned red as she said, "Um, I uh... Um, th-thanks..."

Riku let out a small, and childish sounding giggle, finding it adorable how she flushed so easily while he was quite the harder person to embarrass, "Don't worry, no need to act so shy, Yamazaki-san!" He said through his laughing though it was a bit hard to stop. He wasn't lying, he wasn't teasing, and he wasn't joking, but rarely anyone he usually talked to get flustered over something he said.

"Um, you are too. I mean, cute... A-And nice too--"

"A-ah?" Riku asked, never really getting complimented himself since he was always the one handing it out. It was just for a slight moment, but he might have gone red by something so surprising, but quickly replaced it with an anxious looking smile as he laughed, "H-Haha... Yamazaki-san has a good sense of humor also!"

Though, he wasn't done speaking. He was just about to say something else until he heard Yuko yelp next to him, "Eek!"

He saw people stare, some giving her strange looks while he only gave them a threatening glare back, as he wasn't the type of person to accept bullying or such quick and terrible judgment they probably had made towards her. He then looked back at Yuko, putting both hands on her shoulders and looking closely at her face for anything wrong, 'Maybe she has a fever? Is something scaring her perhaps?' He wondered.

"Y-Yamazaki-san, are you alright? Did something happen?" He quickly asked, almost being hard to understand because of how quick his speech was and how slurred the words were connected to each other. But then, an idea came to his head as he lowered his hands and tilted his head, asking quietly so other people wouldn't be able to hear, "Neh... are you afraid of traveling by plane, if you don't mind me asking, Yamazaki-san?"

Riku Tsunato

"W-What? Why would I be scared of traveling by plane? This is my first time..."

Riku sighed, but not in a bad way before patting her head gently and saying, "I thought so... You don't have to be so secretive about it though." He laughed, "I'm afraid of a lot of things too, and there are others I'm sure who are afraid of airplanes. Don't worry, I promise an hour will go by fast! You can even sleep though it if you'd like!"

"C-Can I... Please... hold your hand?"

"Mm... you're really that afraid...?" He asked quietly, but then grinned cheerfully and grabbed her hand without waiting for an answer and nodded, "Alright! If it'll relax you, then of course! The plane ride won't be long after all. You should sleep, that way time will go faster! I have no problem with staying awake, so I can wake you up when we arrive, it'll end really soon! Here."

Riku removed the headphones of his from around his neck, and put it over Yuko's ears before taking out his phone and going through the songs until he found a specific one and played it, "It may not help very much... But I usually listen to this when I need to sleep, so maybe it'll help you too, right?" He smiled and ruffled her hair, "Go on and sleep. I'll wake you up when we arrive, kay?"

Riku always listened to his music, even when talking to other people, but he never minded giving it away to someone else, especially when they needed it. He figured that Yuko might have needed something to take away the sounds of the airplane's engine, so he gave her the earphones, hoping it'd held her sleep and calm down since he didn't like it when someone was being put in an uncomfortable position, 'Maybe I should have checked before to see if she was afraid of planes... then we could have traveller by car so she wouldn't feel so terrible... Guess that's my fault hmm...'

(Aiya.. short post also >u<)

OOC: Omg. I'm sorry. I got way too into that nightmare. xD

Riku Tsunato

"Thanks. I'm sorry you have to put up with me..."

"I'm not in any bother." Riku smiled gently as he always did, "Just sleep and relax. My goal at the moment is to make you feel comfortable on the plane, kay?" He felt a little uncomfortable himself without his music, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to make Yuko, his partner, feel better on the trip, 'I'd be more grateful myself to be cheered up rather than not.' He thought to himself.

---

---

"Kisa-chan!" Riku yelled, calling her by her first name now, seeing how she didn't wake up the first few seconds he called out her name. She looked like she was afraid, especially since she was crying and sweating. Plus, he grip tightened on his hand just as she woke up. Riku let out the longest sigh of relief before wiping away her tears with his hand and saying, "I was afraid something happened... Did you have a nightmare while you were sleeping?" He asked concernedly.

But a moment later, he realized that probably wasn't the best topic to bring up at the time, so he shook his head and immediately corrected himself, "Sorry... actually, don't answer that. Let's just forget this happened, alright? But putting aside the bad news... we're here. We're in Hokkaido after waiting so long! That means no plane rides anymore! When we go back, we can take a train or a car or bus instead since planes aren't working out very well so far." He laughed a bit, "They're cheaper anyways! We can save a little more money that way!"

"Ah, and some kind man already took out the luggage for us and it's just outside the entrance of the plan right now." Riku said, standing up from his seat, but then remembered the unusual memory her had when Yuko was sleeping.

[i] Riku looked over at Yuko anxiously, seeing how she looked like she was in a sort of conflict. He was going to wake her up because he thought she was having a nightmare, but perhaps it was just the way she slept, and he wouldn't want to wake her up early and give her the conscious of being on a plane again.

When the plane finally landed, he noticed that Yuko was reacting a little more seriously to her dreams, and he got even more anxious as he called her name very quietly, "Yamazaki-san... it's time to wake up.. we're here now..."

But she didn't wake up the first time, and people were already getting off. He echoed her name again, the same pitch and volume so he wouldn't interrupt anyone else. A man passing by, as one of the last passengers, saw that Riku's partner wasn't really waking up, and he still had his luggage up top, so he said, "Young man... I'll take your bags out for you.

, "But all the bad dreams are over now! We're set free in Hokkaido! I'm sure it'll be fun, yeah! The hotel's really close to this place too, so a simple taxi could get us there in around 10 or 20 minutes! Not much more waiting to do before we can unpack and get the rest of the night to do something fun like exploring this place or eating at a fancy restaurant! I brought a lot of extra money, so we're all set in case you forgot!"

He began to walk, not letting go of her hand still, and headed for the outside of the plane and towards the inside of the airport, especially since the next flight would take place, and he was sure Yuko wouldn't want to get onto another plane trip by accident and have to ride it back for the third time.