Miki Fujimoto
Flight 707 Wreckage, Unknown
October 8, 5:21 PM
Side by side, Miki and Hitomi amble towards the wrecked exit.
Miki’s throat clenched. She felt extremely dehydrated. Hitomi glares in the region of her atmosphere, wary of her surroundings. The walls, embellishing elaborate cracks and loose debris, looms all around them.
Dammit.
Miki exhales deeply. Her left hand trembles as she clutches her right shoulder. Having lost most of the feeling in the right side of her torso, she felt nauseous, making her disoriented.
“ Ngh… “ Miki grumbles. She cursed herself for being so fragile, largely dissatisfied of her previous actions.
I’m stronger then this. Miki told herself. Quit being so damned pale.
“ You ok? “ Hitomi inquisitively asks. Still walking alongside her, she observes Miki limp across the corridor.
Feeling the immediate stare, Miki focuses ahead. “ Yeah. “
Her eyes narrow. The cabin exit steadily enlarges as they progress towards it.
Hitomi paused. “ You sure? “
She reaches out her arm, hoping Miki would accept her aid.
“ Well… “ Miki utters, eluding Hitomi’s kind gesture. “ I could use a drink. Got one? “
Miki prods her chin into the air, emphasizing her speech with her eyebrows.
Hitomi frowns. Spotting her friends’ allusiveness, she slowly retracts her arm.
“ That stuff’ll kill ya. “
Hitomi shifts around a mound of rubble, knocking a small part of it away.
“ True… “ Miki replies, glancing at the mound. “ …but it’ll take way more than one, believe me. “
After a brief silence, Miki forcefully steps over a pile of debris. The sound of broken glass and wrecked metal, pounds against her shoe.
“ More than one, huh? “ Hitomi teasingly reiterates. “ Tough girl. “
Miki smirks, playfully nudging her friend with her body. They make eye contact as she slows her pace.
“ Not that tough… “ Miki says with a tone of sincerity. “ Hey… “
Hitomi curiously slows her pace as well, her head turned to face Miki while her body lingers forward. “ Hm? “
Miki pauses, trying her best not to look away. “ …Thanks for saving me back there. “
She stops in place as a dim smile overtakes her, showcasing her gratitude. “ I owe you one, Hitomi. “
Mimicking her friend, Hitomi brings herself to a standstill as well.
“ Nah~ you don’t owe me nothin’. “ Smiling, Hitomi modestly gestures with her hand. “ You would’ve done the same for me, I bet. “
“ Well… “ Miki says exaggeratedly as she suddenly continues forward, passing Hitomi. Her eyes still maintaining contact with Hitomi’s. “ … Not really. “
Miki watches as Hitomi’s smile, fades to a murky grimace. Her mouth gapes open, suddenly in disbelief to what Miki just said.
“ W-W… ?! “ Hitomi stutters. She crosses her arms in annoyance. “ W-what!? “
A smile creeps across Miki’s face.
“ Gotcha. “
A whole-heartedly laugh escapes Miki’s mouth. A familiar laugh everyone knew. She walks quicker, expecting some kind of erratic response.
“ You..! “ Hitomi glares. She quickly catches up, and shoves her friend. “ Doofus! “
Miki cringes as a pale, prickly pain stuns her shoulder.
“ S-shi! “ Miki cries out, stopping herself from cursing. “ I’m still hurting y’know! “
Miki peeks at her dislocated arm. She hadn’t noticed before, but it seemed to sway side to side, with each step she takes accordingly.
Hitomi shakes her fist in the air, breaking Miki’s focus. “ Well too bad! That’s what we call ‘karma’! “
Miki clears her throat calmly, still snickering to herself.
After an awkward pause, Hitomi leers at Miki. Miki returns the look with her eyebrows raised innocently, as she catches up alongside her.
“ For a second there, I almost believed you. “ Hitomi utters seriously. “ You shouldn’t joke around like that at a time like this. “
She quickens her pace, walking ahead of Miki, making sure to display a cold shoulder.
Miki gives a deranged look. Her lips tensed up, crinkling up her chin. “ Tsk, don’t get mad at me… I was only trying to lighten up this lame atmosphere. “
Hitomi ignores her as she climbs over a detached seat, blocking the aisle. Miki stops, making sure she had a solid grip on her shoulder, and carefully mounts over it. The seat rigidly shakes as she leaps off.
“ Besides… “ Miki continued as she rushes to catch up to Hitomi yet again. “ …The danger is over. Finished. Speaking of which… “
Miki bumps into Hitomi, hoping to seize her attention. “ …You still have the gun, right? “
Hitomi responds with a quick glance, down her left pocket.
“ Wouldn’t lose it even if I wanted to. “ Hitomi responds. “ It’s the only evidence we have of that crazy woman. Why would she- “
“ Don’t. “ Miki interrupts. She angrily kicks away a small heap of metal debris, making it rattle under the seats. “ I don’t even want to think about it. “
Hitomi nods vaguely.
“ Yeah… I understand. But you’re gonna have to think about it when you tell the cops. “
Miki frowns. Her eyebrows firm, as she deeply inhales.
“ That’s a given. “ Miki replies. “ So for now, let’s just grab the others and get the hell off of this piece of junk. “
She shakes her head, still agitated at the thought. They finally reach the cabin exit, stopping just in front of the dark blue curtains, which separates the rooms. Miki momentarily glimpses behind her, making sure no one was following.
“ Oh? I take it you don’t like planes? “ Hitomi reiterates, using the same tone she’d used earlier, prior to taking off.
They make eye contact as Miki flashes a boyish grin. She wittily shakes her head.
“ No, no, it’s not that… I just hate stewardesses’ who try to kill me. “
Like old war heroes, Hitomi contentedly pats Miki’s back, as they walk through the draped curtains.