A whole week had gone by since the [Arima Kinen]. The time had practically flown by, and before I knew it, it was already a few days after the new year had arrived.
And somehow,
I whistled as I watched a nearby plane take off to the skies, the roar of their engines loud and deafening. "Never thought I'd get to see a plane this up-close." I said, smiling wryly, using my crutches to brace myself against the powerful winds that blew across the runway.
"So fast…!" Oguri whispered in excitement as she watched the plane soar into the skies. "Star! Can we try and race that someday!?"
My lips twitched. "Please don't." I said. Sakura Bakushin O already tried racing a shinkansen in the Story Mode, and she ended up in some random ditch. If Oguri tried racing an actual plane, she'd probably get flung away by the winds, and that would be bad on every account.
"Oh." Oguri said, her tail drooping as that dream was relentlessly torn apart. I sighed softly as I patted her head.
Belno giggled, and she then joined in patting Oguri's head. "There, there."
That aside, we were indeed standing on a runway right now—specifically one of the runways in Narita Airport. Normally no unauthorized personnel would be allowed here, and even if I snuck in, I'd get deported near-immediately. But the circumstances were a little different this time.
Because not too far away was a private jet, one that Team Kitahara would soon board for our trip to America.
"Alright, stop gapin', you fool." Musaka said, scowling as Kitahara continued to stare at the private jet with undisguised awe. Kitahara nodded slowly as he pushed his mouth close, but seconds later his jaw fell open once more.
I snorted. "I mean, you gotta give him some slack this time." I grinned slightly. "It's his first time seeing a private jet, after all."
"Right." Musaka then gave me an unamused look. "And how about you, huh? Ain't this your first time as well?"
"Ooh, you know~. Saw one a while back." I said, purposely being vague. "I mean, didn't see it this close obviously, but this ain't my first encounter with it."
"That answers nothing, girl."
I winked. "Ehe~"
He sighed. "Yeah, sure. Whatever." He then turned back to Kitahara, and seeing him still gaping, he eventually got fed up and smacked his shin with the back of his cane. "Close y'er damn mouth already!"
The pain finally snapped him out of his awe, and he hissed as he bent down and messaged his leg. "By the Three Goddesses-, can you not?" He groaned as he closed his eyes in pain. "Are you trying to break my legs, you damned geezer!?"
"Who's the geezer, you fool!?"
"Why don't you look in the mirror, you-!"
I rolled my eyes as the two men quickly devolved into another argument, and I could only offer an apologetic smile at the two people who'd come here to see us off. "Sorry about them, Hayakawa-san, Akikawa-san."
Tazuna giggled as she saw Musaka somehow wrangle his nephew despite being significantly shorter than Kitahara. "It's alright, Blossom-san." She smiled. "And besides, it's good to see the 'Fairy Godfather' so energetic as of late." Her smile turned a little fond as she gazed into the distance. "It's been a while since those days."
"Indeed! Such displays of youth are needed as a trainer!" Director Akikawa said, pulling out a fan from somewhere. Though I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her words. Was the director basically saying that the best trainers are the eccentric ones?
…which, to be fair, probably wasn't wrong.
"Ah, but are you certain that you'll be fine, Blossom-san?" Tazuna then asked, frowning slightly with worry. "Your legs only recently flared with pain once more, didn't they?"
My expression turned somewhat awkward. "You're not wrong." I said.
She wasn't wrong. Just a day ago, I'd once again woken up and felt immense pain in my legs. My heightened immune response had somehow eradicated the concentrated painkillers I'd been prescribed, and I was once again prescribed a stronger painkiller to try and dull the pain.
But I then smiled. "But I'll be fine. And hopefully America will have some stronger painkillers that'll stop the pain for good." I was fairly certain of that, actually. The medications in the West weren't as strongly regulated compared to here in Japan, so they probably had some stronger painkillers they could prescribe.
Director Akikawa nodded at my explanation, before pulling out another fan. "Understood! But don't hesitate to call back if something unexpected arises!"
I nodded with a small smile. "I'll do just that, Akikawa-san."
Suddenly, I heard the engines on our private jet beginning to rotate, and as I turned, I saw Secretariat poke her head out of the jet's door.「Alright, get your asses in, you whippersnappers! It's 'bout time we finally take off!」
I snorted at her words, silently thankful that I was the only one here who could fluently speak English. "Seems like we're ready to go." I said, before I made a small bow. "We'll be going now, Hayakawa-san, Akikawa-san." I smiled. "We'll be back soon."
Tazuna returned a small bow. "Stay safe, you all."
Akikawa laughed cheerfully as she unfurled one last fan. "Farewell! And have fun, Team Kitahara!"
I chuckled softly, before I gently poked Oguri's cheeks to pull her out of her daze. "Alright, enough being sad." I jabbed a thumb towards the door leading into the private jet. "Come on. It's time for us to go."
"Ooh." Oguri nodded faintly.
Belno smiled, and she waved at the two women before she went over and gently tapped Kitahara's shoulder. "It's time to go, Kitahara-san."
Kitahara paused when he heard Belno's words, before he took a small breath as he pulled back. "Right, right." He quickly fixed his cap back onto his head, and with a smile, he tilted his head towards the jet. "Alright, you ready to go, Roppei-san?"
Musaka huffed. "It's Musaka, you fool." He said, though he said little else as he turned and began walking towards the private jet.
Eventually, and after some wrangling to try getting into the jet with my crutches, all of Team Kitahara finally entered the private jet. And to say that we were mesmerized would be an understatement.
The interior of the jet was opulent, to put it lightly. The insides were lined with some kind of lacquered wood, with each seat partnered with its own personal fridge and snacks. The seats themselves were massive, and there was quite a lot of room between each seat.
This was beyond luxury. I mean, I'd gotten lucky and went on a First-class trip once, but even that paled in comparison to this.
Secretariat grinned as she saw our astonishment, though she quickly waved for us to take our seats.「Alright, sit down y'all.」She grinned.「We'll be taking off in a few minutes!」
I nodded lightly and relayed what Secretariat said in Japanese, and everyone quickly took a seat for themself. Belno and Kitahara found themselves a seat by the window, excited for their overseas flight. Musaka settled in one of the seats at the back of the jet, clearly intending to sleep the flight away.
As for me, I sat down in the seat with the largest room, mostly so that I could stretch my legs. And not long after, Oguri sat on the seat next to mine.
Seeing that everyone had taken our seats, Secretariat grinned as she then shouted to the pilot.「Alright! Take us up!」
The pilot in the jet's cabin made a small nod, and things quickly moved after that. The doors closed on their own, we locked in our own seatbelts, and soon I felt the jet beginning to move. The jet's engine grew louder and louder as we slowly made our way towards the runway.
I took a small breath as I leaned into my seat, readying myself for the inevitable takeoff. But I then paused when I felt someone holding my hand.
"It's fine." Oguri said softly, gently holding my hand. "I'm here."
I blinked, before I smiled softly. It seemed Oguri thought that I was afraid of flying. I wasn't—but I appreciated the concern. "I know." I said back, my eyes softening as I returned the gesture.
The engine grew louder and louder. The jet's speed slowly picked up.
Before long, the jet was soaring into the sky, bringing Team Kitahara away from the country where it was first created.
And so, that was how our Classic years came to an end.
.
.
.
Arc 1: Team Kitahara — End
AN: And that's the first arc. After this will be a few side stories focused on the other characters to flesh out their stories, but there won't be too many.