Chapter Four: Consequences
Back in Japan, Chisato was an entry-level employee of a large wedding planning business in Osaka. Her primary duties were to hold the first consultations with the couples and show them all the options available to them, such as the different kinds of cake that could be baked and venues the wedding could be held in. Seeing all the happy people coupled up and ready to make it official only reminded Chisato of her own situation. The only man she had ever seriously been with ditched her in order to run off to Kagoshima and marry someone else. Every day Chisato worked in the wedding planning business made her think of this man, so she was trying to find a way out of what seemed like a dead-end job. She found her way out one night when, playing the lottery after buying yet another dinner at the 7-Eleven down the street from her apartment, she won a sizeable amount of money. What Chisato won wasn�t a jackpot. It wasn�t even enough to alert news crews, who were always hunting for someone to glorify, but it was enough to let her escape the drudgery of planning other people�s weddings.
On yet another brutally cold February day, Chisato took her lottery winnings�because they were deemed so insignificant, they were paid out in one lump sum�and paid a visit to a local travel agent. He was a small, rotund old man, but he knew his trade well.
�Hawaii,� Chisato told him as he fanned out a multitude of brochures for tropical destinations popular with Japanese tourists. �I want to go to Hawaii.�
�A fine choice,� the agent told her, turning to his computer and typing. �I have a special deal for a flight in the middle of March. It�s from Tokyo to Honolulu, and this package deal comes with airfare, hotel, and rental car for one full week. How does that sound?�
�It sounds just right,� Chisato replied. �Do I pay you now?�
�We can work out a payment plan if you like�� The agent was interrupted by the sight of Chisato dropping all of her lottery money onto the table.
�Count out what you need from that. The rest can go towards what I�ll spend on my trip!� she said cheerfully.
That night, with the promise of an airplane ticket arriving at her door soon, Chisato went to the drugstore and refilled her prescription for what seemed like the thousandth time. While she was there, she bought some sunscreen, figuring that she would need it while she was in Hawaii. The bored teenager at the checkout counter didn�t seem to notice how overjoyed Chisato was. The next morning, Chisato went to her job as usual, but she simply put a letter down on her boss� desk and left. Such was her two week�s notice.
Then, Chisato�s life changed just as fast as a plane could crash, bringing her full circle to where she lay now, crumpled up into a ball, hidden under a fleece airplane blanket in order to not disturb anyone else with her sobbing. She would peer out of the side of her blanket every so often to see the sun come up, and when its rays fully embraced the beach, she arose, throwing her blanket off and stretching out her tired muscles. She still felt this sadness that grasped her, took a hold of every inch of her and refused to let go, and so she still sobbed, waking Reiko up.
�Damn,� Reiko muttered as she woke up, careful not to disturb either Yurika or Mariko, who were still fast asleep in the same row of plane seats. Reiko looked for the source of the noise and found Chisato sitting there, crying, her face red and raw and the innumerable trails of tears streaming from her eyes. Groaning, Reiko stretched out and walked over to Chisato, careful not to disturb anyone else.
�What do you want?� Chisato asked immediately.
�Hey, I think I know where to find your medicine,� Reiko told her. �But you gotta keep it quiet, okay? Don�t tell anyone else.�
�I won�t,� Chisato promised. �Just bring me my pills. They�re white ovals and they�re in an orange bottle. I forgot the name, please just go get them.�
�I will,� Reiko said with a feeble smile, taking off into the jungle. By now, she knew the path to James� hideout as well as she knew the back of her hand, so it was easy for her to get there. This time, she didn�t allow the razor branch to hit her, but she moved it quietly when she saw James sleeping in one of his seats. The Japanese for Dummies book was still there, as if he read it before going to sleep. He was covered in a fleece airline blanket, just like everyone else, but his head was cradled by a bright pink foam pillow shaped like a heart, an odd combination that made Reiko giggle.
She postponed her medicine search for a moment and sat down in the seat next to him, easing into a comfortable position, or as comfortable as she could get with airplane seats.
�You look cute right now,� she whispered in Japanese. �Uh, I mean, you look cute now,� she added in English, reaching out and moving some of his hair out of his eyes. �Why is it�that men always look so sweet and innocent when they are sleeping?� She laughed quietly. �I�m talking to a sleeping person. What does that make me?�
��Weird�,� James answered in Japanese, opening his eyes and staring at Reiko. �Good morning. What are you doing here?�
�I, uh, I was, just�� Reiko�s English skills started lapsing again and she turned as red as a tomato.
�That�s what they all say,� James replied sarcastically, stretching out. �Gaaah, it�s morning already? I didn�t get a wink of sleep.�
�Yeah you did. You were sleeping just then,� Reiko said defensively.
�Nope, I wasn�t, sugar. I was pretendin�. Honestly, nobody can tell the difference between asleep and just pretendin� because all you gotta do is close your eyes and sit real quietly.�
�So, you didn�t sleep at all?�
�Nope.�
�And you heard me talking to you?�
�Yep. By the way, I�m real flattered. Last woman to say I looked cute while I slept was my mama.� James smiled. �And she�s my mama. She�s s�posed to say stuff like that.� If it was possible, Reiko�s face grew even redder. �So, there�s gotta be some reason you came here. You weren�t just comin� to talk to my pretend-sleepin� self, were ya?�
�No�I�m looking for, um, for medicine.� Reiko pantomimed placing pills in her outstretched palm, then placing them in her mouth and washing them down with a glass of water.
�Sugar, I got more medicine than some drugstores do. You�re gonna need to be more descriptive than that.� James gestured towards a large orange suitcase overflowing with packs of pills and bottles of liquids.
�E-to, I need, um, an orange bottle, with white ovals in it.� Reiko drew little ovals in the air.
�You�re the boss,� James said with a shrug, digging into the suitcase while still sitting in his seat, allowing Reiko to sneak and check him out from behind. His shirt rode up his back just slightly, showing off the very bottom of an intricate tattoo to Reiko. From what she could see, he seemed to have some sort of winged creature drawn on his back in all sorts of warm colors. She was so intrigued by it that she barely noticed him find a bottle fitting her vague description and hand it to her. �Ya know, sugar, maybe it�s different in Japan, but in America, it�s the guy who usually checks out the girl.�
�What? What is check out?� Reiko asked. Her English teacher stayed away from teaching slang, especially regional slang like what James frequently peppered his speech with.
�Check out is to, you know, to look at someone you think looks pretty, or handsome, or hot, or what have you,� James explained clearly and slowly.
�It�s not that at all!� Reiko said in her defense. �It�s your, your, your �irezumi�.�
�What�s an �irezumi�?�
�Your back! There is a thing on your back.�
�Oh, that? That�s my tattoo.�
�Tattoo. What is tattoo?�
�You learn by doing, don�t you?� James asked as he sheepishly pulled off his shirt and showed Reiko his entire back. It was slightly tanned and sprinkled with small freckles at the shoulders, but that wasn�t nearly as noticeable as the giant phoenix. The phoenix had its head raised to the �sky�, or to James� neck, and its clawed feet rested at the very bottom of his back. Befitting a creature that lived and died in fire, it was drawn in vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows, with some shading and accents where needed.
�Amazing!� Reiko exclaimed. �In Japanese, �sugoi� means amazing.�
�Oh, you�ve gone back to bein� the teacher, huh?� James asked as he pulled his shirt back on.
�Maybe.� Reiko spun the medicine bottle around in her hand nervously. �Um, I am going to leave now. I have to give a woman the medicine.�
�I wanna come.�
�What?�
�I�m comin� with you. I wanna see how this crappy place looks at sunrise.� James sat up from his seat and stretched again. �C�mon, sugar. Show me the way.�
�Okay,� Reiko said with a nervous little nod, keeping a tight grip on the medicine as she led James to the beach. They peeled away, with James headed for where the waves gently lapped at the shore, leaving Reiko to find Chisato again. Some more of the survivors were waking up, some awakened by Chisato�s crying and some by their inner clocks. �I got your pills,� she told Chisato, giving her the bottle.
�Ah, thank you!� Chisato said without reading the bottle�s label. Instead, she opened it and promptly swallowed two of the white oval-shaped pills, just as she usually did twice a day. She requested water afterwards and Reiko gave her a small bit left over from her own water bottle. Chisato smiled at her and lay back in her seat. �Mm. I think I�m going to go for a little jog.� She leapt out of her seat and slipped into a pair of nice pink running shoes, stretched out, and took off running down the shoreline.
�She�s not crying anymore!� someone noted. �Hooray!�
�Amen to that. Maybe now I can sleep.�
�Yeah, it was getting kind of obnoxious.� Reiko watched as Chisato ran down the shoreline and smiled, feeling good about helping someone to feel better. She sincerely hoped Mariko was watching until the very next moment, when Chisato stopped running and started panting. Reiko ran up to her side and a few other survivors naturally followed her. Chisato�s breathing rapidly increased to where she seemed to be gasping for air, like a fish out of water. These loud noises woke the rest of the survivors up all at once and they crowded around to watch this unfold. Her face was changing color from the lack of oxygen and her face and arms were covered in hives. She grasped her neck tightly with her right hand, her left hand reaching out to touch Reiko. As her breathing became more laborious, she mouthed the words �Help me�. Reiko was frozen in shock, not knowing what to do, her vocal cords seemingly unwilling to shout for help. Chisato�s eyes rolled back in her head and she toppled over onto the sand, her throat entirely closed up, unable to breathe, dead.
Women and men alike gasped, their eyes unblinking, stuck to their spots, and then the buzz of chatter began. They wondered what happened, what drug that was, why she died so quickly, and why Reiko killed her.
Killed. Reiko became known as the �satsujinhannin�, the murderer, the criminal, because everyone saw her give Chisato the drugs that ended her life. Reiko crumpled to the sand, holding her face in her hands, sobbing hysterically as everyone accused her of something she honestly did not do.
Masaharu wandered over.
�What�s going on here?� he asked.
�That girl killed her,� a bystander explained, pointing first to Reiko, then to Chisato. �She gave her a pill and it killed the other girl.� Masaharu stepped forward to examine Chisato�s corpse. He touched her throat and her chest, ran his fingers over the hives on her face, and nodded knowingly. He then checked out the pill bottle.
�Did anyone know this person?� he asked, pointing to Chisato, but nobody knew her. �Well, she was allergic to penicillin and she was given penicillin.�
�That girl knew that!�
�That murderer knew it!�
�I DIDN�T KNOW ANYTHING!� Reiko screamed hysterically. �She told me to go get the orange bottle with the white ovals in it! I did what she told me to! She never told me a name, for her or the drug, or anything! I DIDN�T KILL HER!� James, who usually had a policy of noninvolvement, heard Reiko�s shrieking and sobbing and rushed over.
�Hey, what the hell are you saying to her?� he asked in stern English. Reiko peered up at him through the cracks between her fingers. �I asked you all a question! Damn it, someone translate for me.�
�I can translate,� the brunette American woman offered.
�Good. Ask them what they�re saying to her,� James commanded, pointing to Reiko. The brunette nodded and promptly asked the same question, but in Japanese, and was met with a barrage of responses.
��One at a time, please!�� she begged of the crowd, and after getting a calm explanation from Masaharu, she translated it right back to James.
�Damn, penicillin allergy. How was she supposed to know that?� James asked the brunette.
�I know, that�s what I�m thinking. I�ll tell them to lay off with the whole angry mob thing. �Hey, this girl had no idea that the other one was allergic to penicillin, because she wasn�t told anything specific! Leave her alone! She was just trying to help!�� The brunette frowned and put her hands on her hips, and somehow that made the mob disperse, but they never stopped talking about Reiko. The only ones who even knew her name were her fellow students, and they could never resist an opportunity to gossip about someone.
Reiko this, Reiko that, the murderer, the killer, it was all getting to be too much for her to handle. She clamped her hands over her ears and rushed off into the woods, tears blurring her eyes, and she almost ran into that razor branch again.
�Shit, I need to get her a dang collar,� James remarked as he took off running after her. He found her nestled up in the airplane seat, the blanket wrapped around her, pretending to hide. �Hey. Hey, are you okay?� He sat down in the adjacent seat.
�No,� Reiko answered honestly. �They all think I killed that girl. They all hate me now. What is the point? Why should I go on?�
�I don�t hate you.� These words made Reiko come out of hiding.
�You don�t?�
�No, I don�t. In fact, I like you. You�re a good teacher, you got some really good cigarettes, and you haven�t told anyone about this place yet. Hell, you even forgave me for pointin� my gun at you!�
�That was scary.�
�Well, that�s the understatement of the century right there! Of course it was scary, sugar. By the way, what�s your name? I don�t know it.�
�Reiko. Reiko Fukuda,� Reiko answered between sobs.
�Awesome. I�m James Ford, but you can just call me James if you want.� James grinned. �Y�know, most Southern folks ask the person�s name first thing. I don�t know where my manners went.�
�Probably down with the plane,� Reiko said, pointing towards the beach. �We all changed, I think. I mean, I wanted to help that girl because now I feel like I should help people using what I know.�
�Yeah, tell me about it. I dunno what activated this whole hoarding thing within me, but I just didn�t feel safe unless I had all the suitcases.�
�People think that the hole was made while we were crashing. They think all our bags are floating in the sea.�
�Heh! The things people will think. I made that hole m�self.�
�How�d you do that?�
�I shot it. I had my silencer on, so nobody heard anything, but I shot that hole open. Reckon you�re the only one who saw me takin� anything.�
�People might start to wonder, though, where I got that medicine from.� Reiko�s eyes darted from side to side. She was clearly worried about this happening.
�Don�t worry. If anyone comes after you, just come find me. They�re kinda scared of a big ol� Southern guy with a gun.�
�Are you offering to protect me?� Reiko asked, raising an eyebrow and smiling.
�Ya know what? I think I am. Whatcha gonna do about it, Reiko?�
�Here�s what I�ll do.� Reiko had no idea what drove her to do this. Perhaps it was a potent combination of happiness, hormones, and delirium, but she leaned in and deeply kissed James for what seemed like hours but was really just a minute or two. He didn�t seem to push her away or protest, so she kept going until she ran short of breath. When she did finally pull back, she blushed, smiled, and looked down at her hands. They were clasped deep in his.
�I wanted that,� he confessed. �I know yer only 18 and all, but I�m just 21 m�self and��
�Shh.� Reiko simply put one finger up to James� lips and grinned. �Age doesn�t matter.� She fell back in her seat with a big sigh and took out a cigarette. �Do you have a fire?�
�We call them matches, and yes, I do believe I have one.� James found a small matchbook, took out one match, struck it, and held it out for Reiko to use before throwing it on the ground and stepping on it. �Y�know, I usually have this real cool Zippo lighter, but the damn security folks took it from me in Tokyo. Y�all Japanese folks are real concerned with security, huh?�
�Yeah,� Reiko replied. �We�re just waiting for something bad to happen to us. Do you think this crash counts as bad enough?�
�Shit, I�ll be incredibly surprised if Aloha doesn�t go bankrupt from this crash.�
�What�s bankrupt?� Reiko exhaled a long tendril of swirling smoke.
�It means you don�t have any money left. I�ll bet you Aloha Airways does not have a cent to their name anymore.� James paused. �A cent is a very small amount of American money.�
�Like the one yen coin?� Reiko asked.
�Exactly like the one yen coin. Damn, Reiko, you�re sharp. That�s good.�
�Thank you. The other people from my school don�t like me, though.�
�Why not? You�re a great person.�
�They don�t like how I look or act. I just do what I have to do. You know?�
�I think I know. Most of the other air marshals I knew just �bout hated my guts. I was too young, too idealistic, too risky, too whatever to be an air marshal.�
�You�re the air marshal?�
�Yes, I am. I get to go to some pretty nice places bein� an air marshal. Just hop on the plane and see where it takes ya!� He chuckled. �But I don�t think I�m gonna be an air marshal anymore.�
�I don�t think I want to fly anymore,� Reiko said informatively.
�You�re not the only one, I bet.� James smiled. �Can�t understand what the hell most of you are sayin�, though, so it�s just a guess.�
�I don�t want to go back to the beach,� Reiko confessed. �I just want to stay here with you.� Their hands were still intertwined.
�Fine by me. Shit, I ain�t complainin�. I got a beautiful girl here with me, most of the comforts of modern life�I�m good to go until we get rescued.�
�When are we going to get rescued?� Reiko asked innocently, moving the armrests up so they no longer blocked her in. She eased her head onto James� shoulder and sighed softly.
�Soon,� James replied firmly, kissing her forehead.
�So, do you think Reiko killed that girl?� Yurika asked. The rest of the students were seated in a large circle, discussing that morning�s events.
�No. I believe her,� Asuka replied. �She said she didn�t know what the medicine was. The girl didn�t give her a good description of what she needed.�
�Yeah, white ovals in an orange bottle describes a lot of pills,� Ryuhei added with a nod.
�I think she�s lying to get more attention, especially from that big gaijin guy,� Mariko said.
�You just don�t like Reiko, Mariko, and we all know that,� Sanae said defensively. She and Shuya were almost literally attached at the hip.
�Sanae, I seem to remember you calling Reiko a slut as recently as last semester,� Mariko said, fuming.
�Mariko, we all changed with this wreck. I sympathize with Reiko now. She didn�t know what she was doing,� Rumiko added.
�You�re the only one who didn�t change,� Shuya said. �That�s just my opinion.�
Mariko fumed at her group. Up until this cursed wreck, she was their leader, their class president, the one they all looked up to for guidance or help. Now, she was just ostracized because of what she believed in. She now knew what it was like to be despised.
�Fine,� she told her group. �I know my place.� She rose to her feet, scowling the entire way, and walked away, back towards where she slept. Maybe, if she concentrated hard enough, she could go back to sleep.
�Whatever,� Rumiko said as she stood up. �I think we�re getting hungry now, so I�ll go ask the flight attendant about breakfast.�
�Yeah, I could definitely go for some of that,� Asuka said in agreement, sighing heavily.
�I�ll go see what�s happening,� Rumiko reported, walking off towards where Kaori sat, near the fire. She was engaged in conversation with the four Americans, who were all listening intently to what she was saying.
�After this meal,� Kaori said in nearly-flawless English. �I want you all to guard the food. Is this okay?� She was met with nods and statements of agreement. �Thank you!� she said with a deep, respectful bow. �Oh, Rumiko! Good morning. Are you ready to cook now?�
�Yeah, I am.� Rumiko smiled and turned around to see what was happening to Chisato.
�All right, pick her up on the count of three. One! Two! Three!� Masaharu held Chisato�s head and torso by locking his arms under hers and Masao carried her legs by keeping a firm grip on her calves, the running shoes still on her feet. They carried her somewhat away from the shore, but not into the jungle, and laid her there, solemnly covering her with a blanket because there were no shovels or other means of digging a grave. The two bowed deeply and walked over to where breakfast was being cooked.
Breakfast was, by no means, traditional that morning. Meals that would have been served as a lunch were on the menu, ranging from pasta to pita, from takoyaki to tonkatsu. A platter of sushi had to be thrown out because it had not been exposed to refrigeration for a whole day and began to smell. Kaori took this platter and unceremoniously tossed it into the ocean, watching the helpless rolls bobbing around in the waves.
Attracted by the smell of food cooking, Reiko and James left the jungle, holding hands, and returned to the beach. Mariko, who was sitting alone but near her fellow students, shot them a look as if to tell them �I told you so!� However, none of them seemed to notice, as they were too busy wolfing down their food. Mariko felt dejected and alone�
CONTINUE to Chapter Five: The First Chair
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