Ai carefully shut the door to her apartment for the last time, lingering there for a few more minutes before taking the handle of her suitcase and lifting it into the trunk of the taxi. 

This is it, she thought. I’m finally leaving Japan and moving to the United States. As exciting as it sounded, there was still a bit of sadness in her heart. She would be leaving behind the friends she made, diving into a new culture.

She shrugged off the negativity as she sat inside the taxi. I’ll be able to come back and see everyone again when I can, she reassured herself. Staring boredly out the window, Ai absorbed the Japanese scene one last time before her vision was blocked by the airport runway.

The taxi halted at the terminal, Ai getting off and paying the driver. As he sped off, she took in a deep breath and stared at the entrance to the check in before proceeding inside. Greeting her instantly were her old fellow Gokkies, Risa, Konno, and Makoto.

“You guys are all here!” she cried, the tears already prepared to flow. They grinned and hugged her tightly, “Of course we are, who else do you expect to see you off?” Ai grinned back nervously. Well, there is Tomo-kun…

As the girls chattered to her, Ai couldn’t help but tune them out, looking around the area for him. She frowned, where was he? Traffic perhaps? Ne, that had to be it.

In the time she had before boarding, Ai tried to go about the check-in process as slowly as possible, but still saw no signs of him. She couldn’t stall any longer, her flight was due to leave in 30 minutes. She gave a teary goodbye to her best friends, and rushed over to the gate as they began boarding.

Heaving a sigh, she walked onto the gigantic plane and stared at the numbers and letters that would reveal the location of her seat. 23A she read, pausing and putting her suitcase up in the bin before taking her seat.

Her eyes stared blankly at the tiny TV screen before her as a familiar voice mused beside her, “Could you move your purse a little please?”

“Oh sorry—” she quickly apologized, looking up at the face of her neighbor. Her eyes widened as she gasped, “TOMO-KUN!”

Yamapi smiled as he took his seat, “You didn’t think I’d let you go to America alone, did you?”