The King of Fighters Tournament

First flight

"This ship can fly?" Ukyo asked Kei.
Kei smiled. "Yes, it can. Is this your first time on a plane?"
Ukyo nodded. "Yeah... never left my province before this, actually."
"You mean prefecture, Ukyo-sama ," Kei corrected.
"Yeah, prefecture..."
Kei pulled out her phone and started toying with it. Ukyo turned towards the window and looked out. A few people were coming towards the plane, some carrying carry-ons while some bringing small luggages that were light enough to be brought onboard.
"Did you put your phone on Aeroplane Mode?" Kei suddenly asked, gaining Ukyo's attention.
"Huh?" Ukyo uttered, confused.
"Your phone," Kei pointed at the phone in her hand. "Did you put it on Aeroplane Mode?"
Ukyo frowned and pulled his phone out, handing it to her. She laid her phone on the tray table in front of her and checked his phone. It was already set on Aeroplane Mode.
Kei smiled and handed it back to him. "It's already set."
"Oh?" Ukyo frowned at his phone for a moment before putting it away. "My sister must've done it for me. I'm still kinda new to this phone stuff." He let out an awkward laugh.
He ended up glueing himself to the window. Nothing moved, the airfield still unchanged. The plane was more crowded now and the air hosts shut the doors. The air conditioners soon came on and Ukyo was surprised at the sudden chill. He looked up and saw that the cold air was coming from a small vent overhead. He ended up closing it, only leaving it a little open.
The plane started moving suddenly. Ukyo was wondering why it wasn't flying yet.
"Why aren't we flying yet?" Ukyo quietly asked Kei.
"It's pushback," Kei said. "We're going to the runway."
"Runway?" Ukyo repeated, puzzled. He looked out the window slightly and saw a wide lane coming to view. The head air hostess stepped to the front and started doing a demonstration. Ukyo frowned and tried to concentrate, but didn't know half of what she was saying.
Kei fastened her seatbelt and tightened it around her middle. She turned to Ukyo and frowned when seeing that he was still staring at the air hostess.
"Ukyo-sama, wear your seatbelt," Kei said.
"What's that stuff again?" Ukyo asked. "Seatbelt? Where's that thing she's holding?"
Kei sighed and unfastened hers to show him. "You're sitting on yours."
Ukyo frowned and pulled the two straps out. "This?"
"Now fasten them," Kei said.
Ukyo frowned and brought them together in front of his abdomen. A click came when he did it correctly.
"Now, pull that to tighten it," Kei instructed.
Ukyo did but he ended up pulling too tight. Kei sighed and helped him loosen it.
"Sorry, this is my first time on a plane," Ukyo apologised, bowing slightly. "I've never done this before."
Kei nodded and gave him an understanding smile before turning back to the front to watch the demonstration. Ukyo watched too, still not really sure of what was going on, and ended up turning to the window again. The plane continued moving on the ground and all of a sudden it started speeding, going faster and faster. Ukyo closed his eyes, wanting it to end but all of a sudden he no longer felt the pull of gravity against the plane. He opened his eyes again and looked out the window to see the world looking so much smaller and from a great distance.
Ukyo gasped in awe. "Whoa..."
Passing cars and buildings looked so small, the world suddenly seemed so big as the plane continued to ascend. Ukyo suddenly felt scared of the great height and ended up pulling out a vintage book that Iori got him and started reading. He was almost halfway through it and really liked the poetic language.

Ukyo shut the book through the middle, his eyes widening.
"What's up?" Kei asked.
Ukyo shook his head. "It's nothing... I need to speak to a friend..."
He just sat, staring ahead of him with a bewildered frown on his face.
The air hostess suddenly came to them, asking for their choices of drinks and snacks. Kei decided on a cup of juice and a pack of peanuts.
"What would you like, sir?" The young flight attendant asked Ukyo.
"Uh..." Ukyo frowned at the tray of food. "Maybe I'll take peanuts and water."
The stewardess handed him a paper cup and a pack of peanuts before moving on to Nakoruru and her sister. The latter ended up taking a small tray of mochi.
"They give food on this thing?" Ukyo said in surprise. "Whoa..."
"Yeah," Kei nodded, eating her peanuts.
The air hostess returned and collected the wrappers and empty cups before leaving again.

Everything went well until the plane suddenly jolted, causing Ukyo to panic.
"Aaah!" Ukyo yelped. "What's going on?!"
Nakoruru peeked out the window, sitting on the row beside Kei. "We've landed."
"Eh?" Ukyo looked out the window too, the ground finally seeming a lot closer than before. He heaved a sigh of relief and put his book away under his coat. "The journey will end now, right?"
"Yes, when the plane stops," Kei said. She frowned, studying him intently. "How come you don't know how planes work?"
Ukyo shrugged. "Never been on one, so I wouldn't know."
He inwardly heaved a sigh of relief when she asked no more. The doors were eventually opened and the four exited through the back door.
"How was the flight?" Nakoruru asked as soon as she and Rimururu met up with them.
"It was... unique?" Ukyo nodded. "A new experience."
"It was normal," Kei shrugged. "I always take flights from here to Hokkaido, where my family lives."
Ukyo nodded. "Fascinating... this ship can go so far in so less time."
"It can go all the way to the United Kingdom too," Rimururu grinned.
Ukyo followed them to the airport and collected baggage before making their way to have lunch in some restaurant.

***

Dong-Hwan excitedly packed everything ready and put his bags in the living room. His brother came in next with a bag of his own.
"You're only bringing that much?" Dong glanced at Jae's small bag. "What's in there, a pack of juice?"
"My clothes, Hyeong," Jae sighed. "My clothes."
"Looks more like a toiletry bag instead of a travel bag," Dong snorted. "What did you even pack? Two pairs of underpants and a set of clothes?"
Jae frowned and made his way back to his room. He packed a few more articles, transferred them to a bigger bag, and stuffed some toiletries into the bag too. He returned to the living room and tossed it next to Dong's.
"There, happy now?" Jae asked, frowning at his big brother."
Dong grinned and ruffled his hair, much to his dismay.
The parents soon came down, with Kim carrying a large duffel bag.
"Alright, we're done packing," Kim grinned. "We both put our things in one bag, unlike you two."
Dong frowned. "Dad, our bags combined are still smaller compared to your one bag."
Kim's eyes widened when he noticed how they both had much small bags compared to his. He cleared his throat rather loudly. "Well, I guess we're done then."
They all just looked forward to their flight the next morning.