Xanadu Network

Islands of Paradise 1
Chapter 1 – Home

Fifty three square miles, eleven thousand people, and four billion eight hundred thousand dollars. That is what it took to build the Denver International Airport. It is the largest airport in the North America, second largest worldwide. It is one of the busiest airports in world with approximately fifty million passengers a year, and six hundred fourteen thousand aircraft arriving and departing annually. Even then, it was ranked first in airports for on-time arrivals. As the major air traffic hub that connects Western North America to Eastern North America, it remains one of the most efficient airports in existence.
And today, Mikiya Tohno was waiting for his flight there. He sat in the waiting area for his plane at Concourse B, Gate 50. It was ten o’clock at night, the terminal was busy with other travelers arriving or departing. There were families seeing off relatives, families going on vacation, college students going home for the summer, businessmen and businesswomen going on a business trip, and the airport staff running around maintaining the airport’s efficiency. But most of the people passing Mikiya by were businessmen and businesswomen, going from one place to another for work and work only. Not as many people use airlines for leisure travel anymore, the economy made certain of that.
Mikiya too was in Denver on business. He had been living in Denver for a year, accompanied by his two friends, Jason Nasaka and Sherry Valle. Mikiya aided Jason in his never-ending quest to make money, Sherry just tagged along for the ride. They explored all sorts of methods of making profits, real estate, entrepreneurship, the stock market, and trying out some loopholes in the job marketing system like becoming an air traffic controller. Mikiya himself was involved in the last one, so he was quite familiar with the Denver International Airport.
But now he was going back home, Sherry and himself anyway. Jason was staying a few days more to tie some loose ends. Mikiya had no ends to tie, not in Denver at least. He left all his problems at home, and once he got back he would have to deal with them all. He was not worried though, his problems were nothing compared to what other people were going through. As a matter of fact, his problems would probably feel like a blessing to others.
“Gate fifty is now boarding,” the intercom blared loudly. “Gate fifty is now boarding.”
Mikiya got off his seat and headed to the gate. Sherry followed behind him, she was strangely quiet as they stood in line. Mikiya ignored her and stepped up to the attendant taking tickets and putting them through a scanning device. After she scanned his ticket, she let him pass through the gate and board the plane. Mikiya waited for a moment so Sherry would not be left behind, only beginning to walk until she passed through the gate and followed behind him.
They entered the plane where another attendant greeted them. They passed her and found their seats in the second class cabin. Mikiya quickly glance around before he sat down, he was not surprised to find most of the passengers were wearing suits. There were also a few armed soldiers throughout the airliner, it was common to see soldiers on a flight. There had been many airline hijacking incidents in the past. Mikiya took the window seat, Sherry sat beside him.
As he waited for the flight to take off, Mikiya pulled out a newspaper he got off a seat in the waiting area. It was several days old, but he usually never read a newspaper. He always got his information straight off the internet. He skipped the front and skimmed through the entire newspaper once. After skimming it once, he found all the articles he was interested in and went back to read them.
There was not much to read, since he was already up to date on the news. But the newspaper gave him a chance to find out what stories were popular to the public. Most of the articles were about the economy, and some about the entertainment world. Actors doing this, Actresses doing that, Mikiya could not care less. The comic section was unusually large for a weekday newspaper, so Mikiya took some time to silently laugh at the funnies. Throughout the newspaper, political cartoons were scattered to make some satirical comment about the articles they were next to. There were many articles about war and terrorism that Mikiya skipped over, he already read those on the internet.
As Mikiya folded the newspaper and tucked it away, he glanced at the front page. Terrorist Attack on Miami was the bold headlines on the front cover. As he recalled, the attack occurred at the harbor. A container ship exploded and the port was damaged enough to be closed for a few weeks. The rest of the details were a little fuzzy in his mind, so he pulled out the newspaper again and read the article on the front page.

Sitting next to Mikiya, Kai Sherry Valle snuggled quietly under her blanket and looked past Mikiya to the window. The clouds passed under the wing of the plane, the ocean was far below. The sky was dark, with only the light of the moon and stars reflecting on the water’s surface. The plane was quiet, most of the passengers were sleeping or quietly reading like Mikiya. The cabin was dim, with only a few overhead lights turned on.
Kai Sherry Valle, or Sherry as she liked to be called, was a five feet and eight inches tall female with light ash brown hair. Her hair was cut just above her shoulders, giving her a neat and tidy appearance. Her slim figure and beautiful white skin was the cause of admiration for many of her peers. The characteristic that stands out the most however, is her eyes. Sherry’s eyes are affected by heterochromia, giving her one blue eye and one green eye. Sherry became accustomed to wearing long sleeved shirts and sweaters with long pants in the last year, but today she wore a simple shirt with a coat and khaki slacks. She also sports her favorite silver necklace and earrings.
Aside from her looks, Sherry’s intelligence was unrivaled by anyone she knew accept for the person beside her. She graduated with top honors and was the valedictorian of her class. Her logic and reasoning skills were a step above anyone else her age, she had a wide range of knowledge and wisdom in her brain. Enough for Mikiya to sometimes call her “Lady Encyclopedia”.
Despite her gorgeous appearance and unmatched intelligence, Sherry suffers from a weak body and immune system. She has suffered from having a severe case of asthma since she was little. Because of it, she could not exercise as much as normal children and was considered a weak child. However, with the latest in asthma medication, she began to go outside more and enjoy the sunlight with her family and friends. She was much stronger now than when she was a child, but she was still quite far away from being called healthy.
Sherry felt Mikiya stir beside her, he put away the newspaper he had been reading and began to stare out at the Pacific Ocean. He had not talked since before they boarded the plane, as if he was deep in thought. They had just left Los Angeles behind, meaning they had been flying for a little over two hours. Hawaii was only four hours away, Sherry guessed Mikiya was just feeling nervous. They had been away from their homes for one year, even Sherry was slightly nervous of coming home after being away for such a long time.
Mikiya Tohno was an average Japanese male with dark black hair and deeply tanned skin. He has dark black eyes which look creepy but looks is perfectly harmless otherwise. His dark tan comes from his childhood days of spending most of his time outside, his body showed the effects of his childhood as well. He had a slim, athletic build like a track runner. In fact, his physical appearance is mostly kept for his participation in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Program, or the JROTC Program for short. Because of it, he constantly exercises and keeps his hair short and tidy for inspection days. Many people say he has the looks of a soldier with his athletic build, short hair, and serious attitude.
Similar to Sherry, Mikiya views the world from a rational and logical point of view. His views are somewhat more cynical than hers, but he rarely talks of his views on various subjects. Sherry knows for certain that Mikiya is a capitalist with wholehearted belief in money, but he is also extremely apathetic when it comes to most things. Mikiya is most at peace when alone, doing things on his own. Although other people just see this act as being a loner or an outcast, Sherry understands the history behind it. Mikiya grew up as an orphan, becoming fiercely independent and similarly cynical of the world around him. These traits along with his logical point of view, makes him a die-hard realist that views the world with facts and statistics. Most of his peers see him as cold and inhuman, but Sherry knows that deep down Mikiya struggles with the fact that he cannot understand his own emotions. But since he keeps to himself, nobody but Sherry knows.
Unlike Sherry, Mikiya was very healthy. He rarely got sick and was very capable on his own. Constant exercise and training made him strong, and his health benefited from his home cooking. His only defect is his habit of eating junk food like instant noodles, soda, energy drinks, and coffee. He is also becoming slightly nearsighted because of the time he spends in front of his computer. But he never wears his glasses, saying that wearing them would make his eyesight even worse.
Today, Mikiya was sporting a plain white T-shirt with a summer jacket, a pair of dark khaki cargo pants and worn out shoes. He is also wearing a black cap with an emblem of a silver eagle on it. On his left wrist, a gold chronograph with a red leather strap sparkled in the dim light of the cabin. It was the only piece of jewelry that Mikiya wore, and what made it stranger was that it was a woman’s watch. Sherry recalled that it belonged to his birth-mother or something.
It could be said that Mikiya and Sherry were alike in many ways. But they were also different in many ways. Although they had the same thought process, they usually came up with different solutions to the same problems. Sherry was also somewhat more optimistic than Mikiya was. But the most noticeable difference was that Sherry did not hide her intelligence like Mikiya did. Unlike Sherry, Mikiya did not pay attention in class, spending most of the time at school sleeping. He was a smart person, but rarely showed it. He did not like to speak out or “show off” as he called it. Sherry did not either, but her intelligence naturally showed since was not completely apathetic to her surroundings. There were very few things that he cared about, and most of those things were unknown.
“You awake?” Mikiya asked. “Could you move? I want to get up and walk.”
Sherry scooted so Mikiya could get out to the aisle and walk through the plane. Sherry took the opportunity to take the window seat which Mikiya had previously occupied. She snuggled in the corner with her pillow and blanket. The sound of the airliner together with the night sky slowly lulled her into a deep sleep. By the time Mikiya returned from his walk, Sherry was sound asleep.
“Oh great,” he mumbled. “Just take my seat, why don’t you?”

Mikiya walked off the plane with Sherry on his back. The flight attendant at the exit gave him a wide smile and small giggle. He was well aware of what she was thinking, but passed her with a nod and smile. He carried Sherry to the waiting area of the next plane they had to board, the plane to Lihue, Kauai.
Mikiya placed Sherry in one of the many chairs and took a seat next to her. Honolulu International Airport was much different than Denver International Airport. Honolulu International Airport was almost completely empty, with only the sound of tropical jazz-like music playing over the intercom. It was understandable though, it was one o’clock in the morning. Only a few flights operated at this time of night. And most people were asleep, nobody in their right mind went to the airport at one in the morning.
So Mikiya silently enjoyed the soft tune playing on the speakers, it had been a year since he last heard anything similar to it. The music was soft, calm, and soothing with its slow and relaxed tempo. The ambient music fit perfectly with the atmosphere of the empty airport.
He felt Sherry slump over in her sleep, her head resting on his shoulder. Her light ash brown hair tickled his cheek, her quiet breathing barely reached his ears. Mikiya felt her move with each breath, he could also feel her heart beat.
Sherry was certainly beautiful, even apathetic Mikiya knew that. He had known her for most of his life, the only other one he had known for as long was her younger sister Karen. Sherry was constantly sick when they were younger so he often visited her house, but as they grew older he found less time to stop by. He guessed she only went with him to Denver as appreciation for those days. Mikiya was glad she came as she helped out a lot in the past year, but it bothered him to have her so close. He liked Sherry, but as a friend and fellow intellectual.
The tropical music stopped momentarily for a young woman to announce that their flight to Lihue was now boarding. She repeated the message and the airport music resumed playing once again. Mikiya noticed that the announcement had awakened his sleeping companion, who was looking around with her sleepy eyes.
“Come on,” Mikiya told her gently. “Time to board the last flight. Can you stand?”
“Don’t treat me like a kid,” Sherry said stubbornly.
She got off her seat only to trip over her own feet and fall to the ground. Mikiya laughed before offering her his hand.
“Sometimes I can’t tell who’s clumsier, you or your sister,” Mikiya joked.
“I’m only like this when I’m sleepy,” Sherry said. “And don’t compare me with my sister.”
“I’ll carry you,” Mikiya offered.
Reluctantly, Sherry accepted his offer and hopped on his back. As he carried her onto the plane, she looked at his right arm. Beneath his jacket sleeve, she could feel the bandages wrapped around his arm.
“Are you sure you want to carry me with your arm?” Sherry asked.
“Its fine,” Mikiya said to her. “It’s almost healed anyway. And besides, you’re really light. I could carry you all day if I felt like it.”
“Well, okay,” Sherry concluded.
Mikiya arrived at their seats and let Sherry off his back. She quickly moved to the window seat and plopped down in it. Mikiya sat down next to her and looked around the cabin. The plane was smaller than the one they had just flown on, and there were much less passengers as well. Most of the passengers in this plane were just traveling from one island to another for reasons that Mikiya could only guess. They were not like the people he saw in Denver, those people in suits only looking forward with grim expressions on their faces. The folks on this flight seemed more relaxed and laidback, it was a good feeling.
“Only fifteen minutes away,” Sherry said looking at her wristwatch. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired,” Mikiya admitted. “I want to sleep.”
“Too bad,” Sherry said. “But seriously, it’s been an entire year seen we’ve last seen our homes and friends. I’m a little nervous.”
“Nervous?” Mikiya asked. “What for? It’s not you’re meeting anyone new. And it couldn’t have changed that much anyway.”
“Just the comment I would expect from someone as apathetic as you,” Sherry sighed. “Indifferent, but somewhat logical.”
“Leave me alone,” Mikiya muttered. “Like I said though, it’s not going to be anything big. I’ve been talking to everyone on the phone while we were in Denver, it’s not as if we’ve been out of touch for a year. I doubt anyone is going to greet us at the airport anyway. They’re probably all asleep.”
“Perhaps,” Sherry said. “Perhaps not.”
“Regardless,” She continued. “It’s a fact that you miss Hawaii. I know you often stared at pictures of Hawaii on your computer while we were in Denver. There’s no denying that.”
“I don’t think there’s a person out there that wouldn’t miss their home,” Mikiya commented. “And what about you, huh?”
“Sleepy,” she joked. “It will be nice to sleep in my own bed again.”
“I want to reopen my business as soon as possible,” Mikiya said thoughtfully.
“Take a few days to relax,” Sherry told him. “Relax.”
As the plane began to land, they looked out the window to see the night lights of Lihue in the distance. The plane bounced on the runaway before finally landing and being taxied to the terminal. After six hours of flying, they were finally home.
As expected, there was nobody there to greet them. It was almost two in the morning and the airport was quiet except for the soft tropical music playing in the background. The place was not completely empty however, there was a security guard making his rounds and a janitor sweeping the floor while listening to a portable radio. From the way he was dancing, Mikiya guessed he was listening to “Love Shack” or something similar.
So Mikiya and Sherry walked through the quiet terminal in silence, as if concentrating to find any changes that might have occurred during their absence.
“Hey, there’s a Starbucks here now,” Mikiya commented, as they passed the closed café. “Kauai has finally joined the rest of civilization.”
“Starbucks Loyalist,” Sherry muttered jokingly.
“You know it,” Mikiya said proudly.
They arrived at the baggage claim area and waited for their bags to appear on the conveyor belt. There was only one other family waiting for their luggage, a family of four. Parents coming back from vacation with their young son and daughter. The little boy waved to Mikiya and Sherry, Sherry waved back causing the boy to jump up and down with glee. Mikiya yawned, staring at the conveyor belt going around in circles was almost hypnotic.
A clanking sound made everyone turn to look at the baggage claim, their bags began to roll out of chute and onto the belt. Mikiya spotted his duffel bag and briefcase along with Sherry’s two suitcases immediately.
“I’ll get them,” Mikiya told Sherry, not waiting for her reply before walking toward the bags.
As he pulled their belongings off the conveyor belt, the father of the family they were with also came to pick up their bags. Mikiya noticed that their bags were right next to each other. He also saw that there too many bags for just one man to carry. The man accidentally let one of his many bags slip to the floor.
“Need a hand?” Mikiya asked politely.
Mikiya picked up the bag and realized that both of the man’s hands were already holding other bags.
“Thanks a lot,” he said. “I would ask my wife to help, but she’s recovering from carpel tunnel, you see.”
“No worries,” Mikiya said. “She’s a journalist, right? Must be tough doing all that typing, it’s really rough on the hands. And you’ve got it all wrong, you have to put more on your shoulders.”
Mikiya rearranged the bags on the man so that he carried a bag under each shoulder and two in each hand.
“Thanks again,” he said. “But how did you know she was journalist?”
“She works for the GNN, right?” Mikiya said. “I saw her face a few times in the newspaper.”
“I didn’t know she was popular,” his companion said with a smile.
“She writes good unbiased articles with facts,” Mikiya told him. “That’s hard to find in this day and age.”
While they were talking, Sherry and the man’s family approached them. Seeing the two of them hold a pleasant conversation invited them to come over.
“This is my wife and children,” the proud husband introduced. “And my name is Miles by the way, Miles Stansford. What’s yours?”
“Mikiya Tohno,” Mikiya introduced himself. “Nice to meet you.”
“And your friend here?” Miles asked, taking a glance at Sherry.
Sherry waited for Mikiya to introduce her, but seeing that one was not coming, she introduced herself. “Sherry Valle, pleasure to meet you.”
As they started to walk to the exit, they continued their conversation from before.
“He’s fan of your articles,” Miles told his wife.
I’ll let him go with that exaggeration, Mikiya told himself. No harm done anyway.
“So were you on vacation?” Sherry asked Miles.
“Went to visit family in New York,” he explained. “It was a good break from work and a good vacation for the kids. What about you two? Honeymoon?”
“Do I look old enough to marry to you?” Mikiya asked. “I was doing some work, she’s a friend of mine.”
“Sorry if my husband misunderstood,” the wife said smiling. “It’s just that you two are so close.”
“Is that so?” Mikiya said. “Huh? There’s only one taxi.”
“Oh, you’re right,” Miles said.
Everyone followed their gaze to the one taxi and sat waiting in the taxi pickup area.
“You take the taxi,” Mikiya told the family. “We’re waiting on someone anyway.”
“At this time of night?” Miles said suspicious.
“Family,” Mikiya said.
“Oh, alright then,” Miles said.
Mikiya helped Miles get all the family’s bags into the trunk then shook his hand.
“Once again, it was nice to meet you,” Miles said. “Hope to see you around sometime.”
“Likewise,” Mikiya said, returning the smile.
Mikiya waved as the taxi pulled away and disappeared around a corner.
“Oh my god,” Sherry sighed. “You are so fake. What was up with that?”
“I only told the truth,” Mikiya said. “Talk spreads quickly around the island, I don’t a rumor of us getting married floating around when I return to school.”
“Truth?” Sherry said. “You don’t have family.”
“Oh, okay, so one lie then,” Mikiya answered. “Sorry, but I didn’t want my first experience back to be the memory of being cramped in a taxi.”
“That’s true,” Sherry said. “But now how are we going home? All the rental car places are closed.”
In answer, Mikiya began to walk toward the parking lot. Sherry followed him quickly.
“You parked a car here?” Sherry asked. “But I thought Shiro dropped you off when we left. And you gave him all your keys anyway.”
“And that’s where you’re wrong,” Mikiya said with smile.
He stopped in front of a navy blue Toyota Camry and dug his hand under the front bumper. A moment later, he produced a key that had tape on it.
“You taped the key to the bottom of the bumper?” Sherry asked, not sure whether to be amazed or stupefied. “What if it was stolen or it fell off?”
“You call yourself a Hawaiian resident?” Mikiya said, unlocking the trunk. “Crime isn’t as bad here like in the States. People actually give stuff to the lost and found here.”
Mikiya placed their bags in the trunk and opened the door for Sherry to get in. She noticed he opened the door to the back seat.
“Front seat,” Sherry demanded.
“Fine, fine,” Mikiya said, opening the front passenger seat. “In you go.”
Sherry stepped into the car and made herself comfortable while Mikiya hopped in and started the car. Mikiya had to choke the ignition several times before the engine caught on.
“The battery’s almost dead,” Mikiya said to himself. “That’s what happens when nobody uses the car for a year.”
As Mikiya drove the car out of the airport, Sherry took one last look at it for the night. A minute later, they were out on the highway driving toward their homes. It was a highway with a name that Sherry could never pronounce, just the rest of the roads in Hawaii.
“What was the name of this road again?” Sherry asked, watching some houses pass by.
“Kapule Highway,” Mikiya said.
Mikiya had a horrible memory, so for him to remember the name without a moment’s thought meant something. The islands were the closest thing to his heart. Nothing else could come close.
A few miles and turns later, Mikiya stopped the car. They were in front of Sherry’s house. Mikiya stepped out of the car to open the door for Sherry as if she were a VIP.
“Thanks,” Sherry said as she stepped out. “But I can do that myself, you know.”
“I know,” Mikiya said. “Well, good night!”
Without another word, Mikiya got back in his car and drove away, leaving Sherry in her front yard with her bags.
“He could have at least helped me carry my bags in,” Sherry thought aloud as she picked up her two suitcases and headed for the front door.
She pulled out her house key from one of her suitcases and opened the door. The lights were all off inside, the cool air of air conditioning brushed across her face. Sherry quietly made her way to her room, the door was closed so she opened it and went inside. She almost jumped back in surprise when she found someone was sleeping in her bed. Upon closer inspection, it was her younger sister Karen.
“Well, isn’t that just grand,” Sherry thought aloud. “She sleeps in my room when I’m gone.”
But she immediately quieted down when her sister began to stir.
“Huh?” Karen moaned sleepily. “Sis, is that you?”
Sherry’s younger sister rolled over and stared at her until she responded.
“That’s right,” Sherry said. “I’m back, Karie.”

Mikiya yawned, that was probably the tenth time he had yawned in the past hour. Instead of going straight home, he had gone to the nearby harbor and stood at the end of the pier staring out into the ocean. The night ocean air was cool and crisp, the waves crashed into the stone pier spraying a light mist into Mikiya’s face.
“I wonder if the fish still bite like they used to?” Mikiya wondered. “Been a long time since I went fishing.”
“They still do,” a voice said behind him.
It was a young man’s voice, Mikiya recognized it immediately.
“Shiro, “Mikiya said, turning around. “What are you doing here?”
“Same goes to you,” Shiro said. “And where’s my hello?”
“My bad,” Mikiya said politely. “Hello Shiro. Had fun while I was gone?”
“You could say that,” Shiro said, taking a spot beside Mikiya and looked out toward the ocean. “It’s good to have you back man, it really is. The ROTC has been giving me hell. With you around, I can ease up a little.”
“You’re working for the ROTC even during the summer?” Mikiya asked.
“Oh, you don’t know,” Shiro said with a smile. “I’m the new CO this year. You’ll be under my command from now on.”
“That’s good to know, I guess,” Mikiya said. “Things change much?”
“Not really,” Shiro told him. “Just a few new stores here and there, and plenty of residential developments popping up here and there. They also finally got the inter-island ferry up and running just in time for summer. Not much else.”
“I see there’s a new Starbucks in the airport,” Mikiya mentioned.
“Really?” Shiro said. “I haven’t been to the airport in months so I didn’t know that.”
A long silence passed between them as they stared out at the ocean, the only sounds came from the waves crashing against the pier and the cool wind which blew through the harbor.
“So,” Shiro said, breaking the long silence. “How’s it feel to be back?”
“It feels good. Really good.”