16 Surprise

The Canberra airport only allowed for domestic flights. One of the reasons was that it was small, while the other was to stop any terrorists from international flights arriving directly in Canberra. If they had to stop over in other cities, then border security would be able to do their job before it was too late.

As a result, Basara, Iwatani and Plato did not get on a plane at Canberra airport. Instead, they rented a car, and drove all the way to Sydney International Airport. It was 8 in the morning when they arrived. From there, they boarded their Japanese Airlines flight to Narita Airport.

Sitting in the first class cabin was a new experience for Plato. Naofumi had sat in the economy class cabin before, but never the business class, let alone first class. As for Plato, this was his first time on a plane, ever.

He was amazed at the gadgets that were available to play with, and he curiously scanned the entire plane with "All-Seer". He memorized the layout, blueprints, and metal composition, thinking of seeing if he could adapt several plane models into one.

He could have easily done so by looking up the images of different aircraft, but he felt that seeing it in person held importance as well.

The first class cabin of the plane was small. There were only a few customers who could afford a seat here every flight, so it had been limited to ten seats. Not to mention, the plane itself wasn't big enough to accommodate more seats, since each seat had more than triple the space of economy class.

As a result, it could be said that everyone in first class had a clear view of each other. The layout of the cabin was five seats on each side, and Plato was seated behind Basara, while Iwatani was on the other side. The three had been the first to board, so they could observe the people who were coming in.

Soon, they heard the click-clack sound of a woman in heels. It was not overly loud, but the rhythm seemed to draw in everyone who listened to it. When the person walked in, all four people had the same expression on their faces; surprise.

Basara was the first to react.

"A-Ashikage Junko?!"

His shout provoked Ashikage Junko to shout as well.

"Miyamoto Basara? Hattori Iwatani?"

Her gaze swept across the two panicked successors of ancient families, and finally fell onto the calm face of Plato.

Her expression was extremely complicated. There was a mixture of joy and anticipation, as well as disappointment and a slight pinch of worry.

Plato greeted her perfunctorily.

"Hello."

"H-Hi."

Basara and Iwatani were about to introduce the two to each other, but then thought back to the conversation they had at the KTV. Adding that onto the rather awkward atmosphere between the two, they could only shut their mouths.

Junko's gaze turned somewhat strange after the greeting, but she kept it largely trained on Plato. Only when she was moving her on-board luggage into the overhead compartment did she not look at him.

Her seat was directly behind Plato's, and therefore blocked her view of him. Only after she sat down did the awkward atmosphere dissipate. Despite that, none of the four were in a mood to talk.

Occasionally, there would be cabin attendants shuttling to and fro, getting things ready for their departure. Whenever they entered the first class cabin, they could distinctly feel the atmosphere. When the head cabin attendant arrived, she felt that it was weird. The first four seats in first class were always reserved for the ancient families of Japan. Only after ticket bookings had finished were they allowed to open them up to the public.

Therefore, she felt that the people in the first four seats should be familiar with each other, or at least cordial with each other on the surface. She wondered for a bit, then came to a ridiculous conclusion. In her eyes, the beautiful young lady had rather 'improper' relations with all three of the men; and since they were all in the same cabin, all of them refrained from speaking, lest they become the proverbial "last straw on the camel's back". In this case, the camel's back would be the tense atmosphere.

She couldn't have been more wrong. In Basara and Iwatani's case, they were on a mission from their families. They might slip up when speaking with Junko, especially given Basara's track record. Besides, they were aware that Plato and Junko had some history, so they didn't speak.

As for Junko, her inner self was conflicted. She felt worried that Plato had enough relations with the Miyamoto and Hattori families to be given a seat in the first four of the first class cabin, but then she felt adamant in not caring about him. She had, after all, already warned him to stop relations with the two families. Since he did not listen, she would not say anything.

As for Plato, he was caught in his own world. He was marvelling at how technology had advanced on Earth, allowing for people to fly in the sky. It wasn't impossible back on his previous world, but it required the help of magic. Even then, a magician could only carry one or two other people; and it was only for a couple of minutes.

With a plane, it could carry hundreds of people in the air for a long distance. At the same time, he was analysing its structure and committing it to memory.

A couple of seconds later, Junko's expression became contemplative. After what was assumed to be a couple of rounds of conflicting ideas, she steeled her heart, got up, and walked towards Plato.

"H-Hey, uh… could we talk for a moment? In private?"

When she said her last two words, she purposefully snuck a glance at Basara and Iwatani, who quickly swivelled their heads away and started whistling.

Plato didn't know why she suddenly wanted to talk, but he still acquiesced to her request.

The first class cabin had booths rather than seats, and the booths had soundproof doors that you could close. It was probably better furnished than Naofumi's apartment.

Closing the door, Junko stood next to Plato, who was still sitting. She had displeasure written all over her face, and Plato guessed that it was because he was still sitting down. However, he did not get up.

He wasn't trying to be a jerk. He was still conflicted over the strange, new feelings that sprouted when he interacted with Junko. He hadn't come to accept that a woman in this world could make him feel something new, so he was preoccupied in his dejection.

Junko sighed, seeing Plato's reluctance to get up, and spoke her piece. It was more of an interrogation rather than a chat.

"How do you know The Miyamoto and Hattori successors?"

She wasn't on good enough terms to call the two by their first names, so she referred to them as the successors of their families.

"They're my friends. We treat each other as brothers."

Junko ground her teeth when she heard this. All her worry had been for nothing! In her mind, she thought, 'Why didn't this stupid punk tell me that in the first place?!'

Now, she felt weird. She had reminded Plato to not be involved with the Miyamotos and Hattoris, but he treated their successors as his brothers! How ridiculous was that!

Junko visibly deflated after grinding her teeth for a minute. Without saying another word, she opened the door to Plato's booth and returned to her own. She did not speak another word to the three for the rest of the trip.