[42: Going Back to America]
(A/N: I'm free! The chains are broken! I'm finally on summer break! Praise the gods! My college can kiss my ass!]
/\\//\\//\
Woooo, yeeeeah, baby! I'm on vacation! Turns out, without any kidnapping taking place and the news stories saying that UA teachers and students successfully repelled a nomu attack by some villains, thus boosting public opinion and successfully masking the stuff going on underneath the surface, I'm actually able to go on vacation! Hell yeah! Maybe my actions, inadvertently helping prop up the system I find kind of suspect and iffy, is a good decision, after all!
Now…how do I get out of this country as cheaply as I can? Oh, wait…I have some clout, so I know what to do.
(U.S. Embassy in Japan)
That's right. I'm gonna make the USA pay for my trip. Shoutout to the American taxpayers for this, and thanks in advance.
I entered the embassy, and for a while, there wasn't much reaction. For a while.
"It's Eleanor! She's back!" One of the staff members shouted, which caused a chain reaction. I still got it, I guess?
I walked through the embassy again, smiling and waving. I was looking for Angela, the ambassador to Japan. I think this noise would attract her easily.
"Eleanor! You should've told me you were coming!" There she was.
"Hey. Sorry, I didn't think I'd still be so famous. It has been some time, after all," I responded to her.
"What? Of course, you're still very well-known! Come to my office, I have some time. And we can get away from all this excitement." I followed her to her office. Once we entered and took our seats, we finally talked. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Yes. Well, I don't know if this is a lot to ask, but it's summer vacation at UA, and I want to go back home. Thing is…the tickets for the flight are quite expensive, so I was wondering if it would be possible for you to be able to get me a flight?"
"Where to?"
"To Alaska."
"Oh, Alaska? Yeah, that's possible. I thought it would be further than that. Just a ticket for you? Wait, I'll give you a few tickets. I'm sure you've made friends at school, so I'll give you extra so you can invite people to go with you."
"Really? Thank you, Angela. I really appreciate it."
"Oh, please, it's the least I can do for you. I mean, you got me extra funding for this place! Which is kind of hard to do, since Tokyo is a safe place. I owe you, Eleanor."
"I see."
"I'll send you the tickets through the mail. It should arrive quickly."
"Alright. Thanks again, Angela. I appreciate it."
"No problem."
I got up and exited her office, and was met with a mob again.
"Eleanor, please sign this!"
"Take a picture with me!"
Oh, man. This is gonna take a bit.
(Some time later)
Wow, that was intense. My hands kind of hurt from signing so many things. And I took so many photos. Well, at least I'm back at my dorm. Oh, yeah, the time is almost here.
/\\//\\//\
(The next day)
I was supposed to be sleeping, but there was a knock on my door. I got up and opened it. Great, it was Nezu.
"Hello, Eleanor! You've got mail. Straight from the U.S. Embassy." Nezu showed me the envelope.
"Uh, I mean no offense, but why are you bringing the mail, Nezu? I thought you'd be too busy for that."
"Well, this is an official government package, so this kind of mail does interest me."
I got the envelope from him. "Well, thank you, Nezu, I appreciate it. You didn't look through it, did you?"
"No, I did not."
"Okay."
There was an awkward silence as he just stood there and looked at me.
"So, uh, aren't you supposed to leave now, or something?"
"May I know what's inside?"
"Yeah, sure. They're plane tickets for a flight to Alaska. I'm going home for vacation."
"I see."
I opened the package, and there were 3 tickets. Whoa, this wasn't economy seating either. This was the good stuff. She really went extra with it.
"Who are you going to invite?" Nezu asked me.
"Well, it's kind of coincidental that I talked about this on the bus ride to the camp. I think Momo and Ochaco seemed the most interested, so I'll see if they want to go. If one of them can't, then I can invite Mina as well."
"Do enjoy your time, Eleanor. And be safe as well."
"It's America, Nezu, if I'm in danger, I'll just defend myself. If you know what I mean."
"Yes, the laws there are…a bit different, but I'm sure you know that."
"I guess you could say that, Nezu."
"I'll be going then."
"Goodbye." I closed the door after he left. Let's see if Momo or Ochacho wants to go to Alaska.
I went back to my room, got my phone, and called Ochaco first. The phone rang before she picked up.
"Eleanor? What is it?"
"Hey, Ochaco, hope you're having a good day. Listen, I have my hands on some plane tickets to Alaska. Wanna come with me?"
"Huh? I mean, uh, well, it's expensive to be a tourist and I don't know if—"
"I'll pay for you." I interrupted her.
"...I, uh, yeah, I'll go. Is anyone else coming?"
"You're the first one I called. I only have three tickets. One for me, one for you, and then one for someone else. I'm going to call Momo next to see if she wants to go."
"Oh, that's good. What should I pack?"
"Okay, pack some warm clothes and accessories, but don't make it excessive, it's summer, so it's not that cold. Definitely pack a rain jacket. And…that's about it. Pack whatever else you want after that. If you're missing something, we can get it over there."
"Alright, I'll get things ready. And thank you, Eleanor."
"No problem. See you soon." I hung up on Ochaco. Next up is Momo. I dialed Momo's number, and she picked up.
"Hey, Eleanor."
"Momo, what's up? I'm going to make this quick. I got plane tickets to Alaska, and I'm inviting you. Wanna come with? Don't worry about the itinerary, I know the popular tourist spots and locations, so I can make a schedule. If you are gonna come, pack some warm clothes and accessories, but not too many, and a rain jacket. And, of course, whatever other essentials you need."
"Whoa, uh…I need to talk to my parents first. Is that fine?"
"Yeah, that's fine. The flight is next week, so don't take too much time."
"Okay, I'll call you later." She hung up on me after that.
Alright, it's looking good so far.
/\\//\\//\
One week later, and I'm at the airport. Finally, I've been looking forward to this.
"Eleanor, I'm here!"
I turned around and saw Ochaco quickly running to me. "Hey, Ochacho. Slow down a little; we have plenty of time. Here, this is your ticket." I handed her one of the plane tickets.
"Whoa…" I could see her eyes widen when she saw the ticket. "I've never been on a seating like this before."
"I guess it's your first time, Ochaco. You'll love the experience." (Ay yo! Pause!)
"There you are, Eleanor." Momo arrived next.
"Nice to see you, Momo." I handed her the plane ticket.
"Thank you." She took it without giving a reaction.
"Huh? Wow, it must be nice," Ochaco muttered. She's probably going to keep that ticket safe and hang it up on a wall.
"Alright, I hope you two are excited, because I am. Oh, and be ready, this flight is going to be about seven hours, but we have very good seats, so it'll be alright. Alright! Off we go!"
(8 hours later)
Eleanor and her friends stepped off the plane. It was a long flight, but with the excellent service and the comfort of the seats they had, it was a breeze.
"Welcome to America, my friends," Eleanor said as they went into the airport. "This is Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska. You guys should be familiar with Alaska, though."
Momo and Ochaco looked at each other in confusion, not getting what Eleano meant.
"Eleanor, we've never been to Alaska, so why would we be familiar with Alaska?" Momo asked.
"Well, the Japanese know a thing or two about having a blast of a summer vacation in Alaska," Eleanor casually said as she guided Momo and Ochacho through the airport.
"Uh…what?" Ochaco said.
"Don't worry, just a small joke," Eleanor waved it off.
"Can you explain it?" Momo asked.
"Yeah. To make it short, Japan took over some Alaskan islands, Attu and Kiska, way back in the Stone Age of the 1940s, before America took them back. It's supposed to be a bit of dark humor," Eleanor said.
"Oh…I see," Momo said as she and Ochaco kept following Eleanor.
"Don't feel awkward about it, it's just a joke, and I don't really have any emotions about it. We're in the 22nd century, not the 1940s, there's bigger and more important problems in this day and age," Eleanor said as she stopped and turned to look at Momo and Ochaco. "Whatever, we're here to vacation and have fun. Now, we only have a week, so we have to pick our spots well. Luckily, you got me to help. Come on, let's get out of the airport," Eleanor said as she continued guiding Momo and Ochaco through the airport.
As they walked along, Eleanor noticed someone holding a sign with her name on it. "No way," Eleanor muttered to herself.
"What is it, Eleanor?" Ochaco asked.
"I think…we're going to meet someone important," Eleanor said, pointing to the person with the sign.
"Whoa, he looks like he could beat up a bunch of people by himself," Ochaco said.
"Yeah, that's a captain of the police force here," Eleanor said.
"A captain? You really are that popular, huh," Momo said.
"I think a captain is a bit much. I think a regular patrol officer is fine if they were going to do something like this, but…those aren't my decisions. Come on." Eleanor went to the police officer with Momo and Ochaco.
"Ms. Hayes, welcome home. Please, follow me. The mayor of Anchorage is looking forward to meeting you," The police officer said.
"Thank you," Eleanor responded. She waved to Momo and Ochaco to follow her.
Eleanor and her friends followed the police officer out of the airport. When they exited, they felt the cool air hit them. Eleanor stood still and spread her arms out as she felt the cold air and breeze hit her. "Oh, yeah, this is so much better than Tokyo. The temperature highs here are the lows there." Eleanor took a deep breath and exhaled. The air was cleaner, colder, and lighter as it filled her lungs. It felt natural, different from such a dense city like Tokyo. "Man, I missed this."
"Whoa, there are so many mountains. It's like I can see them on the horizon wherever I look," Ochaco said as she looked around. Even with the airport behind them and the buildings of the city, numerous and seemingly endless snow-capped mountains could be seen on the horizon.
"Yeah, there are six mountain ranges visible from the city. And depending on the weather and what spot you look from, you can see all of them. In the East, there are the Chugach Mountains. In the North, there's the Alaska Range, which contains the tallest mountain in North America, Denali. To the North, like around the Northeast, is the Talkeetna Mountains. To the South are the Kenai Mountains, and those extend down the Kenai Peninsula. To the west, or the southwest, is the Aleutian range, which is across a feature called the Cook Inlet. And then to the West are the Tordrillo Mountains, and those have volcanic peaks," Eleanor explained the geography of the city with a bit of excitement in her voice and a smile on her face. She was already acting like a tour guide to Momo and Ochaco, despite having just landed in the city.
"Whoa, it's a bit cold even during this time of year," Momo said. She looked around and noticed the cloud cover of the city. She could see a bit of distant snow falling down. "Snow in summer? This place is so different."
"I think we got a bit unlucky with the weather for this day, since Summer is when the cloud cover isn't as bad. I mean, it's still super cloudy, but not as bad as it is in Winter. Well, I guess it depends on the person and where they grow up, but this is so nice for me. Maybe I should transfer back here for the weather instead of staying in Japan," Eleanor said as she closed her eyes to enjoy the weather, a constant smile on her face.
"The weather can't be that bad in Tokyo, right?"' Ochaco asked.
"With all due respect, Tokyo feels like a swamp with that humidity and temperature. I have no idea how you guys enjoy it there. Thank goodness the air conditioning in the dorm is paid for by the school. I run that thing like crazy," Eleanor said.
"Ms. Hayes, right here," the police officer guiding them opened the door for them. Eleanor, Momo, and Ochaco entered the car.
"What's the mayor like, Eleanor?" Momo asked.
Elanor shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, don't ask me."
"What? Aren't you supposed to know?" Ochaco said.
"I mean…my hometown isn't Anchorage, so…I don't really concern myself with the politics of this city like that. Even though I probably should," Eleanor said.
"Huh? Is that normal in America? People not knowing who the mayor of cities are?" Momo asked.
"Well, the mayors of the really big cities are well-known. Cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago…uh, maybe Seattle? Maybe Philadelphia? Those are about the only ones I can think of that people know the mayor off the top of their head," Eleanor said.
"But why not Anchorage? I mean…this is the capital of Alaska, right?" Ochaco asked.
"Nope, it's not," Eleanor said.
"But you said this is the largest city," Momo said.
"Just because a city has the largest population of a state doesn't mean it's the capital. The capital is Juneau. It's a small city," Eleanor said.
"Huh. That's interesting. Well…why hasn't the capital been moved to Anchorage?" Momo asked.
"Well… because of history and stuff. There was a vote to move the capital to Anchorage in the past, but it didn't pass. And it'd also be expensive. Personally, it's just not worth it, and it should just stay where it is. That, and I'm not a supporter of too much power being in the largest city," Eleanor said.
"I don't get it. Why is that an issue with you?" Ochaco said.
Eleanot chuckled a little. "Okay, look, I'd need to give you a rundown of American politics to understand this kind of sentiment. And that's…how do I put this? Crazy and nonsensical. Yeah, that's how I'd describe it: crazy and nonsensical. Look, let's just not get into that, alright? We're on vacation, not an educational trip. Okay, this trip will be kind of educational, since I'll explain some of the stuff we'll experience, and answer some questions you'll have."
The car came to a stop quickly in the middle of its transit. The girls looked ahead and saw a massive, antlered beast. It was brown, and the antlers were covered in a fuzzy velvet-looking material. Ochaco's eyes widened in shock at the sight. Momo blinked her eyes rapidly, almost unbelieving at what she was saying.
Eleanor let out a nervous chuckle. "Uh…okay, let's relax, everyone. Our police captain here knows what to do…probably. Anyway, that right there is an Alaskan Bull Moose. From what I can tell here, it's a male. Males are 6 to 7 feet tall, and weigh 1,200 to 1,600 pounds," Eleanor explained a bit nervously.
"Uh…how much?" Momo asked.
"Oh, right, metric system. Uh, that's like…1.8 to 2.1 meters? And 544 to 726 kilograms?" Eleanor said as she did the calculations in her head.
"WHAT!" Ochaco yelled in surprise.
"Okay, calm down a little. Look, moose are solitary animals, but they are dangerous. Very dangerous. If you want to take pictures, take them while we're in the car. When we go around Anchorage, you'll see signs warning of moose; those signs are there for a reason, so take them seriously," Eleanor explained.
"And…just for curiosity, what do we do if a moose becomes dangerous?" Momo asked.
"Run," Eleanor said instantly. "You run as fast as you possibly can, and then some more. Moose can run up to 35 miles per hour. Uh, I mean, uh…56 kilometers per hour. So, run for your life. Literally. There have been incidents where moose have killed people."
"There's no way we can outrun a moose!" Ochaco said.
"Use your quirks if you have to," Eleanor said.
"Huh? We can use our quirks? It's not like in Japan?" Momo asked.
"What? Of course not. Here in America, the Supreme Court had a past ruling placing quirks under the Second Amendment, so quirks are protected under the Second Amendment. You won't get in trouble if you use your quirk for self-defence, for helping others, for some kind of convenience, some mundane reason, or some other reason. Within the law, of course. And running from a moose is a very good reason," Eleanor explained. The moose eventually moved off the road and wandered away. Eleanor let out a sigh of relief. The car started driving again. Momo and Ochaco took pictures of the moose. This would make for a unique experience.
"What predators do moose have? They seem like unstoppable animals," Momo said once the moose wandered off.
"The main ones are wolves and bears, but they mainly target young moose or weakened adults. Hunting a fully grown moose is very risky. Oh, and believe it or not, orcas, or killer whales, also kill moose, but it's really rare," Eleanor explained.
"Wait, hold on a second, what? Orcas eat moose? How? Aren't moose land animals?" Momo asked.
"Moose are really good swimmers. They can swim up to 6 miles per hour…uh, around 9.7 kilometers per hours. And they can also hold their breaths long enough to dive 16 to 20 feet under water to graze on plants. So, the reason orcas sometimes eat moose is that moose will swim between islands here, and they'll happen to be in the way of orca pods sometimes," Eleanor explained.
"Is there anything moose can't do?" Ochaco asked.
"They can't fly. And we should be grateful they can't," Eleanor said.
"Are we in a city or some kind of wildlife area?" Ochaco asked.
"Well…I guess a bit of both, depending on how you see it. There are mountains everywhere, the ocean air, the wildlife as we just saw, so…I can see the argument from your perspective," Eleanor said.
"This place is already giving me good memories," Ochaco said.
(Some time later)
The car stopped in front of a large building. And the sight that greeted them was intense. It was like a paparazzi waiting outside the car of a celebrity for the moment they would exit the car. A banner hanging off the building read, "Welcome Home, Eleanor!"
"Oh, man, this is going to take forever," Eleanor muttered to herself as she saw the media already taking pictures despite not even getting out of the car yet. Honestly, she should've expected this. You don't become the first American student to win the UA sports festival and then expect not to be known, even more so when factoring in the "home field" advantage.
Momo and Ochaco looked at the media mob and then at each other, and then at Eleanor. "I knew she was popular, but this is like…more than I thought," Ochaco said.
"Alright, unless you two want to end up on every newspaper, magazine, and TV in Alaska, don't get out of the car until I enter the building," Eleanor said to Momo and Ochaco as she prepared to exit the car.
"Uh…good luck?" Ochaco said.
"Thanks, Ochaco," Eleanor said as she opened the door to the car and got out. The instant she did, Momo and Ochaco could see the numerous flashes and snapping sounds of the cameras almost quite literally light up the area further despite it being daytime. There was even a videographer taking live video of the event. Eleanor smiled and waved at the crowd as she walked up to the building. Some fans who were in the crowd held out their hands in hopes of getting a high-five. Eleanor obliged some of them and even signed some things for her fans.
When she got up the stairs, a man in a suit was waiting. Eleanor and the man, who was the mayor, shook hands, posing for a few quick photos before they went inside. As soon as they did, the flashing and the snapping died down almost instantly. Only a select few were allowed inside. Those who were left outside looked through the photos they took.
Seeing that the way was clear, Momo and Ochaco got out of the car. Compared to Eleanor, they went through easily and without problems.
"What a difference," Momo muttered.
What Eleanor thought would be a simple visit turned out to be a lot more than that. They met the mayor, but then they stayed for way too long. There was a welcoming feast. And then the media made another appearance. Eleanor had to give a few interviews. It was fun at first, but she had places to be. But at least Momo and Ochaco sort of piggybacked off of Eleanor distracting everyone, so they could enjoy the food and event in peace.
Eventually, they were driven to a hotel provided for free.
"Finally! Beds!" Ochaco jumped into one of the beds, her body sprawling out. She left her luggage nearby, not bothering to unpack.
"Let's unpack before we get too lazy. Trust me, I also want to jump in, but I don't want to scramble like crazy when we have to wake up in the morning," Eleanor said as she started to unpack her things.
"But it's still daytime. We have plenty of time until it gets dark," Ochaco said.
Eleanor chuckled and grinned. "Are you sure about that, Ochaco?"
"What do you mean? Just look outside." Ochacho got up from the bed and opened the curtains of the hotel room. It was bright and the room lit up. "See, it's still daytime."
"Are you sure?" Eleanor asked.
"I'm sure my eyes work fine, Eleanor," Ochaco said.
"Check the time," Eleano said.
Ochacho pulled out her phone and checked the local time. "Huh? No, my phone probably still hasn't adjusted to the timezone difference." Ochacho went through the settings on her phone. "What? It does have automatic adjustments for the timezone differences. What's happening?"
Momo also checked her phone. "Uh…no, I think it's right. It's almost 10PM."
"What?" Ochaco muttered.
Eleanor, Momo, and Ochaco started to unpack. "How am I supposed to sleep with this much daylight? Even the curtain can't fully block out the sunlight," Ochaco said.
"Just use a sleepmask," Eleanor said.
"Oh, yeah, you're right," Ochaco said.
Eventually, they unpacked, but there was a problem. "There are only two beds," Momo said.
"Hold on, that's not true." Eleanor went to the sofa in the room. She removed the cushions of the sofa and pulled on a handle. A mattress and bed unfolded from the sofa. "There we go. Bed number three."
"That's neat," Ochaco said.
"So, who wants to sleep on this one?" Eleanor asked.
Momo and Ochaco looked at the bed Eleanor pulled out and then the other beds in the room.
"Okay, that's what I thought. Well, it doesn't matter to me," Eleanor started preparing the sofabed. "Get comfortable, I'm going to show you the places we're going to visit."
Once the three of them were comfortable, Eleanor prepared the plan.
"Okay, so this is how it's gonna be. The places I'm going to take you two to are the common and popular tourist spots. We have Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan. Obviously we'll start in Anchorage, since we're here already, but after that we'll go to Juneau. The main highlight of Juneau in my opnion is this glacier that's…well you'll see; you'll feel like ants when we're there. Then we have Skagway. Now, there is a must-ride scenic train ride we have to do. I'd try to tell you what it's like, but you just have to experience it. What I can say is that I've been on it a few times, and it never gets old. And then we have Ketchikan. Now, the attraction here is the native art and culture. Oh, and we're definitely doing the flying tours for the Misty Fjords National Monument. For this trip, you'll see why the US Forest Service is one of the only agencies in America worth anything. Though I guess NASA, the Postal Service, and the National Parks Service are pretty neat too. Anyway, those will be the places we visit," Eleanor said.
"And how will we get to those places?" Momo asked.
"We'll get there by plane," Eleanor said.
"More plane rides? But we were just on a seven-hour plane ride from Japan to here!" Ochaco said.
"Relax. I said we'll spend time here in Anchorage first, so we can get rid of the tiredness from the plane ride," Eleanor said. "And there's quite a bit of stuff to do in Anchorage as well."
"Alright, I'm kind of excited for this,' Ochaco said.
"Good. Now, let's get ready for tomorrow," Eleanor said. She put on an eye mask and jumped into bed, pulling the covers over her as she fell asleep.
"Whoa, she sleeps fast," Ochaco said.
"I'm kind of jealous," Momo said.
"I guess we should sleep as well. But it's going to be hard to get used to this, uh…daylight at night?" Ochaco looked out the window, seeing the numerous mountains and even some bald eagles flying and perching around the city.
"I guess we should just close the curtains and try our best, Ochaco," Momo said.
"Yeah. I'm a little excited for this week," Ochaco said as she and Momo went to bed.