A slight jostling quickly followed the chiming of the bells as the electronic disabling sign flipped on for the final decent. A simple nudge from the adjacent seat stirred the groggy pre-teen from her dead sleep and prompted her to put on her seat belt immediately. It was still early in the morning, the sun was just peaking over the peaked horizon, but the marveled girl became focused on the gleaming beacon shining brightly just below.

She could hardly believe she was finally in Japan!

It had taken months of planning to organize this event. She had to bear many shifts from both her part-time jobs, endure many sleepless nights of study, and leave a mountain of chores she knew would come back to haunt her. But seeing the bustling lights decorating the twilight city made all her frustrating endeavors worthwhile.

She felt her ears pop from a change in pressure and the tires made the familiar squeak across the asphalt runway. The sudden deceleration of the plane shocked many of the new passengers and most certainly snapped the greenhorn teen back into complete alert. It seemed to take forever before the plane finally snaked back into the loading dock and come to a complete stop. The request to vacate the plane came soon after, and Anna was more than happy to get out of coach.

She quickly got out of the plane and stretched her stiff and aching limbs. Her back was especially painful after her long nap; these airports really needed a women's touch. She'd probably been more comfortable sleeping on a table. She was surprised she managed to get to sleep at all, even with that stiff headrest she bought for almost five-trillion dollars! Maybe she'd come to the airport a little early on the return trip to give the management a piece of her mind.

She pulled a hairbrush out of the tangled mess of her carry-on and attacked the blond mangled knot that was her hair. Despite the atrociously early hour, the area was bustling with people. The majority of them looked like important businessmen in their wrinkle free suits, carrying there briefcases as they made their way to baggage claim. She felt out of place in her ruffled t-shirt and denim jeans and she only hoped Shuusuke was somewhere in this massive enclave.

"Anna-chan, Anna-chan," came the calm, almost feminine shout from the crowd. The boy was holding up a large sign with her name written in katakana in addition to a few simple kanji she could easily interpret as "welcome to Japan". He looked as calm as she pictured him to be, wearing a long sleeve jacket coupled with green jogger pants.

Anna made her way through the torrential cesspool of people and tugged on the boy's puffy sleeve: "Excuse me, are you Shuusuke-san?" She asked.

"Yeah, you must be Anna then, it's nice to finally meet you."

"Same here," came Anna's nervous reply. Shuusuke was much taller than she had pictured him to be, and having to look up at him was a little more than daunting.

"Would you like to get something to eat? I hear the food here is really good."

"From who?" Anna thought, losing here appetite. She still remembered eating the stale crackers and overly salted peanuts on the plane. Coupled with the cruddy in-flight meal, she thought she was going to blow chunks in the toilet.

"I think I'll pass," She said, trying to suppress a shot of bile.

"Oh that's too bad," Shuusuke said, hardly stunted by the refusal.

"Oh I almost forgot," He said, reaching into his shouldered backpack. He withdrew a box the size of his hand, covered with postal paper, and topped with the biggest bow she had ever seen, "Happy Birthday Anna."

The present slid out of his hand so fast, he resisted the urge to check it for burns. Anna greedily ripped apart the wrapping, making sure to keep at least the bow protected and found the latest addition of "Perfect Girl Evolution" still in its plastic wrapping. Shuusuke nearly fell from the resulting tackle and hug.

"I thought you might like that," He replied, brushing the wrinkles from his sweater, "It's something that caught my eye recently."

"No way," came Anna's startled reply, "You read shojo comics?"

"Of course, those are my favorite actually….

"Is something wrong? You seemed a little, surprised."

"Oh no, its nothing." She knew Shuusuke was a little…feminine, but he seemed more so as time rolled by. Was it possible that he was… gay?! No, that's just here overactive imagination talking, so why wouldn't it shut up?

"Well, lets get out of here," Shuusuke said, "There's a lot more to Tokyo than the airport you know."

"Uh, right," Anna stuttered, shaking away her tainted thoughts, "lead the way."

After a long wait at the baggage claim, Shuusuke brought her to an underground parking lot, where his sister Yumiko and his little brother Yuuta were waiting. While Shuusuke strolled blissfully, Anna maintained a death grip on his arm, her nerves on edge. It was so dark, and there were large puddles of dripping water all over the place. There was even a large graffiti sign against one of the stone walls, which she thought likely meant "stupid foreigners."

"Hey Fuji?" She asked nervously, her voice slightly quivering, "How far away is your sister? This place is creeping me out."

He turned his head to look down at her, his eyes still closed as usual: "Is something wrong? I think it's actually quite cool down here."

She saw a rat out of the corner of her eye, and squeezed tight enough to cut the circulation from Shuusuke's arm.

"That's it," she screamed in her head, "Shuusuke is crazy!"

"Besides, if anything does happen, I'm sure you could handle yourself in a fight."

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously.

He took one of Anna's arms into his free hand. "These muscles are so firm; you must train a lot to maintain them."

She tugged the arm away and bashfully stroked the back of her head, "Actually, I've never been to the gym a day in my life."

"Really?" Fuji replied, "That's a shame; I was hoping you could teach me a few pointers."

Anna was flattered, but knew Shuusuke hardly needed "pointers" when it came to fitness. He had told her the previous year that his school tennis team Seigaku defeated the reigning champions Rikkaidai in the finals, and became the national champions of Japanese middle school tennis.

"I can still come tomorrow if you want," She stated meekly. She didn't know much about tennis, but she wanted to be polite.

"Sure, it's a date."

Anna felt like sputtering a retort, but heard someone honk their horn. She turned around to see a Mitsubishi Outlander with a fairly young woman waving from the driver's side. She was so relieved she'd finally be out of this ghetto parking lot; she practically sprinted to the car. Shuusuke just smiled and followed casually behind.

The car ride was long and uneventful, and Anna fell asleep about five minutes into it. After about an hour though, the Mitsubishi finally pulled up, and after a few vigorous shakes, Shuusuke managed to wake her.

For a tennis prodigy, the house was much plainer than Anna had anticipated. It was a lot like her house back in America, a simple two story building, painted solid blue and furnished with two or three windows. It felt like one of those houses you could order in a catalogue.

"Thanks for the ride Yumiko," Anna said, pulling yet another suitcase from the trunk. She felt nervous about calling her by her first name, but she didn't know how else to address her specifically.

Yumiko didn't seem to mind, "It's no problem," She replied with a smile, "I've always wanted to see Shuusuke's pen pal in person."

"Thanks," Anna said grudgingly, she made her sound like some sort of missing toy or something.

"Now let's hurry up and get you inside. Yuuta, would you mind helping our friend with her bags?"

"Yeah, I do mind," Yuuta replied curtly, crossing his arms into a pout. Shuusuke always said his brother was a hard worker, but who knew he was so uptight and sour.

"He could stand to learn some manners,"

Yuuta turned abruptly away from the group and continued his pouting parade for a few moments before reluctantly agreeing to carry one bag in. Anna strapped the backpack on, and Shuusuke grabbed what was left and followed in behind them.

Whatever finesse Fuji's house was missing on the outside, it was more than compensated for in the interior. The step-up from the door, along with the floors and walls were polished and clean of dust and streaks. There was a fine carpet resting symmetrically in the center, as well as some family portraits and a polished oak desk. She felt like she was stepping into some luxurious palace. Talk about not judging from outer appearances.

"I'm intruding now," She quickly blurted out. It was traditional thing to say whenever entering a person's house, but she had already strolled halfway across the hall before she caught herself.

Shuusuke followed soon after and placed the bags against the wall: "Make yourself at home," he said, removing his outdoor shoes, "The guest room is on the second floor, first door on the right."

"Thanks," she said gleefully.

"One more thing?"

"Yes?"

"Don't forget to take off your shoes."

Anna felt like she could just die she was so embarrassed. She was so nervous, that when she finally did get the shoes off her feet, she practically threw them against the wall before bolting up the stairs with all her bags.

"She such a sweet girl," Yumiko said, coming through the door.

"Yeah, she is," Shuusuke replied, "I'm going to finish making dinner. Is the dessert ready?"

"Made to perfection, just like you asked," Yumiko boasted. Making cakes were her specialty, and this was probably her best yet.

"Thanks, you've been a big help," Shuusuke replied, "Do you mind getting Anna when dinner's ready?"

"No, not at all."

Anna pushed into her new room, and threw all her bags into the corner as she plopped on the comfy roll out bed next to the opposing window. The room had a few posters of random animes and even a few pop-stars like Two-mix and Home Made Kazoku. The rest of the room was fairly plain, with only a small desk for work, but she would easily fill the space with all the stuff she brought with her.

That was not the forefront of her thoughts. That embarrassing scene with Shuusuke indeed made her a little flustered, and she intended to just pace around a bit to relieve some of the pent-up energy. Now that nervous, fretful energy came in explosive waves, and she felt it writing inside her, pushing and looking for a way out. Her knuckles turned white, every muscle in her body flexed uncontrollably and her brain screamed at her to move.

This was bad, the tips of her pinkies were already completely numb, and it was quickly spreading to the rest of the fingers. She started rifling through her bags, clothes and books all slamming violently against the opposing walls. Her search soon became desperate, she needed her medication, and already her hands were completely numb. The dark pit of her now emptied bag only served to increase her anxiety, and now the tingling pricks were crawling up her forearms and even across her toes. It felt like her entire body was falling asleep.

A shout came from downstairs: "Anna? Are you alright? Anna!"

She couldn't hear it over the palpitating of her pounding heart. Her breaths now came in panting squeaks and the numbness was creeping up her neck and tingled her cheeks. The air! When did it get so darn thick?! She couldn't breathe!

"Fuji… help," She screamed, but the desperate shout only came out as a pathetic whimper. Soon, she felt light headed, her eyes closed and she fell deep into sleep.

"Yumiko, did you hear that?" Fuji barked, throwing her door out wide.

"What going on Shuusuke?" She asked with worry. He wasn't usually so rude as to barge into her room.

"I heard something upstairs; I think something might've happened to Anna!"

Yumiko hadn't heard anything in particular, but it was rare to see Fuji so emotional: "I'll be right there," she said urgently, "just let me-"

But Shuusuke was already barreling up the stairs before she could finish her sentence. He turned the corner and slammed the door open to Anna's room. Yumiko followed soon after and what they saw shocked the both of them.

It looked like a tornado had blown through as blankets, bags, and clothes were scattered violently and randomly across the walls and floor. Even the mattress had been tipped violently over and the lamp on the desk had fallen and smashed to pieces. The two of them would've thought a burglar had broken in, if Anna wasn't standing there.

The two of them heaved a sigh of relief, though they were still shocked with the state of the room. Shuusuke tip-toed over a few pieces of shattered glass: "What happened here Anna?" Shuusuke asked. She didn't respond, didn't even turn her head to face him.

Shuusuke grabbed her shoulder: "Anna, did you have another attack? Tell me what's going on; we can work it out together."

This time, she did respond, by slapping Shuusuke's hand away. Yumiko was about to scold her for her rude behavior, when the girl turned to face the two. She had the same general shape as Anna, but her body was much more toned and her breasts had grown noticeably larger. The normally innocent eyes were sharper and a permanent frown had replaced her smiling face.

"Your Shuusuke Fuji right?" She asked, her tone slightly lower than Anna's.

Fuji furled his brow and the girl grinned, knowing she had found the one she was looking for.

"Meet me at the local tennis courts in three minutes. If not, then Anna goes back to the states with me."

"Who are you?" Shuusuke asked, fully convinced that the person standing before him wasn't Anna.

"Let me think," She pondered, "You can call me 'Kat' for the time being. Bring your best game with you Shuusuke; I will not tolerate anything less of you." She walked casually out of the room, grabbing one of the tote bags on the way out. Neither Shuusuke nor Yumiko made a move against her,

"What have you done to Anna?!"

"She just sleeping is all; you'll see her again if you can defeat me. And remember, if you call the police, I'll make sure you never see Anna again." She quietly walked down the stairs and out the door.

"This is bad," Yumiko said, "I don't care what she says, we need to call the police."

"Get my equipment," Shuusuke said calmly.

"Shuusuke," Yumiko replied astounded, "Surly you're not going to go through with her demands! "

"I won't lose." Shuusuke replied sternly, "and I'll bring back Anna for sure."


Authors Note: And that's the end of the chapter, with this done, I'll get back to work on the the next book of "The Passage of Time" so fans of the series, look out for the first chapter some point next week.

There's also another story I'm writing on called "Dark Star". I'm hoping to get it published one day, so I'm looking for as many comments on it as possible. I want it to be the best it can be, and I can only do it with the help of the readers so if you can, please R&R, I would greatly appreciate it.