I Must Be Dreaming Chapter 1 Something Strange, a yu yu hakusho fanfic

I Must Be Dreaming

Yu Yu Hakusho Fanfiction by YinYangSara

Yu Yu Hakusho is originally owned by Yoshihiro Togashi and Viz Media

Original Character "Sakura" and others NOT from Yu Yu Hakusho are owned by YinYangSara.

Chapter 1

Something Strange

"Oh my god. I'm actually doing this." I whispered to myself as I stood in line, slowly making my way to the stewardess to confirm my ticket.

"I'm going to Japan!" A louder squeal escaped my mouth. I quickly looked around me and close by eyes were, sure enough, on me. I tried to contain my excitement as I stepped onto the plane and the stewardess directed me to my area.

"Please place your carry-on in the storage compartment below your seat." She told me.
"Below?" I was confused, as I've always known carry-ons to go above the seats.

"Yes, below. If this is your first long distance flight, there will be an instructional video of how to use your seat to the fullest during the flight." She explained.

"Oh.." I breathed as I looked around and saw what she had meant. The seats were completely different than the seats of a normal flight I was used to. The longest flight I had been on before was 5 hours. This was going to be 16 hours! I'm not claustrophobic, but this was still going to be tough for me. My excitement to see Japan for the first time was filling me to the brim!

As I approached my seat, 14A, I saw a small cabinet like spot under the seat. Perfect size for my carry-on. I wasn't sure how long I wanted to stay in Japan. I asked my family how long would be appropriate and they told me to come back when I've had enough of it. My family was kind enough to make sure I had plenty of money to stay as long as I wanted. My family wasn't normally like this. It was a surprise to see how supportive they were when they found out that my ex fiancé and I were breaking up. I had to quit my job and move back home. They suggested for me to have a "get away" to clear my head.
I sat in my slightly isolated chair and noticed all these interesting buttons. The child in me wanted to push all the buttons while giggling like an idiot. I quickly noticed my own personal TV turned on with a menu for language guide.

"Oh!" I got all excited and looked for my remote but couldn't find one. I started to get bummed when I noticed everyone was getting settled into their seats. I quickly got over it and got excited again.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen." The pilot began over the PA system. He continued with his speech as I looked for my seat belt to buckle. Thankfully the people next to me didn't seem much interested in sharing their life stories with me for the flight.
I didn't pay much attention to the Pilots speech, the safety exits, or everyone playing with their gadgets. I heard when the meals would be served and that was it. I got comfortable and waited for all the formal introductions to be done. I pulled the first available stewardess aside and asked her.

"I can't seem to find the remote for my little TV here." I explained.

"Oh, that's because it's a touch screen." She replied with a 'that's so obvious' tone. She smirked and me and walked away without asking if that was all.

"Bitch…" I muttered to myself.

I quickly figured out how to work my chair and ordering service all through my little personal TV. I felt like I was flying first class with how high tech all of this was. I looked out the window and noticed that our plane was positioning to take off.

Here we go. I thought. I'm not running away from my problems. I'm just taking a breather, while fulfilling a dream.

Japan has always been a dream for me. I learned from a young age how to appreciate the Anime, food, culture, and style of the country. This will be my first time ever going.

I kept my gaze out the widow as we took off. I've always loved the feeling of the first lift. The excitement mixed with the butterflies in my stomach. It was almost as good as a rollercoaster, almost. I took a deep breath with a smile on my face and sighed. I very quickly realized this flight is going to get long and boring, fast.

After breakfast and picking out the best out of the horrible options of movies they gave me. I saw how bored I quickly got. Thankfully a super sweet old lady passed around activity books. There were word searches, cross word puzzles, and others like those. However, the one that caught my eye was, of course, Sudoku. At first I felt guilty taking it.

"Don't you worry, dear. I brought plenty of Sudoku for everyone, it is very popular." She told me. I smiled then graciously accepted. I looked through my purse for my favorite pen.

Next thing I remember is waking up on the plane. Quite a few hours have gone by. I looked around and couldn't find my Sudoku book.

Oh damn. I thought. I can't remember the last problem I was working on.

I shrugged it off, but then I realized. I couldn't remember doing any of the problems. Everything is a blank after I grabbed my pen. I looked in my purse and there was my pen, but no book.

Strange.

I figured, better to have lost the book rather than something really important.

"Please remain seated and buckle yourself, we are preparing to land." The pilot announced over the PA.

Is it just me or does that sound like a different voice? I thought as I stared intently at the speaker.

I buckled myself and gathered what I could while still in my chair. A stewardess walked by that was different from before too. I've never been on such a long flight before so I began to be curious if they had extra workers to switch shifts. I suddenly realized that pilots always fly with a copilot. Pfft, I feel stupid for not remembering that right away.

Once the plane landed and situated, we were allowed to get up. I quickly stood up and started gathering my things. I realized I wanted to thank that old lady again for the Sudoku book, that I lost. Of course I wouldn't tell her I lost it. I began looking around and noticed I couldn't find her any where.

Ok, now this is getting really strange. Not like she could've gone anywhere. I knew she sat quite close to me.

Maybe she was in the bathroom? No, we JUST landed, I doubt they would've let the bathrooms be occupied during a landing. I gave up and decided, if I saw her I would thank her.

I quickly noticed I couldn't recognize anyone on this flight. These weren't the same people, were they? I glanced around as we exited the plane. Maybe this flight got to me worse than I thought. I need to get to my hotel room and gather myself before venturing tonight.

After the awkward time through customs, waited in line for a taxi. The same questions and thoughts rolled around in my head as I stared into space. I must have looked extremely tired, or insane. I made myself snap out of it.

You're in Japan, girl! The place you've always dreamed of visiting and now you're here! Smell the air! Take in the sites!

Oh my god, yes! What was I doing?! I walked through that entire airport without even looking around and seeing all the fun stuff because I was so obsessed with figuring out what happened. People move seats, things happen; I need to let it go!

I started looking around and seeing everything written in Japanese and culture shock started to set in. Well, maybe this wasn't a good idea to look around. It's not the greatest feeling in the world to know you can't read anything around you. I figured I would give myself a headache if I even tried. I suddenly began to panic as I got closer to the front of the line for a cab.

What if my driver doesn't speak English? What if he takes me somewhere I don't want to go because he misunderstands?

I shook my head and realized, the people here are very kind and understanding. I shouldn't panic so easily. My turn came and the driver pulled up, got out of the taxi and bowed to me before taking my luggage. I bowed in return as he offered to take my bags.

"Where would you like to go miss?" He asked me. Huh? I understood that! Wait, he was speaking Japanese. I understood that without a second for thought!

"Uh-oh!" I stuttered and pulled out my folded piece of paper that had my hotel information on it. I handed it to the driver without needing to speak.

"Oh yes! I can take you there very fast. I know short cut." He smiled to me and opened the passenger door for me. I bowed and thanked him and sat down. I wasn't used to the cars and driving being on the other side.

"If it's ok to ask, where are you from?" He asked me as he started driving. Maybe he's just saying everything that I happen to know in Japanese. This conversation won't last long with how little I know.

"America." I responded. Keep it simple.

"Ah! America! I always wanted to go. Are you here for business or vacation?"

"Vacation, I suppose." I understand more than I thought I would.

"I am surprised you know so much Japanese! Are you part Japanese?" I stared in awe at the driver as he asked me these questions.

"No, My family's heritage is European." I stated that rather monotone, but I was surprised at myself of how well I said that.

"Oh I see! You probably like Anime, yes?" He asked me chuckling.

"Oh yea" I laughed back. "I'm a bit of a nerd." I explained.

"What is your name?" He asked me. I opened my mouth out of habit to say my name. Then I realized how lame my name is in this country.

"Just call me Sakura." I smiled.

"Ah, good nickname." He smiled back.

The rest of the ride was very interesting. I know I didn't know that much Japanese. Something strange is going on here, but I don't know if I want to question it. I got settled into my, rather small, hotel room. I forgot, Japanese rooms aren't meant to be large. The more I thought about it, I realized it is actually rather big for what most rooms offer. I had a small balcony, chair, bed, desk, small dresser with a TV, and of course a small kitchen and bathroom. I was surprised to see such a tiny bathtub. It was cute. My work desk was perfect for my laptop and gadgets I brought with me. It wasn't large, but I don't need a huge desk. I started plugging in all of my adaptors and started charging my things. I thought about putting my clothes in the drawers of the small dresser, but I figured I could do that later.

I grabbed the TV remote and turned it on. I needed to see something. It was already set to a local news channel. I sat down in the chair and watched.

"Still no official statement has been released regarding the random explosions from the cave locally known as "Demons Door" cave that happened three years ago on this very day." The anchor lady stated.

My jaw dropped as I dropped the remote control.

How the HELL can I understand Japanese out of no where?! I barely knew enough to get me by before! I couldn't possibly know Japanese THIS fluently so quickly. This doesn't make any sense!

I quickly got up and opened my small sliding door and stepped onto the balcony. I took some deep breaths and calmed myself. Breathing in the humid, yet delicious smelling air made me realize, I'm starving. I reassured myself that I should just let it go and enjoy my time here. I should be thankful that I'm not struggling with translation problems like normal people. Plus, when has anything in my life been normal? I nodded to myself and went back inside, closing the door behind me.

"I need to eat." I said to myself as I grabbed all my important things. Wait! I suddenly stopped.

"Demons door?" I turned and looked at the TV. The anchors have since moved on to other subjects.

"I heard that right…right?" A cave known as Demons Door. It sounded strangely familiar to me. However, the growls of my stomach told me that it wasn't important to investigate at the moment.