By the way, I live in New York. I was born and still being raised here. Inuyasha's personality will be 100 guaranteed authentic New York!

Aishiteru

chapter one- Going Home

"I want to go to Japan." Inuyasha and two adults were sitting in a living. All three faces held a serious expression. Tension was settling thickly in the room.

The man across from Inuyasha sighed heavily,

"What's wrong with America? We got many schools here in New York. You'll get a better education here."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "It's not about the college. I want to go back home."

The petite woman besides the man spoke, "But honey, this is your home."

Inuyasha looked solemnly at her, "No its not. I'm not from here."

"As far as I'm concerned, you are." The man said angrily, "Why do you insist on upsetting your mother?!"

Inuyasha glared at him, "She's not my mother, nor are you my father, Ken."

The woman cast her eyes down. Ken scowled, "Look, all because we are not you biological parents, it doesn't I'm not your father."

"That's exactly what it means." Inuyasha said standing.

His stepfather stood as well, "Where do you think you're going?"

Inuyasha headed for the front door without saying a word.

Ken got angry, "Inuyas-!"

"I'm going home."

Inuyasha said this bluntly as he opened the door. He took a glance at his stepmother. She was crying. He felt a pain in his heart that urged him to stay. "Crystal…" he said to the woman. He saw it hurt her that he didn't refer to her as 'mother'. "Crystal, I'm sorry. Good-bye."

He quickly walked out and closed the door. He could hear Ken swearing after him. It didn't matter anymore. He was going home. "Let's see…" Inuyasha said, reaching in his pocket. He pulled out a passport. "Good thing I bought the tickets in advance." He said to himself, referring to the plane tickets. He knew his 'parents' would be against him leaving, so he booked a flight on the day he told them. It leaves in 4 hours at 5:00a.m.

Inuyasha walked through the graffiti-infested streets. Manhattan was smoky as usual, but his lungs were used to it. His eyes were accustomed to the fog and he easily found his way into Times Square.

Inuyasha raised his hand to haul a taxi. There were several there, but they kept picking up other passengers. Inuyasha sighed. This always happened to him. "Yo!" he screamed at one taxi driver. He ignored Inuyasha and kept going. "Stupid prick." He yelled after him. That got the driver to stop.

Inuyasha watched as he backed up and opened the door. "What'd you say?" the driver asked angrily. Inuyasha smiled, "I said stupid prick. Don't you speak English?" The driver turned red in the face. He lunged at Inuyasha with murderous intent. Inuyasha smoothly dodged him and got behind the wheel of the taxi. "I'll just put it on the tab." He said as he drove off. He ignored the man's angry profanity screaming after him.

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"Here we are!" inuyasha said, getting out of the car. Her looked at the airport before him. He felt his heart pound as he entered the lobby.

"Do you have any luggage, sir?" A woman behind a counter asked. Inuyasha shook his head. He had nothing to bring.

"Okay then, just show me your I.D so I can give you your tickets." She said, motioning him.

Inuyasha stood before the counter and showed her the I.D.

"Hm, 18 years old." The woman said, "Are you knew to this?"

Inuyasha nodded. He couldn't remember the last time he rode in a plane. He considered it obsolete.

"Okay Mr.….Williams. I need your passport."

Inuyasha cringed as she said 'Williams'. It didn't fit with his name at all. It was too…American.

He handed the kind lady his passport. She reviewed it and began typing something on a computer. Then she handed him his ticket.

"Here you are, Mr. Williams. I hope you have a great time in Japan." She handed him his I.D and passport.

Inuyasha nodded and read the ticket. He had to go to B14. "Bye." He said bluntly and headed towards his section.

B8…B10…B12…"B14." Inuyasha said, looking on the even side of the room. He found a seat between two women. One was old and sleeping. The other was young and reading a magazine. Inuyasha glanced at the front page. It was a copy of Stars. In other words, a gossip magazine that digs into the lives of celebrities. Inuyasha chuckled to himself. He always wondered what could possibly be interesting about those magazines.

Suddenly, a man's voice spoke over the intercom, "Flight D823 is now boarding zones 1-3. Zones 1-3 for flight D823 can now board." Inuyasha looked at his ticket. He had first class. He was zone one.

Inuyasha stood up and headed towards the smiling woman. "Hello sir! May I see your ticket?" she asked kindly. Inuyasha handed her the ticket. She slid it through a machine and handed it back to him. "Have a good flight." She said. Inuyasha just nodded and walked aboard. It always creeped him out when people were that happy.

He found his seat in the very back of the plane. It had one seat next to it. He hoped its owner wasn't annoying. "Zones 4-6 can now board. D823, zones 4-6…." Was faintly heard throughout the plane. Inuyasha watched as more people entered. It wasn't long until the entire plane was filled, but no one seemed to own the seat next to him.

Flight attendants walked up and down the isles to check if everyone was seated. One of the flight attendants was Japanese. She stopped at Inuyasha's seat and began to speak,

"Chotto kiite mo ii desu ka?" (Can I ask you a question?)

Inuyasha nodded. Even though it's been a while since he's spoken Japanese, he understood her perfectly.

The woman pointed to the seat next to him. No words were necessary to understand her motion. Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders.

"Ittai dare darou…" (Whoever could that be?) She said with a sigh. "Arigatou Gozaimasu." (Do I have to translate?)

Inuyasha nodded again, "Dou Itashimashite." (Once again, do I? Also my computer doesn't let me put the elongating letter in the word. I put u at the end of the elongated vowels to show that they are elongated. Just saying.)

The flight attendant went back to the front and talked to one of her co-workers. Then she got on the loudspeaker, "Does anyone know where a Mr. Nado may be? He is missing from the plane." Inuyasha looked at his empty seat. He almost hoped Mr. Nado didn't show.

"Does nobody know?" The woman asked again. No one answered. Inuyasha watched her put down the microphone and walk outside. Seconds later she walked back in. She shook her head to her co-worker. Then the door closed. "Mr. Nado will have to catch another flight. We are behind schedule." A different flight attendant said over the microphone. The Japanese one walked to the back of the plane and sat in the seat besides Inuyasha.

"What are you doing?" Inuyasha asked as he watched her buckle her seatbelt.

She looked at him, "What's it look like? I'm buckling. The plane is about to take off."

Inuyasha sighed, "I know that. I mean why are you sitting here?"

The woman sat up, "I didn't feel like pulling down the seat meant for us flight attendants. Mine always has cuts."

Inuyasha looked out the window. "Besides," the woman said, "I wanted to give you company. Maybe I can help you a little with your Japanese."

Inuyasha looked back at her. She was smiling, "Instead of saying Itashmashite, you said Itashimashite."

Inuyasha turned his body towards her, "But there is a shi in itaSHImashite. Why would I say itashmashite?"

She laughed, "Because, the Japanese tend to not really pronounce the endings of s characters unless it is first in the word. Example, instead of desu, try dess."

Inuyasha sighed, "It's been a while since I spoke Japanese. I moved to New York when I was five."

"You still remember from then how to speak Japanese?" she asked amazed.

Inuyasha shook his head, "I couldn't remember all of it because my parents were teaching me English. I took classes last year to regain some of my native tongue."

The woman nodded. Then she gasped, "I'm sorry! I forgot to tell you my name. I'm Yamakawa Reika, and you?"

"Inuyasha."

Reika waited for something more. Nothing came. "Don't you have a last name?" she asked finally.

Inuyasha shrugged, "My foster parents gave me Williams, but it doesn't sound right."

"You mean you don't know your real parents?"

"No."

They sat in silence for about an hour. Suddenly Reika stood up, "I have to start serving breakfast." She said, walking into the back. She came out with a cart and dragged it to the front. Then she began working her way down the isle.

A male flight attendant served those in first class. "What would you like, sir?" he asked Inuyasha. Inuyasha picked up the menu and looked at the items. Though he wasn't really hungry, he ordered the pancakes, eggs and bacon. The attendant nodded and put a covered plate on Inuyasha's table. Then he went to the others in First class.

"Onaka ga suita…" (I'm hungry…) I heard Reika sigh as she held her stomach. She had finished going down the isle and was returning the cart to the back. She sat down next to me and saw the covered plate.

"What'd you get?"

Inuyasha opened it to show the hot food. "Want some?"

She shook her head reluctantly, "We are supposed to eat before flight, but I woke up too late this morning to get anything. Also, I'm not allowed to mooch off passengers."

Suddenly, her stomach growled. "Well…maybe a little won't hurt."

Inuyasha let her eat the pancakes and eggs. He just ate a strip of bacon. She patted her stomach gratefully when she finished, "Thank-you Inuyasha-san. That really hit the spot." Inuyasha smiled at the added san. It made him feel closer to Japan.

"Are you going to Japan to find your real parents?" Reika asked.

"No, but if I find them it's an added bonus."

"What are you looking for, then?"

Inuyasha was silent for a while. Finally he said, "I just want to go home."

"Do you hate America?" Reika asked suddenly.

Inuyasha looked out the window again, "No. I hate my foster parents."

Reika cast her eyes down, "What did they do to you?"

"Well, to be more precise, I hate my stepfather. He wanted me to forget Japan. He wanted me to be fully American."

Reika was silent as he continued, "My stepmother is a loving woman. She's small, but has a big heart. She only wanted the best for me."

Reika spoke, "Did you want to leave her?"

Inuyasha sighed heavily, "No."

"Did you see her as a mother?"

A slight pause. "Yes."

"If you meet your real mother and they are not alike…what would you do?"

Inuyasha was silent. He wanted to avoid the question.

"Mrs. Yamakawa? What are you doing? We need help at the front!" the male flight attendant yelled. "Coming!" Reika said, dashing to the front. Inuyasha rested his head in his hands. "You know what, Reika…" he said quietly, " I think I'll accept her." But he was lying. The truth was he was afraid. He was afraid he would hate her. Hate his real mother.

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"Inuyasha-san. Would you like dinner?" Reika asked, sitting next to him again. Inuyasha opened his eyes and looked at his watch it was now 10:30 in New York. He's been asleep for 14 hours.

"You sure can sleep." Reika said, pouring a cup of coffee.

Inuyasha sat up, "No, it's just that I didn't sleep at all for two days straight. I was too excited."

Reika nodded and handed him the coffee. Then she poured herself another.

"You're lucky you get to sleep," She said taking a sip, "I have to stay up while the other attendants sleep. It's my shift."

Inuyasha took the coffee and drank it straight. No sugar. No cream. Boiling hot.

Reika watched him put the empty cup down. "Wow." Was all she could say.

"Um…oh yeah! Dinner!" she said, remembering why she woke him up. Inuyasha nodded. She quickly ran to the back and brought back a menu. Inuyasha quickly scanned the items. "The salmon." he said bluntly. Reika nodded and went to the back. Then she came out with a covered plate. She set it down in front of Inuyasha. He opened it and took a small bite. Then he closed it again.

"Is it bad?" Reika asked. She started to get some salt.

"No." Inuyasha said quietly. Reika sat back down. She figured that he didn't have much of an appetite.

"When are we arriving?" He asked. Reika pulled a schedule out of her pocket.

"The day after tomorrow at 4:00 am, New York time. Do you have reservations at a hotel?"

Inuyasha nodded. Reika watched him take another bite of salmon, then cover it.

"You remembered the time difference and booked the right day?" she asked.

Once again Inuyasha nodded.

"You must have been planning this for a while, huh?"

He nodded.

"Stop that!" Reika said, annoyed. Inuyasha took another bite of salmon, and then covered it again.

That was also getting annoying. "Stop that too! What's wrong with you?" Reika asked angrily.

Inuyasha turned to her. She saw his eyes glazed with tears.

"Inuyasha!" she said forgetting the san. She wiped one of his tears as it slid down his cheek.

"I'm afraid that he'll be right," he said quietly. "Maybe Japan doesn't want me…"

She knew he was referring to his father. "He is right," she said bluntly. Inuyasha's eyes widened.

"He's right, " she continued, "Japan doesn't want you. You have to MAKE yourself wanted. Make yourself needed. If you had no purpose, why would anyone want you?"

Inuyasha looked at her with awe. He looked like a 3 year-old more than an 18 year-old. Reika smiled and patted his head. She was really going to miss him.

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(By the way, though I'm writing it in English, the people are speaking Japanese. Just letting you know.)

The plane landed in Tokyo, Japan. As Inuyasha stepped off the plane, he looked up at the sky. "The same sky in New York." He said, smiling. Then he turned and saw Reika looking at him through a window. He waved to her and she smiled back. Then Inuyasha went into the airport and found his way outside.

"This isn't too different." Inuyasha said, stepping into the city. There were people everywhere, just like New York. Also there were many buildings, just like New York. The only real difference was that nearly everybody was the same race.

Inuyasha walked down the sidewalk until he saw the building he was looking for. He walked inside and up to the smiling man at the counter. "Hello and welcome to Sunrise (not a real hotel) services. How may I help you?" Inuyasha leaned against the counter, "I'm booked for September 1, 2007. It's under Williams." The man nodded and turned to his computer. "Ah…Wiriamusu-san." He said Williams with a heavy Japanese accent. It didn't sting Inuyasha like when the American woman at the airport said it. In fact, it made him happy.

"That's me." Inuyasha said, getting off the counter. The man, whose nametag read Hideo, smiled and gave him a key. "Your room is on the second floor. Enjoy your stay." Inuyasha took the key and nodded. Then he headed out the front door. He needed to prepare for his new school tomorrow.

He walked into a nearby pharmacy. There he got books, paper, pencils, and almost all the things he needed. He paid the nice cashier and walked back to his hotel. He nodded to Hideo and went inside the elevator. Then he walked down the rows of rooms.

"324." He said as he put the card key into the slot. The light turned green and he entered the large room. "Wow." Inuyasha said as he looked around. It was huge. It had a king sized bed tucked neatly in a corner. It had a complete kitchen near the front door. A large television hid behind cabinet doors. It sat on top of a dresser, which had 6 drawers. The carpeting was green and burgundy. The walls were white with a sun drawn on every corner.

Inuyasha noticed a small hallway near the bed. He walked down it to find the bathroom and closet. The bathroom had marble-like walls and tiles. The tub was a generous size and had a showerhead resting on top. It had a hanging light that looked like a mini-chandelier.

Sunrise was an apartment building that ran like a hotel. It was the biggest one in Japan. Each apartment could be rented or owned. Currently, Inuyasha owned suite 324.

"I still need a book bag, a calculator, and some new clothes." Inuyasha said to no one in particular. He closed the bathroom door and walked out of the room.

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It wasn't until late that Inuyasha entered his room. "Man! That was a lot of walking!" he said, plopping on the bed. He counted the money he had left over. He was still in the green.

Inuyasha rolled over and looked up at the ceiling. "I guess something good did come out of being a Williams." He said quietly reffering to his foster parents being rich. They only moved to New York to flee unwanted family members that always wanted their money.

Inuyasha had an allowance since he was 10. It stared out as 5 dollars. He would spend two and save three. Soon it grew to 15 dollars. Spend 5 save ten. 20 dollars. Spend 7, save 13. It was when he was 15 that they started giving him 250 dollars every week. Since Inuyasha matured faster than most boys his age, they decided to show him they noticed. Inuyasha would spend only 10 dollars, and then save the other 240. He got his dad to get him a bank account when he was 16. There he saved more than half of his saved money. It was no wonder that by age 17, when his parents were giving him about 450 dollars a week, that he had a load of money saved over. He hadn't spent a dime of it until today, which made him rich. He had over 14,376,960 dollars! (I did the math. I wished I could restrain myself from spending money. I would have been a billionaire.)

He had been planning this trip since his 17th birthday. He went through a LOT of crap to get himself into a school in Japan that had nothing to do with an exchange program. It felt weird that it had finally happened. Sort of like a dream.

"Tomorrow I start school!" He said happily. Then, before he knew it, he fell asleep on the soft bed.