One year since Penny had met Atsuko, she had gotten exciting news from her Japanese friend: Computer-Con was coming to Tokyo, and she had wanted to bring Penny with her as her plus one.
With permission from her Uncle Gadget, she excitedly began packing her bags, eager for her trip, and driven to the airport for the last flight of the evening.
The airport was rather crowded when she finally arrived. Many of the people towered over the groggy little girl (who had slept most of the way to pass the time) as she made her way through the crowd alone.
"Sorry. Excuse me. Pardon me," she said, pushing past the legs of all the grown-ups around her. There was so much noise with all the strangers walking around, leaving her feeling a bit anxious. "I sure hope I'm heading towards the right place," she commented to herself.
"Penny!" a familiar voice called. "Penny, over here!" Turning around, she found a local girl with long, straight black hair her age, and an older woman were waiting for her.
"Atsuko!" Penny ran over and embraced her friend. "Oh, Atsuko, it's so good to see you. Oh, and you too, Mariko."
"Greetings, Penny-san," the old maid greeted her, bowing. "Welcome back to Japan."
Atsuko lived in a tiny house in a quiet neighborhood that had a breathtaking view of Mount Fuji. That was one of Penny's favorite parts about coming to see her. Since the house had only two bedrooms, Atsuko offered to let Penny stay on a blow-up mattress in her room next to her bed. Once it was blown up, Penny set her suitcase down on top of it.
"Thanks again for letting me stay at your house, Atsuko."
"Of course. It's always a pleasure to have you here, Penny. Are you excited for Computer-Con?"
"Yes, but it's not until tomorrow. Maybe we should kill some time until then. Is there anything you like to do for fun that's close by?"
"I know a beach nearby my house. It's the perfect weather outside for it."
"That sounds great! I'll go get my swimsuit."
"Me too," Atsuko giggled. After a moment of searching through her drawers, her excited smile turned to a disappointed frown.
"What's wrong, Atsuko?"
"I can't find my swimsuit anywhere."
"That's okay. I have a spare you can borrow." Penny pulled a blue, two-piece swimsuit out of her suitcase.
"Thank you, Penny-san. I sure hope it fits."
"I'm just going to go change in the bathroom. I'll be right back."
Not bothering to untie the back, Penny squirmed into her red bikini top. The bottom wasn't much harder to put on, but an area near the leg got twisted, so it needed some straightening out before she left the bathroom.
Bringing her clothes back with her, she found Atsuko, standing outside the door, dressed in Penny's spare bikini.
"Wow, Atsuko, you look great! I think it fits you better than it does, me."
"Oh, thank you, Penny," her face reddened a bit. "You look nice, too."
They packed a bag with sunscreen, towels, sunglasses, and a bright green Frisbee to play with while they were there.
"You lead the way, Atsuko."
The beach was nearly as busy as it was at the airport. It was sunny, warm, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. The warm breeze felt nice on their mostly bare bodies, as did the hot white sand squishing into their sandals.
Walking along, the girls found a more secluded area to play. Penny stopped to look around for a moment.
"How about here? This seems like a good spot. Not a lot of people around."
"That should be fine."
Setting their bags down, Penny took a bright green Frisbee out of her bag.
"Catch, Atsuko!"
Several minutes the girls enjoyed themselves throwing the disc back and forth, laughing and running as they each made an effort to catch it. But then Atsuko had gotten a bit carried away, and the disc had gotten caught on the wind, blowing far off into a rocky area out of sight.
"Don't worry, I'll go and get it!" Penny offered.
"There it is!" Penny climbed over a series of rocks to get the Frisbee, careful not to scrape her hands and legs as she moved. As soon as it was in her hands, a large shadow loomed over her.
Looking up, she didn't have time to react as a large, meaty pair of hands grabbed her, muffling her and carrying her away where no one could hear her cries for help.
何かが正しくない (Something is not right,) Atsuko thought. ペニーは今までに戻る必要があります。 (Penny should be back by now.)
Feeling rather worried, she ran off in the direction Penny went.
"Penny?" she called out. "Penny, where are you?"
Her dark eyes widening in horror, she saw a katana in the sand, which had broken their Frisbee in half. A note in Japanese was left on the end:
あなたはあなたに 友人?是非、彼女を入手してください。(You want your friend? Come and get her.)
Taking a moment, a dark feeling of dread overcame her.
"Waruda."