It was my last day in America, the place where I had been born and raised. Even though I had been born in America, I was Japanese. My mother was born there and I would have been too, if she hadn't gotten divorced before I was born. She never re-married, but she was never upset about getting divorced either. She was strong and I admired her for that. Though, being raised by her has made me turn out the same way. Neither of us needed a man in our lives to be happy.

I never met my father, but it didn't really bother me. Sure, maybe at my mother's friend's parties when they had father-daughter dances, but I had never known what a father was like, so I couldn't miss something I never had. There are times where I think that my mother feels bad about it all, but she never lets it show.

We lived happily together, just the two of us. Though, I should probably explain more about my mom. See, my mom owns a large Hotel chain. My grandfather was the one who passed it down to my mom, the first born, saying something about being 'too old for this kind of stuff'. My grandparents then arranged a marriage between her and some big-shot business man in Japan. They wanted to have strong relations with one another so the businesses could help each other, but it didn't work out that way. Not long after my mom was pregnant with me, he left her. My mom, devastated, moved to America, never wanting to come face to face with him again and decided to expand the Hotel chain out there.

The family business flourished in America, with the largest hotels being in Miami, Los Angeles, New York and Las Vegas. Not long after that, I was born, and my mom's raised me all by herself. Well, I guess I shouldn't say that, we had maids and some nannies to look after me when she was busy with work, but she always made it a point to see how my day was and have dinner with me. I really respected her and still do.

Unfortunately, a couple months ago, my mom got sick and now we're at the airport in Orlando waiting for our flight to Japan. The reason we're going back to Japan is so my mom can get treatment, and because my mom wanted to go see grandfather as well.

"I'm so sorry, dear," my mom said for the umpteenth time since we arrived at the airport.

"Mom, it's fine. It's not your fault you got sick. I just want you to get better and if it means we have to move to Japan, it's fine. Plus, I'm looking forward to attending a new school. I've always wanted to go to Japan and see what it's like," I reassured her.

My mom put her arm around me and gave me a slight squeeze.

"You're such a strong girl… I'm so proud of you, you know that? I couldn't have asked for a better daughter," she said.

I smiled at her as we walked to the gate and boarded our private plane. Flying always kind of freaked me out, but I loved looking out of the plane's window to look out at the clouds below us. I brought my laptop and my phone to keep myself entertained for the next thirteen hours to Japan. My mom had the same along with her, so she could catch up on some work during the flight. Though, knowing her, she'd probably give up and take a nap after a couple hours. I never knew how she could sleep on a plane, but then again, she wasn't the one that was scared of flying.

I sat down across from my mom and buckled myself in. It would be a long flight, but at least I had my laptop and my music to keep myself occupied. Waiting thirteen hours would be torture, but on the bright side, it gave me time to research where I wanted to visit first when I got there. I was always enamored with Japanese culture, and finally being able to go there was the most exciting moment in my life. Or at least it would have been if the circumstances for going to Japan were different. Though, I think my mom was kind of happy to go back, seeing as she would be able to see her old friends, and finally go back home after fifteen years of being in America. Even though my mom was born and raised in Japan, she never once went back to visit, so the only time she ever got to see her friends and family, was when they came to visit us.

Not long after we took off, I opened my laptop and went straight to google. Now, the hard part was deciding what I wanted to do first when I got to Japan. Did I want to go to Shinjuku or Kyoto first?

"Hm… definitely Kyoto," I muttered, looking at the pictures.

"What was that?" My mom asked, looking up from her laptop.

"Oh, nothing. I was just trying to figure out where I wanted to visit when we got to Japan," I told her, grinning.

She smiled and nodded, looking back down at her laptop.

"Kyoto's a good choice," she said. "I remember going there with your father just after we got married…," she trailed off and it made me feel bad for bringing it up.

"What was he like…," I asked, quietly.

"What's with the sudden interest?" She asked, grinning with her right eyebrow raised in question.

"Well, I've always kind of wondered… but I never felt that it was important. I mean, not that its really important now, but I kind of want to know what he's like in case I ever run into him since we're moving to Japan," I said, but it wasn't exactly true. The real reason was because I've never actually known what a father was like. A part of me wanted to know if I was like him, too.

"Well, you have his eyes, and hair color, but you have my personality," she mused. "He was a huge flirt, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before he found someone else…" my mom looked down at her computer screen. "But, you know what? I'm glad. If he hadn't I never would have moved to America, and the business never would have taken off like it did. And who needs him when I have an amazing daughter like you," she exclaimed looking back up and smiling right at me, causing me to smile along with her.

"I feel sorry for him," I said.

"Why's that?" She asked.

"Because now he's not married to the best woman in the world," I replied, grinning.

My mom snorted, "Maybe you do share his personality after all."

The two of us had a good laugh and continued to gossip and talk for a couple hours before we went back to do doing our own thing. She had said she wanted to take me to Kyoto herself and that one day, most likely in the winter so we could see the Daimonji Bonfire, and we would go to Shinjuku on a shopping spree. She wanted to show me the ropes and really introduce me to Japanese culture and I couldn't have been more excited. Okinawa was next on the list, for summer vacation. My mom said that grandpa had a private cottage on the beach and that we could go out there to stay for the whole break. Lastly, was Hokkaido in the springtime. Apparently there were a lot of fields with flowers and of course, would look a lot better in the springtime.

Since I had my plans all set for when we got to Japan, the next thing would be to do a little research on the school I would be going to. The name of the school was Ouran, and I wasn't exactly sure what to think of that. It was some prestigious private school, and the girl's uniforms were kind of ugly to tell the truth. But, it was something my mom would approve of, seeing as they were dresses. They would be better if the sleeves weren't so puffy. Maybe I could ask one of the maids to tailor it for me? Nonetheless, the school grounds were gorgeous. The front of the school had a large fountain and a large courtyard. There weren't many pictures of it up on the internet, but I suppose it wouldn't be anyone's top priority to just blatantly post pictures of some random school all over the internet.

Tomorrow would be my first day at Ouran, even though I would be totally jetlagged. Since we were moving right in the middle of the first semester, it would be easier if I went to school right away so I could have more time to catch up. There was no telling what kind of day I would have tomorrow, but all I knew was that it would be the start of a new chapter in my life.