-1 Welcome to the Night Before the Morning After

Akaya Lancaster crossed her arms and tried to hold in the tears. She fiddled with the silver dragon pendant that rested just below her collar bone. A voice could be heard throughout the length of the economy cabin. "This is your captain speaking. We will be approaching Tokyo in approximately ten minutes. Please keep you seat backs and tray tables up and all lose items stowed safely away. The time in Tokyo is 7:15p.m. and the temperature is 72 degrees." The voice went on but Akaya did her best to drown it out. She didn't want to be here and didn't care what time it was or what the weather was like.

Sean Boswell and his girlfriend Neela held hands as they walked through the airport. Sean had told Neela all about his favorite cousin Akaya, who was more like a sister to him. Her mother had died when Akaya was just a baby from leukemia. Akaya's father had died just weeks ago in a San Francisco earthquake. Akaya escaped with only cuts and bruises. Akaya's mother was the only sister of Sean's dad. Since Sean's dad was on a naval vessel somewhere near Spain, the only family Akaya could go to was Sean.

Neela and Sean had graduated school months ago and lived together in a two-bedroom apartment near Han's garage. While Neela attended some college classes, Sean worked with Han all day. Akaya still had one more year of high school left. Sean had laughed when Twinkie, who also still had one more year of school (because he had flunked his senior year) had volunteered to be Akaya's guide. Reiko and Earl would be there too which made Sean feel better about it. Sean's cell phone started ringing and jolted him out of his thoughts. He quickly answered it.

"Hello?"

"Sean? It's Kaya." She said using her nick-name. "I'm at the luggage claim."

"Ok, we are on our way." He heard a click and on the other end and snapped his phone shut. As he and Neela rounded the corner he looked for a head of dark brown hair.

Neela also looked for the girl that matched the picture Sean had shown her. She spotted a girl with shoulder length brown hair that fell in thick waves. She had part of it pinned back but her long bangs framed her face hiding her eyes. The girl was about Neela's height and build but had more of an hour glass shape that was enhanced by her hip hugging jeans and tight dark green halter top. When the girl finally looked up Neela could see that she had bright green eyes and a very solemn expression.

"Kaya!" Sean shouted over the roar of people around him. She quickly turned and spotted Sean and the girl she knew was Neela. Sean hugged her impulsively. "Hey kiddo." He didn't really know what else to say to her.

"I already have my bags." Akaya spoke in a monotone voice as she lifted two black duffle bags. Sean took one from her and the three made their way out of the busy airport.

Once they had reached Sean's car Akaya let out what sounded like a small laugh. Sean turned to her wondering what could possibly be funny. He saw her just looking at his red Evo and shaking her head.

"What?" He asked.

"Still racing?"

"Yeah. Still riding along?"

"You know me, road fears and all." It was a known fact that Akaya had a genuine fear of being behind the wheel in a car. She froze on all of her drivers tests and simply opted to walk or ride a bike. But she loved riding along in a race. And she often got invited for ride alongs by her racing friends.

"Ever ridden along in a drifting race?" Neela asked once they were in the car.

"Drifting, no, but I've always wanted to. Sean told me about them. And I've seen movies. It seems pretty cool."

"You know, maybe Han can cure your road fears. I mean if he can teach me to drift, he can do anything." Sean threw the statement out hoping to keep the conversation going. He wanted to keep Akaya talking to keep her mind off her dad.

"I don't know if I'm staying." She looked out the window.

"What do you mean?" Neela asked.

"I'll be eighteen in two months, and out of school in five months. I don't want to put you guys out. I know I'm just mouth to feed and you guys have your own lives. You probably don't want me around. I'll just leave when I can."

"No." Sean spoke up. "You are family. I'm gonna take care of you whether you like it or not." Akaya turned her face forward and opened her mouth to speak but Sean beat her to it. "I don't wanna hear another word about you feelin like you shouldn't be here."

"I can tell you that arguing with Sean is like asking a brick wall for directions." Neela laughed. For the first time in over two weeks, Akaya smiled.

The car finally came to a stop outside of a narrow three-story building sandwiched between what looked like warehouses. Akaya could tell that the first story was one big garage and there was a set of concrete stairs leading to the second story on the side of the building. Sean parked the car in the garage and told Akaya that they had to shut and lock the garage and go up the outside stairs to get to the apartment. While Akaya was walking up the stairs she looked across the street and could see the ocean from between the buildings. Inside the apartment was a small closet, a living area, and a very small kitchen.

It was decorated in simple blues and browns that Akaya thought looked comfortable. Up the narrow stairs to the left were two bedrooms and a small bathroom. Akaya's room was bigger than she had expected compared to the rest of the apartment. She had a twin sized bed pushed against the far wall, a small closet to the right, and a dresser and desk with a chair across from the bed. There were two large boxes in her closet and two small ones on her bed.

"We didn't want to unpack your things. They came in yesterday but we didn't want to invade your privacy." Sean said from the doorway. Akaya had already sat on the bed and put her bags on the floor.

"Thanks." She said not looking up.

"I'll leave you to get settled. Later tonight I gotta go out. I have to race tonight. If you want to, your welcome to come along. But if you just wanna stay in…"

"No, I wanna go out." She finally made eye-contact.

"I'll let you know when." He slid her door shut.

Akaya immediately stood and began unpacking her duffle bags. They were both full of clothes and once she got all of them put away she started on the two small boxes on her bed. The first one held only her laptop. It was an XPS that she had modified herself. She smiled as she ran her hand over the sleek black cover. This was her baby. She gently set it in the middle of the dark mahogany desk. The second box was all of her electronics, mp3 player, computer discs, wires for this and that, and a few framed pictures. She put a picture of her and her mom when she was a newborn, a picture of her mom and dad's wedding day, and a picture of her and her dad at her last high school science fair (Akaya had won first prize for the computer she had built) on top of her dresser. Various other pictures of her and friends went on the wall above the dresser. She left the two big boxes in the closet. They contained books and mementos that she just didn't feel like going through. A knock at her door caused her to jump slightly.

"Open." She called. She had been sitting at the desk setting up her laptop. Sean opened the door.

"You ready?"

"Yeah." Akaya stood up.

"You better bring a jacket." She heard Neela call. Akaya reached for her jean jacket and threw it on. She looked down at her black and white sneakers and wondered slightly if she was dressed right. She could see Neela wearing a very short skirt with high leather boots and a black corset top and black leather jacket. Shrugging slightly she followed Sean and Neela to the car.

Once they got to the parking structure where the races where held it was clear to Akaya that she was wearing more clothes than every girl there. She could have kicked herself. She looked like a nun compared to everyone else. She climbed out of the car and was bombarded with loud music, the sound of screeching tires. Almost immediately, she felt at home.

Sean kissed Neela and said something about meeting the guy he was supposed to race and disappeared. Neela introduced Akaya to Alden, Reiko, Earl (Reiko's boyfriend), and Twinkie. Akaya liked Twinkie right away and the two walked off to look at cars. Twinkie seemed impressed at how much Akaya knew about engines.

"Where'd you learn all this?" He asked as they looked at an Evo a lot like Sean's.

"I have a few friends in San Fran that race. Drag mostly, but I know about drifting a little too. My friend Alex would love this place. He taught me most of what I know." They continued to walk around and chat when Akaya spotted a black car and rushed to it. "Wow, do you see that 350 Z!" She exclaimed to Twinkie. But when she turned around he wasn't there.

"You like what you see? She's mine." Akaya looked back around to see a very muscular Asian who looked in his twenties. He had short spiky hair that was longer in the front than the back.

Takashi had seen the white girl walking around with Twinkie. At first he glared because he knew Twinkie was best friends with the gaijin that had taken away Takashi's girlfriend and title of Drift King. But when the girl rushed to his car and bent over the engine, the glare turned to a smile. She had a very nice body. Twinkie had continued to walk not realizing he had lost the girl until he was lost in a crowd of dancers. Takashi took the opportunity to approach the nice looking girl. "You like what you see? She's mine." He had said. She jumped and whipped around to face him. Her face showed curiosity but she crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

"Yeah… I mean, I bet she runs nice." She stammered.

"I've never seen you around here. I'm Takashi. You are?" He moved so he was only a few feet from her.

"Akaya."

"Such a beautiful name for a beautiful white dove." He smiled as she blushed. "Do you live here or are you visiting?"

"I have family here. My parents are dead… I just moved in with my cousin Sean."

"I'm so sorry." He moved a step closer, backing her against the car. "I know what that's like." Takashi could see Twinkie moving towards him quickly. "If there is anything I can do, maybe show you the city, please let me know." He passed a card into her hand. "My personal cell number. I always answer it." Then he turned and disappeared into the crowd.

"Kaya!" Twinkie's voice caused her to snap her head around. He was running towards her with a glare on his face. She shoved the card in her front pocket where her cell phone was. "You shouldn't run off like that." He sounded more worried than angry and Akaya wondered if maybe she had just had a conversation with the wrong guy. "Come on, let's go. Sean just won his race."

He took her hand and led her through the crowds until they reached Sean and Neela. Neela was counting a wad of cash and handed part of it to an Asian guy that Akaya hadn't seen before. When he looked up at Akaya, she immediately crossed her arms. Sean had seen this and shook his head. He knew that when Akaya crossed her arms it meant she felt vulnerable or scared. She had always been shy and really only had a handful of friends that she let herself hang around. Big crowds and new people always scared her. It then dawned on him that he probably should not have drug her here.

When Akaya crossed her arms Han took it as a sign of shyness. He knew about her situation and sympathized with her but he couldn't help but notice how pretty she really was. Her skin was slightly tanned and she was athletic giving him the impression that she liked the outdoors. Sean told him that she liked cars and racing but for some reason was afraid to drive. He had never met anyone who actually feared driving. It intrigued him. Twinkie pulled Han and Sean aside while Neela chatted with Reiko and Akaya.

"I'm sorry man, I took my eyes off her for one second and she was gone." Twinkie said looking at Sean.

"So? She's a big girl." Sean shrugged.

"Yeah but when I found her again she was getting hit on by the devil himself."

"Huh?" Han and Sean said at the same time.

"Takashi." Twinkie took a step back.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Han grit his teeth. At that moment they heard a familiar voice yell.

"I can beat you any time! I could beat you now!" It was Earl. Han, Sean and Twinkie all turned to see who Earl was yelling at.

"Alright." Takashi calmly said. "But let's make this interesting." Takashi turned his head towards Neela, Akaya, and Reiko. "The winner gets to kiss any girl of his choosing." A roar of cheering went up from all around. Earl glanced at his girlfriend an then back at Takashi.

"What if the girl refuses to be kissed?" A female from the crowd yelled.

"Then the loser can kiss his car goodbye." Takashi looked at Earl. "What's the matter? Afraid you'll lose?"

"No." Earl exclaimed. "Let's race!"

Akaya didn't know what to think as she made her way to the elevators with Neela and the others. Takashi seemed okay but Earl sure hated him. Akaya liked Earl, he had been so nice when she had met him, but the way he glared at Takashi made her second guess everything. When they got to the top Akaya stood anxiously waiting to see either Earl's yellow car, or Takashi's black one. She could hear the tires squealing and knew they were getting closer. Takashi's car came into view drifting just two feet in front of Earl. Takashi had won.

Takashi slowly got out of his car. With a smirk he headed right for the crowd surrounding Neela. Sean pulled Neela behind him. Reiko ran over to Earl's car as he was getting out and hugged him while saying something in Japanese. Takashi had intentionally provoked Earl to get close to the new American girl, and on everyone else's nerves.

"Let's see, who should I kiss?" Takashi said loudly. He turned to Reiko. "Should I add insult to injury?" He swiveled around and faced Neela. "No… I can think of someone much prettier." Sean stepped forward but Neela pulled him back.

"No Sean!" She shouted. "It's okay. His kisses aren't anything I haven't suffered before." Akaya snapped her gaze toward Neela.

"What makes you think I want to kiss you?" Takashi shifted his gaze slightly. Han was the fist to realize who Takashi meant to kiss. His fears were confirmed when Takashi took his first step towards Akaya. Sean and Neela stepped in front of Akaya. "You want your friend to lose his car?" Takashi directed the question at Akaya who's arms were locked tightly around her chest. Akaya's eyes went wide. She stepped away from Sean but did not uncross her arms. Takashi stepped closer to her and slipped his hand to the back of her neck. "How could I choose anyone but the most beautiful dove in the room." Takashi said while using his other arm to gently pry Akaya's arms lose so he could close in. Just before he made his final move he glanced at the crowd behind her. Sean was red with anger. Neela and Twinkie both looked at the floor. Reiko was still holding Earl and trying to calm him down. Han however, looked like he was jealous. Takashi smiled at this and leaned forward.

Akaya had never felt anything like this before. Her heart was pounding but as soon as his lips touched her, her entire body went rigid. For a second his tongue found its way into her mouth. She had no idea what to do, but before she could think of a reaction, he broke off the kiss. "So soft," Takashi said while looking straight at Han. Then he simply turned and walked away.

Sean told Akaya to get in his car and stay there. Earl had gone over to Sean and was talking so fast no one could understand him. Neela got into the car with Akaya.

"So I take it you and Takashi have a past." Akaya mumbled. Neela spent the next several minutes telling her everything that had happened before Akaya arrived in Tokyo between her, Takashi, Han and Sean. Akaya didn't speak the entire time. She was too busy watching the way Sean and the other guys were talking to each other. Han seemed almost more pissed off than Sean. Akaya knew that no one blamed Earl for what had happened. How was he to know Akaya would be targeted. Finally Sean started to walk towards the car. Before Sean drove away Akaya looked out the rear window to see Han staring at her. His face was like stone. Was he mad at her for letting Takashi kiss her and embarrass him and his friends?

Back at the apartment Akaya fell into bed shoes and all. She hadn't realized how badly jetlagged she was. Her door slid open and Neela poked her head in.

"You better get some sleep little lady. Your first day of school is tomorrow. Your uniform is in you closet."

"Uniform?" Akaya groaned as Neela slid the door shut.