Well, I was originally going to do a one-shot, but then I thought about all of my other stories. They're one shots! Most of them anyways, and the ones that aren't I know I'm not going to complete any time soon. So.... this is going to be made into a story. Which hopefully, I can finish. So during the long intervals of when I don't update, please be patient. I still have a life of my own and if I don't do well in school (starting in September) my parents are going to cut off my internet.

Okay, now that I've finished that part let's get on with the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Persona series, just my character Alyson.

We Drive on the left side

Alyson James stood up as it was announced that people looking to go to Inaba City as well as Yasoinaba station were supposed to get off at this terminal. That's what she could gather from the mentions of Inaba and Yasoinaba anyways. Pulling out a crumpled piece of paper from the right pocket of her jeans, she read the instructions her mom had written down for her. Get off at the Yasogami terminal then get onto the train heading towards Yasoinaba.

The girl sighed as she slipped the paper into her pocket again. Who knew there could be so many instructions just to get to ONE place? But then again, her mother worried a lot about her. And she was in a different country where signs were written in a different language. Thank god her mother made sure that it was all burned into her memory.

Strapping on her backpack and dragging the travel bag behind her (it had wheels), she boarded the train that the sign specified would head to Yasoinaba. Not too many people were getting on board the train; Alyson noted that there was one other boy who was around her age. He had neatly trimmed silver hair and gray eyes. Also, he was wearing a school uniform. If the manga versions of school uniforms were anything to go by. The reason she also noticed him was that he had just been on the train she got off.

Finding an empty seat, she sat down and resisted the sleep that was threatening to over come her.

Japan was fourteen hours ahead of California and the trip from Los Angeles to Tokyo had been 11 hours and 20 minutes. Alyson had gotten at least three hours of sleep, but it was hard to sleep on a plane. Once she had gotten to Japan, she couldn't afford to fall asleep in case she missed the stations she was suppose to get off. Grabbing the can of coffee she had bought at a vending machine, she opened it and drank half of the contents in two gulps. Hopefully, this would hold her up until it was time to go to bed.

Jet lag could be a real pain in the ass.

Staring out the window just made her sleepy so tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, she bent down and pulled out a small photo album. It was something Alyson's friends had whipped up when they heard about her two year stay in Japan. They had been upset at first, demanding why she had to move to a different country. Eventually, they understood that this was something that she wanted and instead of continuing to complain about it, they whipped up a photo album where they wrote comments differing from demanding her to get them a souvenir to wishing her good luck and that could she please email them once in a while.

Alyson read through the comments for a fifth time since she had arrived in the Country.

"Alyson! Over here!" Once again, the girl had been dragging her heavy travel bag she had made the mistake of letting her mom pack when she heard someone call her name. Looking up, she saw a dark haired brunette frantically waving her arm with a hand cupped over her mouth. This was definitely the person who called out to Alyson.

She looked about nineteen; too young to be her mom's friend. So she was probably the daughter.

"Alyson James, right?" The older girl asked once she came over. "Mom was right when she said I'd be able to easily tell who you were."

"Do I stand out that much?" Alyson asked as she tugged on her platinum blonde hair.

"A little." The girl blurted out, then bit her lip. "Okay, maybe a lot. But it's nothing to be ashamed of." Holding out her hand, she introduced herself. "Sakura Koyoru. I mean, Koyoru Sakura. Koyoru's my first name."

"Alyson James," She shook her hand.

"Sorry mom couldn't make it, but she was busy writing a report for her boss. She says to tell you that she's sorry about this and that she'd see you later tonight.... that is if you haven't passed out yet."

They began walking towards a Silver Honda Civic when Koyoru stopped to wave at a man with a jacket slung over his shoulder. He had a bit of a grubby appearance but seemed friendly enough. Standing shyly behind him was a little girl with her hair tied up in two pony tails behind her head. The man was talking to the silver haired boy who she saw board the Yasoinaba train.

"Dojima-san!"

The man turned towards them and waved in return. Grabbing Alyson's hand, Koyoru dragged her along towards them.

"Hey," The man greeted them both. He looked Alyson up and down once before smiling. "So this is the famous American your mom told me she was going to look after for two years."

"Famous American...?" Alyson could feel her face growing hot. Both the little girl and the boy her age were staring at her. Alyson was self conscious and felt VERY uncomfortable about being in the spot light when surrounded by people she didn't know.

"Yeah... mom told our neighbours and her co-workers about you." Koyoru sighed. "Practically everyone in Inaba knows about you now."

Alyson didn't say anything in fear that her voice would crack. This was a small town, so news probably spread around fast but...

"Never mind about that, we don't bite." Dojima laughed. "I'm Dojima Ryotaro, and we're one of your neighbours. Koyoru lives about three houses away from us."

In turn, he introduced the boy and girl. The silver haired boy was Souji Seta, his nephew and the son of his older sister. Like Alyson, he was going to be a transfer student and a second year at Yasogami High School. He was staying in Yasoinaba for a year because his parents were going to work overseas. The small brown haired girl who hid behind him was his daughter, Nanako.

"I'm.... James Alyson? I mean, Alyson James. James is my last name."

"Um... hi," Nanako said shyly.

"Nice to meet you," Souji said, shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you..." Alyson said quietly, shaking his hand in return.

"Well then.... let's get going. My car's over there." Dojima hoisted his jacket even higher on his shoulder. He pointed across the parking lot. Waving good bye, Dojima walked to his car with his nephew and daughter in tow. "And Koyoru? Try not to drive straight into a lamp post this time."

"That was one time! One time!"

Dojima laughed at Alyson's expression of having to be in the same car of someone who drove into a street lamp.

Alyson followed Koyoru who used the mini remote to open unlock the doors. As Koyoru threw her travel bag into the back, Alyson entered the right side of the car only to find that the steering wheel was in front of her.

"Alyson...." The sides of Koyoru's mouth twitched. "We drive on the left side here."

"Oh... right." Blushing, Alyson immediately got out of the driver's seat and positioned herself on the left passenger seat. She had forgotten that in Japan, cars were driven on the left side of the roads, so the driver's seat was positioned on the right.

"Hey Alyson, want to get something?"

"Huh? What?" Said person sat up straight and yawned. She groaned when she realized that she just fell asleep despite the promise that she made herself not too until bed time.

"Want to get something?" Koyoru asked again. " I need to fill up on gas. I was going to earlier, but I would've been late in picking you up. Thank god I had enough gas to drive to the station and back."

"I'll have a coffee. I need the caffeine." Stifling another yawn and stretching her arms, Alyson stepped out of the car and entered the store to try and find coffee. A few minutes later, she came out holding two energy drinks, one of them open.

She saw a Gas Attendant filling up the car, but Koyoru was nowhere in sight.

"Where's the.... er, Koyoru?"

"Oh, if you're asking about the driver she said to tell you she was in the washroom." The Gas Attendant replied."You're not from around here, are you?"

Alyson had been drinking her energy drink, but hearing what the Attendant said made her splutter and choke on it. After a few minutes when she was sure that it was okay to breathe again, Alyson stared at the Attendant.

The Attendant seemed amused as she spoke again. "Sorry about that. But it was kinda obvious. Are you from another country?"

Alyson nodded. What was this person getting at?

"It must be my lucky day. I met a boy around your age earlier from the City. Now I meet someone who's not even from Japan."

"Yes. I came from the US." For some reason, she wanted to get away from the Attendant fast. She had no idea why, she just wanted to.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you."

For the fourth time that day, Alyson shook hands with someone. Letting go, the Attendant got back to her work. Once Koyoru arrived, Alyson nearly entered the right side of the car again before catching herself and seating herself properly on the left.

All of a sudden, her sight seemed to waver and her head was pounding. She felt very close to vomiting but kept her mouth firmly shut. Everything seemed to be spinning. And then seconds later, she was fine again. What the heck was that? Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to drink all those coffees and that energy drink so that she wouldn't fall asleep. For nearly over thirteen hours, she stayed awake.

Alyson yawned.

Forget waiting for tonight to fall asleep.

She was tired and she was going to sleep NOW.

Auggh, who knew writing one chapter could hurt your eyes? Anyways, to those who've played the game, they'll know exactly what happened to Alyson. But if you haven't, you could either wait until I finish this story or you could go to Wikipedia and spoil what happened. It's your choice. So until then, I hope you enjoy the first chapter. Don't worry, the other characters will appear more in this story.