"Tell me this is a joke! I mean, this is a joke, right? Right?" I yelled at my mother. She sighed and shook her head.
"Hoshiko, I'm sorry, but it's not a joke. Your father has been offered a job in Japan, and we're moving there in 2 months. Or, rather, you and Yoshiko are moving there in 2 months. Your Uncle Isshin has offered to let you two stay with him in order to get used to life in Japan. In the meantime, Kenko, your father, and I will stay behind and work on finding a new house and selling this one." I glared hostilely at my mother.
"So, you're expecting me to just go along with this? To accept the fact that you're taking me away from my friends, my life, and everything I've grown up with to go live in some foreign country with people THAT I'VE NEVER EVEN MET BEFORE? Uh, sorry, but no. I REFUSE to go along with this!"
"Well you know what? It doesn't matter if you agree with me or not, YOU'RE GOING TO JAPAN!" And with that, my mother stormed out of the room. I groaned and flopped down on the bed that I shared with my twin sister, Yoshiko. She crawled over and curled up next to me. I stroked her hair. Her back shook, and I knew she was crying. I wondered why.
"Yoyo," I said quietly, using our childhood nicknames, "Why are you crying?"
"Because, Hoho, I'm scared! Why is mom making us go to Japan? Does she not want us anymore? Or is she just trying to scare us and be mean? I mean, I'm scared out of my mind! I can speak Japanese just fine, but reading it is out of the question! And what if I get lost or something? I know everybody here because it's a small town, but in Japan, I won't know anybody and you know I can't speak to strangers! And mom knows that! And-" I clamped my hand over Yoshiko's mouth.
"Yoyo, you'll be fine."
"But how do you know that? You can't guarantee anything won't happen! I mean-"
"Yoyo, I promise things will be fine. I'll always be there, right next to you. As long as we're together, I promise no harm will come to you. Okay?" Yoshiko nodded tearfully.
"Thank you, Hoho." Her body relaxed and she fell asleep. I lay there holding her, thinking about the future, until I too fell asleep.
Ichigo Kurosaki scowled at the ceiling. Today was the day that his American cousins would be arriving in Japan. He was not happy about that. His father was taking him out of school to go pick them up at the airport. He had never met any of his American relatives before. Apparently he had three cousins, two girls and a boy. But only the oldest two would be coming to visit. His idiot father had said that their names were Hoshiko and Yoshiko. Yuzu and Karin were very excited to meet them, but Ichigo wished they would have stayed in America. He'd been around Americans before. They were stupid, smelly, loud, disrespectful, and all around unpleasant. And besides, his cousins coming would mean that he would have to try even harder to hide his shinigami powers. Plus, he would be surrounded by even MORE females. Which was the last thing he needed.
"Ichigo!" speaking of females, the raven haired shinigami popped her head out of Ichigo's closet. "Ichigo, we've got another one!" Ichigo sighed. That was the third one today! Why were the Hollows so active? He just hoped it had nothing to do with his cousins.
I stepped off the plane, looking around in awe at the Tokyo Airport. There were Japanese people everywhere! Conversations flowed around us, blending together so you couldn't tell one from another. Hoshiko, who hated large crowds, clasped my hand nervously. I smiled reassuringly at her, and we headed off to where Hoshiko said the greeting area was. It didn't take long to find the people waiting for us. There was a family of four waiting for us, and one of the girls held a large sign that said in English, "Welcome to Japan, Hoshiko and Yoshiko!" I looked at Hoshiko.
"I think they're waiting for us." I said wryly.
"Gee, you think?" Hoshiko said back. She sighed, linked her arm with mine, and grabbed her bag. "Well, let's go meet the family!"
We approached the group. Suddenly, a black haired man with 5:00 shadow came bounding out of the group.
"Ah! Hoshiko-chan! Yoshiko-chan! Welcome to Japan!" he shouted. He came running up to us and grabbed us into a big bear hug that squeezed the breath out of me.
"Who…are you?" gasped Hoshiko.
"I am your Uncle Isshin! Welcome!" My vision began to blur. I…couldn't…breathe…
"Oi! Goat chin! You're suffocating them!" called an orange haired teen. Uncle Isshin looked at us, shrugged, dropped us, and began dancing around in a circle.
"You must meet my lovely children! She!" he pointed at a younger girl with strawberry blonde hair, "Is Yuzu! The girl next to her is her twin sister, Karin! And that grumpy lump is Ichigo!" Ichigo scowled and the twin girls bowed. I smiled, and Hoshiko looked apathetic. I grabbed her hand, and pulled her over to meet the family.