A/N: I don't own Junjou Romantica because I'm not Nakamura-sensei. Please enjoy!

Chapter One: Marukawa

When Aikawa Mikari got off the airplane at Narita Airport, he felt a strange mixture of elation and anxiety. Sure, Japan wasn't a foreign country, he had been born here, but it had been thirteen years since his family had left for Canada. And even if he was technically returning home, that didn't change the fact that he was now alone in a country he scarcely knew. It was frightening to consider what could happen to him–it would be easy to make a mistake without even knowing it and end up he didn't want to imagine where. Simultaneously, however, he was filled with excitement. He was finally here, soon to start university in Japan, and he'd be living with his big-shot editor cousin Eri. Maybe instead of making a mistake, he'd happen upon a miracle, and all of his worries would drift away.

Before he could happen on either a miracle or a mistake; however, he needed to happen upon a taxi. He had arrived in the afternoon, and was planning to surprise Eri at Marukawa Publishing where she worked, but he had no idea where the publishing house was. Hopefully if he could find a taxi and tell the driver, they'd be able to take him there and after that Eri could tell him anything he needed to know. He hefted his small suitcase (his parents were mailing the rest of his belongings directly to Eri's apartment) and followed the signs to the taxi queue. Luckily, since it was the airport, there were a variety of taxis waiting and he was able to quickly get into one.

"Where to, miss?" asked the driver politely, his English no doubt carefully practiced so he could pick up more foreign tourists. He had seen Mikari's shaggy hair and feminine petiteness and mistaken him, as everyone did, for a girl. It had happened so many times in the past that Mikari barely even registered it anymore.

"Do you know Marukawa Publishing?" he asked in Japanese.

Startled by Mikari's unexpectedly male voice, the driver turned around to get a closer look at him.

"I'm sorry sir," he apologized remorsefully. "I'm afraid I mistook you for a young lady."

Mikari shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't like he cared anyway. In terms of things he could be mistaken for, a girl wasn't that bad–at least he wasn't being mistaken for a criminal or something.

"That's okay," he said, wanting to get it over with already. "So do you know Marukawa Publishing?"

The driver nodded, grateful his customer hadn't reacted angrily to the mistaken identity. The last thing he needed was a customer who yelled at him, or, worse, became violent. This young man hadn't gotten even slightly offended, he was still sitting in the taxi's back seat like nothing had happened. Relieved, the driver was only too happy to move on to the business of taxi driving.

"Sure I do," he replied proudly. "I've been driving this taxi for thirty years."

Mikari ignored him, and he turned around and started on the way to Marukawa. As they drove, the man chattered aimlessly, trying to reassure himself his customer wasn't angry with him.

"So where are you returning from?" he asked, correctly guessing that Mikari was originally Japanese.

"Canada," Mikari replied, after realizing the driver was waiting for him to respond. "My parents live in Vancouver, we moved there when I was five."

The driver carefully took an exit, then asked,

"What brings you back to Japan?"

"University," Mikari answered.

"I have daughter in high school myself," the driver said. Mikari made a noncommittal sound, wondering if he was meant to comment on the driver's statement. The man seemed to be about to launch into a telling of his life story, but was prevented when they suddenly pulled up to the front entrance of Marukawa Publishing.

"Looks like you were in luck today," the driver said as Mikari passed him some cash and grabbed his suitcase. "Usually the traffic's a lot worse, but today it was pretty light. I guess it's three o'clock in the afternoon, so that might have something to do with it, but still."

Mikari thanked him and got out of the taxi, and the driver pulled away.

He looked up at the Marukawa Publishing building before him. So this was where Eri worked. It was a five-story stone and red brick building; on the side there were two posters promoting new works published by Marukawa authors. Mikari checked the posters with interest. It seemed Usami Akihiko, one of Marukawa's star authors, had published a new book recently. Of course it would be doing good, he thought, especially since he knew it had been edited by none other than his brilliant and motivated cousin. He was suddenly excited to see her. She knew he was coming, of course, the whole thing had been worked out between his father and her after he expressed his desire to stay with her when he went to Japan, but she didn't know his exact arrival date and time, so his coming to Marukawa would be a surprise. He hoped she would be glad to see him, she had sounded excited on the phone.

He stepped towards the sliding front doors of Marukawa Publishing, carrying his suitcase. It had been thirteen years since he'd seen his cousin, but they had spoken on the phone in the interim and his parents had show him pictures of her now so he would recognize her. It seemed she had grown from a pretty teenager to a pretty young woman, and a highly successful one at that.

A young brunet man was rushing out just as he walked in.

"Aikawa?" he asked him, and the brunet replied, "Fourth floor," pointing quickly to the elevator before passing out through the sliding doors. Mikari watched him go, then followed his instructions and took the elevator up to the fourth floor. When the elevator door opened, Aikawa was standing on the other side, chatting with a young brunet man who could have been the twin of the one who had given him directions downstairs.

"What do you mean he was still sleeping when you left the apartment this morning?" she was asking, horrified. "He has another chapter due today, and I'm sure he's not done with it!"

"Eri?" Mikari asked awkwardly, unsure where he could appropriately break into their conversation. Aikawa looked up and saw him, and a smile immediately broke onto her previously about-to-go-nuclear face.

"Mikari!" she exclaimed. "Wow, you look so grown up. It's been so long: welcome back to Japan!" She turned to the green-eyed brunet at her side. "Misaki, this is Aikawa Mikari, my cousin. Mikari, this is Takahashi Misaki, my coworker."

"Nice to meet you, Takahashi-kun," Mikari said, noting with interest that Misaki's build was almost as feminine as his own. It wasn't often he met someone who was built like him; he wondered if Misaki, too, had been mistaken for a girl before.

"You to, Aikawa-kun," replied Misaki. He was about to continue, but Aikawa cut in before he could.

"I'd better head to your place and gripe that terrible rabbit to death about his deadline tardiness," she said. "I'm sorry Misaki, but can you watch Mikari for me? You don't mind, do you, Mikari? I'd take you with me, but I don't want Akihiko to kill you." Before the two could react, she zipped into the elevator Mikari had just vacated and pushed the button for the ground floor, the door shutting behind her.

Misaki and Mikari watched her go, then Mikari looked over to Misaki and noticed the green-eyed man was wearing his coat as if he, too, was about to go out.

"I don't know what she thought I was doing, standing by the elevator," Misaki grumbled. "I have a deadline-avoiding author to confront today, too."

"I can just wait here somewhere until she comes back, I guess," offered Mikari, feeling a bit disappointed. Sure, he understood how busy Eri was, but he had been hoping she could spare him a little time. He supposed surprising her at work perhaps hadn't been the best way to go.

"That's okay," said Misaki, the lines around his mouth softening, "I can't just leave you here. Ijuuin-sensei will be depressed, sure, but he won't be frothing at the mouth like Usagi-san, so I guess it's safe to take you along, if you don't mind."

The name rang a bell in the back of Mikari's mind.

"By Ijuuin-sensei, could you perhaps be talking about Ijuuin Kyo?" he asked hesitantly, doubting it would be the case.

Misaki's eyes began to light up. "You know him?"

"Yeah, of course, how could I not know about the author of The Kan?" Mikari replied. "I like cooking, so when I heard about it I decided to give it a read. I've read every volume now; Eri sends them to me since they're not available in Canada."

Misaki grasped his hands tightly, the light in his eyes getting brighter. "A fellow fan! This is perfect! Ijuuin-sensei always gets really down when deadline time comes around, since he's worried his work won't be good enough. Of course it always is, but I know if you told him you like it it will cheer him right up! It's worked for me before."

Mikari guessed Misaki was probably a super-fan from the way he was overreacting about Ijuuin's work. Must be pretty great to get to work with someone you idolize, he thought. Misaki, pausing to let him put his suitcase at his desk, dragged him by the hand he was still holding into the newly returned elevator, out onto the street, and down into the subway. The young man paid for both of their tickets, and they headed to the apartment to meet Ijuuin Kyo.