Author's Note: Welcome to One Time, One Meeting! This is a story including the Shugo Chara characters and a few of my own. OTOM (shortened version of my title) is about a high school freshman, named Carmelia Ishii, who has lived in America for her whole life coming to live in Japan with her relatives. Carmelia is unsure of herself and finds that she has "laid" two guardian character eggs. With her guardian characters and her new friends in Seiyo High School, she may be able to find the confidence that she needs.

I don't own Shugo Chara, I only own Carmelia Ishii and her two guardian characters (so far). "Ichi go, ichi e" which means "One Time, One Meaning" is a popular Japanese quote. I also don't own this quote.

I tapped my finger on the cool screen of my iPod while my other finger twirled my hair idly. I let out a huge sigh, causing a few people to turn and look at me. I gave them a shrug and stood up, dusting imaginary dust off of my jeans before moving to the bathroom, my long legs taking me there quickly. I splashed cool water on my face then looked up at the mirror. I watched as small droplets of water trickled down my face then paused at my chin before plopping into the small sink. A pair of faded green eyes stared back at me. I looked at my hair and groaned. The caramel brown had returned to my hair, claiming my roots. I tugged at my dark purple hair. I needed to re-dye it before school started in a week. I fixed the small black tie and gave myself a white smile as I let it swing before landing just below my chest.

"We are landing soon in Tokyo. Trains and busses will take you to major towns and cities. Taxis are available to take you to smaller towns as well. Hope you enjoyed your flight to Japan."

I wiped the moistness off of my face and swiftly returned to my seat. I bent over to gather my carry on items and felt something slide out of my jacket. I turned to see two objects fall onto my seat with a light plop.

I had almost forgotten about my eggs. Strange huh? Before I fell asleep on the plane a few stops ago, I had prayed to some greater being to help me find myself and find the courage to make new friends in this new country. I awoke to these two eggs on my lap. Both were the size of my palm and were smooth to the touch. One of them was a checkered pattern of black and silver and black. The other one was black with a midnight blue silhouette of a bird with its wings stretched out as if to fly. When I picked them up, they were warm. It freaked me out, but I couldn't scream or anything, after all, I was on a plane.

It might be a prank, but I adored them. I thought they were so cute and they matched me. I pulled the hood of my jacket over my head to hide my pathetic roots. I carefully placed the eggs, rather, my eggs into my pocket and shoving my hands inside as well. That way, I could walk around while holding them, securing them.

Sooner or later, I was in a taxi and I was headed to a nice house in a quiet neighborhood near the mountains. I heard that Japan was beautiful, but I never imagined it to be this breath taking. Even the grand Tokyo. High buildings, pollution and plenty of people walking shoulder to shoulder reminded me of New York City, where I lived last year. Cities like these were unavoidable, but Japan managed to make my claustrophobia disappear and take my breath away.

I stared in awe as the taxi dropped me off. I walked towards the few houses in the neighborhood and looked around. I found the door that said "Ishii" and knocked on the door. I was expecting a thin paper house like in the movies or books. It was like an American house, but of course, everything was in Japanese. At least at my home we spoke in Japanese and such.

My parents weren't big on heritage, after all, they moved across the world to America to get away from it all. But ever since I got a letter from Seiyo High School requesting I come live and study abroad, they couldn't turn it down. And I couldn't wait. My parents especially loved this part: all expense paid. I didn't have to pay for the uniform, books or the trip here. I would only need to pay for food, transportation, and any other things I would like to buy here.

The door swung open and I came face to face to a beautiful woman. Her skin was fair and her eyes were like deep pits, surrounded by thick lashes. She looked at me for a second before a huge pearly white smile erupted on her face. She enclosed me in a huge smile and bounced up and down, ", Caramelia's here from America!" she exclaimed. I smiled back, my arms stuck to my sides due to her tight embrace. I felt the egg in my right pocket shake and I thought for a moment it would hatch, but before Hideki came downstairs, the egg calmed down. Hideki, my uncle, tightened his arms around me, even tighter than my aunt had. Speaking of, what was my aunt's name? I've forgotten.

"Oh yeah, sorry Caramelia, you've probably forgotten my name. I'm Akane. Akane Ishii. Akane being my first name as you say in America. In Japan we use the last name."

"Oh I know, Akane-san," I said with a smile and the bow that I practiced with my mom. I bowed deeply, my body making an upside down L.

She patted my back, "Oh Caramelia, you don't need to bow or call me with '-san' at the end. You can just call me Akane."

I nodded and smiled again, "You can call me Lia."

"Lia," she said slowly. I could tell she was trying hard to pronounce the L in my name. Figures, they don't have L's in Japanese, "Dinner is in a few minutes. Your room is upstairs, last door on the right. Ryo's room is on the left, in front of yours."

"Ryo?" I asked, running my fingers through my dark purple hair. Akane and Hideki didn't have a child. Dad would have told me if his brother became a father.

"Hm?" A sleek, dark figure descended down the stairs, his legs were longer than mine, making him at least two inches taller than me. A light skinned hand reached out and grabbed an apple from a fruit bowl. I watched as he brought it to his mouth and made a small bite disappear. His dark eyes met mine, "You say my name?"

He spoke in perfect English. Wow, impressive! I wanted to praise him, but I couldn't.

"Neko got your tongue?" he laughed, enunciating the Japanese word slowly.

I gulped, "Er, I'm Carmelia Ishii."

He ran his fingers through his hair, which looked like a really dark brown color. He gave me a small wave, "I'm Ryo Ishii."

I saw Akane and Hideki sneak out of the room, giving a funny grin. I let my faded green eyes flicker over him, trying to figure him out.

"Liking what you see? Hm, even if you were born in America, I didn't think you were into the incest like those hentai Japanese," he said through a huge teasing grin. Again, his Japanese was enunciated slowly.

I felt my face flush, "N-no!" I spoke in fluid Japanese, "And I didn't know Akane and Hideki had a kid! You must be my age."

He brushed the hair from his eyes, "Calm down, no need to get too defensive. I'm not Akane and Hideki's son. I was adopted last year from California. But I can speak fluent Japanese. But I often speak English. Chicks love it," he winked.

I stared wide eyed as he laughed at my reaction. I saw a slight figure behind him, only four inches or so. It looked just like him, with dark brown hair and huge dark eyes. It had on a camouflaged outfit with a matching bucket hat. I stared at it for a second, and the little figure hid behind Ryo.

Ryo looked behind him, following my gaze and saw the little creature. He then looked at me, shocked, "Wait, so can you see Kon?"

"Who's Kon?" I asked.

He laughed, "You must be clueless, and don't you have one too? Only bearers can see them."

"Who? Bearers of what?"

The small figure named Kon floated up towards me and then spoke to me in a small yet raspy voice, "Guardian Characters."

Author's Note: Sorry that this was so short (only about 300 words or so). It was just an introduction to the story. The rest of the story will be in Carmelia's point of view and occasionally other people's views. Reviews are very, very welcome.