Sooooo... this is my first story, which means that there will probably be some out-of-character moments, continuity errors, jokes that fall flat, or just plain bad writing. If you spot anything that could be fixed or improved then I would love to hear your feedback. If the quality of this work makes you want to blood eagle me (look it up), please turn off your computer and stay away from the internet for the sake of your own sanity.

[Dialogue in brackets is in English.]

Italics are for a character's thoughts

~Chapter 1~

Liam stared at the Japanese countryside through the small window of the Boeing 747. While his ticket hadn't been for a window seat, the traveling teenager had been pleasantly surprised to find that the entire row was empty save for himself. Realizing that it was almost time to land, Liam's nervousness returned.

What if four semesters worth of cram Japanese isn't enough? He thought as he continued to stare out at the landscape. You've always been good with languages in the classroom but it's not like you've ever actually been to a country with a foreign language. Judging from her e-mails she still speaks English very well, but you can't make her translate for you all the time.

I was suddenly taken from my thoughts by a loud chime from the speakers overhead followed by the announcement that the plane was soon to land. The seat belt icon was lit up but my belt was still secure since the plane had taken off. Stewardesses began to walk up and down the aisles to make sure that everyone was secure. The announcement was then repeated in Japanese.

Oh crap, you didn't understand a word of that even though you already knew what he would say. You're doomed to complete dependence and confusion... Wait! Maybe you just couldn't understand the announcement because it was being made over the crackly airplane speaker. You could totally make out most of a conversation with an actual person.

A stewardess began to speak to another passenger across the isle.

"Hello sir, ... please ... thank you."

CRAP BASKETS! OK, time for Plan B. You could pretend you're deaf and try communicating exclusively through gestures. No, that's a terrible idea, just wing it. You're teacher did say that it would take a week or two for everything to click.

I began to distract myself from my worries by looking at the view as the plane landed on the runway. Unfortunately, my mind simply changed gears to other worries.

We've both done a lot of growing since we last met. Will it be weird living in the same house? Nah, it's not like you'll be alone, and it's never been weird before. Regardless, she's the last person that you can still truthfully call your friend.

I made my way off of the plane and began to search for any faces I recognized. Failing to locate my friend, I decided to go and collect my luggage. Luckily, the signs in the airport had Japanese in English lettering on them underneath the kanji characters so I had only a little trouble finding my way around the building. After a short walk, I reached the conveyor belt that held the baggage from the plane I just came in on. I waited as the carousel slowly brought people their luggage.

Wow, those blue bags must be pretty popular, six of them have gone by already.

I continued to watch the bags go by...

Where's my bag?!

Looking at the clock on the wall reveals that I had been standing there for ten minutes, meaning the carousel must have run all the way around at least a dozen times already. Confused, I snatch my plane ticket out of my pocket and look around at the signs hanging from the ceiling.

Yes, this is definitely the right place...

Great, in the course of half an hour I had managed to lose track of both my friends and my luggage. Eventually, everyone else walked away from the baggage conveyor, leaving only a solitary unclaimed bag which bared absolutely no resemblance to my own.

*giggle*

I spun around to find a little girl with pigtails looking up at me with my bag behind her. She looked kind of familiar.

"Looking for something?" The little girl said, continuing to stare at my face. After a moment of thought, I was able to respond.

"Yes, thanks for finding my bag for me." I smiled as I reached for the bag. I knew full well that she had to have taken the bag in the first place, but decided not to antagonize the little kid. Before I could reach the bag however; the girl had already cut me off.

"No Liam nii-chan, this is my bag. I found it." The little girl said with a mischeivous expression on her face.

Of all the nerve! Wait, how does she know your name? Why did she call you nii-san?

Suddenly, everything clicked into place. I brought my hand back and ceded control of the bag.

"Okay Hazuki, you can hold onto it for now." I said smiling, having finally understood the situation. "You've grown so much! You couldn't even walk when I last saw you. I bet you don't even remember me do you?" I crouched down so that I was at eye-level with Hazuki.

"Nuh-uh, you were the silly nii-chan that ran into the glass door at Uncle Ryuu's house." Hazuki matter-of-factly.

I touched my forehead where I could still feel the impact of that door, even after all these years.

Of all the things for her to remember...

"Anyway, where is your big sister?" Glossing over her last comment.

Hazuki grinned. "She's right behind you!"

Without looking behind me or showing a hint of surprise (Not to be confused for a lack of surprise, for I had no idea there was anyone behind me) I took on a whimsical expression.

"[Since when did you two get all sneaky?]" I asked as I stood up and brought myself face to face with the smiling expression of my only remaining friend, Minami Shimada. Well, at least I would be face to face with her if she wasn't almost a full head shorter than me. I guess I'd grown a lot more than I thought.

"[Hey Minami, when did you get so shor-OOF!]" My question was met with a swift punch to the gut, knocking the wind right out of me.

"[Hey Liam, when did you run out of breath so easily?]" Minami retorted as I recovered from the blow.

Well she's as prideful as ever.

Hazuki let out a laugh. "What did he say, what did he say?" she asked excitedly. Now that I think about it, I could understand Hazuki a lot better than any of the adults I ran into.

"Just something stupid." Minami said as she patted her little sister on the head.

Having caught my breath, I turned to Minami. "[Hey Minami, would you mind speaking in Japanese as much as possible? I'm having a little trouble getting used to it.]"

Her expression changed to one of sympathy. "Sure, I remember ... at first. Let's go to the station and ... sleep."

This is going to be a long semester.

Oh, the annoying things that are introductions. Hopefully I've managed to leave you asking questions.
*Narrator voice*
What happened to Liam's other friends? What is his past with the Shimada family? Will he get used to Japanese, or will his poor listening skills be used as a contrived plot device? Why is there no Akihisa in this story yet?

You will probably find the answer to some of these questions if you still remember this story by the time I get around to publishing the next chapter.