Many thanks to my friend for the idea for this chapter! And sorry, but it may be a while before I get to update again. I'm leaving for camp soon, and after that I might be going to my dad's, and his computer is dead, so…

This chapter has been edited! It's a bit more thorough than the editing I did on Chapter One, so… But either way, it won't change the plotline, so there's really no reason to re-read it…


"How is it that you don't get airsick until the last two minutes of the flight?" Akaru demanded in an exasperated tone. Maxi was pale and green, and none too happy about it. Akaru thought it was funny.

"I hate landings," Maxi muttered.

"Come on," she said, offering Maxi her hand to help him out of his chair. "Let's get you something to help your stomach." Maxi shook his head.

"No… I don't trust my stomach enough to get up. Would it be too much trouble to ask you to get it for me?"

Akaru smirked good-naturedly at him. "Okay, but you have to pay me back, got it?" Maxi nodded weakly.

It was easier than Akaru had thought to find a vending machine and get Maxi something that looked like the Japanese equivalent of a Sprite. She sent a mental thanks to her mother for making sure that she was familiar with the Japanese currency.

"Here you go," she announced when she located where she had left Maxi.

"Thank you," he said as he took the can from her. Akaru flopped down in the seat beside him and tried not to giggle. Maxi glanced at her and his expression soured when he saw that she was amused at him. Of course, this did nothing to help his situation, as Akaru burst out laughing as soon as it happened.

"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't laugh," Akaru choked out at last. "It's just that you're so much like my brother…"

"We brothers are all alike, it seems," Maxi replied with a slight smile.

"Maxi!"

Akaru and Maxi both turned towards the girl who had called out. She was young, about fifteen, Akaru guessed.

"Hey Talim! I expected you to be late!" Maxi returned, his smile broadening. Trying to act like he wasn't sick, he stood up and waved to her. Akaru stood up as well. The girl ran to Maxi and threw her arms around his neck. Maxi hugged her back.

"Talim, didn't we tell you not to make a scene!" an older woman demanded as she and a man who Akaru assumed was her husband drew even with the three. The woman looked angry, but the man was smiling in a way that only a father would.

"I'm sorry, Mom, I just haven't seen Maxi in ages…" Talim looked at the ground and shuffled her feet, the very picture of regret. Akaru didn't buy it for a second.

"And who is this young lady, Son?" The man asked, giving Akaru an appraising look. She met his eyes evenly and didn't look away until he broke eye contact to look back at his son. It was an old habit of hers, one that she had learned when her parents were teaching her martial arts.

"Is this that girlfriend you've been telling us about?" his mother asked. Her tone was slightly cold, and she and Talim were shooting Akaru looks that said very clearly that neither of them thought that she would ever be good enough for Maxi. Akaru glanced at Maxi and saw the pain in his eyes. She instantly felt sorry for assuming that he was a shallow, arrogant, vain person.

"No," Maxi said, his voice quieter than it had been earlier. "No, Raven left me awhile ago. I told her that I was moving back to Japan and asked her to come with me, and she announced that she had been having an affair and she wouldn't even leave the city limits for someone like me," he added. Akaru knew about what he felt like. She had a boyfriend who had done almost the same thing to her when she moved from America back to New Zealand. He bluntly had refused to keep a long distance relationship with her and had a new girlfriend within an hour of learning Akaru was moving. Without thinking, she reached out and set a hand on Maxi's shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"That little bi-"

"Talim!"

"Well, she is! What kind of person can do that to someone! I swear, if I ever go to America, I'll hunt her down and- and do something really bad to her!" Talim raised her voice. Her face was the picture of how-dare-you-hurt-my-brother anger that only a younger sister could manage. Akaru looked back at Maxi, who was grinning.

'Talim doesn't even realize how much that helped him,' Akaru thought.

"So who is this, Maxi? You still haven't introduced us," Mr. Fujiwara pointed out, carefully changing the subject in the process.

"Oh, this is Ryuujin Akaru. I met her on the plane. She's a very good artist," Maxi motioned towards Akaru, who bowed. "Ryuujin-san, this is my father, Fujiwara Takare, my mother, Fujiwara Fuchio, and my younger sister, Fujiwara Talim." The group all bowed to each other.

"So you're just a friend of my brother?" Talim asked, giving Akaru a warning look.

"Yes. And that's just what I intend to stay," Akaru said calmly. She was a little annoyed at the fact that she had been mistaken for the woman who was, as Talim rightfully had tried to put it, a bitch. "No offence, though," she added, realizing a second too late that he might have taken that as an insult. He really didn't seem to notice.

"We really should be going," Mrs. Fujiwara said as a loud voice announced the exact time over a PA system. "I really don't like being at the air port."

"Yes, we should," Mr. Fujiwara agreed.

"Oh, really? Well, Ryuujin-san, are you going to be picked up by who you're staying with? Because if not, we could take you there, couldn't we, Dad?" Maxi asked, a hint of a pleading tone entering his voice.

"I really would hate to impose myself on you… It's true that I didn't tell my grandmother I was going to be late, but I just figured that I could get a taxi…," Akaru explained, sincerely not wanting to be a burden.

"Nonsense! I won't hear of it! Come along, dear," Mr. Fujiwara proclaimed, taking Akaru's elbow and leading her along with the rest of his family towards the exit.