Chapter Two- A Visit Home

Claire embarked on her bimonthly trip home in gloomy spirits. It had been two weeks since June had informed them about the exchange students, and Claire was still a bit bitter towards her captain.

Around her, the streets were beginning to darken already, though it was barely five, and a cold wind made her shiver. Winter had definitely arrived, in fact, it looked like it was going to snow. No one in their right mind would be out tonight Claire thought derisively, except for me. She frowned as she remembered the warning June had given her as she left Avalon.

"Control your feelings today Claire, I don't want any accidents happening." She was referring to the last disastrous visit of course.
Claire gave a disdainful scoff. If June didn't want to risk something happening, she should have just let Claire stay at Avalon. It wasn't like Claire looked forward to these trips back home anyways. She didn't belong there anymore, and her parents never seemed to understand what going to Avalon actually meant.

Darting into a hidden alley, Claire closed her eyes and willed herself to focus. June was right; she didn't want any accidents happening, and simply getting there was already hard enough in it of itself. Claire could not afford to be careless.

A few seconds later, she had disappeared.

Claire reappeared in a small ravine besides a dry stream bed, hidden by the shadows of the surrounding trees. All was quiet, except for the occasional squirrel and the rustling of leaves. Claire was breathed a sigh of relief, teleporting was at difficult enough, but pinpointing an exact space to land was always a challenge. On her last trip, she had ended up in the middle of a mall, she remembered ruefully. June had definitely not been happy with all the mind-wiping following that mishap.

Carefully climbing out from the ravine, Claire looked around at the sprawling suburbs in which she had spent the first twelve years of her life. She had been, if not happy with that life, satisfied at least. Honor student, star tennis player, decent looks, good friends. It had been an average teenage life, the epitome of peace and security.

As Claire climbed the stairs to a cookie-cutter house that she had once called "home", Claire wondered what it must have seemed like to him, when he first knocked on her door. What was it like, to be the one to deliver news that would change a girl's life forever? Claire would never know. After bringing her to Avalon, he had vanished, leaving only a name behind. Tayne.

The doorbell rang with an echoing chime, reverberating stately through the large house. Within moments the door opened, letting out a delicious aroma of cooking chicken and basil. A woman around her mid-thirties stood in the doorway wearing a loose t-shirt and jeans. Her long wispy hair was tied back loosely in a bun.

"Claire!" The woman exclaimed, and Claire braced herself for the hug that was sure to come. She was right, and not seconds later her mother had enveloped her in a tight embrace.

Claire plastered on a fake smile, and attempted to casually entangle herself. Her mother hardly noticed, for she was already engrossed in a one-sided conversation with Claire.

"How are you? They better be feeding you properly at that school! Did you get the food we sent you? You look so tired! You'll be able to sleep well in your own bed tonight. How come you didn't tell us when you were coming? We waited all day for you! And where's that nice girl that came with you last time?"

Claire had to suppress a smirk, when had June become the "nice little girl"? During the last visit, she had been positively fuming a majority of the time because of thewhole teleporting fiasco.

Not even waiting for a reply, her mother continued to ramble on, informing Claire about everything from the neighborhood gossip, to what they had for dinner last night.

Other than the interspersed nods and grunts, Claire didn't bother making any reply. Her mother was speaking of trivialities that no longer concerned her.

Suddenly, a passing comment jumped out at Claire, and she gave her mother an inquisitive stare.

"Visitor? Today?"

Seeing Claire's interest in the topic, her mother quickly elaborated, eager to please her usually apathetic daughter. If she hadn't been engrossed in what her mother was saying, Claire would have thought it almost pathetic.

"Yes, the Tezuka's are coming over for a business dinner tonight. The cook's already working on making something wonderful. Remember to dress nicely, it's going to be really formal. You should like them though; they have a son about your age, a year older I think. Your father met them on business trip a couple months back. In fact, they should be here soon; I'd better go get ready."

Before heading back to her room, she added cautiously, "Nathan and Jenny are upstairs. Go say hi to them, I know they've missed you."

Trudging up the stairs in silence, Claire knew that she would have to get this part over with sooner or later. My brother and sister miss me, she thought ironically, well, they sure have an interesting way of showing it. Memories flashed by, her younger sister angrily throwing a book at her, Nathan's accusing glare and the door slammed into her face. But it was their words that truly tore at her heart.

"I hate you Claire! Fine, go to that stupid school, I thought you loved us."

"Go away Claire, why do you even bother coming home?"

"Leave me alone! I want my old sister back."

"SHUT UP! I don't want to hear about your stupid friends, your stupid classes, your stupid

school! I don't ever want to talk to you again."

That was three years ago, but it never stopped hurting.

"Nathan, Jenny, I'm home!" Silence was her only reply. Glancing into her younger sister's room, she saw Jenny sitting on her bed reading a book.

"Oh, it's you," she said, in a monotonous voice.

"Yeah." Claire sat down by her sister, "What are you reading?"

"Harry Potter." The name sounded vaguely familiar, had she maybe read it in 6th grade?

"Ummm...So what's it about?"

Jenny gave her a strange stare before returning to her book, "Magic." Well, Claire had had enough of magic at Avalon.

"Oh, do you like it?"

"Yeah," Jenny replied, not even looking up from her book. An awkward silence ensued.

"I guess I'll see you at dinner then?" Claire finally said.

"Mm."

Knocking on Nathan's door, Claire tried to hide her disappointment. She doubted she'd be much luckier with her older brother.

Entering Nathan's room was like walking into a recording studio. Sophisticated black speakers took up half the room, and were blasting rock at full volume. The other half was occupied by a drum set and amps connected to his two electric guitars. Nathan himself was sitting at a crowded desk hunched over a thick textbook.

I'm busy, were his first words.

"What are you doing?" she asked, ignoring his unfriendly tone.

"Stuff." She walked over and looked over his shoulder. Though her brother was in his last year of high school, Claire had no problem understanding the mess of numbers and symbols scribbled on his paper. Calculus had been one of her favorite subjects at Avalon.

"Do you need help with that?" she said, hoping to elicit a more welcoming response.

"This is calculus," he said, looking up at her incredulously.

"So?...ok never mind then," she quickly said, "See you at dinner." Leaving the room, she almost wanted to laugh. If only he knew what kind of math she did at Avalon; she hadn't left because she didn't know calculus. It was the look on his face that clearly said "Stop wasting my time." that scared her. Three years ago she had thought her brother was the smartest person she knew. Now, yes he was going to Stanford, but he was no longer the big brother Claire had always looked up to.

Flopping down on her bed, Claire felt tears threatening to spill from her eyes. What was the point of coming home anyways? Only her room brought her comfort, the one place that hadn't changed. Closing her eyes, she let her body relax; she WAS tired. Might as well get some rest, she thought.

Exactly forty minutes later Claire woke up.

"They'll be here in eleven minutes," she muttered to no one in particular, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Reaching into the small bag she had brought, she pulled out a black skirt and a dark green silk blouse. Completing the outfit, Claire clipped on a small diamond pendant necklace and corresponding earrings, as well as an emerald studded hair clip to tie back her long chocolate colored bangs. A look in the mirror told her that something was missing and after only a slight hesitation, she pulled out the makeup she saved for only special occasions.

Running lightly down the stairs, she paused in front of a full length mirror for a last inspection. The girl that stared back at her was startling. Graceful and at ease her expression was brimming with confidence and maturity. The black chiffon skirt flowed past her ankles, and trailed slightly behind her, while the emerald blouse with long veiled sleeves showed off her trim figure excellently. The makeup made her look at least five years older, and brought out the sharp angles and shadows in Claire's face.

Her parents and siblings were already assembled in the sitting room when Claire entered, talking softly among themselves. They all looked up simultaneously, and for a time itself seemed to stop.

Claire wanted to laugh at their gaping mouths and expressions of disbelief; did they really think she was still twelve?

"Well," her mother finally said, "You look beautiful." That seemed to break the spell.

"It's been a long time since we've seen you dressed up," her father added hastily.

"Yes, unfortunately. But all of you look great as well," Claire replied. And it was true. Her parents had always been strict about dressing nicely for dinners, and their policy was always over-dress rather than under-dress. Today was no exception. Both her mother and sister were in long dresses and her brother and father in suit and tie.

The grandfather clock told Claire that in sixteen seconds, the Tezuka's would ring the doorbell. Five, four, three, two, one…

"Ding dong…" chimed the doorbell. Claire allowed herself smile of satisfaction before she rose to greet the visitors.

"Nishizawa-san, I'm glad you made it!" said her father, bowing and welcoming a man, a woman, and a tall teen into the sitting room. Claire thought the teen looked familiar, but couldn't seem to remember why. "This is my wife, Cassie," Claire's mother inclined her head politely, "and these are my children."

Jenny stepped forward and did a quick curtsey. "I'm Jenny, it's nice to meet you."

Nathan bowed, "Konichiwa. I'm Nathan, I hope you enjoy your stay here," he said, and after that butcher of the Japanese language, Claire felt that she just HAD to exhibit her skills.

"Reade Claire. It's nice to meet you. If you have any problems or questions feel free to ask us anything," she said, all in fluent perfect Japanese, and smiling sweetly at the same time.

There was a flicker of surprise on the Nishizawa's face, before he turned back to her father.

"You have a wonderful family. This is my wife, Chiyoko and my son, Kunimitsu." The woman and teen both bowed respectfully.

Claire couldn't help giving the boy a second look, there was something about him that kept bothering her. Suddenly Kunimitsu turned toward her and their eyes met for the first time.

They were the deepest, honey-colored eyes she had ever seen. Before she knew it she drawn in, unable to move or turn away. Images flashed across her vision: tennis balls, a caped figure, and laughing teens. But it was the feelings that were even more overwhelming. Abject terror, unyielding determination, and unbearable pain wrenched through Claire's body with every passing second. The world blurred and spun her dizzyingly around, until she fell headlong into a dark abyss, with nothing but the sound of wind rushing in her ears.