Hey guys :-D, did you miss me! Sorry writer's block plus final exams equals no new updates for a few weeks, Sorry :-/

But hey, I'm back and school is over so I should be updating a little more frequently.

Again, I've had writer's block so if this chapter is not up to par, I'm sorry, but I promise next chapter will be better.

One note, I do use a google translated version of Mandarin, so if you spot a mistake, let me know and I'll fix it. I have the English translation written right under it between - Words - like that, it will make more sense when you see it. :-D

I think that covers it.

I do not own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.


Onodera held Takano's hand again when they were landing. Takano had found the entire experience to be amazing. Seeing the insects of people milling about in their lives while you look down on them like a god, cities and towns that seem so monolithic on the ground looked nothing more than toys waiting to be played with. Takano began to wonder how he could incorporate this feeling into his next story. Then, of course, they had to come back down.

The descent had caused Takano to grip the armrests until his hands turned white and he was sure he'd left permanent nail marks in the seats. That's when Onodera started talking about Harbin, China while grabbing Takano's left hand.

"And you'll notice as we drive and walk around that the older buildings have strong Russian influenced architecture. That's because Harbin, which I guess is known as the gateway to Russia, had a lot of Russian immigrants due to the railroad in the late 19th, early 20th century when it was founded. Actually, Harbin has many different peoples all living within its borders," Ritsu smiled. "The ice sculpture festival is so beautiful in the winter, it's a pity it's all melted now. However, the city is able to have it because the winters here are cold and dry. The festival is the main reason that Harbin is known as China's top tourist city. You know, they actually make an entire city out of the ice! That's why Harbin's nickname is the Ice City."

Takano looked at Onodera's inner nerd, "Thanks Siri," he responded.

That seemed to make Onodera jump. "…Well its true." Onodera was quiet while Takano looked out the window to watch the ground come towards the plane. "So you know that once we land, the company will have a guide waiting for us at the baggage claim. The guide will take us to the studio where the interview will take place for the TV show, and once the interview is complete then, we'll probably drive past the bookstore where the signing will be. After that, we'll probably go to the hotel to have the rest of the evening to ourselves, Tomorrow, bright and early is the signing then we'll have a couple of hours before we take a train to Beijing. The ride will be about ten hours."

"Why not take another plane," Takano asked.

"Well, considering how every single time before you've taken trains and what not…" Onodera trailed off.

"You trying to blame me."

"Not trying too. I am outright," Onodera smirked.

"Shut up… at least I know how to cook!"

"What the hell's that suppose to mean or have anything to do with…anything?"

"It's my point."

"You idiot, your point doesn't make any sense."

It was Takano's turn to smirk at Onodera's ineptitude. He still remembered the curry Onodera had made on Valentine's Day. It had been so thick, it could have been mistaken for recently mixed cement. Though, Takano guessed, the flavor wasn't bad, he had ended having seconds. So he didn't travel well and Onodera couldn't cook… or do any form of housework… what a pair. The plane jarringly landed then. Takano ended up gripping Onodera's hand so tightly; he left a couple of bruises.


It took about 45 minutes to make it through customs, but finally they made it to the baggage claim and saw a man holding a sign with "Marukawa" written on it. They grabbed their stuff and quickly made their way over, eager to leave the airport. As they approach the man who appeared to be in his mid-forties, he opened his mouth to speak, when Onodera beat him to the punch.

"Nǐ hǎo, nǐ yīdìng shì wǒmen de zhǐnán zhèlǐ zài hā'ěrbīn. Wǒ de míngzì shì xiǎoyěsì lǜ, dāngrán zhè shì gāoyě zhèngzōng. Hěn gāoxìng jiàn dào nǐ," Onodera smiled.

- Hello, you must be our guide for here in Harbin. My name is Onodera Ritsu, and of course this is Takano Masamune. It is a pleasure to meet you.-

The man looked at Onodera with genuine surprise before replying, "Kuàilè shì wǒ de. Wǒ de míngzì shì fā shàng, wǒ jiāng shì nǐ de zhǐnán duǎnzàn de shíjiān, nǐ shì zài zhōngguó. Wǒ qídàizhuó yǔ nín de hézuò. Tā shì yīgè wěidà de róngyù zhōngyú jiàn dàole zhùmíng zuòjiā gāoyě zhèngzōng," the man smiled at Takano.

- The pleasure is mine. My name is Fa Shang and I will be your guide for the brief time you are here in China. I look forward to working with you. And it is a great honor to finally meet the famed author, Takano Masamune.-

Onodera smiled and nodded before noticing Takano's confused look. "Ó, gāoyě lǎoshī bù huì shuō pǔtōnghuà, suǒyǐ wǒmen zuì hǎo gǎi yòng rìyǔ huò yīngyǔ," he said to Fa.

- Oh, Takano sensei doesn't speak Mandarin, so we better switch to Japanese or English.-

"Of course," Fa smiled and nodded as he spoke in Japanese. "I imagine you both are tired after your flight but we still need Takano sensei to do an interview then you both can rest at your hotel."

"Oh, I thought we were also going to check out the bookstore for tomorrow," Onodera interjected.

"We can do that if you like, however, I will be at your hotel tomorrow at 7 AM and will take you there myself, so you need not worry about it too much," Fa continued to smile. "However, if you are truly interested in the city of Harbin I can show you some of the city's most famous spots. It's 6 PM now, if you're done with the interview by 7:30 or 8 we can still see a few places before 10 PM and returning you to the hotel?"

"What do you think Takano sensei? You did mention before that you wanted to tour a couple of the places we'll be attending during the book tour and this is the ideal spot to start," Onodera turned to Takano.

Takano had a blank expression on his face before he asked the first thing that popped into his head, "How many languages do you speak? You didn't mention Chinese before!"

Onodera's eyes widen while Fa tried to stifle his laugh. "Um… I know enough to get by… My Mandarin is only conversational, not really… meant for business…" Onodera cleared his throat. "So… that's a no… on the …"

"Oh, yea, that sounds great. Thank you," Takano turned to Fa and bowed.

"The pleasure is mine," Fa replied as the three of them began to make their exit.


"And to what do you owe your meteoric rise to fame in the literary world," the interviewer asked in English, the smile never wavering from his face as the camera panned to him.

Takano, who was taking a drink of water during the question, paused and thought for a moment or at least appeared too. In truth, he had been asked this question a million times, however, he'd recently realized that with the declared release for Gone, he would have to change his standard 'hard work and love of the craft,' bullshit answer. He'd been prepping himself for this question ever since he'd figured that out. Takano took a breath, "As you may be aware, the next book that is coming out, Gone, is based on my own life. The person I fell in love with in high school, loved to read so I wrote a few short stories for this person. After this person and I broke up, I continued to write about things that genuinely interested me, hence the eclectic multitude of genres in my books, supernatural, slice of life, romance, contemporary, political, mystery, you get the picture. However, my first love, really encouraged me to pursue writing, then I later had my best friend kind of corner me into it and here I am…"

"So, it sounds like you owe everything to your first love," the interviewer responded.

"Yeah… yeah I do," Takano smiled softly.

"He's incredible," Fa whispered to Onodera as they sat on the side of the interview stage, out of the way of the cameras. "The way he's smiling will seriously melt the hearts of any of the multitude of women that will watch this interview. He'll also get every man to wish that they were him."

"If only they knew what he was like just before a deadline," Onodera snorted.

"That bad huh?"

"Oh, you have no idea."

"So what was your inspiration for Where One Falls," the interviewer continued.

"Well, actually, I was sitting in a park one day and I was just watching the wind blow some leaves when all of the sudden, 'what if I wrote a book involving wind,' hit me and the rest was a lot of research and just me playing. For instance on of the characters name's is Ariel and he is king of the wind and this has to do with that fact that in Sylph mythology, the king's name is Ariel. But it was also important to me that no one actually be a bad guy in this, all the characters are just under terrible and stressful situations, thus the story was born," Takano grinned broadly as he shrugged.

The interview continued with many more powder puff questions, but the longer it went, the more Onodera noticed how irritated Takano was getting. When you been asked certain questions, in every single interview you've ever been in, the lack of originality of course annoys you. Takano would have almost given anything for the interview to be over or at least for a hot seat question. That's when…

"Now you mentioned before, that you started writing because of your first love. What happened," the interviewer asked.

"Um… I don't actually know how that is relevant to the Where One Falls."

"Well, you did say that your first love inspired you to be a writer, isn't there anything you might want to let her know, no matter where she is?"

"Haa," Takano nervously chuckled as he glanced at Onodera. Onodera could only look shocked that the interviewer asked such an audacious and personal question. Takano lowered his gaze before turning back to the interviewer. "I guess what I should and want to say is that you were a part of a chapter of my life where I needed someone… to be there for me and you were. You got me started on this path that I have been on… this path that I have really soared on. Thank you for that. That chapter of my life maybe closed, but you'll always hold a special place in my heart, but my heart has given space to others," Takano briefly glanced at Onodera, "I hope you understand."

Onodera quietly smiled at Takano and bowed his head.

"Hmm," The interviewer cleared his throat, "Well we are so happy that you are the success that you are because it means we get to read your books. And you can read Takano sensei's new book Where One Falls, in three weeks. Gone will be released sometime this fall." The interviewer and Takano held their smiles as the camera zoomed out.

Finally the cameraman called, "And… we're out."

"Takano sensei, thank you so much for," the interviewer began extending out his hand.

"Yeah, thanks and good-bye," Takano replied as he got out of his chair and quickly made his way toward Onodera and Fa. "Okay, I had a book signing this morning, a flight in the afternoon, and interview this evening… please, please, please tell me I'm done."

"Well… until tomorrow anyways," Onodera smirked.

"Urgh," Takano groaned.

"Well, I guess I should take you to your hotel room then," Fa smiled.

"What," both Takano and Onodera cried.

"Or not," Fa breathed. Not long after they left the TV station, they decided they would see two tourists' spots.


They soon arrived at their first destination, Saint Sophia Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom of God.

Takano and Onodera could only stare in awe at the spires and ball like structured green tiles that were so reminiscent of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, Russia. "It's beautiful," Onodera breathed as he gazed at it.

"It's a church," Takano sighed unimpressed.

"Actually, it's the municipal Architecture and Art Museum. However, when it was built in 1907 it was a Russian Orthodox church, hence the Russian influence. It was the largest Orthodox Church here in the Far East. It's a shame we can't go inside as it is closed. Inside it showcases the architectural developments of Harbin over the years.

"I read somewhere that it's multicultural, that all the architecture that has been influenced by the multitude of ethnic groups that have resided in the city, you know Jewish, Russian, Korean, Han Chinese, and the like over the years," Onodera said with a smile.

"Do you want to walk around the Cathedral," asked Fa.

"Ummm," Takano said.

"Oh, yeah," Onodera replied, his grin spreading ear to ear. Fa and Onodera began walking and discussing all the cultural aspects of Saint Sophia Cathedral and what lied inside. Takano meanwhile, trailed after them. He was more looking forward to the second place they would see, but this was what Onodera wanted to see, and he wanted Onodera to be happy.

These past two and a half months, had been the happiest Takano had ever been. Seeing Onodera's smile…

"I've been so happy… there's no way that… that it can last… can it," Takano thought. "What if… No I can't think like that, but what about that dream from this morning? I keep going and remembering Oda… what if I end up screwing it up with Onodera because of it?"

"Ask yourself, are you asking these questions because you're genuinely worried about those things, or because that interviewer guy kept pushing about your past and that's just compounded with the dream," Takano's devil's advocate voice spoke.

"I am genuinely worried! All of my previous relationships… this is the point where they've all crashed and burned. I don't want that happening here."

"Then don't let it! Enjoy what you have and treasure him!"

Takano stopped as he observed Onodera and Fa walking further ahead, deep in conversation. The thoughts of the interview and the dream swirling around in his head, "That's easier said then done," Takano breathed.


So I hope you enjoyed last chapter. It's really late and I'm tired so I'm sorry but no shout outs tonight. Ah general question I saw was yes the world book tour has begun, and yes it's going to have a honeymoon-esqe feel to it. Think of it like a really long version of the chapter where Takano and Onodera traveled out to the boonies and ended up staying in a hotel sleeping in the same bed (Hint, hint, hint :-D)

Oh, another thing from the reviews that I think I need to clarify. I am going to be making a lot of references to their high school period through Takano. This is NOT because Takano is hung up on the past but because he knows that Onodera is Oda, he just has not caught up to his subconscious yet.

So hang in there all will be revealed. Keep on reading and being awesome guys :-D