Chapter 2

She wasn't expecting to see daylight as soon as she stepped out of the airport. Squinting her eyes, Abigail stared at the city that was around her. She knew if she was in some sort of cartoon her eyes would be bulging out from behind her glasses. This type of hustle and bustle wasn't new to her but this was Tokyo. It seemed to carry on with itself in a completely different way. It felt familiar to her but at the same time it was foreign to her.

'Is this what Alex thought when she came here with Himuro?' She questioned herself mentally as she took everything in. The feeling of gazes being on her made her self conscious but it wasn't something she could help. It probably wasn't everyday that they saw someone with her hair color. At least that's what she thought.

Feeling a shift in one of her bags, her gaze turned to it as a small smile graced her freckled face. Even if she was so far from home she still had a piece of home with her. It was one of the things she couldn't leave behind because knowing her parents they would get rid of her best friend.

Setting down her luggage and sitting down next to it, Abigail pulled out her phone. 'Should I even bother turning it on?'

Against her judgment she turned it on even if she knew it was just a disaster waiting to happen. Besides how was she going to get a hold of Tatsuya so she knew where Taiga was. As soon as it was on she could already feel the vibration of the missed calls and texts that were probably the same thing from various people.

Peeking an eye at it and seeing most of the vibrations were from her parents she let a sigh out as she hung her head. She saw that a few of them were from the person she was trying to run from which meant he finally realized she was gone.

"Good riddens. I'm not someone's property to control." Abigail grumbled under her breath as she looked up at the passing crowd of people. A quick glance at the clock told her that it was past the time that Alex told her that Tatsuya was going to show up. "He probably forgot."

Getting up with her bags she glanced around for any sign of which way to go. She already knew wandering off by herself was the worst mistake she could do but what was she suppose to do. She didn't exactly want someone to call the cops on her for being suspicious or something else that was considered shady in Japan.

"Abby." Was all she heard along with a touch to her shoulder which sent a shudder to race through her body.

Spinning around her widened green eyes took in the ebony hair that covered the one eye in a side swept bang with a beauty mark next to the other. A hint of amusement danced in his visible eye which made Abigail smack him for the possible heart attack.

"Warn a girl next time Tatsuya! I thought you were some creeper or whatnot. I was able to sick Georgia on you." She hissed as she held up the luggage that had air holes. Narrowing her eyes she kept seeing the amusement of her fear dance on his face.

"Sorry Abby. Foot traffic was a little more this time of day than usual. So sorry for being late." Himuro apologized as he took some of her bags. She hadn't changed much except for her hair being longer than the last time he saw her. It had to be down past her shoulders if he was remembering correctly.

A quick roll of her eyes she tucked her phone back into her pocket and glanced around again. "So which way is Taiga . . . wait did you tell him I was coming?"

A shake of his head was her answer which caused her to breath a sigh of relief. She didn't want her surprise to be ruined. "Not at all. We've all been busy with our studies and part time jobs. I haven't seen him for a while until today when we all agreed to meet up for some street ball."

'We?' She questioned mentally. Did that mean they made friends instead of being loners?

As she followed him through the crowds of people her gaze kept turning to the scenery. It almost reminded her of home with the buildings but at the same time she could barely make out some of the characters that were on signs. She probably should have studied more of the language but there was no helping it now.

"So what have you been up to lately Abby? Staying out of trouble?" Himuro questioned as he glanced back at the wonder struck young woman. He couldn't blame her since he was like that when he moved to the States all those years ago.

"Well I've been trying to get my degree in college but I didn't to take a break from it. My advisor even agreed with me because my grades were slipping but it doesn't help with Luke." She answered as her gaze fell to the chain that was hanging from her neck. Biting the inside of her cheek she tried to keep her composure so this way she could appear calm. She didn't want to worry him or anyone else about her problems. "I-I just felt like taking a little trip and Alex told me to come see you two."

Raising an eyebrow Himuro knew that there was more to what she was letting on. He wasn't going to pry however. If she was going to talk about it then he wasn't going to force it out of her. He might ask Alex later if he remembered but then again that wouldn't be fair to Abigail either.

"I needed some time away from home to help me find my path in life." She continued as she looked up at the clouds that were floating carefree in the sky.

"Well I'm sure Taiga is going to be surprised. Just a warning Atsushi is going to be there."

A small giggle escaped her as the memories of past video chats popped into her mind. "I can't wait to meet him in person. Hopefully he's still as funny as he was when we talked."

"I'm sure he will." Himuro replied as he rolled his eyes. She was in for a rude awakening at how tall he was because it wasn't shown in the past chats they had. It might even be made more apparent by the fact that she wasn't around the normal height for a woman.

As if her mood did a 180 she couldn't help but smile at the meeting.

The sound of a ball hitting the ground repeatedly entered her ears soon enough along with feet shuffling. It was a familiar sound to her. It was taking her back to when she was growing up and trying to prove that she could play with the boys. Luke made sure she was included in games but a lot of people gave her a handicap for her gender especially when it was a serious game of streetball. Bruises and the like was something she was familiar with so it wasn't like she couldn't handle it.

Peering around the corner Abigail watched the ball pass from player to player which some trying to block the opposing person. Two colors were on the court; orange and yellow to signal which team they were. It reminded her of the good days when she was learning how to play the sport with her brother and the two boys that he befriended because of the sport.

The sight of the two toned black and red hair suddenly caught her attention to the point she almost dropped what bags she had in her hands. The last time she saw him he still had some of the boyish charm to him along with the masculinity. The intensity in his red eyes sent chills up her spine as she tore her gaze away to calm herself down.

"He's changed."

"Yes and no. Taiga is still the same from back when he was in America. Just taller." Himuro answered as a small smirk danced on his face. It was obvious that she wasn't expecting to see him as a man but as a boy.

Peeking back at him she watched the ball bounce out of bounds towards her. Picking it up she spun it around a few times before taking her stance. It's been a while since she shot from a distance but it was worth the shot. All she had to do was try and that was all that mattered to her. Slowly she let her breath out as she let the ball out of her hands.

It felt like it was in slow motion as she held her breath. She wanted it to go in but with how rare she's been playing nowadays she knew she was going to be rusty. A wince crossed her face as the ball came into contact with the rim and bounced off.

"Who had the ball?" A voice brought her out of her subconscious and back to the real world. Looking back at the group of people she watched them talk among themselves as they tried to figure out who had done it.

Biting her lip, Abigail took a couple of shaky steps toward the two toned hair. She wasn't going to hide until he realized she was spying on them. She wasn't some stalker; she was an old friend that decided to surprise him with a visit.

"Taiga." She whispered his name as her confidence started getting stronger. With one more step she took off into a run toward the male that her eyes were set on. "Taiga!"

The said man jumped as his gaze danced around for the source of his name. It wasn't one of the guys around him or even Riko who was sitting on the sidelines with Hyuga. Even then if it was her she would most likely being screaming at him for something he did.

As he caught sight of strawberry blond hair flying towards him it was too late to brace himself for the impact of the body hitting him. Kagami lost his balance and fell to the worn down court with a grunt as his body made contact with the hard surface.

"Taiga." The same voice muttered as she buried her face into his chest as if it was a stuffed animal for comfort. Where did he hear that voice before? It was too familiar but where was it from.

Peeking up from his chest with the scent of cologne filling her nose, Abigail stared into the red eyes of her childhood friend. Quickly she looked away before she could get flustered.

"Taiga. It's Abigail from back in America. We used to play basketball with her and her brother Luke." Himuro reminded as he stepped into the court.

Realization hit Kagami like a brick wall as his eyes widened in surprise. If this was the same girl that was a tomboy back before he let for Japan then he couldn't believe it. She honestly didn't look like she did back then except the freckles still being on her face. "A-Abby?"

"Why didn't you try calling me? Even a text would have been nice. Tatsuya was nice enough to check on me and see how things were going on back home. It isn't that hard you know you idiot!" She yelled as she shoved a fist into his side. Narrowing her eyes she pulled her glasses off to wipe at her eyes with her free hand. "I wanted to check up on you but I figured you didn't want to do anything with me anymore."

A quick flush colored his cheeks as he sat up. Seeing a girl upset wasn't something he was wanting to see today. Glancing at the group of men around him he tried to find an advice to handle her. "I . . . um . . . I was busy."

A few groans escaped around the pair along with a muttered Kagadumbie.

"Busy?! I was busy too. But I still made time to talk to Tatsuya who also made time to do the same. It isn't that hard to do Taiga. Maybe you should have took a few notes from him before getting ingrossed in whatever you were doing."

He was an idiot. He knew that. He had his faults and that was one of them. Checking in on people wasn't his forte but with him fulfilling his dream he couldn't help but be consumed by it. He wanted to get it done even if it meant he was eating and sleeping for it.

A sigh escaped him as he laid his hand down on top of her head. "I know a sorry is way overdue but I'm sorry Abby."

She scooted away and dug into her luggage that had airholes in it. Pulling out the animal that was in it she started to cuddle it with a few nuzzles. "You're going to have to make it up to me Taiga."

"What is that in her hands? Why does she have a lizard with her?" A voice almost squeaked out as she slowly calmed down.

Looking up she smiled lightly as she held up the multi toned reptile. "This is Georgia. She's my bearded dragon."

"You have some explaining to do. Let's call this game for now and get something to eat for the young lady. I'm sure the trip took a lot out of you." A man said as he knelt down. His blond hair was shaggy but stylish with his yellow eyes.

"That works with me." Abby chirped.