Rapunzel buried her slender hands into her charcoal coat pockets as she watched her cousin disappear into the crowds beyond the line for security. She knew that otherwise she'd grab Eugene's hand. If she did that, she wouldn't be able to keep up the cheerful front anymore... and if Anna were to look back, she'd know something was wrong.

So, she kept gazing ahead until an arm came to rest around her shoulders.

"She'll be all right, Punz," Eugene said in a low voice next to her ear. Rapunzel nodded stiffly, but she wasn't quite convinced. Her boyfriend must have sensed it, for he stepped around in front of her and laid both his hands on her shoulders.

"You said it yourself. Anna's a tough girl."

The blonde nodded again. That was true enough.

"I just keep thinking, she's been through so much already..."

"Punz... this was your idea." The gentle reminder stung a little, but Eugene was only stating a fact. She shifted her hands inside her pockets and gasped as her fingers brushed against something forgotten. Her green eyes instantly grew hot and teary as she pulled out cash bills she'd meant to give to Anna beforehand.

Eugene's light brown eyes darted from the cash to Rapunzel's tearful face. He sucked in a sympathetic breath through his teeth and brought his hands up to his girlfriend's cheeks.

"Hey, hey, hey," he whispered as she tried to avert her watery gaze. "It's gonna be okay! She's gonna be fine."

Rapunzel sniffled rather loudly. The noise paused some passersby in their tracks. She heard Eugene groan at the sudden attention, and she understood immediately. It looked like he had made her cry. In fact, two older women rolled their suitcases past them with disapproving glares on their faces. Eugene withered under their harsh stares and dropped his hands, but took up one of Rapunzel's.

"We'd better get back to the house. There's a lot of work to do..."

She nodded mutely and let him guide her out of the main concourse. It was a relief for Eugene to take over at this point, for Rapunzel found herself repeatedly sinking into her own thoughts. She brushed past people and wove through crowds until they came to the exit. Outside, the air bit at her still-damp cheeks. Eugene's hand tightened over her own as they braced themselves against the cold and made their way to the parking garage.

Rapunzel's daze was broken as a snowflake drifted in front of her face, making her think of her late cousin. At that moment, she had to really force herself to keep moving with Eugene even as the car came into view.

Elsa, she thought. During Elsa's life, Rapunzel had been closer to the older of the two sisters even though she was the same age as Anna. She supposed it came from having been roommates with Elsa for a good six years.

She frowned as she got into the front passenger seat, as if Elsa were watching and knew what she and Eugene were doing.

I'm sorry.. we wouldn't be doing this if we weren't desperate.

The car started on Eugene's second try, knocking Rapunzel's awareness back to the present moment. She glanced over at him and told herself then that Elsa would have understood.

It was Anna they needed to worry about now.

Anna took one look at the ticket machines and map for the airport train and withered away from the crowd with her bag in tow. It took her a few minutes to find her way outside and then to the taxi line. But she hopped into the first car and sat in awkward silence until the driver looked in his mirror and started speaking to her in a whirlwind of Japanese.

"Ah-ah-ah," she stammered, hating to interrupt the man. "S-sumimasen, nihongo wakarimasen..."

"Ah! Hello!"

Anna smiled back at the face grinning in the mirror from the front seat and nervously answered, "Hello..."

"Where do you want to go?"

She sighed with relief. "The Ritz-Carlton, please?"

"Hehhh... saikou na! Hai, O-K!"

What followed was the most frightening car ride in Anna's life. She gripped the car door handle beside her and held in squawk after squawk as the taxi launched forward, rocketing around other vehicles on its way to a long bridge that extended over the wide, blue bay. Anna clenched her teeth and relaxed only slightly once they crossed the bridge. The bay was still to her left. On the right, she could make out the tops of houses and buildings very different from those in Arendelle. Bright signs stuck out on the corners of some; of course she couldn't read them, but she imagined they were combinations of businesses and restaurants. She smiled and leaned a little toward the right window to get a closer look, though it was difficult with the wall that separated the highway from residential life. There'd be plenty of chances for her to explore, though.

It was a relief when there were breaks in the concrete, like when the taxi zoomed by a tree-lined park or when they crossed over bridges and eventually exited into the city proper. The driver sped through residential streets, expertly evading little old ladies and school children. Her favorite moments were crossing the canals.

Then, rather abruptly, the taxi came to a halt at a building surrounded by the busiest intersection of business suits, bright lights, shops and restaurants Anna had ever seen. Back at home, even if she hadn't become a recluse, she'd have avoided venturing to downtown Arendelle for fear of running into former friends and co-workers. Here, she realized, she was truly free from forced small talk and pitying eyes.

"Ja... nisen yonhyaku juu go en," the driver said.

Anna almost fell over in her seat. Yen! She'd forgotten to exchange her kroner back at the airport. Panicking, she started to open her door, clutching her bag close as she pulled out some bills from her pocket.

"Ah... doumo arigatou!" She yelped and flung a handful of kroner at him before she leapt out of the vehicle, immediately running toward the hotel entrance.

She heard shouts behind her as she reached two doormen in suits and top hats. "Nande ya nen, kono okane! Oi! Ojousan!"

Luckily, the doormen did not seem to make the connection between her and the shouting taxi driver. They opened the doors to let her in, each holding themselves in a little bow until she had entered the building. Luckily, the cab driver did not follow her in.

She gulped when she first entered the lobby, her white tennis sneakers clacking against the shiny flooring as she admired the dark wood walls and bright chandeliers dangling from the ceiling. Her ears detected faint classical music which might have had a calming effect on her if she wasn't starting to worry that she was in the wrong place. How could she have a room at such a luxury hotel? But Rapunzel would not have made such a mistake, Anna was sure.

She cleared her throat and timidly made her way to the front desk to check in. There, a beautiful hotel clerk greeted her with a closed smile. Anna admired the woman's impeccable hair and makeup a little enviously.

"Welcome to the Ritz-Carlton. How may I help you?" the clerk asked. Anna's shoulders released some of their tension when she heard the clerk speak in her language.

"Y-yes... I have a reservation under Anna Frost," Anna answered, a little embarrassed as her reply came out sounding like a question. The clerk merely smiled and indicated that she would check for the reservation on her computer. Anna set her bag down by her feet while she waited. A low, male cadence of German caught Anna by surprise as a burly blond man came up beside her, talking on his phone. Anna couldn't help but glance over at him since he was a fellow foreigner. He caught her eye and nodded with a warm smile, which she couldn't help but return.

"Ooh?" she cooed. "Smiling to see another foreigner or is it because I'm pretty?"

She wouldn't have dreamed of saying something so flirtatious if she hadn't caught him speaking German. She giggled at her own boldness.

"I'm sorry, miss. There is no reservation under that name."

That wiped the smile right off Anna's face. She turned toward the hotel clerk, who looked as confused as Anna felt.

"Wh-what? Can you check again please?" Anna's brow furrowed with worry. Rapunzel and Eugene had said everything was pre-arranged in her name.

The clerk looked a little uncomfortable with the situation, but she nodded her head and typed into her computer again. A few seconds later, she met Anna's eyes again, looking helpless as she apologized again.

Just as Anna's heart began to sank, the clerk perked up, looking hopeful. "Eeto... dou iuka..."

"Nani ga iitai desu ka?" the German suddenly cut in, putting his phone away in his suit jacket pocket. Anna jumped at the sound of his voice switching to Japanese. She stared between him and the clerk.

The clerk's eyes darted over to the German. She quickly replied to whatever he'd said, leaving Anna lost in translation.

The blond nodded and turned to Anna when the clerk finished speaking. "Is it possible the reservation might be in another name?" He asked as clearly and comfortably in her language as if it were his own. Anna's face burned bright with embarrassment when she realized it might be.

She looked at the clerk again, hopeful. "Um... you can try Rapunzel DeCorona or Eugene Fitzherbert... please." She quickly jotted them down on a notepad on the countertop so the clerk would not have to guess at spelling.

The clerk smiled and typed in the first of the names. She frowned and tried the next one. But from the look on her face a second after, Anna prepared herself for the worst and gulped. She wasn't sure whether it was anxiety or too much traveling, but she was suddenly hit by a wave of exhaustion that made the situation that much worse.

"How long are you staying?" The question came from the man.

"What?" Anna turned toward the blond gentleman in some surprise. It was nice of him to try to help, but what could he actually do for her?

But she steeled herself against her inner negativity. "Oh... four nights..."

The man leaned closer to the desk and asked the clerk if there were any rooms available. Anna heard the clerk type into her computer again, trying not to get her hopes up.

"Yes! We have a queen bed available. It's just a standard view," the clerk explained.

"Is that all right?" the man asked Anna.

She nodded dumbly, a daze slowly settling over her. Even if he helped her get this room, she was still going to have to pay for it. But at least this bought her some time to sort out the confusion with Rapunzel and Eugene. Had there been some sort of mistake? Was she at the wrong hotel? Did they just mistakenly give her the wrong information?

The clerk finished checking her in and handed her a small folder which contained her key.

"Room 418 on the fourth floor."

Anna bowed her head in thanks and began to turn away when she stopped to give the gentleman a bow as well.

"Thank you...?"

He chuckled and said, "Kristoff Bjorgman. Happy to help! Enjoy your stay in Osaka..."

"Anna Frost," she said, assuming he trailed off to get her name. They smiled and waved as if to part ways but both ended up approaching the elevators. This made Anna chuckle awkwardly, as she was still embarrassed that he had understood her joke of a flirtation earlier. "You too!"

Kristoff pressed the up button for both of them and shook his head. "I live in the next city over, actually. Just here to visit a friend."

"Oh!"

"Hans Westergaard. Maybe you've heard of him back in Arendelle? You are from Arendelle, aren't you? I assumed because of the language..."

Anna nodded, a sour taste filling her mouth as she thought of the haughty celebrity from the plane. So, he was staying at the hotel? It figured. It was a fancy hotel. Bet he never has to worry about not having a reservation, she thought bitterly.

Well, it's not like she'd ever run into him. Osaka was a big city. The Ritz-Carlton was a big hotel. She glanced down at the puke-stained shirt poking out of her bag and subtly stuffed it out of sight.

"Yeah. I think I've heard of him," she said, keeping her tone neutral.

The elevator beeped and an automated voice inside announcing the floor startled Anna so much, she yelped. She thought she heard a quiet laugh beside her, but when she looked to Kristoff, he merely smiled.

"Heh..." she looked up at the digital display of the floor in red. "This is me!" She walked out, hugging her bag as she turned toward the kind man in the elevator and gave one last bow of thanks before the doors slid shut. Then, she took a deep breath and turned to look for her room.

A/N: Corrections to the romaji certainly welcome. And in the interest of not taking forever to update, I've broken the second chapter down into smaller chapters. My apologies for the wait. With being sick and pregnant, it's hard to stick to a routine with writing, but I'll try to update again this month. Thanks for reading!