"The future's in the air,
I can feel it everywhere,
blowing with the wind of change."
-Scorpions

Davina MacKenna was anxious.

It was only her third day as an official resident of the country of Japan, and the moving process had been a ghastly nightmare to say the least. Luckily, the last of her furniture and boxes had arrived late yesterday morning, and her one bedroom apartment was starting to come together nicely enough. It was an exceedingly far cry from her childhood home within the city of Denver, thousands of miles away in the state of Colorado back in America, but it was recently renovated and clean. She was grateful that her mother had managed to find such a place outside of Osaka, but still in close proximity to her university—while she was used to the hustle and bustle of city life, she knew from experience that Osaka's commotion was quite different from Denver's, with many more people living and working within the city. Davina could recall the many trips she had taken there with her family during her younger years, and held no desire to join the ever-in-motion rabble.

Hell, Davina hadn't even wanted to attend university in Japan, but her mother had insisted—she claimed that the Japanese educational system was far superior to that offered in the states, and she wasn't incorrect in her thinking. After all, Mitsuyo Mackenna, previously Mitsuyo Ishihara, was a native of Japan, born and raised within Osaka herself. She had insisted that Davina, her youngest child and only daughter, attend her alma mater, a specialty college by the name of Chishiki No Eda, known for its proficiency in science and technology. Mitsuyo herself was an electrical engineer, and credited her many successes to the education she had received while attending. Davina, who had spent the majority of her eighteen years of life living in America, hadn't been amenable to the idea—her entire life was in Denver, and she was loath to leave it all behind.

Initially, she had argued that it wasn't fair—her two older brothers, who were six and eight years her senior, had both attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which happened to be her father's alma mater, for similar degrees. While Boston was a good distance away, it was still within the same country. But Davina's argument had fallen on deaf ears, and in the end, her mother had gotten her way, just as she usually did. Her father, Jason, had tried to interfere on her behalf, but he had never been one for confrontation. He couldn't hold a candle to her mother's iron will, and had quickly abandoned his efforts, much to her displeasure. Arrangements had been made, and now here she was, half a world away from everything and everyone she cared about.

Perhaps things would have been easier to swallow if this move had happened several years prior, before her mother's parents, who had lived in a village within the Osaka Prefecture, had passed away—at least then, she would have some family fairly close by. Her only remaining benefits were that she was fluent in the Japanese language and familiar enough with the customs and mannerisms of her new surroundings—it wasn't much, but it was something, and Davina was doing her best to remain optimistic. She found herself wishing that she hadn't been such a model student during her high school years—if she hadn't bothered taking advanced placement classes and busting her ass to maintain a near perfect GPA, odds were she wouldn't be in her current situation. But what was done was done, and she would acclimate, with time.

Unpacking was a monster of a chore, and her whole body ached from the effort—between shifting around her furniture and emptying out box after box, Davina was both mentally and physically exhausted. She had been up with the sun, trying to piece her new home together, and felt as if she might go mad if she continued on her current path. After some consideration, she decided to take a quick trip into Osaka to scout out her to-be school. A change of scenery certainly couldn't hurt, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to get familiar with the campus prior to the start of the semester. So she paused in her efforts, took a delightfully long hot shower, dressed comfortably, and walked the few blocks over to the train depot to catch the orange line. She was delighted to discover that her university was only a short walk away from the rail station, and she had made it to her destination in far less time than she had first anticipated. It was quite dreary outside, and it looked as if the bottom were plotting to fall out at any given moment. Of course, in her haste to venture out, Davina had failed to grab an umbrella, so if it did decide to pour, she was going to be quite the unhappy camper. But there was little she could do about her impending plight, so she decided to press on and worry about it if and when such a thing came to pass.

The campus of Chishiki No Eda was vast, and much more impressive than she thought it would be—she leisurely wandered from building to building, taking it all in with silent wonder. For nearly an hour, she explored the campus, seeing all until only one destination remained—the library. From what her mother had told her, it was a bookworm's wet dream, four stories high, with half a floor dedicated solely to private study rooms—it even boasted its own coffee shop on the premises. If such things were true, it was clear just where Davina would be spending the majority of her time while attending—books and coffee were two of her absolutely favorite things, and while she possessed a fairly remarkable collection of books herself, most of them had remained back in Denver due to a significant lack of space within her new apartment. She had brought her favorites, of course, but the selection process had been long and painfully arduous. While she knew that she could easily procure digital versions on her phone and computer, nothing compared to the feeling of physically holding a book in one's hands. To know there was a place easily accessible to her that housed thousands of books eased some of her discontentment. The fact that coffee could be acquired in close proximity was a pleasant bonus.

Eager to see this mythical paradise for herself, Davina exited out the side doors of the main campus hall—according to the map she had cleverly pulled up on the internet browser of her cell phone, the library was located almost directly across from where she stood. She glanced across the enormous courtyard and immediately spied her current objective, a stark white sign proudly displaying the kanji script for the word 'library' along the vast middle section window of the building. Smiling in spite of herself, Davina began closing the distance between herself and her goal.

As expected, the campus was utterly empty. Classes weren't scheduled to commence for another week—without students to fill the quad, the courtyard, which was spotted throughout with strategically placed trees and flower covered bushes, green grass and wide stone walkways, seemed ridiculously huge. While already in decent shape, Davina joked to herself that she was going to have calves of steel thanks to all the walking she'd be doing during her time on campus, and over in Kaiden as well. It was a small city, only stretching out over the course of perhaps twelve or so blocks, and her apartment was central to both the downtown district and a local food market. She knew how to drive, but her parents had vetoed the idea of getting her a car—apart from walking, there were many other means of public transportation to get to and from where she needed to go. Davina made a mental note to look into acquiring a bicycle—it would certainly come in handy.

She was nearly halfway there when the realization that she was not alone suddenly dawned upon her—she glanced over to the adjacent walkway, her gaze falling upon a lone figure. From a distance, it appeared female—however, the clothing worn was decidedly that of a male, despite the lengthy, bright red hair. The person in question was standing idle and appeared to be toying with a cell phone, their attention elsewhere. Davina continued along her way, curious, but not wanting to appear overzealous or creepy. The wind whipped past her without warning, causing the leaves that had fallen from the trees to dance around her as if they were sentient. She was just upon the intersected walkway when she felt eyes digging into her, and paused in mid-stride, staring over in the direction she knew to be occupied. The other party had abandoned their phone and walked closer, close enough for Davina to realize that her unnamed companion was indeed male, and a devastatingly handsome one at that. Internally, she fought the urge to stare at him, and lost pathetically.

He had striking green eyes, greener than any eyes she had ever seen before, and good looks reminiscent of a heroic prince in a fairy tale, blessed with a strong nose and sharp jaw line. His vivid hair framed his face in an endearing manner, a face that was boyish but manly all in the same instance. He was dressed simply, in a long brown overcoat and black slacks, but it suited him well. Suddenly, Davina felt weak in the knees, a deeply set shudder of want vibrating down the length of her back. Their eyes locked in that moment, and almost as if by instinct, she fixed him with a shy smile, raising her hand and giving a short wave of acknowledgment. He seemed to hesitate, if only for the briefest of moments, and then returned her gesture in kind, providing her a small smile of his own.

Davina considered approaching him, but quickly vetoed the idea, suddenly feeling rather timid. She wasn't much of a social creature by nature, and while the ways of an introvert suited her well enough, she sometimes found herself wishing that she was capable of being more communal. Instead, she broke their shared gaze and continued on her way. She could have sworn she felt the press of his eyes against her back, but didn't dare glance backwards to confirm. A sigh of relief escaped her as she approached the library doors, and quickly slipped through them. A gasp of appreciation caught in her throat as she surveyed her new surroundings—the library was everything she had hoped for and then some. She spent the next half an hour, flittering from floor to floor, taking it all in. Sadly, the coffee shop wasn't currently open, but she decided she would treat herself to a cup upon her return home.

Satisfied with her venture, Davina left the campus of Chishiki No Eda and headed for the rail station. She was back within Kaiden quickly, but not eager to return to her apartment, which was still quite a disaster. Instead, she decided to head into the downtown district and grab herself a well earned cup of hot brew. The weather was holding for the moment, despite the ominous appearance of the sky, so she decided to test her luck a bit further.

The Koeda Café was the first place she spotted, and Davina wandered inside, smiling widely as the delicious scent of fresh brewed coffee invitingly flooded her nostrils. She placed her order, treating herself to a dish of daifuku pastries to accompany her drink. Claiming a small corner table, Davina pulled her phone out of the pocket of her coat and typed up a quick text to her best friend, Selina. The pair had been friends since childhood, and even though it had been less than a week since she had left Denver, Davina already missed her terribly. They did nearly everything together, and she was still adjusting to the concept of her best friend's absence.

Her coffee and snack were soon brought to her table by a server, whom she happily thanked and fixed with a pleasant smile. He was an older man with a kind face, large square glasses perched carefully upon his nose.

"Excuse me, Miss, but I don't recall ever seeing you around here before," he stated in a friendly manner, having fixed her with a curious stare. "Are you a traveler?"

Davina shook her head, a little taken aback by his forward question, but knowing such a thing wasn't uncommon in her current location.

"No sir, I'm actually new to this city, just moved here a few days ago," she replied softly, trying not to appear nervous.

"That's wonderful! Welcome to Kaiden! I hope I didn't offend by asking. I just wanted to make sure you weren't lost."

"That's kind of you. To be honest, I'm still learning my way around," she admitted sheepishly. Davina had never been good with directions—if it wasn't for the handy GPS on her phone, she would be in a world of trouble.

"I wouldn't worry too much, it's fairly easy to make your way around here," he responded with a small smile. "I'm sure you'll have it all figured out in a week or two. If you don't mind me asking, what brings you here to Kaiden?"

"I'm a student," she explained. "I'm starting over at Chishiki No Eda University next week."

"That's a very good school—in fact, my step-son is currently attending there. Wants to be a biochemist. Well, I'm certain I've bothered you enough. Please enjoy, and let me know if you need anything else." He fixed her with a short bow and went along his way before she really had a chance to reply.

Davina took a long sip of her coffee, relishing its bittersweet taste, before diving into her pastries, which were absolutely delicious. The bite sized mochi pockets were filled with a sweet matcha cream and dusted in confectioner's sugar, with a tiny pinch of matcha powder sprinkled over the top. It was a damn good thing she'd be doing plenty of walking in the future, with delectable treats such as these so easily accessible to her.

As Davina enjoyed her snack, she found her thoughts drifting to the redheaded male she had encountered during her trip to the university campus. She wondered if she would ever see him again—she certainly wouldn't be disappointed if she did. With a face like that, there was no way in hell he wasn't tied down—or perhaps, he just liked to play the field, racking up names on his sexual roster. She envisioned his eyes, and found herself swallowing hard. If she ever had a favorite color, green was undoubtedly it, and his eyes were like pools of emerald, vivid and mesmerizing—eyes she could easily get lost in.

'Hold your horses there, girl. You don't even know his name,' she mentally argued with herself. 'Odds are you'll never run into him again—there are thousands of students at that school. He probably has a fan-club full of admirers, and probably a girlfriend—maybe a boyfriend—hell, maybe both, who knows? Whatever the case, guys like him are more often than not huge conceited pricks, and you don't need that—you've played that game before, remember? And it didn't end well—it never does. You should probably be praying that you never see him again.'

But despite her own logic, she still was entertaining the idea, still hopeful for another encounter. She finished up the remainder of her pastries and took the last few sips of her coffee, feeling in considerably better spirits than she had went she had set out on her impromptu exploration earlier that day. Davina discarded her trash, and waved a quick goodbye to the kind waiter who had briefly conversed with her before taking her leave of the café. She headed for her apartment building a few blocks over, dreading the tasks that still waited for her attention. Throughout the remainder of the day, even grumbling angrily and besieged by her unpacking efforts, Davina found herself unable to rid her mind of the mysterious redhead stranger entirely.

She wondered what his name was.

. . .

Much to Davina's chagrin, the remainder of the week flew by very much like the rapid blink of an eye. Before she realized, it was Sunday evening—tomorrow began her semester for the fall quarter. She was ready, or as ready as she ever could be—over the past several days, she had finally completed the remainder of her unpacking, and it came as a deep relief to know that everything was finally put away. Her morning had been filled with chores and errands, and by the middle of the day, everything Davina had set out to accomplish had been completed. She decided to treat herself to a coffee, sans the pastries, at the Koeda Café before ambling around the downtown district for a while. It was her third visit for the course of the week, and the kindly curious man who had served her during her first time there, Kazuya, (whom she now knew to be the actual owner of the café) was privy to her first name and greeted her warmly every time she came in.

She was grateful for his pleasant reaction—after all, she was still a stranger in Kaiden, and had yet to make any friends. Odds are that she would have the opportunity to do so once school commenced, but for now, hers was a rather lonely existence. Her daily texting conversations with her best friend back in the states helped quell that feeling, but only just. Davina had even spoken with her father just the day before—he had reached out to her at an odd hour, it being just after one in the morning when his call had come through. She was awake, luckily, working on organizing her bookshelf with the novels arranged by genre. Turns out he had forgotten all about the fifteen hour time difference in their locations—it was just after ten in the morning back in Denver, and her father had been enjoying his morning coffee, which had caused him to think of her.

Davina felt a harsh pang of sadness when he had said that—they had always taken their morning coffee together when she had been at home, and would often sit out on the deck, enjoying the weather and discussing everything from current events to personal goings on while they drank. Despite this, it was a pleasant conversation, and her father promised that she would be seeing them once winter break rolled around—whether that meant she would temporarily return home to Colorado or that her family would make the trip to Osaka wasn't specified, but deep down, Davina hoped it was the former. Regardless, the notion came as a relief, and the phone call ended with them exchanging sentimental words while she promised to check in with him over the next few days.

After drinking her coffee, Davina left the café and walked the streets of downtown Kaiden, eying the collection of clothing and trinket stores with curiosity. When the window display of one shop in particular caught her attention, she slipped inside, leisurely ogling the wares that were offered. The store was fittingly named the Kawaii Neko, and it was filled with all sorts of cute clothing and décor, much of it themed with cats and kittens. Again, she felt herself missing home—her family had adopted a small female orange tabby cat a few years prior, and her father had named her Marmalade. She was pretty fond of the feline, and despite the fact that she was meant to be her father's cat, she had taken to Davina and could often be found sleeping in her room. It was a comfort to have a pet, and she missed hearing the soft little mews and chirps from Marmalade as she would parade around the house, begging for treats or searching for the perfect window spot to bask in the sun. Maybe once she had settled into her routine, she would consider adopting a cat of her own—Davina knew that her apartment building permitted pets, as she had seen several of her neighbors walking small dogs and noted the presence of several felines lounging lazily within windows. It certainly wouldn't be a bad thing to come home to each day.

While perusing the shelves, Davina came upon a collection of adorable maneki neko figures and stopped to admire them. She was an avid collector of them since childhood, picking out a new one to add to her compilation with every family trip taken to Japan—unfortunately, they had remained back in Denver, for she had amassed quite a collection over the years, and wasn't sure if she'd have the space to display them. But now that she had settled in, Davina found that she did in fact have some spare shelf space, and decided to buy herself one—it was a charm that supposedly brought good luck, after all, and she could use all the luck she could get. In the end, she picked two from the display—a green one and a pink one. The green was for luck in academics, the pink for luck in love. She knew it was almost childish, but the purchase made her happy, and she carefully packed the parchment wrapped baubles within her messenger bag before taking her leave of the store.

Once back outside, Davina wandered over to the row of shops on the opposite side, her attention being drawn once more to a cute sundress dress displayed in a tall store window. She wasn't a huge fan of shopping for clothes, but the wardrobe she had traveled to Kaiden with was meager, and it wouldn't hurt to acquire a few more things to wear.

A tiny bell dinged as she entered the store, and she was greeted by an associate, who asked if she required help. She refused the offer, citing that she was just there to look around. The attendant smiled knowingly and nodded, telling her to please ask if she had any questions or needed assistance before wandering off.

Davina walked the shop at length, eying the multiple wracks of clothing with a curious eye. She came across a few articles, two casual shirts, a pair of shorts, and of course, the sundress displayed in the window, in her size, then headed back towards the changing booths. She was assigned to an empty booth, which was simply a small space roped off by thick red curtains with a full length mirror hanging on the wall. While she was trying on the shirts and shorts, she overheard a conversation coming from just outside the changing area.

"What do you think of this one, Yusuke?"

"Err, it's alright, I guess." His tone couldn't have been more disinterested.

"Seriously? Alright? That's the best you can do? What about pretty, or even nice?"

"It's a damn dress, Keiko. Just hurry up and pick something out—we've gotta get back to the shop or your dad's gonna give me an earful, and I'm not in the mood for it."

"Hmpf, fine. Let me try on the other one and then we'll leave."

"Great."

"Don't be such an ass."

"Whatever. Are you gonna try the other one or not?"

"I'm going, I'm going, jeez. Try to be patient for once in your life."

"Yeah, yeah."

Davina stifled a small chuckle at the exchange—obviously, someone was not having a good time. She never understood why women insisted that their boyfriend or husband join them when shopping for clothing—men didn't particularly care for those kinds of activities, and this couple in the booth alongside her was further evidence of that notion.

Having decided on one of the shirts, but forgoing the second and the shorts, Davina slipped into the dress, immediately deciding that she quite liked it. It was comfortable and loosely fitting, a dark jade green color with bursts of white floral print strewn throughout. It had a deviously low neckline, one that revealed her ample cleavage in a flattering manner, with tied up spaghetti straps, an empire waist, and a ruffled hemline that ended just above her knees. Wanting to get a better view of the back side of the dress, Davina exited the privacy of the changing booth and ventured over to the trio of mirrors that sat close to the return rack. She eyed her trio of reflections curiously, ultimately deciding to purchase the dress because she liked the way it fit her.

Davina felt a stare digging into her and glanced over to the waiting area that sat abreast of the other changing booth, locking eyes with a male about her age. He had jet black hair, carefully gelled back against the crown of his skull, and deep brown eyes. He was perched on a wooden bench, his arms crossed over the width of his chest in a silent display of annoyance. The guy studied her with curiosity for a long moment, then smirked to himself.

"Nice," he offered softly, and Davina quickly recognized his voice as belonging to the couple she had overheard arguing only a few short minutes prior. Her cheeks suddenly grew hot at his vague compliment, but she fixed him with a small, awkward smile before returning to the booth to redress. She gathered up the articles and left the booth, placing the items she wasn't going to purchase on the rack before heading up to the register to pay. As she made her way to the front, she caught more of the couple's conversation as the female emerged from the changing booth in a different dress.

"What about this one?"

"Ugh, it doesn't matter! Pick one already!"

"Maybe I'll see what else they have…"

"Oh, c'mon!"

She fought the urge to chuckle as the associate rang up her purchases and cashed her out, packing away her new articles in a small paper shopping parcel. Davina fought to keep her face stoic, but amusement danced in her eyes as she exited the shop with her new bag in tow. After hitting a few more stores and finding a handful of things, useful or otherwise, she returned to her apartment, intent on doing some laundry and cooking a nice meal for herself—Davina absolutely loved to cook, and she was damn good at it. She hadn't had the opportunity to break in her new kitchen yet, and was eager to do so. She threw a load of clothing into the small washer dryer duo, which was located alongside the sink in an odd sort of atrium with a door that looked out of place and was far different than the bathrooms back in the states. Said door led back to room that was tiled from top to bottom and dedicated solely to an impressively large rectangular porcelain tub, a handheld showerhead hung up on the wall beside it. The toilet sat in a tiny closet of a room just across the hall—while Davina had seen similar set ups before, the layout was certainly going to take some getting used to.

With the laundry started, she worked on preparing her messenger back for university—by some stroke of luck, when she had visited the campus bookstore on Friday to obtain the last of her textbooks, nothing was on back order—she had even managed to snag the last copy of the book she needed for her advanced physics class, which came as a relief. Her schedule was a bit weird, with three consecutive classes for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and two for Tuesdays and Thursdays. She had opted for all morning and earlier afternoon appointments, which left the majority of her afternoons and evenings free for homework, studying, and projects. After making sure she had packed the correct textbooks and necessary supplies, Davina headed into the kitchen and began cooking, pausing only when it was time to toss her laundry in the dryer. She made a simple meal of yakisoba, topped with slices of pork belly and cabbage, with a side of steamed vegetables, drizzled liberally with soy sauce.

While she ate, she cracked open one of her favorite books, Stephen King's Salem's Lot, and began to reread it—by the end of her meal, Davina was feeling rather content. She was just about to hit the shower after cleaning the kitchen, only to realize upon putting the leftovers in the fridge that she had forgotten to grab a carton of cream while grocery shopping—knowing that she would be most unhappy drinking her morning coffee sans cream, Davina sighed in defeat and slipped her sneakers and coat back on, then headed back outside to walk the two blocks over to the market. It was just before eight in the evening, and the sun was long set, the roadways illuminated only by the presence of tall streetlights that hung high overhead. A mild chill hung in the air, but there was almost no wind, and for that, Davina was grateful. It had been drizzling on and off for most of the afternoon, but as luck would have it, the rain had ceased entirely.

She arrived at the market, grabbed her precious cream and a few impulse snacks. Her entire trip took perhaps twenty minutes, and she was nearly back to her apartment when she felt the strange presence of eyes on her once more. She saw a single figure approaching the crosswalk from the opposite side of the intersection, but didn't pause to scrutinize the situation, immediately heading for the stairwell. All she wanted was a hot shower and then to fall into bed—despite it being fairly early, she was rather tired from being up quite late the night before. And with classes beginning the next day, bright and early at eight in the morning, Davina wanted to be well rested for what lie ahead.

Racing up the flight of stairs, she headed for her apartment, quickly unlocking the door and stepping inside. Within half an hour, Davina was nestled within the warm comfort of her bed, her muscles relaxed from her shower and long hair damp against her pillow. Within minutes, she was out cold, cradled in the arms of a deep slumber.