21/08/2015 Update: Hey, this was updated. Not much changed here beyond a couple of small issues, really.

Chapter Two: Foggy Intentions

Danny fidgeted slightly as he and quite a few other people stood on the platform, awaiting the monorail. It used to be that he didn't care one way or another about crowds but sometime during the last few years he'd began to develop a deep aversion to them, most likely due to his increasingly anti-social tendencies. Still, he couldn't help but listen as the people around him talked among themselves. "First he bags a singer, and then he has an affair with a TV announcer on the side. Do chicks really dig politicians?" A man asked curiously.

'I'm still not sure whether Clockwork's 'gift' was worth it or not.' Danny thought to himself as he dealt with the strange sensation of the cipher in his mind. The old ghost's description of pain upon receiving it was decidedly understated, as he'd been visited the night before he left by Clockwork to receive both it and his paperwork and found he'd had a migraine from the time he got it to just a little under an hour ago. Now that he didn't have to contend with the headache however he found the internal translation of Japanese to English within his mind, along with English to Japanese when he was speaking, to just be strange. There really was no better way to describe it, other than maybe a slight itch in his brain while it processed the information, he just hoped that would go away with time due to how infuriatingly unreachable that particular sensation was.

He was suddenly pulled back out of his thoughts when he heard somebody reply to the man's question in a matter of fact tone, "Isn't it just stuff like money and connections? When you get down to it, financial and political power is what matters." Danny couldn't help but roll his eyes in annoyance at the response, 'With a view like that I bet she and Vlad would get along perfectly.'

After that Danny managed to tune the group's voices out and the monorail finally arrived just a few minutes later, much to his relief. He quickly boarded the train and made his way to the most isolated section he could find before stowing his luggage and sitting down. 'I'm sure Jazz would be thrilled to be here right now. I don't know what it is about trains but she went on and on about Japan's public transportation when we were talking on Monday.' He smiled at the thought, before his mind drifted to a less pleasant memory of his meeting in the park, 'Well, it could have gone worse, I suppose...I mean I guess it could have been raining.'


Despite the fact that it was late March the night was still decidedly cool as Danny landed at the meeting spot and let his invisibility lapse. 'Guess I'm the first to show up...not surprising I guess, now we'll see whether it'll be just me and Val or if Sam and Tucker bother to show up.' He thought to himself, leaning back against the statue and crossing his arms over his chest.

Several minutes went by before he heard the muffled hum of Valerie's hoverboard approaching the park, a few seconds later he saw her fly over once, presumably to make sure he was there, before coming back and lowering herself to the ground for a slow landing. He reluctantly pushed himself off from the statue and took a few steps towards her, giving her a lazy salute for a wave, "Good to see you could make it."

Unfortunately rather than returning the greeting the Huntress raised her hand, her palm-cannon glowing dangerously as she glared at him, an expression that was lost on him due to the darkly tinted visor on her helmet, "Don't take another step, Phantom." She stated firmly, glancing around quickly as if checking for somebody else, "I only agreed to meet you here because Danny Fenton asked me to, and right now I'm not seeing him."

Danny suppressed the urge to roll his eyes as he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly, "Just hear me out, Valerie, okay? I'll explain everything in a few minutes, we're supposed to have a couple more people show up soon, and if they aren't here within five minutes then I swear I'll go on without them."

"How do I know you're not trying to spring a trap on me and are just waiting for backup?"

This time he did roll his eyes, "Please, since when have I ever tried to set a trap for you? And besides if I really wanted to fight you we both know that I wouldn't need backup." He retorted, "Just...trust me okay? I know you don't want to believe that I'm not the one that caused all of your problems which, I'd just like to point out again, I'm not, but just believe me for a few minutes. This is important."

Valerie stared at him unfalteringly for several seconds before the glow in her palm subsided and she slowly lowered her arm, "Fine, but if you aren't being straight with me I swear I'll grind your face into the asphalt." The only reply she received for a few moments was a skeptically raised eyebrow, making her cross her arms aggressively over her chest, "So who exactly are we waiting on?" She asked impatiently.

Before a response could be made the two of them heard footsteps coming towards them accompanied by slightly raised voices of a male and female, apparently in the middle of an argument, "I still don't understand why he would want to meet us here." The girl's voice said exasperatedly, "He knows that neither of us are interested in dealing with ghosts anymore. Besides we haven't even talked to each other in over a year now, why the hell would he call us now?"

Danny couldn't help the pang of anger and hurtfulness that throbbed in his heart as he heard Sam's complaints, though he immediately pushed the emotions down realizing that they wouldn't help him in the least bit right now, "I don't know, Sam, okay? Who knows why Danny does anything anymore. I hardly even see him outside of school anyways and I barely even recognize him anymore, but whatever it is he sounded serious so I'm pretty sure it has to be something pretty big for him to call us." Tucker answered as they rounded the corner of the statue, coming to a stop when they saw the two ghost hunters standing there.

Valerie glanced at Danny, somewhat surprised, "These were the people we were waiting on?" She asked him incredulously.

Danny gave her a sarcastic smile, "Hmph, trust me Val, I'm not thrilled about seeing them either. But in this case we have to take what we can get." He replied before turning to Sam and Tucker, his arms crossed again, "I see you finally decided to grace us with your presence."

Sam's eyes narrowed into a glare, "You're the one that called us here, asshole, we didn't have to come. In fact, now I'm really wishing we hadn't, maybe we should just go." She shot back, her voice laced with venom.

Tucker sighed as he put as hand on Sam's shoulder, "I'm not happy to be here either, Sam, but I don't think he would have called us here if it wasn't important. Though I'll admit that the way he's acting right now certainly isn't helping anything." He said softly, before pointedly looking at the two hunters again, "Anyways, why's she here?"

"I'm wondering exactly the same thing about you two." Valerie replied coldly.

"We have more right to be here than you do, witch, even if we'd rather of stayed home." Sam shot back tauntingly, turning her glare to the Huntress.

"What the hell do you mean you have more right to be here? I'm the ghost hunter here and-"

"That's enough, all of you!" Danny growled, cutting Valerie off from finishing her sentence, "You're all here because I called you here, and I called you here because we could be facing an emergency soon."

The three other people gathered at the statue stared at him for a moment before Valerie slowly shook her head, "What do you mean, you called me here? The only reason I'm here is because Danny Fenton called me and told me to meet him here, hell the only reason I didn't attack you when I first saw you was because he told me not to!"

Sam's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked between the two of them for a few moments before she threw her hands up in exasperation, "Oh my god, seriously? She still doesn't know yet, and you called her here?! Why the hell are you wasting our time, Danny?"

Valerie stared at Sam in confusion for a moment before looking back to Danny, clearly displeased about being left out of the loop, "What the hell is she talking about? Explain this to me now or we're going to have issues." She growled venomously

Danny nodded reluctantly, "That was the plan all along, Val, I just didn't count on getting so sidetracked before we even started. I don't have time to explain everything right now but I can give you the very quick story." He sighed, dropping his arms to his sides and taking a step back from her as he released his ghost half. Valerie stared at him in shock, speechless as she saw Danny Fenton standing in front of her in almost the same clothes Phantom had been, the only difference being the lack of the jacket and scarf that the town had become accustomed to. "The quick version is that the accident I was in when I was fourteen wasn't nearly as harmless as I played if off to be, somehow between a combination of the electricity and ectoplasm from the ghost portal my genetics were turned into a bit of a mangled mess. The easiest way to put is that I'm half dead, I've got a foot in both worlds, both as a human and a ghost and in case you're wondering, no I'm not the only one that exists, it's just extremely rare for obvious reasons." He explained patiently, unsurprised as she seemed to be in shock.

What he hadn't been expecting, however, was when she lunged herself at him and slugged him across the face hard, sending him stumbling a couple steps back, "Damn it, Danny! Why...why didn't you tell me sooner! You...I...I've been trying to kill you for so long and...you were the one that sabotaged my dad! Why would you do that? I thought we were friends, Danny!" Valerie shouted at him as her helmet retracted itself revealing the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Danny winced as he rubbed his jaw tenderly, glancing at Sam and Tucker who seemingly couldn't decide whether or not they were supposed to be concerned, he decided to ignore them and concentrate on Valerie for the moment, "Val..." He started softly taking a step towards her and putting a hand on her shoulder, "I understand why you're angry, and you have every right to be angry that I kept you in the dark for so long, but I swear to you that I didn't sabotage your dad, the entire thing was a huge accident. I really wish that I could give you the time you need to process this...it's hard, I know, but we don't have time right now." He told her gently.

Valerie blinked rapidly several times, trying to blink the tears away and failing horribly as they started falling down her face, "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked him, repeating her earlier question.

Sam looked at her incredulously at the question, "Are you insane?! You were trying to kill him! Of course he didn't tell you, I can't believe he's telling you now!"

Both Danny and Valerie shot glares at her, "Sam, you're not helping, and like I said we don't have much time right now. If we were only here for me to talk to Valerie you two sure as hell wouldn't be here." He said, pointedly ignoring her glare.

Valerie's glare lifted at his words and she looked back at him in confusion, "If this isn't what we're her for then what is? What could be bigger than this?!"

There was a heavy silence for a few moments, broken only by Valerie's occasional sniff, before Danny started, "Guys...I'm leaving. I have to go to Japan to do something pretty important, I guess, I'm really not sure...Clockwork said it would take a couple of years." He began, mentioning Clockwork almost as an afterthought, making both Tucker and Sam pale while Valerie just looked at him in confusion, making him slap his forehead in annoyance with himself, "Clockwork is the Master of Time, Val." He explained, watching her eyes go wide as she realized what it could mean.

Tucker looked uncomfortable as he brought attention to himself, "I...understand why that would matter to Valerie, since she's still a ghost hunter, but why are you bothering to tell us? Besides that there hasn't been a ghost sighting in...well, forever."

Danny shook his head and sighed heavily, "That would be because the Ghost Council recently extended a treaty to me. They're supposed to stay out of our world and I don't beat the ever-loving shit out of them whenever I see them." He explained, though he was interrupted before he could finish his explanation.

Sam let out of sigh of annoyance as she shook her head, "Then why the hell are you even bothering any of us with this at all?" She asked exasperatedly.

"Because-" He replied, fixing her with a glare, "like I was going to say before you interrupted me, I need Valerie to help my parents make sure that the treaty is enforced. If they figure out that I'm not here then they might try to go back on the deal. And...there's also something else..." He said, trailing off for a moment only to be interrupted again, by Tucker.

"Wait...your parents aren't going with you to Japan? Where the hell are you going to be staying?"

Danny couldn't help the low growl that he spoke in, "Yes, my parents are going to be staying here, Tucker. And it doesn't matter where I'll be staying because it doesn't concern you." He said dangerously, before continuing in a less hostile tone, "And the reason why you are here is because of something else Clockwork told me. While I'm gone my...alternate future self is going to break free." Danny said quietly, unable to look up at the group as he heard his former friends gasp in surprise while Valerie silently listened to him with both confusion and concern evident on her face, "He's going to wreck the ghost zone first and then he's going to make his way to our world. I-" He paused painfully for a moment, "Well, I think there's a pretty good chance that he's going to destroy Fentonworks and anybody inside when he comes through. What I need you guys for is to help evacuate the city and I need you to contact me if Valerie is too busy fighting to call me."

The entire group looked at him in horror for several moments before Sam shook her head, "N-no, this isn't happening, it won't. He can't get out and there's no way he's coming back here." She muttered, crossing her arms in front of her, obviously uncomfortable.

Danny's eyes flashed an acidic green at her denial, "Damn it, Sam, do you think I would make this shit up if it wasn't true? He's going to kill my family, Sam! And there's nothing, absolutely nothing I can do to prevent it! I'm trying to give you guys a chance to prevent that for your families!" He shouted, suddenly not caring who might hear him.

Sam shook her head again, violently, "No, I don't believe it. And even if it is true it doesn't matter, we're not involved in your life anymore, Danny! This is your problem, not ours, don't try and push it off on us!" She shot back, before turning on her heel and walking away, "I'm going home...don't ever call me again, Danny."

Tucker stared at her sadly before looking back at Danny, "I...I'll talk to her, Danny. I'll do what I can if it happens, but I...look, she's right in that we aren't with you anymore, man. We're done with ghost hunting, we were done a year and a half ago. Like I said, I'll try to help evacuate if this actually happens but other than that leave us out of it." He said quietly, before turning to chase after Sam.

The two ghost hunters watched the two of them go disbelievingly in silence, before Danny numbly turned to look at Valerie who turned to him as well, "I...I understand if you're scared, Val, and I know it's hard to accept this but I need your help if I'm going to get back in time. Please...please don't tell me the same thing as they did."

Valerie blinked at him in silent shock for several moments before a look of anger crossed her face and she slapped him, "Do you really think I'm anything like either of them?!" She asked angrily, obviously insulted at the question.

Despite the pain and the visible slap mark across his cheek Danny gave her a grateful smile, "I didn't think you were...but then again I also thought that even though we gave up our friendship a long time ago they would at least see the seriousness of this. Apparently I was wrong about them though." He muttered, disappointedly.

The Huntress shrugged, giving him a small smile, "We'll be alright without them." She said confidently, before her face softened, "But...are you okay, Danny? This can't be easy for you."

He opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out, bowing his head he gave her a sad smile, "I...I'll live. I have to, after all, right?"

"That's not an answer, Danny." She said gently, raising a hand to his cheek and leaning closer to him.

Danny blushed brightly at her closeness, "Val, I-I'm sorry, you're a good friend, and I should have spent more time with you these last couple years, but I don-"

"Don't ruin this for me, Danny...I'm probably not going to get another chance. Just indulge me once, okay?" Valerie whispered her own cheeks burning in an unseen blush as she leaned in and captured his lips in a kiss before he could argue with her. While Danny wasn't sure how to proceed at first he gave into her after a moment and rested his hands on her hips as he returned the kiss. However while it was nice there was no spark to it, and as she slowly pulled away from him they both knew it would probably be the last one they shared, judging by the sad smile on her face. "Thank you for letting me do that, Danny." She said quietly, unable to look him in the eye before continuing, "When he comes through I'll make sure that you know about it, and I'll do my best to fight him off as long as I can."

He lowered his head at the unspoken belief that she wouldn't be there when he got back to Amity Park, "Thank you, Val. Just so you know out of everybody I'm leaving behind you're the best ghost hunter...and my only real friend. I'll miss you while I'm gone...we'll have to catch up some time." He said, attempting to be optimistic as they pulled away from each other.

A sad smile crossed her face and she nodded slowly, "Sure...but only if you promise that it'll be a date." She shot back jokingly.

Danny couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped his lips as he transformed into Phantom, "But what if I meet someone while I'm there and bring them back to meet everybody?" He asked, mock seriously.

Valerie grinned playfully, "Well, then you'll just have to explain to her that she's going to have to share for a night. I'm sure she'll understand."

He nodded, "Alright then...it's a date." He said, grinning as she blushed lightly, though his grin fell as he prepared to start flying, "Just...be careful, Val. It'll be really hard for us to hang out when I get back if one of us gets dead."

"That goes double for you, Danny...at least I know what I'm going to be doing here, there's no telling what will happen in Japan."

"I will, Val. I-...just remember, this isn't goodbye, it's see you later." He managed to say, before taking flight, knowing he needed to leave or they'd be talking more for hours into the night and he had to deal with school tomorrow, along with all that would come with getting ready to transfer out of it.


Danny sighed as he shook his head, dispelling the memories of the meeting. 'Dwelling on it now won't do me any good...I think I should just try and get some sleep. It was almost impossible on the way over here with that damned migraine.' He thought, before leaning his seat back and closing his eyes, feeling himself drift away almost immediately as darkness descended upon him.

He wasn't sure how long it was before he felt himself begin to stir, for all he could tell it may have been seconds or hours, but as he groggily opened his eyes and looked around he knew immediately that he wasn't on the train anymore. Danny looked around slowly, taking in the surroundings, there was a soft blue light emanating behind two fuzzy figures. It took a few seconds for his vision to clear enough to see them, showing them as a somewhat odd-looking blonde woman with golden eyes, the uniform she was dressed in was the same shade of blue as the walls and couch that she sat on. The figure sitting to left of her was an older man dressed in a butler uniform, his sparse amount of silver hair framed a prominent bald spot on his head, his eyes were bloodshot and seemed to bulge slightly from their sockets, his ears were pointed much like how an elf's would be depicted. However his nose was easily his most noticeable feature, it stuck out several inches and his folded hands rested underneath it as he grinned at Danny.

Normally Danny would already have jumped up at having been in a place like his with two strange people, but he found that he had very little energy. After several seconds of struggling he managed to sit up straight and look at his apparent captors with narrowed eyes, rather than looking concerned the old man's smile only seemed to widen, "Welcome to the Velvet Room..." He said warmly, his voice not holding even the smallest tinge of malevolence to it.

Suddenly Danny felt as if whatever had forced him into his groggy state had been lifted and he found moving just as easy as it normally would be, giving him the chance to take in more of his surroundings. Blue walls, two couches, a wooden bar with several bottles behind glass panes. There were blue curtains drawn at each window, which brought him to his next discovery about where he was, fog was drifting by outside and it appeared as if they were moving. It seemed they were in a very expensive car, probably a limousine, 'I'm willing to bet that even Vlad would hesitate to spend enough money to buy this car...everything about it just screams rich.'

Danny was shook out of his observations when the old man chose to continue speaking, "Ahh...it seems we have a guest with an intriguing destiny..." He said, trailing off with a pleased chuckle, "My name is Igor, this place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who have entered into a contract may enter..." Igor explained calmly, pausing for a moment to smile at the confused look on the half-ghost's face, 'Is this Clockwork's 'associate' that he mentioned? He certainly seems the type...and I can't think of any other 'contract' I might have entered into, though I'd really hesitate to call Clockwork forcing me to come here me agreeing to a contract.' Danny thought ruefully, before realizing Igor had started speaking again.

"It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future. Now then, why don't you introduce yourself?" Igor said with a smile, even though Danny couldn't help the feeling that he already knew exactly who he was.

Danny hesitated for a moment, thinking on his options before nodding, "I would, but I'm curious as to which name you want...do you want the Human or the Phantom?"

Igor chuckled at his response while the woman just raised a confused eyebrow at the question, "Hehe...Clockwork did tell me you were a sharp one, Mister Fenton. I will call you whatever you wish me to, all you must do is tell me your preference."

Danny looked at him with surprise before letting a small smile pass his face, "In that case you can just call me, Phantom...it makes it easier to keep my two worlds separate if people who only know me from one of them calls me the appropriate name."

Igor nodded approvingly, "I understand...now, let's take a look into your future, shall we?"

A silent stare was all the response the half-ghost gave as Igor held a hand a few inches above the table-top for a few seconds before there was a sudden flash of blue light and a deck of strange cards appeared face down on the table. 'Well that's a hell of a trick...pretty flashy, I bet Dad would love to see this.'

"Tell me, Phantom, do you believe in fortune telling?"

Danny raised an eyebrow at the question, "Well...I guess I don't not believe in it. Given everything I've seen I wouldn't be surprised if some of it was real. Besides, I've met Clockwork, remember?" He replied carefully. The truth was that while he felt like he couldn't dismiss the thought of it, he was still somewhat skeptical of the idea.

"That is very true. Now, each reading is done with the same cards, yet the results are always different." Igor explained with a chuckle, amusement clear in his eyes, "Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?"

Danny couldn't help a slight chuckle at the statement, drawing a slightly disapproving look from Igor's assistant. 'Or whatever she's supposed to be...wish she wouldn't look at me like that though, her eyes kind of creep me out.' He thought distractedly, though his attention was immediately pulled back to the cards when they began moving around the table, apparently shuffling themselves on their own. 'Alright, I take it back, THAT's a cool and flashy trick.'

The cards continued shuffling themselves for a few seconds before finally slowing to a stop. The moment the cards stopped moving Igor reached out and flipped one over, Danny looked at it curiously and though he could make out the vague shape he was unsure whether he actually knew what it was. Thankfully, it seemed that was irrelevant because Igor was seemingly happy to translate for him, "Hm...The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems as though a terrible catastrophe is imminent." The old man muttered, seemingly in deep thought.

'Big surprise there...at least it can't mean Dan coming back. Not yet at least, he did say imminent, after all.'

"The card indicating the future beyond that is...The Moon, in the upright position. This card represents...'Hesitation' and 'mystery'... Very interesting indeed. It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you."

'Well obviously the misfortune is almost a given with my luck...but a mystery? I mean I guess I've tracked down quite a few people and ghosts in the last couple years, and my 'skills of deduction' are better than most I guess...but I've never really dealt with mystery before. Well, unless you count me being a mystery to other people, maybe...argh, screw it I'm not going to get anywhere without more information. This is just as frustrating as Clockwork's half-answers.'

The half-ghost's thoughts were interrupted as Igor continued speaking, "In the coming days, you will enter into a contract, after which you will return here."

Danny raised an eyebrow at that, 'Which raises the question of how I even got here in the first place, now that I think about it.'

"The coming year is a turning point in your destiny. If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may very well be lost." Igor paused at that, looking at him meaningfully.

'Wait...my destiny? My future could be lost? Is he talking about Dan? Did Clockwork tell him about that? What the hell does that even mean anyways? Could it mean I'll turn into him if- No! That won't happen, I won't let it, that's all there is to it.' Danny's internal struggle didn't go unnoticed and when he glanced back at Igor and his assistant they both had looked at him differently, Igor seemed to understand his plight while the assistant was looking as confused as she had been since he'd introduced himself as Phantom, however the silence didn't last long before Igor continued.

"My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that doesn't happen." Igor said firmly, though his smile was wide as ever as he swiped his hand across the table, vanishing the cards and as he turned his attention back to Danny there was a small flash of apparent surprise on his face, "Ah! It appears that I've neglected to introduce my assistant to you. This is Margaret. She is a resident of this room, like myself."

The golden-eyed woman turned back to him, the curiosity on her face replaced with a mask of professionalism, "My name is Margaret, I am here to accompany you through your journey."

Danny raised an eyebrow at the coolness in her voice, though he didn't question it as Igor began speaking again, though his voice somehow seemed further away than it had before. "We shall attend to the details another time."

The half-ghost's vision began to darken and he glanced around tiredly, suddenly feeling the exhaustion settle back on his shoulders.

"Until then, farewell."

And then all of Danny's world faded back to black.

Danny blinked groggily as he woke up, not feeling any less tired than when he had faded to sleep. He had vague memories flashing in his mind but he couldn't seem to grasp any of them, leading him to lean back in his seat before letting out a sigh of frustration. 'I know something important happened...but every time I think I remember something I lose it...' He thought angrily as he turned to look out the window at the countryside that was speeding by. The view was nice at least, and it helped him relax.

It had been years since Danny had slept well. He didn't think it was insomnia, at least it didn't start out like that anyways, but after so long of nightly battles he'd been forced to become a very light sleeper, as to not miss his ghost sense going off, and that was before he'd had to start doing it on his own.

When Team Phantom turned into a solo act Danny found that finding time to sleep was difficult, to say the least, and it resulted in him being forced to adapt to a small handful of hours where he was able to sleep at night, and up until recently even that wasn't guaranteed. Even once the ghosts had stopped coming through the portal he hadn't been able to sleep well, he was too nervous about what the ghost zone might be up to, after Clockwork's revelation it'd been more about nightmares of Dan and being kept awake by his mind wandering to his future in Japan. In short, Danny had been in a constant state of exhaustion for two years now, and he expected little would change on that front, even with his ghost hunting responsibilities being stripped from him.

Danny was torn from his thoughts when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket, he pulled it out and opened up the message he'd received, blinking in annoyance a couple of times as his mind translated the neat Japanese characters for him.

Meet us outside Yasoinaba Station at 4PM.

The half-ghost's eyes flicked to the clock on his phone as he closed the message. '3:45...I guess that means we'll probably be getting there soon.' His thoughts were interrupted as the intercom crackled to life to announce that they would be arriving at the station in a few minutes. 'Well, speak of the devil.' He stood up to crack his neck and back before turning to pull his backpack and suitcase from the luggage rack as the train began to grind to a halt.

Danny couldn't help the small sigh as he shouldered his backpack, reflecting on the fact that everything he owned was either on him or in either of the two bags he had, which meant it was almost solely clothes, aside from his laptop. He shook his head to dispel the thought as he stepped out onto the platform and made his way through the station, as he walked out of the building he saw a middle aged man in slightly wrinkled clothes waving at him, a small girl standing next to him. He forced a small smile onto his face as he walked over to them and grasped the man's offered hand in a firm shake.

"Heh, you're even more handsome than in your photo." The man said with a grin.

Danny raised an eyebrow, curious as to how he had a photo of him, before shrugging. 'Mom probably sent one to him on the Internet.'

"Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima, I'll be looking after you." Dojima continued, before letting his smile fade slightly. "Let's see...I'm your mother's younger stepbrother...and that about sums it up. I'll be honest I was a little surprised to hear from her after so long." He said, somewhat apprehensively, though it seemed that he was only concerned about the situation.

"I...understand, Sir, it was a bit of a shock for me too...but it's nice to meet you, even if the circumstances aren't really perfect." Danny replied, with a small smile.

For a second Danny thought he saw a small frown on Dojima's face, however it quickly passed as the older man nodded, "I bet. You probably don't remember but we've actually met. I've changed your diapers before, you know!" He said, with a short laugh. The man's grin was slightly infectious as Danny found himself smiling at that.

The girl shifted next to them, prompting Dojima to push her up in front of him with a gentle smile, "This here is my daughter." He said, his voice mixing both pride and warmth as he introduced her, "Come on, Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin."

The little girl, Nanako, seemed overly nervous and bashful, it took her a few moments before she mumbled out a small, barely audible, "Hello..." It was all she was able to get out before blushing and scrambling to hide behind her father, obviously not used to meeting new people, that probably went double for new 'family'.

"What are you so shy for?" Dojima asked, unable to control his laughter.

Nanako's face scrunched up in childish anger, making her even more cute, as she slapped Dojima's back in protest.

"Ow! Haha!" Dojima's laughter doubled even as he jumped lightly at the slap, Nanako's face flushing even further. Dojima smiled at the girl before turning his attention back to Danny, "Well, then...let's get going. My car's over there."

Danny nodded and turned, but before he could begin to follow his guardian he brushed up against somebody going the other way. He was slightly surprised that he hadn't seen her before, normally he was rather observant of his surroundings, though to be fair he was pretty tired. Before he could dismiss it from his mind though he heard a voice.

"Hey..."

He turned in surprise, glancing up and down at the girl he'd run into before. He couldn't help but feel his mood darken as he realized how much her plaid skirt and bulky boots reminded him of Sam, however before his temper could darken any further she held something out to him, her onyx eyes looking at him impatiently. "You dropped this."

Danny skeptically reached out and took the piece of paper from her, realizing as he looked at it that it was the instructions his parents had printed out for his journey to Inaba, "Thanks..." He replied, somewhat surprised at the help.

"Whatever. All I did was pick it up." She said quietly, before folding her arms across her chest. She was obviously trying to look defiant, however it only made her appear slightly lost.

"Still, I appreciate it." Danny shrugged, looking her in the eye before she glanced away. He stood there for a few seconds longer before nodding to her and turning around following Dojima to his car. He could feel the girl still staring at him, but he didn't care. He wasn't good at talking with people anymore...as if he ever had been, and even if he was he didn't see the point in trying to make friends. Even ignoring the fact that doing so would just make them targets for Vlad, Dan, and any other enemies he might make...after all that was something was actually good at. Aside from that he'd only be here for two years before he had to leave and every time he'd managed to make friends in the past they'd made deep bonds with each other...he couldn't risk letting that happen again and repeating the heartbreak of his friends abandoning him all over again, a situation that was sure to happen in this case as he would eventually leave Japan.

He shook his head as he joined the two Dojimas in the car, shaking his head at the thoughts running through his head. He'd do just fine relying on himself for entertainment, books, movies, and music would do well enough, as well as the mind puzzles he'd taken up within the last year when his responsibilities as Phantom didn't get in the way that is. 'I can't believe that I actually miss ghost hunting and playing hero...' He thought incredulously as he continued considering ways to avoid going insane from a lack of anything to do for two years.

Several minutes later the car pulled to a stop at a gas station, shaking Danny out of his thoughts as Dojima and Nanako got out, followed by himself. He glanced around curiously at the small shopping district as the older man asked her if she could go to the bathroom by herself, followed by the gas station attendant teasing her lightly about the direction it was in, much to the girl's frustration.

Dojima and the attendant made some small talk, though he didn't pay any attention to it. Something here felt...wrong. He didn't know what it was, but the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up and every instinct that he'd been forced to hone since he'd started going into combat regularly was screaming at him that something here was dangerous. He trusted his instincts more than anything except his intelligence, and even then that took second fiddle sometimes, however before he could figure out what was wrong with the place his thoughts were interrupted.

"Are you in high school?" The attendant asked, her voice breaking his concentration. Danny glanced back to her in surprise at being addressed, realizing suddenly how strange looking she was with hair almost as white as his ghost form's and eyes a somewhat unsettling shade of red. She had a somewhat seasoned air about her, seeming like she was extremely confident in whatever abilities she had, and just looking at her made him think she could probably put up a decent fight if she wanted to.

She seemed to sense his confusion and smiled in amusement, "Does it surprise an American how little there is to do here? I bet you don't hear much about our countryside in your country, do you? There's not much to do around here and I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs." She paused for a moment before seeming to think of something, "Speaking of which, we're looking for part-time help right now. We don't mind if you're a student. Give it some thought, why don't you?" She finished, with a friendly smile as she offered her hand to him in a shake. Her grip was strong and Danny couldn't help thinking that he was probably right about her being able to hold her own in a fight.

After the handshake the attendant dismissed herself, getting back to work as Nanako made her way back, looking at him with a small amount of concern on her face, something that increased as the clouds in the area seemed to disperse, the bright light helping the headache from before begin to return to him. "...Are you okay?" The little girl asked, still shy but seemingly concerned for him. "Did you get car sick?"

Danny felt a small smile spread across his face, despite the pain growing in his head, "I don't think so...I think I'm just tired, it's been a long trip." He replied gently.

A few moments later Dojima made his way back to them, holding a cigarette in his mouth, "What's wrong? You okay?" He asked, his voice almost unchanged by the obstruction of his cigarette, a feat Danny could only wonder on.

"Uh...yeah, I'm alright. Just a small headache."

The older man nodded understandingly, "Makes sense, I guess. It was a long trip for you, why don't you take a quick walk and get some fresh air, just tell us when you're ready to go."

Danny nodded, "Alright, thanks." He replied tiredly before cracking his neck and wandering down the street, figuring that if nothing else he'd at least get the chance to look around the area. He'd only taken a few steps away from the station when he noticed a book store on the corner. 'Well that's a good start...even if there isn't anything else worth remembering here at least I'll be able to get some books to read. Ugh...they'll probably all be in Japanese, of course...still better than nothing. Wait...is that a suit of Samurai armor? That's so cool!'

He spent a few minutes checking out the armor before moving on, noticing a small tofu shop just down the street from it, but he immediately ignored it. He didn't much care for tofu even before dating Sam and after the amount that he'd ate during that fiasco he felt that he'd had enough of it to last him a lifetime. Besides if he needed something to eat he'd become more than proficient in the kitchen on his own. 'Really I didn't have much choice, given Mom's tendency to mess up simple recipes or to infuse the food with ectoplasm. Mom and Dad are geniuses but aside from making fudge neither of them have any talent in the kitchen...I wonder how I managed to get as good as I did, not even Jazz managed to pick that skill up.' Danny shrugged and moved on, taking in a few more of the shops in the small district before making his way back to the gas station, not wanting Dojima to get bored waiting on him.

"How are you feeling? Ready to get back into the car?" Dojima asked, concern clear in his face, even if wasn't in his voice.

Danny nodded with a slightly embarrassed smile, "Yeah...sorry about that."

Dojima chuckled and shook his head, "Don't worry about it. Let's hit the road."

Half an hour later Danny and his newly met family sat at the table in the living room, Dojima had shown him the room he'd be using for the next two years once they got in the house and he'd quickly left his bags in the room when his uncle had said dinner would be in just a few minutes. The half-ghost was slightly nervous about it, seeing as how he'd already embarrassed himself by forgetting to take his shoes off when he came into the house and while Dojima had been slightly amused by his stumbling over himself to apologize Danny was less amused. He barely knew anything about the culture here and with every second he thought about it his dread grew, after all even though he had already determined that he wasn't here to make friends he also didn't want to consistently embarrass himself or insult people by his ignorance.

Danny shook his head with a small sigh, trying to ignore the worries realizing that there wasn't anything he could do about it aside from learn from his mistakes and tread carefully in social situations. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud hiss and crack when Dojima opened up a soda, a smile clear on his face as he sat down across the table from him, "All right, let's have a toast." The older man said, holding his can of soda up slightly.

Despite his previous thoughts Danny couldn't help but smile in response as he raised his own drink, something called TaP soda, it seemed to be an equivalent to Pepsi, while Nanako beamed while holding her glass of orange juice up with both hands. Honestly it'd been a while since he'd drank much soda, he liked it well enough, but when he found himself needing to keep himself in shape he found that water was a better choice. 'Besides, water tastes pretty good on itself, as long as the pipes aren't going bad or they don't mess up the chemicals they put in it at the purifying plant.'

He was shaken out of his thought again as Dojima started speaking, "So...your parents are pretty busy then, I guess. Have they told you much about what they're doing or why they need it?" He asked carefully, seeming to watch his face closely.

Danny grimaced and nodded his head a little, "I...have a pretty good idea what's going on."

Dojima's face seemed to soften a bit at his answer, "Well...I'm sorry to hear about that, I didn't really get to know your Dad much but your Mom and I used to talk quite a bit before we both got really busy." His uncle trailed off lightly, before picking back up, "Still aside from that I'm sorry that you had to come all the way over here for two years...it's tough being a kid."

The half-ghost gave a small laugh, "Well...if it wasn't for the situation back home I don't think I'd mind much. I've been curious about other countries for a little while...and I'm always being told how most Americans could benefit a lot from seeing more than just our corner of the world. I'll admit we're probably pretty arrogant as far as that goes." He replied with a small smile.

The older man grinned in response and Danny realized that this entire time he'd been being led along as his uncle tried to judge his character. 'Well, at least I'm not going to have to deal with somebody who's always taking things at face value...but I'm going to have to be careful around him or I might have to deal with somebody else who knows I'm half-ghost. I mean...he seems like a good enough guy, but you never know how somebody's going to react to learning something like that.'

"Well, as long as you're here, you're part of the family. So make yourself at home." Dojima said, surprising Danny more than just a little bit before his grin came back. He had been grateful that his uncle was willing to take him in at all, never mind for as long as it would be, but he didn't expect him to be so welcoming so quickly.

"I...thank you, Sir." Danny managed to get out, much more formal than he'd normally be in an effort not to tread on any toes.

Dojima blinked in surprise, a slightly confused look crossing his face, "Are...you into military stuff or something?" He asked, curiously.

Danny blushed in embarrassment at the question, realizing he must have sounded a little stupid, "I...uh, no. Sorry, I just...I'm a little nervous, and I'm not good at talking to people and..." Danny let out a slightly annoyed sigh and palmed his face in frustration at himself, prompting a laugh from his uncle and cousin.

When Danny looked back up at them in surprise he could see a smirk on Dojima's face, "I told you to make yourself at home, you don't have to worry about embarrassing yourself here...at least not by how you talk anyways. Now come on, let's eat."

A grin crossed Danny's face again at that as he clumsily picked his chopsticks up, unfamiliar with the utensils but determined to learn how to use them on his own as he ignored the amused smirk on Dojima's face. They were barely a few minutes into the meal when Dojima's phone went off loudly. "Who's calling at this hour?" He asked with a sigh.

The half-ghost raised an eyebrow at that, it was a fair question, he supposed. Normally the only people who would be calling during dinner were people in emergency jobs or family. 'Well, I guess that's probably a good clue then, isn't it, Fenton?' He thought as he watched his uncle stand up and walk across the room while answering the phone.

"Looks like I made the right decision to skip the booze..." Dojima muttered quietly before turning to the two at the table, "Sorry, but I've got to go take care of some business. Go ahead and eat without me."

Nanako stood up and walked with her dad to the door, though it was obvious she wasn't happy that he was leaving just a dinner, "I don't know how late I'll be back...Nanako you help him out, okay?"

The little girl nodded sadly, "Okay..." She replied quietly as Dojima opened the door, revealing the pouring rain outside.

"Nanako, it's raining outside. What did you do with the laundry?"

"I already brought it in!" She called from the house in response.

"Alright. Well, I'm off!" Dojima called back before shutting the door.

Nanako slowly made her way back to the table and turned the TV on before sitting back down at the table. "Let's eat." She muttered quietly.

The rest of dinner passed in silence, aside from the report from the TV, mostly repeating the story you heard being talked about at the train station. Danny couldn't help the small burst of anger at the story, despite normally ignoring celebrity news. 'I can't believe that I'm even bothering to listen to it, but...god, I hate people who cheat. It's not right, the bastard deserves whatever he has to pay to his wife.'

After the story broke to commercial Danny glanced at Nanako, feeling slightly awkward in the silence. He stumbled through his mind trying to find something to talk with her about, anything to break the awkwardness before he realized the answer was in front of him, "So...what does you dad do?" He asked quietly.

Nanako jumped slightly at the question, apparently surprised that he was even speaking to her. 'Probably thinks I'm just as quiet as she is...not like I've given her much to dispute that.'

After a small pause she answered slowly, "He...investigates stuff. Like crime scenes. He's a detective." She replied, awkwardly, before picking the remote up and changing the channel, "That was boring..." She said quietly.

Danny nodded in agreement, but before he could say anything another commercial came on and the little girl gasped in excitement, "At Junes every day is customer appreciation day. Come see for yourself and get in touch with our products." The TV flashed to a shopping center, apparently a recent addition to the town.

'Well, at least there'll be something other than the book store to do around here.'

"Every day's great at your Junes!~" The commercial ended with a jingle that Danny had to admit was pretty catchy.

Nanako laughed happily and repeated the words, "Every day's great at your Junes!~" The half-ghost raised an eyebrow in surprise, though couldn't help the smile on his face at her happiness. The little girl blushed as she realized the attention she brought to herself, "Aren't you going to finish your dinner?" She asked shyly.

Danny laughed lightly and nodded. 'Well...maybe it wouldn't hurt to get to know my family at least. I mean...what are the chances that my enemies are going to find out about them?'

The rest of dinner continued quietly, though the awkwardness was gone. Once both of them were done Danny helped her clean up before going up to his room, feeling the exhaustion from the trip coming back to him. His suitcase, backpack, and the school uniform Dojima had got for him were ignored in favor of getting his bedding ready. The second he laid down in his futon he curled up in his blankets and passed out.