So, I decided to finally update, not one, but three of my stories at once! And we feature America as a setting! I wonder how it feels like to have an anime character suddenly stroll down my streets. But, unfortunately, I'm not a California resident so sorry if I screw up some facts. I'm also not from DC so sorry if I screw up some facts. Oh, just a note, any dialogue in italics means the person is speaking in English.

cognitive

When the group took their first step into a different country, everyone was amazed. This here, America, everything was different! Even for Shu, whose eyes were not there, even he felt something different. For one thing, everything was fast. People of different ethnicity and sizes bustled here and there. Lots and lots of cars ran down each road, filling up all the available spaces. Daryl even complained enough to consider taking a second jet to the facility that was only a few miles away. Tsugumi and Ayase were astonished by the many different colored buildings and remarkable architecture in California. Everything was not like Japan where all the apartment complexes looked the same. Even the locals were friendly as they tipped their hats and nodded with approval of their arrival.

Tsugumi excitedly ran through a neighborhood when they stopped to take a break. She approached a food stand, dragged Daryl to come with her, and pointed at one. "What are those?"

"Hamburgers, hot dogs, popcorn, chips, and ice cream. It's just street food." Daryl replied in boredom, knowing full well of all customs in this country and was therefore bored to death when he came here.

"You speak English. Get me some ice cream." Tsugumi pointed at a tub of strawberry.

But the vendor seemed to understand and he proceeded to spoon a couple scoops into a cup. He smiled at Tsugumi and topped her ice cream with a cherry. "Here's an extra snack for the young miss."

Tsugumi lit up with sheer joy. "Arigat-umm..."

"She means: 'Thank You'."Daryl politely answered and pushed Tsugumi away before that guy started getting ideas. She was a foreigner now and he can't have her be taken advantage of!

"Your English is very good!" Tsugumi laughed and happily gazed up at him. "I guess I'm going to be relying on you this whole time!"

Nervously, he gulped and blushed and turned away. "Thanks."

"Eh?" Tsugumi gazed on, equally as confused. She shrugged and pouted when he refused to look back at her. "Or I can always ask for Jessica. She said she was from America."

"Here's the difference: I'm fluent. She's conversational." Daryl rudely interrupted with no absolute remorse as usual. "She's only lived here for nine years and she doesn't really use English when she's in Japan."

"And how are you fluent? You've been living in Japan for fifteen years!" Tsugumi readily pointed out.

"Well…" Daryl nervously scratched his head. "My father made me take English classes to keep my fluency with the language. Ever since visiting my home state, he'd developed this obsession with being a president and wanted everyone in his family to speak English if that ever happened. Even if I was the unwanted son, he didn't want to lose face, so I had to sit through all these boring lessons."

"But it paid off in the end!" Tsugumi cheerfully commented, hoping his spirits wasn't getting down. Every time he recounted his terrible past, his mood always shifted to the negative. "Anyways, are you happy to visit your first home?"

"First home?" Daryl stared at her, utterly confused. "This is Jessica's place, not mine. I'm from all the way in the East Coast, near Washington DC, the capital of this country. Where else did you think my dad got his presidential obsession?"

"East Coast? Is it the side that touches the Atlantic?"

He nodded.

"How was it there?"

"From what I remembered…it was cold." Daryl bitterly replied and he shoved his hands in his pocket and stomped off. As his memory dictated, his mother sent him away from a home that actually cared about him.

As the duo walked back to the main, they encountered Jessica trying to explain her hometown to an interested Shu and Ayase and a somewhat interested Yahiro. She was standing by a map and pointing at different locations. "As you can see, we are here. Golden Gate Bridge is here. We are trying to cross the bridge to get to our location. But you guys stay over on the other side while I cross back. I'm going to live in this neighborhood during our stay because my mother lives around here."

"How nice. You're ditching the minute we get here." Daryl teased all the same.

"I haven't seen my mother in a year. I want to catch up with her!" Jessica protested.

"Whatever. Just don't tell her anything about your job. I already get enough shit about her husband." Daryl groaned while Jessica frowned in response. "Alright, is everyone done sightseeing? We can leave?"

"Why leave now? Why not show some hospitality towards our Japanese guests? It's their first time in America anyway!" Jessica snidely replied.

Why, out of all times, does she choose now to be an annoying brat? Daryl groaned, "Hey! If we waste more time, we are going to be late."

"We're half a day early. Relax! Enjoy the city. Go take Tsugumi out for a date! San Fran has wonderful kissing spots." Jessica finally gave her satisfying smirk as she watched Daryl freak out and turn red to high heavens. Along with that, Tsugumi seemed to be just as red and unresponsive while Ayase glared daggers at Daryl.

On the other hand, Yahiro tapped on Shu's shoulder. "Do the Major General and Jessica always act like this?"

"Oh yeah! Every single day." Shu simply replied. By now, just like everyone else and soon Yahiro, they were all used to the trolling habits of the young miss. For such a warmhearted, well-intentioned individual like Jessica, she oddly seemed to take great pleasure in pissing people off...namely Daryl.

Jessica suddenly pulled both Yahiro and Shu with her and she stalked up to Ayase. "Hey! How about I take these three out to sight see? You two can have all the time you want with each other!"

"Brat! Get lost!" Annoyed, he shoved her away from him.

But Jessica merely smirked back and she headed back towards her car. "Shu! Yahiro! Ayase! Let's go! I'll bring you to all the sights of San Francisco!"

Yahiro gently nudged Shu. "Let's go. I do have the feeling they want to be left alone." He quietly whispered to Shu.

In response, Shu nodded and he allowed Yahiro to guide him back to the car. When Yahiro boarded the passenger's seat, he stuck his head out and whistled for Ayase.

On the other hand, the paraplegic woman wheeled up to the couple and bumped very hard and painfully into Daryl's leg, thus earning his cursing and glares. But Ayase paid no heed to him as she grabbed for Tsugumi's hands. "Be careful, okay? If anything happens, just call me."

Tsugumi nodded, "Got it Aya-nee!"

Ayase gave a small smile before she preceded to size up to her other opponent. "And you..."

"What?" Daryl yelled back.

"Stay by her side at all times. And make sure she doesn't get into any funny business! And don't you dare try any funny business with her either!"

"I won't! I won't! Just leave if you want, you bitch in a wheelchair!" The flushed general yelled back with a blush on his face.

But, instead of fighting back, Ayase sighed and wheeled away. She waited for the car seat to level itself to her and she easily slid in. Her wheelchair instantly packed away itself and stored itself under her seat. It was only because of this brand new wheelchair system that she was letting him off the hook for today. Ayase finally took one glance out of her window, glared at Daryl for one last time, stuck her pointer and middle fingers at her eyes and directed them to Daryl as if saying "I'm watching you!"and she turned towards the front. "Drive Jessica!"

Daryl quickly held onto the small woman next to him as the car veered off down the road, scattering an unbelievable amount of dust around them. He swore at Jessica's horrible driving, then rambled about the validity of her license, and all in that moment, Tsugumi was bursting out with laughter.

"Haha! Daryl! You need to relax!" She patted him on the back. "So…where are you taking me?"

He blushed and mumbled, "Where do you want to go?"

"Hmm…do you know any places?"

"Only a few…"

"Then let's go there!"

And for the rest of the day, the couple spent their time wandering around San Francisco. Tsugumi had the time of her life while Daryl simply followed along and helped her found her way. He may not be an expert like Jessica, a genuine local, but he knew his directions. Right now, Tsugumi was a tourist and he was her lovely escort. That was a job he enjoyed. He enjoyed watching her spirits rise with every new thing he introduced; from the music to the parks to the hills, she was ecstatic and crazy for them all. And he was glad.

Finally, with the sun setting on them, the couple made their final stop at the great bridge they once crossed. Tsugumi only ran a fourth of the way through before settling her sights out at the bay. As usual, Daryl followed behind her, hands burrowed into his pockets, and he approached beside her to look at the same view.

"It's so beautiful…" Tsugumi sighed. "What was this bridge called again?"

Daryl responded, "The Golden Gate Bridge."

"Gordenu Gate-u Breedge?" Tsugumi attempted to say in her broken and weirdly pronounced English, and earned nothing but laughter from him. "H-Hey! I bet your Japanese was that sloppy when you first started!"

"Nope! It was pretty good actually."

She pouted, "Narcissistic Sprout!"

"But it was pretty good for your first try." He warmly smiled back for her.

"Thanks…" Tsugumi felt a blush rise when she saw that smile grace his face. This was the first time she saw such an expression on him. It looked quite nice… But she quickly wiped away her blush and focused back on the situation. "So Daryl…do you know why it's called that?"

"No. I'm not all that familiar with the history of this place. You should ask Jessica."

"Oh…how about your home state? DC, wasn't it?"

"It's nothing interesting…there's just a lot of monuments. Most of them are white."

Tsugumi perked up. "Like what?"

"A bunch of memorials are white…the White House…Lincoln Memorial…white statues... Hey! Why are you so interested in color all of a sudden?"

Tsugumi giggled to his confusion. "Because now I understand why you came from there. You've always been in white clothing ever since I met you! That is such a strange color though. You're a little bit sour for someone who wears a lot of white."

"The uniforms are automatically white. It's protocol. And what's wrong with white?" Daryl hotly retorted back. "Besides, it's an easy color to deal with against your weird blue and black scheme. That also reminds me; you're a bit too peppy to be wearing depressing colors."

"Then I guess we're a bunch of weird opposites." Tsugumi chuckled, bringing yet another small smile to his face. "Hey Daryl! Why don't you smile more often?"

He dropped it almost instantly. "What."

"Come on! You look cuter when you smile! Like me!" Tsugumi gleamed one of her happiest smiles at him, thus bringing out the flustered reaction she wanted.

"Not my style!" He haughtily crossed his arms against his chest and turned away.

"Come on! You know you want to!" Tsugumi reached out for his cheeks and pressed her nimble fingers against his soft skin as she tried to manipulate his face.

Instead of following along, he freaked out and pushed her hands away. "R-Runt! What are you doing?"

"Are you still scared of tiny germs?"

"N-No!"

"Then don't be scared!" Tsugumi leaned in close and fixed up his face just as she liked. To her, the frown was a blank canvas she needed to adjust to her liking. After a short while, she had gotten his face to a somewhat of a weird crooked smile…well, it was close enough! But, just as her fingers finally left him, he quickly reverted back to the usual frown. But, as she watched closely, it also changed to surprise then redness. And soon, she figured out why…

Their faces were mere centimeters away from each other and eyes of dark and light purple connected intensely. Tsugumi felt his arms wrapped around her waist to steady her stand on a small platform while she was messing with his face. From that point, he was literally hugging her closely to him. And Tsugumi was not clean either! Her hands had dropped around his neck, curling around his wisps of blonde hair and tucking behind his ears. They both felt their hot breaths of air mingle with each other before disappearing from the tense atmosphere between them. Tsugumi gazed on into the abyss of his amethyst eyes while he stared into her dark ocean eyes. Neither wanted to pull away and both were equally afraid to continue. Finally, Daryl quickly regained his senses and forced himself to pull away.

"Sorry…" He quietly mumbled.

Tsugumi shook her head and stepped back onto the solid bridge road. "No…it's fine."

Daryl glanced out at the sky of bright red and cascading orange. It was getting late. They needed to head back soon. "We should go." Daryl awkwardly spoke and held out his hand for her.

"Okay!" Happily, she reached for him and let his long fingers curl over her small palms. He felt warm…warm like a fresh cup of coffee. And she was bubbly and happy inside. Why?

This was the first time he wanted to hold her.

-GC-

Jessica noticed a considerable different atmosphere as she was driving to their next destination. Shu could feel it as well, even for a blind man; he sensed something was different today. Even Yahiro and Ayase noticed something, but merely chose to ignore it. What was their problem? Two people in the car were noticeably very silent during this entire time.

"So…how did it go?" Shu nervously asked, trying to break up this silence.

Daryl grumbled, "Fine…"

"Tsugumi, did you enjoy the city?" Ayase jumped in as well.

She nodded, "Yeah."

Jessica finally became a savior to put an end to this awkwardness. She pulled the car into a huge driveway of a large, white building. "We're here!" She declared to an overhead microphone and speaker. There was a shuffle heard through the speakers that also mixed with the shuffles of people getting out of the car. Soon, once every person was settled down in their new stark environment, two men came down in white lab coats.

One of them reached out a hand to shake and spoke in English, "Hello Mister..."

"Major General Yan of Provisional GHQ." Daryl curtly replied without touching the greeting. No way is he touching a stinky foreign hand!

"Hi! I am Jessica. I am his personal officer."Jessica quickly replied in awkward English and she quickly shook the guy's hand. She hoped they did not get offended in any sort of way.

"We're the special team you requested."

Both men took a long stare at this group. It was hard to discern whether they sent the correct group or they selected the wrong people. All of these people look like young adults! That would mean they'd had to be teens back when the Apocalypse incident happened! But there was no other choice; these people were their only option left. They had the experience which the Americans lacked in this situation. Thus, both scientists led the team down a large white corridor and proceeded to go through many other similarly placed corridors. It sickened every Japanese member of the group. This place was an asylum essentially!

Tsugumi had trouble keeping her focus towards monitoring the corridors for any well-placed security cameras to hack or any locked doors she needed to investigate. This place was too boring to even try to focus! On the other hand, Ayase noticed how bored and uneasy the woman was getting so she started talking with her. Shu and Yahiro were doing the same as they began to converse with each other. The only two people that didn't say a word were Daryl and Jessica. Daryl had to keep his responsible image up to look good to the scientists in the front. Jessica just had no one to talk to in the rear.

Finally, the scientists approached a large vault room with an eye andfinger scanner, more buttons, and a card key slider. "This is where we are keeping the meteorite." The scientist remarked and knocked on the iron door, eliciting a loud bang. "It is well protected with the best security we got. Only scientists and special personnel are allowed in and they must wear special protective gear and coats. Only a few had been inside to investigate and right now, we've just been gathering data. That's why we requested your team to help us if anything ever arises."

"We are glad to help." Daryl responded before turning back. "Shu, Yahiro, and Ayase prepare to head into that room. Make sure you wear your protective gear."

"Yes sir!"

"Tsugumi and I will view your progress from the control room. Jessica can go back to her home for now since she's dying to see Mom again." Daryl rolled his eyes while Jessica stuck out her tongue. But once he focused on the young teenager again, he noticed something…amiss. "Jessica…"

"What?" She curiously glanced around when everybody turned to her. "What? What's wrong? Why are you all looking at me?"

"Jessica! Your eyes!" Ayase pointed right at her, terrified.

"I can see fine."

"No!" Tsugumi retorted back. "Your eyes…they're…"

Yahiro finally stepped up and planted his hands on Jessica's shoulders. "Your eyes…they turned pink."

Ooh? What's going on with Jessica's eyes? Was there something else the chemicals did besides her vision? Review!