“I can’t stand this life anymore, this loneliness, this empty feeling I have as if something is missing, or someone. I’ve spent most of my life in the military, I enlisted when I turned 18, I had no other options as my family was too poor to afford school, I did well and was promoted quickly for being a top performer, shortly after I was scouted by the special forces recruitment division, the recruiters said they saw something in me and they thought I would make a great fit as an operator in the US Special Operations Command as a Green Beret. I aced the entrance exam and breezed through the training eventually making my way to a Special Forces unit. There I served multiple combat deployments and special assignments. I spent all of my time honing my trade by training day in and day out. I isolated myself and in doing so withdrew from everyone around me except my teammates. I had no time for friends or family and when I finally got injured on a special combat mission I realized how truly alone I was. Our mission was to capture an infamous terrorist leader responsible for murdering and enslaving hundreds of people in a foreign nation, he was renowned specifically for his cruelty to women and children. At the start of my mission an enemy fighter who was waiting in ambush fired an RPG rocket launcher as we were preparing to make entry into the target's building. The rocket impacted the wall nearest to me and knocked me unconscious, luckily my body took most of the shrapnel and I was the only casualty. My team continued on with the mission successfully and I was airlifted to the nearest trauma center and eventually flown to a military hospital in germany. When I finally woke up I was alone, my team was immediately sent out on a follow up mission, and my mother who was my emergency contact had been notified. She never called once, and I don’t blame her, we hadn't spoken in 11 years. I realized that at 29 years old I had no friends to call, no family, no wife to worry over me and no children of my own. I sat there for 7 months recovering from my injuries with physical therapy and multiple surgeries. My teammates had checked in on me from time to time but once the doctor told me that I would most likely never be able to serve again my teammates slowly stopped coming around. The day finally came when I was medically retired from the military and discharged from the hospital. I got a few letters of commendation from the command, a small going away party and then I was on my own. It was swift as if a light switch had been shut off, I fell into a state of depression after my transition into the civilian world. I had trouble making friends and fitting in. After all, how could they understand what I've been through? We came from different worlds. I would watch as they laughed and joked at work, living such carefree lives, it made me angry and bitter. I went from job to job never able to keep a steady work life and eventually quit all together. I really didn’t need to work as I'm paid out retirement from the military and my disability fee from the government so money has never been an issue. The only reason I chose to work was because life was getting mundane at home. After sitting at home for a few months locked away in my room binge watching anime and further sinking into depression I had finally had enough. I decided I no longer wanted to be alone, I needed to fill this void. I figured that maybe I could have a life like the main character in one of those anime,the characters always seemed so happy. Life in Japan looked peaceful and fun and the only way I could live there was by marrying a Japanese girl. So that's where I’m at, I have 90 days to find the love of my life or else I have to go back to my terrible life in the USA”.
Day 1 October 1st XX25
Jack's breaths hasten as he picks up his pace, he's nearly at a full sprint barreling down the crowded Canadian Airport hallways. Jack’s suitcase wheels struggle to keep contact with the floor as he weaves between a sea of pedestrians. “Dang it I knew I should have bought a non-stop flight to Japan, this is what I get for buying a ticket last minute.” he scolds himself.
Jack glances down at his phone to check the time. The phone reads "Final Boarding Call to Haneda Airport, Japan Now Boarding Group 8-9”. “Oh no! My flight is already on the final boarding group, I have to hurry, I'm gonna be cutting it close”. The layover that should have been a quick changeover turned into a race against time when the airline informed the passengers that the flight would be rescheduled due to unforeseen circumstances. After arguing back and forth and some begging with the flight staff Jack was able to get a seat on another plane leaving in 15 minutes on the other side of the airport. (Jack actually just secretly slipped the flight staff some money as a bribe who then used their connections to get Jack a seat).
“No, no, no, this can’t be happening. I carefully calculated everything down to the minute, my itinerary was supposed to be flawless!” Emi’s face wears a desperate look, much too desperate for a 26 year old woman in her prime as she hurdles through the Airport, snaking through families and workers, nearly taking out a family of three as she does so. “I can’t help that the restroom line was so long. I had to go so badly after my flight landed. I wasn’t expecting a 20 minute wait and for my connecting flight to be on the other end of the airport. And those flight attendants were handing out free drinks the whole time and they were my favorite brand too so of course I couldn’t say no. I have to hurry, I can't let my expensive trip to the USA be ruined by some cheap drinks”. As Emi abruptly turns the corner her suitcase drifts and skirts even further along, nearly tipping itself over before regaining its composure. “Yes, I made it on time!” Emi exclaims as she spots her gate in the distance with the last few people in the boarding line shuffling through the check in.
THUD! An abrupt halt, bodies pile over one another like a convoluted game of twister, suitcases sent flying and faint moaning begins to linger through the air. Jack’s whimpers fade as he comes to lying face down on his stomach with a warm and soft heavy pressure on his back. “Did I get tackled by the TSA? No wait, Canada doesn’t have a TSA and why would they tackle me? I haven't done anything wrong. Oh no wait, did they figure out that I bribed the flight attendant earlier, maybe they’ve come to whisk me away to jail (Jack envisions the flight attendant in tears confessing to the police)? Nooooo they can’t, what's the punishment for something like this months, years? At this rate I’ll never make it to Tokyo”. Suddenly the pressure is released, Jack slowly sits up on his knees and surveys the area. He see’s Emi rolled over attempting to recover, hair draped over her face obscuring it from view and suitcases sprawled on the ground. “Oh my God I’ve steam rolled this poor girl”. A sense of terrible guilt washes over him. “I’m so sorry I didn't look where I was going I was in such a rush.”
“I’m sorry it was completely my fault” Emi replies instinctively in her native tongue.
“No, the fault is mine, please forgive me.” He says in Japanese as he dips his head in a formal bow.
Emi’s face turns to surprise, realizing that this person is speaking to her in Japanese. “He’s speaking fluently as if he were a native!”. At that moment Jack raises his head from his bow and Emi curiously looks up to see who is speaking. Both lock eyes only a head's distance from each other's faces, a more intimate distance than most strangers would prefer. For both Jack and Emi the room falls silent, the bustle of stomping feet and intercoms deafen and the world seems to come to a halt as their gazes meet. Jack is captivated by what he’s seeing, his lips slightly separated in an amount of awe that you would get when seeing the stars of the universe light up the sky for the first time in a pitch dark valley. Soft glossy pink lips, Wispy locks of light walnut shoulder length hair, rosy flushed cheeks on what can only be described as a lightly pale canvas of a face and innocently brown eyes. “She’s so beautiful…” he thinks to himself. Emi’s heart begins to flutter, thumping like the hooves of thoroughbred horses at a race track, quicker and more forceful with each beat as if her heart would leap from her own chest into his. Short tufts of wild and messy black hair contradicting the perfectly trim and orderly tapered sides, a jaw that resembles both a knife and a stone, fully tinted thick brows, piercing hazel eyes that look through rather than at, and a stern look offset by the softness of his youthful and light complexion. “He’s so handsome…” as Emi’s face flushes hot red her eyes dart away and she is sapped back into the real world. “Oh no my gate is closing!” Emi squeaks out as she sees the flight attendant closing the loading doors. Emi bolts up and grabs the suitcase nearest to her and makes a dash for the doors. Jack, still stunned and bewildered, watches on as the antelope of a woman before him races on. Jack’s face lingers in Emi’s mind and she turns back over her shoulder mid sprint and both lock eyes briefly before she crosses the doors threshold and they lose sight of each other. Jack sits there for a brief moment before coming back to reality. “My flight!” Jack stands up and grabs his suitcase from the floor, dusting off his pants and coat jacket.
As Jack and Emi both gaze out the window of their respective flights they can’t help but ponder that what they have been seeking was right in front of them. An opportunity lost to them both forever or so they think. The intercom cuts in with the pilots daily message to the crew and passengers discussing flight duration and destination. Jack puts in his earbuds playing his favorite song, he closes his eyes and the jet engine fires up, moments later the aircraft lurches forward down the runway, the weight of the world and its pressures weigh onto Jack like the G force from this plane, soon his life will be different, better even he thinks. And as that thought passes so does the weight, the feeling of weightlessness, no more pressure just a feeling of ease and embers of hope as he soars to his new life.
The Haneda Airport customs line is long, Jack is in disbelief of how many people are actually coming to Japan let alone Tokyo. “I can’t believe how many people there are and from all over the world too. Well I did read somewhere that Tokyo is the largest city in the world, if I can’t find love here then I’m hopeless”.
“Next!” shouts a young japanese female customs agent. Jack makes his way over to the booth and hands his passport to the agent. “What are your intentions in Japan?” she says in a heavily accented voice.
“Well I can’t tell her I’m here to fall in love and get a spouse visa what do I say? She's going to think I'm some sort of creep and have me extradited back home”. Jack blurts out “Uhhhhh shopping and fashion”.
“So tourism?”
“Yeah tourism, I forgot how to say the word in japanese”.
The agent gives him a confused look “We were speaking English though?”
“Sorry yeah, I just got so excited to speak the language since I’ve spent years studying japanese but hardly ever got to use it except for reading manga and watching anime”.
The customs agent's face lights up upon hearing him and replies in a flirty Japanese voice “Oh yeah how long have you been studying?”
Jack notices the subtle shift in her body language and tries to play it cool. “Since highschool, but It was also required to learn one language in the military so I focused on Japanese since I knew it already.”
“Wow your Japanese is really good, you sound like a native speaker, alright well I just need to go through your suitcase and then you're all set.”
“Sure thing.” he says with an inviting smile and lays the suitcase on the table.
The agent comes around the desk and unzips the suitcase, she throws the lid back and her smile instantly fades to a mild concern.
“Are you some sort of cross dresser?” she asks with a look of mild contempt.
Stolen story; please report.
“What no why would–”.
To his shock the agent lifts up a pair of pink laced panties with a tiny bow on the hem.
“You definitely have a unique taste in fashion” she scoffs.
Horrified Jack becomes flustered and his face turns a bright red. The entire suitcase is filled to the brim with undergarments and womens clothing including a pair of bright red heels. No space was left, every nook and cranny fit together like tetris, almost as if someone was packing their life away into one suitcase. His mind racing now thinking of how this could have happened. It dawns on him. “That girl, the one from the layover. She must have grabbed the wrong suitcase in her panic. I guess both suitcases did look sort of identical, wait that means she has my bag too!”
“Wait, I can explain!” Jack blurts out. He notices that some of the nearby security guards have noticed the commotion and are laughing and the people behind him in line have begun to whisper and stare.
“And here I thought you were gonna be a nice normal guy, but you turned out to be worse than I thought”.
“No wait, It’s not what It looks like!” Jack exclaims in a desperate attempt to save face.
“Welcome to Japan weirdo” she mutters with a judging look, stamping the passport and handing it back to Jack. With a look of defeat and embarrassment Jack zips the suitcase back up and quickly makes a beeline for the customs area exit to the airport lobby.
“I can’t believe how many palm trees there are in California”. Emi is enamored by the concrete jungle as the taxi makes its way driving through the busy traffic of Los Angeles and admiring the view through the window. “My new life starts now” she excitedly thinks. The taxi lulls to a stop in front of a grand hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Emi makes her way inside and strolls to the front desk.
“Thank you for your patronage, your suite number is going to be 44 on the 4th floor.” (Note in Japan 4 is Kanji synonym for Death which is really bad luck similar to 13 in the USA and some places skip the 4th floor out of superstition.)
Emi’s mood shifts to gloom as she realizes the ominous room and floor number choice. She collects her key and makes her way up the elevator. “Wow these hotels are so much bigger than anything i’ve seen in Japan, everything is so tall and spread out like it's built for giants”. The elevator door dings open and she steps out onto the 4th floor, she makes her way into her room and places her suitcase onto the bench in front of the bed. “That's weird I don’t remember my suitcase having so many scratches, it must have been banging against something in the overhead bin during the flight”. BRRRRZZ BRRRZZ Emi’s phone vibrates as she takes it off of airplane mode. She looks down at the notifications. “Oh Neiko and my mom both texted me”. She opens Neiko’s text message:
“Hey girl, I miss ya already, I hope you have a good time Big Hollywood! Don’t forget to call once in a while!”.
Emi smiles and checks the message from her mom:
“Emi please be safe, we miss you and if there is anything you need just let us know, Love Mom and Dad.”
“They worry about me too much, I’m an adult now”. Emi lets out a long sigh.
A flood of mixed emotions comes rushing back to Emi reminding her of what led her to moving to America. Emi forks in another mouth full of food that she picked off the dining table. The early morning light spreads through the window illuminating the kitchen. Her mother washes pots and pans that just moments ago were used to make breakfast and her father sits and reads the morning paper.
“I can’t believe my only daughter is going to be leaving us, there's so many good men here in Japan with stable jobs from good families, what about Shou-kun from down the street he’s a good kid?” Mrs.Aihara pleads.
Emi shudders at the thought of Shou-kun with his greasy middle part, thick glasses and scrawny frame.
“Shou-Kun is a fine man, he’s working for that technology firm based in Osaka. It's a bit far but he makes good money and we can come visit you every so often”. remarks Mr.Aihara.
“I don’t think the love of my life is here in Tokyo or Japan for that matter, also there are so many opportunities in America. I have my degree and with my experience in senior management I'll be able to earn good money there.”
“What ever happened with that boy Kaito who used to come around?” Emi’s father says as he flips over the newspaper to the next page.
Emi’s face turns to unease as she remembers something unpleasant.
“Anyways I’m going and that's that” she says confidently.
“Well I believe in you and that you’ll do us proud!” Cheers Mr.Aihara.
Mrs.Aihara places her hands on Emi’s shoulders “Just be careful please America can be such a dangerous place”.
Eri flashes a big smile “Honestly I’m grown now mom I can handle myself”.
“Well, time to unpack the first day on the Job starts in a few days.” Emi reaches over, unzips her suitcase and flips open the lid.
“WHAAAAAT! Where's all my stuff!”
Emi’s eyes scan and rescan and scan again hoping that maybe the more she looks the more the contents of the suitcase will change. “I’m dreaming, I have to be dreaming, I must still be asleep on the plane”. Emi shuts her eyes tight and then opens them again. “No, definitely not dreaming”. She lets out a hysteric giggle. “How could this happen, when could I have grabbed the wrong suitcase?”. Emi starts to paw through the suitcase for clues. She spots a book on top and tosses it to the side, digging like a wild bear through the mountain of clothes, tearing through pockets and zippers. Nothing, no papers or info, just a single book, clothes and basic essentials as nomadic as it gets. “No, no, no, this can’t be! Where are all my things? All of my work visa documents were in my suitcase!” Her mind races in a panic trying to recall her steps and then it hits her, harder than the physical impact did, the scene in the airport. She remembers crashing into that man and scrambling to get to her flight. “That man, he must have my suitcase, I need to get it back but how, he could be anywhere? Wait, he spoke fluent Japanese almost as if he lived there, maybe he works there? My contact info is in my bag. Maybe he’ll be a good citizen and return it?” Emi starts frantically rolling on the bed kicking her legs. “Noooooo he’s going to see all of my underwear, I’m going to die of shame before I even get the documents back. What if he’s a creep and he holds my documents hostage until I let him have my underwear”. (Emi imagines Jack with an evil sheepish grin waving her panties around in the air. “I have to go back home and get my documents, it's the only way I can live in America.” Eri opens up her phone to the travel app and starts immediately looking for the earliest flights back to Tokyo. “This one leaves in 4 hours one way to Haneda Airport, alright I can make it.” Emi can feel her dream slipping further and further away, her new life seems an even further distance than it did when she was back in Japan. Hot streams come pouring like a flood down her rose petal cheeks with a heavy heart and tears welled in her eyes Emi reluctantly presses the purchase button.
Jack fumbles with the hotel lobby door, each hand full up to the arm with shopping bags full of clothes and other essentials. Finally managing a grip on the door he swings it open only for the bags to slip off his arm and spill on the floor. He lets out a groan of frustration as he scrambles to shove everything back in the bags.
“Excuse me, would you like some help with that?”. A voice calls out from a distance.
Jack looks up to see a hotel doorman coming along with a trolley.
“My apologies, I was assisting another guest with their bags in the parking structure”. The attendant says with a warm smile. His dark short combed over hair and clean fitted suit gave off an air of professionalism. If it wasn’t for the dirt on his polished shoes and name tag Jack might have mistook the doorman for the owner.
“Yeah, that would be great if it's not any trouble”.
“Oh your Japanese is excellent sir.” the attendant remarked as he started stacking bags onto the trolly.
“Yeah I get that alot actually, I’m guessing it's not that common for foreigners to speak Japanese?”
“Not exactly, we’re just not used to someone sounding well, not so foreign.” he says with a light chuckle. “Now if you’ll follow me this way to the elevators please.”
The elevator doors open and both Jack and the doorman enter.
Jack reaches over and presses the button marked 8.
“What brings you to Japan?” the doorman asks.
Jack is somewhat taken aback by what appears to be such a simple question. The doorman see’s Jack struggling to come up with an answer for the question and quickly apologizes.
“Forgive me I didn’t mean to pry” he says with that reassuring smile.
“Oh, no, don't worry about it. It’s just that I honestly don’t even know what I’m doing here myself.” Jack takes a pause. “Can I be honest with you?”
“Of course”.
Jack knows that what he’s about to say might sound crazy but for some reason he feels like he can trust the doorman.
“I’m running away from my life in America, because I don’t have anyone there. I'm alone and I don’t want to be alone anymore.” He feels like ten thousand pounds have just been removed from his shoulders as he sinks back to lean on the elevator wall.
“I think I understand how you feel.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I have a friend who's going through something similar they left and honestly I’m not sure if they’ll ever come back”. He says with a solemn expression, upon realizing the tense mood shift he quickly dons a smile again. The elevator doors slide open and Jack leads the way to his room.
“Here it is number 88” Jack slides his card key and unlocks the door. Both Jack and the doorman quickly offload the cart into the room. The doorman makes a small bow and grabs the cart in the hallway to leave.
“Hey wait!” Jack cries from inside the room. He bolts out the door and swings the corner hinging on the door frame. “Here take this” Jack extends a 20$ bill towards the doorman. “Sorry, I haven’t converted my cash to Yen yet so this is all I have”.
“Thank you very much, that's quite alright”. He bows again as he accepts the tip.
“Thanks again…” Jack glances down at the doorman's name plate “Shohei-San”.
The doorman grins at the use of honorifics by Jack. “Thank you ehm?”.
“The name is Jack, Jack Kingston”.
“Imamoto Shohei, Nice to meet you”. He says again with a warm smile.
“I feel so out of place on this train with everyone staring at me. I think it's because of this giant suitcase. I’ve never liked being the center of attention especially in large crowds. Shohei-san mentioned that the best thing to do would be to take the suitcase to the address on file and see if any relatives are home.”
“The next stop is Shinjuku”. the automated subway voice says over the loudspeaker.
“Well looks like this is my stop”. Jack is shoulder to shoulder fighting through a sea of people who are trying to get on and off the train simultaneously. “I thought the Japanese were supposed to be polite and courteous but I just saw a granny push through a group of 3 young girls while gunning for a seat. It’s really dog eat dog in the train stations here.” After stepping off the train Jack's eyes go wide. “There's so many people, going in so many directions, I feel like one of those fish in the ocean videos, where overwhelmingly large schools of fish swim in all directions”. After gaining back his bearing Jack pushes off through the people ocean, Jack may be friendly but little do they know that there's a shark among them. Jack finally makes his way onto the city streets, tower after tower looming overhead, signs and lights in every direction. As he looks up he notices that every floor of every building is an individual store, or restaurant or business. The Japanese are an efficient people and since they dont have alot of physical land they decided to build up and use what they have to its fullest potential. Something about that efficiency scratches his brain just right, possibly a military thing. After navigating his way down city streets and alleyways he finally comes to the base of what appears to be a concrete apartment building. “Weird, these remind me of the barracks back at base, they're built and designed in almost the exact same fashion.” He makes his way to the set of staircases which lead him into the center of the apartment complex. There he finds another set of stairs that lead up even further, already starting to sweat he huffs and pushes on. After taking a few more stairs up he comes out to a long hallway with apartments on both sides. Across from the stairs he spots an elevator. “Are you kidding me I made it all the way to the top of this building and I could have just taken that straight here. Lugging a completely full suitcase up 10 flights of stairs is killer on my back”. Jack see’s the numbers on the wall pointing in the direction of the address and he pushes on. Finally he sees the door number, a little plaque on the door reads ‘Aihara Residence’. “Jack knocks on the door firmly, no answer. He knocks a little louder. “Hello, is anyone home?” he calls out. Jack notices that the window blinds to the apartment are open just a few inches, he makes his way over and bends down to see if he can spot any signs of life inside.
“What do you think you're doing!” a stern and angry voice cries out from behind.
End of chapter 1. To be continued… Side note: This is my first ever time writing and I would appreciate feedback in the comments. Another note, this is a light novel that I want to adapt into a manga so I am writing it as if it were a manga so If the pacing ever feels off or if I add quotes to explain whats going on that is why. I hope you enjoy it thank you.