Alex Miller liked a lot of things. She liked the smell of metal in the air when it rained, she liked dessert, and she especially liked meeting new people and making friends. Alex also disliked things.

Like right now...

As of right now she's boarding a plane set for Hokkaido, Japan. You'd think being a fan of the culture she'd be excited. Alex Miller never disliked something more. Legally against her will, Alex had no choice.

Her mother sat beside her, reading a translation book. Specifically: 'How to Speak Japanese for Dummies'. Alex knew she should be studying as well after all this was a twelve hour flight with no layovers. Such is life. She could feel herself drifting off and decided to give in to the sleep for once.

"Alex, wake up, we landed" Alex awoke to her mother shaking her shoulder. The aircraft was buzzing with noise as babies cried and people were taking their baggage out of the overheads. I must've slept the whole ride she thought to herself as she stretched with an obnoxious groan before standing up and following her mom through the crowded walkway off the plane.

"Bye Mark! Bye Jim! I'll always miss you Rita!!" Alex shouted back at the flight attendants much to her mother's embarrassment as they departed the plane.

"Why do you always have to be so embarrassing Alex? Keep your tongue to yourself" Ruth, Alex's mother, sighed as the odd mother-daughter duo walked towards baggage claim.

~*~

Alex pressed her face up against the taxi window, slight amazement in her eyes. So many houses and they all looked like carbon copies. It was amazing.

The car skidded to a stop outside the house where Alex will now call home whether she liked it or not. It was up to her to make the situation better than how she feels about it, for her sake.

"Alex help unload the bags!" Her mother shouted from outside the taxi. How'd she get out so fast?

With reluctance, Alex put a smile on her face and did as told....only to do it wrong apparently.

"I didn't say to just keep them on the road! Bring them inside!" Her mother fumed before turning and tipping the taxi driver and headed inside.....

In no hurry to make her mother angrier than she already was, Alex complied and picked up as many bags as her arms could sustain and followed her mother into the house she had yet to explore. The front yard was nice, but plain. Just a walkway and the family name hung on one of the porch pillars. 

The house on the inside looked exactly like she expected. Upon walking in, there was a slight step where you would put shoes when you took them off to enter the rest of the home. The living room was off to the right of the entrance and a staircase to the left. It seemed a little steep and Alex knew that she would at least fall down it once or twice. It made her laugh a bit.

"I see you've arrived.."

Alex jumped and dropped the boxes that were in her hands onto her feet. 'Shit!' she turned to glare at the scarer yet she saw yet another new face. The girl looked extremely pretty. 'It must be Ami ' Alex thought to herself, so she put a painful smile on and waved with one hand while the other held her foot.

"Hello!! I'm Alex and I'll be living here now!! I hope we can get alo- and you've walked away" 'How rude!' She frowned while taking off her boots and setting them aside. 'Now I gotta pick all these back up'  She pouted in defeat. 

"Alex, you're already making a mess and we haven't been here for long. Take your boxes up to your room" Ruth ushered her daughter up the steep sleek stairs.

"Okay!! .....Where is my room though?" She looked around confused.

"Down the hall to the left, next to the bathroom," a new voice responded.

Alex made a quick one eighty and saw her stepfather in the kitchen next to the stairs....What was his name again? He sighed when she didn't answer and left whatever he was doing in the kitchen to walk upstairs point down the hall, Alex followed him up with her luggage and looked where his finger pointed and saw the inviting open door with a hanging sign that had her name clearly printed on it."Ah, thanks!" Alex waved her hand slightly from underneath the boxes and made her way down the narrow hallway. The wallpaper was plain white and there was no light source except the window next to her bedroom door yet everything was perfectly visible. There was a door opposite hers with 'Ami' printed on the wooden sign. Right next to Ami's room was what looked like the bathroom and a little ways down on the wall where Alex's door was either a closet or her parents' room. 

When she entered her new room, it looked almost identical to her old one. 'What is up with that?' Alex thought to herself as she set the boxes down on the bed. It would take a while to completely unpack her stuff but Alex loved decorating so it was a win win. She ripped the packing tape off of each box and dumped all of the box's contents onto the floor and bed. Now where to begin?

"Aaandd done!" Alex plopped down on her bed with a small smile while looking at her new decorated room. Star lights hung from the ceiling which matched the olive green wallpaper. Her guitar was next to her desk which was beside the door across from the foot of her bed. Sheer white curtains hung from the window above her headboard and from the one next to her desk. Her clothes hung from the bar inside her small wardrobe next to her nightstand and posters with astronauts were hung on the adjacent wall. It wasn't much, but it was what she got to call her own. This would be the fifth time she'd be doing this. Hopefully the second to last. Alex wanted to decorate her new room in her own house bought with her own money; she planned on it. This house definitely wouldn't be in Japan.

"Alex!" Ruth's muffled voice sounded through the closed door. Alex shot up from her daydreaming in bed. She wondered what her mother wanted now. "Alex, dinner!!" Ah.. dinner. This will be entertaining.

~*~

It was extremely silent, so silent that one could hear a pin drop. Alex sat there taking in whatever was on her plate. She knew only one item, rice.

Really, Alex?! Rice?? Silly girl.

"So I've heard you're interested in astronomy, is that right?" The unnamed stepfather brought up out of nowhere. It wasn't a bad icebreaker though.

"Yea, I just find it fascinating how big our universe really is. Something is bound to be out there" Alex expanded her arms to further exaggerate the point, leaving Ruth chuckling. Fake. Wait...they don't even understand me...Do they? 

"Sky big... and...Earth tiny..?" She tried to sum it up only to be laughed at by Ami.

I'll just avoid my shame and eat whatever is on my plate. Alex gave up.  But what was on her plate seemed much more horrifying. 

"Holy Shit! Did that thing just move???" She almost fell out of her chair as she screeched, pointing at her plate.  Which only egged Ami on. 

"Language!!" Ruth smacked the back of Alex's head which was sure to leave a bump.

"Sorry.." I didn't mean to say that out loud. It just happens, and at the worst of times too. When will I ever learn to keep my stupid mouth shut?? Alex blushed while rubbing the back of her head until the pain went away.

~*~

Well dinner was a disaster to say the least. Alex looked out her bedroom window onlooking the front yard. It had a good view of the city in the distance. Snow was beginning to fall lightly to the ground, surely leaving a faint fresh coating for the morning to come. Her mind drifted off back to home in Germany, where at this time she would be playing a board game with her younger cousin, Mickey. He would talk about his day at school and how practice went, not to mention his pen pal status. He's working on it for sure.

She got up and strode over to her bed after what seemed like an hour of thinking. She looked up at the glow in the dark star stickers, getting lost in their shine. My first night of many in this new house; new environment. I'm never going to get used to this....

~*~

Alex awoke to the morning sun in her face, the sound of the wind blowing outside. The room was a little cold for her liking, but not as cold as back home in the bakery. The faint scent of egg wafted through the door. I'll admit, I am hungry, but not desperate she groaned as she sat up, hair in her face.

"Looks like somebody finally decided to wake up" Ruth remarked as Alex walked into the kitchen for the first time that morning. 'It's only ten o'clock so I don't see why she's so moody. I only woke up two hours later than I normally would on weekends. I'm also jet-lagged so it's not entirely my fault ' her head raced.

"Yea, whatever" She mumbled and walked out of the kitchen that she barely spent five minutes in, back up the stairs to her room, appetite long gone.

She shut her door upon entering her room and got her guitar case from beside her desk. She brought it over to her bed and unzipped the case, getting her acoustic out and slung the strap around her chest. Not bothering to get her sheet music, she started to play some chords. She strummed the guitar strings while looking off into space, song long forgotten.

It started snowing an hour after Alex retreated to her room. By the looks of it the light snow would turn into a blizzard sooner or later. I would hate to be that guy who has nowhere to keep cover.

A sudden knock brought Alex back to reality.

"Yea?" She called out. Ruth opened her door and told her to go outside.

"I'm sorry...what?" She turned to look at her mom in disbelief, which rustled her sheets and she would have to remake her bed, but that's besides the point. There's no way her mom was being for real right now.

"Go outside, you need fresh air. All you do is stay in your room," Ruth gave Alex the 'you aren't getting out of this' look that she knew Alex couldn't argue against. She could die trying though.

"But it's snowing outside" Alex motioned outside the window above her headboard. Has she gone crazy? It's literally my first full day in this country.

"It'll stop," She shrugged. "Besides, you can go exploring. I know how much you love exploring. I'll tell your stepsister to take you," She reassured in a tone that was almost believable.

"Fine, I'll go," She caved and turned back to her closet adjacent to her bed to get a coat. I might have some fun. who knows? Mom seemed happy with my answer. I've been selfish haven't I?. I'm resenting my mom for trying to find her happiness. That's all she's ever wanted, and I've been such a brat about it. She put on her pink striped chunky cardigan over green corduroy overalls and a white long sleeve turtleneck and cat themed socks.

"We don't have all day," Alex looked up to her door where he stepsister, Ami, stood. She's not dressed for the snow at all... Alex frowned.

"Hurry up!" She shouted from down the hall which snapped Alex out of her daydreaming spell.

"C-Coming!" She ran out of her door and down the hall to catch up.

"Ew, don't stand too close. I don't want to catch..." Ami looked Alex up and down with an indescribable look. "...whatever this is."

"Stay safe out there!" Unnamed stepdad waved from the kitchen where he was at the table with Ruth doing a puzzle. I highly doubt I'm coming back alive with Ami guiding me Alex frowned

"Whatever, Dad" Ami rolled her eyes and put on heeled knee high boots and left the house and Alex.

She just stood there awkwardly before putting on a beat up pair of boots and followed suit. "Ami, wait up" She exclaimed while jogging down the block where her stepsister already made it to the intersection. Damn she's fast. "Ami!" Alex rounded the corner and already lost sight of her. This is what I get for being nice Alex thought to herself as she was currently getting lost looking for her stepsister, walking around a fishing village that she was forced to legally move to. Which house was hers again? The World may never know...

Her stomach started gurgling by the time she neared a large building thirty minutes into her search for Ami. How did I lose her right off the bat? Alex mentally kicked herself for being so slow. Maybe there's food? she hoped. She shivered from how cold it had gotten while she stood outside the unknown brick building for a good ten minutes. 'Might as well explore like mom said' she thought to herself as she went to what looked like the main entrance of the building.

"Ahh," Alex rubbed her hands along her arms as her body buzzed from the sudden warmth upon entering the still unknown building and immediately into a crowd of rushing people, mostly with business men and women who looked like they had somewhere to be. Alex wandered throughout the building and through the crowd, trying to find a food stall or a vending machine. Wait...I don't have any money Alex stopped walking and stood in the middle of the busy floor, probably (definitely) disrupting the paths of rushing people, people with places to be. Alex had no idea where she was; let alone where she was going. It was silly how reality crashed down on her whilst in the middle of a bustling crowd.

How pathetic. She looked down at her tattered boots, tears pooling in the bottom of her eyes and threatening to fall.

"Are you lost?" Alex brought her head up to lock eyes with a woman who looked to be in her fifties maybe. She had no clue what the woman just told her so she kept the now awkward eye contact. "....." The woman stared at Alex for a short while, wheels turning in her head. "You must not speak very good Japanese," the woman muttered to herself before pulling Alex out of everyone's way.

"H-Hey!!" Alex shouted in panic as the mystery woman pulled her away. Was anyone going to help her? She wasn't ready to die yet she had so many things to do. "Oh my God, please don't kill me. I haven't even had Japanese pancakes yet!" Alex whined as she tried to break free from the woman's grip on her arm.

"Ok listen," The woman sat Alex down on a bench. "I know you don't speak any Japanese, but I need you to calm down. Can you do that?"

Alex looked up at her (possible) kidnapper with teary eyes.This was her chance. Alex bolted from the scene, leaving the worried woman behind her.

Not knowing where she was going, She ran down flights of stairs and turned corridors until she ended up on a crowded platform.

"A train station?" Alex asked herself aloud. The area seemed to play the part of the train station. Now that she was a little calmer, Alex looked around at her surroundings.

People in suits checking watches.

The train tracks---a given.

Yep that was pretty much it. She was in a train station. How did the business men and women not give it away from the get go?

The ground rumbled and the train itself made its entrance into the building. It looked so old and rusted. Ancient Alex awed at the transporter. The doors opened and Alex found herself being practically shoved forward into the train. How was she going to explain this to her mother?

After what seemed like forever, Alex found an empty seat next to a sweet old woman. She was wearing a traditional kimono and had her hair up in curls.

"I think your dress is beautiful," Alex motioned towards the woman's kimono. She knew her compliment came out weird, but she went with it anyway.

"Thank you," The old woman bowed her head before looking forwards once more; as if the conversation never happened.

Alex sat in that very seat until two stops later.

She was going to be in so much trouble after this....

~*~

"So hungry~" Alex rubbed her stomach. She had walked the old woman -who happened to also get off two stops later- home just to be on the safe side.She was left outside what looked like a lavish apartment complex ten minutes away from the station. Now she really was lost.

Food Food Food Alex hummed in her head while looking around for any signs of a restaurant. She didn't have any money, but it would be nice if she could get something for free...

...Ok, free food wasn't happening, but she couldn't give up without trying.

"The Noodle Hole?" Alex tilted her head as she questioned this particular sign that could've been for a ramen bar. It had a curtain for a door and stairs leading down into a basement. The name was strange but the wear and tear on the stairs indicated that it was a pretty popular place. Alex decided to take the initiative and venture into the unknown territory.

Yea...life had different plans.

"Oof-!" Alex exclaimed as she tripped on her own foot and fell down the stairs into the bar. So much for being discreet. She looked up from the floor to see all eyes trained on her, studying her almost. Alex got back up on her feet as quickly as she fell and sauntered off to a dimly lit corner booth away from the front entrance. How embarrassing Alex covered her blushed face. Everyone saw her. Everyone judged her.

"Did you wanna order something or..."

Alex looked up from her hands and made eye contact with a raven haired waitress who looked too young to be working in this kind of establishment. "...." Alex stared, taking in the girl's appearance. She had to admit, the waitress was pretty.

"...I'll take that as a no then" The waitress sighed in annoyance and started to walk away.

"Wait" Alex called out, not knowing what urged her to do so. The raven haired waitress turned around with an annoyed sigh and brought the pad and pen back up from her pocket.

"So what do you want?" The snarky waitress got ready to write down the order only to be met with silence once more. "Or do you not talk, Alien girl?" She smirked and tilted her head in a taunting manor.

"I can't speak well" Alex sighed in embarrassment. 'There goes good first impressions..'

"Oh jeez" The waitress lightly hit her forehead in realization she was talking with a foreigner.

"Okay, can you please tell me your order, Ma'am?" She asked in an overly sweet American accent with a smile that would make babies cry.

"Uhh I have no money with me..." Alex shyly chuckled and looked away. This is a really nice table.

'You have to be kidding me' the waitress angrily huffed before going to the back and placing a random order down to Suzuki, the chef. Her paycheck will be short this week. A minor setback she thought to herself.

She returned later with two bowls of miso ramen and placed the two parallel to each other on the old table.

"It's on me" She grumbled before sitting down across from the awkward foreigner.

The two girls ate in silence. One taking small bites with caution while the other practically inhaled the food in her bowl. 'Gross' the raven haired girl cringed.

"Thank you. I don't know how I should repay your" Alex said once she finished her bowl, the other barely finishing half her bowl.

"Don't," The Raven paused apprehensively before continuing. "Just.. consider it as a welcome" She sat back.

"Thanks then! I'm Alex, Alex Miller!" The brunette held out her hand, anticipating a handshake and a response. The raven haired girl stared at the outstretched hand with disgust. She didn't have time for random handouts.

"Miku" the Raven haired waitress glared and crossed her arms in disinterest.