Affection Part 1 - Rejection

Caution: This fiction contains mild violence and sexual refereces.. Most of the speaking in this book is considered to be in Japanese, as its set in Japan and all the character's speak Japanese. Don't be put off by phrases like "My english is very bad" Written in english, its actually supposed to be Japanese. Of course, Sometimes I will use Japanese words, because I like them. There will be a completele glossary of all the Japanese 'Romanji' words I use at the end.
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Affection. A warm story in a cold part of Japan.

Part 1 - Rejection

By Dare Richardson.

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The message popped up without warning on the computer screen. He stared at it blankly for a few seconds before his fingers hit the keyboard. He tried writing a few things, but none seemed polite enough. He scratched the back of his head trying to search for a response. Suddenly his fingers sprang to life.

"Hello." He typed. "May I ask who you are?" His fingers swiftly delivered into the computer. He pressed the return key and the message sent. Whether it was from thousands of miles away, or just his next door neighbor, the response came almost instantly.

"I'm Tohya. Who are you?" A rather rude response came. The man at the computer desk shrugged slightly. He looked around his desk, with half written musical Manuscript papers, various literary works and notes, and at least 3 half drained cups of coffee.

"My name is Nathan, but you can call me Nate" His responded. "Its nice to meet you, Tohya-san." In a few seconds another message popped up.

"Hello, Nathan-san. It is good to see you understand Japanese. I don't speak English well." The message read. Nathan found himself typing a response.

"O-Genki desu ka?" Nathan typed (Are you well?)

"Arigato Gozaimasu, Genki desu" A response came from Tohya san. (I am well, Thank you.)

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you send a message to someone across the other side of the world who you didn't even know?" Nate asked, He was sure to follow the message with a large grin.

"Easy, you wouldn't believe how incredibly bored I am." Tohya-san's response was followed by a wink. "I am looking for something to do."

"Well, so am I. I am desperately trying to avoid my job." Nate moaned. "I seemed to have a severe case of mental block." Nate hung for a few seconds before a response came.

"Ha ha ha, You have writers block? Are you a writer?" The words appeared.

"I write music. Its very boring." Nate complained. "What do you do?"

"I work in a bookshop." Tohya-san replied. "Its not much, but it pays the bills." Another smiley face followed. Nate brushed a small avalanche of papers off the small electric keyboard on his computer desk. His laptop was moved to the side as he brought the keyboard in front of him.

"That’s my ideal Job..." Nate complained to her, as he sent the message. His fingers trailed across the plastic keys in a upwards scale. A small beep came from his laptop as he received another message.

"What are you working on at the moment?" Tohya-san asked.

"A theme tune for a Saturday morning Anime." Nate typed. He played a small oriental scale on his keyboard and wrote it down briefly on the manuscript paper.

"That sounds fun..." Tohya-sans writing appeared. "Better than stocking shelves all day. I'm completely run off my feet."

"Don't you have any help at the shop?" Nate typed before he switched the instrument on his keyboard to a oriental flute. He pressed the flat of his hand against each of the cups of coffee, and took a sip from the warmest one.

"No. Its just me. People here don't like working in this town. So I have to work 8 hours a day, 6 Days a week." Tohya-san moaned. "It wouldn't be so bad if there was anyone to talk to down there."

"Still sounds like a fun job, I have to waste time until I do my 3 hours of work a week." Nate responded.

"Your strange" The 2 words suddenly appeared. Nate stared at them before the rest appeared. "Most would kill for a job like yours, and you can't seem to stand it." Nate laughed at Tohya-san's words.

"I'm not a lazy person. I like to travel and be out, doing things!" Nate typed. "My job keeps me here. I'd kill for a job like yours." Nate smiled to himself. "Besides, I like the Irony of being called 'Strange' by a girl who sends messages halfway across the world to strange men she doesn't know."

"Ha ha ha." Tohya's words appeared. "You didn't tell me how old you were?" She asked politely.

"I'm Twenty Three. And yourself?"

"Twenty Two. I'll be twenty three in a week."

"Well, I'll wish you a happy birthday then." Nate typed.

"Doozo Arigato!" Tohya wrote back. "Is it late there?"

"Its Three AM." Nate said. He jabbed at the keyboard again and played a Discord.

"Wow. What keeps you up so late?" Tohya responded, with a winking face.

"About a bucket of coffee." Nathan Joked. Halfway around the world, a 22 year old Japanese woman laughed.

"Why don't you go and get some sleep? Maybe your work will be easier then?" Tohya asked.

"Well, for the first time in about 6 months, I am having a conversation with an intriguing girl." Nate said with a large smiley face. He picked up his hair brush off his desk and pulled the hair tie out of his pony tail. Nate trailed the brush through his hair a few times before he tied it up again. He picked up a small mirror from the desk and investigated himself in it. 'It'll do...' he thought as he stared into his own brown eyes. Suddenly, Tohya's message came back.

"That’s the first time a mans ever called me intriguing. Thanks very much." Tohya said with a large smiley face.

"Do you read a lot of books?" Nate suddenly asked.

"Not really. I just sell them. I like reading Manga though." Tohya replied.

"That’s cool, Tohya-san." Nate typed. "I like Manga too. I play far too many video games as well..." Nate admitted to his digital cohort.

"...don't we all?" The response came. Nate laughed as he started to play the tune to 'The Simpson's on his keyboard. A little bit of him wanted to test his new tune on the real piano downstairs, whereas the rest of him was to enthralled with this 'Tohya-san'. Another message interrupted his internal strife. "I'm a real sucker for those romance adventure games...They get me every time. Do you like them?"

"Don't we all?" Nate mimicked with a wink. "Did you ever play Final Fantasy 10?"

"Yeah, I cried so much at the end!" Tohya admitted. Nate found himself laughing again. "Mrs. Nathan must be very understanding to let you work so late!" Tohya said,

"There is no Mrs. Nathan." Nate responded. "And if you wanted to know, you should have just asked." Nate sent. He waited a few minutes before a huge grin appeared on his screen.

"That would have been impolite." Tohya replied. Nate couldn't help himself as a wild grin crept across his face. "And No, By the way, there isn't a Mr. Tohya."

"That’s interesting. I thought you'd be fighting the guys off with a stick."

"You haven't seen me..." Tohya's sadness seemed to come through despite there medium of communication. "My sister got all the looks..."

"I'm sure that’s not true." Nate said happily. Tohya remained silent.

"Hmmm, I'm not exactly a great looking girl." Tohya said with a wink. "I have other qualities."

"Yes, I can tell!" Nate found himself yawning. "Sorry, but I'm really tired. I should be going to bed now. But I would love to talk to you again." Nate said hopefully.

"You will..." Was Tohya's response. "Goodnight, Nathan-San."

"Sayonara, Tohya-San!" Nate said as he switched off his computer. He stood up and walked out of the room. On his way to his bedroom, he passed a full dress mirror. He regarded himself in it before taking off his shirt. He had long blond hair that was almost over his shoulder, though it was tied up in a low ponytail. His eyes were a deep green colour. Nate had a very slight build, he was skinny with just a little muscle. He was a tall man, standing at around 6'1. He walked towards his bedroom door and opened it wide. Stepping through he dropped his pants and collapsed into bed.

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He was annoyed after the first week. Nothing. After the second week he found himself compulsivly checking his e-mails at every possible oppertunity, yet by the third week, his hope had waned. No word from the Japanese girl. By the end of the month he was starting to think that he had imagined her. 'I probably just dreamed her.' Nate used to tell himself. By the advent of the third month, he had settled himself into that explanation. Tohya, the girl of a dream.

The months had passed without any kind of recollection of the dream girl until now. He supposed the contract he was about to sign had reminded him of her. It was a contract from a Japanese advertising company. They wanted him to move to Japan to write Jingles for them. At first he was completely unconvinced, but since 5 months ago, work was sparse. He had lost his large house in favour of a small apartment, his grand piano had been replaced with a Yamaha electric keyboard. All due to the work drying up, because of a huge case of writers block. He hadn't written anything good in over 5 months.

But Nate was hoping that a change of scenery would change that. That was the only thought in his mind as he took up the pen and wrote his signature on the dotted line. 'Nathan Fielding' He wrote, before placing down the contract and shaking the hand of the owner of the Japanese advertising company. Nate smiled to himself.

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In a small village in Japan, sat a girl at her computer. She felt her stomach turn in backflips as the man from the internet company messed with her computer. It had been eight months since she lost her internet connection due to low funds. She couldn't keep up with that and her phone bills, so it had to go. It was a decision that had torn her apart. Not only was the internet one of the hubs for her to share her creativity, one of the last refuges for her often bored mind. Not only that, but on the last day before it was disconnected, she had met the most intruiguing guy. The repair man gave her a thumbs up and she connected to the internet quickly. The first thing she did was check her e-mail account.

'One Thousand, Seven hundred and Twenty Five e-mails.' It stated. Tohya just sighed and clicked the new message button. As the window loaded she began to type.

"You probably don't remember me, but we talked one night about 9 months ago. And... I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since. I would have been incontact Caution: This fiction contains mild violence and sexual refereces.. Most of the speaking in this book is considered to be in Japanese, as its set in Japan and all the character's speak Japanese. Don't be put off by phrases like "My english is very bad" Written in english, its actually supposed to be Japanese. Of course, Sometimes I will use Japanese words, because I like them. There will be a completele glossary of all the Japanese 'Romanji' words I use at the end.
much sooner, but my internet connection was cut off. I was having trouble paying my rent, and decided that for the last 9 months eating was probably more important than the internet." Tohya joked. "If you still... well... I don't know. Just, please reply if you get this. Love Tohya." Tohya suddenly grinned. "P.S. Hope you got the Anime tune finished."

Tohya's finger shook nervously over the send button...

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It was nearly time for Nate to move. His visa had arrived and he was officially allowed to live and work in Japan. He looked around his small studio apartment with a satisfactory smile. He walked over to the window and saw his view, about 2 feet of tarmac and a brick wall was all that was visible from the porthole like window. Another satisfied smiled appeared over his face. 'Goodbye...' he thought to himself.

He turned towards his closest dresser and opened it. Taking a rucksack from his drawer, he opened it. He placed inside it 3 Black T-shirts and 3 black pairs of trousers. He placed a few items of underwear in the bag and zipped up the largest, now full, pocket. He placed what was left of his manuscripts and half written pieces of music into the front pocket and smiled sadly. 'I better write something good when I get there.'

He packed a few more 'essentials' in the bag before picking up his phone. Nate poked in a number on his phone as he crossed the room. He switched in his desktop computer and rang a numbed on his phone. "Hello? Good Will? Yes. I have an apartment full of stuff I won't be needing anymore. About half an hour? That’s fine!" He explained his address while connecting to the internet with his computer. "Goodbye." He said.

As his slow computer connected he unplugged his laptop computer, and placed it in its bag. He zipped it up and placed it with his bag of clothes. His desktop computer loaded an internet screen, and he started to load his e-mail account.

'No New e-mails.' It said. Nate thought to himself for a few seconds. 'I can get a new e-mail address if I need one.' He clicked the delete account button.

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Tohya felt a tear run down her cheek as she read the e-mail she had just received.

"Message failed to deliver" It said "The address is no longer available." She sadly shut down her computer and walked across her small studio apartment. She fell backwards onto he bed and relaxed with a sigh. Her hands cupped behind her head.

'Guess it was too much to hope for...' She thought '...besides, there was probably a Mrs. Nate by now.' Suddenly angry thoughts started running through her head. "Dammit!!" She yelled at herself. "What the hell was I thinking!" There was suddenly a knock at her door. "What?" She said angrily.

"Your lunch break is over! Get back to work!" An older man's voice came. Tohya sighed as she pushed herself to her feet and walked slowly towards the door.

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Nate took his 2 bags out of the taxi and fished in his pocket. He pulled out his wallet and payed his fare, as well as a generous tip. Nate turned around and replaced wallet while looking towards the airport terminal doors. He picked up his bags and walked towards the opening doors. A breath of fresh air hit him and he found himself enjoying it. He was not, however, going enjoying the 15 hour flight to Japan. He had never been particularly fond of flying, even when the journey was only 2 hours or so.

He found the ticket in his left breast pocket and his passport in the right. He walked towards the BA check in. He was glad that his employers had given him a first class ticket, as it meant he could use the special cue. After waiting just a few minutes he was talking to a clerk at the desk. He found himself smiling and placing his bag on the desk.

"Are you checking your laptop?" The cheery woman, with a false smile asked. Nate shook his head and she smiled again. His bag was placed gently on the conveyor by another man while the woman scanned his passport and ticket. She nodded and inputted some details into her computer. Nate was happy when the whole thing went off without a hitch. He replaced his ticket, passport and a new boarding pass into his pockets and turned away. He began to walk down the terminal and smiled at all of the people he passed. A young Japanese couple nodded happily to him as he passed.

"Konnichiwa," He said as he passed them. They both smiled again broadly. Nate didn't notice, however, he was starting to get apprehensive. Next was coming the part he hated most. The security check point. He usually ended up getting taken aside and searched. Nate took a deep breathe as he joined the cue. He smiled to himself, realizing how suspicious it must look when he paused to take a breathe. The people filed out from in front of him quickly and he removed his shoes, coat and placed them along with his computer in one of the plastic trays. He pushed them through the conveyor as he stepped through the gateway.

"BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!" The machine chirped. Nate sighed as a large man walked towards him and brought a scanner towards him. He spread his arms and legs in readiness for the searching. The man passed the scanner over him and it beeped over his bottom pocket.

"Oh crap..." Nate suddenly exclaimed. "Forgot my wallet." He took it out of his pocket. The large man placed the wallet in a machine just next to him, before turning back to Nathan.

"Walk back through the machine, please." He ordered. Nate moved backwards casually and walked forwards through the gateway. He held his breath, and expelled it wild gesture as the alarm didn't go off. The guard eyed him suspiciously at the act. As Nate was about to get his shoes back on, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Could you come with me, please sir!" The huge man said. Nate sighed and rolled his eyes.

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Tohya placed another book on the shelf before sitting in a huff behind the counter. "We need to get some more Manga in, Boss-san!" She yelled as she looked at the small Manga counter on her left. She reached around onto it and pulled the only book she hadn't read from it.

"Why?" An old man's voice came again.

"Because were half out, and I've read them all" She said, though the last bit was much quieter as she opened the first page. 'hmmm, this looks kinda interesting.' Tohya thought, and lost her afternoon with her head buried in the book.

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Nate sat in the departure lounge waiting for his plane. He checked the screen on the walls and saw that he only had half an hour to wait. Nate found his eyes wandering again, only this time they wandered over the random people that seemed to be hovering around this gate. Another perk of first class was that he would be let onto the plane long before the others. However it was not time to board. The plane wasn't ready. From his pocket he removed his boarding card and re-familiarized himself with his seat number, before replacing it.

"Excuse me?" A Japanese man across the departure lounge said. He was speaking Japanese and no one seemed to understand him. Nate felt slightly sorry for the man and beckoned him across.

"Hello" Nate instinctively said in Japanese to the man. The man stood at around 6'4 and held a determined look on his face. His hair was red and spiked up and dressed in what looked like a tunic, or some kind of martial arts garb.

"Ahh, Hello!" The man said appreciatively. "I was wondering if you could help me?" Nate nodded. "Is this my gate? I am trying to get back to Japan." Nate smiled.

"Hai, this is your gate." Nate said as he heard an announcement on the speaker. It was a cheery woman's voice that stated it was time for first class to board. "I'm sorry, but I have to go now." Nate said.

"Ok, Thanks for helping, Ja mata!" The red haired man said.

"Sayonara!" Nate said as he walked towards the doors. A cheery woman opened the doors as Nate passed through them. Nate walked down the path and took a deep breath of air. He was unsure why flying made him so nervous. He gave the stewardess his boarding card and she pulled back a curtain, he stepped through and a young woman there was to take him to his seat.

"Your here, Mr. Fielding," The woman said. "I'm Miyagi and I'll be your stewardess for the flight, if you need anything just buzz." She pointed to a control on the side of his seat.

"Doomo Arigato" Nate said, The woman smiled and began to show another person to his seat. Nate placed his laptop bag underneath the seat in front of him and sat in his chair. He appreciated the large amount of room in the first class section of the plane. There was at least 2 times his legs length between him and the next seat, he would have to be 9 feet tall to be cramped here. Also the seat was much wider and he relaxed and appreciated the comfort. "Ahh!" He exclaimed. A young man sat next to him, he was about 13 and seemed like a brat. 'This is gonna be hell... I can't stand kids.'

"Hey, I'm Jake!" The boy said. Nate nodded at him slightly and pulled down the table in front of him. He placed his laptop bag on the desk and unzipped it. He brought out his small computer. The boy looked at it with a smile on his face. "That computer is old!" He said.

Nate just dismissed it, "It does its job..." he said softly as he opened it. "Got a long battery life too..." He opened it. "Should last for most of the flight if I need it." Nate said. Jake smiled a little.

"So will mine!" He took out a games console from his pocket and switched it on.

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Tohya closed the book and smiled to herself. 'Cute' She thought trivially 'Nice ending.' She glanced towards a customer that had picked up a magazine. He walked towards the counter and she smiled the false smile she forced for the benefit of her customers. She took the magazine and scanned it, and relayed the price that had appeared on the panel. The man handed her some money without a second glance or a thank you, and then walked off.

"Thanks for your custom!" Tohya said sarcastically.

"Tohya-San, Don't be snappy with the customers" Her bosses voice came.

"Whatever you say..." She said again sarcastically.

"And don't get snappy with me either!" Her boss yelled.

Tohya sighed and rested her head on the counter.

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Nate looked to his side as Jake started to moan and whine. His batteries had run out on the game console he was playing and was now moaning at the top of his voice that he was bored. Nate had hoped to get some work done, but there was no chance of that with the noise, so he tilted his head to Jake. "Need something else to do?" Nate asked. Jake nodded. "You play chess?" Nate asked again, Jake nodded again. Nate pressed a few buttons on his computer and a chess game opened up. "Black or white?"

"White!" Jake replied. Nate tilted the computer screen slightly in his favor. Jake placed a hand on the tracking ball and made a simple move. "Are you good at chess?"

"Not really." Nate responded as he made a move. "I'm a bit rusty, I haven't played in a few years!" Nate said as one of his pawns stepped forwards. "How about you?"

"I spent this summer at a chess camp." Jake said proudly. Nate rolled his eyes as Jake made a move.

"I'm gonna get pummeled then. Oh well!" Nate said with a small smiled as he made a quick move with a bishop. "Why are you going to Japan?"

"My dad owns a few shops in a city there. Mostly bars and clubs. Owns a bookstore too" Jake said and he made quite an advanced moved. Nate smiled as he made an attempt to counter it. "What about you?"

"My jobs taking me there," Nate said, Jake laughed as he revealed that the advanced move was a feign tactic to allow him to set up a set of devastating double filed rooks. Nate smiled to himself at the good move, and made an attempt to counter by setting up a double file with his bishops.

"What do you do?" Jake asked as One of his pawns began a valiant charge forwards. This time Nate saw the true intent of the attack, and didn't take it. Instead he sent a pawn to intercept it. Apparently though, Jake was better than he seemed. He had anticipated Nate's anticipation and used a double feint to expose Nate’s Queen.

"I'm a musician." Nate said as he exposed a little trick. He wasn't quite as bad as he had let on, and unleashed a powerful attack on his opponents defense. Now Jakes King was open to attacks.

"Wow, good move!" Jake said. "Good, but not good enough!" Jake said as he set up an attack on Nate's queen. Nate looked over the board and realized that his queen was lost. In a valiant last ditch attack, the queen marched forwards and destroyed one of the rooks on file. The one that remained took the queen and Jake smiled. "What kind of music do you write?"

"Jingles and Theme tunes mostly..." Nate drawled as he looked onto the virtual battlefield.

"Did you write for cartoons?" Jake asked as Nate, dismayed by the loss of his queen, made a clumsy error.

"Only once, The Samurai Power anime theme tune." Nate said, he sighed as one of his filed bishops was taken by Jakes advancing Knights.

"I love that cartoon." Jake said as he saw Nate take his last rook. "ARRRGGGH!" He moaned. Jake made a clumsy move this time before he started to sing. "Samurai! Samurai! SAMURAI POWEEEERRRRR!!!!" He sang with a smile.

"Ha ha ha," Nate laughed as he pressed the advantage of the mistake by his opponent. He had set up a few almost invincible attacks. Jake was going to lose at least 2 pieces before he could defend. Though again it seemed the clumsy move was a deliberate mistake, in order to expose Nate’s defense. A bishop moved through his line and Jake grinned.

"Checkmate!" He said while grinning. Nate nodded.

"Yup, well done!" He said.

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Tohya turned the sign on the door from open to closed. She took a deep breathe and took the broom from the wall. As she slowly, sadly began to sweep the floor she sighed. "I really need some help around here." She rubbed her eyes tiredly and stretched her back before continuing to sweep. She collected all the dust to just outside the door, before she opened it and swept it outside. She walked over to the counter and scooped up her keys. She used the smallest one to lock the cash register and then found a slightly longer one. She walked over towards the door and stepped outside into the cold. She turned and locked the door, before wrapping her arms around her shoulders and beginning her short walk home.

She turned left at the door, and walked a few paces before turning left again and up the staircase at the side of her building. As she reached the top, she produced a third key, of only 4 on her key ring. This one opened her apartment and she stepped gratefully inside. She flicked on the light and lost herself in the mass of papers.

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Nate waved goodbye to the small boy, Jake, as he picked his lonesome bag from the carousel. He slung it over his shoulders and began the laborious process of the 'immigration' desks. He had his visa, so he just needed to produce that and his passport, however, and the process would be over. He walked to the first counter he came to and handed the young woman behind it his burgundy passport and his plastic VISA card.

"Thank you, Sir" She said. She scanned both the items in her computer and waited a few seconds before passing them back. "Welcome to Japan, we hope you enjoy your stay!" She said in a cheery voice. Nate smiled and replaced his items in his pocket before walking through the terminal. Around 100 feet away he could see the large doors of the airport. He felt his feet picking up the speed.

As he stepped outside, refreshed from his long sleep on the plane, he felt the warm sun bathe him with a radiating warmth. He smiled to himself as he walk up to a taxi in front of him. He sat in the back and smiled to the driver. "MGL corp., please!" As the landscape of Japan passed him, he could almost feel his creativity returning. In this land of dreams and cherry blossom, he would be able to write again.

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Tohya removed the pencil from her paper. On the small sheet in the note book stood a cartoon version of herself, wrapped in the arms of a man, taller than her with long blonde hair. She smiled gently as she signed her name at the bottom of it, and then dropped it on the floor. A floor that seemed covered with pictures, small notebook sized pages torn from notebooks and taken from printers. On all of which were pictures, drawings and notes. She tore another page from her notebook and started to draw another picture, her pencil traced delicately across the pages of the book. She found herself drawing the blonde man again, though she was unsure why. She smiled and erased his head, and changed it to a man wearing a hooded top. "Stop thinking about that make believe guy!" She ordered herself. Tohya grinned and drew the man with his face covered, and a bag slung over his shoulder. Soon she was finished and another picture fell to the floor.

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Nate dragged his bag out of the taxi and gave the driver a handful of money. The driver nodded. "Arigato Gozaimasu!" He said as he drove off. Nate hauled his bag onto the sidewalk and looked up at the huge building in front of him. It had to be at least 50 stories and was glimmering silver in the sunlight. It was a sight to behold, and Nate felt inspiration seeping into him once again. He walked forwards to the front doors that glided open smoothly. He looked around before looking towards the reception counter.

"Hello, I'm here to see Miyagi-sama." Nate told the pretty looking receptionist, she smiled and picked up the phone.

"and your name?" She said with a smile that filled Nate with enthusiasm.

"Nathan Fielding." The woman again smiled as she tapped in a few numbers to the phone. Nate moved away from the counter slightly and looked around, vaguely aware of the conversation happening in the background. There was a magnificent fountain in the centre of the room that splashed into a crystal pool. He smiled at the people walking past it and nodded his head.

"Nathan-San!" The receptionist called with a nod. Nathan walked back towards the counter and smiled to her. "Miyagi-sama asked me to give you this. And he sends his sincerest apologies. Good day, Nathan san." She said, handing him a letter. Nathan just stood with a confused look on his face.

"What is he apologizing about?" He asked. The receptionist shook her head.

"I do not know, it is all explained in the letter. Please, could you move away from the counter, I have other customers." Nate nodded and complied. He took his small load over towards a bench and opened the envelope. It contained a hand written note and a plastic card. Inspecting the card, he found it was a bank card of some kind. He started to read the letter.

"Dear Nathan-san. I am sorry to inform you that the position you were offered has been given to another potential person. Apparently the letter did not reach you before you left England, so as an apology we have provided you with a bank card, containing refunds for your flight here. My apologies, and MGL apologies for any inconvenience. Good day." Nathan read. He remained sat for a second, before he reread the letter. After the second dime he didn't understand, and so read it a third time.

He stood up and marched towards the desk. The receptionist smiled at him again. "Is this some kind of Joke?" He asked. The receptionist smiled continuously.

"I was just responsible for giving you the letter. If you have a problem with the content you will need to take it up with Miyagi-sama."

"Then get him down here!" Nate half yelled. The woman just continued to smile.

"I am sorry, but he is in a meeting right now. I can get him to leave you a message, if you leave your home number!"

Nate just trembled with silent fury. He pulled the hood on his jacket up and left the large building. A building that now didn't seem to glisten so much in the Japanese sunlight, with its not so perfect crystal pool and waterfall. Nate wasn't sure where he was going, but he walked there anyway.

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Tohya laid on her bed and smiled towards the ceiling, while a plan formulated in her head. She sat up and looked over to her desk, on which laid her desktop graphics computer. She stood up and walked towards it, and sat in the chair that was in front of it. She fidgeted her toes in the socks she wore as she clicked on the internet icon from her desktop. As a search engine popped up she grinned and typed in 2 words.

'Nathan Fielding.' Suddenly a few pages popped up, the first of which was a site about an Anime cartoon called Samurai Power. It had the name Nathan Fielding listed in the credits. His name appeared only 2 more places. One was a contract cancel page for a company called MGL. Incorporated, while the other was a homepage that she had got his e-mail address from all those months ago. She checked the site again, yet the contact details were still all the same. With a sly smile, she added the page to her favorite's list.

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Nate found a village coming closer in the distance. The sun was setting behind him, and it illuminated the Japanese village perfectly, and made him feel like he was in the Edo era. He almost felt like he could draw a sword and take on some bandits. Only as he drew closer did he see the few modern style buildings in the centre of small, almost feudal village. It was small, only around 30 buildings. Behind it was a huge range of mountains. He imagined the village caste in morning shadows. As he drew a deep, rattling breath, a wave of inspiration passed over him.

He walked slowly, though it was more ambled, into the village. As he did he saw a sign written in Japanese symbols. It read 'Nara'.

'Nara... Nice name.' Nate thought trivially. He looked around and walked down the main street, it was a dusty road and he was surrounded by classical 'Japanese' style buildings. A tourist board was posted ahead. It pointed out the direction to a hotel. Nate looked at it and smiled.

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Tohya sat on a bench just outside her apartment, bathed in the setting sun. Her body felt warm for the first time all day and she smiled to herself. She was completely unperturbed by the footsteps that seemed to be approaching her. This was a safe town. One thing she was glad of. Suddenly a man's voice spoke through the setting darkness.

"Umm, Excuse me." The mans voice said. Tohya looked towards the man with more than a hint of content.

'How dare you interrupt my mood.' She thought with an annoyed tone. "What do you want?" She asked arrogantly. Suddenly the man looked familiar, as she looked upon him. He wore black trousers and a black hooded top. There was a backpack over his back, and a laptop computer was strapped in a briefcase around his shoulders.

"Gomen Nasai. I am looking for a hotel around here. A ryokan?" He asked. Tohya just nodded.

"This road is just a circle, Keep walking on it and you'll find it." Tohya said.

"Arigato Gozaimasu!" Nate responded. Tohya nodded and smiled slightly as Nate walked off into the around the corner.

Nate walked around the corner of the road and looked around. After another turn he found a sound reading 'Ryokan' Nate sighed happily. His feet walked towards it, carrying his aching body. Before he entered the old fashioned Japanese home he unzipped his jacket and took it completely off. He stepped inside and took off his shoes and left them, with his toes facing the doors. A woman moved towards him and offered him a pair of white slippers. He bowed as he took them and slipped them onto his feet. He stepped up onto the soft Tatami flooring. The woman bowed again, with her hands in her lap. Nate returned to bow.

"Hello. I was hoping you have a room." Nate said.

The woman smiled and nodded. "Follow me." Nate walked behind her and she directed him into a small room. He smiled as she slid the door shut. After placing his things down he collapsed gratefully on the floor.

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Tohya looked on as the man walked around the corner. It was the same man she had drawn earlier. 'Strange coincidence...' She smiled to herself, and continued to enjoy the sunset.

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Next Part : Alterations

Well. This is the world of Affection. I hope I introduced the characters well here. I know Tohya-san was a bit lacking, but I don't think I write women well. I tend to run out of things to write with them. I think she seemed a little to cheery, not as dark as she is supposed to be.

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Glossary.

Arigato (Gozaimasu) = Thank you (very much)
Gomen/Gomen nasai = Sorry/Really sorry
O-Genki desu ka? = Are you well? (EQ how are you?)
Genki desu = I am well
Sayonara = Good bye
Ryokan = Traditional Japanese hotel
Ja mata = See you later.
Konnichiwa = Hello