First Memories

The bustling energy of Shibuya buzzed all around us as we stepped off the subway and into the heart of the city. Crowds of people swirled through the streets, and the iconic Shibuya Crossing stretched out ahead, a sea of movement and life. Neon signs glowed in every direction, while the constant hum of music, conversation, and car horns filled the air.

"This place is insane," I muttered to myself, watching in awe as people crisscrossed from all directions, somehow managing to avoid collisions in what felt like a chaotic dance.

"Welcome to Shibuya!" Aisha grinned as she stepped up beside me, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "I hope you're ready for a full day of shopping and sightseeing. There's so much to do here!"

"Definitely ready," I replied, nodding. It was my first time here, and the sheer energy of the place was contagious. The towering buildings, flashing advertisements, and seemingly endless stream of people were overwhelming, but in the best way possible. I couldn't wait to explore it all.

Rebecca, walking a little behind us, adjusted her bag over her shoulder and glanced around shyly, clearly not as used to the city's frenzy. "I always forget how crowded it is here…"

"Crowded?" Emma chimed in, her voice loud enough to rise above the noise. "That's the fun part! The more people, the more energy. Shibuya's the place to be if you wanna feel alive!" She skipped ahead, her pink hair bobbing as she confidently wove her way through the crowd.

Emma's enthusiasm was infectious, even if she still threw the occasional side-eye my way. I could tell she was warming up to me, slowly but surely, even if she'd never admit it out loud.

"Hey, Motosaki," she called back, looking over her shoulder with a mischievous smile, "try not to get lost, okay? Shibuya can swallow clueless tourists whole."

I chuckled and rolled my eyes, keeping up with her. "I think I can manage."

We continued walking, Aisha leading us with her usual upbeat energy. "We'll hit the mall first," she said, glancing at Rebecca and Emma. "I need to pick up a few things, and I'm sure you guys want to browse, too. After that, maybe we can grab lunch?"

Rebecca nodded, a soft smile tugging at her lips. "That sounds perfect. I know a café nearby that's really nice. Quiet, too."

"That's because no one knows about it," Emma teased, nudging Rebecca's arm. "Leave it to Rebecca to find the one peaceful spot in the middle of Shibuya."

"Hey, I like peace and quiet sometimes," Rebecca laughed softly, her voice barely heard over the surrounding noise. "Not everyone wants chaos all the time like you."

As we neared the Shibuya Crossing, we stopped to wait for the light, surrounded by hundreds of others doing the same. The massive video screens overhead flashed brightly with ads, and I couldn't help but take in the iconic scene that looked just like every picture I'd ever seen of Tokyo.

"This is the busiest intersection in the world, right?" I asked Aisha, who stood next to me.

She nodded, grinning. "Yeah! And you're about to walk right through it."

The light turned green, and suddenly, the entire crowd surged forward. We moved with it, and for a moment, it felt like we were part of something much larger, swept up in the flow of people. As I walked across the intersection with Aisha at my side and Emma and Rebecca just behind us, I couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement.

This was it—my new life in Japan, my new beginning. And somehow, in the middle of all the chaos, it felt like exactly where I was supposed to be.

{Chapter 3: First Memories}

We entered the mall together, the four of us making our way to the board that rested just near the entrance that contained a map, showing us the different floors and shops that we could go to. Scanning through the map, the girls had already planned where they each wanted to go.

The four of us set off to go to each store that they wanted to venture off to, starting with a classic, the clothing store. If there was one thing they all had in common, it's the fact they were all into fashion even if they had their own acquired tastes.

I followed the girls into a clothing store, watching as they wandered into the women's section while I wandered around the men's section. I window-shopped for a while, taking a look at the clothing on the racks and shelves. As I looked around, I heard Aisha calling out to me and turned to her direction.

I made my way across the store and noticed her holding up two shirts. "What's up, Ai?"

Aisha looked up at me and smiled, holding both shirts to her body one by one. "I'm having some trouble picking out a shirt that will go with a skirt I want~ Which one do you think looks better on me? This red and black one or this cute pink and white one?"

I crossed my arms, asking her to hold the shirts up to her one by one. The red and black shirt seemed more form-fitting, accentuating her slender curves but the pink and white was more loose, cute, and pure. It was hard to choose which one I liked more since I liked both sides of Aisha, the sensual and the innocent.

I knew I had to pick one so I pointed at the second shirt. "I kinda like that one more, the pink and white one. Plus it has a cute panda on it, your favorite animal."

Aisha giggled softly and looked at the pink and white shirt, a sweet smile curling on her lips. "I was leaning toward this one as well..~ I just can't resist a cute panda..~"

"Ai-sha~ Look at what I managed to find!" Emma beamed, skipping over toward us and holding our a graphic tee with an anime design upon it. "They have the Hero's Journey shirts back in stock, signed by the author, Noelle Grant herself!~"

Aisha gasped as she looked at the shirt in Emma's hands, her eyes sparkling with glee as she feasted her eyes upon the tshirt. "No way, they printed more of Noelle Grant's merchandise?!~"

Emma nodded and giggled, looking at the shirt like it was a prized possession. "I've been looking for this shirt for the longest time to complete my collection!~ I'm so glad Noelle is putting out these callbacks again."

Noelle Grant was a name I was quite familiar with due to her books being so popular all around America, especially her recent book called Farewell Hero. She's known widely as Habilee Heart now, but she still uses her real name for her books.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me! Aftwr we finish up here, we should stop by the book store. They just now brought her books to Japan and I'm so excited to finally read her newest book," Aisha said, excitement filling her tone at the prospect of reading Noelle's next installment.

"By the way, where's Rebecca?" Aisha asked, glancing around the store.

"She said she was going to look at a few jewelry, let's go find her!~ I know she's dying to see that Noelle dropped more merchandise!" Emma giggled, hurrying off to find Rebecca in the jewelry section.

Aisha smiled at me and gently held my hand, the two of us following Emma across the store. Once we met up with Rebecca, the girls began excitedly talking about Noelle's work and what they loved most of her work. It was nice seeing them speak so excitedly, especially about something they shared interest in.

Soon, once the girls got everything they wanted, we went to the register so they could perchance what they wanted. I decided to step up and pay for everything on my card, all three girls grateful for my generosity. We left the clothing store to head to our second stop, the bookstore.

We made it to the bookstore, where Emma felt right at home. Stepping inside, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and sweet, freshly baked pastries immediately hit our noses. The bookstore definitely had a welcoming presence, coupled with the soft lo-fi music playing in the background.

Emma took Aisha's hand and immediately took her to the graphic novel and manga section so she and Aisha could pick up the latest installment. Rebecca looked around the bookstore and walked toward the novel section, her steps graceful and elegant.

I followed Rebecca, not wanting to leave her by her lonesome. "So, you like Noelle Grant as well?"

Rebecca looked over at me, tucking her hair behind her ear, a soft smile playing on her lips. "I do, but not the genre that Aisha and Emma like. They tend to gravitate toward the cute, fantasy genre of her catalog. I'm more of a fan of her thriller, horror, and dark romance books."

"Dark romance huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her with a slight grin.

Rebecca blushed as she knew what I was implying, a soft laugh escaping her lips. "While I do dabble with Dark Romance, I'm not like those girls online who thinks S.A. and domestic violence us attractive. When I mean dark romance, I mean the messy, complicated, and twisted side of love..~"

"So like dark storylines like stalking, murder, angsty stuff like that? I mean...that's still on par with those..." I began in a teasing tone, a soft laugh escaping my lips as she playfully nudged me.

"Stop it!~" Rebecca laughed, turning her attention ahead to a few books ahead on the shelves. "I mean books like these..~ Lover's Bond, deals with mental illnesses of two lovers and their slow but effective recover. Or this one, Master For A Day, it's spicy and deals with dark love, but nothing like sexual assault or anything."

"Ahh, I think I get it. You're one of the tamer dark romance enjoyers, the ones that like BDSM and Redemption stories," I nodded, my eyes scanning the books displayed on the shelf.

Rebecca rolled her eyes and smiled at my comment, her blush becoming slightly more intense. "Hey, BDSM is kinda hot when done right, but I'm more into the psychological aspects of the story. I like knowing why the characters are believable... especially true stories dealing with psychological thriller and trauma. It fascinates me."

I stared at Rebecca for a moment, a silence settling between us. Despite her shy, reserved demeanor, she was rather complex in the other side. I didn't take her for someone who would love things like horror, thriller, and especially Dark Romance. But as my friend says, the more shy the girl, the more secrets she hides within.

"Anyways..~ I think I'll just settle for this thriller book for now. It's been a while since I read a good thriller..~" Rebecca said, picking a book off the shelf and flipped through the pages. "I'm gonna go read in the lounge area of the bookstore, tell Aisha and Emma where I am~"

I smiled at her and nodded then made my way to the graphic novel and manga area of the bookstore to find Aisha and Emma. My conversation with Rebecca gave me a little insight on her and I was now more intrigued by Rebecca. I knew I would have more chances to connect with her so for now, I let my questions remain unanswered.

I found Aisha and Emma in a manga section, sitting on the floor together with volumes of manga on the ground beside them, giggling and reading a few manga together. "Ahh so this is where you two were hiding out?"

Aisha looked up from the manga in Emma's hand, beaming a smile at me. "Saki!~ Where were you at?"

"I was with Rebecca in the novel section. She's over in the lounge area reading a book she found," I answered then walked over toward the two, crouching down behind them and looked at the manga in Emma's hand. "Oh, this is volume 13 of that Neko Teatime isn't it?"

"Eh..?! You know about Neko Neko Teatime?! You read this stuff?" Emma asked, glancing back at me with wide eyes, her tone a mix of disbelief and curious.

"Heck yeah. Neko Neko Teatime is one of my favorite non mainstream anime and manga. I'm not one of these gooners that watch and read it for the h-scenes. There's genuinely a great storyline within the book and anime," I answered, glancing at Emma then back at the manga.

"Tch! Yeah right! If you like it so much, who's this character right here?" Emma asked, pointing at a panel with a cute cat girl on it serving a customer a cup of tea.

"Easy, that's Miki. I don't even need color to know that," I answered, chuckling soft at how easy the question was.

"Hmph! Lucky ass guess. How about this girl?" Emma asked, pointing at the other car girl on another panel.

"Momo," I answered with a calm confidence, glancing at Emma.

Aisha giggled some and leaned back on her hands, tilting her head slightly. "Motosaki is rather knowledgeable about manga and anime no matter if it's cute or action packed~ He might be more of an otaku than you are."

"Hell no! No one can be a better otaku than me! I put work into learning the craft with anime and manga, just as much work as I put into my baking skills!" Emma scoffed, picking up another manga then pointed at the cover. "Who is this guy?"

"C'mon, everyone should know Shiro from the Destiny Series. He's one of the most well known heroes in history right now," I laughed softly as Emma tried to grasp for straws to catch me slipping.

"Hmph! I guess you pass for now, but those were basic questions! I'll get you someday, but for now, you're cool in my book for now," Emma scoffed, setting the manga down.

"I'm surprised they already made a manga of him...he isn't dead or anything, but taken the cover this is probably an older version of his story, Destiny Harem right?" I asked, picking up the manga from the stack of books.

Emma nodded, glancing at the book and smiled. "It's one of the first made renditions of his story. Noelle Grant are coming out with a newer version of his story called Luscious Ambition, it's supposed to be ten times better than Destiny Harem and based on real life events!"

I chuckled softly and stared at the cover for a moment, impressed with Emma's finds. Shiro Moji was a legend when he was on earth, a Hero, a Tribal Leader, and supposedly one of the most physically and mentally attentive men in the world. People from Texas called him a natural Casanova, especially my old coach Jake Bell who knew him personally.

As the three of us continued to read a few graphic novels and manga together, Emma's phone began to ring, breaking our immersion. Emma took her phone out of her jacket pocket and noticed her mom was calling her.

"Mmm! It's my mom, she probably wants me back at home since I promised her I'd help bake a cake for her job~" Emma said, gathering the manga on the ground and put it in a basket.

"Oh yeah!~ Alright, I suppose we shall cut this outing a bit short then," Aisha said, standing up and picking up the book she wanted to buy. "I do still have to get Motosaki registered for Matsugaya High anyway."

Emma smirked as she looked up at me. "Hmph!~ Welcome to the big leagues of education, Motosaki. Here at Matsugaya High, it's only the best of the best! There's no room for slouchers around here!"

"Yeah, whatever you say, Emma," I chuckled and rolled my eyes at her. "I'm sure I can handle my own weight at the school. Besides I was top of my class in America."

"Sure, you better bring your A-Game to our school! We are number one in Japan for a reason! No slouchers allowed or else you should transfer to Daikama Academy where the losers go," Emma scoffed, her tone a mix of pride and confidence in her school.

"I got it, I got it," I rolled my eyes, chuckling soft.

With that, the three of us went to meet up with Rebecca, who was engrossed with her book and told her we were getting ready to leave. With everyone's books in hand, we went to the register and I bought the books for the three.

Afterwards, with all of their loot, we left the bookstore in high spirits. We made our way to th exit of the mall, walking outside to put everything in the trunk. We got inside the car and Aisha drove off to drop Rebecca and Emma off.