Chapter 64: Settling In

It was nearly twenty-four hours later that we finally arrived at Tokyo's Narita airport. Angelique was more than a little anxious. She really wanted to get out and run. Jason and I had done what we could to keep her entertained on the overnight flight, but it was clear she needed a bit of time just to run around.

Of course, the first thing we had to do after arriving was go through customs. Liz, Morgan, Jessica, Jason, and I talked about this as we walked through the skyway and headed for the international arrivals area. We agreed to get in separate lines and to swap who we were walking with to reduce the chance of anyone using an endearment that might alert someone.

Our preparations proved to be useless. The guards were attentive, but mostly interested in our reason for visiting. When I said that I was a huge lover of anime and wanted to watch the cherry blossoms bloom in Ueno Park the guard gave me a condescending look. He informed me that I could watch, but as I was not Japanese I should refrain from actually participating in the festival.

He then stamped my passport and allowed me to enter. I headed over to the baggage claim and began to watch for all our suitcases.

One by one the rest of the group trickled over to join me. Ashley blushingly said that the guard she talked to told her she could make a lot of money if she went to work for a hostess club. She said the guard promised her he could get her work visa approved quickly.

Cassidy admitted that the same offer was made to her from a different guard. Neither lady was interested. We decided that we should collect our baggage and find a way to get to our hotel.

By some miracle all of our bags arrived. In fact the first ten bags on the luggage carousel belonged to us. There were still bags arriving when we claimed the last one and started to move towards the street.

"How do we get to the hotel?" Morgan asked.

Becky moved ahead of him. She was not carrying a suitcase and was able to weave through the crowds quickly. Ahead we heard her asking someone for help.

The crowds made it hard to see her, so we kept moving towards the doors to the street. Becky met us there with a young man dressed in a blue uniform. The man bowed and told us that our hotel had been contacted and was sending a shuttle. He pointed to a pole and said that we could wait there.

Everyone headed to the spot. We were all feeling the effects of hours spent in an airplane. I felt like I had to force my feet forward as we staggered to the waiting area. Once there I set the suitcases down and tried to do a few squats.

The exercise did not help me wake up, but I was able to stay awake until the shuttle arrived. We loaded the shuttle and boarded. Beatrice showed the driver our paperwork. The driver nodded and promised to get us there quickly.

"I hope we'll still get to see come cherry blossoms after that flight," Liz said.

"Only a few are open," the driver replied. "If you go to Ueno park in three days it should be in full bloom."

"Perfect," Jason said. "One day to rest, and one day to shop. I call tomorrow for Akihibara."

"Let's get to the hotel first," I said. "I want to see some of the historical sites too."

"Most of those are in Kyoto," Jason said. "Or at least many are. I can't remember. I just know the capital has moved a couple times."

We spent the rest of the trip looking out the windows of the shuttle bus. The driver was largely silent as he drove us through the crowded streets. Finally he pulled us into a driveway and up to a large building.

We began unloading everything. Morgan moved to tip the man, but Jessica pulled him away telling him that it would be seen as an insult.

Beatrice had already hurried inside. I found a cart to hold all the suitcases and loaded it while Lenore and Jana worked on helping Angelique and Erica burn off a bit of extra energy. Our bodies were telling us that it was early morning, but the skies were dark, which left everyone feeling off.

When I had the cart ready a bellhop showed up and started to push it into the hotel lobby. I followed him as he headed toward the check-in counter. We arrived just as manager bowed to Beatrice and held out a stack of the cards people use to unlock hotel room doors.

"Oh good," Beatrice said as I arrived. "The manager here will want to see everyone's identification, and we have to have people sign for each room, but we have all the rooms on the sixth floor."

"Six rooms?" I asked.

"Yes," Beatrice said with a blush. "Do you want to sign for one and then get Ashley and Lenore to sign as well? I was going to have Erica, Matti, and Angelique in the adjacent room."

"That's a plan, but have Lenore sign as the adult for that room," I said.

The manager looked at me. He said nothing as Beatrice held out two sets of room keys to me. I signed for one and then held both.

The rest of the group started to come inside. Jason and Maurice looked worried until they noticed the bellhop standing with the cart. "Man, I forgot about those," Maurice said.

"That's not a surprise," Jessica pointed out. "What's the plan?"

"Beatrice has room keys. We have to sign for our rooms. I have ones for Ashley, Lenore, and Matti to sign," I said.

Ashley ran over and hugged me. "Where do I sign?" she asked.

I held out the set of cards I had signed for. Ashley grabbed a pen from the counter and signed it. She looked at the room number at the top and giggled. "I want to shower. I feel sticky after that flight."

Ashley ran for the elevators as the rest of the group got their room keys. I noticed that Beatrice kept the manager's attention on her as we got every room signed for. When Beatrice and I were the last two standing in the lobby she waved to the elevator. "Let's get to the rooms. I agree with my daughter, twenty hours in the same clothing has me feeling dirty. I'd love a shower."

I nodded. "Let's see how we feel after that."

I found that the answer to that question was that it was about seven at night local time when I got out of the bathroom. Everyone decided that we would grab something to eat and then prepare for our day shopping in Akihibara.

So we went to a local sushi restaurant. Angelique, Liz, and Erica had to be coaxed to try some of the offerings, but everyone enjoyed the meal. The end of the day was spent in our hotel rooms relaxing. Lenore found some kind of children's program for Erica and Angelique to watch to help put them to sleep.

The next day we ended up deciding to split up while shopping. The hotel proved to have a place that was happy to exchange some American dollars for Yen. I made sure to stop there before I headed out with Ashley and Lenore. Erica and Angelique were happy to just stay in the hotel room and watch the television. It turned out that Milli and Matti were willing to stay as well, so they had someone to watch them as the rest of us explored the city.

Ashley had a guide book. She looked it over and then giggled. "They have maid cafes here? What are those?"

"I think it's a kind of café where the waitresses are dressed as maids," I said. "Why do you ask?"

"This guidebook lists four in Akihibara that the writer claims are decent. I just can't picture how they could be. I mean, that sounds like it would attract perverts," Ashley mock complained.

"Then we simply must go to one," I said. "After all, I'm a pervert."

Lenore giggled. "He got you there," she said as she patted Ashley on the head.

Ashley pouted as we entered the subway station. "No fair. You are supposed to support me."

"Next time," Lenore said. She looked pensive.

"Mark," Lenore said as she put a hand on my shoulder. "During the first leg of our flight here Ashley and I talked."

"I knew my ears were burning on the plane," I said.

"No," Lenore said as she put a finger to my lips. "This is serious. Mark, think about the future. At some point we'll be looking at a grey field from the inside. At that point our little group will both grow and be made permanent."

"Um, not to be a downer, but technically its not permanent. You heard that the rules would allow for one person to make unilateral decisions regarding the makeup of the group," I interrupted.

Ashley looked around nervously. I checked as well, to see if our conversation had attracted attention. People were passing close by, but most were in too much of a hurry to stop and look at us. The only problem I could see was that many men tried to fondle Ashley. She was huddled close to me with Lenore standing beside her to try to keep the perverts away.

"I know," Ashley said with a sigh as we stopped to wait for the next subway train. "We should have talked about this earlier. But we didn't want this in front of Erica or Angelique. Mark, we need you to find your other two ladies soon."