"Ah, love 'em and leave' em, I get it," Shantelle teased before swinging her rucksack onto her shoulder. "Shall we go sugar?" she asked.
"Yeah, lets, I need my bed." Daniel replied, reaching over to grab his own bag as they both walked down the aisle and towards the exit door. Before stepping out of the plane, Daniel glanced back at Luna one last time before she fell out of his view, taking a mental snapshot of her that he could revisit at a later time. The two new friends walked through the airport together until they reached the baggage carousel. Shantelle had been right, the luggage hadn't even started arriving yet and as they waited for the conveyor belt to kick into life, they continued to chat.
"So, can you speak any Japanese or do you use a language app?" Shantelle asked as she checked the time on her phone to make sure she would be on time for her day of meetings.
"Oh, I didn't even think of that," Daniel replied, embarrassed that he'd overlooked something so fundamental to a trip overseas.
"Oh sweetheart," Shantelle chuckled, "it's okay, mommas got you." She recommended a specific application and helped the virgin traveler find it on his phone. Once it was downloaded she gave him a quick crash course on how to use it, pointing out all the useful features it had and some of her own personal tips. Just as Daniel closed the app, once again glad that he had met this friendly stranger, the first bags started to emerge from behind the plastic strips at the end of the conveyor belt. "Perfect timing!" she commented as they both looked for their luggage, eager to retrieve them and make the last leg of their trips to their respective hotels. After a few minutes, both of their cases had emerged and they walked onwards together until they finally walked out of the airport's doors and into a balmy summer morning. Daniels eyes devoured everything around him, excited to be in the place he'd always dreamed of despite how exhausted he was from the journey. Everything seemed exotic and thrilling from the signage dotted around the airport to the faces of people from all over the world bustling through the area, being picked up by loved ones, hailing taxis or waiting for new arrivals.
"So I guess this is where we part sugar," Shantelle said sadly, reaching out to offer Daniel a hug, which he gladly accepted. Her embrace was tight, warm and genuine and they held each other for a few seconds, Shantelle's heavy breasts pressing against Daniels chest and making him wonder what they would feel like in his hands. As they parted, Candy held both of his arms and gave him a dazzling smile. "You stay safe okay darling, it was a pleasure meeting you."
"Yeah, you too," Daniel replied before watching her turn and walk away, hailing a cab and stepping inside. She waved through the window as the taxi pulled away and Daniel waved back at her as she was whisked away from him and into the heart of the bustling city. He was going to miss her.
Left alone at the busy airport entryway, he suddenly felt a little overwhelmed. What was he doing? He'd never traveled alone before and now he was on the literal other side of the world from his home. He suddenly felt very small and insignificant as he looked around at all the feverish activity surrounding him. Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself together and walked towards the taxi rank, stepping into the first one that was available, pulling his small case in behind him. An older Asian man turned around in the front seat to greet him, speaking in Japanese, the only word of which Daniel understood being "ohayou," or hello. Daniel held up his finger to ask for a moment and pulled out his phone and the freshly downloaded app, punching in, 'hello, can you take me to my hotel?'
The man nodded and waited patiently as Daniel pulled up the address and showed him the screen. He nodded enthusiastically and turned back towards the front of the car, turning on his meter and pulling out of the airport. Daniel was on his way and he spent the entire journey looking out of his window, hungrily taking in every inch of Tokyo as they went. The different storefronts, the clean, neat streets and the swathes of people walking around were a sight to behold and Daniel felt his excitement growing with every passing moment, briefly making him forget how tired he was and how much his body ached.
Finally the taxi pulled up outside the hotel and Daniel paid for his trip with a crisp note he had gotten from the local bureau de change a couple of days before he was due to fly out. He'd sat in his childhood bedroom at his parents house repeatedly counting the money and looking at the strange, foreign currency. It was this moment that had made it sink in that he was really doing this, he was going to Japan, and now, here he was, using this money to pay his taxi driver and his adventure was only just beginning.
"Arigato," the man said, thanking Daniel as he handed him back his change, a collection of small silver and bronze coins with a small square cut out of the middle. Daniel returned the phrase, although in a broken and disjointed way which the taxi driver had heard many times before from the various gaijin he had driven for over the years. Daniel climbed out, pulling his case behind him, trundling it along him as he stepped in the air conditioned comfort of the hotel lobby. Walking over to the reception he was relieved to find that the staff had a good grasp of English and he was quickly able to check in and take the elevator up to his room. As he walked down the hallway looking for the right room number, he heard his phone ringing in his pocket and fumbled to pull it out and answer before it went to his voicemail.
He was overjoyed to hear his mother's voice and talked to her for a couple of minutes while finding his room. It sounded like she was having a fun night and had found some male company for the evening. After encouraging her to go for it and saying his goodbyes, he hung up and took the opportunity to look round his lodgings for the next few days. It was a nice room, neat and surprisingly spacious, he'd gone for a mid-tier hotel, wanting something decent without spending an arm and a leg and it looked like he'd made the right choice. Unzipping his suitcase to grab a couple of key items, he thought about his call with Candy. The idea of her being out of the house, socializing and meeting new people made him happy and he couldn't deny that the idea of her going home with a virtual stranger was a bit of a turn on. He loved his Mum more than anyone, even moreso than Louise or his adopted parents and while most people would be uncomfortable with their partner cavorting with other men, he honestly didn't have a problem with it. He was secure enough in their relationship that he knew it wouldn't change anything. Candy was the one who had encouraged him to go out and explore, having more experiences as a young man and after what he had gotten up to on the flight last night, he'd be a massive hypocrite to not let her have her own fun in his absence.
He absentmindedly slid his hand into his back pocket after plugging his charger into the wall socket and was surprised to find a small piece of paper concealed within. Pulling it out and unfolding it, he instantly smiled when he saw what was written inside.
"Hey Daniel, thanks for last night. Give me a call sometime when you're back in England? Luna xx."
Underneath was her phone number and Daniel felt a throb in his trousers and a skipped heartbeat in his chest. It looked like he might get to see Luna again after all. She was a sneaky one, she must have slipped it into his pocket when they hugged, but it was definitely a nice surprise. Pulling off his clothes he stretched his sore muscles as best as he could, standing naked in his room. He considered showering, but he needed his bed before anything else. Untucking the covers and pulling them back, he was about to climb in when he remembered the advice given to him by Shantelle.
"Fists with your toes, eh?" he said to himself before testing out the kind black woman's words of advice, walking around the room barefoot with his toes all scrunched up. "Damn," Daniel commented to himself, surprised that the crazy sounding cure had actually worked as he immediately felt better. "Now, time for bed," he said for himself before letting out a long, loud yawn. Finally collapsing down onto the comfortable mattress he pulled the sheets over himself and after a little tossing and turning to get comfortable in a new bed, he finally fell asleep.
Awaking groggily, Daniel rubbed his eyes, turning over in the bed to face the small table next to him, retrieving his phone to check the time. Damn, he'd been out for over six hours and it was now just after five in the afternoon. He had messages from Louise and his parents, both of which he replied to before dragging himself out of bed. His stomach grumbled in protest, empty and displeased at how its needs had been ignored over the past few hours. During his taxi journey he had noticed a couple of small stores down the street from the hotel and he decided that this should be his next destination. After pulling on a pair of loose fitting gray shorts and a t-shirt, he put on his shoes, grabbing his room key and wallet before heading out to find some much needed sustenance.
Taking a left turn out of the hotel he walked down the bustling street until he came across a convenience store. It was pristine, its white and green branding standing out like a sore thumb, tempting any passers by to come inside. Daniel wandered inside, stomach continuing to rumble as it demanded to be fed. The young man behind the counter bowed in his neat uniform as he saw Daniel enter, the foreigner doing his best to return the gesture despite feeling a little awkward. He started to wander along the aisles, taking in all the different packaging and foreign script until he noticed a chill cabinet filled with sandwiches stuffed with various delicious looking fillings. He'd read a few articles before his travels and his eyes were drawn to the tamago sando's, filled with egg and garnished with some kewpie mayo and salt and pepper, a perennial favorite among locals and travelers alike. He grabbed one of the sandwiches and continued his perusing, adding an onigiri filled with tuna which he used his translation app to identify. It had an in-built camera function where you could hold it up to any writing and it would translate it for you, which was immensely handy, making him glad of Shantelle's recommendation that morning.
He would need something sweet to finish off his meal, so he picked up a pack of pocky (which he recognised from home) along with a matcha flavored Kit Kat bar. His final stop was the drinks section, eyes scanning along it, spoiled for choice with the selection of exotic bottles and flavors on display. He was feeling a little more comfortable now and picked up a bottle of some kind of grape flavored Fanta along with a glass bottle with blueberries on the label which he assumed must be some kind of flavored water. As he made his way over to the counter to pay, he noticed a hot food counter with fried chicken and various other tasty treats on display. It was true what people said, Japan was lightyears ahead of the west when it came to their convenience stores.
After paying the friendly member of staff what he owed, he made his way back out of the shop and into the warm evening air, tearing open the egg sandwich and taking a big bite. It was delicious, simple, savory and incredibly satisfying to his starved stomach and by the time he was back outside the hotel, he'd already wolfed the whole thing down. He was just about to pull one of his sweet treats out of the branded carrier bag holding his evening meal when a taxi pulled up alongside him and a familiar voice rang out from the passenger's side window.