Friends From The Land of The Rising Sun

"Ellise, what is CTF?" Joy asked in a hushed voice.

"Hacking," she answered. "Why are you whispering anyway?" she asked irritatedly.

"Well, I'm curious about why it piques you," she answered. "And whispering became a habit to anything Japan, like this ANA lounge," she said.

"Pff! That's so stupid. We're the only one here since it's freaking two in the morning. Why do we have to fly so early anyway?" she asked.

"Why you still have something to say to DT?" she teasingly asked back.

She gave her an ice-cold glare and said nothing.

"You know CTFs and all that stuff. You may still have some answered questions and such." she didn't back down her teasing even with the death glare shot her way. "I'm also interested in hacking, you know."

"It's not just hacking!" she said. "It's a cybersecurity game; it isn't just all about hacking. Since you're an outsider let's just say it is indeed hacking. But it's a mental game, specially designed to challenge participants to solve computer security problems, hence most people have a prejudice against it, and just think that it is merely hacking computers. What DT and his team are doing is on a professional level, it involves more than just money and fame."

"Everyone can play though if they're interested. I want to be at the same level as DT, but Mr. Wan's rejected me, he said he only accepts boys and Chinese nationals in his club," she said with a pout.

"I heard Wan has a team in Oslo too, why don't you apply there," she asked.

"Do you think my Old People will allow me to be part of such a thing? They will only see it as me being a hacker!" she answered indignantly.

Joy looks like she lost in thought, only Chinese nationals huh, and didn't say anymore.

Ellise looks at her aunt and frowns. "Why are we flying to Tokyo? Aren't you bringing me home?" she asked.

"Hmm." Joy looked at her like she's still in the middle of retrospect. "I have to be in Tokyo because I don't want to miss someone too much," she answered with a glance.

"Disgusting." she snorted.

"Said someone who got on the plane to another continent for a boy," she replied with a laugh.

Ellise blushed, speechless.

"Hey, what did you talk about? It sounds pretty serious that you insisted on dropping by when you can just answer his calls and messages," she said with a smirk.

She regrets her words as soon as she sees the sudden change in Ellise's face, which she couldn't hide despite the dark sunglasses they're both wearing to hide their puffy eyes for all the crying back at the hotel.

"He's the one that's been calling you, right?" she carefully asked.

This mundane questioning of interest was supposedly a way to lighten the mood and just have a casual talk while waiting for their boarding time that turned to stepping on a landmine of unfinished talk.

Ellise keeps her head down and puts on a headset.

She mentally kicks herself and stops pushing the apparently won't be discussed even under oath topic.

---

Narita Airport, Tokyo

"Tadaima" Joy said to the man behind the wheel in the secluded parking lot.

"Okaeri" he answered and gave her a peck on her temple. He smiled at the rearview mirror with Ellise, and said "Welcome to Tokyo."

Ellise gave a curt bow and looked outside the car. She listens as her aunt rambles as the man drives. Her brows knitted on how her aunt's voice changes into a crescendo of Nihongo, with a smooth and gentle tone, that's so unlike her.

When the car reached the highway, her aunt looked at her from the passenger seat and said "You'll meet Dana and Jess later. They're I think around the same age as you and they will be staying with us." she said

"You mean, I'll be staying with you guys," she answered in a bored tone.

"If only you can use that on the spot perception in important things, life could be easier," she said.

Ellise keeps her mouth shut. Her aunt knows that she hates being with strangers. But it looks like she doesn't have a choice if she wants help in uncovering the secrets of her birth.

---

She woke up with the soft thud of the car compartment being close. As she opens her eyes, she sees two teenagers standing outside. The taller girl is the first that caught her attention because she looks half-Asian like her, the other girl looks like a heroine of a Japanese Shojo manga. The one that all the boys in the class fell in love with.

The half-Asian girl saw her staring, and gave her a warm smile, then elbowed the other girl and pointed at her using its lips, which she finds amusing. A Filipina. Her aunt Joy has the same habit. She finds herself returning the smile to the two girls as she opens the side door.

"Hi, my name is Jess and she's Dana." said the half-Asian girl.

"I'm Ellise," she said and extended her hand for a handshake, but Dana grabs her for a hug. She froze, not only because the girl is definitely Japanese but also she hates physical contact.

Dana saw the confusion in her eyes and laughed softly. "I'm Japanese but I'm more or less raised as a Filipina, so I like touching people."

Ellise breathes out the air that she didn't realize she's holding when she sees the mischief in Dana's eyes.

"Let's get your luggage inside," Jess said. "Tito Jiro will you go now?" she said as she pulled the luggage to the door.

"Got practice. Will pick you up girls later for dinner," he answered as he got back inside the car.

"Are you okay with removing your shoes?" Dana asked.

But Ellise already removed her shoes and went inside the living room, which has a huge glass window with the skyscraper of Tokyo. She can picture how beautiful it would look at night.

"Let Ellise sleep first." Joy said as she climbed the stairs to the second floor.

"We're rooming here," Jess said, standing in front of a floor to ceiling bookshelf. "It's magic!" she playfully said pushing a panel in the bookcase that opens a room.

Ellise eyed the bookcase and smiled, "Magic!"

"You like secret doors too?" Dana asked.

"Secrets sound fun if they're not yours," she answered.

"Well, everybody has a secret to tell."

Ellise looked at Jess as her voice lost its playfulness.

"I'm Joy's daughter but she doesn't birth me, and no one except my family knows about it." "Even her family knows nothing of this."

"Then why are you telling me?" Ellise looked at Jess with curiosity.

"Because you look like you hate the secret you keep."

"I'm Joy's younger sister, but she's not my older sister but my mother," Dana said.

"How did that happen?" Jess asked in surprise.

"Are you making fun of me?" Ellise asked in annoyance.

"No," Dana answered with a serious face. "You see, you're not the only one that has birth circumstances that have to be hidden. The society knows me as the firstborn of my father, who is Japanese and a famous calligraphy artist, my mother is a Filipina, which is Joy's nanny, hence I'm her younger sister even though she's not my older sister."

"And how did she become your mother then? Jess asked before Ellise could open her mouth to ask the same question.

"She's the one who chose me from the orphanage." Dana simply answered.

The room went silent after that. The girls are just looking at each other while standing in the middle of the room.

"Well, aunt Joy is my legal guardian, chosen by my mother before she died, and my father is aunt Joy's ex-boyfriend," Jess said that breaks the silence.

"Uhm,... according to aunt Joy the father in my birth certificate isn't my real father but just a classmate from high school that owed her a favor so she blackmailed him to sign as my father under a semi-pseudo name," Ellise said while controlling a laugh to escape.

"You win!" Dana said laughing.

Jess looked at the two girls laughing like they've gone crazy, "Are we having a contest over something."

"You can have that bed. Jess and I shared this bed."

"Arigatou," Ellise said as she removed her hoodie and put her suitcase on top of the bed.

"Hey, I don't get the joke." Jess whines.

"There's no joke. I mean, there is and it's us." Ellise smiled.

"Huh?" Jess looked at Ellise taking out a pair of pajamas.

"Hey!" she said to Dana who is walking out of the room.

"Let's go, Joy said Ellise needs to sleep."

"Oh..okay."

Dana pulled Jess outside when Ellise closed the bathroom door to change.