Frank and Jameson were like minded men leading completely different lifestyles. While Frank descended from a long line of honest folk making a living off the coast of a bountiful sea, Jameson was what one might call a white horse; an influential person who never had to work a day in their life if they wanted something done, either leaving the job to someone else or paying to skip the labor entirely.

But perhaps that polarizing divide in their lives was what drew them together in the first place. Ever since they'd first met when Jameson's parents had come to Frank's humble abode looking to buy up their business, the two had been at odds with each other, constantly meeting up at the strangest of times in their lives as if an invisible hand was shifting them around on a board that encompassed the world, forcing interactions between the two that would ultimately result in the start of a strong friendship onceit was clear Jameson’s constant taunting and flaunting of his family’s riches had no effect on the quiet Frank, whose understanding and nonchalant personality clashed directly with his.

Instead of shooing away or reporting Jameson’s bullying, Frank had instead drawn the naive man into conversation, rebutting the rich kid’s view that money and influence was all one needed to come out on top over other people.

“But then you don’t build trust, you only get people to hate you, and if there's no one to fall back on when things go bad…you only have yourself to blame.”

"Ma and Pa can always hire more people! People can be bought!"

"And when the money's gone? What then?"

"Hah! Money can't be 'gone'! You stupid or something?"

"..."

It was conversations like these that nurtured an understanding and then eventually a friendship between the two boys, starting off as pointless banter then discussion, and then it became hangouts and eating lunch together. It was a slow process, but over the years Frank and Jameson became inseparable. Everything, from studying, holiday breaks to making important decisions regarding their future, they did together. While Frank's side of the relationship saw no issue, Jameson had to take a hefty beating or two when he stubbornly refused his parents own designs for where he should go in life, sticking fast to Frank's side like glue despite the derogatory terms he had used to describe educational institutes like the highschool and college they had gone through together.

When asked about it by Frank, the man had given the most vague of answers that ultimately answered nothing.

"You think I can let someone like you out of my sights? No way Frank!"

While Frank was someone who was studious and disciplined by nature, it took awhile for Jameson to catch up to the same standards put forth by his buddy. It took him a few tries and plenty of bribes to keep his position by Frank's side secure, but eventually, the haughty upstart had become just as much of a nerd as Frank was, pulling his own weight when the time came to prep for tests, exams or projects.

And as much as he tried to hide it from Frank, the keen eyed man had already seen the real reasoning behind Jameson's hard work; the man saw competition, and he wasn't about to let himself be beaten by someone he no doubt saw as his inferior.

But that still left Frank confused as to why he'd go so far as to hang out with him all the time. The way he treated others was just like the first encounter they had in preschool; vulgar, rude and insensitive. But when it came to him, his mood turned jovial, losing that edge and seriousness in his tone. Could it be that he saw him as an equal? Hence the special treatment and such.

'Nah…that can't be…'

That was the life the two men led together, until the time came for them to decide on where to go for the next chapter; a job, their lifeline and main source of income as independent adults in a harsh reality.

While Jameson had no need to worry too much considering his family's connections and him being set up to inherit it, Frank had expressed an interest in returning home to help his parents man the boats and hoist the nets, maintaining the fish trade his forefathers had continued for generations. This, to no one's surprise, had come as unpleasant news to Jameson who had been hoping for an entirely different outcome.

No matter how much he offered or the resources he promised to provide to his family's business, Frank had vehemently refused his friend's invitation to join his father's company as a scientist considering his brilliant mind and technological skills.

"You'd literally be a waste out here Frank! At least in the labs you could be helping in the creation of things that benefit the whole world!"

"I've said it already James, I'm not interested. I don't know about you but I don't want to leave my family in the hands of people I don't trust to get the job done…plus I'm in this to carry on the family tradition, not some sideshow gig…school is school but this stuff isn't up for discussion."

That had been the last time either one spoke to the other, leaving on bad terms that neither side could clear away. Jameson because of his pride and bullheadedness in having his way denied and Frank because he was too narrow minded to see his friend as anything but a childish rich kid throwing a tantrum at having to buck up and face the world.

That should've been the end of that, but years would pass with Jameson never really having moved on from Frank's rejection, viewing it as a betrayal of sorts. And like some people said; revenge was a powerful motivator in the minds of the right people.

Spurred by the desire to show Frank that he had made the wrong choice, Jameson had spent years commissioning and working on a grand design that would no doubt leave his former friend at a loss for words with no choice but to concede if he saw just what he was capable of. And with his family fortune and a team of some of the brightest minds in the world, there was no way they couldn't have succeeded in bringing Jameson's vision to life; a Time Machine capable of sending multiple people to various points throughout history with built in safeties to ensure the user remained safe from the dangers of time fluctuations and paradoxes.

Except Jameson hadn't taken into account that the people he was working with weren't Frank, resulting in many volatile but brief spats between him and his 'underlings', bossing them around with zero understanding for their own personal issues. Naturally, such treatment could only breed discontent, and just like he sought to one up Frank, his own employees soon sought his downfall, plotting behind his back to sabotage his dear machine even if it meant the discovery of a decade went to waste…but with the blueprints already copied and waiting to be sent to a rival company, it wasn't as if that mattered much. Once the machine was activated, it would instead send its target to a random destination on the world line with its safety mechanisms disabled, that meant that the traveler would be left vulnerable to the temporal influence of time itself with unpredictable results.

And so, when the day finally came for Jameson to test the machine, the pompous lead designates himself and Frank as the targets to be sent hurtling through time, setting a course for the future and providing the location of Frank's family home as the target. As long as the machine had the targets locked in its databases, it didn't matter where they were in the world. A terribly intrusive and equally frustrating system to implement at the behest of Jameson.

But as the men and women in the room watch with silent anticipation, they knew that all their troubles would soon be gone as a bright light engulfs Jameson, vanishing him from the lab and leaving them all free to cheer and whoop, cursing the arrogant fool before taking whatever they could from the place as they made their exit like the treacherous snakes they were, uncaring of the second individual their former boss had doomed to share his fate.

And as for Frank? The only notice he had been given to something being awfully wrong was the brief shimmering of particles beaming up and down around him before his vision fills with searing light, leaving the boat by the pier unmanned and his colleagues oblivious to his disappearance.

By the time the lights in the lab go dark and the waves lapping against the shores lose their fervor, the world population went down by two individuals, and any records of a big time company inventing a time machine or a popular seaside fishery in a certain country would fade from the minds of every living soul…

Jameson

The coordinate data he had set into the time machine's control console was supposed to send him forward 10 years into the future alongside his estranged friend to a location be had estimated would be the new coastline of the beach said friend had vehemently refused his offers to remain at. It served two purposes; the first being proof that incredible things truly were at work under his watchful eye and, leading into the second, that inheriting a family business that would soon come to an end was a bad idea.

So when the overconfident man winds up inside the small, cramped room of a typical Japanese contemporary house styled heavily in early to late 90’s furnishing from an archaic night light to a cheap, generic table made out of meager material just enough for it to serve its purpose without keeling over, the initial confusion quickly passes for irritation and mild anger. But what gave the location away was the Japanese text found scrawled over all the books and scraps of paper littered around the room, and Jameson didn’t need to look out the window to realize he was surrounded by a sea of similarly constructed houses with the distant peaks of a downtown area framing the foreground of a scenic sunset.

"So why the hell am I in Japan for fucks sake…I had the data installed before hand…and I certainly couldn't have entered the wrong numbers…no…it couldn't be…"

Swiping his hand in the air did nothing, slapping the gizmo attached to his wrist likewise had no effect. And after repeating these actions in frantic repetition, Jameson was all but certain that the assumptions he denied were true had come to pass; sabotage.

The only ones who had access to the lab were himself and the team he had put together, and for such high quality equipment to suddenly fail after days of rigorous testing, calibrations and fine tuning, then sabotage had to be the only answer. Unless he was the unluckiest man on Earth, he saw no reason for his careful planning and safety measures to fail.

"Those friggin' pricks back at the lab had better get their asses ready for a lawsuit when I get back…fuck!"

As much as he wanted nothing more than to wrong the necks of the treacherous snakes that had condemned him to a fate he felt was unjustified, Jameson knew that without the control system working, he had no way back to his own time period…

'And if the system is down…then the safeties should be off as well…goddamn it! Frank!'

More than aware of the dangers of temporal anomalies and paradoxes, Jameson's rare moments of compassion were triggered once more upon being reminded that he wasn't the only foreigner stranded 30 or so years in the past on the other side of the planet. Unlike him, Frank would have no way of knowing the perils that lay in wait just waiting for him to make a wrong move. Whether it was being seen by someone or moving something just a centimeter off its original position would be enough to cause a reaction…then again, most of Jameson's knowledge really came down to speculation and theory. With no one willing to risk any major alterations to the timeline, no testing had been done to ascertain if there really were any dangers to time traveling.

Which also meant that the technology meant to 'shield and mask one from the notice of temporal anomalies' were completely unreliable, but to the men and women working on Jameson's invention, it was the best protection they could think of. Not like Jameson was aware of it from all the falsified reports he hadn't bothered to double check. Whether it was overconfidence or laziness, it was too late to dwell on that now.

“黙れ姉ちゃん！うるさいぞ”

Breaking the silence was the muffled voice of a young boy coming from somewhere below Jameson's feet, snapping him out of his brainstorming on what to do next from here. While he couldn't understand Japanese, he did catch a few phrases in the boy's quip that he clearly understood from engaging in modern entertainment. For a moment he wanted to yell back at the rude kid but the ever present dangers all around him held Jameson back, focusing his attention elsewhere as he strolls over to the window to get a better look at where he had ended up in.

A spacious lawn, the gritty sounds of a retro video game being played on an antique TV, an empty road…pretty standard stuff for an urban setting in Japan. But something about the house's construction seemed familiar to him as if he'd seen the place before but at a certain angle, viewing this stranger's home from upstairs felt nostalgic and alien at the same time…maybe a better view from downstairs would freshen up his memory?

"Can't let anyone see me though…judging by the noise…the kid must be somewhere right below me…"

But while Jameson continues to brainstorm a way outside, the strands of hair atop his head begins to loosen up as blonde tufts cleanse themselves of artificial coloring and pungent gel while lengthening further out of his scalp before stopping at a respectable length just atop the nape of his neck. In seconds his crew cut had been replaced by an unruly mop of spiked hair colored in natural shades of birch wood brown, going barely unnoticed besides the occasional tickle of a rogue fringe or loose strands poking at the back of Jameson's ears…that were also beginning to undergo their own changes; twitching and shrinking in size as studs melt away to leave untouched earlobes rounding a pair of cute protrusions that seemed comically out of place on the man's unchanged head, though that wouldn't last for long when the bridge of his nose begins to recede while gaining a subtle curve to its peak.

"Maybe a makeshift rope could work? There's plenty of clothes here…and as far as I know no one's home…"

Moving to rummage through the room before recoiling at the sight of a girl's uniform bundled and folded neatly in a wardrobe, Jameson stays stunned for a moment as he wrestles past his morality, laying his hands on the thin, fluttery fabrics before wringing them together into reliable segmented rope, tying the ends together into sturdy knots all while the muscle in his arms begin to heat up and expand while simultaneously shrinking into a smaller size to match the proportions of his likewise reduced frame, a change that had started the moment he had set foot in the not too distant past. Remaining oblivious even when his broad, snake like eyes begin to slant and widen at the top to form bright almonds containing deep brown irises radiating youthful vibrancy that seems to spur the changes afflicting his face, healing heavy eyebags while supplanting leathery hide with baby smooth skin tinged a faint yellowish beige as a result of spending a lot of time under the sun, spreading downward in splotches that gradually replaces the deathly pallor of Jameson's original skin tone, ridding him of body hair and sores at the same time.

By the time he was done with the assembly of his getaway rope however, the tall imposing man with an aura of confidence about him was no longer present in the reduced stature of the feminine figure showing no hint of the class and pomp oozing from Jameson’s pores just a few minutes ago. With gradually strengthening legs now planted in a widespread pose and powerful arms planted atop broad hips that had expanded to make way for new organs alongside lean layers of toned muscle bulging subtly against a radiant tummy that had once been on its way to becoming a beer belly, it was clear that whatever was at work here was also altering the man’s mind, slowly but surely changing thought patterns as synapses are tweaked and prodded at to shift Jameson away from the rich snob he was into a more kind and open minded individual as evidenced by the childish smile stop a visage that now matched the body it was placed upon. But the changes were far from over and for all intents and purposes, Jameson was completely blind to it all. Still viewing himself as the same overbearing owner of a multimillion dollar company.

As if to add insult to injury, the man's expensive, tailor made lab uniform morphs into a more form fitting shape to fit the smaller frame of Jameson's changing form, losing the high quality silk and one of a kind protective weave for ordinary fabrics used in the construction of cheap, affordable clothes. With a folded collar fanning outward into a larger blue expanse while buttons fuse together into a short hemmed sailor uniform and neatly ironed out pants unwinding into a blue pleated skirt of questionable length, the effects of the transformation on Jameson’s body were clearly displayed; sporting slim curves where there were none before and a pronounced arch to his back, thrusting out a chest that was beginning to tent his clothes while his formerly rock hard behind starts to soften up and expand as the firm ups and downs of a blooming ass pumped with as much muscle and fat that adorned shapely legs starts to emerge. And tipping such powerful pillars were dainty feet whose waifish looks belied immense strength alongside long, deceptively slim arms attached to a supple yet firm torso sporting twin breasts clad in a red bra of petite size, yet to reach their maximum considering the fledgling age of the one who bore them. Considering the extreme changes, one would think Jameson would have noticed by now that he was no longer a proud American socialite but a rather ordinary Japanese schoolgirl with a gross bulge pressed up between her legs behind tightening panties that were slowly but surely winning the fight to crush her useless gonads back inside of her, but the newly changed girl showed no signs of distress on her vibrant face, smiling confidently as she tests the strength of her getaway rope before hooking it up to the rustic yet strong water pipes running around the eaves of the house as a bright yellow tie slings itself around Jameson's smaller neckline alongside a white sash slinking around her sweat slick forehead before doing itself up into a headband with trailing twintails of contrasting white against the browns of her hair. Tucking it back in time for gloves to materialize over her fists.

While Jameson could feel and see nothing off from her veiled perception, the rejuvenating energies of her new youthful form were more than enough to get her pumped and raring to go, it was hard to describe in detail but the simplest way to say it was that a fire was burning in her chest, and as she plants her sneakers against the outer walls of the house against the passing breeze of a fading afternoon, she was more than eager to flex her muscles and run off to…where exactly?

'Right…I've still got to find Frank…can't waste anymore time sightseeing!'

With hands firmly wrapped around the string of sailor uniforms and blankets, Jameson pushes off from the walls with an unexpected burst of strength that sends her flying a considerable distance away from the house, yelling out in panic before slamming back into the lower portion of the roof and sending a tremor running through her entire form, forcing the last remnants of her fading manhood to give in as the force of the maneuver slams her panties against the retreating flesh, pushing in reforming testes whilst squeezing the twitching head of a dick tight, forming the outlines of a damp camel toe between humid thighs.

"クソッ！何か壊れたか...はあ？うぎゃー!!!” (Crap! Did that break any…huh? Uwaaa!!!)

In the split second her ears had registered the sound of fluent Japanese exiting her own mouth in place of English, the loss of concentration was more than enough for Jameson to lose her window of recovery, sending her plummeting off the roof as the rope unfurls into a mess of crumpled sailor uniforms raining down around Jameson as she takes a hard landing on the dried grass of the front lawn, leaving her momentarily stunned and stupefied after the perilous fall.

But just like Frank before her, the effects of time working to correct errors in historical events that should've been set in stone were uncaring and relentless, taking this moment of vulnerability to begin working on the remainder of Jameson's mind that hadn't been changed, more specifically; his memories and the knowledge he had amassed. With the awareness blockers lifted after the startling language alteration, it was only a matter of time before her new personality began to subsume her old one. A fitting punishment for one who would dare to disrupt time's steady flow.

As she sits there in a daze rubbing her head, new imagery begins to flow slowly through her numbed brain, triggering changes and deletions in Jameson's mind as knowledge not yet earned begins to leave her brain; quantum physics, the schematics for a time machine, engineering skills. All of it would fade, leaving gaps in her memory that make it that much harder to remember her original goal of finding her friend and hopefully, a way back home.

"But…home…is here…isn’t it? Crap my butt…what was I even thinking, jumping out the window like that?"

With her awareness of time travel stolen and a studious life where Japanese was her mother tongue, the fact that she could speak and interpret the language came as no surprise to her. more concerning to her was the strategy of avoiding the stranger she now recognized as her little brother. It was a ridiculous idea, wondering what had urged her to even try shimmying out from the second floor window on a makeshift rope made out of her spare uniform sets. If anything she would have more work to do like ironing them out and washing the ones that ended up soiled. Although she couldn't help but feel like she had done it for an important reason, one that she could no longer recall.

"The heck are you doing up there Big Sis? First the noise and now you fall out of the window?"

"It's no biggie…y-you know I've taken bigger hits than some fall!"

"Not the point you gorilla! Go get meds or something, you’re starting to stutter!"

Although she was now the biological big sister of this rude upstart, the little bit of Jameson that had only moments ago scorned the brat for his rudeness couldn't help but break a smile as she watched him…Tsukishiro…return to his games. As blunt and lazy as he was sometimes, she knew the kid had a good heart with skills of his own to nurture. It all came so naturally to her that she didn't even have the chance to feel afraid at the swiftness of her adaptation to the new memories rooting themselves firmly in her mind as the definitive life she had lived over the demanding sleazebag she was before being abandoned by…spiteful colleagues? Old rivals that held a grudge? She couldn't remember anymore, just like everything else past highschool, just as she had been physically regressed into the form of a Japanese highschool girl, so had her mental faculties.

And from her new point of view, she sorely hated herself for even acting and behaving the way she did no doubt due to the influence of the second personality slowly creeping in on Jameson's fading presence. With new morals and disciplines drilled into her, the thought of treating others as her inferiors was nauseating. But the memory of Frank remained a cherished one, directing her gaze from Tsukishiro up towards the magenta blue hues of the skies above wondering just what had happened to him before her own eyes widened upon the realization of why this all felt so familiar to her, leaping to her feet before spinning around to gaze upon the residence of an old character from a video game she used to play all the time in her old life, matching up with the memories she was slowly being filled in on.

"No way…Sakura? I'm…actually Sakura?"

As much as she wanted to feel surprised…all Sakura Kasugano could muster was an exclamatory "Huh" at the fact that she had become one of her childhood favorites…well, old childhood favorite. The Jameson of yesteryear might feel excited or begin getting touchy with her new body, but to Sakura, balancing her studies at school with the life of a street fighter was her normal, everyday routine. In other words, it wasn't anything too special to freak out about. But how and why she became this way was a mystery to her, with the knowledge and awareness of her invention stripped from her brain, all Jameson, now Sakura, knew was that she had closed her eyes for a second before opening them to find herself here, splayed out on the floor as a highschooler in 90's Japan.

"Arrgh!!! This is so frustrating to think about!"

"Quiet down big sis!"

Kicking her shoes against the pavement before strolling past the lawn and heading back inside ignoring a concentrating Tsukishiro, Sakura snatches the boxed lunch she had forgotten to take out to school that day before retreating from her house, snapping open the casing and wasting no time in helping herself to the still edible food inside.

For a good few minutes, the troubled girl strolls around her hometown chewing noisily on her food while piecing things together in her mind. Trying to make sense of Jameson's side of things that had, in a sudden turn of events, become the foreign invader within the newly changed Sakura's brain. But with the aforementioned holes poked clean through his memories, trying to make sense of it all was nearly impossible with so many plot holes and inconsistencies.

'So…if I'm getting this right…I…snobby kid…falls asleep, wakes up as…me? But how the heck would that even work? Could it all just be some wild dream and I…wait, that girl…isn't she?'

"My, My, whatever are you doing all the way out here so late into the afternoon Sakura Kasugano…skipping out without daddy's permission?"

Rising up off her shaded seat at a roadside cafe was a tall and elegant young lady dressed in the same uniform Sakura was wearing. But unlike hers, the lady's set was colored a vibrant red and clearly made of better material alongside the use of red military grade boots and gloves with protective plates atop her palms contrasting the black of her underwear and form fitting spandex. Showing no signs of embarrassment even when the billowing wind kicks up her top to display her throbbing navel for all, Sakura included, to see. With blonde hair styled into European ringlets atop a snarky face filled with gloating contempt, she embodied the very man whose memories she still retained and despised, unsure if it was all a dream and feeling frustrated at this sudden roadblock in the middle of her contemplative walk around town. Except for one major difference; unlike the figment of her imagination that was all talk and no bite, the girl before her had the skills and strength to match her bark. Was she here to pay her back for her defeat at school a day ago?

"Kanzuki…what do you want?"

"Heh…did you already forget the gracious gift you bestowed upon me yesterday? I was planning a more…welcoming entrance to pay you back for it but alas, here we are! Ufufu~"

'Great…just great…'

As irritating as her pompous mannerisms were, Karin had her attention once she spoke of  'paying her back'. If this was a challenge to a rematch, then she'd gladly accept if only to help her kick some steam off her mind. First her own personal dilemma, the strange waking dream that had her falling out a window and now she had Karin Kanzuki pestering her in the middle of filling her empty stomach.

"If it's a fight you want then I'll gladly take you up on it Kanzuki!"

"How brash but…as astute as you are in surmising my intent…you're still too dense to realize that such a thing won't be enough for my name to be cleaned off the smear you so lovingly inflicted upon it! So I hereby invite you to participate in a street fighting tournament I will be hosting tomorrow!"

"What're you even saying seriously…woah!"

Catching the projectile aimed her way from a swift throw by her rival, Sakura carefully opens her hand to inspect the large glimmering badge nestled in her palm, emblazoned with the image of a large burly fist.

"As you exit your domicile tomorrow morning, that badge shall be worn on your person…"

"But what-"

"...you shall see Sakura-san, the moment you walk the streets with that special little gift, the festivities should already be well underway. I pray for your success Sakura-san~ So do your best and try not to disappoint hm? Ufufu…"

With her eloquent speech ended and her intentions made clear, Karin turns on her heels before walking off toward the distant peaks of sunlight still trying to shine over the edge of the darkened horizon, leaving Sakura to gape at the medal in her hand while contemplating just what the heck had she gotten herself into by accepting the badge…although maybe it was for the better when she had heard of Karin’s more ‘welcoming’ plan to get her the thing.

"A street fight huh…if the circumstances were better I'd be rearing to go but I'm not really feeling it though…maybe Dan would know something?"

Sighing as she pockets the medal before continuing to chew away at her early dinner, Sakura too turns to make her way back home, muttering under her breath for walking all the way out into the main street on accident, musing on her faltering viewpoints on her passions for street fighting, the continued pursuit of a certain man and Karin’s bold challenge. Although her first impressions of her were rocky at best, something in Sakura could sense the potential within her rival and a feeling that maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t the pretentious snob she appeared to be…after all, everyone had their reasons for acting the way they did right? And for a noble lady, her skills weren’t anything to scoff at either. With her incredible leg strength and mobility, Sakura would’ve been the one to lose that day if she weren't careful.

While she still hadn’t gotten over her life decisions yet, this tournament of hers wouldn’t take too long would it? A day of missed school for something that could potentially reward her generously wouldn't be too much to cry about unless her dad caught wind of it. If he knew she was taking part in a fighting tournament he’d kill her for sure. But the idea of facing strong foes like Karin and whoever else was going to show up was making Sakura tingle with excitement despite her current dull mood.

‘Karin Kanzuki…I’m kinda looking forward to seeing what you’ve got up your sleeves tomorrow…but…wait, what was I concerned about again earlier?’

With the start of the two fighters rivalry and eventual friendship coming to fruition, the plight of the two future plucked souls would fade from the concern of all involved; from their original time to even their own. Fully embracing and living out their new lives as Karin Kanzuki and Sakura Kasugano.

THE END