Meeting Family (Kyo)

[leslie]

Sweat beaded upon flushed cheeks as a slender figure struggled to hold an upraised position, hands clutching weights that were held out in an even more uncomfortable way that strained the arms and brought the center of gravity up – leaving her more unbalanced than she normally was. Uncle Tomio had been training Leslie harder and harder, leaving her exhausted at night with no time to think over a letter she had received from home.

Mai,
I know it’s been a long time since I’ve written you but please understand little sister I didn’t have much choice. Father has been watching over both me and Shin like hawks when we have not been in school. Tomio has sent us letters about your progress – you make both of us proud – me especially since he pushes you so hard.

Whatever you do don’t come home. There isn’t anything for you here. Shin and I miss you and will try to fly to the States but don’t come here whatever you hear. Tomio cares for you now.

Train hard and do well little sister, I know you can.
Sincerely,
Koji

Biting her lip stubbornly, she forced her flagging limbs to remain locked and upraised – her one foot forward with her toe pointed even as Tomio quietly watched television in the other room. I can do this, I can do it. Breathe… As she found her space, she closed her eyes and listened for the sounds of the dying city – tuning out her uncle’s latest nature show to concentrate on the hum.

“Mai, you can stop now. Go run ten blocks then when you come back stretch, dinner will be on the table. We’re having a guests tonight – so run quickly so you can shower.”

Shower? For guests? Uncle’s yahtzi buddies don’t care if I eat sweaty… A small frown appearing on her face as she gently placed the weights in their proper places on the shelf, she drew in a sigh and decided she would do as asked and pick up the pace. Jogging out the front door and onto the street, she repeated the letter in her head – the wind blowing away any traces of tears that clouded her eyes, Mai, I know…

[Kyousuke]

Kyousuke sat in the back seat, a faint tickling sensation worked it's way over his chest. He was going to meet his half sister, her Ojisan had arranged the meeting to take place a dinner. He had no contact with Kyousuke's Ojiisan, but it was assumed that he would be brought to the dinner as well. Along with.. "Yumiko. Stop trying to tickle me, it won't work." He said with an exasperated sigh, patting the girls head hard enough to make her pout for a moment.

The little girl shifted in her seat, placing her back against the seat again, and started to playfully swing her legs as she looked up at Kyousuke. "But it's exciting! We're meeting more family. I didn't know we had family from your father here." She said cheerfully, not yet fully instructed on the circumstances of the situation. But Kyousuke wasn't timid about it, he just spoke out honestly. "She is my mothers offspring, not my fathers." The little girl made a sound of amazement, for a reason he couldn't quite grasp, and then began to hum.

It was already growing near to the time they were meant to arrive, and he was getting impenitent with Yumiko. she always got annoyingly anxious in the car. One of the reasons he wouldn't even dream of driving her anywhere unless it was absolutely critical. He loved his cousin, but that didn't mean he couldn't find her annoying. He had her dressed up in a maroon skirt and a heavy beige sweatshirt, that she insisted she wore. While he wore his white long sleeved collared shirt and jeans. His grandfather, well he wore Hawaiian. He looked ridiculous under all accounts. There wasn't much he could do about that.

"We're here." Kyousuke heard Kaiten mumble, and then pulled their car into the driveway, seemingly distracted for a moment before he pulled himself out of the car. A message was sent with the silence. "Yumiko, behave. They are family, but we're not close right now. Understand?" The little girl looked up and pouted, but managed a small nod. "But we will be right?" The question was answered with a small shrug. There wasn't much else to say about it with a definite answer.

They all piled out of the car, and walked up to the house. All of them could smell the food someone had prepared, and Yumiko was the only one who voiced her stomach. "It smells good, I want to eat!" But received a small tap on the head in reprimand. "Don't rush, it may not be done yet." Kaiten mumbled down at her, his wrinkled but strong hand coming out to wrap three times on the door before placing his hands in front of him, waiting patiently for the door to be answered.

[leslie]

Leslie had done the entire ten blocks in half the time it normally took her at night, not taking the time to slow down and enjoy the city at night – instead nearly sprinting from her front door until she got back. As soon as she arrived back at the townhouse, her frown deepened as she smelled better food than even guests were treated to. At least better than the food their normal guests were treated to. Sitting down on the top step to strip off her shoes and socks, she carefully slid them back into place near the door then jogged into the kitchen – folding her arms over her chest to make it clear she wanted an explanation. However, two apparently could play at that game as Tomio simply pointed his sauce-covered spoon at the stairs.

“Uncle, I am expecting some sort of explanation when I get back.”

His response was to simply smile and nod. Her frown now set, Lin drew in another deep breath then shrugged a bit to herself before she followed the path of his finger up the stairs to her room. Stripping off the remainder of her sweat-stained clothes, she savored the breeze for a moment only to turn on the shower with cool water. While taking a shower at night was somewhat of a luxury, she didn’t bother to linger. Instead scrubbing herself off and washing her hair in a relatively short amount of time – shaving and taking care of other hygiene as the conditioner soaked in her hair. I know my brother’s aren’t coming… and Uncle doesn’t have a significant other that I know about… More confused than before she started thinking about it, she stuck her head under the facet and let the water wash away her worries as well as the conditioner – emerging refreshed and reassured.

A towel around her middle with her wet hair hanging down her back, Lin went through her closet before settling on a simple black skirt with a black embroidered top that had a dragon stretched out across the torso with its glittering teeth exposed – in a warning. Braiding her hair into a single tail at her back, she wiped off her face then applied a minimal amount of liner and shadow, tinting her lips a deeper red before she walked down the stairs barefoot. When Tomio turned to see if she had dressed appropriately, he was a little more than stunned. “You look very nice Aiko”

“Now may I know who is coming to dinner Uncle? So I’m not completely caught off-guard when they get here?”

Tomio nodded and motioned for her to sit, bringing two steaming dishes to the table, “Your half brother is coming with your cousin and grandfather. Kyousuke was your mother’s first child. Your father never told you and I hadn’t thought of it until I received your brothers’ letter the other day.”

“M-m-my mother? My half… half brother?”

As though by some higher force, it was just then that the knock at the door came and Lin jumped from her seat. Tomio, nodding as he returned to ladling out the food, watched from the corner of his eye as she hesitantly walked to the door to open it for their guests.

[Kyousuke]

Kyousuke could hear footsteps approach from the other side of the door, Yumiko had grabbed onto his hand and began to bounce. A nervous habit, or what he had used to explain the behavior. Kaiten seemed to have taken the center stage, stepping in front of both himself and Yumiko to meet whoever was opening the door for them first. As the door opend the three of them bowed lightly. Kaiten was the last to raise, Yumiko the second, and Kyousuke the first.

"Good evening." He said with a small smile, deciding that the girl was more than a bit apprehensive about what was taking place. He momentarily wondered if the girls grandfather had even bothered to tell her that they were coming, and who they were. "It smells like the food is done." He said after a few moments, just to be sure she didn't freeze up in front of them. Although Yumiko helped. She hopped forward and pounced the girl, beaming, and giggling. "A neechan!"

Kyousuke was standing casually behind the two, stoic as he was when outside of school, and quietly looking the girl over, his half sister. He had never met her before, obviously enough, but only one thought seemed to click in his mind hard enough to seem important. If he'd seen her, and not know it was his sister, he would find her attractive. Which in itself was an odd thought. Exhaling a deep breath he reached out, grasping Yumiko by the collar, and pulled her back. "Your being impulsive."

[leslie]

Seeing the three of them lined up outside of her door, she couldn’t help but remember the pictures of firing squads she had seen in her history books. “Please come in. You must be… Kyousuke’s grandfather.” While she knew it would have been better to name him as family, she couldn’t bring herself to saying “half-brother”. But maintaining a cool, polite face, she opened the door completely then lifted her lips in a smile, “My uncle and I were just ready. How fortunate that you arrived when you did.”

Her eyes flittered from the formidable figure in the middle, a light blush coloring her cheeks as they bowed while she spoke. Falling into new American habits was easy – but coming out of them was harder. However, as she bowed modestly it couldn’t be said by even the most strict traditionalist that her gesture was lacking in grace or respect. Standing back from the door moments after she straightened, she looked down at the sudden attachment she had gotten then glanced over to Kyousuke as he pulled her off, “Konnichiwa little cousin. You must be hungry.” The girl had broken the ice – thank all the entities – otherwise Lin might have been caught between formality and not the entire night.

“My uncle Tomio cooked several courses so I hope you are all hungry.” Turning her head slightly, her pale eyes momentarily caught the quiet boy’s and she could have sworn sparks flew. He was handsome in his own way but it wasn’t his looks that made her second guess herself… it was the way he simply looked at her. As though his eyes had seen passed her façade of polite familiarity to her frightened and lonely soul. “She’s cute. Besides, she wasn’t… hurting anyone.”

Tomio had seen the exchange and raised a brow, walking over – still in his apron – to bow then greet the older Kaiten with a neutral expression, “If you’d like to come sit, we can let the younger ones socialize. Myself, I’m quite hungry.”

[Kyousuke]

Kaiten nodded politely to the girl as she stated his family status to Kyousuke. So she knew that much, that was good. She seemed proper, although obviously had grown accustomed to the American life style. He had too, after all he was wearing something only an American or a tourist would wear. "Well then, our timing was good." He said with a soft tone, and then becoming quiet as the let the younger generation interact.

Kyousuke had caught the eyes of his half-sister, inwardly questioning why she had blushed a bit originally. Perhaps it was because she had forgotten traditions a bit. Not that he minded, he was surrounded by gaijin(人) since he left Japan. She bowed a moment after, while his cousin attached to her, surprisingly his half sister seemed more at ease after this than before. He still held Yumiko up in the air, for only a moment, and then let her down slowly. While fighting the urge to argue with her, or add in a cutting remark. It wouldn't make for a good first impression.

"Oh, Tomio-san." Kaiten smiled, utterly a quick 'excuse me for the intrusion', followed by Yumiko and then Kyousuke. He trailed purposefully, as Yumiko despite her hyperactive nature, was already half asleep. After a meal he had little doubt she would curl up on something sot and fall asleep. He just didn't want her to hurt herself if she lost her footing. His eyes were down on the girl, stepping up into the house, and spoke to the side so his half sister could hear. "Elders know how to make things odd."

[leslie]

Glancing toward Kaiten as he was the one who attracted much of her attention once the littler of the three had unattached herself from Lin’s leg, she found herself bowing slightly while murmuring “hai” in acknowledgement of his statement. Either they had a sixth sense about food or they were incredibly lucky. Turning back to the younger pair, she smiled at Yumiko then motioned toward the table that already had half of their meal set.

“You can go pick your seat if you’d like. I like being close to the bread.”

As Tomio approached more, he smiled then nodded with a shrug, “It cannot be helped Kaiten-san, Kyousuke-san… little Yumiko.” Realizing he had left a pot on the stove, he frowned and hurried back to the burner. “Come sit down.”

Wanting to speak a little to Kyousuke but wanting to do it alone, Lin smiled then walked over to the table – making sure their guests were comfortable before going to fetch drinks, “Milk, tea, sake?”

[Kyousuke]

Kyousuke could feel Yumiko tugging at his pant leg as they were told they could sit down. He nodded to her, and watched Kaiten walk beside her as they approached the table. He lagged behind a bit, letting them take their seats about the table while Tomio moved back to the food. "I appreciate the invitation. It's been some time since we have seem family, it's a nice change." Kaiten spoke to Tomio obviously, a soft smile on his lips as he crossed his legs and lowered himself down to sit, Yumiko next to him.

"Ojiisan will have sake. Yumiko will have milk. I'll take the tea if it is prepared." He said with a soft nod, stepping forward in pace with Mai, and took a seat next to Yumiko, opposing his grandfather. The food smelt good, but Kyousuke found not wanting to eat much. He would be polite and eat enough to show he appreciated it, but not the amount he normally would. "I hope we weren't imposing." He said politely, looking to Tomio for this statement instead of Mai.

[leslie]

Tomio smiled to himself though from the corner of his eye he could see Leslie stiffen at the mention of family. She couldn’t quite categorize the newcomers as family but they were as close as she could come at the moment with everything that happened in Japan. “Hai, we should do this more often since you all are so close.” He continued to smile, spooning the hot soup into bowls that were then carried by Leslie back to the table along with a jug of sake, a freshly-poured glass of milk, then the pot of Tomio’s own blend of tea. “Both Leslie and I would be more than happy to have you here at least once a week.”

Carefully setting the tray of drinks and soup to the side, Leslie set out the soup then served Kaiten his sake and Yumiko her milk before moving toward Kyousuke with the pot of tea. Smiling through her insecurity, she poured his cup then poured Tomio a fresh cup only to – at last – pour her own drink. The hot liquid steaming delightfully within the modest cup – she brought it to her lips to sip gingerly only to pause as she caught Kaiten’s eye.

“Of course not. We are happy for the company. Aren’t we Aiko?”

“Hai. It’s… normally so quiet here.”

[Kyousuke]

Kaiten smiled at Tomio at the invitation to make it a weekly event. "If that would be the case, it would only be right if we had you two come join us for dinner as well." He offered with a genuinely pleasant tone. "We could change every week, if that is acceptable?" Yumiko hadn't even touched the food, and the thought of doing this once a week at either home was exciting her enough to bounce on her seat, a warm smile beaming for all of those near the table to see.

Kyousuke didn't mind the idea of having such regular meals with family. But one thing tickled at the back of his mind. Kaiten would probably make him cook. The old man wasn't half as skilled, and wouldn't want to embarrass himself by cooking something inadequate. "If we do that, I'd prefer our meal would be on a weekend lunch.." He spoke out, a bit more quietly than Kaiten, but his presence alone made it demanding enough that he expected the others to listen. As Mai went about pouring their separate drinks he situated himself comfortably, seemingly studying her movements, and then her eyes as she poured his tea as well.

While he was acting normally his eyes would always be intense, reading into people. Sometimes to the point of minute details that seemed unimportant without a larger picture to work with. Kaiten smiled politely, nodding his head to acknowledge their polite attempt to make the situation feel smoother and more accepting. Even though the evening had started out uneventfully thus far. Kyousuke reached out to his drink, taking a small sip, before breathing against it and letting the steam warm his face for a moment.

Yumiko and Kaiten both muttered, and then began to eat. Yumiko dove straight for the soup, figuratively, while Kaiten ate his rice. Kyousuke, although normally the worst eater out of the two of them, simply continued to drink his tea quietly. In a way he was fairly Americanized, but compared to Kaiten, Tomio, and Yumiko, he was a fairly traditional Japanese man before leaving the household. Sitting straight, being quiet but strong, and keeping a sense of order in the situation. But like many things, that's not all there was to him.

[leslie]

Tomio smiled back as he sat comfortably upon a cushion set at the head of the table, reaching for the tea that had been poured for him by Leslie, “Such a generous offer. As long as it would not be imposing upon your, Kyousuke, or Yumiko we would be happy to come. Though I have to say that if you like this food, I will have to bribe Aiko into feeding us one night. She is a marvelous cook.”

Caught by surprise at the praise for, what she believed were, meager skills in cookery. Still looking into Tomio’s eyes – she felt her cheeks burn and she dropped her eyes, “Ojisan…”

“Don’t be modest Aiko. You cook beautifully. You just don’t have much opportunity to use them.” He nodded to Kaiten, reaching for his soup to shovel it in with a ferocious energy, “I see you’re excited Yumiko. Would you like to come here and for us to go see you every week?”

Unsure of what to say to defend or rebuke what her uncle said, Leslie took it upon herself to carefully make three rice-balls which she then dipped into her soup like a biscuit of sorts… never looking up.

[Kyousuke]

Kaiten looked over to Yumiko, she seemed more than pleased with the situation. "I'm sure Yumiko would love it." He said with a wise nod, giving Yumiko leeway to speak as well. She quickly took advantage of this and pushed her small fists into the air with a wide smile. "It will be nice to have a lot more family!" She chirped in, and then giggled as she was nudged by Kyousuke, playfully making her sit back down on the cushion, and began to eat again.

Kyousuke himself wasn't asked by Kaiten, or spoken for, because he wasn't actually being given a choice. He didn't mind, it was how his grandfather worked. It was the same way when he was given Yumiko to look after, it was just something decided for him, and that was all. Kyousuke picked up the bowl of rice, and chopsticks, and quietly ate half it's contents while the others had been talking. That and his tea was all he had taken, and then quietly placed both down on the table.

"Do you happen to have room somewhere that I can train for a bit?" He asked in a polite tone, knowing it was unceremonious to ask such things on a first occasion and during a meal. But he already felt like he had eaten too much, and wanted to burn away enough that he didn't feel odd. Kaiten gave him a stern look, but restricted himself quickly as to not bring too much attention to the situation if it was taken in stride, and did not make either of them offended.

[leslie]

Leslie was trying to keep her eyes on her food, but the few balls of rice weren’t going to satiate her for very long. As she lifted her head, she caught her uncle’s eye then nodded and stood to go serve the next course. She had prepped the meat and vegetables the day before to allow her uncle the most time to do other things – his cooking modestly better than her own when it came to stir fry, “This smells good Uncle.”

“Aiko, you should know how it smells, you flavored it.” Tomio shook his head with a smile, looking over to Kaiten with an expression that said ‘I don’t know what these children are thinking.’ But as Leslie finally got to the table with the bowl, she stiffened at the question with an incredulous look in Kyousuke’s direction. At first she didn’t think she had heard correctly but as she caught Kaiten’s gaze at Kyousuke, she realized that she had heard it fine.

“Then I guess you’re not having any stir-fry.” Her tone was tinged with distain, her mouth tightening as she went around serving everyone then sitting back down to eat without another word. Tomio, on the other hand, simply smiled and nodded, “Of course. The exercise room is right next to Aiko’s. Aiko – show him then come back to the table. We’ll wait on desert until you return.”

Not wanting to argue with her uncle, Leslie simply set down her chopsticks then stood with a nod, “Excuse me for a moment.” While she wasn’t happy, she kept a neutral face until they got to the stairs then glared at Kyousuke subtly while hissing in his direction as she trotted up the steps, “Both my uncle and I spent hours cleaning and preparing though I didn’t know who for. I even sprinted through my workout simply because of a few ‘visitors’. Now you reject my uncle’s hospitality without even a word of thanks or appreciation. It’s rude. Plain and simple.”

[Kyousuke]

Kaiten had looked across the table to Tomio, a knowing smile on his lips as well, followed by an amused nod. This before he glared at his grandson in disdain, but withheld any comment. Yumiko was blissfully unaware, still finishing her food. Kyousuke, for the moment, became the absolute center of attention thanks to his words. He responded to Mai without a moments pause, looking up at her quietly. "No, I won't be." But it was unneeded, as in his previous statement, he had already implied that he was done.

But, Tomio didn't seem to take much offense. Or perhaps he just kept such notions inward. Kyousuke stood, looking to Mai as he was told she would guide him there. He nodded politely to Tomio, and then turned to walk away, with Mai leading him. The hiss didn't do much to falter him though, he'd received more vicious looks from Yumiko. "You are open to your opinions on the words presented." He said slowly, looking into her eyes unflinchingly as he continued. "But if I meant offense, I'd cut far deeper."

[leslie]

Leslie was more upset than she allowed him to see, her instincts to cover it up and to protect herself in the process. But this wasn’t about her feelings it was about her uncle and the time and effort he had put into this first meeting. While she never turned around to look at him, it was clear by her posture that she was listening. “My uncle does not show emotions. Not when he’s hurt. And you’ve hurt him deeply by just not sitting through dinner – saying you were full, already had eaten. Something – anything.”

After nearly pleading with him using only her words, Leslie came to the top of the stairs then pointed at an open door, “That’s where the mats are. Weights are to the side clearly marked. If you have anything else you need – my uncle has most of everything. Just – come and get me. Please don’t talk to my uncle. Not tonight.” Turning away from the open door, she finally gazed into his eyes – her expressive gaze broken as she thought over what her uncle was feeling at being slighted by family in such a way, “Please don’t.”

[Kyousuke]

Kyousuke followed quietly then, knowing that she was listening, but didn't seem to have made much of a difference to him. "A traditional man is not meant to show his emotions." He said simply in return, and then looked to the side. "Saying my desire at the moment and him granting it are the basis of a host-guest mentality. You are reading too much into his weakness and not enough into tradition.. I will explain myself before I leave."

As they crested the stairs he stopped two or three behind her, making their height about the same, and looked at the training room door. "Why do you place yourself in the shoes of someone else and expect to get the same reaction from them?" He asked as he looked to his left, staring the girl down coldly, ready to stop her physically if he did not receive the an answer he had asked for.

[leslie]

“My uncle is an honorable man. But that does not mean he cannot be hurt.” Bristling at the thought that her uncle might be less of a man simply because she knew how to read his hurt better than those who did not know him, she took a slow, deep breath. She didn’t want to understand him. But at the same time he was much like her father had always been… strictly traditional with every ounce of their being.

Having already turned, eyes desperately searching for anything to look at besides Kyousuke, she examined the ground thoroughly only to jerk her gaze upward. In her expression was a mixture of emotion, “I have to get back to dinner. The food’s getting cold.” She began to edge her way around him, her senses tense and ready as he seemed more than willing to offer resistance.

[Kyousuke]

Kyousuke sighed lightly, raising his left hand, and placed it tot he side. Baring the left side of the stairs to be used, while he stood on the right. "I offered not only to cook for you and your uncle myself, but I arranged a date. If that does not shoe my gratitude, then you are too involved in yourself to see it as it is presented to you." His voice did not raise, or become any more upset than a bite of a twinge toward the end.

By doing what she did, he felt not only insulted, but that she payed no attention to him or his actions. Not to mention she was attempting to brush him off. Which didn't sit well with him either. "You'll also answer my question." He said slowly, his eyes seemingly more intense now that he had set a pace for the conversation that wasn't as friendly as he had expected it could be.

[leslie]

"Your ojii voluteered you, just as my uncle does. That does not mean much other than you can cook." Leslie gazed at the arm that was blocking the way, her eyes never so much as flickering to where he stood as she continued to speak - her expression still as mellow as ever though her tone had taken on a defined irritated note, "You did what was most convinient for you. Not for your grandfather and not for my uncle. So don't flatter yourself."

Raising a hand to press it into his elbow joint, trying to force his arm to faulter while throwing her weight behind her arm to push past him, "I will not. You have no respect for my family and thus I will show no respect to you."

[Kyousuke]

Kyousuke released the strength of his arm after a moment of pushing, his eyes cold as he turned and walked up the stairs. He wouldn't try talking to her. She was foolish. Expected him to be weak. If he agreed, it was because he would want too. Or at the very least that he didn't mind it. If he didn't want too he would have flat out refused." You should pay better attention to the people around you, shoujo" His voice snapped coldly, and he moved up the stairs.

Nothing more than that would be said unless he came after him, which didn't seem like she would. She made it quite clearly she would be returning to the table with the rest of them. "I hope they have a punching bag." He thought with a growl, moving into the training room, and closing the door behind him, setting his eyes on it before he began to pull off his shirt.