Chapter 1: The welcome
A Japanese wolf-boy, dressed in a dark blue kimono, ventured into a calm, lush forest around a Shinto shrine. Dusk was turning into night, and the 16-year old looked up towards the stars, wondering what was up there. The night sky was giving the otherwise green forest a dull hue. There was a slight wind that caused his straight, dark brown hair to rustle a bit. One lone strand of hair sticking up fluttered around. Then he heard a tender female voice.
"What are you doing here?" it asked, speaking Japanese fluidly and elegantly.
"I'm looking for something…" the wolf-boy answered in his high-pitched voice. But he didn't know quite what he was looking for.
"Someone?" the voice asked. "Maybe you should look for someone. Maybe someone you love?"
"But I haven't fallen in love yet…"
"So who think it will it be?" the voice asked.
"I don't know," the wolf-boy stammered.
"Take your time… you'll figure it out," the voice answered.
Then the wail of a small gray digital alarm clock, reading "6:30" ended the dream, the young fellow woke up, snapped out of it. He wondered what the heck he was dreaming about as he disarmed the alarm clock. It then hit him… it was his last day in Japan. Tomorrow he was going to be in the United States! He emerged from the aqua blue bedsheets and got out of bed. His small bedroom had been cleared of many of his possessions. The bookcase was empty. All that was on his desk next to his bed was his Japanese passport, his clothes, his Nintendo 3DS, and an aqua blue backpack. The wolf-boy's father had written his name, "古酉 峻 Shun Kodori" in Japanese and English in black pen on the backpack's front pocket. Shun's name had been meticulously written on everything else he was taking with him: the 3DS he usually kept in his pocket, the video game consoles that were in his checked luggage, his English books in his backpack, and even on the back tags of his underwear. He was all ready to go.
After the wolf-boy took off his pajamas and folded them, he briefly observed himself in the mirror on the door. Shun, only wearing white briefs, was clearly quite short and skinny. At 5 foot one and 103 pounds, Shun was already smaller than most of his classmates at his old school in Japan. He remembered hearing from his friends that Americans are bigger than Japanese people. When he had taken trips to Yokohama and Tokyo, the foreigners there seemed really big. He wondered if he was going to be the smallest person in his class, let alone the entire school. Then as he walked towards his desk to get his clothes, felt a sense of relief that he wasn't going to have to put on a school uniform every morning like he did back in Japan. Street clothes were far more comfortable! Shun slipped on a plain white T-shirt and khaki shorts, then pulled on his oversized blue and white hoodie sweater, which made him appear larger than he really was. He smiled at the realization that his casual clothes in Japan were going to be his new school wardrobe in the U.S., and he relished the thought of getting to wear his favorite outfit every day! After packing his pajamas in his backpack, he took his 3DS, his cell phone, and his Japanese passport and placed them in his pockets. After slipping on his backpack, Shun walked downstairs to the living area, where he saw what was going to be his checked luggage in large black bags. He noticed an average sized, middle-aged balding wolf-man wearing a green polo shirt and khaki slacks sitting at his study desk, checking the status of their flight on the computer.
A slender wolf-woman who walked into the room from the kitchen suddenly approached him, greeting him with "Look who's up!" This was his mother, Yukie. She wore a pink apron over her a white button-down shirt with a collar and her knee-length khaki skirt. Her hair was cropped fairly short, with the hair slightly longer at the front. She had been cooking so her apron looked a bit stained.
"Hi, Mom!" Shun said.
"I made some breakfast. Why don't you have some?" Yukie asked.
"Yes, please!" Shun said.
The wolf-man said, "Shun, our flight's leaving on time. We need to be out of the house by 7:45 so we can get to Narita plenty early." That was Shun's father, Ryo Kodori, the reason why Shun was coming to the U.S. He had been promoted, and he was now Vice President Kodori of Nissan Motor Company's offices in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. He was to start work the day after his plane arrives.
"Do you want us to take you to the train station?" Yukie asked.
"Yes, Yukie. I think it'll be a good place to say goodbye. Minasato Station was where we first met before we married. It'll be important for you and for Dad," Ryo said.
Shun said, "Mommy, I wish you could have come with us, but I know Iwao-sama needs you here."
"I'm going to miss you too, Shun. But you'll get to see your cousin Gaku. He'll be glad to see you in person! You'll get to do so many fun things!" Yukie replied. "Anyway, why don't you come in and eat?" Shun's father printed out the information for the flight and filed it in his black suitcase as Shun entered the small, bright Japanese kitchen. His grandfather, Iwao, was sitting at the dining table while wearing a gray yukata. Yukie placed miso soup, nattō, yakizakana grilled fish, and white rice for Shun and Iwao.
After drinking his soup, Shun asked, "Iwao-sama, you're coming to the station, right?"
"Yes." After a beat, Iwao asked, "Why couldn't you stay here?"
"Dad said that this would be a good opportunity to practice my English. He says there will be a lot of opportunities for me if I learn English."
"Without you I'll have to find someone else to perform the ceremonies during the year."
"Dad said I can do the ceremonies in America."
"It's not the same," Iwao sighed as Shun ate his rice. Iwao's food had been left untouched. Shun polished off the fish and the nattō, his last home-cooked meal in Japan. Shun's licked his lips to get the last bit of flavor, a testament to his mother's cooking skills.
After a moment, Shun's father said, "Shun, you have some guests at the door. They are here to say goodbye."
"Lemme see them!" Shun said as he left the table. He slipped on his sandals just as he opened the door. There he saw three humans, an elderly man and an elderly woman wearing red and white kimono, both looking quite weathered, and a fairly large boy dressed in a white T-shirt and blue jeans. He had a bit of pudge.
"Hiroyuki-san?" Shun asked as he walked out of the house.
"It's me," he replied. He was Hiroyuki Nishimura, Shun's friend who was visiting for the summer.
"You are going back to Tokyo in a few days, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"I'm leaving today, Hiroyuki-san."
"Well, I thought I was going far away. Now you're not going to be here when I visit…"
"I might go back to Japan over the summer," Shun said.
"Yeah, Shun-kun, but I don't know if you'll be here for the whole summer. I mean there's plenty of things to do in America and I know you'll be at the Grand Canyon or something."
"But I might be here on Obon!" Shun said. Over the summer Shun and Hiroyuki had played video games at his house. But within the last week or so, Hiroyuki wanted to visit Shun every day. Shun wasn't quite sure why, but Hiroyuki looked especially distressed those last several days, even though Hiroyuki himself said goodbye to Minasato and Shun every summer.
Shun's father said, "Yukie, it's getting close to 7:45! Let's load the stuff in the car!"
"What I wanted to say is…" Hiroyuki started. He blushed somewhat, but couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Do you want my Facebook?" Shun asked.
"I have it already!" Hiroyuki cried.
"Oh yeah," Shun realized. "So, is there something you want?"
"N-n, forget about it, it's stupid," Hiroyuki sighed. But his face reddened more. Iwao and Yukie emerged from the house. Iwao hobbled and stood at an angle, using a cane to help prop himself up.
"Hiroyuki-san, thank you for coming to see me," Shun said.
Ryo, having finished loading up the gray Nissan Teana parked in front of the Kodori residence, said, "Shun, it's time to go!" Yukie was just locking the door of the Kodori residence.
Shun said to Hiroyuki, "I'm leaving now! Have a good trip to Tokyo!" Hiroyuki suddenly gave Shun a bear hug. Shun was puzzled, since Hiroyuki had never hugged him like this before. But he let Hiroyuki embrace him.
After he stopped the embrace, Hiroyuki said, "G-goodbye…" as Shun, Iwao, and Yukie entered the Teana. Shun waved goodbye as the vehicle drove off. Hiroyuki burst into tears as his grandparents began to comfort him.
The vehicle cruised through Minasato, twisting through the residential subdivisions of the placid Yokohama suburb. As the Kodori house passed through the rear view mirror, the realization sank through. Shun's mother stiffened as she twisted the wheel of the sedan, the last drive-on-the-left car Shun would sit in for awhile. Shun's father, who sat in the left-hand side as the passenger, clutched his black backpack that sat on his lap. Shun's grandfather, occupying the seat behind Yukie, sat in stone cold silence. Shun, perched behind his father, couldn't concentrate well on the Tetris game on his 3DS. Normally he could clear the first several rounds with ease, but he kept finding himself placing blocks in the wrong places. A frustrated Shun turned off the game, pulled it out of the DS, and placed it back into his blue gaming pack. He fumbled for another game when he suddenly felt the vehicle stop. It didn't move. He looked out the window and saw "水郷駅 Minasato Station" in green letters on the concrete building in front of him. He's there!
Yukie put the sedan in park as Ryo exited the vehicle and placed his backpack on the curb. After Yukie pressed the button that popped the trunk, Ryo pulled out a large black duffel bag and a large black suitcase. Then he reached in and pulled out a smaller black suitcase. Ryo walked up to left-hand rear side and opened the door for Shun. Shun grabbed his backpack and walked out the door with his father. Yukie opened the left-hand rear door to let Iwao out. Yukie gently led Iwao to the station entrance, where Ryo had led Shun.
"Honey, I guess this is where we say goodbye," Ryo said. Yukie hugged her husband. After she ended her embrace of Ryo, she moved to her son, whose eyes began to well up with tears.
"Have fun in America! Don't forget to tell us when you safely arrive in Detroit!" Yukie cried. The tone in her voice sounded pained as much as it was proud. "We'll Skype after you get settled in your home, and," she started. But she sniffed and held a tissue to her face. Shun himself hugged his mother and began to cry, because his mother couldn't come with him. All she could do is rub and pat his back. His grandfather sighed. Shun's cries ebbed and he sniffed as he left his mother's embrace. He then proceeded to slip on his backpack, as his parents and grandfather watched. Next he walked up to the suitcases and used his small hands to grab the little suitcase and hold it upright. Finally he cracked a smile and wiped off his tears.
"I'm ready, Dad," he said. It was time to go. Shun then disappeared into the station with his father as his mother and grandfather looked on.
Shun and his father went through the JR Minasato Station to board the Tokaidō Shinkansen Line to Tōkyō Station. From there they took the Narita Airport Express to Narita Airport Terminal 1. Shun and his father lugged their bags from the train platform, up the elevator, to the Delta Air Lines ticket counter, where they checked the duffel bag and the two suitcases. And after presenting their passports they received the tickets for Flight 276 to Detroit: "KODORI/RYO" and "KODORI/SHUN".
After going through passport exit control and security Shun and his father walked through Terminal 1, heading towards their gate. The drab 1970s era terminal had black signs with white lettering in Japanese and English, mundane gray carpeting, and colorless walls and ceilings. While the terminal had little flavor, the scenery was quite enticing. The two passed by rows of airplanes in various liveries, from countries around the globe, and passengers dressed in casual backpacking outfits, to formal business attire adorned with colorful ties, to ethnic garb from faraway countries that Shun didn't recognize. A few groups of elegant flight attendants, stuck together like animal packs, passed them by. As the two snaked their way through the terminal, through the windows, a Boeing 747 beckoned before; all of it was white except for the blue tail adorned with red triangle. The massive jet had four engines total and a partial upper deck forming a second row of windows. Shun noticed the LED signs at Gate 24 reading "出発時間 Departure: 14:45 (2:45 PM) 便名 Flight No: DL 276 行先/経由地 To/Via: デトロイDetroit 備考 Remarks: 定刻 On Time" - That was his gate! That was his plane!
Shun's father nudged him and said, "You know we're flying first class, right?"
"Hafu! Really?"
"The company's paying for it!"
"Wow!" Shun cried. He had never been on first class before! He had never flown on a foreign airline before either. As Shun and his father walked around the waiting area to look for a seat, Shun heard the conversations in English from the passengers sitting in the benches at the departure lounge. Sure, there were echoes of Japanese and a bit of Mandarin Chinese from a few passengers. But the English stood out; it was his first taste of the United States.
As he and his father were about to sit down, the gate agent announced that Flight 276 was preparing to board, and BusinessElite first class passengers were to board first. Shun's heart raced as he and his father waited in line, went forward, and fed their tickets to the gate agent. That was his first cue. As the two walked down the jet bridge and entered the 747, Shun heard the aircraft's distinct hum and smelled a faint aviation fuel odor. That was his second cue. On the plane, Shun's father directed him up the stairs to a spacious blue leather seat on the aft side of the upper deck; Ryo sat in a seat behind him. Shun couldn't play his games, for he was too anxious to watch his departure from the window, as the plane backed away from the gate, taxied onto the runway, sped down the runway and then lifted off the ground with the jet's four engines roaring. Japan disappeared from Shun's view, and all he could see below was the Pacific Ocean. That was his third cue… that he was starting a new life.
Throughout the flight Shun, out of place among the well-dressed, middle aged Japanese businessmen and the business-casual, younger Americans, tried some of the games on the in-flight entertainment system. But the controls didn't work so well and Shun decided he'd rather just play the games on his 3Ds. At first he wondered what America looked like. What would his room look like? His school? Those were mysteries that would be solved within the next day or two, and Shun was happy to play detective. Then he thought of his cousin, 29-year old Gaku Kodori. He was an engineer for the same company his Dad works for, and had been working in the suburbs of Detroit for two years. Every New Years Gaku sent Shun several games he bought with his hard-earned money, and Shun really appreciated that. Shun looked forward to seeing his cousin in person. Maybe they'd enjoy playing video games together! It would be a nice way to thank him! The plane sped through the daytime, punching into dusk. While Shun wasn't too keen on the in-flight games, Shun relished the first class meal of blue cheese sauce-covered beef, potatoes, and green beans; he thought he'd try a Western meal since he was going to the West. His father took the Japanese option, having a multi-course traditional meal. Then dusk became darkness, and the plane windows were shuttered. Shun slept with the red airline blanket hunched on him as the plane lighting dimmed. Then bright dawnlight pierced the cabin as the windows were raised, and Shun woke up to have a French-style continental breakfast consisting of a croissant, jam, fruit, and orange juice. The fruit and juice tasted fresh, while the croissant was quite buttery.
Sometime after breakfast, Shun peered out the window again. The crisp green trees of the Midwestern United States were in view. Various lakes dotted the landscape. Farming plots of the Michigan countryside, and then tract housing of the Detroit suburbs emerged. Shun watched eagerly as the cars on the roads grew closer and closer. Then a runway came into view; that was Detroit Wayne County Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Michigan. Shun looked out the window as the ground grew closer and closer, as plane touched down somewhat roughly with the engine briefly roaring, as the numerous tails of Delta planes came into view, as the flight attendant over the PA welcomed the passengers to Detroit and stated the time and ground temperature and another flight attendant repeated everything in Japanese, and as the plane pulled up to the sleek McNamara Terminal, where Shun and Ryo disembarked. It was a little after noon, Detroit time.
Shun and his father were processed through Customs and Immigration along with the other passengers arriving from Narita. The very first thing Shun noticed were the exit signs; instead of being green "men" figures the indicators were green "EXIT" words. During the Customs process they collected the three bags they had checked through. Ryo, weary from traveling, groaned as he pulled the heavy suitcase and held the heavy duffel bag. Shun and his father had been in the air for eleven and a half hours, and they felt tired. Shun noticed that the conversations he heard were entirely English. As he exited customs he saw a morbidly obese woman wearing a sun dress and a straw hat. Her hips were so wide. The balding man with her had a very large beer belly that caused his blue polo shirt to poke out of his khakis. It was unthinkable to see people this fat in Japan! Unlike Narita Terminal 1, the McNamara Terminal was shiny and sleek, with its white tile floors, its metallic open-air framing, and its sharp terminal signage. The signage in the terminal, in the same colors as it was at Narita, was mostly in English, though Japanese was present on many of the signs.
Ryo and Shun walked past a small army of various meeters and greeters, some holding up signs reading "Amy Jones" or "Charles Smith" or "Johnson," and the arrivals hall echoed with happy reunions and confused travelers on cell phones asking why their rides weren't there. Suddenly Shun and Ryo caught a white paper sign reading "古酉 Kodori." The bespectacled white cat-man holding the sign, elegantly dressed in a white shirt, gray vest and slacks, and red bow tie, smiled upon recognizing Ryo Kodori. Next to him was a bespectacled young woman in a chic black business suit and white blouse. Her straight, sleek black hair was radiant and ended at her back.
"Vice President Kodori, welcome to the United States!" the woman greeted in Japanese as she bowed. "I am your secretary, Hiroko Tamura. Your driver today is Tsukishiro Amaki," she announced as she pointed to the cat-man. "He'll take you to your new home and he'll be happy to be of service as you work for our office in Detroit."
"Thank you," Ryo said.
"We'll take your bags," Amaki said as he crammed the thin paper sign into his pocket. He then took the reins of the heavier suitcase from Ryo. Tamura took the duffel bag from Ryo and the smaller suitcase from Shun.
"You must be Shun-kun. Are ready to go to your new home?" Tamura asked Shun.
Shun gave an eager smile and answered, "I'm ready!"
After Amaki and Tamura led Shun and his father out of the arrivals area and into the terminal's parking garage, Shun noticed something about the cars parked inside. In Japan the cars were mostly Japanese, fairly petite, and drove on the left. But now he saw many American, German, and Korean cars mixed in with the Japanese ones. And they all had the steering wheels on the left.. and drove on the right! They seemed to be bigger too… maybe to accommodate the larger, fatter Americans? Even the Japanese cars were bigger here than they were in Japan! The maroon Toyota Tundra Shun passed by was ginormous!
Amaki lead Shun and Ryo to a plain white Nissan NV van. He took the steering wheel as Tamura sat in the passenger side seat on the right. Ryo and Shun sat in the bench seat behind them. Amaki started the car and drove out of the terminal, and Shun could see the wide-open expanses of the airport grounds. He was momentarily shocked upon realizing that the van was traveling on the right, rather than on the left! The vehicle turned onto Eureka Road, which quickly connected to Interstate 275. As the vehicle headed north on the interstate, Shun was busy playing Tetris on his 3DS; this time his mojo was back and he was doing pretty well. Shun's father had Tamura use her Blackberry to send an e-mail to Yukie telling her that Ryo and Shun had arrived to Detroit safely, and after that was talking about work-related stuff with her. Amaki was whistling as he drove up the interstate.
Shun asked, "Dad, is Gaku-san going to be meeting us when we get to our house?"
"No, Shun, he's taking a trip to New York right now, but he'll be back very late tonight since he's going back to work tomorrow," Ryo replied.
Tamura asked, "Shun-kun, has your father told you about where we are going?"
Shun paused the game, looked up, and answered, "Well, not a lot."
Tamura explained, "You will be living in a town called 'Novi' and it's quite close to your Dad's workplace. There are lots of Japanese people like your father who are working for us and for other companies in the area, so there are lots of Japanese people living in where you are going to be."
"Wow," Shun exclaimed. "So that means the grocery store will have Japanese food?"
"There's an entire Japanese grocery store in Novi, and the regular grocery store there also has Japanese stuff."
"So that means I can buy ramune there!"
"Yep," Tamura said. "Novi's got lots of stuff for us Japanese!" Then she asked, "Are you ready to start school tomorrow, Shun-kun?"
"Oh yeah," Shun realized. "Dad told me I was starting school when I got here."
"You'll be going to Lakeside High School. It's the area public school, and you'll pick your courses at orientation tomorrow. It's not a formal entrance ceremony like you have in Japan; it'll be a short session introducing you to the school. The first year of a Japanese high school is equivalent to the second year of an American high school, or the 10th grade, so you won't be the youngest there. Our school year ends in May, but begins in August, so you are just beginning the school year here."
"I heard that I don't have to go to school on Saturdays," Shun beamed. That meant more time to play video games, right?
"Well," Tamura said, "technically not, but your Dad is putting you in a Saturday Japanese program so you won't fall behind in your Japanese." Shun's eyes widened and he gasped.
"Funyuu! But can't I take Japanese in school?" Shun asked.
"It doesn't offer courses for native speakers, only for non-native speakers."
"Dad, why didn't you tell me?" he asked. His voice made it clear he was disappointed.
"You didn't ask," Ryo said. "and I was going to tell you anyway when you arrived." Amaki softly chuckled. Shun pouted; his dream of a five day school week had been shattered! As the vehicle entered an off-ramp, Shun could see a red water tower labeled "Twelve Oaks." Soon the vehicle had exited the interstate, and traveled down Novi Road. There, Shun saw strip mall after strip mall of nouveau Americana, not at all like the densely-built Japanese cities he was used to. It didn't look like there were any Japanese businesses; all of the signs were in English — as Shun watched, Fidelity Bank, Mobil, the United States Postal Service with the eagle logo, and China Café all came into view. Shun wondered if Tamura had been mistaken about this suburb having lots of Japanese people. After a few stoplights the van turned on West Ten Mile Road, where the strip malls gave way to tall trees that shielded the houses from the vehicle traffic. To Shun's left he saw a large brick complex set far back from the road. An American flag fluttered on the complex's lawn.
"There's your new school," Tamura said as she pointed to his left.
"That's my school?"
"Yes, it's not like Japan or New York where the schools are tall. In many parts of America they are sprawled out and expansive." Shun was amazed at just how large stuff was in the U.S. The expanses were wide, and not cramped. The sky was open and visible.
Soon the van took a right turn onto a street labeled "Lakefront Drive," going into a residential subdivision. The two story houses, with their expansive lawns, brick exteriors, and wood siding, looked very similar to one another. The van then took a right turn onto an unassuming street labeled "Water Front Circle." After a moment it stopped outside of a two-story residence labeled with the number 55088. Like the others it had a brick exterior, beige wood paneling, a brown shingled roof, two stories, and a garage. The van pulled over to the curb and stopped. A shiny white Nissan Maxima was parked outside the garage.
"We're here," Tamura said as she handed Ryo the keys to the house. The drive from the airport to the new Kodori house in Novi took about thirty minutes. "And Vice President, that is the car we are giving you as part of your package," she said as she pointed to the Maxima with the palm of her hand, before giving Ryo the keys to the Maxima.
"Thank you," Ryo said as he grabbed his backpack. Shun slipped the 3DS into his pocket and pulled on his backpack, which had been next to him. Amaki pulled out the bags from the back of the van.
Amaki said, "We'll help you carry them in," as he grabbed the larger suitcase. Ryo unlocked the door to the house to let the driver and secretary inside. The interior walls were bleached white, and the carpet was off-white. It was furnished and had a refrigerator, but there was no television, no microwave, and no refrigerator magnets. It was a blank slate. Everyone took their shoes off, leaving them by the back door.
Tamura, carrying the duffel bag and dragging the smaller suitcase, asked, "Who does which bag belong to?"
Ryo said, "The bigger suitcase has my stuff, but Shun has the smaller suitcase and the duffel bag." The duffel bag had the games!
Amaki asked, "Are you are going to be in the first floor master bedroom, Vice President?"
"Yes, I'm taking that bedroom and Shun will be in one upstairs," Ryo answered. Amaki lugged the bag into the master bedroom.
Tamura asked Shun to come upstairs. After he went up he saw two doors across from each other.
"Which one do you want?" Tamura asked. Shun pointed to the one to the left, at random, and she dropped his stuff there. Shun grinned as he latched onto the duffel bag and unzipped it, causing Tamura to smile as she left the room. Shun meticulously unpacked his consoles and games from the bubble wrap meant to protect them in-transit, and lined them up next to the unmade bed. The room had no posters, no paint, and no special carpeting, but the games marked the room as Shun's. Shun noticed that the room seemed like it was twice the size of his room back in Japan. Not only were the cars in America bigger, but the houses were bigger too!
Suddenly Shun felt an urge to go to sleep, an urge pounding on his head. Even though it was only about 2 PM where he was, it was about 3 AM back in Japan and his body clock was still set to Japan time. The sleep he had on the flight had helped, but his body was now aching, desperate for sleep. But he remembered what his father told him… He sat on the floor and struggled to stay awake. Maybe if he went downstairs? Shun walked downstairs as the urge to sleep became heavier and heavier.
Shun asked, "Where did the secretary and the driver go?"
"They left."
"Oh… Dad, do you have a soda?"
"I don't have one, Shun."
"I'm feeling really sleepy…"
"Well, see if you can stay up a while longer. You need to adjust to American time. Otherwise you'll wake up at 3 AM…"
"I'll try." He looked around and found that there was a fluffy brown couch in the living room, with a glass table in front. Maybe he'll play his 3DS there. He walked over to the couch and sat down and resumed the Tetris game that he had stopped. For a while he did okay, but as the minutes went by his concentration began to waver. He put the 3DS on the table, and then his thoughts began to peter out. Shun slipped into a deep sleep…
For many hours, Shun Kodori remained under the haze of sleep… Finally he opened his eyes, and was greeted by a darkened room. It took a moment for him to get his bearings straight, but he was in a bedroom… his new American bedroom, and he was in his own bed, now made up with the same color blue sheets that his bed in Japan had. Shun pulled back his sheets to find that he was still dressed in the same clothes as before.
Shun's eyes, adjusting to the darkness, peered down on the floor and found that his father had hooked up an alarm clock on the floor… it was 3:58 AM. Okay, so not quite 3 AM, but still it was ridiculously early. Shun walked over to the light switch and turned it on. The light blinded him momentarily, but then his eyes adjusted. He realized he had to go pee. He left his bedroom and searched for the toilet in the hallway. He opened the door and found a small bathroom, with a white tile floor and white walls, that had just a toilet and a small shower with no curtain.
Shun was puzzled that there was a shower in that bathroom. Why would someone put it there, in the same room as the toilet? How would the person get to a bathtub? Shun was used to taking to a shower and cleaning himself with soap before rinsing off in the deep, piping hot bathtub, as is customary in Japan. It didn't add up why there would be no bathtub. While some of Shun's classmates back in Japan had watched a lot of American movies and television shows which had scenes with American-style bathrooms, Shun hadn't watched them, so he was unfamiliar with American bathrooms. After relieving himself and flushing the toilet, he noticed that the toilet didn't have all of the fancy options the Japanese toilet in his house had. That was a bummer.
As if on cue, his stomach growled. Shun's sudden pang of hunger forced him to walk downstairs. The previously empty kitchen was now stocked with goodies; the fridge was stocked with some vegetables, fruit, and eggs. The cupboards had instant ramen packets. Shun switched on the lights and quietly made himself a "chicken" flavor ramen cup in the microwave, after following the directions; he used a pair of plastic chopsticks his father had placed in the silverware drawer. The instant ramen that his Dad got while he was asleep tasted kind of salty. It didn't taste as good as the ramen he had in Japan, even the instant kinds. Shun threw away the cup and washed and dried the chopsticks, before placing them back into the drawer.
Shun knew he couldn't go back to bed, so he thought he may as well clean himself up. Normally he'd take a bath in the evening, but he didn't wake up til 4 AM, so he had to take one now. He looked around for the master bathroom on the bottom floor, but he didn't see one. All he could find was some closets and a small toilet room. He then figured it would be in the master bedroom. Shun tiptoed around an open door into his father's bedroom, which was dimly lit, and quietly slipped past the single door inside, before closing it and turning the lights on inside. He was sure not to wake his father up, for he would be quite cross with him! Shun, now inside the white tiled master bathroom, did not expect that the toilet and bathtub would be in the same room! The bathtub had not been filled with water; Shun had expected that his father would have kept the water in the tub after he used it. Shun looked in vain for a bathing bucket and a stool so he could take a shower. Then he realized that the shower and the bathtub were the same thing! How was he going to take a Japanese-style bath? He realized at that point that Americans bathe differently, but he wanted the traditional bath! For Shun, as with many Japanese, bathing was something relaxing to do, a ritual that was enjoyable at the end of the day. He really wanted to relax before he started school, and but he groaned when he realized he couldn't do it the way he did it back home.
Shun settled to try the strange American style. He slipped off his clothes and underpants and put them on the counter, and then stepped into the bathtub. There was no stool to sit on, and standing up felt foreign to him. He didn't want to sit down and make the bathtub dirty, and he saw that the nozzle was high up, so he stood. The floor of the tub seemed kind of slippery; maybe that's just how it feels? Then the position of the shower nozzle, already high up, wasn't adjustable. Seeing the colored dial he turned it all the way to the "red" part. The bathtub spout activated, causing water to go down the drain. Shun saw another lever and turned it, and as soon as the bathtub spout stopped, the shower above activated. The hot water stung, so he turned the temperature dial to the mid-position. Ahh… he felt the sense of relaxation he had hoped for. He grabbed the soap from the soap ledge and washed himself off. But the shampoo bottle had been placed on the rim of the back of the tub. Shun turned around and walked to pick up the shampoo bottle, but one of his feet gave way…
Shun slipped and hit his back, causing a thump to echo. He cried out, as his back hurt. Ryo, clad in a white sleeveless undershirt and striped blue and white boxers, barged into the room, flinging the door open. The thump had woken him up.
"Shun! Are you alright?"
"Dad," Shun said as he got up. It was apparent he wasn't seriously hurt. It took a moment for Shun to even realize what had happened. "I'm okay."
"You could have really hurt yourself."
"Dad, I… I didn't mean to do that…"
Ryo shut the shower nozzle off and said "Sorry I didn't tell you this… the tub floor is slippery. It's better to take a bath if you're going down here. I'll try to get anti-skid marks installed later, okay?"
"Oh…" Ryo handed Shun a towel; Shun put it on after drying himself off. As his father picked up his clothes, Shun began to shiver since the water on him was turning cold.
"You should put on some fresh clothes," Ryo said. "I laid some out upstairs, by your door."
"Okay," Shun said before he went upstairs. There Shun got dressed in a fresh set of street clothes and took the 3DS, which his father had left on the floor next to his backpack. Downstairs, Ryo had dressed himself in a charcoal business suit with a white oxford shirt and a red tie going to his belt buckle. He was sipping some green tea he had made.
As Shun re-appeared, Ryo, reading through some of the documents on the dining table, said, "I'll drop you off at school a little early because they will hold a mini-orientation for people who just arrived."
"When do I go to school?"
"8:30 is when school starts, but the orientation is at 6:30. It's 4:45 right now, so I could make an early breakfast. By the way, I'll try to get Gaku-san to pick you up at school."
"Cool!" Shun exclaimed. Ryo passed the time by filling out paperwork that he would need in the morning, and reading guides on living in the United States. Shun decided he would pass the time by playing Super Mario 64 DS, starting a new save file and playing with Yoshi; he got quite far as the time passed. Ryo briefly went upstairs, but returned with Shun's backpack in his hand.
"Want some miso soup?" Ryo asked.
The American ramen wasn't so great, so Shun answered "I'd love to!" Shun's dad went to the stove in the kitchen, which looked steelier and less lively than the one in Shun's old house in the Yokohama suburbs. Shun's father used some of the supplies he had obtained from the Japanese grocery store to whip up some miso soup. Ryo gave himself and Shun one bowl and one napkin each. Shun tipped the bowl and drank the soup. After the first swig, he continued, but didn't take as much.
"How is it?" Ryo asked, thinking that Shun was half-hearted about it.
"Hmm…" Shun started. Then he answered, "It's… good." In fact he felt it wasn't that good, but he didn't want to embarrass his father. He knew Ryo was trying, but his cooking didn't have the oopmh that Yukie's cooking had. Shun wished she was here to do cooking. That reminded him…
"Aren't we doing Skype with Mom?" Shun asked.
"Yeah, we'll do it after I'm back from work. It will be you, me, and Gaku. We'll use my laptop, but I'll get a desktop later." Thankfully Ryo didn't pick up on the connection Shun had made. Shun's soup was still half-full when Ryo checked his watch.
"It's six. Are you ready for school?" Ryo asked. "I put your school supplies in your backpack."
"I'm ready," Shun said.