Demeter Ewing sighed softly as she sat on her bed facing the window of her bedroom. It had a view of the backyard that the strawberry blonde had grown up playing in her whole life She sat there silently for a few minutes just staring out the window until a voice sounded from the doorway. "Thinking about it too much won't make the transition any easier." Demi continued to stare out the window wordlessly, causing her step-mother to sigh and take a seat beside her on the bed. "Look, I know it's sudden and that moving to a new country can be difficult, but it will only be for a little while. Just until this whole ordeal with your father blows over." Demi closed her eyes and sighed softly.
"I know, but it's still hard to accept. We'll be foreigners in an entirely different country. I'm kind of having trouble processing that fact." Her step-mother chuckled softly and gave her a little side-hug.
"Trust me, you and Eros will be back before you know it. The court and I will try to make the trial as quick as possible. Who knows? You might even like it in Japan."
One twelve hour flight and a forty-five minute care ride later, Demi had received nothing so far from her trip to Japan other than a bad case of jet-lag. Honestly, all she wanted to do at the moment was curl up in bed and go to sleep. However, she knew that wasn't an option right now, as Demi and her brother still had to meet the 'host family' they were to be staying with. Apparently the woman was a close friend of her step-mother's, a friend she had known since she was a child. The woman was also married with three children: a boy supposedly Demi's age and young twins, a boy and a girl, who were just a year or two younger than Eros.
They were dropped off in front of several flights of stairs, each flight leading up to a different house. Apparently the family they were staying with, the Tachibanas', lived in the upper-middle area, which meant a lot of walking. Normally this wouldn't have bothered Demi, who was a rather fit person, but with the combination of jet-lag from the plane ride and depression from the fact that they were now living in a completely different country, she was not looking forward to the exercise. Eros, of course, being the young child that he was, had seemingly endless energy, so he had no problem running up five or six flights of stairs. Demi sighed softly as she slowly followed her brother up the endless amount of stairs until they reached the house they would be staying at.
The strawberry blonde bit her lip for a moment before lightly knocking on the front door. Demi heard a few muffled voices before the door opened, and she was greeted with the sight of a Japanese woman with two young children, each clinging to one of her legs. All three of them looked at her curiously, and Demi bit her lip again before speaking up. "K-kon'nichiwa. Watashinonamaeha Ewing Demeter, kore wa watashi no otōto Eros*." Demi's step-mother had taught her how to speak Japanese over the years seeing as she was best friends with a Japanese woman, the same woman she was talking to now. The woman smiled brightly at Demi and her brother.
"Ah yes! Come on, come in! Kimmy said you two would be arriving today." Demin blinked. She had been expecting a flurry of Japanese words to fill her ears, but instead the sentences the woman spoke were in English. She followed her inside hesitantly and closed the door behind her once everyone was inside. She noticed a mat on the floor, along with several pairs of shoes, and she quickly slipped her own shoes off, placing them beside the others before looking at Mrs. Tachibana.
"So, you speak English?" Demi asked curiously. Mrs. Tachibana smiled and nodded.
"Mhm. My mother taught me when I was a little girl, back when we moved to the states. I also taught my husband and kids how to speak English. Hopefully knowing that will make you feel a bit more comfortable and at home here. And judging by your greeting you know some Japanese?" Demi bit her lip and nodded.
"Yeah. My step-mother taught me." That caused Mrs. Tachibana to grin.
"That doesn't surprise me a bit knowing Kimmy." She giggled softly and looked at them with a small smile. "Follow me. I'll introduce you two to the family." Eros didn't need to be told twice as he quickly followed Mrs. Tachibana, and Demi sighed softly before following too. She brought them into a living room, and the young boy and girl immediately ran over to an older boy.
"Aniki!**" they shouted in Japanese. The boy had brown hair with a hint of green in it, making it an almost olive color. He also had bright emerald green eyes that twinkled with amusement as the children ran over and jumped on him before they looked over at Demi, causing her to glance away.
"Alright everyone, this is Demeter and Eros, Kimmy's kids that I told you are staying with us." Mrs. Tachibana then turned to Demi and her brother. "This is my husband, my son Makoto, and the twins, Ran and Ren." Demi gave them all a polite nod.
"It's nice to meet you all. Thank you for allowing us to stay here on such short notice," she said quietly. Mrs. Tachibana chuckled softly.
"It was no problem, really. And please dear, there's no need to be so formal. Just think of us as family," she said with a smile. Demi just nodded without a word. "I figured Eros wouldn't mind staying in the twins' room since they are still young. This is a small house, so I'm sorry to say we don't have any spare bedrooms."
"That's fine," Demi assured her. "I don't mind sleeping on the couch if I have to." Mrs. Tachibana laughed lightly.
"Oh no, there's no need to sleep on the couch. I'm sure my son would be happy to share his room, wouldn't you Makoto?" The boy nodded.
"Of course. She's welcome to stay in my room as long as she wants." Demi bit her lip, trying to ignore the heat she felt rising to her cheeks.
"Really, I'm fine sleeping on the couch. I don't want to intrude-"
"Nonsense!" Mrs. Tachibana exclaimed, cutting Demi off. "Makoto's happy to share!" She looked at the boy with a smile. "Why don't you show Demeter to your room?" Makoto stood up from the couch, and before Demi could protest, Mrs. Tachibana was pushing her in the direction of her son's bedroom.
Demi had a feeling that this was going to be an interesting experience...
Translations:
*H-hello. My name is Demeter Ewing, and this is my brother Eros.
**Big brother!