CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
Laytner-MacLean Penthouse
Roppongi Hills, Tokyo
Japan
December 2, 2006
Ryo got Dee out of bed before everyone else and took Darin and Ryoko to the supermarket. Their group had lessened considerably, but there were still more people than they had ingredients to make breakfast. Ryo was not as quick as his grandmother to order breakfast for a large group to be delivered to the penthouse. Because they were in Tokyo, it was decided they would have Japanese style breakfast. They still had anko left over from Thursday and hoped they could finish it that day. They also included various fresh pan from the bakery section. It was not the bakery Bikky and Carol loved to go to, but the aroma as they made their selections assured them this pan would be very delicious. The one thing they did not pick up, despite their decision the day before, was baby food. As expected if they decided to start the twins on solid food while in Japan, Ryo's grandmother made sure they didn't buy anything in the store by stating that she would handle the food.
When they returned to the penthouse, Mother was in the kitchen, already dressed and sitting at the kitchen counter having coffee. She looked surprised as she watched them enter the penthouse.
"I thought you boys were still sleeping," she said as they came over to the kitchen.
"Ryo wanted to do some grocery shopping so we can feed everyone breakfast before we head out for today."
"Bikky is up and getting dressed," Mother said. She put down her coffee cup and got up to take first Darin out of the double stroller and after giving him some attention, she set him in the playpen kept in the living room. Next was Ryoko and she started to take their outdoor clothes off.
Since Mother was handling the babies, Dee and Ryo set out putting away the groceries, keeping some things out on the counter.
"Who else is up?" Dee asked.
"Your fathers," Mother replied. "They made the coffee and then took their showers. They should be done dressing soon. Momo has Kiyoshi and Tatsuya in her room, getting them ready for the day."
Dee chuckled. "Which means Dafydd should be up and in between helping her, he's probably doing his hair."
"I love the photos you sent of Dafydd with his natural hair," Mother said and laughed. She sat in the easy chair near the playpen and started to amuse the babies. She looked up when the door to the Japanese room slid open, and Saburo and Yoshio came out dressed for the day.
"Ohayo," Yoshio called out.
"Ohayo Chichi," Dee replied. "Ohayo Papa."
"Good morning Yoshio," Maria said. "Saburo, we got that out of the way earlier," she added with a smile.
"Daisuke, Ryo, did you have coffee yet?" Saburo asked, coming over to the kitchen. Yoshio stopped by Maria to play with Darin and Ryoko.
"We wanted to get some groceries before everyone woke up, so we ended up grabbing coffee from the coffee shop on the way out of the hotel," Dee replied.
"You went shopping?" Yoshio asked, looking back. He was sitting on the floor and had Darin on his lap.
"Ryo decided that we're making breakfast for everyone," Dee said, "and we needed more groceries so we can do that."
"Just the two of you?" Saburo asked. "What are we having?"
"Salmon, tamagoyaki, miso soup and rice," Ryo replied. He had their rice cooker out and was measuring the rice.
"Ah, Japanese breakfast then," Saburo said.
"Everyone from New York had Japanese style breakfast at one time or another, including Carol's aunt, so no worries about someone not liking it," Dee explained.
"What are we talking about?" they heard Sakura ask.
"Obāsan, ohayo," Dee greeted.
"Ohayo, Daisuke." Sakura came over and kissed his cheek.
The conversation paused because while those in the living room greeted Sakura, first Bikky and then Momo with Tatsuya and Kiyoshi joined them. The elder adults decided it should not be all Dee and Ryo trying to serve their guests. Momo pulled out a bowl that Dee did not notice she had filled the night before, letting red beans soak overnight.
"We still have anko left," Ryo said to Momo.
"I know, but there's so little left that I thought to make more this morning before we go out for the day," Momo replied. "Dafydd decided on a snack late last night and wanted ogura toast. When I realized he might be raiding your kitchen, I joined him to make sure there wouldn't be a mess when everyone work this morning. That's when I noticed there was so little left, so I found the red beans in your cupboard and got them soaking."
"If that's what you want to do, I don't mind having more of your anko around here," Dee remarked.
"How much are you going to make?" Saburo said. "I could make dorayaki, if there's enough."
"There will be. There were a lot of adzuki beans in the cupboard," Momo remarked. "There is still a lot left."
Ryo started to laugh. "We were well stocked on adzuki and rice when we got the tour of this place. The two things we don't have to worry about buying while we're here."
"I am glad that the rice supply includes glutinous rice," Sakura said.
"Yes, me too," Dee agreed.
When they returned to the penthouse the night before, Sakura got some of the glutinous rice soaking so she was able to make some mochi that morning. That was to be her contribution to breakfast.
Ryo was put in charge of making the tamagoyaki and Dee was making the dashi first, and then used most of it for the miso soup. Saburo was in charge of dorayaki pancakes and Yoshio was making quick-pickled cucumbers and cabbage. Maria made the miso grilled salmon, having helped Akira several times during Ryo's grandmother's stay in New York after Ryoko and Darin were born. Dee gave her hatcho miso they bought during their tour of the hatcho miso factory tour to use.
They had Bikky find a platter to put the pan on, and then keep Kiyoshi and Tatsuya out of trouble until breakfast was ready.
Carol and Elina, Elena, Rick and their children arrived at the penthouse just as breakfast was being set in the dining room. When he was done with the miso soup, Dee made more coffee and made sure the electric water kettle in the dining was full and on so there would be hot water for anyone who wanted tea or one of the instant coffee packets Dee and Ryo also picked up at the supermarket.
While they ate, Ryo told the family, "I called Grandma last night, and both her and Grandfather intend to be on video call at the time we give Darin and Ryoko their first solid breakfast."
"I called Mom last night too, after you did, because that's what I was told. They said they hope you don't mind if Eunice gets to see it too, since she's the one who sets up their video conferences at the house."
"They need reliable communications, so they can be part of things through video anytime they want," Sakura said. "GPN has technology that would make it easy for them. Then you can stay in communication with them whenever you are in Japan, Ryo."
"That would be nice but remember Ryo's grandfather was turned down by Grandfather to carry GPN in the United States, Obāsan," Dee reminded his grandmother.
"My apologies, Sakura, but I cannot understand how your husband cannot let go of Franklin's past," Maria stated. "His sin was being uneducated about Carriers and listening to the generations before him. That is no longer, and he is redirecting this generation in the opposite direction. He is now educating those of Ryo's generation and going forward that still have the outdated opinions of Carriers. Not to mention everything I see him doing for the New York Carrier community."
"I am working on him with that, Maria. From what I not only heard from Daisuke and Ryo, I also did my own research on Franklin MacLean and I am proud that my grandson is married to his grandson." She looked over to Elena. "You should be very proud of your father, Elena. He is doing as much for New York Carriers that my grandson is doing, just in a different way."
"And out of the spotlight," Dee added. "Not that I asked for the spotlight."
"My parents are staying in their apartment in the city, so he could be on hand for emergency meetings and assist with the Carrier home," Elena stated.
"He said he would not handle traveling several times a week back and forth from the Hamptons," Maria said. "He says that it was good for a younger him, but not these days. He would prefer to do things that he enjoys for relaxation instead of going to sleep soon after getting home."
"He also wants Ryo and Dee to know that they will go back to the Hamptons if you need to take over the apartment in April," Elena added.
"Hopefully we don't have to take them up on their offer, but it's nice to know we have options," Ryo replied.
"Now about getting GPN to your grandparents to use, Ryo. My husband turned down distribution of GPN services, Daisuke. Whether it was Franklin-san or someone else, he does not want GPN for public use in America, mostly because of how Carriers are treated. I can't say I blame him. Can you imagine GPN being used by the ACC?"
"Ryo and I talked about that, and we agree. It's hard to know who would use it for acts against Carriers, so we're glad Grandfather is not allowing GPN to become another telecommunication option in America," Dee said. Ryo nodded his head in agreement.
"Unfortunately, both men are extremely stubborn and proud men, so their meeting did not go well at all, with feelings hurt. Unlike my husband, at least Franklin-san is willing to start afresh learning, so I am talking about the family plan. They should be included in that too, because whether my husband likes it or not, we are family now. Especially since I got a chance to talk to your grandmother. I cannot wait to see her when we are in New York," Sakura replied. "And hopefully my husband can find it to let go of his grievances after meeting Franklin-san again. And allow Franklin-san and Estelle-san to use GPN for their own purposes."
"Actually, Obāsan, that might be possible," Dafydd said. "Without waiting for Ojiisan to see the error of his ways."
Dee looked across the table at his twin as if he was crazy. "Grandfather seems to have it in for Ryo's grandfather, no matter what good he does."
"And yet, Franklin-san is very much involved in Carrier Rights in New York City. Am I correct?" Dafydd asked. "Did I hear correctly that he has meetings with city planners on protecting Carrier Rights? You said he paid half for the property you bought for the new Carrier Home that was donated to the city?"
"Why yes, but…."
"But, we need to enforce those facts to the right ears, and Ojiisan will have no choice but to allow Franklin-san to have GPN technology. You can make him one of your advisors. I'll bet that will get Shitafuji-sama's attention."
Dee suddenly looked thoughtful. "I was told that our unit is getting GPN technology…. You're right. If I officially make Grandfather MacLean part of my team, then he will have to get phones and service including in his home, in case he's needed there for a video conference."
Ryo started to grin wickedly. "So you're going to tell your grandfather that Franklin MacLean is on your team as one of your advisors? I want to be there to see his face." Ryo started to laugh.
"Especially since he will have no choice but to make sure your grandparents are properly equipped," Dee said.
"Chotto matte!" Sakura exclaimed. "What does your grandfather have to do with your unit in New York?"
"Remember what we told everyone on the bus? Dafydd gets his own team to act as an Anti-Carrier Task Force in Japan. I get to not only head the unit for New York, but to get a team in an attempt to turn things around in Anti-Carrier territories. We're all getting top of the line tech compliments of GPN, including the unit in New York," Dee explained. "Anyone on my team in America. So if Ryo's grandfather is one of my advisors, then he's on my team."
"I think that also Ojiisan will see for himself what MacLean-san does for Carriers, instead of listening to hearsay based on his past," Dafydd suggested.
"I was thinking that, too," Dee agreed with his twin. "At the very least, we can get them playing on the same team, and then Grandfather cannot accuse Franklin of secretly working with the ACC or having his own unknown agenda." He turned to Ryo. "What do you think? Are you good with making your grandfather an advisor?"
"I think it's a great idea," Ryo replied. "I'm for it."
"So am I," Dafydd agreed.
"Then I think once I let Commissioner Rose knows the new developments, I'll let him know about Franklin before speaking to your grandfather about it, Ryo. I don't see any problems with that. Part of the reason why Franklin is so busy these days is consulting with Rose and Mayor Blum," said Dee.
He looked around the table and asked, "What? Why is everyone smiling like that?"
Ryo started to laugh. "I can't speak for the rest of the family, but I enjoyed watching you and your twin in action."
"That was done very well," Rick agreed, "plus they managed to pull you in, too, Ryo."
"I am smiling because of two thoughts," Sakura said.
"What are they, Obāsan?" Dafydd asked.
"One, that we do not have to worry too much of secrets and lies here, going by that display. That does make me happy, but I will respect when something is classified and need to know, as long as we are not manipulating any family as a result," Sakura replied.
"We don't intend to, Obāsan," Dee assured her. "We already talked about that on the way to Tokyo Tower,"
"Good. My second thought is that I still believe the Prophecy Twins is a silly story, but I do see a good thing come out of our Emperor and other government superiors believing in it. I know everyone will do well with your roles, and I'm so proud of Daisuke, Dafydd and Ryo. Momo, I know that you will also be of much value."
"I was thinking the same thing about advantages," Dee said. "Boy, am I glad I didn't roll my eyeballs as they started talking about it."
Ryo nudged Dee in his side. "That they didn't see, because thankfully they weren't looking at you. But I was." He smirked at Dee.
"The one time, but I managed not to all the other times I wanted to."
Everyone laughed at Dee. Conversation turned to how to spend the day as they continued eating breakfast. Once again, everyone agreed that it should be up to the New Yorkers visiting for the weekend on where they were going.
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Their first stop was to Mori Tower and the Observation Deck to get another view of above of Tokyo and Mt. Fuji. Maria let out a sigh as she looked at the majestic snow-capped mountain and said, "I would love to see Mt. Fuji closer."
Dee grinned at his mother. "That's easy. You just have to come to Japan again, and we'll make a day to go to Mt. Fuji. We can walk around the Fifth Station, and there are some nice observation areas nearby to really see it close up. And we can stay at Ryo's aunt's and uncle's inn."
"We'll see, Dee. I'll try, okay?" Maria said.
"Oh, we'll make it happen," Dee decided. Looking at their group, he asked, "Are we ready to go down and head to Yokohama? I got a text from Yuki that lunch is going to be at 1 o'clock."
"Will we all fit?" Sakura asked.
"Yes," Dee replied. "Normally Yuki doesn't open his place on Saturdays until 6 o'clock, for the weekend dinner and late-night crowd. But he'll be there prepping food, so he's going to let us in and serve us lunch."
"This is the same Yuki you were in Daigaku Dudes with?" Sakura asked.
"Yup. That's the Yuki," Dee replied.
"After having his noodles at that party in New York, I can't wait to taste his noodle soup in his own restaurant here," Rick remarked enthusiastically.
"I'm with Rick," Elena stated. "When is he opening a place in New York?"
Dee laughed. "Maybe in ten years or so," he commented. "But I'm working on him opening a place in New York sooner."
"Damn," Elina sighed. "That's a shame, but it might be a good thing. I can see myself going several times a week if he had a place in New York."
"Now I want to try these noodles," Sakura said.
"We've been hearing a lot about them," Saburo stated, "all raving reviews. I can't wait."
They had a chartered bus again for the day. It was waiting for them in the pick-up area of the Mori Tower complex. The bus stopped first at Yokohama Station so they could walk around inside and around the station until it was time to head over to Yuki's shop for lunch. After lunch, the bus took them to Ken's house, where Ken graciously allowed Dee's family to see where Dee lived while he went to college. Like when they were with Yuki, Sakura got a photo taken with Ken, and with Ken and Dee. She said when she got back to Nagoya, she was going to show it to her nieces and nephews who were fans of Daigaku Dudes, and then asked when they were going to see Hide.
As everyone laughed, Dee replied, "I could try to get him to the penthouse tomorrow for a bit. If not, I'm sure you'll meet him eventually."
Dee's fathers and grandmother enjoyed having a chance to see Dee's college home. Rick, Elena and Elina also found it interesting.
"At least you didn't pull what you did to Ryo's family," Elena said. "I heard all about that." Her and Rick started to laugh.
"What did they do?" Sakura asked.
Maria also laughed. "When they first got here, they told Akira and her family that they lived in that narrow house next door. Mostly because of the length of the rooms and Dee's height."
Ryo held out his phone for Dee's family, having pulled up the photo of Dee on the futon in one of the rooms in the narrow part of the house, with his feet sticking out the door. "We still got a tour of that house anyway. Turns out the back part is much wider."
Saburo, Yoshio and Sakura laughed at the photo. When Ryo asked if they wanted him to send it to their phones, they quickly said yes.
"I got to stay in this house when I was here for Dee's graduation. He slept on a futon in the living room and gave me his bed." She looked at Dee. "He's such a good boy."
"You didn't always say that while I was growing up," Dee remarked with a smirk.
"When you gave me reason to say it, but somehow you still were my pride and joy. Still are."
Saburo was smiling brightly. "Mine too." He looked as Dafydd started to open his mouth. "All my children are."
"Just saying, Papa," Dafydd said with a teasing grin.
As they started to leave, Ken said to Dee, "I'll see you Wednesday night."
"Oh yeah. We'll see you then," Dee said with a smile.
"What's Wednesday night?" Yoshio asked.
"Rainbow Over Roppongi's opening night," Carol replied. "They're a new idol group and having their debut concert."
"Hide's business partner is also a producer and he came up with a group based on the TKY concept of having their own theater, but it's a mixed group – females and males. They will be playing on the floor above Hide's club," Dee explained. "They're pretty good. We got to see a rehearsal show and promised to come to their debut concert on Wednesday."
"Rainbow Over Roppongi? Oh, I heard their single," Momo exclaimed. "They started playing it on the radio in the last week."
"I think they've been playing it around Tokyo for the last month," Ken said, "to get people to come to the show. Did a few TV appearances too for promotion, but last week, the single was sent out to stations around Japan. Must be working. Tickets are selling. It might be sold out by Wednesday."
"I hope to see them on the Oricon charts in the next week or so," Dee said.
They all said goodbye to Ken and got back on the bus for their next stop at Minato Mirai 21. Along the way, the bus went through Chinatown and around Yokohama Stadium and passed the Marine Tower.
The bus stopped at the Sakuragicho station to let them off. At the station, Dee directed them toward escalators in front of the station. After going up the escalators, Dee looked at Bikky and asked, "What do we do now?" He grinned at his son.
Bikky pointed ahead of them. "We're going to let the sidewalk take us to the Landmark Building," he replied. Looking at Dee's father and grandmother, he said, "That's a moving sidewalk, like in airports. It's really cool."
Dee was grinning as Mother laughed. "I assume Bikky knows his way around Kamakura as well," she commented.
Ryo nodded his head. "Yes, he does."
Sakura smiled at the two men. "I bet it's a special feeling that your son finally knows the places you two once called home."
"It is," Dee said. "But when I lived here, there wasn't a moving platform. We had to walk along this stretch. It was once part of freight railways from back when this was dockyards."
"The Port of Yokohama was very important back then," Sakura said as they stepped on the moving platform. "It was the first port opened to Western ships and the only one for a long time. Immigration also came through Yokohama." She looked at Bikky. "This is a very historic area."
Bikky grinned. "My dad gave me the whole history lesson the first time we came here."
Ryo started to laugh. "No kidding. Even I learned from that. Face it, Dee, you have a touch of Yokohama pride going on there."
"I don't blame him," Saburo said. "Tokyo has its history but when it was Edo, but Yokohama has history as Yokohama. If not Nagoya, then I approve of Yokohama pride." He grinned at his son. "I also noticed Bikky seemed schooled up a lot on Nagoya history." He looked over to Dafydd. "Or was that you?"
Dafydd held his hand up in defense. "Not me."
"When we were preparing for this trip, Dee and I took out our photos from our previous times in Japan. Even before that when we had our photos out, Bikky would ask questions about things in our photos, and we ended up giving him some history on it," Ryo explained.
"Yeah, but it doesn't beat when those things were pointed out while we were here," said Bikky.
Dee indicated the Landmark Tower and the other buildings in the area ahead of them. "This was all still being built. The Landmark Tower was new. The Cosmo Wheel was here, left over from an Expo in 1989. So that was also relatively new. That, the Landmark Tower and the Nippon Maru were our main reasons for coming here. I have photos of the Landmark Tower and Intercontinental Hotel with nothing in between. The last photos I took of this area before leaving Japan, there was construction. For most of the time I lived in Yokohama, this area was a lot like Daiba at the time. Besides my neighborhood and university, I mostly went to the area around Yokohama Station, Chinatown and Yokohama Stadium. I also enjoyed going to some of the parks along the coast."
"Tokyo was probably the most likely destination for excitement back then, I'm guessing," Yoshio stated.
"One of them," Dee replied. "I did spend a lot of off time in Tokyo. Mostly Roppongi, Shinjuku and Shibuya, but I did go to other places around the city. Also in the summer, we would go to Kamakura, Enoshima, Fujisawa often. You know, the local beach for us, especially Kamakura. We would also go to Odawara, Yamato, Ayase City, Sagamihara and Atsugi-shi with friends. Some of the Americans at school were Navy Reserve, or had parents who lived on base at NAF Atsugi, which actually is in Ayase City, and Yokosuka Naval base as well as Camp Zama, and we were able to get on the bases to go clubbing or see movies."
"Before they got a hit on the Oricon, Daigaku Dudes also did a lot of shows on the military bases around here," Ryo added with a grin.
"As I said, we did it for fun and realized we could make some extra money, so we accepted offers to sing at events, festivals and parties. None of us tried to make it big. It just happened," Dee explained.
"And you will tell me more about how that happened, if not this weekend, then when you get back to New York," Mother said to him.
"Since you know, sure," Dee said. "But not now. Let's concentrate on Yokohama while we're here." He smiled at his mother.
"And thank you, Daisuke," Saburo said. "Please do share more stories of your time living here. I hope we don't bore you mother."
"Never," Maria said. "I think this is good. Dee was bound to take you around Yokohama eventually, but I'm glad it happened while I could be here." She hugged Dee's arm. "Oh Dee, this brings back so many wonderful memories. Don't worry about talking about the time for your family's sake."
With a smirk, Dafydd commented, "Momo and I already got the grand tour. We even went to Yuki's shop on that same day. And yes, Yuki's noodles are still great the second time."
"I might be tempted to find reasons to come to Yokohama so I can eat at your friend's shop again," Yoshio commented.
"Better take me," Saburo warned his husband.
"It's a shame your grandfather had to go to Hiroshima," Sakura said. "I would have loved for him to be part of this, from your friend's noodle shop to what we are doing now and listening to you. He might realize that you're not gaijin."
Dafydd let out a guffaw. "You mean, since it's Ojiisan, that he won't find Dee as gaijin as he thinks he is."
"He's going to stop that," Sakura said. "If he wants things to get better between us, one of the conditions is to drop that word. Especially to anyone in our family. That's what he needs to do, not calling Daisuke and having him ask me to forgive him."
"Ojiisan said he's in Hiroshima until Monday morning," Dafydd added.
"He's texting you on his whereabouts now, and not me?" Sakura asked.
"He emailed Dafydd and me with more information on the incident in Hiroshima this morning," Dee said. "And added when he'll be back in Nagoya and that he'll contact you once he has a time on when to expect him home."
"Well, one thing I'm glad for," Sakura exclaimed. "He did include you two on his trip to the Imperial Palace, and what came of that meeting has him communicating to the two of you. Especially you, Daisuke."
Dee shrugged. "He's trying, even if he still seems to be an ass about it at times."
"He was glowing with pride when both the Emperor and Prime Minister were praising Daisuke on his work in New York," Dafydd remarked. "There might be hope for him yet. It just might take some time."
"Apparently he wants to be the only one who takes Daisuke and his family to become citizens on Thursday," Saburo stated. "He claims that there's no need for a crowd there, and we can all celebrate when you get back."
Dee looked at his father and gave him a small smile. "He's probably right, Papa. It's all just signing and receiving paperwork. No big ceremony like they do in America. It's all just a formality, getting paperwork filed and all. Talking to both the Prime Minister and Emperor, they already talked like Ryo and I already had dual citizenship."
"Thursday will make it formal, and it would be nice to be there while my son gets back his natural citizenship," Saburo said.
"Saburo," Sakura said. "It would be nice to have pictures of them signing and after when they get the necessary paperwork, but your father assured we'll have that. Then we're all getting together at our house for a family celebration. But I will work on him expecting you and Yoshio to sit in your house and mine waiting."
"How big a family celebration?" Dee asked, nervously.
Sakura laughed. "Immediate family this time, including aunts and uncles who still live with me and your grandfather, and whatever siblings can make it."
"Momo and I will be there," Dafydd said.
"If you said you didn't, I would have to drag you there anyway," Yoshio stated. "Most likely Koji will pass, but I can imagine the others would come."
"That's what I was basically told by your children when I told them about the celebration. Koji will be in Ise, and everyone else said they'll be there. I do hope the weather is nice that day. We can have the party in the garden." With a sly smile Sakura added, "My husband and Takahiro will make fried chicken and chicken steak."
Dee started to laugh along with others in their group. "I think I like that. Welcome to being Japanese again, so I'll give you America fried chicken." He grinned.
"Of course, we'll also have your favorite Japanese food, including sushi and sashimi."
"Now we're talking," Dee replied with a laugh.
Hugging Dee, Dafydd exclaimed, "You see. Dee is Japanese!"
The group laughed along with Dafydd and Dee. They stopped on the walkway where they were able to take group photos with the Nippon Maru behind them before continuing on to the Landmark Tower.
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