This is just a short start to The Unexepected V - Brand New World, in which we meet some more of Ryo's family in Japan. This is going to be a long one - I'm already at 276 pages and still have some places to fill in and finish this sucker. I hope you like this and what's to follow.

PROLOGUE

October 13, 2006

Port Walk Mall

Nakagawa Ward, Nagoya Japan

Momo Fujioka walked across the parking garage toward the entrance to the mall. Alongside her, strolled her husband, Dafydd Fujioka. Her husband looked like he would rather be anywhere else, but he couldn't say no to Momo. Not that she would let him out of it if he did. Dafydd probably knew that too, but the fact was that her husband adored her and would have said yes if it made her happy. It didn't mean that he had to be happy about it. It was a good thing she adored him too, so he was getting away with his pouty, sulky mood.

"Tell me again," Dafydd said in Japanese, "why we are here."

"We need to get nice gifts to give to my cousin at his party," Momo replied also in Japanese. "I want to also get something for Akira-san, since she is hosting the party."

"About the gifts," Dafydd started. "I was thinking rice crackers or something like that. Maybe some mochi. We can go to our favorite shop by Oso Kannonand bring them the best mochi in Japan."

Momo smiled at her husband's words. He had a lot of pride in being born and raised in Nagoya. "We can bring that too," Momo said. "But we really need to get something nice for my cousin and his family."

"Momo, it's not like Ryo-san's a close cousin. You're not even an Aoki. Your father was a second cousin to Akira-san's cousin's husband's brother. Isn't that what you said when you first got the party invitation?"

"That's correct," Momo agreed.

"So, what's the big fuss?" Dafydd asked. "We've been together almost 10 years and it's the first that I'm hearing about this part of your family."

"That's not true. I mentioned Ryo-san before. But this is a big deal that he is coming back to Japan for a visit. The last time he was in Japan for any significant time was when he was in the Army and stationed at Zama. That was around 10 years ago."

"No," Dafydd disagreed. "It's only a big deal because Akira Aoki summoned every corner of her relations to a party for her grandson, who is only part Japanese, and his gaijin family."

Momo shook her head. Looking up at her husband, she said, "Like you're one to talk about gaijin, Dafydd Fujioka. Your first name is from your gaijin daddy's nationality."

"So I'm half-Welsh by a father I never knew, but I was born and raised in Japan. I lived all my life in Nagoya. There might be some Welsh in there but as far as I'm concerned, I'm Japanese," Dafydd protested.

"Excuse me, but didn't you go to university in New York?" Momo asked, looking up at her husband with accusing dark eyes.

"Okay, minus four years. I had my reasons for going to New York University, but then I came back here. I worked at my fathers' store for a while and then joined the police."

"They almost did not take you because they thought you were gaijin," she pointed out with amusement.

"And I proved that I am not. Momo, stop it. I am Japanese with a little international travel and a Welsh first name. You once said that made me exotic." He flashed a charming look at her, his dark eyes meeting hers. He grinned in a way that still made her shiver, even after 10 years together.

"That is one of the first things I noticed about you. Your name. It stood out, just like you do. You are taller than the average Japanese man. You get that from your Welsh daddy, I suppose."

Dafydd shrugged. "I guess so. I am the tallest in my family. My brothers are shorter than me."

"That's because they're your half-brothers and they are full Japanese." Momo gazed up at her husband, expecting his reaction. This was far from the first time they had this conversation and Dafydd fell for it every time, with the same reaction.

"Unlike me?" Dafydd asked with a frown.

Momo laughed. "You always fall for that! You know that I love that you're half-Welsh, but so Japanese. It makes you unique. And you're mine. Besides, your dark eyes say that you're Japanese." She squeezed his arm as she giggled at the face her husband made.

Dafydd finally laughed. "I can't find fault in that."

It went just like all the other times, just as Momo knew it would and she laughed again, smiling up with love shining in her eyes for her handsome husband. He was much taller than her, but she did not mind. In fact, she loved that Dafydd was taller than the average Japanese man.

Dafydd took his wife by her hand. They stopped in the middle of the mall and looked around. "I still don't know about a full shopping spree for your cousin and his family," he said dubiously.

"They must be treated well. We don't want his family going back to America thinking bad of Japan."

Dafydd laughed. "Momo, I'm sorry to say this, but if we never show, no one would notice, and most certainly your cousin and his family would not have hurt feelings. We're like the outer limits of the family tree."

Momo laughed. "That might be true, but we're still family. We were invited, so we go. Remember we're not just going for the party. We have been meaning to go to Tokyo and Yokohama for a vacation and this is a perfect reason to go."

"Yes, it will be nice. I'm just sorry we will have leave Kiyoshi and Tatsuya with my father because of school. I know they would love to go to Tokyo. They don't really remember the last time we took them there."

"Then that will be another excuse to not wait too long before going to Tokyo again. We'll go when they are on school break," Momo said about their 6-year-old twin sons. "But this time, except for the party for my cousin, Tokyo is going to be our nice romantic getaway for six days."

Dafydd looked thoughtful as he allowed himself to be pulled toward the Sanrio store. "Where are we staying in Tokyo?" he asked, looking worried. "If we spend too much on a hotel, along with eating out, we won't have money to go back to Tokyo for another year."

"When I emailed that we are coming, I received an email shortly after saying that for the night of the party and Sunday, we will be staying at the New Crown Star Hotel in Roppongi. We can figure out if we can continue to stay there or we can find something less expensive while we're out on Sunday."

"I'm afraid we'll end up spending the romantic part of this trip in a capsule hotel," Dafydd said with a sigh.

"Don't be silly," Momo said with a laugh. She glanced slyly up at her husband. "It can be very cozy for two in one." She batted her eyes up at Dafydd.

"Yes, it can be, if we can get on the same floor. Assuming there are co-ed capsule hotels in Tokyo. But I can make sure we're very cozy in an actual hotel room," Dafydd said. "Just as long as we have some money left in our account."

"Of course we will," Momo said and then walked into the Sanrio store.

Dafydd followed her. "Why are we here? Do you really plan to give them Hello Kitty? They have a lot of Hello Kitty in New York. They even have Sanrio stores."

"I also received another email from another cousin saying that they are collecting Little Twin Stars. That would be the best start in shopping for the family. I'm sure we can find something that is not available in America."

"Momo, do we even know what this cousin of yours looks like?"

"Yes, we do," Momo said. "I have some pictures from when we were kids and his parents came to Osaka and Nagoya a few times. He also went to Nagoya for a weekend when he was in the Army and we met up. I showed him around Nagoya. Then for Emiko's wedding we spent time together. I have pictures of him and I'm certain you saw them." Emiko remembered Dafydd begging out of going with her to Tokyo for Emiko's wedding, and wasn't entirely sure that the reason Dafydd gave, that he was too pregnant to travel and wanted to stay home, was just an excuse to get out of spending time with people he saw as strangers despite Momo calling them family. Dafydd never really considered any of the Aoki family as her family. "If you didn't, I'll show them to you later. I also know he was getting married in March and they were expecting a baby girl."

"But we never got the wedding announcements and anything on when the baby was born. Now we have to spend one month's pay on gifts for them?"

"Don't be silly. It won't cost us that much to get gifts for the family," Momo chastised. "At least they didn't expect wedding and baby gifts," Momo pointed out. "I did think of it anyway," she admitted, "but I had no address to send them, and I didn't want to put it on Akira-san to pay for the postage."

"She could afford it," Dafydd commented. When Momo glared at him, he raised his hands in surrender and walked away and started to look through the store for anything with Little Twin Stars.

He still believed that considering the circumstances, rice cakes would have been enough.

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