Summary:
The story of Rin Kuroki after he decided to leave for America and how he fell in love with Angela and bodily became a man and a father. Story takes place from the early 1990s until the early 2010s
Notes:
Several non-story chapters omitted from FFN version. Read Character bios, see image galleries, species info, and Q&A with the author on the AO3 version, user name KohakuHoshi
WARNING: depictions of racism, homophobia, and transphobia, (including slurs) Also contains alcohol abuse and outdated trans terminology, I used it to be accurate to the time frame. Remember this story begins in the early 1990s. Author does not condone the use of slurs, racism, or any sort of phobia. I tried to keep this story as true to a trans person's actual experiences as I could, I consulted a trans man friend in his 30s for help with this, as he knows more about it than I. (see end of chapter for more notes)
When Rin Kuroki decided he would go to America to be a doctor and a man, life as he knew it changed forever. Rin knew he could never be accepted in 1990s Japan, since transgender people were mostly seen as a joke. As a transgender boy he had it a bit easier, but most girls would only date him as a stand in for an anatomically correct male. He would never be able to get married, as he was still legally and socially female and he only liked females. As soon as he discovered the University of Minnesota was a leading center for sex reassignment he made his escape plans.
To become a man Rin knew that he would be leaving everything behind: His family, his culture, his citizenship, his enforced femininity, and unfortunately, his girlfriend. Rin had never met anyone like Yarika Fujimiya. From her acceptance of his true gender, her exotic looks, and the fact she was not a human, she was his true love. Or so he had thought. They had broken up when he left Japan for the University of Minnesota without hard feelings. He understood her desire to be accepted as she was. That was the thing they had most in common. A transgender young man and a half-demon girl both had a pathological need to live their truth and find acceptance, so they had gotten along fine despite the species barrier. Yarika had supported him in this endeavor and seen him off to America, giving him a final kiss for good luck and her blessing to find himself a new girlfriend that cared for him as much as she did.
When Rin found himself in the Twin Cities, as the area was colloquially called, he had a culture shock. As a major US metro, Minneapolis and St. Paul had a diversity far beyond one would find in Japan outside of an American air base. In Japan, he was unremarkable, save for his masculine appearance which clashed with the expectations of his parents and social circles. In America, he was the minority and more visible, so he took extra caution to disguise his feminine assets.
Unfortunately, as a freshman fresh off the boat, he was forced to live in the dorms as was required for freshmen that did not already have living arrangements. In Japan, he would have been able to obtain a one-room apartment, but local students and those with connections had snapped up all available nearby apartments.
All Rin could do was pray his new dorm-mates were somewhat understanding. He swore to himself in English as he lugged his suitcases up to his dorm room, taking care that as few people as possible saw him; Japanese swear words were too mild for the magnitude of this situation. He had lucked out slightly and gotten a single, albeit on the women's' floor. The communal bathroom and shower would be hard to manage, he hoped that no one would attack him for using them.
That first night in the dorms was nerve-wracking. Rin crept around like it was a spy movie, only without up-tempo anxiety inducing music playing in the background. The thumping hip-hop music from rooms he passed at least covered his footsteps as he made his way to the communal bathroom.
He managed to get into the shower all right, but as he stepped out, he ran smack dab into a plump young lady with what looked like bleached hair going by her warm medium skin tone and brown, almond-shaped eyes. She was wearing a fluffy pink bathrobe and slippers with silly looking unicorn heads on them.
Rin's anxiety was too much to bear, and for a moment he was unable to mentally translate what she said into Japanese. The young lady hesitated and tried the same phrase in Chinese, in hopes that the stranger understood better.
Rin found his voice. "I… speak English," he said, translating his thoughts with enormous difficulty. "I came from Japan today."
"I'm so sorry!" she said. "I thought you looked East Asian, so I thought maybe you understood Chinese. I'm half Chinese myself." She didn't comment on the fact that such a masculine person was in the ladies' bathroom. She noted how stressed Rin was and smiled reassuringly. "I'm Angela Gonzales, I'm a freshman."
Rin flushed, hoping she would stay that friendly. "Rin Kuroki, also freshman."
"I know a lot of the students, I could introduce you later," she said.
"I… will think about it," said Rin, not wanting to be rude to a friendly face. He hoped she thought he was just shy, not terrified of being outed. It would not do if everyone knew he was anatomically female. He hoped he wouldn't see her too much and give her the opportunity to find out he was trans.
Over the next several months he continued to live his life as stealth as possible, but his isolation from the other students was beginning to wear on him. Winter helped, as he could bundle himself up to hide his face in and out of the dorm, and he used the bathroom at hours where it was deserted.
Outside of class, he had started the transition process. He had been assigned to a therapist specializing in gender identity disorders, as it was called then. He was to have a certain length of counseling before they would think about letting him have access to hormones. This frustrated Rin, but he understood the logic behind it, as they wanted to make sure he would not regret it. He would go through hell and back to appear male and remove all doubt. When another Japanese student asked him about his name, he lied and said it was short for Rintaro, a masculine version of the normally feminine Rin, but rumors of him being a gay man or a lesbian woman had started to fly.
He found out about this debate when he had been dragged to a mixer by Akira, the other Japanese freshman. Akira had been invited and had begged him to go along with so he didn't feel so out of place.
Rin had never seen a party like this, as most Japanese kids preferred to gather at an arcade or a karaoke joint or so on; and Japanese men partied at bars with their coworkers or at a cherry-blossom viewing. A raging college party was a shock.
"There's Ring, that FOB f*g," said a frat boy to his friends.
"It's Ren, and I heard she's a bull d*ke,"said a girl on his arm.
Rin was unused to such language. In Japan, he was seen as a very masculine girl by everyone except Yarika and Naota. He was also not used to his name being mangled.
"Hey, it's your first American party, drink up!" said the guy at the keg, handing Rin and Akira full cups. With all the dignity he could muster, he accepted the red cup full of American beer. It tasted awful but he kept knocking them back to fit in, trying to ignore the rude people debating what was in his pants and who he was screwing, and trying to avoid Angela who was also there.
Finally Angela had enough. "Shut the fuck up, none of your business!" she growled at the debating party-goers.
"Are you his f*g hag, Ange?" asked a guy named Josh. "Why not get with me instead? I could satisfy that cushion with all my pushin'." he made a gesture to his crotch and thrust his hips.
Angela dumped a bucket of ice over his head. "Fuck off, Josh!"
Rin blinked through the alcohol haze. For a moment the plump, brown skinned young lady looked just like Yarika. His heart gave a little jolt. And so did his stomach.
Angela helped Rin to his room. She sat him down and helped him peel off his vomit stained outer clothing. Rin tried and failed to keep her from seeing his sports bra through his undershirt. His breasts were so small they barely counted as breasts, so he usually hid them well.
"I'm NOT gay or a lesbian," slurred Rin.
"Of course not. You're transsexual," said Angela.
"How… how did you know?"
"My Uncle Enrique is now my Aunt Monica," said Angela. "So I know a bit about being trans. Do me a favor and NEVER drink this much again, you'll die."
"Okay," said Rin.
Rin finally found someone in America he could be out to and help hide his secret. The stress and weight had lifted off.
The next day they sat in the darkened room, Rin nursing his hangover.
"It must be hard being away from Japan," said Angela.
"No shit," said Rin. "Japanese kids don't party like this and they prefer to pretend I don't exist instead of publicly debating my gender." He ate the McDonald's breakfast Angela had brought him, the greasy sandwich made him feel a bit better. "I came here so I could become a real man as well as a doctor."
"I take it your family is not supportive."
"My brother is. My parents think I'm going through a phase and want me to marry a man like a good Japanese girl. They didn't like my girlfriend."
"You have a girlfriend in Japan?"
"I did. We broke up because she doesn't want to immigrate here." It still hurt, although Yarika had been right to do so.
"That's too bad."
"She gave me her blessing to find a new girlfriend, but I don't want to give up my feelings for her just yet. I hope she finds someone new as well someday. She is very special and should have someone."
"I'm sure you will find one, perhaps you can start out as just friends with someone you are attracted to."
Rin smiled. "Sure."
He and Angela became near inseparable after that. His other friend Akira had accepted the explanation of his name and was his only other ally as they were both struggling to adapt to life in America. He and Akira became fast fans of the Minnesota Twins baseball team, and made a pact to go to games together when the season started up again. Angela preferred Vikings games, so watching baseball games was their boys' night out activity. Rin knew little about gridiron football as it was not a common sport in Japan, but he knew a lot about baseball. Angela explained that the rivalry between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers was intense, and fans of each tended to rag on each other.
"Sounds a lot like like the Hanshin Tigers and the Yomiuri Giants," said Rin. "Though we also really, REALLY love high school baseball in Japan. The Koshien Tournament for high school players is a popular sporting event, just as popular or more than professional baseball."
Angela brought him home for Christmas vacation, since Rin had never experienced an American Christmas. He had been reluctant at first due to Christmas in Japan being mainly for small children and for couples, but after he had been made to understand that Christmas in America was about family and observing advent (if one was Christian) he relented.
Angela described her family as they traveled to Angela's parents' house.
"My dad is Mexican, my mom is Chinese, their names are Octavio and Lulu. I have a brother and a sister named Jack and Maya. Don't worry too much about proper manners, I told them you recently came from Japan and were alone for the holidays, you don't need to be any more polite than normal."
"Does your whole family get together for Christmas?" Families in Japan gathered for New Year's eve, not Christmas.
"We do. You'll get to meet Aunt Monica and Uncle Steve, perhaps they can help you in some way. Christmas is never dull at my house. I was in sixth grade when Uncle Enrique announced he was a woman at Christmas and would be changing his name to Monica."
Rin's brow furrowed in worry. "What if they object to me?"
"I stood up for Aunt Monica and I will stand up for you. Besides, after that Christmas you won't even be a blip on their radar."
Rin felt himself blushing again. While he still missed Yarika, he didn't miss her quite so much. He was starting to be attracted to Angela. The only things she and Yarika had in common were being female, being biracial, and standing up for him; but that was enough of a similarity for Rin for his heart to flutter. Angela was quite a bit overweight by Japanese standards and had dark skin, both traits that were unattractive in Japan, yet Rin didn't think she was at all ugly. His relationship with Yarika had opened his eyes to unconventional types of beauty, and he wasn't at all averse to a curvy cutie with big brown eyes.
In due time they arrived at a five bedroom house surrounded by a huge yard.
"Are your parents rich?" asked Rin in wonder. "In Japan a house and yard like this would cost a large sum. Not even my parents have a yard this big."
"Middle class," said Angela. "This isn't unusual for the US. We have way more land to build on than Japan."
Rin stood outside in the cold for several minutes to admire the lights before going inside. In Japan outdoor decoration for Christmas was mainly for shopping districts, not residential homes.
"Hey you two, it's cold, come in!" called a voice out of an upstairs window.
"It's okay, Mom, Rin's just admiring the lights."
Mrs. Gonzales laughed. "Well he'd better admire them, your dad almost broke his neck hanging them up."
When Rin was done admiring the lavish Christmas lights, Angela took him in to formally greet her family. "Mom, Dad, this is Rin."
Rin had to stop himself from bowing. Instead he extended his hand. "I'm pleased to meet you. I am Rin Kuroki."
"So polite," said Mrs. Gonzales, shaking it. She was a slender woman with almond shaped eyes and straight black hair.
"Are you two dating?" asked Mr. Gonzales, shaking Rin's hand after. He was a husky, brown skinned man with dark brown, curly hair.
"Dad!" cried Angela.
"It's a fair question, Mija,"
"No, sir," said Rin. "We are just friends at this time."
"He is too skinny," said an old woman peering at them from the doorway. She tugged at Rin's sleeve. "Come, I will feed you up."
"That's Abuela," said Angela, following. "My Chinese grandparents live not far away, you'll meet them later."
Abuela served them some chicken in sauce and warm tortillas.
"This tastes a bit like chocolate," said Rin. "It's good."
"It's mole sauce, it has cocoa in it," said Angela.
"Good boy," beamed Abuela, won over by the skinny Asian boy eating without complaint. It wasn't yet supper time but she had correctly assumed Angela and her friend would most likely be in need of an appetizing meal after eating poorly at college.
Over the next few days, Rin ate with the family and helped them decorate the Christmas tree, also a first. Little Jack decorated the bottom and Rin decorated the top. As a small child his parents had bought a tiny tabletop tree for him and Naota to admire while opening their presents from Santa, but he'd only seen full-size trees as part of commercial displays. The Gonzaleses had taken him to a tree farm and Octavio Gonzales had pointed out how to pick the best one, and most importantly, how to get a good price.
They all went to shop for last minute gifts at the Mall of America. Rin's little brother insisted on a few rides at the Camp Snoopy theme park, Rin gamely tagging along to try a few. He'd never seen an indoor theme park before. He'd also never bought Christmas gifts for anyone but his old girlfriends, especially Yarika, as Japanese Christmas was for lovers and for small children. Therefore Yarika was in his mind as he selected presents for his hosts and for Angela. He missed her, but he knew that she would approve of him buying presents for Angela. He would have to call her on New Years' to see how she was doing.
Rin also went to church with the family. Unlike most families from Mexico, the Gonzales family attended a Lutheran church. They had once been Catholic, but after a priest had refused to marry Octavio and Lulu, they left the church. Abuela still prayed to the saints, but the rest followed the traditions of the Minnesota Lutherans, including eating a foul concoction known as lutefisk. This dish was brought to Minnesota by Scandinavians and remained a staple around the holidays. It was infamous for being a love-it-or-hate-it food due to its pungent smell and offbeat taste.
Rin first encountered the infamous fish dish at a church supper. The fish was pungent, unlike anything he had ever smelled and looked much like gelatin. Japan had their own infamous fish dishes – funazushi, a fermented and aged sliced fish that was the predecessor of modern sushi; kusaya, an infamously smelly fish that was pickled in a brine that had preserved many years worth of fish; and last but not least fugu, the infamous poisonous fish that had killed many diners yet was still sought after.
Rin stared at the jiggly hunk of fish meat.
"It's called lutefisk," said Maya. "Died fish reconstituted with lye and soaked in water until it's safe to eat. You eat it with plenty of butter so it slips down easier."
The whole family stared at him, enjoying the obscure but traditional Minnesota pastime of watching someone try lutefisk for the first time.
Either this was a joke or a rite of passage, thought Rin to himself. Either way, he could not lose face. He loaded his fork with the lutefisk and popped it into his mouth. As it turned out, the taste was far better then the smell. It was much like kusaya in that the smell could peel paint, but the fish itself was fairly mild. He managed to swallow it without gagging. Maya was right, the butter helped.
Octavio clapped Rin on the back. "You did it," he said jovially. He could tell Rin and Angela had a budding attraction and he approved of Rin's manners and willingness to take part in the family traditions, as well as be a good sport about all the new foods he was eating. Rin bravely eating the lutefisk had won his respect, as well as the way Rin treated Angela and the family. If he and his dear Angela wanted to date, it was fine by him.
Angela's Chinese grandparents were a tougher nut to crack. He and Angela stopped by their house with Lulu Gonzales. Angela introduced them, only for them to stare at him.
"What are you doing, going around with a Japanese boy?" Angela's grandmother asked her in Chinese.
"He's a kind boy and he's alone for the holidays," replied Angela in Chinese. "Please don't treat him badly, he's a good friend."
Rin got the gist of why she seemed to disapprove of him, as Chinese and Japanese people had a history that was not easy to overcome.
Still, Rin endeavored to be polite. "I'm pleased to meet you, ma'am."
Mr. and Mrs. Chen gave Rin askance looks, but as he was a guest, they refrained from directly insulting him.
Having been given a crash course in Chinese manners, Rin gained a little respect for belching loudly after supper.
"At least he isn't a rude boy," remarked Mr. Chen.
After supper, he further ingratiated himself by playing a casual game of mahjong with his hosts, and partly due to the differences between the Japanese and Chinese versions of the game, Rin lost badly. Still, Rin made enough of an effort to soften them slightly. Rin politely thanked the Chens and left with Angela.
Rin felt dizzy, all this multiculturalism was so alien to him he felt exhausted after keeping up. It started to dawn on him that human cultures may be easier to understand than demon ones, which cheered him up a bit. He'd never understood some of the things Yarika had told him about the supernatural worlds. Still, his head ached.
"You did well," said Lulu. She was pleased at how much effort Rin made to be involved with the festivities and learn local and Chinese customs.
On Christmas eve, Rin was made to understand that the majority of festivities would take place the next day, another difference from Japan. The family listened to Christmas carols on the radio and went sledding, a first for Rin. There wasn't much open space in Japan to enjoy something like this in urban areas. He had gone skiing of course, which he told Angela along with that tidbit after Christmas eve services at church. While irreligious like many Japanese, he was somewhat familiar with the nativity story. He behaved himself irreproachably in church and even joined in the singing, no one even looking at him for singing with an accent.
"We will have to take a weekend trip up to Spirit Mountain sometime," Angela suggested.
"There are mountains around here?" Minnesota was fairly flat from what he had seen. Flat and dotted with lakes.
"Well, it's more of a large hill, up in Duluth they have steep hills. It's all hill country up north."
"I'd like that," smiled Rin.
That night, they drank eggnog and sang carols in Spanish and English, Rin even regaled them with a few Japanese ones, impressing them all with his native rendition of Silent Night.
Christmas day finally dawned, little Jack waking everyone so they could all go open presents. As a young child, Jack believed in Santa. Rin smiled, thinking of little Naota on Christmas years prior. Little jack delivered presents from under the tree to everyone in the room with Maya's help, the family dog Scruffy also "helping" him deliver.
Rin was surprised how many gifts the Gonzaleses had gotten for him. His heart swelled, he hadn't felt this welcome in a family since the first time he'd met Yarika's father. The Gonzaleses were similarly warm and welcoming. He'd bought a festively wrapped duty gift for his hosts, although since it was Christmas they had put it under the tree until later. He hadn't expected that they would shower him with gifts as well.
When all the presents were distributed the family tore into their gifts as one, leaving a huge pile of wrapping paper. Rin got practical gifts like shower gel and snack food and gift certificates for big box stores; but from Angela he got a set of thermal undergarments and insulated gloves, since she had noticed how he was struggling to adapt to the winter climate. It was all appreciated and would be put to use, Rin told them as he glowed with pleasure and slight embarrassment.
That evening he met more of Angela's family including her aunt Monica, the only other trans person she had met outside the clinic. Monica and Uncle Steve (who was the only Caucasian in the family, it seemed) came bearing a lot more presents. Rin would have never guessed Monica was formerly male-bodied, she was almost a caricature of womanhood with her hourglass figure. Rin was impressed, and hoped that he could be similarly transformed one day.
"So this is the Japanese boy you've been hosting," cried Monica. She peered closely at Rin.
"The very same," smiled Angela.
"Angie told me a bit about you, she said you gave her permission to," Monica whispered to Rin.
"Y-yes," said Rin, rather shyly.
"We will have to talk in private," she said. "Mama may have a harder time understanding than Octavio and Lulu, so let's wait until she's out of earshot."
Indeed, she did. While Abuela was finishing up Christmas dinner with Lulu, Monica had a little chat with Rin up in the guest room.
"It must be so hard for you, being in a new country and being transsexual."
"It is the reason I came here. I could have not have done it in Japan."
"It is hard, mijo. Much harder back when I did it. It took me many years. I had to live as a woman before they would even consider giving me hormones and surgery. It was harder to find someone who loves me as I am. Steve helped me through the worst of it. I am glad you have Angie to help you become a man." Monica gave him an index card with a number scribbled on it. "If you need advice or help, please call me."
Rin promised that he would.
All too soon, Christmas ended. Rin was sorry he had to leave, but as he had gotten an invitation to spend Easter with the family as well, he was much consoled. College was much easier in his second term. It didn't hurt that he and Angela were growing closer. On valentines' day weekend, they took off to that promised skiing trip up in Duluth.
Duluth was one of those cities that has tourism options all year round. When snow was on the ground, their ski hill was bustling.
It wasn't as impressive as some of the ski runs Rin had visited in Japan, but as skiing was something he could do well, he didn't feel quite so alien. Angela could ski – although she was far less nimble on skis than he - and when they had finished for the day and retired to their lodgings across the freeway from Spirit Mountain, Angela took a long hot bath to soothe her aches and pains, and then they went in the gently falling slow to a Duluth restaurant.
"I have something for you," she said. She brought out a box as they walked from the parked car to the restaurant. Upon opening it Rin discovered chocolates. "I read that it was tradition in Japan to give boys chocolate on Valentine's day, not the other way round."
"That's right. On White Day, girls get candy from boys." He looked at the chocolates in the box. "But there are two different kinds of chocolate... Giri choco is just for boys of your acquaintance. Honmei choco is for boys that are special to you."
Angela smiled. "You can consider that honmei choco then."
Rin blushed scarlet. Angela had been planning this. She had read up on his cultural practices to give him a clear indicator of her feelings for him. Although Yarika had given him honmei chocolate, this was somehow far grander and more intimate, as it was not something Angela would have done for anyone else. Rin realized that he had finally gotten over Yarika and fallen head over heels in love with Angela. To hell with Japanese propriety, he could not wait to give her his answer.
He never forgot that first kiss in the falling snow.
Summer break was far easier on Rin, as he found an apartment with Angela away from the dorms with much more privacy. It was far cheaper to double up than rent singly, and as every yen his parents had put in his account counted, this was a far better arrangement long term. He also spent more time with Angela's family. They accepted him quickly as Angela's boyfriend, except for the Chens. It would take time getting used to for them.
Rin went up to the Gonzales family's cabin with them. It was really Uncle Steve's and Aunt Monica's but the Gonzaleses used it with gusto. He had never been to a private cabin before; it was in a place called Island Lake, not far from Duluth. This caused him anxiety as swimming could compromise his concealment of his body. Thankfully he spent most time on their pontoon boat fishing and Lulu insisted he wear a life vest, which concealed his figure well. He even tried kneeboarding.
Things went smoothly until Lulu walked in on him changing. She stared at him for a beat, turned, and shut the door behind her.
"Another one like your aunt." said Lulu to Angela.
"He's a guy, he just hasn't had his surgery yet."
"I thought he was a bit odd for a boy," said Lulu in a faint voice. She went to lie down to process this a bit. She had done the same when Angela came out as bisexual in high school.
Rin threw his clothes on hastily. When Angela found him, he was hyperventilating.
"What's wrong?"
"Your mom saw me changing," gasped Rin.
"It's okay," crooned Angela. "Mom isn't upset, just shocked."
Dinner that night was extremely awkward.
"Who died?" asked teenage Maya.
"Mom's innocence," said Angela. "She saw Rin changing."
Maya laughed, thinking she'd walked in and seen peen. "It's nothing you haven't seen before, Mom."
Lulu blushed, as she had NOT seen that before. She realized during her rest that it didn't matter so much; Rin was a good boy, his only fault was that he couldn't provide grandchildren if he and Angela married. It would be hard to accept the lack of grandchildren but he had been by far their favorite significant other of Angela. She would have to talk about it with her husband, who was supportive of Monica. She would not tell her mother in law as the old woman might not be happy with the revelation. Same for her parents, they had a dim view of gay and trans people, as well as Japanese people.
Rin felt more at ease when Lulu didn't out him and the rest laughed it off like nothing had happened.
Lulu did tell Octavio when Rin and Angela had gone back home.
Octavio shook his head, thinking the same about the potential grandchildren, but not otherwise too upset. Then he brightened. "We still have Maya and Jack to make us grand-babies. Rin is a good boy, Angie could do way worse. He and Angie will be rich enough someday to buy us grandchildren if they want to."
Several years passed without too much incident. Rin slowly got used to life in America and he and Angela moved on into medical school and Rin had finally been given the okay to inject himself with testosterone. Rin sporadically called Japan, checking in on his parents, his brother, and on Yarika. He had yet to tell his parents that he'd sprouted facial hair, that he'd proposed to his girlfriend, and that he had started the naturalization process, but he had told Naota and Yarika.
He had proposed at the sculpture garden in Minneapolis in front of the Spoonbridge and Cherry with a rather cheap engagement ring, since they were both still students and saving money when possible. Angela had treated it like it was made of platinum with diamonds and gladly accepted it.
"I hope your old girlfriend won't be unhappy that you're getting married," said Angela back at home, admiring her ring.
"Yarika isn't one for regrets unless someone gets hurt," said Rin. He was unsure how to broach the subject that he had once dated a real live demon. Angela gave him the opportunity.
"What's she like?" asked Angela.
"She is... unique."
"How so?"
Rin looked uncomfortable. "This may sound like an odd question, but how do you feel about the supernatural?"
"Like ghosts and demons and such?"
"Exactly."
"I believe in ghosts and demons. You've gone to church with my family celebrated Dia De Los Muertos with us so you know of our family's beliefs. I also grew up hearing about Chinese ghosts and entities like Yama, judge of the dead and of the various hells one can be sent to."
"What if I told you Yama actually exists, as do demons?"
Angela blinked, not quite comprehending. "Like, the devil?"
"As far as I can tell the devil is made up, but I know for a fact that Yama, or Enma as we Japanese call him, actually exists. Eastern demons aren't necessarily evil, although some of them are. 'demon' is more of a misnomer for what they really are, more like spirits or apparitions."
"What does that have to do with your old girlfriend?"
"Yarika is a demon. More like a half demon, since her dad is a human. Yarika also knows Enma's son, Koenma. She says that Koenma is involved with most of the Spirit World paperwork and can be a real pain in the ass paper pusher, but he's otherwise a fair judge and declined to persecute her for living in the human world. Demons generally aren't allowed to live there without a good reason."
It took a long time for Angela to process this. "So demons aren't like they say in church?"
"Well, eastern demons aren't. Some are friendly to humans. Yarika is a kind and accepting person."
Angela thought a long time. "You're not one to lie to me, so I believe you. However, I'd like to see for myself what a demon is like."
"That's fair. I'll introduce you to Yarika when we go to Japan to meet my family. They will have to find out sometime, they've been begging me to come home."
"Japan isn't your home anymore."
"No, but they will only accept that I'm a man when they see me with their own eyes."
When they finally made it to Japan, Naota and Yarika met them at the airport, Yarika being able to drive and Naota having yet to learn.
"Angela, I'd like you to meet my brother Naota and my ex-girlfriend Yarika Fujimiya." He then introduced Angela in Japanese as his fiancee.
"I'm pleased to meet you, I hope you had a nice flight," said Yarika in accented but good English.
Naota's spoken English was rather poor, although he understood the introduction. "Heh heh... hey baby," he said at last, coming across as a boorish adolescent. "What's up?" Angela looked at him like he had horns growing.
"Don't mind him," said Yarika. "Naota can't speak English worth beans."
In Japanese Naota whispered to Rin. "Whoa, bro! Your fiancee has some serious melons! And look at that junk in the trunk, hot damn! She makes Yarika look flat."
Yarika shot Naota an evil look. She was not at all flat by Japanese standards, but she was proportionate to her slender frame and Angela's cup size was far bigger, this could not be denied. Angela was none the wiser about this exchange.
They went to a family restaurant to eat before heading to the Kuroki residence. "We need to talk, Rin," she said in Japanese when they had a moment to catch up, when Naota went to hit the head. There was hardly anyone in there at the time, so they weren't likely to be overheard.
"About what?"
"I thought you should know that I'm pregnant."
"What? By who?"
"You don't know him. We had a short fling in Demon World." This was technically true as Rin had never gotten a good look at Hiei awake, and didn't know his name. Rin only vaguely remembered what Hiei looked like, he was more focused on Yarika at the time.
"In Demon World?"
"Yes, I went there for the first time recently and I killed the demon who murdered my mom. Since murder is often not punished there, it's up to the victims to take justice into their own hands. I wanted to make sure he'd never kill another woman in cold blood. I met up with a demon I knew, one thing led to another and now I'm gonna be a mom."
"Does he know?" Rin ignored the fact that Yarika had actually murdered someone, it sounded like she had no legal recourse in the savage world of demons and did the only sensible thing to protect others. He had of course heard before they dated that she had seriously injured two teachers when her poisonous tears had gotten to them and while they had dated she had beaten a train molester within an inch of his life. Even weak demons tended to be stronger than humans and often had special abilities, she had told him.
"I sent him a letter, since I doubt there's even a phone where he is. If he did I wouldn't have the number to call even if I borrowed Kurama's inter-dimensional phone. He never responded."
"Fuck him," said Rin. "How is your dad taking it?"
"Dad is looking forward to seeing his granddaughter," said Yarika, smiling a little.
"Oh, by the way, I told Angela you're a demon, it was kind of unavoidable."
Yarika grimaced, not liking this. "I hope she's not gonna be scared of me."
She looked up at Angela, who looked back at her nervously. "Rin says he told you about me," she said in English. "Don't bother throwing holy water on me, it does nothing but get me wet which is mildly annoying at worst."
Angela laughed, the ice broken by Yarika's wry joke. "You're funny."
"Don't worry. I won't hurt humans unless they attack me first. I have demon friends that won't hurt you either."
"Is it true that you know Yama's son?"
"Koenma? Yep. He's one of my fans. I gave him an autographed poster as a present when he overthrew his dad and became the ruler of Spirit World. He's been fair to us demons so far, he lets me work in the entertainment business without hassling me."
"Overthrew? Why?"
"Because Enma's been brainwashing demons into doing bad things and sending along his teenage human spirit detectives to kill them to make himself look good. It almost got the whole world destroyed when one of them went insane and tried to kill all humans by letting powerful human-eating demons into the human world. Don't worry, he's dead and you're safe now. It got my friend Yusuke who is the current Spirit Detective killed, although he came back to life as a demon."
"A human became a demon!? Is that what happened with you? Rin said you were part human."
"No. Atavism is rare, almost unheard of. He has a powerful demon as a distant ancestor so that when he died his demon blood activated. It's different with me, I'm just a normal demon from a species with only women, so I was born a demon instead of a human as would be usual. Most demons and humans who mate produce human babies with spirit powers."
"Really?" Angela was fascinated.
"Really."
Yarika dropped them off at the Kurokis', parking the car and waiting to see how things went.
Rin's parents did not take his beard and his fiancée well and they turned them out. Naota stayed behind to talk sense into them while Rin and Angela escaped to the car.
"They took it better then I thought," said Rin.
"Where are we going to stay?" asked Angela.
"How about a love hotel?" suggested Yarika. You ARE engaged, why not have fun on a different continent?
"What's a love hotel?" asked Angela.
"A hotel you can stay for a few hours or all night. It's for couples," said Rin. He had missed them in America.
"That's right," said Yarika. "Have some fun. If your parents don't cool off by morning, you should come with me and meet the gang. You'll meet other demons like me, and if you like you can come with us to visit Master Genkai's temple, we are going to pay respects to her tomb. Friendly demons are living there as a sanctuary and it has a nice beach nearby. It'll be a good way to see Japan."
"Who's Master Genkai?"
"This old human psychic martial arts master who passed along her techniques to Yusuke." Yarika sighed nostalgically. "I really miss her. She was really tough and cranky, but she was nice to me and Yukina."
Yarika dropped them off at a love hotel and gave them details of where and when to meet if the Kurokis were still pissy in the morning.
They met up at the train station the next day. Yarika's friends were an odd lot, Rin had no idea which of them were demons and was too afraid to ask. He'd met some of them at Eien during the demon incident, but he didn't know the rest. They seemed okay with him and Angela, though.
As promised, the demons were friendly and Rin got to show Angela what a Japanese temple looked like. Some demons dressed in temple robes were cleaning the place with care and did not hassle them as they looked about, nor did the ones sunbathing on the beach. Yarika had told them that the former and current demon king had decreed that demons were not to cause trouble for humans, so that they were to be left alone lest they be killed or imprisoned for disobedience to the king.
Yarika wandered off by herself a bit after she and her friends had paid respects to Genkai's tomb, wanting some time alone with her unborn child and her broken heart by the sea.
When they returned, Rin's parents had calmed down enough to see him and Angela thanks to Naota. Rin had gotten a pep talk from Monica about facing his parents on the phone. They all sat, silence hanging between them.
"I am pleased to meet you," said Angela in Japanese. "I am Angela Gonzales." After seeing literal demons, she was far less afraid of Mr. and Mrs. Kuroki.
"My fiancée," said Rin.
"How can this be? You are physically a woman," said Jintaro Kuroki.
"It's not even legal in America to marry another woman," said Sumi Kuroki.
"I will soon legally be a man, as well as physically. I have been approved to get surgery to give me a man's body. I will also become an American. I cannot stay in Japan and be forced to live a lie," said Rin.
"Face it, Mom and Dad. My sister is a mister!" cried Naota. "Even if you could force him to give it up, that beard is NOT going away. He will never be able to marry a Japanese guy with that face pelt and that chest hair."
Jintaro and Sumi groaned, knowing Naota was right. Rin had zero chance of marrying the man they had hoped to marry him off to now that he looked male. Better that he lived in America where he couldn't embarrass them further.
Jintaro spoke. "Do as you wish, but we will not attend the wedding."
"That's fine. Angela has a lot of people who will come."
"Does her family know?" asked Sumi.
"The ones that matter do."
"And they're okay with that?"
"They are. They still want grandchildren, so we will have to adopt or use a sperm donor."
The rest of the visit was tense, as the Kurokis conducted themselves with an armed neutrality with their sons. They spoke fair English so they did at least talk to Angela a little to be polite to her face, whatever they said behind her back. They were at least mildly consoled with the fact that she was a polite young woman who had tried to learn their language and customs, although to them she was ugly with her size and her dark skin. The Kuroki brothers disagreed and thought her to be gorgeous. Naota was a rare Japanese chubby chaser, although few girls in their social circle were chubby enough to catch his eye. His one request of his parents in regards to his future arranged marriage meetings was that he wanted to be matched with a chubby girl with large breasts. As such, he deeply envied Rin.
By the time Rin and Angela's wedding day arrived, Rin had gone through some of the grueling surgeries to reshape his body. First had come his chest surgery to remove his breasts, then a hysterectomy. He planned to get surgery to construct a penis and testes, but he had to save up for that.
They had the wedding in Duluth at the Rose garden. They had chosen Duluth as that had been the city they had shared their first kiss in. The Gonzaleses' pastor had agreed to come up from Minneapolis to marry them at the gazebo in the garden. Naota and Yarika had flown from Japan to attend the wedding, along with Yarika's adorable little girl who she had named Yona. Yona was so cute and sweet-looking in the photographs Yarika had sent that Angela had insisted that she be their flower girl. Jack would be their ring bearer, Yarika and Maya would be bridesmaids, as were a couple of female cousins. On the groom's side a male cousin of Angela's as well as Akira from college.
Toddler Yona happily sprinkled the flowers as she toddled down the aisle, beaming even though she couldn't understand a word of what was being said. Jack was also dimpled smiles. He had been only two when Rin first started dating Angela, so Rin really was a big brother to him. Now it was official as the happy couple shared their wedding kiss.
They had their wedding reception at the Pickwick, a restaurant right next to a brewery complex turned hotel and shopping center. The place still made craft beer, too. For the honeymoon they stayed at Fitgers Inn, said hotel in the brewery complex.
That honeymoon was a night Rin never forgot. He and Angela made love many times, loudly enough that the occupant of the next room banged on the wall. Life was good.
Rin worked hard and graduated medical school with honors. He and Angela were now full-fledged doctors who would fight up the ranks to settle in their chosen specialties. For a time money was very tight, living off the money that remained in Rin's account and the money Rin's parents had grudgingly sent them to begin their life in America, far away from anywhere their Japanese business contacts might frequent.
In due time Rin and Angela left their internships, settling into their respective departments comfortably. Eventually the time came when Rin was to go under the knife again to receive his brand new male parts. As medical science was limited in building a functional penis and his lean build offered little donor tissue to work with, he felt that a metoidioplasty, which was a recently developed sex reassignment procedure, would be the best option. While this was a simpler surgery and allowed sensation to be retained, it could not be denied that his package would be less than impressive.
Monica consoled him before the surgery. "Nobody is perfect, mijo. My own bottom surgery has left much to be desired, but at least no one can deny I am a woman now. Angie loves you no matter what you got in your pants, never forget that."
The surgery was not as complex as a phalloplasty, but it was still excruciatingly painful and the recovery difficult. The day Rin could finally urinate standing up made him feel like he was reborn.
Around the time Rin had fully healed, he and Angela were ready to adopt. He'd always been fond of children and wanted to be a dad. They had looked into sperm donors and into adopting before his surgery. It was Mrs. Chen who suggested they adopt a Chinese baby since her granddaughter's Japanese husband couldn't even give her children. Rin didn't mind the idea, since most Americans couldn't tell the difference between Asians and it would not look out of place for the family.
Shortly before his surgery Rin and Angela got in contact with an orphanage in China willing to adopt to them, and got on the list for a baby girl. It helped that as Angela was half Chinese, she could directly communicate with the orphanage staff in their language. After Rin's recovery they were contacted about a girl named Lihua and made plans to pick her up on their way to Japan to visit the Kurokis and the Fujimiyas. They stayed a week in China, meeting with the orphanage staff and filling out the paperwork and getting to know their new daughter. A caregiver brought out the baby to show them on their first day. Rin was instantly smitten with the chubby-cheeked, black haired and brown-eyed baby.
"Hey, little one," cooed Rin. "I'm your new dad."
Angela also cooed to the baby in Chinese.
The chubby baby's eyes lit up and she gave a smile at the friendly adults cooing over her.
"That's my girl," said Rin.
After they had finalized the adoption paperwork in China, they took the baby to Japan. Rin's parents eyed the baby critically, but since Naota had agreed to be a good boy and be their heir and marry a girl from a good family, they were placated enough to be civil. Rin met his brother's chubby fiancée Niiko, whose parents had despaired of marrying her off until Naota had fallen in love with her at first sight and immediately proposed. Jintaro and Sumi had mixed feelings but had to accept it, since both their sons were stubborn and did as they pleased. It was best to let Naota marry a fat girl like he had wanted lest he do something to embarrass them like Rin had done and marry a foreign woman.
After visiting his family, Rin and Angela went to the Fujimiyas' house. Yarika had invited them to view a martial arts tournament composed entirely of demons on the family TV. Yona was now eight and was entered into the tournament by her father, the demon that had impregnated Yarika. All of Yarika's friends and family who could not or would not go to Demon World were going to watch it on TV. Angela, not liking the violence, had gone with Rui to tend the babies while the rest watched the tournament.
Rin watched closely, hoping to see Yona's father, a demon named Hiei. Yarika had told him that Hiei had come back when Yona was three and they'd been together since, although it didn't seem likely that Hiei would propose anytime soon.
The tournament was unlike anything Rin had ever seen before. He'd seen Yarika fight and kill demons who were trying to abduct her, but this was just fighting for fun. Yona made it through with only minor injuries, as did Yarika's friends. Rin finally got a good look at Hiei on screen, surprised to see that he was a rather short man with two-tone gravity defying hair and three eyes. The very same guy they had dragged to Yarika's house years ago. Hiei was a brutal fighter, which worried Rin. Hiei lost to this terrifying tapir-looking guy called Bakura, and neither he nor Yarika were seen on screen since. Rin's instinct that Hiei was not to be trusted proved right, he had heard Hiei had disappeared after the tournament from Yarika as soon as she came back to the human world. Rin consoled her as best he could before leaving Japan.
A few months after the tournament Rin got a call from Japan from Kenji Fujimiya telling him Yarika had been in an accident and had been found comatose shortly after. The Gonzaleses offered to pray for her. Rin himself prayed frequently, despite not having given more than lip service to religion before this. He made no bargains with any god, he just prayed that the higher powers had mercy on Yarika and allowed her to wake up. His in-laws and Angela prayed with him, most to Jesus, Abuela to the saints for the sake of the poor girl Rin once dated who was now clinging to life after a bad car wreck.
Happy was the day where Rin got the call that Yarika had woken up likely to make a full recovery. Soon after came the surprising news that she and Hiei had gotten married. While Rin was furious that such a violent, flaky man had married her, he would shelve all his resentment and celebrate with them in Japan. He attended two wedding celebrations that spring; the informal reception Yarika and Hiei's friends had thrown for them and Naota's lavish wedding. His parents made him pretend he was a distant relative to avoid embarrassing them, but at least he got to see Naota marry Niiko.
Rin realized that while his parents may never completely accept him as a man, they had at least progressed to the point where they were on speaking terms; their relationship was what it was, and that he couldn't beat himself up for their lack of acceptance. It wasn't so bad, though. He had a supportive brother, a sweet wife, a daughter, friends, and in-laws who loved him as he was. He had learned that happiness lay in acceptance: to accept people for what they are and love them, and also accepting and loving oneself. His surgeries alone could not have done it; he accepted himself for who he was because he had others who accepted him. He was thankful to Yarika for giving him the courage to leave Japan and live his truth. He would love Angela until the day he died for accepting him and for vowing to be with him in sickness and in health (and through several affirming surgeries) until death did them part. Rin was far richer in life and love than he had ever dreamed he could be. He was truly happy.
Notes:
The debate whether he was a lesbian or gay complete with slurs actually happened to my trans guy friend in college.
Reminder: "transsexual" was used before "transgender" and "gender identity disorder" was used before "gender dysphoria"
Until recently, one had to live as the gender they were transitioning to openly for one to several years before they could have access to surgery and hormones. This began to be phased out in the 2000s and was gone by the 2010s. A straight trans person (like Rin and Aunt Monica) had an easier time getting approval than gay trans people. Now it does not matter as much.
In Japan changing your legal gender was not possible until around the late 2010s, IIRC. It was possible before that in some US states. In Minnesota one doesn't need surgery to change their legal gender. Minnesota has LGBT protections encoded into state law, so Rin never had to fear for his job and his housing in the US like he would in Japan.
Some Latinos are protestant, although they are in the minority. As the Catholic Church refused to marry Octavio and Lulu (an interracial interfaith couple with a bun in the oven) The family left the church while in the US. I know someone like Angela IRL who is mixed Asian/Latina and used her as an inspiration for the character. (although she is skinny and pale unlike Angela)
I (the author) am from Minnesota and included many locations and traditions common to the state. I used some real life locations I have personally lived in/been to, including Minneapolis-St Paul, Duluth, and Bloomington (where the Mall of America is) although I will not say where I currently /
The Vikings-Packers rivalry is intense. You'll see tons of people in Vikings Jerseys and merch with SKOL on it, and they do not like cheese heads. I'm not a sports fan although I have done equestrian sports and tried curling.
Lutefisk is real, and commonly eaten in Lutheran churches in Minnesota around the holidays. If you get the chance, try it, it makes for a great conversation "I ate the dreaded lye fish and lived to tell the tale!"
Due to Minnesota having so many lakes, many Minnesotans have cabins. In a less affluent family one may share the cabin with extended family. My parents didn't have a cabin but they had a year round lease on a campsite for about 20 years in Mahtowa.
Nicklelodeon Universe at MoA used to be known as Camp Snoopy. It used to look just like an outdoor theme park before they made it smooth and orange and rebranded the rides.
Older Chinese people often hate Japanese people for good reason - the stuff that happened during and before WW2 and Japan's refusal to admit it. Rin is aware and as he is not a Japanese nationalist he feels ashamed of his homeland.
The tradition of the youngest child delivering the presents from the tree is a tradition in my own family. The dog is named after my own childhood dog. RIP Scruffy.
It is more common to simply buy giri choco for your male friends, but it can be handmade, albeit simply. Honmei choco is always distinct in that it is made more elaborately made (or purchased more expensively) for that one special guy.
In Japan dark skin and being overweight is seen as unattractive. The Japanese are famously lipophobic and colorist along with certain other Asian countries like Korea. Thin and light skin=beautiful in Asia. The Kuroki brothers disagree.
Rin's parents never fully accepted him as a man, but they decided not to disown him as long as he refrains from embarrassing the family. Not every family accepts a trans kid entirely. Sad but true. It happened to my friend: his dad is starting to use his name to his face but will sometimes refer to him as his daughter in front of strangers. Sometimes trans kids can just realistically expect some progress rather than full acceptance from parents.
Rin is not a spiteful person and embarrassing his parents on purpose would make him look like a horrible ungrateful child to his parents' social circle. It took a lot of guts to leave and be himself, but acting out of revenge just wouldn't produce the results he wanted. Again, this is Japan, not the US. Rin would hurt his brother's prospects if he did, and the one person he'd never hurt in his family is Naota.