OVERSEAS MIRACLES
CHAPTER 23

Japanese Experience

"Wow, I guess you got a good slap there, my son. Oh, and a little cut on the lips. It hurts, doesn't it? Poor boy." Mrs. Bracken stated cutely at her annoyed son who is sitting on a couch. She touched his red cheek that has a slight trace of a hand mark.

"Mom, whose side are you on? Argh! What's with that woman?!" he cursed immensely.

"I saw it with my own eyes, young man. You had forgotten that this office faces the garden. It's a good thing that I had came to witness such event. Anyway, I'm happy that you had ended things with that blondie Christie. I didn't like her from the start. And yet, you used a JAPANESE girl! Are you insane?" The woman scolded.

"Geez, she's too traditional. Can't she just accept the world's liberation?" the guy scoffed. He was even having a hard time pulling her to his chest. But then, he grinned inwardly, thankful for her struggles in pulling away from him because it made it more 'wild' to see to as if he is hugging Kyoko with such tight passion like she is the love of his life. But then, when she bit his lip, it was then that he whispered words of grudges into her ears.

"But it doesn't change the fact that you had taken advantage of a young lady. You must apologize for your actions." His mother said firmly as she took her seat in front of him as she crossed her legs.

"Apologize? She slapped and bit me!" he shouted in rage.

"Whatever, France. But you both still have to work with that assignment that was given to you. You must find a way to work each other as students or else I don't know what Mr. Jacob will do."

He didn't respond to what she just said. There is no excuse for both of them to not to accomplish their assignment.

"Well, it's up to you, then. Anyhow, can you find time to drop by to your Aunt Lily, tonight?" she asked.

"Do I have a choice?" he grumbled.

"You're acting like a kid. Well, I just want you to accompany me. I already miss her presence. It's been a while since I haven't had a chat to her. Also, I want to give her this." She walked to her table and grabbed a hand bag.

"What's that?" he asked curiously, looking at the bulky hand bag.

"It's some stuff that she needs. That's all. So, you better come with me today." She said.

"Alright, I'll come with you tonight." He replied with a sigh.

"That's my boy. Here, let mommy heal your face." She kissed his slapped cheek.

"Mom…." He whined childishly which amused his mother further.

JAPAN

"Gah! Four months without my babe is too boring. I already miss her..." Kijima said as he stretched his self on the long bench. On the other bench on his side, sat Ren and Yashiro who were eating their lunch, wondered if that is his new girlfriend that he is referring to.

"Kyoko-chan…" Kijima murmured as if he was sleeping.

Yashiro's ears were alerted to hear what that all time player had said. He turned his head to check on Ren. 'Damn that Kijima! He knows how to step on a landmine.'

"Oi, Tsuruga-kun, how about we go out tonight for a drink? You know… A little celebration for accomplishing this new commercial won't hurt, right?" Kijima suggested while still lying on the bench.

"…"

"Tsuruga-kun, did you hear me?" Kijima rose from his position to sit down and checked on his co-star.

"I guess that won't be a bad idea at all, Kijima-kun." He smiled brightly at him.

"Great!" The older actor cheered.

'How come this guy does not feel Ren's wrath.' Yashiro thought.

HIZURI RESIDENCE

It's already 9:00 o clock in the evening and Julie Hizuri had just arrived from work. When she passed the threshold of her home, she didn't found anyone. Not even Mr. Winston or the housekeeper is around. She wondered if Kyoko is already sleeping. Moments later, Kuu went down the stairs, wearing a yukata. This made Julie confused at her husband's appearance.

"Julie, you're just in time. You better change into your kimono right now. We don't want Kyoko to wait any longer." Kuu embraced her and gave a kiss on his wife's cheek.

"What's with the get up, Kuu? Already missed your life in Japan?" she giggled lightly.

"Well, sort of. But come on, I'm excited for this. Get change. You'll see later on." He encouraged his wife to go.

"Well, if my husband says so, then I'll go." She said.

"Excuse me, Ms. Julie. You have visitors." Mr. Winston came behind them.

"Visitors? I didn't expect anyone to come tonight." She thought.

"Who could that be, Winston?" Kuu asked. The couple's eyes widened at the visitors' appearance.

"Ah, Riri, Ceecee! You're here!" Julie ran to them and engulfed them in a big hug. "It's been so long, how are you? Oh my, Ceecee had gotten tall already." she added while reaching out to pinch the cheeks of her nephew.

"Oh no, Auntie. I had enough of pinching from you. Mom, will you tell Auntie to stop this habit of hers?" He caught her hands which made Julie pouted in return.

"You really stick to those old nicknames, Julie." the woman sniggered.

"But I find it cute to say it." Julie defended.

"Uhm.. Uncle, is that a bath robe?" the young man asked as he pointed his Yukata.

"Oh no, young man. This is what my country called as a Yukata. Wait, you better wear one too! Julie, let Riri borrow one of your kimonos. I'll search for something for Ceecee. Come on boy. We better hurry. You'll see the reason later why I'm doing this." He dragged his nephew away from the ladies.

"Honestly, I didn't know what's going on in Kuu's mind but I guess I'll just have to play along." Said Julie.

"Well, I don't mind being involved. I want us to catch up with the things that we had to discuss." Said Riri.

Ten minutes later, all of them are in their Japanese attire. Kuu, being the excited one, lead the puzzled trio to the room where it seems like a Japanese room. They heard a sound of a gong then, the sliding door was opened, revealing a beautiful girl in her spring colored kimono.

"Oh, I see. It's a tea ceremony." Riri said. Kuu nodded at her accurate guess.

"W…wai – ouch!" the guy was not able to speak his words for he was pinched by his mother and gave him a glare, telling him to stay quiet. "Just follow us." She instructed. Getting the message from his mother, he quickly stayed quiet.

'This girl… No, it couldn't be her. Hmp. Where in the world would that girl live in the residence of the world renowned actor? Hm, probably uncle hired her to do this. But she looks exactly like her but this time, she looks more decent. And how come she didn't react at my presence?" He thought but he couldn't help but get awed as she performed a deep, perfectly straight bow in front of them.

The room's theme is like that they are in a serene Japanese inn. The four people were too amazed at the arrangement of the ikebanas that were carefully placed on a long table. They even noticed that there were no chairs to be found but only a large animal-skinned mat.

Before entering the room, the 'guests' did some purification of their hands and mouth. They left their wooden slippers outside of the room. Once they had seated themselves on the floor, they watched the Japanese girl wipes the tea container and tea scoop with a fukusa (a fine silk cloth). And thus, she began to make the tea.

Meanwhile, the guests were amazed at her very smooth and at the same time elegant movements from scooping to mixing the tea. It seems that doing a tea ceremony is something that should be observed with high reverence. With the fresh minty scent of the tea, it made her guests feel relaxed in harmony.

"Geez, why have a ceremony over a cup of tea." He thought sarcastically. In his mind, he hated to admit that he feels so tranquil deep inside. It's been a while since he hasn't felt so calm. It's like that he just drifted off to Japan with the cherry blossoms falling around. He closed his eyes for a moment and breathed deeply. As exhale, he slowly opened his eyes and saw the most fine-looking smile that he had ever seen. The girl's expression displayed such peaceful and beautiful smile as she gracefully performs her task. 'Wow, I never thought that she can be this beautiful.' It's like that he was gradually drawn into her not aware of the other guests around him. He can't help but stare at her as much as he can.

"Cee…cee…" he snapped out of his reverie when someone touched his shoulder.

"Ah, yes?" he answered quickly.

"Oh, it's like that your mind went somewhere, France. Get your tea now." Kuu nudged him on his elbow.

'Okay, how to received the tea again? Oh, yes." He was thankful that he remembered how his Aunt Lilie did it since she was the one who received her tea first. Slowly, he took a glance at the hostess and found that she is giving him an encouraging smile. He immediately shifted his gaze to the chawan (a cup of tea) and took it with his right hand to place it on his left palm. Before he could take a sip, he turned the chawan clockwise for three times. 'This tea is great! I never thought that Japanese tea could be so refreshing.'

"Hmmm… I really miss Japan." Kuu started as he drank his tea.

"That's very true. It's been a while since I haven't visited. You're that you had nine months ago." Julie added.

"That's already a long time. That was the time I met my second son." He said proudly.

"Second son?" the mother and son asked in unison. "I didn't know you have another child in Japan?" Riri spoke questioningly.

Julie giggled. "Kuu could be exaggerating sometimes. He just meant our dear darling Kyoko here."

"Ms. Kyoko? Your second son? I don't understand. How?" the woman wondered in confusion as she faced Kyoko.

"Actually, it's a long story, Mrs. Bracken." Kyoko blushed as she replied.

And there, Kuu had started doing the story telling how he met his other son in Japan. Kyoko was too embarrassed as he revealed every detail that she had spent with him. What made her a little annoyed during his story is that he's acting the doting parent habit again. She sighed to herself and peeked at the guy who happens to be her most irritating partner. There he was, silently sipping his tea while listening to the adults' conversation.

"You better behave yourself, Kyoko. The tea ceremony is not over yet."

"And that's how I started calling her my second son. Right Kyoko?" Kuu ended his tale like a proud father that he could be.

"Oh, I see." France started to speak. "By the way, it's been a while since I didn't see my dear cousin Kuon." He continued.

"He's happy where he is now, Ceecee. I just hope that we will see him sooner." Julie replied with a small smile. But then, Kyoko didn't miss the little frown on her face. She felt sorry about Kuon's absence. It somehow hurts her in any way. But she was confused at her words when she said that she will be seeing Kuon soon. 'Would this mean that boy Kuon is still alive? Did he move away from his parents for some reason?" she speculated. ' Also, France nickname is CC? Sounds like a girl.' she thought devilishly.

Feeling that the atmosphere of the room is getting heavier, Kuu tried to think of a new conversation to discuss.

"Ah, by the way, France, you're already in your senior year, right?" Kuu opened up cheerfully.

"Yes, that's true." France replied as he drank a little from his chawan.

"Really? But I thought you had already graduated!" Julie reacted in surprise.

"Julie, if he had graduated, we should've invited you for his graduation celebration." Mrs. Bracken inserted.

"Oh, right! He looks older than his age which made me assume that way. He's eighteen, right?" Julie laughed at her silly mistake and so did the rest.

"So, this means that you're classmates with my dear Kyoko?" Kuu inquired the young man in front of him.

"Yeah. She's even my seatmate." He said flatly. This made Kyoko twitched a brow inwardly at the last word.

"And also his partner in their new assignment from Mr. Jacob." Mrs. Gloria added which made her son almost protest.

"That's cool. You can do your assignment here together after this if both of you are willing." Julie suggested.

"About that, it's kind of difficult for them to work on that now due to some events this afternoon. And I believe that they should settle this matter as much as possible so that such hindrances will be avoided." Mrs. Gloria explained.

"What does that mean, Kyoko dear? Do you not like each other?" Julie asked Kyoko.

"Yes, I had been irritated by him since I took that exam. He had mocked me for being looking lost during that day." Kyoko answered in a little tone of displeasure.

"I see. You just underestimated my son." Kuu started to defend as he crossed his arms in front of his chest while his other hand is still holding his chawan.

"Aside from that, this foolish son of mine kissed her just to shoo his ex girlfriend away from his sight. Mrs. Gloria confessed finally.

"What? How dare you do that to my precious daughter?" Kuu reacted in aggravation as he attempted to grab France's yukata.

"Kuu, calm down." Julie quickly grabbed her husband's arm to pull him back to the floor.

"Mom!" France complained.

A/N:

First of all, I would like to give thanks to the viewers to have left their reviews about this story. You're reviews made me happy. . . This means that I have to keep up! Thank you for following and adding this story in your favorite list! Right now, I have to stop here. I assume that I will be busy for the next 2 to 3 days. Don't worry for I had already started writing for the next chapter. ;D As long that it's my sem break, I will keep on updating this story.

So, as usual, you know what I ask from you, right? Just send your thoughts via reviews. That's all I want from you, guys.

ARIGATOU-GOZAIMASU!