Chapter 21 – Meeting Her Grandfather


"Your… grandfather still believes Japan… is at war…"

She nodded.

He let that sink in for a few moments. Takumi took a deep breath and tried his best not to freak out in front of her, lest he sounded extremely rude. What did she mean when she said, he would comment on his hair, eye and skin colour? Okay. He could handle this. He could totally handle this. The trick was probably to just nod if any references were made about the Japanese war effort, and maybe not take him too seriously if he made unfavourable comments on his European appearance. Not that Takumi thought he would actually do so and he was pretty sure, despite her grandfather's dementia that he wasn't a racist at heart! Maybe just a tad… prejudice? If he was going to do a search for the correct terminology without thinking offensively, he failed at it. His aging mind was just stuck in the past, as is the rest of his perspective but that was none of his fault, just probably the dementia talking. He'd never met a person with dementia before and was at a complete loss as to how he should talk to such a person.

"Just talk to him normally like you would with any other person" said Ayame.

Takumi wondered if she read his thoughts. "Right"

"It'll be okay" she took his hand and stroked her thumb over his fingers.

The Italian blonde straightened his posture and gulped. He felt his heart race at the prospect of meeting her grandfather, the patriarch of her family. His hopes for being accepted into her family was dwindling the more he thought about it. The Superintendent general was one boss monster he had to try and get over, now there were probably two. He pursed his lips and nodded at her, making sure that all his amore would see from him was utter confidence and not how nervous he was. His Mamma told him 'nervousness' was a good sign. It meant he held great respect for Ayame's family. Only 'The Stupid' held no fear or were over-confident. He was scared. Not because he would meet an elderly Japanese gentleman who might make unfiltered comments on his half-European and half-Japanese looks, but because he was Ayame's grandfather.

Ayame rang the bell.

"Yeah Yeah! I'm coming!"

Takumi tuned his ears to the gruff and raspy voice behind the door. Already her grandfather sounded cranky and Takumi didn't think this was looking good. The door creaked open but stopped short with a sharp clink as the chain lock was in place and behind the gap in the door was an elderly man, about the same height as Isami peering suspiciously through. His beady eyes were glazed with a sort of dull colour Takumi often saw in old people who were slowly losing their eyesight. This had to be Ayame's grandfather. His eyes darted up and down at Ayame for a few seconds before he grunted and unhooked the chain with tremouring fingers.

"Ah Kyoko-chan, you're looking underweight as ever. Food getting too expensive for you these days?" he scoffed and moved aside, leaving Ayame to push the door open for the two of them.

"No Ojii-san. It's me, Ayame, your grand-daughter. Kyoko is my mum, your daughter-in-law. I do look a lot like her though" she said and chuckled. It sounded like she had probably said this many times before to her grandfather.

'Underweight? I've been feeding her every week!'

"Ah yeah. Sure, sure…" he leaned down and inspected Ayame's face while she continued to smile at him. Once he seemed satisfied that he remembered his grand-daughter, he broke into a wide grin, filled with yellowing teeth and gave her a hug as big as his frail body could handle.

Takumi took off his sun glasses and tucked them into his waistcoat pocket. He removed his shoes properly at the genkan and lined it up next to Ayame's. He was about to greet her grandfather and introduce himself before he was cut off.

"How's middle school? Have they built a bomb shelter yet?" said her grandfather whilst picking his ear.

"I'm in second year high school now Ojii-san, I graduated middle school two years ago"

"And that's the way it gotta be! No doubt about it. Nothing more honourable than finishing school. But now those hips of yours are wide enough for child-bearing and you don't want those eggs to get dusty. Don't leave yourself for too long or no man will want ya. When are you going to bring home a husband aye?"

Takumi and Ayame's face grew red very quickly. That was full frontal conversation. He did not just say that! This was probably what Ayame was talking about when she said he had dementia. His memory seemed all jumbled up or lost, he didn't even recognise his own grand-daughter at first. Takumi stood behind Ayame at an angle and it did not seem like her grandfather even noticed him yet. In fact, he seemed to be staring off into space or over the side. The house inside was quite dark and all the blinds and curtains had been pulled shut. The house smelled like an over-abundance of tea of many varieties. It was relatively clean inside which he once again assumed that the Kanda family payed for cleaners to come in to clean the place and make sure Ayame's grandfather was living hygienically. Aside from the cleanliness, there were lots of photos on the walls. There were many black and white ones and also coloured ones signifying more recent things. Clearly, the black and white were of her grandfather's younger days, when he was an engineer, including his friends and immediate family members and his parents. The more recent coloured ones had a few of Ayame, her father and her mother. But there were also other family members he hadn't met yet. There were so many, it covered a whole wall.

Takumi's own house back in Firenze only had a handful of photos. But then again, he didn't know what it was like to forget the faces of his close family and friends…

"About that Ojii-san…"

"Where's that idiot son of mine?! Is he still running off trying to be a samurai overseas or something? He should know better that fighting from our homeland soil is the best way to contribute to the war effort! Kami bless our Emperor Hirohito"

Did he just call Ayame's father, his own son, an idiot?

"No, No. Otou-san's working as a police officer up in the city. He's finished his service with the JSDF already. The war's been over for many years now. Everything is peaceful. Ojii-san, I want to introduce to you—"

"Ha! What is that JSDF nonesense? The war ain't over, not by a long shot. That's what those Yankees want you to think. No, Kyoko-chan. The war has only begun. Fixing the train system on time was one thing, but we're not going to let those Capitalist dogs drop a third bomb. We're going to get them..." her grandfather clasped his hands behind his back and toddled over to the living room, muttering more things under his breath.

"No one's going to drop any bombs on anyone. Anyway, I want you to meet-" said Ayame, like whatever he said didn't bother her at all.

"Ha! That idiot son of mine is worth more trouble than being covered with honey and staked on an ant farm" he continued on his tirade, shaking his fist about.

His words were very bold and daring, and Takumi didn't know if he could match up to it. He watched their exchange and wondered when would be a good time to make himself known. The elderly man literally didn't noticed there was a third person in the room as he was entirely focused on Ayame, whom he'd been calling 'Kyoko-chan'. Takumi wasn't used to not being noticed. If anything, he and Isami always stood out like a retro neon sign, so he found this feeling quite eerie and strange. It was now or never. He needed to be a man about this, despite what Ayame said. Her grandfather may have dementia and thought World War Two was still in situ, but god damn him if he left his manners behind at the front door. Mamma always told him to introduce himself properly to elders as first impressions was lasting impressions.

"Excuse me. Good morning! M-My name is T-Takumi Aldini. I'm Ayame's boyfriend. It's a pleasure to m-meet you" He bowed deeply at her grandfather before he got too far away.

There was a thick silence.

He gingerly looked up. Ayame face-palmed.

'Did I… overstep?!'

"What the hell? Is that a ghost in my living room?!"

Takumi flew backwards as the elderly man turned back on his heels and yelled at him. His face transformed into a crumpled sneering expression with murderous intent in his eyes, so much like the Superintendent General when they first met. Now he had Ayame's grandfather's undivided attention and he was instantly regretting it. The elderly gentleman was as equally surprised as was Takumi, but a lot angrier. He advanced towards him, his hands behind his hunching back again, and pushed himself into Takumi's personal space.

"How'd you get in here you damn Yankee?! You ain't getting any of our country secrets! You blue-eyed, blonde-haired gaijin better skedaddle before I call my buddy on you! He's got connections with the army!"

"Ojii-san!"

"You have the balls to come in here! Go back to your country you time-wasting bastard!"

"Wait! Let me explain!" Ayame rushed to Takumi's side and held up her hands at her grandfather trying to quell his fury, but he was having none of that. Takumi scrambled backwards. What the hell just happened?!

"O-Oi! You got it all wrong! I'm not American!—"

"Oh? You speak Japanese pretty good. You trained by the CIA or something? Sent here to infiltrate, blend in and do some rotten espionage?! Isn't it enough you bombed our cities?! You Yankees make me sick. I oughta—"

"No! I'm Italian! Italian!"

Takumi was backed into the door by the not-so-fragile looking old man, and was about to trip backwards and onto the porch, but grabbed the door jamb just in time. He fearfully looked over the scary grandfather's shoulders as Ayame continued to try and calm her grandfather down, but with little success.

"Aye?!"

"I'm Italian!"

"Aye?!"

"Italian!"

"AYE?!"

"ITALIAN!"

"Italian? Good lord, you're with them Nazi's aye? See, you got it written all over your face. But you're still a gaijin, and we don't like foreigners"

"Okay, that's enough Ojii-san. This is Takumi-kun, my boyfriend. Don't worry, he is not a CIA spy nor is he a Nazi and he never will be" Ayame finally stepped her foot down as he was at his last finger gripping the door jamb before her grandfather shoved him out the house with his words. She puffed out her cheeks and her grandfather merely scoffed at her. He felt his insides shaking with so much terror and anxiety. He also felt guilty and wanted to say 'sorry for everything' but had absolutely no idea what for.

"Your husband? What rubbish is this? We'll see what my idiot son has to say about this… Where's that idiot son of mine?! Is he still running off trying to be samurai oversees or something? He should know better that fighting from our homeland soil is the best way to contribute to the war effort! Kami bless our Emperor Hirohito"

Her grandfather skulked off into the kitchen, repeating phrases under his breath.

"Woah…" said Takumi.

"Yeah, that's Ojii-san for you. Turned out better than I thought!" Ayame beamed at him.

"What exactly were you expecting?" Takumi growled at her, patting his hair down.

His face was all sweaty from the intimidation alone, and he felt flushed and heated like in a sauna. He decided, hands down, that being around the Superintendent General was a lot more tolerable compared to her tiger-like grandfather. At least he didn't raise his voice so much. Not only did he screw up his introduction to her grandfather, he was on the verge of being backhanded, forehanded and slapped upside the head by an elderly man before being thrown out onto the streets because he thought he was a Nazi-sympathiser or an American spy sent by the CIA to infiltrate Japan! And Ayame had the gall to think it wasn't as bad as she thought. He grabbed her cheeks and pinched them hard and relished in delight as she whimpered cutely and made weird noises. That ought to do it.

"Aya…" she rubbed her cheeks.

Takumi felt a different pang of guilt. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. But that was all she was going to get.

"Kyoko-chan! Get me some sake!" came that yelling again from the kitchen.

"It's Ayame, Ojii-san!"

"Do as you're told!"

Ayame sighed and they both walked into the kitchen before the scream-fest could continue. Despite being an old man, her grandfather must have a huge set of lungs if he was able to yell this much, and this loudly for this long. He didn't even wheeze. The kitchen was a bit less tidy. Now he knew where the smell of tea came from. There were numerous open canisters filled with tea leaves all over the place, and baking paper with piles of tea leaves and small flowers sitting out. It seemed like they were meant to be drying. He noticed immediately a humungous weekly calendar on the fridge with very large writing in a few squares. There was a scheduled appointment with the dentist, a meeting with the local shogi club, something with the doctor and finally there was 'Yuu and Ayame visiting, 10:00' written on today's date surrounded by a texta outline as a star. So her father's name was Kanda Yuu. He never asked. The more he looked around, the more he saw lots of large sheets of paper stuck around with general reminders like closing the fridge door properly, turning the taps off, taking his medicine and many others. They were all in really large writing, probably to compensate for his declining memory and poor eyesight.

Her grandfather's head was balding and scattered with brown and orange age spots, as was his skin which were leathery looking. He groped the top of the microwave where his glasses were, and placed his small, round spectacles over his eyes. His eyes were sunken deep into his skull, surrounded by deep, dark eye bags. He looked like one of those overworked Japanese philosophers or university professors. Then he remembered his old man used to be a chief engineer who saved the Japanese train lines when the atomic bombs hit. What was left of his greying hair was tied off in a ponytail, which reached passed his shoulders and was tied off with a piece of twine. He had a huge aquiline nose and a thick, grey goatee, making him look all the wiser, like some sort of Japanese wizard. When he sat at the table, waiting for his sake, he bent down and grabbed his ankles with his long spindly fingers, pulling them up so that he could sit cross legged on the chair. Then he tucked his hands into his long, flowing sleeves.

"What are you staring at?"

"N-Nothing sir"

"Just because my grand-daughter downgraded herself to settle with a gaijin doesn't mean I accept you at all. I see right through you, you CIA spy. Do me a favour and fetch my monkey wrench so I can beat you with it and then have the pleasure of shipping your ghost-white body back to your Yankee higher-ups"

"I'm Italian..."

"Ojii-san, Okaa-san and Otou-san are completely fine with Takumi-kun. It's normal to be with non-Japanese nationals like Italians, these days you know. He's half Japanese and half Italian actually" said Ayame, placing a bottle of sake before her grandfather with the matching sake cup.

The blonde Italian was about to comment how her father was not fine with it but chose to hold his tongue as saying that wouldn't help his case.

"Half-caste boy aye? I don't know if that's worse, or better. But I still don't like you… even if we are allied to the Germans and Italians" her grandfather chugged straight from the bottle and ignored the cup, staring at Takumi with narrowed eyes while he stood like a dummy in front of the table thinking back to his World War Two history, trying to link how Japan was allied with Germany and Italy.

"Sit down. You look like a decoration I want to smash"

"Yes sir…" Takumi slid into the seat in front of him. He shoved his hands between his legs to stop himself from shaking and continued to sweat through the back of his neck. He didn't dare look at the grandfather in the eyes, for fear of being vilified again. So he concentrated on a canister of Sencha sitting on the table.

"Takumi-kun is a chef specialising in Italian food and is continuing his education at Tootsuki Culinary School. He's really good and his food is amazing." said Ayame.

She sat down beside Takumi and grinned at her grandfather. Ayame had a disarming smile that made people relax and meld into doing whatever she wanted and Takumi had been on the receiving end of it a couple of times, like being coaxed to come over to cook her dinner, not that he found any complaints with that. It looked like her grandfather was affected by it too, from the way his eyes soften slightly, but it was still not enough because he grumbled and grunted when he took another swig from his sake bottle. He had an idea! Maybe he could impress him with his cooking!

"That's right sir. If you would like, I could prepare something for you to eat for lunch" Takumi smiled at him.

"No. I ain't eating no gaijin shi-"

"What a good idea! Did you hear that Ojii-san? Takumi-kun can make Japanese food too. Right?" Ayame glanced over at Takumi, looking like she was catching onto his plan.

"Y-Yes. If you're more comfortable with traditional Japanese food, I'm more than honoured to make some for you" said Takumi.

He felt with Ayame by his side, his strength rose higher. He could do this. He could show her grandfather what he was worthy of Ayame, after all, food was universal and the way to anyone's soul. People bonded over food in every occasion no matter how casual or formal. Every culture from every civilisation or country they emerge from, always involved food for familial or community bonding. Also, if he could surpass her grandfather, he would have the Superintendent General in the bag.

"You can make Japanese food huh?" he leaned back and folded his hands back into his sleeve. He scrutinised Takumi through his small round spectacles. He hoped to the Roman gods that he was re-evaluating his opinion about him. This was it, Takumi was in it to win it.

"Yes. My father is Japanese and also a an accomplished chef. He taught me everything he knew" said Takumi.

"Tch"

"Takumi-kun taught me how to make fried fish one time and I made it for Otou-san for his birthday. He quite liked it" Ayame nodded, also trying to convince her grandfather that Takumi was the real-deal.

"Where's that idiot son of mine?! Is he still running off trying to be samurai oversees or something? He should know better that fighting from our homeland soil is the best way to contribute to the war effort! Kami bless our Emperor Hirohito" her grandfather slammed his fist on the table making Takumi jump in his seat. He jerked his head this way and that, as if actually looking for him.

"Hmm… Otou-san isn't here yet. What's taking him so long?" asked Ayame under her breath, tapping her chin.

Takumi shrugged.

A loud and shrill clucking sliced through the air, making everyone turn around towards the backyard.

"Blasted! My chickens have escaped! Dang it, they keep trying to roost on top of my bomb-shelter and the Buick! Kyoko-chan, give me a hand and round them up for me. They shit all over it and I'm not in the mood to clean it" her grandfather got up and toddled at an insane pace towards the backyard. Takumi craned his neck to look over the window to see that a whole flock of chickens were indeed roaming free in the backyard. Some really plump, brown hens were already attempting to roost on top of a really low shed, which looked suspiciously like a bunker.

'Did he build that…bomb-shelter…himself?'

Ayame got up to follow her grandfather, frantically telling him not to step outside with the house slippers but he ignored her. The elder man threw his arms widely in the air to get the chickens off his 'bomb-shelter' and broken down, rusted over Buick which was pretty much embedded in the grass.

"You! Don't just stand there! Go find my wife. Nanao is around here somewhere" he jabbed a finger at Takumi who stopped in mid-run, intending to help usher the chickens back into their coop. Ayame was already flapping her hands to get them running in a large flock towards the coop entrance for her to take notice of him.

"R-Right"

Takumi ran back inside the house and realised he had no idea where to start looking. He dare not look upstairs as it was rude to go upstairs without the hosts' permission in an Asian home. Instead, he decided to do a quick search for an old lady in the downstairs rooms. He checked what looked like the laundry, then the downstairs bathroom and finally regrouped back into the living room.

'What a minute… if his wife was inside the house, shouldn't I have already met her?'

Takumi scratched the back of his head, utterly confused. He looked this way and that and thought about what he should do. Maybe she wasn't at home and had gone out. Ayame's grandfather probably hadn't remembered.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"WAHH!"

He jolted on the spot as if being struck by a lightening bold. He spun around and was met face-to-chest with a white dress shirt with large arms crossed over it. It was Ayame's father! Where the Diavolo had he been all this time! Surely it didn't take that long to find parking. He didn't even hear him come into the house. Takumi recomposed himself and smoothed out his waistcoat. Her father continued to glower at him waiting for an answer.

"Umm… A-Ayame's grandfather asked me to find his wife… Where did you go?" asked Takumi.

Her father continued to stare at him with cold, hard eyes for a long while before sucking his teeth. He nodded his head to the side.

"You can stop. It's pointless" his voice was low, but wasn't harsh. He payed no heed to the second part of his question.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"That's her, over there" he nodded his head up high to the side.

Takumi looked around in the direction he nodded towards and spotted a small red altar in an alcove which he hadn't noticed before. It was obscurely placed, so that it wasn't in anyone's field of vision if they first entered the living room. Takumi blinked rapidly as he moved closer to get a better look. He was more than confused now. In the middle of the red alter was a pot of used up incense and a black and white picture of a beautiful lady in a kimono.

"You look like you've never seen a death portrait before" said Ayame's father.

He felt like cold water was dumped over his head and then electrocuted. Chilling realisation dawned on him. Takumi honestly never had seen a death portrait. He heard about it from Pappa as his Japanese grandparents were deceased. But his father never had their portraits displayed around the house with an altar. It was almost surreal, to be staring at the image of a person whom he just believed was alive and somewhere in the house, only to find out that…

She was already dead.

"Old geezer doesn't remember she's already long gone and cremated"

"Then how does he—"

"He sometimes remembers on his own or someone reminds him. It's a pain to manage because he breaks down every time. Then he forgets again and the vicious cycle repeats"

That was horrible. For a man to forget that his soulmate no longer walked the Earth and then to be reminded of that devastating memory each time he forgot, as if it were the first time he heard it. To re-live that pain all over again, and again, and again must be truly heart-wrenching. Takumi couldn't imagine what that would be like, and nor could he imagine what the person who had to tell him went through too. Was this the life of a person whose mind was eaten away by dementia? It was a cruel way to go. All of one's memories, identity and sense of reality stolen away as they slowly deteriorated, until there was nothing left. The only memories he was able to retain were that of war-torn Japan, just after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which was something any human being shouldn't have to live with. He wondered what Ayame's grandfather saw when he looked at himself in the mirror. Did he see an old aging, almost decrepit man looking back? Or still a young, strong, virile chief engineer from a time long gone past?

"How long…" asked Takumi.

"Over seven years now" said Ayame's father.

'Cristo… seven years'

His voice lost that animosity that Takumi was so familiar with and it was just plain and monotone, but still deep and low.

"I stop reminding him now when he won't quit asking where she is"

Takumi looked up at Ayame's father. His eyes were clouded over and unreadable as he stared at the portrait of his mother, Ayame's grandmother in the altar. His brows looked less severe, more relaxed. Takumi turned back to the death portrait in the altar, Ayame's grandmother, her father's mother. She didn't smile in the photo, as it wasn't customary to do so back in those times. She was very young, her skin was white as porcelain and her eyes were beautifully shaped. She was a real beauty.

'All this time. Kanda-san was the one who had to continuously break the news to his father… that his mother is already dead'

Takumi didn't feel so afraid anymore, but rather filled with sorrow.

"Ah! There you are you brat! Have you been out smoking again, Yuu?!"

Takumi jerked around as Ayame's father sighed and gripped his forehead. Ayame was holding her grandfather's arms as he toddled back into the living room. It looked like rounding up the chickens were a success, but her clothes had feathers stuck in them. It was pretty cute. She slowly shuffled alongside her grandfather making sure he didn't trip or fall.

"I don't smoke, you old fart!"

"Ha! As if. I found match sticks in your clothes. Wait until I tell your mother. She'll sort you out"

"Tch" Ayame's father clenched his fists and briskly strode towards the kitchen. "Do us all a favour old man and just drink one of your billion types of tea" he disappeared around the corner, his long midnight blue hair flicking past as he rounded the corner.

"And you! What do you think you're doing! You're supposed to be helping grab the chickens!" he yelled at Takumi-kun.

"Ah! B-But I was—You said-!"

'Merda!'

"I mean… I was looking for Kanda-san…"

'Saved!'

"Yeah right, slacking off. Kyoko-chan, be a sweetie and get my radio for me will you? I don't want to miss the war correspondence" said Ayame's grandfather, shuffling off towards the kitchen, shaking his head at Takumi as if he was a huge disappointment.

"Sure Ojii-san" she said.

He shook Ayame off, refocusing his attention on his 'Idiot son' in the kitchen, leaving her alone with Takumi. He released a huge breath and was about to collapse to on the floor but caught his knees as he braced himself. First, it was Namikaze, then it was the Superintendent General, and now her grandfather. Why was this so hard?!

"Hey, are you alright?" Ayame bent down and twisted her head around to look at him as he continued to dry heave towards the floor. Soon he stood back up, straight and tall, and slicked back his hair.

"Si. I'm good."

"You did well"

She stood on her tip-toes and pecked him on the lips. Takumi smiled gently back at her and grabbed her hands to pull her towards him. She shrieked with laughter and tried to shy away from his wandering lips as he peppered butterfly kisses across her cheek. He didn't know what constituted 'did well' but he believed Ayame. It wasn't her grandfather's fault that he was this way, so Takumi didn't blame him for his extremely opinionated verbal lashings. He believed even without his dementia, he would still have been a very dogmatic, strong-voiced, high-spirited, iron-willed and patriotic individual. This was going to take a lot of getting used to if he were to encounter the elderly gentleman again. Like father, like son, he could see where the Superintendent General might have got his bedside manner from.

"I think I prefer being called a CIA spy than a Nazi" Takumi mused aloud and sighed.

"Haha! I thought that was quite funny" chuckled Ayame.

'I didn't…'

"I know this is a lot to take in, Takumi-kun but once Ojii-san gets used to you, and you get used to him, he will bring you the most intelligent conversations more often than not, despite his dementia. We've had a lot of discussions about different train engines before… even if it gets quite repetitive. He's a very intelligent person."

Takumi smiled at her and brushed her hair behind her ears.

"Just drink the damn tea!"

"No. You've been overseas, how do I know you haven't been brainwashed by those Capitalist dogs and did something to it to steal the blueprints entrusted to me by Hiroshima Electric Railway?"

Takumi rubbed his head as he heard the commotion coming from the kitchen. He didn't understand what all this 'overseas' thing her grandfather was talking about, about the Superintendent general, but her father must have been abroad in the past, before the dementia set in, for the elderly gentleman to think that was was the last thing the Superintendent General did. Did he realise his 'idiot son' was the head of the TMPD? He and Ayame strode back in to see what was happening and was greeted with her father almost crushing the teacup in his hands, thrusted towards his father who was sitting calmly, cool as a cucumber, glaring at his son from down his large aquiline nose. The vein in Ayame's father's forehead pulsed sporadically and his eyes twitched violently letting anyone in the room know his fused was about to blow. Her grandfather was crossed-legged on top of the chair again.

"You old fart…"

"Is that any way to talk to your father, Yuu?" he grunted.

"When you're being so troublesome, definitely. If I were to spike your tea with anything, it would be those damn iron supplements you refuse to take"

"Hey! I think it's time for lunch. Let's see what the grocery shop had delivered yesterday" Ayame chirped up to diffuse the tension and skipped over to the overly-decorated fridge. Takumi stepped up to help Ayame inspect the fridge. It was very well stocked with lots of vegetables, both raw and pickled. There were also packages of tofu of many different kinds, konnyaku,or yam cakes, and some packaged udon as well. Ayame checked the freezer and Takumi looked over her head. He was surprised to see it was quite bare.

There was no meat.

"Umm… Kanda-san?"

"What?"

"What?"

Both of the Kanda men turned to look at him and Takumi was taken aback by being placed in the centre of attention of two male goliaths, glaring at him.

"No… I m-mean… Kanda s-seniour?" he stammered. Merda! He didn't know what to call her grandfather! He hoped he didn't sound over-familiar right now.

"Just call me Zuttosuke. No point mixing me up with my idiot son over there" he pulled out a wooden pipe from inside his sleeve pocket and started tapping in some tobacco from a canister that was also magically procured from his never-ending long sleeves.

"Alright, Z-Zuttosuke-san. Are you a vegetarian?" asked Takumi

"Of course I am! You can't tell? I've been a Buddhist all my life and I ain't about to change, no matter how much you gaijin try to force that Catholic stuff down our throats. It was bad enough the Dutch came over and brainwashed our people in my grand-parents time into their own religion. My own father had to beat them off with the sheath of his katana! Buddhism is the spiritual way of life for those who seek inner-peace. Purging ourselves of eating meat and anything indulgent is one of the many holy doctrines we live by. From then, one can reach the pinnacle of enlightenment and realise how much we don't need to live a humble life. We not only have the manpower, the firepower to win this war, but our united faith in Buddhism will lead us to victory! God bless our Emperor Hirohito!"

'That last part… doesn't sound like Buddhism…'

Grandpa Zuttosuke continued to puff animatedly on his pipe and all Takumi could do was just stand there and let him ramble, questioning how devout he really was in Buddhism.

"Well, I can make traditional Japanese vegetarian food for you if you'd like" said Takumi after recovered from that sermon.

"Can you now? How on Earth is a white boy supposed to do that?" said grandpa Zuttosuke without missing a beat.

"… my father is Japanese" Takumi sighed.

"What?! You said you were a Nazi!"

"NO! I never said that! I'm half Italian!"

"Meh. All you white-people look the same to me" he continued to smoke his pipe with no regard to how much Takumi was at his wit's end.

"Ojii-san. Behave" said Ayame. "Otou-san. I saw that nasty smile. Don't think I'm letting you get away with that"

"Tch"

Takumi coughed into his hand and shook it off. So her grandfather was a religious vegetarian and was a very serious and devout Buddhist… who smokes a pipe… He thought of what he could make from what he found from the fridge and then he sifted through his memories of Japanese cooking, he and Isami had went through with Pappa

"Okay. I'll make some kenchin-jiru for you. How does that sound?" said Takumi fainlly.

"Ho? Don't pull my leg, CIA Spy. You know some shoujin-ryori now do you? A Zen-Buddhist dish to boot. Wait until I tell Nanao. She won't believe me that a gaijin believes he could make a vegetarian Buddhist dish. Ha! Impress me then!" he jabbed his pipe in his direction.

"Sounds wonderful, Takumi-kun" said Ayame. "See that Ojii-san? Takumi-kun knows Buddhist vegetarian cuisine too"

"The proof is in the food. So hurry up and get cracking, boy" said Grandpa Zuttosuke.

"Ok then. You won't be disappointed!"

Ayame threw Takumi an apron and he caught it in mid-air. He strapped it on and felt his insides fire-up at the prospect of cooking for his amore's family.


"Ho? This is amazing. It actually smells good" said Grandpa Zuttosuke, lifting his huge nose and sniffing the air.

"Buon appetio!" said Takumi as he hefted the clay pot filled with hot Kenchin-jiru over to the dining table, once Ayame had cleared away all the tea canisters.

"Bonito? I don't eat fish, I'm a vegetarian" said the elderly man as put away his pipe.

"No, no! There's no m-meat in here. I meant-"

"Give it up Nazi-boy. I gotta fit him with some hearing aids too anyway" smirked the Superintendent General, leaning coolly on the back door.

"Hey..." Ayame threatened her father with a scathing glare.

Cazzo. Now that horrifying nickname was going to stick, he'd much preferred being called a CIA spy. Suddenly a mobile ringtone went off. It was from Ayame's father. He grunted and answered it curtly. Takumi was about to lay a place for her father, complete with a bowl of fluffy streaming rice when he suddenly stomped out into the living room, muttering something about 'British beansprouts' and 'pink-eye rabbits' angrily under his breath into his phone. Were they code names for something or someone? It sounded ridiculous. Higher up police officers sure were eccentric. He thought about the two strange police officers who interviewed him back in Tootsuki. The one with the medical eye patch felt a bit weird.

"Otou-san? Where are you going?" asked Ayame, setting out chopsticks.

"Work"

He signalled his exit with a loud door slam.

"So, he's not having lunch with us then" said Takumi. He felt a tad disappointed that her father won't have a chance to taste his food. He really wanted him to.

"Looks like it" she replied.

Takumi spooned the soup into separate bowls for each person, making sure not to handle the soft root vegetables too roughly. Soon they dug in with an enthusiastic 'Itadakimasu!'. Takumi decided not to say grace in case it offended Grandpa Zuttosuke and he started calling him a Nazi again. Ayame reminded him that her grandfather had weak teeth so it was best to make sure the carrots, daikon radishes, taro roots were super tender. He decided to omit the burdock root as it was more fibrous and tougher to chew. Of course Takumi understood and carefully simmered them until they were practically melt-in-the mouth whilst still holding its shape in the Kenchin-jiru soup. The soup smelled comforting and heavenly. He used konbu seaweed as the soup dashi base instead of the normal katsuobushi, or bonito flakes, as this was essentially vegetarian. He had learnt a few tips and tricks from Pappa when making this vegetarian Buddhist soup dish. He tore the firm tofu pieces with his fingers rather than cutting it with a knife so that it could increase the surface area for maximum flavour absorption. He also cut the konnyaku, or packaged yam cake, with a spoon instead of a knife for the exact same reason. Pappa would be proud.

Takumi watched warmly as the older gentlemen sipped up some of the umami rich soup with shaking hands straight from the lip of the bowl. His thinning, white eyebrows shot up as he let loose a long whistle.

"Hmmm… This is really good, CIA spy. Almost just like the way my wife makes it and I don't dish compliments like this often. She gets jealous. Where is she anyway? Probably off with her lady friends to attend the women's volunteer labour corps"

Takumi looked up at Ayame in question, but she shook her head. Grandpa Zuttosuke was no longer talking to them, instead he was talking to his bowl of soup.

"She should be here too, this food would taste better if she was here with me"

Takumi looked over at Ayame again. She had a sad glint in her eyes and Takumi fully understood why. For the first time, he felt he was really part of her family, as strange and chaotic their meetings were. He no longer felt this was a scary experience but rather, it was a precious memory he would hold close to his heart. Warts and all. Who knew if in the future he might forget this day. He sincerely hoped he wouldn't.


And there we have it. There seems to be that ONE person in the family who is extreme. It's just something I've observed over the years. I'm not saying that every family is like that, but no family is considered 'normal'. Grandfather Kanda is based on my patient with Alzheimer's. He's not supposed to be reflective of ALL people with Alzheimers or dementia.

A bit of trivia: At the start of WWII, all Japanese railway lines came under military control. Hence why Grandfather Kanda may have some military information about it. If you guys remember, he was the chief engineer for the railway company he was working for which resumed operations 3 days after the Hiroshima bombing. Ayame mentioned this in Chapter 4.

Takumi finally gets to cook for her family! :D But not in the way he expected. It was a bittersweet experience.

Let me know what you guys think and I'll see you again soon!

Signing-off

-TripWire-dono