[CLOSED] The Host Family

[Dreamwalker]

"Today is finally the day..." Hibiki though to himself as he gazed at the wristwatch he had received as a present from his parents for this particular occasion. It was quite the fancy little mechanism and had cost a fortune, yet his family had still gone through the trouble of buying it since they wanted their child to look as sharp as possible on this... eventful occurrence. Additionally, they had practically forced him to wear some clothes that were quite the opposite of his taste: dark dress pants, a plain long-sleeved shirt, a blue vest and even a tie. Hibiki didn't mind obeying their wishes, however, as they weren't really aware of his out-of-home self. And yet, the fact remained that they were overdoing it. After all, this day wasn't that big of a deal but, as the mother had said, "You will never get a second chance to make a first impression", which was an English quote quite suitable for the occasion. However, since the woman was in no way fluent in English, thus knew only the most basic of basic skills in the particular language, the words that came out of her mouth were more something along the lines of "You never get a first impression second". This logically incorrect sentence reminded Hibiki that he would have to serve as a translator between his family and the newcomer... whoever that was.


He wasn't aware of any details, besides the fact that the new temporary member in the household would be from the USA, as his parents had decided to keep any details a secret for some puzzling reason. Either way, whoever he was going to have to live with for a whole year, was going to make a huge impact on his life. He was going to have to ease the foreigner into their new life style as well as give them a small tour of the place, look after them until they were able to go around on their own, and all these obligations were going to cut away from his time with friends. Not being able to come to a solution for this problem now, Hibiki simply waited, standing frozen right in front of the house's front door together with his smiling mother until his father had arrived with the US student.

 

[AiEnma]

"Remember to call us when you land. Oh, and please use your best manners." her mother said to her. Nalani and her parents where at the airport waiting for her plane number to be called. She looked around, noticing there was a lot of Japanese businessmen and woman sitting around, making phone calls and or reading articles. 'Great I am going to be the only American going to Japan. This shall be interesting.' she thought to herself. The past 2 weeks have been packs, buying new clothes, and learning simple Japanese terms. It was exhausting, but all for a good purpose. A whole year, in a foreign country, not knowing a single person. Also, going to a new school. Just a new everything. "Flight 271, going to Tokyo, Japan now departing." said a lady. She got up and looked at her parents. "Well I guess, this is good bye for now." she said hugging her parents. "Just, remember we love you and try to have fun." her father said. She smiled and took her small carrion. She went through the exit going into the plane, stepping up the stairs. "Hello, welcome, hello welcome." said the flight attendants. She smiled and nodded. She walked through going all the way to first class, finding her seat, next to the window. She put her bag in the luggage space and sat down. It was nice. She put in her ear buds and listened to her music, not even noticing the businesswoman sitting next to her. She closed her eyes and began to fall asleep. It was going to be a long flight considering it was 14 hours.


"We are now arriving into Tokyo International, please be seated." said the pilot. Nalani slowly woke up, to the noise and looked out the window. Such a new scenery, she took a picture and sent it to her friends. Tokyo, was really beautiful at night. She got up slowly, and got her carrion and slowly departed the plane. She went inside and was in awe. The place was really nice and calm. Thankfully, the airport had English words, and she went into the bathroom to tidy herself up and put on her nicer clothes, which was a dress, high heels, and blazer. She put her hair in a bun, finishing the look. Then she went back into the opening, getting her bigger luggage, looking around for who was to pick her up. She then saw a sign, with her name on it and walked over to the man who was holding it. "I am Nalani Edwards." she said to the man. He looked at her and said, "I am here to get you, to take you home." She nodded and followed him. His English wasn't perfect, but it was understandable. He put her luggage in the trunk of the car and she got in on the passenger side. Japanese cars were different from American. This was going to be an interesting new change.

 

[Dreamwalker]

The sound of the car going into the driveway right outside his home shot Hibiki out of his frozen state, as his mother rushed him to go assist with the luggage and greet the newcomer, while she prepared a warm greeting. At that very particular moment, while sprinting towards the exit and hastily putting on a random pair of slipper shoes, he felt quite grateful that his family resided on the outskirts of Tokyo and thus lived in an actual two story house rather than a cramped small block of flats, which would have made for an uncomfortable situation when carrying suitcases. As a matter of fact, the building had once been in a traditional Japanese style of architecture, though, after some necessary renovation, it was now fully redesigned and possessed most modern conveniences. The only reminder of the structure's past was the garden grown all around it by Hibiki's grandparents.


At last he went outside, passing through the beautiful greenery planted and tended to by his deceased grandmother, and finally reached the car. Upon doing so, he directed all his attention to his father, who was just getting out of the vehicle. "Hibiki! Open the car door and help our new family member! Don't mind me, I wan't born yesterday..." the old man said, an irritated look on his face. He had become dissatisfied by his son neglecting his manners and not being polite enough to the student. Signing, Hibiki simply followed through his parent's orders without attempting to say anything in response since that would ultimately prove pointless. Upon carrying them out, he was certainly surprised. To be honest, he had almost hoped to find an empty seat but, instead, in front of him stood and actual breathing living person. He had been sure up to this moment that he would be able to deal with this situation yet, as his emotions created a chaos in his head, Hibiki didn't quite know what feeling had taken over him at the certain moment. Well, most of all, he was gripped by confusion. Helpless and lost at the moment, he simply forced a smile and spoke up, trying to keep his tone high, light and as cheerful as possible "Welcome~! My name is Hibiki Kobayoshi, the only son of the Kobayoshi family. It's a pleasure to meet you! I promise that we will take great care of you. Now, let me help you out with the luggage...". Before even waiting for an answer, he was going for the girl's bags, somehow taking most of them and then quickly headed back towards the house, miraculously neither falling nor dropping anything along the way. Introductions could wait for after they were inside the building. Currently, Hibiki simply wanted to get this over with so that the girl could settle in as soon as possible.


"Oh, you are finally back!" his mother said when he entered, a nervous look on her face. As much as the woman adored meeting new people and hosing guests of all sorts and from all around the world, she would always begin panicking at the last second and doubting herself. "Your father and the girl are coming, right?" she questioned, simultaneously gazing at the mirror and tucking in a few loose strand of hair in her hight bun to make sure that everything in her appearance was flawless. "Yes, yes they will be here soon. No need to worry, mother, just take in a deep breath to calm yourself down" Hibiki replied.


Just as those words were uttered, the door creaked open.

 

[AiEnma]

"Oh, hello my name is..." she had to trail off because the guy had already left. 'Kind of rude of him, to not even letting introduce myself. Oh well, at least he was nice enough to take my luggage inside.' she thought. She took off her seat belt off and got out of the car slowly, walking up the pathway. 'Such a beautiful garden. Must have taken ages of creating it.' she thought. She followed Hibiki's father to the door.


Hibiki's father opened the door and walked in, holding the door open for her. "Welcome to Tokyo, Japan, but mostly welcome to our home." he said to her. She smiled, while nodding, and walked into their home. It was beautiful and very modern. She wasn't used to seeing beautiful old fashioned like these. Nalani remember that it was custom to Japanese culture to take off shoes in the house. She took her heels off and held them in her hands. She was going to have to get used to not wear shoes inside the house. She sighed and smiled. "Hello, my name is Nalani Edwards. It is an honor to be invited into your home. I am coming all the way from Sacramento, California." she said, politely. She looked around. The house was bigger than she had expected, since she has heard that Japanese houses were a lot smaller.

 

[Dreamwalker]

"Welcome, dear Nalani. My name is Aika. I your mother" the woman said happily, her voice ringing with excitement and cheeks red all over. "Host mother..." Hibiki added in order to clarify. Shooting him what could be described as an annoyed smile, Aika went over to Nalani proceeding with her talk "My husband name is Yuichi, while my son there Hibiki", after which she grabbed the shoes from the girl's hand and put them away in the entrance's hallway where everyone else had placed their own shoe-wear, then practically dragged the girl towards the dining room that, unlike its western cousin, was equipped with four zaisu (chairs without legs) and a rather massive kotatsu (low wooden table), though the futon on top of it was missing as well as the heater beneath it. On the table itself lay some traditional Japanese dishes such as fried rice, onigiri, udon, sukiyaki, gyoza and yakitori as well as many more. The woman had certainly put all of her skills into cooking this dinner, as she wanted to present herself in the best way possible.


In the meanwhile, Hibiki and his father remained in the hallway, though currently the elderly man was taking off his coat to put on a clothes hanger. Unlike him, the son was simply contemplating. He was rather impressed by how Nalani had been considerate enough and had, in the first place, been aware of the fact that it was a custom to take off one's shoes when entering the house. Consequently, he wondered if she knew of any other traditions and common gestures. Maybe she wasn't going to be such a burden after all and would become accustomed more quickly than any of his other foreign acquaintances. He though about them for a second, how loud they were sometimes and how strange they behaved... how strange this place was to them when they arrived at first. It all depended on the severance of the culture shock everyone has to go through, after all. "Hibiki, Yuichi, we are waiting!" they could suddenly hear his mother's voice calling out and thus the two of them hurried off to the table and took their respective seats. Of course, the parent's sat on one side of the kotatsu while Hibki and Nalani were situated on the other.


As soon as everyone had taken their places, Aika turned to Hibiki to ask him for a favour or, more specifically, help with a translation. After listening his mother's words through, he spoke up "We welcome you in our humble home, Nalani, as well as into our family. Since this is your first day here my mother decided that the best thing to do would be to prepare some traditional dishes so that you could... taste the spirit of Japan... Of course, if the food does not appeal to you, we have some other meals prepared that are western, or at least so my mother promises."

 

[AiEnma]

She looked over at Hibiki's mother and only smiled. "Thank you, for being so kind and considering. I am always willing to try new things. Also you have a beautiful home." she said so politely. She looked around, noticing the traditional attire of their home. This family looked like they were into their traditional ways. "May, I say..this is a different style of sitting and eating. I am so used to eating in a chair or even in my room. But I respect other people's homes." she said. Nalani looked at the food that was set on the table. It looked like Hibiki's mother spent all day just preparing food, for her arrival.


She then turned off her phone, since she was so used to following her parents' rule of no phones at the table and put the phone beside her. It would be disrespectful of her to have her phone turned on while she, was a guest in someone's home. 'Remember what dad said, be respectful, but at the same time charming, in someone else's home.' she thought. She had her hands in her lap the entire time, using the simple rule of no elbows on the table. "I apologize, if I seem rude, but I always pray to bless my food, and ward off bad spirits, if you do not mind." she said. She bowed her head and said a quick simple prayer. She then turned her attention back on her hosts.

 

[Dreamwalker]

It was certainly nice to see Nalani turning off her phone as well as keeping her elbows off the table since many foreigners forgot to do that for some reason. Even the little prayer she said before turning back to her hosts seemed quite considerate. She was undoubtedly a well-behaved and nice person... Hibiki wondered about the girl's background, where she grew up and who her parents were. These little details were still unknown to him, (god damn parents!), so he would have to figure this out by himself. She certainly appeared to have been brought up in a household similar to his. This theory was both calming as it would mean that she would get along well with his parents but, on the other hand, it was equally discouraging. While his family was out he tended to immediately change his clothes into more screaming and bright ones as well as switch attitudes on the spot, yet now there may or may not have appeared an obstacle in his way of doing so. Hibiki was unsure whether Nalani would stay quiet about his second life or not... That didn't matter, however. He was going to act in whatever way he wanted and hope that the girl would not react sharply.


Feeling reassured for the moment and confident again, Hibiki averted he glimpsed at the girl, exhaled then said "Itadakimasu", after which he reached for his pair of chopsticks. His parents did the same while Aika shot a smile at Nalani, anxious to know if the girl enjoyed her cooking. However, a though crossed the woman's mind out of the blue "Well, how bad of me. Do you know eat with chopsticks?".

 

[AiEnma]

She smiled a little, turning towards Hibiki's mother. "Um, I never tried to master the technique of using chopsticks, but I have seen other people do it. I guess I don't mind learning how." she said, smiling. She picked her chopsticks up, like she other people doing, and reached for something that looked really good. She tasted it and smiled. "Oh, Ms. Aika, your cooking is very delicious. I have always loved homemade cooking." she said. Then she finished her food. It was really delicious.


She didn't know if she should reach for something else to eat, but decided not to seem rude and wait to what her host family would do next. She probably, should have learned more about eating just a regular dinner. She felt kind of a little embarrassed and simply took sip of her drink. It was nice and tasted good. The first night there and she was already messing up.

 

[Dreamwalker]

Aika's small smile suddenly grew huge as Nalani complemented her cooking. With a giggle, the woman spoke up "I am very very happy! I can teach you how cook, if you want. Hibiki never wanted learn how to cook. He is lazy man.". Her son almost chocked when hearing his mother's words. Of course, she was simply joking around but to embarrass him in front of Nalani was simply overdoing it. Not paying attention to what his mother was saying, as she continued on sharing some childhood moments of his, he continued eating.


And yet, Hibiki suddenly stopped himself when noticing that the girl dared not reach for any of the dishes. Concluding that she must be feeling quite uncomfortable, he whispered to her "Don't worry and reach for whatever food you wish. Here in Japan we usually share the meals rather than have a separate plate for everyone. Dig in..." That was the most he could do at the moment since he was unable to make his mother pipe down, neither get some help in doing so from his father. Hibiki could only sit back and endure.


It certainly came to him as a relief when Aika switched the topic and asked for his assistance with translating. "Nalani" Hibiki began "the house you are in right now is quite old, although it might not look that way. It dates back to the time of my grand grandparents who built it themselves. The same goes for the garden. It has been tended to by out ancestors and we continue to care for it. We care for our home and take pride in it... thus my mother insist on me giving you a short tour around it after we have finished dinning. In the meanwhile, she wishes for you to tell us something about your family, if that isn't a problem."

 

[AiEnma]

Nalani smiled a little when, Hibiki told her that she could eat whatever she liked. She started to eat some more food, slowly but enjoy every bite that she took. It was really splendid. "Oh! Thank you, I would love to learn how to cook here." she said, while looking at Hibiki's mother. She continued to eat her food. She now wished, she could have eaten more Japanese styled dishes back home. She took another sip of a drink. When Hibiki's mother started talking about him, she only smiled. Then when Hibiki had translated what his mother had said, she looked at his parents.


"Your house is very beautiful, by the way. I would love to have a tour of it. Back home in Sacramento, my mom was a real estate agent, she would also love your house. My father works at the Children's Hospital as a oncologist. Sadly to say, I am an only child. I went to a private school, so I am used to wearing uniforms. It would be a big change for me when I start school." she said so calmly. She took another bite of her food. Then she realized that she forgot to ask if her other belongings had arrived.


"Excuse me, not to seem rude, but did the rest of my belonging arrive here. I was just wondering." she said.

 

[Dreamwalker]

Yuichi, who was the least well off in English of the bunch, turned to his son. Hibiki again began translating "My father says not to worry about your other belongings. They are supposed to be arriving soon and he is going to take care of carrying them to the room you will be using in the house. Speaking of it, I shall show it to you after we are done eating during the tour of the house. In the meanwhile, my father appears to have something else to say..." he then took a moment to hear Yuichi out before continuing "Since you told us about your household it is our turn. As you can see we are a close-knit family, my mother being an artist and ad designer, while my father is an accountant. He says he is very impressed by the fact that your dad is an oncologist since the doctor profession in general is highly esteemed here. Furthermore, I am an only child as well... according to my father this will be a reason for us to get along. Let's hope he is right... Also, a thing to note is that you will be going to the same school as me so I hope that eases you into the change of being in a completely new surrounding."


Retaining a blunt and emotionless expression, Hibiki turned to his plate and finished his meal off.

 

[AiEnma]

She turned to see that Hibiki has been the most quiet person there, when he wasn't translating. 'I wonder what is bothering Hibiki. He has be so quiet the entire time.' she thought. She then turned back towards Hibiki's parents and smiled. "Oh, thank you for taking care of my belongings." she said. She ate a few more pieces of food and smiled to Hibiki's mother. "I am sorry if I seemed, like a barbarian who hasn't eating in weeks. It is just that I pretty much slept on the entire way here." she said politely. She was then finished with her dinner.


She also finished her drink, within a few more sips and then she turned towards Hibiki. "I don't mean to seem rude and pushy. I am ready to get a tour of the house if you are ready, Hibiki." she said to him.

 

[Dreamwalker]

Not giving Hibiki any time to respond, Aika spoke up instead "Do not worry. You have been very nice. Now, Hibiki will give you a tour of the house! Go on, do not make her wait!" The woman, who had the most content smile on her face after being able to say all this in English, made a gesture for her son to hurry up.


Obeying his mother, Hibiki simply stood up and waited for Nalani to follow him. Right after exciting the dinning room, he began explaining. "As you can see we are currently in the hallway. That's kind of obvious, but I wanted to draw your attention to the paintings on the wall since they are my mum's and she specifically instructed me to show them to you... I actually hope she didn't bother you too much throughout dinner as she can be a little too hyper at times..." realising the sincerely concerned expression he had at the the time, Hibiki immediately wiped it off of his face and continued playing it cool. "Anyway, the door right besides the dinning room's sliding one is that to the kitchen, though you might have noticed that it is already connected with the dinning room. Moving on, in the back is the bathroom, which you can use whenever you wish. You know that stereotype about Japanese people loving to bathe...? It is one hundred percent true. If you do not like traditional baths, however, we have a shower in the upstairs' one. Besides the bathroom is the laundry room. The only other space on this floor is the living room, which is on the other side of the house since it takes up a lot of space due to its size... It is furnished with all the typical pieces you could find in such a space, though there are also some family photos and bookshelves if you would like to take a look at them or anything of that sort... That is pretty much all there is to he first floor! Shall we continue or do you have any questions?" Spinning around after his inquiry, Hibiki leaned against the wall, waiting for an answer.

 

[AiEnma]

Nalani only smiled polity, when Hibiki's mother rushed him to give her the tour of the house. She simply stood up, cleaned off her dress and followed Hibiki towards the hallway. As he was talking, he talked about his mother's paintings. Nalani, was in awe, as she walked up and the hallways, admiring the paintings. "Hibiki, your mother is a good artist. I have never seen paintings that were calm like, but at the same time popped with emotion." she said. She listened to him as he talked about the other parts of the first floor.


"Thank you, for allowing me to be in the living room, but I don't think I would be able to understand the language of the books, since I speak so little of the language. Thank you, though for offering, though. That was really nice." she smiled at him. She looked around the first floor some more. She was admiring, the scenery. Japanese people took really, good care of their homes and have a really nice design. She then looked at Hibiki and smiled again. "No, no questions. But please, continue." she said politely.