He grumbled as he straightened his tie. His mother patted his hand gently as sheunbuckled her seatbelt from the front passenger seatof the car. Sitting next to him was his younger sister who was wearing the same placid expression. The person who had just vacated the car was their father who was standing impatiently outside waiting for them.

“I know this isn’t the type of place the two of you wanted to be on a Sunday” their mother replied to her two children in the back who had reluctantly unbuckled their seat belts.

“That’s for darn sure” the teenage boy replied brushing a hand through his short black hair.

“You know how important this is to your father. It was his cousin after all,” the woman said adjusting the earring in her left ear and then placing her long black hair in a fancy clip.

“Come on mom let’s be realistic” the boy replied with a sigh, “The only reason he cares so much is to make a good impression on the Minazawa family” he slumped back.

“Well maybe that’s true” she nodded, “But still you promised me. Please behave yourselves,” she added seriously.

“No problem for me" the little girl shrugged straightening out her black kimono by brushing her hand across it carefully.

“Of course she hasno problem,” the boy said clicking his tongue irritated.

“Akito” his mother replied staring at him with her penetrating brown eyes, “You promised.”

“All right” he agreed, “But why were we invited to this particular funeral anyway?” he asked as he looked out the window as some family members passed, “That’s never happened before.”

“Everybody has been invited” she replied, “The entire family. Besides uh” she hesitated, “There is a reason I wanted you to come. In particularly you Akito” she looked at her son directly.

“Why’s that?” he asked and she glanced at her daughter.

“Hinako” she said, “Go stand outside with your father. He’s getting impatient and I really need to talk to your brother alone.”

“Sure mama” she nodded and opened the car door and carefully got out.

“Akito” the woman returned her gaze to the boy, “I have learned from one of the cousins who called me this week, that there is going to be an unknown face at the funeral.”

“Unknown face?”

“Yes. Your father knows about it as well because he works in the family business. But apparently the man whose funeral we are going to today.”

“Eichi Minazawa” he filled in rolling his eyes slightly.

“Right” she nodded, “I know you have heard of him, well apparently without anyone’s knowledge he has an illegitimate child.”

“What?” Akito raised an eyebrow and slid forward noticing his father depart the car in a huff with his daughter in tow, “Dad just left” he replied.

“Oh he’ll be all right. This is important. I heard that this young girl is an American and apparently up until this point she didn’t even know she had a father.”

“Well who is she living with?” Akito said a bit concerned and still a bit shocked.

“She’s an orphan so I don’t really know. The point is she’s come to live in this country as of today.”

“Why? Doesn’t she have family in her own country?”

“Apparently not” his mother shook her head, “From what I heard she has been living on her own since her mother died, and also Eichi Minazawa was giving her support but she never met him.”

“Oh cute” he said with a frown, “Her own father wouldn’t even come send for her when her mother passed away?”

“You know how the family is. It would have been a scandal. He was married after all.”

“Oh right. I forgot. Protect the Minazawa family reputation at all at costs” he replied sarcastically.

“Anyway” she nodded, “That’s why I asked you here. She’s all alone and she needs a friend. And I knew you would be the best person for the job.”

“Me?”

“Mhm.”

“Why me?”

“Because you are good with people Akito. I’m not just bragging because I am your mother. You’re known for it” he lowered his eyes a bit embarrassed but smiling just the same, “Besides she is more than likely going to your school eventually.”

“I see” I nodded, “Okay mom. I’ll see what I can do. Although that might be kind of difficult at a funeral. I mean who is she staying with while she is here?”

“Well that’s the tricky part, she’s staying at the main house.”

“With that crotchety old crone?” he grimaced.

“Akito show more respect” she frowned and insisted.

“Sorry. I mean Miss Keiko Minazawa” he replied trying to stomach the words.

“Mhm” his mother opened her car door.

“Well, okay” he nodded opening his own door, “I’ll do what I can.”

“Good” she grinned as they climbed out and stood next to each other gazing at the family shrine, “That will give you a good excuse to not be around if a certain person shows up” she looked at him.

“Oh believe me if he shows up, I’ll be as far away from him as I can be” he shook his head and then they both headed into the shrine.

(Next Scene)

The wind was blowing a bit cold as they stood outside in the dismal weather for Eichi Minazawa’s funeral. There were dozens of people and from what Akito Minazawa could tell his mother hadn’t been joking when she said the entire family. In the front was the main family, including Sosuke Minazawa the head of the family. Sosuke was sixty-eight and still in his prime as not only the head of the family but also the head of all the Minazawa corporations throughout Japan. When he was only seventeen he became the head of the company when his own father the late Hideki Minazawa passed away by a long-term illness. He married Keiko when he was nineteen and together the two of them ran the family much like a traditional Japanese one. Standing next to Keiko who was known in the Minazawa family to be a tough and hard woman since she was very strict about tradition coming from a traditional family herself, was their eldest son Genji Minazawa. At the moment he helped his father to run the corporation as his vice president since out of all their four sons he was the most qualified because of his many intensified years of schooling. He was what you could call a genius child and when he was only fourteen he graduated from high school and moved onto college, which he took for several years. As the oldest he was married first and had been happily married for at least twenty years. His wife Chiyo was in charge of all the family functions that happened throughout the year. Together they were parents to three children all of which were intended to enter into the Minazawa family business since two of them were sons. Their daughter would follow the age-old family traditions of a typical Japanese girl. Next to them stood the second eldest son, Keiichi who was the only son unmarried. A potential bachelor he was the traveling member of the family who traveled all over Japan and even other foreign countries assisting in the family business. Next to him stood the second youngest son Mitao. Mitao was a lower worker in the family corporation but like his older brother Genji he hoped to be boosted up to a higher post when someday he took over the corporation when their father retired, which according to Sosuke Minazawa would stillbe some time. He too was married but only for five years. He met his wife Hitomi while on a business trip in Kyoto and just like all the other main family members she too had come from an old traditional family.

As far as he could tell Akito only recognized a handful of the people. Most he had met at the new years party the Minazawas through every year. He tried to stay still as the ceremony continued and finally he noticed that next to Keiko Minazawa although he hadn’t noticed because she was so small that there was indeed a girl dressed in the traditional family kimono. Her long brown hair was falling over her eyes and he couldn’t get quite a good look at her. But as the service ended and everyone began to walk inside because of the grey clouds that werestarting to appear overhead he nodded his head silently to himself and then followed his family into the shrine.

(Next Scene)

Out back behind the shrine a bunch of tents had been put up and even though it was pouring as of yet, he still felt it was kind of dumb to be having the wake outside when there was a possibility of rain. But again it was just another Minazawa family tradition that he didn’t agree with. Sometime when the wake started to get into its fourth hour he went in search of the American his mother had told him about. He could see his father laughing it up with some cousins he hadn’t talked to in about a year. The glasses on his father’s nose slid down a little which he promptly placed back up. His mother and younger sister were talking with the family he did know and actually liked. As for the main family they were all standing in the front talking to the guests as they passed a large table filled with black flowers. He scanned the crowd for the girl but he could not see her. That was until it started to drizzle a little and out of the corner of his eye he saw her walk away fast from the group towards the back of the shrine where the gazebos and bridges were located over fancy ponds. So he quickly glanced around to see no one was watching then dashed after her as inconspicuously as he possibly could.

When he finally caught up to her she was sitting on a bench located close to under a large tree. The rain was dripping off the leaves as he walked over slowly. He could tell that she was crying as he approached and took a deep breath before speaking.

“Are you all right?” he asked gently.

Luci looked up into his brown eyes astonishingly her own hazel eyes damp from her crying.

“I’m fine” she nodded, “I just needed to get away from there.”

“Kind of stuffy huh?” he teased.

“What?” she replied softly not understanding.

“The family. They can be that way. It’s much more cooler out here.”

“I. Okay” she said still not understanding.

“What I mean is, for functions like this the family can be rather traditional and a bit uptight.”

“Were you at the funeral?”

“Yea. In the back. I don’t recall ever seeing you there until you were leaving it that is.”

“I was in the front. Actually I’m not really supposed to talk to anyone right now. But I just had to get away from there.”

“If you were in the front, then aren’t you with the main family?” he asked knowing fully well she was.

“Yes.”

“How did you know the deceased? Because I didn’t.”

“Aren’t you with the family?” she replied confused.

“Well yes” he nodded, “But I am sort of with the outer family.”

“Outer family?”

“Mhm” he nodded again and bowed, “Second cousin, Akito Minazawa at your service.”

“Second cousin?”

“That’s right. My father was the deceased person’s first cousin.”

“Oh. I see.”

“So what’s your name?” he asked casually.

“Luci. Minazawa. Although it’s not the name I have been going by up to this point.”

“What name have you been going by and might I add you don’t look like you're fromaround here at all?”

“Well I’m not. I just got here today. Can you keep a secret? I mean like I told you I’m not really supposed to be talking to anyone.”

“Sure” he nodded, “I mean there’s no one else around here. Your secrets safe with me.”

“Well the truth is, the person who just died, the funeral I mean.”

“Uh huh.”

“He was my father.”

“Your father?”

“Mhm.”

“I didn’t know that Eichi Minazawa had a daughter.”

“Not many people do” she continued as he sat down next to her undoing his tie a little, “You see the circumstances of my existence are kind of complicated.”

“You’re an illegitimate child aren’t you?” he finished.

“How did you know that?”

“Well to be perfectly honest I was asked to talk to you,” he admitted with a smile.

“Asked by who?”

“My mother.”

“Your mother?”

“Uh huh. You see she knew that you were new toourcountry and that you would be all by yourself or alone as she put and she suggested that I’d try and cheer you up if I could.”

“Why you?”

“Apparently I’ve got that reputation of being an easy person to talk to.”

“So you already knew all that stuff about me didn’t you? Why did you ask all those questions then?”

“Because I wanted to make sure that they were true.”

“How come?”

“Because my mother tends to be overly dramatic sometimes,” he said a bit sarcastically.

“Oh” she smiled a little and then turned her head as she wiped the tears from her cheek.

“But I can see that she wasn’t wrong. Everything was pretty much what she said.”

“Oh.”

“So I guess that means that you’re also living at the main house too?” he added.

“Yes. Although I don’t know much about it yet. I just met my grandmother this morning.”

“Oh” he said a bit with a frown and turned his own head.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing” he shook his head.

“No really tell me” she replied a bit worried.

“Well, I’m not encouraged to say stuff like this, but to be frank with you. I don’t like her” he said seriously as he stood up and crossed his arms.

“What?”

“Not many people do. She’s a mean something or other, I can’t really say it. Let me put it this way she would be the main reason I hate going to family functions. And I guarantee I’m not the only one who feels that way.”

“Oh” Luci lowered her head slightly.

“So when I heard you were living with her, well I felt for you. See I’m a Minazawa by blood but it doesn’t mean that I’m like any of them. Or that I want to be like any of them.”

“I don’t understand? Why?”

“Well, our family is very, very traditional. I mean for crying out loud it’s already the 21st century. I have friends whose lives are so much less traditional and morelike today’s world that I would absolutely kill for their lives. It’s not that I am against tradition. Actually some traditions are quite wonderful and should be carried out but some families, this family in particular carries it too far. I’m not going to get into the full details of that right now. Besides I’m doing a lousy job of cheering you up by telling you all this aren’t I?” he said with another handsome grin.

“Kinda” she giggled blushing a little.

“Okay. Let’s talk about something else. How old are you?”

“I’m sixteen.”

“What?” he blinked and then looked at her quizzically, “What did you say?”

“Sixteen” she repeated.

“No you’re not” he shook his head.

"Yes I am" she insisted.

"All right then can you stand up for a second?"

“Okay” she nodded and stood up.

“You’re so small” he smiled slightly, “How could you be sixteen? How tall are you?”

“Uh” she replied, “Four foot three.”

“But you look like so small and you talk like you’re a little girl. You’re really sixteen?”

“Yes. But I can get my birth certificate if you don’t believe me.”

“No that’s okay. But I honestly thought you were my little sister’s age.”

“How old is she?”

“Nine and a half. And she is about four feet.”

“Oh. Well” she sat back down, “I’ve always been short and little. Ever since I was small.”

“Oh. Well that’s not a bad thing. I was just surprised.”

“You really thought I was nine years old?”

“Well ten maybe. Or maybe eleven. Of course I wondered why my mother wanted me talking to a ten year old. I just assumed she didn’t your know age. Or something. I apologize.”

“It’s okay” she nodded, “It’s happened many times before. I’m used to it. And despite that you did make me feel better. But I probably should be getting back. Besides it looks like it’s gonna pour any minute.”

“Yea” he nodded, “Duty calls” he sighed, “But now that we’ve met” he grinned looking at her directly, “I don’t think you’re not going to notknow anybody anymore.”

“I think you’re right” she nodded back and then they both stood up and headed back to the tents just as the rain started to pour.

(Till Next Time)

Authors Note:

Next Chapter: New Home Rules

Luci tries to adjust to her new home life with much difficulty. See what happens next time!