Soon, the entire Uchiwa family would be having dinner at Grandma Mikoto’s. So, of course, Minoru was spending the afternoon with Uncle Sasuke (and his ever-expanding collection of pet snakes). It was, and always had been, his favorite place to be whenever he had the chance to visit Japan. But this time, something seemed a little off. His uncle couldn’t help but notice.
“Something on your mind? You’re not nearly as cheerful as you usually are.”
Minoru carefully put the lid back on one of the enclosures.
“I guess I’m just a little nervous, that’s all.” He shrugged, glancing down at a fire morph. Its golden tones were especially satiny and its rich dark patterns seemed especially captivating all of a sudden.
His uncle cracked a smile. “Don’t worry. I promise I won’t tell anybody you started taking online classes. You KNOW your secret’s safe with me.”
Minoru snickered back. The laughter tapered off nervously.
“It’s not that… it’s just…”
Sasuke waited patiently for his nephew to gather his thoughts. A curious butter morph, much like the one Minoru had back home, climbed up his arm.
“I invited Ziggy to have dinner with the whole extended family.” He continued. “I guess, well, it’s the first time I’ve ever done that and I just want it to go well.”
Minoru didn’t have much experience with bringing dates home. Unlike Isamu, who introduced dozens of girls (and the occasional boy) to his parents over the years, Ziggy was Minoru’s first and only relationship to date. Sasuke knew that, and he knew how strange this kind of anxiety must feel to someone who never had to think about it before.
“Of course you do.” He nodded, gently guiding the snake toward his other arm.
“Mama and Papa have met him before.” Minoru clarified. “I think they were a little confused at first, but they like him. They’re definitely friends with the Jones family. They couldn’t wait to see Tom and Aletayria when we all got to Vegas.”
Sasuke nodded.
“But you know Grandma Mikoto. She’s really… well…” In lieu of the right word, he summed it up by adding, “She likes things a certain way.”
Minoru still had to wrap up his left wrist to hide his tattoo, he often had to choke down at least a few spoonfuls of her famous tonkatsu ramen despite being a vegetarian, and he always got compared to his brother when it came to academic achievements.
“Oh, believe me, I know.” Sasuke nodded. Mikoto was his mother, after all. and that made him quite the expert. Mikoto had always been a fiercely stern, traditional woman. And he’d lived a lifetime being compared to Itaru’s academic achievements. “Your father moved all the way to America for some peace and quiet, leaving me to pick up the slack! But then YOU came along, so…”
He ruffled Minoru’s hair, in an attempt to make his nephew laugh. It worked, but only for a moment.
“I know Ziggy is… different.”
There was so much hidden in that one word: His confident, boisterous personality. His empathic powers. The mismatch between the gender of his preferred pronouns to his preferred titles. The peculiarities of his half-Anthean biology. His lifestyle as a rock star, not to mention being from a different world entirely. All these things and more, which Minoru couldn’t actually reveal. Fortunately, he didn’t have to.
“If it makes you feel any better, I was pretty nervous about bringing Hanako over to dinner the first time too.”
Minoru’s head shot up, “You were?”
“Oh, definitely.”
Before Minoru could ask why, the door to the breeding room slid open with a resounding clack. In marched Aunt Hanako. Every step she took was confidently unapologetic, even though they were large enough to pull her yukata partially open. She was tall and thin, both powerful and dainty at the same time. Her hair was normally black, but she’d dyed it bright orange in the beginning of the summer. Pulled back in a loose bun, the roots were definitely starting to show, but that didn’t bother her either. Her hands came to rest solidly on her hips as she looked them both over.
“If you boys don’t start getting your butts in gear, we’re going to be late.”
“All right, all right.” Laughing, Sasuke gave a nod to his wife, easing the ball python back into a freshly cleaned enclosure. “Like I was saying, I was nervous at first too. But then I remembered, I love Hanako because of all the things that make her who she is. If Mom doesn’t like it, then that’s her problem.”
Hanako’s expression immediately softened as she laughed. “And not her only one.”
She walked up to her husband and pecked him gently on the cheek before turning to her nephew and poking him gently on the forehead.
“Well, I, for one, cannot wait to meet your koibito.” She smiled. “But first, I could use a hand wrangling your cousins. You know how Yume and Mirai are.”
4. Seeking an Expert Opinion
“Something on your mind? You’re not nearly as cheerful as you usually are.”
Minoru carefully put the lid back on one of the enclosures.
“I guess I’m just a little nervous, that’s all.” He shrugged, glancing down at a fire morph. Its golden tones were especially satiny and its rich dark patterns seemed especially captivating all of a sudden.
His uncle cracked a smile. “Don’t worry. I promise I won’t tell anybody you started taking online classes. You KNOW your secret’s safe with me.”
Minoru snickered back. The laughter tapered off nervously.
“It’s not that… it’s just…”
Sasuke waited patiently for his nephew to gather his thoughts. A curious butter morph, much like the one Minoru had back home, climbed up his arm.
“I invited Ziggy to have dinner with the whole extended family.” He continued. “I guess, well, it’s the first time I’ve ever done that and I just want it to go well.”
Minoru didn’t have much experience with bringing dates home. Unlike Isamu, who introduced dozens of girls (and the occasional boy) to his parents over the years, Ziggy was Minoru’s first and only relationship to date. Sasuke knew that, and he knew how strange this kind of anxiety must feel to someone who never had to think about it before.
“Of course you do.” He nodded, gently guiding the snake toward his other arm.
“Mama and Papa have met him before.” Minoru clarified. “I think they were a little confused at first, but they like him. They’re definitely friends with the Jones family. They couldn’t wait to see Tom and Aletayria when we all got to Vegas.”
Sasuke nodded.
“But you know Grandma Mikoto. She’s really… well…” In lieu of the right word, he summed it up by adding, “She likes things a certain way.”
Minoru still had to wrap up his left wrist to hide his tattoo, he often had to choke down at least a few spoonfuls of her famous tonkatsu ramen despite being a vegetarian, and he always got compared to his brother when it came to academic achievements.
“Oh, believe me, I know.” Sasuke nodded. Mikoto was his mother, after all. and that made him quite the expert. Mikoto had always been a fiercely stern, traditional woman. And he’d lived a lifetime being compared to Itaru’s academic achievements. “Your father moved all the way to America for some peace and quiet, leaving me to pick up the slack! But then YOU came along, so…”
He ruffled Minoru’s hair, in an attempt to make his nephew laugh. It worked, but only for a moment.
“I know Ziggy is… different.”
There was so much hidden in that one word: His confident, boisterous personality. His empathic powers. The mismatch between the gender of his preferred pronouns to his preferred titles. The peculiarities of his half-Anthean biology. His lifestyle as a rock star, not to mention being from a different world entirely. All these things and more, which Minoru couldn’t actually reveal. Fortunately, he didn’t have to.
“If it makes you feel any better, I was pretty nervous about bringing Hanako over to dinner the first time too.”
Minoru’s head shot up, “You were?”
“Oh, definitely.”
Before Minoru could ask why, the door to the breeding room slid open with a resounding clack. In marched Aunt Hanako. Every step she took was confidently unapologetic, even though they were large enough to pull her yukata partially open. She was tall and thin, both powerful and dainty at the same time. Her hair was normally black, but she’d dyed it bright orange in the beginning of the summer. Pulled back in a loose bun, the roots were definitely starting to show, but that didn’t bother her either. Her hands came to rest solidly on her hips as she looked them both over.
“If you boys don’t start getting your butts in gear, we’re going to be late.”
“All right, all right.” Laughing, Sasuke gave a nod to his wife, easing the ball python back into a freshly cleaned enclosure. “Like I was saying, I was nervous at first too. But then I remembered, I love Hanako because of all the things that make her who she is. If Mom doesn’t like it, then that’s her problem.”
Hanako’s expression immediately softened as she laughed. “And not her only one.”
She walked up to her husband and pecked him gently on the cheek before turning to her nephew and poking him gently on the forehead.
“Well, I, for one, cannot wait to meet your koibito.” She smiled. “But first, I could use a hand wrangling your cousins. You know how Yume and Mirai are.”
Minoru smiled. “Sure thing, Aunt Hanako!”