Haru

We were waiting outside the train station of a little resort town called Aoi in Hokkaido, and since it was snowing and freakin' freezing, I found myself huddling against Aiden to steal some of his warmth.

After four days of fun, sight-seeing and eating our way around both Tokyo and Kyoto, now here we were, ready to meet up with Uncle Jin, whom Reo and I hadn't seen for over ten years.

Uncle Jin had used to live in Osaka, where he and Mom had been born and raised, but then he moved here to Hokkaido to open his own little ryokan a few years after Mom, Reo, and I moved to America when I had been eight years old.

I wondered if he still remembered us. I mean we've grown a lot, after all. Then again, Reo did say he had sent the old man photos of us via email, since they had always kept in contact. It was hard for me since I wasn't good at writing. I especially sucked at kanji. Every time I tried, the meaning would come out weird, and when translated to English, it became incomprehensible.

Isaac asked Reo, "You sure Uncle Jin hadn't forgotten about us coming today?"

Isaac sounded worried, even though we had only been waiting for five minutes.

Reo checked his smartphone and then nodded. "He hasn't forgotten. He texted to confirm one of his staff is picking us up."

"Then I hope we won't have to wait much longer because it's freezing out here," Isaac said.

"You can always wait inside," Mason suggested. "We'll call you when the ride is here."

Isaac was about to turn on his heel and do just that when Connor pulled him close and wrapped his arms around him. "I'll give you some of my heat."

Isaac pulled a face. "Still not warm enough."

"What about you, are you warm?" Aiden asked me.

I shifted my gaze to him and then nodded. "I'm warm enough, thanks."

"Good," he said, tightening his arms around me.

It was a few moments later when we saw a white van heading our way and then came to a stop right in front of us. A Japanese man who looked to be in his thirties got out of the driver's seat and came to greet Reo.

"Good afternoon," he said in English. "Are you Ono-san? Ono Reo-san?"

Reo nodded. "Yes."

The man chuckled and then bowed. "My name is Higa Tsubaki. I'm here to pick you up."

"Yay!" Isaac cheered. "We haven't been forgotten."

Even though Reo did say Uncle Jin had confirmed someone was coming to pick us up. That Isaac.

We gathered our luggage, put it into the back of the van, and then climbed into the vehicle. I took my place next to Aiden on the row behind the front seat while Mason and Isaac took the ones behind us, and Noah and Connor sat in the back. Reo hopped into the front seat, since he'd be the one who'd be doing most of the communication with Higa-san.

Then we were off, Higa-san driving us out of the station and then onto the road, traveling through the resort town that had a reminiscence of old-time charm, with the traditional Japanese buildings and houses along with Sakura trees that would bloom come spring. There was even a nice Shinto shrine to the north end of the main street for town folks, and tourists alike, to visit.

Once we passed the town, we were greeted by farmland on one side and Lake Aoi on the other. I must admit the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful, with the land and mountains in the distance covered in pure, white snow and the lake a deep blue color, fitting for its name, Aoi, which means blue in Japanese.

It was twenty minutes later when Higa-san said, "We're here."

Isaac and I sprang up to catch the first glimpse of Lake Aoi Resort and Onsen, Uncle Jin's little ryokan.

"Where?" Isaac asked, because all we could see was this massive nine-story building, shiny and sleek, amongst the thick forest of the trees.

I wondered if Uncle Jin's ryokan was too small, and hidden amongst the grove of trees, that we couldn't even spot it from here?

"That building looks new," Mason said.

Higa-san said, "It was finished five years ago. It's a beautiful building, if I say so myself. The townsfolk are very proud of it. It brings jobs to the town and tourists from around Japan and the world to this place. The town was unknown and quite poor before, but now it's thriving because of the hotel."

"Good business does that," Aiden said. "Glad to hear the town is thriving because of it."

"You know business, Mister Davis?"

Aiden nodded. "I have a degree in international business but am currently working as a real estate agent in New York."

Higa-san whistled. "No wonder the air around you is very… How should I say it? Confident? Strong charisma?"

I flicked my gaze to Aiden.

Confident. Charismatic. Yep, those words fit Aiden, all right.

I didn't know why but I felt this spark within me, like I was proud of Aiden when someone said good things about him.

Isaac said, "Still can't see Uncle Jin's little ryokan."

He was right. None of us could see any sign of it—a Japanese-style building similar to the ones back in town, with maple and Sakura trees and a Japanese stone garden with hot springs.

Noah said, "We'll see it soon enough."

Higa-san said, "But it's right there."

Isaac said, "Nope. Can't see it. I give up."

It was a few minutes later when the van maneuvered into the driveway of that massive nine-story building. Naturally, we all stared in shocked surprise at the sign displayed in big letters, in both Japanese and English: Lake Aoi Resort and Onsen.

What the hell? This was Uncle Jin's little ryokan? There was nothing little about this place. I, and everyone else, thought it was a tiny traditional type ryokan, not this fancy, modern resort style hotel.

I flicked my gaze to Higa-san, who looked pleased at our reaction. "Welcome to Lake Aoi Resort and Onsen," he said, as if to tease us.

"Holy shit! This is Uncle Jin's ryokan? No way! This is so awesome," Isaac said, obviously in awe and super hyped.