Chapter 25

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And so began my new life. The weekdays all began with getting breakfast for Yuriko and myself and getting ready for Sensei Ton’s class. I tried my best to learn Japanese. Aki helped me every evening for a few minutes while we cleaned up after dinner. I was trying to keep up. Now that he was teaching me to write it as well as read and speak, I spent several hours sitting in the garden learning to make the brushstrokes go in the correct direction. I also took breaks to read Japanese history. It was harder than the time I spent in college.

I usually didn’t see Joō-sama from breakfast until she buzzed for me later in the afternoon.