Chapter Text
Koushi knows there’s something wrong the second he returns home from his part-time job. The first sign is that both his parent's cars are in the garage. His mother is never home during the day, she works some sort of finance job for a big company. At first, he thinks that maybe something happened to his siblings. At seventeen Koushi is the oldest of his siblings, there are the twins Tomoko and Katsuro who are eight, Akihiko who is three, and Izumi who just turned one the month before.
His second hint that something is wrong is that when he walks into the house it’s totally quiet. The twins aren’t fighting over anything, Akihiko isn’t throwing a tantrum, the baby isn’t crying. Koushi slips off his shoes in the doorway and sticks them on the shoe rack then heads into the kitchen.
“Koushi is that you?” His father, Hiroshi, calls from the living room. His parents and siblings are the only people who actually call him Koushi. He’d been dubbed Suga by his classmates in elementary school and the name had stuck for most of his life. Koushi is the only one of his siblings who had actually been born in Japan. They’d moved here for his mother’s job when he was four and they only went back once when Koushi was ten for his grandfather’s funeral. The twins had been one at the time and the flight there and back with them was a nightmare. Now that there were five kids the family probably wouldn’t be traveling anywhere.
“Yeah, I’m home!” He calls out. They used to speak Japanese more often at home but they’d used it less and less over the years. When they’d first moved to America Koushi and his father had only known Japanese. His mother spoke pretty fluent English but she was so tired of hearing it at work all day that she was happy to switch back to Japanese at home. They realized though when Koushi started school that it was going to be a problem. The school had to put him in ESL classes and his parents had to hire him an English tutor. His dad had taken English classes as well after that and they’d made sure that they spoke more English at home so that the twins didn’t have the same problem. Koushi’s English is better than his Japanese now and he barely remembers how to read or write the language.
“Could you come to the living room?” His mom, Fuyuko, says. Koushi is sure something is up now. He grabs a soda from the fridge and opens it on his way to the living room. Koushi’s parents are both sitting in their armchairs. The box they use to keep their important documents in is sitting on the table with a passport pulled out of it. Koushi sits down on the couch and plays with the tab on his drink.
“What’s up?” he puts his feet on the coffee table and pretends not to see his dad glare at them.
“Do you remember your Obaachan?” his father asks. Koushi remembers her a little bit. He knows they lived with her and his grandfather in Japan before they’d moved to America. He thinks that he might have some memories from back then but they’re blurry, he thinks that maybe he’s just making the memories up from pictures and videos he’s seen of his childhood. But they had stayed with her for a month after his grandfather had died.
“I remember her from Ojiichan’s funeral kind of,” She’d been quiet, reserved. Koushi thinks that she was a different person when he was little. He’s sure that the death of his grandfather had changed her from who she used to be.
“My cousin Kentaro called me today. She hasn’t been doing well recently and the family is worried about her living alone. She’s hired a day nurse but needs someone around at night as well in case she has a fall or an emergency,” Hiroshi explains. “As her only son, it is supposed to be my duty to care for her.”
“Is she coming to live with us?” Koushi asks. His parents exchanged a look.
“No, she doesn’t want to leave her house. It was built by my Ojiisan, and she doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life in some unfamiliar place.”
“So… You’re going to Japan then?” Koushi doesn’t like the sound of that. His father is a stay at home parent. There’s no way that his mom can take an extended amount of time off work. Koushi only has a month left of his junior year and he’s got the feeling that if his dad leaves he’ll be stuck babysitting his siblings all summer.
“Well… I thought about it but your siblings are so young that it would be hard for me to leave for an extended amount of time.” he clears his throat. “So your mother and I discussed it and we both agree that you’re a very responsible young man. We think that it would be best for you to go to Japan to help her.”
“I… you… what? Me? But I… the whole summer?” Koushi is in shock. How can they expect him to spend his last summer of high school in Japan taking care of a grandmother he barely knows?
“Actually… it might be a bit longer than the summer.”
“But I can’t miss school. It’ll be my senior year! And how am I supposed to graduate?”
“She’s family Koushi. The only other option is for your father to go and take all of you kids with.” Fuyuko says. Koushi can’t believe what he’s hearing.
“But if Otousan goes then I can still stay here. I can take care of myself while you’re at work! I have school and work and and… well Leah.” he argues.
“We’ve already looked into it, Koushi,” Hiroshi says. “Your grades have always been good. You’ve been on the honor roll every semester. So you’d be able to do your last year of high school in Japan.”
“But that’s… I can’t go to school in Japan!” Koushi knows he’d never be able to keep up in a Japanese classroom. He probably wouldn’t be able to even read anything. Would he have to write essays? Could he write them in English? Would the teachers be understanding?
“You’ll be able to attend my old high school Karasuno. We’ve already sent them your transcript and spoken to the principal. Once you’re there we’ll figure out arrangements for a tutor.”
“But… what about Volleyball? I was supposed to be captain next year! We’ve got summer training!” Koushi can’t just leave. His whole life is here, in San Fransisco. His team, his friends, his girlfriend.
“Karasuno has always had a good volleyball team Koushi. I’m sure you could continue playing there.” Koushi stares at the passport on the table. He’s sure that it’s his own. They’d taken a family trip to Canada last year and had all gotten them renewed. He wonders if he could burn it. Maybe the time it took for a new one to arrive would be long enough for his parents to realize how ridiculous this is.
“Don’t make me go,” He’s not above begging.
“You’re going Koushi. She’s your Obaasan and she needs you.” His mother’s word is always final. Koushi puts his soda down and holds his head in his hands. “The new school year has already started for Japanese students. The students have a break over golden week. You’ll fly in on the first day and get settled at your grandmother's. That way you won’t miss too much school.” Koushi’s head shoots back up.
“I don’t even get a summer vacation!?”
“Summer vacation will be from July 20th to the end of August. You’ll still get one.” Koushi can’t stand it anymore. He stands up from the couch and storms up to his bedroom slamming the door shut before throwing himself onto his bed. He pulls his pillow tight over his face and yells.
It’s not fair. How can they do this to him? How can they just expect him to give up everything to take care of some old woman he doesn’t even know? Sure she’s family but they’ve hardly interacted over the years. She barely ever calls, just sends letters every now and then that Koushi can never read. He used to have his dad read those letters to him. Then he’d write back to his grandmother. She never answered him though. How is he supposed to tell his friends that he’s leaving? His team? His girlfriend? He’ll have to quit his job. He was trying to save for college. He won’t be able to get a job in japan because he’ll have to take care of his grandmother. Koushi yells into his pillow again and kicks against the bed. The mattress bumps against the wall and his Volleyball falls off its shelf hitting him in the head before bouncing away.
“Fuck!” he yells into the pillow. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” He sits up and throws the pillow across the room. It plops uselessly against the wall and then falls onto Katsuro’s bed. Koushi rubs at his eyes. At least in japan, he won’t have to share his room with an eight-year-old.