Love in Japan

Chapter 5

Seeing as I had no other choice, I hesitantly accepted the stranger's offer.
"Well... Okay... But I am forever in your debt!" I caved.
The stranger smiled kindly, and I found that it made my heart skip a beat. He had a really nice smile...
I watched in awe as he kindly offered his hand out to me. "Then, come on." He grinned broadly. I felt a slight rush of blood to my cheeks, and slowly accepted his hand. It was warm..
He tugged and pulled me up from the edge of the fountain. "I'm Matsumoto Aito. And you are?"
"... S-Savannah Tisdale."
"Wow, that's really pretty."
"... Thank you..."
"Well, come on! Ikkimashou!"
Before I could respond, Aito was leading me away, off in an unknown direction. "H-Hey...! Chotto matte yo!!"

*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*

Before I knew it, I was in from of a house with a plate on the wall with carved words embedded into it which read, "Matsumoto" when I slowly translated the symbols. So this was his house... Studying it, it was smallish; but I didn't at all think his family could be poor in the slightest. It was homey, and though small, very neat and pleasant. In a way, it was an average looking house, but myself, I thought it was very beautiful.
Aito and I stood in front of it, his hand still clamped tightly onto mine. I felt a bit awkward at this knowledge... Though they hadn't yet, I knew my sweaty hands would kick in any minute now from the skin-on-skin contact. Thanks so much for this trait, Mom... Now that a cute boy was finally holding my hand, the moment will be ruined. However, Aito let go before that occurred and motioned to the little house with a big smile, "Well this is it! Welcome to Matsumoto manner!"
I gapped at it. "Wow... It's pretty...!" I commented.
Aito laughed a little bit. "Yeah, I guess. Well what're you waiting for? Let's go!"
I blinked at him in surprise. "N-Now?" He wasn't serious, was he?
To barge in on a family like that... I couldn't possibly...
He took my hand again, just as I was drying it on my skirt.
"Don't worry, it's fine!"
"B-But! I can't just waltz right in like...!"
"Yes you can! C'mon!"
Before I could do or say anything further, I was tugged to the doorstep. Aito released my hand again, and stopped to open the door.
I didn't get the chance to take in any of my surroundings because quick as a flash, Aito had dragged me into his cozy little home; and somehow gotten my shoes to come off at the front as we came in.
"Tadaima!" He shouted to the seemingly empty house; the phrase used when returning home--- that I knew. "Okaeri!" A small voice called out, and before my eyes, appeared a small, cute girl. She seemed to be around 11 years old, and she had the biggest, prettiest brown eyes. She was adorable. Aito turned to me. "This is my younger sister, Emi." I waved at the cute girl, smiling. "Hi!" She waved back, but somehow, it seemed halfhearted.
"Okaeri!" Another response came from somewhere in the house, and soon before our very eyes, came a short, somewhat stout old woman, wearing traditional Japanese clothing. Her face was decorated in thick wrinkles, so I assumed she was older than 50 at the least, and though she was old, her eyes were bright, almost as though they hadn't aged with the rest of her, continuing to glow brightly with an atmosphere of youth.
Aito grinned at her. "Obaa-san," he addressed her as his grandmother.
"Watashi----"
"ONNANOKO!!"
The old woman, though small, shrieked a loud, heart stopping scream, interrupting Aito, and before I could even flinch, she came barreling past her grandson, quite fast for a woman her age, and came to a halt inches from me, an extremely wide, wrinkly grin stretching across her face. "Ah! Kawaii yo!!"
I blinked a few times. Maybe I was translating improperly, but I think I just heard her call me cute...
I snapped out of shock at her outburst and managed a bow. "H-Hajimemashite," I greeted her in her language to the best of my abilities. "Watashi wa Savannah desu. Y-Yoroshiku onegai shimasu."
The woman grinned. "Youkoso!"
I'd heard that phrase before... I was pretty sure it meant "Welcome." I smiled at this. This woman who appeared to be Aito's grandma seemed very nice.
Out of the corner off eye I saw Aito bite his lip before he spoke to his grandma, "She's from America and she needs a place to stay... I told her she could stay here."
His voice was quiet as he said this. Why did he seem so afraid? Was she going to get angry...?
I watched in fear as her bright eyes grew wide. "OF COURSE!!" Before I could blink, the woman snatched my arm with unusual strength for an elderly person, and began to drag me away. I looked to Aito for some kind of help, and saw him mouth "gomen" just as I was pulled away. Gomen?
Sorry?
What was he apologizing for...?!
I suddenly got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach about this...