The flight to Japan is uneventful, though she does find that there is another man in the business class section of the flight with her–who turns out to be no one other than her bodyguard, Akio. Izumi–after a little bit of consideration–decides to go meet her father. Hanako brings Izumi into the home, where they meet with the Ambassador to Japan, who in turn gives Izumi the option of going to Japan for two weeks to meet her father. It is as they’re pulling up that Izumi realizes that she has received missed calls from her mother, but it’s too late– the press swarms Izumi and Noora, taking pictures.

Thirteen days later, after checking her email for the umpteenth time, Izumi gives up as Noora drives the AGG group members home, dropping Izumi last at her home. Hanako gives Izumi an email address to a mutual friend of hers, who may keep in touch with Makoto, and Izumi decides to write him an email. So when she found out that she was pregnant, she decided not to do anything else, choosing to raise Izumi outside of the Imperial walls and constraints. Izumi lashes out at her mother, who ultimately tells Izumi the truth–she had met Makoto in Harvard, when they were both college students–and he really drew her attention however, she also saw the strains of Imperial life on him, and did not want to put Izumi through that herself. Noora does her research, and comes back with information that Mak is actually the Crown Prince of Japan–a member of the Royal Imperial Family, making Izumi a Princess. One day, while hanging out with Noora in Hanako’s bedroom to test out makeup, they come across a book on flowers in which a poem/letter was written by someone named Makoto “Mak” and it seems to be very romantic, giving Izumi hope that it may be her father.

She grew up as the only Japanese-American in her town alongside her Asian Girl Gang, which consists of Noora as well as two other girls who are part of the close group of friends but not Izumi’s best friends.

What It’s About: Izumi Tanaka has lived all of her life with her single mom, Hanako Tanaka, in a Northern California town called Mount Shasta, where her mother is a professor at a University.

Tokyo ever after 3