Guess who's back with a new side-chapter? This one's sort of a sequel to "Past Dreams", when Mari finally comes back home!
"Miss?"
The girl jolts awake at the words; over a year in America had turned into a light sleeper.
"Miss?" The man in front of her asks again.
"I'm awake. Have we reached our destination?" She asks, looking out of the window on her right, and positively grinning when she sees the view. The setting sun casting its reflection in the water, the beach with its pure, white sand, and the seagulls flying in the distance. It's like a scene from a movie, but right in front of her.
"We're almost there." He answers. "Your father asked me to warn you that you may experience jet lag for the first few nights. Your schedule is somewhat free, and all of your responsibilities can be done within the hotel. Your room is ready for use."
"Thank you." She smiles, turning away from the window. "Once we arrive, you're free to rest in any room. If you need anything else, just ask one of the maids."
"You're far too kind."
It's the least I can do, she thinks to herself. Even if the man was only following orders, he was the one who brought her back home. Offering food and rest is simply common courtesy.
Looking out of the window again, her eyes lock onto a single building. Above one of the few high grounds in the seashore town, a single school that sends a whirlwind of memories rushing to her mind.
From her personal helicopter high above the ground, Ohara Mari smiles.
"Mari!"
"Dad!" The moment Mari gets out of the helicopter, she runs towards her father, hugging him tightly. "I've missed you!"
"I've missed you too, Mari." He laughs, before finally pulling away. Mari only gets a brief amount of time before she's engulfed in another hug from her mother.
"Oh Mari! You've grown so much." She says excitedly, causing Mari to giggle.
"Well, I've been there for a few semesters, of course I'd grow."
"Well, you're right about that." As she pulls away, Mari sees her briefcases being taken by the maids, each offering her a polite greeting before taking the bags into the hotel.
"Your room is still the same after all this time." Her mother explains, the reunited family walking together into their home. "It was a bit dusty, but we've tidied everything up and now it's good as new. It should be nice to be able to sleep in your own bed again."
"But what's the rush?" Mari's father grins. "It's been over a year since we had a family dinner. We have an incredible meal waiting for us. We have lemon meringue pie for dessert, your favorite."
"Alright!" Following her parents into the family dining room, she's ecstatic to find another addition that hadn't been there before. A coffee machine. It was simple, but her experience in instant coffee helps her recognize that it's made by a renowned brand. It might not be as good as homemade, but this will definitely fuel her coffee habit. But today, she hesitates to step towards it. She should get to sleep early tonight.
After all, she'll go hunting for Kanan and Dia tomorrow.
Satisfied, she looks towards the dining table. The large table and many seats are usually far too large for the three of them, so usually they would sit as close as possible.
But when she sits down in her usual seat, and her parents sit away from her, closer to the edge of the table, she can smell something fishy.
(Not the actual fish on the table, of course. That smells amazing.)
She doesn't move to take any of the many spoons, forks, and knives set on the table. She just stares at her parents, wondering what they have planned. Just when she finally lowers her guards and moves to grab a spoon, the doors burst open once more.
"Surprise!" Turning around from her seat, Mari's greeted by the sight of her many relatives. All of them, from her grandparents to her baby cousins are all there, holding a banner that says 'Welcome Home!'
"What do you think?" Her father asks as the rest of her extended family joins in, taking a seat at the massive table. The maids come in with more food for the extra people, and Mari can't help but laugh cheerfully.
"I miss this." She says, letting the soothing atmosphere of home and family overtake her for the first time in a year. Once everyone begins putting food on their respective plates, Mari takes a piece of salmon sushi. Dipping it in soy sauce before putting it in her mouth, she can't help but let out a small moan.
As expected, it's better than American sushi! Mari continues like that for the rest of the night. Choosing a cup of tea over expensive wine, a skewer of yakitori, and a few cuts of katsu, she was eager to taste the food she had missed during her time in America. But that was just a bonus compared to catching up with her family. Mari hasn't smiled so wide in so long, that by the time dinner ends and some people decide to leave, her cheek muscles kinda hurt.
She walks down the familiar walls of the hotel, which is basically muscle memory at this point. A turn here, go up the elevator there, and walk straight down the hallway until she reaches the room she remembers as her own. Rather than a number, the plate at the door is engraved with the words "Ohara Mari". She fishes out her keycard, the one she kept in her wallet all this time, and swipes. Hearing a beep, she pushes the door forward.
"…I'm home." She says, more to herself than for anyone else who might be eavesdropping. Her luggage has been put into a neat pile near the entrance, but she can bother with unpacking tomorrow. For now, she wants to bask in the feeling of her room. Not some impersonal apartment in a country she doesn't know, but her personal room.
Nothing has changed, but everything has changed. The sofa, the placement of the pillows, even the flowers in the vase, which means that one of the maids must've gotten her new ones that look exactly the same as the last one. The mats, the tiny lamp, the coffee table. Everything is the same as when she left it last year, but now she has a much larger appreciation for the room.
She doesn't want to think right now, of course. There's time to be emotional soon, when she invites Dia and Kanan for a sleepover and cry because everything is just like when she left. Just the thought is making her knees a bit weak.
She walks into the bathroom, fills the bathtub with hot water, and just manages to stop herself before she gets in. Even though she's not going to be sharing the bath, she remembers the customs here. She rinses herself in the shower, letting the sweat run down her body. It's a bit warmer, now that the seasons have changed, she thinks to herself. She takes some generic soap and shampoo the hotel provides and washes properly. Mari reminds herself to get something better later.
Once she feels clean, she turns off the shower and goes towards the bathtub, letting out a groan as she submerges herself. She closes her eyes, wanting nothing more but to doze off. Unfortunately, that would be bad for her skin, and she'll catch a cold on top of that.
So she won't fall asleep, she spends her time thinking. And boy, does she have a *lot* to think about. Important questions, such as 'how are Kanan and Dia doing?', 'have Kanan or Dia changed while she was gone', or 'are either of them dating?' fill her mind. And as much as she doesn't want to admit it, she has spent way too much time on that last question. She remembers days in class where she'd just stop and wonder about their love lives. That is embarrassing.
She forces herself to focus on different questions. Such as 'do they have any new hobbies?', 'how many new friends do they have?', 'is Dia single?', 'is Kanan still single?', 'what's Kanan's type?', and 'would Kanan date a blonde girl named Mari Oh-'
Woah. Mari stops that train of thought before it continues. She doesn't want to acknowledge those feelings just yet. Maybe when she's in college she can think about actually falling in love. Then she'll see if her feelings for Kanan are still there.
Then she stops when she realizes she just acknowledged those feelings again. Maybe thinking in the bath wasn't the best idea. After getting out and drying off, she puts on a fresh set of clothes from her dresser (that still fits her, she notes with a small amount of amusement) before jumping into her massive, comfy bed. She can already feel that tonight is going to be the best sleep she's had in a long time. And it'll help her keep her mind off her feelings.
Unfortunately, even in her dreams, those feelings continue to bother her.