Anju sat on the couch in Nanaka's house, constantly guarded by Yoshiyuki. She hasn't spoken a word the whole time, staring vacantly into thin air. He wasn't sure if she was revisiting her memories, regretting her earlier attempt, or simply absorbing every least sight, sound, smell, or feel, still finding her abrupt return to life surreal.

"It's no good if she keeps this up," remarked Nanaka. "We must get her to talk even just a bit."

"We can't just force her to speak up, can we?"

"I don't know, but at that point she might sink back into despair if we leave her alone with her thoughts. What she really needs is someone to talk to."

But Anju didn't look like she would answer back, anyway. Yoshiyuki took out her phone from his pocket, which he got off of her back at the forest. He looked for the playlist and picked μ's songs. After she cheers up a bit, he reckoned, he would give her something to eat and even try a little chitchat.

It wasn't even half an hour when the tears started to well up in her eyes. Hiccups came up from her sobbing. They rushed over to her in alarm. "Is anything wrong, An-chi?" asked Nanaka. "Speak up. Are you hurting somewhere?"

"I… I can't…"

#11. I Want to Shine!

Finally. They anxiously awaited her next words, hoping whatever injury she might have wouldn't be too hard to deal with.

"I… I can't. I can't…

"I can't shine anymore."

"…"

"What?" gaped Nanaka.

Only more tears answered them. Well, now. How could they communicate to her properly if all she think up at this highly critical juncture is

Shine? Is that all? Yoshiyuki returned his attention to the music playing on the phone. The songs were all about shining. Never giving up. Chasing dreams. And stuff. Is this what she was blabbering about? He felt a rage rising in his chest, and grabbed Anju by the shoulders. "You what? You nearly got yourself killed—and to shine is all you can think of?!

"Are you insane?!

"Answer me!"

Anju only saw a vague image of someone yelling at her through a view blurred by the tears. And she saw something else. Her sisters, even now eyeing her with scorn. The relatives, asking her if she could jump farther than Kanae-nee. Wanting to get rid of her by marrying her off to some guy somewhere. Her parents, who she was tying down with her presence. Her friends…

The club? Well, here is Yoshiyuki, and he is exploding at her. What will the rest say? Surely they don't believe in her anymore.

That's all there is to her. Her existence was nothing but deadweight.

Nanaka came between and shoved them apart, which both threw Anju back to the sofa and forced Yoshiyuki to the floor. "Everyone!" she roared. She stared them down for a while with hurt eyes and then turned to Anju. "An-chan, everybody was worried about you! Do you even remember us? Are we still important to you?"

Anju gritted her teeth yet again.

"I'm sick of all this," she sobbed. "I just want to disappear. I need to vanish."

She broke out in loud, open grief. "I have to vanish! I must!" And she finally dissolved into a bawling mess. Nanaka sat beside Anju and gathered her in her arms, and wept with her.

"Anju. Quit saying that. We're here. We're not going anywhere…"

Yoshiyuki watched on in disdain. Pathetic hysterics, he thought. But he held back this time. He waited for the tears to subside before he staggered to his feet, and approached them.

Anju was now gazing sideways at him absently, her eyes gleaming wet. Will she hear him if he spoke now? But he must say it. He took a deep breath staring at her coldly.

"Anju," he began, "you cannot shine and disappear at the same time. Anju. Make up your mind.

"Take it from someone who has already vanished."

"…"

"If you must disappear, do so in a way that will make it easy on everyone. Disappear from your family's house.

"If you can't be of any good to your parents, then at least spare them of your existence.

"But do it cleanly. It is much more burdensome to dispose of a body. Accept the marriage offer."

Sunday.

It was morning, but there was no sun and a stiff breeze was blowing and stirring up the sea. Anju and Yoshiyuki were taking in some fresh air out on the open deck.

"Sorry about all that, Yoshiyuki-kun," said Anju softly.

"…"

"I was being a bother to you and Nanan-chan."

The wind blew a frigid gust and he folded his arms even more tightly. He sighed from the cold. "We have always been here, right? So it's fine."

The wind didn't bother her one bit, even the salty spray pricked her cheeks. She leaned out to sea against the railing, daring the ocean itself. After a moment she turned and lay back against the railing, and looked out on the open space. "Say, this is where we practiced the promo video, right?" She smiled bitterly. "Guess there won't be any more of that now," she murmured.

"We have tasted what it's like. That's all that matters now."

Anju look somewhat more relaxed. It seems the answer has satisfied her for now.

"Ne, Yoshiyuki-kun… Have I been…

"Have I been a good friend, at least?"

"I can't get through to her," said Shuka. "But Nanan-chan's phone was ringing. Does she even know that An-chan's missing?"

"Yoshiyuki-kun's also unreachable," lamented Kanako.

"Minase-san told me he's found Anju and is already taking care of her someplace," explained Arisa. "I'm pretty sure it's at the dive shop."

"But why won't they tell us?" demanded Shuka. "What exactly happened to An-chi?"

"We'll just have to wait," sighed Rikako. ""I am certain they will clear up everything once this is over."

"Can't we at least go over there?" asked Ai.

Shuka looked up at the overcast sky. The wind has been picking up all morning. She isn't expecting a water trip right now…

"But you know, Yoshiyuki-kun?" said Anju. "You know what's interesting?" She looked up at the vast, overcast sky. The longing crept back into her gaze. "You think we can break through that ceiling of cloud?"

If it had been yesterday, Yoshiyuki would have stared at her with the disdain he showed then, but this time an amazement came over him, an amazement over her aiming so high after being so down. Or did she want to drown out her inner turmoil again with something outrageous? Well, that's Anju for you. "You know we can't have the boat to tow us today."

The disappointment showed on her face as it went slack. But not on her eyes. They still burned with desire in defiance of the weather. "Even if we used the engine," he continued, "we can't launch off the water." There were a lot of whitecaps just outside the cove, and even a few within.

Her only answer to him was to keep her eyes above. She wasn't taking no for an answer.

"How do we convince her to stop?" he asked Nanaka late that night at the frog gallery. Anju was sleeping soundly.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I'm not even sure if stopping her is the right course of action. But…" He did not need to hear her say it; he knew she was worried about the weather.

"If that's so, then I think we are running against two possibilities," he explained. "One is to risk her going back to depression, and the other is to… well, I don't see much of a difference at this point."

"No. there has to be a safer option of the two." After a little more pondering it became clearer to her which, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to make sure. "Come with me."

She led him down the one of the larger storage rooms. Turning the lights on, they saw almost half of the place crammed with supplies: oxygen tanks, diving gear, and whatnot. The other half managed to squeeze in the ultralight aircraft, the wings folded and tucked right above the seats. The thing looked more like a tent than something that can fly, let alone soar above the clouds.

She made him sit at the pilot seat. "W-Whoa. I'll be the one flying this thing?"

"Well?" shrugged Nanaka. "You're the one she asked, right?"

And with that reasoning, he'll be taking his chances on a metal kite? "Look, I… I absolutely have no experience…"

"Nuh-uh. I took you up there. And you got used to it pretty fast."

Well, yeah, but that was just one time. And… "I never piloted that. I never piloted anything in my life."

"I know. That's why," she said showing him the control bar, "you need a crash course. See this? Push out to climb, push in to dive. Push right to turn left, right to turn left. Mind the foot pedals, too."

"Wait. How can I be sure of my safety—" He was stopped by a document she showed in his face. "Our dive shop offers courses on hang gliding and I am authorized to give permits for student flight."

"…"

"I will be watching you on the binoculars and contact you over the radio for further instructions. And I will find you a safe launch pad.

"Think of this as a practice flight."

They were facing the waters of the sheltered cove the following morning, where it was less choppy, and when the weather was somewhat more clement than yesterday. They themselves were quite a sight: the extra-bulky life vests made Yoshiyuki and Anju feel as though they were wearing mascot suits, with only enough elbow room for the arms and not much for the legs. The plane sat up on the sand at a part of the beach that sloped down to the waterline. Nanaka reckoned it would better for them to be within the cove, especially during the launch, and she told them so. "Try to stay over this bay, so we can easily pick you up if you have any problems."

Yoshiyuki gulped at the mention of problems, but Anju kept staring resolutely ahead. He checked if their harnesses were secure, but he still could not dispel some trembling.

For a terrible moment he felt that perhaps this is the right time to back out and hand over the plane to her, but Nanaka, as though reading his mind, started the engine at this precise juncture. Now he must do it. He could almost feel the rope holding them back shaking.

The sloping beach looked like a steep hill from where he was right now. This should be easy, he told himself, it's just like racing a bike downhill, now that was certainly fun. The control bar even reminded him of a bicycle handlebar… Who is he kidding? This hunk of junk is different, it flies.

"Yoshiyuki-kun?" went the earbuds.

"Whoa!" the radio volume was off the charts.

"Am I coming clear?"

"Yeah!" he yelled to match her. "Very, very clear!"

"Good. I'll try to keep my voice down. Listen closely. Pull the bar as soon as you can so you don't get too far out to sea. I'll be cutting the rope now."

Wait! he wanted to say. Wait. Is this actually happening? Maybe we could still look a few things over—

Urgh! The plane kicked forward. The wind rushed into his face… and it felt delicious! So it really did feel like a downhill lap! In his excitement he pulled the bar. They cleared the sand just before they hit the water and flew straight into the wind. "Fight hard to steady the steering," said Nanaka. "Await further instructions."

But the minutes went too fast. Things were moving too fast. They were gaining a lot of height. They were flying out to sea. Didn't Nanaka tell them to keep sight of the bay?

"Hey," he said, "do you read me? We are going out to sea."

Back at the beach, Nanaka herself wasn't so sure what to tell them. She tried to read the strength of the wind, but she knew her perceptions on the ground do not exactly match theirs in the air. She thought of real-time details to ask Yoshiyuki. Then again, she wondered whether this "practice flight" was a bit too rushed, after all.

Meanwhile, Yoshiyuki has grown tired of Nanaka's indecision. He decided to tell her of his decisions. "We're leaving the bay."

"Huh? Uh, wait!" With growing alarm, she spied the craft through the binoculars and saw it having trouble keeping level. It looks like some serious crosswind.

Meanwhile Anju was screaming her head off as they were being tipped over badly and sometimes shaken midflight, but Yoshiyuki's sense of mastery over his sky bicycle lent him much-needed presence of mind. He slowly corrected the plane with a mighty struggle against the bar, but at one point the wind seemed to give out, and he carefully righted the craft.

Anju herself was breathing hard, exhausted by her yelling, but even she was calming down. He took the time to get to know his plane in midair, cautiously manipulating both hand and foot controls. There was no better tutorial than this. After maybe half an hour of gentler wind conditions, he was vastly more confident. He decided he needed no more coaching from Nanaka.

But she wasn't about to, anyway. Seeing them alright through the binoculars, she sighed heavily in relief, which got through to the radio, further confirming he was now fully in charge of the plane.

"Are you alright, Anju?" he called back over the wind.

She was shutting her eyes tight and whimpering in her seat.

"Shall we turn back now?"

"Are you nuts?! I told you we're going above the ceiling of cloud!"

He couldn't help but smirk. Alright. Time to go upstairs. He only had to keep the engine going and hope they break through before the gas runs out.

Easy does it…

This is crazy, he thought. Here he was piloting an ultralight for the first time and he was only going higher. Where does this end? he wondered. They kept going until they were faced with the ceiling itself.

This is it. They have reached it, but they were still under it, and it maddened Anju. "Yoshiyuki! Forward!"

With a whoop, he drove the plane right into the ceiling. They entered a thick fog. He did not know when or where it would cease. But the order was clear. Forward, it was. Forward, they went.

The mist did cease, and they were confronted by a boundless blue sky.

Yoshiyuki contacted Nanaka. "We have plateaued. We're on a cruise."

"Yokatta," went the other end of the line. "Is it calm there?"

"Yes. I guess we could stay up here for a bit."

"OK. Just watch the gas, alright?"

He looked back at Anju. She was basking at the moment. But this time there was no childlike sense of wonder, only a delicious triumph radiating out of her face. The ceiling of cloud was now under them, it has become a floor.

They stayed up for quite a while. But he didn't want to disturb her. This moment is hers.

"Have I been a good friend at least?" she had asked back at the deck. She was looking at him expectantly. He would have asked the same to her about him, so he wasn't absolutely sure of their relationship. But he had a related opinion. "You are… a very interesting person. I enjoyed our time together."

Interesting. She thought about it and juggled the word around in her head. In the end, she smiled. "But you know, Yoshiyuki-kun? You know what's interesting? You think we can break through that ceiling of cloud?"

That came out of nowhere. What exactly did he say to make her think that? Did he lift her spirits a tad too much? But that was the sort of girl she was, saying that sort of thing she would say, bold, enterprising, not hesitant to try out some hare-brained scheme. He was happy. She hasn't change at heart.

He looked back at the rear seat and was surprised to see her in tears, gritting her teeth and crying into her arm. The sight was absolutely beautiful, but the lovelier it was, the sharper the pain in her heart, realizing somewhere inside of her that all this, the days of fun, of practices, of friends, of horseplay, of flight… Is it all going to end now?

Yes, it will all end. But not now. Not yet.

"Anju!"

She glanced at him through the tears and looked down when he motioned her to do so. The flor of clouds was breaking apart. Under that, the sea was being illuminated by the sunshine peeking through the clouds. They could clearly see all the way to under the surface—and there it was! Sitting half-buried in the bottom sand, the profile of a large sunken vessel. The turrets, the towers, and the guns jutting out gave it away as a warship, now resting in serene elegance, a monument of war turned artwork of peace. "Yoshiyuki! That's it! The ghost ship!" She squealed in delight, her eyes still wet.

He only made a smug face. Anju, you magnificent idiot, he thought, you have been pulling me along with you, this whole awful time. Not that he had any actual complaints.

Anju had a tearful reunion with her family, with Kanae only watching in silence at a distance. Aunt Kotone, who had been sitting impatiently in her ryokan room the whole time, could barely hide her irritation, and maybe, maybe, the Nittas might have found the guts to to eject her for that—if Anju had so wished.

Kotone placed a hefty wad of cash, yet another loan, into Dad's hands to soften any leftover resistance. The money could tide them over for about half the year. Without Anju to support, and with considerable cost-cutting they might stretch it to almost a full year. "We will make sure she will be looked after by a proper husband."

Back in the clubroom, everybody was glum, huddled round the table. They had learned of the family's plan for Anju just now. "You think Anju-chan will be OK?" said Ai.

Shuka, her usual genki aura completely absent, only kept staring into thin air. Rikako was the only one to try cheer things up… sorta. "They probably chose the best possible man for her." Her voice lapsed into a whisper. "I hope."

Only Yoshiyuki was standing, by the window, looking down onto the the Nankaisei students chatting, eating, playing… passing time amiably with each other. It was beyond him how these people were going about like this as though they who were grieving in the clubroom did not exist. But that, he knew, was par for the course. The world must move on, everybody must go on with their lives… including Anju, wherever she may find herself.

A number of them lived their moments in exciting fantasies. They would probably go up to Anju and congratulate her, wish they could be like her, too, and find their own destinies.

Aunt Kotone had booked a charter plane to take them out of the island on Saturday. Today. Today, also, the Aquasports Club was going to hold a rehearsal for the live event, especially now that Anju's absence from the dance sequence has to be accounted for. What on earth? he mused. Good friends like them should be seeing her off. Perhaps they were feeling the same way as he is, in a certain degree of denial, only he was not in the mood to get up at all. He was still lying there at nine in the morning, just as he would have done in Tokyo. Hmmm. The romantic crowd would be at the airfield, though.

Inside the cab, Aunt Kotone has fitted an exquisite pearl-and-topaz necklace around Anju's fair neck. She was listless, but the necklace was nice enough to be worth a glance, and a touch. "Good that you liked it. You will be wearing it when I present you to the groom."

At the airfield, she was annoyed at the bevy of youngsters who had gathered at the streetside just outside the gate. What is the business of these hoi polloi lining up to see to watch a takeoff as though they never knew what an airplane even looked like. She wanted to be rid of these backward islanders as quickly as possible. She ordered the cab through the gate and across the runway to the waiting Cessna.

Grandma knocked at Yoshiyuki's door. He did not answer at once, so she came in. "Could you bring this pompano over to the Nittas? I had promised them this last week."

Honestly he felt surprised he should have a link to the ryokan at all at this point. All for the sake of fish. But he got up, anyway.

He wasn't a huge fan of Grandma's scooter. It was somewhat, well, old, and drove at a pace fitting an old woman, reliable, moderately speedy, not getting any faster than that. Not to mention it was a gas guzzler especially when going uphill, which was everywhere in Otou-san away from the beach. She had to refuel at least once when going on a trip. "Please ask them to fill it up while you're there," she told him before he left.

He arrived at the ryokan and saw the door from the front yard. It was open. He could see a lot of boxes inside. Is Anju still there? He went in, and to his surprise, found her parents in the middle of packing Anju's remaining possessions. What a girl! She had this much? Was she a princess or something? Did they have her drawings somewhere in there? What's more, Mom had heavy tear stains and Dad had an equally tragic expression. What on earth is going on here?

"Oh," said Dad weakly seeing him. "We are holding a garage sale. Maybe Minase-san would like to have a few stuff?"

The largest item was Anju's bicycle, propped right next to a stack of the larger boxes. But they were just sitting around in the hall rather than outside. So they weren't bent just yet on selling off every last reminder of their own daughter.

"What? You just let her go, right?" he had overheard Grandma practically yell at them over the phone. "That's not what marriage is about! This is a bargain fit for lifeless objects. You are dropping your child on an uncertain future neither of you want just to save your business? Are you actually going to give in just like that?!" Seriously, though, what business was it of Grandma's to castigate another family when this sort of "bargain" is still practiced all over Japan? And it was uncharacteristic of her to meddle, it was just off…

Off?

Grandma sometimes let her phone go hands-free at full volume even while holding it to aid her hearing, so he also caught snatches of what the Nittas were saying. "But Ani has already decided."

So does that mean, it was never their intent? That they could have stalled some more if it wasn't for the girl herself? Who had been prodded to accept the marriage by a friend…?

"Take it from someone who has already vanished."

But I was just doing their family a favor, right?

I was speaking from my own experience…

"…"

No, he realized. This couple wanted their child back. Yoshiyuki… Yoshiyuki was not Anju.

He laid eyes on the bike. "Nitta-san, I'd like to try this out first. Please charge it to Granny." No sooner than Mr. Nitta gave a dazed nod did he grab the thing and speed off with it, leaping past the gate and onto the street.

He had heard his own Dad brag about it before, that one thing he boasted of every now and then despite being a generally modest man, that he can outrun a car at full speed in a good enough bicycle.

Shall he ask Granny about it?

"Gran," he said over the phone as he paused to catch his breath midway, "I'm fetching Anju! I'm bringing her back!"

"Are you sure the plane hasn't left yet? Do call me later, alright?"

It was easy for him to cover the rest of the distance to the airfield. But he knew there was a larger challenge ahead. He swept past the crowds, past the Aquqsports Club who came out on their bikes to see her off, after all. "Say," said Arisa, "isn't that Yoshiyuki-kun?"

"But his Grandma had said he was at the ryokan," said Rikako.

"Poor Yoshi-san, zura. Maybe he thought he could still talk to her before she's gone."

"Wait." Shuka narrowed her eyes at the rapidly receding Yoshiyuki. Where is he going? Hold on… It can't be! "Is he serious?!" She launched off and pedaled furiously after him, as the rest very hastily followed.

Yoshiyuki was appalled. The plane's propellers were already spinning even as it was still parked on the runway. There's no more time.

"Anju," said Aunt Kotone, "would you like something to eat?"

Anju was already dressed in a blue frock. She nodded weakly and Kotone fumbled about for a sandwich. Anju kept fingering her necklace. The woman had said she could also wear it on the day of the wedding. It was… It was pretty. So this is her new life now?

Auntie laid down the sandwich on her lap. She recalled the club sandwich Rikako had prepared for her long ago, earnestly desiring to be her friend. She remembered them. The Aquasports Club. She could call upon a thousand thousand images of times past right if she wanted to, but what's the point? She has disappeared from their lives now. She hardly bothered to tell them of her departure. Nothing that comes before this matters anymore.

Even so, why did I choose to disappear?

Kotone laid a hand on hers just as the plane began to pick up speed. "Anju," she whispered in her ear, "you will be living in a good home now. You are very fortunate. Did you see those children back there? Not a single one of them will ever taste the life you will have.

"Just make your husband and your Uncle happy, and all will be well.

"One day, your family will thank me. I know your sisters already do.

"One day, Anju, you will thank me."

"Sir," alerted the co-pilot, "there's somebody on the runway! O-On a bicycle! Three o' clock!"

"You mean eight o' clock?" Yoshiyuki was directly to their right, pedaling mightily to catch up, while the rest of the club was some ways behind to the left. A new excitement electrified Anju and she rushed to the window. Indeed! It's Yoshiyuki. Even at that distance, she knew it was him. And who are those others? Where were they?

"Anju!" snapped Kotone. "Are you a child? Sit down!"

She broke into the pilot's cabin. "Where are they? I have to know!" Assaulted on all sides by demands to his attention, the pilot decided to slow down the plane to a crawl. The flight will have to be aborted. How did those kids get in here? Airport security in the boonies is a joke.

Yoshiyuki was reaching his limits as the plane slowed down. He overtook the plane and pulled far ahead, at which point the chain snapped form the exertion, throwing him off and sending him rolling on the runway. In the end, he was facing up looking at the clouds floating high over his head, squinting in the sunshine that peeked through. He only had some scratches and bruises. Did the plane stop? He only wanted Anju to see him. He was even a little mad at her for letting those relatives whisk her away without her seeing her friends for the last time.

Meanwhile the Aquasports Club has caught up with the plane. The Nankaisei students have also arrived on the runway. Kotone and anju went to the door. Upon opening it—whoa! It's those faces: dearly beloved, thought to be lost forever. She caught herself gasping loudly.

"An-chi!" yelled shuka. "Are you really leaving us? You never showed up to say goodbye. How could you do this to us?"

"An-chan!" called Ai. "Please talk to us! We want to see you… we want to see you so bad!"

"Yoshiyuki came for you," said Rikako. "He is here!"

She knows. It could only mean…

Suddenly, a force clamped hard against her neck. "Go home, brats!" roared Kotone, holding Anju by the stranglehold of the necklace. "I will call the police!"

So it is.

Anju lay helplessly in the dark forest, the air laced with deadly fumes. From somewhere echoed a devious laughter.

Everybody were aghast but could not do anything. "You witch!" cried Shuka. "We will be the ones calling the cops!"

"Let's just see if the testimony of babies like you will count for a pig's sweat!"

Yoshiyuki

Yoshiyuki came for you. He is here!

He is here!

A light shone through the heavy fumes that clouded her dark world. Yoshiyuki's flashlight.

Something… Something is shining! Something is shining in her world!

With a wild burst of rage she snapped apart the necklace, sending precious stones flying, and she leapt to escape her captor. She landed on top of her buddies who rushed to catch her. Kotone could not follow. Was she going to jump down, too? She was also stopped by the gathering throng. Surely, she can't make a spectacle of herself any further.

"An-chi," groaned Shuka getting up, "daijoubu?"

"Uhn. Never felt better."

They noticed the crowd. "Say," encouraged Shuka, "let's do that last dance we rehearsed. Eheheh. We can't actually do that, ahem, without that stunt of yours."

The gang sprang to their feet. The crowd made way to clear a stage for them. Somebody brought out a loudspeaker for Shuka's phone to plug into.

They performed.

MIRACLE WAVE

Released on November 29, 2017.

Lyrics: Aki Hata; Composition: Takuya Sakai (Arte Refact); Arrangement: Masatomi Waki (Arte Refact)

Now comes the moment. "I've practiced this!" yelled Anju excitedly.

She executed a flawless backflip, blouse and all.

From there, right to the end, it was nothing but a joyous uproar from the crowd.

"Miracle Mikan Pawaa!"

"Mi-Mikan-kan! Mi-Mikan-kan!"

"Mi-Mikan-kan! Mi-Mikan-kan!"

"Mi-Mikan-kan!"

The fumes were quickly dispersed by the light, but now it wasn't coming from a flashlight. It was coming from herself. To think that she had been looking for that radiance elsewhere, Shuka, her sisters, the whole awful time. Turns out, all it takes for her was to despair.

I did it. Now I know…

I have been consumed with the desire to shine, when what I really needed to do… was to OUTSHINE!

Insert ED Song:

WONDERFUL STORIES

Released on January 17, 2018.

Lyrics: Aki Hata; Composition: Carlos K.; Arrangement: EFFY

The Nittas have lost the ryokan.

Well, the house. They were forced to give it up in payment for their debts. As the relatives have predicted, Kanae and Kana have fended rather well for themselves in Tokyo, while the Nittas were able to take care of themselves, too… in Otou-san. Grandma, with plenty of help from sympathetic islanders, built over a significant portion of her expansive property into a structure for the ryokan, which even merged with part of her own house. In the meantime, she looked for an attorney who might help them retake the original property. If not, they might talk to Piazza Hotels, which reportedly wanted that place to serve as an extension inn, partly because of the onsen, to try to convince them of the experience of the previous owners in running the place, even just for a salary.

But Grandma's place was perfectly fine as it is. The beachfront view attracted a number of customers who sometimes checked out the adjoining real estate agency. Yoshiyuki found himself helping out at both the ryokan and the office.

And Anju?

She gets on the cruise now. She and Shuka have formed a duo, and she is learning the ropes of performing from her buddy.

The month before their graduation has arrived. Anju has just disembarked from the ship that called late that afternoon. The inn was lit well into the evening to welcome her back. There were to be no customers until tomorrow, so they had all the free time in the world for tonight.

She came home carrying bags of goodies for the whole and dad greeted her warmly at the receiving hall and chatted with her, as they were wont to do these days whenever she was around. With their elder daughters abroad, and to compensate for the past, anju became a sort of pampered only child, pampered, that is, with the regard they gave to the accomplished Kanae and Kana. Even if her achievements weren't quite on par with them, she was going out in the world.

She was starting to mature, anyway.

Also meeting her at the hall was Yoshiyuki, not too happy, though, in apron and scarf as Anju had donned back in the day. "I am doing all of your work and I can't even goth, how can I do that in an apron?" he grumbled. "I want a cut from your gig earnings."

She tried to stifle her laughs with a raised eyebrow, and then gave in at the outfit that did not really suit him, and "goth apron" certainly didn't help. It never fails. "Way to go on your allule points!" Loud guffaw. "You'd make the perfect wife!"

"Humph. What about I see you have a shot at wifehood? That'd even be more perfect."

Suddenly an awkward silence fell upon the Nittas. He was confounded. "Did I say something weird?" It seems they were only hearing the last word of each sentence he said. Oh well. What the experts said was probably true, that one remembers most the first or last bit of anything. Still, coming from him it was just…

She went to him and whopped him in the chest. "Silly! That cash is for Mom and Dad. Why don't you go to your Granny for allowance, huh?"

"Ani," said Dad, "it's alright. Once you guys graduate, he'll be getting proper wages from us."

"Um," he interrupted awkwardly. "Uh, Grandma said I'll be going to university."

They were intrigued. "She did?" The parents looked at each other. "Well," said Dad, "I guess her agency has been profitable, so…" he turned to Anju. "Do you have any plans?"

She could not answer right away. "I don't think I would qualify for a scholarship. I think it's best to have a university kid one at a time. You go on ahead, Yoshiyuki."

After a hearty dinner, they proceeded directly to closing the inn to afford Anju some much-needed rest. Yoshiyuki did the rounds, checking the rooms and switching the remaining lights off. There was one left at a room. He went to the door.

He was arrested at the sight of her. Anju was sitting in bed, cradling the wedding gown in her arms and letting it flow down her lap to the floor where it pooled in sparkling silk. She looked just a bit more ladylike now—and the gown looked more fitting on her this time.

Yoshiyuki, get back to work.

"Ah," she said seeing him at the door. "Don't… Don't come in."

"I know. I'll just turn off the lights."

"It's OK, I'll do it. I don't think I'll get right down to sleep just yet."

Were there too many worries on her mind right now? Is marriage one of them again? "You haven't got rid of that?" he said of the gown.

She hesitated with a blush. "Now that I think of it, it really is pretty. It'd be a waste to just chuck it. Besides, I'm saving this."

Huh?

"For when… For someone who I truly love."

He looked away, covering up his own uneasiness. "It's… It's so like you to say something bold like that. But I'll admit it sounds fit for graduation plans."

"No-no. I still got a lot to do. I still got a lot of people to make smile. I still have a career, you know. But… I feel surer now, I will get there... eventually." She smiled at him. "Until then, let's work hard, OK?"

He shrugged. I'll be going now. Yu call me over at Granny's side of the house if you need something."

"Wait. She went over to him with something behind her back. "You want a surprise? The cruise will have a very special trip this summer. One of a kind." She took his hand and placed the ticket in his open palm. Alaskan cruise?!

"Whoa," he caught himself blurt.

"The whole Aquasports Club has been given one each." Giggle. "See you tomorrow, Yoshiyuki-kun." And with that, staring at him the whole time, she closed the door softly.

Next up! Shuka's story.