uoy no seye ym ,ylnO Only, my eyes on you
"I can't go back
Travel the world of dreams
As I did the day before"
- Morning, Masaki
The second floor's dim lights cast walking shadows of the two, step by step, on the corridor's hard wood floor. The pastel color of the walls highlights the black matte furniture that stands across Mizu's room, her window breathes in the night winds that clashes against an extensive white sheet, covering a portion of the north wall, Syan tries to guess what's bulking behind the sheets. After she pullls out her travel bag under her bed, she opens the closet door, as he stands next to her a longing tune starts to play:
*Ichibyo no Refrain starts to play on a pair of speakers*
- Let's start with the basics! How do villagers dress nowadays? – [embarrassed] It isn't how you think the place is, it has a lot of visits from outside, even foreigners. 'To gather that kind of attention it must appear straight out of Edo. Oh! what sights awaits me! She mutely rejoices.
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After counseling Mizu for a while now, Syan's attention shifts to the end of the walking closet. An oval stain announces there was something hanging there but isn't no more. By the amethyst tone that contrast with the mahogany surrounding, it must had been there for quite a bit.
- What you think of these sandals? Will the soles hold up to the dirt roads? – In there mmm I think they will! But thinking it a second time "mostly not" – [While sorting her portmanteau-eske suitcase] Syan… I don't have a black dress, but my mother does have a kimono… fit for mourning. Her last words almost choke on the way out but the sadness spills from other venues, 'she has cried enough today' shall the memory still be fresh to haunt. Before him the past tragedies that mold her emotions are getting the best of Mizu:
- Vacillate for a moment or cover your face n weep, in the end the feeling is ephemeral. The words that hold no emotion pierce not her heart but the mirror, behind the covers, shatters in a thousand pieces. The broken glass does not fall from its frame and remains there as if this never happen. – That's blunt, Asuteru… If life were to last mere seconds, I would still want to live it fully! For Mizu,the sorrowful should not be pitied as they just sing the coda for the ones parting. 'Agreeing or not with the drunk is meaningless, the goal is to have fun… that's a motto he has followed for too long, but the motion of disruption that Mizu cast over him brings disorder to his worldview.
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- I, I don't get it Mizu. Should you listen to me for comfort would be a tragedy in itself [chuckles] it's as you say.
- You, I appreciate your worries, but don't you dare 'bend the knee if it means trouble'. The speakers had started to fade their sounds in the moment he told her that crude opinion, after they discussed their differences and come to a tacit agreement the pop music resumes:
* Yureru omoi starts.
'Her shadow seems to become upset when she does' as the quarrel fades Syan takes a mental note. Ever since he encountered Mizu at the bus stop there have been strange occurrences happening all around them, there's a presence 'observing' from the wall and no matter wherever we go, whatever we do, the shadow is not far behind our steps. At moments when Mizu wasn't around he could vaguely feel it stalk him from the corners in his room, on the station and here, her house. Backtracking has gotten him to clarify some facts, he points out the moment before the rain fell, when he got the first 'panic attack' and since then the world around him had change but is noticeable in mere instants only.
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'The mirror… it's broken'. Mizu had took the opportunity to take a bath at home before hitting the road, the doubts piling had reach a breaking point on his deduction process since she is related to some of the clues he has gather. While she stays off the coast it was the right time to inquire, the things that had stand up in this brief stay on her place where her need to turn on all the lights and the absence of any kind of vanity mirror in her room and the walking closet. The courage to look behind the sheet covers was always with him though he couldn't just poke around in front of her presence. The shatter pieces didn't show any sign of impact, it just cracked like hot glass when something cold is poured on it, something strange as he peels off some shards without any effort. – "This is not a tasteless piece of art, why's like this?"
- Hey! Who are you? A teenager stands behind the room door
– …?! He is caught while snooping around the room, a woman's room at that!
- There is a stranger inside the house! Papa!...That obnoxious screech almost rips off his ears.
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Taking the right flow inside the bathtub is a priority for the flower that grew inside a green house, while rinsing the last hair strands, she wonders if Syan really mean it when he said that. 'Acting tough seems to be the macho universal' As she cloaks her figure with a pristine white towel the expression on her face cracks. The house's main bathroom is the only place where a looking glass is beyond her reach, no matter if she raises a voice of protest her parents wouldn't listen, the mirrors reveal a crude sight that spells her doom.
- Papa! Hurry! – 'The timing couldn't be worse, humph' she notices the screams going around the house, she guesses, and her guess is right: 'family is back'.
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Heavy thumps knock the stairs, the lousy teenager rejoices as otou-san makes his appearance - What nonsense? His very arms shake when their eyes meet. At first notice the father asks no questions and motions his son to step aside. The balding man almost towers an astounding 5 feet, Syan fancies if the dwarf in front of him is Burūra-san but freezes in place as the "imposing" figure draws a model 60 from the waist holster.
- Wrong house! As he backtracks due to the aging cop's provocation his back smacks the wall, Syan wants to retort but it appears futile in this situation, nonetheless he finally says:
- Wait a minute, I didn't break in! Your daughter brought me here! The broken glass on the floor seems to be telling a different story for Burūra-san – You have no shame, lying under your teeth will not grant you forgiveness. As he approaches with intentions to subdue the "burglar" a sudden flick of the lights brings terror to the man, his legs gave in and his hands almost drop the gun.
- Papa! Don't do anything you'll regret. To their surprise, his daughter has returned home.
- Miru! The father and son duo cry in unison. – Father, don't mistreat my guest! – Guest?! Is at this moment that Burūra-san takes in her daughter's scantily clad figure…
- YOU! I KILL YOU! - Syan quickly considers if falling from this height would break a bone.
- FATHER!
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- So, what are your intentions with my daughter? After long deliberation Mizu could finally bring some room for reasoning, even so, due to the weird circumstances regarding their relationship they had to lie, a small lie seems more believable than the truth
- I hold no ill will! but as far as intentions goes... I can't answer you yet. Syan, while eavesdropping the family conversation, learned that Mizu is actually living in Tokyo and had not returned to Saitama for about half a month. – What nonsense! You two are already a pair… are you in reality a playboy? If so, you better get out of her sight.
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'This outcome is a total bother' if he had known the tables would turn this way, you would have found him boarding a totally different route to Ouchi-juku. Father's eyes seem to be seething with over-protective rage but at least he didn't disapprove, Mizu knows how to soothe the outcome to her favor and it seems she is her father Achilles' heel. Not to mention, Mrs. Burūra functions as a ledger balancing the family bonds:
- It's a pleasure to meet you Syan, it's a shame how we mistreat you, but I hope you don't hold it against us. Her beaming charm makes it difficult to take the contrary. – Mother, your worries are baseless. Everything is in the past. If he were a legitimate wooer, he wouldn't want to be on Mother's bad sides.
In the living room, the three share pleasantries with a few Yuzushu drinks on top, the parents display good etiquette overall after the misunderstanding. Meanwhile, Mizu and her brother Yuuma reconnect as the two serve the alcohol glasses in the kitchen.
- Nee-chan… I didn't expect to see you back! – Don't fool yourself, Yuuma. I came back for my clothes.
- Where are you going with your new boyfriend? He giggles but the intention means no harm, with this question the sister loses herself in thought.
- I have been out the house for the meantime but brother you must fare well. I won't be your "nee-chan" for too long. That kind of dramatic lines aren't heard often in sibling conversations but they can't be closer to the truth, in most cases where the little one has to take flight.
- Understood… The happy reunion ends with Yuuma pouring himself a cold glass, alone.
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The parents say their goodbye and return to the house:
- Our daughter benevolence sure is oh! so great, to go out with the likes of him is beyond expectations. The mother somber tone is washed with sake. He accompanies his wife for a round of drinks – Why are you so down? He may be a yokel but at least he is finishing a career. Look at us, toiling hard everyday just to get this little we have. It may be a cosmic joke that in-laws are the ones that carry through the father's lasting wishes, in the instant the newborns breath-in for the first time that the likes of them rejoice and desire to offer all to their offspring. This is the work of causality.
- I wish them well, I just… I didn't picture her life that way. Mrs. Burūra's melancholy is baseless, but she doesn't get to know. After the stupor of a new in-law fades down for the two, otou-san recapitulates the events that took place:
- Don't move! The 51 yo. Cop yells at the "burglar" and goes for the arrest, the air feels unbreathable as he bears the weight of his gun. Nonetheless, he carries on but for a mere millisecond thy could see an abyss, chaining down the stuff that our dreams are made of. – BAH! I had enough alcohol at the family restaurant. He motions, with his glass, for another drink, she complies and pour just enough for today.
End of chapter 5
Clarification: This is how I picture the Burūra parents are, for those readers who don't picture parent figures in such light I will say it is understandable. Anything is possible