Fandom: Karigurashi no Arietti / The Secret World of Arrietty
Title: Cut from the same cloth.
Pairing: Shou + Arrietty
Rating: G
Description: It's been years since they've met, but Shou hasn't given up on meeting Arrietty again.
Disclaimer: Arrietty belongs to Mary Norton and Studio Ghibli.
Cut from the same cloth.
By Miyamoto Yui
Chapter 1 – Never let you go.
One year ago…
After the sea of black suits and dresses dispersed from his sight, he closed the front door and the curtains of his house. Taking a long, slow glance around with tired, raw eyes, tears brimmed again on his eyelids. He fell to the ground with a thump, palms pushing on the mahogany floors. Water rained onto the floor before him as his fingers pressed further into the creaking wood.
His body faced the portrait of Aunt Sadako, but he couldn't lift his head any longer. It hung in defeat. "You were the only kind one. Now, I have no one left…I'm…" Within the absolute stillness and being free of prying eyes, the realization hit him with its full force.
I'm all alone. The house reverberated his unspoken words as he sobbed silently to himself.
"No…" a small whisper replied, "You'll always have me, Shou."
He raised his head and looked around. Even if it was wishful and wistful thinking on his part, the dimming light inside his heart began to brighten just a little. The warmth of that voice, even if it was just in his head, made the longing stronger, if not more achingly earnest.
The young man closed his eyes tightly, making a wish.
"That's right." He put his hand onto his heart. The red clothespin pushed against his flesh over the cloth.
My life was no longer my own when you gave me this.
From that time on, he never shed another tear.
+/+/+/+/+/
Within a year, after fully inheriting his family business, he finally bought an apartment in the city, despite all of its conundrums. But of course, he couldn't ever give up the house where even his great grandparents had lived in. So every weekend, he'd take up residence there.
Everything remained as it had since Arrietty moved away. Wanting to preserve every trace of her, he saved all the belongings they'd left behind, just in case they ever returned. His bedroom was spotless, the dollhouse sometimes more so. It was fully restored, along with other things he thought she'd need.
As the weeks flew by, elaborate flourishes were placed inside, mostly created by the artisans around Musashino City who knew him by name, especially those near Inokashira Park.
The "incident" still pissed him off.
Following his surgery, he asked his aunt if they could find another person to help around the house. Aunt Sadako listened when he explained the lunacy behind the pest controllers and she believed his words, outlandish as they seemed. So for once in his life, he was grateful to his mother: For sending him to a place he could call home.
Haru was fired not too long after. He'd always felt strange around Haru, but his suspicions were confirmed with the maliciousness she'd shown towards Arrietty's mother. He never forgave her for it.
And despite all he'd done, Arrietty still gave him the baby clothespin from her lustrous hair.
Even if he was the one who instigated the avalanche of calamities, he regretted his persistence. Why couldn't he help getting to know her? Why couldn't he satiate his curiosity until it almost destroyed her existence?
Underlying it all, he knew why. He knew it the morning he tasted her tears on his index finger the second he could no longer see the floating teapot.
During this past year, they were coercing him to marry. The people around him pushed that it was time even though he never seemed to be interested in anyone, and questioned behind his back if he was gay. But he brushed it all off and focused on all the land proposals coming to both of his desks in Shinjuku and Kichijouji. Things were going as he'd projected.
One more left, or so he'd calculated from his maps and ruler.
How long is a Borrower's lifespan anyway?
Now, he is burying his face into his arm, the rustling of his blouse filling the emptiness of his room. A headache is coming on, so he reaches out for the aspirin that's stored in a small box before him, right by the name plate.
Trying his best to concentrate, he gives his approval for the section displays and shipment orders the managers from each floor turned in that morning. Then, he pulls out a file in a teal clear file, opens it and scans the contract with the pictures attached. Squinting at the address, he comments aloud, "It's too far."
Logistically, it isn't impossible, but this nagging feeling I've had all day…
Knock knock knock.
"You may come in."
His secretary enters. Adjusting her glasses from the side, she opens his appointment book. "I'm just here to remind you that you should be leaving now in order to make your 5:00 in Higashi-Koganei. Would you like me to accompany you?"
He shakes his head. "No, please hold down the fort until I come back."
"Sir, you'll be returning?" Her boss sure was surprising her today. "It is a holiday tomorrow."
It isn't the first time she's had to remind him.
"Oh. Well, that doesn't matter. I'll be in Shinjuku later because I've got many things to sign."
Her shoulders lift up about to say something, but go down again as she decides against it.
Even with his head watching the documents before him, he asks, "Do you have another question, Ms. Kuroki?"
"None, Sir."
Turning around, she stops a bit when he unexpectedly says, "Thank you."
Closing the door, she shrugs her shoulders. "He's back to normal again. Where did all that vigor from this morning vanish to?"
+/+/+/+/+/
What kind of company president takes the train?
But he didn't believe in being ostentatious. That was reserved for his mother and all his other relatives. He lived among them, but he refused to be like them.
Shou even stood up so that an older woman could sit down as the afternoon rush began. Looking out the window, he smiled at the telephone poles and looked down the elevated tracks. How times had changed when he had to give the ticket to the conductors and now all he had to do was swipe a card.
The Chou skyline…this skyline's just as dazzling as the first time Aunt Sadako brought me to change my last name to hers. The trips never seemed complete without seeing the roofs blinding me with the sun's reflection upon them.
On that day, I'd seen a rainbow and the manic Tokyo appeared almost angelic. After all, it was a miracle that I'd lived to see it at all.
But without a doubt, I'd switched one precious thing for another: I've given away my heart in order to prolong this existence. Ironically, I realized years later, that meant one and the same within this body.
Eyeing the steel grooves of the train, his hand grips onto the railing more than ever.
Three stations later, he steps off the train, out of the gates of Higashi-Koganei, and onto a street aligned with taxis.
Following the phone map directions, he walks confidently towards his destination with the clear file tucked away into his leather briefcase. Patting his chest, the qualm in his stomach crunches more than ever.
Why do I feel so uneasy?
The path leads him to a strange looking abode: A mushroom dome with straw, slanted rooftops, almost magical looking with windows asymmetrically ascending in a spiral fashion. He marvels alone at each sparkling stained glass illuminating popular scenes of stories from around the world: The little mermaid walking for the first time with her knife-like steps or an extremely beautiful woman giving a man an air kiss.
Without even lifting the sleek cat knocker, a gregarious man opens the door with a pipe in his mouth. "Ah, Mr. Maki, you are a prompt creature. I like that."
Blinking his eyes, Shou nods his head and bows. "I take it that you are Mr. Marron?"
He takes off his shoes at the genkan as they walk into the living room. The outside does not parallel the brilliance contained inside of it. With a child's wonder, he looks up to the tall ceiling to find birds going through the small doors above. The house itself is resembles a hollowed out log, deep and brown with shelves embedded along the silver winding staircase. A kitchen is a few feet away and two steps up, the bronze kitchenware hanging against the wall. To his right, there is a long desk with a computer and a long row of model buildings. Another small table is right next to it with a miniature shopping mall, a current project he's working on.
But Mr. Marron seems to read his mind as he gestures for him to sit on a straw chair, the cushion so soft, Shou almost blurts out that he wants to buy the same one for his house.
"I am not an architect or part of construction," Mr. Marron comments as he goes to the kitchen. "This is for my storyboard. I can't write without having a 3D model."
Shou bends down to look at a familiar neighborhood with a patisserie, bookstore, electric shop, field, and shrine. "It's like Musashi-Sakai before all the buildings came."
Pouring earl tea into a porcelain cup, Mr. Marron nods his head. "Exactly. Or at least, that's what I remembered what it looked like, especially the shops in front of the station. How would you know for one so young?"
"I've researched various maps."
"And is that the real reason why you're here, Mr. Maki?"
The pointed question came out of nowhere. The older man hands over the saucer into the businessman's hands.
"Yes," Shou admits without thinking twice.
"There's a desperate look in your eyes. It seems more than a passing whim for you to search through the past." The mysterious man with cotton slacks, striped shirt, and light vest sits down to enjoy his late afternoon tea.
Shou holds the cup in between his hands, uncertain of how he should answer.
I don't know this person. I've just met him, but why do I feel like he can look right through me?
The old man smiles at him. "People who are similar can usually find each other easily."
Shou sat back in his seat. "Are we so alike?"
Mr. Marron nods. "The sparkle in your eyes. You can't hide that you have a dream living inside of you."
"I thought I lost it long ago…" Shou admits, wincing.
"Oh no no no." A chuckle escapes from Mr. Marron's lips. He puts his pipe down on the stand next to the window. "You wouldn't be here if that were the case."
"What?" Shou jokes, "Are you some sort of magician? I must admit the house is quite intriguing."
"Yes. I weave a lot of worlds here," the old man admits.
"Then why are you selling your land?"
"Actually, I'm…" He taps on his chin, the bristles of his beard poking his finger. "…looking for someone to take care of my life's work."
"I'm sure there were many offers so why-"
"I turned them all away."
"That makes no sense."
"You have the right look."
"Excuse me? I don't understand what you're getting at."
It is then that older man laughs to himself, but nods confidently. "Give me your proposal. I'll look it over and give you an answer. Come back again, same time next week."
"All right…" Not sure if he's acquired what he's come for, Shou opens his briefcase and hands over the clear file, but as he does so, a beige and brown dress slips out.
Immediately Shou grabs for the dress before it hits the floor, squeezing it in between his fingers. His bag clatters to the floor, but he doesn't bother to pick it up.
"Seems important to you. A doll's dress?"
He opens his palm out to see that the dress hasn't been damaged. He looks into Mr. Marron's eyes. "Hope."
Still clenching onto the dress, he squats down to pick up his suitcase and closes it. "It represents my hope."
"If you see this, I'll be happy, but all the same, I wouldn't know about it. I couldn't bring everything and we must leave soon. Thank you, Shou," the note said.
When he placed the soft cloth against his cheek, it smelled like the wind and flowers in his garden. Her scent mixed with the salt from his eyes.
"I…I…"
Putting it back into his bag as he got up, Mr. Marron holds out his hand to shake Shou's. "We will definitely keep in touch."
"Thank you for meeting with me then."
But when he steps out of the house, a mini shower of rain left its imprints on the ground.
Instead of going straight back to work, he takes a taxi towards Mitaka, making a small stop to buy something. Half an hour passes before the familiar grove comes into view. They drive up a small hill and the taxi drops him off at his house, but he turns away from it.
He rushes towards the edge of the cliff just as Niya had instructed him on the same date years ago. A sprinkling of stars hide within the lavender, lilac, and raspberry stripes of twilight above him. His gaze lands on the pieces of bamboo where she'd stood to talk to him. Placing a dozen red roses there, Shou stands in the same spot until he can tear himself away, a tradition he's done since the day they'd separated.
If you ever come back, I will never let you go.
I would have stopped you back then if I had the strength. I do now. I finally became the man I wanted to be the moment you left me.
The wind blows gently onto the outlines of his body, as if responding to his innermost thoughts.
Tsuzuku… / To be continued…
Author's notes: I've watched Arrietty several times and the power of their bond never fails to amaze me. I love this couple as much as I cherish Chihiro and Haku. (Let's not talk about my obsession over Haku to the point I bought goods from the Ghibli Museum for a character from one of their short films that looked like him .)
Arrietty and Shou both fascinate me for different reasons. (Okay, I was interested first because Kamiki Ryunosuke was his voice actor and I loved him ever since he was a child actor, thought he was a genius…) There's something about Shou that completely intrigues me though I haven't pinpointed exactly why.
Love,
Yui
12/24/2019 10:54:07 PM – Los Angeles
12/24/2019 3:54:07 PM – Tokyo