It was long past dinner when Hitoha returned home from her meeting. She waved a concerned Yotsuha away with a gentle smile and managed to eat some leftovers before retiring to her room to ruminate on the meaning of today's meeting.

"Futaba… so that's why you asked me to remove it…" Hitoha sighed.

She sat in the middle of her room - a small, sparsely decorated room dominated by a futon tucked away in a corner. Right in front of her was a small table she used mainly to keep her glasses and hairband, except this time the only thing on the table at the moment was a white ceramic bottle.

"Obaa-chan, do you want to take a bath first?" Yotsuha called out from the living room.

"You go ahead, I want to rest for a bit."

...Toshiki… For you to have returned this, does that mean...?

Her mind swam as she recalled her meeting with him earlier today.

"Okaa-san."
"Toshiki? Is that…?"
"Yes. She gave it to me long ago. I'm here to return her to you."
"I don't understand, wh-"

Toshiki cut her off by gently placing the bottle in her hands. As the took the bottle, she felt the contents inside swirling about restlessly. However, her attention was focused on Toshiki instead, who she realised was wearing a very complicated look she could not decipher.

"Are you sure about this? This is all you have left of her."
"I… It's what she would have wanted."
"What she would have wanted? For me to keep it?"
"She would have wanted to be able to protect Itomori."
"You don't really think a bottle of sake could have protected the village from the meteor now, do you?"
"Maybe…"
"... Toshiki… You've changed."

Hitoha carefully kept the bottle in her bag. It didn't feel right, having such a personal item out in public. She then invited Toshiki to have a seat, feeling they had a lot to discuss.

"Even if you returned it to me, what am I going to do with it? Keep it at home for display?"
"That's part of the reason why I wanted to speak to you today."

From his jacket, Toshiki withdrew an envelope with an official looking seal on it, and opened it. He then took out an equally important looking letter and handed it to Hitoha. Confused, Hitoha took the letter, adjusted her glasses and began reading.

"Itomori… Restoration Project? Heritage site? Toshiki, what is the meaning of this?!"
"I want to restore Itomori Village."

His simple reply took Hitoha completely by surprise. He wanted to return to Itomori?

"Why? Why are you so hung up on that town?"
"Because it was what she would have wanted. Futaba loved Itomori more than anything else in this world."

"She would have been devastated to know it has been destroyed. That's why I… That's why I want to rebuild it in her memory."

Hitoha's mind finally connected the dots. He came seeking redemption.

"No, you idiot…" came the gentle reply. "Futaba loved you more than anything else in the world."

Her words rang in his ears as Toshiki felt his heart ache, his tears welling in his eyes.

"Whenever I visited her alone during her final days, she was always crying uncontrollably, always asking for you. She would always control herself whenever you or the kids were around, but whenever you were off searching for a cure, she would break down crying, begging me for forgiveness."

Toshiki could stare at her with his tear soaked eyes as Hitoha herself began tearing up at the memories.

"She would beg me for forgiveness, because she failed. She had planned to take on the role of caretaker of the shrine herself, knowing you wouldn't have done it without her. Even on her deathbed, all she could think about was you."

Toshiki felt as if his heart would just rip itself in half. He knew nothing of this - He wasn't by her side when she breathed her last as he was in Tokyo desperately searching for a cure for her illness. In the end, it was a fruitless endeavor. There was nothing the doctors could have done, nothing he could have done. All that time he could have spent with her instead wasted on a fool's errand.

"Toshiki, I owe you an apology." Her voice brought him out of his reverie.

"You don't owe me anything…" he mumbled. What's she apologising for?

"You don't understand. When Futaba died, all I could think about was the future of the shrine. Mitsuha was too young to fully understand the significance of the shrine, and I wasn't sure if I would live long enough to pass on all the secrets to her or Yotsuha."

Hitoha gave a self-deprecating smile, and continued in a mocking tone directed at herself.

"I certainly didn't expect to live this long, nor did I expect Itomori to be destroyed so quickly. Ever since the incident, I've been thinking a lot about the shrine and what it meant to me as a Miyamizu."
"What do you mean?"
"You don't just watch a meteor land directly on top of your shrine and not think about the implications. Even to me, the meaning behind it was clear. It's why I never bothered returning to Itomori all these years, not even to salvage the house."
"But…"
"1200 years of tradition gone in the blink of an eye, just like Futaba… Toshiki, I think I finally understand how you felt back then. Please, forgive me for all I've said and done back then. If only I had acted differently, perhaps we could have still been a happy family."

Toshiki simply looked at her. He was not expecting her, of all people, to seek his forgiveness. He could almost picture Futaba in the background, encouraging him on with a smile. He blinked, and she was no longer there, in her place an old lady with her head bowed.

"Please, okaa-san, there's no need to bow!" Toshiki exclaimed as he got to his feet and tried to return her to her seat, but she refused to budge.

"Toshiki, please... I am doing this for myself. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I can't do this much."
"... I understand… In that case… Please forgive me as well."
"What are yo-?!"

Toshiki had prostrated himself on the ground, his head bowed.

"..."

We're both idiots, Hitoha thought as she knelt down beside him and stroked his back like she used to do so many years ago when they were still living happily under the same roof. It was her unique way of showing affection to me, Toshiki recalled.

"Stand, Toshiki."

He complied. For a moment, all Toshiki could do was look at her while trying to find the words, but he could not find them. However, there was no need, as Hitoha simply settled for a hug. As he returned her warm embrace, his tears flowed freely. After all these years, he had finally achieved closure.

"How about we continue this conversation tomorrow, at my house? It's getting late, and you must be tired."
"Al-Alright then. I'll drive you home, okaa-san."
"Thank you, Toshiki."

"Obaa-san! I'm done!", came Yotsuha's voice, snapping Hitoha out of out her trance, followed by a "KYAA! Obaa-chan, come look!"

Shaking her head, Hitoha made her way towards the living room, where Yotsuha was apparently screaming at her phone. As she approached her granddaughter, Yotsuha immediately rolled over and showed her a picture of Mitsuha cradling a hedgehog.

"Oh, is that Mitsuha? She looks like she's having fun."
"Yup, and her boyfriend at the cafe!"

With that, she showed her the next image, which was a picture of Taki playing with the hedgehog.

"It's so cute! I wish I could go… well, maybe I will, eheehee…"

Hitoha smiled as she watched Yotsuha look through the pictures, occasionally giving a cry proclaiming the hedgehog's cuteness. As she turned towards the bathroom, she called out to Yotsuha regarding tomorrow.

"Yotsuha, your Otou-san is coming over tomorrow for lunch. Remember to prepare his portion as well."
"Ehh? Why didn't he tell me earlier?"

Yotsuha quickly went to check on their remaining food stock before groaning that she had to drop by the market tomorrow.

Tomorrow… Hitoha thought as her mind wandered over to the bottle still in her room. Toshiki... just what do you have planned?