Sunday night, May 15th – Hisamitsu Estate
Some nightmares are common to most of the people in the world. No matter the cultural background or the language, a few of these night frights seem to be universal. The falling dream and the running from some faceless horror dream are two of them… and two that Muyuki had been struggling with since that fateful day in March. But this time, there was another element that made this night different from the ones that had come before.
Friends and relatives who were all dead now, had been gathered around her… but none of them seemed happy. They looked upon her with sadness, pity, and… contempt. Haruta stood next to her but was looking away. For a moment, she thought that their disgust was directed at him – but that illusion was soon shattered.
I am furious.
Obāsama's words echoed from everywhere as if it were the collective thoughts of everyone gathered around her.
"No!" Muyuki wanted to protest her innocence but it seemed that no one could hear her plea.
… your continued inexcusable behavior...
The words continued to echo. In ones and twos, the ghostly figures turned away from her and faded out of her sight.
"Don't go! Please don't go." Muyuki begged.
… unforgivable.
"But… but I…" Muyuki pleaded to the familiar faces that she had known and loved. Faces of people that had meant the world to her… and were sitting in judgment of her now.
You are… someone I am beginning to despise.
Muyuki could now see that Obāsama herself was one of those that hadn't yet turned away from her.
"Obāsama?" Muyuki uttered her name in hope. For a moment it seemed that her appeal had worked. Obāsama opened her arms and appeared like an angel ready to offer solace to the weary. Muyuki tried to take a step toward the kindly old woman, but her feet were stuck to the floor and her body wouldn't move when she told it to. Her confusion ended when she saw Haruta take a step away from her. "What!"
Haruta's back was bent. His clothes were torn and burned. His body was broken and bandaged. But with each step he took away from Muyuki and into Obāsama's waiting arms… he changed. Bandages fell away. He stopped limping. He walked straighter and no longer staggered. His head was still down though. Even when he got to the angel of succor, he still couldn't look up.
"No." Muyuki cried out. Her feet still wouldn't move but she reached out to where Obāsama was embracing Haruta.
The love of a grandmother for her hurt grandson radiated from the arms that pulled him into her gentle embrace. His face pressed against her shoulder as the tears came. There was no sound, but his body shook from the sobs of the grief and pain that burdened him.
"But… what about me?" Muyuki yelled. Everyone but Obāsama and Haruta had turned their backs on her and faded away. And even now it seemed…
Angel wings unfolded from behind Obāsama and swept around the two. Wings that would hide him away from the things that would hurt him. Wings that slowly closed to conceal them from… Muyuki.
"Don't leave me!" Muyuki screamed as the wings continued to close.
The wings parted for a moment and Obāsama's face could be seen looking back her way. Instead of the contempt she had expected, the old woman's eyes were filled with pity and sorrow. Again, Muyuki had hoped that Obāsama would welcome her too. But the moment was fleeting and the protective wings closed up and sealed both of them away from her sight.
"Obāsama, I can't lose him too. Please don't… don't take him away from me! Please don't!" Muyuki screamed at the now empty spot where Obāsama and her husband had been standing.
"BAKA!" a voice boomed from behind Muyuki.
She spun to see Taiga The Tiny Tyrant laughing at her sorry state with cold contempt.
"You're such a fool. Nobody took Haruta, and he didn't leave." Taiga sounded as if she were having to explain common sense to a grade schooler, "You threw him away!"
With one hand over her heart and the other over her mouth, Muyuki sat up in the quiet dark panting for breath and blinked away the tears and sweat. In addition to the moisture of the sweat and tears on her face, her night clothes were also soaked from the terrors running rampant in her unconscious mind.
As with any dream, the details were slowly fading away, but the essence of it lingered on. With her blanket gathered close around her neck, she rocked back and forth for a while. But that didn't help. The room was suddenly suffocatingly small and she needed to get out. Fortunately, that was easily done in this old Heian house.
Letting her blanket fall back to the futon, she stood and eased open the paper wall that separated her room from the garden. The night air did feel refreshing even if the coolness made her damp night clothes feel uncomfortably clammy on her skin.
Tok. The bamboo tube of the Sōzu clunked as it moved back to fill up with water once again.
The hollow sound of the Japanese water feature got her attention. In the dark, she couldn't see the fountain, but she could see the benches that were near to it. A heavy overcast hid any light from the sky, but water glistened from the garden's plants and pathways nonetheless. Like a siren's call, the peaceful garden beckoned for her to come. Before she realized that she had moved, she found herself standing next to one of the benches and watching the hypnotically repetitive motion of the Sōzu's bamboo tumbler.
Tok.
Tok.
Tok.
… talk?"
"Huh?" Muyuki snapped out of her mesmerized state and saw that Noto was looking at her from the rock path on the other side of the fountain.
"I asked if you want to talk." Noto replied.
"Oh… no. I'm just out here because I had a bad dream." Muyuki told him.
"Oh?" Noto had always been a fan of dream interpretation. "Do you remember anything about it?"
"Not much… just that I felt very… alone." Muyuki bit her lip, not wanting to mention her fear of her husband leaving her.
"You know… Haruta is here now." Noto would ponder the implications of her dream later but for now, he thought that she might be comforted to know her husband was nearby.
"Here? Where?" Muyuki looked around the garden.
"Here at the estate. He and The Major got back two days ago." Noto told her.
"I haven't seen him." Muyuki replied in surprise.
"He has his own room." Noto answered.
"What? He is my husband. Why would he have his own room?" Muyuki sounded upset.
"He was honoring your wishes." Noto replied with a yawn. He had only taken this walk through the garden to relax after taking care of the twins, but he was ready to go back to bed now and this woman was becoming tiresome.
"My wishes?" Muyuki now sounded frustrated. "I never said…"
"You screamed it at him," Noto yawned again, "many times. Everyone in the estate knows that you don't ever want to see him again."
"But…" Muyuki gasped.
"Don't worry. There are several good divorce lawyers in Tokushima and the process should be simple enough, since there aren't any children involved." Noto turned to leave.
"No! I… I don't want that. I don't want a divorce." Muyuki pleaded.
"Look, I'm tired. I need to go back to bed." Noto was suddenly glad that they were separated by the water feature and she couldn't suddenly cling onto him.
"But…" Muyuki stammered.
"If you really don't want a divorce, you should be talking to Haruta… not me." Noto waved off any further discussion and headed back toward his room. He could hear Muyuki weeping in the darkness and felt a little bad about it… but not much. Haruta had been his friend for a very long time and she was the one that had made his life a living hell for the last two months. Divorce or reconciliation, I don't care which… but you guys just can't keep going on like this anymore. Still… if she can make amends with Haruta, I guess I could forgive her.
.
Friday afternoon, May 20th – Sendai, at the Docks
"Hey you, get away from there!" a man with a power company jacket yelled at two men down by the water in the broken dock area. Before he could get to the two uniformed men, a Japanese speaking westerner blocked his way.
"They have permission to be there. What's your problem?" The Major confronted the angry power company representative with the hideously bad comb-over.
"I'm in charge here and I haven't given anyone permission to take water samples at the docks." comb-over insisted.
"You're not in charge here. This entire area is currently under the authority of Hisamitsu Heavy Industries. That would make me in charge here, and I haven't given you permission to be here." The Major stood in the shorter man's way and stared down the two power company employees that were moving up behind him.
Haruta saw the commotion and waved over a couple of the construction workers they had been working with.
"You're interfering with necessary work!" comb-over insisted after fuming that he had lost his I'm in charge here fight.
"All three of you are wearing suits and none of you have hardhats or tools. Tell me what kind of necessary work you would be doing at a dock." The Major laughed dismissively.
"I want to know what they're doing down there!" comb-over demanded.
"Those guys are nuclear engineers from a nuclear aircraft carrier. They have portable radiation detection gear and they are testing for the presence of hazardous levels of radiation. They are highly skilled professionals who have been authorized to be here by Operation Tomodachi, at the request of the government of Japan." The Major gave them the public relations facts first, then dropped into a more threatening tone and said, "So far, I haven't seen anything that authorizes you to be here. Unless you can present some bona fides quickly, I would kindly ask you to turn around and leave."
"I… I represent the power company. Those people don't need to run any tests. You can trust us to tell you if the water is safe." comb-over insisted.
"Trust?" The Major scoffed, "It will be a long time before anyone trusts you guys again."
"How… how dare you say such a thing! That's slander!" comb-over raged.
"You give me too much credit." The Major chuckled while swiping the face of his phone to bring up the front page of the local Sendai newspaper.
"What do you mean?" comb-over was confused.
"I didn't say it." The Major held up his phone for the three power company suits to see the displayed headlines, "Every newspaper in Japan is saying it. Foreign governments are saying it. Environmental groups are saying it. Your - Own - Government is saying it."
"Ah!" comb-over cried out when he read the displayed headline.
National Diet of Japan
to create
Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission
"What does it mean?" Haruta asked after the three men turned and retreated to their company truck .
"The people of the country feel betrayed by exactly the people who were supposed to be protecting them from just such an event. The power company is having a huge trust crisis. They've had too many blunders and they are going to have to face the music now." The Major said grimly.
"Bummer. I can't believe that Japanese workers would do shoddy work that would put so many people at risk like this." Haruta shook his head.
"It wasn't the workers." The Major set his jaw while he watched the three suited men get back into their vehicle. "For so many things to have gone catastrophically wrong, this has to be a failure at the top."
"The top?" Haruta asked, but the two construction workers were already nodding their heads in agreement.
"Leadership… the executives at the power company. I'm guessing they cut corners to save money and now they'll have to pay for it." The Major explained.
"I dunno…" Haruta said as he looked back towards the desolation that used to be the east side of Sendai, "I think we're all paying for it."
The Major was surprised that Haruta had said something so profound, but the somber moment was interrupted by the two Navy men that returned from the dock. Haruta listened to them talk to the Major in English but he still couldn't understand the language. Halfway through the foreign conversation, he got a text that distracted him from his regrets for having wasted all of Yuri-sensei's English lessons.
"Another text from Muyuki-san?" The Major asked, after finishing up his other conversation.
"Yeah." Haruta showed the text to The Major and asked, "What do you think it means?"
Please don't leave me!
"Hmm." The Major read the words, looked at Haruta seriously and replied, "I think she doesn't want you to leave her."
"Dude." Haruta sighed, "I can figure out that much. But… where is this coming from?"
"That… I can't tell you. But, this is the fourth day she's sent you text messages, right?" The Major asked.
"Yeah?" Haruta wondered where he was going with his question.
"Maybe she's had a change of heart… about blaming you for everything and hating you. And… that's a good thing, right?" The Major tried to sound upbeat. Haruta had been a surprisingly hard worker and he didn't want the kid to suffer any more.
"Yeah… maybe." Haruta hit the button to send his reply, then nodded toward where the two uniformed men were leaving the dock and asked, "What was that all about?"
"They must have had another radiation spill at Fukushima. The radiation in the water is at unsafe levels again. Go tell the foremen that I want everyone to stop what they're doing and begin their radiation decontamination procedures. Then… they should send everyone home." The Major told Haruta.
"We're going home today?" Haruta only asked out of curiosity. The relations with his wife had warmed up a bit lately, but not enough that he was eager to see her.
"I have something to do with the local government for Noto tomorrow morning. We'll head back to Tokushima after that." The Major explained.
"Will we start again on Monday?" Haruta asked while The Major opened his phone's texting application.
"Not this Monday. There will be another radiation test next Friday, so maybe the following Monday." The Major replied while entering a message to a few very special people.
.
Saturday morning, May 21st – Hisamitsu Estate
Noto and Obāsama had the look of people whose happiness was so intense that part of their soul was already ascending to the heavens. The cause of this divine joy was the amazing smile on Maya's face. And the cause of that delight was Maya's first dressage lesson on her new horse.
A white mare with black spots that looked like splattered paint pranced around the round pen. Unlike Midnight Star, she wasn't an older horse whose best years had already gone by. She was well trained but had an unfortunate habit of being easily distracted or spooked when there were large crowds around. Just like a human, a horse's confidence can be shattered by constant failures.
Performance anxiety had been a problem when she was owned by someone who wanted to take her to competitions, but it was no issue out in the paddocks and fields of the Hisamitsu Estate. In this pastoral environment, both horse and rider seemed happy and proud as they pranced in circles around the trainer.
With the mare's mane and tail unbound and brushed out, she seemed light and airy as she moved fluidly in a canter that made both her and her smartly dressed rider look good.
And Maya was indeed looking good. Her knee high black leather 'tall boots' were laced over the leggings of the form fitting white breeches. Matching white gloves protruded from the sleeves of the deep maroon riding jacket. A black helmet and the collar of a frilly white shirt framed Maya's ecstatic face and orange-brown hair.
"That shirt and coat are a bit reminiscent of her high school uniform, aren't they?" Shinako observed.
"I hadn't thought of that, but I guess they are." Nanako tilted her head and wondered if the outfit might look better with a black string tie. English Style riding outfits usually included a white cloth 'stock tie' or an ascot, but the rules weren't set in stone. Even so, her dear friend Maya had moved forward with her life and there was no need to be over-fond of her high school days. "I wanted to create an outfit that would work with her natural colors… and still be acceptable with Dressage standards."
"You've done well, Nanako-chan. Other than her wedding dress, I don't believe I've ever seen her look more lovely." Obāsama said warmly.
"Nanako-chan also designed Maya-chan's wedding dress." Shinako pointed out.
"She did indeed." Obāsama smiled at the memory of that wonderful day. A moment later, her business sense clicked on and she suggested, "Perhaps Nanako-chan should be guided into establishing her own brand? Surely there is room for such a promising business within the Hisamitsu enterprises?"
"Those talks have already begun, Obāsama." Shinako replied.
Obāsama was about to commend Noto and Shinako's sensibility when their conversation was interrupted by the sound of hammering from the nearby field. Many workers were pouring over several piles of lumber and metal frameworks.
"Is the talent competition supposed to be this weekend?" Muyuki asked.
"No, it will be next weekend. But with construction labor demand high right now, this was the best time for building it." Noto replied.
"Will they be ready in time?" Nanako worried.
"Oh yes. The grandstand and reviewer's booth are preassembled kits. Only the stage and changing areas are being built from scratch. The foreman tells me they should be done by Tuesday at the latest." Noto assured everyone.
"Then, I guess we can look forward to seeing our friends return next weekend?" Shinako asked.
"Oh… it may be sooner than that." Obāsama replied.
The others looked at her for an explanation. but were confused when they saw a troubled look on her face instead of the happy anticipation they had expected.
.
Saturday morning, May 21st – Meji Affiliated School
Yuri fidgeted behind her desk. Her class was supposed to meet for a half day on Saturdays, but it seemed that two-thirds of the students wouldn't be coming in. With the information she had learned in the staff room, she thought she knew why.
"Um Yuri-ch… I mean Sensei, are you going to start the class?" Suzume asked from her desk in the middle of the room.
"Yes… er… actually no." Yuri's strange response made all the heads turn toward her. "Um… I guess you've all noticed that a lot of your classmates didn't come in today. Do any of you know why that might be?"
"The radiation in the water?" one of the boys on the second row answered.
"That's right." Yuri confirmed with some relief. She had been worried at how her students might react to this kind of news. "Has everyone heard about this?"
One other student raised their hand but the rest looked confused.
"Well… some tests were done on the drinking water in Tokyo yesterday and they… they confirmed that the radiation from the Fukushima power-plant accident has made the drinking water in Tokyo… unsafe."
"What!" many of the students erupted.
"Some of the experts are saying that it shouldn't affect old people but all of them are saying that it is not safe for children or pregnant women." Yuri continued, "The government is asking that infants and children only drink bottled water until further notice. Large shipments of bottled water are on the way, but they aren't here yet. So, anyone that can relocate to a safe area is being asked to do so. And, as a result of this announcement, the school has decided to shut down until Monday, the thirtieth of May."
"Seriously?" several of the students blinked in disbelief while others were already packing their bags up.
"Regretfully, I am serious." Yuri replied. Then she quickly added, "Whoever has classroom duty today, don't worry about it. Suzume-chan and Umeki-chan will be handling that today."
Suzume had been about to make a quick exit and looked up at Yuri-sensei with a frown. But when she saw the look on her friend and teacher's face, her expression changed to puzzlement. When she thought about it, there wasn't much to do. The previous day's cleaning hadn't been disturbed since they hadn't even opened their books before they were told to go home.
Umeki wasn't the kind to slack off though. While the others were leaving the room, she started wiping down the lower half of the white board – whether it needed it or not.
Not to be outdone, Suzume picked up a wiper and started cleaning the top half of the board… directly over Umeki's head. Leaning over her short friend as she was, she couldn't help it that a certain soft and bouncy part of her anatomy was bopping Umeki on the top of her head.
"Hey." Umeki started to complain that Suzume was too close until she realized just what it was that was playfully smacking her. Her complaint turned into a pout, "Oooooo Suzume, that's not fair."
"That's enough you two. Everyone else is gone." Yuri turned to tell the girls something confidential, but her voice stutter-crashed when she turned and saw the two kissing.
"We'd better stop. I think Yuri-sensei is going to spontaneously combust if we keep going." Suzume said after peeking out to see the incandescent blush on her teacher's face.
"You you you you you you you you you you you can't do that!" Yuri squeaked.
"What? You're going to tell us that you've never kissed The Major in the classroom?" Suzume jeered.
"NO!" Yuri gasped at the mere suggestion.
"Aw, come on." Suzume asked in a disbelieving tone.
"Never!" Yuri insisted.
"Not even once?" Umeki sounded stunned.
"Not even once!" Yuri said emphatically.
"Oh my." Suzume replied worriedly.
"This is bad." Umeki said to Suzume.
"Did The Major never want to kiss you here?" Suzume asked with a trace of hopefulness.
"Well, he did but I put my foot down. This is a school and not a place for…" her lecture stopped when she noticed that both girls had their faces in their hands – unable to look at her. "What?"
"Yuri-sensei, you are our friend and our teacher. So it isn't unusual that we are worried about you." Umeki said earnestly.
"Is your relationship with The Major still okay?" Suzume asked.
"What! What does that have to do with anything?" Yuri squawked.
"Well… we're just teenagers, but we have read a few articles on love and relationships." Suzume explained.
"Most of them warn that a relationship could fall apart if one of the partners is too straitlaced or… unimaginative."
"I… I'm not unimaginative!" Yuri insisted.
"Are you sure?" Suzume asked seriously.
"Ye… yes, I'm sure." Yuri answered with uncertainty.
"Okay well… as long as you're sure." Suzume sounded skeptical.
"…" Yuri was about to beg the girls to believe that she was imaginative when she noticed Umeki trying her best not to burst out laughing. Realizing what they had done, she stomped her foot and angrily shouted, "Stop teasing me!"
They knew her too well to be afraid of that kind of anger though. Yuri could only pout and wait for them to finish their laughing.
When it seemed like the laughter would never come to an end, Yuri's mood soured and she pouted, "Fine, then the two of you can keep laughing while you stay here in Tokyo while the rest of us go to Tokushima."
"Tokushima?" both girls immediately stopped laughing.
"To the Hisamitsu Estate?" Umeki asked.
"That's right. See you girls on the 30th." Yuri called back as she quickly stalked out the door.
"Yuri-sensei! Wait for uuuuuuuuuus!" the girls cried out as they grabbed their bags and raced out the door to catch their beloved teacher.
.
Saturday evening, May 21st – Sanyo Shinkansen
Ami was in the middle seat and leaning against her husband who had the aisle seat. The baby carrier was safely strapped into the seat next to the window. Ryuuji looked over Ami's blue hair at the window. Outside, the landscape was racing by at 300km/h – but the window was just a dark square of glass this late in the evening. Thinking Ami was asleep, he petted her hair and kissed her on the top of her head.
"Mmmm, that was nice." Ami purred.
"Eh?" Ryuuji's eyes focused and saw his wife's reflection in the dark window. Her eyes were open and she was looking back at him. "I thought you were asleep."
"I thought you were looking at my reflection in the window…" I was looking at yours. Ami was about to say, but got interrupted by a rude comment.
"Baka, he wasn't laughing was he?" Taiga's voice leaked up from the set of seats behind theirs.
"Taiga! You're supposed to play nice. Remember?" Minori's voice whispered admonishingly.
"That's right! You should have been laughing." Ami agreed with a smirk. "I was making lots of funny faces at you."
"Eh? What kind of funny faces?" Ryuuji asked.
"Well, let's see… I made that face that Taiga makes when she's about to hit you."
"Hey." Taiga grumped from behind them.
"Then I made that cute rodent face that Taiga makes when she ate all the meat out of your bento."
"Hey!" Taiga kicked the back of the chair Ami was sitting in.
"Then I made that adorable face that Taiga makes when she can't figure out why everyone is laughing at her!"
"HEY!" Taiga shouted while starting to climb over the seat to get to Ami.
"Onee-chaaaaaaan!" Ami sang out to her mother-in-law who was seated behind little Tatsuya and coincidentally next to Taiga, "I think that cute and cuddly Taiga-chan needs a great big hug."
"What? Oh dear, Taiga-chan! You shouldn't climb on the seats like that. Let me cuddle you for a bit until you calm down." Yasuko pulled Taiga down into her lap.
"No, Ya-chan. Not now. I have to mrffffff!" Taiga's voice was momentarily drowned in the soft pillowy boobs of Yasuko's chest. When she was able to come up for air, she reached out toward her friend, "Minorin… help me!"
"No way I'm getting close to those things. They might be contagious." Minori believed in the axiom that big boobs and athletics don't mix.
"That's… really?" for a brief moment, Taiga wondered if something like that could be true.
"So simple." Ami quietly laughed from where she still leaned against Ryuuji's broad chest. Threading her fingers into his, she kissed the back of his hand, then rested it on her tummy. A pleasant smile played across her lips while she watched his reflection in the dark glass.
"Ten minutes to Okayama." the announcement came over the speakers in the train.
"That's our stop. We're almost there!" Aiko-chan cheered.
"I'm afraid not, Aik… A-chan." Deena told her cute little friend, "After we get to Okayama, we still have a two or three hour drive to get to… where we're going.
Deena wasn't the only one having a hard time maintaining their incognito cover. The baseball caps, sunglasses, and masks had been abandoned once they were on the train since it was far less likely that anyone would see them there. However, hearing them was another matter. Ryuuji had warned them not to use each other's names and not to mention their destination. Deena had thought it would be easy for her since she was trained by the Australian military to protect operational security. But it was difficult to keep that mindset when she wasn't surrounded by people in uniform.
"I can't wait to see Maya-san's new horse!" Aiko-chan chirped.
"Huh?" Taiga stopped struggling against Yasuko's restraining embrace and asked her look-alike, "What new horse?"
"Obāsama bought her a trained horse so she can ride with you." Hisako replied. "Nanako tells me that she is taking her lessons very seriously. Even if she does not ride well, I expect you to be kind to her."
"I thought all of the horses were trained." Aiko-chan sounded confused.
"All of them will give you a ride, but Hisako-san is talking about that fancy riding that Taiga can do with her horse." Deena explained.
"Oooooh, now I really can't wait to see Maya-san and her new horse!"
Ami listened to the excited chatter from the seats behind and beside her for a while. A bit of jealousy nagged at her about everyone being so excited about going to the Hisamitsu place. Her mother… indeed, the whole Kawashima family had done well for themselves and they had several properties too. Unfortunately, they were mostly in or near Tokyo. The ones that were outside the radiation danger zone could be described as intimate. None of them would be suitable for more than two or three people, so none of the Kawashima properties would make a good refuge for Ami, Ryuuji… and their entourage. Glancing out from her own thoughts, she saw that Ryuuji was struggling to read a letter that had been written in English.
"Is that a real letter?" Ami's curiosity was piqued.
"Yeah." Ryuuji was glancing between the letter and his smartphone's translation application and looked deep in concentration.
"A real pen, ink, and paper letter… that came in the mail?" Ami blinked, "You didn't just print out an email, did you?"
"It's quite real." Ryuuji laughed at his wife's reaction to the oddity in his hands.
"And in cursive!" Deena chimed in from where she leaned over Ryuuji's seat from the aisle. Realizing her gaffe, she quickly apologized, "Sorry manager-san! I didn't mean to pry, but real mail letters are pretty rare for me too."
"It's okay… in fact, can you read this? My translator app isn't working for me." Ryuuji asked.
"I thought you could read English." Ami was surprised.
"Not cursive." Ryuuji confessed.
"What is cursive?" Aiko-chan asked.
"It is an older and more elegant writing style. It was useful when people still wrote with ink quills, but it's a bit archaic now." Deena explained, "A lot of countries are taking it out of their public school programs because they see it as obsolete and redundant."
"I thought elegance was good?" Aiko-chan asked innocently.
"It is, but a lot of people think it is no longer necessary. After all, the cursive alphabet is really nothing more than the fifty-two characters of the print alphabet in another style. The cursive alphabet is just another way of writing the same characters in the print alphabet. It's not like the hiragana, katakana, and kanji that Japanese school children have to learn.
"Waitaminit… the English alphabet only has fifty-two letters?" Suzume was stunned. Since Japanese school children had to learn nearly two thousand characters to understand their own language, this seemed like an incredible cheat.
"Actually, they only have twenty-six letters." Yuri replied with a smirk. It suddenly occurred to her that her students might not have such a mental block against English if they knew this. To finish her mini-lecture, she added, "There is an uppercase and lowercase version of the twenty-six letters, for a total of fifty-two characters… or a hundred and four if you also include the upper and lower case versions of cursive."
"That's stupid! They're throwing away half their alphabet… the elegant half… and they only have a hundred and four characters!" Suzume was aghast.
"Is the 'cursive writing' their version of shodō?" Umeki asked.
"Not quite. Shodō is called calligraphy in English. It is an even more elegant way of writing cursive letters." Yuri told them, "And… it has already been dropped from their standard education. It seems that only hobbyists and artists use it any more."
"That stinks!" Suzume was incensed… not so much that the western countries had given up on all these antiquated writing requirements, but that hers hadn't. She remembered all the boring hours that she had to spend with the messy ink pots and the stupid little brushes in grade school and middle school.
"It's not like they don't allow it. They just don't require it any more." Deena tried to mollify the angry teen.
"No no, Suzume-chan and Umeki-chan are quite right. It isn't fair that she will end up learning over two thousand Japanese characters and only fifty-two for English." Yuri said with an impish smile. She hadn't fully forgiven the two teens for their previous teasing after all. "To rectify this imbalance, I will start requiring all my students to also master cursive writing in their English classes. That way, they will be able to better understand the similarities and differences between English cursive and Japanese cursive formats like gyōsho and sōsho."
"What!" Suzume and Umeki both paled at the prospect of the already difficult English class becoming even harder.
"You see, I can be very imaginative." Yuri was quite proud of herself.
"Deena-chan, can you write in cursive?" Aiko-chan asked while her teen friends felt like their world was growing darker.
"Yes. I don't really use it all that much, but it was required when I was in school." Deena replied
"I want to learn the cursive too!" Aiko-chan cheered. "Then I want to write cursive letters to Deena-chan!"
"I'm sure Yuri-sensei will be more than willing to teach you if you want to learn, but for now, do you mind if I borrow Deena-chan for a bit? I am having trouble with this letter from my friend." Ryuuji asked the young girl. He could see the encroaching sadness at being separated from her beloved Aussie, so he suggested, "Why don't you go tell Yuri-sensei how much you want to learn this? After all, the sooner you learn it, the sooner you will be able to write back and forth with Deena-chan."
"Yes, Ryuuji-sama!" Aiko-chan made a bee-line for Yuri. Pushing past the two dejected and morose teens, she bravely announced "Yuri-sensei, I want to learn cursive now!"
"Oh!" Yuri was taken aback. Because of Aiko-chan's remarkable likeness to Taiga, this feisty girl in front of her brought out a memory from back when she was Taiga's teacher. She and Ryuuji had been troubling students in several ways. They would both end up getting involved in outlandish antics and both of them scared her. Ryuuji scared her because he looked so violent while Taiga actually was violent. But the dissonant element she was remembering now was their opposition to continuing their education. While Ryuuji wanted to quickly enter the workforce and stop being a burden to his mother, Taiga just didn't care. And yet, they were both in college now and here was this Taiga look-alike that was hungry to learn new things.
"Um, you don't generally start learning English until middle school." Umeki observed.
"I can't?" Holding onto Yuri's hands and gazing up into her face, Aiko's look of disappointment was heart wrenching. The joyous exuberance of just a moment ago was on the verge of crumbling into despair.
"Of course you can. How could I, as a teacher, not help someone who is so eager to learn?" Yuri smiled at the young girl while squeezing her hands.
"It sounds like everyone is in good spirits." Ami murmured while snuggling a little closer to Ryuuji.
"Aren't you?" Ryuuji asked while brushing the blue hair to the side so he could see Ami's face.
"I am, but remember… we'll be working while we're there. This isn't a vacation." Ami pouted.
"The talent show contest thing isn't until the end of the week." Ryuuji tried to raise her spirits by pointing out that they still had four of five days of relative relaxation.
"Aside from the talent show, we still have to practice those songs Aiko-chan worked up." Ami reminded her husband and manager.
"Uhg… I was trying to forget about that." Ryuuji groaned.
"To think that a love-struck teen would have sooooo much creative talent for poetry!" Ami couldn't help but chuckle a little while she teased him.
"Don't remind me." Ryuuji groaned. His hand covered his face for a moment as if warding off an impending headache. His voice sounded pleading as he asked, "When are you guys gonna stop raiding that box?"
"Are you kidding?" Ami laughed, "That's a treasure chest of love songs you've got there. We'd be fools to ignore such sweet, spirited, and soulful genius."
"Please… don't quote that magazine again." Ryuuji's hand was back on his face, but it didn't seem to be an effective ward after all.
"That interviewer actually begged us to reveal which one of us wrote all the songs, you know. They had a poll for people to vote on who they thought it might be, you know." Ami teased.
"I know… and Aiko-chan won." Ryuuji smiled a little at the memory of the young girl's shock that her fans thought so much of her.
"Imagine everyone's surprise if we told them the truth. What do you think would happen if they found out that it was our scary manager who wrote all those sweet, spirited, and soulful love songs?"
"Ugh, you did it again." Ryuuji groaned. Ami turned to reply, but the announcement came first.
"Now arriving at Okayama station."
.
Monday early morning, May 23rd – Hisamitsu Estate
Ami awoke suddenly, but she didn't know why. She didn't recall a bad dream, and she didn't think there was a loud noise either since Ryuuji was still asleep. Is Ryuuji still asleep? As usual, she was cuddled up to his body with her head on his shoulder. His arm was wrapped around her with his hand on her hip. When he woke up before her, his hand would start gently stroking her flanks as if she were a big cat. Ami didn't mind that comparison at all. When she woke up to his petting, she often wished she could cuddle in even closer and purr for him.
"Ah!" a shout came from elsewhere in the wing of rooms and Ami felt Ryuuji's hand move a bit.
"What was that?" Ryuuji resisted the urge to sit up since Ami was still attached to one side of his body.
"It sounded like Taiga." Ami replied softly. She also rocked her hip underneath his fingers, to let Ryuuji know she was ready for her morning petting.
"Oh, Maya must be at it again." Ryuuji relaxed a bit. At this point, his normal routine would be to start petting Ami to slowly wake her from her slumber, while using his other hand to brush her hair out of the way so he could see her face… except he couldn't.
"Huh?" Ami's body was disappointed that her morning petting abruptly ended after only a single stroke.
"Um… Ami-chan, could you take a look and see why I can't move my left arm?" Ryuuji sounded more than a little nervous. There was a reason though. He had only made a slight glance but, from the tuft of hair he glimpsed, it looked like Taiga was asleep on his other arm.
Ami blinked twice while her sleepy brain tried to catch up with Ryuuji's strange request. When she put it all together, her head popped up to see who was encroaching on her territory. For a moment, her eyes flared when she saw the fluffy orange-gold hair, but her anger died away when she saw the boobs. "Boobs?"
"What?" Ryuuji instinctively turned to see what had caused his wife's strange reaction, but a hand came down over his eyes.
"It looks like Aiko-chan might have wandered in here sometime during the night." Ami said while she reluctantly pulled herself up from the comfort of her cuddling place. She didn't want to, but Aiko-chan was having a wardrobe malfunction that needed to be fixed before Ryuuji would be allowed to open his eyes. Sure, he has seen her naked before – but that was in a changing room or a hot spring. This is a bedroom so this and that are very different things. It seemed that Ryuuji thought they were different things too. Ami noticed that his body had tensed and his face was a mask of concern. While pulling up Aiko-chan's nightgown, she tried to get her husband's mind off the morning's embarrassing oddity by asking, "What did you mean about Maya being at it again?"
"She really wants to ride with Taiga. I wouldn't be surprised if she woke Taiga up or greeted her coming out of the bath – already wearing her riding gear." Ryuuji chuckled a little at the mental image of an excited Maya facing off with a barely awake Taiga.
"Taiga Taiga Taiga… why do you want to talk about her so much?" Ami pouted, but it was all an act.
"Hey, you asked… oh." Ryuuji smiled when he realized she had been playing with him.
"You can open your eyes now." Ami told him, while moving Aiko-chan back into position to snuggle against Ryuuji's side.
"Hey… what are you doing?" Ryuuji felt a mild panic as the young girl's head settled back onto his shoulder.
"Just hang onto her for a bit. I have to drain these things." Ami hefted her heavy breasts as she stood and walked over to where the portable pump had been set up, "I'm always so full in the morning."
"I thought you were going to start weaning him off?" Ryuuji asked quietly. He was recalling their conversation from soon after their son was born. Ami really wanted to breast-feed him for two years, but she decided to stop after nine months so it wouldn't interfere with her career.
"There's no point now," Ami shrugged, but didn't sound disappointed at all while she explained her reasoning, "I'm two months pregnant now. By the time I get Tatsuya weaned off, the next one will be born."
"I… I'm sorry." Ryuuji felt like this unnecessary burden in her life was his fault.
"Don't be." Ami said firmly. She made a little moan as the milk finally let down and the engorged breasts began to release their load. After taking a calming breath, she told Ryuuji, "I had a long talk with my mother. Apparently, your mother made her rethink a lot of things."
"Yasuko?" Ryuuji was surprised. His mother was a very warm and loving person, but she was never known to be a very deep thinker.
"Yeah, she now regrets having me… so late in life." Ami told him.
"Huh?" Ryuuji had always thought that his mother had been terribly irresponsible for having him as early as she did. She could have had a much more fulfilling life if she hadn't been saddled with the responsibility of raising a child.
"Yasuko is still young and energetic, and will be for years. She's going to be able to keep up with our children while my mother… won't." Ami sounded sad, but some of that was for herself. Because of her mother's active entertainment career, she hadn't been around all that much in her daughter's childhood years either.
"I… hadn't thought of that." Ryuuji recalled how Anna usually connected with his grandparents and Obāsama, much more than with his mother. When he was younger, he had thought that all parents were pretty-much the same. But his mother and Ami's mother were clearly a generation apart from each other, even if he and Ami were the same age.
"Okāsan doesn't want me to have regrets like hers. And… I don't want to be like that either." Ami gave a bittersweet smile and told him, "I want to be there for my children like Yasuko was there for you… and I want to be there for my grandchildren too."
...be there for my children like Yasuko was there for you… Ryuuji winced at the memories that Ami's words kindled. Years… most of his childhood was spent friendless because of his fiendish appearance. He would have been completely alone if it hadn't been for his mother. As much as he loved his mother for her uncompromising affection, he hoped that little Tatsuya wouldn't have a similar cursed childhood. It would be best if our kids are like Aiko-chan. Beautiful. Loved and adored by everyone… Oh wait. Aiko-chan had a pretty tough time too, didn't she? Ryuuji's brow furrowed when he remembered all the bullying at the awful grade school Aiko-chan had been attending when they had first met. While she wasn't terrifying to look at, she had committed the unpardonable sin of being taller than all the boys her age and they had bullied her mercilessly. It' hadn't really been ages ago when they had pulled her out of that school, but it felt that way. The memory of that day stirred his compassion and he gave the young girl's sleeping body a little pat of affection.
"Hey… were you just petting her?" Ami verbally accused while pointing at Ryuuji's offending hand.
"What?" Ryuuji blinked at the sudden change in Ami's demeanor. He looked to see where Ami was pointing but there was no animal to pet there – only Aiko-chan.
"I saw it. You petted her. You're only supposed to pet me!" Ami half pouted and half demanded.
"I didn't pet Aiko-chan. I just patted her. And… when do I ever pet you?" Ryuuji's confusion was clearly evident in his confused and spluttering response.
"Every morning!" Ami insisted.
"I do?" Ryuuji's idea of petting something involved a small furry animal in his lap and his hand stroking it's fur from head to tail. Try as he might, he couldn't recall doing anything like that to Ami… or anyone else for that matter. "Look… you're not an animal and... and Aiko-chan's not an animal, so I don't see how you can say…"
"Wh… what's going on?" Aiko-chan said sleepily. Pulled out of sleep by the raised voices in the room she stretched out like a waking cat. Adding to that image, her mass of unbrushed orange-gold hair looked like the mane of a wild animal.
"You were saying?" Ami smirked.
The door to their room opened before Ryuuji could retort. The three in the bedroom saw Yuri-sensei, Deena-chan, and Yasuko through the open door. All three were wearing their running shorts and shirts, but only Yasuko was standing. Yuri-sensei was lying on her back on the floor and Deena-chan was bent over and breathing hard.
"There you are, Aiko-chan!" Yasuko cheered.
"Where have you guys been?" Ryuuji asked in an effort to change the uncomfortable conversation he had been having with his wife.
"We just went for a little run." Yasuko replied while she swooped the sleepy Aiko-chan up into her arms.
"Ten… kilometers…" Yuri gasped out from the floor.
"… is not… a little… run." Deena finished.
"Deena-chan, you're in the military. Aren't you used to that kind of thing?" Ryuuji asked.
"A ten-k... in the mountains... is different... than a ten-k... on a nice... level... track." Deena grumbled while still trying to catch her breath.
"Where is everyone else?" Ami asked to quickly change the conversation before Yasuko tried to recruit her into the morning run club.
"Taiga and Maya are riding their horses. Most everyone else is watching them." Yasuko replied.
"We saw them… when we came in. They looked like… they were just… getting started." Deena explained through her heavy breathing. It was already better than it was a moment ago, but accepting that she had been outmatched by a grandmother was a little disheartening.
"I want to see the horses!" Aiko-chan perked up."
.
Out in the jump arena, Taiga and Maya were riding side-by-side in a smooth canter. It was a crowd-pleaser and was easy on the rider. Taiga transitioned to a trot that was easy for the horse but made the rider post in the saddle to match the horses movement. Maya followed suit but overshot Taiga until she reined in her horse for Midnight Star to catch up. The two of them rode past the group of people gathered on the veranda.
"They look amazing! I can't believe Maya-chan's horse has been trained this well so quickly!" Yuri gushed.
"That's a common misconception," The Major said through a knowing smile, "the trainer is here to teach the human, not the horse."
"Huh?" several people sounded off their confusion.
"We bought a horse that was already trained," Obāsama explained, "the trainer is here to teach Maya-chan how to ride correctly."
"Is she going to ride in competitions?" Suzume asked. She thought both of the senpai's looked amazing and was starting to get interested as well. Her enthusiasm wasn't missed either.
"You know, our school has a riding club." Yuri pointed out.
"Really?" Suzume sounded thrilled.
"It's a huge time commitment though." Ami warned. She didn't have to say that it would conflict with her already full schedule as an entertainment professional. Ami could see that the red head understood the implication.
"She could do it as a hobby." Yuri tried to pick up the girl's dashed hopes, "There isn't as much commitment if she doesn't plan on doing it competitively."
"I'm worried about what would happen to her if there was an accident." Ryuuji's words were barely out of his mouth when they all watched the freckled horse stop suddenly. Maya's body tumbled out of the saddle and crashed into the three plastic rails that had been set up in one of the jumps.
"Oof!" Maya grunted amidst the scattered rails. This wasn't the first time she had fallen off the horse, so she wasn't too surprised. She reached up to pet the horse's muzzle while asking Taiga, "Why does she do that whenever I set up for one of the jumps?"
"Your approach to the jump was wrong, and that's something you need to get a feel for. Start small with the jumps. Take it down to just one rail and try." Taiga advised.
"But I have pictures of her easily clearing a meter and a half jump at the place where she came from." Maya protested.
"That was with a different rider. You haven't built up enough trust with her yet. And... she may be able to feel your lack of confidence as a rider." Taiga told her. She was quite enjoying being treated like a senpai and didn't feel ridiculously short while seated on Midnight Star.
"Can you do it? Jump three rails, I mean?" Maya asked while she got up from the ground.
"No. Midnight Star knows how to do it but he's too old. Even if he was willing, I would be afraid of giving him an injury he wouldn't be able to recover from." Taiga's reply was a mixture of affection and sadness while she patted his neck.
"Could you do it on Freckles?" Maya offered her much younger horse.
"… Probably. But what would that prove?" Taiga felt a twinge of disloyalty at the thought of riding another horse.
"I just want to know if it's a matter of trust or confidence." Maya replied. "I realize that I need to work hard to overcome whichever one it is, but..."
"All right. I get it." Taiga dismounted Midnight Star and switched reins with Maya. She led Freckles away a few steps and petted the long nose of the young mare. "Let's show her what you can do, okay?"
Midnight Star stood with Maya a few meters away. Old brown eyes regarded the tiny human that he thought of as 'his person'. It had been a long time since he had encountered a rider that seemed to know just what he wanted to do. Although sometimes she might urge him to walk or run in one of the uncomfortable ways, she would exult when he did it right, then she would change up the routine and he would be back to the movements that he loved. And she would exult then too.
She was also the only human who ever found out what kind of snack he really liked. Lots of humans had offered him apples or carrots to get his favor, but she was the first to realize how much he liked celery. She never came to visit him without bringing several stalks of his favorite treat and it was much appreciated. For just a few of those delicious celery treats, he would run through the open pasture all day for her.
But the pasture wasn't open now. It had been set up with many of those little jumping things. He knew them from his youth and eyed them with curiosity. He remembered flying over them years ago, but he also knew that he couldn't do now… what he used to do then. His person seemed to understand that too. Even as they made their run around the pasture, she never once urged him toward those little jumps. He was glad that she didn't try to make him do the tall jumps... they seemed scarier than they did in his past. But the shorter jumps... he had eyed them with interest when they ran by. He wondered if his person might exult if they sailed over one of those jumps together.
But now, he waited with another human while his person slowly walked away with another horse. Instinctively, he took a step forward to follow his person, but the human next to him was holding his reins and he had to stay where he was. So he stayed there and watched as his person put her little foot into the stirrup dangling from that other horse's saddle. This irregularity made him snort and shake his head.
"Whoa, don't worry. Taiga's just going for a little ride on Freckles. She'll be back soon. I promise!" Maya said as she gently rubbed Midnight Star's soft nose.
The mutterings of this human were unintelligible to Midnight Star, but the tone in her voice told him that everything was okay, and to be calm. He snorted and pawed at the ground, but stayed where he was and watched as his person began to ride the other horse around the pasture. He could see his person from a view that he couldn't normally see when they rode together, but he still recognized her. He also knew what it meant for them to ride with that pattern and speed as they approached the jumps. His person was about to fly over the jumps.
On another horse.
Without him.
Because he was too old.
His person and the other horse cleared the first jump and set up for a second. They looked great as they soared into the air again, and safely landed on the other side of the second jump. The pair made a wide sweeping turn and lined up for a tall jump. Midnight Star could feel the excitement and tension from the human next to him, but he already knew. He could tell from the confident flaring nostrils of the other horse, to the determination of his person on that horse's back... they wouldn't have any trouble with this jump either.
It would be no trouble for that younger horse.
That wasn't him.
And with his person...
Midnight Star lowered his head to the ground and found a bit of sweet grass to chew on, instead of watching the pair clear the final jump. He knew they had been successful when the human next to him started to exult. He was glad that his person was safe, but her success on another horse made him feel a bit... hollow.
"Wasn't that wonderful! They looked so graceful." Maya cheered, "I'll practice lots and lots and soon I'll be able to do that too!"
Midnight Star just kept munching on his grass.
"Don't push yourself... or your horse, too much." Taiga warned as Freckles came to a stop next to them. "You have to earn their respect. Just like people, you can't force it on them."
"That's what the trainer keeps telling me too." Maya admitted while she swapped reins with Taiga again.
"Now, go give your horse a treat and tell her she did good, while I deal with Midnight Sulk over here." Taiga gave her cud chewing horse a frown.
"Huh?" Maya was about to ask what Taiga meant, but she could tell that Taiga's attention was now all about her horse.
"Oh c'mon... you're too old to do those jumps and you know it." Taiga said airily.
Midnight Star tried to turn away from his person, but her grip on his reins was too firm. He knew he could drag her around the pasture if he wanted. She was so tiny after all. But there was something about his bond with this human tha... CELERY!
"I know what you like." Taiga sounded sneaky while she displayed a big crunchy piece of celery that she had pulled out of the plastic bag. She could see his instant change of attitude and changed her own voice to sound like someone playing with a big dog, "Who's the good boy?"
CRUNCH!
"That's right. You just think happy thoughts while you slay that celery stalk. No more jealousy and no more horse dreams about going over those silly jumps. Okay?" Taiga knew that a horse wouldn't understand her words, but she could hope that he understood the message.
Friday morning, May 27th – Hisamitsu Estate
A chartered bus pulled up to the estate's front and opened its doors. The first girls to get off the bus looked around at the stately entrance, the uniformed servants, and the elegant woman who was there to greet them. With a lot of confusion and doubt, they began to suspect that the bus driver had taken them to the wrong place. But their worries evaporated when they saw who was coming down the steps from the entrance to greet them.
"That... that's Ami!"
"And that's Hisako... and Suzume!"
The girls that remained on the bus poured out onto the drive as the principal members of Red, Black, and Blue appeared before their very eyes.
"Omygosh! That's Aiko-chan and Onee-chan and... and... they're all here! They're really all here!"
Obāsama smiled and watched the light of dreams flicker in the eyes of the many young girls. She had worried that such boisterous activity would make her feel uneasy in her secluded, and usually quiet mountain estate. But instead, she felt a surge of excitement that made her feel young again. There was little doubt that the hopeful young girls were the cause of this rejuvenating energy. She immediately decided that she liked this feeling and considered a few options.
Shinako noticed Obāsama waving her over and quietly moved over to her side. "Obāsama?"
"You've recently requested some maids from the main house to come and assist Noto at the city residence." Obāsama stated
"Technically, they are there to serve the house. They are not assisting Noto-sama personally." Shinako felt she should be precise about the specifics.
"Either way... it occurs to me that not everyone will succeed in this talent competition. It is a shame, since they are all such energetic young ladies. Don't you think?" Obāsama asked.
"That is true. I believe there are thirteen hopefuls and only four positions open on the new team. However, I did hear that Manager-san has been asked to recommend a contestant who shows surprising talent directly to Ami's uncle." Shinako replied.
"A different project?" Obasama asked.
"I believe so." Shinako replied.
Obāsama raised an eyebrow. It seemed like an odd request to her. If this little party has two amazingly talented girls, then... I suppose the second would have to settle with joining Ryuuji's group. Well... that would be a good thing too. Still, she had to ask, "Only one?"
"I'm afraid so." Shinako confirmed.
"Then, at the very least there will be eight girls who will not receive offers from either Ryuuji or Ami's uncle." Obāsama waited for Shinako's confirming nod before continuing with her thoughts, "I would appreciate it if you would prepare some applications for staff positions here at the Hisamitsu Estate. I think three would suffice."
"May I suggest six?" Shinako countered.
"Six?" Obāsama was amused and curious.
"I agree that their delightful energy is both infectious and invigorating. I think it would be a good idea to surround Maya-chan in that warm glow... especially if you will be wanting any more great grandchildren from her." Shinako didn't mention the terrible bout of postpartum depression that Maya had gone through. It was unnecessary since Obāsama had personally involved herself in Maya's recovery.
"More..." Obāsama's eyes opened wide and she hissed, "Tell me what you know!"
"Maya is afraid of the person that she had become during her depression. This makes her reticent to put herself in that position again. At the same time, she is aware of Takasu Ami's second pregnancy and is envious of their growing family." Shinako could see the desire in her grandmother's eyes as she went for the final push, "I believe that she will give in to her desire for more children if something is done proactively that will reduce her chances of another depressive episode."
"You've... put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?" Obāsama suspected that she was being set up.
"I have been trying to think of an adequate proactive solution for a while. I only thought of capitalizing on the energy of these youthful girls after I saw how they were affecting you." Shinako answered truthfully. Even though her primary loyalty had shifted to Noto, deceiving Obāsama was out of the question for her.
"All right then, prepare for nine. We will take on any who accept our offers." Obāsama decided.
.
While the atmosphere was festive at the grand estate's entrance, it was stressful over in the stables. Freckles was kicking the boards in her stall. Two stablehands were desperately trying to get her to calm down before she hurt herself. Whinnying, stamping, and snorting… clearly, some of the other horses were nervous with fear. Midnight Star and a few of the older horses weren't as affected as the newer ones, but they could feel it too. It was the feeling that many animals get when threatened by something ominous.
The stablehands knew too. More accurate than the country's weather prediction service, the horses were telling them...
A storm was coming.
.
.
Glossary
Gyōsho: a semi-cursive way of writing the characters of the Japanese language. The characters are written with a softer and more rounded technique, staying away from sharp corners and angles.
Shodō: the art of Japanese calligraphy
Sōsho: a cursive way of writing the characters of the Japanese language.
Sōzu: A water feature found in Japanese gardens. A short length of bamboo on a pivot will slowly fill with water until it rotates to let the water out. Once empty, it falls back against a rock and makes a 'tock' or 'thunk' sound.