Post by Seito Risa on Sept 18, 2013 18:21:30 GMT -5
Risa joined Ichiro in putting on a pair of shades. Despite the fall temperatures outside, the sun shone brightly. As the pair moved out of the front door of Osaka International Airport, a slight gust of wind blew by, chasing the hem of Risa's skirt against her ankles. The dress is a dark, emerald green, which agrees with her slight form. A silver chain encircles her neck, no charm. A pair of emerald colored studs finish off the outfit. Her left arm is carefully stowed in its sling. Behind her, with two large rolling suitcases behind him, emerged Ichiro, in a light blue suit with matching tie. The pair might be any business travelers, exactly their objective. The pair moved off toward the taxi stand, walking up to the first cab.
I: "We are looking for an address in Ikeda. Can you take us?"
The cabby bowed, opening his trunk as he moved.
Cabby: "Hai! Ikeda-ku, no problem!"
Ichiro looked back at Risa, who nodded to him. Ichiro opened the door and let her settle in before closing the door. He moved to the other side, passing the driver.
I: "I live in Ikeda, just so you know, I know how much the trip should cost."
The cabby looked at him, smiling.
Cabby: "Hai!"
The cabby's smile stayed glued in place as he moved around to the front of the cab. Ichiro slid into the other back seat and provided the address. The cab pulled away from Osaka International...
=====
Risa stood quietly in her room, looking out of the upstairs window at morning sun lighting the street below. A knock at her door. She thought for a moment of Ichiro, who was across town visiting with his mate. It had to be...
SR: "Come in."
The door opened, admitting her Mother.
Mom: "Suzume..."
Risa turned to face her Mother. It had been harder than she ever could have imagined coming in the front door with her arm slung. Grandfather had been distractable, having begged his picture taken with the Cross-Hemisphere title. That had provided Risa with one of the few bright spots in her recent memory. One failure had been atoned for. Her hair had gotten longer in the States, almost down to the middle of her back. It hung there, lifeless, much like Risa herself felt. The blue knee length shorts, ankle socks and white sneakers did little to make her feel any more comfortable. She had scrounged around, and located her old Track t-shirt from school and stood in that. Having had to get dressed herself, and glad for the old velcro sneakers, she stood there facing her mother with no bra, which a year ago would have struck her with fear. She showed no such hesitation now.
SR: "Hai."
Her Mom walked over, took her hand and guided her over to the bed where the two sat on the edge.
Mom: "You can dodge Ichiro and distract Grandfather, but you can't get away from me."
Risa bowed her head, slumped.
SR: "Hai."
Mom: "Is that all you have to say? Hai?"
Risa shrugged her right shoulder.
SR: "What more do you want? A song and dance routine?"
Her Mother put a hand in the middle of her back, rubbing gently.
Mom: "I want you to look at me. To talk to me. You can't keep kicking yourself like a sakka baru forever."
Risa sighed, looking up at her Mother. No fear of tears escaping, she had none left.
SR: "I don't know what to do, Mother. I found three people, I thought we could be friends with them. One of them seemed receptive, the other two, well we knew it would take time for them to warm up to us. I pledged myself to Eden's defense, and all I got was my arm snapped. Twice. She was all alone against everyone in the world that wanted to do her harm. Now, even those other two don't know where she is, what she's doing. All they have told us is she left the Hospital and they are determined to find her. We only know that because Ichiro can be quite persistent."
Her Mother giggled.
Mom: "He can indeed. Suzume, I can only imagine how you feel. From the look from here it isn't very good. You did your best."
Risa ducked her head.
SR: "And it wasn't good enough."
Mom: "Wasn't it? You ended up in the hospital, my daughter. You stood your ground and gave everything you had. Against those kinds of odds, we knew it was possible you might get hurt."
Risa raised her head, leaned back and eased down onto her back, looking up a the ceiling. Her Mother turned, pulling a knee up on the bed and watched her daughter.
SR: "Yes. I knew that. Ichiro knew that. We didn't know someone was going to make sure that was the case."
Her Mother tilted her head.
Mom: "What do you mean?"
Risa blinked, raising her head.
SR: "They didn't tell you? Someone put a bounty on me, to put me out of action. Ichiro got the money before it got delivered. I don't think the intended recipients will really miss it. They would have done it for free, just to hurt Eden and the others."
Mom: "I'm glad you came home. You need time to rest, to heal. To figure out what to do from here. When do you plan to go back?"
Risa sighed.
SR: "Right now, I don't think I will be going back. I can't do it. I have done what I originally set out to do. I have made Grandfather proud and furthered the family name. Maybe I just can't do anything more."
Her Mother nodded.
Mom: "That's possible. But you have never been someone to take the easy way out. When no one else had the courage to step up and back those three up, you and Ichiro did."
Risa closed her eyes.
SR: "For all the good it did."
Her Mother took a deep breath. Her tone suddenly going stern.
Mom: "If that is what you want to believe, you want to work at convincing yourself of that, then I guess there is nothing I can do. But I can give you some advice, Risa. I recommend you listen. Get dressed to go out, go to Mitami-jinja and see what you see. That place always made you feel better. Even after Mother was gone."
Her Mother ducked her own eyes, remembering her Mother, Risa's Grandmother, proud and kind like others of the Fujiwara clan she had seen. Risa's head came up, she looked at her Mother, saw her shoulders start to shake. Risa fought her way back to a sitting position and wrapped her right arm around her Mother and pulled her in close.
Mom: "I'll take your advice. When I come back, I will tell you my decision."
The two embraced, Risa finding herself in a position she had never imagined, comforting her mother as she did something she rarely did. Cried like a child.
=====
The walk from where the Nankai bus had let her off was as quiet as the walk that had started her voyage. Risa was still haunted by what had happened with her Mother. Rarely had such raw emotion boiled to the surface with her around. She understood how worried her Mother was. About nothing more than her daughter's state of mind. Thanks to her Mother's suggestion she was now walking toward the nearly 500 year old steps that led up to the Shrine's grounds. She had fond memories of the place, but they seemed from a different lifetime now. Risa had changed, with her Mother's help. She now wore a pair of black jeans as opposed to the shorts. Tied sneakers with ankle socks. On top she still wore her track t-shirt, though she had had help getting a bra on. Over this she wore her letter jacket from High School track. This one from her final year, when she had been selected Team Captain. The last time her High School had gone to the national championship. She stopped at the foot of the great stone steps and look up. The Shrine still gave off a feeling of peace even now. How many generations of the families that lived there and took care of the grounds lived there she had never been able to figure. They were distantly related, she knew, her Grandmother having been one. It was like going home to go home. She had been full of fear, full of doubt and self-loathing so far. This place would not allow such feelings to continue. Her fear of that, was what she might discover beneath. Her slung arm was safely tucked inside her letter jacket making it a bit awkward to walk up the steps, but with determination, Risa forced her legs to do as she commanded. Up, up, up to the courtyard. She stopped at the stop of the steps, turned to look back down and closed her eyes. With a softly murmured prayer, she turned and walked into the grounds of the Mitami Shrine.
I: "We are looking for an address in Ikeda. Can you take us?"
The cabby bowed, opening his trunk as he moved.
Cabby: "Hai! Ikeda-ku, no problem!"
Ichiro looked back at Risa, who nodded to him. Ichiro opened the door and let her settle in before closing the door. He moved to the other side, passing the driver.
I: "I live in Ikeda, just so you know, I know how much the trip should cost."
The cabby looked at him, smiling.
Cabby: "Hai!"
The cabby's smile stayed glued in place as he moved around to the front of the cab. Ichiro slid into the other back seat and provided the address. The cab pulled away from Osaka International...
=====
Risa stood quietly in her room, looking out of the upstairs window at morning sun lighting the street below. A knock at her door. She thought for a moment of Ichiro, who was across town visiting with his mate. It had to be...
SR: "Come in."
The door opened, admitting her Mother.
Mom: "Suzume..."
Risa turned to face her Mother. It had been harder than she ever could have imagined coming in the front door with her arm slung. Grandfather had been distractable, having begged his picture taken with the Cross-Hemisphere title. That had provided Risa with one of the few bright spots in her recent memory. One failure had been atoned for. Her hair had gotten longer in the States, almost down to the middle of her back. It hung there, lifeless, much like Risa herself felt. The blue knee length shorts, ankle socks and white sneakers did little to make her feel any more comfortable. She had scrounged around, and located her old Track t-shirt from school and stood in that. Having had to get dressed herself, and glad for the old velcro sneakers, she stood there facing her mother with no bra, which a year ago would have struck her with fear. She showed no such hesitation now.
SR: "Hai."
Her Mom walked over, took her hand and guided her over to the bed where the two sat on the edge.
Mom: "You can dodge Ichiro and distract Grandfather, but you can't get away from me."
Risa bowed her head, slumped.
SR: "Hai."
Mom: "Is that all you have to say? Hai?"
Risa shrugged her right shoulder.
SR: "What more do you want? A song and dance routine?"
Her Mother put a hand in the middle of her back, rubbing gently.
Mom: "I want you to look at me. To talk to me. You can't keep kicking yourself like a sakka baru forever."
Risa sighed, looking up at her Mother. No fear of tears escaping, she had none left.
SR: "I don't know what to do, Mother. I found three people, I thought we could be friends with them. One of them seemed receptive, the other two, well we knew it would take time for them to warm up to us. I pledged myself to Eden's defense, and all I got was my arm snapped. Twice. She was all alone against everyone in the world that wanted to do her harm. Now, even those other two don't know where she is, what she's doing. All they have told us is she left the Hospital and they are determined to find her. We only know that because Ichiro can be quite persistent."
Her Mother giggled.
Mom: "He can indeed. Suzume, I can only imagine how you feel. From the look from here it isn't very good. You did your best."
Risa ducked her head.
SR: "And it wasn't good enough."
Mom: "Wasn't it? You ended up in the hospital, my daughter. You stood your ground and gave everything you had. Against those kinds of odds, we knew it was possible you might get hurt."
Risa raised her head, leaned back and eased down onto her back, looking up a the ceiling. Her Mother turned, pulling a knee up on the bed and watched her daughter.
SR: "Yes. I knew that. Ichiro knew that. We didn't know someone was going to make sure that was the case."
Her Mother tilted her head.
Mom: "What do you mean?"
Risa blinked, raising her head.
SR: "They didn't tell you? Someone put a bounty on me, to put me out of action. Ichiro got the money before it got delivered. I don't think the intended recipients will really miss it. They would have done it for free, just to hurt Eden and the others."
Mom: "I'm glad you came home. You need time to rest, to heal. To figure out what to do from here. When do you plan to go back?"
Risa sighed.
SR: "Right now, I don't think I will be going back. I can't do it. I have done what I originally set out to do. I have made Grandfather proud and furthered the family name. Maybe I just can't do anything more."
Her Mother nodded.
Mom: "That's possible. But you have never been someone to take the easy way out. When no one else had the courage to step up and back those three up, you and Ichiro did."
Risa closed her eyes.
SR: "For all the good it did."
Her Mother took a deep breath. Her tone suddenly going stern.
Mom: "If that is what you want to believe, you want to work at convincing yourself of that, then I guess there is nothing I can do. But I can give you some advice, Risa. I recommend you listen. Get dressed to go out, go to Mitami-jinja and see what you see. That place always made you feel better. Even after Mother was gone."
Her Mother ducked her own eyes, remembering her Mother, Risa's Grandmother, proud and kind like others of the Fujiwara clan she had seen. Risa's head came up, she looked at her Mother, saw her shoulders start to shake. Risa fought her way back to a sitting position and wrapped her right arm around her Mother and pulled her in close.
Mom: "I'll take your advice. When I come back, I will tell you my decision."
The two embraced, Risa finding herself in a position she had never imagined, comforting her mother as she did something she rarely did. Cried like a child.
=====
The walk from where the Nankai bus had let her off was as quiet as the walk that had started her voyage. Risa was still haunted by what had happened with her Mother. Rarely had such raw emotion boiled to the surface with her around. She understood how worried her Mother was. About nothing more than her daughter's state of mind. Thanks to her Mother's suggestion she was now walking toward the nearly 500 year old steps that led up to the Shrine's grounds. She had fond memories of the place, but they seemed from a different lifetime now. Risa had changed, with her Mother's help. She now wore a pair of black jeans as opposed to the shorts. Tied sneakers with ankle socks. On top she still wore her track t-shirt, though she had had help getting a bra on. Over this she wore her letter jacket from High School track. This one from her final year, when she had been selected Team Captain. The last time her High School had gone to the national championship. She stopped at the foot of the great stone steps and look up. The Shrine still gave off a feeling of peace even now. How many generations of the families that lived there and took care of the grounds lived there she had never been able to figure. They were distantly related, she knew, her Grandmother having been one. It was like going home to go home. She had been full of fear, full of doubt and self-loathing so far. This place would not allow such feelings to continue. Her fear of that, was what she might discover beneath. Her slung arm was safely tucked inside her letter jacket making it a bit awkward to walk up the steps, but with determination, Risa forced her legs to do as she commanded. Up, up, up to the courtyard. She stopped at the stop of the steps, turned to look back down and closed her eyes. With a softly murmured prayer, she turned and walked into the grounds of the Mitami Shrine.
