When Sora arrived, no one answered his knock, and he discovered that the door was locked. Mizuki's parents had already gone out to lunch and no one was home. He thought for a few baffled minutes, then searched his call history for the day he'd taken Mizuki to the hotel, and hesitantly tried her father's number.
When Junshiro finally answered, he laughed at Sora's quick explanation, and then said, "We'd better get you your own key next weekend. For now, go down to the bar and I'll have Kikyo give you the key I keep in the office safe."
"The bar?" Sora questioned blankly.
"Mizuki has never mentioned what I do for work?" Junshiro asked with surprise.
"It just hasn't come up? You didn't say anything when you went to work either?" Sora pointed out hesitantly. "We haven't really talked about our family member's occupations at all."
"Ah. Well, I own a bar. And Minori used to stay home with the children, until a couple of years ago, when she started working at the library part-time," Junshiro explained, and then asked "What do your parents do?"
Sora was silent for a minute. "This is going to sound really stupid, but I have no idea what my father did at work. I'm not sure my mother ever worked. My parents died when I was eleven in a boating accident caused by a storm," he explained hesitantly. "My grandmother, who took care of me after that, has been married eight times," he added more quickly. "And I don't know if she's ever worked more than an occasional part-time job."
After a long moment, Junshiro apologized, "I'm sorry, I had no idea. Mizuki never mentioned that your parents were already gone."
"I don't think I've ever told Mizuki that," Sora explained unhappily.
"I see," Junshiro replied neutrally. "Anyway, I'll send you the address, it's only about four blocks away, and I'll tell Kikyo that you're coming."
"Thank you," Sora responded quickly, before the call ended.
--
Mizuki read Sora's message after work with more happiness and relief than the single word, 'Home', probably warranted.
When she crawled up the stairs to her own home, she suddenly realized that she hadn't done any homework over the weekend at all. Thankfully she only worked until 8pm on Sundays, so she still had a little bit of time.
When she finally curled up on her bed to start working on her assignments, she realized that her pillow still smelled like Sora, and she rolled over and buried her face in it.
"Mizuki, are you crying?" Minori asked her daughter anxiously from the doorway.
Mizuki blushed as she sat up, and replied quickly, "No!" She looked at her mother's anxious face and admitted with embarrassment, "My pillow still smells like Sora."
"Oh," Minori replied uncertainly. "I'd like to ask you a little bit about him while I make dinner if you don't mind coming out?"
"Okay," she agreed.
It only took her a moment to carry her tablet out to the table where her father was already sitting, but a few minutes passed before her mother ventured hesitantly, "I guess we should have asked you more about Sora before, but what do you know about him Mizuki?"
Instead of answering, Mizuki asked unhappily, "Do you not like him?"
"He seems nice enough," her father interjected quickly. "We're just curious. We didn't ask before because we didn't want to make you cry more."
"Oh," Mizuki replied with embarrassment. "I'm really sorry I just couldn't stand to talk about him for a while."
"I understand that," Minori assured her quickly. "And he was very polite and helpful while you were at work, but do you mind talking a little now?"
"No," Mizuki replied promptly. "Actually, there's a lot I don't know yet," she admitted as she raised her hands to hide the blush that was rising to cover her face. "I just realized that I only know his birthday was not long before I met him, because he said he'd just turned 27." She looked at her parents who were watching her a little anxiously and assured them quickly, "But I do know lots of things that aren't just standard dating questions?"
"Like?" Junshiro prompted.
Mizuki quickly collected her thoughts, and responded, "He's spent enough time in tropical places that he's scuba certified, and has been for years. He's a programming engineer, although I'm not entirely certain how that's different from being a programmer, even though I looked it up. He had his last job for four years, the one before that for one year, and he worked as a waiter during university."
Her father chuckled and asked, "Why does it sound like you've asked more about his CV than his horoscope?"
Mizuki rolled her eyes. "I don't care about horoscopes. He told me he needed to find a new job when he got back, which made me curious about his jobs. He also told me that he lived with his last girlfriend for over three years, but that's about all I know for sure about his dating history, although I think he's been with a lot of other women."
"You haven't asked him about his family?" Minori inquired hesitantly.
"No," Mizuki admitted. "I don't know much about his family, but he told me a few stories about when his best friend Takumi-san's parents took him along on their family vacations when he was younger, and he mentions them quite a lot. I think maybe his grandma raised him though, from a couple other things he's said."
"He mentioned his grandmother, when I asked what kind of work his parents did." Junshiro added more warily, "He also told me that his parents died in a boating accident when he was eleven, but said he didn't think he'd told you that."
Mizuki stared at her father with a shocked expression and then replied faintly, "He didn't."
Her mother interjected, "I'm sorry! We should have let him tell you." She glanced at her husband uncertainly.
"Sorry," her father apologized quickly, but then asked, "Does he drink often?"
Mizuki looked at him with a worried expression and asked, "Why? What did he do?"
"We all heard him yell that he wasn't drunk right before he took you away from the wedding reception," Minori pointed out anxiously.
Mizuki blushed and covered her face. "That was my fault. He's been sticking to one drink a night since I met him, and he'd been holding a glass all night and his face was flushed." She admitted guiltily, "I just accused him while I was mad."
"You had a fling with him while you were on vacation?" Junshiro prompted after a moment of silence.
Mizuki flinched, but then nodded. "Yes. He told me from the start that he didn't want to date me because I seemed too young, but I insisted that he give me the week. I'm the one that insisted on going to the hotel when he came here too."
"He shouldn't have fooled around with you if he really considered you too young," her father pointed out a little sharply.
"Don't blame him for that," Mizuki begged. "He didn't think he should have done anything either, I'm the one that didn't let him refuse."
"He told you no?" Minori asked with surprise.
Mizuki pulled her knees up and buried her face in them before answering, "He did." She swallowed and admitted bitterly, "More than once." After a minute she said miserably, "I might be an awful person. No is supposed to mean no, no matter who says it, and I really pushed him into it."
"I doubt you could have forced him into anything Mizuki, he can probably pick you up with one hand," her father objected after a moment.
"I'm not saying I physically forced him," Mizuki protested. "But I probably took advantage of him. I know I took advantage of him, he was trying to just treat me kindly."
Her parents stared at her helplessly for a few minutes. Eventually her mother resumed her dinner preparations and Mizuki picked up her homework again.
After a little while her father said, "I was pretty angry with him when he showed up here again, but he seemed serious, and you really seem to love him. Now I feel kind of sorry for him. I always forget that you're not as sweet and gentle as your sisters, because you're so small and cute, and usually you're a very obedient child."
Mizuki glared at her father but couldn't deny it. After a minute she asked helplessly, "Do you think I've hurt him too much?"
"I have no idea," Junshiro replied promptly. "Do you regret it?"
"I'm not sorry," she declared immediately. "I mean, I am kind of sorry if I've hurt him, but I'm not sorry for being with him."
His lips quirked, and then he grinned. "I should hope not after all this?"
Minori looked at her husband with mild despair, but didn't comment. He gave her an affectionate look and shrugged his shoulders in response. After a moment she relaxed and focused on the last of her preparations.
--
That evening Sora returned Takumi's bike and then tried to call his grandmother. He was a little worried when it went straight to voicemail, but she was often traveling and could easily be somewhere that didn't have service.
He left a hesitant message, "I hope you're doing well, sorry I haven't called recently." He paused for a moment to gather his courage, but continued within the space of another breath, "My girlfriend's father asked me about my parents and I realized that I have absolutely no idea what kind of job my father had. I hadn't thought about it in years, but I guess I don't really know anything about my family on his side. Anyway, give me a call when you've got time." He hesitated again and then added shyly, "Love you."
