Water Moon

Keishin and Hana drink sake and discuss what rumor they should tell. Finally, Keishin spreads the rumor that he isn’t from this place, which transports them along the Forbidden Way.

The rumor whips Hana and Keishin away. They travel from one mind to the next as the rumor spreads.

The pair arrives at the field, which gives them an unsettling feeling. When they hear the children laughing and screaming underground, they start digging. Suddenly, the children burst up from beneath, grabbing at Hana and Keishin.

Underground, the children beg Hana and Keishin to play. They give in, letting the children chase them through the subterranean tunnels.

Hana and Keishin run and run. Finally, Keishin grabs Hana and yanks her out of the children’s sight. Hiding in the dark, the companions admit how they really feel about their mothers. Both Hana and Keishin blame their mothers for abandoning them and want to hurt them if they see them again. Suddenly, Toshio appears, holding a dead girl’s hand.

Toshio shows Hana and Keishin through the tunnels, revealing that Chiyo recreated the pawnshop underground. He scolds Hana for coming, insisting that he left the pawnshop ransacked to throw her off his trail. He worries about her seeing Chiyo because she has forgotten a lot and isn’t her old self. She doesn’t remember stealing the choice or what happened when the Shiikuin sentenced her. Toshio also laments using Haruto and worsening his already difficult life because he knows that Haruto folded time for Hana too.

Toshio tells Hana and Keishin the truth of what happened 21 years ago. Shortly after Hana’s birth, Haruto was born. Because Chiyo stole the choice meant for Haruto, he was “soulless.” Masako begged Toshio to do something to save Haruto from the Shiikuin. Toshio agreed to sacrifice as much of his own soul for Haruto as possible so that he could survive. However, this sacrifice meant that both Toshio and Haruto would have shortened lives: They each have only a year to live.

Hana insists that Chiyo, not Toshio, is to blame for Haruto’s fate. Chiyo suddenly appears. When she doesn’t recognize Hana, Hana turns to leave. Toshio begs her to stay, insisting that she and Keishin wait in a replica of Hana’s room while he talks to Chiyo. Alone, Hana confides in Keishin, sharing her regrets for coming there. Toshio bursts in, revealing that “the Shiikuin are in the tunnels” (324). Downstairs, Hana demands to know what’s going on before she and Keishin leave. Toshio reveals that the children eventually turn into the Shiikuin. Toshio can’t stop them from hunting him and Chiyo because he already set the choice he stole free.

A few days earlier, Toshio stole Izumi’s choice and “smashed it to pieces” (326). The choice that Izumi regretted was having a child with Junichiro. Twenty-eight years ago, 17-year-old Izumi took a bus to the ramen shop where Junichiro worked to tell him that she was pregnant. Waiting for the bus, she considered getting an abortion instead so that she could open a flower shop and live the life she wanted. She ran from the bus stop, almost changing her mind, but took the bus to see Junichiro after all. The child they had was Keishin.

A mirror in the pawnshop shatters when Toshio finishes his story. Keishin is overwhelmed with emotion after hearing the truth about his parents. Then, Hana grabs a shard of glass and stabs him, revealing that she knew he was Izumi’s choice all along. She planned to hand him over to the Shiikuin to make up for the stolen choice. Keishin feels betrayed but insists that Hana stop repeating this pattern and giving the Shiikuin power. If they stop fearing the Shiikuin, they can stop giving them control. Hana protests, convinced that she doesn’t have a choice. Keishin doesn’t care if he dies because he now knows that he was never wanted anyway.

Hana stands between Keishin and “the door the Shiikuin [are] battering down” (334), trying to decide what to do. Her mind slows. In her imagination, she enters a parallel version of the pawnshop and talks to a mirror image of herself. Keishin’s screams pull her back into reality. She announces that she won’t hand Keishin over because he isn’t her regret.

Hana and Keishin flee the pawnshop and creep through the dark tunnels. Meanwhile, they talk about what happened. Hana insists that she genuinely cares about Keishin even though she lied to him. She now hopes that he’ll return home so that he can live the life he’s meant to live.

Keishin drifts into thought, visiting Ramesh at a restaurant. He doesn’t know what to do about Hana. He still regrets failing to save Ramesh and wants to atone for this by helping Hana. However, he feels angry with her for lying. Ramesh argues that Keishin is lying to himself about his feelings. He demands that Keishin turn on a light so that he can see the truth. In the light, Keishin realizes that his old apartment is a prison. Ramesh says that Keishin has locked himself away too long but can now be free with Hana. The shrieks of the Shiikuin awaken Keishin to reality.

Countless paper cranes rain down on Hana and Keishin, washing them away from the Shiikuin. Hana realizes that Haruto sent the cranes to save them. The crane waves take them to a paper house where Haruto is waiting. Inside, he shows the companions a kioku pearl, which will reveal the truth.

The pearl reveals a memory of Chiyo 21 years ago. Restless and trapped, Chiyo stole a choice. She was jealous of the woman who gave up the choice to have a child. In stealing the choice, Chiyo became pregnant with Hana. When Toshio found her, she admitted what she’d done, proudly announcing that she was carrying a girl named Hana.

Haruto explains that Hana is from both worlds. He encourages her to go with Keishin because he only has a year to live. To save himself, he plans to turn himself over to the Shiikuin. When the Shiikuin arrive, Keishin and Hana flee.

Hana and Keishin travel back through the subterranean cave toward the pawnshop. On the way, they discuss what to do next. Keishin begs Hana to come with him, but she isn’t sure if she can. Keishin wraps her in his arms.

A year later, Keishin is back in his world. He’s living and working in Gifu but regularly visits the ramen shop in Tokyo, hoping that the door will someday open to the pawnshop so that he can see Hana again. However, he always ends up at the ramen shop. In his dreams afterward, he sees Hana.

The next time Keishin visits the ramen shop, he sits near an older woman who insists that Keishin looks how she imagines her son would look now. She admits that abandoning him was the biggest mistake of her life. When Keishin goes to leave, he pays for her soup and calls her by name, aware that she’s his mother.

Five years later, Izumi accompanies Keishin to the airport before his flight to Switzerland. Outside the gate, he’s shocked to run into Hana. She explains that she closed the pawnshop years ago and has been repairing her world. Now, she’s in his world to stay. Keishin embraces her, laughing and crying at the same time.