The gentle rays of the morning sun glimmer over the dried tear streaks on Miori's face as she sleeps on a bench in a public park on the southern outskirts of Sakari, a town on the border with Ueda.
After running away from home, she wandered aimlessly for almost an hour. Exhaustion finally caught up with her around four-thirty in the morning, and she collapsed onto the bench.
At her feet lies her phone, smashed to pieces after she stomped on it repeatedly — a precaution to keep anyone from tracking her through the GPS in case Kagura decided to report her disappearance. But rather than alert anyone, Miori is certain her mother is sleeping peacefully, relieved that she finally left the house for good.
It's around nine in the morning when the shouts and laughter of the first children brought to the park by their parents drag Miori out of her sleep, her mind still foggy and weighed down by the brutal fight the night before.
