Ep 8: Fubuki (Snowstorm)
A snowstorm is hitting Furano since morning. Mikako (the widow from Tokyo) brings along some guests from Tokyo who are staying at Takigawa Hotel (her relative's resort). A regular guest warns them of the danger of hiking in this weather but Mikako expresses confidence in her guests as they are part of a mountaineering club. They then plan to walk past the golf range and return to the resort.
At the same time, Azusa is still breaking plates as usual but Master and her sister notice that something is not right with her. Azusa is in a daze most of the time after Takuro chided her for being a busybody and refuses to meet her. Seeing that Azusa is not in a state to work and that there would be no customers in this snow storm, Master asks Azusa to return home. Azusa questions Master why he did not wear the necklace she gave to him for Christmas but he gives her a vague answer and tries to brush aside the issue. Later, Master then asks his other employees, Azusa's sister, Riri and Mimi to go home.
Azusa's ex-teacher cum ex-boyfriend, Matsuda calls Mori no Tokei and says that he wishes to speak to Master on Azusa. At the same time, a guy dressed in hiking gear, Domoto enters Mori no Tokei .
Matsuda comes by and mentions that he saw Azusa on the streets yesterday where she seemed weird and he decided to let Master know about her condition. At the same time, Azusa is driving to somewhere with an expressionless face...
Domoto asks Master to introduce a nearby hotel for him. He then calls Takigawa Hotel where the owner would come by later to fetch him. Takigawa also mentions to Master that Mikako and his guests are still not back yet and is worried about them being trapped in the snowstorm. Part of the group returns to Mori no Tokei and mentions that Mikako has gone missing with another male guest. Master leaves Domoto to tend his shop and leaves with the group to search for Mikako and the others.
Master returns to find Domoto helping him burn some firewood due to the loss of electricity. Domoto asks whether Master's surname is Wakui and mentions that he was the tutor of Takuro in the past and met him before at Megumi's funeral. Master then asks Domoto about Takuro so as to find out why he joined the gang. Domoto mentions that Takuro was being bullied in school but was helped by a guy in the neighbourhood named Kishigami. Due to his help, Takuro decides to join the gang as a form of gratitude. Later, due to an internal fight, Kishigami was killed so Takuro decided to tattoo Kishigami's nickname, Shinigami (Death God) on his left arm in order to leave the gang. As a result, Megumi was called by the gang to settle Takuro's matter.
Just as the police and other searchers gather in Mori no Tokei to organize a search party for Mikako, Riri calls Master and says that Azusa has not returned home. Master tells her to call Takuro at Kaikakuma and mentions that Takuro is his son. However, as Takuro is at home working on his creation for the contest, no one picks up the phone in Kaikakuma.
While waiting for news on Mikako and the guest, Master chats with Domoto again on Takuro. Domoto mentions that Takuro felt how much Master loves Megumi when he came to Furano and experienced how painful it was for Master to lose her. As such, he does not expect Master to forgive him at all. Master tells Domoto about Takuro's whereabouts and asks him to pass a message to Takuro, asking him to tell Takuro that they should meet up once to talk things out.
Later that night, Mikako and the other guest returned to the hotel safely and Domoto left with Takigawa too. However, Azusa is still missing and in actual fact, she went to look for Takuro but his phone was switched off. In the middle of the night, the police found Azusa's car almost buried by the snow and she has slashed her wrists again in her suicide attempt...
Well, there is yet little interaction between Master and Takuro but at least we see Master taking some initiative to resolve the matter. He asks Domoto to look up Takuro and pass a message because it would be hard for him to speak to Takuro even on the phone. Besides, he expresses interest in knowing why Takuro did the things he had done i.e. join the gang instead of jumping to conclusions. That seems to indicate a softening of his stand and a change in mindset.
As for Azusa, I'm quite irritated at her for being so sensitive even though the people around her are already trying hard to take care of her vulnerable feelings. Master didn't wear the necklace for reasons known to himself (maybe he sensed that Azusa also gave one to Takuro?) but from Azusa's reaction, she seems to feel that Master didn't wear it because he wasn't happy with her. Along with Takuro's refusal to meet her (he wants to concentrate on the pottery contest and win his father's approval), Azusa could have felt that the world is deserting her and she commited suicide again.
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