Hinata doesn't explain himself. Instead, he strolls to a chest of cabinets and wooden bookshelves tucked under a flight of stairs, pulling out a huge book, at least the side of Mizuki's hip. She squeaks at the sight of it, folding her legs against the couch when he rests it against the table with a thump.
"Alright, Snowball, everything I say after this point is going to be very important so you need to give me all your attention no matter how much you hate me," he touches her once on the tip of her nose affectionately.
Mizuki clenches her jaw, holding back the urge to scold him. Stubborn, she only watches from the corner of her eye as he lowers himself onto his knees, flipping the book open. He coughs, dusting the pages. He smooths out the paper, gesturing for her to look down. "This is where we are," he points his finger at the southeast part of the map.
"We are in the Kingdom of Ocantis, one of the few standing kingdoms in Astrum, this nation. South-west is Sigma. East is Sirius, West is Canopus and North is Polaris." Hinata's finger stops firmly at a region somewhere North on the map. The images are blurry, the Kingdom of Polaris almost invisible due to the dirt splotches and paper folds.
"Is Polaris a town?"
"Used to be a rival kingdom with Ocantis," Hinata slams his palm against the map, covering the region around Polaris with his hand. "Now it's nothing. Astrum used to be named the Nation of Fallen Stars by our neighbours," he raises his gaze. "There's a lot of lore behind it."
"Right," Mizuki bites her lip in thought. Her mind blanks, hoping to organise the jumbled-up thoughts bombarding her mind. She massages her temples, exasperated. "Is there no way for me to get back?" she pleads.
Hinata looks taken aback at her sudden sincerity, expression softening. It's the first time Mizuki has caught a single ounce of empathy on those cold jaded eyes of his. "There might be one way but I must tell you, that option is way too far ahead for us to think about. Till then, try to get used to this place, right?"
"Fine," Mizuki grumbles in an attempt to tone down her animosity while Hinata's being nice. "Do you have any spare clothes?" she stands, holding her own. She's grateful she's not in the same hoodie and shorts she was back home but muddied overalls and a white button-down don't look much better on her either.
"Yeah, I got you," Hinata stands, running upstairs promptly, digging through a chest of wooden drawers. Everything in the house is exposed, with there being close to no walls. The only form of privacy Mizuki can hope for is in the bathroom. There doesn't seem to be much more on the second floor other than a desk and a double-decker bed.
"You live here alone?" Mizuki questions, voice reverberating off the walls. Hinata looks down at her from above, nodding in agreement.
"You can move around in this, right?" Hinata holds out a blue dress.
"Who do you take me for?!" Mizuki yells, offended. "Besides, where'd you even get a dress from—" Hinata throws the dress against her face. Mizuki spits, struggling to get the multi-layered frock from her face. By the time she looks up, Hinata's gone. She trudges to the bathroom, flicking the lights on. She scans it anxiously, looking behind her before she closes it. She realises how long it's going to take for her to feel at home, especially with grouchy Hinata always setting her off.
Muttering under her breath, she changes out of her dirty clothes, figuring out how she's going to wash up with the little water there is in the pail in front of her. She looks around her, noticing there's no showerhead or even a bathtub.
'Am I in the prehistoric age?' She frowns. 'Even my shabby apartment was much better than this.'
Even though she complains, she makes sure to make do with what she has, learning on the spot how this new system of bathing works. She then throws the blue cloth over her head, looking at herself in the glass panel pinned up to the wall in front of her. She fumbles, tossing her dress around.
"Do I need to wear a corset?" she picks up a leather corset from a stool, twirling around. The cloth falls enough to cover her thighs but not much more. She slips into the corset, tugging at the strings in an attempt to tighten it to fit her waist, only to tug at the strings too much. She winces, holding her breath. A sharp pain surges through her guts. "Ack!" she exclaims in pain, nudging the bathroom door open.
"Yasui-kun," Mizuki begs breathlessly. "I'm dying."
Hinata's head pokes out from the second floor, scurrying down the stairs. For a few seconds, Mizuki thinks she mistakes a concerned expression on his face. By the time his gaze falls to her hip, he wears an expectant expression. "You don't know how to wear a corset?"
"No, I come from a city," Mizuki grimaces, tears welling in her eyes. "Now please, help me fix this thing before it squeezes my digestive system."
"Okay," Hinata obeys. He loosens Mizuki's corset. "Support the seams and hold your breath for just a bit. Won't be that bad," he instructs in a gentle voice. It's surprising to hear him say anything with no bite to it. The past hour they've known each other should've been enough to leave a lasting impression on Mizuki. She follows, closing her eyes in preparation, expecting to be hurt even more than her own attempt.
To her surprise, the corset is fitted perfectly and the strings are even tied neatly by Hinata. He steps back respectfully, turning on his heel. "You don't look bad," he remarks in between feigned wheezes. Mizuki smiles, impressed by his sudden change in attitude.
'Huh, maybe it's pity.' She thinks to herself, trying to adjust the corset around her waist so she can walk. She dumps her dirty clothes into a pail of water, then closing the bathroom door behind her. She adjusts her neck-high collar, stretching her neck. 'It's going to be uncomfortable wearing this many clothes all the time. Ugh.'
Watching her feet on the floorboards, she stumbles upstairs, somewhat off-balance. She turns left and right, looking briefly at the messed-up stack of books scattered across the desk and a collection of scrolls tucked away at a corner next to the table. Hinata lies against the lower bunk bed with his arm over the back of his head, deeply engrossed in a piece of paper. "Mind if I get the bottom bed?"
"Yeah, that's not up for a bargain," Hinata doesn't bat a single eyelash in her direction. Mizuki pouts, folding her arms adamantly. "B-But…"
"Rest up, you're not going to get much after tomorrow," he smirks at her, voice almost sly. Mizuki rolls her eyes, flicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth in annoyance. When he re-averts his gaze back to his work, his face falls straight once again, the same permanently intense expression.
Mizuki climbs, stopping on the ladder when she hears a creak too loud to catch her breath. She trembles, falling against the mattress as soon as she's on top, not daring to look down. 'I'm not going to survive in a world like this if I'm still scared of heights and all that stuff. He'll make fun of me if he finds out', Mizuki rests her hand over her nose bridge.
She keeps her eyes skyward, watching the sky through the peeking gaps in the roof. Muffling a whimper, she closes her eyes shut. 'Things shouldn't have ended up this way.'
[Hirashi Mizuki has tucked into bed.]
Beneath her, Hinata rests the piece of paper against his chest, turning his head to his bedside table. On it, lies a dusty postcard, untouched and unturned. It's dirty at its corners, blotches of ink bleeding through the paper. Hinata wonders. 'If it's her, maybe I'll finally get to bring you home to me again.'