Azuki to Nankin

Spring, 2022. Fuyuno Itaru’s aunt passed away.

At the funeral service, her daughter Azusa, having just lost her mother, tried to fulfill her role as part of the family despite her confusion.
The unfamiliar fabric of her mourning clothes rubbed against her back, making her restless and causing her to reach behind herself again and again.
Even her gestures while offering incense were somewhat awkward.
Once the service ended safely and she sat down at the post-funeral banquet surrounded by relatives, she was showered with comforting words one after another.

"Are you okay?"
"It happened so suddenly, it must be hard."
"Why don't you come live in the countryside with your grandmother?"

Each word, born out of concern, pushed Azusa further into a corner.
Seeing her like that, Itaru spoke up.

"I’ll board at Azusa’s house."

It was to save her, even if just a little, from this suffocating situation.
Yet, that wasn't the only reason.

Itaru himself was also trying to leave his family home, wanting to get away from his father who opposed his going on to art college.
As long as he could leave home, anywhere to live would do.
And so, in the city of Tokyo, two cousins began living together.

To everyone carrying the struggle of "living is hard."
Gently unspooling the things tangled in one's heart...
This is a human drama depicting a place where the heart belongs.