Mayu Ishihara

Mayu Ishihara is a minor character and the mother of Kunio Ishihara.

## About Mayu

Though she's long since become an adult, outside observers might not see much difference between Mayu now and the airheaded daydreamer she was in high school, with the same clumsiness and naivete about her that almost makes you wonder how she's still alive.

Perhaps those descriptors do still apply to her, but she's not so naive that she can't see that her family isn't happy, and her fantasies are very different these days. She dreams of the day when her husband will return home from work and sweep her off her feet like he used to, or even just hold her a little. She dreams of her son smiling again, of family dinners with lively conversation instead of tense silence... And if she can't have that, she'd at least like to know... What went wrong, and can it be fixed? Is there hope for this household at all?

When she's not busy pretending she isn't being crushed by the lonely and/or oppressive atmosphere in her home, Mayu likes to try to grow flowers in her yard, and visit the koi pond to watch and feed the fish.

## Further Elaboration on Relationships

### Family

Gen Ishihara is Mayu's husband. They met when he transferred to her high school, where he quickly started spending time with her and complimenting her openly. Mayu couldn't believe it at first- could such a thing happen outside of an anime?- but as flustered as his advances made her... She really couldn't say she minded them, and he didn't take long to win her over. When they started officially dating, he became even more openly affectionate. He was so sweet and made her feel so special that it all felt like a dream. She couldn't imagine having someone be this proud to be dating her, and eagerly agreed to marry him after graduation.

It's too bad the dream didn't last. As the years passed, the affection she'd been borderline smothered with during their high school years began to fade away, to the point where he rarely initiates contact anymore. Mayu can't help but wonder what she might have done wrong...

Kunio Ishihara is Mayu's son, who she adores. Since childhood, he'd always preferred to spend time with her rather than Gen, likely because Gen always took a more active role in scolding him. Mayu was never good at laying down the law (not for lack of trying), and she didn't see any reason not to trust Gen's intentions, so she was content to be primarily a source of comfort and love... But given the... *Tense* relationship that's developed between her husband and son, she's realized their roles in Kunio's life have probably been more lopsided than they should have been, and that she’s likely missed something she shouldn’t have.

She'd never, ever regret having Kunio, and wouldn't trade him for anything, but she does wish that she and Gen had prepared more to become parents before they had him. Maybe if they'd known what they were doing in raising a kid, then they'd all be happier.

### Friends

Mayu probably went to school with people she's still in contact with. I'll get back to you all on that.

### Acquaintances

Maybe it's because she's kind of lonely, and maybe it would be a controversial move since she's doing therapy with the rest of her family, but Mayu wouldn't mind being friends with Celari Yukikara if the opportunity presented itself. She seems nice.

### Other

Mayu has never met Merridith Beleza. Mayu feels like it would be weird if she expressed her desire to meet Merridith Beleza, especially since she and Kunio Aren't Dating. But really, isn't it natural to be curious about the person your baby boy is probably interested in?

While they lived in the same building, and when Kunio had managed to temporarily shake her off, Yomi Hanazawa would sometimes take interest in Mayu's gardening attempts. Mayu would happily show her what she was doing and how, even if she wasn't always right. She often advised Kunio to play nicely with Yomi, despite his objections that she was "icky", but after they moved, she saw little of Yomi outside of school events. She didn't think much of it when Yomi never came around to their house, Kunio usually preferred going to other people's houses anyway, and it's probably a bit tough coordinating with friends in a different grade as the school workload goes up.

She doesn't know the truth.

## Abilities

Mayu has no known abilities that are worth noting at this time.

## Trivia

Mayu's maiden name is Takigawa. This holds no significance, other than the fact that she needed one in flashbacks.