EP 1
narrator
A pleasant, shy girl, Michiru.
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She wanted to become a doctor, but had failed to get into medical college.
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So once she graduated from high school, she went to an expensive prep school to prepare for another attempt at the college entrance exams.
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Every weekday, her mother, Hitomi, or her father, Satoru, dropped her off at the local station so she could catch the train bound for her prep school in Matsumoto City.
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In the evening, she took the 7:08 train back to her nearest station, Hakuyacho, nine stops from Matsumoto station. She was always collected by one of her parents.
Her house was about three miles from the station.
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unlike the typical student, she didn't use a bicycle.
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And she didn't want to walk home.
Michiru Hara
After 7:30 p.m, it's dark!
Michiru Hara
There are hardly any street lights, so I'd have to use a flashlight...
narrator
At home, the family ate dinner together; she chatted with her father or mother, but not about matters of importance, it seemed.
judge
So what did you talk about at home?
Michiru Hara
We talked about everyday things, about my school and what was happening on TV programs, just regular chitchat and gossip,
Her parents had been married for 29 years
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But Michiru got along with both of them, and though the word "love" was not mentioned in court, it seemed clear that she loved them and they loved her. By the time Michiru testified at her parents' trial,
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she had dropped out of her prep school and moved into a small apartment in an area not far from her family home.
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She had been ****** into a reluctant independence, working three hours a day in a supermarket, earning around ¥60,000 (US$600) per month.
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She also got some money from her local social welfare office. Between the two incomes, she was left with about $800 per month after she paid for her rent. When she wasn't working at her part-time job, she studied on her own, still aiming to get into medical school.
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