2018-06-17 - LOTUS AWAKENING: Fuu Hououji
| Title: LOTUS AWAKENING: Fuu Hououji | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Fuu Hououji awakens in the dream world created for her by the Book of Darkness. | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Tama Outer City | |
| OOC - IC Date: <June 17, 2018 - April 26, 2015> | |
"Fuu-chan! You're going to be late!"
"Hmm - ?" Fuu blinked, sitting up in the softness of her bed, still ensconced in warmth. A few more blinked helped to clear the sleep from her eyes before she reached for her glasses to look at the clock - and with a startled yelp, she bolted out of bed, hastily shedding her nightgown and scrambling into her school uniform. "I'm sorry, Mother!" she called out. "I'll be right down!"
Breakfast was already on the table for her when Fuu reached the dining room, still adjusting her necktie. "I'm sorry," Fuu repeated. "I don't know how I overslept -"
"Staying out so late fighting monsters probably had a lot to do with it," Tsubasa Hououji said with a mostly-friendly, but still intensely maternal, smile. "How did it go last night?"
Fuu froze in the middle of sitting down, glancing from her mother's affectionate sternness to her sister Kuu's blithe smile, and then to her father's seeming nonchalance as he continued reading the morning paper. "There was no good stopping point," Fuu admitted sheepishly as she sat down, murmured, "Itadakimasu," and started eating. "Mokona-san says we're doing really well in her campaign; we should be able to go and get our final upgrades in the next session or so. I'll mail her and the other players that we need to start earlier, though, or make sure we don't run the game on school nights."
"I'm surprised you haven't asked if they want to run a session or two here," Fuu's father remarked, folding the newspaper back up. "We certainly have the room, and we aren't that far from the trains for the others to get back home. If it's a table you need, we should be able to arrange something."
Fuu looked away, trying to hide her embarrassment. "Mokona-san's house is the most convenient, Father. Right near Tokyo Tower, and fairly central for the rest of us as far as trains and the like go. I'll mention the offer, though, thank you."
"Still," Kuu remarked, "it's good that you've found such an enjoyable and relaxing hobby, and better still that you've made friends through it. What system is it again? Mage Knight ... ?"
"Magic Knights of Cephiro," Fuu replied. "Mokona-san said she's been working on it for years, she hopes to find someone to publish it after we finish the campaign. I might help make a computer implementation of it -" She paused to glance at her watch, then bolted the rest of her rice. "- but school still comes first. Kuu-neesan, shall we go?"
"You're the one who has to be there early for archery," Kuu said with a benign smile. "But if you need me to help ensure you don't fall asleep on the train ..."
Fuu winced at the teasing. "I believe I'll manage, but thank you."
A few moments later they were out the door, the spring breeze ruffling their hair and their skirts as they headed for the train station. "It really is good to see you spending more time with friends outside of school," Kuu admitted. "You were so hung up on those video role-playing games in middle school, I was wondering if you'd ever find a boyfriend."
"Sister - !!" Fuu protested, with a weak sputter and a bright blush. "It's ... I wasn't that bad, was I?"
"Well, maybe not quite that bad, but still - you'd rather come home and either work or play, instead of going out for snacks with friends," Kuu reminisced. "Not that you had anything against working with classmates or getting more practice in at the archery dojo, but it was always school-related. That field trip to the Tower was a good thing for you, I think."
"I suppose it was," Fuu admitted, looking towards the center of the city. She couldn't actually see Tokyo Tower from this angle or distance, but she knew it was there, felt it like -
Battle raged, fierce and desperate, overpowered monsters clawing their way up and pausing only to swipe at the girls harrying them
"Fuu? Are you all right?"
Fuu blinked, her sister's voice bringing her back to here-and-now. "Yes, I'm fine. Why?"
"You went pale," Kuu said, laying a gentle hand across Fuu's forehead. "And you feel cool. Are you sure you slept enough?"
"I said, I'm fine, Kuu-neesan," Fuu responded. She didn't want to get upset at her big sister's concern - that might worry her even more.
"If you're certain," said Kuu, lowering her hand and continuing to walk, this time ahead of her younger sister. "So ... what's the fourth player doing in your campaign? The late arrival. Midorikawa?"
"Ah ... he's been doing well enough supporting us as a swordsman. He missed the chance to obtain magic, but he hasn't really needed it," Fuu recalled. "I wasn't sure how he'd fit into the story, but ... I can't imagine the campaign without Ferio, now. Without him ..." She trailed off, frowning in thought.
"Midorikawa" was one name she knew, as familiar as Hikaru's and Umi's. But calling his character's name, "Ferio," felt like an entirely different form of familiarity. "Did I dream about him ... ?" Fuu murmured.
Apparently Kuu overheard the spoken thought, as she turned to smile playfully at Fuu. "An interesting dream, I hope?"
"Neesan!!!" Fuu could feel the blush burning in her cheeks as her big sister took off, running and laughing. Fuu began running as well, mostly to keep up, partly to distract herself from the feeling of a gaze upon her ...
