View source for 2018-05-14 - The Hardest Part

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
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! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: <The Hardest Part>'''
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|'''Summary''':<br>
''Getting home safely from Space Jail was one thing. Now Fuu has to come home and act like nothing is wrong.''
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| '''Who:'''<br>
<[[Fuu Hououji]]>
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| '''Where:'''<br>
<Tama Outer City>
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| '''OOC - IC Date:'''<br>
<May 14, 2018 - April 17, 2015>
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|}

"Hm? - Oi, Hououji! That's you, right, Fuu-chan?"

Fuu quickly hid her grimace behind a smile, turning to face the policeman who'd called out to her. "Good day to you, Officer Amemiya!" she greeted him with a polite bow, using the familiar honorific "o-mawari-san" to address him. "Is everything all right?"

"You tell me," Amemiya replied in a friendly growl, walking his bicycle over to Fuu. "Your sister stopped by the police box this morning, wondering if we’d seen you. Don’t think your parents filed an actual missing-persons report yet. Did something happen?"

"Nothing serious," Fuu said. "My phone wasn’t working last night, so I couldn’t contact my family when I was with friends overnight. It was kind of a surprise generally ..." She trailed off, wincing. "They’re probably so mad at me right now."

"Kind of their job," the patrolman stated. "And mine too; that’s why good cops get old, shouldering the worries of the people they protect." He reached for his radio. "Amemiya here; somebody get over to the park to finish my route, I’m walking the younger Hououji girl home."

"You don’t have to go out of your way -" Fuu started protesting.

"That’s part of my job too," Amemiya interjected with a friendly grin. "Oh, and sorry about going 'Fuu-chan' earlier ... force of habit. I still remember when your parents moved in as newlyweds, and the first time I met you. So, phone trouble?" he asked as the two of them started walking.

Fuu could only nod. "Some kind of network glitch, it said I was out of the service area. It didn’t reconnect until ... sometime this morning, I guess?"

Amemiya grunted, "Social media still confuses me ... but there was a big to-do in Jindai last night, it was all over the morning news. Wonder if that had something to do with the network."

"No way to know,” Fuu said - which was entirely true, as far as it went. At least for her. "I should probably check out what I can -"

"Not until you talk to your parents. They ''were'' worried, even if they didn’t take their worry official; Kuu said as much to me. If there’s something you can’t tell your family, find someone you *can* tell, even if it isn’t me or family. Someone you trust. ... And here we are." Sure enough, they'd reached the gate in front of Fuu's house; Amemiya put the kickstand down on his bicycle. "Need me to come in with you, keep things smoothed over?"

"I think I'll be okay," Fuu replied, bowing again to the patrolman. "I'm sorry to take you off your route, officer."

"Like I said, part of the job," said Amemiya. "I'll stick around for a bit, just in case. Yell if you need me."

"I don't think I'll need to, but thank you all the same." Fuu smiled ruefully, bowed one last time, and turned to unlock the gate.

-----

"I’m home ... !"

"So you are," Fuu’s mother Tsubasa called back, emerging from the kitchen at a fast walk. "Where were you? It’s not like you to vanish without some kind of message, your father and I were worried!" she exclaimed; as if summoned, Fuu's father Akira and her big sister Kuu came out of the living room to join them in the front hall.

"Steven-san needed my help, and it ..." Fuu trailed off, grimacing a little bit as she worked her feet out of her shoes. "I had to stay over, and there was trouble with the phone network - I couldn’t call or mail you. I’m sorry, Mother, Father."

Akira folded his arms, looking Fuu over. "Well. You’re home in one piece, but I've seen you looking better. What did that boy need your help ''with'', though?"

Fuu opened her mouth to reply, but she couldn’t find the right words. She'd already started lying to her parents again - she hadn’t been at Steven’s house, but in space. Still, her parents would never believe her - and if they ''did'' believe her, the truth would only compound their worries. "It’s ... I’m not sure how to explain it, Father. I’m sorry."

"If you can’t explain it," Kuu noted wryly, "it must have been quite complicated indeed." She slid gently between her parents to draw Fuu into a hug; as if by reflex, Fuu brought her arms up to return her sister's embrace for the few seconds it lasted. "Your classmates brought the day's notes and assignments," Kuu added as the sisters disengaged again. "I left the papers on your desk."

Fuu nodded, "Thank you, Kuu-neesan."

Akira studied Fuu for a moment longer, and seemed about to speak when Tsubasa spoke up first. "You’re more than a day behind on your share of chores, Fuu-chan. Come help me in the kitchen. Dear," she addressed her husband, "you go ahead and sit. Supper won’t be long."

A minute or so later, Fuu was standing in front of the stove, stirring the big pot while her mother was chopping vegetables behind her. "And you couldn't even call on a landline?" Tsubasa asked. "It really ''isn't'' like you to fail to contact us when you'll be out late or overnight."

"I don’t think Steven-san's family at the beach house has a landline," Fuu admitted. "And I was too preoccupied to ask if I could use it."

"If you say so ... to your left a moment."

Fuu stepped to the side, holding the ladle still while her mother scraped onions and carrots from the cutting board into the pot. "What ''really'' happened, Fuu-chan?" Tsubasa asked her wayward daughter, going back to the counter to continue her work.

"You were here when Steven-san -"

"I'm not questioning that part of it. But it's not like you at all to leave us in the dark. Even with the network completely down, you wouldn't just accept it. Fifteen years of you being as dutiful a daughter as any parent could wish for, and ''now'' you vanish for almost two days. What did that boy need your specific help for ... or was it even specifically you he needed? He sounded too frantic to just need help with a programming assignment, from the little I overheard."

Fuu hesitated to reply, moving back into position and continuing to stir the pot.

"Or were you with some boy we don't know, and lost track of the time?"

"Mother - !!" sputtered Fuu, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks. "I - I wouldn't - Ferio isn't like that - !"

Tsubasa let out a soft laugh, "If you wouldn't at your age, you're an even more dutiful daughter than I thought. How did you meet this Ferio, in any case?"

Fuu bit her lip gently, still blushing hard. "He's ... an exchange student," she said after a moment. "We met during the trip to Tokyo Tower in my second year of middle school. He transferred into Infinity sometime after that, I'm not sure exactly when." All of which was true, some more technically than the rest.

"And you're in love with him," Tsubasa added. "- oh, don't try to protest that you aren't. I know what it’s like to be head-over-heels in love with somebody, even if your father and I don't show it openly. Still, if this Ferio ever hurts you, promise me that you'll break things off with him. Don’t worry about how much you hurt ''him'' in the process; if he mistreats you, he deserves no less than to suffer some pain himself."

Fuu wilted. "I'm sorry to be a bad daughter, even if it’s only sometimes."

"Silly girl," Tsubasa replied fondly, reaching around with her empty hand to squeeze Fuu’s shoulder. "You're fifteen, you're allowed to be your own person now and again, even a little bit selfish. Your father and I certainly have no room to complain if you think of yourself once in a while. As long as you keep coming home safe and sound, whatever happens. Any girl has her secrets, even from family - but any secret grows heavier over time. You have to know when to discard that weight, before it crushes you. And - Fuu-chan?"

The ladle had slipped from Fuu's fingers, handle clattering against the rim of the pot. "I'm sorry, Mother," the girl whispered. "I ... I ''want'' to keep coming home safely, that's always been the important thing ... I was so scared -"

"Shhhhh ..." Tsubasa laid her knife down and turned to hug her daughter. "Maybe I should know better than to worry so much, but - Fuu? Can't you tell me what’s really wrong? What happened this time?"

It took several long minutes for Fuu to gather herself again, for sobs of belated terror to finally give way to even breathing. Tsubasa held her through the storm, turning the stove down so the pot wouldn’t boil over, and by the time Fuu could talk again, her mother guided her to sit down. "If your secrets hurt you this much, darling daughter ..."

Fuu sniffed once more, pushing her glasses up to swab at her eyes. "It's ... complicated. I didn't want to tell you; I knew you'd only worry all the more about me."

"And you still haven't told me," Tsubasa said, her voice as gentle as Fuu could remember ever hearing it. "Fuu-chan, I'm your mother. I'm going to worry ''anyway'', whether I know why I'm worrying or not. I won't tell your father or Kuu-chan if you want me to keep this from them ... I won't even force you to tell me, if you're not sure that you should. If it's not about this Ferio boy -"

"He's ... part of it. Sort of. That field trip ..." Fuu trailed off, exhaling through her teeth. "Mother. Please promise that you won't believe I've gone crazy. I ... I've been torn about whether to tell you. So much has happened in the past two years ... there were times when I wanted to explain. When I wanted to know that you understood. It's not like keeping you in the dark has ever protected you ..."

Tsubasa made a quiet noise. "So it’s about ''that'', then. All the little mysteries, the unanswered questions ... a birthday party that ended with snow strewn through the house, unexplained disappearances, suspicious pranks ... Kuu-chan getting lost in Library Island ... the terrorist incident at Ohtori, a smashed casserole dish that I don't remember taking out of the oven, the Girls' Day dolls all vanishing and reappearing ... all of those incidents are connected?"

Fuu stared at her mother. "You remember all of those things?"

"I remember enough of them," Tsubasa said to her daughter. "Enough to feel something was going on that I didn't know. And ... you're connected to them too, somehow?"

Fuu hesitated, knowing that whatever she said next, she would never be able to take back. Her glove-jewel sat in her pocket, its weight ''there'' in a manner she rarely took notice of. She could still back away, leave her mother in the dark ...

She took the glove-jewel out of her pocket, placing it on the table in front of her. "Connected by trying to prevent such things ... trying to protect people. Protecting everyone ... protecting you, Father, and Kuu-neesan, as much as I could."

Tsubasa's gaze rested briefly on the ornament where it sat between Fuu's forearms. Then she looked into her daughter’s eyes - and for the first time since she came home, Fuu met her mother's gaze.

And Tsubasa smiled. "So. Those magical girls they occasionally mention in the news ... oh, Fuu-chan. I understand why you kept this from us ... I promise - no, I ''swear'', not a word from me to your father or Kuu-chan," she said quietly, maternal affection warm in her voice. "Do you have a name in that role?"

"You're not angry? Not worried?" Fuu asked, pocketing the glove-jewel again. "I mean - I'm relieved that you aren't upset, but ... you're taking it remarkably well, Mother."

"You didn't get ''all'' of your intelligence from your father, beloved daughter," Tsubasa said with an almost mischievous grin. "I knew there were strange things going on - I just told you several of them that I'd noticed enough to remember, after all - but to know you're helping to deal with them? I couldn't be more proud of you."

Fuu wilted in her seat, this time in relief. "I'm still sorry I've made you worry so much about me. And now that you know I've been fighting monsters -"

"You've always made it part of your mission to come home in one piece from those fights, right? Nothing is going to stop me from worrying in the first place, mind you. But I'm proud of you, too. And I'm glad you opened up to me at last." Tsubasa leaned over, kissing her daughter on the forehead. "You’ve got time for a quick bath before supper; go freshen up. You still didn't tell me exactly what happened, and maybe that's for the best for now ... but promise me, if you need to talk to somebody, remember that I can listen."

Fuu nodded, getting up from her seat, then hesitating. "You wanted my help cooking - ?"

"You'll be washing the dishes after supper. Go and bathe; I'll send Kuu to get you when it's time to join us at the table." Tsubasa smiled once more at her daughter, and turned her attention back to cooking.

But Fuu could have sworn, as she left the kitchen, that she heard her mother humming the theme from an old magical-girl series.

[[Category:Cutscenes]]