Songs for Daddy- Chapter 35: Breaking Inside (part 3, final part)
Here's a link to part 2.
After lunch, Hiruma went back to work. The only difference was that his cellphone was on the desk and within easy reach.
At 2:20 pm Hiruma gets a phone call, from Anezaki.
“Oh Youichi, I’m just calling to tell you me and Emiko got in okay.” Anezaki explained.
“Anything happen today?” Hiruma asked, a little worried like he always was.
“Nothing of note-” Anezaki was cut off by Emiko saying something. Hiruma couldn’t quite make out of the words, but he knew it was her voice.
“She wants to talk to you.” Anezaki explained.
“Put her on then.” Hiruma answered. He’d stopped working, but no one in that office would have dared ask him to stop having this conversation on the phone.
“Papa!” Emiko called happily.
“Hey.” Hiruma was smiling happily. “How was your day?”
“Lots of fun!” Emiko answered. “I got to play catch with Saka-chan today!”
“That’s good.” Hiruma smiled.
“Mom says I shouldn’t keep you,” Emiko was frowning on the other end, “so good luck at practice today!”
“Thanks. I love you, Emiko.” Hiruma told her sincerely.
“I love you too, Papa!” Emiko was smiling again. “Bye-bye.”
“Bye.” Hiruma then waited for Emiko to hang up. He hung up himself, still smiling.
“Looks like our ‘Papa’ is pleased.” Juumonji joked.
“What do you want?” Hiruma sounded annoyed but his content expression was not easily erased. Emiko had that kind of effect on him.
“I wanted you to check the new internet system we put up, if you have a minute.” Juumonji explained.
“You turned off the alarms right?” Hiruma asked as he turned on his laptop.
“Of course.” Juumonji answered.
It took Hiruma about 15 minutes to successfully hack into the system.
“Hn, a 15.” Hiruma answered.
“Damn,” Juumonji muttered, “that’s worse than last time.”
“Why don’t you dual boot both systems?” Hiruma suggested.
“That’d work.” Juumonji nodded.
“She really did all that?”
“....”
“Cry.”
“W-what?!”
“Hiruma you look like you want to cry, it’s okay. Just cry.”
“But-!”
“Chizue isn’t alive, it’s not like she can judge you-”
“She’s still here! In my fucking head telling me things and making me do things! I can’t-!”
“Is she in this room right now?”
“…No.”
“Then cry. I’ll keep her away.”
Having worked solidly until 3:10 pm, Hiruma started packing up his things; him and the other football team members. They’d make their way down to the company’s stadium and by 3:30 pm they’d start practice. Hiruma always worked with a group of people to make sure he was safe and in control. They had a game coming up and Hiruma was both excited and mortified about it. What if Chizue came in and attacked him during the game?
“‘Suffer as I did, you son of a bitch.’”
“I think, Hiruma, you’ve already suffered as she had.”
“But why? Why did she have to fucking force that on me!?”
“I think Chizue wanted you to understand her and love her.”
“You’re out of your fucking-!”
“Which only proves why she had a reason to feel that way.”
“….”
“Now let’s get back to the story, what happened after her death?”
“At some point they pulled me away from the room and put Emiko in my arms. Don’t remember the fucking details.”
“But you remember being handed Emiko.”
“Emiko, she-”
“She what?”
“-anchored me again. Like Mom used to.”
“I see.”
“What’s with that fucking smirk?”
Thankfully this practice went by without any trouble. Something everyone had been thankful for.
“How are you feeling today?” Kuirta asked as they got into the locker room.
“Fine….” Hiruma frowned, not really knowing what was prompting this question.
“You seem better.” Kurita explained. “I don’t know, like you’re not carrying around a lot of weight or something?”
“…Maybe that’s because I am.” Hiruma muttered thoughtfully.
“Eh?” Kurita didn’t quite follow that.
“Well you certainly never do anything in moderation.”
“It’s not funny.”
“Try laughing.”
“…Is this some fucking psychology trick of yours?”
“Just do it Hiruma. You’re the one paying for this if you hold it off.”
“….”
“No really, you’re paying me for my time to help you. Now just do it.”
“Ha ha.”
“Oh come on, I know you don’t really laugh like that.”
“Fuck you.”
“Hiruma.”
“Fine.”
“Hiruma,” Kurokawa came over and pulled Hiruma aside, “I want you to go see your psychologist before the game and get his clearance to play.”
“Okay.” Hiruma nodded.
“Hey, Hiruma!” Takekura called as he ran over. “Do you think you can play?”
“…I think so.” Hiruma answered honestly.
“You’ll be in the game then!?” Kurita smiled excitedly.
“Not until fucking baldly says I can fatty.” Hiruma reminded Kurita before he could burst into tears and throw a party.
“I want you to practice laughing about it for a bit.”
“Why?”
“Laughter has a remarkable amount of healing properties. If you can find something funny it weighs a lot less on your mind.”
“So it was one of your fucking psychology tricks.”
“But you can’t deny they aren’t working, can you?”
“Touché.”
“See you tomorrow.” Takekura bid his goodbye.
“Don’t forget about the party on Friday!” Kurita added. “Bring Emiko-chan!”
“Like hell I’m going to forget that, fucking fatty.” Hiruma rolled his eyes and got in his car. It was 5:30 pm and he was heading home from work and practice.
“I think there’s one last important thing you need to do.”
“Only one?”
“You’ve already fallen in love again, you’ve already accepted that Emiko can’t stay by your side permanently, and you’ve begun to start looking back and laugh. But you haven’t made your peace with Chizue.”
“She was-!”
“I know what she was and what she did to you. You already told me about it. The fact of the matter is she is Emiko’s mother and was your wife in life. I’m not asking you to love her or even like her, I want you to find peace with her. That’s why she keeps haunting you, because you haven’t found peace with her or with what she did to you.”
“Find peace, huh?”
“Yes. Find peace.”
At 6:43 pm, Hiruma opened the door of his apartment.
“I’m home!” Hiruma called as he took his shoes off. Emiko came running over and threw herself into Hiruma’s open arms.
“Welcome home, Papa!” Emiko greeted him, her face all smiles.
“Thank you.” Hiruma told Emiko. “It’s good to be home.”
“Welcome back.” Anezaki smiled. She was standing a little ways back. With a happy, loving smile Hiruma picked up Emiko and walked over to Anezaki. He kissed her quickly and softly, knowing Emiko probably didn’t have the patience for anything more.
“Dinner’s ready.” Emiko remarked.
“Oh?” Hiruma looked at Emiko with a bemused smile.
“Yup!”
“We just finished it right before you came in.” Anezaki explained.
“Then by all means, let’s eat.” Hiruma nodded and started to walk towards the kitchen.
“Papa, Mom said she’s going to move in soon, when is ‘soon’?” Emiko asked. Anezaki and Hiruma had decided they’d bring up the subject with Emiko today. Hiruma didn’t know the exact date so he looked to Anezaki for an answer.
“Two weeks from this Friday.” Anezaki answered.
“Really?” Emiko’s eyes lit up.
“Really.” Hiruma assured her.
“When are you two getting married?” Emiko asked innocently. Both adults blushed.
“We’re not quite ready to be discussing that yet, Emiko.” Hiruma answered.
“You’re in love, isn’t that everything you need?” Emiko asked.
“Emiko-chan, your Papa hasn’t met my parents yet.” Anezaki explained. “He has to meet them and get their approval first.”
“Can’t you do that tomorrow?” Emiko asked.
“Emiko, I have work tomorrow.” Hiruma reminded her.
“Oh.”
“I’ll do it this Sunday though.” Hiruma did remark. “I haven’t actually spoken to your parents have I?”
“Not since that phone call in high school.” Anezaki answered. “They do know about the moving in. I think they’ll want to meet Emiko too.”
“I get to go?” Emiko asked.
“Next time.” Hiruma answered.
“Lookie Papa! We made udon!” Emiko was distracted with the dinner she’d helped with.
Hiruma smiled and tired not to turn green. He was never going to get over the gruesome images of his mother’s death that the look and smell of udon always brought forth. Thankfully Yukimitsu said that was an okay thing.
_=_=_=_=_
Another chapter done! Whee!
*dies*
After lunch, Hiruma went back to work. The only difference was that his cellphone was on the desk and within easy reach.
At 2:20 pm Hiruma gets a phone call, from Anezaki.
“Oh Youichi, I’m just calling to tell you me and Emiko got in okay.” Anezaki explained.
“Anything happen today?” Hiruma asked, a little worried like he always was.
“Nothing of note-” Anezaki was cut off by Emiko saying something. Hiruma couldn’t quite make out of the words, but he knew it was her voice.
“She wants to talk to you.” Anezaki explained.
“Put her on then.” Hiruma answered. He’d stopped working, but no one in that office would have dared ask him to stop having this conversation on the phone.
“Papa!” Emiko called happily.
“Hey.” Hiruma was smiling happily. “How was your day?”
“Lots of fun!” Emiko answered. “I got to play catch with Saka-chan today!”
“That’s good.” Hiruma smiled.
“Mom says I shouldn’t keep you,” Emiko was frowning on the other end, “so good luck at practice today!”
“Thanks. I love you, Emiko.” Hiruma told her sincerely.
“I love you too, Papa!” Emiko was smiling again. “Bye-bye.”
“Bye.” Hiruma then waited for Emiko to hang up. He hung up himself, still smiling.
“Looks like our ‘Papa’ is pleased.” Juumonji joked.
“What do you want?” Hiruma sounded annoyed but his content expression was not easily erased. Emiko had that kind of effect on him.
“I wanted you to check the new internet system we put up, if you have a minute.” Juumonji explained.
“You turned off the alarms right?” Hiruma asked as he turned on his laptop.
“Of course.” Juumonji answered.
It took Hiruma about 15 minutes to successfully hack into the system.
“Hn, a 15.” Hiruma answered.
“Damn,” Juumonji muttered, “that’s worse than last time.”
“Why don’t you dual boot both systems?” Hiruma suggested.
“That’d work.” Juumonji nodded.
“She really did all that?”
“....”
“Cry.”
“W-what?!”
“Hiruma you look like you want to cry, it’s okay. Just cry.”
“But-!”
“Chizue isn’t alive, it’s not like she can judge you-”
“She’s still here! In my fucking head telling me things and making me do things! I can’t-!”
“Is she in this room right now?”
“…No.”
“Then cry. I’ll keep her away.”
Having worked solidly until 3:10 pm, Hiruma started packing up his things; him and the other football team members. They’d make their way down to the company’s stadium and by 3:30 pm they’d start practice. Hiruma always worked with a group of people to make sure he was safe and in control. They had a game coming up and Hiruma was both excited and mortified about it. What if Chizue came in and attacked him during the game?
“‘Suffer as I did, you son of a bitch.’”
“I think, Hiruma, you’ve already suffered as she had.”
“But why? Why did she have to fucking force that on me!?”
“I think Chizue wanted you to understand her and love her.”
“You’re out of your fucking-!”
“Which only proves why she had a reason to feel that way.”
“….”
“Now let’s get back to the story, what happened after her death?”
“At some point they pulled me away from the room and put Emiko in my arms. Don’t remember the fucking details.”
“But you remember being handed Emiko.”
“Emiko, she-”
“She what?”
“-anchored me again. Like Mom used to.”
“I see.”
“What’s with that fucking smirk?”
Thankfully this practice went by without any trouble. Something everyone had been thankful for.
“How are you feeling today?” Kuirta asked as they got into the locker room.
“Fine….” Hiruma frowned, not really knowing what was prompting this question.
“You seem better.” Kurita explained. “I don’t know, like you’re not carrying around a lot of weight or something?”
“…Maybe that’s because I am.” Hiruma muttered thoughtfully.
“Eh?” Kurita didn’t quite follow that.
“Well you certainly never do anything in moderation.”
“It’s not funny.”
“Try laughing.”
“…Is this some fucking psychology trick of yours?”
“Just do it Hiruma. You’re the one paying for this if you hold it off.”
“….”
“No really, you’re paying me for my time to help you. Now just do it.”
“Ha ha.”
“Oh come on, I know you don’t really laugh like that.”
“Fuck you.”
“Hiruma.”
“Fine.”
“Hiruma,” Kurokawa came over and pulled Hiruma aside, “I want you to go see your psychologist before the game and get his clearance to play.”
“Okay.” Hiruma nodded.
“Hey, Hiruma!” Takekura called as he ran over. “Do you think you can play?”
“…I think so.” Hiruma answered honestly.
“You’ll be in the game then!?” Kurita smiled excitedly.
“Not until fucking baldly says I can fatty.” Hiruma reminded Kurita before he could burst into tears and throw a party.
“I want you to practice laughing about it for a bit.”
“Why?”
“Laughter has a remarkable amount of healing properties. If you can find something funny it weighs a lot less on your mind.”
“So it was one of your fucking psychology tricks.”
“But you can’t deny they aren’t working, can you?”
“Touché.”
“See you tomorrow.” Takekura bid his goodbye.
“Don’t forget about the party on Friday!” Kurita added. “Bring Emiko-chan!”
“Like hell I’m going to forget that, fucking fatty.” Hiruma rolled his eyes and got in his car. It was 5:30 pm and he was heading home from work and practice.
“I think there’s one last important thing you need to do.”
“Only one?”
“You’ve already fallen in love again, you’ve already accepted that Emiko can’t stay by your side permanently, and you’ve begun to start looking back and laugh. But you haven’t made your peace with Chizue.”
“She was-!”
“I know what she was and what she did to you. You already told me about it. The fact of the matter is she is Emiko’s mother and was your wife in life. I’m not asking you to love her or even like her, I want you to find peace with her. That’s why she keeps haunting you, because you haven’t found peace with her or with what she did to you.”
“Find peace, huh?”
“Yes. Find peace.”
At 6:43 pm, Hiruma opened the door of his apartment.
“I’m home!” Hiruma called as he took his shoes off. Emiko came running over and threw herself into Hiruma’s open arms.
“Welcome home, Papa!” Emiko greeted him, her face all smiles.
“Thank you.” Hiruma told Emiko. “It’s good to be home.”
“Welcome back.” Anezaki smiled. She was standing a little ways back. With a happy, loving smile Hiruma picked up Emiko and walked over to Anezaki. He kissed her quickly and softly, knowing Emiko probably didn’t have the patience for anything more.
“Dinner’s ready.” Emiko remarked.
“Oh?” Hiruma looked at Emiko with a bemused smile.
“Yup!”
“We just finished it right before you came in.” Anezaki explained.
“Then by all means, let’s eat.” Hiruma nodded and started to walk towards the kitchen.
“Papa, Mom said she’s going to move in soon, when is ‘soon’?” Emiko asked. Anezaki and Hiruma had decided they’d bring up the subject with Emiko today. Hiruma didn’t know the exact date so he looked to Anezaki for an answer.
“Two weeks from this Friday.” Anezaki answered.
“Really?” Emiko’s eyes lit up.
“Really.” Hiruma assured her.
“When are you two getting married?” Emiko asked innocently. Both adults blushed.
“We’re not quite ready to be discussing that yet, Emiko.” Hiruma answered.
“You’re in love, isn’t that everything you need?” Emiko asked.
“Emiko-chan, your Papa hasn’t met my parents yet.” Anezaki explained. “He has to meet them and get their approval first.”
“Can’t you do that tomorrow?” Emiko asked.
“Emiko, I have work tomorrow.” Hiruma reminded her.
“Oh.”
“I’ll do it this Sunday though.” Hiruma did remark. “I haven’t actually spoken to your parents have I?”
“Not since that phone call in high school.” Anezaki answered. “They do know about the moving in. I think they’ll want to meet Emiko too.”
“I get to go?” Emiko asked.
“Next time.” Hiruma answered.
“Lookie Papa! We made udon!” Emiko was distracted with the dinner she’d helped with.
Hiruma smiled and tired not to turn green. He was never going to get over the gruesome images of his mother’s death that the look and smell of udon always brought forth. Thankfully Yukimitsu said that was an okay thing.
_=_=_=_=_
Another chapter done! Whee!
*dies*