Feather Bound

Chapter 35

One week had passed since the night of the gala, and your nerves were just about shot.

The night you got home, your phone was already blowing up. The press had moved quickly, your relationship announcement trending all over social media, the picture of him kissing you on the red carpet seemingly everywhere you looked. Strangely enough, though, people seemed more focused on the article that The Sun had published. It featured a picture of Keigo kissing you in front of the Commission car, complete with a dramatic title that was enough to make you roll your eyes.

"Top Hero's Emotional Farewell: Number Two Hero Shares Tearful Goodbye with New Girlfriend Before Departing for Landslide Relief Mission"

It had made you roll your eyes, leave it to the press to exaggerate the entire situation. But it was interesting the effect it seemed to have on your personal life. You had several dozen missed calls from Akemi, plus various text messages from people you hadn't heard from in years suddenly reaching out to try and "catch up." At first, you'd chuckled, rolling your eyes, but then your mom called.

You watched it light up the screen, doing a double-take at the name. You hadn't heard from your mother since the day Himari was born, when she called to tell you that you'd disappointed her for the last time. How ashamed she was of you for having a child out of wedlock and as a teenager, no less. It had devastated you, leaving you alone in your hospital room, clutching your tiny newborn to your chest as you cried, completely and utterly alone.

Your hand shot out before you could stop it, grabbing your phone. You stared at it as you felt it vibrate in your hand. Your thumb hesitated over the slide to answer button, contemplating until finally, your voicemail picked it up. You sucked in a breath, unlocking your phone and clicking the call log, bringing the phone up to your ear.

"Awh, did ya miss me already?" He asked with a chuckle, and you could hear the wind rustling past the device as he flew. "I can't talk long, though. I'm almost at the site, but you made it home okay, right?"

"Yeah," you breathed, your throat tight, and he paused for a second, the sound of the wind stopping until it was just the beating of his wings.

"Y/N, what's wrong?" He asked, his concern obvious even through the phone, and you bit your lip. The last thing you needed was to worry him before he started this mission. He needed to be focused on his work; lives were on the line. He certainly had bigger issues to deal with than you freaking out because your mom called you.

"Nothing, I'm fine," you said, forcing a smile across your face. "Just tired, I think. I just wanted to let you know I'm home and that... I'm going to miss you too, Keigs."

"I'll be home soon, I promise. Get some rest, okay? I've gotta go." Before you could even say goodbye, the line went dead. You pulled the phone from your face, blinking back tears as you looked at the call log, the name 'mom' right under his. You spent the rest of the night tossing and turning in bed, debating what to do about it. You loved your parents, you really did, but for them to reach out now was wrong, and you knew it. They were only interested in you again because you were with a successful hero, not because they cared about you and Himari.

So instead, you chose to ignore it, trying your hardest to focus on life as normal. You did fairly well, going to and from work, buying groceries, keeping the apartment tidy, painting a few more things to add to the walls, and even practicing your Fortnite skills so you could try playing together when he got home. Haruki had even stopped by the day after he left to check in on you, making sure you had everything you needed and to see how you were feeling. You appreciated the company, but she'd been swamped at the agency since, dealing with phone calls and paperwork that seemed to be backing up because of the emergency.