A Song to Come Home to

Chapter Twenty

"I just don't know what to do." Fuyumi tries her best to hold in her tears but the sympathetic look from her friend, Rumi, sends her into tears. Ice cold droplets dribble down her cheeks as she clutches the pillow closely to her body. Fuyumi is dimly aware of Rumi patting her on the back as her shoulders heave with another sob.

"Hey... it's okay. We're all facing backlash right now. This'll pass over once the media finds something else to latch onto." Those words dig deep into Fuyumi's heart and soul. Is that all that matters to the media and public? Are the wounds that marr her family nothing but a source of entertainment from an overpriced magazine? Are the demons that haunt her and her family, things of which are tangible and terrifying in her eyes: are only being aired out just to mock what they've all gone through? Survived? Is her life and sanity only worth some person going about their morning routine while they mutter 'they get what they deserve' or 'it's about time they were knocked down a notch. I knew they were too perfect.'

Is this what she deserves? Fuyumi doesn't think so. Is this what her family deserves after everything? Fuyumi definitely knows that they don't. Does the public care what she thinks or how she feels? She also knows that they don't. It's the unfortunate truth of being born into one of the most prominent families in Japan. While many would have thought that, that would be a blessing, Fuyumi begs to differ. Throughout her entire childhood, she had thought of it nothing more than a curse. When she had finally gotten the job of her dreams, Fuyumi had allowed herself to be lulled into happiness. She had survived everything that they had gone through. Sadly, it seems that her family name isn't done bearing its curse down on her yet.

"This isn't okay though!" Fuyumi exclaims, standing up and her pillow drops onto the floor with a soft thump. She looks over to Rumi and stares into her eyes, blinking away her stubborn tears. Rumi looks up to her in shocked silence, her eyes are wide and her mouth falls open. They had known each other for years and throughout those years, Fuyumi had never once raised her voice. She had always been as meek as a mouse.

"I didn't ask for this. None of us asked for this! I lost my job, Rumi. What am I supposed to do? Pretend that I'm totally okay with having all of this come to surface? Go out there and hold my own press conferences to confirm that everything is true? That my father beat us and treated us horribly and now my mother and two brothers are with the League of Villains while my father is quirkless in a hospital where I'm not even allowed to see him? Where..." Fuyumi clasps a hand over her mouth as she chokes out a soft sob. Her throat constricts and there's the bitter tang of remorse on her tongue. "Where I've read that they want to kick Shouto out. After everything that he's been through, why can't they leave him alone at least?" She clasps her hands together and holds them close to her chest.

"All he's ever wanted was to be a hero... after everything." Fuyumi looks to Rumi, she can taste her salty tears that continue to stain her face. She makes a weak and strangled noise as she sits back down on the sofa. "Shouto is a good kid." Fuyumi wants to say more but her voice fails her, sending her into more tears.

Rumi gathers her up into a tight hug and Fuyumi only starts to cry harder. She holds onto the back of Rumi's shirt, feeling the soft fabric under her fingers. For once, Rumi doesn't fill the empty air with words. Instead, they sit together in her living room in silence. In all those years of knowing each other, it seems that Rumi knows when to just offer her shoulder and be the comforting presence that Fuyumi desperately needs.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for her and she isn't sure if she could have handled it without Rumi giving her support.

In this moment, she isn't a Todoroki but simply just Fuyumi.

"There has to be something that I can do." Fuyumi wraps her fingers around the ceramic mug but pulls back after feeling the bite of the heat. She opts out to place her hands in her lap. From across the desk, Kamiji stares at her. Fuyumi doesn't shrink under the hero's fiery gaze. Burnin picks up her own steaming cup of coffee and takes a long drink. Fuyumi is well acquainted with the flaming heroine; Kamiji had been working under her father since her graduation from Shiketsu and before that, worked as an intern for the last two years of being in Shiketsu.