Erma:Family is Forever

Chapter 17: Mitsu and Momo's Breakdown

So last time Xander told Mitsu, Momo, and Erma how he and Yori had first met! Although Mitsu and Momo have been dealing with a lot of self loathing, how long can they keep it up.

Mitsu and Momo both were both walking around the house as everyone was still setting up for the parade. The twins had been mostly keeping to themselves for the most part, but Erma still made sure to drag them into playing with her. Aunt Mayumi also tended to cuddle them on the couch when there was nothing important to do. Aunt Rin seemed less annoyed by their presence, but they could still tell that she didn't like them. Aunt Fumiko was still as busy as ever with getting the parade ready. Aunt Ena always gave them this worried look which just confused them to no end, but didn't really question it.
Mitsu and Momo were both walking through the halls of the house as they tried to stay out of the way as much as possible. "So sis, did you ever think there'd be a time where we weren't trying to pull some type of prank?" Momo asked her twin in her best attempt at a lighthearted tone. "I'd hardly call what we've done pranks Momo, honestly I'm thinking we should throw in the towel on pranks." Mitsu said as Momo nodded her head in sad agreement. The twins were planning on doing what they've been doing for the past couple of days, staying out of the way and doing a whole lot of nothing.
Unfortunately for the Twins, they bumped into their Aunt Rin of all people on their walk. "Sorry Aunt Rin, we were just thinking is all." Momo said as she and Mistu apologized and tried to make a hasty exit. "Okay, what are you two up to anyway?" Rin asked as the sisters stopped dead in their tracks at her words. "W-What do you mean Aunt Rin?" Mitsu asked nervously as she and Momo looked up at their Aunt, who was glaring at them. "I mean what are you planning? You two haven't caused any type of mayhem since I returned, what are you two up to?" Rin hissed out as she glared at the twins with a dangerous look.
Mitsu and Momo finally felt the pressure that had been building up in them reach its limit. Tears pricked their eyes as they looked up at their Aunt Rin. "We get it Aunt Rin, you don't like us! Heck you don't even love us! Neither does Aunt Fumiko! Aunt Ena likes everyone, Cus was willing to give us another chance, her parents like us." Mitsu rambled on as Rin was taken aback by the sudden outburst from her nieces. "It's not like your wrong, we're just a couple of annoying brats!" Momo whimpered before both twins flew down the hall, leaving Rin both dumbfounded and slightly hurt.
             "Hello Xander, well your still alive despite walking directly into the lion's den." Xander let out a nervous chuckle at his Cousin Bryce's words as he knew that he was not to happy with his recent actions. Xander glances over at Yori who was giving him a worried look,  the rest of the family minus Rin and the Twins were also watching him with curious looks. "Bryce, I know I'm taking a risk here, but you remember better then anyone how hard losing Yori was for me the first time." Xander fires back as his tone became rather downcast at those particular memories.
             Bryce had gone silent on the other end, except for some shuffling noises coming through the phone. Xander knee that was a hard time for both of them, he really wasn't living at that point in his life, just existing and Bryce was there to help pick up the pieces. "I understand Xander, just promise you won't die on me, okay?" Bryce finally said as Xander could tell he was trying his best to be supportive of him despite the rough circumstances. "I will Bryce, by the way I proposed to Yori. If everything goes well, you'll be getting a wedding invitation!" Xander said in a much more positive tone compared to the one he had earlier.
                "Congratulations Xander, I better be the Best Man." Bryce said as he to was in a much better mood then he was before. Xander couldn't help but let out a laugh at his cousin's words. "Sure thing Bryce, anyway I better go, talk to ya later!" Xander said as Bryce said his own goodbye before hanging up the phone and rejoining the rest of the group. "What was that about?" Sam asked as Xander sat down at the table with the rest of them. "Oh that was my Cousin Bryce Romano, he was just checking to make sure I was still alive." Xander said in a calm tone as Yori's eyes widened in surprise at the mention of Bryce.
"Bryce? How's he been since we last talked?" Yori asked as she remembered getting along quite well with Xander's older Cousin. "Still as busy as always, although he did get some new roommates in his house a few months ago. Apparently their quite the class act." Xander said as Yori laughed at her fiancé's words as she knew how much of a serious person Bryce tended to be. "Busy? What does your Cousin do for a living?" Sam asked as he wondered what line of work could cause him to be so busy. "Bryce is a Homicide Detective, so not only is his job interesting, it's rather stressful as well." Xander explained as Sam gave him a surprised look.
                "Also Romano? Isn't that an Italian name?" Emiko asked as she gave Xander a curious look. "That's right sis, Xander's mom came over to America from Italy. In fact she owns a restaurant back in Xander's hometown." Yori said as Emiko nodded her head in understanding. Erma seemed interested in Xander's family, but remained quiet. The conversation was interrupted by Rin entering the room with a concerned look on her face. "What's wrong Rin? You look like you've had a bad day." Fumiko said as she looked at her sister.
               Rin explained what happened between her and the twins as Xander and Yori both grew concerned looks. "Looks like we were oblivious to how the girls were feeling." Xander said as he looked over at Yori who was just as upset as he was. "We should probably go talk to them." Yori said as she and Xander got out of their seats, but were stopped by Fumiko. "Let us handle this Yori, from what Rin said it seems like this is our fault." Fumiko said as she and Rin exited the room. Erma was fretting over Mitsu and Momo, but was being comforted by her parents.
             Xander looked over at Yori, who was still panicking over their kids. Xander wrapped his arm around Yori's shoulder as he tried to comfort her. "Don't worry, I'm sure Rin and Fumiko can handle it." Xander said as he tried to calm Yori down. "That's not what I'm worried about, how did we not notice something was wrong?" Yori said in a downcast tone as she tried to figure out what she missed. "Yori, parents will make mistakes, the important thing is that we learn from those mistakes. Now we know to pay closer attention." Xander reasoned as Yori began to calm down slightly.
               Mitsu and Momo has found an empty room in the house to hide in as they tried to calm themselves down. "W-Why did I say that?" Mitsu asked herself as the tears still ran down her face. "I-I guess we just couldn't hold it in anymore." Momo responded as the twins buried their faces in their knees. Little did the twins know, two figures had entered the room and approached them. "You two can be rather hard to find when you want to be." The twins looked up to see their Aunt Fumiko standing in front of them with Rin right behind her. Fumiko crouched down before gently wiping the twins tears away.
                "Alright you two I want you to listen to me." Fumiko said as the twins nodded their heads in understanding. "I know that we've not been the nicest to either of you and we failed to realize how much you two have changed since Xander came back." Fumiko said as the twins gave her a slightly confused look at her words. "I think what Fumiko is trying to say is that, even though you two can get on our nerves, we still love both of you." Rin said as the twins eyes widened in surprise at Rin's words. "B-But." Momo started to say but was stopped by Rin, who wrapped the two in her tail as she pulled them close.
Mitsu and Momo has fresh tears in their eyes as they snuggled into Rin's embrace as Fumiko also joined in on the hug. "You two really are a pair of troublemakers." Fumiko said as the twins let out a small laugh as they finally started feeling better. "Just to warm you, your parents are going to want to have a talk with once we finish up here." Fumiko said as both Mitsu and Momo let out a sigh before deciding to enjoy the moment before possibly getting chewed out by their parents once they head back. Mitsu and Momo definitely felt better knowing their Aunts did love them despite their flaws.
Mitsu and Momo looked down at their feet as their mom paced back and forth in front of them. "I can't believe you two would just keep quiet about feeling upset like this!" Yori said in frustration as she glared at her daughters. "We're sorry mom." The twins said in unison as they looked down in shame. "Yori don't be to hard on them, they were probably just scared and upset." Xander said as he trie to calm his Fiancé down. Yori sighed before crouching down and pulling her daughters into a hug, Xander of course joined in on the hug as well. "Don't ever think that anyone in this family doesn't love you two, do I make myself clear?" Yori said as the twins nodded as the family continued to hug.

So Mitsu and Momo's pent up emotions were finally released! For those of you who are wondering about Bryce Romano, he is Xander's older cousin and the main character of my Helltaker story Helltaker: Life With Demon Girls. So if you wanna learn more about him go check out that story, also later on there will be a crossover between the two where Xander introduces his daughters to their Uncle. What awaits our favorite family next? What other issues will arise? Find out in the next chapter of Erma: Family is Forever!