Chapter 10: The Final Stage

Hitomi and Fenris walked back to the festival, hand-in-hand. Of course, everyone outside had already packed up what they could and headed indoors once the rain started. They found Rika and Anders in the shoe locker area. Anders gave a small smile and a nod when he spotted them. Rika jumped up and down in her excitement.

"I knew it!" she said. "The two of you were too perfect together."

"I agree," Fenris said, looking down at Hitomi.

"Just be good to her," Anders warned. "Hitomi deserves only the best."

Fenris nodded.

"Have you seen Isabela?" Hitomi asked. "I'd like to have a word with her."

"I did," Rika answered, "but she took off. She didn't look happy. What happened?"

Hitomi smiled. "That's between Isabela and I. Thanks."

"Walk you home?" Fenris said, and she nodded.

They said their goodbyes and took the same route as always, but now it felt new to Hitomi, holding the hand of the boy she liked. The rain had eased up a little, but they were still soaked.

"I liked the wolf ears," Hitomi commented, nudging him. "They looked good on you."

"And your apron was adorable. Watching you in it was a bit distracting, though."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, it kept making me want to do this," he stopped, pulled her close again, and kissed her. She broke it off quickly, looking around.

"No one was looking. I was careful," he teased her, putting a hand on her wet hair. "You're so cute, Hitomi."

She smiled, and they continued on their way to her house. Stopping in front of it, she let go of his hand. "Now might not be the best time to meet my mother," she observed, taking in their bedraggled appearance.

"Soon, though. Once we settle things with my father," he added.

"See you tomorrow?"

"I'll meet you at the arcade at 10. We'll be able to get in a quick game before going to see my father."

"Definitely!" Hitomi grinned.

He leaned in a kissed her cheek. "Until tomorrow."

"Morning, Hawke-chan!" Touma called as always. "I see the two of you are here together again. Is he your boyfriend or something?"

Hitomi blushed, but nodded.

"Good for you, picking a gamer for your boyfriend. You'll always have something in common."

She and Fenris made their way to the Age of Dragons game and played together for a while, but not even the game could keep her attention from wandering. When her character died yet again, Fenris looked at her.

"You're usually better than this. Are you nervous about today?"

"Yeah. The last time I met your dad, he kind of scared me a little."

"He's not so bad once you get to know him, he's just a bit protective, that's all. Let's go get this over with."

They left the arcade with another wave to Touma on their way out the door. The walk seemed to take no time at all, and they were back in front of Fenris's house. He offered her his hand, and she took it.

They walked to the front door together, and Fenris opened it with his key. "I'm home. Father, and I've brought a guest," he announced.

"What's this?" his father asked, coming into view in the living room. They took off their shoes and joined him.

"Father, you remember Hitomi Hawke. She's been my friend and now my girlfriend for a couple of weeks."

"A girlfriend? We've talked about this before, Fenris…"

"Please, hear me out," he implored, and his father stopped for a second, waving for him to speak.

Fenris continued. "I know you think moving closer to your work will be good for both of us, but I've developed real friendships here. I don't want to leave."

"Trust me to know what's best for you. Your condition is fragile, Fenris."

"What is it you don't want me to remember, Father?" Fenris asked angrily, his markings beginning to take on the blue hue she was coming to recognize.

"How dare you raise your tone at me!" his father shouted.

Hitomi saw her chance and took it. "You still miss her, don't you? Your wife."

Angry eyes shifted to her. "And who are you to think you know anything about our family?"

"I've just seen the same look on my mother's face when she thought I wasn't looking," Hitomi said. "My father's been dead a few years now, but she still misses him, too.

He was quiet for a moment. Fenris asked, "Is that why we can't have any pictures of her? Because you miss her too much?"

There was silence for a moment. "I loved her more than anything," his father finally said, his voice shaking. "The two of you were my world. When she got sick, I didn't know what to do. The doctors said there wasn't anything they could do for her. You were just a child. I had to raise you on my own, and then we found out you had the same condition...I did what any father would."

Fenris's markings dimmed, and he stepped toward his father. "What did you do? Please, tell me."

"Your markings...it was an experimental medical procedure. There was no guarantee it would work. I thought I was going to lose you too, and I was desperate. It cost you your memory, but you lived."

"My tattoos are the reason I lived?" Fenris asked, looking down at the curling lines that covered his skin. "Why couldn't you just tell me?"

"Because you are so much like her, a constant reminder that I couldn't save her. Every day that passed, you became more like her. I tried pushing a relationship with you, but every time we would get close, the pain of losing her would come back. And, I was afraid. I thought you would find out that I'm the reason you have those markings, that I'm the reason you lost your memory, and you would hate me.

"It sounds like you saved my life. I couldn't hate you for that," Fenris stated. "But I...I want to know more about Mother."

"I think I should leave the two of you to talk," Hitomi said.

"I'll be right back father," he said. Fenris walked her to the door and smiled at her. "Thank you. I know talking about your father probably wasn't easy."

"My mother always said she didn't regret meeting my father, because without him, she wouldn't have had the twins and I. Give your father a chance, Fenris. Message me later?"

He nodded, and she left the house, a smile on her face. Hopefully they could find a way to come together after all. It was clear his father was still dealing with his own grief, but he almost missed out on having a relationship with his son.

Later that afternoon, she got a text from Fenris: 'Are you free tomorrow?'

She messaged back: 'Yes, I don't have any plans'

The phone buzzed again, it read: 'Pick you up at noon'

That must mean he and his father came to an agreement and...oh no, he said he was coming to pick me up? He plans on meeting Mother! I'd better prepare her, or the shock might just kill her.

Hitomi headed downstairs to break the news to her that her daughter had a boyfriend. She made sure to mention that he has strange markings that are scars from a medical procedure, and that she shouldn't mention them. After answering about a million questions, some of which got answered by Carver and Bethany, who had already met Fenris, her mother finally let her go back to her room.

The next morning, she got ready. Today, she chose to wear a long-sleeved sweater with a hood, and a pleated skirt that fell just above the knees. Not overly stylish, but comfortable.

The knock on the door had her heart beating in her chest, but she needn't have worried so much. Her mother was quite nice to Fenris, who was very polite in return.

"If Hitomi's going to date, I'm glad she found a nice young man who is polite enough to come introduce himself properly," her mother said.

She was relieved when they were permitted to leave and it was just the two of them again. She expelled a relieved breath. "Well, that went a little better than I thought it would."

"Your mother is nice," Fenris said. "I can tell she cares about you."

"So where are we going?"

"I was thinking we could go back to that ramen shop. I saw something on the menu that I wanted to try. But first, there's somewhere else I'd like to take you."

They walked together, holding hands, and she knew immediately where he was taking her. They climbed the hill, and took the steps, and went through the tunnel to the city overlook.

Once standing on the other side, Fenris turned to her. "I thought it would be a good chance to get you alone." He leaned in and kissed her. The breeze stirred in both of their hair, and she wrapped her arms around him.

Leaning his head against hers, he smiled down at her. "Forgive me, I have been thinking about doing that since yesterday."

She smiled up at him. "So things went well with your father?"

"Still rocky, but it is a start. He's agreed to let me stay here for the time being, and he plans to talk to his company about getting more local jobs so he and I can spend more time together."

"I'm glad...both for your father, and that you'll be staying. There was no way I was ready to say goodbye yet."

"Me either," he said, hugging her. "I need to thank you. Thanks to you, I have a chance at building a real relationship with my father. You are pretty good as my backup, mage."

"Well, warriors too often charge into the fight without looking, they need the buffs from their party members."

"I'm not talking about the game, Hitomi. Seriously, thank you," he said, patting her hair. "I'm happy I met you."

"Fenris…I'm glad I met you too," she replied.

The next kiss told her just how much he appreciated her. Her heart swelled, and she hoped she would have many more victories to come with her Player 2.