DISCLAIMER: Ojamajo Doremi © Toei Animation in 1999-2004. I don't get any commercial benefit from this fic.

The Future Story 2

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Chapter 8 – Shiro-chan and Her Family's Problem

"Eh? So you did cast that spell and it was worked?!" asked Nozomi in disbelief as her cousin told her about what happened a few hours ago. The brunette then looked at her grandfather as she added, "Well, at least it can solve your problem, ojiichan."

"Yeah, and now I want to keep becoming the senior coach in your school's soccer club," the gray-blue haired old man smiled, "because I realize that your grandmother just want to see us happy up there."

Kotake sighed, "Maybe I should learn much from your father, Fami."

"Eh?" the pink haired girl tilted her head, "What do you mean, ojiichan?"

"Well, you know that even your mother… left you and your father a year after their marriage, while I still had so much time to spend with your grandmother, and we would reach our… 48th anniversary soon," he sighed again, "I'm luckier than my own son, but he could move on sooner than me."

"Really?"

He nodded, "Your father was back to work just a week after your mother's funeral, and he was successfully moving on. Maybe I should talk with him more often, so we can share our problem… Our loneliness without wives…"

He then remembered something, so he asked, "By the way, Nozomi, why do you come here? Does Majorika ask you to bring Fami back to Maho-dou?"

"Oh my God. She must be mad at me, right?" Fami realized that she just went home from Maho-dou without permission, "Non-chan, is she going to punish me today?"

"Calm down, Fami-chan. Majorika isn't mad at you, and it's more than 5 PM now, so the practice was already over for today," Nozomi assured, "About your practice, firstly she had a plan to come here right now, but then I asked her to come to my house tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I invite you and ojiichan to take dinner at my house," Nozomi smiled, "Then you can take your practice with Majorika after the dinner."

"Alright then, we'll have dinner with you," Fami looked around, "Even so, how about otousan? He hasn't here yet… and where's Rizu-chan? I recall that you also invited her to your house, right?"

"Okasan can call Uncle Murasaki and tell him about the dinner, so he just need to come to my house," explained the brunette, "and Rizu-chan is waiting for us at my house right now."

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's we go," said Kotake as he walked to the front door, then went to Tsubomi's house with both of his granddaughters.

At the mentioned house, Rizuko greeted them, then Tsubomi commanded Nozomi to take a bath. The brunette used this chance to ask both of her cousins to take a bath with her.

"You know, tomorrow is Saturday, so I want to spend this weekend with you both," she explained, "I hope you both don't mind to stay here tonight."

"But then, how about otousan and ojiichan?" asked Fami, who turned her attention to her grandfather, "Ojiichan, can I?"

"Oh, sure you can stay here, Fami," said Kotake, "I think all of us can stay here tonight, because I want to challenge your uncle."

"Eh? Uncle Tono?" Fami frowned, "Ojiichan, do you really want to challenge Uncle Tono? But what challenge?"

"Well, I'll challenge him to play something with me and your father tomorrow," replied the old man, "Alright then, just take a bath with Nozomi and Rizuko. I know you three have something to talk about, so go ahead."

The three new witch apprentices then walked into the bathroom and took their bath, while talked about what happened at Fami's house several hours ago.

"Hey, so it worked?!" asked Rizuko in disbelief, "but Majorika said that it was impossible, so how can you…"

"I don't know. I just tried it and I did it," Fami shook of her head, "Well, maybe it's because I used her power so… obaachan came into ojiichan's dream and told him to move on."

"I know it. She'll agree to help us," Nozomi smiled, "Even when she was here, she didn't want to see anyone of us sad."

"Well, that's our grandmother, Non-chan."

"But then, how about your Magical Energy? Don't you check it?" the youngest girls from the three asked, "You know, even though the spell was working, it's a powerful spell, so… probably the Magical Energy in your poron is low right now."

"Ah, you're right, Rizu-chan," Fami sighed, "Then how can I do my practice with Majorika tonight?"

"Well, I hope she can bring the charging panel here," Nozomi shrugged, "Or else, you should take your practice at Maho-dou tonight."

"I prefer the first option," replied Fami immediately, "That's much better than if I should walk in the dark out there."

"Of course. If you should take your practice at Maho-dou, then what's the point to invite Majorika here tonight?" Nozomi took her shampoo bottle, "It's better for you to take your practice here."

"Anyways, I'm relieved now, that I can help ojiichan to solve his problem," the pink haired girl smiled, "I'm glad to see him smile."

"Me too. Even he wants to challenge my father tomorrow," replied the brunette, "Now I wonder about his challenge."

"Isn't it obvious? I think he wants to challenge Uncle Tono to play soccer," opined Rizuko, "Well, probably it isn't about soccer, but you know that both your grandfather and Uncle Murasaki like soccer very much."

"I know it," the leader of the new witch apprentices sighed again, "Why did I ask ojiichan about the challenge?"

"Fami-chan…"

"Fami-nee…"

Both Nozomi and Rizuko called her, then all of them giggled and continued to clean up themselves.

.O.

Right when Kotake, Tsubomi, Fami, Nozomi and Rizuko took their dinner together, Murasaki, Tonomi and Majorika came to the house and joined with them. Then, after the dinner was over, the three girls and Majorika walked into Nozomi's room to check Fami's poron before she used it in her practice.

"Huh, you're right, Rizu-chan," said the pink haired girl, "The Magical Energy in my poron is too low."

"Don't worry, I bring the portable charging panel here," assured the old witch while took out the mentioned item, "Just use it to charge your poron."

"Even so, we should wait for an hour until the Magical Energy is full," Fami frowned, put her poron onto the portable charging panel, "If only I took my practice at Maho-dou this evening, you didn't need to come here now."

"Don't worry. I let you go home anyway," Majorika waved her right hand, "You're really just like your grandmother."

"Really? She didn't take her practice at Maho-dou before her first test?"

"Even she didn't take her practice at all. She preferred to accompany her younger sister to their grandmother's house than to take her own practice at Maho-dou, and then she failed in her test."

"Eh?! Failed?!" asked Fami in disbelief. She was afraid, "Then, why did you let me go home just to solve ojiichan's problem?"

"Well, I'm not sure enough about this, but I think I heard that your grandmother whispered something into my ears, right when I wanted to prevent you to go home," replied Majorika, "She was really sure that you'll pass your first exam. She asked me to let you go."

"In the other words, she also worried about ojiichan," concluded Nozomi, "Well then, how if we talk about obaachan while we wait for Fami-chan's poron?"

"Alright, maybe I can share some stories about her to you all," Majorika agreed, "Then, what's the thing that you want to know about her?"

"You said that she failed in her first exam, but… it's her only failure, right?"

"No. She also failed in another exam after that. Exactly, it was two exams before her final exam."

"Really?"

The old witch nodded, "Fortunately, there were Hazuki and Aiko who helped her so that she could catch up."

"How about my grandmother?" asked Rizuko.

"Well, Onpu was Majoruka's witch apprentice at first, but then she joined with Doremi, Hazuki and Aiko when Queen Hana was born."

"Majoruka?"

"Yup, and she was my rival in the past," explained Majorika, "and I should admit that your grandmother was an excellent witch apprentice back then."

"Really?" Rizuko's eyes sparkled, "Did she pass all of her exam?"

"Even she could pass all nine levels just in five exams," replied her, "Normally, a witch apprentice just would pass one level in an exam."

"Great!" praised the purple haired girl. She smiled widely, "I want to be like her."

"Then, how about ojiichan?" asked Fami, "Do you know about the story of my grandparents' relationship?"

"They're just an unique couple for me," Majorika opined, "I saw your grandfather at the first time when he came to Maho-dou to buy something which made by your grandmother, and I could notice that they would be a couple someday, even though they were like a mortal enemy before."

"So, you could sense it even before they became a couple, right?"

"Of course. Even they often worried about each other. I intentionally said something to make your grandmother worried about your grandfather, and she just followed him after that, even though she didn't love him back then."

"I see," Fami smiled, "Anything else?"

"Hmm, let me see…" the old witch tried to remember, "When they were in your age, Hazuki and Aiko had ever forced me to close Maho-dou, just because they, with your grandmother, wanted to follow your grandfather in his bicycle trip to Mount Fuji with some of his friends."

"Eh? Really?"

"Yeah, that's right," Majorika nodded, "That was their relationship back then."

"Wait, you said that they often worried about each other, but the moments you mentioned to us is just about obaachan worried about ojiichan," Nozomi noticed, "When did ojiichan worry about her?"

"Well, I spent more time with your grandmother, so I don't really know about the moment when your grandfather silently followed her or something like that," Majorika admitted, "For those things, maybe you can ask your grandfather by yourself."

"Okay."

"Then, how about you three?" this time, it was Majorika who asked the three girls, "Don't you have a crush towards someone?"

"No, we don't, but I know that someone can't take his eyes off Fami-chan," replied Nozomi while gazed at her older cousin, "and his name is Matsumoto Daichi."

"Non-chan!" Fami protested, "He's just a naughty boy, and I don't like him!"

"Alright, I don't really know about that Daichi boy whom you're talking about, but I think I should warn you something important, Fami," commented the old witch, "Don't hate someone too much, or it could change into love."

"I agree, I agree," Nozomi giggled, but then she stopped when Fami glared at her.

"Well then, is there something else that you want to ask about your grandmother?" Majorika asked again, "We still have fifteen minutes before the charging process is over."

"Uh, between all of her best friends, who was the nearest one with obaachan?" asked Fami.

"Basically, your grandmother was always near with all of them, but maybe I should say that Hazuki was her nearest best friend, as she was her childhood friend," replied her, "Even they had ever disguised into each other in the past, when your grandmother was still the only one who became my witch apprentice."

They kept talking until Fami's poron was full, then Majorika guided Fami in her practice.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Kotake was talking with Murasaki, Tsubomi and Tonomi. Now, the old man talked about his dream a few hours ago.

"I know it. She always thinks about us," commented Tsubomi while she hold on her own tears, tried not to spill it out from her eyes, "She wants us to be together."

"Well, that's why I decided to stay here with your brother and Fami tonight, because I know that we should spend our time together more often from now on," Kotake smiled, "It will helps me moving on."

"By the way, when will my lovely twin sister give her daughter a sister or brother?" asked Murasaki to his younger twin sister, Tsubomi, "Honestly, I want to have one more niece or nephew."

"Actually, I wanted to have a son, but I think we should postpone it for now, because Tono-kun is just too busy nowadays," the young teacher looked at her husband, "I don't want to force him too much."

Tsubomi then turned back her attention to her twin brother, "How about you, Murasaki-nii? I think it isn't wrong for you to find a new mother for Fami-chan."

"…!" Murasaki was surprised to hear what Tsubomi said, but then he mumbled, "You know that I can't do something like that."

"Are you still afraid that Cathy-chan would be mad at you just because you wanted to marry another woman?" Tsubomi frowned, "Oh, come on, Murasaki-nii. You still need someone beside you. Someone who can help you raise Fami-chan. Someone who can be a good mother for her."

"You know, I'm afraid if I would choose a wrong woman," Murasaki sighed, "and I always see around me that a stepmother will always tortures her stepdaughter."

"Murasaki-nii, are you watching the soap opera shows? Not all stepmothers are just like what you think."

"Then how about…"

"Don't worry, Murasaki, I'm fine," Kotake assured, knowing that his son would mention him as his next reason, "You're different with me. I already have so much memories with your mother, while you and Catherine just could live together in a year. You and Fami still need some love from another woman."

"Well… okay. I'm just still not sure if my daughter will agree to have a new mother or not," the purple haired young man finally admitted, "However, I should ask Fami-chan's permission, if I decided to marry someone, someday…"

"Then, you just need to choose someone who can love her like a normal mothers do," concluded Tsubomi before she heard her phone cell rang. She then decided to receive the phone in her bedroom while her husband added his opinion.

.O.

On Saturday, in the morning…

Nozomi expected that her breakfast would be a great breakfast, because all people in her family were there, staying for this weekend.

Actually, two people didn't make it, because they still needed to perform somewhere. They were Tonami and Tetsuo, Rizuko's parents.

Even so, something unexpected happened this Saturday, which made the brunette and her cousins were surprised, because apparently, she had more guests at her house…

"Shiro-chan?" asked Nozomi to the mentioned guests, who were none other than Shiroyuki and her mother, Kirarin, "Auntie Kira? When did you both arrive here?"

"Well… something happened last night, so we decided to come here and stay," replied Shiroyuki carefully while took a glance at her mother, "We arrived here when most of you were already sleeping last night, so…"

"What happened?" this time, it was Fami who asked her, "Shiro-chan, please share your problem with us."

"Actually, it's my problem, Fami-chan, and Shiro-chan doesn't really know about it," Kirarin quickly said. She tried her best to hide her sadness from the four girls around her, including her own daughter, "Well, it's better if we eat our breakfast now, or else, it would become cold."

All of them then started to eat, but still, Murasaki noticed that Kirarin seemed so sad, so he thought, 'Did Taneshiro do something bad to them?'

For now, the only one who knew about the problem was Tsubomi, as she also the one who suggested Kirarin to stay at her large house with Shiroyuki. Even so, it was still possible that Shiroyuki knew about her mother's problem and then told Fami, Nozomi and Rizuko about it.

Even so, since the breakfast time, Murasaki kept wondering about it, so when he was in the living room just with her, he kept asking his childhood friend about her problem, and finally, she fell into his hug while whispered the truth. This time, she couldn't hold on her tears anymore. She cried.

Meanwhile, the four witch apprentices also talked about the same thing in Nozomi's room.

"What? Shiro-chan, are you sure that you saw your father went home with someone else?" asked Nozomi in disbelief, "but… how can? I mean, it's Uncle Taneshiro whom we talk about, and I think… he loves your mother so much."

"I don't know," Shiroyuki shook of her head, "I just saw them talked in the living room, but… mama told me that they could do something further once I fell asleep."

"Hmm…"

"By the way, who was the one that he brought home to your house?" asked Fami, "I mean, I don't think that Uncle Taneshiro would do something like that. How if it's just a misunderstanding between your parents?"

"Well, it was his secretary," replied Shiroyuki, "Then, what should we do now?"

"Only one way to find out," said Nozomi while walked to the door and opened it, "It's time for us to investigate this problem."

.O.

"I can't believe that he could do something like that. I hoped it was just a nightmare but actually it was real!"

"Kira-chan, don't conclude something before you ask him. How if actually, they were just talking about their work project?"

Back to the living room at Tsubomi's house, where Murasaki still tried to calm Kirarin down.

"Even so, why should he remove his coat and give it to his secretary so easily like that? They must be doing something before I arrived there."

"If they did something like what you say, you would find them in your bedroom, because they wouldn't ever let Shiro-chan found them… naked, in the living room," Murasaki broke his hug and told her his opinion, "and you said that they completely wore their own clothes when you found them there, right?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just too jealous."

"Kira-chan…" Murasaki shook of his head, then took out his smartphone, "I'll call Tane-kun and ask him to come here to explain the truth."

"No! Don't call him!"

"I should, because we should know the truth," said him while waiting for Taneshiro to answer his calling, "At least in his version… Ah, Tane-kun, can you come to Tsubomi-chan's house right now? There's something that I want to talk with you… Yeah, right now. I'll be waiting for you. See you."

"Murasaki-kun…"

"Honestly, Kira-chan, as your best friend, I don't want to see your family broken just because of a misunderstanding between you both," Murasaki admitted, "That's why we need Tane-kun here to confirm if his meeting with his secretary last night was a business meeting or a private meeting like what you said."

"But…"

"I know that you both are loving each other. I know very well that Tane-kun would do anything just for you, because he really loves you so much."

"Alright, if you think it's better for us to hear his explanation, I want to meet him here," said Kirarin softly, "I want to hear his explanation."

"You know, your daughter would be sad if you simply decided to divorce before hear Tane-kun's explanation," replied the purple haired young man, "Do you want to see her sad?"

"No, of course not," Kirarin quickly shook of her head, "Shiro-chan is my treasure, and I don't want to see her sad."

"Then we just need to wait patiently until Tane-kun comes and explains everything."

Kirarin nodded, and several minutes later, someone walked into the living room…