Forced to Grow Up

Part 9

After talking with Lucy about her problems, Michiko quickly began to feel better and happier about everything. Everything her mother had told her clicked with something inside of her.

She no longer felt as if she needed to suppress the things she felt. She felt free. Free of fears, free of worries. This is who she was.

It had been a couple of days since the talk with Lucy and she felt now was the time to tell her father and brother.

"Mom!" Michiko yell-whispeted to Lucy since both Natsu and Masato were in the next room over.

"What?!" Lucy yell-whispered back.

"I'm ready." She whispered.

"Ready for what?" Lucy regularly asked.

"Keep your voice down!" Michiko continued to whisper to her mom.

"Fine. Ready for what?" Lucy asked, this time in a whisper.

"Ready to tell dad and Masato you-know-what." Michiko told her, still whispering.

Lucy squealed but quickly contained it remembering what Michiko said. "Really?"

"Yes, but I need your help."

"Sure, of course, anything." Lucy replied.

"I need you to go in there and tell them we're having a family meeting and whenever you think they're ready just call me in." Michiko explained.

"On it!" And with that Lucy left the kitchen and went into the living room, where Natsu and Masato had been hanging out.

"Hey guys, family meeting." Lucy told them.

"Lucy, is this about the box of cookies you bought yesterday? Because if it is, I didn't mean to eat them all. They just tasted so good I couldn't stop." Natsu admitted.

"What!? Ugh. No this is not what this is about. We'll talk about that later." She glared.

"So what is it about?" Masato asked.

"You'll see. Michiko, come on!" Lucy called.

Michiko walked into the room, nervous about how Natsu or Masato might react to what she was going to say. She smiled at her brother and father.

"Alright guys. I have called this family meeting because there is something important that you guys need to know." Michiko began.

"Please don't tell me it involves a boy..." Natsu sighed.

"It does not involve a boy." Michiko smiled, "it's actually the opposite. And that's because I don't like boys. I like girls." Michiko told them.

"Wait. Forreal?" Masato questioned. Michiko nodded her head happily.

Natsu sat there silently with his hand resting on his chin, thinking. "Dad..?" Michiko questioned.

"So... I won't have to worry about boys?" He asked. Masato and Lucy face palmed.

"No, dad. No boys." Michiko gave an awkward laugh.

"Well! Sounds good to me!" Natsu smiled, giving a big thumbs up.

"When did this become a thing?" Masato asked.

"Well, I started feeling it the start of the school year. But I had a talk with mom the other day and I realized I've always felt this way. But when I was younger I just suppressed it and never paid any mind to it." Michiko explained.

"So if I pulled up a picture of a cute girl, you'd also find her attractive?" Masato questioned.

"Probably." She answered.

"Nice." Masato nodded.

"I'm so proud of you, Michiko. You've handled this very well." Lucy praised her daughter.

"Thank you, mom." Michiko smiled.

"Well... while we're making announcements..." Masato began.

"What is it?" Natsu asked.

"A lot has happened. And you'll probably wonder why I've done what I've done." Masato continued.

"Come on, Sato. Get to it, we'll worry about our reaction when we get to that point." Michiko laughed a little.

"Well... I, well, Suno and I have decided to get back together." He admitted.

"What?" The rest of the family said in unison.

"There were some things I learned about Suno that put things together about why she acted the way she did. She's changed tremendously." He told them.

"Are you sure about that?" Michiko asked, skeptically.

"Yes. Meet her again, Mich. I promise it's like day and night the way she's changed. Give her another chance." He pleaded.

"Fine. But if I don't see a change, promise me you won't date her anymore."

"I promise." Masato smiled, knowing this time around things would be different.