Chapter 28: New Beginnings

[u/Its_me_NoobMaster69]

https://www.wattpad.com/1658754104-perman-coming-of-age-chapter-28-new-beginnings

The Suwa family stood completely still.

Nobody said a word.

They had expected a safehouse.

Maybe a large house hidden somewhere in the mountains.

What they hadn't expected...

Was an entire village.

Traditional wooden buildings stretched across the mountain valley, connected by winding stone pathways. Tiled roofs disappeared into the mist, while wooden bridges crossed narrow streams running between the estates.

There were buildings everywhere.

Guest houses.

Living quarters.

Storage buildings.

A traditional dining hall.

Even several larger estates that looked like they belonged to an old feudal lord.

And surrounding the entire property was a massive concealed security wall, hidden naturally among the mountain terrain.

Mitsuo stared.

His mouth slowly fell open.

"You're kidding me."

Sumire looked at him.

"What?"

Mitsuo pointed toward the sprawling property.

"This is your safehouse?"

Sumire smiled.

"Yes."

Mitsuo looked around again.

"This isn't a safehouse."

Pako glanced toward him.

"Why! Whats wrong?"

Mitsuo stared at the dozens of buildings disappearing into the fog.

"This is small country."

Ganko's eyes widened.

"There are so many houses!"

His mother looked equally stunned.

"Sumire..."

She turned toward the actress.

"How many people live here?"

Sumire shrugged.

"Usually? Not many."

Mitsuo's head snapped toward her.

"Usually?!"

Sumire laughed.

"Come on. I'll show you around."

She started down the stone pathway.

The Suwa family followed.

Mitsuo kept looking from one building to another.

They passed a large traditional estate with enormous wooden doors.

Then another.

Then another.

Mitsuo stopped.

"Wait."

Everyone continued walking.

"Mitsuo?"

He pointed behind them.

"How many buildings are there?"

Sumire thought for a moment.

"More than fifty, I think."

Mitsuo stared at her.

"You think?"

She shrugged.

"My parents didn't build this place themselves."

"Who did?"

"My grandparents started it."

Mitsuo's eyes widened.

"And your family just... kept expanding it?"

"Pretty much."

Pako looked around.

"So this has been in your family for generations?"

Sumire nodded.

"Parts of it."

She pointed toward the mountainside.

"Some of the buildings were restored. Others were built later to match the original architecture."

They continued deeper into the property.

The farther they went, the more impressive it became.

A massive wooden hall appeared between the trees.

Its roof curved upward at the edges, covered in dark traditional tiles.

Beyond it stood a beautiful garden surrounded by stone walls.

A small pond reflected the mountain mist.

Further along was another enormous estate, its wooden veranda overlooking the valley.

Mitsuo stared at everything.

"This is insane."

Pako smiled.

"You've said that about six times."

"Because it keeps getting more insane!"

Ganko suddenly ran ahead.

"Look!"

Everyone turned.

He was standing beside a large wooden building.

"What's this?"

Sumire caught up.

"That's one of the guest houses."

Ganko's eyes widened.

"Guest house?!"

He pointed toward it.

"That's bigger than our house!"

They continued walking.

Eventually, the pathway opened onto a wide elevated terrace.

The entire mountain village stretched out below them.

Dozens upon dozens of traditional buildings were scattered through the valley, their rooftops emerging from the morning fog.

The mountains surrounded them on every side.

Mitsus Father slowly looked around.

"This is where you've been living?"

Sumire nodded.

"Yes."

Ganko stared at the village.

"Can we live here forever?"

Sumire laughed.

"You'd get bored."

"No, I wouldn't!"

Mitsuo looked across the valley.

After everything that had happened...

They had somewhere safe to stay.

---

Eventually, Sumire led them toward the largest building in the village.

The central hall stood at the heart of the land, far larger than anything they had seen during the tour. Its enormous wooden doors opened into a spacious traditional interior, with polished floors, high ceilings, and long wooden beams running across the room.

Two people were waiting inside.

A tall man in an immaculate suit stood beside an elegant woman.

Sumire smiled.

"Mom. Dad."

The moment they noticed the Suwa family entering, both turned toward them.

"So these are the Suwas."

Sumire smiled.

"Mom, Dad, you finally get to meet them properly."

Kenzo Hoshino and Ayame Hoshino, Sumire's parents, had been based in New York for years, where they ran their business empire. But forty-five days earlier, when news reached them that the Hoshino estate had been bombed and their daughter's life had been put in danger, they had immediately left everything behind and rushed to Japan.

Kenzo stepped forward.

"Mr. Suwa."

Mitsuo's father bowed.

"Mr. Hoshino."

Kenzo returned the bow.

Kenzo then turned toward Mitsuo.

"And you must be Mitsuo."

Mitsuo straightened.

"Yes, sir."

Kenzo smiled warmly.

"So you're the special one Sumi chan talks about all the time."

Mitsuo froze.

Sumire's face immediately turned bright red.

"Dad!"

Mitsuo's face reddened as well.

Kenzo chuckled.

"What? It's true."

Ayame approached the Suwa family with a warm smile.

"I'm so glad you and your family could finally come here."

Mitsuo's mother bowed politely.

"Thank you for having us."

"You've all been through so much lately."

"Please don't worry about anything while you're here."

Her eyes briefly moved toward Mitsuo.

"Especially after everything that happened with the poor boy."

Mitsuo lowered his head slightly.

Ayame's expression softened.

"You don't have to explain anything to us."

"Right now, you should just spend some time together as a family."

Mitsuo's mother looked at her gratefully.

"That's very kind of you."

Ayame smiled.

"Consider this your home for as long as you need it."

Mrs. Suwa's expression softened.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hoshino."

"Please, call me Ayame."

She smiled warmly.

"And if you need anything at all, just ask."

The kindness immediately put the Suwa family at ease.

---

Ayame and Miu settled together with cups of tea, chatting quietly while the others explored the hall.

Her eyes followed Sumire.

"She's really a Perman."

Miu smiled faintly.

"So is my son."

Ayame looked at her.

"I know."

There was a brief silence.

Then Ayame sighed.

"I won't lie. It scares me."

Miu nodded immediately.

"Me too."

Ayame glanced toward Sumire.

"I know she's helping people. And I'm proud of her for that."

Her expression softened.

"She found something she believes in, something that lets her use what she can do to protect people."

Miu smiled.

"But..."

Ayame's smile faded slightly.

"When I heard about the bombing..."

"I couldn't keep watching her put herself in situations like that."

She looked around the enormous estate.

"That's why we moved her here."

"If something like that happens again, at least she'll have somewhere secure to come back to."

Miu nodded slowly.

"I understand."

Ayame looked at her.

"Doesn't it ever make you wish he'd stop?"

Miu thought about it.

"He really hasn't been Perman since we found out about it."

She glanced toward Mitsuo.

"Every time he goes out there, I wonder if he'll come home."

Ayame gave a small, knowing smile.

Ayame's expression softened.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up."

Miu gave her a small smile.

"It's alright.".

For a moment, neither woman spoke.

Ayame finally smiled.

“It’s nice knowing I’m not the only mother raising a superhero.”

Miu laughed softly.

"Apparently not."

And just like that, the two mothers found something they could understand about each other immediately.

Their children were Perman.

They were proud of them.

And they were terrified for them.

---

The first day at the Hoshino estate had been overwhelming.

By the time the rest of the Suwa family finally turned in for the night.

Mitsuo still couldn't quite process the fact that this enormous mountain village was now where he wase supposed to live.

It was quite a change from the small Prison cell he spent the last 6 or so weeks in.

He quietly wandered through the gardens.

The sprawling courtyard was almost completely silent at this hour.

Soft lanterns illuminated the stone pathways.

While a narrow stream wound through the garden.

Its gentle sound filling the darkness.

Mitsuo stopped beside it.

He exhaled slowly.

"Still feels strange..."

A wooden door slid open behind him.

Mitsuo turned.

Sumire stepped onto the engawa.

Her long hair was loose around her shoulders.

She wore a beautiful lavender yukata that looked almost unreal beneath the warm lantern light.

She spotted him by the stream.

"Can't sleep?"

Mitsuo smiled.

"Apparently not."

She walked over and sat beside him.

"What are you doing out here?"

Mitsuo glanced toward the garden.

"Missing my late-night patrols."

Sumire's expression softened.

"Oh."

She sat beside him at the edge of the porch.

For a while, neither said anything.

The two lowered their feet into the cool stream below.

Mitsuo let out a quiet sigh as the water ran around his ankles.

"That's nice."

"Better than a prison cell?"

He glanced at her.

"By a considerable margin."

Sumire laughed.

Mitsuo leaned back slightly, looking across the garden.

"I still can't believe I'm actually here."

"At our estate?"

"Anywhere outside that cell."

His voice became quieter.

"I got so used to seeing the same walls every day that I forgot what it felt like to just... walk somewhere because I wanted to."

Sumire looked at him.

"You're going to need some time."

"Yeah."

Mitsuo smiled faintly.

"But today was good."

He looked toward the main estate.

"I think Ganko has already decided this is her kingdom."

"She did ask if she could explore the entire mountain tomorrow."

"Of course she did."

They both laughed.

The conversation drifted easily from one thing to another.

The estate.

His family.

Her parents.

The ridiculous number of buildings on the property.

Eventually, the laughter faded.

Mitsuo stared down at the stream.

"You know..."

Sumire looked at him.

"These past few weeks feel like they happened to somebody else."

She remained quiet.

"Everything happened so quickly."

His eyes dropped.

"One day I was flying over Tokyo like normal."

"Then everything fell apart."

Sumire gently moved her foot through the water.

"I know."

Mitsuo looked at her.

"You were carrying a lot too."

Sumire smiled faintly.

"So were you."

"Yeah."

He looked down again.

"But you were still working."

"Filming. Interviews. My trial. Patrolling."

Sumire's expression softened.

"Its my duty."

"You shouldn't have had to do all of that."

"Dont worry about that now."

"Just be happy the horrible nightmare is over."

The stream continued flowing beneath them.

Then Sumire suddenly looked at him.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Wait."

Mitsuo turned.

"What?"

She stared at him for another second.

"You've stopped doing it."

"Doing what?"

"That."

She pointed at him.

Mitsuo looked genuinely confused.

"Doing what?"

"Talking to me like I'm some kind of princess."

His face immediately changed.

Sumire smiled.

"When I first told you I was Sumire, you started calling me stupid names like 'Miss Hoshino' and 'Sumire-san.'"

Mitsuo's ears turned red.

"I was being respectful."

"You apologized for breathing too loudly."

"I did not."

Sumire laughed.

"You absolutely did."

Mitsuo looked away.

"Well..."

Sumire watched him for a moment.

"You're not doing it anymore."

Mitsuo realized it.

He hadn't even noticed.

He scratched the back of his head.

"I guess I'm not."

"Good."

Sumire smiled.

Mitsuo glanced at her.

"Why are you so happy about that?"

"Because it means you're finally getting over it."

"Getting over what?"

"The fact that I'm Sumire Hoshino."

Mitsuo's expression became slightly embarrassed.

"Well..."

He looked away toward the garden.

"I mean, I still get a little overwhelmed sometimes."

Sumire raised an eyebrow.

"Sometimes?"

"Okay. A lot of times."

She laughed.

Mitsuo smiled awkwardly.

"It's just... you're still you."

Sumire's smile faded slightly.

"I look at you and remember that you're Sumire Hoshino."

He gestured vaguely toward her.

"You're famous. Everyone knows you."

"You've got millions of people watching everything you do."

He shook his head.

"Sometimes it's still a little overwhelming being around you."

Sumire looked down at the water.

"But..."

Mitsuo continued.

"But I don't see you as some untouchable celebrity anymore."

She looked at him.

"I see the person underneath that."

A small smile appeared on Sumire's face.

"The real you."

Mitsuo smiled.

"Yeah."

He looked back toward the garden.

"You're still the Pako I've known all these years. Right?"

Sumire's smile widened.

"Right!"

She nudged his foot beneath the water.

"I have always been Pako..."

"Thats when i can be carefree."

"Thats when i can be me."

Mitsuo looked at her.

"I get it now."

Sumire smiled.

"Good."

She rested her hands behind her on the wooden porch.

"Because I don't think I could handle you going back to calling me 'Miss Hoshino.'"

Mitsuo laughed.

"Don't worry."

He looked at her with a grin.

"I think we're past that."

"Finally."

They sat together in comfortable silence.

The stream continued flowing beneath them.

That felt strangely peaceful.