Chapter Seven: A Late Night Conversation
The streetlight in front of the house cast Haruka's warped shadow against the front door as she unlocked it as silently as possible. She opened the door quietly to prevent disturbing everyone sleeping inside; it was one-thirty in the morning. Late nights were a thing of custom for Haruka, she worked long, odd hours and arrived home at strange times. Some nights she arrived home much later if other jobs popped up but no such opportunity had presented itself tonight and so she had come straight home.
"I'm home," she announced quietly to the darkened hallway before she took her boots off. As she stepped further into the house she noticed a flickering light through the archway leading into the living room. Someone was still awake, really, it could only be one person. Making a detour into the kitchen, she grabbed a beer from the refrigerator then headed into the living room and plopped herself down on the couch next to the figure. The metal gave a sharp, loud crack and a hiss as she popped the top of the beer can. Taking a long pull of the contents she sighed in satisfaction as the liquid left a cold, biting trail down her throat.
"Welcome back," came a murmur and a small smile from her young companion before the girl's attention returned to the television.
"I'm back," Haruka answered, reaching out and ruffling the dark hair which caught the flickering light in shoulder length strands. "Don't you have school tomorrow?"
"Yes, but I couldn't sleep. I decided to checked on mama before coming in here. I knew you would be back early tonight."
"And what if I had another job lined up?" Haruka asked, surprised yet again by Hotaru's intuition. The girl had a knack for knowing when Haruka would arrive home.
Hotaru shrugged without answering, her gaze still on the television.
"How is she doing?" Haruka inquired, her voice low and full of concern.
"She's sleeping well tonight," Hotaru answered.
Haruka breathed a sigh of relief. Her mother's health had been getting progressively worse and there was nothing Haruka could do about it. Every hospital and doctor visit got more expensive. Her fists clenched tightly; it was all she could do to pick up as many odd jobs as possible. She worked herself ragged while trying to provide for Hotaru and her mother, Reina. She would gladly do it if it meant ensuring her mother's recovery but so far she was only able to barely keep the household afloat financially. Tears of frustration pricked at the corners of her eyes and she swiped her face angrily before Hotaru noticed.
"Papa stopped by this evening," Hotaru said above the low volume of the TV, her voice unaffected by the particular topic. She did not quite share the same feeling of contention Haruka carried towards their father.
"That useless drunk!" The blonde growled, none too pleased by the news, "What did he want this time?"
"He brought some peaches. And a bit of money he won while playing pachinko," Hotaru answered.
"Pachinko? He should be out there looking for a proper job to support his family, not gambling!" Haruka complained, her voice bitter. Her father, Satoru Tenoh, had been truly useless from as long as Haruka could remember and her relationship with him was less than ideal.
"It's true, Haruka is more of a papa than papa," Hotaru said as she leaned her head against the blonde's tense shoulder.
Haruka relaxed when she felt Hotaru's weight against her. She put her free arm around her half-sister's shoulder. Growing up, it had always been just Haruka and her mother. Occasionally her father showed up, more often than not reeking of booze. Sometimes he would brought small amount of money home and sometimes he took from Reina. Satoru was also a philanderer but Haruka had not learned of it until much later. Reina admitted she knew he saw other women and could do nothing about it. It saddened Haruka to learn Reina had just accepted Satoru's drunken behavior and infidelities. The blonde considered it a small mercy that he was not an abusive husband as well.
When Haruka was fourteen years old, her father had shown up with an eight year old dark-haired girl that looked just like him. She had known immediately that this girl was her sister. Her father had left Hotaru behind, claiming the girl's mother was no longer alive and from then on it had been Haruka, Hotaru and Reina together. Haruka, despite being angry with her father could not bear to display that anger to the girl. After all, Hotaru had just lost her mother and had Satoru for a father. Early on she was very protective of the quiet Hotaru, discovering a different kind of happiness, one which came with having a sibling.
Haruka thought Satoru had finally done something right when he brought Hotaru home seven years ago. She could not imagine life without her little sister who had grown into a thoughtful, intelligent and surprisingly funny girl.
"I'm sorry I leave you alone with mom so much," Haruka squeezed Hotaru's arm gently as she apologized.
"I don't mind, I know it's because you have to work so hard to support us," Hotaru admitted with a gentle smile aimed at the blonde. "I want to help too, and if I means I have to take care of mama then I will gladly do it. You don't have to be the only one to work hard."
Haruka gave the girl's arm another squeeze in response to Hotaru's words. "You're the best little sister anyone could ever ask for!" Haruka grinned when she noticed the flush of color in the girl's cheeks in response to her words.
"Ehh! Haruka, let go, you're squeezing me!" Hotaru wheezed as she struggled to escape Haruka's grip. "Don't tell me you've developed a sister complex now!"
The blonde's only response was a chuckle before she began to tickle her smart aleck of a sister.
-x-x-x-
A few days after that particular conversation with Hotaru, Haruka found herself in the vicinity of St. Lulim's campus due to business. Her dark blue gaze was drawn to the lush green grounds teeming with students while the school buildings loomed impressively in the background. She would have been lying if she said she did not feel a twinge of envy when noticing the studious yet carefree students. It had been a secret hope of hers to attend the university but the day Reina got sick the hope died. There was no way she could afford to pay tuition as well as the hospital fees. She shook her head, about to walk away when a flash of familiar green hair caught her attention before it disappeared again.
"Michiru..." she exhaled the name, suddenly overcome with a rush of yearning. It had been close to two weeks since she followed the woman home. Her life had gone back to normal as if nothing had happened but in the odd moments when Haruka didn't have to think about anything else her thoughts returned to the few hours she had spent with the woman. She could remember with excruciating detail Michiru's expressions but the one that stayed with her the most was the look of Michiru's face while she slept.
Catching hold of herself she pushed the unwanted emotions away and strode to her motorcycle parked nearby. Throwing one long leg over the seat of the machine she donned her helmet. That was a one time thing. We're from different worlds, Michiru and I. The motor under her sputtered then caught, the roar of the painstakingly restored 1980's Bonneville a beloved sound. When she pulled away from the curb she failed to notice Michiru exiting the gates behind her, nakedly displaying surprise and pain.
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