"Er..."
"Maybe I should stick around awhile, see you drive, huh? I have plenty
of time on my hands. Could stay hours, if I have to!"
Kanpeki smiled at Haruka. "She's just being silly. I hope it works out
for you... it's hard for girls to get into racing, I'm sure Engi-san's
told you." She turned to Murasaki. "We need to be going now, you know...
Mic-- uh, my sister's waiting for us and all."
"Right... right... well, see you, Haruka-chan."
"Um, bye, Murasaki-chan."
Haruka was amazed at the two; she'd never thought two girls really
could have a relationship. She shook her head and turned back to
watching Engi and Hayasa work on the car.
 
 
"Is she done yet?" Michiru asked Kanpeki quietly.
"Yup. See, told you it wouldn't take long. Now we can go to that art
museum!"
Michiru would ordinarily be excited, but today she felt sleepy and had
no interest in anything. The only reason she'd gone with Murasaki and
Kanpeki was because her parents decided they should all spend time
together, not realizing their blond daughter had other reasons for
wanting to spend time with Murasaki. Michiru had no interest in racing,
so she stayed outside while the couple went inside.
"Hey, Michiru-chan, you'll never believe who we saw in there!" Kanpeki
said excitedly.
"... No, I probably won't, who?"
"Haruka!"
Michiru's eyes shot up. "You've got to be kidding."
"Nope, it was definitely her," Murasaki said. "We talked a little bit.
She seems to have taken an interest in racing."
"She's in there?! Now?!"
"Calm down!" Kanpeki said.
"Did she... um, did she seem all right?"
Murasaki and Kanpeki exchanged a confused glance. "I got the impression
that she's a bit... well, out of it. She didn't say that much, kinda
fumbled for words and mumbled a lot. I guess she doesn't get out much
or something."
"...Yeah..."
"She's very pretty," Kanpeki said in a helpful tone.
Murasaki looked shocked. "Kanpeki!"
"Don't worry, I still think you're the most beautiful person in the
world," she said with a wink, "but that doesn't mean there aren't
other pretty people around."
"Do you, um, think she's still there?"
 
"Onee-chan... there's a lot of people in there, and most of them
are guys. I think they'd notice you watching her, and I don't think
it'd be easy to keep an eye on her while fighting off all their silly
flirting, you know?"
Michiru sighed sadly. "Yeah..."
"C'mon, we'll go to the museum and have fun. You can see her some other
time."
"... Oh ok..."
"And we better hurry... you have to go record some more, don't you?"
"Yeah... I have to make that CD," Michiru grumbled.
"What're parents for, eh? Hey, wouldn't it be interesting if they
actually noticed _me_, too? I mean, they are soooo ignorant--"
"Yeah..."
 
 
Haruka left the track a few hours later, after promising Engi and
Hayasa she'd return the following day. Engi was really great, she
decided, almost like... she sighed bitterly, like a _real_ father,
unlike her own. And Hayasa... he was just such a nut, and she could
see he was good to his friends. She'd never really had friends before
... except... Again, a bitter sigh, remembering her childhood friends,
Sai and Cindy.
She was inwardly expecting the reaction she got when she finally got
home.
"Where have you been?!" Sunao shouted, wringing her hands in upset.
"I've been worried sick about you!"
"I'm sorry, okaa-san... I was..." Haruka grinned sheepishly. "I was at the
race track."
"And _what_ were you doing there?!"
"Oh okaa-san, it was so wonderful! Everything moves so fast, and I met this
nice guy named Engi who runs the garage and he says I can try out driving
tomorrow, and maybe I can race, too!"
"Race?" Sunao sat down hard on the couch and grabbed a half-full glass
that was sitting there. "Haruka-chan... you know only men can race."
"I know, I know... but Engi-san said he'll sneak me in... and I'm going
to have to pretend I'm a boy anyways, so it'll be just like... I dunno,
extra practice."
"I don't know... racing isn't very safe..." Sunao took a sip from the
glass and slowly swallowed.
"Well... think of the money, okaa-san!"
Sunao sighed. "If... if you really want to... but you had better be VERY
careful, young lady!"
Haruka laughed and hugged her tightly. "I will, I will!"
They sat for a bit, then Sunao asked, "Anything else interesting happen?"
"Well... I ran into Murasaki-san while I was there. She was visiting her
friend, Hayasa-san."
"Oh really? That's good. How is she?"
"She's... fine. Just great."
Sunao raised an eyebrow. "Ahhhh... Say, was she there with anyone?"
Haruka nervously asked, "Why?"
Sunao chuckled and leaned back. "Teinei says Murasaki's been interested
in this nice girl named Kanpeki for awhile, and she thought they might
have gone out--"
"Oh all right, yes, they were there together and yes, they are seeing each
other now-- just last night, ok? That was their first date."
"That's great," Sunao said with a smile. "Teinei's was always talking
about how she wished Murasaki would meet a nice girl... It's amusing,
actually, how she looks at Murasaki as if she were a daughter even though
she's a second cousin..."
Haruka voice wavered a bit as she asked, "Okaa-san, do you find it...
um, unusual that... Murasaki... uh, likes girls?"
Sunao raised an eyebrow to her. "Well, it's not what most people are,
but there's nothing wrong with it, nothing at all. I've had many friends
that were... er, well, why do you ask?"
Haruka looked away. "... No reason..."
Sunao gazed down into her glass. "A shame you can't just tell me," she
whispered.
Haruka jumped a bit. "Uh, er, what do you mean?"
"I hoped you would just admit it to me on your own, but I guess I'll have
to just bring it up myself." Sunao let her glass down, then sat in a prim
fashion, legs crossed with hands resting on her knees. "You're lesbian."
Haruka coughed a bit and tried to look anywhere but at her mother. "Um...
well... uh..."
Sunao smiled and chuckled. "Haruka, you don't have to hide it from me. I'm
your _mother_. Believe me, I'm fine with it."
Haruka blushed a bit. "Really?"
"Yes." Sunao gave her a hug. "I'm not one of those psycho moms that is
desperate for grandchildren and will stop at nothing to get their daughter
together with any guy willing to have them."
"That's good," Haruka said, laughing weakly.
"You still seem a bit... well, why can't you just be open with me? We never
talked much at all until today."
"I know... I know..." Haruka fought back tears. "But... I just... after my
father--"
"Not otou-san?" Sunao asked with amusement.
"pfttt! He's just some bast-- uhhhh, he's a jerk, and I won't call him by
that."
"Heh heh, go on."
"Well... he... found out... Sai-chan came over to ask me out, and it
slipped... guess it was too obvious on my face... my father saw the
whole thing and... well, you know how he was..."
"Oh, Haruka, I would never hurt you, not my own daughter!"
Haruka sighed and lay back on the couch. "I know... but... I'm just so
afraid to tell anyone _anything_, after what he did..." Haruka clenched
her fist tightly. "He really messed me up..."
"Things will be all right," Sunao said soothingly. "You can work past it."
"Yeah..." Haruka mumbled. "I hope so."
"You'll meet someone, one day, just like Murasaki did."
Haruka raised an eyebrow slightly. "Are you _sure_ you have no
objections?"
"As long as you're happy," Sunao said with a smile.
"Hmmm." Haruka shut her eyes, struggling with her thoughts. God, why
couldn't she remember... she vaguely remembered seeing someone...
But as for what Sunao had said... maybe one day she could meet someone...
she blushed a bit at the thought.
"You all right, Haruka?"
"F-fine."
Haruka ran to her room and quickly slammed the door.
Sunao laughed a bit. Haruka was a bit flustered over the idea... it was
quite cute. That was good, she was starting to feel things again, she
wasn't shut off to her emotions... and the sooner she recovered, the
sooner she could meet that nice girl, Michiru, and... well, Michiru was
quite interested in a relationship, and Haruka should be, too...
Sunao sat back in her chair and smiled.
 
 
Haruka sat, leaning against the door. She could feel her heart racing
quickly. God, why did she have to--
What the hell...
She couldn't see... everything had gone black...
Red and black swirling around, so dark... the wind was cold,
terrifying...
A building, crumbling, shattering, destroyed by energy...
A beautiful girl in a sailor suit, hovering in the air, surrounded
in a greenish glow, eyes closed, hands folded together...
"The Silence is approaching. We have to find the Messiah quickly.
Only you and I can do this!"
Haruka shuddered as she opened her eyes. The girl in the vision... she
seemed familiar...
What could something that horrible mean? Why had she seen such a vision?
She rubbed her temples a bit.
"I'm going crazy. I really am going crazy."
 
 
**********
 
 
It wasn't as hard as Sunao expected to enroll Haruka at Goban Yobi-ko.
True, she had to make up things for some parts of the application and
lie on others, but it would all work out in the end.
Once they'd processed the form and called her back, she went to the
school to pick up Haruka's new uniform.
Sunao was in awe the moment she stepped foot on the campus. It was clearly
a very serious preparatory school, with all the latest facilities.
She went to the main office and waited a suprisingly short amount of time
for the uniform to be delivered to her. She raised a quizzical eyebrow as
she looked over it; pants with a sky blue and navy plaid pattern and sky
blue jacket, white dress shirt, and a navy tie. She sighed inwardly; it was
for the best, though Sunao thought Haruka would look silly in it.
She was turning to leave when she bumped into a woman with wavy blue
hair pulled back in a tight bun. She quickly muttered an apology, then
noticed the woman seemed familiar.
"Pardon me, do we know each other?" the other woman asked.
"I was just about to ask the same thing!" Sunao said with a laugh.
The woman held out her hand. "Kaiou Ki."
"Kaze Sunao-- waitaminute..." Sunao had a sharp memory, and she
remembered vaguely a trip to the grocery store while pregnant...
"Ah, I remember now. We met a long time ago; you were pregnant with
triplets and..." Sunao bit her lip a bit, "I was pregnant with twins."
Ki's forehead crinkled with amusement. "Good memory. I seem to remember
you by another name... ?"
"I, ah, am filing for divorce... my last name had been Ten'ou."
"Say, I know a woman named Ten'ou Teinei, an in-law maybe?"
"My best friend! Yes, she was my sister-in-law... How do you know her?"
"She's my neighbor, actually," Ki said with a laugh. "The girl who lives
with her is great friends with one of my daughters... one of the triplets,
as a matter of fact."
"Oh really? Hmmm, so, tell me about them."
"Well, there's the oldest, Genki, the middle Michiru, and the youngest is
Kanpeki. Genki, he's the sweetie, pretty good in school... Michiru loves art,
the violin, swimming, and she's quite smart..."
A cold shock went through Sunao. Kaiou Michiru... that nice girl that liked
Haruka, that had saved their lives!
"--and Kanpeki's the quiet one of the family, and I don't believe she's ever
had friends over until Murasaki-- that's the girl staying with Teinei."
"Oh yes, I know Murasaki..." She was pretty much tuning out the babble about
the kids. Hmmm, wait, did she mention a girl named--
"Oh I'm sorry! I forgot about you and Teinei... Anyways, Kanpeki's smart and
seems to like art somewhat" Ki's voice beamed with pride. "A good, large family,
all attending this school."
"That's wonderful."
"So, how are the twins?"
Sunao felt a sharp pang in her heart, and would have confessed completely
what happened, but instead just said, "I'm enrolling the survivor here,
one died shortly after birth."
"My God! I'm so sorry!" Ki's eyes grew wide and concerned.
"It's all right... it was... it was a long time ago. And I still have a
child." Sunao smiled slightly, sadly.
"I wish we could talk more, but I have errands to run. Good to see you
again, Sunao-san."
"You too, Ki-san."
They parted their separate ways then.
It was just as Sunao was sitting down in her car that the humor of the
situation hit her.
"Kanpeki and Michiru are sisters? But... Kanpeki's seeing Murasaki...
and Michiru is interested in Haruka..."
Sunao had a good, long laugh about that as she drove home.
 
 
"Here it is," Sunao said as she handed Haruka the uniform.
Haruka wrinkled her nose up a bit. "And I only have till tomorrow to be
used to it."
"It's not that bad."
"But... it has _plaid_..."
"The high school uniform has it, too."
Haruka sighed bitterly. "Oh well..."
"You better try it on, you know. Make sure it fits and that your...
that you look like a boy in it."
Haruka nodded and carried it into her room. This was going to take a bit
of work. She slipped on a sports bra before putting on the uniform, then
checked herself in the mirror. It didn't _quite_ hide her... but it wasn't
that noticeable.
"Now, what can I do about my face and hands?"
Haruka quickly concluded that nothing could be done for her hands, and
went to work with makeup. After applications of dark eyebrow pencil, some
pale colored mascara that made the tips of her lashes looked more sun-bleached
(and thereby looking shorter), and some fancy use of concealer and powder to
make her face seem more masculine, plus a tiny bit of cologne, she stepped out
into the living room.
Sunao's hands flew to her mouth and she stood up slowly. "Haruka... you
really pulled it off."
Haruka grinned sheepishly. "Good!"
"Wow... I think this may work. You're... well, you're tall enough and your
voice is deep enough to pass for a guy's--"
"Hey!"
"I'm not trying to be insulting! Anyways, I think you'll do fine... Mmm,
wait, you _are_ wearing a bra?"
Haruka's face turned bright red. "_Yes_, of course!"
"That isn't going to work, doesn't hide it enough. I think..." Sunao sighed.
"Wait here a moment."
"What are you doing?"
"You'll see."
Sunao returned with long strips of cloth. "Now, it's going to be uncomfor--"
"Okaa-san! That'll _hurt_!"
"Well, how else will you hide it? You... uh, fill out the top too much to
hide with just a bra."
Haruka grumbled and took the cloth, slamming the door to her room. She
returned after a few minutes.
"There you go, perfect."
"This is quite irritating."
"Well, it works, doesn't it?"
"_You_ try binding your breasts. It is _not_ enjoyable."
Sunao chuckled a bit. "Let's just go in and get your hair trimmed... it'll
give you the chance to practice, anyways."
The hair salon wasn't that far from the apartment, so the drive was rather
short. Haruka held the door for Sunao, who almost laughed at the sight, the
followed her to the counter.
"How may I help you?" the blond lady behind the counter asked.
"My son would like a haircut," Sunao said calmly.
The blond rather obviously and appreciatively looked Haruka over. "I
just need to take your name down, and it'll be about a fifteen minute
wait."
"Haruka."
"Howsabout a phone number?" she asked with a wink.
"Ahhh... sorry, I don't have time for a girlfriend."
Sunao led Haruka to the chairs, chuckling softly.
"You definitely can fool people," Sunao commented quietly.
"Uh, yeah, I guess I do."
"And you are remembering to use masculine terms instead of feminine; very,
very good job."
"Ummm... thanks."
Haruka kinda liked having that woman flirt with her. No one had ever
flirted with her before, except for (*shudder*) Sai-chan.
"You really wouldn't have minded having her phone number, would you?"
"Oh hush, okaa-san!... She's not my type, anyways."
It drove her nuts waiting for her turn. She had never been patient,
and waiting for fifteen minutes with nothing to do was torture.
"Ten'ou Haruka?"
Finally! Haruka went over and sat in the indicated chair, and a balding,
mustached man starting getting hair tools together.
"So, what are we in for today, sir?"
Haruka laughed silently to herself and said, "I need a major trim... it's
getting too long in the back, need a bit off the sides and bangs, too."
He looked over her hair and chuckled. "You sure've let it go! How long has
it been since you've gotten it cut?"
Haruka shrugged and he got to work.
She was pleased at how quickly things went from there. In no time, she was
out the door with Sunao and heading home.
"Well, do you like your hair?" Sunao asked as they were driving.
"Eh, it's definitely different... but it makes the guise more convincing."
"Well, it _is_ quite convincing."
"Yeah... just got to make sure I talk and act like a guy... and it wouldn't
hurt to gain a little weight; I'm so thin, ugh! I need to fill out the shoulders
a bit more."
"Shouldn't be too hard after awhile."
"Yeah."
They were stuck in traffic awhile before they reached home, and Haruka
promptly went to remove the bindings and put on a loose shirt, then went into
the kitchen for a snack. Now that she could actually eat when she was hungry
rather than let it go away because she didn't acknowledge it, she was eating
quite often. Sunao wasn't mad that she ate a lot; like Haruka said, she needed
to gain weight.
"Well, I need to go to the grocery store and the mall to get some things,
so I'll see you later, all right?"
Haruka nodded and mumbled, "Bye, okaa-san," between bites of food as Sunao
was walking out the door.
Once she was done eating, she flopped onto the bed in her room, grabbed her
notebook, and started writing frantically about the vision she'd had.
 
 
**********
 
 
Haruka wobbled slightly on her feet as she stepped out of the car, a huge
grin on her face. Engi and Hayasa were clapping enthusiastically, and
several other racers gave her encouraging slaps on the back. It was the
third time she'd taken the car out on the track, and she'd performed
perfectly.
"Waa hoo! I can't believe it!" Engi shouted, laughing as he shook his head.
"It took months, no, years to get some of these boys in shape to race, and
you just went out there like there was nothin' to it! Incredible!"
"Guess it just comes naturally to me," Haruka said with a sheepish smile.
"I'd like to do a practice run with you," Hayasa said, eyes gleaming. "Let's
see how you do with someone else out there."
Haruka laughed and shrugged. "Why not?"
She slid behind the seat of the Formula 1 car, pulling the helmet back on
over her head. Hayasa gave her a thumbs up and they both turned to watch
the signals. Haruka felt the sudden exhilaration as she had before once she
hit the accelerator and shot down the track. She couldn't believe how
wonderful it was, going so incredibly fast, with only your skills and
instincts to keep you from making a fatal mistake.
Hayasa shot out from behind her and pulled ahead. The corner of her mouth
twitched and she pulled in front of him effortlessly. This was a hard sport?
It was _fun_! He tried to nudge her to the side to get around her, but she
kept him back. She floored the accelerator and finished the final lap with
ease. Once she was able to slow to a stop, she practically leapt from the seat,
shouting out loudly in excitement.
"You _have_ to let me enter a race, Engi-san, pleeease!" She clasped her hands
in front of her as she plead with him. "You see how well I do!"
"Not so fast," he said, steadying her with his hand. "You need more than a day's
worth of driving, just to make sure. And you need to make sure you can handle more
than just one other car being out there with you."
"Well, let's get more out there then! I want to race!"
Engi laughed, and Hayasa came over with his hand stretched towards her. "Incredible
performance, Haruka-chan. I can't believe a beginner beat _me_."
"Maybe you're not as good as you think," she said with a wink.
"On the contrary," Engi said quietly, "he's one of the top racers in Japan right
now."
Haruka felt her heart thud hard. "Really? Hayasa-kun?"
"It's true. Believe me, I didn't hold back at all out there. You have some real
natural talent, Haruka-chan, to beat me that easily on your first try!"
"Um, wow!"
Hayasa and Engi both laughed.
"C'mon, girl, you better get out there again. Howsabout we race you next week if
you do good the next few days?"
"Yesssss!!"
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER 8
~~~~~~~~~~
 
 
"Class, we have a new student. Everyone, this is Ten'ou Haruka."
Haruka bowed to the class, who had just finished bowing to the teacher,
ignoring the stares of pretty much all the girls in the class. The guys all
had jealous looks on their faces, immediately recognizing a rival for the
girls' attention.
Kemmei-sensei pushed up his glasses and turned to Haruka. "Would you
like to say anything to the class, Ten'ou-san?"
"No, thank you."
"All right, why don't you take one of the empty seats in the back? We'll
be rotating seats soon, anyways."
Haruka nodded and went to the back of the room and took a seat off to
the side by a window where no one else was. She winked as she went by to
a girl who was staring especially hard at her. Might as well fit the part,
she thought with a laugh. Guys seem to flirt at every cute girl in sight.
"Well, class, we better get going or we'll be late for tyourei. Everyone
head for the stairs; no way we can all fit in the elevators, and after
the fiasco last week..."
Haruka heard various groans as everyone lined up and walked downstairs to
the courtyard. Haruka whistled under her breath at the number of students
attending this school. Then again, with a school this enormous, they had
better have a lot of people to occupy the space. She'd heard a rumor that
there were actually some rooms on campus where students lived, those who
had been sent from so far away that returning home except for weekends
and holidays would be torture. She stood with her class, not really paying
attention to the principal's speech, something about cherry blossoms and
studying, somehow trying to connect them. Ah well.
The class went back to their room after that for History. Bleecccch.
While the teacher was talking about some silly historical thing, Haruka
quietly wrote in her notebook. No sense in being bored. She got quite a
number of poems finished.
The teacher called on her to answer a question. Just as she opened her
mouth to speak, it hit her again.
Blood red dripping across the sky, black splatters, waves of color
Sharp pain of the wind, hit with the pieces of a falling building...
Beautiful girl floating in the air, glowing, talking about the Silence,
the Messiah, our duty...
"Ten'ou-san? Is something wrong?"
"No, Kemmei-sensei," she said, then answered the question.
Damn that vision! Why now?... Why at all?! What did it mean? She'd had it
twice between the first and this, at least during the day, and she saw
it when she slept. What did it mean?
Once the lecture was finally over, the class had a long break, fifteen minutes
to be exact, so they could talk a bit and get to their next class. Suddenly,
it seemed all the girls in the class had swarmed around her.
"Nice to meet you, Ten'ou-san!" "Oh wow, he's SO cute!" "Do you have a
girlfriend?" "Back off, he's MINE!" "*sigh* He has such nice eyes!" "Do
you want some of my bento at lunch today?" "No way, he's gonna eat MY
bento!" "_Mine_!" "MINE!"
"Ok ok, calm down, girls," Haruka said, about ready to throttle them.
"Suuuuure," they sighed dreamily.
"Excuse me please, I have to go... I have another class to get to..."
"Ohhhh... fiiiine..."
Haruka rolled her eyes as she got on the elevator and went several floors
up for the next class.
Oh yay, a language class of sorts... I really hate this subject... God, I
can't wait for class to be over; this is so boring! Haruka lay her head down
and almost fell asleep.
It was off to an appointment with the guidance counselor at the start of
the next class. She had refused to take P.E. and had to discuss her 'options'
with the school.
"Now, while I find my things, tell me why you won't take P.E., Ten'ou-san,"
the old woman told her.
Haruka sighed. This would be _fun_. "I don't see the necessity of it. I'm
already great at sports. I'm part of a racing team now--"
"Racing?"
"Motor-sports."
"Ah, really? Well, we require that you have some form of school board
sponsored physical activity. Anything you'd be interested in? Lessee,
basketball, volleyball, fencing, football..."
Haruka yawned.
"Well, what would you enjoy?"
"I dunno."
"Hmmm, there's after-school track... you could do that, and this could be
a free period."
"Is this strictly our school?" Haruka didn't want to reveal her gender any
more than she had to.
"Well, several schools meet a few times a week. There's only... lessee, one
person from our school in there... but it would count in place of physical
education."
"All right, that'll be fine."
"Good! Now, why don't you go to the library or something... do something
educational, ok?"
"... Right..."
 
 
At lunch that day, Haruka once again had to fight off crazed girls, and
finally left the cafeteria to find somewhere else to eat. If she'd know she'd
get this much trouble from them, she might have just gone ahead and worn the
girls' uniform.
"Hey, Haruka, how's it going?"
Haruka turned to see Murasaki waving to her. She smiled and waved her over.
"Fine, Murasaki-chan, good to see you."
Murasaki lowered her voice and asked, "What's the guy's uniform for?"
"...I don't want anyone to know anything about me."
"That's odd. Ah well, whatever pleases you. Frankly, I think it'd be more
comfortable than this..." Murasaki gestured to the skirt she wore.
"Er... well, this isn't so great... It's, ah... difficult... to make myself
look flat in it."
"Well, depending on how you... Oh... Ouch!... Hey, didn't see you in P.E., are
you taking it?"
"No, that would be giving it away... I doubt any amount of binding could hide
it in those silly uniforms... I'll have track after school."
"That should be fun."
"What are you doing out of the cafeteria?"
"Just wandering, really, you?"
"Avoiding the annoying girls that seem determined to date me."
"Oh."
Haruka sipped her drink, then raised her eyebrow. "Say, where's Kanpeki? Why
aren't you eating with her?"
"Oh, uh, her sister's been... kinda down in the dumps lately, so she's making
sure she's ok... triplets... really close, y'know?"
"Ah. Must be... um, nice... to have siblings."
Murasaki, realizing it was a touchy subject, took off on another topic. "So,
how's the racing going?"
"Great! First real race is Friday."
"That's wonderful! Hey, I'll come cheer you on, all right?"
"That'd be good."
Murasaki looked down at her watch. "Well, I better be going. Want to finish
some homework early. See ya."
"See ya."
Haruka smiled. It was nice to have some family that cared.
 
 
School dragged on, but finally ended. It was time to head to the track.
Running was easy for her, so she expected no challenge what-so-ever.
She opened the door to a building on the track property and walked down the
hallway to a small office. A muscular woman with a long purple ponytail sat
with her feet propped on her desk, talking on the phone, a rather angry look
on her face. She slammed down the phone as Haruka entered.
"What do you want?"
"I'm going to be joining the team as a P.E. credit."