the living room, then you can ask away." They went into the living room
and sat down on the couch. "Just out of curiosity, why _are_ you so
interested in learning about her when you just saw her today? Does she
even know who you are?"
Michiru blushed slightly. "She doesn't know me, at least as far as I know.
I... I saw her and thought she was very beautiful, I mean, physically
attractive and something about her struck me as being beautiful on the
inside as well, and was interested in learning more about her to confirm
that."
"This isn't an idol thing, is it?" Teinei gently asked. "Or just a friendly
thing?"
"...no..." Michiru turned away with embarrassment. Teinei sure was
observant. Then again, she had been pretty obvious with what she was
saying...
"It's perfectly all right," Teinei replied, and her voice indicated that
she really thought it was. She then grinned, "Quite frankly, I think
that Haruka-chan has 'other interests' as well. I sometimes drive over
near her school to pick her up and she's always looking at the girls
and ignoring the boys. I have no problem with that type of thing; I had
many close friends in school that were... y'know, and they had to hide
it; I accidentally found out. I feel sorry for them; because of their
parents, they had to end up marrying people they would never have choose
to marry, just because their parents were too prejudiced to accept that
they could be happy just as much with their own gender as with other
people, in fact they would be _happier_. I don't want to see that happen
to anyone else."
Michiru looked over to her with surprise, pushing back the hair that
had fallen across her face despite the headband she wore. "You really
think Haruka might be..." She blushed and coughed. "I can't believe I
just referred to her simply as Haruka!"
Teinei laughed, "It's all right, I won't tell a soul anything we discuss...
Well, if for some reason things work out with you two--" Teinei winked,
"--then I'll want to make it known to Haruka that _I_ helped with things.
Teinei the matchmaker, eh?"
Michiru blushed deeply and let her eyes wander around the room to the
pictures Teinei had up of her family and some friends of hers. "You're
very... blunt."
"Yeah, I know. It's my opinion that people will never know what you mean
unless you put it in plain terms."
"Well, some people can't seem to understand the simplest terms, so I
suppose it can be a wasted effort to try to talk at all to them," Michiru
chuckled. She fell silent for a few moments, then asked, "Haruka... she
seemed so lonely and everyone I talked to seems to think she's some
rude, unfriendly _wacko_. She isn't really like that though, is she?"
Teinei sighed and rested her chin on her hand. "That's a tough question
... When she was younger, she was so carefree, a bit too sure of herself
sometimes, not really unfriendly so much as everyone else just seemed
to want to avoid her for some reason. Around the end of elementary
school... she just changed overnight. I don't know what happened or how;
one day, she was talking to everyone, playing the piano, quite calm;
then the next... That night, her mother had spent time with her family,
leaving Haruka alone from the afternoon until evening, when my brother,
Katai, gets home, and she didn't see Sunao-chan until the next afternoon.
She was bruised, cut up, bandaged heavily, with a black eye... Said she'd
gotten into a fight the previous day, and Katai says so too. Ever since
then, she's been cold, withdrawn, barely said a word to anyone, even her
own family. It seems like every week now, she somehow gets beaten up.
I don't know what to think of it, but it scares me to think that maybe...
Well, all I can really confirm is the fact that she has changed since
then, probably not for the better."
"I think," Michiru started in a careful, soft voice, "that maybe she's
been hiding something ever since she first started getting beat up, and
it's scared her so badly that she keeps everyone away from her and acts
cold and silent because she's afraid to admit anything. It's wrong for
all those other students to be so cruel and think she's a bad person
just because of it. I..." She paused, and considered her words carefully,
before she said, "I think that somewhere in her is a hidden side of her,
a warmer side that she can't let out because of whatever this is she's
not telling anyone. I don't know how I can tell from looking at her, but
I think that deep inside, she's an incredible, gorgeous person that no
one knows about. She's pretty on the outside as well, but she's also
facing fight situations very frequently, and someone needs to put a stop
to that. Some people are physically beautiful but otherwise repulsive,
but not her."
"Haruka _is_ pretty; you should have seen her when she was a baby, she
was soooo adorable!" Teinei grabbed a picture from the lamp stand and
showed it to Michiru.
"Oh, she was so cute even then!..." Michiru breathed, then blushed at her
words.
Teinei chuckled. "Yep." She then set it down and her face turned serious
again. "But about what you said... I think what you are saying makes a
lot of sense, and I do wish I could help her, as her aunt and as a friend,
get through whatever situation it is she's facing. Someone is keeping
her from telling anyone, I think, whoever it is that is doing this to
her. I have suspicions as to who it could be... but..." She bit her lip
and broke off.
"Teinei-san? Please, tell me. I want to know... if I know of any suspects,
 
 
 
maybe I can keep an eye out for anything that would suggest that it
really is this person. I--" She could feel herself color again, "I want
to learn about her, not just from what other people tell me, but I want
to observe her, follow her around and see what she does, and if I am
going to do this, I want to help her anyway I can by trying to figure
out what's wrong and get help for her without placing her in danger."
Teinei looked at her with genuine awe. "My God..." she whispered. "You're
serious, aren't you? I mean, it's just the first day you've become aware
of her, but..."
"Teinei-san," Michiru said in a voice quieted by embarrassment, "I really
don't know how I feel about her yet. I know I have a rather deep interest
in her, but I can't put a name to the feeling yet. I haven't been around
her long enough yet."
"Well, I can see that you are definitely going to fall in love with
her," Teinei mused. She cut off Michiru before she could try to argue,
"Michiru-chan, I'm going to tell you about this because I think that,
as someone who is going to be around her a lot and who either does or
will come to care for her, you deserve to know. You better promise me
that you won't take action if you find proof, though, without consulting
me first. If the person I suspect is the culprit, they could become
even _more_ dangerous if we move against them too quickly, maybe even
kill her. Promise me you'll be careful."
Michiru's eyes widened with horror. "I promise!" she immediately answered.
"I don't want her hurt... especially not because of me."
Teinei gave a tiny half-smile, then sighed sadly. "I think... I think
that it's Katai beating her up."
Michiru sat perfectly still, her face pale and eyes wide open in shock.
"Her... own... father..." she whispered shakily. "Why do you think he
would do that?"
"H-He always wanted a son, and when Akarui unexpectedly died... he went
nuts. At first, he just fell into deep depression, and when he came
out of it, he became obsessive with work; working long hours, rarely
spending time at home, growing increasingly irritable, and he'd started
drinking after he got home. He hid the fact he was drinking, and acted
semi-fatherly towards Haruka-chan, despite his incredible strictness,
cold attitude, and lack of sympathy towards her. She did trust him
though, because he was her father, and talked to him whenever she had
the chance, and he knew her quite well while she didn't really know him.
Katai blamed Haruka for Akarui's death, and he's always said that if
one of them had to die, it should have been her instead. He has a
complete lack of anything close to respect or care for her.
"The day Haruka-chan was left alone and ended up injured, Katai had a
rough day at work. I pulled up his evaluation for the day; he hadn't
eaten a thing, had several long, exhausting meetings, tons of paperwork,
etc., got home really late because of traffic and a flat tire...
Unfortunately for Haruka-chan, it seems that life went out of the way
to become miserable for Katai that day, and it's my belief that he got
drunk when he got home and beat her as soon as he saw her. Katai's always
been violent when he's irritated and doesn't think right... he attacked
his best friend once when he was about seventeen during a misunderstanding
after failing a test. Considering what kind of day he had, it's obvious
that he took it out on Haruka-chan, and has been beating her since then.
Not to mention... he's an alcoholic. He's the only one really that could
have done it the first time and be around her enough to beat her all these
other times." After being silent several moments, Teinei wiped her quickly
moistening eyes, then buried her face in her hands and starting crying.
"Why... why did he have to change like this? Haruka is a wonderful girl,
and now, because of him..."
Michiru had started crying as well, and grabbed the box of tissue sitting
on the coffee table, grabbed one for herself, and handed the box to
Teinei. Teinei took it with a trembling hand, sniffling, and then emitted
a sad, choked laugh. "Thank goodness... I finally could tell someone...
strange, isn't it? To be sitting here, sharing tears with someone you
just met over someone the both of us are concerned about?"
Michiru wiped her eyes and blew her nose. "I s-suppose..." She clamped her
hand over her mouth to muffle a sob. "I-I'm sorry... I just..."
"It's all right," Teinei murmured, reaching for the tissues again. "I've
done it many times."
Michiru drew in a shuddered breath, then slowly started taking in deep
breaths to calm herself down. It was hard to relax when she was feeling
so terrible, but somehow, she managed to. "Teinei-san... I p-promise...
I promise that I will do everything I can to..." She sniffled again,
biting her lip as she held back more tears. "I-I'm going to follow her
everyday. I d-don't care if I have to follow her home a-and hide in her
yard, I'm going t-to watch her and make s-sure that she is okay. I...
I don't th-think we can do anything yet to stop her from getting beaten
... b-but if she gets hurt badly and is left alone to tend to her own
wounds... I'll do what I can to help her... bandage her, call for an
ambulance if it gets too bad... just do what I can to keep her from...
from..."
Teinei shakily stood up. "I'm going to make some tea... maybe that will
help calm us down..." She then held out her hand to Michiru. "As for
your promise... I can't thank you enough; it gives me hope to know that
Haruka-chan will have someone there to help her. Thank you."
Michiru shook her hand lightly, and stood up as well. "I must look
awful..." she muttered as she dashed her hand across her eyes again.
Teinei couldn't help but start to laugh, and Michiru eventually started
laughing as well. "Here I am, worried about my looks at a time like this,"
she commented sadly.
"It's all right," Teinei chuckled, "it's only natural to comment on ordinary
things after crying, to try to change the mood." She walked off into her
kitchen and left Michiru sitting alone in the living room. She came back
after she had set the pot on the stove. "Here, I want you to have this,"
Teinei said, pulling a key out of her pocket. "It's the key to their
house; I have two just in case. I hope you won't ever need to use it, but
if you do..."
"Thank you," Michiru said, slipping it into her pocket. "I'll keep it
with me all the time."
"Let's talk about something a bit less grim, all right?"
"That would be a very good idea," Michiru murmured, sighing softly.
"So, um, what type of things is she interested in?"
Teinei thought a bit and started talking, pausing to get the tea and
bring it in, then talking between sips. Michiru occasionally broke in
with a question, but pretty much just sat and listened.
"Well, it's getting late," Teinei said after they'd chatted a few hours.
"Your parents probably will want you back."
"Can I come back tomorrow?"
"Sure! I'm free weekday evenings and on weekends, unless I take time off.
I have to job to juggle, after all," Teinei grinned. "I can always send
Murasaki to your house... oh, tell her to come home when she feels like it
... Well, bye."
"Bye."
Michiru was just walking out the door when Teinei called, "Hey, are you
the one I heard playing the violin earlier? I know your grandfather plays
some, but the playing I heard was the best!"
Michiru colored faintly from the compliment and smiled. "Yes, that was
me."
"Bring your violin tomorrow, all right?"
"All right."
Michiru waved and walked out the door, carefully shutting it behind her.
She walked back to her home a bit reluctantly. She would have loved to
stay and learn more about Haruka, but she _did_ have to go home at some
point. When she got home, she found Murasaki in Kanpeki's room and quickly
told her to go home whenever she wanted, then went straight up to her room
and flopped on the bed. If only she could talk to Haruka face to face...
but no, Haruka obviously didn't want to talk to anyone right now, better
to wait than spoil her chances too quickly. Michiru just hoped that one day
Haruka would be free from all this pain and be given the chance at a
better future than the one she seemed to have in store for her now.
 
 
Haruka awoke, screaming loudly and drenched with sweat. As soon as she
realized she was awake and not asleep still, she fell dead silent. Oh
God, what if he heard and...
 
She wiped the back of her hand across her forehead, taking in deep
breaths as she tried to calm down. The bandages she'd applied earlier
had come loose in some places, others had become soaked with blood and
would need to be changed. She looked over to her window and was
surprised to see that it was night already. She climbed out of her bed,
grimacing slightly at the stinging and soreness that went through her.
She was surprised to see a note had been slipped under her door. She
picked it up and read it carefully.
'Haruka-- Sunao and I have gone out for the night. Will be back around
2 AM. You may leave your room, but you better be back in there when we get
home. --Katai.'
Haruka couldn't help but tremble a bit. He didn't even seem to think of
her as part of the family anymore... Not that she wanted anything to do
with _him_.
After removing the bandages she'd applied earlier, she took a quick
shower to clean off, then put on fresh bandages and clean pajamas. Her
stomach growled loudly, and she quite excitedly ran down to the kitchen.
She looked down at herself when she got there; her body was slender,
almost to the point of being skinny, from lack of food. She would often
sit locked in her room for hours, sometimes days, because of her father,
and during that time she didn't get the chance to eat. She hated being
starved so much, but it was better than facing a beating at Katai's hands.
But now, now she was alone, and she didn't have to hide; she could come
out of her room and eat whenever she got hungry, do what she chose, until
he came home.
She grabbed any food in sight that looked appealing, and then grabbed
a can of tea from the fridge. She went up to her room to eat; if they
came home early for some reason, she wanted to be safely hidden in her
room and still have something to eat. She eagerly wolfed down the food
and tea, making her stomach hurt from all the food, and when she put
away her dishes and threw away the garbage, she was quite content. Most
people don't appreciate how lucky they are, she thought bitterly to
herself. They don't have to face what I face.
She felt a strange urge inside her and sat down at the piano, then
wondered why she'd done so. She never played unless she was forced to,
but for some reason, she felt like playing it. She rested her fingers
on the keys, then laughed slightly. She didn't even have any music out!
Silly... Oh well, she didn't care right now. She started playing the
notes at random, not caring how it sounded. She just let her fingers
dance across the keys, her mind wandering. She noted that she was
actually playing quite well, and continued to play for about ten minutes.
She was just about to wind to a close when she heard a strange voice in
her mind. "...you will know a lot of pain and sadness, but then you'll
know a joy much greater than many others can ever experience."
What was _that_?! She didn't stop playing, but her thoughts were whirling
around, and she was very confused. That voice... what was it supposed to
mean? Some sort of premonition? Pain and sadness... she certainly had a
lot of that... joy? None... Was the voice trying to tell her she'd get
away from here somehow? Whose voice was it anyways? She sighed softly as
the notes trailed off, and she stood up and walked away from the piano.
She wondered what she should do now. It was strange, actually being alone
in the house, given permission to do as she pleased. She was so used to
hiding...
The phone rang, startling Haruka. She let it ring; who knew who was
trying to call. The answering machine picked up. Haruka listened for
a little bit, then walked away. It was Katai's parents. She could care
less.
 
 
Michiru swam lazily in the pool, floating on her back a lot of the time.
She was so tired... all that crying must've worn her out, she figured.
Kirei and Suteki were playing volleyball in the shallow end of the pool,
using a net held up by poles on either side. Kanzen sat in a chair on the
deck, studying for his college courses and barely noticing them. Ki had
insisted that someone be "lifeguard" but didn't feel like doing so herself.
Genki was off watching television somewhere. Kanpeki was in the large room
they used for art purposes, and Murasaki, who still hadn't gone home, was
watching her paint something.
Michiru dove under, swimming down along the bottom. She felt nervous; how
was she to go about following Haruka without getting caught? Couldn't
she get in trouble for "stalking" her? Wouldn't her family wonder why she
was gone so much?
She surfaced for a breath of air, and instead ended up gasping for it
after her sisters' volleyball landed in front of her and splashed water
in her face while she inhaled. Kanzen looked up, assumed she could get it
under control, and went back to reading. After clearing her lungs of
water, Michiru irritably threw the ball back to the other end of the pool,
her sister never offering an apology.
Flash.
A bright burst of red.
Utter silence. A chill wind whipping through the air.
Statues, several of them, shattering from some unseen force.
A girl holding a weapon high over her head.
The Earth engulfed in a beam of dark energy...
Michiru shuddered and stumbled. What the hell... What was that she just saw?!
Her sisters looked at her nervously.
Ki came in with a thrilled look on her face. "Michiru! You'll never believe
this!"
Michiru was shaken out of her thoughts. "What, okaa-san?"
"We've been able to arrange it so you can perform for an hour at the
symphony hall next weekend! Several other noted violinists will be there...
isn't this great? You better practice a lot; you want your debut to be
a good one. Maybe you can secure a record deal."
Michiru's fists clenched tightly, almost drawing blood. "I thought we'd
discussed this... I don't want to perform."
"Nonsense! We'll be paid, and you'll get to show how good you are to all
the people there. It'll be perfect. Don't swim too long; you'll get
wrinkled and you need to prepare some pieces anyways."
Then again, she really wouldn't mind getting away from here to follow
Haruka. They only reason they'd notice her absence was because they
missed making her do what they wanted.
... And what was that strange vision?
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER 5
~~~~~~~~~~
 
 
Michiru sat in the dressing room, shoulders shaking from her nervousness.
She really didn't want to go out and play for all those people. She'd never
shared her music with so many people at once. She stared into her reflection,
carefully made-up, her hair in an intricate style, wearing the most elegant
dress her mother could find. Outwardly, she looked beautiful, poised, mature,
skilled...
She wanted to throw up.
She took a sip of water from a glass sitting on the vanity, and tried to
calm down. Fifteen minutes till she had to go play. Her siblings had chipped
in to buy her a bouquet after some prodding from her parents, and it sat next
to her glass. She carefully touched one of the roses, sliding it from the vase,
and turned it around in her hands.
It was strange how even little things like this made her think of Haruka.
Something about the scent of the flower, the way the petals were arranged...
She sighed and slipped it back in with the others.
She suddenly reeled backwards. "not again..." she whispered.
Red, red like blood... the sky was so dark...
The sharp sting of the gales blowing, bits of debris...
Shattering figurines, frozen with looks of horror...
Her own body clad in a strange suit...
Screaming, unheard, and a bright light appearing...
There was a knock on the door, and Kanpeki walked in. "Um, hi, Michiru-chan,"
she said as she shut the door.
Michiru stirred, looking up dazedly. "K-Kanpeki, what are you doing here?"
"I... I was kinda disagreeing with okaa-san and otou-san... So I thought I'd
check up on you."
"Oh? What happened?"
"They... it's nothing. Really... You look really nice."
"Thanks, so do you."
"Yeah, right," Kanpeki muttered, sighing as she leaned against the doorframe.
"Kanpeki, stop being so negative."
"I can't help it."
They'd argued over this before. Michiru tried to ignore her sister's moods
sometimes, but other times...
"Kanpeki... I don't mean to offend you, but... you really need to get some
help."
"I'm fine!" she snapped, quickly turning her head away.
"You're crying."
"I-I am not..."
Michiru walked over to her and lay a hand on her shoulder. "It's ok, it's
going to be ok."
She felt a wrench in her gut. Here she was, all dressed up for a public
showing, thanks to her parents wanting to show her off, and her little
sister was being completely ignored by them. They showered Michiru with
attention but ignored her. They said they "wanted the best for all their
children." _All_ their children?... Hypocrites.
"Look, I have to go out but... you want to stay in here?"
Kanpeki nodded.
"Anything I can do?"
"Um, Murasaki came with me... if you see her, could you tell her to come
here?"
"Sure." Michiru gave her a hug, grabbed her violin, and turned to leave.
She paused a moment in thought. Kanpeki and Murasaki had really hit it off when they met and had quickly become best friends. Aside from this recent
display, Kanpeki had been in a good mood all week, which was quite unusual
for her. Ah well.
She opened the door and was surprised to see Murasaki leaning against the
wall outside. She stood up straight, a bit startled. "Oh, hi, Michiru-chan.
Kanpeki's in there, right?"
"Yes, she wanted to see you..." Just 'Kanpeki'?... Hadn't Kanpeki called her
just 'Murasaki' earlier?
"Break a leg," Murasaki said with a wink, shutting the door behind her.
Michiru nervously walked backstage. Some people nodded to her. The curtain
was shut still. The crew made some movements and opened the curtains, and
some lights turned on. Someone gave her a gentle shove. "You're on," he
whispered.
Michiru took a deep breath and gathered herself up, and slowly walked
onstage. She could feel a spotlight trained on her as she approached
the center of the stage. She stood there a moment, then curtsied. She
couldn't quite see the audience due to the lights, but she knew they
were there, and in great numbers. She lifted her violin under her chin
and took another deep breath. Here goes nothing...
She closed her eyes and started playing, losing herself in the music.
She ignored everything else except for her hands, the bow, the violin,
the notes. She didn't care anymore about anything else. She just played.