Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Haruka Tenoh or any character from Sailor Moon.

The custody battle over Haruka and every possession of the old home was now over. The child was to alternate between parents every week. She would start off with her mother and Yosei and then switch over to Satsuko and her father and so forth. Her ninth birthday had passed and went on uncelebrated, as usual. Haruka would find herself stuck at home with Yosei and her mother.

Haruka was lounging around in her room with her feet up against the wall. For a rare moment she was pretty content. The cool autumn air swept through the room and the blonde felt very calm and tranquil. As she was staring at the ceiling her stomach began to rumble. I wonder what's for dinner. I'm almost afraid to ask…

Haruka walked into the family room and asked a half-asleep Yosei as politely as she could.

"Yosei, what are we having for dinner?"

"Please don't call him Yosei, he is your father, Haruka." Her mother calmly told her.

"But mom, he is not my dad…"Haruka's tone rose almost angrily.

"Lower your tone or you will wake him up."

"Huh, what are what's going on?" Yosei began to wake up and was immediately angered by the blondes presence.

"Not her again… What do you want this time?"

"Yosei, I was just wondering what we would be having for dinner."

"Lazy girl… Why don't you just cook yourself something? Or is your private school education not good enough to prepare you? How is math going?"

Haruka clenched her fists and as she fought back her anger.

"I was just asking and besides I'm only nine, Yosei."

"You mean father." Her mother interrupted yet again shooting a glare at the child.

"Stop acting tough, you are my daughter after all. Even though you don't even dress nor act like one."

"I'm going outside to run, see you."

"Whatever." Yosei coldly retorted as he went back to dozing off, before he fell asleep he began muttering.

"One of these days that child's going to get it..."

"We have to be somewhat nice, it's the only way to correct her flaws." His wife had interrupted his thought.

"I will make these decisions, she butts in way too much and she will be punished for it... Somehow..."

As Yosei ranted on he managed to doze off once more.

Haruka steamed off and slammed the door as she went outside. She ran across the street and didn't look back. Running was the only thing to keep her from breaking down. The wind carried her until she had come upon an old park. Walking through the playground she took a seat on one of the rusty swings at an old beat up swing set. As she swung back and forth she tried remaining calm. Suddenly she flung herself off the seat and was no longer able to bottle up her emotions. Haruka sobbed as she pounded her fist against the ground.

I hate him! I truly do hate him! I cannot stand Yosei or my mother. Both of them hate me no matter what I try to do, they don't care about how little I eat nowadays. Who do they think they are anyway? Yosei is not my father and he never will be. He has no right to comment about whether I decide to wear a pair of pants or a skirt to school. Why should he even comment about my education anyway, I hate school and I hate him too!

Haruka buried her head into her knees and continued to sob. Her tears had soaked her face as she tried to wipe them away furiously but to no avail. School is tomorrow as well, I wonder what comments those boys will say to me too. What crap will they try to force feed me in math as well? The wind gently swept through the playground as the blonde slowly comforted herself. She let out a few sniffs and trudged back home. As Haruka entered the home she immediately trekked upstairs, still hungry, and still upset. Her emotions bested her throughout the night and she had much trouble sleeping. After tossing and turning for what seemed like ages the sun finally began to rise.

The blonde rose out of bed after another long and restless night. Once again it was time for school, Haruka once again put on her school outfit but used the male set of clothes once more. She felt more comfortable running in pants and for some reason she could not find any type of guy attractive. Though the blonde was only nine she liked looking at a girl rather than a boy, and she was unsure what to think of it,especially because she was a person of faith.

Trying to sneak out the house without disturbing the sleep of Yosei, Haruka quickly ate breakfast and darted out to school. Haruka arrived to class and prepared herself for another long boring day at work. Though school was becoming very tiresome and made her very angry the blonde did manage… That is until math.

It was that time of day again, math class. She had despised it almost as much as she loved running, she had thought to herself. The teacher had begun lecturing, it seemed like a completely different language. Her eye brow started switching as she muttered.

"This doesn't make sense."

"Do you need any help Haruka?" The teacher questioned Haruka with a puzzled look.

"Not at all, sensei."

All of her classmates attention gravitated towards her. Keeping her feelings in check, Haruka pretended not to notice the views of her class mates and went on with her work. Fidgeting with her pencil she kept staring at the clock, it seemed to be ticking away slower each second! Haruka heard whispering near her desk and her pencil snapped in half. Without a second thought she turned to her class mates and let her emotions take control.

"Why won't you all leave me the hell alone?"

A hush fell upon the room as her class mates could only stare, finally the teacher broke the silence.

"Please see me after class, Haruka."

Haruka fixed her glance away from her class mates, she despised those boys. The ones who tormented her day in and day out and they had finally driven her to near insanity. The bell rang as everybody began to leave the class. Haruka walked over to her teachers desk with her fists clenched into her pant pockets.

"Haruka, what has gotten into you lately? You used to be much nicer to your students, but this is just unacceptable."

The teacher did not understand, I never liked those students and they do deserve the words that I spoke to them.

"I'm not sure."

"Haruka… Why don't you stay and wash the floors. Maybe that will calm you down."

"Yes, sensei."

Haruka began cleaning the floors in silence. She hated those students, she hated her pretend parents, and now she hated her parents. They all seemed to hate her too. What did she do to deserve to live this life? Her parents didn't care about her and all the kids at school made fun of her for being different. She was lost in thought until she realized she was cleaning the same tile for the last few minutes. With her task being done she walked on out and journeyed back home.

The blonde had finally arrived at home, later than usually and arrived surprised by the sight of several of her 'parents.'

"What took you so long? Don't you know that we have more important matters to deal with?" Yosei coldly welcomed her into the house.

"Satsuko is here to pick you up, Haruka." Her mother had seemed irked by the presence of Satsuko and was eager to dump the blonde off.

"Please get your things together, it's our week to watch over you." Indifferent toward the subject, Satsuko clearly didn't care much about the young child.

Haruka head upstairs and gathered up anything of note and immediately went back down.

"Feel free to keep the brat for as long as you want." Yosei welcomed her departure.

"Be kind to her, she is your daughter." The blonde's mother reminded the never happy Yosei.

"I am not." Denying her mother's statement Haruka's anger took a firm grip on her.

"Haruka be nice to your father."

"He is not!"

"Are you ready to leave, Haruka? You're using up all of our free time." Wanting to get a move on with her day, Satsuko opted to get out quickly and deal with other matters.

"Yes."

"Good riddance." Yosei had yelled out as the two had closed the door on him.

Haruka and Satsuko did not talk throughout the car ride. It was obvious that she did not care much for the blonde. As far as she was concerned Haruka was only a nuisance and a usage of all of her personal time.

Wind blew through the window of the car as it ruffled up Haruka's short blonde hair. She enjoyed every minute of it. Haruka was temporarily distracted from her troubles by the gust of wind that blew throughout the car. To her disappointment that car rolled to a stop as she arrived at her old home.

Haruka slowly stumbled exited the car as Satsuko wasted no time in being rude to her.

"Hurry up, your not only wasting your time but mine as well."

"Yes, Satsuko."

She was such an impatient lady. Even though she was not as openly mean as Yosei, she too had hated the blonde. The blonde was just an obstruction between her and her husbands free time. She constantly looked for ways to keep the child busy. As the two entered their home they were both greeted by the child's father.

"Welcome home Haruka! We could use an extra set of hands!"

"Hey."

"Haruka is always out and about these days, we ought to find a way to busy her." Instigating as usual, Satsuko constantly had looked for ideas to send Haruka away, and this time her eyes lit up with the thought of a new plan to get rid of her.

"Oh really is this true Haruka?"

"I find ways to busy myself."

"Oh but she isn't receiving a proper education at that lousy school of hers."

"Believe me it's harder then you give it credit for." Haruka easily saw through Satsuko's scheme, it seemed no different from any other one of her many plans. Haruka's father was interested though as he began to ask more about the subject.

"You were the one that told me this school would help her out."

"It did, but it did not help enough! Think of our blonde child as a genius in an overseas school!"

"Who's to say I'm your kid?" Haruka was disturbed by any attempt by Yosei or Satsuko to be called her father or mother.

"Listen to your mother, Haruka."

Haruka could only offer a twitch of her eyebrow as she was frustrated by this constant reeducation by her parents.

"Think about how much Haruka would benefit in an American school! She could study abroad, learn valuable skills, and gain a much greater education!"

"This sounds expensive..." Her father expressed much interest but was still hesitant.

"Oh believe me, I have any funds we may require."

"Well, we can talk this over tonight while our daughter isn't nearby!"

"Why don't you go on and do homework, or whatever you like doing Haruka." Satsuko grinned knowing that she had finally devised the perfect plan.

Haruka walked slowly up the stairs in shock and awe. Of all Satsuko's crazy schemes... This one sure does take the cake! I doubt this can be serious, my father wouldn't put me through that crap. Nobody likes me in Japan, so what makes them think I will be liked overseas, and in America of all places. What a terrifying thought...

It was interesting how Satsuko constantly tried to make Haruka go away and how Yosei would constantly say mean things to her. Her parents never did anything to stop it and sometimes even helped them! She doubted that she would be shipped off and she doubted that Yosei could get any meaner. Haruka had come to the conclusion that things could not get any worse. Unfortunately, Haruka could not have been more wrong.