Here's the next installment I hope you like it.
Chapter 2 Decisions
"Open wide baby girl, here comes the aeroplane" Michiru coaxed the tiny child sitting in the high chair in front of her. Hotaru giggled at her mama and opened her mouth. Michiru made all of the sound effects of a plane and swooped the spoon of baby food around and around before settling it gently into the little girl's mouth.
Hotaru closed her mouth and chewed quickly before opening her mouth for another spoonful. Michiru laughed at the little girl and scooped up some more food.
"Are you hungry this morning Himmie Chan?" she asked as the little girl swallowed another mouthful. Hotaru smiled at the water soldier and opened her mouth for more.
"Today's a big day sweet heart" she told her little girl. "Today the investors are going to let us know if they want to be part of papa and Haruka papa's school. Isn't that exciting?" The little girl grinned widely at her mother once more and Michiru chuckled back at her.
"Of course you have no idea what mama is talking about, but you will one day." Hotaru cocked her head to the side and looked at her mother curiously. Michiru chuckled again.
"You look so adorable when you do that Himmie chan." She told the little girl adoringly. Hotaru turned her head to the other side and continued to study her mother. Michiru sighed.
"I wonder how much you can understand sometimes my incredible little girl. Do you know what I'm talking about? Or do you just seem like you do?" Hotaru blinked at her a few times before accepting another bite of her breakfast.
Michiru studied her daughter while she chewed her food and offered her another bite.
"Am I a good mama Hotaru Himmie?" She asked. "Are you happy with just me? Am I as good as I was when Haruka papa was still with us, or did I lose more than I thought when I lost her?" She gave Hotaru her last bite of food and took the plate to the sink to wash it out.
She cleaned the little girl's face, took her bib off and pulled her out of the high chair.
"I guess we should get you bathed and dressed so we can drop you off on time this morning hey." Michiru suggested heading upstairs. She ran a small bath for the little girl and sat her gently in the water.
She ran a washer over her tiny body and got the rest of the food off her face. She picked her up from the tub and dried her off. She was about to take her into her room to dress her when she noticed Hotaru was looking at her oddly.
"What's wrong sweet heart?" She asked concerned. The little girl studied her for a moment longer before reaching out to touch Michiru's face. A smile spread across her lovely features and she said.
"Love you mama."
Tears burned at Michiru's eyes. Yes, there were some things she definitely did understand.
"I love you too my precious miracle." She kissed the little girl and took her to her room to pick an outfit for the day.
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Michiru sat at the end of the table of suits waiting for everyone to arrive and give her their answers about the funding for the school. Her assistant stood at her desk in the corner of the room as always waiting just as impatiently as Michiru.
Finally the last of the suits arrived and Michiru called everyone in the room to order. When at last all were silent she once again welcomed them all and thanked them for coming. As soon as pleasantries were over she handed the floor over to the first lady on her left.
The lady, who's name was Lynda Morton, stood from her spot at the desk and greeted everyone present. Lynda was the head of one of the largest architectural firms in the world. She had only just inherited it from her father so, like Michiru, she was fairly new to all this.
Her father had still been in charge when Michiru sent out the invitations for the original presentation. His company had been a sponsor of Haruka's and he, she was told, had been a rather big fan of the young f1 racer.
Michiru had been disappointed when she'd found out he'd retired. She didn't know if Lynda had been a fan like her father and if she hadn't, would she still support the project? Michiru hoped, with all her might that she would.
As the young heiress turned her attention to Michiru, the ocean soldier found herself unintentionally holding her breath.
"Miss Kaioh" she greeted pleasantly "I think you venture sounds absolutely wonderful and my company would be more than happy to contribute any way we can." Relief washed through the ocean soldier. She let out the breath she'd been holding and smiled up at the young woman.
"Thank you very much Miss Morton." She replied "Your contribution is greatly appreciated. The woman bowed respectfully to Michiru and sat down again.
A new bout of nerves hit her as the second lady stood up to give her answer. It was very quickly quashed as she too pledged her support to Michiru's endeavour.
The response around the rest of the room was overwhelming. As they moved around the table, more and more companies got behind Michiru's project. It was absolutely incredible. Michiru had anticipated a few of them dropping off but none of them did.
As the numbers grew Michiru felt a swell of pride for her late partner. Even though many or the people in the room were associated in some way with Soichi, the bulk of them were associated in one way or another with Haruka.
"Can you see this Haruka?" she sent her thoughts out to the universe. "Most of this is because of you. You touched all these people so much in the short time you were alive and I doubt you were even aware of it." She signed internally.
"Oh Haruka I miss you so much, I wish so badly that you were here. You did so many wonderful things for me in the tiny space of time we had together. You brought me happiness and joy; you made me feel loved and cherished all the time.
You were such a wonderful, generous person, and because of that these people are going to help me build a legacy for you so you'll never be forgotten." She felt tears burn at her eyes for the second time that day. But instead of the tears of sadness that usually plagued her when she thought of Haruka these were tears of gratitude and happiness.
When at last all the suits had announced their support Michiru stood up once more to address them.
"Thank you all so very much. I can't tell you what this will mean for the academy." She gifted them all with her most grateful smile before continuing.
"However your company would like to contribute, please send the information to my assistant and she will have all the official documents prepared and returned to you for approval as soon as possible. We will keep you informed of any major developments and send you weekly updates so you can keep track of your investment. Thank you again so much for your support it will be an honour to work on this project with you all."
The suits all rose in unison and bowed politely to Michiru. She returned their bow and they filed quietly out of the room. As soon as they were all gone she dropped back into her seat, a serene smile on her face.
"I'm so proud of you Haruka" she sent her thoughts out once more. "I hope you're proud of me too."
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There we go another chapter. Thank you for those of you who reviewed Mistress Mina, Davis Jes and little Mistress Me I love reviews. More soon