This, by far, was the most difficult decision that Haruka, in her short eighteen years of life, had ever had to make.
Tie or no tie? Tie... no tie. Tie, no tie. No tie... tie.
"Well don't you look nice."
Haruka looked up to see her mother standing in the doorway. The younger Tenoh's eyes held the unmistakable look of worry and she tried weakly to smile back at her mother. Upon seeing the look on her daughters face, the older Tenoh tried to lighten the mood.
"Wow. Try not to look too excited."
Haruka's false smile fell completely as she continued to stare at her mother.
"Ohh, what's wrong my little aucklet?"
Tenoh-san approached Haruka, grabbing the forgotten tie from her hand and wrapping it around her daughters neck. Haruka lifted her chin up, allowing room for her mother to tie the strip of material. She closed her eyes with a heavy sigh.
"What a fine mess I've gotten myself into. Maybe I should call her, tell her I am sick."
Her mother pulled down roughly on the tie, causing Haruka's head to snap back down.
"Tenoh Haruka you will do no such thing. I know I didn't raise you to run from your problems."
Haruka looked down at her mother, completely intimidated by the shorter woman. Tenoh-san's eyes softened. She turned and walked towards the door, as if to leave, instead spinning about and taking to leaning against the frame of the door.
"You completely disregard what your mother tells you and now you are going on a date with a beautiful young lady who thinks you are a boy. So what?"
Uhh, where is this going exactly mom?
"You are alive aren't you? Healthy? You have a loving mother, a roof over your head... passable grades."
That last note caused Haruka to giggle, and ease the tension that the room had held so clearly before. Her mother approached again, this time raising her hand to her daughters cheek.
"Look at you. So handsome. Even for a girl! What's not to love? If this girl really likes you, then she can't help but to forgive you. And you know what? Who knows. Maybe everything will work out in the end, and in your favor."
Haruka smiled at her mother. Did she feel any better? Hell no. But her mother was here, so at least she had someone on her side. Suddenly she felt a small, gentle smack against her cheek, right where her mother's hand had rested moments before.
"Wha... mom!" Haruka whined while rubbing her slightly stinging cheek. The slap wasn't hard enough to even bring up any color, but it still stung!
Now her mother had taken to pointing directly into Haruka's face. "I like this girl, so don't you dare screw this up." And with that, Tenoh-san turned abruptly and left the room, calling back behind her from down the hall. "Off to work. Have a good night."
Haruka remained planted in the same stop, staring at the space her mother had previously occupied until she finally heard the front door shut. She glanced over to the mirror above her dresser and gave herself a once over. Then, in an act of pure frustration, she squeezed her eyes shut and opened her mouth wide in a silent scream of hopelessness.
Her quiet act of diffusion, however, was interrupted by the ringing of her phone. Haruka glanced to the shrill object, then over to the clock. 6:13. She looked to the phone again. No one ever called her. It must be Michiru. But Haruka wasn't running late. She didn't have to be at the teal headed girls house until 7:00. Maybe she is calling to cancel.
The tall blonde took a moment to ponder over whether this was a good or a bad thing. If she blows me off, then all my stress is lifted. But if she blows me off... then she blew me off. God. I don't think I could handle that. I thought she really liked...
The phone's continuously blaring ring brought Haruka out of her thoughts. Right. I should probably answer that. She scrambled over to retrieve the phone.
"Hello?" Why did her voice sound so high pitched.
"Haruka-kun?" Shit. It was Michiru, and she sounded slightly unsure of cleared her throat and spoke again, this time in a voice that was her own.
"Michiru-chan?"
"Ahh, Haruka-kun! You sounded different just then." Michiru sounded relieved, even giggling after her sentence. This deflated some of Haruka's worries.
In an attempt to save face from previously sounding so...girly... Haruka put on her usual confident front.
"You aren't calling to cancel on me now are you Michi-chan?"
Haruka's voice had come out thick and suave. Yep, still got it. Michiru replied in an equally flirty tone.
"Of course not Ruka-kun. Just the opposite actually. I was making sure you were not chickening out on me."
Chickening out?
"HA! You better be ready to go in fifteen minutes or I will have to find some other beautiful, teal haired woman to join me for dinner."
Score one for Haruka!
"Oh well then, I guess I'll just have to find myself another statuesque blond for the night."
Fumble. Opponent gains control of the ball. Touchdown! Final score... Haruka – 1 Michiru – 2,000
Haruka's mouth grew incredibly dry as she fought for a response. For the night. To the blonde, "night" implied something far greater then her mind could comprehend. It implied that they would be together... at night. Like, after the normal social hours. Of course, she could very well have been jumping to conclusions.
"Haruka-kun?"
Michiru knew what she had done. Haruka could tell from the tone in her voice. This conversation needs to end fast if I'm gonna save face.
"So I'll take it that you will be ready in fifteen?" Haruka hoped she sounded as cool as she thought she did. Michiru could be heard giggling on the other end.
"Right, Ruka-kun. I shall see you in fifteen minutes." Without another word, the teal haired woman hung up. Haruka hung up the phone before once again looking up at her reflection in the mirror. Her cheeks were still tinged pink with the remnants of a blush. She figured she'd have to splash some cold water on her face to cool down before even thinking of leaving for the other girls house.
This woman is going to be the death of me.
The gold Yamaha sat in the driveway of the huge mansion, just a few feet behind the tall blonde. Haruka had yet to ring the doorbell, taking this moment to straighten her clothes first. She had no idea whether she herself had actually made it in the allotted fifteen minutes, and secretly hoped that the teal haired goddess wouldn't bring it up.
Moments passed as Haruka realized that she was procrastinating. If she didn't have her thick riding jacket on, she probably would have been wasting time adjusting her tie.
Jeez Haruka, stop being such a, such a...
"Girl?" She laughed lightly at her joke, realizing just how deep in trouble she was in. She shouldn't have been laughing, she should have been crying, but she was far too gone by this point.
Well, it's now or never.
Deciding she better ring the bell before losing all nerve, the tall blonde pokes the dreaded button briefly with the thumb on her right hand before proceeding to step back and wait.
And wait she did. Waiting, waiting, waiting...
I know the house is huge, but come on!
After hours, or what was actually only a minute at best, the door opened revealing the most bored looking butler Haruka had ever seen. Well, not that she'd seen many. Or any, for that matter, outside of the television.
"Kaioh-sama shall be down in a moment." The butlers voiced drawled out, sounding even more bored then he looked. Before Haruka could respond, the penguin suited man shut the door, leaving her alone on the porch once again.
"THANK YOU!" The blonde called rudely through the door, not up for the butlers disrespect. What was she to do now? Wait at the door? She began to pace for a moment before growing impatient and moving to descend the front stairs and head back to her bike. Just as her foot was about the touch the first step, the front door opened again.
The blonde whipped around and straightened up, coming face to face with the object of her desire.
"Leaving already Ruka-kun?"The teal haired woman wore a light blue dress with short, ruffled sleeves, her face framed by her wavy locks. Haruka bowed briefly in respect before responding.
"My apologies Michi-chan, but your butler's abruptness caught me off guard."
The other woman's look changed to one of irritation. "Pay no mind to Ebisu-san. I swear, the older he gets, the less compassion he has. Though growing up I remember him always being a bit cold. Sorry Ruka-kun, if he offended you in anyway."
"Of course not. Err, well, maybe, yes. But I am not one to hold grudges. Besides, all is well now that I have you in my presence." Haruka was quite proud of herself. Despite feeling utterly nervous, she was still able to put on the charm. Michiru looked pleased.
"Always the gentleman. Well, are we ready to go?"
It was at this time that the blonde finally took the time to regard the other woman's attire. "I'm ready, but are you? You do realize that I own a motorcycle right? I mean, I know we've ridden together before, but did you have a short lapse in memory capacity?"
Michiru giggled. "Quiet you! I'm sure I will be fine. However I did forget my coat. Mind if I meet you at your bike?"
"Not at all. I'll go warm her up." As Haruka turned to trot down the steps, she couldn't help but notice the brief quark of a smile on the other girls lips. She hadn't realized what she had said until now.
I'll go warm her up? Jeez, I sound like such a pervert.
The walk across the Kaioh's lawn and to the drive-way proved to take longer then intended, for just as Haruka revved the engine Michiru returned with her coat over her shoulders.
"Is she all warmed up?" The teal-haired woman's grin was cocky and playful, and Haruka couldn't help but fall for the girl even more. It was moments like these that made it all the more difficult to tell Michiru the truth. To end this special connection that they had. To crush not only the heart of the woman she loved, but her own.
She felt Michiru's arms circle her waist as she shifted into place on the bike. She knew it. It had to be done. She had to tell Michiru tonight, even if it crushed her. If Haruka let this charade go on any further, the outcome might actually kill her.
Author's Note: Please don't kill me! I beg of you! It was short and cliff hanger-y, and I promise I had every intention of writing the complete date when I started. But as I continued, the story took on a mind of it's own, and both me and it (the story) found that the last paragraph had to be the end of the chapter. I realized that, though I found these interactions to be important, I didn't want them to cut into the date. I have actually been dreading having to write about it, but now I am more confident in knowing that I am actually going to dedicate a WHOLE chapter to it. I am all about the journey, and tend to try not to cut out interesting details, such as the scene with Haruka and her mother at the beginning. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I promise that I will definitely make it up to you in the next chapter. Alright, I shall leave you with my better half, and her words of wisdom and replies. Thank you.
Tee hee, her better half. Well, I dunno about you, but I think instead of having half a chapter dedicated to Haruka and Michiru's special date, a WHOLE chapter seems to be a better deal to me. Especially because Haruka is dedicated to telling Michiru... THE TRUTH :O
Before I reply to reviews, I'd like to link you all to a comic that Chris (obviously the writer of this story) is writing and that I am illustrating. So, if you like her writing here, you'll love our comic. You can read it here!: www. everydayghost. smackjeeves. com Be sure and delete the spaces though, since FF is a butt! Let us know what you think! (to try and convince you to read it further, the story involves a main character and her love interest that is also a woman and their life as superheroes. EXCITING!) It's just starting, so bear with me :')
Now for replies!
Hankthefluuphiwaffle: Thank you for the cookie. We think that it's better to go slow and win the race instead of hurrying through things quickly and losing the effect. As for Ami, she's the err... More logical/practical/observant one of the group so... She saw the signs. Besides that, she didn't know Haruka before the meeting at the arcade.
AltoEgoErin: Here is your update! Sorry that it took so long D: But we're so glad to hear that you think so highly of the story!
Ladyserena: Woah, hi there! The Netherlands, that's fantastic :'D Thank you for the compliment, and here is your update!
SavingKP: Here ya go!
General toxic: Working at an arcade, pretty fun you'd think? Probably not to Haruka XD But yeah, we wanted to associate the arcade in some way and we thought that'd be a great way. Thanks for sticking with us!
AiiWoKoete: Never fear~! This story will never be abandoned. And isn't it true though? With their furrowed brows and what not, they look so sad. But yaaay! We're both excited to hear that this is slowly rising to the tip top of your favorite fanfics, I only hope that you'll be patient with our updating. Life has been busy and we hope that you'll stick with us til the end.
Hatake Kai: Yay for gay friendly fics :'D We thought.. Well, there wasn't any bashing in the show. If anything, Haruka was bullied ONCE and it wasn't even for being gay. So... why bring hate where there wasn't any?
Panda: Oh god, never would the story lose focus on Michiru and Haruka. In fact, we HATE when that happens. Even in the anime XD We're almost trying to make up for the lack of screen time they had in the show. Sorry about not having the date in here LOL Chris was going to try and fit the date in but... it just wasn't having it. It's better to have a full, detailed date, though, instead of a short, rushed one. As for the characterization... You'll find it funny that most of her characterization comes from Chris XD She's very much like Haruka herself. So, if anything, Haruka Tenoh, not Takeuchi-sama. Though the compliment left her giddy XD
Rs wolf: Isn't it the worst? And well, it's no secret that Ami is the quicker one in the group, so she'd be the first to notice.
Petiyaka: Aahh, petiyaka, one of our first followers... gosh, if not our first reviewer! We can never forget you. Being assaulted by a bunch of teenage girls is actually kind of scary.
ShonS: Two cookies! Yay! Also, it makes me happy to know that you read my replies XD Makes me feel good about myself. And like I'm actually having a conversation with everyone. I'm glad your girlfriend likes the story too! Company is always welcome, haha. If you want something to look forward to weekly, be sure to check out our original comic (which updates every tuesday and friday). The link is below Chris' Author's note in my introduction just in case you missed it.
Silver: Thank you kind sir. We hope you enjoyed this chapter too!
Til next time guys!
-Afiya and Chris
