Title: La Vita Amara

Author: Kamel

Pairing: Haruka/Michiru

Word Count: 4,500

Genre: Romance, Drama

Rating: PG-13

Feedback: Please and thank you.

Notes: All the cultural information based in this fic is from the knowledge I've acquired while spending my childhood summers in Italy (ten miles away from Porto Empedocle, Sicily to be exact).

Summary: AU Day in and day out in a small town in Sicily, Haruka, the fish mangler, provides for the people of Porto Empedocle – a boring old life which gets a twisted turn upon discovering a mermaid late one night by the name of Michiru.

Chapter Seven

The days had gone by slowly, painfully slow as often they did when one was expecting something; life was unusually cruel like that, had a sick sense of humor. Minutes felt like hours, hours like days and so on and so forth – Haruka had to resist the urge to wander off, oh it would have been extremely easily to venture out further into the sea countless of times during the last four days, but she did not want to attract the unnecessary attention if she could avoid it and she was quite popular among the fishers of the docks being that she was currently the only female among them. The others had a horrible tendency of keeping a, ah, 'watchful' eye on her when she attempted to work. Men were dirty pigs, it was as simple as that, especially the ones she had for co-workers. Co-workers was not the proper term, it was every fisher for themselves out there at sea.

Sunday could not come any sooner. Haruka had often found herself gazing towards the ocean from their top story balcony; for the first time, she cursed the perfect view of the dock and the sea beyond from their apartment, it did only aided to the urge of wanting to see Michiru again. It was as if she could hear her calling, that her voice was being carried in the soft wind. Standing on the said balcony, the woman was leaning up against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest as a small frown played upon her thin lips; she was eager to get back onto the sea, but she still had to wait a little longer. The sun had barely set just beyond the horizon, Haruka still needed to wait a few hours. Just a few more hours and she would be able to see her again.

The idea turned that frown into an equally small smile, a very faint one at that.

"Haruka?"

The fisherwoman peeked around the corner, looking through the balcony entrance to Setsuna who was standing at the kitchen doorway, dressed a bit more eloquently than usually. She raised her eyebrows at the frown the other woman was giving her. Mentally, she ran over the course of the day, she had not done anything wrong, at least she did not think. Haruka could not declare whether or not she was in the clear based on her roommate's demeanor.

"Yes?" she asked in return.

"Are you going to come in any time soon?" Setsuna asked. Her tone was slightly annoyed, slightly nervous – an odd combination.

Haruka nodded in response. "Well, that's my intention," she remarked, saving them an extra round of bickering when she stepped back inside the kitchen. There was a faint scent in the air, an aroma coming from the oven, at this time of night, it was different. Setsuna did not bake in the evening, especially not cookies judging by the sugary scent. Granted, it was Sunday and Sundays were a bit different from the rest of the week, but this was not normal behavior.

"Lovely, great," Setsuna replied, walking quickly into the kitchen and directly over to the oven to pull out the tray of little amoretti cookies. Placing the tray to cool on the counter, she turned back to Haruka, looking her roommate up and down. Jeans and a t-shirt still. "We have guests coming over, are you going to change or not?" she questioned.

"Guests?" Haruka blinked, staring at Setsuna for a good moment before her eyes widening, suddenly the night's agenda returning to her. Setsuna had practically slaved away in an attempt to make the apartment look decent because they had clients coming over this evening. A frown appeared on her features as she lowered her head, not really wanting to change – why should she have to dress formally in her own apartment because guests were coming over? "Oh yeah," she mumbled before clearing her throat. "I'm heading out though, it would seem kind of pointless to change, don't you think?"

Setsuna's eyebrows furrowed slightly at the comment. "Heading out?" she repeated, placing her hands on her hips. Haruka had failed to mention this earlier, which now resulted in one strike against her. Even when she was trying to be on her best behavior she messed up; that was simply the nature of things. Haruka had a record of being a trickster; it followed her back to middle school where the two met. Setsuna could not recall a week where Haruka was not in trouble with a teacher or another student. "Tonight is important for the business."

Tonight was important alright, but Haruka had her own reasons that made it such.

"With all due respect, Setsuna, I'm not much of a business person – if you weren't around, I wouldn't know the first thing about the shop," Haruka pointed out, trying to flatter her roommate. Witnessing Setsuna's tensed shoulders ease up a bit confirmed that her little bit of flattery worked. "You'll do fine without me, I make the place reek of fish anyway – what kind of impression would that leave Tomoe, huh? Imagine the rumors he could spread. 'Fantastic figurines with sweet confetti, but their own apartment smells like a rotting aquarium,' I think that would be bad for business, don't you think?"

Tricksters had their way with words, they've mastered the art of smooth talk and Haruka was definitely among their ranks.

Shaking her head, Setsuna crossed the kitchen to the small couch resting up against the wall that Haruka had taken a seat upon only moments before. They had positioned it just at the right angle so the sitter could enjoy the view of the sea from the balcony entrance. With a swift smack to the head, Setsuna could not help by grin lightly. "Has anyone told you today that you, Haruka Tenoh, are quite the smartass?"

"Not today, no," Haruka replied, now rubbing the back of her head. Setsuna had a wicked arm, that was all that needed to be said on the situation. "Fine, I'll change into a better pair of jeans," she caved in, hoisting herself up from the couch. "And a button up shirt does that meet your standards?"

Wrinkling her nose, Setsuna shook her head. "The jeans don't really match your dress shirts – what about those light tan slacks you have? The white dress shirt would look lovely with them and they are pretty durable pants, right? Working shouldn't a problem."

There was a slight problem; Haruka did not want those pants to be ruined. They were good pants, but Setsuna was right about them, they were made of durable material. Being presentable in front of the Tomoes would be something Setsuna would definitely want out of her roommate, but the idea of heading out on sea with those pants… Durable, yes, flexible, not so much. She would be able to change before heading out, correct? But what if that drew questions? She did not need questions right now. Maybe she was thinking too heavily into this, but she was taking precautions, she reminded herself. "Alright, how long until they arrive?" she asked.

Setsuna gazed up towards the old coo-coo clock hanging from the wall above the television set, it had belonged to her grandmother and as annoying as the chime was, she could not bear to part with it. The two had learned to coup with the thing. "In about an hour," she answered, turning back to Haruka who nodded at her.

"Good, time to shower-"

"An attempt to get the fish smell out of your system?" Setsuna teased. In return, Haruka merely stuck out her tongue as she walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

XXX

Why was it when one did not want something to occur, the occurrence was brought one more quickly than something one was anticipating? Life was cruel, life was bitter and life was unfair, Haruka had concluded. The hour she had to prepare for the Tomoes' arrival had gone by way too quickly and she had felt rushed. It felt as if she did not have enough time to take her shower or dress properly for the short night in the apartment ahead. She did not have to stay long, according to Setsuna, but her roommate did appreciate the moral support.

It was not a secret that Haruka did not think very highly of Dr. Tomoe, Souichi rubbed her the wrong way especially with all the rumors flying around the town concerning Mamoru's unstable mind. Haruka had been convinced the doctor had done something to his student in a fit of jealousy or something along those lines. However, now that she had seen Michiru with her own eyes, her opinion on Souichi had managed to grow even worse if that were possible – she already thought so lowly of the doctor. Souichi must have seen Michiru as well, yet he denied Mamoru, he allowed Mamoru to slip away from sanity, but could she honestly blame him? Why would he confirm a mermaid spotting? Maybe the doctor had been trying to cover his own ass, bluntly put.

After all, he had a reputation to keep.

One that had been damaged either way, according to the fisherwoman.

The shrilling doorbell sounded while Haruka was still buttoning up the dress shirt, she gazed over her shoulder, hearing Setsuna's footsteps walking down the hallway to answer. Good, Haruka did not want to have to deal with Tomoe more than what was required of her. Here was hoping she would not have to talk to him at all, but the chances of that were slim; the apartment was pretty small with hardly any places to hide and she was positive Setsuna would drag her out to the opening eventually.

She reminded herself she would only have to endure this for a short while and she would be rewarded greatly for that short while as well – she was so close to seeing Michiru again, this was just an obstacle blocking them. It was an obstacle Haruka could easily overcome. As she buttoned up the last remaining buttons, Haruka heard a male mumbling from the hallway followed by a soft, young female voice confirming that, of course, the doctor and his daughter had arrived. Quickly, she tucked in her shirt before heading out of her bedroom, the smallest rooms sans the bathroom (not by much) in the apartment, and closed the door behind her as Souichi and Hotaru were lead into the living room.

The Tomoe family followed the old traditions; they had proven it by showing interest in these party favors. Every life changing moment should be documented with a crystal figurine apparently. Another way this was evident was by their attire. Keiko Tomoe had died in a house fire years ago. Since then, their young daughter wore nothing but black clothing. Black was the color of mourning over a loved one, it was usually worn for a year after the death in question, but in a few circumstances mourns can choose to wear black attire for an even longer period, sometimes even for the rest of their lives – the black attire was more common among women. For men, they wore a black tie or a black pin on the right side of their chest about the size of a euro coin. Souichi was never seen without one or the other. It was evident that Keiko was loved.

And taken away before her time, Hotaru was still a young child.

Souichi had taken time out of work to properly raise Hotaru; it must be nice not having to worry about money – to actually be able to take off as much time as one wanted. Then again, Haruka should not be thinking bitterly of their situation. She followed the small group and lingered at the doorway. Souichi and Hotaru had taken a seat on the pale yellow couch that matched the yellow walls and, well, Haruka firmly believed that there was too much yellow in this room; they needed to redecorate. This was the lovely taste of Setsuna's mother, it was outdated.

"I'll go get the refreshments," Haruka announced. Technically, they were Setsuna's guests and Setsuna should not leave them alone with her roommate, correct? It made sense in her head. Haruka turned around as Setsuna took a seat next to Souichi's free side, clutching a catalogue close to her chest.

Hotaru continued to stare blankly forehead, it was clear that the child did not want to be here. Of course, she wanted to be off doing her own thing; being dragged around by a parent did lose its appeal after a while. The doctor leaned forward with a small smile as he shifted his head slightly to face Setsuna. "We've decided we want to stay with the original figurines for Confirmation – the grain of wheat," he explained.

Extending the catalogue to him, Setsuna nodded, she had taken the time to mark out different pages of different designs the two might be interested in. "I thought as much," she replied with a faint smile of her own. Hotaru rolled her eyes; she could be doing other things. She should have brought something to do. The young girl stood up from her father's other side.

"Umm, where's the bathroom?" she asked.

"Oh," Setsuna looked up, maroon eyes meeting the clearly bored lavender. "Down the hallway, Hotaru, it's the second door to your right just past the kitchen."

The child nodded before heading out of the living room. She quietly began down the hallway, not wanting to be overheard. There was something about being in another persons' place of residents that made one want to explore. It was a new surrounding, who would not want to explore? The bathroom was obviously the only place to go where questions would not be asked, but Hotaru was curious what an apartment of a business owner and a fisherwoman was like – it was an odd combination of roommates.

Hotaru made it past one closed door to the left – a bedroom perhaps. It was the door the other woman had come through upon their arrival. The door next to it was opened just a crack. She could not help but lean towards the left due to this and give it a gentle nudge. From across the hall, Haruka was a couple of feet away from the kitchen's wide open door, allowing her to keep an eye on the girl who did not know the phrase 'curiosity killed the cat' apparently. Haruka watched her push the door open so she could take a peek, the fisher placed the plate of cookies down on the table and snuck up behind the child who was eyeing an old vase propped up by a metal holder. It was something one would see in their history books or a museum, not the dining room of an apartment.

"Can you keep a secret?" Haruka asked. The sudden voice coming from behind her caused Hotaru to nearly jump out of her sink.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" she began, but Haruka was already chuckling, waving it off.

"This is boring, I know," she replied, pushing the door open revealing not only one old Roman vase, but two.

Seeing this as an invitation to step inside, Hotaru wandered in, coming up close to one of the vases. "Did you buy these in the street market? Decorations?"

"Sure," Haruka replied, smirking. "Actually, I found them while fishing."

Lavender eyes widened at the confession, the sense of bragging. Hotaru looked over her shoulder towards Haruka who had just crossed her arms over her chest before returning her gaze back to the vase. She wanted to touch it, but feared that maybe it would crumble if she did as stupid as that sounded. If it came from the sea and snuck into her, it was not going to crumble under her touch, but she did not want to put that theory into practice. "You mean they're real? Isn't that illegal?"

"Real Greek artifacts," Haruka confirmed. "And, well, technically yes. Someone gave word to the police a few years ago; I had to give them to a friend to hide for a few weeks. I found them, why shouldn't I keep them? They're beautiful, aren't they?" She remembered those few weeks very well, she had been very relaxed about it and, well, Setsuna was on the edge, very worried. She did not want them back in the apartment, that was her initial reaction, but they made the room complete.

"Wow…" Hotaru said almost breathlessly. "To have a piece of history in your own home, that's crazy. Do you ever wonder the story behind them? Who made them and what for? What if they were made of the temples of the Gods? We're so close to the temples of Agrigento, that's a possibility, right?"

Haruka nodded. The idea did cross her mind many times, usually when she came into this room. "That's what I think," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "But can you keep it a secret? Setsuna will have a heart attack if we get suspected again."

Secrets. What kid would pass up keeping a secret?

The young girl nodded her head rapidly as she turned to Haruka, her smile growing. "Yes!" she answered, earning her a wink from the older woman.

"And if I find any Greek or Roman coins while out at work, I'll send them your way," Haruka offered. She had a couple of them lying around the apartment, every fisher must have had at least one coin. They were caught among their game every once in a while; it was not something completely unusual. Though it would be easier just fishing one out of the kitchen cabinet and handing it over to the kid now, but where was the excitement in that? Finding a new coin would increase sentimental value, would it not? There would be more meaning about it.

Haruka could not help but feel some sort of connection to Hotaru, one that she could not explain however.

If it were possible, the girls' face would have lit up even more at the idea of having her own bit of history in her bedroom. "Really?" she asked. Haruka nodded in response before leading her out of the dining room, she closed the door behind her, not wanting Souichi to get a glimpse of their little bit of museum – call it trust issues, if one will. Setsuna must be wandering where the two of them were by now and expecting the treats; Haruka quickly returned to the kitchen to fetch the plate of cookies before following Hotaru back into the living room where she sat down quietly next to her father once more without a word. Their secret was safe. She placed the plate upon the coffee table before exiting the room once more; she had other places to be – well, other places she wanted to be was more correct.

XXX

They did not believe him, they called him crazy, they told him was losing his mind, but he would show them soon enough. Michiru came back to him, she was still out there and she had not been a part of his imagination, they were all wrong. He just needed to get on a boat, a boat of his own. He would be able to find Michiru again and he would show her to the whole damn town, he was determined to prove them all wrong for everything they had done in the last few years to him.

Mamoru waited outside the fenced in fairly decent sized house, behind the shrubs that had been planted just along the side of the road. The original plan was to stay out here until the family of two turned in for the night; it was risky, yes, but Tomoe… If he could prove to the world he had been right the whole time and use Tomoe's boat to do just that, it would be adding salt to the wound which is exactly what he wanted. Sneaking while they slept would be tricky, he knew, but he could do it if it came to that. However, luck was on his side tonight. Souichi's German imported Benz pulled out of the driveway and he spotted the young child in the backseat. They were gone if only for a little while. Mamoru only needed a few minutes anyway.

He waited another few minutes just in case they turned back. When they did not, Mamoru stood up, glad that this road was not one commonly taken. It led out to the country, at night it was fairly easy to get lost out in the country. The roads were not paved and even if they were, it was not much of an improvement – this definitely worked for him and his benefit. It would make capturing Michiru a lot easier. Mamoru grasped the metal fence tightly; he hoisted himself up and climbed over.

Landing on all fours, Mamoru's head jerked up. The yard was empty, free of any guard type dogs or anything of the such. Keiko had been afraid of large animals and so was Hotaru. Tomoe would not have something like a German Sheppard wandering around his yard.

Standing straight on his feet, he headed directly for the front door. It was locked of course, Souichi was not an idiot. He valued his security, yes, but every system had its flaws. Or a spare key under the doormat. Yes, it was that simple. Souichi probably did not expect anyone to bother them. Chuckling under her breath, Mamoru unlocked and pushed open the door, heading up the stairwell to the rest of the house. Now, if he were keys for a boat… where would he be?

He rattled his mind. He knew this, he knew he did.

It had been years ago, but Souichi had taken Mamoru over after work for dinner with him and Hotaru. Usagi had been out of town visiting her own family with Chibi-Usa, leaving him home alone for the weekend. Mamoru had not been much of a cook, so Souichi had offered. It was around the same time he got his own boat – a spontaneous buy. After tucking Hotaru into bed and informing the maid they were heading out… where did he go? His office, yes, he went into his office. The keys had been in his desk.

Stumbling in the dark, Mamoru ran down the hallway. His knee had collided with something, but he did not double check to see it had been. He really did not care either, the throbbing would subside soon enough and it would never cross his mind again when he had a hold of Michiru. He would get a hold of Michiru too.

The door to the office was locked and there was no mat for a key to be hidden under for this damn door. Mamoru took a step back, gazing up and down the wooden door before giving it a quick swift kick at the doorknob; it caved in, exactly what he wanted. He allowed himself inside – Souichi had done some rearranging. Damn. Of course he did, if he had not, this would have been like taking candy for a baby. Nothing looked the same as it once was. Would the keys even be in here?

There was only way one to find out. Mamoru flipped on the light switch, searching in the dark would be pointless, he needed his eyes. At once he began digging through different draws, pulling down shelves of books at a time. He was getting nothing, this was frustrating him. More violently, he began to tear down the room, determined to find that damned key. He needed that key, without that key his plan would not work; it would not be as sweet as he wanted it to be. He was going to show them all, he was going-

A smirk overcame his features as he pulled out the bottom draw of the filing cabinet he had been ruffling about in. Laid among the different packages of whatever, Mamoru did not investigate further, were the keys he had been looking for. The man began to laugh, his shoulders began to shake as he took the keys into his hands before arching his head further back as he continued his wicked laugh.

This was it.

XXX

The docks had been quite as they usually were on a Sunday evening. Sunday was a day of rest, hardly anyone worked – the shop, for example, was only closed completely on Sundays. As truthful as that was, Setsuna did not give herself a day off, she constantly had other things to be working on for the shop. Haruka could not even remember the last time Setsuna had taken a day all to herself. She made a mental note to bring this up to her roommate; it could not be healthy. She was pretty sure Setsuna could not spend more than a full day away from the shop. She should make a bet, it would be easy money.

A small chuckle parted from Haruka's lips as she brought the engine to life. It began softly humming as she slowly began to lead the boat out of the port, not wanting to disturb anyone who may be in the surrounding buildings. After all, it was Sunday evening and it was a day of rest, they did not need to hear the roaring of an engine seven days a week, six was bad enough.

However, when she reached the limits of the dock, she kicked it into overdrive, speeding out towards the open ocean. Her heart began to race; she was anticipating this second meeting. She wanted to see Michiru again, wanted to talk to her and find out more about her. She was so interesting, so beautiful and she craved to see her again and Haruka could only hope that, in return, Michiru felt the same way about her, but Haruka really did not think so. There was honestly nothing amazing about her from her point of view. She was a common, every day person who had a dirty job – there was really nothing attractive about that, but… her mind was wandering to the small kiss they had shared only a few days earlier.

Back at the docks, Mamoru was fumbling with the keys in his hands, his eyes darting from boat to boat. Where was the damn thing? It had to be out here, Souichi used it frequently, Hotaru loved rides out to sea and Souichi would not deny his own daughter anything; he spoiled her, everyone knew that. It took only a while more, but he located the boat. The smirk reappeared as he leapt aboard. He was getting closer and closer to his ultimate goal.

She was out there.

And she was his.

To Be Continued