Chapter 7

The show Hoshi, Michiru and Haruka had made together was in the newspapers for days after Christmas and new years eve, and Hoshi was giving a large bonus for her work from Music/Media Inc, as she was promised. Even Michiru had been offered a contract after her first large show, and Michiru had thanked yes at once, thinking that it was what her mother would have wanted and she really wanted to make Hoshi proud. Hoshi was sitting by the kitchen table looking trough the mail a week after Michiru's twelfths birthday, while the girl was standing in the art gallery, working on one of her newest pieces. Taiko had gone out early that morning for work and would be by home around lunch, only to go back to work. Michiru was wearing her painting shirt as always and a green skirt, which ended at her knees. The girl had a talent for not getting paint on herself, which was a fact for Hoshi, but Michiru always insisted in having her painting shirt on. The girl hadn't stopped thinking of the blond pianist and was more or less quiet about the event, and Hoshi wasn't the kind to ask Michiru if she was alright or sad over the face, that the blonde could be her daughters future partner, which she had a strong feeling about.
Michiru sighed as she removed her brush from the painting in front of her. It was on a whale, and strangely enough she thought the name Space was perfect for it. She sighed and slowly put away her pallet and brush, before she looked at the painting. I guess I don't have more to do here. She thought with a smile and soon walked over to desk and chair by the window, where she changed her painting shirt to a clean white one.
"Sweet heart?" Hoshi shouted from the dining table. "How's the painting coming along?"
"It's finished!" Michiru shouted back with a gentle smile over her lips, and she could hear a chair being pushed back, and soon she looked at the door way, were Hoshi appeared, wearing her white tank top and a pair of blue jeans.
Hoshi smiled at her daughter and soon looked at the painting. "I see." She noted and walked over to the colorful painting. "It's beautiful." She added and crossed her arms, while tilting her head slightly to the side. "Like all your paintings." She continued as Michiru walked over to her. "What's your next project?" She smiled now.
Michiru shrugged her shoulders with a gentle smile paying on her lips. "I don't know really." She replied and looked at Hoshi. "Mother..." She said slowly after a while of just gazing.
"Yes sweet heart?" Hoshi blinked, looking at Michiru with an asking gaze. Suddenly it almost hit her. Three years of our lives together. She thought and at the same time her face paled a little.
"Mother?" Michiru's eyes widened seeing the sudden change over Hoshi's face. She placed her arms around Hoshi, like if she was trying to hold up her mother. "What's wrong?"
Hoshi sighed deeply while rubbing her forehead. "I need to sit down... that's all." She whispered and at the same time the answer was given, Michiru helped Hoshi to the desk, where the woman sat down on the chair, still rubbing her forehead. Hoshi soon sighed deeply, before she looked at the girl standing by her side, looking at her with a worried gaze. "I'm fine sweet heart, I just got light headed..." She whispered, trying to sound comforting.
"Why don't I believe you?" Michiru whispered and looked at the floor, looking sad because she felt that something wasn't like always between them.
Hoshi looked at the girl and soon sighed deeply, getting up from the chair before placing her hands onto Michiru's shoulders. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lie you right in your face."
Michiru smiled slightly, but kept her gaze at the floor. "I'm glad you confessed. You're a bad lair."
Hoshi smiled gently at the girl and nodded a bit. "What was it you wanted to talk about sweet heart?" She asked after a while of just gazing over the girl.
Michiru sighed and soon looked at Hoshi. "I was thinking on starting at Mugen Gakuen High School..." She answered. "I was thinking on talking with you about it... before I... before I..." She ended up with a sigh, while her gaze ended up at the floor.
Hoshi didn't mind in asking what she meant with the words, since she knew that the girl new her soon to come future. "Of course you can sweet heart." She whispered instead while stroking Michiru on the cheek. "It's a good school, I've heard. And all that you want you can do, just you up your mind to it." She added, now getting Michiru's attention and gaze. "You're a smart and talented girl, and seriously, you can take care of yourself perfectly on your own."
Michiru smiled and blushed a bit, knowing that the woman was right. "I'm glad you think so, mother." She whispered. "But I don't think I can make it on my own... when I have to..." She ended up with yet another sigh, while her eyes gently shined with tears.
"Not another word from your lips." Hoshi whispered suddenly as she saw the tears in Michiru's eyes.
Michiru looked at Hoshi while more tears appeared in her eyes, knowing Hoshi didn't want to hear about the day when she was to leave the safety of Hoshi's presence and never return, and just forget about the woman who Michiru saw as her mother. A tear ran down her cheek as she closed her eyes tightly, while wrapping her arms around Hoshi, crying onto her shoulder.
Hoshi couldn't hold her own tears back now, knowing that the girl was going trough in her thoughts, only being able to imagine that her pain was the same as her own. "There, there." Hoshi whispered as she gently put her arms around the girl, holding her carefully. "We still have loads of time on our hands... Three whole years! That's much, isn't it?" She whispered as she stroked Michiru's hair. "We still can go on that trip we have been planning on doing, remember? The one to England?"
Michiru smiled trough her tears while she gently grabbed onto Hoshi's back, holding tightly onto the tops back with both hands, like if she was afraid the woman would just disappear.
Hoshi sighed gently and tried to smile, while fighting back her tears. "Sweetie." She whispered and gently leaned her head against Michiru's head, holding the girl a bit tighter. "I'll always have you in my heart. Remember that." She whispered after a while, getting a nod from Michiru as a simple reply.
The door in the hallway was opened and closed suddenly. "I'm home!"
Hoshi smiled gently and gave Michiru a tight hug before she let go. "Let's make lunch." She whispered.
Michiru nodded as a silent reply, before Hoshi walked out of the room, leaving the girl to clean up after herself.
Hoshi greeted Taiko who walked into the kitchen with a quick peck on the cheek. "How's work coming along?" Hoshi asked as she walked by Taiko, and to the fridge.
"Too much work." Taiko smiled back as an answer. "I've been asked to become the bosses right hand." She added as she leaned against the freezer, while keeping her eyes on Hoshi, who opened the fridge. "And a big raise would come out of it."
"Do as your heart desires." Hoshi replied with a quick smile as she picked out some leftover rice.
Taiko nodded a little for herself as Michiru walked into the room, still with slightly reddened eyes. "How's the younger generation of artist of the family?" Taiko asked as she placed a stable hand onto Michiru's shoulder.
"Just fine..." Michiru replied in a low voice, as she gave Taiko their usual greeting peck on the cheek, before she spun around to get loose from Taiko's hand.
"Eh, is that so?" Taiko blinked as a perfectly formed eyebrow was raised towards the girl, who was clearly trying to keep her eyes away from Taiko's. "What does the princess say about me becoming the second manager of the coffee shop?"
Michiru smiled as she slowly moved some strands of hair behind her ear. "Great." She replied in a low voice before she looked at Hoshi, who was blending up some green salad with the rice. "Anything I can do mother?" She asked.
Hoshi smiled over her shoulder and shook her head a little. "You can go take that bath you wanted, sweet heart. I'll call you down when lunch is ready." She replied with a soft voice, knowing that a shower or bath would calm Michiru's thoughts more than well after crying.
"Thank you, mother." Michiru replied and slowly started the walk up stairs, which felt like forever under her feet.
Taiko listened as the slow footsteps walked up the stairs and onto the top floor, where the bathroom door soon opened and closed, and was locked. "Why has she been crying?" She noted suddenly, while she placed her gaze at Hoshi's back.
Hoshi sighed deeply and slowly placed down the bowl with rice and salad, before she turned around to look at Taiko. "It's nothing... she just has a load on her mind right now." She replied and crossed her arms.
Taiko looked at the woman, knowing that she was lying and doing it really poorly. "What's in the air?" She protested and walked over to Hoshi. "Is she on drugs?" She continued as she stopped right in front of Hoshi.
"Stop it." Hoshi sighed and closed her eyes gently, not noticing the grin playing over Taiko's lips. "She's a smart girl and she would never touch that junk." She sighed, only to open her eyes as Taiko took her hands into hers. The two changed gazes for a while under silence.
"I was just joking." Taiko replied in a gentle voice as she gently squeezed Hoshi's hands. "I have something to ask you, something that isn't about work." She whispered after a second.
"What's that?" Hoshi sighed, feeling the sadness lifting from her heart while she gazed into Taiko's calming eyes.
Taiko slowly let go of Hoshi's left hand, only to put it into her own pocket.

Lunch had been eaten and Taiko had gone back to work, and Michiru was helping Hoshi clean up in the kitchen. Not much had been said under lunch, and nothing was really needed to be said either. But Hoshi had a slight shimmer in her eyes, which seemed not sad or happy, and Michiru had noticed it but didn't mind in asking what it was about.
"Mother, I was thinking on practicing a little after I'm done." Michiru said as she placed some dishes into the machine.
"Yes dear." Hoshi whispered as she cleaned out the salad bowl, which had taken her about ten minutes.
Michiru sighed deeply, which sounded more or less like a frustrated moan. She closed the washing machine and stared at Hoshi. "What's wrong?" She asked suddenly, not being able to hold back her questions anymore, knowing that the woman she called mother was lost in thoughts.
"Huh?" Hoshi blinked as the bowl was cleaned.
Michiru walked over to Hoshi, looking her right in the eyes. "I can see that something is wrong. Tell me! I'm your daughter, aren't I? And we don't have secrets from each other..."
Hoshi blinked, looking at the sudden mood change in Michiru. "Sorry dear." She whispered and left the bowl in the water-basin. "I've just got loads to think of." She replied and before she knew it Michiru had pulled her to the dining table and sat her down, before sitting beside her.

"Tell me." Michiru protested.
Hoshi looked at the table only to sigh and close her eyes, and at the same time a smile played on her lips. "Well..." She started and looked at Michiru with a gently shining pair of eyes. "Taiko asked me something today..."
Michiru's eyes suddenly widened, while her heart skipped some beats inside of her chest.
"She asked me to marry her." Hoshi continued, letting her gaze end up at her lap. "And I answered yes to her..." She added slowly.
Michiru soon smiled warmly at her mother, while tears of joy appeared in her eyes.
Hoshi sighed gently and soon looked at Michiru. "That's what." She noted. "And I really don't know how I should feel right now." She added, and before she knew it Michiru had taken her hands into her own. "Are you happy for me, Michiru?"
Michiru nodded while a tear ran down her cheek. "It's what you have wanted, isn't it mother?" She whispered, getting a nod from Hoshi. "I'm happy for you..." She whispered after a while of gazing at Hoshi.
Hoshi nodded as a thanking reply while she rested her eyes on her beautiful daughter. "Thank you." She whispered and soon they hugged. "I just hope the media wont make a large thing about it." She whispered suddenly with a smile over her lips, feeling that the moment needed a bad joke.
Michiru laughed gently onto her mothers shoulder while she hugged her a bit tighter. The two soon let go and took each other's hands, that were the same size and strangely similar. The touching fingers knew each other in everyway thinkable, since that had been their so-called thing since Michiru was a child, and in someway Hoshi knew that Michiru felt a slight comfort in it.
"I'll clean up here, go practice." Hoshi said suddenly as she wrapped her thumb around Michiru's with a shining smile over her lips. "I'll come down and listen as soon as I'm done."
Michiru nodded and got up from the chair, giving Hoshi a tight hug before she walked to the stairs and to the bottom floor.

The evening slowly took over the day and Hoshi was sitting in the music room, listening to Michiru playing on her violin. Hoshi listened to the music with closed eyes, just like she had always done as Michiru played. The girl had been a full-fledged violinist at the age of seven, when she had come home with her first borrowed violin from school, which only was a heartwarming treat for Hoshi. Taiko had called home some time ago, saying that she needed to stay a while longer at work to talk with her boss about the new job, and that she would be home a bit later, so the rest of the family didn't have to wait up.
Hoshi slowly opened her eyes, looking at Michiru who was standing in front of her notes. She maybe doesn't know it, but she has already made me proud. Hoshi thought and gently tilted her head to the side. "Want to call it a day?" She asked as Michiru put away the bow with a gentle sigh.
Michiru nodded a little and turned around to face Hoshi.
Hoshi nodded back and slowly got up from the chair with a gentle sigh. "You're getting better and better by every practice." She noted as she walked over to Michiru, putting a promising hand onto the girls shoulder.
"I'm trying my best." Michiru nodded proudly to her mother, before she looked at the violin in her hand. "You think I'll be as good as you someday?" She asked after a while, looking back at Hoshi.
Hoshi laughed gently and nodded. "I think you already are, sweet heart." She promised.
Michiru smiled gently at Hoshi and slowly walked over to her violin case, putting away the bow and violin, before closing the case. "Could we go outside for a while?" She asked suddenly, turning back to her mother.
"Need some fresh air?" Hoshi asked with a gentle smile.
Michiru nodded. "I thought we could watch the sky turn darker and make up new names for the stars."
Hoshi nodded gently and slowly walked towards the door. We haven't done that since she was nine. She thought and looked over her shoulder, looking at Michiru who turned of the light in the corner.
The two soon walked out of the studio and across the living room, were Hoshi picked up two blankets from the sofa, giving one of them to Michiru while putting the other one around herself, while Michiru opened the door into the yard. They stepped out of the house and sat down on the bench, from where the garden almost started. The two gazed at the slowly darkening sky under silence and as soon as the first stars appeared. "What should we name that one?" Hoshi asked while putting an arm around Michiru's shoulders.
"I think we should name it Glory." Michiru replied while leaning her head against Hoshi's shoulder. "Since it's the first start to shine." She added, looking at Hoshi with a gentle smile.
"I agree." Hoshi nodded, keeping her eyes at the sky.
They kept on naming stars until they couldn't make up more names, letting their gazes rest on the moon, which shined up the garden. They didn't say a word to each other, while they listened to the calm silence of the garden.
Michiru was the first one to break the silence with a yawn.
Hoshi smiled gently, looking at the girl who was leaning her head against Hoshi's shoulder. "Time for bed, kitten?"
Michiru nodded a little and soon lifted her head up from Hoshi's shoulder.
Hoshi was about to get up from the bench when she suddenly stared out into the yard. There she was again. Her eyes widened at the sight of the mystery woman, who she by now knew was called Pluto. "Michiru..."
Michiru looked at her mother and noticed the worried gaze that she had seen over her face several times before. She swallowed hard before she looked out into the yard, seeing the woman standing there, with her staff while looking their way. "Pluto..." She whispered as she slowly got up from the bench, holding tightly onto the blanket around her.
The tanned woman slowly walked closer to the two, who just stared at her. "I decided that this was the last time I would come and see you both." She said in a low voice as she rested her eyes on Hoshi. "As you know, the times isn't here yet, Suteki-san." She noted as she stopped in her steps. "But there is something I must ask of you before I leave here."
Hoshi swallowed and nodded a little, not really knowing what to say or do.
"Michiru-san's last name shall be changed on her fiftieth birthday. The day when everything will change, and you will understand all." Pluto said now looking at Michiru. "I hope you understand as well, little one."
Michiru stared at the woman for a while and soon nodded. "I understand." She whispered, while she let her gaze end up at the ground.
Pluto nodded towards the girl before she looked at Hoshi. "I wish you all the best, and I promise that this will be the last time you see me again."
Hoshi nodded a little and soon she ended up looking at Michiru. "Kaioh Michiru." She whispered suddenly, feeling that the name was right for the girl. As she said the words Michiru looked at her, studying the woman's face for some time before a gentle smile appeared on her lips.
"Thank you, mother." Michiru whispered after a while of gazing at the woman, and at the same time hugging her tightly, not minding the blanket that fell to the ground and landing around her feet.
"We'll make sure that the name will be changed as soon as possible." Hoshi said, while hugging her daughter and looking at Pluto, who seemed glad with the name choice and ended up with a nod, before she turned around, only to fade away into the darkness of the garden. "Kaioh Michiru." Hoshi whispered as she looked at Michiru, who was silent and didn't mind in saying another word, only thanking her mother from the depths of her heart, which Hoshi felt.