When Michiru awoke, it was almost noon of the next day, and she was briefly surprised at how long Ramika and Tatsuo had let her sleep without intervening; then, she realized that waking her up surely would have been considered impolite by the two, and that after how long they had been awake the previous night, her body had needed all the rest she had given it, feeling refreshed and relaxed.
At least, she felt that way for a minute or two, then she realized a few things at once – one, that she had no idea how Haruka was now, after how she had gone down the previous night, and two, after sleeping her clothes, they felt stiff and grimy against her skin, a grimace forming on her face as she now regretted not taking them off before going to sleep.
Surely Ramika can lend you something, she then told herself as she got out of bed, stretching, if only to get rid of the smell.
She didn't stink yet, a quick sniff told her, her nose at least not detecting any unpleasant smells; as she knew from Haruka though, werewolves had much more sensitive noses, and the last thing she wanted after how kind Haruka's parents had been with her was to offend them by stinking up their home.
Running both hands through her hair, Michiru made her way downstairs, to where she heard noise from what she assumed to be the kitchen; the assumption turned out to be correct, Tatsuo greeting her merrily as she entered, gesturing at the coffee machine and the shockingly high stack of pancakes on the table.
"Good morning", he then said, "feel free to eat as much as you want, I went a bit overboard with the cooking, I tend to do that when I'm happy. Ramika told me to tell you that you can wear whatever fits from her wardrobe, she's with Haruka right now, over at Hitomi's house."
"Thank you", Michiru gave back, a bit overwhelmed by this flood of words – clearly, cooking wasn't the only thing Tatsuo went overboard with when happy, something he noticed as well, since he smiled bashfully, then apologized, even blushing as he went on. "And here I am, rattling away about nothing important while you surely just want to get out of here so you can see Haruka. Am I right?"
"Well, yes", Michiru admitted, figuring that denying it would be of no use, not after what she had said to Haruka the previous evening, right in front of her father, "but first, some breakfast would be nice, and a shower, too. Also, I don't want to intrude if Ramika is with her right now…"
"You wouldn't be intruding", Tatsuo reassured her, "no worries there. In fact, I believe Haruka would be very happy to see you, Ramika called before you woke up and told me that she's awake and aware. Bit tired and woozy, but it's not bad, and she'll recover."
"That's good to know", Michiru gave back with a small sigh of relief, "thank you. I better have a shower now then and find something to wear, I really want to see her…"
Nodding, Tatsuo gave her another smile, then told her where she could find Ramika's wardrobe and the bathroom; thanking him, Michiru made her way to the couple's bedroom first to find fresh clothes, then moved on the bathroom, unable to keep the smile off her face as she already looked forward to seeing Haruka, feeling immensely relieved now that she knew for sure the blonde would be alright.
Already upon entering the room, Michiru saw that Tatsuo's description of Haruka being "a bit tired" had been a major understatement – the blonde looked as if she hadn't slept for days, pale and with dark rings beneath her eyes, but still she managed a smile when Michiru entered, the smaller woman immediately smiling back at her.
"Michiru", Ramika greeted her, delight in her voice, "how nice to see you. And I see you found something to wear."
"Poor you", Haruka rasped, in a voice even lower and hoarser than usual, "shouldn't have put on her clothes. She's gonna make you her shopping buddy now."
"I can imagine worse fates", Michiru gave back, while Ramika shot her daughter a not all too serious glare, then told her that being bedridden and injured was no excuse to make fun of her; then, she got up from her seat and excused herself, giving Michiru a small smile and wink as she passed her, something which went unnoticed by the blonde, her gaze fixed on Michiru now.
"Mom told me what you did", she then said, her tone suddenly awfully serious, the smile gone from her face, "about how you got into the cage room after I'd gone loup."
"That might have been stupid", Michiru had to admit, suddenly afraid as her friend just kept looking at her, her whole expression now unreadable, "but it was the only thing I could think of, they wanted to kill you and I couldn't just let that happen…"
Swallowing heavily, she moved closer to the bed, her heart hammering in her chest when Haruka still didn't respond in any way; eager to break the silence, she spoke on, unable to keep the tremble out of her voice now.
"I know it was dangerous", she told the blonde, "but I also knew you'd never hurt me… and I couldn't risk to lose you, not so shortly after finding you."
"It was dangerous", Haruka finally said something, still with that carefully guarded tone which showed none of her emotions, "and, as you said, yes, it was a bit stupid."
She fell silent again, and Michiru fought the urge to fidget; feeling nervous and strangely helpless now, she forced herself not to ramble on while Haruka took in a deep breath – and then she smiled, her features softening from one second to the next, her voice full of warmth and perhaps something more when she broke the silence once more. "It also was amazing, and the greatest thing anyone has ever done for me. I owe you my life. Thank you."
"I guess we're even now", Michiru replied, feeling so ridiculously relieved that it nearly took her breath away, simultaneously chiding herself for honestly believing that Haruka had been mad at her after what she had done, "you saved my life when we first met…"
"But you've done more than just save my life", Haruka gave back, reaching out with one hand and grasping the smaller woman's, "you… Christ, I don't even know how to describe this. It's like… I was lost in this darkness, and you found me, and showed me the light again."
This was so unexpectedly poetic that it stunned Michiru into silence, and all she could do was smile; Haruka smiled back at her, her eyes sparkling, only to break the mood seconds later as she let out a low groan, her free hand moving to her side, reminding Michiru of the fact that she still was rather badly hurt.
"Oh no", Michiru said, inwardly scolding herself again for letting her friend talk so much when she was obviously still exhausted and in pain, "you're supposed to get some rest and here I am, keeping you awake and talking instead of letting you sleep. I'm sorry…"
"Don't be", Haruka gave back immediately, with a roll of her eyes which made Michiru giggle, "I'll get enough rest during the next few days. Hitomi said it should heal up fine now, but it'll take longer than usual, thanks to the daimon. Stupid Kaorinite bitch."
"And just a minute ago, you were so poetic", Michiru teased, earning a low snort from the blonde; she giggled again, then squeezed her hand as her expression softened, her voice tender when she went on. "Seriously though, I'm glad you'll be alright. I got so scared when I got to the woods and found you there, and then when Hitomi said you'd gone loup…"
"I'm sure you know this by now", Haruka mumbled, to the smaller woman's delight not pulling her hand back, but letting her hold it, "but no wolf has ever come back from this. I'm the first, ever, and it's all thanks to you."
"I'm not sure it was just me", Michiru finally admitted what she had been thinking ever since she had been thanked for the first time for what she had done, "I don't think anyone but me saw it, and I didn't mention this to your parents, but… When you were right on top of me, when I was talking to you and trying to… get you back, this bright light appeared… and a symbol."
"A symbol", Haruka echoed, frowning, "what kind of symbol?"
"Planetary", Michiru told her, absurdly relieved about finally being able to tell someone about this, "if I'm not mistaken, the symbol for Uranus. I think… Haruka, I think you were meant to be a Senshi, as well, and this power somehow was what brought you back."
"Huh", the blonde let out in reply, not all too smart, but not sure what else she could say, "okay, so why didn't I get one of those nifty pens then? And a transformation? Because of the wolf? Destiny shouldn't screw up something like that, right?"
"One should think so", Michiru gave back, squeezing her hand yet again, "but it might be because of the wolf, yes. You're already a… magical being, for lack of a better word, as it is, perhaps this would clash with the Senshi magic. I don't know, I'm just guessing, but it seems to make sense in a strange and weird sort of way."
"A magical being, eh", Haruka smirked, with the flirty tone in her voice Michiru knew well by now, "I've gotten many compliments in my time, but this is a first."
Feeling her cheeks heat up, the smaller woman realized that she was blushing, cursing herself for it – Haruka was the only one who could do this to her, get this kind of reaction from her, and if the twinkle in her eyes was anything to go by, the blonde knew it and enjoyed it, a slight smirk curling her lips now as she winked at her.
"You", Michiru told her after clearing her throat, making sure her voice was steady, "are impossible."
Eager to change the topic, she asked the first thing which came to her mind, namely how much Haruka remembered of the time she had gone loup; moments later though, she realized that this had been the worst question she could have asked, feeling her heart clench up when the blonde shrugged, then shook her head, unknowingly forcing a very unpleasant truth on her.
"Nothing, really", the werewolf told her, "I remember going down in the woods after this damned daimon hit me with one of the spikes, and next thing I know is being down in the cage room, in your arms, in pain, and you telling me to change back and that I can do it. Why?"
"…just curious", Michiru gave back, hoping that Haruka wasn't seeing through her lie, "your parents might want to know that, too, seeing you're the first ever to come back from going loup."
"Oh, Dad's gonna ask me a million questions", Haruka groaned, earning slight laughter from Michiru; if the taller woman had noticed that her friend hadn't been fully honest, she didn't mention it, the Senshi doing a remarkably good job about Haruka's words were causing her.
She doesn't remember, she numbly thought to herself, somehow managing to keep the smile on her face so Haruka wouldn't notice a thing, you told her all those things, how you feel, and she doesn't remember…
"I better let you get some rest now", she told the blonde, her façade still carefully composed, "you're awfully pale, and you look tired. And don't try to tell me now that you're fine, because I can tell you're in pain."
"…you're right", Haruka admitted with a sigh, clearly not all too happy about it, "I really should get some sleep. Doc said it would speed up the healing anyway, so…"
"If your parents are fine with it, I'll stay here until you're well again", Michiru promised her, squeezing her hand once more, her heart clenching up again when Haruka gave her a grateful smile in response; she smiled back at her, then finally let go of her and got up from her seat, telling her to sleep well before she left the room, only letting her true feelings show once she was outside in the hallway and had closed the door behind herself, the smile vanishing from her face within the blink of an eye as she leaned against the wall and hid her face in her hands, asking herself if she'd ever get the courage to tell Haruka all the things she had said to her again.