A/N: This chapter was meant to show that some of the villagers were less biased about Haru being different, as well as give more hints that there was something unknown about Haru. In this chapter is a character that is only hinted at twice in the finished story, and the more observant of you will know who it is. It was also meant to introduce Haru's parents to the little fact that Edna had a lot more of Haru's original traits than they thought, if you get my drift.
It ended up getting cut because a beta was right; it was just delaying Haru and Baron becoming more than merely acquainted. A little reworking on the chapter that was supposed to come after it deleted the need for this entire chapter. But here it is, for those who want a look at it.
Enjoy!
xxXxx
Chapter Twelve: Every Endeavor
This is the moment!
This is the day.
When I send all my doubts and demons
On their way!
Every endeavor,
I have made- ever-
Is coming into play,
Is here and now- today!
This is the moment,
This is the time,
When the momentum and the moment
Are in rhyme!
This is the Moment, Wildhorn's Jekyll and Hyde Musical
xxXxx
The music had returned, as beautiful as ever. The violinist played his song of hope and longing, filling the manor with his sweet music. Haru shivered with delight; nearly holding her breath for the next note, always the next note.
"Come…" the violinist seemed to say through the music. "Come be with me."
A tiny tongue tore Haru from her dream with a start.
It was Yuki, deeply involved with her morning ritual of licking the girl's facial scars while purring deeply. Her tiny paws were attempting to hold Haru's face still, flexing her claws enough to remind her mistress not to move.
Perhaps Yuki thought if she licked the wounds enough, they would disappear.
Haru giggled soundlessly, submitting to Yuki's attentions. The tongue tickled a little, but she didn't mind the morning ritual that much. If anything, she was just grateful that both of her little kitten's eyes were stubbornly staying a pale, perfect blue.
She was also grateful that Yuki didn't mind playing with a ball of yarn while Haru did her best to decipher the lord's book. She had decided fairly early that her room was the best place to sketch, since it gave her plenty of privacy. She had taken to practicing the described stances to see what position worked, and didn't want anyone to see her attempts to learn fencing.
One hand wiggled out from underneath the blanket to gently stroke her tiny kitten's fur. Her mouth opened to say good morning, but nothing came out. Instead, her throat tightened painfully.
'Wow. I think that's the longest time in years I've ever gone without losing my voice.' She sighed and stroked Yuki's thickening fur with one hand. The kitten paused in her efforts long enough to lick Haru's hand affectionately, and then return to her self-imposed chore.
Haru lay there for a few minutes, thinking about her dream as Yuki cleaned her face. The violinist still played every night, and he had been invading her dreams more and more often.
Just who was it that played every night, and why couldn't she remember to mention him to anyone? Toto probably knew who it was, even if it was a ghost.
Haru laughed soundlessly. Yeah. Like such a thing existed.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Haru sat up in bed, easing her kitten onto one shoulder and whistled cheerfully.
Her parents came in, slowly, and looking sorrowful. Haru nearly leapt out of bed, and walked up to them, touching her father's cheek.
He took in a deep shaky breath. "Chicky… the… school just called. It's about your test."
ooOoo
'This is wrong,' Haru thought furiously, sitting in the head counselor's office. She distractedly pulled on a lock of her hair, which she had trimmed the day before. If not for the mask and gloves, she would have looked the way she had before the fire.
"I'm terribly sorry, Miss Moon, but there's no way around it," the middle-aged woman said apologetically, sifting a number of papers over her desk. "You failed the test miserably; Roland says he's never seen such a poor score before."
"Are you sure that the man checked it right?" Naoko begged one more time, keeping a grip on Haru's gloved hand. "Haru's endured more than her share of high school as is."
"Quite sure, Mrs. Moon," the counselor repeated, finally finding the set she was looking for. "Roland's been testing students for over ten years; he wouldn't make a mistake. Also, I am certain that I told you before that students only get one chance to take the test. Now, there are a number of regulations concerning homeschooling, if you are still bent on keeping Haru from the other students. I must admit; she would be given grief over that mask, even from the teachers. Does she truly need it?"
"The last person to question that nearly ran away screaming after Haru showed him her face," Muta said flatly.
"Now, he didn't quite run away screaming," Naoko corrected as her daughter worked her hand free. "He fell over first, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember," Muta grumbled, looking at Haru curiously. "But the person before him did scream murder at seeing her face."
She had pulled out her little notepad, and was writing on it on a furious pace.
Ma'am-
With all due respect, I knew a good number of the answers on the test. My mother has been checking my work against reliable websites, and my answers were seldom so terrible. Please, as a personal favor, would you check over my test one more time? If I'm wrong, you can laugh at me if you want, but I need to be certain that this isn't a misunderstanding.
Haru handed the notepad to the woman, unable to deny the cold feeling in her stomach. This convenient failing reminded her a little too much of what had happened repeatedly in Japan.
The counselor looked at the message for a long minute, and then glanced up at Haru. She tilted her head slightly, and looked deeply at Haru, her expression turning strange.
"Could you smile for me?" she asked out of the blue.
Haru blinked, and looked at the woman incredulously. 'Where on earth did that come from?'
"What does her smile have to do with anything?" Naoko demanded.
"I just want to see it for a second. Would you mind, Miss Moon?"
To be fair, Haru tried. But she had a lot of bad memories about corrupt counselors, and couldn't quite manage it so far from the manor.
Grinning like a cat, Muta leaned over, and whispered in her ear in Japanese. "Don't smile, Chicky. Your face will crack, and I'll have to fix it with duct tape."
Haru couldn't help but laugh soundlessly, turning to her right to grin right back at her father.
By the time she looked back at the counselor, the woman was nearly in tears.
She used a nearby Kleenex box to be dry her face, and stood up from her desk. "It couldn't hurt to take a second look at that test. Roland may be good, but he's still human."
"Hey, what's with the change?" Muta asked incredulously. "All Haru did was smile."
The counselor shrugged, and opened up a file cabinet behind the desk. "My old best friend had a smile a lot like your daughter's. It's good to see that smile again."
Haru quirked an eyebrow, as she leaned across the desk to take back her notepad. 'That must have been some best friend.'
The woman soon found the file she was after, and closed the cabinet door with one shoulder to set the folder on top of the cabinet. "Here we go. Let's see…" She opened the file, and started sifting through the few papers, including the bubble sheet she had laboriously filled in.
Even from across the room, Haru could see all the red marks on it.
The counselor leaned against the cabinet, holding the bubble sheet in one hand and a folded bit of paper in the other hand, with several holes in it.
At first, her head slowly turned from one paper to the other. Then the speed increased, her eyes widening as her brown eyes scanned the top of the paper with holes.
"That… idiot!" she nearly screamed, slamming the folder down before looking for another one in the cabinet.
"There's something wrong?" Naoko asked, a little intimidated by the woman's reaction.
"You bet there is! Roland used the wrong correction paper to score your daughter's test! How could he have missed this?" Within minutes, her fingers found another correction sheet, and she sat down at the desk again while clicking a blue pen. "I'm terribly sorry for doubting your word, Miss Moon. I'll have this really corrected in just a minute."
Haru beamed at her, and inwardly sighed with relief. 'Looks like this counselor isn't so bad, after all.'
Naoko gave her a loving smile before turning back to the counselor. Her hands were careful, as they matched up the holes against the right answers, and used her blue pen to mark the occasional wrong answer. She was done within five minutes, and was soon working out the calculations that would determine the final score.
She stared at the results, and then slowly looked up at Haru. "Oh dear. Well, Miss Moon, there's good news and bad news."
"What? There's still bad news?" Muta asked worriedly.
"I'm afraid so. The good news is that your daughter's score is much better than what Roland tried to credit her with. Unfortunately, it's only three points short of passing. It's still a fail."
Haru's jaw dropped in horror. 'I tripped at the finish line? Dang it, which two or three questions did I get wrong?'
"Isn't there something you can do?" Naoko begged, nearly ready to get on her knees. "I mean, if it's only three points off, there must be some penalty she could do to make up for it."
The woman tapped her thumb in thought. "Stop me if I'm wrong, but I think I read about you in the newspaper a month or so ago, Miss Moon."
Haru flinched, but reluctantly nodded her head. 'Here it comes.'
"She just made mincemeat out of some jerks trying to kidnap the baron's niece, nothing big," her father tried to say casually.
Luckily, the counselor didn't notice his nerves. "I see. The newspaper also described your daughter as an amateur gymnast. I'd like to see what she can do. If it's impressive enough, I'll overlook the three points she missed and have her diploma in the mail within the week."
'Now that, I can do,' Haru thought with relief, standing up from her seat.
"Hold it!" her mother nearly screamed, grabbing Haru's hand before she could get too far. "You're still recovering; you're not strong enough yet!"
"Yes I am," she replied with one hand, giving her dad a desperate look.
"I don't think that would be a good idea," Muta tried to reason with the counselor. "Haru's health hasn't been very good lately, and she's still recovering from two months' worth of bed rest."
'No, I'm not! I'm perfectly fine now!' Haru tried to wiggle her way out of her mother's grasp, but Naoko wasn't giving up without a fight.
She stood up from her chair and put her mouth very close to Haru's ear. "You can't do what she wants without turning into Edna; it's too dangerous," she hissed fearfully in Japanese.
Haru stared at her mother, and laughed silently while shaking her head. She twirled her wrist out of her mother's hand, and started signing. "You don't really think I've been evading Kamui for all these years just by running, do you?"
Naoko gaped at her in horror, making Muta stand up worriedly.
"I really need to learn that finger language," he muttered to himself, placing one meaty hand on his wife's shoulder. "What did she say, Chicky?"
Naoko continued to stare at her daughter, almost like she didn't know her. But after what felt like eternity, she took a deep breath. "She promises that she won't do more than she's capable of. I'm still against it, but Haru wants to try."
Muta glanced at his daughter, sensing that hadn't been the real message. "You sure you want to do this?"
Haru nodded, giving him a smile while crossing her heart with a finger. "I'll be fine," she mouthed at him.
The counselor seemed confused, and walked around the desk. "Would you like a day to prepare?"
Haru shook her head, and tapped her wrist with two fingers.
"She says there's no time like the present," Naoko sighed, now looking at her only child with sorrowful eyes.
ooOoo
Spitballs in art class. Trip attempts in every aisle. The hallways she was forced to brave alone since no one would stand by her; knowing that a new prank was waiting for her each school day.
Haru never dreamed that she would someday be grateful for such things.
She ignored the senseless babble that the gym students were making as they were ushered out of the way for her sake. She distractedly handed her sturdy black jacket to her father, and took her shoes off at the insistence of the gym teacher. She could hear him demand that she remove the mask as well, but ignored that command.
Her silent feet guided her to twenty paces in front of the first of three pieces of gymnastics equipment. She noted the thick red mats with amusement.
She had known no such luxury in Japan, when she went through her own 'training'.
"The girl is a special case, Mr. Thomson; the mask stays on," the counselor said firmly, borrowing a stop watch from one of the students. "I think it might be a good idea to time you, Miss Moon. Are you ready?"
Haru rolled her shoulders and stretched her limbs before nodding. She may have been in bed rest for almost two months, but she was still determined to give it her best shot.
"Now, see here! This is my gym, I'll time her!" the well-built man snarled, snatching another timer from one of the other students.
"We'll both time her, then. On your mark!" the counselor announced.
Haru bent down with one hand to the ground, much like a runner.
"Get set!" the gym teacher barked, one eye twitching slightly as he raised his timer slightly.
Haru could feel her eyes sharpening; every muscle taut and ready. 'Just pretend that Kamui's chasing you with his pack of idiots again.'
"Go!" they both yelled, pressing the timers' start button.
Her slim legs catapulted her from her starting point, and her arms bent conveniently to keep in time with her body as she started running.
The distance from the low beam wasn't all that great, but Haru needed the momentum to cartwheel onto it, down it, and then smoothly off of it in less than three seconds.
That was something she had learned fairly quickly in Japan. It was one thing to evade the obnoxious boy and his traps; it was quite another to do it with style. It was easier to take pride in outsmarting the bullies when she made it look effortless.
It had even impressed Kamui, or so he said.
She could hear people make loud sounds, but paid them no mind. They were too far away to stop her now.
Next was a taller beam, about the same height as her shoulder. A sideways jump put her on top of it, even if she had to steady herself with one hand before straightening to her full height. Since she had done cartwheels on the shorter beam, she used the taller one to show off the fact that she could bend herself into several different versions of a pretzel; almost dancing across the wood. She even hung off the beam by her knees while she prepared to catch herself with her hands, for when she allowed herself to fall.
As if she was not making enough of a statement, she walked on her hands to the final challenge; a set of parallel bars.
'Drat. This would have been more fun with uneven bars.'
Not that it mattered. Before leaving Japan, Haru had developed a reputation for unorthodox improvisation.
It didn't take much to bend her legs underneath one of the bars in a limbo style, and slip her knees over the bar so that she could pull herself up by the other bar. After that, it was easy to rearrange her body so that she could practice on it like any other person.
What she didn't want to admit to herself, was the fact that it was wearing her out faster than it used to. After all, she was nearing three months without practicing, and she had been sick for two of those months.
'I better wrap this up before I fall flat on my face. I don't want to give them excuses to flunk me.'
With flair, Haru threw herself to the left of the parallel bars, and landed squarely on her feet. While her hands were still outstretched to the ceiling to steady herself, she looked over her shoulder to gauge her parents' reaction. But then she looked past them, and her eyes widened incredulously.
"Toto!" she protested silently, since her voice was still gone.
The doctor was grinning widely, and he had his cell phone pointed toward her; more than likely recording her routine.
Muta turned around, shaking his head slightly to be rid of the obvious shock. "What are you doing here, Bird Brain?"
He grinned as he lowered his cell phone and pressed a few buttons. "I thought I'd drop by, just in case Haru needed some help. But it looks like she has everything under control," he said with a grin.
Haru glowered at him as she walked around the mats to slip her shoes back on. Her eyes glanced toward the students, just out of curiosity.
They were speechless, and a few had their mouths open. Three of the girls were staring at her hatefully, but nonetheless took a step back when she gave them a sterner look.
"But I have to admit; I wasn't expecting any child of yours to pull a routine like that," Toto teased Muta with a roguish grin.
"Hey! I was a martial arts champion in my day!"
"Oh, really? I'd have thought that it would have been sumo wrestling."
"Stop that! Not here!" Naoko begged; pulling on one of her husband's arms as Haru took back her jacket. "Can't you two wait until we get home? We're in a school, have you forgotten that?"
"Spoilsport," Toto muttered before looking at the counselor, who was looking at him with nothing short of hostility. Then his expression softened, turning into regret. "Emma," he sighed, inclining his head courteously.
"Toto," she nearly growled, just before turning her back on him to walk up to Haru. Both her and the gym teacher seemed to have forgotten about the timers. "That was wonderfully executed, Miss Moon. I'll get started on your diploma right away."
Haru bowed to her thankfully, although she didn't understand why the counselor would dislike Toto so much. Was she an old girlfriend of his?
Muta and Toto continued their half-witty banter down the hall, although Toto's insults now lacked their familiar snap and Naoko was begging the both of them to stop. Haru tilted her head at him, wondering what was wrong with Toto. He very rarely got depressed, at least to this degree.
The counselor suddenly pulled on one arm gently, encouraging her to fall behind her parents and doctor as they walked down the hallway.
Haru looked at the woman curiously, but did as she was silently requested.
Emma stopped cold in her tracks, and cradled Haru's face between her hands, memorizing every detail. Haru could feel her fingers twitch against the mask, and raised a hand to ensure that it stayed on.
The counselor shook her head after a minute, fighting back tears as she suddenly wrapped Haru in a warm embrace.
Haru stared at her, hardly believing that the woman was fighting back tears again. Awkwardly, she patted the counselor's shoulder, and prayed that she would let go of her soon.
Without warning, she raised her head from Haru's shoulder and started whispering in her ear. "I'd be wary of the baron if I were you, Miss Moon. There's more to him than meets the eye, and it isn't all good."
Haru looked at Emma incredulously, just before remembering that the lord had gotten into trouble with the law some years back. Was that why Toto was acting so strangely? Had Emma been involved with whatever the misunderstanding was?
In any case, Haru gave a soundless laugh before pulling out her notepad again.
Don't worry about that. I'm already scared to death of him.