Obaa-san!
By Cloud
sky@charmed.ph
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
05/17/01 -- I am so drained...
Same rules apply. So sue me. :)
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Chapter 4
And so, Haruka's internal battle continued. Four days into the first week, she had almost gone berserk because of Shiroko's unrelenting 'favors'. The old woman was always on her trail. Wherever she went, whatever she did, trust the old lady to suddenly appear out of nowhere and ask her if she was busy, and eventually talk her into running an errand in town or something as drastic like weeding the garden. She almost suspected that the old woman was up to something.
But what? The mere thought of it bothered her. Did she miss something? Was there a big conspiracy behind it all? Or did this just have something to do with her being blonde?
"You're paranoid, Haruka. I know my grandmother, she isn't like that." Michiru tried to comfort her partner.
That afternoon, the pair had decided to walk around the house, partially to familiarize Haruka with every nook and cranny while the rest to just relax and enjoy their much desired quality time together.
Michiru had taken her life-long partner around the orchard too, which Haruka found extremely beautiful. The place was a haven for orchids, roses, ivy, yellow bells, freesias, lilies, poinsettias, oak, and the proverbial sakura tree, which were littered sporadically within the area. Red-bricked arches graced the cobbled path that snaked its way through the coppice, creating the perfect image for a perfect romantic getaway.
That was what Haruka thought before the image of Shiroko came crashing back into her consciousness once again.
"...And I have this very strong urge to call her a pest, you know." Haruka frowned as she let her fingers dance ever so softly over the ivory keys of the grand piano.
Michiru sighed. "I'm very sorry about that, Haruka. But I have to be honest, had it not been you who said that, I might have hit that person already. I love my grandmother very much, but like you... well, I've come to see how irritating she can be at times." The sea-maiden sighed as she sat beside Haruka on the piano bench.
The pair had come to rest inside the small theatre that served as a performance hall inside the house. There was a stage, or course, where the grand piano was positioned. Behind it was a semi-circular wall of glass that peered out into the garden.
There were no chairs in the audience area, but instead it was like one big dance floor, parqued and polished, where the audience could position themselves to their liking while somebody performed on stage. There were bleachers on the balcony though, to accommodate more people if there need be.
Over all, it was a warm, comfortable place where anybody can sit down and get lost in his or her thoughts.
"But planting beans isn't exactly my idea for a vacation, you know." Haruka complained. Her playing progressed into a crescendo, sharp and precise, perfectly mirroring her emotions while she played. Eventually, it later on died away to become soft, tinkling, teasing notes like dripping ice.
"She's lonely, Haruka," Michiru explained. "Grandpapa died a few years back, my father seldom visits her, and she lives alone, by herself, way up here with nobody to take care of her. With that kind of life, who wouldn't yearn for companionship?"
Loneliness... companionship... or a lack thereof... the words swirled around her head, taunting her. A pang of grief suddenly overtook her heart. Michiru had a point. After all, she herself was very well familiar with the feeling of lonesomeness.
Before Michiru came, she was a lonely, abandoned soul fighting to live on her own. Her parent's death was not an easy matter to overcome. Since then, she couldn't depend on anybody else but herself. And most people always said that she couldn't do it, she couldn't do anything.
They said she was young, she was blonde, and she was dumb. She was just trouble and she was just a girl.
Hearing this, she changed her image: cut her hair to what it is now, chose to walk and talk and sometimes act like a man just to find herself a firm ground in a chauvinistic world in which she could plant her foundations, where she can reap the fruits of her toil and labor later on.
With this in mind, her fierce passion to succeed was virtually her lifeline. Eventually, she proved them all wrong. She made it. She was famous, she was rich, she was hounded by media and frenzied fans wherever she went. Not one person within a distance wouldn't recognize that sandy blonde hair, those piercing green eyes, and that handsomely chiseled face to be that of the legendary Tenoh Haruka.
She made it on her own. She was a survivor.
But the loneliness was still there. Even when she reached the apex of her accomplishment, even if the sponsors or the pit crew or her fellow teammates, and especially not even her admirers that cheered for her, even then, there was nobody to share the real pride that she felt with. And nothing could ever match the anguish that spread throughout her being when she received her trophy, which, for her, signifies another victory over those who condemned her to be useless, but not over herself.
Until Michiru came...
"Haruka, are you alright?"
Haruka felt Michiru's hand on her own. Suddenly, she snapped back to reality.
"Huh? Oh... I'm fine."
"You spaced out."
"I did? It's nothing, just wondering about... things."
Michiru felt that she didn't have to pry further. She already felt Haruka's pain even before she acknowledged Haruka's distant stare. Their strong bond allowed them to understand each other even without saying how they felt. And that was no less than a blessing, mostly on Michiru's part because it permitted her to know what was going on inside her partner without having to wheedle it out of her, knowing Haruka's stubbornness when it came to personal matters.
"Oh darling," Michiru wrapper her arms around Haruka. "As your teammates would say, 'chill!'"
Michiru was rewarded with a chuckle. "They've been flirting around you too often. I didn't know those guys were brave enough to even come near you."
"Are you jealous?" an eyebrow arched at Haruka.
"No, I just can't allow you to look at anyone else but me!"
"Why do I feel like I'm having a déjà vu?"
Haruka zeroed in on Michiru, taking the smaller woman's lips with her own.
******************
Seeing the lover's exchange of intimacies, someone somewhere quietly walked away, smiling.
******************
Thursday night, the phone rang in Haruka and Michiru's home back in the outskirts of Tokyo.
"Hai, moshi moshi?" Setsuna answered.
"Good evening, miss." The caller greeted. "Would you happen to know if a tall, dark, and extremely sensual woman by the name of Setsuna Meioh is living in that house by the sea? You know, unusually captivating green hair, smoldering garnet eyes, and killer curves?"
"Who the hell is this?" Setsuna barked.
The caller answered nonchalantly. "I am everywhere. I am everything. I am watching you. Setsuna!"
Setsuna's eyes were wide as saucers. "You better tell me who you are or I'll make sure that you will never see another sunrise!" she demanded menacingly, her grip tightening on the handset.
"Setsuna... what's you're favorite scary movie?"
Just as she was about to hang up and scream bloody murder, a recent memory came back to the green-haired woman, involving that one night when the four of them sat down and watched this particular movie...
"Haruka!!! You IDIOT!!! What is wrong with you?!"
"Damn! You should have heard yourself!" Haruka exclaimed, laughing her heart out.
Setsuna grunted. "You are one SICK jerk! I really don't know why I put up with you! I really should have sent you back to the age of the dinosaurs!"
"Aww, you wouldn't do that, Setsuna," Haruka taunted. "What would Hotaru think of you? Would you want her to think that you're a psycho-delusional-staff-wielding-time-travel-trigger-happy maniac who just sent her papa to the primordial soup of the universe?"
Setsuna eyebrows shot up. "Emotional blackmail!"
"I thought so, too." Haruka replied, grinning slyly. "Anyway, I just called to check how you guys are."
"If that's what you call it..."
'Since when did she get an attitude?!' Haruka thought to herself. "Fine, I apologize. You know I was only kidding."
"Fine, I accept." Setsuna finally yielded. "We're fine, basically. Hotaru's at Usagi's place, I dropped her off this morning because I had to go to the office for an emergency meeting with the Head Officials."
"That's nice. At least she gets to go out and enjoy herself. Can't say the same for you though."
Setsuna sighed. "God tell me about it. What about you guys? How are you doing?"
"Please, don't even get me started!" Haruka wailed into the receiver. "I'm not exactly doing what I was supposed to do."
"You mean..."
"Don't turn green on me now, Setsuna." Haruka remarked, knowing what Setsuna meant.
"Gomen... go on. Tell me what's wrong."
"Michiru's grandmother is here."
"Her WHAT?!"
"I said the same thing. Anyway, she's driving me nuts! She keeps asking these 'favors' from me and I end up being helplessly domesticated into her very own little poodle." The blonde twirled the telephone cord on one slender finger as she pouted.
"That's awful... why is she there in the first place?"
"Well," Haruka sighed. "Apparently Michiru's mother called her up and told her to keep an eye on us while we're here. DUH, I think she's keeping her eye more on ME than on Michiru."
"And I'm 100% sure that you almost blew your top off."
"What else would you had made me do? I'm not a saint like Michi."
"Understatement of the millennia." Setsuna jeered, garnering a violent protest from the blonde. "Whatever, Haruka." Was all Setsuna could retort.
"And to top it all off, Michiru introduced me to her grandmother as a man! Now I have to use half a roll of toilet paper just to bind my breasts to that it wouldn't bulge out too much than expected, which is NOT to bulge at all!" she continued to rant.
Setsuna's laughter could have been heard a mile away. "You're not serious, are you?"
"Serious as hell!" replied a frustrated Haruka. "Anyway, I gotta go. The 'ancient one' must be looking for me already with my bowl of Puppy Chow. I might miss my rations."
Setsuna giggled. "Alright. Take care now, ne? And please try not to over-react?"
"If that's what you call it... Give Hotaru a kiss for me and Michiru, ne?"
"Sure thing. Oyasumi!"
"'Yasumi."
And with that, they hung up.
******************
The same wise pools of hazy blue that watched Haruka in the hall watched her again as she lugged herself back to their bedroom. Somewhere in the comfort of the darkness, a faint glimmer sparked in those eyes as an idea struck.
******************
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
End Chapter 4
To be continued...
By Cloud
sky@charmed.ph
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
05/17/01 -- I am so drained...
Same rules apply. So sue me. :)
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Chapter 4
And so, Haruka's internal battle continued. Four days into the first week, she had almost gone berserk because of Shiroko's unrelenting 'favors'. The old woman was always on her trail. Wherever she went, whatever she did, trust the old lady to suddenly appear out of nowhere and ask her if she was busy, and eventually talk her into running an errand in town or something as drastic like weeding the garden. She almost suspected that the old woman was up to something.
But what? The mere thought of it bothered her. Did she miss something? Was there a big conspiracy behind it all? Or did this just have something to do with her being blonde?
"You're paranoid, Haruka. I know my grandmother, she isn't like that." Michiru tried to comfort her partner.
That afternoon, the pair had decided to walk around the house, partially to familiarize Haruka with every nook and cranny while the rest to just relax and enjoy their much desired quality time together.
Michiru had taken her life-long partner around the orchard too, which Haruka found extremely beautiful. The place was a haven for orchids, roses, ivy, yellow bells, freesias, lilies, poinsettias, oak, and the proverbial sakura tree, which were littered sporadically within the area. Red-bricked arches graced the cobbled path that snaked its way through the coppice, creating the perfect image for a perfect romantic getaway.
That was what Haruka thought before the image of Shiroko came crashing back into her consciousness once again.
"...And I have this very strong urge to call her a pest, you know." Haruka frowned as she let her fingers dance ever so softly over the ivory keys of the grand piano.
Michiru sighed. "I'm very sorry about that, Haruka. But I have to be honest, had it not been you who said that, I might have hit that person already. I love my grandmother very much, but like you... well, I've come to see how irritating she can be at times." The sea-maiden sighed as she sat beside Haruka on the piano bench.
The pair had come to rest inside the small theatre that served as a performance hall inside the house. There was a stage, or course, where the grand piano was positioned. Behind it was a semi-circular wall of glass that peered out into the garden.
There were no chairs in the audience area, but instead it was like one big dance floor, parqued and polished, where the audience could position themselves to their liking while somebody performed on stage. There were bleachers on the balcony though, to accommodate more people if there need be.
Over all, it was a warm, comfortable place where anybody can sit down and get lost in his or her thoughts.
"But planting beans isn't exactly my idea for a vacation, you know." Haruka complained. Her playing progressed into a crescendo, sharp and precise, perfectly mirroring her emotions while she played. Eventually, it later on died away to become soft, tinkling, teasing notes like dripping ice.
"She's lonely, Haruka," Michiru explained. "Grandpapa died a few years back, my father seldom visits her, and she lives alone, by herself, way up here with nobody to take care of her. With that kind of life, who wouldn't yearn for companionship?"
Loneliness... companionship... or a lack thereof... the words swirled around her head, taunting her. A pang of grief suddenly overtook her heart. Michiru had a point. After all, she herself was very well familiar with the feeling of lonesomeness.
Before Michiru came, she was a lonely, abandoned soul fighting to live on her own. Her parent's death was not an easy matter to overcome. Since then, she couldn't depend on anybody else but herself. And most people always said that she couldn't do it, she couldn't do anything.
They said she was young, she was blonde, and she was dumb. She was just trouble and she was just a girl.
Hearing this, she changed her image: cut her hair to what it is now, chose to walk and talk and sometimes act like a man just to find herself a firm ground in a chauvinistic world in which she could plant her foundations, where she can reap the fruits of her toil and labor later on.
With this in mind, her fierce passion to succeed was virtually her lifeline. Eventually, she proved them all wrong. She made it. She was famous, she was rich, she was hounded by media and frenzied fans wherever she went. Not one person within a distance wouldn't recognize that sandy blonde hair, those piercing green eyes, and that handsomely chiseled face to be that of the legendary Tenoh Haruka.
She made it on her own. She was a survivor.
But the loneliness was still there. Even when she reached the apex of her accomplishment, even if the sponsors or the pit crew or her fellow teammates, and especially not even her admirers that cheered for her, even then, there was nobody to share the real pride that she felt with. And nothing could ever match the anguish that spread throughout her being when she received her trophy, which, for her, signifies another victory over those who condemned her to be useless, but not over herself.
Until Michiru came...
"Haruka, are you alright?"
Haruka felt Michiru's hand on her own. Suddenly, she snapped back to reality.
"Huh? Oh... I'm fine."
"You spaced out."
"I did? It's nothing, just wondering about... things."
Michiru felt that she didn't have to pry further. She already felt Haruka's pain even before she acknowledged Haruka's distant stare. Their strong bond allowed them to understand each other even without saying how they felt. And that was no less than a blessing, mostly on Michiru's part because it permitted her to know what was going on inside her partner without having to wheedle it out of her, knowing Haruka's stubbornness when it came to personal matters.
"Oh darling," Michiru wrapper her arms around Haruka. "As your teammates would say, 'chill!'"
Michiru was rewarded with a chuckle. "They've been flirting around you too often. I didn't know those guys were brave enough to even come near you."
"Are you jealous?" an eyebrow arched at Haruka.
"No, I just can't allow you to look at anyone else but me!"
"Why do I feel like I'm having a déjà vu?"
Haruka zeroed in on Michiru, taking the smaller woman's lips with her own.
******************
Seeing the lover's exchange of intimacies, someone somewhere quietly walked away, smiling.
******************
Thursday night, the phone rang in Haruka and Michiru's home back in the outskirts of Tokyo.
"Hai, moshi moshi?" Setsuna answered.
"Good evening, miss." The caller greeted. "Would you happen to know if a tall, dark, and extremely sensual woman by the name of Setsuna Meioh is living in that house by the sea? You know, unusually captivating green hair, smoldering garnet eyes, and killer curves?"
"Who the hell is this?" Setsuna barked.
The caller answered nonchalantly. "I am everywhere. I am everything. I am watching you. Setsuna!"
Setsuna's eyes were wide as saucers. "You better tell me who you are or I'll make sure that you will never see another sunrise!" she demanded menacingly, her grip tightening on the handset.
"Setsuna... what's you're favorite scary movie?"
Just as she was about to hang up and scream bloody murder, a recent memory came back to the green-haired woman, involving that one night when the four of them sat down and watched this particular movie...
"Haruka!!! You IDIOT!!! What is wrong with you?!"
"Damn! You should have heard yourself!" Haruka exclaimed, laughing her heart out.
Setsuna grunted. "You are one SICK jerk! I really don't know why I put up with you! I really should have sent you back to the age of the dinosaurs!"
"Aww, you wouldn't do that, Setsuna," Haruka taunted. "What would Hotaru think of you? Would you want her to think that you're a psycho-delusional-staff-wielding-time-travel-trigger-happy maniac who just sent her papa to the primordial soup of the universe?"
Setsuna eyebrows shot up. "Emotional blackmail!"
"I thought so, too." Haruka replied, grinning slyly. "Anyway, I just called to check how you guys are."
"If that's what you call it..."
'Since when did she get an attitude?!' Haruka thought to herself. "Fine, I apologize. You know I was only kidding."
"Fine, I accept." Setsuna finally yielded. "We're fine, basically. Hotaru's at Usagi's place, I dropped her off this morning because I had to go to the office for an emergency meeting with the Head Officials."
"That's nice. At least she gets to go out and enjoy herself. Can't say the same for you though."
Setsuna sighed. "God tell me about it. What about you guys? How are you doing?"
"Please, don't even get me started!" Haruka wailed into the receiver. "I'm not exactly doing what I was supposed to do."
"You mean..."
"Don't turn green on me now, Setsuna." Haruka remarked, knowing what Setsuna meant.
"Gomen... go on. Tell me what's wrong."
"Michiru's grandmother is here."
"Her WHAT?!"
"I said the same thing. Anyway, she's driving me nuts! She keeps asking these 'favors' from me and I end up being helplessly domesticated into her very own little poodle." The blonde twirled the telephone cord on one slender finger as she pouted.
"That's awful... why is she there in the first place?"
"Well," Haruka sighed. "Apparently Michiru's mother called her up and told her to keep an eye on us while we're here. DUH, I think she's keeping her eye more on ME than on Michiru."
"And I'm 100% sure that you almost blew your top off."
"What else would you had made me do? I'm not a saint like Michi."
"Understatement of the millennia." Setsuna jeered, garnering a violent protest from the blonde. "Whatever, Haruka." Was all Setsuna could retort.
"And to top it all off, Michiru introduced me to her grandmother as a man! Now I have to use half a roll of toilet paper just to bind my breasts to that it wouldn't bulge out too much than expected, which is NOT to bulge at all!" she continued to rant.
Setsuna's laughter could have been heard a mile away. "You're not serious, are you?"
"Serious as hell!" replied a frustrated Haruka. "Anyway, I gotta go. The 'ancient one' must be looking for me already with my bowl of Puppy Chow. I might miss my rations."
Setsuna giggled. "Alright. Take care now, ne? And please try not to over-react?"
"If that's what you call it... Give Hotaru a kiss for me and Michiru, ne?"
"Sure thing. Oyasumi!"
"'Yasumi."
And with that, they hung up.
******************
The same wise pools of hazy blue that watched Haruka in the hall watched her again as she lugged herself back to their bedroom. Somewhere in the comfort of the darkness, a faint glimmer sparked in those eyes as an idea struck.
******************
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
End Chapter 4
To be continued...
