Haruka heard her love's scream and immediately came running over, followed by an anxious Sakura. "Michiru, what happened? Are you al…" The last word "alright" got stuck in Harukas throat when she saw what laid on the doorstep. Her face went pale, and she let out a shocked gasp: "Rover!"
The black dog laid on the doorstep, looking up at his master with pain filled eyes. There was a huge gash at his left side, and two of his legs were obviously broken. "Michiru, call the vet." Haruka said, her voice flat. Michiru just nodded and hurried over to the phone while Haruka knelt down next to her hurt dog, gently stroking his fur. "Don't worry, Rover. You'll be alright." The blonde whispered. Michiru returned and informed her love: "The vet will be here any minute. Just hold on, Rover." Suddenly Haruka looked up at her, shock in her eyes. "Where's Lord?" she then asked. Michiru frowned, and in the next second Haruka called out: "Lord! Lord!!" When there was no answer, Haruka came to her feet immediately. "Michiru, you stay here with Rover. I'll go looking for Lord, okay?" Michiru just nodded, Haruka put on her leather jacket and quickly hurried into the woods.
"Lord? Lord!" Haruka walked through the forest, yelling her second dogs name all the time. Suddenly she heard a soft barking sound coming from a nearby clearing and hurried over in the direction. She found Lord, lying on the ground, one of his legs sticking away in an unnatural angle. "Dear God." Haruka whispered while she hurried over to her dog. "Lord, my poor boy…who did this to you?" "Don't you know it? Then you aren't just ugly, you're also stupid." A voice suddenly said. Haruka spun around to see Satoshi standing behind her. She unconsciously took a step back and looked at him slightly frightened. Her uneasy feeling turned into pure horror when Satoshi pulled a big knife from his belt. "I told you to leave, freak." He hissed. "I told you so often, but you wouldn't listen. Now get what you deserve!" And with that, he launched himself at Haruka, the knife glistening in the sun.
"Life is boring." Shane sighed and gulped down her coke. Next to her, another teenager named Makoto just nodded. The two girls sat in the local bar, since it was Sunday and there was no school, drinking coke and waiting for something interesting to happen. Goemon sat at the bar, chatting with the bartender, when suddenly a female voice screamed next to the door: "Dear God! She's bleeding!" Everyone who was at the bar turned to look, and what they saw made them gasp. Haruka stood leaning against the timber set; she pressed her right arm against her stomach, and blood trickled down on the floor. "Please…" the blonde now moaned, "I need…help…" Shane jumped up as fast as lightning and rushed over to Haruka, reaching her just in time to catch her when her legs gave away. The blonde fell into the teenagers arms, and in the process her arm slid from her stomach so everyone could see the three stab wounds. "Oh God." Shane gasped. Next to her Makoto showed up, and asked Haruka: "Haruka, where's Michiru?" "At…at the vet." Haruka whispered, blood running from her mouth. Goemon hurried over to the phone and called the ambulance, while Makoto ran out of the bar to inform Michiru. To Shane, it now was clear why Haruka came down to the bar instead of going to the vet immediately: the bar was closest to the road that led from her house into the village, and she probably didn't have enough strength to make it over to the vet in her condition. "Hold on Haruka." Shane now said, stroking her friend's blonde hair while talking. "Just hold on, okay?"
Michiru and Sakura sat in the vet's waiting room, when suddenly the door burst open and a young girl with long brown hair crashed in. "Michiru Kaioh?" the girl yelped, and Michiru gave her an anxious look. "Yes?" she then said. "Haruka…" the girl panted, and Michiru jumped up. "What is with Haruka?" she asked, panic rising inside her. "She's at the bar…someone hurt her!" "What?!" Michiru yelled, causing all the other people in the waiting room to flinch. Makoto just nodded, and Michiru quickly put her coat on. "Mom, stay here. I have to go to Haruka!" Before Sakura could say anything, Michiru had dashed out of the room and was running down the street that led to the bar.
When Michiru arrived at the tavern, the ambulance car already stood outside. Two paramedics carried a stretcher out of the bar, and Haruka laid on it, her eyes closed. Michiru almost broke down when she saw the bloodstains on her love's shirt, and she increased her speed. She reached the ambulance car just in time, a second before the two back doors were closed. "Wait!" the aqua haired woman yelled. "Don't drive without me! I'm her lover!" The two paramedics gave her an odd look, but they left the doors open long enough for Michiru to climb in. When she finally sat inside next to Haruka, the doors were closed and the car drove off.
