Chapter 9: Gratitude
One hour later, Michiru sat in Harukas living room, wearing one of the blondes black bathrobes. After the aqua haired girl had taken a long, hot shower, she felt a little better, but the shock of encountering her stepfather still refused to fade away. "Hey." Haruka entered the room, carrying a tray with a teapot and two cups. The blonde placed the tray on the desk and sat down next to Michiru. "How are you feeling?" she asked softly, and Michiru shrugged. "Not to well…" she then spoke, looking down on her feet. Haruka placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, but Michiru stiffened immediately. "Haruka, please…don't touch me now." She whispered. The blonde immediately pulled her hand back, a hurt look on her face. Michiru looked at her, tears shimmering in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Haruka…but…" "It's okay." Haruka replied, getting up while she spoke. "Here, help yourself to some tea. I'll take a shower now." Michiru just nodded, and Haruka left the room. As soon as she had walked out, Michiru closed her eyes, tears spilling out from underneath her eyelids.
Meanwhile, Joe sat at Tokyo Police Station, waiting to sign the protocol. Satoshi was raving in his cell, screaming at the American and threatening that he would kill Haruka, Michiru und her. Finally, the police officer who was typing down Joes testimony, had enough of the man's yelling and shouted: "Shut up, buddy, everything you say will be used against you! And that death threats won't help you a lot!" Satoshi stopped raving and sat down on the bench of his cell, brooding. Joe chuckled at the police officer, who let out a sigh and continued typing.
"You can have my bed, I'll take the couch." Haruka offered while she tried to keep her hair from standing up straight from her head. "That's really not necessary, Haruka." Michiru protested; slowly, the shock started to fade, and she was almost back to her old self. "Don't you protest." Haruka commanded. "You're my guest, and I won't let you sleep on the couch. Clear?" Michiru gave her a weak smile and nodded. "Okay, if you insist…but, won't you be cold when you sleep here without a blanket?" Haruka pointed over to the cupboard which stood in the corner of the living room. "I have a few spare blankets in there. If you need one, in case one blanket isn't enough for you, just get one from here." Michiru nodded and yawned. "I'll go to sleep now, if you don't mind." She spoke. Haruka just nodded. "I'll watch TV for a while, if you need something just come to me." She then offered. Michiru smiled back to her and replied: "Okay, thank you. Good night." "Good night." Haruka sat down on the couch and turned the TV on while Michiru walked into her friends bedroom and crawled into the comfy bed. She fell asleep within two minutes.
His hands on her breasts, her sex and her behind, squeezing and caressing. His cold hands, everywhere on her body, no matter how hard she fought him. His manhood, entering her, the pain almost making her loose consciousness.
Michiru awoke from her nightmare, a scream stuck in her throat. Her eyes searched the room for a man who wasn't there, until she realized that she wasn't in her apartment. Closing her eyes, Michiru fell back on the bed. That was when she heard the voices coming from the living room. Frowning, the aqua haired girl sat up again, checking the watch on the nightstand. "3 A.M…does Haruka have a visitor?" she wondered. Michiru got out of the bed and tiptoed into the living room. The sight that was exposed to her when she poked her head in was just too cute. Haruka laid on the couch, fast asleep, the remote control of the still running TV on her chest. Michiru smiled at her sleeping friend and walked over to her; she took the remote from the blonde and turned the TV off before she walked over to the cupboard and pulled out one of the blankets. Returning to the couch, the aqua haired girl carefully splayed the blanket over the sleeping Haruka. She stood for a moment, looking at her friend, before she reached out and gently caressed Harukas cheek. "Thank you." Michiru whispered, since she didn't want to wake Haruka up. "Thank you for everything." The blonde stirred in her sleep and turned around; Michiru smiled one last time at her before she left the room again.
The next morning, Haruka awoke with a sore back. She moaned a little when suddenly the smell of ham and eggs reached her nostrils. The blonde sniffed the air, opened her eyes and sat up in the blanket that covered her. "Blanket?" she suddenly thought. "Where did that blanket come from?" Suddenly, the door opened very, very softly and Michiru poked her head in. When she saw that Haruka was awake, she smiled and entered the room. "Good morning." "Good morning, Michiru." Haruka replied while she stretched, her spine cracking so loudly that even Michiru heard it. The aqua haired girl jumped to her friends side immediately. "Oh Haruka, you have a sore back!" she cried out, feeling extremely guilty. Haruka just waved her hand and shrugged. "I'm used to it, I feel worse when I come home from the racetrack. Nevermind." Michiru eyed her skeptically, but the smile Haruka flashed at her made her skeptic fade away, and she smiled back. "I made breakfast for us, Haruka." She then said, pointing towards the kitchen. "You shouldn't have." Haruka replied. "You're my guest, already forgot that?" Michiru just shrugged and answered: "I like to cook. So, I hope you like ham and eggs." Haruka nodded, and the two of them made their way into the kitchen.