Michiru and Hotaru entered the room where Haruka was in as quiet as possible, since both of them assumed the gym teacher to be asleep. "Who's there?" a husky, weak voice suddenly came from the bed. Both Michiru and Hotaru jumped before Michiru quickly spoke: "It's me, Tenoh-san, Michiru Kaioh. Hotarus mom." "I'm here, too!" Hotaru quipped. Michiru walked over to the bed and pulled a chair over to sit down. "Hi." She greeted, earning a little smile from Haruka. The blonde laid one of the waterbeds the hospital used for patients who had burns; her upper body and her upper legs were covered in non-adhesive bandages, and two thin tubes were attached in her nostrils. "Hi Kaioh-san." The blonde replied, her voice even huskier than usual from the smoke she had inhaled. Michiru held out the flowers she had bought. "These are for you, Tenoh-san." She explained. Haruka gave her another weak smile. "That wasn't necessary, Kaioh-san." She then said. Michiru smiled. "Call me Michiru, please. You saved my daughter's life, so it's just stupid to stick to that formal salutation." Harukas smile grew wider. "Only if you call me Haruka, Michiru-san." Michiru nodded while Hotaru climbed up on the bed to sit on it's edge. "How are you feeling, Tenoh-san?" she asked, looking at her favorite teacher worried. "More or less well." Haruka replied. "I still have to cough, and my back and legs hurt." "I'm sorry." Hotaru spoke softly. "It's my fault that you are hurt. If I wouldn't have fallen down on my way out, you would be alright now." "Don't think like that." Haruka begged her student. She coughed a little before she could talk on. "It's not your fault, Hotaru." "Haruka is right, honey." Michiru spoke up. "It's not your fault. Haruka-san?" she looked at the blonde questioningly. "Yes…?" Haruka replied, eyeing the aqua haired woman anxious. "Gosh, she's beautiful…" the blonde thought to herself. "Allow me to invite you for dinner as soon as you are allowed to leave the hospital." Michiru now said, interrupting Harukas thoughts. The teacher's eyes went wide. "Now, that's really not necessary, Michiru-san." She stammered. Michiru gave her a polite smile. "You should know that I owe you much more than a bouquet of flowers and an invitation for dinner. You saved my daughters life." "You don't owe me anything, Michiru-san." Haruka replied. "I saved Hotaru because she's one of my fav students." Michiru smiled at the tall blonde. "But I insist that you come to our place for dinner, Haruka-san." Finally, Haruka gave in. "Okay. Seems like you won't accept a No as an answer, so…as soon as I'm healthy again, I'll come." Michiru giggled at the blonde and nodded. "I'm glad that you accepted my invitation, Haruka-san." The blonde chuckled before she stifled a yawn. "Damn those pain killers, they make me all tired." She then muttered. Michiru rose from her chair. "Come on, Hotaru, let's go so Haruka-san can have her sleep." "Okay, mom!" Hotaru agreed. She politely shook Harukas hand. "Bye bye, Tenoh-san!" Michiru put a gentle hand on Harukas shoulder, causing the blonde to look at her surprised. "See you tomorrow, Haruka-san." The aqua haired girl softly spoke. Haruka nodded, dumbfounded, and Michiru walked off with Hotaru in tow.
"Do you like Tenoh-san?" Hotaru asked while her mom and she were driving home. Michiru shot her daughter a short glance. "Yes, I do like her." She then admitted. "She's wonderful." Hotaru swooned. "She's nice and funny and fair and…" Michiru giggled at her daughter's praise. "Hotaru, if I wouldn't know better, I would say that you are in love with her." Hotaru blushed furiously. "I'm not!" she then protested. "Although, Meika is." Michiru coughed before she eyed her daughter curiously. "And Meika knows that Haruka-san is female?" "Yes, yes!" Hotaru replied, giggling at her mother's facial expression. "But to us, Tenoh-san is more like a guy than a woman." The little girl leaned closer to her mom, telling her a big secret. "Most of us think that Tenoh-san is gay, mom." Michiru stared at her little girl, amused. "So, most of you think that Haruka-san is gay, huh? And what do you think about it, Hotaru?" "I think it's true." Hotaru replied. "I saw how Tenoh-san met and kissed a young woman after school once." Michiru felt her heart sink. "So she has a girlfriend…how sad. Wait a minute…why should I think that this is sad? I'm not in love with her or something like that!" "But I haven't seen that woman since that." Hotaru spoke on, tearing Michiru out of her thoughts. "I think she and Tenoh-san broke up." Michiru didn't really pay attention to what Hotaru said afterwards; her heart with singing with joy, drowning the words of her little girl.