Chapter 1: Painful Memory
The yellow cab came to a stop in front of the big mansion, the back doors opened and Haruka moved herself out, using her crutches for support. She thanked and paid the driver before limping over to the front door. The blonde unlocked it and entered her house, sighing as soon as she stood in the hallway. Her eyes fell on the door across the room, and slowly, she made her way over to it and opened it. Harukas eyes wandered over the huge double bed that stood in the middle of the room, then her eyes fell on the dark brown stain in the carpet. Although Setsuna desperately had tried to clean it out, it still was there; a little lighter than before, but still visible. Blood didn't wash out easily. Haruka closed her eyes, a painful flood of memories overwhelming her.
"Michiru, DON'T!" Setsunas voice, screaming, shocked..."Stay back! She tried to kill me!" ...the cold, black steel of the gun in Michirus hands..."Please, Michiru, put that gun down. Please..." And Haruka herself, pleading her lover to calm down.
"Dammit!" Haruka screamed, letting go of one of her crutches and smashing her left fist against the wall. "God dammit...why? Why did that have to happen? WHY, for heaven's sake?!" The blonde smashed her fist against the wall over and over again, not caring when her knuckled started to bleed, and not caring when her punches left bloodstains on the white wall. Finally, the blonde broke down crying, her whole body shaking with desperate sobs. "Haruka-Papa?" a small, frightened voice came from the door, causing the blonde to look up. Through the fog created from her tears, she could see a small figure standing in the doorway. "Haruka-Papa, are you alright?" Hotaru slowly walked over to her crying Papa, kneeling down next to her. Haruka nodded, but Hotaru saw that her daddy was lying and gently hugged her. After a short moment of hesitation, Haruka let her tears flow again, sobbing uncontrollably. "Why did that have to happen?" she cried while Hotaru stroke her shaking back. "I love her so much...I always did everything to make her happy...and...and..." Haruka couldn't talk on, the sobs that racked her body wouldn't allow that. "Shhht, Haruka-Papa." Hotaru whispered. "Shht. Calm down. The doctors will be able to help Michiru-Mama, I know." "And what if not?" Haruka asked, looking at her daughter with her eyes red from crying. "What if she never...never stops thinking that I want to kill her?" "That won't happen." Hotaru reassured her. "They surely will be able to help her, Daddy." The little girls gaze fell on the bloody knuckles of her Papa, and she nearly gasped. "Now, let me take care of your hand." She spoke as gently as possible. Haruka nodded, and Hotaru helped her getting to her feet, handing her the crutch she had dropped. The two of them made their way into the bathroom, where Hotaru cleaned and bandaged her Papa's hand. "There, all done." The little girl said as soon as she was finished. "Thanks." Haruka mumbled, remembering the times when Michiru had tended to her wounds after battles. Hotaru huggled her papa once more. "Don't worry, Haruka-Papa. I'm sure that everything will turn out good in the end." Haruka nodded, though not really convinced inside. She leaned on her crutches again and gave a weak smile to Hotaru. "I'm going for a walk, Hime-chan. Don't worry, I'll be back soon." Hotaru nodded and watched her Papa leave, a sad expression in her dark eyes.
Haruka slowly made her way down the street, her crotches producing small thudding noises on the concrete. Some of the people who passed by gave her weird looks, others curious, but most of them looked at her with sympathy. Haruka ignored them all; she just wanted to be alone, wanted to have peace for a while. The blonde made her way over to the park where she and Michiru had been taking so much romantic walks, deep in thought. She was just about to walk over to one of the empty benches when a young man on inline skates came driving by, way too fast. His foot hit one of Harukas crutches, causing the blonde woman to loose balance. She tried to regain it for a few seconds before she fell, yelping in pain when her right leg hit the concrete. "Oh my God!" the inline skater cried out, performed a sharp U-Turn and came to a halt next to Haruka. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" he asked, full of concern. "No...no, I'm fine." Haruka replied, trying to get up. The young man quickly helped her by first handing her the crutches she'd dropped and then helping her up. "Hey..." he spoke as soon as she stood, studying her face. "Aren't you the one who was shot down by her crazy girlfriend? It was all over the news and...." All of a sudden, a strong hand closed around his throat, and he met teal eyes full of anger, fury...and a deep sadness. "Don't you dare to call her crazy again." The blonde now hissed. "Don't you dare!" The last word was shouted out, causing many people to stop and stare. Soon, whispers emerged from the crowd. "She's the one who was shot down by that maniac, right? ... yeah, that violin girl who snapped...I know her name, Michiru Kaioh, she has to be pretty twisted..." Harukas head snapped around, and she yelled at the shocked people. They weren't shocked because of her yelling, though; they were shocked because the always tough, always cool racer Haruka Tenoh was crying. "Don't talk about her like that! You don't know anything!" the blonde shouted, letting go of the frightened young man in the process. "Just piss off, all of you!" Quickly, the people moved on, leaving Haruka behind. The blonde made her way over to the bench, her vision blurry, and let herself fall down it. Then, she buried her face in her hands and cried.