Chapter 6: No Matter What
Michiru didn't know how long she had been leaning over Harukas unconscious body, crying into her friend's shirt, convinced that the blonde was dead by now. She didn't notice that Takeshi and one of his mechanics approached the locker room, until Takeshi's shocked voice came from the door: "My God! Haruka!" Michiru looked up, only to see the racer running over to her and the beaten blonde. "What happened?" he asked while kneeling down next to Haruka. While Michiru told him about Kenshi and the men who had shown up and had beaten Haruka down, Takeshi felt for a pulse. "Thank God, she's alive. Koji, call an ambulance." He ordered. The mechanic who had been accompanying him nodded and ran off. "We shouldn't move her, maybe she suffered from internal bleedings or broken bones." Takeshi mumbled. He looked at Michiru, who just sat there crying. "It's all my fault." The aqua haired girl now whispered. "My fault…" "Don't blame yourself." Takeshi replied gently. "It's not your fault that your husband is a fuckin' asshole who's too cowardly to do his dirty work himself." (A/N: Thanks Riva! ^_~) Michiru just sobbed and buried her face in her hands, her whole body shaking. Koji came running back in, panting. "The ambulance will be here any moment." He spoke. Takeshi nodded, satisfied, before he pulled Michiru into a comforting hug. While he tried to calm the crying girl down, a wicked plan formed in his mind.
Haruka awoke to a stinging pain that ran through her body. She let out a little groan before opening her eyes, finding herself looking up at the ceiling of her bedroom. For one moment, the blonde wondered why she hurt so much, then she remembered what had happened in the locker room. "Haruka-chan?" a well-known, gentle voice suddenly came from her left, causing her to turn her head and look. Michiru sat next to the bed, her eyes red from crying, with black rings underneath that showed how little she had slept since the attack. "Michi-chan." Haruka whispered, her lips hurting when she did so. "I'm so sorry." Michiru now spoke softly, near tears again. "What happened to you…it's all my fault." "No." Haruka protested, her voice weak, but steady. "It's not your fault, Michi-chan. Not at all." "You wouldn't have been beaten up if you'd never gotten to know me!" Michiru cried out, her eyes filling with tears again. "Don't think like that." Haruka replied, sitting up in the covers. Her rib cage ached when she did so, but she forced the pain down and put a gentle hand on Michirus shoulder. "It's not your fault." The blonde repeated. "Don't blame yourself. Kenshi will pay for what he did, and I'll make sure that you'll never have to go back to him, no matter what." "Thanks." Michiru whispered, her feelings overwhelming her. "Thank you so much…" Haruka pulled her into a gentle embrace and rubbed her back to sooth her. "I'll make sure that Kenshi pays for what he did." The blonde vowed to herself. "And he will pay dearly."
"Very well done, friends." Kenshi spoke grinning while he paid the men who had beaten up Haruka what he had promised them. "Thanks, boss. It was fun beating her up." The leader of the group spoke, smiling, before a frown appeared on his face. "Although my boots are bloody now…" he added. His friends laughed, and Kenshi smirked. That was when a knock at the front door tore them out of their glee. "Who could that be?" Kenshi wondered out loud. "Hey, it's probably your bitch!" one of the others replied, and Kenshi started to grin. "Fine." He mumbled, rubbing his crotch while he walked over to the door. Upon opening it, he found himself face to face with a group of at least twenty mechanics from the racetrack, plus Takeshi, all of them looking very grim and angered. And all of them held either screw-wrench or another blunt, heavy object.
"Are you sure that you are ready to leave your bed already?" Michiru asked, frowning. Haruka nodded, already halfway out of the bed, and replied: "I'm sure, Michi-chan. Please don't worry so much, all I gained from that attack are bruises and some cuts." Michiru sighed and nodded. "Okay then. But if you start to feel any pain, you'll get back into bed again, okay?" Haruka agreed on that and got out of bed completely, smiling at Michiru. "See? I'm completely…" The last word never came out of her mouth, since the world suddenly started to spin around her. Her legs gave in underneath her, and she fell back on the bed, moaning. In the next instant, Michiru sat next to her, looking at her worried. "Completely fine, huh?" the aqua haired girl finally asked. Haruka gave her a sheepish smile and sat up again. "Okay, so standing up wasn't a good idea." She admitted. Michiru sighed and took her hand. "Better stay in bed." She advised the blonde. Haruka nodded, still that sheepish grin on her face, and finally, Michiru smiled back.