Chapter 16: Parental Attack
When Michiru finally arrived at home, her parents were already waiting for her. "Where have you been?" her dad asked as soon as the aqua haired girl entered. Michirus eyes fell on the clock that hung in the hallways – 11 PM – and she gulped. Uh-oh. "I was at Haruka's place, Dad." She finally spoke, earning an odd look from her father. "And what did you do over there?" her father asked, causing Michiru to gulp. After all, she couldn't really tell her father about the fact that she and Haruka had… "We just talked." She replied, hoping that her voice was steady enough to hide the fact that she was lying. "Just talked, huh? Well, Michiru…can you explain this?" With that, Tomakin pushed a button on the family's answering machine. Seconds later, Brad's voice echoed out of the speaker: "Your daughter is a dyke. Haruka Tenoh is female. Just thought that maybe you wanted to know that." Michiru stared at the answering machine in horror, her eyes widening. "So?" Tomakin asked, taking one step towards his paralyzed daughter. "Dad…that…that guy, he's a liar!" Michiru replied, hoping and praying that her father would believe her. He didn't. Slapping her hard across the face, he yelled: "Don't you lie to me! The expression on your face was all the answer I needed! So now you are screwing girls, eh?" Michiru took one step back, her face hurting where her father had hit her. "Dad…Dad, please!" the aqua haired girl cried out, raising her arms to shield her face when her father lashed out to beat her again. He hit down on her again and again, until Michiru was huddled in a corner, crying heavily. That was when her mother finally came home from the Bridge Club's meeting, making Tomakin stop and sending Michiru up into her room.
The next morning, the aqua haired girl arrived at school, wearing a pair of sunglasses to hide the black eye her father had given to her. "Michi!" she heard Harukas voice coming from behind, causing the aqua haired girl to flinch. "Hey." She quietly spoke, turning to look at her lover. Haruka frowned when she saw the sunglasses her girlfriend, after all, there was no sun at all. "Michi, why are you wearing…" She trailed off when Michiru removed the glasses, and Harukas eyes went wide. "Dear God." She whispered, reaching out and gently touching the almost purple bruise around her girlfriend's eye. "Who did this to you?" she finally managed to ask, her voice full of anger. "My father." Michiru replied, her voice not more than a whisper. "Brad called our home…and spoke on our answering machine that you were female…my Dad went totally crazy, he kept hitting me…until Mom came home from her Bridge Club and stopped him…" By now, the aqua haired girl was crying, and Haruka pulled her into a gentle embrace, frowning again when Michiru let out a wince. Slowly, Haruka pulled the aqua haired girls shirt away to expose her shoulder, her eyes filling with hate when she saw the big blue and purple bruise right above her lover's collarbone. "That bastard…" she gritted out, still holding her by now heavily crying girlfriend. "I'll make him pay…at first, Brad will pay, and then your father…" Michiru just continued sobbing, and Haruka continued to hold her. They stood like that for a very long time.
