Chapter 9: Public Reactions
The next morning, Haruka woke up when her doorbell rang. She rubbed her eyes, wondering who would visit her at such a time – she didn't have any friends, and her family didn't know where she lived – before getting out of bed and putting on her dark blue morning robe. Slowly, the racer made her way over to the door, looking through the spy hole in the wood. A young man stood in the hallway, holding a notepad and a tape recorder. Frowning, Haruka unlocked the door and opened it, only to have a microphone shoved into her face the next second. "Mister Tenoh, is it true that you are an alcoholic?" the young man asked, and that was when Haruka saw the man holding the camera that stood a few steps behind him. The red light on the camera was on, signalling that it was filming – probably her. "No comment." She pressed out between clenched teeth, trying to close the door again. The reporter put his foot between the timber set and the door itself and repeated his question, ignoring her words. "Is it true that you are an alcoholic?" "I said no comment!" Haruka shot back, trying to keep her anger down, knowing that she probably would punch the reporter's glasses off if he didn't leave her alone now. She looked up, directly into the camera. "Stop filming!" the blonde commanded, though it didn't really impress the camera man; he just kept munching on his chewing gum and made sure that the racer was in the filming area of his tool. And that was what finally made Haruka snap. She firmly placed her right hand on the reporter's chest, waiting one second to see his eyes widen, and then she pushed. He stumbled backwards, fell over his own feet and landed on the cold tiled floor, yelping when his backside connected with the hard floor. The camera man took one step back in surprise, and that was all Haruka needed. She slammed the door close and locked it, leaning against the wood while the reporter came back to his feet and started pounding against the door. "I will sue you for that, you fucking booze addict!" he yelled, his anger clearly showing through his voice. "I'll see you in court, Tenoh!" "Fuck off!" Haruka yelled back, squeezing her eyes shut while the words of the reporter echoed through her mind. Fucking booze addict! She clenched her fists, just about to open the door again and smash the man's teeth in, when she heard the sound of quick footsteps on the tiles, walking away from her door. When she opened it again five minutes later, the hallway was empty. Slowly, Haruka closed the door again, squeezing her eyes shut to keep the tears from falling.
During the next five hours, the blonde racer found herself imprisoned in her own apartment. The reporter she had made fall down was just the first one in the long row that should follow; they seemed to appear out of nowhere to ring her doorbell, knock against the door or just to yell at the wood to make her come out. Her phone had been unplugged hours ago; it had been ringing non-stop, annoying her to no end. She knew that maybe Michiru would try to call her, but this was her smallest worry at the moment. Her doorbell rang once more, and Haruka let out a deep growl that would have scared anyone who heard it away. She marched over to the door, determined to yell at the reporter and threaten him until he would wet his pants, and opened it so forcefully that it nearly jumped out of it's hinges. "I said that I won't…" she started, but fell silent when she saw who stood in front of her. "Hey, Haruka." Michiru softly spoke, smiling at the blonde who just stood gaping and not able to say anything. "Mind if I come in?" the aqua haired woman now spoke, finally tearing Haruka out of her trance. The racer nodded and stepped aside, allowing her to enter. "Come in. Quick, before the friggin reporters show up again." Michiru quickly entered the apartment, and Haruka closed the door, locking it. "So the public found out about your problem?" the social worker asked while she followed Haruka into the living room, where both of them sat down. "Yeah, seems like it." The blonde sighed, leaning into the cushion of her couch. "The reporters have been bugging me since eight in the morning…I pushed the first one, and he fell, and now he wants to sue me." Michiru let out a strange snort and shook her head. "He won't sue you, believe me. He probably invaded your private space, otherwise you wouldn't have pushed him. No prosecutor of this world will let the lawsuit go to court." "I hope so." Haruka replied, a mischief glint suddenly filling her eyes – something Michiru never had seen before, but she liked it. "If he really sues me, I will sue him back for insulting me." "Oh? What did he say?" Michiru asked, leaning forward and putting her hands on her knees. "He called me a fucking booze addict." Haruka answered, her eyes darkening for a moment. Slowly, since she didn't want to scare the blonde with unexpected movements, Michiru reached out and took the racers hand into hers. "He was wrong." She softly spoke, making Haruka look at her with a slight frown. "When was the last time you drank alcohol, Haruka?" The blonde thought about this for a second – today was Thursday, so it meant that she hadn't been drinking for… "For three days." She finally spoke, surprised when she heard the words leave her mouth. It had seemed much longer to her, more like thirty days than three. "The first three days of a very long life." She softly added, her gaze falling down to her feet again. Michiru squeezed her hand, but she didn't look up. "That's right, Haruka. But like I said before…you have a lot of people around you who will help you." Suddenly, Haruka looked up again, her eyes meeting those of the aqua haired woman. "I know. And it's good to know that there are a lot of people who are willing to help. But what is even better to know is…" She trailed off, and Michiru gave her a questioning look, encouraging her to continue. "…that you are there to help me too." Haruka finally finished, blushing slightly – much to Michirus amusement. It was probably the first time that Haruka blushed in front of anyone, and that it was her made her more than happy. "I'm honoured to hear that, Haruka." She squeezed the blondes hand once more, and this time, Haruka surprised her once more – by returning the squeeze and slightly smiling at her.