Chapter 3! Yeah! Here it goes… again. It's been a while, but here it is. Also, please read the stories of the people on my favorite author's list.
Chapter 3
Sakura-mama. When Haruka caught herself off guard, she still called her mother Sakura-mama. She wondered why she'd always called her mother in Japanese tradition instead of the easier and English 'Mom'. It had always been like that- Haruka following Japanese tradition, her mother preferring American tradition. Her mother's preference for American tradition had always annoyed Haruka. Japanese tradition was just as good, if not better in many respects, to American, but her mother almost never followed Japanese tradition. She taught her daughter the Japanese language and about the culture, but never followed those traditions or spoke the language out of lessons.
Haruka certainly didn't think Japanese traditions were necessarily better than American traditions; Haruka quite frankly thought some Japanese traditions quite stupid. But she also found the exact same quality in many American traditions. What bothered her was that her mother would not follow even the best and simplest Japanese traditions, like slippers in the house. This annoyance compounded every year, till it was an unspoken wall between them. The issue about moving to Japan had simply been, to use an American cliché, the straw that broke the camel's back.
Strange. When she used cliches, she found herself always using American cliches, almost never Japanese cliches, even when she spoke Japanese. She'd either simply translate the phrase into Japanese and use them just like she would use them in English or just speak them in English. The first made for some very strange sounding sentences in Japanese sometimes. That's why she rarely used clichés; she'd usually have to explain what the phrase meant, one way or the other. Michiru understood, though. Michiru spoke English as well as Haruka, though she, like Haruka, preferred to speak Japanese.
Ah, Michiru, her soul mate. Yet another cliché. Oh, well. Michiru exactly fit the phrase; she really was Haruka's soul mate, as Haruka was hers. And a potential problem, now that Haruka thought about it. Haruka cursed softly. Why hadn't Haruka seen before Michiru might be a problem? Not only was Sakura going to have to face the daughter who'd hurt her, but also that daughter's lesbian lover! Perhaps she should try to, well, ditch Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru at the hotel to go visit her mother. No. Just pretend she and Michiru were simply close friends? No. Both would require lying; that would just hurt her mother and Michiru. No, the only option was to take all three with her, and let her mother know the nature of the relationship between Michiru and her.
Yeah, that would be best. Sakura was an open-minded woman; Haruka was certain Sakura would not really mind, once she accustomed herself to the idea her daughter would not be marrying and having grandchildren. At least, not biological grandchildren. However, even in the few days Hotaru had been with Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna, she had capture their hearts as if she were their own daughter. A daughter with three mothers. What a laugh. And what mothers, too. Three goddesses who'd spent countless millennia protecting the solar system from outside invaders. Of course, the daughter was hardly less remarkable- one of only two people in the entire universe who could destroy said universe with the equivalent (for them) of a snap. Yep, quite the family were they, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn. Her mother would most certainly take Hotaru into her heart as if she were her grandchild.
Michiru gave Haruka a gentle shake, breaking into Haruka's reverie. "Haruka, Hotaru-chan needs a change."
Haruka gave a fake groan and rose, picking up the diaper bag. They must have reached cruising altitude while she'd been lost to the world, because the seat belt sign was off. Haruka made her way to the incredibly small bathroom and managed to change the diaper. When she came back, Setsuna was reading a book, the sheer size of which would have dropped Usagi's jaw and made Ami drool with delight, and Michiru was watching the movie that was being shown. Haruka recognized the film as a good one, and picked up her headphones and started watching.
Several hours and yet another diaper change (which Michiru took care of) later, the plane landed at the Seattle International Airport, near which Sakura lived. As they stepped out of the gate, Haruka looked for her mother. Sakura found them first.
Mother and daughter faced each other for the first time in years. Suddenly, it just didn't matter what Haruka or Sakura had done to each other or how old they were. All that mattered was that Haruka was Sakura's daughter, and it had been so long since they'd seen each other. They came together and held each other.
When they broke apart, the moment was over, and everything that had happened mattered again. Yet, it was slightly different somehow.
Haruka couldn't think about that right now, though. She turned to Michiru and Setsuna, holding Hotaru and motioned them forward. "Mom, this is Michiru Kaiou and Setsuna Meiou, close friends of mine. And the baby is Hotaru Tomoe- we've adopted her for the moment, as a favor for another friend. Michiru, Setsuna, my mom, Sakura Tenou."
"Nice to meet you all," Sakura said as cleared her throat.
"Nice to meet you, too." Both girls smiled and extended their hands, Setsuna shifting Hotaru to do so.
"You ready to go, Mom?"
Sakura looked at Haruka, an unreadable look in her eyes. Her voice was half emotion, half nonchalance. "You can call me Sakura-mama… if you want to."
Haruka's eyes held an equally readable look. "Okay. You ready then, Sakura-mama?"
A bit sappy, sure, but so what! It's my story. Now review! ¡Y Vive la revolution de bistec!