Ghost of it all:
Another race won, there just didn't seem to be any challenge in it anymore.. . How could anyone honestly expect to beat the princess of the wind anyway? Haruka strode into the sort of lounge area she shared with her pit crew and waved to the men who sat about the table. One man, Jeremy, the supply guy waved Haruka over and she walked toward the table.
"Hey there champ, what ya doing?" He said in a way that sounded much like a schoolyard friend or bully. The blonde only raised an eyebrow at him and he smiled. "Ah come on, have a drink with us. How about it?"
Haruka began to decline but he held out a bottle of Smirnoff Twisted to her and she felt the familiar surge of curiosity fill her. Slowly, haltingly Haruka reached for the bottle. Finally she held it in her hand and Jeremy and the others nodded to her, friendly grins on all their faces. Haruka twisted off the cap and stared at the clear contents for a time, noting the cool mist that filled the bottle neck. She smelled a strong scent of candy with hints of Vodka hiding under the sweet fruity smell. With out taking much longer to think about her actions she slowly brought the bottle to her lips and took her first sip.
Jeremy's grin seemed to waver as the blonde took a second and much longer swig from the bottle. Teal eyes began to unfocused as Haruka sat down at the table to join the little drinking party.
Haruka's teal eyes snapped open as someone knocked on her door for probably the third time. The blonde was covered in sweat and felt as if her shirt was clinging to her skin. She grumbled and threw her leather jacket into a corner as she walked over and unlocked the bedroom door. She opened it to be met with the hopeful eyes of her adopted daughter.
"I was hoping you'd give me a ride to the mall, Haruka-papa." Hotaru turned thirteen year old violet eyes toward her tall guardian in a manner that clearly showed she was not above begging. "And maybe spend some time with me there."
"Alright, anything you ask, Hime-chan." Haruka caught Setsuna smiling down the hall as she glanced over the excited teen's head. With a false smirk she ruffled Hotaru's hair and turned back toward her room. "Let me grab a shower."
Half an hour later the gold motorcycle prowled into a spot next to a red car. Haruka was glad her eyes were hidden behind her glasses again as she rolled them. The inner scouts smiled and called out greetings to the two as Hotaru climbed off the back of the bike and took off her metallic purple helmet. Haruka got off and quickly hung her daughter's helmet from the handlebars of the bike. The blonde straightened her button down blue shirt over her black slacks and pushed her glasses up a bit more.
"Haruka-san! You came!" Usagi called out happily as she ran over to hug the taller blonde. She smiled happily and looked up toward those hidden teal eyes. "I'm glad you weren't busy, we haven't seen you for more than a minute in a long time."
"Things at the track have been a bit hectic." Haruka spoke with another forced smile as she patted the shorter blonde's head and nodded to the others. She noticed Mamoru giving her an appraising look, but the future king merely nodded. She took this, as his way of saying he'd stay out of it. "Sorry if I neglected my favorite fans."
"That's okay, so long as you get us free tickets to your next race." Minako called happily as she walked over. Haruka soon found herself being pulled toward the door of the mall by the two hyper blondes. She glanced back as Mamoru got back in his car.
"He's not sticking around?" Haruka asked, glancing down at Usagi who was hugging her left arm as they walked. The moon princess shook her head with a happy smile.
"Nope, girls day out today." Minako supplied from her other arm. Haruka resisted the urge to ask why she was there rather than Michiru or Setsuna by that logic.
Two hours passed in the same manner. For two hours the six teens and one woman in her early twenties wandered the mall stopping at clothing stores and food places. The inner scouts seemed to not take much notice of the difference in Haruka but Hotaru did. She knew shopping wasn't the tall blonde's pass time, but the lack of any real interest almost scared the youngest senshi. She only saw anything near interest when they passed a display that showed aged cigars and alcohol, and that interest seemed tainted by something else as well.
"Okay, how about a movie?" Makoto suggested, she winked at Hotaru and fell back to whisper to the girl. "What are you worried about?"
"Haruka-papa hasn't been herself recently, she's just acting right now." Hotaru whispered back as the others, minus Haruka who was merely watching behind her shades, and Ami who listened silently, argued about what movie to see. Makoto glanced over toward the tallest blonde quickly before looking back at Hotaru.
"Now that you mention it, it is kind of odd that we're inside and she still hasn't taken off the glasses. . . And I don't think I've heard her speak in at least an hour." Makoto looked over toward Ami and wasn't surprised when the quiet girl was already walking quietly over to them. "Hey Ames."
"Hotaru, may I ask you a question?" Ami started politely, glancing at the others to be sure no one was listening. When Hotaru nodded she spoke again. "Is something wrong with Haruka, she looks a bit pale?"
"Wow, I didn't catch that." Makoto commented to the two. Ami smiled gently at her taller friend.
"No one has." Hotaru said quietly as she shook her head. She looked into Ami's kind blue eyes and allowed a helpless look to slip across her own features. "I don't know what it is, this is the first time in nearly a month any of us have gotten her to come do something."
"She didn't know she was coming did she?" Makoto asked but Usagi calling back to them interrupted any answer Hotaru would have given.
"Come on guys, you don't want to miss the movie, do you?"
As they sat in the dark theater Haruka felt her eyes begin to droop. Sitting on the end of the row, next to the isle, she easily ignored the excited chatter of the two blondes seated in the center. She shook her head to keep her teal eyes open, she didn't want to see those images again so soon. Not just yet.
"Do you girls want soda?" Haruka asked as she stood up, resisting the urge to stretch as she did so. She was met with a barrage of requests that came far too fast for her to understand and she jumped. Her teal eyes were wide behind her sunglasses as she tried to think of a way to remember all that.
"I'll come with you, I know all their usual orders and you'll need help carrying the sodas anyway." Makoto said as she stood and joined Haruka in the isle. Haruka just nodded and started toward the door with Makoto behind her. The two swiftly got to the concessions stand and Makoto gave the order before turning to face the blonde. "So, how are things?"
"Fine." Was all Haruka said as she pretended to read the overhead menu again. Makoto sighed but allowed her older friend that escape, nothing good would come of trying to force her to talk.
As the sun set Haruka again pulled the golden bike up in front of the outer's house, but this time she stopped at the sidewalk rather than pull into the driveway. She told Hotaru she'd be home later and the younger senshi hopped off the back of the bike. Hotaru took off her helmet and turned to look at Haruka for a moment. Before Haruka could say anything, or run away from her daughter, the girl kissed her cheek and asked her to be careful. Haruka watched until Hotaru safely entered the house and the door shut behind her, then she gunned the motor and was again off into the approaching night.
Inside the house:
Setsuna looked up from the vegetables she was chopping as she heard the cry of the motor dying off in the distance. She glanced toward Michiru who stood near the kitchen table making salad and the two exchanged a look just as Hotaru entered. The teen still held her helmet in her arms as the two women looked at her and she nodded in greeting.
"Hello Setsuna-mama, Michiru-mama." Hotaru paused before she looked toward the floor, unable to meet either adults' eyes at the moment. "Haruka-papa won't be home for dinner, she said she'd be late tonight."
"Thank you, Hotaru." Setsuna smiled at the girl, though Hotaru didn't look back up as she left the kitchen. The time guardian looked again toward Michiru but the other woman shook her head.
"She'll pull herself out of it, Setsuna. She's not my responsibility and this isn't life threatening." Michiru turned back to the salad and almost managed to hide the worry in her own eyes but Setsuna caught a glimpse of it.
Tokyo streets:
Haruka Ten'ou hadn't traveled the same circles as her brother. Though she'd looked up to him when they were younger, her duty as a senshi had just seemed to sever any remaining links to her family. Now as she rode through the nighttime streets, the wind blowing through her short blonde hair at high speed, those images haunted her. His words echoed in her ears.
"Someday you're going to have to have a drink or two socially Haruka." He said as his brown eyes watched his younger sister. He smiled a bit as he pulled a few empty alcohol bottles from his closet and began to bag them up for recycling. "You don't have to smoke, and I better not catch you doing drugs, but drinking is just part of growing up."
"I don't believe that." Haruka returned as she sat on his bed. She watched him as he grabbed a water bottle and a small bag of white powder. He pulled out a pen, or what used to be one and was now only a tube, and spread the powder across his desk, using a razor blade to rake it into a thin line. He sucked the powder into his nose before walking into the bathroom and rinsing the residue off. "Why would it matter if I drink?"
"Because, everyone does it. It's not a trend it's just a fact." He reappeared from the bathroom and ruffled her hair with his hand. "You don't need to worry about that until high school though. You still have another year, but it's a school night so go get some sleep."
Haruka left her brother's room and did her best to ignore the sort of dry hacking sound that over powered him. He was twenty and every time he did one of his lines he'd begin to cough and occasionally get bloody noses. The young blonde shook her head as she went back into her own room and turned on the radio.
That was one of the last nights she'd seen him. The next day she'd had a track meet, one where a certain aqua haired girl had shown up. Haruka opened up the speed a bit more as she reached the city limits and started up a mountain road. Quickly she killed her head light, not caring if on coming vehicles knew she was there or not at this point, and let the darkness swallow her. Wind raced around her and Haruka locked the throttle in place. She removed her hands from the handlebar and spread her arms out, allowing the wind to play with the fabric of her loose shirt.
Haruka caught sight of the headlights just as they came around a bend in the road. The blonde instantly had her hands back on the controls, unlocking the throttle and moving quickly out of the large truck's path. The driver never so much as spotted the blonde as her tires lost grip and she ate pavement. He didn't see the bloodied blonde that his wheels missed by mere inches or hear the frustrated groan that escaped her as she pulled off her broken glasses and held her now bleeding side.
Outer's house about two hours later:
Michiru, Setsuna and Hotaru all glanced up from their respective activities as they heard the front door open and close. Setsuna stood and walked into the hall to tell the blonde they'd saved her dinner in the microwave but she never got it out. The next thing the two remaining outers heard was a gasp and Setsuna calling Michiru urgently. The violin player hurried toward the door to find Haruka leaning heavily on Setsuna's shoulder, her clothes ripped in random places and covered in blood. A taxi driver was standing behind her his hands covered in blood as well, which he was now wiping onto an old bandanna. The man said something about telling the blonde she should see a doctor but none of them paid him much attention.
"Hotaru, pay our guest and call Ami. Tell her we need her help." Michiru said as the teen appeared in the doorway and her violet eyes went wide. She nodded and handed the man a rather large note before politely showing him back out the door. Haruka hung somewhat limply between the two women as they half carried her up the staircase and into her room. Setsuna looked over the blonde as Michiru stepped back from the bed.
"What happened?" Setsuna asked as she noticed how most of the injuries seemed to be deep scrapes but a few looked more serious and the blonde had obviously lost blood. Haruka's torn clothes themselves were seemingly soaked in blood.
"Fell on my bike." Haruka said tiredly as she sank into the pillows. Both Setsuna and Michiru exchanged a surprised look, as they'd never seen the wind senshi anywhere close to losing her balance on wheels. Her next words, spoken before she passed out disturbed both women deeply. "Just missed the truck."
"I really wish she'd go to a hospital." Ami said quietly as she shut the bedroom door an hour later. She smiled at the four sets of concerned eyes that watched her, even if her own smile was a bit shaky. "She'll be fine. She's bandaged and shouldn't lose any more blood, I didn't find and broken bones. With the healing abilities we all possess I'd say she should be fine by the end of the week."
"What aren't you saying, Ames?" Makoto asked as red eyes watched the young women carefully. Ami sighed and leaned back against the now latched door.
"She was exhausted from more than just the blood loss. It doesn't look like she's slept much in days, if not weeks." Ami pushed away from the door and shook her head sadly. "What ever is bothering her if she doesn't find an outlet it is only going to get worse. She'll sleep tonight, I gave her some pain killer that should have her out until morning."
"Where did you get something like that?" Makoto looked at Ami with shock and the girl blushed.
"My mother figured out I was Mercury a few years ago, she keeps medical supplies at home and made me swear that if I need a trained doctor I will come to her." Ami smiled up at the others. "Actually it was quite a relief."
"We'd better get home, it's pretty late and I don't want Ami's mom to worry." Makoto said to the others.
Once they'd left the three outer scouts sat in the living room. Setsuna watched silently as Michiru's eyes turned from worry to anger. She sighed as she realized what was coming. Hotaru, again catching onto the mood of her guardians stood and excused herself to go to bed, though Setsuna was certain the thirteen year old was not far away.
"I can't believe she was so stupid!" Michiru fumed after the youngest senshi had left the room. "Haruka should know better than to even operate her motorcycle with so little sleep! She could have been killed!"
"Be fair Michiru, Haruka's motorcycle is as much her stress relief as your violin is for you." Setsuna calmly defended her friend.
"My Stradivarius isn't going to kill anyone if I hit a wrong note!" Michiru argued back and caught the somewhat amused look that crept into Setsuna's eyes. She was sure the timekeeper was imagining killer violins running rampant throughout Tokyo. With a sigh Michiru placed a hand to her forehead. When she spoke again her voice was slightly calmer, though she was no closer to inner calm. "She had to be brought back here by a random stranger, bleeding and too tired to properly explain what happened to her."
"That can happen when one is in an accident." Setsuna winced slightly at the far from amused look she received for that observation. With a heavy sigh the red-eyed woman thought over what the cabby had tried to tell them. "I believe he said he found her on a mountain road."
"Oh, what was she doing? Riding at high sped with her headlight off and her arms out at her sides?" Michiru spread her arms out to demonstrate.
"Knowing Uranus, that's quite possible." Setsuna commented and received another glare from the women before her. She shook her head and stood to leave. "I don't know about you Michiru, but I intend to change clothes and wash dear Haruka's blood off of me."
Michiru stared after Setsuna for long moments after she departed the room. Slowly she sank onto the couch, sagging in a manner that suggested the world was resting on her shoulders. To herself she could admit that she didn't understand anything the blonde did this past month. It wasn't a matter of she didn't have an opinion, she just couldn't be sure why the blonde was acting the way she was. She let her head fall into her hands and held back another sigh. As much as she was mad at the tall blonde, and as much as she had no intent of speaking more than two words to her friend this week, she was still worried. Seeing her pale and bloody was not an image Michiru enjoyed and it had scared her more than she'd ever admit.
Michiru pulled out her phone and started a text message. She didn't bother with details, just canceled her date for tomorrow night and said she'd call another time. Some how she couldn't picture eating dinner at an expensive restaurant while her blonde partner lay in bed with Setsuna and Hotaru watching over her.
With that done, Michiru abandoned her phone on the coffee table and left the room, heading toward one of the bathrooms for her own shower. She didn't notice Hotaru hiding in the shadows, or see the girl pick up her abandoned cell phone and look over the sent messages. Hotaru nodded approvingly as she read her adopted mother's text message and set the phone back down. At least now she knew for certain they were all concerned about Haruka-papa.