This chapter is dedicated to Knight of the Wolf who's review I read when I was tired and had NO energy to write. Your review gave me the little push to start work on this chapter (even with my lack of sleep lately), thank you.
AN: Anyone remember the "Weekend" chapter of "Can't Leave You Alone" where it followed the other characters instead of Haruka? Well "Rewind" here is more or less dedicated to Michiru, and the first part will recap a bit to show how things happened. Hope you enjoy. B-)
Chapter 8: Rewind
The previous night at Tokyo International airport:
It was the last plane of the night and Michiru was eager to get home and into her own bed. She'd been gone for two weeks, two weeks away from Triton, Wind and Haruka but right now she just wanted to get some sleep. Michiru felt a hand on her shoulder and glanced back to see who had stopped her. She was met with two surprised green eyes and a familiar face.
"Michiru-chan, that is you!" The young man exclaimed as he smiled widely. He released his grip on her shoulder and bowed slightly. "It's been too long, since our last day of high school I think."
"A bit after that, Ryu-kun." Michiru smiled tired and acted as polite as she could. Seeing Ryu was a shock, after all it wasn't everyday you ran into an estranged ex-boyfriend/best friend from high school. She gently slipped her cell phone from her purse as she nodded to him. "I don't mean to be rude, but I am really tired and I need to call my ride. We can talk while I wait, if you'd like."
"I have a better idea." Ryu produced a set of keys from his pocket and smiled politely. "Why don't I just drive you home tonight?"
"I don't want to worry Haruka." Michiru protested even as she glanced toward her phone. The little blue screen proclaimed it to be past 2am. "I've probably already done so."
"Oh come on, Michiru-chan. Who is this Haruka anyway? New boyfriend?" Ryu caught the lightest of blushes on Michiru's face and grinned victoriously. "I knew it! You know it's really late, if he didn't know you were going to be so late he's probably asleep already."
Michiru paused for a moment, eyes glancing down to the phone in her hand. She had told Haruka that the plane would be there during the day, not at this odd morning hour. With how tired she was now it was only logical that the blonde had gone to sleep and would wait for a call tomorrow. Exhausted and wanting out of the airport, Michiru nodded and she and Ryu left for baggage claim.
The night was uneventful. Ryu drove to Michiru's house and after helping her bring her things in he was offered a guest room for the night. Michiru didn't want him driving since the young man looked dead on his feet now. Once Ryu was set up in a down stairs guest room Michiru went upstairs to her own bed.
Only a few hours later, the sun just coming over the horizon, Michiru woke. For some reason she just couldn't sleep so she got up and decided to start her day early. She was just getting dressed after a shower when the doorbell rang. Michiru paused but noticed it didn't repeat. She finished getting dressed and stared toward the front door. Just as she reached the top of the stairs she saw Ryu shutting the door.
"Who was at the door, Ryu-kun?" Michiru asked, choosing not to ask why he had answered her door. The next words out of his mouth sent her running down the stairs.
"Some blonde man, he seemed pretty mad about something." Ryu said off handedly. Michiru didn't hear anything he said after that. She ran to the door and out onto the lawn, not even pausing to grab her shoes on the way out. Haruka's yellow convertible was already peeling down the road away from her home. For long moments Michiru simply stared after the car, lost to the distance and curves of the road. When she finally turned ad walked inside she ignored Ryu's questioning look and walked toward her music room.
With the door shut behind her she walked over to the cordless she kept there and picked it up. She dialed the number with quick fingers, practiced so many times that she didn't even have to think. The cell was turned off so she tried the next number, Haruka's apartment.
"Haruka, its Michiru." She paused for a moment as she tried to keep the worry from her voice. "I'm sorry about this morning but we need to talk. I tried your cell but it was turned off. Please call me back."
That message finished Michiru set the phone down and glanced about. Her eyes lit upon the glass violin, which Haruka had given her and she slowly walked over to it. With care she lifted the delicate instrument to her shoulder and began to stray the bow across its strings. The melody it produced was mournful and sad as it echoed about the small room.
Slowly the car pulled in to a spot in the underground parking garage. Michiru brought it into the spot next to Haruka's yellow convertible and turned the engine off. With out a thought to her passenger she got out and started toward the elevator. Ryu got out as well and trailed behind the violinist as she entered the elevator. Silence filled the space until the doors opened on the correct floor.
"I don't need you here." Michiru said to him as they walked down the empty hall. "I can speak to Haruka alone, in fact I probably should."
"I think it was mainly my fault, besides I'd like to be here for you." Ryu placed a hand on Michiru's shoulder and she resisted the urge to slap his hand. Instead she calmly pushed it off her shoulder.
"Stop that, Ryu-san." She said, pausing before the door to give him a stern glare. She wished he would leave so that she could straighten things out with Haruka in private. "Things are not the same as when we were in school."
Michiru turned toward the door and again lost and notice of what he'd been saying. A post-it note was on the door and she pulled it off. Her eyes scanned across the yellow paper and she froze. Everything seemed to stop for her and she couldn't take her eyes from that paper.
"Go home, Ryu." Michiru spoke, her voice seeming to have drained of all emotion or energy. He paused but finally walked away. Michiru heard the elevator open and close. Once Ryu was out of the hallway the aqua haired woman leaned forward, her head lightly touching the door as silent tears began to escape her eyes. She never meant to bring back these memories to Haruka, to cause this pain again even if only through memory and misunderstanding. And now Haruka seemed determined to avoid her.
As a last effort before breaking Michiru pulled out her cell phone and dialed Haruka's cell phone number. Placing the device to her ear she heard a few rings then Haruka's voice answered and told her to wait. Michiru stood there, silent tears still escaping her eyes, and almost certain that she would not see Haruka until the blonde was ready. Michiru never heard the elevator and jumped slightly when warm arms wrapped around her and pulled her back again someone's chest. She knew it was Haruka, knew the scent and the feel.
Slowly Michiru managed to stop her tears and listen to each of Haruka's questions. She was relieved and surprised that the blonde had come back to find out what was really going on. She'd feared that Haruka would run off with out giving her the chance to clear things up and that this misunderstanding would be the end.
Michiru entered her house that evening with a happy, and now unleashed Triton trotting beside her. The aqua haired young woman tried to push away her thoughts by going through the rituals of feeding Triton and looking over the mail, which had accumulated in her absence. She couldn't shake the image of a blonde haired woman sitting on a couch with her teal eyes locked on her shoes. She couldn't seem to shake the guilt either, the guilt that even unknowingly she had caused Haruka such pain. Michiru was so caught up in fact that she nearly missed the door bell altogether.
"Who's there?" Michiru called, glancing at the late time once she reached the door. She wasn't used to late night guest, considering that she lived in a large house with an open but imposing fence and neighbors far enough to not ever have met her.
"It's me, Ryu. Can we talk for a few minutes?" Michiru was opening her mouth to say it wasn't a good idea when he spoke again. "Please, for old times sake?"
"Come in, though I am not sure what we have to talk about." Michiru opened the door and lightly gestured to the living room. She was anything but a bad hostess, even if her guest was uninvited and at such a strange hour. "Would you like anything to drink?"
"No, I just wanted to speak to you." Ryu bowed a bit before taking a seat on the couch. He waited until Michiru took a seat as well, though noticed that she chose a chair rather than the open space on the couch. "Michiru-chan, I am sorry for the trouble I caused you."
"It wasn't your fault Ryu-kun, I should have called Haruka last night." Michiru waved off the apology politely. She looked again at the clock, wishing for nothing more than to put the past day behind her. "Is that all?"
"No, did you and Ten'ou-san straighten things out?" He asked with an odd sort of hope in his eyes. Michiru nodded and something in his expression changed just before he continued. "I was curious, I mean you've hardly told me a thing about Ten'ou-san." Ryu waved his hands a bit in a helpless manner and tried to smile at her. "I'd like to think we are still friends and I was hoping to find out more about him."
"I see." Michiru spoke carefully; taking note of the fact that she'd forgotten to inform Ryu that Haruka was female. Michiru started to weigh thoughts in her mind. She didn't see any harm in telling Ryu something, but they hardly ever spoke. In fact it had been almost seven years since the two had talked, before that night in the airport. Michiru decided to avoid mention of gender for now. "What did you want to know?"
"How did you two meet, and what is it about him that you like so much?" Ryu asked a bit too eagerly, he even rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward to hear the answers. "Back in our school days you didn't care about fast cars or money."
"I still don't." Michiru corrected, feeling just a bit offended at the suggestion. She noticed his suddenly downcast eyes and assumed it was an unintended insult. She took a deep breath and started to recount the story to Ryu, leaving out the fact that Haruka was female and married when they met and instead saying there were personal matters. As she got around to their return to Japan she smiled. "I think I fell for Haruka from that first moment, right at first sight." She finished, not really knowing why she told him this.
"You're sure its not infatuation?" Ryu asked and received a glare for his trouble. He raised his hands in surrender and stood. Michiru stood as well, meaning to let him out. As they approached the door Ryu paused and placed a hand on Michiru's shoulder. He leaned down and tried to kiss her but Michiru backed away just in time. Her back met a wall and she glared at him.
"I think you should leave, Ryu-san." Michiru spoke calmly, standing and opening the door to allow him out.
"He will break your heart, Michiru-san." Ryu looked at her as he passed through the door. He looked as if he was sharing some secret that he'd hidden for years. "I've seen his type before, I know what they are like. All they care about are fast cars and having trophy women on their arm. Michiru, men only think about one thing most of the time, how do you know he loves you?"
"Ryu-san, you don't know the first thing about her." Michiru spoke somewhat harshly as she stressed Haruka's true gender. She glared into his shocked green eyes, daring him to speak again as she began to shut the door. "And I am well aware of what men are so famous for thinking about, however that stereo type, clearly, can not be applied to Haruka. Good night."
Michiru could have guessed that Ryu was still there, blinking at the door, had she cared. As soon as the door was shut however she walked down the hall to her art room. She opened the door and turned the light on, ignoring the white and paint stained apron, which hung next to the door and walked toward an unfinished painting. Carefully she drew a white cloth from the work in progress that and regarded it.
The portrait she revealed showed a remarkably realistic view of the Tokyo skyline as she'd seen it from Haruka's balcony one night. The balcony itself was in the picture as well, with a half painted Wind-Chaser dozing lightly in one corner. Michiru regarded the painting, wondering at how she could add what she now wanted to the picture. Preparing some paint and a few brushes Michiru decided to try it, after all her painting had always been a way to express her feelings and relieve her stress.
Michiru blinked her eyes and tried to remember what had woken her. She noticed it was mid-afternoon and that she was on the couch in her living room. Shaking her head she decided painting until you were too tired to climb a staircase was a bad idea. She blinked as her doorbell chimed again, finally realizing what had woken her. Michiru called for the person to wait a moment and hurried into the downstairs bathroom to make herself seem half decent. Finally satisfied that she looked like she'd been working and not sleeping she opened the door.
"I have a delivery for a Kaioh Michiru." Spoke a young man at the door as held up a large bouquet of a dozen red roses. Michiru accepted the flowers, though she was somewhat afraid they would be from Ryu. After the man had her sign for them she returned to the living room and set them gently on the table before reading the note, which had come with them.
Dear Michi,
I am sorry I jumped to conclusions yesterday. You are a saint to put up with me sometimes and I am very lucky to have you. Please forgive me for being so paranoid.
Yours truly,
Ruka
Michiru smiled at the short note and looked again at the flowers. She fought off the thought that she should be apologizing instead. Quietly she walked up the stairs and decided to get a little more rest.
Somewhere across the city Haruka leaned against her balcony's railing letting the wind blow across her face and through her short hair. The blonde shut her teal eyes against the sunlight and focused solely on the feel of the air as it passed her and swirled about the building. Sometimes, she could almost hear a voice in moments like this. A friend had once told her that the wind must be her element and it was trying to guide her. They'd stated facts from some astrology book they could never get the blonde to read and Haruka had shrugged off the thought. Element or not, real or imagined, that not quite voice did seem to guide her the right way.
ANThere you have chapter eight, I hope it was worth the wait. Also I am sorry for the grammar errors I've spotted in chapter seven, can't believe I missed some of those. I am a bit wary of editing this story while still writing it, but I will be correcting and reposting that chapter. All right, I'll do a few reviewer responses as soon as I go get some ice water. It's over one hundred degrees inside in a shady room here so hydration is VERY important.
Please bear with me a moment, these first five or so responses are for "Coward's Way Out":
Knight of the Wolf: Thank you. I'd go crazy with out my music too, I feel bad enough that my radio doesn't work so I only have CDs. B-) Things still aren't great but I have promised a few people (my sister, brothers and best friends) that I wont take that way out. As long as I have another escape, such as writing, I will not take anyway such as that out.
Moonjava: Thank you for the support and I am glad you liked it. It holds so much still to me though that I haven't even read it to edit the grammar. A friend, whom the Michiru in this story is partially based off of, has asked that I write the spin off. She is studying Criminal Justice and as she put it "Something illegal happened there, it couldn't just be over looked." The spin off might end up more morbid humor though but I hope it is decent.
Tigonookami: Yeah, I guess any "art form" is a way to get things out. My family, the "Ten'ous" of this story are a real piece of work at times. I am finding that most of those I was taught to look up to as a child are closed-minded and greedy. It's a bit of a hard reality and doesn't go well with my will to fight back against things I see as wrong. Kind of a no win place, but I am working toward getting away and cutting ties with the ones who triggered "Coward's Way Out". I don't want to hurt (emotionally) those I know it would if I pulled such a stun. Thank you to my friend Ashley for bringing me to my senses that day.
Leena 9: Well, as you can see, I've updated "Truly Madly Deeply" tonight. Hopefully I will have a new chapter of "A World Apart" ready next month but I had to sort of pause that work. There is a spin off to "Coward's Way Out" in the works, which will probably have some rather morbid humor in it, but aside from Haruka no more death. I am honored that you read it even though you aren't normally into angst/tragedy. Thank you for the support.
Moon-daisuke: B-) I just wrote a response to you for "Truly Madly Deeply" so keep scrolling down after this. I am glad you like it, though sorry that I got you buried in tissue. To be honest I wrote the poem while thinking about the first chapter, about what Haruka would want to say to Michiru and about what I would want to say to my friends. After I had the poem I just thought it'd be a waste not to put it in the story so I decided to write "Aftermath" and surprised myself with what came out.
There will be a spin off and I can only hope it is as good as this. I have been strongly encouraged to write during a phone call. I was told that I just had too much detail about what could go on after this last chapter as well as a friend who wants certain stuff addressed. I hope you'll read it and I thank you for all your support.
The following are for "Truly Madly Deeply". Thank you:
Jeannie: Thank you I'm glad you like it. B-) I hope this is a fast enough update. I guess I just get a bit critical of my grammar after I post and it bugs until later, but I am glad it hasn't detracted enough to make people not enjoy this story. Also, I'm glad you though Haruka's personality in this chapter worked, I was slightly afraid she'd sound strange.
Bahamut's king: I am honored to be one of your favorites and I'm glad you like this story. I was happy to review, though I've been a bit pressed for time lately. Keep up your writing, I'm still reading and you'd be amazed how many people read and enjoy a story but don't comment. B-) Take care.
Knight of the wolf: Thank you again for the praise. Yes it is hard after something as bad as that happens, and hey ten years is almost half my lifetime. (I don't know if I feel young or old.) Ten years is long enough for most couples to have started raising a family. I'm glad I was able to get Haruka's insecurities across, and drew off some stuff that recently happened as well as some things which happened to people I knew over the years. It is sad to think that people pull that; honestly it's only decent to just tell the person if you prefer another. (May hurt, but at least you avoid betrayal.)
This chapter is written for you, seeing as reading your review got me to move on writing it. B-) I am always glad to get one of your reviews, they tend to be extremely insightful and helpful. Thanks for all the reviews and support.
Bigbaka85: Yes, Haruka has a really hard time confessing things and her past with Jill in here wont help that. I'm not great at it myself so its going to take a bit to think something that will work. I do have a few ideas and maybe one shock for those who have read "Can't Leave You Alone". I can't say what it is, that would ruin the surprise. B-) I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and hope this one is just as good.
Teken: Thank you I hope you like it.
Animeprincess056: Hey there Mesa-chan. B-) Glad you liked the last two chapters, sorry if I gave a scare with Haruka's dream. It was meant to hopefully make people stop and wonder, and so was the next day. Most of all I was just trying to give Haruka a little kick so to speak. Hope you like this chapter, take care.
Moon Daisuke: Thank you, I'm glad it fits. I was starting to think to myself that Haruka was being over confident for what had happened to her in her last relationship and I wanted to try to show she didn't magically forget it all. Lol, Sorry for the scare, but I had to do something to poor Haruka. B-) The new job, though temporary is great so far. It's a lot of lifting and moving (text books) but I still enjoy it. My co-workers are interesting; most of them are students at the college that runs the place. Only down side is it messed up my sleep cycle and that leaves me so tired I don't even want to turn on the computer. B-) Still I'll keep it up. Thank you again.
That's all for the responses tonight. Thank you again for all the continuing support. Also to any who have an interest I am probably going to write a sort of spin off from "Coward's Way Out". I was speaking to a close friend who is studying to be a CSI and she started some interesting questions about the plot. That said, I hope you'll like it when I get it out. Take care everyone.
Haruka's Knight