AN : Very sorry for the delay, but I've been on a whole month trip and I've been very busy lately too. Hope you will like this new chapter though.
Chapter 5: Unforeseen gathering
One hour later Ayashi recomposed herself and apologized again for being such a crybaby. Michiru who wanted to change the subject proposed to go out for dinner. She had also proposed to the other girl to stay at her place but Ayashi refused saying that she had already bothered the aquahaired girl enough. Michiru had insisted but Ayashi refused this time saying that she had already booked a room in a hotel near the park where they have met.
Michiru tried to avoid as much as possible the restaurants they used to go for dinner.
She wouldn't risk meeting the other short blonde haired girl, so she had told Ayashi about a nice restaurant not too far from her hotel.
Flashback
"Haruka, why do we always have to go out to dinner when it's your turn to cook?" Michiru grinned mischievously knowing the answer.
"Well I just like to go out for dinner" Answered Haruka simply after a moment.
"It's odd..." The aqua haired thought that Haruka would have said something more like 'Me cooking, you really want to have a stomac ache!'
Michiru stared at Haruka for a moment and then resume to stare at the map.
"Sorry?" Asked the blonde looking up from a book.
"Ah ... nothing" The girl tried to avoid the questionning glare by indicating a place with her index on the map. "Look, seems like it's not far from here and it's high recommended. Shall we go?"
"Yes" Was the only response.
End flashback
'It was the second week I moved with Haruka, we used to go out a lot...I miss those times. I found out later why she never wanted to cook, it was because she cooked well so she had feared I would have some suspicions. When I thought about it she had really fooled me-'
Her thought was interrupted by a gentle hand on her shoulder and by a cheerful voice.
"Michiru-san, isn't it the restaurant you were talking about?" Ayashi pointed over a building just across the road.
As Michiru had said Ayashi's hotel was not far from the restaurant indeed it was just in front.
The restaurant looked small from the outside but the simplicity of the decoration was enough to attract people concerned about tranquility.
At the entrance, a waitress welcomed them and checked on her computer for a place for two.
As they waited, the two women looked around with an appreciative look. The restaurant was indeed well decorated, the light was filtered which gave a romantic atmosphere, and the room between each table was enough to give customers some privacy.
"This way, please" The waitress guided them to their table wich was situated across the restaurant.
As they walked to their table, a crash of a glass and a shout were heard from the other side of the restaurant.
"SHE WAS DRUNK! Dammit Haruka is it so hard to understand!"
'Haruka? Could it be ...' At that thought Ayashi just decided to search for the source of the shout. She walked to where the argument was taken place and after some steps she just stood still.
Here just in front of her sat Haruka head down with a sad expression.
"I know she was drunk ... and what? She can do what she wants. And why are you telling me this? Aren't you the one concerned?" Said Haruka with a steady and a low voice.
Seeing how his friend was so helpless and stubborn, Sasuke just got more infuriated. He gripped Haruka by her collar and lifted her at his level "DON'T ACT STUPID HARUKA! YOU KNOW I'M NOT! Say something, don't act like nothing happened!"
At this statement Haruka just closed her eyes and looked away. It was useless to explain to his friend the whole story.
A few seconds later as she opened her eyes the vision that came to her was unexpected.
"A-Aya?" Haruka whispered.
Sasuke turned his head to see whom Haruka was calling and stopped his eyes on a beautiful blonde haired girl in tears.
He then released Haruka from his grip and watched as the girl in tears immediately ran to Haruka and embraced her with all her force. She was so eager that they both fell to the ground.
"Oh Ruka..."
Ayashi just let her emotions gained her and cried freely against the short blonde haired girl.
Haruka just waited till her sobbing decreased and then stopped, to pull a little away from the embrace to ask Ayashi why she was there and since when, but little did she know the smaller girl has fallen asleep.
Haruka watched with concern the angelic face of the sleeping girl.
"I'm so sorry Aya." Haruka brushed a strand that had fallen and kissed Ayashi's forehead in a tenderly motion. "Please forgive me."
She then stood up and held tight in her arms the sleeping girl. Some customers who have been watching them, just decided to return to their respective tables.
"Haruka, I'm sorry for my outburst, I shouldn't have yelled at you. You are my friend and I just wanted the best for you ... but I think I have failed. I shouldn't have stepped into your business. Please forgive me." Said Sasuke with sincerity.
He was so ashamed of his action that to be face to face with his friend was unbearable so he just looked away. As he turned his head he discovered another unexpected witness.
"Michiru...?" As the name left his mouth, Sasuke slowly turned his head to see the reaction of his friend. To his surprise Haruka seemed to be calm.
The behaviour of Haruka made Michiru uncomfortable though, so she avoided looking at her. She knew everything wasn't like before but somehow she had hoped that maybe the two months of vacation had made the short blonde haired girl forget.
"I was with Ayashi-san. Her hotel is just the one in front of the restaurant. I think she needs to rest a little, she must be exhausted from the flight." Said Michiru with concern.
"When did she arrive? How do you know? And how did you two met?" Asked Haruka trying not to sound to eager and nervous.
"I think here is not the right place to speak about it. Let's get move to her hotel first, shall we?" Michiru tried her best to stay composed and calm while speaking, she used to be in this kind of awkward situation and she had always dealt with it.
"You're right, Sasuke, can you pay the bill and rejoined us in the Hotel's lobby, please?" As Haruka asked Sasuke the favor, Ayashi moved in her sleep. She cuddled closely against Haruka and made a happy expression.
Seeing this Haruka smiled a reassuring smile and kissed the sleeping girl forehead. "Sleep well."
Michiru saw the lovingly motion Haruka did towards Ayashi and silently cursed the short blonde haired girl for doing it in front of her.
'Why are you doing this in front of me Haruka? Am I nothing to you? Don't you see that I had suffered enough...that I regretted my acts the moment I did them?'
The walk to the Hotel was made in silence, none of them wanting to disturb the sleeping girl.
However once Sasuke rejoined them, Michiru tried to speak to the short blonde haired girl but each time she looked at her the vision of the blonde holding Ayashi was unbearable.
'Just no longer ...I was the one you were holding in your arms, oh Ruka how can things change so fast?'
The silence in the room was uncomfortable.
Sasuke, who felt somehow guilty for what happened, tried to ease the atmosphere by breaking the silence first.
"So Michiru how was your vacation?"
"Well I think" The short response Michiru gave Sasuke just made him more worried about the whole situation.
Sasuke Takahashi was also a student at Todai, but he knew Haruka from High School as he had attended Mugen Gakuen High too. They became friends when Ayashi moved and since then they hung out together. Sasuke and Haruka soon made a duo, which became a trio. Michiru who seemed to appreciate their company had joined them. However even if they had spent a lot of good times together their happiness was only a façade.
All three of them have hidden deep in them a secret, a love that would be better not revealed.
And because of this, the group slowly died.
The more Sasuke assessed the situation the more he felt guilty about it. Even if his friends had told him that it was inevitable, he couldn't help but to curse himself for his egoism.
'If only I haven't...'
Flashback
"Michiru!" Waving his hand to get her attention, Sasuke smiled when she finally spotted him.
"Hi Sasuke. I hope you haven't waited too long?" Asked Michiru as she took her seat.
"No, don't worry."
"Huh, Haruka aren't here yet? I'm very surprised. He is always the first one." Michiru smiled, anticipating a very embarassed Haruka coming out of breathe and bowing several times for being late.
"Anou... Haruka won't come today." Michiru smile faded and was replaced by a serious expression. She has never met Sasuke alone before. This was unexpected. "I only ask you to come. I'm sorry if I haven't told you this before but I wanted to talk to you in privacy."
Sasuke watched carefuly the angelic face in front of him. He wanted to make sure that Michiru wasn't lost or nervous. He knew that it was the first time Haruka wasn't with them.
"It's okay, I don't mind. But you should have tell me first." Michiru smiled again. She then turned and beckoned to a waiter.
Once their orders were brought, the both of them just stayed silent sipping their refreshment. Sasuke from times to times took a quick look to the woman in front of him. He has always dreamt about that day, the very first day with only the two of them sitting like this, like a couple.
"Michiru, can I ask you something with you answering honestly?" Finally said Sasuke. Michiru looked up from her cocktail, and came face to face with a serious looking Sasuke.
"Yes, of course. I will try my best." Answered sincerely Michiru.
"What do you... you think of me?" Asked Sasuke who immediately blushed and turned his face, not wanting the aqua haired girl to see his embarrassment.
Michiru just stared at her friend astonished, but soon realized that her friend was waiting for an answer. She then tried to reply as frankly as she could, but all she could think of at that very moment was only a vague description.
"Well, I think you are a nice guy who cares a lot for his friends, not egoist, very kind and gentleman..." Enumerated Michiru, not really knowing what else to say. "Hmm natural, smart and... and why are you asking me this by the way?"
"Because I love you" Whispered Sasuke.
Michiru, who never been in this kind of situation, just blushed and looked away. She couldn't believe what she heard.
Sasuke watched with interest the blushing girl sitting in front of him.
Interpreting the girl reaction as positive, the young man reached out, put his hand over hers and smiled lovingly at her.
"Michiru, I truly love you and I want to know more about you..." Sasuke waited a moment in order to recompose himself and then resumed his speech. "Hm what I mean is I would like you to be my girlfriend, Michiru."
The girl in question just stayed in awe. Everything was so unreal. Not knowing what to respond, Michiru gently pulled her hands away and stared at the table in silence. After an instant of thinking, the young girl decided to be honest with her feelings.
"I'm sorry Sasuke, I can't." Michiru said.
"May I know the reasons?" Interjected Sasuke abruptly.
"I do like you Sasuke, but only as a friend and-"
"You love Haruka, don't you?" Sasuke cut in and then left a sigh escaped his mouth.
Flabergasted by Sasuke's question, Michiru looked away and stayed silent. She wasn't supposed to be so obvious.
"I take that for a yes..." Sasuke stated sadly. He knew Michiru had a crush on Haruka but somehow he had hoped.
End flashback
As memories of past event came back to Sasuke, he couldn't help but to fell even more responsible.
'I shouldn't have confess... but more importantly I shouldn't have pushed them together then-'
"Sasuke," Interrupted Haruka as if she knew something was bothering her friend. "Can you look after Ayashi for a moment please? I have to run some errands, she will be probably hungry once she woke up and we haven't really eaten too."
Sasuke face brighten a little and his voice was cheerful "No problem Haruka you can trust in me"
"Okay, thank you. By the way do you need something?" Asked Haruka as she stood up and took her jacket.
"Hm no nothing, thanks" Replied Sasuke with a smile.
"And you Michiru, do you need something?" Asked Haruka expecting the same answer as Sasuke, but what she heard then wasn't exactly the answer she wanted to hear.
"Yes, but I will buy it myself. Do you mind if I come with you?" As if knowing the answer, Michiru stood up and walked to join Haruka.
"Hm no, not at all" As she was ready to open the door, Haruka turned around and glanced over Ayashi. "I'm counting on you Sasuke, I will be back soon"
"Don't worry, I won't left her, even one second, I promise. Are you satisfied?" The statement Sasuke made seemed to relieve Haruka.
"Yes, thanks" And with that she left the room.
"I hope they will be okay..." Said Sasuke and resumed to glance at the sleeping beauty. And at the sight he couldn't help but to sigh. "Haruka you are so lucky. To be loved by so wonderful girls, I wish I were in your shoes...but how will you managed to solve this situation? You are in such a mess...
TBC
AN: The next chapter will answer all your questions. Hm well I hope though, but I don't think it will be the last one, it depends.
My english doesn't seem to improve at all, and I'm getting more and more difficulties to write what I really want. So if there's someone out there who would kindly criticizes my english and tell me if I have improve or worsen, I would be really grateful.