(8) When your world breaks down
"What happened?"
Michiru looked up from the magazine she had been holding during the past thirty minutes but not really reading. There were smiling people on its cover, but she rather felt like crying. However, it was enough that Usagi cried and did not stop, no matter how hard Rei and Mamoru tried to comfort her. The rest of the team did not come, they were at home babysitting Chibiusa, who did not even know what had happened right after dinner. When they had visited little Hotaru.
"Dr. Tomoe is still in the operation room with her." She rose and wanted to touch Haruka's shoulder reassuringly, but the blonde backed away, looking around wide-eyed.
"Operation!" There was a hint of panic in Haruka's voice which she could not stifle, although she managed to hide every emotion on her extremely pale face. Michiru had called her on her mobile phone, but had not been able to tell her every details. Haruka only needed half an hour to get here, surely she raced all the way ignoring her aching arm. The blonde was still wearing her dirty workshop clothes. Surely she had left in the middle of her handicrafts lessons not caring of the consequences.
"Hotaru had a heart attack. Right now, Dr. Tomoe is inserting a cardiac peacemaker to save her life." Michiru sat back tiredly in her chair, only to jump on her feet when Haruka crossed the room and grabbed Usagi's arms to shake her violently.
"What have you done to her!" she screamed and a crying Usagi only whimpered and crouched. "You should have helped her, not kill her!"
"She didn't do anything, Ruka!" Michiru wrapped her arms around Haruka's waist and pulled her away from the shaking girl. Mamoru, who had bought coffees together with Rei, pushed his cups in the fire senshi's already full arms and caught his girlfriend before she could hit the ground.
"I only wanted to help…" sobbed the blonde and buried her face in her boyfriend's shoulder and cried even harder. The young man held her tight and looked searching up to Haruka, saw the hate in dark green eyes.
"Help! That's what you call help! To take her to the hospital?" Haruka freed herself from Michiru's embrace, pushed her smaller partner aside. But she did not try to get near Usagi again, instead she stared fumingly down at the blonde.
"It is due to her that Hotaru's still alive! If Usagi would not have been with Hotaru, no one would have noticed her heart attack until it were too late!" Michiru stepped between her raging friend and the two teenagers on the ground.
"You told me to trust her! How could I!" Haruka clenched her fists and suddenly Michiru had to shiver. She had never seen her best friend so angry, so out of control. If the blonde was pulling her henshin now, if she was going to attack them, Michiru was not sure if she could bring her back to her senses.
I've never seen her losing her temper this way…"It's not Usagi's fault! Hotaru's an ill child, you know that! It happened because of Hime-chan's weak heart, not because of Usagi being there."
"You believe anything they're telling you, right?" Haruka crossed her arms before her chest and took several deep breaths. It looked as if she was counting to ten, or even up to one hundred; and as if she was fighting against her emotions. Tears sparkled in dark green eyes and Michiru heard the slight tremble in her best friend's voice.
"Ruka…"
At that moment Dr. Tomoe came over to them. He looked tired and suddenly extremely old, although he was not older than thirty-five. He was still wearing his white cloak; there were some tiny blood splashes on the cloth. Not enough to imagine the operation, but enough to make them all gulp.
"Doctor-sama?" It was Rei who had thrown away the coffee and stepped beside the bowed man who rubbed his eyes behind his glasses. "How's Hotaru feeling?"
He corrected his glasses and glanced silently to each one of them. He recognised some of their faces, although strangers were welcomed as well.
"Nice to see that my Hotaru-chan has so many nice friends." He whispered hoarsely, but the words were as loud as explosions in the tense atmosphere. "She'll need everyone of you during the next time."
Usagi sniffed and turned her face around to look directly in tired eyes.
"How's she doing, Tomoe-san?"
"She's alive, but there were some complications." Dr. Tomoe's shoulders hang and he looked around, avoiding to meet their hopeful faces again. "Right now she's in coma."
Silence evolved. Unbelieving, understanding, desperate silence.
"I told you! Not even the mighty Sailor Moon is able to help her!" Haruka ignored the gasps around her as she stormed out of the waiting room, slamming the door behind her.
"I'll tell you if her condition changes." Dr. Tomoe shuffled out of the room. Rei automatically followed him, because she did not want to see him fall, to hurt himself. Hotaru now needed her father more than ever.
"Sailor Moon? What did she mean?" Mamoru helped his girlfriend on her feet and looked exhaustedly at Michiru. He did not want to be involved in a fight, he did not defend their secret identities. He simply wanted to comfort his Usagi and pray for little Hotaru, Chibiusa's new best friend.
"We're Uranus and Neptune." Confessed Michiru, because it the blonde finally deserved the truth. "I beg you pardon, but that's been a shock and she overreacted." The sea beauty raised her opened hands to show that she meant no harm. Then she bowed slightly and followed her partner. They could talk later, explain everything that had been going on since last summer. Now Michiru had to find Haruka before the young woman did something stupid. Before Uranus did something extraordinarily dumb.
But she did not search for long. Haruka was standing right outside the hospital, looking up to the sky, watching the snowflakes' dance. It was soft and light, weightless, silent, peaceful.
"Ruka?"
"In coma!" Haruka clenched her fists and shuffled with her feet in the fresh fallen snow.
"It was not Usagi's fault, Ruka. You know that."
"She could have told us that she was not able to save her. Then she would have never had this damn heart attack!" The blonde shortly glanced at Michiru before she watched the sky again. Michiru gulped as she saw the desperation in her partner's face. At the same time she felt empty, cold within.
"Then you would have killed her yesterday?"
"Hai." Nodded Haruka and ran her trembling fists clumsily over her cheeks. Michiru could not tell if they were only wet from the falling snow melting on Haruka's warm skin. "Then she would not have suffered. No pain, no operation. No coma!"
Haruka sighed deeply and turned her head away as Michiru stepped closer to her. However, this time she did not wince as her best friend wrapped her arms around her and held her gently tight.
No pain…In a comforting silence.