(15) Everybody cries
Silver balls covered the entire living room. They inhabited the couch, the small table, the armchair and, of course, the carpet. Michiru was sitting in the middle of the bouncing sea. She bought the Christmas decoration today. Or better, Usagi, Mamoru and she did buy it since Haruka had detention in biology, because she forgot to write her essay about cell formation. The teacher was not very pleased and told her to write it after class and to hand it in immediately afterwards. So Michiru had to decide without her best friend for the decoration, but she was sure that she did a great job. Even if Haruka did not like the colour or the small patterns engraved on the surface, she would surely laugh when she saw the silver balls bouncing all through the living room. It had been Mamoru's idea to buy unbreakable Christmas balls. Usagi was very clumsy and after she broke half of her mother's decoration last year they decided for children-proven one. Since Michiru did not see a difference, at least not on the outside, she agreed and was now having a great time throwing them around and watching them bouncing off the walls, the couch and the table.
"I hate biology."
Michiru could hear Haruka's grumbling even before she could see the blonde peering through the half opened door. She aimed and a silver ball missed Haruka's head for only a few centimetres.
"Woah! Watch out what you're doing. You'll break my head and your…" Haruka raised one eyebrow as the shattering noise failed to come. Instead the silver whirlwind came jumping back into the room, hopped around happily and finally found its rest on the couch next to its brothers and sisters. "What's that? Alien invasion from Mars?"
"I'm sure Rei would have warned us." Giggled Michiru and threw another silver ball into the air to catch it again. "No, that's our Christmas decoration. Shatter-proof."
"I'm going to buy the pine. I don't want it waltzing in our living room." Haruka tried not to step on any silver balls in case they would bite back as she made her way over to the couch. But the telephone started to ring before she could sit down.
"Could you answer it?" Michiru was sitting between the decoration like a mother goose between her goslings. Three of them were laying on her lap and at least ten besieged her feet. Haruka saw that she had lost and stood up, sighing deeply. It was obvious that she wanted to relax after a long school day, to forget her biology teacher, to watch a cartoon or the sport news on TV and to beg Michiru for a sandwich. None of those activities included leaving the couch and therefore moving her tired bones at all.
Michiru collected the decoration and put it back into the boxes. She thought of their schedules to find a time when they both had no rehearsal and not much homework to do so that they could go to the city together to buy a pine. The sea beauty trusted Haruka to buy a normal tree, however, she wanted to be with her. A Christmas tree was an important decision and it was her who wanted to decorate it. She had to decide for the right size and for the number of branches. Besides she wanted to spend more time with her best friend outside school.
Michiru heard Haruka pick up the phone and saying something. Then there was silence. Maybe someone dialled the wrong number, maybe it was Usagi talking without giving Haruka any possibility of replying. Michiru had spent long afternoons next to Hotaru's hospital bed with Usagi and Chibiusa by her side, she knew exactly the way the two Tsukinos were able to gossip.
I guess I should rescue her.
Michiru smiled and put the boxes under the small table. Then she got up and went over to her best friend, already debating in her mind if they still had enough rice to make a delicious dinner. Haruka looked like she needed one, especially after having written five pages of total senseless stuff, as she often called their biology lessons.
Before Usagi's chewing her ear off.
But Michiru's amused smile disappeared as she saw the blonde kneeling next to the coat rack where they kept their telephone, because that was easier than searching it everywhere in the apartment. Sure, their empire was small, however, Haruka's room seemed to be a black hole. Whatever it devoured was gone forever… or for at least unnerving two hours.
Right now Haruka held the phone tight in her hand and was staring at it with tear filled eyes. Her cheeks were wet and Michiru needed some moments to hear her silent sobs and to understand that her best friend was crying.
Oh god… what…"Ruka? What happened?" She rushed over to the kneeling woman and could catch the phone as it escaped trembling fingers. "Did Hotaru have another attack or did Mistress 9 come back?" Suddenly she felt very sick and very cold. "Tell me, what's wrong?"
"It's been Hime-chan…" said Haruka, still trembling, after long minutes that felt like eternity to the sea beauty. "She asked my when I'd visit her, because she has drawn pictures of Santa Clause and wants to show them to me."
Haruka buried her blushed face behind her shaking hands as if she was ashamed of her tears. Or as if she was ashamed of herself.
"Can you imagine? I've tried to kill her and she still wants to see me…" Haruka shook her head and let Michiru embrace her. "I've tried to kill her and she doesn't hate me…"
No one hates you.
Now Michiru knew why Haruka had been so quiet, so distant during the past days. She had not been offended or even angry, because they needed Sailor Moon's help to succeed in their mission, to rescue Hotaru and to defeat Mistress 9. No, she had been ashamed of what she had done and thought that Usagi and the other would have never wanted to talk to her again.
It's the opposite, Ruka. The opposite.
"You've tried to protect her, Ruka." Michiru pulled her best friend closer and held her comfortingly tight. "No one blames you, especially not Usagi. You should know her by now, she only sees the good in other people; and she has seen your good side long before." Michiru caressed lovingly Haruka's trembling back. "I've seen your good side when we met for the first time, Ruka, and I know that you only wanted to save Hime-chan that day, so stop to worry and visit her."
Haruka did not reply anything. She only closed her burning eyes and let the tears fall she had kept within her soul for the past days, maybe even for the past months when she had thought that every day could be her last one. That every day she could become a murder, killing an innocent person for the sake of the world. That every day she could lose Michiru, her one and only friend…
"You've only tried to rescue the ones you care for, Ruka."
And that's why I love you.