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Echoes of the Past

Chapter 4

When they arrived home that night, Haruka started her homework and Suniko, having already finished hers at the track, decided to take advantage of the pool that Haruka had told her they had. She put on her stunning red swimsuit and walked through the living room towards the pool, earning an attracted look from Haruka. When she arrived, however, she found Michiru floating there. If Suniko was stunning in her swimsuit, this image of Michiru was breathtaking. She had on a light purple suit that showed just enough to be seductive and left enough to the imagination. She was just lying there with her eyes closed. She looked so peaceful. Suniko tried to sneak into the water so as not to disturb the aqua-haired beauty, but Michiru detected even the very slight movement of the water. She brought herself up to face Suniko. "Sorry, I was trying not to disturb you. You looked so peaceful." Suniko said, smiling.

"That's all right." Michiru headed for the stairs and climbed out of the pool. She wasn't very inclined to spend any time alone with the other girl and she had to start her homework anyway. She climbed out and began to towel herself off as Suniko made her way to the edge of the pool. "Um, Michiru, can I ask you something?"

"Of course"

"Well, you and Haruka seem to be kind of at odds lately, but from what I hear you were really close before I came, so I was just wondering, well, did I do something?"

Michiru looked at the girl. She looked so young, so naive and so sincere. As much as she tried, Michiru could not keep herself from liking Suniko. She smiled, attempting to comfort the girl "No Suniko, it's not your fault." After all, Haruka was the one who was double-timing. Suniko just had the unfortunate coincidence of falling into the blonde's trap. And that's what it is, Michiru thought, a trap. Suniko smiled back at her. "Good because I'd hate to come between the two of you." Michiru began to gather up her things. "Michiru," Suniko said inquisitively, "What are you playing for your concert on Saturday?"

"A Haydn String Quartet and the orchestra is playing a Schubert Symphony. Why?"

"Well, I've always liked classical music and I haven't been able to attend a concert in a few years, so I was thinking maybe I could go." It was more of a question than a statement. Michiru smiled at the girl's shyness. "Of course. I'll get you a ticket."

She then turned to leave, but something occurred to her and she turned back to the girl. "Suniko, tomorrow after school I'm going with some friends to get coffee, would you like to come?" Suniko brightened. The thought of hanging out with someone besides Haruka was great for her. And she was amazed that someone as talented and smart as Michiru would want to hang out with someone like her. "I'd love to." She said.

"Good" Michiru replied, returning her bright smile before she headed out to begin her homework. Maybe this isn't going to be so bad after all, she thought.

Haruka looked up as Michiru passed by paying no attention to her whatsoever. Even though Haruka was angry with her, the aqua-haired beauty still captivated her. Every step, every movement was so graceful. Her smile was tantalizing. Stop it, Haruka thought, she doesn't like girls remember! The blonde turned her attention back to the task at hand, attempting without much success to push all thoughts of Michiru out of her head.

The next two days passed rather quietly. Michiru continued to ignore Haruka and Haruka unsuccessfully tried to return the favor. Suniko, though still mad at Haruka for not telling her what was going on, decided that it wasn't worth fighting over and since Michiru and her were becoming fast friends, she had better things to worry about. Judiko also found himself liking Suniko. It appeared that she really was different. Somehow, the terrible girl he remembered had been demolished and what remained was sweet old Suniko. Only Haruka knew that some of Suniko's old feisty self remained, but that was of no concern to her. She was too busy being angry at Michiru, an anger which would quickly turn into rage.

Haruka stomped out onto the lawn. Ever since Wednesday her attraction to Michiru had only been growing. It seemed that the more the girl ignored her, the more attracted Haruka was to her. She had spent all morning with her eyes glued to her desk, refusing to even look at the girl, but that hadn't stopped her thoughts. But now that she had a moment to herself, maybe she would be able to relax. Suniko was supposed to try out for the swim team today at lunch, so Haruka was alone. She spotted Mitsu heading her way with her entourage and quickly detoured towards the gardens. No one ever ate lunch there, so there she could be alone. She sat herself down against a tree and pulled out her lunch.

"Michiru!" She turned to find the violist from her string quartet jogging towards her.

"Hello Hento" She greeted him.

"I thought we might eat lunch together, I wanted to discuss some things for the next concert." He was what could be considered the manager for their string quartet. He was the one who chose what music to play and got them gigs, but he acknowledged Michiru's sophistication and talent and he rarely made a decision without her. He treated her somewhat as an assistant and Michiru didn't mind at all.

"Of course."

They found a quiet spot next to the garden and sat down to eat their lunch and 'talk business'.

Having finished her lunch, Haruka decided to take a stroll through the gardens. She had finally succeeded in getting her mind off Michiru and was now concentrating on the race she had coming up. She was going up against her greatest rival, Seiya Kou. He was the only junior racer that had ever come close to beating her and he hadn't let her forget it. He was also the type of person who was willing to do anything to win and this left Haruka a bit unsettled. At the last race where she was up against him, her car had mysteriously been sabotaged just one hour before she was supposed to race, forcing her to forfeit and Seiya to get the title. She couldn't prove it, but she knew that Seiya was to blame and she wasn't about to let it happen again.

Haruka had now arrived at the edge of the garden and looked out over the lawn in front of her. Groups of young men and women were spread out all over the lawn. Some of the girls caught sight of Haruka and giggled and blushed. Haruka smirked. If only they knew, she thought. Then she caught sight of Michiru and Hento Ojima. Haruka's gaze narrowed. What were they doing there? Were they together? All sorts of theories spun around in Haruka's mind, each aggravating her more than the last. Finally she saw Michiru's gaze turn towards her and she quickly turned on her heel and walked back into the school, fuming about the relationship her mind had created between the two.
Michiru saw Haruka stomp back into the school and knew exactly what had happened. After two years of living with the blonde, she knew exactly how her brain worked. She smiled a somewhat evil grin. The one weakness the blonde had was her jealousy and Michiru couldn't help but be happy at a little bit of unexpected revenge.

Author's Note: Sorry this has taken so long, I have finals coming up, so I probably won't be updating as frequently for a week or two. Just bear with me.

To all my reviewers: wipes away all your tears Don't worry, Haruka will get her come-uppance (I think that's how you spell that) when the time comes. Thanks for the reviews!

Hunter007: Thanks for the suggestion. I plan to explain it later. :-)