I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON NOR THE CHARACTERS; I ONLY OWN THE STORY.
Haruka got up from the edge of the bed and walked over to the chair that sat near the window. Her black overcoat hung over the chair and she eased it on. Checking her cell phone, she saw that if she left out now she wouldn't be late to the family meeting. 5:00am in the morning, Monday, once a week, every week, she glanced at Michiru just before exiting the bed room. When the door closed, Michiru opened one eye and glared past the dark at Haruka's exit.
SEVEN YEARS AGO.
She pounded her head softly on the white padded walls. The walls weren't padded when Haruka first came to the rehabilitatiing institution-or what others liked to call it: The Crazy House. Nonetheless, Haruka entered two weeks after Techi's birthday party. The family didn't talk of her actions; no one mentioned anything nor did anyone report the incident, if one would even call it an incident. She didn't walk out her house with cuffs over her hands. No, she walked out the house with her head held high in which her father told her to.
Her parents kissed her when she got to the crazy house and said they would be back in the year. Haruka replied, "I love you." They replied back, "We love you too."
"Why am I coming here?" Haruka asked. Her father kneeled down to speak with her at her own height.
"Because some people think you've done something wrong-"
"But don't worry, honey, you didn't do anything wrong. You were just being curious. Lots of little girls play such games with their siblings and friends." Her mother said, rubbing her cheek.
"They think you did a bad thing, so they asked that you go away for a while. We'll call every day and come visit once a week."
"And in no time, my Ruka, you'll be out on your birthday. You'll be turning 13."
Her father stood up and they exchanged goodbyes once more.
Haruka was shown her one bed room. Eight pairs of white uniforms layed on her bed. The uniform consisted of white pants, a white undershirt, and a white long sleeve shirt. She looked to her drawers and walked to them. Each one when she opened them had her underwear and bras inside. The room was white; there was only one window with white bars outside. Haruka tried to open the window but it was painted shut. There was no clock on the wall so she wouldn't be able to tell time. No TV, no radio, no phones, no computers at all in the room.
Nothing left for her to do, so she walked to the bed and sat there. She leaned her head on the wall. Over a time, she began bang her head on the wall. 'Thud, Thud', 'Thud'. The sound echoed in the halls. The nurse looked from her post down the hall. She sighed and got up from the front desk. Irritated from being disturbed from her work, she walked briskly. She peered inside the window where Haruka was. There she sat, pounding her head on the wall. Too lazy do want to do anything about it, the nurse walked back to her desk and clocked herself out for lunch. She mumbled something-something about getting to old for "this" job.
The nurse came back two hours later; it was a long lunch break but she'd manage. As she sat at her front desk and clocked back in, she listened. Something was different. She listened closely. There was a sound coming from the hall to the right of her but she couldn't tell. The sound was so fant; it was hard for her to hear anything. For a second, she thought she was hearing things. She listened intently once more...There! There it was! That same pounding, but it was slow when it came. The 'thuds' were slow and soft.
She got up from her chair quickly; she ran as fast and organize as she could. The keys to the room fumbled in her hands as she tried to unlock the door. The door swung open, and she rushed to Haurka's side. The nurse kneeled down and stared confused at Haruka.
"Honey...?" She whispered to get her attention. The loudest noise, who knows how she would react. "Honey...?"
Haruka banged her head on the wall slowly with less power. Her eyes were at a daze and half closed.
"Honey, you have to stop this." Haruka wasn't hearing so she couldn't listen. The nurse ran out of options and placed her hand behind Haruka's head. Her eyes got wide whe she felt the warm liquid on her hand. The nurse quickly stood up and pulled Haruka away from the wall. Haruka layed on her back on the bed. The nurse gazed at the three inch wide hole in the wall with blood scatter around, and inside.
The institution learned their lesson and placed padding over the walls. Everyday for a year except that one day out of the week when her parents came, she would sit and bang her head. 'Thud, Thud, Thud.'
But today was her birthday and she would now be leaving. She stopped pounding her head on the walls and got up. She picked up her one suit case and walked to the door. Just outside her window, she heard her parent's car drive up the driveway. There was no way Haruka could mistake her father's rough driving. She smiled just thinking about it.
The nurse opened the door and smoothe Haruka's hair. "So how's your head?"
"Oh, it's good. The padding's nice."
"Is it now. Well, Ms. Tenoh, you have yourself a good one. I hope you learned your lesson and mistake you made."
"I won't. I don't understand why I was sent here to begin with. No one told me why. I didn't do anything wrong."
The nurse hesitated for a while. "Wait...excuse me, Haruka?"
"I didn't do anything wrong. You know why I was sent here?"
"Well, yes honey, I do."
"Then," Haruka said, "you must know that I didn't do anything wrong. My mother says that all kids do what I did. I have nothing to be ashamed of."
The nurse was confused now; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Haruka was stating that she done nothing wrong. Maybe Haruka wasn't talking about the situation that happened with her cousin.
Haruka continued on. "All kids do stuff like that with friends and with...family. Techi, just didn't know how to play the game."
The nurse knelt down to speak closer with Haruka. The more this young girl spoke, the more she was getting convinced that Haruka shouldn't be leaving out so soon. "Who's Techi?"
"My cousin."
She gulped. "Okay, and how did you learn this game?"
"Myself." Haruka saw the confused expression on the nurse's face. "Okay, the game came from this movie me and my friends would watch. When we had our sleep overs, we watched the videos-on the internet." Haruka laughed. "Its a girl's thing-"
"HARUKA! HONEY!"
Haruka turned her head sharply and saw her parents. She ran to them and gave them both a deep hug. The nurse stood up and folded her arms. The doctor came out and walked to the parents; the nurse watched as Mr. Tenoh signed some papers. He shook the doctor's hand. Mr. Tenoh looked up and saw the nurse staring at him. He grinned-"a evil grin", the nurse would exclaimed to her friends later on.
She watched the Tenoh Family leave; one of the biggest mistakes the nurse would ever make.
When Haruka got outside, her father gave her a box wrapped in wrapping paper. A bow was on top. Haruka put her seat belt on and opened the box, excited.
"Well, Haruka, you're 13. The Tenoh Family knows that when a child turns 13 they become a man, or in your case, a woman. As a result, you recieve adult gifts." Her father said; he peered at her through the rear view mirror.
In the box was a small silver pistel and a pocket knife-or pocket knives. She didn't touch the weapons; she was shocked to see them before her eyes. She glanced to see her mother smiling at her.
"Don't worry, dear, you'll learn to use them."
Michiru awoke six hours later to make breaksfast for Hotaru.
"You seem quiet this morning, Michiru-mama, what's up?"
Michru didn't say anything for a while. She just grabbed her cup of tea, and walked to the table in the center of the kitchen. A pretty big kitchen for a pretty big house.
She stirred her tea. "Tell me, Hotaru, how old are you?"
"Hmm, 13...you know that; I turned two days ago." She laughed and ate her pancakes. They were soaked with syrup and eggs.
"So... what did Haruka-papa give you for your 13th birthday?"
"...nothing...really."
Michiru hestitated to asked the question but there was no way around it. "What did you and Haruka do that night?"
Hotaru glared. The question was odd to ask.
"Hmmm...,we went to a party that my friends gave me. A suprise party."
Michiru nodded her head. "Oh, did you see your friend, Cauna?"
"No."
Michiru thought for a moment; in fact, Hotaru hasn't spoken with Cauna since she was...well, 12. Hotaru came home with a huff one day and was torned. She was torned as if she got into a fight with someone. When Michiru asked what had happen, Hotaru only replied that her and Cauna got into a fight-"that's all". Michiru sipped her tea, and watched Hotaru eat her pancakes and eggs.
"She told me I can now call myself a Tenoh." Hotaru said.
She put her tea aside and folded her arms. "That's good."
"Do you really want to know what she gave me for my birthday? She told me not to tell anyone."
Michiru smiled and sipped her tea once more. She giggled at her daughter. "It's okay, Hotaru, you don't have to tell me. That secret can remain a secret."
So it seemed the nurse wasn't the only one who made a mistake.
Thank you. :)