Title: Difficult questions
Author: Ree
Theme: Haruka/Uranus ("Sakura Fubuki" by Keiko Kitagawa: day 10)
Genre: General
Version: PGSM (could also be Anime/Manga pre-story line)
Rating: G

This complex lady and her friends belong to Takeuchi Naoko. I just asked if they could play for a while.

Difficult questions

Haruka tucked her feet under her as she knelt under the cherry tree. Looking about, she felt at peace with herself, but she knew that the peace came from her grandmother's garden. Smoothing her hand down the dark fabric of her kimono, she watched the cherry blossoms gently falling. A slight crunch of gravel broke the quiet, and she looked over to see her grandmother carrying a tea tray.

Asumi set the tray down and then served her granddaughter a cup. Picking up her own, she started the conversation. "What is troubling you, Haruka-chan?"

The young teenager looked down into her tea as if she were looking for the answer to the question. Asumi waited patiently. She knew that whatever the problem was, she couldn't press too hard.

Without raising her eyes, Haruka started speaking. "All the other girls are talking about boys. And they want to be cheerleaders, or swim, or some other girl type sport." Raising her eyes, she let her confusion show on her face. "They are interested in make-up, and fashion. They ... They..." She paused for a moment, and then continued in a whisper. "Why am I so different?"

Asumi knew better than to ask why Haruka didn't ask her mother about this. Ayano spent a lot of her time with her youngest daughter because she didn't understand her eldest. 'Not that Ayano is bad to Haruka. They get along great. It just that when it come to serious conversations with Haruka, she is at a loss.'

Quietly studying the girl who was trying to behave so grow-up, Asumi tried to think of how to answer her. Taking a sip of her tea, she decided to try. "You are so different because you are balanced."

While Asumi watched as Haruka let her words sink in, their kimonos caught her attention. A small suspicion started forming in the back of her mind.

Sounding uncertain Haruka asked. "Balanced? What do you mean?"

Dragging her mind back to the question at hand, Asumi tried to explain. "You love physical and mental challenges. But you also love formal tea, and flower arranging."

"How does that make me balanced? There are still things that I do that none of the other girls would even try. More than there are girl things that I do."

Asumi shook her head in denial. "You are perfectly balanced. You just can't see it yet. One day you will, and you will accept it."

Haruka frowned slightly. "But why don't I pay attention to boys the way they do? Aren't I old enough? Mature enough?"

Asumi's suspicion raised its head again, but she refused to give it a voice yet. 'If she is, then she has to accept it on her own.' She studied her granddaughter a few moments more.

"Your like a kimono." Haruka looked puzzled, but let Grandmother Asumi continue without interrupting. "All formal kimonos are basically alike in cut, the difference lies in the coloration and patterns. One color for men, and another for women. But older women wear colors that are very similar to mens. There is not much difference. They are balanced. It is the maker's choice of color that decides the wearer. You will eventually decide what color and pattern you shall be. Until then, you can do anything."

Haruka's face remained puzzled, and Asumi realized that the young girl was not quite ready to understand what she was trying to say. 'That's what happens when you make things up on the spot. It gets all garbled and noone can understand it.' Holding in her sigh, she tried again.

"Everyone matures at different rates, and they all have different things they focus on. You're probably not noticing boys the way the other girls are because you see them as your competition in the sports you play." Catching a falling cherry blossom, she placed into Haruka hand. "Cherry blossoms all open at different times, but we love everyone of them. Each one gives us joy as we watch them."

Haruka stared at the blossom as Asumi continued. "Some of the girls you know are already at full bloom. You are not. You are still like the flower that is only partially open."

Haruka looked up at the tree above her head. "So... I don't notice them because I'm not ready to."

Asumi bit back her first reply. "Some flowers don't have to bloom with the others because they are complete. They are completely balanced between male and female."

Haruka felt as if her eyes were dragged down to met her grandmother's. The intensity of the look she met startled her. "And people who are balanced tend to take longer growing up because there is so much they are trying to do. One day you will be in full bloom, and then you might have to choose which way you want to go."

Haruka let her fingers curl around the cool, soft petals while she tried to understand what was being said. She felt it was important. "So... once I grow up, I'll have to decide what I want to be. But until then, I should just enjoy myself, being myself." The statement sounded more like a question.

Asumi smiled, that was a good enough understanding for her. She was even starting to get lost in her own rambling analogies. 'That's one of the problems with trying not to say what you want to say.' Letting her smile broaden, she sipped her tea again before she spoke. "Right."

Haruka felt relieved. Everything was going to work out. She put the slightly bruised flower down. "Okay. Then I'll take my time."