A/N- Honest to God… you guys rock! Less then 8 hours and I got like 10 reviews. Amazing!!! I can't thank you guys enough. I almost can't stop myself from writing… but then my brain takes over and I don't know what I'm doing anymore. Lol. Anyways as promised to you good H&M lovers a fast update. I hope you continue to enjoy this and continue this awesome trend of reviewing!

Life Ch 5

Haruka winced in pain as she turned the screwdriver again, securing the new lock in place. Her hand really wasn't taking kindly to being used like this after having just been fractured. However it had to be done. There was no way she was staying in a place that didn't have a working lock after what had just happened, even though she knew that there was no chance of Takashi coming back. Haruka had reinforced the hinges of the front door and put the new lock on. She closed the door locking it testing it to see if it would hold. It didn't budge and Haruka was satisfied with it and walked away to go deal with the door to Michiru's room. She did the same thing to this door only later she was going to have to fix the frame which had broken off, but still the door closed properly at least. Haruka stood in the doorway looking at the room… The place was a mess. There was a broken chair with fragments of it strewn about the floor, the sheets on the bed had been pulled to the floor and there was blood on the floor, walls and Michiru's desk where she had hit her head. Haruka sighed and walked into the room bending down to pick up something that had caught her eye. It was Michiru's cell phone and by the looks of it, it was no longer going to work. The casing was cracked and the screen was absolutely destroyed, looking as if someone had stepped on it, which considering the circumstances seemed like a reasonable explanation. She looked at the device and silently thanked it. It was after all the thing that saved Michiru. Even though Haruka was on her way home she certainly wasn't in a rush to go back upstairs and if she hadn't received that call she would have probably lingered around the lobby thinking of how to apologize. God only knows what would have happened if she had been even a second later. She placed it on the desk as she started cleaning the room.

When Michiru opened her eyes she noticed she wasn't in her room. She looked around scared for a moment until she realized that she was in Haruka's Room. She sighed, relieved to know that she wasn't anywhere strange. She sat up in the bed and clutched her head as a massive headache pounded in her skull. She groaned as she cast the sheets off of herself, rising from the bed. She walked over to the door and when she opened it she heard cursing coming from the kitchen. She followed the sound knowing that the voice belonged to Haruka. When she entered the kitchen she saw that Haruka was clutching her hand that was taped up. She moved further into the kitchen and sat down in one of the chairs. Haruka having heard the sound of the chair moving turned around to see the violinist sitting at that kitchen table.

"You're up." Haruka said as she moved over to the aqua haired women placing her good hand under her chin and lifting her face so Haruka could look at it better. "How are you feeling?" She asked as she eyed the bruises and bandage on Michiru's forehead.

"I'm alright." Michiru said as she took Haruka's hand in her own and pulled it away from her face and looked at it. "What about you?" She asked as she gently caressed Haruka's injured hand. She looked up to Haruka's face and reached a hand up to touch the black eye that was now blatantly obviously. Haruka hissed a bit at the contact and grabbed Michiru's hand in her own bringing it away from her face.

"It's not as bad as it looks." She said as she released Michiru and moved back to finish making supper. She returned to cutting the vegetables wincing as she grasped the knife with her right hand. Michiru stood up and walked over taking the knife away from the blonde.

"Let me do that." Michiru said as she gently pushed Haruka out of the way.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure that I don't want you hurting yourself anymore." She said as she looked up into Haruka's teal eyes. "What are you making anyways?"

"Just a little stir-fry." Haruka said as she turned to check on the rice. "Are you hungry?" She asked as she looked back to Michiru who nodded yes. In the next few minutes Michiru had finished cutting the vegetables and looked around for something else to do.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"I think I can handle the rest on my own, thanks." Haruka said as she took the vegetables and added them to the wok she was already cooking in. "Why don't you go sit down in the living room. I'll be done soon." Haruka said as she smiled at Michiru who returned a small smile of her own. Michiru left the kitchen and was about to go sit down when she turned down the hall. She looked to her left and saw the front door with a brand new handle and lock on it. She slowly walked down the hall and stopped in front of the door to her room. It was closed and she stood there staring at it for a few minutes before opening it. She had expected to see a mess, but instead it looked almost as it had before the incident. She walked in and looked around stopping when she looked at the walls. There were faint red spots on it. She walked over to the wall tracing it with her fingers as tears filled her eyes…

'I don't know what would have happened if Ruka hadn't come back.' She thought to herself as she backed up and sat on the bed staring at the floor… The floor where Takashi had almost raped her. 'You're always there to save me aren't you Haruka?' Michiru's thoughts were interrupted when she felt a weight on the bed next to her. She turned her head to see Haruka staring at her with a loving look in her eyes.

"You probably shouldn't be in here… I haven't really finished cleaning yet. I'll need to put a new coat of paint on the walls to cover up the blood. It wouldn't come off."

"Thank you Ruka."

"Hmmm?"

"Thank you for everything you've done for me. You not only saved my life, but you've cleaned everything up… you're making supper and all of it when you're injured too." Michiru said as she once again took Haruka's hand in her own. She leaned her head on Haruka's shoulder and felt Haruka lean her head on her own. They stayed like that for a few minutes until Michiru felt Haruka's warm breath on her ear, sending shivers down her spine, as she whispered into it.

"We should go eat, or supper will get cold." Michiru nodded her head and they both stood and went to the kitchen where Haruka had already set everything up. They sat down and ate in silence. When everything was done Haruka started clearing the plates, but hissed as a sharp pain went through her hand, causing her to drop one of the dishes. It shattered on the floor and Haruka cursed as she set the other plate she was holding down on the counter. She left the room returning with the broom and dust pan and was about to sweep up the mess when Michiru stopped her taking the cleaning utensils away from her.

"I think you should rest that hand of yours. I'll clean this up. It's your turn to go sit down." Haruka stood there for a moment and thought about protesting, but decided against it when she saw how serious Michiru looked at that moment. Reluctantly she left the kitchen and took a seat on the couch, putting her feet up on the coffee table. She groaned as she felt how sore her body was. She hadn't really stopped moving since the attack and now, finally sitting down, she could feel how tense her muscles were from the fight. She closed her eyes, but they shot open as she felt something cold on her hand. She looked down and saw an ice pack with Michiru's hand holding it on her own injured one. Michiru took Haruka's other hand and placed it over hers and then slipping it out from under Haruka's. "Hold that there… it should take down the swelling and ease the pain." She said and then walked back into the kitchen. Haruka watched her leave and then looked down at her hand missing the warm sensation that had run up her arm from the contact despite still touching an ice pack.

'Well at least I know that she cares for me… but I always knew that. The problem is that she cares for me as a friend and nothing more. But is that really true? Is it possible there's something more there that just needs a little push to bring it to the surface? Maybe she would return my feelings if I confessed. I mean weirder things have happened. Hell who would have thought that Takashi would go from normal boyfriend to psycho rapist in a matter of seconds? But then again I doubt Michiru would be ready for another relationship after all this. I guess I'll just have to keep my mouth shut… at least for a little while longer.' Haruka closed her eyes still running over things in her head as exhaustion finally overcame her and she drifted off. Michiru walked in from the kitchen and looked at the blonde who had clearly fallen asleep. Her head was resting against the back of the couch, her left arm was slung over the back while her other hand rested in her lap with the ice pack balanced on top of it and her feet still resting on the coffee table. Michiru smiled at her and walked around the table sitting next to Haruka. She brushed the blonde bangs away from their position in front of Haruka's eyes. Haruka stirred, but didn't wake.

'She looks so peaceful when she sleeps… so beautiful. Wait? Did I just think that?' Michiru thought as she continued staring at Haruka's face. She traced her fingers over the black eye and down to the cut on Haruka's lip. 'What is this that I'm feeling? Why do I feel like I want to kiss these lips? Oh God snap out of it Michiru… this can't be happening. Am I falling in love with Haruka? No… I've always been in love with Haruka. I just never wanted to admit it because I knew I would get hurt. I knew I would get hurt because Haruka doesn't love me that way. If she did she would have mentioned something, wouldn't she? I should just focus on keeping her as my friend. I need her near me… with me… I feel safe when I'm with you. I don't want to jeopardize losing you and these moments we have together.' She thought as she leaned her body against Haruka, who in her sleep placed her arm around Michiru holding her closer. Michiru enjoyed the feeling of protection she got from being in Haruka's arms and soon fell asleep in her embrace.

A/N-Yeah I know I'm a jerk… Haruka still hasn't confessed and what's this? Another cliché? Michiru is in love with Haruka and won't confess either? Will this never end? For answers to all these questions and more… review! Lol. Also I would like to thank yurianimeotaku for letting me use that whole "Psycho rapist line". You're the best!