4
As soon as Keiichi's car disappeared on the road, Haruka guided the two girls inside the big old house. Makoto right behind her, smiling all the way.
The sound of the piano stronger now, Michiru looked around, spotting a little girl sitting right in front of a big, black piano. Her little hands softly touching the black and white keys. She had soft blonde hair, held in two low pigtails, and was wearing a nice white summer dress. She couldn't be older than six, maybe seven years old, and she looked completely concentrated on her music.
"Oh, how cute!" Michiru exclaimed, smiling. She turned around to Haruka "She's good" she said, smiling at the tall blonde woman, who in return nodded her head, a smile on her face.
The little girl missed a note, and stopped playing, letting out a frustrated, childish sigh, and looking up in time to see the two new girls looking at her. She frowned for a moment, but then a big smile came to her face when she saw the tall blonde woman right behind them.
"You're back!" the girl exclaimed, jumping off the chair and running to the tall blonde woman, who quickly bent down to pick the little girl up.
"Hi, princess" she said, kissing her cheek "That sounded really good, I'm proud!"
The girl frowned again "No, it didn't. I keep missing notes..." she said, pouting cutely.
"Don't worry, you'll get it soon" Haruka assured her, putting her down on the floor again "Now, I have to go show this ladies their room, so don't go make any trouble!"
The girl looked up at her, her little hands behind her back, and smiled innocently at the tall blonde. Haruka just smiled sweetly at her, and messed her hair a little with one hand before turning back to the still standing girls.
"Now, if you would please follow me" she said, making her way to the grand stairs "We're still remodeling the house, and most the rooms still smell of paint, and don't really have any furniture" she explained to the girls following her, while walking down a hallway on the first floor that indeed smelled like fresh paint "But we finished one room, just to see how it all would look like, so..."
And with that, she opened a door at the very end of the long hallway, and the girls walked in.
The room was rather big, with white walls and a beautiful, new green carpet. A big window to the left, and the most beautiful view of the mountains around. A painting hanging from a wall, a big wardrobe on the other. And then a closed door, that Haruka pointed out as the in suite bathroom. A big, queen size, nice looking bed right in the middle of the spacious room.
"It's not much yet, and you'll have to share the bed, but it should do" she said, now looking at the girls.
"Not much?" Minako repeated "It's great! Thank you so much!"
The tall blonde woman nodded her head, one hand going to her pocket, the other rubbing her eyes "Ok, here's the deal" she started to say "I can offer you a bed and food for as long as you need it, but in return you'll have to help me out"
"Yes, of course" Michiru said "How may we help you?
"Well, I have two little devils running around the house" she answered, smiling "and I work here to get this place ready most of the day, so I need someone to look after them" then she looked right at Michiru "One of them wants to learn how to play the violin, but I haven't been able to find someone willing to come all the way up here everyday. And I can't really make her go down town, because she has some health problems, and the fresh air here is best for her, so..."
"Of course, no problem!" Michiru quickly said, smiling.
"Haruka!" a voice called out, and the blonde turned around in time to see a small black haired girl jumping up to her "Ami came by earlier today, and she gave me this really cool book!" she said, all excited, hugging the blonde by her waist "Did you know that Stradivari was italian, and he used some kind of special secret glaze on his violins?" she asked.
Haruka smiled down at her "Did he, now?"
"Yes! He was a genius!" the girl exclaimed, her violet eyes wide open "Can I have a Stradivarius? Please?"
"Well, kiddo, they're hard to come across..." the blonde started to say, but a soft hand on her shoulder made her turned around, to come face to face to a smiling aquamarine haired young woman.
"Actually, I have one right here" she said, holding up her violin case, and smiling at the girl.
The girl's eyes got even bigger, her smile shinning on her small pretty face "Really? That is so cool!" she exclaimed "Can I see it? Can I?" she begged "Please?"
"Of course you can!" Michiru answered her, putting the case down on the bed and opening it.
The little girl twist and jump, all excited. Haruka walked up next to her "This young lady here is going to teach you how to play" she said, pointing at the violinist.
"Really?" she asked, now looking at the aquamarine haired girl smiling down at her "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, now hugging Michiru "Hi! I'm Hotaru Tomoe!" the girl introduced herself, looking up at the girl she was still hugging tight.
"Hello, Hotaru" Michiru greeted "I'm Michiru Kaioh, it's really nice to meet you"
"Michiru Kaioh?" Hotaru asked, her eyes getting even bigger. She looked up at Haruka, who was nodding her head, and then back at the smiling violinist "It's nice to meet you!" the girl exclaimed, happily "I promise I'll be the best student ever!"
Half an hour latter, Haruka was showing the big old house to her new guests, pointing at all the rooms they shouldn't really walk in because of the rotten floors or the fresh paint, so they should pay special attention, making sure the little girls wouldn't get in there.
They ended the little tour on the big kitchen down stairs. It had two functional ovens, and another two waiting to be installed. A big counter in the middle, with all kinds of frying pans, kitchen knifes, and spoons all over the place.
"And this is Makoto's territory" Haruka said, pointing at the tall brunette, who was already making dinner.
"Oh yeah!" the brunette said, smiling "And these babies are all mine!" she said, pointing at the ovens.
The two little girls came running into the kitchen, grabbed some cookies from the jar, and then ran right out again. Makoto laughed, and Haruka rolled her eyes. "If they don't eat their dinner, it's your fault" she said to the brunette.
"Oh, come on!" Makoto exclaimed "They're kids!"
Michiru frowned, and then looked at the tall blonde woman "She doesn't seem like a sick girl to me" she said "Hotaru, I mean"
Haruka let out a sigh "She's getting better now. Like I said, the air up here helps" she explained "Her mother died when she was born, and her father died on some weird accident at his lab eight months ago"
Minako and Michiru both let out a surprised gasp, and Makoto just nodded her head, her face serious "She was there too" the brunette said "And she breathed in all the toxic smoke, so her lungs got really bad, and she has breathing problems"
"God, that is so terrible!" Minako exclaimed, a hand over her mouth "Poor thing!"
"Yeah, it was pretty bad" Haruka agreed "Her father and mine were old friends, so I took her in"
"That was so nice of you" Michiru said, smiling softly at the tall blonde.
Makoto waved her hand at her "Oh, Haruka here is just an old good samaritan" she joked "She looks all rough and meany, but she's all softy on the inside!"
"I'm not softy" Haruka defended herself "And I'm not old!" she added, pointing a finger at the brunette "I'm going to go and check on Setsuna"
And with that, she left the kitchen. Makoto turned to the girls, smiling "She really is soft" she said to them "She did the same with me, you know"
"What do you mean?" Minako asked, frowning.
"I'm an orphan" the brunette answered "My parents died on a plain crash when I was fourteen, and the State sent me to this horrible foster home... I ran away, and lived on the streets for a while" she said, shaking her shoulders, as to take the importance out of her little tale "Haruka found me, she was there for a race. She took me in and brought me here with her"
Michiru blinked, surprised at the girl's tale "Wow, she really is nice"
Makoto smiled "Yeah, she's great" she said, smiling softly "She's kind of a private person, and she may seem hard to reach sometimes. But she's really nice. She's like an older sister to me"
"She's a car racer, right?" Minako said "And now she's opening this hotel?"
The brunette shook her shoulders "Well, she has a lot of money, and she said she always liked this big old house, so... here we are!" waving her hands around "We only get tourist during the summer, and sometimes during winter break. So most of the year it would be just us up here. The place is good for the girls, and like I said, Haruka is a private person, so it's perfect"
Michiru nodded her head, wondering. Why exactly was the tall blonde racer such a private person, as the brunette was saying? She was a famous person! So of course her life was out in the open, and she sure was used to it. So why was the blonde woman so jealous of her privacy?