A/N-Sorry this took so long for me to get out, but I had a hell of a time writing it. Much thanks to Haruka-Chan212 because this would so not be done if it wasn't for all her help. You're the best! Anyways I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

Family Life Ch 6

Haruka hung up the phone and stared at it. She looked up as Michiru came into the room with a cup of tea in her hands. She gave it to the blonde and sat on the edge of the desk.

"Thanks." Haruka said as she took a sip of the steaming liquid.

"You're welcome. So?" Haruka looked up into Michiru's eyes and sighed as she leaned back in her chair.

"I set up a meeting with Sanada-San for 10am. I'll give him the game plan and we'll work it out from there."

"It's going to work out Ruka… you'll see."

"I hope so. All we can do though is wait, right?" Michiru nodded her head. She stood up and took Haruka's hand and pulled her from her chair.

"Come on… have some breakfast before you go."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You want to do what?" Haruka stared calmly at the fuming man before her.

"I want to hold a press conference." She stated.

"A press conference to tell the world that you're a woman… are you out of your mind? This will ruin you!"

"I am well aware of the consequences Sanada-San, but it has to be done."

"Look if that guy says anything we'll just deny it. Don't do this."

"I won't deny it if it comes out Sanada-San. I have never lied about this and I never will. Look if you don't want to help me set up the press conference I'll do it myself. I just thought that I should let you know what's happening." Haruka stood from her seat and walked to the door. Her hand had just touched the handle when Sanada's voice made her freeze.

"Tenoh wait!" She turned around and looked at her manager. "Look… I'll take care of setting up the conference, ok?" She smiled at him.

"Thank you Sanada-San."

"Yeah whatever, just… just don't screw this up, ok?"

"I'll try my best. Call me with the details." Sanada nodded his head and watched as Haruka closed the door behind her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Haruka walked through the door to the mansion and threw her keys on the table in the entranceway. Michiru walked out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a dish towel and came to a stop in front of the racer.

"How did it go?"

"About as well as can be expected. He yelled for a few minutes and then agreed to help. He's going to call me later today with the details." Haruka said as she stood up from removing her shoes.

"Does that mean you're free for the rest of the day?"

"I guess. I don't have anything else to do. Why?"

"Well Hotaru wants to go to the park. I bet she would love if you were able to join us." Haruka smiled.

"She would eh? Where is my little firefly?"

"Upstairs in her room. You should go tell her to get ready." Michiru said as she turned to head back into the kitchen. Haruka went up the stairs and down the hall towards Hotaru's room. The door was slightly ajar and Haruka pushed it open, walking in to find Hotaru lying on the floor coloring.

"Hey there Hime-Chan." The black haired girl looked up and smiled.

"Haruka-papa!" Hotaru jumped up and hugged Haruka.

"You're mother says you want to go to the park eh?" Hotaru nodded her head vigorously. "Well put away your things and get ready." Hotaru ran over to her coloring book and crayons and picked them up, placing them in a drawer in her desk. She then returned to Haruka who was leaning against the door, watching her daughter with a small smile on her lips. "You ready?" Haruka asked, pushing off the doorframe. Hotaru nodded her head and giggled in delight as Haruka picked her up and carried her downstairs.

Michiru was standing at the table in the entrance, organizing things in her purse. She turned around when she heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Are you two ready to go?"

"Yep." Haruka said as she set Hotaru down. She reached into the closet and pulled out a tiny purple coat and helped Hotaru put it on. "There we go. All set." She looked up at Michiru. "Shall we?" Michiru nodded and the three of them walked out of the house.

Soon they were walking along a path towards a playground in a local park that wasn't too far from the mansion. It was however far enough that halfway there Hotaru had started tugging on Haruka's pants, wanting to be picked up. Haruka gave in and now Hotaru was sitting on her shoulders.

As soon as the park was in sight Hotaru started to fidget, wanting to be let down. Haruka sighed and placed the child on the ground. Hotaru took off running for the park.

"Hotaru slow down… be careful." Haruka called out. She frowned as her words were taken by the wind.

"Calm down Ruka, she'll be fine." Michiru said as she linked her arm through Haruka's and placed her head on the blonde's shoulder.

"Yeah I know… but still." Michiru giggled. "What? What's so funny?"

"Well who would have thought that you would be the fretful parent out of the two of us?" Haruka blushed a bit.

"What? Am I not allowed to be concerned for our daughter's welfare?"

"Of course you're allowed. If anything… it makes you cuter." Michiru leaned up and placed a kiss on Haruka's red cheek.

The two of them walked over to a bench and sat down to watch Hotaru running around and swinging off of things. "So do you know what you're going to say?" Michiru asked. Haruka looked at her briefly, before turning her attention back to Hotaru.

"Well… there's not a lot to say is there? I just need to say that I'm a woman and then try to tactfully answer the questions that will no doubt bombard me." Michiru took Haruka's hand in her own and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Haruka gave Michiru a small smile and they held each others gaze until the sound of crying caught their attention. They looked over towards the park and saw Hotaru sitting on the pavement, crying and clutching her knee. In a second they were by her side.

"Hotaru, sweetie, what happened?" Michiru asked as she knelt down beside the bawling child.

"I-I tripped… and-and scrapped my knee." The child managed to get out between sobs.

"Well we better get you home and cleaned up then." Haruka said as she picked Hotaru up.

When they walked through the front door Hotaru had stopped crying, and was now sitting quietly in Haruka's arm. Michiru had just taken Hotaru from Haruka's arms and gone upstairs with her when the phone rang. Haruka walked into the living room and picked up the handset.

"Moshi moshi."

"Tenoh?"

"Yes. Is that you Sanada-San? Do you have the-"

"Turn on the news." Sanada interrupted. Haruka frowned in confusion, but grabbed the remote none the less and turned on the TV.

In the corner of the screen was a picture of herself and the caption "Woman Racer?"

"Shit…"

"Haruka Tenoh! Language!" Michiru yelled as she walked in with Hotaru in tow. She lost her anger though when she saw how pale Haruka looked. She followed the blonde's gaze to the TV. She brought a hand to her mouth as she saw what was there.

"Oh no…" She looked back to the blonde who had raised the phone back to her ear after almost dropping it in shock.

"Sanada-san? It needs to be tonight… Ok… I'll see you there." Haruka hung up and placed the phone on the table before turning to look at Michiru. "Sorry… but I guess I won't be at your concert tonight."

"That's alright. This is more important. Do you want me to go with you?" Haruka shook her head.

"No… it's alright. Go to your concert. I can handle this."

"I know you can… but you don't have to do it alone." Michiru said as she brushed the back of her hand across Haruka's cheek. Haruka smiled and took Michiru's hand, kissing it lightly.

"I know. Thank you, but you should go to your concert. Ok?" Michiru nodded. "Alright… I should get going. I'll see you later." Haruka kissed Michiru quickly and ruffled Hotaru's hair as she past and was soon out the door.

After a few minutes of silence and staring at the space the blonde had recently vacated, Michiru turned to Hotaru.

"Hotaru… how would you like to go see Auntie Arian?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Haruka pulled at the collar of her shirt in both a nervous habit and an attempt to lessen the intense warmth from the lights that shone on her. She cleared her throat as she prepared to address the room full of media personnel.

"You are all aware of the reason for which this press conference is being held. It has recently come to light that I, Haruka Tenoh, am indeed… a woman." Soft murmuring broke out among the gathered crowd as Haruka continued to speak. "I realize that some people out there may feel as though I have lied to them and mislead them into thinking that I am a man, but that is not the truth. I have never once stated that I am a man. The fact of the matter is that I have never openly announced the fact that I am a woman… until today."

"Up till now I have avoided this issue, because while I do not feel the need to hide my gender… it does make life in the racing world more difficult. It's much harder for a female racer to be taken seriously and given sponsorship. So yes… I never corrected the wrong assumptions about me, unless they were directly asked of me, but I never meant for people to feel betrayed."

"I stand before you to try and make amends and regain whatever trust I have lost. I never meant to lie, but I do realize that by not clearing things up… it does seem that I have done just that. So… I'm sorry." Immediately people began yelling out questions, trying to gain the racers attention. Haruka pointed to one man near the front.

"What do your sponsors think of the fact that while they've thought that they're sponsoring a man, really they've been sponsoring a woman?"

"I think that they will be less then pleased… but I hope that they will remember that while they're not sponsoring a male racer… if they continue to sponsor me they are still sponsoring Japan's number one racer." Haruka looked over to the side of the stage where Sanada was giving her a thumbs up. She nodded her head and then looked back to the crowd to answer another question.

"Do you think this will change the way your fans view you?"

"I have no doubt that this will change how they look at me, but once again I hope they are willing to look past it and forgive me and continue to support me." The room was buzzing as more questions were thrown out and lost among the crowd. Haruka was starting to feel overwhelmed until she saw a mass of aqua at the back of the room. Michiru smiled encouragingly at Haruka, which in turn brought a small smile to the lips of the blonde racer. Haruka however had to pull herself back to what she was doing. She pointed at another reporter.

"So you hope to keep racing like before?" Haruka shrugged.

"The only thing that's changed as far as the world is concerned is my gender… not my racing. I honestly don't see any reason why I wouldn't be able to race like before."

"What about the rule?" asked a voice from the back of the room. The crowd turned around and looked at the man.

"What rule?" Haruka asked nervously.

"The one in the charter that says woman are not allowed to race." Haruka felt ill as she eyed the man.

"I've never heard of such a rule." She stammered out. She was starting to feel lightheaded under the intense lights.

"Well it's not one that needed to be looked at as frequently as some… but right here…" He held up a copy of the charter that contained all the rules and regulations for racing and pointed to a highlighted section. "It clearly states that only men are allowed to participate in the event of racing."

"That rule must be at least… at least fifty years old." Haruka said as she narrowed her eyes, trying to clear her vision that had become blurry.

"Yes… but it hasn't changed since then. So I guess this means you'll no longer be racing then." The man finished with a smirk.

Haruka wanted to respond… to fight, but instead she found herself gripping the podium tightly, trying to stay on her feet. From the corner of her eye she saw Sanada and Soichiro coming towards her. She could faintly here them ask if she was alright, but then there was nothing. No sound… no light… nothing.

"Ruka!" Michiru screamed as she ran towards the stage and the fallen blonde.

A/N- And there it is. What do you think? Let me know by reviewing. And again all the love goes to Haruka-Chan212. ;)