A/N; So, I feel like a bit of a jerk, because when people do fanart of my stories, I want other people to appreciate them. But when jenna hochstrasser from YouTube asked if she could read some of my stories on her channel, I didn't think to let people know before now.
She's currently done the first chapter for Of Fur and Feathers and the second chapter of Just Trust Me (she ran into copyright problems with the first chapter, which is kind of stupid in my opinion) so far, if anyone's interested in checking her out. She's got good taste in music, if that will persuade you!
Chapter Four: All I Want
All I want is freedom,
A world with no more night.
-All I Ask of You, Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Phantom of the Opera'
xxXxx
"Haru? Haru!" a voice screamed, just before her shoulders were roughly shaken.
Her head flopped once, making her eyes widen with a gasp. "I'm awake, where's the fire? … Tsuge?" she asked sleepily, rubbing one bloodshot eye. "What are you doing in my house? Did I break my computer again?"
Tsuge stared at her in shock. "You weren't breathing. You weren't moving. I thought you were dead."
She yawned, but as sleep left her eyes, depression filled them with a vengeance. "I'm a heavy sleeper. I was probably just breathing too slow for your comfort. I'm not lucky enough to be dead."
"Don't talk like that," he scolded, wrapping her bruised arm around her beloved Muta before sitting against the mirror with her.
Then he surprised her further by wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.
"Tsuge?" she asked in shock, forcing herself to fully wake up. "How did you get in here? Did one of them help you?" She managed to look up and around the room, praying that statistics were finally in her favor.
"No, your parents aren't here. I searched the house before finding you." He squeezed her shoulders again, although she could feel a tinge of fear in the gesture. "I really did think you were dead just now. Do you always sleep like that?"
Since he was offering comfort, she allowed herself to lean into his warmth. "Against a mirror, not really. Heavily? Why do you think I'm late for school every day? It's certainly not because of a faulty alarm clock. It's not time, is it?"
He blinked in surprise. "What?"
"Time for school. I'm not feeling up to going into that cold building right now. I haven't used any sick days yet this year; I'll be fine."
"Haru… it's after school. I brought you your homework and mail." The thought made him release her long enough to pull off first the coat and then the back pack.
"But we can get to that later. Haru," he struggled to say, unable to look at her as he set both items to the side. "I owe you an apology. Several of them."
She numbly looked at him as her stomach twisted into disgusting knots. "What now? You were only putting up with me for the fish cookies?"
"That is not it! You only started making those three years ago, remember?" He growled and ran his hand through his short black hair. "It's about… our secret friendship."
She gave a long sigh. "We already had this discussion, remember? If we let people know that we talk to each other outside of school, they'll think we're dating no matter what we say. Plus Hiromi would have killed me if she knew I was talking to you, even over computers."
"Then I'll be sure to return the favor. I overheard her with her friends; she was part of the Machida plot. Can I finish apologizing now?"
Haru nodded, turning a bit to keep her dull eyes on him when he wrapped his arm around her again. Both of her own arms were around Muta; clinging to him like a lifeline.
Tsuge sighed while ruffling his hair again. "Dad's known from the third time he fixed your plumbing that you were plugging the toilet on purpose."
She barely flinched, still lost in her own world.
"He couldn't understand why you didn't have any friends, and asked me to be more than just your computer nerd. Nothing romantic," he added hastily. "Just friends."
Her eyes became downcast, and she held Muta tight from a chill. "I think yesterday alone has proven your worth as a friend."
"But look at you. At us," he stressed, gesturing at the two of them. "I may not be as isolated as you are, but I'm miserable too."
That made her head snap upward with shock.
"I hate basketball, but because I'm good at it, I let people pressure me into joining the team. I became one of the popular kids despite the fact that I'm happier playing with technology, but I'm miserable because none of the guys I hang out with are actually my friends. I can't tell them anything without wondering if half the school will know within a day's worth. I have nothing in common with them, but I put up with their stupid jokes and inappropriate ideas because I was assured that talent scouts would target me if I kept practicing."
That made a bit more life come into her eyes. "Come to think of it, don't you have practice again today?"
"Not anymore. I quit the team." He gave her a grin. "If I had known it would feel this good, I'd have done it years ago. I have to admit that I've been jealous of you for months."
She gave him a wary look. "Just what do I have that you could be jealous over?"
"I want to find the thing that lights me on fire, too. I was jealous of your bravery-"
"Bravery? Bravery?!" she demanded, standing to her full height. "I have raised timidity to an art form! I jump through hoops to keep officials in the dark about my parents to avoid being taken away before they wake up and remember I'm their daughter! I have yet to actually tell them just how much their absence is hurting me! I have yet to make them stay still long enough to tell them!" Walking away from the mirror, she collapsed into a thickly cushioned couch. "I didn't even bother calling them last night," she admitted in misery. "Mom's on a quilt cruise and Dad's looking at an anomaly in the asteroid belt with some scientists in China. I couldn't take it if I had to hear their voices say 'if this is Haru, call the other one. I'm busy."
"They seriously have that in their message boxes?" Tsuge asked in horror, standing up to join her on the couch.
"Yes. Even when I leave them a message and they actually answer, they inevitably ask why I didn't call the other one, even if they were second." She curled up on the couch, putting her head against his shoulder again, once he sat down. "I could step in front of a truck for all they care."
"Don't you ever say that again!" Tsuge barked, giving her a firmer hug. "Even if they don't care, I do! I wouldn't be here if I didn't care about you!"
"… How did you get past the thorns?" she asked, realizing that he hadn't answered her the first time.
"I pretty much asked them to let me through for your sake. Didn't think it would work, but it did." He then held her just far enough by the shoulders to look her in the eyes. "I think those reasons are part of what makes you brave, Haru. I wouldn't be able to live in a house this big by myself for as long as you have. I wouldn't know what hoops to jump through to keep people from asking about your parents, and your 'timidity' keeps people from wondering if you're used to taking care of yourself. Even if you needed me and my dad to help you keep this place together, you've done more on your own than most kids our age can dream of doing. To top it off, you were even brave enough to try finding a fire when everyone but the dean and myself told you to stick to the piano. I still think you're going to find it soon."
Haru's eyes were wide and defenseless. No one had ever spoken to her like that before.
"But back to the point, I shouldn't have left you out of the circle and make you speak in code in case I'm with the guys when you have a problem."
"You do have to admit that they would have teased you mercilessly if they knew you were getting a call from a girl," she pointed out.
"I don't care anymore, and I told them last year that if I had to go on a date, I'd pick you because I know for fact that you're the only girl who wouldn't jump me if I let my guard down."
The brunette winced uncomfortably. "Please never bring that up again."
"Deal. I'm sorry that I didn't talk it over with you first, but I… told our teachers why they could trust me with your homework. I know more than one classmate heard me."
Haru gave a groan. "Great. Now we're going to have to deal with Hiromi screaming that I 'stole' you. Any brilliant ideas?"
He took a deep breath for courage. "Just one, but I think you'll find it funny. You know how everyone in school likes to talk about who the current couples are?"
"Unfortunately. Why?"
He gave her another grin, and reached over to grip her hand. "We'll never be able to convince them that we're not a couple once the rumor mills start running. So why bother?"
She gaped at him. "Wait, are you saying we tell people that we're dating?"
"No. We simply don't deny it. They're so crazy over little things that it won't take more than holding hands in the hallways and an occasional hug to convince them we're madly in love."
Haru started giggling hysterically. "You're trying to get me killed, aren't you? Hiromi-"
"Is overdue for a taste of her own medicine. I've been thinking about this all day, and I think we can make it work. We're in almost every class together, and you can inform the teachers that Hiromi and her 'pals' have it out for you. The principal's always been overprotective over you because he knows you're going to be famous someday and it will look good for him if your time in his school is happy."
Haru leaned back, thinking it over. "Even the few classes we don't share are close to each other. She once made me promise never to date you, but she doesn't need to know I'm keeping my word."
"Plus I overheard them talking about trying to prank you again. I'm not saying that you're dumb or anything, but I'll be able to protect you a lot better as a boyfriend than a mere friend. We'll know the truth, why should their thoughts matter? We've always gotten along better than they have, and…" he looked away, biting his lip as he gave her hand a squeeze.
"I have more fun with you. You're practically another sister to me, but unlike the two I have, I can actually talk to you about something other than daredevilry or whether I would like one lump or two."
Haru couldn't suppress a giggle, although she was smiling with happiness. "You play tea party with Sakura?"
He gave a shrug. "Ai ignored me growing up, and I didn't want Sakura to feel the way I did. That's another thing I like about you; you're pretty much the only one I can admit that to without worrying."
"Hey, you know about Muta. We're even," she assured him, feeling better than she had in a long time. But she took a breath for a confession of her own. "I thought for sure I'd get a crush on you when you started helping me around the house, but it never happened. I used to wonder if something was wrong with me."
Tsuge gave her a warm smile. "If something's wrong with you, it's wrong with me, too. So, what do you say about exchanging one deception for another? Our little secret?" He held up his pinky finger jokingly.
Haru grinned, and caught his digit with her own pinky finger. "Our little secret."
"But I want to start walking you to and from school from now on," he warned her. "Ai may not have been the most sympathetic sister, but if there's anything all those movies of hers taught me, it's never to leave a defenseless girl alone in a hostile environment."
"You'd watch cheesy flicks with her?" Haru asked, strangely more surprised by this than the tea parties with Sakura.
"More like if I did something she didn't like, she'd force me to."
"… I think it's a good thing your sister joined the army."
"Mom and Dad are hoping it will straighten her out."
ooOoo
Tsuge stayed long enough to make sure she was truly cheered up and had eaten something before he left again, now able to avoid the thorns on his own.
Haru lovingly brushed her hands over one vine as she watched him get on his bike and head back down the hill. "Was that seriously all you were waiting for? Tsuge to say please?" she asked jokingly.
The vines didn't answer, but the silence felt slightly of guilt. The brunette shook her head affectionately, and turned back into the house.
There were a ton of things she wanted to do more than homework, but despite the setback of Machida, she was too responsible to ignore her duties for long.
Before Haru started, she took the time to skim through the mail. "Bill, bill, advertisement, donation plea- hey! It came!" she cheered once she got to the slim package at the bottom.
Ever since Tsuge had introduced her to Daughtry, she had wanted to try out their music. She ripped open the package and slipped her hand inside to retrieve the newest music book for her collection.
She pulled it out, confused at the cover. "Frankenstein? They actually made a musical for Frankenstein?" 'But this isn't what I ordered.'
A look at the receipt explained everything; they had mixed up her order. Haru let out an exasperated sigh and tried to remember where she had left the packaging tape. But as long as it was in her possession, she took a random glance inside.
Madness? Folly? Little minds have belittled my dream.
Haru froze still in spite of herself. She reread the lyrics. "Little minds have belittled my dream," she whispered, the words echoing her thoughts perfectly.
Despite everyone's certainty that she was going to be a famous musician someday, the other students did belittle her for being different. Maybe they were jealous, or just bitter that she had a chance that they couldn't dream of. But they still belittled her.
"But I, could I; might it be?
"The greatest triumph man has ever seen?" she read the next lines, feeling a strange thrill sing through her veins.
Maybe she didn't need to return the book after all. The notes were easy compared to Beethoven; it shouldn't take her long to master the songs. They seemed to be about the same difficulty as Evanescence, and she had mastered them within a week.
'Mom and Dad would die of shock if they saw me with this.' But unlike the other times she thought of disappointing her parents, a wickedly feral smile crossed her lips as she marched to the piano.
"Then maybe they should have been around to stop me."
ooOoo
The next day, there were three students sitting in front of the principal's desk. One was Machida, sporting a black eye and favoring his right side with a scowl. Blood was coming out of Tsuge's nose, but the handkerchief Haru had lent him was keeping it from spotting his school clothes. She was sitting next to him, one hand in his, like it had been for most of the school day.
"So, how exactly did this fight break out?" Principal Yami asked through a dark growl.
"Tsuge went around my back and stole my date for next week," Machida was quick to say first. "He turned Haru against me when I was just trying to get her to enjoy life for once."
The principal hummed once, and directed his gaze to the boy in the middle. "Tsuge?"
"I overheard him say during the last game that he was being paid to take Haru to the festival. Since Haru didn't have any friends save for me, I knew it was going to turn into a prank. So I warned her the first chance I got."
"Haru?" the principal asked, his voice turning a shade softer for the girl on the left.
"Tsuge's the only genuine friend I have," she stated simply. "We hid it for years to avoid teasing, but I trust him completely. The fact that Machida tried to break my arm when I canceled the date says that-"
"I did not!" Machida protested.
Haru simply raised her bruised arm high enough for both the boy and principal to see it. The bruises were in the shape of a hand.
"These aren't from the piano."
Principal Yami stood up in a fury, although Haru wasn't sure how he had missed the marks until now. "You are suspended from the team until summer break!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"What, you can't do that!" Machida yelled, standing up in a fury.
"Oh no? You honestly think any college will want someone that hurts a defenseless girl?"
Haru wanted to protest against that, but forced herself to remain silent. 'Despite my attempts to the contrary, I'm not a fighter. Never have been, never will be.'
Tsuge gripped her fingers a little tighter, almost like he could read her thoughts.
"We're done here, Machida. Get out," the principal ordered with a barely concealed snarl.
The slimmer schoolboy made some outraged sounds, but eventually stomped out in a rage.
Principal Yami watched him go with a grim smile, but then turned his gaze to the two students still in front of him. He noted their intertwined hands for a long moment before raising his eyes to their faces. "Years?" he asked softly.
"Nearly five," Tsuge reported, squeezing Haru's hand again. "I'm sorry for losing my temper, but I will not listen to anyone belittling or threatening Haru again. It's about time someone stood up for her."
Haru reddened at the simple declaration, but a smile of pleasure was sneaking onto her lips.
The school official sighed, but nodded his head. "You're still getting a week of detention, but next time, try telling a teacher. I really don't want to go through this cycle every time you show off your right hook."
"Or my left," Tsuge pretended to whisper, making his friend giggle helplessly.
ooOoo
The Sunday after the talk with the principal, Tsuge was tapping his fingers across the couch's arm. "The music's great, Haru. I'm surprised that you already mastered three of the Frankenstein songs."
She gave an indelicate snort. "If you want difficult, try Chopin. But I'm still missing something from this music, and I don't know what." 'I really want to know why this music speaks to me.'
He shook his head while laughing at her. "Haru… for being one of the smartest people I know, you've got a blonde streak a mile long."
"Hey!" she protested, but he finished laughing before making his point.
"I'm sorry, but it's the truth. It's a musical, Haru. Although you can have the music without the lyrics, there's a reason people like the lyrics."
Haru stared at him in shock. "Seriously? You think that's what's missing?"
"I can't think of anything else."
"But singing is so mainstream!" she complained. "So many people think they can sing, I'm just waiting for the talent show to become a singing competition!"
"Well, isn't playing a piano as mainstream as it gets?" he pointed out. "Besides, I don't think I've ever heard you sing."
Haru gave a shrug while stretching her arms over her head. "I hardly try to anymore. People kept telling me to zip my lip and stick to the piano." 'Of course, people say that every time I try to get off the bench or open my mouth.'
"Then do it to annoy them! Go on, pick a song and try singing along. It's just me that will hear you, remember?" Tsuge prodded with a grin. "One of the few people to honestly believe in you?"
She looked at the piano keys thoughtfully. "No laughing, okay?"
"No laughing," he promised with a grin. "Hit me with your best shot."
Her smile was one of gratitude as she turned back to her piano. Her stomach tilted uneasily from nerves, but Tsuge had issued a challenge, dang it! She couldn't back away from a challenge!
Besides, she already knew which song she wanted to perform.
Haru began the intro, the one that she thought would be more appropriate for an army of string instruments, preferably violins. She'd now have to go pick one up for her next instrument experiment.
Her voice came out as a timid soprano, since she already knew the words after staring at them for hours. "Madness? Folly? Insanity? Little minds have belittled my dream." 'More than they had the right to!' "But I, could I, might it be?
"The greatest triumph man has ever seen!" Whoa, did that come out of her?
The girl's eyes closed, only to see a great ocean of grey mist part like the curtain of a great stage. But instead of a stage, she was standing in the doorway of a huge… dungeon? Tower? Well, whatever the place was, it was made with rough gray stone, and littered with tables and medical tools. She could still feel her hands flying across the piano's teeth, but the sensation was fading like a distant memory.
Haru, barely noticing that she was now clothed in a long white laboratory coat, nonchalantly shut the door behind her to start playing with an array of equipment she didn't recognize. "Within the flesh of force resides, if it could only be controlled, the sleeping sparks could somehow be revived, think of the awe-inspiring power you would mold."
Whatever she was playing with had opened up a mouth in the roof, made some of the random mechanical things start humming, and raised a table from underneath the floor.
A table that had a large body on it, covered with a sheet.
"I want the world to see where brave research and bold experiments have led; electricity's the key to reanimate… the dead." Her voice turned soft as she approached the table and gently pressed a black-gloved hand against the body's forehead. "I could spare the world the anguish of loved ones taken in their prime. The glory of the brave new world will someday soon be mine!" Her voice became stronger at the thought of a long-awaited triumph.
Being careful not to get cocky, she kept her eyes on the tall windows surrounding the huge circular room. Her detached mind decided at last that it had to be a tower. A rather violent storm was brewing outside, brightening the dim room with violent clashes of lightning.
She kept running her hands over the giant body's head, gentle and caressing before grabbing a corner of the sheet. "Immortal soul, our inner being. Does it endure, does it perish with the flesh? In my hands I hold the answer, and the power of life and death!" With a dramatic flair, she ripped the sheet away.
The skin was a pale grey, much like the stones of the tower they were in. But other than that, he seemed like a standard Boris Karloff interpretation of the creature, complete with stitches and the famous neck bolts.
Clicking a button, metal restraints flipped from under the table to over it, locking in place on the off-chance that he turned violent later. "Maker of science; give me the means to walk where none had trod, I'll discover the secret between the alchemists and God!"
She turned away to an open notebook on another table, and began writing at a furious pace with a fountain pen. "It is nearly finished. I have fashioned him great in size to make easier the handiwork. He will be approximately eight feet in height and comprised of only the most finely formed limbs and organs; exceedingly perfect! And if I succeed in bringing life into this new creation, might I not also one day be able to restore life to those claimed by death? The time, 12:40 am, November 16. The storm is nearing its zenith, the moment is at hand!" she cheered happily before cranking a lever from the floor.
The table began rising higher, the gears clearly audible as it reached for the hole in the ceiling.
Haru monitored the beeping devices lining the walls while keeping an eye on her creation. "Prometheus dared to steal fire from gods to lift mankind from sorrow, and just as that myth, my mission is this; to write a new tomorrow!" Without warning, her life began to flash before her eyes like a fast-paced slide show.
Countless hours alone cleaning an empty house. Birthdays with only a lit cupcake for company. Putting up and taking down the fake Christmas tree without help. Doctoring her own wounds, physical and mental because neither of her parents could be bothered. The numberless days she had spent on the piano bench, in a fruitless attempt to make herself forget about the ever-present loneliness.
Haru shook her head angrily at the memories, and kept her streaming eyes on the table holding the creature. "My endless days of study and toil are finally near fruition. The world will be forever changed by history's physician! Life everlasting! Reanimation! A flawless new design! The finest human in all creation; gone, reborn and mine!"
Keeping her eyes on the troubled skies, Haru was able to predict what happened next. "The storm will peak and the heavens part to bide my preparation, the needed shock-"
The lightning struck the table, making the body flail from the impact.
"-To start his heart, giving birth to my creation!"
The machines around her roared as they tried to regulate what was going on over her head, making her keep one eye on them to prevent an accident. "Life everlasting, reanimation, a flawless new design. Flawless new design! The finest human in all creation; gone, reborn, and mine!"
Once a certain device gave out a warning bell, Haru cranked hard on the lever again. "Darkness is done; a new day has come, the dawn of a new revelation. Here in this place, here in this time; the birth of my salv-a-a-tion-! Salvation!" she sang out as the table began its descent.
xxXxx
A/N; the lyrics are Birth to My Creation, from Frankenstein- A New Musical. Haru will admit in the next chapter that she made several mistakes in her interpretation, but since when does she give up without a fight?