Haruka yawned as she sat down at the piano bench. She stretched her fingers, carefully rested them on the keys, and started playing a complex melody most would never attempt at her age. Kotori and Sunao listened with looks of approval clear on their faces. When Haruka finished, she simply stood up, at took a seat in an easy chair. Kotori and Sunao applauded and grinned at her. "Very good!" Sunao complimented her daughter. "I'm quite surprised! It didn't take long at all for you to excel at this!" Haruka just shrugged and looked up at the ceiling. She was about ten years old now, coming near the end of elementary school. She was still quite tall and thin, with her hair still worn short. She still hated school, the same old waste of time it always was. And just like when she was younger, she didn't have much to speak of in the way of friends. The girls avoided her because she was so much taller and tougher than they were. The boys sometimes let her play with them, but often wouldn't since she was a girl. Haruka didn't care at all whether they accepted her or not. When everyone else played and didn't let her in, she'd go off on her own, running, exploring, swinging, nothing that you really needed someone else there to do. The piano lessons her grandmother gave her had finally wound down to a close, and Kotori had no more to teach her. Haruka still promised to practice though, so she wouldn't lose the skills she'd acquired. Haruka fingered the cross around her neck lightly and sighed. Her family made sure they attended church regularly, and she was strong in her faith, but she thought church itself was boring and pointless. She entertained herself by watching a cute girl whose family sat a few rows in front of them, ignoring most of the priest's talk. Katai was making it a point to come home early tonight. Any other day, however, he didn't seem to care if he came home at 8 PM or 2 AM. Haruka didn't see her father much. A few months ago, when it wasn't too late at night, she'd have long talks with him, and it always made her feel better. Sunao wouldn't usually join in; she went to bed early, exhausted from housework. Lately though, he'd been getting more and more wrapped up in his work, and he never talked to her except to criticize her. Haruka hated it. He was supposed to encourage her, not _discourage_ her. "Why can't you be more ladylike?" "You're going to be a failure if you keep acting like _that_." "Stop complaining, Haruka-chan, and just do it. We should have just gotten a dog, at least they listen when you tell them what to do." It hurt to hear those things from the father she'd once loved and trusted. She wasn't sure now if she hated him or not, but she sure wouldn't have a heart-to-heart with him anytime soon. Her mother wasn't exactly close to her or distanced from her. Sunao had just recently gotten a job and worked while Haruka was at school. On rare occasions, she would pull a late shift, but that was only every few weeks. Haruka spent a lot time with her, talking with her or helping her around the house, but part of her was a bit ruffled by the "weakness" her mother showed. Sunao wasn't exactly a joyful person. While she would smile and laugh, her life wasn't nearly as full as it could have been. She and Katai had drifted from each other, and even though they were still married in legal terms, they didn't get along well anymore, not that Katai was home enough for it to matter. She tried hard to raise Haruka, but to Haruka, it was obvious that her mother wasn't making the usual attempts a mother would make; the death of her newly born son had shattered the outlook she had on the whole child-rearing process. Most mothers would try to mold their children into the ideal, perfect kids, to teach them as many values as they could and to prepare them for the real world, even if it meant being harsh on them. Sunao let Haruka do as she pleased, didn't punish her for anything, and let her form her own opinions on issues rather than try to teach her how to see things like life, religion, and responsibility. Haruka was given a great deal of freedom by her mother, and Sunao's spoilings--a fairly large allowance, letting her have her way, taking her wherever she wanted to go--were far preferable to the strict attitude her father showed. Sunao was very reserved, rarely leaving the house one she was home from work, and didn't speak to many people outside of the family unless necessary. Haruka shook her head, clearing her thoughts as she stood up and walked away from the piano bench. Sunao and Kotori were talking with each other now, and Haruka was tired, so she headed upstairs for her room. She sat down on the bed and started flipping through some manga with a bored look on her face. She heard her mother call up to her a little while later, "Haruka-chan, I'm staying with my parents tonight, be back tomorrow! Tell your father where we went when he gets home, okay? Oh, there's a tiny bit of food left, so throw together something for dinner and I'll go to the store tomorrow." "Yes, okaa-san! Oh, may I go down to the park later?" "Sure! Be good, okay, and don't get into trouble!" "I won't! Bye!" Haruka heard the door shut and the car pull away shortly after that. Running down the stairs, she grabbed a key for the front door to lock it behind her as she left for the park, then took off running. She loved to run, to feel the wind against her face as she tried to outrace it. It didn't take long to get to the park since it was right across the street. She slowed down a bit, heading over to the playground. She went to the back section where the monkey bars were, on top of a tall hill that overlooked a lake. She looked around to make sure no one else was there, then climbing up on top of them. She crawled across to the middle, then carefully stood, balancing on the rungs. At first, her heart pounded quickly, her arms held out at her sides to keep from losing her footing. Then she relaxed, closed her eyes, and stood listening to all the sounds around her, enjoying the breeze blowing by. She didn't know how long she stood there. Eventually, she got tired of keeping balance, took a deep breath, and leapt off the monkey bars. For a few fractions of a second, she was in flight, soaring with the wind. Then of course, gravity had to spoil everything, and she landed perfectly on her feet. She cast a quick glance down the hill at the lake, then turned to walk back home and go up to her room again. She went back to reading the manga until her stomach growled with hunger about four hours later. She trudged down the stairs to the refrigerator, barely noticing what she pulled out and stuck in the microwave. She took it out, sat down, and ate in a hurry, then placed her dishes in the sink and went back upstairs to read some more. After awhile, she got too sleepy to stay awake. It was getting late, and she had school the next day. Haruka went downstairs and wrote a note to Katai, then went back upstairs, slipped into her pajamas, and climbed into her bed, falling asleep quickly. Katai did _not_ have a good day at work that day. He'd been in meetings for a long amount of time, arguing back and forth with all the other employees as he tried to make his view known, but everyone seemed to be against him. He missed lunch break while he was busy typing a report, but the report ended up being lost when the power somehow went out and he hadn't saved it yet. He started over, but missed the deadline. Then he had to go to another meeting, and give a presentation which didn't go over well. He left work early as planned, but got caught in a horrible traffic jam, running out of gas while stuck in it and also getting a flat tire driving over a nail, and had to be towed and sit for over an hour waiting to get his car back. He got home later than he would have if he'd left at the normal time. Since he'd also missed dinner because of the traffic jam, he was ravenous by the time he got home. When he got home, he went immediately to the refrigerator, wondering to himself, "Where is Sunao?" Right now, he'd feel a lot better with her here, even if they weren't very close anymore. He noticed a note on the fridge reading "Need to go to grocery store ASAP." Next to that was a letter written almost entirely in kana, indicating it written by Haruka. "Okaa-san went to her mother's house. Will be back tomorrow." Katai rested his head against the door and grimaced. "Can't anything go right today?" He looked over at the sink and saw a number of dirty dished in it. From that, he guessed that whatever food they had before was already eaten, leaving him with very little. He opened the refrigerator again and looked for something, _anything_ to eat. There was a bit of turkey, some old grapes, and several bottles of beer. Grumbling, Katai took out the turkey and beer, throwing out the grapes. He chewed on the turkey for a bit, guzzling a beer quickly; he was in a very foul mood, maybe it would calm him, it usually mellowed him somewhat. He turned on the t.v. and flipped the channel to a random show. Finishing the turkey, he grabbed another beer, then another, losing track of how many he'd had. Haruka stirred and awoke to see it was still dark outside, probably around midnight. She wondered why she had woken up, and then noticed the sounds of the television and loud laughter. What the... Oh, her father. He was being a lot louder than he should be this late at night. Haruka wearily rubbed her eyes and started down the stairs, wondering why her father was being so rude. She was quite surprised when she entered the living room and saw him sitting there with several empty beer bottles around him, another one less than half full in his hand. His eyes were bloodshot and he was clearly drunk, barely awake. Haruka walked in cautiously, and moved to turn the volume down on the t.v. without disturbing his near-slumber. "Whaddaya think you're doing?!" Katai slurred, swaying to his feet. "Get back upstairs, now!" "Otou-san, I couldn't get to sleep, I just--" "You also have to presume, don'cha? I'm getting real sick o' this, kid, y'know that?" He stumbled towards her with a very angry look on his face. "Your mama is too easy on you. Y'never get in trouble with her, you get to do whatcha want, and I'm tired of sitting here while you live the easy life! I gotta work to earn this family good stuff, and you just get spoiled wit' it." Haruka was very concerned by now, and she started backing towards the stairs frightfully. Why did her father have to drink so much? He'd never done this before when he'd been drinking, at least that she knew of. "I'm going back to bed, otou-san," she mumbled, dashing for the stairs. She let out a shriek when she didn't even make it to the first step. Katai had grabbed onto her arm tightly, and he swung her around, throwing her to the ground. "Otou-san, what's wrong?!" she cried at him. She knew he was drunk, but this... She let out a loud, pain-filled scream as his foot connected with her ribs. Terrified, she scrambled away, half-crawling across the floor. He pursued her, driving her into a corner. Haruka huddled, her arms thrown over her head, shaking hard with tears pouring down her face. "Otou-san, please! Don't hurt me!" "Shut-up, bitch! You're a pathetic excuse for a daughter, and I'm sick and tired of putting up with you! You're gettin' what you deserve!" He hit her arms hard, making her scream again, and rained blows on them, the house echoing with her almost nonstop screaming. He kicked her un- protected shins; she'd pulled her knees up against her chin to try to keep away from him. She sobbed uncontrollably as her arms and legs throbbed with pain as her father continued to relentlessly beat her. Finally, he backed away, and Haruka rolled onto her side, groaning and coughing hard. He kicked her in the back a few times, causing her to fly back against the wall from the strength of one of the blows and her head to snap back and hit the wall, knocking her unconscious. He stood there for a bit, looking down at her crumpled, bloodied form, then stumbled away to his room, where he collapsed on the bed and fell asleep. Haruka regained consciousness early the next morning. One of her eyes was gummed shut with blood, and she could barely lift her head enough to see the room was faintly lit, the sun just starting to rise. She moaned and tried to get up, the pain of trying to move making her stomach churn. She trembled and closed her eye tight, her body racked with trembles. She started to sit up, but the wave of dizziness that went through her kept her from getting far. It hurt to move, her arms and legs were badly bruised and bloodied, and her back felt sore as well, probably bruised too. She gingerly raised a hand to her face and brushed it across the eye she couldn't open, wincing with pain as she realized it wasn't just blood sealing it shut, but also the fact it was swollen. She nearly had a heart attack when her father walked in, and despite the pain of doing so, she scrambled away again. "Cut that out and get up," he spat. The drunkenness appeared to be gone, but he was still bitter and his head throbbed. "Hurry up, willya?!" Haruka carefully stood, leaning heavily against the wall. Her head spun and she fought back tears, avoiding meeting the gaze of the father who had betrayed her trust. "Go take a shower and wash all that blood off. You're still going to school, so get a clean uniform out. I'll bandage you up before you leave. If anyone asks, you got in a fight after school; that's truth enough. If you say one word about this to anyone, and I mean _anyone_, I'll beat you even more, got it?" Haruka barely managed to nod as she trudged up the stairs, wincing with each step. She got out her uniform, took off her pajamas, and stepped into the shower, gratefully slipping into the hot water. She flinched at the stinging sensation of water meeting the cuts, but tried to ignore it. Taking a washcloth, she carefully washed the blood from her limbs, face, and back, then she lathered up her hair and washed it as well. She could feel liquid spilling down her cheeks; shower water mixed with tears. She was careful when she slipped on her clothes, trying to avoid brushing against her wounds. When she opened the door, she saw her father there. He had a first-aid kit in his hand and was frowning darkly. He was something far less than gentle when he wrapped her arms and legs tightly where there was evidence of what had happened. He put gauze over her black eye, taping it in place with medical tape. He then handed her a back brace, and left to let her put it on herself. She combed her hair carefully to avoid contact with the bump on her head. Staring down at all the bandages made her start to cry harder, and she felt the wave of nausea go through her again and she knelt in front of the toilet and immediately threw up. She trembled as she wiped her mouth, and grabbed a cup to fill with water, desperately trying to get the taste out of her mouth. She looked up into the mirror and her pitiful reflection. The skin around her eyes was blotchy with red from her crying, some blood-vessels broken from her vomiting. She took several deep breaths, trying to regain some form of composure, and went downstairs where Katai was waiting. "There's nothing to eat in the house, so you're going to school without breakfast or lunch. Remember what I told you," he warned. "You're walking today, so get going before I decide to drive you, and believe me, you won't like it if I take you." Haruka grabbed her bookbag left the house in a daze. She barely noticed the pavement under her feet as she walked. A large breeze was blowing, ruffling her hair and skirt, and she gratefully paused and closed her eyes. The wind... it had many forms, she mused to herself, strong or gentle, but always powerful no matter what form. It was almost comforting in some small way. She was compelled to stay standing in the breeze, but she had to get going if she was going to get to school on time. She put on an emotionless face to mask her feelings as she walked along the sidewalk. She'd been betrayed, beaten, and ignored. She had trusted her father, opened up to him, and he still frowned upon her and hurt her, physically and emotionally. She had no one to turn to, and even if she did... Haruka was too terrified to consider ever letting anyone close to her again; what if she got hurt again by someone else? Haruka entered the school building and took her seat. Only a few other kids were there; it was still a bit early. She ignored their shocked gazes and whispered comments. She didn't want to talk to them, never had, never would. A girl with long brown hair and soft green eyes came over to her. Haruka couldn't help but notice how pretty the girl was, and was surprised when the girl laid her hand on hers and asked, "Are you okay? You look like you've been hurt pretty badly. Do you want to talk about it?" "N-no... I'll be okay." Haruka pulled her hand away and turned her head to look out the window and hide her blush. The girl walked away. Haruka couldn't help but reel with shock afterwards. Why had she noticed that girl's looks? She never really paid attention to appearances, well, not including that girl at church, but still... her hand felt warm from where the girl had laid her hand on hers. Haruka was irritated with herself for blushing. She was just some girl that was concerned, that's all! Why should she get so worked up over a girl?! More students were filing in, and the teacher had come in as well. Several kids came over to her and asked how she was, but she didn't respond to their questions. The guys she sometimes played with during P.E. teased her a bit and she ignored them. Sure, they were fun to play with in basket- ball, but they were otherwise jerks. When the bell rang, the teacher rather loudly asked (drawing lots of attention as well), "Haruka-chan, what happened to you?! Are you all right; do you want to see the nurse?!" Haruka sighed inwardly; she _had_ to answer now, this was the teacher, and if she didn't say anything, the teacher would probably call the house, and her mom would be there... Haruka felt chilled. If the teacher suspected anything and called, and Katai found out... Haruka mumbled quickly, "I got in a fight yesterday." "Looks like it was a pretty bad fight! What were you doing fighting with someone?" "It was... a misunderstanding." The teacher made a "tsk" sound, and turned to the chalkboard and started writing. Haruka hid her face from view and choked back tears again. God, why did this have to happen? Her hand fumbled for the cross around her neck, silently saying a prayer. The boy next to her leaned over and whispered, "Hey, who won, you or the other person?" Haruka ignored him. "Stupid... you probably lost." Haruka opened the textbook needed for the assignment the teacher was writing on the board. Her arms throbbed slightly whenever she moved them, but she fought to ignore the pain and focused on the lesson. She barely made it through the day. Having gone without two meals and with a constant aching sensation coursing through her, the day was sheer agony. She was surprised when, while leaving the school grounds, she saw Teinei driving in her car. Teinei immediately stopped, pulled over, and ran over to Haruka. "Haruka-chan! What happened?" "I-I got in a fight, oba-san." "You want to talk about it?" "No... I-I can't..." "... Um, hop in; I'll give you a ride." Haruka gratefully climbed into the car, but winced slightly while putting the seatbelt on. Her stomach growled loudly and Teinei looked at her with a bit of amusement. "Hungry? I'll take you some place to eat, okay? Sunao-chan shouldn't mind too much." "Thanks! I haven't eaten all day!" Teinei looked very surprised at first, then she said, "Well, all the more reason to take you somewhere, right?" Teinei started talking more; Haruka barely listened, however. Teinei was babbling something about Haruka's third cousin moving in with her, but Haruka didn't follow it; she'd never met Murasaki. Teinei was talking about work and stuff after that, but Haruka didn't notice. They pulled up at a restaurant after several minutes. They ate in relative silence. Afterwards, Teinei took Haruka home, then went on to her house. Haruka was nervous when she went inside. Sunao was home, unloading groceries. She looked up at Haruka and smiled, then came over and very carefully hugged her. "Hello, Haruka-chan, how was your day?" "Uh... I don't know... bad, I guess..." "I'm sorry to hear that. Your father told me you got into a fight at the playground yesterday after I left. I thought I told you to stay out of trouble, Haruka, why weren't you more careful?" Haruka didn't answer; her mind was whirling too fast. Katai had talked with her and _lied_ to her... She wished she could curl up in her mother's arms and cry her eyes out and confess everything, but she was so scared of what might happen to her if she told her mother... and what if Katai hurt Sunao as well? If Sunao _did_ find out and went to the authorities with it, Katai might hurt them both... "Haruka-chan? Are you all right? Here, let's get some clean bandages on those and see how your eye is doing." Haruka followed Sunao into her bathroom, and bit her lip when Sunao tenderly unwrapped her arms and legs. Sunao let out a short exclamation of surprise. "My goodness! Haruka-chan, I am not letting you out of the house except for school for the next few weeks. These look terrible! How many people did you fight anyways?" "I... don't remember..." Sunao carefully wrapped new bandages around her arms, and carefully peeled the gauze from her eye, putting a fresh piece on. "Haruka-chan, you are lucky that you got out of that fight..." she hugged Haruka gently, "From the looks of things, it must have been pretty rough. Please, don't ever do that again. You're hurt badly, I can tell, and I don't want you to go through this again, okay?" "... yeah..." How could she have bought that lie Katai told her?! And how could he have done this to her... what if he did it again?... Haruka shoved aside Sunao and ran to her bedroom. She slammed the door shut, locking it and propping a chair against the handle, then made sure her windows were shut tight and locked well, then she dove into her closet and shut the door as well, shivering all over as she lay there in the darkness trying not to cry again.
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