College Life Part 17: Definitions by Greenbeans Disclaimers: A repeat of 16, but this is a continuation of that story. I've tried to keep this series relatively light, but this one isn't. All kidding aside, this one does hit upon a serious subject. I want to re-emphasize (especially for this one) that the author and the character are two different entities. Cursing. Comments, thoughts, complaints, compliments, ramblings, and flames are all accepted. But the latter two stand a serious chance of being printed out and turned into rat cage lining. All characters are property of their respective holders. I belong to myself, thank you, and have a nice day :) ********** Sunday ********** Michiru had checked in on Beans and Haruka to discover that they were both asleep on the bed. It was an odd discovery to make. There had to be an explanation for it. She would get it from Haruka when she woke up. The good thing was that she no longer got the feeling of fear that she'd been receiving from Beans. No, now it was replaced with something else. It was from a deep wounding. She was in the dark as to what it could be. It was 9am before Haruka left the guestroom. Though she wasn't a morning person, Michiru could usually coax a 'good morning' out of her before she had her first cup of coffee. This morning Haruka woke up late and went straight into the shower. Twenty minutes later she came into the kitchen dressed in jeans and a tee shirt. Michiru started breakfast when Haruka left for the shower. Michiru handed a cup of coffee to her before Haruka spoke. "Good morning," she said as thickly as the drink that she held in her hand. "Michiru, we need to talk." ***** Michiru leaned back into the dining room chair with a thoughtful pose. It was a ruse to hide the emotions that were clearly seen within her eyes. Disbelief, horror, out- rage, and shear anger that anyone would dare such a thing. Haruka sat besides her with downcast eyes. Her voice had thickened to the point of speechlessness several times during her explanation. Michiru reached out to stop her pain, but Haruka wouldn't accept. That made her want to cry even more. "I'm not the one that needs help," Haruka spoke softly. "I'm not the one," she finished in a whisper. "I don't need your sympathy," Beans stumbled into the room slowly and sat once she made it to the table. She turned to Haruka. "I'm sorry to have bent your ear last night." Her voice was mild. She wasn't being defensive, just stating a fact in her mind. She didn't appear to be as weary as she was previously. The bags under her eyes were receding, but she needed more rest. "You should be in bed," Haruka ignored her apology. Beans snickered some. "How am I to sleep without you?" Haruka flushed red while Michiru coughed discreetly into her hand. "Suffer ungrateful child," Michiru said with a slight smile to take the sting out of her words. Haruka wouldn't get away with doing that two nights in a row; even if it was for a good reason and nothing happened. "Would you like some breakfast?" "A little would be nice," Beans answered sleepily. It was a quiet meal. Haruka kept on staring at Beans, and, when she would look up, Haruka would look down at her plate. Haruka had been affected by what happened last night more than she would to admit. Michiru looked over at Beans herself. It seemed that she hadn't eaten a bite for a couple of minutes. "Beans, are you alright?" She asked politely. There was no response. "What?" Haruka got up from her seat to take a look at Beans. "She's asleep." Indeed, Beans had fallen asleep with her spoon resting in her oatmeal and head slightly lulled to the side. Haruka took the spoon out of her hand before picking her up carefully. Michiru got the door to the guestroom opened and the bed covers thrown back by the time Haruka made it in with her burden. She laid the girl down onto her side facing away from them. "Michiru," she knelt down besides the bed and motioned for her to do the same. Gently she pulled Beans' shirt up. "Haruka!" Michiru protested her lack of manners. Haruka waved her off. "Look here," she uncovered her back. She gasped audibly at the scars that formed a criss- crossing pattern on her back. Lightly she traced one of the thicker markings with her fingertip. "Oh god," the revelation rocked her. This could have been Hotaru on the bed. That thought caused her to lose her balance and land on the floor. "Hime-chan," Haruka echoed the thought in a whisper. "Bad enough that some son of a bitch did this to our friend, but if it had been Hime-chan, I would have nothing against killing the bastard." Beans swatted behind her annoyed, for Haruka still had her shirt hiked up. She sleepily grabbed onto the cloth and pulled it against her. "Lemme alone ya hentai," she mumbled in her sleep before rolling over onto her other side. Haruka helped Michiru up off the floor. They returned to the kitchen with Michiru still mulling over what she had seen. No wonder Haruka was concerned for Beans. Scars like that weren't only skin deep. From what she'd been told, it sounds like the wounds on the inside have yet to be fully healed. ***** Haruka returned to bed not long after that. She was half tempted to join her. Beans' fever may have broken, but that didn't mean that she was immediately well again. Michiru entered into the room hosting their friend. The curtains were pulled away to let the weak winter sunlight to stream in. "On days like this, I wish I were back home," Beans spoke softly. She turned her attention away from the gray landscape to look at her. "I would spend the mornings outside playing in the snow with my brother and sister. Then mom would call us in for lunch. We'd sit in front of the fire letting its warmth bake us dry," the expression on her face was gentle as she reflected on the memories. Her eyes were half closed, though not from want for sleep. "You care for them very much," she observed. Beans sat herself upright to give her space to sit on the edge of the bed. Michiru tucked Beans' in tighter before sitting. "Yes," she closed her eyes while taking a deep breath, "I assume that Haruka told you about last night. My being adopted and all." "She did. Is that alright with you?" She laid her hand lightly onto Beans' legs. "It's fine. I don't know why I even told her that. I was just -- scared by my dreams. Silly, huh?" She laughed shakily. "Silly?! I would never call fear 'silly'. Fear is a very real thing. It should be brought out into the light so that it can be put down. Perhaps that is why you told Haruka -- to finally defeat the fear?" Michiru smiled reassuringly. "Perhaps," she whispered. Beans broke eye contact with her to watch outside. Michiru saw the tears forming in her eyes. "Ara!" Michiru surged forward to bundle her up into her arms. Beans leaned her head onto her shoulder crying silently. "Mame-chan!" She pulled the girl into her, trying to give her a strong pillar to lean against. "I'm sorry, Michiru, I'm sorry for being so weak," she choked out softly. "Who says that you're weak?" She embraced her tightly. "Not I, and certainly not Haruka. You are one of the strongest people that I know." Beans shook her head in disbelief. She tried to pull away from her, to recess into herself again, but Michiru wouldn't let her go. "Don't hide, Mame-chan. Please don't hide from us. Trust us," she stroked her fingers through Beans' hair. "I do trust you," she said slowly. She leaned her head back against the headboard and drifted asleep again. "Right in the middle of our conversation too," Michiru said softly. She positioned Beans so that she looked more comfortable. There was nothing for her to do here but wait. She left briefly to retrieve her sketchbook. While Beans slept, she made rough sketches of the form before her. The sketches would probably never be used for anything, but she did like to practice drawing the human form. Michiru found herself driven to distraction by Haruka's earlier words, '... if it had been Hime-chan, I would have nothing against killing the bastard.' She couldn't deny that she felt the same way. Anyone who dared to harm her precious daughter would find themselves in a world of hurt. Then she might kill them if she was feeling merciful. A morbid part of her wondered how those scars were created in the first place. What could cause scarring like that? Belt? Switch? Whip? The possibilities caused her to shiver. She was experiencing a sympathetic fear. With a sigh, she resumed work on her sketch. ***** I yawned, then stretched out fully before nuzzling back into the warmth of the bed. The desire to leave the bed was a recessive one, but nature was demanding and I couldn't delay such callings forever. Slowly I stumbled to the doorway and out to the bathroom. I wondered briefly where Haruka or Michiru were. They'd seemed insistent on being by my side, but they weren't anywhere that I could see from the hallway. After I was finished with my business, I came out of the room to hear voices in the kitchen. I wandered out that way to find Haruka putting away some groceries. "What's up?" I asked. "You are and you shouldn't be," she scowled slightly. "Easy enough to fix," I sat down at the table. She shook her head. "Close enough." I watched her as she put away the groceries. One box, then another, a can, then some fruit into the fridge. Silently, no chatter, no smart comments, just the everyday task of putting her purchases away. "What's gotten into you, Haruka?" "Nothing," she mumbled from behind the refrigerator door. "Haruka.." I said in a tone that called her bluff. She closed the door with more force then needed. "How could someone do that to you, Beans? How can someone be so heartless as to hit their own child?!" "I don't know," I answered slowly. "All I know is that bad things happen to good people, and that evil doesn't always lose." Her eyes fixed with mine. "Aren't you angry?" "I suppose a part of me is, but anger won't help any. What's done is done and that isn't my life anymore." A tear began to form in the corner of my eye. "I'm going back to bed now," I fled the room with as much dignity as I could muster. ***** Haruka knocked softly on the bedroom door. Technically, it was her house, she could enter if she wanted. Under other circumstances, she would have done just that, but not this time. She wanted to apologize to Beans, though she wasn't entirely sure why. If for nothing else, then for making her friend cry. "Come in," was the call from inside. She opened the door and proceeded in. Beans was curled up in the bed in a restful looking position. "I wanted to apologize," Haruka said. She was never one for beating around the bush, and now certainly wasn't the time to start. "What?" "I made you cry, and I'm sorry," Haruka pulled the chair next to bed into a better position for holding a conversation. She leaned forward with her forearms on her knees. "I'm sorry, Mame-chan, I don't know what else there is to say. No one should have to face what you have, no one." "No, they shouldn't," Beans repositioned herself for a conversation. "But life isn't fair. I've been happy since then, so that's what I focus on," she smiled slightly. "I couldn't do it, if I were you," Haruka admitted softly. "Move on so easily, I mean. I..." Beans placed a hand over hers. "Don't worry about it. It's in the past where it belongs." "I can't," Haruka growled slightly, "I can't when I think of what it must have been like. I feel my blood boil with anger. I care about what happens to you, and the thought of someone hurting you makes me want rip them in half." "Haruka," Beans said her name slowly, considering her next words carefully before continuing. "There are many types of strength. Some you are familiar with like physical strength, strength of character, and the power of love," Beans' eyes creased together as she smiled slightly. "I'm building myself in those areas, but there are some strengths that I have that you are still building. The strength of healing is one that I'm quite familiar with, and the ability to forgive those who wrong me." Haruka gasped at Beans' reference to forgiving. Memories of Usagi and her kind heart flooded her. Feeling of shame for her and Michiru's actions after the defeat of the Death Busters returned. They had attacked Usagi because they didn't understand the power of forgiveness. Even after they had wronged her, Usagi forgave them. It was a truly wondrous thing. She sat silently for several long minutes before answering. "I know of a person whose strength is forgiving. Thank you for reminding me." "Justice is best served with a measure of mercy. Mercy requires the ability to forgive. I'm satisfied knowing that, for myself at least, justice will be tempered with mercy. I wouldn't want it any other way." Haruka snorted. "So I'm sitting here making a fool of myself." Beans shook her head. "Not at all. It's a humbling thing to know that I have friends who would defend me so fiercely," she grinned broadly. Laughing lightly, she got up and ruffled Beans' hair playfully. "You've got that right. Now get some rest, we have classes tomorrow after all." "Augh!" Beans flopped back on the bed. "Kick a girl when she's down." "It's my form of mercy," Haruka winked before closing the door slowly behind her. ********** End part 17 ********** Firstly, I would like a apologize for breaking away from the set theme of 'College Life', which is comedy. I'm not really sure what possessed me to write these last two stories except a desire to expand on the characters of Haruka and Michiru. I have really struggled when it came on deciding whether to release these two stories or not. I know that the basic good nature of people will cause them to write me and ask if it's true or not, and I didn't want people to get the wrong idea. I was also very wary of seemingly doing a 180 with the tone of the series as a whole. It's only with the convincing of my friends who read this when I asked them "what was I *thinking*?!" that has brought this it the net as a whole. I have gone back and forth on distributing this more times than you could imagine. I've decided to just go with it, and hope the story flies. Thank you for reading this.