Sukeban

Rina’s hands danced around the handle of her schoolbag, the young brunette resisting the urge to reach out and grab onto Haruna’s hand. As much as she wanted to hold Haruna’s hand, she knew the older girl wouldn’t like it. There may not be a lot of people on this street but there were still people around, Rina knew that even this was still too public for the older brunette. Rina never did understand why Haruna was like this. There were times when she would let it slip and wouldn’t mind showing affection to Rina in public but most times, Haruna was dead set against it. She would never explain to Rina why that was though. Rina had learned to stop asking, she had learned to just accept it.

The young brunette wanted to hold onto her girlfriend because she could tell there was something wrong. She could tell that from the moment Haruna had asked to speak with Mami and Yukako alone earlier. Her mind had begun to swirl with worrisome thoughts about what Haruna could want from them. When Haruna came out acting so absentminded, it only made Rina worry that much more. She could see it in Haruna’s eyes, there was something wrong.

Haruna’s face might remain emotionless but her eyes told a different story. Most people didn’t notice it but Rina did, she noticed the emotions in Haruna’s eyes. No matter what Haruna’s facial expression showed, Rina knew that Haruna’s eyes would always give away her real emotions.

The two girls continued their walk down the familiar path in silence. Despite her thoughts, Rina was enjoying the silence. She was just enjoying having Haruna around. Rina had become so attached to the feisty and violent girl; she never wanted to be apart from Haruna ever again. When Rina first met Haruna, she knew there had to be a reason why Haruna acted the way she did. She wanted to help her. Even if she still didn’t know Haruna’s full story, she knew enough to know that deep down, Haruna was a good person. The person who she was deep down was what Rina had fallen so in love with.

The blissful walk didn’t last long though as the two girls neared Haruna’s house. Once they had gotten close enough, Haruna’s footsteps stopped abruptly, her body stiffening. Rina could notice this instantly and her footsteps came to as stop as well. She turned around, cocking her head to the side in curiosity.

“Haruna, is everything okay?” Rina asked the question she had been dying to for so long. Haruna didn’t answer her. Instead, the older girl simply pointed in front of her towards the house. Rina turned back to it and instantly, she could see what had Haruna so on edge all of a sudden. In the house, against the faint glow of the sunset, Rina could see that there were lights on in the house.

Rina knew that she and Haruna had turned off all the lights before they had left the house that morning. There was no way the lights could be on… Unless Haruna’s parents had come home. That’s what had caught Haruna off guard; both of the girls knew right away that Haruna’s parents were indeed home.

“What are we going to do?” Rina asked in a soft and barely hearable voice. She could hear Haruna let out a shaky stream of breath before she heard the footsteps. Haruna grabbed Rina’s shoulder, turning her around abruptly and grabbing onto both of her arms.

“Listen to me carefully, okay? I need you to go around the back and hide. I’ll go inside and see what’s going on. I’ll come get you once I can and we’ll get you up to my room, they’ll never know you were here. Can you do this for me?”

Rina desperately wanted to tell Haruna no. She wanted to grab onto the older girl and cling onto her for dear life. She didn’t want to let her go but she knew they didn’t have a choice. Haruna’s parents would never allow Rina to stay here; they couldn’t know she was present. Rina had to be strong for Haruna.

“I can do that but… Promise me you’ll come back, okay?” Haruna smiled at the naivety and innocence of Rina.

“Of course I’ll come back. It may be a few minutes but I swear to you that I’ll come find you, you don’t have to be scared of that,” Haruna assured her. Rina sniffled a bit but gave Haruna a bright smile. She stepped forward, breaking out of Haruna’s grasp and stealing a quick kiss.

She quickly turned on her heels, dashing over to the side of the house. She looked back at Haruna quickly to see the older girl nod her head in confirmation. Rina smiled at that before turning back around. She ducked down, making her way stealthy around the building and making sure not to get caught.

Once Rina was out of sight, Haruna let out a heavy sigh and ran her fingers through her hair. This was quite a predicament but it was all Haruna’s fault. Haruna didn’t know when her parents would be back and she shouldn’t have been so careless. She should have expected that they would return unannounced like this, she should have found Rina another place to stay as soon as possible. She hadn’t even tried though and now she had to pay for being so reckless and careless.

Haruna tightened her grip on her bag as she stepped forward, making her way into the house. Haruna quickly removed her shoes, eager to get this little reunion over again so she could get Rina in the house and out of the cold. Haruna’s legs automatically carried her forward to the living room but when she got there, her walking stopped again.

Her eyes scanned the living room, her heartbeat increasing by the second as her eyes moved over every face of the four adults in the room. It couldn’t be… They left years ago! They moved hours away, Haruna had been so sure that she would never see their faces again in her life.

But here they were, sitting in the living room with fake smiles plastered on their faces.

“Oh, Haruna darling! It’s been so long, it’s so good to see you again!” The new elder woman gushed. Haruna gulped nervously, her wide eyes staring at her aunt. How could she be sitting there right now? This had to be a nightmare. Haruna wouldn’t accept that woman sitting there to be a reality.

Her aunt pushed herself off of the couch, hurriedly running over to Haruna. The elder woman reached out her arms in an attempt to hug Haruna but the teenager wouldn’t let it happen. Impulsively, Haruna jumped back and away from her aunt without even thinking about her actions first.

Haruna didn’t want to go anywhere near that woman and she certainly didn’t want that woman touching her.

Haruna could see the way her aunt pouted at her, placing her hands on her hips. It was so fake. Haruna knew that every bit of that ‘sorrow’ her aunt was showing right now was fake. There was no way her aunt could have changed so much to be an actual caring person, it just wasn’t possible.

“Haruna!” her dad scolded loudly, a glare on his face. “That is no way to treat your aunt who has come all this way to see you. The least you could do is show her a bit of respect, even if you can’t show anyone else some respect.”

Respect… It was almost laughable. This was the woman who made her childhood a living hell, and her father was telling her to respect this woman.

Haruna didn’t have much of a choice though. If she continued to refuse to touch her aunt then her parents would get mad. If her parents got mad then her aunt and uncle would get mad. That’s what terrified her. She always hated it when they got mad. She always hated their idea of a punishment.

Haruna took shaky steps back towards her aunt. She couldn’t miss the smirk on her aunt’s face. She knew it; this woman hadn’t changed a bit. When the teenager got close enough, the elder woman wrapped her arms around the much shorter girl. Haruna raised her shaking arms, wrapping them around her aunt in a small hug. She felt disgusting to have this woman touching her like this.

The hug didn’t last long before her aunt released her. The elder woman gave Haruna a small pat on the head before making her way back over to the couch and taking her seat again. Haruna didn’t move though. She couldn’t move. The fear coursed through her body and immobilized her. The fear she thought she would never let herself feel again.

Haruna hated herself right now. She thought she had long since left this stupid feeling behind. Haruna didn’t do fear, she was supposed to be fearless. She was supposed to be the strong leader who could face up to anything. But right now, with those two sitting in front of her, Haruna felt more scared than she had in years. She felt terrified as the memories of her childhood came rushing back to her. She couldn’t push them away like she could so many other things.

"Haruna, why don't you come sit down? I'm sure your aunt and uncle would love to catch up with you," her father told her. Haruna’s body stiffened even more, her breathing starting to come out in short streams. She didn’t want to stay; she wanted to get as far away from those two as she could. If she stayed around, she would lose her cool and she couldn’t allow that.

"I can't," Haruna said in a rough tone. She saw her father raise an eyebrow, clearly not impressed with her tone. She knew her parents wouldn’t like her tone but she didn’t care too much, she was too desperate to get out of this room. This is why Haruna had so heavily trained herself to stop showing her emotions and stop feeling the emotions; they only caused trouble for her. "I have to do homework."

"Since when do you bother with your schoolwork?” Her father asked. Haruna could instantly hear the fake shocked gasp of her aunt.

"You mean Haruru doesn't do her homework?!" Haruna cringed from the nickname. Many people called her Haruru throughout her childhood and she had never minded it. She even liked it but when her aunt had begun using it, she had learned to despise the name. The once sweet and innocent nickname had become just another painful memory for her.

"Afraid not, Madoka. Haruna here gave up on school some years ago; we can't seem to get her interested again. She might be a lost cause." Haruna really wanted her father to shut up right about now. He was going to make them mad at her. He was going to get her punished.

"What a shame; I always hoped Haruna would become a bright young lady," her uncle spoke up for the first time. Haruna cringed again from the sound of his voice. She didn’t want to hear him; she didn’t want to hear either of them.

"No need to worry, Daichi. While we're here, I promise we'll set Haruru back on the right track."

"W-while you're here?" Haruna's hatred for herself only grew when she stuttered. How stupid. She thought she was over this behavior. She had stopped acting like some scared little child years ago and she always promised herself that she would never go back to acting like that. She was tougher than that, she knew she was.

"Oh, did your parents not tell you?"

"It must have slipped our mind," her father said with a shrug. He turned to Haruna giving her a look that told her whatever he was about to say was not negotiable. "Your mother and I are going overseas for a business trip before a small vacation. We'll be gone for a month, so your aunt and uncle will be here to watch over you and the house."

"Father, I'm eighteen. I can take care of myself and the house while you're away." Haruna knew her father didn't want any protests but she didn't care. She had to try and stop this; she couldn't handle a month of them being back. She didn't want to go back to that.

"So you say, but how do we know you and your little gang friends won't cause any trouble while we're away."

"A gang?! Oh dear, what happened to the sweet and innocent Haruru I knew?" Haruna wanted to slap that stupid look off of her aunt’s face. She hated the fakeness that was oozing from that woman.

Haruna bit down on her tongue. She was resisting the urge to say something to this woman. Innocent? What innocence? Her aunt and uncle had taken any innocent Haruna could have had. She learned early how cruel and unforgiving the world could really be.

"I don't know, Madoka," her father sighed out. Haruna choked back the sick feeling she was getting. Her parents were practically handing them reasons to be angry at her. “I just know that I’d feel much more comfortable with you two here to keep an eye on her.”

“But, father…” Haruna began but found herself cut off by her father.

“Enough, Haruna. You do not get a say in this. We are leaving and they are staying, that is final,” her father said in a strict tone. Haruna growled lowly, clenching her free hand and biting down on her bottom lip roughly.

"I have to go," Haruna forced out. Haruna didn't say another word nor did she wait for a response. She simply turned on her heels, making her way out of the room. She knew they would think she was being ‘rude’ for it but she didn’t care.

Haruna fought back the thoughts and feeling that were ravaging her body. She had to go find Rina now and there was no way Rina was seeing her like that. There was no way anyone would see her being so weak. She was never going to let someone see in her in that condition ever again, she wasn’t going to be so vulnerable like that.

Haruna quickly made her way to the back door, making sure to slip out of it quietly. Her eyes scanned yard illuminated by the setting sunlight. It didn't take her long to see the small fingertips coming from behind a cluster of bushes, picking at the grass.

The older girl smiled to herself, it was a wonder the places Rina found to hide. Haruna found her way over to the bush, pulling back the leaves and actually smiling when she saw Rina. Rina was laying on her stomach, her outstretched hands picking at the grass. Rina looked up at her, giving her a bright smile.

"I think you took my order too literally," Haruna noted. Rina giggled and jumped up to her feet. She brushed off her skirt before grabbing her bag and then Haruna's hand.

"Is everything all set?" Rina asked her. The younger girl could notice the way Haruna's eyes darkened before the older girl nodded her head.

"Yes. Make sure you stay close behind me. Don't stray and don't be seen." The tone of Haruna's voice sent chills down Rina's spine. It scared her; there was something so sinister about it. Rina could only nod in response; she didn't really feel like it would be right of her to say anything. Seeing her nod, Haruna gave Rina a tug and pulled her back into the house.

The young brunette did just as Haruna had told her. She stuck close to Haruna, pressing her body as much as she could get it against Haruna's. The two girls slinked through the house quietly, doing their best not to make a noise.

The two girls had nearly made it out of the kitchen when they could hear a shout, Haruna's heartbeat quickening when she heard it.

"I'll be right back, Daichi. Let me just grab something to drink." Haruna was panicking. Her aunt was coming right towards them and Rina was still with her.

The older girl did the only thing she could think of. She wrapped her hands around Rina's arms, roughly shoving her behind a counter. She could hear Rina whimper in pain. She could apologize for that later; she just couldn't let her aunt see Rina.

Haruna had hid Rina just on time. Seconds later, light flooded the room as her aunt turned on the kitchen lights. The elder woman raised an eyebrow when she saw Haruna in the kitchen.

"What are you doing in here?" Her aunt asked. Haruna noticed the tone; it was the same one she would use all those years ago.

"I just came to get something to eat. Why do you care?" Haruna answered simply.

"Don't you think it's a bit late for that?"

"It's only 7..." Haruna let her sentence trail off, knowing full well what was coming. This would always come. Her aunt approached her before speaking again.

"You really should watch your diet, Haruna. You're already becoming rather chubby." Haruna knew it. She knew the age-old insults weren't far off.

Her aunt patted her cheek before walking around her. Haruna stood perfectly still, glancing over at Rina. The young brunette was still pressed against the counters. She peered around the edge at the woman. Who was she? Rina knew who Haruna's mother was and that woman certainly was not it. The only thing Rina knew about that woman was that she didn't like the cruel way she spoke to Haruna.

The elder woman left the room without saying another word. Once she was gone, Haruna grabbed Rina's hand and pulled her off the floor, setting off immediately. Rina pressed herself close to Haruna again as the girls finished their quiet walk to Haruna's room. Once inside, Haruna lead Rina over to the bed and sat her down.

"Stay," Haruna ordered. She grabbed Rina's bag, taking it and her own over near the door. Rina frowned from the order; she always did hate it when Haruna talked to her like she was a dog. She knew it was just because Haruna was probably angry and not thinking straight but it didn't stop it from hurting.

Haruna quickly locked the door before she knelt down where she had set the bags. She dug through her bag, finding the cellphone she had been looking for.

"Haruna..."

"We need to find you some place to stay; I can't let you stay here anymore. I’m sorry." Rina was saddened by her words but she understood. She knew that woman must have something to do with it. Rina didn’t really want to leave knowing that woman was in the house. Even if she couldn’t do anything to help Haruna, she could still be there for her. If she left though, she couldn’t do that and she would have to leave Haruna alone with that woman.

Rina sat quietly as Haruna leaned herself up against the wall, scrolling through her phone. She hadn't been at it for long before there was a knock on her door, her body shooting off the wall. She tossed the phone onto her dresser, rushing over to Rina and grabbing her wrist. She pulled Rina over to the closet, hearing more whimpers of pain from her.

"I'm sorry, Rina," Haruna apologized lowly. She really wasn’t meaning to hurt Rina but she was panicking too much. Her aunt finding Rina is one thing that scared her the most about this whole situation. "Please hide in here, okay?" Haruna didn't give Rina a chance to protest before she pushed the young girl into the closest, closing it afterwards.

"Open this door!" Haruna heard a shout from the other side. Haruna made her way over to the door, unlocking it before sitting down on the bed.

The door pushed open and just as Haruna expected, her aunt came into the room, visibly upset with Haruna. The teenager expected that, she knew her aunt wouldn’t appreciate her having the door locked. Haruna would rather deal with her aunt’s anger though than risk her seeing and finding Rina.

"Don't ever lock the door again, you know how much I hate that," her aunt said roughly.

Haruna didn't respond. She crossed her arms over her chest, silently asking her aunt what she wanted from her. Even if she was scared, she wasn’t going to back down. She was not going to let herself revert back into some frightened child who couldn’t defend themselves. Haruna was not going to let her aunt make her weak like that again.

"You were very disrespectful to me tonight," her aunt started. She took a few steps closer to Haruna before continuing, "You know I don't tolerate such disrespect."

"Oh I'm sorry, must have slipped my mind," Haruna replied sarcastically. She could feel the regret mixing with her fear after she said that. If she kept speaking like that then she would really be in for it once her parents left. She couldn’t stop herself though; she wouldn't allow her fear to control her. She was not going to go back to being a spineless person. Never again.

"Don't speak to me like that," her aunt growled. "You always were such a brat. I thought we had taught you what your place was but I can see you've forgotten. I knew this would happen when we left. Your parents have spoiled you; you need to be put in your place again. Perhaps you need to be punished already."

Haruna could feel her blood run cold at the thought of it. Haruna didn't want to be scared; she shouldn't be scared of those childish punishments. She could easily stand up to those punishments she used to get. They should only scare a child but Haruna couldn't help it. The memories had come rushing back and she couldn’t stop the paralyzing fear.

"I'm afraid you’re a bit too big for it now though," her aunt mused. Haruna wanted to be thankful for that but she knew her aunt wasn't finished. That was only confirmed when her aunt continued to speak, "but I'm sure we can find a new cage for you."

Her aunt smiled when she saw the sheer terror on Haruna's face. She always did love to see the little brat become so scared. The memories flooded Haruna's mind. Her "cage" had been nothing more than a simple cabinet that her aunt and uncle would lock her in as a child. It was only one part of the punishments she had received as a child. She always hated it. She always hated being locked in the dark, begging and crying to be let out.

"Haruna, don't push us. Your parents may tolerate disrespect but we will not. We'll whip you into shape... Quite literally."

Haruna gulped at the words, the memories of all the moments her aunt and uncle had taken a belt to her as another "punishment" coming back as well. It was rarer than their other punishments but it was always one of the worst. Haruna wanted to say something. She wanted to rebuttal and say something sarcastic, but she couldn't. The fear she thought she had gotten rid of came back to her, ripping and tearing at her heart.

All it took as one woman to turn her back into the frightened girl she used to be. This woman was ruining everything she’d worked so hard over the years to achieve.

"Our talk is done. Goodnight, Haruna. Sleep well." Haruna could hear the laughing and mocking tone of her aunt’s voice. She knew her aunt was enjoying her terror and that made Haruna absolutely sick.

Her aunt turned to leave but just before she left the room, she turned back to Haruna with a smirk on her face. Haruna for a really bad feeling about that look. It was never a good sign when her aunt got that sick smirk on her face.

"Oh and I saw that girl you snuck up here. Get rid of her... Or I'll do it myself." Haruna growled lowly, her hands clenching. No, she was not going to stand for that. Her aunt could say and do anything she wanted to Haruna but when she involved someone like Rina… Haruna would never allow it.

"Get out of my room," Haruna growled out lowly. She could see the knowing smirk her aunt had gotten and Haruna knew she'd made a mistake. She had just admitted to sneaking someone up to her room. She was too angry to care, she was too focused on protecting Rina. Haruna would not let her aunt touch a hair on Rina's head. She would never let anyone hurt Rina.

"You've got ten minutes to get rid of that thing before I do." With the last threat, Haruna's aunt turned back around and walked out, leaving a partially fuming and partially scared Haruna behind. Once she saw that the woman was gone, Rina rushed out of the closest, wrapping her arms tightly around Haruna's waist. She couldn't ignore tense Haruna's body was.

Haruna sighed softly, turned around and wrapping her arms around Rina. She laid her head down onto Rina's chest, nuzzling softly.

"Haruna," Rina began softly, "Who was she? And what did she mean by your cage? What’s going on?"

Haruna's body stiffened, she should have expected those questions from Rina. She didn't want to respond though; this was something that Rina still didn't need to know the details of. Rina was too innocent. This didn’t involve her nor did it concern her, it was better she not know.

"Forget it, Rina. Let's just call Mami; she can help us find a place for you to stay."