Sukeban

“You’re late, Mami.”

The blonde in question grunted softly at the boss’ words while she shut the door behind her. She looked around the room, seeing the girls scattered about as usual. Her eyes stopped at Tomomi, she could instantly seeing the way the brunette was eyeing her. Tomomi couldn’t really be that mad at her, could she? She would need to find an excuse that would make this up to the girl.

From across the room, Haruna watched Mami carefully. She could see the way the blonde walked slowly and with a bit of a limp. She could see how Mami’s arms laid still at her sides, barely moving. It was always a sign of bad things when Mami didn’t move her arms much; she was always very animated with her arms. Seeing all of this, Haruna began to regret the words she had chosen to greet Mami with. It was just her style to greet people in such a way but there were certain times when Haruna regretted saying things like that and this looked to be one of those times.

She could see from the way that Mami moved that it had happened again. Haruna knew that somehow, someway, Mami’s mother had found time to beat the teenager again. It was all evident in how she moved. After all this time, after all the beatings Haruna had comforted Mami through, the boss had learned how to spot the signs of Mami attempting to hide the evidence of the abuse.

Mami made her way over to where Sumire and Tomomi sat only feet away from each other. She pushed her back against the wall, letting herself slid down onto the floor in between the two teenagers. She pulled her legs up to her chest, doing her best to conceal the pain this was all putting her through. She draped her arms over her legs and resisted the urge to sigh in relief. It felt so nice to finally not be moving anymore.

From beside her, Tomomi continued to eye the blonde. She could see it too. She could see how odd Mami was acting and she knew instantly that something was wrong. Tomomi didn’t know exactly what but after that call, she had her suspicions. She couldn’t come out about those suspicions though; Mami still didn’t know that Tomomi knew about her mother. Tomomi hadn’t found the courage to tell her yet.

“Now that we’re all here… I guess we can ask Mami that question we were planning,” Aina said being the first to speak. She paused and looked around the room; practically everyone, including Mami, was now looking at her and waiting for her to continue.

“Ask me what?” Mami prompted. She could hear how raspy the tone of her voice was and she hated it. Her voice was making it hard to keep this charade up. “Is it about Hana?”

“No. We will decide later what to do with her, we might have to wait until we’re all back in school to make our move. For now, there’s something a bit more recent that we need to discuss,” Haruna told her. Mami nodded her head and turned her attention back to Aina. If it didn’t have anything to do with Hana then what did it have to do with?

“Before I start, let me ask you this… Were you called into the principal’s office today?” Aina asked. Mami’s heart skipped a beat but she kept a calm composure. This was far too much to be a mere coincidence. A bad feeling was beginning to swirl in Mami’s body again.

“I did,” Mami answered finally. Aina nodded, a sour look crossing her face. The look Aina got and the look everyone else had at her answer didn’t give Mami a very good feeling.

“Then it’s just as I thought,” Aina said. Mami pursed her lips together, her confusion mounting at the answer Aina had given her. Just where was the older brunette getting at?

“How did you even know that I got called in?” Mami knew that Aina hadn’t specifically told her that she knew but the blonde was getting the sinking suspicion from Aina’s latest answer that she did indeed know that Mami had been called in despite none of them being in Mami’s class when it had happened.

“Because I got called in as well and so did Hinako.” Mami’s eyes snapped over to Hinako and the young black haired girl nodded her head to confirm Aina’s statement. “The principal also called Rina’s parents.” Aina finished her sentence with a bitter laugh; all the girls knew that the principal had called Aina thinking it was Rina’s mother.

“They called my parents as well,” Yukako said once Aina had finished talking. Mami’s body tensed up that much more at their words. It was becoming just as she feared. The reality of being thrown out of school may very well not be just her own reality but all of their realities.

“Did you get one too?” Mami asked and turned her attention to the boss. Haruna was situated only a few feet from her now, standing against the wall with Rina sitting cross legged beside her. Rina looked up at Haruna when Mami asked her question. The boss had her head bowed, a familiar emotionless look on her face.

“I don’t know,” Haruna began. Mami wanted to feel relief that she didn’t know but she knew, as well as everyone else in the room knew, that the possibility of Haruna having gotten a call as well was fairly high. “I left the house early this morning. At that time, no one had called. Between then and now, it is possible the principal called. I won’t know until I go home.”

Inside of her, Haruna didn’t want to go home. She knew the chances of her not getting a call were slim to none. She also knew that Madoka and Ken’ichi receiving a call about her flunking school would not go over well for her. She could only imagine the words Madoka would choose for her when she got home and the aftermath that would come once they were done yelling at her. None of that was a pleasant thought in the least bit.

“So what were the calls about?” Mami asked in a low tone that gave away how bad she was feeling about all of this. Aina sighed softly before deciding to continue; the others had elected her to discuss this with Mami after all.

“I think you should know, Mami. It was about our grades of course. We were all told the same thing. If we don’t pass the end of year exam, we’ll be thrown out of school. We need to get a decent score to stay in school.” Mami nodded her head, diverting her eyes to the ground. So it would seem that everyone except Sumire and Tomomi were in the exact same position. Everyone knew those two had near perfect grades.

“So what should we do?” Rina asked softly from where she sat. She had her legs stretched out in front of her, her arms draped over them and her legs picking at the uniform she still wore. Yukako had brought her clothes that she figured should fit Rina despite the height difference but Rina hadn’t had a chance to change her clothes yet.

“Should we even change what we’ve been doing? Would any of it be worth it?” Haruna asked. Haruna wasn’t planning on telling the girls what to do with this. This was something that their future hinged on and she wanted them to make their own decisions regarding. She could put in her input once they had all had their say. Hers would be the final say as the boss anyway.

“Maybe it wouldn’t,” Yukako started but she sighed softly, hanging her head. She had always expected this, she was sure they all had. None of them put any effort into school; none of them saw a reason to. “Why should we change what we’re doing? It’s not as if anyone actually believes we can do it.”

“It’s not like we’re ever going to be able to change either,” Mami finished the thoughts she knew Yukako was feeling. It was the thoughts they were all thinking. In many of them, they wanted to change – they wanted a change at redemption. No one believed it though. They didn’t believe redemption was possible for them and neither did most people in their lives. They were just lost causes that no one wanted to deal with.

“How can any of you say that?” The attention in the room was turned to the shy brunette who sat beside Mami. Her eyes had finally managed to take themselves off of Mami and they were now centered on the ground while her fingers picked at the hem of the skirt she wore.

“Do you have something you’d like to say, Tomomi?” Haruna knew that her tone was overly harsh with Tomomi but she still wasn’t feeling like being too pleasant with the nerdy girl. Tomomi had still betrayed them and she had still not made up for it. It may only have been a day since then but it didn’t change things. Tomomi still had to prove herself worthy again.

“You all sit here and talk down about yourselves… But have you ever tried thinking positively? Maybe you can change.”

“No one really believes in us, Tomomi,” Yukako cut her off, “We’re not like you. We don’t have our parents’ support… We don’t have any support.”

“And that’s enough of a reason? Even if people don’t believe in you, why roll over and let them win? Why let them be right?” Tomomi didn’t know where all of these words were coming from. She wasn’t even really thinking as she said them, she was just saying them on a whim. She said whatever came to her heart; maybe a part of her was just tired of hearing the way these girls badmouthed themselves like this. “You’d all be capable of a lot if you applied yourselves.”

“We still have no support—” Mami began but found herself cut off by a still rambling Tomomi.

“That’s not true. You do have support. You have each other, don’t you? Isn’t that support?” Haruna couldn’t stop the smile that came to her. This nerd might be an annoyance and a frustration but Haruna had to admit that she was a wise person. None of them had thought about it in the same light that Tomomi had.

“Tell me something, Tomomi,” Haruna said suddenly, “If we do agree to try and pass these tests… How do you propose we do it? We can’t very well prepare ourselves for the test.” Haruna could appreciate Tomomi’s wise words but she still didn’t have to accept them, she could still challenge Tomomi about her words.

“I will,” Tomomi answered.

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll tutor you. I’ll help you all study and get ready to pass these exams.” Haruna chuckled lowly at the brunette’s statement. And the naïve nerd was back. So much for being a wise person, Haruna was taking back having ever thought that about Tomomi. Whenever she did, Tomomi just proved once again how truly naïve she was.

“You’re expecting to get all six of us prepared for the largest test of the year in just four months?” Haruna asked her in a tone that spoke clearly about how much she didn’t believe in Tomomi.

“I am.”

“You really think you can do that?” At this point, Tomomi wanted to shrink back into the wall at the harsh was Haruna was talking to her. She knew Haruna was still mad at her but the sarcastic and belittling tone she was using was going a bit far in Tomomi’s opinion. It was really rubbing the brunette the wrong way; she was only trying to help them. Why did Haruna have to treat her like this?

“Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t. I have to try though… You all have to try. It’s either try or get expelled. Do you really want to be expelled?” The boss drew in a sharp breath at Tomomi’s words, resisting the urge to show how worried she was. She fought herself tooth and nail to keep the emotionless look on her face.

“Very well, Tomomi. You can attempt to tutor us and prepare us for this test.” Despite Haruna’s words, Tomomi knew the boss didn’t believe she could do it. She got the feeling the others didn’t believe in her either but she didn’t care. She was going to do this no matter who did or didn’t believe in her. She was going to help the people who had become close friends to her.

Tomomi knew she may have very well taken on Mission Impossible but she wanted to give these girls a chance at redemption.

***

“What happened to you last night, Haruna?” Mami asked softly. Mami and the boss were outside of the building now; Haruna leaned up against the outside of the building and Mami standing just a few feet in front of her. Haruna had claimed to want to come out here for some fresh air and Mami followed her; it was the perfect time to talk about what had happened at Haruna’s house last night.

“Nothing happened,” Haruna said with a shrug. She crossed her arms over her chest, the black jacket she wore stretching against her skin from the action. Haruna glanced up at Mami but instantly looked down when she saw the disapproving look.

“We both know that’s a lie. I saw you and I know that you know I saw you. Why wouldn’t Madoka let me see you? What did she do to you?” Mami knew it would take pushing and pushing to get Haruna to confess up but Mami was prepared to do that. She would push Haruna to her limits and do her best to get the truth out of the boss. Even if she was running the risk of Haruna hauling off and hitting her soon, she was prepared to take the risk of a fight.

“Nothing happened,” Haruna repeated herself. “Just forget what you saw yesterday.”

“I can’t forget,” Mami responded in a hard tone. “I saw the fear in your eyes, Haruna. Even from the small second, I could see it. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen you be afraid of anything? The last time I remember that is the night you…”

“Stop it,” Haruna growled through gritted teeth. She would not allow Mami to bring that night up again. That was years ago and Haruna wanted to leave it in the past. That same day she killed and buried the weak and spineless person she used to be. She didn’t intend to ever bring it up again.

“No, I’m not going to stop it. I want you to confide in me again.” Mami had gotten spoiled from the time Haruna had told her about Madoka and Ken’ichi coming back. Now that Haruna had started confiding in her again as she once had, Mami didn’t intend to let Haruna hold herself back again so easily.

“There’s nothing to say. What you saw was a mistake and you need to forget it.” Mami’s body stiffened from the words. How many times had she said that to Haruna and the others when talking about her own mother? Now she was finally understanding how the lot of them must feel whenever Mami tells them to simply forget the abuse.

“I don’t want to forget,” Mami said in a weakened tone. It was almost as if their roles had flipped. Now Mami was on the side of the helpless friend while Haruna suffered as the helplessly abused teenager.

“Even if I did tell you what happened last night, what good would it do? It’s like you always say about your mother, Mami. You can’t do anything to fix my problems, I have to deal with it and it’s not your concern…”

“Forget what I’ve said!” Mami shouted suddenly. Haruna cringed from the shout but quickly gained her composure. She shot Mami a warning glare for the shout but the blonde refused to back down. If she led Haruna to striking her then so be it, Mami wasn’t going to stop pushing just yet. “What my mother does to me is nothing compared to what they do to you.”

“So what? It still can’t be stopped.” Mami desperately wanted to counter Haruna’s depressing words, but she had nothing to counter it with. Haruna was right. There wasn’t anything Mami could do to stop the abuse Haruna was going through. “Besides, it’s only three weeks left. I can handle it.”

“Haruna, you don’t have to handle this on your own. You have us.” Haruna laughed softly and shook her head. As much as she appreciated the offer, Mami was wrong. She did have to handle this on her own. She refused to let anyone else get involved and get hurt because of her.

“I think you should worry about yourself first before you worry about me,” Haruna said and pointed towards Mami’s shoulder. The blonde looked down, seeing that a small tip of a bruise on her shoulder was peeking out from where the shirt had slid down. She quickly pulled it up to hide the bruise and Haruna shook her head. “Let’s just go back inside now.”

***

Haruna led Rina into the room, letting the brunette step further in than she had. The boss closed the door behind them and threw the latch over it for extra security. Once it was secure, she walked to Rina’s side and laced her hands with her girlfriend’s. Rina looked over at Haruna with a small smile on her face but Haruna could see the truth. She could see the worry and fear sparkling in Rina’s eyes. She knew the thought of staying here alone tonight was scaring Rina.

They didn’t have a choice though. If Haruna could stay with Rina here tonight then she would but she simply couldn’t. Rina would have to tough it out in the motel room alone for the night. The two girls had barely enough money to cover the cost of the room alone. While everyone else was busy at school, Haruna put the three suspended girls to work making money. With Yukako’s arm still held up in a sling, she wasn’t much use but Haruna knew Yukako had done her best.

The girls didn’t make much money for what they’d managed to take and sell but it was just enough to cover the costs of the room for one night. If Rina still needed a place to stay tomorrow, Haruna would figure out how to get the money for that sooner rather than later.

Rina had offered to call Omar but Haruna had promptly shot down that suggestion. She couldn’t have Rina calling that cop too often or he’d get suspicious, and suspicious cops always caused trouble. She knew, ultimately, that Rina would probably be safer at Omar’s than at this dingy motel but she couldn’t take the risk of Rina being taken away. No matter where she turned, there was a risk to take and Haruna decided this one was most acceptable one.

“Do you really have to leave tonight?” Rina asked softly. Haruna forced out a small smile before leaning forward and giving her a gentle kiss. She wrapped her arms around Rina’s waist, pushing the two girls’ bodies together.

“I’m sorry, Rina. I know you want me to stay but I can’t. This is just for one night and then we’ll find someone else for you to stay with,” Haruna told her calmly with a monotone voice. Rina wanted to object and point out that she still had Omar’s phone number but even she knew how that would upset Haruna. She had already tried that earlier and Haruna had already reacted badly to it.

“I’m scared…” Haruna nodded her head, giving Rina another kiss before speaking again.

“I know but I promise you that nothing bad will happen to you here. You’re safe tonight,” Haruna reassured her. The boss broke away from Rina, dropping her hands from Rina’s body. “Go take a shower; you could probably use one, couldn’t you?”

“Will you still be here when I get back?” Rina asked softly, fiddling with the clothes that she held in her hand. She would have to remember to thank Yukako for lending her these at a later date; she didn’t really get the chance to before.

“Of course I will,” Haruna confirmed. Rina nodded her head before turning around and slowly making her way into the bathroom.

When Rina shut the door behind her, Haruna went and sat on the edge of the bed. She sighed softly, looking down at the tan carpeting of the motel room. This place looked just as bad on the inside as it had on the outside, but Haruna and Rina couldn’t afford anything better.

This was just for one night; Haruna believed that. This had been going on for days now; at some point the world had to stop throwing them curve balls and give them a break. They would find Rina a place to stay soon, Haruna just had to keep pushing forward and improvising until then.

Haruna groaned softly and flopped herself down onto the bed, her arms spreading out onto the comforter and her hair splaying out behind her. How had they done it? All these months, they had kept Rina safely off the streets. Was it just luck that one of their parents had always been away whenever Rina needed it? Or was their some trick that Haruna and the others had suddenly forgotten?

Perhaps their luck really had just run out.

If that was the case, Haruna hated the world even more. Rina didn’t deserve this. If anyone in their group didn’t deserve this kind of life, it was Rina. Aside from a few thefts, she had never done anything too terribly wrong. She was a good and decent person but she had so many problems thrown at her. Haruna was fully convinced that if she and the others didn’t meet Rina when they had, the young brunette might not be around in the world still.

The boss didn’t have much longer to be alone with her thoughts before she heard the bathroom door creak open. Her body shot up and she looked at the door to see Rina emerge from the bathroom. The brunette was still drying her hair as she approached Haruna. Once she was done, she tossed the towel to the floor before crawling up on the bed.

She laid down, patting the spot next to her. Haruna laughed softly but crawled up on the bed as well, laying down next to Rina. She opened her arms and beckoned for Rina to crawl over to her. The younger girl was more than happy to. She cuddled up next to Haruna, pressing the two girls together as much as she could while Haruna wrapped her arms around Rina’s body.

Haruna brought a hand up, running it through Rina’s wet, dark hair before beginning to rub her back gently. Rina laid her head down against Haruna’s chest, her eyes fluttering open and closed. Even after getting a decent night of sleep at Aina’s house last night, Rina was still exhausted.

Rina was so desperate for sleep that she had fallen into unconsciousness in no time. Haruna knew when she had fallen asleep by the way her body relaxed and soon went limp in her grasp. Haruna looked down at her, she had fulfilled her promise. The promise was to stay with Rina until she fell asleep. Now that she had, it was time for Haruna to leave.

She didn’t want to leave but she knew she had to. If she didn’t return home tonight, Madoka and Ken’ichi would surely punish her again. It sickened Haruna to the core. She was leaving Rina alone tonight because she was letting those two control her. It was hard not to though. All those years of telling herself to stop being scared meant nothing when put in front of the very people who struck sheer terror in Haruna’s heart. Haruna simply couldn’t handle another night of being locked outside so soon after the last one. She at least wanted to let her body heal some before she did something to anger the two of them again. Once some of the pain was gone, she could withstand more again.

Haruna slowly let go of Rina, maneuvering the covers out from beneath her before pulling them over Rina’s body. Haruna fetched her bag and pulled out her cellphone and the remaining money. She set them down on the end table before leaning over at giving Rina a kiss on the forehead. She pushed the bag back over her shoulder before sighing softly. It was time to go.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Rina,” she murmured softly to the sleeping girl’s form.