Sukeban

Mami sighed heavily and ran her tired fingers through her messy blonde locks. The uniform skirt she wore flowed around her legs while she rubbed the back of her sore neck. She always hated the second day. The immediate aftermath of the beatings always did a number of Mami, but it was usually the day after that was even worse. Once Mami sufficiently slept it off for the night, the soreness and tenderness would always set in overnight. She would wake up in more pain than she had gone to sleep in. After a few days, the pain would slowly die down and disappear. It was just a matter of enduring it until she did.

By her side was Tomomi. The blonde had picked up her brunette companion just as she had promise. This would be the last day Mami would come pick her up of course, Tomomi would be back in school by tomorrow and then they could just walk over together with everyone else. Tomomi would be enjoying the silent time with Mami if it wasn’t for Mami’s troubling behaviors. The way she kept shifting as she walked and kept rubbing her neck were only confirming Tomomi’s fears that her mother must have done something to her. It was possible Mami’s obvious soreness was from a fight, but wouldn’t the others know if Mami had been in a fight without them? Even still, Tomomi hoped it was a simple fight with one of her peers and not a fight with her mother.

While the duo walked along, Tomomi searched her mind, looking for something to say. What did she say though? She couldn’t come out and tell Mami she knew her mother had hit her; that would be the definition of awkward. But she didn’t have anything else to say if she didn’t outright confess to Mami about knowing what was probably the blonde’s darkest secret. She could pass it off by assuming Mami had gotten into a fight but the last time she did that, she swore it seemed like she hurt Mami’s feelings by assuming that. She didn’t want to hurt the blonde again.

No matter which way Tomomi turned, it seemed like she was at a loss. It was killing her to stay silent and not comfort Mami but if she did try, she would have to either confess or spill the secret that she knew. The brunette couldn’t help the soft sigh that left her. She was always so useless; she never seemed to be able to help anyone despite how much she would want to help.

“So who are you planning to start tutoring first?” Mami asked, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen between the two women. Tomomi looked over at her quickly, her feet shuffling nervously, nearly making her trip. Tomomi’s plan was to tutor the easiest girls first but as she thought about it, she realized… None of them were going to make this easy on her.

“I’m not sure,” Tomomi answered truthfully. “I guess whoever wants to start first, we can start with.”

“Would you be interested in starting with me?” Tomomi’s footsteps stopped for a brief second but she managed to pick them up quickly, praying Mami didn’t see the falter in her steps. From the way the blonde continued to look forward and didn’t glance at her, Tomomi thought it was safe to say that Mami hadn’t noticed. But she knew she better answer soon or else the blonde would at least notice something was up.

“I wouldn’t mind starting with you if you’re okay with it,” Tomomi answered as calmly as she could. She didn’t even know where she was going to begin with this tutoring, especially not with Yukako and Haruna. They were both a year ahead of her, how was she supposed to get them ready for their exams? She hadn’t thought of that in her moment of courage. Everyone always told her courage was good to have but right now, after her impromptu moment, she was really regretting having any courage at all.

“Well I figured it would be best for you to start with someone you’re comfortable around, you know? Maybe it’ll be easier to do the others in that case,” Mami said. She paused her words, the ones she had just spoken hitting her. She only assumed Tomomi was comfortable around her. “You are comfortable around me… Right?”

“Of course!” Tomomi said quickly. Mami didn’t know if that was the truth or a lie. Tomomi sounded honest enough and she was a fairly honest person, but she was also an easily scared person. Would she have the courage to tell Mami she wasn’t comfortable around her when Mami asked? The blonde didn’t really know the answer to that.

“Then I guess we’ve got that settled,” Mami told her with a smile. Tomomi nodded her head in agreement, a silence falling between them again as they continued to the meeting place.

***

“How exactly did the two of you make it here before we did?” Mami asked Aina and Hinako as she crossed the room with Tomomi in tow. Usually those two were the last ones to arrive at the meeting place because they always had to pick Sumire up from school. Yet somehow today, they had managed to beat Tomomi and Mami here. Mami really did think the two of them had been walking that terribly slow.

“You two are just slow,” Aina said as if it were an obvious thing. She grinned when Mami shot her a glare for her sarcastic response. The blonde huffed softly, leading Tomomi over to one of the unoccupied tables in the room.

She sat down without a sound, watching quietly as Tomomi sat on the other side of the table from her. The brunette’s eyes darted down instantly while she sat her bag on the floor before beginning to pick at the skirt she wore. Mami let her eyes trail away from the nervous brunette, beginning to look around the room.

She saw Aina and Hinako situated up against the wall, a soft chatter going on between the two girls. Sumire and Rina were teaming up to beat Yukako in probably what was a card game the two youngest members had thought up themselves. Haruna was…. Where was she? Mami scanned the room again and sure enough, there was no sign of the mouthy boss.

“Does anyone know where Haruna is?” Mami found herself asking impulsively. She looked around at the others to see that they were all staring in her direction now. They broke their gazes away from her, moving them around the room to check and see if Mami was right about Haruna’s lack of presence.

“Now that you mention it…” Aina began, her voice low with thought. “None of us have seen her. She didn’t come with any of us so we assumed she would come with you and Tomomi but… She didn’t. We don’t know where she might be.”

Mami pursed her lips together, her eyes looking down at the ground. They may not know where Haruna was but she knew. She knew all too well what was keeping Haruna from them again. She didn’t know why she didn’t expect this. She knew Madoka and Ken’ichi were back; with Haruna most likely having gotten a call from the principal, how had she not seen expected this sooner?

“Rina, you were with Haruna last, right? She took you to that motel. What did you two do there?” Hinako asked. Mami looked over at the brunette to see her sitting stoically in the chair now, her eyes looking down at the bland ground.

“Haruna did take me to the motel. She told me she wasn’t going to stay in the room with me though because she had to do something for her parents.” Mami clenched her fists at Rina’s words. The words were only confirming the fears that the blonde student held. “The last thing I remember is falling asleep next to her. By the time I woke up in the morning, Haruna was gone. She left her phone and some money with me but that was it. That’s all I know.”

“This is strange,” Yukako spoke up now. “This is twice in such a short time that Haruna has disappeared on us. I don’t get it, she never did this before. Why is she starting something like this all of a sudden?”

“That’s a good question, Yukako,” Hinako agreed with the nod of her head. Tomomi had been watching the exchange between the girls until she heard Mami let out a rough stream of breath. She glanced over at Mami, her eyes widening when she saw how tightly Mami was clenching her hands into fists. Without warning, the blonde shoved herself off the ground, startling Tomomi.

“I’m going to her house,” she said in a rough voice. Mami grabbed her bag harshly, ignoring the pain that whipped through her body from the action. As she turned to leave, she was stopped by a shout.

“I’m going too!” Mami turned around, her eyes connecting with the watery and determined ones of Rina. Mami sighed softly and shook her head.

“Stay here, Rina. I’ll bring Haruna back safely but you need to stay here.”

“No. Haruna is my girlfriend and I’m worried about her.” Rina drew in a sharp breath, closing her eyes briefly while she steadied herself. She snapped her eyes open, a hard look in them that surprised Mami. “I know I’m weak and I know in most cases, I’m useless. But if Haruna is in trouble and there’s something – anything – I can do to help her, I want to try. You have to take me with you, Mami. I’m not going to stay here.”

“Rina…”

“Don’t try to talk me out of it, Mami. It’s not going to work.” An awkward silence began to flow into the room before Mami chuckled softly. She shook her head before looking back at Rina and smiled at her.

“So now you decide to finally grow a backbone, huh?” Mami asked. Rina jumped back a bit, her eyes widening. She didn’t quite know how to react to that or what to say to it. “Fine, you can come with, Rina… But you need to listen to everything I say. No going rogue on me.”

“Of course!” Rina said happily. She grabbed her bag, making her way quickly over to Mami’s side. The blonde sighed softly but turned on her heels, motioning for Rina to follow her. She had intended this to be a quick in and out type of thing but now that she had Rina with her, she had a feeling that would be harder.

She knew she couldn’t just leave Rina here though and leave her to worry. She would just have to overcome the minor setback.

***

“Stay close to me,” Mami said as the two women approached the front door of Haruna’s house. Rina nodded her head despite Mami not being able to see it and the blonde could feel her inch even closer. They stopped just outside the door and Mami took in a deep breath before knocking loudly on the door.

Seconds passed and the door went unanswered. Just when Mami was going to try knocking again, the lock clicked and the door was slowly pulled open. The door opened to reveal a woman that was growing familiar to Mami all over again. She had changed a lot but Mami could recognize those facial features. She knew this woman was Madoka.

“How can I help you two?” the woman said as she smiled sweetly at Rina and Mami. Rina whimpered softly and hid behind Mami. She recognized this black haired woman. She knew it was the same woman from that night – the same one who had threatened Haruna in such a way that sent chills through Rina’s body.

“We were wondering if we could see Haruna. Is she home?” Mami asked in the politest way she could. It burned her throat to speak so nicely to Madoka. She knew this woman was hurting Haruna in some way and she hated that she had to keep up a front of not knowing to protect Haruna. Kindness was the last thing Madoka deserved.

“I’m afraid Haruna is a bit busy, she isn’t going to be able to come out and speak with you. Perhaps another day, yes?” Mami could see that Madoka was turned to leave, thinking she had turned the two teenagers away. The student was quick to act in stopping her.

“Surely she can spare five minutes. We just need to ask her something about school. It’s for a project, it’s important to our grades.”

“A project, you say? Quite interesting indeed!” Madoka said in a happy tone, giving Mami a bright smile. “What project is it?” Mami’s eyes widened. She hadn’t thought this far through, she hadn’t expected Madoka to actually ask her what type of project it was.

“Well… It’s a project for…uhm… It’s a project for science,” Mami said as quickly as she could. She could see Madoka’s eyes narrow at her before she laughed softly.

“How sweet. I’m afraid Haruna really can’t speak with anyone right now though. Her parents are being quite strict with her these days. She’ll be back in school soon though; you can speak her then surely. Or maybe even tomorrow if she and her parents complete their task. For now, she can’t. I think you should leave.”

Rina shivered from the low way that the woman had said her last words. It was still said in the polite and cheerful tone but Rina could hear the underlying darkness of the words. Something wasn’t right about the way she had said them; something wasn’t right about this at all.

“Madoka…” Mami had said the only word before her eyes widened and she stopped herself immediately. Damn it. How could she slip up like that? Without even thinking about it, she had given it away that she knew who Madoka was. She shouldn’t know who this woman was. It wasn’t like her to speak without thinking like that around such a sensitive person.

“How do you know my name?” Madoka asked in a darkened tone. Mami hardened her stance, her eyes narrowing a bit. Madoka sighed softly and shook her head. “No matter. Our discussion here is done, young ladies. Haruna can’t come out, it’s best you go home. No sense in waiting around for her today.”

Before Rina or Mami could react, Madoka had closed the door and the two teenagers had heard the door lock. Mami growled lowly. If Haruna got hurt now, it was going to be all her fault because she had lost control of her mouth for one single second. She shook her head, quickly hurrying off the steps.

“Rina, go wait across the street for me. I’ll only be a second,” Mami said. She turned around, rushing around the side of the house. It wasn’t long before she heard the footsteps following her but it didn’t surprise her. Of course Rina wasn’t going to just leave like Mami had told her to. She didn’t even know why she had bothered.

The duo made their way around the house to the first window; the one that both girls knew would look into the living room. They kept their bodies ducked, Rina trailing behind Mami. The blonde student got closest to the window while Rina stayed tightly behind her. Mami raised her body a bit, just enough so her eyes peered over the edge of the window sill. Rina slowly came over to her side, copying Mami’s actions.

Together, the two of them looked around the living room and it didn’t take the duo long before their eyes fell onto what they knew was Haruna. She sat up against the couch with her back pressed tightly against the material and her legs brought up to her chest. Her arms were wrapped around her legs and her face was buried in them. Both of the teenagers who spied in through the window were shocked; neither girl could remember the last time they had seen Haruna look like that.

“Haruru, we need to have a talk.” The duo’s attention snapped over in the direction of the voice just in time to see Madoka make her way into the living room, a coffee mug held in her hand. She took a small sip as she crossed the room, coming to stand in front of Haruna. The boss raised her head and Mami’s eyes widened.

“Whoa.” Even from this distance, she could see the puffiness around Haruna’s eyes. She’d been crying and Mami knew it had been fairly heavily if she could see the signs of it from this far away.

“Oh, Haruru. What’s wrong? Were you crying? Poor baby,” Madoka said in a child-like tone as she cocked her head to the side. Through the small crack in the window, Mami could hear what sounded like Haruna scoff and turn her head to the side.

“You wish I was crying,” Haruna shot back at her. Mami gave a weak smile. She knew Haruna had to know that it was obvious she had been crying and yet, she still had the will to fight back. She really did have a lot of courage in her.

“Don’t lie, darling. It doesn’t make me happy.” Mami wanted to shiver from the way Madoka had said those words; she knew even the boss was probably feeling fear from it. “Your friends were here just now.”

“What?” Haruna murmured softly, looking back up at Madoka. The older woman smiled, taking another sip of the coffee.

“They were. They said they wanted to speak to you about a school assignment. You know what’s funny though?” Madoka paused her sentence, the smile on her face dropped into a displeased glare. “That little blonde rat knew my name. How would she know that?”

“I don’t know.” Mami could barely hear Haruna’s response from how low she had grumbled it. The blonde could feel her heartbeat quickening; she knew what was going to come and it was her fault. If only she had continued to keep control of herself…

“I don’t think that’s the truth, Haruna. In fact, I know that’s not the truth. You told someone, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t tell anyone, Madoka.” The elder woman in question scoffed and rolled her eyes. She turned her back to Haruna, taking in a deep breath and taking another small drink. What an impossible little brat.

“Haruna, you need to tell me the truth. I know you’re lying and lying isn’t okay. No one ever likes a liar, you know.”

“I think you ought to know that better than me, don’t you, Madoka? After all, you’re such a grand liar about everything,” Haruna snapped at her. Madoka growled lowly before whipping around.

“What did you just say to me?!” Madoka yelled. On impulse, Madoka threw the cup she’d been holding at Haruna. Haruna’s eyes widened and she instinctively raised an arm to protect her head. The cup hit her arm but the hot liquid held within in it spilled over her arm, a decent amount landing on her face.

Haruna raised her hands to her face, recoiling further against the couch as the burning pain from the liquid began to set in. Her body started to shake softly, her nails digging into her face from the pain. She bit down on her lip, willing herself not to make any pained sounds. She knew that’s what Madoka wanted to hear from her. She could hear Madoka sigh heavily before feeling the woman touch her arm lightly.

“Look at what you made me do, Haruna. If you had only been good, I wouldn’t have gotten so upset with you,” Madoka told her gently. She grabbed onto one of Haruna’s wrists, forcing it away from her face. Haruna growled lowly, doing her best to growl at Madoka. The woman made a clicking sound with her tongue when she saw how red Haruna’s face was now. “Ken’ichi, get me a towel for Haruna please.”

Still outside the window, Mami could hear Rina choke back a sound that sounded like a whimper. She reached out an arm, wrapping it around Rina’s body and pulling them close. The blonde shushed her softly, praying she stayed quiet so the two of them wouldn’t get caught. This is why she didn’t want Rina coming with, she knew Rina wouldn’t be able to handle seeing Haruna go through this if it truly was happening to her.

The duo watched helplessly as Haruna and Madoka sat side by side, Haruna cradling her scalding face in her hands. Ken’ichi came back with the towel, handing it to Madoka. Madoka pulled one of Haruna’s hands away, attempting to dab at her face but Haruna wouldn’t allow it. She snatched the towel out of Madoka’s hands, scooting away from her before softly touching the soft towel to her burning face. She relished the feeling of how nice the dampened towel felt against the liquid that had seeped into her skin.

“You’re lucky that was just lukewarm coffee, Haruna. It could have been much hotter. Next time you sass me like that, it might just end up being hotter,” Madoka said as she pushed herself to her feet. She wiped her hands on her pants, sighing as she looked down at the cowering teenager. “This wouldn’t keep happening if you just knew how to be good. That mouth of yours makes me so angry. This really is only your fault, Haruna.”

“Shut up.” Madoka clicked her tongue and shook her head. This child really did have a thick skull; it was taking forever to get any sense into this girl’s head.

“Are you ready to tell me the truth, Haruru? It’s really quite an easy thing to do. Things will end better for you as well if you do tell me the truth,” Madoka told her. “You know I’m not happy with you for those scores of yours in school. Lying to me is making me even less happy with you, and you know what happens when I’m not happy with you.”

Haruna’s body froze, the rubbing motion of her hands coming to a full stop. She slowly lowered the towel, her face feeling a lot better from the cooling sensation the dampened towel had brought her. She looked up at Madoka, her eyes devoid of any emotion while she stared at her tormentor.

“You know I don’t want you telling anyone what goes on in this house. People simply wouldn’t understand why we need to do this for you. Everything we do is for your own good, Haruna. None of this would happen if you were just good but you’re not. You’re a bratty child who needs to be taught a lesson. The fact you’re sitting here and lying to me is only proof you’ve not learned a damn thing. But we will turn you into a better person, Haruru darling. You need to be honest with us though.”

“I didn’t tell anyone.” Madoka sighed heavily, squeezing the bridge of her nose. She threw her hand back down to her side before bending down and grabbing one of Haruna’s upper arms. She yanked the brunette off the ground, the teenager wincing from the force of it and dropping the towel in the process.

“You’re going to stick with this, aren’t you?” Madoka asked her in a low and menacing tone. She paused and waited for Haruna to respond but the teenager never did. She kept her lips pursed, her eyes trained on the ground. Madoka shook her head in defeat before giving Haruna a rough yank.

Haruna’s body stumbled forward but she didn’t try to fight the constant pulls and yanks that moved her along. She knew what was coming and she knew she was powerless to stop it. She had always been powerless to stop it.

From outside, Mami and Rina watched Haruna get drug along before her injured body was thrown forward, the closet door being closed and locked behind her. Rina whimpered softly and Mami tightened her grip. She pushed herself away from the window, forcing Rina with her. She led the reluctant girl away from the house as quietly as she could. They couldn’t stay any longer; Rina’s tears would give them away if they did. She wanted to help Haruna but with Rina in near hysterics, she couldn’t keep Rina safe and save Haruna at the same time. She had to make a choice and she knew Haruna would ultimately want her to choose to keep Rina safe.

Once safely a few houses down on the sidewalk, Mami stopped walking and turned to face Rina. She gave Rina a sad smile when she saw the tears shining in the young girl’s eyes. Rina whimpered again, walking closer to Mami. The blonde wrapped her arms around Rina, giving her a hug. She knew her hugs wouldn’t feel the same as Haruna’s did but right now, Mami was all Rina had.

“I’m sorry I let you see that,” Mami apologized softly.

“Why are they doing that to her? I-I don’t understand…” Rina choked out. Mami shushed her softly, beginning to rub her back slowly. The two girls stayed like that for minutes. It made Mami uncomfortable to be showing so much emotion in public but she knew Rina needed it; she would have to deal with it for Rina. The silence between the girls continued until Mami’s phone rang. She slowly let Rina go before answering it.

“Hello?”

“Mami? Are you two okay? You’ve been gone a long time; they wanted me to check up on you…” Mami smiled when she heard Tomomi’s unsure voice. She was so sweet and simple.

“Yeah. We’re fine, Tomo.” Mami was doing her best to control her tone but she knew her tone was giving it away that something was wrong. She was unable to control herself though. The images of what they’d seen Madoka do had been burned into her mind. She couldn’t forget it and she couldn’t forgive Madoka for hurting Haruna like that. Mami just felt so utterly useless.

“I’m glad to hear that.” The tone Tomomi had used made it evident that she did notice Mami’s own tone. “Are you two coming back here?”

“Why don’t we…. Why don’t Rina and I go to your house? We need to start studying and it’ll be easier over there, right? We’ll be gone before your parents come home.” Mami knew that at the moment, going back there was not something Rina or she needed. She certainly didn’t need Rina breaking and telling Haruna’s secret to the other girls.

“Are you sure? I-I-I mean my house is kind of far and are you sure that you want to study?” Mami smiled at the scared way Tomomi was speaking. What was it about this girl that Mami found so utterly cute and irresistible?

“I’m sure, Tomo. Just meet us at your house, okay?”

“O-okay!” Tomomi agreed quickly. The two girls exchanged their goodbyes and Mami locked her phone, pushing it back into her bag. She turned to Rina, giving the brunette her best smile.

“Come on, let’s go.” Rina nodded and Mami turned on her feet. She could feel Rina wrap her arms around Mami’s right arm and the blonde sighed softly. The things she would do to keep Rina happy.

As the two girls set off, Mami’s mind began to wander. Not only did she have to worry about Haruna but now, thanks to her idea, she had to worry about hiding the girls’ distress from Tomomi.