. [ # 06 ]
"What is the bus Haru's supposed to take in order to get home?" Haru asked herself as she stood alone at the bus stop outside the Disney shop. She raised her head and checked the bus schedules attached to metal pole. "Ah. . . Haru don't remember." Haru pouted as she buried her face into the Donald Duck stuffed toy she was hugging in her embrace that was half the size she was.
'How? What should Haru do?' Haru looked up from the fur and sighed heavily.
Just then, her eyes caught a familiar figure on the street. Tightening her grip around the stuff toy in her embrace, Haru began to pick up her speed and chased after the figure wobbly. The Donald Duck that she was carrying was blocking half of her vision, and was interfering with her ability to run properly without tripping forward. "Onee-chan?" Haru called out as loudly as she could.
The figure meters away from her made no response. "Onee-chan?" Haru called out again, a little bit louder than before. That had successfully attracted attention of a couple of passer-by on the street by not the target of her call.
'That was the Onee-chan Mama brought back home on Haru's birthday, isn't that so?' Haru thought silently in her mind, trying to reconfirm the identity of the lady she was chasing after.
"Onee-chan!" Haru called out for the third time and had succeeded in attracting the attention of her target. She slowed down her steps and puffed a couple of deep breaths, trying to bring in extra oxygen into her system.
"Are you calling me?" Ai asked as she turned around to the source of the call, only to come face to face with the face of the Donald Duck. "Who?" Ai questioned quietly.
"Hai! It's Haru calling Onee-chan!" Haru huffed between her breaths. She shifted the stuffed toy a little lower, revealing the features of an adolescence.
"Do I know you?" Ai asked as she raised an eyebrow, looking intensively at Haru.
"Onee-chan does not remember Haru?" Haru pouted as counter-questioned Ai, resulting a frown to be formed on Ai's face.
"Do I know you?" Ai asked again.
"Onee-chan had been to Haru's home before and slept on Haru's bed. Onee-chan don't remember?" Haru continued.
"I've been to your house?" Ai repeated.
"You know Haru's Mama, don't you? If not Mama won't bring you back home." Haru added on as she pressed her lips together and stared at Ai with her slight teary eyes.
"Mama?" Ai repeated again as she searched her memories for any matched situation to what the little one before her had claimed. "Ah! That Gaki!" Ai exclaimed.
"Gaki? Haru's not a brat." Haru responded as she looked away from Ai's eyes and shifted her attention down on the Donald stuffed toy she was hugging onto. Tears were starting to brim at the corner of her eyes. A single tear began to slide down her cheek and lingered at the edge of her chin.
"I'm not talking about you." Ai panicked a little, after sensing the sudden change of Haru's emotion. "It's . . . It's . " Ai stuttered.
'What should I say ? What is she doing alone on the streets anyway?' Haru made no response to Ai. She continued to stare intensely on the stuffed toy.
"Say, what are you doing alone on the streets?" Ai tried to asked.
'Where's that Gaki?' Ai continued thinking in her mind as she glanced around her surroundings. Haru remained as quiet as she was. "If you are not speaking, I'm leaving." Ai continued as she observed the reaction of the girl before her.
Upon hearing that Ai was going to leave, Haru panicked. "Don't." Haru blurted out as looked up immediately.
"What are you doing alone on the streets, little one?" Ai asked again.
"Haru had forgotten which bus Haru should take to go home. Can Onee-chan help Haru?" Haru explained.
"Huh?" Ai shot her eyes big open and looked at Haru.
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"Tadaima." Risa called out in the mist of darkness. Risa had just returned home from work, expecting that the house would be brightly illuminated, with an overly excited daughter running down the hallway to welcome her home just like the other days. The darkness of the apartment was not something she had expected. "Haru-chan?" Risa called out as she flicked the switch, bringing light into the apartment. She removed her shoes, bringing herself into the apartment. "Why are you?" Risa continued calling out as she passed by the living and dining room and down the hallway, towards the direction where Haru's bedroom was.
"Haru-chan?" Risa called out again and she swung open the room door, only to be welcomed by the same silence she experienced moments ago.
'Something's not right.' Risa noted mentally in her mind. She shut the door and began to pace herself back to the living room. "Haru-chan?"
Risa reached her hand into her coat's pocket for her mobile phone and pulled it out. Searching through the directory, Risa found the number she wanted to dial. "Sorry, Sensei, this is Niigaki Risa over here. Can I check with you whether is Niigaki Haru is still in the school? Had I forgot to pick her up again?" Risa asked.
She held the phone closely to her ears and waited impatiently for the response from the other side. "WHAT?! Haru-chan did not broad the school bus today?" Risa echoed loudly into the receiver. Her grip on the phone loosened a little.
"Hai. Haru-chan said that she's going to go home on her own today and that decision was approved by Niigaki-san. That's why we had allowed her to go off by herself." The sensei informed before continue asking. "Haven't Haru-chan reached home yet?"
'Haru-chan went off by her own from school today? I approved it? Since when? Did she asked me last night? Had I forgot about it? Wait. No. Haru did not asked anything from me last night.' Risa thought in the mind as she registered the information given by the teacher.
'Even if she had left school on her own, she should had reached home by now. But no, she's not! Where would she be?' Risa started to panic.
"Niigaki-san? Are you still there?" The voice from the receiver brought Risa back from her sea of uncertainties.
Risa blinked her eyes a couple of times and shook her head, trying to remove the negative thoughts of what could have happen to Haru out of her mind. "Yes, I'm still here. Haru-chan's still not back home yet. That was why I had called you, sensei."Risa informed as she heart continued to beat at an abnormal rate.
'Where are you, Haru-chan?' Risa let off a deep sigh of worry. "Thank you sensei for your information. I will go out to search for her right now." Risa finished off and hang the call. She slipped the phone back to her pocket and reached for her car keys that were on the dining table.
'You better be alright, Haru. ' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Haru sat comfortably on the front passenger seat with the stuff toy sitting on her lap. She jumped lightly on the seat as she car treaded through the road.
"So, you came out on your own just to get this thing for yourself?" Ai asked.
"It's not a thing! It's Donald Duck!" Haru corrected like an adult would as she turned her head and glanced at Ai, who kept her eyes on the road ahead.
"Okay. So you came out on your own just to get this Donald Duck for yourself?" Ai corrected herself this time round and asked.
"Hmm." Haru mumbled as she shook her head. "It's not for Haru. It's for Mama's Mother's Day present!" Haru continued with a wide grin on her face.
"Isn't this a little bit too childish for a Mother's Day present?" Ai asked again without looking at Haru.
"Hmm." Haru shook her head frivolously. "Mama will loved it!." Haru insisted.
' I was right after all. That Gaki is just like a Gaki.' Ai thought silently in her mind.
"Mama's a Disney manic!" Haru continued.
Ai nodded her head absentmindedly, not listening too much of what Haru had said. She pulled the car into the driveway leading to the apartment she left one morning a month ago.
Haru had noticed Risa rushing towards the direction where she would usually parked her car from the side window. "Ah! Mama!" Haru exclaimed excitedly as she unbuckled her seatbelt, swung the car door wide open, jumped off the car, nearing to lose her balance as she did that, and ran towards the direction of Risa. "Mama!" Haru screamed out.
'A child is just a child. . . No matter what they do, no matter how mature they may be, they are still a child. . . ' Ai thought silently in her mind as she unbuckled her own seatbelt and reached over for the opened door of the passenger seat. She managed to grab the handle of the door with her long slender arms. With that, she shut the door from her position. Pulling the seatbelt back into its position, Ai released the handbrake and began to reverse out of the driveway.
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"Mama!"
Risa turned herself to the source of the call, only to see a little girl, struggling with her steps not to fall down. "Haru-chan?" Risa called out as she closed the distance between herself and Haru. "Where have you been?" Risa scolded as she stopped before Haru and bent down to her level. "Do you know that Mama was dead worried for you? Do you know that it's very dangerous for someone like your age to be wandering alone on the streets? What if someone kidnapped Haru? What would happened to Haru? What would happened to Mama?" Risa continued as the anger of worries flooded her mind.
Haru bit her lower lips as tears began to form at the corner of her eyes. "Haru . . . Just want to get present for Mama for Mother's Day." Haru mumbled under her breath. She loosen her grip on the Donald Duck and pushed it into Risa's chest. "It's always Mama buying stuffs for Haru. Mama had never bought anything for yourself. Haru had too never bought anything for Mama." Haru continued mumbling as tears flood down her cheeks. "Haru knows that Mama's worried about Haru. Haru promises that there will not be next time. Mama don't be angry with Haru." Haru sniffled as she tugged on the sleeves of Risa's coat.
Risa sighed deeply. It was a sigh of relieve.
'Well at least she's back home whole and safely.' Risa thought in her mind. "You promised that there will not be next time. So if the next time something like this happens, Mama's going to pick Haru up every day, even if Haru don't like it, okay?" Risa gave in and came out with an agreement for Haru to comply with. Risa used her forefinger and began to wipe the tears off Haru's cheeks. Haru nodded her head slightly in agreement.
Risa stood up straight and hugged the Donald duck with one arm and slipped her free hand into Haru's hand. "Let's go! Let's go home now." Risa spoke as she tugged Haru's hand. Haru nodded her head lightly and complied. "So what took Haru so long to reach home from the Disney shop?" Risa asked, hoping that that would clear up the guilt Haru felt.
"Haru had forgotten which bus Haru should take to get home." Haru mumbled softly.
"So how did Haru remember eventually?" Risa continued asking, swinging the arm that held onto Haru's.
"Onee-chan brought me back." Haru stated before remembering something she had totally forgotten previously. "Onee-chan!" Haru turned back suddenly, causing Risa to turn back as well. "Haru had forgotten to thank Onee-chan for bringing Haru home." Haru mumbled as she faced the empty driveway.
"Onee-chan?" Risa asked questionably. "What Onee-chan?"
"Haru saw Onee-chan on the streets and asked Onee-chan to help Haru to with the bus Haru should take. But Onee-chan drove me back instead." Haru explained quietly.
"Which Onee-chan is Haru talking about?" Risa asked, still not getting who Haru meant.
"The pretty Onee-chan whom Mama brought home on Haru's birthday." Haru continued.
"EH?" Risa shrieked. "That thing?" Risa exclaimed.
"Not it's not that thing. Onee-chan is a human, not a thing." Haru corrected as she tilted her head, not understanding the double meaning Risa used in 'that thing' .
"Ah. It's the same." Risa commented. "She brought you home?" Risa continued asked.
"Yupps!" Haru chirped as the charming smile returned. "She even treated Haru to eat choco bun when she heard that Haru's hungry. The choco bun is really very delicious!! Next time Haru will show Mama which one was it!" Haru continued.
'She did that? Even knowing that Haru's my daughter? Well . . . That would mean that the coldness she portrayed was . . . fake? She hates me, don't she? Then why is she so good to Haru then?' Risa thought in her mind.
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"So I was right. This is the right place to find you." The voice she had least expected to hear caused Ai to look up from her work and stared at the figure who stood by her office door. "What are you doing in office on a Saturday afternoon?"
"I could fairly well ask you the same question, Gaki." Ai replied as she returned her attention back to her work. "What are you doing over here? Finding a way to ruin your weekend? I wouldn't mind to have the honour to do that."
Risa made her way to her seats in front of Ai desk and sat down without Ai's invitation for her to do so. She remained quiet as stared intensively at Ai and her actions.
"Why are you staring at me? Nothing better to do?" Ai insulted as she kept her eyes on the papers before her.
"I'm just thinking . . .Who are you really." Risa replied, resulting in a frustrated sigh from Ai.
"If you are looking for someone to irritate, then I think you had found the wrong target. I'm really busy right now, so would you like to get out please?" Ai grinded through her lips.
"It's seems like . . . I had ruined your weekend more that you had did for what the situation is right now." Risa continued, totally ignoring what Ai had just said. "Haru-chan is asking you to have a lunch with us this afternoon." Risa had gotten to her purpose of finding Ai.
"Who?" Ai asked in frustration.
"Haru-chan." Risa repeated. "She wants to thank you for bringing her back home yesterday with my pocket.
"Oh, Gaki's gaki." Ai responded.
"Wait. You can call me Gaki as much as you want, but do not call Haru gaki. She is not." Risa rebutted.
"Getting angry? Do you think you can stop me?" Ai challenged.
"I really don't get you. How can one's personality changed so much in less than 24 hours." Risa spoke up after long moments of silence. "Who are you really? The one whom everyone, including myself, hates, or the one whom Kame, Konno-san and even Haru loves."
"I don't get you either, Gaki. Since you hate me so much, why bother coming into my office on a Saturday afternoon just to have your weekend ruined by me?" Ai refuted. "Just leave."
"Okay fine. Let's just put this aside. As much as I would like to just leave this office and allow you to continue to wander in your own world of contradictions, Haru's waiting for us downstairs for lunch. " Risa continued as she toned down. "She had demanded that you must come along for lunch today. If not she would not eat." Risa continued as a soft huff under her breath.
"I'm not interested." Ai replied.
Ai response made Risa to groan in desperation. "I hate to beg you, but please? Just this one time and no more. It's not going to take a lot of your time." Risa placed her palm on the document Ai was working on, causing Ai to look up from her work for the second time since Risa entered the room.
"I'm still not interested." Ai insisted and diverted her attention back to her work.
"But -"
"You can just tell your little one that you can't find me. Isn't that much more easier. You don't have to face my face for your entire lunch time and keep your private time with your daughter enjoyable." Ai continued, interrupting Risa intended persuasion.
"That would work too." Risa shot opened her eyes in realisation.
"That's why. . . Polices are a bunch of people who doesn't use their brain." Ai muttered under her breath. That did not remained unheard to Risa.
"What did you just said?" Risa sat up in attention and sat closer to the desk, looking cynically at Ai.
"I said, polices are a - " Before Ai could finished the sentence, the banging of the main office door echoed into the room. Ai looked up from her work.
'Who's that?' Ai thought. She placed the pen she held back to its original position and stood up from her seat. Brushing pass Risa, Ai exited her office to check who was the one who had banged the office door.
Risa too stood up from her seat and followed behind Ai to the main working area.
"Onee-chan! Mama!" Came the faint voice across the door as Haru jumped and waved excited to the two lady in the office.
"Well I guessed your method won't work now." Risa stated flatly as she walked towards the door, unlocking it and pulled open the door, allowing entry for Haru.
"Onee-chan! Haru haven't thank Onee-chan for bring Haru back home yesterday. Did Mama told you that Haru wanted to treat Onee-chan for lunch? Let's go let's go! Haru's hungry!" Upon entry to the office, Haru went straight to where Ai stood and tugged Ai's arm.
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"Aren't you a little bit too old to be fastidious about food? You are not showing a good example for young children by picking them out from your food." Risa commented softly to Ai as she saw Ai picking out the green peas from her plate of fried rice and placed them at the corner of the plate.
"I'm leaving." Ai stated flatly as she placed down her pair of chopsticks on the table.
"Eh. Onee-chan's leaving? Why? Onee-chan has not finish eating your food yet." Haru looked up from her food when she heard Ai declaring her intention to leave.
Risa stared at Ai when Ai placed her chopsticks down. "That was not what I meant!" Risa whispered under her breath. "Don't make Haru unhappy."
Ai glanced at the desperation in Risa's eyes before shifting the attention to Haru, who was looking at her intensively with her puppy eyes. "I was just kidding." Ai stated monotonously before picking up her chopsticks once again.
"Onee-chan, what's that?" Haru asked curiously as she pointed her little fingers at the green peas.
"Green peas."
"Onee-chan don't like green peas?" Haru continued asking.
"Hmm." Ai responded as she nodded her head.
"Can Haru try?"
Ai nodded her head. Haru picked up her chopsticks and began to reach for the green peas from Ai's place. The curious expression on her face disappeared when the soft texture dissolved on her tongue and was replaced with a bitter one.
"How was it?" Risa asked as she continued to read the expression on Haru's face.
Haru shook her head frivolously as she reached for her cup of ice water. "Haru don't like it."
"I wasn't the only one then, I guessed." Ai added on inaudibly, only loud enough to be heard by Risa, which had caused Risa to shoot a deadly glare at Ai.
"You are such a bad influence. " Risa mumbled under her breath before turning back to Haru. "Why about green peas that Haru-chan disliked it?"
"It tasted weird." Haru replied childishly.
"Haru-chan won't be able to grow up properly if you are picky about food, do you know that?" Risa chided lightly.
"But Onee-chan still grew up properly into a pretty lady right?" Haru argued, causing Risa to shoot another deadly stare at Ai.
However Ai was not bothered by any of the deadly approach Risa had showed her. She continued to stuff her fried rice into her mouth.
"Ne, Onee-chan?" Haru attempted to get the attention of Ai.
"But it would be better for young kids to not to be picky about food. Green peas have high level of nutrition which are essential for growing up children" Ai stated.
"Hai." Haru responded in low tension.
"Good girl." Risa responded as she patted Haru's head lightly.
"Thank you for the food." Ai said suddenly as she placed the chopsticks back to its original position.
"Onee-chan done eating?" Haru asked as she turned her attention back to Ai.
Ai nodded her head in response before opening her mouth to speak. "I need to return to office now. I still have more work to be done, so excuse me." With that, Ai stood up from her seat and began left the table.
"Onee-chan!" Haru called out from her seat, causing Ai to turn her head back. "Bye bye!" Haru shouted across the café as she waved her hands at Ai.
Ai did nothing in returned, except for an almost unnoticeable smile at the corner of her lips.
"Bye bye!!" Haru continued waving until Ai was out of sight. "Mama, why didn't you say goodbye to Onee-chan?"
"Ah . . . There wasn't a need to." Risa replied.
"Why?"
"For no reason, Haru-chan. Get started on your food already." Risa tried to change the topic and began to scoop up a spoonful of soup.
'Did she smiled just now? That was the first time I saw something as such.' Risa wondered in her mind.
"Ne, Mama." Haru spoke, interrupting Risa's chain of thoughts.
"Yes Haru-chan? What's wrong?" Risa placed her spoon back into the bowl and looked at Haru.
"Haru had been wondering about this thing for a long time."
"What was it that Haru had been wondering about?" Risa continued asking as she listened intensively to what Haru had to say.
"Mama, are you lonely?"
"Why would Mama be lonely? Mama have Haru with me." Risa replied lovingly as she pulled Haru closer to her.
"That's not what Haru meant. Haru's classmate and friends' Mama all have Papa to accompany her. Only Mama don’t have. So is Mama lonely? Is it because of Haru, that's why Mama is alone?" Haru continued asking as she snuggled into Risa's arm.
"Mama is not lonely, Haru. Mama is satisfied with just only having Haru." Risa reassured as she knocked her forehead against Haru's.
'Just a little while more. When Haru's a little more older, I will have to tell her the truth. She's too young to understand all these things now . . . ' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of chapter 6
and I'm just getting a little bit lazy and time constrainted to reply each and every comments! GOMEN! Exams are still on for me so . . . *I'm dead* so I won't be able to update anymore for the rest of this week.
On a brigher side, Exams are ending in a weeks time. Which means that . . .hehehe
So some quick replies over here:
I could safely say that the reason of Ai's expel was nothing to do with Konno
Yupps Justice is on both Ai & Risa's dictionary,which will be something I will try to work on after my exams
And yupps, Ai and Risa had not knew each other from the past
That's all!
Till the next time then!
Topic: SEARCH [ . C #28 + Epilogue ] 31 December 2011 (Read 43673 times)