The Odd Adventures of Haruka, Setsuna and Michiru
By Lady Grizabella
Well, I tried to write a birthday adventure for Haruka to actually be done on her birthday, but it took longer than I thought it would. Oh well, here it is. Haruka’s Birthday Special! I also usually don’t use the suffixes, or whatever they’re called, such as "chan" and "san", but I tried to in this chapter to show some respect towards Michiru’s parents without calling them Mr. and Mrs. Kaioh. I hope the suffixes are used fairly correctly. Again, I’m not one hundred percent sure about any of this, and that’s why I don’t use it often. I only know about five words of Japanese! lol
Chapter 20
Stupid Elevator! Haruka And The Kaiohs Spend A Birthday Together
I was going to be turning twenty-three on January 27th, and I was looking forward to a nice leisurely day. I planned on watching races on television all morning, a nice long nap all afternoon, and then pizza and movies with the girls all night.
Upon hearing my ideas for my special day, Setsuna decided it would be fun, but Michiru was too worried to give much of an opinion. With the dawn of the New Year, Michiru was absolutely sure, as she was every year, that Crystal Tokyo time was at hand, and she was treating it as the apocalypse. She had been searching the house for containers to fill with water for days, and buying way too much canned food. Luckily we had Setsuna to eat all that junk when Michiru discovered that, yet again, the world was not ending. Still, January was always an odd month for her. "How can you even think about birthdays?" she demanded. "We’re going to be going through a dramatic life-change any minute, and we need to be prepared!"
I rested my chin on the kitchen table where I had slumped. "The last life-change I went through was when I discovered that I got butterflies in my stomach when I looked at little Mao Kimura in the shower in gym class when I was twelve. I don’t plan on having another one until I hit menopause."
For some reason Setsuna, who was skulking nearby, started to laugh. Michiru hid a smile as well. "All right. I’ll try my best to relax. Your ideas sound nice."
* * * * * * * * * *
The day before my birthday, Michiru appeared in the doorway of our room where I was snuggled up under the covers with a book. "Sweetie?"
I grinned. "What’s up?"
"Well…" Michiru took a couple of steps into the room and fidgeted uncharacteristically. "I have some bad news about your birthday."
"Oh? Does this have anything to do with extra batteries for Crystal Tokyo Day?"
She shook her head. "Worse. My parents called and they insisted on…"
I froze. "On what?"
She winced and spit the words out very fast. "Ontakingyououttodinnerforyourbirthday!" She cowered as if waiting for a sudden blow.
"Michi!!" I wailed. "That’s not fun!"
"I couldn’t say no!" she cried. "They’ll be here tomorrow and we’re going to that new expensive restaurant in downtown Tokyo with the multiple stories. The top floor is made entirely of glass. I guess we’re eating up there so we can see the skyline."
"But why are they doing this?" I whined. "I can pretty much count on us having to go out with them every year in March for your birthday, but why mine?"
"Daddy’s coming into town for business, so we would have had to do it anyway. I just feel bad that it’s happening on the twenty-seventh. I’m sorry." She looked at me glumly.
I couldn’t stand to see Michiru upset. "Hey, it’ll be fine. It’s just dinner, and then we can come home and watch movies and have a sleepover like we planned. Maybe the Inners can even come over too. And it’s not your fault, anyway. We have to see your parents when they come into town."
"Kaioh…Pa..Parents…?"
We both turned and saw Setsuna standing in the doorway, shivering.
"We have to go out to dinner with my mom and dad tomorrow," Michiru explained.
"Kaioh Parents!" Setsuna ran like hell and shut herself in her room as if the Kaiohs were already beating down the door.
Michiru shook her head. "Honestly, they’re a bit difficult but they’re not that bad."
As for me, I kind of had to agree with Setsuna.
* * * * * * * * * *
The next day, I sat on the couch in my suit and tie, waiting for my birthday to start. At least the racing and napping portion of my day had gone well. As for the rest of my evening, I couldn’t say. The suit and tie part was, however, a big drag.
Setsuna sat next to me, silent as death, in a pretty sweater and skirt set. She was looking forward to this as much as I was. At least she didn’t have the uncomfortable position of being Michiru’s significant other, even though she was plenty weird enough to make the Kaioh Parents wonder just what was going on in her head.
I won’t go into great detail about what Michiru’s parents were like, as they’re pretty much the same in every story like this. Her father was a successful businessman and her mother was the ultimate businessman’s wife. They were very wealthy and strict and fairly traditional. They were the kind of parents who believed that children should be well educated, respectful, and play violin at a very young age. Thus, we have Michiru.
Strangely enough, they seemed to have accepted the fact that their daughter liked women, but I was still out of favor half the time for not being "good enough" for their little girl. Who cared that I was a good racer? It was a dangerous sport that was bound to leave their daughter a widow.
Setsuna didn’t have much to fear except for a thousand questions about her future plans for school, career, marriage, children, and so on. Enough to make anyone flinch, I thought.
Michiru herself didn’t always like seeing her parents, as they often made her feel like she wasn’t reaching that level of perfection that all Kaiohs aspire to. She didn’t practice enough, paint enough, and her hair had that odd aquamarine tint that most people found flattering, but Michiru’s mother could have done without.
Basically, the Kaioh Parents liked us, but we really didn’t know why.
6:00 pm
The start of the evening was fairly uneventful. The Kaiohs - Yuuta-san and Tomoko-san - arrived, hugged their daughter, wished me good health, and promptly inquired about Setsuna’s classes, wondering if she had met any nice young men. Since no one wanted to try and figure out just what the heck her relationship with Seiya Kou was, we tried to make the stopover at our house fairly brief.
6:30 pm
Once we made it through the ride to the restaurant in the Kaioh’s fashionable expensive car (adults in the front, kids in the back), Michiru pulled Setsuna off for customary nose powdering in the bathroom. I was about to announce that I, indeed, could go for a nose powder, when Yuuta-san put one hand on my shoulder and told the girls that he, Tomoko-san, and I would proceed to the elevator and head on up to the top floor out of the drafty entrance lobby. After giving the girls a look of pure fear, I followed Michiru’s parents into the elevator.
Yuuta-san pushed the button for the topmost floor. "So, Haruka-chan, any thoughts on what you will do someday to earn a good living for Michiru-chan?"
I pulled on my collar and tried not to look like I was counting the floors. "Well, Sir, I work at a garage right now. I’m very interested in mechanics and automotives."
He nodded. "Yes, a hobby is a respectable endeavor. But you would do better to look into a career in business or perhaps computers. It would bring your family much pride and honor."
I knew that many families were concerned with honor and such, but my family wasn’t really one of them. I was vaguely reminded of that Disney movie that Hotaru and Setsuna liked - Mulan. I had a mental picture of the Huns invading the elevator so I could do honorable combat and save China…Japan…Asia in general. I stifled a giggle. Instead I asked, "Isn’t this elevator taking a long time?"
It suddenly occurred to us that we had stopped, but the door had not opened. "Oh dear," said Tomoko-san in a slightly weary voice, and pressed one hand to her forehead. I tried not to smile again. I always wondered where Michiru picked that up.
Yuuta-san pushed the button again…and then several more times. "I believe it’s stuck."
I shivered. I didn’t like the idea of being trapped between floors. I had never really considered myself to be claustrophobic, but this wasn’t much fun. "What should we do?" I asked timidly.
Yuuta-san, as the man of the elevator, took charge. "We will just push the emergency button and they’ll have us out of here in no time."
Once this was done, we all turned to face the front. As we stood looking at the motionless doors, Yuuta-san glanced at his watch. "Any minute now."
6:50 pm
We continued to face the front in silence. Yuuta-san checked his watch again. "They’ll be here any second."
7:10 pm
We sat on the floor, having grown tired of standing. "Another cracker, dear?" Tomoko-san asked me, handing over the package that she kept in her purse in case of emergencies.
"Thank you, Ma’am."
Silence.
After finishing his cracker and making sure he hadn’t dropped a single crumb, Yuuta-san addressed me. "Where do you buy your shoes…?"
7:20 pm
I was crouched in the corner of the elevator, whispering into my communicator. "Michi, can you hear me? What’s going on out there?"
Michiru’s face appeared on the little screen. "Don’t worry, Love! The workmen are trying to get the elevator moving. They’ll have you out soon. Oh, you’re being so brave!"
"Well…" I glanced over at the Kaiohs, who were watching me suspiciously.
"Poor dear must be going a bit crazy," whispered Tomoko-san, leaning towards her husband, never taking her eyes off me.
I turned back to my communicator. "They’re starting to look at me like I’m deranged. They think I’m talking to myself."
"Well, don’t worry. They’ll get you out soon."
"How are you and Setsuna?" I asked. I felt bad that my dinner was going like this. The girls didn’t even have Tomoko-san’s crackers.
"I’m fine, and Setsuna…well, I don’t know where she is." Michiru pressed her hand to her forehead.
I shook my head. Fabulous. I was stuck in an elevator and Setsuna was missing. Hopefully she had the sense to at least go ahead and get something to eat, wherever she was. "I’ll see you soon, I hope," I said to Michiru and clicked off my communicator. I slumped back against the side of the elevator and tried to defend myself. "Cell phone," I explained. "Michiru says they’re trying to get us out."
The Kaiohs looked a little relieved that I hadn’t gone crazy. "That’s wonderful news," said Tomoko-san.
7:30 pm
"Okay, I spy with my little eye…something blue."
"Is it my shoes?" asked Tomoko-san.
"She already spied that, dear," Yuuta-san reminded her. He then rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Is it my tie?"
I nodded. "You guessed it, Sir. You’re very good at this game."
He smiled. "You should see me play Tic-tac-toe!" He studied us and the rest of the elevator. "Let’s see…I spy with my little eye, something-"
There was a thump from up above us.
We all jumped slightly and looked up. "Hello? Who is up there?" demanded Yuuta-san.
I bit my lip. I had a bad feeling about this. "I hope no one’s going to do anything…stupid."
"Dead….SCREAM!!!!!!!"
The ceiling of the elevator turned a vivid purple and the whole thing vibrated violently. Funny thing is, Pluto normally whispered her attack, but today she hollered it like she was in a bad dub or something. As if she was really relishing it. Then came the sound of a yell, as if her giant purple planet had just rebounded off the top of the elevator and knocked her off her feet. Then came the stream of profanity. Then there was nothing.
"Do you have any idea who that was?" the shaken Yuuta-san asked me.
I shook my head. "Not a clue," I lied.
8:00 pm
We had started to believe that we were never going to get out of the elevator alive, or at least the Kaiohs had. I could see where Michiru picked up her fear of the end of the world. Yuuta-san had retreated to the far corner of the elevator and was lost in his own thoughts. Meanwhile, Tomoko-san had gathered me into her arms and was rocking me slightly. "Everything will be fine, Haruka-chan." I supposed she was trying to be comforting, but her voice had a teary waver. I, meanwhile, was trying to ignore the fact that my head was pressed so close to my "mother-in-law’s" breasts.
At this point, and without warning, the lights went out and we were plunged into total darkness. Fully expecting the elevator to fall and crash, I started to scream, as did the Kaiohs. Tomoko-san clutched me in a deathgrip and I shamelessly clutched right back. Then there was a bright white light that flooded over us. "Don’t go into the light, Haruka-chan!" Tomoko-san cried.
A dark silhouette appeared in the light. "An angel!" I gasped, figuring we had crashed and died.
"Very flattering, but still not much of an explanation." Michiru gawked down at us. "Mother…Daddy…what are you three doing?"
We three were huddled up together with our arms clasped firmly around each other. I hadn’t even realized Yuuta-san had moved over to us. He quickly let go, stood up, and cleared his throat. "Er, nothing."
Tomoko-san picked herself up, brushed off her skirt, and headed out of the elevator. "Shall we eat then, Michiru-chan?"
Once the Kaiohs were on their way to the stairwell to climb the remainder of the way to the top floor, I looked up at Michiru from where I still sat on the floor of the elevator. "Has anyone ever told you your parents are kooked?"
Michiru grabbed my hand and helped pull me up. "Well, no. But then no one has ever been stuck in an elevator with them before."
As I walked shakily from the elevator, I grasped Michiru’s hand and then Setsuna’s, who had just joined us. "You know though, I’m not going to get on you about supplies for Crystal Tokyo anymore. I think it’s best to be prepared. After all, we’d hate to have to rely on Setsuna to save the day." I smiled evilly.
Setsuna glowered at me from under the big purple blotch on the side of her face. "Ha ha….."
Next Time (Possibly): An old villain from the Black Moon family travels through time and space to visit…Setsuna?? Hope to see you next time!
~Lady Grizabella
setsuna_haruka_michiru@yahoo.com
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