Title: La Vita Amara

Author: Kamel

Pairing: Haruka/Michiru

Word Count: 4,500

Genre: Romance, Drama

Rating: PG-13

Feedback: Please and thank you.

Notes: All the cultural information based in this fic is from the knowledge I’ve acquired while spending my childhood summers in Italy (ten miles away from Porto Empedocle, Sicily to be exact).

Summary: AU Day in and day out in a small town in Sicily, Haruka, the fish mangler, provides for the people of Porto Empedocle – a boring old life which gets a twisted turn upon discovering a mermaid late one night by the name of Michiru.

Chapter Nine

Haruka Tenoh was not easily scared, she had challenged fate many times before – the sea was a dangerous place, especially during a horrid thunder storm; it was a situation she could now go to the bar with and laugh off with the other manglers as they shared their ridiculous stories. This, however, Haruka had a horrible gut feeling that there was a chance she would not be able to laugh over this if she took one wrong little step. This was not the violent sea or the wild wind which she had mastered, this was a loaded with ammunition gun pointed directly at her in the hands of a lunatic.

Maybe it was an automatic reaction, Haruka would not know not having been point blank with a gun before, but her hands slowly went up in the arm as if to prove she was in no way dangerous and there was really no need for the weapon. However, she did seriously doubt Mamoru would lower his weapon simply because she held her arms up.

“Mamoru,” she said in a firm, yet relatively soft tone. She could not arouse him. If she provoked him now, everything would be over; it was as simple as that. “You don’t want to do something you’ll regret, think of Usagi – think of your daughter,” she tried to reason. If he did something stupid now, he would not be able to see them every again – not that he had been seeing much of them since they left Porto Empedocle, but that knowledge and most of her other forms of knowledge had fled Haruka.

“Both have been taken from me because of people like you!” Mamoru snapped back, jabbing the gun forward towards the woman on the other boat. The sudden action cause Haruka to flinch. Damn, it would cause even the toughest of all people to flinch. This was a gun they were dealing with and, well, Haruka was not Superman. Bullets would not bounce off her chest. “Society has labeled me, what was it now? The town nut job, the town crazy – people like you drove Usako away from me. I’ll prove it, prove to you all I’m not crazy! Michiru exists!”

Hearing her name, Michiru’s head jerked up slightly, casting her aquamarine eyes up towards the bottom of the newly arrived boat; she had been extremely nervous to be so close to one with its engine on, but she remained still just as Haruka had asked. The new voice, it was his voice – the man she had seen years ago, the man with the strange friend, the man with the strange intentions she could not figure out. She could also hear the worried tone in Haruka’s voice, temptation told her to discover for herself what was going on, it was an inner battle to stay hidden.

“I never once called you-“ Haruka’s voice was cut off by his raging. She should not try attempting to lie to him again.

“You denied her existence in the market place!” Mamoru spat, a small hysterical laugh escaped him as his now vibrant blue eyes stared her down. She thought he would not be able to remember, but he did – he remember that day clearly; they were swordfish scales, she claimed before walking away. He felt empowered for the first time in ages. For the first time in a long time, no one was looking down at him making crude remarks. “You said she doesn’t exist, you said you didn’t have time for my ‘stories!’”

She could feel the pace of her heart speeding up, beating rapidly against her chest as she tried to stay rational even though she was completely sure Mamoru would not be himself. She could not lie to him, that would set him off, she was sure of it. Her teal eyes trailed a bit to the floor of the boat where a harpoon laid amidst. No good. Biting down on her lip, Haruka forced herself to look back up towards him.

“You walked away, laughing, didn’t you, Haruka, didn’t you!?” Mamoru shouted, walking over to the edge of the stolen boat to put himself closer to the woman. He wanted to hear her admit it, he wanted to hear that she was condemned him just like every other damn person in this forsaken town. “Who’s laughing now, mangler?” he asked, a laugh forming in the back of his throat as he squeezed the trigger of the gun.

Hearing the loud bang from up above, Michiru felt every little hair on the back of her neck stand on end; something happened, something bad and she wanted to get to the surface to make sure Haruka was alright, but… Mamoru, he would be instantly on her. He was out there and she was his prize, he would harm her and that was something Haruka did not want in the first place, that was why she was instructed to hide she had to remind herself.

Everything was happening in slow motion; it made Haruka sick to her stomach. She saw the explosion of smoke from the gun and gut instinct made immediately dive onto her stomach. However, she hit the ground feeling a sneering pain erupting from her lower abdomen which automatically caused her hand to fly to the teeth grinding pain. Oozing through between her tight slender fingers was a deeply colored warm liquid, causing her mind to race; she was in the middle of the ocean, alone. There was no way in hell – what was he doing?

Fading teal eyes narrowed as she heard the edge of his boat collide into her own, no doubt damaging the paintjob a little, but she had bigger things to be worrying about right now – the bullet in her side, for instance, would be one of them.

All hell broke loose from within her, hearing Haruka tumble to the floor of the boat after the shoot that rang for violently through her ears. Michiru sprung up to the surface, screaming the female human being’s name, panic rising in her voice when she realized she could not see Haruka for herself, not with her own eyes. Damn this stupid contraption, even if she managed to get on board, what would guarantee the fact she would be able to return to her beloved ocean, but…

Haruka was beloved too.

“Michiru!”

That sickening voice.

His voice.

It caused the same reaction in both women who immediately froze in place. Michiru whirled around in the water, gazing up towards the wicked man who was now chuckling faintly – a chuckling that developed into a deep, from the stomach laugh as he arched his head back. The next thing she knew, he had the weapon aimed at her. “I’m going to prove to the world you exist,” he stated firmly, his eyebrows narrowing with determination.

He was going to hurt her.

Mamoru was going to hurt Michiru.

Haruka was not going to allow it.

With all her might, she tried to stand onto her feet, but with no avail was she able to. What was wrong with her? No, she did not have the time to think or muse about this now, not with a loaded hand gun pointed directly at the creature she carved for; Michiru was not about to be harmed while she was with her. Her shaky, blood covered hand wrapped around the harpoon tightly. She was just able to peer over the edge of the boat, Mamoru was focusing on the mermaid. Damn him. Summoning her courage, her last amount of will power, with every force embedded within her body, the fish mangler threw the harpoon at Mamoru.

The sharp edge of the harpoon pierced his loaded arm, causing him to step back and wildly swing the appendage in surprise. The gun went off towards the starry night sky; Michiru took the opportunity to dive once more. Haruka collapsed onto the wooden deck, her body frail and weak. “Run, Michi,” she murmured against the salty floor. She would sell her soul to the devil if it meant having another chance to see the beautiful creature once more, alive. What were the odds of that happening in this lifetime? It would be too late when someone finally did discover her boat floating aimlessly at sea.

Or that is what she believed anyway.

All of a sudden, Haruka felt very heavy, her vision was darkening. She was not able to see, nor hear another boat speed towards their general direction. She was not aware of Souichi’s or Mr. Burgio’s arrival or the fact it took both men to sedated Mamoru nor that they took her aboard to race back to the docks before seeking immediate medical attention. There was a blank in Haruka’s memory from the point she had thrown the harpoon until she had awoken to a grief stricken roommate at her bedside in the hospital.

“Oh, thank God you’re awake.”

The amount of worry and relief all mixed together was foreign to Haruka – yes, Setsuna had been worried about her on more than one occasion, but this time was very much different; this time she could have easily lost her dear friend.

Haruka cracked a small smile, as if trying to reassure that she was alright. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus,” the sandy blonde haired woman replied, with a chuckle that made her wince. She was still in pain, not as great as before, but still suffering. “What happened?”

Setsuna did her best to attempt to ramble off what the doctors had told her, what Souichi tried to help her to understand, but Haruka was never one for medical jargon. However, she understood the terms ‘paralysis from the waist down,’ something to do with the vertebrae. “But,” Setsuna spoke up, catching Haruka’s attention once more. She could tell her roommate’s mind was elsewhere, this was a lot of both of them to take in at once. “There is a chance, with rehab, that you’ll be able to walk again.”

“I’m not going to be stuck in a wheelchair forever then?”

That would be the ultimate punishment for Haruka, to be confined against her will. Haruka was a creature who needed to be free; nothing could, or should be able to hold her down. She needed to hear Setsuna say that this would not be forever; she needed to hear that the period of being helpless without aiding to move would have an end. She needed to hear that she would be able to return to her boat, to the ocean and to Michiru.

Setsuna shook her head, believing Haruka was taking this well, much better than what she would have expected, what she had braced herself for. A sigh escaped her as her shoulders fell slightly, maroon colored eyes locking with teal for a moment. “Why were you out there anyway?”

“A job-“

“A job,” Setsuna repeated. “They say your equipment hadn’t been touched.”

“Who told you that?” Haruka questioned right back.

“Souichi.”

That name. It still made her skin crawl and anger rise within her. He had touched her boat, her boat was precious to her; it was her gateway to the ocean, a gateway to freedom. She was peaceful out at sea, she was able to be herself and he soiled that. She did not enjoy the fact he was involved in all this, but Haruka should have expected it – he was the reason why Mamoru lost all his sanity to begin with. He was the reason why she laid here in this bed unable to walk on her own. This was his entire fault.

Haruka shook her head as her hands grasped the blanket to the uncomfortable hospital bed, forming fists. Why were these beds always uncomfortable – no, that did not matter right now. “Why was he near my boat?” she demanded.

“Don’t get yourself worked up, Haruka,” Setsuna said gently, standing up. She took the few steps over to her roommate’s bedside. “You should be resting, you just came out of surgery-“

“Tell me why he was going through the equipment on my boat,” Haruka repeated more thoroughly.

Setsuna was taken back slightly, she knew if she withheld the information, it would only further bother Haruka and she did not need that right now. Right now, per doctor’s request (along with Souichi’s, but she did not need to know that exactly), Haruka needed to get some rest and allow her body the time to heal; this was going to be a challenge for all of them. “He helped you get off the boat while you were in the middle of the ocean,” she replied. “He was with the security guard because Mamoru had stolen his own boat, he saw that you were hurt and he had to help you.”

That boat had belonged to Souichi; he was tied to everything, was he not? In Haruka’s mind, this was clearly all his fault. Setsuna watched Haruka turned her head away from her; she was focusing on the different machines she was currently hooked up to. It was clear she did not want to talk, but Setsuna still wanted to know what purpose she had to venture off in the ocean in the middle of the night if it was not for work as she had informed before leaving the apartment. This was not a good time, Haruka had to recover; the truth would come out eventually. “You should get some rest,” she noted, scooting towards the door of the room. “I’ll be out in the waiting room.”

Haruka did not bother to look up at her again; Setsuna nodded to herself and quickly stepped out of the room, not able to handle the building tension between them any longer. She took her time walking back to the waiting room, wanting to give herself her own time to think things over. Haruka was hiding something from her. Of course, everyone had their secrets, but when those secrets lead to horrible events such as this one – it was not worth keeping the secret all to yourself in Setsuna’s opinion.

The waiting room was occupied by two familiar faces. Souichi was sitting up, resting his chin against his fist which was propped up by his elbow while his other arm wrapped around the sleeping figure of Hotaru; they had not been home since arriving at the apartment. Souichi wanted to be by Setsuna’s side, to make sure that not only she would be alright, but Haruka as well. He was overlooking her case, something Setsuna failed to mention to the patient in question.

“Souichi, you should have taken her home,” Setsuna stated, gesturing her head towards Hotaru as she sat down across from the father-daughter figure.

The good doctor, however, shook his head. “The security of my home is lacking, I wouldn’t feel safe leaving Hotaru in the house without me there,” he replied. It was not that he did not trust their cleaning lady, but he was protective of his only daughter and the fact Mamoru had managed to get in shook him. “And if something had happened to Haruka while I was away, I would feel rather guilty.”

“None of this is your fault,” Setsuna reassured. “You can’t blame yourself for Mamoru’s actions.”

“That’s very kind of you, but, Setsuna, you have to look at the bigger picture,” Souichi replied, shaking his head. “Mamoru knew exactly what he was looking for in my house, he knew exactly where my boat was; he was following the stupid mermaid story he put together years ago and in the end, he could have killed Haruka. I should have admitted him years ago.”

“There’s no way you could have known-“

“This is going to take a while long, Setsuna, why don’t you get some rest yourself?” Souichi offered. “You have slept at all and Hotaru could really use a bed, it’s not healthy for you to pull all nighters.”

“What about yourself, Souichi?” Setsuna asked in return, not skipping a beat.

She was sharp, he could say that much. “I’m a doctor, I’ve been on call, spent countless nights without sleep; I like to think I’m quite use to this, but I will catch a nap here, I promise,” Souichi answered, digging the keys to his Benz out from her coat pocket. “This will be better for all of us.”

Naturally, Setsuna wanted to argue, she wanted to be here for her friend also, but Souichi had a point. This had been a long night for all of them; Setsuna was literally completely useless here. Haruka was in good care and the waiting room chair was not comfortable for a child to sleep in. After a heavy sigh, she took the key from his grasp and nodded. “Alright, I’ll take Hotaru over to the apartment. We’ll be back after lunch.”

“Thank you,” Souichi answered with a faint grin.

XXX

He waited a couple of hours before checking up on Haruka. Needless to say, the woman needed rest from the incident and Souichi was long overdue for a couple of hours of sleep as well; it had been a horribly eventful night, one they probably all wanted to forget. He stood outside the patient’s door for a few moments, gathering the necessary courage – this was rare for Souichi, but Haruka was not like any other patient he had had. Haruka’s was close to someone he cared for, he felt obligated that she received the best care, and he was not even sure where he even stood with her. He had the feeling he was a bit disliked.

This was it, he promised Setsuna.

Before entering, of course, Souichi rapped his knuckles against the wooden door. Stepping in, he adjusted his coat, stuffing his hands into coat pockets. Haruka turned her gaze from the window towards Souichi, immediately her gaze turned hard. What could he possibly want with her? “What are you doing here?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowing. “You’re not my primary physician.”

“No, I’m not,” Souichi established with a single nod.

At least they were on the same page. With that settled, Haruka turned her attention back towards the window. Her room was facing the mountains; she would have preferred the ocean. Michiru… where was she now? What was she thinking? Haruka listened for the shuffling of feet and the closing of the door, but those sounds never came; Souichi had remained in the room. “Why are you in here?”

“I promised Setsuna I would watch over your case as well,” Souichi answered honestly. “She’s really worried about you, we all are – your injuries-“

“I was explained the extent of my injuries,” Haruka murmured coldly, her wicked gaze returning to him once more. Just his presence was testing her nerves, it was quite the feat.

His shoulders fell slightly; this was not easy, not with Haruka’s horrible attitude getting in the way. “Listen, this is going to set you and Setsuna back financial for a while,” Souichi pointed out. “You’ll be out of work until you’re back on your feet and then some, rehab will not be easy and the expenses – I’ve offered my home until you two can get back on your feet.”

“We don’t need your charity, Tomoe,” Haruka retorted.

“Charity? Haruka, I don’t want to see you two out on the streets – how will you be able to keep your apartment with just the party favor shop as income? Setsuna’s told me business isn’t as good as it could be right now,” Souichi replied, keeping a calm tone. He did not want to hit below the belt and bring Haruka crashing down into reality, but… “How do you plan on climbing all those flights of stairs in a wheelchair?”

Haruka’s nose wrinkled, he had a point, even though she refused to address it. Though she would rather drag herself up all those flights of stairs before she would live with the Tomoe’s – she was stubborn. “Answer me this,” she said in a low voice, locking her eyes with his. “Michiru. You’ve seen her. Haven’t you?”

“That’s Mamoru’s idiotic tale-“

“Tomoe,” she hissed.

“You saw what happened to Mamoru,” Souichi replied, lowering his chin, causing his silver hair to fall forward over his glasses. “His story, look where it landed him – she’s nothing but trouble, isn’t it? You’ve seen her herself.”

“Nothing but trouble?” Haruka repeated. “She’s completely innocent, it was Mamoru who held the gun, not her,” she pointed out. “I don’t regret meeting her, she’s amazing.”

“That’s how Mamoru felt.”

“I won’t end up like Mamoru, I don’t want to expose her,” Haruka remarked, she refused to be compared to that monster, she was different from Mamoru, she was. “She wants to know what life is like up here, she’s just curious, but she’s afraid, afraid she’ll get hurt again by your… ‘contraption.’”

Souichi shook his head as he pushed the bridge of his glasses up his nose. “That was an accident that I, myself, regret, Haruka. I would have helped her if I could, but… I’m a doctor, a human doctor. I’m amazed she survived, she’s a tough spirit,” he commented. “You’ll see her again in time, no doubt, but you must recover first. Over doing it will only cause more harm, you’ll be more relaxed if you and Setsuna stay at my place. The garage has been re-done, everything one could possibly need it down there – it’s literally another small complex all together and it will be easily accessible with a wheelchair.”

“Sheesh, I’m not getting out of this one, am I?” Haruka murmured, shaking her head slowly. “Setsuna’s probably already packing,” she added, shrugging her shoulders. “But the moment we’re able to afford the apartment again, we’re out of there.”

A small chuckle escaped Souichi. “I guess we’ve reached a deal, Ms. Tenoh.”

XXX

“Are you going to explain to me this time why we always buy sunflowers?” Hotaru asked, gently pushing Haruka along the sidewalk towards the docks. This had been there little thing ever since Haruka got out of the hospital a few weeks ago. Every Wednesday during the street market, they would go to the small flower shop and order a batch of sunflowers – the best, the brightest sunflowers the shop had, a batch that would enlighten any room within the house, especially the garage, but every week, it was the same. They would toss the sunflowers, one by one into the sea from the edge of the longest dock where they could be alone. Hotaru found it odd.

A sly grin overcame Haruka as she brought this week’s batch up to her nose to inhale the sweet scent. She shook her head as the scent of seaweed over came the sunflowers, they were entering the docks. It was odd only being able to come here once a week, not being able to board her boat and just take off whenever she pleased.

“I thought I already told you,” the former fisherwoman replied, arching an eyebrow as she gazed over her shoulder at the young girl. “It’s like the whole message in a bottle concept – I’m hoping it’s reaching someone that will, in return, do a favor for me.”

“But I don’t understand why we use sunflowers instead of a message in a bottle,” Hotaru stated. “What does a sunflower symbolize?”

“Hey now, I think you ask too many questions,” Haruka chuckled as they headed down the long dock to overlook the ocean. “I bet you this is the week I get something in return.”

Hotaru’s eyebrows furrowed at the remark. “And what are you expecting in return? Roses?” she asked, half serious.

“Lilies,” Haruka corrected, bemused. Confusing Hotaru had proved to be entertaining, she was a good kid. The girl made it a point to spend nearly all her free time downstairs in her studio-like garage with Haruka so she ‘would not grow bored.’ She was thoughtful.

The young girl positioned the wheelchair near the edge of the dock, where she had always positioned Haruka week after week. Haruka began to remove the aluminum foil from the stems of the sunflowers before handing one over to Hotaru and picking one for herself. “After you,” she offered, gesturing towards the water. Hotaru grinned and with a nod, she tossed the flower over the dock – Haruka followed suit, this process repeated for another ten flowers until the batch was no more.

Haruka lowered her head and crumpled the aluminum foil in her hands into a tight ball. “Hmm?” Something on the wooden floor caught her eye, it was a gleam and it caused her to look down. A faint smile tugged on her lips as she turned to Hotaru. “You remember that Roman coin I promised you?” she asked.

Hotaru leaned over gently on the handle of the wheelchair at Haruka’s question and nodded. The fish mangler had promised the next coin she would find would be hers, but due to Haruka’s condition, Hotaru had let go of the promise, but the grin on her face made her question that last statement. The blonde haired woman gestured towards the ground, towards the single Roman coin resting upon the edge of the wooden dock.

Though she was confused as to how the coin had magically appeared, Hotaru still could not help but grin widely, astonished by their luck. She walked over and knelt down to pick up her own piece of history. Haruka turned back to the sea, watching the sunflowers floating away. In the distance, it was hard to see, but she swore she saw one of the flowers being pulled below the surface.

XXX

Aquamarine eyes had been watching the flowers float week after week. At first, she thought it was just chance, but when they kept appearing, she knew what was happening and she did her best to find that coin she had promised in return. Michiru reached up to the water’s surface and brought one of the flowers down below to admire. She held it against her chest, closing her eyes tightly. A single statement was uttered from between her soft lips, the soft lips that had brushed against the woman’s she had come to adore.

“Life is bitter…”

The End.