A short Haruka bit I keep tossing around and never finishing. I now release it out into the world, as I will….probably….not finish it? Maybe? WHO KNOWS NOT ME MAYBE I’LL GET INSPIRED ONE DAY. About 700 words.

“Heeeeey buddy, pal, friend, I need you to do me a favor-”

Haruka had only to close her eyes in a brief eyeroll, smiling as she shook her head, to perfectly picture Mina winking and finger-gunning at her, a bright grin splitting her face. She continued on, chattering about finally having a night out with Rei. Rei! Could she believe it? Miss Workaholic herself was finally going to come out for a couple drinks, maybe come back to Mina’s place for a little pizza, beer, and “alone time.” Here was the sly cat’s grin, the wiggling eyebrows. Haruka shook her head again and cradled the phone against her shoulder as she attempted to adjust the silky blue tie she’d picked out to reflect Michiru’s eyes. Mina rambled on about the virtues of Rei’s legs, the silken expanse of her hair, the cute way her nose wrinkled when she-

Haruka whistled tunelessly to herself as she half-listened, eyeing the box that held a pair of mother-of-pearl and silver cufflinks the girls had pitched in to buy her for her birthday, nestled handsomely beside a pair of gold and ivory that Michiru had given her “on a whim.” Haruka ran her fingers lightly over the golden pair, blushing as she remembered that night and the way the moonlight had turned Michiru’s skin a delicate ivory to match. She tugged on the dark grey vest she was wearing, undecided. Surely she’d be forgiven for pulling out the silver pair; they hadn’t gotten used in a while and surely Michiru would understand how lonely it was, being left at home to sit on a shelf and be passed over for the shinier pair.

“-anyways so I need your truck, is what I’m saying. Call me back when you’re done making calf eyes at Squidley’s tentacles, nerd!”

The beep signaling the end of the voicemail pulled Haruka back to the present, reminding her of why she’d had to replay the message in the first place. Had Mina actually had a point, other than loudly declaring her intentions for the world to hear? Haruka’s brow furrowed, combing over the bits she remembered and -ah, that was it. Her truck. Loathe as she was to lend Mina another vehicle, she did want her to be happy, and it wasn’t often Rei went out, busy with running the Senator’s office as she was. It did seem a little strange since Rei had her own sleek black car they could have taken out (“You think I’m bad? Never let Rei drive, Ruka. Never.”)

Haruka finished pulling her suit together while she thought it out, gently wiping her shoes down with a soft cloth, brushing off imagined bits of dust and not-so-imagined bits of white cat hair. In the end, her love of Mina won out over her love of the truck, and despite a sense of foreboding, she dialed Mina’s number. Muttering, shaking her head over the long, long list of future repairs she’d have to make, she trotted down the stairs.

She strode across the hall into the living room as she listened to the distance ringing of the line. Her nervous energy carried her zig-zagging around the maze of furniture, her fingers tapping out a staccato of beats on every surface she could reach that synced up with the beeping. Eventually she wound her way to the window and drew the lace curtains open. Michiru had also wanted to go on a date that night, out to some nice French place with a name that was long and fancy and Haruka swore they half-made up while gargling wine. Rei had called in last minute for “a favor” that Haruka now saw was probably some form of moral support for the coming night with Mina. Haruka grinned widely, chuckling to herself to think that any advice that Michiru would favor Rei with concerning the blonde’s earnest advances would certainly not help her get laid any faster. Realizing that the phone was still ringing in her ear and Mina hadn’t yet picked up, Haruka frowned and hung up. It was odd that she hadn’t answered, odd that the voicemail hadn’t picked up, odd that Mina hadn’t just come to the house as she normally did.

Outside, the sun slid away from a mass of dark, bulbous clouds, as if fleeing the crackling lightning that arched and sparked, snaking across the world as the clouds broke open in a torrent of hard rain.