𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚎 • 𝚜𝚊𝚜𝚞𝚔𝚎 𝚞𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚑𝚊 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

39 - Midnight Crisis (pt. 1)

February, 1993 - Japan

February simply wasn't shaping up to be Haruka's month. Whether it was everything that was going on with Sasuke, her failing friendship with Sakura, or the fact that it was essentially pointless to continue working on the mural that she'd already spent more hours on than there were stars in the sky, there was always something making her toss and turn at night. She hadn't been up to her usual insomniac ways as of lately—or at least, she had tried not to be.

The lack of sleep she had been getting throughout the entire school year was finally catching up to her, so she stopped painting and drawing into the early hours of the morning. She was usually in bed by 9 with a book. Of course, this also had to do with the fact that she wasn't on the best of terms with two of her best friends, Sasuke and Sakura. If things were different, perhaps they would be occupying her evenings. 

Even on days when she was showered, dressed in pajamas, and sufficiently exhausted from the day by 8 at night, Haruka had trouble falling asleep. She was often up into the early hours of the morning despite climbing into bed at a reasonable hour. Perhaps she had conditioned her body to stay awake until at least two in the morning. Or perhaps, there was something bothering her.

On one of these particular nights, Haruka gave into her insomnia, abandoning her bed and opting to relax downstairs instead. She turned on a movie, then headed to the kitchen to make some popcorn. In the middle of her cooking, a knock came at the front door.

Haruka's eyebrows furrowed as she squinted to look at the digital clock on the oven. It was about 9 o'clock at night. Had she really heard a knock?

The knocking came again, but more forceful. Making her way to the front door, she mused to herself, "Hm...either a psycho killer...or a hummingbird."

Swinging open the door with her must judgmental expression locked and loaded, Haruka realized she was in no mood for company regardless of the hour. Whoever this was, they had better get lost quick. But upon seeing who it was, Haruka was too tired for semantics, and simply asked, "Huh?"

"I was in the neighborhood," Akia said stiffly. Her hair was a complete mess, and she had a drawstring bag over her shoulder. She stood uncomfortably on the porch, fiddling with her hands, desperate to avoid eye contact. "And I think it's a bit too late to call my parents for a ride."

"Oh," Haruka replied. Before she could say anything else or question the girl any further, she smelled the slightest scent of burning popcorn. She exclaimed, "Shoot! Hold on."

Haruka rushed back into the kitchen, taking the kernels off the heat. To her dismay, half of the batch was burnt. Groaning, Haruka dumped out the burnt pieces of popcorn. Mindlessly, she refilled her popcorn maker with some more kernels and got out a bowl. Akia, taking this as an invitation, let herself inside and locked the front door behind her. Flopping down on the sofa, she let out a huge yawn, "God, I'm beat."

"Wait wait wait," Haruka remembered Akia's existence now that her popcorn crisis was under control. From the kitchen, she asked, "What are you doing out so late?"

"I don't know. I was just...out. And I lost track of time. Would you mind giving me a ride to school tomorrow too?"

Haruka poked her head out of the kitchen. Akia sat rigidly on the end of the couch, running her hands up and down the strings of her bag. Her gaze was lost out the window. She asked tentatively, "Hold on. So you're asking to stay the night? Do you even have anything with you?"

"I've got enough," Akia gestured to her little drawstring bag. 

"Well, I don't care, but it's a school night. You can only stay if you call your parents and double check that it's okay."