Chapter 58: When Family is All You Have

283 11 5
                                    

"I'm really started to get worried about her..." Aina had spoken in a softer tone but spoke loud enough that she knew everyone in the group – including Mami – had heard her words. She looked down at her hands that picked at the navy uniform, knowing at least a few of the girls were staring at her and wondering why she had said those words... Or, at least, why she had said them loud enough for Mami to hear. They all knew how worried Mami was for Haruna's absence that they knew she couldn't possibly have a good reaction to such words.

"I hate to say it but I agree with Aina," Yukako spoke up now, clearing the silence that was slowly gathering around the secluded group of girls. Unlike Aina, Yukako didn't look down. Her eyes surveyed the group, staying on Mami who was sitting leaned back against a tree, her arms across her chest and her eyes in a narrow glare at the grass of the school's courtyard.

"Yukako..."

"No," Yukako cut Hinako off quickly, "think about it. Today was the day that Haruna was supposed to return to school. Does anyone here honestly think that Haruna would just skip school without saying anything to one of us after she's been gone so long? Something isn't right with that."

From where she was seated on the ground, Mami gritted her teeth as she listened to Yukako's words. She knew that getting mad at Yukako wasn't right and would solve nothing but Mami couldn't help it. She found a mixture of emotions boiling in her, threatening to spill over and found her mind subconsciously blaming Yukako for the words that she was saying.

Mami didn't want anyone to verbalize the worries she knew they were all feeling. The blonde wasn't blind or ignorant; she knew the other girls were worried about Haruna just as she was. She knew they had been worried for Haruna since the day she told them that Haruna would be gone for a while... And she didn't want those worries verbalized. She didn't want them to become more of a reality than they already were.

She couldn't say that Yukako was wrong in her words because the pigtailed brunette wasn't. Yukako was very much correct in her words. Haruna was supposed to come back to school today and Mami knew there was no way the leader would have refused to come. The boss had been known to skip school from time to time but Mami knew that Haruna wouldn't do that this time. She knew Haruna would want to come to school if for no other reason than to speak with one of the girls. Mami knew for a fact that Haruna wouldn't leave without telling one of them something.

So... Where was she then? That was a question that had begun to slowly eat away at Mami.

"She has to be here somewhere," Aina continued from her previous statements, her tone becoming lower and more cautious. Mami growled lowly, her eyes narrowing into a deeper glare directed down towards the grass of the school's courtyard. She could already feel what little control she was retaining over emotions gradually slipping away. She didn't want to sit here and listen to this any longer.

"If Haruna was at school then we would have seen her," Yukako chimed in again. "None of us have seen her though and we haven't heard anything about her either. The most I've heard today was whispers about Hana finally being back at school. Nothing else."

Without thinking, Mami had shoved herself off of the ground, earning herself a squeak from the now shocked brunette who had been sitting silently beside her. Tomomi looked up, instantly noticing the way Mami's hands were clenched into fists at her side. She bit down onto her bottom lip, looking away from Mami. What was she supposed to do? She had yet to figure out how to really calm Mami down when she got like this. What if Tomomi only ended up upsetting her more?

"Mami—" Yukako had begun to speak but she was quickly cut off when Mami pushed past her, bumping into her slightly and earning a low scoff from the pigtailed brunette. Tomomi felt helpless as she watched Mami walk away. She had promised herself that she would help Mami but all she was doing was sitting here – just as useless as she had been before.

Sukeban (Discontinued)Where stories live. Discover now