Sukeban (Discontinued)

Chapter 33: Waking Up Somewhere New

Haruna slowly ran her fingers through a sleeping Rina's hair, her eyes gazing down lovingly at the young teenager who laid on the soft couch. She looked so peaceful; much more so than she had looked in days. Her eyes were shut lightly, her chest moving up and down with her breathing. Haruna smiled, pulling the small blanket further up on Rina's body. She leaned down and gave Rina a small kiss before pushing herself away from the couch.

Haruna's shaky feet carried her into the kitchen, a hand running itself through her hair. She leaned herself forward over the sink, her arms crossing and her eyes peering out into the night just outside the window.

How had it come to this? They'd been successful in keep Rina off the streets for so long but now that seemed so much harder to do. Now it seemed impossible. Everything was coming down; Haruna was losing any chance she had to keep these girls' lives in tact. She was meant to be protecting them as a leader but when looking back at all the hell she'd gotten them put through, she didn't think of herself as very much of a leader any longer. She wasn’t protecting any of them; she was only getting them hurt at every corner.

"What's on your mind, kid?" Haruna's body tensed at the voice. She turned around, her eyes narrowing. She wasn't going to drop her guard around anyone, certainly not a cop. He might have helped them and Rina might have decided to trust them but that certainly didn’t mean she had to trust him.

Omar chuckled softly at the girl's reaction. He shook his head, his aging body taking a seat at the kitchen table. Haruna made no movements where she stood, only keeping her body stiff and rigid. She knew the only reason Rina trusted this man was because the poor girl was about to drop from exhaustion and was desperate. Haruna, on the other hand, still didn’t see a reason to do the same as Rina had done.

"What's your story?" He continued.

"Story? What story?" Omar sighed softly; he didn't expect it would be that easy, although he hoped it would have been. This girl in front of him was a complete stereotype; she was just another troubled teenage statistic… But she was friends with the other girl and the other girl struck him as special. He felt sorry for both of them; he wanted to help them overcome whatever was plaguing them.

"Don't play dumb with me. There has to be a reason why two teenage girls are on the streets, isn't there?"

"I won't tell you." The male nodded thoughtfully. This girl was going to be a tough nut to crack; she was going to fight any attempted help tooth and nail. But every teenager would have their moment when they accepted help; he just hoped this girl would find hers before it was too late. He didn’t want to see this girl end up as he had seen so many other teenagers like her end up.

"Will you at least tell me your name?” Haruna pursed her lips but her body relaxed a bit. Where was the harm in telling him her name? He wouldn’t find anything on her in the system anyway.

"Ono. Ono Haruna."

"That's a very pretty name. How do you write it?"

"I don't feel that's very important." Omar laughed softly. He was content; at least he knew her name now. It was a start to getting into this girl's mind.

"What is your friend's name?"

"If I tell you, will you give me your word that you won't report her to the police?" Haruna’s voice was moving back into being harsh as the protective girlfriend in her resurfaced. Omar raised an eyebrow at Haruna’s words, now he really was convinced these girls had a big secret.

"I give you my word." While he made the promise, Omar knew there was a possibility he wouldn't be able to keep it. If these girls needed help then he would have no choice but to report them to the police. For now, he would tell Haruna what she wanted to hear to get his answers and determine just what to do with these two young women.