The Scarred Avatar (On hold)

10: I'll be manly and admit my true feelings!

"I'm home." Haruka monotonously states into the dark apartment, not expecting a reply, and kicks off her black leather shoes at the doorway. She runs her hands against the walls to feel for the light switch and turns on the lights. A groan echoed throughout the apartment and Haruka looks to the living room. She sees her father sprawled across the couch, holding a half-empty beer bottle in one hand and holding his head with the other as he sits up.

"Give me a warning next time please," her father groans. "How was school?" His question makes Haruka roll her eyes. The same question every day and always the same reply. She glances at his appearance and lets out a sigh of disappointment, not loud enough for him to hear. His messy hair hangs over his forehead and his eyes are bloodshot from under his glasses which hardly covers his distinctive dark eye bags. He scratches his messy stubble and shrugs off a worn-out beige cardigan. Haruka turns her head to the side and stuffs her hands into her jacket pockets.

"Nothing much. Just the usual."

She wouldn't dare say that she got involved with villains since it's a word that is not allowed in the household. Ever since the incident, he would try to avoid the word at all costs, such as, immediately turning off the television if there were any mentions of villains. He also threw away all of her story books if it had any involvement with villains. In the end, she couldn't tell her father about what had occurred earlier. Tenma nods his head and takes another swig from his beer bottle, turning on the television which pops up with a movie.

Haruka rolls her eyes once again and walks into her bedroom. She glances at the single photo frame sitting on her desk which consists of her family, all smiling. We'll never get that back. She places her bag on her dark blue quilted bed and sits on her rug cross-legged. She inhales and exhales before closing her eyes, entering the spirit world for her earthbending lesson.

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After the lesson has ended, Haruka opens her eyes and she is back in her dark bedroom. She gets up from the floor and fishes out her phone and earphones, plugging them into her ears as she lays down on her bed. She slowly lets the music overtake her mind and body for at least five minutes when a loud crash is heard outside her door. She springs up from her bed, rips the earphones from her ears, and swings the door open to see a staggering Tenma leaning against the wall and broken glass on the floor. Haruka sighs and walks to her father's side, putting his arm around her shoulder.

Tenma looks to her and smiles goofily. "Haruka! My daughter! You are so beautiful!" Tenma yells gleefully with arms outstretched as Haruka tries to steer him away from the broken glass and into his room. "You know my daughter is the prettiest out of all the kids." Tenma states to the coat hanger by his door and Haruka sighs in annoyance then pushes him onto the bed. He immediately goes to hug his pillow and whispers, "Kaede, you know our daughter has been so distant with us lately but it's okay 'cause she's the prettiest and the smartest out of all the kids and I'm thankful since she got that from you," he giggles.

Haruka grimaces at the mention of her mother and silently closes the door as she hears her father's snores. It's been a while since I've seen him smile like that. A small smile appears on Haruka's face and she whispers, "I want to see him smile like that more." Haruka walks back into her room after cleaning the broken glass and puts on black leggings, a dark grey shirt, her usual hoodie, and her joggers. She checks the clock on the wall for the time and it shows that it's midnight. She opens the door and jogs through the hallways and down the stairs after locking the door.

I'll have to train harder in the next ten months to come.

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