Hanabi

Chapter 48: Fireworks

Haruna observed the blue sky without any clouds in view. The thin cast on her arm was starting to itch and get really bothersome, but she tried to move her focus away from those things and the annoying pain she still felt every now and then, hence the moment to look up at the sky and take a deep breath.

She was sitting in that known wooden floor in front of that same backyard again. Mami’s house was too quiet without Tomomi or Tomoko around. She wondered why she even missed the noise, and heard soft footsteps coming towards her.

When Rina sat down by her side, she immediately faced her in worry. She didn’t care how many times the kitsune said she was ok now, for her it was still too soon for the taller brunette to be fussing around. In two weeks after her first visit to the hut Rina was recovered, but for Haruna she still wasn’t. She didn’t quite believe even youkai would heal that fast from something so severe. They had been back to Mami’s house for a few days already and she seemed ok, but for Haruna it still felt too soon.

- Would you please stop staring at me as if I’m going to break any second? - Rina spoke with a knowing look - I’m ok.

- You keep saying that.

- Sojobou said I’m good to go, why don’t you believe him? I’m walking around, I’m moving and feeling just fine compared to last week. - Haruna scoffed when she said that, what made Rina roll her eyes - If anything, I should be the one worried about you here. What did your doctor say?

- That I still can’t remove this stupid cast because he doesn’t want me to have another actual fracture, and I need to be careful with my posture. - the shorter girl said that in such a despising way that Rina had to bite down her lip not to have the wrong reaction - That’s why I hate hospitals and doctors and all that crap.

- You hate lots of things. Though most of the time you just exaggerate on the words you use.

Haruna closed her eyes and looked down at her feet with an unreadable smile.

- You would know. - she finally said after a long and silent moment. Rina stared at her calmly - I just think people are making a big drama out of a few fractures while you should still be resting.

A pleasant breeze caressed Rina’s face as she looked at the shorter girl in silence, contemplating what to say. They still haven’t talked about everything, maybe this was the time to do that. They had to take that opportunity while they were alone in the silent house and Tomoko was nowhere to be found.

Kuro-kun walked by, rubbing its feline self against both girls as it passed them by on the way to the kitchen where its food tray was supposed to be. Rina smiled at the cat. That fluffy black cat was the reason they were sitting here now, and things had worked out for Mami. Without that cat Mami wouldn’t have talked to Tomomi for long enough to accept her help. Rina wondered for a second if Kuro-kun could have any idea of how important it was to its owner.

- It’s kinda surreal. - Haruna began, staring at the moving cat for a second and then looking up at the sky - Everything is so quiet, so normal. It doesn’t feel like all of that really happened.