Post by HungryHunter on Dec 4, 2021 6:58:37 GMT
Haruko supposed she had to get used to days like this. After all, it wouldn’t be long before the kids moved out and she was alone most of the time. Kate was out all week for Musashi job training, Cosmina similarly gone on a seamstress “Sew with what You’ve Got” camping trip, where they had to use their seamstress skills to survive in the wild. She was likely complaining about a lack of hot water right now, but she would get over it and have fun in the coming days. Still, it left Haruko rather lost as to what to do. She had cleaned everything, done all the dishes, and finished her work for the week and she still had days before they came back.
Slowly, a smile made its way onto her face. Maybe when she was ten years younger, she would be bored. But now? This was the first time she could really relax in months. Haruko stretched and practically skipped to the living room. Cosmina had used her income to turn the living room into a gaming theater, but Haruko almost never had time to play with anybody that wasn’t her own daughter. She crawled under the cabinet the television rested upon and pulled out her own system. The PS3, flat and purple, came with a selection of games she had put on her shelf years ago and never picked back up. Well no more!
With nobody to cook dinner for, she sank into Jak and Daxter like she hadn’t done in years. She felt like a teenager again until she came to the edginess of Jak 2. She had to chuckle at everything even as it all drew her in again. She was about halfway through the second game when her phone rang.
“Hello, Haruko- oh, hi, Elyssa! A ruin? What, just us? Aw, I appreciate the thought, but can it wait till tomorrow? I’m kinda really… busy. Doing something else.” Haruko hesitated not just because she was lying, but because of the brilliant idea she had. Jak and Daxster was all well and good, but she had plenty of unfinished games. She dug in her pile until she found Uncharted 3. Doing a ruin sounded like fun, but she wasn’t leaving the house today. How about a compromise?
More hours were sunk into gaming until she was stiff and sore from sitting still. She hadn’t had a day like that in years! And she was still alone. Nobody hogging the bathrooms or calling for her. She had an idea for something else she hadn’t done in a very long time. Haruko staked out the largest bathroom in the house, fitted with the largest bathtub, practically a hot tub. While it filled, she dragged out boxes from under her bed, filled with tools she had never gotten to choose. Bath bombs, bubble bath, oatmeals in a thousand varieties. Humming to herself, she made an assortment and filled the hot water, turning the clear water pink and inviting and foamy. Haruko set her clothing aside and carefully did up her hair before stepping in. She sighed in contentment when the waterline reached her shoulders. A proper bath, and nobody to interrupt! She planned on spending hours there, but it wasn’t long before somebody knocked on her door. She sighed and a minute later, she opened the door, wearing a plush bathrobe.
“Haruko! Glad to have you! We got the sea monster nearly to the beach!” Arthur was shirtless and covered in stinking green ooze, which Haruko assumed was monster blood.
“The sea monster?” Haruko blinked.
“Have you not been getting my texts? Dan, Crow and I have been fighting it for hours and we need you to help finish it!” Arthur pointed behind him, to where Dan and Crow stood on shore. Dan waved before shoving at a massive clawed flipper that came at the shore. Crow was too busy working some sort of lightning-powered Gatling gun to pay her any mind.
“No, I’m taking a day off. Have fun with that.” Haruko leaned out to take a look at the towering behemoth. A vulturine beak snapped hundreds of feet overhead, writhing from a spiked shell. Lightning bullets bounced off of it. “Maybe I’ll watch though.”
“Oh, sorry. Didn’t realize it was your day off.” Arthur smiled. “Sorry guys, it’s her day off!” He called out, flying back to help him out.
“What!? What do you mean-” Dan didn't finish before Arthur shushed him.
“Day off! Come on, we’ve got this! Punch his soft spot again!”
Haruko closed the door and began a path back to her bedroom. The bath was nice, but maybe it was time to change venues. After a detour through her kitchen to start a kettle of tea, she shed her bathrobe and dug around in her closet. Quickly she picked out a tasteful one-piece red swimsuit, plenty modest for her needs. After a few quick stitches, she was out her back door and sliding into her hot tub. Through sunglasses she watched Arthur darting around the head of the sea monster, dodging its snapping vulturine beak. She sipped her tea while it toppled, unbalanced by half its head and neck being frozen. For a few more minutes, sounds of pummeling came from behind her house until finally the three came around the corner, both coated in the green slime she had seen before.
“Have fun, boys?” Haruko asked.
"Bagged a mighty fine varmint." Somehow, Crow's hat had remained untouched despite the rest of him being filthy. "That's a good day in my book."
“Oh, the most. Got room in your day off for some friends?” Arthur smiled, a slash down his front swiftly healing from the flurry of healing spells he was casting. “Well, maybe not me, I think I’ll sit out the hot tub.”
“Get over here you jerk! You can sit on the pool chair! After, of course, you clean off and change.” Haruko jerked her thumb over her shoulder, pointing to the garden hose and two pairs of swim trunks she had prepared for them.
“...no shower?” Dan mumbled, blushing. Crow sighed and lowered his hat to hide his own embarrassment.
“You aren’t tracking that gunk into my house. Hose, boys! I’m looking this way, don’t you worry about me.” Haruko folded her arms behind her head and leaned back until Dan and Crow slipped in across from her and Arthur dunked in an iceberg before diving in himself, drawing forth a storm of swearing and giggling from the others. Arthur was put in a headlock and tortured via tickling for a while before things calmed down and for a long time, they enjoyed normal conversation and finally, some quiet calm, four friends just enjoying each other’s presence. An ordered pizza closed out the day, and as the sun went down, Haruko waved them off. She made a last change of clothing, donning comfortable pink pajamas and Sylveon-decorated slippers before settling onto the couch. She fell asleep binging netflix, nodding off on a pillow Cosmina had sewn with a Kate-upgraded clicker in her lap.
1 Week Later
Somebody knocked on the door, two sets of frantic fists trying to outdo each other. Haruko was ready on her end, swinging it open to reveal two excited young women.
“Moooom! I missed you! The woods suck!” Cosmina’s clothing was sewn with surprising expertise from various leaves, tent canvas, and sleeping bag fabric. She grabbed her mother and squeezed her as tight as her skinny arms allowed.
“Pff. Suckup.” Kate rolled her eyes, but joined in the hug. Had she gotten bigger? Haruko swore there was more muscle than before under the Tokyo Tiger shirt she wore. “Doesn’t look like you missed us.”
Haruko had only put in her bare minimum to be presentable today. She was dressed in old clothes, and she had combed but not otherwise styled her hair. Behind her was the evidence of her more relaxed lifestyle. Some messier clothes, the old video games out.
“No. I know it looks like I had fun, and I did, but… I was trying to get used to being alone here. You two are growing up so fast, and you’re already finding your place in the world. That’s a good thing, but I love having you here.” Haruko tried to explain, but Cosmina put a finger to her lips.
“Mom, we know. Kate was just teasing. She really loves you too, she knows. Called me and said she was homesick her first night there.” Cosmina said.
“Hey, you said you wouldn’t tell her! ...it’s true, though. I nearly came home cause… whatever, I missed you! I felt like an idiot for-” Kate squeezed them both harder.
“Hey, no. You did great. You pulled through. You too, Cosmina. I know how rough it must have been for you at camp.” Haruko brought her children inside and set them up at the table, ready to hear everything they had to say. She should have realized they were facing their own separation anxiety, and with less experience to handle it than her. But now they were home and she was refreshed. It was nice to have time off, but they were back for another year. Time to be a mom again.
Slowly, a smile made its way onto her face. Maybe when she was ten years younger, she would be bored. But now? This was the first time she could really relax in months. Haruko stretched and practically skipped to the living room. Cosmina had used her income to turn the living room into a gaming theater, but Haruko almost never had time to play with anybody that wasn’t her own daughter. She crawled under the cabinet the television rested upon and pulled out her own system. The PS3, flat and purple, came with a selection of games she had put on her shelf years ago and never picked back up. Well no more!
With nobody to cook dinner for, she sank into Jak and Daxter like she hadn’t done in years. She felt like a teenager again until she came to the edginess of Jak 2. She had to chuckle at everything even as it all drew her in again. She was about halfway through the second game when her phone rang.
“Hello, Haruko- oh, hi, Elyssa! A ruin? What, just us? Aw, I appreciate the thought, but can it wait till tomorrow? I’m kinda really… busy. Doing something else.” Haruko hesitated not just because she was lying, but because of the brilliant idea she had. Jak and Daxster was all well and good, but she had plenty of unfinished games. She dug in her pile until she found Uncharted 3. Doing a ruin sounded like fun, but she wasn’t leaving the house today. How about a compromise?
More hours were sunk into gaming until she was stiff and sore from sitting still. She hadn’t had a day like that in years! And she was still alone. Nobody hogging the bathrooms or calling for her. She had an idea for something else she hadn’t done in a very long time. Haruko staked out the largest bathroom in the house, fitted with the largest bathtub, practically a hot tub. While it filled, she dragged out boxes from under her bed, filled with tools she had never gotten to choose. Bath bombs, bubble bath, oatmeals in a thousand varieties. Humming to herself, she made an assortment and filled the hot water, turning the clear water pink and inviting and foamy. Haruko set her clothing aside and carefully did up her hair before stepping in. She sighed in contentment when the waterline reached her shoulders. A proper bath, and nobody to interrupt! She planned on spending hours there, but it wasn’t long before somebody knocked on her door. She sighed and a minute later, she opened the door, wearing a plush bathrobe.
“Haruko! Glad to have you! We got the sea monster nearly to the beach!” Arthur was shirtless and covered in stinking green ooze, which Haruko assumed was monster blood.
“The sea monster?” Haruko blinked.
“Have you not been getting my texts? Dan, Crow and I have been fighting it for hours and we need you to help finish it!” Arthur pointed behind him, to where Dan and Crow stood on shore. Dan waved before shoving at a massive clawed flipper that came at the shore. Crow was too busy working some sort of lightning-powered Gatling gun to pay her any mind.
“No, I’m taking a day off. Have fun with that.” Haruko leaned out to take a look at the towering behemoth. A vulturine beak snapped hundreds of feet overhead, writhing from a spiked shell. Lightning bullets bounced off of it. “Maybe I’ll watch though.”
“Oh, sorry. Didn’t realize it was your day off.” Arthur smiled. “Sorry guys, it’s her day off!” He called out, flying back to help him out.
“What!? What do you mean-” Dan didn't finish before Arthur shushed him.
“Day off! Come on, we’ve got this! Punch his soft spot again!”
Haruko closed the door and began a path back to her bedroom. The bath was nice, but maybe it was time to change venues. After a detour through her kitchen to start a kettle of tea, she shed her bathrobe and dug around in her closet. Quickly she picked out a tasteful one-piece red swimsuit, plenty modest for her needs. After a few quick stitches, she was out her back door and sliding into her hot tub. Through sunglasses she watched Arthur darting around the head of the sea monster, dodging its snapping vulturine beak. She sipped her tea while it toppled, unbalanced by half its head and neck being frozen. For a few more minutes, sounds of pummeling came from behind her house until finally the three came around the corner, both coated in the green slime she had seen before.
“Have fun, boys?” Haruko asked.
"Bagged a mighty fine varmint." Somehow, Crow's hat had remained untouched despite the rest of him being filthy. "That's a good day in my book."
“Oh, the most. Got room in your day off for some friends?” Arthur smiled, a slash down his front swiftly healing from the flurry of healing spells he was casting. “Well, maybe not me, I think I’ll sit out the hot tub.”
“Get over here you jerk! You can sit on the pool chair! After, of course, you clean off and change.” Haruko jerked her thumb over her shoulder, pointing to the garden hose and two pairs of swim trunks she had prepared for them.
“...no shower?” Dan mumbled, blushing. Crow sighed and lowered his hat to hide his own embarrassment.
“You aren’t tracking that gunk into my house. Hose, boys! I’m looking this way, don’t you worry about me.” Haruko folded her arms behind her head and leaned back until Dan and Crow slipped in across from her and Arthur dunked in an iceberg before diving in himself, drawing forth a storm of swearing and giggling from the others. Arthur was put in a headlock and tortured via tickling for a while before things calmed down and for a long time, they enjoyed normal conversation and finally, some quiet calm, four friends just enjoying each other’s presence. An ordered pizza closed out the day, and as the sun went down, Haruko waved them off. She made a last change of clothing, donning comfortable pink pajamas and Sylveon-decorated slippers before settling onto the couch. She fell asleep binging netflix, nodding off on a pillow Cosmina had sewn with a Kate-upgraded clicker in her lap.
1 Week Later
Somebody knocked on the door, two sets of frantic fists trying to outdo each other. Haruko was ready on her end, swinging it open to reveal two excited young women.
“Moooom! I missed you! The woods suck!” Cosmina’s clothing was sewn with surprising expertise from various leaves, tent canvas, and sleeping bag fabric. She grabbed her mother and squeezed her as tight as her skinny arms allowed.
“Pff. Suckup.” Kate rolled her eyes, but joined in the hug. Had she gotten bigger? Haruko swore there was more muscle than before under the Tokyo Tiger shirt she wore. “Doesn’t look like you missed us.”
Haruko had only put in her bare minimum to be presentable today. She was dressed in old clothes, and she had combed but not otherwise styled her hair. Behind her was the evidence of her more relaxed lifestyle. Some messier clothes, the old video games out.
“No. I know it looks like I had fun, and I did, but… I was trying to get used to being alone here. You two are growing up so fast, and you’re already finding your place in the world. That’s a good thing, but I love having you here.” Haruko tried to explain, but Cosmina put a finger to her lips.
“Mom, we know. Kate was just teasing. She really loves you too, she knows. Called me and said she was homesick her first night there.” Cosmina said.
“Hey, you said you wouldn’t tell her! ...it’s true, though. I nearly came home cause… whatever, I missed you! I felt like an idiot for-” Kate squeezed them both harder.
“Hey, no. You did great. You pulled through. You too, Cosmina. I know how rough it must have been for you at camp.” Haruko brought her children inside and set them up at the table, ready to hear everything they had to say. She should have realized they were facing their own separation anxiety, and with less experience to handle it than her. But now they were home and she was refreshed. It was nice to have time off, but they were back for another year. Time to be a mom again.