"Rivals in love. I told you, when I confessed, that I'd like you for a long time, didn't I?" Yuki said, looking up at Haru and smiling through her tears. Two years ago, and for most of their friendship, Haru and Haruka had been together. The entire time, Yuki had liked Haru too. "And it's... the same with... having everything I wanted. Everyone liked Haruka... Haruka was strong, and brave, and had friends. She had a family who... loved her, not one who hated her. She was beautiful, talented, smart... All I can do is just bake," Yuki said with a short, bitter, laugh. "I was... always jealous."
"Yuki..." Haruka whispered. She finally felt like she understood. Yuki and Haru had been friends first, and Haruka had intruded into that sanctuary. If Yuki's father had always been abusive, and Haruka knew Yuki and Natsu had never been particularly close... Then Haru was the only one Yuki had, and Haruka had stolen Haru away in Yuki's mind. It... made sense now.
"I think it's my turn to reveal secrets, then, and clear up this misunderstanding," Haruka said, giving Kotone a small smile when she looked at her cousin in shock. Haruka started unbuttoning her shirt, as if Haru wasn't there. While she did, she kicked off her shoes. When her shirt was open, Haruka slid off her pantyhose and took off her shirt afterwards. Finally, she removed her long skirt.
Haruka's body was covered in scars, from neck to toes. A few of them still looked fresh, but most looked several years old. There were more than anyone could realistically count. Like Akane had described, it was as if somebody had cut Haruka to pieces, then tried to put her back together. As if that wasn't enough, Haruka reached up to her hair and removed her hair extensions, dropping them to the floor. Her hair was much shorter without them, as if somebody had shaved her head a year ago, and then let it grow from there. Haruka's hair grew very fast, in reality it was a shorter time than that.
"I've had... a disease, since I was born. At sudden times, I'd lose control of myself and attack people around me. Mom and dad were particularly affected, Kotone got a beating sometime too," Haruka said, giving her cousin an apologetic smile, but Kotone just waved it away.
"The only ones it never happened around, were you two, Yuki, Haru," Haruka said, and smiled at them, too. "I don't know why, but it just... never happened around you. But we were worried, my family and I. What if I did lose control and... killed one of you? Haru in particular was in danger, since we were so close... So... we went to my godmother, in the US, a neuroscientist. We used her connections to try to find somebody who could cure me, so I could live a normal life and be with you, but..." Haruka smiled sadly. "Doctors didn't want to work for free. They wanted me as a test subject, a willing half-Umito test subject who wouldn't die under the knife, since I heal so quickly."
Haruka traced a scar over her abdomen and stomach. "They took out one of my kidneys here, trying to see if it'd grow back from my healing. It didn't, so they tried to see if it'd heal outside of my body... it didn't. I'm lucky I'm pretty much immune to disease, because I've only got one kidney now," Haruka explained. "My hair is short due to brain surgery I've had... I think I've had it four times, all to try to find the cause to my condition. I had to shave my head every time I had one, when I visited you, I was usually wearing a wig."
Haruka went on to explain how she had to be awake during operations, and usually without sedative, in order to keep her healing at bay. She explained how, during the worst moments, she'd cried for Yuki and Haru to save her. She kept going, mercilessly, explaining several scars, how and why they were made, and the methods that were used to examine her. Yuki had covered her face with her hands and was shaking her head while crying. She was a delicate girl, and seeing all those scars, hearing the explanations was just too much for her, especially since Haruka went into details in an effort to fully explain what she'd gone through.
"I haven't had an attack for two years now. The last time was... You know when, Haruka said, coming to the end of her explanation. "We think it might be cured, but there's no guarantee. We never found the cause, so... Yeah... That's... my secret," Haruka finished, shrugging lightly. She looked at Yuki, who was shaking in the couch, looking at nothing after hearing Haruka's descriptions of what had been done to her.
"You were right, Yuki. I'm... a demon."
