No, Sailor Moon doesn't belong to me.
Red Wine
Chapter One
There was a light groan as Uranus slowly got up, feeling like she had been hit by a freight train. "Neptune?" she murmured, not knowing whether her partner was still in senshi form or not. "Where are you?"
She looked around, wondering where she was. She stood up, losing her balance for a few moments as she accustomed herself to a new center of balance—which was odd. She didn't remember suddenly gaining a few pounds.
With a small click, she finally recognized the place. She was in front of that concert hall they had battled the violin-shaped Daimon at before she had fallen unconscious. But why was she still here? Michiru should have gotten them both back to their apartment...
There were shards of broken glass around her feet. Leaning down, she picked one up, and looked at her fractured reflection.
The violin-shaped Daimon looked back at her.
She looked down.
My torso is shaped like a violin.
"Oh God!" she yelled, hastily throwing the glass away. "W-what is this?" she asked, breath shaky as she ran a finger across the wood of her torso.
Across town, Michiru was stirred from her slumber by Haruka's mumbling. Smiling, she snuggled deeper into the taller woman's chest to hear what the racer was saying.
"Octave."
A look of momentary confusion passed over the violinist's face before she smiled again, shaking her head indulgently. Haruka was having a dream about that Daimon.
"What to do, what to do..." Haruka repeated the words as she paced back and forth. She couldn't let any of the senshi see her like this, especially not Michiru. But Michiru would probably be with her body, and how would she get back to normal if she wasn't near her body?
It was confusing, and Haruka had never liked confusing things.
Though she had already become used to walking, she knew that if she wanted to get anywhere, she would have to jump on the roofs. Walking in the streets would attract attention and possibly Sailor Moon, and she couldn't afford to be on the receiving end of a Moon Spiral Heart Attack. No, she needed to be stealthy tonight.
It vaguely reminded her of some stealth game she had played once. Attract attention, you die.
She didn't know if she could jump very well, what with her new center of balance and all. To test it, she decided to jump onto a nearby bench.
She crouched, jumped, and tumbled to the ground.
"Mm, Haruka, how are you feeling?" Michiru asked her lover, who had sat up abruptly. "Are you feeling better from that right hook?"
"Octave," the racer mumbled.
"You're still thinking about that Daimon?" the violinist asked with a raised eyebrow. The Senshi of Wind's green eyes flitted over to her.
"Octave," Haruka repeated. "Octave."
"Haruka..." Michiru didn't know what was wrong, but she guessed it had something to do with the Daimon's attack yesterday.
Then, without warning, Haruka shouted, "OCTAVE!" and tore open her shirt.
Michiru nearly had a nosebleed at the sight of the racer's breasts, but she managed to control it. "Ara, I'm surprised you're feeling that way. You were unconscious a few minutes ago, you know." She chuckled and pressed her body close to her lover's. "Is that why you're saying that? You want to be the Daimon tonight?"
"Octave?" the racer asked, wondering why the violinist's heart hadn't been taken yet. "Octave."
The stirring in her body's groin was unfamiliar to the Daimon, but she decided to go along with it anyway.
It had taken all night, but Haruka had finally mastered jumping in the Daimon's body.
She jumped from roof to roof, following the familiar path that led to her apartment. After a few minutes, she finally arrived at her apartment building, dropping down to the window she a nd Neptune always used to get in whenever they got back home in senshi form. Unlatching it, she stepped through it carefully.
Then she was stuck.
Her stupid violin torso had gotten stuck in the window. Her head and arms were inside the apartment while her legs were dangling over the balcony. There was only one thing to do; she didn't want to do it, but she had to if she was ever to get back to her body.
She sucked in a deep breath and yelled, "Michiru!"
"Haruka?" Her head popped out from under the covers, alarmed at the desperation in her lover's voice. But the voice had come from outside of the room, and Haruka was right here, whispering "Octave" in her sleep.
Idly, she began to trace the curve of the blonde's bare abdomen while waiting to hear if the voice would say anything again. On cue, she heard her name called again, and at last she stood up and put on a robe.
She walked out into the living room and stopped dead.
She stared at the violin-shaped Daimon and decided that there was only one thing she could do.
"NEPTUNE PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!" she cried, raising her henshin stick, and in an instant she became Sailor Neptune.
"Michiru! You're here!" the Daimon cried, breaking into a smile and completely startling the Senshi of the Sea. "Where's my body?"
"Octave?" Haruka stumbled into the room, doing a double-take when she saw both Neptune and the Daimon. She was still naked.
"...Michiru, did you...?" Haruka didn't want to finish her sentence.
"What's going on here?" Neptune asked, confused. "Haruka, you've been acting weird since last night and now suddenly the Daimon comes in here speaking English and knowing my name? Augh!" It was the first time Haruka had ever seen Michiru this confused and angry.
"Now look here, Michiru. I'm Haruka, and I woke up in this body. And in my body," she pointed to the Haruka-Daimon, "is the Daimon we fought last night."
"Octave," the Haruka-Daimon said happily.
"So could you get me unstuck, please? I'd like to get back to my normal body," the Daimon-Haruka finished with a smile.
Neptune didn't look persuaded. "Tell me something only Haruka would know."
The Daimon-Haruka thought for a moment before answering, "Well, you have a round birthmark on your inner thighs, you have this spot on your stomach that you like me to..."
"Okay, that's enough." The Senshi of the Sea cut her off quickly, knowing her face must be a new shade of red. "I believe you." Summoning a miniature Deep Submerge, she wet the Daimon-Haruka's sides where she was stuck, and pulled her out. They tumbled to the floor, eliciting a loud thud.
The Daimon-Haruka stood up quickly, looking at her body. The Haruka-Daimon looked back at her.
"Octave?" the Haruka-Daimon asked, blinking at the violin Daimon-Haruka.
"So how are we going to get you back into your normal body?" Neptune asked, having stood up and brushed herself off. "Can you think of any ideas?"
"Er, taking my Pure Heart?" the Daimon-Haruka asked. "I don't know. Do you have anything better? I mean, we can just return it if it doesn't work, right?"
"I can't think of anything else. Try it," Neptune encouraged.
"Okay, let's see. How did the Daimon do it...?" the displaced racer murmured to herself. "Pull the strings apart here... ah! There it is." She pulled back the wood to reveal a small black star on her stomach. "Okay, Daimon. How do I do this?" she asked the Haruka-Daimon.
"Octave?"
"That's not much help. Guess I'll just have to figure this out on my own." She closed her eyes for a brief moment and concentrated. A beam shot out of the star, hitting the Haruka-Daimon square in the chest.
"OCTAVE!" the Haruka-Daimon screamed in pain. A shining crystal appeared from within, and then the Haruka-Daimon fell over.
"That didn't work," the Daimon-Haruka said after a few moments of waiting. "Where'd my heart go... kami-sama."
"What?" Neptune asked, and turned to where the Daimon-Haruka was facing.
A jewel-encrusted sword greeted them.
The Space Sword.
The first talisman.
Neither of them knew what to say.
Author's Note: I think I have some sort of obsession with the Talismans and finding them. I know I've watched 110 so many times I could recite it in my sleep. But anyway, please R&R. Reading reviews makes me happy.