Disclaimer: I only own the plot!

Sacrifice

Summary: "Silence is approaching. We have to find the Messiah. We are the only ones who can do it. Are you willing to sacrifice everything to come with me?"

»«»«»«

Important note: I only own the plot. The idea for this story has been on my mind for a while now, but only recently I had the inspiration to actually write something. I love the relationship between Michiru and Haruka, and I have always imagined how their lives were before they met and how their relationship evolved. And that is what this story is about. The story starts before they meet and how they came together and what happened after that. I must warn you that I will write them as a romantic pair, so if you don't like that, don't bother to read this. With that said, hope that if you do give this a chance, you will actually enjoy it. Thank you for reading!

»«»«»«

Prologue

Chaos… Everywhere she looked she could only see destruction. She was standing in the middle of a battlefield and she was alone, so impossibly alone…

»«»«»«

Michiru smiled in anticipation as the racers took their places beside the cars. It was her first time on the tracks and surprisingly enough, she was enjoying herself.

Elsa Gray, the girl who had dragged her along, was also excited about the race. She was leaning over the rail, shielding her eyes from the sun with a hand and gesturing towards a white car with red letters with the other. "Look, look! That is Tenoh Haruka, a great driver and a great runner."

Michiru looked down and saw a tall figure leaning casually against the white car. From that distance, she could only make out the racer's slender figure and blond hair. "I really can't see-"she began, but then the speakers crackled and the commentator announced Tenoh Haruka, and a close-up of the driver's face appeared on a giant screen.

An involuntary surge of emotions rushed through her as she observed the smiling face on the screen. His dark-blue eyes, framed by sandy-blonde hair, seemed to pierce right through her and Michiru felt a warm flush on her cheeks. She had never seen him before, yet there was something strangely familiar about him.

When his image disappeared from the screen, Michiru gasped and stepped forward with a hand pressed to her chest. Elsa was saying something but all she could think about were the driver's blue eyes and how she would love to see them up-close.

»«»«»«

A smile showed in Haruka's eyes as she accepted the golden cup and lifted it over her head; the crowd roared in approval. The other racers gathered around her to congratulate her on the victory.

There was a shadow of doubt at the back of her mind, threatening to engulf her thoughts, but Haruka stubbornly pushed it away. Today was a good day. It was the first of many victories. Nothing could ruin her good mood.

»«»«»«

"You are awfully quiet today, Kaioh-san. What troubles your mind?"

"Hum, what?" Michiru asked distractedly, pushing a strand of hair away from her face. "Oh, I am sorry", she added, noticing Elsa's questioning look. "I didn't mean to be rude. I was just thinking…" A smile lifted one side of her mouth. "That racer, Tenoh Haruka… he was quite… interesting."

Elsa covered her mouth with a hand and giggled. Seeing Michiru's look of incomprehension, she explained: "Tenoh Haruka is a girl, Kaioh-san."

"Oh…" A girl… Michiru blushed and giggled in embarrassment.

"Don't worry, you were not the first to make that mistake", Elsa said with a dismissive gesture. "Tenoh-san is quite popular among girls."

Michiru nodded; there was nothing girly about Haruka. There was a powerful appeal in her, a rough, determined quality of confidence that was magnetic. Michiru had seen her briefly and from afar, but the other girl had made quite an impression on her. "Do you know her?"

"Not personally, no. She is an athlete, like me, and we practice on the same place. You should see her running. I'm fast, but Tenoh-san is like… she is like the wind."

Michiru closed her eyes and pictured Haruka's beautiful face. "Tenoh Haruka… I can't wait to meet you."

»«»«»«

She stared around with a gasp of horror caught in her throat. No sound but the ominous howl of the wind reached her ears. The world was empty and she was alone.

Haruka blinked her eyes awake; for one fleeting moment she thought she was still trapped inside the nightmare. Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the dark and she saw the white ceiling of her bedroom. Breathing in relief, she scrambled out of bed and walked to the window.

The city was sleeping quietly, completely oblivious to the turmoil inside her mind. How long ago had those nightmares started? Each new night brought with it images of destruction and as much as she told herself it was only a dream, she could not shake off the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

The end of the World… that was what she had seen. Her stomach twisted and she put a hand on the cold glass to steady herself. The wind was blowing hard outside, carrying with it a note of menace that resonated deep within her.

She stood by the window a long time and then returned to bed, curling onto it and trying to ignore the hollow sensation inside of her.

»«»«»«

Michiru threw off the blanket and scrambled into a sitting position. She sat perfectly still, waiting for the dream to fade from her mind. Not that it ever leave her mind completely. It was always there, lurking in the shadows, waiting to emerge when she least expected it.

Every night brought a new detail to the dream, and each new detail brought her closer to decipher the hidden message behind it. She had no doubt in her mind that someone was trying to tell her something.

Sighing in frustration, Michiru picked up a small pad that she always kept on the bedside and a pencil. She stared at the blank page a moment and then began drawing. The pencil moved quickly, as if it had a life of its own. Her eyes lit up as the contours of Haruka's face began to take shape.

She was uncomfortably aware of the heat on her cheeks, but she couldn't stop now. When she finally finished, Haruka looked up from the page with a triumphant expression on her face, and a fiery spark in her eyes, just like Michiru had seen her at the end of the race. "Haruka…"

She didn't know how or when, but she would find a way of meeting her.

To be continued…