I.
There were few places Haruka Tenoh felt as free and as in-tune with the universe as she was behind the handles of her motorcycle, speeding her way around the track. No matter how loud the crowd roared or the other cyclists tried to close in on her, the rest of the world fell away and it was just Haruka, her bike, and the wind. So when a third of her world was off-kilter, it was world-shaking.
Haruka was making her way around the second-to-last turn of her last lap of the semifinal race, when all of a sudden she noticed her throttle wasn't responding the way it should, the way it had when she ran her half dozen practice laps before the race. She frowned as she tried to power her bike through the last half lap, the machine giving small, disconcerting shutters beneath her. The racer who had been trailing her by a good quarter lap the entire race took advantage of her bike's hesitations to zoom ahead of her, and before Haruka could catch up, the other man pulled through the finish line of the final lap, a good three seconds before her.
The crowd continued to cheer as Haruka crossed the finish line and dismounted her bike, but anger had already begun to pulse through her. She should not have lost that race. Haruka glanced over to the winning racer- Seiya Kou slid off her helmet and flipped long, shiny black hair down to her back.
Haruka could already see the headlines: HARUKA TENOH FLAMES OUT, CRUSHED BY RISING STAR.
"Better luck next time," Seiya offered. And if Haruka didn't already want to punch someone, this woman was not helping.
Haruka shook Seiya's hand back, because she was nice like that, replying with a tight lipped smile, "Unlike you, I won't need luck." She walked away before Seiya had a chance to respond, internally fuming.
She was not so lucky to get away with a clean break though. Halfway to her bike, two sets of bright red hair obscured her vision. The Red Devils they were called in the racing world, although Haruka thought that was laying it on thick. Everything from Eugeal's red outfit and bright red bike, to her manager, Kaorinite's open red dress screamed garish and notice me! Which, of course, the racing world did- and how could they not with the excess of motorcycle ads Eugeal appeared in?
(Haruka tried not to think about the awful yogurt commercials she, herself, had appeared in. For the money, not the lifetime supply of yogurt.)
"Ah, Haruka." Eugeal shifted her motorcycle helmet to under her right arm, cocking her head, a slight predatory smirk upon her lips. "I just wanted to say congratulations on second place. Not as good as first, but definitely better than my third."
Haruka tried not to grind her teeth. Setsuna told her it was bad for her, and she tried to listen to what her manager said. "Thanks," she said, instead. "Third place still gets a good amount of cash though, isn't that what matters to you two?"
Setsuna also told Haruka that she shouldn't provoke people- Haruka never said she was actually good at listening to her.
Eugeal's smirk slid off her face into an irate pout that Haruka might have found cute on anyone else. As she moved to open her mouth angrily, Kaorinite took a step forward, doing her best attempt to tower over Haruka. In her 3-inch heels, she came just to eye level. "My, you make that out to be such a bad thing, Haruka," she said. "Especially when you must be making quite a bit of cash with all your first place wins."
"That's not why I'm here," Haruka said. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to stop trying to place first."
"So you're in it for the thrill of the race? That's noble of you," said Eugeal.
"I'm not going to waste my time explaining it. Excuse me." Haruka shouldered past the two, and marched off towards the mechanics cleaning up her bike.
"Somebody messed with my throttle," she said, barely restraining her anger. "And seeing as none of you managed to catch it before the race, I'm going to take my bike and do the repairs on it myself." One of the mechanics looked like he was about to respond, but another older mechanic punched him on the arm.
"Whatever you say, Ms. Tenoh," the second mechanic said. With a bow, the mechanics retreated to work on a less disgruntled racer's bike.
Haruka began to examine her bike, and was so engrossed in the machine she didn't notice her manager coming up to see her.
"Haruka? Is everything alright?" Setsuna said. "Second place is still very good, and..."
"Well it shouldn't have been second place!" Haruka snapped. She sighed, running her hands through her cropped blonde hair. "I'm sorry Setsuna. Someone messed with my bike. That's the only reason I lost." She continued to turn her screwdriver, loosening the panel on her bike. As she did, a rusted part fell loose out onto the ground, revealing other parts of the vehicle covered in a thick, black gunk. Her brow furrowed and Setsune kneeled down next to her to see the damage done.
"That certainly doesn't look right," Setsuna said.
Haruka shook her head, fist clenched. "No. That's the last time I let those buffoons anywhere near my bike."
Setsuna nodded, placing a hand on Haruka's tense shoulder. "I'll get it fixed. You just go back home and rest."
Haruka huffed, but nodded in agreement. "Thanks, Setsuna." She attempted a smile at her manager, but it came out more a forced grimace. The other woman removed her hand from Haruka's shoulder.
"I'll make some calls and see what I can do." Haruka gave a curt nod, her brain already elsewhere. She gave a wave goodbye to Setsuna, and soon she was flying down the coast in her own, untampered sports car, until long past sunset.
After a few days of driving around in her sports car, Haruka began to feel the itch under her skin that only riding on her bike could calm. She felt confined to the two seats, unable to feel the wind fully on her body, the adrenaline coursing through her, like it did when she was on the open road.
Finally though, the day had come: Setsuna had told her the repairs were come and to come to her office to speak. It was unusual for Setsuna not to just call and update Haruka, but given the unusual circumstances of the bike's malfunctioning, Haruka supposed it was warranted. She shot off a quick response to the woman, settled on her black leather jacket, grabbed her keys, and headed out. The sooner she was back on her bike, the better.
Setsuna's office was in a sleek skyscraper downtown, and the marble tile of the lobby made Haruka's boots echo as she approached the elevator. Entering the agency's office, she gave the receptionist a wink. "Hey, Hotaru, shouldn't you be in school?"
The teenager pouted, crossing her arms. "School doesn't start for another couple weeks, Haruka!"
"And until then your mom is gonna work you to the bone, I'm sure." Haruka grinned.
Hotaru rolled her eyes, turning back to the computer in front of her. "Just go in, Mom's expecting you."
Haruka ruffled the girl's hair affectionately before heading back towards Setsuna's office, ignoring her irritated yelp. She paused as she swore she heard multiple voices coming from the room. She knocked: "Setsuna, it's me!"
"Come on in, Haruka!" Setsuna called. With a shrug, Haruka opened the door, only to find that there was another woman sitting in the office with Setsuna.
Not dissimilar to Setsuna, she wore a crisp suit jacket, though hers was cropped to the waist and of a light pink, complimenting her seafoam hair, which came down in gentle waves just over her shoulders. A skirt and pair of heels finished the ensemble, the skirt just short enough to give Haruka a nice view of her long legs, which she crossed. The two's eyes met briefly before Setsuna spoke again.
"Haruka, this is Michiru Kaioh. She's your new bodyguard." Haruka blinked. Then she blinked again.
"Bodyguard. My new bodyguard," Haruka repeated.
"We confirmed that someone definitely sabotaged your bike at the last race. You were lucky to finish the race at all, let alone without any injuries. So until we figure out who is behind it, I thought it best to have Miss Kaioh help keep you safe." Setsuna paused a second, sensing Haruka's bewilderment. "I assure you she comes highly recommended."
As someone who had been time and time again judged unfairly for her appearance, Haruka tried not to do the same, but this (admittedly gorgeous) woman was not exactly what came to mind when she thought of a bodyguard. Haruka had at least four inches on her in height, even taking into account the heels she was wearing. Haruka tried not to raise her eyebrows at her manager as Michiru Kaioh rose neatly from her seat to face her. Before Haruka could right her skeptical expression, Michiru held out a hand to the other woman.
Even her wrists are delicate-looking, Haruka thought. No sooner had she taken the woman's hand, then she found herself staring up at Michiru, the woman's hair tickling the sides of her face as Haruka lay flat on her back, the wind knocked out of her. Haruka blinked again this time, in a different kind of shock, a mixture of disbelief and something else not entirely unpleasant.
Slowly recovering from her shock, Haruka pushed herself off the ground to look up; for a moment, she was so captivated by the deep blue eyes, she barely even noticed the hand Michiru was offering her. Haruka, licking her lips, bounced back to her feet without assistance, now looking down at the shorter woman.
"I trust you now see I am more than capable of acting as your bodyguard," Michiru said, pink lips quirked in an almost smile, eyes never leaving Haruka's.
"I trust you are capable of many things."
Setsuna gave a bemused cough; Haruka startled- she had almost forgotten Setsuna was there. "Regardless of how capable Miss Kaioh is, I still don't see why I need a bodyguard. We know there's someone sabotaging my bike, so I keep an eye on and we make sure the bike is good to go before competitions. I don't need someone tracking my every move." Haruka to read Michiru's expression as she spoke, but her cool demeanor was borderline steely.
"I knew you'd be...less than thrilled by the idea. But until we know the depth and nature of the sabotage, your safety on and off the track requires outside support. Of course, if you wanted to cancel your upcoming races, it would be a lot easier to–"
"No!" Haruka interjected automatically. "I..." She sighed, pushing her hand back through her hair. "I'll deal with it. It's only temporary, right?"
"Just as long as the issue takes to be resolved, Setsuna assured me," Michiru said. The very picture of grace, she proceeded to give a polite smile and bow to her employer. "I'll be in touch in with you later, Ms. Meioh." She then looked over at Haruka, and gave her a small smile. "Ms. Tenoh."
"Haruka." She felt her face flush despite herself. "I don't care for honorifics. And we'll be spending a lot of time together, anyway. It'll make things easier."
"Haruka it is then." Michiru said, her and Haruka tried not to pay too much attention to the sparkle in her eye before she turned to leave the office.
Setsuna and Haruka stood in silence for a moment after the door closed quietly behind Michiru.
"Sometimes you're too good of an agent, you know that? A bodyguard? Really?" Haruka said.
"You didn't complain nearly as much as I thought you would. I had a whole list of retorts I didn't even get to try. I'm almost disappointed."
Haruka crossed her arms and gave a small huff. "This lasts as long as it takes to work out this whole sabotage thing, no longer."
Setsuna nodded. "You have my word. Though I'm sure you wouldn't mind having Miss Kaioh around a little longer..."
"I'll talk to you later, Setsuna," Haruka said firmly, leaving before the woman could press the topic of her new bodyguard any further.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, a small voice in her head teased) for her, Michiru was still in the lobby, chatting with Hotaru.
"Don't you have homework to do?"
Hotaru turned in her swivel chair to look at Haruka, "Miss Kaioh was just telling me about her time in high school!"
"Oh really?" Haruka raised an eyebrow.
"Just telling her to keep studying hard." Michiru flipped her hair in a way that would've seemed haughty on other women, but she somehow made seem natural. "It'll be more useful than she thinks."
"Even algebra?"
"Even algebra."
Hotaru groaned and Haruka gave a laugh. "Keep at it, Firefly."
"Good luck, Hotaru," Michiru smiled.
Exiting the office, the two then found themselves waiting for the elevator, Haruka restraining herself from stealing glances at the other woman. She would have plenty, too much, time to get to know her in the days, or, god forbid, weeks, to follow.
"Michiru," the other woman spoke, snapping Haruka out of her thoughts, and causing her to snap her eyes over to meet hers.
She gulped. "What?"
"If you're going to have me call you Haruka, you should just call me Michiru." The corner of her lip curved in a sly smile. "'It'll make things easier.'"
Haruka wanted to be annoyed at Michiru parroting her words back at her, but she couldn't think of a coherent response with Michiru's eyes on her. Instead, she gave a small nod of agreement, turning her gaze to the elevator, which opened. The two stepped in.
"If you're free now, we can talk about more about this arrangement. I can answer any questions you might have for me," Michiru continued as Haruka punched the button for the ground floor.
Haruka's felt a flash of annoyance at the bodyguard's tone, her coolness only serving to rile her up more. 'This arrangement,' as if it were a musical composition or rearranging of furniture, and not a complete intrusion into her life. The reality of the whole situation was finally beginning to settle in, but Haruka merely shrugged. "May as well get it over with. Figure this won't be for long anyway." She let the annoyance seep into her tone, and she avoided meeting Michiru's gaze again. This is all only a temporary inconvenience, she told herself, uncertain if the thought was reassuring or disappointed.
Author note: after all these years, I'm back from the dead! With a fresh start no less. This is being crossposted on ao3 with my co-writer vivelarepublique (who was responsible for the origins of this fic and wrote this first chapter). We only have one chapter left to write, and I hope you enjoy the ride!