Episode 92

Recap: Minako and Usagi ditch their study group to go to the arcade, where they run into Tenoh Haruka (who looks lovely and masculine). They stalk her. They become extremely jealous of Michiru. A Daimohn steals the pure heart crystal of a mechanic, and Sailors Moon and Venus try to recapture it, but not before the mysterious soldiers reveal themselves to be Sailor Senshi (Neptune and Uranus, of course!) Later, to Minako's dismay, it is revealed that Haruka is, in fact, a girl. (Usagi:"I always thought Mamo-chan was better." Yeah, sure you did, sweetie. Sure you did.)

At the Crown

The girls left gradually: first Ami, who said she really needed to study more, as the session at Rei's had been interrupted; then Makoto, who claimed she needed plenty of time to prepare a good dinner; then Rei, who got bored of watching Minako and Usagi race each other.

"Again!" cried Minako victoriously. "I win again! Admit defeat, admit it!"

"You really are snappier today than usual," Usagi mumbled. "I should get going."

"You're afraid to race me once more," Minako assumed, her face a beacon of supremacy.

"I'm out of money," Usagi corrected her frankly. "Ja ne, Motoki!"

Motoki waved good-naturedly from the counter, and as Usagi padded away she saw Minako slink back over to flirt with him some more. "Minako-chan," she sighed wearily. Of course she would go right back to Motoki as soon as she discovered Tenoh Haruka was off limits – or rather, was simply a girl. She giggled to herself, thinking how attractive Haruka was, boy or girl, but still feeling rather smug that she hadn't thrown herself at Haruka the way Minako had, and then made a fool of herself. Why, compared to Minako, Usagi had behaved downright sensibly; after all, when one was dating someone as wonderful as her Mamo-chan, one couldn't bat one's eyes at just any cute boy walking by. Right?

Right. She nodded her head with a surge of self-assurance and promptly smacked into the person who had just entered the Crown.

"Ergh!" She massaged her forehead and looked up to see who the victim of her clumsiness was, this time. "Oh, Mamo-chan," she said. "I should have guessed."

Mamoru folded his arms, his lips twitching. "I thought we were past this stage, Usako. The 'Fancy-running-into-you-here-quite-literally' stage, hm?"

Usagi blinked up at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean, Mamo-chan? I still run into people daily."

He cackled with laughter and tugged one of her pigtails affectionately; Usagi had an instinctive urge that she was missing something funny, but decided to let it go. She was used to getting that feeling from Mamoru.

"I heard something fascinating from Rei just a moment ago," said Mamoru conversationally. "Something about a certain Tenoh Haruka who seemed to have caught your eye?"

In the blink of an eye she felt herself burn bright red. "Oh – oh, no, not me! It wasn't me at all! Minako-chan thought Haruka-san was a boy, and so she dragged me along after her…"

"I what?" Minako stormed over from her conversation with Motoki; Usagi gulped. "You were just as eager to go as I was! I said, I want to see what this person is like, and you said you did too, and I said, Usagi, you have Mamoru, and you said – "

"Aino Minako, you stop stretching the truth! You said, I want to follow the cute boy!" Usagi stuck her tongue out for a fraction of a second. "Cute boy, Minako! And I said, I was interested in knowing more about him, but I never said anything about him – about her being a cute boy!"

"That's a lie!" Minako stretched up on her toes. She was already a mite taller than Usagi, and she seemed determined to use this to her advantage in any way possible. "You thought she was a boy, too, and when I said, but you have Mamo-chan, you said, yes, but still…"

"But still, I was curious! That's all! I would never, never, ever follow around a cute boy because I was interested in him! I HAVE MAMORU!"

"WHICH IS WHAT I TOLD YOU THE ENTIRE TIME, AND YOU WOULDN'T LISTEN!"

"BECAUSE THAT'S NOT WHAT I – " A hand abruptly covered her mouth, and Usagi looked up through flaming eyes and a flurry of heated passion to see Mamoru fighting laughter above her.

"Calm down, Usako. I was only kidding. Can you blame Minako for being embarrassed, anyway?"

Motoki, who had hunched back behind the counter during the brawl, reemerged and took a few hesitant steps towards them. "Minako, it was an innocent mistake. I don't know this Tenoh Haruka but even I have to admit, she did have some extremely…" He swallowed. "…masculine features."

Immediately, Minako's furious red flush faded into a fawning adoration. "Did you really, Motoki? Then you don't blame me for making that mistake?" She grasped his upper arm dramatically.

Usagi made a slight retching sound, which made Mamoru snort good-humoredly; Minako shot them both a venomous look before turning back to Motoki, her loving eyes wide as saucers.

"Of course not. Although I was disappointed you left to run after him – "

"You were?"

"Of course, Minako-chan. I like having you around, you know that." He blushed a little, glancing up at Mamoru and Usagi. "And Usagi, too, of course."

"He's covering up," Mamoru said in a stage whisper to Usagi, who choked back a wave of giggles.

Motoki blushed even harder.

"Do you really, Motoki? Do you want to race me?"

Minako never beats around the bush, Usagi thought nervously.

"Ah – sure, why not?"

"I think we'd better leave the two lovebirds," Mamoru said in her ear, still not as quietly as he might have. As Usagi let him turn her away, she noticed Motoki's ears go bright pink.

A block away from the Crown

"Hey, Odangos!" Usagi whirled around to see Tenoh Haruka and her friend – girlfriend? – Michiru. Haruka was grinning widely, and it made Usagi a bit nauseous to see just how nice of a smile she had.

"Odangos?" Mamoru muttered down to her as the two girls approached. "Someone else is allowed to call you Odangos?"

Usagi grinned at him. "Why, Mamo-chan? Jealous? I could get them to call you Cape Boy, if it would make you feel better."

He chuckled and wound his arms around her neck. "Rei's getting to you," he said. "What happened to my innocent little Usako who never called me ridiculous names?"

"Who's this?" said Haruka cheerily, now easily in earshot. "Don't tell me little Odangos has a boyfriend?"

"Chiba Mamoru. Konnichiwa." He inclined his head.

"Tenoh Haruka, and this is Kaioh Michiru." They both nodded respectfully. "I had the pleasure of meeting Odangos and her friend today," Haruka continued, a wicked glint in her dark* eyes. "They were quite the charmers."

"Haruka was being flirtatious, as usual," said Michiru softly with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry if she was less than straightforward. She's mistaken for a man more often than not."

Usagi glanced at Haruka to see if this concerned her at all, but the tall blond girl simply smirked down at her, making her giggle. "Oh, that's alright. Minako's too interested in beautiful people for her own good." She blushed, realizing the unintentional compliment – but they were beautiful, both of them.

"Anyway, I just wanted to apologize for leaving you with that monstrosity at the garage," said Haruka. "I was so concerned with getting Michiru to safety, I assumed you two were on our heels."

"We were fine. I think Sailor Moon ended up saving your mechanic friend, anyway, thank goodness."

Mamoru coughed delicately. "She certainly is brave, isn't she, Usako?"

"Oh, yes," said Usagi just as primly. "Oh, yes, indeed."

Haruka scanned both of their faces, a strange tension in her gaze. "Good," she said after a pause. "Of course, good. I'm glad to hear he's alright."

"Excuse us," Michiru said, bowing, "but we have an engagement. A pleasure to meet you both."

"Oh, that's right. Ja ne, Odangos, Odangos' boyfriend." They turned and sauntered off, the epitome of grace and elegance.

Usagi bit her lip, grinning. "Aren't they funny?" she said to Mamoru. "Michiru so formal, and Haruka so relaxed?"

"Polar opposites," Mamoru agreed drily. "I see what you mean, Usako. I could fall for Tenoh Haruka just as easily."

"Mamo-chan!" she cried, whirling around and slamming her fists into his chests. "Don't make fun of me!"

He turned and walked away, laughing. "Tomorrow's Saturday, right, Usako?"

"Yes," she said suspiciously to his retreating back.

"I'll pick you up at two," he called over his shoulder.

Damn him, Usagi thought cheerfully. No matter how many times he teases me…

Glowing, she skipped off home.

*Now, for reasons unknown to me, I was very concerned about the coloring of Haruka's eyes. In a lot of pictures I found, they were clearly blue, but in the anime they were so dark they could have either been brown or a navy color like her fuku. The latter makes more sense, but I was always under the impression she had brown eyes. Anyone want to clarify this for me? IT'S SO IMPORTANT! (Heh... heheh...)

This was quite enjoyable to write. I'm looking forward to much more of Haruka and Michiru as this arc progresses. Gotta love 'em. (:

Thanks for reading!