Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or the characters. I do own the plot of the story and the original characters that may appear in it.
Rough Interlude
When she opened her eyes, she found a beautiful blonde woman, with her eyes closed, her mouth slightly open and her hair over her forehead. Michiru's blue eyes trailed over every single detailed of the sleeping blonde beside her; every strand of blonde hair, every expression mark on the side of her mouth. Michiru trailed the lines softly. Those likes were proof that her blonde lover smiled a lot.
She sighed and leaned closer to trace her lips over the fine lines before she settled her cheek on Haruka's shoulder. Her left hand came to trail her neck and then finally her collarbone. Her eyes roamed her chest before she stopped to stare at a small crescent shaped scar. Michiru stared at it before she moved her delicate fingers to touch it.
"That one almost pierced my heart." Haruka mumbled as she began to wake up. She heard Michiru gasp and knew she had startled her. Haruka opened one green eye and looked up at her. She had missed how her lover looked in the morning. "Good morning."
"Morning…" Michiru whispered and smiled down at her. She saw the other crescent shaped scar underneath that one sighed. She knew she had a couple of more. "What other scars do you have?"
Haruka moved her arm forward. She showed her forearm to Michiru and touched the large scar there. "I broke my arm and my knee." She moved the covers away from her leg and showed her lover the scar. "And I almost got a Harry Potter look alike." She joked as she touched her hair line and felt the scar there. "That was the one that knocked me out for three years."
Michiru touched the one on Haruka's head. She leaned down and kissed it. "Bad scar. You stole my lover for three years."
Haruka chuckled and pulled Michiru close to her. She kissed the corner of her mouth and then nuzzled her cheek. "I am hungry."
"You are always hungry when I am around." Michiru giggled, kissed her cheek and hugged her. She then pulled away and ran her fingers through her hair. That's when she saw it. The gold band on her finger. Her body froze. What have I done? Michiru gasped and jumped away from Haruka. She noticed the confused glace the blonde gave to her but she decided to ignore it. If she stayed there another minute she was going to make the biggest mistake of her life! "I got to go."
Haruka opened her eyes and frowned. "What? Why?" She saw Michiru pick up her clothes. She looked at the watch on the night stand. "It's only eight in the morning, Michiru." Haruka said as she also stood up and began to dress herself.
"I need to go home." Michiru said as she zipped her pants. She walked to the door and moved to open it.
Haruka stopped her by slamming her hand against the door and closing it. "Why are you in a rush?" She asked.
"Haruka…." She closed her eyes tightly. "I really need to go home."
"Why?"
"Because!"
"That is not an answer!"
"Damn it, Haruka! I need to go home!" Michiru yelled and moved her hand to open the door again. As much as she wanted to stay with her… forever, she needed to leave. She needed to head back home. She had a husband and a child waiting for her!
Haruka quickly grabbed her hand to stop her. She pulled her away from the door and over to her. She wrapped her free arm around her waist and crushed Michiru's body with hers. "Why?" Her hand rubbed Michiru's hand for a moment before she felt something cold. She raised her eyebrow and looked at her hand. "What's this?" She asked as she touched the wedding band. Her heart became a knot and she could already feel the hair on the back of her neck stand on its end. Her green eyes shot back at Michiru as she tried to control her emotions as best as she could. "Is this what I think it is?" She struggled to keep her voice in a normal tone but it came out a couple of octaves lower than usual. She knew Michiru had noticed by the terrified look she gave her.
"Haruka, I can explain…"
"You are married?! To who!?"
"Please, Haruka! Let me go. We can talk about this some other time. He might even call the police or something."
"He?! A man!? You got married to a man?!"
"Oh sure, Haruka! Really, really smart! I can get married to a woman in Japan!" Michiru said in a sarcastic tone before she pulled her hand away from Haruka's grasp and pushed her away. "What did you think? That I was going to wait three years of a dead person to come back to life?" She bit her tongue. How could she have said such a thing?
Haruka took a step back. "Dead? Do I look dead to you? Look at me! Last night I made sure you knew I was alive didn't I?"
"How should I've know you were really alive?"
"I was in a bed, sleeping for three whole years! And you didn't even have the guts to call and see where the hell I was?! You didn't even go to America! You didn't even have the right news about my accident! You didn't look for me, Michiru! I was sleeping for three years! I didn't know what was going on! The least you could do was to make sure I was still alive or not! I would've done it for you! Want to know why? Because I love you! Yet, here I am, after three years, falling on my knees dead over heels in love with you again!"
Michiru stared up at the dark eyes she loved so much. She had never ever seen Haruka that angry before. "I called your hotel! I called your manager's managing company! My mother gave me all the articles where it said you were dead! I was starting to record my CD! I have a life!"
"Of course you do. You didn't even wait to go and hop on someone else's bed. Hell, you even got married. Way to go, Michiru."
"Why did you leave me in the first place? If you loved me you wouldn't have left me in this damn place alone! If you loved me you would've stayed!"
"Oh! Now that's how it is!? You were the one that go excited when the managing company said I had a two million dollar contract! Or was it that maybe you wanted part of that money, Michiru?" She was silenced by a sharp pain on her cheek.
Michiru stared at the Haruka's face. She could see the red hand shaped mark started to show on Haruka's cheek. "I don't care about your money. I met you when you were a mere homeless orphan who was struggling everyday to get a job with the local mechanic and car shop!"
Haruka bit her tongue. That was true yet she wasn't going to stay quiet! "My manager…" Haruka began. She placed her hand on her pained cheek and tried to control her raising anger. "…called your cell phone. She said that you told her that you moved on. It looks like it you were telling the true."
"I never received such a call!"
"Then, who the hell was talking to Setsuna?!"
"Don't yell at me! I am not your wife!"
"Yes! You aren't! And you never will be!" She heard the phone of the room go off. She looked at Michiru for a moment and then turned to pick it up. "What!?" She answered the phone while glaring at Michiru. Her complexion softened when she heard Setsuna's worried voice on the other end of the line. "I will be there in a minute." She said as she hung up with such a force that she was sure she had broken the phone.
"Who was it?"
"Why do you care? Go to your husband and leave me the hell alone."
Michiru gulped down. She held back her tears and sighed loudly. "So, all that you said last night…"
"You know how I get during sex. I start talking crap only to get you more excited." She lied. She meant every word she had said last night. She walked to the door and opened it for the violinist. "Oh. And cover up that hickey on your neck. I don't want your husband to beat the living shit out of you when he knows his dear wife had been cheating on him."
"I've been married to him less than a week."
"Then go and have sex with him like any normal honeymooner would do."
"Good bye, Haruka."
"Good bye, Kaiou-san." She watched how Michiru walked out of the room. As soon as she was out, she slammed the door forcefully. Haruka leaned against it and moved to touch her head, right over the scar. "Her mother gave her articles about my death?" She hissed as she felt a headache coming up. "Then… the person that spoke to Setsuna." She rubbed the scar. "Must be the same bitch that gave her the articles."
Seiya rubbed his wedding band over his finger over and over again. He stared at a picture on his side of the night table. He gazed at the photograph of his wedding day with Michiru.
In the picture Michiru seemed to be happy. Her smile was the center of the photograph. Seiya's protective arm was wrapped around her slim waist. The strapping, handsome young man was smiling with his eyes half closed as he nuzzled Michiru's cheek in a sweet way with his back to the camera yet you could clearly see his face in a profiled angle.
He blinked. "We look happy… right?" He sighed and grabbed the frame in his hands. For the past week that picture substituted his old photograph he had with Hotaru's biological mother.
"I'm home!"
Seiya stood up quickly and placed the picture back where it belonged. He walked out of his room and went to meet his wife.
"Michiru-mama! Hotaru yelled as she ran with arms wide open towards Michiru. "Where were you? I was scared!"
Michiru sighed and picked her up. She gave her a warm hug and kissed her cheek. She ran her fingers through the wild dark hair and smiled. "I am not going to leave you, little one." She nuzzled her nose with hers.
Seiya jumped the last two steps. He turned to look at Michiru. He was kind of angry. She did leave yesterday; she didn't take her cell phone so he couldn't call her and see where she really was. Not to mention he did called Tsuko and she said she never came to her house. "Michiru." He started.
Michiru turned to look at him. She shook her head at him. He knew what she meant. She didn't want him to talk to her while she was holding Hotaru. "I am sorry I left last night." She said to Hotaru.
"Papa doesn't know how to read my bed time story." She said as she pointed her finger at her father.
"Oh, I know." She smiled and kissed her cheek. "Go on and play, Hotaru. Papa and I need to talk."
The child didn't fight. She giggled and ran to the living room. Seiya kept an eye on his daughter. He saw her jump on the sofa, pick up the remote control and put on that annoying purple dinosaur. He groaned and jerked his head over to the kitchen. "Care to join?"
Michiru sighed and walked with him to the kitchen. She sat down on the dining table and watched as Seiya prepared her something to eat. "Seiya, I…"
"I was worried." He simply said. "You and Hotaru are my treasure right now. If something happen to either of you…"
She shook her head and rubbed her temples. "I am sorry. I should've called."
"I am not the kind of person that gets overly jealous or try to know where you are twenty four seven. I trust you, Michiru. I know that wherever you were, you weren't doing something to hurt yourself or your family."
Michiru felt like slapping herself. If he only knew she was out meeting her lover that had "died" three years ago. Now she looked at herself and saw the biggest piece of human trash in all Japan.
"I did worry about you. I was about to call the police if you didn't came back today." He sighed and placed a plate of egg rolls in front of Michiru. "I am not going to ask where you were last night even though I am dying to know. You came back with the same clothes so I take it that you didn't plan your late escapade…" He whispered as he moved her long aqua hair away from her shoulder. "Just know that I love you and I do worry about you, okay?" He kissed the top of her head and went to the living room.
Michiru closed her eyes when she felt his lips on her head. She gulped down and sighed, covering her face with her hand. Why did her husband have to be such a nice guy? Why didn't he yell at her? If he did, she could've had another excuse to go and be with her favorite blonde…
"This is it?" Matthew asked as he looked at the house. "Fancy."
"This is where Tsuko Kaiou lives. She is the wife of the great Kiryu Kaiou." Haruka said as she rubbed her lower lip as she watched the house. There, in those footsteps, she had her first kiss with Michiru.
"Kiryu Kaiou!? The violinist?" Setsuna said, as she peek her head in between the two front seats.
"Hai. Michiru is his daughter." Haruka said as she got out of the car. "Stay here. I need to have a talk with that woman."
Matthew watched her walk away. He turned to look at Setsuna and patted the empty seat beside him. "Get over here! What am I missing?"
Setsuna moved to the front seat and then looked at the house. "Michiru is Haruka's girlfriend. You know that right?"
"Yeah. That was the bitch hat broke my Ruki's heart!" Matthew growled.
"It appears that the one that answered my call three years ago wasn't Michiru. It was her mother, Tsuko. Maybe her mother is a homophobe?"
"She sucks then. Love is love; doesn't matter what gender, race or religion you are…" He said as he looked at Setsuna. "Did I mention I've grown fond of Japanese women?"
"Oh. Don't start. Not now."
Haruka placed her hands inside her pocket. She knocked on the door and took two steps away as she waited for anyone to open it. She heard the locks of the doors and a moment later an older version of Michiru stood in front of her. "Good afternoon, Tsuko-san."
Her eyes went wide. Her jaw dropped and she quickly moved to slam the door in the blonde's face.
"Oh no! Not today!" Haruka slammed her hand on the door and pushed it open. She walked in and closed it behind her. "You and I have some serious things to talk about." She raised her chin high on the air and crossed her arms over her chest. "You look like you just saw a ghost. Don't worry, Tsuko-san. I am alive and my brain is working perfectly!"
"Get out of my house before I call the police!"
Haruka stared at her. She let out a soft chuckle and then threw her head back and laughed. "Oh sure, call the police! Try it!"
Tsuko took a step back. The blonde was intimidating. Her eyes were bright with some kind of angry flame. She knew if she said or did something out of order she was going to regret it. "What do you want?"
"An explanation."
"What?"
"You heard me! I want a damn explanation!"
"I don't know what you are talking about and if you don't leave my house this instant I am going to get you arrested!"
"Where the hell did you get the articles of my death? Why didn't you told Michiru I was in a coma? Why didn't you let her come to America?"
Tsuko stared at the blonde woman in front of her. She just wanted to kill her for everything she had done. She was going to lie but what for? Michiru was already married in a secure home. Nothing could take her daughter's happiness away now. "I am her mother. I know what is best for her and since the day my daughter placed her eyes on you I knew she was in trouble. I did see the way you made her smile, Haruka. I know you love her and she loved you too but how long could you make her happy? I knew you were everything she ever wanted in a life partner and still I was hesitant to give my full trust to you. I know you did this for her. You wanted to give her a good life but you hurt her, Haruka! You hurt her so much!"
Haruka frowned. "Hurt her?"
Tsuko shook her head. "Yes! You left her for a damn racing career in America! Was it worth it? Was it? Are two million dollars enough to leave the love of your life behind, Haruka?"
Damn that woman. Why did she always know exactly what to say? How could she make her heart ached more than it already did? "I love Michiru. I did this to maker her proud!"
"The day she found out of the accident…" Tsuko began, finding some new courage to look up at the tall blonde and tell her everything she felt. "She saw it on television. She cried the same way I cried when my husband died. I didn't want this for her! I didn't want her to cry for you! And when I saw her break down like that, I swore upon my husband's grave that I was going to make her life easier! I saw myself in her eyes, Haruka!"
"Whatever you husband did to you while he was alive is his business. I was working; I was winning money enough to support both of us!"
"How could she know that?"
"Tsuko-san! I called her every day! I let her know what I was doing!"
"My Kiryu called me every day. And when he died, at the day of his funeral not only was I there… but also all his lovers he had in every damn city he had played in!" She held back her tears. "I didn't want my daughter to go to your funeral and see every whore you slept with!"
"How dare you? I never touched another person while I was in America!"
"How could she know?"
"She trusts me!" Right? Haruka gulped down and looked away from the older woman as she took a step back. "She trusts me…" This time, she said it as if she wanted to convince herself.
"What can you give her, Haruka? Can you marry her? Can you give her a family? I don't think so. Your career is way too dangerous. She needs someone with her same interests… who better than Seiya?"
"Seiya. So that's the name of the bastard?" She took in a deep breath before she spoke. "I will win her back, Tsuko. I will."
"She doesn't want you!"
"I will be the one to judge that. Now, either you tell her the truth. Or I will. What's your choice?"
"You wouldn't!"
"Oh, I would, Tsuko-san. I would. You don't know me well enough." Haruka walked to the door and with a quick jerk of her wrist, it was open. "You don't know what I am capable of. I will take down her husband and I will steal her from him."
"You will ruin her career! She is the biggest violinist in all Europe and Asia!"
"And I am the world most famous car racer. I think we should go hand to hand. See you later, Tsuko-san." As she said that, she slammed the door closed and walked over to Matthews's car.
Tsuko let out a frustrated growl. How Haruka could have the audacity of coming back after three years? She shook her head and began to think of a way of telling the truth to her daughter without getting Michiru mad enough to try to kill her.
"Seiya." Haruka said when she got inside of Matthew's car. "That's the name of Michiru's husband."
"Seiya? Kou Seiya?" Setsuna asked, turning around to face the angered blonde.
"You know him?"
"I know who he is. He is one of the best music producers in the industry. He was part of the biggest boy bands in all Japan when he was younger. They were called The Three Lights. After that he started his own music production company with his brothers Yaten and Taiki who were also part of the band."
"Figures… Tsuko only wanted the best for Michiru." Haruka frowned and fixed her thick coat.
Setsuna titled her head to the side. "What are you planning to do, Haruka?"
She shrugged. "I am not sure. I mean I do want to be close to Michiru as much as I can. Yet I don't want to hurt her."
Matthew raised his eyebrow as he looked at Haruka through the mirror. "How about getting in the music industry also?"
"Me? In the music industry? I don't think so." Haruka shook her head as she looked out the window.
"Now, Haruka, I don't want to be a nag but you have the best manager in the world. How about you give the music industry a chance? Even if you are a horrible singer, Setsuna might be able to sell you. I mean…" He chuckled as he looked at Setsuna for a second. "She can sell anything."
"You said it, Matthew." Setsuna smiled at him before she looked at Haruka again.
The blonde rubbed her lower lip as she thought about it for a second. She could play the piano to perfection. She used to play the piano with Michiru every time they had a chance of doing so. "I can play the piano." Haruka whispered as if she was just saying the biggest secret in her life. "My grand father thought me before he passed away when I was fifteen." She rubbed her arms as she took a deep breath.
Setsuna raised her eyebrow. She let out an evil smirk and looked at Matthew. "Oh, I've always wanted to take pictures of Haruka naked beside a piano."
"No! No nude pictures and that it's final!"
"Aww…"
When he heard the door to the living room, Seiya slipped his glasses off and turned to look up. He saw Michiru walking in with a grocery bag. "Hey! How was it?" He smiled tenderly at his wife.
"Four people asked me if I was Michiru, six asked me for my autograph and eight took pictures with me." She sighed and walked to the kitchen. "Overall, I think it was an easy day."
Seiya chuckled as he grabbed some of his paper work and stood up from the sofa. He walked silently over to her side, grabbed her hand and pulled her softly over to him. "Listen to this." He cleared his throat. "We are looking for the next raising star. Think you are up to it? Kou productions are willing to sign new musicians in order to form a new band. Auditions will take place, blah, blah, blah…" He looked at Michiru. "I need to set the date and time. I think I will be starting the audition next week. Right? I guess I could put this notice in the newspaper. Let it run for a whole week and well we can have the auditions. It's better than doing a reality show. I hate those."
Michiru took the paper from his hand and took a quick look at it. She nodded at what she read and smiled at her husband. "I guess its okay. Still, I think a week is such a short time."
"I know but that means that fewer people will come."
"Right. Don't you want more people to come?"
"No." Seiya simply stated.
"No?" Michiru frowned confused.
"No. The fewer, the better. It's about quality not quantity." He grabbed the piece of paper again and leaned against the kitchen counter. "Yaten and Taiki will be the judges." He then paused and turned to look at Michiru. He simply watched her as she put away the groceries. "Do you want to be a judge?"
Michiru closed one of the kitchen cabinets and turned to Seiya. "A judge?"
"Hai! It would be kind of fun for both of us. Beside we will be spending some time together and such…" He said the last part almost in a whisper. He moved his hand to scratch his head for a second as he waited for her response.
"Sure, okay. I will be a judge."
His face light up. He smiled warmly and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to a tender kiss. "I love you."
Michiru just chuckled and petted his cheek. "Where is Hotaru?"
He sighed and pulled away from her. "She is in her room… probably trashing it like always."
"Hun, she is three years old. I bet when you where three you were worst than her." Michiru giggled at that as she threw the grocery bag away. "Oh well that is done." She patted her hips and turned to look at Seiya. "Is that what you have been doing all day?"
"Hai." He touched his chin before opening his eyes wide. "Oh! Right, I almost forgot. Your mother called. She said she needs to talk to you and that is urgent."
Michiru froze. "Urgent?"
"Uh huh, that's what she said." He raised his eyebrow and touched Michiru's back. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh." She shook her head and let out a fake smile. "No, no! Nothing is wrong. Hehe." She patted his cheek again and kissed his cheek before grabbing the cordless phone. "I will be upstairs talking to her. Okay?"
He nodded as he watched her run upstairs. He frowned again and shook his head as he walked back to the living room. "Women…"
Michiru closed the door softly. She then proceeded to lock herself in the bathroom just in case Seiya decided to eavesdrop on her conversation. She dialed her mother's number and clutched the receiver as tightly as she could.
"Moshi moshi?"
Michiru felt her anger flare up to the roof. Her mother was acting so calm. "You…" She started. "You lied to me!"
"We are not having this conversation over the phone."
"You were the one that said it was urgent!"
"You saw her didn't you? You were with her behind your husband's back!"
"I am coming over right this instant, mother, and you better have a nice explanation to all of this!"
"Oh, I do… I will be waiting for you, bye."
Michiru shook with anger. She pressed the "end" button on her phone and felt like she wanted to slam the object until she saw it scattered all over the floor. Then again the phone wasn't her mother so she just gave it a hard squeeze. She opened the door to her bathroom and walked out, heading to the living room.
Seiya saw her storm to the living room. He saw her pick up her coat and then her car keys. He frowned deeply and stared at her. "Where are you heading?"
"My mother's and I mean it this time." She said angrily. "You can call her and ask."
"I thought I said to you that I trust you." He glared at her. "Will you be coming back?"
"Yes, Seiya. I will." She said with an irritated tone.
"Okay then. I guess I will wait for you right here."
She waved her hand at him and went out the door.
"Good news!" Setsuna said as she walked to the living room of her hotel room. Being a famous manager had its advantage. For example, she could get a great hotel room in a matter of hours and she could get classified information. "I got you a gig, well, more like an audition." Setsuna smiled as she sat down on the floor in front of the sofa where Matthew and Haruka were sitting. "Kou Productions is throwing out an open audition to anyone that wants to become a music artist! They haven't set the time or date still but you are already signed up. They just couldn't say not to the famous car racer Teno'u Haruka!" She winked at the blonde.
"An audition? What am I supposed to do?"
"Gee I dunno. How about you just play the piano? Yeah, that could work." Setsuna said in a mocking tone.
Matthew patted Haruka's shoulder. "You are going to be okay! You are pretty talented and with your good looks I am sure you will do alright."
"Now listen, Haruka, I got you the audition and I will do the best I can to get you sign up with Kou productions but the rest is up to you. I can't help you win Michiru's heart."
"Her heart already belongs to me. I just need her to acknowledge that." Haruka rubbed her hands. "If she didn't love me, she wouldn't have come to see me at the airport."
"It is settled. The famous car racer, Teno'u Haruka, will turn into a music artist." Matthew smiled as he nudged his friend.
Haruka nodded. "In order to be closer to Michiru, I would do anything…"
"You lied! How could you stand so low?" Michiru stared at her mother's eyes. "Mother! You lied to me! You said she was dead and grieved for her like… like…"
"Do you love Seiya?"
Michiru fought back the need to grab Tsuko's throat. "What?"
"Do you love him?"
"I…"
"You do. If you didn't you wouldn't have married him in the first place. You love him and his daughter and you are happy with him. What can that woman give to you?" Tsuko stared at her. "I did this for your wellbeing. I did this to stop you from suffering! Now, you will forget about her, you will continue your life with you husband and child and you will conquer the world with your music."
"No, mother. This time I won't listen to you. I will come up with my own answers and I will do what I want!"
Tsuko smiled. "You are confused aren't you? You don't know what you want and you hate yourself for it." She chuckled and walked over to her. "You say you will find your own answers. Here is a question for you to answer. Will you be able to leave Hotaru without a mother? Will you leave your perfect family to be with a woman that will never ever give you what Seiya already gave to you?"
"You lied to me!"
"That is already clear. Now. Answer. Your family and your career or a mere woman that won't be able to give you either of the above?"
Michiru gave her mother a defiant stare. She wanted to answer but she couldn't. What did she really want? She didn't know. She was torn between the fire that was Haruka, the uncertain future with a woman that gave her the world biggest love and passion all together and Seiya's warmth and secure arms and future. It was like decided whether go to hell or heaven! Of course, Haruka was her hell.
She let out a sigh. "I hate you so much."
"I know…" Tsuko whispered. "I know you slept with her, Michiru. I know you kept that from your husband."
Michiru raised her eyes to meet Tsuko's. "How…?"
"Well, Seiya called me to ask where you were. You came home the day after and Haruka came to see me today. She was rather pissed. I just knew you guys have met and that you told her everything."
Michiru shook her head. "She doesn't know I adopted Hotaru…" She whispered to herself rather than to Tsuko.
"Ah. That's a problem. Will Haruka be willing to be with you even if you are the mother of someone else's child?"
Michiru looked around the floor, like she was searching her own thoughts. Haruka never spoke of wanting to have children with me. "I…"
"Go to your husband, Michiru. And for goodness sake stay with him!"
End Chapter ten
A/N: Yeah yeah. Hate on Tsuko come on! Hate her!!!