The ride from Vegas left Michiru smiling as she held Haruka's hand in her own. She glanced to the blonde, whose eye was on the road, and gave her hand a squeeze. The blonde's gaze turned to her and she smiled genuinely, lifting Michiru's knuckles to kiss them.
"When I'm done. I mean, when I figure all this out and I fulfill what I came here and did all of this to do, will you be here?" Michiru asked, her voice soft.
Haruka looked to her, then pulled the car to the side of the road. She looked to Michiru again, then gestured. "Look, the sunset."
Michiru turned her eyes to the beautiful array of colors, made even more intense by the heat of the desert. The sun drifted below the landscape. She felt Haruka's arm slide around her shoulder, a soft kiss finding her ear a moment before the woman spoke.
"Michiru, no matter what, I will be there when you return. I will never leave your side." The gruff blonde smiled against Michiru's hair, and the girl felt her heart clench in happiness. She had believed she would never recover from her father's death, but her tears were shed and hardened into a need for revenge. Her heart, however, beat once again, alive and warm. She turned her sapphire eyes to Haruka, smiled, and kissed her. Although she would never forget the man who raised her, Haruka had taught her a new kind of love, and a new way to live.
Michiru awoke in her thin bed at the base, her eyes fluttering open. There were no sounds of snoring and murmuring around her, and light shown into the bunker. Her eyes widened and she jumped up, cursing, running to the bathing area of the bunker to get dressed, late for training. With only a few days left in her instruction, she couldn't afford to miss anything.
She pulled her hair back after shrugging on some clothes and ran from the bunker, her movements hurried at first, then slowing when her mind told her something was very wrong. She paused, her eyes scanning the base, her ears alert. She listened for the rumble of Jeeps and the occasional yelling, but heard nothing but the desert wind. Her eyes scanned the premises, seeing no movement.
Michiru traversed the grounds, going to the mess tent first. She looked around. "Hello?" she said into the silence, then turned, her eyes widened. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw an officer slumped over a table, blood spilling over the tabletop from the bullet wound in his head. Two more lay beside him, both shot dead. Panic surfacing in her mind, she backed out quickly, turning, and ran to the nearest building, pausing along the way as she saw two officers shot between the buildings. Her heart hammered in her chest as she pushed open the white door where there was supposed to be a seminar that day, her hands shaking. She felt tears spark her eyes to see nearly 15 bodies, blood everywhere, most of them her friends.
The young assassin then turned, her eyes full of emotion, her heart suddenly flipping in her chest. "Haruka...," she whispered, suddenly afraid for the life of her teacher and lover. She went to Stark's house, but as soon as she opened the door she saw the man's body lying crumpled on the ground near his desk, his secretary not much further away. She closed the door quickly, her breath fast and shaky, then turned, gathering her strength. She went into the house, her brow furrowed as she moved to the gun case, avoiding the bodies. She grabbed two loaded pistols and a machine gun, which she slung over her shoulder, her jaw set. The teen moved to the door, looking one more time to her commanding officer, and ran out in search of a killer.
All around lay dead bodies, all of them too recognizable. She avoided touching them, having superstitions about touching the dead, though some she gave an extended glance of sorrow to. All had been shot just once in the head, a deadly accurate skill.
Her instincts took her to the large white building she would be training in that day; the Scenario building. She opened the door, seeing no one as she went in, her heart pounding. Dummies and walls were set up, ready for her training. She stepped into the space slowly, though most of the lights were dimmed. She raised her gun, speaking into the low-lit room. "Haruka?" she whispered hurriedly, her eyes searching the area before her.
She took another step, and stopped when she heard the click of a gun, her body tensing. Michiru turned slowly, a look of relief and dismay in her eyes as she saw Haruka.
"Haruka! There you are. I was so worried. Something has happened to everyone...," tears gathered in her eyes again, her voice cracking. The blonde looked at her, then raised her gun until it aimed to Michiru's chest and the student fell silent for a moment, her eyes on the barrel. "What are you doing? It's me."
"I know, Michiru." Haruka's grey eye seemed to glow. "You're the last one alive. The last one, besides me. I killed everyone else myself."
Michiru felt vomit rise in her throat and swallowed, shaking her head quickly. "No. I don't believe it."
The gun went off and Michiru fell back, the shot making a little dent in the floor just where her foot had been. Her lip trembled. "Why are you doing this?"
Haruka smirked and lowered her gun. "Michiru, I've been lying to you this whole time. I was waiting for you to come and find me, to have an excuse to come back here and fulfill my plan. You see, I did kill your father. And I killed all of these people. With them out of the way, I can start my own academy, have all the money I could ever dream of. All that's left... is you." She pointed the gun at her student again.
"You did this for money?" Tears slid down her cheeks, her voice high pitched. Michiru didn't force herself to hide her emotions from the woman she loved. "I don't... you wouldn't." She stood a little straighter, knowing the blonde, but Haruka's hand didn't falter on her weapon.
Haruka sighed. "You were always so stupid. Finding me without even knowing how to yield your weapon. Blindly allowing me to bring you here. Following me to Vegas, where I seduced you." Michiru lowered her eyes, her cheeks burning. "Even after I told you not to trust another assassin, you fell right into my plan."
"My father trusted my mother, and she trusted him. That's why you weren't pursued further! She trusted him and his word! She loved him, as I love you! I know you wouldn't do this!"
The blonde moved closer, her finger tightening on the trigger, but Haruka's hand seemed to hesitate, her good eye meeting Michiru's, but then darkening. "Good bye, princess." She fired her gun.
Michiru felt her insides clench, her hand grabbing her pistol. Her hand swung around and she fired, crying out as the force from Haruka's gun hit her. She fell back, pain immediately searing her chest, and heard Haruka hit the floor too just before her world went black.
A.N.: Sorry this took FOREVER. We were without internet for EONS. :( But now, we are back! :D Over the break, we got a puppy... my hands got all cut up by a cat... I got an iPhone (they need a app!)... the world is awesome :D The Rapture didn't happen. XD Guess Michiru didn't fulfill her destiny and make Haruka archangel... :P