Disclaimer: You know…
A/N: Ok girls, let's make it a vote. Do you really want more flashbacks? This is starting to be like the 'flashback show' ^.^; if you do I will post more of course I just want to be sure :p but anyways here is chapter 13 and it is ALL about the ball. Yay!
Forget me not
By Auraluna7
Chapter 13: The Rose Garden Ball
The Diamond Hall got its name from the impressive chandeliers on the ceiling that sparkled like thousands of diamonds in the light. Michiru looked up to admire them and the lights reflected on her beautiful sea eyes, she was hanging off Haruka's arm and the couple looked dashing, Michiru's long gown matched the shade of her eyes almost to perfection, the tail of the elegant dress flowing behind her like foamy sea waves, a string of the finest pearls around her delicate long neck.
The ballroom was crowded, they found themselves surrounded by lots of other beautiful people wearing fantastic gowns, the room was covered with exotic rose bouquets and the champagne and hors d'oeuvres flowed everywhere. "How fancy." Michiru said excitedly.
"Shizuka never does anything half way." As they walked towards the center of the room, Michiru stopped suddenly and touched her right temple. "Are you alright?"
Smiling besides the pain, the girl nodded, what an inconvenient moment to get another of her headaches. "It is nothing."
"Do you want to go back home?"
"No, oh no. It will be gone soon. Look…Shizuka." Haruka turned to look at what Michiru pointed out and she saw Shizuka coming down the shiny marble stairs. She was wearing a breathtaking ruby red ball gown, the folds of the dress emulating the petals of a crimson rose, her skin glowing, every curl of her beautiful blonde hair perfect, a red rose holding a few strands of hair away from her gorgeous face, her lips red and glossy like a blooming flower and her neck covered by an amazing ruby choker. "Wow… I have to go out dress shopping with her next time…"
Shizuka smiled, her teeth a perfect string of shiny pearls, she flaunted her golden hair and placed a lose curl behind her back, her milky arms covered by elbow high satin red gloves. She spotted the couple and walked towards them, everyone around seemed withdrawn towards the ravishing blonde. "Haruka, Michiru…"
Haruka smiled warmly and kissed the blonde's hand, Shizuka smiled and then kissed Michiru's cheek. "Long live the 'Queen Rose'"
"Oh Haruka, I am not 'Queen Rose' anymore"
The blonde smirked "You know Shizuka; you are not supposed to look better than the contestants."
"That was certainly not my intention of course; I just picked the first dress I saw."
Haruka raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I am quite sure of that." Shizuka winked at Michiru and held her hands.
"Look at you Michiru, you look beautiful."
"Thanks Shizuka, although is nothing compared to how you look tonight."
"I still think you should have entered the competition Michiru."
"I say the same thing Shizuka, Michiru would have won for sure, even when it's hard not to notice your dress."
"It is not the dress that matters Haruka, I can't help being beautiful just so others can look pretty in comparison, I will try not to call too much attention to myself, other than that there isn't much I can do."
"Right, the red dress was a very appropriate choice for that." Shizuka looked at Haruka smiling but she stepped on her foot. Michiru hid her laugh behind her hand.
"Stop being rude to Shizuka, Haruka, how immature of you."
"Michiru is right Haruka; you should be extra polite with me under the circumstances. And of course I expect a v-e-r-y generous donation from you to this ball." Haruka smiled and bowed her head gently.
"I'm sorry Shizuka, I was out of line." Shizuka nodded and patted the blonde's arm.
"And I am just pulling your leg, of course I know my dress screams 'look at me', but can you blame me? I am hot and single, the first thanks to me the second thanks to you. But still, a girl has to do her best to look pretty. Now Michiru I will show you the VIP area in a while, I am terribly busy, these girls all chose today to have tiny emotional crisis, and my duty as former 'queen rose' is be supportive, quite a drag. Anyways I will see you two in a bit. Oh and I was not joking about the donation."
"I know that, I brought the big cheque, no worries."
"Good… so I will see you later then." Shizuka walked away and Michiru pulled Haruka's cheek a bit.
"Stop bothering her, you are lucky she does not want your head in a platter for breaking up with her."
"I know, I know….women." She sighed and touched the small velvet box on her pocket. If everything worked out as she planned tonight, she was going to give Michiru that diamond ring, of course it was not an engagement ring, but a promise ring, she wanted Michiru in her life forever and she wanted Michiru to feel a part of her world as well, as an equal, she wanted them to go out and find a new house together and start a new life, she would do anything to make Michiru happy, in the few months they had been together Michiru had filled her life with a happiness she never knew existed.
Michiru felt lightheaded, she remembered she had a bottle of pills for her headaches on her purse but she didn't wanted Haruka to be alarmed, Haruka was quite capable of carrying her away on arms at the thought of her was not feeling well. "I need to use the washroom, you mind staying by yourself for a moment?"
"No, of course not, I will be here when you come back." Michiru nodded and excused herself.
-0-
The Diamond Hall had a second feature Shizuka found must attractive, the top floor had beautiful private rooms with one way mirrors facing down to the ballroom, from up here she could see the party while others could not notice her upstairs. From one of these rooms she spotted Mizuki entering the party, she was dressed in an exquisite black gown, the tight corset covered in black feathers, the flowy bottom of the dress swaying around her like a stormy cloud, a diadem with feathers and a beautiful black diamond framing the perfect oval of her face, she was hanging off the arm of a woman Shizuka hadn't seen before, a tall brunette with an impeccable black suit. "Nanae…"
"Yes Miss Ishii?"
"Do you have the name of Miss Sakai's companion?"
The woman holding a clipboard looked through the papers. "No, Miss Sakai only mentioned she was bringing one of her artists."
"Oh, I see, funny how she didn't mentioned it to me; anyways show them to one of the VIP rooms, I want to have a word with her."
"Right away Miss."
Shizuka looked at the couple for a moment, she noticed how the brunette placed her hand with familiarity on Mizuki's waist, a moment later she saw Mizuki walking away from the contact blushed, something was wrong with this picture…
-0-
"Keep your hands to yourself Claire, before you force me to cash the insurance the gallery placed on your fingers." Mizuki looked around for Haruka, it was impossible to find anybody around here, she thought to herself. Claire stood behind her without touching her but she could feel the brunette all around her, she cursed herself in silence for feeling so lusty around Claire. "Stop it."
"I am not touching you sweetheart." Mizuki turned around to found the artist smirking at her and she was about to say something witty when a girl in a business suit walked to them.
"Miss Sakai?"
"Yes?"
"Miss Ishii request your presence on the VIP room, would you mind following me?" Mizuki sighed; the last thing she wanted was having a bland conversation with Shizuka.
"Of course." She gestured Claire to follow her and they walked behind the girl. "Excuse me; by any chance do you know if Haruka Tenoh has arrived yet?"
"She did, would you like me to find her?"
"No, that's ok." The girl showed them to a small lounge, Mizuki looked down to the ballroom scanning it. "Keep your eyes peeled Claire."
"Relax Mizuki; I am sure we will run into them sooner or later." Mizuki sighed and fixed Claire's shirt collar.
"Stop it, unless you're trying to take it off…"
Rolling her eyes, the black haired girl let go and went back to looking down the window. "There she is, oh she's alone. Perfect, stay here, don't go anywhere." Mizuki opened the door and left the lounge, Claire walked to the door but the smaller girl was gone.
"Wait, I don't even know this friend of yours…"
-0-
"Miss Shizuka, please Miss Kaoru is not feeling well."
"Give her something to eat; she has probably been starving herself to fit in her dress." Shizuka wished that all of these girls wouldn't need her at once; she only had two hands and one brain. "I need 10 minutes to see Mizuki, ok Nanae? You think you can handle Kaoru for ten minutes?"
The assistant looked reluctant, and for a moment Shizuka prayed the girl wouldn't answer 'No, I can't', she wanted to talk to Mizuki, she felt like the dark beauty had been avoiding her lately, and besides she was curious, Mizuki never attended any function with one of her artists before and there was something about the brunette that bothered her. She finally reached the door of the room and entered, she was greeted by the brunette, whose face seemed to light when she saw her.
"Well hello."
"Hi, where's Mizuki?"
"She will be right back, you must be Shizuka." The blonde nodded and extended her hand to shake Claire's but got surprised when the brunette leaned and kissed her hand, she smiled even more curious than before.
"And you are…"
"Claire Lebrun."
"I assume you are one of her artists?" Claire smiled at her and Shizuka thought the brunette was quite attractive.
"We are close…friends…" Shizuka raised an eyebrow.
"How close?" Claire stepped closer to her; Shizuka felt a soft blush on her cheeks.
"Not that close…has anyone told you before you would do a great model?"
"Actually yes, I just posed for a portrait…" Claire raised her hand and touched a lose strand of the golden hair placing it gently on place.
"Quite a shame not being able to be your first…"
-0-
"Haruka" The blonde turned around and found Mizuki standing next to her.
"Hey there, I was wondering if you would show up here at all, I've been trying to reach you for days."
"Oh I would not miss this ball for anything on the world. And yes, sorry about that I have been terribly busy." Mizuki licked her lips softly, how painful it was to be so close to the blonde and being unable to touch her. "Are you here alone?"
"No, Michiru is in the washroom. Are you ok? You look out of breath."
"I…" The light of the thousands of lights made Haruka's green eyes sparkle like emeralds, soon, so soon she would be hers. "It is this dress…"
"You look wonderful on it, like a very pretty swan." Nodding Mizuki smiled. "Your date must feel quite lucky." Her date. Trying to keep her smile Mizuki touched the blonde's arm. "Will you save me a dance Haruka?"
"Of course, there is always a dance for you, after all you taught me to dance. Mizuki, I am glad you are here, I need your advice…"
"Tell me."
"You know you are almost like a sister to me and I…" Sister. Haruka's words faded away as Mizuki tried to control her fury, her hand clenching the delicate material of her skirts. "…not sure how to give her the ring…" Ring? Mizuki blinked, trying to focus, but her wrath was blinding her. "Mizuki? Are you sure you are ok?"
"I am sorry Haruka, I think I need to excuse myself for a moment, hold your thoughts I will be right back." The blonde nodded and saw Mizuki walked away with flustered expression, she wondered if Mizuki was upset over something she said but discarded it, instead she started to wonder where Michiru had gone, she had been away for what seemed like a long time now.
-0-
"The true shame would be not being my last." Shizuka smiled and stepped away from Claire, the brunette had a powerful presence. "I am sure I will model for many, many artists now, I liked the experience a lot, I was in the hands of a very talented, very attractive artist recently." She lied, she had hated modeling, but she saw her words had the effect she had wish, the brunette's ego seemed a bit deflated.
"I see, perhaps you will still let me paint you."
"Perhaps. I must confess Miss Lebrun I am quite curious as to why Mizuki brought you here tonight, she has never brought one of her protégées to a public event before."
"I came here as more than Mizuki's date."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, and maybe you can help me. You see I am here looking a dear friend of mine."
"A friend of yours? Is she one of the 'roses'?"
I don't think so, but perhaps you know her, I am looking for a beautiful girl, easy to spot; mesmerizing eyes and aqua colored hair, her name is Michiru Kaioh."
"Kaioh?" Shizuka looked at Claire confounded; she had to be talking about the Michiru she knew, how many more could there be with that particular description? "You said Kaioh?" The brunette nodded and Shizuka touched the rubies on her neck. "As in the Kaioh's from…"
"The Kaioh Corporation, yes, I assume you know her then…"
"Who are you? And why are you here?"
"I think I already told you that."
"Mizuki…" She whispered almost to herself. "Claire, you said your name was Claire…oh my God, you are THAT Claire." Shizuka lost the color on her rosy face, to think she was flirting with this woman just a second ago. "You better tell me what the hell is going on here. Why did Mizuki brought you here?" Claire smiled and without losing her coolness she sat on the couch and lighted a cigarette.
"Well, I am not sure what have I missed, I already told you, Michiru is a dear friend of mine."
Shizuka was determined to get to the bottom of this, but before she could shake the brunette as she intended the door opened and a very agitated looking Nanae came in.
"Oh Miss Ishii! I am so sorry but they need you downstairs, one of the 'roses' just fainted."
"I…" Shizuka turned to look at the artist still sitting in the couch. "Stay here and don't go anywhere you and I are not done talking." Claire smiled slyly at her and Shizuka felt like slapping her, but instead she stormed out of the room, how many more fires did she had to put out tonight? If Claire Lebrun was who she thought things were definitely just going to get worse, she needed to find Mizuki, pronto.
-0-
"There you are." Haruka found Michiru sitting on a bench drinking a glass of water, the aqua beauty smiled at her.
"Sorry Ruka, finding someone who could give me a glass of water was a triumph around here."
"It's ok, so are you ready to go see your 'Roses'? I have 100 votes for you to give to whichever 'rose' pleases you."
"Oh, a hundred? We might tip the scale for one of these girls, let's go."The couple started walking towards the crowd again, it was easy to spot the 'Roses' they were all dressed in white gowns, Michiru wondered if she would have actually had a chance against all these beautiful women, there were girls who look barely of age but whose beauty could stop traffic, others looked comfortable enough to know that t was not their first year as competitors and Michiru remembered Shizuka told her this was really more of a charitable event than a real beauty pageant. The shook a lot of hands and promised votes to every 'rose' they talked to, Michiru was regretting already her decision of seeing every contestant, she was quite tired.
Just when she was about to ask Haruka to fetch her another glass of water, they spotted another 'Rose', she had her back at them and they could see her slim figure and her beautiful long raven hair, the girl turned around all smiles and her eyes went wide open when she looked at them.
"Oh My God!" The girl covered her mouth with surprise and Haruka looked at her trying to place her face with a name, she somehow looked familiar. "Oh My God! Michiru! Where have you been?" Haruka looked at her girlfriend who seemed stroke by a surprise as big as the one the 'Rose' had. "It is me! Kaoru!"
Kaoru, the name rang a bell deep on her head … Kaoru. "Ah…" Those eyes, Haruka realized right away, it was her eyes that looked so familiar, deep sea blue eyes…
"Michiru…do you know this girl?" Michiru looked at the young girl puzzled; she was probably not much older than sixteen.
"Of course she does! I am her cousin!" She extended her delicate gloved hand to Haruka. "I am Kaoru Kaioh, nice to meet you."
(A/N: Cliffhangers everywhere! Wooo ^.^, anybody wants to find out what's going to happen? Review then.)