"Chikon!" Neptune heard the daimon cry out just a few minutes later, as she was running back to the ballroom; for a few seconds, she sped up, only to cringe as dreadfully loud and dreadfully wrong music came up, filling the whole mansion, such a cacophonic mess that she could barely refer to it as music in good conscience.
Just for that, I'll Deep Submerge you into next week, she grimly thought to herself as she started running again, quickly reaching the ballroom and bursting through the double door, quite the dramatic entrance, ruining beautiful music like—
Her thoughts stopped as she got the first look at the scene in the ballroom, not just trailed off, but stopped; her eyes went wide, and her breath got caught in her throat as all she could do was stand and stare, fear sending her heartbeat through the roof and making her legs feel as if jelly had replaced all the muscle there.
The daimon, yet another female, green-skinned creature wearing a bulky evening gown and powdered wig, of all things, stood in the middle of the ballroom, turning a crank which protruded from her hip, bringing the horrid music from the gramophone which either was part of her body or of her costume; the Inner Senshi were standing in a line a few feet away from the daimon, looking ready to fight, but one glance was enough to tell Neptune that this wasn't all they were doing.
They were also protecting Haruka, she noticed, feeling strangely numb now as her gaze focused on her lover, the blonde on her knees behind the five girls; and while the dreadful noise the creature might call music clearly was disturbing them, it was so much worse for Haruka, her eyes squeezed shut as she pressed her hands against her ears, the cacophony so loud that Neptune couldn't even tell if her grit teeth meant that she was growling or maybe even screaming.
Finally. Sailor Mercury spotted her, and from the way she waved her arms and her lips moved, Neptune figured that she called out to her, perhaps telling her that she had to get Haruka out of there; and then, she saw the droplets of crimson seeping out between Haruka's fingers and trickle over the back of her hands, and realized that this was bad enough for her to make her bleed, that her ears were bleeding, and it finally got her moving, all thoughts of fighting the daimon and even of checking the pure heart which was hovering over Edward's lifeless form forgotten as she ran to her partner's side.
"Haruka!" she yelled as she grabbed her, nearly making her voice crack as she tried to be loud enough to be heard over the horrid noise the daimon still was producing, "come on, get up, come on!"
She wasn't sure if Haruka had heard her, but at least, she reacted to her frantic pulling and tugging; staggering, she somehow came to her feet, and, with one arm wrapped around her waist and the other gripping her shoulder, Neptune steered her out of the ballroom, to the nearest door leading outside, onto one of the balconies.
The noise was still loud out there, and still dreadful, bad enough so Haruka kept covering her ears; then, Neptune kicked the door shut and the music was muffled considerably, low enough so she didn't need to yell anymore when she moved to Haruka's side and said her name.
"Gonna be fine", the blonde hoarsely croaked in response, slowly lowering her hands, blood still trickling from her ears, down her throat now, to Neptune's alarm, "healing's gonna kick in any second now… Ow, my head… Go."
"What", Neptune gave back, flabbergasted, sure that she had heard her wrong; then, Haruka looked up at her, hard determination in hr eyes, and repeated the previously said word, a hint of urgency in her voice. "Go. Help them. Make sure his heart isn't a talisman."
"Yes", the Senshi realized that she had to do just that after another second, momentarily shocked at how she had ignored her mission, even though it just had been for a minute, "you'll be okay?"
"Yes, now go", Haruka gave back, and after another concerned look at her, Neptune did just that, hurrying back inside – and making sure to close the door behind her again as fast as possible, not wanting to subject her lover to the terrible noise once more, energy crackling around her hands as she called on her power, suddenly determined to finished this creature as fast as she possibly could, eager to make sure her partner really was alright.
After the fight had been finished and the creature had been taken down, Michiru insisted on driving back home, pointing out that Haruka wasn't quite as fine yet as she claimed; the fact that the blonde didn't really protest only showed her that her suspicion had been correct, and after she had gotten behind the steering wheel, silence filled the car for a while, until she cleared her throat, making the werewolf look at her.
"When I realized that I'm… the feelings I had for you", the smaller woman started after another few seconds, time she had needed to sort her thoughts, "I told myself that acting on them would have to wait. That… getting into a relationship with you might jeopardize the mission, might make me focus on you instead of our objective during a crucial moment."
A red traffic light forced her to stop the car, and she took the chance given by this to look over at Haruka, her gaze meeting the werewolf's, her voice solemn and serious as she continued. "Today, this is exactly what happened. I saw that you are in danger, in pain, and I forgot all about the mission and what we have to do to stop the world from ending."
The traffic light switched back to green, and Michiru focused on the road again , not finished talking though, something Haruka sensed and thus kept quiet, merely looking at her, sudden dread making her feel cold as she asked herself where this might lead.
"This can't happen again", Michiru told her, her gaze firmly fixed on the road, even when she saw Haruka fidget in her seat from the corner of her eyes, "the mission has to come first. So… I'm not suggesting that we… put the relationship on hold or anything, I think we both know that this isn't an option."
"Thank God", Haruka gave back with unmistakable relief in her voice, "for a minute, I thought you're breaking up with me."
"You're not getting rid of me that easily", the Senshi replied, with a slight smile now, only increasing the blonde's relief, "but… As I said, what happened today can't ever happen again. So I want you to promise me something, and I'll make the same promise to you."
"What kind of promise are we talking about", Haruka wanted to know, frowning slightly, not sure what to expect; Michiru shot her a brief look, then focused on the road again, her voice remarkably calm and level as she replied, despite the quite horrid thing she was saying. "If anything happens to one of us – no matter what, injury or… something worse… the other one has to go on. The mission has to be fulfilled, no matter if it's both of us or just one."
"…I'm not sure I can promise that", the taller woman replied after a moment, her frown deepening, "I mean, I know we have to find those talismans and what will happen if the bad guys find them first, but… I don't know if I can do it without you. So if anything happens to you…"
"If anything happens to me, you have to go on", Michiru gave back, surprising the blonde by pulling the car over and stopping, then turning in the driver's seat and grasping and the taller woman's hands, "just like I will have to go on without you. Believe me, I wish it'll never come to this, but… if it does… And if the world is in danger of ending… You have to promise me."
Part of Haruka knew that she was right, that saving the world was more important than their relationship; the thought of losing Michiru to their cause, and of going on without her, was more than she could bear though, her heart clenching up at the mere idea, her strong emotions forcing her to struggle for control as the wolf wanted to break free in response to her dismay and fear.
"…fine", she made herself say, despite how wrong it felt, unable to shake off the feeling that she was making a grave mistake, but realizing how important it was for Michiru, "I promise."
Unbeknownst to her, Michiru felt that this wasn't the right thing to do, either, but told herself that what she felt for Haruka was to blame for that and that their mission had to come first; thus, she briefly squeezed the blonde's hands, then let go of her and got the car moving again, silence between them the rest of the drive home, both of them silently hoping that they would never have to keep the fateful promise they just had made to each other.