Author's note: Okay Chapter three is up! Got the ideas for this at about 3 am in the morning while talking to Mandy and pacing around in my room hitting things with my drumsticks. Thanks Mandy for your talk and experiences with Shirley Temples and giving me the idea for it! Anyways, here is the long awaited chapter three!

*** Chapter Three ***

            Dim and flickering lights struggled to illuminate the sleazy, Tokyo subway on a rather late night, or early (depending on how one would see it) Thursday morning. It was 2 am and it was the time for all of the 'weirdoes' and the late shift workers to come out. Out of all the groups of people with multicolored hair and piercings, large trench coats and beggars dressed in rags holding out a Styrofoam cup, there was one girl in particular who just seemed to stand out almost as if she didn't belong there. However on appearance she looked like one of the regulars. She sat on an empty, graffiti tagged wooden bench with her elbows rested on her knees, her hands supporting a small, silver, circular shaped CD player that read PHONY on the top. Her head was hung low and although her hair hung in her face she appeared to be staring at the floor. Her blond hair was unruly and beginning to carry a 'greasy' look to it, as it was obvious the last time the blond mop on her head had been washed was a good while ago. Her eyes were a teal green and appeared so empty and lifeless as they stared down at the subway floor; she didn't even appear to blink. She wore a pine green hooded pullover sweatshirt and slightly large jeans that were ripped at the bottoms from constant wear and dragging against the floors. To complete her image she also wore black and white Tuck Chaylor Conversation tennis shoes, the soles worn down flat from their many travels. Aside from drug dealers trying to sell her their 'merchandise,' the girl was surprisingly left alone, for being a girl anyways. But that was the thing; most people mistook her for a boy, perhaps because of her height and the broadness of her shoulders, or even the deep richness of her voice. She had a masculine likeness to herself, though at the same time an indescribable feminine grace. People's opinions did not phase her in even the slightest, she understood perfectly well why anyone would mistake her for the opposite gender; sometimes she even saw it as a compliment. No, this girl was not your average girl; this girl was Tenoh Haruka.

            At a glance one would assume that this girl sitting down in a sort of a trance listening to music in the subway at 2 in the morning as she was, would be listening to some depressing tunes, a good deal of guitar and drums and a myriad of screaming. Like most teenagers, it was natural to assume that was the type of music she was listening to, even playing particular songs over and over again. But… What's this? There were no heavy guitars and voices droning about death and suicide, but simply… violin music. Sweet, flowing violin music accompanied by the soft, delicate tunes of a piano playing. The notes and sounds the violin produced were very distinct, only one performer could produce these sounds and really move Haruka the way they did, and that was Kaioh Michiru. Haruka had been given the CD player and the CD by the only person whom she could stand at the institute, nurse Nuriko. It was a sort of a goodbye present from the nurse because she had grown quite close to the troubled blond and knew Haruka wouldn't

come within one hundred feet of the institute again if she could help it. She would miss Haruka very much along with their daily quarrels and Haruka's attempts to worm her way out of something. The CD and CD player were also a birthday gift as well, since Haruka had finally reached the age of 18.

            Now for most 18 year olds a CD player and a CD may have been a less desirable gift, as most seem to want a new stereo system or a laptop or a credit card or anything else in that high price range, but to Haruka, she couldn't have asked for a better gift. Particularly because Nuriko had chosen a CD she knew Haruka would appreciate, Windswept Destiny by Kaioh Michiru. And she did, for that CD never left her CD player, and the headphones seemed to never leave her ears. 

            Nuriko's gift sort of began to serve as a sort of a crutch for Haruka. Over the past couple of months she had begun to sink into a rather melancholy state since she had left the institute a few months before. She had turned 18 and was free to leave, and so she left without ever looking back. Kaioh Michiru had never performed at the institute again much to Haruka's dismay, however, as long as the image of the cerulean haired beauty burned clearly in her mind, and the violin music engulfed her in a world of her own, she still had some hope left to keep going. Yes… to keep going. Haruka was alone. Her family wanted nothing to do with her and she had no real friends. She had moved from job to job; her lack of "people skills" and her constant attention focused on the music she never seemed to stop listening to did not seem to please her managers and got her into spots of trouble from time to time.

            This week it was Suzahara's bookshop. A nice, quiet place for work where she wouldn't be bothered too often other than the usual requests for recommendations of a book she liked or any other question concerning books. Usually she was not the one asked, perhaps because of the way she carried herself that people strayed away from her and asked someone else for assistance. Lucky for her she had so far managed not to infuriate her manager or disturb any of the customers. She was somewhat fond of the bookstore and hoped to keep her job for at least a month or two.

            Haruka was at the top of a rickety, old, wooden, rolling-ladder restocking a best seller that had sold out a few days before when a certain face caught her eye. An elderly woman in her perhaps her 60's was flipping through a well-known magazine that usually featured the newest composers, song writers, or classical musicians. On the cover of the magazine was a photo of a girl sitting elegantly in a black leather arm chair with a Stradivarius violin resting against the side; a mysterious smile on her face. At that moment the music Haruka had been listening to seemed to suddenly become loud and intense (her palms had become sweaty and her thumb had slipped across the volume nozzle), and a spotlight centered on the cover of the magazine (the bookstore seemed to be having some technical difficulties with the lighting)…

            …it was magic.

            The fascinated look on the blonde's face began to turn to a hopeful grin as her eyes scanned dark green letters outlined in silver forming the name KAIOH MICHIRU to the left of the photo. Reading on her jaw dropped as she registered the next line; "European tour cancelled; Finished for good?" And at that moment the music had suddenly began to fade and came to a halt (her batteries had died out), and she clung to the ladder dumbstruck as she stared transfixed at the photo.

            "Michiru…"

Suddenly the ladder began to creak under her weight. She was pretty sure the ladder was at least twice her age, although she paid no real heed to how much it could handle. She adjusted her stance on the ladder so as to get a better glimpse of the picture when something else had caught her attention. A flash of aquamarine to the left caught Haruka's eye; her curiosity getting the better of her as she was forgetting she was still on the ladder, and stepped on a loose shoe lace of hers, causing her to grab a hold of a beam so abruptly, she sent the ladder flying towards the direction of the elderly woman, the last step finally giving out.

            Haruka had opened her eyes slightly after having shut them tightly, wincing from the impact of falling on the floor.

 Or did she?

 It was rather soft… and… moving…? Breathing?!

            Haruka's eyes shot wide open in horror as she realized she was not on the marble floor, but on top of the elderly woman with the magazine. Her face had turned a deep shade of scarlet as she jerked her hand away from the woman, realizing just where it had been resting. The pink handprint on the side of her cheek was evidence enough as to where her hands had been.

            Haruka's head had jerked up when she caught herself nodding off. The events of earlier in the day were still fresh in her mind. She was pretty sure she was going to get fired this time. Pity. And she was starting to like her position at the bookstore. She gathered her things and decided to head off to a bar to get her mind off of work. She needed a good drink.

***

            "One Shirley Temple, please." The tall blond mumbled almost inaudibly to the bartender as she stared down at a matchbox in her hands, reading the bar's logo on the cover. The bartender wouldn't permit her a real drink, so she opted for the next best thing. Besides, who couldn't resist the sweet, cherry goodness of a Shirley Temple? She paid the bartender and sat on the four legged stool by the bar sipping her drink slowly as she scanned the room, until her eyes fall upon two she was sure had been eying her for some time now. The other girl stood about 5'6 with long, straight, dark brown hair and cobalt blue eyes.

She walked with her chest and her backside stuck out in hopes of catching young men's eyes, swinging her hips as she walked seductively over to Haruka. Her face was caked in makeup masking any natural beauty that may possibly lie under it, her breath reeking of vodka. Her breasts were nearly popping out of the tight hot pink leather top that supported them, black bra straps sticking out from underneath. She wore a tight black skirt to accompany her top, leather as well, and knee high black "hooker-boots" with fishnet leggings. The brunette stranger took it amongst herself to strut right over to Haruka, pry the drink from her hand and sipped slowly in a seductive manner that may have normally brought Playboy Tenoh Haruka to turn on the charm. However she had only one girl in her mind these days, and besides, this girl was definitely not her type. She cleared her throat as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, wanting to simply sit in a tranquil solitude. The brunette stranger began to rub her hand along Haruka's leg, gradually intending to move upward, as the other hand still held on to her drink. Finally coming to a decision, Haruka hopped off the barstool and walked out of the room, not even giving the stranger a second glance. The dark haired woman slowly pulled the glass from her lips as she looked after the tall blond who had left, a quizzical look upon her face.

            "Shirley… Temple?"

***

*Fwump*

*Sigh*

The aquamarine haired girl breathed out heavily as she sunk into a royal blue leather armchair in her beach house living room. Sometimes a single recording session was just a little too much for her. Well, it would be her last one anyhow… for how long? She herself wasn't even very sure. The possibilities ranged from a 'couple of weeks', to 'for good'. She felt she wasn't sure with what to do with herself anymore. Although anyone would point out that Michiru clearly had it made, it just wasn't enough, as 'spoiled' as it may have sounded.

She gazed intently at the white foam that swirled and rushed towards the sands on the shore, once again losing herself in her own world. Her long, silky locks of aquamarine hair rested on her shoulders after undoing the bun they had been pinned up in and her pumps lay discarded on the floor by the doorway, she was far too exhausted to bother moving them to a more suitable spot. She was still in her navy blue dress that she had worn during her time at the studio but felt it wasn't necessary to change out of it right away. At that moment she just wanted to sit for a while.

'I feel as if whatever it is I'm searching for is within an arms reach … but at the same time it's so far away…' She wrapped her arms around herself when the vision of the mysterious blond slinked its way into her mind; those dark green eyes, that tall stature, and that fair hair… like that of an angel almost… a fallen angel.

Haruka…

She snapped herself out of the vision she had been having and took in her surroundings. The house was so empty, so quiet; no telling exactly when her uncle would be home. The clock chimed 4 in the morning and Michiru wondered vaguely why she was still awake and dressed. She knew she wasn't going to be getting any sleep anytime soon, so she picked herself up off the couch and headed towards the kitchen to make herself a bit of tea. She began heating the water for her tea, not noticing the ginger cat circling her legs until she heard a soft 'mew' and a nudge against her calf.

"Oh! Why hello neko-chan, you're up late as well, hm?" she cooed softly as she gently lifted the little kitten into her arms glancing at the progress of the water every minute or so. The water had soon finished and she set the kitten on the counter so she was able to pour herself the water into a small cup and saucer, which contained the tealeaves.

"What am I to do Kone-chan?" she asked to the kitten though at the same time half to herself, pouring the water from the steaming kettle into the teacup. The kitten simply sat and watched her, purring softly by listening to the sweet tone of her voice even though it did not understand a word she was saying.

"I think I might be going a little crazy… maybe its just stress. Do you think I should just take a long vacation and never come back? " She continued giggling to herself a little, still pouring water into the now overflowing teacup, staring off in front of her at nothing in particular while Kone stared at her backing up slightly, his head tilted to the side.

            Seconds later a shrill squeak, a cat's hiss, and the sound of a dish being smashed ended the silence that had taken over the Kaioh residence. Michiru watched Kone scamper off into the darkness of the other side of the house then looked to the broken teacup and saucer lying on the floor; water dripping from the counter. She sighed:

            "I think… I should just go get some fresh air for a little while."

                                                                        ***

            She wrapped a warm, expensive looking white coat around herself and headed out of the house. She thought about taking a little drive but decided a walk would maybe help clear her head a little more. She didn't think she was feeling "coordinated" enough to drive anyways.

            She began walking to nowhere in particular when she ended up in an odd part of town she didn't recognize too well. When she realized this was a bad thing she began to get a little worried and wished she had paid more attention to where she was headed, or at least chosen to go out in her car. Perhaps this was just not her day…

            She wrapped her arms around herself for a small sense of security and continued walking, looking worriedly around her. She passed by a bar where apparently a lot of foreigners hung out; and a lot of odd foreigners at that. She noticed some of them were men dressed in women's clothing, drunk, or busily muttering to themselves, or all the above. She managed to pick up a few of the languages she heard. Mostly European… She heard some English, some German and then finally some Italian.

            "Ciao bella!" came a shrieked voice only several feet away.

            'Okay Michiru keep walking and staring straight ahead… don't make eye contact or they'll never leave…' But her curiosity got the best of her and she took a quick peak to her right only to find that the voice came from a man dressed in a plaid shirt and high boots black lace-up boots with a halter top, although he wore no wig. His hair was dark blond and stood straight up reminding her somewhat of a porcupine. He had a lit cigarette in one hand while the other was placed on his hip supporting most of his weight on one leg, his lips curling into a malicious smile when he noticed her look his way. He flicked his wrist towards her with a sort of wave and began to take a few steps forward, swaying his hips with every step.

            'Oh no!'

            She began to quicken her pace and soon broke out at a run looking back every now and then, afraid the cross-dressing Italian would follow her. No sooner had she took off and started running did she end up running smack into someone else.

            "Oof!" Came a husky grunt.

            'Ah… this is not my night…' Michiru thought as she tried to regain her composure, looking up slowly to see whom she had practically ran over, hoping it wasn't one of the guys from the bar.

            "G…gomen-nasai…oh! It… it's you!"

*** End Chapter Three ***

Author's note: So how was it? It didn't come out as well as I had hoped… but I hope it'll do for now. To be continued!