A/N: I don't own Sailor Moon. Eheheh… Sorry about the wait and THANKS SOOOO MUCH to everyone who reviewed. That means so much to me for your support. Well, here's the newest edition and I hope you like.
Looking Back
Part IX
Location: Italy
"Alright! C'ya tomorrow!" Haruka waved at the men standing by her racing car. They all waved good-bye and she settled into the taxi that would take her back to the hotel that was housing all the racers for the worldwide racing competition. She set her backpack down on the seat as she leaned back on the cushioned seat in satisfaction. She had just been testing out the engines on her car for the whole afternoon and was somewhat glad to take in some rest. Haruka had arrived in Italy a few days ago. Today had been her first day at skimming over the track where the races were to be. She would be there for quite a while as first there would be the preliminary races and then the top racers would be plucked out. Despite her time away from racing, Haruka apparently still had her edge, surprising a lot of people when she had started coming in.
Many were surprised to see this woman around the tracks, and they were even more shocked to learn that she was participating in the races. Not many had seen her, but a good amount of people had begun to remember her as a very strong racer many years back. She had won plenty of important racers before Haruka turned into a scout but after that, well…it wasn't like she had much of a choice of her hobbies. Haruka had started getting back into racing about a year or so after Galaxia's invasion but she had no plans in going all the way. She and the other scouts were somewhat wary that there were no recent attacks from some unknown evil out there but they were grateful for the peace that had begun to take seed in their lives.
It was rather sad, she had thought a while ago. All the senshi had basic lives and goals they had wanted to accomplish, but everything they had wanted to do had to be placed on hold for their duties. That was probably the worst thing for Haruka to deal with. She, being a little bit older than the others and being more mature, had been rather bitter when she had acquired her powers. The others could understand. Unlike the lot of them, Haruka had a plain view of what she wanted out of her life. Her scouting duties were probably a major pain in the ass for her to handle at the beginning. But being who she was, Haruka had a strong sense of duty and honor that would always come before everything else. She was the one who had to put her dreams on hold just for her job while the others, even Michiru, weren't exactly happy but accepted. Some would've expected her to be bitter, and, in truth, they all were. They couldn't have any 'normal' aspects in their lives. I mean, they spoke to cats, people.
But the girls had strived through all their challenges. And these past few years had only shown that. They were all wary that there had been no threats, but, overall, they were relieved. They had sprung on the chance of peace and had taken their opportunities to do what they had been meaning to do for long. Haruka, herself, had been surprised at the decisions of Minako, Ami, and Makoto. They had all left Japan about a year or so after the battle with Galaxia. Minako had started acting again and posed in a shoot with Usagi. That had started up her career as Usagi was a well-known model nowadays. However, there were some family issues as far as Haruka could understand that led to Minako's depart from Japan to America. They had all heard of her success there in her two movies and Haruka recalled seeing the leader of the inner senshi about eight months ago. Minako had been trying to fight off a mob of people who had recognized her from her film Aphrodite around the time of Chibi-Usa's birth and had arrived at the Chiba residence later than the others. Minako hadn't really changed, maintaining her sparkly bubbly personality that, as her closest friends knew, was often a frontage to the darker depths in the woman. Haruka, herself, was racing through traffic much to the chagrin of Michiru and Hoare who were in the same car at the time of the new Princess' birth. Makoto was on her way there on a plane and Ami hadn't returned ever since she left for Germany with Isis. However, she did send her congratulations and spoke on the phone with Usagi and the others for a short time.
She was jolted out of her reverie as the taxi came to a halt. She paid the driver and took up her bag. As she passed by the automatic doors, she could hear the brawling laughter of several of the bawdy men. Standing by the doorway, she had a good view of the men at the bar. As she made her way to the concierge, Haruka pointedly ignored the silence that suddenly overcame the men at the bar. But it wasn't like she was blind to her own beauty. No, she was pretty. She still kept her sandy blonde hair cut short above her shoulders but it was easier to see that she wasn't a guy as she was dressed in a white tank top and a ragged pair of shorts. The concierge handed her the key to her suite and she turned towards the elevators. As soon as she turned the corner, she heard the men start talking again. They were probably surprised to see a woman step up in the hotel housing the racers. Haruka smirked. None of them would guess that she was one of them.
There was a ding and the elevator doors slide open. Haruka was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice the other person coming out of the elevator. Her shoulder banged on the man's and she half-stumbled into the shaft. Spinning to the front, she immediately turned to the person.
"Sorry," She said, inclining her head slightly. "I didn't see…you."
The hesitated pause occurred as she brought her head back up to the man she had just bumped into. He was tall, actually, taller than her. He had a light brown complexion that was darkened from the sun. He was wearing baggy blue jeans and a black tank. He had stark black hair that would've fallen just to his shoulders if most of it wasn't in a ponytail. A stray strand on the front had fallen over his eyes. He didn't make a move but sort of gazed at her for a while. In a few second, he didn't reply to her apology but brushed aside the stray strand, nodded slightly, and turned away. Haruka quirked an eyebrow.
What was that about? She frowned as she leaned over and pressed the number of her floor. The stranger had cast one last glance at her in the shaft before the doors of the elevator met each other and he was gone from her line of sight. She involuntarily hugged herself. Haruka had felt something strange and cold when she looked into the man's eyes. It was like déjà vu…like she had met him before. The elevator 'ding'ed and she strode over to her room. It was a cozy room, furnished tastefully in the condition Haruka could label livable. She took off her sunglasses and placed her backpack on the couch. Kicking off her shoes, she sauntered over to her bed, exhausted. She adjusted her position and the pillows before closing her eyes and dozing off.
Before she drifted off to dream world, a pair of dark brown eyes involuntarily entered her mind.
She was in the woods, somewhere. Trees and greenery surrounded her and Haruka absently thought about how much either Setsuna or Makoto would like the place. She was walking through the grass when she heard a couple of voices. She followed the noise through several plants and paths before coming to a clearing. There was a man and a woman before her. As she stepped forward, she realized that they probably couldn't see her. She settled for watching them from a distance. The woman was tall, with golden, wavy hair that fell almost to her elbows. She was wearing a long white dress that had soot and dirt on some part on it. The man was hunched over her back. He had dark hair and was wearing rather old, medieval clothes. The woman was sitting on top of a rock and the man was right behind her, examining her back. Upon closer inspection, Haruka was startled to see the woman's back looking like it was slashed and opened cuts were everywhere. The woman had just slapped aside the man's hand from her back, looking angry.
"I said, LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"Such bad manners." He tsked, pointedly ignoring her rants. He reached over and forced her to look away from him as to make his work easier. "And you're supposed to be a lady?"
"Well, it's not you're been so gentlemanly either so I wouldn't talk if I were you." She snapped back. Turning her head slightly to see him working on her back, she said. "You're an ass, you know that?"
"Yeah well this ass is currently trying to help your back mend so I suggest you shut your cakehole, princess, and let me do my job."
With that, she turned back to the front, scowling as she muttered, "Ass."
The man smirked. She spun on him, luscious blonde waves swirling as she narrowed her light amethyst, bluish eyes on his smirking face.
"You know, I-"
However, he tightened his grip on her arms and forced her head to keep on staring straight ahead, preventing her from glaring at him directly. She felt callused hands softly gliding on her back as he inspected the damage. Goosebumps materialized on the areas his fingers skimmed over. She shivered slightly, not enough for him to notice.
She flinched as his fingers pressed somewhere on her back. He glanced up and noted the pained expression on her face as she turned her head sideways, rearing to yell at him. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't yell at him as he pressed harder on the spot, producing an even deeper frown to crease on her brow.
Sighing, he relinquished the pressure on her back and stood aside. Cautiously, she turned to him on her seat on the rock, frowning at him. She felt a sense of mild surprise when she saw the way he was looking at her. His dark eyes looked over at her, eyes seeming to be calculating. The intensity of the dark orbs unnerved her, though not in the negative way.
The scene faded in front of Haruka and she felt somewhat dizzy until a new setting became focused in front of her. She was now on what looked like a mountain terrain. There were the same man and woman except the woman no had bandages strapped around her upper chest area and a bandage was wound around her wrist. Once more, neither person made a movement to acknowledge her.
"Just be careful, angel." The man was saying as she walked over to the edge of the cliff. "You're still not fully healed."
The woman turned around and looked at him. She quirked an eyebrow, bemused. She inclined her head slowly in affirmation. "I'll be sure to."
Once more, Haruka felt like she was swirling on air again. She 'fell' into a room on all fours. Groaning slightly, she stood up, glancing about her. The room looked more like a huge library. After glancing about for a few seconds, she spotted the man sitting on a huge, comfy-looking chair.
He suddenly glanced up and surprise invaded his dark eyes as he looked in her direction. He raised an eyebrow as a fake cocky smile settled on his face.
"Well, well," He murmured, setting aside his book. "Never thought I'd have to be graced with your presence again." He said laughingly, trying to break the strain between them.
Haruka was startled, still thinking that he couldn't see her. However, as she was starting to speak to him, she heard the shuffling of feet. Looking behind her, she saw the woman again. But there was something extremely different about her this time that Haruka couldn't put her finger on. The woman now seemed to resemble someone she knew. However, she was looking somewhat distant now. There was a tinge of anger in her light blue eyes as she looked right through Haruka and peered at the man. The man seemed to notice the extreme strain in the room and frowned.
He stood up, concerned. He made a motion to move towards her but she took an unintentional step back. His brows furrowed
"Achara?"
His voice seemed to break through her trance. Her icy eyes bore into the darkness of his. "You lied."
Those two, short words echoed into the wide room and his eyes darkened as the meaning of the words caught up to him.
Haruka frowned, a sense of familiarity welling up in her. She looked back and forth between the two, confused. Just as the man brought his head up to speak, loud noise caused Haruka to cover her ears as the setting before her suddenly multiplied and swirled in her vision.
Haruka rubbed her eyes as she sat up in bed. The phone beside her was ringing excessively, annoying her. Haruka leaned over and mumbled a greeting.
"'Ello?" She yawned.
"Haruka?" Came and uncertain voice. Haruka immediately shot up at the sound of the familiar voice.
"Hotaru?" Hotaru laughed.
"Yes, hi. Did I wake you?"
"Yeah," She said, smiling. "Oh-no! Don't apologize. It's no big deal. I'm supposed to go eat with an old friend soon anyway." She continued, cutting off the younger girl's apologies as she glanced over at the sun that was starting to go down. Haruka kept on talking to Hotaru for a few minutes though she felt as though her foster-'daughter' was holding back something. Hotaru sounded very uneasy but reassured her that she was okay and the two eventually hung up.
It wasn't till Haruka had cleaned up and gotten dressed and halfway through the doorway that she realized what was so familiar about the woman in her dreams. Her long blonde hair was chopped off in the last scene.
And she looked exactly like Haruka.
~*chickay*~
A/N: There is goes. Yeah, Haruka lovers will probably kill me. BTW: I stopped watching the English version of Sailor Moon after those heinous SuperSailor Moon season dubs. ::shudders:: Good God, those were scary. Anyways, I barely got enough of Haruka's character and I'm pretty sure I didn't do her character enough justice. Also, I know crap about cars, let alone racing cars, and as for racing competitions, well, let's say the most I know is that they run around the pretty little track. Oh well, let me know what I can do to improve if you think I could use it. REVIEW!
