Disclaimer: I do not own Sailormoon; I'm just borrowing Michiru and Haruka for a little while.
Warnings: Shoujo-ai. Use of artistic license. Un-betaed. (Anyone out there interested?)
Notes: This chapter wasn't really humorous, but I hope you enjoy anyway. I'm a little unsatisfied with the end, so please send me your thoughts on it. Thanks to all reviewers and readers.
Vocabulary:
Bento - lunch
Nani - what
Odango - dumpling
Senshi - warrior/soldier
Watachi wa - I am
Youma - monster/demon
A Quiet Scene IV
Tokyo. The first thing Michiru wanted to do was go shopping for essentials after they had unpacked in their new apartment. It didn't take long; although the apartment was very spacious; they had few belongings they could unload. After two years of constant moving, both girls had learned to live without excess. Haruka struggled with her tie. Michiru was getting ready to leave.
"Wait Michiru! I'll go with you!"
"It's alright Haruka, I can manage on my own. Just make sure you go to the high school this afternoon to get our schedules."
"Okay," Haruka struggled with the tie again, this time knotting it until it resembled a noose. Haruka tried to undo her handiwork, but the noose just kept getting tighter until it began to choke her. "Um, Michiru?" Michiru hurried over with an exasperated sigh and re-did the tie in less than a minute. Afterwards, she gave her partner the once over.
"You know, I never thought anyone could pull it off, but you look good in burgundy red and plaid green."
"Really?" Haruka looked over her Mugen High uniform. "It seems like a strange combo to me."
"Hmm. The whole school is a bit mysterious if you ask me."
Beep!
Besides a lamp, the phone was the only other appliance that they had plugged in. They had no tables, so a small red light flashed from the floor.
"Looks like we have a message," Haruka walked over, and pressed one of the white buttons. A woman's gentle voice began to speak in cordial tones.
"Kaioh, Michiru-san. Tenoh, Haruka-san. We are pleased to inform you that there will be an orientation session for new students to Mugen High for the spring term. Orientation begins in the lobby's lounge, two o' clock, in two days. Placement tests will begin soon after. Since we were unfortunate in contacting you by phone, please RSVP to the Office of Student Affairs directly, via fax, phone, or e-mail once you get this message. Thank you."
"What do you think Michiru?"
"Of course we should attend," Michiru put on her shoes, "Unless youmas begin to show up again, there's nothing to stop us from it. You go today, while I drop by the market. I'll meet you at the garage for lunch."
"But Michiru - "
"I promise I won't flirt with anyone while you're away," Michiru giggled.
"That's not funny. The last time you left me in Osaka, I was worried sick. What if a youma attacked you while I was a mile away?"
"So, it wasn't the fact that Keitaro-kun decided to accompany me to the art store last winter that was bothering you."
"No of course not. Just like the fact that Midori-chan accompanied me to the bookstore that same day didn't bother you."
"Midori-chan?! When did this happen, Haruka?"
"We were in the same language class back in Osaka. We stopped by a store to buy a study book. No need to get so envious, Michiru-san," Haruka smirked, then yawned. The jet lag from their flight still threatened to put her to sleep.
"Since you are still obviously feeling disoriented, I'll let that comment slide. Remember to go to the office, and get our tentative schedules."
"Yes. I'll remember. Just make sure you keep your communicator on. I don't want a repeat of what happened the last time you were so careless," Haruka's eyes narrowed at the dark memory. Michiru nervously brushed her sleeve. The claw marks near her elbow from the cat-like youma had faded away weeks ago, but the memory of the close encounter was still fresh.
"Of course. I promise."
"We've been making a lot of promises to each other lately. Keep this one, like we've always kept the first. I can't save you Michiru, once a bad situation becomes too desperate."
"If something should happen to one of us, the other will go on and retrieve the talismans."
"I know Haruka, I know." As Michiru left, she could not face her partner. If she had, she would have seen the sadness in Haruka's teal eyes.
Haruka yawned again. She had been to the school and had signed the both of them up for orientation in less than an hour. The weather was nice out, the wind playful and cooling. As she strolled down one of Tokyo's main streets, she wondered how Michiru was doing.
Crown Arcade.
Haruka stopped in her tracks. This seemed as likely a place as any other to ease her boredom. As she stepped through the entrance, she noticed two blond girls bickering in front of one of the racing games. One of was backing away from the other and laughing nervously. The one with the red bow was trying to get her reluctant friend to agree to another game.
Cute.
"Hello miss, I'd like to play you."
The junior high girls stopped in their argument to turn wide eyes at Haruka. They promptly blushed. They were almost as cute as Michiru when she turned red. Haruka wondered what Michiru was doing right now. She wondered if Michiru might be in trouble.
Flirt with them.
Haruka's mind gave her an order. She followed gladly in order to ease her turmoil over Michiru's absence.
"I'll play you later," she winked at the girl with the odango-shaped hairstyle. The girl smiled with such happiness that Haruka could not help but smile back. It was a bit deceptive, to charm these girls when they obviously thought she was an older boy (the Mugen uniform hid the subtle curves in Haruka's figure), but for a moment, only the easy atmosphere mattered. Their meeting gave Haruka a little peace, and a lot of gossip for the girls to later tell their friends.
"I'm the best. I'll definitely beat you!" The one with the red bow plopped confidently into her chair. Her eyes glued onto the screen with fiery determination. Haruka smiled and followed suit.
Haruka was humming as she made her way to the garage. One of her bikes needed some fine-tuning, and the owner was one of the best at what he did. Haruka's sharp ears detected more than the mechanical sounds of the garage; two little kittens were trying to follow her while hiding their intentions.
"You can come out."
The two blond girls from earlier peeped around one of the garage doors and blushed. Haruka was just a tad taken bad – maybe the flirting had gotten a bit far if she was attracting stalkers. A small image of Michiru popped into her head, reprimanding her for her irresponsible behavior. Haruka sweat-dropped.
"Hello," Haruka greeted the two girls.
"Haruka!"
"Michiru!" Haruka's face morphed in surprise at the figure that emerged from the garage.
"You're late!"
"Uh, I am?"
"Well…I guess you already ate. I guess you don't want the lunch I made for you," Michiru dangled the homemade bento in front of Haruka to emphasis her point.
"Of course I do!"
"Haruka, who are they?" Michiru's gaze slanted to the corners of her eyes in a little bit of confusion.
"Well," Haruka tried to avoid Michiru's gaze.
"Haruka," one of Michiru's eyebrows raised.
"They were cute. That's all," Haruka whispered.
"And they're stalking you," Michiru tried to cover up her giggle.
"Well, um - "
"You're the only one I know that picks up stray dogs and stray girls."
"Well, that time the dog followed me, and you were away at one of your 'concerts,' unable to stop me from falling under its spell," Haruka whispered back. Most of Michiru's "concerts" were a cover for Michiru to investigate a new area of Japan. Whenever the trail of the youma got cold, Haruka and Michiru would split up and cover the country looking for new leads. Fortunately, the two were usually reunited within weeks.
"Hello, girls," Michiru spoke up loudly as she noticed the two girls had edged closer, trying to pry into their hushed discussion.
"Um, hello," the two bowed uneasily, ashamed at having been caught in their nosiness.
"Please to meet you. My name is Kaioh, Michiru."
"Watachi wa Aino, Minako."
"And I'm Tsukino, Usagi."
Both of the girls kept looking back and forth between Haruka and Michiru, noticing their familiar proximity. They were bursting with questions.
"Yes?" Michiru asked.
"Kaioh-san?" The girls blinked.
"Was I wrong to assume? It just seemed you wanted to ask a question – very badly," Michiru added. The two girls fidgeted.
"Is Tenoh-san your boyfriend?" Usagi suddenly piped up in reckless abandon.
"No."
"Oh," both girls turned star-eyed as they looked back to Haruka. Minako suddenly snapped out of her reverie to hiss something in Usagi's ear. Minako sounded like she was reprimanding her friend. Michiru could only make out part of her sentence; " - have Mamoru already." Minako noticed Michiru's stare and laughed nervously. "It was nice to meet you." Minako bowed awkwardly to Michiru and Haruka before dragging her friend away.
"I'm not your boyfriend?"
"Of course not," Michiru looked over to Haruka, who seemed a more than a little upset, "the 'boy' in the word nullifies its meaning, don't you know?"
"Oh," Haruka smiled softly, relaxing in the gentle teasing that allayed her fears.
"You mean much more than any word could encompass," Michiru said the words so tenderly that the tiniest of breezes could have torn them apart. But Haruka had heard.
"I am honored by your words…Michiru."
"Let's go Haruka, to the seashore," the sea senshi turned, and beamed at her partner.
"Nani?"
"Your bike is fixed now. Let's go there; the place where land, sky, and sea meet."
"Michiru."
"In that magical place, nothing can harm us… Not even the pain of our own promises," Michiru looked very sad at the sudden recollection; here in Tokyo, so close to the end, the shadow of destiny that hung over them only seemed to grow darker. Haruka could not stand Michiru's expression - she grinned and grabbed her partner's hand, running towards the open garage.
"Let go then, Michiru," Haruka placed a red helmet on the sea senshi's head. Haruka tilted her head towards Michiru until her forehead met the hard surface of the protective gear. "I'll fly you there."
Minutes later, pedestrians and drivers alike were greeted with the same noise; It was the roaring growl of a motorcycle prowling through the streets of Tokyo as it raced as fast as the wind. Triumphantly bellowing its joy. Joyously luxuriating in its freedom. All Haruka could hear was the heavenly sound of Michiru's laugh.
I promise, whatever it takes, I'll fly you there.
That laugh encompassed Haruka's whole world…And there was nothing else.
To Be Continued?
If you want to know about the stray dog, refer to my fic, "A Different Type of Stalker".
Thanks for your time, please review!