p a r t t h r e e

One way to float is to stay suspended upon a liquid without sinking. As Michiru floated there, in the same health club's wimming pool located in the basement, she exhaled. Swimming around twenty laps was good exercise, but she and her body agreed that she needed a small break. She looked up to the ceiling, eyes half-open. Slowly, she closed her eyes and arched her back a little, putting her arms behind her head so that they could float while elongated. Once she finished stretching, she put her body into a cross-like position. My heart hurts . . .

After a few minutes passed, she knew that she was truly alone. Pursing her lips and relaxing her muscles, she allowed herself to escape her own body; the woman began to daydream. She envisioned Haruka in all her splendor. To Michiru, she was a goddess. She imagined the sandy blond locks, her daring eyes, and the piece of a smile she usually flashed. Another thing she put into her mind was a picture she had painted of her. Haruka was portrayed as an untouchable beauty in a beautiful and revealing blue dress, the wind blowing her hair and the fabric. It was then that Michiru started thinking about the physical interior of her lover, what was behind the clothes. The neck that she loved to kiss, it was pale in her vision and in true life. Michiru envisioned her lips, also pale, but even more daring than her eyes; every kiss she shared with Haruka was so warm. Her mind came to the inside of her forearms. For some reason, Michiru liked to kiss and tease Haruka there. Moving on, she thought of the sky soldier's breasts. They were perky and very fun to work with; their taste was unique, and Michiru savored the memory of it. Haruka had virtually no belly, but that made it easier for Michiru to imagine the feel of her hipbones through her skin. As she thought of the next area on the mental list, she was interrupted. Her thought processes changed.

Her daydreams took her away, and the visions became worse. Images of past altercations in their relationship came to mind. She remembered walking out on Haruka, and even Haruka walking storming out to think. She heard the 'vroom' of Haruka's car in her mind and fidgeted upon the water. The memories of the morning flooded her mind and she felt as if she were drowning in the water she floated upon. A single tear dripped down her cheek and combined with its chlorinated brethren in the pool.

Suddenly, she felt lighter than the air around her . . . as if she was being raised. The area around her became warmer, and it was as if she was being lifted. Her hair fell towards the water, dripping. At this moment, she relaxed completely, her form angelic, eyes still closed.

"Oh, my God."

She actually was being raised . . . by a pair of hands.

"If only you hadn't noticed, Miss Kaioh." This deep voice matched a tall figure. A man with long, tapered brown hair and light eyes was holding her gently. He wore no bangs, his hair neatly pulled back for a smooth look. He obviously hadn't been underwater yet. "Forgive me . . . Michiru, if I may, but it looked as if you were suffering. And I definitely don't want you to suffer."

". . . Taiki . . . you scared me." After calming down some, she looked him over. He was wearing yellow and black trunks. Obviously, he was waxed upon his chest by officials or something, because his skin gleamed in the light of the facility despite him not being wet from waist-down. I must have been here a long time. I've drifted to shallow.

"As I've said, forgive me." He put a hand upon the back of her thigh, keeping the other at her back. Once he made sure he caught her expression, he rose her to a vertical position before letting her go.

Not liking the hair-waterlogged feeling, she took her aqua locks in both hands and wrung them out. Flipping her hair behind her, she looked up at Taiki quizzically. "What brings you here?"

"I felt like taking a swim all of a sudden. Who knew I'd be lucky enough to find a beautiful violinist during my stay?" He smiled.

He was charming; that was something Michiru liked about him. That was also a reason why Haruka was alert around him, as well as other who piqued Michiru's interest. Taiki reminded her of Haruka's jealousy vaguely, in other words, and she looked down.

"Have I upset you?"

"No. I'm . . . I've just got a lot on my mind right now. That's why I'm here, trying to get away. Am I succeeding? No . . ." She smiled wistfully.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Michiru looked up at him, or at least to his neck, wondering if she should let him in. Should she bother him with these trivial arguments? She bit her bottom lip, battling herself internally.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He hoped that she would, though.

"No, I . . . I will. Just me dry off, and perhaps we can talk up there?" She motioned to a section of swimming pool furniture.

"Sure. While you do that, I guess I'll swim a lap, just to say I did swim." He chuckled and moved to the nearest corner to them.

As Michiru made it to the last rung upon the ladder on the opposite side, she saw Taiki kicking off to start his lap. She noticed that he had very nice form, but his speed lacked; he wouldn't be as much of a challenge as Ami was. The woman smiled at this, not because of some evil thought, but because she was glad that his strong point wasn't swimming. If it was, her nature had potential enough to possibly damaged any friendship they'd have forged. The feeling of water dripping down her back reminded her that she was up there to dry her hair, not watch an amateur. Leaning back a little, she shook her hair before getting out of the pool and moving to the pool furniture. A pile of towels was laid upon an end-table. Taking one in hand, she whipped it up and over her head. Putting both hands upon the towel, she brought it down and vigorously tossed her waves. Within seconds, it was dry to be comfortable for Michiru. Once finished, she used the same towel to dry her body off somewhat.

Taiki noticed as he was finishing his first lap that Michiru wasn't finished, so he went around again. I wonder . . . hm. His thoughts were even more confused than he was. When he finished, he climbed over the side of the pool and walked over to the towel pile. Hurredly, he dried his hair and looked over to Michiru. By this time, the beautiful lady had laid down in one of the long chairs, resting her eyes. She is too beautiful. "Michiru?"

She opened her eyes, gazing at him with a wondrous expression. "Oh, here you are. I was waiting for you."

"Ahh. So, what's wrong?" He sat down in the pool chair beside her, but actually sat up. The scene looked similar to a psychiatrist and patient, sans a clipboard or notebook. "I walked out on Haruka again . . . over something silly."

"Well, what did she or you do?" Taiki knew it was wrong, but he inwardly sighed a sigh of relief. He knew it was wrong to be happy about such a thing, yet . . . he couldn't discipline himself like usual.

"I'd rather not say . . . but I know that I probably shouldn't have, but . . . I wish she could understand that I don't like to be 'touched' in formal situations." She promptly shut her mouth when she realized that she had basically told him what she was trying to avoid.

Obviously, she was a little embarrassed, so Taiki waited a few moments to say something. Leave it to the brainiest of the Sailor Starlights, Taiki being Sailor Star Maker, to screw things up. Smart. "I'm sorry, Michiru. Please don't hate me for saying this, but usually . . . someone who doesn't respect one's wishes and rules doesn't really love them."

This broke her heart . . . or at least gave her even more to think about in a bath. A bath could be a good thing later on; she'd have to seriously give that thought. Her eyes fell to the ground, dark turquoise locks falling and nearly touching the floor. "I . . ."

"You don't have to say anything . . . it's just an observation. I'll . . . go now." The last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable.

"No, please stay." Michiru even reached out and touched his arm. "I know that I've already inconvenienced Haruka . . . I don't want to push you away, either. Besides, being alone would drive me insane. And one doesn't need an insane Michiru. A normal one is enough as it is."

"Do you really think so?"

"Hm?"

"I . . . I don't think there's enough of you."

She stopped her silly thoughts long enough to stare at him. It was a kind of obvious what he was trying to say, but she needed to make sure. Different people function different ways. ". . . w-wha . . .?"

"You're too skinny; you need to eat more." He grinned and chuckled a bit.

Michiru laughed nervously, blushing just a little. She smiled up to Taiki, not truly sure if he wanted things platonic; he was a charmer, but he was vague. To be honest, Michiru wondered for a split second if that was a bad thing. When she realized that she was thinking such a thought, she put a hand to her head. She looked as if she were in pain.

As he saw the beauty look as if she was suffering again, instinct took over and he gently took her wrist in his hand and pulled it from her head, surveying her visage and making sure all was all right. He also realized what he was doing and looked down at her with a vexed yet dream-like expression. Blush formed at Taiki's cheeks when he saw her look up at him with nearly the same expression, just prettier.

Michiru actually leaned in for a moment before immediately sitting up, now blushing madly. "I'm sorry . . . forgive me. I . . . no."

Sooner than Taiki could apologize for what he had done, Michiru was gone. The image of Michiru running from the area was branded into his memory. He felt awful. Slouching forward enough to place his hands upon his face, he thought his feelings over. He knew he didn't love her because he didn't know her well enough to, but he did feel something, something he knew he couldn't control. As he rose from this emotional position, a twinkling object caught his eye. Michiru had left a bracelet upon the end-table. He took it, held it for a moment, and then also left the area, taking it with him.

Finally, she made it to the women's locker room. The situation at the pool could have turned something inexplicable. Her breathing was heavy, her head and heart pounding, her hands shaking. Walking over to a bench, she held herself with those shaking hands while staring down at it. The bench was lucky — it had no true problems. It was also reliable — it held others up as it was supposed to. There were so many things that she could count as attributes to the bench, but it didn't live. Did she realize that her thought pattern wasn't the sanest? Of course she did, and that is why she went to her locker, unlocked it, and took out her clothes. The shower room, which was to her right, was a very nice facility; the janitorial staff had major drive. The different shades of light blue were easy upon Michiru's eye; she liked that. After putting her clothes upon the counter in the corner, she ran the water for the shower. Having forgotten her cloth, she quickly walked over and grabbed it and a new towel from her clothes pile when she looked into the mirror. A scowl crossed her face. Adulterer.

Moving her gaze away from the mirror, she undressed quickly and stepped into the showering booth, drawing the curtain. At first, she just stood there, letting the water shelter her. When Michiru felt a tear fall down her cheek, she shook her head and decided to actually focus on her shower. Taking a newly-placed small bar of the club's special soap, she cracked the seal and lathered her hands. In a gentle circular motion, she spread the soap upon her body, not using her cloth. After she washed it off with the same motions, she took up the cloth and performed a detailed washing job of every part. Eventually, she took a dime-amount of liquid from the tiny bottle of shampoo located where the wrapper of soap was. Vigorously, she ran the solution through her locks, massaging her scalp a little roughly to make sure she was doing well. She rinsed her hair and repeated the same motions just as vigorously each time. It truly felt as if she were washing away her sins.

Michiru exited the shower, feeling refreshed but drained a strange feeling, one that she surprisingly knew. She also knew that she needed to make it home to try to talk to Haruka about all that had happened that day. The thoughts of a possible argument probed her psyche while she dried herself off and re-dressed. Out of the locker room and out of the facility she walked, still thinking of Haruka and not wanting to start something that could harm or even end the relationship. She faltered as she took her keys from her purse, dropping them on the ground. Crouching, she picked them up, opened the car door, and seated herself. After a moment of clearing her head and getting into a driver's mindset, she put the key in the ignition, started the car, backed out, and left the health club premises. The seas' guardian was obviously not in her right mind, because she did not notice that her lover's car was in the same parking lot as hers.

It took more than physical strength to walk down the walkway to their front door. Michiru's heart was too loud for her ears, the pounding insanely hard. To help herself calm down, she reminisced of a good time Haruka and she shared. She imagined the night before, how she felt when Haruka held her against the bathtub's edge. The feel of the outer wall of this tub as she clutched it about an hour later than that came to mind, as well. Exhaling and clearing her mind of everything (as well as she could), she focused upon the moment at hand. Looking up to the door when she reached the top porch step, she noticed that everything wasn't normal. There was a small, white rectangle upon the frame of the upper part of the screen door, wedged in pretty tight, it seemed. Seeing such, she looked at the driveway. How had she not noticed that Haruka's car wasn't there? Shaking her head, she quickened her pace and upon arriving at the door, took the rectangle — an envelope.

Raising a brow, Michiru wondered who it could be from. She opened it, and inside was a plain, white, non-ruled index card. It was put inside backwards, so she flipped it around. It read:

Michiru,

Meet me at Seven Green at six for dinner. I have something for you.

It was four-thirty.