07/04/05 - Guys, I have to say it: I greatly enjoyed myself reading the reviews of chapter 12 (as always, arigatou to everybody!). You really don't like Fukuma-chan and his cousin, do you :)
Yet it surprised me to know that you're more angry with the fat boy than Naoko... I feel sorry for him (only a bit).
Again there are some replies (skip this part if you're not interested):
dieberlinerpiret: I guess you're right about the surname thing... Tenoh, Tenou, Tenno, Tenho... I've seen it written in many ways. I've just decided to use the form I liked most (Tenoh & Kaioh) and not Tenno because it sounds a lot like the Italian word 'tonno' (it means 'tunny fish'). That's not very cool, don't you think? ;)
hunter007: About Michiru's reaction... well, you know me (do you?)... you just have to read this new chapter and find out :)
Sailor Millenium: Of course this is just a fiction, but I want it to be as real as possible :)
Chapter 13: Stormy Sea and Rustling Wind
The alarm clock woke her up, interrupting for once a wonderful dream in which she was with her Michiru, obviously...
Haruka stretched in her bed and then stood up, yawning. She padded into the kitchen, expecting to find Michiru already there, dressed and ready for school. As usual she would be waiting for Haruka to eat the breakfast the aqua-haired girl had prepared... but she was wrong.
The kitchen was empty like the rest of their apartment... the young violinist had already left...
Haruka didn't know what to think then... but she also had no time for that.
School was going to start soon and she still had to get ready...
Miraculously, the tall blonde managed to get to class on time (the teacher was right behind her). She took her seat next to her partner and whispered with a charming smile: "Why did you leave so early?"
"I was bored..." came the glacial, unemotional answer of the smaller girl. Her friend... her best friend.. right?
Haruka was taken aback, left speechless... what had happened to Michiru? Why was she so cold and detached?
Out of the blue, Kasumi's words echoed in her head... was Michiru's father the responsible for her strange behaviour?
She had to find out...
When the bell rang Haruka closed her books and turned toward her partner just in time to see her leave... "Michiru!" she tried to call her, but the girl didn't appear to notice...
That wasn't a good sign at all... but what could she do?
Suddenly she felt something pull painfully at her left ear...
"Ehi!" she protested, prepared to do serious damage to whomever had dared such a thing... yet when she met the angry eyes of Nami, she didn't know what to think (or do): "Why did you do that?"
"Because you deserved it!" replied the girl with no hesitation.. "There are a lot of girls in love with you and you know that I'm one of them..." she paused, a bit ashamed of what she had just said: "But I respected your feelings for Michiru-san and didn't interfere..."
Haruka watched her with wide eyes... she was still confused...
"However, I can't simply stand by and watch when it's clear that she's mad at you for something that you've done or worse - something you didn't do..."
"Ehi!" Haruka tried to defend herself: "It's not my fault!"
"Then why is she so upset?"
"I.. don't know..." came the muffled answer of the suddenly insecure blonde.
"If you don't know, then you should ask her!" Nami was now clearly trying to encourage her: "Remember what I told you? I won't change my mind... follow her and make it clear, tell her how you feel!"
Haruka stared at the excited girl, thoughtful, then she smiled with her usual charm: "What would I do without your advice?"
"I really don't know!" replied the red-haired girl, happy to see how the tall blonde was reacting to her unsolicited advice.
Not wasting one more second, Haruka left the room and went to look for Michiru...
She was still a bit unsure of what to tell her (it wasn't the right moment for a love confession, was it?). The blonde shuddered lighty, but Nami was right... she had to face her problems... the time when she could just run away was over...
The pool wasn't exactly the typical place where one went to eat, but it was the only one that Michiru could think of to find peace and avoid her partner...
That morning she had awakened earlier than usual and had enough time to think over what had happened the night before... Haruka's gift... their dance together... Haruka's dance with Naoko...
She was so confused... and she didn't feel ready to meet with the blonde just yet.
So the aqua-haired beauty took her swim suit with her (wanting to take a dip in the pool after the lessons) and had simply left before Haruka had woken up...
After changing into her suit, she reached the edge of the pool and dove into the warm water... when she surfaced, she let her body be supported by the water... here was her own world, a place where no one could get to her.. harm her... not even that special person, or at least, she thought so...
"I should have known you would be here..."
Hearing that familiar, husky voice she quickly opened her eyes and looked up into the face of the smiling blonde who stood just at the edge of the pool, hands in her pockets: "I looked for you everywhere..."
"Maybe I didn't want to be found..." was the aqua-haired beauty's distant reply, as she kept on swimming.
"And can you tell me the reason?"
"You should be the one to tell me..."
Haruka kept silent.. Michiru really was very angry with her... but why?
"If you don't explain, then I can't understand..."
"There's nothing to talk about."
"Would you please come out of the pool and talk to me?" Haruka was starting to feel annoyed by the other girl's attitude and when she received no answer from the aqua-haired beauty, she issued a short "Fine!" before jerking off her jacket.. followed by her belt, her shoes and finally her socks.
Michiru, however, was looking elsewhere and didn't notice... at least, until she heard a loud splash.
She turned around and realized that her stubborn partner was nowhere in sight... then she spotted a shadow underneath the water and Haruka appeared right beside her: "Now we can talk!"
Michiru stared in surprise for a moment, then her cold exterior returned: "There's nothing to say..." she tried to swim away, but Haruka grabbed her wrist...
"You're mad at me for something that I've done, but I don't know what it is... would you please tell me?"
Michiru was incredulous... how could the tall girl be so blind and not understand?
Haruka was too stubborn to let her go so easily... there was only one way to free herself... kicking in the water, she jumped out of her natural element and with both hands she plunged the head of the surprised blonde under the water...
"Leave me alone!" she yelled sharply before swimming away.
But again, Haruka wasn't going to obey... she followed the aqua-haired beauty and promptly returned the favour of dunking before yelling back: "Never!"
Michiru surfaced and then tried to splash the other girl, obviously furious with her: "You're stubborn.. and bad tempered!"
"So are you!" retorted the taller girl, splashing right back.
They went on like that, until they stopped exhausted, gasping for air and studying each other, then...
"Are you in love with her?" Michiru's words were nothing more than a soft whisper, but the question was very clear.
Haruka, however, looked a bit confused "What?"
"I'm speaking of Naoko, of course!" replied the aqua-haired girl with a look that probably meant 'don't play dumb with me, Tenoh Haruka!': "I saw you.. kissing her... yesterday..."
"Nani? I've never done anything with that girl!" then the young car racer finally understood... silence fell over them until something finally broke it... it started as a suffocated chuckle, then it grew more and more intense... Haruka just couldn't help herself and burst into laughter.
Michiru felt insulted by the girl's reaction, then the amused blonde lightly tapped her on the nose with a finger: "You're a silly girl!"
Now the young violinist was really fuming... how dare she?
"I wasn't kissing her!" Haruka exclaimed to calm down her raging friend: "She was just playing games with me... with both of us!"
"What does that mean?" Michiru looked a bit confused, while the taller blonde was still smiling broadly: "She told me she had something in her eye... that's why I got so close to her! You probably saw us at that moment and misunderstood..."
The young violinist kept silent for a moment with wide-opened eyes, then.. "She told you she had something in her eye... and you believed her..?"
At that comment, Haruka blushed deeply. After all, Michiru was right...
She had been dumb to believe Naoko's words in the first place... "Guess I should have been more suspicious... ne?"
"A lot more..." Michiru nodded vehemently and finally smiled at her naive friend, who felt much better now: "So, in the end... the reason for your being cold was.. jealousy?" she ventured.
The aqua-haired beauty noticed the mischievous glint in her partner's eyes... Haruka was seeking revenge for her bad treatment, of course...
No way would Michiru allow it! Not answering, she swam towards the edge of the pool and the ladder when, again, the blonde stopped her.. this time putting one arm in front of her and the other behind, trapping her against the pool edge...
The young violinist turned to face her teasing partner... but when she saw Haruka's serious expression, her heart started to pound faster...
"Don't leave me alone again... never again..." said Haruka in her low, husky voice, openly staring at her friend.
Michiru didn't know what to say, dazed by the blonde's deep voice, her incredible green eyes... yes, this was her Haruka... a strong, tender soul the violinist was the only one able to see behind that harsh facade...
The aqua-haired beauty slowly raised a hand to touch the other girl's cheek and then, her soft lips...
Before Michiru even realized it, Haruka was moving closer and closer to her, guided by her uncontainable desire, until their lips finally met in a sweet, gentle kiss.. and when their passion took over, their lips parted and their tongues touched, exploring each other's mouths, wanting more...
Slowly they separated, looking deeply into each other's eyes, enjoying the closeness of their bodies... then they leaned in for another kiss and parted again to breathe...
"We should leave now..." Michiru said sweetly, still caressing her partner's cheek.
"As you wish..." Haruka replied, letting Michiru go with reluctance.
The smaller girl elegantly swam to the ladder and climbed up... her taller partner was right behind (well.. how could you blame her?).
Once outside, the aqua-haired beauty took a good look at the other girl's body... now that Haruka's clothes were all wet, her wonderful female curves were unmistakably evident...
The tall blonde felt how Michiru's eyes were carefully scrutinizing her body and blushed deeply, clearly embarrassed.
"Well.. let's go then..." she tried to sound relaxed, as she turned from her smaller partner and started to walk away, until two arms were wrapped around her waist and she felt Michiru's body pressed against her own: "Don't hide yourself from me... you have no reason to be ashamed of your body, because it's beautiful... you are beautiful..."
"Arigatou.." murmured the blonde after a while, still blushing.
She loved what she felt when with Michiru... a sensation of absolute freedom... happiness... fulfillment... love...
Yes, it might sound exaggerated, but Haruka knew that Michiru was the woman she wanted to share her life with... the happy moments as well as the bad ones...
She searched for something in her pocket: "You forgot something this morning..." and handed it to her beautiful partner, who smiled with a slight embarrassment as she recognized the silver cross Haruka had given her the night before... along with her true feelings...
"Arigatou, Haruka."
