Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Day by Day

Michiru nibbled her lip nervously as she watched the Queen read overMichiru's essay on the history of planet Neptune. The young princess had worked many days to complete the essay and spent numerous nights sitting alone in the library pouring over volumes of large books. Michiru really hoped that she would be able to satisfy her mother -just for once.

As the princess stood politely beside the chair she had offered the Queen, Michiru tried to relax as she reread her essay over the shoulder of her mother. Everything had to be perfect. The princess tugged at one of her locks of aqua hair as she waited for her mother to finish scanning the piece of paper.

"Don't do that Michiru, you're tangling your hair," the queen said, her eyes never leaving the paper.

Michiru let her hand fall by her side once again. Mother still never missed a thing. Trying not to appear too agitated, Michiru examined the desk in front of her. She had made sure her room was extra clean before her mother came in. Michiru had gotten rid of all the scrunched up balls of paper and books scattered on her desk, dusted her entire room and had even found a glass vase with sweet smelling lavenders to place by the window. Hopefully her mother wouldn't spot anything she had missed.

After what seemed like hours, the Queen finally placed the piece of paper back on Michiru's desk and turned to face her daughter. "You forgot to mention about the Battle of Keto and its affect on our planet," Neptina noted.

Michiru bit her lip. Nothing. After all that hard work, her mother still didn't think she did good enough. She wondered if mother saw anything other than her mistakes and flaws.

The silence was deafening. Michiru lifted her head as she heard a rustle of cloth and saw her mother get up from her chair.

"Are you leaving so soon?"

"I have some work to finish up," the Queen stated simply as she swept out of the room. "I expect you to rewrite the essay."

The princess scrambled onto her feet and followed her mother. "I... I'll do my best."

"I expect nothing less." The Queen didn't look back at Michiru as she continued down the corridor. Her long silk dress sighed softly as the Queen moved briskly yet gracefully.

Michiru sighed and fell behind the Queen, watching her sadly as the woman slowly disappeared through a door. Michiru sighed as she turned back down the long winding hallway and walked back towards her room. A huge pile of work was waiting for her to finish.

Haruka laughed as she ran through the marketplace. She could never get bored of coming out here. Sure, she had been caught a few times, but it was always worth it. Haruka was tired of the rules inside the castle. She wanted to be able to do whatever she wanted and not care at all about what she was suppose to be acting like because she was a princess. Her mother just didn't understand.

The blonde-haired princess yelped as she suddenly smashed into another person.

"Hey, don't you watch where you are going?" The person said irritably, rubbing his head. He glared at Haruka through his bright lime coloured eyes and was about to say something else but was interrupted by a loud yell.

"Hey, come back thief!"

"Oh, crud." The silver-haired boy quickly scrambled off his feet and ran past Haruka.

The blonde appeared slightly flustered as the boy ran past him, and slowly got to his feet. How strange. Haruka dug her hand into her pocket. Her eyes widened as she found that her money bag was missing. That boy, he...

Spinning around, Haruka ran in the direction she last saw the boy heading to. Behind her, she could hear another man chasing after the boy as well. Haruka picked up her pace. It wasn't the money that she was worried about. There was more than enough money in the palace for her to use, but Haruka had put the earrings her mother had given her on her seventh birthday. Haruka didn't like the earrings and never wore them, but the gift had meant a lot to her. That is why she always carried them by her side, even though she never used them.

Haruka skidded to a stop and looked around. She had lost the boy. No, he must be around here somewhere. Stalls decorated the busy street and Haruka heard people yelling out advertisements and haggling with customers. She had to find him. Haruka scanned the area again, trying her best to keep her mind clear. She paused. Was that him? Spotting a lock of silver hair behind an umbrella stall, Haruka ran up to the table. Deep green eyes met lime as Haruka marched up to the boy hiding behind an opened blue umbrella.

"Give it back to me now," Haruka said dangerously, walking behind the stall to where the boy was hidden. She swept the umbrella aside and moved forward to face the boy.

"I don't know what you are talking about," the silver-haired boy whispered stubbornly. He glared a Haruka as if daring him to come any closer.

"I know you took my money bag, it was only missing after you bumped into me." Haruka said fiercely. Her face was merely a few inches away from the boy's, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Keep your voice down," the boy hissed, carefully watching the shopkeeper who had been chasing him run past the umbrella stall. His eyes followed the man until he disappeared from view. Turning to Haruka, the silver-haired boy repeated that he did not have Haruka's money.

"Listen, you can keep the money you stole from me, I just want the something in the bag back."

The boy hesitated for a minute.

"Either you give me what I want or I give you a knuckle sandwhich."

Sighing softly, the boy reached into his shirt and drew out a green drawstring bag. Haruka sighed with relief. Frowning the boy opened the bag and dug out a pair of amber earrings shaped like stars.

"This what you're looking for?" he asked.

Haruka nodded and accepted the earrings. She had thought that she had lost them for sure. The blonde closed her hand and held on tightly to the earrings. She wouldn't lose them again. The earrings used to belong to her mother. She knew it was special to her and that her mother had trusted her a lot to give them to Haruka.

"Pff, I don't see anything special about them. Are they for your girl friend?"

"Hey, if you aren't buying anything, get out from behind my stall," an elderly man had appeared by their side and didn't seem pleased at all. Just at that moment the shopkeeper which had been chasing the boy earlier passed by.

"Hey! You, thief!"

"Shit!" The boy quickly jumped onto his feet and started running for his life. Haruka hesitated for a moment before scrambling after him, with the angry shopkeeper not far behind. The owner of the umbrella stand also seemed to have joined the chase, fearing that the two strangers hiding behind his stall had taken one of his umbrellas as well. Which was the case, since in his hurry, the boy had forgot to put down the umbrella he was hiding behind earlier.

"Huff, how did you catch up to me so quickly?" the boy asked, picking up his pace. "Actually, what are you doing running with me? You got what you wanted didn't you?"

Haruka wasn't sure what she was doing either. But she found herself grabbing the boy's wrist and leading them toward the palace. She led them along the familiar towering palace walls and through the small decorative trees that surrounded the outside of the palace. The stone walls seemed to slip behind them as they continued to run as fast as they could. They skidded around a corner, past a tall marble statue of a mermaid and leaped behind a group of bushes. Fumbling slightly, Haruka pushed the boy through a hole in the palace wall and followed him until they reached the other side of the thick stone wall. They wouldn't find them here. Only Haruka knew about the secret entrance, and it was a good thing too because she didn't want attackers coming in with out anyone noticing.

They were both panting heavily as they sat sprawled on the ground, hiding behind a tree inside the palace grounds.

Haruka recovered quickly and she watched silently as the boy struggled to regain his breath. That was a close one. But why? Why did she help him. Why did she lead the boy into the palace, a thief no less. It didn't make any sense. They sat in silence for a while, the only sound was the singing of birds and the rustle of leaves.

Haruka peered through the bushes they were hiding behind and was relieved to find that no guards were near by. They were safe.

Turning back around, Haruka burst out in laughter as she saw the boy's appearance. His hair tie had come loose and his long locks of hair had become tangled in the run, sticks, leaves, and dirt clung to the long silver hair, making it look like a giant bird's nest. If there were any guards near by they definitely would have burst through the bushes and have caught them. That is, if they didn't run away screaming at the sight of the silver-haired boy.

"You don't look to great either," the boy grumbled, trying pulling out leaves and sticks from his hair. Facing Haruka, the boy frowned. He had about a million questions on his mind, like how the kid knew about the secret entrance into the palace and who he was. However, the only thing he could come up with was. "Why did you help me?"

Haruka shrugged, trying to look unconcerned. "I don't know."

She stared at the boy, the exact same question echoing in her mind. Perhaps it was because the boy seemed similar to Haruka. The same rebellious nature and stubbornness. The damage was done though.

"Listen, I want you to promise me you won't use this entrance. If the palace guards caught you-"

"I know, I'm not that stupid."

Haruka looked suspiciously at the boy. "I really mean it."

"I also mean it when I say I'm not stupid."

She really didn't want to lose the secret entrance that allowed her to escape outside of the palace, but if the boy told anyone, there would be a lot of trouble. Could she trust him?

"Listen, I want to thank you for helping me... If it weren't for you, I, um, well, I would be in deep trouble right now."

Haruka stayed silent.

"I'm Yaten, who are you, boy?"

"Haruka." Haruka smiled with amusement. So he thought she was a boy. This wasn't surprising since few girls wandered around alone outside in the marketplace. They tended to stay home, learning how to sew and become a proper lady. However, Haruka was not interested in any of that. Plus, Haruka's attire seemed to shout out the word "boy" very loudly. Not wanting Yaten tosuspect her real identity, Haruka added, "My parent's are cooks at the castle."

"I should get going," Yaten said, getting back on to his feet. The boy stared silently at Haruka, as if thinking something over. "Listen..."

Yaten hesitated before reaching into his shirt and drawing out Haruka's moneybag. "You could have this back."

Haruka shook her head, pushing the bag full of money back toYaten. "Keep it. It looks like you need it more than me."

Yaten paused, and nodded before disappearing through the bushes that covered the secret entrance to the castle.

"You better keep your promise," Haruka muttered, little did she know, that what she did today would form a strong friendship that would last for years to come.

"I simply can't stand her, she is so perfect and everyone simply loves her, how disgusting."

"I agree, the only reason we pretend to be her friends is because she is a princess."

"She is so stupid to believe that we like her."

Unknown to the speakers, the person they were talking about was hiding behind the corner, her eyes full of tears. Michiru sank to the floor, dropping the flowers that she had picked for her friends. She had worked so hard to impress them, she had worked so hard to satisfy them, and yet, they didn't think of her as a friend. She had thought that if she was good at everything, then they would like her? Why? What had she done wrong?

Michiru stayed alone by a pillar in the great dining hall as she watched the room slowly fill with dinner guests. The servants scurried around hurriedly, putting on the finishing touches. The plates and cutlery were lined neatly on the long oak table, and sparkled so brightly, that one could assume that they have been washed with steaming water ten times in a row. A royal red table cloth was draped over the large table with golden fringes decorating the edges and beautiful bouquets of the most extraordinary flowers have been placed in vases along the middle of the grand table.

Various smells floated through the air as the cooks hurried to finish cooking the feast for the Queen's guest. Michiru breathed in deeply, catching the scent of spices and freshly cooked bread. It was the Queen's birthday and the entire palace was preparing for an evening full of celebrations.

Unnoticed by the princess, a huge group of guests had gathered around her.

"The princess has grown so much, she has so much talent, I'm sure she'll become a great queen some day," a young man said, to the surrounding people.

"And her violin skills are so impressive at such a young age, everyone knows the princess will become one of the greatest violinist the world has ever seen," a noble exclaimed, laughing with his other companions.

"And her art work... ah, don't get me started on that. We expect great things from you."

Michiru managed to smile politely at the lords and ministers praising her. These words have lost their meaning a long time ago. Once, she had clung on to every word, believing that the words of encouragement would ensure her success. However, after hearing the words that her very own friends had said about her, Michiru knew that it wasn't true. The praises and compliments had once meant something to her, but their meaning and value began to fade slowly over time. As a matter of fact, it was only making things worse. They expected so much, and she could only do so little. All that she was able to do was to smile and nod at the guests, why was she so pathetic? Why did everyone want so much from her?

"No."

"It's just a tiny favor."

"I'm not an idiot," Yaten said, turning his back to Haruka.

The blonde smiled evilly as she walked in front of Yaten. "You still owe me from the time I rescued you from a flock of angry chickens, and the time that the angry old woman thought you stole her eggs and then there was the time..."

"Okay, okay! I get the point." The young boy grumbled, shoving his hands into his pocket. "I'll do it, but you're taking me out for lunch."

Haruka grinned, grabbing Yaten's arm and leading him towards the small, humble looking house. The lawn outside was decorated with various flowers of many different colors, making the lawn look like a field full of jewels. Smoke slowly drifted out of the chimney, giving the small house a cozy feeling.

Pushing Yaten forward, Haruka gently knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal an elderly woman in her fifties. She had a stern look on her face that made it clear that she was not to be fooled with.

"I presume that you must be Mr. Haruka."

Harukasmirked as she pushed Yaten forward. "Yes, that's him."

Why the Queen thought that she needed lessons on acting like a lady, Haruka had no idea. However, the Queen insisted that Haruka needed to learn how to be a lady so she signed her up with an instructor. But with a little meddling and changing of information, Haruka was able to make the instructor believe that Haruka was the son of a rich merchant and have Yaten go in her place. All Haruka needed was a certificate and her mother would get off her back. It wasn't really that bad, after all, her mother had allowed her to leave the castle for half the day to go to these lessons. But if there was one thing Haruka couldn't stand, it was rules. She hated the responsibilities of a princess and had tried many times to forget that she would be the future queen. That is why Haruka spent so much time in the marketplace, trying to take her mind off the future. Yaten had been a great help, Haruka just felt guilty for lying to her best friend about her identity.

Haruka smirked as she watched Yaten march past the instructor. The elderly woman had accepted the job at once, after all, the customer was willing to pay a lot of money. How hard could it be? It looked like a piece of cake. She didn't know how wrong she was. She frowned as she watched "Haruka" stomp into the room, looking like he would have prefered to be anywhere else but here.

"What do you think you're doing!"

"Walking," Yaten replied, facing the instructor.

"You're doing it incorrectly."

"What? Listen, I KNOW how to walk," Yaten said loudly.

"You, are doing it incorrectly."

"How could there be a wrong way to walk!"

The elderly woman shook her head, and glided over to Yaten. "You are a gentleman. A gentleman does not take giant strides while walking. A gentleman glides."

"Glide? What do you think I am? A ghost?"

"Glide," the elderly woman repeated, grabbing Yaten by the arm and walking -er, gliding- the "gentleman" around the room. "Understand?"

"The hell I do!" Yaten watched with satisfaction as the lady gasped at the crude language. Living all his life in the streets, Yaten had managed to pick up some nasty language.

Haruka could only cover her mouth to stop from laughing out loud. She knew that Yaten wouldn't appreciate it. Haruka swept her hand through her tangled hair as she looked at Yaten argue with the instructor. She felt free outside the castle and together with Yaten. She could forget who she was and all her responsibilities. Just watching Yaten shout whatever words he could, made her envy him but she felt happy by his side, watching him do what she could not.

"No, no, no," the lady said, shaking her head at Yaten. "A gentleman cannot say that."

Yaten opened his mouth to reply but saw Haruka shaking his head. With great difficulty, the young man managed to shut up and listen to the old lady lecture him on manners.

"Okay, okay, I get the point," Yaten yelled.

"No yelling either."

At this point, Yaten couldn't help but shoot Haruka a very poisonous glare.