Chapter V: Acknowledgment
"No! No! No!" shouted the instructor as she stood scowling at the two figures sprawled on the ground. Her hands were planted on both sides of her hips and her pale pink lips were set in an annoyed frown. "You will not get anywhere without learning to trust each other!"
"I told her that I was getting the ball," protested Haruka, rubbing her aching head; She could already feel a large bump forming. "But she just had to compete with me."
"The ball was on my side," retorted the aqua haired princess. "Haruka just thinks I'm too slow to-"
"Enough!" roared the instructor. She glared angrily at Haruka and Michiru as if daring them to say another word. "Run ten laps around that field and we will try the exercise again."
Michiru and Haruka picked themselves off the ground, mumbling and complaining. Each wouldn't admit that they were wrong and still refused to compromise. They glanced around the muddy field filled with numerous holes, some big enough to even fit a person. Puddles decorated the vast land and jagged rocks and pebbles stuck out in various places.
Michiru turned to glare at the instructor. "How do you expect us to run in this?"
For once Haruka had to agree with her partner. You would have to be crazy to want to run in this.Their instructor had to be kidding, either that or she was crazy. Which, by the way, was something Haruka had suspected about the woman the first time she met her.
"You will run in this because I told you too!" snapped the instructor. She flung back her glossy jet black hair and sat back on a rock to supervise the girls as they submitted to her orders.
Giving their instructor one last dirty look, the two girls grudgingly submitted to her orders. Haruka set off with a quick pace, easily jumping over the puddles and holes. She fumed to herself at how unfair the instructor was. If she had known that she was going to spend the next eight years jumping over mud holes, she definetly would have stayed home.
"This is all your fault!" panted Michiru as she struggled to match her partner's quick pace.
Haruka glanced back over her shoulder at Michiru and grinned playfully as she saw how ridiculous her partner looked. Michiru's elegant white dress was splattered with mud and she had gathered it up in her hands. The aqua haired princess was also running rather awkwardly as she was wearing high-heeled shoes.
Haruka's shirt and breeches were also covered in mud, but was much more easier to run in. She didn't care how she looked as long as the clothing she wore was comfortable and allowed her to move quickly and with ease.
"I was right after all when I said you were too slow to catch the- whoa!" With all her attention on teasing Michiru, Haruka was not able to keep an eye on her surroundings and slipped on a puddle, falling face first into a pile of mud.
The blonde moaned loudly wiping the mud off her face and yelped when the princess felt someone trip over her body and slam on top of her.
"Your reactions are slow too," grumbled the blonde as she tried to push Michiru off her.
"You two can't even run with out ending up sprawled on the ground, can't you?"
Both girls looked up at the ugly smirk that was plastered on their instructor's face.
"That will be ten more laps," the instructor said silkily and turned to leave the two muddy girls in the middle of the field.
"By the time we finish ten laps, all my bones will be broken because of you," Haruka grumbled as she waited for Michiru to get off.
"Oh, be quiet," huffed the aqua haired girl. Shivering slightly in her soaked clothing, Michiru tried to push herself off her partner. "I'm not enjoying this either."
"Hey! Stop pushing me in to the mud!"
"Girls! Don't make me come over there and force you to finish your laps."
"I don't like her," Haruka confided quietly to Michiru. The princess sat up and shook her head, sending mud splashing in all directions.
"Well, we will just have to do something about her."
Haruka glanced up curiously at her partner. The girl was surpsirsed to see an evil smile pastered on sweet little Michiru's face. Picking herself off the ground, the blonde-haired princess made a mental note to herself to not mess with Michiru.
"You can't do this to me! I'm your instructor!"
"Oh? I think we just did," Michiru commented, flinging her tangled hair back.
Both princesses took a step back to examine their work. The wrist and ankles of their instructor were skillfully tied together and to finish their job, the twogirls had dumped her into a nearby crater.
"I hope you will enjoy the rest of your afternoon here," Haruka said with an elegant bow. "I'm sure we'll have fun during our spare time."
"I demand that you let go of me right now!"
"I think we are forgetting something Haruka," Michiru said thoughtfully, ignoring the shrieking instructor. She smiled grimly as she bent down so that she was face to face with their instructor. "After all, we can't have you attracting any attention withthose horrid screams."
"The villagers will think there are ghosts on this hill," Haruka nodded and drew out a handkerchief to stuff into the instructor's mouth. He glanced curiously over at Michiru. It looked like Haruka had underestimated her. Michiru was more than the delicate flower who appeared to care more about fashion than training. Perhaps they would make good partners after all.
They waited for the older woman to finish her stream of muffled curses while shaking their heads in disgust. Once their instructor had run out a breath, both princesses bent over to look down at the woman.
"See, Michiru and I could work together just fine," Haruka said, smiling widely while ignoring the evil glare from their victim. "Yes, just fine."
Michiru sighed in frustration as she missed the target again.
She tightened her grip on the bow and grabbed another arrow from her quiver. This time she would not miss. Drawing the bow, she concentrated hard on the target and let go of the arrow. The arrow zoomed past the target and ended up embedded in a tree.
"I told you to hit the target, not the tree," the instructor yelled. "How are you going to eliminate your enemies if you can't aim?"
The princess resisted the temptation of throwing her bow onto the ground and giving up. It was either this, or go home and Michiru didn't want to return to Neptune and disappoint her family.
"Haruka, you could go," the man said, turning away from Michiru. "Take the rest of the day off."
"You on the other hand, you will have to stay until you can't hit the target," the instructor said grimly as he faced Michiru. "I'm going for a break. When I come back, I expect you to be able to at least hit the board."
Michiru breathed in deeply, trying to relax. Though she was unhappy at her current situation, she liked it here at Pluto. She had more freedom here. On Pluto no one tried to control every aspect of her life and she was free to do pretty much anything she wanted. The Queen was really nice too. She could get used to a place like this.
The princess reached for another arrow and drew back the string.
"Hold it!" someone yelled.
Michru gasped and accidently let go of the arrow. Once again it zoomed right past the target and ended up in another tree. Frowning the princess turned to the person who had surprised her.
"What do you want Haruka?"
"I'm trying to help you," the blonde said, walking towards Michiru. She smirked as she scanned the area, noticing all of Michiru'sarrows embedded into the trees. Turning to Michiru, Haruka pointed at the aqua-haired princess' feet. "Your stance is wrong."
"My stance?"
"See, you have to keep your feet in a straight line that is perpendicular from the target," Haruka said showing Michiru herself.
"Oh... I see," Michiru said quietly. She glanced curiously at Haruka. Why had she stayed to help her when she could have left and spent the rest of the day enjoying herself?
"Come on, I'll help you practice until you get this right."
"Why?" Michiru asked. "Why are you doing this for me?"
"Er... well, we're partners right? Why shouldn't I help you?"
Michiru looked at Haruka and smiled softly. For the first time, she was truly thankful that she had Haruka as her partner. "Thank you."