Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Author's Note: I was just thinking about the title of the story and how it doesn't seem to really connect with the story. Should I change it?

Carrying On

Michiru peeled the drenched and sticky dress off her skin and tossed it aside on to a nearby chair. Normally, she would have been neater, however she didn't seem to care about anything at the moment. Leaning back against the closet door, Michiru watched dully as the water from the fabric slowly dripped onto the carpeted floor where it was soaked up.

She realized that she had changed so much after she met Haruka. Before she had known her, she knew exactly what she wanted. She was sure of herself and never lost control. All that she wanted to do in life was to become a great queen. Perhaps she had yearned for freedom as well but she knew that she couldn't escape from her destiny. She had followed the path that her mother carved for her. Everything was clear and she knew what she had to do. She studied hard and worked hard to impress everyone. However, after she had met Haruka, it seemed that she wanted other things in life. It was just too bad that she could never obtain what she wanted.

Michiru turned her head slightly and closed her eyes, recalling the events that occurred earlier tonight.

"Come on!" Seiya cried out at a random tree with a hint of desperation in his voice. "I shoved your daughter in to a lake because I saw her with another person. Doesn't the words "overly jealous" pop out at you? I would not make a good king!"

Seiya kicked the tree and flopped down on the ground with a displeased look on his face. This wasn't helping at all. The queen could of at least told him not to do it again, but no, she told Michiru and him to communicate better. Her reaction was completely unexpected and did not suit well with Seiya's plan. He was starting to lose confidence. He had been trying to put off the engagement for over half a year. Perhaps there was no way to stop this after all.

Seiya closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. What was happening to him? He was not one to give up so easily. Sighing softly, Seiya stood onto his feet and forced a smile onto his face. "I'll look for you later and we will "communicate", Princess Neptune. Just not in the way your mother intended for us to. Oh, and don't worry Bob-Joe, I won't eat her up."

With that said, the young man left, leaving Haruka and Michiru alone in the clearing. Haruka growled in her position sitting in the lake as she watched Seiya leave. As soon as she was done working with him, she was going to give him a good pounding.

Turning away from Seiya, Michiru offered a hand to Haruka. The blonde took Michiru's hand and the other girl pulled Haruka onto her feet. They were both dripping wet and cold but didn't move to get out of the lake.

"Why didn't you leave?" Michiru asked quietly, staring down at her feet. The water splashed lightly against her leg, making soft swishing sounds while crickets in the background sang.

"Why would I leave?" Haruka asked with a raised eyebrow. "I set out to bring you back and I intend to succeed."

"It's not safe," Michiru said quietly. "Sooner or later, mother will find out. Especially with all the attention you're getting. What were you doing earlier?"

"Research," Haruka replied grimly. She didn't want to worry Michiru so Haruka said nothing more. Besides, she didn't have any evidence. Sure, there were evil threads in his office that attacked people but Haruka didn't see them the day before when she visited his office with Anna. It was magic and magic was not something you could easily use as evidence because it has no solid form.

"Haruka, don't do it again," Michiru warned, her eyes filled with worry. "Malachite is a powerful man. In more ways than one. He'll make sure he will find out whoever snuck into his office. He has ways with things. Don't get on his bad side, your situation is bad enough already."

"I'll be fine," Haruka said. "But Michiru, I want you to reconsider returning to Pluto with me. We'll go through with this plan and have your mother call off the engagement. Then you could return to Pluto with me."

Haruka stepped closer to Michiru and placed both his hands on her shoulders. His gray-green eyes looked down at her with such power that it was almost tangible.

Michiru took a slow breath. She could feel her heart beating faster as Haruka looked down at her with his exquisite eyes. Her heart screamed for her to say yes but her mind reminded her that Haruka already had Yaten and that going back with her would only bring her pain. Michiru brought her head up to look at Haruka and when her eyes locked with Haruka's, it seemed like they were the only two people on the entire planet. Whenever she tried to forget her, all Michiru could think of was Haruka's concerned eyes that looked after her when she was sick or the soft voice Haruka used to talk to her. Closing her eyes, the Neptunian moved forward so that her face was only a few inches away from the blonde's.

"Haruka…" Michiru whispered, her grip tightening on Haruka's shirt. "I…"

The aqua-haired princess felt the last two words lodge themselves in her throat. Michiru felt Haruka exhale softly and the princess quickly regained her senses. Her eyes snapping open, Michiru let go of Haruka's shirt and stepped back. What was she doing?

"Michiru…"

Michiru turned away from Haruka, not wanting to see Haruka's reaction. Why had she done that? Why had she lost control? Holding back a sob, Michiru said as evenly as she could that she needed to go talk to Seiya. Treading through the water, Michiru made her way to the shore without looking back at Haruka.

A knock on the door interupted Michiru's thoughts. The aqua haired woman opened her closet door to grab a robe and put it around her underwear before going to answer the door. She expected the person to be her mother because no one else had the nerve to come knocking at her door so late at night, so Michiru was fairly surprised when she opened the door and found Seiya standing outside.

"Did you need anything?" Michiru asked.

"Yes, I need to talk," Seiya said, pushing Michiru into the room and closing the door behind them. The young man raised his eyebrow at Michiru's attire but needed to talk about something else so he made no comment. "What do we do?"

"I don't know. Seiya, I feel guilty lying to my mother. Never in my life had I lied so many times to anyone. This marriage couldn't be that bad. Besides our parents are only doing this for us."

"If they were, then they would have asked us if we wanted to get engaged."

"Actually… my mother did ask and I said yes," Michiru said, sighing softly. She looked at Seiya's shocked expression and explained "I thought it was the best choice at that time!"

"And now you don't?" Seiya asked, still finding it hard to believe that Michiru had willingly wanted to marry him.

"I still do think it is the best choice but my heart keeps telling me to do something else," Michiru said softly, as she twisted her finger around a stray thread on her robe. Yet, even if my heart keeps telling me to chase after Haruka, it would never be.

Seiya leaned against the wall casually while looking at Michiru. "Okay, but we still want to—"

The two spun around to face the door as they heard a knock from the other side. Michiru instantly began to panic. No one else other that the Queen would come knocking on her door at this time. "It has to be my mother. I can't let her see you in my room in the middle of the night. What would she think?"

The princess grabbed Seiya by the arm and started shoving him into her closet; however, Seiya grabbed onto the closet door and wouldn't budge.

"What are you doing?" Michiru hissed as Seiya pushed the closet door closed and shook his head.

Seiya's grinned and pressed his mouth to Michiru's. Michiru gasped and let go of Seiya, however the young man held firmly onto Michiru's waist. Michiru moved her lips in protest but it was ignored by Seiya. Pressing himself against Michiru, Seiya forced Michiru's back to the wall and held her in that position for another few seconds. The princess's lungs were screaming for air by the time Seiya let go of her.

"What are you two doing?" Michiru's eyes widened as she realized that Seiya had forgotten to lock the door after he had come in. Which meant…

Michiru quickly shoved Seiya away and to her surprise he stepped back with out a struggle. Seiya grinned and winked at an angry and shocked Michiru. Michiru was absolutely livid. What in the world was he trying to do?

"Mother, it's not what you think," Michiru exclaimed.

Neptina sighed and glanced from Seiya to Michiru. "I was once young too, however, this behavior must be restrained. Seiya, Michiru, both of you should know better."

"Mother, we weren't doing anything," Michiru protested while shooting a angry glare at Seiya.

"Michiru, I saw you two making out," Neptina said.

"Yes, I mean, no! It's a misunderstanding."

Neptina raised an eyebrow and walked over to Michiru's bed, where she sat down. Motioning for the two to come over, Neptina sighed and said, "You two will be married soon, why not wait until then."

"Yes mother," Michiru replied quietly looking straight at her mother. The princess was surprised to discover that her mother appeared unwell. Michiru didn't notice before when they were at the lake because of the darkness, but now in her fully lit room, Michiru noticed that her mother looked pale and had lines underneath her eyes. With all that was happening on Neptune, it was hard for the Queen to take care of everything herself. If only she would accept the help from Queen Uranus. Though Neptina didn't show it, Michiru knew that she was tired and couldn't handle everything herself. The queen had built the image that she could do anything and was unable to crumble but Michiru knew better. "I understand."

Meanwhile, Seiya looked like he wanted to strangle something but he managed to grunt out something that sounded like a yes.

"All right," Neptina said and rose wearily from Michiru's bed. Glancing at the wet dress thrown carelessly onto Michiru's chair, Neptina frowned softly, images of what Seiya and Michiru were doing before she came in drifted into her mind.

Michiru noticed her mother looking at the dress and blushed deeply. "Mother, we didn't—"

"We'll leave it at that Michiru," Neptina breathed. Turning to a guard positioned down the hall, Neptina told him to escort Seiya to his room and disappeared down the hall.

Michiru heaved a sigh and placed her head in her hands. "I know you want to stop this engagement really badly, but could you please refrain from embarrassing me in front of my mother."

"Hey, you're not the only person who had doesn't want to disappoint their parents."

"Well, you obviously don't care as much."

"I do, I care deeply about them and want to make them happy," Seiya admitted. A frown flashed across Seiya's face. He wanted to please his parents but had they considered his feelings. He was trying to make this as easy as possible for them by showing how they would not make a good couple. He could have continued to destroy factories and switching shampoo bottles with balding solutions. Suddenly, he turned to Michiru's bedpost and started slamming his head against the elegantly carved piece of wood and cursing at it in every language he knew. "I was making out with your daughter in her room, during the middle of the night. You're supposed to throw me out of the palace!"

"Mother must want this engagement to work out really badly," Michiru said softly over Seiya's string of curses. "We need this engagement badly. The condition on Neptune is not favorable and mother is not accepting help from Queen Urana. I think if I asked her if I could take back what I said about marrying you, she wouldn't let me."

Pressing his forehead against the bedpost, Seiya sighed and shut his eyes. His cheerful demeanor seemed to trickle away slowly as his plans continued to fail repeatedly. Tilting his head to the side, Seiya turned to see the guard waiting by the door to escort him back to the guest rooms. "I'll see you later Michiru."

Seiya straightened up and strode towards the door. Turning his head back to look at the princess, Seiya grinned cockily, "By the way Michiru, you owe me for that electrifying kiss."

Then Seiya quickly disappeared before Michiru could find an axe and chase after him.

Haruka gently knocked at Souichi's office door, her heart only half focused on her mission for Souichi. The blonde ran her fingers through her messy hair and paused to recall the event that had taken place at the lake. When Michiru had touched her, Haruka had felt a feeling she had never felt before. Her heart seemed to still and time seemed to freeze. When Michiru had met her eyes, she could feel the electricity between them. The air was thick and Michiru looked like she wanted to tell her something but thought better of it afterwards.

Haruka blinked in surprise when the door in front of her opened.

"Professor Souichi," Haruka greeted as she stepped into the room.

"How are you, Bob-Joe?" Souichi asked heartily.

Haruka looked puzzled but shook her head and said, "You don't have to call me that."

Haruka assumed that Souichi heard the name from the Queen or Malachite. It was a good thing that Souichi knew the name so he could use it in front of others but when they were alone, Haruka preferred not being called the name 'Bob-Joe'.

Souichi paused for a moment, looking over Haruka before waving the blonde over to his desk. The blonde followed and for the first time, noticed how weary Souichi looked. His body was slouched and his usually lively eyes were dull and droopy.

"Is something wrong?" Haruka asked, voicing her concern.

Souichi forced a smile onto his face and shook his head. "Nothing is wrong. Now, I wanted to ask you what you did today?"

"What I did?" Haruka frowned. Did Malachite come talk to Souichi? Haruka thought that they had successfully convinced Malachite that Haruka was not the thief. Was Souichi angry that Haruka had been caught? She had assured Souichi that Malachite wouldn't know that she had searched her room when Haruka thought of the idea of breaking in. Was Souichi angry that she had not kept her word?

"Yes, what did you do?"

Haruka evaluated Souichi carefully. Souichi did not seem angry, yet he felt different today. The blonde couldn't quite finger it, but something was not normal. Haruka kept her eyes on Souichi as she answered coolly, "I did what you asked me to do."

"I mean other than your castle chores. I helped you get in to the castle didn't I? We don't keep secrets between us. Let me ask you, did you break into Malachite's room?"

Alarms started blaring in Haruka's brain. This person was not Souichi. Souichi would have known the plan. Souichi had asked Haruka for the favor and had finally let Haruka break in to Malachite's room. But if this wasn't Souichi, who was he? Haruka had the urge to leap over the table and pin the man to the ground and demand where Souichi is, but fought the urge. She would play along until she could buy do some research to understand what was going on. "No, why would I do a stupid thing like that?"

Souichi laughed. The laugh was cold and hollow. "Of course, why would you do that?"

"It's getting late, I should go," Haruka said abruptly, pushing her chair back.

"Wait a moment," Souichi said suddenly, putting his hand on Haruka's shoulder. "Why were you knocking on my door?"

"Er," Haruka racked her brain for a reply. "You told me to check in with you everyday before bedtime for things to do in the morning."

Souichi let go of Haruka's shoulder. "Right. I must have forgotten."

Haruka nodded stiffly and strode over to the door. As the blonde past the door, her eyes caught something glittering in the air. Haruka's eyes widened slightly. It was a strand of silver thread. Her eyes followed the thread, and found that it led to Souichi. Shifting her eyes, the other end seemed to fade away into thin air. What did this mean?

"Is something wrong?" Souichi called from his desk.

Haruka frowned and turned to look at the professor. "No, nothing is wrong professor. Have a great night."

"Anna, look closely," Haruka whispered into the girl's ear. "Do you see anything? Anything at all?"

The girl shook her head as she strained her eyes. "No, what am I suppose to see?"

"Try harder," Haruka urged.

"Oh," Anna gasped, her eyes widening.

"What did you see?" Haruka asked.

"Souichi seems to have some white hair, I didn't know that," Anna said, as she peered around the giant vase they were hiding behind. "Is that what you wanted me to see?"

Haruka sighed and shook his head. "Well, thanks anyway."

"No problem," Anna said, grinning brightly. "Call me if you need anything else."

Haruka nodded and waved as Anna disappeared behind a corner. As soon as Anna left, her thoughts returned to the silver threads. She concluded that they were similar to the ones she had touched in Malachite's room. Yet, why was she the only person that could see the thread? She had dragged Taiki and Anna to spy on Souichi –there was no way Haruka was going to stoop down to ask Seiya to help her-- but none of them were able to see the threads. Was she seeing things? No, there was definitely something wrong with Souichi and only the threads could explain them. Haruka had considered going to find Malachite and demanding what he had done. This was clearly his work.

However, if Haruka did go, Malachite would know she was the one who snuck into his office. In addition, Haruka no longer had Souichi to back him up and if Haruka accused Souichi of being a dark sorcerer and brought the issue to the Queen, she would most likely not believe him. After all, he was just a palace servant and Malachite had a lot of influence. Plus, he had a fake Souichi on his side. There was no way Haruka could reveal her true identity either.

"I need to find Michiru," Haruka whispered. She had a feeling that they could figure this out together. It would just be like all the times where they spent their evenings in their room figuring out the puzzles Setsuna assigned to them. Haruka rose from the floor to search for Michiru but images of the night before started to drift into her mind and images of Michiru leaning over towards her caused Haruka to rethink her decision.

Haruka groaned. There were too many problems. Could she sort out their issues as well? And what about her feelings? This was definitely not the time to bring it up. They were in a difficult situation; Michiru was going to be engaged to Seiya and might never return to Pluto and Malachite was planning to take over the world. Well, perhaps not take over the world, but he wasn't brining peace and prosperity to the land. Working with Michiru might not be the best idea at this time.

"Seiya," Haruka whispered. Though she disliked him, he seemed to be the only choice. Beggars can't be choosers, Haruka reminded herself as she gritted her teeth. He definitely had some influence and power and he is on her side. They have a few issues to deal with, but at least she wasn't falling for him. Haruka nearly choked at the though. He will have to do. "But one wrong move Seiya, and I'm going to pummel you into the ground."

Malachite leaned back in his chair as he stared at a doll that was floating in the air in front of him. His eyes drifted to the thread of magic that led out of the room and to the four threads that circled around his desk. How had the intruder gotten away? All those who had activated the threads were instantly captured. No one has ever escaped.

At first he had thought that it was Bob-Joe, yet what had happened at the pond and what Bob-Joe said to Souichi did not support his theory. At first, he had thought that Seiya and Michiru were lying but then, why would they do that to aid a castle servant. In addition, Malachite was quite sure the intruder was a woman. He was quite sure that the intruder wore a miniskirt. Not many men would go through with that even if they wanted to disguise themselves. Yet, there was always a chance that his intruder could be one so he used Souichi to double check. He had heard from his spies that Bob-Joe was not really a castle servant. Souichi had brought him into the castle and claimed that he would be working as his assistant for a few months. If Bob-Joe had any secrets, he would tell Souichi. It seemed that he had achieved nothing in his search.

"No matter," Malachite said coldly, snapping his fingers. The doll floated down to his open palm and the man closed his hand around the small figure. The doll was light, and felt cool to the touch. Malachite rubbed his thumb against the fabric thoughtfully. Soon… He opened his desk drawer and placed the doll inside. "No one would be able to stop me. Who ever you are, I will find you."

It was almost time. He would regain what was once his and no one would be able to stop him…

Author's Note: Please forgive me for the thing with Seiya and Michiru. I know some of you wanted a scene between Michiru and Haruka but that won't be possible at the time.