Chapter six

Michiru, Minako and Rei's plan was simple. So simple in fact that they managed to get Makoto in on the plan too and had it ready within a few days. Even someone like Usagi should have been able to figure it out, but sadly for her she didn't.

That was why, that morning, Usagi had found a letter in her locker that she thought was from Kou Seiya. The letter had said for her to meet him near the backbuilding during the morning break and Usagi had only been too happy to oblige: what she didn't know was that the letter wasn't from Seiya; in fact Seiya had no idea the letter even existed. The letter in question had been thought up by one Aino Minako and written out by Hino Rei, a pair most would have never assumed would ever really work together for anything.

And so it was that Tsukino Usagi strolled merrily over to where Minako was waiting for her that morning whilest never even suspecting that a) it was Minako there and b) her downfall was approaching. When she got there she was obviously both surrpised and angry that it wasn't Seiya but Minako who was waiting for her.

"What are you doing her, Aino?" Usagi asked, glaring at the taller blonde girl in front of her.

"I know, Usgai."

"Know what?" Usagi asked.

"I know who spread the rumours about me," Minako replied, a smirk on her face. "But I'm afraid you're little joke just wasn't funny; you're in for it now my dear."

At the same time as this Kino Makoto and Hino Rei were lounging about near to where Minako was, waiting for their phase of the plan to begin. This was as soon as Usagi appeared: a grin formed on Rei's face; it was time for them to put their plan into action.

"Fight!" Makoto yelled, just beating Rei to it. "There's a fight over by the backbuilding! Fight!"

Rei joined in with Makoto's yells and pretty soon people started to appear. They had known this would work, and indeed add to Usagi's humiliation by the end of it; teenagers for the most part have what is known as a herd mentallity; one sheep goes somewhere and the rest of the flock follow. That was exactly what this part of the plan involved and that was exactly what was happening so far. It was all going smoothly and according to plan, at least so far.

"You bitch," Usagi sneered. "All I did was tell everyone the truth about you."

"The truth?"

"That you're a fucking lesbian," Usagi snarled back.

Minako put on an expression of mock hurt, "I thought you loved me," she whispered, tears in her cerulean eyes. There were murmers around them and
Usagi noticed for the first time that a crowd had formed by where they were talking.

"What?" Usagi scoffed.

"Then what's this?" Minako asked, pulling a letter out of her skirt pocket and holidng it up. It was most definitely a love-letter and it was also most defintely Usagi's handwriting, which most people there had seen at one time or other on part invites and suchlike.

Minako walked over to Usagi then, and Usagi shoved her back but Minako gripped her in such a way that it appeared to everyone there that Usagi had just kissed her. On a whim and for pure shock value Minako decided that she really was going to frenchkiss Usagi, whom she noticed had a look of utter horror on her face when Minako's tongue entered her mouth. Just as Usagi drew back Minako leant over and whispered in her ear.

"You see, Usagi, that is how you humiliate someone: spreading rumours is just so infantile."

She smirked mentally; everything was going to plan… or so she thought.

Ten'oh Haruka was certainly not normally one to go along with any kind of herd mentallity, but on that one occasion she found that she just couldn't resist going and watching whatever fight happened to be going on that people were making such a fuss of it.

As luck would have it Haruka turned up at exactly the wrong and saw not a fight but two girls making out – the two girls in question being none other than Aino Minako and… Tsukino Usagi? Haruka was confused; she couldn't fathom for the life of her why Minako would be making out with Usagi. Unless of course those two were seeing eachother and Usagi's rumours had been spurned by a lover's quarell. It would contradict everything she knew about the situation but it seemed to make sense, at least to her.

Minako loved Usagi… how could she not have seen it? How could she have been so blind as to not realise the truth behind what was going on. Usagi was an extremely good actor, Haruka would give her that: but Minako, Minako, Minako: she almost knew then how Michiru had felt when she had found her with Hotaru. Her heart shattered; in an uncharacteristic show of weakness she ran.

The ever-observant Kai'oh Michiru was one of very few people not at the 'fight'. This was partially because she knew what was actually going on and partially because she had no interest in fights anyway nor any kind of herd mentallity whatsoever. It was because of this that Michiru was the only one paying any attention to her surroundings and thus the only one to notice Haruka running away from the back building with a look of horror on her face.

She stopped just over from Michiru, whom she plainly hadn't noticed. It was then that the bluenette noticed tears falling down the blonde's face. She went against her better judgement and walked over to her.

"What are you doing here?" Haruka spat as soon as she saw Michiru. "Come to laugh at my stupidity?"

Michiru frowned, not having the slightest clue what the other girl was on about. She said so and Haruka laughed.

"She loves her."

"What?" Michiru asked, frowning.

"She loves Tsukino Usagi!"

"Who does?"

"Minako."

Michiru laughed, "Don't be stupid, Haruka."

"I'm not being stupid," Haruka shouted. "She kissed her! She kissed her and I saw it with my own two eyes. Either she loves her or I'm seeing things, which I swear to god I'm not!"

"So no one told you?"

"No! No one bloody told me anything! How did you know anyway? Did she tell you?"

"Actually it was my idea," Michiru shrugged. "We needed to do something about it."

It was then that Haruka lost her temper, "I knew that you hated me but why go to such lengths to ruin my life? Why? And why get others involved in your stupid little game. I hate you, Michiru; you're just as bad as I was, just as bad."

Then she realised that Haruka didn't entirely see what she meant and tried to explain again but found that she couldn't; Haruka had once again ran as though from the hounds of Hell.

Michiru on the other hand just sat there and stared at Haruka's quickly fading form in the distance and shook her head; Haruka truly was like the wind; there one minute, gone the next.

"What's up with Haruka?" Rei asked as she appeared at Michiru's side.

Michiru shook her head, "She completely misunderstood."

"Misunderstood what?" Rei asked, a blush beginning to creep into her cheeks as it always did when she was near Michiru.

"Minako's revenge. She saw her kissing Usagi and assumed that the rumours were an offshoot of a lover's spat or something," she shook her head. "She was always like that, always. She saw me with one of my cousins a few years ago and assumed I was cheating on her because she didn't know who he was."

'So that's why,' Rei thought. She had never known the full story behind Michiru and Haruka, only that it had been over between them for years… and that she loved Michiru. She put her arm round the other girl's shoulders. Michiru turned around at this, surprised by Rei's gesture. She noticed that the raven-haired girl was blushing slightly but brushed it off as a trick of the light. It was probably nothing – yes, that was it, it was probably nothing at all.