Chapter V: Hanabi Fireworks

Weeks went by and things didn't seem to be getting any better. Michiru tried as hard as she could to work her way up to Haruka's level, but just couldn't quite make it; she wasn't the only one improving with the training. Haruka was a fast learner and her body was already fit for everything Sensei could dish out. Michiru wasn't that far off though. Sensei looked at her less and less as the days went by and pretty soon she was victim to his scorn just as much as Haruka was. On the other hand, her relations with Haruka seemed to improve the more time they spent together. They conversed during their meals and talked at night sometimes when Haruka was stargazing.

"So I've noticed that Sensei has been quite crude with you as of late," Haruka stated taking a huge bite out of the plate of eggs in front of her. She didn't like eggs at all really but decided to eat them anyway to reserve strength.

"Yeah..." Michiru sighed pausing in actions at the thought of it.

Haruka quickly changed the subject, slapping herself mentally for bringing that up. "Anyway, how about that dinner party with the Serenity-sama coming up soon?" She took another bite of egg before she decided not to eat anymore of them and set her fork down.

"Ara? Oh, right! I've almost forgotten about that. I have the perfect dress to wear too." She continued to describe the dress she planned to wear as she took some of Haruka's eggs off her plate and ate them. "What are you going to wear, Haruka?"

Haruka hadn't been really listening to Michiru's ramble about the dress and was taken off guard with the question. "What? Oh, right. Umm, I honestly don't have anything to wear..." She sipped at her green tea as she stared at Michiru's blank face.

"You don't have anything to wear?" Michiru repeated. She just kind of gaped at Haruka.

"Um, yes?" Haruka couldn't figure out what Michiru was staring at her for.

"Well, it's settled then." Michiru nodded. "Tomorrow, we shall go out and find you something suitable to wear." Michiru finished eating Haruka's eggs off her plate not realizing what she had just set up between them.

Haruka acknowledged it right away. "So it's a date then?" she asked trying to act calm as if the question were nothing.

Michiru blushed the brightest red Haruka had ever seen and took a while to compose herself. "N-not like that... It's jus- just an outing" Haruka smiled; Michiru's heart beat faster at the sight of it.

"All right then. It's decided. We'll leave after breakfast, okay?" She got up and started towards her room, leaving a flustered Michiru behind. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to change for practice."

The next morning, Haruka actually woke up on time for once. She was excited about the day's events whether or not Michiru was. She thought of her outfit the night before and headed straight for her closet to get it as soon as her feet touched the icy tile that surrounded her bed area before the fluffy carpet started. She quickly grabbed the pleather-like material pants and a nice silky black dress shirt, all on hangers. As a last minute addition, she grabbed a silk black tie off the back of the closet door as she passed. She set the clothes down across her bed and headed for the door that led to her bathroom.

Michiru also awoke on time that morning, equally excited about the day for a reason unknown to her. Unlike Haruka though, she hadn't picked out her outfit the night before so she decided to bathe first. Her bath didn't take long and soon she was back at the original problem: what to wear? First off, she didn't know how formal this was supposed to be. Was Haruka only joking about it being a date? Eventually, she decided to wear a dress that was anything but acceptable back on Neptune for when there was a date with another: low-cut in the front, sleeveless. With her outfit chosen, done and over with, she headed to the common room hoping she hadn't over dressed for the occasion. Not seeing Haruka anywhere, she assumed Haruka had overslept again; dampening her sprits. She walked the width of the room intent on waking her.

Haruka had just finished showering and was toweling her hair dry, leaving it a spiky mess that looked more like a hair style than anything. "Shimatta!" she cursed in frustration when she noticed she had taken too long in the bath. She quickly threw the towel around her waste and bound her small chest down. She hurried across the room to a dresser located next to the closet door and pulled open the top drawer. Taking out a black undershirt she struggled to get it over her head and on in a rush; just in time to hear her door swing open.

Michiru stood there, mouth hanging open, staring at Haruka in a towel and tanktop. She felt herself blush horribly and quickly bowed her head down trying not to look. "Gomen! I thought you might still be asleep so I-I thought I'd wake you...!" She kept her head down thinking Haruka was angry to be caught like this.

Haruka chuckled to herself and slowly walked over to Michiru. She wasn't angry, or even embarrassed, at all. "Is breakfast here yet?" she asked taking Michiru's chin in her left hand and lifting her head up to look her in the eyes.

"N-not yet," she managed to reply captivated by her dreamy green eyes.

"Okay then." She let go of Michiru's chin, grabbed her shoulders, and abruptly turned her around. "If you'll excuse me then, I need to finish dressing." She shoved her forward a bit and closed the door. With Michiru gone, she finished getting dressed.

Michiru answered their door when breakfast arrived and waited for Haruka to emerge from her room. She was still in shock over what she had witnessed. Her heart had pounded in her chest, feeling as if it were to burst through her ribs like an alien would from a movie. She couldn't get the image of Haruka in a towel with messy hair out of her mind. 'I'm not attracted to her,' she thought heavily, not even believing herself. 'I like men, like Fwafwa...' she kept telling herself over and over. It comforted her to know that she did have a crush on their teacher Fwafwa and that she "wasn't" attracted to Haruka at all...in a towel. She shook her head trying to fling the thought out of her mind just as Haruka came out of her room.

"Michiru?" Haruka was laughing at her, not yet noticing Michiru's sexy attire.

She froze, not acknowledging that Haruka was there, and frowned to see she was laughing at her. "What is it?" she demanded, taking in how hot Haruka looked in that brief second, then forcing the thought from her mind. 'I like men...'

"Nothing at all, Michiru," Haruka replied sitting in her seat at the small table staring into a plate of eggs. That's when she noticed how low cut Michiru's sea-green dress was. It was hard not to notice... She looked up quickly thinking Michiru may have noticed where her gaze was really located at. She hadn't of course, being as aloof as ever. The tight dress she was wearing made Haruka think of things other than what she should've been.

They ate together at a reasonable pace as they decided where they wanted to go for the day. They made sure to cancel their training ahead of time, so the day was theirs to spend as they pleased. First, they were to just go walking around window shopping, only stopping at places that seemed interesting and at some point stop to eat lunch. Then, if they had decided on an outfit by then, they were to do as they saw fit. Haruka had some plans of her own, of course, but didn't share them. She wanted to surprise her somehow.

Both of them left to brush their teeth after eating and met back up in the common room when their last primping was completed. Together they walked out the door and down the hall towards one of the numerous exits. Finally knowing their own way around this particular area of the palace, it didn't take them long to arrive at a guarded gateway that lead to the city that surrounded. Neither of them had really been out on their own before amongst the commoners. The guard not recognizing them held out his arm to block their path.

"Where are you two off to this morning?" he asked eying them wearily, obviously not really caring but staying in protocol.

"Out to go shopping," replied Michiru evenly.

The guard regarded them over quickly and handed them two sheets of paper he had signed from a pad in his pocket. "Present this on your way back in or else you won't be allowed to enter." He stuffed the rest of the paper pad back into his pocket and stepped aside to let them pass.

"Thanks," Haruka said as they walked by.

Once outside the gate, they were disappointed to discover that the city was actually quite far away. They were going to be walking for quite some time before they could get there.

"Well," Haruka said, "we might as well get started now." She shrugged and started walking, pausing a few steps later to look back at Michiru who only stood there. "You coming or what?"

"R-right!" She had gotten distracted by the beautiful scenery around her. The open flat plains were green with brown rows in plotted rectangles where the field had been plowed for planting. Never before had Michiru seen such a sight on Neptune. She could see small figures of people here and there as the worked out in the fields.

Taking her attention away from the view, she power walked a few feet to catch up with Haruka. "Wait up some!" she called out.

Haruka slowed her pace down a few notches. "I wouldn't have to if you'd keep up," she stated easily chuckling to herself.

Michiru gave Haruka a pouty face and grabbed on to her arm, linking it with her's. "You can be so cruel sometimes," she teased poking Haruka's cheek.

The city was all bustle and hustle as they tried to walk down one side of the brick street. They could see all different kinds of people, from the dark greys and browns of a commoner to the bright blues and purples of merchants and nobles. The buildings here were all made mostly of brick, the more successful stores containing windows in front for displays of a grand scale. They walked arm in arm together looking in all the windows they passed by.

"Let's stop in here!" Michiru said already pulling Haruka inside.

Michiru went to and fro all the shelves and clothing wracks looking at all the contents. They had everything from beautiful glass objects to gold embroidered gowns and tuxedos; all being of a high-class nature. "This would look great on you Haruka!" she said pulling out a tux and holding it up for her to see.

Haruka turned her attention away from the jewelry she was looking at to see what Michiru held up. She cringed mentally hoping Michiru wasn't being serious. The tux was pure white with a blue and gold trim at every possible seam. The bow tie that came with it was also blue and gold. Huge brass buttons, the size of silver dollars, blinded Haruka as one of them caught the dim light just right and shot a magnified ray of sunlight into her eyes.

Michiru laughed uncontrollably at the sight of Haruka's expression when she saw the tux and even more laughter ensued when she accidently blinded her. "Sorry, Haruka," she wheezed when the laughing calmed some. "I didn't mean to blind you."

"Yeah, sure," Haruka replied. "Lets just find something I can actually wear quickly so we can get onto better things." She walked by past Michiru and began to rummaged around the different clothes racks. "How about this one for you?" she stated smiling.

Michiru looked up from the tuxes she was looking at and cringed openly. The site of the black and white poka-dotted dress with huge silver bows on it was putrefying. "That's worse than the one I picked out for you!" she retorted. She grabbed another dress off the rack Haruka was near and huffed playfully. "I'm going to go try this one on."

Haruka laughed until Michiru was safe away in the dressing room. Pausing to make sure that she wasn't going to come out forgetting something, Haruka made her way back to the jewelry she was looking at before Michiru had teased her with the horrifying outfit. "Lets see..." she mumbled to herself. She continued to look for something that Michiru might actually like. After looking for what seemed like forever, Haruka came down to two choices. The first one was a set of turquoise turtle earrings; the turtle-shaped earrings were inlayed with platinum and had small round eyes made of jade. The second choice was a necklace, also made of platinum. It was just a simple chain that had a small heart-shaped locket engraved with an odd vine-like design. She couldn't decide which she liked best so instead grabbed both. The locket might be a tad bit too far since it was heart-shaped so she thought to just keep it for later. Haruka rushed to the sales clerk trying to purchase the items before Michiru walked out of the dressing room.

Michiru, taking her time, buttoned the cufflink on her right arm. She held up the dress on either side of her as if she were about to curtsy and spun lightly in front of the mirror. For some reason she didn't quite like the feel of the dress and began to change back into her original clothing.

Haruka, having safely acquired the jewelry for Michiru, stood next the dressing room area waiting for her. The day had only just begun...

Five stores and many, many fittings later, Haruka decided to purchase a plain black tuxedo much to Michiru's dismay. "I'm starving!" Haruka complained. "It's two in the afternoon already! Lets go eat, please?" She gave Michiru a small pout and tugged on her arm.

"Oh, all right. Lets go then..." She had wanted to get Haruka something much nicer, but gave in to her pleas of hunger. "Where to?"

"There." Haruka pointed to a small, hole-in-the-wall café that seemed to be a cozy, private place. "It looks good..."

"There?" Michiru inquired. "But it looks so..." She couldn't find the right word for it. "...old?" That didn't sound right, she thought. "It's name isn't even visible anymore."

"Oh, it'll be fine Michiru. Food, food!" She grabbed Michiru's hand gently and tugged her forward.

The inside of the café was very poorly lit and there didn't even seem to be anyone working. Haruka opened and shut the door again to trigger the bell that was strategically placed above the door's frame.

A redheaded girl popped out from around the corner. "Customers!" She ran back for a second then reappeared again with a white towel draped across her right forearm.

She beckoned them to a small booth near the back corner wall and handed them each a menu when they were seated. "What can I get for you today?"

Back at their room, Haruka and Michiru sat down on the floral chairs in the common, each too exhausted to even speak. It was late in the evening when they had finally arrived back home.

Haruka took the initiative. "That little café we went to for lunch wasn't all that bad."

Michiru nodded. "Yeah, and that girl, Elsa, was nice too." She set the bags from their shopping adventure that day onto the floor from her lap. "I think I'm going to go shower right quick..."

Haruka stood up and stretched her back out. "Me too. Meet me in the loft afterwards?"

"Yeah, of course." She got up and went to her room.

Haruka was already there when Michiru finished climbing the stairs that lead to the loft. She sat down next to her and poked her arm lightly; Haruka looked to be asleep. To Michiru's happiness Haruka was awake still.

"'Bout time you showed up," Haruka stated as she sat up and stretched a bit. "I have something for you."

"You have something for me?" Michiru was confused. "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean?" Haruka asked. "What part of that didn't you understand?" She chuckled to herself over Michiru's cuteness. "Here. Hold out your hand."

Michiru did as she was told and help her hand out palm up, curious to know what it was Haruka had for her.

"I got this for you while we were out today." She placed the turtle earrings in her hand and waited to see if she liked them or not.

"Oh, Haruka..." She took one the delicate looking turtles in her other hand and held it up in the moonlight to get a better look of it. "They're beautiful." She turned her view back towards Haruka and got captivated by her eyes for the second time that day; her pulse quickened from the look Haruka had on her face.

"I'm glad you like them." Haruka inched slightly forward still staring into Michiru's eyes, holding her captive. She pushed back a few stray strands of hair from Michiru's face and cupped her cheek, trying to pull her a little closer to her own face.

Michiru couldn't take her eyes away from Haruka's and the warmth from her softly calloused hand made her seem even more enticing. She felt her head being pulled forward, but did nothing to prevent it, she just couldn't look away.

Their lips were almost to touch when a sudden crash from below broke the enchantment they had started together; somehow a dark colored cat with a crescent moon adorned on its forehead had made its way into their room and knocked over a lamp.

Michiru blushed when it caught up with her about what had almost happened, quickly she looked away and stood to her feet. "It's late and we have training tomorrow. Goodnight Haruka." She descended the stairs quickly and ran to her room, almost slamming the door behind her. In the sanctity of her own bedroom, Michiru flung herself on to the bed and wept to her heart's contempt. 'How could I have allowed myself to do that?' she thought over and over. She didn't want to believe Haruka even thought of her like this, wanting to be more than just friends. 'It could never happen' Such horrid thoughts of a life without Haruka ran through her mind, leaving her no peace. The aqua haired goddess couldn't fathom that Haruka might feel the same for her and clung to the false feeling of her crush on Fwafwa as she cried herself to sleep.

Haruka remained in the loft area, staring into space where Michiru had been only seconds previous, hurt gripping her heart like nothing ever had before. 'Is there something wrong with me?' She couldn't imagine what had brought on Michiru's flee, the turtle earrings she had got for her lying out on the carpet glittering in the moon's light. She picked them up and cradled them in her hand, holding her fist in which they were gripped close to her heart as she curled up into a ball and began to weep.

Wow, is it just me or do my chapters keep getting longer and longer? This chapter also ended up being more depressing than I intended it to as well... :shrugs: R&R please! Let me know what you all think of this next instalment!In the comingchapter they'll make up a little and it'll also take place mainly at the dinner party of Serenity-sama's. Hope this one didn't bore you with its length. T.T