Well, here's the fourth chapter. I have no idea how long this story is gonna be. I have a possible path for this story to follow, but whenever I have it all planned out it goes a completely different way, so we'll just have to wait and see where it goes. I can never plan stories out. They just happen.
Okay, last bit of rambling before the chapter: Guess what? I still don't own the rights to the Sailor Moon characters. Spammit...
Dozo minna-san!
Haruka stared at the snow, wondering if she was doing the right thing by training Michiru. She turned as the geisha came up behind her, dressed in a man's clothes. The blonde immediately noted that the clothes did not suit her in the least, but she remained silent. She instead led the woman outside, their feet crunching slightly in the snow. The blonde stopped in a medium size clearing where they wouldn't hurt themselves by crashing into things.
Haruka suddenly turned and lashed out with her left hand. Michiru let out a scream of surprise and threw her hands up. Haruka stopped her backhand centimeters from the woman's face. Michiru slowly lowered her arms and stared at Haruka. The blonde's eyes were hard, lacking the softness that they had held in the previous week.
"Lesson one: Always be on guard. An attack could come from anywhere at anytime." Haruka suddenly lashed out with her right hand in a palm-heel. Michiru instinctively moved farther right to avoid the attack. Haruka nodded in satisfaction, a small smile on her face. It was gone and the blonde brought her right fist towards Michiru in another backhand. Michiru's hands shot up and she grabbed the blonde's wrist and arm.
"Good," Haruka commented. "But always be wary of your opponent."
Michiru frowned. "But I have your arm trapped."
In a blinding fast move, Haruka had twisted out of Michiru's hold and had one of the geisha's arms painfully pinned against her back while Haruka's other arm was wrapped around her neck. "Never assume your enemy is disabled unless they're dead or you're absolutely certain they're unconscious." She released the geisha and took a few steps away. "I didn't mean to startle you, but I wanted to see what you could do caught off guard without any training. You didn't do half bad."
"Arigatou," Michiru said.
"Like I said yesterday, we'll start off slow. I'll teach you some of the katas I know that don't deal with weapons. When you're ready, we'll move up to weapons training if you want." Michiru nodded and Haruka began weaving across the snow. The geisha took careful note of the blonde's movements, easily memorizing them due to her training as a geisha.
- - - - - - - -
Haruka watched as Michiru headed back to the house. Three weeks had passed since the blonde had started to train the aqua haired woman and Haruka was impressed with how quickly Michiru was picking things up. Haruka had gone over every weaponless move she knew and the geisha had not only mimicked it perfectly, but she had also executed them perfectly as well.
Haruka shook her head, clearing her mind of Michiru's image. She slid several shuriken into her hands and turned to a tree that was about twenty feet away. She hurled the tiny weapons at the tree in rapid succession, her hands nearly a blur. She straightened and walked to the tree; grimly smiling as she saw that all ten of the throwing stars had struck right where she was aiming. She pulled them out and slipped them back into her hidden pocket. She shivered slightly as the wind picked up and headed for the house.
She stepped up, slid open the door, slipped off her shoes, and closed the door behind her. Michiru already had a nice warm fire going. Haruka knelt down and accepted a bowl of water from the other woman. She took a small sip, carefully observing Michiru over the rim of the drinking bowl. A thought crossed her mind and she smiled faintly.
"How about we take a break from training tomorrow?" Haruka suggested.
Michiru looked at the blonde and smiled. "You mean it?"
The ninja nodded. "Other than teaching you how to flip and jump, I don't have much more to teach you in weaponless fighting."
"I thought samurai didn't flip and jump," Michiru pointed out.
Shimatta! Haruka snapped, mentally slapping herself. She shrugged. "Learned to do it on my own," she lied quickly.
"Maybe that can come later," Michiru said. Haruka nodded. "But I wouldn't mind a day to relax."
Haruka smiled and nodded. I should tell her, but I can't…if I told her it would most likely mean my death…
- - - - - - - -
Michiru absently rubbed sleep from her eyes and walked out of the bedroom. She stopped when she saw a long box lying in the middle of the floor in the main room. She frowned and knelt down. Written on the box was her name, saying that it was for her. Her curiosity piqued, she slipped off the lid and stared in shock. Inside the box was a beautifully made shamisen. She carefully slipped it out and allowed her slender fingers to run over the smooth wood and strings.
"Where did she get this?" she whispered.
"It was my mother's," came the reply from the door. Michiru looked up as Haruka knelt down across from her. "I never really had the talent to play it. I only held onto it this long because…I don't know why honestly. I think it was a way for me to keep a part of her alive."
"I can't accept this Haruka-san," Michiru said.
"I want you to have it." The blonde looked down slightly. "Please," she added in a soft voice.
"All right," Michiru agreed. Haruka smiled faintly. "Though you will sit there and listen while I play one song in thanks." Haruka made a deep bow with a huge grin, causing Michiru to giggle. She regained her composure and began to play, her fingers gliding over the strings.
Haruka sat back and closed her eyes, listening to the geisha play. A small smile formed on her face. She recognized the song as one her mother had played and the words appeared unbidden in her mind. Without realizing it, she began to sing, her soft voice blending in with the shamisen.
Michiru looked up at the blonde, stunned at how well she was singing. Michiru immediately knew that Haruka wasn't aware she was singing. She smiled continued playing, joining in vocally as well. They came to the end of the song and Haruka bowed her head, wiping her eyes.
"Daijoubu?" Michiru inquired.
"Hai…it's just…I've not heard that song since my mother died."
"Ah! Gomen!"
Haruka shook her head. "It's all right." She smiled. "You played it exquisitely."
"For never having played the shamisen, you kept it in wonderful condition."
The blonde shrugged. "Would…would you mind playing another song?"
Michiru smiled. She had always loved playing the shamisen. "Of course not. Do you have any particular songs in mind?"
"Something…happy." Michiru nodded and began to play. For the remainder of the day, the pair sat around, playing songs on the shamisen and flute.
- - - - - - - -
Haruka blocked a side slash and danced to the side. Michiru eyed the warrior carefully, the bokken tight in her grasp. Haruka suddenly rushed in and the battle continued. It came to a halt when the tips of both swords pointed at the other's throat. The two combatants slowly backed away and Haruka nodded in satisfaction.
"Two months of training and already you've mastered the weapons here," Haruka congratulated, resting the bokken on her shoulders.
"I had a good teacher," Michiru said.
Haruka nodded and suddenly grunted in pain as something ripped through her right upper arm. The bokken dropped to the ground and she whirled around. Several white shapes rose from the snow.
"Ninja!" Michiru exclaimed.
Haruka's eyes narrowed and she slipped the wakizashi to Michiru. "Stay alert," Haruka hissed. She took a step forward, on hand resting on the katana. "What do you want?" she demanded.
The white clad ninja surged forward. Haruka pulled the katana free and rushed in, dodging and weaving through most of their attacks. She slashed one across the throat and immediately locked blades with another.
"What do you want?" Haruka demanded again.
"You dead Uranus!" the ninja snarled in a gruff voice. The blonde's eyes narrowed and knew that that fight had become much more dangerous. She head butted the ninja and grabbed his shirt as he stumbled away. She pulled him back in, wrapped an arm around his neck and head, and viciously twisted it. The ninja collapsed to the ground. Haruka turned to the remaining two ninja, her teal eyes colder than ice. The two moved in together. One slammed an escrima stick into Haruka's injured arm. Her arm seized and she dropped the katana.
Michiru saw the danger Haruka was in and rushed forward. She slammed the small sword into the back of the other ninja before he could make a slash with his shinobigatana. Michiru watched the man fall to the ground, his blood staining the snow red. She stared at the body in shock over what she had done.
Haruka slammed her fist into the other ninja and, while Michiru was still in shock, struck him rapidly in five different places. The ninja's eyes rolled up in the back of his head and he fell to the ground. Haruka picked up her katana and pulled the wakizashi free, wiping the blood off both weapons. She sheathed them and turned to Michiru.
"I…I…I killed him…" Michiru stammered.
Haruka held her still bleeding wound. "Taking a life is never easy Michiru," she said softly, dropping the honorific. Michiru looked at the blonde and nodded. Haruka smiled when her vision suddenly blurred. She frowned and shook her head.
"Daijoubu?"
Haruka ignored the question and picked up a shuriken from a dead ninja. She inspected it closely and sniffed it. "Kuso…" she growled.
"Nan desu ka?" Michiru demanded.
"Poison…" came the answer. Her vision blurred again. "I have…an antidote…at the…house…need to…hurry…" Haruka whispered, her words starting to slur together. Michiru grabbed Haruka and pulled the ninja's left arm over her shoulders. She hurried back to the house, ignoring the dead bodies. Haruka struggled to keep her footing but she stumbled more than once.
Michiru ended up pulling the blonde into the main area. "Where's the antidote?" she demanded.
"Left…panel…back wall…bedroom…small…bottle…" Haruka carefully said, making sure her words were intelligible.
Michiru scrambled to her feet and ran to the room. She walked to the back wall and frowned. The left panel looked solid. Hoping Haruka wasn't becoming delirious, she pressed against the panel. She jumped as it shifted back and slid to the side. She saw the small bottle sitting on the top shelf and grabbed it. The panel slid back into place as she moved away. She pushed her questioned away and ran back to Haruka.
Sweat glistened on the blonde's face as her body trembled. Michiru lifted Haruka up slightly and pulled the stopper out of the bottle. She tilted the bottle to the blonde's mouth and the liquid slid down Haruka's throat. The geisha set the bottle down and held Haruka's head in her lap, nervously waiting. The flush in Haruka's face slightly died away and Michiru sighed in relief.
She eased the blonde's head down and carefully pulled the warrior to the back room. Michiru pulled out a small needle and thread from a pouch in her sleeve. She ripped off a piece of cloth from her sleeve and pushed the blonde's sleeve up. She stared at the golden blue tattoo on Haruka's arm and frowned.
That's…that's a mark from… her eyes widened as she recognized the mark from a book she had been shown. Michiru looked at the blonde, unable to stop the fear creeping in her stomach. "You're a ninja of…of the…the Moon Clan…" She bit her lip, unsure of what to do. Part of her still cared deeply for the ninja, but the rational part of her mind that had been told the Moon Clan was evil was screaming at her to run.
Haruka whimpered in her fevered stated, fear on her face. "Mommy…" the blonde whispered, her body still trembling slightly.
Michiru's face set in determination and carefully cleaned the wound. Once that was done, she held the needle carefully in the embers of the fire. After several moments she pulled it out. She then gently began stitching the gash in the blonde's arm. She finished a few moments later and tied the end of the thread. Michiru pulled out a strip of cloth and bandaged the arm. Satisfied with her work, she carefully pulled the blonde to the bedroom and pulled out the futon. She gently heaved Haruka onto the mattress and covered the blonde with the covers.
"It's my turn to watch over you Haruka-san. You owe me answers."
- - - - - - - -
Haruka opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She slowly sat up and winced, holding her right arm. She felt that it was bare and looked down. The symbol of Uranus stared back at her just above a line of stitches. She suppressed a sigh and slowly moved her arm, making sure she had full motion with it.
"Who the hell are you really?" a cold voice demanded.
Haruka spun around, going to her knees to prepare to lunge at an intruder. Instead she found herself looking at an angry geisha. The blonde could see the hurt in the sea blue eyes and her heart broke. She slowly sat down, covering herself with a blanket. She remained silent.
Michiru leaned forward and pressed the blade of the katana against the blonde's throat. "Who. Are. You?" she demanded, pushing the razor sharp blade against Haruka's throat.
"So after killing one person you're already bloodthirsty," Haruka said.
"I was protecting someone who I thought loved me!" Michiru snapped. "Then I find out you're not only a ninja, but that you serve that traitorous Moon Clan! That clan of murderers and no good…"
Haruka suddenly grabbed the blade of the katana, pulled it out of the geisha's grip, spun it around and pressed it against her throat, cutting her off. "Never…insult them…again…" Haruka said in a dangerous voice.
"Are you going to kill me now?" Michiru demanded, tears shining in her eyes.
Haruka pulled the sword away from the geisha and bowed her head. "I could never hurt you Michiru-san. I may have lied about who I was to you, but I did not lie about my feelings for you."
"But you lied," Michiru said. "You make the whole world believe you're a man and a samurai. And you serve the Moon Clan. They're known for their reputation. How can you serve them?"
"They saved my life after I tried to avenge my parents," Haruka whispered. "They took me in, treated me as family, and gave me a reason to live." She lifted her head and stared Michiru in the eye. "And they live in peace. In their lands, there is no fighting, no disease, no evil or corrupt men…its everything that my parents believed in, that I believe in. That ruler wants the same thing for all the lands."
Michiru stared the blonde in the eye. "You killed daimyo Akira, didn't you?" Haruka remained silent. "Kotaeru!"
"I stopped a corrupt man from oppressing those he was meant to protect. None of my people have to come down here and fight for you and the others. But we want the people here to live happily and thrive. But instead you're all nothing but cowards to afraid to do anything about it!" Her teal eyes blazed in anger. "I nearly lost someone who was very dear to me a few months ago!"
Michiru hid her hurt at the blonde's outburst. "So there's someone else," she said softly, the hurt clear in her voice.
"Not like that," Haruka corrected. "She's just the closest thing I have to family." She sighed. "I don't expect you to understand. I don't even care if you do or don't. I care about you Kaioh Michiru. If you can't accept me for who I really am, then I guess I was the fool to fall in love with you." Haruka rose to her feet and pulled on a pair of black hakama pants and a dark blue gi top. She pulled on a heavy jacket and began pulling out her hidden weapons.
"What are you doing?" Michiru asked.
"Leaving," Haruka answered curtly.
"Demo…doushite?"
Haruka paused as she slid the wakizashi sheath through her belt. "Because you've made it fairly clear that you can't accept me." She finished gathering her weapons and shoved a few clothes into a small bag. She slung it onto her back and walked out of the room.
Michiru scrambled to her feet, her heart torn at what to do. She ran to the door of the house and saw Haruka saddling the black horse. "You can't just leave! It's the middle of winter!"
Haruka finished saddling the horse and swung up onto the animal's back. "Why should I stay someplace I'm hated?" Her words left Michiru speechless. "Be out of here by spring Kaioh-san. Otherwise my fellows might kill you." She turned her head and ignored the ache in her heart and the tears that slid from her green eyes. She let out a sharp cry to the horse and it lunged forward into a gallop.
Michiru stared after the blonde, unable to stop the tears from falling. "Haruka!" Michiru cried but the blonde was gone. She sank to her knees, holding her face in her hands as she sobbed. "Baka…baka…" she swore at herself. What have I done?
Japanese of the day:
Shimatta: Damn, damn it.
Daijoubu: Are you all right?
Bokken: Wooden training sword in the shape of a katana.
Escrima stick: Approx. a two foot smooth stick used for fighting (and they really hurt too when you hit yourself with them)
Kuso: Shit, damn, something like that.
Nan desu ka?: What is it?
Kotaeru: Answer (me).
Doushite: Why?
Baka: Idiot, moron, etc.
So? Is it still satisfactory? Review to let me know! There are still plenty of surprises in store for Haruka and Michiru!