Clarification: Haruka and Michiru are pseudo-identities that Princess Uranus and Princess Neptune created when they first met and introduced to each other. They haven't met officially in their real identities yet. Uranus acted as Haruka, the son of the commandant-general of Uranus, and Neptune acted as Michiru, the bodyguard of Princess Neptune. The pseudo-names are mentioned based on the princesses' perspective.
"So, Michiru, are you ready to leave the Oberon?" Haruka asked.
"Yes!" Neptune said excitedly, "I really need to get back to the castle to-"
Before Neptune slipped the truth out of her mouth, she paused. Haruka looked at her, waiting to hear what she had to say.
"-to help Princess Neptune get ready." She finished her sentence with the only answer she was supposed to provide given her bodyguard identity.
"Get ready? For what?"
"For her meeting with Princess Uranus."
Haruka chortled. Neptune's cheek felt warm as she could not grasp why the blonde was laughing, but she hoped that he was not discrediting the validity of her answer.
"What's so funny?"
"Who needs a bodyguard to get ready? Your Princess sounds really high maintenance," Haruka said with an amused tone. "I guess that's why she's a princess."
"Haruka, careful with your uninformed accusation on my Princess or I'll-" Neptune warned raising her voice and one hand.
"Michiru, I'm just kidding," Haruka said, catching her wrist. He couldn't help but laugh at how protective Michiru was to her princess. It seemed interesting that Michiru's bodyguard duties extended beyond physical protection.
"And for my own safety and your princess's, it's probably better for you to stay out of the Oberon," Haruka suggested.
"I agree," Neptune said, "You should have gotten me out of here when I first asked you to."
"Come on, follow me."
The wavy haired princess followed Haruka as he led the way. Soon the sound of waves faded, the sands under their feet vanished, and flowers and trees reappeared. Neptune found herself walking on limestone again and the bridge was not far from her sight.
"Wow." Neptune was astonished by the change of scene again.
Haruka held out one hand with palm facing up. Slowly a small circular transparent light formed on his palm, raised into the air and dilated into the transparent portal. The two tweenagers walked through it together.
"Thank you," Neptune said, looking at Haruka with a smile.
"Hey, don't let me catch you in the Oberon uninvited again, or you would really have to beat me before I let you out," Haruka warned jokingly.
"But I did beat you," Neptune argued.
"That wasn't real combat skill," Haruka said, shaking his head. "You-"
The blonde stopped in the middle of his sentence. He seemed to be startled and bothered by something nearby.
"Hmm?"
Haruka did not respond. There was a wary look in his marine blue eyes.
"Haruka, what were you going to say?"
"Nevermind." The tweenager said, returning his attention to Neptune. "Michiru, it's getting late now. I'm sure your princess is waiting. I can't stay out here for too long neither. Take care."
Neptune nodded.
"Bye Haruka!" Princess Neptune smiled and waved farewell to the blonde tween, before making her way into the garden.
When Michiru disappeared from sight, Uranus transformed, summoned her Space Sword and held onto the tilt of her sword in a tight grip. The blonde princess caught a glimpse of a dark shadow behind Michiru as she was talking to her. The shadow was lurking behind the trees.
She stood on the garden bridge where she bid farewell to Michiru. She remained still as she knew that something was wandering nearby. The day was getting dark but she listened carefully to the rustling leaves for clues and waited for action; she was ready to fight.
Uranus stood there and waited, but her opponent seemed to have changed its mind. Rustling sounds continued to be heard but she could tell that they were produced from the wind instead. The dark energy she sensed earlier diminished, and eventually faded away.
She de-transformed and dismissed her Sword but stayed vigilant of her surrounding as she made her way back to her apartment. She could not sense anything unusual at this point but was not completely comfortable knowing that an enemy had entered her territory and she did not have the chance to take it out.
Soon the blonde princess passed by a small pond. Something caught her eyes. It looked like there was a book sitting on the bench. She walked over there to take a closer look. She picked up the book and flipped through it. It was a sketchbook, each page filled with beautiful sketches of places and gardens. Most of those places she didn't recognize, and then in the last few pages there were sketches of a few spots in Rosalind Garden. Uranus was amazed by the artistic quality of the artwork and wondered who the book belonged to. She didn't remember if there was anyone in the castle who particularly liked to draw or sketch, but based on the unfamiliar places on the sketchbook, she assumed that it came from someone outside of Uranus. It seemed like the only possible owners were recent visitors of Miranda Castle. It could be Princess Neptune, Michiru, or other Neptunian who traveled with them. So far she had only met Michiru.
"Sure, Michiru does look like a princess, but that feisty little bodyguard probably can't produce such artistic work." Uranus thought to herself and chuckled. She continued to flip through the pages and devoted her attention to the sketches. She started to study each page and appreciated the fine details and finishes of each drawing.
Suddenly, there were ghostly footsteps approaching Uranus from behind but the short haired princess did not take notice until a youma encircled her shoulders abruptly. The sketchbook immediately flew out her hands and dropped on the grass. Uranus struggled to free herself from the grip to no avail. The enemy clutched onto her tightly and gradually squeezed tauter.
Uranus felt a sharp pain on her shoulder. It was coming from the pressure applying on her newly inflicted wound. Her white linen began to stain in red again. The enemy wasn't too powerful and she could have easily overpowered it in her normal state, but with an injury she found herself struggling to overtake the monster.
She knew that there was only one way to set herself free. As she continued to wrestle with the youma, she raised her hand to summon her Space Sword again. The gems on the sword created beaming lights and blinded the youma. It loosened its grip around Uranus's shoulders and the blonde princess immediately leapt away from it. She briskly turned around, transformed, lifted her arm up and sent World Shaking attack at the direction of the youma. The enemy let out a scream and vaporized into the air.
Uranus remained in the garden and browsed around to make sure that there was no more youma nearby. When she confirmed that the garden was free of enemy again, she sat on the bench, examined the wound on her shoulder and tried to cope with the pain.
Soon the butler came running over to her.
"Princess! Are you okay?" He asked. "I heard some activities in the garden."
"I'm fine," Uranus winced and answered, "I just took out a youma."
"Your Highness, your shoulder…" The butler was shocked to see the injury on the princess's shoulder.
"Don't worry about it."
"I'll go notify the apothecary-"
"No," she waved her hand dismissively, "It's nothing."
Uranus knew that informing the apothecary would draw attentions in the castle, and most likely not a good idea when she had visitors there.
"How can I help then?"
"Don't let anyone know about this, especially our visitors," Uranus said. "I can't meet with Neptune for the first time like this. Let her know we'll have to connect again another time."
The butler nodded and Uranus retreated to the Oberon.
Neptune returned to the guest chamber. She realized that she had spent a long time at the garden and the Oberon. According to the agenda, she was supposed to have dinner with Princess Uranus at sunset and she was running late already. She quickly went through the wardrobe to pick a dress. She chose a beige chiffon dress with a golden bow sash on the waist. After checking herself in the mirror one last time, the aqua-haired princess left the guest chamber and headed over to the state dining room.
Neptune arrived at the elegant room with a long dining table sitting in the middle of the room. The table was decorated with freshly picked colorful flowers from the garden, and tableware was set perfectly. The butler was standing in front of the table, waiting for her. He walked up to her with a graceful bow.
"Good Evening Princess Neptune, it's nice to see you."
"Thank you." Neptune responded.
"Are you ready for your evening meal?"
Princess Neptune nodded with a smile.
"Marvelous. Please have a seat," He carefully pulled out one of the dining chairs for the aqua-haired young princess and assisted her to get seated. He then gestured the servants to deliver beverage and food to the table.
But Neptune gestured the servant to stop the service instead.
"Where is Princess Uranus?"
"I'm afraid that Princess Uranus won't be here soon. She has to take care of something at the moment," the butler answered.
"I will wait for her then," Neptune said.
The butler hesitated, and then explained, "I'm sorry Princess Neptune, our princess won't be back in a short period of time."
Neptune stood up from her seat and asked, "Is everything okay?"
"Y-yes, everything is fine," The butler said. He seemed to know the reason but just wouldn't disclose it. As he saw the doubtful look on Neptune's face, he went on to clarify, "Just an unexpected matter that required princess's undivided attention. Princess Neptune, I can assure you that our princess would love to be here right now."
"That's okay. I understand. I look forward to meeting her next time then," said Neptune with a smile, maintaining her polite mannerism. She got up and left the state dining room.
The aqua-haired princess was disappointed. She couldn't help but wonder if Uranus was upset at her for being a little late, or if she didn't want to meet with her.
Neptune went back to the guest chamber, changed back into her casual outfit and prepared for her return to Neptune. As she was packing up, she realized that she had left her sketchbook on a bench in Rosalind Garden, and forgot to retrieve it on her way back from the Oberon.
The aqua-haired young lady went out to the garden again looking for her sketchbook. Even though it was dark at outside and the garden was large, she had no problem remembering her way to the bench by the pond where she sat and sketched in the afternoon.
She got to the bench and found the sketchbook lying on the grass, opened half way through. It looked like someone had flipped through the pages and then accidentally dropped it there. She picked it up and examined each page to make sure her sketches were not damaged.
Suddenly, she sensed some activities nearby. Her intuition told her that it could be an enemy sent from the Dark Kingdom. At the same time, the transparent portal reappeared in front of her. Neptune was not expected to see the portal came in sight there.
No…not again! Neptune thought.
After what happened earlier, she decided that she wouldn't walk through it again. She had no intention to step into the boundary where she was not supposed to cross or engage in a combat with that blonde tween again.
She remained quiet, continuing to sense the dark energy nearby her. The rim of the portal glowed again; it was more obvious now since it had gotten dark.
A youma crept up to Neptune from her side but she was prepared for the confrontation. She summoned her Deep Aqua Mirror and held it facing her enemy. The Mirror started beaming and sent a strong light towards the youma.
However, her enemy was not going after her. It dodged her light and quickly escaped into the portal. Neptune was surprised by that move. She hesitated, trying to debate whether it was a good idea to enter the portal again. She then remembered that Haruka was at the Oberon and worried that the young blonde civilian would not be able to defend himself against the youma.
Neptune immediately transformed, followed through the gateway, and chased after the enemy.
She continued running and trying to locate the youma. Soon the garden transformed into a beach again but the youma was nowhere to be found. Standing with her feet in the sand, all she could saw was the view of wide sandy beach and all she could hear was the echoing sound of ocean waves. She had lost track of the enemy. She looked into her Deep Aqua Mirror and tried to find clues, but the Mirror was not showing her any signs of dark energy nearby. Neptune still felt unease as she wanted to take out the enemy and not leaving it inside the Oberon. She knew that Princess Uranus could eliminate it easily, but the Oberon guard, Haruka the Uranian civilian, might not stand a chance.
The aqua-haired princess was concerned about Haruka's safety. She had to find the young blonde before the youma did. She ran along on the beach and continued her search.
Minutes after running at her fastest pace, Neptune still couldn't find traces of Haruka nor the enemy.
The Guardian of the Sea went on for a quite some time and eventually saw a cabana nearby. She cautiously proceeded towards it and caught a glimpse of someone sitting in the cabin. She approached closer and found that the person looked like someone she had met earlier. It was Haruka. She saw the young tween putting a hand on the shoulder and was seemingly in pain.
She quickly de-transformed and dismissed her Deep Aqua Mirror and ran up to Haruka.
"Haruka?" Neptune said.
The young blonde looked over to the source calling his name, and was surprised to see Neptune at the Oberon again.
"What are you doing here? Didn't I say not to come here uninvited?" Haruka questioned. He seemed annoyed with her presence, as much as the first time when she showed up there.
"Are you okay?" Neptune asked with a frown on her face as she was approaching. "W-what happened to your shoulder? Did you get hurt again?!"
"Michiru, I've told you already, you're not supposed to-" Haruka tried to reason with the aqua-haired young princess.
"Tell me what happened," Neptune asked nervously, ignoring Haruka's questions and comments. She carefully examined the wound on the young blonde's shoulder, and said to herself, "How is it possible? It didn't look like this earlier."
"It's nothing," The young blonde said, trying to hide the wound by pulling the tunic higher toward his neck. "I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
Neptune felt even guiltier for causing the injury in the first place. She tried to think of ways to heal this without using her Mirror.
Suddenly, the two grew quiet. Both felt a dark energy approaching. Neptune stepped forward towards the source of that energy. She was ready to fight the youma herself, but the young blonde quickly got up and stood in front of her instead.
"Stay back," Haruka ordered, "I've got this."
"No, Haruka you're injured!" Neptune protested. That was one of the reasons, but in reality she knew that she was more equipped to fight an enemy and defend a civilian than the other way around.
As the two started debating on who should take on the enemy, the youma re-surfaced in front of them. It lunged towards Haruka who stood closer to it by sending a ranged fire attack towards the blonde. It immediately blazed the injury on his shoulder. Haruka cried at the encounter.
"Watch out Haruka!" Neptune warned. She pulled Haruka back and hurled a wave toward the youma. The wave hit the enemy directly and she was able to buy more time to settle Haruka in a safe place.
Neptune hauled the young blonde into the cabana and laid him down onto the day bed.
"Stay here and don't move." Neptune ordered.
But Haruka refused to listen, he tried to get up despite the severe pain on his shoulder.
"No Michiru, you have no idea-"
"You have no idea!" The aqua-haired princess hissed, "Stay here and don't make a sound!"
Haruka wanted to fight, but his wound was burning badly and Neptune would not let him get up. Knowing that arguing would probably be the most foolish way to get both of them wiped out, the stubborn young blonde finally decided to cave in and obeyed Neptune's command. He nodded reluctantly.
Neptune ran out quickly and lured the enemy to follow her away from the cabana. They stood close to the sea now.
When Neptune was away from Haruka, she transformed and summoned her Mirror again and sent a beaming light towards the youma, weakening the enemy's vitality. With the sounds of waves crashing on the beach, Neptune raised her arms and called for Deep Submerge to send crashing waves towards the youma. The enemy let out a painful scream and vanished into the air. The last youma that entered the Uranuian territory that night was eliminated.
Once the enemy was taken out, Neptune de-transformed and sent her Mirror away and went back to the cabana to check on Haruka. The blonde tween was in deep pain with the burning wound, yet he stayed quiet and tried his best not to even let out a groan of pain.
Neptune couldn't help but chuckle that Haruka really stayed quiet for this long.
"We're safe now," Neptune informed, "you can scream if it hurts."
"Aww!" Haruka yelled in pain, wincing between his spoken words. "Michiru, you are just mean do you know that? You were the one who injured me and now you're laughing."
"I'm sorry," Neptune apologized. Before Haruka opened his eyes again she looked away for another quiet giggle. She then knelt down next to the bed and asked softly, "It must hurt a lot, right?"
"How…how did you take out the youma?" Haruka asked.
"Don't worry about it. I have my ways."
Haruka looked at her. He seemed to have more questions but was too painful to ask.
Neptune knew that this injury would take a while to heal, meaning Haruka would probably be out of duties for a while. Regardless of how the young blonde got reinjured again, she felt bad that she was the one who caused it in the first place and that his injury worsened when he tried to shield her away from the youma. She decided that she would use her Mirror to heal the blonde tween.
"Close your eyes," Neptune instructed.
Haruka obeyed again, but as Neptune raised her hand, preparing to summon her Deep Aqua Mirror, the tweenager opened one eye slightly for a peek.
"Haruka, what did I say?" The wavy-haired princess scolded.
"Fine…" The young blonde said with a pout, before shutting his eyes again.
With Deep Aqua Mirror in hand, Neptune let the reflective side shine on the young blonde's injured shoulder. Slowly the burned skin was healed and the scar was removed. Haruka's frowns seemed to have eased as the Mirror performed its healing regimen.
"Can I open my eyes now?" The young blonde asked. He was curious about the feeling on his shoulder and wondered why the pain gradually receded and he wasn't hurting anymore.
"Hold on," Neptune said, quickly dismissing her Mirror again. "Okay."
Haruka opened his eyes, and was shocked to see the skin on his shoulder. Although the white linen tunic was still stained with blood, there was no sign of cut or burn scar on the shoulder anymore. There was a look of disbelief on his face, but before he could ask any question, Neptune denied that opportunity.
"How do you feel now?" Neptune asked.
"Better. I'm not that weak," Haruka assured.
The young aqua haired princess smiled, feeling relieved.
"Just to be clear, you didn't hurt me that much. My injury came from other sources," Haruka declared.
Haruka's comment was immediately met with raised eyebrows from Neptune.
"You would have been gone for good if I weren't here!" Neptune yelled. "I should have just left you here with the youma."
Before Haruka spoke another word, the aqua-haired princess interrupted, "And just to be clear, I didn't use my full force on you! If I had you wouldn't even be talking right now."
"Well I didn't know you were going to attack me! If I had known I would have dodged it easily, and avoided that fire attack!" Haruka argued.
"Fine then, since you're better already, let's have a duel," Neptune suggested.
"That's easy. I'll win, any time."
"No, I will. And I won't even have to try hard."
"This time I won't let you out of here until you can really prove yourself," Haruka stated confidently.
"You'll be sorry for your words. I won't even leave until you beg me to," Neptune replied indignantly.
Neptune and Haruka started arguing.
To be continued.