Disclaimer: I don't own any Sailor Moon characters, nor am I promoting any registered commercial product mentioned in my story.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I was so nervous, I was afraid I'd have to put a bag over my head and disappear, but I'm so relieved that there are people who tolerate my writing.

Mantaray: Haruka drives a blue Miata in the anime, so I thought it'd be cool if she attained her car from a street race.

For readers who don't know, in the Initial D series, Toru does indeed drive a Miata, Nao is his girlfriend and she wants Toru to stop racing because he spends all their money on his car, and Toru's teammate does drive a Skyline.

Everyone else: Read on to see if your questions can be answered!

Italics are inner thoughts or flashbacks, in which case the text format is inversed (in other words, during flashbacks, the inner thoughts are normal format)

Chapter 4: Think Pink

The phone rang inside the Kaiou residence. Someone answered it and then Michiru heard footsteps approaching her door.

"Hime-chan, are you awake?" her father's voice came through the door with a light knocking.

She didn't answer.

"I'm sorry, Elsa-chan, she's still sleeping. I'll let her know you called when she wakes up," his voice trailed down the hall.

Michiru closed her eyes. Her heart ached, but last night was the best night she ever had and she could still feel the tender kiss on her lips. Her thoughts floated back to what happened only hours ago.

"I have a girlfriend," she said.

Michiru looked down at her hands, which were still being held by the girl she just kissed. Of course, why wouldn't Haruka have a girlfriend? Girls fall at her feet everyday, and I bet she's beautiful. Tears threatened to fall, but she denied them and suddenly she felt something inside her ignite. No, she won't let this hinder her from being with Haruka. She refused to lose her again. She had come too far now and she was determined to have Haruka in her life one way or another, even if it meant putting her feelings aside.

"Does your friendship offer still stand?"

Haruka looked at her strangely. "What?"

"You said you wanted to be friends when I saw you at track tryouts on the first day of school." Her voice trembled slightly. "I'd still like to be friends again, if that's okay with you."

"Michiru-chan," Haruka spoke her name gently.

The girl looked up at her with pleading eyes. I don't want to lose you again.

Haruka nodded, and as if she heard Michiru's thoughts, she said, "I'll be here. If you come here, you will find me… I promise."

Michiru smiled and let out the breath she had been holding.

Haruka let go of Michiru's hands and ran her own hands through her hair. She exhaled too and cleared her throat. "Let's start over. My name is Tenou Haruka." She bowed. "I love racing and running, and I play the piano. Yoroshiku."

"I'm Kaiou Michiru. I love playing the violin, painting, and swimming," she bowed and said, "Yoroshiku."

Haruka smiled and Michiru saw the sparkle return to those green eyes.

I'm happy as long as you're happy, my love, Michiru resolved to herself.

"So when's your birthday, Kaiou-san?"

Michiru giggled. "Please, you may call me Michiru."

"My apologies. Michiru-chan, when is your birthday?" Haruka asked again.

"March 6th. And yours?"

"January 27th," she answered.

Michiru made a mental note and looked back out into the ocean. It was so picturesque out here. "So, do you take all your girls here?"

The blonde gave her a coy look. "No, only the most beautiful one."

"Maa, so what am I?"

Haruka thought for a moment, and then said, "You are the only one," she replied, "that knows about this place besides me."

Michiru smiled timidly and then yawned against her own will. She quickly covered her mouth and blushed in embarrassment.

"Okay, I get it, I'm boring you," Haruka said, earning a giggle from the sleepy girl. "No, I know, it's been a long night. We should probably head home now."

Haruka drove Michiru home after that. Though they had agreed to be friends, it still felt understandably awkward. Both girls were quiet during the whole ride until they arrived at Michiru's house. Haruka got out of the car and quickly went over to the passenger side to open the door.

"Arigatou," Michiru said as she stepped out.

Haruka nodded and got back into her car. She watched Michiru take a few steps up the pathway to her door. "Anou…"

Michiru stopped and turned around.

The tomboy rubbed the back of her neck and stared at the wheel. "That was my first kiss," she confessed nervously.

Michiru couldn't help but smile. "Mine too," she answered softly, then scowled. "I mean, I'm sorry, I stole your first kiss. It wasn't meant for me."

Haruka opened her mouth to say something, hesitated, then said, "But it was."

Michiru looked at Haruka questioningly.

"Oyasumi, Michiru-chan," Haruka said before driving away into the night.

Michiru was sitting at a table by the window, waiting for Elsa. Her father had left a note on her door saying that he and her mother would be gone all day and that Elsa called. When Michiru returned Elsa's call, they decided to meet at the café by Crown Parlor, so there she was, sipping her tea while waiting. She looked out the window at all the people walking by carrying their shopping bags.

"So what happened last night?" Elsa asked pulling into the seat across from Michiru.

Michiru jumped. "Well, hello to you too! What's with the interrogation?"

"Well, it's not like you to sleep in so late." Elsa asked the server for green tea, then turned her attention back to Michiru. "So what happened?"

"Nothing. We escaped from the police and Haruka-chan took me home," Michiru answered and took another sip from her tea.

"Oh, really? Let's see, the police chased us out around 10:00 and Haruka-chan didn't bring her car to my cousin's garage till around midnight. Now unless you ran into some really heavy traffic, it shouldn't have taken that long. What happened?" Elsa repeated.

Michiru debated in her mind. Perhaps it was time to tell someone. Between Elsa and Kyoko, Elsa was the one she had always trusted the most. In fact, she was the only one she trusted now. She and Elsa had both stopped talking to Kyoko and their ties with her eventually faded to nothing. The last she heard from mutual acquaintances was that Kyoko had gotten knocked up and dropped out of Mugen. "Elsa-chan, how long have we known each other?"

"Oh shit, here it comes! You hooked up with her, didn't you?"

"What?" Michiru stared at Elsa in shock. "What are you talking about?"

"I always thought you two would make a cute couple."

"What the hell, Elsa-chan? You're not making any sense," Michiru said, getting a little irritated. "Wait, were you trying to set us up?"

Elsa took a piece of bread and deliberately shoved it in her mouth, making herself unable to speak at the moment.

Michiru grabbed the breadbasket away from Elsa. "Aren't carbs bad for your track star physique?" she said sarcastically.

"Oh come on, you don't think I see the way you two look at each other everyday at school?" Elsa said after swallowing the bread. "And especially last night!"

Michiru looked down at her tea in silence.

"Michiru-chan, we've known each other since kindergarten. Please be honest with me. I bet it'll help you feel better too," Elsa said more seriously.

The other girl remained silent.

"Okay, it's fine. Just remember I'm here if you want to talk. But you want to know what I think? I think Haruka-chan only said what she did on the first day of school because she's damaged, thanks to a certain former friend of ours. I think she's madly in love with you." Elsa attempted to grab the breadbasket, but Michiru snatched it out of her reach. She frowned and settled for drinking her tea.

"She has a girlfriend," Michiru said bluntly, trying to keep her voice steady as she felt the heartache rising inside her again.

Elsa's eyes flew wide open and she almost choked on her tea. "What? How do you know that and I don't?"

Michiru gave her friend one last thoughtful look, and then decided there was no turning back now. "Because she told me after I kissed her last night."

Elsa's mouth dropped open. "Okay wait, you gotta start from the beginning."

"Oh yes, from the very beginning." Michiru pushed the breadbasket back in front of Elsa. "You'll need this, 'cuz it's a long story," she said and took a deep breath. "It was that week I moved to my new house…"

Haruka yawned as she waited for someone to answer the phone. She had been too restless to get much sleep last night because her emotions were all kinds of mixed up. Last night was just crazy. All her dreams had come true. Almost. She won her first race, got her first car, but the best part of all, she had her first kiss with her first love, who got to see her win her first race as well. She felt guilty for cheating on her girlfriend, but at the same time she didn't regret what happened and she was happy that she and Michiru were friends again. She would relive that moment over and over again in a heartbeat. But I have a girlfriend now, I'm moving on, Haruka reasoned to herself. And at least Michiru and I are friends again. Besides, Michiru deserves better. She deserves a normal life, and she won't get that with me.

"Moshimoshi," a motherly voice answered.

"Moshimoshi. May I speak to Shigeko-chan please?"

"Hold on, please."

Haruka waited till she heard the phone being passed to someone else.

"Moshimoshi."

"Hey, it's me," Haruka said.

"Hi Haruka-chan," the voice on the other end spoke softly. "I miss you."

Haruka tightly shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "You too."

The other voice giggled. "So what's up?"

"Well, I just wanted to let you know I'll be a little late getting to your house, but you'll see why."

"What is it?"

"It's a surprise. Just make sure you're waiting for me outside your house."

There was silence on the other end.

"Shigeko-chan? Moshimoshi? You still there?"

"I don't like surprises," the other voice said. Haruka thought it even sounded a little angry.

"What? Who doesn't like surprises? I promise you'll like this one," Haruka assured her.

"Fine, bye." The phone hung up.

Haruka looked at the phone questioningly, then shrugged and went downstairs to head out. At the bottom of the steps, she stopped and peeked around the corner. She couldn't see her mother, but she could hear her putting away the dishes in the kitchen. The chances of walking out without her mother spotting her looked favorable. "I'm going out, Okaa-san!" she called and made a brisk walk to the front door. She had her hand on the doorknob.

"Haruka-chan."

Kuso. Haruka stopped and slowly turned around. She tried to keep a straight face while her mother looked her up and down, but she knew what was coming.

"Must you wear boy clothes all the time? Why don't you wear the clothes I bought you?"

Haruka groaned. "They don't fit."

"They do fit. They're supposed to hug your figure." Sakura examined her daughter some more. Haruka was wearing loose boot leg jeans and a zip-up hoodie with what looked like a gorilla on the front and the word "BAPE" across the chest. "Is that a gorilla? What is bah-peh?"

"It's Bape, rhymes with tape," she corrected her mother. "It stands for Bathing Ape, that's why there's a gorilla."

"I wish you'd wear earrings or something. You really look like a boy," Sakura criticized.

"I'm not trying to look like a boy, I'm just being comfortable," Haruka replied. She and her mother had this argument several times and it was getting old quickly. "And I don't know what difference wearing earrings will make. Otou-san wears an earring. Boys at school wear earrings." Haruka kept her voice respectful, but her eyes blazed with impatience. "And you know my ears get infected when I try to wear earrings, even with those special hypoallergenic earrings you got me." She scratched her earlobes as if proving her point.

Sakura shook her head and sighed. "You don't know what it's like to have people always asking me 'Is that your son?' when I know I have a daughter!"

Haruka crossed her arms and stared back at Sakura in silence. She never meant to hurt her, but she knew her mother would never understand.

Sakura gave up. "You're rebellious just like your father. Be home for dinner," she said and walked back into the kitchen.

Haruka nodded and resisted the urge to slam the door behind her. If it made her mother feel better thinking she was rebellious, so be it. It'd probably hurt her a lot less than knowing her daughter was a lesbian.

Her walk to Keiichi's garage took her past the backside of Mugen Gakuen, where there was an outdoor swimming pool. Haruka paused at the fence and looked at the still pool.

Track practice had long ended, but Haruka felt like running some more. Running around the track was boring, so she decided to run around the whole school. There were still students here and there, doing their extracurricular activities. She ran past the tennis courts, past the soccer field, past the gardens, and then she was near the swimming pool. There is a reason why the words "No Running" were printed all around the area and Haruka was the prime example. As soon as she stepped on the wet concrete, her footing slipped and she found herself falling into the water. Unfortunately, it was the deep end and Haruka didn't know how to swim. Her arms lashed out and she kicked her legs, but to no avail. She panicked as she slowly sank deeper and felt her feet touching the pool floor. Kami-sama, I'm drowning! That was when she felt someone grab her and pull her back up to the surface. Haruka gasped for air as soon as she came back above the water and she grabbed the edge. Her nose felt like it was on fire because of the chlorine and she coughed out some water before she turned to her rescuer. Her vision was blurred from the water dripping from her bangs, but she could make out a girl with blue eyes. Michiru? The girl lifted herself out of the pool then helped Haruka out. Haruka sat by the poolside, catching her breath while the other girl wrapped a towel around her.

"Arigatou," Haruka finally said in between breaths. She wiped the water from her face and now saw the girl clearly. The girl had long pink hair.

"Are you okay? Should I take you to the nurse's office?" the girl asked.

"No, I'm fine." Haruka coughed some more.

"You shouldn't be running around the pool."

Haruka lightly laughed. "I think I've learned my lesson. I won't ever forget."

The other girl smiled.

She's pretty cute, Haruka thought, especially in a bathing suit. Haruka shook her head. Stop it, horny bastard. That's all you can think of after a near death experience? "Again, thank you so much… anou… what was your name?"

"Yotsukura Shigeko."

"Arigatou, Yotsukura-san," said Haruka and she bowed her head.

"Dou itashimashite, Tenou-san."

Haruka raised her eyebrows at the girl. "You know my name?"

The girl blushed. "I know you are Tenou Haruka, age 13, grade 8, number one track star," she confessed, then giggled. "And now I know you can't swim."

Haruka laughed in embarrassment.

That's how it all started exactly one month ago, at this very same pool. Shigeko intrigued Haruka, and she hadn't been afraid to tell Haruka how she felt. She wasn't like the other girls who pined for Haruka and gushed at the very sight of her. That's why she decided to give it a chance, and things with Shigeko had been great. Haruka couldn't say she loved Shigeko, but she cared for her very much and Shigeko cared for her too. And that means I should do the right thing and be faithful to her, Haruka thought and walked on.

It took her twenty minutes to drive from Keiichi's garage to Shigeko's house. She had the top down and let the wind run through her hair. It made her think of the way the wind played with Michiru's hair. Stop that. I'm almost at her house, she reprimanded herself. Be faithful. As Haruka pulled up to a house with green awnings, she saw the pink-haired girl sitting outside on the steps.

"Surprise!" Haruka grinned as Shigeko stood in awe. She got out of her car and opened the door for the significantly shorter girl. How in the world did she drag me around in the pool? She's shorter than Michiru, Haruka thought, then shook the thought from her head. "Your carriage awaits," Haruka said when she saw Shigeko had not moved from where she was standing.

"How'd you get this car?" asked Shigeko with an arched eyebrow.

"Last night, Elsa-chan's cousin helped me get it." Haruka decided to go with the vague truth so that she wouldn't have to go into detail about the previous night's events. "Her cousin has a garage and there's a circuit right next to it."

"So you've been driving illegally."

Haruka pulled out her driver's license. "Not according to this."

Shigeko took one look at the plastic card and laughed. "Your picture looks funny." She stepped inside Haruka's car and giggled. "This will be fun."

Relieved that she was able to avoid any questioning, Haruka jumped into the driver's seat and mocked a chauffer. "Where to, my lady?"

"Juban Shopping Center, please!"

Elsa sat back and exhaled. The breadbasket in front of her was empty. Michiru had just finished telling her everything. She now stared at her best friend, who was idly stirring her tea and looking out the window again. Elsa had an idea that Haruka and Michiru knew each other prior to Mugen, considering the confrontation that occurred on the first day of school, but she had never really thought about it or asked about it. She couldn't make the connection before. Now she realized that Haruka was the cause for Michiru's sudden strange behavior when they were younger. Haruka was the one that Michiru was always daydreaming about.

"You think I'm weird," Michiru stated more than asked.

Elsa laughed out loud. "If I think you're weird, then I might as well disown my cousin."

"I don't know what I am."

"You're in love, Michiru-chan. Don't worry about labels." Elsa eyed Michiru's tea. "Are you gonna drink that? All that bread made me thirsty."

That was when Michiru saw something that made her mouth drop.

"What? What is it?" Elsa asked, looking out the window to see what Michiru was looking at.

"It's Haruka-chan." Michiru spotted the pink-haired girl walking alongside of Haruka with her arm linked through Haruka's elbow. She could only assume that was her girlfriend.

"Whoa, her cousin looks so little compared to her!" Elsa observed.

"Cousin?"

"Yeah, I've seen her hanging around the track a lot during practice in the past month. I thought she was just another one of Haruka-chan's fans, but she said she's her cousin."

Michiru gave Elsa a doubtful look. "Do you walk around like that with Keiichi-san?"

Elsa looked again. "Well…" Her shoulders drooped. "No. I guess I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt." They watched as the pair stopped in front of the pet store window to look at puppies. "Geez, do you see all those shopping bags Haruka-chan is carrying?"

Michiru nodded.

"Let's go bump into them," Elsa said getting up from her seat.

"What? No!"

"Don't you wanna meet the bitch who stole your girl?"

Michiru couldn't help but laugh. "Elsa-chan! That's mean!"

She shrugged. "I don't care."

"Well hold on," Michiru said. She left money on the table with the check, then followed Elsa out of the café.

Surprisingly there weren't many people in the shopping district, even though it was a Saturday. Michiru followed Elsa to the book store adjacent to the pet shop. Elsa stood in front of the bargain bins and pretended to browse through the books. Michiru picked up a book as well when Elsa suddenly grabbed her wrist. Haruka and her girlfriend were on the move and Elsa really intended to literally bump into them.

"Oh, excuse me… Haruka-chan!"

A flabbergasted Haruka looked at the girl that she walked into. "Elsa-chan!" Shigeko suddenly let go of her hand and they took a step apart. Haruka noticed the other girl behind Elsa and almost dropped the shopping bags she was carrying. Relax, friends, remember? I guess she still stuns me every time. Old habits die hard.

"What's up? Getting some shopping done, I see," said Elsa, eyeing the bags.

"Um, yeah," Haruka replied, still looking at Michiru. "I'm just here with, um, my cousin." She introduced Shigeko to Elsa and Michiru and hoped they didn't see anything. She and Shigeko had decided it would be better to not let anyone know they were girlfriends. Haruka may have already crossed the line by telling Michiru she had a girlfriend. She didn't tell Michiru who her girlfriend was, but she was pretty sure Michiru could figure it out.

Michiru saw how quickly Shigeko separated herself from Haruka. It was obvious they didn't want anyone to know they were together. The proclaimed "cousin" was indeed beautiful. Her pink hair came down to the middle of her back and she was very petite. Her eyes were blue, much like her own. She found, however, that where she lacked in height, she made up with attitude. Shigeko smiled at Michiru and Elsa, but her smile quickly turned into a cold stare. Michiru ignored the insolent gesture. If it weren't for her love for Haruka, she wouldn't have tolerated it.

"What brings you guys here?" Haruka asked.

"Oh, you know, just hanging out," Elsa said casually, "but I think we're gonna head home now."

"Shigeko-chan and I were actually heading out too. You guys need a lift?" Haruka offered in a nice friendly gesture.

Shigeko looked slightly annoyed, but Elsa didn't care. "Sure, I know you just want an excuse to drive now that you have a car!" Elsa teased Haruka.

Haruka feigned innocent and shrugged. "Maybe." She looked at Shigeko and smiled, but her girlfriend didn't smile back.

Elsa and Michiru followed Haruka and Shigeko to the blue Miata. Haruka stored the shopping bags in the trunk, and then let Elsa and Michiru into the backseat while she and Shigeko sat in the front. She started the car and began lowering the top.

"Haruka-chan, don't," Shigeko said.

"Why not? It's a nice day and the wind feels good," Haruka said.

"I don't like the top down. It messes up my hair."

Haruka silently complied and put the top back on. Michiru and Elsa gave each other dubious looks. Next Shigeko turned the radio on and started pressing the preset buttons. First it was techno music, then classical music.

Haruka's girlfriend let out a cry of disgust. "What the hell is this shit you listen to?"

"What?" Haruka looked at Shigeko in bewilderment. "Calm down, just hit the next button. There's no need to curse." Haruka glanced at the rearview mirror and gave Elsa and Michiru an apologetic look. They both gave her an assuring smile. Shigeko finally found the top 40 station and stopped fidgeting with the radio.

"Hey Haruka-chan, you don't need to take me back to my house," Michiru spoke, "I'm just going to stay with Elsa-chan for a while longer."

"As you wish," the blonde answered.

Michiru sighed. That's what you said last night. "Arigatou." She observed the two girls in the front seat as Haruka drove towards Elsa's house. The pink-haired girl pulled down the visor to look in the mirror. She began running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to fix it. Haruka, on the other hand, was relaxed at the wheel. She couldn't have the top down, but she had her window open so she could still feel the wind. Unless she was shifting gears, Haruka kept her left hand on top of the steering wheel and her right arm sticking out the window. Michiru wished she had a camera so she could capture her in what she thought was her perfect moment, but since she didn't, it gave her an idea on what she was going to paint that evening. Elsa tried to make small talk with Shigeko. Based on the conversation, she discovered that Shigeko was their age and her ticket to Mugen was her swimming.

"Aren't you going to join the swim team, Michiru-chan?" Elsa asked.

"I haven't really decided yet," Michiru replied.

"I think you should," Haruka encouraged her.

"You can try," Shigeko said with a slight hint of arrogance.

Michiru was beginning to dislike Shigeko more and more. "I think I will."

Elsa elbowed Michiru and she turned to see Elsa pound her fist into her hand. Michiru held back a laugh and shook her head.

The Miata continued onward till it entered a residential area. They pulled up to Elsa's house and Haruka let the two girls in the backseat out.

"So I'll see you guys on Monday," said Haruka. She looked at Michiru, who glanced at Shigeko and then back to her. She knows. Haruka nodded slightly.

Michiru simply smiled. If she's happy, I'm happy. She and Elsa waved goodbye to Haruka as she drove away with Shigeko. Don't you dare hurt my Ruka.

As Haruka drove, she reached for Shigeko's hand, but her girlfriend snatched it away. Her brow furrowed. "Did I do something wrong?"

Shigeko stared out the window.

Haruka sighed. "I can't apologize if I don't know what I did wrong."

Shigeko continued the silent treatment.

Haruka stopped in front of Shigeko's house and turned off the engine. She faced Shigeko. "What? Are you mad because I gave them a ride? They're friends from school. It's not a big deal."

Shigeko shook her head. "It's bad enough we have to pretend we're cousins!" she suddenly yelled. "This is one of the few times we can be ourselves and you had to bring them along! You ruined everything!"

Haruka looked at the other girl in shock. She never expected so much fury to come from the small girl, especially over a trivial matter like this. "I'm sorry," she simply said after recovering and said no more.

Shigeko grabbed Haruka's hand. "I'm sorry, Haruka-chan. I think I'm just PMSing and having mood swings," she said more calmly.

The blonde squeezed Shigeko's hand. "It's okay, I understand." She thought about her statement and felt amused. She really did understand. She had heard too many times about men not being able to understand how women feel, so maybe there was an advantage to being a lesbian. She still preferred not to deal with periods though.

Shigeko leaned close to Haruka's face and looked into her eyes. "I just want it to be you and me always, no one else." She surprised Haruka with a kiss on her lips, which caused Haruka to suddenly pull back and she cursed as she hit her head. "Kami-sama, are you okay, Haruka-chan?"

Haruka winced and rubbed the back of her head. She looked at Shigeko. "Oh," was all she could say. "That's a first," she laughed nervously. No, Michiru was the first. "I mean, yeah, I'm fine."

Shigeko giggled. "Well, we had our first fight. I had to make it up to you somehow."

Haruka smirked. "So are we gonna get into more fights so you have an excuse to kiss me again?"

The other girl pulled Haruka to her and made her bow her head so she could kiss the spot where Haruka bumped her head. She lifted Haruka's face back up and said, "Let's try that again." Shigeko placed her arms around Haruka's neck the same way Michiru had and slowly their faces inched towards each other. Haruka closed her eyes and submitted herself to Shigeko's kiss. It was different from last night's kiss with Michiru. It was gentle, but it didn't have the hesitancy or the modesty that Michiru had. In the back of Haruka's mind, she wondered if she was Shigeko's first, or if there were others before her. She figured it was the latter and decided it made them even. They made out for a while longer before Shigeko stopped.

Haruka opened her eyes and looked into the blue eyes in front of her.

"I love you, Haruka-chan," she said quietly. "Happy first month."

Haruka smiled. "You too." It wasn't quite the same, but Shigeko seemed to accept it regardless.

"I have to go in now before my parents come home and see us."

"Of course. I'll get your stuff out of the trunk."

They stepped out of the Miata and Haruka took the shopping bags out from the trunk. She followed Shigeko to her front door then placed the bags down.

Shigeko gave her one more kiss. "Thank you for taking me shopping."

"My pleasure." Haruka waited till Shigeko was inside her house then waved goodbye before Shigeko closed the front door. She walked back to her car and drove out of Shigeko's neighborhood, then lowered her car's top down and pushed her speed mix CD into the CD player. The bass boomed around her. "Much better," she said to herself and raced back to Keiichi's garage.

The following Monday, Michiru was anxious to go to school. She didn't know what to expect from her renewed friendship with Haruka, but she vowed to herself that she would always be there for her. She walked down the hall towards her locker and was pleasantly surprised at what was waiting for her, or who was more like it.

"Excuse me, sir," she said to the tall blonde, trying not to smile, "I need to get to my locker."

"Oh, it's like that now, huh?" The blonde stepped back and leaned against the next locker. "I'm sorry, I was just waiting for a friend and I thought this was her locker. Have you seen her? She has the same colored hair as you and the same eyes, but only better."

Michiru looked up thoughtfully, then said, "No, I can't say I have, but when you see her, please tell her to stop giving away my locker location to bishounen who think they can race."

Haruka wrinkled her brow. "Excuse me, I know I can race," she said and crossed her arms.

The aqua-haired girl grinned. "Of course you can, you speed demon," she said sweetly and began walking away after closing her locker door.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"To leave you while you await your friend. She might get jealous if she sees you talking to me," she replied to the blonde and continued walking, stifling a giggle.

Haruka quickly caught up with Michiru. "You know I'm just joking, right?"

"Oh, are you? 'Cuz I'm not."

The tomboy's face went downcast.

Michiru laughed then and Haruka's face lit back up.

Kami-sama, I love… her laugh, thought Haruka as they walked to homeroom together.

A/N: I hope you were able to pick up on my subtle hints on what's to come, particularly between Ruka and that b--, I mean her gf. Following chapter(s) are already in progress. I have a one-shot undergoing final revisions to ease what's coming, or just provide something else to read while waiting. Alright, I'll shut up, I might be saying too much now. One more thing: Some of you may have recognized a phrase from FFVIII, so I wanna make sure I credit that. I couldn't resist.