A/N: Here's chapter three for you all! I'm excited for this one, and maybe some of you are too, since this is where our infamous couple finally first meet. It took a while for me to decide how they should meet and I finally came up with this little thing. I enjoy the idea a lot myself, although it might be a bit overused. I want to show how easily they grew accustomed to each other. They aren't in love exactly.. yet. c;
~REVIEW REPLIES~
Panda; I'm glad my story caught your interest! Yes, unfocused Haruka is a bit hard to think about, but I just wanted to show her rage at the moment. I'm glad you're gonna stick along with the story, by the way. c:

Petitaka; You bet she is. xD I'd be pretty hotheaded too if I was in her position. Thanks for commenting~

LitaDelacour; I agree with you there. :'D I don't like the Prince either, although he's my own character. I like Naiad as well, and I'm sure you'll grow to like him even more. Hah, of course Michi would fall for Ruka that fast, Haruka's too amazing. xD

Haruki97; Neither of them are too happy, but maybe that'll change. c;

Thanks everyone else for the reviews!

Michiru stood at the edge of the moving waters, barefoot and feeling the water continuously crash against her feet. Her toes wiggled in the damp sand and she relished in the feeling, closing her eyes while the soft roar of the sea filtered into her ears. She took in a light breath, practically tasting the salt in the air, unconsciously stepping closer towards the water. At the feeling of the waves crashing against her legs now, she relaxed more then before, swaying slightly.

It really didn't matter to her that the tips of her deep blue sundress were getting wet. She would even step closer and not care about submerging her whole body in the salty, calm sea. A wet sundress was a small price to pay for the amazing feeling of being at home. The ocean could always calm her easily, no matter what was happening. That was why she always came here when she needed to think… or even just to not think. Just to allow the sea to wash her mind of what she was feeling.

It was to be expected though, seeing that her planet was one of the sea. That was why she often wondered why the guards didn't check the beach first when she went missing... which had been happening far too often. She furrowed her brows at a gust of wind that blew past her, sea green locks swayed by the air. Today wasn't windy, was it? However, despite the odd occurrence, she felt herself be more soothed then anything at it.

"Didn't expect to find a beauty up this early."

At the husky voice she tensed up slightly. A person? Here, at this time? She was certain nobody would have come to the beach this early. The sun hadn't even rose yet, the sky only lit by the twinkling of other stars and planets, and most noticeably, the moon. It would turn dawn soon, however, to have someone find her this early… Then again, this person seemed to be wondering the same exact thing.

"Didn't expect for anyone to be here either," She retorted gently, waiting for the voice to respond again with curiousity. She couldn't tell who's voice it was. Michiru doubted she knew who it was, the tone was just far too unfamiliar to even put a finger on. She didn't know who the person was… so why wasn't she nervous about who it might be? She was a princess, meaning anything could easily happen to her if her identity was found out. But she was still so calm…

"Touché," The statement was followed by a light chuckle and she heard a few footsteps. Curiosity got the best of her and she turned around, raising an eyebrow at the sight in front of her.

A young teenager in a tan military uniform stood only a few feet away from her, lips quirked up in a handsome and friendly smile. Their hair was short and side-swept by the wind, blond locks falling over an eye. In the darkness Michiru could decipher sharp, murky teal-gray eyes that shined with interest. Broad, masculine shoulders were covered by the uniform, the person's build strong yet lithe. The Princess could easily see that if she stood next to the person they would tower a good five inches above her.

The thing that caught her interest the most though, was the golden emblem of Uranus embroidered on the coat next to all the other badges. A Uranian solider? No, a Sergeant Major General, judging from all those badges. What would one of them be doing here? "You're a visitor?" The question seemed to catch the other off guard and another chuckle was heard. Michiru lifted her gaze up to meet the other's, a surprised look slipping onto her face at the amused grin on the blond's face.

"Wow, do I really look that out of place here?" The blond spoke again, stepping closer and rubbing the back of their head. "I probably should have changed my clothes. It must be a little odd to see a random soldier come up to you at an unknown time in the morning, huh?"

"You don't know the time?" Michiru saw the stranger shake her head and she giggled softly, turning her gaze back up to the sky, the darkness being illuminated slowly but surely. "It's just about to be dawn, actually." When the unknown Uranian made a move to stand next to her, Michiru allowed it. She was surprised at how the stranger easily stepped into the water next to her, uncaring of the now drenched pants. She was sure that anyone else would be annoyed at having their clothes drenched. This person stepped into the water almost as if she gave no thought to it at all.

"Sorry if I disturbed you or anything," The stranger suddenly spoke up again, prompting Michiru to raise an eyebrow again and turn to look at the man. Man… anyone would have made that mistake, but Michiru caught something. In the dim light from the rising sun, she could faintly see the swell of breasts under the uniform. Not only that, but even under the masculine clothing and husky voice, she could faintly make out the feminine outlines of the blond. Now came the next question: why was this woman dressed as a man?

"It's just that seeing a beautiful woman like you drew me over here." Just hearing that sentence Michiru let out a faint laugh, covering her mouth with her hand and shaking her head. She could feel the other girl's surprised gaze on her form while she laughed, and when she opened her eyes to look at the blond, her giggles increased at the surprised expression. Not only was this women dressed like a man, but now she was flirting? Michiru couldn't help but let herself giggle.

"Sorry, sorry." She apologized with an amused smile, looking at the slightly embarrassed female with slight smile on her face. "Before you start using horrid pick-up lines on me, how about a name?" There was a small silence after this before either of them spoke.

"… Ruka, my name is Ruka." The feminine name made Michiru smile slightly. Only more proof she was right that this was a girl and not a man. An attractive girl, she had to admit. That must have sounded odd, because it sure did to the aquanette in her mind. Since when had she found any female attractive? It could be due to the fact that the stranger was dressed like a male, so she did have an excuse.

"Michi," Michiru stated, not using her full name on purpose. Even if this was a foreigner she still couldn't risk letting out her identity. Not every foreigner was oblivious to the name of the Princess of Neptune, and if she knew... there would surely be trouble if that was the case. No matter how nice a person was, no one knew what they were truly thinking.

"Well then, Michi, it's a pleasure to meet you." Sparkling white teeth showed in a grin as Ruka bent down slightly, grasping Michiru's hand and lifting it up to her lips to kiss gently. Michiru's lips tinted a light pink before she tugged her hand away from Ruka, smiling at the dumbfounded face on the girl's face.

"As it is to meet you too, Ruka." Said girl blinked a few times before recovering and turning back to look at the rising sun. "Are you here for vacation?" Michiru said curiously, watching the blond from the corner of her eyes.

"Vacation? I wish. I have some business to attend to here, but not until little while. My shuttle recently arrived…" Ruka admitted, gaze on the sunset. She felt relaxed around this girl, oddly enough.

"You're a General, aren't you?"

A light laugh and Ruka's eyes shifted back to Michiru. "Did you really examine me so closely? I know it's hard not to stare and all, but…" A satisfied feeling built up inside the flirty female at the sight of Michi's embarrassed blush, and she heard the female huff quietly. Had she gotten on one of her nerves?

"A conceited one, aren't you?" Michiru stuck her nose up in the air, closing her eyes again and proceeding to speak with a devilish little smile. "In all honesty, you aren't all that cute." She had to hold back another giggle at the childish whine from beside her. Since when had she been able to converse this freely with someone?

"What? Michi, you're a cold girl towards me already, and I barely know you…" The tone was laced with faux sadness.

"And you're a weird girl—" She looked at Ruka with a smug yet small smile at the girl's obvious shocked expression. She had hit the nail right on the head; this Ruka didn't seem to believe that Michiru had seen through her so easily. "—dressing like a man. Do you do it just to flirt with women freely?"

A stutter was heard while Ruka fought for words, before a sigh left her and she grinned slightly. "You're a smart lady, Michi. I like you." The words came out more sincere then Ruka seemed comfortable with.

"As if that wasn't obvious when you tried to flirt with me." Michiru responded with smile, choosing to not comment on the sincere way the previous words were said. A little after this was said Ruka sneezed, and Michiru took pity on the poor girl. Standing in the water like this was probably something the Uranian wasn't too comfortable with. Uranus didn't have many seas, she was told once.

"Let's get out of this water, it's looks like you're—" Just about to finish her words she was surprised when the other grabbed her hand, dragging her out of the sea and onto the shore, where Ruka continued to sneeze. The walk was short, yet by the time they made it Ruka was already having a fit, sneezes leaving at different intervals. Michiru wasn't sure whether to laugh or feel concerned, so she bit back whatever comments she might have and watched instead. Amused.

"Ugh," Ruka went to speak after her fit stopped, and she looked at Michiru sheepishly. Michiru smirked knowingly at her. Had this poor General sacrificed her own comfort zone just to get closer to the other female? How incredibly stupid. "You aren't used to being in water like that, are you? There aren't many seas in Uranus, as far as I know."

Ruka scoffed and went to defend herself. "I-It was freezing! I don't know what you're talking about." Ruka slid off her jacket, wringing out the hem of the shirt where it had gotten wet the most. She suddenly wished she could strip her pants off to wring them out too, without seeming odd. Just now she was feeling the irritation of her pants clinging to her skin. The feeling was less then pleasant, honestly.

"Nonsense, the water was at it's normal temperature. Room temperature, that is." Michiru responded easily with that knowing smile still on her face, not affected by her new friend's scowl in the least. Now with her jacket off and only in a white sleeved button down, Michiru could clearly see the feminine shape of her body. If the jacket covered up that much, then Michiru wondered how it looked when she had armor on. On the battlefield it must be an intelligible thing, her gender.

"That's room temperature for you? Man, I'd hate to see what cold is…" Ruka mumbled softly.

"And here I heard that Uranians had some of the most fearless soldiers, yet right in front of my eyes is a whining General." Ruka attempted a glare at the aqua-haired girl, only able to keep it for a little while before letting out a shivering laugh and sneezing again.

Ruka smirked while she spoke again. "I can't stay angry at a beautiful girl like you." This made Michiru roll her eyes and respond with a smile and a teasing tone.

"And here we go with the flirting again."

The two laughed.

-0-

The minutes of chatting drawled on and on until the sun was high, skies turning a light blue and people beginning to leave their houses. The morning chatter of townspeople slowly built up until it was a constant factor in the background of the two's conversations. Darkness was no longer an issue between the two and they could now see each other clearly, murky teals and deep blues staring at each other in amusement. Their conversations had gone on far longer then planned and they came to enjoy each other's company quickly. For Michiru, it was a shock. The female was never a trustworthy person.

But with this Ruka she felt completely at ease. If only she knew that the other felt the exact same way about things.

The two laid on the sand, staring up at the blue sky. Occasionally they'd turn to look at each other in their conversation, Ruka chuckling the entire time and Michiru only sometimes following in with her light giggles. Soon they had both gone quiet, only staring up at the sky, musing inwardly on their conversations.

Michiru sat up in the sand, running a few fingers through her hair and shaking sand out of her wavy hair. She looked over at the blond, completely amused when she just shook her head like a rabid dog and shook her hands in her hair furiously. She snorted when she saw sand come flying out at all angles, smiling softly when Ruka grinned widely at her after she was finished. Sand lingered on both of their clothes, Ruka's jacket abandoned on another patch of sand near them. "Man, what time is it?" Haruka spoke first and yawned, stretching and falling back onto the sand.

"That defeats the purpose of shaking the sand off, you know." Michiru said while standing up and stretching as well, Ruka's question not registering in her mind until a few minutes later.

Time. Time. Time. There was something she was forgetting at the moment, she absolutely knew it. Something slipped through Michiru's mind and at the mention of time she closed her eyes, racking her mind for the information. Her gaze lingered to the sun again as she continued her train of thought. Was it something important? Her gaze wandered back to Ruka, who was putting back on her jacket and fixing it.

The golden emblem of Uranus flashed in the sun's light.

Michiru gasped. "Oh my god," She suddenly mumbled under her breath, something that apparently her friend had caught. Ruka walked towards her cautiously, tilting her head in slight confusion when she saw disbelief crawl onto Michiru's features. "Mich-" She began to say, only to be stopped short by Michiru who was now fixing her dress and turning to look at the blond apologetically. "I have to go," Her voice was laced with urgency that made Ruka blink. She turned to leave, only stopped by the desperate sound of Ruka's voice.

"Michi? Michi, wait, I want to see you again, you know."

Michiru froze in her spot at the tone Ruka was using. Her heart gave a light pang and she was a bit shocked at it for a second, before feeling an odd sadness take over her body as she turned to look at Ruka. Ruka's teal-gray gaze was locked onto her form, eyes questioning, lips quirked down in a frown. A look of worry flashed in Ruka's eyes that Michiru caught easily. "Ruka, I... we'll meet again, trust me." Michiru gestured to the sea before turning to go again.

She was stopped again by a husky voice.

"Haruka. It's Haruka."

Michiru only froze for a second, surprised, before continuing to walk forward. The name sounded familiar... so familiar, yet she couldn't identify it. "... See you, Haruka."

-0-

Only minutes after Michi had left Haruka had felt like something was off. She felt an awkward sensation in her chest, shrugging it off with a scoff and turning to walk into town. She ignored the odd stares from people at her appearance, clearly disheveled. Why had she just carelessly blurted her name out like that? It was dangerous, she should have known not to. She should have known better. Then again, there was something about that girl. A laugh escaped her lips as she shook her head, running a hand through her hair. She had been in a horrible mood before she bumped into the mysterious "Michi", but now she could feel anything but that. Hell, she was more giddy then angry.

"This isn't some kind of stupid love story Haruka, she's just another girl you flirted with." Haruka grinned a bit to try and convince herself some more, eyes glancing over some girls she walked past. They were beautiful, but Haruka couldn't bring herself to walk up to any of them. Not that they would take her the way she looked at the moment either...

Haruka stopped at a stall to check the time, running her fingers over a silver and gold plated watch. Neptunian time. Her eyes scanned the time quickly, and suddenly she froze, remembering something.

Her brother had a meeting with the Queen and Princess of Neptune today. She was to be introduced too.

And she was going to be late.

Ignoring the yell of the shopkeeper and various townspeople, the blond dashed down the streets and towards the castle.

A/N; I'd be lying if I said this chapter wasn't insanely fun to write. I struggled a bit at the beginning, but soon after that everything just came to me. This chapter basically wrote itself, haha. My fingers were the servants. xD This chapter is longer then the first two as well. I didn't expect for it to be as long as it is, but hey, when inspirtation hits you gotta take the chance no matter what, right? I hope you all enjoyed this chappie.
On an insanely random note... I've been watching some clips of Sera Myu and ugh, Nao Uranus = love. She's the most perfect Uranus ever, and her voice, smile, and singing… -melts- I love Yuuka as Neptune too, they have the best chemistry on stage for Uranus and Neptune. So while I wrote this I was listening to Choubi! Uranus to Neptune. Unf, yes.
Comments are appreciated, I'd love to see what you thought of this chapter. c: