SailorStar9:. Well, Chapter 2 is up, this is Chapter 3 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?

Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny and the pairing.

Chapter 3: The Meet

Water is such a strange and beautiful thing; it can give life, sustain life or end life. It can be used to wash clothing, prepare food, cleanse one's body, transport objects and people to and fro. It can also be a medium for recreation or a competition field.

And to one Mizuno Ami and seven other young swimmers who had qualified for the finals of the to decide who would enter the National Swim Meet, the water was a battleground.

Across the pool, on one of the metal bleachers, strangely enough, the rest of the girls were not cheering Ami on, but another contender.

There were other swimmers beside Ami, with one of them being exceptionally good or even better than her; her name: Kaioh Michiru.

Fifteen seconds before the match…

"Good luck." The Ocean Senshi whispered to her fellow water warrior.

Ami nodded in response, just as the starter gun went off and all eight girls took off as they raced to the other end of the pool. From early on, it was clear that Ami and Michiru were far ahead of the others; the two were neck-to-neck by the time they reached the halfway mark.

She's gotten better. Michiru was impressed, Ami having touched the wall two-tenths of a second before her. As the Senshi of the Seas made her turn, she saw the younger girl held a slight lead, one that was getting larger by the second.

"Yo, Koneko-tachi." Haruka grinned, taking a seat beside Minako.

"Haruka!" the girls greeted the older Senshi.

"We're here to cheer Michiru on." Rei supplied.

Haruka's answer was cut off when a loud buzzer echoed through the stadium and the results lit up on the scoreboard.

Mizuno Ami: 42.573 seconds

Kaioh Michiru: 42.58 seconds

Takamura Elisa: 44.418 seconds

Lee Minoka: 45.163 seconds

Beri Yui: 45.703 seconds

The last three hadn't mattered; all that mattered were the first two names on the board, and the fact that for the first time, Michiru had lost to the younger Senshi.

"Very well done." Michiru praised, the two girls climbed out of the pool and the older Senshi gave the younger girl a hug.

"That was a wonderful race, Michiru." Ami agreed, both their swimming caps were pulled off.

"Yo, blue kitty." Haruka greeted the younger Senshi, tossing a light blue towel to her, as Usagi and the others clamour around Michiru. "I see you've improved from last time."

"Michiru should have won." Usagi voiced her complaint. "Ami must've cheated: there's no way she could be faster; Michiru has always been the faster one."

"Congratulations on the win." Izuki voiced, surprising Ami at the corridor. "Here." He handed her two stalks of flowers wrapped in plastic; a nasturtium and a single red rose in full bloom.

"You came." Ami blinked, accepting the flowers.

"Only at the last lap." Izuki replied. "I came alone; Hyuuga and Kuroko aren't here."

SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.