Michiru lay in bed that night reading a book by the light of her table lamp. The novel was a nice, short romance, a quick read, and she was enjoying it so far. She reached up and turned the page, when something caught her eye. Haruka was standing in her doorway, looking at her.

"How long have you been there?" Michiru asked with a smile.

"Not long," Haruka did not return the smile, and Michiru's own faded. She cornered the page that she was on in her book and set it on the bedside table with a worried look.

"What's wrong?"

Haruka looked off out the brand new window, out at the city, not answering. She looked deeply contemplative, as she usually did as of recent events.

"Tell me, Haruka," Michiru whispered. Haruka looked at her closely.

"When I was driving Setsuna home, we talked about the new enemy. We talked about how she said she might hurt Chibiusa."

Michiru nodded gravely.

"Setsuna said something that struck me as odd, but it was only because it was coming from her," Haruka thought a moment, then continued, "I don't think it was what she said, but really how she said it."

Michiru gripped her white down comforter a bit nervously. "What did she say?"

"She said, 'I won't let anything happen to Chibiusa,' but she said it in such a way that it really struck me."

Michiru's lower lip trembled, but Haruka was no longer looking at her. She was looking out and away again. "H-How did she say it?"

"It wasn't until I heard Serena say it that I really recognized it. She sounded like a mother protecting her child."

Michiru suddenly burst into tears. She crawled out of bed and over to Haruka, seeking to be held and comforted.

"Jesus, Michiru!" Haruka exclaimed, holding out and by the shoulders, "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"Th-th-the mirror! I c-c-cou-couldn't t-tell, oh god—" Michiru's stammering voice was lost in her sobs, then. Haruka shook her roughly once by the shoulders.

"Get a hold of yourself! What the hell are you trying to tell me?"

"Don't do th-this to m-m-me!" Michiru cried, ripping out of Haruka's grip and stepping back. She turned away from Haruka. "I m-m-made a promise n-not to tell anyone!"

"Christ, what are we, fifteen?!" Haruka yelled, exasperated. She threw her arms in the air in enragement. "You're not going to tell me what you know because of some stupid promise?! Shows how much you trust me!"

Michiru turned around, slow hurt and shock registering on her face. Haruka instantly melted, and her fury with Michiru's obduracy collapsed. "Oh, Michiru, I'm sorry."

"No," Michiru whispered. She grabbed her jeans off the bed and started putting them on, tears still coursing down her face. Michiru pushed past Haruka and out to the living room almost before Haruka could react.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"None of your business!"

"You can't leave!" Haruka was yelling as she followed Michiru to the door, "you have no car and I have the only set of keys to the—"

"I don't care!" Michiru screamed in a voice Haruka did not think she had been capable of. "I'm not going to stand here and take this!" She was sloppily pulling on her beige overcoat. "I'm not going to let you yell at me anymore!" Michiru threw open the door to the apartment and slammed it shut as hard as she could.

=-=

"I'm coming!" Setsuna called sleepily. Furious knocking on her apartment door had awakened her. The knocking had continued until she finally reached the door and pulled it open. Setsuna gasped a little upon seeing whom it was. "Michiru!"

Michiru was crying, and Setsuna held out her arms to her. Michiru gratefully accepted the hug. Setsuna took a moment to take in that Michiru was freezing cold, so she must have walked all the way from her apartment to here. She looked like she'd been ready to go to bed, and she clutched her mirror in one hand. The Deep Aqua Mirror.

Setsuna pulled back gently and looked at Michiru, very confused and very concerned. "Are you all right?" She asked.

"I'm not sure," Michiru cried, tears slipping down her cheeks. Setsuna shut the door and they walked into the living room. Setsuna turned on a dim table lamp and lit a few more candles while Michiru collected herself. Setsuna brought a blanket to Michiru and sat down on the other end of the couch, Indian-style, facing Michiru.

"Please," Setsuna asked gently. "Can you tell me what's wrong?"

"I know why you cry, Setsuna," Michiru whispered. Setsuna nodded slowly to show that she understood. "I saw it in the mirror. We were all at the apartment, you, Haruka, and me. We were going to go to a movie. You had just put on makeup. You picked up the mirror to check it and put it back down. I went over to use it and I saw. I saw it the mirror and I'm so sorry. Don't hate me, Setsuna."

"I don't hate you, Michiru," Setsuna said softly, fighting back her own tears as Michiru cried while she spoke.

"Haruka was telling me about you, something about the thing with Chiharu and I just broke. I almost told her everything, but she yelled at me. She thought it was about the enemy, maybe, I don't know. But she yelled at me again and I couldn't take it."

"Michiru, I'm sorry."

They were silent for a moment as Michiru's crying became sniffling. She looked up and said somberly, her voice low, "I have something else to tell you." Setsuna looked at Michiru, and nodded.

"Go ahead."

"Remember when Prince Diamond had the crystals and you were forced to stop time? So Serena could get the crystals back." Michiru did not speak sadly this time, she spoke with some sense of dignity, and she had the tone of a woman who cannot believe just how far a heart will go for the one it loves. Setsuna nodded again, finding that she could not speak. "I watched it happen, in the mirror. As you were dying, I remember… King Endymion… he became so desperate at the thought… of losing you."

Setsuna could no longer keep the tears back, and they came streaming down her face. "Yes," she whispered. "I remember."

The phone rang. Once. Twice. Setsuna's answering machine picked up, and Haruka's voice floated to them from the kitchen. "Setsuna, it's Haruka. Could you tell Michiru to call me, please? I'm really worried about her." Haruka hung up and the machine beeped.

"I can't talk to her right now," Michiru said quietly.

"You can stay here, tonight." Setsuna insisted. "This couch is plenty big enough. And you can borrow some of my clothes, and I'll give you a ride home in the morning." She got up to go get some more blankets for the couch.

Michiru smiled gratefully at her friend, Setsuna. "It's all right. I need to go home and face her."

"Michiru, I don't think that's a good—"

"Setsuna, really."

"Well, at least let me give you a ride."

"No, I just needed some time away. A walk will do me some good."

Setsuna put her hands on her hips and looked skeptically at Michiru. "I'm not going to let you walk home."

Michiru laughed a little and shook her head. "All right." She stood and placed the mirror on the coffee table and her smile faded. "I want you to look. I want you to see what I saw. You shouldn't be so afraid of the past, Setsuna."

"I wish I didn't have to be."