Author's Notes: Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Sailor Moon, Haruka, Michiru or any of that cast and crew.
Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! I always love to see how much people enjoy reading my work. It's a complex. Every writer has it (even those who claim otherwise). ^_^ Anyway! We're onto the next segment! Life just continues to get more difficult and convoluted for our beloved couple. I want to pet them. . However! I actually got some writing done so we're getting closer to being able to publish more regularly again! Please enjoy this chapter and I'll continue to work diligently so that I can get more updated soon.
"I don't like it."
"You don't have to like it. I don't like it, but it makes sense." Aqua waves bounced as Michiru paced the length of her room. She cast an exasperated look toward the vanity, catching her own blue eyes and shaking her head to clear the anger from them. It wouldn't serve any purpose anyway. Of course, while she understood the value of her move, the voice on the other end of the phone stubbornly disagreed.
"It makes sense to go on a date? With a man?"
She threw her hand in the air, not that anyone could see it. "Recon, Uranus." The title was whispered through clenched teeth. It had become easier to refer to each other as Uranus and Neptune, or U and N depending on the situation. Far easier than forcing the honorifics that only built up resentment for the royal family.
"Don't pull that shit with me."
"That shit, as you so eloquently put it, is a chance for me to get close to Endymion's guard."
The voice on the other end of the line became quiet, only the breathing and crackle of wind in a cell phone betrayed the connection was still live. Michiru stopped in her pacing, glancing worriedly at the phone.
"How do you expect that to work? Didn't you say Ami-chan knew you weren't into men?" The voice was resigned now. Michiru knew Haruka wouldn't order her not to do it, but the concern was valid.
"He's escorting me, and she knows I don't tell anyone my preferences."
"So in other words, you're using him in part to stay in the closet?" The last word was spoken with such venom it took Michiru by surprise.
Neptune, however, never took kindly to being surprised in that way. "Yes, just as you are going to have to go get yourself a new toy, Haruka-san," she emphasized the honorific. "After all, Super Formula's prize playboy has been single for almost an entire month. We can't have that."
A sigh. "Is that really what we've been reduced to?"
Michiru collapsed onto her bed, groaning as she did so. "I suppose it is. Neither of us can bring ourselves to break faith, but staying is unbearable." She closed her eyes, trying to keep the tears that suddenly threatened from appearing, "Uranus, I'm sorry. If I knew how to release you-"
"No. Stop. I don't want to be released. I don't want it to have meant nothing." The broken voice on the other end shattered the dam keeping Michiru's tears in.
"It meant everything. Had the price been anything less than our Princess..."
"I know. Go on your date. Don't let him do anything I'll have to kill him for later."
Michiru chuckled, wiping tears even as they continued to fall. "I won't. You know, it would have been so much easier if we could have hated each other here."
A choked chuckle. "No, it wouldn't, but it's nice to pretend."
##
The evening was going well, in so far as the facade she'd constructed was working perfectly. Mamoru's friend, the former head of Endymion's guard, was properly intrigued. He'd been attentive, exceptionally so. Had he been any less refined, she'd almost have called the attention oppressive. She'd have to remember to thank Setsuna properly for being a hermit and leaving her the most appropriate choice to ask.
As the band began the next set, she felt her date shift next to her. Glancing briefly toward her princess, she saw that Usagi curling against Mamoru. The long blond ponytails spilled everywhere and she thought she saw his hand stray toward one tenderly. The movement, however, had left some space between she and Usagi, allowing or encouraging her date to push intimacy.
Her companion, Maeda Katashi, was a partner in an independent music label, Kun Records. He'd sheepishly admitted to having been too attached to the name to change it. The label currently only had a few artists, mostly independents who no longer wanted to do all of their own marketing and production contracts. Apparently this meant Michiru was the perfect date for him. There was, of course, a small problem, two if you counted the one she would deny to her grave.
From the standpoint of aesthetic senses, she imagined he was considered quite handsome by those who were attracted to men. He was well built, but not overly bulky. The angles to his face were strong and his movements smooth. It was obvious he had been raised by a more traditional family as he moved with her, opening doors and shifting to walk to the outside of the sidewalk. All in all, she imagined someone would be very lucky to have his attentions. She simply wasn't that girl.
The person she had thought might have been a better fit for him was Haruka's ex, not that she'd mention as such, duty was far more important. The thought brought her back to why she was suffering this farce to begin with.
The weaving of voices and instruments from the stage couldn't keep her interest. When she looked up, she'd realized they were already on a different song. She frowned. It took a great deal for her to ignore music even if the complexity was lacking some.
"I hope I'm not the reason for your twitches." The gentle baritone caressed her ear, causing her hair to shift and wave with his breath. She stiffened and hoped she could pass it for standard shivers.
Michiru shook her head, "No. I'm simply feeling a little overwhelmed."
He nodded, "Perhaps a walk? The park is becoming very crowded, isn't it?"
Grateful for the out, Michiru nodded. The fact that he'd had to shift closer to her when Mamoru and Usagi had started cuddling had only been one symptom of the larger problem: a very popular boy band and no designated seating.
She accepted his hand on the small of her back as he guided her through a crowd all too willing to slide into the space vacated by the couple. Once free of the crowd, however, his hand remained and Michiru willed herself not to move away from it. The crowd thinned considerably as they approached a fountain. Her companion maintained his expression, ice-blue eyes scanning the world around them.
Away from the crowd, she found it easier to look at him, to log the small details that had hidden themselves while they were sitting still. How his hand strayed on occasion, fingers flexing as they itched to hold something. The particular way he shifted his body as they weaved through people, turning slightly toward her but shifting his body just a little away, enough room to draw the sword he wasn't wearing. His steps were measured, his posture impeccable, even when he craned his neck to look down at her.
"You are a mysterious woman, Michiru-san."
She laughed lightly, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. "Oh?"
"Yes. You are a musician, but you were bored back there." He nodded behind them to the concert they'd left but could still hear strains from.
She blushed. She hadn't planned on being as distracted as she had been, but dating as a cover wasn't her usual tactic. "I'm not sure how that makes me mysterious. It could have been just a matter of personal taste."
"But it wasn't," he countered and her blue eyes flashed, clashing with his. "Your fingers tapped with the melody but your mind was elsewhere. The music hadn't taken you there, so I'm left to wonder if you were wishing you were somewhere else. Or is it perhaps with someone else?"
Her heart raced. His assertions had been far too close to the mark for comfort, but even as she knew his words were true, she was shaking her head, denying it. "It wasn't the company. Truly."
She watched as a silver eyebrow went up, his eyes scanning her face before hardening slightly. "I think it beyond time we end these childish games, don't you, Kaioh-san?"
Her hand itched for her phone, but she forcibly kept it relaxed. "What game is that, Maeda-san? I was under the impression that Mamoru-san had wanted to invite you out and they were in need of someone to accompany you to prevent awkwardness." The coldness of Neptune crept into her voice despite her best efforts to remain warm and flirting.
She watched as his eyes searched hers, noticed when they lingered on her lips then returned to her eyes. The warmth that had been there early in the evening had disappeared completely. However, to the other couples, they just appeared another couple having a small spat, the kind that prefaced a stolen kiss and affected offense. To Michiru, his eyes told a different story. He was looking for a breach. He knew there was a facade, he just hadn't identified it.
"And you weren't interested beyond that?"
She turned from him, accepting the risk of not being able to see his face in order to prevent him from seeing hers. Leaning against the railing, she looked over the fountain, watching the water droplets in the streetlights. "I accepted a blind date," she chuckled. "I'm not entirely sure how interested I'm supposed to be."
He leaned down, arms on either side of her, trapping her against the railing. Her mind registered where his arms were, how much room she had to collapse to the ground and swing around to be on the other side of the railing if she had to. So long as both hands were on either side of her, wrapped around the railing, she wouldn't move. His breath on her ear, against her neck caused her breath to hitch. This was going too far.
"What do you want with him? Because if you or your friend hurts him, I can make you hurt in ways your nightmares can't even come up with."
The thrill that went through Michiru, she didn't bother trying to deny herself. Outwardly, she turned, flashing blue eyes and smiling sweetly. The railing dug into her back, but she didn't care. He was awake. That was what mattered. He was awake and knew who Mamoru was.
"Are you quite certain you can make such a claim? My nightmares have been known to be quite horrific. I really doubt you could come up with worse. However," she waved her hand slightly, maneuvering it between their chests in the process, "I have no interest in him aside that he is my friend's fiancé. "
The surprise at her lack of cowering was noted, an acceptable loss to Michiru to see his true intent. Soon enough, he regained his composure. His face smoothed and he tilted her head up, leaning close. Despite knowing that they looked about to kiss, Michiru could feel the tension in his body, see the ice in his eyes.
"I don't know who you are, Kaioh-san, but I will find out. It'll be much easier if you just tell me." Their lips nearly touching, Michiru held her position, allowing him to think he had the upper hand. Physically, he did. However, there were other parameters to a battle than brute force.
"But not nearly as much fun. After all," she breathed, tilting her head up as if to offer him a kiss, then she shifted slightly, her hand going around his neck as she rose on her toes, "I thought you said you didn't want a childish game."
A moment later, she'd released him and slipped under his arm. She felt his eyes on her as she left him. He didn't follow her. She hadn't expected him to. He wouldn't make his move tonight. For that, she would need to wait. Maeda Katashi was going to be a problem. The question was, how much of a problem.
And what kind of problem. Presuming Pluto's reconnaissance was accurate, the conflict of interests should be minimal. Should left an awful lot of wiggle room for chaos.
##
Haruka waved the waitress over again. She knew better than to drink as much as she was, but the next race wasn't for another few weeks and drinking meant she wouldn't follow Michiru on her pseudo date. She leaned her head back, turning the glass upside down and emptying its contents as she did so. The waitress, Miki, she remembered vaguely, was prompt with another beer.
She smiled at the woman, winking and earning a blush in response. The moment Miki had turned away, Haruka frowned. The blush had been too ready, too bright. There hadn't been any confidence in it. No strength.
She pulled the beer closer. By all rights, she should have been spying on her partner. Backup, or whatever excuse she wanted to call it, but it would only ever be an excuse, and well, she didn't trust Uranus to not kill the man. Given the urges she'd had at least three times in the past hour to leave and hunt him down that was a realistic fear.
No, Michiru could handle it, and if that failed, Neptune would step in. She just had to keep reminding herself of that.
So she stayed where she was, contemplating her third beer, or was it her fourth? Fourth. She'd downed the first one far more quickly than she wanted to admit to. The waitress before Miki had given it to her. Right.
"That is far too much drinking alone. If you want to drink that much, let me at least join you." Haruka looked up, looking for the pretty girl she'd obviously missed when it registered that she was the one being hit on.
The woman was tall, well-proportioned and very tastefully dressed. Haruka figured her to be nearly her own height, if she were to venture a guess. Her pale hair cascaded down her back in a waterfall reflecting a slight blue-purple tint in the light. Given the play between light and shadow, she couldn't be sure the exact hue. What she could tell was that the woman had been serious and was currently smiling at her, glancing between her and the empty bench opposite her. With an absent gesture, Haruka invited her to sit with her then waved over to have Miki bring a second drink.
"Tenoh Haruka." She wasn't in the mood to introduce herself, but well, pretty girls were always good for a distraction and she needed one hell of one tonight.
"I know who you are." The words fell from lips with just the right shade of lipstick. Still, to Haruka's ears they were a cold shower. Being known and publicly drunk was never a good combination.
"Then you have me at a disadvantage." She smirked, falling to her default defense. "Not that I generally mind when a beautiful woman has me at a disadvantage."
The woman shook her head, smiling. Her blush was quite different from the waitress. The particular way it rose on her cheeks but not too bright told of a woman with enough experience to not be shocked but not enough to be hardened. In her eyes remained a playfulness that Haruka hoped meant she didn't want anything serious. She could fake a lot of things; that would be asking too much.
"I should hope not. Though I must admit to imagining what you'd look like at someone's mercy. Preferably mine." She bowed, "Patricia Stephenson. Please forgive my rudeness."
Haruka's smile returned. Foreigner. Most likely an exchange program. Her Japanese was too good to be a new student, but either way, there was nothing long term about this. This, she could handle. Patricia would return to wherever she was from and Haruka could fulfill the obligation of playboy. Maybe.
"Nothing to forgive. Always nice when a lady knows what she likes. So, tell me what brings a pretty foreign girl like you to this little corner of Tokyo?"
Patricia picked up Haruka's glass and took a sip of the beer before returning it to her. "The same thing that brings you here. Looking for the right kind of company."
"The discreet kind," Haruka smirked, raising her glass to the woman opposite her. There were advantages to lesbian bars in the high end of Tokyo. The first being that the likelihood of being hit on by a straight girl who she'd have to leave before revealing particular secrets was much smaller though not, as she'd once thought, impossible. The second was that almost universally discretion was more important than money. Everyone here had a secret. Usually several.
She wasn't proud of herself and Michiru's permission was cold comfort, but neither of those kept her from taking the other woman home. Patricia was brash, forward, and very good at being a distraction.