***The conversations between Michiru and Haruka were taken directly from the episode "The Bond of Destiny-Uranus's Distant Past". ***
Chapter 7 – Tenou Haruka
"Come in. I need to clean and bandage that wound. It is the least I can do, considering that you just saved my life." Elsa Gray said as she led me into her apartment. The house was dark. Elsa gestured me to be quiet, and I followed her through a long hallway before we reached her room.
"Sorry, my parents were sleeping. Plus they didn't know I snuck out." Elsa explained after she closed her bedroom door. "Wait here, I am going to get the stuff from the bathroom cabinet."
I stood uncomfortably in the middle of the room, as I watched blood dripping from my arm onto the mat. I quickly looked around the room for something to wrap my arms in. Then I saw her. That beautiful stranger. Her face was plastered on a poster, sitting on top of Elsa's desk.
I found her. Her name was Tenou Haruka. It said on the poster that she was the youngest and the best car racer in Japan. She was staring coldly into the camera, slightly annoyed perhaps. I wondered if she knew she was a soldier yet.
Elsa tapped me on my shoulder. I turned and I saw her mischievous face. "Michiru, do you like what you see?"
"Who is she?" I blushed and asked Elsa.
"She is my cutest rival yet. She is the top car racer in the country AND the fastest runner in the district. I heard she is unbeatable. I am racing against her next week and I will beat her record." Elsa traced her finger around Haruka's face on the poster. "She sure is attractive. But she is not my type. Do YOU want to come to my meet next week?"
"Sure!" I answered too quickly. Elsa winked at me and gladly declared herself as our matchmaker.
I waited anxiously for the entire week. Premonitions were still happening every night and every night, I would look forward to the part of seeing Haruka in it.
One night, I felt a connection to her in the premonition. I sensed her as she sensed me. She was looking right at me. "It's you again," She said. I realized she was precog as well.
"The silence is approaching. We must find the messiah. Only you and I can do it," I said. This was the information I had gathered so far from all my premonitions and I relayed the message to her. Finding the talismans would lead to the messiah, who could then save the world. The tall girl with the staff also said that only Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus could find the talismans.
I woke from the premonition and wished I could go back. Was I right? Did I really feel her in there? I glanced over at the calendar. Two more days till I meet her in real life.
"On your marks, ready, GO."
The race started and Haruka took off like a wind. She ran gracefully around the track, passing everyone with ease. Elsa was doing pretty good, but there was a great gap between them. Haruka easily took the first place home that day. I watched in utter amazement. I felt my heart pounding wildly in my chest. I didn't think this would be possible after Alex, but I felt like I was falling in love already.
After the race, Elsa ran up to me, beaming with excitement. Clearly she was not upset by the fact that she lost to Haruka. "Come, Michiru. She was just finished changing. I want to introduce you to her." Elsa grabbed my hand and raced down the stadium stairs.
"Miss Haruka Tenou, I had heard rumors about you. You really are amazing. I have someone I want to introduce to you," Elsa said. "Come on over, Michiru. This is Michiru Kaioh. She's really intelligent and she's said to be a prodigious painter. She says she's interested in you."
"You are not sweating much. Perhaps you were holding back quite a bit?" I said to Haruka.
"What do you mean?"
"Can't you hear the sound of wind rustling?" I said cryptically. She said that once in the premonition. I wondered if she recognized me.
"You are weird. So what do you want with me?" Haruka asked.
My heart sank when I heard that. She did not recognize me after all. "Will you be a model for one of my drawings?" I quickly asked her as she was turning to leave. If I could get her alone, perhaps I could explain everything to her.
"I'll pass. I don't like stuff like that." She said without turning her head.
I bowed my head, disappointed. Somehow I thought she would embrace her destiny like I did. If she was already a soldier, she could fight with me. I wouldn't ever have to fight alone again.
After that encounter, I thought that would be the last time I see Haruka. So I was surprised to see her in the audience when I was performing on a cruise at Tokyo bay. Later I learned that it was because of Elsa Gray. She somehow convinced Haruka to come hear me play. I guess Elsa really wanted to repay me for saving her life. She knew my feelings towards Haruka and she had been relentless in her matchmaking schemes.
I went to look for Haruka as soon as I finished my performance. I saw she left through entrance A and I followed her. I found her standing in the middle of the stairs, looking incredibly handsome in her black suit. I was slightly pleased to find her staring at one of my doomsday paintings. Lately, I had been selling my artworks as a way of earning money. So was the performance tonight.
I asked her, "do you like the painting".
"The end of the world. I'm surprised that a well-to-do girl who can't even kill one bug can draw such a tragic fantasy." Haruka said cruelly.
"It's not a fantasy!" I felt anger rising inside of me. "I can see that scene clearly! Just like you can…"
"This is stupid." Haruka interrupted. "I am Haruka Tenou, the first junior racer in Japan. Memories of my previous life or the end of the world have nothing to do with me. If someone has to do it, then YOU can do it."
"Don't be so selfish. I wanted to become a violinist, I have dreams too. I can't do something stupid like saving the world from destruction." I yelled back at Haruka. I thought of all the sacrifices I made. My life as normal Michiru was over the moment I grabbed the transformation wand. The awakening of Sailor Neptune meant sacrificing parts of Michiru, including her dream. I knew I could never be a violinist. I choked back my tears and I left. "How could she deny that? After everything she saw in the premonition…" I thought.
Elsa found me later, crying in my dressing room. She assumed I was crying because I was rejected. In a sense, I was; but not in the way she imagined. When I felt her in my premonition, there was a sense of hope. Now, I wasn't sure if that might have been wishful thinking.
Elsa patted me gently on the back and said, "Don't give up. I am pretty good at reading people. I think Haruka likes you back. She is just being weird because she is famous. Here. Let's go to her car race on Sunday. Talk to her then." I nodded, but I wasn't convinced. Perhaps the world was doomed.