Author's Notes: This is a long one, folks. I started it and it just continues to grow. It's becoming a beast. Here's the first installment. Ready... START! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Hi honey, how was your day?" asked Haruka, looking up from the TV to greet her lover, who was just returning home from practice with the Starlights. A race was playing, but knowing how her Michiru felt was a thousand times more important than any old race. The spring in her step and the grin across her face answered the blonde's question immediately. Sitting down to snuggle up against the taller girl, Michiru sighed out her answer. "Oh, it was wonderful! Yaten told me that there's a new music store opening up in the next town over, and he wants me to go there and talk to the owner. I might get paid to play their violins in concert! Can you imagine?" Her eyes were dreamy, and Haruka couldn't help but smile lovingly at her. "Me, a sponsor! All I have to do is play excellent quality violins at charity concerts and they pay me. It's a win-win situation, as they say." Still smiling, Haruka pressed her lips against the top of her girlfriend's head. "Well, that is generally how sponsoring goes. They sponsor you if you're good at something, and if you're good at it, you like it." She thought for a minute. "I think my first sponsor at the track was the Crown Arcade, actually. When I was still doing lightweight cycle racing." Memories overtook Michiru, and she smiled placidly. "Yes, back when we were still looking for the Talismans." They sat quietly, the aqua-haired girl leaning her head on her lover's shoulder and the blonde thinking about the choices she'd made in her life. She had given up any dreams of being a race car driver, along with any hope to get to know any other people her own age. She was no longer allowed to go anywhere she wanted without permission from the Princess, Usagi, and she had to be ready to sacrifice her life for the sake of her Princess, and the world, at the drop of a hat. In return, she had gotten a number of very close friends, a best friend in the form of a certain Time Guardian, a beautiful daughter whom she was incredibly proud of, a very pretty and cute Princess to serve for eternity, and, of course, the very reason for her heart to beat: Michiru herself. Yes, it had definitely been worth it. Burying her nose in aqua hair, she whispered, "I love you so much, Michiru." Smooth, slender arms moved around her shoulders as the shorter girl lifted herself up, facing Michiru, their noses touching. A warm expression crossed her face, the corners of her soft lips turned up in a sexy smile. "I love you, too, Haruka," she replied. They shared a soft kiss, slow and loving. The blonde's hand caressed the other girl's soft cheek, pushing back her hair and then tangling into it. Eventually they pulled away, smiling at each other. A thought struck the young racecar driver then, and she moved her arms around Michiru's waist in order to look at her properly. "When do you have to be at the new store tomorrow?" she inquired. The other girl thought for a second before replying. "Three o'clock. That reminds me, can I borrow your car? I need the back seat room. I promise not to--" "Yeah, sure. You can use it," interrupted Haruka. Silence fell between them, and Michiru's jaw fell open slightly. Then she reached out and felt her lover's forehead. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked cautiously. The other girl laughed, very amused. "Alright, who are you and what have you done with my Haruka?" "Michiru, I trust you. My car is important, but not so important that I won't let you use it. I know you won't do anything to it," she explained, and the aqua-haired girl hugged her quite suddenly. "Thank you, 'Ruka-chan!" she giggled. "Hey, no problem. Just be careful. I want the car back in one piece." They laughed at that, feeling playful and flirty. And seeing as how Setsuna had taken Hotaru to the beach for the weekend, they were quite inclined to feel as such. For the next couple of hours, all they thought about was each other. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The following day, Haruka kissed Michiru goodbye before the violinist had to leave. She was leaving an hour before the allotted time for her arrival, in order to leave time for getting lost and such. After she got back, probably around five o'clock, they would go see a movie, then come back to the apartment for a romantic dinner. Haruka was cooking. Michiru was very excited. Contrary to belief among the other Senshi, Haruka was actually quite a good cook. Even for someone who almost never drove, Michiru could tell that the car drove like a dream. A tap on the gas pedal brought her up to forty miles per hour, and a light pressure on the brake stopped her at a traffic light. The sun beat down on her as she sat waiting for the green light, so she opened up the top and placed her sunglasses on her nose. A car full of boys pulled up next to her, and seeing the girl smiling slightly to herself, they started to cat call and whistle at her. She looked over and her smile widened, before pulling a rather Haruka-esque move and blowing them a kiss. The light switched to green and the engine purred happily as she sped off. The boys took a moment to notice why she had left, and when they did, they laughed and commented on the girl. "Did you see that car? A vintage Ferrari. She's got class!" Another boy whistled in agreement. "She must be loaded!" They laughed as they drove in a separate direction as the girl, one boy commenting on how he would miss her. Michiru put on her turn signal and entered the highway, immediately switching to the middle lane. She drove unobstructed for a while before a truck loomed a bit ahead of her. Not really wanting to be stuck behind a smelly truck in a convertible, she switched to the left lane and increased her speed, hitting 70 MPH. The fastest she herself had ever driven was 80, but she had been in a car with Haruka and had looked over to see her partner driving 120. She had almost passed the truck fully when it swerved into her, apparently not noticing that the smaller, faster car already occupied the left lane. The force of the huge metal death machine forced her car into the concrete barrier with a sickeningly loud crunch and a flash of light as the front caught fire. Pain. She felt pain all over. A warm, sticky liquid began to run down her cheek and she knew immediately that she had to get away from the car, and find something to stop the bleeding. As luck (if it could be called that) would have it, Setsuna had put some towels in the back seat by mistake when packing for the beach and forgotten about them. Reaching back with her unbroken arm, her right, she grabbed two and pressed them against the top of her head. Then, with difficulty, dislodged her legs from between the crushed wheel and the chair, dragging herself from the flaming car. As the flames spread, she knew that it would not ever be drivable again. Then the blackness overtook her and she lost consciousness, lying along the shoulder of the highway, broken and bleeding. The truck driver had swerved fiercely to the right when he realized he had hit her, smashing headlong into the small forest on the right side of the road. He had died on impact. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mamoru and the inner Senshi, minus Ami, were hanging out at his apartment when the phone rang. Laughing at the antics of his bubbly girlfriend, he rushed to pick it up in his bedroom where it would be quieter. "Moshi moshi?" he said as he picked it up. "Mamoru-san?" asked a slightly shaky voice. His eyes widened. "Haruka-san?" When he reentered the room, he placed a hand lightly on Usagi's shoulder and leaned down to whisper something in her ear. She dropped her glass of water on the carpet. When everyone turned to look at her, her eyes were watering. Carefully, with the dignified air of the Princess that they knew she was, she stood and looked at them. "Mamo-chan and I have to go drive Haruka-san to the hospital. Michiru-san's been in an accident." Not waiting to see their reactions, she turned and went to put on her shoes as Mamoru held the door open for her. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Not another one," groaned Ami, as the doors to the E.R. burst open, a bunch of hospital workers running a stretcher to the operation room. Regardless of the fact that her shift was over in a half an hour, Ami and her mother, who now worked as doctors in the same hospital, rushed over to help. But upon seeing the patient, the sea-green hair and pale skin, the young, blue-haired girl gasped and placed a hand over her mouth. "M-michiru-san?!" she breathed, feeling suddenly very sick to her stomach. Catching her daughter's surprised and scared noise, the older Mizuno woman demanded, "What happened here?" "Car accident, a bad one at that. She'd probably be a goner if she hadn't had the sense to stop the bleeding from her head with a towel," explained one of the runners. They crashed through the swinging doors to the operation room, transferring the patient to a table. Ami decided to take charge, and her mother watched with pride as she worked and asked questions. "Has anyone been called to tell them what happened?" she inquired, putting on gloves and speaking mainly of Haruka. "The police called the owner of the car. She's on her way, I think," came the answer. Ami nodded firmly. "Was anyone else involved?" "A truck driver, but he died on sight." As the intensity and seriousness of the situation hit Ami, she had to stop talking to concentrate, else her own tears blur her vision.
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