~~*Flashback*~~ Haruka detransformed, her emerald eyes sparkling fiercely. "Can we do it again?" Michiru laughed, letting her own transformation fade away, glancing at the damage her partner's 'World Shaking' had done. Uranus was really powerful, and Michiru felt a surge of pride and longing as she let her eyes linger on the tall blonde. "No, Haruka-san. We have practiced enough for today. You're a natural; I don't know why you fought your destiny for so long." Haruka looked at her hands, eyes clouding. "In my dreams, I have blood on my hands. I think I'm afraid of that." "Some sacrifices must be made to save the world, Haruka-san." Michiru slid her hands into Haruka's and smiled. "But for now, the training is over." She looked around. "What should we do now?" Haruka felt a strange yet annoyingly familiar prick between her shoulder blades as she remembered Michiru's words from the cruise. "We could go cruising along the beach in my convertible." Michiru blushed, the pale pink contrasting with her aqua hair and sapphire eyes. "I can't believe you remembered that." "Of course I did." Haruka took Michiru's limp hand in hers and pulled her back toward the gold convertible waiting on the empty lot. Bowing gracefully, Haruka held the door for the woman who was still wearing a shirt too long for her, slipping into the driver's seat and speeding off toward the beach. Michiru leaned back in the seat, eyes closed in the warmth of the sun, hair flying in the cool winds. The wind belonged to her partner, and she knew that the breeze was just to tease her. In her mind, she could see Haruka beside her in her fight, and she no longer felt so alone. Besides, that woman was hot! Michiru caught herself, wondering where the last thought came from, but she decided that she really didn't care. It was true. She had never thought of herself as gay, but she realized that she had never been this attracted to anyone. She was falling for Haruka, and it no longer matter if she was a lesbian or bi; she was falling in love. She opened her eyes and glanced at the blonde, smiling at the intense concentration on Haruka's face. The woman lived to go fast. Michiru briefly wondered if she did everything that fast, but she pulled her wavering concentration back to the scenery they passed as they neared the beach. That path need not be tread. Haruka glanced at the aqua-haired beauty riding in her car as they stopped near the water in a secluded bay, white sand reaching to the singing sea. Michiru sighed as she slipped out of the car and pulled off her shoes, feeling the warm sand between her toes. Haruka turned off the car and followed the smaller woman, feeling strangely compelled to stay near her. "Michiru-san?" "Nani?" "Do you remember any of your past life?" "Not really, but I know that I knew you." Michiru fumbled with the buttons on her borrowed shirt, and Haruka's eyes widened. "What are you doing?" "What does it look like? I'm going for a swim." "Don't you usually wear a bathing suit?" "Yeah, but not when I'm alone. It's more natural this way and I feel so free." Michiru dropped the shirt above the high-tide mark and slipped out of her skirt. The naked sea nymph turned to her free-flying partner and began to undo the buttons on Haruka's shirt. "Whoa! What are you doing?" "You're coming swimming with me, of course." "Why did you say you wanted me to take off my top, again?" "To go swimming," as if it were completely obvious. "No one will see us, if you're afraid of the world learning that you're not a man." "Michiru!" "Oh, come on, be a sport! Skinny dipping is fun! Get those clothes off!" Moments later, Haruka found herself completely naked almost completely against her will, and being dragged up to her neck in water before she could tell the sea senshi that she couldn't swim. Michiru somehow already knew, and she was ready and willing to be the teacher. Urakaze sharpened his arrows as he watched the new partners cavort in the water. "This seems to have worked fairly well." "Are you the one that got Haruka to bring Michiru to the beach?" "It only took three arrows," 557 growled. "She sure is a tough case. But they really like each other, and I'm sure that I can get them to admit their feelings soon. Anyway, Asa-chan; how are Usagi and Mamoru?" ~~*End Flashback*~~ *~*~*~*~*~*~* "But that didn't happen for a long time," Urakaze sighed as he sipped his drink. "It's like they knew I was trying to set them up and they decided to resist every effort. Try to remember, Rikuriko-san, that every case is individual. Some are easy and some are near impossible, but there is always a way with soulmates." "Haru wasn't my soulmate," Rikuriko whispered. "She liked me and everything, but her destiny was some aqua-haired woman she kept dreaming about." Asakaze raised an eyebrow. "Haru? That's a cute name." "Oh, she wasn't that cute! She was determined that the world see her as a man. She hated cute and vulnerable, except in her girlfriends. I know we were only together for a short time, but at least she made me feel special. She was so beautiful, with her short blonde hair and those green eyes . . . I think I might miss her. Hey! Can Cupids look in on the living?" "Usually. What was your girl's name?" Asakaze waved her hand, and a small crystal globe appeared between her palms, sparkling as it collected the light in the clouds. "Haru what?" "I don't think her name was really Haru, but she was hiding from something and didn't love me, so she never told me the truth. Honestly, I never wanted to ask. I saw her last name once, but I only remember the first kanji of the two—Ten, Heaven. We met and lived in Shikoku for a short time before I died." Asakaze waved her hand, and a list of people living on Shikoku Island appeared. She narrowed it down to people with a last name beginning with Ten and a first name including Haru, but all the names vanished. "Rikuriko-san, when did you die?" "Summer 1992, why?" Asakaze altered her search preferences to only include women living on Shikoku in 1992, and her eyes widened. A face appeared in the globe, and Rikuriko nodded, identifying her girlfriend. "Ura-kun, Misete. It's Haruka!" "What?" Urakaze leaned forward, and his eyes widened. "Of course," he whispered. "She was using a glamour! That sneaky senshi! I set you up with Michiru's soulmate! No wonder she was so wary of falling in love with Michiru if she lost her former girlfriend to rape and assault! It all makes sense now . . . poor Haruka." Rikuriko's face fell. "You mean that's Haruka? The one you've been telling me about? But she was never like that with me. She was always so in control." "Michiru breaks through her walls, since they're soulmates." "Tell me about their time in Tokyo, Urakaze-san. I suddenly feel the need to know what my girlfriend's been up to in the time that has passed during my ascension." *~*~*~*~*~*~* ~~*Flashback*~~ Urakaze grinned as he released arrow after arrow, enjoying the Lover's Affection Contest. This was his playground, and he was having fun! He stopped still when Haruka and Michiru, his pet project, sauntered onto the field, arms linked, looking for all the world like true lovers, though he knew they never slept together. He watched, amused, as they came close to winning the contest and forfeited in favor of Umino Gurio and Osaka Naru, returning to fight as Sailor Neptune and Uranus when the daimohn appeared. The contest ended and the pair left, no longer touching. Urakaze sometimes wondered if they would ever let their true feelings show through. ~~*End Flashback*~~ *~*~*~*~*~*~* So that was it, then. Eugial knew who owned the talismans, and that day three innocent people had to die to save the world from a danger they could never fathom. Haruka listened to the inept woman leave her message, her mind flying far away. She would almost prefer the Silence to the constant battles and sacrifices and the loss of herself. There were so many things she wanted to do, so many things she wanted to tell Michiru, but they had made a promise not to let their personal feelings get in the way of their mission. And their mission was very clear. Her hands were already dirty, blood dripping from her fingers, and she remembered her first day as Sailor Uranus when she told Michiru that. 'My hands are so dirty,' she thought, looking up in shock at Michiru. The aqua-haired woman stood beside her, dressed in the bathing suit she had been wearing during her daydreams earlier, a towel in her hand. She sat on the window sill and took Haruka's hands, understanding in her sapphire eyes. "Don't worry, Haruka, I like your hands." In those words were so many more that Michiru wanted to say but couldn't, and she moved as if to leave the windowsill. Urakaze was frankly tired of it. "I will not lose them before they admit their feelings, he growled. "Asakaze, Rikuriko, I need your help." Cupids 374 and 779 Omicron appeared, arrows ready. He could sense something between those two, something he could use, and he pointed at the annoying couple. "Shoot them." The woman shrugged as Rikuriko let an arrow pierce Michiru's heart and Asakaze released one of hers into the blonde. Their arrows were followed instants later by Urakaze's, one into each woman. And it finally, finally worked. Haruka gasped as she felt two sharp pains in her side, in her heart, and she looked around, wondering where they had come from. But the only person in the room was Michiru, and she was . . . gorgeous. Haruka let her eyes caress that perfect form, her breathing unsteady, and she realized that Michiru's hand in hers was freeing itself to caress her cheek. "Michiru," Haruka breathed, pulling the aqua-haired senshi into her arms. "I want to tell you something." "Aishiteru," Michiru purred, really not sure where the word came from. But it was true. She loved the blonde with all her heart, all her soul, and if they were going to die, Haruka had to know. She swallowed, wondering what Haruka would do. The blonde stood, slipping her arms under Michiru's back and legs, carrying the younger woman to her room. Laying her on the bed, Haruka let her desire and the feelings she had pent up since they met fill her frame and dictate her actions. She was tired of being in control and she was tired of lying to herself and the siren in her arms. "Aishiteru, Michiru. Mo, Aishiteru." And they kissed. Haruka smiled, having wanted to feel Michiru's lips against hers for so long, and she could sense the desire in the slighter woman. They wanted the same thing, and if their mission was fated to end in death, they would have it before the end. "Finally," Urakaze sighed. Grabbing Asakaze and Rikuriko by the ear, he pulled the two women away from the lovers and headed back to their home. "Our work here is done."
Back to The Cupid Alliance Series 3: Unwilling Accomplice Index - Back to Sailor Moon Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction