"Class, we have a new student. Everyone, this is Ten'ou Haruka." Haruka bowed to the class, who had just finished bowing to the teacher, ignoring the stares of pretty much all the girls in the class. The guys all had jealous looks on their faces, immediately recognizing a rival for the girls' attention. Kemmei-sensei pushed up his glasses and turned to Haruka. "Would you like to say anything to the class, Ten'ou-san?" "No, thank you." "All right, why don't you take one of the empty seats in the back? We'll be rotating seats soon, anyways." Haruka nodded and went to the back of the room and took a seat off to the side by a window where no one else was. She winked as she went by to a girl who was staring especially hard at her. Might as well fit the part, she thought with a laugh. Guys seem to flirt at every cute girl in sight. "Well, class, we better get going or we'll be late for tyourei. Everyone head for the stairs; no way we can all fit in the elevators, and after the fiasco last week..." Haruka heard various groans as everyone lined up and walked downstairs to the courtyard. Haruka whistled under her breath at the number of students attending this school. Then again, with a school this enormous, they had better have a lot of people to occupy the space. She'd heard a rumor that there were actually some rooms on campus where students lived, those who had been sent from so far away that returning home except for weekends and holidays would be torture. She stood with her class, not really paying attention to the principal's speech, something about cherry blossoms and studying, somehow trying to connect them. Ah well. The class went back to their room after that for History. Bleecccch. While the teacher was talking about some silly historical thing, Haruka quietly wrote in her notebook. No sense in being bored. She got quite a number of poems finished. The teacher called on her to answer a question. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, it hit her again. Blood red dripping across the sky, black splatters, waves of color Sharp pain of the wind, hit with the pieces of a falling building... Beautiful girl floating in the air, glowing, talking about the Silence, the Messiah, our duty... "Ten'ou-san? Is something wrong?" "No, Kemmei-sensei," she said, then answered the question. Damn that vision! Why now?... Why at all?! What did it mean? She'd had it twice between the first and this, at least during the day, and she saw it when she slept. What did it mean? Once the lecture was finally over, the class had a long break, fifteen minutes to be exact, so they could talk a bit and get to their next class. Suddenly, it seemed all the girls in the class had swarmed around her. "Nice to meet you, Ten'ou-san!" "Oh wow, he's SO cute!" "Do you have a girlfriend?" "Back off, he's MINE!" "*sigh* He has such nice eyes!" "Do you want some of my bento at lunch today?" "No way, he's gonna eat MY bento!" "_Mine_!" "MINE!" "Ok ok, calm down, girls," Haruka said, about ready to throttle them. "Suuuuure," they sighed dreamily. "Excuse me please, I have to go... I have another class to get to..." "Ohhhh... fiiiine..." Haruka rolled her eyes as she got on the elevator and went several floors up for the next class. Oh yay, a language class of sorts... I really hate this subject... God, I can't wait for class to be over; this is so boring! Haruka lay her head down and almost fell asleep. It was off to an appointment with the guidance counselor at the start of the next class. She had refused to take P.E. and had to discuss her 'options' with the school. "Now, while I find my things, tell me why you won't take P.E., Ten'ou-san," the old woman told her. Haruka sighed. This would be _fun_. "I don't see the necessity of it. I'm already great at sports. I'm part of a racing team now--" "Racing?" "Motor-sports." "Ah, really? Well, we require that you have some form of school board sponsored physical activity. Anything you'd be interested in? Lessee, basketball, volleyball, fencing, football..." Haruka yawned. "Well, what would you enjoy?" "I dunno." "Hmmm, there's after-school track... you could do that, and this could be a free period." "Is this strictly our school?" Haruka didn't want to reveal her gender any more than she had to. "Well, several schools meet a few times a week. There's only... lessee, one person from our school in there... but it would count in place of physical education." "All right, that'll be fine." "Good! Now, why don't you go to the library or something... do something educational, ok?" "... Right..." At lunch that day, Haruka once again had to fight off crazed girls, and finally left the cafeteria to find somewhere else to eat. If she'd know she'd get this much trouble from them, she might have just gone ahead and worn the girls' uniform. "Hey, Haruka, how's it going?" Haruka turned to see Murasaki waving to her. She smiled and waved her over. "Fine, Murasaki-chan, good to see you." Murasaki lowered her voice and asked, "What's the guy's uniform for?" "...I don't want anyone to know anything about me." "That's odd. Ah well, whatever pleases you. Frankly, I think it'd be more comfortable than this..." Murasaki gestured to the skirt she wore. "Er... well, this isn't so great... It's, ah... difficult... to make myself look flat in it." "Well, depending on how you... Oh... Ouch!... Hey, didn't see you in P.E., are you taking it?" "No, that would be giving it away... I doubt any amount of binding could hide it in those silly uniforms... I'll have track after school." "That should be fun." "What are you doing out of the cafeteria?" "Just wandering, really, you?" "Avoiding the annoying girls that seem determined to date me." "Oh." Haruka sipped her drink, then raised her eyebrow. "Say, where's Kanpeki? Why aren't you eating with her?" "Oh, uh, her sister's been... kinda down in the dumps lately, so she's making sure she's ok... triplets... really close, y'know?" "Ah. Must be... um, nice... to have siblings." Murasaki, realizing it was a touchy subject, took off on another topic. "So, how's the racing going?" "Great! First real race is Friday." "That's wonderful! Hey, I'll come cheer you on, all right?" "That'd be good." Murasaki looked down at her watch. "Well, I better be going. Want to finish some homework early. See ya." "See ya." Haruka smiled. It was nice to have some family that cared. School dragged on, but finally ended. It was time to head to the track. Running was easy for her, so she expected no challenge what-so-ever. She opened the door to a building on the track property and walked down the hallway to a small office. A muscular woman with a long purple ponytail sat with her feet propped on her desk, talking on the phone, a rather angry look on her face. She slammed down the phone as Haruka entered. "What do you want?" "I'm going to be joining the team as a P.E. credit." She raised an eyebrow and slipped her feet to the floor before standing up. She walked over to Haruka, smirking a bit as she stood nearly as tall as the blond. "Do you know who I am?" "I do not." "I'm the instructor, Bofu, and you better not forget that. What's your name?" "Ten'ou Haruka." "And what school do you attend?" "Goban Yobi-ko." Bofu took several moments to size her up, then chuckled and flipped her ponytail. "You have some guts," she said with a grin, "waltzing around in the male uniform like that." "... How could you tell?" The instructor shrugged and smiled. "I have a knack for picking out people." "Ah." "If you want to join, you better show your stuff. You'll find some fresh uniforms in the locker room. I'm want to see just how good you think you are before I even consider letting you join. I don't care if you need the credit, you better prove yourself." "Thank you, Bofu-sensei," Haruka said, and left. It wasn't hard to find the clothes. It was just a matter of finding a uniform that could fit her tall, thin frame. She could tell immediately nothing would hide the fact that she was a girl. She was quite glad when she found one that fit and she could get out of that horrible stuff she was wearing, then she went out to the track. Bofu stood on the side with a clipboard and stopwatch, sunglasses perched on her head. She nodded to some people that were trailing in to observe. Haruka remained off to the side, stretching on her own. A few of the regulars cast questioning glances at her, but she ignored them. It felt good to stretch out after being confined in that heavy suit all day. Bofu-sensei nodded over to her and waved her hand, and Haruka came over. "Well, quite a change from how you were in the uniform." "I would imagine so." "Ready to run?" "Yup." "Let's see how well you handle a hundred meter dash, all right? I'll wait at the end." Haruka nodded and walked down the track, then crouched down slightly. The regulars milled around to watch. She could hear them whispering, guessing it to be about her. Bofu blew the whistle, and Haruka took off running as fast as she could. It wasn't that much of a challenge; 100 meters was easy. She carefully slowed when she finished and finally stopped. She turned and saw Bofu with an unreadable expression on her face. "Nice." That one word had the other runners seething within moments. Haruka didn't see what the big deal was. "Ok... 500 meters." Bofu walked to the finish and blew the whistle. Haruka shot off again, and earned an "impressive" comment from Bofu. "Care to run the whole track, right back to here?" Haruka shrugged, then nodded. Bofu smirked a bit, then lowered her sunglasses. The whistle shrieked, and Haruka started running as quickly as she could manage. She could feel her breath quicken very slightly. She was happy to note a breeze as she ran, and started trying to go faster. She could see the finish, and all the students standing around, but it was all flying by to quick to make out. She actually felt sweat bead on her. She almost stumbled after crossing the line, and stopped a little too soon. Breathing a bit hard, she turned back to Bofu. The students were all lined up on either side of the instructor, looks of awe on their faces. Bofu's sunglasses once again rested on her head, as her eyes slowly shifted from clipboard to stopwatch readout several times. Her eyes stopped on the clipboard as she penciled in something, then she raised them with a wicked grin. "Damnit girl, we'd have to kill you if you didn't join the team. All those runs were faster than anyone of these kids ever managed!" Haruka's eyes widened in surprise, and the rest of the runners started clapping a bit. "Um... sure, yeah, I'd love to join." "Good!" Bofu slipped her sunglasses back on with a grin. "Ok, everyone, I want three laps right now for warm-up! Don't try to push top speed yet; I don't need everyone worn out. Ten'ou-san, hang back for now." "Yes, sensei." The others kids took off running without a glance back. Bofu waited till they were a bit farther along before turning to Haruka. "You're quite good at this. Had experience?" "Not really. I just run for fun." "Interesting." Bofu stretched her arms and adjusted her sunglasses. "And where did those scars come from, Ten'ou-san? You don't get those marks just anywhere." "What scars?" Haruka asked softly, blood chilling. Damnit, she'd noticed! "I can see several faint lines on your upper back. Suspicious looking." Bofu turned away a moment, then said, "You don't have to tell me. I know what those are. I don't know who did it, but I do recognize a child abuse victim when I see one. I--" Bofu waited a moment as some more visitors walked by. "I... well, if you need anyone to talk to, just come to me, okay?" Haruka nodded slowly, wobbling a bit with dizziness. She sat down hard on the ground. "You all right?" Haruka held her head in her hands and mumbled, "I'll be okay... I'm just a bit ... overwhelmed." "Hey, relax," Bofu said with a smile. "Yeah, I'm a bit gruff and I'm very tough on this team sometimes, but I'm not all hard-hearted, you understand? I push them so they can be the best they can be, but it's not like I don't care for them. Don't worry, you can trust me." Haruka nodded and stood up. "Now, why don't you go run with the others? You'll probably catch up easily." Haruka grinned in agreement and started running again. "See, what did I tell you?" Murasaki said with a grin. Michiru squealed in delight as they entered the stadium. "Thank you, Murasaki- chan!" "No problem." Kanpeki pretended to roll her eyes, then laughed. "Michiru, you're so silly sometimes." Michiru shrugged. "I get to see Haruka run, I think I deserve to be happy about it." "What's the big deal?" "Well, would you enjoy watching Murasaki-chan run sometime?" Kanpeki blushed a bit. "Ok, ok, I see your point." She grabbed Murasaki's arm. "Let's leave her to watch her little sweetie, ok?" "Okay, bye Michiru... have fun!" "I will! ... Wait a sec, where are you two off to?" "We won't be far. Over in the woods on the far side of the track, if you should need us." Michiru raised an eyebrow. "Ohhh?" "Hush, Michiru!" Kanpeki hissed, then winking at Murasaki. "Well, off we go..." Michiru smiled as she sat down on the bleachers and leaned forward, elbow on her knee and chin on her hand. Haruka was much better than the other runners, and easily passed them. She looked so happy when she was running... Michiru remembered that Uranus's element was the wind. Haruka should probably feel a natural affinity for speed and flight due to that, which explained her love for racing and running. Michiru sighed softly. Wonder if she had the visions at all... Hmmm... Michiru had a good friend was a member of the team, but she wasn't at practice. Elza Grey was the best runner-- correction, now that Haruka was here, the second best. Then again, Elza did have a private trainer, and usually only participated in the races rather than the practices. She was fast becoming one of the top runners in Japan. Michiru smiled wistfully as she watched Haruka more. If only she could tell her how she felt... Her eyes snapped open. It was so simple! It had to work! Elza would undoubtedly be racing Haruka at some point. She could have Elza introduce her, after a race or something... She bit her lip. Elza didn't know about her feelings for Haruka. How in the world would she deal with that? She could tell the truth... and if Elza decided not to be friends with her... Haruka was growing closer to Murasaki, she could always ask her... Michiru pulled out her sketchbook and a pencil and drew a quick picture of Haruka as she ran. She wondered if Haruka could 'hear' the wind like she could sense the sea. Probably did without realizing it... "Hey, Michiru!" Michiru looked down and to the left, and saw Kirei waving to her. She was sitting with Suteki and some friends. Suteki was glaring in her direction, the girls with her also giving her vicious looks. She wavered a bit, then cheered up when Kirei got up, apologized to the others, and came over to where she was. "Hi, everything going ok?" Kirei asked. Michiru shrugged. "All right... why are they glaring at me?" "Jealousy, I'd imagine. Sure nothing is wrong?" "Onee-chan, why are you coming over here out of nowhere?" Kirei looked startled. "What do you mean?" "Well, after what happened the other night... and I overheard you and Suteki talking bad about me once..." Kirei looked down at the ground. "Look, Michiru... I'm really sorry... about everything. You kinda get stuck going along with things, y'know, when other people are around... damn image to maintain," she grumbled. "Michiru, you're my sister, nothing will change that. Suteki is acting like some sort of high-and-mighty queen just because she thinks she has something over you now... how did she put it, 'guess little Miss Perfect ain't so perfect if she's going after girls'... but I don't agree with that, I really don't. I... I have to admit, I always thought it was... well, kinda weird... but knowing that you, um, are... well, it really changes how I look at things." "Do you mean that?" Michiru asked softly. "Yes, I do," Kirei said with a smile. "I'm really sorry... I wish we'd grown up closer... all of us really kept apart, but if you ask me... well, okaa-san and otou-san really didn't encourage sibling interaction, y'know?" "Oh, I know," Michiru groaned, then mimicking their mother, "'Time for a violin rehearsal, when will you finish that painting, oh you look so pretty but don't forget your manners...'... Lessee, then Kanzen is her little genius, and where does that leave the rest of you? Trailing along... in her mind... ugh." "Okaa-san drives us all nuts," Kirei agreed. "We each have our own talents, but she just encourages the ones she thinks she can profit from... Hell, not even that, she ignored Kanpeki's art talent, she ignored my singing, she ignored Genki's computer skills, and she ignored Suteki's natural beauty..." "She's a strange one, our mother." "Yes, indeed..." Kirei dropped her voice a bit as she said, "You aren't going to let her find out about your interest in Ten'ou-san, are you?" "And get kicked out of the house? I think not." Michiru sighed bitterly. "Y'know, everyone I know think it's a choice--" "Like hell it is!" Michiru spat. "Who would willingly decide to be part of a minority group that is ridiculed, attacked, and even killed for it?" "Well, when you put it that way..." Kirei looked out at the track. "So, which one is Ten'ou-san? I forget what she looks like." "The tall blond that is _way_ ahead of everyone else." Kirei whistled. "_Damn,_ she's fast... God, I wish I had her figure! I'm so _flat_!" she whined. Michiru couldn't help but laugh. "Some of us are... more endowed than others... and Haruka's one of them." "And I'm one of the lesser..." Kirei looked around a bit. "Say, where's Kanpeki-chan? I thought I saw her a little while ago, with that friend of hers ... Murasaki, right? What are they up to?" Michiru almost choked. "Um, well... maybe you should have a talk with her... they're, uh, in the woods... make noise when you approach so they know you're coming." Kirei stared at her, looked away to think a moment, then her eyes widened and she laughed loudly. "Oh my! Oh my! Don't tell me... Both of you?! Oh wow... Don't tell me Genki is, too?!" "Fine, I won't tell you." "That is so freaky! Geez, I can't believe I didn't notice! All three of you!... Ah well... I'm going to go check up on our lovebirds, then. Hope they aren't too busy making out," she said with a wink. "Er..." "Heh heh, just kidding. Bye, Michiru." "Bye, Kirei." Michiru turned to watch Haruka again, sighing softly. She could go for hours just watching her. Practice ended before she could watch too long, though, and Haruka left for the locker room. Michiru decided it was wise to leave before she accidentally bumped into her. Kirei, Kanpeki, and Murasaki were coming out of the woods at that moment, so she joined them to walk home. "So, did you talk?" she asked them. "Yeah," Kanpeki said, taking Murasaki's hand. She smiled at her sisters. "It's good that we don't have to hide it from each other." "Yup," Kirei agreed. "I call the phone when we get back," Michiru said. "I need to talk to Elza- chan." "That's the red-head, right?" "Yes. I'm surprised you remembered her." Kirei shrugged. "I remember random people and forget others. Ah well." They walked in silence awhile. "Hey, Michiru-chan, when's the CD coming out?" Murasaki asked. "This week, actually... I'm going to perform a couple nights to help promote it." "You excited?" "A bit. I used to hate doing all this silly stuff, but I enjoy it now. I love playing the violin. I don't do it for okaa-san, oh no... It's for me. I want to perform, to share my music with everyone." "That's great," Murasaki said with a smile. "Maybe one day you could play a duet with Haruka on piano?" Michiru chuckled a bit. "I hope so!" She sat down on her bed once they got home, a bit nervous as she picked up the phone. She dialed Elza's number and waited for her to pick up. "Hello, this is Elza. Speaking?" "Hi, Elza-chan, it's Michiru." "Oh, hello! How're you?" "Fine, you?" "I'm great. Just got back from my training. I can't wait till next week's race!" "Yeah, um... say, Elza? I need to talk to you about something..." "You want me to come over or do it over the phone?" "Uh, why don't you come here?" "Be right over! I'll run, give me some practice!" Elza said with a laugh, then said bye and hung up. Michiru was a bit nervous as she waited for Elza to arrive. She wasn't sure how to explain it, or how Elza would react. Elza didn't live very far away, and being a fast runner helped her get there quickly. She waved to Michiru, slowing up as she approached her. Michiru smiled. Elza was so determined in everything she did. She was quite the star athlete. She had pale red hair, slightly wavy and cropped to her chin, hazel eyes, and a rich tan, and was always cheerful. "Hey, Michiru-chan!" "Hey, Elza-chan." They went inside and up to her room. They sat on the floor of her room, as usual. "So, what's up?" "I... I need some help, Elza. There's..." Michiru sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I really don't know how to explain this..." "C'mon, you can tell me." "There's... there's someone I'm... I'm interested in... and I'd like you to introduce me sometime, after the next race perhaps?" "Oh? Sure... someone on the team?" "...Y-yeah..." "It's Iki-kun, isn't it? He's quite the looker..." Michiru lowered her eyes. "No, a recent addition, just today... first day at school." "Oh? Well, give me a name so I know who to look for." "... Ten'ou Haruka." "Hmm, all right... So, what's he look like?" "I... I'll show you a picture... A painting I did, actually, but... it's accurate." She went into her closet and pulled it out, then turned it around for Elza to see. Elza sat there a moment, looking at the painting with an unreadable expression. She then leaned back on her hands and looked up at the ceiling a moment. "Nice painting." "Th-thanks." "For Christ's sake, Michiru-chan, stop acting so nervous!" Michiru looked at her with surprise. "What?!" Elza stood up and bent over her, pointing her finger at her. "You're getting worked up over the fact that she's a girl, aren't you? You're worried about what I think, aren't you?" Elza chuckled, then said, "Well, you don't have to worry at all! "Eh?!" Elza laughed loudly. "Michiru, Michiru, Michiru, you never met my parents, did you?" "No, I don't recall..." Elza's eyes crinkled with amusement. "I don't even know my father. My mother has been with my new mom for... well, before I was born. I grew up around it, so you have nothing to worry about!" Michiru stared at her in shock. "You're serious?!" "Yeah, they raised my sister and I together. Never thought much of it, till some kids gave me a hard time about it... but they're just idiots. I love my mama and my okaa-san, and I know they're happier together than mama could've been with my real father. They really took care of us, too. I was really sick when I was little, but they always watched over me. Okaa-san always stayed behind with me, only time she didn't was when I was visiting my grandparents. They spoiled us, actually... We moved just because we didn't have a big enough backyard to play in!" Michiru smiled, feeling tears in her eyes. "Th-thank you, Elza-chan..." "Hey, don't cry... It's all right." "I'm... I'm just so happy..." Michiru squeezed her hands together. "I mean, I'm really glad for you and all but... oh God, I'm finally going to meet her!" "What do you mean by that?" "Well, I saw her one day and... something just clicked. I was attracted right away. I've been following her since... I've never talked to her, she doesn't even know I exist... I've been so scared to approach her, she... she's gone through some rough times, but..." Elza smiled. "Well, I'll be here to help you, don't worry." She gave her a quick hug. "Thanks, Elza-chan! You're the best!" "I am, aren't I?" she joked. "Say, I just realized, that name seems vaguely familiar... old neighbor of mine, perhaps... I dunno, maybe she played with my sister when they were little." "What's your sister's name? I've never met your family." "Cindy." Michiru thought a moment. "Hmmm... that seems familiar, too... Her aunt mentioned a Cindy once." "Well, maybe we'll re-introduce them, hmmm?" "Yeah, she'd like that..." Elza smiled at her and turned to leave her room. "C'mon, we have homework to do. I have a report to write, ugh! I'll see you later, ok?" "Yeah, bye, Elza-chan." Elza waved and said bye, then left. Michiru sighed and sat down on her bed. Thank God for Elza... The phone rang and she picked it up, wondering who'd be calling her. "Michiru-chan?" "Yes... who is this?" "Oh, this is Sunao. I thought you might be interested to know Haruka will be entering her first car race in a few days... want the details?" "Of course!" Michiru grabbed a paper and pen, frantically writing down the address and date. "Thank you, Sunao-san!" "You're very welcome, Michiru-chan." Michiru clapped her hands with excitement. Everything was working out, finally! She'd probably wait a few more weeks to meet Haruka, but it would be worth it! ********** Dark red sky... shards of glass from the building cutting into my skin... can't breathe, too weak... pushed to the ground by the wind hitting me... blood running down my face... I look up... the girl... speaking, sad... "The Silence is approaching. We have to find the Messiah quickly. Only you and I can do this!" I try to cry out, what is the Silence, who is the Messiah? Why me?! Haruka's eyes snapped open and she sat up tall in bed. She was trembling hard, sweating, unable to find her voice. The light came on and Sunao rushed in. "Haruka, what's wrong?! I heard you scream..." "S-sorry... I... I had a nightmare, that's all... I'll be fine..." "You sure?" "Yeah, it's all right, okaa-san... sorry I woke you up." "It's ok... well, if you're sure you're fine... try to get back to sleep." She shut off the light and left, gently shutting the door. Haruka let out the breath she'd been holding and curled up into a ball. Damnit, why was she seeing these visions?! Same thing, over and over, only slight variations... She closed her eyes tight, trying to keep from remembering the images, the voice. It was so horrible, what could it possibly mean? She stood shakily and turned on the television in her room, careful to keep the volume low. Maybe it would wear her out enough to sleep. "--But I love you! Why did you fall for my twi--" Click. "C'mon down to Tomu's Cars--" Click. "We return to the late night movie--" Click, what was all this crap? "In other news, citizens have reported seeing a mysterious group of girls calling themselves 'Sailor Senshi' in the area recently, following a wave of 'energy drains' to local residents, which may be linked to the strange meteor that fell last week. Witnesses to a recent attack say..." Sailor Senshi... that name... strange, it seemed familiar... But she'd never heard of them before... "The five, reportedly called 'Sailormoon', 'Sailormercury', 'Sailorvenus', 'Sailormars', and 'Sailorjupiter', respectively, have rescued a number of people recently. It is unknown who they are or where they come from, or even why they're here... but Tokyo thanks these lovely heroines for the lives of many." Haruka shut the television off and crawled into bed again. Something familiar about their clothing... The girl in the vision had a suit on like theirs. Perhaps... another Senshi? But what did any of this have to do with Haruka? Haruka yawned loudly and shut her eyes. Oh well... maybe now she wouldn't have the vision. ********** Haruka woke up groggily, vainly reaching for the alarm clock that was out of her reach. She hadn't gotten used to the time school started, even though this was the fifth day of it. Goban Yobi-ko started earlier than her previous school had, and it annoyed her to no end. They seemed convinced that an early start somehow made them more alert. She went into the kitchen and found a pot of coffee waiting, and her breakfast on the table. Sunao had to go to work just before Haruka woke up, but took time before leaving to make breakfast and coffee for her daughter. Haruka sipped her coffee, and smiled to herself. Her first race was today ... oh, it was going to be so much fun! She'd be racing against Hayasa as well as some other men from the normal group, plus others she hadn't had the chance to race against. Some big names in racing would be there, and she couldn't wait. She smirked a bit. If only they knew they were racing a girl... she could imagine the looks on their faces when she beat them. She walked to school, as always. She was never in a hurry; she left early so she'd have plenty of time. She smiled to some kids she recognized from class and track, and tried to avoid her "screaming fans," as she referred to them, trying to push gifts and bento on her. She tried to be nice to the poor, delusional girls, but no matter how many times she told them otherwise, they remained under the impression that "he" was interested in dating them, if they could only prove themselves better than the others. Haruka sighed; she wasn't interested in these crazy girls that only saw her as a handsome guy, she wanted someone that knew who she really was and wasn't ashamed of it. She uttered a loud "ooof!" as someone accidentally bumped into her (she hoped it was accidental and not one of those girls trying to get her attention...) "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" the girl said. "That's fine," Haruka said. "You hurt at all?" "No, no, I'm ok... tripped over this stupid uneven pavement. I'm quite the klutz," she added, laughing a bit. Hmmm, she seems familiar... "No harm done..." "Do I know you?" the girl asked, looking at her quizzically. "You look vaguely like someone I knew when I was little... No no, you can't be..." she laughed loudly. "Oh, I'm so silly..." "I was just thinking you looked familiar, too. I'm Ten'ou Haruka, you?" The girl squealed and hugged her tight. Haruka pushed her off immediately, scared this girl, whoever she was, would notice her... extra assets. "Haruka-chan! Just what do you think you're doing?" The girl frowned. "You don't know who I am, do you? It's me, Cindy Grey!" "CINDY?!" Haruka stared at her, then laughed and hugged her. "My gosh, it really is you! I knew you looked familiar! You've certainly changed though... grew up cute," she teased with a wink. Cindy chuckled. "Well, you certainly... didn't turn out like I expected." She looked around to make sure they were alone. "No offense or anything, but I swear, I thought you were a guy." Haruka gave an embarrassed laugh. "Well, that's the whole point of the disguise..." "Why are you... well, why do you want to look like a guy? Geez, I mean, you make a good-looking guy," she said, winking a bit, "but... why would you want to look like one?" "Well... I... I'm trying to hide, actually... from my life, from some people... I don't want anyone to know who I really am, not yet." "Well, they certainly won't know with you dressed like that! My opinion of you just dropped a notch." Haruka flinched a bit. "Ouch! That was a cheap shot." "Yeah, I know, I know... but geez, have you really thought this through? I mean, c'mon... you look like a cute guy, so all the girls are gonna flock to you, all the guys will think you're one of them... how will you ever get a date? Do you really want that?" "Er..." Haruka blushed a bit, unsure of how to break it to her childhood friend... but then she remembered Cindy's interesting parents. "Cindy, actually I... well, let's just say, your mothers and I have something in common, hmmm?... You know what I mean?" Cindy raised an eyebrow, then giggled. "Well! I guess the disguise _does_ work to your advantage then!" Haruka laughed with her and they started walking again. "Well, I suppose... but not really. Those girls like me because they think I'm a guy. I want a girl who'll like me as a girl." "That makes perfect sense... but how are you going to manage that?" "I have no idea, I didn't really think about that when I made this decision," she admitted. "But maybe one day I'll get lucky..." "I hope you didn't mean 'get lucky' as in--" "I didn't mean it like THAT!" Cindy giggled and asked, "So, what have you been up to... besides the cross- dressing?" "Oh hush!... Well, I've gotten into motor-sports now, and my first race is today!" "Oh cool! I'll be sure to come, if there's still seats left." "Heh heh, you do that... I joined the track team, but... eh, no real challenge. I need the P.E. credit though, and it gives me something to do." "Track, huh? My sister races... She's heading towards the top, y'know... she's considered one of the best junior racers. Maybe you'll race her sometime." "If she's part of our little group, I will. No offense or anything," she said, smiling a bit, "but no one can out-run me, _no one_." "We'll see," Cindy said with a grin. They exchanged phone numbers before they had to get off on different floors for their homerooms. Ah, it was a beautiful day... Haruka smiled and sat back to wait for the bell to ring. Michiru was running a bit late for school, so she left the house without breakfast. She'd never been tardy before, and she didn't want to start. Her siblings had all left ahead of her, leaving her with no one to hurry off with. Her parents had gone to luck, so there was no one to drive her. She groaned a bit and picked up her pace. The day had started out bad... But she was going to watch Haruka's first race today, so it couldn't be all bad... A cold shiver went down her spine. The sea was restless... No, no, she was just paranoid, there wasn't going to be a-- She heard a sound she'd never forgotten, and dreaded to hear. The scream of a daimon... Damnit! Not now! She was going to be late!... But she couldn't just turn her back and ignore it. She had a duty... And she'd be damned if she turned her back on it. There was no one around to see her. She transformed in record time, and just in the nick of time as well, for the daimon soon ripped its way through the hedges. It trained its eyes on her, and leapt to attack. Neptune didn't have time to use her powers, so she dodged it, then brought back her arm and slammed her elbow hard into the top of its head. The daimon howled with rage and whirled around to face her again. "Deep Submerge!" Energy collided with flesh, and a ripple went through the daimon, before the form of a boy in a red and green school uniform appeared and collapsed on the ground. Neptune gasped for air, stumbling over to the boy, then made sure he was alive. He was fine... but what could she do now? Hmmm... they were both going to be late now, but she had her enhanced speed as Neptune... she decided she'd carry him to her school, detransform, and explain that she'd found him lying on the ground and just had to help, didn't know what school he went to... that's why she was late. Attacks from strange supernatural beings weren't exactly uncommon in Tokyo, and well, as for heroes... Neptune chuckled as she ran with the boy in her arms. The Inner Senshi were awakened, and she knew they were fighting enemies out there. They'd become the fascination of the local media, the saviors of the meek, the... God, she really needed to get more sleep. She found a place to detransform, then struggled a bit to carry the boy, his bag, and hers at the same time. He seemed much heavier now that she was a normal girl again. A school official ran outside when he saw her. He came over and took the boy from her. "What happened here?" "I came across him on the way to school... he'd been attacked..." "Thank you very much, young lady. You just might have saved his life." She felt a cold feeling in her heart as she looked down at him... I almost took his life... if the daimons can't be restored to a human when we finish battling them... "I-I suppose I did." "Here, take this pass and go to class. A situation like this shouldn't be counted as a tardy, hmm? We'll get him back to Mugen Gakuen right away." Michiru slowly trudged towards the elevator. Why was she stuck fighting alone? Who knew when Uranus would awaken, and the Inner Senshi... they were separate from her... they had different obligations... But what were hers exactly? Pluto was never very clear about them... "Pluto... if you can hear me... Please..." Pluto's image shimmered in front of her. "I'm sorry I can't appear directly to you, but I cannot leave the Gate, not now." "Why not?" "There's--" her image rippled a bit, "a group trying to break through right now... I must--" It disappeared, then reappeared. "I hope you don't have anything important as your next class, because--" shimmer, "you'll have a vision that will explain every--" The image disappeared, and Pluto's voice with it. The elevator made a "ting" sound at that moment, and Michiru slowly stepped off into the hallway. She went to her classroom, gave her teacher the pass, and took her seat. Some of her classmates looked at her with amusement. "What happened to being _perfect_?" someone hissed. "Ooo, little musician can't get to class on time..." "Stayed up too late working on your CD, huh? Guess we're too good for y--" "Shut the hell up," she said between clenched teeth. "Oooooo..." "Excuse me," the teacher called out loudly. "The discussion going on back there needs to end, _now_." He then went back to his lecture. Michiru sat back in his seat while he rattled off math, and closed her eyes. She could feel herself slipping into a dream-like state, and welcomed it. It was as if she was back on the Moon, the Silver Millennium. Everything looked as it once did, the palace, the courtyard... "Sailorneptune," a voice called out. "I'm here," she said. She looked down at herself and noticed she was wearing her fuku. "Who's there?" A woman walked up, smiling gently at her. Neptune was amazed at her appearance. Her eyes and hair were silvery in color, a gold crescent moon was in the center of her forehead, and her hair was pulled into two buns on either side of her head, with a long trail of hair spilling from each. Her white gown was simple, but elegant; sleeveless, fitted in places, with a bow of sorts in the front. She walked with a regal bearing, and there was something about her... She fell to one knee and lowered her face. "My Queen," she murmured, filled with awe. "Please... that was long ago. The time for formal titles has past." "Queen Serenity... I..." "Walk with me." Neptune nodded and rose to her feet, unable to refuse her. This woman was the ruler of the Silver Millennium, heir to the Moon Kingdom, and... "My Queen, what happened to the ginzuishou?" Queen Serenity laughed a bit. "What a thing to ask! It's been so long, and that's the first thing that comes to mind?" Neptune felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I... my mind seems at odds with itself sometimes, all these memories... I don't quite know why I do things sometimes." "That's all right... As for the ginzuishou, my daughter has it now." "The princess was safely reborn?" "Yes, and..." Queen Serenity smiled sadly. "My little Serenity is now a Senshi, fighting alongside her old court." Neptune's eyebrows raised in alarm. "But... the Inner Senshi were her protectors! She is... she is one of them now?" "Yes, she is Sailormoon now. The power of the ginzuishou is now in her hands..." "I never really understood the ginzuishou..." "Well, there's not much known about it... it is hard to explain to someone who hasn't used it. The ginzuishou gives you the power to do so much good! To heal, to create, and it is made even more useful when combined with special wands and staffs... but... it can be deadly, if you try to do too much with it..." Queen Serenity looked away from her, and stopped walking. "My Queen... if... if it isn't too painful to tell... how did you die?" "I used all my remaining energy when I sent everyone to the future. The ginzuishou took too much out of me..." Neptune gasped in shock. "Pluto... she never told me that..." "Pluto is hard-pressed in her tasks, I'm afraid. She can't explain it all herself..." She turned to face Neptune again. "Which is why you are here with me. I need to explain what it _really_ means to be an Outer Senshi... and what your mission is now." "The Outer Senshi are comprised of you, obviously, Pluto, Uranus, and... you'll discover that later. You three are the important ones for now. During the Silver Millennium, the Inner Senshi were the guardians of my daughter. They protected her from attack. The Outer Senshi guarded against outside invasions, a much larger task. Because of this, you were given stronger powers. You didn't interact with the Inner Senshi often; there was no need. You weren't meant to; you had separate duties. I wish that we'd thought to train you to work together, though... "That's beside the point. You've been awakened now because you have something important to do... something that will ultimately lead to the destruction of Earth or its salvation. "The Inner Senshi are busy fighting their own battle, but a new enemy is quickly building its forces. You have fought some, yes? The 'daimons'... these are the work of a group calling themselves the 'Deathbusters'. They want to take this world for their own, for their master. To do this, they need the power of an item known as the Holy Grail. "The Holy Grail can be used for either good or evil. The power it can give is almost unsurpassed. Both good and evil have a Messiah in this battle, a Messiah of Light, and a Messiah of Dark. If the Messiah of Dark should gain the power of the Holy Grail, we are doomed. We need to get the Holy Grail and give it to the Messiah of Light. "In order for us to have the Holy Grail, we must find the three Talismans. These are sealed within people with pure hearts. Those with pure hearts have a special crystal inside them, their 'heart crystal'. Three people have heart crystals that contain Talismans. You must find these people and retrieve the Talismans at all costs. "The enemy is developing technology that can extract heart crystals. Be on the watch, and be prepared to fight many daimons in order to gain access to the heart crystals yourselves. "You will know the Talismans when you see them. Do not be too frantic worrying about when the Deathbusters will move to find them; your partner will awaken before then. But be prepared." Neptune trembled and had to lean on a column for support. "This... this is our mission?" "Yes." "The fate of the world..." Neptune felt hot tears sting her eyes. All this responsibility, the lives of everyone... "I... I must warn you... if the heart crystal is away from a person's body too long, they will die. Therefore, if someone's heart crystal is a Talisman--" "They will die." Neptune shut her eyes tight. "I understand..." "Do you accept this mission?" "I do." Not like I have a choice. "Good luck... Michiru." Queen Serenity hugged her. "Good luck." Michiru lifted her head from her desk when she heard the bell ring for the end of class. Some kids gave her odd looks as they left. Her teacher called her to his desk. "Kaiou-san, in the future, please do not fall asleep in my class. I understand you've had a rough morning, but... you're my best student, and you need to set an example, all right?" "Yes, sensei, it won't happen again," she said, bowing to him before leaving. At lunch, she went over to sit by Elza as usual. Elza grinned widely at her. "Hey, Michiru-chan! Hope you don't mind that I brought my sister today." The girl next to her smiled and waved. She looked a lot like Elza, with the same red hair and hazel eyes, but she was paler and wore her wavy hair long. "Nice to meet you," Michiru said. "Nice to meet you, too," Cindy said. "I can't believe we never met before." "Well, that's Elza's fault," Michiru said, winking teasingly at Elza. Elza chuckled a bit. "Hey, my family usually isn't around!" "We are too," Cindy said, "you just aren't around when we're around." "Oh, phooey..." "You are both nuts," Michiru said with a smile. "Yep," they said at the same time. Michiru laughed and pulled her lunch out. It was nice to have another person to talk to for once. Elza was her best friend, her only real friend, and she was glad to have her, but sometimes she wanted to talk to more people than just her. Elza usually sat alone as well; people were nervous around her due to her growing fame. Now people were avoiding Michiru more than usual, as well, what with her great success in music and her CD having just come out. "I just got your CD," Cindy said, eyes twinkling. "It's really incredible. I loved 'Windsong' the best." "Really?" It was a song she'd composed about Haruka. "Yeah, I _love_ your music... Elza's mentioned you before as being her friend, but I hadn't gotten the chance to meet you... This is so cool! Anyways, I'll be there for tomorrow's performance. I can't wait!... Hope I'm not acting too much like a crazy fan," she said with a laugh. "That hasn't happened yet," Michiru said. A boy suddenly ran over to the table. "A-are you Kaiou Michiru?!" Elza and Cindy giggled behind their hands, and Michiru said slowly, "Yes, why?" He thrust a pen and paper out at her. "C-could I have your autograph?" Michiru blinked several times, then took the pen and paper, asked his name, and wrote a brief message. "Oh, thank you so much!" he said, bowing deeply to her, then racing off again. "You were saying, Michiru-chan?" Elza said, bursting out laughing. "Ha ha, funny, Elza. So, Cindy... um, what else has Elza-chan said about me?" "Michiru-chan!" Elza seemed shocked. "You think I'd talk bad about you behind your back or something?" "Of course not! I'm just wondering whether I need to inform her of certain things or if you mentioned them." "Er..." Cindy cut in, "Well, she knows that I was good friends when I was younger with someone you're interested in, so she mentioned that... She thought I might be able to help... And I actually ran into this person on the way to school today and exchanged phone numbers." "Oh, wow, that would be great if you could... I mean, I'm still going to have Elza-chan introduce us--" "Me and my great people skills!" Elza said, sticking out her tongue and winking. "Hush, silly. Later, though, if... this person acts stubborn, I could use some help from a mutual friend." "All right, that'll be fine with me," Cindy smiled widely. "So, you know a lot about this person, right? How have things been lately?" "I..." Michiru considered just what to say. "Things... have been very bad. Hard times... Sunao-san had them move out into an apartment... Katai," Michiru spat the name, "was a real jerk." "Oh boy, was he ever!" Cindy agreed. "I remember going over to the house and him telling me to leave, or not letting us play together... What an asshole! Well, I'm glad they moved away from him. I would if I was stuck with him." "Yeah..." Kirei popped up behind them and shouted, "Boo!" Elza and Cindy jumped a bit, not expecting someone to be there. "Um, hi, onee-chan," Michiru said. Strange, she had known Kirei was there, and that it was her, before she said anything. "What brings you over here?" "You wanted to go to that race tonight, right?" "Yes..." "And you weren't sure about ticket availability?" "... Yes..." Kirei grinned shyly and handed her two papers. Michiru's eyes widened as she took them from her. "Tickets for it?" "I thought you would like them..." "Thank you, onee-chan!" Michiru said, standing to hug her sister. Stepping back, she asked, "Why two?" "Cuz I'm going too," Kirei said with a wink. "Chance to catch up, and plus... heh heh, there's this cute racer named Hayasa Erai..." "Oh, an ulterior motive!" Michiru joked. "Hey!... Well, Kanpeki said Murasaki-chan's friends with him... everyone calls him Hayasa instead of Erai... I was thinking--" "Oh brother... or should I say sister..." "You're so _funny_, Michiru," Kirei teased. "Well, I gotta be going... the silly clique thing, y'know? It really gets old, you're lucky to escape it..." "Bye, Kirei." "Bye, Michiru... and, uh, you two. I don't know you... oh well, bye all." After Kirei had left, Elza commented, "I always thought your family was odd." "Be quiet, Elza. At least she's trying to get along, unlike my parents, and of course Suteki..." "Good point." "Well, I really need to eat--" "Oh yeah! Food!" Cindy smacked her forehead. "C'mon, little miss track star, need to keep your energy up." Elza blew a raspberry at her, then they all began to eat. At the end of the day, Haruka made sure she reminded Bofu that she wouldn't be going to be at practice, then went straight to the race track. She could feel her heart pounding with excitement. It was still early, and the race wouldn't be for a few hours, but she wanted to be there anyways. Engi waved and smiled to her as she walked into the garage. "Well, Haruka- chan, you ready for tonight's debut?" "You bet I am!" Haruka punched her fist into her palm. "I'm going to kick some serious ass!" "Don't get cocky," he warned. "Go out there aiming to do a great job, and be happy if you do win, but don't be mad if you don't place first, ok?" Haruka winked. "I'll be a bit disappointed, but hey, it's my first time." "Can't win 'em all." Haruka laughed and said, "Well, once I start making first place, I'll probably expect to." Engi chuckled a bit and said, "I know what that's like... I used to race, you know. But I'm getting too old for this now. I'll let all the young guys-- and girls-- have all the glory and fame." "I didn't realize you'd raced!" "How'd you think I know so much about cars and racing them?" "Uh... er... I don't know. I never thought about that." Haruka scratched her head, then looked around a bit. "Hey, where's everyone?" "Some of them are getting off work still. Others, I don't know. Probably being lazy, don't feel like showing up yet. I've seen several cars that could use some last-minute tune-ups, but there's no one around yet. Too cocky." He shook his head. "You should always show up really early. Good habit." "How's my car?" "Why don't you take a look at her yourself?" Engi led her to the sleek red car she drove. "Unless there's been a change since yesterday, she's doing fine." Haruka smiled. "Good. Man, I love this car!" She ran her hand along it, and commented, "Once I get a good amount of money racing, enough to help pay for school and things, I want to get my own car to drive around." "The legal driving age is--" "Yeah, yeah, so what if it's 18, I love driving and damnit, I'm going to drive! Besides, I could get a motorcycle license pretty soon... I'll turn 16 in the next school year..." "Think you'd even want a motorcycle?" "Why not? I'd like to try them sometime." "Hmmm... that reminds me, you could try racing dirt bikes and things sometime." "Let me enjoy F1 for now," she said, grinning, "but eventually I'll move on to other things as well." "Good! I'd hate to see you waste all your skill on one thing." Engi quickly glanced over her car, then said, "Will your mother be coming to watch?" "Yes, and my aunt, too, and maybe an old friend of mine." "It'll be nice to have people you know be here." "Yeah." Someone rapped their knuckles against the door as they came in. Haruka looked to see Hayasa there, an amused look on his face. "Pizza delivery," he called, holding out a few boxes. "Thought we should have something to eat... Where is everyone?" "Not here." "Always the comedian, Haruka," he said dryly. "Well, they'd better get here soon. I didn't buy all these pizzas for no reason." "Money out of your own pocket, Erai-kun?" Engi teased. "Don't call me that! Yeah, I paid for it myself. Got the money, don't I?" "I'll call you whatever I feel like, boy," Engi said, throwing a rag at him. "Now come on, let's eat. The others can join in once they get here. Oh, and Haruka," he turned towards her, "go ahead and get your fire suit on. We don't need to broadcast your gender to everyone. Some of the guys you'll race with are jerks that will report you just as soon as look at you." "Gotcha." Haruka went into a backroom and changed. She glanced at the clock and sighed bitterly. Hurry up and be time! She wanted to race right that moment, not wait. She didn't care that she still had to sit through the time trials, either. Just being in her car, driving it on the track was enough. She wobbled a bit on her feet and had to sit down. Damnit, a vision coming... seemingly the same as always, and once it was over, she noticed someone was knocking on the door. "Haruka-chan, you all right in there?" Engi called. "Fine." "Ok, you're just taking longer than usual. Sure you're ok? Pre-race jitters maybe?" "I said I'm fine." What in the world... the vision was usually short, why would it be longer? It seemed the same... Oh well. She opened the door with a smile. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's eat!" Michiru practically dragged Kirei by the arm to the race track. Kirei told her they had all the time in the world, but Michiru insisted on getting there at least half an hour early. Michiru was excited to see they had front-row seats. Michiru looked around the stadium to see who else might be there. Murasaki and Kanpeki were several seats over, sitting with Sunao and Teinei. Kanpeki was coughing and fanning her face; she hated exhaust fumes. Teinei noticed Michiru and waved, then nudged Sunao. Sunao gave her a huge smiled, making Michiru quite glad. She had Sunao's approval to pursue her daughter, and it thrilled Michiru to know that at least one of them wouldn't have difficulties with their parents over the situation. Elza and Cindy were a few more rows back from that, and two women were with them, one a red-head and the other with black hair. Michiru assumed those were her parents; the red- head must be their real mom. "Eeeee! There's Hayasa-san, walking on the edge of the track! Ohhh, he's so cute even from here! Ahhh! He's coming this way!" "Calm down, Kir--" "You know you'll just leap from your seat when Haruka walks out!" Kirei teased, smiling at her. "Let me have my fun." Hayasa walked over to the fence in front of where Murasaki sat. They talked a bit, then Kanpeki pointed over to where the sisters sat. Hayasa smiled and winked. Kirei squealed with excitement, then shrieked as he walked over. "Your sister tells me you wanted to meet me?" "Yes, yes, I did! Hi!" "Hi there. What's your name?" "Kirei! Kaiou Kirei!" Hayasa took her hand and kissed it lightly. "A pleasure to meet you." Michiru chuckled as Kirei swooned. "Ah, Kanpeki's triplet. Nice to meet you... what brings _you_ here?" he asked Michiru. Michiru smiled a bit, then said, "I'm here to see a new racer." "Ah, Ten'ou Haruka, perhaps?" "Yes, you know he-- um, _him_?" Michiru almost slipped and said 'her', then realized Haruka might not have revealed her gender to the other racers. Hayasa raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I know... him. We're good friends, actually, racing buddies." He leaned forward a bit. "You know more about Haruka than the others here, I assume. You almost slipped." "Yes, I know her... she doesn't know me." Michiru inwardly smacked herself. What was she telling him this for?! "Ahh, well then, I won't mention this to her..." He then winked at Kirei as he said, "But I'll just have to mention _this_ cutie I met. Maybe she'll be jealous that I met a pretty girl and she didn't." Kirei blushed and giggled. "Maybe we'll see each other again sometime? Just get Kanpeki-chan to tell Murasaki-chan... those two are joined at the hip! Murasaki's a good friend of mine, so she'll pass it on." "Sure! Thank you!" Kirei waved to him. "Good luck!" "Thanks, bye." Kirei sighed softly as he left. "This has to be the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. Wow, was he ever nice!" "Yes, he was." "Such a gentleman, too! Kissing my hand even..." Michiru smiled. "He's older than you, you know." "Not by much! Just a couple years." "Do you like older men?" "Not too much older, but yes. I don't want some dork whose voice still cracks. I want him to be more mature, but still fun." "You have rather specific tastes!" "Well, don't we all?" They looked out to the track, where the time trials were starting to wind down. Some silly advertisement played on the screen. They started showing some pictures of the regular racers, then mentioned the "first race of Ten'ou Haruka, the youngest racer out here! Last year of junior high at Goban Yobi-ko. Heading for his time trial now." Girls started screaming as they saw Haruka emerge from the garage. Michiru sat up in her seat. "Whoa... if I didn't know she was really a girl, _damn_!" "She does pull it off, I just don't know how... You'd think she was flat and had no hips, but that's not true... You should see her in her pajamas." "_Michiru_! I would _not_ enjoy that!... You didn't watch her _undress_, did you?" "NO!! God, I'm not a pervert, Kirei-chan!" Kirei breathed a sigh of relief. "Ok, good. Had me worried there a moment..." They sat back and watched their respective racers get into their cars. Haruka was the last trial, and after that, the race would begin. Haruka breezed through the time trial, taking things leisurely, for her. She wanted to impress everyone by being a new racer that had some speed going, but still start far enough back to make things interesting. When she finished, they told her she'd be starting tenth. She got out of her car to get a last drink of water and stretch. Hayasa finished up his time trial fourth, then came over to her. "Haruka-san, I know you can do better than that! Tenth!" "Relax," she said. "It wouldn't be any challenge if I started first." "You're a nut, Haruka-san. You better start first next race." He stopped as someone came over to tell them to get back into their cars. Everyone else started revving their engines and getting ready to start. "Good luck, Hayasa-kun!" Haruka shouted over the roar of engines. "You too, Haruka-san!" he returned, winking as he gave her a thumbs-up sign. Haruka slipped into her car, adrenaline already pumping through her veins. This was it. Her big moment. Suddenly, the helmet she pulled on didn't seem so constricting, the fire suit so hot and stuffy, her hands in her gloves so constricting, the fumes so nauseating, her starting place so far back. It all lead up to the race, the speed, the excitement. She placed her hands on the wheel, anxious for the start. The sound of the engine seemed to beg to be put to work. Some people waved to her, and she waved back. She gripped the wheel. Come on, come on, come on... Finally, they announced the beginning of the race. The lights came on. Ready, set... The light changed, and the cars started moving at once. Haruka quickly pulled in front of a few cars that were near her, flooring the pedal to shoot ahead. Despite the shielding and her clothing, she could feel the wind perfectly. She felt herself move at speeds she could never hope to reach on her own. She easily turned a corner, noticing out of the corner of her eye that some other racers had bumped into each other trying the same corner. Ah, here we go... Hayasa wasn't that far ahead of her now, with only a few cars between them. She waited for her chance, then pulled in front of the car just in front of her. This seemed to surprise the man now ahead of her. He didn't react as he should have, and she pulled in front of him as well. A long straight-away, this was where she was best. It didn't take much effort to pull right behind Hayasa. She smirked a bit, enjoying the speed she'd reached. There was a bend up ahead, and she prepared to turn. The man behind her was getting in position to try and pass her, and she noted that as she rounded it. She moved to block him, then noticed Hayasa was far enough away for her to safely pull in front of him as well. Two more to go, and she'd be in first... Everyone was standing up, screaming. Michiru felt excited for Haruka-- here she was, the new racer, and she was in third already! Kirei was screaming to, at Hayasa to regain his position. "Wow, that new guy's great!" Michiru overheard someone say. "And he's hot, too!" Michiru smiled to herself, and went back to watching the race. Haruka carefully edged closer to the car in front of her. He was being rather difficult, and she couldn't get ahead of him quite yet. He was no coward; others had moved out of the way, fearing a crash, but he just kept going, not backing down. He would make a mistake. They always did. There it was! He tried to pull in front of the first place racer, and had to fall back a bit when he couldn't get around. Haruka swerved out to the side, then shot in front of both of them. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and inside she was screaming in delight. She kept picking up speed, intent on widening the gap between her and the other racers. A quick glance revealed the audience on their feet, apparently screaming, from the sight of all the open mouths. She completed the first lap with ease. She was intent on keeping her speed, but knew she'd have to slow for the turns. She checked to see how much distance she had between her and the others. Good, she could be cautious and not have to worry about them gaining too much. Heck, she could make a pit stop or two without losing her position. It was a breeze to keep ahead of them all throughout all the laps. She lapped some people. She stopped to change tires and get some more fuel. The other racers posed no challenge. When she neared the finish line the final time, Hayasa had pulled into second, and was getting close. She quickly checked her fuel gauge, then decided to go all-out for the finish. Pressing the pedal down hard, she shot off full speed for the finish line. Everything seemed to slow in her mind. She could see it coming. She felt a brush of wind against her cheek. Pressure pushed against her from the speed. Fans were screaming, jumping up in the air. The other racers moved farther and farther behind. There it was, coming closer, closer... She literally shouted as she crossed it, well ahead of everyone else. "HARUKA WON!!" Michiru screamed. "Hayasa-kun got second!" Kirei added. They were both shrieking in excitement, then they hugged each other tightly on impulse. "I can't believe it!" Michiru said. "She did it!" "Hush, let's see what happens now." Everyone finally slowed to a stop. Haruka leapt from the car, ripping her helmet from her head as Hayasa and Engi ran over to her. "You did it!" Engi shouted, slapping her on the back enthusiastically, then pulling her in for a fatherly hug. Hayasa gave her a high five and winked. "Beginner's luck," he teased as he gave her a bear hug. "Sure it was!" Haruka laughed, throwing her arms up in the air, her head back. A gust of wind hit her at that moment, blowing her hair from her face. She closed her eyes, enjoying it. This is what she lived for. The speed, the rush, just like the wind, closer than any other human could be. She could hear it, feel it, taste it. And it was happy for her. Hayasa grabbed her arm and dragged her to collect her trophy and prize money. Haruka paused a moment to wave and wink to all the screaming girls, then followed him. The trophy was beautiful, the amount of money staggering. She couldn't believe her eyes. She got all this for having the time of her life? Cameras were snapping pictures left and right, reporters trying to push their way towards her, video cameras rolling. Haruka caught a glimpse of Sunao's face, bobbing through the crowd, trying to get through. "Okaa-san!" she shouted, waving. That got them to let her by. Sunao rushed over and hugged her tightly, and she seemed close to tears. "Oh Haruka, that was wonderful. I'm so proud of you!" "Thank you, okaa-san," she murmured. This was truly the best thing that had ever happened to her. ********** Michiru sighed gratefully as she stepped into the hot shower. Three weeks had passed since she saw Haruka race for the first time. She'd raced every week since, and Michiru made sure to go every time. She always started and placed first. The media was going nuts about her, plastering her face on magazines, newspapers, and television stories. Michiru was having her own share of fame. Her CD was selling fast, and her performances were selling out. She performed every Saturday night, and again Sunday afternoon. People asked for her to play on Fridays, but she declined... after all, she had to watch Haruka race. The daimon attacks were getting more frequent now, averaging two a week. Michiru was terrified. They were getting harder to fight, and she knew they'd just get worse. She needed Uranus's help. She needed it quickly. Michiru shivered with excitement. Today was the day. Today she would meet Haruka face to face. Her face burned whenever she thought about it. What a way to start a new week. She didn't know how she'd make it through the day. The sea was calm. Thank goodness; she wouldn't have to worry about a daimon spoiling things. Everything was going to be ok. Everything would be great. She stepped out of the shower to dress for school. It was going to be ok. It had to be. Haruka woke up screaming again. She stumbled out of bed into the kitchen. Thank God Sunao wasn't here to question her about it. The visions were more and more frequent now, not just every few days, but sometimes a few times a day. It had interfered with the start of a race the other day, but she managed to recover. She almost collapsed while running in her first track meet because of a vision, but somehow her body knew to keep moving, just going with the wind. The wind... every few days now, she could feel it's uneasiness in the way it would rustle. She didn't know why she did, or how, but somehow it happened. She had a track meet today. Maybe she could sort things out then. Running gave her time to think while letting her enjoy the company of the wind. Was something going to happen today? The wind was being strange... Finally, the school day was over! Michiru rushed to meet Elza and walk with her to the track for her meet. Elza would be racing Haruka, and would introduce her afterwards. Elza still remained confident she would win. Michiru knew otherwise. She held her sketchbook in hand. Stay calm, Michiru. Just ask her to pose for a painting. Simple. If you have to, mention the wind... that will get her attention. She'll realize you aren't just some ordinary girl. She sighed and sat to wait for the race to end. Haruka stretched a lot, as usual, to make sure she didn't injure herself. A lot of kids were racing today, some she'd raced with before, others were new. There was a cute girl with red hair racing by her. Haruka vaguely recognized her as a top racer. Haruka wasn't intimidated. The girl looked over at her, and said, "Hello there." "Hi. Haven't raced you before." "I haven't ran here in awhile. Been busy." "Well, I always look forward to racing someone that's supposed to be unbeatable. You do realize I'm going to win?" Haruka questioned as she stood up tall, ending her stretching. The vision hit her when she stopped stretching. For some reason, the girl in it seemed sadder than usual. When she came out of it, the red-head commented to her, "I've heard you're fast, but I'm not going to lose." Haruka smirked a bit. "Oh really? Why's that?" "I'm Elza Grey, and I lose to no one!" They took up their starting positions. The gun shot rang out, and everyone took off. Some kids tried to get an early lead, others were saving energy for the end. Elza wanted an early lead. Maybe she could last the whole race, if she got it. Haruka took the early lead. She would definitely last the whole race. Haruka ran effortlessly, as always. Elza was struggling hard, trying to keep up and get ahead. Haruka didn't give her full effort. A track meet wasn't worth it. It was easily won without going all out. Haruka crossed the finish line and slowed to a stop. Elza finished second, breathing hard, a disappointed look on her face. Haruka didn't bother to stick around long. People congratulated her as she walked away. She went over to where the runners kept their bags and things, and pulled her racing clothes on over her track clothes. What a boring day. She couldn't wait to leave. She heard footsteps approaching. Two people... hmmm... Who could that be? One hesitated, the other came forward. Elza. She smiled and said, "Ten'ou Haruka! I've heard your reputation. You're really great." She paused briefly, then said, "There's someone I'd like you to meet. Come on, Michiru!" Haruka fought to keep her jaw from dropping. She barely noticed Elza saying, "This is Kaiou Michiru. She is extremely intelligent and a brilliant painter. She really wants to meet you." Really wants to meet _me_? This gorgeous girl? ... Lord Almighty, she was the most beautiful girl Haruka had ever seen. She had incredible deep blue eyes, soft but inviting; wavy seagreen hair that fell around her shoulders, held black with a black headband; full lips that looked so soft and sweet; a delicate chin and high cheekbones; small but elegant hands; a bit taller than average, slender, well-developed, quite feminine in appearance; wearing the school uniform, but looking much cuter in it than anyone else did. She was clasping a sketchbook in front of her, head lowered, having closed her eyes, a blush just barely flushing her cheeks. Haruka's heart pounded at the sight of her, and she felt her blood heat up. She was attracted to her immediately. She wanted to get to know her... she _wanted_ her. When Elza finished speaking, she opened her eyes and stepped forward. She spoke, the voice of an angel, so sweet and kind, "You didn't break a sweat. I think you were holding back. Right?" "What do you mean?" She could tell? Michiru tilted her head slightly, a sly grin appearing on her face. "You can hear the wind rustling, can't you?" WHAT?! All traces of nonchalance were erased from her face and her eyes shot open. She stared hard at Michiru, who stared right back, but her gaze was wistful, taking her in, while Haruka's was one of horror. What... how... And suddenly, a sharp chill went through her. Oh no, no, it couldn't be... but gazing at Michiru, hearing what she said... this was the girl in the vision. The girl begging her to join her mission... to leave her life, to risk it for some strange cause. To give up all she'd worked for... all she'd tried to accomplish, to fight, be hurt, and maybe die. To make her life a living hell all over again, but this time it would be willingly. Haruka felt like something in her had died. How could fate be so cruel? To give her a girl she was dying to be with, but place this price on being close to her. How could she just give up her new life for her? Fighting back her tears, she tried to sound and look disinterested and cold. She grabbed her bag up, slinging it over her shoulder. "You're strange," she said, turning away. "So, want do you want of me?" She looked over her shoulder to see Michiru as she said in an excited tone, "Would you be a model for my painting?" Her voice left no doubt as to what she was feeling for Haruka. Haruka's heart skipped a beat. No... Even worse, this girl was interested in her as well. "Pass! I don't like that kind of thing." I don't like that kind of thing, but I like _you_... She could sense Michiru's pain, the hopes she'd crush. Her eyes threatened to brim over with tears as she walked away from Michiru. God... I hate you. I hate you for doing this to me. Michiru's head sagged, and she just stood there trembling, her face unreadable except for the tears welling in her eyes. She swallowed hard and turned to Elza. "Michiru?... Are... Are you all right?" "I'm fine," Michiru said, her voice carefully controlled. "I-It's just a minor set-back. She's probably just... just stressed from all that's happening. I'll talk to her again some other time. I'm fine..." "Michiru, you look pale--" "I'm fine," Michiru said again. Her knuckles were turning white from her grip on her sketchbook. "I'm going home now. I'll see you later." "If you're sure... I'll see you." Michiru calmly walked away from the track. Elza watched her leave, then turned away. When Michiru was sure no one could see her, she ran. She'd never run so fast in her life. She'd never felt this hopeless. She'd never felt this much pain. How could she do this to me?! How could this happen to me?! After all these months, after all this waiting, all this time... she just gives me the brush off?! She cried out as she stumbled and fell. She had run into her backyard, lay near the lake. She felt the sea share her agony. The waters cried with her. She screamed, tearing up the grass. I love her... I love her so much.... and she doesn't care. She shook all over, racked with sobs. Ki ran outside to see what the commotion was, followed by the other children. Ki tried to go to her, but Kirei and Kanpeki got there first. Kanpeki sat her up, hugging her tightly, and Kirei motioned for Genki to pick her up. She made Ki step aside as they carried Michiru up to her room. How can I go on? How can I complete my mission, knowing she doesn't care? How can it be completed at all, if I don't have my partner? "Michiru... please... stop crying," Kanpeki pleaded. "Please... you need to calm down." Michiru pushed her away, crying out, "Leave me alone! Get away from me!" "What happened?" Kirei asked softly. "I thought you were meeting Haru--" "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Kirei flinched, then bit her lip and left. Genki gave her a hug, then led Kanpeki out with him, shutting and locking the door. Michiru lay back in her bed, too weak to move. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pain. She couldn't stop sobbing, and ended up coughing violently. She couldn't breathe, and she doubled over from the effort. Gasping, coughing harder, she ran for her bathroom and threw up. She lay on the floor in there afterwards, not wanting to move. She struggled to stand and rinsed her mouth out, then went and flopped on her bed again. "Michiru..." Setsuna. At a time like this. "What the hell do you want?!" Michiru cried out. "Can't you see that I'm--" And then Setsuna was there in person, in her fuku, as usual. "Michiru-chan, I know what happened. Please, don't give up. It's going to be ok." "How can it be ok?!" "Just keep trying. It'll be all right. Haruka's not one to rush into things, you should know that. She terrified right now. She's had the visions everyday now, and they're started to interfere with her life. She's afraid to accept the mission." "Wh... what are you trying to say?" Pluto smiled sadly, then said quietly, "It's not that she isn't interested in you. She's afraid of losing her life, the one she's made for herself. She doesn't want to be a Senshi." "A-are you sure?" "Yes." Pluto sat down by her and said, "Michiru, you're my friend, and I'm going to look out for both you and Haruka. Just give her time. Be her friend. It may take awhile, but she'll learn to get over her fear and accept things." "How am I supposed to--" Pluto chuckled and said, "I have... connections... at your school. I have arranged for you to switch around your classes so you'll have the same as her. You won't need to worry about P.E., they'll make an exception in your case." She winked and said, "They just won't realize it." Michiru sniffled and said, "You're an interesting person, Setsuna-chan." Pluto laughed and said, "When you're stuck by yourself for a long time, you learn to think your way through all sorts of possible situations." She stood up and smiled sadly. "Well, I've got to leave again. Remember, it's going to be all right." "Th-thank you, Setsuna-chan." "You're welcome, Michiru-chan." Pluto seemed to shimmer as she disappeared. Michiru hugged her pillow tightly. Could things really work out between her and Haruka? She was very grateful for Setsuna visiting her and talking to her, not to mention rearranging her classes. How in the world had she done it? The doorbell rang. Michiru assumed someone else had gotten it. Shortly after that, she heard someone coming up the stairs, then knock on her door. "Michiru-chan? It's me, Elza. Can I come in?" Michiru got up and smoothed her hair, then unlocked the door. "Um, hi..." Elza shut the door behind her, and handed over her sketchbook. "I figured you weren't as fine as you said you were. You've always been too good at hiding how you feel, especially when you're upset. Tell me the truth, are you all right?" "I'll live." Michiru sighed sadly. Elza hugged her, saying quietly, "I know it hurts to have her act like that, but like you said, she's been going through hard times, right? So she's probably just afraid of relationships right now." "Yeah..." Elza pulled away and said, "My ex-boyfriend... he was so rude to me at first, but he eventually came around. He treated me like a queen after a few months." "Ex?" "He moved to Europe last year," Elza said quietly. "I really miss him... But enough about me, right?" Michiru smiled. "Thank you for coming over." "No problem. We're friends, and friends look out for each other. Come on, let's go get some ice cream. Nothing like chocolate chip cookie dough to cheer you up. My treat." "I think I'll just rest some... I'm fine, really. I'm just really tired." Elza looked at her with concern. "Are you sure you're ok now? I mean, after what happened and all?" "Well I... had a visit, of sorts." "Huh?" "Nevermind. Let's just say, I had a talk with someone. I'll be fine. I'll ... I'll try to see you at school tomorrow, but I'm changing my schedule." "Um, ok. See ya." "Bye, Elza-chan." As Elza shut the door behind her, Michiru curled up in a ball on her bed. It'll be all right, she told herself. It'll work out. Don't start crying again. Things will be fine. Haruka slammed the door of the apartment shut, making a picture fall from its hook on the wall with the force of it. Sunao tried to talk to her as she stormed past to go to her room. She slammed that door too, and flopped onto her bed. Part of her was numb, unable to accept what had happened. The other part was screaming bitterly, sobbing hard. She lay their, eyes fixed on the ceiling, unmoving. Sunao quietly opened the door and sat down at Haruka's side. "Is something wrong?" "I-I'm fine, okaa-san, I..." Haruka left a long pause, continuing to stare at he ceiling. She closed her eyes and muttered. "I need to get away from here, from everything." "Oh?... Well, do you want your own apartment?" What a way to twist her words... but it would be better than being trapped here. "Please... I'll pay for it myself. I'll move today, I don't care..." "I-If that's what you really want. I'll call some places right now." Sunao got up and left, and Haruka buried her face in her pillow, crying into it. She tried to convince herself that it wasn't worth crying over; she'd just met this girl, knew nothing about her... but deep inside, she felt like she did know her, that somehow this girl was perfect for her, if only... Why did the mission have to be a part of it? Why did that damned Senshi junk have to be mixed in? She couldn't accept it, and by refusing that, she refused Michiru. Why couldn't she just be with Michiru and not deal with the mission? After half an hour, Sunao came in again. "I found a place for you in the downtown area. It's about the size of this place, rather nice... a bit pricey, but you can cover it, right? Closer to the school..." "Fine. I'll be packing." Sunao seemed almost hurt, but nodded. Haruka looked at her sadly, then said, "I'm sorry, okaa-san, I... I just need to be alone. I need to get away from everyone, even you. I can't let my troubles bother you. You... you really can't do anything for me now. I'm sorry." Sunao lowered her head. "I... I'm sorry I couldn't be a better mother--" "No, no, that's not it..." Haruka sighed. "I just have too many personal issues that I can't let you get involved with. Just... get on with your life. We'll still see each other... I'll call you..." Sunao hugged her tightly. "I love you, Haruka." "I love you, okaa-san." Sunao sniffled a bit and left the room, and Haruka quickly packed her things, called the friend they'd borrowed the van from before, and drove it to the new address. She examined the apartment critically when she arrived. It was more than enough for her alone. It came with nice furniture. It wasn't too much money, considering what she earned racing. After quickly unpacking her things, she went to stand out on the balcony. It was very windy that night, so she rested in the chair there, closing her eyes. It wasn't like she'd see Michiru again... she'd never met her till that day, so they must not have any classes together. She could get over her, in time. It would be fine. She just had to avoid seeing her. She almost screamed at the terrifying vision that entered her mind then. "Haruka..." It was too dark to see clearly... just a bright red coming from somewhere... too much wind to keep balance... "Haruka... please..." She struggled to look up and saw Michiru in her sailor fuku, her face more sad and pleading than ever. "Please... don't be afraid... we need you..." Other Senshi could be seen faintly, fighting, dying? "No, I can't... you don't need me! You can do this without me!" Michiru's eyes closed, tears streaming down her face. A silhouette rose up behind her, a girl with shoulder-length hair, wielding a large weapon... a glaive? It started lowering towards the ground, time seeming to slow as she did so. "Please... Everyone is counting on us..." "No!" "Please, for the sake of the world--" "NO!" Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, the sound of millions of screams. A cluster of metal ribbons shot out from the glaive, tearing first Michiru, then the other Senshi to pieces. They shot out everywhere, covering the Earth. Haruka opened her eyes, finding herself lying on the floor of her balcony, sweating and crying. "It's just a vision... just a vision..." She shuddered and swayed as she stood up. It was just too vivid, too real... the pain seemed so real, the screams... She passed out on the floor of the apartment before she could make it to her bed.
Back to Dark Skies, Bright Heavens Index - Back to Sailor Moon Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction