CHAPTER 10
~~~~~~~~~~
 
 
Haruka stirred a bit in her sleep, thinking she was smelling breakfast
cooking already. She knew that couldn't be so; how could anyone be making
breakfast since she was the only one here? She lay there, almost falling
back to sleep, then her eyes shot open in surprise. She was definitely
smelling something cooking.
She stretched out and ran her fingers through her hair before stumbling
through her door. It took her awhile to fully wake up in the morning. She
peered around the entrance to the kitchen and her eyes widened in surprise.
There was Michiru, looking perfect as always with the addition of an apron,
walking around the kitchen making various dishes. She almost dropped the bowl
she was holding when she saw Haruka.
"Haruka! Oh, I'm so sorry! Did I wake you up?"
"I could smell it even in my sleep... It looks wonderful... What are you
doing here this early making a meal for me? How'd you get in anyways?"
Michiru smiled a bit sheepishly. "A few weeks ago, I convinced your mother to
give me a copy of the key... I thought you might appreciate breakfast in bed,
but you woke up already... You have a race today and... Well, considering that
you've agreed to join us..."
Haruka smiled at her. "That's really sweet of you. Thanks." She wiped a bit
of batter from Michiru's cheek, then said, "Now, if you don't mind... I think
I'll put something else on. These pajamas really are too small."
"Awww, darnit."
Haruka's eyes widened in surprise. "You're... kidding... right?"
Michiru just winked at her.
Haruka blushed and turned to walk to her room. It felt strange to know someone
actually found her attractive how she really was and not the way she looked in
public. She slipped into a T-shirt and pants and went back into the kitchen.
Michiru had almost finished, so Haruka went ahead and put out silverware at the
table.
"You look beautiful today, Michiru," she said. Michiru really did look wonderful;
her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail that looked cute on her, and she wore
a nice floral sundress. A glance at the foyer showed she'd been wearing sandals
with it. "Not that you don't all the time..."
"Thank you," Michiru replied, blushing a bit. "It's good to see you not hiding
your... ah..."
Haruka laughed. "It's definitely more comfortable! You have no idea how awful
it feels, ugh!"
"Probably pretty bad, considering how much there is to hide. I swear, if the
boys knew what you really looked like, they'd all be drooling over you. I'm
surprised you've never had any boys ask you out."
Haruka coughed a bit. "Er, that's... not quite true."
Michiru raised her eyebrow and started bringing the food to the table. "Oh?
Something I don't know about you!"
"That's a first, hmmm?" Haruka winked at her. "Well, I had a friend named Sai
when I was little, but we lost touch. He popped up at my junior high and hung
all over me and eventually asked me out. He didn't take the rejection too
well."
"Did he realize why you weren't interested?"
Haruka closed her eyes briefly. "He made a rude remark as a joke, and when
he saw the look on my face..."
"I'm sorry." Michiru placed her hand on Haruka's. "I didn't mean to--"
"It's all right," Haruka said with a smile, squeezing her hand. "He wasn't
a real friend if he did that to me, right?"
"True..."
"Anyone ever ask _you_ out? Or should I say, how many?"
"Actually..." Michiru sighed. "No one. Everyone's been afraid to approach
me since I was little. Even at Goban Yobi-ko, I'm smarter than everyone,
and they're jealous of my skills in art and music. I have very few friends,
and the only other people that talk to me are fans asking for autographs."
"I'm surprised that you don't have herds of men following you," Haruka
said. "I would think your celebrity status would make them even more
interested..." Her eyebrow twitched as she said, "The girls won't leave me
alone thanks to my racing... But really, you're so incredible, Michiru, and
if no one else has seen that... well, they're idiots, and I'm pretty damn
lucky I managed to have you to myself."
Michiru giggled a bit and gripped her hand tighter. "Why thank you... I
better bring everything over now."
"Let me help." Haruka took several of the dishes and brought them over
as well. They both sat down. "Hmmm, Western foods, yummy. Don't have that
often enough."
Michiru laughed and said, "Our house is a Western design, and my parents
pretty much raised us on Western breakfasts. You have to love the pancakes,
hmmm?"
"Definitely." Haruka poured syrup onto hers and passed it to Michiru. "I
should have you cook for me more often," she teased, "I can barely cook
anything, much less anything this good." She took a bite and smiled in
contentment. "It's delicious!"
"Thank you." Michiru shyly smiled at her. "I'm glad you like it."
"Aren't you going to eat?"
"Well..."
Haruka pushed a plate in front of her. "It's more fun to share a meal
than have it to yourself. Come on."
"If you insist... but I really didn't intend to have any..."
"Michiru!" Haruka grabbed her hand again. "You spent all that time
cooking and didn't think you'd eat any? Come on, don't be silly. You
need to eat."
"Oh all right."
They ate quietly, exchanging few words, gazing into each other's eyes.
Once they'd finished and cleaned up, Haruka offered to take her for a drive
later. Michiru was a bit hesitant, then agreed. They went into the living
room and sat down on the couch.
"So, what now?" Michiru asked.
Haruka shrugged. She looked up at the ceiling, thinking to herself a bit.
"Michiru... I have something to show you."
"Oh?"
Haruka went into her room and got her notebook. When she returned, she
handed it to Michiru. "I want you to see it. I think you know what this is
already."
"Haruka..." Michiru carefully opened it. "Are you sure? This is really
personal..."
"Yes." Haruka lay back on the couch. "I want you to see it."
Michiru got up and moved Haruka's end of the couch. She sat next to her and
gently pulled Haruka back to lie on her lap. Haruka chuckled a bit and looked
up at her. "This is very comfortable..."
Michiru laughed too and gently stroked her hair, holding the notebook open
with her other hand. Haruka sighed blissfully and closed her eyes for awhile.
After a few minutes, she opened them again and looked up at Michiru in
surprise. "Angel?"
Michiru nearly dropped the notebook. "What?!"
"Sorry..." Haruka reached her hand up to touch Michiru's cheek. "But... you
are her, aren't you? The girl that saved my life those times..."
"Well... yes."
Haruka smiled sweetly at her. "I'd forgotten about seeing you like that. My
memories of you then are pretty blurred, considering the condition I was in...
and I suppose," Haruka blushed faintly, "once I'd really met you, I forgot
about my 'angel' and thought of you in that sense instead..."
"Thank you..." Michiru traced a finger along Haruka's jawline. "Think of me
as your angel, hmmm?"
Haruka shivered a bit. "Oh, definitely... the term fits you... you're so
beautiful, so kind, definitely heavenly... And you saved my life a few
times..."
Michiru's hand trailed to Haruka's neck and collar bone, gently brushing her
fingers over Haruka's skin. "I'm heavenly?"
"Very!" Haruka whispered, barely holding back a moan. "God, that feels
wonderful!..."
Michiru laughed and gave her shoulder a squeeze, then went back to looking at
the notebook. Haruka pretended to pout, then relaxed, gazing at Michiru. She
sighed happily and closed her eyes again. She blinked when a tear hit her
cheek. "Michiru? Are you all right?"
"S-sorry," she whispered. "I just... this is dated yesterday... you wrote this
about me?" Michiru showed her the poem she was looking at.
"Yes."
"I-It's... it's amazing... it's really..." Michiru wiped her eyes quickly. "I
didn't know you could write this well... a-and that you felt this way..."
Haruka sat up and put her arm around her shoulders. "I meant every word of it.
You are the most important person, most important _anything_ in my life. You've
made me feel like a better person than I am. You've given me hope and happiness,
the will to live..." She hugged Michiru and whispered in her ear. "I can't put
into words how much you mean to me."
Michiru rested her cheek against Haruka's, then held her hand tightly. "Then
don't speak," she breathed, leaning her lips towards Haruka. Haruka started to
lean to her, then put her finger against Michiru's lips. "What's wrong?"
"I want to be ready to say I love you before we kiss," Haruka whispered. She
smiled sadly at her. "And you were the one telling me to take things slow
yesterday..."
"I suppose so!" Michiru laughed. "It's hard to control myself around you!"
"Same here," Haruka said with a wink. She pressed her face into Michiru's hair
and mumbled, "Give me a little more time, then I'll be more than happy to..."
"Your breath tickles!" Michiru giggled and wrapped her arms around Haruka's
shoulders. Haruka blew against her ear lightly, making Michiru squirm. "Ohhh...
Ohhh Haruka, cut that out! Ahhh!"
"Mmmm, I think you're enjoying it! Besides, it's fun to watch how you react!"
Haruka pulled away from her with a grin. "Oh well. Plenty of opportunities for
that later, hmmm?" She helped Michiru to her feet. "Well, as much as I'm enjoying
this... My mother was planning to come over later this morning, and later I'll
need to be getting dressed to head to the track... yuck... If you want to take
my notebook with you... I don't mind. Meet you there?"
"What if I don't want to leave?" She smiled broadly. "Your mother knows me. She
knows how I feel about you and actually encouraged me to pursue you. And I'd
like to show up with you for the race."
Haruka sighed. "I can't help but give in to you. You win." She linked her arm
around Michiru's. "I guess I'll go to her instead of her coming to me... and
you'll be going with me. Would you like to go in my car or my motorcycle?"
Michiru giggled a bit. "Let's try the motorcycle..." Her eyes gleamed a bit
as she said, "I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to get closer to you."
Haruka raised her eyebrow a bit, smiling at her. "Who would think someone so
elegant and reserved as you could be so... so amorous."
"Blame the reservation on my parents," Michiru laughed, "I was raised to act
perfect and lady-like all the time... as for the other..." She rested her
head on Haruka's shoulder. "You just have that effect on me."
Haruka chuckled a bit and led her out the apartment. "Well then, my dear,
let's be off, so you can enjoy 'getting closer to me'."
Michiru laughed and bopped her lightly on the head. Not as close as I'd
like, she thought, but close enough for now.
At first, Michiru seemed terrified of the motorcycle. Haruka calmly
explained to her that she had nothing to worry about; she was a very safe
driver, and besides, all Michiru had to do was hang on tight-- which she
was sure to do anyways.
Haruka climbed onto it and put their helmets on the shelf nearby so they
could grab them when ready. Michiru carefully seated herself and wrapped her
arms around Haruka's waist.
"Well, shall we be off?"
"O-okay..."
"Michiru! Relax! I race professionally; I think I can handle a motorcycle."
"I know... I've just never been on one before..."
"Just hold on tight, okay? Not too tight or I won't be able to breathe..."
Haruka adjusted her seating a bit. "Now, make sure you lean _with_ me into the
turns. If you try to go the other way, it'll really make things interesting.
You might feel like you're falling, but don't worry, just keep leaning into it,
all right?... And try not to let your hands stray too high or I'll crash us," she
teased with a wink.
Michiru laughed a bit, her nerves easing somewhat. "I'll try."
Haruka started the engine. Michiru involuntarily squeezed her tighter, letting
out a tiny shriek. Haruka turned it back off again and made Michiru get off
with her. "Michiru, you're the one who wanted to take this instead of my car.
If you can't handle this, we can just get my car and--"
"No." Michiru set her lips in a firm line. "I'm not going to back down."
"Conquering a fear perhaps?"
Michiru blinked a bit at her. "What do you mean by that?"
"I think you're just pushing yourself to do something you wouldn't normally
do. You're testing yourself, whether you realize it or not." Haruka touched
her cheek gently. "We're going to have a lot of trials ahead. You can handle
this. You've fought daimons, remember? This is nothing."
"Haruka the psychologist," Michiru joked quietly.
"Some psychologist _I'd_ make," Haruka groaned. "I'd have more problems than
my patients! 'Hi, I'm your cross-dressing, self-supported, lesbian, abused
psychologist! I bet there's nothing wrong or unusual with you compared to me!"
"Haruka!" She frowned at her darkly. "I don't think you should turn those
things into a joke..."
Haruka shrugged a bit. "I know. But... face it, the nail that sticks up gets
hammered down... and I'm very visible. It's all right though. I'm quite stubborn,
aren't I?" Haruka winked at her.
"I..." Michiru sighed and flung up her hands. "Nevermind. It's already been
said. Let's just get going; I want to get this over with."
"All right."
Again, they got onto the bike, and Haruka started the engine. Michiru kept
quiet this time, though her grip got noticeably tighter.
"Ready?"
"One moment..."
"What... now?" Haruka let a loud gasp and a choked moan as Michiru slipped her
hands under her shirt to run across her ribcage. She nuzzled her face against
Haruka's neck, pressing her body against her back. Haruka leaned back against
Michiru, her breathing quickening noticeably. "M-Michiru?! W-what..."
"Drive safely," Michiru whispered throatily in her ear. "Don't forget who
your passenger is... or how she feels about you."
"I... I..."
Michiru grabbed their helmets, putting hers on and handing Haruka's over
to her. "Well, let's be going."
Haruka trembled, noticing the gleam in her eye. Michiru wrapped her arms
around her again, smiling at her. "What are you waiting for?"
Haruka put on her helmet and put her hands back on the handlebars. She
closed her eyes, trying to ignore the warm rush to her cheeks over what
just happened. "N-nothing. Let's go."
Michiru's arms gripped her considerably when they took off onto the
road. Haruka was thrilled to be out on her bike with Michiru. Michiru
was only enjoying the fact that she was with Haruka. Haruka started to
speed up far over the speed limit, but Michiru let her know she wasn't
thrilled with the idea. A hard pinch does wonders to convey messages.
As they were driving, Haruka felt the wind stirring. She glanced around
and pulled off onto a side street, parking her motorcycle.
"You felt something, too?" Michiru said once she'd pulled off her helmet.
"Yep. What do we do now?"
"We better take care of it now. Don't want to interrupt your race."
Haruka pulled her bike to where no one would see it. "All right... Hmmm,
that's strange. Something feels... different. There's something about
this one... And there's something else I sense, something that has
nothing to do with--"
"Let's just find it and take care of it, hmmm? Don't want to worry
okaa-san too much."
They transformed and leapt onto the rooftops. Neptune walked to the
edge and looked around. "I think... over there." She pointed in the
direction of a small park. "I'm pretty sure it's over there." A
series of leaps brought them to the building closest to the park.
"Uranus," Neptune turned to look at her. "Out of curiosity... I had to
experiment to find out I could jump and leap this high, and it came as
quite a surprise. How'd you--"
"I just followed your lead," Uranus laughed. "And to me..." she smiled
up at the sky, "... to me... the idea of being able to go so high... it
doesn't seem unusual."
"Head in the clouds," Neptune teased.
"I wish."
Neptune smiled at her and looked out to the park. "Well, let's check it
out. Think you'll be able to figure out your attack?"
"Sure."
They jumped down from the building and back up into the trees. Leaping
from the branches of one to the next, they searched for the daimon.
"Neptune! Over there!" Uranus whispered. "What's happening?"
Neptune looked to where she pointed. A woman stood, gloating over a
teenage boy that had fallen to the ground and now tried to scramble
away. His backpack lay next to him. The woman had long red hair, flowing
loose from a braid-wrapped bun, purple eyes, and a short red dress that
bared scandalous amounts of her chest. Uranus raised her eyebrow a bit
then let out a small "oof!" when Neptune jammed her elbow in her ribs.
The woman just stood smirking while the boy reached for his backpack.
He screamed when it started to morph.
Uranus moved to leap out and attack, and was stopped when Neptune
grabbed her shoulder. "Let's see what it does first. We need to know
what we're facing. This isn't like the other daimons."
The backpack took the shape of a woman with strange accessories all over
her-- a ruler down her spine, dozens of pencils for hair, a crayon-
plated dress... She looked ridiculous. "SAMBON!" she screamed.
"Nooo!" the boy scrambled to regain his footing and tried to run. The
daimon lifted a corner of the skirt and revealed a black star printed
on her thigh. A beam of light shot out from it to the boy's chest. He
screamed as a glowing object started to emerge from his chest, his skin
taking on a gruesome pallor... Out of his chest came a magenta-tinged
crystal, with many pieces shooting off from the center, giving off a
bright glow...
"That must be a heart crystal! GO!" Neptune shouted. They leapt down and
ran to attack. The woman glared angrily at them as they approached, while
the daimon stood there, too shocked to move.
"Sambon! Stop those two!"
"Yes! SAMMMMBON!" A huge pencil appeared in her hand and she started to
swing it like a bat.
"Neptune! The crystal!"
Neptune rushed to the boy while Uranus dodged the over-sized pencil. She
flipped over the daimon's head and kicked her from behind. Neptune grabbed
the heart crystal and frantically examined it. It was so bright, so fragile,
and it floated over her hands rather than her actually holding it. It
seemed so unique... She had the feeling this wasn't a Talisman, however.
She didn't know what to do with it now. She shouted to Uranus that it wasn't
a Talisman, and heard Uranus swear at that. She was surprised to hear the
red-head also mutter a curse.
"Sambon, kill them!" She vanished from sight.
Uranus let out a short grunt when Sambon's pencil hit her in the ribs.
It didn't take her long to recover; she leapt over the Sambon's head and
planted her heel in the daimon's back, knocking it over. Uranus waited
for it to stand up, feeling her attack phrase coming to her. She raised
her hand over her head, smirking a bit. She balled her hand into a fist,
yellow beams of light pulsing from it. "World..." She slammed her hand down
towards the ground. "Shaking!" A huge, round ball of energy shot out along
the ground and slowly rose higher into the air, finally connecting with
Sambon.