She left her car and started up the walkway. Maybe when the night was over,
she would be able to tell exactly how she felt.
She hesisitated a bit before she rang the doorbell. She didn't know what
to expect of Michiru's parents. The door opened and a lovely woman
stood there. Haruka looked beyond her in awe of the enormous, beautifully
furbished house. Michiru's parents must make a fortune!
"Ten'ou Haruka, I believe?" she asked crisply.
Haruka bowed low to her. She had better turn on the charm. She could
tell Michiru's mother would be hard to please. "I don't believe we've
had the pleasure of meeting. I can see where Michiru gets her beauty
from." Okay, a little lying couldn't hurt. No one compared to Michiru
in looks.
The woman's eyes brightened and she opened the door further. "Come in,
please. My name is Ki."
"It's wonderful to meet you, Kaiou-san."
Ki smiled and shut the door behind them. "Thank you, but please, Ki-san
is fine. I wouldn't want to be confused with my husband." She looked
approvingly at the roses Haruka was holding. "My daughter has picked
quite the gentleman, I see."
"Thank you, Ki-san. I'm honored."
Ki smiled again and led her to the living room, then indicated a couch
for her to sit on. They both took seats. Haruka was surprised at how
perfect Ki kept her posture, how she kept her facial expressions in
perfect control.
A tall man dressed in a suit walked into the room. Haruka stood and
bowed to him, and a look of surprise crossed his face. "It's an honor
to meet you, Ten'ou-san."
"The honor is mine, Kaiou-san." She smiled broadly at him. Michiru's
parents weren't too hard to deal with. Just act like a perfect
"gentlemen" and they were thrilled.
"My son Genki is a big fan of racing. He sees all of your races."
"Thank him for me."
"Would you mine introducing yourself to him? I'm sure he'd be thrilled.
He's in the family room." Tadashii pointed in the direction of it.
"Besides, I need to talk with my wife."
"Of course." She walked towards the family room. She was pretty sure
Genki was the other triplet, if she remembered correctly. She didn't
know much about him.
He was sitting with his back turned to her, watching something on
t.v. Haruka cleared her throat and he turned to see her. He stood
up immediately and rushed over, vigorously shaking her hand.
"Well, well, well!" He grinned and quickly looked over her shoulder,
dropping his voice. "I finally meet the girl that won my sister's
heart."
Haruka looked at him in surprise. "I didn't realize you knew."
"Everyone but our parents know, actually. It's... um, well... Hell,
you're her girlfriend, I can tell you." He made her sit down and
sighed a bit. "She came home one night very late. I guess she had
been spying on you again--"
"Oh?" She blinked in surprise. Michiru did know an unusual amount
about her. "But what do you mean by 'spy'?"
"Pretty much every night, she snuck out of the house, took a boat
over to the park across the lake, went to your house, and... well,
spied on you."
Haruka raised an eyebrow and laughed. "I wouldn't have expected
her to be so aggressive," she said jokingly. Her thoughts were
more serious. Michiru had saved her life twice, and it must have
been thanks to her nightly visits. She hadn't realized how
dedicated Michiru really was to learning about her.
"Yeah," he laughed. "Anyways, she came home really upset and had
blood all over her clothes and skin. Kirei and Suteki had figured
out where she'd been going and that she loved you and confronted
her. Suteki... well, she's a bitch and gave Michiru a hard time.
Kirei just didn't understand and was upset about it, but she really
doesn't have a problem with it. I heard what was going on and I went
to tell her..." He coughed a bit and said, "Well, I'm gay, too...
I left after I talked to her a bit. And then Kanpeki-chan told her...
well, you obviously know about Kanpeki-chan. Michiru was really happy
about it, but... Well, she _was_ all bloody. I never did hear what
that was about."
Haruka gulped and remained silent a bit. That must have been the
first time Michiru saved her. Poor Michiru! She had to see the
one she loved nearly die, and then deal with Suteki turning against
her because of her feelings towards another girl.
"Our older brother, Kanzen, knows," he continued. "You don't have
to worry about him. He's really great."
"That's good..." Haruka looked over at the television and raised an
eyebrow. "A male model fashion show?"
Genki laughed and changed the channel. "I guess you wouldn't like
that!" He grinned at her. "You know, the first time I saw you, I
didn't realize you were a girl and thought you were _really_ hot.
I got over _that_ quick! And geez, now Kirei has gone and picked
up that Hayasa guy, I was really hoping he might be... Find my
guy troubles amusing?"
Haruka tried to stop laughing. "Hayasa is my best friend!"
"Oh! Well then!"
Haruka stood up and smiled at him. "Well, I better go wait some
more for Michiru. And I have to keep charming your parents."
He gave her a mock salute. "Good luck."
"Ha ha, funny." She smiled as she left the room.
She waited by the entrance to the living room for a sign from
Michiru's parents that she could come in. They kept talking a
few minutes before noticing she was there.
"Come on in," Ki said, "we are done talking."
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to interrupt."
"Thank you." Ki nodded to her, then turned to talk to Tadashii
again.
Haruka stifled a nervous sigh. Michiru sure did take a long time
to get dressed. She hoped she didn't have to wait much longer.
Her impatience was getting the better of her.
Michiru's parents suddenly stopped talking and their gaze went
to the stairs. Ki looked like she was going to cry. "Daughter,
you..."
Haruka's breathing stopped as she saw Michiru descending the
stairs. She stood up, her mouth open in awe.
Michiru smiled shyly at her and kept coming down the stairs.
Her hair was swept up on top of her head with ringlets around
her face. She wore a beautiful, off-shoulder white dress that
clung to her figure nicely. She wore white high heels with it,
gold and pearl jewerly, and a light amount of make-up.
"You look incredible," Haruka whisped, walking towards her.
Michiru blushed prettily and stopped in front of Haruka. "So
do you..." she trailed off in a gasp when she noticed the roses.
Haruka smiled and held them out to her. Michiru's hands shook a
bit as she accepted them. "Thank you, they're beautiful..."
"Let me put those in water," Ki said softly, taking them from
her. Michiru nodded to her, looking at Haruka warmly.
"Are you ready to go?" Haruka asked her, holding her arm out.
"Of course," Michiru laughed, wrapping her arm in Haruka's. She
smiled up at her. She turned to her parents and said, "Goodbye."
"Have a wonderful time," Tadashii said. "Try not to stay out too
late."
"I'll make sure she gets home safely and at a decent hour," Haruka
said. She wasn't sure of the time part, but she would definitely
make sure of Michiru's safety.
Michiru beamed at her when they left the house. "I can't wait!"
Michiru whispered.
Haruka grinned and held the car door open for her. Michiru laughed
and got in, insisting on shutting it herself. Haruka got into her
side and put the top up. "Don't want to mess up your hair."
"Thanks, it took forever!"
"It looks great," Haruka said, smiling.
They talked quietly as Haruka drove them to the restaurant, both too
excited to say much. Haruka pulled up in the front and helped Michiru out,
then handed her keys to the valet. Michiru's eyes widened as she looked
at the place. There was a large crowd of people standing there, but Haruka
led them on through it to the host.
"I have reservations for two, Ten'ou."
"Right this way." The host led them to an out-of-the-way table and
set the menus down. "Here you are. I trust this will suit you?"
"Yes, thank you," Haruka said as they took their seats.
"Your server will be with you shortly," he said before her left.
"This is wonderful," Michiru said, reaching across the table to hold her
hand. "I'm so happy that we're finally going out somewhere together."
"Me too," Haruka said. "I... I just wish we'd done this sooner."
"It's okay." Michiru smiled softly at her. "We have plenty of time with
each other now."
They looked over the menu briefly and selected their meals. The server
took their orders and left.
"Michiru, Genki said that you... watched me every night."
Michiru blushed a bit and nodded. "More than that, actually... every
chance I had, I would try to go to wherever you were..."
"I'm glad you were always this interested in me," Haruka whispered.
"I wouldn't be here today if you hadn't come to watch me."
"I... I know... I don't want to think about that," Michiru said, looking
away. "Those were the worst two days of my life."
Haruka lifted her hand and gently ran her fingers across it. "Then don't.
I want this evening to be perfect."
"It will be. I'm with you." Michiru held Haruka's hands between both of
hers. "You have beautiful hands," she breathed. She stared into Haruka's
eyes. "And your eyes... I could look into them forever."
Haruka felt a warm feeling go through her. She smiled at Michiru and
placed her other hand on Michiru's. She resisted the urge to cast the
server a dirty look as she arrived with their drinks. Haruka grudingly
let go of Michiru's hands and took her glass. Michiru smiled and took
hers up as well, then raised it to Haruka's for a toast.
"To us," she whispered.
Haruka clinked her glass with Michiru's. "To us."
 
 
The whole time was spent tenderly holding hands, talking quietly. They had
a hard time breaking away to eat their meals. Haruka was quick to pay the
bill. She helped Michiru up and took her outside. The valet didn't waste
any time in bringing the car around.
"Want to go to the park?" Haruka asked. "Not the one by your house, but
there's another..."
"I'd like that," Michiru said. She placed her hand on top of Haruka's
on the stick shift.
Haruka took them into a quiet area where no one else was. Michiru was
amazed at how lush the trees were, how clear the water was, reflecting
the night sky. Haruka wrapped her arm around Michiru's shoulders and
led her down to a bench by the lake. Michiru's heart thudded in her
chest when Haruka cupped her hand under Michiru's chin and gazed into
her eyes.
"Michiru, this has been the best day of my life. Being able to spend
it with you... it's been so wonderful. I don't think I can fully
express how happy you've made me... I..." Haruka looked out over the
lake for a moment.
"Haruka, what is it?" Michiru whispered.
"I know... I said it would take time... But... There's just something
about you, I guess. You're just amazing in that way." Haruka smiled
warmly at her and took a deep breath. Moving closer to Michiru, she
whispered, "Michiru, I love you."
Michiru felt tears rapidly spilling down her cheeks and she hugged
Haruka tightly. "Oh Haruka! I-I love you..."
Haruka held her closely, whispering softly in her hair, "I want to
be with you forever, Michiru. I'm so glad I met you."
Michiru pulled back and wiped away her tears, smiling at Haruka. "I...
I'm so happy..." She suddenly fell quiet. She looked at Haruka, who
gently smiled at her. Michiru felt her hands tremble, but not with
fear. It felt like the right time.
She reached up and pressed her hand to Haruka's cheek, then wrapped
her arm around Haruka's neck. Haruka wrapped her arms around Michiru's
waist, gently pulling Michiru towards her. Michiru wrapped her other arm
around Haruka's neck and they both closed their eyes. "I love you," she
whispered.
"I love you," Haruka returned.
Michiru melted in Haruka's arms as they kissed. Haruka's lips were so
soft, warm, eagerly pressing to Michiru's. Michiru felt a burning heat
spread through her chest as she tightly hugged Haruka while returning
the kiss. Haruka opened her mouth and Michiru immediately opened hers in
return, turning their heads slightly as they kissed passionately. Michiru
shivered with delight as Haruka's tongue slid into her mouth, and she
slipped her own into Haruka's. She felt overwhelmed with love and happiness,
lightheaded, warm, so many things all at once. Haruka's mouth tasted so
sweet, her kiss was gentle, but very passionate. Michiru could scarely
breathe, she was too busy returning the wonderful kiss. Finally, they both
desperarely needed air, and Michiru slowly broke off the kiss and her eyes
fluttered open. Haruka gazed at her, eyes filled with love and happiness.
"Oh, Haruka..." she whispered. She leaned towards Haruka again. Haruka
pressed her open mouth to Michiru's, her hands cupping her face while
Michiru wrapped her arms tightly around her neck. She kissed Haruka with a
deep passion, longing, and love, pressing against her as if trying to
occupy the same space as her. Haruka's tongue danced along Michiru's,
driving her wild, her delicious lips warming Michiru's skin from the heat
of her kiss. Michiru moaned softly as Haruka's hands strayed to back,
pulling her body against hers as she made Michiru feel like she was going
to burst with love and joy from the sheer intensity of their kiss. Michiru
slipped her hands to the back of Haruka's head, pulling her closer to her.
Haruka let out a tiny sound of delight and held her tighter. She pressed
her mouth tighter against Michiru's once more, before closing her mouth
against Michiru's and pulling back with a tender kiss.
Michiru nuzzled her face against Haruka's neck, Haruka sighing into her
hair. They sat there holding each other, not saying a word for a few
minutes.
"Michiru... You've made me the happiest woman in the universe. I can't
thank you enough."
"I beg to differ," Michiru whispered. "You're the best part of my life,
and that's more than thanks enough." She pressed her lips lightly to
Haruka's neck several times.
"Mmmm... Michiru... that's..."
Michiru slowly kissed her way up to Haruka's ear, gently breathing against
it, then lightly licking her ear lobe. Haruka went nearly limp against her
for a moment then tightened her embrace, her breath quickening noticeably.
Michiru sucked on her ear lobe a bit then pulled away to return to her neck.
Haruka exhaled loudly and whispered her name softly. Michiru gasped as Haruka
tilted her head towards her and kissed her shoulders gently, then moving
to press her mouth against Michiru's neck. Michiru pulled away from Haruka's
neck and let out a small moan. She sat savoring the touch for several moments,
then pulled away. Haruka smiled at her and took her hands in hers.
"As much as I enjoy this," Haruka whispered, "it's getting very late. I
don't want to get your parents mad at you."
"I guess we have to go then..." She squeezed Haruka's hands as they stood
up, then walked hand in hand back to the car.
Haruka inched through the neighborhood towards Michiru's house. Michiru
giggled a bit; Haruka was actually going slow for once. Haruka grinned
at her. "They can look out the window and see we're back at a good time.
But I'm going to take my time getting there!" She finally stopped in front
of Michiru's house and opened the door for her. She walked Michiru up to
the door step and stopped, making no movement towards the door.
"Well... I'll see you tomorrow," she said.
"Yeah... bye..." Michiru gave her hand another squeeze. She leaned up
towards Haruka.
"Michiru, your parents--"
"I don't care," she whispered, kissing Haruka passionately. After awhile,
she reluctantly pulled away. "I love you."
"I love you, too. Bye."
Michiru unlocked the door, smiling back at Haruka as she went inside.
Haruka smiled back, and waited until Michiru had shut the door to leave.
Michiru practically floated up to her room, sighing happily. When her
parents tried to question her, she just said "It was wonderful" and
kept going. She lay down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. Life
had become a dream come true. Life would be wonderful from now on. She
had a whole life with Haruka to look forward to.
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER 11
~~~~~~~~~~
 
 
Haruka wasn't too surprised when she woke up and found Michiru sitting
in a chair next to her bed. She rubbed her eyes and yawned a bit, taking
a few moments to stretch, and grinned at Michiru. "I really like waking
up with you here."
Michiru laughed and sat down on the bed next to Haruka. "I couldn't wait
to see you again," she said, "but I got so distracted just watching you
that I didn't make you breakfast like yesterday."
"That's okay," Haruka said, reaching up to take hold of Michiru's
shoulders. "I'd like to go out somewhere for breakfast anyway. Not that
I don't like your cooking," she amended quickly, "but I think it would
be nice."
"I didn't think you meant it as an insult," Michiru said, taking hold of
Haruka's hands. "And I'd like that."
"Good," Haruka whispered. She pulled Michiru down onto her and kissed her
gently. "I'll get ready."
"That can wait," Michiru murmured, her hands pressed to the pillow on
either side of Haruka's face. She kissed her briefly, smiling at her.
"I'm enjoying your company."
"My company, huh?" Haruka laughed, trailing a finger across Michiru's
jaw. She pressed her lips to Michiru's cheek. "If that's what you want to
call it."
"Silly." Michiru's sighed and lay her head against the crook of Haruka's
neck. Haruka wrapped her arms around her shoulders and smiled sweetly at
her. They lay holding each other for several minutes, not saying a word.
Michiru finally sat up and pulled Haruka up with her. "Well, we should go
have breakfast then."
Haruka quickly showered and dressed, then drove them to a nice restaurant
for breakfast. She noted the sky was unusually dark. She couldn't tell if
it was a thick storm cloud cover or something else.
They talked a bit while they were eating. Michiru was in mid-sentence when
her eyes suddenly glazed over and she went limp. Haruka was quickly out of
her seat, rushing to support Michiru.
"Michiru?! What happened?!"
"I... I don't know..." Michiru carefully sat up and looked out the window
with a gasp. "What is that?!"
Haruka looked and also gasped in surprise when she saw what Michiru was
looking at it.
A strange crystalline structure was nestled between some buildings. It
shone black and gave off an eerie light. It seemed to be getting larger
by the moment.
"That explains the lack of traffic," Haruka whispered. "I couldn't see
it from my building... But... what the hell--?"
The sky seemed to grow darker and lightning shot through the air.
Haruka backed away from the window and drew Michiru back with her.
"You had some sort of reaction, was it that... thing?"
"I don't know," Michiru whispered. "I just... I suddenly felt a deep
chill, like something wrong was happening. It's not the same as when
the daimon appear."
"Well, we shouldn't get involved," Haruka said, her mouth creased into
a frown.
"Why not?"
"We already have a mission, Michiru, a very important one. If we go
racing off to stop that... thing... and something happens to us, what
happens to our mission?"
"... True..." Michiru admitted. "But what if people get hurt and killed
because of that thing?"
"The Inner Senshi were awakened, right? They'll take care of it. If it
was really serious, we would feel a pull to it."
"I just can't stand the thought that there might be something we could
do," Michiru sighed. "But... you're right."
"Yeah, now we better hurry and finish breakfast. I want to get away from
here, just in case."
"Yes ma'am," Michiru teased.
They started hurrying to finish their meal, and were surprised when a
shadow fell over them.
"Hello, Haruka-san, Michiru-san."
Haruka jumped a bit in surprise as she saw Setsuna standing there, looking
even more serious than usual. "Setsuna-san, I thought your post--"
"This is important. I have to tell you while I can; I will have to remain
at my post for quite a long time after this."
"Set--"
"Let me speak. There is very suspicious activity going on at a school
around here... Mugen Gakuen. You will transfer there and keep an eye on
their activity."
"Um, Setsuna-san," Haruka said, "in case you forgot, I _just_ switched
to my school..."
"I know," Setsuna said. "But this is very important. There's a dark energy
gathering there... you _must_ go there."
"I'm sure my parents won't mind... it's a very new school, right? Many
top scoring students go there... But all the paperwork--"
"Done." Setsuna almost smiled. "I've already arranged all of it. Your
parents can afford it, Michiru-san, and Haruka-san, you won't have
trouble with all the money you earn racing."
"But--" Haruka tried to interrupt but Setsuna quieted her.
"I don't have time," Setsuna said. "You start Monday. I'm very sorry to
be so abrupt but this is our last chance to arrange it."
"It's alright, Setsuna-san," Michiru said. "It's our duty."
Setsuna nodded and placed a package on the table. "Your uniforms... I
must leave now."
"Go on," Michiru said.
"Good luck." Setsuna bowed slightly and left.
"That was very weird..." Haruka said, staring after Setsuna. "She just
pops in out of nowhere, and suddenly we're changing schools? What a weird
day."
"Very," Michiru said with a chuckle, opening the package. She instinctively
pushed it back slightly when she saw the uniforms.
"What's wrong?"
"I... I don't know... maybe it has something to do with what Setsuna-san
said..." Michiru looked at the uniform. "I've seen this before... the boy
at the track..."
"The one the daimon possessed," Haruka said, her lips compressing into a
line. She pulled out her uniform. It had a crisp white dress shirt, a dark red
jacket, muted green shirt and tie with a matching plaid pattern, and a brown
belt. Over the left breast pocket was a black star with a gold infinity symbol
sewn into it, and underneath the star, a small black strip reading "Mugen."
"The very same uniform."
Michiru nodded, pulling hers out. "I haven't seen the girls' uniform... hmm,
this is pretty nice..." The dark red shirt had long sleeves with thick black
cuffs, the waist trimmed in a small border of green and black stripes, with
a dark blue collar and a muted green bow with black stripes coming off of it.
The fabric of the shirt peeping out of the collar had a black star on it. The
muted green skirt fell to her knees and had a plaid pattern. Michiru held the
shirt up against her. "Does this color look alright with my hair?"
"It's fine, Michiru."
"What are we going to tell our parents?" Michiru said. "Out of nowhere, we're
changing schools... and it's almost the end of the year."
"I'll tell my mom it's closer to my apartment," Haruka said with a shrug.
"If you tell your parents how good that school is... I don't think they'd
approve of you changing just to be with me, right?"
"Doubtful." Michiru said with a sigh. "We'll figure it out later... right
now, I want to get away from that crystal thing."
 
 
"I don't think I've ever been to the ocean," Haruka said, looking out
over the water after parking the car.
"I can't believe it!" Michiru laughed at her. "It takes someone attacking
Tokyo to get you to go to the beach..."
"I don't think I'd ever come here at all if you didn't ask me," Haruka
said. "What's so great about it?"
Michiru sighed deeply. "I would think you'd understand. As close as the
wind and sea are, you should."
"Maybe if it was summer instead of winter, I could appreciate it,"
Haruka said. "January isn't exactly beach-going weather."
Michiru laughed and planted a gentle kiss on her cheek. "We'll have to
get back out here in July then. I can't wait to swim in the ocean again
instead of a pool."
"And get me into a swimsuit?"
Michiru's eyes twinkled. "You read my mind."
They cuddled together for awhile, resting their cheeks together. Michiru
was thrilled to finally be back at the ocean. She wished it wasn't so
cold so she could swim.
"Hmmm, your birthday is coming up soon."
"Yeah, so?"
"Fifteen..." Michiru nestled her head against Haruka's neck. "I'll have
to make your birthday special." Haruka's eyes widened a bit nervously.
Michiru laughed and said, "We'll have a nice romantic dinner and a quiet
evening at your apartment... What, did you think I was going to say
something else?"
"Um... no..." Haruka laughed nervously.
"Sure," Michiru said, giggling as she bent her head to kiss Haruka's
neck. "Your mother won't expect you to spend the day with her, will she?"
"Dunno," Haruka breathed. She was too busy enjoying the kisses to bother
with speaking. She gently kissed the top of Michiru's head and sighed.
"I love you," Michiru whispered. She cupped Haruka's chin and kissed her.
"Promise me... we'll always be together..."
"I..." Haruka looked away. "I want to... but... This mission could very
well mean our deaths. If we make that promise..."
Michiru sat in silent consideration. "Haruka..."
Haruka gently wrapped her arm around Michiru. "As long as I'm alive, I'll
be with you, I promise you that. I just... if something happens to me, I
don't want to feel like I broke my promise."
Michiru lay her head on Haruka's chest, eyes shimmering. "Nothing will
happen to you. I won't let anything happen to you. If it means my
life--"
"No," Haruka said sharply. "I don't want you dying for me."
"... All right... I promise.... For the sake of the mission... one of us
has to live... We can't go risking our lives for each other..."
"I make the same promise," Haruka whispered, kissing her forehead.
"Now, for the moment, let's pretend that didn't happen and everything's
all nice and happy again, hmmm?"
Michiru smiled as Haruka kissed her shoulder. "That sounds like a good
idea."
 
 
"What is it, Kaolinite-kun?" a deep voiced man called.
"There is an interference," she said, walking into the laboratory. She
wore a white lab coat over her red dress. Her purple eyes were alight
with anger. "This 'Black Moon Clan' that appeared is gathering up energy.
It's temporarily interfering with the new daimons."
"I thought I had finally perfected it," he muttered, lifting up two
beakers. "How are they interfering?"
"I haven't been able to locate targets. There's so much dark energy
concentrated in the area thanks to their crystal that it's been hard to
target the pureness of heart crystals."
He poured the contents of two beakers together. "Very well... we will
wait for this to pass..." His brow furrowed and he turned to Kaolinite.
"The mistress wants us to speed up the daimon attacks. This is an
unexpected delay. When this Black Moon Clan is gone, we will attack
more than ever."
"Professor..." she paused and bowed her head. "Until this new batch of
daimons, we attacked everyday--"
"That was when we needed to use those inferior daimons," he interrupted.
"Now we have much better daimons that will be more likely to retrieve
heart crystals."
"Professor, if I might say so..." she looked around to make sure no
one else had entered the laboratory and stepped closer to him. "I never
thought this Sailorneptune to be a fierce opponent, but now there's a
new Senshi with her. I don't know her name yet. I'm becoming worried.
If those other five Senshi survive battling the Black Moon Clan, they
will be free to aide Sailorneptune and her partner in defeating our
daimons. They might beat us to the Talismans. Sailorneptune was
interested in examining the heart crystals."
"What?!" he growled. One of the beakers fell from his hands. "Do they
want the Talismans?!" He clenched his fist as he looked out over
the laboratory he'd poured so much work into. "We will defeat them,"
he said forcefully.
Kaolinite bowed respectfully to him. "Your genius will lead us to
success, Professor Tomoe."
"Indeed." He turned away, a twisted grin marring his features. He threw
his head back and laughed maniacally. "Master Pharaoh 90 will find the
world eagerly awaiting his arrival."
Kaolinite smirked in agreement. The pitiful humans of this world were
no match against their master.
"I will speak to the mistress. You may go."
"Yes," she said, bowing again. She disappeared, leaving her lab coat to
fall to the floor.
Professor Tomoe went into the cellar area where a young girl sat on a
throne, surrounded by piles of dolls and ornate lamps. Her black hair
barely touched her narrow shoulders. Her eyes were cold and red against
her face, hidden in shadows so that her features were undeterminable. She
smiled as he approached. A microphone dangled near her, and though he
could hear her electronic-sounding voice, her lips were not moving.
"Do you have news for me?" Her voice seemed all around him.
"Yes, our Messiah of Silence," he said, lowering himself in homage. He
told her what Kaolinite had said.
"This cannot be allowed," she said, frowning. "I need the energy of
pure hearts. I need the Talismans to be found so we can have the Holy
Grail."
"I will make sure more daimons are employed," he said quickly. "Don't
worry, we will soon have the Holy Grail and the world will be Silenced."
"It better be. Leave me."
"Yes, Messiah."
 
 
Haruka and Michiru returned very late and found that things had returned
to about as normal as they ever were. Haruka dropped off Michiru, promising
to pick her up for school. Michiru smiled and kissed her goodbye. She took
a deep breath as she started to go inside to face her parents.
"Michiru-chan!" Ki called. "Come here right now!"
Michiru's heart thumped as she walked to the living room. "Yes, okaa-san?"
Ki came and embraced her daughter. "We received a phone call today from
a very elite school-- Mugen Gakuen. Apparently they've found out your
academic reputation and your artistic talents, because they asked us to
allow you to attend! They think you would be a wonderful addition! Isn't
that great? You start tomorrow!"
"That's... that's wonderful..." Michiru inwardly breathed a sigh of relief
that she didn't have to think of an excuse; Setsuna had some sort of
connections that Michiru was grateful for. Then her anger started to
build; her mother would have made an important decision like this without
asking her if she would agree to it? "Well, I better get some rest--"
"Oh, that package in your hands..." Ki took it from her. "The uniform?
How did you--"
"It was sitting by the front door," Michiru lied. "They must be pretty
incredible, okaa-san, to deliver my uniform straight to me."
"How wonderful!" Ki murmured. "Well, off to bed with you. You have a
busy day tomorrow."
"Ah, yes, okaa-san. Good night."
 
 
**********
 
 
Just as she'd promised, Haruka was right on time to pick up Michiru in
the morning. Michiru rushed downstairs with her things and was about
to head out the door when someone grabbed her shoulder.
"Who is that?" Suteki asked her in an icy voice, pointing out the window
at Haruka. "And what are you both doing in those uniforms?"
Michiru panicked and tried to pull away from Suteki. Their parents were
right in the next room; if Suteki said anything...
"Suteki-chan!" Kanzen called. "Suteki-chan, get in here right now!"
Suteki grudgingly let go and went to see her big brother. Michiru breathed
a sigh of relief at Kanzen's intervention and went outside to where
Haruka was waiting.
"Sorry, Suteki tried to make trouble," she said as she sat down.
"That's all right. We lost a little time to push our way through the
inevitable crowds of fans, but I think we can manage."
"What makes you think there will be a crowd?"
"I think when they realize they have two famous people walking the
hallways, they will go wild."
Michiru groaned a bit. "I'm really not in the mood for shoving my
way through to our classes on our first day there. I guess we'll have to
try and deal with it, huh?"
"We'll have to fight through the crowds of girls surrounding me, trying to
get me to date them. But hey, at least we'll be doing it together," Haruka
said with a wink.
"Very funny."
Haruka laughed and continued driving. "Well, we better get used to it.
Everyone's going to be going nuts about us."
"What a bother," Michiru groaned.
Haruka parked the car and they got their things out of the trunk. They
walked into the school, amazed at it.
The school was an enormous skyscraper, with glass panes, elevators,
snack machines, a few cafeterias, a large courtyard, gardens, fountains,
with incredible sports facilities, an auditorium, an enormous library,
science laboratories, and more that they couldn't see.
And this was the place Setsuna said was swarming with dark energy.
They barely had time to register their surroundings when a swarm of girls
surrounded them.
"Oh my gosh it's really them!" "Oh Haruka-kun! I've gone to all your
races!" "You're dating HER now?!" "Haruka-kun, why don't you go out with
me?! I gave you my phone number at the last three races!" "How could you go
behind our backs and someone?!" "Oh, Michiru-san, you're so lucky to be dating
him!" "What's his kiss like?!" "Haruka-saaaan!"
Michiru pressed her hand against her forehead. "I think I'm going to have
a headache when this is over..."
Haruka lightly grabbed her arm and tried to push through the crowd of girls
who didn't want to budge. She finally glared at them and they backed off.
She rushed Michiru to the elevator and hit the close door button before
any of the girls decided they wanted to join them. Haruka consulted their
identical schedules and pressed the button for the floor of their first
class.
"Well... I warned you..." Haruka groaned. "I have to admit, I didn't think
it would be _that_ bad!"