Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners. I don't own Sailormoon but I'll like to own Haruka & Michiru. ^_^ Previous parts available at http://web.singnet.com.sg/~chiaty/fanfics-Moon.htm < > represents a character's thoughts. LIVING WITH MICHIRU Part 4 By GSL There was a question that was bothering her for a very long time. It started when she moved in with Michiru and yes this was about Michiru too. Haruka was sure that the musician was sent down to earth basically to tame, restrain, govern and contain her wild spirit. This was obvious enough if she really thought about it. There were no other senshis that had a specified partner like she did. Okay, she knew she shouldn't complain about it. This was Michiru, the beautiful sea goddess who was always so understanding and tolerant towards her, not to mention also taking care of her meals and lodging. She really should be grateful to her, helping Michiru in every way she could. But why did she have to end up doing all these kinds of things? A call was all that was needed to propel the blonde from her favourite television programme, not to battle daimons, but to fetch a lady overburdened by too many bags of merchandise. Belatedly, she was also beginning to see a trend of 'Haruka, do this', 'Haruka, don't do that'. Struggling with the bags, she didn't see Michiru at the door, waiting for her. "Thanks for helping me. It was very difficult to get a cab at this time of the day." Now, when faced with such a smile like Michiru's, you could easily forgive Haruka for forgetting everything that she was thinking. "It's nothing," Haruka stuttered. And then she remembered, Tenoh Haruka never stuttered until she met her nemesis. "I didn't bring my keys," Michiru said apologetically. It was obvious that Haruka simply didn't have the hands to open the door while holding on to the piles of packages, so Michiru volunteered to rummage through Haruka's pants pocket to fish out her set of keys. Desperately, Haruka tried not to blush, tried not to have any feelings at all about the intrusion. Those few seconds were the most agonising that she ever had; the feather-light touches were igniting every siren in her brain. But too soon, it was over. She watched flabbergastedly as Michiru unlocked and opened the door, hoping that her blush would go away soon for she would not withstand the glare of lights which would betray her transgression. Well, she didn't need to worry, because what she saw next became a valid excuse for the redness in her face. "What happened?" Michiru looked on hopelessly at the messy state of the house that they lived in. Disarrayed furniture, ransacked drawers, which could only mean one thing. "You didn't have a party here and forget to tell me, right?" The silent anger on Haruka's face confirmed her suspicions. "Great, we have been robbed," announced Michiru. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- She thought she could have a good night's sleep. She needed one desperately in fact. But now, at one in the morning, the police were still surveying the house. "Nothing valuable was missing?" "No, except for some of my jewellery, one of Haruka's F1 racing trophies, some idle cash, I don't see anything missing." Michiru herself was hugging her precious violin protectively. It was a great consolation that this precious instrument was not taken away from her, or else she would make sure that the robber appreciated the full meaning of 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'. "Hey! Be careful with that thing." Haruka was still seething over the loss of one of her trophies, the first ever that she had won. It was said that anger would fester if you kept it inside. So she was doing herself good by letting off some steam on the poor guy from the forensic department. "Tenoh-san, he is just dusting for fingerprints. He'll be very careful. Don't worry." A female constable, a rather pretty one to boot, was trying to calm the racer. So far, nobody had dared to cross her path, not even Michiru since she had to deal with the detective-in- charge. This was for the best, since the thoughts running in the blonde's head were along the lines of 'I'm going to crush the robber like an insect! Rip his heart out and feed it to the dogs. I'm gonna and etc.' But faced with a woman who was speaking so earnestly, Haruka couldn't bear to raise her voice. A loud cough was heard across the room. Michiru's. Haruka suddenly found herself standing too close to the uniformed girl and proceeded to take a few steps back. "Uhm, just don't open drawers that you are not supposed to." "Was the last one your room?" "Yes." "But then what about the other room that we were in?" Realisation began to dawn onto the policewoman. "You don't sleep with Kaioh-san?!" Her voice was a little too hopeful and too loud for her liking. All motions stopped, eyes turning to the blonde for an answer. For moments, silence reigned as the cheeks of the Uraniun senshi grew redder. "It's none of your business!" The angry Haruka was back, shooting down any glance that would come her way. Soon, things were back to normal, or at least some semblance of it. "This doesn't seem to be a simple robbery. You have more valuable things in this house, like your violin, paintings and the antiques. None of them were taken." The poor oblivious detective was missing all the death glares that Michiru was sending. He was after all saying that her precious treasures should be taken. Luckily for him, he just stopped short of being water submerged for his loose tongue. "I advise you that you stay in a hotel for tonight since the robber literally took apart your side window," the detective-in-charge said. He signalled for the rest of his colleagues to wrap up their investigation. Michiru was only too glad that they were finally leaving to bother giving any response to the man. Haruka too showed great relief on her face, eagerly ushering the detectives out. As the last of the men left their house, Haruka slumped onto the couch beside Michiru. "This was too long a day," Michiru said, leaning her head on Haruka's shoulder, barely able to keep her eyes open. She heard a murmur of agreement from Haruka before slipping off to a dreamless sleep. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The garage at the race track, a place that used to be Haruka's home for a pretty long time. But lately, the visits had unfortunately become less frequent. "Look who's back?" Haruka tried to calm down as the whistles grew louder and the jeering became apparent. "I thought I'd never see you again." "Yeah, it was a week; a week without your fair visage to fill my loneliness and emptiness. How could you do this to me?" "And I almost died of love-sickness." Seeing her three mechanic crewmembers stopping all work, eyes shining of love, face barely concealing laughter, she managed a sneer even if she had missed them too. But she was not going to say it. "Don't be so cool. I thought we were friends," Yuuji pouted. "No, we were more than friends." "But now, you have forsaken us for the seductress Kaioh-san." With all the melodrama that they were displaying, Haruka couldn't contain herself anymore. She broke into laughter, infectiously affecting the other three guys too. Soon, they were all laughing over their antics. This felt good. "I'm back," Haruka began. Her three greasy friends came forward and their reunion continued. "For good?" Yuuji asked hopefully. His mischievous eyes still had that irritating sparkle. With good humour, Haruka took the bait. "I can't compete with all your girlfriends." "Just one word and I ditch them all." Just as Yuuji reached for Haruka's hand, Hata slapped it away and stepped in front of the blonde racer, with hands wide spread for a hug. "Don't believe him. Come to me instead, Haruka-chan." "Bleah." Haruka made a face as if to vomit. "No. I'm the only one for you." Muyo pushed Hata out of the way and showed her the most loving gaze he could muster. "Yeah. Yeah." Haruka replied nonchalantly. "Hey, she agrees with me," Muyo exclaimed and jumped for joy. "Then, can I have Michiru-chan?" Yuuji asked deviously. "Leave her out of this." "Defensive, eh?" Hata commented, giving her the evil eye. There was no effective response that she could give to that. Speechless, she could only weakly watch as Muyo began the next round of attack. "Is she the reason why you are not entering the next racing tournament?" The question touched a raw spot. It was something that she tried avoiding, for she couldn't tell them the truth that she had to save the world. It didn't feel right to lie to them, who were almost her family and thus her visits dwindled. Somehow, she felt she had let them down and was unable to face them. "I just have something more important to concentrate on." Finally finding her tongue, she was bombarded once again. "Yeah, a bewitching seductress." "Hey!" On the other hand, her comrades didn't seem to mind her decision. The bout of guilt was for nothing after all. Ignoring her protests, Muyo continued, "We don't blame you. Honestly." Shaking her head, Haruka realised that everything she did would be useless against the three professional pranksters. "I never win with the three of you against me." "The arrogant Tenoh Haruka admits defeat. Yippee." Haruka hung her head further. But deep down, she felt great. She missed the days when they could just banter continuously; those carefree days when she could outrun everything. "Had enough fun?" Haruka turned towards the new speaker. Kaneda stood outside his room, with a wry smile on his face. Momentarily, she wondered how long he had been standing there. "You came just the right time. The post office just dropped off something for you." There was something about the smile that the chief was flashing that the racer instinctively disliked. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Please tell me it's not another robbery." Michiru commented in view of the messy state that the living room had become. They had just gotten their home cleaned up and now paper and more paper flooded the room, on top of tables, chairs and of course the floor. In the middle of this paper mess was the sweating Haruka who jerked up from her reading. "Sorry. I'll clear this up after I'm done." With that, Haruka returned to what she was doing, a cringe visible on her face. Seeing that she no longer garnered Haruka's attention, Michiru idly picked up one piece of paper to see what had gotten Haruka so caught up with. It seemed to be a fan mail. Upon further reading, Michiru burst out laughing, gasping for air as she read the contents aloud. "If you were a flea, I would be the dog that provides a home for you. If you were a rat, I would be the garbage can where you find food." Haruka sighed. There was nothing she could do to save herself from the embarrassment. "I guess the gal just doesn't know how to write a love letter." Michiru grinned. "You are quite popular, I gather." She eyed the heap of fan mail covering the entire table and spilling over onto the Persian carpet. "That's an understatement." Haruka replied smugly. "Small ego, eh?" "These letters prove that I'm rather popular with the ladies." "Oh." A small evil smile crept up onto Michiru's angelic face. "So are you ... interested?" Siren rang in her ears, screaming signs of danger. Wisely, she took a pause, to carefully choose the next few words that would come out of her mouth, "They're just fans, people that I don't even know. Why would I be interested?" "You don't seem to be having trouble flirting with cute girls." Michiru was being pushy tonight, Haruka had to find a way to shift the heat off her. "And you seem to flirt with a certain F1 racer an awful lot." Now, it was Michiru who was tongue-tied. "Is it because you too have fallen under my charms, finding a way to seek my attention?" There was a tinge of redness that spread across Michiru's flawless face. This was the first time Haruka had managed to elicit such a response from Michiru and she was enjoying every moment of it. It felt as if she had gained control of the Neptunian senshi who always seemed so composed at all times. Was this the reason why she normally became the victim of her partner's ruthless teasing? If so, turnaround was only fair play. "And what if I have?" Michiru's answer was so soft that Haruka could barely believe that she heard the words correctly. She stayed rooted to the ground since her emotions immediately went amok. There was one part of her brain that smugly said 'there, I told you so', and another part that was warning her the perils of love, but largely she felt intrinsically happy. The look of shock on Haruka's face made Michiru regret sprouting the words. There was too much at stake here for her to gamble it away. So before allowing Haruka to respond, Michiru laughed forcibly, "I'm just kidding." Again, Haruka's response baffled her. Disappointment was evident on the blonde's face. Had she made the wrong move? Was Haruka actually interested in her? After what seemed like a long time to get their nerves under control, they shared an uneasy smile, a truce of sorts that their exchange would be left as it was, a joke. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "World shaking!" "Deep submerge!" With the two simultaneous cries came two bolts of energy that destroyed the daimon that they were previously fighting. It was a long fight and the two senshis tiredly leaped away from the busy roads of Tokyo. The daimons were getting stronger with each encounter. Not to mention that it was also becoming more dangerous as their fights continued, the cuts were deeper and the wounds took longer to heal. They detransformed in a deserted alley. Uranus became Haruka, and as the civilian self had lower tolerance to pain, she clutched her right side where the daimon had a lucky hit against her. Biting her lips, she tried to ignore the worried Michiru who had rushed to her side. She knew there would be no end to what would follow if she let any signs of pain be seen by her partner. So, she brushed away any attempts of help but Michiru was not having any of this. "You shouldn't have taken the blow for me." Michiru chided. Haruka had no answer to that. She had only just reacted. Michiru lifted a bit of Haruka's blouse to gain a better look at the wound. Luckily, it didn't look too bad. "What were you thinking! Pulling a stunt like that!" Haruka winced, and it wasn't because of the wound. "I'm capable of protecting myself." Michiru's anger seemed to wane slightly as she blinked the tears away from her eyes. Against the wishes of her ego, Haruka apologised. "I'm fine. This is nothing that I can't handle." "But..." Before Michiru could continue, Haruka interrupted her. "Come on, let's go." Haruka turned on her megawatt smile that had never failed her in all her attempts to get anything done. "There is this race on TV that I want to watch." "Haruka!" was all Michiru could manage before she was pulled along by the taller and stronger girl. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "What's wrong, Haruka?" "It seems that we are being followed." Haruka's gaze hardened as she spied a Honda from her rearview. Her arrogance began to slip through, eyes hardening as she accelerated, putting more distance between them and the perpetrator. The Honda began to speed up too, following every twist and turn that Haruka made. But that was not enough, the driver had neither Haruka's skills nor her sports car. It would be a lost cause for him, Haruka thought arrogantly. And true to her words, the driver couldn't keep up with the racer and lost all traces of her altogether. Cursing under his breath, the Honda driver thought that he had lost them for good, at least until he turned into the next corner and found a furious Tenoh Haruka waiting for him. The racer was leaning against her yellow convertible. Kaioh Michiru could also be seen not too far away from her. The driver slowed down, feeling fear for the first time. He could have driven away but he didn't, for Michiru had recognised him behind the steering wheel. Stopping the car, he braced himself and mustered all the confidence he had before stepping outside. "Yoshida-san." It was Michiru who spoke first. He knew he was in trouble by the way she spoke so coldly of his name. Desperately wanting to salvage the situation, he quickly retrieved a bouquet of flowers from the back of his car, offering it to Michiru. "I can't accept this." "But..." "Yoshida-san, you know I'm with Tenoh Haruka now." The tone of Michiru's voice was normally reserved for children and even Haruka had to feel sorry for this pathetic little guy. Well, only for half a second. "He doesn't love you as much as I do." "Don't presume anything that you don't know." Michiru placed a hand on Haruka's before she could tear the fellow apart. Affording Yoshida another patient look, "I'm happiest with him," she said, bringing their clasped hands in view for better measure. Seeing that she had won the verbal battle with the look of defeat on her persistent suitor's face, she nudged Haruka and with a look she was able to convey her thoughts to the blonde. "Goodbye." Michiru said with a sense of finality to it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 'We're destined to be together' read the note attached to a bunch of roses found on their doorstep. "There's no name on the card." Michiru turned the card over to examine further while Haruka scoured the flowers for any other hidden notes, or perhaps bombs. "Whom do you think it's from?" There was almost a tinge of jealousy in Haruka's voice. Michiru couldn't suppress a smile and took the flowers away from Haruka before the blonde could add more damage to the fragile little things. "For a moment, I thought you got these beautiful flowers for me." Haruka sweatdropped. "Actually, whom do you think it's for?" Michiru asked, stifling another giggle, as she scored another victory. "Huh?" "It could be a gift for you." The sparkling glint in Michiru's eyes was all the warning that she needed. For it could only mean one thing, another session of 'let's tease Haruka'. "I don't think so." "Why?" There again, the devious grin. How could this woman so effortlessly bring down the arrogant racer? "The person sent the flowers to your house." "You are living here too." While Haruka was known for her speed, her mental process wasn't all that fast. But this time, she prided herself that she could think of an escape in so short a time. "My best guess is the Yoshida guy that we met. He seems persistent enough to send you the flowers and the note." "If you say so." And if it was possible, Michiru's smile just got wider. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Do you think we got ourselves a stalker?" This was the seventh day that they found a bunch of roses outside their doorstep. No names were mentioned on the notes attached. And as always, the notes contained short cryptic messages. The day before was 'nobody can separate us'. The 'us' obviously involved this mysterious person and Michiru, something that they had established themselves. And hence the 'nobody' would be a direct aim at Haruka. It made the blonde see red who had half a mind to find Yoshida and throttle him. But today's message was the final straw. 'Soon we'll meet'. Haruka was staring at the card so hard that Michiru feared that the mere piece of paper would combust in flames. Seeing that her partner had not responded to her earlier question, she decided to add her two cents worth into the whole affair. "I've spoken to Yoshida." "Alone?" Haruka suddenly snapped. Seeing Michiru's silent acquiesces, she couldn't stop the worry and fear from slipping into her voice. "But that's dangerous." "And I'm not?" Okay. Point taken but Haruka just couldn't get over the fact that she wasn't there for Michiru. "He denies it." "They always do." "But I think I believe him." The disbelief was written all over Haruka's face and Michiru hastened to make her point. "My gut feeling tells me that he is not the one. And you know how good I am at that department." Asking someone to trust another's gut feeling was foolish, stupid. If it was anyone lesser, Haruka would have turned her nose up and walked away after showing how creative she could be with swear words. But this was Michiru. "Who is it, then?" Haruka deflated, exasperation and defeat evident in her voice. "I don't know," replied Michiru honestly. Haruka sighed. "If this guy says he's coming, then we better be prepared." "You don't mean?" Michiru was catching on to the drift and frankly Haruka could be so strange sometimes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- RING!!!!! The alarm sensor had gone off again. It was bad enough that she wasn't getting any sleep at nights, but she still had to withstand the hateful glares that her equally sleep-deprived neighbours had to offer. "HARUKA!!!" As expected, Michiru voice ricocheted within the whole house. "Okay! I'm getting to it." Haruka shouted back, her voice rising above the alarm. The first time the alarm went off was the night that they had first installed the new security devices. Rudely awakened, Haruka jumped out of bed, stumbled to get her bat and rushed to Michiru's room. She was safe, of course except from maybe catching a cold. From then on, Haruka promised herself that she would never think of the nightie that Michiru had put on that night. But when did her brain ever listen to her? For good measure, she would slap herself whenever that happened. It didn't prove to be enough, especially when Michiru started to ask about the handprints on her face. Anyway, that plan proved to be a failure. Now, back to the alarms. It was still ringing and Haruka was sure that the police would arrive any moment now. There was none of the trepidation that she would find an intruder in her house except for the stray cat that they found on the first night in their living room, then on the second night, the third, the fourth... You get the idea. "Why must you like our house so much?" Haruka asked in exasperation, having successfully found the cat meowing in its pitiful voice again. She lifted the cat off the ground and walked over to the security main controls. Tiredly she punched a few keys and the ringing stopped. She could almost hear her neighbours' collective sighs of relief at that exact moment. Mechanically, she walked out of the house as the cat remained cradled in her arms. Not a moment too soon, the police dispatch had arrived. After murmuring her share of apologies and handing the 'intruder' to the authorities, she drifted back to her bed, swearing that the alarms would have to go. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Mumph! Michiru's cry was muffled as she met face first with the tatami mat. Being flipped over for the past few hours was not the way she wanted to spend her Sunday afternoons. "Come on, Michiru. Let's try again." She tried to remain composed, a feat actually against this head strong blonde who didn't even have the grace to help her up. Of course logic would dictate that her opponent wouldn't need to and she wasn't some fragile china that would break on contact, notwithstanding, she really wished that Haruka had been more considerate. Michiru stood up, straightened her gi and readied herself for the next attack. Haruka was relentless; she had to be. The blonde charged almost without warning, putting Michiru into the defensive. Punches were thrown to be effectively deflected, something Michiru had learnt the hard way over the past few hours. She returned with a few attacks that Haruka had shown her earlier, to no success. Michiru had gone for some self-defence classes and knew some rudiments of martial arts. This knowledge was not adequate enough according to Haruka's standards. Against daimons, she still could rely on her senshi powers but against humans, it was back to physical hand- to-hand combat. And with this unknown stalker on the prowl, Haruka wasn't letting anything to chance. Besides, this could be considered as part of their training regiment. They began to circle each other warily when their previous attacks failed. It was now a matter of who would make the first move. Haruka with her impatient nature was strangely not rushing in, instead she looked very determined and in control of herself. That left no weaknesses for Michiru to exploit, unless she decided to create one herself. "Haruka, do you find me attractive?" Shocked, the girl in question dropped her defence slightly, her eyes wide with disbelief that Michiru would ask her such a question and at this moment. To top it off, there was even a faint blush on her cheeks. The momentary lapse of control was all that Michiru needed. She pushed forward suddenly and was rewarded with a firm connect against Haruka's torso. She would have expected the taller girl to fall but she didn't. Haruka seemed to have absorbed the blow. If not for the wince that had escaped from Haruka's mouth, she was sure that her best punch didn't even have an impact on her partner. The one thing that could distinguish between a good martial artist and a bad one was in the person's ability to recover. Somehow, Haruka got a firm grip on Michiru's gi and flipped her over a la judo fashion. Michiru wasn't one to go down alone. On her way southwards, she too managed to get a piece of Haruka's gi and with a pull, the blonde lost her balance and landed squarely against the soft body of the musician. Luckily, the impact was minimised when Haruka managed to get her hand in place to support some of her weight. "Oof." "Are you alright?" The concern was clearly evident on Haruka's face. With such close proximity, Michiru suddenly felt very hot. And since she didn't answer, Haruka followed up with another question. "Do I need to get a doctor?" This was not the circumstance that she would envision Haruka on top against her. But it didn't mean that it didn't feel as nice. With a throaty reply, she managed to appease Haruka's fears. "I'm fine. Don't you worry." In her haste to learn of Michiru's condition, Haruka was still pressed up against the supple body beneath her. And now that her worries were unfounded, she became very aware of how their bodies touched. It was a pleasant feeling, too pleasant in fact, such that she became unwilling to move from this present position. It didn't take long before she was locked in by the deep blue eyes of her partner's. Wordless exchanges played back and forth, of love and longings. After months of repressing her feelings, she felt them all emerging at once. It was overwhelming to say the least; the weight of her own emotions prevented her from avoiding the inevitable. Everything had become so clear at this moment. Tenoh Haruka was in love, undeniably so. The silence was unnerving and comfortable at the same time. She didn't know what to say, couldn't speak even if her life depended on it. Her mouth was dry, her soul sucked in by the beauty beneath her. She didn't know that she was moving but when she realised it, she was dropping closer and closer towards Michiru, an inch away from meeting that inviting pair of lips. Michiru was so close; it would be so easy to close the distance between them. It was all so tempting. She could feel Michiru's warm breath against her face, sending her heart into frenzy. Her own breaths had become shallower, as if she was afraid to breathe, fearing that she would disrupt the magical moment. But she was too far-gone, like an empty shell left only with an uncontrollable impulse to caress those rosy lips. Everything else faded to nothingness. Finally, Haruka parted her lips slightly and brushed softly against her beloved's. The fleeting pleasure was made all the more sweeter with the release from the steady culmination of the mounting anticipation that they had generated. Gently, they met again and again, butterfly kisses that sent their hearts to heights thought impossible. But they didn't stop there. Meeting Michiru's eyes once more, Haruka deepened the kiss which would forever seal their fates. And for that moment, they ceased to exist separately in this world; their souls entwined to the end of time. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The morning after was a whole new experience. Everything before was a daze, except for that kiss which filled her heart. Even until now, the feelings lingered. So absorbed Haruka was in trying to relive the sensations, she bumped into Michiru in the hallway. There was an awkward silence as they regained their bearings. How do they go on from here? This was the question on their minds. "Morning." Haruka began, to which Michiru promptly responded in kind. With the usual pleasantries out of the way, what was left to say? Haruka racked her brain but it was a blank, as if struck by the sweet blush that had crept up on her partner's cheeks, accompanied by an urge to caress the soft skin and to touch her lips again. Yet, would Michiru welcome it? Her amorous mood was put to a stop when Michiru spoke up. "It's time for school." The drive to the school was a quiet one. Secretive glances were thrown towards each other. Heartfelt words unspoken. Minds wondering as to the nature of the other's feelings to oneself. Why was it so hard to be honest to the person that meant the most? They had kissed, passionately. That had to mean something. But take away the impulse and when logic returned, doubts arose. Did she love me? Am I ready? Will there be a happily ever after? If it fails, what will happen to the mission? Haruka shook away such thoughts. They were meant to be. She knew it the moment their lips touched just as their hearts did. But Michiru was acting like nothing had happened. Was she denying their emerging feelings? No. Her mind rejected the idea immediately. Michiru was unsure, afraid or probably being coy about it. Having come to this conclusion, she felt the burden in her heart lifted because there was only one course of action to take, that was to woo Michiru. "I would feel safer if you look at the road instead of me." "Huh?" Disrupted from her thoughts, she stared questioningly at Michiru. The aqua haired lady just nodded towards the road and Haruka quickly looked forward, blushing for being caught at admiring Michiru's lovely visage. "What were you thinking of?" It was a simple question that set her thinking. Her response would be vital to how they were going to interact in the future. Truthfully, she answered. "You." She could see a small smile perking up Michiru's features. It seemed that she had done well. Good, now for the next step. "Do you want to go out for a movie tonight?" ----------------------------------------------------------------------- It was a popular movie, a horror flick. She silently congratulated herself for choosing this film. If Michiru got scared, she was there to hug and assure her. If she wasn't, she might get cold and she was a warm-blooded mammal to protect her from the ghastly air conditioner. Thinking that everything had been covered, Haruka escorted Michiru into the cinema, not forgetting to squash the silent voice that there was a slight chance that she would be frightened too. An hour later... Haruka looked towards Michiru. At least she seemed to be enjoying the film, this was one point in her favour. Deciding to be bold, she allowed her hand to creep slowly around Michiru's shoulders. There was no resistance; either Michiru didn't notice the new source of body heat or she simply didn't object to its existence. In any case, Haruka was already doing a victory dance in her head. That was until she felt Michiru's muscles began to tense up. The calmness of her love's face had also changed into something more fearful. her mind panicked. But as she looked carefully, Michiru was too absorbed in the movie to notice anything else. There was a pang of jealousy that the great Haruka couldn't compare to a movie. She diverted her concentration back to her rival to see what had gotten Michiru's attention. That was when the background music of the movie had gotten eerier. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "The show was great. That last scene was so scary." Michiru rattled on, not noticing the pale look on Haruka's face. "When the head came out of the television, I almost screamed out. I don't think I can be alone with a television for some time. What do you think, Haruka?" The blonde tried to calm her nerves. She refused to appear weak in front of Michiru nor did she want Michiru to know that she closed her eyes at the last crucial moment. "I...," Michiru was looking expectantly at her, making it even harder to speak but the words spilt out finally, "like the film." "That's it?" Michiru sounded amused, the tone of which Haruka didn't fancy. But she was still shaken up by the film to think properly. Even as she tried to come up with a response, the image of _the_ scene was still haunting her. Perhaps it was a blessing that she found a distraction not too far away from them, hiding behind a pillar. Taking long, quick strides towards the young man, whose name she spat out full of venom, "Yoshida." She towered over the man, almost threatening harm. "Were you following us again?!" The man backed away, his head already shaking. "I'm here to see the movie. It's a coincidence." By now, Michiru had gotten to Haruka's side and pulled her hand, restraining her from doing anything further. They were in a crowded place, where onlookers were plenty. Knowing Haruka, it would be best if she ended the exchange swiftly. To Yoshida, her former suitor, she spoke, "It's great. You will enjoy it." Then, she bowed slightly, leading Haruka away. "Don't you think he's suspicious?" "Haruka," Michiru started, purposefully avoiding the question. Truth be told, she wasn't that sure but seeing Haruka getting all steamed up was not the way to go. Michiru tried to get inside her partner's head. "Is this about the stalker?" The silent answer from Haruka prodded her to continue. "We had this conversation before. I don't think Yoshida's the one and the stalker hadn't appeared or done anything since the last bunch of roses that we received. He may have just given up." "Somehow, I doubt so. He's probably somewhere waiting for us to drop our guards." "Haruka." She tried her most loving gaze on Haruka. "I don't want this stalker to disturb our lives but in some way he had already succeeded." "I can't let anything happen to you." "I know." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Michiru?" The entire house was in darkness. The lights couldn't be switched on, most probably a case of circuit tripping. Emerging from the bathroom dressed in her unisex pajamas, Haruka called out for the green haired girl a second time but there was still no response. She walked along the hallway towards Michiru's room, towelling her wet hair from the bath that she had just taken. As she became more attuned to the surroundings, she realised that something was not quite right. The silence of the house was the first hint that she got. Okay, maybe the lights going off on her should be her first signal. But when you add all these hints together, compounded by the fact that Michiru had not answered her, it was enough to build a case of reasonable doubts. "Michiru?" Haruka asked as she spied the figure sitting in front of the dresser in Michiru's room. In the darkness, she wasn't sure that it was her but it felt wrong, very wrong. The figure hadn't turned back to face Haruka or made any motions to acknowledge her presence. The blonde moved forward, bracing herself for danger. As she neared, she could recognise the dress that the person was wearing. It belonged to Michiru, one of her favourites that went missing after the robbery. "I have watched you since you started racing." The figure had finally spoken, halting Haruka in her steps. It wasn't Michiru, not with that voice. The figure turned, its face still hidden by the shadows. "You always seem so confident, undefeatable, someone that I could never be. It was admiration at first until the nights came. It told me what it could have been and what it should have been, that you would encircle me in your strong arms and shower me with gentle kisses." "Michiru!" Worry had caused Haruka to shout for her love again. But she wouldn't move from her position yet, because she knew the answers lay in this person a few feet away from her. "You never answered my letters but I persisted. Even when you admitted to having a girlfriend, I never stopped loving you." "Where is Michiru?!" Haruka interrupted, her anxiousness getting the better of her. "Is that all you are concerned with?" "Yes!" The figure seemed to close its eyes for a moment. Haruka wasn't sure what to do. Should she attack and beat an answer out of the intruder? It turned out that she hadn't needed to make the decision because the first move belonged to him. The only warning that she ever got was the shinning metal gleaming off the moon's light. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- She got up to a ticklish touch. She felt herself being licked, on the face. It wasn't too soon when her eyes shot wide open to discover the culprit. "Meow." Michiru looked at the tiny cat which returned to grooming itself rather than her. She looked around in the darkness, fumbling to her feet. The blow to her head was making her see stars, but she knew her house well enough to know that she was disposed in her basement. Without a second thought, she called for her henshin stick and began to transform. Light and water began to fill the basement scaring the little kittens to making meowing noises. "I didn't know that there's a nest of kittens in the basement. But thanks anyway, for waking me up." Neptune began to climb up the stairs, searching for Haruka. She hadn't needed to exert too much effort; the fighting noises were a dead give away. When she arrived, it seemed that Haruka had already taken care of everything. "Are you alright?" "Mi-, Neptune, is Michiru hurt in any way?" "She's fine." Haruka sighed in relief and turned back to the intruder she pinned against the wall. "That is the only reason I'm not killing you. For now, the state law would be a sufficient punishment for you." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- It was another late night of entertaining the police. This time, they had to make the trip to the police station. Statements were taken, the criminal was apprehended and finally they were allowed to leave. Just as she thought all was over, Michiru was teasing her like hell. "And you keep insisting the stalker's target is me." "Okay, then it's my fault that I have too much appeal." "You got that right. Not only does your male persona attract girls but guys too. Imagine the headlines tomorrow, the infallible F1 racer stalked by a male homosexual." "I get the idea. You don't have to rub it in." Michiru seemed to have relented but it didn't stop giggles from appearing every now and then. They went back to the house, ready for some slumber time. "Do you think you can sleep alone tonight?" Michiru raised an eyebrow, surprised as to what Haruka was suggesting. "I don't mean it that way. You know, the movie was really scary." "So, you're afraid and want my company." "No," Haruka put on a false front. It would be more convincing if her face had not scrunched to the infringing brush against her leg. "Hey, why do you keep coming to our house?" She picked up the big cat by the neck, up to her eye level. Michiru seemed to think for a moment until the puzzle fell into place. "I understand it now." "What?" "Nothing." Michiru took the cat over from the blonde and set it on the floor. "Go to your kittens." "What did you say?" "Let's go to sleep, Haruka." Michiru began heading to her bedroom, but turned around to finish her sentence. "Alone." "Spoil sport." ********************* Author's Notes: It's finally here, the newest part to my series. For those who have eagerly waited for this part, I hoped I have continued to entertain you with my fic. The movie mentioned in the story is a real Japanese movie entitled "The Ring". It is truly frightening, the scariest I have ever seen. And I'm not exaggerating that it does leave a lasting effect on you even after you walked out of the cinema. Thanks go to my pre-readers, Cass & Albrecht Halbstein for picking out my errors. This fanfic is made much better because of them. 4 October 2000