Sailor Moon 1. Chapter 1: Invitation

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

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\- Chapter 1: Invitation -

A dark navy blue bag dropped on to the cream colored marble entry floor. Dirty shoes kicked off next to the bag. A tall sweaty blonde dragged her feet to the living room and collapsed onto the floor breathing heavily.

"Ugh!" she heaved.

She just spent the last 4 hours running at the local sports club. Her breathing started to settle into a slower pace as she began to drift off to sleep. The phone rang snapping the blonde out of her much wanted rest. A growl escaped her lips as she rolled over.

The apartment in which the blonde resided was spacious. There wasn't much furniture in the living room. A 3-seat couch and love seat couch surrounded a coffee table in the center of the room. A small entertainment center cabinet which housed multiple media devices were opposite the couches and table with a black flat screen TV hanging on the wall above it. Some sports car and motorcycle magazines were strewn about on the coffee table along with a ringing cordless phone. The sweaty blonde reached over to the table from where she laid, face to the floor. She tilted her head slightly to see the caller ID revealing tired dark emerald eyes.

With an exasperated tone she answered the phone, "Jun, what's up? You did? I didn't hear it go off."

Her gaze wandered to her duffel bag where her cell phone was kept. She continued talking into the floor, her voice muffled by the blue area rug that laid under the coffee table.

"What's that? A charity event? When? Tonight?" The blonde rolled onto her back and thought for a moment. "Nah, I'm pretty tired. I just finished a run. Well, I do have to stay in shape. You should try it sometime; it might help with your growing gut."

A tired smirk spread across her lips as her friend started defending his body. Jun wasn't in bad shape. He was broad shouldered with an athletic build. He recently gained a bit of meat in the mid-section area which the blonde never hesitated to poke fun at. However, even with the little weight gain, no one else would've noticed, only one of his best friends.

Listening to her friend's attempt to persuade her, "Ryouji is going too huh?" The trio were best friends. "Ugh! I just want to sleep!" She growled. "Yeah, I have the weekend off for once. What are you talking about? I just saw you yesterday! I see you more than my mom! Pft! Yeah, like the brother I never asked for." She grinned as she heard his rebuttal. "No, I'll pass. I'm not going. Just go with Ryouji. Make a date out of it. He'd probably make you wear the dress and heels." She laughed. She never hesitated to start light banter with her friends and they weren't afraid to throw it back. "No, seriously, I'm tired. I'm going to stay in tonight." A frown crossed her face. "Because I'm old! Old people need to go to bed early." She was 27 years old. She was young enough to party hard but old enough to know better. Her brows furrowed in annoyance from her friend's persistence. "Ok! Ok! Ok! Ok! I'll go! Just shut up already." An excited exclamation was heard on the other end of the line as she brought her free hand to her eyes to rub it.

"Where and what time? Ok, I'll see you then. What's that? Formal party, huh?" A long sigh slipped through her lips.

"Ok, fine. Later." The blonde hung up and threw the phone back onto the table. She closed her eyes.

"Guess I'm not sleeping much tonight." She silently sighed.

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"Michiru-chan! Michiru-chan!"

"Okaa-san, I'm in here!"

"Oh there you are!" A woman in her mid-fifties with faded light blue hair wearing a white dress suit popped her head around the corner of the bathroom door.

"Are you ready yet dear? Sound check is in 20 minutes."

"Yes, I'm done". The young woman facing the mirror brushed loose strands of turquoise hair from her face. She turned in front of the mirror to make sure everything was decent.

Satisfied with her look she turned to her mother, "Okay, let's go."

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A black Ferrari F12 with black rims and a red front bumper lip pulled up to the front of the parking lot of the docks. A tall blonde stepped out of the vehicle. A shorter man in a white button down shirt and red vest ran up, tore a ticket stub and handed it to the blonde. The blonde nodded towards the man in thanks. The valet hopped into the vehicle and staged it at the front of the lot. It looked as if the valet were displaying her car at a car show. The blonde smirked but frowned again as she remembered what time it was and how much she wished she were in bed sleeping instead.

"This better be worth it." She mumbled.

She ran her fingers through her short hair, exhaling in annoyance. She looked out towards the bay. The sky was dark. The sun had set a couple of hours ago but was filled with gray clouds reflecting the lights from the city below. It casted a soft glow. The water was dark and acted as a choppy mirror to the lights of the Rainbow Bridge off in the distance, tall buildings and various ships and boats cruising along the water. She glanced down at her watch wondering if she was early. Patience was never her strong suit.

"Oi! Haruka!"

The blonde turned and found Jun walking up to her.

Moriyama Jun. 28 years old. He was one of Haruka's biggest confidantes. He was positive and chipper most of the time. His seemingly never-ending high energy was exhausting sometimes. Under his outgoing façade, however, was a steely serious business man with an out-of-the-box thinking mentality, a silver tongue that could cut any opponent down with words and seal any deal he set his mind to. He knew how to keep the blonde on her toes and knew how to creep under her skin. As she had mentioned earlier, he was a brother she didn't ask for but, even though she'll never admit it out loud, grateful she had.

"Hey, took you long enough."

"Oh c'mon! Cheer up! It's about time you stopped working and enjoyed yourself in the real world!" Jun chirped.

"Yeah, that statement would apply if I didn't enjoy work." She grumbled in response.

"Well is it a bad thing you're hanging out with us?" Boomed a deep voice.

Haruka turned towards the owner of the voice and found a tall man walking up to the pair. He stopped in front of her. They were both about the same height.

Yano Ryouji. 28 years old. They met in high school and had been inseparable ever since. He was another one of Haruka's closest confidantes. He was easygoing, calm, and logical in thought. He was the third and final piece to the trio of friends. The three had very opposing personalities but they all got along very well.

"Hey Ryouji! Did Jun bug you to come out to this event too?"

The man smiled. "He practically begged."

"Screw you guys! It's going to be fun!" The shorter man defended.

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Author's Notes:

Thanks for reading! This is my first fan fiction. Please R&amp;R! I look forward to your comments and reviews. Please don't flame. Constructive criticism is welcomed.

This was a short first chapter. The next chapters should be longer. Also, I have a few original characters who belong to me. Please do not use without my permission.

I don't know how quickly I will be releasing chapters. I have a few finished under my belt, I'm just trying to grammar, content and spell check. I'm on my own so if there's any content discrepancies, please let me know. I'm also pretty slow with typing it out since this is my first time typing out a story. I'm also working on another story at the same time so I'm bouncing back and forth between the two. I wont be releasing the other one just yet. I want to see how this one goes first.

Also, this is an AU story. There wont be any other senshi or senshi powers present.

Thanks again folks!

-WM


	2. Chapter 2: Dinner Cruise

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon

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\- Chapter 2: Dinner Cruise -

From a stranger's perspective, three gentlemen stepped aboard the cruise line's deck. Two of the men were the same height, 6'0", the other standing at 5'10". One of the two 6 footer had slicked back light brown hair with a close cut on the sides. His face long and slender however with genetics from his mother's side, had a small jaw line, pointy chin and soulful brown eyes. He was dressed in a slim black three-piece suit, white shirt with a black skinny tie and white pocket square. He followed the shorter man of the three onto the polished ship deck.

The shortest of the three was leading the way. He had dark brown spiked hair that waved at the ends. Unlike his other brunette-haired friend, he had a strong jaw line with a square chin which matched his athletic physique. He normally had stubble growing on said features due to laziness however seeing it was a formal affair he had taken the time to shave it clean. He normally wore a pair of designer black brimmed glasses over his light blue eyes to help with his terrible vision but tonight he had his contacts in. He wore a two-piece black fitted tuxedo, white dress shirt with a black bow tie. He held a grin on his face as he stepped aboard the ship.

The friend trailing at the end of the group held a polar opposite demeanor of the shorter man leading the pack. 'He' had sandy blonde hair and emerald green eyes who wore a tired look on 'his' face. 'He' was dressed in a slim-fit dark gray three-piece suit, white dress shirt, black tie, white pocket square, black belt and matching black dress shoes.

The blonde glanced around the deck, taking in the surroundings. The wooden deck of the ship was expansive. There were about fifty or so white clothed round tables spread about. The tables were set to seat four to five people. There were many lines of small light bulbs strung in straight lines atop several poles on the deck casting a soft light. The tables circled around a small stage at the center of the deck.

The man in the black tuxedo led the other two towards the hostess who showed the three to their table. As they sat down the blonde took one last look around.

"Wow Jun, I didn't realize you were taking us out on a date." The blonde joked.

Ryouji joining in, "Yeah, it's so romantic, Jun."

Jun playing along, "Yeah, so, am I getting some from the two of you tonight?"

The blonde leaned in, "Now or later?"

Jun pretended to gag over the blonde's words.

Laughter from the other two followed. The blonde internally shuddered at her own words.

Ryouji looked up and nudged the blonde. "Hey, Haruka, I think the girls to your left are checking you out."

Without hesitation the blonde turned her head, dark emerald eyes followed Ryouji's gaze. Three tables to the left were a group of five girls giggling and taking quick glances to their table, namely towards the blonde. The blonde flashed one of her bright cocky smiles towards the group. As if on cue, the table of girls giggled even louder and a blush could be seen on each of their faces.

"That never gets old!" Jun laughed.

More people began to filter in, taking their designated seats. Forty minutes later all the tables were full and an announcement was made over the PA about the ship departing in 15 minutes.

Sipping some sparkling water from her glass the blonde looked up at Jun who was busy looking at something on his phone while Ryouji people watched. She decided to break the trio's silence.

"So, what's this charity for?"

Jun continued browsing through his phone as if he didn't hear her question. The blonde knew her friend better; he heard every word. He just liked to answer in his own time. The blonde waited. After ten seconds of waiting, Jun's gaze rose from his lit phone.

"What? Uh, I don't know."

The blonde and Ryouji almost fell over from his answer.

"What? Okay, okay, okay! It's a charity to help raise money for underprivileged kids who have an interest in art and music. It's similar to the charity you helped fund a few months back for underprivileged kids who played sports."

Both Ryouji and Haruka nodded to his explanation.

Haruka thought for a moment then asked, "Okay, so since we're all invited to this charity, who do we need to talk to in order to make a donation?"

Jun's eyes became shifty and laughed nervously, "Yeah, about that. This charity party is a 'thank you dinner' for your contributions."

Both Ryouji and Haruka's eyes went wide which quickly turned into a glare.

It was Ryouji's turn to question his shorter friend, "How did we donate money when we had no knowledge of this foundation?" He growled.

Jun brought his right hand up to the back of his head and started scratching nervously, "Ah-he-he-he… I got your business license numbers from your PR manager…" gesturing to Haruka "and your girlfriend…" pointing at Ryouji "and I filled out the forms for the both of you."

Jun noticed both his friends had "I want to kill you where you sit" written all over their faces. Jun raised both his hands in defense,

"I know what you're thinking but trust me it is a smart business choice. Your PR guy," looking at Haruka, "said it was good for your image if you donated to a sister foundation of the museum you… well, you know, had that _incident_ last month." Haruka's eyes widened, "_That_ was an accident and it wasn't even my fault!"

Disregarding the blonde's defense with a shake of his head, Jun turned to Ryouji, "I talked to Natsumi-chan about it and she thought it would be a great idea for you and your business." Ryouji looked skeptical. He was going to have a talk with his girlfriend later about this. "Plus, regardless of the amount donated, you get a good tax break on it." Jun finished.

"Hold on." The blonde started, "Okay, I somewhat understand your reasoning but you seemed pretty matter-of-fact about the tax break. The only way we would get a decent tax break on our donation is if we donated a significant amount of money…" Suddenly, she felt angry again. Trying to restrain herself from jumping across the table and strangling her friend, Haruka asked between her teeth, "So, EXACTLY how much did we each _generously_ contribute to this foundation?" Ryouji's eyes narrowed in on his friend waiting for his response.

Jun paused. He tried to think of a nice way to tell them how much was donated but before Jun could answer, the lights dimmed and a bright spotlight hit a short round man with a thick moustache on the center stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please? My name is Fukuzaki Kouji! I will be your host for the evening. I would like to say 'thank you' on behalf of the Create and Play Foundation for your support and contributions! As you all know, the CAP Foundation is about providing a creative and positive atmosphere in which children can express themselves artistically whether through art or music…"

While Fukuzaki continued talking about the charity, Ryouji turned his attention to his two friends, who seemed more or less attentive to what the man had to say.

"Well, this sounds like something my organization can get involved with. Jun, why didn't you tell me about this foundation sooner?"

Ryouji co-owned and operated a successful after school arts program. It also concentrated around music and art. He used to attend when he was a kid and stayed in touch with the founder. The founder eventually got a sick and decided Ryouji would be a good person to hand this program down to. Eventually, the founder passed. Ryouji continued running the program, helping it expand and become even more successful than it was before.

"I called you repeatedly and you never returned my phone calls, so I called Natsumi-chan about it instead." Jun replied.

Haruka sighed. She had a feeling it was going to be a long night. She has attended many events similar to this. It typically involved her plastering a big fake smile on her face and market herself and her race team to potential sponsors. However, at an art and music charity event, she didn't really know what she would do there.

_I guess it's not work-work-work all the time._ She thought to herself.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the man on the stage, "I hope you enjoy the food and entertainment this evening. We have a fantastic line-up of performers for you tonight. Food will be served shortly so please, enjoy yourselves and let me or any of the wait staff know if you need anything at all." With that ending phrase, he stepped off the stage and the lights brightened up again.

Servers began shuffling out of the side of the ship with plates of salad to start.

Haruka leaned into Jun, "I don't know how much I contributed but the food better be damn good."

Jun grinned, "When have you ever cared about how good the food is?"

A grunt escaped the blonde's lips. She never was a big _foodie_ person. She had to always eat healthy because she was constantly training for her career as an F1 driver. She believed in order to run your machine to its peak ability you had to be in peak physical condition to do so. If she wasn't at the track practicing or working with the mechanics on her car, she was at the local fitness club running or weight training. She rarely went out to eat, always eating at home since it was the healthiest choice. The only time she went out was if she had to attend sponsor events, charity events, business lunches or dinners and the occasional date with women. It ended up being no more than once a week which she would then consider it her cheat meal.

An hour later, after the food and dessert were served and eaten, and more than a handful of different musicians had performed, the man named Fukuzaki took to the stage again. The blonde was starting to fidget in her seat. She was full, and tired. She wished she could leave but the slow moving scenery reminded her she was on a moving ship and it wasn't due to dock for another two hours. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

_Why did this dinner have to be a dinner cruise?_

"I hope everyone enjoyed their meals and I see everyone is just about done with dessert. I would like to ask for your attention as I introduce our next performer. For those of you with an interest in the classical music genre, this next performer should be no stranger to you. She currently has 2 albums released; both went platinum and reached #1 on the classical billboard charts. She just finished the last leg of her worldwide tour in Europe and is home for a little break before starting work on her next album. She is renowned violinist Kaioh Michiru!"

Loud clapping erupted and a spotlight shone to the side of the ship waiting for the artist to emerge.

"I need to use the restroom. I'll be right back." The blonde muttered to her friends.

Just as she stood, she looked up to where the spotlight shone and out stepped a beautiful young lady. Haruka stopped her movements, her emerald eyes stared at the beauty under the bright light. Aquamarine hair shone under the white light, her black dress had one shoulder strap leaving the other shoulder bare. The dress hugged every curve of her body revealing toned muscles flexing as she made her way to the stage. The dress cut off just mid-thigh revealing long slender legs. She wore a pair of matching black ankle strap heels. Her skin had a creamy porcelain complexion causing her to glow under the light. She walked to the center of the small stage where a single microphone stood. She shifted her weight in front of the mic as if to find a comfortable spot to stand. Her eyes fluttered up from her feet revealing a pair of stunning light bluish-green eyes like a tropical ocean. She looked like a goddess.

Haruka couldn't move. She was mesmerized by the beauty standing in the spotlight.

"They got Kaioh Michiru to perform?! This is awesome!" Ryouji excitedly whispered.

Ryouji has been a long-time fan of classical music. His grandfather learned to play the violin on his own and would frequently play at family gatherings before he passed away. Because his grandfather played, his uncle and father picked up playing the violin who had also encouraged a young Ryouji to play. From there, both his younger brother and sister played as a result of Ryouji's passion for the instrument. Kaioh Michiru was currently one of the best violinists causing Ryouji to be slightly star struck.

"Yeah, I knew yo…" Jun began to answer his excited friend when he noticed his other friend. "Hey, weren't you going to the restroom?" His attention was now fully on the blonde eyeing her up and down, noticing her eyes were wide with admiration and slightly slack jawed. He smirked.

"Huh? What?" Suddenly realizing her friend's attention was on her, she quickly replied, "Oh, yeah, yeah. I'll be right back."

She quickly walked to the side of the dining area of the deck. She didn't really have a need to use the restroom earlier. She was just trying to get some fresh air from the table, away from the lights, away from the noise of the music and the Fukuzaki man's wheezy voice. She took a deep breath when she reached the railing of the ship. Her gaze was still on the beauty on stage.

A melodic feminine voice broke her thoughts. "Good evening everyone," Michiru began, "thank you for your kind words Fukuzaki-san. I am honored to be here with you this evening. I hope everyone has enjoyed their meal and not falling into food coma yet." The crowd politely laughed, she gently smiled. "I wanted to thank everyone here who had donated to the CAP Foundation. Every one of your contributions will greatly help provide the necessary art supplies, instruments, facilities and faculty for this wonderful organization to inspire and motivate our future generation of artists. Art, as many of you know, is an important part of my life and many other lives and when I see what the CAP Foundation is doing to help keep this alive in today's youths brings nothing more than joy to my heart. As George Bernard Shaw, the famous Irish playwright, said, 'Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.' I feel it is something that brightens our world regardless of what terrible events take place around us. I guess a simpler version I recently heard is, 'The _Earth_ without _art_ is _Eh_.'" This garnered another chuckle from the audience. "I hope you enjoy this next piece I will be performing. It is from my most recent album." Everyone clapped.

Michiru took a couple of steps back as a crew member quickly removed the microphone from the stage. She gently placed the violin on her left shoulder, tilting her chin onto the chin rest. She gracefully brought her right hand holding the bow up onto the strings, and closed her eyes. Haruka felt the entire audience hold their breath in anticipation of the first note. With a flick of her wrist, the aqua haired beauty pulled a long hard note startling some of the audience members. Swiftly pulling and pushing the bow, she dove into her piece. It was energetic and upbeat. The blonde could feel her heart pounding through her chest. It was a very invigorating piece. Unknown to herself, a corner of her mouth curled into a half smile.

Michiru, with her eyes still closed, was enveloped in her music. She swayed her body with the melody. It was strong, yet light. She imagined standing at the edge of the shore of the ocean. Feeling the cool water rush past her knees as the waves rolled in. Her head tilted up towards the clear blue sky letting the sun bathe her in light and warmth, seeing the shadowed bottoms of squawking seagulls and pelicans circling above. She closed her eyes and allowed the wind to softly caress her skin. She smiled, taking the moment in. She was at peace with no worries. Noticing the sounds of the birds had stopped she opened her eyes and looked out to the vast ocean. She saw dark gray ominous clouds quickly rolling in towards the coast. The air's humidity rose around her as dark clouds now loomed over head. Michiru felt a tinge of static electricity in the air as she saw white flashes within the dark clouds followed by a rumble of thunder in the distance. She looked back down at the ocean water. What was once sparkling blue was now a reflection of the sky above, gray. The sea was becoming restless as the waters began to turn choppy. Michiru instinctively backed out of the water never once turning her eyes away from the agitated waves.

The blonde noticed the music began to slow from its bright melody. The music turned quiet but not peaceful. It felt as if you were looking over still water but had an apprehension of what may lie below the surface like the calm before the storm. She looked around the deck and noticed the musician had everyone, even the crew members, captivated by the music. Suddenly, the violin made a violent noise. The tone of the music changed. It sounded like panic in the music. Haruka noticed the musician had her brows furrowed, engulfed by the emotion in her music. The musician began an almost hacking motion with her bow on the strings. The music went on like this for a minute however just as quickly as the tension and stress came in her music it softened again as if it made it past the storm. As the song came to a soft end, the last note being drawn, the musician slowly opened her eyes.

Upon opening her eyes, Michiru was met with the blinding spotlight. She had her eyes closed throughout the whole performance. Now that the light flooded her vision everything around her was blurry. As she was trying to refocus her eyes she blurrily saw everyone stand up to give her a standing ovation. She bowed and carefully walked off the stage.

Haruka was still standing at the railing clapping as Michiru exited the spotlight. Fukuzaki rushed back onto the stage, "Thank you so much Kaioh-san! That was absolutely wonderful. Come on everyone, let's give her another round of applause!"

Michiru turned around towards the audience once again, bowed and waved before she disappeared through a door to the inner quarters of the ship. Fukuzaki continued talking. Haruka couldn't listen anymore. She vigorously rubbed her eyes and face to help bring blood flow back hoping that would help her out of her tired state. She walked towards the bar and ordered tonic water. She looked over to where her friends sat and saw they were in conversation with some of the girls they saw from earlier. Shaking her head and not feeling social, she walked in the opposite direction towards the front of the ship.

The air was cool with a slight breeze running through as she walked along the side of the ship. She walked past some scurrying crew members and a few couples enjoying the view of the short cruise. As she made her way to the front of the ship, she noticed no one was occupying any of the rails. Just as she was about to step out of the side of the ship, a couple rushed towards her. They were holding on to each other and giggling. Their hair and clothing were being whipped wildly about. It was windy. She turned her body away from the couple to avoid collision. The couple quickly apologized and excused themselves, laughing as they reached safe haven from the wild winds. She politely bowed her head, accepting their apology.

She stepped out into the open front deck and was immediately hit with a rush of wind. She braced herself, trying not to lose her footing. She shoved her right hand into her pant pocket as if it would anchor herself against the wind. She began to walk towards one of the railings at the front of the ship. Her hair whipped around her face causing a slight stinging sensation. She could feel her clothes being pressed against her body as hard gusts of wind beat against her. She closed her eyes, taking in the moment of being surrounded by her favorite element. She normally didn't feel this kind of wind unless she was driving her convertible. However, this moment was different from the times she drove in her car. When she was in her car, she controlled the wind. She controlled how fast she went, controlled how hard the wind hit or caressed her. She was in control. This moment she was feeling was on the contrary, it was raw and uncensored; it was not hers to tame and it felt great. Taking out her right hand from her pocket she gripped the cold briny railing in front of her as she took a deep breath in, smelling the deeply cold and salty air. It burned her nostrils and filled her lungs. Upon release it brought soothing warmth and a thin white fog through her mouth and nose. She opened her eyes to see her hair still flipping around her fore vision and the darkness of the waters ahead of her. It was dimly lit by the surrounding bay's city lights. The only thing she could hear was the distant crashing of the waves at the bottom of the boat as it heavily skipped against the water, the distant ringing of an unseen buoy and the howling of the winds around her. She was at peace. _One day, I'm going to be as free as this wind with nothing holding me back._ She smiled at her new resolution as she brought her glass up to her lips for a sip.

_One day…_

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Author's Notes: Hey all! Thanks for reading! Please R&amp;R! I'm not used to the site's uploading method so I'm tinkering around a bit by uploading the second chapter. Hopefully the third chapter will be up by next week. Also, the CAP Foundation is a bogus foundation if you were wondering. Until next time, I salute you for the R&amp;R.

-WM


	3. Chapter 3: Sightings and Meet and Greets

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon

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\- Chapter 3: Sightings and Meet and Greets -

"That was a wonderful performance, Michiru-chan!"

Michiru was in the second floor bar lounge looking out towards the bow of the ship. The lounge was closed off as the green room for the performers and their entourage. Everyone around her was relaxed in jovial chatter with drinks in hand. There were people congratulating others regarding their performance, musicians networking with other musicians for potential future collaborations, while the on-deck stylists and make-up artists were marketing themselves to other performers for potential new clients; it was all business and industry related talk.

Michiru just arrived back home from the last leg of her worldwide tour just a day ago and was in no mood to discuss business. She hadn't had a chance to catch up on sleep and was still jetlagged from the travel home.

"Thanks Okaa-san." She replied softly, giving her mother a small smile. She sipped on a glass of red wine to relax her body.

"What are you doing sitting here all by yourself?! You should be mingling with the other artists here! You will be back in the studio in three months. You should have some contacts ready for the next album." her mother quietly scolded.

Michiru briefly closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "Okaa-san, stop worrying so much. The next three months is my vacation from all of this." She made a large circular motion with her glass of wine, pointing towards the crowd of people in front of them. "I told you earlier this was the last performance before my vacation starts and seeing I'm done with the performance, I am done with anything that has to do with business for the next three months." She paused a moment, looking her mother in the eye. "This also means you are on vacation as well." She gave the older woman in front of her a tired smile.

"Oh, child, as your mother and manager, I am never on vacation," her mother gently chided. "I'm going to go get a drink then and talk business on your behalf. Three months is a long time and we don't want to lose out on any future opportunities."

Her mother paused and looked around in the crowd and spotted the person she was looking for. "Well, if you're not going to talk business, why don't you go talk to Daisuke-san over there?" Her mother motioned towards a crowd of people by the door.

A tall athletic-looking man with short black hair and dark blue eyes stood wearing a black tuxedo and white bow tie. As if on cue, he glanced over in Michiru's direction, smiling as he made eye contact. She smiled back then turned her head and looked at her mother.

Her mother continued, "I hear he's interested and not in a business sense either." Her mother gave her a wink.

"Okaa-san!" Michiru had a light blush spread across her cheeks. "It's not like that! We're just friends!"

Her mother laughed and waved her off as she walked away, "Of course, dear!"

Michiru still flushed, sighed in exasperation as she took another sip of her wine. She turned around towards the window behind her staring at her reflection from the glass. She saw tired eyes staring back at her. She could tell she had small bags under her eyes due to lack of rest. Her skin didn't look as healthy as it used to either. Her facial features looked loose to her, almost as if she were aging at great speed. She vowed silently to herself that would change once she receives well-deserved rest which includes sleeping, spa treatments and swimming. She smiled at the thought of not worrying for three months.

A white flicker caught her attention and her sight focused past the pane of glass to a white triangle flag flapping about outside on a pole. _It looks windy outside._ She silently noted, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

She turned her attention to movement on the deck below. She saw a blonde man making his way to the front of the ship, one hand in his pocket, walking against the wind. She watched as he stopped before the railing and closed his eyes. She saw his chest heaving as if taking deep breaths of air. He leaned forward and gripped the railing for support. His head turned as he observed the scenery in front of him. She caught a side profile of his looks.

_He's handsome._ She thought to herself.

His hair danced crazily about his head. She smiled. It strangely made her happy that he was enjoying himself without having the company of anyone by his side. She wished she could have a moment like that right now.

She couldn't stop staring at his eyes. Even though it was a side view, she could see he was completely content with a glint of determination in his eyes.

_Strange, I wonder why he looks determined._

He brought his left hand holding a drink to his mouth. She wondered how he didn't spill any of it in the rugged weather condition outside.

"Hey."

A deep voice snapped her out of her thoughts and made her jump a little.

"Ah! Yes?"

"Woah! I didn't mean to scare you."

She turned to face concerned deep blue eyes. It was Daisuke.

"Daisuke-kun! Oh no, that's okay. I was just-I mean, hey, how are you?"

He chuckled as she fumbled with her words.

"I'm doing well and yourself?"

"Good. I'm doing good."

He leaned in and gave her a hug. She hugged him back.

"Congratulations on finishing your tour. You must be happy to have that over with."

"Yeah! I didn't realize how exhausting it was until I was neck deep in it."

"Well, don't worry, you'll get used to it. You'll handle the fatigue better your second time around." He smiled.

Michiru silently groaned at the thought of a second world tour. She was extremely tired now and just the thought of another round made her want to pass out. Not showing any of her internal thoughts she smiled back.

"I don't have to think about that just yet so let's not discuss that!"

Daisuke laughed. His eyes getting smaller as his grin grew wider.

"Okay. We won't talk about that. So you're going to take a break for three months huh? That's one long break. What do you plan on doing for three months?"

Michiru laughed, "sleep!"

Daisuke laughed again. "Ok, well, I'll be in town for the next couple of months. We should hang out when you're not sleeping."

"Yeah, sure. I'd love that."

"Great! Then let me…"

"Endo-san!" A young crew member called out from the doorway.

Daisuke looked up towards the person shouting, "Yes? Over here!"

"Endo-san, you're up in five!" The young man held his hand up signaling he was due on stage in five minutes.

"Okay! I'm coming!"

The crewman turned his attention towards a hand-held radio letting the other end know the performer was on his way down and then left.

Daisuke turned his attention back to Michiru.

"Well, it looks like I'm up. I have a feeling that I won't be back up here for the rest of the evening. I think my manager wants me to mingle with the donors. If I don't see you later, can I call you so we can meet up sometime this week? Dinner perhaps?"

"Sure."

"Is your number still the same?"

"Yeah, call me."

With another hug, he departed for the door with his manager tailing behind him.

Daisuke was nice. He was polite, tall, handsome and a marvelously wonderful violinist. He, like Michiru, was one of the top violinists in the world. He came from a wealthy family much like Michiru. They both met when they performed with the Saito Kinen Orchestra when Michiru was 16 years old and Daisuke, 18. They were both considered prodigy violinists, however, Daisuke's rise in popularity increased faster than Michiru's.

He transferred from orchestra to orchestra, moving up quickly within the ranks. He performed with the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and most recently the Royal Concertgebouw. He played for the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam four years ago which then launched him on a solo career with four platinum records, three world tours and crowned the King of violinists amongst the classical music community.

Michiru could not fathom how he was able to accomplish so much in such little time. She didn't know when he had time to compose new pieces along with planning world tour after world tour.

Gossip swirled three years ago between the two when Michiru was working on her first solo album. She worked on a couple of duets with Daisuke thus creating a friendship with the young man. Outside of the studio, they were seen together often eating lunch, dinner and accompanying each other to publicity events. The classical world thought the King found a princess to crown his Queen.

Their time together stopped when Michiru started her second album and world tour planning two years ago. The gossip eventually died away. Michiru never figured out what they were. Most of their time together was work related and a few personal but their intimacy never went further than a hug and side kiss on the cheek. She concluded it was all a professional friendship and nothing more.

Daisuke, now 29 years old, was considered to be one of the most eligible bachelors in town. He has been spotted with celebrity women from all walks of the entertainment business from movies to music. Being involved in numerous fast and flashy affairs, Daisuke built up a reputation as a playboy no one could tie down.

In different interviews he stated he was still looking for "Ms. Right." Many of his previous flames described him as an arrogant, flirtatious and charming man with a heart melting smile. It was all the qualities of a heart breaker. Despite all the public descriptions and accusations of Daisuke, Michiru knew him to be a kind, sweet, brilliant, and well-spoken man. He has not shown anything to her to make her think otherwise.

She looked back out the window seeing the blonde man still standing at the rail. The wind was still unrelenting against the stranger's body.

_It looks cold._

Goosebumps spread across her body as a chill ran through her at the thought of the cold air outside. She wondered how the handsome stranger could stand it. _His hair is going to be a mess when he walks out of there._ She mused to herself.

She noticed two other men, one tall in a black suit and one shorter in what appears to be a tuxedo, approaching the blonde from behind. Curious about the upcoming interaction, she continued to watch.

"Dinner next week? That was fast."

Michiru turned to see her mother, holding a glass of gin and tonic smiling at her. Her cheeks felt warm, indicating another blush forming.

"Okaa-san!"

* * *

Deep in her comfort zone she didn't hear yelling behind her. Howling winds filled her ears muting any sounds around her. With her eyes still closed, she realized something had joined her. It was a distant sound.

_What is that?_

"Ha…ka! … do… here?! …ey!"

Suddenly a hand clamped down on her shoulder. She spun around finding Ryouji's hand on her shoulder with a confused look on his face. She furrowed her brows in.

"Hey," she calmly shouted.

"Didn't you hear us? We were yelling at you!" Ryouji was still yelling, trying to talk over the wind. "Are you okay? It's been thirty minutes since you left."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just needed a breather."

"What the hell are you doing on this side of the ship? It's windy as hell over here!" Jun added.

"What?" Haruka leaned forward trying to hear what he was saying.

"I said what are you doing over here?! It's windy!" Jun said a bit louder.

"What?" Haruka had an annoyed face on.

"I SAID IT'S WINDY!" Jun yelled, shortening his previous statement and also annoyed.

"Hey, okay, you don't have to yell!" Haruka grinned back.

"… Oh screw you!" Jun realized Haruka heard every word. She liked messing with her friend.

"Okay guys let's head back to the dining area. I think we got enough fresh air up here!" Ryouji suggested.

The three began to head back towards their table. The blonde glanced up to the windows above and noticed people. One person stood out in particular; an aquamarine haired woman to be exact. Her back was turned to the window. She looked like she was talking to someone. Seeing the woman was not going to turn around anytime soon, Haruka turned her attention back to the two friends in front of her and shook her head.

After they escaped the fury of the wind, the blonde ran her fingers through her windswept hair in an attempt to tame it. She smoothed out her suit and straightened her tie, trying not to look too disheveled. Taking in a deep breath she felt refreshed. Her face was numb from the cold winds, she felt awake and no longer tired.

Seeing the dining tables coming into view, she gave her now empty glass to a passing crew member, and placed both of her hands on the shoulders of both of her friends. "All right, let's do this!" Shocked by their formerly tired friend's new disposition, the two gentlemen looked at each other and shrugged as they entered the dining area.

An hour later all of the performances finished and everyone on board were socializing with one another.

Ryouji was chatting it up with various artists and donors. He was no doubt marketing and networking since this event is in direct correlation with what his program does. He was constantly looking to make new connections to help further improve his program and gain new opportunities for his students. He was also always looking for donations from new donors. He was no longer bothered with the previous unknown donation Jun made on his behalf. He'll just write it off as an investment to gain more opportunities.

Jun was also busying himself with networking. He was a well-known events promoter and was known as the go-to guy if you need an event promoted. He owned his own promotion company called Velvet Rope Promotions. His company promoted the hottest concerts, clubs, restaurants, charity events and everything else in between in town. If it wasn't the hottest, his company will make sure it will be the top event to attend by event day.

He recruited the best promoters in the cities his company was in. His company was the best in Japan and was found internationally in major cities in Europe, North America, and Asia. Tonight had a lot of international music artists in town and could help benefit his company with future promotional events.

Staring off in boredom, the last of the trio was sitting at the table surrounded by a small group of talking women. The blonde had zero reasons to talk to anyone. It wouldn't benefit her team since no one here were the type to sponsor Formula 1 racing.

The group of women around her was blatantly flirting with her. Usually in situations such as this she'd flirt back but she felt like she had cabin fever and wanted off this ship. Flirting was the last thing on her mind. The crowd of women made the air around her more suffocating.

Loud feedback was heard over the speakers, grabbing her attention.

"Attention all guests. We will be docking in thirty minutes. Please be sure you have all of your belongings before you disembark the ship. If you have a coat check ticket, please remember to head to the coat check counter inside the ship on deck level to retrieve your items. On behalf of the crew of Bay Star Cruise Liner, we thank you for your time here with us and we hope you will sail with us again in the future."

The speaker clicked signaling the end of the message.

"Oh! We're getting off soon! So, Haruka-san, what are you planning to do later tonight? Anything or _anyone_ in particular?" The red head at the table was bold the blonde thought. If she was in a different mood than what she was in now, she would have said _her_ but instead replied, "I'm heading to Oyama tonight." She lied.

"What's in Oyama? Can I come?"

_She's persistant._

"I'm visiting family. Sorry, this is a solo trip." She replied coolie.

The girl vocalized her disappointment, "Aww! Well, that's too bad. I'm good company in the car."

_I bet you are._

Haruka glanced over to her friends finding they were both having a conversation with one person. Jun caught sight of the blonde and waved her over.

"Well, ladies, it's been fun. It was a pleasure to meet you." With a bow and before anyone could protest, she quickly left the table and met her friends.

"Ah! Haruka! I want you to meet someone!" Jun exclaimed. "Haruka, I want you to meet Endo Daisuke, world renowned violinist."

"Ha! There's no need to throw that title in!" Daisuke laughed.

Haruka looked at the gentleman standing before her. He was a little taller than her, short black hair, midnight blue eyes, broad shouldered but lean.

She stretched her hand out. "Nice you meet you, Tenou Haruka." He extended his hand giving and receiving a firm hand shake. He eyed her up and down.

"Tenou Haruka? The racer?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"So you're my competition huh?"

Caught off guard by his statement. "I'm sorry, your what?"

"My competition. It looks like there are two playboys on this ship. Did you find a companion to take home tonight?" He grinned.

She looked at him in disbelief. _Is this guy serious?_

Noticing her silence he added, "Well, I am definitely no competition for you on the race track so I'm not referring to speed."

"No one would've mistaken you for that," she mumbled but Daisuke didn't seem to notice.

"I saw you were working a small crowd earlier. Any takers?"

The more this guy talked, the more she wanted to punch him in the face. This guy was an asshole.

"No, I thought I'd give you a chance with someone tonight." She gave him a cocky smile.

He paused a moment at her reply. He began to laugh, "You're funny! I like you!" He slapped her hard on the shoulder. "You know, men like me and you should hang out more. We could conquer a lot side-by-side. You know, be each other's wing man."

Annoyance was beginning to creep over the blonde. She eyed her two friends on the side. Both of them also seemed uncomfortable with the conversation but kept a smile on their faces because they had to keep up appearances with a potential client or donor.

Ryouji looked right at the blonde with a fake smile and gave her a subtle head shake warning her not to lose her temper with the laughing man in front of her.

The blonde reached over and grabbed Daisuke's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer huh? Nice tactic but I'll pass. I can get women without your… help. You might slow me down."

An awkward silence fell upon the four. Noticing Daisuke's eyes no longer laughing, his face fell into an almost serious expression. Haruka looked at both of her friends who were wide-eyed and had pale expressions on their faces. Realizing she might be compromising her friends' position with the violinist, began a hearty fake laugh, "Oh c'mon! Can't you take a joke?!" She grinned, imitating Daisuke's move earlier, she slapped his shoulder to jolt him out of his dark mood. "Just give Jun a call when you want to attend a big event, I'm sure I'll be there," forcing another grin.

"Uh, yeah, yeah, that sounds great." Daisuke trying to bring back to happy mood he was in earlier. Seconds later he was grinning just as wide as Haruka.

"Endo-san!" An older lady in the distance waved towards Daisuke. He looked over smiling politely, and waved back.

"Well, gentlemen, it's been a pleasure. I'll see you guys around. Jun-kun, we'll keep in touch? Yano-san, Tenou-san, it was nice to meet you." Jun and Ryouji politely nodded back while Haruka didn't move. With a quick bow he walked off to the woman who waved him over.

Haruka's gaze followed the proud walking man.

"What a jackass."

Ryouji and Jun released a large sigh of relief.

"Oh man, I thought you were going to knock him out!" Ryouji exclaimed.

"I was pretty damn close," grumbled the blonde.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't! I've known him for a few years now and he helps with business." Jun replied.

"Jeez, and I thought you were arrogant." Ryouji looked at the blonde.

"I am but I don't over flaunt it. Do me a favor, if I ever act like that in public, please smack me."

The other two numbly nodded in agreement as they continued to watch the black haired man laugh at a bad joke amongst a group of older women.

After exiting the ship, and fist bumping her friends goodbye, Haruka walked to the valet and handed over the ticket stub. She looked at her watch. 10:46 p.m. She yawned just as her car pulled in front of her. She tipped the valet boy for driving her car 50 feet to her, getting in her car, she drove away.

The streets still had a decent amount of traffic for a Friday night so she couldn't drive as fast as she would have liked. As the street lights overhead rushed over the car, with the wind blowing through the open window, she paddle shifted gears to accommodate traffic speeds. She relaxed as she eased back into her element.

She began to recap her night in her head. The food and group of girls were okay, that Endo Daisuke was an asshole, and she always enjoyed Jun and Ryouji's company. The thirty minutes she was alone at the bow of the ship was her favorite part.

She smiled as the wind whipping her hair around reminded her of that moment on the ship. The late October air was warmer in the city than in the bay but it was still cold.

Suddenly, sea green hair flashed through her mind. _Oh yeah, and there was her,_ she thought fondly of the beautiful woman she saw perform. _What was her name again? Kaioh Michiru was it?_

Now she was trying to decide what the best part of her night was: being alone on the bow or watching the aqua-haired goddess perform. A smile tugged at one corner of her mouth as she realized she couldn't decide. Her thoughts came to an end when she reached her apartment building's parking entrance.

Upon entering her apartment, she flicked on the lights. Noticing she had a message on the answering machine, she pushed the 'play' button.

"You have one message. BEEP! Haruka-chan, it's Okaa-san. I know you're leaving next week to America, Brazil and Abu Dhabi. I want to see you before you go. I haven't seen you in so long. Well, you're probably out right now. Call me tomorrow when you wake up. Ok, good night and be safe! BEEP! To delete this message, pre…" Haruka hit the delete button. "Message deleted. You have no more messages."

She smiled. Looks like she didn't completely lie to those girls after all, she really is going home to see family this weekend. She walked to her bedroom and shut the door behind her.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Thanks for reading! Please R&amp;R. I salute you for it. I noticed the first two chapters had really blocky paragraphs so I tried to cut up the blocks in this chapter. Hopefully, it wasn't as straining to read. I know the progression of the story is kind of slow. Please bear with me.

Hitomi: Thanks of the review! I hope I can continue to keep your interest in this story.

Also, some info about places or groups mentioned:

Saito Kinen Orchestra is an actual orchestra in Japan that performs in an annual festival. All the other mentioned orchestras are also top rated orchestras around the world.

When I refer to "Oyama," I am referring to Oyama in the Shizuoka prefecture. It's a small town located at the foothills of Mount Fuji and home to the Fuji Speedway.


	4. Chapter 4: Poolside Musings

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon

* * *

\- Chapter 4: Poolside Musings -

Bare feet padded along the side of the pool. Turquoise eyes glanced over at the clock hanging against the wall.

_8:07 a.m._

A smile crept onto pink lips. She was excited about diving into the pool for a swim. She didn't get home until past midnight and she didn't sleep as long as she had previously vowed to. However, the call of the water was too strong and she needed it to lift her spirit no matter how much her body screamed for more sleep.

She walked to the far end of the pool, the deep end. She looked down at the blue chlorinated water in front of her. A distorted reflection of herself stared back at her.

She took a deep breath, using her toes she pushed off the edge and dove into the water. A sudden rush of cold enveloped her body causing her lungs to constrict. She allowed herself to glide underwater keeping her feet together she began to use her abdomen muscles to flex as she dolphin kicked to keep momentum.

As her body slowly rose to the surface, she slowly began to kick her legs, bringing her arms above her head, she began to freestyle. She tilted her head to the side every three strokes for air. Coming up to the other end of the pool, she tucked her body into a flip, pushing off the side of the pool to continue swimming.

This was her element, this was her home. The comfort she felt in the water was unmatched anywhere else she's ever been. She loved how the water moved over her body, how the water loved her and she loved it back. Her vision was constantly switching from blurry blue to half above water from her breathing pattern. She began to fall into thought about last night.

She was glad last night's performance was her last for a little while. She was tired of the heat of the spotlight, shaking hands with people she was not familiar with and smiling until her cheeks hurt. No matter how much she had to socialize for the sake of her career, she was never comfortable with it. It was too fake and insincere.

She loved her music and playing her violin but all the politics involved were not her cup of tea. That's what her mother was for and why she was her manager; to handle all the negotiations and smooth talk the industry heads whether it be with an orchestra director or venue owner. Her mother handled the majority of the business talk. She was thankful for that. It allowed her to concentrate on her music.

_Concentrate on my music…_

That was her passion: Music. She never involved herself with anything else outside of her art and talent. For the last twenty-three years she has been honing her skill as a violinist.

Her grandmother taught her how to play when she was four years old. She picked up playing quite quickly. It almost came natural to her. Her ability to read music was beyond her years as an elementary school child. She found herself playing recitals and winning competitions. Starting from district competitions and moving her way up to the national stage, she swept 1st place in her age group every year she performed.

By age 16 she was performing with the Seiji Kinen Orchestra at the Seiji Kinen Festival Matsumoto. After finishing high school, she joined the New York Philharmonic Orchestra for a couple of years, then joining the Los Angeles Philharmonics Orchestra and finally the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. She was successful with all three orchestras and decided to make a risky move by going solo.

She reached out to Daisuke Endo who found acclaimed fame from his solo career for advice and a small collaboration with a few of the songs. He was more than happy to help her with the start of her solo career.

They spent countless hours together in the studio writing music, bouncing ideas off each other, taking half an idea and running with it or just driving each other insane until they found inspiration from their self-inflicted insanity.

_"Oh come on Michiru-chan! We can play this in G Major!"_

_"No, it's too predictable. I don't want to be predictable."_

_"It's not predictable, it's soothing. The audience will feel at ease in this key."_

_"No!"_

_"No? Is this what you've come to now? You've resorted to yelling one worded responses like an upset 5 year old?" Daisuke sat across the room in a rolling chair with a notebook in his lap, impatiently tapping his pencil against it._

_They had been sitting in the music studio for over nine hours coming up with new music. Neither had left the confines of the building, not even for fresh air or food. They had been marking notes into their notebooks, erasing notes, ripping out whole pages of music, crumpling it into a messy ball and tossing it to the floor. Today was not their day._

_"No. It's just…" Michiru sat cross-legged on the black leather couch with a similar notebook in her lap gripping her pencil in her hand trying to come up with a good explanation of her rejection. She furrowed her brow as she dug for a logical answer in her brain which now felt like mush._

_"It's just… I-I just don't like it!" With that she crossed her arms and looked down at her notebook with a defeated look._

_Daisuke, witnessing the normally composed beautiful young woman in front of him mentally break down into a child greatly amused him. Biting on the end of his pencil to keep himself from bursting out into laughter, he shook his head and chuckled instead._

_Releasing a big sigh he pushed his chair to roll to where Michiru sat. He placed his hands on her knees, making her look up at him. Her eyes were sad and her lips were curled into a pout. He couldn't stop smiling because of how cute she looked in that moment._

_"Hey, it's okay. If you didn't like it, you should have just said so. It's your album. Okay?" He gave her a reassuring smile._

_In that moment, as she looked into his dark blue eyes, she couldn't help but feel comforted. It reminded her of the deep ocean water. They were mysterious, not knowing what swam beneath the surface but she felt she wanted to dive into its depths and explore them. Suddenly realizing where her thoughts were leading, she quickly blinked to release it and dumbly nodded._

_"Uh, yeah, thanks." She felt light warmth spread across her cheeks. She was blushing._

_"Why don't we take a break for a couple of hours? We can rest and re-focus so we can be more productive." Daisuke suggested._

_"Yeah, that sounds like the best idea I've heard in the last 5 hours."_

_"Great! Want to go to the café down the street for a bite to eat?"_

_"No thank you, I'm not hungry. I was going to go into the back and take a nap."_

_"Oh, okay. Well, I'm going to go and get something to eat. I'll bring something back in case you change your mind."_

_"Thank you, that's very kind."_

_"No problem, I'll be back." He tucked his pencil into the spiral binding of the notebook, threw it onto the nearby coffee table, grabbed his jacket and left._

_Michiru walked into a back room with a couple of cots for overnight recording sessions. She sat down on the creaky cot but didn't sleep. Instead, for the next 2 hours, she began and finished a song. It was called "Deep Blue Sea." She never wrote a song this fast before. After she finished, she checked the clock. She finished in just under two hours._

_She walked out of the back room and back into the recording studio, and found Daisuke sleeping on the couch. On the coffee table was a bag of food. Her stomach growled, letting her know she needed to eat. She sifted through the paper bag and pulled out a small take out box. It was a tonkatsudon. As she took her first bite, the man on the adjacent couch began to shift. His head popped up and with half-opened eyes looked around, seeing Michiru eating._

_"Hey you, I knew you'd change your mind about food." He sleepily smiled._

_"Thank you for the food. Yeah, I guess I was hungry after all." Taking another bite and smiling._

_Groaning as he sat up on the couch, he began to rub his eyes and yawned. "So how was your nap?"_

_She brought her hand up in the air signaling she was trying to swallow her food before speaking, "… I didn't sleep."_

_"What? Why? What did you do for two hours back there?" He raised an eyebrow._

_"I wrote this song." She handed him her notebook filled with music notes. "Take a look."_

_Scratching his head in confusion he took the notebook from her. His eyes widened as he scanned over the 8 pages of music notes. "You wrote all of this in two hours?! This is amazing. Can I take this into the booth and play it?"_

_"Yeah, please. I would love to hear what it sounds like." She said between bites._

_He got up and grabbed his violin, heading into the recording booth. He placed the notebook onto the stand and readied himself to play. Michiru sat happily chewing on her food while she watched Daisuke play and move to the music. She stared at his eyes the whole time he played the music silently telling herself this music fit those eyes perfectly._

She could feel all of her body's muscles burn from swimming. She reached the middle of the pool and flipped onto her back. She began to drift aimlessly as she tried to bring her breathing back down to normal and allowed her muscles to relax.

She could feel different muscles twitching from the workout. Half of her head was submerged in the water, including her ears. All she heard was the churning and the distant slapping of water against the side of the pool. It was quiet. She stared up at the glass ceiling of the pool room. The sun was a lot brighter than when she first started.

_His blue eyes._

She was always wrapped up in her passion of music that she never had a chance to pick up any other interests. She excelled in school and had no problems with her academics. She was naturally bright and quick to learn. She picked up painting and found it had very similar qualities to music in terms of using it as an emotional release. However, she never found an interest in anything else, like sports, social media, movie or television entertainment and love.

_Love? Have I ever felt that?_

The thought floated in her head like she was floating around in the pool. She never understood what other girls her age felt when she was in school. They always talked about romance, what it felt like to be in love, which boy was cute and who was dating who. She didn't understand because she never had those feelings for anyone before. Her mind wandered back to Daisuke. She never felt the way girls described love to be towards Daisuke. Although she couldn't deny that she was intrigued by him. He was brilliant, kind, thoughtful and gentlemanly. She believed all those were great qualities to have in a boyfriend. But was she attracted to him that way? She couldn't say.

She felt herself float too close to the side of the pool and with a push off the wall she drifted back to the middle of the pool.

_His eyes…_

She suddenly remembered the handsome blonde man on the windy deck. She closed her eyes trying to pull a clearer image of the man.

_His eyes. He had piercing eyes. What color were they? Gray? Green perhaps?_

It was too dark and she was too far away to tell.

_I wonder who he was. He was most likely a donor but why was he not at the table watching the performances? He donated at least 5,000,000 yen to attend that thank you event. That seems kind of strange he wouldn't at least make the most of what he paid out towards the charity. Perhaps money was of no object to him. He was alone as well. I wonder if he went to the event alone. Typically, when men with wealth attended functions such as last night's party, they would have at least one pretty girl hanging off their arm. I can't see someone as young and good looking as that man to attend parties alone. Well, those two men did approach him. Maybe they were his business associates._

Michiru didn't know if the blonde man knew the other two men who approached behind him on the deck. She was distracted by her mother. By the time she turned back around to look at the deck, they were all gone. She didn't know why but she was slightly disappointed at the sight of the empty deck.

She wanted to go back down to the tables and see if she could find the blonde but didn't want to traverse through the crowd of other donors. She didn't feel like smiling and talking so she just stayed in the closed off lounge with the other performers for the rest of the night. She was one of the last to leave the ship, making sure no one would approach her for any kind of conversation. She just wanted to go home and sleep.

_I didn't even get as much sleep as I wanted but I must say swimming is way better than sleeping._

She closed her eyes and began to drift off into a half slumber.

"Mchruchn! Thr y- re! A thgh yh wr n bdh."

Michiru slowly opened her eyes and saw her mother standing at the side of the pool talking to her. She turned upright so her head was out of the water.

"I'm sorry Okaa-san, what did you say?" She shook her head to get some of the water out of her ears.

"I said I thought you were in bed. I was looking for you. Daisuke-san is on the phone for you!" She held up her cell phone excitedly in the air showing a call was in-progress. "I went to check on you in your bedroom but didn't see you there. I heard your cell phone ring so I picked it up. Come over here and talk to him!" Her mother waved her over.

With a frown she swam over to the edge of the pool. She didn't like being interrupted when she swam. She took the phone from her mother and looked at it. It wasn't muted so Daisuke heard every word from her mother's mouth. Michiru inwardly sighed.

"Hello?"

"Hi. Sounds like your mom found you."

"Yeah, I was swimming. You're up early."

"Early? Is it that early?"

Confused by his response, she looked up at the wall clock.

10:49 a.m.

_Wow, I've been in the pool for that long already?_

"Well, according to the clock, it's not that early. I'm still jetlagged. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I should be the one who's sorry. I wasn't expecting you or anyone to pick up. I was going to leave a voicemail for you. I didn't want to wake you."

"You didn't wake me so what's up?" She asked flatly with a tinge of annoyance.

Thrown off by her tone, "Oh, um, uh…" His mind blanked. "… Yes, so I wanted to follow up with you about dinner this week. I was hoping if you had time tonight that we meet tonight for dinner."

Now it was Michiru's turn to be unprepared for his offer. She thought for a moment. "I don't think I have anything planned. Tonight would be fine."

"Great! I'll pick you up at 7?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you tonight at 7."

"All right. Well, you have a good rest of day."

"Thanks, you too. Bye."

"Good bye."

She pressed the 'end' button on her phone. She looked up at her mom to find her mother beaming down at her.

"So?"

"I'm having dinner with Daisuke-kun tonight at 7."

"How wonderful! A date! We should figure out what you should wear!" Her mother excitedly exclaimed.

"Okaa-san, it's not a date! We're just having dinner to catch up." Michiru was exasperated by her mother's enthusiasm.

"Don't be silly! It's a date! Come now!" Her mother began to briskly walk away and stopped abruptly, turning back to Michiru. She quickly waved her hand to follow, "well come now! Get out of the pool! You're wrinkly like a prune! Go shower and get dressed. We need to get you ready for your date!" She spun around on her heel and walked away.

Michiru rolled her eyes.

_This is going to be fun._ She thought sarcastically to herself.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Thanks for reading! Please R&amp;R! It would be great to hear some feedback. I also don't know what a good speed for updating is. I'm trying to update as soon as I can. I'm a little slow at pushing out chapters. I'm only up by a couple of chapters and I'm trying to type as quickly as I'm releasing but failing miserably at it. Again, love to hear from you. I want to get better and I can't do that without feedback. I salute you if you do.


	5. Chapter 5: Home

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

\- Chapter 5: Home -

A lone figure in a black blazer, white button down shirt and blue jeans walked slowly along a small dock of a lake. Although called a dock, there were no boats anchored to it.

The sun had just disappeared behind the hills to the west. The ember orange glow of the sun sunk behind the hills. A gradient hue of orange to dark blue spread across overhead. Night was beginning to blanket the sky.

A small breeze made its way across the lake to the lone figure, ruffling short dirty blonde hair. As the end of the dock came nearer with each step, the wind became stronger. The person continued walking against the wind's wishes. Unintelligible whispers were heard through the wind.

Stopping at the edge of the dock, emerald green eyes narrowed surveying the water ahead. It was still. The wind caused small ripples to rebound off the support beams of the dock. Upon the dying of the wind the water ceased its movement along with the whispers.

_Someone is here._

Haruka stood in place. She didn't want to move. Her senses were on high alert. She was getting anxious. She could hear her heart beat pounding in her ears.

_Come on. Where are you?_

She continued to dart her eyes over the water as if someone or something was supposed to reveal itself to her. Nothing came. Her hands balled into a tight fist. Silence.

**"I WONT BE HERE FOREVER!" **A loud man's voice suddenly rang through her ears. She quickly turned around expecting to see the owner of the voice but found only an empty dock staring back at her. The voice continued to echo through her head. It jarred her senses and made her heart race.

Lifting an eyebrow she slowly took a couple of steps forward scanning the dock. She was alone.

"W-Who's there?" It came out softer than she had hoped. Silence. Furrowing her brows in frustration she yelled, "WHO'S THERE?!" Standing tall to brace herself for a response.

**"You need to grow up!"** The same man's voice growled.

A strong gust of wind came from the back of the dock crashing into the blonde's chest causing her to stumble backwards. A panic rose when she realized she ran out of dock to stumble on. With a yelp she fell backwards into the water. A small splash was heard by the dock, a large ripple crossing past the dock was proof of it but just as quickly as the ripples were made, the lake's surface was still again.

The sinking blonde knew how to swim and began to kick her legs but she continued to sink. Confused she began to claw her hands above her, attempting to make her body rise to the surface.

A dark dread came over her when she realized she was still dropping deeper into the depths of the lake. She felt like weights were tied to her body. She began to strip her shoes and blazer off hoping losing extra weight would help with her buoyancy. She was still sinking. The pressure around her began to increase with the depths of the lake.

In a desperate panic, she began to thrash about trying to free herself. She screamed. The only thing that left her mouth was the last of air in her lungs that converted to bubbles floating to the surface.

_No! I can't die here! This isn't happening!_

Every muscle in her body was burning for oxygen. Her vision began to blur. She looked up seeing the orange light of the sky fading as she sank deeper into the abyss. The long shadow of the dock post began to blend in with the color of the water surrounding her now: black. Unable to take in air, her lungs felt like a deflated bag causing the beating of her fighting heart to be deafening now.

The pressure inside her body due to the lack of oxygen began to match the compression outside her body. Her eyes began to bulge from the extreme stress her body was going through. She finally hit the lake bottom. She began to inhale water through her mouth and nose. As it flooded into her body, it burned all the way to her lungs. Her body began to go numb, adjusting to her environment. Her eyelids became heavy.

**"What's wrong?"** A little girl's voice spoke into her ear.

Emerald eyes briefly fluttered open for a moment responding to the question and began to close again.

_I'm dying._

**"Why?"**

She silently laughed to herself. She was drowning and here a little girl was asking her overly obvious questions.

_I'm drowning. Someone weighted me down and I can't swim up. It's too heavy._

Silence.

_Hello? Great. I'm dying alone._ She bitterly laughed to herself.

She could no longer move, one eye completely shut while the other was slowly making its way down. Her heart beat was slowing. Voices began to talk, too soft to hear at first but it increased in volume.

**"Why didn't you call me when this happened?!"**

**"I didn't want to bother you sleeping. You were so tired. I wanted you to get some rest. What's done is done. You wouldn't have been able to do anything even if you were here."**

**"Yeah, but I could have been here for you! You didn't have to be alone!**

**"I wanted you to…"**

**"No! You didn't have to be alone!"**

**"It's okay. I'm okay."**

**"No… you're not."**

The last statement was barely a whisper. A dying heart struggled to get the last few beats out.

**Thump**

**Thump**

**…**

**Thump**

**…**

**Thump**

**…**

**…**

**Beeeeeeeeep!**

"AH!"

A sweat soaked blonde jerked up into a sitting position in bed. One hand was on her chest while the other was stretched out, her eyes and mouth wide open. She was breathing heavily, taking in big gulps of stale air from her bedroom. She looked over to her bedside clock. 5:14 a.m. A groan escaped her lips. She brought her hands up to her face.

_God, it was just a dream. No, nightmare._

She flopped back down onto her bed. It was moist from her sweat. She made a face. Sitting back up, she knew she wouldn't be able to fall asleep again. The drive to Oyama is about an hour and a half from Tokyo, an hour if Haruka was driving. A small smile spread across her face.

_I should get up and get ready. Maybe I can surprise Haha._

She untangled herself from her bed sheets and walked to the bathroom for a shower.

Twenty minutes later, the blonde made her way out of the bathroom. Wearing a sports bra and boy shorts, she walked over to her closet. She grabbed a pair of dark blue denim jeans and a black polo. Slipping the shirt over her head she ran both her hands through her still wet hair.

After looping her brown belt through and pulling up her socks, she walked to the kitchen. She pulled the refrigerator door open. Her eyes swept through the contents on the shelves and drawers.

_I need to go to the grocery store when I come back._

Seeing there was not much to choose from, she grabbed a lone wrapped onigiri off one of the shelves.

_This will do. Beggars can't be choosers._

She looked at it thoughtfully as she tossed the rice ball into the air and caught it with her other hand.

Haruka walked into the underground parking garage, shoving the last bite of onigiri into her mouth and walked up to a number pad. She quickly tapped in a code while chewing her last bite, opening the roll up garage door.

The underground parking garage of her luxury apartment complex was very big on privacy and had personal garages with roll up doors within the parking garage. Each individual parking garage could hold up to three vehicles.

As the door rolled up, she bent her head down to get the first look of her vehicles. She scanned over the two cars and motorcycle parked backwards in their three respective spaces. She grinned. The vehicles her garage held was worth over 64,000,000 yen in total.

On the very right was the black Ferrari F12 she had driven last night to the dock, in the middle was her commuter motorcycle, a red Ducati Multistrada 1200, and to the very left was a white Ferrari 458 Italia Spider with a black hard-top and black rims.

The F12 was used for special occasions for the most part such as parties and premieres. The motorcycle was ridden when she wanted to go for a ride around the city or if she was late to get somewhere in the city and needed to zip in and out of traffic quickly.

Her go-to commuter car was the 458 Spider. She could drop the top to feel the wind and sun or keep the top on in bad weather. It only had 570 horsepower as opposed to the 731 horsepower in the F12 but she couldn't complain. It did what it needed to do. It definitely beat her old beige 4-cylinder 160 horsepower Honda Accord; her first car. She shuddered at the thought of the slow but reliable monstrosity.

She walked over to the 458 Spider and slid into the car. With a push of a red button on the steering wheel, the engine roared to life. Flipping another switch she dropped the black hard-top roof revealing a red leather interior. She took out a pair of black aviators and placed it over her eyes. With a flick of the tip of her middle finger to the paddle, she shifted to first gear and pulled out of her space with ease, closing the garage door behind her.

_Let's go see Haha-chan!_

With that last thought she exited her apartment parking garage and sped off towards Oyama.

It was just before 6:45 am when a white Ferrari pulled up to a two-story mid-sized house. The blonde slowly backed the car up the narrow stone tiled driveway. She walked up to the front door and pulled out her keys. Fumbling through her apartment, mail box, motorcycle, office and shop keys, she finally found the key she wanted. She silently grumbled, "It's too early for this." After opening the door she popped her head in first. The house was still dark.

"Tadaima!" She carefully stepped into the house, taking off her shoes and closing the door behind her. She grabbed a pair of slippers off the inset shelves next to the door and walked deeper into the house. "Haha-chan?" She looked around, not finding anyone. "Tadai…" She paused. She heard running water coming from the garden in the back. She walked to the back sliding door and saw her mom tending to her vegetable garden. She slid the door open. "Tadaima, Haha-chan!"

"Ah! Haruka-chan! Okaeri! You scared me," said the bewildered woman.

Tenou Miho had dyed shoulder length black hair but had some gray roots showing and round emerald green eyes. Her face didn't reflect her age of 59. She looked younger. Although she had a couple of lines around her eyes and neck, nothing else gave away how old she really was. She had smooth, radiant skin any teenage girl would envy to have.

She wore a gray visor, a light blue long sleeved shirt and dirt covered worn jeans and black boots. She took off her gardening gloves and walked over to the blonde to hug her. The blonde picked up the shorter woman who yelped at the gesture.

"I missed you Haha-chan!" Haruka said in a small child's voice.

"Haha-chan? What are you? 6?" Her mom jokingly scolded.

Still holding her mom in the air, the older Tenou lightly slapped her daughter's arms, "Okay, put me down before you hurt your back!"

The blonde chuckled as she gently lowered the raven-haired woman.

The blonde leaned down towards her mom's face, "Did you miss me?"

"Tch, no!" Miho turned her head away from her daughter, a frown on her face.

Haruka leaned in closer to her mom, with a wide grin still plastered on her face, poked her side with a finger, "Don't lie!"

Miho jumped. "Don't do that!"

They both started laughing. As it died down, a loud gurgling noise came from Haruka's stomach.

Miho looked at her daughter, "Are you hungry?"

Haruka gave her mom her best pout face. "Maybe."

The older Tenou shook her head and smiled. She took off her boots and stepped into the house walking to the kitchen. "Come on, I'll fix you something to eat. You should have told me you were coming over first thing in the morning. I would have had something prepared for you!" She scolded.

Haruka followed, "I wanted to surprise you."

"I was going to go to the grocery store today so I don't have much."

_That makes two of us._

"I still have left over food from my breakfast. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Thanks Haha-chan."

"Let's see, here's rice, miso soup, tsukemono, grilled aji and natto," Miho listed off as she set the dishes down.

"Looks good but I'll pass on the natto." The blonde pushed away the little dish of natto and made a face.

Her mom sighed, "You are 27 years old and still act like a child. What am I going to do with you?"

Haruka was already shoveling rice and tsukemono into her mouth. With a full mouth she replied, "Luff meh."

Her mom gave her a questioning look.

The blonde forcibly swallowed her food, "Love me." She gave her a cheeky grin.

Her mom just shook her head and smiled at her only child.

No matter how serious Haruka was or nonchalant she acted in public, she always reverted to being a little child around her mom. It was something she would do only around her mom. Her deep smooth voice would go up several pitches as she talked like a child to her mom.

She also still called her Haha-chan never adopting "Okaa-san" as a title to call her mom. Her mom would routinely criticize how childish she still behaved around her and did not understand how other people found her cute childish daughter to be so cool and attractive.

Miho sat next to Haruka and silently watched her eat. Haruka was happy to be home eating a simple home cooked meal even if it was her mom's leftovers. Out of the blonde's peripheral vision she noticed her mom's eyes on her. She shifted uncomfortably under her mom's constant gaze. She continued to put food in her mouth, "Why are you staring?" She chewed her food, swallowed and turned to face her mom.

"I'm not staring. What? I can't look at you?"

"Well, something is on your mind."

"Just wondering how you are.'

The blonde took another bite of food. "I'm fine."

"So when are you flying to America?"

Haruka stopped chewing and thought for a moment.

"Tuesday." She continued to chew.

Miho stayed quiet, waiting for Haruka to continue.

"I have a practice session on Friday and Saturday. Qualifying is also on Saturday. I'll race Sunday and leave for Brazil on Tuesday. It's the same schedule in Brazil and Abu Dhabi but I'm flying to Italy after Brazil before I go to Abu Dhabi."

"Why?"

Haruka shrugged, "they want me to test drive a new engine for next season."

"I thought they had test drivers for that."

"They do but they also want the actual drivers to test it as well since we'll be the ones driving it."

Miho gave her a worried look.

"Don't give me that look! I'll be back at the end of November."

The blonde grinned at her mom who shifted her gaze away from her daughter.

Haruka's smile faded as she raised her brow, "what? I'll be back in a month."

Her mom paused for a moment. "When are you going to find another job?"

Haruka sighed in exasperation, "Haha, not this talk again!" She rolled her eyes and shook her head as she took another bite of food.

"Haruka-chan, what you do is dangerous. I don't want anything to happen to you. You are healthy and beautiful. It just takes one accident to change all of that!" The older Tenou began to raise her voice.

The younger Tenou put her chopsticks down and fully turned to her mom and held her hands. "Listen, nothing is going to happen to me. We're all highly-trained and careful. My team has my back. There's no need to worry about me getting into accidents."

She has had this discussion with her mom many times before. She has explained in the past how she has a whole team of professionals behind her, that she doesn't drive alone, that there's always someone talking in her ear during the races who guides her, there are on-site medics in case something does happen and on and on.

Her mom's response would always be a head shake and reply, "No, you can't promise me that. They're called accidents for a reason. No one can control those so don't make false promises."

Haruka hung her head and closed her eyes. She knew why her mom always wanted to see her before she went off to race in another country. She was afraid her baby girl would not return again.

Miho squeezed Haruka's hand grabbing her attention, "Otou-san didn't have a choice in his fate but you do. You can choose to live and long happy life. I don't want you to end up with your dad."

Her emerald eyes fell at the thought of her dad. She looked up towards the entry of the kitchen that led to the family room where a large framed photo was hung of her father.

He had short soft blonde hair split down the middle, both halves combed to the side. He wore round wire-framed glasses over gray blue eyes. His face was athletically sharp.

When Haruka was born, everyone said she looked like her dad with her mom's eyes. She made the same facial expressions as her dad and ended up looking almost like a spitting image of him minus her eyes.

She was close to her dad and looked up to him because he was her hero. He was kind, thoughtful, proud, and self-reliant. He took care of his family and showered her and her mom with seemingly endless love.

She especially loved how much of a handy man he was. If he thought he could fix it, he wasn't calling a mechanic, plumber, gardener, or carpenter; he was going to fix the problem himself. She remembered the first time he taught her how to perform an oil change to the car when she was 6 years old. Ever since then, she always helped tinker around with the family's cars. She loved it and loved being able to spend quality time with her dad.

She weakly smiled at the memories and turned back to her mom. "Well, we're all going to end up like him eventually but it won't happen when I'm in a car." She reassuringly smiled. Miho gave her a defeated look and shook her head.

Miho decided to change the subject, "So, I see you're still dressing like a man." She pointed to a stack of racing magazines with Haruka on the cover.

Haruka flinched at the current topic mom her decided to address.

_Ugh, here we go…_

"Everyone thinks I look good in it." The blonde smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

Same green eyes stared at her and closed, "You would look better in girl clothes. You were so cute when you were little in your dresses."

Haruka grimaced at the thought of herself in dresses when she was a toddler. Everyone who has known her since she was a baby knew of the infamous red dresses her mom used to dress her in. That was her staple look as a toddler. Red dresses with white frills. As soon as she was old enough to rebel, age 4, she wasn't forced into many dresses after. By the time she was in junior high, it was a non-existent item in her closet.

"I don't know why you want to dress like a man. Do you want to be a man?"

"What? No! Just because I dress like one doesn't mean I want to be one."

"Then why? What's wrong with wearing a dress or girl jeans and a blouse?"

The thought of wearing a dress or anything feminine just bothered her on an inexplicably soul-eating level of disgust. She couldn't explain why she hated wearing feminine articles of clothing, she just did. She wanted to explain to her mom what gender fluidity was or that the only reason there's such a thing as masculine clothing and feminine clothing is because society made it so. She knew her explanation would have fallen on deaf ears with her mom. So she decided to keep it simple.

"I just feel more comfortable wearing guy clothes. It's not restricting and I think it fits my body very well. If it didn't I wouldn't be on magazine covers wearing it now would I?" She playfully winked at her mom who just rolled her eyes at the gesture.

Haruka decided to take the initiative on a topic change, "So, what do you want to do today?"

Miho perked up at the question. "I need to go grocery shopping."

"Okay, let's do that and then grab lunch. Go get changed so we can leave."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

The blonde walked into the family room and plopped herself on the couch. She grabbed the TV remote and turned on the TV. She mindlessly flipped through the channels. There wasn't anything worth watching on a weekend this early in the morning. With a sigh, she turned off the TV and looked up at the hanging picture frame of her father. Her eyes softened.

_"I won't be here forever!"_

Her eyes narrowed at the memory.

_Yeah, no shit. _She thought bitterly.

"Hey, are you ready?"

The voice in the room snapped her out of her daze.

"What? Yeah."

She turned to see her mom standing at the family room entry way with a worried look on her face. Haruka forced a smile. She didn't want to worry her mom.

"C'mon Haha-chan! Let's go!" She placed her hand on her mom's shoulder and gently pushed her out the front door.

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Author's Notes:

Bam! Another chapter! Happy Friday! Thanks for reading! Please R&amp;R! I would love to hear from you!

Hitomi: Thank you for your kind words. There is going to be quite a bit of history. I'm trying to build a solid foundation of where these characters come from and how it affects their reactions to certain things.

I didn't start an outline of this story until yesterday and I still haven't finished. Not even close! I was flying by the seat of my pants but now I'm trying to organize where I want this story to go. I have a feeling this is going to be a somewhat of a long story. It will be longer than I had previously envisioned it. I just hope I'm up to the task.

It's also taking me a little bit longer to crank out these stories because of research. I'll be honest, I don't know much about the technical aspects of F1 racing and I won't drown you in technical jargon but I personally like to know how it works so I can write a more coherent story.

The term "Haha-chan/Haha" means "mother" in Japanese but it is normally spoken by young children. It's more-or-less the English equivalent of "mommy."

I also just wanted to note that the value of vehicles in Haruka's garage is accurate. It equates to about 64.4 million yen minus taxes. If we included Asia's vehicle licensing and import taxes, it would equate to almost if not 100% tax. So in reality, the amount of money she spent would have totaled to 128,800,000 yen (around $1.2 million). Yikes, right?

Tadaima means "I'm home."

Okaeri means "welcome home." It is the casual form of "Okaerinasai" typically reserved for spouses.

Well, until next time! Again, please R&amp;R! I salute you if you do.


	6. Chapter 6: Dinner

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

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\- Chapter 6: Dinner -

Shopping. It wasn't an activity Michiru disliked. In fact, she indulged in the occasional "retail therapy" as a stress reliever but when it was with her mother, it gave her the complete opposite effect of relaxation.

If Michiru liked shopping, then her mother loved it. They had been walking through the shopping district shop-after-shop for nearly five hours now. They began shopping after they ate lunch. Michiru was tired and was pretty sure she had the proper attire for tonight's dinner.

"Okaa-san, I think I have what I need," she shouted after her mother as she was heading into another store.

Her mother turned around and looked at her up and down. Michiru was already carrying several bags of clothing.

"Well, what about shoes? We haven't bought those yet."

Michiru rolled her eyes, "I have shoes at home. I have plenty of shoes. It's already 5:00! I have to go home and get ready."

"But they're old."

Michiru walked over and lightly grabbed her mother's hand, "He won't know and I highly doubt he'd notice or care. Now, let's go home." The young Kaioh firmly pulled her mother to the street curb to hail a cab.

Twenty-five minutes later the cab pulled up to their seaside mansion. The house sat towards the edge of a small bluff above a beach. Wooden stairs snaked down from the house to the beach.

It held 8 bedrooms, 8 full baths and two half baths, library, swimming pool room, six car garage, and all the other rooms a house would normally have. The exterior was made of gray-faced stone. Above the double-front doors was a large paned glass that extended from the top of the doors to just under the roof. It displayed a large entry way chandelier and two stair cases on either side of the chandelier.

Michiru walked up the left staircase to go towards her room in the west wing of the house. She dropped the bags onto the floor and walked into the bathroom to shower.

After toweling off she walked up to the pile of bags on the floor and stared.

_What should I wear? I forgot to ask if it was formal or casual._

Her brows furrowed.

_Casual of course! Why would he take me out to a formal dinner?_

She bit her lip.

_But what if he is taking me to a nice dinner with formal attire?_

Now she was torn. She didn't know what to wear. She began to sift through the clothing she purchased today.

_No, too casual. No, too dressy. No, too… revealing._

The new black dress her mother picked out was too provocative for her taste. It had spaghetti straps that held a thin black material that had a deep v-neck that plunged past her breasts that ended at the upper part of her abdomen. The back of the straps held onto corners of what little fabric the dress was made up of which revealed her whole back. Black strings laced between the two separate fabrics on the side which crossed over her back. The dress began again just below her lower back. The dress reached the floor but there was a long slit on the side that reached mid-thigh.

_Okaa-san, this is worse than the dress you made me wear for the CAP performance. I don't know when I'll ever bring myself to wear this one._

She haphazardly tossed the dress to the side. She reached into a white shopping bag and pulled out a simple twirl lavender dress with half-length sleeves she had picked out earlier in the day.

_Perfect._

The doorbell rang 45 minutes later.

Michiru was putting on the last of her make up. She looked up at the clock. 7:16 pm.

_Good thing he ran late tonight,_ she thought as she applied the lip gloss over the pale pink lipstick she wore. She smacked her lips together and took one last glance at the mirror and rushed to the stairs.

Her mother had beat her to the door.

_Of course she answered the door already._

Michiru was pretty certain her mother was sitting in the dining room watching the window for Daisuke's car for quite some time now. Her mother was more excited about this dinner than herself.

Daisuke was standing at the entry way chatting with her mother. He was wearing a buttoned up dark blue micro-plaid dress shirt tucked into black denim jeans, beige braided leather belt, a light grey linen blazer and suede light brown shoes. He looked fashionable.

As Michiru descended the stairs, a step creaked under her weight causing the two at the bottom to look up. Daisuke's sharp blue eyes surveyed the woman walking down the steps. His eyes moved from top to bottom and back up again. Michiru blushed and shyly looked down at the stairs below her as she made her last few steps down.

Looking back up she saw her mother smiling widely at her. She wanted to say something but didn't want to embarrass the older Kaioh.

"Wow, you look gorgeous," Daisuke said with a charming smile.

She smiled back up to him. "Thank you."

"Shall we?" He motioned toward the door. "Our reservation is at 7:30. We're running a little late."

She found herself in front of a blue BMW M3. She quickly got in. Daisuke shut the door for her and ran over to his side.

"Buckle up," he looked over and smiled at her as he pulled the car around the circular drive way to the street.

Due to some traffic, they arrived to their destination thirty minutes later. They made small chit chat on the way to the restaurant.

Daisuke parked in an underground parking lot under the skyscraper. They rode the elevator up to the 85th floor to a new restaurant called "Lé Rouge SAN." The "SAN" was sun in katakana.

Michiru raised an eyebrow at the gold and red sign, "The Red Sun?"

"Yeah, it's the new hot restaurant in town. It's French and Japanese fusion."

Daisuke walked up to the hostess podium, "Endo for two."

"Endo-san. Welcome to Lé Rouge SAN. We have your reserved table right this way." The young hostess grabbed two menus and showed the couple to their table.

The restaurant was circular. It had a 360 degree view of the city. Different shaped light fixtures hung from the ceiling to the tables below glowing at half brightness. Each table had lit candles which gave it a more intimate feel.

A circular bar was at the center of the restaurant with black padding and dark polished wood. Dark red leather bound stools surrounded the bar.

The next ring of seating around the bar were half-circle black leather lined booths facing the bar.

Outside of the booths were individual tables which could seat two or four. They sat right up next to the windows. Since the back of the booths were facing the tables, it held a bit of privacy. The tables and booths set up in the restaurant felt like they rotated around the central bar like a solar system. The bar was the sun and the tables surrounding it were planets and moons while the dazzling view of the lit city surrounding the restaurant were stars in distant galaxies.

They were seated next to the window.

The hostess pulled out the seat for Michiru to sit. Daisuke sat across from her. After the hostess handed them their menus, she left.

"This place is beautiful," Michiru stated as she was still taking in her surroundings.

"Yeah, you have to make reservations two months in advance to get in."

Michiru raised a brow, "Oh?"

Realizing what he had said, he quickly answered before she could ask the question. "The owner of the restaurant is an old friend and owed me a favor so I was able to make a last minute reservation."

"Oh, well we could have gone to another restaurant that didn't require a favor. You could have saved it for an actual date," Michiru smiled.

Daisuke gave her a confused look. Just as he was about to reply, their waiter stepped up to the table.

"Good evening Endo-san and…" He looked hesitantly and Michiru.

"Michiru Kaioh," she smiled up to the waiter.

"And Kaioh-san." He bowed.

"My name is Shiro. I will be serving you this evening. Can I start you off with something to drink?" He looked back and forth between the two.

"I'll have a glass of malbec. Michiru-chan?"

"Can I have a moment to look it over? I'll have a glass of water for now."

"Of course, take your time. Let me get those drinks started for you and I'll go over the menu with you, okay?" He smiled.

She politely nodded back, "thank you."

Michiru turned her attention back to Daisuke. "So, anything new going on with you since we last saw each other?"

"Nothing much, boring stuff really. I released a couple of albums, went on a couple of world tours, found myself in tabloid fodder, you know, the typical stuff." Daisuke waved his hands in the air as if it was all trivial nonsense.

Michiru giggled, "Oh yeah, 'typical stuff.'"

Daisuke laughed, "so what about you Kaioh-san? Anything new?" Daisuke used a teasing tone with Michiru's name.

Michiru looked up at the ceiling and placed a finger on her chin and tapped it thoughtfully, pretending to think about her answer. "Well, I guess it was typical as well. I also released an album and went on one world tour. My life is not nearly as exciting as yours with tabloids being involved." She smirked at her last sentence. "I guess my life is not as exciting as yours."

This earned another hearty laugh from Daisuke. "Okay, that's fair enough. So, what's your plan other than 'sleeping' during your three month break?"

She paused, really contemplating her answer now. "Other than sleeping, I plan to swim and paint more. I haven't had time to do that in the past year. Oh! I'm moving in December to a new place."

Daisuke's eye brows popped up as he nodded, fully engaged in what the female violinist was saying to him. "Oh? Where are you moving to?"

"It's a beach house fifteen minutes south of my parents' house."

"Why are you moving?"

"I think it's time I left the coop. I'm 27 years old, and more than capable of buying a place of my own. I mean, my brother has already moved out and he's 25. Plus, this is going to be my house, not my parents' house. I can decorate it how I want to and not feel like someone is always looking over my shoulder. Also, since my mother is still my manager, I won't be terribly far if she needed to reach me or if we had to carpool to the airport or venue."

"Well that's great. That means you can throw parties all the time and go crazy and you won't have a curfew warden anymore." Daisuke winked.

Michiru laughed, "No, I don't think I'll be going crazy with parties at my house. That means I would have to clean up after it every time! I don't have a curfew but it'd be nice to know I won't keep the 'warden' up waiting for my return home every time I go out at night."

"I'd say that's a blessing. I don't know if I can handle having my parents watch over me the way yours does."

Michiru gave Daisuke a small smile, "Yeah, but I can't be mad at them though. They just worry."

The waiter brought back their drinks, went over the specials and recommended menu items and took their orders. After he walked away, Michiru gazed out the window towards the city below. The sun had completely set a while ago and all she could see was the bustling cars, large screens displaying ads flashing and other random neon signs blinking below.

_It's so quiet up here._

As Michiru stared out the window, Daisuke silently watched her. He looked at her wavy turquoise hair, her sparkling aquamarine eyes, her cute button nose and her shiny plump pink lips that were currently curled up in thought. His eyes travelled further down. Her chest was covered by the lavender fabric. It was a fairly conservative dress.

He wondered about her comment prior to the waiter's first arrival and decided to bring her attention back to him. "So, back to what we were discussing earlier."

"Hm?"

"Well, you said I should have saved the reservation favor for an 'actual date.' Do you think this is not an actual date?" His eyes were firmly fixed on the pair of light aquamarine eyes in front of him.

Michiru's eyes slightly widened. She paused, thinking over her answer. "Well, I didn't put too much thought into it. I thought this was more of a catch up dinner since we haven't seen each other in a while."

Daisuke gently smiled at her. "I guess that is kind of true. Ha! Well, this is kind of awkward. Since we're kind of talking about it now, I'll just get straight to the point then."

Michiru waited as the black-haired man formed the words in his mind.

"Michiru-chan," he leaned forward and took her hand into his and looked her in her eyes. "I like you. I have liked you since we first worked together three years ago. Now that you're on break for a few months and I'm working in town for the next couple of months, I was hoping we could exclusively, you know… date each other." His eyes were shifty towards the end of his declaration.

_H-He wants to date me?_

Michiru didn't know if she should have been happy or scared. Should she be happy because Daisuke, as she knew him, was kind, caring and polite? Again, he has potential to be good boyfriend material. On the other hand, she didn't know if she should be scared because she had never been asked to date someone she had interest in.

Suddenly realizing her gaze had fell onto the table in front of her, she looked up to find a pair of midnight blues looking worried, waiting for her answer. He reminded her of a puppy dog waiting in anticipation. In that moment it made her pity him a little.

She turned her hand around in his grasp and squeezed it gently back. Her eyes softened as she answered, "yeah, okay, let's date and see where it goes." She gave him a reassuring smile.

His eyes lit up from her answer and gave a wide grin before he could stop himself. She giggled at his reaction. He began to laugh. "I've never been so nervous and awkward about asking anyone to date me before," he admitted. She laughed.

"But to be fair, you're not just anyone." He held a serious look. She blushed at the words.

"Um, thank you." She tried to bring the heat down from her cheeks but was failing miserably.

Just then the food arrived and they were able to take their attention away from each other for a moment as they began to eat.

"-and we watched him walk in, hung over, pissed off and wearing that ugly frilled dress we left in his room to rehearsal, with a straight face. I don't know how we did it!"

Michiru was laughing at Daisuke's story as she held her fork over her unfinished dessert.

"I thought he was going to take his cello and stab us with the end pin."

"Oh my! That's so funny. Daisuke-kun! You're so mean!"

"What?! That's what he gets for throwing up all over me and himself. The conductor made him rehearse in that dress."

They continued to laugh.

"And you know what the best part was?"

He paused.

"He stood next to a floor air vent so his dress kept blowing up from the cold A/C. Needless to say, the front of his body was pressed firmly to his cello the whole rehearsal so nothing popped up."

As their laughs subsided, Michiru stabbed at the unfinished tart in front of her. She smiled as she looked up from her dessert to Daisuke. He smiled back.

He threw his napkin onto the table and grabbed his jacket from behind the chair and extended out his hand to her.

"C'mon, let's get out of here."

She took his hand and stood. They both walked towards the elevator. After they entered and started to head down to the parking lot, Daisuke looked at his watch.

"It's 10:00. I have two questions for you. First question, did you want to go home or did you want to take a walk around town?"

"It's kind of late. I think home would be good."

"Okay. Second question is breakfast or lunch tomorrow?"

Michiru giggled, "Is this like a 'choose your adventure' line of questioning?"

"Hey, hey, I'm the one asking the questions around here," Daisuke pointed to his chest, grinning.

"Mm, lunch."

"Not breakfast?" Daisuke gave Michiru a small pout.

She giggled again, "Be careful Daisuke-kun. You might start making people think you're needy."

"I'm only needy for you," he flirted and took her hand into his.

The door opened and they walked hand-in-hand to the car.

When they pulled up to the seaside manor, she looked at Daisuke.

"Thank you for the lovely dinner." She smiled.

"Anytime."

He raised his right hand to her cheek, stroking it gently. He leaned in. She placed her hand to his lips.

"Kiss on the first date? Don't think I am that easy, Endo-san," Michiru teased.

Daisuke smirked. "Sorry." He turned her cheek towards him and he kissed her cheek. "Good night. I'll see you tomorrow."

She leaned in and kissed his cheek back. "Yeah, tomorrow." She smiled and quickly turned away, opening the door and walking to her front door. She turned and waved good bye as he pulled away.

Shutting the front door behind her she stared down at the marble floor.

_We're dating._

She looked up and found her mother at the top of the stairs on the right with a wide smile.

"So? How did it go?" Her mother excitedly asked.

Michiru began to walk up the stairs. "We're meeting tomorrow for lunch."

"See! Wasn't it a good thing we went shopping today?"

Michiru laughed, "You say it as if I don't have clothes at home."

"A new relationship is a good reason for new clothes," her mother smiled.

Michiru shook her head and laughed, "I don't even know what to say to that. Well, I'm going to bed. Good night, Okaa-san."

"Good night."

She turned and began to walk down the hall to her room. After she shut the door to her room, she quickly changed out of her clothes into pajamas and washed the make-up off her face. She crawled into bed and laid there for a while reviewing her dinner date in her mind.

_That dinner went well. It went better than I expected considering the awkward start._ She smiled at the memory of Daisuke's shy confession.

_I wonder how this is going to go. I hope I'm not one of his many flings. No, he was sincere, sweet and funny. Nothing like what those other women said of him. If this is what having a boyfriend is like, then I wouldn't mind this at all. Not that we're officially together yet but if this is a small glimpse into it, then it'd be nice. I have my music, career, and him. Oh my God Michiru. What are you thinking? Go to sleep. The sooner you sleep, the sooner you can see him tomorrow. Jeez, look who is needy now?_

She grunted at her thoughts and closed her eyes. The last thing she remembered seeing before drifting to sleep were deep midnight blue eyes.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone! Whew! Got this one out. NFL and college football (American Football) is back so I'm slightly distracted (That was a clutch game by Philly). Please don't hate me! I know this chapter didn't have Haruka in it but she'll be back next chapter. Thanks for reading! I would love to hear from you so please R&amp;R! I salute you if you do.

Hitomi: Thanks, Hitomi. Hope your weekend was awesome.

Iroshiyan: I agree with you although I'm not sure how much more I will touch on gender identity. However, I wouldn't write it off just yet since it is a struggle between Haruka and Miho. I'll figure it out when it comes up again. Thanks for the support!


	7. Chapter 7: In-flight Dreams

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

\- Chapter 7: In-flight Dreams -

A high-pitched alarm went off. The figure under the sheets growled. An arm popped out of the sheets and began to swing down at the nightstand that held the alarm clock horribly missing its target. Finally, after repeated slams, it found what it was looking for.

Hazy emerald eyes looked up at the clock. 7:01 a.m. The blonde sat up rubbing her eyes and grumbling incoherently to herself.

_Is it time to get up already?_

Her eyes traveled to her bedroom door and saw the shadow of her luggage sitting in the hallway.

_Yeah, time to go._

She slid out of bed and slipped into the bathroom.

Fresh out of the shower the blonde found herself standing in front of her opened fridge. She was going to be gone for a month and didn't end up going to the grocery store after her visit to Oyama. She didn't want anything to rot in her fridge. She learned from previous mistakes. One season, a few years ago, she had left eggs, chicken and some leftover rice dish in the fridge for two months. When she came back, she thought an animal died in her apartment. She was also pretty sure the mold cultures that formed over her food were so advanced that they had invented cars and were driving on her fuzzy green and black chicken and rice. She ended up tossing the fridge and buying a new one. She also gave Ryouji and Jun a key to her apartment so they could check up on the apartment twice a week while she was gone just in case she overlooked anything that might go bad during her leave.

She frowned over the lack of contents on the shelves. _Well, at least nothing will go bad._ She leaned forward and grabbed a bottle of water.

She walked over to her two large rolling suitcases and duffel bag. She swung the duffel bag over her shoulder and grabbed the handles of the suitcases and rolled them out of the apartment, locking the door behind her.

She had scheduled a driver to pick her up from her apartment to take her to the airport. She stared out the car's window. It was drizzling. She mindlessly watched drops of water hit the window. It slowly beaded down the pane of glass. She hoped her flight wasn't delayed. She had a packed schedule from the time she lands in America until her last race of the season in Abu Dhabi.

As the car approached the airport, she rummaged through her duffel bag looking for her mp3 player. She popped the ear buds into her ears and shoved the device into her black hoodie pocket.

The car pulled over to the curb in front of the international terminal. She stepped out and grabbed her large suitcases out from the rear of the car. She opted to curbside check in her luggage. She strolled inside and headed straight for the security gate with her e-ticket and passport in hand. She passed through security without any extra searches.

She began to walk towards her gate. Her hands were resting in the comfort of her hoodie pocket. Her right hand clutching her mp3 player, she had her thumb hovering over the play button. She looked straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with anyone. She ignored the stopped looks from some of the people she passed.

"Wait, isn't that-"

"Hey, that's-"

"Isn't he the racer?"

She saw a magazine stand coming up to her left. A man was flipping through a motor magazine with her on the cover. He glanced up and saw her walking by. He quickly flipped the cover over and did a double-take as she passed by.

"Look! It's Tenou Har-"

She immediately pressed the play button she had been rubbing for the last few minutes. Music flooded her ears and the droning noise of the airport and people's whisper was cut out. She didn't like to hear people's whispering and their gazes on her when she walked around in populated areas.

When she traveled, she liked to drown herself in music. It helped to ignore a lot of the people around her. Most people left her alone when they see her stone-faced gaze and lack of reaction when they called out to her. She didn't like to be bothered. The music made her feel a little more normal.

She slightly winced and shot a glare down at her pocket-covered mp3. It was a Swedish heavy metal band that was blaring into her ears. She thought back to why she was listening to this last. She was running. That made sense. She smirked at herself. The beat was good to run to.

She changed the folder to soft acoustic music to play instead. It was an English electronic dance music group that decided to re-do some of their popular songs in an acoustic style with a 13-piece band. The blonde liked it.

She typically liked to listen to English-language songs before flying to Western countries such as North America or Europe to help brush up a bit on her English. It helped a bit.

After reaching her gate, she sat in an empty seat in front of a large window facing the tarmac. She settled in and checked her watch. She still had half an hour before boarding. She brought her hoodie up over her head and closed her eyes. She slowly nodded her head to the soft beat of the music.

"You're half a world away

But in my mind I whisper every single word you say

And before you sleep at night

You pray to me, your lucky star

Your singing satellite… your singing satellite…"

The music slowly faded away from her consciousness. She was swimming in black nothingness. Nothing lingered here; no thoughts, no emotions, no dreams. She felt content.

A sound started coming through.

_"Haruka-chan, what you do is dangerous… It just takes one accident to change all of that!"_

_"Listen, nothing is going to happen to me."_

_"No, you can't promise me that… don't make false promises."_

**_"Are you trying to kill yourself?!"_**

**_"What? No!"_**

**_"This isn't a game Haruka! You need to come home and find a proper job!"_**

**_"I never said it was a game and I'm working my way to a proper job!"_**

**_"You're test driving cars! You have a mechanical engineering degree! Why don't you find a good job that utilizes it?!"_**

**_"_****_Because I don't need my degree to find a good job!"_**

**_"_****_Oh, so are you telling me your mother and I just WASTED our money on your degree?"_**

**_"_****_No! I agree with you that education is important but it's a fall back, a very good fall back if THIS doesn't work out."_**

**_"_****_You are not going to make any money from this. You're barely getting by and…"_**

**_"_****_I'm making it work. I'm not broke. Don't worry about how much I make!"_**

**_"_****_I worry because I don't want to see you financially struggle!"_**

**_"_****_Well, I've never asked you for money so how would you know if I'm financially struggling?!"_**

**_"_****_Because you are my daughter! I know how you're living! Don't think because you are thousands of miles from home that I do not know how you are faring!"_**

**_"_****_Well, regardless of how I'm currently doing, I will prove you wrong and succeed at this. You'll see!"_**

**_"_****_You'll see… You'll see… You'll see…"_**

_You'll see…_

Piercing emerald eyes slowly opened. She hardened her gaze on the tarmac. Her plane was taxied and it looked like the airline was loading the plane with luggage. She pulled out one of the ear buds and looked over to the gate counter. They had begun boarding and her number was called. She grunted as she leaned forward to stand. She threw the bag strap over her shoulder and walked over to the ticket agent to hand over her ticket to enter.

She was seated in first class. After throwing her bag up into the overhead bin, she sat down in her seat. It was isolated from the other surrounding first class seats. Most international airliners had spacious first class seating. They looked like small personalized cubicles that wrapped around the seat. This one allowed her to recline fully back without having to worry about the person behind her. She saw a touchscreen TV in front of her. She turned it off. She typically slept through long flights to help fight jet lag.

She pulled out her cell phone and decided to dial a number before she switched it off. After selecting the person to call she heard it ring. It went to voicemail. "Hey Haha-chan, it's Haruka. Just wanted to let you know I'm on the plane now and about to take off. I'll call you when I land in Austin. Talk to you soon. Love you."

She powered off her phone and sat back fully in her seat and waited for take-off. She always called her mother every time she travelled anywhere. Her mother was all she had in terms of true love and affection.

Ever since her father left, she always worried about her mother. Although, no matter how much she worried, she couldn't stop what she had initially set out to do: be an F1 driver. She had succeeded and proved the old man wrong. She made good money and was able to support her mother and allow her to retire comfortably. She was financially well off to say the least. Emotionally was another story.

She easily found temporary companionship in many different beautiful women. However those never lasted very long. Either she couldn't stand their materialistic needs or found them shallow in all senses of the word. She was more than able to support the materialistic wants but couldn't stand being used by anyone. She also liked to have an intellectual conversation every once in a while which she couldn't find in most of her companions.

Her mother was her only sturdy rock of emotional support even though they didn't see eye-to-eye on some things; Racing being one and her "lifestyle" being another. Her mother still loved her though. She didn't like racing because of how risky it was to her health. She shunned her "choice of lifestyle" because she just didn't understand that it wasn't a choice, that this was who she was. Haruka could never explain it as clearly as she would have liked because she always got too emotional and frustrated about it. She, again, was not the most patient person and sometimes her fuse could be very short. In the end, the blonde always shut down and downplay it to comfort and it-is-what-it-is. She wanted her mother to understand but she figured as long as her mother had her back, she didn't care, for now.

The plane began to pitch up as it began to ascend to 35,000 feet altitude. She looked out the window and saw the tall skyscrapers of Tokyo shrink as the airplane pulled away into the sky. Water was streaking the plane window as it flew through the rain. The window turned white as the plane passed through the rain clouds. The plane rocked from the slight turbulence of the storm. The clouds disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared and she was met with clear blue sky. The morning sun was shining bright above the carpet of dark clouds beneath the plane.

She reclined the seat all the way back until it was as horizontal as a bed and shut the window blinds. She leaned forward, opened a cabinet next to her seat and grabbed a pillow and blanket out of it. She popped her ear buds back into her ears and checked her watch. _At least the flight departed on time._ She closed her eyes.

Despite the music playing in her ears, it was difficult to drown out the constant loud humming of the plane's engines. She frowned, concentrating on her music. She needed to sleep so she could be fresh and ready in Austin.

"We were in heaven you and I

When I lay with you and close my eyes

Our fingers touched the sky

I'm sorry, baby

You were the sun and moon to me

I'll never get over you

You'll never get over me…"

"Hey, wake up."

She felt a large hand on her shoulder gently shake her. She stirred. She slowly opened her eyes in confusion.

"Nn?"

Her eyes focused and saw her dad standing over her grinning ear to ear.

"Chi Chi-chan?"

"Hey! I want to show you something," he excitedly whispered. "I have a surprise for you!"

She gave him a confused look and shrugged. "Okay."

He leaned over and gently picked her up from bed. She was three years old. She wrapped her little arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder as he made his way down the stairs to the garage. She wondered why he was taking her to the garage and why he was waking her up at an ungodly hour before the sun even rose. It was still dark outside!

He opened the door to the garage and flicked on the light. "Okay, look! What do you see?" The young blonde slowly turned her head towards the garage. She didn't see a difference. In front of her was her dad's pre-Haruka pride and joy: his 1979 black Trans Am Firebird. He went through an American muscle car stage in his twenties and drag raced a lot. It was shiny black with a red flaming firebird spread across the whole hood and had a dark red cloth interior. To the right of it was her mom's white 1984 Toyota corolla. It matched her mom's personality: reserved and safe.

She was now doubly confused. Why did her dad wake her up at this ridiculous hour and why was he showing her things she knows they already own?

"…What?" Her question drawled from being half asleep.

"Over there." He motioned to the left of the Firebird. A big box sat in the far corner of the garage. Her interest now piqued. That's new.

Her dad kept looking at her. He watched her green eyes go big as her little mind began to connect the dots that her surprise was in that box.

Her dad's quiet curious gaze of how his daughter would react changed back to excitement again when he watched her facial expression change. "C'mon! Let's go see it." He quickly stepped towards the box.

As they approached, Haruka noticed the box didn't have a top. It was open. As they got closer she noticed that it seemed empty. She thought that was weird. Her dad stopped right next to the box. The box came up to his waist.

_Why is the box empty? Why did he wake me up to look into an empty box?!_ She groaned to herself.

She was now more confused than she was earlier but then her dad lifted her up higher and tilted her over the box. She had quickly panicked thinking she was going to tumble into the box but her dad's hands were firm on her sides. She calmed down when she noticed there was something in the corner closest to where they were standing. It was a white rabbit. It hopped to the other side of the box when it realized it wasn't alone.

Her eyes went big. She was no longer asleep. "A bunny! It's a bunny!" She squealed in excitement and lunged back to her dad and hugged his face, disorienting his glasses. Her dad began to laugh as he re-adjusted his lenses. "Do you like it?" With a serious expression on her face she furiously nodded her head. She turned her head back down into the box smiling and watched it hopped around. She began to bounce up and down in her dad's grip.

She quickly turned to her dad and grabbed his face with both her hands. She brought their faces together so that their foreheads touched and looked him dead in the eye. She could barely contain her smile but tried to keep a straight face, "Can I play with her?!" She hoped her expression would show her dad that she was serious about her question.

He laughed again, "no, not now. You can play with her later."

"Aw! But why?" She crossed her arms, pouting. She was now slightly annoyed she was woken up this early to be shown an awesome surprise only to find she couldn't play with it. Her dad could have shown her the rabbit in the morning when she woke up but didn't and now he's holding back.

"Because you need to go back to sleep." As soon as he finished his sentence, a yawn escaped her lips. She rubbed her tired eyes in defeat and pouted, "okay, fine."

He walked back to the house with her in his arms. Her hands were wrapped around his neck with her head tucked between his neck and shoulder, her safe spot. She always felt safe in her dad's arms when he carried her. He was gentle and warm yet strong. She felt like no one could touch her as long as her dad was with her. He flicked off the light to the garage. She peeked up over his shoulder as he shut the door to the dark garage.

_I hope the bunny isn't afraid of the dark_, she thought worriedly to herself.

Her dad brought her back to her bed. She grabbed a stuffed animal she had thrown haphazardly to the side during her sleep and cuddled up with it under the sheets. Her dad tucked her in and kissed her forehead. She was happy. The bunny was her first pet.

"Good night Haruka-chan." "Good night Chi Chi-chan." She mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.

She felt warm and safe. A few minutes passed when a cool breeze drifted by messing with her hair. Her eye brows furrowed from the distraction. "I just want to sleep," she grumbled.

The wind blew again, this time a sound of crashing waves accompanied it. Confused as to why she was hearing the ocean from her bed she opened her eyes. A bright light flooded her sight. "What the-"

She looked up and saw clear blue skies with the sun shining high above. She lifted her right hand up to shield her eyes from the shining sun. She looked down and found the vast ocean sitting before her. She was standing on a white sandy beach. She took a deep breath in. The air was clean and refreshing. The cloud of sleep was long behind her. She walked forward towards the water.

She thought the tropics were nice and she was glad she came. She didn't know how she knew she was in the tropics. She just did. She loved how quiet it was. There was no chatter, no cell phone ringing, no buzzing of the busy Tokyo streets, no crazed fans, nothing but her and paradise. She couldn't believe she found this place. She had to come here more often.

The blonde walked over to where the water reached the shore. She watched as the water ran over her feet and receded pulling away some of the sand around her feet, causing her to slightly sink into the darker wet sand. Her emerald eyes closed. She brought both her hands behind her head and held it. She listened to the waves, the wind and her heart beat. The sun's warmth soaked through her clothing and skin. She stayed that way for a while just enjoying what she could.

She opened one eye to make sure she was where she thought she was. A fluttery movement caught the corner of her right eye. She turned her head and found another woman walking down the beach away from her.

Hm, when did she get there?

The woman had wavy aquamarine hair that went just past her shoulder blade. It matched the ocean to her left. It blew gracefully to the side in the wind. Her light blue dress blew in the same direction of her hair. She looked elegant and peaceful.

_Like a siren of the sea…_

Haruka shook her head. _What a weird thing to call a stranger._

Haruka started after the woman, "Hey! Hello?" She yelled after her but the other woman either didn't hear or ignored her.

The blonde frowned. "Hey! Excuse me!" Haruka picked up her pace and began to jog after her. The woman kept walking, oblivious to the blonde yelling.

"Hey! Can you hear m-ah!"

A larger wave rolled in and knocked the blonde off balance. She had fallen face first into the water and wet sand.

Her face was soaked. She silently groaned. She splashed some more cold water on her face. She glanced up at the bathroom mirror in front of her and ran her right hand tenderly over her face. Her right cheek was still swollen. She frowned and turned off the running water. She grabbed her face towel and patted her face dry. She walked down into the kitchen where dinner was being made. It smelled heavenly.

Her dad was cooking. The man was a genius when it came to cooking in the kitchen. Every weekend when he didn't have to work, he'd cook for the family. He was busy at the stove cooking something. She grabbed a cup from the cupboard. Hearing noise behind him, her dad turned around and found his teenage daughter moping around the kitchen.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Getn wehter."

He turned his attention away from the stove again and stared at her, "what did you say?"

She lifted up her glass of water and swiveled it for her dad to see this was what she said earlier. She raised it to her mouth to sip it. She winced as she was in pain again.

"You still can't open your mouth huh?"

Haruka shook her head.

The other blonde laughed, "Wow, we found something to shut you up for once."

Haruka glared at her dad's back trying to burn a hole through the back of his head. She growled.

She had her lower right wisdom tooth removed the week before. It was stitched up but became infected. She couldn't open her mouth larger than a centimeter. Her jaw was too swollen and caused excruciating pain if she tried to move it. Her dentist prescribed her stronger antibiotics to fight off the infection but it would take another week for the medication to clear it away. Until then, she was stuck this way.

She couldn't use chopsticks to eat. She ended up only eating rice porridge because it was the only thing she could eat. She didn't have to chew and she was able to force the spoon through her teeth to get the food in.

She walked over to the hot oven and turned on the oven light to see what he was making. It was a bird of some sort. She looked at her dad, "Wuh izzut?"

He turned away from the pan and smiled, "Goose!"

She arched an eyebrow. "Heb you ever mayh goose b'fo?"

"Nope."

She stayed quiet.

"But, trust me, it's going to taste delicious." He turned around and gave her a wink and smile. "You know what's going to be sad?"

"Hm?"

"You can't eat any!" He began to laugh.

She growled and began to rant in her closed-mouthed speech throwing her hands wildly in the air. Her dad just laughed harder.

She was angry. She crossed her arms, turned her head away and snorted.

The older blonde walked up to the oven and opened the door. Hot steam puffed out of the oven and fogged her dad's glasses. He leaned back shaking his head waiting for his glasses to clear. He grabbed a set of oven gloves from the counter and took the cooked bird out.

_Who the hell cooks goose in Japan?_ She thought, annoyed. _My Chi Chi, of course._

Her dad began to cut into a part of the goose. It was cooked. He took a fork and cut a very small piece off.

"I know you can't really eat but here, try it." He had a small piece of meat impaled on a fork. Haruka stepped back shaking her head. She was in throbbing pain and didn't want to aggravate it further.

"It's one SMALL piece. Try it." He urged her further.

She was really tempted to eat it. If it tasted as good as it smelled, then it would taste delicious. She looked at the piece of meat, to her dad and back to the meat. She hesitantly leaned forward and opened her mouth as wide as she could. The meat hit her teeth. She furrowed her brows and adjusted the angle of her mouth. Finally with a small shove, the food went in and the fork came out.

The meat was seasoned very well. She could also taste the aroma of potatoes and carrots that baked with the bird as well. She carefully chewed. It was tender. Her emerald eyes lit at the taste.

"Is it good?"

She nodded as she continued her slow gnaw on the bird.

"Ha-ha! See! Told you! I'm the best!" Her dad struck a muscle man pose.

She began to laugh only to wince in pain. She gave her dad a sad face.

"Oh, don't worry! You're only like this for another week. I can cook this for you another time!" He patted her shoulder.

"Now, go upstairs and get your mother. Dinner is almost ready."

"Nn."

She walked up the stairs and found her mom sitting on her bedroom floor reading a book.

"Hehe-cheng, dihnner." She said between her teeth.

Her mother looked up, showing her sparking green eyes. She looked much younger and happier. "Okay. How's your mouth?"

Haruka shook her head.

"Hm, well go eat so you can take your medication." Her mother shooed her down the stairs.

Haruka watched her feet walk down the stairs.

When she reached the third step from the bottom, she decided to jump off it to the floor. She landed and tumbled on the floor. She got up giggling. She ran back up to the third step and jumped off again. She pretended she was bird trying to fly.

It was summer time before her first year in elementary school and it was too hot and humid to play outside so her play area was restricted to the confines of the house until it was cool enough outside to play. Her dad walked down the stairs from his bedroom and stopped half way and watched his five year old jumping off the steps.

"What are you doing?" He asked, amused by his daughter's actions.

She jumped and landed. She gasped for air, "trying to fly!" She ran back up the steps and jumped again, spreading her arms out and flapping it like a pair of bird's wings.

"Fly huh? Well, be careful. I don't want you to hurt yourself," he warned.

She ran up to the third step again and looked up at him with a grin, "I'm not going to hurt myself. This is easy. See?" She turned and jumped again.

Her dad shook his head and continued his way down the stairs. He stopped and thought for a moment. "Haruka-chan?"

Haruka ran back up the steps, "yeah?" She jumped.

"Want to go for a ride?"

Still in a kneeling position from her landing she stopped and looked at him. "A ride? A ride where?"

"No where. Just a ride. Come on, I'll show you."

She scrambled to her feet and followed her dad to the garage. He grabbed his car keys. He opened the door for Haruka to get in. She climbed in and he buckled her seat belt in. The shoulder strap was too tall for her and was digging into her neck. She pushed it behind her so only the lap strap tied her in. He shut the door.

The car had a weird musky smell from the cloth interior. Haruka didn't care though. She thought it was the coolest car ever especially with the Firebird painted on the hood. Her dad slid into the driver seat and turned the ignition. The engine roared to life. He shifted to reverse and backed out of the garage. He sped off towards the hills.

He rolled down the windows so the wind roared into the car. Haruka strained her head up to see over the dashboard. The heat and humidity of the day was still thick and suffocating but it didn't seem too bad when the wind was rushing around her. Her dad shifted to a higher gear and the car sprang forward. She raised her hands up in the air and shrieked as if she was on a roller coaster. Her dad navigated the car up a hill. When they reached the top, he stopped. They could see their town clearly from their vantage point. There were large green fields and industrial buildings closest to the hill and small town buildings beyond the agriculture. He pulled the car forward so it was facing the beginning of the incline.

"Ready?"

Haruka's little green eyes went wide with excitement. "Yeah!"

He smiled at his daughter and began to rev the engine. He watched her as her face was ecstatic at the sound. He revved the engine a couple of more times and then shifted into first gear. The car jumped forward down the hill. He began to shift gears higher, as he picked up speed. It was a farming industrial area and was quiet since it was the weekend. Haruka screamed in happiness as she had her hands lifted over her head again. "Faster, Chi chi! Faster!"

The tall blonde obliged to his daughter's request. Only the echo of the roaring engine and a little girl's happy screams were heard across the fields. They spent the rest of the afternoon driving up and down that hill until the sun began to set.

Her dad looked at her again. She had fallen asleep from all the screaming and excitement. He drove the two back home. He pulled into the garage just as the first few stars began to dot the night sky. He walked around to the other side of the car and unbuckled her.

"Okay, time to go." He grabbed her around her armpits and picked her up.

She felt a light shake on her shoulder. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself facing a young flight attendant. She pulled her ear buds away from her sore ears.

"I'm sorry sir but we're preparing to land, could you please raise your seat to the upright position?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." She mumbled.

"Thank you." The flight attendant walked away.

She rubbed her eyes, trying to push the fogginess of sleep away. She looked ahead of her and found a new bottle of water sitting snug in a cup holder. A flight attendant had placed it there earlier in the flight. She leaned over and picked it up, twisting it open and guzzling half of the water down. She carefully slid the window shade up to see clear blue skies. Below was the city of Austin, Texas.

After landing, she went through customs and found her luggage easily. She had done it so many times before. It was almost second-nature.

As she approached the arrival exit, she was met with a lot of different people looking for their loved ones or clients. She calmly looked around and found who she was looking for. She walked up to a man in a black suit holding a sign that read, "Ms. Haruka Tenou."

"Hi, looking for me?"

"Uh," he looked back down at the sign and back at the blonde in front of him with slightly knitted eye brows in confusion. "Well, if this is you, then yes."

_Smart reply._

He smiled and raised his hand to her, "My name is Derek. Nice to meet you Ms. Tenou."

She raised her hand and shook it, "Nice to meet you Derek. Please, call me Haruka."

"Nice to meet you Haruka. Oh, let me help you with your bags!"

"It's okay, I got it. Just lead the way."

The young man insisted and was able to wrangle one of the large rolling suitcases from her. They walked to the parking lot where a black Escalade sat waiting. After loading the luggage into the back, Derek opened a back door for Haruka to get in.

"Thanks."

He nodded back then got in himself.

They began driving down a highway towards her hotel where she would meet up with TJ, her agent.

TJ or better known as Thomas Jantzen was a firecracker of an agent. He was 35 years old and his tongue was as sharp as a knife which matched his business and fashion sense. He made sure Haruka got hers and he got his. Outside of business, he treated her like a younger sister. He either gave her unwanted personal advice or grief, whichever he felt like dishing out but he always had her best interests and personal saftey in mind when it came down to business. If he was able to get her what she wanted in the long run, then she didn't care about all the teasing and advice.

She whipped out her cell phone and powered it back on. She dialed a number and waited.

"Hello?"

"Haha-chan, I wanted to let you know I just landed in America."

"Haruka-chan. How was your flight?"

"It was good. I slept through it."

"Oh that's good."

"Did you eat dinner yet?"

"Yeah, I just finished washing the dishes. Did you get your luggage yet?"

"Yeah, I'm already in the car on the way to the hotel."

"Oh, okay, well, call me tomorrow, I'm watching a drama right now."

Haruka quietly smiled.

"Ok, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Love you."

"… Yeah, yeah, okay."

"No, not 'yeah, yeah, okay.' I said I love you. What are you supposed to say back?"

There was a grunt on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, okay! I know! I know."

She imagined her mom waving a hand in the air to avoid the statement she wanted to hear.

"I'm not getting off the phone until you say it." Haruka grinned.

"Yeah, okay, love you, okay? Bye!"

Haruka laughed, "Bye."

Haruka shook her head as she chuckled to herself. She was not afraid to show or verbalize affection towards her mother. In fact her mother was very affectionate with her when she was younger but as she grew older, her mother became more reluctant to verbalize it. Haruka always liked to tease the older Tenou into submitting and admitting she loved her daughter even though she knew her mother already loved her. She just liked to make her uncomfortable and say it.

She looked back down at her phone and dialed a different number.

"This is TJ."

"Hey Teej, it's Haruka. I just landed. I'm on the way to the hotel now."

"Hey Smalls! Great, I'll be here. How was your flight?"

"It was fine. I slept."

"Good. We got a lot to do and I don't need you to be half –awake doing it. Listen, I'm on a call right now. I'll talk to you when you get here. I'm in room 1055. Find me after you check in."

"Ok, later."

Click.

She sighed and looked out the window to the passing scenery. Words caught her attention.

"…forget it, let it disappear.

Waiting for the end to come

Wishing I had strength to stand

This is not what I had planned

It's out of my control

Flying at the speed of light

Thoughts were spinning in my head

So many things were left unsaid

It's hard to let you go…"

She looked up at the driver, "Hey, Derek?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you change the station to classical?"

"Oh, yeah sure." After a few seconds of turning the tuning knob, he landed on the classical station. It was a sonata in a key she didn't feel like deciphering. Haruka didn't care. She just didn't want to hear that song again.

Her brows furrowed into a frown as she looked out the window again. She hoped her upcoming days would be packed enough to keep her mind busy.

* * *

Author's Notes:

The lyrics in this chapter respectively belong to Above and Beyond (Acoustic) and Linkin Park. I do not own it. If you're curious which songs they are, the first one is "Sun and Moon" by Above and Beyond Acoustic. The description of their EDM band is accurate. Pretty cool music if you get a chance to listen to it. The second song is "Waiting for the End" by Linkin Park.

Hopefully, the dream sequences weren't difficult to follow. Sometimes when I remember a string of my dreams, there's always a transition point in the dream your brain uses to work its way into the new dream. It's painfully obvious if you can recall it but when you're in the dream, you barely notice it.

See? No football today, new chapter is out!

Haruka flew to Austin, TX because that's where Circuit of the Americas is located for the United States Grand Prix. FYI.

Side note: Chi chi-chan/Chi Chi is equivalent to "daddy" in English. It is typically spoken by children.

Also, just as a warning, I had to change the rating to M for language and sexual content in future chapters.

Thanks for reading! Please R&amp;R! It makes me happy. I salute you if you do.

me (guest): Sorry it's taking so long for the two to finally meet. I currently have it scripted in chapter 11 for the meet. I know, I know. This is the first fiction I've ever seen where the two main protagonist/interests take this long to meet. Hopefully, everyone is enjoying the journey there. Until then, please be patient! As for Daisuke, yeah, gotta love that guy. Thanks for reading and commenting!


	8. Chapter 8: A Little Down Time

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon

* * *

\- Chapter 8: A Little Down Time -

A single violin chord pierced the air as it dove into its solo part inside Orchard Hall of Shibuya-ku in Tokyo. The Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra was performing tonight with special guest violinist, Endo Daisuke. The hall was sold out. Daisuke performed side-by-side with the orchestra as well as playing a few of the solo leads in some of the pieces. It was Sunday night, the first night of three he was performing with the orchestra.

Michiru sat in the second floor balcony overlooking the stage on the right. She wore a cream-colored gown that had pearl-colored beads sown into the fabric. The collar wrapped around her neck and flowed down her chest. Her shoulders were bare if not for a light blue shawl covering it. Her back was bare since the dress did not cover that part of her body. Her dress flowed down to her feet. Her hair was pulled into a bun with some loose strands hanging down framing her slender neck. She sat with her legs narrowly crossed with her clutch and hands in her lap watching the performance below.

Daisuke was standing to the right of the conductor as he played his solo. He moved his body to the rhythm of the music while keeping his feet planted to the floor. Michiru subtly moved her head to the rhythm as well while silently humming the solo. She heard Daisuke rehearse the song many times before tonight and was now very familiar with the song.

They had been dating for almost a month now. Although Michiru tried to hold restraint in the speed of the relationship, Daisuke was aggressive and always persuaded her to take it further. He took her first kiss on the second date and was naked in bed with her by the end of the week. Michiru didn't complain though. She enjoyed this new physical and emotional feeling. She found it surprisingly refreshing.

Her break from music was short-lived. As much as she was excited a month ago to take a long vacation, she had found her way back into the studio by week two of her break. It wasn't anything serious. It was simple brainstorming for her next album. She also found herself in the music room of the house everyday playing. She couldn't stay away from her music. She figured Daisuke had a large part in that. She listened to him play every day which inspired her cut her break short.

Michiru and Daisuke were nearly inseparable. They were together all the time. The pair was typically in one of a handful of places. They were either at the studio, a restaurant or café for meals, her home or his. Although the amount of time spent together said otherwise, Michiru was by no means clingy. She didn't have a large need to always be near Daisuke, it just always worked out that way. It went from Daisuke needing an opinion on a song he was going to perform or what order songs should be performed in to Michiru wanting to try a new restaurant. It kept going back and forth every day for the last month and they ended up together all the time.

For the last few days, Daisuke had been practicing in the Kaioh's home while Michiru packed her belongings away for the move to her new home. Movers were coming in a couple of weeks to pick up her stuff and she had to have everything ready by then. She just finished packing her spring and summer clothes and shoes the other day. She figured she could pack her cold wear a couple of days before the movers come so she still had a wardrobe to pull from for the next couple of weeks.

Her mother has been a little gushing fountain of joy since she found out Michiru was dating Daisuke. Her mother, through subtle questioning and casual chit-chat, found out his likes and dislikes in food, fashion and everything else in between. She made sure the kitchen was stocked with everything he liked and when she and Michiru would go shopping, she never failed to point out a tie or shirt that Daisuke might like.

_"__Michiru, what do you think about this shirt? This color would look good on Daisuke-kun and he likes this brand as well. You should get it for him."_

_"__Okaa-san, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you wanted to date Daisuke!" Michiru teased._

_"__If I was thirty years younger, I would certainly try! Just don't tell your Otou-san!" Her mother winked._

_Michiru laughed and covered her face with her hands shaking her head. It was amusing and embarrassing to hear that confession from her mother._

Michiru shook her head and stifled a laugh as she thought of the memory. The audience around her erupted into applause as the performance came to an end. Giving a big smile, Michiru stood and clapped and promptly walked to the exit. She made her way to Daisuke's dressing room. After bypassing two points of security to go backstage she found herself standing outside the dressing room door. She softly knocked.

A muffled voice came through the door, "Come in, it's open!"

She turned the door knob and carefully stepped inside. Daisuke was in the middle of hanging up his tuxedo jacket. He smiled at her. "Hey! You got here quick."

Michiru closed the door behind her and locked the door. "I left my seat as soon as the performance was finished. I wanted to beat the crowd."

"Smart girl." He gave her a devilish grin.

She couldn't tell if his reply was to her leaving early to beat the crowd or the fact that she just locked door behind her. He began to make his way to where she was standing. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh? How so?"

He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her body up against his. He nuzzled his nose against her neck and inhaled. "Mm, you smell good."

She brought her hands around the back of his neck pulling him closer. She rubbed the back of head with one hand causing the man to kiss her neck. As she continued to rub the back of his head with the tips of her fingers, his soft kisses turned into hungry ones. He began to nip the side of neck followed with light sucking. Michiru quickly pulled away and looked at him. "No." His eyes held a glazed look from the heat he felt. "We still need to go out there and talk to people." As the words sunk in, his eyes began to re-focus. He brought up his left hand and looked at his watch. He turned back to Michiru with a devilish grin. "We have 35 minutes. That's plenty of time."

Michiru didn't like it but she couldn't turn down that smile. She laughed as he picked her up and walked towards the couch in the back corner. He set her down on her feet, placed both his hands around her face and brought his lips crashing down hard onto hers in one rough motion. _Wow, he really wants it, _she thought to herself.

Daisuke parted his mouth and forced his tongue into her mouth, slapping her tongue with his. He let out a deep muffled groan. His hands began to make his way down her shoulders over her breasts. Michiru's breathing hitched at the feeling of his hands passing over her nipples. His hands continued to run down the side of her legs until his hands grabbed at the long fabric and began to pull up. When the bottom hem of her dress was in his hands he rode his hands back up to her hips.

With his lips still pressed up against hers he spoke, "next time, you're wearing a shorter dress." Michiru giggled.

With his thumbs, he hooked it around the band of her underwear and began to pull it down.

Michiru's hands were already busy trying to undo the cumberbund around his waist. Slightly frustrated she pulled her lips away from his to look down at what she was working with. He lifted his hands away from her body and began to undo the sash himself. After it was discarded onto the floor along with her panties, he unfastened his pants.

Michiru quickly walked to his hanging jacket and dug her hands into an inner breast pocket and pulled something small out. As she walked back, she bit down on the small item with her front teeth and tore the package open. She pulled out a small beige disk and quickly placed it over his now enlarged manhood and rolled it down. He bent down and lifted Michiru's dress up over her hips again. He brought his arms around her bottom and lifted her up. Michiru wrapped her bare slender legs around his waist as he sat down on the couch.

Straddling Daisuke, Michiru lifted herself up a bit as he positioned himself to enter. She lowered herself onto him. She released a moan as he slid into her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her chin on his shoulder as he began to pump. She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment of being one with another human being.

She began to wonder if this is what being loved felt like: hot, primal and wanted. It was a wonderful physical feeling. _Was this the same as being in love?_ She took a moment to ponder it.

Daisuke showed his love to her through thoughtful and physical actions. He never hesitated to voice his compliments about how she looked and dressed. As beautiful as his words were, deep down she knew they were empty compliments. She appreciated the gesture.

Michiru figured at least someone she liked wanted her just as much if not more. It felt nice to feel wanted. True she could stand amongst a sea of men and be able to take any one she pleased but Daisuke was different. They had history and he had those dark blue eyes that held secrets she wanted to unlock. Perhaps she wanted Daisuke because she wanted the unobtainable. It also wasn't half bad that he was good looking as well. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was missing and it bothered her.

Michiru had a distant look on her face as she ran through her thoughts. She continued to bounce as Daisuke kept working beneath her. She slightly shifted her eyes down to his shoulder and heard him grunting. She could smell fresh sweat seeping out his pores as he was getting closer to letting go. She automatically slid her hands up to the back of his head and began to rub his hair, softly urging him to release.

_Is this what I really want?_

She mentally shook her head. What was she thinking? Why would she question anything she had? She had it all: a family that loved her, a successful childhood dream career as a world-class violinist, a legion of loyal fans, financial security, a handsome caring boyfriend and soon-to-be living independence at her new house. She knew many people dream to have what she had. She didn't take it for granted but somehow, it still felt empty.

Daisuke's breathing was fast against Michiru's bare shoulder. His hands clamped down on her back as his whole body shuddered and his breathing violently hitched. His mouth involuntarily locked open as he rode the waves of ecstasy.

Michiru tilted her head towards his head and placed a soft kiss on his temple. He was now heavily panting, trying to grab his bearings. He leaned back and looked Michiru in the eyes. "How was that? Are you okay?" She gently smiled and kissed his forehead. He gave a relieved smile and slumped back on the couch.

Michiru lifted her dress and carefully got up into a standing position. She noticed her legs were numb from the kneeling position she was in earlier. As she grabbed her panties from the floor and slid them back on, she looked at Daisuke who was now falling asleep on the couch. She looked up at the wall-mounted clock.

"Oh, no you don't! Get up and get ready, we have to go." She gently slapped his knee. He didn't move. Michiru rolled her eyes. She sat next to him and gently patted his face. "Hey, wake up. You have to do a meet and greet in twenty minutes."

"Let me sleep for 10 minutes then," he grumbled in a sleep-laced tone.

As if fate was on Michiru's side, someone knocked on the door. "Daisuke!" Michiru scolded in a loud whisper and slapped his chest. He jolted up. He quickly stood and snapped the condom off. Michiru walked to the door, fixing her hair and dress as she went. She opened the door just enough to show half of her body, blocking the view to the rest of the room. It was a production assistant. "Hi, yes?" Michiru tried to sound as cheerful as possible.

"Oh hello," the young production assistant moved his head around trying to see past Michiru into the dressing room. Michiru didn't budge as she kept a sweet smile plastered on her face. The production assistant stuttered, "U-uh, Endo-san is due in the gallery in ten minutes for prepping." Michiru continued to smile, "I will let him know. Thank you." She closed the door and turned around. Daisuke was fastening his cumberbund around his waist.

Michiru walked back to Daisuke and began to straighten out his bow tie. "They want you in the gallery in 10 minutes," she repeated. "Mmhm," he replied. After she finished he leaned down and gave her a kiss.

"Thanks."

"No problem," she smiled as she looked up at him. "Now go wash your face, you smell like…"

"Sex?" He gave her a large grin.

"Yes, _that_. Now, go!" She gently pushed him in the direction of the bathroom so he could wash up.

She walked up to the vanity mirror and began to undo some clips in her hair. She smoothed some loose aqua strands back and re-fastened it again. Taking out her clutch, she took out a compact powder and began to reapply the makeup. She re-did her lipstick. After placing the coat of lip balm over the lipstick, she smacked her lips together a couple of times and looked at herself in the mirror. For a fraction of a moment, she didn't recognize herself.

Her overall facial features were the same however her eyes stood out the most to her. Her light blue eyes looked distant, not focused as it normally was. In fact, it didn't look like her eyes at all. It held an empty, almost sad, look. Why was she sad? Looking at herself in the mirror felt like her conscience had leapt out of her body and was staring at another person who looked like her. It greatly bothered her.

She began to frown at herself just as Daisuke walked out of the bathroom.

"Well, break time's over! Ready?" He gave her a charming smile.

The frown she held did not stay on her face as she turned her attention to Daisuke. It slipped away so quickly he didn't even know it was there before. She gave him a small smile, "Yeah, let's go."

* * *

The blonde impatiently tapped her fingers on the desk she was sitting at as she held her cell phone to her ear. She was waiting for someone to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hi Haha-chan."

"Haruka! How are you? Where are you? Are you still in Italy?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm leaving tomorrow morning for Abu Dhabi."

"Oh, ok. Don't forget to call me when you land."

Haruka chuckled and shook her head. She could never forget to call her mom. She called her every trip before take-off and after landing but her mom always insisted on reminding her as if she would forget.

"Ok! Not a problem!" She gave a salute pose even though her mom couldn't see it. She heard her mom sigh over the other line.

"I just don't want you to forget!"

Haruka laughed, "Don't worry Haha-chan! I won't forget! So, did you eat dinner yet?"

It was 11 am in Italy which meant it was 6 pm in Japan. The seven hour time difference wasn't as bad as some other time zones, the North American time zone in particular was rough.

"I was eating when you called." Although inconvenienced, her mother didn't hold a tone of annoyance. She actually sounded relieved to hear from her daughter.

"Sorry. Did you want me to get off the phone? I can call you tomorrow," Haruka offered.

"No, no, it's okay." Haruka heard clinking of dishes in the background. She heard chewing. Her mom continued eating while on the phone.

"Okay."

Silence fell over the phone except for the sound of chewing. Haruka began to think about possible conversation topics. She drew a blank.

Her mother spoke first, "Is this next race your last?"

"For the season," Haruka corrected.

Miho gave a grunt of disapproval, "Okay, well, just be careful."

"I will. Don't worry. I'll be back in Japan before you know it!" Haruka sounded confident and optimistic in her last sentence.

Although her daughter couldn't see it, Miho's brow and forehead creased into a frown. For some reason, she had a bad feeling. She always felt scared for Haruka before every race but this time, it was a weird sense of foreboding. No, she couldn't think like that. Shaking it off as a case of pre-race jitters she always felt for her daughter, she changed the topic. "Did you eat yet today?"

"I had a piece of fruit this morning but I'm having lunch with a couple of the test drivers in an hour and a half."

"What are you eating? Italian food?"

Haruka chuckled, "Yes but to be more specific, it'll be Northern Italian food. Hearty, buttery and beefy."

"It sounds fattening," Miho said with a hint of disapproval.

Haruka laughed, "A little but I think I'll be okay. It's nothing running can't fix plus, I still have one more race so I can't gorge myself. I still have to be able to fit into my cockpit! And speaking of which," Haruka started, "What are you going to cook for me as my welcome back meal?"

Although it does not seem like it, Haruka wasn't a _foodie_ person. She didn't really have much of a choice when she travelled to different circuits. However, the only place she would be a _foodie_ is at home, eating a home-cooked meal. She was her mom's biggest fan.

Miho gave her daughter a loud dramatic sigh, "You're not even home yet and you want to know what I will cook for you? You are too much, Tenou Haruka! We will see when the time comes closer. You'll be back on the 25th, right?" Miho walked over to a calendar pinned to the wall.

There was a pause from the blonde, "That's what I actually wanted to talk to you about."

Miho felt a quick pang of worry. "Why? What happened?"

I was supposed to be back on the 25th but since it's the last race, the team boss wants us to fly back to Italy for one last meeting to go over the season. So, I will be flying back to Italy for a couple of days after the race. I'll be on a plane on Thursday, the 27th to go home."

"When do you arrive?"

"Friday at 7 am."

"What day is your race?"

"Six days from now on Sunday."

Miho finished scribbling on the calendar with a red pen, capped her pen and sighed. She was slightly disappointed to find out her daughter wouldn't be home sooner. Although Haruka no longer lived under the same roof as Miho, she always felt a sense of relief to know her daughter was within reach in Japan. She always felt anxiety when Haruka was working overseas.

Haruka, sensing her mother's hesitation, decided to take the conversation back to her original concern, "We will talk about my 'Celebratory' dinner next Tuesday then."

"Celebratory dinner?"

"Yeah, I think the 'Welcome Home' dinner should be called the 'Celebratory' dinner because I'm going to win this last race." Haruka gave a big cheeky grin into the phone.

Miho chuckled and shook her head, "Okay, okay. We will talk about it next week."

"Okay, Haha-chan, I have to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow, all right?"

"Okay. Don't forget to call me after you land!"

"Yes, I will remember. Don't worry."

"Okay, be safe!"

"I will. Bye!"

"Bye."

Haruka hit the "end" button. She stood up and stretched. Cracking her head from side-to-side, she looked back down to her phone and dialed another number.

"This is Jun."

"Yo."

"Haruka-chan? Hey! Are you in Abu Dhabi now?"

"No, not yet. I'm still in Italy. I'm flying there tomorrow."

"Nice. So, how was the engine you tested?"

"You know I can't talk to you about that."

"Oh come on! You can tell me! Who am I going to tell?"

"No, but I will tell you it was pretty fun to drive."

"Tenou Haruka knowing she drives faster than most human beings on this planet. Hm, when is that ever not fun for you?"

Haruka shrugged, "Eh, you know me too well."

"I also know you'll be back next week. When are we hanging out?"

Haruka and Jun have been friends for the last five years now. They went to the same high school as Ryouji but were associated with different cliques so they never hung out or spoke to one another. Jun thought Haruka was quiet and unapproachable. He didn't understand why girls flocked to her. He figured it was her cool and mysterious demeanor that had the girls clamoring for her. Her boyish good looks helped as well. Haruka thought Jun was too energetic for her taste.

Ryouji, Haruka's best friend, began hanging out with Jun one day, five years ago, and invited Haruka to join. Although Haruka found Jun to be exactly who she thought he was in high school, he was also very charismatic and likeable and dislikeable all at once. They became such good friends that they hung out almost every day with Ryouji.

The trio was now busy with their work and rarely has time to see each other. So if there was an opportunity to hang out, they would take advantage of it.

"Probably not until the first week of December."

"What? Why? I thought you were coming back early next week."

"No, travel plans changed. I have to come back to Italy after the race for a season debrief. I'll be back on Friday next week and I'll be staying in Oyama for the weekend."

"Damn, what the hell?"

"Ha! Yeah."

"Well, I guess I'm going to have to push your Welcome Back party."

Haruka blinked a few times, confused, "Wait, my what?"

"Welcome Back party. I was going to surprise you with a celebration at a new restaurant."

"Sounds good."

Jun's eyes went wide, "Really?!"

Jun was surprised. Haruka regularly attends big parties for marketing and networking purposes for her field of work as an F1 racer. However, she was personally not interested in big parties especially when it's thrown in her honor. She preferred smaller intimate gatherings with people she cared for. Hearing Haruka accept a party was unexpected.

"Yeah, of course," Haruka started, "As long as I can eat 6,000,000 yen worth of food and drinks on your tab."

Jun's heart jumped to his throat and stuttered, "W-What? W-Why would you say that?"

Haruka's right eye twitched, "Because I talked to TJ about the 'generous donation' you made for me on my behalf with my money…. Six million, Jun-chan, SIX MILLION YEN! Really?! Was that necessary?" Haruka went off on her friend. She made good money but this was ridiculous.

"Hey, TJ said it was good idea. Remember that art museum inci…" Jun began to defend himself but Haruka cut him off.

"Yeah, art museum 'incident,' I know but 6,000,000 yen?! That's ridiculous!"

"Ryouji was okay with it when he found out," Jun mumbled.

"Ryouji gained business ties out of it, I gained nothing," Haruka growled.

"Hm, good point," Jun said scratching his cheek thoughtfully.

Haruka tilted her head up towards the ceiling, closed her eyes and released a guttural sigh, "I hate you."

"No, you love me," Jun corrected with a smile on his face.

"You owe me."

"No, I don't."

"No, you owe me starting with my party and you paying for my meals for the next year."

Jun laughed, "okay, we'll see."

Silence fell over the line for a minute. Haruka was still trying to calm herself from her rant and Jun waiting for Haruka to collect herself.

Jun spoke again, "So, are you ready for Abu Dhabi?"

"Not yet, but I will be."

"Well, good luck with that."

"Yeah, thanks."

"Hey, listen, I gotta go. Call me when you get back."

"Don't worry, I will. After all, you do owe me money."

"I don't owe you money! I owe you a party and a few meals."

"I hate you."

"No you don't. I'll talk to you later."

"Later."

Haruka ended the call, sat down on the bed and smiled. The amount of money donated was surprising but it wasn't going to break her bank account. She just didn't like that Jun didn't tell her about the donation and had to do it behind her back. She already chewed out TJ after she confronted him about letting Jun donate on her behalf. In the end, it's going to be water under the bridge. Plus, it technically didn't come out of her personal bank account. It came out of her professional business account used for business reasons which included positive public relations.

Haruka looked down at her watch.

_Lunch time._

The blonde grabbed her jacket and left her hotel room.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone! Please R&amp;R. I salute and appreciate you. I apologize if the lemon-y part of the chapter sounded awkward. I found this chapter difficult to write. (Yes, yes, no one else should be touching Michiru that way but Haruka however it had to be written.) Also, I didn't like the flow of this chapter but can't figure out how to fix it. I'm just glad it's done!

Orchard Hall is the actual music hall where The Tokyo Philharmonic Symphony performs.

Oh, Jun, that guy.

Iroshiyan: I am also looking forward to the meet up. Thanks for keeping up. I salute you.


	9. Chapter 9: False Promise

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

\- Chapter 9: False Promise -

Steady footfalls of brown boots echoed down the grey-bricked hallway as the blonde made her way to her team's designated garage at the Yas Marina Circuit. Her hands were both loosely tucked into her faded blue jeans pockets naturally causing her body to sway confidently as she walked. She looked relaxed except for her sharp green eyes that held a glint of determination. As she neared the garage door she heard muffled voices coming from the other side.

Upon entering the garage, the scent of oil, gasoline and rubber tires filled her nostrils. A corner of her lips tugged up into a half smile. This was her domain, her home away from home. The familiar car fluid smells and echoes of clanging car parts and garage instruments always put her at ease. At the moment, the garage was quiet of any running machines and only a handful of mechanics were on site along with the race engineer, Michael Sully. They were talking amongst themselves sitting in a circle on work stools.

"Morning Mike! Guys!" Haruka tipped her head to the group of chatting men.

The group of men all wore the red and white Ferrari team suits which consisted of red and white track pants, Puma shoes and shirt with sponsor logos. They all gave the blonde their out of sync "good mornings." One man in particular, stood up and patted the blonde on the back, "Hey, Haruka! You're here early!"

Michael Sully, 41 years old, was a couple of inches shorter than Haruka. He had light brown hair combed loosely to the side, square chin covered in stubble and light blue eyes. He was from the UK. He typically wore a large red headset with a microphone piece, always talking into it during races either to the drivers, mechanics or race analysts. He was always talking. He was charismatic and charming away from the track and a fearless leader in the pit, making quick and calculated decisions during races. He was the man who evaluated the racing situation and gives feedback to help improve the driver's performance. Most of the crew liked him. Haruka looked up to him. He was well-versed in the field, always helping Haruka improve and an overall good guy.

"Am I?" The blonde looked around confused. "This is around the time I usually show up on race day."

"Haruka, you do know it's a day-to-night race today, right? The race isn't until 5:00 pm. It's only," he quickly glanced down at his watch, "7:30 in the morning. Shouldn't you be resting?"

Haruka shrugged, "Eh, you guys are here right? I don't see why I should be resting if you guys are working. Plus, I wanted to discuss some tactics with you before the race and I figured I could go over some previous race data with you."

The light brunette shook his head with a smile on his face. "I swear, sometimes I think you want my job."

"Your job? No way! It's not fast enough," Haruka gave a toothy grin.

Mike chuckled, "All right then, let's get to it." He grabbed her shoulder and turned her around towards the office.

Late November at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi felt nice. The weather was cooling down from the summer weather. It had drizzled momentarily earlier in the afternoon but now the clouds were dispersing away leaving scattered clouds drifting slowly overhead in the darkening sky. The temperature had dropped to the mid-70s as night was quickly approaching.

"Where's Alonso and Tenou?!"

Mike was shouting over the microphone of his headset as he scanned the garage looking for the #1 and #2 driver. In the back of the garage, he spotted the tall blonde and a shorter brunette man walking in his direction. They were talking and laughing.

"Hey! You two! Let's go!" Mike barked.

"Calm down, old man. We're here," the young brunette teased.

"Don't start with me Alonso, you're late," the older man growled.

"Woah, woah. Let's take a minute here," Haruka tried to calm the annoyed race engineer.

Mike took a deep breath, "Go grab your helmets and get strapped in. Formation lap is going to start soon."

The younger man gave a small salute while the blonde gave a quick nod. They both turned and began walking to their respective cars.

"What the hell was that?" The younger man asked with furrowed brows. "It's like he's got a stick up his…"

"Hey," Haruka cut him off before he could finish his sentence, "You know he's like that before every race."

"Yeah, but seriously? Every time?" The man breathed out in annoyance.

Donovan Alonso, 25 years old, and the #1 driver for Ferrari. He was born and raised in Spain. He had been racing with Ferrari one year more than Haruka which meant it, despite his age, made him her senior. He had dark brown shaggy disheveled locks. He, like Mike, had unkempt stubble on his face. With neat dark thick eyebrows, light hazel eyes and dimples when he smiled, he had a legion of female fans.

Donovan saw Haruka as one of his biggest competitors in racing and she saw the same in him. It was friendly banter and rivalry off the track but when they were both in the cockpit of their vehicles, it was game on, take no prisoners mentality. At the end of the day, regardless of the outcome of the races and words of the press, they both held the highest respect for one another. Even though Donovan held the #1 seat on the team, he admired her determination, love, respect and knowledge of the sport.

"Don't worry about him, you should be worrying about me," Haruka gave a cocky smirk.

Even though he already knew blonde's answer, he had to ask, "Why?"

"Because you're going to be standing #2 by the end of the race," Haruka beamed.

"Is that why you're in 5th position from qualifying and I'm in 3rd?"

"It's not the position at the start of the race that matters, it's the end." Haruka raised her hand in the air.

Donovan raised his up and when it clapped in the air, their thumbs hooked with each other and brought it into a grip similar to an arm wrestling grip.

"Good luck, number 2." The blonde grinned.

"Don't cry when I stand on the taller podium," the brunette retorted with a wide smile.

After letting go, they split off to their respective cars. Grabbing her helmet from one of the mechanics, she slipped it over her head and clipped on the chin strap.

Haruka climbed into the cockpit of her red F1 car. Several mechanics rushed up and began clipping her in. She eyed the hands working on the 6-point seat belt. The mechanic tugged it a few times to make sure it was secure. Another mechanic was strapping her helmet into the Head and Neck Support (HANS) system. It was a black collar that fitted over the driver's shoulders that attached itself to the driver's helmet. It restricted the movement of the head in case of an accident, reducing whiplash and other neck injuries. Lastly, another mechanic attached the steering wheel. It was covered in different colored buttons and dials with an LED screen. As soon as the steering wheel clicked into the car, the display lit up. She gave a thumb up and the mechanics departed.

She hit the red radio button, "Mike, Mike, come in, do you copy?"

A static buzz came through, "I copy you, Tenou."

A pause fell over the frequency and another small pop was heard through the ear piece, "Tenou, are you ready? Formation lap is about to begin."

During races, Mike always referred to his drivers by their last names. It gave him a serious edge in tone when he spoke to them, reminding them this was not a game.

"Does that mean it's too late to use the restroom?" Haruka couldn't resist.

"Let's do a bite point check and then get your ass to the line!" The man gritted. Haruka hit the radio button again to cut the connection and smiled. She worked with another mechanic on the clutch bite point check. As soon as she finished she followed Donovan out of the pit to the starting grid.

As the cars lined up in front and behind her, she began to turn a few of the dials to prepare for the start. She had to warm up the brakes, wheels and engine to optimum operating temperature in this lap. She watched as the light turned green and the forward pack moved ahead, she hit the gas and took off down the track. She began to hit the brake pedal with her left foot as the cars in front of her did.

Everyone was keeping their designated seating from qualifying the day before. Haruka was placed 5th while Donovan was two cars up in 3rd. During the formation or warm up lap, no one was allowed to pass or overtake other drivers ahead of them. The cars were all pacing at a good speed, accelerating and decelerating, braking hard trying to build up friction and warmth within their brakes and engines. In the last quarter of the lap, the front car began weaving side to side on the road. Everyone else behind began to do so as well. They were all warming up their tires to achieve maximum grip for the race. Cold tires won't do any good to any of the racers and could pose a danger to the driver and surrounding cars if there was a loss in traction.

Through most of the formation lap, there was chatter going off in her helmet from different mechanics watching her temperature and fluid levels. The chatter came to an end when she reached the starting grid. Re-adjusting a couple of dials, she gripped her steering wheel. If she didn't have her gloves on, she was sure her knuckles were white from the pressure she placed on gripping the wheel. She slowed her breathing to calm herself as she focused on the lights above her. The loud cheering of the stands was muted by the sound of her pounding heart.

She held down the first clutch paddle with her right middle and ring finger after she had half-pressed her left middle and ring finger over the second clutch paddle.

Her index finger hovered over the upshift paddle as she saw the first red light blinking on.

The heat in the cockpit of the car was suffocating but she barely noticed.

The second red light blinked on.

She took in a deep breath.

The third red light blinked on.

She exhaled.

The fourth light blinked on.

She turned her attention back to the road in front of her.

In her peripheral she saw the 5th and final light blink on.

She inhaled again and tightened her right leg muscle.

In the corner of her eye she saw all 5 lights turn off.

Her right foot slammed onto the gas pedal as she released the first clutch. She felt good traction under her car and released the second clutch. She began slapping the clutch and upshift paddle to 2nd, 3rd, 4th gear as her car took off the grid. The hearing in her ear slowly came back and was met with her car engine's high pitched whining as the pistons fired off behind her. Haruka had jumped up to 3rd position, cutting off Donovan. She smirked as she turned a differential knob to control tire speed and shifted down as she entered her first turn.

F1 racing really is a test of endurance and strength. This is why Haruka is always adamant on training and eating right when she wasn't on the track. The gravitational force in the vehicle can cause extreme pressure of up to five times her own body weight to crush against her making it difficult to breathe and move against. Just the braking power of a Formula 1 car could snap an untrained neck. The heat of the engine seeps through into the cockpit heating the area around the driver up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Sweat is constantly pouring down her face as she concentrates on her next turn and what knobs or buttons needed to be pushed in order for her vehicle to perform at its maximum potential while trying to breathe at the same time. She loved it.

The blonde glanced at her digital display. She was on lap 43.

_12 laps left to go…_

She was currently in 2nd place with Mercedes on her tail. She was approaching turn 7, a hairpin turn. Paddling down to 2nd gear and turning a couple of dials she dove into the turn with Mercedes right behind her. The blue Red Bull car ahead of her pulled out too wide and she took the lead. They enter a long straightaway. Now was her chance to pull ahead. Turning a couple of dials, she shoved her foot down onto the gas pedal and began paddle shifting up until she was in the highest gear.

A crackle was heard through her earpiece, "Haruka, come in."

She pushed the radio button with her thumb, "Yeah?" She shouted into her microphone. She knew she didn't have to yell but it was out of habit. The engine was loud and she was sore and tired but her adrenaline was pumping. It caused her to put a lot of energy into everything she was doing, including talking or in her case, yelling.

"I need you to dial down your fuel intake before turn 8." He didn't explain further. He didn't tell her if her fuel was low or if she needed to come in for a pit stop. She trusted Mike's decision. She knew he'd let her know when to come in if she needed to.

"Roger that." Just then she hit a bump and it felt like a small chunk came off her tire because now her whole car was vibrating from the unevenness of her tires.

"Crap…" she grunted.

"Mike, come in."

"Go for Mike."

"Mike, I need to come in for tires."

"Roger that."

She cut the radio line and hit the "pit" button to alert the pit she was coming in.

Although she was now driving rough, it didn't slow her down as much as she expected. She was approaching turn 8, a sharp left, and dialed down the fuel intake as she down shifted from 7 to 2. As she entered the turn, she hit a patch of marbled debris on the track.

"Shit!" she cursed as she fought the violently shaking steering wheel to keep her car in control.

It was too late. She had slid to the outer lane of the track. She saw a silver car shoot past her on the inside track. Luckily, she was able to gain traction again and veered back in front of the Red Bull car nearly missing him. She gained on the silver Mercedes in front as they approached turn 9, a hard right.

Everything from that moment on played in slow motion through her eyes. The Mercedes' front two tires blew out. The force of the blow out caused the tires to detach from the vehicle itself but because it was rope tethered to the car, they were now flailing wildly around by the ropes. Her eyes went wide as the scene began to unfold in front of her.

She slammed on her brakes and tried down shifting but it was too late. She was too close. The front of her car slammed into the back of the Mercedes causing a part of the front end of her car to disintegrate and wedge under the Mercedes. She felt the back of her car start to lift but then felt another impact from behind. The Red Bull car was also tailing too close, smashing into the back of Haruka's car. Instead of the blonde's car going airborne, a large shadow casted over her. The Red Bull car lifted over her car and flew in front of her colliding on top of the silver car and continued to flip off into a barrier of tires. Her car began to slide into a side retaining wall on the left which then ricocheted to the right in a fast spin. As she spun towards the dirt patch on the side of the track her tires hit something hard. The tremendous force behind the car caused her car to barrel roll. She saw a kaleidoscope of night sky, track lights, dirt and track asphault swirl into one blur.

_Haha-chan is going to be so pissed._

**"Haruka-chan, what you do is dangerous… It just takes one accident to change all of that!" **

**"Listen, nothing is going to happen to me… There's no need to worry about me getting into accidents."**

**"No, you can't promise me that… Don't make false promises."**

_I'm a liar. I'm no better than…_

She didn't finish that train of thought. Everything went black. She couldn't see but she could hear a distant steady sound. She took a moment to listen. It was a distant thumping.

_What is that?_

It got louder.

_It sounds like a… a heartbeat_

She listened to it closely.

_It sounds so fast._

The heartbeat she felt was thumping loud, hard and fast but she felt completely calm and relaxed. Her aching shoulders, neck, abdomen, forearms and legs were now numb. Her hand grip was lax.

_This feels nice. I can stay like this forever._

She stayed still until she heard another distant sound coming through other than her heart beat. It was a man's voice. It sounded slightly panicked. Another man's voice was also heard, overlapping the first man's voice. As if her consciousness was rammed back into her body, suddenly every part of her body was throbbing in pain, she couldn't breathe, choking on thick black smoke and the distant voices became clear as day.

Her head piece crackled, "… you hear me?! Haruka! Haruka! Come in! Get the fuck out of the car! Do you copy?! Haruka!"

Her head was held up by the HANS system strapped to her helmet. She tilted her head slightly up to see what was happening. Thick black smoke swirled all around her, and she made out three men in white jersey vests had surrounded her as they were quickly detaching her car seat.

_Race marshals? What's going on?_

She didn't know what was happening, she was confused but she did know one thing. It felt hot. Burning hot.

The marshals pulled her out still restrained to the car seat so they didn't jostle her spine. They didn't know the extent of her injuries and didn't want to cause any unnecessary movement that could potentially cause more harm. The driver seat was form fitted to that specific driver for ultimate support of the body, especially when they were involved in an accident. The seat almost became the perfect stretcher because it was molded to the driver's body and the drivers seated position in their formula 1 car was almost prone.

The next statement proved to confuse her more as she heard cursing and suddenly she felt herself being dropped and caught before hitting the floor.

"Shit! Put him out! Put him out!"

She saw a thick white fog float past her helmet's visor. She looked up seeing her red track suit pants were covered in thick white foam. She noticed the edges were scorched black. She turned her head slightly to catch a glimpse of her car past the group of people now carrying her away from the accident. The whole front of her car was also scorched black covered in splotches of thick white foam where fire extinguishers were sprayed.

She felt herself being placed on the ground. A couple of men in a yellow uniform with silver reflectors now hovered over her. They were pushing and prodding her body. Nodding to each other that it was safe to disengage her from her seat, they undid her restraints and pulled her helmet off her head.

The blonde's face was smudged with black streaks from the smoke and her sweat mixing, and her eyes were bloodshot red and barely open. One of the men in the yellow uniform was now directly above her face. He was shouting something. She slowly blinked as he held a flashlight to her eye, flicking it to and away to check for pupil dilation. He was shouting again. She couldn't hear his voice. She wanted to answer him but couldn't. Why was she here? What happened? Why wasn't her body responding to her? She felt a ball of cold swirl in her lower back shoot up her spine spreading a light tingling sensation behind her ears then wrapping around her eyes. She felt sleep overtake her as her eyes rolled to the back of her head and passed out.

* * *

Michiru was silently enjoying herself as she played Monti Czardas while Daisuke sat off to the side in the music room looking over the songs he had to practice for the different orchestras he would be performing with in the next month. Daisuke had just finished performing with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra this past week. He would be playing with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra next week.

As Michiru pushed and pulled the bow across the strings, one snapped with a horrible twang. Michiru grimaced against the sound and pulled her chin away from her violin, looking at the curled string. Daisuke looked up as well with a questioning look.

"Sorry, the string snapped," Michiru apologized.

"It's okay. The tension was probably too high on it," Daisuke concluded as he looked back down at the papers in front of him.

"Yeah, maybe," she quietly replied.

"We can take it to the shop and have it re-strung again tomorrow."

"Okay."

Michiru frowned as she placed the violin back into its case. She ran her fingers tenderly across the polish wood grain of the instrument. She didn't understand why the string broke. It was just re-strung last week and had been playing with it every day. If the tension was too high, it would have snapped a while ago. Something didn't feel right. She felt a cold sense of dread in the pit of her stomach but couldn't figure out where this sudden sensation came from. She shuddered and wrapped her arms around her waist and looked up at Daisuke.

She walked over to him and looked over his shoulder at the paperwork in his lap. She leaned down and circled her arms around his neck.

"I think it's time to go to bed," she whispered into his ear.

Daisuke didn't look up. "Hm? No, I have to look over this to make sure I can schedule all of this in."

"You can do that tomorrow morning. Why don't you come entertain me for a while?" She purred.

Daisuke perked up to this proposal. He turned around and smiled at Michiru as she placed a kiss on his lips. "Daisuke-kun, you can do this tomorrow." She reached down and pushed the papers off his lap and replaced it with her own body as she curled up on him. She pressed her lips hard against his as he hungrily reciprocated. Daisuke began fighting for dominance over the petite violinist, happily surprised by her forwardness. As Daisuke pushed harder against her, Michiru silently hoped it was enough to push away the apprehension she felt in her stomach and heart.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone! Thanks for reading! I hope everyone had a good weekend. Please R&amp;R! I salute you if you do! Also, reviews are always a good way to better the story in terms of pacing etc. Also, I lied. The "meet up" might happen in Chapter 12. Chapter 10 is too long for my taste and I might have to split it. Sorry folks! We'll, see if it will be one or a two-part chapter. Seriously, 1000 bows of apology.

I know I wanted to keep F1 terms to a minimum but it was difficult. I hope I was able to able to thoroughly explain each thing. I think the only term I didn't go into detail about was the "clutch bite point check." It just means they were calibrating where the friction point was on the car for each clutch. Yeah, F1 cars have TWO clutches. Crazy.

Also, if you ever get a chance to look at a F1 steering wheel, it is nuts. It is the main control center for EVERYTHING on the car. I was impressed.

I also did some research into Formula 1 racing. I don't think I was as thorough as I would have liked so if I wrote a discrepant fact, please let me know. I have 155431561 times more respect for the world of F1 racing after looking more into it. Those drivers have to be tough as nails to drive those cars. I read somewhere in a race, the driver loses an average of 1,600 calories! I also read or watched somewhere else that the amount of pressure they'd have to press on the gas pedal is equivalent to more-or-less 110 pounds. Damn, go Haruka.

If you couldn't put the two together, Haruka's accident happened around the same time as the violin snap. I know, it's cliché. Also, in the last chapter, both events happened within 24 hours of one another: between Michiru attending Daisuke's concert and Haruka's phone calls. I forgot to mention that earlier.

Me (guest): Ha! I don't know if he will spontaneously combust but I'll see what I can do. Thanks for keeping up! I salute you!


	10. Chapter 10: New Promises (Part 1)

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

\- Chapter 10: New Promises (Part 1) -

The elevator always moved too slowly for the blonde's taste. She was leaning against the back wall of the elevator with one hand tucked in her jeans pocket and the other holding a box of pastries as it slowly made its way to the 14th floor. Her green eyes watched the bright LED screen of floor numbers tick up. It was going to be another long day. Her neck was still stiff from the previous days here. She groaned at the thought of sitting in that rigid uncomfortable chair alone. A single bell chime signaled the arrival to her floor. She pushed off the wall and walked out of the elevator.

She entered a long hallway. The upper half of the walls was sky blue while the lower half was white. She began walking down the hallway on auto-pilot. She had walked these halls many times before. She didn't expect herself to ever become familiar with a place like this. She hated it. The fluorescent lights above lit the hallways and rooms with its artificial light giving it an unnaturally white glow. The air held a sickly sterile smell. The floor she was currently navigating was unnervingly quiet. Not too many people walked around except for the staff and a few visitors. When people talked, it was in hushed tones.

She made a right turn and kept walking. Maybe today would be different. Maybe she could finally make eye contact and tell him how she felt. She stopped at a set of locked closed doors. She pushed a button on the side. She looked up and saw a video camera.

A voice came through the small box the button was on, "Yes, how can I help you?"

"Tenou, room 15."

She heard the door click open and a soft motorized hum as the door automatically swung open. She walked through and turned right. She approached a small counter on the left.

Two women looked up at her and smiled. "Good morning, Tenou-kun."

Haruka flashed a smile. "Good morning." She lifted the box of pastries and set it on the counter. "For all of you today."

The women's smile grew wider, "Oh! Thank you! You didn't have to!"

"I wanted to. I'll see you later." She smiled.

She continued walking and stopped in front of a light brown door with a small black sign that read "15."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Today was day twelve but it already felt like weeks. She opened her eyes and eyed the silver door handle in front of her. Her lips set in a thin line. She turned the handle and pushed it open.

She looked up and found the room was dim. Directly in front of her was a large bed with her father in it. He was much thinner than he used to be. His once clean-cut, thick, golden blonde hair was now buzzed, dull and thinning. He had a tube taped to his mouth to help him breathe, and IV running out of his right arm and several other wires taped to him to monitor his heart and other vitals. The blanket was pulled up to his chest but both of his arms were laid outside of the blanket. Both sides of the bed were surrounded by different monitors. A steady beeping noise that imitated the beating of his heart was accompanied by the sound of his steady machine-driven breathing. It echoed flatly through the room. It had hurt Haruka that her dad, this strong independent man, was dependent on a machine to help him breathe. It caused a dull pain in her chest every time she looked at him.

Her gaze fell on a sleeping form in a chair next to the bed. Haruka quietly walked up to the chair. She reached down and laid her hand on a small shoulder.

"Haha-chan," she softly spoke, "Haha-chan, wake up."

Her mom slowly turned her head up and looked up at her daughter with tired dark green eyes. They looked so sad.

Haruka internally winced at the sight in front of her but gave her mom a small smile. "Haha-chan, I'm here. You should go back to the hotel."

"Haruka-chan?" Her mom sat up and stretched a little and looked at her dad. She watched her mom as her tired eyes fell blankly from her dad to the floor.

Haruka wondered what her mom was thinking about. Her mom had been more withdrawn and distant since her dad was induced into a coma. It worried Haruka because she knew a human being could only hold so much hurt and emotion in before it began to eat away at their physical and mental health.

After a moment, Miho looked up at her daughter, "What time is it?"

"Mm, 7 o'clock," the blonde replied.

"Why did you come so early? You should have slept another few hours."

Haruka couldn't do that. Her mother had been staying the night with her dad every night and did not sleep when she went back to the hotel. Her mom still had to work. She was a sales and distribution manager for one of the local farms in Oyama. She was always on the phone and on her laptop dealing with her employees and clients. She was always busy. The only rest she received was when she allowed herself to sleep in the hospital but Haruka knew that was difficult and rare. She knew her mother's worry and rampant thoughts of their current situation did not allow her to sleep. If her mom was lucky enough to stop all the thoughts and worry long enough to close her eyes to sleep, she had to fight with the chair to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

_Goddamn chair…_

Before her father became sick, her mother easily looked twenty years younger than her actual age. After her father was diagnosed with liver cancer, her looks caught up to her age. She had also lost a terrible amount of weight. Her mother was naturally short and petite, now she was looking malnourished and frail. She never had an appetite to eat. Haruka didn't blame her though. She didn't have much of an appetite to eat either.

"I thought I could come earlier so you could get a little rest in the hotel bed before you started work," Haruka answered in a soft voice.

Miho just gave her a thankful smile but Haruka knew her mother wouldn't be sleeping when she got back to the hotel room. They were currently at the Cancer Institute Hospital in Tokyo and had to stay at a local hotel because they could not commute back and forth from Oyama. It would have been almost a two hour commute each way every day.

"Come on, Haha-chan, I'll walk you to the lobby."

"No, you stay here with your Otou-san."

"Chichi will be fine. I'll only be gone for 10 minutes."

They made their way down to the lobby. Haruka walked her mom all the way to the front sliding doors.

"Okay, I'll see you later tonight, okay? Be good Haruka-chan." Her mother placed a hand on Haruka's cheek and smiled.

Haruka smiled back at the loving gesture.

"I'll see you later." Haruka leaned down and hugged her mom. At that moment, the blonde felt like this woman was the only anchor of love and trust she had left in the world causing her to tighten her grip on her mom. She bitterly swallowed a lump that was starting to form in her throat. She didn't want to cry in front of her mom.

Miho lightly patted the tall blonde's back, signaling for the hug to end. As the short raven-haired woman turned away, Haruka remembered something, "Oh! Haha-chan!" Miho turned her head to look at her with a questioning look.

"I bought pastries and there should be a small box of it in the hotel room. You can eat it for breakfast."

Miho gave a thankful smile, "Okay, thank you. I'll see you later."

Haruka raised her hand to wave her bye but her mom had already turned around and walked away. Her hand hung in the air a few moments longer as she watched her mom's back fade away into the streets of Tokyo. She knew her mom won't eat the pastries. She knew when she went back to the hotel later that night, she would find the box untouched and it made her upset. She wasn't upset with her mom because she understood how she felt. She was just upset at this whole situation that not only did her dad suffer but her and her mom had to suffer emotionally and physically as well. Her hand dropped and curled into a tight fist as she felt anger rush over her. Her vision began to blur as her eyes burned from holding back tears.

Just then her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. She let it buzz a couple of more times as she wiped her eyes and took in a deep breath before she fished the small phone from her pocket and picked up.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Moshi moshi?" American-laced Japanese came across the other line.

Confused, she answered in English, "Um, hello?"

"Haruka?"

"Yes?"

"Hey Haruka! It's TJ! How are you?"

TJ was her new agent she signed with eight months ago.

"Hey TJ. What's going on?"

TJ noticed the flat and irritated-tinged voice. "I'm sorry, is this a bad time?" He knew what was happening with her dad and didn't want to bother her but he had to tell her the news he just received.

"Uh, no, no, it's not a bad time. What's up?"

The man paused for a moment, "Well, I wanted to let you know I just got off the phone with Ferrari and they're interested in signing you for next season."

The blonde froze. She couldn't believe what she just heard. "W-What? But I-I t-thought they didn't discuss next year's drivers until late winter early spring," she stuttered. It was only mid-October.

TJ chuckled, "Well, looks like Ferrari is getting a head start. I don't know how the FIA will look at this but that's what they said. They want their test driver on the team. Now, listen, don't get too excited yet. I'm waiting for them to send me the paperwork. As soon as I get it, I'll take it straight to you in person."

Haruka couldn't speak. This was her dream. This was her dream since childhood. Since her days sitting in the passenger seat of her dad's Firebird roaring through rural streets. Then a cold sinking feeling began stir in her stomach. All of her shock and elation had turned into dread.

She didn't know where she was going to be in six days, six weeks, and much less six months when she would have to head to Italy. She didn't know what her father's condition would be and how her mom would handle it. If her dad made it, she would stay to help her mom take care of her dad. If her dad didn't, she'd want to stay for her mom as emotional support. Either way, she would have to stay for her mom.

Suddenly, she wanted to cry again. Her dreams were in her hands and she had to choose between her dreams and her family. It wasn't fair. Haruka slowly ran her fingers through her hair. She didn't know what to do.

"Hello? Hello? Haruka? What the hell? Did the call drop?" TJ began cursing when he thought he had lost connection to his client.

"No, I'm still here. Sorry. Just… processing the information."

"Well, kid, I'm going to let you process it on your own. I just wanted to let you know what's going on. Do you have any questions?"

Haruka numbly shook her head.

Even though TJ couldn't see her reaction, he took her silence as a 'no.'

TJ tried to give her shallow comfort, "Hey, I hope your family is doing okay. Let me know if you need anything all right? I hope your dad gets better."

"Yeah, thanks and thanks for the news. Let me know if there are any more updates." Haruka sounded dazed.

"Yeah, talk to you later kiddo."

"Bye."

The call ended.

Haruka stood in the lobby of the hospital staring at the off-white hospital tiles in front of her.

A little while later she found her way back to room 15. The nurse had turned on the lights in the ICU room.

Haruka shut the door behind her and dragged her feet to the same chair her mom had tried sleeping in earlier and fell into it. She stared at her dad's unmoving comatose face. She sat up and placed her elbows on her knees, leaning forward.

The longer she sat and stared at her dad, the angrier she became. She was angry at everything this man did. She folded her hands in front of her face as she watched him, seething in her rising rage.

_Open your eyes, open your eyes, open your eyes, open your eyes, OPEN YOUR EYES! OPEN YOUR FUCKING EYES!_

The voice in her mind was deafening. A low guttural voice spoke out loud between clenched teeth as if the voice in her head could not contain her thoughts any longer, "Open. Your. Eyes." She didn't even recognize her own voice but she didn't care. She was angry. She stood up quickly, knocking her chair over from her swift movement. She leaned over her father's face.

"Why won't you open your eyes? I want you to look at me when I talk to you! Look at me! Look at me! Who said you could do this to us?! Who are you to do that to her?! To me?! Don't run away from us! Answer me! Answer me…" Her last statement was choked by a sob. Her hands clenched at the blankets below her. Her knuckles white. She began sobbing.

"You fucking bastard. You fucking cheating bastard."

She shut her eyes when she said those words to him. As much as she wanted her dad to look at her when she said those words, she realized she couldn't look at him either. She was angry at him. She hated him. She hated him for his infidelity. She hated him for treating her mom the way he did at the end before _this_ happened. She hated him because her mom was hurt but still loved him. She hated him because her and her mom's life now revolved around him and was at his mercy. What she hated most was herself. No matter how mad she was at him, she still loved him. She wanted to hate him and to a certain extent, did. She was so torn. Her chest and heart physically ached from this confliction.

She opened her water-filled eyes half-hoping to see blue ones look back but didn't. Her dad was lying in the same position, breathing in the same pattern, with the same heart beat sounding off. She backed away from his bed, taking in slow deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves. After a few minutes, she straightened out his bed sheets, righted her chair, sat back down and wiped her tear-stained eyes and cheeks. She watched him in silence again. She mulled over her thoughts while she did so.

She finally spoke up again, this time it wasn't angry, it was void of emotion.

"TJ called. He said Ferrari wants to sign me as a driver." She leaned forward again. "Did you hear me old man? I'm going to be a Formula 1 driver. I told you I'd be able to do it." She smirked with empty eyes.

The blonde leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. Her smirk had spread into a content smile.

_I told you. I told you I'd be able to do it. No, not just able… I WILL do it._

As she reveled in her victory, she calmly listened to the steady beeping and breathing coming from her dad. Exhausting all of her emotional and physical energy in her short sobbing tirade, she was lulled to sleep by the repetitious sounds.

Beep beep… beep beep… beep beep… beep beep… beep beep… beep beep…

The blonde was stirring.

_Ugh, what the hell?_

Haruka was waking up but could not understand where this pounding headache was coming from.

_Goddamn chair. I knew I shouldn't have fallen asleep in this chair._

She tried lifting her hands to the armrest to push herself up from her seat but a sharp pain shot down her shoulder to the tips of her fingers.

"Argh!" She grunted trying to bite down on the pain.

_Ow! What the flying hell?!_

Every part of her brain was firing off warnings telling her not to move.

Suddenly, a deep voice broke her thoughts, "Haruka-chan?"

_Chi Chi-chan!?_

"Chi Chi-chan?" Her voice was raspy and her throat was immensely dry. She began to wonder how long she had been asleep. If her dad was awake, she had to call her mom.

"No, but you can call me 'daddy' any day."

The blonde's brow knit into a frown, _that voice… sounds familiar._

Slowly, she opened her eyes. The room was bright. She grimaced at the light. As her eyes began to focus, she saw she was in bed. To her left was a smiling face. She squinted. She saw light blue eyes looking back at her.

"Jun?" she whispered in a hoarse voice. She began to cough.

"Woah! Don't talk yet. Let me get you some water." Jun stood up and walked out of the room for a moment and came back with a small cup of water. She tried lifting her left hand to grab the cup when the same sharp pain shot down her arm again and she winced.

"Hey, don't move either! Here." Jun pushed a button on the side of the bed to help lift Haruka in an almost sitting position. He stopped as soon as she looked uncomfortable and lowered it a bit to help adjust for comfort. He lifted the cup to her dry lips and let her sip a little water. It burned as it made its way down her throat. Haruka made a face.

"Feels like drinking acid," the blonde choked.

Jun smiled and put the cup down. Haruka looked around. She saw her forearms, shoulder and hands were wrapped. There was a dull pain in her ribs. She could feel her neck was wrapped in a brace. She had an IV drop going through her left arm as well.

She turned her eyes to Jun, "What-What happened?"

Jun gave her a puzzled look. "You don't remember?"

She pushed her lips up and slightly shook her head.

"Oh, man, Haruka-chan…" Jun placed his elbows on his knees, leaned forward and ran his hands through his dark brown hair.

The man looked tired, the blonde noted. He had bags under his eyes, he had long stubble from not shaving but that could have been from his usual laziness and his overall body posture sagged. He looked completely opposite of his usual energetic, straight-backed self. Haruka lifted a brow, waiting for an explanation.

Jun took his glasses off and placed it on his lap. He rubbed his eyes with his palms and looked up at her. "You don't remember ANYTHING? Nothing?" He slipped his black-rimmed glasses back on.

Now Haruka was getting worried. Was she supposed to remember something? She didn't know. Why was she here? Where was here? What was happening? She wanted all of these questions answered.

"No, I-I don't."

"What was the last thing you remember happening?"

Haruka took a moment to ponder. The last thing she remembered was sitting in front of her dad which of course didn't happen because it was a dream, no, a memory of the past.

_What happened before?_

She stopped then began, "I-I remember calling you in Italy, then…" She paused.

"Yeah, and then?" Jun tried to reel out more from the blonde.

"I-I, Oh! I went to Abu Dhabi!"

"Yes, and then?"

"I was in the garage with Mike and the guys… Mike was pissed Donovan and I were running late and then…"

Jun didn't say anything but gave her a look to continue. Haruka's eyes shifted back and forth trying to dig into the dark corners of her memory for what happened next. Her brows knitted together.

"I-I was strapped in, did a bite point check and, and did a formation lap…"

Jun sat patiently as he carefully watched his friend try to unfold what had happened to her.

"The lights counted down and-and-and…"

Jun saw Haruka was struggling to pull anymore out.

"That's it, that's all I remember. I don't remember anything else." She had a frustrated look on her face from not being able to remember what had happened. She looked up to Jun for answers.

Jun looked away and sighed. He really did not want to recount to her what happened the other day. He was in London watching the race in his hotel room with some friends and business partners. They were all having a good time until they saw her car crash, spin out, flipped and caught fire. The loud cheering room turned deathly quiet as he watched the front of his best friend's car burst into flames. For a moment he thought it was a joke or someone had changed the channel to a movie about F1 racing because the images on the screen were surreal.

_Get out. Get out! Haruka! Get out!_

He walked closer to the TV. "Shit, come on, get out of the car. Get out of the car Haruka," he began mumbling. It almost sounded like a silent desperate prayer. He had hoped she heard him but when he realized there was no movement from the car, he began screaming at the TV.

He knew about safety protocol. All drivers were expected to be able to release themselves from their harness and safety straps in 5 seconds or less.

It had been almost thirty seconds. He saw people in white mesh safety vests rush out towards the car. Race marshals. Two marshals had fire extinguishers trying to quell the fire in the front while three others were trying to pull Haruka out. After what felt like a very long time, they pulled his friend out of the car. He breathed out a sigh of relief but was cut short with a choked gasp. She was on fire. The marshals almost dropped her from the flames but were able to lower her down as gently as they could as another marshal ran up and doused it.

The image cut away to the Red Bull car. The commentator said the driver was able to get out of his car on his own. When they shot to the Mercedes, it was also in flames but the driver was also able to escape on his own.

Of course it was Haruka who had to be in the worst of the wreck. Not that Jun would have had her situation fall upon anyone else. He just thought it would have been better if nothing happened at all. And with great misfortune, this had fallen upon her on the season's last race.

An hour after witnessing the accident he was shuttled to the airport and walking towards his private jet. He flew straight to Abu Dhabi from London. He was in the hospital by her side in six hours.

He finally looked up and met her waiting gaze. He was slightly surprised to see sharp attentive emerald eyes staring back at him. It made him flinch. He thought she'd still be groggy or hazy from the medication.

"You were in an accident."

Haruka's calm was broken into a frown. "Oh, really? You don't say? Want to tell me something I don't know like HOW the accident happened?" Every word dripped with sarcasm. The blonde's patience had snapped.

Jun could only chuckle at her classic reaction. The brunette proceeded to tell Haruka what he had seen on television. After he was done, she just stared at the wall ahead of her. She still drew a blank. She couldn't corroborate Jun's story with her memory because she didn't have any recollection of it which slightly frustrated her but at the same time was thankful for. She could imagine this was her body's way of defending her from mental and emotional trauma. The last thing she wanted was to be too scared to drive an F1 car again.

"I have another question."

The brunette turned to her; apparently he was in his own little world as well before she broke the silence.

"What?"

"What's the extent of my injuries? Will I be able to race again?"

Jun's eyes went wide which concerned Haruka for a moment until he slapped himself on the forehead.

"Oh man! You're awake! I should go get the doctor!"

Haruka's concern turned into a headshake and chuckle which exploded into full on laughter. The laughing didn't last very long since a hard sharp pain in her ribs knocked the wind out of her. She grunted and tried to grab her sides which caused more pain in her arms. Suddenly she was scared. Every part of her body was in severe pain. Was she going to be able to drive an F1 car again?

Jun stood up to get a nurse or doctor, whomever he could find first. Just as he reached the door, he heard a commotion on the other side: muffled yelling and crying. Instinct kicked in. Jun backed away from the door.

Haruka already knew the fury that was behind that door and silently cursed to herself.

"Damnit Jun, you didn't tell me Hah-"

The door to her room burst open and a short petite raven-haired woman with wide bloodshot puffy green eyes stood at the doorway. Her eyes quickly scanned the room skimming over Jun with deer-caught-in-the-headlights look and an awakened Haruka.

Miho rushed over to her daughter. Ryouji and TJ walked in behind her. "Haruka-chan!" Miho grabbed Haruka's hand and pulled her into a hug. The blonde winced at her mother's action. Her body screamed in pain but she didn't care. If it made her mom feel better to hold her, she'd hold her.

A throat cleared in the room pulling everyone's attention towards the open door. "Miss, I wouldn't do that if I were you." An older man half a head shorter than Ryouji walked in. He was wearing a white coat, light blue dress shirt and dress pants. Haruka whispered to her mother. Miho moved away from Haruka but still held her hand.

"Good afternoon, my name is Dr. Samara. Ms. Tenou, I see you are awake." Haruka, through her neck brace, slightly nodded.

"Jun-chan, please ask the doctor how Haruka-chan is!" Miho pleaded, unable to speak English to the doctor. Jun nodded and spoke up. "Dr. Samara, how is Haruka? I mean, what is the extent of her injuries?"

Everyone in the room quieted as they waited for the doctor's response. The doctor lifted an electronic tablet up, swiped and tapped the screen a few times.

"Let's see. Well, Ms. Tenou, I must say, you are very lucky." He looked up at Haruka. "At the speed you were travelling when the crash happened and all the tumbling your car took, it's a good thing you were in the seat of a F1 car and not a normal road car."

Haruka didn't look surprised because she wasn't. She knew the F1 monocoque, the shell surrounding the driver, was sturdy and could withstand a pounding. Had she been in the same accident in a regular road car, she was sure she would have been killed instantly the moment the car hit the retaining wall.

The doctor continued, he pointed to her head, neck, and chest "You sustained a concussion, whiplash, dislocated left shoulder but we relocated it for you, and two fractured ribs."

He pointed towards her blanket-covered legs, "you also have first degree burns on both of your legs. Don't worry; those burns are more like sunburns. Luckily you were wearing a three-layer Nomex suit. You were burning long enough for it to reach the third layer. If your suit was on fire any longer, the burns would have been more severe."

The doctor took a deep breath before he continued, "Lastly, you have some minor cuts on your forearms and hands from the roll and various minor bruises on your legs, body and arms. Again, Ms. Tenou, very lucky it wasn't more severe," the doctor finished.

Jun had been leaning into Miho's ear quietly translating what the doctor was saying.

Haruka grunted between clenched teeth, "fantastic," still in throbbing pain.

"Any questions for me, Ms. Tenou?"

"Yeah. Will I be able to race again?" It was the only real question she had on her mind after Jun explained what had happened.

The doctor looked surprised, and then let out a short chuckle, "Yes, Ms. Tenou, you will be able to race again but not so soon! You need to let your injuries fully heal if you don't want any of it to bother you later."

"And how long would that take?"

"The burns should take about week, the ribs will take three to six weeks, the whiplash about a week and the shoulder is good but you would need to attend physical therapy to build up your strength and ligament tension to keep it from popping out again."

"So, more or less 6 weeks, right?"

"Yes, I'd say…"

"Haruka-chan! No! Stop!" Miho cut in sharply, "That is enough!" Tears brimmed along her angry eyes as she glared at her daughter. She squeezed the blonde's hand a little tighter in her own. "You will not discuss going back with the doctor yet! Not after all this happened to you!"

Haruka was speechless. She felt bad for causing her mother so much pain and yet anger that she might lose her dream over this accident. Her eyes narrowed and turned towards the doctor. "Thank you, doctor, for the update. Could you please give us a minute?"

The doctor nodded his head, "Of course. I'll send your nurse in about an hour to check on you." The doctor turned around and left the room.

"Guys?" All the men in the room turned their eyes towards the blonde in bed. "Could you also give us a minute?"

TJ opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. Haruka glared at him. She knew he wanted to protest and talk her mom about allowing the blonde to continue racing. She knew this was not the time. She would do it her way. He shut his mouth and followed the other two out the door. With a small click of the door shutting, the two Tenou women were left alone.

Uncomfortable silence enveloped the room for a few minutes. The air was tense as the two women sat trying to work out in their mind what they wanted to say to the other.

Haruka could feel her mother's hand trembling in her own. She wasn't sure if it was from anger with the accident, sadness that Haruka was hurt in a hospital bed, or joy she was alive. It could have been a mix of all those emotions.

Haruka felt those same emotions except for joy. It wasn't that she wasn't happy to be alive, she was but that wasn't an emotion she'd describe how she felt at that moment. She knew her mom was going to talk to her about quitting Formula 1 racing. She wanted the blonde to give up her dream, her passion. Haruka couldn't… No, wouldn't let that happen. It was her life. It was her decision. She clenched her other hand into a fist. She wasn't going to let her mom stop her, she promised herself.

A tender voice broke her thoughts, "Haruka-chan?"

Haruka was surprised by the gentleness of how her mom said her name. It was completely opposite of the angry one she had barked out earlier. The blonde didn't know if it was genuine or a lure to ease her nerves before Miho tried to persuade her away from F1 racing. Haruka tried to keep a defense barrier up as she replied, "Hm?"

The older Tenou audibly exhaled a sigh, "Haruka-chan, Haruka-chan, look at me."

Haruka turned her eyes to find soft loving dark green eyes look into her similar greens. Haruka's brow knitted in confusion.

Miho let out a tired chuckle at her daughter's facial expression. "Oh, Haruka-chan." Miho paused and looked down, away from Haruka. "I'm not going to ask you to stop."

Haruka's brow furrowed deeper. _What? Is this some kind of trick?_

"W-wait, _what_?" The blonde huskily stuttered.

"I'm not going to ask you to stop." Her mom repeated. "I won't ask you to stop racing because I know no matter what I say, you're still going to go do it. You're stubborn, like your Otou-san. So I won't ask you to stop. It's like asking you to stop breathing, am I right?"

Miho looked up to her daughter for a response to find Haruka's face in complete shock. She gave her daughter a small sad smile as Haruka slowly digested what her mom had just told her. The blonde was so busy coming up with retorts to her mom's highly probable talk about leaving F1 racing that this blindsided her. She was speechless. She felt a warm dizzy spell rise from her gut to her head. Her head spun.

_Did I hear right? She won't stop me? I can keep racing? This is unreal._

"BUT…" The single emphasized word cut through Haruka's happiness and shock, grounding her again. Of course her mom would have a condition. The blonde inwardly groaned, scared to hear what the condition was. Miho's eyes were no longer red from crying, no longer puffy, no longer tired. They were sharp green eyes with a spark of something Haruka couldn't decipher.

"You have to promise me…" Haruka tried not to flinch at the word "promise" because she was concerned she would not be able to fulfill her end of this agreement.

"You will find someone to love so much that it will be more important than F1 racing."

Haruka dumbly blinked at her mom. _What? Did I hear right? She wants me to find someone to love? What the hell kind of condition is that?_

Miho allowed her daughter to think about her words but suddenly she heard a rough dry laugh rumbling out of the blonde's mouth. Miho gave her a questioning look.

"I don't see how what I just said was funny," the raven-haired woman said in a serious tone.

Haruka's laugh was not reciprocated by her mother which caused the blonde to laugh harder and then yelp in pain. She gently clutched her chest with her somewhat good arm.

"Ss! Ow! Ow! Ow! I'm sorry Haha-chan. I thought it was funny because I already love someone," Haruka said with one eye open while the other one was reacting to the pain from her fractured ribs.

"Oh?" Miho raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's you, of course!" Haruka tried giving her mom her most charming smile which ended up looking like a goofy one.

Miho let out a small laugh. "Oh, Haruka-chan, I don't count. When I say 'someone to love,' I mean someone you will share your life with, do anything for."

"Well, I know it's not the same, but I'm kind of sharing my life with you and I would do anything for you," Haruka answered sheepishly.

"Would you stop F1 racing for me?"

Silence.

"Exactly."

Haruka looked down in shame.

Miho wearily sighed, "Listen, Haruka-chan, I know you think I've been lonely since Otou-san left. I'm not. I know you will always be there for me but I don't want you to hold back on finding someone because of me."

With some hesitation Haruka responded, "Haha-chan, you know whoever I find will probably be a woman, right? It'll never be a man."

A flicker of disappointment flashed through Miho's features, "I know, and that's okay. I don't care if it's a man or woman. As long as you're happy, I'm happy." She sounded defeated in saying those words.

Haruka's brow knitted and her lips pressed tightly into a thin line as she thought this conversation over.

The racer needed to know, "Why?" It barely left her lips in a small whisper.

Miho stayed silent.

Raising her voice a little, "Why do you want me to find someone now? You used to tell me it was better I didn't. You used to say you would rather I stay single because you didn't like the fact I liked women. Why are you telling me this now?"

Her mother tilted her head up towards the ceiling. Her gaze became unfocused and distant. "Because I realize now, even if I don't like your lifestyle, I know whoever you choose to be worthy of your love and affection will be the one to keep you alive." Miho shifted her gaze back to her daughter. "I know you won't understand what I'm saying now but this person who you haven't found yet will be the person to inspire you to live outside of your dream."

Haruka frowned as she thought over her mom's words again. Her frown only deepened when she began to realize what her mom was trying to tell her.

"So, you're telling me I can continue to race Formula 1 cars but you want me to find a love interest…"

"No, not just a love interest but a soul mate, as cheesy as that may sound. So don't start going on frivolous dates with loose women, Tenou Haruka!"

"So if you don't want me to go on dates with women, how do you expect me to find this person?" Haruka was slightly annoyed with this conversation. Her body had not stopped hurting since she woke and this conversation was not helping her pounding headache.

"You'll know when you find her," Miho simply stated.

"Okay, well, you want me to find this woman who I will completely fall for. I'm going to love her so much that she will 'inspire me to live outside of my dream?' So, you're hoping I will stop F1 racing for her? I'm sorry to burst your bubble Haha-chan but that's not going to happen. I can see myself finding this person but having this person persuade me from racing is not…"

"No, she won't persuade you. You will do it yourself. I know you, Haruka-chan."

"Ugh, can we stop talking about this? This is starting to make my headache worse."

"That's fine, but promise me, okay? If I'm wrong and you find this woman and you still want to race, then so be it. I want you to at least try to find this person, okay?"

Haruka saw the silent pleading in her mom's eyes. Her frustration slowly melted. She turned her wrist and held her hand out for her mom to take it. Miho slipped her small hands into hers. Haruka wrapped her fingers around her mom's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I promise."

Silence fell upon the pair once again. They heard footsteps pacing outside the door.

"Ne, Haruka-chan?"

"Hm?"

"How much do you want to bet the moment TJ-san comes in through that door he's going to have a whole speech prepared about how I should allow you to race?"

Haruka chuckled. "I wouldn't take that bet because I'd lose."

Both women broke out into fits of laughter at the thought of the young black haired, hazel eyed man getting on his knees pleading Miho to allow Haruka to continue racing.

The laughter broke when Haruka yelped in pain again.

"Sss! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone! Thanks for reading! Please R&amp;R! I salute you if you do!

Wow, this one took a little longer to write because I tried to type out this whole chapter in one go but found it was growing a bit long and I'm hitting a bit of writer's block in the second half of this chapter. So this chapter is going to be a two-part deal. Sorry folks, the meet-up is in Chapter 12. I know this story's foreplay is long! I hope it hasn't been terribly boring.

I know this chapter took longer than usual to push out. Hopefully, this next chapter won't be as long. I've fallen a bit behind with writing. I'm trying to grind through writer's block. Words aren't flowing out like it normally does. Bear with me folks!

Just note, the Nomex suit is a flame-resistant suit worn by a lot of racers. There are different layered suits. Haruka wore a three-layer suit which allows her to burn a little longer for longer protection.

Me (Guest): I'm not going to lie; it's a little weird I refer to you as "me." Haha! Thanks for the comment. Unfortunately, Daisuke will be around for a minute or two.

Iroshiyan: Woo! At least she's alive or else this would have been a crappy end to a Haruka/Michiru story.

Alexia (Guest): Well, hopefully you won't have to wait much longer. Just hang in there!

I salute all the readers and commenters!


	11. Chapter 11: New Promises (Part 2)

I do not own Sailor Moon.

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\- Chapter 11: New Promises (Part 2) -

Bare feet stepped gracefully on the white sand of the beach. A smile began to slowly spread across her delicate features. Michiru loved being here. She watched her feet with much interest as she kept walking. She dug her toes into the warm sand with each step. She loved the feeling. It was welcoming and soothing. The beach sand was pristine white. She looked up and saw a small pier in the distance. She silently made it a goal to walk there and back to the house.

The beach was empty because it was closed off to the public. It was her parents' private beach. Once in a while they found a trespasser or two but typically, no one crossed onto their property. A small breeze swept through ruffling her aquamarine locks and sun dress.

_I should have brought my violin with me. Today is such a nice day to play_, Michiru thoughtfully mused to herself.

Michiru cherished times like this to the fullest. She was hardly ever alone, especially now that she was dating Daisuke. This gave her a breath of fresh sea-salted air. It helped clear her mind and release any stress she might have. Although, she didn't carry too much stress these days since she's been on break. However, there was a heavy weight in the back of her mind she couldn't flush out. It was a strange nagging feeling but was easily ignored since she tried to keep herself busy. Now, however, with time to herself to think and breathe unshared air, was allowing her to contemplate this persistent bother.

Michiru walked up to the water rolling onto the beach and stood. She looked down and curled her toes into the wet packed sand below her feet. She giggled as cold water washed over her feet. She watched mesmerized by the way the water pulled back away from her ankles, rushing back to the ocean. After a few minutes, with her feet well hidden under the sand, she closed her eyes. She listened to and felt the ocean water flood her ankles accompanied with the distant squawking of sea birds. The warmth of the sun soaked through her skin warming her while the cool wind brushed against her skin and played with her hair. She smiled as she felt some of her hair tickle her face.

Her smile faded as she began to search her heart and mind for this unwanted heaviness. She felt a sinking feeling in the center of her chest. It was constantly tugging at the bottom of her heart, just above her diaphragm. She found it difficult to breathe with this sensation.

Michiru was confused. She felt like there was no balance in her life. She felt herself tipping dangerously in one direction with no weight on the other end to help level her out. She pictured herself standing on the edge of a cliff staring down into a dark precipice. The dark abyss had a gravitational pull. Her body began to fall forward. As if being jolted out of a falling dream, her heart jumped making her visibly twitch causing her eyes to shoot open.

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she stared out at the blue ocean. She frowned at what she had imagined. The violinist was unnerved that her own thoughts could frighten her so quickly. Her heart jumped again as she felt a pair of strong arms circled around her waist. A warm body pressed behind her back. A gasp escaped her lips. She voiced the first strand of thought, "Daisuke! You scared me!"

The arms tightened around her in response. Michiru placed her hands on the hands pressed against her stomach. Her brows furrowed as she felt not the hands of Daisuke but slender, smooth, yet muscular hands beneath her fingertips. Michiru's body stiffened upon realization that a complete stranger was holding her. Just then a light weight of a chin rested on her left shoulder. The stranger released a deep sigh in response to her earlier exclamation, "mm."

Michiru wanted to scream and tear herself away from the intruder. She didn't know what this person's intentions were with her. He could be a sexual predator for all she knew. She wanted to flee but was frozen in place. She was scared. The only part of her body she was willing to move was her eyes. They darted left to right, up and down trying to find any clue as to who this person was. The head which rested on her left shoulder slightly shifted their head to the right. She could feel this person's warm breath on the side of her face and neck. She closed her eyes trying to suppress a shudder that threatened to run down her spine and audibly gulped.

Now she had wished she had asked Daisuke to join her. She was at this stranger's mercy. She knew she was still in viewing range of the house and prayed Daisuke would look out the window and see this so he could come save her. She began to convince herself that Daisuke would be there any moment to rip this guy off of her.

_Maybe I should try to distract this person._

She began to strategize a distraction, perhaps through conversation so this intruder wouldn't be aware of incoming help. If the stranger was distracted with talking, then he wouldn't be doing anything else but his hands were still on her body and she felt violated. She suddenly realized her hands were still resting on the stranger's hands. She could feel her hands becoming clammy and slightly shaking. She convinced herself it was better this stranger had his hands where she could see and feel and not going anywhere else on her body.

As if sensing her nervousness, the stranger shifted again and now she could feel his breath directly on her left ear.

"What's wrong?" A deep, husky voice whispered into her ear. It held an air of slight worry.

She involuntarily shivered. She wasn't quite sure if the voice scared her or if she strangely found the voice attractive.

Michiru found this to be the opportunity she needed to distract this man.

With a shaky voice she asked, "W-Who are you?" It came out to be a lot softer than she had expected. It was so soft she hoped the sounds of the waves and wind didn't drown it out.

There was a pause. For a moment Michiru thought the stranger didn't hear her. She was about to repeat herself when he replied back.

"You know who I am."

The violinist was thoroughly confused by this statement. Her reply rolled off her tongue faster than she could rope it in.

"Do I?"

The stranger slightly nodded his head, "Mmhm."

Well, that didn't answer much but then again, she did ask him a 'yes' or 'no' question. She knew this was probably going to be a dumb question but she had to ask.

"Do you know who I am?"

_Of course he knows who you are! That's probably why he's here taking you hostage!_

Michiru mentally scolded herself but stopped at her last thought. Hostage? If he was taking her hostage, why wasn't he trying to haul her off to a non-descript car to drive off with his prize? Now she was more curious about his intentions if it wasn't to kidnap her. She looked down and saw her captor was wearing a long sleeved white button up shirt. Even though she couldn't see his shirt, she could tell by the cuff of his sleeves her forearm was partially covering. She gathered her nerves to be a little brave and pulled her neck out to catch a glimpse of his feet. They were also barefoot and now halfway down into the sand on both sides of her feet. He was wearing beige slacks with its cuffs rolled up mid-shin. It didn't keep the bottom from getting wet but he didn't seem to care.

Just based off his dress attire, he seemed a little too relaxed and casual to be a kidnapper. So who was he?

"I do."

This time his voice was a little louder. It was still deep but not as husky. It held a calm and smooth quality to it as if he was comfortable with her.

"So who am I?"

She was slightly worried about his response. She noticed her hands weren't shaking anymore but her hands tightened around his in apprehension to his answer.

"The sea." He said it in a matter-of-fact tone as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

Her already shallow breathing hitched at his response.

_Wait? What? I'm 'the sea?' Is he high?_

She was baffled by his response. Her eyes slowly rose to look out to the ocean in front of them. She watched as the waves rolled towards them. She didn't know how to respond to his answer.

The stranger waited for a response. After waiting a minute, he took it as his cue to explain.

"You are the sea. Elegant, and beautiful on the surface but you hold all of your mysteries and treasures in your depths. You only allow those you truly trust and love to enter. You are also deeply passionate, like the ocean during a storm. You outwardly show it when you play the violin."

The stranger took a deep breath, "You, my dear, are the sea." He sighed and nestled himself again into her left shoulder.

A teasing smirk played on Michiru's lips upon hearing the stranger's response.

"Oh?" Michiru loosened up and settled a little bit into the stranger's arms.

"So if I am the sea, who are you then?"

He chuckled. "The wind, of course." Another fact stated by the stranger.

The aqua-haired woman was beginning to feel comfortable in the stranger's arms but stiffened when the stranger's hands began sliding back to her hips. His hands that were under hers, slipped away. She felt the sand to the right of her shift as the stranger pulled his foot out of the sand. His right hand continued to slide across the small of her back while his left hand was on the opposite side, sliding across her abdomen. His chin pivoted on her shoulder as he rotated his body to stand in front of her. He slowly lifted his head off her shoulder and stood to his full height facing her.

The sun, unfortunately, was beaming directly behind his head. She couldn't make out any facial features because it was shrouded by dark shadows casted by the sun. She noted he had wild unruly short blonde hair dancing on the edges of his profile. He stood almost a head taller.

His hands that left a light trail impression around her body when he turned were now settled on both sides of her waist. He was so close. He smelled like clean cedar. She didn't expect the stranger to smell like that but then again, she didn't know what to expect.

Snapping out of the stranger's scent that was slowly intoxicating her senses, she realized he didn't have a tight grip on her. She could back away and flee. Her primal instincts of fight or flight began to re-emerge again as her heart rate increased as a slow creeping fear wrapped her heart and mind.

As if the stranger sensed Michiru's panic and readiness to flee, his right hand shot up to cup Michiru's left cheek. The stranger's palm covered her jaw and cheek as his fingers wrapped around the back of her ear. In that moment, Michiru's panic-driven heart stilled. Everything around her became quiet. She no longer heard the ocean waves crashing, and gulls cawing. It was silent. A loud thumping beat its way through her ear drums as she felt her heart pound in anticipation. She knew her cheeks were flushed from the heat she felt. Her face was now buzzing as blood flow increased. She didn't know what she was anticipating but she no longer felt fear. In fact, she felt the opposite of danger. She felt safe in the stranger's arms.

The hand on her face began to move. Her cheek was being softly stroked by the thumb. Although the touch was gentle, she could feel the pad of the thumb was calloused. She wondered what this stranger did for a living to have rugged hands. The stranger began to move his thumb in a circular motion on her cheek causing Michiru to look up at the shadow clad face.

The stranger leaned down. Michiru's breathing shortened as the stranger's face came close to hers. She could feel their hot breaths mingle as they stood frozen. Their lips were a hair's breadth away. Although they were so close, Michiru still couldn't make out any other facial features other than his lips.

The aqua-haired girl realized she didn't see any other features of the face because all she could do was stare at his lips. She saw the lips slowly curl into a smirk. She didn't know why he smiled nor was she given the time to ponder it. His lips captured hers. Michiru froze in shock as his lips massaged hers. She was shocked at how soft his lips were. Michiru suddenly felt very warm and closed her eyes enjoying the feeling. She raised her arms and wrapped it around the stranger's strong neck. Her fingers ran through his wild hair.

_It's so soft._

As her lips moved with his, she contentedly sighed into his mouth. She was beginning to enjoy herself when the stranger pulled away. Her eyes were closed but she could feel herself frowning in disappointment. She slowly opened her eyes to catch a glimmer of sharp emerald green eyes staring at her. Her breath caught in her throat as she was momentarily mesmerized by those eyes.

Michiru noticed they were still very close to each other. She squinted up at the stranger's face again. This time, she was able to make out small details such as the strong high cheek bones, eye brows, nose, those irresistible lips, eye shape, how the chin curved. She could see almost every detail of the stranger. Michiru's light blue eyes widened as a realization dawned on her. This person in front of her was no doubt handsome but being as close as she was to his face, she had a craziest thought cross her mind. This stranger was not a man but a woman.

The curves of her face were masculine for a woman but they still held feminine features. Michiru was stunned by the revelation. She wasn't disgusted or horrified. She never had any problems with people who were in same-sex relationships. She just never considered herself to ever find herself in that situation. She was never attracted to women before. Well, not until now. She wanted to kiss those lips again.

"Promise me," the stranger spoke, bringing Michiru's attention back. She gave the stranger a questioning look.

Again, with a deep husky voice she softly whispered, "Promise me you'll find me."

The violinist was baffled by the request, "what?"

_Find her? She's right here in front of me._

"Promise me you will find me," the stranger said, taking on a serious tone.

"Find you? How? What… I don't even know who you are!"

"I already told you, I am the wind," the stranger replied.

"The wind? What's your name?"

"The Wind."

"Your name is the Wind?" She asked in a doubting manner.

Either the stranger didn't hear Michiru's disbelief or completely ignored it. "Yes. Promise you will find me."

Michiru decided to play along with the stranger, "Okay, fine. However, there is a little bit of a problem. The wind is everywhere. You can't see the wind. How do you expect me to find you?"

"No, you can't can you? But you can feel it right?"

"Well, yeah, but how-"

"Then you will be able to find me. You'll know when you do. Just promise you'll find me." A hand lifted again to Michiru's face and swept a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The stranger's hand stayed cradling the side of her face and began to lean in again.

"Promise me." The stranger's other hand on her hips tightened as the stranger brought her closer, both bodies now flushed against each other. Michiru was at a loss of words.

The stranger repeated again, "Promise me."

Michiru looked into the stranger's dark green eyes. She didn't know what to say. She wasn't confident to agree but looking into those eyes didn't want to make her disagree. She decided she would try her best. "I-I promise."

The handsome stranger closed the distance as soon as those words left Michiru's mouth sealing their lips in a searing kiss. Michiru felt her insides flutter straight to her center. The shorter girl's hands found their way up to the stranger's neck, pulling her in for a deeper kiss. The stranger's tongue traced her lower lip. Michiru parted her lips and allowed the stranger's tongue to explore her own mouth. It was gentle as their tongues momentarily danced with one another. Michiru found herself sucking in air between kisses. She was on fire. Michiru finally released a moan into the mouth of the stranger.

Michiru didn't know what it was but she wanted more. She wanted the stranger to be closer to her. She wanted to melt into her. She began to rub her body against the stranger's. The stranger's hands circled around to the small of her back and pulled her impossibly closer. Michiru lightly bit and playfully tugged at the stranger's lower lip. She smiled when she saw the stranger's lips curl into a smile at the pull.

_God, you're so damn beautiful. I want you._

Clear blue eyes slowly fluttered open, lightly panting for air. She was staring at her ceiling. Michiru blinked a couple of times to bring her mind back to her body. She realized she was in bed at home.

_What was that?_

She tried to lift her arm to feel her lips but was blocked. She felt a warm weight on her bare stomach and left arm. She looked to find a muscular arm, just as bare, draped over her. It was Daisuke. She turned her head to the left and saw Daisuke sleeping peacefully. He was sleeping on his stomach, with his face nuzzled against her left shoulder. His left arm was lazily draped around her waist. She turned her gaze back to the ceiling. She felt a small tinge of disappointment that her meeting with the beautiful stranger was a dream. She laid there for a few minutes more mulling over her dream, which was now quickly slipping away. She shut her eyes trying to preserve whatever detail of the dream she had left in her mind. She tried to burn the blurry details of the stranger's face, touch and kisses into her memory. For some inexplicable reason, she didn't want to forget her.

Michiru gently pushed Daisuke's arm off and got out of bed. She needed a shower. Waking up in Daisuke's arms made her feel dirty for some reason, especially having woken up from that body jarring but sweet dream. Everything felt right with the blonde and she wanted to meet her again. She shook her head.

_Come one Michiru, get real. It was just a dream. She's just a dream._

Disappointment set in when she admitted it to herself. Her heart sunk. The blonde woman wasn't real and therefore would never be able to meet her in the real world. Michiru gave a sad sigh as she turned on the water to the shower.

* * *

One week. It had been one week since Haruka arrived back in Tokyo to her apartment. She was currently in front of her thermostat raising the temperature to better warm her apartment. It was the middle of December and it was cold. It was currently snowing outside.

The blonde grumbled incoherently about how cold it was. She'd rather be at the sports club running and working out instead of being confined to the walls of her apartment but orders were orders.

The doctor said it was best she didn't move too much to allow her ribs and neck to heal properly. She did hourly breathing exercises and coughing to decrease the risk of pneumonia and partial collapse of lung tissue. She also had to ice her injured ribs very often. The winter weather wasn't helping with the icing. She was constantly cold because of it.

She limped over to the kitchen and opened her freezer. She shivered as the cold fog of the fridge floated towards her and kissed her skin. She reached down to grab a blue ice pack and quickly shut the door with a growl. She wrapped it with a clean towel as she walked over to the couch. She gingerly set herself down onto the sofa. She lifted her layered shirts and placed the pack on her injured ribs and groaned.

_Six weeks. Six weeks of this? Someone shoot me._

Her mom just left that morning back to Oyama. Her mom wanted to stay the whole month to watch her but Haruka insisted she went back home so she could properly rest and work. The blonde told her mom she'd call her every day to update her status.

The older woman left unwillingly but knew it was better for the blonde and herself to not coddle Haruka. Haruka had always been a very independent child and as a grown woman did not want her mom to fuss over her. Miho knew her daughter would take care of herself because her career depended on it. She also knew it was better for business if she was back in Oyama to deal with her employees and clients directly.

Miho made sure to prepare a lot of dishes for Haruka to re-heat so she didn't have to stand too long in the kitchen. Haruka didn't mind that part. She loved her mom's cooking and knew she wouldn't be able to make it out to Oyama during her time of rest.

The blonde shifted her weight on the couch trying to find a comfortable position to sit. The ribs affected a lot more of her movement than she had expected. She couldn't fully lie down or else she wouldn't be able to get back up on her own. Just using her abdomen muscles hurt her ribs. She groaned at the thought of what her abdomen was going to look like after a month of not working out. She would have a lot to catch up on.

Typically during the off-season, she constantly trained to keep in shape for the next season. She couldn't afford to lose discipline during these months. She knew some drivers turned into gluttons during the winter season and would struggle to regain what they had lost later before season start.

Haruka leaned her head back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. She was supposed to be training for a triathlon she was going to do with Donovan in March but it might not seem feasible now. She wouldn't be able to get back to training until, at the earliest, mid-January.

She had spoken to Donovan just the other day on the phone. He was regretful that he couldn't stay with her at the hospital because he had to fly out to Italy for the season debrief. He had seen her when she was unconscious but couldn't stay because he had a plane to catch. He took first place but he admitted that Haruka should have stood at the top of the podium. Haruka laughed at him and said she knew that but wanted to give him a shot at it. That was the reason why she took out the top three spots to let him take it. She smiled as he began to laugh over the phone. They spoke about what their plans were for the upcoming holidays. Donovan was going to some sponsored parties while Haruka had zero plans at the moment. She figured in her current condition she wouldn't be able to do much.

They both spoke briefly about the triathlon they wanted to attend together but quickly deduced Donovan would be going alone. He was a little disappointed but knew nothing could be done about it. He then said he would visit her in Tokyo in February when she's able to train again. He would stop by to train with her. He would train for the triathlon while she trained to get back into somewhat decent shape. Ending on that agreement, the conversation ended.

Haruka held a ghost of a smile as she recounted her phone conversation with Donovan. She always held a high appreciation for the close friends she surrounded herself with. She was very particular about the type of people who she allowed into her inner circle of trust.

A ringing phone snapped her out of her musings. She winced as she leaned forward to the coffee table in front of her to grab the phone. She glanced at the caller ID and picked up.

"Hey Jun."

"Yo! How are you feeling?"

"Like I crashed my car into a wall. Wait, it's because I did," the blonde said with a smirk.

A laugh was heard over the phone.

"Is Oba-san still around?"

"No, she just left this morning."

"Aw, no one's around to baby you anymore!"

"Yeah, yeah. So what do you want?"

"Did you eat already?"

"Yes."

"Oh… well, you're coming out anyways."

"What? No, I'm staying in to rest."

"Oh, relax. We're just going to the café down the street from you next to the shinkansen station."

"I shouldn't be moving too much. Plus, it's cold as the Arctic Circle outside." Haruka knew the cold outside would make her body involuntarily constrict which would add a lot of unnecessary pressure to her ribs. Her left shoulder was also still very sore and sensitive to the cold. She constantly kept a warm pack on it.

"Bundle up. You'll be fine. Ryouji and I haven't eaten yet."

"No, why don't you two go eat and then come over when you've finished." Haruka was not leaving her apartment.

After a moment of thought, Jun agreed.

About an hour and a half later her doorbell chimed. The blonde slowly stood up from the couch and shuffled over to the door. She opened it to find a snow dusted Jun and Ryouji.

"Shake off the snow before you come in."

She walked away from the open door and sat back down on the couch. After a minute the other two sauntered into the living room.

"Wow, it is warm in here!" Ryouji happily exclaimed as he removed his gloves and outer coat.

"Yeah, makes my body and joints feel better."

"Jeez, you sound like an old grandma."

Haruka shot Jun a glare. "Why don't you speed yourself into a wall, flip and catch on fire and see how you feel after."

Jun laughed, "No thanks! That's why my profession does NOT include placing myself in fast, high-performing cars."

"High-performing cars aren't part of your personal life either," Haruka snickered.

Jun made a face at her as he plopped himself onto the adjacent couch.

"So, what have you been doing this whole week?" Ryouji asked as he sat down on the couch next to Haruka. "Watching TV?"

"More or less," Haruka grumbled. "I can't wait for February! I want this to be over with already!"

"Is that when they said you'd be able to train?" Ryouji asked.

"Technically, mid-January but we'll see. I should be good for sure by February."

"What the hell are you going to do for a month and a half?" Jun wondered aloud.

Haruka shrugged. "Watch TV. Play video games, maybe. I can't remember the last time I had to stay indoors this long and not allowed to do any physical activities."

"I do," Ryouji piped in. "Remember when you beat the hell out of Hideki-kun our first year in high school and you got suspended for a whole week. Man, Oji-san was so pissed off at you. He kept your ass grounded at home for that entire week!"

"Oh yeah, I remember that fight! Hideki-kun talked with a lisp for months after that," Jun added.

"Whatever, that asshole had it coming," Haruka grunted.

"He avoided you through the rest of high school!" Ryouji laughed. "I don't think anyone tried to mess with you after that fight. I was glad I was your friend by then."

Haruka rolled her eyes, "You say it as if I wasn't your friend I'd have kicked your ass too."

"No, but you were intimidating as hell. I don't think anyone wanted to get on your bad side. Again, look what happened to Hideki," Jun pointed out. "That's probably why I stayed away from you."

Haruka laughed, "I think it's a good thing you did. Knowing your personality now, I probably would have kicked your ass too."

"You wish you could have! I might be shorter but I was stronger then," Jun shot back.

"Ha! Well, luckily for you my temper isn't as short as it used to be." Haruka grinned.

The other two laughed at the blonde. "Yeah, it's longer now by a couple of centimeters," Ryouji snorted.

"Hey! It's long enough to put up with the two of you without kicking your asses up and down the street every time I see you guys."

"Okay, okay! So what's your guys' plan for Christmas and New Year's Eve?" Jun tried to shift the conversation in another direction.

"Natsumi-chan and I are spending Christmas with both our families at my place this year. I think Natsumi-chan is trying to find a spot to view the New Year's fireworks," Ryouji stated.

Jun and Ryouji turned their attention to Haruka.

"Mm, Haha-chan is coming over on Christmas Eve and staying until the 28th. That's it. I have no plans for New Year's Eve."

A large grin spread across Jun's face. "Ryouji, tell Natsumi-chan to stop searching for a spot for the fireworks and Haruka, you have plans now."

The other two groaned. What did Jun have up his sleeve this time? They both gave him questioning looks about his plans for them.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delayed update. I actually finished this chapter a couple of weeks ago but didn't like how the dialogue was composed and I'm still not sure if I do. I might revise this chapter later if something better comes up. I've been tinkering around with the structure for the last two weeks. I think the dreaded "writer's block" is upon me. Words aren't flowing as well as it usually does. Well, please R&amp;R! I salute you if you do!

Well, folks, next chapter is the awaited meet chapter. I haven't started it but I have a basic outline. Hopefully, I can crank this out faster than this last one.

Also, on a side note, does anyone here follow K-Pop? I just recently got into it and started following f(x). Does anyone else think Amber Liu and Krystal Jung remind them of Haruka and Michiru?

Me (guest): Wouldn't it have been easier to make a shorter username then? ._. *blink blink* [I salute you laziness. ;) ]


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Sailor Moon, Drama, Romance