hi minna! here is part 2. this one is a little more happy. i'd like to say thank u to masked maiden for writing. and i'm disappointed in the rest of u guys for not writing. but here's your chance to fix it. email all comments, critism, suggestions, love letters, and flames to elves13@wildmail.com. this is rated PG. Insert your standard disclaimers. Enjoy :] Before Part 2 by Elves13 Michiru released a sigh of relief. School was finally over. It had been a tough day. Too many times she had almost fallen asleep. Walking at a slow pace she made her way home. She wasn't afraid of getting home late, no on would be there to worry about her or ask her why she took so long getting home. She wasn't afraid of getting home late, no one would be there to worry about her or ask her why she took so long getting home. There were the servants, but they were just that, servants. All of them called her "Miss Michiru". None of them were her friends, they were paid to care for her house and her physical needs, nothing in their contract said anything about being her friends. There had been one who had cared for her, maybe even loved her. But she was long gone. She remembered the night she left as if it was just last night. ?Nana, where are you going?? A six year old Michiru asked. ?Oh, Hon, I...? ?Your nana is Leaving.? A male voice answered. Her father. ?Leaving. Why? Nana don?t go!? Michiru cried out. ?Now, Michiru. Don?t be so childish. You don?t need your nana anymore. You?re a big girl now.? Her mother?s velvet voice answered. ?I have to go now sweetheart. Take care? ?Nooo!! Don?t go nana. I need you still!!? Michiru yelled to her nana?s retreating back. Michiru could feel the tears beginning to build up in her eyes. With a strong mental will, she pushed them back. She wasn?t one to cry. Slowly she shook the last strings of the memory away. It had hurt than, more than anything she had ever experienced. Nana had been like her mother, more so a mother to her than her real one. Allowing the memory to recede to the back of her mind, she entered her house. At the moment she lived in a fairly large house. However it was small compared to the other ones she had lived in. Not bothering to tell the servants she was home, she climbed the stairs to her room. Dinner was at six sharp. She still had a few hours to spare until than. Once in her room, she tossed her bag and coat on the floor. A very un-Michiru kind of thing to do. Walking to her bed she flopped down on it. Breathing slowly, she allowed the silence and peacefulness to enter her wearied main. Soon she was drifting off to sleep. ************* She could hear yells and cries all around her. The clash of steel was a constant. The sky was an odd shade of almost black, blue-purple. In the distance she saw explosions, and heard a most heart chilling laughter. She saw a soon to be woman in a beautiful white grown being protected by a handsome young man with jet black hair and the most shunning sapphire blue eyes. But all those things soon faded to the background. There amidst the battle, two women fought side by side. Every move, every strike, was a well practiced dance, so that the two continually protected each other without getting harmed. Than the unthinkable happened. A monster broke their dance. As it moved forward to strike a death blow on the aqua haired one, the sandy blonde shoved the other aside, taking the blow fully. She could see words yelled from the aqua haired one, then a ball of...water? hit the monster, causing it to vanish. She watched as the aqua haired one gently cradled the blonde?s head in her arms, whispering word to her while sobs racked her body. She watched, and something inside her just wanted to cry with her. She was consumed with so much grief, as if someone, something had ripped her soul in half and left the other to...die? no, suffer, to agonize for eternity. Something touched her mind. Power. Lots of it. Than she saw it. A large ball of energy heading straight for the two women. She tried to cry out, to tell her to watch out. But nothing came out of her throat. Too late. It had hit them. She saw the aqua one fling her head back and arch her back while never letting go of the blonde as the energy ball hit them. Pain. So real, so very real. It felt like she had been hit. Then redness. The colour of blood. Blurring her vision. Distorting things. Making her forget. ********** Haruka awoke with a start. Same dream as she?d been having for the last...she couldn?t remember. A long time now for sure. Stetching she stood. It?s been two weeks since that day. After her exhilaration, her mind had turned practical. Thoughts and worries started filling her head. ?Where am I going to go?? ?What am I going to eat?? ?Where am I going to sleep?? All of these thoughts had raced through her head. And she didn?t know how to answer any of them. But one thing was certain, she wasn?t going back. That night she had crawled onto the steps of a storefront and fell asleep, only to be awoken rudely by the store keeper. She spent the morning wandering around the streets. Not long after she had awoken, her stomach had started grumbling. She had no money, so she couldn?t buy anything, and she said to herself she wouldn?t steal. But by non she was so hungry, she didn?t care about the consequences. Walking casually towards a stand selling some sort of buns, she pretended to be interested in seeing what type of food he was selling. Then, really quickly she grabbed a bun in each hand and turned fast, already walking away. Too late. She heard him shout, ?Thief. Stop!? Then she bolted. She had always been good at running. But she didn?t usually run from anything, especially fights, but to day, Haruka ran, faster than she had ever before. Eventually she was lost among the crowds, and the man gone. Quickly she ate the food, savoring its slightly sweet favour. Finished, she allowed her body to relax, her mind to think, to get out of its excited state. A funny thought hit her tan, and she couldn?t help but smile, than laugh. She, Tenoh Haruka, was a thief. And she didn?t care. Thinking about it now, two weeks later, still made her smile, ever so softly. She had learned that dressed in her school fuku, storekeepers didn?t suspect her, and her ability to outrun them, kept her from being caught. She had even outrun two police officers on foot. But after awhile, her fuku got dirty and ripped, and the storekeepers became suspicious. As well, a girl on the streets alone, especially at night, was an easy target for all kinds of criminals. So she had stolen boys clothing, and cut her hair so it was short like a boy, and began talking like them. Which wasn?t exactly hard. Nest she had started pick pocketing. It had been a rather pathetic start. She would fumble, or drop the money, sometimes grab the wrong tings, ahem, like the person?s butt, etc. than she would have to run like mad. She had never run so much in her life, her legs were often sore from all the exercise, and even worse, she rarely had anything to show for it. but she made one promise, not to steal from the poor, just the rich snobs. She remembered one time, she was trying to steal a man?s money bag from his front pocket. Just as she went to grab it, the man turned and instead she grabbed his...let?s just say his treasured jewels. She watched as his faced turned an interesting shade of red, than he twisted around to look at her...she decided that this was the best time to run. And run she did. While behind her, the man chased, spiting out obscenities, some of them she didn?t know the meaning of, as the crowds watched, turned their heads, and mothers covered their children?s? ears. To say he had a foul mouth would be an understatement. To say she shout out every curse and obscenity in the Japanese language would be more accurate. Haruka saw an opening between two stands, quickly she ran towards it and hid. She could see the man through the gaps between the crowds. Her had stopped and was now searching for her. It was than she noticed a little girl watching her, her big blue eyes were wide with surprise, and her mouth was slightly open. The girl look only a couple of years younger than Haruka and her golden hair was done up in the oddest style. Like two meatballs with hair falling down from it. Haruka gave her a pleading look, to not expose her. The girl took a look in the direction Haruka kept glancing at, then she smiled and nodded her head. Haruka couldn?t help but smile with her, something about the girl made her feel warm inside. Just than, the now extremely peeved man, stopped searching for her, and moved further up the street to search. As the man left, the little girl cam towards Haruka and gave her, her lollipop she had been holding in her left hand. Haruka smiled her thanks. Than the little girl reached in her pocket and removed, a single dollar coin and placed it in Haruka?s hand. A little away form them, a woman with blue hair was calling out for someone. The little looked in the woman?s direction, turned back to Haruka and whispered, ?Be careful next time.? And with a wink she was off towards the woman. As the girl met the woman, she could hear the woman speak. ?Usagi, where were you? I was worried sick. Did you lose your lollipop? Don?t worry Hon, I?ll buy you another one. Now don?t you...? The rest of the lecture was lost to Haruka s the two moved further away. Haruka looked at the lollipop and dollar, and couldn?t help but smile. She didn?t even feel jealous, somehow she felt the little girl deserved the wonderful life she had, and that she *wanted* her to have it. Putting the dollar in her pocket, she started licking lollipop, and searching for her next target. ##################################################### hope u guys enjoyed it. email me at elves13@wildmail.com. till next time. Elves13:D