Chapter Text
“Here. Let me help you.”
Haruka rushed to the cabinets in the garage. Neptune kept her eyes on Haruka, who was zooming around the garage to locate the medkit. Her chest felt tight and her eyes watery. A part of her felt embarrassed over her confession. Part of her wished the stupid monster had killed her; at least she wouldn’t have to live with the feeling. On a positive note, the emotional pain was a decent distraction from the gashes on her arm. She looked up to see Haruka walk back with a medkit in hand. She knelt to Neptune’s eye level.
“Lift your arm.” Haruka kept her voice even, firm. She felt a rhythmic pounding in her ears. The adrenaline buzzed through her body in the aftermath of witnessing a terror beyond Haruka’s comprehension. She kept her breathing even, getting into a mindset similar to when she raced. Neptune nodded in compliance to Haruka's orders. Part of Neptune wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. She had laid herself bare after being attacked. Now she’s being tended to. At least it wasn’t a complete rejection… unlike their first interaction. And second.
Neptune snapped from her daze. “Haruka. You don't have to help.”
“Please, don't.” Haruka’s stern voice expressed frustration at the rejection of her help.
Neptune used her good arm to wave her over, “No, no, I'm not trying to dismiss you.”
Neptune lifted her arm, showing the wounds on her arm looking slightly smaller. “The benefits of this power is that I heal fast,” she winced at the pain from stretching her arm up.
“Seems like it still hurts,” Haruka observed, opening the first aid kit and rummaged through the items inside. “Have you had a wound that bad?”
Neptune shook her head.
“All the more reason to clean the wound. You never know what sort of…” Haruka stopped and shuddered, “... Disease that thing carried.” She grabbed the cotton balls and antiseptic and prepared to clean Neptune's wounds.
Haruka focused on gently patting off any remnants of wet blood around the wound before she doused the antiseptic solution onto the cotton. “This may sting a bit,” she warned. She touched the wound with care, not wanting to add to Neptune's pain. Haruka thought she had done enough damage emotionally.
“Do you do this for all the pretty girls?” Neptune let slip out; her mouth was disconnected from her brain, and any form of impulse control was thrown out the window.
Haruka kept her focus on tending to Neptune's wound. “Are you asking if all the pretty girls risk their lives to try and save me?” Haruka grabbed another piece of doused cotton and continued to dab the wound. “The answer would be no. You'd be the first.”
‘And maybe the only.’ The thought crept up into Haruka’s head for a moment.
Neptune slowly turned her head to look away to hide the blush that tried to imprint on her cheeks. She walked into her own trap. Neptune made a note to herself not to make the same mistake twice. Haruka took a glance and noted Neptune hiding her face from her. A small smile formed on her lips. Part of Neptune did not feel so bold to retort. Not now, at least. Haruka was allowed this one.
“It's crazy how fast the wound is healing.” Haruka leaned back to observe her cleaning job on the wounds. They looked far smaller than their initial form.
“It's good to know that a wound that bad can heal in a decent amount of time.”
“Imagine if it was way worse.”
“I've considered the possibility and beyond.”
Haruka furrowed her brow, “Do you only think of dark and gloomy things?”
Neptune looked back to Haruka, “Believe it or not: I don't. I have normal thoughts like any normal human. It's just that I had been plagued by thoughts of the world ending for over a year.”
Haruka stopped tending; she could hear the emphasis on the last words Neptune spoke. “Shit. That long?”
Neptune nodded.
“Oh…” Haruka realized, “I've been too harsh to you. Sorry.”
“It's fine. It feels like that sometimes. It feels like all I think about is the end. Endless death and destruction.” Neptune felt a knot forming in her throat, but kept her composure. Haruka placed a hand on her shoulder, “at least you're not alone anymore. You aren't the only one who has to deal with those thoughts anymore.”
“Haruka…”
“Michiru. Neptune. Whatever. I know what you're going to say. You're going to plead your case for me to not do this. But,” Haruka stood up and walked over to the transformation pen laid on the floor. “There's one thing you should know about me.”
Haruka bent and grabbed the pen, feeling a cool electricity in the palm of her hands. “I'm stubborn.”
Then a flash filled the garage. Neptune watched in awe as Haruka transformed right before her eyes. It was spectacular. Blue and gold shone all over and reflected against the walls. Neptune was in awe.
“Uh... wait. Uh. What just happened?”
“You transformed.”
Haruka looked down at her uniform, its style similar to Neptune's.
“A skirt? Seriously?” Haruka exclaimed.
“Uh... yeah. Seems to be the standard uniform.” Neptune confirmed.
Haruka looked down and examined what she was wearing. She lifted her leg up to take a closer look at her boot, “The boots are cool-looking.” She put her foot down and grabbed the hem of the skirt, “But the skirt… how do you…?” she spun her fingers like a wheel, indicating how to jump or flip while wearing a skirt. An understandable and practical concern.
Neptune filled in, “You get used to it. Trust me. The moment you're doing a back flip to avoid a monster attack - the last thing you're going to be thinking about is the skirt.”
“Fair.” Haruka scrunched her face, “But wouldn't spandex make more sense?”
Neptune shrugged. “You'll get used to it.”
“You keep saying it as if the more it's said, the more it'll become true.”
“It will because it does.” Neptune deadpanned.
Haruka rolled her eyes and sighed, “Alright, alright. So… how do I go switch back to my normal clothes?”
“You manifest it. Think about your civilian form. Take a deep breath and focus.” Neptune examined her wound and noted it was now the equivalent of a cat scratch. She put her arm down to her side and closed her eyes. Neptune focused and transformed back to her school uniform. Haruka yelped and averted her eyes midway through Michiru's detransformation.
“You never said anything about being nude for a split second!” Haruka snapped as she held a hand up to her eyes.
“Wait. Was I…? For a second?” Michiru looked with genuine shock and urgently wrapped her arms around herself, despite being back in her clothes. She just did the unthinkable, without realizing it. She definitely wanted to die. Maybe The Silence wasn’t as bad as her dreams were making it out to be. A far better alternative than this very moment. She didn't anticipate being physically bare for only a second. Emotionally was embarrassing enough. Michiru covered her face in embarrassment and frustration. She groaned, “I always keep my eyes closed when I transform. Of course I wouldn't notice.”
“Yeah, see? This is why you need a partner. You would’ve never known. And now I know…” Haruka trailed off. Before catching herself and adding, “... that it happens. To us. I didn't look. Uh.” Haruka shut her mouth before she uttered any further.
The two stood in an awkward silence for a moment until Haruka clicked her tongue, “Um. Can you turn away for a second? Please?”
Michiru nodded and turned her back to Haruka, giving her privacy. She tried to hold back her laugh as Haruka psyched herself to detransform. It took about five minutes of earnest concentration and words of self-encouragement until Haruka was back to wearing her racing gear.
“Okay, you can look.”
Michiru turned and raised an eyebrow, “Feel better?”
“At least more clothed than before.” Haruka looked at her watch, “It's getting late.”
“You're right. I should be heading home. Maybe we can talk again soon.” Michiru said, peering outside of the garage to see the day had changed to evening colors.
“I can help get you home.” Haruka offered and led Michiru to a stool in the garage, “Just sit here. I have to change out of this. It won’t take long, okay?” Michiru nodded in confirmation as Haruka left her in the garage with the (still) passed-out kid. He was going to be out for a while. Michiru thought to herself, ‘Once we leave, I’ll use a nearby payphone to call an ambulance down to help him.’
Haruka went through the door from the garage through the small hallway and into the locker room. She was thankful that she was alone in the building right now. “This is the first day of the rest of my life,” Haruka muttered to herself as she opened her locker. She grabbed her dufflebag, started to undress from her racesuit, and stuffed it into her bag. Haruka threw on her trainers, jeans, t-shirt, and her leather jacket. Right as Haruka was about to close her locker, she caught her reflection on a little mirror attached to the interior door of the locker. She stared briefly, examining herself. It really was the first day of the rest of her life. She shut the door of the locker and made her way back to Michiru.
“Hey. Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“It’s alright… thank you.” Michiru stood up from the stool. “Hm, Haruka?” she asked as Haruka came over to help her move.
“What's up?”
“Before we leave… is there a pay phone nearby? I need to call an ambulance.” Michiru motioned to the kid passed out on the floor.
“Oh, right.” Haruka laughed as she rubbed the back of her neck, “All of this is pretty overwhelming.”
Haruka led Michiru to a nearby payphone about a block away from the garage. Michiru called and put in an anonymous tip as Haruka jogged to her car. The blonde arrived just as Michiru finished the call to the emergency services.
Haruka, in a very considerate gesture, hopped out of her car to open the door for Michiru. Michiru thanked Haruka for her kindness. As soon as Michiru was in the car, Haruka closed the door for her.
“You want to direct me on how to get to your home?” Haruka asked as she jumped back into the driver's seat and clicked the seat belt closed.
“I can do that. I was thinking that we should meet again soon. To talk about all of this.” Michiru motioned her hands, gesticulated. “Right now, this happens about once a month. But it used to be once every two months.”
“... so it's showing signs of becoming more frequent.”
“Yes, and I fear that if we aren't fast enough, we could get easily overwhelmed."
“Well, considering it's so serious. Maybe we should meet tomorrow?” Haruka put the gear into drive as they drove off into the night.