I. Haruka and Michiru
Of course, the first relationship that comes to mind when thinking of Haruka is her relationship with Michiru. They complement each other perfectly: Haruka's strength and Michiru's intellect (although Michiru's also strong and Haruka's also intelligent), Michiru's calm and Haruka's attitude (which she only drops around her partner), the way they read each other perfectly and work together with extraordinary efficiency. You can't really imagine one without the other.
The trouble with this is that it aggrandizes people's tendency to stereotype the two. Haruka's often said to be the brash, domineering tomboy who never thinks before she acts, while Michiru is gentle and subserviant, following her along quietly. So many people tend to buy into these superficial observations that they miss the true nature of the characters.
Haruka's essentially a very thoughtful individual. To the rest of the world, Haruka shows a brash front, but Michiru, more than anyone else, sees her true character...
II. How it all began
"Back then, I wanted to be the wind."
Early on, dreams of the impending Silence haunt Tenoh Haruka. At first, she's in denial; she runs away from her fate as a Sailor Senshi, throwing herself whole-heartedly into running track as well as her true passion: motor sports.
It is after a track race (which Haruka wins, of course) that she meets Kaiou Michiru. Her envious rival, Elza Gray, introduces them to one another. Haruka immediately recognizes her as the figure in her dreams, the green-haired woman in a sailorsuit who tells her that she must stop the Silence. Concealing her surprise, Haurka abruptly brushes off Michiru's request to draw her and rushes off.
Haruka and Michiru meet for the second time on a cruiseship filled with other rich folks. Haruka listens to Michiru's melodious violin piece, hearing a couple nearby speak of "the anti-social Junior High girl." She winds up talking to her again because the said girl just won't leave her alone; she corners her as Haruka gazes at her chaotic painting portraying the Silence. Their talk is not light; Michiru reminds Haruka of the coming destruction that she recalls from her nightmares. Michiru has already come to terms with the sacrifices she must make, but Haruka isn't ready to drop everything and save the world just yet.
Later still, however, that fateful decision is finally made. Haruka is speaking to a mechanic when a daimon steals his pure heart crystal. The man turns into a monster, and suddenly, a stick glows in the air above her. Before she grasps it, she is stopped by the sound of Michiru's voice, warning her that once she accepted the transformation stick, everything would change. In front of Haruka's astounded eyes, Michiru transforms to Sailor Neptune and proceeds to attack the monster.
Haruka is shocked by Neptune's seemingly callous attack of a creature that was human only moments before. Neptune angrily retorts that if she does not search for the Talismans, the world will be doomed, that what she does is for the greater good.
And then the creature attacks again. Neptune gets in its way, protecting Haruka. She attacks one last time, and he becomes a man again. Wounded, she falls into Haruka's arms and admits her feelings for Japan's greatest Junior Racer. Turns out that Michiru was stalking Haruka before she even knew that she was Sailoruranus. She would gaze at her from a distance as she raced and wish that she could go for a drive with her in her car. (Aww, ain't that cute.) Anyway, this is the point where I assume Haruka and Michiru's friendship actually starts, since before Haruka was running away and all. And we all know what it blossoms into... So she finally resolves herself to her fate as Sailoruranus at this point. And that's that.
the subversive pomegranate
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Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon is © Takeuchi Naoko and a bunch of other
bureaucratic people we don't know.
This page is © 1999 shilpa and priya.