Author's Notes: I really, *really* should try to get more sleep. If I don't, I get weird ideas…like that one. Well, the thought that led to the following story was very simple: what if the Sailor Senshi had no super powers, but were (more or less) ordinary people…and still fighting evil together? This is what I came up with ^_^ Hope you like it! Oh, and I had to make Hotaru a little older though…it wouldn't be very realistic to have an ordinary eight year old fight criminals -.- The fic will be Haruka and Michiru centred, the other's will get bigger parts than usual though ^_^ Oh, and just in case why you people wonder about it says Episode 1 down there instead of Prologue or Chapter 1: Special Unit 2 will be like a series on TV, with a new episode every week (well, at least I will *try* to write a new one every week ^^; Most of the episodes will only have the length of one chapter, with the exception of a few arcs I plan on writing.
Disclaimer: All mentioned characters of Sailormoon are © Naoko Takeuchi. I own the plot and the bad asses though, so please don't steal them ^_^ The title Special Unit 2 is © by whoever created the series, since I have no clue ^_^;;;
Dedication: Dedicated to Conny, who just gave birth to her son Marcel…bless both of you.
Special Unit 2
Episode 1: Introduction
"Good morning Usagi." Rei Hino spoke, looking up from her newest project only for the slightest moment when her boss, Usagi Tsukino, entered the room. "Morning Rei." The young blonde replied cheerfully, as always in such a good mood that it was almost scary. "How's it going?" she then asked, looking over the black haired woman's shoulder with suspicion in her eyes. "Pretty good." Rei replied, holding the futuristic looking weapon up and giving a slight smile. "Ami might want to do the precise adjustment, but other than that, it should be working." "Let me try!" Usagi demanded, grabbing the weapon from Rei's hands before the black haired beauty had a chance to protest, and aimed it at the door. She pulled the trigger just as it opened, and the net that flew out of the barrel and spread out wrapped around the just entering tall blonde, making her fall to the floor in surprise. Letting out a curse, the blonde freed herself from the net by using two knifes she pulled out of her boots, simply cutting it apart. "Hey!" Rei cried out, staring at the newcomer in anger. "Haruka! I still needed that!" "Your bad." The blonde ex-commando named Haruka replied, her low and husky voice sounding even gruffer than usual. Usagi blushed and giggled sheepishly. "Sorry Haruka!" she then blurted out, her blush deepening so much that her face was almost crimson. Haruka just grumbled and came to her feet again, tucking the two knives back to where they had been before – well hidden in her heavy biker boots. "Watch where you aim that thing the next time." She then grumbled before she stomped over to the coffee machine and helped herself to a cup filled with the precious – at least to her – liquid. "Charming as always, ne, Haruka?" a sweet melodic voice suddenly drifted from one of the adjoining rooms, and the blonde looked up, her usually hard and cold eyes softening visible at the sight of the person who had spoken. "Good morning, Michiru." Haruka spoke, a slight smile on her face. "A good morning to you too, Haruka." Michiru replied, walking over to the blonde smiling at her. Of all the people in the team of Special Unit 2, Michiru was the only one who seemed to be able to keep Haruka in line; most of the time, a single word or even look was enough to calm the blonde down during their missions. And that was why Usagi never dared to separate them during doing their job; only God knew what Haruka would do to a suspect or criminal if Michiru wasn't around to hold her back. "Where are the others?" Michiru now asked, turning away from Haruka to look at Usagi, who gave her another one of her cheerful smiles. "Makoto is in the gym, training the newbie…Ami is in the lab, as usual, and Minako is probably working on the database again…or flirting with the receptionist." "Hope Makoto isn't too hard on the new one." Haruka mumbled before she took another sip from her coffee, grimacing at the taste. "I'm sure she's not." Usagi replied, shooting Haruka a look that said "Better not get the idea to go over there and check." Haruka just grumbled again and leaned against the desk, putting her cup aside and digging her hands in the pockets of the black jeans she wore. Michiru shot her a worried glance; the blonde was always in a bad mood, but this day, it seemed to be worse than usual. "Anything new?" Haruka now asked, her intense eyes focusing on Usagi while she spoke. The young blonde nodded and walked over to her desk, opening one of the drawers and pulling a thick file out of it. She threw it over to Haruka, who caught it nonchalantly. "An easy job. Two men robbed a bank, and the police director wants us to find them." "Why isn't he sending his own men." Haruka shot back while she opened the file and started to read it through. "Because they have been searching for them for months and couldn't find them. And the director knows that we are the best, so he gave us the job." Usagi explained. Haruka just grumbled and handed the file over to Michiru, who accepted it gladly. "Fine. Who'll do it?" the blonde asked, though she already knew the answer. "Michiru and you of course." Usagi replied, sitting down while she spoke. "Kinda figured that." Haruka mumbled, starting to dig through her pockets. Finally, she found the pack of cigarettes she had been searching for, grumbled a quick excuse and left the room. "Something is wrong with her today." Michiru spoke as soon as Haruka had closed the door behind her, worry filling her voice. Rei looked up from her work in surprise, eyeing the aqua haired girl suspiciously. "You think so? I thought she was always like that." "She's always as grumpy as that, yes." Michiru admitted, her eyes glued to the door Haruka had been walking out through just a few moments ago. "But today…it seems to be worse than usual." "Whatever." Rei shrugged it off and concentrated on her work again while Michiru sighed and left the room, walking off to find Haruka.
The blonde stood outside on the hallway, next to the open window, smoking her cigarette and blowing the smoke out into the air. "Haruka…?" Michiru softly spoke, approaching her colleague carefully. She knew how jumpy Haruka could be; once, when she had touched her unexpectedly from behind, the blonde had twirled around with lightning quick speed, and before Michiru had had time to realize what was happening, she had found herself up against the wall, with Harukas hand against her throat. Of course, Haruka had had let go of her when she had recognized her, but Michiru had learned her lesson after this ordeal. Now, Haruka looked away from the sight the window offered and at the aqua haired girl, and that was when Michiru realized how tired the blonde looked. "You okay?" the smaller woman now asked, walking closer to Haruka and putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Just tired." Haruka replied, throwing the cigarette out of the window and closing it. "Didn't you get enough sleep?" Michiru asked, hoping that she could get Haruka to tell her what was bothering her. "Nightmares." Haruka replied bluntly, digging her hands in the pockets of her jeans again. "Want to talk about it?" Michiru offered, although she already knew what the answer might be. Although she was the only one of the team Haruka seemed to trust at least enough to work with, the blonde never really opened up to her; when it came to questions about her private life, Haruka was everything but talkative. "No." the blonde now replied, avoiding Michirus eyes while she spoke. "Thanks for the offer though." She then added before walking off, leaving the aqua haired girl behind alone.
"You know the rules. Take care, don't hurt the suspect more than necessary", a sharp glance at Haruka accompanied this words, "and as soon as you got him, take him here." Both Haruka and Michiru nodded, Haruka rolling her eyes when Usagi warned her about beating up the suspects once more. "I won't kill them, okay?" the blonde finally barked, obviously annoyed with Usagi. "Well I hope so." Usagi replied, handing one of the new net-guns to the blonde. "Take this with you. It will help a lot." She advised. Haruka nodded and took the net gun, checking it. "It's loaded with three patrons." Rei piped in, gaining the attention of both Haruka and Michiru. "That means, you can shoot out three nets before you need to reload it. Don't forget that." Haruka nodded again, tucking the gun safely into the waistband of her jeans. She looked at Michiru and spoke: "Let's go", the aqua haired girl agreeing on that. Together, the two women left the HQ of Special Unit 2 and headed over to Harukas car, driving off.
"Do we have any clues where the two could hide?" Haruka asked while she drove down the street, from time to time glancing over at Michiru. The aqua haired girl was working on her laptop, waiting for the two photo fit pictures to show up. "Not really." The younger woman answered when the pictures finally popped up on the screen. "The only lead we have are the pictures and the fact that both men probably had good contacts to the underground." Haruka sighed and lit a cigarette, opening the window of the car while she took the first drag. "Great. It could take us weeks to find them, then." Michiru gave her a smile and replied: "Knowing you, we will find them before the day is over, Haruka." Haruka glanced at her colleague for a second, her eyebrows jerking upwards. "I do hope that this was a compliment now." The blonde then mumbled. Michiru laughed and nodded. "It was, Haruka, don't worry." Haruka gave her a slight smile – once more making Michiru wonder if anyone else from Special Unit 2 ever had seen Haruka smiling, or if she was the only one who got to enjoy that sight – and finally stopped the car in front of a bar, named The Black Hole. "You wait here." Haruka ordered. "I'll be right back." Michiru nodded, knowing this ritual already. Haruka normally marched into the bar, grabbed the next best small criminal she found and threatened him with beatings until he either told her what she wanted to know or gave her the name of someone who knew more. This time, it didn't take Haruka long to find out what she needed; ten minutes after she had entered, the blonde came walking back out, a satisfied look on her face. She got back into the car and started the engine again. "Do you know where they are?" Michiru asked. Haruka shook her head and replied: "Not yet. But my…informant…gave me the name of the brother of one of the two robbers. If anyone knows, he does." Michiru let out a satisfied sigh and leaned back in the seat of the car. "Police searched for them for weeks, and we find them within one day. Makes you wonder why the police officers don't talk to the criminals, like you do." Haruka shrugged while she drove to the address her informant had given her. "If police asked them anything, they would know nothing." The blonde replied, stopping the car at a red traffic light. "But if I ask them…they know everything I need to know." "Yeah, because they are afraid you might hit them if they don't give you answers." Michiru teased, earning a snort from Haruka in reply. "My methods may be violent, but they work." The blonde ex-commando then spoke. Michiru whole heartedly agreed on that; every time she worked with Haruka, the two solves their cases fast, thanks to the fact that most people were scared of Haruka and told her everything they knew. The aqua haired girl had to admit that Haruka did look pretty scary; especially in her current attire, namely the heavy leather jacket, the black shirt and jeans and the biker boots. The fact that a long scar ran from the blondes eyebrow over her cheek down to her neck didn't really help with making her seem more peaceful. Finally, the traffic light turned green again, and Haruka drove on. After almost twenty minutes of driving in silence, the blonde stopped the car in front of a rather old house, looking at Michiru. "The brother of one of the robbers lives here. Let's get in." she spoke. Michiru nodded in agreement, and the two women got out of the car, locking it before they entered the house and walked up the stairs, searching for apartment number 12. Finally, the two found it, and Haruka knocked, calling out: "This is Special Unit 2! Open up now!" For a few moments, there was silence, then, a string of curses could be heard – followed by a shot which went right through the wood of the door, luckily missing both Haruka and Michiru. "Damn!" Haruka cursed, throwing herself to the ground, pulling her shocked colleague down with her. Two more shots rang, way too high to be dangerous; as soon as the echo of the second one had faded away, Haruka sprang to her feet and kicked the door, making it fly open. The man who stood behind it only had time to raise his gun; before he managed to pull the trigger, Haruka had drawn her net gun and fired. The net flew out of the barrel and wrapped itself around the shooter, making him fall to the ground with a strange "ooff"-sound. Haruka let out the breath she had been holding and tucked her gun back into the waistband of her jeans, walking over to the caught man. "Now that's what I call a nice hello." The blonde grumbled, grabbing the net and pulling the man to his feet roughly. "Be gentle, Haruka." Michiru softly reminded her partner, earning a short glance and a nod. "Where is your brother?" the aqua haired girl now asked, while Haruka kept the struggling man in a tight grasp. "I would either die before I tell you where my brother is!" the young man spat angered. Haruka gave him a humourless grin. "We can arrange that." The ex-commando spoke, and before Michiru had a chance to hold Haruka back, the blonde had lashed out and punched the poor prisoner square in the face. "Haruka!" Michiru scolded, shooting an angry glare towards her colleague. "Will you talk now?" the blonde asked, completely ignoring her partner's protests. The man nodded, feeling that this Haruka person could do much more harm to him than simply punch him. Quickly, he started to babble what he knew about his brother; as soon as he was done, Haruka freed him from the net by using her knives and gave him a cold grin. "Thanks for the info. You can visit your brother in prison soon." With that, both Haruka and Michiru left, continuing their search for the robbers.
"You really shouldn't have punched him that hard." Michiru lightly scolded, though not completely serious. Haruka shrugged while she drove the car down the street, over to the address the brother of one of the robbers had given her. Finally, after almost twenty more minutes of driving through Tokyo, Haruka stopped in front of another house and turned the engine off. "You want to come in with me or stay here?" the blonde then asked, shooting a glance towards Michiru. "Of course I will come with you." The aqua haired girl replied, opening the glove department and taking out two pairs of handcuffs. Haruka gave her a slight smile before both women left the car again and entered the house.
This time, Haruka didn't waste much time with knocking and calling out who she was; she simply kicked the door open again, causing the two bank robbers who were hiding in the apartment behind it to jump up in shock. Haruka pulled out her net gun and aimed it at the men, yelling: "Special Unit 2! Nobody moves!" Instead of standing still like the blonde had told them, the two men decided to try all or nothing. They jumped away in different directions; Haruka aimed at the one that was closer to her and shot, but much to her anger, he avoided the net that came flying out to him. "Damn!" Haruka cursed before she readjusted her aim and fired again, this time hitting the robber and making him fall to the ground, hopelessly entangled. The blonde twirled around, already bringing the gun up to shoot the second robber too, but froze when her eyes fell on him. He stood close to the door, holding Michiru in front of him – and pressing a gun to her head. "Drop your gun, and I won't harm her." The robber now growled. Haruka realized that she had no choice; thus, she did what the man had told her and made her gun fall to the ground. "Good girl." The robber spoke, grinning. "If you would excuse us you…she is my security on my way out." With that, he turned around, but before he had the chance to move out of the door with his prisoner, Haruka kicked the gun that still laid on the ground, sending it flying with tremendous speed. It hit the bank robber in the back of the head, causing him to stumble; before he had a chance to regain his balance, the blonde tackled him from behind, throwing him to the ground. The man yelped in fear, but fell silent when he felt the cold steel of a combat knife pressing against his throat. "No one." Haruka snarled, her eyes blazing with anger and rage, "No one tries to take the friend of an ex-commando hostage and gets away with it!" "Haruka, don't kill him!" Michiru cried out, grabbing the blondes knife arm with both hands. Haruka looked at her, and Michiru nearly backed away at the pure anger that shone from the blondes eyes. "Please." The aqua haired beauty softly spoke, holding Harukas gaze with hers. Finally, the blondes eyes softened visibly, and she pulled her knife back. "Give me the handcuffs." Haruka ordered, Michiru gratefully obeying her. Quickly, Haruka chained the robber up, then threw him over her shoulder like some kind of potato bag. Michiru grabbed the collar of the second robber – who was still entangled in the net – and both women left, the blonde carrying one of the robbers, Michiru dragging the other one behind her.
"Very good work, you two." Usagi spoke, more than satisfied with the job Haruka and Michiru had done. "I'm surprised that both robbers are not hurt at all." She then added with a wink. Haruka coughed and looked down at her boots, but didn't make any comment. Michiru stayed silent too; she just thanked Usagi for the accolade and accepted the extra pay check Usagi offered. Haruka of course did the same; she tucked the small piece of paper into the inner pocket of her jacket, mumbled a quick goodbye and left the room. Michiru looked after her for a moment, then also said her goodbye to Usagi and followed the blonde out.
"Haruka! Haruka, wait up!" the aqua haired girl called out, running after her colleague who was walking down the hallway with long, fast steps. At hearing the voice of her partner, Haruka slowed down and allowed Michiru to catch up. "What is it?" the blonde asked, looking down at the smaller woman slightly impatient. Michiru gave her a gentle smile and replied: "Well, I wanted to ask you…if you'd like to celebrate our catch. With a cup of coffee maybe." Haruka seemed to consider this for a few moments, then shook her head. "Not now, Michiru…later, maybe. Thanks though." With that, the blonde hurried on, leaving the aqua haired girl behind. Michiru let out a sigh and leaned against the wall, wondering when Haruka finally would open up to her – and would accept her friendship, and maybe her love.
End of Episode I