Michiru's Painting

Summary: Michiru needs a model for her next painting

Michiru Kaioh frowned while looking at the blank canvas in front of her. She dropped the paintbrush in her hand and knocked the canvas to the floor. She stared at it in disgust before grabbing her school bag and leaving the art room.

Michiru walked with a cloud of frustration down the hall of the rebuilt Mugen Guken Academy. She brushed past everyone who got into her way and muttered an apology at their outbursts. She reached her locker and found Ami Mizuno standing right next to it. Her anger cleared away as she wondered what the fellow sailor senshi was doing at the elite school.

"Hey Ami." Michiru smiled softly as she walked over to her. "What brings you here?" she questioned as Ami walked in step with her towards her cubby.

"My school was let out early today and I thought I'd head over here to look at the schools computers." Ami answered in her normal soft voice. "This school hardly has an filters and I need to go to certain websites to work on my science assignment." She explained.

"I understand." Michiru nodded. "And it's great that you're here so I can have some company." She added with a smile. Ami smiled back and then shifted her gaze towards the ground.

"Where's Haruka?" Ami asked softly.

"She's at the track." Michiru answered as they stopped at her cubby. She grabbed her violin case and placed some of her art supplies and books into her school bag. Michiru slung it over her shoulder and the two exited the room. "We have a free period now so I can go. Would you like to go and get a drink with me?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'd love to." Ami nodded. "But then I have to head over to Rei's to study." She added. Michiru giggled softly.

"It amazes me how you all are so into your studies." She commented.

"All of us except Usagi." Ami replied. "But that's just the way she is so I can't hold it against her." She added. She shielded her eyes from the suns glare when the two stepped outside.

Michiru reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of blue sunglasses. She handed it to Ami who graciously took it and placed them on her nose. "Those look great on you. You can keep them."

"Thank you." Ami nodded. "So would you like to go to the Crown Game Center or to a café or an ice cream parlor?" she questioned.

"I'd like to go to an ice cream parlor." Michiru confirmed. "This way we can stay outside and there isn't much noise to distract us." She explained. "So how has school been?" she questioned.

"I knew high school would be hard but I'm going out of my mind with studying." Ami answered.

"You're very bright Ami." Michiru explained. "You'll be able to withstand everything the teachers throw at you."

"Thank you." Ami muttered. "That means a lot." She added. Michiru opened her mouth to reply but changed her min and closed it again. "So how is your painting coming?"

"Not good." Michiru admitted with the small shake of the head. "I haven't found any inspiration yet." She admitted.

"But you always paint about the sea-"Ami started.

"It's not just the sea." Michiru interrupted. "They're not always good paintings. I paint my dreams." She explained.

"So that one painting with the wale splashing out of the water in the art gallery..." Ami asked.

"That painting is apart of my past." Michiru answered. "I believe in a past like I was an aquatic animal. Besides the fact that I'm Sailor Neptune, but when I'm in the water it just feels right." She answered

"I understand what you mean." Ami nodded. "When I'm the water I wish I could just live in it forever." She whispered. Ami and Michiru walked up to the open window of the ice cream parlor and order two milkshakes. They took their drinks and took a seat at a table outside.

"I need to ask you something..." Michiru started. "You don't need to say yes I just need you to think about it." She started.

"What do you need to ask me?" Ami questioned and took a sip of her milkshake.

"Will you be my model for my next painting?" she asked. Ami chocked on her milkshake and waited for her spasm to pass before answering.

"Me?" Ami questioned.

"You just gave me a new idea.' Michiru smiled brightly. "And I would really love it if you could be my model." She added. Ami quickly stood up and grabbed her school bag.

"I have to go." Ami said quickly as she grabbed her milkshake and dumped it into the trash can.

"Ami-"Michiru sent her a confused look. She got up from her seat and watched her run off.

"I'm sorry. I'll see you later." Ami called over her shoulder and continued to run. She ran and ran and she didn't stop until she reach Rei's temple.

--------------

"And you just left?" Minako gasped.

Ami nodded slowly. She felt bad for just leaving Michiru and running off. But she felt so uncomfortable when she was asked to model for a painting.

"Poor Michiru." Usagi interrupted her thoughts. "How could you do that to her?"

"I just felt so uncomfortable with her asking me to-"Ami started.

"She just wants you to pose for a painting. How bad could it be?" Rei shrugged.

"It depends on her dream." She answered.

"Her dream?" Makoto questioned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Michiru told me that all of her paintings come from her dreams." Ami answered.

"So maybe she had a dream about you." Minako answered.

"But she's with Haruka." Usagi reminded them.

"You can have dreams about anyone even if you're with someone else." Rei answered. "You can't help what you dream." She added. Ami silently grabbed her school bag and got to her feet.

"Where are you going Ami?" Makoto asked.

"I need to apologize." Ami answered and left.

--------------

Michiru sat in her living room curled up on the couch with a book. She sighed after a couple of minutes and tossed the book away. She grabbed a pillow and held it against her chest while looking up at the ceiling.

A knock came on the front door. Michiru sat up and waited to see if there was another knock just incase it was a delivery man. There was another short knock. She got up from her seat and walked over to the door. She looked out the window and quickly opened the door. "Ami?"

"Hey, I came to apologize for earlier." Ami said softly while looking at the ground.

"Come on in." Michiru moved out of the way to let her friend into the house. She closed the door behind her and mentioned for her to take a seat in the living room.

"I'm sorry for running off earlier." Ami sat down in a chair opposite of Michiru. She placed her school bag onto the ground and crossed her legs. "I didn't know what I was thinking." She shook her head.

"You were nervous about my proposal." Michiru smiled softly. "No need to apologize." She added.

"I also came back here because I would like to be your model." Ami muttered. A light blush spread across her cheeks.

"Great. My art room is upstairs." Michiru got up from her seat and pulled Ami up the stairs. "I'm going to need you to change into this bathing suit. That bathroom is across the hall." She explained while pulling a blue bathing suit out of her dresser drawer.

Ami took the bathing suit of Michiru's hands and headed into the bathroom. She had mixed feelings of being someone's model. She felt embarrassed for sitting very still in just a bathing suit and yet she felt honored for being chosen.

Ami opened the bathroom door and stepped out into the hallway. She walked over to Michiru's bedroom and saw that it was empty. "Michiru?" she called out.

Michiru entered the hallway and mentioned for her to follow her. Ami followed silently and waited in the doorway of her art room as Michiru set up her easel. "What would you like me to do?" she questioned.

"I just want you to sit on the stool in the most relaxing position you can." Michiru answered while slipping on a white smock. She put it on backwards to make sure she wouldn't drip any pain on her clothes.

Ami sat on the stool and did a small pose. Michiru smiled softly and got up form her seat. She walked over to Ami and lowered on her of bathing suit straps. She then fluffed up her hair a bit. Michiru then placed a sun hat on her had. "There, that's better."

"What do you want me to do with my facial expression?" Ami asked as Michiru took her seat again at her easel.

"Just keep it the way you had it put look off in the distance." Michiru answered while picking up a paintbrush and dipping it in some black paint. "Don't look at me and try to stay like that." She said and started to paint.

Ami looked at the other paintings on the opposite wall, trying her hardest not to move. "You're paintings are magnificent." She muttered.

"Thank you." Michiru replied.

"What made you want to be interested in the arts?" she questioned.

"...My mom. She told me when I was younger that woman need to be interested in at least one form of the arts." Michiru answered. "She originally wanted me to try the violin and I got hooked. It wasn't until I was five when I realized I liked painting."

"How?" Ami asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"I went to my preschool one day and when we had free time I always painted. But one day a kid in my class splattered some paint onto my picture." Michiru explained. "I got so mad that I grabbed another piece of paper and started to paint out my problems. And I ended up painting a sunset."

"When I showed my mom the picture she sat me down and wanted me to paint another picture. The first thing that popped into my mind was a mermaid so that's what I drew." She added. "It was then she sent me to an arts school. I attended that school until I was in tenth grade and I move here. It was there I met Haruka because she played the piano while I played the violin." She finished.

"How do you have enough time to do both?" Ami raised an eyebrow. She quickly lowered it again when she though it would mess up the picture.

"I made time. I'm just glad being a sailor senshi didn't get in the way of it." Michiru answered. "Now that Galaxia is defeated I now have time to work on my hobbies again." She added.

The two sat in silence for a while. Ami had finally relaxed and got comfortable under someone else's gaze. She never realized that there was a lot to Michiru than she had seen. Ami only thought that Michiru was an older senshi who thought that being stronger meant she was right. But fighting along side her changed all prospective.

"I'm finished." Michiru grabbed her paint brush and dipped it in a bucket of water. "You can move now." She added.

Ami slowly got up from her seat and started to stretch her legs out. She rolled her shoulders and couple of times and walked over to the easel. "May I see it?" she asked softly.

"Go ahead." Michiru nodded while taking off her smock. She placed it on the stool and started to clear away her supplies.

"This is really good." Ami gasped. "Where are you going to put it?" she questioned. Michiru pulled a small camera out of her pocket and took a picture of the painting. Ami watched silently as Michiru grabbed a pen and scribbled her name on the bottom.

"You can have it." Michiru answered.

"I can't." Ami shook her head.

"I insist." Michiru smiled. "I'll have Haruka develop this picture and then put it in my scrapbook." She wrapped the camera's string around her wrist.

"But why?" Ami asked.

"That's what I do with my favorite pictures. " Michiru answered.