A Guardian In Need of Saving

Chapter Four

Long before their final battle with Galaxia, going for a run was Haruka's preferred method of clearing her mind. If the race track was closed or her car was in the shop for repairs, she'd slip into her gym clothes and jog to the park in the Juuban district. She'd follow its winding trails until her legs were numb, pacing around visitors admiring the willows and wildflowers. She would run until her worries were behind her, stamped into the ground by the soles of her battered running shoes.

But shortly after their final battle with Galaxia, Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna had decided that the crowded, bustling city was not where they wanted to raise Hotaru. She attended school in the Juuban district, frequently crossing paths with Chibiusa when she returned to this time period to visit, but Haruka drove her there every morning before heading for the race track.

Often, she contemplated stopping by the park, the one place on Earth where even Michiru knew better than to follow her. But Haruka never had the time, and so she'd settled for buying a treadmill that she kept outside in the garage. It wasn't ideal on days like today when she missed feeling the wind in her hair, but it would do. She needed to run until her legs gave out, until her only concern was catching her breath before her heart stalled. Anything less than that was unacceptable.

As always, she started off easy, walking briskly on the treadmill's slowest speed. She worked her way up to its fastest, jabbing at the buttons on the console until her legs began to ache and her lungs started to seize in her chest. Haruka gritted her teeth and kept going, sweat beginning to bead along her hairline.

The treadmill beeped at her when the twenty minutes she'd set on the timer passed, but Haruka simply added more time. She was not ready to go inside, to lie to her family and pretend that everything was fine. Michiru had been keeping a close eye on her Deep Aqua Mirror, and both Setsuna and Hotaru were still wary. But the three of them together had fallen back into their routines, whereas Haruka had yet to escape from the monsters still haunting her every night; from the shadows that lingered in the corners of her eyes and fluttered along the ceiling in every room.

She pushed herself harder, her feet thudding against the treadmill until every bone in her body ached. It wasn't enough—this stupid machine was not enough for Haruka to run from her problems. They chased her on a never ending track, biting at her heels and reminding her they held Haruka prisoner. She would never escape if the darkness had anything to say about it.

Over the sound of her gasping breaths and the rush of her pulse in her ears, Haruka didn't hear the garage door open, nor the click of expensive heels on the oily cement floor. Michiru appeared at her side, a frown tugging at her glossed lips as she leaned over the bars of the treadmill. She slowed its speed until Haruka was forced into a walk.

"You've been out here for two hours," Michiru said, reaching for Haruka's water bottle on a nearby work table. Her frown only deepened when she realized it was empty. "Have you been running all this time?"

Haruka's legs were like those of a newborn fawn, trembling and unsteady as she stepped off the treadmill. "Not the whole time," she lied, collapsing onto a stack of old tires. "I worked on my car for a while."

Michiru stared pointedly at Haruka's hands, noting the lack of grease. "I see."

"Is everything all right?" Haruka swept the back of her arm across her forehead, wiping away the sweat that lingered there. She would need to shower before bed. "You don't usually come out into the garage."

"It's getting late," Michiru informed her. "You missed dinner."

Haruka glanced at the small window pressed into the garage's steel wall. Indeed, the sky beyond was a midnight blue as the sun began to dip below the horizon. "I'm sorry," Haruka murmured, any icy chill prickling along her skin. "I didn't realize."