SM Monthly Fanfic Challenge Theme #97 (07APR06)
Haha, a new idea I had. A completely subjective spoiler rating level for my PSGM stories. I know blue and Kihin are in the middle of watching the arc and would prefer not to be too spoiled (any more than they already are) if they can avoid it, so I in March I started tacking on Spoiler Warnings. But, there are really more degrees than spoilers and no spoilers since the show has been out for almost two years now. So, I created this.
Spoiler Level Pallas: Story is set in PGSM verse, but there is no reference to anything that happened in the main story line.
Spoiler Level Juno: Some spoilers by reference, but you've probably been spoiled already. Examples: who was the first person attacked, what is Kunzite's human name, Motoki's new pet, the new bad guy, Minako's big secret, the outcome of her big secret, Serenity's new item, what Serenity did in the Final Act, etc.. Spoiler Alert.
Spoiler Level Ceres: Some bigger spoilers that you may not know about. What Naru and 'Toki saw, how characters reacted to certain things, maybe the outcome of Minako's big secret should go here, what happened to the Shitennou, and what totally romantic thing did 'Toki do?. Major Spoiler Alert.
Spoiler Level Vesta: Direct references to scenes in the main story line. MAJOR Spoiler ALERT.
The following story would be Spoiler Level Pallas, if you read it as PGSM. ^-^
Title: Sparkling Seas
Author: Raya
Theme: Michiru / Unintroduced
Genre: General
Version: Manga or PGSM. Pick your own. ^-^ (Officially PGSM, but it really doesn't make much difference)
Rating: G
Word Count: 2434 (Edited)
Disclaimer: All of the characters used below were created by Takeuchi Naoko, and are partially owned by Bandai Entertainment. I have merely converted them into lovely Live Action dolls to play with for a little while.
Canon, spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections are appreciated. So is constructive criticism and general comments. Please let me know if you see something that you like or that should be corrected. Thanks! - Raya
Sparkling Seas
Michiru looked down at the flyer in her hand, and then up to the store window. This was the place: Mayumi Osaka. She studied the discretely etched design on the store window, and then nodded slightly to herself as she put the flyer back into her purse. The fanciful flower was discretely elegant, yet fashionable and feminine as well. If it was a true reflection of Osaka's work, it would be the perfect place to buy her grandmother a birthday present.
Absently smoothing the short skirt of her school uniform, Michiru stepped up to the door and pushed it open. She looked around the softly lit studio and gave a smile of approval. A faint floral scent filled the air, and instead of the usual softly playing classical music she heard the gentle sighing of the sea.
Across the room, she spied a smartly dressed woman with reddish brown hair sitting behind a counter. Michiru cocked her head slightly as she noted the slightly pained expression on the woman's face. She rested her forehead in one slender hand, and studied something on the counter that Michiru could not see.
Deciding that the salesperson was going to give her a few minutes to browse in peace before assisting her, Michiru walked over to the nearest display case and began to browse. She raised her elegant eyebrows as she noted the funky, cutting edge styles that seemed to be at odds with the low key ambiance and logo. The artistry was nice, she noted, but entirely unsuitable for her current needs.
In the next case, the settings that were displayed were much more conservative. In fact, they could have been considered polar opposites of the settings in the first case. While they were closer to what she was looking for, they were a little too conservative.
Quickly, Michiru moved on to the third case which contained nothing but loose gems. Rubies glowed like warm embers in the lighting. The sapphires seemed to form a pool of relaxing shades of blueness, while the emeralds glimmered and winked like cat's eyes and the diamonds cast rainbows all around the case.
While she knew her stones and could easily see the high quality of the gems the case contained, Michiru was more interested in designs and settings than free gemstones. She suppressed a sigh as she walked to the next case. So far, the store was a disappointment despite its auspicious first impression.
"May I help you?" the saleswoman finally asked softly. Michiru looked over to where she still sat at her place behind the counter. "Are you looking for some style or pattern in particular?"
For a moment, Michiru was insulted and disappointed. With a store of this quality and reputation, the clerk should have at least stood up and approached her. But, as she looked at the woman a little longer, the pain in her brown eyes caught Michiru's attention. Deciding to give the woman one more chance, she crossed the room to stand in front of her.
"I'm looking for something to give my grandmother," Michiru said softly. Glancing down, she saw that the woman had been sketching a necklace design. The delicate artistry made her breath catch.
"Your grandmother? I see. Is it for a special occasion? Or just a general gift?" the woman asked with a smile as she put her pencil down and leaned forward slightly.
"Her birthday," Michiru replied absently, her eyes still on the design. The woman studied her face for a moment, and then turned the paper around so that Michiru could see it better. Her smile widened as she did so.
Michiru looked at it a moment longer, and then looked up with a grateful smile. "That's beautiful. Her birthday. She will be turning 80 years old this year."
"Thank you very much. My, that is a special one. Is there a particular style that she likes or that looks good on her?" the woman asked.
"Hmmm... That is the hard part," Michiru admitted. "Her taste is rather eclectic. I would know if she would like it if I saw it, but I find it hard to describe."
Instead of looking irritated or disappointed, the woman's face actually brightened. "So, did you have a particular style in mind or were you just browsing until something struck you?" she asked.
Michiru looked down at the paper again. "More just browsing," she said, "but I was thinking something European antiquish."
"Antinquish... Hmmm... Edwardian? Victorian? Baroque? Romantic? Which area of Europe?"
"France," Michiru replied as she looked up at the woman's shining eyes once more.
"France... World War I and II... Art Deco... Resistance... Reconstruction... Bohemian... Vintage... Classic..." The woman studied Michiru's expression closely as she threw out several more key words. Finally, she changed her approach and began to ask more of the questions that Michiru had expected. "Does she have a favorite metal?"
"Gold, and her favorite stone is emerald," she replied.
The woman nodded. "What is her skin tone?"
"Quite fair, but not alabaster or white."
"Tall? Short? Husky? Thin as a model?"
Michiru blinked. "Small. Petite," she replied, slightly taken aback by this train of thought. Picking up the pencil that the woman had discarded, she looked around for a piece of paper. Quickly, the woman gave her a tablet, and Michiru began to draw a rough sketch of her grandmother.
When she finished, the woman nodded with a wide smile. "Over in that case by the door...," she said as she gestured. "Not the one you looked at on the left, but the one on the right. There's a bracelet in there: emerald chips set in gold flowers. It should be the third in from the right in the middle row." When Michiru looked at her with a raised eyebrow, she blushed slightly. "Please forgive me for not getting up. I was... attacked the other day and I seem to have severely sprained my ankle. I know it is quite rude to ask you to go look for yourself first, but..."
Michiru's look of surprise melted into an understanding smile. "Certainly. I'm glad you are all right!" The woman smiled weakly at her and nodded her appreciation. Apparently, Michiru decided as she turned to walk to the indicated case, she was still recovering emotionally from the attack.
She studied the offered bracelet and then walked back to the saleswoman. "Close," she said thoughtfully. "But it's still a little too... too... gaudy? big? overpowering?" Michiru rolled her hands in the air as she searched for the description she wanted.
The woman frowned thoughtfully, and then began to sketch quickly. "It looks like this, right?" Michiru nodded, a little surprised that a salesperson would know the designs quite that well. The way she had sketched it, it looked just the way it did in the case down to the bends and curves of the display stand.
The saleswoman studied her sketch a moment, and then began to quickly sketch once more. "If I take out a few of these, and make these smaller, and this bigger... Move this over here...."
"That's it!" Michiru exclaimed excitedly as she, too, leaned over the sketch. "That would be perfect! Do you have something like that?" She looked expectantly at the saleswoman, who continued to look at her sketch.
"Not yet," she replied absently. She looked up and smiled reassuringly as Michiru's face fell. "Did you need it today? I don't think I have the materials on hand, but when Kanbe-san eventually returns, I could ask her to check..." Her smile faded into a faint frown of displeasure over Kanbe's absence.
Michiru blinked at her. "No... Next week should be soon enough. You could make this?"
The woman looked at her curiously, and then began to laugh. "Oh, my. I'm so sorry. Please, allow me to introduce myself. How do you do, I am the owner of this store, the principle designer and jeweler, Mayumi Osaka," she said with as much of a polite bow as she could make sitting down.
"How do you do," Michiru replied a little weakly, feeling slightly embarrassed. The embarrassment faded quickly under the woman's bright smile as she returned the polite gesture. "Michiru Kaioh, a student of Mugen Gakuen. It is nice to meet you."
A short while later, Michiru walked out of the store quite satisfied. Ms. Osaka had promised to have her bracelet ready in four days which would be plenty of time for shipping it overseas to her grandmother. In addition, she had shown Michiru a beautiful necklace that now resided around her neck. She fingered the abalone covered silver turtle as her smile widened. She would definitely return to that store again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Michiru..." Haruka sighed as her lover stopped in front of yet another store window. "We have to hurry back, remember? Hotaru needs these diapers. We only had one or two left, and the way she goes through them..."
"Just a moment, Haruka," Michiru replied absently as she looked at the display case. "Let's go in here." Without waiting for her partner's response, she walked over to the door.
"What?" Haruka replied as she held up the plastic bags she held. "Take these? Into that elegant store? Are you crazy?"
"It will just be for a moment," Michiru said with a smile as she looked over her shoulder. "Besides, what do you care about appearances?" Her smile widened as Haruka frowned.
"I care," the blonde muttered stubbornly as she watched Michiru open the door. She breathed a resigned sigh and followed, though. Apparently, the other woman had seen something that caught her eye.
"Welcome to our store," a soft voice called gently over the classical music as she entered. Michiru looked at the saleswoman, and walked over to the counter that she stood behind. "Is there something I can help you find?" the woman continued.
"I would like to speak with Osaka-san, please," Michiru replied with a polite smile.
"Osaka-san? I'm so sorry, but did you have an appointment?" the black haired woman replied a little superciliously.
Michiru frowned. "No... I suppose I could make one," she added reluctantly.
"Kaioh-san! Welcome!" Mayumi said from the door at the back of the display area that led to the offices. She had been waiting for Naru to come home from school when she had looked into the security monitor and seen one of her favorite customers. "What can I do for you?" she asked with a smile. The saleswoman blinked at her in surprise, made note of Michiru's and Haruka's faces, and then faded quietly into the background.
"Osaka-san, good afternoon!" Michiru replied as the smile returned to her face. "I'm looking for something..."
Mayumi laughed. One of the reasons that Michiru was one of her favorite customers was because her requests were usually challenging, but not impossible. "For whom?" When Michiru's expression sobered, so did her own.
"For myself and two friends," Michiru replied softly. She glanced at Haruka who had begun to idly study the displays. "We have made a commitment... A pact of sorts."
Mayumi nodded thoughtfully. "And you want some way to display it? Or remind yourselves of it?"
Michiru shook her head with a soft, breathy chuckle. "We won't need to remind ourselves of it. But to display it? To show our commitment to it? Yes, I think that might be nice..."
Mayumi nodded again. "Did you have anything at all in mind?" she asked curiously as potential designs ran through her head.
"Something small and practical," Michiru replied immediately. "I was thinking maybe a ring?"
"Hmmm," Mayumi replied, "me, too. Rings are good symbols for vows and commitments. It could also be quite discrete." She looked over at Haruka and studied the tall blonde for a few minutes. "And your other friend?"
"Female, also. Tall, slim, dusky... I was thinking something in silver? With a purple stone."
"Amethyst?" Mayumi replied a little surprised. "That's unusual for you. I thought you preferred aquamarine?"
Michiru smiled. "But purple would be more appropriate for our vow. Something darker than amethyst... Is there anything?"
"Amethyst can be quite dark," Mayumi replied thoughtfully as she leaned against one of the counters. "But if you want something other than that, there is also purple sapphire, chaorite, sugilite, opalite..."
"Do you have any samples?" Michiru asked as Mayumi's voice faded out.
The designer slowly shook her head. "I might have some sugilite, but not the others."
"I suppose we could go for a dark amethyst," Michiru sighed.
"What was the vow, if I may ask?" Mayumi asked suddenly.
"To raise a little girl," Michiru replied with a soft smile. "She was born in October, and she loves lamps. Her colors are purple and a dark orange, but she likes black, too. She is a quiet little one right now, but she will probably grow into quite a handful in a few years." Her soft smile became more proudly amused.
"She sounds like a precious little princess." Mayumi's smile widened as Michiru nodded. "October's stone is Opal, so opalite would work nicely. But I would recommend sugilite. It's a native Japanese stone, varying grades of purple with a very opaque surface. Sometimes it has some black matrixing or orangish blotching which could make it look opalish, but the clearer the stone the more valuable it is."
Michiru's face lit up. "That would be perfect!" she exclaimed softly. "A little matrixing or blotchiness would not be bad, although we would not want low quality stones."
Mayumi nodded as she stood up. "I will have some concept designs ready for you... Day after tomorrow?" She cocked her head slightly to one side.
Michiru thought a moment, and then nodded. "That would be good. We will probably be in the area again at about this time. I'll bring my other friend as well."
"Perfect," Mayumi declared, her eyes shining. "I will see you then!" After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Michiru finally gave in to Haruka's silent, demanding stares and said her goodbyes.
A month later, Haruka stood beside Hotaru's crib, looked down at the ring on her finger, and then over at her lover. "This is perfect, Michiru," she said softly for fear of waking the baby who had just fallen asleep. "What a good idea. What a good design."
Michiru smiled as she leaned against Haruka's shoulder and held her hand out beside the blonde's. "Thank Osaka-san. She's brilliant."
Haruka shook her head, and then placed a gentle kiss on the crown of Michiru's head. "No, you're brilliant." Michiru just smiled.