15 – Hands

Michiru’s hands are the one part of her body she can be proud of.

She does not take pride in her beauty. She does not take pride in her styled hair, her perfect posture, her classic features. These things have nothing to do with her. They are aspects of the doll she inhabits, the doll her parents molded into an ideal form.

But her hands reflect action. Her hands reflect her actions. Her nails are short and fingerpads calloused. Though she washes throughly before leaving a studio, her hands are splattered in paint for hours at a time. Her hands are working hands. Her hands betray the facade that everything comes easy to her.

Her mother often insists she wear gloves on fine occasions. Her hands are un-ladylike, you see, dear, and it is is always best to hide that part of oneself. Michiru rarely obliges, claiming her hands signal her talents, relishing her small rebellion, the small way she can claim herself. 

It’s fitting to her, in that bitter, humorous way, that gloves appear when she becomes Neptune. Of course every attempt would be made to conceal the girl inside the soldier. It is always best to hide that part of oneself.