:|: TEASER VERSION!!! :|: 
Author's notes, Prologue, first parts of Chapters 1, 6, and 8

Author's notes:

This is a story I've had up in my head for awhile, and I
finally got around to typing it up. The story is focused
on Haruka and Michiru, starting before they are born and
going up through and past the Stars season [anime version].
This story is meant to detail their early past and broaden
the characters. You'll notice that in the story all the events
the two were involved with in the anime [as far as I know] are
shown, as well as _MANY_ things not included in the anime. This
story is not meant to change what has already been stated in
the anime [as in what is introduced about their past and the
actual events in the series], but to expand a lot more on their
characters and give them a larger history than they were given
in the anime. There may be some inaccuracies in the details
in the scenes that occurred in the anime [such as the fight
scenes and dialogue], mainly because I haven't seen all the
episodes, but also because I can't remember who threw every
punch in the episodes I've seen and because the subtitler I
bought tapes from might have translated the dialogue differently.

This story has some content in it that not everyone can handle;
a lot of scenes involving homosexuality, language, violence, 
child abuse, and suggestive commentary. I'd rate it PG-13, perhaps 
R in some parts, it really depends on your maturity level :P  
If this kind of material offends you, you shouldn't read this.

[the usual legal babble here, just in case...]
Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and all related characters were
created by Naoko Takeuchi and are property of Toei Animation
as well as Kodansha Comics, and possibility other groups I
don't know about. All characters in this story are fictitious;
any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely
coincidental. This story was written without prior approval
from the creator or the owners of the anime and manga. The
song quotes are also used without permission. "#1 Crush" is a
song by Garbage, and "Truly Madly Deeply" by Savage Garden; while
I am not certain who would be considered the owners [the publisher
or the artists], I certainly am not the owner. The actual story
contained in this document was created by myself, and should
not be copied in any way or form. The story represents my own 
views and does not necessarily reflect those of the creator and
owners of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon. All characters introduced
in this story that were not mentioned in the anime or manga of
BSSM were created by myself and should not be used by anyone
else. Sick of reading this legal babble yet? I know I'm tired
of writing it.

I'm not positive, but I think that you should be able to follow
the story even if you haven't seen the show or really don't know much
about these characters. Please note that the odd hair colors are still 
considered "natural" since this _is_ based on an animated series. It
may seem silly to point this out, but I consider indigo to be the 
deepest shade of blue; some people think it's purplish, but I don't.
The Japanese terms might confuse people, even those who watch BSSM, so 
I've included some here. In case you are wondering, I just prefer to 
use some of the Japanese terms to English ones, and in some cases, the 
translation just doesn't seem as interesting, y'know?

bento = basically it's a nice lunch box with assorted foods, kids commonly
	bring them to school. The presentation is very important and a lot of
	work goes into them. It's considered very nice to share it.
fuku = literally "clothing," used here to refer to the Senshi's outfits.
ginzuishou = "silver crystal;" a magical item, explained later.
henshin = transform(ation).
Mugen Gakuen = "Infinity Academy;" it's the name of a school that will
	appear in the story.
senshi = soldier/warrior.
tyourei = morning meeting at school, where everyone has to line up in
      attention and listen to speeches and whatnot.
There are different words for "I" depending on whether you are male or
female, and some words are used exclusively by males/females. I won't
use them here, but be aware of that.
no suffix on a name = depending on the person, it can either show great 
	intimacy or contempt. Used between family members and lovers.
sensei or -sensei = teacher; mentor.
-chan = usually used with children only, or girls; usually a familiar
      term [not with people you barely know].
-san = a term of respect for someone older than you, or that you've
      just met. Can be used with the first or last name.
-kun = usually used with boys older than you or close guy friends.
sempai or -sempai = used by students [I think only them] to refer to
      an older student; respectful.
onii-chan/onii-san = older brother
onee-chan/onee-san = older sister
okaa-san = mother
otou-san = father
oba-san = aunt
obaa-san = grandmother
ojii-san = grandfather
Note on names: In Japan, last names are put before first names, so
I will write them in this format, _however_, there are two characters
in this story with English names, and I will write theirs in the
first name first format we use.

Again, please note that I have not seen all the episodes, the
great majority of them I only know about through screenshots and
summaries, so if there are any inaccuracies, sorry! I am not entirely 
certain how the Japanese school system is structured [I'm doing the 
best I can based on a write up on Japanese schools I found on a web page; 
forget which]. If I understand it correctly, junior high begins 7th grade 
and high school begins 10th. It's a little tricky for me to figure out 
what age people are at certain times though; the school system starts 
early in the year, but I'm not sure when... I will be taking some 
liberties with Mugen Gakuen since I'm assuming it wouldn't be quite 
like a normal Japanese school. Any other inaccuracies relating to the 
Japanese culture I greatly apologize for; I'm not an expert on Japan. 
I put in honorifics at the end of names in the dialogue, but I may be 
a bit off with which ones should be used for what situations. Also, note
that the house Michiru's parents own is _incredibly_ Westernized. 

About the separation within chapters: I use the * to indicate scene/setting
shifts, three blank lines for... well, I just feel like it. I switch
perspectives somewhat during the story... and I may accidentally switch
tense (of course, if it's a flashback or vision, that's intended)... so
sorry if that bothers you. I will usually tab over flashback/vision segments.
I will also tab over the first paragraph for scenes that switch between short 
focuses on Haruka and Michiru. Some dream sequences are all over the place--
you'll understand when you see them. It's just for effect ^^;

Please take the time to visit my web page, The World of Immora, if you 
haven't already. The address is http://come.to/immora. If you go into 
"The Spiffy Sailormoon Page!," Entertainment, then My Fanfiction, you'll see 
there's a page for this story :) If you want to e-mail me, my address is 
immora@japan.crosswinds.net. If you have a website of your own and like this 
story or my others, feel free to post them on your page, as long as you 
credit me. 

Tons of thanks to all the pre-readers:
Zi Wang and Sailoreagle for their general comments
Soraya Jaojaroenkul for her comments and wonderful artwork
Jessica Donald for comments and catching lots of spelling problems as well as
  some flaws in characterization

Well... enough with that babble for now. Enjoy the story!



					~~~~~~~~~~

					 PROLOGUE

					~~~~~~~~~~



A tall, thin woman with short, dark blond hair stood on the roof of a
gorgeous two-story house, silently letting the night-time breeze blow
around her. Her dark teal eyes lifted to the sky, where the stars
twinkled brightly. She spent many nights up here in contemplation,
enjoying the simple caress of the wind blowing against her. Today was
not an average day, however. She had just returned from watching three
friends leave forever following her own and other friends' death and 
revival.

She sensed more than saw or heard someone join her on the roof. A slender
woman of average height with long, wavy, sea green hair came over to stand
next to her, her own eyes, blue in color, lifting to the sky as well. "I
love watching the stars," she mused in her smooth, mezzo voice.

"It's very relaxing," the first replied in her warm, deep voice. "It's
good to know that they are back home in them now."

Their hands unconsciously clasped each other's, and they sat down on the
roof, wrapping an arm around the other while leaning their heads against
each other's.

"What have you been doing up here?" the seagreen-haired woman asked.

"Thinking, mainly... remembering... everything really."

A soft hand reached up to caress the other's cheek. "Everything? Are you
sure you _want_ to remember all that has happened to you, especially after
what just happened?"

"I can never forget what's happened, whether I want to or not," was the
immediate reply. "Besides, despite all the bad times, I've had some
rather good ones as well... mostly because of you, actually."

"Hmmm... I can easily relate to that, Haruka. I don't think either of us
really had much before we had each other."

"No, we didn't, Michiru. We certainly didn't."

Haruka gathered Michiru closer, Michiru resting her head against
Haruka's chest. "Do you think things were made worse when we became
Sailor Senshi?" Michiru asked softly. "All the sacrifices, the blood
staining our hands, was it really worth it?"

Haruka tilted Michiru's head up towards hers. "If we hadn't become
Senshi, we might not be together," she whispered softly, her voice
shifting into a purr as she said, "Anything I've endured in the past is
worth being with _you_, my love..."

Their lips met in a warm, tender kiss, opening their mouths to each
other as they gently probed inside with their tongues. Michiru wrapped
her arms around Haruka's neck, drawing the two of them deeper into their
embrace. The sweet taste of Haruka's lips intoxicated Michiru, causing
her to almost roughly tighten her arms around her lover's neck and pull
her down to lie on top of her on the roof. Haruka buried her mouth
deeper against Michiru's, overwhelmed with passion, her tongue dancing
along Michiru's as they struggled to keep in control of the raging
warmth spreading through their bodies. They slowly, almost regretfully
pulled away, closing their mouths against the other's until just their
lips touched before drawing back.

Haruka gazed into Michiru's eyes, sparkling brightly as she looked up at
Haruka in a semi-daze. Michiru smiled gently up at her, a faint blush
forming on her cheeks. "You're wonderful, you know that?" she breathed,
lightly brushing her fingers across Haruka's wet lips.

Haruka reached her hand up to gently hold Michiru's. She kissed her palm
gently and smiled faintly. "Not really, but you are."

Michiru chuckled faintly, and Haruka hugged her tightly. Michiru rested
her head on Haruka's shoulder, her cheek pressed against Haruka's hair.
She closed her eyes and sighed. "We didn't get a last kiss, you know...
that more than makes up for it."

"Mmmm, that was nice, wasn't it?" Haruka nuzzled her neck a bit.

"Haruka... Do you have any idea how scared I was today?"

"Hmmm?"

Michiru looked down at her wrists, imagining the large gold bracelets still
there. "Trying to fool Galaxia like that... I was so terrified of what might 
happen... and..." she closed her eyes again, "when we lay there, dying..."

"Hush, love. Don't think about it. Everything's alright now. She's good
now. The Starlights have gone back home."

"Still... It was only a few hours ago. It's still fresh in my mind."

Haruka pressed her finger to her lips, whispering, "We've both had a lot
of pain in our lives... but we won't anymore. Everything will be fine
from now on."

Haruka gently kissed her cheek, and Michiru smiled, sighing as she rested 
her head on Haruka again. She opened her eyes wide in surprise as she
saw that they weren't alone on the roof after all.

"You finally noticed we were here, I see," a rich, calm voice scolded
them. A breath-taking woman stood there with her arms crossed. She almost as 
tall as Haruka, with a deep tan, long, dark green hair pulled into a small 
bun with her loose hair falling to the backs of her knees, and dark red eyes. 
A short, pale-skinned girl with shoulder-length black hair and wide, purple 
eyes was standing next to her. "You really don't pay attention to anything 
when you're busy with other things, do you?"

"Haruka-papa, Michiru-mama, is it alright if we stay up here too?" the
soft, gentle voice of the girl asked.

Michiru stared nervously at her best friend standing beside her and
Haruka's foster daughter and blushed faintly, realizing the two standing
here had seen everything. "Oh... alright, Hotaru-chan. So, Setsuna-san,
what brings you two here?"

Hotaru smiled and sat down, Setsuna taking a spot next to her. Setsuna
answered Michiru, "Just checking up on you two. What are you two up to?"
Setsuna's eyes crinkled with amusement.

The two in question both coughed into their fists. Haruka said, "Well,
I came up here just to sit and reminisce about things."

"And I came to check on Haruka."

"It seems you two found something else to do instead," Setsuna remarked,
drawing another faint blush from Michiru.

"C'mon, Setsuna-san, stop teasing us," Haruka scolded, lying back again
and drawing Michiru down with her. "We're grown women and we can do
whatever we want to do. Besides, it was just a kiss, it's not like we
were having s-"

Michiru pinched her arm lightly. "Haruka..." she growled softly, "watch
what you say when Hotaru's around. She doesn't need to know about that, 
or that we have it together."

Setsuna chuckled and Haruka blushed brightly. "Tsk tsk," Setsuna said in
a mock scolding voice, "you wouldn't want to discuss such things at Hotaru's 
age, would you, Haruka-san, so why bring them up?"

"Oh hush, both of you," Haruka mumbled, trying to hide her blush.

"_Setsuna-mama_," Hotaru groaned, "I'm not a _child_..."

"Oh really?" Setsuna smiled slightly.

Hotaru raised her knees under her chin. "I can remember things clearly
from before I di-... um, was reborn. I may have a young body but my 
memories are older. After we... After the recent events with Galaxia, my 
memory of my life a few years ago was completely restored."

Setsuna shifted uncomfortably. Everyone tried not to discuss with Hotaru
her unusual age situation, since they might unknowingly reopen old wounds...
and poor Hotaru never had a chance at a normal childhood. With her birth
father, she'd died and been restored, but possessed by an evil entity. She
gave her life to save the world, and was reborn as a baby. This time, Galaxia 
had sped up her aging so fast that she didn't get to experience childhood,
going straight to adolescence.

"Um, Haruka-papa, do you remember what things were like when you were my
age? That is, my physical age?" Hotaru, appearing to be twelve or so, looked 
at the tall blond quizzically.

Haruka winced slightly, and Michiru looked at her with a concerned face.
"Yes, I do," she replied slowly.

"Were you happy, like I am?"

"Well, I... um, well, things could have been a lot better. Why don't we
all go inside, it's getting cold out here, and it's been a long day." Haruka 
carefully changed the subject as everyone stood up, climbed down onto the 
porch outside Haruka and Michiru's window, and went back inside.

"Setsuna-san, why don't you put Hotaru-chan to bed? I need to talk with
Haruka."

"Alright. You two try to get some sleep for once. We're all exhausted, after 
all. And don't forget, Hotaru still has school tomorrow, and I don't want her 
to be kept awake for the next few hours because a certain couple decided to 
get intimate with each other."

"Setsuna!" Michiru gasped in a shocked voice. "A little _blunt_!"

Setsuna smiled faintly. "Sorry, good night," she said in a neutral voice,
leading Hotaru from the room as she shut the door behind her.

Michiru turned at once to Haruka, hugging the silently crying woman
tightly. "Haruka, calm down. Hotaru-chan didn't mean anything by the
question. She couldn't have known."

"I know," Haruka choked out. "But it still... it hurts all the same. I 
always think I've gotten over it... but..."

Michiru led her to their bed, then gathered Haruka in her arms again with
a sad sigh. "Maybe it _isn't_ good for us to remember all these things
that have happened," she murmured, her mind wandering to her own
childhood.

Haruka sniffled slightly, then looked up at Michiru. "I never did like
thinking about it," Haruka admits. "I don't know why I think about it
when I know it'll just upset me, but I'd rather confront what happened
than run from it."

Michiru kissed her forehead gently. "Always willing for a fight, aren't
you?" She gently cupped Haruka's chin, tilting her face up to give her
a short, soft kiss. Haruka noticeably calmed, sighing gently as she
buried herself in Michiru's arms. "We just had the fight of our lives; 
why don't we try to get some well-deserved sleep," Michiru murmured. 
"A little rest wouldn't hurt."

Haruka's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Are you sure you want to go to
sleep? There are plenty of other things to occupy ourselves with. Death
gave me a new hunger for life and... other things."

Michiru laughed as Haruka moved to kiss her neck, trailing warm kisses
across her throat. "I thought you were upset," she commented lightly,
savoring the touch.

"Not anymore," Haruka chuckled. "Why be upset when I can be with you
instead?"

"Haruka, _really_. I'm just so tired from the battle. I want to get some 
sleep tonight, and like Setsuna-san said, Hotaru-chan has school tomorrow. 
Another time."

Haruka sighed with disappointment. "Oh, _alright_."

"Haruka..." Michiru teasingly pinched her. "You know I want you," she
purred, "but we have a responsibility as Hotaru's parents to look out
for her best interests... and one of those is getting a good night's rest
so she can, too."

"Well, if you put it that way, it's ok." Haruka kissed her cheek lightly.
"Sometimes I wish we didn't have the responsibility though," she said
jokingly.

"When you're thinking with your hormones and not your head," Michiru said,
lightly bopping the top of her head.

"Michiru!"

"Silly."

They changed into their pajamas and climbed under the sheets in their
bed, loosely holding each other.

"Good night," Haruka whispered, kissing her lover's lips gently. "I love
you."

"I love you too... sleep well."

They both closed their eyes as their breathing slowed, but neither of
them really went to sleep. Their minds were still whirling as they
replayed the events of the years gone by, keeping them awake as they
fought back tears.



                           ***************
				   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



			   Dark Skies, Bright Heavens
					By Immora



				   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                           ***************



I'll be your dream
I'll be your wish I'll be your fantasy
I'll be your hope I'll be your love
Be everything that you need
I'll love you more with every breath
Truly, madly, deeply do
I will be strong I will be faithful
'cause I'm counting on
A new beginning
A reason for living
A deeper meaning
I want to stand with you on a mountain
I want to bathe with you in the sea
I want to lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me...

	--From the song "Truly Madly Deeply" by Savage Garden





					~~~~~~~~~~

           			      CHAPTER  1

					~~~~~~~~~~



The Kaze and Ten'ou families had been close friends longer than they
could trace. Before Utano Kotori and Kaze Fushigi married, they had
attended school with Ten'ou Tsuyoi and Yorokobino Kobun, who also got
married. Kotori and Kobun were firmly set on the idea of their families
staying closely tied, and agreed that if they had children, they would
marry them off to each other. Fushigi and Tsuyoi were a bit reluctant
to agree with their wives at first, but eventually gave in.

Fushigi had brown hair and green eyes, Kotori having wavy blond hair and
blue eyes, passing on to their daughter, Sunao, brown hair and teal eyes. 
Tsuyoi had black hair and eyes, while Kobun had dark blond hair and purple 
eyes, and their son, Katai, received dark blond hair and black eyes. They 
also had a daughter a couple years later named Teinei, with strawberry 
blond hair and purple eyes.

Katai and Sunao had their marriage arranged for them long before they
were old enough to be married. Their parents decided to hold off on
telling them to see if they would fall in love on their own. Sunao and
Teinei were very close friends, spending a lot of time together, so Sunao
was often put in the position of being around Katai. Eventually, Katai
and Sunao started dating, despite Teinei's insistence that her brother
was a wacko. They found that they didn't really get along as well as they
had hoped they would, but their parents insisted that the marriage had to 
go through.

Katai and Sunao married, and after being married, fell in love. Sunao
became pregnant with twins, expecting them towards the end of January.

The Kaiou and Inochino families were also tied together after being
friends for a long time. Kaiou Tensai was good friends with Inochino
Miyage, both boys coming from rich, uptight families. They were both told
to marry young, and neither really liked the idea. Two of their friends,
Neko Ureshii and Hoshiou Rippa, had been told to do similar things, and
before they finished college, Tensai and Ureshii were engaged, and Miyage and
Rippa as well.

Tensai had wavy brown hair and eyes, and Ureshii had long green hair and
eyes. Their son, Tadashii, had wavy green hair and brown eyes. Miyage had
blond hair and green eyes, and Rippa had wavy deep blue hair and eyes.
Their daughter, Ki, had wavy blue hair and deep blue eyes. Tadashii and Ki
fell in love when they were young and married when they finished school.
Their first child was a son, Kanzen, had green hair and deep blue eyes. Two
years later, they had a daughter, Suteki, with blue green hair and green
eyes, two years later, another daughter, Kirei, with brown hair and
blue eyes. Ki became pregnant yet again, two years later, expecting triplets
in March, the same year that the Ten'ous expected their twins.

Neither family could have predicted how close some of their newest arrivals 
would become.



					**********



Sunao lay in the hospital bed with Katai at her side, waiting to find out
the results from her doctor. The doctor came in with a bright smile on
her face. "Congratulations!" she told them. "The tests show that you will
be having _two_ children, twins, a boy and a girl."

Sunao and Katai cheered and hugged each other happily, before Sunao let
out a tiny "ow" as Katai pushed against her belly accidentally. "Whoops,
I'm sorry about that, Sunao," he quickly apologized. He grinned and
kissed her belly. "Two bundles of joy on the way! We're truly lucky!"

Sunao smiled and patted her extended waistline. "And it'll be both a boy
and a girl; you'll get the son you've wanted and I'll have my daughter."

Katai smiled back broadly. "Oh, thank you very much, doctor."

The doctor nodded and gave them the folder of information, then the
couple left the office.



					**********



They spent the next few months preparing their home for the arrivals.
A room was prepared with boys' and girls' decor in it, two cribs,
stuffed animals, and various other toys and things to occupy their
children when they arrived. Katai was eagerly awaiting the day of their
birth, to have the son he'd wanted for so long. He wanted to raise his
son to be someone special, someone his father would be proud of. It was
Katai's dream and he was anxious for it to come true. He put in some
extra hours at the office to earn more money, saving it up to spend on
his son when he arrived. He'd cut back on a lot of things he enjoyed,
including all the different sports and car magazines he read, some things
he collected, and drinking, which he said he "only find mildly amusing,
anyways."

Sunao was just as excited at the idea of having a daughter to raise.
Katai had already agreed with her that he should be the one to focus on
raising their son, and her their daughter. Sunao had wanted children for
a long time, not caring whether it was a girl or boy, but she was very
happy to be having both. While Katai was at work, she sewed, went to the
store, and was visited by her parents, Katai's parents, and Teinei.

At the store one day, she was looking for cereals when she bumped into
someone next to her. "Oh, I'm sorry," she quickly apologized. "I'm a bit
clumsy right now."

A woman's laughter soon followed. "That's alright, I'm in the same
condition myself."

Sunao smiled as the blue haired woman patted her own belly. "When is
yours due?" she asked the woman.

"Early March. I'm expecting triplets! Two girls and a boy, according to the
doctor. We're not sure yet if the girls are identical. You?"

Sunao smiled. "Late January, a girl and a boy."

"Both of us having multiple births," the woman smiled widely. "I know it's
very exciting for me. I have two daughters already who are two and four, 
and a son, six years old. You?"

"These are my first," Sunao replied. "I'm sorry, what was your name?"

"Kaiou Ki, you?"

"Ten'ou Sunao." They bowed to each other, then Sunao looked at her
quizzically. "Your name sounds familiar... you're married to Kaiou
Tadashii?"

"Why yes, I am. My father, Inochino Miyage, is a violinist."

"Ah yes, I've heard his music before; he's quite good. Do you play as
well?"

Ki chuckled slightly. "Not nearly as well. He's going to teach little
Michiru when she's a bit older." She patted her belly again. "I'm going
to make sure she's a fine lady when she's older. Tadashii's mother,
Ureshii, wants to teach her about art since my other children don't seem
to be too interested in that. Kanzen has already shown that he's more
interested in studying, Suteki's more into dolls, and Kirei, well, we aren't 
sure about her yet... she's just enjoying playing games, right now. I think 
Genki will be smart like his brother, and Tadashii would love for him to 
take up sports. I'd like to make sure Kanpeki does art too, maybe writing. 
What do you want your children to do?"

Sunao shrugged slightly. "Katai and I just want them to be happy. Katai
and I have agreed that I will raise our daughter and he'll take care of
our son. Not that we won't be involved with both kids, but we want to
focus on them separately."

"No names yet?"

Sunao smiled a bit and replied, "We are trying to decide still. Katai is
considering Akarui for our son, I think it would be nice too. We aren't
sure about our daughter yet."

"Hmmm... well, good luck with them," Ki said.

"You too," Sunao said as they walked off in separate directions.



					**********



When Ki got home, her kids all rushed to her. "Mama Mama Mama Mama!"
Kirei shouted. "Guess what?!"

"What is it, Kirei-chan?"

"Our babysitter left already-- Papa's home early!"

Ki smiled as Tadashii came over. "You find everything alright at the store?"

"Yes, and they've been kicking quite a lot," Ki said, patting her belly. 
"Whoops, there they go again!"

Tadashii placed his head against her with a smile. "Full of energy, aren't
they?"

"Oof, they sure are!"

The other children came over and felt her belly too. "Oooo, feels weird," 
Suteki said.

"It's very weird," Kanzen agreed.

"C'mon, kids," Tadashii said. "Let's go unload the groceries and let mama
rest."

They went out to the car to get the bags and Ki practically flopped onto
the couch. "I can't wait till these babies arrives!" she sighed.



					**********



Sunao wiped her hand across her sweaty forehead, a broad smile on both
her and Katai's faces. The doctor and nurses were also smiling as they
handed the two wrapped bundles to the proud new parents. "Congratula-
tions," they told Sunao and Katai as the two carefully cradled the
babies. "If you need anything, we'll be out in the hall." Just as he was
about to shut the door, he added, "I'd be very careful with the boy
though, he seems to be a bit delicate. We'll want him to stay here at
the hospital a few days longer than his sister to make sure everything's
alright."

"That'll be fine, doctor, and thank you," Sunao said weakly.

Sunao and Katai looked down into the faces of their new children. The
girl had dark blond hair, and her eyes, already opened wide, were a dark
teal. The boy had brown hair and his eyes, sleepily opening and shutting, 
were black. Sunao and Katai's parents, along with Teinei, crowded around 
and admired the two newborns.

"Oh, they are so cute," Teinei cooed.

"She's got your eyes, Sunao," Kotori remarked happily.

"He looks just like you, except his hair's darker," Tsuyoi told his son.

"What are you naming them?" Kobun asked her son.

"Well," Katai started, "we decided on Akarui for the boy and--"

Akarui started coughing and Katai frowned, adjusting his hold on the
baby. "Otou-san, get the doctor please."

Tsuyoi went outside immediately to get the doctor while Akarui continued
coughing. The doctor came back in with the nurses and was followed by
someone with a rolling cart. "We better get him checked right now," he
said.

"What's wrong?" Fushigi asked.

"I'm not sure yet; we won't know until we check things out. I'll keep you
informed."

"Doctor, he's not breathing," one of the nurses said.

"Let's get down there, quick!"

The doctor and nurses rushed out of the room with the baby on the medical
cart. Sunao watched with wide eyes and clutched her daughter tighter to
her fearfully. Katai looked equally terrified and sat down by her side.
"Maybe it's because the labor was so long," Kobun said, trying to
reassure them. "Many babies have breathing problems when they are first
born, but make it through just fine."

"Yeah, don't worry, onii-san," Teinei told her brother. "They'll check
him out and it'll be alright."

Sunao carefully shifted the girl in her arms, trying not to panic. What
was happening with her son? It had been several minutes already.

"What's the girl's name?" Kotori asked, trying to keep their minds off
of it.

"We were thinking--" Sunao started, when a nurse came in.

"Excuse me, Ten'ou-san? Please come with me."

Katai paled and followed her immediately. The hospital room fell very
quiet when Katai left and stayed that way the next several minutes.

When Katai walked in, he was nearly white in the face, his eyes shimmer-
ing with unshed tears. The nurse and the doctor followed him.

"Katai?" Sunao whispered. "What's wrong? Katai?"

The doctor cleared his throat, lowering his head, and said, "I'm afraid
that... your son didn't make it."

Gasps came from around the room, and Teinei quickly took the baby girl as 
Sunao sat up, trying to get to Katai. "No, this can't be!" she cried, tears 
quickly pouring down her face. "Are you sure?! Are you sure he... he..."

The doctor handed his folder to Fushigi as he spoke, "He had stopped
breathing and never started again. His heart stopped a few minutes later.
We tried everything we could, but in his condition... His lungs were too
weak to sustain him. I'm sorry."

"Please leave us," Kobun quietly whispered, and both the doctor and the
nurse nodded and left.

Katai hugged Sunao tightly, both crying against each other. Teinei sadly
continued to cradle the baby girl in her arms, looking down at her, also
crying softly. Kobun and Tsuyoi went to try and console their son, Kotori
and Fushigi also moving to hug their daughter. While Sunao gratefully
accepted her parents' embrace, Katai shoved his back and fled from the
room. Teinei came forward slowly, and handed the girl to Sunao, who
tenderly took the baby in her arms. "I can't believe this happened," she
murmured as she looked down at her daughter. "It all happened so quickly
..." She trembled and lowered her head. "My poor Haruka won't have a
brother now... Katai won't have the son he's wanted..."

Fushigi and Kotori stayed with her as the Ten'ous quietly left the room to
find Katai.



Sunao lay sleeping in her hospital bed, Katai still wide-awake in a chair
next to her. Haruka had been taken away by the doctors to be checked up
and they would see her again tomorrow.

The hospital had a special wing where they kept newborns that still
needed medical attention. All the babies were in small cribs with heating
systems. That night, there were only a few other babies in there besides
the Ten'ous' child, and all the doctors and nurses were currently on
another floor discussing their tiny patients. The room where the babies
were was dark and the faint sound of tiny bodies breathing could be
heard. It was set far apart from any other rooms in the hospital, its
hallways long, leading to stairways going up to higher floors, thus it
was kept quiet so the babies could rest.

The door creaked slightly as a tall woman slowly walked into the room and
made her way over to the crib where Ten'ou Haruka was kept. She carefully
lifted the baby, who stirred and reached to grab a strand of her long,
dark green hair. The baby cooed a bit at first, and whimpered when the
woman carefully pried her hair from the baby's pale hands with her own
tanned ones. Her dark red eyes softened as she smiled down at Haruka and
gently soothed her as she started to cry.

"Ssshhh... hush, little one. The time for crying will come later," she
murmured.

The baby stopped crying after several moments, then looked up at the
lithe woman.

"I know you can't understand what I say to you yet, but one day you'll be
able to, and then you will remember this meeting. You have an important
future ahead of you, a very important mission to complete. But before
that can happen, you will know a lot of pain and sadness, but then you'll
know a joy much greater than many others can ever experience." She
smiled sadly and sighed. "Oh, Haruka-chan, I've missed you and the
others. It isn't easy to guard alone. You are the first one to return,
and Michiru-chan will be next. I wish there was a way I could speak to
you when you were older and could understand and remember this, but I'm
not permitted. But you will be able to remember this when the time comes,
so that there will be less confusion when I join you in your mission."
She carefully set Haruka back in the crib and smiled down at her. "I know
you're the one, I know it. Let's see that symbol, shall we, to make
sure?"

The woman held her hand out, and the symbol of Pluto glowed purple on her
forehead. The baby looked up and the symbol of Uranus glowed indigo on her 
forehead. The woman smiled widely and said proudly, "Yes, you will be a
fine Senshi when the time comes. Farewell, my friend."

Just as she turned to leave, a nurse came in and turned on a light. "Um,
excuse me, miss? What are you doing in here?"

The woman hid her smile and replied, "Just visiting little Ten'ou Haruka.
I'm a friend of the family; Meiou Setsuna."

"Oh, well... in the future, make sure you check with a doctor before
coming in."

"I will, thank you."

Setsuna pulled the handle of the door shut. The nurse remembered the
instant it shut that the family of the baby had specifically said no one
besides their family members, the Kazes and the Ten'ous, would be
visiting. She quickly rushed to the door to find Meiou Setsuna and to
call security in case she had somehow tampered with the child. "Hey, miss!
You're going to have to--"

She stopped in shock as she looked both ways down the hall. No one was
there. "Impossible!" she whispered in astonishment. Even if someone ran
at their top speed down these halls, they wouldn't be to the stairways
in the time that spanned between Setsuna leaving and the nurse opening
the door. The nurse blinked rapidly and listened carefully, but couldn't
hear any sounds, such as the sounds of someone walking or running,
breathing, talking, etc. "What could have happened to her?" the nurse
wondered as she went back into the room, reaching for a folder to file
a report.



					**********



"Okay, kids, it's alright to come in now," Tadashii told his three older
children, a proud smile on his face. He led them into the hospital room
where Ki was, her parents and Tadashii's also there. Ki held the tiny
babies in her arms, looking weary but very happy.


"Wow," Kirei said. "Babies..."

"They're much cuter than Kirei and Suteki," Kanzen commented. Suteki
stuck her tongue out at him as soon as he said that.

They looked down at their new siblings in awe. The first born was Genki. He
was unremarkable in their eyes; blond hair and brown eyes, a bit smallish,
and was very hungry. The next born was Michiru. She had hair that was a 
shade of aquamarine paler than that of Suteki's, and her sleepily opening 
eyes were a rich blue. The last born was Kanpeki, and it turned out that she 
wasn't Michiru's twin. She had blond hair and deep blue eyes, was much tinier 
than her two triplets, and was wide awake, looking around as if checking out
the place.

Tensai patted his grinning son on the back while Ureshii kissed his cheek. 
"How does it feel to be father to three children all at once?" she asked 
her son.

"Good," he said warmly. "Very good."

Rippa and Miyage peered over their daughter's shoulder, and Rippa asked
gently if she could hold one of the babies. Ki carefully handed Michiru to
her, then Miyage took Genki in his arms, and Ureshii held Kanpeki. "They'll
grow up to be wonderful children," Rippa said.

Ki lay back on the pillows and smiled back at her mother. "I know, they'll
grow up to be two great ladies and a gentleman, people that Tadashii and I 
will be proud to acknowledge as our children."

"To follow in their mother and father's footsteps then?"

Ki laughed weakly and returned her mother's and father's smile. "Yes,
that is right..." She yawned and sighed. "I'm so tired, I want to sleep
but I know I shouldn't yet."

"You have every right to be tired!" Ureshii scolded. "Go on, you've worked
hard to bring these babies into the world, you deserve some rest!"

"Besides," Miyage added, "I think Michiru wants to sleep, too; look."

Everyone but Ki walked over to see Michiru closing her eyes. "Goodbye, dear," 




Miyage said softly as they were leaving. "We'll visit tomorrow."

"Mmm hmmm..." Ki's eyes were closed and she was breathing slower, falling
asleep.

The grandparents led the children out of the room, Tadashii staying behind
with Ki, the triplets in his arms, waiting for the doctor or a nurse to 
come in.

"Excuse me, Kaiou-san?"

Tadashii turned to see a tall woman with a dark tan standing there,
dressed in the nurses' uniform. Her name tag read "Meiou Setsuna."

"I'm here to check on your babies. May I see Michiru please?"

"Of course," he said, gently handing her into the woman's arms.

"I'll bring her back in a moment, I'm just checking her temperature and
making sure she's breathing normally."

"Thank you," he said, then he gave a slight smile. "It's nice to know
what you people do when they take her away."

Her dark red eyes sparkled slightly. "Yes, it is reassuring, isn't it?"
She walked out with Michiru in her arms.

"Funny, I have the strangest feeling..." Tadashii murmured as he shifted
Kanpeki and Genki in his arms. "Nahhh..."

Setsuna went into an empty room, and carefully set Michiru down on the
bed. She got out the folder of medical records, checked her temperature
and breathing like she said she would, and recorded them. She smiled with
amusement as she looked down at the baby. "I'm surprised I was allowed to
alter all the doctors' and nurses' perceptions to make them believe I
really am on the staff, even more so that I was allowed to borrow the
information and skills I needed from one of their minds so I could check
you out."

She carefully took Michiru in her arms and smiled again. "You're perfect-
ly healthy, I can tell you that," she murmured, then sighed. "I don't
know really what to tell you. I have to make these visits to all the
Senshi when they are newborn, you know. I've had to do this since the
first Senshi arrived in the Silver Millennium..." She then laughed. "Par-
don me, I'm supposed to be leaving you a bit of information about your
_future_," her eyes shimmered with amusement as she added, "I'm supposed
to be 'cryptic' about it. Ah well..." She sighed again. "I can't say
things will be easy. You're going to be special, I can tell you that. So
many talents and skills, but you won't be satisfied with it. You'll find
someone though, someone to be happy with, and then you'll realize you
never really needed anything else... you'll know it when you first lay
eyes upon them... Well, I think that's about as much as I will be allowed
to say..."

She brushed her dark green bangs up as her forehead symbol glowed, and
the symbol of Neptune glowed in sea green on Michiru's forehead. "Ah, good,"
she murmured. "Well, I'll return you to your father now, my friend."

Tadashii, sitting in a chair, was startled out of his doze when Setsuna
walked into the room with Michiru in her arms. "She's just fine, Kaiou-
san, and someone should be in to check the others later," she told him, 
setting the baby in a crib next to Ki's bed, where Tadashii had placed the
other babies. "Farewell, Michiru," she added as she was leaving.

Tadashii didn't notice the last comment as he started to doze again. He
did jump in surprise when a purple light penetrated his closed lids, but
when he opened them, he saw no one was there. Shrugging, he grinned at
his new children and fell asleep again.


[End Chapter 1 preview]

				

					~~~~~~~~~~

					CHAPTER  6

					~~~~~~~~~~



					running running running i'm trying to escape
				what's going on where am i it's too dark can't see
			someone help me something's chasing me i can't run more
		what can i do i'm so scared it's too cold silent frightening
	i can't stop must keep going where do i go where do i find help
what can i do what can i do they're chasing me they'll kill me HELP!

	looking behind		i see a demon		it's horrible
			what can i do?		it's chasing me
i'm all alone			the sky's turning red
		where's that wind going from?			can't move, too cold
						what's that dark shadow?
	     a girl standing holding a glaive watching me raising it oh lord
									    i'm going to die
					why is it so quiet?
why isn't anyone else here?
				statues... standing there... breaking apart
			girls in sailor suits?
									someone's here now,
					WAIT!
    long dark green hair black trimmed uniform red eyes strange staff
what is that in her hand a strange rod with a sphere on top why is she
holding it out to me am i supposed to take it what will happen if i do
						wHAt wiLl HaPpeN iF i DoN'T?
		"Take the henshin pen transform you must it's your destiny"
	Destiny?
		 _My_ destiny?
				  Why mine?
					    What should I do?
								  Take the pen, or...
	reaching grabbing shouting what's happening?
		aqua light swirling all around
			what is this suit?
			    what am i?
			     who am i?
 									what have i become?



Michiru woke up and groggily looked around. It was early morning, and
from the sounds [or lack of] she heard, no one else was up yet. She moved
to rub her eyes, then stopped and looked down at her bloodstained hands.
She looked away quickly, rising to go into her bathroom and shower. At
least it was a weekend, she had plenty of time to clean up.

She turned on the water and stepped into the stall. The liquid spilling
down her cleansed her, the dried blood running off her and leaving her--

Red.

Red red red.

Like the sky... in her dream... or was it a nightmare?

She clutched her head and leaned against the wall, crying out softly. She
couldn't stand these crazy visions. Her heart was pounding quickly. Her
head... hurting... right in the center of her forehead...

What the--

She could see a reflection in the rippling water on the floor of the stall,
a strange aqua light... a trident of sorts... on her forehead?!

She quickly shut off the water, flinging the curtain aside as she leapt
to her mirror. She leaned against the counter, shaking all over. Gone. It
was gone. What had happened? Was she imagining things? What was going on?

She carefully dried up the water on the floor, then got back in the shower 
to wash her hair. After drying off, she walked to her closet and unconsciously 
selected her school uniform.

Sailor...
A sailor outfit...
The woman in the dream, she had one...
And when she grabbed that rod, Michiru had one...

She let it drop to the floor and leaned back against the wall, trembling
again. What was going on? It was just some dream... nothing more... why
were all these strange things happening?

She threw on a robe and ran downstairs, calling out to her family. No one
answered. Where was everyone? What was going on?

She went to the kitchen, puzzled, and saw a note lying on the table. She
picked it up and read it over to herself. "Michiru--  Gone to visit your
father's parents. Will be back tomorrow. Kanpeki is over at Murasaki's
if you need anyone. Love, Mama."

Just like that? Just leave, with only some note? Why didn't they wake her
up?

Could they have told her parents what happened?

Michiru stumbled again, leaning heavily on the table. No... no, they
wouldn't do that... besides, Ki wouldn't believe it, she wouldn't believe
anything like that of her children... God, if she knew that every one of 
the triplets were homosexual...

Maybe she'd just go for a walk, clear her head a bit.

She stepped out into the fresh air. It was so pleasant... She walked, and
walked, and walked... She was soon in the city, the bustling people and
traffic. It normally excited her, but she could only glance around
nervously. This is the place... the red sky... the wind...

She felt like she was being suffocated... she raced for a park, stumbling
to her knees in front of the lake. No one was around. It was perfect silent.

The Silence...

She gasped for breath, and suddenly heard a horrible yelling behind her.
She whirled around and saw a giant shape loom over her. Her eyes widened
in terror. Some kind of monster?... A long but bloated maroon form, a
mouth lined with spiky teeth, evil eyes glaring at her...

From the dream...

She couldn't find the energy to scream. She turned to run, but it felt
like she was running in syrup. Her limbs wouldn't respond, they had
frozen in fear.

What the hell? A shadow? Someone was standing there...

Michiru looked up with wide eyes and took a step back, her mouth wide in
a silent scream.

"No... no!... you're just a dream... that monster is a dream... you're
figments of my imagination... THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!!"

A woman stood there, her long, dark emerald hair falling to the back of
her knees, at least, the part that hung from the bun she wore in her hair,
with wispy bangs on her forehead, intelligent crimson eyes, her skin darkly
tanned and showing her taut muscles well.

She was clad in a sailor suit of sorts-- a white leotard sewn in three
pieces, a top section with the bottom forming a line tracing the bottom
of her breasts, and a midsection with a thick white piping separating it
from the bottom section, hidden under a short, pleated black skirt with a
black bow in the back of it.

Centered on the top section in the middle of her chest was a round, flat
gem, maroon in color, which held a dark brown bow in place. A black collar,
like that of a sailor's, extended from this.

Around her neck was a black choker with a smaller version of the gem on her
chest dangling from it. She wore maroon earrings shaped similarly to
upside down, elongated chevrons. On her forehead was a gold tiara, in an V
shape, with an oval shaped maroon gem in the center.

She wore tall white gloves that came to her elbows, where three pieces of
thick black piping encircled her arm. Her high-heeled boots were black,
with the top of them cutting off in an upside down V, trimmed in white.

She carried with her a tall, thin, silver staff, reminiscent of a key,
topped with an unusual piece-- a silver heart shape about as large as her
head, a large maroon orb affixed on the bottom center piece, with two much
smaller gold balls on each side, a gold ball slightly larger than these
meeting in the center of the arcs, a smaller silver heart coming up from
this with a matching gold ball in the center.

"This isn't a dream, Michiru; you're very much awake, and you are very
much in danger."

"Get away from m--"

She raised her staff high in the air. The monster was right on top of 
them...

And suddenly, the woman whirled around quickly, and it seemed as if mists
were encircling her. She whispered, "Dead Scream," and a large ball of 
magenta energy shot out from the orb on her staff. It smashed into the
monster and stunned it, knocking it to the ground.

Michiru stood there trembling, glancing back and forth from the monster
to the woman. "W-what do you want with me?"

"I've come to awaken a part of you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Michiru said in a trembling
voice. Her mind was on her dream. This was definitely the same woman...
Did she have that same rod with her? That "henshin pen"?

"Please, Michiru, ju--"

"Don't be so familiar with me!" Michiru snapped. "I don't know you!"

The woman lowered her eyes. "Not that you remember."

"What... what's going on here?... does this have something to do with my
visions?..."

The woman took out a rod, seemingly out of nowhere, and handed it to
Michiru. She sat staring at it a long time. It fit perfectly in her hand,
as if it was made specifically for her. It was aqua in color, about as
long as an ink pen, a bit thicker than the width of her eye, topped with
a small globe reminiscent of a planet.

"Michiru-chan, please listen to me carefully, alright?"

Michiru looked up from the rod and nodded.

"The daimon will awaken soon. I want you to do something for me."

"Um..."

"Hold it high up in the air... right... that's it. Now, repeat what I say,
but make sure you really mean it, got it?" Michiru nodded. "Don't be
scared when your fuku appears; that's what's supposed to happen. Ready?"

"Yes."

"'Neptune Planet Power, Make-up.'"

Michiru paused a moment. Odd thing to say. She squinted her eyes tightly
shut, her hand shaking a bit, and shouted, "Neptune Planet Power... MAKE
UP!"

She felt like she was thrown into the ocean, water rippling all around her,
and couldn't see anything but a swirl of aqua light and cloth around her.
She gasped out for air, and stood there shaking when it was finished,
looking down at herself.

Her fuku was styled in the same way as that woman's, at least most of it. Her
collar, skirt, choker, and glove piping were aqua, however, the bows on her
skirt and top dark blue. Her gloves only came to her mid-forearm, and for
shoes, she had delicate aqua slippers that laced up like a ballerina's.
Her choker had a round aqua gem set on gold pieces, her earrings dangling
gold hoops, the gem on her tiara aqua as well. She had sleeves, however,
three pieces of white piping like that separating her skirt and leotard.

"Oh my God... Oh my God..."

"Calm down, it's alright--"

She felt herself hit with a wash of memories, a big jumble mainly, she
couldn't clearly tell what they were, but she somehow knew that when she
needed to recall something, she probably could.

"Michiru?! Are you al--"

"What the--"

The "daimon" leapt up again, and dove at Michiru. Michiru screamed, wanting
to dive out of the way...

Something in her snapped. She was filled with rage, but was calm. She leapt
right back at the daimon, leg extended, and kicked it in the center of its
"forehead." Landing on her feet, she whirled around and lifted her arms in
the air. Water was swirling around her, a wave gathering and separating behind 
her, and she screamed, "Deep Submerge!" The wave smashed into one ball of
energy and sped at the daimon, hitting it dead center, and it suddenly mutated,
becoming the girl again, lying unconscious on the ground.

Michiru stood shaking, and fell to her knees. The woman came up behind her,
and drew her staff in front of her face. An elaborate gate seemed to appear
in front of her and open up, and they passed through it, into... her room?

"W-What just happened?... W-Who are you?! What is this crazy get-up we're
in?!"

The woman closed her eyes a moment and sighed, then opened them again. "My
name is Meiou Setsuna. In this form you see me in," she gestured to her
fuku with her staff, "I am called Sailorpluto. I am a Sailor Senshi, currently 
the only one awakened. I am bound by another obligation, however. I am the 
Keeper of Time. I watch over the Gate of Time, and am only allowed to leave 
for very important things... such as this. The Senshi are a team gifted with 
magical abilities; we use them to fight an evil that threatens the world. 
There are nine other Senshi besides me. You are one of them."

"You... you expect me to believe that?"

Sailorpluto narrowed her eyes and sighed. "Please... I'm telling the truth,
even though it sounds very much like some silly story to you at the moment.
You'll understand soon..." She let her staff rest again the wall and sat
down in a chair. "Let me explain some of our past... you should have felt
something when you transformed, seen things... they probably don't make
sense to you right now, but I'll try to explain them to you, alright?"

"O-okay... I can't guarantee I'll believe it..."

"Please, try."

Michiru sighed and rubbed her temples. "Fine..."

Pluto cleared her throat and briefly closed her eyes. "Over a millennia
ago, a kingdom existed known as the Silver Millennium. Back then, all the
planets were livable and were inhabited by large populations. Each of
these planets had a designated representative that would lead their people
as a member of the royal family as well as protect them in time of war.
These women were known as the Sailor Senshi.

"The Sailor Senshi were originally called together to protect the princess
of the Moon Kingdom; this was on the moon of Earth, and was the center of
the Silver Millennium. Their duties expanded later, however.

"Each Senshi was called by her planetary name, such as how I am Sailorpluto,
since I'm from Pluto. We were also broken into two groups-- the Inner
Senshi and the Outer Senshi. The Outer Senshi were comprised entirely of
planets in the outer solar system, however, Jupiter was considered an Inner
Senshi. The Inners' main duty was to protect the princess, while the Outers'
was to protect the galaxy from outside invasions.

"I, of course, am an Outer Senshi. You are as well."

Michiru raised her eyebrow. "Oh _really_? And why is that?"

Pluto sighed and rolled her eyes. "You don't believe me, do you?"

Michiru clenched her fists. "You are the Guardian of Time, you said. Do
you know everything that goes on, anywhere?"

"... After a fashion, yes."

"So you know what I've been putting up with lately, right?"

"... Yes..."

Michiru crossed her arms and lay back further on her pillows. "Well, there
you have it. You're throwing this all at me out of the blue, expecting
me to accept it, on top of everything else I'm already dealing with."

"I'm not done explaining, Michiru."

"Fine then. Continue. The sooner you finish, tell me how to get out of this
crazy outfit, and leave, the better."

Pluto looked skyward as if to say 'Why me?', then continued. "As I was
saying, you are one of the Outer Senshi; Sailorneptune. Don't think you
just got randomly picked to be a Senshi in this time, however."

Pluto picked up her staff and stood up. "Watch."

The large maroon orb on her staff started glowing, and an image started
flickering to life in front of Michiru's eyes. She could see a group of
women clad in the same type of fuku as Pluto, with slight differences in 
design and many in color. They were fighting a hideous army, and seemed
vastly outnumbered. She could make out Pluto in the crowd, but she was...
standing to the side? Huh? The warriors continued to fight, and one by
one, were struck down. The army was advancing quickly, led by a woman
with bright red hair and a purple dress. She was moving towards a man
with black hair and silver trimmed black armor, who was trying to protect
a fragile looking blond in a long white dress. It was hard to tell what
happened, but the next thing she knew, Michiru was watching them float
through the air, then all the bodies around them lift up and become
encased in glowing balls and disappear.

"W-What was that?! I... That looked like something I saw..."

The orb stopped glowing and Pluto set her staff aside. "That was the fall
of the Silver Millennium. An army from a group called the Dark Kingdom
attacked. We weren't well enough prepared, and lost. The Queen, Serenity,
wanted her daughter and her court to have another chance, and sent them
all into the future, to be reborn with no memory of their previous
existence. There was a catch, however. To send the princess and her court,
the Dark Kingdom had to be sent as well."

"And the Senshi? What happened to them? Are they supposed to fight again?
You say I'm a Senshi, was I just picked out of some people or..."

"Michiru... You were alive back then. You are one of the Senshi sent into
the future."

Michiru's eyes snapped wide open. "... what..."

"It's no joke. I remember you _quite_ well... and you're as stubborn as
ever, quite frankly. You were one of my best friends, you and-- That's of
no matter right now. The point is, you are a Senshi, reborn into this time,
and one day you'll have to fight again."

"Why come to me now?! You say the Dark Kingdom was sent here too, won't
they reawaken like we have?! If I'm supposed to be a Senshi, why didn't you 
get me sooner?"

Pluto looked away. "You won't realize the battle with the Dark Kingdom 
happened... you see... it already did."

"What?"

"It's a bit difficult to explain. The Inner Senshi were killed battling
them, and were resurrected again. The time you've spent on Earth cycled
around, back to the point of time where they encountered the Dark Kingdom.
New threats are rising up now, however, new enemies. These first ones
will be taken care of by the Inner Senshi... but as you have seen, another
is preparing. You battled one of their prototype minions today. This
battle will be of far more importance, and you must prepare."

Michiru stood up and walked over to her window. "Pluto... this is too much
for me at once. I hear everything you're saying, but I don't know how to
deal with it."

"I'm sorry... I'm operating under instructions."

"Whose?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

Pluto narrowed her eyes. "I have certain duties to follow, regulations,
orders, I can't sidetrack at all, can't bend them the slightest."

"... Yeah..."

Michiru lay her head against the glass. "So... what am I supposed to do
about all this?"

"Like I said, you need to train. You have to be ready for battle. You
will undoubtedly face more enemies before the real battle begins. You will
probably be having flashbacks of your past life, especially when you
transform."

"Why is that?"

"The nature of the magic involved, and... let's just say, you're a unique
Senshi."

Michiru grumbled a bit and muttered something under her breath.

"I heard that."

"Sure you did."

"Well, I did. And don't worry, you aren't the only one. You had a partner
in the Silver Millennium, and she'll be awakened later, don't worry. She
should have been earlier, but... circumstances are not ideal for her to
become a Senshi at this time."

Michiru looked at her quizzically. "'Partner'? In battles, I assume?"

Pluto looked at her slyly. "That's probably the least of what she's your
partner in."

Michiru blushed a bit. "You don't mean that we... we... um..."

"I do."

"... oh..." Crap... I had a lover?!

"Moving on, you need to learn how to detransform, so you aren't stuck
like that. I don't have much more time to stay here. I'm sorry I can't 
help more, but... like I said, the rules..."

"Let's just get this over with."

"You're still blushing. You have to be calm for this."

"Oh shut up."

Once Michiru returned to a normal color, Pluto nodded and said softly, "Just 
think about the uniform leaving you, of your normal clothes reappearing." 
Pluto then turned around to face the other way.

She was startled when her fuku suddenly rippled, then disappeared with a trail 
of cherry blossom petals swirling around her, then her normal clothes appeared 
again. I better make sure not to do _that_ in public, last thing I need is to 
give someone a peep show! No wonder Pluto turned away...

Suddenly a rush of memories hit her again, making her stumble. The past...

	The ball is beautifully decorated, as always. The princess and her
	prince are off to one side laughing, the other Senshi dancing with
	their partners, except for Pluto... poor thing... and that mysterious
	woman that we're all told to avoid, but the two of us know better, that
	this woman is just as human as the rest of us...

	"May I have this dance?"

	I laugh and smile sweetly at Her. "Of course you may."

	She gives me one of Her patented grins, and whisks me away on the
	dance floor. Always the show-off, She twirls me around, dips me,
	all those fancy little dance touches that reveal She's a pro.

	I giggle a bit as the dance ends and She bends to kiss my cheek.

	"Why don't we go off alone?" She whispers huskily to me, Her lips
	darting towards my neck, then my own lips.

	"That would be wonderful," I murmur, returning Her kisses. 

	She lifts me up in Her arms, carrying me to the balcony. I smile
	up at Her... so romantic and tender, a side She never shows anyone
	else.

	"Wait," Pluto calls out to us, then calling us by our Senshi names. 
	"Would you wait a moment?"

	I sigh and smile at Her, and She carefully lowers my legs till my
	feet touch the ground again. "Yes, Setsuna? No need to be formal
	amongst your best friends..."

	Pluto comes over to us, and I'm surprised to see her eyes a bit
	watery. "I'm afraid... I'll be returning to the Gate shortly..."

	"No! You just got back!" I cry.
	
	Then She asks, "Why do you have to leave so soon?"

	"Duties," Pluto spits out. "It'll be awhile before I can return."

	"I'm so sorry..." I whisper. I hug her tightly, as does She.

	"Oh, my friends... I'll miss you..."

	"And we'll miss you," we say in unison.

	She smiles sadly at us, then looks up as if hearing something. "It's
	time to go... farewell."

	I wipe my tears away, and we all wave to each other.

	The Gate opens, and she enters.

	And that's that last time I saw her before the battle...

Michiru looked up at her, crying a bit. "Setsuna! Oh God..." She ran over
and hugged her tightly. Pluto emitted an "ooof!" but hugged her back. "I
forgot my own best friend... how could I have done that... oh lord..."
She suddenly pulled back with a puzzled look. "What the... you were there
after I was born here? I have a memory of... I can hear you talking..."

"Yes, that was me," Pluto smiled a bit as she nodded.

Michiru stood to the side and held her hands to her cheeks. "I... I feel
so strange... I wish I understood what was going on..."

"You'll probably be disoriented a bit, but things will clear up eventually
... I have to leave now, but I want to remind you before I leave, please
train, please be prepared. When it's time to fight, we'll need you in the
best possible shape."

"Wait! Setsuna!"

Pluto looked back over her shoulder. "Yes?"

"Well, the last time you left was really the _last_ time you left... I...
Is there any way I could contact you?"

"If you need me, I'll try to be there."

"Cryptic as always."

Pluto chuckled. "Always. Bye."

"... Bye."

Pluto held her staff high over her head and shouted a something Michiru
couldn't quite understand. A pair of ornate doors appeared out of nowhere
and swung open, and Pluto quickly stepped through, trailing out fog as
they slammed shut and disappeared.

Michiru stood staring at the empty spot for awhile, not even realizing how
much she was trembling. Gone. Just like that. Through doors that appeared
out of nowhere. She started chuckling a bit, not noticing the slightly
hysterical edge it took. She was a Senshi. Or she was again. But did the
past really count when you couldn't remember it?

Great, she thought to herself. What am I supposed to do now? I got some
crazy suit and jumbled memories. My best friend... er, who I remember as
being my best friend... Hell, this is too confusing... just left me alone
to piece things together myself. And I can remember a lover that I had
then, which I certainly don't have now. Who was she?

I guess I might as well try to get the hang of this crazy stuff.

She lifted her henshin pen for only the second time in this life. "Neptune
Planet Power, MAKE-UP!" It felt so strange to transform... but once she
did, she felt strangely comfortable and at ease. She felt more energetic,
stronger, more agile. It was quite unusual.

Neptune walked over to her window and shoved it open. She looked down at
the ground. She'd jumped it before--was bruised for weeks afterwards, but
it wasn't guaranteed death if she leapt. Might as well see if this Senshi
thing made the trip any different.

She stood on the sill. She leapt. She landed. She looked back up at her
window.

That was it? No "oomph!," no falling on her butt after stumbling, no
rubbing new bruises... just the sound of her feet hitting the ground?

This could be interesting.

Just to test, she jumped up in the air, hoping to reach her window.

She did.

Okaayyyy... Can jump up to a two story window and jump off it with little
effort and no pain. Hmmm. Definitely interesting.

Jumping back down, she looked around her house, then ran down to the lake.
The lake was as calm as usual, but--

She stopped and stared. And she felt. What was this she felt? The lake was
stirring somewhat... fed by a river leading out to the sea. The sea...
Was she feeling the sea? It seemed disturbed, worried, but it didn't feel
threatened, at least not yet. What was she supposed to make of that?

She stood there for awhile, pondering. She could leap inhuman amounts,
sense the sea, and now that she thought about it, she had run faster than
ever before. This wasn't too hard...

Waitaminute... I can't go anywhere like this! I'm dressed in some costume
for crying out loud! I have to get inside and get this off!

She rushed back to her window, leapt in, and shut it behind her. She
detransformed with a sigh.

She was overwhelmingly tired then for some reason. She could faintly hear
Pluto's voice chanting to her. Was the Time Guardian putting her to sleep?
She yawned and lay down on her bed again. Well... a little nap couldn't
hurt... yeah...



She's running towards me now
	Her short, silky hair flying in the wind
		(oh how she wants to be one with the wind)
			Not noticing all the stares she receives
				(so gorgeous, both her soul and body)
			Then she is standing close beside me
		Holding me against her perfect form
	Bending to tenderly kiss my lips
Hold me forever please my love...
	Smoothing back my hair, whispering to me
		Her voice smooth as honey, deep as the sea
			Her strong arms warming me as I lean against her
				Her embrace and words promise eternity together
			My partner in all things, my soulmate, my lover
		So many titles to give, none capture our closeness
	She has always been here for me, as I am for her
Together forever, in all things, yes, all things...

					Reddened sky overhead
			Screams cutting the air
					We're separated in the crowd
		Have to transform have to hurry
			The troops are closing in quickly now
	Must fight... protect the princess...
				Where did you go?! I can't do this without you!
Punching kicking throwing thrusting attacking with my own special powers
				Where did you go?! I'm so scared for you...
		Darkness, blood, bodies lying everywhere
						I see our teammates on the ground
			I'm alone... where did you go? Are you alive?
				Running crying screaming so scared...
		Dark queen approaching the princess
					Have to find you can't stop can't wait
			Can feel you but can't see you, where are you?!
	One of the four gray-clothed men, trying to block my path--
		You're there, sword held ready, telling me to stay back
			Striking at him, seeming to kill him, you look so sad
	I hold you, crying against you, we're the only ones left...
		Movement over your shoulder, he's standing to fight again
			I smile sadly at you, you'll try to protect me...
	I can't allow that, I can't let you die for me, I'm not worth it
		He leaps, his own sword raised, you whirl around, I shove you
	Blade descending, I close my eyes, this is for you...
			i can't see i can't feel i'm numbed by my pain
lying on the ground looking up at the sky
		did i save you? was my sacrifice worth it?
	i'm supposed to live to fight i tried but you have to live...
		now i'm lying here dying... sobbing... i hear screaming
someone's lifting me up now... crying....
	i see you then i couldn't before
		you're holding me in your arms
			blood caking your uniform, tears pouring down your face
			you weep against my hair, shouting out my name, begging
		i can barely speak... my mouth is dry, you're babbling...
	"please don't die! you can't! live! live! neptune! please!"
i'm going numb... but warmed when you look deep into my eyes
your kiss is so sad, but so passionate...
i can't see or feel my body
	but i can feel your love now....
		i hope you feel mine too.....
			i'm not afraid of dying if it was to save you
				i'm not afraid to die if it's in your arms
					it'll be ok... you'll be ok... i hope...
						"i love you" "i love you too..."

										   ....goodbye

[End chapter 6 preview]



					~~~~~~~~~~

					CHAPTER  8

					~~~~~~~~~~



"Class, we have a new student. Everyone, this is Ten'ou Haruka."

Haruka bowed to the class, who had just finished bowing to the teacher, 
ignoring the stares of pretty much all the girls in the class. The guys all 
had jealous looks on their faces, immediately recognizing a rival for the 
girls' attention.

Kemmei-sensei pushed up his glasses and turned to Haruka. "Would you
like to say anything to the class, Ten'ou-san?"

"No, thank you."

"Alright, why don't you take one of the empty seats in the back? We'll 
be rotating seats soon, anyways."

Haruka nodded and went to the back of the room and took a seat off to
the side by a window where no one else was. She winked as she went by to 
a girl who was staring especially hard at her. Might as well fit the part, 
she thought with a laugh. Guys seem to flirt at every cute girl in sight.

"Well, class, we better get going or we'll be late for tyourei. Everyone
head for the stairs; no way we can all fit in the elevators, and after
the fiasco last week..."

Haruka heard various groans as everyone lined up and walked downstairs to
the courtyard. Haruka whistled under her breath at the number of students
attending this school. Then again, with a school this enormous, they had
better have a lot of people to occupy the space. She'd heard a rumor that
there were actually some rooms on campus where students lived, those who
had been sent from so far away that returning home except for weekends 
and holidays would be torture. She stood with her class, not really paying 
attention to the principal's speech, something about cherry blossoms and 
studying, somehow trying to connect them. Ah well.

The class went back to their room after that for History. Bleecccch.

While the teacher was talking about some silly historical thing, Haruka
quietly wrote in her notebook. No sense in being bored. She got quite a 
number of poems finished. 

The teacher called on her to answer a question. Just as she opened her
mouth to speak, it hit her again.

	Blood red dripping across the sky, black splatters, waves of color
	Sharp pain of the wind, hit with the pieces of a falling building...
	Beautiful girl floating in the air, glowing, talking about the Silence,
	the Messiah, our duty...

"Ten'ou-san? Is something wrong?"

"No, Kemmei-sensei," she said, then answered the question.

Damn that vision! Why now?... Why at all?! What did it mean? She'd had it
twice between the first and this, at least during the day, and she saw
it when she slept. What did it mean? 

Once the lecture was finally over, the class had a long break, fifteen minutes
to be exact, so they could talk a bit and get to their next class. Suddenly, 
it seemed all the girls in the class had swarmed around her.

"Nice to meet you, Ten'ou-san!" "Oh wow, he's SO cute!" "Do you have a
girlfriend?" "Back off, he's MINE!" "*sigh* He has such nice eyes!" "Do
you want some of my bento at lunch today?" "No way, he's gonna eat MY
bento!" "_Mine_!" "MINE!"

"Ok ok, calm down, girls," Haruka said, about ready to throttle them.

"Suuuuure," they sighed dreamily. 

"Excuse me please, I have to go... I have another class to get to..."

"Ohhhh... fiiiine..."

Haruka rolled her eyes as she got on the elevator and went several floors
up for the next class.

Oh yay, a language class of sorts... I really hate this subject... God, I 
can't wait for class to be over; this is so boring! Haruka lay her head down 
and almost fell asleep.

It was off to an appointment with the guidance counselor at the start of
the next class. She had refused to take P.E. and had to discuss her 'options'
with the school.

"Now, while I find my things, tell me why you won't take P.E., Ten'ou-san,"
the old woman told her.

Haruka sighed. This would be _fun_. "I don't see the necessity of it. I'm
already great at sports. I'm part of a racing team now--"

"Racing?"

"Motor-sports."

"Ah, really? Well, we require that you have some form of school board 
sponsored physical activity. Anything you'd be interested in? Lessee,
basketball, volleyball, fencing, football..."

Haruka yawned.

"Well, what would you enjoy?"

"I dunno."

"Hmmm, there's after-school track... you could do that, and this could be
a free period."

"Is this strictly our school?" Haruka didn't want to reveal her gender any
more than she had to.

"Well, several schools meet a few times a week. There's only... lessee, one
person from our school in there... but it would count in place of physical
education."

"Alright, that'll be fine."

"Good! Now, why don't you go to the library or something... do something
educational, ok?"

"... Right..."



At lunch that day, Haruka once again had to fight off crazed girls, and
finally left the cafeteria to find somewhere else to eat. If she'd know she'd 
get this much trouble from them, she might have just gone ahead and worn the 
girls' uniform.

"Hey, Haruka, how's it going?"

Haruka turned to see Murasaki waving to her. She smiled and waved her over. 

"Fine, Murasaki-chan, good to see you."

Murasaki lowered her voice and asked, "What's the guy's uniform for?"

"...I don't want anyone to know anything about me."

"That's odd. Ah well, whatever pleases you. Frankly, I think it'd be more
comfortable than this..." Murasaki gestured to the skirt she wore.

"Er... well, this isn't so great... It's, ah... difficult... to make myself
look flat in it."

"Well, depending on how you... Oh... Ouch!... Hey, didn't see you in P.E., are
you taking it?"

"No, that would be giving it away... I doubt any amount of binding could hide
it in those silly uniforms... I'll have track after school."

"That should be fun."

"What are you doing out of the cafeteria?"

"Just wandering, really, you?"

"Avoiding the annoying girls that seem determined to date me."

"Oh."

Haruka sipped her drink, then raised her eyebrow. "Say, where's Kanpeki? Why
aren't you eating with her?"

"Oh, uh, her sister's been... kinda down in the dumps lately, so she's making
sure she's ok... triplets... really close, y'know?"

"Ah. Must be... um, nice... to have siblings."

Murasaki, realizing it was a touchy subject, took off on another topic. "So,
how's the racing going?"

"Great! First real race is Friday."

"That's wonderful! Hey, I'll come cheer you on, alright?"

"That'd be good."

Murasaki looked down at her watch. "Well, I better be going. Want to finish
some homework early. See ya."

"See ya."

Haruka smiled. It was nice to have some family that cared.



School dragged on, but finally ended. It was time to head to the track. 
Running was easy for her, so she expected no challenge what-so-ever.

She opened the door to a building on the track property and walked down the 
hallway to a small office. A muscular woman with a long purple ponytail sat 
with her feet propped on her desk, talking on the phone, a rather angry look 
on her face. She slammed down the phone as Haruka entered.

"What do you want?"

"I'm going to be joining the team as a P.E. credit."

She raised an eyebrow and slipped her feet to the floor before standing up.
She walked over to Haruka, smirking a bit as she stood nearly as tall as the
blond.

"Do you know who I am?"

"I do not."

"I'm the instructor, Bofu, and you better not forget that. What's your name?"

"Ten'ou Haruka."

"And what school do you attend?"

"Mugen Gakuen."

Bofu took several moments to size her up, then chuckled and flipped her 
ponytail. "You have some guts," she said with a grin, "waltzing around in the 
male uniform like that."

"... How could you tell?"

The instructor shrugged and smiled. "I have a knack for picking out people."

"Ah."

"If you want to join, you better show your stuff. You'll find some fresh 
uniforms in the locker room. I'm want to see just how good you think you are 
before I even consider letting you join. I don't care if you need the credit, 
you better prove yourself."

"Thank you, Bofu-sensei," Haruka said, and left.

It wasn't hard to find the clothes. It was just a matter of finding a uniform
that could fit her tall, thin frame. She could tell immediately nothing would
hide the fact that she was a girl. She was quite glad when she found one that
fit and she could get out of that horrible stuff she was wearing, then she
went out to the track.

Bofu stood on the side with a clipboard and stopwatch, sunglasses perched on her 
head. She nodded to some people that were trailing in to observe. Haruka 
remained off to the side, stretching on her own. A few of the regulars cast 
questioning glances at her, but she ignored them. It felt good to stretch out 
after being confined in that heavy suit all day. 

Bofu-sensei nodded over to her and waved her hand, and Haruka came over. "Well,
quite a change from how you were in the uniform."

"I would imagine so."

"Ready to run?"

"Yup."

"Let's see how well you handle a hundred meter dash, alright? I'll wait at the
end." 

Haruka nodded and walked down the track, then crouched down slightly. The 
regulars milled around to watch. She could hear them whispering, guessing it 
to be about her.

Bofu blew the whistle, and Haruka took off running as fast as she could. It
wasn't that much of a challenge; 100 meters was easy. She carefully slowed
when she finished and finally stopped. She turned and saw Bofu with an 
unreadable expression on her face.

"Nice."

That one word had the other runners seething within moments. Haruka didn't
see what the big deal was.

"Ok... 500 meters."

Bofu walked to the finish and blew the whistle. Haruka shot off again, and
earned an "impressive" comment from Bofu.

"Care to run the whole track, right back to here?"

Haruka shrugged, then nodded. Bofu smirked a bit, then lowered her sunglasses.
The whistle shrieked, and Haruka started running as quickly as she could
manage. She could feel her breath quicken very slightly. She was happy to note
a breeze as she ran, and started trying to go faster. She could see the finish,
and all the students standing around, but it was all flying by to quick to make
out. She actually felt sweat bead on her. She almost stumbled after crossing
the line, and stopped a little too soon. Breathing a bit hard, she turned back
to Bofu.

The students were all lined up on either side of the instructor, looks of awe
on their faces. Bofu's sunglasses once again rested on her head, as her eyes
slowly shifted from clipboard to stopwatch readout several times. Her eyes
stopped on the clipboard as she penciled in something, then she raised them
with a wicked grin.

"Damnit girl, we'd have to kill you if you didn't join the team. All those runs
were faster than anyone of these kids ever managed!"

Haruka's eyes widened in surprise, and the rest of the runners started clapping
a bit.

"Um... sure, yeah, I'd love to join."

"Good!" Bofu slipped her sunglasses back on with a grin. "Ok, everyone, I want
three laps right now for warm-up! Don't try to push top speed yet; I don't need
everyone worn out. Ten'ou-san, hang back for now."

"Yes, sensei."

The others kids took off running without a glance back. Bofu waited till they
were a bit farther along before turning to Haruka. "You're quite good at this.
Had experience?"

"Not really. I just run for fun."

"Interesting." Bofu stretched her arms and adjusted her sunglasses. "And where
did those scars come from, Ten'ou-san? You don't get those marks just 
anywhere."

"What scars?" Haruka asked softly, blood chilling. Damnit, she'd noticed!

"I can see several faint lines on your upper back. Suspicious looking." Bofu
turned away a moment, then said, "You don't have to tell me. I know what those
are. I don't know who did it, but I do recognize a child abuse victim when I 
see one. I--" Bofu waited a moment as some more visitors walked by. "I...
well, if you need anyone to talk to, just come to me, okay?"

Haruka nodded slowly, wobbling a bit with dizziness. She sat down hard on the
ground.

"You alright?"

Haruka held her head in her hands and mumbled, "I'll be okay... I'm just a bit
... overwhelmed."

"Hey, relax," Bofu said with a smile. "Yeah, I'm a bit gruff and I'm very tough
on this team sometimes, but I'm not all hard-hearted, you understand? I push
them so they can be the best they can be, but it's not like I don't care for 
them. Don't worry, you can trust me."

Haruka nodded and stood up.

"Now, why don't you go run with the others? You'll probably catch up easily."

Haruka grinned in agreement and started running again.