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Chapter One
By June Goddess
The haunting strains of a violin caressed the air like a lover's touch. A blonde woman started in surprise at the sound. A delighted smile crossed her face as she located the music originating behind her and to the left. She turned and followed the music, still smiling. Trees and flowers thickened along the garden path, thin rays of sunlight danced around her with the shifting of the wind.
A sudden break in the overhead cover blinded the woman with a full dose of late summer sun. She blinked rapidly before focusing on the figure coaxing music from the fragile instrument, creating such beautiful sounds. The woman was very different in appearance. More delicate, more refined. Her long hair had been swept up gracefully to expose a long neck.
Not to say the blonde was not also beautiful. Her beauty was more vibrant, more earthy. She looked as though you could hold her, if only you could catch her first. The woman she was watching, however, appeared ethereal. She was a dream no one could hope to catch.
The ending of the piece left an echo in the tree-enclosed space. Wind danced across the clearing. The blonde was leaning against a tree, watching the other dark-haired woman. The wind continued its dance, and one the sea-colored curls came loose and flirted with the playful wind before resting against its owner's creamy neck.
She sighed and turned suddenly, looking into rounded blue eyes. "How did you like it?" Her smile was warm and gentle, affection clear in her blue-green eyes.
The blonde's answering smile was also gentle. "I thought it was great." She pushed off slightly from the tree she was resting against. Hands in pockets, she picked her way across to the other woman. "I haven't heard it before, though. Is it new?"
A light blush stained the dark-haired woman's pale cheeks, and she averted her eyes. "Yes." She peeked through her hair. "I wrote it for you," she explained quietly. The blonde's smile widened and pink tinted her cheeks as well. The other woman giggled lightly. She leaned up and brushed her lips lightly across the blonde's. She turned and busied herself with putting away her instrument, not missing the slightly bemused expression now decorating the face of her lover.
The blonde watched the back of the other woman. She ran a hand through her short hair and sighed. "Michiru," she groaned softly. A slight laugh was her response.
Michiru glanced over her shoulder. "Yes, Haruka? Is something wrong?" The mischievous glint in her eyes caused the blonde to roll her eyes and pout. Michiru laughed again.
Grabbing her violin case in one hand, she wrapped her other around one of Haruka's arms and gently tugged her in the direction of an exit from the park. The walked in comfortable silence for several minutes while the passed other couples strolling in the park. Once out on the sidewalk, the cozy atmosphere of the park disappeared to be replaced by the mid-day traffic of Tokyo streets.
Michiru glanced up at Haruka. "So… Did you see her today?" She strove to appear nonchalant, but the blonde's low chuckle told her she missed the mark. She narrowed her eyes slightly. She started to pull away from the other woman.
Haruka tightened her grip on her lover. "Yes. I saw her. I also saw Setsuna." She stiffened awaiting the reaction to her words.
Michiru's irritation with the blonde was forgotten. "Setsuna?" She paused to watch a small blue car maneuver through traffic, speeding. "Hmm. Well, does she have any idea of how to fix what she did?" Setsuna's mistake was rather a sore point for the lovers, but Michiru had turned surprisingly fierce around Setsuna, forcing Haruka into the unfamiliar role of mediator between the two women.
Haruka winced at the sharp, icy tone. "As to that, I don't know if she has a solution, but she said she had news." She looked at the woman next to her, felt the tension running through her, and decided on a detour. She turned abruptly to go down a side-street to the right, instead of going straight, and pulled the dark-haired woman at a slight jog.
"Oi!" Michiru's breathless surprise broke through her anger, and she quickened her pace to keep up with the blonde. She laughed, feeling more carefree. "Haru-chan! Where are we going?"
The blonde kept her eyes in front of her, though she laughed as well. She always felt exhilarated with the wind rushing past her. "It's a surprise!" she called back.
After only a couple minutes, the blonde halted their little race. She looked at her wristwatch, and turned to Michiru. "I promise you'll love this surprise. You've been so sad lately, I just wanted to see you smile. Well, you smile now, but I meant like you used to. Before this whole mess with Setsuna and everything. You might think I'm too dense to notice, but I do notice. I really do, and I worry about you. I just love you too much to let you be hurt and sad-"
Michiru's hand halted Haruka's stream of words. She closed her eyes and inhaled, reveling in the feel of the blonde's breathing, as well as her words. Her lover did not often, or easily, say words regarding her feelings. It was always something to be treasured when she did. Opening her eyes, she met the other's gaze. "I love you, too." The simple words struck them both, and, for a moment, neither one breathed.
Haruka's sky-blue eyes softened and she kissed the fingertips over her mouth. "Michi-chan." she said softly.
The tender moment was interrupted by chiming bells. Loud chiming bells.
Haruka's eyes locked onto the school gates across the street. She took the hand over her lips and pulled Michiru around to face the school gates. She rested her other hand on the other woman's shoulder and they stood watching as junior high school students flooded out the school entrance, in a noisy, laughing flood. The crowd thinned after a few moments, and two girls walking side-by-side shuffled out to the sidewalk. One had short, curly red hair, and the other had long sunshine-blonde hair, held up in two buns, with the excess hair flowing to the girl's knees.
Haruka felt Michiru's breath catch at the sight of the girls. She smiled. They continued watching as the two girls talked and giggled, making their way further from the Juuban Junior High School entrance.
Michiru's breath exploded from her chest after the two girls disappeared from view. She leaned back against Haruka. She looked up at the clouds slowly trekking across the sky. A tear coursed down her face. Haruka hugged her tightly.
"She's so young," she whispered.
"Yes." Haruka sighed. "But it was good to see her, wasn't it? It took me awhile to find her."
The other woman's brows furrowed in confusion. "Why? It shouldn't have been too difficult. Just find Luna, and you find Usagi-chan. Even if you didn't find Luna, Usagi-chan's aura is strong enough to locate her by herself." A fluffy, bunny-shaped cloud seemed to jump with the wind, instead of merely float. Michiru smiled.
Silence was her answer. She turned her head slightly. Haruka was staring at the sky, blue eyes clouded and troubled. Her smile turned to a frown. "Haruka?"
The woman sighed. "Well, it would have been easy to find her… if she was awakened." The words, so quiet and casually spoken, did not register with the dark-haired woman for a moment.
Her eyes widened in shock, and her knees weakened. If the blonde had not been holding her, she would have collapsed. "No…" The whisper escaped her. "You mean… Usagi-chan's defenseless?" She pulled in ragged breaths.
The blonde's grip tightened. "No," she replied forcefully, just as quietly. "She's not defenseless. We'll watch over her, we'll protect her." She sighed. "We don't have much choice."
Michiru was shaking. "I'm going to kill Setsuna. Let's go."
As abruptly as that, the blonde was being dragged down the street, retracing their previous steps, by a very determined woman, who was showing surprising strength. She followed along and kept pace with the angry woman in front of her. They reached the main road and crossed the street. A slight crest in the sidewalk leveled out to show an impressive apartment building. The late afternoon sun lit up the building's many windows, making it a focal point for the immediate area.
They stormed through the apartment complex's entrance and turned to the bank of elevators on the right. Reaching the eighth floor, they turned left. At the end of the short corridor, they came to a blue-painted door with the burnished numbers 804 resting innocuously above a peephole.
Michiru stepped aside and allowed Haruka to insert her key and turn the lock. The blonde opened the door and they stepped inside the darkened apartment. Their eyes adjusted and they stopped dead. The normally immaculate apartment was in complete disarray. Dirty dishes were sitting in the kitchen to the right, a cupboard was left ajar. They picked their way around pillows and cushions lying on the ground. The dining room was a shock. The flower arrangement centerpiece that Setsuna took pride in arranging with fresh flowers every morning was filled with limp, dying flowers. They continued to the living room where Setsuna usually worked on her computer.
There, sitting on the couch, they found the woman in question. Her dark green hair was tangled and dull. Her garnet eyes were wild and desperate as she looked at the floor. Her hands were limp in her lap.
Haruka looked to Michiru. She looked shocked and more than a little disturbed. The blonde turned her attention back to slumped figure on the couch. She stepped forward slightly, hoping to not upset the normally impeccably calm Guardian of Time. "Setsuna?" she called quietly. There was no response, so she tried again, a little louder.
The response this time was a violent jerk. Setsuna's eyes, as they met Haruka's startled blue eyes, were not only wild and desperate, they were filled with fear, as well.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The whisper, rasping and tortured, filled the room. The words were repeated again and again. The litany took the three women from late afternoon to moonrise. The blonde and her companion watched as the shattered woman curled in on herself, sobbing brokenly and saying only those same words until her voice cracked and gave up, though her lips still moved, still silently spoke the words.