The sky was clad in a dark blanket, with the wind ravishing through everything in its path. The moon was giving an aura of eeriness, making everyone who was basked in the lunar light, shudder in fear. All the streets of the city of Navisko town were empty, save for the family of a lowly merchant, named Jiro.

"Faster, faster my love!" He beckoned his wife to hasten. "They are coming. We must get to safety."

His wife, Haya, was cradling a newly-born baby in her hands. The baby, a cute bundle of joy with a few blonde strands was sleeping peacefully, not aware of the danger that looms just beyond the next corner.

"I can't run anymore!" the middle-aged woman cried out in pain after stumbling over a wooden ledge. It was too dark to see where they were going. Too difficult to hide from their attackers. Too tired to run…away from the zombies of Navisko.

"Run now, Jiro. Take our daughter. Leave me be!"

Jiro was already a few steps ahead of his wife, when he heard her plead. The sun was still far from rising, and survival was vague. He shook his head as he tried to blink back the tears. They were too far from the gate.

"I will never leave you, Haya," he said in a sad voice as he walked towards his family. "I will die here with you."

Haya nodded grimly. "But what about our daughter?" she asked no one in particular. She knew that her husband had already given up hope.

There, they lay on the pavement, with eyes closed, holding each other hands, hugging the baby between them. They couldn't do anything anymore. They couldn't outrun the vicious monsters.

Shuffle. Shuffle. Crawl.

Shuffle. Crawl. Shuffle. Crawl.

The footsteps were fast approaching; the air being slowly tainted with stink.

Shuffle. Shuffle. Crawl.

Shuffle. Crawl. Shuffle. Crawl.

Haya trembled in fear as she heard the zombies' growl. "Jiro, I'm scared."

The merchant suddenly stood up to her wife's surprise. He got up and took the ledge near them in his hands. Haya was shocked to see her husband's eyes filled with rage.

"Love, what are you doing…?" but it fell to deaf ears. "Jiro! What are you…" her voice trailed off when her husband rushed forward to the nearest beast, swinging the wooden stick in an awkward manner. "I'm trying to save our daughter!"

He managed to graze the zombie's arm, but he staggered backwards when it scratched his chest.

"Aah!" Jiro cried out in pain, and in an instant, Haya was there by his side. "Get away, Haya. Get away!" He shoved her on the opposite direction the monsters were coming from.

He tried his best, really, to defend his family. His wife, his daughter…his daughter who had never even witnessed her first sunrise...from the hideous creatures of Navisko town.

They arrived there a few hours earlier, wanting to get refreshments for the pregnant Haya. But alas, fate seem to be against them, for just a few moments after their caravan stepped inside the hidden city of the desert, her wife began to labor for their firstborn child. And thanks to the cheery and very hospitable people of the town, their little one came out alright. He was a proud father of a healthy baby girl, one who would grow up to be a strong noble warrior, not a clumsy poor merchant like her father.

However, his image of joy was harshly shattered, when suddenly, after the sun came down and gave way to the moon, the smiling faces of the citizens of Navisko turned into sinister grins of ferocious monsters. In a split-second, the once peaceful and lively town, transformed into a dangerous and spine-chilling grave.

Shuffle. Crawl. Shuffle.

The zombies were now all around him. He could only pray that he would be enough dinner for them, so that his wife would never be harmed. He bashed once. He bashed twice. But he was just a lowly merchant. He doesn't know anything about fighting.

He took all the blows. His clothes were already tattered. His body, bleeding heavily from the ambush. The monster at his back was about to drive its teeth onto his neck, when he was pushed abruptly from behind. "Jiro, look out!"

"Haya!" His eyes widened in panic as he saw his wife being devoured by the creatures, her taking his place. "No!" he screamed in anguish.

Jiro 'attacked' them again. But each strike was just in vain. Then he saw a bundle of white clothe hidden neatly on a nearby bush. My daughter…

Without thinking twice, he sprinted towards the baby. He smiled in relief as he saw no harm had befallen the little one. But he froze in panic, as more zombies appeared in the scene.

He was surrounded once again. But he couldn't run anymore, he was breathing heavily from exhaustion and deep wounds. Jiro dropped on the ground to cover his daughter.

Death was imminent.

"Oh god, please…no…" Jiro silently prayed for a miracle to happen.

And a miracle, he was about to get…

"Meteorite!"

A mighty roar boomed out of nowhere, followed closely by blinding light and fiery rocks coming from the heavens above.

The ground quivered. In an instant, Navisko was clouded with dust that came from the said rocks. They were smoking hot, Jiro noted, as he was held witness to the agonizing carnage of the monsters before him. Slimy ooze flooded the streets where the once menacing zombies stood.

"Thank you, Lord!" he praised the sky.

"Oh no, I'm not God," a calm voice chuckled from somewhere near. Jiro blinked his eyes hard, just in time to see a tall, lean form reveal itself from the darkness.

"Greetings, my friend. My name's Fujin Tenoh, master of fire and wind magic from Pillai town," a man almost around his age kneeled in front of him. "What are you doing in the dangerous streets of Navisko town?"

The merchant relayed their story to his savior. About the journey from Ricarten…getting lost in the desert…finding refuge in Navisko…then in the end, being a sacrifice to its deep secret.

Jiro could only cry in sadness as he relayed every daunting piece of the tragedy that befell his family.

"Can you stand up?" Fujin asked the other man. Jiro shook his head, no.

"I can't. I'm too exhausted. I'm dying…" he trailed off.

But the magician shushed him, "You're not. Just sit back, I'll try to send a signal to a friend of mine who's a healer." Tenoh stood up and pointed his staff upwards.

"No, my friend. I am dying. I know it, I can feel it." Jiro, feeling his life slowly fading away, stopped Fujin, and gave him a bundle of white cloth. "I want to ask you a favor, if it's not too much to ask for," he coughed hard and blood came out of his mouth. "I…I want you…to please take care of my daughter…"

Fujin held the small baby in his arms, a cute little girl with blonde locks. He nodded his head, "It's the only thing I could to do to a comrade. I…will try to raise her like I would raise one of my own."

"Thank you. I can't thank you enough for saving my daughter's life."

"It's nothing. I promise to take care of her."

"I have dreamt of seeing her become a priestess. But now, I know that I would never have that chance."

"Don't worry, I will make her a priestess. A priestess that you will be proud of."

"Yes. Thank you, once again," the merchant smiled as he whispered his last words, "Haya, I am coming…"

Suprisingly, the baby opened her eyes and cried out. Whether in pain, in grief, or in self-pity, no one would know. Probably it's her way of saying goodbye to her parents, the magician thought sadly.

Fujin gazed at the bright moon above as he held the baby in his hands. To some, the moon may seem beautiful. To some, it may bring peace and calmness. But to others, it brings sadness. To others, it could mean death.

"From now on, I shall call you Haruka, descendant of the Tenoh ancestry."

May the gods forbid you to cry again under the pale blue moon…

Author's Notes:

I re-edited this first chapter because of what Twisties said. I got your point, and I apologize for what I've done.
So whoever you are, I express my undying gratitude for clearing up my head with cobwebs. Heh. Lol.
Nah, seriously, thanks. :)

Disclaimer:

Haruka, Michiru, and the rest of the BSSM gang belong to Naoko Takeuchi. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.
Pillai, Ricarten, Navisko, and the spell Meteorite is from the MMORPG Priston Tale.
Everything else is fictional.