Aquarius Monday
by Queen Momoko
Chapter 1: From Dawn Until Dusk
I own nothing. Absolutely nothing... except the idea... and even then not really. ^^ I have no money either. I'm poor. Sailor Moon is not mine. Enjoy. ^^ C&C are welcome. 5/31/02
****
The soft sound of breathing filled the room. The darkness was only illuminated by the light of the stars that shone through the window above a fine, wooden desk. The desk's legs were intricately carved with symbols that had long ago been forgotten. But while the wood appeared soft enough to scratch, it would stand firm against all assaults laid against it. A chair, made of this same unknown type of wood, was positioned off to the side of the desk. The made bed, which lay on the opposite side of the room from the window and desk, was covered with a dark blue comforter. And a soft fragrance that could not quite be distinguished drifted through the room giving it a sense of calm comfort.
But for all the rooms sparseness the woman, who had found herself there, was intrigued. Never had she seen a room like this, but it seemed so familiar that she should know it. Her breathes echoed around the room as if to disturb the otherwise perfect silence, but instead they only seemed to accentuate how truly silent the room was. As she allowed her gaze to drift about the room, it kept being drawn back to the mysterious desk. The woman took a step closer to the desk to inspect it more thoroughly. The desk had one long drawer in the center held in place by two smaller drawers on both sides of large drawer. She reached forward and tried to open the largest drawer, but it remained steadfastly closed.
"I know someone is here. Who's there? Who are you?" The woman's voice challenged the air around her to give her an answer. She had felt something or someone, but no one was in the room but her. She took a quick couple of steps and opened the door that was past the foot of the bed. A dark, empty closet greeted her sight. Leaving the closet's door open, she walked to the only other door in the room and opened it. This time only the emptiness of a hall greeted her. Looking around the room, she still did not catch sight of anything that could have caused her to feel what she did.
"I know your secret. That which you hold hidden from all, including yourself." The soft whisper of a voice could have been shouting for the magnitude of change that it wrought. The room now had a feeling of tension and edge, and an absolute stillness to it that had not been there previously. All feelings of tranquility and calmness vanished with those hushed words. But the room was still completely empty of any person, except for the lone woman. She looked around the room again, feeling her anger at this thing increasing because she was so helpless and could do nothing against whatever it was.
"Show yourself!" Her scream caused the entire room around her to splinter and rain down around her like shards of glass falling from a broken mirror. She covered her bent head and neck with her arms as the reality of the room shattered around her. As the last few bits of the room fell away, she slowly raised her head to look at her surroundings. She felt that she was floating and as she looked she saw that she was indeed floating in space. Managing to propel herself around so that she could see what lay behind her, an awestruck gasp stuck from her lips as she gazed at the vast deserted ruins that covered the planet.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Haruka awoke with a start and pushed herself into a seated a position. A cold sweated that arose because of the dream coated her body. While taking large gulps of air, she ran her hand through her hair.
She turned her head to where her lover slept, hoping that she had not awakened her love with her dream, but also hoping that her love had so that she could cuddle. But the form next to her was still stretched out on the bed. Sighing softly to herself, Haruka lay back down in the bed and prepared to fall back asleep.
Haruka spooned up next to her lover and draped her left arm around her lover's waist. But the cold, soft fabric that her body now lay against was not the warm nightgown of her lover that should have been there, instead cold sheets and pillows greeted Haruka's embrace. Puzzled, Haruka pulled back the covers to where her lover usually slept and was greeted by the sight of pillows forming a mock body. Frowning, Haruka rose from the bed and began to walk through the house, looking for her lover. But the house was as dark and silent as it had been when they had gone to sleep. After finding no sign of her lover anywhere in the house, Haruka headed back towards their bedroom.
'Maybe she went for a midnight stroll by the ocean. She's done that before. But if she's not back by morning I'm calling the police.' Confused and still frowning, Haruka climbed back into bed and let an uneasy sleep once again claim her.
*~*~*~*~*~*
The smell of cooking drifting through the room awoke Haruka. Opening her eyes, she looked around the room and noticed everything as it had been yesterday. Some of her clothes a scattered about the floor, because she had been too tired, and lazy, to put them in the hamper. The closet door closed tightly hiding the hanging clothes of her lover's and hers. Her lover's clothes from the previous day were still neatly stacked on the chair that sat in front of their dresser and mirror, waiting to be put in the hamper. She rose from the bed and padded quietly to the kitchen.
Michiru stood in front of the stove, cooking and softly humming to herself. The sight of Michiru, caused Haruka to smile broadly as she walked over to where Michiru was. Haruka wrapped her arms around Michiru's waist and pulled Michiru back towards her. She then set her head on Michiru's shoulder as she gave Michiru a light squeeze.
"Ohayo gozaimasu, koi. Where did you go last night?" Haruka asked lazily as she rubbed her head softly against Michiru's neck.
"Go? Don't be silly. I didn't go anywhere. In fact I was kept all night by your snoring. I finally decided to get up and just make breakfast," Michiru calmly stated.
"Hn. Well I don't snore," Haruka said defensively.
"Yes, you do snore and you kept me up all night," Michiru lightly teased as she pushed Haruka's nose with her finger. "Now why don't you go get showered and ready? Breakfast should be ready by then, and don't forget that we're meeting Usagi and the others today before the race."
Haruka grumbled her response as she slowly left the kitchen to go up to their room to get ready. She cast one last glance back at Michiru before she left the kitchen. Something was definitely wrong and Michiru knew what it was.
'She lied to me. I know she did. Maybe there's a new enemy. That might explain the dream, but then why wouldn't she just tell me.' Haruka's thoughts filled her with worry as she grabbed some clothes for after the shower. 'She must not have wanted to get me worried before today's big race. That has to be it. I'll ask her about it later.' Nodding to her decided course of action, Haruka began to get ready for the day.
*~*~*~*~*~*
The crowded streets of Tookyoo hummed with activity as people went about their business on the sunny Saturday that it was. Groups of girls walked down the streets giggling about clothes, boys, and the new bands that had just come out. Small groups of boys stood around watching the girls go by, while talking amongst themselves about who had the cutest butt. The parks were filled with people of all ages out to enjoy the nice day that had appeared.
"Where do you think she is? I mean she hasn't been this late for anything since Junior High." Minako's blonde head swung around making sure that their odango-styled friend's hair was no where in sight.
"She's right. What if something happened to her? Should we go looking for her? I mean, she wouldn't have forgotten Haruka-san's race today," Makoto said as worry slowly seeped into a her voice.
"That's right! She was really excited about your race, Haruka. She told me she wouldn't miss it for anything. Something MUST have happened to her! We should definitely go looking for her!" Makoto said tensely.
"Ami and Makoto look over near the arcade and see if Motoki or anyone there has seen her. Rei and I will go look at Usagi's house and see when the last time they saw her was. Haruka and Michiru check out Mamoru's apartment and see if she's gone there. IKIMASHOO!" Minako yelled, causing some people to stop and stare at her.
"Oi. Its only been like 5 minutes. We should at least give her another 5 minutes before we go searching. Koneko-chan probably forgot she had to do something before coming," Haruka stated calmly to Minako and Makoto.
"But what if she's hurt?! What if she's being attacked right now!? We HAVE to help her!! We CAN'T-" Minako began to hyperventillate as her mind took her through a trip of what might have happened to Usagi.
"If she's hurt or in trouble, Minako, she can use the communicator. Afterall, that is what they are for," Ami said, hoping to assuage Minako and Makoto's fears some more.
"Oi! Minna-chan!" Usagi's voice rang through the park and over to where the girls were waiting. "Gomen!" As Usagi neared the group, Minako and Makoto ran over and held her.
"Minako and I were so worried about you Usagi-chan! We thought that something might have happened to you. Don't ever do that to us again. Do you hear me, Usagi-chan?" Makoto said tearfully to Usagi, who looked slightly bewildered as to why she had been glomped by her friends.
"Ano... I didn't mean to make you worry. Mamo-chan was supposed to pick me up so we could come here together, but he never showed up or called. So I decided to stop by his apartment. When I got there, he said that he had stayed up late studying and to go ahead without him. So that's why I'm late. But I'm glad to know that you guys worried about me." Usagi said while hugging her two friends that were still attached to her.
"Don't we get any hellos over here, or are only they special enough?" Rei asked.
"Only Minako and Makoto are special enough," Usagi smiled over at Rei, while she untangled herself from Minako and Makoto. She walked over to Rei and the two friends gave each other a hug. "How's life?"
"Good. Yours?" Rei said as she tickled Usagi's sides, causing her to giggle and lightly hit Rei's hands away.
"Fine, until you attacked me," Usagi said in mock anger, giving Rei a brief raspberry before heading over to Ami. "Ami'll protect me from you, Rei. Won't you Ami-chan?"
Ami laughed lightly as she gave Usagi a hug. "Always."
Michiru smiled with open arms as Usagi came over to her. Usagi and Michiru joined together in a friendly embrace. "And how have you been doing? Hopefully not overworking yourself with all those concerts you have planned. Afterall, you need some fun time," Usagi teased lightly.
"And here I thought I was being careful to keep everyone from finding out. Now you're going to force me to take some time off. How absolutely horrible. I hope you're proud of yourself!" Michiru joked as she loosened her hold on Usagi.
Usagi's shriek of surprise filled the air as Haruka grabbed Usagi from behind and twirled her around. The rest of the girls stood off to the side laughing tat the scene before them. As soon as she realized that it was only Haruka that had grabbed a hold of her, she began to giggle and the thrill of being twirled around.
"Oi, You didn't forget about me now, did you Koneko-chan? You just saving the best for last, ne?" Haruka said as she finally stopped spinning around with Usagi. Taking advantage of Haruka's grip loosening, Usagi turned herself to face off with Haruka. Eyes still twinkling with mirth, Usagi jumped up and wrapped her arms around Haruka's neck, momentarily causing Haruka to bedn forward under the unexpected weight before righting herself. Haruka held onto Usagi's waist to keep her from falling in the case that her arms grew tired and gave out. Usagi's eyes gained a glint of mischief as she brought her legs up, putting the full weight of her body on Haruka's neck and arms.
"Oh, nbut how can I EVER forget you, Ruka-kun! You come to me in my dreams every night as my damsel in shining armor. Now Michiru-chan is going to get all jealous, put you in a closet, and never let me see you again!" Usagi mock whined.
"That's okay Usagi-chan. You can have her. I was going to look for a newer looking model. She gets a bit dull after a few years," Michiru said mischievously, joining in on Usagi's mock soap-opera.
Haruka, who had begun to frown, quickly cover the look by putting a hurt expression on her face. "Et tu Michiru." Haruka then turned to where the other four girls were standing. "We ready to go yet?"
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. It had been fun, but they had a fun-filled, action-packed day ahead of them and if they wanted to do everything, they'd have to be leaving soon. After Haruka and Usagi broke apart, Usagi ran over to Makoto and grabbed her hand and began to drag her off in the direction of their first destination. Haruka chuckled as she went over and put her arm around Michiru's waist in a possessive gesture.
*~*~*~*~*~*
"So what did you two lazy cats do today? I bet you just slept all day, didn't you? Just found a nice warm spot in the sun that was padded and laid down and slept for hours, cuddled up next to each other," Usagi teased Luna as she proceeded to get ready for bed. Though her tone was light and slightly energetic, her movements were slow with fatigue from a long day.
"We just talked. We did not lay together in the sun," Luna spoke quickly. "We talked about... about how you girls have grown over the years. It's quite remarkable really. Who would have ever thought that all of you would grow to get along so well? After all, the outer senshi didn't really seem to want to get to know the inner senshi all that well, during the first couple years of their knowing each other. Artemis and I are worried that this peace that you all have fought so hard for is going to be disturbed again, but there is nothing to substantiate our fears. I guess, we're just being paranoid. Anyway, you girls deserve this break. So, how is everyone?" Luna jumped nimbly onto the bed and sat down near the foot of the bed, waiting for Usagi to get in and settled in the bed, before taking her final sleeping place on the bed.
"Let's see. Hotaru-chan is off to a summer camp for this week and next week. I heard that she's been having a good time and is making some more friends. Setsuna-san left two weeks ago to go somewhere. No one knows where she went. I think that all the people were too much for her right now, so she went back to the Time Gates to get some alone time. I mean, it would be just total shock to me if I was alone for so long and then was dropped into Tookyoo. I don't know if I'd be able to deal with so many people after so long of being alone. Anyway, Mako-chan is enjoying going to culinary school and Ami-chan is almost done with her pre-med. Rei-chan is still complaining about how she never should have agreed to be Yuuichiro's girlfriend, but I think she does it more out of habit than anything else. Minako-chan is still as boyfriend-less as before, only this time she does it with flair. I don't think Minako is trying at all though, I think she just likes setting up other people and I know she's just waiting for Mr. Right," Usagi yawned as she crawled into the bed and got comfortable. "Michiru has been sort of over working herself recently. But with Hotaru and Setsuna out of the house, I think she's getting her much deserved vacation with Haruka. That's also why I think Setsuna went away, to give Michiru a vacation. Haruka-chan is the same as always. She won her race today. Mamo-chan has been studying really hard recently so I haven't been spending as much time with as I would like, but since school is important to him, I'm not going to get in the way of his studying. And I think that's it."
"Well, it's nice that everyone is doing so well. Good night and sleep well, Usagi-chan."
"Night Luna."
*~*~*~*~*~*
The rays of the sun bounced off of the broken and cracked pathways. Once a white stone, time had ground in the brown of the earth and the dull red of dried blood into a marble pattern. Among the cracks and crevices some weeds thrived, causing the ancient stones to be spread further apart. The land beyond the path was in more disarray than the actual path. All of the structures that had once stood firm for centuries, now lay as mere rubble on the landscape. Yet the path had somehow remained clear of all major debris and could still be seen meandering through what had once been magnificent gardens.
Usagi shivered as she walked down the path among the ruins of what had once been the moon kingdom. The place that had been a dream come true was now nothing more than a graveyard. Usagi paused outside of the gates that would take her to the end of the path and into the Moon Kingdom's infamous rose garden. Taking a deep breath, Usagi continued on past the ominous gates.
The sight that greeted her was bleak and desolate. The acres of rows that had once been full of roses of every variety and color now formed a sea of gray. Tentatively, Usagi reached out to touch one of the now gray roses that would have been as soft and as lovely as silk had it still been alive. Upon contact, the brittle rose dissintigrated into nothing, bringing about a chain reaction dissolving the rest of the field into nothing but a fine gray dust.
The world around Usagi began to spin quickly, causing Usagi to lose her balance and land rather ungracefully on her butt. She raised her knees up and buried her face, with closed eyes, in the dark pocket it had created. Her quick breaths of unease slowed down to a normal rate as she slowly opened her eyes, hoping that the spinning had stopped. Braving a glance up, Usagi found that everything had indeed stopped spinning. She also found herself seated at the edge of the moon and the sea of space.
Tentatively, Usagi reached out her right hand to touch the surface of space that lapped up onto the moon like an ocean on a beach. Ripples quickly grew from the single point of space that she had touched with her hand. Usagi's eyes widened as she followed the ripples path out into the vastness of space. In front of her the ripple touched lightly on the planets of Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and out to Neptune, before it continued to extend out into space. Turning her head to the right, she watched as the ripple rolled over to the shadowy form of the Earth and then off into the dark of space. She then turned her head to look to her left and saw the ripple move out and lightly hit Saturn, the lighted form of Uranus and out to Pluto and beyond.
Usagi smiled lightly to herself as she thought that all those ripples were just caused by one little touch. Turning back to look at the Earth, she found on the vast darkness of space to greet her. Jumping to her feet, Usagi's terror filled eyes began to search to find the place that was her home and home to her love. Spinning around, Usagi found herself alone in an oppressive darkness that threatened to suffocate her.
by Queen Momoko
Chapter 1: From Dawn Until Dusk
I own nothing. Absolutely nothing... except the idea... and even then not really. ^^ I have no money either. I'm poor. Sailor Moon is not mine. Enjoy. ^^ C&C are welcome. 5/31/02
****
The soft sound of breathing filled the room. The darkness was only illuminated by the light of the stars that shone through the window above a fine, wooden desk. The desk's legs were intricately carved with symbols that had long ago been forgotten. But while the wood appeared soft enough to scratch, it would stand firm against all assaults laid against it. A chair, made of this same unknown type of wood, was positioned off to the side of the desk. The made bed, which lay on the opposite side of the room from the window and desk, was covered with a dark blue comforter. And a soft fragrance that could not quite be distinguished drifted through the room giving it a sense of calm comfort.
But for all the rooms sparseness the woman, who had found herself there, was intrigued. Never had she seen a room like this, but it seemed so familiar that she should know it. Her breathes echoed around the room as if to disturb the otherwise perfect silence, but instead they only seemed to accentuate how truly silent the room was. As she allowed her gaze to drift about the room, it kept being drawn back to the mysterious desk. The woman took a step closer to the desk to inspect it more thoroughly. The desk had one long drawer in the center held in place by two smaller drawers on both sides of large drawer. She reached forward and tried to open the largest drawer, but it remained steadfastly closed.
"I know someone is here. Who's there? Who are you?" The woman's voice challenged the air around her to give her an answer. She had felt something or someone, but no one was in the room but her. She took a quick couple of steps and opened the door that was past the foot of the bed. A dark, empty closet greeted her sight. Leaving the closet's door open, she walked to the only other door in the room and opened it. This time only the emptiness of a hall greeted her. Looking around the room, she still did not catch sight of anything that could have caused her to feel what she did.
"I know your secret. That which you hold hidden from all, including yourself." The soft whisper of a voice could have been shouting for the magnitude of change that it wrought. The room now had a feeling of tension and edge, and an absolute stillness to it that had not been there previously. All feelings of tranquility and calmness vanished with those hushed words. But the room was still completely empty of any person, except for the lone woman. She looked around the room again, feeling her anger at this thing increasing because she was so helpless and could do nothing against whatever it was.
"Show yourself!" Her scream caused the entire room around her to splinter and rain down around her like shards of glass falling from a broken mirror. She covered her bent head and neck with her arms as the reality of the room shattered around her. As the last few bits of the room fell away, she slowly raised her head to look at her surroundings. She felt that she was floating and as she looked she saw that she was indeed floating in space. Managing to propel herself around so that she could see what lay behind her, an awestruck gasp stuck from her lips as she gazed at the vast deserted ruins that covered the planet.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Haruka awoke with a start and pushed herself into a seated a position. A cold sweated that arose because of the dream coated her body. While taking large gulps of air, she ran her hand through her hair.
She turned her head to where her lover slept, hoping that she had not awakened her love with her dream, but also hoping that her love had so that she could cuddle. But the form next to her was still stretched out on the bed. Sighing softly to herself, Haruka lay back down in the bed and prepared to fall back asleep.
Haruka spooned up next to her lover and draped her left arm around her lover's waist. But the cold, soft fabric that her body now lay against was not the warm nightgown of her lover that should have been there, instead cold sheets and pillows greeted Haruka's embrace. Puzzled, Haruka pulled back the covers to where her lover usually slept and was greeted by the sight of pillows forming a mock body. Frowning, Haruka rose from the bed and began to walk through the house, looking for her lover. But the house was as dark and silent as it had been when they had gone to sleep. After finding no sign of her lover anywhere in the house, Haruka headed back towards their bedroom.
'Maybe she went for a midnight stroll by the ocean. She's done that before. But if she's not back by morning I'm calling the police.' Confused and still frowning, Haruka climbed back into bed and let an uneasy sleep once again claim her.
*~*~*~*~*~*
The smell of cooking drifting through the room awoke Haruka. Opening her eyes, she looked around the room and noticed everything as it had been yesterday. Some of her clothes a scattered about the floor, because she had been too tired, and lazy, to put them in the hamper. The closet door closed tightly hiding the hanging clothes of her lover's and hers. Her lover's clothes from the previous day were still neatly stacked on the chair that sat in front of their dresser and mirror, waiting to be put in the hamper. She rose from the bed and padded quietly to the kitchen.
Michiru stood in front of the stove, cooking and softly humming to herself. The sight of Michiru, caused Haruka to smile broadly as she walked over to where Michiru was. Haruka wrapped her arms around Michiru's waist and pulled Michiru back towards her. She then set her head on Michiru's shoulder as she gave Michiru a light squeeze.
"Ohayo gozaimasu, koi. Where did you go last night?" Haruka asked lazily as she rubbed her head softly against Michiru's neck.
"Go? Don't be silly. I didn't go anywhere. In fact I was kept all night by your snoring. I finally decided to get up and just make breakfast," Michiru calmly stated.
"Hn. Well I don't snore," Haruka said defensively.
"Yes, you do snore and you kept me up all night," Michiru lightly teased as she pushed Haruka's nose with her finger. "Now why don't you go get showered and ready? Breakfast should be ready by then, and don't forget that we're meeting Usagi and the others today before the race."
Haruka grumbled her response as she slowly left the kitchen to go up to their room to get ready. She cast one last glance back at Michiru before she left the kitchen. Something was definitely wrong and Michiru knew what it was.
'She lied to me. I know she did. Maybe there's a new enemy. That might explain the dream, but then why wouldn't she just tell me.' Haruka's thoughts filled her with worry as she grabbed some clothes for after the shower. 'She must not have wanted to get me worried before today's big race. That has to be it. I'll ask her about it later.' Nodding to her decided course of action, Haruka began to get ready for the day.
*~*~*~*~*~*
The crowded streets of Tookyoo hummed with activity as people went about their business on the sunny Saturday that it was. Groups of girls walked down the streets giggling about clothes, boys, and the new bands that had just come out. Small groups of boys stood around watching the girls go by, while talking amongst themselves about who had the cutest butt. The parks were filled with people of all ages out to enjoy the nice day that had appeared.
"Where do you think she is? I mean she hasn't been this late for anything since Junior High." Minako's blonde head swung around making sure that their odango-styled friend's hair was no where in sight.
"She's right. What if something happened to her? Should we go looking for her? I mean, she wouldn't have forgotten Haruka-san's race today," Makoto said as worry slowly seeped into a her voice.
"That's right! She was really excited about your race, Haruka. She told me she wouldn't miss it for anything. Something MUST have happened to her! We should definitely go looking for her!" Makoto said tensely.
"Ami and Makoto look over near the arcade and see if Motoki or anyone there has seen her. Rei and I will go look at Usagi's house and see when the last time they saw her was. Haruka and Michiru check out Mamoru's apartment and see if she's gone there. IKIMASHOO!" Minako yelled, causing some people to stop and stare at her.
"Oi. Its only been like 5 minutes. We should at least give her another 5 minutes before we go searching. Koneko-chan probably forgot she had to do something before coming," Haruka stated calmly to Minako and Makoto.
"But what if she's hurt?! What if she's being attacked right now!? We HAVE to help her!! We CAN'T-" Minako began to hyperventillate as her mind took her through a trip of what might have happened to Usagi.
"If she's hurt or in trouble, Minako, she can use the communicator. Afterall, that is what they are for," Ami said, hoping to assuage Minako and Makoto's fears some more.
"Oi! Minna-chan!" Usagi's voice rang through the park and over to where the girls were waiting. "Gomen!" As Usagi neared the group, Minako and Makoto ran over and held her.
"Minako and I were so worried about you Usagi-chan! We thought that something might have happened to you. Don't ever do that to us again. Do you hear me, Usagi-chan?" Makoto said tearfully to Usagi, who looked slightly bewildered as to why she had been glomped by her friends.
"Ano... I didn't mean to make you worry. Mamo-chan was supposed to pick me up so we could come here together, but he never showed up or called. So I decided to stop by his apartment. When I got there, he said that he had stayed up late studying and to go ahead without him. So that's why I'm late. But I'm glad to know that you guys worried about me." Usagi said while hugging her two friends that were still attached to her.
"Don't we get any hellos over here, or are only they special enough?" Rei asked.
"Only Minako and Makoto are special enough," Usagi smiled over at Rei, while she untangled herself from Minako and Makoto. She walked over to Rei and the two friends gave each other a hug. "How's life?"
"Good. Yours?" Rei said as she tickled Usagi's sides, causing her to giggle and lightly hit Rei's hands away.
"Fine, until you attacked me," Usagi said in mock anger, giving Rei a brief raspberry before heading over to Ami. "Ami'll protect me from you, Rei. Won't you Ami-chan?"
Ami laughed lightly as she gave Usagi a hug. "Always."
Michiru smiled with open arms as Usagi came over to her. Usagi and Michiru joined together in a friendly embrace. "And how have you been doing? Hopefully not overworking yourself with all those concerts you have planned. Afterall, you need some fun time," Usagi teased lightly.
"And here I thought I was being careful to keep everyone from finding out. Now you're going to force me to take some time off. How absolutely horrible. I hope you're proud of yourself!" Michiru joked as she loosened her hold on Usagi.
Usagi's shriek of surprise filled the air as Haruka grabbed Usagi from behind and twirled her around. The rest of the girls stood off to the side laughing tat the scene before them. As soon as she realized that it was only Haruka that had grabbed a hold of her, she began to giggle and the thrill of being twirled around.
"Oi, You didn't forget about me now, did you Koneko-chan? You just saving the best for last, ne?" Haruka said as she finally stopped spinning around with Usagi. Taking advantage of Haruka's grip loosening, Usagi turned herself to face off with Haruka. Eyes still twinkling with mirth, Usagi jumped up and wrapped her arms around Haruka's neck, momentarily causing Haruka to bedn forward under the unexpected weight before righting herself. Haruka held onto Usagi's waist to keep her from falling in the case that her arms grew tired and gave out. Usagi's eyes gained a glint of mischief as she brought her legs up, putting the full weight of her body on Haruka's neck and arms.
"Oh, nbut how can I EVER forget you, Ruka-kun! You come to me in my dreams every night as my damsel in shining armor. Now Michiru-chan is going to get all jealous, put you in a closet, and never let me see you again!" Usagi mock whined.
"That's okay Usagi-chan. You can have her. I was going to look for a newer looking model. She gets a bit dull after a few years," Michiru said mischievously, joining in on Usagi's mock soap-opera.
Haruka, who had begun to frown, quickly cover the look by putting a hurt expression on her face. "Et tu Michiru." Haruka then turned to where the other four girls were standing. "We ready to go yet?"
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. It had been fun, but they had a fun-filled, action-packed day ahead of them and if they wanted to do everything, they'd have to be leaving soon. After Haruka and Usagi broke apart, Usagi ran over to Makoto and grabbed her hand and began to drag her off in the direction of their first destination. Haruka chuckled as she went over and put her arm around Michiru's waist in a possessive gesture.
*~*~*~*~*~*
"So what did you two lazy cats do today? I bet you just slept all day, didn't you? Just found a nice warm spot in the sun that was padded and laid down and slept for hours, cuddled up next to each other," Usagi teased Luna as she proceeded to get ready for bed. Though her tone was light and slightly energetic, her movements were slow with fatigue from a long day.
"We just talked. We did not lay together in the sun," Luna spoke quickly. "We talked about... about how you girls have grown over the years. It's quite remarkable really. Who would have ever thought that all of you would grow to get along so well? After all, the outer senshi didn't really seem to want to get to know the inner senshi all that well, during the first couple years of their knowing each other. Artemis and I are worried that this peace that you all have fought so hard for is going to be disturbed again, but there is nothing to substantiate our fears. I guess, we're just being paranoid. Anyway, you girls deserve this break. So, how is everyone?" Luna jumped nimbly onto the bed and sat down near the foot of the bed, waiting for Usagi to get in and settled in the bed, before taking her final sleeping place on the bed.
"Let's see. Hotaru-chan is off to a summer camp for this week and next week. I heard that she's been having a good time and is making some more friends. Setsuna-san left two weeks ago to go somewhere. No one knows where she went. I think that all the people were too much for her right now, so she went back to the Time Gates to get some alone time. I mean, it would be just total shock to me if I was alone for so long and then was dropped into Tookyoo. I don't know if I'd be able to deal with so many people after so long of being alone. Anyway, Mako-chan is enjoying going to culinary school and Ami-chan is almost done with her pre-med. Rei-chan is still complaining about how she never should have agreed to be Yuuichiro's girlfriend, but I think she does it more out of habit than anything else. Minako-chan is still as boyfriend-less as before, only this time she does it with flair. I don't think Minako is trying at all though, I think she just likes setting up other people and I know she's just waiting for Mr. Right," Usagi yawned as she crawled into the bed and got comfortable. "Michiru has been sort of over working herself recently. But with Hotaru and Setsuna out of the house, I think she's getting her much deserved vacation with Haruka. That's also why I think Setsuna went away, to give Michiru a vacation. Haruka-chan is the same as always. She won her race today. Mamo-chan has been studying really hard recently so I haven't been spending as much time with as I would like, but since school is important to him, I'm not going to get in the way of his studying. And I think that's it."
"Well, it's nice that everyone is doing so well. Good night and sleep well, Usagi-chan."
"Night Luna."
*~*~*~*~*~*
The rays of the sun bounced off of the broken and cracked pathways. Once a white stone, time had ground in the brown of the earth and the dull red of dried blood into a marble pattern. Among the cracks and crevices some weeds thrived, causing the ancient stones to be spread further apart. The land beyond the path was in more disarray than the actual path. All of the structures that had once stood firm for centuries, now lay as mere rubble on the landscape. Yet the path had somehow remained clear of all major debris and could still be seen meandering through what had once been magnificent gardens.
Usagi shivered as she walked down the path among the ruins of what had once been the moon kingdom. The place that had been a dream come true was now nothing more than a graveyard. Usagi paused outside of the gates that would take her to the end of the path and into the Moon Kingdom's infamous rose garden. Taking a deep breath, Usagi continued on past the ominous gates.
The sight that greeted her was bleak and desolate. The acres of rows that had once been full of roses of every variety and color now formed a sea of gray. Tentatively, Usagi reached out to touch one of the now gray roses that would have been as soft and as lovely as silk had it still been alive. Upon contact, the brittle rose dissintigrated into nothing, bringing about a chain reaction dissolving the rest of the field into nothing but a fine gray dust.
The world around Usagi began to spin quickly, causing Usagi to lose her balance and land rather ungracefully on her butt. She raised her knees up and buried her face, with closed eyes, in the dark pocket it had created. Her quick breaths of unease slowed down to a normal rate as she slowly opened her eyes, hoping that the spinning had stopped. Braving a glance up, Usagi found that everything had indeed stopped spinning. She also found herself seated at the edge of the moon and the sea of space.
Tentatively, Usagi reached out her right hand to touch the surface of space that lapped up onto the moon like an ocean on a beach. Ripples quickly grew from the single point of space that she had touched with her hand. Usagi's eyes widened as she followed the ripples path out into the vastness of space. In front of her the ripple touched lightly on the planets of Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and out to Neptune, before it continued to extend out into space. Turning her head to the right, she watched as the ripple rolled over to the shadowy form of the Earth and then off into the dark of space. She then turned her head to look to her left and saw the ripple move out and lightly hit Saturn, the lighted form of Uranus and out to Pluto and beyond.
Usagi smiled lightly to herself as she thought that all those ripples were just caused by one little touch. Turning back to look at the Earth, she found on the vast darkness of space to greet her. Jumping to her feet, Usagi's terror filled eyes began to search to find the place that was her home and home to her love. Spinning around, Usagi found herself alone in an oppressive darkness that threatened to suffocate her.