FIRST AND ONLY DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon nor any of it's characters. Takeuchi Naoko is my queen and I love her.
Not my first rendez-vous on this site but I needed a fresh start with a new account ;) Hope you enjoy my angst-filled story! keke.
She looked down at the ground. She could not look up. She did not want to look up. No. Then it would all become all too real.
In front of her was an open white coffin with gold trim. Flowers surrounded the casket, so many flowers that the smell filled the entire room.
She heard voices and sniffles around her, but her mind was in too much of a haze to identify them.
It happened so quickly, she barely had time to process everything that had happened these last two weeks.
Two weeks? She thought to herself. Has it really only been that long?
It had like any other summer day in the beginning of July. The Inner and Outer senshi, along with the Starlights, had decided to go to the beach to have fun and cool off. The sun shined bright, its rays beating down on the people below it. Haruka lay on her beach towel, enjoying the feeling of the sun's rays on her body. She lay in a simple tankini, nothing too flashy. Just a simple navy blue top with a white trimming and matching bottoms. She had her sunglasses on her face, protecting her eyes from any damage from the sun. Then suddenly, she shot up. A bad feeling had rushed over her body. Removing her sunglasses, she looked over at Rei and Setsuna, whom were nearby, and realized they had sensed the same thing.
Before long, they all had gathered and when out of sight, transformed into their senshi fuku. They soon found themselves inside a nearby cave, the feeling of danger increasing the further they traveled down the cage. They soon came upon what looked a temple. The temple was empty, seemingly abandoned ages ago. The only thing that remained within the temple was a seemingly unassuming black rock Uranus, Neptune, Star Healer, and Jupiter all walked closer to the black rock to inspect it. They approached it with caution, not knowing what kind of power the rock may have. Suddenly, what looked like electric shocks shot out of the rock and hit Uranus and Neptune, who merely jumped as though they were startled.
"Are you two alright?!" Sailor Pluto had called out, fear in her voice. Uranus and Neptune nodded reassuringly.
"The sensation was honestly more annoying than anything…" Uranus began to explain but was suddenly interrupted by what looked like a giant black cloud emitting from the rock. Realizing they were too close for comfort, the senshi whom had approached the rock jumped back to join the others.
Soon the creature fully emerged. Still maintaining the cloud appearance, two yellow eyes had formed looking menacingly at the senshi. Then, what they could only describe as a mouth, formed and the creature began laughing before it shot out more electric shocks from its body.
The senshi dodged the attack, the shocks making cracks in the cave walls. They began to call out their various attacks attempting to weaken the youma before it escaped the cave and harmed anyone else.
"Star Serious Laser!" Star Fighter called out, sending the attack flying at the creature. It screamed in pain and then just floated there, appearing too weak to attack the senshi anymore. Sailor Moon took the opportunity to send her final attack. The youma exploded, its cloudlike form slowly fading away. The senshi sighed in relief, happy they could get back to their summer activities and relieved that the threat had been dealt with without anyone suffering any type of injury
Or so they thought.
A couple days later, Haruka and Michiru were on a stroll through the shopping district of Juuban. They had purchased a few things here and there but they were mostly just enjoying being together. It was not until they decided to stop at one of their favorite cafés that things took a turn…
Haruka was starting up the steps that led up to the café when she realized that Michiru was no longer walking beside her.
"Michiru?" Haruka called as she turned to look for her aqua-haired lover. Upon finding Michiru, her eyes widened in fear.
Michiru was just a couple of steps behind her, her eyes wide with fear, blood was pouring out of her nose at an alarming rate, covering her hands and staining the yellow sundress she had chosen to wear on their day out together.
"Haruka…" Michiru said weakly before she began to fall to the ground.
"Michiru!" Haruka yelled, running to catch her lover before she hit the pavement. "Michiru? Michiru! What's wrong? Answer me, please."
Haruka pleaded with her lover, who seemed to not even hear her despite how close they were to each other. The light in Michiru's eyes was fading and she started sounding like she was having a hard time breathing. Tears sprung to Haruka's eyes seeing her lover in so much pain.
Haruka barely noticed the crowd forming around them or the sound of the ambulance as it parked along the sidewalk. She felt someone pull Michiru from her grasp and pick her up as well. She hardly realized she was riding in the ambulance alongside Michiru, shock had taken over her body.
The next few days went by in a blur. Michiru had grown very sick and had such a high fever the doctors had to use ice packs to cool her down. They had no idea what was wrong with the young senshi of the sea. Haruka sat by her side, barely noticing as her friends came in and out to visit Michiru. She could not eat, despite how hard Setsuna tried to force her to. She could not leave Michiru's side nor take her eyes off her, not even for a second.
Michiru only grew weaker and weaker as the days passed by. Haruka hoped, she prayed that her love would open her eyes. She just wanted to look into her eyes, even it was only for a moment…
A high-pitched noise pierced the room. Haruka's head snapped up and she looked up at the heart monitor above Michiru and felt sick to her stomach upon seeing the flat line.
No, she thought to herself. No, this can't be…
"Michiru," was all she could say before she felt someone pulling her out of the room. She wanted to fight against the pair of arms holding her, but she felt too weak to fight.
She heard crying and looked over at the person holding her and saw that it was Setsuna, tears streaming down her face. Everything grew into a haze, the world around her seemed to be moving so fast but so slow at the same time. Soon a white figure stood in front of her.
"I'm so sorry," the doctor said. "She's gone."
Haruka felt like she was falling. The world grew black around her as she heard Setsuna desperately call out her name.
And now, she sat here, avoiding eye contact with the white casket in front of her. If anyone were to ask her about the days following Michiru's death, she would have no answer. All she could remember was the sound of her sobs and the empty space beside her where Michiru used to lay.
"Haruka," came Setsuna's voice from beside her. Haruka made eye contact with the older woman. Sad eyes met a devastated face. "You need to say goodbye."
Haruka wanted to protest but she knew she would regret it later.
Setsuna guided her to the side of the coffin, she still did not take her eyes off the ground. Soon, she noticed something white in the corner of her eye. She took a deep breath and looked inside.
A sob caught in her throat. Michiru laid in the coffin dressed in a simple white dress, nothing too fancy but it still gave Michiru the appearance of an angel. She had a bouquet of white roses, her favorite, in her hands. Her face looked so serene, so peaceful. If Haruka did not know any better, she would believe Michiru was just sleeping. Oh, how she wished Michiru was just sleeping. She would never again wake up, never look at Haruka with those blue eyes that Haruka would get lost in for hours…
Haruka leaned over and kissed Michiru's cheek.
"Sleep well, Michiru," Haruka whispered into her ear. She then raised her head and straightened up her body. Taking Setsuna's hand, Haruka followed back into the crowd of people that had come to pay their respects.
