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Beta-corrected: Midnight's Violet Haze here on ! She's amazing!


Yaten strayed behind Seiya and the inner senshi-excluding Rei-with Taiki, glaring at the back of the girls' heads. He was irritated, worried and angry. Honestly, was it really so hard to care about your friends and know what's wrong with them? He didn't think so, but it wasn't the first time Yaten thought the girls were displaying their incompetence, and he doubted it would be the last.

Yaten winced internally as another fierce pang of agony ripped through him.

'Usagi... what's happened to you?' he wondered.

~*~ Flash back (2 Earth weeks earlier) ~*~

The star seeds of the fellow citizens and senshi of Kinmoku were returned; plants and wildlife were beginning to come back to their planet, and the palace had been rebuilt.

Everyone was in a state of surreal bliss and peace.

Healer knew of that for certain because she could feel it. She could always feel the happiness of the star seeds closest to her. After all, she was Sailor Star Healer. It was in her power to heal stars and star seeds alike. However, she could also tell when there was a disruption in the star seed-negative feelings, for example. But when it wasn't critical for her to know, she blocked them.

Healer walked into the large room that belonged to Princess Kakyuu. She smiled softly at the sight of her princess relaxing against the headboard of her bed, and her other two right-hand senshi close to her. Fighter was sitting next to her on the edge of the bed, animatedly speaking about something from an Earth time. Maker was concentrating on something that probably had to do with stars... or was pretending to, but in actuality listening to Fighter's story.

Gazing at her Princess, she couldn't help but feel a little empty inside. She missed a certain blonde with bright, infinitely hopeful blue eyes. The sailor soldier who had defeated Galaxia, Eternal Sailor Moon. Or rather, Tsukino Usagi.

She never really spent much time with the blonde, and certainly never any alone time, but Healer knew she had special feelings for Usagi. Usagi was so pure, so gentle... she believed in everyone's heart to be good. Even when she fought with Galaxia.

"I believe we can understand each other."

She was loud, a bit of a crybaby and clumsy, but those things were what made her special. She always had a warm smile for everyone, even her enemies. She always thought about others before herself.

The most wonderful thing about her, though, was her shine. It was so sweet, so warm... no one else's shine compared to that. Not even Kakyuu-hime's.

Of course, Healer hadn't always thought that way about the Senshi of the Moon.

When times were darkening on Earth, Healer hated Sailor Moon with every fiber of her being. She felt she was distracting Seiya's mind from his mission on searching for their princess.

It only got worse when Seiya jumped in front of Sailor Moon to take an attack that was aimed at her. With him injured and in love with the odango-haired girl, Healer felt sick with knowing of her existence. She wanted the blonde to disappear from their lives completely.

However, she soon saw the light of it all, and fought to protect that sweet, moonlit shine.

Healer's eyes grew distant with the memory of Usagi's sweet voice.

The Earth's inner senshi were unsure, but wanted to believe in the Starlights-if not just for Usagi's views about them, but for the fact of being Sailor Senshi as well-and her outer senshi wanted them, as well as the enemy that they believed the Starlights brought onto Earth, gone; by any means necessary.

"You don't have a soldier's courage or pride, do you?" Chaos had asked the Moon Princess during their battle.

"If a soldier's pride means hurting one another, I don't want it." She responded.

The image of that beautiful golden-haired angel with bright, full wings, and her sweet, warm shine, made Healer smile softly. 'Sailor Moon...'

She was the only one who fully believed in the ability to understand others, just for the sake of being friends and fellow sailor senshi. She never needed anything from anyone to be able to believe in and understand someone.

Healer remembered that evil, menacing voice, too. The voice of Chaos in Galaxia's body; the one that had nearly destroyed both of their galaxies-

"Healer?" The Fireball Princess' voice broke the silver-haired woman from her musings.

Jade eyes blinked a few times before adjusting properly. She saw them staring at her; her two comrades in an odd way, and the red-haired princess with sorrow and concern.

"Are you alright?" Kakyuu-hime asked softly.

She nodded. "I'm fine, Princess. I-"

Suddenly, Healer's body went rigid for an instant before beginning to shake uncontrollably. Agony unlike anything she ever felt before seemed to rip apart the core of her star seed. Not even the beating she had gotten from Galaxia, the knowledge of her planet's inhabitants dying as she fled from it, and seeing her princess die before her eyes combined compared to this.

Healer let out a blood curdling scream. Tears formed and poured down the silver-haired senshi's face like a river. Harsh sobs wracked her body, her face contorted in pain.

Before three sets of eyes, Healer's star seed came out from her forehead. It was a pure silver, star-shaped star seed. It glittered brightly with a shine that was a combination of both hers and someone else's. Bright golden and silver lights flashed around the room, the intensity hardly being contained. Unbelievable despair unfurled between the lights, affecting all in the room.

Princess Kakyuu's screams mingled with Maker's and Fighter's, but the screams fell on deaf ears. Healer couldn't stop the pain from radiating out of her star seed. Her heart and mind felt like it would explode from such a feeling.

Then, after what seemed like an eternity, the lights died down, but the emotion did not. Healer was finally able to take control of her body and make her star seed sink back into her. The pain did not stop, but she struggled with blocking it for several minutes before she was successful. However, this was only a temporary solution; it would not last long.

The silver-haired woman fell to her knees, her arms hanging loosely at her sides. With her green eyes out of focus, and her breathing shallow, she seemed to be in a trance.

"Healer..." Kakyuu-hime called after some time.

No answer.

"Healer..." She called again, this time earning a confused, searching stare.

The red-haired princess held out her hand to the woman, and Healer took it, but when the shorter woman did not feel the comfort she was seeking, she let go.

"Who has been hurt, Healer?"

The silver-haired woman looked down to the ground, her eyes growing out of focus once again. She searched with all of her might through the star seeds she knew so well. As had she felt before, everyone she knew closely was happy and content.

'It... It must be from Earth.' Came the vaguely acknowledged thought.

She began to search there, too. It was hard, being in a whole other galaxy, but she could manage.

Checking the inner senshi wasn't difficult. They had, after all, accepted and befriended the Starlights. They even gave their lives for the three women. First, Healer checked Minako, who missed the Three Lights, but was happy overall. Ami, Makoto and Rei were in the same state as their friend, with varying degrees of how much they missed the Starlights.

The outer senshi were harder to read, for she was being blocked and she hadn't had a lot of personal contact with them. Uranus was angry and concerned, along with Neptune. Pluto... Pluto was a bit upset and worried for reasons that Healer did not know. Luna was in the same state as the Senshi of Time and, from what little Healer could figure out, Artemis was upset, as well. Saturn... well, she was blocking Healer, purposely.

Healer couldn't read Chiba Mamoru's star seed at all. She had had absolutely no contact with that man in her life, so she couldn't read into his star seed. That left...

Healer's blood ran cold.'No... it couldn't be. She's so warm and peaceful, so gentle and kind... she couldn't be in such agony... could she?'

Healer reached out with no hesitation to read the star seed... and almost regretted it.

The same pain from before washed out for a long moment, thundering against Healer's mind and heart, before she managed to block it out once more.

Healer's eyes formed more tears as she began to cry once again, sobbing hard and uncontrollably.

The others in the room stared at Healer with worry etched on their faces. Who could be in so much pain that the realization of whom it was made Healer cry?

"Who is it?" Maker was the first to speak up.

Healer wrapped her arms around herself. "Oh Kami... no... no, please, no..."

Maker frowned. Her comrade was beginning to zone out again. Maker moved to Healer, knelt before her, and raised her friend's head. She looked deep into jade eyes that sparkled with tears.

"Who is it, Healer? We need to know." Maker tried again, but the shorter woman wouldn't budge, continuing her ramblings.

"Please, no... please... she doesn't deserve this..."

A resounding slap echoed with a gasp from the Fireball Princess through the room. Healer stopped sobbing to look up in shock.

Fighter had just slapped her.

A red hand mark began to angrily form on Healer's right cheek.

"Who is it?" Fighter demanded harshly. She didn't mean too, of course, but she was scared. She was scared it might be the owner of the most beautiful shine in all the galaxies.

Healer began to tremble. "It's... It's Usagi..."

Three pairs of eyes widened in disbelief.

"She's in so much pain..." Healer rambled on. "So much pain... I have never felt anything like it in my life..."

The shortest woman suddenly looked to the red-haired sovereign. "Please, Princess, we have to go back to Earth. We have too! I-I... I have to heal her star seed..."

The princess grew serious then. She stared at her Starlights. They were silently begging her to let them go. They didn't need too, of course; she was going to let them go anyway.

"In seven Earth days, you may leave."

~*~ End of flashback ~*~

As promised, Princess Kakyuu had sent them to Earth to find out what happened to Usagi, and heal her. And here they were now, on Earth, trying to find that out.

They had returned in their Earth forms as Yaten, Seiya, and Taiki Kou. Only... they were a bit different.

Yaten stood at approximately 5'8 with a slender yet muscular build. Out of the three, he still looked the most feminine, though not overly so. He stood in a pale blue tuxedo just like before, a pink rose pin over his left breast. His hair was tied back in a ponytail that reached down to his ankles like his other two "brothers."

Seiya stood at 6'0 with a more muscular build and broader shoulders. He barely looked like a boyish teenager now, having matured a young man. He wore a bright red tuxedo just like before, with a blood red rose over his left breast. His hair was tied back as well, stretching to his ankles.

Taiki stood at 6'4 with a full-blown male build with the broadest shoulders of the two and the most muscular-which was surprising since he was more of a technology person than a sports person. He wore a tannish yellow tuxedo with a white rose over his left breast. His chocolate brown hair was tied back and stretched down to his ankles.

Seiya, Yaten, Taiki, Ami, Makoto, and Minako walked the rest of the way to the Hikawa Jinja and stood at the foot of the stairs. The Three Lights stood amongst themselves as the three girls joined Rei with the outer senshi a few feet away, who were glaring at the three males before them (...well, Haruka was glaring at Seiya, anyway).

The Three Lights glared back just as intensely, but at all of them. Yaten saw Minako and Luna wince at the same time, and he felt smug satisfaction on the inside. He liked the Earth senshi, true, but at the moment, he didn't feel anything for them. Their princess was in pain and, instead of being there for her, they were happy with their own lives.

"So, this is why you called us here, Rei? To welcome them back?" Haruka asked pointedly, her glare never ceasing.

"Hai. They say they are here for a reason." The princess of Mars answered.

Setsuna frowned. "Is it a new enemy?"

Taiki stared coldly at the dark-haired woman. "That remains to be seen."

Ami's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean, Taiki-san?"

"He means that depending on the answers you give to our questions, we will decide if we become enemies, or remain allies." Seiya answered for him.

"And we should be afraid of you, why?" The princess of Uranus growled.

Seiya opened his mouth to retort, but Yaten spoke up.

"Where is Usagi?"

Silence.

Haruka, Michiru, Rei and Setsuna wore a mixture of anger, pain and betrayal on their faces. Ami, Minako, Makoto, Luna and Artemis wore a mixture of shame and worry on their faces. Hotaru's face was blank, careful to not reveal any type of emotion.

"Where. Is. Usagi?" Yaten hissed. He was pleased when he saw Minako wince again, before replying to him.

"We don't know." She murmured.

Taiki's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

"We haven't seen Usagi in two years," Haruka said bitterly.

"She abandoned us." Rei added.

"WHAT!" The Three Lights shouted simultaneously.

Haruka wrapped her arm around Michiru's waist, drawing strength from her lover.

"Koneko abandoned us. She abandoned her destiny to become Queen of Crystal Tokyo in the Thirtieth century, Mamoru, and everlasting peace." She sighed. "Every so often, one or a few of us would get near her, and feel her Lunar disguise magic. We would try to pinpoint it, of course, but this is Tokyo; if you want to get away from someone, there are easy ways of doing that, and quickly."

Yaten narrowed his eyes at the girls in front of him, a look of pure irritation masking his handsome features. They were all lying; Yaten just knew it. Either that, or they were leaving something out. Usagi would never abandon her friends... not even if her life depended on it.

So what made her leave?

Yaten looked to his brothers, and clearly saw they were thinking along the same line as himself. Taiki had a look of pure disbelief on his face, whereas Seiya looked appalled by the accusation they were making against the Moon Princess.

With one look shared between the Three Lights, the nodded silently, and turned to walk down the steps.

"Matte!" Makoto's voice called out.

The young men were already down four steps before they stopped, turned, and looked back at the girls.

"What?" Yaten snapped.

"Where are you going?" Michiru asked.

Yaten brushed his hand through his hair while briefly closing his eyes. "We're going to look for Usagi."

Hotaru stared at him, then said something that only fueled the fire of determination for the Starlights.

"You might as well give up, you know. She won't show herself to you. If she won't show herself to us, her most precious friends from many life times, what makes you think she will show herself to you?"

She was met with silence. Then...

"We don't know what you did.." Taiki started.

"...But we're not like you; we would never hurt Odango. We would rather take our own lives." Seiya finished.

"We'll find her and heal her pain, whether you care to tell help us, or not." Yaten added.

The three turned and walked down the rest of the path, leaving behind seven stunned ladies, two equally stunned cats, and a secretly happy Hotaru.


Seiya ran forward, looking around him wildly. His breathing was hard and deep, sweat grazing his eyebrows. People were staring after and murmuring about him, but he didn't care. It's not like they knew he was Seiya Kou right now; he was wearing sunglasses.

The raven-haired man gritted his teeth behind closed lips. He was frustrated that he couldn't find her. He had been searching all morning and the first early hours of the afternoon for her, but nothing that even resembled the feel of her shine showed itself. Not only that, but there were no signs of golden odangos, or loud laughing or whining or crying, no public displays of embarrassing clumsiness... nothing.

It was as if she erased herself out of existence.

He still loved her, but he knew he never had a chance with her. Not even with Mamoru out of the picture. It didn't matter, though. He could love her from afar; he could spend time with her and just be her friend.

To see her beautiful shine radiating with happiness, to see her smile, to see her laugh... it was enough for him. He loved those things about her; he always would.

He frowned internally, then. The pain he felt from Healer's star seed was really Usagi's... how could she survive with that much agony held inside? How could someone so pure and strong, with an unyielding belief in others, feel such an emotion of that magnitude?

'Odango... What have they done to you?'

He looked up and realized he had stopped in front of Tokyo University. He pondered on going inside for a few moments. The last time Seiya had seen Usagi, she wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. However, it had been two years since then. Could she have changed that much?

'Something brought me here. The least I can do is go inside, and see if she attends here.'

He walked along the campus sidewalk and entered the huge building. He slowly walked into what he suspected was the office and smirked when he only saw one woman typing away at something on the computer.

He made his way up to the counter and leaned on it with his forearms. "Excuse me, miss?"

She typed away a moment in silence before turning her attention to him. "Yes? How may I help you?"

"I was wondering if you could check and see if Tsukino Usagi attended this school, please?" He asked in a polite, but slightly flirtatious, voice.

She nodded and made a few clicks before scanning over something. After a few moments of long silence, the girl returned to staring at him.

"Tsukino Usagi does attend here, but there are no known visitors of any kind on any contact records, emergency or not. May I ask what your affiliation with her is?"

Seiya blinked, then, smiling, took off his sun glasses.

He heard a sharp gasp.

"Y-You.. Y-You're..."

"Seiya Kou of the Three Lights." He finished for her, smiling confidently. "You see, I am a friend of Usagi's. My brothers and I just arrived back in Japan, and Usagi has a spacious apartment, so we need somewhere to stay..." He smirked then. "I'll be happy to call you and give you backstage passes to any concerts we may be having here... if, that is, you tell me when she attends school."

The girl hurriedly wrote down on a piece of paper Usagi's schedule, her name and phone number. Her face was flushed with excitement and slight shock. Once she handed over the paper, he winked at her, wished her a good day, and left.

Outside the building, he took out his cell phone and dialed Yaten's number. When that didn't work, he dialed Taiki's, waiting impatiently for him to pick up.

'Honestly, guys, keep your phones by you!' He thought irately.

"Hello? Taiki Kou speaking."

"Taiki! I found out some information about Usagi!" Seiya gushed excitedly.

"What?"

"She attends Tokyo University! I have her schedule and everything." Seiya paused. "It was pretty easy to get, actually; I can't believe our old idol status is still credible."

"I didn't think she would attend a college... wow that is a surprise! We can see her tomorrow, for sure."

"Yeah... by the way, where are we staying?"

"Our old studio apartment."

"Really? Wow. Our old manager is nice. Alright, well, I'll see you later. If you can, contact Yaten; I tried, but his cell's not picking up."

He began to walk off with a delighted smile on his face.

Unbeknownst him, his conversation was overheard by a certain blue-haired young woman.


Yaten panted as he stopped at the gates of Juuban Park. He had been everywhere; the arcade, her favorite food hangouts, a few random high schools (in case she was held back... not that he'd ever think she would be), and the roof of her old school.

This was the last place he was going to check for the night.

'If only I knew where she lived,' Yaten thought. 'This would be a lot easier, then.'

He let out a long sigh once he finally caught his breath. He was sweaty and dirty from all the running around he had been doing. Under any other circumstances, he would never even think doing it; he hated running and sweat more so now than he had two years ago.

But right now, he didn't care about that. All that mattered to him was finding Usagi. Finding her and comforting her and... and...

Yaten hunched over slightly, groaning as he started to feel more of the pain he had blocked out earlier this morning. It bothered him before that she could feel this much agony, but now, it was worse. He could never entirely block out the emotion. He always felt a small amount of it-but even that small amount was horrid.

'It's worse than what she felt with Galaxia,' he thought.

He slowly walked through the park, taking his time in both remembering the scenery and finding the golden-haired angel. The trees were large and thick, casting long shadows over certain places, blinding him of what could be seen.

The cool night air calmed him; the stars, glittering brightly with excited energy, made him feel at peace. For a moment, he almost forgot why he was there. For a moment, he almost forgot Usagi was 'missing.' But then the pain began to rapidly increase, and he remembered why he was there, why it was so important to heal her.

He looked up to the moon then. An image of her loving smile briefly passed before his eyes. His eyes drooped just slightly. 'I'm getting tired,' he thought as he yawned silently into his hand. 'Maybe I should go home and rest...'

As if angry with this thought, the feelings he had been blocking flowed freely like a broken dam into his heart. He let out a choked gasp and hunched over.

'Kami, Usagi... it's so intense...'

Suddenly, a light bulb went off. It was so intense! That meant she was close! He was close to finding the Moon Princess!

Yaten ran through the park, the adrenaline pumping through his veins. She was there, in the park. She was near! He could find her! And he could talk to her... find out what was wrong...

He passed trees at a speed faster than before, eager to reach her. The wind made his vision blurry from the tears it caused, but he didn't care. All that mattered to him right then was finding her. Once he found her, he would take her in his arms and hold on tightly, so she'd never disappear again. So she'd never have to be so alone.

All he wanted was the chance to send her worries away. The chance to make her smile, to make her laugh, to make her happy. The chance to... to...

Suddenly, his footsteps came to a halt. His breath caught in his throat, so he could not speak. His eyes widened at what was in front of him.

A young woman stood under the full moon, its shine washing over her. Her skin looked pale with an ethereal glow, but somehow, it didn't seem unhealthy. Her long golden hair flowed in two separate streaks at both sides, and was pinned up in a meat-ball-like fashion. She wore a denim blue skirt that stopped just a few inches before her knees, a short sleeve, button-up white shirt, ankle-length white socks and dark blue shoes with a bit of a heel.

Yaten had found Tsukino Usagi.

He nearly cried out in joy. He found her! He could do so many things for her now...

Yaten watched her bring her hands to her chest as she bowed her head. A little confused, he looked up to the sky. He smiled at what he assumed she saw.

Usagi was making a wish on a shooting star.

A slight breeze passed through her hair, making it billow softly behind her. Her golden tresses weaved around slowly, reaching out to him, as if begging him to come and caress them.

Before he had a chance to stop himself, his voice sounded.

"I finally found you."

She froze, her body rigid, before slowly turning to face him. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, and a soft, shocked gasp emitted from her throat. She clearly hadn't been expecting him to show up in her life again.

"She abandoned us."

He frowned internally. It wasn't true! She wouldn't... she couldn't abandon her friends. She wasn't capable of something like that.

"Koneko abandoned us. She abandoned her destiny to become Queen of Crystal Tokyo in the Thirtieth century, Mamoru, and everlasting peace. Every so often, one or a few of us would get near her, and feel her Lunar disguise magic."

'Lies... It's all lies!'

"We would try to pinpoint it, of course, but this is Tokyo; if you want to get away from someone, there are easy ways of doing that, and quickly."

Something inside him snapped. Well, if she left her friends, he was going to know why, and have her suffer more for it! He'd see to that.

"I finally found you." He repeated, nearly hissing at her. He slowly advanced toward her. He almost stopped when he saw her flinch, but he didn't.

"Your star seed... I felt its pain. I felt it pulse with agony every single moment for the past week. We came back, finally, to see you." He stopped three feet in front of her, and scowled.

"But the girls say they haven't spoken to you in two years. They haven't seen you at all, in fact; all they have to know that you are still alive is the-the disguise magic or whatever you have and cannot hide!" Yaten's voice rose higher and higher the more he spoke. "What is wrong with you, Usagi? Don't you care about your friends anymore?"

"Of course I care!" She screamed at him.

"I haven't hung out with the girls in two years! I haven't seen Michiru-san, Haruka-san, Setsuna-san or Hotaru-chan since the battle with Galaxia!" Tears gathered in her eyes. "I haven't been to the Crown or the temple in so long..."

Her voice grew quiet. "I have to study so hard nowadays... I have to attend classes and go to my job and pay utility bills..."

She was rambling on now. Yaten couldn't shake his confusion. Didn't he believe that she left them for a reason? She obviously had one... she was in so much pain to be separated from them, but from what he was starting to understand, she believed she'd expect more withthem.

He glared toward her then, making her look down. He felt sick inside. She always met people's eyes except when she felt she had done something truly wrong... Why was he questioning her? He believed in her!

He just glared harder when she didn't speak. Why wasn't she saying anything? Why wasn't she sticking up for herself!

The silence was too much for Yaten. He couldn't stand there and not know the answer as to why she was in pain. He couldn't just stand there being angry with himself, and taking it out on her.

Yaten stalked forward, grabbed a hold of her wrists, and yanked her towards him. She stumbled and nearly tripped as he did this, clearly not expecting him to take such an action. She looked up at him with wide, shocked eyes.

"Why did you have to leave them in the first place, Usagi? What have they ever done to you?" His eyes glittered with piercing anger, though it was more at his continuous attack on the moon princess than at the young woman. "Why have you abandoned them?"

'Kami, stop attacking her!'

"I never abandoned them!" Tears cascaded like small streams down her face. "Is it so wrong to want to have my own happiness? Am I not allowed to love who I want to?"

She looked hard into his eyes, silently begging for understanding. "The others... The others want me to love Mamoru, but I don't. They want me to be with him, to become Queen of Crystal Tokyo in the Thirtieth century.." He felt her trying to pull her hands free, but he held fast and strong. He wasn't going to let go of her; not even if the world would end if he didn't. "But I can't! I don't love him! I love someone else!"

"Who do you love, then?" He blurted out.

There was a long pause. He could tell she was weighing, or trying to weigh, her options of telling him.

Yaten felt his heart ache. 'You baka!' His mind screamed at him. 'Why did you have to ask that? If she doesn't love Mamoru, she'll love Sei-'

He didn't see her tears fading, or that she had looked to the ground. But, he did hear her voice as she spoke something that both shocked him, and sent his heart flying.

What she whispered to him was clearly not what he had expected, and, due to his shock, he loosened his hold on her wrists.

"W-What?"

Whatever reverie she had been in broke at the sound of his voice. With an amazing amount of strength Yaten didn't know she possessed, Usagi pulled out of his grip, turned, and fled from his sight.

The last thing he felt was her pained rejection before her star seed numbed.