Wind Runner and the Dragon Senshi
Title: Wind Runner and the Dragon Senshi
Author: kazeko
Show: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Alternate Reality
Series: no, alternate reality
Multipart: yes
Rating: R
Couples: Usagi/Mamoru, Haruka/Michiru, Makoto/Nephlyte, Ami/Zoicite, Rei/Jadeite, Minako/Kunzite, Setsuna/Ailan(I love this pair!)
Time: The time of horses, knights, kings, and palaces. Alternate reality, though, so it really doesn't matter. Haruka&Michiru are 25ish, Setsuna&Ailan are 40's, Hotaru is 7, Chibiusa is almost 3, Minako/Ami/Makoto are 21, Rei&Usagi are 20, Mamoru is 23, the generals are 25, Seiya/Taiki/Yaten are 23
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko, as does the senshi concept.
Disclaimer 2: As with so many of my other fics, I own the world and non-Takeuchi characters. Please ask before use.
Chapter 4: Moonlight Stroll
Makoto wandered along the edge of the cliff, watching the lights below flicker out as the people in the towns went to sleep, something she couldn't do. She glanced at Jupiter, hanging serenely in the sky, and she felt her thoughts return to Haruka. That man acted for all the world like a Dragon Senshi, probably of Uranus, but how was that possible? Makoto knew all of the senshi, or else Usagi did. And neither of them knew the leader of the Wind Runners.
Makoto stopped still, almost falling to the ground. "Haruka-san," she whispered. She picked up the piece of bark carved with the image of the Leader of the Wind Runners. She brushed the dirt away, fingers running over the expert lines. She ran her fingers down Haruka's chest, pausing when she realized that the carving had breasts and hips. Shocked, she fell to the ground, never noticing the jolt. She stared at the carving, noting the other feminine features assigned to their leader. "Haruka can't be a woman," she whispered. An image of a tall blonde woman, single braid hanging down her back, emerald eyes fierce entered Makoto's mind. She had been twelve when she first visited the Royal Court, and the queen and king had always been attended by two striking women. One had been the blonde, and the other was a slender woman with sapphire eyes and shoulder-length aqua hair. They had vanished a few months later, and Makoto had never spoken to them, but that image had haunted her for years. Who were those two women?
Staring at the bark carving, the edges singed from an aborted attempt to destroy the piece of art, Makoto found her answer. "Wind Runner," she whispered. Slipping the precious piece of evidence into her tunic pocket, Makoto reached for the tree to pull herself up.
A hand met hers, and a very familiar General smiled as he helped her stand. "What were you doing down there, Makoto?"
"Nephlyte!" Makoto embraced the brown-haired general, her cares of a moment ago forgotten. She was incredibly tall for a woman, but Nephlyte was taller than her, easily a match for the senshi of lightning. "Where have you been?"
"Out patrolling with Mamoru-kun. When he heard that the senshi had vanished, he realized that the trouble with Beryl is a danger to his lover, so we came here. What's this I hear about you being kicked out of the palace?"
Makoto smiled. "You heard about that, huh? She's mad, Nephlyte. But Haruka-san has agreed to help us rescue her and begin some sort of revolution to overthrow Beryl. I and my dragon are ready."
"Speaking of, where are the buggers?"
"They found some nice caves farther up. They don't want to be in the way." Makoto pulled away, taking Nephlyte's hand and heading for the encampment. "Ne, Nephylte?"
"Hai?"
"When did you first visit Lamirah?"
"Oh, ten years ago, I think. There was this big ball and all of the neighboring countries were invited to attend. That was before Asarine, Nabirrh, and Jadiluu joined Lamirah and Farderj joined Maredan. Now, of course, there are only three great kingdoms, but there were many back then. It was quite the gala, though I had to stay with Endymion most of the time."
"Did you notice two women who always stayed with the queen and king?"
Nephlyte raised one eyebrow. "Yeah, I guess so. A blonde and a woman with blue hair. Why? You lived in the palace once they discovered your Dragon powers. I'm sure you met them."
"Not really. I went to the palace for the first time two years after you, and they vanished mere months later. Did you notice anything special about them?"
"They were powerful. That much we could all agree on. And when that blonde looked at you, she looked through you. Those green eyes of hers could pierce any deception. We heard that she once brought a soldier to his knees, crying, confessing every sin of his life, just by looking at him. But she never spoke to anyone but the other woman and the royals. She knew she was better than us."
"Was she a Dragon Senshi?"
"Probably not. I don't remember there being senshi in the last Dragon Wars. Too bad I don't remember her name, ne?"
"You don't remember her name because she cast a glamour spell when she 'died'." Makoto paused and thought a moment, letting the tiny clues fall into place. "Ami-chan and I have been practicing light glamours for years, and I know we could make any of our casual acquaintances conveniently forget our names. But why would she leave the queen and princess when they needed her so badly?"
"Maybe her Dragon died. I know you guys are very close to those creatures."
"We are," Makoto murmured. "I didn't know there were any senshi before us. That's silly, of course; there must have been." She cast her thoughts to her Dragon, Emizarit, restless on the highest peaks. "Emi? Were there senshi before us?"
"Of course, Makoto. The greatest Dragons of the Wars had senshi. Arihlai had a very special woman, mate to Nabiril's senshi. They were called . . . hmm. I do not recall their human names. Nabiril's girl's senshi name was Sea Siren, and she pulled mana from Neptune. The other answered to Uranus and went by the name Wind Runner."
"Wind Runner," Makoto whispered. "Of course. They came here and formed their own little kingdom. When Beryl took the throne from the rightful heir, they dedicated the rest of their lives to healing her injustices. Senshi never stop fighting evil."
"Who's Wind Runner?"
Makoto smiled at her lover, emerald eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "Can't you guess? The legendary Wind Runner is none other than Haruka-san, who was a senshi once."
"A Senshi! She can't possibly be . . . Makoto! You can't mean it!" Makoto slipped the piece of bark out of her pocket and showed it to Nephlyte. He took the carving and ran his fingers over the shallow cuts. "Whoever did this must be some kind of artist."
"Look closer, Nephlyte. What do you see?"
"Kami-sama! It's . . ."
"It's a woman and she is Haruka-san. She has to be Wind Runner, hero of the last of the great campaigns in the Dragon Wars!"
"Why would she hide something like that?"
"Because Arihlai died at the end. We are nothing without a Dragon. She could take another bond, but after the first it is very hard to open your mind again. Emizarit is my second bond, and the only reason I didn't have that much trouble with him is because Tarevel died when I was only fourteen, four months after I met him. I wasn't that used to the bond yet. But Arihlai and Wind Runner were partners for at least five years. Some say they met when Wind Runner was five years old or even younger, but those are just stories. Until now, I really didn't believe that she existed. But she does, and she just has to help us."
"Should we go wake my brothers' girlfriends and ask what they think?"
"We probably should wait until morning."
Nephlyte nodded and handed the carving back. "Very well."
Green-haired Makoto smiled, taking Nephlyte's arm once more. "You are so different from your brothers. Jadeite would have confronted Haruka-san, Kunzite would have left the evidence where Haruka-san could find it and know that we know, and Zoicite would have demanded more proof. How can you be quadruplets?"
"Mother asks the same thing," the tall man laughed. "So does Mamoru-kun. I can't believe your cousin and my cousin have a daughter."
"I don't think your cousin can, either."
TBC
