Author: Ok, now, I had promised myself I wouldn't make excuses. It's been a
long time since my last update and I apologize. But this one's
understandable, so I thought I'd fill you in on all the carnage. First off,
Spoiler: If you don't wanna know, skip to next indent. I'm giving the Star
Lights a cameo. This was originally planned back in October, back when I
was naïve enough to believe those evil people at the convention, who said
the Stars series would be out by the December convention (it's a quarterly
thing). So, foolishly easy to deceive as I am, I believed them, saving up
to buy the whole set. You see it coming folks? You guessed it! Not out til
March, they're saying now. So, lazy as I am, I'll do it anyways, going from
the manga. So if their OOC, tough crap, it's an AU.
Secondly, I've been bashing my brains out against a wall to relieve the mind numbing agony that is Sailor Moon dubbed. Ok, pissed as I was about above items, I figured might as well get the rest of my collection started, plus I'd been watching the episode where the talismans appeared on Memory View, which is crap, thanks to the Dead Goldfishness. So, after I buy two of the DVDs, and commit them to what little memory I have, I decide to watch them Dubbed.
"It can't possibly be that bad, can it?" I asked myself. "I mean, I first saw it in English with everything edited, via Cartoon Network. So it must have been semi-bearable, right? I have English tapes that I can sit through, so I just wanna see the difference in the story."
Damn I'm stupid.
Feril: You got us there.
Author: Anyways, I bring in the voices, switch the set up to English and go to "The Bond of Destiny! The Distant Days of Uranus", having already seen it as it should be. And I do believe that I've succeeded in scarring myself for life.
Feril: Like you're not already?
Haruka: And what about us? Hm? I can't get clean now, you hear me! Everywhere I look! That awful name! That voice! Goddess have mercy!
Michiru: Cousins! I knew they made us cousins, but it hurts so much more when you actually see it! And am I obsessed with hot chocolate now? Maybe Michelle a crack-head and she puts it in hot chocolate! All the time it's "How 'bout we talk about it over some hot chocolate?" or "Let's go get some hot chocolate."! WHAT THE HELL?!
Setsuna: I can tell you're both upset.
Feril: Well, we could always watch your episode next, "Susan"
Setsuna: *shudder* I swear I'll send you to the deepest pit of Hell if you do. And seeing as how our dear Author clawed her eyes out not even 10 minutes into it, then shoved various screwdrivers in her ears, I doubt she'd do much to stop me. Amazing she can still type all that with no eyes.
Feril: *shrugs* She's used to it, Dead Goldfish eyesight, remember? Anyone else notice Haruka *receives evil looks* I mean, Amara, admit she was addicted to Speed?
Haruka: Explains a lot.
Michiru: *nods* I knew drugs were involved.
Haruka: Had to be. I mean, why else in bloody hell would I call Michi Batman?
Feril: Maybe that's Michelle's secret identity. Mild-mannered crack head Michelle by day, psycho Batman wannabe by night! Amara could be Robin!
Haruka: At any rate, some serious smiteage needs to happen. I'm gonna get Hotaru, rent a few Gundams, call up Clamp and go have a talk with the editors. Hell, maybe even Chaos would like to get in on it, I'm sure they end up fucking up him too.
Author: END RANT! START FIC! WHAHA!
**********************
Setsuna sipped her tea and frowned in thought.
"Goddess, I'm getting paranoid," she sighed, shaking her head. Leaning back in the heavy chair, she looked at the ceiling and tried to remember a time when she hadn't had these responsibilities. The snow continued to drift past her frost-covered window. Lethargy stole into her limbs and soon Setsuna slipped off to sleep, the fire burning steadily in the fireplace besides her.
Chapter 9: Howling Carnage
# Haruka looked up into the shadowed face of the figure in warped armor with blood stained hands that stood wreathed in darkness and thorns.
"Who are you?!" she cried out in fear and anger. "What did you do to my family?! What have you done to Michiru?!"
The figure was silent, but raised their hand towards Haruka, as if to reach out and grab her. An icy cold gripped the girl's heart and she was frozen, unable to move. In the back of her mind, she realized this was a nightmare, one she'd had before. One she didn't wake up from until it was all over... #
Haruka's eyes shot open and she sat straight up, only to find the reassuring resistance of another body against hers. Breathing hard, she took in her surroundings and realized she was shaking.
"Ruka?" Michiru shifted and turned a sleepy eye to the blonde. "What's wrong?"
The pair was surrounded by pure white, a layer of thick snow covering them completely, until Haruka had sat up and dislodged it. The stone beneath them had a solid layer of ice on it and pulled at their bare skin as they moved.
Michiru was awake now and worry for Haruka was clear in her tone.
"What was it Haruka?" she asked softly as the other tired to steady her breathing and return her heartbeat to a normal pace. Haruka feigned nonchalance, not skillfully, and gave Michiru a shaky smile, but the aqua- haired girl had seen the terror in the blonde's eyes and could still feel her erratic pulse.
"Just a dream Michi," Haruka assured, avoiding meeting the other's eyes.
"It seemed pretty bad." Michiru noted softly, squeezing Haruka's hand in hers. Haruka opened her mouth to reply when something wet and cold pressed against the back of her neck and she felt the heat of something's breath.
"What the hell?!" Haruka's eyes widened and she twisted around, coming face to face with a furry monster. Michiru laughed.
"Fenir!" she reached over and grabbed the massive wolf by the ears and shook his head playfully. The wolf snapped his jaws and tried to catch her hands in his teeth. Michiru easily avoided the playful bites and turned back to Haruka.
"Come on. It must be late if Fenir's out here."
"It's-, he's a wolf!" Haruka exclaimed. She'd had bad experiences with the creatures before, but here was Michiru, perfectly calm and even playing with one. Michiru sighed and stood up.
'Nice...' Haruka shook her head and looked another direction. 'Ok, so do not need those thoughts in a place like this.' The blonde stood up, making a point of keeping her eyes on the wolf. Haruka looked over and saw three other wolves lying around, yawning and shifting sleepily. Michiru crouched next to the one she'd called Fenir, who was now enjoying a scratch behind the ears, courtesy of the aqua haired beauty.
"Haruka, meet Fenir's mate, Lupi, and their young, Romulus and Remus." She gestured to the others.
"They're tame?" Haruka asked in wonder, counting the teeth as the one Michiru had called Lupi yawned and licked her jaws.
"Not really. Fenir belongs to Feril. He travels with her now and then, but I guess he settled here with Lupi for when she's not around. I met him when Feril first rescued me. He's as big as he was then." Haruka turned her gaze back to the pair, torn between watching Michiru and giving the wolf the evil eye as if to warn him to behave himself. Fenir didn't seem too impressed.
"When I was little, he'd let me ride on his back. He's just a big baby, don't let his appearance fool you." Michiru looked thoughtful. "A lot like you," she teased on an afterthought.
"Hey! What?"
"Oh, you act tough Haruka Tenoh, but I bet you're a real softy." Michiru smirked, and Fenir sat there with an air of supreme confidence, as if to say "Try me." Haruka was loathe to get closer to the truly massive wolf, but her pride was at stake. She moved forward and Fenir cocked his head to the side, his eyes questioning if she really wanted to do that.
"See, scared of a silly old wolf." Michiru ruffled the fur on the wolf's neck and Fenir growled softly. Michiru seemed to enjoy watching Haruka's battling emotions.
"Haruka?" she looked up, raising an eyebrow. The blonde froze, her green eyes on the wolf's left ear. It was sheared shorter then the other, not by much, but the difference in angle was noticeable. She slowly locked eyes with the animal.
# A snarling filled the small girl's ears.
"Koamara," Juniko Tenoh murmured, clutching the cross hanging from her
neck in one hand, her young child's hand in the other. They were in
the bell tower and the snarling was coming closer. A storm raged
outside, tearing down the walls of the once majestic castle.
"Mama, what's happening?" Haruka whispered, her intense green watching
her mother's face closely. "When is Papa coming back?"
Juniko was silent, simply lifting her daughter into her arms and
climbing the stairs to the top of the bell tower.
"We must sound the alarm Haruka, do you understand?" she looked
seriously at her small girl. "We must warn the others. We've been
betrayed." The snarling faded with distance, but the heavy rain,
constant wind and thunder consumed the sound of her footsteps.
"Betrayed? Who would do that?" the girl asked.
Thunder drowned out her answer and there was a resounding "BANG!" from
below, followed by a red flash. Juniko tripped and slid on the wet
steps, gasping as the air was pushed out of her lungs from the impact.
Haruka scratched her elbow as she was thrown out of her mother's arms
and her head bounced off the stone wall.
Her mother lay on the steps, shaking and breathing hard. Haruka bit
back tears of pain and stood up. She could hear a metallic, bone-
chilling clank on the steps below in between the thunderclaps. The
young blonde moved to climb back down the stairs to get between
whatever was coming and her mother.
"Haruka!" Juniko grabbed the girl by the arm and pulled her back
up. "You have to go! Run!"
"Mama... The alarm..." Haruka sniffled, wiping her eye on her sleeve,
putting on a brave face, trying to distract the woman so she could
face the steadily closing in thing behind them.
"I'll sound it. You must get away. Koamara would never, I would never
forgive myself if anything happened to you. At the next platform,
there's a door. Go through it. It will lead you outside the castle
walls! You'll find help, but you need to keep running! Promise Haruka!
Promise you won't stop running -" once again thunder cut off her
words. With that, she pushed Haruka up and the girl took off running
up the stairs, tears running freely down her cheeks. After what felt
like forever, she saw the door.
It was quiet, very quiet now.
Haruka scrunched her face in pain as a scream of agony cut the air and
died. She pressed her hands against her ears and curled up, crying. It
was like everything else in the entire world had stopped. She couldn't
understand it. How could something that didn't leave a mark, no
scratch, no cut, hurt so incredibly?
With a start, she remembered her mother's words. Banging into the wall
as she clumsily opened the small door; she slipped out onto a small
platform that led to a little tunnel on the other side. The rain had
softened and the lightning and thunder disappeared. Only the wind had
grown, but in such a way that it pulled all directions, like a vacuum,
making everything feel like she was in a nightmare.
Haruka Tenoh looked down on the courtyard of her family's castle for
the last time and froze. A giant stood there, covered in twisted and
stained armor and a dark tattered cloak. Besides him, a beast the size
of a horse, a wolf with blood-matted fur and red teeth, panted from
the exertion of his kill. One ear was tattered and as she watched, the
giant kneeled and shaved off the hanging skin with their blood gummed
sword.
The giant turned and looked up at Haruka, his face hidden deep in the
corrupted metal of his helm. Haruka felt bile rise in her stomach at
the sight of Juniko Tenoh clutched in one of the giant's hands, run
through. Her father lay crumpled against the wall, his throat slit,
eyes half-lidded.
"I HATE YOU!" she screamed down at the demon giant, the murderer.
"I'LL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO MY MAMA! I'LL KILL YOU FOR
HURTING MY PAPA!" The giant said nothing, but reached his free, metal
covered hand up towards the last Tenoh, beckoning.
"NOOOOOO!!!!!" Haruka screamed and ran, the fear, the fury and the
pain all exploding within her and she ran. And somewhere, in the back
of her tortured mind, a thought formed. 'I will be as fast as the
wind. I will be the wind. And then I can just disappear...'
And she remembered nothing more. #
Haruka shook her head to clear it. This wolf wasn't as big as that monster had been, or nearly as dark. Fenir had the feeling that all predators of the woods have, a peaceful dominance with an underlying vicious and brutal power that shows their true nature, hunters, inescapable. "I'm sorry..." she muttered, realizing only afterwards she was apologizing to a wolf, for a reason she wouldn't say and that she doubted the creature would understand if she could. "Goddess, Michiru, why is it that being around you brings up my past life?." she sighed, lying back in the snow. Michiru raised an eyebrow. "Nani?" 'Shit! New rule, everything I say from now on must be planned and checked for stupidity! Damn... might as well.' And breaking her just made rule, Haruka spilled her guts to Michiru, not even truly realizing what she was saying. Before she knew it, she'd blurted out all she'd remembered about her parents recently and even some she hadn't, but had been there just the same. She only regained control of her senses just as she was going to share the thoughts she'd been having about Michiru herself. 'DAMNIT!' the blonde cut herself off angrily. "I blame Feril!" Haruka snarled viciously, her frustration getting the better of her. Michiru laughed softly. Haruka blinked in surprise and then blushed. "I mean..." "No, I understand completely." Michiru assured. "I guess it makes sense though, her being the Herald of Storms and all. It's like, life's steady, normal, then she shows up and all you can do is hang on. I shouldn't blame her though, it's just, I know she had the power to save them. But she didn't use it. And now I'm here and alone and..." Michiru shook her head. "She just picks you up, and you think you're safe, but then she leaves, never really gives you a chance to adjust..." she looked away. "Alone, Michi?" The smaller girl looked up into Haruka's brilliant green eyes. The blonde had moved closer, utterly ignoring Fenir and they faces were inches apart. That distance quickly disappeared and the pair were once again lost in each other.
"Humans! So clumsy and awkward in courtship." Feril plunged her hand into the scrying pool to disrupt the image. "Why can't they just get it over with instead of walking on ice like this!? No efficiency in the species what-so-ever!" "Has it been so long since you engaged in the practice yourself Lady?" Feril scowled as the duke entered her chambers and made a mental note to beat the new guards outside her quarters, whom she'd given specific orders not to be disturbed, by anyone or anything. "Rumor is you're quite a charmer, when you have need. And that you have a fresh bedmate each night..." the duke examined a human skull that sat above the fireplace. "Rumors are whispered among the insecure and lifeless," Feril snapped icily, summoning the skull out of his hands with a flick of her wrist. "What I do with my time, meaning all of it, is none of your concern. Why are you here?" she set the skull on the table besides her as the man picked up the demon skull that had been besides it. "Quite a collection," he noted, ignoring her question utterly. "Of course. I had plenty of time in Hell to complete it." she answered darkly. The duke blanched and quickly returned the skull to the mantle. "Still clinging to that fairy tale?" he laughed, but his palms were sweaty as he nervously wiped them on his cape. "Fairies make excellent spies," she noted. "But if you doubt the tales, you can always ask around after I send you there." She added under her breath. "This obsession of yours is a bit disturbing. Though I must admit they're a beautiful couple..." he eyed the returned image, namely Michiru, hungrily. Feril's lip curled in disgust. ** "Fenir, take them inside!" ** Feril growled and the wolf, miles away from his mistress, complied and nudged the two apart and encouraged them inside, out of view.
The duke frowned.
"Was this just a social visit, or did you have something of importance to tell me?" Feril asked coolly, though her anger at this man's continued presence was growing steadily.
"I was wondering if you'd seen my cousin's son. I haven't seen him since the battle and I was hoping nothing has happened to him." The duke muttered offhandedly. It was obvious he didn't think anything could possibly go wrong to one of his bloodline in battle.
"Check with the field healer. They're still identifying the dead," she shrugged. The duke stared.
"That jest was not in good taste, Lady." He recovered. "He's of noble blood."
"It wasn't a jest."
The duke paled and hurried off. Feril grinned and set a ward over her door to prevent another intrusion, entering her bedchamber.
"Young fool." She thought aloud, grinning at the unmoving shape leaning against her wall. "The battlefield is no place for boys playing at war."
Haruka was making progress with her powers and studies. Her schedule was demanding, but she adapted easily enough.
4:00 am - Wake up
4:05 am - Morning Run
5:00 am - Check the river to see if Michiru's having a morning swim
5:30 am - Quick bath or rinse off in the waterfall above the bathes
5:45 am - Cut through evergreen fruit grove to grab a snack
6:00 am - Rehearsal
7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Force House
11:30 am - Clean Up
11:40 am - Find Michiru, go to lunch
12:50 pm - Waves House
1:30 pm - Earth House
2:30 pm - Basic House (Tuesday through Thursday only)
4:00 pm - Energy House
5:00 pm - Rehearsal or free time
6:00 pm - Take Kazi for a run if the road's cleared or play with Hotaru
7:00 pm - Dinner
9: 00 pm - Heavens House
10:00 pm - Free Hour
11:00 pm - "Lights Out"
She thanked the gods for the weekends. She'd replaced Eric as Captain of the Runners, much to his group's dismay and the joy of everyone else. She'd begun pushing them to greater speed and stamina, at levels many had never known. This had motivated the other Halls to push themselves to avoid being outdone. Normally, the weather at this time of the year stopped practice, but Haruka would spend hours finding a space for Runner's Hall to train, almost to the point of rubbing it in the other Halls faces.
Makoto had nearly gotten run over after her Hall's practice had been canceled and the Runners came barreling up the stairs, a grinning Haruka pushing them on. Through frozen archways, past the scalding fires outside the kitchens, and over furniture and those unfortunate enough to get in their way. And Haruka knew exactly what she was doing.
The other Halls began practicing indoors, to the point where the staff were forced to set them to work building a gym system onto the existing one after the third pole vaulting accident that nearly set the entire Dining Hall on fire.
And Haruka was having a blast. Earth House worked on moving the land to form a "natural" flat area while the Wood House set to work coaxing the trees to grow on the newly formed walls and bend to form a interlocking ceiling a good ways up. The Waves House worked with the Earth House to run water from the bathes around the interior of the gym system for the Swimmers. They worked on covered paths to the lake that froze every year and built a small cabin for those who wanted to ice skate or ski in the area. The Wood House got grass and plants to grow inside with the help of Energy House so the floor was soft turf, with a fresh dirt path alongside the indoor river, soon to be pounded down by the Runners. All the Houses did something, constantly working together. The new area was warm and dry and Heavens House had cast the illusion of a sunny sky just above the treetops and in the one open aired place, blocked off an invisible barrier.
Riding classes were given in free time and the Growers were working on an indoor rose garden.
Haruka was thinking wistfully of the new gyms when she was sitting in Basic House, torn between utterly tuning out the sensei completely and paying attention to avoid getting in trouble. And the image of Michiru a few rows in front of her was rather distracting as well.
'Gods, this is boring,' Haruka glanced out the frost-covered window and sighed. 'I can't wait until spring...' Haruka stopped as she realized. 'Maybe I've actually found a home... It's already been longer then I stay at most places, hell, I can only remember a few other times I haven't been driven or "encouraged" out of somewhere by now.' The feeling made Haruka smile as she stared into space. 'Could be worse.'
"Attention," The Basic House sensei stood in front of the room, calling the lethargic room to listen. "Because of recent events, Basic House period will be increased from an hour and a half to 3 hours." The room exploded with cries of outrage and wails and moans of dismay. Haruka's jaw dropped. '3 hours?! Goddess, have mercy!' she exchanged a confused glance with Michiru, who shrugged helplessly. Setsuna hadn't said anything. "I know, I know!" the instructor called over the noise. "Queen Serenity, bless her, has decided with these recent "stirrings" in the world, you need to be informed of what you're facing." The wails and moans had died to a mutinous grumbling with a few still raising their hands to protest. "Oh yes, I nearly forgot. Tenoh-kun, Kaioh-san, you both have revised schedules to accommodate your extra Houses. Pick them up from my desk at the end of class." Haruka flinched. Tower Dormers were seen as something of a bunch of over- achievers. While everyone else had one House besides Basic, at most two, Haruka's record breaking 5 Houses didn't win her any friends. Not that she needed it to. Her group of admirers grew daily, despite her open attachment to Michiru, whose own fan club would rabidly fall out against Haruka's in a miniature, not-so-well hidden war, while fans of them as a couple would try to play peacemaker. "The change doesn't take place until the end of the trimester, after our guests arrive." The school's bell sounded and the class was dismissed.
"Nani?! This can't be right!" Haruka moaned, comparing her new schedule to Michiru's as they walked to lunch. "Hm..." Michiru frowned. "We still have Basic together..." "Expect on Wednesday, I have an extra hour of Force, then 4 hours of Heavens. I have to eat lunch on my break in the middle of Force and they moved all my other classes around! The gods are against me!" she groaned in defeat, slumping dramatically on the table as they sat down to eat. "Wouldn't put it past them," Hotaru noted conversationally. "I blame Feril." She took looked it over. She grinned. "Haruka-papa, you have an hour of Heavens with me on Fridays! Heavens- sensei told us she was bringing in some upperclassmen to help us. Want my sweetbread? I'm not hungry." She offered, "No thanks Hime-chan. Give it to Usagi when she gets here, she'll probably be in tears over the changes." The blonde sighed, looking forlornly at her own meal. "Eat up Ruka, you need you energy for moping." Michiru teased. Haruka grunted in reply. "Why the long face?" Ami set her tray down across from Michiru. Michiru held up the new schedule while Haruka muttered something sarcastic along the lines of "Born that way." "Oh hush," Michiru chided. "Don't mind her," she caught herself easily. "He's cranky." Luckily, Ami didn't seem to notice. "Oh, that. Well, I guess I got lucky. I have an extra hour of Tomes and I get to help in Minako and Usagi's Basic." Haruka and Michiru sweatdropped. "At least you're taking it better then those two..." A shrieking wail that would put a banshee to shame echoed though the hall and announced the arrival of the aforementioned pair, with Makoto and Rei on damage control. "Why Mamo-chan?! Why?!" Usagi clung to the haggard Mamoru, who, between Usagi's Niagara level tears, plus the passing student about to trip and drop a pitcher of water on his head, would be soaked through to the bone. Minako was marginally more dignified state, probably because of the ward completely covering her mouth, courtesy of Rei. The blonde leaned heavily on Makoto. The group was given wide berth as it maneuvered its way to the table and sat down. "That bad?" Haruka asked Makoto over Usagi's wails. Makoto sighed and shrugged, transferring Minako's prone form to Rei before moving over to sit by Ami. "She doesn't get to see Mamoru passing periods anymore." She explained. "Hey, Koneko-chan, calm down," Haruka said, and tossed the sweetbread Hotaru had offered into Usagi's wide-open mouth. The girl's cries cut off abruptly, leaving a ringing silence followed by collective sighs of relief. Usagi's first reaction was surprise, confused anger, and then joy as soon as she figured out what had happened. She sat there quietly, happily munching on the sweet. "Thanks Haruka-kun." Mamoru sighed, trying to wring the water out of his shirt. He reached in his front pocket for his schedule then sweatdropped and looked around. "What? I lost it already..." he trailed off as he saw Haruka examining a pile of paper in front of her thoughtfully as she ate her salad. "...how the hell? When did you..." he scratched his head, at a loss. "Hm?" Haruka looked up. They were all staring. "What?" "How'd you do that? That was incredible, I never saw you move." Rei muttered, eyeing her own schedule among the ones in front of Haruka. "Oh, sorry. Bad habit I guess." Haruka flicked her wrist and a breeze swept through and returned each of the papers to it place in front of its owner. Their jaws dropped, except Michiru and Hotaru's, the former shook her head while Hotaru giggled. "Ok, I'll admit I worked on that last part," Haruka grinned sheepishly. "But it was cool, no?" Usagi clapped happily and tried to swallow the food in her mouth so she could comment and nearly choked. "Calm down Usako!" Mamoru sighed, sweatdropping. "But how'd you get them in the first place?" Ami asked. "I used to have to take the orders off of guards to see if it was safe to hang around a bit longer. And if times were hard, I might take a purse or two with them." She explained, dancing a fork and knife over her nimble fingers with ease. "You're a pickpocket?" Usagi managed. Haruka scowled angrily, glaring at the silverware dancing through her fingers. "No. Not any more. Well, not like you think. It's just, sometimes the situations called for ingenuity and a little creative supply gathering. I always gave back what I could, took less then I needed." But it was too late, she'd told them to much. 'Should just keep my hands to myself. Now, anything goes missing, I'm screwed. So much for making it until spring...' she berated herself, not noticing the silverware slip through her fingers and clatter to the table. "Wish I'd thought of that," Mamoru noted. Haruka looked up in surprise. He shook his head. "Better then getting yourself sick by eating anything you find," he shrugged. "Did that too." Haruka laughed. "I guess it was harder for you then me. Your powers are much more active then mine. At least I could get into an orphanage if it came down to it, but from what I've heard, your abilities made it a bit harder for you." "Yeah, they don't really like earthquakes and windstorms everytime they made me mad. You think it'd be a great party trick, but," Haruka shrugged and shook her head. "Guess not. Hey, have you been to the orphanage in Clarin?" she asked thoughtfully. "With Brother Hunter or the one on the other end of town?" "Brother Hunter's. When?" "Uh, maybe 8 years ago, spring." "You just missed me, they drove me out after I ruined three different fields during harvest." Haruka grinned. "I heard those stories!" Mamoru laughed. "Guess what? After you left, they had the best harvest they'd had in 40 years! All because of your earthquakes opening that well! Bet if you'd gone back, they'd treat you differently." The two compared pasts until the end of lunch and all thoughts of leaving were pushed of Haruka's mind. As she walked with Michiru to Waves, she smiled, looking out towards the woods, just happy to be where she was. Seeing a fur covered shape flitting along the tree line, she grinned even wider and put her arm around Michiru.
'I blame Feril.' **********************
Author: Haha! I crapped out on this one! Whohoo, sub-par! And you can't stop me! R&R and do me a favor, tell where you think the story's going, or where you think it should. I have the ending all done now, but this middle part is still pretty much no man's land. So tell me where you think it's going so I can tell where it needs to go to work. Everyone except for shadowsphere, cause you're a damn spoiler! You know what's gonna happen, so you're not allowed to say anything! Or I'll beat you with a vacuum.
Feril: She will to. R&R peeps, or know the wrath of dubbing!
Author: P.S. I know the editing as in paragraphs and the like is crap, but I've tried everything to get it to load like a write it, so it is how it is.
Secondly, I've been bashing my brains out against a wall to relieve the mind numbing agony that is Sailor Moon dubbed. Ok, pissed as I was about above items, I figured might as well get the rest of my collection started, plus I'd been watching the episode where the talismans appeared on Memory View, which is crap, thanks to the Dead Goldfishness. So, after I buy two of the DVDs, and commit them to what little memory I have, I decide to watch them Dubbed.
"It can't possibly be that bad, can it?" I asked myself. "I mean, I first saw it in English with everything edited, via Cartoon Network. So it must have been semi-bearable, right? I have English tapes that I can sit through, so I just wanna see the difference in the story."
Damn I'm stupid.
Feril: You got us there.
Author: Anyways, I bring in the voices, switch the set up to English and go to "The Bond of Destiny! The Distant Days of Uranus", having already seen it as it should be. And I do believe that I've succeeded in scarring myself for life.
Feril: Like you're not already?
Haruka: And what about us? Hm? I can't get clean now, you hear me! Everywhere I look! That awful name! That voice! Goddess have mercy!
Michiru: Cousins! I knew they made us cousins, but it hurts so much more when you actually see it! And am I obsessed with hot chocolate now? Maybe Michelle a crack-head and she puts it in hot chocolate! All the time it's "How 'bout we talk about it over some hot chocolate?" or "Let's go get some hot chocolate."! WHAT THE HELL?!
Setsuna: I can tell you're both upset.
Feril: Well, we could always watch your episode next, "Susan"
Setsuna: *shudder* I swear I'll send you to the deepest pit of Hell if you do. And seeing as how our dear Author clawed her eyes out not even 10 minutes into it, then shoved various screwdrivers in her ears, I doubt she'd do much to stop me. Amazing she can still type all that with no eyes.
Feril: *shrugs* She's used to it, Dead Goldfish eyesight, remember? Anyone else notice Haruka *receives evil looks* I mean, Amara, admit she was addicted to Speed?
Haruka: Explains a lot.
Michiru: *nods* I knew drugs were involved.
Haruka: Had to be. I mean, why else in bloody hell would I call Michi Batman?
Feril: Maybe that's Michelle's secret identity. Mild-mannered crack head Michelle by day, psycho Batman wannabe by night! Amara could be Robin!
Haruka: At any rate, some serious smiteage needs to happen. I'm gonna get Hotaru, rent a few Gundams, call up Clamp and go have a talk with the editors. Hell, maybe even Chaos would like to get in on it, I'm sure they end up fucking up him too.
Author: END RANT! START FIC! WHAHA!
**********************
Setsuna sipped her tea and frowned in thought.
"Goddess, I'm getting paranoid," she sighed, shaking her head. Leaning back in the heavy chair, she looked at the ceiling and tried to remember a time when she hadn't had these responsibilities. The snow continued to drift past her frost-covered window. Lethargy stole into her limbs and soon Setsuna slipped off to sleep, the fire burning steadily in the fireplace besides her.
Chapter 9: Howling Carnage
# Haruka looked up into the shadowed face of the figure in warped armor with blood stained hands that stood wreathed in darkness and thorns.
"Who are you?!" she cried out in fear and anger. "What did you do to my family?! What have you done to Michiru?!"
The figure was silent, but raised their hand towards Haruka, as if to reach out and grab her. An icy cold gripped the girl's heart and she was frozen, unable to move. In the back of her mind, she realized this was a nightmare, one she'd had before. One she didn't wake up from until it was all over... #
Haruka's eyes shot open and she sat straight up, only to find the reassuring resistance of another body against hers. Breathing hard, she took in her surroundings and realized she was shaking.
"Ruka?" Michiru shifted and turned a sleepy eye to the blonde. "What's wrong?"
The pair was surrounded by pure white, a layer of thick snow covering them completely, until Haruka had sat up and dislodged it. The stone beneath them had a solid layer of ice on it and pulled at their bare skin as they moved.
Michiru was awake now and worry for Haruka was clear in her tone.
"What was it Haruka?" she asked softly as the other tired to steady her breathing and return her heartbeat to a normal pace. Haruka feigned nonchalance, not skillfully, and gave Michiru a shaky smile, but the aqua- haired girl had seen the terror in the blonde's eyes and could still feel her erratic pulse.
"Just a dream Michi," Haruka assured, avoiding meeting the other's eyes.
"It seemed pretty bad." Michiru noted softly, squeezing Haruka's hand in hers. Haruka opened her mouth to reply when something wet and cold pressed against the back of her neck and she felt the heat of something's breath.
"What the hell?!" Haruka's eyes widened and she twisted around, coming face to face with a furry monster. Michiru laughed.
"Fenir!" she reached over and grabbed the massive wolf by the ears and shook his head playfully. The wolf snapped his jaws and tried to catch her hands in his teeth. Michiru easily avoided the playful bites and turned back to Haruka.
"Come on. It must be late if Fenir's out here."
"It's-, he's a wolf!" Haruka exclaimed. She'd had bad experiences with the creatures before, but here was Michiru, perfectly calm and even playing with one. Michiru sighed and stood up.
'Nice...' Haruka shook her head and looked another direction. 'Ok, so do not need those thoughts in a place like this.' The blonde stood up, making a point of keeping her eyes on the wolf. Haruka looked over and saw three other wolves lying around, yawning and shifting sleepily. Michiru crouched next to the one she'd called Fenir, who was now enjoying a scratch behind the ears, courtesy of the aqua haired beauty.
"Haruka, meet Fenir's mate, Lupi, and their young, Romulus and Remus." She gestured to the others.
"They're tame?" Haruka asked in wonder, counting the teeth as the one Michiru had called Lupi yawned and licked her jaws.
"Not really. Fenir belongs to Feril. He travels with her now and then, but I guess he settled here with Lupi for when she's not around. I met him when Feril first rescued me. He's as big as he was then." Haruka turned her gaze back to the pair, torn between watching Michiru and giving the wolf the evil eye as if to warn him to behave himself. Fenir didn't seem too impressed.
"When I was little, he'd let me ride on his back. He's just a big baby, don't let his appearance fool you." Michiru looked thoughtful. "A lot like you," she teased on an afterthought.
"Hey! What?"
"Oh, you act tough Haruka Tenoh, but I bet you're a real softy." Michiru smirked, and Fenir sat there with an air of supreme confidence, as if to say "Try me." Haruka was loathe to get closer to the truly massive wolf, but her pride was at stake. She moved forward and Fenir cocked his head to the side, his eyes questioning if she really wanted to do that.
"See, scared of a silly old wolf." Michiru ruffled the fur on the wolf's neck and Fenir growled softly. Michiru seemed to enjoy watching Haruka's battling emotions.
"Haruka?" she looked up, raising an eyebrow. The blonde froze, her green eyes on the wolf's left ear. It was sheared shorter then the other, not by much, but the difference in angle was noticeable. She slowly locked eyes with the animal.
# A snarling filled the small girl's ears.
"Koamara," Juniko Tenoh murmured, clutching the cross hanging from her
neck in one hand, her young child's hand in the other. They were in
the bell tower and the snarling was coming closer. A storm raged
outside, tearing down the walls of the once majestic castle.
"Mama, what's happening?" Haruka whispered, her intense green watching
her mother's face closely. "When is Papa coming back?"
Juniko was silent, simply lifting her daughter into her arms and
climbing the stairs to the top of the bell tower.
"We must sound the alarm Haruka, do you understand?" she looked
seriously at her small girl. "We must warn the others. We've been
betrayed." The snarling faded with distance, but the heavy rain,
constant wind and thunder consumed the sound of her footsteps.
"Betrayed? Who would do that?" the girl asked.
Thunder drowned out her answer and there was a resounding "BANG!" from
below, followed by a red flash. Juniko tripped and slid on the wet
steps, gasping as the air was pushed out of her lungs from the impact.
Haruka scratched her elbow as she was thrown out of her mother's arms
and her head bounced off the stone wall.
Her mother lay on the steps, shaking and breathing hard. Haruka bit
back tears of pain and stood up. She could hear a metallic, bone-
chilling clank on the steps below in between the thunderclaps. The
young blonde moved to climb back down the stairs to get between
whatever was coming and her mother.
"Haruka!" Juniko grabbed the girl by the arm and pulled her back
up. "You have to go! Run!"
"Mama... The alarm..." Haruka sniffled, wiping her eye on her sleeve,
putting on a brave face, trying to distract the woman so she could
face the steadily closing in thing behind them.
"I'll sound it. You must get away. Koamara would never, I would never
forgive myself if anything happened to you. At the next platform,
there's a door. Go through it. It will lead you outside the castle
walls! You'll find help, but you need to keep running! Promise Haruka!
Promise you won't stop running -" once again thunder cut off her
words. With that, she pushed Haruka up and the girl took off running
up the stairs, tears running freely down her cheeks. After what felt
like forever, she saw the door.
It was quiet, very quiet now.
Haruka scrunched her face in pain as a scream of agony cut the air and
died. She pressed her hands against her ears and curled up, crying. It
was like everything else in the entire world had stopped. She couldn't
understand it. How could something that didn't leave a mark, no
scratch, no cut, hurt so incredibly?
With a start, she remembered her mother's words. Banging into the wall
as she clumsily opened the small door; she slipped out onto a small
platform that led to a little tunnel on the other side. The rain had
softened and the lightning and thunder disappeared. Only the wind had
grown, but in such a way that it pulled all directions, like a vacuum,
making everything feel like she was in a nightmare.
Haruka Tenoh looked down on the courtyard of her family's castle for
the last time and froze. A giant stood there, covered in twisted and
stained armor and a dark tattered cloak. Besides him, a beast the size
of a horse, a wolf with blood-matted fur and red teeth, panted from
the exertion of his kill. One ear was tattered and as she watched, the
giant kneeled and shaved off the hanging skin with their blood gummed
sword.
The giant turned and looked up at Haruka, his face hidden deep in the
corrupted metal of his helm. Haruka felt bile rise in her stomach at
the sight of Juniko Tenoh clutched in one of the giant's hands, run
through. Her father lay crumpled against the wall, his throat slit,
eyes half-lidded.
"I HATE YOU!" she screamed down at the demon giant, the murderer.
"I'LL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO MY MAMA! I'LL KILL YOU FOR
HURTING MY PAPA!" The giant said nothing, but reached his free, metal
covered hand up towards the last Tenoh, beckoning.
"NOOOOOO!!!!!" Haruka screamed and ran, the fear, the fury and the
pain all exploding within her and she ran. And somewhere, in the back
of her tortured mind, a thought formed. 'I will be as fast as the
wind. I will be the wind. And then I can just disappear...'
And she remembered nothing more. #
Haruka shook her head to clear it. This wolf wasn't as big as that monster had been, or nearly as dark. Fenir had the feeling that all predators of the woods have, a peaceful dominance with an underlying vicious and brutal power that shows their true nature, hunters, inescapable. "I'm sorry..." she muttered, realizing only afterwards she was apologizing to a wolf, for a reason she wouldn't say and that she doubted the creature would understand if she could. "Goddess, Michiru, why is it that being around you brings up my past life?." she sighed, lying back in the snow. Michiru raised an eyebrow. "Nani?" 'Shit! New rule, everything I say from now on must be planned and checked for stupidity! Damn... might as well.' And breaking her just made rule, Haruka spilled her guts to Michiru, not even truly realizing what she was saying. Before she knew it, she'd blurted out all she'd remembered about her parents recently and even some she hadn't, but had been there just the same. She only regained control of her senses just as she was going to share the thoughts she'd been having about Michiru herself. 'DAMNIT!' the blonde cut herself off angrily. "I blame Feril!" Haruka snarled viciously, her frustration getting the better of her. Michiru laughed softly. Haruka blinked in surprise and then blushed. "I mean..." "No, I understand completely." Michiru assured. "I guess it makes sense though, her being the Herald of Storms and all. It's like, life's steady, normal, then she shows up and all you can do is hang on. I shouldn't blame her though, it's just, I know she had the power to save them. But she didn't use it. And now I'm here and alone and..." Michiru shook her head. "She just picks you up, and you think you're safe, but then she leaves, never really gives you a chance to adjust..." she looked away. "Alone, Michi?" The smaller girl looked up into Haruka's brilliant green eyes. The blonde had moved closer, utterly ignoring Fenir and they faces were inches apart. That distance quickly disappeared and the pair were once again lost in each other.
"Humans! So clumsy and awkward in courtship." Feril plunged her hand into the scrying pool to disrupt the image. "Why can't they just get it over with instead of walking on ice like this!? No efficiency in the species what-so-ever!" "Has it been so long since you engaged in the practice yourself Lady?" Feril scowled as the duke entered her chambers and made a mental note to beat the new guards outside her quarters, whom she'd given specific orders not to be disturbed, by anyone or anything. "Rumor is you're quite a charmer, when you have need. And that you have a fresh bedmate each night..." the duke examined a human skull that sat above the fireplace. "Rumors are whispered among the insecure and lifeless," Feril snapped icily, summoning the skull out of his hands with a flick of her wrist. "What I do with my time, meaning all of it, is none of your concern. Why are you here?" she set the skull on the table besides her as the man picked up the demon skull that had been besides it. "Quite a collection," he noted, ignoring her question utterly. "Of course. I had plenty of time in Hell to complete it." she answered darkly. The duke blanched and quickly returned the skull to the mantle. "Still clinging to that fairy tale?" he laughed, but his palms were sweaty as he nervously wiped them on his cape. "Fairies make excellent spies," she noted. "But if you doubt the tales, you can always ask around after I send you there." She added under her breath. "This obsession of yours is a bit disturbing. Though I must admit they're a beautiful couple..." he eyed the returned image, namely Michiru, hungrily. Feril's lip curled in disgust. ** "Fenir, take them inside!" ** Feril growled and the wolf, miles away from his mistress, complied and nudged the two apart and encouraged them inside, out of view.
The duke frowned.
"Was this just a social visit, or did you have something of importance to tell me?" Feril asked coolly, though her anger at this man's continued presence was growing steadily.
"I was wondering if you'd seen my cousin's son. I haven't seen him since the battle and I was hoping nothing has happened to him." The duke muttered offhandedly. It was obvious he didn't think anything could possibly go wrong to one of his bloodline in battle.
"Check with the field healer. They're still identifying the dead," she shrugged. The duke stared.
"That jest was not in good taste, Lady." He recovered. "He's of noble blood."
"It wasn't a jest."
The duke paled and hurried off. Feril grinned and set a ward over her door to prevent another intrusion, entering her bedchamber.
"Young fool." She thought aloud, grinning at the unmoving shape leaning against her wall. "The battlefield is no place for boys playing at war."
Haruka was making progress with her powers and studies. Her schedule was demanding, but she adapted easily enough.
4:00 am - Wake up
4:05 am - Morning Run
5:00 am - Check the river to see if Michiru's having a morning swim
5:30 am - Quick bath or rinse off in the waterfall above the bathes
5:45 am - Cut through evergreen fruit grove to grab a snack
6:00 am - Rehearsal
7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Force House
11:30 am - Clean Up
11:40 am - Find Michiru, go to lunch
12:50 pm - Waves House
1:30 pm - Earth House
2:30 pm - Basic House (Tuesday through Thursday only)
4:00 pm - Energy House
5:00 pm - Rehearsal or free time
6:00 pm - Take Kazi for a run if the road's cleared or play with Hotaru
7:00 pm - Dinner
9: 00 pm - Heavens House
10:00 pm - Free Hour
11:00 pm - "Lights Out"
She thanked the gods for the weekends. She'd replaced Eric as Captain of the Runners, much to his group's dismay and the joy of everyone else. She'd begun pushing them to greater speed and stamina, at levels many had never known. This had motivated the other Halls to push themselves to avoid being outdone. Normally, the weather at this time of the year stopped practice, but Haruka would spend hours finding a space for Runner's Hall to train, almost to the point of rubbing it in the other Halls faces.
Makoto had nearly gotten run over after her Hall's practice had been canceled and the Runners came barreling up the stairs, a grinning Haruka pushing them on. Through frozen archways, past the scalding fires outside the kitchens, and over furniture and those unfortunate enough to get in their way. And Haruka knew exactly what she was doing.
The other Halls began practicing indoors, to the point where the staff were forced to set them to work building a gym system onto the existing one after the third pole vaulting accident that nearly set the entire Dining Hall on fire.
And Haruka was having a blast. Earth House worked on moving the land to form a "natural" flat area while the Wood House set to work coaxing the trees to grow on the newly formed walls and bend to form a interlocking ceiling a good ways up. The Waves House worked with the Earth House to run water from the bathes around the interior of the gym system for the Swimmers. They worked on covered paths to the lake that froze every year and built a small cabin for those who wanted to ice skate or ski in the area. The Wood House got grass and plants to grow inside with the help of Energy House so the floor was soft turf, with a fresh dirt path alongside the indoor river, soon to be pounded down by the Runners. All the Houses did something, constantly working together. The new area was warm and dry and Heavens House had cast the illusion of a sunny sky just above the treetops and in the one open aired place, blocked off an invisible barrier.
Riding classes were given in free time and the Growers were working on an indoor rose garden.
Haruka was thinking wistfully of the new gyms when she was sitting in Basic House, torn between utterly tuning out the sensei completely and paying attention to avoid getting in trouble. And the image of Michiru a few rows in front of her was rather distracting as well.
'Gods, this is boring,' Haruka glanced out the frost-covered window and sighed. 'I can't wait until spring...' Haruka stopped as she realized. 'Maybe I've actually found a home... It's already been longer then I stay at most places, hell, I can only remember a few other times I haven't been driven or "encouraged" out of somewhere by now.' The feeling made Haruka smile as she stared into space. 'Could be worse.'
"Attention," The Basic House sensei stood in front of the room, calling the lethargic room to listen. "Because of recent events, Basic House period will be increased from an hour and a half to 3 hours." The room exploded with cries of outrage and wails and moans of dismay. Haruka's jaw dropped. '3 hours?! Goddess, have mercy!' she exchanged a confused glance with Michiru, who shrugged helplessly. Setsuna hadn't said anything. "I know, I know!" the instructor called over the noise. "Queen Serenity, bless her, has decided with these recent "stirrings" in the world, you need to be informed of what you're facing." The wails and moans had died to a mutinous grumbling with a few still raising their hands to protest. "Oh yes, I nearly forgot. Tenoh-kun, Kaioh-san, you both have revised schedules to accommodate your extra Houses. Pick them up from my desk at the end of class." Haruka flinched. Tower Dormers were seen as something of a bunch of over- achievers. While everyone else had one House besides Basic, at most two, Haruka's record breaking 5 Houses didn't win her any friends. Not that she needed it to. Her group of admirers grew daily, despite her open attachment to Michiru, whose own fan club would rabidly fall out against Haruka's in a miniature, not-so-well hidden war, while fans of them as a couple would try to play peacemaker. "The change doesn't take place until the end of the trimester, after our guests arrive." The school's bell sounded and the class was dismissed.
"Nani?! This can't be right!" Haruka moaned, comparing her new schedule to Michiru's as they walked to lunch. "Hm..." Michiru frowned. "We still have Basic together..." "Expect on Wednesday, I have an extra hour of Force, then 4 hours of Heavens. I have to eat lunch on my break in the middle of Force and they moved all my other classes around! The gods are against me!" she groaned in defeat, slumping dramatically on the table as they sat down to eat. "Wouldn't put it past them," Hotaru noted conversationally. "I blame Feril." She took looked it over. She grinned. "Haruka-papa, you have an hour of Heavens with me on Fridays! Heavens- sensei told us she was bringing in some upperclassmen to help us. Want my sweetbread? I'm not hungry." She offered, "No thanks Hime-chan. Give it to Usagi when she gets here, she'll probably be in tears over the changes." The blonde sighed, looking forlornly at her own meal. "Eat up Ruka, you need you energy for moping." Michiru teased. Haruka grunted in reply. "Why the long face?" Ami set her tray down across from Michiru. Michiru held up the new schedule while Haruka muttered something sarcastic along the lines of "Born that way." "Oh hush," Michiru chided. "Don't mind her," she caught herself easily. "He's cranky." Luckily, Ami didn't seem to notice. "Oh, that. Well, I guess I got lucky. I have an extra hour of Tomes and I get to help in Minako and Usagi's Basic." Haruka and Michiru sweatdropped. "At least you're taking it better then those two..." A shrieking wail that would put a banshee to shame echoed though the hall and announced the arrival of the aforementioned pair, with Makoto and Rei on damage control. "Why Mamo-chan?! Why?!" Usagi clung to the haggard Mamoru, who, between Usagi's Niagara level tears, plus the passing student about to trip and drop a pitcher of water on his head, would be soaked through to the bone. Minako was marginally more dignified state, probably because of the ward completely covering her mouth, courtesy of Rei. The blonde leaned heavily on Makoto. The group was given wide berth as it maneuvered its way to the table and sat down. "That bad?" Haruka asked Makoto over Usagi's wails. Makoto sighed and shrugged, transferring Minako's prone form to Rei before moving over to sit by Ami. "She doesn't get to see Mamoru passing periods anymore." She explained. "Hey, Koneko-chan, calm down," Haruka said, and tossed the sweetbread Hotaru had offered into Usagi's wide-open mouth. The girl's cries cut off abruptly, leaving a ringing silence followed by collective sighs of relief. Usagi's first reaction was surprise, confused anger, and then joy as soon as she figured out what had happened. She sat there quietly, happily munching on the sweet. "Thanks Haruka-kun." Mamoru sighed, trying to wring the water out of his shirt. He reached in his front pocket for his schedule then sweatdropped and looked around. "What? I lost it already..." he trailed off as he saw Haruka examining a pile of paper in front of her thoughtfully as she ate her salad. "...how the hell? When did you..." he scratched his head, at a loss. "Hm?" Haruka looked up. They were all staring. "What?" "How'd you do that? That was incredible, I never saw you move." Rei muttered, eyeing her own schedule among the ones in front of Haruka. "Oh, sorry. Bad habit I guess." Haruka flicked her wrist and a breeze swept through and returned each of the papers to it place in front of its owner. Their jaws dropped, except Michiru and Hotaru's, the former shook her head while Hotaru giggled. "Ok, I'll admit I worked on that last part," Haruka grinned sheepishly. "But it was cool, no?" Usagi clapped happily and tried to swallow the food in her mouth so she could comment and nearly choked. "Calm down Usako!" Mamoru sighed, sweatdropping. "But how'd you get them in the first place?" Ami asked. "I used to have to take the orders off of guards to see if it was safe to hang around a bit longer. And if times were hard, I might take a purse or two with them." She explained, dancing a fork and knife over her nimble fingers with ease. "You're a pickpocket?" Usagi managed. Haruka scowled angrily, glaring at the silverware dancing through her fingers. "No. Not any more. Well, not like you think. It's just, sometimes the situations called for ingenuity and a little creative supply gathering. I always gave back what I could, took less then I needed." But it was too late, she'd told them to much. 'Should just keep my hands to myself. Now, anything goes missing, I'm screwed. So much for making it until spring...' she berated herself, not noticing the silverware slip through her fingers and clatter to the table. "Wish I'd thought of that," Mamoru noted. Haruka looked up in surprise. He shook his head. "Better then getting yourself sick by eating anything you find," he shrugged. "Did that too." Haruka laughed. "I guess it was harder for you then me. Your powers are much more active then mine. At least I could get into an orphanage if it came down to it, but from what I've heard, your abilities made it a bit harder for you." "Yeah, they don't really like earthquakes and windstorms everytime they made me mad. You think it'd be a great party trick, but," Haruka shrugged and shook her head. "Guess not. Hey, have you been to the orphanage in Clarin?" she asked thoughtfully. "With Brother Hunter or the one on the other end of town?" "Brother Hunter's. When?" "Uh, maybe 8 years ago, spring." "You just missed me, they drove me out after I ruined three different fields during harvest." Haruka grinned. "I heard those stories!" Mamoru laughed. "Guess what? After you left, they had the best harvest they'd had in 40 years! All because of your earthquakes opening that well! Bet if you'd gone back, they'd treat you differently." The two compared pasts until the end of lunch and all thoughts of leaving were pushed of Haruka's mind. As she walked with Michiru to Waves, she smiled, looking out towards the woods, just happy to be where she was. Seeing a fur covered shape flitting along the tree line, she grinned even wider and put her arm around Michiru.
'I blame Feril.' **********************
Author: Haha! I crapped out on this one! Whohoo, sub-par! And you can't stop me! R&R and do me a favor, tell where you think the story's going, or where you think it should. I have the ending all done now, but this middle part is still pretty much no man's land. So tell me where you think it's going so I can tell where it needs to go to work. Everyone except for shadowsphere, cause you're a damn spoiler! You know what's gonna happen, so you're not allowed to say anything! Or I'll beat you with a vacuum.
Feril: She will to. R&R peeps, or know the wrath of dubbing!
Author: P.S. I know the editing as in paragraphs and the like is crap, but I've tried everything to get it to load like a write it, so it is how it is.
