Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.
A/n: My new version of my very first story Blind. I hope you guys enjoy it.
Blinded
Planet Neptune
17 years ago
Her terrified eyes stared in disbelief at her destroyed planet. She held the infant girl closer to her breast as her ocean-deep eyes roamed the raging seas outside of her castle. She tried to gather enough strength to turn away from the windows of the throne room and face the reality that the chamber has been turned into a battleground filled with corpses of her trusted guards that had perished, swearing to protect her, the princess and the future.
Lightning struck the damaged castle again. The queen hugged her daughter as she tried to shelter her not only from harm but from the gory scene as she walked over to the large doors. The child let out a soft cry and moved her small hands to grasp her mother's light blue hair
The queen looked down at her round face and pressed her lips to her small palm as she tried to hold back her tears. "Everything will be all right," she said in between sobs, grabbing the tiny hand and caressing the palm.
She sat down on the blood-stained marble floor, searching, yearning to find one specific person in the mass sea of dead men. That's when she found him in the far right corner of the throne room. He was still gasping for breath, holding himself up with his royal sword, staring at her beauty sternly.
"Amphitrite..." he whispered loud enough for her to hear him.
She didn't wait for a second to run to his side. She kneeled and touched his face, brushing the aqua hair that fell on his tired and almost lifeless eyes. "Aegaeon…" she whispered his name, wanting to make sure that the broken man before her was no other than the king of Neptune, Aegaeon.
"We need to save her…" he said, letting go of the sword and taking the child in his arms. "Where is he? He was supposed to be here hours ago!" He gasped as he felt how his heartbeat began to slow down. He pulled the infant to his strong and bloody chest and simply took in the child's gorgeous face. The baby girl in his arms simply took his breath away. She always had from the first moment he held her and saw her deep-sea blue eyes stare up at him in wonder. She was truly the Neptunian princess from the moment she drew in her first breath.
"She is as lovely as you…" he whispered as he raised his eyes to look at his wife.
"Don't talk," the queen whispered as she placed a shivering hand on his mouth. "Please, don't speak, you need to save your strength…"
He shook his head as tears freely ran down his cheeks. "You must protect her. Please, she is our future," he sighed and leaned on her hands as she petted his pale cheek. "I love you so much."
Amphitrite nodded at Aegaeon's words before covering her lips with his sudden cold ones "I love you more…" she whispered as she pulled away from the man she had grown to adore in a couple of years. Amphitrite felt him exhale the last breath he held against her moist lips. She closed her eyes, gathering the now crying baby in her arms, as her heart broke into a thousand little pieces.
The King of Neptune, Aegaeon, was dead.
She let out an earth-shattering sob, kissing his unmoving lips again and again, "we will see each other soon." She turned back to where the thrones were before making her way back to them. She glanced at her smaller throne and saw her hand mirror lying perfectly on top of her royal chair. "I was going to give you this on your wedding day," she said to the infant in her arms. "But the circumstances have changed." She kissed the forehead, feeling the soft aqua locks tickle her nose as she did so.
As her hand reached the Aqua Mirror, the throne room doors burst open.
Her maternal instincts kicked in a matter of seconds. Amphitrite covered the infant with her hands, ready to fight whoever was planning on harming them.
"Queen! We must leave! The King of Uranus is here! Let us leave now!" An old woman yelled extending her weak arms.
Amphitrite's eyes watered again as she saw the familiar face of her maid. She ran and jumped over various corpses as she left the room with the old woman running as fast as she could in front of her.
"Where is he? When did he finally arrive?"
"He has been here for a long time, I believe. It's just that… that witch!" The maid turned around to look at Amphitrite. "We must find a way to get you both away from harm…" She stopped talking when she saw the fresh tears running down the queen's face. "Where is King Aegaeon?"
Amphitrite raised her blue eyes to look at the old woman. Her emotions could barely let her form any words so she shook her head trying her best to answer the maid's question.
The maid moved closer to the queen before touching her arms gently as if apologizing for her imprudent question. "We will protect our future…" She smiled down at the infant. "Her future."
Both women watched how the baby let out a yawn, but then opened her eyes only to look up at them with a playful smile.
Amphitrite let out a heartfelt chuckle. "She is just like her father," she said, moving the baby in her arms.
"And she will have the same fate as him." A female voice broke the short peaceful moment.
The Neptunian queen turned around to face her. "You!" She growled and quickly placed her daughter in the old maid's hands. "Save her! Protect her!"
"With my life!" The maid clung to the baby and took off running as fast as her old body let her.
"Your fight is with me now, witch." The queen raised her chin high, digging her slender fingers through her robes. She quickly pulled out her weapon, holding onto it tightly. "I will make you pay for hurting my people, my planet and every person I ever love."
"This has nothing to do with you, Queen Amphitrite. I only need the child." The woman spoke, extending her long fingers to the direction where the maid had taken off running. "Call your servant back. Give me the child."
She let out an earth-shattering yell and clung tighter to the cold metal as she faced the hand mirror directly into the stranger's eyes. "Submarine reflection!"
The blinding ray of light that shot from the mirror was strong enough to push the witch away from the Neptunian queen. She fell on one knee. The robe that was covering her face fell back to reveal long strands of curly brunette hair. She held onto her staff, which prevented her from falling altogether.
"I will not let you go that easily! Not after what you've done." The queen said as she got in another defensive stand.
"I hope you know that what you are doing is in vain. You will die along with your husband and your daughter! Everyone on this planet will die!"
"Even if I die, someone else who believes in justice will stop you."
The witch rubbed her eyes as the burning sensation began to subside. She had underestimated the sea queen enough to lower her guard. She let out a soft chuckle before standing up with the help of her staff. When she was finally settled on her two feet and her vision had come back to normal, she walked over to the queen, stunningly towering over her. "Someone else? You already predict your death…" She threw her head back and let out a sadistic laugh, covering her face and trying to hide her amusement. "Long live the beautiful queen of Neptune." She said mockingly.
"I am going to wipe that smirk off your face right now! Submarine!..."
"That won't work again," ss she said that she raised her staff and slammed it against the queen's hand, knocking the mirror out of her hands.
The witch didn't give Amphitrite enough time to recover from the sudden shock. With a quick jerk of her wrist, she held her staff like a spear right before piercing through Amphitrite's chest.
Her hand quickly moved to grab hold of the wounding weapon as if trying to prevent the inevitable. Her blue eyes became locked with a couple of dark ones that stared down at her, pushing the staff in deeper.
"Why?"
"Because…" The witch stopped to think her words over while trying to take in the state of the woman in front of her. "Why not?" She pushed the dagger deeper, ignoring the frightened gasps.
Amphitrite's body fell motionless onto the ground as she lost her grip on the staff and let her arms fall by her side in defeat. She chuckled for a second before swallowing down the upcoming blood. "You won't win."
"We will see that soon enough." The witch whispered as she pulled out her staff harshly and walked past the queen, leaving her in the central hall of the crumbling castle to die alone.
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.
The old woman slammed the door behind her and examined the chamber, realizing she was inside of the princess's room. She pushed herself off of the door and hid between a large chest and the crib.
The baby began to cry hysterically as she heard the horrendous and loud sound of lightning striking the ground of her home planet. Or at least that's what the old maid thought. Maybe the princess was crying because she felt her mother leave her.
The maid gasped at the sounds outside and began to rock the baby in her arms, shushing her and trying to get her to stop crying.
"Everything will be okay. The Uranus troops will get here soon enough." She closed her eyes tightly as the sound of another lightning strike took her breath away. She was as scared as the child she was holding, maybe a bit more. She has witnessed the devastation the storm has brought to her home planet and even worse, she has seen her people die fighting the storm, and an army of unknown power and origin.
"After tonight, everything will turn out for the best. When you wake up, everything will be over." The old woman said, rather to herself than to the hysterical child. "Oh, I know, I know. I am scared too… Come on now." She pressed the baby closer, brushing her lips against her small forehead. "Look how pretty you are! I bet you will surpass your mother in beauty when you are all grown up." She chuckled. "You will be the most gorgeous queen of the entire Milky Way."
Another loud lightning strike muffled the sound of a door opening with brute force.
She stepped in, slowly, aiding her tired body with her deathly staff. She moved inside of the darkroom as the moonlight of Triton, Neptune's biggest moon, seeped through the broken windows. Her piercing grey eyes scanned the place until she found her prey. The old woman and the crying baby cradled in her arms.
"Give me the baby." She said, blocking the door and the only exit with her body.
The maid shook her head. The queen had given the princess to her and so she was her guardian and protector. She would gladly give her life to keep the child safe. "I will not hand you the princess!"
"Do you want the same fate as the queen!? Give me the child! Now!" She moved closer, standing tall over the old woman and holding her staff tightly, ready to attack.
"The child is coming with me." A male voice filled the room, interrupting the words exchange between the women.
The witch turned around, searching for the person who just spoke.
At the entrance stood a tall blonde man. His dark green eyes hid the numerous battles he had to face as the leader of his army. His body was incredibly strong and showed various scars throughout his white skin. The most graphic scars were hidden under his clothes.
In his right hand, he held the Uranian royal treasure, the Space Sword. It was passed on through every royal family that ever ruled the wind planet. It was given to him the day he was made king.
Beside him stood his right hand and the general of his army, Sasuke. The one-man he trusted with his life. Sasuke was a couple of inches shorter than the king. His hair was silver-blonde and his eyes an interesting hazel color that seemed to change according to his many moods.
Unlike the Uranian King Akihiko, Sasuke wore a deep scar on his face that went from his temple down and curving all along his strong jaw to his chin.
"Move away from the maid now, Kamiya." The king spoke.
"Oh, Akihiko… If only you could understand. This is your entire fault!" The witch said, walking away from the trembling and terrified maid.
"King!" The maid yelled, pushing the woman away and running towards the two men.
Sasuke's eyes grew dark as the maid approached them both with the crying baby. "You fool! Don't move!"
His scream was unheard of. Kamiya took the old woman's thoughtfulness and redirected her anger at her, stabbing her in the back and making the older woman lose grip on the defenseless child.
The king held his breath as he moved forward to gather the dying woman while Sasuke moved fast enough to catch the princess.
"Get her out now, Sasuke, and leave this planet at once. Do not wait for me."
Sasuke looked at the king with an incredulous gaze. Leave? Now? What would happen to him if he dared to leave? What would the king's wife do to him if something ever happened to the king? He sighed and shook his head. "What are you saying? I can't leave you here by yourself. You need to head home safe and sound! What about your wife and your daughter!?"
"Sasuke! That's an order!"
He clenched his jaw enough for the king to notice his aggravation. Nevertheless, he stood up and left the room, searching for the remaining of his troops.
Kamiya covered her face with the palm of her hand, laughing to herself. "Are all of the people from your planet as dumb as you, Akihiko?"
"Maybe. I don't know. Have you been with a lot of people from Uranus?" He asked looking up from the injured woman to the witch that stood in front of him.
The old woman grabbed hold of the straps of his suit, making the king face her one last time. "Be careful… The Aegeon didn't stand a chance and neither did the Amphitrite."
"Save your words, woman. You want to survive don't you?"
"I've already lived my life. Save the future of our planet. Save her." The maid finally said as the grip on the king's suit became loose and she exhaled her last breath.
"Whatever happened to you, Kamiya? You have turned into a bloodthirsty sadistic monster," Akihiko said, settling the dead woman on the floor and standing up.
"I told you. This destruction is your fault…"
"My fault?"
"Yes. Yours! You promised me your powers! You promised me that I would sit by your side!"
"You cannot cheat destiny, Kamiya. Ayame is and forever will be my soul mate. What we had was passionate but…" He looked down at the Space Sword. "As soon as my eyes fell upon her, I knew she was the one. The one the stars had chosen for me. Just like the stars say that Uranus and Neptune will be linked together forever."
"I won't allow that union!"
"You can't do anything about it!"
"I am doing something about it, King. I am stopping the wind from ever touching the waves of the sea."
Akihiko chuckled. "You can't stop nature's course."
"You know me, Akihiko. You know I will have my way. Neptune and Uranus will be linked? By what? Love? Your daughter and the princess of Neptune joined by love? Are you going crazy?"
"As soon as Haruka sees the princess…"
"Ah! I see…" She moved closer placing her hand on the king's broad shoulder, smiling when she felt him become stiff under her touch.
"Haruka will know. As soon as she sees the heir of Neptune…"
"She won't! I won't let it happen! I will take over! I will make her love me. I've seen her and I am sure she will grow up to be just as handsome as you…"
The king pushed her away and moved his sword between them. "If you think I am going to let you near her you are highly mistaken, Kamiya." He raised the Space Sword as the raging wind became his ally, using its force to stop her movements. He walked in for the attack, screaming out "Space Sword Blaster!", but she was faster. Much, much, faster.
He felt her warm lips on his. The wind died down and his body became paralyzed. In a blink of an eye, she stood behind him, pressing her chest to his muscle-bound back. She had one hand coming to press the skin over his heart and another to cover his eyes. Her staff long ago forgotten on the chamber's ground.
"I just hope you know that I hate doing this to you, King, but this is the only way…" she whispered in his ear and took the moment to inhale the scent of the free and fast wind he carried in his wild blonde hair. "You will die tonight. You will cease to exist. Your daughter will never meet the princess and she will never find the sea nymph even if she stands right in front of her."
Akihiko slowly began to gather his strength. He started to move against Kamiya only to feel as if a bolt of lightning had pierced his eyes.
"I curse you, King. I curse you and every descendant after you. They will go blind at the age of their throne year, the year they are to be wedded and the year they will find their life partner."
He moved his hands to Kamiya's, pulling at them as he tried his best to break free. He could already feel the trails of blood that escaped his injured eyes. "Let me go, Kamiya!"
"Hear me, King!" She pressed her hand to his eyes earning another pained yell. "This curse will be broken only when they truly find their soulmate." She smirked. "We now know that will never happen." She pulled him closer to her, closing her eyes to take in his masculine scent for the last time, engraving the memory deep inside her heart. "If I couldn't have you, I will have her." Saying those words, another bright light went into Akihiko's eyes.
The pain that consumed his body left him wordless. His mouth was open, but nothing came out, just a ragged exhale. She had finally let go of him, letting him fall to his knees. His hands flew to cup his bleeding eye sockets. He then began to yell in agonizing pain for the first time. He managed to stand up and started to thrash around the room as he tried to find a way to make the suffering stop.
His Space Sword had long ago fallen to the floor and he touched the ground as he tried to find his weapon hysterically and gasping in disbelief of the blood that freely ran down his cheeks. Ever so slowly his vision turned into a complete dark curtain.
"Goodbye, Akihiko."
He stopped moving altogether as he tried to decipher which way the voice just came from. "You will refer to me as King Uranus, you bitch."
Her arrogant smirk faded away as she saw the tall man stand up straight, regaining control of his erratic movements. He moved his arm in front of him with his palm open as he called out to his weapon. "Space Sword!"
Kamiya's eyes searched for the king's sword, finding it moving by itself. "What in the world…?"
The sword levitated and flew to the direction of the King, stopping a mere inch away from the open palm. With eyes closed, he grabbed hold of his royal treasure. The wind became agitated again letting its master know the exact presence of his enemy. "Space Sword Blaster!"
He cursed his eyes a thousand times as he only heard a pained yell and a loud thud on the ground. He moved forward and stumbled when he bumped into a body. His free hand traveled over the corpse and touched its features. Curly hair, soft skin, no pulse.
He let out a tired smile as he stood up with the little strength he had in him and walked out of the room before darkness consumed his mind.
O.O.O.O.O.O.
Sasuke had stopped outside of the large castle, staring at the frantic waves that slowly destroyed the planet. He looked down at the crying infant in his arms and closed his eyes for a moment.
Was he going to be capable of doing it? The child had suffered enough at such a young age. Lost her parents, lost her planet, her people. He opened his hazel eyes again and turned around to look passed the castle. He knew there were going to be survivors; maybe a handful. He could leave her there.
He shook his head. Then she would be raised as their princess.
"What am I going to do with you?" He asked, his deep voice scaring the child more than she already was. "Death would be too cruel… I can't bring myself to kill a child…" He whispered as he moved one hand behind his back, taking out a small dagger. "I was given specific instructions, but looking at you I feel lost." He sighed. "Might as well get this over with." As he said that he raised the dagger above his shoulder and took a deep breath.
" Sasuke! Sir!"
He stopped the blade a mere inch away from the child and turned around to face the person that had called him. He recognized the man as one of his soldiers and frowned deeply when he saw him covered in scratches and wounds.
"Sir! We must leave! The storm is subsiding. We must gather the troops and…" The soldier's words got caught in his throat as he saw the beautiful baby in the rough general's arms. "Sir… Is that…"
"Kaioh…" He whispered his last name and then looked down at the child. "Come here, Kaioh!"
The soldier ran to his general's side, his eyes never leaving the princess's red face. "She is the princess, isn't she?"
"No," Sasuke muttered, throwing the dagger aside and placing the crying child in the young soldier's arms. "She is your daughter."
His neck almost snapped when he heard Sasuke's words. He looked up at him and then at the baby who seemed to be in the new comfort of Kaioh's arms. "What?!"
"Listen to me and you better listen well. You are now in charge of this creature. You will take care of it as your daughter and if I find out that you said that she is the princess of Neptune, I will make sure to kill you myself."
"But why…"
"That's an order, Kaioh!"
He looked down at the now smiling baby. She was looking up at him with peaceful eyes, extending her tiny hands up, wanting to touch his face. The soldier slowly moved his face closer and let her play with his nose and chin.
"I heard your wife couldn't give birth…" Sasuke said, looking at the adorable interaction. "I hope you follow instructions." With that said, he left the soldier alone with the infant.
He was too lost for words. He just looked down at the baby and the baby looked up at him. He was going to take care of her alright. As far as he knew she had lost her parents and almost her entire planet today. "You are beautiful." He whispered before kissing her small forehead, earning a giggle. "You seem to like me." He received another happy yelp. "What should we name you? Hmm?" He smiled tenderly before giving her hand a soft bite with his lips. "How about Michiru?" The baby began to yell and move around his arms excitedly. The soldier let out a heartfelt laugh. "Michiru Kaioh! It has a nice ring to it!" He nodded and began to walk, following Sasuke's direction. "A beautiful name… for a beautiful princess…"
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
"Momma!" a small four-year-old screamed at the top of her lungs, running down the large hall of the Uranian castle. She stopped at a grand door, ignoring the two guards that stood on each side. She used all of her strength to open the doors. In the end, one of the guards pushed it open and watched the blonde girl run inside.
"Momma!"
The young woman had been looking out of her balcony out to the vast dark sky, counting the 27 moons her planet possessed. Lately, she kept going back to glance at a blue blinking planet. She heard the child and turned around just in time to gather her in her arms. "Haruka, what's wrong?"
The toddler simply kept scratching her eyes with her small fist. "They itch!" she whined.
The woman pulled her daughter's hands away to take a closer look at her bright green eyes.
She was taken aback by the sudden flash her daughter's eyes produced. She stared down at the large green orbs again, giving her a questioning look. "I could've sworn they changed from green to yellow and back again, " she said, cupping her daughter's cheeks. "Do they still itch?"
The toddler shook her head. "Where is papa?"
The Uranian queen's eyes softened at her daughter's words. She smiled tenderly at her and kissed her forehead before pulling her in for a hug. "He will be home soon enough…" as she said this, she heard a hard knock on her door. She looked from her daughter to the door and back again. "See!" She giggled and picked her daughter up in her arms and carried Haruka with her to answer the door.
"Suke!" Haruka yelled as she pointed her small fingers at the general.
"Ruka." Sasuke smiled at the small blonde before looking at the queen. His eyes turned a soft bluish shade as he placed his hands behind his back. "Ayame…" He whispered her first name, no honorifics, no nothing. They were close enough to talk to each other with a sense of familiarity only they both shared. "You need to come to the throne room."
She held on to her daughter for dear life as she stared at Sasuke's saddened expression. "What happened?"
He didn't answer.
"What happened to Akihiko, Sasuke?"
He shook his head and moved his hand to grab hold of the queen's. "I am here for you. You know that. Now come. They need you in the throne room-"
She didn't let him finish. She pulled her hand away and ran down the grand hall; running passed injured soldiers and worried maids.
Haruka clung to her mother's neck as she dashed past everything and finally stopped at the entrance of the large throne room.
"Akihiko."
The king laid on a large marbled platform surrounded by the injured soldiers that tried to give him emotional strength to pull through. He was holding onto the Space Sword and his breathing was labored and harsh. His eyes were closed the entire time as if preventing more blood to escape from them, but he knew it was already late. He could feel his life slipping away and his heartbeat weakened with every passing minute.
"Akihiko…" she whispered again, moving closer to him. The guards gave way to the queen, bowing their heads at her. "What… what happened?"
He didn't open his eyes, but he did shiver when he felt her soft hands upon his cheeks. He smiled tenderly and tightened his grip on his sword. "I'm home."
"What happened to you?"
"Kamiya…" he said before moving one hand to touch his wife's. "Listen to me, Ayame." He pulled her hand to the Space Sword and let her touch it. "Take it."
"No! How dare you! I am not taking that sword! It is written! You must give it to Haruka, not me!"
"In my absence, you are the one to give the sword to the heir, Ayame."
"But you are alive and you are going to live! You are going to give it to her! How am I supposed to live without you, huh? Did you ever think about that?"
The king chuckled tenderly and pulled her hand to his lips, kissing the palm gently. "I love you too, Ayame."
Haruka watched the interaction between her parents, noticing the trail of blood in her father's cheeks. She leaned over and almost laid on her father's chest, touching the Space Sword. "Papa! You are back," she declared pulling onto one of his bloody fingers.
"Hai, Haruka. I am back," he muttered, opening his eyes and turning his head to face his daughter, giving her a good look at his yellow eyes and letting a single tear escape his eyes. "I am here and I will always be with you, do you understand that." His hand trailed to look for his daughter's face. When he finally found it, he gave it a tender caress before sobbing. "I will always be with you."
"Akihiko, please don't."
"I am sorry, Ayame. Everything will be okay. Sasuke is supposed to be taking care of the princess of Neptune! She will be here any second now I am sure." He smiled. "Everything will be alright. I saved the future…" He coughed and quickly hissed when he felt the burning sensation that went through his body.
Ayame leaned over and captured her husband's lips in a soft and gentle goodbye kiss. She stroked his pale cheek and kissed the tip of his nose before hugging her daughter tightly. "Long live Akihiko, King of Uranus."
Haruka, understanding what was going on, pushed her mother and grabbed hold of the Space Sword once again before whispering, "Goodbye, papa."
"Goodbye, Haruka." He whispered as his strength completely left his aching and wounded body.
Sasuke stared at the family from the entrance of the room, his heart aching for them. He touched his face and ran his fingers over his large scar, closing his eyes as he remembered the cause of it. He slowly made his way towards Ayame and Haruka, ushering the queen out. "We will make preparations for his burial," he whispered as he pushed them away from the dead king.
"How did he die?" Ayame asked, looking up at the young man.
"I believe the witch did that to him."
"Kamiya?" She asked as she wiped a sneaky tear from her cheek.
"Hai…Here, let me help you," he said, gathering Haruka in his arms.
Haruka was looking over the man's shoulders to her father's corpse. Her cheeks drenched with her tears. She knew about death. Her mother had spoken to her about it some time ago, but it wasn't until now that she understood it. Her father was gone, never to return, but he would always be by her side. "Papa…" She hid her face on the general's shoulder.
"Cry all you want, child. I will be here for both of you." He said, giving Ayame a serious look. "Both of you…"
"Where is the princess of Neptune?" Ayame asked as she was escorted to her room.
"She didn't survive, my queen. She was injured along with her parents…" he whispered as he settled the sleepy child on her mother's bed. "I tried with all my might to help her but…"
"Shh… That's enough tragedy for one day," she said as she looked over at Haruka. "What am I going to do with her now?"
"Ayame," he whispered when they were finally in the privacy of the queen's chamber. "I will say this again if you need me to," he gathered the trembling woman in his strong arms, pressing their bodies dangerously close. "I will take care of both of you…"