Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all its characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi, not me, I don't have any claim to them. Also, this work of fanfiction is written purely for my own pleasure and that of others, I'm making no money here, so no one should have a problem. The story is fully mine, and the rights to that are mine as well, use the story for anything but enjoyment without my permission, I'll hunt you down and...... You get the idea, it will not be pretty.
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Chapter 7
Haruka drove herself with complete abandon. She was already so tired she could hardly lift her legs. Always farther then before. Haruka went on for more then the exercise, she needed to be completely exhausted so the dreams won't come again. She had gotten quite used to dragging herself home to drop half-dead into a blissfully dreamless sleep. She wanted to keep it that way.
"Hey, Ten'ou!" Someone near by called, "Get off that mountain climber before we have to scrape you off of it." She now recognized the speaker, a fellow racer who worked out with her occasionally both on the track and off.
"I'm sure you'd love for that to happen, then maybe you'll have a chance at winning." This sort of exchange was so habitual to Haruka that it did not take any effort on her part. Still, he was probably right and she should stop for the day.
She slowed the high powered climber down to a gradual stop. Stepping off Haruka swayed a little, with an annoyed shake of her head she remembered that she hadn't eaten since late in the morning. Her trainer -on occasion- would be most displeased if he found out about this sort of lapse in her diet. Of course Haruka never gave the little stout man much of a chance to give her any sort of advice that did not have direct contact with racing cars, or their mechanics.
Rubbing a towel over her sweaty neck Haruka slowly moved toward the sauna and shower room. After that she'd head on home, get something in the way of dinner and roll into her bed. With all the excursions of the day she should drop right off into a dreamless slumber.
Almost forty five minutes later Haruka emerged from the locker room freshly dressed in light slacks and a T-shirt. Her bag hanging negligently over her shoulder, she headed for the exit and her motorcycle. She was almost at her customary parking spot when a sudden wave of... something crashed over her senses.
Haruka staggered a little, leaning heavily on a lamp post for support. She desperately looked around to see if anyone seemed to have been affected by the strange pulse. By the way everyone kept moving about it looked as though she was the only one who had felt anything at all. The car parking directly in front of her was functioning perfectly normal like.
She fumbled with her keys as she struggled to get the bike started up and running. Once the ignition caught- followed by the satisfactory rumble of a powerful engine- she was on the bike with her baggage to the back of her seat. The motions were so habitual that they took no thought on hr part; which of course was just as well for she could not yet focus her mind properly on a task. She fired up the engine once more for good measure and slammed her foot down on the accelerator. Cool biting wind instantly surrounded her, raising goose bumps on her exposed arms. It had the desired affect, her heart slowed to a more regular beat within her chest and the blood stopped pumping quite so hard against her temples. The headache however, did not relent. Nor did the feeling of urgency and expectedness subside.
Deciding that this was just a side effect of her work out and too little food, Haruka eased up slightly on the speed and, falling into the general stream of traffic, headed in the direction of her apartment building.
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Michiru felt like jumping for joy. Uranus was finally in sight- literally. She did not have to look at the reaction of the transformation stick, she could feel the power of Uranus in her very bones. There was no mistaking it, the blond who just spurted out from the curb was Sailor Senshi Uranus. In the flesh and spirit.
"Oh, this is wonderful!" she said with a satisfied smile, unable to contain herself. "Now that I know who she is, I can start planing for-" realizing that she was about to blurt out way too much information Michiru prudently shut her mouth on the remaining words. It would not at all do to have so little control over herself at this time. The satisfied smirk remained lurking at the corners of her mouth none the less.
"That was who you were looking for then?" Daniel asked, discreetly omitting the title the girl will have.
"Yes. Was she Ten'ou Haruka?" Michiru moderated her voice to a polite tone of interest, nothing as volatile as her true emotions.
"Indeed it was. I wonder what was wrong, she seemed to become ill when we drove up, but she got on that bike fine enough." Esra sounded concerned, even for her worst competition. Then again, she must have realized by now that Ten'ou was of great import.
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Haruka drove on through the streets in her usual fashion, as if the devil himself was chasing her. At such a speed she was able to reach home in a matter of minutes.
Easily parking in the garage with well practiced motion, she shook off the last vestiges of her shock. She walked up to her flat confident that it was less then nothing.
Back in her roomy two bedroom-just in case- apartment Haruka made quick business of a large meal. One that was over with- at the moment eating was more akin to a chore then pleasure- she did not take long to settle in for a good nights rest.
Once her eyes shut in natural sleep the dream took hold. She stood in the middle of a park, now demolished by Power. She could easily discern the battle signs as she looked around herself. The space of nearly three blocks was pitted with perfectly round craters. Grooves such as these- deep but not of great circumference- could only be caused by Power attacks.
Strange, thought Haruka, that she should know such things, after all, she had o clue what Power was. She then became aware of a cold current at her legs, her pants did not let such drafts in. She looked down at herself and gasped.
These clothes were not her own, yet strangely familiar. For that matter she would never willingly wear something as revealing and... cheesy. Inspecting the articles closer, Haruka realized that they were of great similarity to the outfits of the Sailor Senshi. But they felt strangely right on her.
She did not have time to further contemplate her new get up; from above heard a shrill kind of laughter. Up in the sky drifted a woman with flowing black hair and dress. She laughed again as she formed a ball of black energy at her fingertips and sent it at Haruka. The force hit her in the middle of her chest, she could feel the darkness taking over her body.
Haruka's consciousness tore out of her body as it died. Her spirit entered a different domain, where all was color with no shape. Here, she felt was all warmth and goodness.
Out of the multitude of color emerged another being. She- it was a she judging by the clothes that Haruka could discern- drifted toward her, yet Haruka could not make out her features any better then when she had first materialized. All Haruka could make sense of were the clothes (Sailor Senshi style), and light green hair.
"You must assume your position among us." She said in a quite, strong voice.
"What are you talking about?" Haruka sounded, even to herself, lazy and distant. Whatever this place was it made her want to drift forever without wakening.
"You know your destiny. Do not try to avoid it so much. When the time comes, do not turn your chance away."
"You speak in riddles! What is this?" Haruka felt herself awakening from her building anger.
"When the time is right," she went on ignoring Haruka's outburst, "you will know. Then, do not turn your back on destiny."
Haruka woke up sluggishly. The vision fading away from her before her eyes. She lay in bed starring up at the ceiling. What was the meaning of all these dreams? At least tonight it was not as gruesome as the usual ones. Here she did not have to watch and stand witness to the deaths of others.
She'd been having visions of future destruction for the last year. In that time she had learned to manage them more or less adequately by tiring herself out completely. She should be blissfully asleep right now, she was tired enough for it. What was her destiny?
She didn't care. Her destiny was her own, no one will dictate it for her. And she wanted to be like the wind, no one could ever capture the wind.
"Tomorrow, I race, and I'll race the day after. That's my destiny." Haruka whispered into the darkened room. It was a statement flung at all who would dare to wish to govern her actions. Let them do as they will, but she was free and belonged only to herself.
End of chapter 7
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Chapter 8
Michiru accepted Esra's offered hospitality with a light heart. She now knew where she should be, right here. She'd have to see about finding herself an apartment and a job, oh! And there was school to consider. She had almost forgotten that there was life beyond her quest, she still had to go to school.
Now tat she thought of it, this was most convenient; Ten'ou and she were of the same age. She could go to the same school as the other girl and watch her from there. First, of coarse, she had to ask Setsuna if she should right away tell the other of her Power.
There was just so much to do!
"You are absolutely correct." A voice aid behind her. Michiru whirled around, transformation stick in hand and ready to defend herself.
"I did not realize that I spoke out loud." She said, a little breathless with relief at seeing that it was only Sailor Pluto.
"How are you going to go about this? Have you a plan yet?" Pluto strode to the window as she spoke. She's got a thing for window views or something, Michiru thought watching the other's movements.
"I was hoping you could tell me how I am supposed to let Ten'ou know who she really is. After all, you have personal experience." Michiru hoped that she did not sound too desperate for help, after all, the Plutonian might still be upset at her.
Setsuna shook her head, sending Michiru's hopes to the wind. "I can no longer help you. I don't think I'll even be able to come here again for a while-"
"What's wrong?" Michiru jumped in, not letting her finish. Her fine sense picked up the worry and preoccupation in Setsuna's voice no matter how hard she tried to hide it.
"I should have known you'd pick it up. No one could ever hide from the intuition of Neptune. It's with that intuition as a guide that you should proceed." Setsuna skillfully avoided answering about the problems of Black Moon. "It has guided you this far and will continue to do so. Trust yourself, Soldier of the Sea, that is my best advice for you now."
Setsuna caught Michiru's confused stare and held the contact. She needed to be sure that the girl understood her own power. It was in the eyes, she knew what it was. Michiru, deep down, believed that she would not be led astray by her sixth sense; she just needed to be fully confident in that.
Slowly, Michiru nodded in acceptance. "Then I wish you success, Sailor Senshi." She gave her a quick uneasy embrace and stepped back. A whispered command, a wave of her key, and she was gone. This time without a promise of return, or even a goodbye.
Strangely Michiru did not feel left alone. In her short speech the Time Keeper had given Michiru back control over her life. Damn, but this is making my head hurt! Michiru thought peevishly as the situation played over and over in her mind. She herself did not know- as it was beginning to be the usual case- what all of it meant.
She did know however that she had to get money. There was not much she could do at this hour night, but there was always tomorrow.
Michiru scowled as another thought struck her: if she failed the result could be no tomorrow. If there was just the slightest mistake in the way she went about bringing in Uranus, and then how they should find the talismans, the Darkness would take over.
A fine shudder went through her at the possibility.
Michiru did not want to contemplate it anymore, she was going to sleep and start working in the morning. Rooting around in her bag for a hair brush her hand closed over a small piece of paper. Not being in the habit of letting garbage clutter her bag, she pulled it out..
Turning it over Michiru saw that it was a calling card. And then it came back to her, Mrs. Rapport had given her this man's number in case she needed any sort of help. This will come in most handy, Michiru thought with satisfaction. She'll place a call first thing in the morning.
Michiru did not feel very comfortable asking strangers for a favor, but she could always pay it back with either her music or art. And a recommendation to a high school was not such a grand thing, was it?
The possibilities ran through her mind all evening long until, exhausted, Michiru finally was in bed. Only then did she once more of the edge she had heard in her comrade's voice. Setsuna was hiding something, or rather just not telling her. For all that though, Michiru did not think that the cause had to do with her and Uranus. Perhaps there was new work for the inner Senshi, or there was a ripple in time of some sort. Sailor Pluto would have told her if she was following the wrong path.
It was also at that late hour, when her mind was drifting before sleep, that she resolved how she would approach Ten'ou. She'd wait for some time. Watch the girl and get to know her from afar so as to know her strengths and weaknesses. Then, at the moment she knew enough to trust her with the knowledge of the Power of Uranus, she'd tell her.
Yes, that sounded like an excellent plan of action. She felt confident that Ten'ou would prove trustworthy and strong, she had the look of a great worrier about her.
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Mistress9 felt the ripple of Power as Sailor Uranus became aware of who she was. The sting of that blow, however was tempered by the knowledge that she was trying to fight her true self. A reluctant Senshi was easily susceptible to persuasion.
But that will not be the coarse for some time, Mistress9 shook her head regretfully. Uranus will have to be trained and she herself was currently incapable of doing so. Perhaps later, when the time is closer to the summit. Then she'll have the strength it takes to turn a soldier.
She threw out her mind to see what her Professor was up to. After a bit of searching she focused in on the slight man. With satisfaction she noted that he was training a new daimon for her. This one was based on the genetics of a bird, with powerful wings and over-sharp talons. The great thing was still young and untried, but she did not think it would be too long in maturing.
That was the one aspect of Tomoe's daimons that she did not like. Those things of his took too long to grow up. He grew them out of selected genetic materials that were more or less natural. Once the things were born they had to be trained and taught- sort of- so that they will be able to fulfill their mission. Which usually was centered around collecting pure heart crystals on which she fed. On occasion the things spent up to two months growing, and it was not as if Tomoe was able to raise more then one or two at a time.
Aggravated by her thoughts of slow productivity she withdrew her mind from the dark room to return back into herself. Not much of a self she had at the moment either. Depressed and on edge, Mistress9 threw her mind into a sort of passing. She needed something to cheer herself up with.
Ah, of coarse, the little one. She was always a pleasure to watch, the small child. Sickly and weak as she was physically, great Power coursed through her veins. The child was asleep at the moment. She was just recovering from a recent fit of seizures which came upon her when she exerted herself too much.
She did not mind the child stretching herself out a bit now and then. that way she learned what she could or could not do, later she'd make fewer mistakes. The sleeping mind gave but a token struggle to the woman's intrusion. The mind was complex, not that of an ordinary child. But she knew her way around, she'd been visiting for a while. There, in the deep reaches of the unconscious, she found the darkness which she'd been cultivating for the last two years.
She past through her walls and basked in the darkness. Strong, thick darkness., that engulfed the part of the brain and would never be banished. Even if all failed, this bit of mind would be hers fully.
In the midst of all the thoughts of short comings, this one bit of full dominance was a comfort better then a pure heart. Although those were most satisfying as well.
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At 6:30 am Haruka gave up trying to fall asleep and pulled herself out of bed. This is going to be a hell of a bad day.
No matter how she tried to avoid it her thoughts kept coming back to her dream and the episode last night by the gym. The two had to be connected. Whoever foretold her future was at hand to make her face it as well. But that was not going to happen. Haruka will not let anyone direct her destiny, she was her own master. After years of working to make it just so, she would not let go at this time. A part of her insisted that the future was inevitable. She ruthlessly silenced the treacherous voice.
What she truly needed was a change of pace. Perhaps some new competition or another hobby. Her mind hooking on to the first thought
she headed for the phone, coffee mug in hand.
The speed dialer rang up her unofficial trainer, he knew of every
contest in the surrounding 300 miles, and how to get in. After the third ring the machine picked up. "Terung, this is Ten'ou Haruka. I'm looking for another trophy, give me a call."
Feeling instantly better and more in control, Haruka started seriously thinking of breakfast. The remnants of her strange dream did not tough her for the rest of the day, only at night was she once more disturbed by a green-haired apparition.
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Michiru on the other hand had the best rest she had had in the last two weeks since she had found her true self.
By the time she was up Esra had already left for school and St. John had disappeared on business. Following the instructions of an abrupt note Michiru made herself more or less at home in the kitchen.
After breakfast she took a few minutes to construct a list of things to do in their order of priority.
The phone call to Mrs. Rapport's friend landed right on top. Hopefully- if indeed the gentleman was as willing as she was led to believe- he would help her take care of all the other points on her list.
She did not, however get the chance to progress any farther then just getting up the courage to call a total stranger and arranging her thoughts as to what she was going to ask. Daniel chose that time to return. And he was famished.
"If you're willing to wait a little, I can have lunch ready in thirty minutes or so." She offered putting away the little piece of paper and getting up to go to the kitchen.
"I thought we'd go out, visit the local establishments and such." Daniel replied in an of hand way, as if it was the obvious rational choice of action.
"As you say." Michiru agreed mildly. He had become quite infuriating after the revelation of who they really were, and now she only wished for him to leave. Once he was gone he would take the ache in her heart with him and all would be done.
Lunch was a short affair. They did not really want to speak and any conversation was rather strained. The food was excellent though, Michiru mussed to herself. Better then anything she would have been able to prepare.
She glanced briefly at Daniel, who sat across from her. His head was intently bent to his food, as if his plate contained the answers to all of life's greatest secrets. He didn't even seem to be enjoying himself, or the meal for that matter.
"I am leaving tonight.' he said without raising his face. "I booked a flight back into London this morning. It's scheduled for 7:48, that'll give us all plenty of time to say our good-byes." His fork savagely stabbed something with a sickly wet sound.
Michiru did not respond. What was there that she could say now? Sadness and joy mixed and warred within her. She was glad he was going, nothing good would come at his staying. But at the same time she was letting go of a part of herself with him. It was because of this man that she had discovered the deadliest power of Neptune, and found Uranus so easily as well. Both would have come to her eventually, yet they'd be forever associated with him now.
"It is for the best that you leave." She said quietly. Daniel looked up sharply at that. Whatever sparked in his eyes was put out before Michiru could define it. "Yes, I believe it is." He finally agreed.
They said nothing else for the rest of their meal Michiru concentrated on thinking up what she'd say to Mr. Sakoturo when they spoke. She had to make the best impression possible.
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Sakoturo sat at his office desk leisurely going through this month's list of musical bookings and coming performances. At his secretary's prompting he picked up line three, a number known only to an elite group of friends.
"Hello." He inquired slowly changing his position.
"Mr. Sakoturo, good morning. This is Kaiou Michiru, I'm calling upon the recommendation of Mrs. Rapport, she said we might be of help to each other."
The voice on the other end was pleasant and calm, like the steady flow of the tide. However it was the name that spared recognition in his mind. Quickly thinking back to his last conversation with the portly little woman.
"Ah, yes. The promising musician and artist whom my dearest cousin met on the train. I've been strongly instructed to help you in any way possible."
The other end was silent for a moment as the young woman digested that. "In truth," she said haltingly after a bit, "I was hoping you could perhaps advice me as to where I might be able to find work, or perhaps sell a few paintings. I'm alone in Tokyo and I'll need to find board..." she drifted off, reluctant to say too much.
"Don't worry child," he consoled her from her faltering, "If you are half as good as I've been led to believe it would be my greatest pleasure to help you in any way.
"But before I can promise anything, we must meet. Perhaps a lunch appointment next week?' You will bring your portfolio and maybe play for me a bit?"
"Of course, of course!" The girl was quick to assure him, "I'll be transferring to a new school this week, when ever it will be convenient for you is fine by me."
"Have you a place to stay until then? I don't think you should go looking for an apartment on your own. The landlords here are savage, it would be best if I could come with you."
"I'm staying with a friend now, thank you. I have not yet even started looking for a place to live. Once again, any assistance will be greatly appreciated."
He set a date and took the girl's number before they hung up. Once the call was over the agent leaned back to think it all over. Her name was not unfamiliar, there had been a couple of articles that he'd come across which spoke of the young artist and performer protégé.
She held a lot of promise. Her work had reached lesser galleries so favored by tourists. He had little doubt that he was progressing by sponsoring her. The question that remained however, was how she'll respond to his way of help. He had had the misfortune of sponsoring those who were most ungrateful. He was not willing to lose that much investment again.
But he should not worry so soon. He was meeting the chit, wasn't he? He was a good judge of an artists drive.
And dismissing the matter from his mind, the old man returned to his papers.
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Um, if anyone can think of a first name for Sakoturo, it will be greatly appreciated, cuz at the moment I can't think of one for the life of me.
And as always comments and suggestions are very welcome, the address is right on top (:
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed,
Lady Hesperide