Haruka stared at the ceiling of her hospital room. 'Kami-sama… this is sooooo boring!' She thought in a whiney tone. She hated being pent up, unable to go anywhere, and she refused to see that hurt look on Michiru's face when she escaped the clutches of the doctors.
Haruka carefully flexed her fingers, and winced at the pain. Her shoulder had been dislocated, and the nerves that had been pinched were still burning. She felt like punching something, but decided against it, as she might have to stay at the hospital even longer.
"K'so! I'm leaving tomorrow no matter what anyone says!" She growled to herself.
"Pardon?" Haruka almost jumped, but quickly identified Taiki's voice.
"Nothing…" Haruka sighed. Taiki chuckled quietly.
"You really can't stand not moving, can you?" Taiki asked, smiling. Haruka couldn't help but smile back, even if it was a very small one.
"Ne... I can't feel the wind…" Haruka said quietly. Taiki sat down on a chair beside the bed.
"I have some news that may or may not cheer you up…" Taiki began, and that's when Haruka noticed a brown bag that Taiki had brought in.
"What's in the bag?" Haruka interrupted. Taiki blinked.
"Nani? Oh yeah!" Taiki exclaimed, and thrust the bag at Haruka. "Michiru-san managed to find you something good to eat…" Haruka opened the bag, and thanked whatever gods were listening for the salad.
"Che'… if the wounds don't kill me, the hospital food will…" Taiki rolled his eyes. "By the way, where is Michiru?"
"She's talking to Ami-tachi. Updating and stuff." Haruka nodded. Taiki looked fidgety.
"What's wrong?" Haruka asked, her mouth full of salad, sighing blissfully.
"Well… it seems that the knight…" Haruka stopped chewing abruptly. "Er… some strange things have happened."
"Such as?" Haruka asked darkly. 'Shimatta! I shouldn't leave them all alone!'
"Ne… don't scare him Haruka!" Michiru walked in suddenly, laughing at Taiki's expression. Haruka grunted disdainfully.
"Uh… well… the knight, Hikyou, he's uhm… awake…" Haruka jumped out of the bed, and headed towards the door, ignoring the pain in her shoulders, legs, and just about everywhere else…
"Haruka!" Michiru yelled, grabbing Haruka as gently as possible.
"Iya! They shouldn't-" Haruka doubled over in pain, clutching her sides. Michiru and Taiki helped her back to the bed.
"What can you seriously expect to do in bed?" Michiru scolded.
"Hmmph. I won't be in the bed for much longer…" Haruka growled. Taiki sweat dropped. 'Stars…'
"I seriously doubt that, Tenoh-san." Everyone started as Doctor Mizuno walked in the door, with a wry smile on her face.
"Konban wa, Mizuno-Isha." Michiru said politely. She nodded in greetings.
"The results of the x-ray have developed, and I've gone through them. You have a dislocated wrist, and it'' a wonder you haven't felt it. The same goes for your ribs. Three minor scratches, and a little fracture on your collarbone. It's a wonder, that's for sure." Dr.Mizuno sighed.
"What is?" Taiki asked.
"Well, the fact that Tenoh-san here is sitting in basically perfect health. She looks considerably better since the last time I was here, only a few hours ago." Dr.Mizuno walked up to Haruka and took off her stethoscope. Haruka closed her eyes momentarily, as Dr.Mizuno checked her heart. She frowned.
"Tenoh-san, tell me when you feel the first sign of pain…" She waited for Haruka to nod in agreement, and she carefully placed her fingers on Haruka's collarbone, examining it closely.
"What's this?" She said after a few moments. She looked up at Haruka. "You feel no pain?" Haruka nodded. Dr.Mizuno straightened, then took out a notebook from her pocket and began to write in it. "This is very strange indeed, Tenoh-san. After a small examination, I can detect no lacerations around the skin, as well as what should have been a fairly obvious crack… still no pain?" Haruka just tilted her head.
"Why do you ask?" Haruka ask, narrowing her eyes.
"You have made a miraculous recovery… quite remarkable… This is the fastest recovery I've ever seen. It almost seems supernatural." Haruka gritted her teeth and dared a quick glance at Michiru, who was visible shocked. Taiki was concerned.
"Erm… perhaps the x-rays were mixed up, or something." Taiki supplied, blushing under a lie. Dr.Mizuno looked perplexed.
"I suppose… they must have been, for this… The x-rays were taken only a few hours ago." She closed her notebook and sighed. "I'm going to have to double check on that…" She muttered, and left them.
Michiru left out a breath she had been holding. "Goodness. That isn't so good. Perhaps we should leave as soon as possible before they found out those were Haruka's…" Michiru looked at Taiki. "Quick thinking." Taiki blushed and nodded. Haruka snorted.
"S'cuse me if I'm a quick healer. I told you I'd be out of here." Haruka said smugly. Michiru poked her side. Haruka howled in pain.
"One thing is for sure…. If you should make an… ahem… amazing recovery,
we should get out of here soon…" Taiki said quietly. Michiru nodded. Haruka
glared at Michiru.
In the darkness on the room, Tatsumaki tried to forget his troubles. He tried to purge them from his mind and cast them out to the darkness. And tried. And tried…
He was kneeling on the floor beside Seiya's bed, his head resting against Seiya's legs. The senshi of Star Fighter was slowly running his hand through Tatsumaki's hair.
The bedroom was dark, as sunset had been an hour earlier, so the light of the moon shone through the open widows on two figures on the bed. Tatsumaki was kneeling on the floor with his upper body resting on the edge of the bed, and his head on Seiya's lap.
Seiya ran his fingers through Tatsumaki's hair soothingly, murmuring softly. Tatsumaki's sobs had subsided, and now he was sniffling quietly. He lifted his head off of Seiya's lap and looked into Seiya's eyes.
"G… gomen nasai, Seiya-sama…" Tatsumaki whispered, wiping his eyes. Seiya was leaning carefully against the headboard, in a half-sitting position. Even though Tatsumaki couldn't see him very well, he could tell by a sudden warm feeling that Seiya had smiled.
"It's alright Tatsumaki-san." They sat for a few minutes just looking at each other. Tatsumaki could tell that Seiya was a good one to talk to. He felt an unspoken understanding from the male-formed senshi.
Tatsumaki closed his eyes with a weary sigh, and changed his position to sit with his back against the bed. Seiya clasped his hands over his stomach and looked up at what he could see of the ceiling. Nothing really, but he didn't want to break the peaceful silence. For all that Tatsumaki was suffering, he figured that it was necessary… like the peace before the storm, Tatsumaki needed to gather up the courage to ask for help. If he did at all.
"S… Seiya-sama…?" Tatsumaki whispered, with a great amount of fear. Seiya started. Why was he so afraid?
"Hai?" Seiya responded, question apparent in his voice.
"I… I just wanted to know… well… how… did you get Haruka-sama to forgive you?" Seiya choked, turning bright red. He clamped his hands over his mouth, and started laughing hysterically. Tatsumaki jumped back from the bed.
"S… Seiya-sama!!! You've been possessed! What have I done?? Malevolence hasn't left me, oh no!!!!" Tatsumaki was about to run to the other senshi, when Seiya tried to quiet himself.
"N… no!!! Tatsumaki-san…" Seiya's eyes watered, as he tried to silence his laughing. "I'm… I'm fine… just… hehee… I'm not going to tell you how we became friends… it's… it's…" Seiya gave up, and buried his face into the pillow. Tatsumaki's face fell.
"Y… you won't tell me? O… okay…" Tatsumaki looked over at Seiya, who was practically suffocating with laughter, and sweat dropped. "Perhaps I should leave, Seiya-sama…." That shut Seiya right up.
He sat straight up, wincing at the sudden pain. "Owowow…" He looked at Tatsumaki, with a sparkle in his eyes. "Ne, Tatsumaki-san, I don't think you want me to tell you, because it *definitely* won't work for you in that way…"
"W... what? Why…" Seiya coughed.
"Believe me… but I think I can help… Not directly of course, but…" Tatsumaki's eyes lit up, and he sat down beside Seiya, taking Seiya's hands in his own.
"Seiya-sama… Anything you can do to help… if there is anything I can ever do for you… anything, just-"
"Maa… Tatsumaki-san! Don't worry… I know what its like to feel alienated… it's terrible, but you just have to live through it, and hope it works out for the best. I can't guarantee that Haruka-kun will completely forgive you… she holds a grudge a very long time… but she will not just forget. I won't let her." Seiya looked into Tatsumaki's blue eyes fiercely. "There is always hope! Don't give up, no matter what happens… and… I… will help… you…" Tatsumaki started as Seiya suddenly fell asleep, letting go of his arms, and falling face-first into the pillow.
"Seiya-sama?" Tatsumaki asked quietly. A soft snore was his reply. He smiled gently, and tucked Seiya into bed.
He needed a rest, so he left the room in search of his own. He needed
a nap.
A broken city lay cold in the sunset. Lonely winds blew through the desolate landscape, through forgotten streets and abandoned homes. Blood covered the cracked, parched earth in many places, its copper-red matching the hair of a beautiful princess.
Standing amongst the destruction, she rubs her bare arms with trembling fingers. A small tear escapes her red eyes, and trails down her face, leaving a line of wetness through the dust. She sighs bitterly, and turns to face the golden warrior beside her.
"Kakyuu…" Said the figure, golden sword in her right hand. The young red-head in the black crown nodded.
"I know we've begun re-building, but there is still so much… blood… and… phantoms…"
"I… I'm sorry… you know that…" The golden figure said bitterly. Kakyuu hugged her gently.
"I know, I know… but now that we are together again, and the soldiers are ready… the rebuilding has taken place. Soon, this will be gone… as well as their memories.
"But a new memory will begin. And they will never be forgotten…" The woman said, gesturing to the broken homes with her hands. "And with the resurrection of a new kingdom, three new kingdoms… the Trinity will be stronger than ever. And no one will ever be alone again… I promise."
The young princess looked at the golden senshi, her hair cascading from the sides of her face. New tears joined the first, and she smiled, then lifted her head to watch the skies.
"The stars are aligned well… The future brings much in the way of good fortune." She looked back, into another pair of red eyes. "Come, Galaxia. There is much to do."
The two walked slowly back to the new Tankei castle, to finish the repairs.
White. Blank… nothing… falling… falling… falling from grace…
"…fallen from grace!!"
"N... nani?!" Minako spun around, to face the person who dared accuse her… only to find she wasn't being accused. She stood in the middle of a blank landscape, nothing around her, but white mist. It swirled around her, and two other figures.
"G… gomen nasai… It wasn't my fault!!! I didn't do it!" Said a young, blond-haired child, who was cowering with fear on the ground. Minako ran up to her, and tried gathering the girl into her arms, but she went right through…
"How??" She squeaked, falling face first into the floor… or whatever. She looked up angrily at the accuser, and found only a large black, human shaped mist.
"You have fallen from your grace… once more, we are disgraced!! How are we supposed to protect the Trinity, when we have a rogue… senshi, of all things… playing with the betrayers of Pluto! They are outcasts!"
"Demo… they haven't been ignored by the Trinity…" The girls sniffled.
"QUIET!!! The Trinity is only too nice to say what we others have realized about the scum!" The girl looked up with rage, ears falling angrily from her eyes.
"IYA! I won't believe they betrayed the Trinity! Never!!! It is YOU who betrays the Holy Three!! I won't believe you!!!" The girl screamed.
The black mist seemed to growl with outrage, and the growling became louder… and louder…
So much louder, in fact, that Minako had to cover her ears when it became unbearable.
"YAMETE!!!" Someone screamed, and Minako wrenched her hands away from her ears, realizing that it was her who was producing the sound. She clamped her mouth shut to stop the screaming. She stared in shock at someone who seemed… to look just like her. Only a little younger, with pale, pale green eyes…
"Masaka…" Minako mumbled, and she reached out slowly. The girls did too, and Minako felt a jolt of electricity when their fingertips touched. "Who… who are you? You look just like me…" Minako whispered, afraid to speak too loudly, lest the girl disappear. She gasped. On the girl's forehead, shining very brightly… was the crest of Venus. The yellow heart…
"Princess…" The girl whispered tearfully, then flung herself into Minako's arms. That's when Minako noticed that she was wearing imperial robes. Her imperial robes, from the silver millenium… "Why were you screaming? I… gomen nasai, princess! They are going to take me away this time, because of my love for him…" The girl sniffled, and hung onto Minako tightly. Minako patted the girls hair soothingly, and tried to get the girl to calm down.
"Who? Who are you? Who's taking you away…" Minako asked.
"The council, Princess! They caught me last time, and I'm sorry! I shouldn't have left… who will protect my crystal now? Who will replace me??" The girl sobbed.
"I don't know, but…" Minako stiffened as the girl suddenly dug her fingers into Minako's sides.
"No one…" Said a growling, dark voice, coming from the girl.
"ITAI!" Minako screamed. "Let me go!!!"
"No one… I'm the only one… they… won't… take… me… AWAY!!!" Minako screamed as the girl bit into her neck, trying feebly to get her to let go. Minako heard the growling again, only this time she didn't have the strength to cover her ears. It got louder, and louder… seeming to engulf her… The pain was unbearable… the girl seemed to be giggling like crazy…
"NO! STOP!! ITAI! LET ME GO!!! NOOOOOO!!!"
"NOOOOOO!!!"
"Minako-chan!! Minako-chan!!" Minako sat bolt upright in bed. She was shivering with fright. Perhaps that's why her mother's hands felt so hot on her bare shoulders. "Minako-chan! Snap out of it!!!"
"Mama…" Minako whimpered, and looked up into her mom's eyes. "G… gomen nasai, mama… Just a bad dream… I didn't mean to wake you…" Minako whispered. Her mother put her hand to Minako's forehead, frowning.
"Are you all right dear? Would you like some aspirin?" Minako shook her head numbly.
"Iie… arigato, mama… I think I just need more sleep." Her mother frowned once more, then got up to shut off the lights.
"All right, Minako-chan. But I don't want to hear you again, because you refused to take any aspirin.
"No, mama. I won't have any more nightmares…" Minako turned her back to her mom, and lay down. As soon as she heard the door click, she let the tears go, and began shuddering. She hesitantly reached up to her neck…
"Mina?" She jumped out of bed.
"NANI? Who's there?!" She whispered, frightened. Artemis walked into view, and jumped off the window. She saw the troubled green eyes of her trusted friend, and tried to calm down "Gomen, Artemis…"
"Mina, did you have a nightmare? Sorry I wasn't here… Luna just took my watch of the mansion… I tried to hurry…" Minako shook her head, and climbed into bed, lifting the covers for Artemis to join her. He snuggled up against her, rubbing her chin lightly with his head. She sighed, wearily, and put her arms around him.
"What happened, Mina?" Artemis asked quietly, his whiskers tickling her chin.
"A nightmare Artemis… A bad one…"
The night was unusually dark in the Azabu district of Tokyo. For a very good reason, too. Dark nights were always perfect for sneaking around. Which was exactly what the small white-cloaked figure was doing.
The streets were darkened, and for some reason, wherever the figure went, the street lights in its immediate vicinity would flicker, and turn out, the re-light when it was gone.
The figure turned a corner, then ducked into an alley, kicking open a door, and running into a jewelry store.
"Stop right there." The figure said, in an undoubtedly feminine voice. "Away from that." She seemed to snarl.
Another figure, this time clad in black, turned around from what it was doing. "W… what are you doing here? It's impossible!!! You don't belong here!" The black figure rasped, and the girl smiled slightly.
"You don't belong here, monster! Away from the energy!" The girl said quietly, and menacingly. The black figure backed away from a black beam of energy it had been hunched over.
"You… have no right!" It backed against the wall, trembling. The girl in white kneeled beside the black energy, which was emanating from the center of a silver pattern on the floor. A square inside a circle. It was black as night.
The girl pulled a small blue crystal from her cloak, and fitted it into the center if the beam, which immediately flickered, turning pure white. She smiled.
"How dare you! My master will not be pleased!" The black figure cried, and ran towards the girl, claws outstretched, glinting in the light.
A flash of gold from the girl's cloak, and the black figure lay twitching on the ground. The girl looked at the figure with a sad smile. "I'm sorry, but I cannot allow your kind to secure the points. I will get them all, and it would do you well not to touch my protections on them. Tell your master I will see her in the future.
"You'll will die for this!" The creature rasped, trying to drag itself towards the light.
"I know." Said the girl quietly, and she left the store at a brisk run.
She heard a shrill, endless scream when the monster decided to touch
the light…
Tatsumaki sat straight up in bed. 'What was that??' he wondered, in fear. 'Please don't be Malevolence… no, not again… that growling sound…' He noticed that the sound, the low grumbling, was coming form the window. He edged over to it, and slowly opened the curtains.
He yelped when he saw a yellow torpedo speeding down the driveway of the mansion. "N… nani? What's that!!" It stopped, and Tatsumaki realized it was one of those… human travelling devices. "Odd… What is it doing here?"
He ran quickly, but stealthily out of his room, past Seiya, Makoto, and Hotaru's room, and to the large front doors of the mansion. He took a deep breath, and edged them open. He had to make sure the yellow contraption meant no harm… as well as the people inside it.
He walked slowly down the front steps, and went to confront the car. It had moved to just a few feet where he was, and the door of it opened. He jumped at the motion, but tried to calm himself down. 'If it is an enemy, I must fight it!' He thought to himself fiercely.
Three figures came out of the car. First an aqua-haired woman with sea blue eyes, then, a tall man with long brown hair in a tapered ponytail holding a gray cat. Luna, he remembered. 'So they must be friends.' The aqua-haired one then helped someone else out of the car.
He felt a wrenching feeling in his heart and soul, and then re realized why. A tall, beautiful blond woman stepped carefully out of the car. Her eyes were the blue-green of all the Uranians. He gasped loudly, and they all quickly turned to look at him. His eyes met hers.
Tatsumaki felt all the color drain from his face. And then he was gone,
into the woods behind the mansion.