Setsuna couldn't believe that she had agreed to Hotaru to take the others away, and regretted the decision as soon as she heard horrified screams from the northern direction of the field. She gathered Haruka and Michiru and dragged them over to where she had last seen the inner Senshi. Thank heavens they hadn't moved,
"Guys, what should we do?" Usagi asked as they ran up to them.
"Go destroy whoever it is!" Haruka said with conviction, but Setsuna spoke up before anyone could agree.
"No. We're going; we have to get out of here. Michiru, Ami, Usagi, and Makoto, you four go head towards the subway. Minako, Haruka, Rei and I will head towards the shopping district. In a half hour, head towards the temple. We'll all meet there." Setsuna said, waiting for acknowledgement before heading off towards the mall. She knew Michiru and Makoto would listen to her and follow orders, and the rest of them split up and headed in opposite directions with minimal discrepancies, partially afraid to provoke the wrath of the Deity of Time, partially worried that Setsuna wanted them gone from the area. One group went to the east and the other to the west.
As soon as the others had caught up to Setsuna's brisk pace, Haruka spoke up. "Why aren't we fighting?" She asked as she saw the worried look in her eyes. Setsuna just hung her head and kept walking.
"It's being taken care of." She said in a monotone.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rei said, starting to look concerned. "Setsuna… where's…"
"Don't worry about it." Setsuna said in an uncharacteristic tone of voice. Rei and the others instantly backed off, not daring to provoke her anymore.
*****
Michiru and Makoto lead the group away to the west, towards the subway. "Why aren't we fighting?" Makoto asked.
"I don't know. But if you ask me, Setsuna seemed really nervous." Ami said as they entered the subway station. "It's not like her to be worried." She commented as they bought tickets and searched for passes.
"I don't like it either, but she must have known what's going on, even if it wasn't the obvious choice." Michiru said as they stood around waiting for the Subway.
"Yeah, she must have had a good reason for what happened. She always does." Usagi said, trying to lift the sullen spirits of her friends. "Sheesh, I wish we got to go to the shopping district…" Usagi rambled on before Makoto gave her a playful backhand. Usagi just smiled as she saw the smiles and muffled laughter of her comrades.
*****
I walked home slowly, not tired after the simplistic battle, but taking the time to reflect about problems and stuff that just made me think harder. I tried to not consider them, but it was hard. I hated thinking about such depressing things; I rarely did things that I enjoyed anymore. I can't remember the last time I painted, or practiced music.
Before I knew it, I was on the doorstep of the outer's house, and finding that I didn't have my keys, I fumbled around behind the trellis for the spare key. I picked it up and unlocked the door; I knew that no one was home. Perfect. Just have time to do whatever I want, nobody to bug me. And I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
Nobody knew it, but I was – self-proclaimed while trying not to sound egotistical – a good singer, and could play the violin, flute and piano. I never did it when anyone was around, because I couldn't stand the thought of an audience, but it was something that took my mind off things. I couldn't play most songs, like the ones on paper or anything, but I was much better when I just shut out everything and played from the heart. No one would guess it either, but I was also the best ballet dancer around back in the Silver Millennium. Damn it, I haven't practiced ballet in ages. I'm probably rusty, but maybe another day.
I walked up to a small room that Michiru called "The Music Room". It was just a small room that she kept books and things in, more like a library, actually, but she kept her violin and a piano in here. She didn't actually know that I had a flute, or that I could play one. Hell, I don't know that I could play one, until I picked it up one day and blew in it. It used to belong to my mother, and it was one of the few things she had left for me. I had also tried the piano and violin, and I was pretty surprised that I could play them, as well. Just born a natural… actually, that's probably from a past life, but who's to say?
I picked up Michiru's violin, careful not to break it. I knew that it was very expensive, and couldn't afford to buy her a new one if I destroyed it. Not that I would, but you're careful anyways. I plucked away at the strings, to check if they were in tune. Of course they were; Michiru took better care of her violin that she did herself.
I picked up the bow and ran it across the strings, making a rich, mellow sound. I could see how Michiru loved the violin, in a way, it suited her perfectly; so graceful and elegant. I much preferred the flute, but hey, that's me.
I played a couple songs, just from ear, to get myself warmed up. It had been ages since I played.
I got tired of playing the violin, and walked over to a bookshelf. That was where I hid my flute case, right behind Cars for Dummies, Beginner's guide to Violin, and the Holy Bible. Hey I knew Haruka and Michiru. They would never bruise their ego enough to look at those books, and the Bible isn't exactly approving of their… um, lifestyle.
I opened the case and picked up the three pieces of the flute, putting them together. I aligned them and placed my fingers over the 7 keys needed, unaware that I was glowing a deep purple.
*****
The Outers drove home after regrouping at the temple. They took a subway back to the track to pick up Haruka's car, then headed home, hoping Hotaru would be there. They had at first assumed the worst, but Setsuna convinced them that she was alive and well. Soon, it was all forgotten as they entered their home to hear the sound of music, more specifically, a violin.
"What's that?" Setsuna asked, as she followed the others towards the origin of the music.
"It's not a CD, I don't have that song on disk..." Michiru said as they crept up towards the slightly open door. They peered in to see Hotaru playing the violin.
"I didn't know she could play!" Michiru whispered as she
stared in at the girl who finished the song. It was as if a shadow enshrouded
Hotaru, and they saw her put the violin away and walk over to an unused section
of the large bookcase that encircled the room. She removed a few books and
pulled out a long, thin case from behind them. She set the case down and opened
it, revealing a silver flute.
She pulled the flute up to her lips, and began glowing a deep, startling violet as she played the first few notes.
Michiru, Haruka and Setsuna gaped at the teen through the door as they listened to the music. It was a beautiful song, but an eerie, haunting one. It was very slow, and foreboding, yet was very delicate. Setsuna recalled hearing the song somewhere, but not being able to place significance to it.
Before she could think about it anymore, the song rose up an octave, making her forget all her thoughts and worries. She was carried away until the song ended, and still blinked a couple times, trying to clear her head of the last few notes. It was an absolutely beautiful piece, but she wanted to forget it as soon as possible. She remembered being told that it was a special yet feared song among the Saturnian's kingdom, yet never found out why because it was never talked about.
She looked to the others, Michiru had tears in her eyes, and Haruka just stared, open mouthed at Hotaru, who still didn't know they were there. Setsuna pulled them away as Hotaru turned and placed her flute back in it's hiding spot. They quickly regained their senses and silently ran down the stairs, heading towards the door as Hotaru unknowingly followed them down.
Haruka opened the door and closed it, purposely. Hotaru snapped her head up as she passed them at the doorway.
"Oh, you're back! What took you so long?" She asked, oblivious that she had had an audience.
"Traffic." All three of them said a little too quickly, and Hotaru narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
"Right…" She said as she headed to the kitchen, the others following her, relieved that she didn't suspect… well, much.
"Ok, Hotaru, how was your day?" Setsuna asked, still wondering what had happened to make her send the others away.
"You really want to know?" she asked as she poured herself a glass of juice. She turned to the others and sat down at the island in the middle. She saw the glances from the others, and sighed.
"Fine… well… um, Someone raised a couple warriors from the dead and corrupted them with evil which is a big infringement on my part but I had a dream that if you guys joined the battle that you would be taken captive by them so I made Setsuna promise that she wouldn't let you guys stick around and fight and I took care of them and sent them back to the realm of the dead but I did find out who sent them and what his name is and stuff like that, it wasn't a big deal, I'm gonna go to bed now, c-ya!" She said in one long breath, and with that Hotaru quickly got up and ran for the door. Haruka's hand shot out and grabbed her by the arm, flinging her around and back into the chair.
"Not so fast!" she said as she blocked the door to prevent future escapes. "Mind going over that, this time a little SLOWER???" Haruka said as she crossed her arms and looked down at Hotaru, who was still amazed that she had been flung back.
"Well, alright. That guy who keeps giving me nightmares and who sent Mistress 9 back? His name is apparently – and unoriginally – Master 45." She said, her voice dripping with cynicism. "He's Pharaoh 90's brother… or something along the lines of that. He entered my realm of the dead and revived a couple warriors from the Silver Millennium, from the Saturnian Guard. He corrupted them with his evil, and they were sent to find you guys. The fact that he interfered with the kingdom of the dead, my kingdom, pissed me off. So I sent them back. But earlier, probably 30 seconds earlier, I had had a vision that, if you guys joined the battle, they would capture you. So I made Setsuna promise to send you guys away." Hotaru said, wondering if she was agile enough to dodge Haruka, who was slowly stepping away from the door.
"You have control over the world of the deceased?" Michiru said, not realizing that Hotaru's powers were that far advanced.
"Yeah, I guess so. You guys can control the Wind and Water and Time… don't I get something to play with?" She said, sounding sweet and innocent.
"I don't think Death is something to play around with!" Michiru said, raising her voice slightly in nervousness. She couldn't really imagine Hotaru with the power to control who lives and who dies.
"I was kidding! I don't play around with that! I'm not 6, you know… not anymore at least." She added, hurt that they would doubt her self-control. "And anyway, I don't control it like that! It's more like Pluto and the Time Gates. A doorway into the realm of the netherworld. Although, it's not like I've been there. I know I could if I wanted to, but I have no need to go. Hey, we'll all get there one day eventually, won't we?" She said with a grin. Anyway, like I said, I'm tired, I'm going to bed." And with that, she bolted from the room, leaving a dumbfounded Haruka and Michiru.
They looked over at Setsuna for some clue as to what she was talking about, but the older Senshi stood staring off into space, shock clear on her face.
"What's wrong?" Haruka asked her, placing her hand on her shoulder.
"I remember where I've heard that song now." She said, her eyes brimming with tears.
"You've heard it before, too?" Haruka asked. "I thought I've heard it somewhere, but I don't remember. It must be important, if we remember it." She said as she looked on.
"It's from Saturn, from the Silver millennium… actually, way before it. It was called the Requiem of Ending. All Saturnian's hear it before Death, although they never knew much about it because no one that heard it could remember it for long. The Royal family were the only ones that knew about it in detail, but it was played at the end of a Monarch's lifespan. A calling towards the End"
Haruka and Michiru stared in horror and disbelief at what Setsuna was implying.
"You're not serious…" Haruka trailed off…
"And Hotaru played it…" Michiru added as they saw Setsuna continue off into space.