Disclaimers:

Konnichiwa! I'm Sakurako Yume (Yume Sakurako, in English) and this is my first time EVER posting a fanfic! I'm excited! This will be a slow work in process and it may take a while before the next part, so I hope you'll review and please be nice! Flames will be ignored, however constructive criticism would be appreciated and a little advice would be nice! *wink; smile* ^_^

Now, to the actual disclaimers! None of the stuff here belongs to me. except, maybe the idea and concept of the story! It's quite angsty and AU and it's a crossover between Sailor Moon and Weiss Kreuz. one of those, 'what if' kinda stories. And, I'm telling you this NOW, I'm a Tot fan. I find her innocence very similar to mine! (although I would never consider calling Masafumi 'papa' *shudder*)

Oh, and a couple little side notes; I'm working on a self-insertion story for WK, so keep an eye out for it! It's called 'Shadows of Weiss Kreuz: Haiiro Hane' (and I PROMISE to try and not turn it in to a Girls-joins- Weiss story!) and another lil' ficlet thingie about a strange idea some friends and I came up with. (I'll refer to them as 'sisters' from here on, k?_

Ah, enough of my talk!

Hope you enjoy the story!

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A Different Path

By: Sakurako Yume

Prologue: Soldier of Wind, Soldier of Sea

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It was dark.

She hurt all over... intense pain...

She couldn't remember where she was, but she didn't care.

There was no air...

...she felt trapped...

She wanted OUT!!

Scrambling to get her bearings, the young girl placed her hands against whatever it was that pinned her body down and took a firm, unmoving position. With a grunt and a push, she managed to get the large piece of debris off her and smiled as she felt the cool air of the night enter her lungs. She panted, willing herself to calm down as she let her eyes adjust to the pitch-blackness around her. Her hand fell to something soft on her lap and she brought it up to her face. She blinked, realizing it was an article of clothing... namely, the jacket of a certain Schwarz assassin.

She hugged it to her chest like it were Rabbi-chan and started to desperately search for the others from her spot, for she could not feel her legs and couldn't move.

"Schoen?" She called out quietly, waiting for a response.

"Hel? Neu? Nagi?!"

She panicked. No... she couldn't be by herself! She couldn't!

"Aya!? Ken!? Youji!? Omi!?"

No answer.

"Crawford!? Schuldig!? Farferello!?"

Oh, gawd, she was alone! They'd all left her alone! She knew they weren't dead. Youji and Crawford's separate colognes were still fresh in the air and Schoen's perfume mingled with Hel's in that same peculiar scent it always left where they walked. They probably all thought her dead and went somewhere to get away... and she was all alone again...

"Daijoubu?"

She jumped at the kind voice and turned to find the most beautiful pair of blue eyes she'd ever seen, matching perfectly with the sun-golden hair that framed a pretty, tomboyish face.

There was a slight, coy smile on the woman (or man's, she still wasn't sure) lips as she/he stood there, manner showing a care-free aura that seemed quite similar to her own, except... purer, almost.

"Daijoubu, koneko?"

"Eh?" She blinked and realization of what she/he said caused her to give a light blush. "Uh, not really... I can't get up and... I'm lost and... alone..."

There was a shuffling of feet as the person moved to kneel next to her. A gently, slightly roughed hand reached over to tilt her chin up to look in to her own sea-blue eyes, searching for something.

"Pain..." was the whisper that came from the person's lips. "That's what's bothering you... pain..."

She nodded slightly, swallowing a lump in her throat at the word.

Those deep azure orbs softened and the person released her chin and smiled lightly.

"Don't worry, koneko... you'll be fine."

She smiled back, but blinked again when she realized that this was stranger...

"What is your name?"

There was a light chuckle at that.

"Me? My name is Tenou Haruka, and I'm a woman, in case you're wondering..." she tilted her head slightly, as if to observe her features from a different angle. "What's your name, koneko?"

"I'm..." she paused for a moment.

Should she use her code name? Or her given name from her Masafumi-papa?

No... Haruka-san would probably think she was a bad person...

She frowned and her nose crinkled in thought of using her real name... the one her bad papa had given her... but...

She perked up...

...but... I can use my first name and use mama's last name!

She smiled and looked up and sandy haired tomboy with mischievous eyes.

"My name is Michiru... Kaiou Michiru."

"Well, Michiru, I have been searching for you."

'Michiru' tilted her head to the side.

"Searching for me?"

"Hai..." Haruka suddenly let off a soft amber-yellow glow. There was a strange symbol on her forehead as well, engraved in the same color. Michiru's eyes widened at the sudden burst of color that emitted from the woman's form without warning and recalled everything Masafumi taught her about the solar system.

"The symbol of Uranus..." She murmured, reaching out slowly to gently brush her fingers over the symbol to see if it was real. The moment her fingers made contact, a soft teal glow surrounded her, mingling with the yellowish light from the other woman.

She felt a powerful and strong warmth that caused her to trembled at its overwhelming force yet also allowing her bask in the comfort that was this strange light as Haruka gently clasped her hands in her own. There was a tingling sensation that rush through her being and touched her mind...

CRASH!!!

She jolted at the sudden sound in her ears as pictures came flooding back in rush.

FLASH!

A large palace...

FLASH!

The Earth so far...

FLASH!

Herself with several other women, all dressed in sailor-like fukus...

FLASH!

A princess, with golden-silver hair in odangos and pigtails, dressed in white...

FLASH!

A prince with dark hair and dark blue eyes, adorned in black armor...

FLASH!

Countless shadows with inverted black crescents...

FLASH!

A crystal...

FLASH!

What did it all mean?

FLASH!

Michiru gasped and clasped her head, eyes tearing up at the pictures she saw in her head, trying to make sense of it all.

"I... I remember... a past..." she said, trembling. "But, I don't understand any of this! What is it?" She looked up at Haruka desperately. "Tell me!"

"All in time, Michiru-san..." she murmured soothingly. "First, we must get you to Setsuna-san... she can heal you and help me explain who you really are." She bent down and gestured for the younger woman to climb on to her back. When she did so, the taller woman stood up and started towards a yellow convertible parked near-by, carefully balancing the smaller form so that she wouldn't fall off.

"Who I really am?" the teal-haired woman repeated.

Haruka nodded.

"I have been searching for you all of my life, Michiru... and I won't ever let you slip away from me. You'll never feel pain or be alone again... not while I'm here... I promise."

"Promise..." she murmured, not noticing how her arms tightened around the other woman's neck.

Slowly, the jacket slipped from her fingers as she was placed in the passenger side of the car. Haruka strapped her in, making sure she was all right, before jumping over in to the driver's seat and turning on the engine. She looked over the side the article that had fallen, but shook her head against it and turned back to her task. She moved the car back on to the street and drove away.

Michiru closed her eyes as they left the depressing scene of a collapsed building, feeling sleepy.

Yes, she was leaving her old life behind. It was a second sure, but this time it was going to be a better life, if she had Haruka with her and all those friends... a better life...

She sighed and let herself fall asleep...

...Forgetting her abusive father...

...Forgetting Masafumi-papa...

...Forgetting Schereient...

...Forgetting Weiss...

...Forgetting Schwarz...

...and forgetting about the blue school jacket left discarded by the road.

~To Be Continued.

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Well, what do you think? R/R and any and all suggestions are welcome! So, be sure to throw any ideas at me and I'll try to add them in to future chapters! Well, gotta go now.

Ja, minna! Until the next chapter.

Sakurako Yume