Visions

Setsuna sighed as she watched the night sky. It had been ten months since her father had left for the Moon Kingdom. She wondered when the war would ever be over. Her mother was better than when Naraku left her. At first the queen moved to depression, only letting Setsuna in her life. At least, the queen and princess have gotten better adapted to the situation and are ready to continue with life somewhat. Atae approached her daughter.

"Trying to see if you could get a vision of him? It's hard…but I guess you could make it possible," the queen said gently.

The princess shook her head, "No, I was just wondering whether or not he's made it to the castle yet."

Atae chuckled, "It doesn't take ten months for your father to get to the Earth's moon. Surely he'd arrive by now. Come, it's time for supper. It won't do you any good just standing here and looking at the sky."

"I guess you're right, Mama," Setsuna said, following her mother to the dining room.

The nobles and guests on the table greeted the 14-year-old princess as she went to her seat. Then they continued with their conversations about politics, business, and other subjects. Setsuna could only hear bits and pieces of it from certain people. But, she did hear one group talking about the war of the Moon Kingdom against Chaos. This Setsuna tried to listen to.

"…Yes, I've heard the second line of defense is pushing Chaos back…"

"…But you can't really rely on rumors about you…"

"…No, I've heard this directly from a soldier…"

"…In…army?"

"…Saien's…Neptune…queen…"

"…Shh…we shouldn't be talking of these matters around these parts."

With that, no more talk of the war could be heard. Setsuna sighed. At least she had an idea of what was going on. Even her mother wouldn't indulge her on such secrets. She looked at the queen, who was talking to one of her advisors. Atae was smiling and laughing, but Setsuna knew it was only a mask her mother put up around her. The queen had other things on her mind.

Not hungry, Setsuna bade herself to be excused and took a walk in the garden. Ariella was found spraying the flowers with water. The nurse maid turned to Setsuna. "You've finished dinner already?"

"I wasn't hungry," was the reply.

"Oh, really, Setsuna-hime," Ariella scolded her, "How will you keep your strength if you're not going to eat anything? It's not healthy."

Setsuna shrugged, "The food wasn't appetizing anyway. Maybe I'll eat later tonight, where the talk of war isn't included."

The maid sighed, "They've been at it, again, have they? Those lousy courtiers, talking of rumors that are either all false or half true. Don't bother to listen to them. If you want facts, go to your mother. Otherwise, steer clear from the nobles."

"Mama won't tell me anything," Setsuna replied, "She says that I shouldn't be filled with worry over it. My training as a senshi should be filled with commitment."

"And the queen's right, you know."

"But I do want to know what's happened to my father."

"In due time, my lady, in due time."

Yes, it was in due time that she would know about her father, Setsuna was thinking. She didn't know that great omens were coming to her that night. And, this was the start of her battle against darkness, mentally challenging it to destroy her heart. The senshi of time got up from the cypress tree and went back inside her room, able to return to her slumber. It was only a few minutes when she went back to sleep and dreamt more of the past life that she's left behind.

Atae looked out from her balcony and saw Setsuna talking with Ariella. She smiled. It was good that the princess found someone to confide to other than her mother. A maid friend is as good if not better than a mother. The queen looked up at the sky as well and saw a glimpse of something red. She focused her eyes and saw a staff falling from the sky and landing at her feet. What she saw made her pale and weak in the knees. Atae grabbed the staff before anyone else would notice it and made it disappear. It will only show back up when the time is right. The queen quickly headed to her room to cry.

Setsuna saw her troubled mother and frowned. What was wrong? The princess headed towards her own room to gaze at her mirror. She forced a certain vision to appear to her. Lights flashed and she found herself in the same battlefield as before. This time, Setsuna was seeing the continuation of that battle.

Her father had been holding a staff with a red jewel on it. It blazed through the darkness and protected the king. As he pushed Chaos' forces back, the light glowed stronger. But, when Chaos saw his armies weakening, he sent in more enemies for the ruler of Pluto to vanquish. At this point, a blast of darkness engulfed Naraku's steed.

The king looked on hopelessly as his armies were destroyed. With one last power, he held his staff, and made it disappear. He whispered something only Setsuna heard, "Setsuna…I wish you an early 16th birthday…"

Darkness covered the king and as it disappeared, so did Naraku's body, leaving nothing behind but a red jewel that vanished into the sky, heading towards Pluto. As the vision came to a close, Setsuna wiped her eyes. Now she knew why her mother looked so panic stricken and sad. But, why did he have to die so soon? Why couldn't he have gone on like the rest of the rulers? Setsuna's sadness was quickly overcome by anger, and then, she felt nothing. Her emotions were numbed and she could think of nothing but her duty to her kingdom and to her father.

"Papa, Chaos will be destroyed, and you'll be avenged soon," was Setsuna's promise, "I promise, as the Senshi of Time, that the future of the universe will not be destroyed. I will die for it, as you have for us."

She refused to shed another tear, and headed to her balcony. That's where she kept a long, sleepless night, emptying her mind and keeping the overwhelming despair from defeating her. In due time, the coming of the senshi's battle was getting nearer, and Setsuna would fight her hardest for it.