Yeah, so by now I'd think everyone should've realized that I'm not much of an introduction person. Oh, I forgot to mention in the other chapters... I'm a person who does not particularly enjoy constructive criticism. I know that's what reviews are really for, but I just cannot stand suggestions from others about changing anything to a totally new idea. Small things, sure, I'll think about it. Facts in my story that are totally untrue? Definitely, tell me. Questions asked by people? Sure, I'll try to answer it. But anything more than that, I get edgy. Sorry, I really can't help it. I twitch irritatingly when I get a lot of constructive criticism. It's just my personality. Funny, it sounds like I'm a person who thinks that I do everything perfect. Hm, an interesting thought. Maybe I am that kind of person. Who knows? Anyways, I've tried to hurry along with the next chapter, so here's number six...
Disclaimer: I don't suppose I have to do this for every chapter? Oh well...guess I should be safe, so I don't own any bit of Sailor Moon.
"Wow...this is really beautiful!" Michiru marveled at the exquisite evening gown she was wearing.
Kai nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes, it's very nice indeed. Now, please sit over on that seat facing the mirror."
Michiru obediently walked over to the chair that was placed in front of the dresser. Kai picked up a silver brush and began to run it through Michiru's silky aqua locks. "Oh...if you don't mind me saying so, miss, but your hair is truly beautiful."
Michiru blushed, pleased at the compliment. "Thank you, Kai. You know, Haruka used to say that too." At this, Michiru's smile slowly vanished. The thought of Haruka brought a knot to her stomach. But she forcefully pushed her thoughts away from Haruka. She couldn't concentrate on leaving yet. First, have dinner with the king.
"Miss...are you all right?" Kai politely asked. Michiru quickly looked at the girl. "Oh yes, I'm okay. I was just...thinking." She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. "Oh! Kai...you did this?" Michiru lifted her hand up to her hair. It was styled beautifully into two neat braids that hung over her shoulders. Several strands of hair were left on either side of her face, making her look almost childish but not quite. Kai beamed. "Yes...do you like it?"
"Oh of course I like it! It's beautiful!" Michiru quickly replied. "So...now am I ready?" Kai nodded. "Yes, you are. This way, please." She began walking towards the door. Michiru stood up hesitantly, suddenly nervous. But she followed Kai out the door. They walked down the long hall and down a flight of stairs. They reached an entrance to another room. "In here, please." Kai led Michiru through the door. "This is the Great Hall. The king will be here in a few moments." Michiru looked around her. The place certainly looked like a great hall, yet it seemed like a dining room too. At the front of the room, a row of fancy chairs stood beside a main chair in the middle that looked suspiciously like a throne. "Oh, here he comes." Kai whispered. She stepped out onto the floor and bowed to the man that came through a set of doors on one side of the room. "Your Majesty, dinner awaits you. Here is the girl you asked for...Miss...Michiru." She signaled for Michiru to follow.
"Oh..." Michiru hurried to stand beside Kai and also bowed her head.
Then the king spoke. "Ah, yes. Thank you for leading her here, Kai. You may go now." Michiru frowned, staring at the floor. That voice...it seemed eerily familiar. Kai turned hurriedly and swiftly walked out the door. It was clear that she wanted to go as soon as possible. "Michiru...how nice of you to come." It was then when Michiru lifted her head and looked at the king. One look at those hateful dark green eyes and Michiru knew that it was Kuyou she had come upon to meet. "You!" She spat angrily. Kuyou laughed. "I believe that's King Kokushibyou to you." Michiru glared at him.
"So you're the foul king I've been hearing about all day! Give it up, Kuyou. I will never be with or obey you!"
Kuyou laughed again, paying no heed to Michiru's anger. "Now, let me see...ah yes, I notice you are well prepared for dinner. Well, you needn't wait any longer." He snapped his fingers and a servant came through a door, pushing a table with enough food on top to feed an army. "Sit, sit! How are we supposed to enjoy a nice dinner when you're standing?" He pointed to a chair across from him. Michiru looked at him suspiciously. Then she slowly walked over to the chair and sat down. Well, she thought. At least I'm across the table from him. Kuyou smiled, an unnatural look that did not go well with the dark eyes. He waved his hand at the food and said, "Eat, eat! Would you like some wine?" Without waiting for an answer, he quickly poured himself and Michiru a glass of wine. "Now, onto some more important business. I see that Kai brought you here prepared. That is good. The room you are staying in right now is only temporary. After a few weeks, you will move to another bigger and convenient room."
"What?! Did you not hear me the first time? I will not be staying at all! I will not change my mind! In fact, I was getting ready to go right about now! You cannot keep me here!" Michiru stood up quickly, knocking over her chair in the process. Her anger and fear had mixed together now, and she was afraid that Kuyou DID have the power to keep her here. But she couldn't show that fear in front of him. There was a moment of terrible silence while Michiru waited nervously for Kuyou's next words. "Well..." He spoke evenly. Just to prove that he was not shocked by Michiru's outburst, Kuyou leaned back in his chair and picked up his glass of wine. His eyes flickered up dangerously to meet hers. "Michiru, darling, do sit down. Oh, how am I to explain this? I merely wanted to save you from your miserable future. Ha, I see that you are angry with me. Well, let me do you a favor and show you the future you would've had if you chose to stay with Haruka..." He closed his eyes, and Michiru, who was still standing, suddenly also had the urge to close her eyes. As soon as she did, a bright flash of light crossed in front of her. When she opened her eyes again, she was standing in the woods, Haruka next to her. "Oh!" Michiru cried with happiness. "Haruka! I'm back!" But it was as if she had not spoken at all. Suddenly, Haruka dropped to the floor, moaning from obvious pain. Michiru gasped. "What the...?" She tried to run to help, but found that she had no control over her body. She could only watch helplessly at the upsetting scene before her. Another person came crashing through the trees. It was herself! The real Michiru gasped. How could this be happening? The picture Michiru bent down and rolled Haruka over. A long gash ran across the blonde's stomach, and dark red blood was pouring out. Michiru gave a strangled cry, but still, she could not move. As tears started to stream down her face, she watched as the other Michiru suddenly started to laugh insanely. "Yes, you are dying, Haruka. And soon, I will finally be rid of you!" She continued laughing madly. Then she stood up and walked away without another glance at the nearly still form lying on the floor. A heartrending scream erupted from the watcher, a sound that shook the heavens above. Suddenly, another flash of light, and Michiru was back in the Great Hall with Kuyou. She stood there, sobbing and screaming uncontrollably. Was that what would happen? She would go mad and leave Haruka to die? Or even worse, did she kill Haruka? But was any of it true? That was the real question. Everything seemed so vivid, so dramatic! She hardly doubted Kuyou. But still... "Kuyou..." Michiru uttered hoarsely. "Was that...my future?"
Kuyou sighed, seeming distressed. "Yes, it was. As much as I didn't want to show you that, I had to. I'm sorry I made you unhappy, but it's the only way to keep you safe! Yes, eventually, you did go insane from being in the forest so long. You weren't ever rescued, you know. You and Haruka wandered around for several years, lost and stranded on this island. It ended terribly for friend. You lost sanity after awhile, and...murdered Haruka."
Murdered Haruka. Murdered Haruka. Murdered Haruka. The words rang over and over again in Michiru's head. How could she? Was there some evil part of her that was unleashed? How could she forgive herself? "Oh, Haruka! I'm so sorry!" Michiru cried out loud. Kuyou smirked. His plan was going just perfectly.
"Haruka! Are you paying attention?" Haruka snapped back to reality. She had gone unconscious or something, because she had a terrifyingly disturbing dream. In the dream, she was with Michiru again, but something was wrong. Michiru had lain on the floor of the forest, blood gushing out of a deep cut on her neck. Haruka had tried to help her, but a knife was in her hands and she couldn't drop it. She had no idea where she got the knife, but she had a horrible feeling that she had killed Michiru. Then she heard someone calling her name, and the dream ended. "Oh...yes...I'm listening." She turned to the woman who was standing next to her, explaining something about the castle. "Before you go on though, would you mind telling me your name so I know what to actually call you?" Haruka waited for an answer.
"Oh, what a thoughtful person you are. Well, you really needn't know that now, but I suppose I could tell you...yes, well, you can call me Rena."
"All right then. Now, what were you saying?" Haruka returned to the main subject.
"Well, as I was explaining, you must get in without immediate attention. Lord Kuyou, as he can be called, probably already has spies sent out to search for you. To get past these spirits, all you need to do is concentrate on happy and warm thoughts. They will diminish in a few minutes, as they cannot be near warmth and blissfulness."
"Wait. Did you say spirits? He sent out spirits to catch me?" Haruka asked, frowning confusedly. This was not making any sense at all.
"Why, of course. After all, King Kokushibyou is a spirit himself. We all are. Oh, my! Did I forget to mention that to you?" Rena asked warily.
Haruka stood, dumbfounded. "You mean the person who has Michiru isn't real?"
"Oh, my. I did forget. Well, to put it simply, everyone on this island and in the castle are spirits. Basically meaning we're all...ghosts. We all died long ago, but we can never leave this place. All of us are condemned to an eternity here...wandering endlessly in the forest and up in the castle. It's our unfortunate destiny. But...it's not so bad for me. I was not a servant at any time...I happened to be lucky. I was actually a princess at the castle. But after my father died and his brother, Kokushibyou, took over...I left. I didn't want to be part of the cruelness. You might've already guessed...King Kuyou is not the kind and generous man you would expect. Oh, of course I do go up there once in a while to help around with the duties of the kingdom, but I mostly keep to myself. I never want to see Kuyou again. And I don't plan to." Rena took a wobbly breath and continued. " Your situation is an example of what his cruelty is like. His evil. To take innocent people and turn them against their loved ones. I guess he has a plan for Michiru. He always does. He either tricks them into believing all that he says, or take them as a prisoner." She laughed bitterly. "You can very much tell that I hate him. To destroy his soul is almost impossible. You need people...real people. But for you and Michiru...I wish to send you both away. You came here unwillingly. Very unwillingly. I saw even before you came here that Kuyou already had his eye on Michiru, and I was trying desperately to send your paths in another direction. I managed to bring both of you here, instead of Michiru coming here alone. Kuyou only wanted to have Michiru here, so that he didn't have obstacles to go through. But you are here, and we have more hope than before. This is why I greatly want to help you and Michiru to get out of here. We don't know what Kuyou has done so far to confuse Michiru. I need all of your trust to get through this. Maybe...if everything goes as planned, you might be able to defeat Kuyou once and for all." Rena smiled sadly at Haruka. "And that is the story you desired to know. Now, how about we get back to planning?" Haruka stared at Rena, stunned at the twisted story of the island. She couldn't believe how much this princess must have suffered. Living on this ghost island for time without end! It made her want to demolish this king. The king who took Michiru. "Wow...Rena, I'm terribly sorry. I..."
Rena sighed. "Yes, I know. But you can't do much, so it's really all right." She turned away from Haruka and looked off to the distance. "Someday," she whispered. "Someday, I will leave. And then I will be free..."
Haruka felt an urge to comfort the girl. "Well, whatever it takes, I will help you. I really will."
"Thank you..." Rena quickly cleared her throat and focused her attention back on the subject. "Yes, let's continue..."
Michiru sipped her wine dismally. Kuyou had persuaded her to sit down and start eating. "Michiru...I want you to know that I care about you...and that vision you saw is real. That will happen if you choose to go back to the island. I merely wanted to give you another choice. You do not have to stay here, but the consequences of meeting Haruka again are fatal. Please, give it some thought. You can see that everything runs smoothly here. Michiru..." He trailed off. Michiru glanced at the king. He seemed so sincere, so real... There was no choice. If she left, Haruka would die. If she stayed...Haruka would live...but never again would Michiru see the other part of her soul... it was just too much to give up! But there was no other way. She took a deep breath and shakily whispered the mortal words. "I will stay...to save Haruka." And then she fell forward onto the table, fainted dead away.
Birds were singing, flowers were blooming...everything was as happy as could be. "Yech..." Michiru groaned disgustedly at the cheery thoughts that ran continuously through her head. She rolled over and opened her eyes. "What...?" Michiru sat up quickly, looking hurriedly around. She was in the bedroom that Kai had shown her earlier. "Oh, wow..." She bounced up and down a few times on the incredibly relaxing bed. What had happened? Michiru slid out under the soft covers and realized that she was wearing a beautifully designed nightgown. "Oh..." She walked over to the dresser and sat down. As Michiru stared at her reflection in the mirror, the memory of the dinner with Kuyou came flowing back. Tears leaped into her eyes as she thought of Haruka ...and the terrifying vision. "Oh, Haruka..." Michiru wept silently. "How am I going to live on without you?"
Disclaimer: I don't suppose I have to do this for every chapter? Oh well...guess I should be safe, so I don't own any bit of Sailor Moon.
"Wow...this is really beautiful!" Michiru marveled at the exquisite evening gown she was wearing.
Kai nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes, it's very nice indeed. Now, please sit over on that seat facing the mirror."
Michiru obediently walked over to the chair that was placed in front of the dresser. Kai picked up a silver brush and began to run it through Michiru's silky aqua locks. "Oh...if you don't mind me saying so, miss, but your hair is truly beautiful."
Michiru blushed, pleased at the compliment. "Thank you, Kai. You know, Haruka used to say that too." At this, Michiru's smile slowly vanished. The thought of Haruka brought a knot to her stomach. But she forcefully pushed her thoughts away from Haruka. She couldn't concentrate on leaving yet. First, have dinner with the king.
"Miss...are you all right?" Kai politely asked. Michiru quickly looked at the girl. "Oh yes, I'm okay. I was just...thinking." She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. "Oh! Kai...you did this?" Michiru lifted her hand up to her hair. It was styled beautifully into two neat braids that hung over her shoulders. Several strands of hair were left on either side of her face, making her look almost childish but not quite. Kai beamed. "Yes...do you like it?"
"Oh of course I like it! It's beautiful!" Michiru quickly replied. "So...now am I ready?" Kai nodded. "Yes, you are. This way, please." She began walking towards the door. Michiru stood up hesitantly, suddenly nervous. But she followed Kai out the door. They walked down the long hall and down a flight of stairs. They reached an entrance to another room. "In here, please." Kai led Michiru through the door. "This is the Great Hall. The king will be here in a few moments." Michiru looked around her. The place certainly looked like a great hall, yet it seemed like a dining room too. At the front of the room, a row of fancy chairs stood beside a main chair in the middle that looked suspiciously like a throne. "Oh, here he comes." Kai whispered. She stepped out onto the floor and bowed to the man that came through a set of doors on one side of the room. "Your Majesty, dinner awaits you. Here is the girl you asked for...Miss...Michiru." She signaled for Michiru to follow.
"Oh..." Michiru hurried to stand beside Kai and also bowed her head.
Then the king spoke. "Ah, yes. Thank you for leading her here, Kai. You may go now." Michiru frowned, staring at the floor. That voice...it seemed eerily familiar. Kai turned hurriedly and swiftly walked out the door. It was clear that she wanted to go as soon as possible. "Michiru...how nice of you to come." It was then when Michiru lifted her head and looked at the king. One look at those hateful dark green eyes and Michiru knew that it was Kuyou she had come upon to meet. "You!" She spat angrily. Kuyou laughed. "I believe that's King Kokushibyou to you." Michiru glared at him.
"So you're the foul king I've been hearing about all day! Give it up, Kuyou. I will never be with or obey you!"
Kuyou laughed again, paying no heed to Michiru's anger. "Now, let me see...ah yes, I notice you are well prepared for dinner. Well, you needn't wait any longer." He snapped his fingers and a servant came through a door, pushing a table with enough food on top to feed an army. "Sit, sit! How are we supposed to enjoy a nice dinner when you're standing?" He pointed to a chair across from him. Michiru looked at him suspiciously. Then she slowly walked over to the chair and sat down. Well, she thought. At least I'm across the table from him. Kuyou smiled, an unnatural look that did not go well with the dark eyes. He waved his hand at the food and said, "Eat, eat! Would you like some wine?" Without waiting for an answer, he quickly poured himself and Michiru a glass of wine. "Now, onto some more important business. I see that Kai brought you here prepared. That is good. The room you are staying in right now is only temporary. After a few weeks, you will move to another bigger and convenient room."
"What?! Did you not hear me the first time? I will not be staying at all! I will not change my mind! In fact, I was getting ready to go right about now! You cannot keep me here!" Michiru stood up quickly, knocking over her chair in the process. Her anger and fear had mixed together now, and she was afraid that Kuyou DID have the power to keep her here. But she couldn't show that fear in front of him. There was a moment of terrible silence while Michiru waited nervously for Kuyou's next words. "Well..." He spoke evenly. Just to prove that he was not shocked by Michiru's outburst, Kuyou leaned back in his chair and picked up his glass of wine. His eyes flickered up dangerously to meet hers. "Michiru, darling, do sit down. Oh, how am I to explain this? I merely wanted to save you from your miserable future. Ha, I see that you are angry with me. Well, let me do you a favor and show you the future you would've had if you chose to stay with Haruka..." He closed his eyes, and Michiru, who was still standing, suddenly also had the urge to close her eyes. As soon as she did, a bright flash of light crossed in front of her. When she opened her eyes again, she was standing in the woods, Haruka next to her. "Oh!" Michiru cried with happiness. "Haruka! I'm back!" But it was as if she had not spoken at all. Suddenly, Haruka dropped to the floor, moaning from obvious pain. Michiru gasped. "What the...?" She tried to run to help, but found that she had no control over her body. She could only watch helplessly at the upsetting scene before her. Another person came crashing through the trees. It was herself! The real Michiru gasped. How could this be happening? The picture Michiru bent down and rolled Haruka over. A long gash ran across the blonde's stomach, and dark red blood was pouring out. Michiru gave a strangled cry, but still, she could not move. As tears started to stream down her face, she watched as the other Michiru suddenly started to laugh insanely. "Yes, you are dying, Haruka. And soon, I will finally be rid of you!" She continued laughing madly. Then she stood up and walked away without another glance at the nearly still form lying on the floor. A heartrending scream erupted from the watcher, a sound that shook the heavens above. Suddenly, another flash of light, and Michiru was back in the Great Hall with Kuyou. She stood there, sobbing and screaming uncontrollably. Was that what would happen? She would go mad and leave Haruka to die? Or even worse, did she kill Haruka? But was any of it true? That was the real question. Everything seemed so vivid, so dramatic! She hardly doubted Kuyou. But still... "Kuyou..." Michiru uttered hoarsely. "Was that...my future?"
Kuyou sighed, seeming distressed. "Yes, it was. As much as I didn't want to show you that, I had to. I'm sorry I made you unhappy, but it's the only way to keep you safe! Yes, eventually, you did go insane from being in the forest so long. You weren't ever rescued, you know. You and Haruka wandered around for several years, lost and stranded on this island. It ended terribly for friend. You lost sanity after awhile, and...murdered Haruka."
Murdered Haruka. Murdered Haruka. Murdered Haruka. The words rang over and over again in Michiru's head. How could she? Was there some evil part of her that was unleashed? How could she forgive herself? "Oh, Haruka! I'm so sorry!" Michiru cried out loud. Kuyou smirked. His plan was going just perfectly.
"Haruka! Are you paying attention?" Haruka snapped back to reality. She had gone unconscious or something, because she had a terrifyingly disturbing dream. In the dream, she was with Michiru again, but something was wrong. Michiru had lain on the floor of the forest, blood gushing out of a deep cut on her neck. Haruka had tried to help her, but a knife was in her hands and she couldn't drop it. She had no idea where she got the knife, but she had a horrible feeling that she had killed Michiru. Then she heard someone calling her name, and the dream ended. "Oh...yes...I'm listening." She turned to the woman who was standing next to her, explaining something about the castle. "Before you go on though, would you mind telling me your name so I know what to actually call you?" Haruka waited for an answer.
"Oh, what a thoughtful person you are. Well, you really needn't know that now, but I suppose I could tell you...yes, well, you can call me Rena."
"All right then. Now, what were you saying?" Haruka returned to the main subject.
"Well, as I was explaining, you must get in without immediate attention. Lord Kuyou, as he can be called, probably already has spies sent out to search for you. To get past these spirits, all you need to do is concentrate on happy and warm thoughts. They will diminish in a few minutes, as they cannot be near warmth and blissfulness."
"Wait. Did you say spirits? He sent out spirits to catch me?" Haruka asked, frowning confusedly. This was not making any sense at all.
"Why, of course. After all, King Kokushibyou is a spirit himself. We all are. Oh, my! Did I forget to mention that to you?" Rena asked warily.
Haruka stood, dumbfounded. "You mean the person who has Michiru isn't real?"
"Oh, my. I did forget. Well, to put it simply, everyone on this island and in the castle are spirits. Basically meaning we're all...ghosts. We all died long ago, but we can never leave this place. All of us are condemned to an eternity here...wandering endlessly in the forest and up in the castle. It's our unfortunate destiny. But...it's not so bad for me. I was not a servant at any time...I happened to be lucky. I was actually a princess at the castle. But after my father died and his brother, Kokushibyou, took over...I left. I didn't want to be part of the cruelness. You might've already guessed...King Kuyou is not the kind and generous man you would expect. Oh, of course I do go up there once in a while to help around with the duties of the kingdom, but I mostly keep to myself. I never want to see Kuyou again. And I don't plan to." Rena took a wobbly breath and continued. " Your situation is an example of what his cruelty is like. His evil. To take innocent people and turn them against their loved ones. I guess he has a plan for Michiru. He always does. He either tricks them into believing all that he says, or take them as a prisoner." She laughed bitterly. "You can very much tell that I hate him. To destroy his soul is almost impossible. You need people...real people. But for you and Michiru...I wish to send you both away. You came here unwillingly. Very unwillingly. I saw even before you came here that Kuyou already had his eye on Michiru, and I was trying desperately to send your paths in another direction. I managed to bring both of you here, instead of Michiru coming here alone. Kuyou only wanted to have Michiru here, so that he didn't have obstacles to go through. But you are here, and we have more hope than before. This is why I greatly want to help you and Michiru to get out of here. We don't know what Kuyou has done so far to confuse Michiru. I need all of your trust to get through this. Maybe...if everything goes as planned, you might be able to defeat Kuyou once and for all." Rena smiled sadly at Haruka. "And that is the story you desired to know. Now, how about we get back to planning?" Haruka stared at Rena, stunned at the twisted story of the island. She couldn't believe how much this princess must have suffered. Living on this ghost island for time without end! It made her want to demolish this king. The king who took Michiru. "Wow...Rena, I'm terribly sorry. I..."
Rena sighed. "Yes, I know. But you can't do much, so it's really all right." She turned away from Haruka and looked off to the distance. "Someday," she whispered. "Someday, I will leave. And then I will be free..."
Haruka felt an urge to comfort the girl. "Well, whatever it takes, I will help you. I really will."
"Thank you..." Rena quickly cleared her throat and focused her attention back on the subject. "Yes, let's continue..."
Michiru sipped her wine dismally. Kuyou had persuaded her to sit down and start eating. "Michiru...I want you to know that I care about you...and that vision you saw is real. That will happen if you choose to go back to the island. I merely wanted to give you another choice. You do not have to stay here, but the consequences of meeting Haruka again are fatal. Please, give it some thought. You can see that everything runs smoothly here. Michiru..." He trailed off. Michiru glanced at the king. He seemed so sincere, so real... There was no choice. If she left, Haruka would die. If she stayed...Haruka would live...but never again would Michiru see the other part of her soul... it was just too much to give up! But there was no other way. She took a deep breath and shakily whispered the mortal words. "I will stay...to save Haruka." And then she fell forward onto the table, fainted dead away.
Birds were singing, flowers were blooming...everything was as happy as could be. "Yech..." Michiru groaned disgustedly at the cheery thoughts that ran continuously through her head. She rolled over and opened her eyes. "What...?" Michiru sat up quickly, looking hurriedly around. She was in the bedroom that Kai had shown her earlier. "Oh, wow..." She bounced up and down a few times on the incredibly relaxing bed. What had happened? Michiru slid out under the soft covers and realized that she was wearing a beautifully designed nightgown. "Oh..." She walked over to the dresser and sat down. As Michiru stared at her reflection in the mirror, the memory of the dinner with Kuyou came flowing back. Tears leaped into her eyes as she thought of Haruka ...and the terrifying vision. "Oh, Haruka..." Michiru wept silently. "How am I going to live on without you?"