!AuThOr'S nOtE! "Sub-chapters": Okay, in order to tell a lot of story in notta lotta chapter, I'm dividing chapter IV into sub-chapters. Basically, each sub- chapter tells the story of what a different character is going through at the same point in time. Get it? No? Eh, you'll figure it out. And this probably won't be the first time I do this. Readers, ye be warned! !AuThOr'S nOtE!
"Hakeru, you look stunning, as always."
Hakeru turned, instantly recognizing the voice. "Ken, flattery will get you no where."
Feigning dejection, he made a pouty face. Hakeru couldn't help but smile at him. Wordlessly, he smiled back and held has hand out to her. "Let's show these stiffs how to really dance."
She eyed his hand skeptically. "Ken, last time I danced with you, fun though it was, your foot ended up in a tuba and the punch bowl ended up on my mother's head."
"Well, that wasn't nearly as formal of an occasion, Hakeru. My sister's birthday celebration is different from a regular dance." He stepped a little closer and looked down at her. Hakeru was about to say yes when a hand rested on her shoulder. It was Kei.
"Hakeru, could I have a word?" Her tone sounded urgent, though not worried, and smooth as ever.
"Oh, yes." she replied to Kei. "Ken, I'll take you up on that dance later tonight." She began to step away.
"Promise?" He asked, pointing to her slyly.
Hakeru smiled pleasantly. "I promise!" She turned around fully and faced Kei, who was offering her hand for a dance. Hakeru accepted and they walked out onto the floor mid-song. Kei was a strong leader when she danced, and Hakeru loved how she always felt very light when they danced. The men always seemed too worried about stepping on toes to concentrate on dancing well, and some didn't even do that right. Tasuke and Ken were the only exceptions she'd ever met.
"You look breathtaking, Hakeru. But I must admit, I like black better on you." Kei said to her.
"So do I. But I thought that white fit the mood of celebration better." Hakeru replied. Kei is tense about something. Her mind seems to be drifting. . that's not normal for her. Hakeru trusted her intuition and made a guess as to what was wrong.
"Have you spoken to Souya lately?" Hakeru knew that they were no longer together, but she wasn't sure if Kei was aware of exactly how much she knew.
Kei smiled at her suspiciously. "You know what happened. It just wasn't meant to be." Kei sighed with relief. "I'm fine with that. I knew from the beginning that we wouldn't last anyway. She was just so kind. But that's not what I wanted to ask you about. Not exactly." Kei saw the unsurprised look on Hakeru's face. "But you knew that." She finished, smiling.
"Can't get anything past you," Hakeru replied. They continued dancing for a few moments in silence, and then Hakeru spoke again.
"She's unsure of what she's feeling right now, Kei. Something of inside her has started changing, and she isn't sure how to take it."
Kei seemed a bit more distant now, stealing glances across the room towards the left entrance.
"You can help her, Kei. You can show her love. I know how strongly you already feel, and I've seen her when she's around you. She hasn't had a very loving life, which isn't fair, but you give something to her that she can't explain." Hakeru stopped their dance as the music ended, with Kei still staring dreamily towards the doorway.
"I'm afraid to scare her, Hakeru. She's fragile, so delicate. But there's so much strength in her. I can see it. But can she understand me?"
Hakeru looked with her towards the doorway. In the distance, a young girl smiled politely and declined as another anonymous man asked for a dance. "She doesn't know what she needs right now. But you may be the person to show her."
Kei seemed to brighten up. She finally looked back towards Hakeru, smiling appreciatively. She leaned down and kissed Hakeru softly on the lips.
"Thank you, Hakeru."
Kei left towards the left wing, excusing herself past the laughing couples. Hakeru caught Chiyo's eye and smiled at her. The man she was dancing with wasn't Tasuke. What on earth was he waiting for?
A wave of blackness hit her suddenly, pounding into her brain like a deafening silence. She shut her eyes and covered her face as pictures flashed in her mind, making her wildly dizzy. All the sudden it was hard to breathe and she clutched her throat, eyes still shut tightly. Her head pulsed with pain and the world spun madly. . . she was going to fall.
"Hakeru!" Ken caught her at the last moment and carried her off to the side. He set her down in one of the chairs and called for some water. Out of the crowd Yodume, Sora and Kohana came running.
Kohana held a hand on Hakeru's forehead. "She's burning up. Ken, what happened?"
"I just looked over and saw that she looked like she was about to faint, so I ran to catch her."
Hakeru was now trying to speak.
"Queen." She grabbed Yodume's wrist and held it firmly, as Kohana watched her pulse on the other hand. "The queen." Her eyes were closed and her breathing sounded pained.
Yodume gasped. She began whispering in a rushed tone "It's a prophecy. It's a new prophecy!"
"She's never done this before!" Kohana argued. "She's gotten sick."
"Look at her symbol!" Yodume insisted. Sure enough, the symbol of Neptune was glowing very brightly on Hakeru's forehead.
"We have to get her to her temple." Sora concluded.
"The teleporter room is upstairs-"Ken began.
"No, that will take to long. Not to mention it'll only make her more sick!" Kohana said urgently. Yodume already had one of Hakeru's arms around her shoulders, and motioned for Sora to get the other.
They slipped as unnoticed as possible (Ken helped by making a small distraction involving some "sour notes" from the pianist) into a dark corridor, where they retrieved their henshin lockets. Hidden by ancient powers, the lockets would appear in their hand when they summoned them. Each time, a small light would appear, out of which the locket would come, then disappear again. Hakeru was unable to get hers, and the other three could only hope they could take Hakeru with them.
Just as Queen Imbriana had said, the words came to them very naturally.
"Pluto Stellar Power, Make-up!"
"Uranus Stellar Power, Make-up!"
"Saturn Stellar Power, Make-up!"
They each willed Hakeru to come with them, and in a bright flash of light all four of the Senshi were gone from the corridor, leaving nothing but a silent play of shadows on a marble stage.
"Hakeru, you look stunning, as always."
Hakeru turned, instantly recognizing the voice. "Ken, flattery will get you no where."
Feigning dejection, he made a pouty face. Hakeru couldn't help but smile at him. Wordlessly, he smiled back and held has hand out to her. "Let's show these stiffs how to really dance."
She eyed his hand skeptically. "Ken, last time I danced with you, fun though it was, your foot ended up in a tuba and the punch bowl ended up on my mother's head."
"Well, that wasn't nearly as formal of an occasion, Hakeru. My sister's birthday celebration is different from a regular dance." He stepped a little closer and looked down at her. Hakeru was about to say yes when a hand rested on her shoulder. It was Kei.
"Hakeru, could I have a word?" Her tone sounded urgent, though not worried, and smooth as ever.
"Oh, yes." she replied to Kei. "Ken, I'll take you up on that dance later tonight." She began to step away.
"Promise?" He asked, pointing to her slyly.
Hakeru smiled pleasantly. "I promise!" She turned around fully and faced Kei, who was offering her hand for a dance. Hakeru accepted and they walked out onto the floor mid-song. Kei was a strong leader when she danced, and Hakeru loved how she always felt very light when they danced. The men always seemed too worried about stepping on toes to concentrate on dancing well, and some didn't even do that right. Tasuke and Ken were the only exceptions she'd ever met.
"You look breathtaking, Hakeru. But I must admit, I like black better on you." Kei said to her.
"So do I. But I thought that white fit the mood of celebration better." Hakeru replied. Kei is tense about something. Her mind seems to be drifting. . that's not normal for her. Hakeru trusted her intuition and made a guess as to what was wrong.
"Have you spoken to Souya lately?" Hakeru knew that they were no longer together, but she wasn't sure if Kei was aware of exactly how much she knew.
Kei smiled at her suspiciously. "You know what happened. It just wasn't meant to be." Kei sighed with relief. "I'm fine with that. I knew from the beginning that we wouldn't last anyway. She was just so kind. But that's not what I wanted to ask you about. Not exactly." Kei saw the unsurprised look on Hakeru's face. "But you knew that." She finished, smiling.
"Can't get anything past you," Hakeru replied. They continued dancing for a few moments in silence, and then Hakeru spoke again.
"She's unsure of what she's feeling right now, Kei. Something of inside her has started changing, and she isn't sure how to take it."
Kei seemed a bit more distant now, stealing glances across the room towards the left entrance.
"You can help her, Kei. You can show her love. I know how strongly you already feel, and I've seen her when she's around you. She hasn't had a very loving life, which isn't fair, but you give something to her that she can't explain." Hakeru stopped their dance as the music ended, with Kei still staring dreamily towards the doorway.
"I'm afraid to scare her, Hakeru. She's fragile, so delicate. But there's so much strength in her. I can see it. But can she understand me?"
Hakeru looked with her towards the doorway. In the distance, a young girl smiled politely and declined as another anonymous man asked for a dance. "She doesn't know what she needs right now. But you may be the person to show her."
Kei seemed to brighten up. She finally looked back towards Hakeru, smiling appreciatively. She leaned down and kissed Hakeru softly on the lips.
"Thank you, Hakeru."
Kei left towards the left wing, excusing herself past the laughing couples. Hakeru caught Chiyo's eye and smiled at her. The man she was dancing with wasn't Tasuke. What on earth was he waiting for?
A wave of blackness hit her suddenly, pounding into her brain like a deafening silence. She shut her eyes and covered her face as pictures flashed in her mind, making her wildly dizzy. All the sudden it was hard to breathe and she clutched her throat, eyes still shut tightly. Her head pulsed with pain and the world spun madly. . . she was going to fall.
"Hakeru!" Ken caught her at the last moment and carried her off to the side. He set her down in one of the chairs and called for some water. Out of the crowd Yodume, Sora and Kohana came running.
Kohana held a hand on Hakeru's forehead. "She's burning up. Ken, what happened?"
"I just looked over and saw that she looked like she was about to faint, so I ran to catch her."
Hakeru was now trying to speak.
"Queen." She grabbed Yodume's wrist and held it firmly, as Kohana watched her pulse on the other hand. "The queen." Her eyes were closed and her breathing sounded pained.
Yodume gasped. She began whispering in a rushed tone "It's a prophecy. It's a new prophecy!"
"She's never done this before!" Kohana argued. "She's gotten sick."
"Look at her symbol!" Yodume insisted. Sure enough, the symbol of Neptune was glowing very brightly on Hakeru's forehead.
"We have to get her to her temple." Sora concluded.
"The teleporter room is upstairs-"Ken began.
"No, that will take to long. Not to mention it'll only make her more sick!" Kohana said urgently. Yodume already had one of Hakeru's arms around her shoulders, and motioned for Sora to get the other.
They slipped as unnoticed as possible (Ken helped by making a small distraction involving some "sour notes" from the pianist) into a dark corridor, where they retrieved their henshin lockets. Hidden by ancient powers, the lockets would appear in their hand when they summoned them. Each time, a small light would appear, out of which the locket would come, then disappear again. Hakeru was unable to get hers, and the other three could only hope they could take Hakeru with them.
Just as Queen Imbriana had said, the words came to them very naturally.
"Pluto Stellar Power, Make-up!"
"Uranus Stellar Power, Make-up!"
"Saturn Stellar Power, Make-up!"
They each willed Hakeru to come with them, and in a bright flash of light all four of the Senshi were gone from the corridor, leaving nothing but a silent play of shadows on a marble stage.