Author: Abigail

Email: abigail@makenai.org

Concept: 11-18-01

Begun: 4-13-03  Ended: 4-14-03 (@_@!)

Anime: Sailor Moon

Genre: Drama/Romance/Mystery/Shoujo-ai/Yuri

Rating: PG-13 – R

Pairing: Rei/Yaten

Title: Silver Sunset

"Rin… pyou… tou… sha… kai… jin… retsu… sai… zen!"

……………..Nothing.

Nothing but a vague black foreboding, that is. One that danced in and behind the flames, present, but never showing its face. A dark cloud that hid itself against the blackness of the night sky, skulking inside the lights of Capricorn. It was far away, too far away to be any threat, but she couldn't help be uneasy.

Call it imagination, call it paranoia, but she felt something was there, somewhere in the far reaches of outer space, pulsing with its odd signal. A beckoning, a dark summons, as if passed from one star to another until finally it reached their solar system. Then it was passed on again, so that it would eventually reached every corner of the galaxy, the way a whispered rumor passed through a crowd of people. But what was the message?

Now she knew her imaginations were working overtime. After all, it was only two stars. Two stars among a million, that had seemingly disappeared from the night sky. No… they were still there, they had just been obscured. They weren't even significantly bright stars. In fact, she never would have noticed them had she not been applying herself to study the stars of the zodiac. It was probably explainable by some astrological phenomena, right? A black hole, a supernova…

It wasn't enough to make her worried, just a nagging unrest. But when she perceived no change in the elements, she passed it off as some random fluctuation of Nature or Space. She would be the first to admit that she knew and felt many things that she did not understand. Her horoscope continued to predict world-shaking changes, but although she would be considered a very spiritual person, she wasn't one to give in to much superstition, especially when it concerned her own future. And day after day, nothing changed. So she let it fall to the back of her memory and thought no more of it. Eventually, the premonitions all but disappeared.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was about two months after Rei had first noticed the change in the stars when she was sweeping the outer porch of the Hikawa Shrine. She'd swept it about five times today already, but the blustery winds kept blowing leaves and twigs and grass onto the wood surface. The wind now tugged at her midnight-black locks like a playfully malicious spirit, pulling them from the ribbon she'd tried to secure them with and whipping them across her face. She squinted her eyes and looked up at the dull blue sky blotched with clouds. Despite the current weather, there were no visible signs of a coming storm. After a few more minutes of near-futile sweeping, she gave up on the porch and retreated back inside the shrine.

Except for the wind's assault on the sturdy structure of the shrine, inside it was quiet. Her ojisan had gone away for several days to visit an old friend at a monastery on Shukoku, and it had been nearly six months since Yuichirou left, for reasons he never really made clear. Few people seemed to want to venture out today in the winds, and it was nearing five-o'clock, when visitors to the shrine usually started to die down, so Rei didn't expect to see any more guests tonight. She set the broom against the doorframe and walked to her bedroom.

A stack of textbooks beside her bed reminded her that she needed to return them to Ami, who'd lent them for her to use for a philosophy essay. She'd probably be pleased to know that Rei had pulled off an A+ for that particular assignment. Rei considered calling her friend before concluding that Ami was probably still tutoring at the school. The girl rarely was home this early; when she wasn't tutoring, she was at computer club, or studying at the library, or doing some other activity. While she ran a brush through her waist-length hair to undo the tangles the wind had made, Rei decided she would telephone Makoto. The tall brunette girl was always willing to chat, and they didn't see each other as often since they'd both started college.

An hour later when she had hung up on Makoto, eaten a small supper, and gone about the routine of closing the shrine for nighttime, Rei knelt on the tatami in front of the sacred fire. She had been asked by a customer to do a fortune reading for his business. They were considering investing a good deal of money and wanted to know if certain stocks would be prosperous. Usually ojisan handled these kinds of readings, but while he was not here, it was Rei who was required to do it.

She smoothed her robes and cleared her mind of all thoughts to begin meditation. She let her spirit drift out on the chants to connect with the fire's own spirit. When the reading was nearly finished, Rei was prepared to write up the customer a positive forecast when suddenly an electric shock struck through her veins, causing her to break abruptly out of her trance with a forceful gasp. The fire crackled in front of her as she breathed in the still room, visibly shaken. What was that vision? A bed…covered in blood. The future? She had never received such a violent reaction from a routine financial reading. Or was this scene not related to the customer's business at all, and was some entirely different warning?

That split-second vision bothered her deeply, mostly because she didn't know what it meant, and she was wary to know what other images the fire might show her if she did look again. Rei felt she didn't have the energy to try another reading tonight, she needed to get her rest. She'd have to ponder it in the morning, and then decide what in hell she was going to tell her customer. She had a feeling, though, that the vision had nothing to do with stocks.

The young miko pushed herself to her feet and took one step. Suddenly her stomach was upset and she felt a dizzying sensation. She took another step… and never hit the floor. She reached out… and felt her vertigo turned upside-down…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rei heard her own startled shout echo in her ears. The shrine and the fire faded away as she fell into a swirling blackness. A cold chill washed over her body like a shroud. Whenever she tried to reach out, she only touched nothingness. Where was she?

She felt herself roll in the current of the darkness; she tried to swim, to fight it in her confusion but accomplished nothing. Pinpricks of light illuminated her strange dark world. Then Rei heard a voice, like a slap across the face, call out – call out to her. She twisted desperately to find its source. A distant figure was retreating faster and faster – or was she being pulled away from it? She recognized the figure and the voice and Rei's heart seized with panic. She frantically tried to move toward it, but it was quickly disappearing. "PLUTO!" she screamed in a last desperate attempt to reach the woman before the current grabbed her violently and dragged her away.

She couldn't tell which direction was up anymore. Rei felt like she had been thrown into a giant washing machine, being tossed and churned and flipped constantly. It was hard to keep a conscious thought in this state, but if Pluto had been there… was she caught in some rift in Time?

The darkness gave way to bright lights and flashes of images, a confusing array of picture and sound and sensation speeding past her. Orange, green, blue, red… No…I can't be lost in time… Light, clouds, sky, moon… Go back! How do I go back? …Marble, wind, music, dizziness… Concentrate…a book, a glass, shattered, gunshot… Focus…salt, sweet, ocean tide, rushing… Focus on home… comfort, warmth, stalking tiger, broken roar… Home…the people you love… white lily, broken petal, joy, raging storm… People you want to be with…a castle, a spire, touch of gold, drop of blood… Dreams you want to see…striking metal, bent reflection, flowing words, raising voices…

…the things you long for…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Stillness.

Darkness.

Rei could hear her own breath. So she was alive. Her hand reached forward, and touched something soft, cool. Dirt. Her eyes began to adjust to the darkness and shapes came into view around her. She appeared to be in a lightly wooded area. The night air was warm and humid. Kami, please tell me I'm still in 20th century Japan.

She stood to her feet, finding her balance a little unsteady at first, then took a few tentative steps. The air here was sweet, but unfamiliar. It smelled of rich earth and summer blooms in full blossom. Her exploring hands touched tender leaves and greenery, then found something hard. It had a fine rocky texture, but was smooth, as if hand-carved – a statue? Gradually Rei began to realize she was not in a wood but in a carefully maintained garden. As she ventured further, she found dim lanterns lit the garden here and there with their dark glow, so she was able to find her way onto a stone path and follow it in hopes of finding some clue as to where she was.

A rustle of foliage coming toward her startled Rei, and she moved off the path to take shelter behind the trunk of a small tree. She never saw who or what it was, as the noise passed her by several yards away and disappeared into the night. Feeling uneasy, Rei returned to the garden path. With a whisper and a soft red glow she transformed silently into Sailor Mars.

As she soon discovered, the gardens were large with many maze-like paths. At one point she found herself facing a high brick wall, so she was forced to retrace her steps and find a different route. After several more minutes of wandering, Rei was beginning to feel like she had stumbled into Daedalus' Labyrinth. The one disturbing thing about that was not knowing when or where a Minotaur might appear.

She was beginning to feel frustrated and lost, when the noise of shouts in the near distance came to her ears. Rei stood motionless when a few moments later a group of at least five men ran past on the path intersecting hers. None of them noticed the woman standing just a few yards from them until the second-to-last man passed. Immediately he called out to his companions who came running back. "Who's there?!" one called out.

Where Rei stood she was half-hidden in shadow, but she could make out nearly all the men's faces in the light of a nearby lantern. "I'm lost," she replied. "I – I can't seem to find my way out of the gardens."

The men spoke several words quietly among themselves. Their garb was almost medieval in fashion, and at the same time strangely exotic. It was easy to conclude they must be soldiers or guards, for each one carried either a spear or a sword at his side. One of the men now reached for his sword and drew it. "What business do you have in the gardens in the first place?" His tone was commanding.

"Take it easy, it's just a girl," one of the others spoke up, and Rei was thankful for the moment that she didn't have to come up with an answer.

"Maybe, but remember we don't know who we're looking for," the first man replied. Nevertheless he sheathed his sword and stepped toward Rei. "What business do you have in the gardens at midnight?" he asked again, circling her coolly like a cat circles its prey.

"I…" Rei opened her mouth but couldn't think of a decent excuse, and she had a feeling the truth wouldn't go over well with this bunch. She wasn't really sure how to explain the truth herself.

One of the soldiers brought a hand-held lantern up to illuminate her face. "Pretty thing, whoever she is," he commented, and Rei resisted the urge to flame his ass to ash.

"You keep searching! We'll handle this," the apparent leader, the one who had questioned her, ordered two of the soldiers, who quickly ran off to obey. He turned back to Rei, crossing his arms. "You don't know why you're in the gardens?"

The man with the lantern held the light up and down her body, getting himself a full view. "Shit, Rokko, I think she's a Sailor."

"You're crazy, she looks nothing like a Sailor, even those foreign ones."

"I'm serious, look at the collar."

The leader now drew his attention to Mar's red collar and bow, frowning. After a few moments he directed his words at the remaining third soldier. "Find the captain."

"What's the matter with you? Can't you say anything else?" Rei licked her lips and ignored the leader's words. She was currently calculating her odds of being able to Fire Soul both men at once.

When she didn't answer, the man grabbed her chin and jerked her face upwards toward his. Suddenly furious at being handled, Rei took the opportunity to grab the soldier's arm and flip him on his back with a smooth aikido move. She took out the second man before he could attack with a high-heeled kick to the head, and then fled.

Voices and footsteps told her she was being pursued, and now Rei cursed the labyrinthine paths of the garden. She had no idea where she was running. She took turn after turn, and soon discovered the entire garden was full of soldiers, who seemed to appear at every intersection and take pursuit. Breath panting and heart pumping, she rounded one such corner and bumped straight into a group of two men. She pushed past the startled men and kept running before they had a chance to figure out what was going on. She could hear louder shouts – her other pursuers were catching up – and then a sharp pain to her left arm. Distracted for a second, her foot hit a crack and Rei came tumbling to the ground.

In no time she had a deadly sword pointed directly at her chest. Wincing in pain, Rei looked down to find a stream of blood and a bolt* embedded in her upper arm. She was surrounded by at least seven soldiers, all watching her with ready eyes, lest she make a move. With bitter irony, Rei noticed she had fallen just yards from the garden's entrance. Beyond it were the lights and windows of a large mansion or palace.

(*crossbow bolt, like a small arrow)

She sat defeated while the soldiers spoke among themselves, probably waiting for the captain to show up. Rei barely noticed when a new voice came on the scene, questioning the men about what was going on. One of them was quick to explain, and Rei didn't bother to listen.

"Let her go." The words brought Rei to full attention. The low-pitched voice was that of a woman's, but she was situated behind Rei's back so that she didn't see her owner.

The soldier protested. "But, my lady, I believe that – "

"Let her go," the voice repeated, irritated. "I'll take care of her." Rei couldn't place it, but the voice struck a sudden note of familiarity.

After exchanging several hesitant glances, the soldier who held the sword to her stepped back. "Follow me," the brisk voice spoke. Rei stood to find her rescuer had already turned her back and was retreating toward the palace. She stepped quickly to catch up. The woman was about Rei's height and not of large build. She wore a pair of loose trousers and a Chinese shirt. Her hair appeared to be light blonde or silver – and when they stepped into the building she saw it was indeed silver – long, and fastened over her shoulder.

The building was definitely a rich man's palace, obvious from just one glance inside. But Rei didn't notice the finery; she was too busy concentrating on the person in front of her, as a far-fetched possibility remained stuck in her mind. This woman, could she be…?

They entered the first room they came to, and then her rescuer turned to face her. Rei's eyes widened in surprise. Silver locks, flashing emerald eyes…

"Yaten?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Well, do tell me what you think! I've always wanted to write a Rei/Yaten (there aren't enough of them!) and I've had this one on my mind for a long time. I've never written Rei as a primary character, so this is a first for me. Actually, I've never really written Yaten as a primary character either. I know this beginning is a bit odd, but I needed to set up the story somehow. So I hope you'll keep reading because I have many more surprises planned. ^___^ For all you guys at SU.net that voted for this one, this is for you! Hope you like. And for those of you who may be wondering about my other fic, don't worry, I'll keep writing "Raven Wind" and write this one at the same time.

Ja, Peace Out! Feedback, okay??