On a Raven Wind

Author: Abigail aka Moonchild aka Drive Me Mercury

Email: abigail@makenai.org

Rating: PG-13

Chapter started: 3-27-03 Chapter ended: 4-12-03

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all characters and settings belong to the one-and-only Naoko Takeuchi. All created characters and plots within this story are my own.

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*Chapter 6*

-Unearthing the Past-

Miya's head snapped upwards. "Really? You'll tell me…"

Setsuna nodded solemnly. "Now… sit down and sit still." She was already sitting but Miya adjusted herself in the chair and looked up expectantly. Setsuna saw the girl's eagerness and prayed she could be honest while choosing her words carefully. "Where shall I start?"

"My father…" Miya began.

"Yes, your father was – "

"Seiya Kou."

Setsuna blinked in surprise at Miya's interruption, then a soft smile crept across her face. "Yes. That was his name." Miya felt a strange fluttering in her heart as she remembered the dark-haired man from the 20th century. So he was her father after all. She had never known her adoptive father, so the thought of Seiya being her birth father caused strange excited emotions to flit up and down inside her, like koi in the palace garden ponds.

"He was a very famous idol before you were born, part of a group called Three Lights. He and his band members lived in Tokyo, and he was already quite popular when he met your mother. They attended the same school, and she didn't very much like him at first. Seiya was determined to win her heart, however. Well, they eventually became good friends. Your mother didn't yet realize the way Seiya felt about her, or if she did, she didn't let on. But you see, your mother loved someone else, but he was far away, and this was making her sad. Seiya hated seeing her sad, so he was always trying to cheer her up. He stayed by her and was able to help her through many hard times." Miya smiled to herself. Ever since she'd laid eyes on Seiya she knew he had to be caring and kind. But the picture kept reappearing in her mind of the pigtailed girl on the sidewalk who had seemed so clueless to everything in front of her. She wondered if that girl…

 Her thoughts didn't have time to complete themselves as Setsuna continued the story. "Then a day came when both of them discovered the other had been keeping secrets from the other. Well, being friends, they were able to forgive each other, but others weren't. Some of their other friends wanted to keep them apart because of this, but both of them did everything they could to be able to see each other again. Finally, one rainy night, he confessed his feelings to her."

"And that's when she realized that she loved him too!" Miya interjected. Certainly, that's how the story in every TV drama turned out, why not her parent's love story? Deep in her gut, though, she had a feeling Setsuna's tale wouldn't have a fairy-tale ending, because, well… she already knew half the ending.

Setsuna's smile was soft and melancholic. "Perhaps… perhaps she did. And… soon after that, you were conceived. But weeks later, many things changed. Your mother's boyfriend returned, and your father had to return to his own home, where he had many other duties to attend to. But I'm assured he never forgot about your mother. She never told him about you, and when you were born, she wanted you to have a happy, normal life. It saddened her very deeply, but she knew she couldn't provide for you in all the ways she wished. So she arranged for you to be adopted by the Kawabe's, where she knew you would grow up happy in a loving home."

A frown remained pasted on Miya's face as she swung her legs in thought. "So… why couldn't they get married? Didn't they love each other?"

"Well… certainly they did, Miya-chan, but things just didn't work out. Like I said, your father had to return to his duties far away."

"How far?" The girl turned a questioning face upwards again. "I thought he lived in Tokyo."

"Temporarily, yes," Setsuna answered with continuing patience. "But he originally came from a country many, many miles away. And he couldn't stay in Tokyo forever, even if he'd wanted to."

"Oh." She took a moment to absorb all these things she'd just learned. "Is it too far to visit?"

Setsuna chuckled softly. "It might be a difficult journey to arrange, but perhaps someday." She visualized Seiya's shock at having the little girl show up on her doorstep. So far as she knew, the Kinmoku senshi knew nothing of the child she had fathered.

"Arigato, Setsuna-san!" Miya smiled widely. The thought of seeing Seiya again caused an overpowering feeling to surge up inside her. It felt strange suddenly to know that might actually meet her parents – her real parents. She felt a little bit guilty as though she were betraying her adoptive mother who had cared for her all these years, but surely Makiko would understand. "And my mother?" she wanted to know. "Do you know where she is now, Setsuna-san?"

Setsuna took longer than it was necessary to arrange her hands neatly in her lap. "If I am correct, she still lives in Tokyo. How does this sound? I shall talk to her and see if we can arrange for the two of you to meet. Would you like that?"

"Hounto?!" Miya could hardly contain her excitement. Both parents – she was going to meet both of them! She jumped from her seat and threw her arms around the dark-haired woman. "I would like that very, very much." Setsuna let her hand rest on the girl's head. Miya seemed so happy now at the prospect of seeing her lost parents, now Setsuna only prayed she wouldn't have to disappoint her.

A slight cough from the doorway interrupted their embrace. "Sorry, am I ruining a Hallmark moment?"

The sandy-haired Princess Uranus leaned against the doorframe in a casual blouse and jeans. Her tomboy haircut fell rebelliously over her eyes and something like a smile – or a smirk – tugged at the corner of her otherwise serious face.

"Haruka," Setsuna spoke, "what brings you here? I can see from your empty hands you haven't brought me lunch."

"Hey now!" the blonde protested, crossing her arms. "Am I supposed to please everyone today?"

"I suppose I can fetch my own lunch… Anyway, was there something you needed?"

Haruka used an index finger to scratch her chin awkwardly. "Actually, yes. You see, um… I was wondering if you would… well…"

A wry look crossed the Time Guardians face. "Ah, let me guess. You and Michiru argued and now you want me to talk to her?"

"Would you?" Haruka punctuated her request with a charming grin that surely no one could refuse. Okay… no one except Setsuna.

"Haruka, I'm in the middle of something right now…"

"It's okay!" Miya piped up, and Setsuna looked toward her with mild surprise.

"Are you sure, dear?"

Miya nodded, and then bent her upper half in a bow. "Thank you very much for telling me everything and I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused." As she turned her face up once again it was still beaming with happiness. Setsuna couldn't help but smile in return.

"I'll be back in a little while, okay? Or longer, depending on how angry Haruka has made Michiru-san this time." She cast a pointed look at Haruka, who managed to keep a completely innocent composure. "Honestly, sometimes I think the two of you fight just so you can make up."

An impish grin crept over Haruka's face. "At least we'll be having more fun tonight than certain old maids I know."

Implying the other woman was an 'old maid' got Haruka a deadly glare with garnet eyes, but Setsuna knew better than to begin a war of insults by returning the barb – Haruka could be relentless if she wanted to, even if Setsuna's wit could be sharper. Instead she retained her ever-stoic composure and commented dryly as they left the room, "Since when you two ever wait until nighttime?"

Once she was left alone in the room, Miya's thoughts remained centered on one thing – her parents. What would their reaction be when they saw her? She recalled her brief encounter with Seiya in the past. Would he think she was a pretty child, or would he see her as simply a little brat? She tugged at a pigtail and studied its paintbrush tip with a frown. Sure, she didn't always have the best behavior, and she didn't have adult grace like the Queen or the senshi princesses – in fact, she was always tripping over her feet. Would he like her despite of that?

For a moment she wondered if Makiko-mama would permit her to meet her real parents, but if Setsuna said it was okay, surely she would, too. She'd gotten herself so worked up about seeing them now, she knew she'd be terribly disappointed if she found out she couldn't.

A distant crash and shout coming from the hallway interrupted her train of thought. Curiously Miya ventured out to find the source of the noise, and to see if anyone was hurt. A few offices down she found an open door… and an utter disaster inside. Furniture was pushed askew in every direction, and on it and on the floor were boxes and books and other objects apparently thrown in random stacks and piles to form little 'islands' on the carpet. Toward the back of the room, a woman with long blonde hair was kicking a tipped-over box while uttering a string of fast curses that were probably – okay, most certainly – not suitable for a nine-year-old's ears.

Once she had finished her tirade with a huff and looked up, the woman was surprised to find a child standing in the middle of the room watching her. She became immediately embarrassed. "Eheheh… You didn't… hear any of that, did you?"

Miya wasn't sure what to say because she'd obviously heard quite a bit of it. "Um… what are you doing?" She now recognized the blonde woman as the Princess Venus.

"Remodeling!" Venus answered while tipping the box back upright with her foot. Half of its contents were still scattered on the floor. "Or… at least I was trying to clean out this closet so we can remodel until this box fell down on my foot. But I think I stubbed my toe worse trying to kick it." She giggled and held up her stocking foot.

Miya giggled as well. "Your office is a mess," she said.

"Just wait until it's finished!" Venus declared. "It's going to look positively awesome! Um… it's Miya-chan, isn't it?" Miya nodded. "I thought so. I've seen you with Setsuna-san before. Would you want to help me organize some of this stuff? Since Mako-chan abandoned me, I've been working by myself, and I'll never get done at this rate."

When Miya agreed, they set to work pulling the remainder of the boxes from top shelf of the closet, searching through them and trying to categorize what was in them. Most of them continued boring stuff like 8-year-old tax documents or outdated electronic equipment, which were set aside to be dealt with later. Another box contained whole hoard of misplaced Christmas decorations. Finally Miya dragged a plain-looking brown box toward her, the last box to be opened. Expecting it to contain another musty stack of papers or books, she was curiously surprised to open the flaps and find a pair of fuzzy white bunny slippers staring back at her. She almost laughed, because they immediately reminded her of George.

She lifted them out and examined them. They were well-worn with use, with one of the seams coming apart at the front, but there was no way to tell how old they might be or how long they'd been stored away in the back of the closet. Their pink-lined ears flopped tiredly over the slipper's 'face'. "Are these yours, Venus-san? They're kawaii!"

Venus looked up from the box she was currently sorting. Her brow furrowed in puzzlement when she saw what Miya was holding up. "Whose in the world…?" She stepped over stacks of junk to retrieve the slippers from the girl's hand. While she studied them, Miya took the opportunity to see what else was in the box. There were quite a few stuffed animals, obviously well-loved from their worn condition, several small knick-knacks, as well as a stack of old manga dating from the mid-1990s. A small gasp above her made Miya turn her eyes up to see Venus gazing at the contents of the box with a funny recognition. She dropped to her knees and helped Miya dig deeper into the box. "I didn't know she kept this stuff," Venus commented softly as she pulled out a dusty white-and-navy school uniform and held it up.

Miya peeked in to see what odd treasures the box would yield next. What she found was a stack of framed photographs that had been hidden under the uniform. The first picture was a young couple smiling for the camera in a green park setting. Miya's mouth dropped open when she realized the girl in the picture was none other than the 'Odango' she had seen Seiya speak with in the 20th century. Her hair was up in the same silly pigtails. She clung to the man's arm with one hand while holding out her fingers in a 'V' sign with the other and grinning brightly. But the man in the picture was not Seiya. He had short dark hair and calm blue eyes, and he smiled gently with one arm hooked around the girl's waist.

She considered asking Venus what the couple's names were, but the woman was engrossed in looking through the rest of the photographs, smiling or giving a nostalgic chuckle now and then. So she laid it aside for the time being and reached for the last contents of the box, assorted unrelated objects. Then she saw it. It probably wouldn't have seemed special to anyone else – just another random piece of this stranger's box of memories – but it tugged a special cord of Miya's heart. It was a simple CD, lying on the dusty bottom of the box.

A Three Lights CD.

She reached for it with electric fingers, turning the smooth plastic casing over in her hands almost reverently. Mesmerized, the portrait on the front drew her into itself until the image of the three men seemed to lift itself off the white background and fuse into her mind. It was even stranger now knowing the red-suited man's relation to herself was real and not just a creation of her imagination. She let a finger run over the title of the album engraved beneath the men's feet – Nagareboshi He.

"Oh my god!" a voice sounded beside her and the CD was lifted from Miya's hands. She was then witness to the strange sight of the Princess Venus hugging the CD adoringly to her chest. She released it and held it out, gazing at the portrait on the cover with a happy smile. "It been so long since I've listened to their song. Three Lights…"

Miya leaned in with interest. "Did you know them?"

"Mm hmm," Venus nodded. "They went to my high school. I was even their assistant for a little while. Gah! I was such a crazy fan back then! I wonder why they never came back to visit?" She opened the case to retrieve the disc inside, then stood and weaved her way through the disarranged office searching for a CD player. Soon the smooth notes of Nagareboshi He, the same song Miya had heard at the concert in the 20th century, flowed into the room. The soft jazz was soon joined by three voices in harmony. The song was at once soothing, and for the two people in the room, incited two very different feelings.

Miya opened the lyric booklet to find individual portraits of the singers. In Taiki's picture he wore a cream-colored sweater, looking back over his shoulder. Yaten gazed off into the distance, resting chin on hand while the camera captured his perfect profile. In Seiya's portrait he wore a loose blue dress shirt as he leaned forward, gazing directly into the camera lens. The look of his eyes was so intense and the picture captured their depth so fully, Miya they had come alive and were gazing at her from the paper. 'He's looking at me…'

Venus came back to seat herself beside Miya on the floor again. For now, the piles of boxes and all thoughts of remodeling were entirely forgotten. Miya had never really spoken with the Princess Venus before today – she only knew her face from passing in the halls. And she knew that the blonde was a senshi, like all the other princesses, but that was it. Looking at her now, with her chin propped on the heel of her hand as she listened to the song, Miya thought she looked more like a lovesick teenager than a princess or soldier.

"What were they like?" For all the time Miya had spent thinking about Seiya in the past day or so, she realized she knew very little about him.

"Hmm? Well, all three of them were great guys," Venus began. "Although Yaten could get a bit moody at times. But that was all part of his charm. I think I loved him even more when he brushed me off like that! But he was sweet down inside… though I don't think he'd ever admit it.  Poor guy, he was going through so much back then."

Miya wasn't really interested in talking about Yaten. "What about Seiya?"

"Ah, well Seiya was always a flirt, you know. Even so, I think he only had eyes for one girl. She never loved him back, though. I think it hurt him deeply, even if he tried not to show it. But Seiya managed to be deeply devoted to both her and his mission."

"Mission?" Miya inquired.

"Eh! Um… well, that is…" the blonde stalled.

"Tell me! Tell me!"

"Okay," Venus relented, and added in a conspiratorial whisper. "But it's a secret." Miya's eyes brightened eagerly at the prospect of a secret concerning Seiya.

"You see," Venus lifted the CD case so the cover image stared back at them, "they weren't really idols. They were -senshi-."

"You mean… Sailor Senshi?"

Venus nodded. Miya had to admit she was confused. She tried to rectify the image of the men on stage with the image of a Sailor Senshi as she knew them – women in short sailor suits – and it didn't add up. But perhaps Sailor Senshi came in all different kinds. After all, she didn't have any reason to doubt Venus' words.

"They came to Earth looking for their Princess, and when they found her, they helped the Sol senshi defeat the evil of Chaos. Then they returned home again, and most of their fans just thought they disbanded, and never even knew the whole truth."

So that was the mysterious princess they called out to in their songs. So Seiya was a senshi. But one thing Venus had said now whirled in her mind like a dizzying storm. "He wasn't… from Earth?"

"No, he wasn't."

Both females jumped at the third voice. They turned to see Setsuna standing in the center of the office. "Setsuna-san!" Venus leapt to her feet and stuck an awkward arm behind her head. "It's, uh… kind of a mess in here."

"Quite obviously," Setsuna deadpanned. "Minako, have you seen Serenity? I wanted to speak with her today. Truthfully, there was someone I wanted her to meet."

"Aaah," the blonde scratched her head. "She told me she was going on an all-day shopping excursion. You know, something to help her relax. She left pretty early. Should I try to reach her on her cell phone?"

"No, that's not necessary," Setsuna replied. Inwardly, she sighed. 'She's running away again.' Contemplating her many thoughts, the Time Guardian lower her eyes to Miya once more. Kneeling beside the girl, she took the Three Lights CD and studied for several long seconds. Finally she spoke, her decision made.

"Miya-chan… how would you like to visit your father's planet?"