On a Raven Wind

Author:Abigail aka Drive Me Mercury

Email:

Rating: PG-13

Chapter started:12-3-03 Chapter ended:

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 12

-Across the Galaxy-

It was well past afternoon and nearly dark by the time Miya and Seiya's footsteps finally echoed down the palace halls again. Between the two of them, all four of their arms were weighed down with various bags and packages, and, though their feet were sore and their skin hot and sticky, both were still in a good mood. Finally arriving back at Seiya's suite, the dark-haired Starlight deposited her armload on the floor in an arrangement that would make the maid roll her eyes in frustration, and took a welcome plunge onto the sofa.

"Can I get a drink of juice?" Miya queried after adding her own burden to the pile of souvenirs and merchandise on the floor.

"You remember where the kitchen is? We passed it on the way in."

"Yep! I'll be back!" the child declared as she raced from the room.

"Hey, watch it, Chibi." Yaten, having wandered across the hall at the sound of Seiya's return, barely avoided a collision with the exiting girl. Seiya stretched, releasing a long, uninhibited sigh, as she kicked off her shoes to prop her feet up on the cushions. Yaten leaned against the sofa's back with a smirk. "Wore you out, did she? Finally broke your stamina?"

"Broke my wallet, that's for sure," Seiya mumbled.

"What on Kinmoku did you buy?" Yaten eyed the mountain of packages.

"Clothes," Seiya recited in monotone. "Chinaku plushies. Overpriced tourist souvenirs. Sparkly hanging things. I don't even remember what else."

Yaten burst into a fit of chuckles, which Seiya wouldn't have minded if it had stopped at that, but the silver-haired girl kept on laughing. "I suppose it's funny, but it's not that funny," Seiya frowned at her friend and companion.

"She's a daddy's girl already, I can just see it," Yaten grinned, leaning in and twirling her pinky. "She's gonna have you soo wrapped around her little finger. Besides, I still find you as a parent to be a hilarious thought."

"Well, laugh it up, Ya-chan," Seiya smiled. "And," she added in defense, "I will be a disciplinarian when I need to be, believe me. She won't always get her own way."

"Right, right, I'm gonna believe that."

"I'm serious! I won't be a pushover, and she'll have to learn that. Just… not today." Seiya rolled her head back on the sofa's arm, tugging with a finger at her sweat-rimmed shirt collar, which was starting to itch after a day in the sun and dust. A surprised grunt escaped her throat when a knobby weight landed on her stomach. Seiya tilted her head up to find a slightly sheepish Miya straddling her torso and a large wet spot on her chest where juice had accidentally sloshed over the edge of the girl's cup.

"Eh… oops, sorry." Miya used the hem of her shirt to wipe the bottom of the dripping cup. She met Seiya's eyes tentatively, hoping she wouldn't find anger stirring in them. Seiya found herself looking back at large blue eyes like a guilty puppy's, and it was all she could do not to smile.

"Yaten…" Seiya spoke solemnly after a few seconds' silence. "Go find me a pair of scissors, would you?"

 "No!!" Miya reacted like a fire alarm had gone off, snatching up her hair and running toward the bedroom, to the sound of Seiya's laughter.

Yaten watched the scene with curious interest. "Umm… please don't tell me this is your disciplinary strategy. I'm afraid to ask what the scissors are for."

"Cutting her hair," Seiya explained, sitting up to peer over the sofa's back toward the bedroom. A short black head now appeared around the doorframe, and Seiya made a mock motion of scissors cutting with her two fingers. The head disappeared inside the room again, but not before blowing a long raspberry in Seiya's direction. "It's our little joke."

"Very cute."

Remembering her stained shirt, Seiya plucked the wet fabric from her skin with a frown. "Now, if you don't mind, I think I'll go finish taking my shower."

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"I don't WANT to go back!! I like it here!"

Miya voiced her opinion with firm stubbornness as she circled the room, exploring drawers, closets, and desktops in search of something interesting to occupy her time this evening. In the past days she had been having a blast with Seiya and visiting all the sights around Kinmoku City, and she did want it to end so suddenly. Right now she didn't want it to end, ever. Not when she'd finally found her father and discovered that, even though "he" was a "she", she was one of coolest people Miya had ever met.

"Miya! But you can't stay here forever." Seiya leaned on a pillow, crossed-legged on the bed.

"Why not?"

"What about your mother… Makiko?"

Miya frowned at the ink pen she grasped in her palm. To never see her adoptive mother again… "I would miss her, but…"

"You can always come back here to visit," Seiya assured.

"But I don't want to leave!" the girl contended, dropping the pen back in its drawer and closing it with a slam. "I just met you, and it's only been five days! I want to stay here much longer. Like… forever."

Seiya shook her head. "Miya, you know I would love for you to stay here, but you need to go back. Because there's things… and people… on Earth for you. That's where your home is, and plus, there's things… on Earth I have to find out about. So why don't we just talk about it once we get there?"

Miya faced her father with surprised. "You're coming, too?"

"Of course! Besides, don't lie to me, I know you miss George."

"Well…" It was true. She did miss her rabbit and wondered if he was doing okay.

"So that's settled," Seiya declared, falling backwards on the bed.

"Hey, cool! What's this?" Miya had finally discovered something of interest in her search. Seiya opened an eye to see the girl pull a palm-sized Game Boy from the bottom of the drawer. "Kirby's Dreamland ONE?" Miya commented upon further inspection. "And it's in black and white, too! Man, this must be really ancient! Don't you have a Pocket PS3 Advance?"

"Kid, I don't even know what a Pocket PS3 Advance is. We don't have that stuff here on Kinmoku. I brought that from Earth ten years ago. And watch what you're calling ancient, huh?"

Miya flopped onto the bed with the game and was soon absorbed in a world of pixilated sprites and the blips and bleeps of tinny electronic music.

"So…" she spoke several minutes later, not turning her mesmerized face from the tiny screen as she frantically pushed the buttons. "Can we at least stay a little longer, like… a month?"

"Miya-chan!" Seiya pulled herself into a sitting position again. "We just discussed this!" In any other case she would probably gladly have let the girl stay for as long as she wished, but not knowing Usagi's situation was driving her crazy. A week ago she had been unsure, but now she needed to go back to Earth. Soon.

"Aggh! I died again!" the raven-headed girl cried as another "Game Over" danced across her screen. She let out a heavy melodramatic sigh.

"What level are you on?" Seiya peered over her shoulder curiously. "Oh, this one's easy. I practically know this game by heart. Jump that guy," she instructed, "Suck him up, then spit him out at the next guy. Jump up on those boxes – watch out for that guy – then jump over on… no, jump!"

"Agggggh!" The short pity music played after Miya watched Kirby helplessly plunge into a bottomless pit.

Seiya laughed at the pixilated blob of a character's misfortune and her own daughter's frustration. "You'll get the hang of it. It takes a couple of tries. Here, let me get you through this one level," she said, relieving Miya of the video game.

Miya watched Seiya, now concentrating intently on the tiny screen in front of her, for several moments in silence. "So… another week longer?" She wasn't going to give up her bargaining power yet.

"Miya-chan!!"

"Alright, alright!" She gave up the battle finally. Going back wouldn't be so bad, at least now that she knew Seiya was going with her. But staying wouldn't have been so bad either – she'd grown just a little fond of Kinmoku.

"Besides," Seiya continued as she guided Kirby with her thumbs through a world of 2-D platforms and sickeningly cute monsters, "I think we'll have fun. It's been a while since I've been back to Earth, so I'm looking forward to it. And the Princess has already agreed to let Taiki and Yaten come along. She might visit herself, too, once she finishes some business in the Centauri system."

"So you have friends on Earth you wanna see?"

"Yeah, it would be nice to catch up on old times."

"Hey! Were you friends with Setsuna-san, then?"

"Mm… Sailor Pluto? Well, let's see… we had a little misunderstanding for a while, but we reconciled before I left. I guess." She couldn't bring herself with certainty to say the soldiers of the Outer Solar System didn't still hate her, because she had never really known for sure. A mysterious bunch, they were.

"So it's a vacation! I just had my vacation on your planet, and now you get to have a vacation on my planet. This is fun. I can't wait to show you around!"

"You sure change your mind quickly," Seiya smirked. "Suddenly you're all eager to leave."

"Hehe." The girl giggled, leaning back on her hands. The prospect of being able to show her Seiya-papa around her hometown had convinced her she wanted to go back after all.

The room fell into an easy silence punctuated by the happy sound of synthesized game music. "Um… Seiya-papa?" Miya spoke after several minutes.

"Hm?"

"Can I have the game back?"

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She really wasn't sure what she was doing here, or what she planned on saying, and that's why her fist hesitated where it hovered in front of the door. Nothing had really changed between them that past week (to the observer's eye, to say the least), but she couldn't help the feeling that something was wrong. Something lurking just beneath the surface, a nagging awkwardness that hadn't been there before. If it had anything to do with the recent revelations of the week she didn't know, and if it did… well, she had no idea why.

Of course, it could all be just her imagination.

In which case, there was no point in her being here right now.

She knocked anyway, but no answer came from inside. The door yielded to the press of her fingers, swinging open slightly to reveal a sliver of the richly decorated interior. Nothing moved inside, and so she dared to press the door farther and take a few steps inside. They had always maintained a close relationship considering their differences in status, but even so it was not often that she found herself standing inside this bedroom, whether by request or not. For that reason, she now felt like a trespasser in a sacred place, afraid to be caught at any moment. Yet the question still nagged at her mind.

"Princess?" her hesitance betrayed in her voice that broke the sacred stillness of the room, and was met with nothing but more silence.

No answer met her call, and Seiya licked her lips nervously. With one final glance around, she turned and left the room.

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Around two days later, light-years away, another woman burst uninvited into a different room.

"Setsuna!" Haruka hadn't even bothered to knock, as she rarely did, before striding into the Time Guardian's palace office. Her serious blue eyes carried the stony focus that they often did in times of crisis. "The computers on Uranus have detected – "

"Invaders, yes." Setsuna finished with infinite calmness.

The princess of Uranus pursed her lips with annoyance. She should have expected such a reaction, but she wasn't inclined to like it when others finished her sentences or seemingly read her mind. (Not that Michiru didn't do that more often than she could count.) But as with Michiru, with Setsuna there usually wasn't much room to argue. She crossed her arms stiffly. "Of course you already knew."

"There is no need to worry," the soldier of Pluto looked up for the first time, an unreadable expression that was neither smile nor frown crossing her timeless face. "I've been expecting visitors."

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"Whooooooooa… I'm kinda… dizzy!" Miya staggered in circles with outstretched arms, giggling a little at the fact that she was amazingly back on Earth again. The return trip with the Starlights had been by far more enjoyable than the trip there. Being reduced to a being of pure energy, and consciously racing through the universe while breathtaking sights of stars, supernovas, and whole galaxies passed by would beat Setsuna-san's bubble any day.

"Yeah, the transformation back into solid matter will make you a little disoriented, especially if you're not used to it," Seiya explained, after the three senshi reverted back to their civilian forms. After such a long journey it would take too much energy to maintain their soldier's form, not to mention not having to walk around in tight leather shorts and spike heels was decidedly more comfortable.

"God, I hate cross-galaxy travel…" Yaten growled, massaging her temples to nurse her growing migraine. Taiki merely began gathering their luggage which had ended up in a rather disorganized pile, seeing as no one had been bothering to focus on the luggage upon landing.

"Not bad, I must say…" Seiya mused, turning in circles herself as she took in the sparkling, high-ceilinged foyer framed by two stories of balconies inside the palace where they had chose to land. One thing she couldn't deny was that the Tokyo landscape had changed dramatically since her last visit. No one could miss the white, jeweled palace that now rose majestically from the ground to tower over the city.

"Hey, watch it, Chibi, there's important stuff in there!" Yaten snipped when Miya practically tripped over her bag. "Seiya, would you quit gawking and help me with this stuff?"

"Carved crystal chandeliers, polished, even," Seiya continued to make her assessment of the new palace. "Well-lit and spacious interior, crystal floors, gold-plated railings…"

"Stop right there!"

"…appropriate security response, although a bit late…"

Two skirted figures, one red and one green, stared down from the first-level balcony. Their hands were held out as ready weapons, and each Starlight had witnessed firsthand the kind of firepower those hands could release. "Identify yourselves!"

"And a happy warm welcome to you, too!" Yaten called up with a sarcastic salute.

"Starlights?!!" The hands lowered to reveal utterly shocked and confused faces.

Seconds later the two soldiers of Earth had cleared the balcony and landed smoothly in front of them. The standard incredulities and pleasantries were exchanged, followed by an invitation to stay in the palace, which also seemed to come pretty standard at this point, considering the four had already invited themselves inside the main foyer with Miya's blessing.

"We appreciate your hospitality." Seiya found herself playing the ambassador, as Yaten was still nursing her headache and Taiki remained in the sulking mood she'd fostered all morning.

"Consider it a long overdue payback for the way you helped us years ago," Jupiter smiled. "Besides, I'm sure the Queen will be thrilled to see all of you."

"Well, thank you, uh…" Seiya stalled. Now what on Earth had been the soldier of Jupiter's name? In all her time on Earth she'd never paid attention to much of anyone except for Usagi, and anyone else she encountered was nothing but a pleasant blur in Usagi's angelic light. (With the exception, perhaps, of Haruka's painfully vivid fists.)

"Kino-san, is there a place we can put away our luggage? Our journey has been quite tiresome."

"O-of course!" The green soldier started. "I'm so sorry, I'm rambling on and you're all probably tired…" She trailed off, a little unnerved. She never was very good in these kind of semi-awkward situations.

"I'll go find someone to prepare the rooms," Mars stated bluntly, leaving to follow up on her words.

 "Don't worry about it, Kino-san," Seiya spoke, thankful to Taiki for remembering the non-essential details like other people's names. "We're all a bit tired and cranky from the journey – that tends to happen – so you'll have to forgive Taiki's rudeness."

"Oh it's no problem! Rei-chan will go fix up three guest rooms."

"I'd appreciate if you wouldn't make apologies for me, Seiya," Taiki stated deadly.

"Someone has to, with the attitude you've had all day."  Seiya could help feeling a little cranky herself, and didn't have the willpower to put up with two other grouchy companions at the moment. But this was no new occurrence. Intergalactic journeys had the tendency to drain the patience out of everybody. She still recalled, with some painful reluctance, the great argument that had broken out upon their last return to Kinmokusei from Earth, when emotions had still been running high.

"Oi, Seiya!" Yaten was attempting to try her own hand at digging through the luggage pile. "What happened to my green bag?"

Taiki turned back sullenly to her own luggage, and Seiya couldn't help a pang of annoyance rising. What was her problem today? Tiredness she could understand, but she had been acting withdrawn ever since morning.

"My green bag isn't here!" Yaten continued to whine. "I'll bet it's lost. This is your fault, Seiya! I felt you losing concentration inside the Outer Rim. My clothes are probably drifting past Saturn right now, thanks a lot!"

"What are you talking about…?" Seiya became aware that Yaten's constant chatter was now being directed at her, and made half an effort to reply.

"You weren't concentrating on the luggage!"

"Uh… I think Rei-chan may have taken-" Jupiter spoke up hesitantly, reluctant to step into the middle of the squabble but eager to find a way to end it. But Seiya was already chuckling.

"What's so funny!?" Yaten burst, outraged that her partner would have the nerve to laugh at her predicament.

"I was just imagining your underwear floating through the Milky Way. Okay, okay, calm down. Didn't you hear what she said? Rei-san took it."

"I'll be going to bed now." Taiki turned her back with none of the usual muted amusement with which she watched the other two's spats.

"Well, whatever you do, don't enjoy yourself," Seiya couldn't help the biting sarcasm that leaked into her words. "I did expect a little appreciation for the vacation."

Taiki's ice violet eyes met hers coolly. "I never asked for a vacation."

"Well, if it's offered, you take it. I thought you'd be smart enough to at least know that," Seiya bit back, not noticing Yaten's hand that suddenly flew to her mouth.

"I – I'll take this one to your bedroom, okay?" Jupiter's voice went unheeded, but she was all too eager to grab a bag and get away from the quarrel.

"Seiya, lay off her…" Yaten's voice contained an uncharacteristic quiet urging that went unheeded.

"Whatever." Seiya didn't feel like continuing the conversation any further, as the silent brunette continued to walk away.  "I swear, I'll never understand you. I try to tell you, this is why you're still single! …Ow!!" She protested loudly when a strong punch in the shoulder from Yaten nearly knocked her over. "What is your problem now?!"

"Idiot!" the silver-blonde hissed once Taiki had disappeared through the doorway. "You just don't know when to shut up, do you?"

"What are you talking about?" Seiya couldn't understand why the girl had suddenly become inflamed over what seemed to her a routine quarrel.

"You are thick, aren't you?" Emerald eyes flashed. "Today was the anniversary."

Confusion clouded the sapphire eyes across from them at first, then denial. "No, it's…" It took only a few seconds for the worst kind of realization to hit her like a bucket of cold water over the head, and Seiya stood in the middle of the room wishing for all the world for a brick wall to bang her forehead against.

"Third rotation of Acuke," Yaten reminded her quietly.

"Damn it…" The obscenity that escaped her lips was much milder than some of the words shouting in her head at the moment. "We could have postponed the trip another day or two. Why didn't she say something? Why didn't you say something?!" She whirled on Yaten accusingly.

"I only just remembered!"

Seiya pressed two fingers between her eyes with a sigh. Words more often than she would like got her in trouble, but it was the painful ones she regretted the most. Sometimes she couldn't realize the hidden blade her words contained until they cut hard – and deep – and by then it was too late. "How many years has it been?" she asked softly now, though she could probably guess the answer herself.

"Five."

She cringed, not at the number, but at the realization of what she had said, yet feeling a new frustration boiling up inside at the same time. "Why does she have be silent like this? She pretends like it never happened, and then we have to deal with her moods! She could have said something – I would have stayed on Kinmoku another day! She could have said something, dammit…" A suitcase skidded a few inches across the floor at the force of her foot, as her short-lived anger soon wasted away. She hoisted the suitcase onto her back and sighed again. "Do I apologize?"

"You've probably said enough for tonight. It's late, anyway. Look, Seiya," Yaten said, "it's probably better for her this way, anyway. On Earth she can take her mind off of it, instead of moping around the palace at home for a week and just being miserable."

"Yeah…" the other woman agreed reluctantly. "Where is Miya?" The sudden silence made her realize what was missing in the room.

"I don't know. Would you help me with this…?" Yaten turned to find her companion had abandoned her in search of smaller, pigtailed things, while a good chunk of the luggage still remained at her feet. Muttering to herself, she threw one of the smaller bags over each shoulder.

"Would you like a hand with that?"

The feminine voice that startled Yaten belonged to a young woman, presumably a maid, with long dark tresses of hair. Yaten toed one of the larger bags that remained. "Yeah, that one's mine. Would you bring it to my room?"

"Certainly." The woman approached with an unnerving smile that Yaten quickly brushed aside. "This way."

She followed the woman through various crystal-walled corridors, passing several different people on their way, but none of whom Yaten recognized. This majestic palace was nothing like what she remembered of Earth, so it was difficult not to think she was on some diplomatic mission to one of Kinmokusei's trade allies, and not on a distant planet that, whether she chose to admit it or not, held a special place in her mind, if not her heart as well.

"Do you and your comrades argue often?" The voice of the maid in front of her brought Yaten back to the present time and place.

"Why is it your business?" Her reply was more bored than defensive; she wasn't really interested in chatting up nosy palace staff. Apparently the girl had been witness to Seiya and Taiki's snippy exchange minutes earlier.

"I only asked a question. I didn't say you had to answer, now did I?"

"If you want rumors to giggle over with your friends in the kitchen, find them somewhere else."

The dark-haired woman stepped to one side and gestured toward an open door. The door led to a generous suite, richly carpeted in shades of aqua blue. She followed Yaten inside to the center of the room, where she set down the heavy suitcase she'd carried up until now without a hint of strain or protest. The silver-haired Kinmoku senshi was too caught up in pretending to ignore her to take much notice of the slight amusement that slanted her eyes. "Actually, I like to tag guests who are potentially troublesome. The difficult ones, you know – so the maids know who to avoid. You're pretty high maintenance, aren't you?"

Yaten let her bags fall the ground with a restrained sigh that was half a growl. She was hot, she was tired, and she was already sick of this impudent maid following her around asking questions. All she wanted was to be left alone without having insults thrown at her by strangers. She had about reached the edge of her patience. "Are all the maids in this palace as cheeky as you?" she snapped.

"That depends," the other woman replied unwavering. "Are all the soldiers of Kinmoku as bitchy as you?"

She turned on the woman, amazed at her brashness but ready to show her exactly how much of a bitch she could be, as what little tolerance she had finally snapped. To her greater amazement, she found the woman giggling softly to herself, soft blue eyes reflecting something oddly… familiar.

"But you just don't want anyone to know you have a soft side, do you… Yaten-kun."

The name came like a slap to her senses. Now Yaten knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, there was something maddeningly familiar about this girl, but she couldn't place what. She knew she was probably staring like an idiot as her mind racked through the possibilities and came up blank each time. She felt as if somehow, they had met before, yet Yaten knew she had never seen this girl's face before in her life. So what was it? The soft yet wise cerulean eyes, now brimming with amusement as they gazed knowingly, reminded Yaten of no one. Her long, long, violet-black hair spiraled in a chaotic mass of curls nearly to her knees, only a small part of it pulled up atop her head. Her dress was simple violet, silk lace cuffs clinging to her wrists and neckline – elegant in its simplicity – probably not a maid's dress at all. Her skin was pale, lashes dark, and on her forehead…

a crescent moon.

"Luna!?"

The musical notes of laughter flitted through the room. "I wondered how long it would take you."

The Kinmoku senshi's confusion was replaced immediately by astonishment. Of course, now she recognized the voice, and the eyes, though a different color, were still there. The lithe and wise cat she had befriended years ago on this planet now stood before her as a beautiful mature woman. Yaten could hardly believe it even as she fell into a hug with her old ally. "Luna! You're… you're a human!" So it was stating the obvious, but she was too much in shock to say much else.

She only laughed more. "What did you think I was, just a talking cat?"

"Wait a minute!" Yaten pulled away as a realization struck her. "Does this mean that white-haired guy in the corridor that was giving me dirty looks was – "

"Artemis, yes. He never was one to forgive grudges."

  Yaten stood back to look her over, hardly believing the woman in front of her was the same "stray" black cat she had picked up off the sidewalk for an "idols with pets" documentary ten years ago. Despite her fatigue, she laughed out loud. Maybe this Earth vacation wouldn't be so bad just yet.

Luna leveled a gaze in return at her silver-haired friend. "You've changed a bit yourself, so I wouldn't be raising any eyebrows," she said, indicating Yaten's new female figure with a flick of the wrist. "To be honest, I'm disappointed." She grinned teasingly.

Yaten shook her head, laughing and taking the playful words in stride. "Whiskers or no, you're still a flirt, aren't you?"

"It was only a joke." Luna raised a slightly haughty chin. "Besides, I'm a married flirt now."

"Artemis? Congratulations," Yaten added when Luna replied with a nod.

"And yourself?"

"Myself?" Yaten was taken aback.

"Are you married? Attached at all?"

"No, no…" Yaten shook her head, brushing the question aside. "Unless you mean attached to the Princess as I've always been." She turned a half-circle, taking in the room's perfectly coordinated decorations, before falling into the cushion of a blue velvet sofa. "Tokyo has certainly changed since we've been here. To think it's being ruled by a king and queen now. And then we three strangers land in the middle of their palace and demand a guest room." She chuckled at the sudden thought. "I can't imagine what they'll think of us."

"Strangers?" Luna echoed, sinking into the blue cushion beside Yaten, and the other had a feeling (call it intuition, call it a hunch, just a feeling…) that another revelation hid just behind those twinkling eyes. "Why, I'm sure Mamoru and Usagi would never think of you as strangers!"

Luna thoroughly enjoyed the muted reaction her words brought. First one eyebrow, then another raised on Yaten's face, as a myriad of puzzled and confused expressions passed over her face in a few seconds. She shook her head slightly as if to free it of disturbing thoughts, and looked outward as in thought. "Mamoru and Usagi… king and queen. Earth really has gone downhill, hasn't it? I want to see Seiya's expression when she hears this." The small silver-blonde girl let herself fall back into the luxurious cushion of the sofa and gazed up at the marbled ceiling.

"Luna… I think we've got a lot of catching up to do."

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It had been an open invitation – Come back and visit anytime. But a year had passed, then another, and then ten, and they'd never returned. After a while, she'd come to think… maybe they'd forgotten… maybe they never would come back. And she'd hoped they wouldn't.

Not that she didn't miss him… or rather her – how she missed him those first months! But he could have no place in this world, no matter how much he may have wanted it.

Although her real reason was deeper. A quiet, secretly concealed secret that she'd tucked away safely in a place where it would hurt no one. And it needed to remain a secret for her sake, for the girl's sake. As long as it hurt no one, she could tell herself she didn't need the guilt. That was why he couldn't come back.

But he had come back. And for reasons not even she understood, she was deeply frightened.

Because it was quite possible that if she wasn't careful, he would be the destruction of her world… of everyone's world.

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She'd sent Miya off to her own home for the night. As much as she might have wanted to reunite with more of the Earth senshi, she felt she did not have the strength tonight. And so in her weakness, she fell prey to the temptation of the plump silk comforters and drifted away in consciousness from the strangeness of this new Tokyo and the questions that continued to plague her mind.

She dreamed that Usagi was standing in her bedroom that night. In the surreal dim light of the room, her hair gleamed ghostly white instead of its old sunshine blonde. Youth and beauty still polished her skin, like a fair goddess. Her pure blue eyes gazed out at her in silence, her lips never moving to make a sound. But Seiya could feel the meloncholy that weighed over the room, that sadness that reflected in empty eyes.

Then she turned over and she was gone.

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"Third rotation of Acuke," –Yaten is speaking according to the Kinmoku calendar. What the heck does it mean? Your guess is as good as mine, as I just pulled it out of the blue. It refers to a certain day in the Kinmoku year.

Well, sorry for the melodramatic ending of this chapter. I hope the length of it makes up for the long hiatus I put this fic on, though I doubt it. Thanks to anyone who is still reading. ; See you with the next chapter.

-Abigail