Note on Planet Names: Ten'ousei=Uranus; Kaiousei=Neptune; Meiousei=Pluto; Dosei=Saturn; Kasei=Mars; Suisei=Mercury; Mokusei=Jupiter; Kinsei=Venus ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Throw a party; we'll come." Haruka smiled as she and Michiru left the Moon once more, the royal family much happier than the last two times. Haruka prayed that she would not have to return for Serenity's sake again. Michiru looked around when they appeared in Miranda Castle's transport room. They were only two of seven guests arriving at that moment, and the servants didn't notice them as they took their bags into the palace proper. Grinning, Haruka led Michiru to her room, laughing inside at the strange looks she received from the servants. They hadn't seen her in dresses since she was a very little girl and went to meet Serenity the day after the young princess's birth. Ever since then, it had been nothing but suits. Haruka suddenly dropped her bags, spun around, and drew the Space Sword in one fluid motion, eyes wide and ready for danger. A man stood behind her, blue-green eyes holding the same smoldering fire in Haruka's emerald, his stance identical to the princess's. "Father," Ten'ou Haruka managed, standing up and sheathing her sword. "Father." The king had not recognized his daughter in a dress, but he knew the sword on her hip and was ready to fight her for it. He swallowed, returning his sword to its sheath. "Haruka? You came home?" "Yes, Father," the Senshi whispered, the symbol of her planet appearing on her forehead. "I've come back to you." Then father and daughter were embracing, tears on their cheeks, and Michiru watched, tears in her own eyes. "Haruka, I thought I'd lost you for good. It's been so long since . . ." "Since I left, Father," Haruka whispered. "I'm the one that knocked those guards out and took the sword and my henshin stick. I had to go out there and see the other kingdoms for myself. I met all of the other princesses and queens and kings and princes, even little Serenity. She's grown so much since I last saw her. I'm sorry, Father, but I had to go. Mother would have wanted it." Slowly, Koshu nodded. "I know. It took me a while, but I know. Are you back for good?" "Why?" "Because I have a crown to pass on. I was going to at your birthday, but you weren't here." "Birthday?" Michiru moved up, touching Haruka's arm. "When was this?" "The day we met." Haruka, a touch of apprehension in her eyes and stance, wrapped her arm around Michiru's waist. "Father, this is Kaiou Michiru. My wife." "Your what? You married her? Haruka!" "Father, there's a reason Mother died. She and Shousha-san were not ready to unite the power of Uranus with that of Neptune, but Michiru and I are. Setsuna-san wished us her best. Please be happy for us. Mother is." "How do you know?" The Space Sword glowed for a moment, and the necklace on Haruka's neck answered. The golden symbol of Uranus in the center of the princess's forehead flashed, and Koshu gasped as Kazeko's spirit appeared. She looked at her husband, eyebrow raised. "Our daughter has become very powerful these past few months. This is their destiny. Accept this." Koshu reached out and touched Kazeko's cheek. "Do you know how much I miss you?" "I know. I must leave now; Koshu. I'll see you later." Kazeko vanished, and Haruka smiled. "She's been protecting me, Father. She led me to Michiru." Koshu shook his head as he gestured for the nearest two servants to take Haruka and Michiru's belongings to his daughter's room. "Very well. It seems that we have a lot to talk about, Haruka. And I welcome you to our family, Kaiou Michiru." The two princesses followed the king to his study, Michiru holding Haruka's arm. She had never been afraid of anything in her life, but she suddenly felt a shiver pass through her. As she stepped into the huge study, that touch of panic exploded into full-blown fear. She was terrified! With a scream that shook the king and caused her henshin stick to flare brilliantly, Michiru let go of Haruka's arm and fell out of the room, holding her pounding head. Light-days away, a small girl with dark purple eyes and short black hair also clutched her head in pain, screaming in her bedroom. Both girls opened their eyes at the same instant, the Aqua Mirror shining light across the room as a tall staff tried to appear on Saturn, a shining curved blade reflecting sunlight across the young princess's room. As the light and pain faded, the Silence Glaive reluctantly returned to its exile in the spirit plane, ready and willing to return. Michiru felt warm hands holding her, and for a moment she saw two women standing over her, one the mysterious, red-eyed, green-haired Guardian of Time, the other her own worried blonde wife, green eyes threatening to fill up with tears. "Ruka," she managed to gasp. "I'm okay." "No you're not, Michi," Haruka growled. "That's the third time, Michiru. What is going on?" "I felt her, Ruka. Hotaru is awakening as Sailor Saturn and there is no one to stop it. This time the Glaive tried to return to our plane, but the burst of energy ended. Soon she will transform and we can't stop it. Setsuna-san is with her now, and she may take the girl to Pluto to watch her more carefully." Koshu raised an eyebrow, hesitant to reach out and touch the fretful Aqua Mirror. "Saturn? There hasn't been a Sailor Saturn in a very long time. She won't awaken now." "She will and she is. It takes a very long time for Sailor Saturn to awaken, but it is happening. We can't stop her and it's too late to kill this carrier of Saturn's life force. It's too late for a great many things." Haruka pulled Michiru to her feet and handed her the errant mirror. "Let's go talk, Father, and then Michiru and I can go to my sanctuary and begin our training. If Saturn is going to rise, then we need to be ready for the evil she is supposed to fight." Michiru backed away from the library. "I don't want to go in there." "Michi? What's wrong?" "I don't . . ." Haruka pulled Michiru into the library, knowing what was bothering her wife. Michiru stood just inside the study, no longer trying to run. "I guess you were only afraid because you had that connection just before you stepped in here. Are you okay now?" Michiru nodded, looking at the mirror. "Haruka, we have to find out more about our talismans. I want to know why I keep reacting to Sailor Saturn. I'm afraid that if she awakens, I might not survive the transformation." Haruka shuddered, glancing at her father. "Okay, we'll do some research." "And tomorrow we're having a celebration for the safe return of my daughter and heir," Koshu announced, leaving the princesses to their research as he left to prepare the party. "I will also give you your crown." Haruka turned to Michiru once her father was gone. "Too bad we have to do research. I know of many other ways to spend my time alone with you." Michiru batted Haruka's questing hands away, her humor restored. "You keep your hands to yourself! I will not have your lust distract me from my duty to research the talismans." "Lust? Michiru—" "No time for that, Ruka. Come on, let's go look for the books we need." Reluctantly, Haruka followed Michiru deeper into the library for her least favorite sport—reading. *~*~*~*~*~*~* "He won't know. Besides, there's nothing left in the library for us to read." Haruka handed Michiru the violin she made on Kaiousei, and they vanished in a swirl of aqua and gold. "Also, my father's too busy preparing for handing over my crown to check and see what we're up to." The pair appeared in the hideout where Setsuna found Haruka so many months before and convinced the young princess to run away from home. Haruka smiled as Michiru looked around, entranced by the beauty of Uranus shining through the dome that protected the hideout. Kissing Michiru's cheek, Haruka sat down in front of her piano and struck the first chords of her song. For the first time, she also added words to the music, the soft words she had used to sing the Moon Princess to sleep. "Kikanai de kure/ Doko kara kita no ka/ Hiumenai de kure/ Kono kizu ni/ Hiumenai de kure/ Nakushita kino wo ni/ Tomenai de kure/ Sore ijo wo." As the tall blonde began to sing, she watched in amusement as utter shock blossomed on her wife's face. Michiru hadn't ever guessed that Haruka could sing or that she had such a beautiful soft voice. "Ima mo kokoro ni/ Nemuraseta yume/ Arashino yo wo ni/ Saawagu kedo/ Senaka wo mukete/ Mabataki hitotsu/ Namida no yo wo ni/ Chirashite yuku no sa." As she moved into the first chorus, Haruka's music sped up, and her voice changed slightly. By that time, Michiru was completely enraptured in the music, letting the words, her lover's voice, and the meaning of the song envelop her and carry her far away from the worries of Sailor Saturn and the talismans. "Ano hi kara/ Eranda/ Tatakai no hibi/ Kaze ni naritai/ Kaze ni naritai." As she finished the song she had written, Haruka played the last line two more times, letting her message pull her wife closer, and she leaned over to kiss Michiru as the music ended. "That was so beautiful," Michiru whispered. "But why does it have only one verse?" "Nani? You think I should add another verse?" "Of course. Your voice is so beautiful, Ruka. Why didn't you tell me that you can sing?" "I never had the opportunity. Now, let me see if I remember." Haruka closed her emerald eyes and rested her long fingers on the keys again, letting her memory of her first day on Kaiousei fill her mind. Her fingers began to play, and Michiru gasped as she recognized the first song she had played on her violin. "Haruka!" "So I did remember correctly. Did you ever write lyrics for that song?" "Yes, but—" "I'll play and you sing, Michiru." "Haruka." "Please?" Michiru sighed, unable to resist her lover's pleading eyes. Haruka smiled and began to play. They spent the rest of the afternoon like that, playing music, singing, and writing lyrics, until Haruka's shoulders ached and Michiru could no longer life her bow. Michiru returned her violin to its case and placed it on top of Haruka's closed piano. "I'll let it stay here," she whispered. "Then it will always be safe." Haruka smiled as she took her wife in her arms and transported back to Miranda Castle. Her father was understandably upset, but he relented when he discovered what they had been doing. He, like his daughter, was musically inclined and a good singer. He was glad that Haruka had inherited his love of music, though her voice came from both parents. That night, as Haruka held Michiru, stroking her soft hair, the taller senshi sighed. "I've never seen him so happy, Michi. It makes me fear the huge battle that is coming. I don't want him to die." "We never want anyone to die," Michiru whispered sadly, running her fingers down Haruka's bare arms. "Things just happen. It's the sacrifice we make as Sailor Senshi. And we know that one day we will also die and join the ones we love. Go to sleep now." Haruka grinned and leaned over Michiru. "Sleep? What's that?" "Ruka!" *~*~*~*~*~*~* Setsuna watched in her orb as Haruka and Michiru laughed, chasing each other through the gardens of Miranda Castle, neither ready to let the other catch her. Their picnic lunch sat near a rosebush, half-eaten and fully forgotten. They would return to it if they got hungry. Setsuna sighed at the happy scene. All they needed was a little child quietly chewing her food and watching her mothers play. Sailor Pluto looked at the young princess sleeping silently in the bed beside her, knowing that Hotaru's dreams were troubled. She would never have a family, and her two friends would never have a child of their own. Life was not fair, especially to the ones who most deserved to be happy, to the ones who worked so hard and so faithfully to protect and serve with nary a thought for their own happiness. Some people would never be happy, no matter how hard they tried. Setsuna wiped a tear from her cheek and turned back to Hotaru just as the girl began to shake, eyes opening suddenly. Sailor Pluto raised her staff as the purple symbol of Saturn appeared on the girl's forehead. The Garnet Orb began to pulse, shrieking in the back of Setsuna's mind as the Silence Glaive tried desperately to appear in the mundane plane. *~*~*~*~*~*~* Michiru fell to the ground, screaming, the symbol of Neptune on her forehead glowing fiercely. Haruka wrapped her arms around the woman, clenching her fists as pain lanced through her body. She bit her lip to keep from crying out as the golden symbol of Uranus on her forehead began to shine brightly. The two held each other, praying that the pain would pass and that Saturn would not awaken. A moment later, it was all over. Michiru and Haruka collapsed, desperately trying to catch their breath. "It was worse this time," Haruka whispered. "Even I felt it. Saturn is trying to awaken. I think that she did not only because of Setsuna-san." "I felt her stop it, in the end," Michiru agreed. "But next time it will not be enough." Haruka pulled Michiru into her arms, her eyes full of tears. "We will not die, Michiru. I will not let you die." "I wish these were peaceful times. I wish we could be together forever." Haruka nodded as she pulled Michiru to her feet. "I do, too. But it's just not possible. Come on, let's go finish our lunch." *~*~*~*~*~*~* In her castle, Setsuna gasped, leaning heavily on her staff. Hotaru had fallen asleep again, but Setsuna doubted if she would ever sleep again. She had to be vigilant to save the world from the destruction Sailor Saturn brought. Pluto stood up straight, taking a deep breath. She was used to such harsh demands. She could do this. Her mind made up, Pluto sat down in a chair beside the small bed, staff lying across her legs. She could do this. *~*~*~*~*~*~* Michiru glanced at the calm pool hiding in the shade of the castle, shining among the colorful flowers of the private castle garden, and she raised an eyebrow. "Ruka, have you ever been swimming?' "Heavens, no. I hate water." She glanced at her wife, smiling. "Well, I like the sea." Michiru's eyes sparkled with a new idea, and she leaned closer to the blonde. "Flattery will get you nowhere . . . however, a kiss and I'm all yours." Never guessing Michiru's intention, Haruka leaned forward and obeyed her wife. Michiru's hands instantly attacked her shirt, removing it before Haruka even realized what was going on. By the time she pulled away, gasping for breath, her wife was removing her own clothes, and Haruka realized she was half-naked. "Michiru! What are you doing?" "Come on! Skinny dipping is fun! Get those clothes off!" "Michiru, someone will see!" "Not in the private garden of the royal family of Ten'ousei," Michiru countered, slipping out of the last of her clothes. "I managed to forget to bring a bathing suit and I know you don't have one. So this'll have to do. Now, gimme your pants!" Instants later, Haruka found herself naked and floundering in the pool Kazeko had installed for Shousha to use years ago when both were princesses. However, Haruka knew for a fact that her mother never swam. Michiru swam up to her lover's side and kissed her gently. "Do you trust me?" "With my life," she replied automatically, not needing to think. "Then trust me now and let me teach you how to swim. Tonight you will become Queen of Uranus, and I want you to relax." Haruka let Michiru take her hands. "Okay. Teach me to swim."
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