Note on Planet Names: Ten'ousei=Uranus; Kaiousei=Neptune; Meiousei=Pluto; Dosei=Saturn; Kasei=Mars; Suisei=Mercury; Mokusei=Jupiter; Kinsei=Venus ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Who?" "Urakaze Haruka, Highness. Princess Rei sent a message earlier mentioning him; he is a great swordsman and a peerless unarmed fighter. She suggests that the two of you might benefit from his skills." Mizuno Ami stood up and walked to the door, opening it to look at the tall man who waited there. "Urakaze Haruka?" "I am. Are you Princess Mizuno Ami of Suisei?" "Yes. Rei-chan tells us that you can train us." "I can. And I can also provide advice on life." Ami smiled at his words, entranced and curious. The blue-haired woman let the visitor in, and her taller, protective brown-haired fighter friend joined her. Makoto didn't trust strangers and she didn't want Ami to get hurt. "Fighter, huh? Let me see how good you are, Urakaze-san." Haruka handed the sword on his hip to Ami, asking her to take care of the heirloom. Haruka followed Makoto into the center of the room, and the princess transformed into Sailor Jupiter. Haruka nodded, and the fight began. Jupiter rushed Haruka, and he stepped to one side at the last second, grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back, holding Jupiter still. Makoto growled and detransformed, returning to Ami's side. "How did you do that? I was Sailor Jupiter and you're just the son of a Duke." "I practiced with King Ten'ou Koshu. I also learned sword fighting from the king. I can teach you, if you'd like." Makoto inclined her head, accepting the challenge. *~*~*~*~*~*~* Haruka removed his thin practice sword from the princess's throat again and bowed. "Again, your highness?" "No, not again, Haruka-kun." Over the past few days, they had become close friends, and Makoto smiled when she growled at the young duke. "I think I'll go lie down for a while; Ami-chan might want some help." "I'll rest, then. You've improved, Makoto-san." "Thanks." *~*~*~*~*~*~* Ami slipped into the darkened room, her blue eyes adjusting to the semi-darkness. Her best friend, the woman she would easily give her life for, lay on the bed, exhausted, wearing little more than her undergarments. Ami smiled tolerantly as she pulled the dark green blanket over Makoto's chilled body, and the princess's eyes opened. "Ami-chan?" "Go to sleep, Mako-chan," Ami whispered lovingly. "I just came in here to see how much you hurt today. I haven't come to see you in a long time." "I'm cold," Makoto whispered suggestively, but the blue-haired girl pulled back. Her hair wasn't much longer than Haruka's but the cut was far more feminine. "Just tonight, Ami-chan, please? You haven't in a while. I love it when you stay to keep me warm." "You need to get some sleep, love." "Sleep? What's that?" Makoto pouted, and Ami felt her heart flutter. Those emerald eyes could always sway her. But she wouldn't give in without some sort of token resistance. "We promised that we'd stop. Father's found me a suitor and everything and I have to respect his wishes." "You don't, Ami-chan, you don't. Please, just once more. Haruka's visit is a special occasion, and you said you'd grace my bed on a special occasion." Ami tried to resist, but her heart was on Makoto's side. "Okay, but just because you fought with Haruka today and you're sore and cold." Ami slipped under the covers next to Makoto and let the tall, brown-haired fighter wrap her arms around her. "I think you are the warm one, Mako-chan." "Perhaps. Good night, Ami-chan. Aishiteru." "Aishiteru, atashi no megami." *~*~*~*~*~*~* Haruka laughed inside her head, careful to keep even the smile off her face. She was finally beginning to figure out why the Sailor Senshi were such a wonderful team—they were all desperately in love with each other. They would all eventually marry men, Ami had told Makoto as much, and all of them would be happy. But would they ever really love their husbands? Could they ever love their husbands as much as they loved their partners? Was that why Queens never remarried? Was that why Queen Serenity never seemed as lonely when surrounded by her lesser queens? She was alone, but she wasn't lonely. Did that mean that she would dream about other soldiers when lying beside her king in the future? Wasn't there one sailor senshi that didn't like to sleep with her partners? Maybe Queen Pluto, but none of the others. Oh, maybe the Princess of Dosei because everyone was afraid each princess might become Sailor Saturn, but that was all. Haruka suddenly thought about her mother for the first time in years, and she wondered who had come to visit Kazeko during her last moments. Was it her father Koshu, or was he too busy with "affairs of state"? Did one of the Senshi visit Kazeko as Haruka was being born? Haruka slipped away from Makoto's room and found the control and communications room for the grand Io Castle, waiting for the servants to slip away for a late-night snack before entering herself and sitting down at a shadowed alcove. No one should notice her. Deft fingers flying over the controls, Haruka quickly accessed the main computer bank and information retrieval archive on the Moon, heart of the Silver Millennium, searching. She knew most of the access codes and could break into those areas that denied her entry, and she found what she was looking for. On the day she was born, her father was called away to the moon for a conference with the King of the Moon and the other Lesser Kings, while all of the queens save the oldest, Setsuna—who was probably busy at the Time Gate—gathered to support Kazeko. During the long labor, only two of the queens had sent messages back to the Moon. Queen Serenity's terse account read, "She has been in labor too long; there is a great deal of blood and I fear she may not survive the night. Oh, my love, I know that I mustn't do anything to alter the choices of destiny—your vigil has taught me that—but I wish there was something one of us could do." The letter was addressed to her husband, indicating that Koshu should not know his wife's dire situation. Haruka wondered about some of the wording in the second sentence, but she brushed her worries away. The King of the Moon must have had some power of his own, wherever he came from, though she wondered about ‘vigil'. The second note was from Queen Kaiou Shousha to her younger sister on Kaiousei, and it was filled with emotion. "Imouto-chan, Kazeko is in trouble. We know that the child is her daughter, her heir, but labor should not take so long. She's in such pain, sis, and I wish there was something I could do. Serenity fears that Kazeko will die, and I could not stand that. I already lost Mom and Dad and my stillborn son; I can't lose everyone I love so close together! If Kazeko dies, I promise you that I will never speak to her daughter, to the child that takes her life. Pray tonight; pray for my Kazeko. Shousha-yori." Haruka found that her hands had closed into fists as she read the letter. It wasn't her fault! Kazeko, though a rebel and a little of the tomboy her daughter had become, had nevertheless always been delicate and was never expected to survive to see her heir transform into Sailor Uranus. Haruka reached into her pocket and pulled out her henshin stick, staring at the blue planet and yellow star on top. "I'm sorry, Mother," she whispered, finding tears on her cheeks unexpectedly. She never cried! ‘I forgive you . . .' The feeling surrounded her, comforting the young Senshi, and Haruka knew without a doubt that some part of her mother's essence remained to comfort her. "She loved you. Did you love her? Did you love her more than my father?" ‘The love Senshi share is different, more eternal, and follows through our lives. I did and I always will. You'll understand.' "Do we have Soulmates, then?" ‘You can answer that for yourself. Good luck on your journey, and follow your heart. I wish I had.' Haruka nodded, glancing up at a sound behind her. Quickly, she shut the computer console down and slipped into the shadows, her stick still in her hand. As she disappeared into the castle, she wondered if that servant had seen her. *~*~*~*~*~*~* "It was the most miraculous thing, your highness! I saw Queen Ten'ou Kazeko's ghost in the control room, complete with Space Sword and henshin stick!" Makoto smiled tolerantly at the excited servant. Looking up as Haruka entered the throne room, Makoto gestured for her friend to join the princesses on the dais. "He tells us that he saw the ghost of Ten'ou Kazeko in the control room last night." Haruka's heart flipped, but he kept his half-smile in place. "Really? How interesting. Was she Sailor Uranus or the queen?" "Neither," the servant answered. "She was just a fleeting shadow, but I know it was her because I saw the sword." Haruka smiled tolerantly at the servant. "Perhaps she did visit you last night, and you were lucky enough to glimpse her. If she did, then I leave Io Castle in good hands." "You're leaving?" "Unfortunately, Ami-san, I have business on the Moon and cannot tarry here any more. I have greatly enjoyed my visit and you have been most hospitable." Ami took Haruka's hand in a friendly gesture as she prepared to bid the Duke's son a kind farewell. "Haruka-kun, you have been a fine teacher in the art of combat, but I lost my mother when I was small and have already learned enough of that in my training to become Sailor Mercury. You told us when you arrived that you had advice on life. I hope that you were not exaggerating." Haruka, in a gesture he was not accustomed to using, took Ami's hand in his and bent down to her eye level. "There is not enough time in one short life to live as you would wish and as your father would wish. Embrace the truth you know in your heart and take hold of those you love for they will not always be around. Kazeko was very much in love with one of her equals, but they gave up their feelings for duty and their planets. She died young, never knowing her child or realizing her full dream. Do not let that happen to you, Mizuno Ami, Friend of Water. You will regret the moments if you do not experience all life has to offer. That is my advice to you and Kino Makoto. Good luck and do not forget." Haruka took Ami's chin in his hand and brushed her lips with his. He felt the slightest spark of family, belonging, and he smiled as he slipped out the door. In his mind, music, beautiful, sweet, and true, danced with the wind. Makoto caught Ami as she swayed, staring curiously after the young duke. "He knows, Mako-chan. Oh how he knows. He is so very lonely and in so much pain, yet he travels to our castles and tells us how to be happy. I feel so sorry for him, Mako-chan." "I know, Ami-chan. I know." Makoto pulled Ami into her arms and held the smaller princess, contemplating Haruka's words. Who was that duke, anyway? She grinned as she nuzzled the shorter princess's neck. "Ne, Ami? How did it feel to kiss a guy?" "Makoto! I don't kiss and tell!" Ami grinned as she turned around in her lover's arms, feeling unusually affectionate. "I will tell you that he's not nearly as good as you." Makoto answered the only way she could.
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