At the hospital, outside Michiru’s room
“Is he still there?” A nurse whispered.
“Of course.” Her friend replied in the same tone. “Ever since that girl has gone under…”
“No!” Came the shocked reply. “But the schools haven’t closed, what about his education?”
“Don’t be silly, of course he still goes!”
“He stays overnight and then leaves early morning…And he’s back exactly by 4:00pm every afternoon onwards.”
Her friend bit her thumb thoughtfully. “What? But I thought I saw him come in around 1:00pm yesterday.”
“…OH! No, no, that’s not him. It’s a different blonde. And she’s a girl if you haven’t noticed! She tends to show up in the early afternoons.”
“…But they looked so much alike, I just thought…Well that makes a lot of sense doesn’t it? Then I presume she’s the one whose been leaving the flowers everyday? They are quite beautiful…” The woman sighed. “I love that shade of blue.”
“Aquamarine?”
Before another word was exchanged, the two nurses were interrupted abruptly by a harsh noise.
Squueek, squuEeEk.
“Food service…”
Haruka’s POV, Michiru’s hospital room, early morning
So…Kaiya has been the ones leaving the flowers. I eyed the single flower in the vase by Michi’s bedside that seemed content to bathe in the thin stream of sunlight entering the room through the blinds. That brat…I’ve wondered what she’d been up to; she’s skipped school since this whole epidemic began!
“What do you think Michi?” I reached out and grasped the sleeping goddess’s cold hand, with a sliver of hope to feel her back with me. Again I was disappointed but I kept contact, instead wanting to warm the cold flesh.
It’s been…a whole week now. I can’t believe I’ve lasted a whole week without seeing you greet me with your smile each morning. Going to school each day without hearing the sound of your voice or to feel your comforting presence. It’s almost like, every time I turn around I expect to see you behind me…smiling. But when I turn around you never are and everything would become cold.
My hand tightened around hers and I noted how it shook slightly. How…how is it that we can be so close, yet far apart? Before, I was scared that if I told you how I felt, I’d lose you. At least then I could’ve watched you from afar…but now, you’re completely out of reach.
Another moment of silence ensued before I realized how late it had gotten. School would start soon…When have I ever cared so much? I slowly picked up my bag with an unenthusiastic, limp arm and began to head out the door when a sudden breeze stopped me in my tracks. It smelled…nice. I turned around. Wait, nice? Why should it? That can’t be right. It took me a few seconds to understand that it was Kaiya’s flower that gave off the scent. I stood there, staring mesmerized at that small, colorful plant; it surprised me. The smell’s intensity wasn’t normal and I know I didn’t leave the window open. …Right?
I looked towards the closed window for evidence that I wasn’t going crazy and breathed a sigh of relief to see that I wasn’t. But then the sun attracted my gaze. Similar to the flower, it made me wonder. Even though I feel worse than shit, even though Michi isn’t by my side, it still rises.
A voice in my heart said, ‘Another day will still begin.’
Heh…
“…You’re right Michi.” I’m not…the only one hurting right now.
I think it’s time to get off my lazy ass and I pay a visit…
“See you soon…”
Creeeeeak, click.
Kaiya’s POV, shrine
Room dimmed, door and windows are closed…I don’t think I’m forgetting anything. Grand-pa is out teaching a martial arts class and Yuuchiro is on the water errand. And Rei…is in the hospital like…
For a last minute check, I slid the room door open and peered into the hallway. Just making sure…I listened for a few minutes. There were a few natural noises such as the chirping of birds or whispers of the wind but that was it. Everyone was still out… good. With that, I closed the door and retreated into the prepared space.
It was something that I came across a few days back…After comfortably seating myself in the middle of the room I closed my eyes and began taking deep breathes. For some reason, I can hear her.
The first night, remembrance
Instead of waking up in my bed or even in an underwater confinement, I was surrounded by dry fog. Immediately I noticed the air was very dry. My eyes started to tear, not helping my current situation in the least. It was already difficult to make anything out; the misty substance would wander about erratically with occasional periods of light erupting spontaneously.
A voice in my head warned that I shouldn’t move. Who knows what this place is or what could be lurking in the shrouded cover? With that logic alone, I stood my ground and narrowed my eyes, hoping that something would clue me in. But the thought soon struck me as funny; what was I looking for to begin with? A way out? It wasn’t my head that spoke to me this time, but from deeper inside. It was asking, ‘is it someone?’
Someone…
SHHHHssssSSSHSsssssssHHHHHH!
Where did…this wind…come from!
But something else was happening. The fog…it’s being blown away. In a matter of minutes the area was clear. For the first time since I’ve been here, I could see the ground, or… the lack of it. Instead of Earth, there was a dark, translucent surface. It was rough but smooth. As I looked down, I immediately noticed that I could also see my reflection, however, that little detail only proved to anger me. The shocked look on my face caused an instant a surge of anger in my chest; I couldn’t believe it was me. It looked…pathetic. Like some scared little kid.
‘I pity you…’
“What? Who do you…?” I turned and choked back a gasp.
Plip. Plip, plip.
A wet substance started to fall from the sky but I ignored it. I know the rain better than anyone.
“Mi…chiru?”
It couldn’t really be…could it? Only, her head was looking at the ground, not at me. I thought about calling out her name again but caught myself quickly when she suddenly looked up.
Plip. Plip. Plip, plip, plip, pkip, plip.
A cold shiver ran down my spine at the sight of her hollow eyes. They weren’t cheerful or light hearted like I was used to seeing; they held a calm violence. But…where have I seen those eyes before? Why did they look so familiar and what was she looking at? As soon as I had thought that, Michiru turned her back to me and started to walk away.
“Hey, where are you going! Michiru!”
Even if she had answered I wouldn’t have been able to hear her; the rain was now a thunderous crash in my ears.
CrrrrrraaAaaaaSssssssssssssssssHhhhhhh…
I’m right here! Look at me!
“MICHIRU!”
Slam.
Memory end
At first, I wondered why she said, ‘I pity you…’. Did it mean that she looked down on me or thought me to be inferior in some sort of way? The thought weighed heavily on my mind for the rest of the day. It wasn’t until the next night that I realized that it wasn’t me she was talking to…it was someone else. Every time I’ve fallen asleep, I see her or her shadow. Like some sort of apparition, she’s never solid. But with each passing dream she becomes more real. The surroundings change time to time as well. Since the beginning the fog has completely dissipated, replaced with scenery of a town. In fact, it looked a lot like the place from where the three of us returned recently. At first it startled me, but the image had also confirmed my suspicions. It definitely wasn’t the future, so it had to be the past. Does that mean Michiru is reliving her memories? Is that what the bug does?
Painful memories…happy memories…it doesn’t matter what it is because they are only memories. I don’t know how I can see this. I don’t even understand why it’s always with Michiru. BUT, I do know one thing: I’m going to find her and bring her back!
Searching…
FlaaaaaaSSSSH!
School yard
A school yard. And as expected, everything feels more real than the last time. This time I could feel the sun’s warmth and the coolness of a passing breeze. As I scanned the place, I noticed the multi colored leaves on the surrounding trees. Fall was already here…More importantly though, where was Michiru?
“What! Really?”
“That’s right.”
Two familiar voices seemed to drift over to where I stood. Sounds like…Haruka and Michiru…coming from… that direction. I automatically headed towards the voices, becoming increasingly curious as to what they were talking about; they sounded way too cheerful, even Haruka.
“Wow…I never knew she had it in her.” Haruka’s sentence exponentially increased my attention; she’s talking a lot today. It’s the most I’ve heard her past self speak in one go!
“I know…It really surprised me as well. I couldn’t believe Nomi was pretending to be a maid this entire time.” Michiru cheerfully replied. “It turned out that she was gathering evidence so she could take me under her care, permanently.”
“And…”
“It worked!” The aqua-haired girl giggled. “The courts unanimously ruled in Aunt Nomi’s favor under the case of child abuse. Mother was fuming mad, you should have seen her.”
“Nah, that’s okay.” Haruka sweat dropped. “She was a bitc- er…witch.”
Michiru gave the blonde a knowing look but smiled anyway. “But what made me really happy…was the restriction.”
“Uh huh…Wait, what was it again?”
“You’ve forgotten already…?”
“Mother can’t go anywhere near Nomi and me.”
“Right, I knew that.”
Michiru giggled at Haruka’s slow memory and turned away from the blonde, looking up at the sky as she did so.
“It’s pretty today.” She sighed.
A gentle breeze rushed by and pulled her hair back, sending up into a wave-like motion. She…really looks happy. I wonder what Michiru is thinking right now. That train of thought was quickly broken when the enthusiastic teen started to twirl around in circles with wide spread arms. I tried to move back but was caught flat-footed. In turn, just as I expected us to collide, she passed through me.
So this is what it is like to be free.
Knock! KNOCK!
FlaaaaaaSSSSH!
Shrine
Bam!
“WAH!” What the hell?
“Kaaaaaaiya, you in there?”
Damn, it’s Haruka! I scrambled to get up but when a sudden bright light shot into the room I froze like a deer in the headlights.
“Oh, there you are. Hmm…? What’re you doing in such a dark room? It’s kinda…suspicious.”
S-suspicious? I noticed that the last word was heavily emphasized.
“Ah…well you see…meditating!” That’s right. “I was meditating. You know, people at shrines pray and all.” Come on fall for it! I silently begged.
“That so…You sure are awfully sweaty. It looks like you’ve ran a race or something, I should know.”
Irk. When did she get so perceptive?
“I was in intense concentration.” And you interrupted me! “But it figures that you wouldn’t know anything about it.”
Haruka twitched at the comment. “What? Are you saying I lack concentration?”
“I’m saying you are an extremely short attention spanned jock that needs to compare everything to a sport to make a point.”
“…” The other blonde narrowed her eyes. “That so?”
“Anyway, don’t you have school?” Shoo.
“I’m actually on an errand.”
“An erran- WOAH! Put me down!”
“Hmm…you’re heavier than you look. Now where’s your bag?”
Geh… “Don’t ignore me!” I started to hit at her back.
“Sorry, I don’t understand; I’m a stupid jock remember?” She continued to ignore my protests. “Besides, packages don’t talk. Meaning you have zero say in this.”
“B-But I have to…” The flowers…
To my amazement, Haruka seemed to notice my hesitation this time round.
“We’ll go see her together later, ‘kay?” I stopped hitting her.
“…Okay.” Umm… “But can you put me down now…?”
Haruka’s POV, main street of Tokyo
“Oww…did you have to be so rough?” I noticed Kaiya was tentatively rubbing her shoulder.
“It still hurts?”
“Of course it does! People don’t heal like that.” She snapped her fingers.
Well, I guess ‘normal’ people don’t. But then again, ‘normal’ people don’t have to worry about saving the world or wonder if they’re going to die today.
“Suck it up.”
In a child-like way, the brat stuck out her tongue. Ignore, ignore, ignore, she doesn’t exist.
“…Hey, what do you think about this virus?”
I blinked. Where the hell did that come from?
“It’s crap.”
“Well…I think it’s taking forever for these ‘doctors’ to get any info on it.”
That too…what’s taking these guys? They can’t say they haven’t found out anything yet. Or maybe… they don’t want to tell the public! If that’s the case, then things could get problematic; all this waiting is making me edgy.
“Definitely. If only there was something we could do…”
Murmer, murmer…
Speaking of which…
“What’s going on?” Kaiya asked
“How would I know?”
For some reason, there was a crowd huddled around an appliance store window. As we both approached the mob, it became apparent that something on the television sets had caught their fancy. But to amass this many people…
“Hey, let’s check it out.”
Something tells me it had to do with the virus.
“We interrupt the program with a special news bulletin. None of the comatose patients have recovered and there is still no new breakthrough concerning the disease…”
WHAT? Impossible! They must have something! I clenched my hand into a fist, shaking with slight outrage. Do they really think everyone is that stupid? With what those ‘researchers’ are getting paid and concerning the situation, I think the government is lying through their teeth.
“To counter this, government officials’ has handed the research project over to the top scientific committee positioned at Tokyo’s exclusive Mugen Gakuen institute.”
Wait, Mugen Gakuen? Say now…
“Isn’t that at our school?” I vaguely heard Kaiya whisper.
“Guess so…Hey, come over here for a sec.”
I pulled us out and away from the crowd, making sure we were not within ear range.
“Listen…” I began.
“Don’t bother, I see what you’re thinking.”
“I’m in.”
Kaiya’s grin was contagious; soon I couldn’t help but grin too. I just felt so great then. Not every problem had to be solved with Sailor senshi, regular people could help out too. And this was actually something Kaiya could lend a hand without any of us worrying about dying. Maybe jail…Ah, but we won’t get caught! It’ll work out somehow.
“We’ll play it old school.”
Kaiya’s POV Mugen Gakuen, second class
“Here’s how it is. I’m betting you anything that the research data is hidden in the science wing’s basement. Now I’ve never been down there myself; they keep it pretty locked tight.”
“That’s where I come in right?”
“Right. When you hear the…”
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNG!
“What’s going on?”
“Fire alarm? Is it a practice?”
“What should we do?”
Everyone around me whispered in panicked tones. Our teacher however, tried to organize the students and shouted over the alarm,
“Everyone line up and walk out in an orderly fashion. Rows at the front lead, second will follow and so forth. And last of all, stick together.”
“Leave the classroom along with everyone else. However, when you hit the first smokescreen, duck out and head straight to the science wing. I’ll follow up shortly…Oh and don’t forget…”
The smokescreen came quickly. It was set off at the cross in the hallway. Only…
“Eek! What’s that awful smell!” A girl screamed.
“It’s like someone let a skunk in here!”
“…to hold your breath.”
So that’s what she meant, she used a stink bomb too! Why that…
Cough, cough.
Grr…never mind that, I’ll deal with it later. With teary eyes I dashed left of the hallway fork, the opposite to where my class and teacher had disappeared. They likely won’t notice my absence until further along the lines.
Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup!
Science wing…science wing…I remember it being around here somewhere. As I ran along the rows of lecture hall doors, I glimpsed parts of the words that read ‘Art’, ‘Music’, ‘Modern Japanese’…I should be getting closer or I hoped I was. I’m starting to run out of subjects!
BOOM!
A loud noise shook the building.
Sounds like Haruka set off another stink bomb. It’s close by…meaning I don’t have a lot of time left! She can only distract a trailing party for so long.
C’mon, where are you!
‘Math 113’, ‘Math114’, ‘Math115’…There it is!
“Hah…hah…s-science.” I tried to regain my breath as I inspected the long hallway that lay ahead of me. Still breathing hard, I walked forward.
“There should be a staircase that leads to the basement. Try to get at the lock. If you can’t, wait for me and we’ll think of something together.”
Easily enough I found the staircase; it was hidden in a corner of the wing. Finding it wasn’t too hard but now that I have found it, I began to wonder. The passageway was dark and almost entirely covered in shadow. I couldn’t even see a light down the passageway if there was one. Anyone could easily trip and fall…And if you did who knows how far you’d drop? The thought of snapping me neck on a fall or fracturing a bone didn’t appeal to me at all.
But…I’m not doing this for myself. Awhile back, I might’ve thought, ‘why should I bother becoming involved in matters that don’t concern me?’. Maybe back then I didn’t want to become involved was because I was afraid. I still am although I hate to admit it.
I stared down into the large shadow, feeling a force beckoning me to take that first step. I’m not doing this for me…That’s why I can do this.
“Right, here we go.”
Tentatively I took the first step, testing the step for stability. It didn’t creak nor bend in any sort of questioning way to my relief. Another step followed…and then another. My hands felt the walls for guidance and balance. It wasn’t much but it was enough.
It continued on like this for another five minutes until I spotted a faint light near the bottom. Finally…When I reached the end, I nearly jumped onto the flat ground. That little adventure was more unnerving than a premonition. But no matter…This lock Haruka was talking about took precedence now. Good thing I didn’t have to look far. As the blonde had mentioned, there was indeed a lock in the way of our goal. A computerized one at that. I grinned, forgetting my previous nervous for that split moment. In the future almost everything was run by computerized systems. These little toys are nothing.
Cross this wire…reconnect this five into this passageway…
Bleep. “Access granted”
“Bingo.”
The doors parted, allowing a thin mist to leak out. Mist? Why would there be mist in a research lab? Whatever the place was, it triggered something; an image flashed through my mind. But before I could grasp what it was, it was gone. Couldn’t be…too important right?
I walked forward inwards until the door shut behind me, startling me if only for a moment. The sudden drop in light level caused the surrounding to appear dotted until my eyes adjusted the room’s dimness. It was considerably dark in here, even for a basement. The only light source I could make out was the eerily glowing lamps attached to the walls. All of them emitted a purple glow. This place wasn’t what I expected at all; I thought it would be brighter for one…but also filled with a bunch of test tubes and chemicals. Only, there were none to be seen. Instead, it was a large empty space various thick wires covering the floor, each snaking towards the same goal further down.
This place… has a disturbing energy, something I can’t quite put into words. It’s like, if you stay in one spot too long, you’ll be devoured. By what, who knows? It could be darkness itself.
I think…there’s more to this school than we think.
Mugen Gakuen, computer room
Amazing, computers everywhere…Does that mean they’re done with the research?
With that hopeful thought in mind, I cautiously proceeded towards the main board positioned in the center of the machinery. Flashing screens instantly surrounded me, all displaying a different set of statistics. Momentarily distracted I found myself face to face with a screen on my right. Its data almost made me step back. ‘Unconscious: 1000+’. The one next to it read, ‘Recovered: 10’.
Recovered? So…there are people that have come out of it! But why haven’t we heard about this? Maybe there’s something more about this on another screen. I looked to the third, the closest monitor to the main panel. ‘Productivity?” What do they need that for? ‘Eliminated: 10’.
What…E-Eliminated? Why is it the same number as the people that have recovered? You don’t mean…My eyes widened.
I scrambled to the main monitor and quickly searched for the files.
Click, click, click, tap, tap click…
Panels were coming up like crazy, one every split second. It really looked like someone was either very disorganized, or they really spent a lot of time hiding this info.
Where is it?
Click, tap, tap, clic- beep!
“Restricted. Password?”
Password…? I don’t need one! Now that I know where it is, I’ll just bypass it. A map of the computers internal system was brought up in a matter of minutes, depicting numerous pathways. And in another few clicks, the locks were all brought into view and highlighted.
This would be the easiest…Cut through here and…
BLEP.
“Access granted. Welcome back Eudial.”
“Eudial?”
Who the hell is that? And wasn’t there a committee working on this? Why does it only mention the one person?
Whiiiiiiiiiirl. “Transferring from main…”
And what’s with this? Isn’t this the main computer?
The screen started to shoot up various panels of statistics, similar to the ones on the panel…Except I was about to find the results much more shocking.
Recovered: 10
Dead: 10
Infected: 1000+ and rising
SS Profit: 0/8
Operation 1: In motion.
Operation 2: Stand by.
What’s SS profit? Why was it a fraction? Eight…Eight what? And the operation labeled under number one had so many pictures of the city’s water supply. It’s even all mapped out! Where the water leaves, which districts it flows to, including the output concentration.
Beep. Beep. Beep…
A corner of a partially hidden panel caught my attention. The way it was flashing, could it be...
Click.
Whiiiiiiiiiirl…
V-Type: Mutating
Life span: UndeterminedIt can’t be! “This is…”
Cliiiick.
I scrolled the down the panel until I encountered the diagram of the virus’s molecular structure.
Name: E-cannon.
BAM!
“NO!” I hit the keyboard. “What’s it doing here?”
It shouldn’t be here, it shouldn’t! My mind raged. I’ve known it to be in the future but I never expected... It was so deadly by then, that it was declared a state of emergency and everyone required vaccination.
Click.
Already that thing is emitting the classic symptoms of it’s full potential. Going unconscious is only the beginning of many. Somehow, we have to stop it. We have to nip this in the bud!
Tup, tup, tup…
My gaze swept towards the doorway; footsteps were approaching. Is it Haruka? I breathed a sigh of relief when the blonde’s head poked through the doorway.
“Kaiya?”
“Over here.”
Looking a little relieved herself Haruka closed the door behind her and cautiously walked towards where I sat. As she did so, I watched her give the flashing screens a wary look.
“They’re nothing. You have to check this out.” I waved her over. “Take a look at this…”
“What…” The blonde went silent. Judging by her rapid eye movements, things were clicking for her as they did for me.
“Michiru can’t wake up! Somehow we need to send this entire project offline if we want to save her.” I brought up the first operation map again. “According to the data, everything is being run at this facility by the city’s main reservoir. If we ca-”
“No.”
…What did she say? “What do you mean, no?” I nearly shouted.
“Leave it to the sailor senshi.” Her voice went cold and her eyes steeled. She looked so similar to Michiru on that first night. “There’s nothing we can do. Leave it to the sailor senshi.” Haruka’s voice warned. There was a definite finality tone lacing those words, stopping any other thought of protest.
“I…I guess.” I paused and chose my words carefully. “But they haven’t done anything and a week has already gone by. Do you think they already know? Or…do you think we can warn them somehow?”
Haruka stood still. That look she was giving me was absolutely unreadable.
“Like you said, they had a full week. If they haven’t figured it out by now they’re a bunch of morons who should wake up to reality and do something.”
Sailor senshi…I’m part of that group now aren’t I? Everything internal was screaming a sense of guilt; I have to do something! Haruka’s was right, normal people shouldn’t get involved.
“Okay.” I nodded.
“…Let’s head back, they’re probably worrying about us.” She turned to leave.
“You go on ahead, I’ll catch up in a sec. I have to erase the entry point.”
“Better make it quick.”
“You got it.”
And something else too. I’ll just help myself to a copy of this data…
Click. Blep. Blep. Blep…Whiiiiiiiiirl…0, 5, 10, 17…
I don’t know, but I get a feeling that this ‘Eudial’ person is behind all this. So…
40, 48…
Let’s leave them a little present.
Tap, tap, click, tap.
“Confirmed.”
Right on time, the duplication process finished shortly after.
100
Blep. “Data transfer complete.”
Entry point is locked up…all right, that’s about for the disk…
Eject disc…And, “I’m outta here.”
Haruka’s POV. At the park, on the way to the hospital, walking
How bloody ironic, now I’m wishing for Michiru to stay asleep. This entire scenario is so twisted. But I shouldn’t be surprised now, it figures for the Death Busters to do something this crazy.
As soon as I walked into that basement my instincts confirmed it. The negative energy was almost overwhelming; I was nearly shaking. Funny how I wished they had something to do with it. Now I can hate them even more. For slowly taking everyone I care about away from me… I’ll make them pay dearly for this.
“This the place?”
“Yup.” Kaiya nodded.
We both stopped short of the small lake’s shore. Kaiya scanned the water’s edge before giving a little “There they are.” And walked over to a patch of blue to our right.
The change of atmosphere gave made my mind at ease again. I’d choose being outside in a place with space and fresh air over a crowded school yard anyday.
“You know, that was some hacking you did back there.” There was no way I’d ever be able to do that.
The shorter girl bent down and started to analyze the flower petals. “Think so?”
“Didn’t I just say? Where’d you learn to do that?”
There was a long silence. In that time, I strained to hear because I was afraid the bird’s chirping would be louder.
“…Practice.”
“That’s it?” Wait a minute, why am I so surprised? What did I expect? That there would some easy short cut? “Ah…Anyway, what made you decide to bring Michi flowers?” You do know she won’t be able to enjoy them right?
“Oh…Well, my sis once told me that my mom loved flowers.”
Her mom?
“She said my mom would sit hours in a garden full of flowers’ everyday. And that her favorites were blue ones like these. So I thought…If my mom liked them, then maybe…” She stood up to look at me with her chosen flower. “Michiru would too?”
“…” That look…
“What’s wrong? Did I say something wei-”
Tup, tup. Whup.
“Haruka?”
…reminds me of myself. I know I’m the worst with comforting people, but I want to try.
“My mom used to hug me like this whenever I was down…But hang in there, the sailor senshi will definitely do something.”
“…Yeah.”
Michiru’s hospital room, after Kaiya leaves
Everything was the way I left it; Michiru was still asleep thank the stars. Kaiya had already placed her flower in its designated space and left shortly later, saying she had to check up on something at the shrine. I wonder what she meant by it, but it was probably best to let her go. After what we found out today, it was enough to worry anyone.
But I wonder why she gave Michiru and I such a sad look? Michi is all right, you’d think she’d be happy.
Moments before
“Is something wrong?” Kaiya opened her mouth but closed it again.
“No, nothing.”
“Cheer up, everything will work out.”
“…You’re right. See you around.”
End of thought
“If you can hear me Michi, please, don’t wake up just yet. Give me a little more time. It’ll be all over tonight. I’ll end this nightmare… even if it costs me my life!”
“I promise.”
So…please let me stay here a little longer.
Kaiya’s POV, shrine, darkened room
Someone will do something Haruka, I promise. But until the time comes, I need to check up on Michiru. I’ve thought about it and concluded that Michiru becomes more real with each encounter because she is approaching the end of the illusion. Who knows what will happen when that happens? Perhaps she’ll come out too early… or even worse, she could be trapped in that state forever. Everything has to be perfect, there’s no room for error!
“Here goes…”
Searching
FlaaaaaaSSSSH!
Aunt Nomi’s house
Click.
“Aunt Nomi, I’m home.”
I was standing in the middle of a kitchen when I heard Michiru’s voice greet her Aunt. Coincidentally, the addressed party was preparing a meal behind me.
“How was school?” The woman beamed when Michiru entered the space.
“Wonderful.” The teen gave her a peck on the cheek. She then paused to look at the chopped up carrots and then at the stewed broth left to boil. “Can I help you make dinner?”
“I know better than to argue with you.” Nomi smiled.
While the two went to work at the cutting board, my eyes began to wonder around the place. It’s strange that her Aunt would even consider working as a maid. By the way she lives, I’d say she’s more than well off to afford maids to work for her! All of these fancy dishes…I wandered over into what I hoped to be the living room. Leather couches, hardwood floor, a multitude of animal figurines…It definitely wasn’t a mansion like Michiru’s mom had, but it was still a reasonably sized house. Then again, it’s inside what really matters right?
Before long, the sudden change in the two’s conversation drew me back again. “So how are things going between you and Haruka?”
“Well…she’s pretty quiet. However she’s slowly beginning to open up more.”
“That’s good.”
Nomi’s voice was cheerful but she was giving Michiru a concerned expression. It didn’t go unnoticed.
“Is something wrong?”
By now I knew exactly what to do. Following the routine, I lightly touched Nomi’s apparition on the shoulder.
I want to protect you from becoming like her; quiet, with your heart cold and locked away.
“…Michi, do you understand why Haruka is the way she is?”
“Because she lost her family.” I caught the saddened look in her aqua eyes.
“That may have been part of it, but not quite.”
“What do you mean?”
My thought exactly…
“She also chose to be that way. Now before you say anything, please hear me out first. People…cannot control what they may encounter in their lives. But what they can control is how they take it. It is easy to be happy when something good happens to you and the same can be said for vice versa. However, you don’t have to be predictably happy or sad. If you choose, you could act cold when you really are jumping for joy inside. Such the case may be with Haruka or myself acting as a maid.”
Michiru smiled at that comment.
“ That is why I believe Haruka is fortunate to have someone like you as a friend. In time, she will surely find herself again one day.”
“I hope so too.”
“…” Nomi had a strange, distant look on her face but it was quickly amended. “Whatever the future may bring, always remember that you have the choice of who you want to be.”
“Huh?”
“I can take it from here; the stew will be done shortly. Would you please set the table?”
“All right.”
I watched Michiru disappear out of the kitchen. Instead of following like I would have normally I decided to stay behind out of curiosity; Nomi was hiding something. Her facial expressions throughout the conversation said it all. Whether or not Michiru had noticed this and chose not to say anything, I still wanted to know.
The woman looked sadly into the bubbling stew with that familiar distant look in her brown eyes.
“I don’t have much time left…” She whispered.
What? No way! I turned around and ran out after Michiru and made contact. What was she thinking right now? Did she know? Instead, I found the aqua eyed teen thinking about something else that had completely slipped my mind.
Everything that I have ever wanted is here. I don’t have to pretend being someone I’m not. I can dress in the manner I wish to. There is no guard to lock me in my own house. Instead, I can live a normal life with a caring family. Doing what other people my age enjoy; going out on picnics, frequently visit the beach, dragging Haruka along shopping every weekend.
I don’t want to leave but I have to. Why…does must this be?
My hand shot back; her heart was completely breaking right in front of me. She’s talking about the day her and Haruka left, isn’t she? I thought they left because they wanted to. What did she mean by ‘I have to’? But she can’t leave yet! What about your Aunt?
“Is the table done?” I heard the older woman call out.
“Yes.”
The apparition moved back towards the kitchen. However, without thinking I grabbed a hold of her wrist. To both of our amazement I was actually having solid contact with her.
And in that moment, she could actually see me.
“What…?” Came the shocked whisper.
Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad! I let go and jumped back. It’s happening too fast!
“Who…?”
“Michiru, is something wrong?”
I could only vaguely hear the conversation; everything had started to revert into white light once more. She was still looking in my direction, but her eyes were searching; even though she knew I was right here, she couldn’t see me any longer.
“No…nothing is wrong.”
FlaaaaaaSSSSH!
Shrine
“Hah!” I jolted awake.
That must be it, their departure is where the dream will end! But she’s almost there; this time I could actually touch her.
“Tonight, it has to be tonight.”
With or without Uranus, I’m going!
Evening rolls by…Outskirts of the reservoir and water plant facility
This is it.
“Silence Glaive.”
The discs emitted the same purple light as always and the transformation was completed only moments later.
For what I’ve picked up off the disc, there are two main entranceways and a secret back door in the water facility. However, a complex computer system is monitoring each of these entry points. Which means…there’s a higher chance that the majority of security will be focused on the two main gates. My best bet would be to infiltrate from the back door and diffuse the main nerve connecting them all.
Overhead I could see the moon disappearing behind a veil of darkness. When it disappears entirely, then I will have my chance. My target stood relatively silent, appearing ignorant to the attack that would proceed. It really was something, all of those steel pipes. The metal rose up by rows, similar to a staircase from both sides of the facility. The front, where one of the main entrances lay, was a straight tower of smooth concrete. Making it virtually impossible to scale. Yes, the side was definitely my best bet.
Slowly the signal pushed forward and with frustrating patience I held back. A little closer…Just a bit longer…
ShhhhhrrrrRroosh…
Now!
Tup, tup, tup, tup, tup, tup..
The wind blew at my back, propelling me further towards my goal. Before I knew it, the structure rose to meet me, towering over my smaller form. But it didn’t deter me; on the last few approaching steps, I made them out as large leaps. The largest of them all was the last.
TUP!
Going up!
A wall of metal pipes fell below me as I climbed in altitude, each of them twisting and snaking around in every direction possible. Some went horizontally, others were aligned with my vertical path. Smaller ducts connected into each other at various points but they are not to be concerned with.
Halfway there. With that thought in mind, I waited until my feet made contact with a chosen spot and then shot up once more.
TUP!
Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup!
What? I turned to look below me. Am I being followed? A twinge of panic set in.
FwwwwoOoOooSSsSssh…
Where did this strong wind come from? I looked up to the sky to see the moon had already started to reappear. It’s light ran across all shadow and illuminated the entire area.
Who is it?
TUP!
Before I could think, the person was already at my side.
Uranus!
“It ends tonight.” She muttered.
Both of us landed a quarter short of the secret entrance. I began to run up one side of the wall while Uranus mimicked my action on the other.
If she wants to help…then I’ll let her. It has to end tonight!
“It’s up ahead, do you see it?” I shouted.
“Yeah!”
On the last step we both made another push off, catapulting the two of us towards the targeted ledge. The landing went without any problem to my relief. A fall from here could even kill a sailor senshi, our powers wouldn’t be able to keep our skulls from being crushed.
“So…decided to show up?” I asked. It came out slightly forced though; the run had me panting slightly for breath. It appeared to be the same for Uranus.
“Could say the same for you.”
We both glared at each other.
“Don’t move.” I told the prideful senshi of the wind. “WORLD…”
“Wait, what are you-”
“SHAKING!”
WhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIRL, CRASH! Crumble… crumble…
Overhead where Uranus stood, there was now a large hole in the cemented doorway.
“Security camera.”
“You could have just told me!” My companion growled. Off hand I thought her mumble, “I could’ve done it myself.”
Like she would’ve listened. Besides, all the time we could spend arguing would have left us wide open.
“We should go, we don’t have a lot of time.”
“I know that.”
We stared at each other for a few more seconds before mutually deciding to enter at the same time.
Tup, tup, tup, tup………….
Haruka’s POV, second floor up from the basement
What a waste of time, entering from the top so we could reach the bottom. Trying to get down here we’ve encountered twenty-nine security cameras and climbed down twenty floors. And all of it was to find what my companion refers to as the ‘pressure point’.
“Hey, how much longer?” I shouted to the blonde. Of course, she ignored me and muttered,
“Camera in the top right corner behind you. Seventy five degrees.”
She turned around slowly and my target was reflected back through her shades.
“WOLRD…SHAKING!”
CRASH!
Make that thirty security cameras.
“ And I think we’re getting closer.” She replied to my previous question.
“Think?”
The blonde nodded.
Oh great, we’re lost!
“Sparkling wide pressure!”
KABOOM!
The wall directly in front of us suddenly spotted a large, gaping hole. As soon as I saw the electric sparks jumping around in the air I knew who the morons were.
“It’s the inner senshi…” I grumbled.
My companion walked up to my side, looking to where I pointed. She definitely did not look impressed.
“Well, they set off the alarm.”
Death Buster lab, Eudial’s master control room
“Intruder! Intruder!”
“Whaaaat!” The red headed witch shouted at the screen. Her disbelieving face was almost pressed flat against the surface as she scanned the changing statistics. “Who is it?” She snarled, finally regaining herself.
The system shuffled through the remaining operational cameras until it stopped on one which contained a shot of the aggressors’ backs.
“Sailor Senshi…” Eudial narrowed her eyes. “If that’s the case, we’ll set operation two into action!”
Click.
Operation 1: In motion.
Operation 2: Stand by.
Blep.
Operation 1: In motion.
Operation 2: In motion.
Rumble…rumble…rumble…
Haruka’s POV
RrrrR! RrrrR! RrrrR!
“Ah! What’s going on?” Sailor moon started to panic. The other inners walked though their force made entrance with alarmed expressions as well.
“Jupiter…” Mercury began.
“O-Overdid it huh?”
“I knew you should have let me handle it!” Venus joined in.
As if my headache couldn’t get any worse, the moon idiot went on a rant of ‘what are we going to do?’ as she ran around the arguing senshi.
“My computer said we should have taken this entry point.”
“Well the main entrance seemed closer.”
“Look, not everything can be fixed with brute strength Jupiter.”
“What did you say?”
All this noise started to push me towards the edge. They had no right to be here! Just when we had some decent plan, a bunch of kids come uninvited and want to play hero.
“The water…”
I turned towards ‘shades’.
“What about the water?” I almost snapped.
Sploosh.
On the other side of the room one of the inners suddenly screamed, “EEK! W-Where is all this water coming from?”
It’s rising!
“Get to higher ground!” I called out to the younger senshi.
They all abruptly stopped this quibbling and stared as if they were seeing us for the first time.
“Hey, isn’t that Uranus…?” Sailor moon asked Mercury.
“Yes. And someone else is with her…”
“Who? Is she part of the sailor senshi too?”
I stomped my foot on the floor in a frustrated rage. We’ve got no time for this!
BAM!
“Get moving!”
This time round they actually moved their flat feet.
“We’ll take the way we came from.” ‘Shades’ automatically ordered.
“Sounds good to me.”
Kaiya’s POV, on the escape
It had taken us nearly ten minutes to reach the secret entranceway with barely any room to spare; the water had continued to rise past our expectations. I never expected someone would be so desperate that they’d flood this place!
“You’re gonna have to jump!” I said as I pushed Sailor moon out.
“YAAAAAAAH!”
Thud.
Good, she’s hit the second ledge. All the other scouts made the leap without any further encouragement. One by one they disappeared out of the tunnel until only Uranus and I remained.
“After you.” I offered. The blonde one of her looks but proceeded without any protest . I followed directly after. Out of my peripheral vision the stream of water was gaining ground. Already it had reached its final stretch.
Rumble…rumble…rumble…
TUP!
Both of us cleared the runway just as the liquid shot out after us , only to fall short of where we had landed.
Craaaaaaaaaaash…
W-Whew…I wonder where all that came from though. Could it be…? I turned around slowly in the direction of the reservoir that lay only a little ways from this plant. You could barely make out the dammed wall but it was there.
Wait a minute…
I squinted into the darkness, training onto a moving form over by the wall. What is that? I’m not seeing things am I?
“Shit!” I heard Uranus yell. “Someone opened the dam!”
It was as she said. The small movement that I had seen seconds earlier gained momentum and shot out of its containment with ease. The eight small waterfalls poured into the ground, following a man made pathway that had been carved into the Earth.
If this keeps up, it’ll flood the city! Everyone will be infected…
‘Infected…’
Huh?
Ping.
No! Why now!
FlaaaaaaSSSSH!
Michiru’s POV, Hospital room
“It can’t be true! Why didn’t you tell me?” I looked at Aunt Nomi with an accusing eye. I was still upset that she hadn’t informed me of her condition.
“You should have also told me too…” The sickly woman replied with a weak smile. Her statement had taken me aback.
“Tell… you what?” I was afraid to hear that she knew. But I was even more afraid to show her the tears that I desperately held back.
She sighed. “Michi, it’s okay.” She took me into an embrace. “It will be all right. I know Haruka will take good care of you.”
My head shot up. So she did know…She knew we were going to leave.
“But still, it does not mean that I want you to die!” By now the tears had started to flow.
“I know…” Aunt Nomi shushed.
Someone please tell me this isn’t happening. It…can’t be. Just then, I felt a light pressure on my shoulder, making me look up in turn to see a stranger’s face. The feeling I sensed was familiar. Have I seen her before? The longer we stared at each other, the stronger this feeling became.
Who are you?
The blonde squeezed my shoulder gently and said, “It’s not real.”
I want to die.
FlaaaaaaSSSSH!
Kaiya’s POV, atop a series of pipes
The roaring of the crisis came back but it could not overtake the single thought that repeated itself in my mind.
I want to die. I want to die.
“I…want to die.”
Suddenly everything started to swirl around me and I was falling back.
“What are you doing!”
Before I could completely fall to the raging waters below a hand shot out of nowhere and gripped my wrist in a tight hold. Someone was shaking I realized, but it wasn’t me. In a tired motion I slowly looked up to the hand around my wrist and then finally up to the face of its owner.
“Uranus.” I then noticed how hard she was struggling to keep me up.
“Arrgh…”
For the world of me, she was the last person I ever expected to save me. Even now I couldn’t believe it, it left me in a state of shock.
“Hah…” She forced a smile through a grimace. “I know this may be a bad time, but do you have a name?”
“Yeah, really bad timing.” I grinned back. “Why do you ask?”
“Can’t…keep calling you ‘ally’.” She grunted.
A name…I never thought my parents would care for it. But I shouldn’t tell them my real one, at least not yet; it’s too risky. “You can call me Rai.”
Uranus raised an eyebrow. “Trust? Well Rai, if you want to get up, better make an effort too! Up… we go!”
Thud.
None of us wasted any time for trivial thanks or your welcomes. Instead, we dashed off towards where the inners waited patiently for us.
Tup, tup, tup…
Outskirts
All of the sailor senshi soon were gathered in the outskirts of the area, a safe enough distance from the flooding mainstream.
“Too…much…running.” Moon girl groaned.
“Yeah, no kidding.” Venus agreed. The goddess of love took another deep breath and looked in our direction. “Hey, I see them!”
When we finally met up with the younger girls, the first question asked was, “So what do we do now?”
Uranus however looked very cold and glared at the person who asked the question. Unfortunately it was poor Mercury. “What do you mean by ‘we’?” The considerably smaller inner shrunk back and Jupiter stepped forward.
“She meant ‘teamwork’.”
I could see where this was going. Already it was clear Jupiter and Uranus had some sort of dispute between them.
“We don’t need your help.” Uranus challenged right back. “Who do you think set off the alarm in the first place?”
“Irk…That was an accident!”
“Well we can’t afford ‘accidents’.”
I thought about it for a moment. If we had the inners help, things might actually go about faster. “Uranus, why not let them help?”
“What?” She shot me an ‘are you crazy look’.
“No, I’m dead serious. It’s true we’ve lost a lot of time but there’s no point in worrying about time lost. If everyone is organized properly we can make it work.”
“Yeah, I agree!” Sailor moon jumped in.
Jupiter looked at me suspiciously. “Wait, why are you guys so interested? This has nothing to do with pure hearts.”
My muscles tensed up. “Our reasons are our own. What about you?”
This time all the inners’ faces looked stressed. “Wait a minute”, Uranus cut in. “There should be five of you, where’s Mars?”
Mars? That’s right, there are only four of them. It clicked. Mars must’ve fallen ill. But the question now was, is she already dead?
“That…” Mercury started.
“Our reasons are our own as well!” Venus finished.
“So you’re determined to go through with this no matter what? Once you decide you can’t back out.” I warned.
“Of course we are!” The small blonde replied. I noticed the other inners nod as well, agreeing with their leader.
“Fair enough.” I smiled. It was the first time I ever have around this group; things may get interesting after all. “Then this is the way we’ll do it…”
Haruka’s POV, On the roof of a high rise building, Tokyo’s city center
“Uranus and Sailor Moon will go back to the city. Find someplace high up and keep an eye on the water level. We’ll be relying on you two to relay the information back every five minutes. If anything unnatural occurs, report it immediately.”
“Jupiter can you hear me? Heeeello.”
Blep.
“Yeah, loud and clear. Everything all right?”
“Umm…well I think it might’ve gotten higher. Hold on, I’ll ask. Uranus, has it gotten higher?”
Count to ten…Don’t lose it…It could be worse, it could be Jupiter. “Yes, I think so.”
“She thinks so.”
“Okay. Talk to you again in five minutes.”
“You got it!”
Blep.
Kaiya’s POV, beside the reservoir wall
As for the rest of us, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus will stay with me. We’ll try to redirect it from our end.
“So tell me again why you’re the leader.” Venus asked again for the fifth time.
“Because I have a plan.”
“She does have a point you know.” Jupiter off-handedly mumbled.
“I heard that! Besides, shouldn’t you be talking to Sailor Moon right now? It’s been five minutes.”
I walked away from the two scouts to where Mercury stood. For the last while she has been standing at that same spot while playing around with her mini computer.
“Find anything out?”
Her typing suddenly stopped and the visor screen disappeared. “Not yet. For some reason I can’t bypass the reservoir’s sixteenth lock.”
Probably because of this Eudial person.
“Would you mind taking a look at this then?” I took out the disc from my cargo pant pocket and handed it to the young genius. It didn’t take much to know that with this, almost anything was possible for Mercury.
“Where did you get this?” She said half distracted.
“I’m resourceful.”
“I can see that.” I looked onto the screen to see all the data separate into their separate panels. “And if it’s not too much to ask, would you explain this plan of yours? Venus and Jupiter are going to hurt themselves at this rate.”
Oh right…
“Hey, bring it over here you two.”
“So…Huff, huff…are you going to tell us?”
“Yeah…”
“I’m going to tell you exactly what I told Uranus. First we need to bypass the locks on the computer system. That’ll be Mercury’s job.” I turned to the blue haired scout. “Think you can handle it?”
She nodded. “It may take some time but yes, I can do it.”
“All right. As soon as the locks have been broken through, we’ll need to throw the switch to activate the reversal mechanism of the reservoir.”
“That’s where we come in right?” Jupiter and Venus asked simultaneously.
“Exactly. After all the other preparations are complete, you two need to look for the switch. From the data, it’s a long pole positioned beside the inner part of the wall. As soon as you see it, have Venus use her ‘love me chain’ and grab a hold of it. To get the system fully operational again, Jupiter will have to conduct an electrical attack along Venus’s chain and jump-start that system. Does that make sense to everyone, or would someone like me to repeat or clarify a role?”
“…It sounds all good to me, but what will you be doing?” Venus prodded.
She makes it sound like I’m some lazy bum who is about to sit back and watch. However, my main role isn’t something for them to know.
“I’m…the back up. If the plan fails somewhere along the way, that’ll be where I come in.”
“I’m a bit confused.”
“Just worry about your part Jupiter. Is that it then?”
“I have one.” To my surprise it was Mercury who spoke this time. “There are five inners and four outers. Two of the outers are Neptune and Uranus while the third is the gatekeeper of time, Sailor Pluto. And there is an extremely low possibility that you are Saturn, the Sailor scout of destruction. None of your readings match in the data base... Who are you really?”
“What do your readings say?”
The genius frowned. “Unreadable.”
I’m someone who shouldn’t exist in this time, someone you shouldn’t have ever met. A person trained to fight, a person filled with hate. Everything that would disgust you…
The thoughts…hurt.
“Who am I? You guys can call me Rai. What I am, where I come from, it’s really none of your business, nor does it concern the situation at hand. And my reasons… are my own.”
“…I see.”
“So, let’s get started!”
Michiru’s POV, hospital room
I haven’t seen that girl for awhile now…In a way, I almost miss her. Nearly as badly as I wish Haruka was here…
It feels so heavy in this room. At times, I have to remind myself to breathe; this place can almost drain the life from a person. All the color is gone… everything has become dull. How do they expect ill people to recover in a lifeless atmosphere? White walls, white concrete floors, white blinds…It makes me want to cry. To think that Nomi’s last moments will be in such a horrid place.
“Mm…Are you still there Michi?”
“Yes, right beside you. Are the painkillers working?” I choked back the emotions. It would be selfish to be weak when someone else is trying so hard to be strong.
My aunt nodded. No matter how often I see her, it always hurts. She has grown so pale and thin over these past few days. I’m seeing her waste away before my eyes.
“It’ll be soon now…” I caught the whisper.
“No!”
“Calm down Michiru. We all knew there is no help for terminal cancer.”
No…No…Please…
“I’ve had a good life…and the time we spent together were most precious to me…”
“Being with you were the best days of my life!” I tried to tell her. Please don’t leave me.
“But you will have more.”
I…I don’t think so…
Knock! Knock!
“Oh for…!”
Bam!
“We’ll see about that.”
A person who I never thought to ever lay eyes on again staggered into the room. Her dark eyes wildly examined the gloomy atmosphere with an insane streak to them.
“So she’s come…” Nomi muttered.
“Mother…?”
“Indeed. I’ve come to see our guest off dearest daughter.” Her thin hand withdrew a glimmering object from her purse. “Things will go back to the way they used to be, just the two of us. Perhaps we can set you up with a suitable suitor as well.” The lengthy knife then moved away from Aunt Nomi’s direction towards me. “Or perhaps, I’ll send you two traitors to hell together!”
She’s mad!
Somebody…
Kaiya’s POV, reservoir
“I’ve broken through.” Mercury finally confirmed.
“Great! Venus! Jupiter! Your up!”
The two inner scouts were positioned up on higher ground, near the cliff’s edge.
“Do you see it?” I heard Jupiter ask Venus.
“Umm…Wait! I think that’s it over there. Venus love me chain!”
A bright orange heart shaped chain burst forth and shot down over the edge. I knew the Senshi of love had snagged her target when a, “Yeeees! I got it.” squeal filled the air.
“My turn then! Supreme…THUNDER!”
A bolt of lightning dropped out of the sky and down the chain.
“How’s it look?” I asked Mercury. Although over her shoulder I could clearly see the power statistics rising exponentially.
“It’s online. I’ll input the command.”
Great! Everything is going according to plan! Now to check on Uranus…
Blep.
“Uranus, Sailor Moon…somebody please respond.”
“…Hi! Sailor Moon here.” She paused. “This isn’t Jupiter is it?”
“Ah…no, I’m borrowing her communicator for a sec. How are we doing with the water level? Is it going down?”
“Hmm…I don’t know to be honest… Hey!”
I heard some shuffling in the background and a few protesting squeals.
“Umm…hello?”
“The water is starting to reverse its flow.” Came a deeper voice.
Uranus!
“That’s good to hear. Things are going smoothly over here as well. As you might’ve guessed the system is up and running. Hopefully the streets will be clear again shortly.”
“Hopefully…The bug along with it?”
The bug…? That…
“Yes.”
“All right. Then talk to you soon. Uranus out.”
Blep.
“Somebody.”
“Ah!” I dropped the communicator and my hands flew to my ears. What’s this throbbing in my head?
“Is something wrong?” Mercury asked with a concerned voice.
“N-Nothing…Ignore me.”
‘Somebody!’
“Geh…” Michiru!
FlaaaaaaSSSSH!
Michiru’s POV,Hospital Room
“Ready to die?”
“You…will not lay a finger on that girl…”
Aunt Nomi? I watched in paralyzed fear as she pushed herself off the bed and onto her feet.
“You think you can stop me? You’re already one foot in the grave!”
Stop it you two!
“Yes.”
“We’ll see about that. AHHHHHHH!”
Stop! “Stop!”
SLASH! STAB!
Ah…uh…
“I stopped you.” Nomi gasped.
“But I’m taking you down with me.” My insane mother laughed.
Both women dropped to the floor, falling into a large pool of blood. It was everywhere. Other than the floor, droplets stained the bed sheets and wall. And in the red coloring lay two separate knives.
Aunt Nomi knew…?
“Aunt Nomi!” I ran to her side. As I did so, I saw that the other injured party was deceased. “Aunt Nomi, I…Because of me…”
“Shh…You can…now leave with Haruka.”
Don’t leave me!
“But never forget…You…have…a choice.”
Lub dub!
FlaaaaaaSSSSH!
Kaiya’s POV, reservoir
“YAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
“Rai! What’s wrong!” This time all the inners grew worried.
It’s almost over! The dream is almost over!
“Wait, where are you going! Stop!”
I could hear them yelling for me to stop but it had to be done. I have to get rid of the bug!
Tup, tup, tup, tup, TUP!
Fwooooooooooosh, SPLOSH!
“She jumped into the stream!”
“What should we do?”
“Venus, can you make another chain?”
“I’m on it!”
Underwater
Fast flowing water battered ruthlessly at all sides. At first I couldn’t tell up from down; everything was spinning and it was dark. It continued like this for another few seconds until I finally crashed into a solid object.
A rock? Whatever it was, I definitely had stopped being thrown around like a pebble. But this was my chance! Here’s where I pray that my own powers won’t let me down. I hope they can keep me alive long enough.
Against the current I struggled to bring my right hand to my opposite shoulder. Just a little further…Nngh…
RIP!
“AH!”
A cloud of red shot into the water all around me. Let’s see the pests take the taste of medicine. Obviously, they didn’t take to it so well; around the red came spotted lights of bright green. The spots then spread and started exploding one by one, until the numbers began increasing exponentially. It was…all I had expected. In the future, the thing had evolved to the point where it could block all sailor senshi powers. A deadly pest indeed…However in its current form, the antibodies in my blood are more than adequate for the task!
Poof! Poof! Poof!
Only…It looks like I could be screwed. This time Michiru won’t be around to save me…On the other hand, she should be okay now. Haruka will be happy too; they can be together again. And if they’re happy…then I’m okay with this…
“I know this may be a bad time, but do you have a name?”
It’s…Tenoh, Kaiya.
Michiru’s POV, dark plane
Where…am I?
I wasn’t in the hospital room anymore, but in a large empty space. There were no walls but smooth, blue ground all around. It even had a light blue sky.
“She said I had a choice.”
Aunt Nomi…The image was still fresh in my mind. She died…She left me behind. I dropped to my knees, my legs had finally given out on me twice today. Everything felt hopeless. So much that I could almost disappear right here.
I…want to see you.
‘Haruka…”
Haruka’s POV, high rise roof
“Haruka…”
Michiru? Where… are you?
FlaaaaaaSSSSH!
Michiru’s Pov, dark plane
You have a choice…But…what is the point? They all left me behind…
“…Michiru?”
I looked up to see a familiar face that I’ve missed for so long. “Haruka? What…are you doing here?”
“We were going to leave town today. Are you ready to go?”
…That’s right. “We were, weren’t we?” To be anywhere but here…I started to reach out for her outstretched hand.
“Wait! It’s not real.”
Huh? That voice…I stopped and turned to see a different blonde. She wasn’t as tall as Haruka was but the resemblance startled me.
“You are that girl from before.” I recognized the figure but the details would not come to mind.
“Don’t run away.” She seemed to plead. “Try to remember.”
Such sad aqua eyes…I could be looking into a mirror and not known the difference.
Tup. Tup. Tup…
Another set of footsteps was approaching. The girl with the sad eyes turned towards the noise. Oddly enough, a knowing expression crossed her features and she smiled.
“Wait, where are you going?” I called out. My heart told me that I didn’t want her to leave, but why? As she disappeared, an older looking Haruka appeared from the opposite direction.
What? Two Harukas?
“I finally found you.” The older Haruka said. Her words made me happy…But it seemed to anger the younger self.
“Hey, didn’t you say we’d leave together?” She demanded.
“I…I…”
“You already left…” This time I could not look up at the mature voice. As she walked towards me, I looked at the ground to avoid that extra time till we met. “We left together a long time ago. And together, we took on the task of searching for the talismans… Along the way, we’ve met the inner senshi and made a new friend. You remember her don’t you Michi? Have you forgotten about Kaiya?”
Kaiya…The blonde’s face came to mind instantly this time. So the person that left…was Kaiya?
“Don’t listen to her!” The younger Haruka raged.
But I ignored the childish figure because…I chose to.
“Things may become hard sometimes but we all have a choice.”
A choice…
Before I knew it, the older Haruka was kneeling down in front of me.
“My choice, is to always be by your side. What’s yours Michi?” I slowly lifted my head to stare in the pair of dark green eyes. They were sincere and kind…
“Michiru!”
“Haruka…never calls me Michiru.” This caught the younger self off guard. “I’m Michi.”
“YAAAAAAAAAH!” The form screamed, grasping at its head in pain. It kept screaming until it exploded into a mass of dark energy and faded away.
“I’ll meet you there soon.” I told Haruka. “There is something I have to do first.”
The blonde nodded. “See you soon then.”
FlaaaaaaSSSSH!
The present, Michiru’s hospital room
When I opened my eyes I was back in my hospital room. Only, I think my eyes were open; I could see but it was as though I was looking from behind the scenes. My body automatically left the bed and stumbled over to the window. My arms reached up and pushed away the blinds. However, instead of light being the first sight I see, I saw flooded streets.
How much has happened since I’ve been away? And there was so much water…Unusual color as well. The liquid surface was no longer a dark blue, but a incredibly lighter shade. It was no longer infected, my sense told me. But it still had to go. The thoughts gained momentum inside my mind.
People are counting on me.
This is the life I choose to live.
I’m…Sailor Neptune!
A new power erupted from deep inside until I was encircled by an aquamarine aura.
“Tidal…curtain!”
FwwwOoOoooOoosh…
Haruka’s POV, high rise roof
“Is somebody there? It’s Uranus. Damn it, answer me!”
Blep.
“Uranus? Mercury here.”
“The water is receding! The streets are almost clear!”
“We’ve noticed it over here as well; it’s like the water is moving on its own.”
On its own…? Then that means,
“She’s awake. Hey, Moon kid, take over. I gotta go!”
“W-what? You’re leaving me here?”
Tup!
I’ve got to get there before the death busters find her!
Kaiyia’s POV, reservoir
The water…it’s falling. I gasped for air as the water dropped to head level.
Cough! Cough!
“Hah…”
“There she is!”
“I see her. Venus love me chain!”:
Shink!
Venus’s chain shot out and wrapped itself around my waist.
“Hang in there, we’ll pull you up!” Jupiter called down.
As they started to drag me up, I couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. I was wrong…For the first time, I’m happy because I was wrong! What a perplexing feeling…
“Put her over here.” Mercury instructed the lightning senshi. “First we have to treat that shoulder…”
I want to see them. I want to see Haruka and Michiru.
Haruka’s POV, outside Michiru’s hospital room, sometime later
Two doctors were making their way in my direction, whispering to each other of their ‘hidden agenda’.
“Are you sure this patient has recovered?” One of them inquired of the other.
‘Of course! There’s no mistake. According to our orders, we are to take patient 227 to the lab.”
I coughed, pretending to clear my throat. “Gentlemen…” I greeted the two.
“Umm…excuse me, but you’re in the way.” The taller of the two spoke up.
“Am I now? Isn’t that…too bad.”
“W-what?” He stuttered.
“Shoo. Before I get really get angry.” I glared.
Zip.
And they were outta there! Wooo…look at them go. I had to chuckle at that.
Kaiya’s POV, Hospital cooridor
“What’s with that guy!”
“He isn’t following us is he?”
“What a nuisance! And we were only following orders!”
Bump!
“Oof” They both fell to the floor.
“Oh…so it was you two…” I glared down at the considerably smaller men. Imagine that. I see Rei and on my way to Michiru I bump into these scum.
“Watch where you’re walking girl! Hey! Wait! I-I didn’t mean it.”
Tup, tup…
“YAAAAAH!”
Haruka’s POV, Outside Michiru’s room
Creak…
“Ha…ruka?”
My heart skipped at the sound of her voice.
“Welcome back.”
Michi stared up at me with tired eyes. The hospital must’ve really tired her out I realized.
“Ready to go home?”
Again my partner remained silent, only this time something seemed to be on her mind. I watched as she stepped closer until her arms had wrapped around my waist.
“You’re real, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am.” And she started to cry. “It’s okay…I’m right here.”
Every muscle in my body ached but I ignored their complaints and scooped Michi up in my arms. She didn’t protest so I assumed she was fine with it. Besides, it looks like she was about to fall asleep again.
“Hey Michi?” I whispered to the sleepy goddess.
“Mm…?”
“I know you might be tired tomorrow…so you should rest. But the day after, what do you say we spend the day together? Just…the two of us?”
I felt her small hand tug at my shirt. “I’d like that.”
She agreed! I…I couldn’t believe it. It made me…so happy.
“And Haruka? Where’s Kaiya?”
Kaiya…?
Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup!
“Miiiiiiichiru! Haruuuuuuka!”
“Does that answer your question?” Michi raised an eyebrow.
“Hey, what’re you guys talking about?” The blonde finally reached my side.
“None of your business.”
“Huh? C’mon, spill! Oh, hi Michiru. How are you feeling? Did you see my flower?”
“Hello Kaiya…” She whispered. I watched as she ruffled the blonde’s hair for a moment. “They were wonderful, thank you. What about yourself? You look tired…”
“I’m a-okay! Nothing like a little sleep won’t fix.” She smiled.
“Speaking of sleep, Michi’s kinda sleepy, so try to keep it down.” I warned the enthusiastic teen.
“Where are you taking her?”
“Her house.”
“Can I come along?”
“What about Rei? You aren’t going to leave her alone are you?”
“…She has Usagi, Ami, Makoto and Minako with her. I’m sure she’ll be fine. Besides, I just saw her a few minutes ago.”
That means…everything is returning to normal! We really did it.
A sudden sharp pain made me twitch. A certain aqua haired someone had pinched my arm.
“Haruka…” Michi groaned in exasperation.
“Okay, okay, she can come.”
“Yay!”
Michiru’s POV
There were many times when I only wished to give up. When I felt so alone or lost. But I always had a choice. It made me wonder, what made me happy. I struggled and floundered for some time but now I know that this is where I want to be. I want to be with Haruka and Kaiya. The three of us together, our little family…
Gates of time, two figures in the shadows
“Time has shifted.”
“For good or for bad?”
“…Good. But whether it is good or bad, it is irrelevant.”
“Will you go then?”
“No, it is not the time. But soon I must…It approaches…”
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