Michiru bowed slightly to the door guard, who was careful to bow much more deeply. "Her Highness is expecting you." Michiru chuckled as she led the other three women into Hokkaido Palace. "Highness now, is it? Last month it was ladyship. She can sometimes be so very whimsical." Michiru, Haruka, Rei, and Makoto entered the huge throne room, smiling at the statues and paintings dedicated to the finest parts of Japan's long and distinguished history. "She likes history and is always fascinated how time seems to cycle and events repeat themselves over and over again," Michiru whispered to her guests. "We joke that her element is time." Haruka stopped when she spotted the tall woman sitting sedately on the throne. Her long hair was dark green, and her all-knowing eyes were garnet red. Her long dress reached the foot of her throne, and her arms were resting on her armrests. Then she smiled, and the image of the reigning monarch vanished in a wave of friendship. "Kaiou Michiru, Duchess of Kanto Region. You haven't been this far north in almost a year." Michiru crossed her arms over her chest, her sapphire eyes mocking the other royal. "Meiou Setsuna. Still have your head buried in the past, I see." Setsuna descended the dais, embracing the aqua-haired duchess briefly. Rei held out her arms, pouting. "What, no hug for me?" Setsuna laughed as she embraced the Shinto priestess. "Your girlfriend came to see me a week or so ago. She was very worried about you." "And?" "And I told her that you were fine and that you'd be home soon. I don't remember what day I told her; she'll know when you get to Kyushu." Rei hmphed. "You remember exactly what you told Mina, but you just refuse to tell me." "I told her the day you would arrive, and you will be there on that day. I am never wrong. I also told her that you would arrive with guests, and I assume these are the guests." She turned to Haruka and Makoto, bowing deeply. "Meiou Setsuna, Duchess of Hokkaido Region." "Ten'ou Haruka, former prize fighter at the Tokyo Fighting Palace. This is my partner Kino Makoto." "Rei-chan and I think that Haruka-san and Makoto-san are the duchesses of Tohoku and Chubu, respectively. Rei-chan did a lot of research, and what these two can remember of their pasts and how to write their names seems to support our theory." Setsuna reached out and took Haruka's hand, closing her eyes. She did the same to Makoto, thinking a moment before nodding. "Your theories are correct. Their pasts are very distinct to me, but their futures are uncertain. They are currently searching for a new path, for some direction, and there are other powers out there that would prefer it if our young fighters did not survive to claim their thrones. Teach them and protect them." Haruka took Setsuna's hand, staring deep into the duchess's dark red eyes. Haruka's vision of the Silence, the destruction, entered Setsuna's mind, along with Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus. Sighing, Setsuna added a third Senshi, herself, into the image, a tall rod in her hand, a round dark red orb on top. A mirror appeared in Neptune's hand, and a long, deadly sword in Uranus's. They turned toward the coming destruction, holding their weapons in front of them, but the silence would not stop. A light glowed from behind them, and the three turned to see a group of four senshi hidden by shadows and a fifth woman, glowing so brightly white that the three Senshi had to shield their eyes. Messiah. Setsuna gasped and opened her eyes, staring at Haruka. "I've never seen that part before." Haruka, her hands shaking, stepped back from the duchess. She felt Makoto's warm hands on her shoulders, and she took strength from the shorter girl's concern. "I only saw the two before. Do you have that strange power, too?" Setsuna nodded slowly. "I know how you and Makoto-san turned Rei-san back into a human. I know that Makoto-san is also one of us. There are more; something very big is coming, and we must be ready for it." "Silence." The whispered word hung in the air for a moment before the four women turned to the young duchess of Kanto. Her dark eyes were clouded, and she turned away. "We have to be ready to stop the coming Silence. But I don't think we can do it alone. We need that woman, the one that glowed so brightly. We need the Messiah." Messiah. Haruka's mind hung on that word, unable to forget the glowing image of that woman with her four guardians. She could stop the Silence, if only they could find her. Makoto took Haruka's hand and forced the tall blonde woman to look at her. "Is that the feeling I've been having lately? The feeling of some evil coming to kill us all?" "You must be one of those warriors, too. You also must be destined to stop that evil, the coming Silence." Haruka stepped away from her partner, a cold knot in her stomach. "I'm so very tired of fighting, Mako-chan. And now my dreams show me that I am Sailor Uranus and must fight this Silence. I don't want to." Haruka's voice was very soft, but even Setsuna could hear her pain. Michiru looked at Setsuna, then Rei, then back at Makoto and Haruka. "Haruka-san, none of us can change our destiny. If those dreams say we must fight, then we must fight. I do not fear what is to come." "How long have you had these dreams?" Michiru shrugged, turning away from the unresponsive Haruka and facing the Shinto priestess once more. "A little while. Ever since you first came to me about Haruka-san and Makoto-san." Rei nodded. "That's what I thought. Whenever I meditate since that day, all I see is this vision about the end of the world and a group of soldiers who can save it if they awaken soon enough. I think I am Sailor Mars." "Sailor Neptune," Michiru whispered. "Sailor Jupiter," Makoto declared, looking at Haruka. "Sailor Uranus," the blonde growled, unwilling to admit that she knew that she was a senshi. "And you, Setsuna-san?" "I have seen myself as Sailor Pluto, Michiru-san. That leaves three planets and Earth." "I hadn't thought about that," Michiru murmured. "Do you think that there are three other Senshi out there somewhere?" "Not somewhere," Setsuna corrected; "they must also be royals. As a matter of fact, I believe that Aino Minako is a Senshi, as well." "Minako?" Rei pounced on her words. "Minako can't be a Sailor Senshi! She's no fighter!" "Is she not? I see in her the possibilities of a great warrior. When you see her again, you will understand." Rei tsked and shook her finger at Setsuna. "And what did you and my very capable girlfriend do while she was here that makes you such an expert?" Unexpectedly, Setsuna blushed. "Nothing," she replied unconvincingly. "She has got to be the biggest flirt in all of Japan." "She is," Rei assured the other duchess. Brushing the matter aside, Rei moved over to the wall to examine the paintings hung there. "This one is new; where is it from?" Michiru laughed as Setsuna crossed her arms. "You know very well that that one is on loan from the Tokyo Museum of Art. And you know very well who painted it, Rei-san." "I had to ask, Setsuna-san. After all, ‘The End of the World' is hardly your style and the future hardly your forte." "I like the future as well as the past. They are both one to me." Haruka, her curiosity piqued enough to pull her out of her sullen mood, walked over to the painting, running her fingers along the gentle brush strokes. "Who did this painting? It looks like a tsunami from Tokyo Bay." "It is," Michiru replied. "It is Tokyo, anyway. But that is no tsunami. It's from the Silence. It's the end of Tokyo and the entire world." "You drew this," Haruka realized, turning to her aqua-haired host. "This is what you dreamed about when you saw yourself as Sailor Neptune." "Yes. And I saw you in my dreams, too, Haruka-san, though I didn't recognize her as you." "Sailor Uranus." "Yes. Apparently, you and I were senshi partners in our past lives, the lives we remember only as brief images and feelings. But I don't know any more than that." "That's why you stepped in when Mako-chan and I defeated the youma that had taken over Rei-chan's body. You saw then that I was the warrior from your dreams." "To be honest," Michiru chuckled, "I wasn't even sure that you were a woman until we got you back to Kanto Castle and bandaged your wounds. Then I knew for sure. You don't have to accept this right now; we can't fight as senshi until we know how to become senshi. But soon we will and you will be able to choose your own path." Haruka slowly nodded. "I'll choose then. I really didn't know that you were a painter, Michiru. Are all of them like this?" "No. I do people, too. You should see the one I did of Setsuna-san, or the one of Rei-san and Minako-san. Those were very interesting." The Shinto priestess blushed unexpectedly, quick to change the subject. "Setsu-chan, I believe that we have taken up enough of your valuable time. Michiru-san, are you ready to go?" The four quickly said farewell to the woman who would one day be Sailor Pluto, returning to the huge Kaiou cruise ship. Haruka returned to the upper deck, desperate for some fresh air and ready to be alone. She groaned when she realized that someone had followed her. "Haru-chan?" "Mako-chan, why did you follow me?" "I'm worried about you, Haru-chan. You're very quiet and withdrawn lately. You're not the same person I've fought beside for fifteen years." Haruka rested one arm across Makoto's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Mako-chan. I just don't know who I am anymore. For fifteen years, I've been Ten'ou Haruka, the finest fighter at Tokyo Fighting Palace, partner to Kino Makoto. Now I don't know who I am." "Haru-chan, you don't need to be so melancholy. I'm still here for you. And it won't be so bad to be duchesses or even Sailor Senshi. We're used to fighting." Haruka looked at Makoto and shook her head. "I'm not the only one who has changed." "Haru-chan," Makoto whispered. "Haru-chan, do you love me?" Haruka hung her head, eyes clouded with a pain none of her friends could hope to understand. "I don't know anymore, Mako-chan. We've been together for so long that I never doubted my feelings for you, but now I don't know if I think of you as a little sister or something more. I just don't know." Makoto nodded as she pulled away. "I thought as much." She wouldn't cry, but she did have to wait a moment before she could speak again. "All I know is that you are the only person who ever cared about me, who ever protected me, and I took it for granted that you loved me as much as I love you. But if you're not sure, maybe I should avoid you until you make up your mind." "Mako-chan," Haruka called, reaching out a hand as the brunette walked away. "No, Haruka-san," she whispered. "Come to me when you know for sure." She was gone. Haruka leaned on the railing again and swallowed her tears. Makoto was the only person she had ever cared about, but now her world was so much larger than Kurai's Tokyo Fighting Palace and there were so many beautiful, caring women out there. She was falling for Michiru, but she didn't know if she would ever love Michiru as much as she loved Makoto. She just didn't know and she wished that it was easier to figure out her own heart. Sighing, Haruka stared out into the clear sky and wondered.
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