Outer Senshi Trilogy

Intermezzo {1/1}


A Sailor Moon story by Tim Nolan
e-mail: nomad@cyberverse.com

Please see comments following the story.

This is part of a trilogy of stories about 
the Outer Senshi. The correct order they 
should be read in is
1. Aftermath
2. Intermezzo
3. Advent 

These are based on the manga and not the anime.

*************




Intermezzo
part two of a trilogy of Outer Senshi stories




	Silver cords linked the two combatants to machines 
behind them that were far faster and less prone to errors 
than their fickle human counterparts. Modern fencing was 
so fast a sport that it was necessary. A touch would 
complete an electrical circuit that would signal a 
score to the judges, who were busy determining who had 
the right of way and was able to attack. 
	The shorter of the two smiled behind her 
wire-mesh mask. Her opponent was fast and skilled, 
and was a good work-out for her today. It would still 
take him a few more years to reach his prime, however. 
	His opening pattern of feints had been clever, 
but he had yet to seriously challenge her defense 
without opening himself to her. She had already scored 
on him four times in the practice match. What seemed to 
be an opening would appear in her guard, but by the time 
he could react and attack, it was closed off and she 
was scoring on him with her epee. 
	The last two had been more difficult than the 
first. He had gotten wise to her tricks, but it was 
not easy to resist the chance to even the 
score. Typical, she thought to herself. Yet another 
man who couldn't handle her being good at things they 
considered to be their specialty and became angry, thus 
losing any chance at victory.
	Her own flash of anger got the better of her 
before she could fully control it as she drove past 
him with a speed that he could never match. The tip of 
her epee dug into the light canvas of his jacket, the 
force of the blow making the blade bow upwards. The 
scoring system and the judges registered the touch and 
awarded her the match. 
	She held out her left hand to him in a fencer's 
handshake after saluting him with the blade in her 
right and removing her helmet, as was customary. He 
almost didn't take it, but thought better of it and 
how it would reflect on his career with a dozen of 
the country's best fencing coaches watching, and 
perfunctorily shook it. 
	Theirs had been the last match of the 
session. While the others talked or gathered their 
things prior to leaving, she accepted a few words of 
congratulations from some of the coaches or fencers 
she knew before making her way to the relative quiet 
at the far end of the room. She'd done something she 
shouldn't have during the match. Time to do her 
penance, she reprimanded herself. 
	Back to the basics, she decided, and began to work 
her way across the room in series of practice thrusts 
with exaggerated care. Every move was textbook 
perfect. Back and forth she continued to go, even 
after the others had left. 
	Baka. That was what she was. She was supposed 
to be fitting in with them and doing nothing to draw 
any unusual attention to herself. Thankfully, none of 
the other fencers or judges noticed her slip earlier. 
	Fencers had some of the best reflexes of any 
athletes. Her move earlier to win the match had been 
just a little too fast to be humanly possible. If that 
had been a regular person facing her on the mat, it 
would have been readily apparent. Fortunately, these 
people were used to watching people who were so fast 
that she was only slightly faster in comparison. She 
was safe this time, but she shouldn't have made the 
mistake in the first place.
	" Ten'ou-san?"
	" Yes," she replied to the older man. He'd been 
watching her earlier during the match, and had left 
with one of the coaches she had studied with once. He 
had also walked back into the gym about ten minutes 
ago and had been analytically watching her. 
	" You were very impressive in the match 
today. Congratulations on your victory." 
	" He'll be better with a few more years under his 
belt," she replied as she turned to start moving in the 
other direction again. 
	He smiled a little at that. " I don't have that 
much time, I'm afraid." 
	She waited for him to make the first move and 
shifted to a pattern of parries and ripostes. He tried 
waiting a few moments to see if she would say anything 
else, but she remained silent.
	" Do you know why I am here?" he asked finally, 
breaking the uneasy silence between them. 
	" I think so," she replied. " Why don't you tell 
me firsthand, though? I've only heard the rumors." 
	" All right," he decided and sat on the bottom 
seat of a row of bleachers. " I was just named to the 
position of coach of Japan's fencing team for the 
upcoming Olympics the year after next. I want to 
field the best team possible, Ten'ou-san, but I need 
to assemble it as quickly as possible. 
	" I can guarantee you a spot in the Internationals 
later this year, and if you do well there you're 
virtually guaranteed a spot on the Olympic team. I 
want you on that Olympic team, Ten'ou-san. You're 
the best prospect Japan has for winning a medal 
that I've seen."
	" Why me?" she responded casually and stopped 
to face him, catching his eyes with her green 
ones. " What makes me so special?" 
	" You're already well known, Ten'ou-san," he 
said. " This could be a great help in building up a 
public perception of fencing and sports in general." 
	" Publicity, you mean," she countered. " You 
overestimate me. I don't have that much of a chance 
of winning, I'm afraid. There are at least a dozen 
Europeans who can beat me out there, and that does 
not make for a good story." 
	There are at least a dozen who can beat you 
within the narrow limits of the sport of fencing, she 
added to herself. This was only a game; practice for 
the conflicts that were to come. Those same fencers 
couldn't touch her if it was a real fight. 
	" Are you that sure, Ten'ou-san?" he asked, 
looking disappointed. " I've been teaching this for 
a long time. I think that you have what it takes. Besides, 
representing their country in the Olympics is every 
athlete's dream."
	" Their dream," she snapped but restrained 
herself and kept her voice low and level for the rest 
as she started to walk over to get her bag. He couldn't 
see her looking at the ring on her left hand, which 
was the only piece of jewelry that she wore. " Not mine." 
	
*************************************************

	Fingers danced over familiar strings as she 
checked the tune of her violin for the lessons later 
on in the day. The sunlight coming through the windows 
caught the silver metal of the band of the only ring 
she wore; a simple ring that she wouldn't have traded 
for any other in the world.
	After a few minutes, she had worked the slight 
stiffness due to a lack of recent, regular practice 
from her fingers and felt more alert and aware. Music 
did that for her. It had always done that for her, she 
reflected as she set down the instrument and readied 
the others. Today was her beginner's class, and she 
taught more than just the violin, even though most were 
there for that. 
	Or, she smiled to herself, most of the parents 
sent their children here to study the violin under her 
tutelage. Few children displayed the love for the 
difficult instrument that she had at an early age. In 
all probability, some of those parents wished for a 
portion of the riches and fame a gifted child could 
earn.
	Fortunately, most of the children quickly came 
to like her and wanted the lessons to continue. She 
didn't think that she could have gone on for too long 
otherwise. 	
	Unfortunately, this was not her class at the 
public school that she volunteered to teach. At first, 
it had been a ruse to give Setsuna easier access to the 
public school system's records in order to set up 
falsified records. Over time, however, she had grown 
fond of those children. Also, the reason for her recent 
worries was not a student at the local public school. 
	" A pegasus, Kaioh-sensei!"
	She had heard the whisper from the back of the 
room as she was showing a boy the right way to hold a 
bow while Hotaru had played. It was the girl's second 
time in a session with the children at their house, and 
since the little girl now looked to be about five or 
six, the three women thought it to be a good way to 
let Hotaru interact with the others on a trial basis. 
	She had shown Hotaru the basics of the violin 
earlier, but nobody expected her to take to it so 
well. Her moves lacked the expertise and polish that 
years of playing would give her, but Hotaru's raw 
talent had shocked the other children. 
	Her pride had been like a parent discovering 
her child was a prodigy. It lasted until that whisper 
made her snap her head around in time to see the 
ghostly form of a winged horse. Even what little she 
could see told her that the animal was in great pain. A 
moment later, the vision faded, but not before she 
caught a flicker of movement in the vision. 
	A girl ran towards the horse. She was vague and 
indistinct as she moved towards the pegasus, but every 
line she could make out bespoke of sorrow. What made 
her blood go cold, however, was that the girl's hair 
was worn up in an all-too familiar style. They only 
knew of two girls who wore their hair like that and 
looked like it belonged.

*************************************************
	
	First she removed the ring from her left hand 
ring finger and put it on a chain which went around 
her neck. She wouldn't forgive herself for damaging 
that particular ring. Then, she tied the apron strings 
behind her back, took the vegetables out of the colander 
they had been rinsed in and began to cut them. The 
knife's movements were swift and confident as she cut 
them into smaller pieces, which were then set aside 
to be cooked a few minutes later. The whole point, she 
reminded herself of the rules in one of the cookbooks 
she had read, was to have everything cut and ready to 
cook before you actually begin cooking.
	The thought of her being so domestic made her 
laugh aloud. She would have never though of herself 
as being part of a family, let alone cooking like 
this. Before, she never had the time due to her other 
duties. When she did bother to eat, an act done more 
out of the habit of keeping her disguise than hunger, 
it was at some kind of restaurant. Sure, she had a 
home to live in... well, several actually, but she 
never bothered cooking. 
	" Setsuna-mama?" Hotaru called out as she came 
into the room. " Are you all right?" 
	" Yes, I am, Hotaru-chan," she replied and smiled 
at the girl. " I was just laughing because I'm happy 
right now."
	" You usually don't laugh like that, Setsuna-mama," 
the girl said and turned her large, violet eyes on the 
woman. She hadn't asked a question, but it was there in 
her eyes.
	" I was thinking that I was happy being here with 
you and Michiru and Haruka." the woman explained as she 
began to mix up some flour and melted butter to form 
the basis for a roux that would be the foundation of a 
sauce to go over the meat that Haruka would cook on 
the grill outside in a few minutes. " That's why I 
laughed." Hotaru's reply was to run over to her and 
throw her arms around the woman's waist in a fierce 
hug.
	" I'm glad that you're happy, Setsuna-mama."
	" So am I, hime-chan, so am I," she smiled as 
she put one arm around the girl. 
	" Can I help you?" Hotaru brightly asked, eager 
to be involved with what the adults did. 
	" Yes," the woman laughed and pointed to the 
other end of the counter and a stack of plates and 
glasses. " You can set the table, but remember, only 
one plate at a time."
	" Okay," the girl nodded and started on ferrying 
the items to the table. " I'm sorry about the plates 
the other day, Setsuna-mama. I thought that I was 
strong enough to carry all four at once. I wanted to 
help, and it was getting close to dinner. All I wanted 
to do was to surprise you by helping out." 
	" You are strong enough, little one, but you 
don't have the control yet. That will come in 
time. Remember, you're still a growing girl.
	" And," she added, seeing the remorseful look 
on the girl's face. " Michiru-mama is not mad at you 
about the plates, Hotaru-chan. She understands that 
it was an accident, and that you didn't mean to drop 
that stack."
	" But she was angry at first." 
	" Yes, but she was angry that the plates were 
broken, and not at you for breaking them. She put in 
a lot of time and work finding the ones in that 
particular style, Hotaru-chan, and that was why she 
was angry. Do you think that you understand the 
difference?" 
	" I think so," the girl frowned slightly,
furrowing her brow as she thought. 
	" Well, why don't you think about it some more 
if you aren't certain that you understand yet," she 
said as she turned on the gas flame under a wok on 
the stove. " Are you done with your studies for today?" 
	" Yes," the girl nodded and put the last of the 
silverware on the table, and followed it up with the 
glasses. The woman glanced out the window, seeing 
Haruka slowly and methodically vacuuming the pool in 
the back of the yard. 
	" Michiru-mama should be back soon. Why don't 
you go and tell Haruka-papa that dinner will be ready 
in fifteen minutes, and that I'll need her in about 
five?"
	" Hai!" the girl agreed and ran out of the 
kitchen and down the hall. Setsuna heard the back 
door open and close, and watched the girl run across 
the yard and over to the blonde woman. Haruka laughed, 
swept her up into a hug and spun her around a few times.      
	She is growing so quickly, Setsuna told herself 
as she put some peanut oil into the wok and began 
cooking. It has been only six months since they started 
looking after the girl, and she seemed to have aged 
almost the same number of years.
	" Something is happening," she speculatively 
informed the empty kitchen and fervently wished that 
she knew what it was.

************************************************

	A slightly wet, somewhat bedraggled, and thoroughly 
smiling Michiru joined the other two women in the living 
room about a half hour after dinner. Her hair was somewhat 
damp, as was the white dressing gown in a few spots. The 
clothes she had been wearing were now in the dryer. 
	" I take it that somebody was having fun?" Setsuna 
teased her and smiled.    
	" Yes," she grinned back and sat next to 
Haruka. " Hotaru-chan decided to splash some water 
around for a little bit, but she did settle down 
finally and take a proper bath."  
	" And you couldn't resist the challenge, ne?" the 
blonde replied, her voice light and dry. Michiru simply 
mock-glared at her for a moment before teasingly 
smiling and nodded. 
	" Did anything happen at the lessons today, 
Michiru?" Setsuna asked. They had refrained from 
discussing business at the table, as was usual. It 
was as much to keep Hotaru from hearing them as it 
was an agreement. She and Michiru had outvoted Haruka, 
and declared meals to be times of relaxation unless 
it was a bona fide emergency. 
	" No," Michiru said. " Today it was quiet, 
although a few children were whispering about what 
had happened."
	" Anything from any of the parents?"
	" No," she replied to Setsuna. " None of them 
said anything that would make me believe that the 
children have told them anything and it was believed. So 
far, we're safe." 
	" That makes it four visitations with Chibi-usa 
in them at the end, then," Haruka commented. " I still 
think that this means something, even if we haven't had 
one for two weeks now." 
	" I believe you, Haruka," Setsuna replied, poured 
herself a cup of tea and opened up her laptop 
computer. " I was able to get into the university's 
computer system last night and ran the test results 
through it to confirm what I got." 
	" And?"
	The older woman brought up a file and handed 
the unit over. " There was nothing unusual. Her 
medical information is all normal. Ours is as 
well. According to virtually every test known to 
the modern medical science of one of the best research 
universities in the world, we are in perfect health, 
and absolutely nothing is wrong with any of us." 
	It had been trickier to sneak the child into a 
medical lab on a weekend, but she had managed by 
changing the records so that it was not in use at the 
time. The same had been done for the three women. After 
the tests were done, Setsuna had removed the data and 
any evidence leading to them from the computers and 
bided her time until she could get to the main computer 
to decipher the results.
	" In other words," Michiru added. " There are 
still no reasons that we know of for losing our powers 
or why Hotaru-chan is growing so quickly." 
	" In other words, we're back to square 
one. " Haruka bitterly added. " Damn."
	" I'm afraid so," Setsuna agreed. " We have 
something going on or shall be going on with Small 
Lady, at least if we believe that Hotaru's visions 
are accurate.  Nor do we know if it is something 
going on now or in the future if she happens to be 
precognitive." 
	" And not a trace of our powers since the 
eclipse," Michiru added with a sardonic smile. " One 
hell of an April Fool's joke is being played on us." 
	 " Joke or not, we still have a job to do," the 
older woman replied. " And we have only a fraction of 
the resources we expected to have. I still can't reach 
my castle, but that itself isn't too surprising since 
I may need to be a Senshi in order to be 
recognized. What worries me is that my guardian 
isn't responding. She's supposed to be the back-up 
in case of emergencies like this." 
	" This talk of castles is weird," Haruka 
chuckled. " I trust you, Setsuna, but it is still 
weird. We've never felt them or remember being there." 
 	" They are there, you two," Setsuna smiled. Uranus 
and Neptune had been directly reincarnated like the Inner 
Senshi and the princess. Her own path to this time and 
existence was somewhat more convoluted than theirs, and 
because of that she knew things that they did 
not. " When we figure this out, I'll take you to 
yours." 
	" And that kawaii little image of you was 
Guardian Pluto, right?" Michiru smiled merrily 
despite the gravity of the situation. She had 
enjoyed teasing Pluto about the appearance of the 
artificial intelligence that Pluto had summoned 
once while they were trying to learn more about 
the Deathbusters. It was only that they had seen 
the apparition at all that they believed Setsuna 
about the existence of these castles in orbit 
around their respective planets.  
	" Yes, that was her," Setsuna replied with a 
light grin of her own. Michiru had made her laugh as 
well with the raised eyebrow that was her first 
reaction to the spirited little apparition. " I don't 
think that there is anything that she can add to 
what I have found out, but I would like to make sure."
	" So," Haruka added a few moments later. " The 
only assets we can rely on are our wits and the 
Talismans. At least they still work." 
	" Two of them are," Setsuna quietly reminded 
them, glancing at Michiru. 
	" The Deep Aqua Mirror is just fine," Michiru 
reassured them with a pointed glare behind her light 
voice. Neither had agreed with her at first when she 
gave the mirror to Chibi-usa before they left the 
others. Now it was looking like a fortunate 
decision. Michiru always knew where the mirror was 
despite it not being in her possession, so they could 
keep track of at least one of their former allies. 
	"The mirror is as much of a part of me as yours 
are a part of you," she reassured them. " If I truly 
need it, it will return to me."
	" I believe you, Michiru," Haruka said as an 
apology for her lack of faith, still trying to make 
it up to her on this issue. Hotaru's voice called 
out from upstairs and Michiru sighed. 
	" Once more, into the breach," she wryly 
commented and stood. " Anything else, Setsuna?"
	" No," she sighed as well. " We're just going 
to have to figure out how to make it on our own, it 
seems."

***********************************************    

	Sea gulls wheeled about overhead, their strident 
cries a sharp reminder to Michiru of how long it had 
been since they had been to the beach. It was also 
the cause of a pang of loss. Before she had lost her 
powers, she always felt close to being able to 
understand what they were crying about. It was as 
if a few more minutes of listening would be the key 
to unlocking the puzzle. 
	Now it was just noise without any pattern or 
meaning to it.  
	" Haruka-papa!" Hotaru shrieked with laughter 
and was splashed with a cascade of water as Haruka 
came out of the sea behind her and crashed back down, 
creating a deluge.
	" Why don't you go join them?" Setsuna asked from 
under the relative shelter of the umbrella at their 
spot. It was still somewhat early, so the morning 
sunlight wasn't too bad yet. Nor were the crowds, 
although that would change in a few hours. " We've 
been here a while, and you still haven't gone in the 
water." 
	" You're one to talk," Michiru neatly deflected 
the question, noticing the still dry swimsuit that 
the other woman wore.   
	" I didn't come here for the water," Setsuna 
countered with a sly smile, catching Michiru with 
her own words from early that morning when the impromptu 
trip had been decided upon. Michiru laughed, readily 
acknowledging her defeat.
	" So why are you here?" 
	" The sun, darling," Setsuna drawled, making 
Michiru giggle despite herself at the change in the 
woman's behavior. " My tan is fading horribly." 
	Despite ample evidence to the contrary over the 
past several months, her mental image of Setsuna was 
still someone who was too serious for her own good. The 
seriousness was always there, but a dry wit often 
lurked behind those red eyes, and sometimes it would 
even escape. 
	" I've been spending too much time indoors 
lately," Setsuna went on in a more normal tone of 
voice. " We all have, really." 
	" There's three of us and we can barely keep 
up with her," Michiru commented and stood up. " It 
makes me wonder how a single parent like ever does 
it, Setsuna." 
	Setsuna nodded in agreement as Michiru went down 
and helped out Hotaru in her water splashing contest 
with Haruka. The simple fact was that they did not 
have a regular child to raise, she told herself as 
she watched them for a while. 
	A little while later, after she put on some 
sunscreen in order to avoid burning and calling Hotaru 
over to get the same treatment, she joined them in the 
water. The poor girl got ganged up on for a little while 
at first and thoroughly enjoyed it before the fray 
settled down to Haruka and Hotaru against Michiru and 
herself. 
	" How about I start on a sand castle?" Haruka 
asked Hotaru after seeing the fatigue beginning to show 
in her eyes and her movements. She still didn't have the 
endurance of a child of her apparent age, but was 
beginning to catch up. 
	" Hai!" she agreed and then yelped in surprise 
as Setsuna scooped her up and put her up on her shoulder. 
	" I need a cold drink, little one, and I think 
you could do with the same," she said and carried Hotaru 
back to their blankets. Michiru followed and took a 
towel and some yen from her purse. 
	" There's a stand down the way that has good 
bento," she told them. " Anybody want anything in 
particular?" 
	" No natto," Haruka quickly offered as she took 
the large, sturdy bucket she had used to carry some of 
their odds and ends in from the car. She also grabbed 
the small, folding shovel she had brought along since 
she had a good idea of what was going to happen. Hotaru 
liked to do things with her hands.
	" Honestly, Haruka," Michiru sighed in 
mock-exasperation and put her hands on her hips 
while trying to look offended. The smile on her 
face ruined the effect to some degree. " Do you 
really think that I would have forgotten that after 
all this time?" 
	The blonde blushed at the teasing and withdrew 
in order to begin getting the sand for the castle's 
foundation. Michiru laughed at the look on Haruka's 
face before going to one of the showers on her way 
to the bento stand. 
	" Here you go," the woman said while she opened 
and handed the girl a can of chilled apple juice 
while pouring herself some of the iced green tea 
she had made that morning. She settled back in her 
lounge chair and thought to herself that it was a 
wonderful day, despite all their other problems. 
	" Setsuna-mama?" Hotaru spoke up right as the 
woman was going to tell herself that they needed a 
relaxing day like this. " What's that word for a person 
that you told me that is sort of like Haruka-papa, but 
they dress that way on purpose?" 
	Oh boy, she sighed to herself. She had almost 
spoken too soon. " A transvestite," she replied, glad 
that Hotaru knew the difference but still dreading what 
was to come. This was Hotaru's version of asking about 
the birds and the bees. 
	The girl had asked and been taught by them about 
where babies came from, and understood the biological 
mechanics. So far, she only felt that a couple would do 
that if they wanted to have a child, however. She still 
didn't understand or know about sexual desire, thank 
goodness.
	What confused Hotaru sometimes, however, was 
perceived gender roles and how a few people blurred 
them. It was almost understandable given how often she 
had seen Haruka mistaken for being a man. Since her 
father was no longer around, she didn't have a 
conventional father figure to learn from like most 
children. Nor had she several more years of time to 
learn it in like a regular child.  
	" I think that he is one of them," Hotaru decided 
and nodded towards a group of young men who were 
probably high school or college students. The sight 
of a head of pink hair in among them made Setsuna do 
a double take as she looked in that direction.
	Her hair was a shade paler than Chibi-usa's and 
reached to the middle of her back, and she had long 
bangs in front. He, Setsuna reminded herself. He looked 
so much like a girl that it was surprising to not see 
what she expected when he pulled off the dress shirt 
he was wearing and put on a loose top in a floral 
pattern. The other boys with him didn't even bat an 
eyelash when this happened.
	" He might be," Setsuna decided, losing herself 
in the flood of memories the pink hair evoked, even if 
the color was a bit off. She, unlike Michiru and Haruka, 
had not seen the pegasus that Hotaru's violin playing 
could summon up, nor the young girl who would run 
towards it at the end of the vision.
	" Haruka-papa isn't like that, right?" 
	" No, she isn't," Setsuna reassured her and closed 
her eyes in an attempt to banish the old ghost she was 
seeing. " She doesn't dress like a man on 
purpose. People just think she is one sometimes." 

************************************************

	The notes coming from the piano were a slow, 
steady, and heartbreakingly sad testament to one woman's 
grief. 
	" This will not do," Michiru softly told 
herself. It was the night of their trip to the beach, 
and she was currently leaning back up against a wall 
in the hallway, right outside the door to the library 
where they had placed one of their pianos. The grand 
was downstairs in the room that was used for the 
lessons she taught, but they also put in an upright 
piano as well. The walls were soundproofed to some 
degree, so the notes were whispers of what they 
should be. 
	Haruka's improvisation was slowed down to the 
point of being almost unrecognizable, but she had been 
able to determine after listening for a few minutes 
that it was not just random notes. It reminded her of 
the melody they had heard in a movie where one of the 
minor characters had died and the main ones reflected 
upon her loss. As in that movie, it was just note after 
note on an unaccompanied piano, and it was like your 
heart was getting torn out.   
	The violin, someone had once said, was either 
like the voice of the devil or that of an angel. It 
could sound like either one; carrying the listener to 
the heights of joy or the brink of despair. In her 
opinion, the piano was far better at plumbing the 
depths than the violin could ever be. There was just 
something a piano on its' own like that. 
	Normally, she might have tried joining the blonde 
to cheer her up with a change of tempo and some different 
music for them to play, but there was something else to 
consider right now. She opened the door, stepped into 
the room and waited a moment. Haruka realized she was 
there and turned, her face flushing slightly in 
embarrassment at being caught while indulging her 
emotions.
	She started to speak, but stopped when Michiru 
put a finger to her lips and beckoned her forward. They 
walked out of the room and past the bedrooms, being 
careful to not wake the sleeping Hotaru in an adjoining 
room. Michiru led her downstairs and to the doorway 
leading to the covered porch overlooking the back 
yard. Both had been silent the whole way, so they 
did not disturb the woman sitting on the steps. 
	 A wavering, shimmering and hazy view of something 
hung in the air before Setsuna. The Garnet Rod rested 
across her lap, and the Orb shone in the darkness and 
let them see the white knuckles that were clenched as 
she tightly gripped the haft of the weapon. A nearly 
full wine bottle and an empty glass sat next to her. The 
liquid looked black in the red-colored light. 
	" ... make you happy... ," they could barely hear 
the phantasmal image of Sailor Pluto telling that of 
the Small Lady. " ... raise your spirits... magic... 
Abracadabra..." 
	" Pon," the real Setsuna muffled her sob, but 
the other two woman could still hear the words. Out of 
nowhere, a cascade of brightly colored flowers fell 
around her, creating a living carpet on the steps like 
it did to the little girl in the vision. The image 
vanished with a pop like a soap bubble, but not before 
the girl smiled radiantly. Setsuna began to cry. 
	Haruka made to move to her, but was 
restrained. Michiru tugged her back deeper into the 
house in order to give the other woman a modicum of 
privacy. " She needs-" Haruka began to say, but was 
interrupted.
	" She needs to cry, Haruka," Michiru explained 
in a soft whisper. " Do you know what she was looking 
at?" 
	" The future, I gather." 
	" She was looking at our future, but it is her 
past. She misses her friends in her future, Haruka. You 
saw how Chibi-usa reacted when she saw Pluto here for 
the first time. They had to have been very close to each 
other. She's lonely and misses those people who were in 
her life." 
	" Then why did you stop me?" she demanded. " She 
shouldn't be alone, then. We can show her that we care 
about her, too." 
	" I am going to her," Michiru corrected her. " If 
it takes some wine and a vision of the future to break 
down those walls, she won't want us to see her like 
that. I'll give her a few minutes to work it out of her 
system before I go talk to her. In the meantime, you are 
going to go upstairs and keep an eye on somebody. You 
know how poorly Hotaru took it when she saw me crying. 
	" You're to sit on Hotaru-chan to keep her up there 
and away from Setsuna if necessary. She's never seen 
Setsuna break down... " Michiru's voice trailed off as
both realized that they hadn't even seen the woman be 
bothered by anything to such a degree.   
	Haruka smiled softly a moment later and pulled 
Michiru into a hug with her. " I do remember," she said, 
recalling how bad that one week had been. The pressures 
of their life rarely bothered her love, but even she 
could have bad days at times. Another thing came to her 
mind as well. " Michiru?"  
	" Yes?" 
	" I'm sorry." 
	" Whatever for?" she lightly laughed. The blonde 
imagined the look in Michiru's eyes right now. Mischievous 
and flashing, despite the gravity of the situation.
	" Taking you for granted sometimes," Haruka 
replied. Her voice was light and even like she enjoyed 
the jest, but it was also utterly sincere. " It is times 
like these that make me realize how important you are to 
us, and to me. Without you, I could never reach so high 
or run so fast. 
	" I'm not as strong as everyone thinks, not without 
you. I'm beginning to see that you're doing the same 
thing for Setsuna, and even for Hotaru. If we are strong, 
it is only because of you being our foundation. A deft 
touch there, a caring word here, and we keep on going. 
	" You make it look so easy, Michiru. So easy that I 
sometimes forget that you are even doing it, and I 
wanted... no, needed to tell you that." she finished 
and kissed Michiru on the forehead. 
	" Thank you, Haruka," she whispered and wiped away 
a tear that was threatening to form. " I'm glad-" 
	" What? That I'm not too dense to recognize it 
some times?" Haruka interrupted her with a smile. She 
took hold of Michiru's shoulders and turned her around 
so that she faced the back of the house. " She just 
stopped crying. I'll keep Hotaru down for a couple of 
hours, and then I'm going to go out for a little spin 
to clear my head. Let me know if you need me here, 
though. I'll be glad to stay for you.
	" Or with you," she teased the shorter woman and 
gave her a nudge. 

************************************************ 

	It had not been an easy night for her, but a 
good talk and sleep had done wonders for restoring 
her spirits. At Haruka's suggestion that morning, 
she had left her Jaguar behind and taken one of 
Haruka's old roadsters. The top was down, her hair 
was streaming out behind her, and the dark sunglasses 
completed the look. This was a definite change of 
pace, and it had helped her more than she thought 
it would have. 
	She cruised by one of the speed traps and even 
waved at the two motorcycle officers there who were 
monitoring the traffic that had left the freeway at 
her exit. Keio University had enough affluent 
students to warrant a number of drivers, and 
college students always seemed to be in a hurry. That 
meant speeding, and that led to tickets, but they 
wouldn't get her today. Haruka would take them on 
a race and challenge them, but her tactic was to 
be precisely on the speed limit. 
	A number of the faculty took second looks at 
her as she pulled into her parking spot near the 
entrance. It was a selfish little perk, but she 
didn't give herself that many of them. When asked, 
she said that she was using the one assigned by the 
school to her superior while he was in America. They 
were not just looking at her in envy, though. The 
different car and a bold and bright outfit of 
Haruka's that Michiru suggested would look good 
on her were a change of pace for her. She could 
almost imagine the gossip that would be circulating 
later on. A new lover would probably be at the top 
of the list.
	The idea made her laugh out loud as she got 
out of the car and engaged the alarm systems.  As 
she made her way across the campus to her building, 
she exchanged a few greetings and wove her hair into 
a loose braid. A clip with a pastoral scene in 
brightly colored enamels kept it from unraveling 
and getting in her way.
	Once in her office, the smile faded from her 
face as she locked the door. The regular faculty 
were going to have a short meeting before classes 
got underway, and that would give her the few minutes 
for some more unusual tests and measurements that 
were the real reason she was here. It would be easier 
to do them without the chance of being discovered. 
	According to the school records, she was part 
of a physics project being run with an American 
university. She was the research assistant and 
liaison to the professor in America actually running 
the project. That was her cover story, and it had 
been carefully set up by her to avoid any possible 
confusion or questions about her comings and 
goings. The labs were not in the best or newest 
of the science buildings, so no other instructors 
became jealous of her project's status. 
	What was important to her was that her lab 
was the one that was closest to the Mugen Delta. Four 
kilometers away to the south and west was the remains 
of Mugen Gakuen. At first she had been studying the 
structure of space as a cover to investigate the 
ways that the Deathbusters were infiltrating their 
world while Michiru and Haruka went undercover at 
the school itself. 
	There had been no more traces of their enemy 
after Sailor Saturn had destroyed them and the 
princess had healed up the damage done in the 
process. That didn't stop her from checking up 
on things, however. Their enemies had managed to 
infiltrate this world without their noticing once 
before, and they were very determined that it 
would not happen again. 
	The equipment only took a few moments to 
come on-line and signal that it was ready. She 
inserted a removable hard drive into a slot on 
the main computer, and tapped in a few unusual 
commands and a series of passwords that answered 
questions which only two other people in all of 
existence could answer. Everything rebooted and 
took on her own specifications. The irony here 
threatened to break through the mask she kept 
over her features while she worked. All of the 
equipment had been designed by normal human 
scientists. All of it had been dismissed as not 
working, a hoax, or madness. She knew the truth of 
the matter, however. This world's scientists were 
far closer to their goal then they would ever believe. 
	What they did not have was a way to manipulate 
time. They could perceive a significant disturbance 
in it, assuming that they knew where to look. So far, 
it had always been in the wrong place, and she was 
not about to give them any hints. Her arrangement 
of the way the machines interacted was the key. The 
data she was about to get would probably earn 
somebody a place in history or one on a cross. 
	She took out the Garnet Rod in order to hold 
it in both hands. After a few minutes of calming her 
mind and gathering the power of the Talisman, she 
took a deep breath and opened her eyes onto another 
world. In response to that power, her braided hair 
floated up behind her like it was considering taking 
on a life of its' own. The thought of how the 
princess ever managed with her own hair was nudged 
aside.  
	A faint pulse of the temporal energies in 
the Orb was directed outward towards the grounds 
of Mugen Gakuen. The dials and gauges began to dance 
as they read the returning echoes of that energy, 
and the monitors sprang into activity right after 
that. Setsuna quickly put away her staff and peered 
over the consoles. So far it looked like nothing had 
changed. The final analysis would have to wait until 
later, but for now it still looked like the 
Deathbusters would never be heard from again.       
	After the data had been compiled, she loaded 
all of it onto the heavily encrypted computer drive 
which she then put back in her purse. It only took 
her a few moments more to erase any trace of what she 
had been doing and reset all of the equipment back to 
normal. This equipment was like the ears in the old 
riddle. 
	What is the sound of one hand clapping? While 
even she didn't know the real answer to that one, she 
was the one doing the clapping that three supposedly 
secret research projects were trying to hear. She had 
long since studied and memorized the reports they 
would make in the near future detailing their 
operations and the futility of any further temporal 
research.  
	Now that her real work was done, she unlocked 
the door and proceeded to engage in keeping up the 
facade. She needed little time to do what her project 
was supposed to do, so she would often help out with 
some of the other professors and research assistants 
on her floor. It was nice of her to help, and the 
others appreciated it. It also helped her to feel 
more accepted.    
	After surprising her friends there with fresh 
tea after they got back from the meeting, she took on 
a few stacks of papers to grade. She would 
occasionally go back into her labs to ostensibly 
check something or adjust a piece of equipment.  
	" Ah, Setsuna-san," the man's deep voice 
boomed out as he poked his head into the common room 
where she was grading papers. " Can I ask a favor of 
you today?" 
	" Certainly," she smiled at the professor and 
motioned for him to sit. 
	" I have some test data that I need taken over 
to Dr. Shizuma this afternoon, and since you have 
already been there... " he said after he sat. His 
voice trailed off slightly in hopeful expectation. 
	" The mad scientist of Moto Azabu high 
school?" she chuckled and nodded while her heart 
skipped a beat. She grinned and tried to blush in 
order to hide her reaction. Since the school was 
on her way home she had done this before. 
	He joined in the mirth and laughed. " He likes 
to teach at that level, Setsuna-san. It is his love, 
but high energy physics runs a close second. I have 
some results from the super collider project that 
he's going to look at in order to try and prove 
Minovski's Theorem." 
	" Is he still in the same classroom there, 
Shima-sensei?" she asked and worked out the details 
with him, along with a promise to drop off the 
documentation later on. He'd sign her off as working 
under him so she could leave early that day. 
	While her mind went on with grading papers, her 
heart started hoping that he might be at the school 
as well. The chances were slim, but he still did return 
to his old school on occasion. He was currently taking 
classes in the medical buildings at Keio University on 
the other side of the campus, which she was careful to 
avoid, but her heart wanted to see him. 
	She tried to stop thinking about it, but gave up 
after a while and resolutely swore to have the offending 
organ removed as soon as possible. It would probably 
hurt less in the long run.  

************************************************  

	The blue Ferrari gracefully swerved around a 
stopped car, negotiated the tight turn into the 
driveway and came to a smooth stop by the front 
doors. Michiru got out of the car carrying the long, 
narrow case that held the flute she was taking lessons 
in. A careful observer could have seen the slight 
tightness to her shoulders, and perhaps the slight 
flutter of her hair that betrayed her quicker than 
normal pace. 
	The hallway table received the flute case but 
not her purse. She glanced around briefly and 
listened. It wa