Fandom: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars (manga)
Date Finished:
Classification: Romance, Angst, Humor
Pairing: Taiki/Setsuna, Seiya/Yaten, Seiya/Usagi, Rei/Minako
Rating: NC-17

Silence
By Elsewhere
elsewherecw@shaw.ca

All other information in Part One.

Part Two:

Glossary:
koneko-chan - little kitten---Haruka’s possessive nickname for Usagi (it has a certain "*my* little kitten" flavor the way she says it) from the anime, which I like enough to use even in a manga fic ;P
ne - an all-purpose word to get someone’s attention, to ask for confirmation, or used in a variety of other situations
odango - dumpling---refers to the type of hair style Usagi wears, with two buns, one on either side of the head
oi - hey

*****
Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe that I’d get caught up when the
Rage in me subsides
*****

After a flight of less than two hours, Yaten claimed jet lag, went to bed early, and didn’t get up the next day until shortly after noon. When she finally emerged from her room, still in a dressing gown and looking half asleep as she yawned loudly, Seiya’s first reaction was a laugh, but Taiki wasn’t quite as amused.

"You aren’t going to be able to keep up those kind of sleeping habits once we start attending school on Monday morning," Taiki said, lifting an eyebrow as she glanced up from her newspaper.

"Yeah, yeah…I know," Yaten said a bit grumpily, giving Taiki a mild glare as she padded into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of orange juice. "What’s on the schedule for this weekend again?"

Taiki sighed before reciting the schedule she knew off by heart.

"Tonight we appear on a radio show, sort of an announcement of our arrival in Tokyo…tomorrow night, we have a joint concert with Kaioh Michiru and Tenoh Haruka."

"Oh yeah, that’s right," Yaten said, nodding as she recalled. Then, abruptly, her eyes widened and she turned to Taiki. "Wait a minute…we have a joint concert with *who*!?"

"Kaioh Michiru and Tenoh Haruka," Taiki said, rubbing her forehead and trying to focus on her newspaper at the same time as talk to Yaten. "I told you this last week, Yaten."

"I must not have been paying attention," Yaten said, sounding excited. "We’re doing a joint with Kaioh Michiru, *the* Kaioh Michiru?"

"One can only presume so," Taiki said dryly, not bothering to look up from the article she was absorbed in.

"Why, what’s the big deal?" Seiya asked from the couch, where she was trying to win the Grand Prix.

Yaten suddenly dashed off to her room and came out of it with a CD, which she held out towards Taiki.

"*This* Kaioh Michiru!?" Yaten demanded, shaking the CD impatiently when Taiki didn’t immediately look up. Taiki glanced towards the CD, saw the woman on the front, and nodded once curtly before returning to her reading. Seiya paused her game, dropped her controller, and came around to take a look at the CD. When she saw the young violinist on the front cover of the CD, she whistled.

"Wow…hot lady," Seiya said appreciatively, and Yaten scowled.

"Shut up," she said irritably. "You don’t even know who she is…you have no appreciation for culture. And besides, Kaioh Michiru-san already has a sweetheart…Tenoh Haruka."

"Wait a second…Tenoh Haruka?" Seiya repeated, blinking.

Yaten nodded.

Seiya dashed into her room and came out a second later with a poster of a famous race car driver. She held up the poster and pointed to it emphatically.

"*This* Tenoh Haruka!?" she demanded.

"Wow…not bad," Yaten said, fighting a slight blush as she peered at the picture.

"I know…she’s hot stuff," Seiya said with a nod before she rolled up the poster. "This Kaioh Michiru-san is one lucky lady. And you said we’re doing a joint with the two of them?"

Yaten nodded, frowning a bit.

"But Tenoh-san is a race car driver," Seiya pointed out, lifting her rolled-up poster for emphasis.

"She’s also a very fine pianist," Taiki spoke up distractedly, still not taking her attention away from the article she was reading on a recent breakthrough in nuclear physics. Both Seiya and Yaten turned towards her, interested. "She occasionally accompanies Kaioh-san in concerts."

"Well there you go," Yaten said, as if she’d known all along. Seiya rolled her eyes.

"I’m looking forward to this now," Yaten said with a smile, rolling on the balls of her feet. "But I’ll have to take her something…flowers, I guess."

"You can never go wrong giving a girl flowers," Seiya agreed as she slumped back onto the couch and picked up her game controller.

"Oh yes you can," Yaten said, rolling her eyes. "*You* could, for example. But I won’t."

"Oi…what’s that supposed to mean?" Seiya demanded, but Yaten only waved a hand airily as she disappeared up the stairs.

*****

The next night at the Fantastic Music Hall, Yaten stood impatiently backstage, leaning out as far as she could to catch glimpses of Kaioh Michiru as she played a haunting melody on the violin, accompanied in a gorgeous duet by her lover, Tenoh Haruka.

"You really are excited about this," Seiya murmured as she placed her hands on Yaten’s shoulders and leaned over to catch a glimpse of the performers. Her eyes lingered on Kaioh-san for a while, recognizing the young aquamarine-haired woman’s beauty, but then her gaze strayed to Tenoh-san, one of her only idols here on Earth. "Could it be that you have a crush, Yaten-kun?"

The suffix in particular implied something that instantly made Yaten scowl.

"Of course not…I don’t have crushes," Yaten hissed, adjusting her tie, a sudden nervous gesture. "I just admire Kaioh-san and her music very much."

"I must admit, her playing is utterly masterful," Taiki spoke up quietly, startling her two companions, who hadn’t noticed her in the shadows nearby. She came up beside them, and Seiya took her hands off Yaten’s shoulders, moving to stand between her two band mates.

"I’ve heard her CDs, but there’s something much more moving about the live experience," Taiki continued, her own eyes locked on Michiru as the violinist swayed gently with the motions of the music, her eyes closed.

"Am I the only one totally out of the loop here?" Seiya whispered irritably.

"Of course; just like always," Yaten hissed back, and Seiya growled before she quieted and listened to the music, her eyes again focused on Haruka, who also had her eyes closed as her fingers flew along the keys.

"There’s…something in her playing…" Seiya began after a moment in a voice just above a whisper, her head tilted to one side as she listened carefully. Taiki and Yaten both turned to her, surprised by her tone. "Can you hear it…? In both of them, there’s something there, some power in their music…"

"Music is inherently powerful if the musician is skillful and the listener is receptive…" Taiki said philosophically, but Seiya shook her head with a lopsided smile.

"No, that’s not what I mean…I mean, can you *feel* it?"

Both Taiki and Yaten were silent, standing utterly still and listening, until finally Yaten’s jaw dropped slightly.

"Yes…I feel it," she breathed, sounding startled. "What is that…? Such a strong power…"

Taiki hesitated for several moments before her eyes fell on Michiru again and, just at that moment, Michiru’s eyes opened and she seemed to be looking straight at Taiki. Taiki gasped quietly as she felt, suddenly, what Yaten and Seiya were talking about. The powerful aura of a star was unmistakable.

"Kaioh Michiru, Tenoh Haruka…just who exactly are you two…?" Seiya asked, her voice quiet and curious, her eyes sparkling now as though she had found a fun new game. Yaten too was staring at Michiru with a new interest, while Taiki closed her eyes, trying to bring her breathing under control after the shock she had taken. Had that woman felt her scrutiny…? Indeed, who were these people?

The song ended and the crowd sang their praises. Seiya turned to her companions, nodding to make sure they knew it was time. With a flick of her wrist, Yaten produced a rose, lifting it to her nose and nodding in approval when she decided it smelled sweet. Having performed this brief ritual, she followed Seiya onto the stage, along with Taiki.

They heard the crowd cheering again at their arrival, particularly the young ladies among the crowd. The young boyband, Three Lights, although a new band, was already remarkably popular.

Seiya hesitated briefly halfway across the stage, and Yaten and Taiki glanced towards her, awaiting some signal. Seiya straightened her neck, which informed her two companions that she sensed other powers within the area, this time powers that could be dangerous. Yaten and Taiki glanced at each other as Seiya started walking again. Seiya stopped again once she reached her destination, allowing the others to move past her to their positions.

The joint performance was every bit as magnificent as could be expected given that five exceptional musicians were involved, and it went off entirely without a hitch despite the fact that the Three Lights had never practiced with Haruka and Michiru. They performed an instrumental version of one of the Three Lights’ popular singles, and the crowd went wild hearing Michiru perform on her violin the line that would usually be sung by the Lights, with Haruka playing an upbeat piano line underneath. Seiya played the guitar, Yaten played her keyboard, and Taiki took care of the bass during the song.

Afterwards, the Three Lights followed their co-performers off-stage, where Haruka and Michiru waited, aware that their co-performers would probably want to say something to them. Yaten hesitated, a bit shy suddenly, so Taiki took the initiative, pasting a friendly smile on her face, her eyes sparkling as she held out a rose towards Michiru.

"Kaioh Michiru-san," Taiki said, automatically allowing her voice to flow into the lower, smoother registers she used when she was posing as her male persona. "You were wonderful. I am Taiki Kou."

Michiru smiled and performed a quick curtsy as she accepted the rose, and Yaten stepped forward. She flipped her hair out of her eyes casually as she held out her own rose.

"I am Yaten Kou," Yaten said with a slight bow, voice deep and soft, her green eyes sparkling with respect as she glanced up into Michiru’s eyes briefly. "I have all your CDs and videos. Nice work."

She winced slightly as she pulled away, realizing Seiya would probably make fun of her for her less-than-smooth delivery later, but Michiru seemed pleased enough, smiling and nodding as she accepted the rose with a soft, "Thank you."

Michiru turned expectantly towards Seiya, only to blink in surprise when Seiya walked past her and held out a hand towards Haruka. Haruka too seemed mildly startled.  

"I am Seiya Kou. I like your style," Seiya said with a somewhat roguish grin, cobalt eyes sparkling with mischief. "It’s like the wind. We carry the same things. I’d like to shake your hand."

Taiki and Yaten both glanced towards Seiya, surprised by the glint in her eyes. What was she trying to accomplish?

Haruka simply offered a puzzled grin in return and held out her hand, then froze slightly when Seiya gripped her hand firmly. Yaten and Taiki both flinched a bit, realizing at the same time what must have happened.

Seiya took her hand back and smiled at Haruka again before turning to Taiki and Yaten and winking.

"Now, let’s go…the crowd’s calling us," Seiya said, waving her hand. That’s when sound seemed to penetrate, and Taiki and Yaten realized that the crowd was calling for an encore. They hurried to follow Seiya as she walked across the stage towards a microphone.

Haruka stared after the three of them, her gaze so intense that Michiru quickly became concerned.

"Haruka?"

"Starlights," Haruka murmured, the word escaping her lips abruptly, as though it had come to her before she even realized what it meant. Her eyes widened slightly and then narrowed, and Michiru stared at her, startled by the roughness of her voice and the concern in her eyes. "Those three…who are they?"

Michiru touched her arm, and Haruka shook her head before turning to exit the stage.

At the back of the room, another young woman also watched the Three Lights with great interest, her soft grey eyes sparkling vividly behind her round spectacles. Her nose twitched a bit as she stared at the three young "boys" on stage and she smiled, adjusting her glasses on her nose as she chuckled.

"I’ve found them," she said to herself softly. "The ultimate Starseeds. Carriers of the Sailor Crystals. I feel it. I feel it!"

She stared a few rows ahead to where she could see a distinct pair of blonde odango sticking out in the crowd. She nodded, her white curls bouncing energetically as she chortled again.

"I don’t believe it! The ten pieces are here as well! Galaxia-sama will be pleased."

Without further hesitation, she bounced forward and jumped up towards the stage.

"Ultimate Starseeds of the Earth’s surface!" she shouted as she sailed through the air, bringing her arms together, wrists in front of her face, even as she moved. "Sailor Crystals! I, Sailor Iron Mouse, have got you!"

A blast of brilliant light burst out of the bracelets at her wrists and flew towards the stage. Seiya, Taiki and Yaten reacted just in time, jumping back into the shadows at the back of the stage and then disappearing out of view as the ball of light slammed into the stage, ripping through the place where the Three Lights had just been standing. Electricity sparked and showered all over the stage, and the crowd started screaming. The dull voice of the P.A. system came on abruptly, trying to calm down the panicking citizens.

Iron Mouse, not to be deterred, merely smiled as she landed easily on the mangled stage and chuckled merrily.

"I finally found you, and now you expect me to let you escape?" she called tauntingly. "Now, come on out, carriers of the Sailor Crystals!"

She spun around as she felt a sudden swell of power behind her, and she turned just in time to witness something many people might have considered miraculous.

"Venus Crystal Power!"

"Mercury Crystal Power!"

"Jupiter Crystal Power!"

"Mars Crystal Power!"

"Silver Moon Crystal Power!"

"Make UP!"

Iron Mouse watched as the five ordinary-looking high school girls before her changed, in a flash of lights and colors, into five senshi of the universe, confirming her suspicion that they were her targets. After that, she waited patiently while they introduced themselves.

"I am Sailor Mercury!"

"Mars!"

"Jupiter!"

"Venus!"

"And I am Sailor Moon!"

"I’ve been waiting for you, sailor senshi," Iron Mouse said with a smile before she lifted her bracelets and spun, shouting out her ultimate attack. "Galactica Crunch!!"

"Space Turbulence!!" shouted a new voice, distracting Iron Mouse enough that her attack flew off course.

"Submarine Violin Tide!!" a second, higher-pitched voice yelled, and Iron Mouse growled as she turned, seeking the source of the new voices. She spotted the two senshi of the outer solar system, Uranus and Neptune, within seconds, standing on the far end of the stage, Uranus with her space sword drawn, Neptune holding her violin to her shoulder and glaring at Iron Mouse with determination in her gaze. Iron Mouse watched with satisfaction as the two of them gasped at the way their attacks were easily absorbed by Iron Mouse’s bracelets.

"Star Sensitive Inferno!!" another new voice shouted abruptly, and Iron Mouse’s eyes widened as she spun, seeking the source of this voice. If it was who she thought she was, she couldn’t react as easily to this opponent as she had to…

She had no more time to think or to react. In the next instant, her body was surrounded by light and then torn apart, the sound of her scream seeming to echo beyond the existence of her body until nothing was left of her but ashes and her bracelets, which dropped to the ground and then vanished.

"Who’s there!?" Neptune shouted, running out onto the stage.

Three spotlights lit up, and within each one stood a woman dressed in a black leather sailor fuku totally foreign to the Sol senshi’s experience, but still recognizable as belonging to a sailor senshi. Each of the women possessed a sailor collar and other accouterments. The woman standing farthest downstage had raven black hair tied back in a ponytail. The woman to her right had light brown hair tied back in an identical ponytail, and the woman on the far left had silvery white hair, again in the same ponytail.

They stood there in silence for no more than a moment, allowing the Sol senshi to observe them, before they jumped, moving faster than the Sol senshi’s eyes could follow, and disappeared.

The seven Sol senshi stared after them.

"Those three!?" Uranus said hoarsely, and Neptune turned to her, surprised, but said nothing when Uranus shook her head, gesturing with her chin towards the five inner senshi standing confusedly to one side. Neptune nodded, then turned, sensing a familiar presence, and glanced out across the emptied concert hall until she spotted a tall woman lurking in the shadows in the very back corner, standing with her arms crossed and merely watching. The woman’s dark red eyes were narrowed, the expression on her face unusually pinched, as though she was particularly concerned about the appearance of this new enemy.

"Ne…maybe Setsuna-san knows something," Neptune said, touching Uranus’ arm lightly until Uranus too turned to look at where Meioh Setsuna stood in the shadows. When Setsuna noticed them looking at her, she slowly straightened, offered them a brief smile, and left the hall quietly.

"Maybe," Uranus said with a slight shrug. "We’ll ask her when we get home."

She lifted her head and glanced towards the others.

"You girls okay? Koneko-chan?"

"Yep, just fine!" Sailor Moon called back, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture, and the other girls called back their agreement, so Uranus turned to Neptune.

"All right…no point worrying about this tonight then. Let’s head home," Uranus said, dropping her hand to rest against Neptune’s waist.

*****

When Haruka and Michiru got back to their apartment, Setsuna wasn’t home. Their ‘daughter’, Tomoe Hotaru, was peacefully reading by herself in her room, and when asked where Setsuna mama was, she replied that she hadn’t seen her since quite a white earlier that evening, and that Setsuna hadn’t explained where she was going.

Eleven o’clock came, and then midnight, and Setsuna still hadn’t returned home. Haruka was pacing the kitchen, completely frustrated by that point. It was entirely unlike Setsuna to go out by herself at night at all, much less to come home late. They had no way of knowing where she was, and they were genuinely concerned…well, Haruka and Michiru were genuinely concerned. Hotaru seemed to take her third mother’s disappearance in stride, just as she accepted most of the events in her life ever since her rebirth. She had gone to bed as though it were any ordinary day, obviously confident that Setsuna would be back by morning, and content to hear the explanation for her behavior then.

At nearly twelve-thirty, they finally heard the sound of a key turning in the lock, and Haruka and Michiru both turned tensely towards the door. The door swung open and a very tired-looking Setsuna came through, a stack of books precariously balanced in her arms, her reading glasses perched on her nose, and a yawn caught in her throat when she saw the worried looks Haruka and Michiru were giving her.

"…What is it?" she asked after a moment, blinking in confusion as she closed her mouth, seeming to decide against the yawn at the last moment.

"Don’t give me ‘what is it’!" Haruka burst out sharply, frowning as she stomped over and hefted Setsuna’s heavy load of books out of her arms, giving her some relief. Setsuna murmured a quick ‘thank you’ as Haruka carried the books over to the counter, only to freeze when Haruka turned back towards her, eyes flashing. "Where the *hell* have you been all night!?"

"We’ve been worried sick!" Michiru added, a hand against her throat.

"Oh, have you been?" Setsuna said, blinking again, her garnet-colored eyes appearing somewhat owlish behind her large spectacles. "I’m so sorry. I’ve been at the library doing some research…I had no intention of causing you concern."

"It’s half past midnight!" Haruka snapped, pointing towards the clock on the wall. "You never stay out this late, Setsuna! We had no way of knowing if something might have happened to you, or if…"

"Is it really that late?" Setsuna said, reaching up to take off her glasses as she turned to look at the clock, blinking a bit groggily when she saw the time. "I suppose I lost track of…time."

Haruka and Michiru stared at her in silence for a long moment before she finally turned and offered them a grin that seemed almost sheepish.

"I really do apologize," she said quietly, folding her glasses and putting them away in their case, which she then stowed away in a pocket. She reached back to adjust the bun at the back of her head as she moved over towards her pile of books, gathering them up into her arms again.

"What were you researching, anyway?" Haruka asked, lifting an eyebrow when she suddenly noticed that none of the books in Setsuna’s arms had any type of library markings on them.

"Just something I was curious about," Setsuna said a bit breathlessly, turning to smile at her two companions. "Your encounter tonight reminded me of a few things I had wanted to look up."

Michiru’s eyebrow lifted, to accompany the still-cocked eyebrow on her lover’s face.

"Speaking of tonight’s encounter…" Michiru began, glancing towards Haruka, who nodded, "…do you know anything about any of those senshi we met tonight, Setsuna-san? Like the one who called herself Sailor Iron Mouse…"

"…or those three who showed up at the end, in the rather interesting leather outfits?" Haruka said, and she coughed into her hand when Michiru sent her a mild glare.

Setsuna blinked again, then shook her head slowly.

"No…I’m sorry; I know nothing at all. The one called Sailor Iron Mouse was completely unfamiliar to me, and the others…I will admit that they sparked my curiosity, particularly since they did not introduce themselves, but…no, I have no idea who they might be."

Haruka looked at her a bit suspiciously, which only caused Setsuna to smile patiently as she gently pushed past the two younger women and made her way towards her bedroom.

"Good night, then," she said politely, turning back to bow towards them over her pile of books before she retreated into her room and closed the door with her hip. She finally let out the yawn she’d been holding in as she let the pile of books fall to her desk, then ran her fingers lightly over the ancient covers. She sighed, rolling her neck until she heard a few bones crack before she got out her glasses and sat down, preparing for another few hours of research.

Those three senshi…who were they? They sparked some kind of long-forgotten chord of memory, and she intended to search through all of her resources until she found the source of the mystery.

*****

END PART TWO