Fandom: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars
Date Finished:
Classification: Romance, Angst, Alternate Universe
Pairing: Fighter/Serenity
Rating: NC-17

Tsuki no Uta
By Elsewhere
elsewherecw@shaw.ca

Disclaimer: The characters and story of BSSM are not mine. Oops. ;P

All lyrics quoted are from ‘Tsuki no Uta’ by Gackt, translated into English by Mina-P of the senshigakuen (http://www.senshigakuen.com). I intend no infringement to either party; I’m just quoting ‘em. ;P  

Distribution: If you want this story for any page other than the ones I’ve sent it to, please ask me first, so I know where it goes.

Spoilers: This story is sort of set in the Crystal Tokyo era described in the manga and anime, and will be based on a kind of odd combination of the manga and anime…I’ll be drawing from both sources and mixing things around. I hope it won’t be too confusing. ;P This story does heavily follow the manga in one major respect: despite the fact that Sailor Moon vanquished Chaos, the alternate future that Chibi Chibi/Sailor Cosmos spoke of at the end of the manga has in this story come to pass.

Note: The majority of this story takes place on Kinmokusei, and I realized that using too much Japanese during those parts of the story would be odd, so I decided to only use Japanese terms I felt I couldn’t part with for one reason or another. For example, because I’m a Seramyu fan, I’m used to the Starlights calling Kakyuu ‘ouhi-sama’ when she becomes queen, so I’ve kept this term of respect despite the fact that it’s entirely Japanese. Also, the term ‘sailor senshi’ has been retained---it’s an essential term in the Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon universe, and I just didn’t want to let go of it. ;) I’ve also made the culture we see in the Kinmoku palace somewhat oriental, just because it makes it a little bit exotic to me but familiar to the Starlights (who seemed to navigate Japanese society with ease)…and because it means I don’t have to be terribly creative (something I’m not very good at, as those who read my stories know). ^^;

Additional note: Those who’ve read the novels of Madeleine L’Engle will notice that Chaos in this story was inspired by ‘A Wrinkle in Time’…very loosely inspired, as it’s been years since I last read the novel, but nonetheless. ^^

Summary: A thousand years after Seiya first met Usagi on Earth, Neo Queen Serenity comes to Kinmoku, hunted by someone or something and seeking the help of Sailor Star Fighter and her companions. A thousand years is a long time to maintain an unrequited love…

Part One:

Glossary:
doushita no? - what’s wrong?
fuku - uniform
gomen - sorry
henshin - transformation
iie - no
masaka - no way; impossible
mou - sheesh
nan demo nai - it’s nothing
ne - similar to ‘hey’ or ‘eh’; an all-purpose word to get someone’s attention or seek confirmation
Odango - dumpling---Seiya’s affectionate nickname for Usagi; refers to the round shape of the buns in Usagi’s hair
ouhi - queen; your majesty
senshi - soldier; warrior
yamero - stop it

*****
A shining, pure white T-shirt
A rainbow floating in a spray of water
Gazing thoughtfully at the sky
The wind plays with countless things
Nothingness was our own happiness
*****

The sun was bright that day, shimmering brilliantly onto the wet surface of the car with every new splash of the hose against the hood. Her skin shone like ivory in this kind of sunlight, he found himself thinking, a slight blush coming to his cheeks as he watched her bending over the car, reaching out to trace circles in the bubbles.

"Yo," he called, startling her into stepping back and tripping on the coils of the hose. In the process, she sprayed herself in the face, and ended up coughing and hacking, her pair of soaking wet odango hanging limply, threatening to fall apart. "Gomen, gomen."

"Mou…Seiya!!" she yelled, sounding mad but smiling nonetheless. "Don’t sneak up on me like that…you startled me."

"Can I help?" Seiya asked, gesturing to the car.

"Heh, masaka…an idol like you must have much better things to do," she said with a lopsided grin, wiping her wet bangs away from her forehead before leaning over to wipe the hood of the car again, scrubbing at the layers of dirt.

"Iie…I had a cancellation," Seiya said, trying not to show the fact that he was a bit hurt by her words. Would she never treat him just as a friend, and not as a member of the Three Lights? Usually she did treat him differently than the way most people did, but at times like this…

"I’m almost finished anyway," she said with a shrug, and he remained silent. A few moments later, she seemed to notice his somewhat somber mood, and she turned to glance at him. "Doushita no?"

"Iie…nan demo nai," he said, shaking his head and turning to look at the car, so he wouldn’t have to look in her eyes.

"Hmm," she murmured, sounding curious, but she didn’t press the subject.

A moment later, he heard a soft inhalation of breath and glanced up, sure that she was about to say something.

"Seiya…"

She hesitated for several long seconds, as though whatever she was about to say was of grave importance…but in the end, she only let out the breath she’d been holding, grinned widely, turned on her heel, and turned the hose on full, aimed directly at him.

He opened his mouth to let out a sound of protest, but swallowed a mouthful of water instead. He ended up coughing, shaking his head as he tried to get away. She laughed ecstatically as she watched him trying to dance out of her reach and she chased him around the yard, spraying him until he was thoroughly soaked.

"Gah!! Yamero!!" he roared, laughing even as he pretended to be mad, trying to grab the hose away from her. Eventually he ended up hiding behind some bushes to get away from her, so she turned off the hose and nearly doubled over, she was laughing so hard. He came out from behind the bushes when he was sure she wouldn’t spray him again, a glare pasted on his face.

"What was that for!?" he demanded.

"Because you looked so serious…" she answered through her laughter, giggling so hard tears were rolling down her cheeks as she took in his soaked state.

"Hmph," he said, folding his arms over his chest and glaring at her, but the way his lips twitched gave away his own amusement.

"Ne, Seiya…how long are you free?" she asked as she finally started to regain her composure and managed to stand straight up, wiping her eyes.

"Until four o’clock, I think," he said, tilting his head. "Why?"

She grinned and winked.

"Let me just finish up washing the car and then let’s do something," she said, and he blinked, surprised by her carefree tone. "But don’t think it’s a date!!"

She waved her finger again and winked, and he couldn’t help but laugh as he watched her head back towards the car.

She was so beautiful…the most beautiful star shine he had ever seen…and she could never be his…

*****

"Fighter? …Fighter?"

"It’s no use, ouhi-sama. She’s spaced out again."

Fighter blinked and lifted her chin when she saw a familiar slender hand wave in front of her face, a hand that she could absolutely never ignore.

"Ou…ouhi-sama!" she blurted, her abrupt exclamation causing her two companions to titter softly.

"Yes, that I am," Kakyuu said good-humoredly as she lowered her hand. "I wondered if you would notice anything at all in the state you were in, Fighter."

"You were somewhere else," Maker provided when Fighter looked immediately confused by Kakyuu’s words.

"As usual," Healer said, rolling her eyes.

"Ah…I apologize, ouhi-sama. What were you saying before I spaced out?" Fighter asked politely, and Kakyuu smiled warmly, closing her eyes.

"I was simply asking if you would do me the honor of the next dance," Kakyuu answered, lifting a hand expectantly.

These were familiar enough words, and Fighter smiled, her eyes expressing her gratitude to Kakyuu for allowing her an entrance into a pattern she knew well. She felt confidence returning.

"On the contrary, the honor would entirely be mine, ouhi-sama," Fighter said smoothly, sliding her hand underneath Kakyuu’s and then leading her out onto the dance floor.

Maker and Healer watched them go.

"She’s absolutely impossible lately," Healer commented quietly.

"Mm," Maker agreed, her deep purple eyes full of a concern that her smaller companion shared but tried to mask.

Lately, their leader, Fighter, had been even more quiet and withdrawn than she had usually been over the past centuries, ever since their travels to the faraway planet known as Earth. Many things had happened to the three of them on that planet, and those events had resulted in many changes to Fighter; ever since then, she had hardly been recognizable as the person Healer and Maker had known in their youth. She had become a serious, quiet and often somber person. Of late she had withdrawn from other people to the point of often retreating into some world of her own, and it was beginning to concern her friends, even though they knew well some of the reasons for her recent behavior.

Tonight, the night of Kakyuu’s birthday, Kakyuu had planned a grand ball, and she had insisted that her beloved Starlights---her three senshi, her personal guardians---attend not only as bodyguards, but as guests. Healer and Maker were aware that part of Kakyuu’s intent was to try to get Fighter to lighten up a bit, and to that end, Kakyuu had even managed to convince Fighter to wear a dress, something that was definitely rare. Even now, out on the dance floor, Fighter and Kakyuu made a remarkable pair, with Fighter in her powder blue dress and Kakyuu in a red evening gown that nicely matched her fiery red hair and eyes.

"Fighter?" Kakyuu murmured as she and Fighter slow-danced to the gentle beat of the music, and Kakyuu lay her head on Fighter’s shoulder. With her hand resting against Fighter’s chest, she could feel the younger woman’s heartbeat against her palm; it made her feel safe, reassured. Couldn’t she somehow pass that feeling on to Fighter?

"Yes, ouhi-sama?" Fighter said, her own voice just as quiet to reflect the mood.

"How are you, lately? Maker, Healer and I are worried about you," Kakyuu said, lifting her head to meet Fighter’s eyes, allowing the other woman to see her concern.

"Eh? I…I’m fine, ouhi-sama, I’m just concerned about the recent developments, like everyone else…" Fighter said, trailing off as she saw the way Kakyuu’s forehead creased.

"You seem to be even more concerned than everyone else, Fighter," Kakyuu said quietly. "Do you know something we don’t?"

Fighter swallowed, closing her eyes for a moment before she shook her head and opened her eyes, meeting Kakyuu’s gaze again.

"No. I just…have a terrible feeling about this, ouhi," Fighter said, her voice fallen to a whisper.

Kakyuu stared deeply into her senshi’s eyes, already aware of the fact that Fighter would never lie or exaggerate but nonetheless seeking evidence of her seriousness. The darkness she saw in Fighter’s eyes frightened her, enough that she took a step back. Fighter looked saddened by this, her hands curling comfortingly around Kakyuu’s elbows.

"I’m sorry. I would tell you more if I could," Fighter whispered. "I’m sorry, ouhi-sama."

Kakyuu shook her head, closing her eyes against a sudden stinging sensation.

"It is no fault of yours, Fighter," she murmured. "It is not *your* fault."

Fighter was silent, and a moment later, the sound of the taller woman clearing her throat broke the silence.

"May I be excused, ouhi?"

"…Yes," Kakyuu said reluctantly, opening her eyes to watch as Fighter turned, looking dejected, and slowly made her way through the crowd, towards the balcony. Kakyuu glanced up, instantly making eye contact with Healer and Maker. One nod of Kakyuu’s head to give her permission and the other two Starlights started after their friend, following her through the throng of people towards the open air of the night.

*****

"Always out here, staring at the stars." It was Healer who broke the silence; a silence so sharp it felt like glass to walk through. "Don’t you have anything better to do?"

"I’m not looking at the stars," Fighter murmured, her hands tensely gripping the railing of the balcony as she stared up at the night sky.

"…I know," Healer said softly, her own eyes reluctantly moving upwards until they came to rest on the great shadow that had become their sky.

Nearly a quarter of the blanket of stars that could usually be seen twinkling in the night sky from Kinmoku had in recent months started to disappear. One by one, the twinkles had simply…started to go out. As though a thicker blanket of shadow was being tossed over the shines of the stars, the pinpoints of light had fallen to darkness, one after another, leaving more and more of the midnight sky pitch black. Sometimes, Fighter could swear she saw the great shadow flickering over Kinmoku’s three moons, threatening to steal their glows as well.

"Staring at it all the time won’t accomplish anything," Maker said quietly. It wasn’t the first time she’d said it, and she was sure it wouldn’t be the last.

"Damn it," Fighter whispered, the barest breath into the night. "I’m sure there must be something we can do about it."

"Fighter…even the greatest astronomers on Kinmoku have no idea of the origin of this phenomenon," Maker said patiently, closing her eyes. "And the three of us have been out into space dozens of times to see if we could determine what was going on. What could we possibly try that we haven’t already?"

"Something…*anything*," Fighter said, gritting her teeth. "How can we just sit here and do nothing!? The stars are dying…"

"Fighter…" Healer said softly, reaching out to touch her companion’s back and surprised to feel how badly Fighter was shaking.

"I can feel it…something terrible is happening, out there, in space…in the galaxy, in the universe," Fighter said quietly. "Night after night, I dream of darkness, a darkness I can’t hold back. Damn it! I feel so…helpless…"

She lowered her head, her shaking growing worse until Healer stepped forward and started to rub her back soothingly, not stopping until Fighter’s tremors finally calmed.

"Ah…look!" Healer said abruptly, pointing with one hand towards the sky. Fighter’s head shot up, and Maker turned her head, both of them following the line of Healer’s pointed finger until they spotted the brilliant silver shooting star their fellow senshi had spotted.

"It’s beautiful!" Healer murmured, smiling softly.

Fighter’s eyes narrowed slightly, then widened. She straightened up, and Healer’s hands fell away from her back.

"That’s not a shooting star," she said sharply.

"Eh?"

"I can sense a shining Starseed…a Sailor Crystal," Fighter said, and both Maker and Healer stared at her, mouths dropping open.

"You’re kidding!" Healer said, turning back to look towards the shooting star.

"It looks like it’s going to land somewhere on the palace grounds," Maker said, judging the star’s trajectory as best as she could from their distance. "The south courtyard, I’d say."

"But it can’t be…" Healer began to say, narrowing her eyes towards the object, but even as she spoke, the world suddenly exploded in a flash of brilliant silver light, emanating from where they’d last seen the shooting star.

"What the…!?" Healer shouted, shielding her eyes with both arms.

"This light is…!!" Maker cried, disbelief in her voice as she held a hand over her eyes.

"Odango!" Fighter shouted, the word torn out of her as though she was in pain.

"What!?" Healer yelled again, turning to stare at Fighter wide-eyed as the light slowly started to fade. "What did you just…!?"

But before she could finish the question, Fighter had taken off at a run, ditching her high heels within the first couple of steps so she could move faster. Within the next two steps she’d accomplished her henshin without even needing to cry out her henshin phrase, and Healer cried out a hurried "Be careful!!" as Fighter simply kept running towards the edge of the balcony, seemingly not concerned that they were on the fourth floor of the palace. The instant Fighter’s boots left the balcony railing as she jumped, brilliant white wings flared from between her shoulder blades, and in the next second she was gone, flying too fast for their eyes to follow.

"Fighter!!" Kakyuu rushed out onto the balcony a second later, shouting her senshi’s name. "Healer, Maker…what’s happened!?"

"Some kind of shooting star just landed on the palace grounds," Maker said quickly. "Fighter thinks it’s a living person. She’s gone to investigate."

"Did you feel…?" Kakyuu questioned, and Maker nodded sharply, once, which was enough. "I see…in that case, we’re going after her."

"Would someone explain to me what’s going on!? The emotions around here right now are so heavy I can’t think straight," Healer said, bringing her hands up to her ears.

"Later. Let’s just go," Maker said, a wave of her arm over her body changing her clothes into her fuku even as her wings blossomed from her back. Healer sighed and did the same, and they both watched as Kakyuu spun once, surrounded briefly by a torrent of flower petals before she reappeared in her own fuku and lifted off the ground, her wings flapping powerfully.

"Let’s go," she said firmly, and her two senshi nodded as they lifted off.

Within seconds of taking off, they were catching up to Fighter, seeing her flying up ahead, crossing the vast palace grounds.

"Fighter! Please wait!" Kakyuu called, but Fighter showed no signs of slowing down. "Healer, if you would…"

"As you wish, ouhi-sama…" Healer said, even as she shot ahead, her small size and fleetness of motion making her the ideal candidate to catch up to Fighter, despite the other senshi’s considerable head start. Maker stayed behind to protect Kakyuu.

"Fighter, wait up!" Healer yelled as she flew at top speed towards Fighter, catching up rapidly. "I said wait, damn it!!"

They were flying through the palace gardens now, their high speed flight through the tree tops causing the leaves to rustle as they passed. Healer was aware of this sound, of the rhythm of it; it was one of many details of her surroundings that she had filed in her mind automatically as she always did, and it was because of this that, when the sound altered slightly, it was her first sign that something was wrong.

Suddenly, the leaves were rustling somewhere to her right. She had less than a second to realize that and turn her head before she felt a breeze against her cheek and then something slammed into her, knocking her off balance.

"Ouch! What was that!?" she said, wincing a bit as she felt a pain move through her side. Whatever had hit her, it was *big*.

"Healer!" Kakyuu called from somewhere quite far behind.

"Healer!"

Healer glanced up at this second voice, sounding far more panicked than Kakyuu’s, and she met the wide blue eyes of Fighter, who had stopped and turned and was now flying back towards Healer at full speed.

"Behind you!" Fighter shouted, even as Healer too heard the same shifting leaves behind her. At the last instant she moved aside, and her eyes widened as she watched a huge clump of what she could swear looked like pure *darkness* move past her. It looked…like a shadow. She gulped in horror as she realized what it resembled. It looked just like the thing in the sky…the thing that had eaten the stars.

She had no more time to ponder on this, because in the next second, just as Fighter arrived, boxing the darkness in on the other side, something incredible happened. The darkness shifted, broke apart, and slid into ten different parts. The different parts lengthened and began to take on shape until they started to vaguely resemble humans, and then, one by one, each of them opened a pair of horrifying, blood red eyes. Slowly, all ten of these creatures turned and focused their bloodthirsty gazes on either Fighter or Healer.

Then, in a flash, they all attacked, with a roar of sound like a scream, ripping through the silence so horrifyingly that Healer felt her heart pounding hard in her ears even as she dodged out of the way of their attacks.

"Star Serious Laser!!"

The attack cut harshly through the line of dark bodies, scattering them, but didn’t seem to harm them at all. Even those it hit only separated their shadow-created bodies and reformed around the laser’s path. Fighter’s eyes widened, seeing how weak one of her stronger attacks was against the enemies.

"Star Sensitive Inferno!!" Healer shouted, holding up her Yell as she performed her own death move, watched as hers did barely anything against the creatures, who again let out an ear-shattering screech, seemingly of triumph.

"What can we do!?" Healer shouted as she kept dodging their attacks.

"I don’t know!!" Fighter yelled back. "But we have to protect her!"

"Her?" Healer repeated, blinking. Somehow it didn’t seem as though Fighter was talking about Kakyuu… then, for the first time, Healer noticed the brilliant silver glimmer beneath the trees. Her mouth hung open, and her moment of inattention was all it took for the creatures to converge on her.

"Healer, watch out…!!"

"Kinmoku Fusion Tempest!!"

Both Fighter and Healer froze at the sound of their queen’s voice and watched in shocked silence as a rain of orange flower petals fell from the sky, appearing out of nowhere. The petals surrounded the ten shadow creatures, and then, swirling faster than the human eye could follow, cut them to pieces. Although the petals looked as soft as silk, they were sharp as knives.

"Kakyuu ouhi-sama!" Fighter and Healer chorused as Kakyuu and Maker flew up beside them, Kakyuu holding her branch of olive blossoms.

"Now…shall we?" Kakyuu said, turning to smile at Fighter, who looked surprised at first but then nodded.

Before any of them could protest, Fighter flew as fast as she could down through the trees into the courtyard below, holding her arm over her eyes to protect them as she approached the silver light. Just as she came closer, the silver light began to fade, and she slowly lowered her arm, only to feel herself go pale.

There, lying in the grass, surrounded now only by a soft silver glow, was a young woman, pale skin shining like ivory in the silver light, wearing a flowing white dress with decorative wings on the back that were broken and bent. Two incredibly long ponytails of silver hair trailed along the ground around the woman, pooling around her legs, beginning on the top of her head from two small round odango. Fighter blinked and lowered herself to the ground, taking a few steps forward before her knees failed her and she collapsed to kneel next to the woman. Fighter lifted a shaking hand to the woman’s face, checking for signs of life, and found quickly that although the woman’s face was peaceful as though she was simply sleeping, her breathing was very shallow, and her forehead was burning hot.

"Fighter!" Healer called suddenly as she landed on her feet just inside the courtyard and ran towards her. "What have you fou…stars!!"

Kakyuu landed next, and instantly gasped, running over to kneel next to Fighter, her hands also moving over the unconscious woman’s face.

"Maker…we have to get her into the palace, quickly!" Kakyuu shouted, and without question---without so much as glancing at Fighter’s shell-shocked face---Maker got to her knees and scooped up the woman, then took flight, heading back towards the palace, Kakyuu following her.

"Fighter…ne, Fighter…" Healer said, gently shaking Fighter’s shoulder, her eyes wide with concern as she saw the look in Fighter’s eyes. "Fighter…?"

"…Odango…" Fighter whispered, and then she finally heard Healer calling her name.

"Fighter…we have to follow them," Healer said firmly, both hands on Fighter’s shoulders now, trying to bring her friend back to reality.

"Yeah…let’s go," Fighter whispered, shakily getting to her feet and starting the walk back to the palace. She didn’t feel the strength to use her wings anymore tonight. She might not have made it at all if it weren’t for Healer’s hand against her arm, reminding her that she was awake and not dreaming.

*****

END PART ONE