Part 1: Orsus
Section 1: Adaption
Chapter 4-Suisei Mitsukai
The blue-haired girl lay awake at night, staring at the ceiling. Hotaru had the bed beneath her, but then again, she liked heights. They were thrilling sometimes...but also intimidating. Tapping a quiet accompaniment to her roommate's steady breathing below her, Ami sighed and turned over. It was hard to get in a good position when her entire right side was black and blue all over from training bruises.
Exhaling deeply, she looked outside the window expectantly. ‘It's going to rain soon...because my scars hurt. The old saying says something about old swordsmen and their scars knowing pain, but I'm not even old or a swordsman yet, and my scars know when it's about to rain.' Suisei Mitsukai was not the name Ami would have chosen for herself. It was too...vulnerable. An angel. Not that "friend of water" was much better, but at least it wasn't angel. Angel, in her vast vocabulary, meant an unearthly being that was innocent and beautiful. Ami found the idea funny that she could be named after something unhuman and pure. She knew what was coming, the suffering and killing ahead, and it weighed heavily on her young soul. If only she could be completely sure that they were fighting for the light and that her soul was young in reality...
~~~~*~~~~
All of the girls were surprised when the door to the training room opened and Artemis emerged. For the past six months, when they had been working on stance, balance, and positioning, he had been away in other parts of the universe on a mysterious "quest." Now he smiled at them as they gathered around him, clamoring to be told about his travels, what he had seen, and why he had gone away. The white-haired man held up a hand, laughing. "Matte, minna. I can only answer one question at a time." [Wait, everyone.]
"Where did you go?"
"Oh, all over the Solar System," he replied breezily, winking as they sighed wistfully. While they had recently been allowed to go to the Lunar markets on the days when there would be a lot of people and strangers could slip around unnoticed, the senshi-in-training were still kept pretty much secluded and away from the rest of the palace inhabitants.
"What did you see?"
"Many things."
"Art-kun, you're no fun. Why did you go away without telling us?" Minako pouted, cornflower blue eyes twinkling in her fun.
Artemis looked at her for a minute, as if startled by something. Shaking himself in a way reminiscent of his cat form, which they had discovered after Kyuusho's astonishing revelation, he answered, "I was called away unexpectedly, when Serenity-sama said she had something to do. Ano...do you remember what happened one year ago, today?" [...By the way...]
They all looked at each other in bewilderment until Ami spoke up shyly. "You told us that in a year, you would teach us how to use broadswords."
"Hai, Ami-chan. So, during my long, treacherous, and lonely trip to all the planets, I've finally picked up eight somethings for you." He smiled at their eager looks and half-asked questions. "They're broadswords." Looking back, he called, "Luna-chan? Are you ready yet?"
"They're not the best things for each of you," the dark-haired woman said apologetically, as she appeared, "but they're good for beginners. Artemis made good choices. In the future, not all of you will be fitted to broadswords, but you must learn them first before moving on. There are sabers, daggers...most of you will stick with either broadswords or sabers, though. Setsuna? You first."
Setsuna stepped forward, the first time they had seen her looking so nervous. In fact, she had never seemed nervous before. Taking the sheathed sword gently in both hands, she drew it out carefully and touched the metal, lacquered a fine black color that shone almost green. Long and meant to be worn at the waist, it was suited perfectly for her current height. Looking stunned, she asked, "This is...for me?"
"Hai, Suna-chan. You deserve it after working so hard," [Yes...] her teacher smiled, closing her hands over it. "Haruka? This one's yours."
As she touched it, the sandy blond-haired girl jumped backwards as if electrocuted. "What...what did it do?!"
"Oh, gomen nasai. I forgot to tell you...this one will shine in the dark if you have need of it. It was just adjusting itself to you," Artemis explained, meeting her intense, sky-blue-eyed gaze as he sorted aside the other swords.
"Thanks...I think." Akatsukinosora took the sword, resisting the urge to go ahead and draw it out as Setsuna had. She merely traced the fine etchings of the hilt, lips forming words of admiration that only she could hear.
"Michiru."
The aqua-haired girl stepped forward to take a sword that was thinner than the other two. The metal glowed with a strange, almost fluid-like light. "Masaka...the only metal workers that can produce anything so fine are the masters..."
No one questioned her odd words, and Luna smiled gently. "You're right, Michiru-chan. But these are just the start. One day, you will come upon Venusian daggers as thin as a sheet of paper, as sharp as a newly-made razor blade, and dipped in poison that could stun fifty men with one drop. Hotaru?"
Walking forward with her short black hair nearly reaching her chin, Hotaru took the short sword almost casually. Without looking at it, she said softly, "Arigato, Luna-sensei, Artemis-sensei." When she returned to her place, the others exchanged awed glances.
Minako came forth next, seemingly reluctant and rather pale. Accepting the plain sword, she drew it out cautiously and examined the curved edge and sharp, thin blade. Sliding it back in quickly, she walked back without meeting any glances, biting her lip with an indecision that none of them understood.
Swords have a large and sacred connection to spirituality, and Rei took hers almost as naturally as Hotaru did. In fact, the dark-haired girls had many things in common that were a little unsurprising, to tell the truth.
The brunette girl came up confidently, smiling as she tested the way the sword felt in her hands. None of them doubted that with the proper training, she could become a master swordsman. Or, as Makoto would have preferred, a master swordswoman.
"Ami." The girl hesitated as she went up. Looking at the sword, she didn't reach out her hands to take the offered weapon. "What's wrong?"
"I don't...I don't want to use a weapon," she whispered, feeling embarrassed.
Eyes softening with compassion, Artemis patted her shoulder reassuringly. "It's all right, Ami-chan. But you must learn how to use a broadsword and many arms to be a full senshi. Otherwise, you can't succeed."
The blue-haired girl still held back, eyes shining with unshed tears. "Demo...I don't feel comfortable holding one. They make people do bad things. They killed my mother, and the scars I bear are from weapons. I don't want to hurt other people this way."
No one knew what to say, and the white-haired Mau looked at his partner helplessly.
Luna's melodic voice caught in her throat as she tried to speak, with difficulty. "Ami, this is your destiny. It is your goal to protect the weak and innocent from people like slave masters and worse. Without them, you will fall and be unable to defeat them."
"Iie."
"Onegai, Ami-chan. You've worked so hard already. You're infinitely stronger, and your emotional state of mind has also been reinforced. And your mental state of mind is far beyond that of any other eight-year old. You can fight and are one of the most graceful girls here, although all of you are graceful. Are you willing to give up everything you have done now?"
"I..."
"Think about it," Artemis cut in, putting away the sword, "but you will need to make the decision within two days. It will be waiting for you until then."
Looking down, Ami whispered, "Arigato gozaimisu."
~~~~*~~~~
The next day was one designated universally as a "market day," and Ami was standing in front of the mirror, brushing out her short blue hair. It had grown longer since she had gone to the Moon more than a year ago, but no one spoke of haircuts. Scowling to herself, she wondered if they had been hasty in accepting this mission. After all, this was something that had changed their entire lives, and they could still back out...but what about the rest of the world? And then there was the thought that if they failed, there were other candidates.
"Ami-chan? Are you ready?"
Turning to look at the dark-haired girl, she smiled back. "Hai, Hotaru-chan." A little while later, the girls had been separated in the crowd, but no one was worried. This had happened before, especially on days when there were many eager shoppers crowding the paths. They merely arranged to meet directly before noon in front of a potter's shop.
There were so many things to explore in these markets where friendly bartering between vendor and customer occurred, usually in a good-natured fashion. Beginning with the produce section, there were bright-colored fruits and vegetables. Other household items were nearby, as well as meat and fish sellers. Further along the little shops began, some wares outdoors, the others inside to protect them from their future owners and the weather. Everything from pet animals to cloths were here, clothes with silken threads nearly as beautiful as butterflies. Each item was made with exquisite craftsmanship and loving care. Musty old tomes, assorted bins of jewelry to be picked over...the list was endless and went on and on. It was no wonder that this was one of the Moon's most famous market, and many things were either imported from other planets or extremely hard to find in any other place.
Today, Makoto had decided to go with Michiru and Haruka while Setsuna meandered along on her own. Minako, Rei, Ami, and Hotaru stuck together. "Let's go into the crystal shop over there," Ami suggested. "I love their creations...they're so beautiful and enchanting."
Smiling at her, Rei agreed, "I like them, too. And I may actually have saved enough money to buy the one I've always wanted!"
"Nani? The one in the shape of the firebird?" the blonde asked in surprise.
"Hai! Or maybe I should get the phoenix? What do you think, Mina-chan? Come look at them again with me."
Once inside the store, they all separated to look at the things they liked best, very familiar with the store. Ami, mind troubled over recent issues, wandered around to look at all the things. First there was Michiru's favorite display, one of marine creatures and crashing waves. She was very partial to some of the works there as well. Then there were perfect, shimmery globes of crystal, then faceted ones to catch the light. There were crystals in every color and shape imaginable. Once Usagi had been allowed to come along, and she had fallen in love with one that carried her namesake: a crescent moon with a bunny curled up against the curve. Reaching up to touch an old scar by her ear, Ami frowned contemplatively at the weapons display. There were swords, of course, as well as bows and arrows and many other items. She still hadn't made up her mind yet... Moving on, she admired magical creatures that hadn't been seen for centuries: griffins, dragons, Rei's firebirds and phoenixes, fairies... "Oh, excuse me!" she cried as someone knocked her into a glass counter.
Abashed, the boy bowed and apologized, "Gomen nasai. It was my fault, not yours. Please excuse me."
Looking at him closely, she admired his chocolate brown hair and eyes, as well as his looks. "Um..it's no problem."
"I'm Kou Taiki. I'm here with my brothers, Seiya and Yaten, and our friend, Kakyuu-chan. Who are you?"
"I'm....I'm Mizuno Mitsukai," she said at last, wincing at the strangeness. Artemis and Luna had told them never to give anyone the knowledge of their "old" names, but she wasn't sure if Taiki had heard about Suisei Mitsukai. If he had, she didn't want to know what his reaction would be like.
"Mizuno Mitsukai, huh? Hajimemashite." Smiling at her, he flicked his long ponytail back and asked, "So, do you liking this place?"
"It's wonderful!" the blue-haired girl said enthusiastically.
"What's your favorite piece?"
Pointing to an item on the very top rack, she suddenly noticed Rei beckoning urgently to her from the door. "Oh no...sorry, but I have to go now. My friends are waiting for me."
Taiki bowed again and replied, "Well, I certainly don't want to keep you from. Until we meet again, Mitsukai-san." When she left, blushing slightly at Minako's raised eyebrows, he examined the crystal closely. ‘Shaped as angels' wings...huh? What's the word for angel again? Mitsukai...'
~~~~*~~~~
A few days later, Ami was lying on her, staring at her ceiling. A sword was placed beside her carefully, still in its sheath, of course. She couldn't bear to look at it, remembering the sheen of the steel at the edge of the whip that killed her mother...slicing into her skinny back over and over again... Closing her eyes, she told herself angrily that she should have forgotten this image a long time ago and that dwelling on instances like these were useless to her if she wanted to be a true senshi. Suddenly, she was startled when she heard footsteps on the rickety ladder that led up to her bed.
Rei was there beside her, and when she took her hand, the blue-haired girl was awed when her mental shadows were burned away. A little enviously, she said, "You've improved so quickly, Rei. Arigato."
"You've gone a long way, too, Ami. Don't ever undersell yourself–your mental strength is so much stronger than any of ours, and physical strength is useless on certain battlefields. Besides, you've been working very hard, and you can swim now, better than a lot of us," the other dark-haired girl complimented.
"Arigato. Rei-chan, how could you, well...take the sword so easily? Aren't you worried about what will happen in the future?"
Deep purple meeting endless blue, the girl smiled after a few minutes. "Hai," she answered, "I'm very worried. But what comes will come, and we will all face it together. One day in the future, we'll be killing people. Or maybe we'll be killing inhuman things–but either way, we're destroying life. The only way we can atone for this will be to do good things for the survivors in life that we are fighting for. You and Hotaru are so lucky to be able to do what you can do." At her puzzled look, Rei-chan smiled gently and continued, "That's the inborn power you have to heal. Most healers are from Saturn, but a few originated from Mercury. It's not that big a surprise. Hai, you will have the power to kill, Ami-chan...but you will also have the power to heal and save lives. Use it well."
~~~~*~~~~
Quite a few months later, Ami was dancing nimbly away from Makoto, both using broadswords only and no hand-to-hand fight techniques. They had come a long way from being unable to draw the swords from their sheathes to being able to use them with near-perfection. Of course, for practice, the tips were very blunted. However, if the swordsman was very advanced in technique, injuries could still occur. Being careful to avoid her fast cuts, the blue-haired, blue-eyed girl rarely parried. Instead, she skipped away or moved out of position. Often on the defensive, she found herself rather good at it, and she disliked being offensive–especially with a blade. The guard protected each of their hands, and around each of the wooden handles was wrapped a cloth so the swords would not slip out of their grasps because of perspiration. Makoto's sword was the long broadsword worn on the side of the thigh, suitable to her height, while her younger opponent's was much shorter and worn at the waist.
The other girls were watching with great interest from various positions: Setsuna was standing upright and alone, as was characteristic of her; Haruka leaned along the wall on her side in a relaxed position, while Michiru was close by with her back pressed against the wood; Hotaru sat on the ground with her legs tucked up to her chest; and Minako sat with her head supported on Rei's shoulder, tired out from running up and down the mountain simulation four times that day. It had been one of her greatest achievements when she had been able to run the complete thing once at the end of the first year. Now, Artemis and Luna were pushing her harder than ever. Soon they would begin using daggers, which were similar to short broadswords. They would also be easier to use, with less technique involved.
Suddenly, Ami found herself pressed against the wall, with the brunette girl's blade glittering around two inches away from her throat. Smiling slightly as they bowed to each other, customary and taught by their guardians, she said softly, "Congratulations, Mako-chan."
"You too, Ami-chan. You did well. You're improving." At the applause from the other girls, they both turned, surprised. In the intensity of the battle, neither had remembered or looked towards their audience at all. Walking over, Makoto took the cloth off the end of her sword and squeezed out the sweat, then retied the cloth as the blue-haired girl did the same.
As she slid the sword back into its sheath, Ami frowned slightly when she found that her wrist ached in its odd position. Massaging it gently, she found concerned eyes on her when her sword suddenly fell to the floor. Bending down to retrieve it, she found her joints locked in place. Frantically, she tried to move her fingers, any part of her body, but found that none of it was in working order. Suddenly, an intense headache swept over her, and she fainted into oblivion. She didn't remember the cries of the other girls, nor did she remember Artemis carrying her back to her rooms and Hotaru trying to heal her of a pain that wasn't there...
~~~~*~~~~
"Kami-sama...what happened?"
"Usagi, please leave. Minako?"
At the green-haired girl's request, the blonde led the princess away, ignoring her protests. "It's all right, Usa-chan. Come on, we'll watch Ruka and Mako practicing."
"Iie. I want to know what happened to Ami-chan," Usagi maintained firmly. "Besides, they're no fun to watch when everyone's worried about Ami-chan. She hasn't woken up for three days, they said."
Biting her lip hard, a nervous habit that she had developed, the golden-haired girl shrugged and led her into the practice room anyway. Most of the others were gathered there, with the exception of Rei and Hotaru, and she didn't know where they were. "Why did your okaa-san let you come here? Aren't you busy practicing for your declaration as Serenity-sama?"
Glowering darkly, she replied, "Hai, demo, I heard about Ami-chan and wanted to visit. Okaa-san let me, because she's going to be Suisei-sama. Tell me what happened."
This was a royal order and a demand from a princess rather than a question, and Minako sighed as she lowered herself to the ground. Adjusting her white clothing, she said, "No one's really sure. It's something to do with Ami's mind, though, because Koori and Hotaru can't find anything wrong with her, physically. Mentally, we don't know about. Rei-chan said that a while ago, she sensed that her thoughts seemed a little disturbed. When she went to their room, Ami was alone, and she was remembering about how her okaa-san was killed."
"So...mentally and emotionally, she was traumatized."
"Hai. And the other thing is, she feels bitter about her gifts. Sosei-chan always uses her gifts to heal everything in sight, but Ami-chan is less warm outwardly. She doesn't heal any of her own injuries, and Koori-chan has been at her wits' end about persuading her to try and learn to heal. She thinks she should have been able to save her okaa-san if she was given such a gift."
Sighing, Usagi's crystal blue eyes glimmered with tears. "But how can we help her?"
"I don't know, Usa-chan. I don't know."
~~~~*~~~~
Cracking open her eyes, the first thing that Ami remembered was a parching thirst. "H–Hotaru?"
"Ami!" she cried happily.
"What...what happened?"
"Setsuna! She's awake!" the dark-haired girl called joyously, purple eyes never leaving her friend's. "We don't know, Ami-chan. One minute you were fine and about to clean your sword after your match with Makoto...and then you dropped your sword and froze. It was so strange, and a few seconds later, you tensed up and then fainted. It's been three days since then, and you never woke up. Koori-chan and I, we couldn't find anything wrong. Fujiro-chan even suggested an energy transfer, but since you haven't used your power to heal anything lately, you couldn't hold any more."
Head spinning slightly from all the information, Ami nodded her comprehension. "I
don't know what happened."
"It's about time you woke up." Both girls turned towards the door, and the green-haired girl's garnet eyes shone with happiness and something else they couldn't identify. Quietly, she inquired, "What have you been thinking about, Ami-chan?"
"I don't know...I had these strange dreams...but I don't remember them clearly now," she lied, hoping it sounded plausible.
Looking at her sharply, Setsuna said, "Artemis and Luna agree that you were thinking about something so hard that your body finally buckled under the strain and decided it needed a rest. Did it have anything to do with these dreams?"
"Iie...the dreams were after. I just–I just..." Frustrated, she burst out, "I want to forget about everything before I came to the Moon, but I can't. I can still remember okaa-san's death each night if I go to sleep...so I wasn't sleeping at all before. At least not at night."
"Ami, you can't do this to yourself. Sooner or later, your body will shut down and decide that you need a rest. You've been working like this for how long?"
Focusing her gaze on the floor, Mitsukai whispered, "Two weeks."
Flabbergasted, the older girl exclaimed, "Nani?! Masaka...you're much more resilient than we thought. But you can't do this. You could die this way. Haven't you found it hard to focus and, well, work? For two whole weeks without sleep?"
"A little...but I got used to it after a while. Sometimes, when I'm sure that no one's awake, I'll go to the library and read. It keeps me awake," she confessed guiltily.
Setsuna was still coming to terms with the surprise. There were legends about the senshi, cryptic half-hints that talked about a power. Senshi could stay awake to do battle during wartime without any sleep or sustenance for days, weeks, and even months with training. Weeks were dangerous, and months could even be fatal. After a prolonged period of time without sleep, a senshi had to be careful to rest up before she was back to full strength...she didn't want to think about what would have happened if Ami's nocturnal habits had gone on unchecked, if she hadn't fainted when her body finally demanded rest... There were no doubts in her mind that finding another Suisei-sama would have been in order.
Hotaru asked, "Will you promise to sleep and stop doing this? Please? And let go of your mother's death? I know it's hard to ask...but..."
"I'll try to sleep, but I can't come to terms with okaa-san's death yet. It's something I can't even ask of myself until I understand better."
Setsuna left the room after a few more minutes to call the guardians, but Hotaru reached into a nearby drawer. "I went to the market yesterday...and this boy, Kou Taiki, said he knew you. He said to give this to you, and that he recognized me from before. You told him your name...your real name."
Reaching out for the object, ocean blue eyes widened as she saw the crystal angels' wings. "Kami-sama...hai, I did."
"They're so beautiful, Ami-chan. And they suit you. Don't make us lose our angel. Believe in yourself."
Caelum
