Search By Moonlight

Disclaimer: I can't believe I still have to say this even though I've already said it a million times…I don't own Sailor Moon, all characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi…etc., etc., etc.

AN: You are never going to believe this one…I am actually making this extremely AU.

Prologue: By the Light of the Moon

The moonlight shone softly down upon the small town of Williamsburg, Virginia. It was a Friday night, a celebrated time among teenagers. Several young couples roamed the night, but our story is about one couple in particular. The two stood outside the movie theater, trying to choose between horror or romantic comedy. Naturally, the male was going for horror; he wanted the excuse to hold on to his girl. The girl wanted the romantic comedy; horror movies terrified her.

The two made an eye-catching couple. The girl was petite and delicate, a celestial beauty with fair skin, golden hair, and blue eyes. Her attention was on a handsome young man with long, thick, shiny raven-black hair and sapphire blue eyes. He was tall, well-built, and muscular, with a pronounced six-pack and firm, well-toned biceps and triceps. The girl looked up at him sweetly, appealing to his better nature.

"Seiya, please?" she begged. "I didn't sleep for days last time…that movie scared me to death!"

Seiya thought for a moment. He didn't want her to be terrified; he just wanted to have her wrap her arms around him. But he also didn't want to get stuck watching a chick flick. The dark-haired boy ran a hand through his hair, feeling slightly lost. He always did that. As a result, his hair always had a slightly disheveled appearance to it. Finally, his desire to please his girlfriend won out. With an inner martyred sigh, he smiled down at her. "All right, baby. No horror movies tonight."

His blonde goddess squealed and threw her arms around him, and he knew he'd made the right choice. For her, he could sit through a romantic comedy…all he needed to do was focus on the golden-haired beauty who held his heart, and he would be fine. With a smile, he wrapped and arm about her waist, and they approached the ticket booth together. The guy who worked there was on a first-name basis with them. His name was Andrew.

"So, what'll it be tonight, Seiya?" he asked. "Another horror movie, or did Serena finally convince you to agree to a romantic comedy?"

Seiya grinned, and smiled down at Serena. "I think we'll go with 'A Night to Remember'," he replied,

"Looks like you finally won, Serena," Andrew sighed. "Don't go doing this all the time, or I won't have anyone to discuss the scary stuff with."

Serena laughed. "I won't," she promised, and they walked in.

Once they'd gotten their popcorn and sat down, Seiya discovered that pleasing his blonde goddess could be extremely rewarding; she leaned over, and gave him a kiss that practically blew his mind. "Careful, Odango," he said, using his pet name for her, meaning 'Dumpling'. "You keep kissing me like that, I won't be able to drive us home."

"Just my way of telling you I love you," she replied innocently.

Seiya smiled softly, giving Serena the beautiful, tender smile that he only gave to her. The movie started, but he kept his eyes on the beauty beside him. He would never let her go.

Ωж¥ж¥ж¥ж¥ж§Ω

Later, as they walked out, Serena got a good look at the man she loved more than life. What she saw worried her. Seiya was pale. He was fair-skinned anyway, but his skin usually glowed with health and vibrancy. Now, he was almost as white as a sheet, and he was sweating a little, despite the mild coolness of the night. His blue eyes were slightly unfocused, and it seemed as though much of his usual strength and energy had burned out.

"Seiya, are you okay?" she asked.

Seiya gave her a faint smile. "I'm fine," he replied. "Just a little queasy…too much popcorn, you know?"

Serena thought for a minute, trying to recall if this was true. They both had huge appetites…but Seiya's appetite had seemed to go down these past few days. She looked at the love of her life with concern. Was he seriously ill? She hoped not…she didn't know what she'd do if anything happened to him. She took his hand. "You don't look too good…should I call Taiki and ask him to come get you?" Taiki was Seiya's oldest brother. Yaten was his second older brother, and Kakyuu was their older sister.

"No!" Seiya practically shouted.

Serena jumped, startled by his tone.

Seiya softened his voice. "No…I'm all right, Odango. Really." He cringed as he remembered the last time he'd been sick; Taiki was the future doctor in the family, and God help you if you got sick when he was around. He fussed almost like a mother hen. Every time someone in the family so much as sneezed around him, all hell broke loose. Seiya knew his brother meant well, but he really didn't want Taiki to know about this. Taiki was a worry-wart. He could tell that Serena wasn't convinced, and he kissed her gently. "I promise you, I'm fine."

"Call me tomorrow," she ordered.

"I will," he assured her.

With one last look at him, Serena climbed into the passenger seat of his car. Seiya, ever the gentleman, had opened the door for her, as he always did. Once she was safely in, he closed it, and drove her home.

As he drove home to join the rest of his family, Seiya felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. Thanking his lucky stars that the road was clear and that this hadn't started when Serena was in the car, he pulled over. He rested his head on the steering wheel and waited for it to pass. It didn't. Instead, it grew worse, and he found himself outside of the car without really remembering doing so. He felt waves of nausea rolling in his stomach. 'What's happening to me?' he thought. 'I should've called Taiki…Serena was right…' Pain crashed down on him, and his last conscious thought was, "I need to call Serena tomorrow…'

As the moon shone down on his still form, her silver light revealed that changes were coming. Seiya himself had changed, and nothing would ever be the same. Only Seiya could control where the road of his life would take him now. It would be his choice; he could follow the path that he was being pushed down, or he could fight destiny every step of the way, and win another, better outcome. Only time could tell.