Discalimer: Haruka and Michiru and all Sailor Moon characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi. Everything else belongs to me. Please do not steal!

22

Her heels echoed against the pristine marble floor as she walked; the soft material of her short pleated skirt brushing against her thighs. Getting on one knee as she reached the dais, she raised one gloved hand up to her chest, right over her heart.

"My Queen," she said, bowing her head to the ethereal figure of the woman standing by the silver throne.

"Sailor Uranus," the woman called out, offering a small, loving smile that felt both natural and honest, as if the very nature of the woman in lavender was nothing but kindness and love. "You have reached the end of your training."

She looked up and into lavender eyes; a sense of pride spreading from her chest and through her body, knowing what an honor it was to be here at all, to hold the position that was now being offered to her.

"It is your duty to protect the Alliance and this sacred Palace from the threats of those with impure hearts and ill intentions," the Queen said. "You must guard the borders and make use of the powers now bestowed upon you."

She felt the power deep within her answering to the Queen's call, reaching out and spreading all through her body. A familiar, golden energy concentrated in her chest, down her arms and onto her gloved hands, making them glow; a strong wind creating itself around her.

"I present to you your Talisman," the Queen continued, extending her hands out, palms up, and producing a beautiful, double blade sword out of thin air. It vibrated with the same golden energy around herself, as if calling out to her. "This is the Space Sword, and it is now a part of you as you are a part of it," the Queen said, handing the item to her. "Use it wisely."

She looked up at the offered weapon, admiring how it caught the light of the room; its blade shining proudly and beautifully.

She stood up when the Queen gestured for her to do so, and accepted the offered sword. It felt strangely light, but she knew better than to be fooled by it, for it was a dangerous, powerful weapon.

With the sword in her right hand she guided it to her chest, vowing her head to the Queen once more. "I hereby vow to protect the Alliance and guard the borders with my own life, to remind loyal to the Moon and protect the wielder of the Ginzuishou until the end of times."

The Queen smiled. "I accept your vow, and bound you to it," she said, with that soft, loving smile never leaving pure, angelic like features. "Raise now, Sailor Uranus, Senshi of the Skies. Take your place as leader of the Guardians of the Outer Solar System and fulfill your destiny."

.-.

Green eyes snapped open and she blinked at the ceiling of her bedroom. The first question that popped into her head was, what the hell is the Ginzuishou?

She was sure she didn't understand half of it, but she knew, that was some serious vow. One which had survived through only God knew how long of a time, as it was obvious she was still bounded by it. But what exactly was this Alliance she had sworn loyalty to? Who were these Guardians of the Outer Solar System and what did this Queen mean by her being their leader? She didn't even know how to be this Sailor Uranus she was supposed to be in the first place!

One lousy leader she was turning out to be so far, that was for sure, not even knowing what it was exactly she was supposed to do, who was she supposed to protect and from what… She didn't know a thing, really.

But as sleep finally left her brain and more questions came to mind, she finally registered something else. Something cold, resting in between her closed fingers.

She blinked again, frowning now as she lifted her head off the pillows just enough to look at her right hand. And as she saw the metal catching the morning light coming from the opened window, for a moment she rationalized, this certainly qualified as the right moment to start freaking out.

So she did.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed; eyes going wide and opened as she jumped off the bed.

She regretted her actions immediately, clasping both hands over her mouth just to make sure no other sound that could alert anyone in the house would get past her lips.

"Oh, God…" she mumbled. "Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God." she continued, now pacing around her bed; emerald eyes never leaving the object innocently laying there.

She wasn't one to freak out that easily. She prided herself of being strong and proud and tough, and normally, she was quite aloof and collected. She wasn't being any of those things right now, though. But, logically, and to her favor, who wouldn't freak out when waking up next to a freaking sword? One which she had -at the lack of a better, more reasonable explanation- magically dreamed into existence, to that.

It was a wonder she hadn't accidentally cut herself and bled to death in her sleep…

But as that one thought crossed her mind, somehow she knew the sword would never hurt her. How she knew that, or why on earth would she attribute a conscience of its own to the sword, she didn't know; she just knew it to be truth. Just like she knew she wasn't seeing things.

She had seriously considering the possibility of her losing her mind quite a couple of times in the past. Because, really, hearing voices in the wind? Having weird dreams taking place in outer space?

Hallucinating was, after all, the first sign of schizophrenia.

It was scary, the possibility of her own mind making it all up. But her speech and thinking had yet to become disorganized or even remotely incoherent, and she was sure someone would have brought it up if they had noticed something off about her. And though she was quite aware of how crazy it all sounded, she just knew she wasn't just imagining it all; she was not losing her mind.

And the proof of that, of her perfectly healthy state of mind, was now oh so innocently laying on her bed.

It was as beautiful as the one she had seen in her dream. In fact, she was positive it was the exact same one. How it had survived such unimaginable -and quite un-measurable- amount of time, she had no idea. Just like she had no idea how it had magically reappeared out if thin air and right into her hand in her sleep.

But it had, and there it was. The Space Sword, the Queen had called it.

She could feel that same energy from her dream now emanating from the sword, calling out to her. And as she gave in, reaching out, she felt it passing through her hand and up her arm, all the way to her chest with a warming, kind of tingling feeling spreading all through her body.

It was by no means as strong as it had felt in her dream, probably because she was not this Sailor Uranus character yet but just her plain old self. But she knew it was the exact same sword from her dream.

Oh yes. She was a simple, regular, everyday normal girl, with a magical, legendary sword.

"Holy shit," she whispered to herself, now fascinated as she contemplated the blade.

It felt incredibly light -weren't swords supposed to be heavy?-, just as it had felt in her dream. And as she studied the intricate pattern decorating the golden hilt, she couldn't help but notice how strangely familiar it felt, to be holding this sword. As if it completed her, somehow.

She frowned, chewing on her bottom lip. Sailor Uranus… She had heard of a Sailor Moon on the news before. So maybe she had something to do with all these?

She shook her head, discarding the thought as it came. She remembered the voices in the wind saying 'they' had a different mission, and though she didn't know much about anything quite yet, she just knew, Sailor Moon and the other Senshi she had heard of on the news had nothing to do with this.

It was putting two and two together, really. She was supposed to be this guardian of the Outer Solar System, and it was her duty to protect the Alliance -whatever that was… but she figured it was safe to assume she could translate it as earth, and all it inhabitants…- and its borders from outside threats. And if that was her mission, her responsibility, then that meant this Silence she was supposed to stop was some sort of alien evil force which shouldn't have come nowhere near earth in the first place if only destiny would have knocked on her door a bit earlier.

This was her fault, her mess, regardless of her being unaware of her own destiny and being the reincarnation of some apparently quite powerful warrior. She and this Neptune girl were the ones responsible, not Sailor Moon. That much she was sure of.

The fact that she didn't know this Neptune girl and had absolutely no clues as to how to find her in the first place was a completely different issue.

Great, she thought, letting out a frustrated sigh, I'm supposed to fight green little dudes from outer space, with a sword…

She purposely and consciously avoided acknowledging the fact that her enemies were bound to be more than just the ugly little monsters shown in movies. This was going to be much, much more dangerous than that, if the very fate of the entire world depended on her succeeding on her mission -something the voices had been crystal clear about.

She knew the weapon in her hand was more than just a simple sword. But as her cellphone came to life, letting her know someone had just texted her -probably Matsumoto and his control-freak tendencies making sure she didn't pick this particular morning to oversleep-, she realized she didn't have the time to figure out what the sword could do, or how to do it in the first place.

Today was a big day, and she needed a clear head. But that was just not going to happen now, considering the weapon she still held in her hand.

"Fuck," she muttered, wondering what was she supposed to do with it.

She had had it for less than five minutes and she already felt strangely attached to it. It was hard to explain, really, but all she knew was that she just didn't feel comfortable leaving it behind, even if she did have a habit on locking her bedroom when she wasn't there. But she couldn't exactly bring it with her, either; she could only guess what people would say when she showed up carrying such a thing…

Maybe she could somehow sneak it into her car and hide it there…

A bright light filled the room then, and she blinked a couple of times, shielding her eyes with her free hand. And then, as the light disappeared as soon as it came, so did the sword.

A second freak out moment took over her when, for the split of a second, she thought she had just lost the sword. But it died away as soon as she noticed a new -and yet very familiar- weight to her hip.

She blinked, looking down on herself. But when she didn't see anything, she turned on her heels, now facing the full length mirror on the wall and contemplating her own image in there.

Her hair was quite the monumental mess, as it usually was every morning. There was the white tank top she used to sleep, and the black and yellow polkadot cheekie panties she had gone to bed with last night. But there was no sword. And she would have seriously considered her own mind making the whole thing up, if it weren't for the fact that she could still feel it. It had somehow gone from her hand to her hip, and she could feel it there.

Hell, she could even feel the belt to which the sword was attached to, in sheath, hanging low on her hips.

Interesting.

And idea crossed her mind and, deciding to test it, she extended out her right hand, closing it in a fist and mentally summoning the sword.

"Holy…" she mumbled, giving a startled step backwards as the sword answered her call, reappearing in her hand.

She grinned. Well, that was just pretty damn cool.

It vibrated in her hand, sending that strangely familiar, warming energy through her body once more, and she had the inexplicable suspicion it was somehow talking to her. She could almost swear she could hear it asking if she was alright, if there was any danger around; its power already gathered at its blade, ready to attack any possible threats. As absolutely delusional as that sounded.

She shook her head, blinking and clearing her head. Deciding to keep on testing her theory, she sent a mental message to the -quite possibly imagined- sword's question.

And just like that, the sword was gone. Back to the invisible belt.

She grinned again. So, maybe it was a bit crazy and kind of freaky, but damn! That was just so freaking cool!

Her cellphone coming to life again startled her, and she jumped in surprise. Turning on her heels, she reached for the device resting on her night table, turning the alarm she had set the night before off, and then fast scanning the text message.

'Just making sure you're up. Hope you're ready,' was the simple text Matsumoto had just sent her.

Her trademark smirk broke into her features. "You bet I am," she muttered to herself, making her way to the bathroom.

This invisible belt better be waterproof; she was not about to stop taking showers just because she had a magical sword attached to her hips…

.-.

She studied the image the mirror gave back to her and nodded her approval.

She wasn't quite sure of what the dressing code was for such events, since she had never been in one, but she was positive it called for an easy going outfit. And her plans for later on called for something comfortable as well.

She had put careful thought on where to take the blonde for their next date, and she was planning on doing it after the race. That was, if Haruka was up to it, of course; just because Michiru lost their silly little bet -by barely an inch, and only because she all but landed on the blonde, but still-, and regardless of the both of them agreeing to the terms, didn't necessary mean Haruka would agree to go into a second fake-date with her.

Silently, Michiru prayed she would. It didn't matter if it was all pretend, as long as it meant she got to spend time with the tall blonde.

Ten thousand excited little butterflies came to life in her stomach in anticipation, and she shook her head, checking her own image on the mirror once more. She needed to keep her head clear and focus on more simple matters and less blonde related issues.

Casual outfit. The off the shoulder, tunic length cashmere ivory sweater and pencil jean pants did the trick nicely. Black, double strap, 3 inches heeled suede booties covering her feet, and a simple, classic denim jacket just in case completed her outfit. Satisfied, she nodded her head at her own appearance and proceeded to arrange her hair into a curly mass of a bun when her dorm's door flung open.

"That stuff makes you fat," came Yoshi's firm, matter-of-fact statement as she walked in; one pretty redhead trailing right behind her.

"Oh, please!" the other exclaimed, waving a hand around and completely dismissing any true to the other's words. "I have a great ass. One small, harmless little piece of cake won't ruin it."

"You eat that stuff all the time," Yoshi accused. "It's a wonder you still have said great ass."

The smile decorating Yoshi's face was both mocking and secretively approving of the aforementioned physical quality. Something, Michiru knew, she wouldn't have really noticed or pay much attention to if she hadn't walked in on them…

The past week had been more than just a little awkward on her part, and she had tried the best she could to avoid them both. But since they shared the room, she hadn't succeeded that much on her plan, and while she was able to succeed during the day, she was doomed to fail after curfew.

But, considering they had both been long gone when she woke up that morning, she had assumed they were off and wouldn't be coming back until Sunday, walking into their room just as curfew started, just like they always did on the weekends. Apparently, and judging by their training outfits, the violinist had been wrong in her assumptions.

"That's what I have you for," Sayuri retorted, arching a teasing eyebrow and then blowing a positively mocking kiss Yoshi's way.

Honey eyes rolled, before staring at Michiru with a defeated look. "I swear the only reason she comes running with me it's just so she can keep on eating all that junk," Yoshi complained.

As a member of the relay race team, it was popular knowledge Yoshi trained on a regular basis. And Michiru knew the redhead sometimes accompanied her on her morning jogs, though now that she knew what was really going on between the two, she couldn't help but wonder how much of actual running did their little morning activity involved…

She shook the thought away as soon as it came, deciding that, whatever her roommates did on their own free, private time, was none of her business.

"If you ever want her to do something and she says no," Yoshi continued, completely unaware of Michiru's thoughts, "just bribe her off with candy. Works like a charm."

A flying cushion made Sayuri's opinion on the comment perfectly clear. But as Yoshi dodged it, landing sprawled on her own bed and laughing out, the redhead smiled.

"I'm not that easily bought off," she defended herself, hands on her hips and slightly narrowing her eyes. "That's just what I like to make you think so that you are the one spending all the money instead of me."

Yoshi frowned at that, obviously not entirely pleased at the thought. "What am I? Your sugar mamma?"

Sayuri smiled in satisfaction. "It kind of fits, don't you think?" she said, now turning to Michiru.

Technically, the term meant Yoshi bought more than just candy, while Sayuri offered something else in return. But keeping that comment to herself, not really wanting to bring it up or even think of what such kind of arrangements usually meant, the violinist just shook her shoulder, giggling lightly.

Regardless of the kind of -decisively private- relationship her roommates had, their bickering was still amusing.

"So what's with the downtown girl, slightly posh outfit?" Sayuri asked, entirely changing the subject and eying Michiru up and down.

"Slightly posh?" Michiru repeated, frowning as she looked down on herself; that was not what she was going for…

"Totally loving the boots," the redhead said as a way of answering, tilting her head to point at her designer boots. "What size are you? You think you could let me borrow them…"

"You going out?" Yoshi asked, interrupting Sayuri's little mumble talk.

"A friend of mine is racing today, so I'm going to the circuits," she answered, turning back around and to the mirror, inspecting herself out once more.

"And by racing you mean… what? Horses?" Yoshi asked, only half curious as she made her way to her own wardrobe, taking out clean towels and clothes.

"Cars," Michiru corrected.

When no other comment came from either of her roommates she frowned, looking up at them through the mirror. She caught them exchanging looks, Sayuri blinking in surprise as a frown broke on Yoshi's features, and she turned around to look at them.

"What?" she asked, not really understanding the sudden lack of an answer from them; they usually had something to say about any given matter, really.

"You have a friend who's a car racer," Yoshi said, in a tone that was more of a question than a statement.

"Yes," the violinist answered, nodding her head.

"And you're going to the circuits," Sayuri put in, in the same questioning tone.

Again, Michiru nodded, and it was then when a teasing, goofy smile broke on Yoshi's features.

"A friend friend, or a friend?" the black haired girl asked, repeating the same exact question she had asked not long ago. And when a completely unwelcomed, deep blush burned Michiru's cheeks, the honey color eyed girl squealed, clapping her hands excitedly. "Way to go, girl!"

Michiru's blush deepened at that. "We're just friends," she said, ignoring that little voice inside her that reminded her, she wanted much, much more than that…

"Right," Yoshi said, rolling her eyes. "A car racer… That is so cool!"

"We really are just friends," Michiru insisted, trying to erase the blush off her cheeks.

"Oh, but we have faith in you," Sayuri stated, in such an approving tone, with an accomplice smile dancing in her lips, it only made Michiru blush even more.

Blinking her blush away, she lightly shook her head, causing a few lose strands to dance around her face in the process. "Would you like to come?" she asked, if only to move the subject of conversation away from her still very new, still quite fluttering emotions and feelings towards one particular car racer.

Yoshi's wide smile was enough of an answer. "Oh hell yeah!" the girl exclaimed, doing a small, excited little jump.

Sayuri frowned, tilting her head to a side. "But I thought we were going to that cute little shop…" the redhead complained, pouting cutely.

Honey colored eyes rolled. "I'm pretty sure it won't go out of business in a matter of hours, and therefor, it will still be there in the afternoon," Yoshi pointed out, not without letting out a frustrated, albeit defeated sigh. "You think you can go without your sugar fix until then?" she then asked, mockingly. "'Cause I would seriously love to go to that race and check out Michiru's 'friend'," she said, mockingly quoting the word friend with her fingers. "You know, to do something different and exciting, and maybe measure the lover potential in there…"

"We really are just friends…" the violinist insisted. But her words fell on deaf ears, and she was by now regretting ever saying anything at all.

"You're terrible," Sayuri accused, to which part of Yoshi's little speech, Michiru wasn't quite sure. Passing an arm around the violinist's shoulders, she smiled. "I'm dying for a shower right now, and little Miss Mean here smells…"

"Hey!"

"So we'll be ready in, let's say twenty minutes?" Sayuri continued, completely ignoring the other girl's complaint and offended face. "Lucky for you, daddy let me borrow the car for the weekend," she finished, doing a small little dance and disappearing behind the door; clean towels and clothes in hand, and probably on her way to the shower room.

Letting out a sigh and shaking her head, a bit amused despite all the teasing on her part, she turned around only to find Yoshi sniffling her own shirt.

"Guess I really do need that shower," the girl said, smiling sheepishly. "Be back in twenty!" she then announced, grabbing her own clean clothes. "Don't go without us!"

Michiru just stood there, gazing at the now closed door and wondering how was she supposed to keep her head off blonde related issues when those two kept on teasing her…