Haruka stopped her motercycle and closed her eyes. It had been three months since the death of her fellow senshi and love, Michiru. Every moment that she lived was just another moment away from the dazzling smile of her lover. How could she keep living? She had to. She had a job to do, and Michiru would be disappointed in her if she quit now. She opened her eyes and started up her bike again. She used to use speed as a way to try to outrun her destiny, but now she used it as a way to attempt to elave behind her sorow.

She arrived at the temple a short while later, and, after she parked her motercycle, she entered the living quarters. Rei greeted her cautiously. They were all careful around her, she though bitterly, as though she was going to break if they mentioned Michiru or did anything to remind her of what had happened. What they did not know is that she was already broken, and she could break no more. Only duty kept her going. She turned to Rei, "What is it this time?"

Rei glanced at Haruka's face, hoping to locate some means of determining whether or not it was safe to talk to her, but all she saw was an emotionless stare. She decided to tell the outer senshi, more because she had to than because she felt it was okay to, "I was reading the flames last night when I noticed a strange aura eminating from them. At first I saw nothing, but then a very clear image appeared. A scene of death and chaos was spread across the flames..." She shuddered as she remembered the image. It was the most terrible thing she had ever witnessed, and she had seen some pretty horrendous things in her time as a senshi. "The others are waiting in the other room." She turned and entered the room.

The tall blonde smiled to herself, but the smile did not reach her eyes; it was more of a bitter snarl. She had known that something was going to happen. She could feel it on the wind. That was the only good that had come out of Michiru's death; she could now read the wind even easier than before. As if summoned by her thoughts, a breeze from an open window brushed across her cheek. "The wind is the only consolation I still have..." she said softly before she also entered the room.

The inner senshi, Setsuna, and Hotaru were all gathered around the flames. Hotaru had grown so very much... Michiru and she had been Hotaru's adoptive parents after she had been reborn, and because of the tie between them, it hurt to look at Hotaru. She was a young woman now, no longer a child, and she now lived with Rei at the temple. She had left after Michiru's death, and she had not really spoken much to Haruka since then. Whether it was because Haruka had been distant or because Hotaru was dealing with her own grief, no one really knew.

Haruka took a seat by the flames, a little away from the rest of the senshi. She could feel how nervous the inners were around her. She did no really blame them. She had not been the same since that battle...

Rei's voice brought her out of her daze, "It was a terrible scene. No one was left living. The only moving thing were scavangers and insects, tearing into the bodies. There was no sunlight nor starlight. The sky was just a sickening shade of black. I did not see any sign of who or what caused the death's, but I could feel a miasma of pure evil."

Suddenly Haruka shook herself. Where was she? Where were the other senshi? Where was the temple? She was alone. She looked around. Death. The world was covered in it. It's stench rose up to assult her nose, and its horrid sight filled her eyes until all they could see was blood. She let out a scream, "MICHIRU!!!" Tears filled her eyes, "No...no... She already died... Why am I here again? What is happening?"

Her lover's torn body was being fed upon by a rat, and with all the rage and grief that was welled up inside of her, Haruka let loose her power. The rat squeeked in terror, then exploded. The last experssion on its face was another squeek, frozen on its face. Haruka knelt down by Michiru's body and stroked its bloody cheek. "Michiru...why did you have to leave me..." She was so lost in her grief that she did not notice the pools of blood gathering together. It was draining from the bodies of the dead, as if drawn by some sinister magnet. She was too lost to hear even the high-pitched laughter eminating from the blood as it flowed. It gathered around her, andonly too late did she realize that it had her surrounded.

She stood up and faced the massive pool. "BASTARDS!" she managed to scream before the blood filled her mouth. She gagged from the taste, but soon she was too busy fighting for air to notice its metalic taste. She felt her body grow weak from lack of oxygen, but she still fought to reach her lover's hand before she died. She gave one last shudder, and her hand clasped around Michiru's. "I love you, Michiru," was all she could think before she was overcome with darkness. Her blood left her body, joining with the still-growing ocean of red.

"Haruka?!" Hotaru shook the senshi, but she would not respond. "Papa-san! Wake up, please!" Liquid crystals filled the youngest sesnshi's eyes and overflowed onto her cheek. "No...not Papa-san, too..."

The other senshi stared at the scene before them. One moment they had all been staring into the flames. The next thing they knew, Haruka was on the floor, cold and lifeless. She was devoid of all colour, as though her blood had been drained from her body, but they had seen nothing to cause her sudden death.

Only Hotaru had an idea what had happened. Since she had been so close to the outer, and since death was her element, she had sensed some of what had happened to Haruka. The enemy could grasp hold of a weakness and attack from within the mind, causing outward damage. Her violet eyes glowed with a burning fury. She would avenge the deaths of her parents.