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"You’re late, Miharu."
"I know Clyde, I’m sorry, please forgive me. I forgot the work I finished last night." He pulled the large painting from the satchel. The older man stood back in amazement.
"Oh Miharu, I’m speechless. The colours, the shapes, the beauty of the overall painting…it’s spectacular. Tell me, who are these women?"
"I’m not entirely sure. I have these dreams…"
"Dreams are the core of art."
"Yes, you taught me well. I often look inward for inspiration, but…it’s as if these girls invade my thoughts. They seep into my dreams and almost force me to draw them. It can’t be explained."
Clyde nodded and took the painting from him. "I’ll have this framed and placed in the gallery by this afternoon."
"Thank you. I’m sorry I can’t stay any longer, I’m late for classes all ready. The professor will have my head for sure."
"Perfectly understandable. You’ll make a great doctor one day."
"I suppose. Perhaps."
"You sound unsure."
"It’s not that…art is my passion, being a doctor is something I feel I should do. My uncles are doctors, and so was my father."
"Follow your heart."
"Easier said than done. My heart constantly tries to lead me to places that don’t exist, lead me to whoever these girls are."
The test in biology wasn’t overly difficult, and Miharu was finished
well before anyone else. He excused himself to the labs and found
himself drawn to the various beakers and vials. He mixed chemicals and
metals, trying to create something that even he didn’t understand. In his
dreams, he stood surrounded by a group of young women. They were
soldiers, and they possessed strange powers, as did Miharu. The dream
always ended when he reached down to pick up a glowing red stone. The
soldiers would vanish in a haze, and a sinister looking pink haired woman
would appear with a malicious grin spread across her face.
Miharu’s hands flew around the work station, still mixing strange potions and concoctions, so lost in his work that he didn’t hear the sound of his lab partner. Her gentle hands touched his shoulder, and he was mysteriously jolted from his trance.
"Are you OK?" she asked, her red hair forever in her eyes. Miharu smiled at her and took off his glasses.
"Of course, don’t be silly. I’m only working on a science project."
"I wasn’t aware we were given an assignment."
"This is something I’m working on by myself."
"You’re like an alchemist."
Miharu laughed. "The mythological doctor who tries in vain to turn metal into gold? I guess. Only it’s not gold I’m trying to make."
"Really? What is it, a gemstone?" His deep blue eyes locked on her clear green ones.
"Yes." He put his glasses back on and slowly walked from the room. The redhead smiled as her form shifted from a tiny, white lab-coated, green eyed girl, into Sailor Sith Vortex. She flipped open a small communicator on her wrist.
"I think I’ve found him."
"Solai, look at this!" a small cat said. She stood in front of a huge
square window, her paw leaning in the direction of a large framed
painting. The other cat strutted over and spotted the picture.
"Check that out, it’s the Senshi. That’s freaky baby. Who’s the artist?"
"It says Chigiri Miharu."
"Come on beautiful, let’s find out who this dude is."
"Solai."
"Yes Schylar?"
"Maybe we should call the senshi - what if this turns out to be something we can’t handle?"
"What? I can handle everything! Besides, they’ll flip if they know we sneaked off to Earth." Schylar sighed and shook her furry head.
"What am I going to do with you?"
"The night’s young baby…" Solai purred. Schylar showed him her claws.
"All right, let’s go find this Miharu."
"Ha! This is too easy!" Geri growled, throwing another attack at her
prey. It pinned Miharu against a wall. He was black and blue and now
unconscious. "Open it!" Geri signalled to fellow Sailor Sith Emi. She
opened a massive black bolthole while Geri grabbed Miharu. Solai and
Schylar arrived just in time to see them disappear.
"We have no choice now, Solai. We have to call the senshi."
"Fine, but you’re going to explain this mess." Schylar sighed again.
"So just how are we supposed to find them?" Kyoko wondered.
Priire shrugged. "Beats me."
"We can try to sense them using the Force," Chikako volunteered. She felt confident that if they all focused their energy, they would find where the Sith had taken the stranger. And she was right; within minutes they not only knew who was holding him, but knew their exact location.
"Let’s go," Ippin said.
"You are sure this is the Borleias Knight? You haven’t made another
costly error?" Kendra asked. The Sith Queen stood before the crumpled
body of Chigiri Miharu and began to pace.
"We are positive, your majesty. He has the mark. Just as you said his left arm bears the symbol of the white knight," Emi informed the pink haired queen.
Kendra smiled. "Perfect. If we can turn him against his nature, against the senshi, he could be a powerful ally. Let’s begin his training tomorrow, after he awakes." They threw him into a dark back room and sealed him in.
Miharu’s mind clouded with unfamiliar images - the strange women he drew, the pink haired woman, his parents and a strange castle. He slowly became aware of himself and opened his eyes. His head hurt, and he was sore. He couldn’t remember anything, and he couldn’t determine where he was.
A soft breeze swirled around him, and an even softer voice spoke.
"Miharu." He tried to move his lips to talk, but was still in shock. "Miharu," the voice repeated.
He turned his head in the direction of the voice. Before him was a brave looking, ghost-like figure. He was dressed in black with a sword at his side. His face was covered with a black mask, and a white rose was attached to his belt. He was impressive, standing tall, and proud. The muscles in Miharu’s body began to tremble, and his head pounded with the same rhythm of his heart. His mouth was in agony, yet he struggled to ask, "Who are you?"
The man looked at him with affection and dignity. "I am The Borleias Knight. I’m your past self. The Sailor Sith killed me once; it won’t happen again."
His past self? That made no sense. Miharu hoisted himself up and stood eye to eye with the dark Knight.
"You’ve got to remember your past life. You are the current incarnation of me, The Shiroi Knight. The white birthmark on your arm, the one in the shape of a white rose…you’ve got to remember."
The birthmark. His aunt told him the mark appeared shortly after his mother died. People had always told him it looked like a rose, but he never saw it. Miharu fought to recover what ever memories he could, and things began to grow clear.
He saw himself as The Borleias Knight, the ruler of a vast kingdom. Married, he had a child. The women in his dreams…they were…
"Sailor Jedi," Miharu whispered.
The Knight smiled, "Yes. You are beginning to remember. Try Miharu, try harder."
He closed his eyes and saw his kingdom under attack. The women, the Sailor Jedi, were helping him keep the enemies, led by a sinister pink haired woman, from gaining entrance into the castle. Miharu saw himself, he saw the women running toward him. He dropped his red stone and as he bent down to get it, the pink haired woman came upon him, stabbing him threw the heart.
Miharu’s eyes snapped open, and he felt the breath leave his lungs. He gasped, clutching his chest. The door rattled. The Borleias Knight grabbed Miharu by the arm.
"You must transform into The Shiroi Knight! Now!" Without an explanation, Miharu knew how. He felt a strange force overtake him, and before he knew it, he had changed. The strange figure had vanished, and a new one had arrived.
"Hey, you’re awake! Uh-oh. Who are you?" It was Geri. She wasn’t quick enough to stop the white rose that flashed before her eyes, temporarily blinding her. Miharu, now as The Shiroi Knight, ran past her and down a hallway where he came face to face with none other than Kouga Ada, Kendra herself. She barely had time to open her mouth.
"Vjun Lightning…"
"Bakura Waterfall…"
"Power!"
"Blast!"
The electrified water surrounded the Sith queen and immobilized her. She fell to the ground. Geri ran up and, seeing the Senshi, opened a bolthole, grabbed Kendra, and they were gone. The Senshi stared at Miharu, not knowing if he were on their side or the Sith’s.
He stared back at them. He was unsure of how to react. The women he had dreams and visions of for so long were now standing in front of him. His emotions were split. So many new things had been thrust on him, he felt light-headed.
"Who are you?" Sailor Vjun asked. Miharu took four steps back. He couldn’t handle this. He turned and walked away, not sure of where to go, anywhere, except in that hallway.
"Do you think he’s one of us?" Sailor Endor asked after the black dressed stranger left.
"I hope so. I don’t know how many more Sith I can take," Sailor Yavin joked.
It was foggy. Raining too. Miharu wasn’t sure what planet he was on; he
caught a ride on a cargo ship, and this was the docking site. The planet
was similar to Earth. The people looked like humans, but he couldn’t be
sure - this was a strange planet, after all. It was been two weeks since
his capture by the women he now knew as Sailor Sith and his rescue by
the Sailor Jedi. It all made more sense to him now, and he began to
accept this destiny. It fit. It seemed right.
He reached down into an ornately decorated bag, took out a book of paper, and began sketching the same women he always drew. The same women he would forever draw. His destiny was directly related to them and, his heart told him, he needed to be their protector. "And that’s what I’ll do," he muttered while finishing the final touches on the picture.
