FINALLY... after a VERY long delay *drum rolls* ... Chapter 2, everyone!
First, disclaimer: Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon and all related chara belong to Takeuchi Naoko-sensei, Kodansha, and blah, blah, blah. Kanata Kara and all related chara belong to Hikawa Kyoko-sensei and whoever else. I DON'T get anything from this!
Okay, the cross-over will begin now. Izark & Noriko meet the Sailor Senshi. Imagine it. *shakes own head* Thanks to everyone who supports me, especially to Izark for the pictures, the cursors, the icons, and everything else! This chapter was written while listening to the... *wicked grin* the sound clips from the drama CDs! So far, my fave is the theme song of Kanata Kara... Damn, it's soooo good! And the music uses Indonesian gamelan! I'm very proud! *smiles*

Far Away Destiny

Chapter 2 : A Different World

by Silver Wind
http://suiko.net/lain

    "Haruka-san! Get off me, will ya!"
    "Nani?" Haruka jumps up and suddenly realizes that she was sitting on top of... a very annoyed Rei.
    "Ah... kami-sama," Rei rubs her sore back in disbelief, "I never thought that you weigh that much! Have you gained weight lately?"
    "NANI!" the tall girl's voice rises a couple of octaves, "I'm NOT that heavy!"
    "Enough, you two! Damare! There are things we should worry more... than weight or anything!" Michiru glares at both of them.
The others are just beginning to opens their eyes. Each of them gets up a little bit groggily, rubbing their still-unfocused eyes.
    "Umm, minna...," Minako looks around her in a dazed expression.
    "Don't ask!" Ami, Setsuna and Michiru reply in unison.
    "... where the heck are we?" she finishes, still looking at the transparent flowers and the golden birds flying above them.
The others just groan and decide that it'd be best to ignore the question. Usagi is still lying on the ground with Mamoru looking at her tenderly.
    "Is Usagi-chan okay?" Hotaru asks Mamoru.
    He smiles, "She's still unconscious. But it's merely an exhaustion. Nothing more than that. Don't worry, Hotaru-chan."
    "Uh, Mamoru-san," Rei says, looking at him funny.
    "What's up?" he replies, finally noticing the funny looks the girls are giving him.
    "Where did you get those clothes?" she points at him.
Mamoru looks at himself curiously and his lower jaw drops. He no longer wears the black armor of Prince Endymion. Instead, he's wearing a dark blue tunic, a pair of leather pants and black leather boots. His sheathed sword is hung on his waist.
    "To tell you the truth... I have no idea," he fingers the leather belt, then when he turns to look 
at the girls, his lower jaw drops again, "what about you...?
    "What about us?" they look at each other and their eyes widen.
    "Hey, that's really one cool outfit, Haruka-san!" Makoto gives her a thumbs-up, staring at the white-haired girl's clothes.
Haruka is wearing an exact replica of Mamoru's outfit, differ only in the color of the tunic. Her tunic is sky blue with golden lining. Her Space Sword is also sheathed and hung on her waist.
    "Cool!" Haruka grins happily, "I kinda like this! At least I don't have to wear dresses like you 
girls!"
The other girls all wear knee-length dresses, made of some comfortable fabric, and leather boots too. Setsuna's Time Staff, Hotaru's Silence Glaive, Minako's Love Chain and Michiru's Deep Aqua Mirror are on the ground, besides their respective owners. Ami wears a soft blue dress lined with white. Rei's dress is blood-red with purple belt and collar. Makoto wears 
a green dress with pink vest. Minako wears an orange dress with dark blue front bow. Michiru's dress is green too, but with some kind of sea blue coat. Setsuna's black dress is lined with dark red ribbons on the sides. Hotaru's is the same with Setsuna's, but her dress is purple with black ribbons. As for Usagi, she's wearing a knee-length dress too, a cute baby 
blue dress with white details on the sleeves and collar.
    "Mamo-chan...," she begins to stir.
    "Usa!" Mamoru rushes to her side, "how are you feeling?"
    "Tired," she tries to smile, "but other than that, I'm fine. Where are we anyway?"
    "DON'T ASK!" the girls reply in unison.
Mamoru chuckles and helps Usagi to stand on her feet. Ami is typing something into her mini computer.
    "Okay Ami-chan, I only got one question for you," Haruka says, staring at the mini comp in disbelief, "now where did THAT come from?"
    Ami shrugs casually, "I have no knowledge on that, Haruka-san. I only know that when I put my hand into my pocket, I found this baby."
    "Nevermind that!" Setsuna almost shouts, "Ami-chan, where are we? Can you give us an estimation?"
    "As a matter of fact, hai, I can," she answers, "we are in another dimension, an absolutely different world with Earth. But where exactly, that I cannot tell you."
    "Setsuna," Michiru looks at her sternly, "if you know something about this... this is a good time to tell us..."
    The Guardian of Time raises one eyebrow and eyes her fellow senshi coolly, "Believe me, young one... this one event is absolutely beyond my knowledge."
    "Well...," Rei begins, but she was cut short.
    "ARGH!" a feminine foice breaks the tension and startles all of them, "Izark! Help!"
Not far from them, a girl is about to be attacked by a huge beast. She backs out in fear, trembling uncontrollably. The beast roars and bares its sharp fangs. It raises one claw, ready to strike.
    "Help her!" Usagi shouts, "Mamo-chan! Haruka-san!"
Before Usagi can even finish her sentence, Mamoru and Haruka have sprinted to it, unsheathing their respective swords all the way. Both of them slash it with their mightiest power, sending deadly strikes. The beast falls down to the ground without one 
single sound.
    Haruka sighs in relief and turns to the frightened girl, "There. It's dead now. Are you 
okay?"
    "Hai," she answers, still trembling, "thank you very much."
Mamoru stays silent, looking at her carefully. She's about Usagi's height, with shoulder-length soft brown hair. Her face looks really innocent, and although she's still shaking, a cute smile has already appeared and brightens up her lovely face.
    "Noriko!" a tall, muscular man runs toward the girl and encases her in a hug, "Are you all right?"
Haruka looks at the new-comer and behind her, she hears the other girls sighing in admiration of the man. He's tall, really tall, even taller than Mamoru, with waist-length jet-black hair and intense deep black eyes. This man is really handsome and no doubt he's a warrior. He wears the same outfit with Haruka and Mamoru, with a sword and a dagger on his waist. Mamoru grins secretly, sure that Minako, Makoto, Rei and probably even Ami have hearts in their eyes for 
this stranger.
    "I'm fine, Izark," the girl that's called Noriko smiles sweetly, "these gentlemen helped me."
    The stranger turns to Haruka and Mamoru, "I thank you, sirs. You saved Noriko."
By that time, the girls have approached them and are standing behind Haruka and Mamoru curiously. When they hear Noriko mentioned Haruka as a 'gentleman' and Izark addressed her as a 'sir', the girls burst out laughing. Haruka only chuckles and both Izark and Noriko look dazed.
    "Ah, forgive them, Izark and... Noriko," Mamoru smiles to them, "but I guess I have to tell you that Haruka here is a female. She just happens to look a lot like a man and fight like a man as well."
Noriko blushes furiously and looks at Haruka guiltily. Izark just raises his eyebrows and gives a very faint smile.
    "Forgive us, then," he says, "I am Izark, Izark Kia Tarj. And this is Tachiki Noriko. I'm glad you are all here today. I should've not left Noriko alone, this is a dangerous area, especially at the nights."
    "Izark, it's not your fault!" Noriko protests, "it's my fault! I wandered here without thinking. You've told me to stay put, but I didn't. Don't blame yourself!"
    Izark sighs, "Still..."
    "Please, forget it," Usagi smiles to both of them, "it's a pleasure to meet you both. I'm Tsukino Usagi. This is my fiancee, Chiba Mamoru. They are my friends, Mizuno Ami, Hino Rei, Kino Makoto, Aino Minako, Kaioh Michiru, Meioh Setsuna, Tomoe Hotaru and of course, Tenoh Haruka."
    Noriko's eyes widen, "Wait a minute... those are Japanese names! Are you...?"
    Rei stares at her in disbelief, "Don't tell me... YOU're from Japan too?"
    "HAI!" she looks confused, "but... how can we understand each other then? Are you speaking the language of this land?"
    "No, we don't," Michiru answers, her eyebrows knitting together, "we're speaking in Nihongo. Aren't you? Or..."
    "I'm not speaking in Nihongo! I'm speaking in the language of this land!" Noriko turns to the silent man, "Izark, can you understand everything we said?"
    "Of course," he replies coolly, "perhaps it is some kind of magic, Noriko. That's the only possible explanation."
    "Uh, can I ask you both something?" Makoto asks.
    "Sure," Noriko answers, "what do you want to know?"
    "Where the heck are we?"
    Izark stares at her blankly, "You mean you don't know? Then how did you come here?"
    "We kinda dropped in," Minako looks up at the sky, "we were here suddenly. We don't even 
know where we are!"
    "Dropped in?" Izark inquires, "you mean, you were in your own world, then suddenly you're here? By no means of transportation at all?"
    "Sort of," the girls and Mamoru answer in unison.
    "Like me!" Noriko shouts.
    "Like you?" Setsuna gives her a questioning look.
    "I was walking home from school when suddenly a bomb exploded in front of me... then I was here and I met Izark," Noriko shrugs, "that's the short version of my story, at least."
    "Well, to answer your question," Izark puts his hands on Noriko's shoulders in a very protective way, "you are in the country of Rienka. Now, we have to get going."
    "Izark, wait!" Noriko tugs his sleeve, "can't they come with us?"
Izark looks at the girls and Mamoru in obvious doubt and distrust. But he sees the pleading look Noriko is 
giving him and he sighs.
    "Oh well. Very well, we'll have it your way, Noriko," he turns to the group, "do you want to come 
with us?"
The girls turn to look at Usagi and Mamoru. After looking at each other's eyes for a few moments, both 
nod their agreements.
    "Hai," Mamoru says, "I hope we don't cause you troubles."
    "Don't worry," Izark chuckles a little, "I'm used to troubles. Noriko gives me quite some too."
She blushes and tugs his sleeve. He just laughs and puts his arm around her. They start to lead the group 
to an open field.


The girls walk together, with Izark and Mamoru following behind them closely. Usagi, Minako, Makoto and Noriko are chatting cheerfully. Ami and Setsuna are having a heated argument about how they ended up in the strange world with Hotaru and Michiru listening to them silently. Mamoru notices that Izark's cold expression softens as 
he's looking at Noriko. Suddenly Izark seems to sober up and he turns his glance to Haruka who's walking in front 
of them.
    "Haruka... right?" he asks, "could you walk with us in front of the others, please? It is for other people to see as if 3 warriors are standing guard for the ladies."
    "Yeah, sure," she answers, moving to the front with the 2 men.
    "Once again, I apologize for mistaking you as a man," he says expressionlessly.
    She shrugs, "Ah, no big deal. Almost everyone I met for the first time thought so. Right, Mamoru-san? 
I'm used to this!"
Mamoru only smiles and prefers not to answer. He glances back at Rei who stays silent all along and stares at 
Izark with a mixture of suspicion, confusion and curiosity. Finally she catches Mamoru's look and gestures to him to slows his pace, because she wants to talk with the warrior.Mamoru nods in understanding, taps Haruka's shoulder lightly and, with a slight head movement, takes her away from Izark and closer to the girls.
    "Izark," Rei, who's by now walking besides him, says softly, "can I have a word with you, please?"
    "Sure," he replies coolly, "how may I be at your service... Rei?"
    "Who are you?" she asks bluntly, looking right into his eyes, which by now changes to green.
    "I'm a warrior," he raises his eyebrow, the eyes shift into blue, and then back to black again, "I think that is very obvious to see."
    "I mean, who are you really? Because you know what I feel about you? I'm a psychic, you see... I can sense things. I can predict the future."
    "Fine. What do you feel about me?"
    "I sense... darkness, coldness, hatred... rage... anger, pain..."
Izark's expression changes slightly and his eyes shift back into the forest green.
    Rei continues, "Do you want to know what I feel about Noriko-chan?"
    "What?" he asks coldly, looking straight ahead and ignoring her completely.
    "Light, innocence... purity," she sighs and smiles gently, "an antitheses of you, truly... but the most remarkable thing is the feeling I have when you two are together..."
    He looks away, fingering the hilt of his sword, "When we're together?"
    The priestess smiles tenderly again, "Equilibrium, harmony, perfection... every thing that a universe should be. A balance between the darkness and the light... I'm very impressed."
The warrior's expression changes drastically. He looks at Rei in shock. 
    "You...," he hisses, "how do you..."
    "Izark?" both he and Rei turn in surprise.
Izark glances sharply at Rei, silently daring her to talk again. Then he fixes his eyes on the owner of the 
voice.
    A faint smile appears on his lips, "You called me, Noriko?"
    "Hai...," she grins sheepishly, "I forget where we were planning to stay tonight."
    He laughs softly, "That much I suspected. Come, just follow me."
He takes Noriko's hand in his own and they both lead the others. Rei narrows her eyes and observes them. Mamoru raises one eyebrow and makes a mental note to ask the psychic about whatever that's disturbing her.
    "Mamo-chan...," Usagi whispers in a small voice.
    He looks at her and puts his arm around her small body, "What's the matter, Usa?"
    "What if...," her voice trembles, "What if we couldn't go back to our world?"
    "Don't say that," he puts his index finger on her lips, "We must have faith on our friends... and on ourselves. We WILL go back to our own world. Who else would protect the Earth besides us, right?"
    She smiles slightly, "Right... Ami-chan and Setsuna-san would find a way for us to get out of this world! Arigato, Mamo-chan..."
The Prince of Earth merely smiles and tightens his hug around her.
    "Mamo-chan," he looks down at Usagi again, 
    "what do you think about Izark and Noriko-chan?"
    He cocks his head to one side, "Noriko-chan is just like you, Usa... you both are so innocent, quite childlike... and probably just as naive... but Izark, I'm not sure about him. He's a mysterious man. But one thing for sure, Usa..."
    "Yes?" she urges him to continue.
    Mamoru looks at her gently and smiles, "One thing for sure... Izark loves Noriko as much as I love you, my Princess..."
    "I know you would notice that fact," she smiles up to him.
Way in front of them, Izark glances at Noriko, opens his mouth then shuts it again. He bites his lower lip and lets out a heavy sigh.
    "What's the matter, Izark?" Noriko's soft voice startles him, "Why the sigh? You look worried."
    The wandering warrior looks at her and his expression softens, "It's nothing, Noriko... I... Ah, it's nothing. Really."
    Her large brown eyes size him up slowly and she smiles, "What do you think about our new friends?"
    "Usagi is a lot like you," he chuckles a bit, "so are Minako and Makoto. I don't know about Ami, Setsuna, Michiru or Hotaru... Haruka is as much a warrior as I am, and Mamoru is one too. But... Rei, that one lady... she's different..."
    "You worry too much," she giggles, "I think they're all very nice people."
    "Yes, nice they are," he mutters under his breath, then adds in a louder voice, "I know you are very happy to meet people from your own world. Don't think I don't know how you miss them so!"
    She blushes, "I don't know you know that... I don't know you notice!"
    "Of course I notice," he smiles, "I always do notice everything about you."
Noriko turns red and she lowers her gaze, too embarassed to meet Izark's eyes. He laughs softly 
and puts one arm around Noriko's shoulders.

To be continued in Chapter 3: Mezame... Tenjoki

So? What do you think about Izark? I hope I describe him properly. *sighs* Izark Kia Tarj is one heck of a bishonen!

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