Subject: [FFML] Re: [Belated C&C] [Sm] Children of Light & Thunder, Ch.2
From: Sebastion Fitsroy
Date: 12/30/1999, 6:41 PM
To: "'ILadyIce@aol.com'" <ILadyIce@aol.com>, "ffml@fanfic.com" <ffml@fanfic.com>
CC: "'bastion@ix.netcom.com'" <bastion@ix.netcom.com>

[Oiyo, been backlogged.  Let's get cracking.]

        Well, David-san's advice seems to be working. Actually wrote the 
second chapter of this (finally ^^;;) and chapter 8 (as well as some 
revised-reposts to refresh ppl's memory) of Forgotten Future, Forbidden Past 
should be sent out by Sunday.... After that, we'll see.

[Yes, we'll see....<evil grin>  Not if that Y2K thing has anything to say about that.]

        ANYWAY, hope you enjoy. And -as always- C&C or anything (as long as 
it's not "You suck!" ;) is greatly appreciated. Notes follow, blah blah blah.

[You- Ahhh, and I thought this would be quick.]
    
__________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer:

    Sailormoon, the Senshi, and all those associated with them are property 
of Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Kodansha. Excepts from the song "We Belong" are 
the property of Pat Benatar, D. Navarro, and R. Lowen. All are used without 
permission. Please don't sue me... I have no money. ^_^;

[But there's still you mind and body.  <grin>]

    My strang-- er, I mean wonderful characters are property of me, myself -- 
oh, wait, that's not proper grammar. Oh, well... they belong to me. ^_-

[I's thinks yoots knead some learnin' boy!]

Thanks for reading! ^_^

[Well, it would be hard to read a blank screen.]
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________
a Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon Fic
CHILDREN of LIGHT and THUNDER

We belong to the light
We belong to the thunder
We belong to the sound of the words
We've both fallen under
Whatever we deny or embrace
For worse or for better
We belong, we belong
We belong together...

Chapter 2: (I'll think of a subtitle later... ^_^;)

[Try VKLL.]
_____________________________
_____________________________________________________________________


        It was midnight. 

[<Bastion begins to groove to his dj shadow CD>]

        Eilis winced, hearing the blaring gongs from the old clock in the 
hallway. Her arms involuntarily tightened around her body, as she rocked back 
and forth in front of the crackling fireplace. She couldn't sleep. The bed, 
which she had forcibly claimed the moment they had moved in, felt unduly 
soft; the sheets too scratchy. And every time she had closed her eyes, a 
whisper, a gurgle, a snap -- something had managed to send her heart racing, 
and keep her awake for another forty minutes. 

[Now that's the way to capture restlessness.]

        She was bleary-eyed, and her head felt fuzzy, but she had finally 
given up. Jacinth, however, seemed to have had no trouble whatsoever drifting 
off into dreamland, even though the couch was too small for his tall frame, 
and his body was draped over it in a decidedly uncomfortable looking fashion. 
Still, she was a little guilty that she hadn't let him share the bed with 
her. It wouldn't have hurt to have been a little flexible.

[That he would like, especially being in the same bed.  <grin>]

        Eilis stared at the dancing flames, trying to think clearly. It was 
hard to stay focused on anything, and the edges of her vision kept blurring. 
For a moment, those flames looked just like...

[...Ed McMahn.  
 'Geez,' Eilis thought, 'I need to put more Ranma stories on the fire.']  

        "SNORT... Hmmph... Eilis..."

        Eilis nearly toppled over. She clutched her chest, her heart beating 
wildly, at the same time chastising herself for being so silly. Her head had 
lost some of its fuzziness, and she turned away from the fire, cocking her 
head at her mumbling partner. Jacinth was talking in his sleep again. So he 
wasn't as relaxed in this place as he had led her to believe.

["Oh yeah... Zzzzzz..."
 "Huh?  You better not be."
 "Do it... Zzzzzz..."
 "I'll kill  you if you are!"
 "Zzzz... Do it baby one more time."
 "You definitely are one sick individual."]

        She stood up, and tiptoed over to the couch. She looked her partner 
over in one glance, and frowned. Jacinth looked pale, and cold, and his 
breathing was uneven. His blanket lay in a heap on the floor. She bent over, 
sighing, and gently pulled it over him. Her fingers trickled over his face, 
and she placed the back of her hand on his forehead. He felt hot to the 
touch, and her expression changed to one of worry. 

        "Baka," she whispered, "you're not sick, are you?"

        Jacinth mumbled something, and curled up into a ball, half of him 
hanging over the front of the couch. 

[*Ahem* He must be one extraordinary human specimen.]

        "Jacinth," she said, touching him lightly on the shoulder, "Jacinth! 
Wake up. You're going to fall..."

        His eyes suddenly opened. His hand darted out, catching her own. 
"Eilis." 

        She stifled a gasp, and tried to pull away. Unfortunately, she was 
off balance, and so was he, and as Eilis stepped back, her feet shot out from 
under her. He was pulled off the couch along with her, and the two fell in a 
tangled heap to the floor.

[Twister anyone?]

        Jacinth's face was inches from her own. She glared at him, surprised 
and flustered. His mouth slowly spread into a smile, as he backed away and 
offered her a hand.

        "You were awake the whole time, weren't you?" Eilis scowled, and got 
up on her own. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

[Things that guys think about when they're laying onto of a woman.....
 Baseball.]

        Jacinth seemed wrong somehow, standing there with that peculiar smile 
and stance fit for a much shorter man. His eyes casually studied her as he 
murmured, "You're beautiful, Eilis... and I haven't seen you in so long."

        "What are you..." she trailed off, shocked, and stared intently at 
his face. Something was happening to his eyes. That emerald iris was 
expanding, bleeding out into the white. Jacinth returned her stare out of two 
luminous green pools.

        Eilis backed away from him slowly, horrified. Not Jacinth, her mind 
screamed at her. Someone else. "Who?" she breathed. Her eyes suddenly 
widened. "Ulexite?"

["Excite who?"
 "I said, Ulexite."
 "I will?"
 "Argh...."]

        His mouth tugged downward, almost in annoyance. "Some respect, 
child... I am still your father."

["Then quit doing that damn deep breath."
 "Sorry, habit."]

        Eilis steadied herself, resisting the urge to attack him. She said 
finally, "What do you want from me?"

        Jacinth's face lit up in a charming smile. It was difficult for her 
to see him like this, a puppet, something he had never been, for all his 
faults. 

["I love you.  You love me..."
 "What the hell?"
 "Ahem, I'm sorry, the transmission got crossed there for a second."
 "Oh.  No damage right?"
 "PBS will never be the same."]

Eilis swallowed, and averted her eyes. <Jacinth, I'm so sorry...>

        "The time is at hand, sweet child. Energy awaits us." Jacinth clasped 
his hands behind his back, and began pacing, a gesture that was decidedly 
unlike him. "My efforts have all been met with failure... but with you here, 
victory is imminent. No one can stand against you." He paused. "Or you two, 
as it were. I suppose your 'partner' can help in some small way... but in the 
long run, he's expendable."

["*Sigh* Typical guy."]

        A muscle in Eilis's jaw twitched. How dare he speak about Jacinth 
that way. That was *her* territory, and no one else's. Her temper flared. 
"Damn you! Leave him out of this!"

[She's got a bit of that Asuka streak in her I see.]

        Those greenish puddles widened in astonishment. "Such vigor! And for 
this pitiful man?" After a moment's thought, he continued, "I will concede 
that he is quite lovely... 

["Fruity, but lovely."]

But that won't do much for you in the future, now 
will it? Don't develop strong attachments, daughter. I've already experienced 
what folly that can be." His face turned suddenly sober. "Trust no one... not 
him. Not even me."

        "Have you been on Earth too long, Father?" Eilis shouted, her fists 
clenched. "You sound like a bad science fiction movie. 

[How does she know that?  She's been on Earth for what?  A day?]

Unlike you, I'm no 
fool. He's my partner... that's all. If I hadn't trusted him, I wouldn't be 
alive today!"

        "You go too far," the man responded, his voice deadly calm. "But it 
doesn't matter... we need to understand each other *now*, before the 
connection is lost. I have already drawn up the necessary papers for the two 
of you to attend school. I --"

        "Why?" Eilis demanded. "How will that bring us closer to our goal?"

["Well, all my other plans didn't quite fit so well with the plot device."]

        He cocked his head at her. "Blend in and you'll draw less attention. 
And surveillance is always a priority." 

[Seeing the track record in SM, exchange students wouldn't be the greatest
 idea to keep a low profile.]

He laughed, tugging his hands through 
Jacinth's hair. "You know the senshi of this planet are here. You know what 
must be done."

        "No," Eilis answered fiercely, shaking her head, "I won't fight them 
if I don't have to."

        "Do you think they'll give you a choice?" Ulexite said harshly. "It 
doesn't matter," he shook his head impatiently, "they still need to be 
observed. Go to Juuban High School. It's crawling with them."

["Like cockroaches, they're everywhere.  On the ceiling, in the food,
 everywhere.  *shiver*"]

        "How will I know who they are?" Eilis set her mouth in a hard line, 
closing off that part of her mind that had seen Sailormoon and Jupiter in the 
flesh. It wouldn't do any good for Ulexite to know of that particular outing. 
Or of that tug in the back of her memories...

        He smiled strangely. "You have more intuition in these matters than 
I. You'll know. Or they will. Either way, we need to draw them out." He held 
up his hands at her look. "If you are to gather any energy unhindered, we'll 
need to send them away, now won't we? My knight will assist you." He held out 
his hand, palm up, and a small, rotating figure leapt into view.

        Eilis stepped back, startled. "How did you..." 

        Her father stared fondly at the three-dimensional projection, 
ignoring the fact that Eilis had spoken. "This is Kurokami. Called Dusk. He 
will relay further instructions to you. I have... things I must attend to."

[Kurokami?]

        She stared at the figure. "Kurokami... a youma?" He revolved serenely 
over Jacinth's palm, seemingly normal. "How will I find him?"

        The palm clamped shut, making the image dissipate, as her father 
murmured, "I wouldn't call him that if I were you, child." Then, louder, "And 
as the cliche goes: you won't find him, he'll find you. He's very good at... 
tracking."

[Stalking you mean?  Ah, then he's an otaku.]

        <Jacinth... what'll he think about this?> she wondered 
absentmindedly. <Would he refuse...>

        "Thinking about the boy, Eilis? You overestimate him. There's money 
involved in this. He values that above all else, doesn't he?"

        Eilis stared at him, newly aghast. "You found that... in his head?"

        He frowned impatiently. "I don't have the time to push through your 
partner's muddled thoughts. It *is* your reflection of him, isn't it?"

        Eilis hesitated. "N-none of your business." 

[You know, that's quite catchy. <grin>]

It was so strange hearing 
all of this come out of Jacinth -- even though it wasn't *really* Jacinth. It 
was like Jacinth was talking about Jacinth. Well, no surprise there, but... 
she felt like she was betraying him somehow. 

         "It doesn't matter." He shrugged. "There is little time left. You've 
been told what you need to know, for now. Go to school in the morning, and 
speak with Kurokami. Do you understand?" 

["But Daddy!"
 "Not buts young lady, or there'll be no dinner for you!"
 "Ahhhh."]

Jacinth's body shuddered violently, 
as if trying to shake Ulexite out, and he quickly finished, "I'll contact you 
later. When you dream of little sailor senshi, perhaps..." 

[I think you cap sailor senshi]

        His dark laughter resonated throughout her mind, just as cracks of 
light peeked in through the windows. "Dream?" she echoed, staring as the 
green light in Jacinth's eyes faded away, and the man began to sway back and 
forth. As he began to fall, she cried out his name....

        "Aa-argh!" 

        Eilis opened her eyes at the crash, pulse racing. <My father can 
invade my dreams.> The thought entered her mind immediately, and she 
swallowed, pushing it away. She tried to get a clear sense of her 
surroundings. She was still in front of the fireplace; the fire had died down 
to a large pile of ash. Her limbs felt stiff and cold, but everything still 
seemed to be in working order. Then what had been that noise? 

        "Dammit! Eilis?! What's... oww... going on?"

        Jacinth. She winced, slowly turning around. He was sprawled on the 
floor, blanket tangled around his legs, staring at her in alarm. 

        "Sorry... bad dream," she said, smiling hesitantly. 

        "*Loud* dream," he muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Why the hell are you 
in here, anyway?" He dropped his hands, looking at her suspiciously. "Were 
you plotting something, Eilis?"

        She dropped her eyes, frowning. "N-no."

        He blinked blearily. "You seem kinda... out of it. What happened?"

        "My father," she mumbled, "contacted me."

        "Why?"

        "Told me where we're going to school... and that we start today."

        "Oh, maaan," Jacinth moaned, rolling over and hitting his head on one 
of the couch legs. "This is not my week. Sent to Earth, sleeping on the 
couch, and now I get to fail Transdimensional Physics *again*..."

        "I don't think you have to worry, Jacinth," Eilis replied, smirking 
slightly. "Earth schools aren't quite that advanced..."

[I don't know, you're not in America.]

--

        She was cold. Cold inside, like a snowball had been lobbed at her 
heart, and enclosed it in an icy shell. Her breath came out in sharp gasps, 
and she clutched her shoulders, trying to stop the relentless shivers.

        Her eyes rolled around desperately, flitting past her still, 
powder-white
surroundings, past the ominous mountains, past the sky, the moons...

[Formatting prob.]

        The icy hand loosened its grip, suddenly, and she gasped, overcome by 
something new. Something... strange. She KNEW this place, knew this feeling, 
and yet could not. Should not.

        "They don't want you to remember."

        She said nothing; hadn't the breath to speak.

        "My darling... they want you to forget me." An anguished cry cut 
through the sky, like a jagged streak of lightning. "Even though you've never 
known me at all."

        Thunder rumbled in the distance, as clouds drifted over the moons, 
obscuring their light.

        "Who?" Her head pounded. The voice surrounded her, muffled her, 
reverberated through her. It terrified her, but she felt a pang, some 
answering call, deep within her heart.

        "Don't you know me? Can't you guess?"

        "Sempai?" she whispered. 

        "Or someone who looks like him..." a different voice whispered back.

[Oiyo.  More lesbians.  <grin>]

        She stared around her, confused. The sky seemed to be lightening; and 
THAT had almost sounded like...

        "MAKO-CHAN!"

        The shout jolted her back to reality. Makoto's eyes snapped open, her 
heart thumping wildly.

        "Did you hear me?" someone said, giggling. 

        Makoto gulped, blinking rapidly. Pink bunnies stared down at her from 
the ceiling. Where was she?

        "Mako-chan, are you ok?"

        Usagi. Usagi's house. That's right, she had come over to study. (At 
least, that's what Usagi had told her mother before she left for her 
mini-vacation at the hot springs.) 

[????? Huh?]

Had she fallen asleep? She couldn't really 
remember. Her head felt fuzzy. And that dream... Makoto shivered. She knew 
why it seemed so familiar. That dark landscape... She had seen it before she 
had become a senshi...

        "Maa-koo-chaan?" Usagi's concerned face popped in front of Makoto's 
eyes. She waved her hand back and forth, trying to extract a reaction. 

[Maybe have her pigtails dangling in front of her nose?]

        Makoto smiled hesitantly, pushing herself clumsily into a sitting 
position. "I'm fine, Usagi-chan. I just had a... weird dream." The last words 
dropped into a mumble, and she shifted, avoiding her friend's stare. She 
didn't really want to talk about it. It had stirred up old feelings; feelings 
that gave her more apprehension than pleasure.

[Hmmm, that seems too dramatic to me.  How about:
 It had stirred up old feelings that filled her more with apprehension than
 pleasure.]

        "I'm sorry I woke you up." Usagi bit her lip, then pointed at the 
clock. "But it's getting kind of late..."

        Makoto's eyes widened. Did that say... 8:00? "A-ack." She stumbled 
off the bed, pulling the sheets down around her. "We're going to get 
detention!" She frantically rushed around the room, looking for her school 
bag -- "Found it!" -- then desperately searched for her shoes. "Usagi! Act 
more concerned!"

        "Well," Usagi said sheepishly, "I already have detention for today. 
And I'm all set to go..."

        Makoto paused, and stared at her friend. Usagi was dressed in her 
full uniform, and their lunches sat on the desk beside her. She had 
*actually* woken up without Luna. And she might've *actually* been on time if 
Makoto hadn't...

        Sensing where her friend's line of thought was going, Usagi quickly 
said, "I probably wouldn't have gotten up early if you hadn't been here. You 
stole the sheets, and..." 

[O_o  Huh?  I thought she was already taken.]

She giggled. "You talk in your sleep."

        Makoto sweatdropped as she pulled on her shoes. "Um... really? What 
did I say?"

        "In the middle of the night you were mumbling -- "Ai" something. I 
guess love would go with dreams of your sempai." Usagi cocked her head, and 
added, "At first, I thought it was a name. The way you said it... Probably 
not." She shrugged. 

        "Yeah..." Makoto trailed off, then abruptly said, "We better get 
going, ne?" She stood up, slinging her bag over one shoulder. 

        Usagi nodded, and grabbed the two lunchbags. "Too bad you couldn't 
make anything for me," she murmured, pausing to gaze mournfully at the 
strange smelling brown sacks, before running after Makoto, who was already on 
her way down the stairs. 

        It started to rain soon after they had begun their trek. It was 
coming down in sheets by the time they neared Juuban High.

        "We are so late," Makoto groaned, shivering. "Tanaka-sensei's going 
to give me hell."

        "Good thing Luna's with Artemis," Usagi muttered, "or she'd have some 
kind of cat nervous breakdown... This way, I'll spare her, and me, the pain." 

        Makoto grinned, trying to push her sopping bronze hair out of her 
eyes. "I guess we better run for it, before we get any wetter. Race you!"

[O_o  No puns... No puns....]

        Usagi sweatdropped as Makoto made a mad dash for the school.

[Uh, I'd avoid the word 'sweatdropped.'  I don't think it's an actual word.]
 
"H-hey... Mako-chan, wait up! Mako-chan, I can't run that fast -- I just ate 
breakfast! Mako-chaaan!" Usagi puffed after Makoto, leaving a trail of muddy 
footprints.

        Across the street, a woman pulled her trenchcoat more tightly around 
her, her face concealed by shadows, as she watched the two girls disappear 
into the distance. She shivered, yet it wasn't from the cold.

[For suspension, just get rid of the end of the sentence.  I think it's pretty
 well infered.]

        "Princess, you're in danger," she whispered, before slowly turning 
away. "Setsuna doesn't realize what's truly going on..."

[Setsuna: Yes I do.  It's just fun to screw with people.
 Bastion: That really bothers me.  Me of all people!]

--

        "BRRIING!"

        Eilis jumped. The bell sounded like a dying animal's caterwauling.

[That's an interesting description.]
 
She glanced around, sufficiently embarrassed. Fortunately, she went unnoticed 
as boys and girls in clone-like uniforms scampered about, late for class. She 
sighed, glad that Jacinth wasn't around. He would have probably made one of 
his moronic comments, which would have only served to make her more flustered 
than she already was. 

[No use in me adding to that.]

Then again, had he been with her, she wouldn't be 
feeling so *alone*...

["But at least you're with me, right Socko!"
 Eilis lifted her hand clad in a white sock with face drawn in with a dying
 Crayola marker.  Shifting most of her mouth closed, the sock replied.
 "Of course Eilis-sama!  I'd never leave you!"
 "Thanks Socko, I'll never be alone!  Never-ever-ever again!  Isn't that right!"
 "Um Eilis."
 "Yeah?"
 "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're crazy."
 "Socko!  Such travesty from your mouth!"
 "No Eilis, over here."
 "Oh." Slipping her sock clad hand behind her back, Eilis smiled
 at Jacinth.  "Er, hehehehehe."]  

        She shook her head, scowling. No use dwelling on the thought. Jacinth 
had made it perfectly clear that he wanted to take a look around Juuban High 
by himself, and she didn't expect him to show up anytime soon. She would just 
have to manage this 'school' business on her own.

        Eilis fidgeted in her new uniform, everything itching all at once, 
wondering where her classroom could be. <This place is so... large. If I get 
lost... dammit! It's all your fault, Jacinth.> She turned her eyes to the 
sky, depressed. <Gray clouds. Lovely. It's going to rain. So I can be lost 
and wet. Just... lovely.>

[O_o No puns... No puns....]

        Someone cleared their throat. "An'ei-san?"

        Eilis froze. Was this person... talking to her? She slowly lowered 
her eyes, swallowing. 

        A slightly pudgy, and very petite young girl appeared in front of 
her, 

[I don't see it.]

cradling an official looking clipboard in her hands like it was a holy 
object. The girl squinted up at Eilis behind thick black glasses.

        "Ano... Aren't you An'ei Hiroko-san?" she repeated more slowly, as if 
Eilis was hard of hearing.

["Can you understand the words coming out of my mouth?!"
 "Yes, yes, I saw that movie too."
 "I'm sorry, I just get a kick out of doing that to the exchangers."]

        "I... um." Eilis gulped. <Why the hell is she staring at me like 
that? How can I just... just lie in her face?> The girl smiled at her 
uncertainly, obviously waiting for a reply. She wanted to cry out "I'm not 
Hiroko, you fool, I'm Eilis!" but bit down the urge, and struggled to say 
something, anything.

["I'm not Hiroko, I'm a man trapped in a woman's body!  And I must be
 free!  Free I tell you!!!"
 "Okay." <looking at clipboard> "Check next to 'slightly crazy.'"]

        "I'm sorry. Hiroko is a little shy."

        It was Jacinth who spoke at last, his long legs bringing him around 
the corner and over to Eilis in three quick strides. A casual smirk covered 
his face as he bent over and whispered, "I won't always be around to save 
you, Eilis."

["One can only hope." She replied back.]

 Jacinth swiftly turned toward the bewildered school girl, and 
lifted her hand to his lips. "It's a pleasure to meet you... Iwamoto 
Yuka-san, I presume?"  

        The girl gazed at Jacinth, her mouth slightly agape. "W-wow," she 
murmured, eyelashes fluttering demurely. "You are... Kurosaki Kotaro-san? 
I've been looking for you..." <All my life.> she thought dreamily.

        Eilis seethed, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. She supposed 
Jacinth had been waiting for a moment like this. He probably got pleasure out 
of her looking like an idiot. And as for 'Iwamoto Yuka-san'... "Who is this 
person?" Eilis questioned irritably, stabbing the air in the direction of the 
girl.

        Jacinth released Yuka, and she hastily stepped back, clearing her 
throat. "I am Iwamoto Yuka, appointed vice-president of student relations. I 
help new students get acquainted with the school," she said proudly. She 
straightened her uniform, and glanced down at her clipboard, and then back up 
at them, frowning. "You seem to... know each other. But it says nothing in my 
notes..."   

        Eilis frowned. "Yes, we know each other." <Unfortunately.> "He's my 
--"

        "Fiance."

        "-- cousin."

["Oh, you're that type of people."
 "Well, I mean, Jerry Lewis did it."
 "Who?"
 "Great Balls of Fire?"
 "You're tellin' me."
 <Whack>
 "Squeak!"]

        Eilis stared at Jacinth, shocked. <What the hell does he think he's 
doing?> 

        He leaned toward her, his lips brushing her ear, and whispered, 
"Believe me, it's better this way. The guys won't get any ideas, and neither 
will the girls. We need to keep our goal in mind, don't we?" He pulled away, 
smirking.

        Eilis frowned. Maybe he was right, but... She risked a glance at the 
other girl, and sighed when she saw her expression. Yuka seemed utterly 
confounded. "He --" she started, trying to explain.

        Jacinth cut in smoothly. "Hiroko has a very odd sense of humor. She's 
my fiancee. We were promised to each other at birth."

        "O-oh." Yuka seemed at a loss for words. Yet she still had the heart 
to send Eilis a thinly veiled resentful glare.

[Ahhhh, I feel all fuzzy.]

        Eilis resisted the urge to groan. Instead, she smiled evilly, and 
said, "Yes, Ko-chan and I are to be married, but in the mean time I tie him 
up in the basement and go out with however many guys I want!" <Might as well 
take advantage of the opportunity.>

        Yuka's jaw dropped. "Y-you do?"

["Yeah, right next to Gaffney."]

        Jacinth raised an eyebrow, then smirked, inspired. "Yeah, we're 
really into that kind of thing. Sometimes I tie Hiroko-chan up too!"

        "Um." Yuka sweatdropped. "M-maybe it would be better if you were 
shown around by Mizuno-sempai."

[<mumble> "That's more her specialty."]

 She nodded frantically, slowly backing away 
from them. "This way!!" She zoomed around the corner, conjuring up a cloud of 
dust.

        Jacinth grinned. "Think we scared her."

        Eilis found herself half returning the grin. "Well, you *are* kind of 
scary..."

        "And you *are* kind of weird," Jacinth countered, already loping 
after Yuka. "Are you coming?" he called over his shoulder. 

        "Always have to have the last word, don't you?" Eilis grumbled, 
stalking past him. She hid a small smile. <Glad you showed up, Jacinth.>

        When they finally caught up to Yuka, she was in the doorway of a 
small room, babbling something about "other things" she had to attend to. 
Eilis didn't hear the response, but suddenly Yuka was all smiles, and she 
ushered them inside. 

        "An'ei Hiroko, Kurosaki Kotaro, I'd like to introduce you to Mizuno 
Ami. Mizuno-sempai is acting president of student relations, and will take 
you off m-- I mean," she said hastily, "she'll take care of you from now on."

        Eilis stepped around Yuka, wanting a better look at "Mizuno-sempai". 
Her mouth opened in greeting as she caught a glimpse -- then suddenly froze. 
As she stared across the room at the seated blue haired girl, she felt a tug. 
That *feeling* of familiarity; that abrupt onset of nausea. 

['God damn craps.']

The girl's calm 
face swam before her eyes, until Eilis could clearly see the outline of a 
mark on her forehead. A blazing blue sigil: Mercury. The sigil of Mercury. 
This girl was a senshi...

[No, people are always burning sigils on their foreheads.  <grin>]

        The girl was saying something to Eilis, but she couldn't comprehend 
the words. A *senshi*. A senshi of Earth was sitting not three feet from her. 
Talking to her. The senshi was talking to her like they were two normal 
students, just aimlessly chatting...

        "Hiroko," Jacinth said loudly, squeezing her arm, "is something the 
matter?"

        Eilis gasped sharply, noticing Jacinth and the girl staring at her. 
Yuka lingered in the doorway, looking interested.

        <Pull yourself together> Eilis cleared her throat, and attempted a 
smile. It didn't turn out that well, but nonetheless... "I'm sorry. I was 
just preoccupied with... with things. It's just so overwhelming, the first 
day at a new school." She forced herself to look directly at the senshi. "I 
hope you'll accept my apologies."

        Jacinth frowned, but echoed her words. "Yes, very overwhelming. And 
Hiroko's a rather sensitive girl, so it effects her more profoundly."

["You better not be looping your finger around your ear again, dear."]

        Ami nodded, smiling sympathetically. "I understand. It's not a 
problem, really, Hiroko-san."

["And you better not be doing it back!"]

        "Just Hiroko, please," Eilis replied, her hands turning white as she 
clasped them behind her back.

        Ami stood up, her cheeks slightly flushed. Was she nervous? Eilis 
looked at her, really *looked* at her. She was petite, almost demure looking, 
with that sweet smile and face framing blue bob. 

[Heh.  That's a way to say it.]

<She seems so kind...> The 
feeling of nausea washed over her again. <My enemy.>

        "I'll show you around the school," Ami said with another quick smile, 
"and introduce you to some of my friends. It might seem like a daunting 
place, but I'm sure you'll both fit in here just fine. Oh! Where did you say 
you were from?"

        "I'll go to class," Yuka said suddenly, waving. "I hope everything 
goes well, Mizuno-sempai." She gave them all a strange look, then disappeared 
around the corner.

        Ami turned to Eilis and Jacinth expectantly.

        <Where...> Eilis plucked a name out of the blue. "Nerima. It's where 
we're originally from, but we've been living in... Europe, for the last 
couple of years." She remembered her lessons on Earth well enough, but hoped 
the girl wouldn't ask her any specific questions. She didn't know how long 
she could keep this up; the sick feeling in her stomach was getting worse.

[Nerima?  Ha. Ha.  I get it.  <grin>]

        "Really?" Ami looked interested. "Where in --"

        "I think we've talked about ourselves enough," Jacinth interrupted, 
smiling brilliantly. "Why don't you tell us something about yourself, Ami?"

["Oh my!  Well, I like to read, fight crime in as little as possible, and
 tie up men in my basement."
 "Ah, good, for a minute there I thought we were the only ones."]

        Another save from Jacinth. Eilis almost felt angry, but let it slide, 
knowing that would be foolish. She had to get some fresh air, or Jacinth 
would realize that something *really* was wrong. And she couldn't tell him of 
her... 

[Near lesbian obsession with the Sailor Senshi?  <puts pinky to corner of
 lip>]

        shingshing.

        Eilis paused in mid-thought. What was that noise?

        shingshing.

        There it was again. She slowly stared upward. It seemed to be coming 
from the roof. Maybe it had started to rain...

        SHINGshing.

        No, that didn't sound like rain to her.

        Eilis slowly backed away, tugging Jacinth along with her. "Do you 
hear that?" she hissed. "What is that noise?"

        Jacinth frowned. "Yes, it's probably just the wind. Why are you 
getting so uptight?"

        Ami furrowed her brows. "I hear it too," she murmured. 

        The sound slowly intensified, like a buildup of power, and Eilis 
retreated until her back was against the wall. Something wasn't right, 
something was -- 

        In a deafening burst of energy, the roof exploded.

[Nice sequence.]

______________________________________________________________________________

Notes:

Didn't like this chapter as much as the first, but I thought I'd better send 
it out, or nobody'd be seeing it for another 2 weeks. ^_^; Any comments on 
how to improve this would be *greatly* appreciated... Oh, and Bastion-sama, 
hope you weren't too disappointed. -_-;

[You kiddin' kid?  You're better than I am right now.  My writing looks horrid.]

Next chapter: Setsuna makes her grand entrance, someone gets kidnapped, and 
there's a big bloody brawl. Fun for the whole family!

[Yea!  Gratuitous violence, just what every fic needs!]

Okay, overview time:

Well, I can't much of anything in a negative way.  The descriptions were
real nice, the way things were handled and revealed were cleverly done.
It's good me very curious about what's Ulexite's plans and such and
about this Kami thing-a-mi-jiggy making hell at Juuban.  Also, I'm
wondering about what's Mako's connection to all this.  I do not hope
that Eilis is her ... well you know.  It isn't cool when I'm right when I'm
joking.  One thing though, I was a bit confused with the Mako's dream
sequence, I mean a little more than it should have.  Um, some of the drama
is a bit overdone, but not to the point where it's a turnoff.  

So far, I like it, Ms. Ice.  This is Chicken Ball material right here.  And
that's a good thing.

I look forward to tres, me Lady.

Adios.

Bastion


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