Hello again! ^_^
Well, first off, thanks to all of the people who have sent me their
responses to Inner Battles 1. I tried to reply to everybody, but with my
e-mail acting crazy, one or two may not have gotten there. Second, I know
everybody wants to know what happened with the car crash in RS:IB 1, and
whether Seiji will be okay... well, this chapter is about Shin and Rei, but
I assure you, IB 3 will put all your concerns to rest.
Anyways, let's be fair. You're here to read the story, and my prattle is
just getting in the way, so let's get started!
_______________________________________________________
Get 100% FREE Internet Access powered by Excite
Visit http://freeworld.excite.com
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
OBLIGATORY LEGAL DISCLAIMER : None of these guys are mine. The Sailor
Senshi belong to DIC and Kodansha, while the Yoroiden are owned by
Sunrise and Graz Entertainment. Okay? So don't bother suing me. I'm a
student.
RONIN SUMMER 4 : INNER BATTLES
A Sailor Moon / Yoroiden Samurai Troopers cross-over
by Morgan Hudson (dataraven_659@excite.com)
Part 2 : BLOOD IN THE WATER
Rei Hino nervously drummed her fingers on her purse as she
walked along the docks. She hadn't really given this much thought :
some inner voice had simply been screaming at her to GO TO SHIN, and
she had no choice but to obey.
After getting off the train in Yamaguchi, it had been a short
bus ride to get to Hagi, a town on the coast of the Hagi Sea. Shin
Mouri was easy to remember : practically everyone she asked had
pointed her towards the docks, and she hadn't even had a picture to
show them.
Now... she was watching Shin haul a tank full of fish and
trying not to swallow her own tongue. Ye gods! Couldn't that boy put
on a shirt or something? Another man stood nearby, his long black
hair held back by a headband similiar to Shin's. The two wore hakama
and little else.
"Good job, Shin! I swear you can talk these fish into the
tanks! Let's get these little beauties back to the Marine Institute
and see why so many keep washing up on shore, eh?"
"Yeah, whatever, Ryuusuke." Shin had his back turned and had
yet to notice her, Rei realised. "I'm just glad to get of there for
a few hours : she's really beginning to look... REI?" He nearly
dropped the tank on his foot, catching it at the last moment and
sloshing a few litres of seawater onto the already soaked planks,
which didn't seem to mind overly much.
"Uhm... hi, Shin!" Rei smiled tautly. "What a..." She cleared
her throat. "What a coincidence we should meet here of all places!"
"Rei, what are you doing here?" Shin looked back and forth
from his partner to the Senshi. "Is something wrong back in Tokyo?
Do the Troopers need me?"
"Ah, no... everything's fine back home..." Rei smiled again,
reflexively. "It was just... something I can't explain right now.
Can we talk... later?"
"Sure," Shin said a brief pause, "what are friends for? If
you want, you can come with us to the Marine Centre and we'll talk
while my sister examines these fish. "
"Okay! That would be great!" Rei waved and headed back down
the docks.
"Who was that?" The older man asked calmly, remembering to
blink.
"Rei." Shin, on the other hand, was doing a passable impression
of the fish in his tank. "She's a friend of mine, from Tokyo. A Shinto
priestess."
"Oh." Ryuusuke watched as the girl and her miniskirt receded
into the distance. "Didn't know priestesses dressed like that..."
"You're staring, brother."
"I'm married, Shin. What's your excuse?"
**********
Unnoticed by the two men as they carried their load of fish off
of the boat and headed down the docks, a single figure lurked in the
sea, just barely peeping above the water's surface as he clung to the
side of their boat. Eventually, he spoke to himself in English. He
spoke to himself because nobody else was listening, and he used
English because it pleased him to.
"Well... now there was a pretty little bird." Releasing the
boat's hull, he glided over to the dock with little more than a ripple
to mark his passage. "And it seems my hated enemy has a soft spot for
her, too..."
The mysterious figure snickered to himself. "Shin Mouri," he
whispered, "I do so hope you're enjoying the show..."
**********
Shin dumped his tank of fish into a larger tank of fish that
sat on one of the many steel tables crowding his sister's spotless
white laboratory at the Marine Institute. After watching the tank
for a few seconds to make sure that none of his finny little friends
had died in transit, he turned to the girl standing behind him and
forced a casual smile.
"Okay, Rei, we've got a few minutes before my sister Sayoko
can set up the equipment to examine these little guys." Shin seemed to
take a second and put on his most helpful face. "What seems to be the
problem?"
Rei shrugged in response, her thick curtain of sable hair
waving hypnotically behind her as she walked over and leaned against
one of the nearby specimen racks. "I'm honestly not certain, Shin. I
was consulting the sacred fire in my temple, and I just got the
overwhelming feeling that some evil force was endangering you. I
thought I should warn you, and maybe even... help?"
"Endangering me?" Shin looked adorable when he was confused,
Rei decided. "But how could I be in danger? Not even I knew I was
coming home until a few days ago. Unless..." The Yoroiden of Suiko
suddenly grabbed the edge of the table he sat on, gripping it until
his knuckles turned white.
"What is it, Shin?"
"My mother. I came to Hagi because I found out she had fallen
ill." Shin laughed bitterly as he stared at the tiled floor. "Listen
to me. She's dying, Rei. The doctors aren't sure what it is : some
strange new kind of virus, they think. It's been sweeping the town.
You don't suppose..."
"Some kind of an attack? A youja, or a daimon, trying to lure
you here?" Rei considered it. It was possible, she had to admit...
Unnoticed, Ryuusuke and Sayoko Mouri entered the laboratory,
dressed in lab coats and carrying a tray of instruments, as well as
a cart with a few sheet covered objects.
"Shin, Rei, you might want to see this." Ryuusuke waved the
two over, as his wife pulled the sheets off to reveal several dead
fish. Shin quickly pulled on a spare coat and rushed over, wincing at
the unpleasant smell of dead and rotting fish.
"I know," Sayoko said quickly as she began cutting into the
first of the fish, "it isn't the greatest smell in the world. We make
do, right?"
Shin nodded grimly as his sister sliced the fish open
laterally, peeling back the scales and muscles and pinning them out
of the way. "Hmmmm... Ryuusuke, take a look at these gills. What do
you think?"
Her husband leaned over, his hair held back by a thick group
of elastic bands. "I'm not sure... could this have happened after it
washed up, perhaps? Part of the ordinary decay process?"
"Hard to tell." Sayoko snapped her latex gloves off and
dropped them in the nearest biohazard container. "But until we're
sure, I think we might want to get some face masks. Look at that
liver : it's practicaly jelly. I don't want any of us breathing in
whatever caused that kind of a reaction."
"What's going on?" Shin grabbed his sister by the sleeve as
she was heading out of the room.
"I don't know, Shin. At first, when the fish started washing up
on shore, I thought maybe we had a case of mercury poisoning. Maybe a
disease like the one infecting mother, although it's rare to catch
viruses from fish. Now..." She shook her head. "I can't be sure until
we cut open the rest of these dead fish, and get a few samples from the
live stock you brought in, but I'd have to say poison. Someone pumped
these little guys full of the nastiest shit I've ever seen."
"Kuso..." Shin ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, do
what you have to, Sayoko, and let me know. I need to check on mother."
**********
Rei Hino slept uneasily that night, and awoke to the sound
of breaking glass. Sitting bolt upright on the futon Sayoko had lain
out in the guest bedroom for her, she wrapped a robe around herself
and rushed outside to investigate.
The rest of the house was eerily quiet, as she navigated down
the halls. Slowly, another sound began to register over the chirping
of crickets and the soft creaking of her own footsteps. It was
rhythmic, and strangely familiar. Walking down the stairs, she opened
the door to the bathroom.
Shin Mouri was kneeling on the floor and sobbing, surrounded
by shards from the shattered mirror hanging above the sink. His right
hand looked like it had been run through a meat grinder. It was this,
Rei realised as she listened to his deep, ragged breathing, that she
had been hearing. For a brief instnat she considered going back to
bed.
Instead, she picked her way across the glass littered floor
and kneeled before him, gently lifting his hand and examining it.
Shin's crying slowly began to subside, as his body shuddered with
wracking sobs. Opening his red-rimmed eyes, he looked up at her and
blinked. Rei smiled as gently as she knew how, and stood.
"I'll get some bandages," she said simply, and did. As she was
wrapping his hand, Shin finally spoke.
"My father died when I was four," he croaked, "and I barely
remember him. She had to raise me by herself."
"I see," Rei murmured, and continued tending to his battered
hand. It had been cut in several places : he must have kept hitting
the mirror even after it broke.
"The doctors say she won't last much longer."
"I understand."
"Rei?" Shin met her gaze again, and Rei nearly cried herself
at the look on his face. "I'm scared."
"I know you are, Shin." On impulse, she leaned forward and
kissed him on the forehead. "Try to get some sleep."
"I haven't slept in two days, Rei." Shin slowly leaned back,
resting against the wall and cradling his head in his hands. "I'm
just so afraid that I'll wake up and she'll be..."
"I know, Shin." Rei looked down at him and smiled sadly. "Try."
As she left the bathroom and turned out the light, she silently cursed
whatever was behind this. Shin was at the end of his rope : as weak,
and exhausted, and distracted as any daimon could want him to be. And
that, she realised, was why SHE was scared.
**********
That morning, Shin Mouri went outside, and began to practice
his spear kata. If he had slept, Rei thought to herself as she watched
from the patio, it hadn't been for long. He had been on the beach since
dawn, dancing with the Suiko Yari as if it were a lover, his feet
sweeping gracefully from one form to the next as the massive trident
moved like an extension of his body.
Rei watched as he thrust and parried, battling opponents that
only he could see. The heavy trident hummed as it spun from one hand
to the other, and his kata slowly began to increase in its complexity.
Soon, the weapon was little more than a blur of motion as he leapt
and rolled across the beach, striking and killing countless invisible
demons. Rei sipped her tea and wondered if he was winning.
Ryuusuke somehow snuck up behind her, his eyes bloodshot.
"They sent out the fishing boats," he said listlessly, "and found more
dead fish on the beach. I left when they reached ninety. They were
still counting." With one hand, he poured himself a cup of tea. With
the other he set an empty sake bottle on the table.
Together the two stood and drank their tea and watched Shin
perform, each in their own little world. After a while, Ryuusuke began
to speak.
"How long have you known Shin, Rei?"
Rei shrugged and sipped her tea. "About four or five months,
now, I'd guess."
"And how long have you been in love with him?"
Rei smiled to herself. "About four or five months."
On the beach, safely out of earshot, Shin continued to perform
his kata. The bandages covering his hand were soaked through with
blood, and sweat was dripping off of his body, but he continued like
a man possessed. Perhaps he was.
"This whole town is dying, Rei. The people are sick, the fish
are dead, and the boats come back with nothing to show for their work
but empty nets and emptier stomachs." Ryuusuke bowed his head. "Shin
Mouri is still the head of the Mouri family. It is his family's
responsibility to care for the Hagi Sea. I think he believes that
he has somehow failed us."
Rei sighed. "I think he's a scared little boy who doesn't want
his mother to go away and leave him alone."
**********
Shin rammed his trident deep into the ground and leaned on it,
his shoulders heaving as he gasped for breath. Slowly, he sank to his
knees and rested his forehead against the cool shaft of the Suiko
Yari. Ryuusuke explained that Shin would usually sit like that for a
few hours every morning, if not sleeping then at least resting. Rei
decided to let him be, and walked back into the house.
A strange young man was sitting on the kitchen counter and
eating an apple. He was dressed rather nicely, in white cargo pants
and a black shirt with crimson suspenders that matched his firey red
hair. He was quite attractive, she thought, but only because he looked
like Shin.
EXACTLY like Shin. They even had their hair cut in the same
style. In fact, she thought to herself, the only part of him that
didn't look anything like Shin was his smile. Predatory was the only
word Rei could think of to describe it as he grinned and tossed the
apple core over his shoulder.
"Good morning to you!" The strange young man hopped off of the
counter and landed like a cat, crouching low and touching the ground
with his fingertips before rising to face her. "Don't mind me : I'm
just passing through. You know how it is, places to blow, people to
whack..."
"You're him." Rei quickly pulled a chair between them, stepping
back and raising her hands in a warding gesture. "You're the one from
my vision..."
"Oh, man of your dreams, am I?" The man winked. "Sorry, toots.
You got me confused with the sap outside. I don't play quite as nice."
Grabbing the chair, the red haired man easily broke it in half.
"Pretty crappy craftsmanship. I barely even touched it."
"Stay away from me, whoever you are!" Rei continued her
retreat, eventually backing completely out of the kitchen and pressing
her back against the wall. The man kept advancing, stopping only an
instant before their noses touched.
"The name's Nise Suiko. Some folk call me the Red Torrent.
And as for who I am..." He grinned again. "I'm a hurricane, baby.
I am death, destruction, pestilence, and chaos. And I LOVE my job."
He chuckled.
"You're the one threatening Shin. The one who's going to..."
"Bingo!" Nise Suiko stepped back and bowed dramatically. "But
of course, where's the fun in just offing the brat? First, I figure
I'll kill everyone who's ever fucking HEARD of him. By the time I'm
done, nobody will remember that Shin Mouri existed at all." He reached
into the pocket of his shirt, and drew out a pair of wire-rimmed
sunglasses. "So believe me when I say this : I WILL catch you later.
Ciao!"
On his way out the door, he stopped and looked back over his
shoulder. "By the way," he sneered, "too bad about the old lady."
**********
That night, Rei found Shin standing out on one of the docks,
gazing at the sea. He was in his undergear armour, and clutching the
Suiko Yari so tightly it trembled in his grasp. Dressed only in a silk
kimono, she hugged herself and shivered in the chill breeze blowing
off of the water.
"Shin," she said softly. "I'm sorry. I know how much she
must have meant to you..."
"I hate him, Rei." Shin's voice was surprisingly hard, and
he didn't bother turning to look at her as he spoke. "I've never
hated anyone before, but I hate him. I'm going to find him, and when I
do, I am going to rip his black, twisted heart out with my bare hands
and feed it to him." What truly frightened Rei was the simple way Shin
said it. He was perfectly calm, not ranting and raving but simply
describing a well thought-out plan.
"Sayoko and Ryuusuke are back at the house : they made
something for dinner. It's not much, Shin, but they're trying! Why
don't you come back, Shin?"
"No. I'm going hunting." Shin lowered his head, and a single
tear drifted away on the breeze. "My home died. One way or the other,
Rei, I will never set foot in that house again."
**********
The full moon shone coldly on the velvety black water as Shin
Mouri strode along the beach, the frigid surf lapping at his ankles.
The Suiko Yari dangled from his fingers, nearly digging into the
sand with every step. In his mind, he tried to replay the past
fifteen years of his life, capturing each moment with his mother and
examining it like a precious gem. Eventually, be it minutes or hours
later, he snapped out of his reverie. A dead fish drifted past his
ankle. And another. And six more.
"Nice night for a stroll, isn't it, Suiko?" A sickeningly
familiar voice drifted through the night air, all the more disgusting
for being his own. Shin glanced out to sea, and watched as a young
man with glowing eyes and brilliant red hair rose from the water like
an ancient sea god, long forgotten by his worshippers.
"You." Shin spun the Suiko Yari into a ready position. "How
did you do it? I killed you, blasted you into a million pieces last
year."
"True," Shin's crimson double agreed, "but you didn't keep
track of where those pieces went, did you? Here's a hint : the
ocean. Some raw sewage, an oil spill, a couple of leaky drums
of toxic waste, and I was back in shape in no time! Of course, by
then I was in Canada..." He shrugged. "I would've come back for you
sooner, but I was having so much fun killing those cute baby seals
that I got a little sidetracked."
Shin frowned and twirled the Suiko Yari. "Shut up and fight."
"What, no transformations, no dramatic speeches?" Nise Suiko
grinned as he strode across the surface of the water, a twisted and
gnarled harpoon, a mockery of Shin's own trident, sliding into his
hand. "Fine by me."
A resounding clang echoed across the beach as their weapons
clashed, and Shin Mouri gritted his teeth as the shock rippled down
his arms and into his shoulders. Nise Suiko smirked insolently.
"Face it, old man. You're tired, you're slow, and you don't
have a chance. I was going to wipe out the rest of this town first,
but frankly you're so damn pathetic I just want to put you out of
everybody's misery." Nise broke free and swung at Shin's legs, only
to find the Suiko Yari effortlessly intercepting his blade. "Then," he
continued, "I plan to score with your girlfriend. But that's mostly
just to rub it in."
Shin growled and thrust, the outer tines of his trident
clamping shut around Nise Suiko's arm and shearing it off like a giant
pair of scissors. A fountain of steaming red liquid gushed from the
stump, then suddenly congealed into a new arm.
"You know," Shin's double sneered, "you really ought to thank
me. I can gaurantee that your face was the last thing Mommy dearest
ever saw..." Backflipping, he snagged the discarded harpoon and
brought it up as he landed, blocking an overhead chop by Shin.
"It's the last thing you'll ever see, too!" Shin faked left
and stabbed again, ramming his trident deep into the spirit's stomach.
A thick red mist began to pour from the wounds, and Nise Suiko
grimaced.
"Do you have any idea how much that hurts?" He asked, and
rammed his harpoon deep into Shin's shoulder. The Yoroiden of Suiko
hissed in pain, leaning back and slowly beginning to hoist the other
creature into the air. Nise Suiko snarled.
"You idiot! You really think you can beat me? Anything you
cut off, I grow back! I'm never going to stop : I'll hunt your sister,
your brother, your classmates, your friends..." Unnoticed, his free
hand slid behind his back and drew a long dagger from the waistband of
his pants.
� "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen. Akuryou
taisan!" The scrap of paper fluttered out of the darkness straight and
true, adhering to Nise Suiko's forehead. The creature that wore Shin's
face began to shudder, and the mist rising from his wounds suddenly
turned to wet, sticky blood.
"Hey," he shrieked, "no fair! I wasn't told this was a damned
tag team match! I call shenanigans!" The dagger fell to the ground and
his twitching fingers slid free of the harpoon shaft as he clutched
the scroll stuck between his eyes, tugging fruitlessly at it.
"Somebody get this damn thing off of me!"
Shin's eyes narrowed. "Gladly." With a single smooth motion he
jerked his trident free and brought it around in a sweeping arc,
the razor sharp blades glittering in the moonlight as it passed through
Nise Suiko's neck. The head flew into the distance, and the body
fell backwards into the sea, dissolving into a red taint that was
quickly washed away on the tide.
Shin lowered the Suiko Yari and turned to stare at Rei Hino,
who was still wearing the purple silk kimono he had last seen her in.
Her one arm was extended, and her other hand clasped another of the
scrolls. "I said I wanted to help," she explained as he walked towards
her. "Fortunately, I came prepared. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
Shin sighed. "It's okay, Rei. I'm fine. I'll be just fine."
"Really?" Rei's big dark eyes met his, and the Yoroiden of
Truth knew he couldn't lie to her.
"No." He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned his head
away, looking out at the sea. "I miss my mother, Rei."
After an awkward moment, she stepped forward and wrapped her
arms around him, holding him close and pressing his head against her
shoulder as the rising tide swirled around their knees and he gently
returned her embrace. "It'll be okay," she whispered as she stroked his
soft brown hair and breathed the intoxicating scent of his aftershave,
"I'm here for you. Tomorrow, we'll go back to Tokyo, and everything
will be just fine... You'll see..."
**********
A faint red tinge flowed into the underground caverns beneath
the Hagi Sea. Oysters and other shellfish had thrived here for years,
and never so well as in recent weeks. Shellfish can actually live
off of toxins and poisons, of course.
The crimson haze floated up out of the water and into the air
pocket of the cave. Hanging in the air as a red cloud of mist, it gave
the noncorporeal equivalent of a disappointed sigh and began the
tedious task of reforming its body.
"Real shame." A figure walked out of the shadows, and shrugged
helplessly. "Frankly, I was pulling for you, but hey! We all kind of
knew you weren't going to succeed. Too subtle, too easy for the whole
shebang to fall apart on you."
The cloudlike creature burbled angrily and lashed out with
tendrils of its own body, burning through the rock its unwelcome
visitor had once stood on.
"Hey! I'm actually on your side here, pal. Cut me some slack."
Jadeite pulled out a mirror and carefully smoothed his short blond
hair back into its usual style. "See, I've been suffering a decrease
in the quality of my henchmen lately... which, of course led to a
decrease in the quantity of my henchmen. Long story short, I figured
it was high time I did me some recruiting."
"Recruiting?" The cloud rumbled.
"Yeah. I already have an army of cannon fodder, but I need
some real heavy hitters. Demons, dragons, cyborgs, mercenaries, even
have a few sorcerors lined up..." Jadeite shrugged. "Problem is,
I don't have a general to lead this elite squad. Which is where you
will come in."
"Screw off, pal. You have nothing to offer me."
Jadeite suddenly snarled with rage, biting his lip until it
bled. Then, he noticeably calmed himself down and brushed at the
sleeve of his grey uniform. "Oh, really? How about revenge? I can get
you Shin Mouri's head on a plate. The girl, too : Sailor Mars. I'm
familiar with those damn scrolls of hers."
The cloud swirled in silence as it considered. "You make a
compelling offer." Slowly, a trendril of smoke broke free from the
main mass and formed into a hand. By the time Jadeite had finished
shaking it, Nise Suiko had resumed his human form. "So when do we
start, mon capitan?"
Jadeite grinned, a ruthless smile echoed by his new general.
"My boy, we've already begun..."
TO BE CONTINUED...