Hi!
Here is the part where I beg for you to send me C&C. I know, I know, that's
a novel and fascinating idea. But it's just so crazy, I think it might work!
Give it a try, and let's see, shall we? ^_^
Let's see... my previous story arcs are archived at
http://dataraven_659@tripod.com/roninsummer.html
and at
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Underworld/4709/roninsummer1.html
and if you want earlier chapters from this arc, e-mail me. I'll probably
send them, if my ISP doesn't crash or something : I'm a pretty nice guy. ^_^
Anyway, let's get on with the real reason you're here, shall we?
The story awaits!
**********
_______________________________________________________
Say Bye to Slow Internet!
http://www.home.com/xinbox/signup.html
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
OBLIGATORY LEGAL DISCLAIMER : Some of these guys aren't 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 : DARK CRUSADE
A Sailor Moon / Yoroiden Samurai Troopers cross-over
by Morgan Hudson (dataraven_659@excite.com)
Chapter Five :
Yamanouchi Naotoki was cold and tired. The two tended to happen
in unison, a fact he chalked up to the unknown scaly father whose cold
blood still ran through his veins. He blinked, and his eyes did not
quite open as wide as they had been when he started. In the background,
he could dimly hear a radio humming platitudes to itself as two voices
discussed the weather like old men sitting on a porch. Occasionally,
their discussion was interrupted by some highly annoying person trying
to convince him that his life was incomplete without something called
a "Nintendo". More often, their discussion was interrupted by the
swearing of Nasuti Yagyu.
"Oh," she groaned, "come ON! Start, you useless piece of-" With
an exasperated sigh, the woman slammed her head against the steering
wheel and proceeded to curse both loudly and with emphasis. Yamanouchi
smiled to himself as he rolled onto his side and stared lethargically
at the falling rain outside. He liked a woman with a healthy
vocabulary.
"It's nearly nine-thirty in the morning," Nasuti moaned as she
turned her head just far enough to see the watch resting on her wrist.
"We were supposed to be in Odawara hours ago! What's WRONG with this
stupid thing?"
"Hey, what can I say?" Yamanouchi shrugged and stared at the
roof of the vehicle as he rested his hands behind his head and fought
the urge to yawn. "I guess the kamis are causing trouble."
Specifically, he thought to himself, the kami he had been praying to
for the entire drive. Yes, he thought as he slowly reclined his chair,
everything was perfect...
"HEY!" A foot kicked him sharply in the kidneys. "Watch it,
snake-eyes! I'm sitting back here! You nearly crushed me!"
Well, Yamanouchi admitted as Jun Yamano kicked him again,
NEARLY perfect, at least. "I'm very sorry," he said with a wicked
smile at the boy. "Next time, I'll be sure to give you less warning."
"Hey, any time you want to try me, Naaza..."
Yamanouchi curled his lips back in a snarl just as a well-timed
flash of lightning gleamed off of his exposed fangs. "Is that an
invitation, twerp?"
"JUN!" Nasuti glared at the young boy, who promptly swallowed
loudly and began looking for something to hide under. "I am a little
bit on edge right now, okay? We are stranded-"
"With a Masho," Jun pointed out.
"We are miles away from anybody-"
"With," Jun added, "a Masho..."
"And," Nasuti continued with a firm stare at both men, "thanks
to this storm, we can't get away-"
"From," Jun quickly interjected, "the Masho! Why am I only the
only one of us concerned about this?"
"From," Nasuti corrected him, "each other, so we need to get
along. This goes for you too, Naaza, so stop smirking at him. The last
thing I need right now is you two bickering at each other, like you
have been for the past six hours! I'm getting a headache!"
"Sorry, Nasuti," Naaza said sheepishly, and returned his chair
to its original position.
"Sorry, Nasuti," Jun said with a mean grin at Naaza to show
exactly how sorry he really wasn't. The Masho of Poison scowled and
immediately began planning various intricate forms of death for the
little brat. Perhaps the Fleeing Maiden and the Singing Blades of
Destruction? Nah, he decided, the punk was too short to get the
required hang time for that one. Maybe he could try the Hangman's
Hundred Handed Horrifier, again. No, he quickly reminded himself, that
one usually just ended with him looking stupid. Last time, his victim
had escaped and he'd needed both Rajura and Anubis to untie him. Those
knots were REALLY tricky...
"Naaza? Are you listening to me?"
"Huh?" Blinking, Yamanouchi turned to the beautiful woman with
the auburn hair who sat next to him. "Sorry, Nasuti. My mind must have
wandered there, for a second. What did you say?"
"I asked if you would mind taking a look at the engine. We
might have snapped our fanbelt, or maybe killed the battery."
Naaza opened his mouth to gently remind the young woman that
he was over four centuries old, and could barely tell an engine from
a waffle iron, then shut it and simply nodded. At least it would give
him a chance to stretch his legs a little, he decided, and opened the
door. Unfortunately, he had forgotten about the seat belt he was
wearing, and attempted to step out. Tangling in the straps, he nearly
choked before finally managing to slip free and land in the mud with
all the grace of a diseased crow. As Nasuti graciously closed the
door behind him, he tried to ignore the sound of Jun's laughter.
**********
Naaza sat in the mud for several seconds, waiting until the
ground stopped spinning before he clambered to his feet. Now, he asked
himself, where would the engine be in one of these things? For that
matter, WHAT would the engine be in one of these things? Probably, he
decided sensibly, whatever had just started making all the smoke up
front.
The rain thumped against his trenchcoat like a man's fingers,
nearly staggering the man as he slogged through the mud and opened
the hood of the jeep. Coughing and swatting at the billowing cloud of
smoke, Naaza squinted down at the device he had uncovered.
"Oh, look," he said after an awkward pause, "it's... a pile
of metal things. How very educational!" With a grunt, he slammed the
hood back down and sat on it. Considering he had no idea what an
engine looked like when it was working, he figured his chances of
figuring out what was wrong with it were somewhere between 'slim' and
'none', and leaning towards the latter.
Bushes began to rustle slightly in the forest surrounding this
lonely stretch of road, and Naaza watched with growing interest as a
figure swathed in black shambled out into view. It was covered in rags
from head to toe, wrapped like a mummy in the shredded and grimy cloth.
It was also carrying a sword, which made the green-haired Masho of
Poison grin.
"Hello," he said amiably, and waved to it. There was no
response from the creature as it continued to emerge from the
undergrowth and steadily closed the distance between them. Slightly
miffed, Naaza slicked back his usually wild mane of green hair and
decided to try again. "Nice sword you've got there," he said
conversationally. "You know, an uchiko and some oil could take care of
that nasty rust..."
Wordlessly, the creature raised the blade and swung it from
left to right, twisting its hip into the strike and seeking to remove
Naaza's head from his neck. Tumbling to the right and rolling off of
the hood, the Masho of Poison somehow managed to land on his feet and
nodded wisely as he leaned against the guard-rail standing protectively
along the road.
"You're one of those silent types, aren't you?" The ragged
figure responded only by striding towards Naaza once more. "And," he
noted clinically as he carefully began to back out of its reach,
"you seem to be trying to kill me. If you could just excuse me, I'll
be with you in a few seconds." Quickly, he tapped on the driver's side
window with his knuckles. Slowly, the glass rolled down and Nasuti
Yagyu stuck her head out.
"Naaza? What's going on? Who is that?"
"Oh, him? Yeah, he's some kind of ninja out to get me. Probably
undead, by the smell of it. I thought I should let you know that I
might be a while."
"Oh." Nasuti tucked a lock of her long auburn hair behind one
ear and tried to think of something to say. "Well... take your time."
Naaza grinned. "Thanks!" The window slowly creaked back up,
and the Masho's smile began to change into a sneer as he turned to
face the creature slogging towards him in the mud.
"I'd ask what you want with me, but I really don't care," he
explained, and lunged across the ground between them, wrapping his arms
around the bandaged waist and tackling his opponent to the ground.
Pinning its arms down with his knees, Naaza proceeded to pound it in
the face with both fists. A black slippered foot slammed into the
back of his head, and the Masho fell forward.
"Damn! And just when I was getting a good rhythm." Naaza
hopped back onto his feet and spun to face the thing again. Holding
its sword on its left side, with the guard level to its collarbone,
the creature began to stride forward.
"Okay," Naaza interjected as he strode forward to meet it,
"you really shouldn't hold a stance like that, because it lets some
tricky bastard do things like this." Sweeping his foot up into the
air, the Snake Masho snapped a kick on the side of the katana blade,
causing it to slam into its owner's skull. With a strong thrust, he
planted his falling left foot firmly into the creature's chest. Using
the leg as an axis, Naaza then pivoted his body and slammed his right
foot into his opponent's temple. The creature in question flopped to
the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
"You see? Now you're flat on your ass, and you dropped your
sword." Naaza smirked, and thunder boomed all around them as the rain
continued to fall. "I haven't even broken a sweat! How does a poseur
like you expect to beat ME?"
In answer, several dozen identical figures crawled out of the
bushes growing on the left side of the road. Naaza blinked as he
slowly turned and scoped out the situation. To the right, at least
another dozen were hacking their way through the guard-rail as they
struggled up the muddy incline with determination.
"Oh," he said as he watched all of the creatures draw their
swords and advance on him in unison, "you brought friends. Well, THAT
was certainly a bright plan. Kind of wish I'd thought of it, myself,
to be honest..."
**********
Kujuurou Sasaki grunted as he lowered himself into the steaming
hot water. "We're wasting our time," he growled, and leaned his head
back to rest on the edge of the furo.
"I disagree." Sitting against the opposite edge of the tub,
Jirougorou Kuroda took a deep breath of the steam and relaxed slightly.
"If you want to be accurate, it's the Outer Senshi who are wasting
our time. We have exactly-" He checked the watch still strapped to his
wrist. "One hour and ten minutes to find Naaza and go home, or we're
going to be in trouble."
"And here we are," Kujuurou concluded, "taking a bath. How
very productive of us."
"Could you think of one other place in this entire house where
those three women wouldn't be spying on us? This seems as good a forum
as any for the discussion we need to have." Jirougorou sighed, and let
his long silver hair out of the ponytail he had been keeping it in.
"You want to ask the Outer Senshi for help, don't you?"
"It would seem to be a logical approach," Kujuurou admitted.
"Help looking for Naaza?" Jirougorou swept his mane of silver
behind his shoulders, his one good eye sweeping Kujuurou with a
piercing gaze.
"It would make our task easier."
"And defeating this 'Mother' creature, Anubis? Were you
planning to ask for their help with that, as well?"
Kujuurou growled and raised his head, baring his teeth as
though planning to tear out his fellow Masho's throat. "Yes," he
snarled, "and you clearly do not agree with me, Rajura. Why? Why
shouldn't we-"
"Why shouldn't we beg?" Jirougorou scowled as he shifted his
position in the water. "Because we have our pride, Anubis. More
importantly, because I don't like asking for help from people we've
tried to kill."
Anubis barked with laughter, throwing his head back once more.
"Rajura, we've tried to kill everybody we know, including each other!
We don't have time to find someone new, NOT try to kill them, and ask
them for help."
"I'm serious, Anubis. I don't like these Outer Senshi. We don't
know them, we don't understand them, and we can't control them."
Rajura steepled his fingers together and leaned back as he continued
his explanation. "Furthermore, if we were to ASK them for help, we
would be expected to return the favour at some point. I have found life
much easier when I am beholden to no man, or woman as the case may be."
"Fine," Anubis snarled, "but while you maintain an easy life,
Naaza is all alone out there. And don't forget : we're ALL running out
of time, here. The only difference is that Naaza doesn't know it."
**********
Yamanouchi Naotoki hit the ground with a splash, water rising
around him in waves as he slammed into the mud. Twisting to the left,
he barely dodged a downward strike at his head, and quickly levered
his body into a handstand as a second blade dug into the muck where he
had lain. Vaulting forward off of his fingertips, Naaza arched his
back and flipped straight into the face an enemy, feet first.
"Come on," he taunted them, as he clutched the damp fabric of
his shirt with one hand. "Test your might!" With a rough yank, he tore
loose his clothing, to reveal a form-fitting suit of dark chestnut
armour that simply hadn't been there seconds before. Clad in his
undergear, Naaza lunged through the ruined guard-rail, somersaulting
over a sword swing and skidding down the hill like a baseball player
stealing home. In a plume of rising water and mud, he tangled his legs
around one of his enemies, and brought it crashing to the ground. Even
as his metal-clad fist crashed through its skull, two more gouged
their blades into his back.
"That actually HURT!" Naaza glared over his shoulder and turned
around, spinning his elbow into the nose of one creature and quickly
extending his arm to punch the jaw of the one next to it. Another of
the creatures failed to dodge quickly enough and found itself forcibly
and intimately introduced to a nearby fallen tree.
"Who the hell do you think you ARE?" Fangs shone in the
flashing lightning as Naaza snarled, gripping the nearest monster by
its head. With a fierce scowl, he tightened his grip until nothing was
left in his hand but shards of bone and slime. Undaunted by his
display, several of his opponents wrapped themselves around his ankles,
dragging him into the mud once more. As the Masho of Poison spat and
cursed, swinging wildly at the creatures gripping him and banging his
own head against the felled oak in frustration, several more struggled
up the hill and began to circle around Nasuti's jeep.
**********
"What's going on? I can barely see anything in all this rain!"
Jun Yamano shaded his eyes with one hand, peering hopelessly at the
struggling forms just barely out of his view. "I think Naaza might
be down, but I can't tell!"
"We should help him!" Nasuti reached for her door handle, just
as the first of the faceless foot soldiers slammed its shoulder into
the window. "Although," she added quickly, "maybe I'll use the other
door." Reaching down, she unbuckled her seatbelt and scooted over into
Naaza's seat, reaching for the handle just as four more of the
creatures slammed against that side of the jeep and began to tug on
the doors as if planning to rip them from their hinges.
"How does it look back there, Jun?"
The boy glanced to either side, then out the back window. "Uh,
they're all over us like ants on a pile of sugar, Nasuti. Just pushing
and pulling like crazy."
"Don't worry, Jun. They'll never get through these doors."
Nasuti nonetheless began to inch away from the eerie figures.
Jun's eyes bulged as the jeep began to rock slightly. "Oh,
shit," he gasped as he rolled onto his back and grasped the cushion
with both hands, bracing his feet against the roof. "You'd better grab
onto something, Nasti, because if they're doing what I think they're
doing, this is going to suck!"
Nasuti turned to face Jun just as the jeep tipped over onto
its side, hurling her into the window. Crimson goo and black rags were
smeared all over the outside of the glass, and a more familiar pool of
crimson was forming under Nasuti's head. Jun began to move towards
her, and heard the distinctive sound of twelve undead ninja hurling
themselves against the undercarriage of a 1988 Suzuki Samurai.
The jeep began to roll over, and Jun began to scream.
**********
Naaza watched in sheer terror as the deceptively small red
jeep began to tumble down the muddy slope in his general direction.
Even as his eyes bugged and his jaw fell slack, the rest of his body
was acting on sheer animal instinct. Flinging his hands behind him
blindly, the Masho of Poison grasped two branches on the thick oak
he lay against and snapped his spine like a whip, launching both
himself and his captors over the fallen tree and down the hill in a
tangle of limbs. This inhuman knot sorted itself out as the five of
them hit a pine tree and scattered like bowling pins after a strike.
Panting for breath, Naaza slowly and painfully dragged himself
up the trunk of the tree he had hit spine-first. Once he was fairly
certain he was on his feet, the man stumbled over to the crashed
vehicle. Jun had already managed to break through one window, and was
hauling Nasuti out of the jeep. There was a large gash on her head, and
she was bleeding profusely.
Naaza hissed venomously and narrowed his hooded eyes, slitted
pupils seeming to disappear as the orbs glowed with a sickly purplish
light. "Oh," he breathed, his breath steaming from between his lips as
the rain pounded down around him, "you. Are. SO. Dead." The sickly
haze of purple-pink energy crackled from his entire undergear, rising
into the air like mist and withering the evergreens that surrounded
him. Growling, he clenched and unclenched his fists, storming towards
the creatures even as they began to race down the hill to confront
him. "BUSSO..."
"Dead Scream." A blast of pink energy, and Naaza flew back
over the crashed jeep, smoke rising from his scorched brown undergear.
He landed hard, and got back up yet again, wincing as he popped his
arm back into its socket. A plume of smoke wafted through his hair,
but was quickly extinguished by the falling rain as he looked up.
Floating above them all, as though standing on a pillar on
air, Sailor Pluto lifted her Time Key above her head, long green hair
billowing in the winds of the storm like an emerald cape. Her skirt
flapped around her long, graceful legs and her exotic red eyes stared
balefully down at the Masho of Poison, a tiny smirk on her rich, full
lips.
Naaza snarled from where he crouched, eyes still blazing with
unholy energy. "What the hell are you DOING? I wasn't done playing with
them yet!"
"Consider it a favour to them on my behalf." Setsuna Meioh
slowly floated down closer to the ground, though she did not land.
"I'm certain it was far quicker and more humane than anything you had
planned."
"Well, this is a pretty predicament." Without even realising
it, Naaza lowered his centre of gravity and began inching around Sailor
Pluto, his arms spread and fingers splayed. "Now, I'm all worked up,
and there's nothing to vent on." He ground his teeth and continued to
circle the Senshi like a shark in the water. "If I don't kill something
pretty damn quick, I'm going to go nuts!"
"You're already nuts." Setsuna easily knocked aside his first
strike with her Time Key, barely even flinching as he snarled and
kicked at her face. The Garnet Orb she bore flared, and Naaza slammed
into the mud again. Shaking off the hit like a prizefigher, the Masho
of Poison jumped at her again, and scowled as she dropped her weapon
and grabbed his wrists, halting him in mid-air.
"Are you QUITE finished, Naaza?" Setsuna smiled slightly as she
released her grip and lowered her captive to the ground. Naaza rubbed
his wrists and shook his head ruefully, laughing slightly. She had
figured his attack was half-hearted in its nature : more of a friendly
welcome than a serious murder attempt. Not, she reminded herself, that
the two couldn't be one and the same, when dealing with Naaza.
"I suppose so," the Masho answered, and smirked. "Although I
was kind of hoping you'd hit me with another of those fun little Dead
Screams of yours."
"Maybe later," Setsuna conceded, "if you're good. What's going
on, here?"
"Damned if I know." Naaza slowly began picking his way back
over to where Jun crouched over a prone Nasuti. "They were just giving
me a lift, and then we were attacked. Why don't YOU know? There's no
way your showing up could be a coincidence."
Setsuna tilted her head to one side and looked over at the
Masho from the corner of her eye. "It isn't. I detected a severe
disruption in time and space, then followed the trail of dark energy
here. Those creatures must have used a mass-transport : convenient,
but it wreaks havoc on the continuum." Plucking a twig from a tree as
she drifted past, she began to strip it of its bark as she continued
talking. "You're lucky, actually. I was tempted to ignore it and keep
going. I'm on my way home, you see."
"Oh, that's right!" Naaza knelt by Nasuti and felt for her
pulse. After a second, he remembered to remove his undergear armour
and tried again without the metal gauntlet. "Rajura mentioned that
you got banished from time. How was that, anyway?"
"Quite..." Setsuna smiled slightly and quickly shook it off,
throwing the shredded twig back over her shoulder. "Enjoyable, but it
will be good to get home. I'm certain he'll find something to keep
himself busy with while I'm gone."
"Who?" Naaza quickly moved from Nasuti's wrist to her face,
swatting Jun out of the way and opening one of her eyes with his
fingers. "Well, I think she'll live," he commented, forgetting he had
even asked a question, "but she's going to be cranky when she wakes
up." Looking over his shoulder, Naaza turned slightly towards the
emerald-haired Sailor Pluto. "Have you met Jun Yamano and Nasuti
Yagyu, Setsuna?"
"I don't believe so," Setsuna answered as she glanced over at
the boy fuming on a nearby log.
"Once," he said, "in passing. Don't feel bad if you don't
remember : there was a lot going on at the time. At the Hikawa Jinja,
last week?"
"Only a week?" Setsuna blinked. "I thought I would have been
banished for at least a year. Time passes strangely when one isn't
actually existing in it." Her exotic red eyes downcast, the woman
slowly sat on the log next to Jun and rested her back against the
crumpled side panel of what was once Nasuti's jeep. "Do you need any
help with her, Naaza?"
"Well, let's see." Naaza carefully cradled Nasuti's head
against his shoulder as he lifted her in his arms. "It's a pretty
long walk to anywhere from here, and our ride seems a bit..." he
glanced at the crumpled pile of metal. "Out of shape. Would you mind
giving us a lift?"
**********
Setsuna, as it turned out, had absolutely no problems with
giving the three a lift, and Naaza suddenly found himself rubbing his
eyes as he tried to clear away the floating spots of colour that
teleportation always left in his vision.
"Next time," he asked as he stared blearily in what he assumed
to be the green-haired Senshi's general direction, "could you give me
some warning before you do that?"
"That's a tree, Naaza. I'm over here." Sailor Pluto sighed as
her fuku shimmered and faded into normal clothing. In this case, that
happened to be a conservative yet fashionable black skirt and blazer,
with a white silk blouse. Opening the purse she hadn't had an instant
before, Setsuna fished out a set of keys and inserted them in the lock.
"Oh." Still squinting and blinking furiously, Naaza slowly
turned around until he was facing the right direction. "Right, then! As
I was saying, a little warning would be appreciated."
"Quit whining." Jun scowled at the Masho of Poison and stumbled
slightly as he tried to carry Nasuti's weight. One of her arms was
thrown around his shoulders, and one of his arms was around her waist.
He was holding her wrist with his free hand, and looked as though he
was ready to kick Naaza in several uncomfortable places.
Setsuna tossed her purse on the counter and frowned at the
steaming kettle. "That's odd," she murmured under her breath, "I
thought that everybody would be at school by now. Why would they leave
the kettle on?" With a curious expression on her face, the woman turned
it off and looked around the kitchen. Was it Sunday, perhaps?
With little warning, the door suddenly opened and Hotaru Tomoe
stepped into the kitchen. Her purple eyes went wide as, with little
ceremony, she launched herself across the room and latched around her
adoptive parent's waist. "Setsuna! Where have you been? Everybody's
been really worried about you!"
With a kindly smile, Setsuna stroked the young girl's raven
hair and kissed the top of her head. "I had to go away for a little
while, Hotaru. There was something important I needed to do." Leaving
the rest unsaid, Setsuna gently pried the Hotaru free and looked her
in the eye. "Why aren't you in school, little one?"
"Haruka-papa said we shouldn't go, because she woke up late
and doesn't like bucket duty." Hotaru shrugged, and turned to face the
Nasuti, Jun, and Naaza. "Hello, Jun! Did you forget something last
night?"
Setsuna turned to Naaza. "Last night?"
Naaza shrugged. "What are you looking at me for? I'm not in
charge of raising either of them!"
"Uh, no," Jun said quickly, realising to his dismay that his
girlfriend had just managed to pull a third parent from somewhere.
"Actually, we got attacked by some weird creatures. I'm not sure what
they were-"
"I'm telling you," Naaza interjected, "they were undead ninja!
I know an undead ninja when I see one, and these were-"
"-but they rolled our jeep, and Nasuti got hurt." Jun finished,
doing his level best to ignore the Masho of Poison.
"Oh!" Kneeling next to the unconscious woman, Hotaru extended
her glowing hands and frowned slightly, the way she always did when
concentrating. "I can help with Nasuti, but I think Naaza's friends
are going to have a few things to say to him..."
"Did you say 'Naaza's FRIENDS'?" Jun's eyes boggled. "Naaza
doesn't have any friends! You know, not unless you're willing to count
the other... oh crap, it's you." He stared over Sailor Pluto's
shoulder, his face a mix of utter revulsion and stark terror.
Setsuna made a sour face as she glanced in the direction Jun
was staring. "What a coincidence," she said acidly, "I thought I felt
my strings being pulled."
"You flatter me." Leaning against the doorframe, Rajura winked
and took a sip from his cup of tea. "Oh, Anubis?" he called, looking
over his shoulder. "Get in here! Things have just become a trifle more
interesting." Facing Setsuna and Naaza once more, the silver-haired
Masho of Deception smiled gently. "I think," he said to Setsuna, "you
want young Hotaru to leave the room. And I think you want her to take
the woman and the brat with her."
Setsuna slowly stood up, her long green hair tumbling behind
her like an emerald cloak. "Hotaru," she said, softly yet firmly, "do
as he says. Take Jun and Nasuti into the living room, and I'll be with
you in a little bit."
"But, Setsuna! I could help, or-"
"Go, Hotaru. That's not a request." The tone of Setsuna's voice
became far less soft, and far more firm. Hotaru began to open her
mouth, but the look in Sailor Pluto's eyes shut it again, words unsaid.
Nodding quietly, Hotaru helped Jun lift Nasuti and carry her out of
the room. Anubis passed them on their way out, heading into the room
with a curious look and an empty cup. One of the two vanished when he
saw Naaza, and the other he placed in the sink.
"Hi, 'Nubie!" Naaza waved from across the room, and laughed at
the face his ersatz leader made at the nickname. "Long time, no see!
What's going on?"
"The Dark Kingdom is under attack, and we need your skills,"
Anubis explained... to Setsuna.
"When pigs fly backwards," she answered coldly, and pushed
past Rajura on her way to the living room. "Don't let the door hit you
on your way out, Uncle."
"Wait a minute, what was that? We got attacked?" Naaza looked
over at Rajura. "What did you do? That kingdom was perfectly fine when
I left it!"
"See, Anubis?" Rajura sneered, ignoring Naaza as he glared
after Setsuna's retreating form. "I told you Setsuna Meioh had no
honour."
Setsuna stopped in her tracks, spine as straight as an iron
rod. "I warned you to enjoy my trust while it lasted, Rajura. That
trust ran out the instant I saw you again. I owe you nothing."
"Absolutely true," Rajura agreed. "You owe Jirougorou Kuroda
exactly zero. Although, if you could just check the inside of your
left wrist, I think it might remind you of who you DO owe..."
Setsuna absently rubbed the wrist in question as she stared at
the door standing before her. "How could you know about that?"
"I know everything. It's one of my more charming quirks."
"You have no right to call in that marker. It isn't yours."
"Maybe, maybe not." Rajura shrugged as he reached for the door
leading outside. "However, the marker has still been called. If you
wish to answer it, we will be in Ichinohashi Park for the next-" he
checked his watch once more. "Thirty-six minutes. After that, no more
chances. Personally, I don't think you'll show up."
Naaza was next to speak. "Well, this has been fun! Bye,
Setsu-chan! We'll have to do it again, sometime!"
Anubis paused on his way out, and would probably have swirled
his cape, if he were wearing it, as he gathered his troops with his
gaze. "Come, Masho : we go alone."
The door slammed.
**********
Twenty-seven minutes later, Naaza was sprawled on a convenient
park bench and folding some newspaper into a hat. Anubis sat on a log,
absently tearing at an abandoned loaf of bread with his fingers and
tossing bits into a nearby pond. There weren't any ducks in the pond,
but he honestly didn't care. If there were, he wouldn't have had any
interest in feeding them. It was just something to do.
"You know," he said as he abandoned the loaf and began
throwing rocks in its place, "she had a point. You had no right calling
in someone else's marker."
"I didn't see you doing it, Anubis. You know she has a mark
for you, as well." Rajura had his back turned to the other two Masho,
staring intently back the way they had come. "If I'm right, I'm sure
I'll be forgiven. If I cared, I'd worry about whether I was right."
"Hey!" With a large and goofy smile, Naaza tilted his already
soaked paper hat at a rakish angle. "Check it out : got it in only my
fifty-eighth try!" The hat collapsed around his head, and he began to
pout. "Nuts!"
"You certainly are." Rajura didn't even bother looking as he
checked his watch for the hundredth time since arriving in the park.
"Eight minutes left, Anubis. Setsuna Meioh is nowhere in sight."
"Now, now, Rajura." Sailor Pluto slowly walked out of the
shadows surrounding the nearby trees, clutching her Time Key to her
chest protectively. "You should know better than to trust your eye."
"Very good," Anubis noted clinically, "I only heard you coming
a few minutes before you got here."
"If I come with you," Setsuna said to the three men, "there are
going to be certain conditions."
"First," a familiar voice said from the shadows, "we get to
come on this little ride, too."
"I only heard them," Anubis added, as three feminine figures
followed Setsuna out of the shadows, "a few minutes before I heard
Setsuna. Greetings once again, Outer Senshi."
"You know," Naaza said in a miffed tone as he looked between
Anubis and Rajura, "at least ONE of you could PRETEND to be surprised.
It would really make me feel better."
Sailor Pluto turned to the three other Senshi. "Absolutely
not," she said adamantly. "Never, nien, ixnay on the 'yes' part. No."
"Sorry," Haruka answered with a shrug, "but there's no way we
let you run off with these guys and have all the fun AGAIN. If you go,
we go. Or nobody goes."
Michiru nodded, resolute. "That's the way it works, Setsuna.
We're not sending you off into an alien dimension without somebody we
trust watching your back. And the only people we trust to do that is
us."
"Besides," Hotaru added, "you just got here! We're not going to
let you run off again that easily!"
Setsuna finally shrugged and turned to Anubis. "Fine," she
said, "condition one is that the other Outer Senshi come with me. I
want people I can TRUST on my side."
Anubis smiled at Rajura. The Spider Masho immediately put on
his most innocent face and began to twiddle his thumbs. "Well," Rajura
offered, "I guess we could be talked into letting them come along,
since they're so insistent. As a favour to them, Anubis."
"Very well," the Masho of Darkness conceded, "you have a deal,
Setsuna. The Outer Senshi can come."
"WAIT! WAIT!" Crashing through the bushes, Jun Yamano burst
onto the paved path, dragging Nasuti Yagyu by one hand. "We're coming,
too! We can help!"
"Oh, ye gods," Rajura muttered, "it's the woman and the brat
again. Can't we spray for pests like them?"
"Nasuti knows more about the Dark Kingdom and the Dynasty
than anybody!" Jun's chest swelled slightly as he placed one hand on
the woman's shoulder. "And she can probably figure out what you're up
against, too!"
"Can we take her? Can we?" Naaza clasped his hands together
and looked pleadingly at the other two Masho. "I swear, I'll clean my
room, and feed the giant octopus, and I'll even look after sedating
the Storm Senshi for a whole week!"
"She could be of use to us," Anubis whispered to Rajura. "So
far, this 'Pedri' and his people have had a distinct advantage, simply
because we know so little about them. Perhaps the Yagyu woman can help
us, the way she helped the Samurai Troopers against Arago. What do you
think?"
"Wait a minute!" Nasuti lifted her hands defensively. "I never
said anything about wanting to come! I've learned my lesson quite well,
thank you very much : I happen to be allergic to danger, fear, and
pain. So... no. Thank you for thinking of me, but NO." Nasuti looked
from one face to the other, hoping to find a shred of understanding.
Finding instead only blank stares, she decided to try again. "I have
bad luck with youja and such, you see. I prefer to avoid them whenever
possible."
Jun began laughing so hard he doubled over, clutching his
sides. "Sure," he managed to choke, "you always try to avoid youja.
You're just no good at it!"
"Like you're any better, Jun Yamano!" Nasuti stamped one foot
and sniffed haughtily. "You've been captured by monsters and daimons
just as often as I have!"
"Yeah," Jun admitted with a devilish smirk, "but I'm not scared
of them, and you are."
"I am most certainly NOT scared!"
"Yes, you are. It's okay, Nasuti : you don't have to go to the
Dark Kingdom if you're afraid to." Jun's smirk stretched, and he began
to make clucking sounds. "I'll just go by myself, and you can stay
here, where it's safe."
"Hah!" Nasuti placed her fists on her hips and leaned forward,
meeting Jun's gaze. "You'd get yourself killed if I wasn't there to
keep an eye on you! You wouldn't know the meaning of the word 'careful'
if I underlined it in a dictionary!"
"So you're coming, then?"
"Of COURSE I'm coming!" Nasuti stopped and blinked. "Wait a
minute... I didn't... I mean... I'm..." Confused, she stopped and
stared off into space for a second. Unnoticed by her, both a large
glowing gate and Yamanouchi Naotoki were rising behind her.
"All aboard!" Naaza crowed, and grabbed Nasuti by the back of
her jacket. In a single smooth motion, he hauled her over his head and
tossed her straight through the gate. There was a cut-off shriek, a
flash of light, and then she was gone.
"You heard Naaza! The gate closes in a matter of seconds!"
Feet pounding in the cement, Anubis and Rajura pushed past Naaza. As
they passed, each caught the grinning Snake Masho under one arm and
hauled him along with them as they entered the gate and vanished into
the swirling lights contained within.
"Last chance," Haruka said to Setsuna, as the two Senshi
approached the gate. A wind seemed to blast from the glowing opening,
ruffling their hair and pushing against them as they walked closer.
"Why are you two TAKING so long?" Jun raced by as fast as his
legs would carry him, jumping into the gate just as Hotaru reached
out to stop him.
"He shouldn't have gone," Hotaru said sadly to Michiru. "He'll
get hurt, or worse! We have to make sure he's all right!" Holding
Michiru by the hand, Sailor Saturn began walking towards the gate. With
a shrug, Michiru extended her other hand and Haruka caught it. Setsuna
grabbed Haruka by the wrist, and the four Outer Senshi entered the
gate together.
With a loud rumble, the gate slowly retracted into the ground,
a small cloud of mist the only sign it had ever been. In the distance,
a thrush warbled to itself, and the first rays of sunshine began to
penetrate through the clouds that had been covering it all day. In
Tokyo, at least, it seemed the storm was over.
**********
TO BE CONTINUED...