Hey, K'thardin!
How've you been, my good man? ^_^
Wow. Go away for a couple of weeks on a lovely cruise (that's sarcasm
BTW. Heh)
Ah. Well then, forget I asked. ^_^
and
come back to find this little Gem in my inbox. Heh, I'd go away more
often, but then
I'd never get any of my own works done. ^^;;
And that would be bad. Everybody knows that fanfiction needs to be expelled
from the author's system as soon as possible, or his/her head will explode.
No, really! It happened to a friend of a friend of mine...
Oh, okay, I made that up. Unless, of course, it was convincing you to write
faster, in which case every blessed word is true. ^_~
Oh well, I appologize for the lateness of this. And now on to the death
and
destruction err...C&C I mean. ^_-
Whichever you prefer, of course.
> And a Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Canadians! ^_~
My GF is Canadian. I'll have to be extra affectionate to her as it seems
I've
skipped an important holiday.
Well, I'd hardly call it an IMPORTANT holiday. But, of course, so many
things guys find unimportant seem to mean a great deal to women, so maybe
you should start making it up to her. I'm sure she won't mind. ^_^
Heh, not like I need the excuse though.
Of course not.
> Yes, I know that I originally planned to release this last weekend.
Blame my
> professors, with all their blasted essays and assignments and the like.
SIX
> IN THREE DAYS! I'm lucky I'm still alive. :b
The feeling is mutual. God I hate these deployments. Worse I hate
hearing about one
of my countries ships getting bombed.
Yeah, that'll annoy pretty much anybody from ANY country.
I'd stay in the military, if I knew we would
do something about that, but no. I know that it will likely get buried
in a sea of
politics when we really should be doing something about it.
That's the way of the world, my friend. Politicians found out a few
centuries ago that talking about problems long enough sometimes made them go
away, so now it's all they do.
But then again, I'm a Canadian. We demand the right to be told what to do.
^_^
It's sad when one has no real faith in those one works for.
No, it's COMMON. And THAT'S sad. :(
You know, I had a trouble call from a bunch of marines this deployment.
Their screen
went out on their monitor. I walked over and rolled the mouse. Screen
saver. I
shit you not. Heheheheheh.
LOL! Only in real life. That's as bad as the guy who asked me to help him
read a file from his floppy disk. The first thing I asked was "Is your disk
IN the machine?"
It wasn't. >_<
You ever wonder if the companies and/or creators ever read any of this
stuff?
Who knows? But if they do, I hope they're enjoying it. ^_^
> With a cruel scowl on his face, a winged man soared through the
> heavens. His massive ebony wings stretched wide, stiff and unyielding
For some reason the final boss theme of Final Fantasy 6 is running
through my head.
Hehehehe.
^_^
<SNIP!>
> child playing in the water. His name was Vyne, and although a new
> arrival, he was the undisputed master of the skies. His problems,
Actually, aren't those the Seekers? ^_^ Til the Airialbots began to
challenge that
supremecy. ^_^
> legion that they were, were for the moment at least very far away from
> him. He would find his prey, and destroy them quickly, the better to
> return his focus to his true enemy: Pedri.
Ah, the old Starscreem syndrome. Still, he seems a lot smarter than
Starscreem. Heh.
Well, that's not too hard. I mean, Starscream came out and admitted from day
one that he was out to get Megatron. Vyne is trying to play the perfect
little soldier until the time is right. He's a trifle more subtle.
You make it very hard to give any comments when you write near flawlessly
in these
sections I hope you know. ^_^
Sorry. I'll try to fix that. ^_^
> "Sister Holts!" In response to Vyne's call, a youthful woman
> stuck her head back up out of the tree canopy, staring in his direction
> with a calculated look of boredom. His littlest sister looked as
> though she was either just out of bed, or heading there. Both were
> likely true: her laziness was matched only by her lethargy.
Vitamin deficiency?
Could be.
Too much sex?
Not unless Tuls gets ahold of her...
Not enough exercise?
Unlikely. In fact, considering how much time she spends in bed, one has to
wonder exactly how she stays in such good shape...
This girl has a serious
sleep disorder. ^^
Yeah, that I'll agree with. She's downright addicted to it. ^_~
> "What?"
>
> "What would you have with me, Sister?" Vyne spread his hands
They do say incest is best, but then I think these guys have taken it to
almost
Tenchi Muyo levels were that the case. ^^
Feh. They're gods. Look at Greek or Norse mythology: everyone there was
related, and they never let that stop them. Zeus and Hera were brother and
sister, just like Aphrodite and Hermes, Aphrodite and Apollo, Aphrodite
and... Wait a minute, I detect a pattern, here.
Heck, Hades and Persephone got married, and he was her -what? Uncle?
Great-uncle? Somerthing like that. The only one who wasn't born out of
incest was Athena, and that's because she just popped out of Zeus' forehead
one day.
<SNIP!>
> Holts looked sleepily suspicious. "I could get back faster
> by myself, you know."
Sleepily suspicious? ^^
What? It's HOLTS. She does everything sleepily. As Garfield once put it:
"Get real. The only thing I do fast is go to sleep." ^_^
<SNIP!>
ROFLMAO!!!!!
On old joke, but one that still makes people laugh til they can't stand
up straight.
^_^
Probably because it's so true. We've all either done it to someone or had
someone do it to us. There's nothing quite so heart-warming as the way in
which siblings annoy each other. ^_~
> Vyne looked a bit worried. "Uh... Which one is the Masho of
> Deception, again?"
Sludge: Uhh...one with face like this *points to symbol on chest*, I
think.
OK, I probably could have come up with a better one, but they didn't have
a good one
for the the decepticons like that.
That's okay. I got the gist of it, anyway. ^_^
> "He has purple armour, and a patch over his left eye." Holts
> smacked her lips and began to wriggle around, nuzzling the side of
> Vyne's neck as she tried to find a comfortable position. Vyne, already
> badly overbalanced, began to find his flight much more unstable than
> he preferred.
Hey, at least he only had one passenger. Gohan once had to fly Bulma,
little baby
Trunks, AND Yajirobi back to capsule corp at the same time. Heh.
True, but then Vyne has wings, and Gohan doesn't. Vyne needs to be able to
flap those wings, and if he's too heavy, he'll fly like a rock. I think he
could carry Holts, or maybe even Erdge, but Thraw or Tytoung would be out of
the question.
> "Sorry, sis," Vyne muttered, "but I think we may need to make
> a little detour..." Veering off, he began heading back the way he had
> come as quickly as he could. Maybe if he was lucky, one of those two
> had survived the fall. He doubted Pedri would believe him if he argued
> that the Masho had leapt over the cliff all on his own, and it wasn't
> Vyne's fault that he had fallen.
But I swear! He did it! He jumped off himself!!!
Pedri: Yeah, and the tree just jumped out into the middle of the road in
front of your car, too... ^_^
You know, I remember a similar thing happening to myself when I was
younger. What
sucks is no one would believe me. Heh, I think everyone has those stories
though.
Yup. Something so unbelievable, everyone assumes you're making it up. I know
such a thing happened to me when I was little, and more than once, too.
> One of the most important lessons Vyne had learned in his long
> life was that treachery required no mistakes. His fellow siblings were
Otherwise you wind up getting turned into ash. On the upside it's
usually a really
cool badass revamped character that does you in. Heheheh.
Almost every time, actually. The worst thing a traitor ever seems to do is
underestimate the person he's betraying. Starscream was SURE that Megatron
was done for. Vegeta was CERTAIN he could beat Freeza.
So far, Vyne seems to be avoiding that mistake.
> each growing more and more agitated with Pedri's rule, but someone
> needed to keep adding fuel to the fire, or the pot would never boil.
> If he had, however inadvertently, just openly defied Pedri, he was as
> good as dead. He could not afford the delay of returning, not when the
> time was so ripe.
Pedri is THAT powerful? ^^
Uh, have I not compared him to Freeza or Megatron QUITE enough to make my
point, yet? Besides, so far all he's done is sit around and order other
people to do things. In the words of Homer Simpson:
"But look at that little guy, Marge! He hasn't done anything yet! He's going
to do something, and it's going to be good!"
^_^
> Vyne began flapping his wings even harder, doubling his speed,
> and prayed with all his might that the Masho of Deception was unhurt.
Or at least only mostly dead. Which, as everyone knows, means he's
slightly alive.
^_^
True. When working with the Masho of Deception, it's far better to merely
wish him alive than unhurt. Unhurt, he can cause all sorts of havoc. And,
indeed, goes out of his way to. Of course, when he's hurt, he gets mad, so
it's kind of a toss up. ^_~
> Floorboards creaked softly under the man's feet as he padded
> along the narrow hall. His long red hair stirred as he walked, swelling
> behind him like a crimson cape. Pausing for a moment, he nudged the
> screen open with one toe, careful not to unbalance his cargo as he
> slipped into the room.
One wonders if he has multiple outfits. I mean, the Raiden looking robes
are cool
and all, but even for a dead guy they must get boring as hell after a few
centuries
or so.
Then again, the robes are probably comfortable, and Shuten doesn't strike me
as the kind of guy who would care what other people thought of his
appearance. If they didn't like the way he dressed, he'd probably just
ignore them. Or kill them, depending on his mood.
However, I agree that the guy is in desperate need of some wardrobe. I mean,
no wonder his house is so empty...
> As rooms go, it wasn't much. In its own defence, however, it
> was a whole LOT of not much, so large that any sound loud enough would
Ah! My ideal house! Most of it nothing, except for one room filled with
nothing but
anime stuff! ^_^
Sounds like the dream house of just about everybody on the FFML to me. ^_^
> likely echo. The floor was covered in tatami mats, and the entire north
> wall was lined with giant windows. Gossamer curtains of rich purple
> silk billowed in the breeze, sweeping into the room and writhing as
> though with a life of their own. The walls were bare, bleached white
> rice paper screens with black bamboo frames.
And a single treasure chest in the middle of the room, filled by the very
same guys
who walk around putting magical items in treasure chests in the middle of
God knows
where in RPG's. ^_^
I always wondered about those. Wouldn't anybody realise they had dropped a
chest that big? And why would there only be one thing in the entire chest?
At least in FF8, they got away from treasure chests. I can't remember a
single one in the entire game. It struck me as being a bit more realistic.
> The man made a slightly sour face as he examined the cavernous
> bedroom. It was regularly and rigorously cleaned, just like every
> other section of his home. Despite that, it seemed a bit too barren for
> his tastes. The only real furniture it had was a futon and a small
Move in with Setsuana. Trust me, that will change.
Shuten: Where did you want the Prime Matrix again?
Pluto: Put it next to the Tallgeese, but to the left of the Guyver unit. And
while you're at it, move those Dragonballs over into the corner, by the
Sword of Light...
> table with short legs, crouching low to the ground. Folding his own,
> much longer, legs under him, the stern young man sat next to the bed
> and set his tray on the table next to him.
>
> The white futon was covered with violet sheets, and held a
> young girl. Her features were delicate, almost fragile, and her big
Fragile? Good word. All things considered she is rather frail, but with
a shitload
of power.
Yeah, I liked the word myself. She always looked to me like she might break
if you so much as looked at her wrong. Of course, what might come out if she
did is another matter...
> dark eyes were shut, soft raven hair spilling around her face as she
> turned her head and shifted her position slightly. The sheets covering
> her slipped down, revealing her bare shoulder. Her skin was pale,
> seeming almost the colour of chalk when contrasted against the dark
> purple sheets. She shivered, and the man gently slid the covers back
> up around her neck, tucking her in and waiting patiently by the
> bedside.
One wonders if this might not have had a positive effect in the real
world.
Likely. Shuten has a way of doing things like that. So did Kauso, back when
HE was the one walking around in people's dreams. IIRC, that was how Seiji
learned the Thunderbolt Cut...
> Hotaru nudged one of the straps of her simple white night-gown
> back into place and looked at her host with a small amount of fear in
> her eyes. "Who are you?"
Didn't she already meet him before?
Yes, and he didn't tell her squat about himself. All he said was that he was
a friend of her mother, and wanted to talk to her. Now, here he is again.
Maybe I should have stressed the "are". She recognises him, but has no idea
who the hell he IS. She doesn't even know his name, yet.
You'll notice how he dodges the question. ^_^
> Shutendoji looked confused for a moment. "That," he said
> carefully, "is a question for which there are many answers. I am a
> teacher, and I am also a student. A guide, and a fellow traveller on
> the road. A warrior, and a man of peace. I have battled the greatest
> evils known to mankind, and I have served them with equal fervour. I
> am also," he added as he lifted one of the teacups he had filled, "a
> host who will sit and talk in riddles until his tea gets cold, if
> little girls like you let him. Here."
Had an instructor in the Navy once. Taught Fiber Optic maintenance. He
was what we
called an Ex Nuke. Basically, without going into too much detail, his
first job in
the navy required him to be entirely too verbose when explaining
something. So he
gave me a bean bag to toss at him really hard when he started to do that.
Only had
to throw it at him 2 or 3 times. ^_^
Heh. ^_^
One of the funny things about Shuten trying to be a mysterious and aloof
monk is that he really isn't very good at it. He has a tendency to be quite
direct and blunt, or become so frustrated he pushes the heroes aside and
just does it himself, instead of helping them reach their goal.
> Hotaru blinked and accepted the hot cup of tea, cradling it in
> her hands and letting the heat seep into her palms. Watching the
> handsome and refined man sip quietly from his own cup, she joined him.
> The tea was stronger than she was used to, but still quite good. She
Naa...strong is boiling the Teabags for 30 minutes before. ^_^
Ah, tea you can float a horseshoe on, just like we used to get back at home.
My mother has a name for anything steeped less than twenty minutes:
dishwater. ^_^
> smiled to herself as she felt the hot fluid spreading through her
> body, and returned to examining her host. Much like the last time she
> had seen him, her first impression was of how much he reminded her of
> Setsuna. Something about the way he held himself, his back ramrod
Which is why that statement above didnt' quite jive.
Well, she recognises the person, but he hasn't told her his name, his rank,
or his serial number. She doesn't even know which mother he used to be a
friend of. He's more like a familiar stranger than anything else right now.
> "Sorry,"
> she managed to whisper. "I didn't mean to-"
>
> "No matter," he said, cutting her off with a swift motion of
Yeah, women do that to men all the time. ^^
Not to mention that Shuten really doesn't care. It's not like she offended
him or anything. Besides, Shuten has never really been one for apologies -
giving OR recieving. ^_^
> the one hand not holding his cup. "I am more than used to such stares,
> young lady. Your mother invented those stares. They never bothered me
> when she used them, and I assure you that I have nothing to hide.
> Nothing, at least, that I think you could find quite so easily."
Or likely that she would care to find. heh.
True. I'm sure that a few of his secrets are ones Hotaru would be more than
happy to leave buried. Although the one about him being her dad might
interest her a little...
> "No." Shutendoji said sharply, as he took another sip of his
> tea. "I've never met either of those two. I don't plan to meet them any
> time in the future, either. People in general bore me, with one or
> two notable exceptions." Lowering his cup, he smirked at the young girl
> as she drank her tea in confusion. "Finish your drink," he said, "and
> let's see what the leaves have to say to you."
Leaves: Screw you Hippy! We're not talking to you anymore! ^_^
Shuten: (raises eyebrow)
Leaves: Sorry. It was just a joke... sir. You aren't going to hurt us, are
ya?
Shuten: (smiles)
Leaves: Uh... how about we just go into a corner somewhere and hurt
ourselves FOR you? Sound good?
> "Oh," Hotaru breathed as the man placed it in her cupped
> hands, "it's so beautiful!" A thin wreath of intertwining gold wires
> embraced a large black opal, with swirling tints of purple and red
> as she turned it in the light. Merged with the opal until the two
> seemed to be a single piece was an ivory cameo of a demonic skull
> wearing a samurai helmet.
>
> "It's yours," Shutendoji said as he rose to his feet. A fairly
> tall man, he towered over the still sitting Hotaru. "Wear it somewhere
> that all can see, and it may be of use to you."
Yeah, and make Sailor Pluto look at her REALLY weird. ^_^
What? Just because they match... ^_^
You know...if this is the
way he visits people, Pluto must get an entirely new definition of the
term "Wet
Dream" ^_^
Well, Shuten never visited anybody's dreams in canon YST, but his
predecessor Kauso did on several occasions, so I think we can safely assume
that Shuten can do the same.
Although... Kauso was able to communicate with Shuten through the shakujo
staff. So does that mean Shuten could communicate with Kayura the same way?
Intriguing...
You and me baby ain't nothing but mammels...^_^
Naaza: Speak for yourself!
<snip>
>
> Her head was pounding, and Hotaru felt a slightly sticky patch
> on her damp and chilled face. Touching the spot, she pulled her fingers
> away and noted that her hand was coated in red. Leaning over, she
> looked at her reflection in the surface of the river. She looked like
> a drowned mouse, quivering and shaking and somehow looking even smaller
> than usual. Her skirt was torn, her left sleeve was missing, her tiara
> was on crooked, and the entire right side of her face was coated in a
> mask of red blood.
Ouch. ^^ Been through a few falls myself, and they looked about that
bad. Even broke
a few bones once.
Yup, Saturn was lucky not to break anything. I'm not saying Rajura didn't
though: he landed on rocks. There is a difference between rocks and water.
If he weren't in armour, he probably would have been killed.
So he's in all SORTS of pain, and still going. Of course, his virtue is
Endurance...
> And resting between her breasts, holding together the dark
> crimson bow on her chest, was an opal pin with an ivory cameo of a
> snarling demonic skull.
>
> "I'm alive," she whispered with a slight smile, and watched
> her reflection smile back at her. Unbidden, her smile grew, and soon
> she had to press her fingers against her mouth to suppress a happy
> giggle. "I'm alive!"
>
> "I promise," a deep and pained voice hissed, "as soon as I
> remove this boulder from my spleen, I will try to pretend that I care."
At least he didn't say he was going to correct that little oversite. ^_^
I know, he
saved her, but that was just too good to resist. Heh.
Yeah, I nearly had him say it, then realised that it made no sense. After
all, her survival was no oversight. He WANTS her alive, for some ungodly
reason.
It's probably not a reason Setsuna would like, I'll wager... ^_^
> Hotaru snapped her gaze away from her reflection, staring in
> the direction of the voice she had heard. Several feet away, on the
> opposite side of the wide and raging river, a man dressed in glossy
> purple and emerald armour was draped over a rather large and jagged
> stone. As she watched, he slowly creaked into a sitting position,
> pulling off his horned purple helmet with its silver face grille and
> letting it drop from his gloved fingers. Behind the fearsome visage,
I might have said this before, but you know, that's convenient as hell.
Even if he
loses it, when he transforms again, there it will be on him.
Well, that's up for grabs. I say yes, but in the second OAV series, the
Troopers abandon their helmets and never wear them again, even after
transforming (that's symbolic, though: they're doing it to show that they,
not their yoroi, are in control).
Which struck me as dumb. I mean, all you'd need was a well-thrown rock, and
you could kill them!
<snip>
> "I'll be fine soon enough," he responded, and took to the air,
> clearing the river in a single leap, landing heavily next to the girl.
> He stumbled slightly on landing, and fell against her, sending both
> crashing to the ground. "Maybe not right away," he allowed, "but I'll
> survive. I always do."
>
> "Do you need help?" Hotaru raised her hands, which were glowing
> dimly. "I could use my powers, and-"
>
> "If you do," the man warned, "I'll personally break off each of
> your fingers." Lurching back to his feet, he began to stagger into the
I do wonder about threatening someone who could likely kill him with a
thought, but
then I doubt that would matter to him, even if he did know it. ^^
Hotaru: How can you not be scared of me? I could destroy this whole world!
Rajura: Sure you could... If I LET you.
> bushes. "I handle my own pain, child. Save your mercy for those weak
> enough to expect it."
<Shang Tsung> Save your pity for the weak!
Yup, that'd be his philosophy all right. Or, to put it another way: he, who
is without mercy, will NEVER plead for it... He is made of sterner stuff.
^_^
> "Wait a minute!" Regaining her own footing, Hotaru began
> walking after the armoured figure. "Where are you going?"
>
> "At the moment? Away. Eventually, I hope to rejoin Anubis and
> my Empress. Setsuna and your fellow Senshi should be there also." The
> Masho of Deception looked back over his shoulder at the girl, who
> stood silently and stared at him in confusion. "Well?" he asked
> irritably.
>
> "Setsuna told me about you," Hotaru said quietly. "She said
> you're more evil than Satan."
Diablo: I have two of a kind.
Mephisto: I have three.
Baal: Full house! Weap for your souls brothers!
Rajura: Hehehehe, Eat it you amatures! Royal Flush! Now start doing
the chicken
dance like good little Prime Evils. Who's yer daddy?
^_^
> The Spider Masho smiled. "Aww," he cooed, "how sweet! She
> remembers. Now, are you coming, or did you have something else planned
Heheheh.
Well, what else was he going to do? Deny it?
> Hotaru began to shift her weight from one foot to the other.
> "I don't know... I don't think I should..."
Grimlock: Daniel, we lost in strange land. Us not go with stranger us
just not go.
It's a good point, and pretty much the one Hotaru comes to. After all, what
chance would she have of finding any of their allies by herself? She'd be
lost within a minute, and probably captured or dead by the end of the day.
At least with Rajura she MIGHT succeed...
> "Fine. Farewell, Sailor Saturn; I am not your keeper." With a
> wave of his hand, Rajura turned away and continued walking into the
> bush. Hotaru stood and watched him leave, biting her lower lip and
> rubbing her shoulder as she looked first down the stream, then back at
> his receding form, then back downstream, and finally breaking out into
> a run as she chased after him. Setsuna may have warned her, but so far
> Rajura hadn't actually done anything to hurt her, and if there was one
> thing Hotaru's life had taught her, it was that anything was better
> than being alone.
Well, she might need to relearn that lesson then. Being alone is a
terrible thing,
but sometimes who you are with can be infinitely worse.
Hehehe. And we can pretty much guarantee that when Setsuna was warning
little Hotaru about trusting strangers, Rajura was exactly (and
*specifically*) who she had in mind... ^_^
> Walking along in the forest, Rajura vaguely noticed the small
> form of Sailor Saturn tagging along in his peripheral vision. "Took
> you long enough," he snorted, and continued on in silence.
She is kinda itty bitty. I mean, even with that wound he'd still likely
outdistance
her at his normal pace pretty easily. Heh.
Especially when she's travelling with the Masho. According to my research,
Hotaru is about five feet, two inches tall. Rajura, at 5'9'', is seven
inches taller that Hotaru, and one inch taller than Sailor Uranus. And
that's OUT of his armour. In it, he's probably close to six feet. The other
Masho aren't much shorter (except Kayura - she's 5'2'', just like Hotaru...
surprise, surprise...).
<TINY SNIP>
> "I could have sworn this was where I left them," he murmured
> to himself, turning and trying to reorient himself. "Where the hell
> could two corpses get to in such a hurry?" Yes, he told himself, that
This is how Night of the Living Dead started, I think. ^_^
Give or take a corpse, yeah. Although I think Vyne wouldn't mind dealing
with zombies. I mean, most of their army seems to be composed of the undead.
> "Just a second, Sister Holts. I need to find a few bodies that
> went and moved on me." Scratching his head, Vyne placed his other hand
> on his hip and tried to do the mental calculations. First, he thought,
> they were here, and then I turned my back for a few minutes, and now
> they're both gone. Cripes, I know I wanted them alive, but did they
> have to be quite so lively about it?
This guy bitches a lot. Heh.
Well, maybe a bit. Then again, things don't go right for him very often.
Which bodes ill for his takeover attempt, doesn't it? ^_^
> "Why don't you just follow the red drips, then?" Holts asked,
> and pointed. Vyne followed her lead and noticed a small spatter of
> blood on the rocks of the opposite bank. The red splashes of fluid
> trailed off into the bushes, and Vyne smiled.
As the drum roll and symbol crash in the background. ^_^
Heh. Like YOU'VE never walked right past something twelve times while you
were looking for it. ^_^
> Resting one hand on his
> hip, the Spider Masho reached up and wiped the moisture from his face,
> rubbing his temples with thumb and forefinger. He could feel another
> migraine coming on.
Takes advil like candy, don't he?
Probably. Stress can cause chronic headaches, and I can't really think of a
job quite as stressful as Rajura's. It's no wonder he's got white hair at
the age of 21... ^_^
> And speaking of migraines, he thought with a bitter chuckle
> as Sailor Saturn came struggling out of the underbrush, the fates have
> once again thrust a little girl under my less-than-tender wing. Without
> looking, he knelt down in the water and let the river tug at his body
> as he rummaged through the silt.
>
> "Still alive, are you?" he asked with polite curiosity. "I'm
> impressed, Miss Tomoe. I didn't take you for an outdoors type."
Hence the reason the Senshi REALLY REALLY need to get some outdoor wear
for their
uniforms.
Hey, I'm not disagreeing. In fact, when we get back to them, you'll see that
the other Outer Senshi have actually changed back to their civvies after
getting out of the river: the shoes are just more sensible, and easier to
walk in. Especially for Haruka. ^_~
> Rajura pointed at the far bank, where a few broken branches
> hung by their bark to the trees they had sprouted from. "That's where
> we exited. We were so busy running, we weren't careful: broke those
> branches. A good tracker could follow that." Swivelling, he allowed his
> finger to point at the opposite bank. "The rocks there are disturbed,
> and there's scratch marks in the mud where everyone must have climbed
> out. You can still make out most of a footprint, and I'm sure only
> you Senshi are dumb enough to wear high heels in the forest."
I'm surprised they don't ask the Senshi to hand their boots to them, so
they might
hack off the high heels. ^___^
I liked that movie. Micheal Douglas was cool. Danny DeVito was pretty good,
too. ^_^
> Hotaru caught the weapon as Rajura tossed it in her direction.
> Using the back of her gloved hand, the young girl began wiping the mud
> and grasses from her Silence Glaive. "So, can you follow them?"
At least she doesn't talk to it like Sledge Hammer did with his 44. Heh.
LOL! I'd actually forgotten about that show until you mentioned it.
> "Simple. We have one advantage over our enemies: I know how
> Anubis thinks." Rajura slowly creaked his way out of the cold water
> and onto the muddy bank, kneeling and squeezing his eye shut as his
> breathing became ragged. Hanging his head low, he coughed once and
> cleared his throat. "Anubis is sore, tired, and hunted. If he were
> alone, he'd pick a nice open area, put his back against something
> hard, and go down swinging, but it's not just him. He's got Kayura
By the way he talks, Anubis has done this before. And lived to tell
about it.
Hey, I'm betting Anubis has. He looks like the type who'd try it, and he
acts like the type who'd succeed. ^_^
<SNIP>
> "The what?"
>
> "The Keep." Rajura looked at the small girl as though those two
> words were the only description she could possibly need. "My word, Miss
> Tomoe, hasn't your mother told you anything about us?"
>
> Hotaru shook her head. "No, not really. She doesn't like
> talking about any of you very much."
Too bad she's not quicker on the uptake, or she might have made a
connection between
Setsuana and Shutendouji when he was talking about her mother.
It's not that Hotaru is stupid, it's just that she doesn't honestly consider
that Setsuna could have any friends. Some thoughts are so deeply carved into
one's mind that it's hard to get around them, sometimes.
> "In essence," Rajura allowed, "yes. All I should have to do is
> walk without thinking about my destination, and my armour will
> carry me back to where it thinks I belong. A vestigial part of Arago's
Ah! A cure for Ryouga! ^_^
Not one he'd like, I wager. After all, he may never get lost, but he always
winds up in the same place, no matter what direction he walks in. Doesn't
really help too much, does it?
> spells, I'd suppose. If any one of us were to somehow try to escape
> his grasp, we would inevitably get lost, and be drawn back to the Keep,
> and his clutches. Happened to me a few dozen times, as I recall.
> Shutendoji a number of times, as well. I remember how often he'd
> disappear, only to be dragged back in a few days later. Our best time
> free was nearly a month, and that was Anubis. He ran until he couldn't
> see the Keep anymore, then hid before he could get lost and stumble
> back." Taking a deep breath, Rajura forced himself to his feet and
> staggered on.
That's actually got to suck at times. I mean, what if you were
vacationing in the
Bahamas and turned a corner without thinking and blam...back you were. ^^
Well, I see it as being more of an instinct than a teleportation thing.
Basically, their feet just naturally start heading in the Keep's direction,
whenever they aren't going to a specific place. Kind of like Ryouga's curse,
only with a destination (other than the middle of nowhere).
> Despite herself, Hotaru rose and continued following the tall
> and slender man. He had been growing steadily weaker as they travelled,
> stumbling more and more often. Despite his denial of any help, it was
> becoming obvious to the girl that he was indeed very badly injured,
> and doing his best to conceal it. Concerned, she followed after him.
> If she couldn't make him listen to her and be healed, then maybe
> Anubis or Kayura could talk sense into him.
>
> "How can I help?"
Smart girl. Heh.
Smart enough to know when she's beat, at least. If Rajura has to choose
between help and death, he'll rather die. ^_^
<snipppy snippy!>
> That gave the Masho of Deception pause. "She was..." He stopped
> and looked into the distance, a strange, almost soft look coming over
> his features as he gazed back through time to the child he had known.
> After a slight moment, his face hardened once again and he cleared his
> throat. "She was younger," he said finally. "When I first met Setsuna
> Meioh, she was much, much... younger." A peal of thunder rang out,
> catching both of the pair off guard.
And one wonders what really happened with her and him.
And one will even be told, eventually. Believe me: I know the whys, the
hows, the wheres, and the whats of everything Rajura did to Setsuna, and why
she hates him for it. All shall be revealed, but not for another chapter or
two.
Stick with me, okay? It ought to be worth it. ^_~
> "Come on," Rajura said, "we'd better get moving before it
> starts to rain."
>
> **********
>
> Several hours later, Rajura growled and tried to pull his foot
> free of the mire that had captured it. With a loud sucking noise, he
> managed to pop the extremity loose and thrust it down again, straining
> to free his other foot from the lagoon of mud that had once been a
> forest floor. Rivulets of water ran down the curves and grooves of his
> armour, pouring off of his fingertips and soaking his hair as it
> dripped down the length of his nose and dribbled from his chin. Looking
> over his shoulder, he saw Sailor Saturn. She was coated in mud, and
> shivering violently. Idly, the Masho of Deception realised that the
> two of them had more or less spent the entire day wet for one reason
> or another.
Ah. I love descriptions in the fics that I read, and I must say it's
truly a
pleasure when I read the description you put into yours.
Thanks! Some of the reason these take so long sometimes is that I really
work on my descriptions until I think I've got them right. When I read, I
always find that it's the small details that grab my attention, so I try to
include them in my story when I write.
Biggest problem I find with
most writers is that they don't put enough detail into what otherwise
might have been
a good story. I find that rather sad.
Yeah, I've read so many stories where a bit more showing and a bit less
telling could have made such a huge difference. They were still good
stories, but detail would have made them even better.
> There, standing in the middle of a vast, empty plain of black sludge,
> a single tower of obsidian jutted up like a stake plunged into the
> heart of the world.
Rather visceral imagery. ^_^
Deliberately so. The Keep is not a pretty place by any stretch of the
imagination. Note how even the plantlife stays away from it.
> The Spider Masho gestured with his head,
> and Hotaru slipped through the portal ahead of him. Ducking around the
> heavy oaken door, Rajura let it slam shut behind him with a shocking
> finality. The sound echoed through the empty hallway, richocheting
> off of bare stone and circling curiosly around the room before settling
> onto the floor in disgust.
Welcome to Castlevania. ^_^
Man, they'll WISH it was just Castlevania. The ghosts in this place a bit
less easy to defeat, if you get my drift. ^_~
> Hotaru closed her eyes, her body becoming enveloped in a nimbus
> of sparkling violet energy as her sailor fuku changed into the far
> drier school uniform she had been wearing before. Accepting the offered
> jacket, she threw it over her head, rubbing and fluffing her soft
> raven hair dry. "Thank you," she said. "I mean, for the jacket, and
> for earlier. Thank you for saving me."
>
> "I didn't do it for you, child." Rajura grinned as he undid the
> cord constraining his hair and let the silver mane hand freely down his
> back. "I did it for Setsuna Meioh. You're her child, the one thing she
> values more than anything else in this world. And I saved you." He
> chuckled cruelly as he rubbed his hands together. "It's been far too
> long since I've owned her," he said with a satisfied tone. "I plan to
> enjoy it as much as possible."
Owned her? Is that the word you meant to use there?
Caught that, did you? Yes, that's on purpose. It's another little hint as to
the relationship those two had. As far as Rajura's concerned, Sailor Pluto
was a personal possession of his. He OWNED her. And now, he figures, because
she'll owe him for saving her daughter, he owns her again.
> "That's really too bad," Hotaru said quietly. "I feel sorry for
> you."
>
> "Huh?" the Spider Masho looked at her in confusion. "What are
> you talking about, child?"
>
> "Well, it's just that you can't even save somebody's life
> without needing to find an ulterior motive. You can't even let yourself
> feel good when you're being heroic. You must hate yourself very much."
<Serial Killer on Conair>Use whatever euphamism you want, but moments of
levity
actually cause him pain.
With Rajura, that's not a bad parallel.
> "I don't think you're as bad as you want people to think you
> are, Rajura." Hotaru smiled as she finsihed drying her hair and offered
> him his jacket back. "I think you're actually really nice."
>
> "Wrong," Rajura shot back, taking his jacket and using it on
> his own hair. "You see, there's one important fact you're overlooking,
> Miss Tomoe. I don't like you. I barely tolerate you. If I didn't need
> you, I'd throw you over a cliff myself. Still might, actually."
I mean, that's like saying Galvatron or Scorponok is nice.
Hehehehe. I'm sure Galvatron at least would get a good chuckle out of it...
You know, before he turned the puny flesh creature into a pile of ash, I
mean. ^_^
> "If you meant that," Hotaru replied, folding her arms across
> her chest, "you wouldn't warn me in advance. Nobody can really be as
> cold and uncaring as you act. It's not possible!"
Read a bit of history girl. Heh, there were people who did things even
the Masho
might be in awe of. I mean how many of his own people did Stalin waste
for example?
A whole lot of 'em, I'd wager.
There's also the fact that before he even GOT his yoroi, Jirougorou Kuroda
was at least a mass murderer (that whole "1569" thing), and probably a
serial killer as well. I doubt he's gotten LESS blood on his hands over the
centuries...
> "Anything is possible, Miss Tomoe. We'll call that lesson
> number one." Rajura scowled as he began walking deeper into the Keep,
> his footsteps echoing eerily on the stone floor. "Get some sleep,"
> he called over his shoulder, "but don't stray too far from the doors.
> There are a lot of dangerous things in here."
>
> "Like what?" Hotaru asked.
>
> Never one to deny a moment its proper drama, Rajura glared over
> his shoulder and gave the yung girl the most malicious smile he could.
> "Like me," he hissed, and faded from sight. His voice, however,
YEAH!! ^_^
It's a good line because it's true. ^_^
> Hotaru smiled to herself as she gathered up the jacket Rajura
> had dropped and folded it into a makeshift pillow. "Explain it however
> you want," she whispered, "but you're still pretty nice."
This is the kind of attitude that makes those aligned with the Dark
Forces go on
genocidal killing sprees...especially when those that have the attitude
they need to
keep alive and keep close. Hehehehehe.
Some days, it's enough to drive a man sane, I tell you! ^_^
> If the Masho of Deception heard the girl, he said nothing to
> correct her.
As always a pleasure to read. I don't think my comments were up to snuff
this time,
but I've been playing sailor for the past 2 weeks, so I might be a bit
off. Heh.
Hey, don't worry about it, man! It's always great to hear from you.
This one is shaping out to be a very long story, and I look forward to
reading more
of it.
Well, I did say this would be the longest Ronin Summer yet. In the next few
chapters I may actually (gasp!) begin tying up some of those loose plot
threads I've got hanging (but not all of them, of course), but that may not
be for a while. Once again my professors refuse to realise that classes are
less important than my story, and have saddled me with a number of (ominous
thunder) mid-terms.
Anyway, until next time, farewell!
-Morgan Hudson
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