Okay. 

Imagine for a moment you are in university. 
Imagine that about half of your computer didn't join you there. 
Welcome to my life. >_<

Needless to say, sorry for the late reply. I've had some technical
difficulties that have kept me away from anything Internet-related for about
a month. The good news (for everyone who likes me - I'm sure the people who
don't could care less) is that I'm finally back on the FFML and ICQ. ^_^

 Hey, Morgan!

Hey Latin D! 
  

 Well, I couldn't help but notice that the newest chapter of one of my
 favourite series had finally been posted -- after all, you posted it

three

 times! ;-p

(sigh) And I'm very, very sorry about that. I hate when people stuff my
Inbox, so I really feel bad that I did it to everyone else. I'll try to take
steps to avoid it in the future.
  

 So yay! And let's send some comments, criticism (perhaps), and a few

general

 thoughts and questions that come to me as I read Dark Crusade. I hope

you'll

 find them useful, somehow.

I always do... ;p

 Sorry it took me this long, but I did warn you
 I've been kind of busy lately -- who would've though College was so
 time-consuming? 

Man, I've been in university for as long as I've been writing fics (almost
literally; I think I signed up to the FFML during my first week of classes).
If anyone knows that higher education and fanfic writing mix about as well
as baking soda and vinegar, it's me. ^_^

So, I'll forgive you for your late C&C, you can forgive me for my late
reply, and we'll all be friends again. Sound good?

 As always, these are but my personal flawed opinions; you
 can either agree with me, or ignore me blatantly. As long as you keep
 writing, I won't mind, not really.

I usually find your comments have the effect of making me search my brain
frantically in an attempt to explain "why" things, which only lets me delve
deeper into my characters and results in them being more complex and
interesting. 

So please, don't throw me in this here briar patch. ^_~ 
  

 Now, I'm of course replying to your third mail,

Of course.

but I thought it'd be a pity
 if our fellow FFMLers missed the introductory text of the other two

posts.

Oh, indeed. I'd hate to think someone might miss a chance to see me make a
total ass of myself. ^_^

Not that it's a rare event or anything, but you can usually count on the
show being worth the price of the ticket. :)

 > Well, here we are. It's the start of a new Ronin Summer chapter, and

that

 > means I need to strap on my kneepads and make with the begging.
 
 See, this is what I call a classy opening. Learn, people, learn!

I've always taken pride in my grovelling: I like to think I can wallow in
the mud and beg pitifully with the best of them. 
  

 > You can press the
 > "reply" button, or, if for some reason that doens't work, you can

always

 > just type my address in the old-fashioned way (you can find it in both
 > the "From:" and "Cc:" lines of this very e-mail, as well as lower down
 > in the fic proper).
 
 Or you can do all of them at the same time, and flood Morgan's inbox!

Gee, that would be pleasantly annoying... just like me! ^_^
  

 > *Whew!* Well, as I always say, an ounce of C&C is worth a pound of

pride

 > any day of the week... ^_^
 
 I don't know about pounds, but I can honestly say I'd pay many pesos of
 false pride for some comments. ^_^

Hey, pride I've got to spare. C&C I need. And only other people can give me
C&C, whereas I can feel good about myself any time I want. ^_^
  

 > In the interest of helping out anybody new to this series, feel free to
 > check out my webpage at

http://dataraven_659.tripod.com/roninsummer.html

 > for all the previous chapters of this story arc, and for all of the
 > previous story arcs in this series.
 
 Yeah, this is definitely the place to go for all of you who haven't read

the

 previous story arcs of Ronin Summer. Believe me, going thought the 60
 something previous chapters may take you some time, 

Currently, Ronin Summer is 63 chapters long. That's 2044 kilobytes of
information if you tried to save it to a disc, and about 1056 pages if you
printed it all out. 

No wonder I don't have a hard copy of this series: I might throw my back out
trying to carry it. ^_^

 but it's definitely
 worth it. ...Though, truth be told, you haven't updated the site in
 awhile -- chapter 15 is labelled as under construction, and I bet many

would

 want to read it. Just a thought.

Yeah, yeah, I know. How about I do that as soon as I finish the character
bios for Jun and Nasuti? I'll toss in Chapters 15 and 16, too. ^_^  

<TINY SNIP - SORRY!>
  

 > Now... On with the story!
 
 ...Which _did_ hit the FFML, believe it or not. I thought the new FFML
 inserted the attachments into the body of the e-mail automatically,

but...

 Technology sucks. :-p

Tell me about it. ^_^
  

 On with the C&C!

<AHH... I LOVE THE SMELL OF SNIPPAGE IN THE MORNING!>

 > The forged metal plates, with
 > their almost seamless joins and carefully meshed joints, embraced
 > nothing more substantial than smoke itself. And yet, arguably,
 > something infinitely more precious - at least to the youja in question.
 
 Um, though I know what you mean, I think there's something amiss in this
 sentence -- it lacks a verb, and though that's not always wrong, it reads
 weird to me. Perhaps you could rephrase it somehow? Like:
 
 "And yet, arguably, that same smoke represented something infinitely more
 precious - at..."

(shrugs) That sounds fine to me. Will fix! ^_~
  

 > The swirling, sooty mist that burbled inside their armour, that poured
 > from their wounds and drifted off into the void, was the very essence
 > of their selves, the core of their astral beings.
 
 Astral beings... Why am I suddenly thinking in a great YST/Saint Seiya
 crossover? ^_~

YST and Saint Seiya would probably cross over very well. Just like with YST
and Sailor Moon, the two series have a lot of similarities. Heck, they even
have a few voice actors in common: I believe that Io and Naaza were both
done by Issei Futamata, and Takeshi Kusao did both Ryo Sanada and
Wolf-Nachi... as well as Sho Fukamachi in Guyver, Youta in Video Girl Ai,
Trunks in Dragon Ball Z, Parn in Record Of Lodoss War, Clouder in
Transformers: Master Force, Casshan in Casshan: Robot Hunter, and... what
was my point? 

Oh, yeah; Takeshi Kusao rocks. ^_^
 

 > Certainly, Yoen thought as he futilely clutched one gauntlet
 > to the side of his cuirass, there had been enough of his troops doing
 > so over the past few days. First had been Enka, he recalled, who had
 > fallen at the hands of a vile creature in human form that Yoen now
 > knew was called 'Thraw'. Yoen had seen, on the night of that fateful
 > raid, as Enka was struck from behind by a dirk that tore straight
 > through his breastplate and gouted his essence faster than a tilted
 
 Gouted? I don't know the word...

I thought it's meaning would be implied by the way I used it. Sorry. 
I'd change it, but I'm not sure what I could change it to. "Gouged", maybe?
"spilled"? 

 > In the space of those few moments, two of the most experienced
 > members of the Guard had been exterminated, and Yoen had been helpless
 > to save either.
 
 Don't worry, Yoen: knowing Anubis, Thraw won't live to see the next story
 arc. ^_~

You just know how much I dislike re-using villains. ;p
  

 Which reminds me of something I noticed while reading your glossary the
 other day -- I'd never got around to it for some reason, but it helped me
 understand some things about the series and the fic itself.

Which is, of course, one of the reasons I put it there. ^_^

 Anyway, I
 couldn't help but notice that you'd listed "Anubis" as both the name the
 Wolf Masho favored and one of Shuten the Oni Priest's (don't you love

this

 alias? I've just made it up myself :-p) nicks. Was that a mistake, or
 perhaps something else?

No, not a mistake. At least, not on MY part. 

When YST was dubbed into Ronin Warriors, a lot of the characters undewent
name changes. Touma became Rowen, Shuu became Kento, Naaza became Sekhmet,
Rajura became Dais, and so on. The problem begins because the dubbers chose
to re-name Shutendoji "Anubis", completely overlooking the fact that there
was aleady a canon character with that same name. 

So in the dub, the guy we call "Shutendoji" is "Anubis", and the guy we call
"Anubis" is "Kale". 

And that's why both Toshitada Koma and Kujuurou Sasaki end up really
confused any time someone tries to do a roll call. ^_^ 

 > Twelve
 > youja, the best, the most highly-trained and empowered members of
 > their breed, and their numbers had been halved in a single night.
 
 Hmmm...

Uh-oh. 

Every time Latin D goes "Hmmm..." it means I'm about to get busted for
something. ^_^ 
  

 I remember, some chapters ago, that one of the youja (was it Shien? Or
 Kokuen?)

Chapter 13. It was Shien, talking to Kokuen. 

 told another something like "She only created you two weeks ago!"
 Actually, I'm not sure it was _two_ weeks, but the idea still stands. 

Actually, I believe it was one week. And Kokuen responded by saying that
Shien is only a month old, himself.

 How
 can they be trained in such a short period of time? I had supposed they
 were, er... born... with their skills.

Youja ARE born with their skills, but they still need to be taught how to
use them. It doesn't take long - keep in mind, these guys can train
twenty-four hours a day without needing food, water, or rest. It usually
only takes four or five days before one is considered ready to leave the
castle. Even then, they would normally be kept under close observation by
the more experienced members of the Guard for a few missions, to make sure
that they didn't screw up - kind of like on-the-job training. 

This is the first tour of duty for both Shien and Kokuen; they wouldn't be
anywhere near the kinds of responsabilities they hold if it weren't for the
fact that nearly everyone who outranks them is dead. 

It was also supposed to be an easy mission: they were escorting the Empress
to visit with two of her Masho in a castle in her own kingdom. They even had
another Masho along to help them do it. Just the kind of thing they could
risk taking the rookies along to help out with.

Funny how it's usually the "easy" jobs that always get shot to hell, isn't
it? ^_^
  

 > There had been Enka and Ichimatsu, yes, but then to lose Kusuburu,
 > Ippuku, Endan, and Kemuri as well! A mere day later, and Thraw had
 > claimed two more of their number; bold Hakuen and brave Baien, their
 > spirits lost in a vain attempt to prevent the capture of the Lady. And
 > after she had endangered herself to save them, no less!
 
 We never saw what happened after the "egg bomb" incident, didn't we? But

I'm

 guessing it was a _very_ mad Thraw and Kayura going "Oopsie?" :-p

Pretty much. ;b

 > Only four remained, maybe fewer; there was no way of knowing if
 > young Shien and Kokuen still existed.
 
 I wonder just how much it takes out of Kayura to create them. An army of
 these "elite youja" would definitely prove useful in the upcoming battle.

No can do, I'm afraid - Kayura can't just snap her fingers and make a youja.
She needs a suit of armour to hold the magical energies, or she can't even
start to make a youja.  

If she has one, it takes her about three days of work to make an "Elite"
youja. She can make two normal youja each day without tiring. She could
produce as many as five youja in one day, but she would need to take a long
nap afterwards. 
  
<SNIP-SNIP!>

 > Our existence was formed from ether, and to
 > ether we return. Our quondam members are now as they were before the
 > Lady formed them; nothing. Even their shells have evaporated by this
 > point. There is nothing to remember them.
 
 "Quondam". Nice word. ^_^

Thank you; I'm somewhat proud of it. ^_^
  

 BTW, this is a very interesting discussion (even more so for a youja 

^_^),

 but I think Shouen's reasoning is flawed. 

Well, of course it is: he isn't exactly the sort who dwells on these kinds
of questions. That's one of the things I was trying to do in this scene -
contrast Shouen as the pragmatist, versus Yoen as a more philosophical type.

 > As there will be nothing to remember us, Yoen thought with a
 > psychic sigh.
 
 Well, the thousand or so decaying gigantic bugs they'll probably kill

before

 dying would be a subtle reminder now, wouldn't it? ^_^

Yes, but Yoen is bothered by the fact that youja don't have an afterlife.
When they die, they just turn back into nothing. The bugs will decompose,
their armour will dissolve, and there will be nothing left. That is what
Yoen is dwelling on; he's bothered by how many of his troops have been wiped
out. 
  

 > The Lady is well, Shouen reminded his leader. Uncorking the
 > small container at his hip yet again, the youja placed some powder on
 > the pan of his rifle and snapped the frizzen down to cover it.
 
 You know, I had thought of this before, but I didn't think of mentioning

it

 until K'thardin did. Isn't a musket, old rifle or whatever, too weak a
 weapon to fight enemies such as youma, youja, or the like? 

Not really. Just trust me on this one. ^_^

 Unless it's
 magically enhanced or something, even the most skilled marksman could

only

 do as much with it.

It's not magically enhanced; it's just a musket. About the only enchantment
on it is that Shouen can convert it into energy and store it within the
crystal in his chest, but ALL of the Guard can do that with their weapons
(it's why Pedri's troops didn't confiscate them when the Guard were captured
back in Chapter 3). He won't be getting a new gun, either, but he MAY be
running into somebody able to add a few extras to the one he's got sometime
in the near future... 
  

 What about... Atomic Youja? No, that's already been done. :-p

Plus, I'm not sure I want Rajura or Naaza anywhere near a place that can
produce nuclear weapons. Especially not Rajura.

And ESPECIALLY not Naaza. ^_^
  

 And... kill me now, but what the heck's a 'frizzen'? ^_^;;;

On a flintlock weapon, the "frizzen" is an iron plate that snaps over the
"pan" that holds the gunpowder, keeping the powder protected from rain and
wind. When the trigger is pulled, the flint in the hammer scrapes against
the frizzen and produces the spark that ignites the powder and fires the
gun. 
  
<SNIP!>

 > It
 > might take days, even weeks, but eventually there wouldn't be enough
 > of him left to hold together. His armour would collapse, and the last
 > vestiges of his identity would float into oblivion.
 
 Well, I guess a good smith could also heal them, by repairing their

armor.

Yes, a smith can repair their wounds, but whatever strength they've lost
will stay gone until and unless Kayura is able to replace it. Stopping the
damage will just keep any more of their spirit from seeping away, and the
bit of repair they try in this chapter is really more slowing down the loss
than stopping it. 

 OR they could just buy two or three boxes of Band-aids -- that should do

it.

Actually, they DO wind up doing something along those lines. ^_^
  

 > Shouen, as well, had tried with little success
 > to staunch his wounds; Yoen sensed the ripples of pain that writhed
 > around his colleague with every motion. As he watched, Shouen bent
 
 So they can feel pain? I'd have expected them to steadily weaken as their
 essence drifts away, but why would they be in pain? After all, they have

no

 flesh, nor soul, according to what they said.

Well technically it would impossible for them to feel pain: with no physical
forms, they can't have nervous systems. However, I'd imagine that having
small bits of your spirit tearing off of you and drifting away on the breeze
would be close enough to qualify. They are capable of emotions; pain can be
mental as much as physical. 

 > With a sharp tug, the youja tore the coarse grass from the ground and
 > held it over a gash in his pauldron, black mist seeping through the
 > matted plants.
 
 YOEN: Oh, I hadn't thought of that! You'll stop the bleeding using grass

and

 mud, right? You're definitely the cleverest youja She has created!
 SHOUEN: Huh? This is only camouflage.
 YOEN: ...

YOEN: Well, I suppose that still makes you kind of clever...
SHOUEN: Look! I'm a bunny!
YOEN: ...Or not.
  

 I've already read the chapter, so I can tell I'm not going to find any
 grammar errors or typos. They used to be there, but you've definitely

gotten

 much better over the chapters and story arcs. Nowadays, it's almost
 impossible to criticize your grammar, and I find myself "enjoying the

ride"

 most of the time. So kudos, and keep at it. ^_^
 
 But then don't complain if I snip... ^_~
 
 <YEP!>
 
 > "Are you ABSOLUTELY sure this is the right way?" The speaker
 > had a sprightly tone, mocking and yet cheerful at the same time.
 
 Gee, I wonder who said that... ^_~

Beats me. I'm guessing it must be Naaza. ^_^

 BTW, I've been waiting to read more about Jun and the Dream Team for

awhile

 now. I love how they blithely walk into the lion's gaping jaws, and still
 manage to escape unscathed most of the time. 

Yep, they've been pretty lucky, so far. 

 Of course, "most" is the key
 word in that sentence, as a certain sentient sword which will likely

cause

 our hero-wannabe a lot of troubles would point out.

Well, Jun's problem is that he has more luck than anyone deserves. The only
down side is that it tends to switch between good and bad with no rhyme,
reason, or warning. ^_^
  
<SNIP!>  

 > "Okay," he sighed, "are you here to arrest someone new, or
 > just back up the other pair? And do you, by any chance, have anything
 > vaguely edible? We haven't eaten since I got here, and I don't like
 > the way all these youma have been eyeing me."
 
 JUN: Now I know how candies fell...
 LIGHTSTORM: Did you say lollipop?  ^____^
 JUN: ...
 
 BTW... What youma? The only youma in that group so far is Takenoko,

right?

 I'd think Jun would be able to tell youma from youja, considering his
 previous "close encounters" with the creatures. Not that youja need to

eat,

 based on what Shouen said later on. Perhaps some youma have already

joined

 the party?

No, nobody new has joined the party. Jun is just confused: he thinks that
the Storm Senshi are youma. Since he saw them battle the Inner Senshi at
Rei's temple back in Inner Battles chapter 9, he knows that they aren't
human. And, as you said, he knows a youja when he sees one, so he knows they
aren't youja. As far as he knows, the only left for them to be is youma. 

<SNIP!>

 > Large bows of midnight black graced her chest and
 > back, while a pleated skirt of the same velvety material swirled
 > around her hips. Blonde hair framed her face to hang at her shoulders,
 > a far cry from her once ankle-length mane, and her lips were quirked
 > in a smile.
 
 Oh, the wonderful Storm Senshi, or, as I like to call them, "The Spicey
 Storm Senshi". Y'know, I still don't forgive you for taking Firestorm out

of

 the series -- she was hot! :-p

Given her appearance, her temper, and her flame powers, I'd have to agree
with you -- she was hot in MANY ways.

But she's also about as dead as an elemental can get...
  

 BTW... Kayura's the sovereign of two kingdoms, right? 

Yes, the Dynasty and the Dark Kingdom. She's got borders that even ancient
Rome would envy: they all touch each other. ^_^

 IIRC, Pedri's invasion
 met so little resitance because the Dark Kingdom was caught off guard

(which

 is understable considering what had happened in the DK two or three story
 arcs ago). 

Which, it should be pointed out, was only a week ago in story time 
(at least, according to Jun when he was talking to Sailor Pluto in Dark
Crusade 5). So all things considered, it's understandable that things are
still in a real mess. 

 I'm not sure how many days have passed since the first battle (as
 they tend to stretch for chapters and chapters in your fics, not that I'm
 complaining), 

It's been six days. Here's the timeline: 

Day 1: Chapters 1 and 2 take place.
Day 2: Chapters 3,4,5,6 and 7 all take place.
Day 3: Chapters 8,9,and 10 take place. Chapters 11, 12, and 13 start.
Day 4: Chapters 11, 12 and 13 end. Chapter 14 begins.
Day 5: Chapter 14 ends. Chapters 15 and 16 start.
Day 6: Chapters 15 and 16 end. 

 but I was expecting some kind of reaction from the Dynasty's
 troops. Word of the war should've reached the ears of the people in

charge

 of the army by now, don't you think? After all, you can't go killing a
 village and expect it to remain a secret for long.

On the contrary, Pedri killed off that village to KEEP a secret; that town
was close enough to the castle that the people in it could have seen his
fortress when it flew in back during chapter 6. So, he killed everyone in
the town - they can't go and get help if they're all dead. 

The Dark Kingdom has just been through a very long and bloody war; they're
still rebuilding, people are in transit, and communications are spotty at
best. At the start of Chapter 1, in fact, Rajura was dealing with the fact
that he had been unable to receive any communication from the Empress,
remember? It turned out that Ligiea had been eating her messengers.
Considering that Pony Express would still be a viable form of keeping in
touch in this place, it's not so suspicious for a few people to go four days
without hearing from someone. 
  

 I'm not saying that this should worry Pedri. After all, he's got more

than

 enough troops himself to fight off such an offensive, 

Indeed he does. Pedri probably has more troops than Kayura has blades of
grass in her kingdom: he just needs to toss some bones in a bit of goo and
he's all set. ^_^

 but I think a mention
 of this would be in order. Or perhaps the troops _are_ coming, and Jun

and

 co. will meet them soon? THEN they'd have an army to back them up. ^_^

The nearest troop deployment of youja is four hundred miles away from Jun's
current location. It would take him almost a day and a half (32 hours, to be
exact) of running to get there. And frankly, Jun doesn't seem to be acting
as though he's in any kind of hurry - he keeps stopping to eat, or rest, or
check what direction they're going, and he's already been talked into
helping one stranger along the way. If he keeps getting distracted this
easily, I doubt his group will be able to reach those troops within a week. 
  

 > "Gee," she said whimsically, "Empress Kayura sure seems to
 > want us pretty bad. And to think, we never even knew that she was
 > interested..."
 
 Heh. Now _that's_ a subplot I wouldn't mind you exploring. :-p

Sorry man, but even Lightstorm's just kidding about this one. ;b
  

 > She
 > was dressed in a navy blue sweater that was far too small for her; the
 > sleeves ended at her forearms and the hem strained to cover her hips.
 > The only other thing she wore was a smaller woman in a blue leotard,
 > carrying her like a living backpack. The petite, blue-haired girl
 > seemed to be sleeping, chewing absently on her comrade's ponytail as
 > she slumbered.
 
 THUNDERSTORM: Hey, guys, she's talking in her sleep. *grins*
 ICESTORM: ...must...study...arithmetic...grades...school...
 THUNDERSTORM: ... ... ... ... Oh, crap! We've got the wrong one!

Heh. ^_^
  

 > "Very well," the blonde replied airily, "I shan't." Raising
 
 Hah! A classic. ^_^

(bows) sometimes the old ones are too good to resist. ^_~

 > She smiled. "Is that about it? Because we'd really like
 > to get around to ignoring you as soon as we can."
 >
 > "Yeah, okay," the dark-haired boy interjected. "Hang on a
 > minute there, Lightstorm; I think these guys were going to tell us
 > something about food." He was wringing his hands and gazing hopefully
 > at Yoen and Shouen as the two youja shared a confused look.
 
 JUN: Food... me wants food... *drools*
 YOEN: *Um, Shouen, I do not like the look this human brat is giving

me...*

 SHOUEN: *Ah, don't worry. After all, we are nothing but mist, smoke,
 remember? No flesh.*
 YOEN: *Oh, yeah. Phew. Thank Kayura for small miracles.*
 
 Though, if I were Takenoko, I would watch my back. He's part bull, after
 all, ne? :-p

Hence his comment earlier about how the Storm Sensho kept talking about
hamburger and steak, and his mentioning that a less laid-back minotaur would
have smeared them by now.
  

 > Yoen shrugged and shouldered his bisento, his other arm snaking
 > around his torso and clamping down on the wound in his side. Shouen
 > glanced briefly at the boy and let his eyes dim slightly. They vaguely
 > recalled the small human from earlier, but he had seemed mostly
 > harmless, and not worthy of much attention.
 
 Well... he still IS mostly harmless. Of course, being surrounded by three
 incredibly powerful girls and a minotaur, and acting the part of the

leader

 of such group might draw some attention to you.

There's a lot to be said for people with very powerful friends, but on the
other hand, Jun has always had powerful friends. I think the difference is
that when he says something now, his 'friends' are more likely to actually
listen to him and then do what he suggests. 
  

 And then there's the cursed sword... _that_ will make him popular. :-p

Or at least force a certain pair of youja to re-evaluate him a little, eh?
^_~
  

 > The brush rustled one more time, as Kokuen and Shien emerged
 > and joined the rest of the straggly group. On noticing their
 > companions, Shien's eyes flashed yellow and a wave of unadulterated
 > glee surged throughout the clearing, so vivid that it seemed as if
 > Yoen could cut it with his blade. Kokuen, on the other hand, looked
 > ready to hide under a convenient rock.
 
 Um, I have to wonder about this. You've showed us that these youja have
 telepathic abilities of some sort. Shouldn't they have been able to sense
 each other, to notice the presence of their comrades when they were so

close

 to each other? After all, I doubt a telepathist can only talk to people

in

 his field of view.

I've actually put some thought into this: youja must not be able to listen
in on each other's thoughts all the time, or they would be walking around in
a constant cloud of babble. They wouldn't know what messages were meant for
them and what they were merely "overhearing". Plus, they would have no
privacy. 

Therefore (in MY stories at least, which are the only ones thus far where
youja HAVE telepathy), youja telepathy works kind of like a cross between a
radio or a telephone: one has to set themselves to "send" along certain
psychic "frequencies" (brainwaves instead of radio waves, if you will) and
"recieve" from them. Every youja "listens" on two different levels - one
"public" level, which all youja have in common, and a "private" level, which
is unique for each youja. In this case, Shouen and Yoen both opened
themselves up to "private" communication with each other and sent messages
back and forth telepathically. Shien and Kokuen, who wouldn't be expecting
to run into Yoen and Shouen, simply weren't "listening" for them. Yoen and
Shouen weren't "listening" for Shien or Kokuen, either. Thus, they did not
sense each other coming. 

In case you're interested, if a youja "sends" to another youja who is not
"recieving", both sides will recieve psychic "static"; basically, it feels
like an itch on the inside of their minds. That lets the reciever know that
someone is trying to send to him, and lets the sender know that the other
youja hasn't recieved yet - almost like the dial-tone on a telephone. Youja
can also hold multiple "private"  conversations with different members of
their breed at the same time, although there may be some telepathic
spillover, allowing other youja "talking" to them to catch snippets of the
different conversations. 

"Public" conversations override every other form of telepathy in youja: it's
like someone yelling at the top of the lungs in your ear while you're
talking on the phone. "Public" is used for relaying orders or tactical
commands in the field; "Private" is for more personal communication. 

In addition to all of which, of course, they also talk. 
  

 > "HAH!" Shien blurted out, pointing at his ebon-armoured
 > partner. "You're not in command any more, Kokuen! That means I don't
 > have to let them live!"
 
 _Let_ them. Oh, sure. I wonder what went through Shien's head when
 Thunderstorm became a catlike monter of pure light... "Oh, so the

electric

 chair is out of the question. Ah, what the hell, we still have the
 gallows."??? I mean, it should be obvious to him by now that killing the
 Storm Senshi will NOT be so easy, at the very least, unless he's not only
 stubborn but thick-headed.

Shien's not thinking of that at the moment. He's just glad that he won't
have to follow Kokuen's orders any more - he has yet to agree with any of
them, for anybody keeping score. To his credit, though, he WILL do what he
is ordered to do, and he doesn't drag his feet about doing it... he just
thinks it's a really stupid idea half of the time. ^_^
  

 Besides, I thought he _had_ realized how powerful the gals actually were.

He

 did tell Kokuen that tying them would have been a waste of time and a

very

 stupid move. ...Okay, so maybe he wasn't that emphatic, but my point

still

 stands. ^_^

True, Shien has realised how powerful the girls are; that's why he hasn't
actually tried to do anything. Think of it as him putting his objections on
the record; he just wants everybody to know beyond any shadow of a doubt
that he disagrees with the current course of action in general and Kokuen's
leadership in particular. 
  

 > "That's nice," the human said absently, waving one hand at
 > the pair of youja as though to fan them away. "Now, uh, you DID say
 > you had food, right?"
 
 Heh. Writing Jun, just like in Naaza's case, must be fun. Their

characters

 just lend temselves to witty dialogue -- which doesn't make _writing_

that

 dialogue any easier. Good work there.

Thanks. The dialogue is both the most fun -and most difficult- of all the
parts I write. It's fun coming up with this stuff, but it can be really hard
coming up with a response that seems... "Jun-like" enough for a given scene
at two in the morning. ^_^
  

 The sarcastic remarks, though, those are all Rajura's. ^_^

Well, that and the apathy. One of the most fascinating things about writing
his character is that he just doesn't seem to give a damn about anybody.
That can lead to some interesting situations from time to time. 
  

 > "Woah!" Lightstorm leapt to her feet, causing Takenoko to
 > wince as her high heels dug into his shoulders. "And just who the
 > hell said you were LETTING us live, jarhead? Don't go getting any
 > fancy ideas just because we've been nice to you..."
 
 ...and the rest.
 
 K'thardin is right, y'know: they _are_ getting nicer as the chapters pass
 by. Soon, they might even start to act like their respective...

templates.

Eh... maybe not THAT far. I'm afraid the Storm Senshi will always consider
their other selves to be a little bit on the sissy side. The Dark Kingdom is
a harsher place than Earth is; the Storm Senshi will have to have a slightly
rougher edge to them if they want to survive.

 Thunderstorm will start mentioning his old sempai every so many minutes,
 Lightstorm will call herself Sailor L, and Icestorm... okay, so she'll

never

 be like Ami. But that was to be expected. :-p

I'm a fanfic author. I *could* work miracles, but I would then be accused of
sloppy writing and OOC behaviour. ^_^ 
  

 > "Uh, about that food..."
 
 The saying "You can't think on an empty stomach" is certainly accurate in
 Jun's case, don't you think?

Jun is very good at focusing on what matters: to him, details like who's
under arrest can wait until after he's gotten something to eat. After all,
it's been at least two days since he last ate, and he's gone through a LOT
of physical activity since then: he's got to be pretty hungry.
  

 TAKENOKO: Damn! Isn't that Pedri, his six brothers and sisters, and an

Army

 of thousands of minions bent on the destruction of this dimension?
 JUN: Oh, I'll go ask them if they have some spare food. You never know...

TAKENOKO: You're talking crazy, boy!
JUN: Hey, Pedri just might feed us before he kills us! He seems like a
reasonable guy! You never know! It could happen! 
  

 > "You are prisoners of the Empire, girl," Shien intoned. "I
 > should think that your ultimate fates were obvious. Having been found
 > guilty of treason, our Empress will no doubt have you executed on
 > sight."
 
 KAYURA: Execute them, my loyal youja!
 YOUJA: Right away, oh, Kayura!
 [The YOUJA die in the blink of an eye. Oops.]
 STORM SENSHI: Okay, who's next?
 KAYURA: Oh, yeah? Go, my dear Masho!
 NAAZA: ...er, Nasuti, is that you? Wait, I have something I wanted to

tell

 you! *flees*
 ANUBIS: ... ... um, er... right! I have to go choose the tuxedo for our
 wedding, my Queen. I'll be back in two or three... months? *flees*
 RAJURA: ...Don't even look at me.

The really funny thing is that would probably be Rajura's actual reply if
this ever happened. He's not exactly the type of person who would take well
to being sent on "errands" of any kind, let alone the dangerous sort. ^_^
  

 No, but seriously, I doubt even the Masho could beat the three of them of
 together in a fair fight, IF they're pissed off and feel like fighting

back.

 Especially if they go all "elemental" on them. :-p

I don't know about that... the Masho might do pretty well. 

Anubis, for example. As the Masho of Winter, he would shrug off Icestorm's
attacks as if they were a gentle breeze. Thunderstorm wouldn't be a problem
either; after battling Seiji Date so many times, I'm sure Anubis is used to
fighting people who throw lightning bolts around. He'd only be in trouble
fighting Lightstorm: light is his one weakness. 

Poor Naaza. No energy attacks: he'd be screwed, with no way to hurt
Thunderstorm or Lightstorm. Still, I think he'd be a tough nut to crack. 

Rajura would just use his illusion powers to trick the three into battling
each other to the death, then go read a book or something.

Kayura would ownz them. The shakujo staff alone would be powerful enough to
send them screaming back to wherever they came from; combined with the Oni
yoroi, that little girl could probably kick Vegeta in the shin and get away
with it (keep in mind - the Oni yoroi absorbs energy from attacks to make
the bearer even stronger).

If it was four on three, the Masho would be sure to walk out the winners, if
for no other reason than that they could double-team the most dangerous one,
triple-team the second most dangerous one, quadruple-team the last one
standing, and break for lunch. 

 > Yoen hemmed thoughtfully as he overlooked the two bickering
 > youja. Both Shien and Kokuen had valid points, but he wasn't sure he
 > approved of the zealousness with which they seemed to be anticipating
 > the Lady's wishes.
 
 Um, actually, only Shien was "anticipating" her wishes". Kokuen, in fact,
 just wants to follow her orders as closely as possible. 

True, true.

 I think Yoen would realize as much.

Good point, but I don't want Yoen to seem too strongly against Shien on this
one. Personally, I think he just doesn't want to be stuck with the decision
himself, which is why he agrees to join Kokuen's group, instead of making
Kokuen join his. 
  

 <SNIP, AT LAST!>
 
 > "What? No food?" Jun looked as though the youja had just told
 > him there was no Santa Claus. "Why not?"
 
 NASUTI: Jun... there's something I have to tell you. There's no Santa

Claus.

 JUN: Okay. Do you have food? Food! I want food!

NASUTI: Boy, that was easy. Uh, I also want you to mow the lawn. 
JUN: Give me food, and it's a deal!
NASUTI: Wash the dishes?
JUN: Deal!
NASUTI: Hmm... what else could I ask for?
NAAZA: (whispers in her ear)
NASUTI: You want me to ask him... to move to AUSTRALIA?
NAAZA: Depends. Is that the place with the penguins?
NASUTI: No. It has kangaroos and koalas.
NAAZA: Oh, good! I was afraid he might annoy the penguins. 
NASUTI: What about the kangaroos and koalas?
NAAZA: Kangaroos and koalas I am indifferent to. Penguins I like.
  

 > "We are youja. We do not eat, drink, sleep or breathe. To us,
 > rations of any kind would merely be excess and useless baggage."
 
 SHOUEN: We are youja. We do not pee, do drugs, or vote. To us, there's

only

 ally or enemy, black or white, raw or overdone. We. Are. Youja.
 
 Geez... this is beginning to look like a MSTing. Please, give me

something!

 A typo, a run-on, something! :-p

Sorry; gotta find 'em yourself. ^_~
  

 > concentration on his face, the dark-haired boy looked around the
 > clearing. Suddenly he froze, his body stiffening as though electricity
 > were coursing through him.
 
 THUNDERSTORM: Gotcha!
 JUN: Argh!
 
 BTW, you should give these girls new names. 

Working on it; Thunderstorm already has one, kinda. In chapter 13, Icestorm
called her "Raiu-chan". I'm pretty sure that's the only time she's called
her anything but "sis" in all of Dark Crusade. 

 First, their actual nicks must
 be impractical, not to mention having an actual name would be important

to

 them if they really consider themselves humans. 

I'm not sure they consider themselves to be humans. Frankly, it's hard to
say WHAT they consider themselves, other than sisters. 

 Second... it's a pain to
 type the actual ones while holding the 'shift' key down. And I always

forget

 'caps lock'. :-p

Oh, well if THAT'S the problem, then I'll get right on that and change their
names as soon as possible! ^_^

Seriously, a name change for the Storm Senshi IS in the works. Some costume
changes, as well (Thunderstorm is certainly well on her way to one). 
  

 > "Takenoko," he asked calmly. "How hungry
 > are we? I mean, seriously."
 
 TAKENOKO: *GRRRRRRRRRRRR*
 JUN: Hey! No need to growl at me.
 TAKENOKO: That was not me. T'was my stomach.

Why am I suddenly reminded of Bruno the Bandit? 

Must have been that "t'was" in there. ^_^
  

 > "Starving," Takenoko answered, rubbing his muscled stomach
 > with a hand the size of a serving platter. "Why?"
 
 Heh. Nice... simile? ^_^;;

I think that's what it is... ^_^
  

 > "Because we're gonna eat something, man. We can't keep walking
 > like this, or we're bound to keel over." Jun cleared his throat and
 > walked over to where one of the mantid corpses lay sprawled on the
 > ground, ichor pooling from where Yoen's bisento had cleaved it from
 > thorax to abdomen.
 >
 > "Hey, Takenoko," he asked, "you ever have lobster?"
 
 TAKENOKO: Yeah, sure. I ordered lobster every time I went to my favourite
 French restaurant, down there at the Pit... *shakes head* Idiotic kids

these

 days...

JUN: And do you want white, or red wine with your giant insect?
TAKENOKO: Foolish boy! Everyone knows that giant insects are only eaten with
white wine!
JUN: Really? I was planning to use a fork.
  

 > "Those aren't lobsters, Jun. They're giant bugs."
 
 The key word being 'bugs'. How does he even know they're edible? Their

flesh

 might be poisoned, 

At the very least. They also might be carrying all sorts of microbes, or
viruses, or what have you - they aren't even from the Dark Kingdom, not that
Jun is either. 

 and not checking such things could be fatal...
 
 > "What did I tell you about getting worked up over little
 > details like that?" Jun asked with an amused smirk.
 
 One word: Ewww! :-p

Hey, Jun's just learning how to be pragmatic, that's all. ^_^
  

 <SNIP!!!>
 
 > "Yep," Jun said with a smile, "and since the sun moves from
 > east to west, that means that the shadow we see is pointing east.
 > We walk in the other direction, and we'll know we're heading west.
 > Neat trick, huh? I learned it when I was a kid."
 
 On Earth. K'thardin is right here: this IS another planet.

Planet, dimension, same thing. ^_^
  

 I might expect Jun to overlook this --he certainly has many other things

to

 worry about at the moment-- but shouldn't the youja correct him? Of

course,

 you could have it that the shadow also points east in that planet, but I
 think someone should point this out to Jun.

If he's right, why correct him? I doubt the youja would even bother with
doing it if the sun didn't move from east to west in this dimension, too. 

<QUICK SNIP!>
  

 <SMALL SNIP -- YOU CAN'T COMPLAIN>
 
 > "Okay!" A small voice drifted down from the girl as she did her
 > best to graft herself to the branch she was hanging from.
 
 Graft? I guess it's okay, but it's not the commonest of verbs. At least

not

 among the ones you can use here.

Ah, but "graft" is a term used in botany when, for example, a tree branch is
attached to another tree in such a way that it actually becomes part of the
tree it was grafted to. So it seemed a good description of what Icestorm is
trying to do here: become one with the branch. ^_~
  

 > Grumbling under his breath, Jun slid a katana blade out of the
 > belt loop in his pants and tossed it aside. No point letting it get
 > caught on something, he figured.
 
 Like his body. Sharp thing do tend to stick into your body when you fall

on

 them.

Well, yeah, but he was thinking of it getting tangled with a branch or
hooking on a tree limb and ending up stuck in the tree himself. 

In retrospect, that might have been preferable to what ends up happening.
^_^
  

 Now that I think about it... the Masho's armors are repaired every time

they

 use their Yoroiden, right? 

Yep. Every time they summon their yoroi, it appears undamaged. 

 If this is true, Naaza should have all of his
 katana the next time he uses his, and thus the one Jun has would...
 disappear? 

I believe that would be the truth. 

 Or maybe a copy is created? How does that work?

I think Jun's sword would have disappeared. They never really covered it in
canon, but that seems most likely. 

Not that it matters, because now he won't have that sword anywhere near him
when Naaza next transforms. So we'll never really be sure. 

 > Rolling up his sleeves and rubbing
 > his hands together, he turned to the tall young woman standing next
 > to him.
 >
 > "Mind giving me a boost, Thunderstorm?"
 
 THUNDERSTORM: Sure. *deep breath* You can do it, Jun! Go, go! You're da

man,

 my hero! Climb like the wind!
 JUN: ... That's not what I meant.
 THUNDERSTORM: I know.

Heh. ^_~

 > The brunette stared blankly at him, then laced her fingers
 > together and held her hands out at waist level. Jun stared at her
 > hands, and placed his hands on his hips.
 >
 > "Bit of a high step for a boost, isn't it?"
 >
 > "If you're expecting me to bend over," Thunderstorm replied
 > calmly, "you should've lent me a longer sweater. Jump up, and I'll
 > boost you."
 
 Ah, I hate you Morgan.

Well that's a shame. ^_^

You really have to work on your fanservice. As in, I
 want more! :-p

Isn't that good? Always leave 'em wanting more, I say! ^_^
  

 <SCISSORS TIME>
 
 > "Hey Icestorm," he called up to the petrified girl dangling
 
 Hey, Icestorm...
 
 ...Can... Can it be true?! A NITPICK! Finally!
 
 And here I thought I wouldn't be able to find one this time around. Thank
 God. ^_^

Yeah. I think we were both worried for a minute, there. ^_^
  

 > With a yelp of shock, Sailor Icestorm
 > dropped towards the earth like a blue-haired meteor. Reacting on what
 > what was probably instinct -but which he would later argue was sheer
 > idiocy- Jun thrust out his arms and lunged forward in an attempt to
 > catch her.
 
 Oops. Well, wouldn't have the sword saved him if things had taken a turn

for

 the worse? After all, I doubt it'd let Jun break the blood pact that

easily.

Probably not. On the other hand, we're still not sure what it wants from
Jun. Could be that getting his pesky soul out of the way would just make him
the perfect puppet for it. 

 So jump away, Jun! You only might lose your free will. ^_~

If I'm ever on a roof ledge, remind me not to call you. ^_^

 > Given his own somewhat untenable position at the time, this
 
 Untenable? Um, I'm not sure if this adjective fits in here. Heck, the

first

 time I read this I thought you'd misspelled "unstable". Which might be

the

 case, but I doubt it.

No, I meant untenable. I'm using "position" as in "situation", 
not "place" - the situation of Jun trying to balance on the branch. When
used to describe a situation, "untenable" means something which is "no
longer able to continue". 

However, this has apparently caused some confusion, so I'll change it to
something a bit more easy to understand. Forgot that there was more than one
meaning for both words. Stupid English. ^_^

I'll just say "unstable situation". It's a bit clearer. 

 > By the time he actually registered the sensation of his
 > toes scraping off of the branch -and one shoe off of his foot- both
 > branch and shoe were distant memories. The world was a blur of green,
 
 Though I know what you meant here, this sentence is a bit awkward, IMO. 

Yeah, I know. It's awkward as hell. >_<

 I
 think it's the parenthetical statement that doesn't do it for me -- how

does

 a shoe scrape off of a foot, anyway? Dunno, perhaps it's just me, but I'd
 reword it.

You know, that one sentence took me DAYS? I was working with it left, right,
and centre, and this was the best I could do. I just plain couldn't find a
way that didn't come out awkward. I'll take another shot at it, but I can't
promise much. 
  

 > and one which was blurring far faster than he wanted it to. The sound
 > of screaming filled his ears, and his lungs burned as he fell. Smaller
 > twigs and needles scratched at his face and body like skeletal
 > fingers, and Jun actually had a moment to hope that they didn't wind
 > up splattering themselves on one of the wider, stronger tree limbs
 > below them.
 
 Nice description. I really felt like I was there. That deserves...
 
 <...A SNIP!>

Well thank you. It's not every author who can earn a snip of that quality,
you know. ^_^
  

 > "Hey, Takenoko," he said, in an attempt to make conversation
 > while he waited for the feeling to return to his feet, "What's the
 > weather usually like around here? I mean, do you get many freak
 > snowstorms this time of year?"
 
 ...feet, "what's...
 
 or
 
 ...feet. "What's...

Whoops. Messed up my capitalization. That should be "...feet,"what's..."
Will fix! ^_^
  

 > "None, ever." Takenoko crossed his arms across his barrel-like
 > chest and huffed. "We're too far south for that kind of weather, Jun.
 > At least, at this time of year. Maybe up closer to the poles there's
 > blizzards right now, but if there's any around here, it'd be the first
 > time in about a thousand years. Why?"
 
 So they're in the planet's northern hemisphere, uh? 

Well... they're pretty far south of the northern pole. I think of them as
almost brushing the equator. But yeah, they're in the northern hemisphere. 

It may only be by a few metres, but it's the northern hemisphere. ^_^

 I've always wondered
 whether the Dynasty and the Dark Kingdom were the only ones in the

planet...

 It seems improbable, and it'd be interesting to know more about the land.
 Just a thought.

As empires tend to do, both the Dark Kingdom and the Dynasty advanced and
spread until they couldn't any more; they hit the borders of another empire
that was of equal strength. In this case, that happened to be each other.
The only other place to go was Earth, and they both tried that. They got
their butts whomped. Ergo, the only other way for them to expand was into
each other. Thus, the war. 

So to answer your question, yes, the Dark Kingdom and the Dynasty take up
this whole planet. 

Actually, they must take up several planets, put together; you have to
figure that the Dark Kingdom was as least as big as the Moon Kingdom, or
they never could have destroyed it. And the Dynasty can't be smaller, or it
would have been crushed by the DK. Hmm...
  

 BTW... did you ever tell us HOW did Pedri choose the Dark Kingdom as his
 next victim? Maybe it was just back luck... A lottery gone awry, if you

know

 what I mean.

Oh, not luck: strategy. The Dynasty and Dark Kingdom had been warring for
some time. Pedri has been watching them: he just waited until the war was
over, then swept in to take out both realms while they were still weakened
from fighting each other. He'll be explaining that officially in the next
chapter, actually. ^_^
  

 > He looked down at Jun with
 > a question in his gaze, then snorted and shook his head, placing his
 > hands on his hips and examining his hooves as though someone had
 > written the answer he was looking for there. This must be what uffish
 > thought looked like, Jun decided, and waited patiently for the
 > minotaur to finish.
 
 "Uffish"? Um, I have to brush up on my vocabulary. What does it mean?

It's not a real word. Lewis Carroll made it up in his poem, "Jabberwocky".
The verse in question is: 

"And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!"

Jun (who is being a bit of an ass) is watching Takenoko go through this
display of deep thought and figures that this might be the kind of thing
Carroll was trying to describe.   

(Carroll himself is quoted as having said "I am afraid I can't explain
'vorpal blade' for you--nor yet 'tulgey wood', but I did make an explanation
once for 'uffish thought'! It seemed to suggest a state of mind when the
voice is gruffish, the manner roughish, and the temper huffish.")

 <TINY SNIP>
 > Kokuen and Shouen joined the boy in his
 > search, as Shien and Yoen checked the makeshift bandages that covered
 > each other's armour, tightening a few that had been loosened during
 > the march and begun to leak black smoke. With a sigh, she rested her
 
 Um... Shien and Yoen couldn't possibly be checking the bandages that

covered

 "each other's armour", as Shouen was the other injured youja, ne? Shouen

and

 Yoen are the ones that have just joined the group, if I'm not mistaken.

You're not mistaken. This was a case of my mind thinking one thing and my
hands typing another: the two names are just alike enough that I sometimes
type one instead of the other. Usually, I'm able to catch myself doing it,
but this time I seem to have goofed up. Will fix! 
  

 > Far be it from
 > her to do more than the absolute minimum her duties required, but the
 > little munchkin looked so worried... and he WAS pretty cute. Sighing
 > again, the blonde woman stood up and began looking around.
 
 I bet Jun would shudder if he could read her mind. ^_^

Jun would run screaming if he could read HER mind... ^_~
  

 I have to wonder how Hotaru is going to react when she finds out that his
 boyfriend has suddenly shown potential as a... ahem... latin lover, and

has

 three grown up, extremely beautiful and desirable --down, fanboy, down!--
 girls after him. THAT will be fun. 

And imagine how indignant Jun will get if he's not sure what the hell
everybody's so upset about. Add that in with just the right mix of guilt,
and it'll be like putting blood in the shark tank. 

 I can already imagine Haruka "talking" to
 Jun, and trying to make him see reason. ;-p

Not that Jun has ever been willing to see reason before in his life. He's
the kind or person who usually has to be dragged kicking and screaming into
reason. 
  

 > No way Jun threw his sword hard enough for it to
 > land in there. Probably not what she was looking for, she decided, and
 > turned away.
 
 SWORD: No, come back!
 LIGHTSTORM: Uh? Who said that?
 SWORD: Not me.
 LIGHTSTORM: Phew. And here I thought it might have been a supernatural
 entity of sorts.
 SWORD: Yeah, I hate those. Now pick me up, hand me to Jun, and let me

suck

 his soul. Thanks!
 
 Hey, a classic is a classic. ^_^

And deserves a classic response. Heh! ^_^
  

 > Her hand moved down
 > through the thick underbrush, deftly avoiding the thorns and brambles
 > as she closed her fingers around the object. It felt so weird, almost
 > as if it wanted her to pick it up. Stepping back again, she drew her
 > acquisition out of the cover and into the light.
 
 Argh! How can they be so obtuse?! 

In Icestorm's case, it comes naturally. The other two have to work at it,
but they still manage. ^_^

 I thought someone with experience in magic
 and living in the friggin' Dark Kingdom would realize something is

tampering

 with her mind the moment she started thinking "I don't know _why_ I'm

doing

 it, yet I'm doing it." 

Ah, but however you choose to look at it, Lightstorm's still kind of "new"
to her current form. It stands to reason she'll be a little more susceptible
to stuff that older, more experienced creatures might shy away from. 

In other words; she's young - she doesn't know any better. 

 It's so frustrating...

True, but that's part of the fun! ^_^
  

 > Sunbeams shone coldly off of the smooth surface of the curved
 > sword blade, and Lightstorm smiled. There it was; the same katana she
 > had seen hanging on Naaza's hip about a dozen times before. With a
 > cheerful nod, the Senshi turned and walked over to where Jun was still
 > searching through the forest litter.
 
 Actually, Naaza has six katana, ne? 

Yes, he does: two on his back, and two on each hip.

 If I'm right, it should be: "There it
 was; a katana just like the ones she had..."

Ah, but this scene is partly through Lightstorm's eyes. In her mind, this
sword isn't LIKE one of Naaza's, it IS one of Naaza's. She even knows which
of the six it should be (his "favourite" one, remember?). 
That one in particular hangs on his hip. 
  

 > "Hey, Jun! This what you're looking for?"
 
 JUN: Is it Naaza's katana?
 LIGHTSTORM: Nope. It's that cursed sword again.
 JUN: Oh. ...Um, why are your eyes glowing, Light-chan?

L.STORM: What, you weren't paying attention two seconds ago? I SAID, it's
that cursed sword again! Honestly, I don't know why I even bother explaining
myself to you...
  

 > He reached for the blade eagerly,
 > and she quickly pulled it away, holding the sword behind her as she
 > pushed on Jun's chest with her other hand.
 >
 > "Now, what's the big hurry, Jun? I'd say a little finder's fee
 > would be in order, after all the trouble we went through. Nothing big,
 > maybe just a little show of your gratitude..."
 
 LIGHTSTORM: Strip!
 JUN: Huh?!?!
 LIGHTSTORM: Okay, okay... it's not "little". You have nothing to be

ashamed

 of, really.
 JUN: ... Why? Why me?

Because I say so, because he deserves it, and most importantly, because it's
funny. ^_^
  

 > "I said thanks." Jun stared at her with uncomprehending eyes.
 > "What more could you possibly want?"
 >
 > "How about a kiss?"
 
 JUN: YES!!!!!!! ...I mean, what're you talking about? I, uh, I have a
 girlfriend. Yeah.
 LIGHTSTORM: Uh-huh.

JUN: I guess my plan of playing hard-to-get just got messed up, huh? 
L.STORM: Yup... 
JUN: Darn...
L.STORM: Luckily for you, I'M playing easy-to-get! 
  

 > "Ah, GEEZ! Couldn't I just give you money, or something?"
 >
 > "Hey, I am NOT that kind of girl, Jun Yamano!" Lightstorm
 > grinned mischievously, a twinkle in her eye. "No kiss, no sword."
 
 LOL. ^_^

Poor Jun. He really didn't mean that to come out the way she decided to take
it. Then again, it's not the first time he's talked himself into trouble. He
does it on a regular basis. 

Maybe this group should get someone ELSE to be the spokesman... ^_^
  

 > "But my girlfriend-"
 
 LIGHTSTORM: Nothing you say will change my mind.
 JUN: --can destroy the entire planet in a minute.
 LIGHTSTORM: Here. *hands him the katana*

JUN: NOTHING trumps the "My Girlfriend Can Blow Up Your Planet" card! 
  

 > "Isn't here, and the last I heard you were fighting with her,
 > anyway. Do you want the sword, or what?"
 
 JUN: Well, there's the sword, and then there's my body, which I want to

keep

 in one piece, thankyeverymuch.
 
 Writing Jun is fun! ^_^

I know: it's one of the many reasons I had to start giving him his own
chapters. He was so much fun to write that he was threatening to take the
spotlight away from the main characters. 

Uh, whoever they were... ^_^
  

 > "Okay," he said after another few minutes, and stepped forward,
 > grabbing the sword as he lightly pecked her on the cheek. "Thanks for
 > the help, Lightstorm; you're a great girl."
 
 ...
 
 Gee, and here I thought Jun was doomed. Nice move! 

Sometimes the boy manages to pull one out of the fire. About half as many as
he drops in, by my count.

 Of course, I doubt it'll
 work twice. ^_^

Oh, not a chance. That was why Lightstorm went with a bribe, this time; she
knew she probably couldn't kiss him by surprise again. That's why the SS are
so dangerous; they don't try the same trick twice. 

At least, not unless they think it'll work. ;p
 

 > Lightstorm looked shocked for a moment, then shrugged
 > philosophically. So it hadn't been exactly what she had in mind. She'd
 > still take it. Besides, the jealous looks that Thunderstorm and
 > Icestorm were giving her made up for any disappointment in the outcome.
 > Wait until she told them that she'd already gotten a better kiss
 > from him a few days ago...
 
 Heck, I'm amazed that she didn't tell them the moment after the kiss.

Hasn't had time. That's not the sort of thing a girl discusses in FRONT of
people, after all. Rest assured, though; the second those three are alone
together, she's spilling her guts. Heck, she'll probably make up extra
stuff, just to make them even more jealous. 

And, of course, that's bound to end badly for Jun. ^_^

 Many
 days have passed, after all, and it _would_ have given her (the

impression

 of) an advantage over her sisters. 

All true, but it hasn't been as long as you think. She only kissed him the
day before, and like I said, she hasn't had a good chance to blurt it out
without Jun or Takenoko overhearing it. 

And she wouldn't want Jun interrupting and ruining her story, now would she?
^_^

 Or perhaps she's not as devious as I
 think...? :-p

Actually, the Storm Senshi aren't very devious at all. If she was REALLY
devious, Lightstorm would be a lot less obvious in her pursuit of Jun. As it
is, she's giving off every signal she knows: the girl's about as subtle as a
bulldozer. Which may be a large part of why the guys she goes after tend to
go in the opposite direction as fast as their legs will take them. ^_^
  

 > "Funny," Jun mused as he held the katana before him and
 > examined it critically. "It feels kinda... different, somehow. Heavier,
 > maybe. I mean, it LOOKS right, but, well, are you sure this is the
 > right sword?"
 
 JUN: Oh, what the heck. As long as it doesn't try to take over my body,

and

 forces me to kill thousands of people in a massacre to horrible to

describe,

 any sword is fine by me.
 SWORD: Funny you should mention that...

JUN: Why? Does that sound like something you might do? 
SWORD: Why, no! Never! After all, you're WAY too smart to let me get away
with something horrible like that!
JUN: Yeah, I'm pretty clever. (pauses) Hey... Since when do you talk?
SWORD: Since always. Look! What's that over there?
JUN: Where? (turns to look)
SWORD: Idiot.
  

 What else does he need, anyway? Maybe if the katana bites him in the ass

as

 it floats in mid air and a chorus of demons chant "the cursed sword will
 getcha, the ccursed sword will getcha" while this happens, he'll realize
 it's a different one.... Then again, maybe not.

In his defence, this sword looks nothing like the cursed sword (it resembles
Naaza's katana exactly), and he thinks they left that sword buried in the
dirt miles away from where they are. 

Also in his defence, he's really, really, naive. 
  

 > "Oh, come on, kid!" Takenoko called out impatiently. "Of
 > course it's the right sword! How many swords do you THINK would be
 > lying around on the ground waiting for you to pick them up? Just stick
 > it back in your pants and let's go check out that weird snowstorm!"
 
 Um... must... not... write... hentai... joke...
 
 ^_^

Heh. I'm sorry, but there was no way to write that without leaving it open
to SOME kind of hentai joke. I mean NO way. Or at least, no way that I was
interested in finding. ^_^
  

 <TRIP!>
 
 > Shien tilted his helmet to first one side, then the other.
 
 "... helmet first to one side, then..." perhaps? Might be stylistic, but

it

 sounds better to me.

You're absolutely right, too. Will fix. ^_~
  

 > Shouldering his naginata, the youja grabbed Thunderstorm by the wrist
 > and slung her onto his back, lifting her free of the snow.
 >
 > "I have been told that youja armour is warm," he said casually.
 > "Tuck your feet under you and press them against my backplate."
 
 Who told him that, anyway? A fellow youja is out of the question for

obvious

 reasons. Perhaps...
 
 ANUBIS: Oh, such a cold nich, isn't it, Kayura?
 KAYURA: I'm afraid you're quite right, darling. My feet are so cold!
 ANUBIS: That's easily fixed: Shien, come here -- lie on the ground,

please.

First of all - Heh. ^_^

As for who told Shien - it's just something he heard somewhere. I'm not
really sure how important it is to know who told him or how he found out; he
just knows it. In the Dynasty, it may be common knowledge that youja armour
is always warm. 

<MINI-SNIP!>

 > He looked mad,
 > but then, the faceplate always kind of looked like it was frowning at
 > her. "Yes," he agreed, with a slight nod, "dead. Not suffering."
 
 SHIEN: So, the way I see it, you have two options. You can let me carry

you

 all the way through the snowstorm, or you can walk barefoot -- but if you
 pick the latter, you'd be suffering, and hence I'd have to kill you.

Because

 I want you dead, but not suffering. I'm sure you understand the logic in
 this, right?
 THUNDERSTORM: ...er...

Well, there IS a kind of logic to it... I mean, it's not like he has any
personal grudge against these girls. He only wants to kill them because
that's what he thinks his job is. 
  

 Actually, all of the youja seem to be okay guys. Which is, as I've told

you

 before, something you don't usually see in fanfics -- or anime, for that
 matter.

One thing I love about fanfics is the way that they allow you to step off of
the beaten path and explore some of the less-known aspects of the characters
- or, in this case, some of the less-known characters of the series. 

 It was high time someone gave this poor monsters a personality!

My feelings exactly. ^_^
  

 > He sensed Kokuen doing the same with his
 > scythe, even as Shouen dropped to one knee and began to load his
 > musket. Carefully, the silver youja began to edge backwards, covering
 > his crimson companion as the other youja hurriedly rammed a ball down
 > the musket barrel and applied powder. Kokuen was standing on the other
 > side, facing outward and instinctively covering that approach. All of
 > his troops could sense it; something was out there, lurking in the
 > snow.
 >
 > Something that was angry.
 
 Hey, maybe it's that thing from the one-shot you wrote some time ago! 

The Wendigo? No, it isn't. 

 Are
 you running out of monsters for Ronin Summer, I wonder? :-p

No, I'm not. Trust me, wait a few chapters, and you'll be amazed you even
asked that question. ^_^
  

 <BIG, REALLY BIG SNIP>
 
 BTW, nice way to introduce a new character, and very good description. 

Thanks! I really appreciate the compliment, pal. ^_^

 I
 still think it's scary Icestorm felled Jackie so easily, but I guess I'll
 have to live with the knowledge of her power. As scary as that may be.

:-p

And considering how fast he was hopping, she either threw that snowball
REALLY quick, or knew where he was going to be before he actually moved
there. Either possibility is unnerving. ^_^

 Seriously now, it was a very interesting scene, and it allows us to

measure

 the extent of the SSenshi's powers. Especially considering Jackie was

able

 to catch four elite youja off guard, which isn't to be sneezed at.

(Though I

 did notice that Shouen was able to see him...) 

Yoen saw him too: he was able to knock Jackie aside with his bisento the
first time. The other two would have seen him, but he caught them both
off-guard and unprepared (both Kokuen and Shien were distracted when Jackie
attacked - talking to Jun and carrying Thundestorm, respectively). 

 I can't wait to see the other
 "special" youma I'm betting you'll show us when --if, rather-- Jun and

the

 girls come back from their mission. That's going to be fun. ^_^

Heck, there may be a few "special" youma to show you DURING the mission!
Like I said, you'll be surprised you even asked if I was running out of
monsters: I have youma coming out my ears. 
  

 > The first thing that Kousou could do to help them, Jun had
 > suggested, was offer them a bite to eat. Dried bug was okay for the
 > first few days, but it got old pretty fast. As an end result, most of
 
 Um, there's something off there. Revise this last sentence.

How about if I change it to "but it got BORING pretty fast"? I realise now
that using the word "old" like I have could give the sentence more than one
meaning. 
  

 > the group wound up crammed around a small wooden table with a rather
 > acceptable feast spread before them. Better than dried bug, at least.
 
 It was... dried watermelon!

JUN: Feh. Still better than bug.
  

 Sometimes I see on TV those guys that eat bugs. Blech. How can the do

that?!

 ...Of course, if I were _really_ hungry... let's just say I'd follow

after

 Jun. After all, they say bees taste like nuts. :-p

Yeah, that's kind of the point. Jun didn't LIKE eating the bug, he just had
no other choice. It's the kind of thing that builds character; call it part
of his maturing process. 
  

 > Jun had commandeered the only chair, leaving the Storm Senshi to make
 > do with whatever boxes, stools, or overturned flowerpots they could
 > scavenge.
 
 I can imagine how that arrangement came to be...
 
 ICESTORM: I want the chair!
 THUNDERSTORM: Think again! After all, I carried you for hours!
 LIGHTSTORM: Hey, hey, who's the leader her?! I'll get the chair!
 ICESTORM: But, but... sniff... WAAAAAAAHHH! YOU GUYS ARE SO MEAN!
 THUNDERSTORM: Hey, quit the whining!
 JUN: Enough!!!! I'm getting the chair, and that's it!
 ICESTORM: ...
 THUNDERSTORM: ...
 LIGHTSTORM: ...
 ICESTORM: I pick Jun's lap!
 LIGHTSTORM: Not so fast! I should be the one to sit on Jun!
 THUNDERSTORM: Says who?!
 JUN: Argh!!!!

Yeah, that's pretty much exactly how it would have gone. Which is why Jun
took the chair before the argument could start: it's one of those "leader"
things he keeps doing without realising it. ^_^

 > The youja, having no need to eat,
 > merely stood nearby and kept a wary eye on their newest associate.
 > Given the speed with which he'd managed to attack them before, they
 > weren't taking any chances.
 
 I doubt Jackie could beat them, now that they're ready for him. After

all,

 being able to communicate telepathicly (um, I'm not sure whether you

spell

 it this way -- oh well) does give them an edge. I wonder why the insist

in

 using words, BTW, when they don't need to.

Just to be polite, I think, when other people are around. Plus, a lot of
what they actually say to each other is ritual stuff, like when Yoen
officially placed Kokuen in command of the group. It gets said out loud
because it's what they're supposed to say. "I said it in my head" probably
isn't good enough.
  

 For instance, in the scene Yoen bid... Baien? farewell, just before the
 latter was killed by Thraw. I can't remember the youja's name, but you

must

 remember the scene I mention. 

In Chapter Three? You're right; that was Baien. 

 If they really are that much more comfortable
 not having to use words, why did they talk aloud in such an important
 moment?

I actually have a reason for that. ^_^

Hakuen (the other youja who died in that chapter) had just been killed by
Thraw prior to that scene. When one youja dies, the others nearby can't help
but sense it; it makes a psychic ripple, like a small shockwave. Rei Hino
could probably feel it too, if she was standing close enough to one when it
was killed. Remember how Ben Kenobi reacted when Alderaan was destroyed in
Star Wars? It's something like that. And there's a side-effect; it basically
disrupts the psychic transmissions between all the youja who feel it.

Yoen and Baien couldn't communicate telepathically in that scene because the
shockwave from Hakuen's death was interfering with their ability. In other
words, Hakuen's death "scream" had left a psychic ringing in their ears. 
  

 > Still, a little makeup and some hair dye
 > and he'd have no problem blending into the human population. Of course,
 > the silver facial tattoo on his right cheek would still be a little
 > odd, but not too inhuman to draw attention to itself.
 
 BTW, I skimmed through your answer to K'thardin't C&C, and I noticed you
 said that the tattoo covered half of his face. That's not the image that
 comes to me when I read this description -- this sounds more like the
 tattoos Belldandy has, in fact. Cute, small, and sexy -- well, maybe not
 sexy, but I like Bell. ^_^

Huh? Maybe not sexy? Why would you say that? Did someone disagree with you?
^_^
  

 _Anyway_, I'd suggest that you clarify this somehow.

The next time Kousou shows up, I'll try to be a little more clear on how big
his tattoo is. I should probably also mention what it's of, shouldn't I? ^_~
  

 > "There really isn't much need for it, around here. I'm usually on my
 > feet most of the day, and I've converted a lot of the rooms of this
 > place to make room for my experiments."
 
 KOUSOU: Igor takes care of the house while I'm away. What, you haven't

met

 Igor yet? That can be... arranged. BWAHAHAHA!
 JUN: ... another nutcase. Great. I wonder if there is _one_ sane youma

out

 there...
 TAKENOKO: Hey!

JUN: What? 
TAKENOKO: You said you hadn't met a sane youma!
JUN: So?
TAKENOKO: You idiot! I'M a youma!
JUN: What's your point? 
  

 > "Still looking for a cure?" Takenoko mumbled through a mouthful
 > of sandwich.
 
 KOUSOU: Yes... Who'd have though a snow youma would have a propensity to
 catch colds? It's not fair! ...Aaahchhooooooo!

JUN: Have you tried some hot chicken noodle soup?
KOUSOU: No, I haven't. 
JUN: Why not? 
KOUSOU: Because I might melt, okay, Mr. Nosy? Shut up!
  

 > Well, time and money. We're the richest farm in these parts."
 >
 > "Why?" Jun asked, taking a sip from the tumbler in front of
 > him. "What's the reason?"
 
 KOUSOU: We have the only farm in the province.
 JUN: D'oh!

Good thought, actually. But there are a few other farms nearby; that's where
most of the "friends" Jackie called on were supposed to be coming from. ^_^
  
<AND... SNIP!>

 > The truth was far more serious - no fog rose
 > from her mouth or nose, her chest neither rose nor fell, and her skin,
 > if he had dared to touch it, would have seemed as cold and lifeless as
 > the icy seat that held her.
 
 Well, he _did_ dare to touch her skin two paragraphs later. :-p

Well, yeah, but we're talking two entirely different kinds of touching,
here. One is doing his job. The other might get him in trouble, if Miss
Carlin objects to him, say, holding her hand. 

 So Carlin is frozen, unable to move, to talk or to breath naturally. She
 interacts with only one person, who is in fact truly devoted to her.

Um...

 for some reason, all this sounds familiar...

Really? (whistles innocently) And what might make you say that?
  

 Seriously now, first Mother, and now Carlin? I mean, I'm beginning to see

a

 pattern here. ^_^

That's because there is one. ^_^
  

 > Yet she lived. He knew it. A simple glance at her necklace
 > revealed that the large opal resting in the valley of her breasts
 > sparkled with as much lustre as it ever had. Were she to die, that
 > same stone would be as dull and worthless as a piece of dried clay.
 
 KOUSOU: Or was it the other way around...? Oh, I can never remember,

anyway.

 Now open up, Carlin!
 CARLIN: ...
 KOUSOU: Oh, yes, I'll bring dessert later.
 CARLIN: ...
 KOUSOU: You're welcome, Mistress Carlin!
 
 Maybe he's Pedri's long lost brother?

Actually, Kousou is Pedri's foil (at the moment, anyway). If this were a
Literature class, I'd tell you to pay attention to the differences in how
Kousou and Pedri treat people and how they act towards their mistresses, and
see how the contrast between the two serves to help in defining Pedri's
character in the next chapter. 

But this is the FFML, so I'm just going to ask you to read the next chapter,
and hope you enjoy it. ^_~
  

 > Gem aside, is served as a panacea to the eerie feeling that
 
 "...aside, it served..."

GACK! A t-t-typo! And I was so CLOSE, too! >_<

Anyway, will fix! ^_^
  

 > he was tending to a corpse.
 
 PEDRI: But she talks to me! She can't be dead!
 KOUSOU: Uh, dude... I think they were talking about me.
 PEDRI: Oh. Right. Sorry about that.

Heh. ^_^
  

 > Scowling, the tall youma stiffened his
 > fingers and shook his arm in such a way that the dagger up his sleeve
 > fell down into his palm. Not that he didn't know who it had to be, but
 > old instincts died hard and he saw no reason to let them.
 
 Heh. Another nice line. You seem to have many of these in each chapter...
 ^_^

Thanks! I try my best. ^_^
  

 > "Nice place," Takenoko snorted. "Reminds me of the one you had
 > back in the Pit."
 >
 > "Get out!" Kousou replied, his voice a threatening snarl. "My
 > mistress doesn't wish to be seen like this!"
 
 CARLIN: ... ... _!_
 KOUSOU: Now you've done it: she's mad!

CARLIN: ...
KOUSOU: Now, Mistress! I'm sure you don't mean that! 
CARLIN: ...
KOUSOU: Well, I know you're upset, but it's no reason to use THAT kind of
language! 
  

 > "Man," Jun commented as he stepped past the doorway and looked
 > into the room, "is it ever cold in HERE! I thought it was bad outside,
 > but this is definitely worse." Noticing the robed figure seated next
 > to Kousou, the small human bowed respectfully. "Sorry to intrude," he
 > said in an amiable manner, "but we wanted to let you know that your
 > friend here has been very hospitable, and you're very... dead. Ooh.
 > I think you're right, Takenoko: I could have done without knowing
 > about this."
 
 LOL. ^_^;;;

This is not the last thing that Jun Yamano is going to decide he could have
done without knowing. ^_^
  

 I can imagine a RS spin-off: Carlin meets Mother!
 
 CARLIN: ...
 MOTHER: ...
 CARLIN: ...
 MOTHER: ...
 CARLIN: ...
 MOTHER: ...
 CARLIN: ...
 MOTHER: ...
 
 It'd make for a very challenging staring contest, ne?

Not really; for one thing, Mother's eyes are closed. Carlin would win before
they even started. ^_^

<AUTOBOTS! TRANSFORM AND SNIP OUT!>
  

 > "You haven't cured this yet, either," Takenoko noted with a
 > clinical snort. "Not that you haven't tried your navy blue ass off for
 
 "Clinical" snort? I think you meant "cynical".

Yes, I did. Cursed typos. They always show up near the end, don't they? I
hate them so much. So very, very much. ^_^
  

 > about sixty years. I'll give you credit where it's due, Jackie-boy; at
 > least you're a DETERMINED crackpot. You know what's expected of you.
 > That's an important thing, in crackpots. Otherwise you all just run
 > around pulling cursed swords out of walls, and such."
 
 Ouch. That was below the belt. :-p

Although, considering it was Takenoko who recieved a fair piece of the
beating that resulted after Jun touched the sword, AND Takenoko who tried to
warn Jun against touching the sword in the first place, I think he's allowed
a cheap shot or two. 

Besides, it's making up for when Jun was teasing him earlier. 
  

 > "Hey!" Jun yelled. "I already said I was sorry about that,
 > okay? It was an honest mistake! Besides, that sword's long gone, now!"
 
 SWORD: Sure I am... heh heh.
 JUN: Uh? Anyone said something?

SWORD: No. I am a normal sword that is not cursed in any way. 
JUN: Oh. Well, that's a relief. 
SWORD: You are getting sleepy...
JUN: I am getting sleepy... 
  

 > "I am not a crackpot!" Kousou yelled, at almost the same time
 > as Jun. Unlike Jun, the slim youma's body had tensed suddenly, and
 > his face was contorted with rage. "I know a cure! I can save her!"
 
 Um... wouldn't it be: "Unlike Jun's, the..."

I don't think so; I had it that way at first, and it didn't look right to
me. 

Maybe if I drop the word "body", and changed it to: "Unlike Jun, the slim
youma had tensed suddenly..."? Would that work better?

 <THE LAST ONE!>

<YAY!>
  

 > "Bullshit," Takenoko spat, before adding "if you'll pardon the
 > expression. First of all, I know all about the goddamn Orb of
 > Cailleach, remember? It used to be right on Carlin's index finger. So
 > if that was all you needed, why wait this long? And why don't she
 > have it no more?"
 
 Um, perhaps you wrote it this way on purpose. Prehaps you didn't. 

I did write it on purpose, actually.

 Anyway,
 correct grammar would be "And why doesn't she have..." -- and Tokenoko
 doesn't seem to be the kind of... minotaur... to make a mistake like that
 one.

It's not a mistake. Takenoko is threatening this guy. People who are angry
sometimes lose control of their grammar. Basically, he's speaking coarsely
because he's trying to sound tough. 
  

 > "What, it walked away? You think I got solid muscle between
 > these horns? You think just because my eyes are bad I won't see through
 > your story?" Takenoko snorted a small cloud of steam, his red eyes
 > sparking angrily as he stepped forward yet again.
 
 Heh. I wouldn't like to be Jackie right now... 

I can't imagine anybody who would want to be Jackie right now. I like to fix
it so that every character has one or two moments when you just really don't
want to be in their shoes. I find it helps keep me from being too biased in
my authoring if I spread around the misfortune more or less equally. ^_^

 Though, rereading Inner
 Battles yesterday (hey, I wanna have my canon just right before C&Cing!
 ^_^) I noticed that Takenoko lost to Darien in his first battle in the
 Pit -- when he wasn't able to use magic, and hadn't the Rose as an edge. 

True, although Takenoko wasn't beaten - he just gave up. Like he explained,
that was a bridge match; there was more than one way to win. In a floor
match, he would have ground Mamoru into paste.

 And
 Darien -- as opposed to Tuxedo Kamen -- isn't that powerful an opponent,
 methinks. Unless he IS that powerful, and I'd never noticed.

Mamoru Chiba can actually use some of his powers when he's in his human form
(at least, manga Mamoru can). So he's not as tough as TK, but still tougher
than the average human. He's a pretty good martial artist, too, and he DID
get a bit of training from Anubis way back in Homecomings. Basically, he's
more agile than Takenoko, and they were fighting on a narrow bridge.
Takenoko lost because Mamoru was able to get behind him, and Takenoko was in
danger of getting pushed off of the bridge. Mamoru used strategy and his
wits, whereas Takenoko was relying on brute strength. 

So Takenoko may have been beaten once, but that doesn't make him a pushover.

 
<ONE MORE TIME!>

 > Kousou smiled nervously. "Would you believe Daija?"
 >
 > "Holy flaming shit. Are you crazy? You're going to let those
 > kids go after Daija? She'll have them for breakfast!"
 
 Um... Daija. Why do I have the feeling you have one helluva fight

planned?

 ^_^

Beats me. Did you find out what her name means, or something? ^_^

 > That's why I'm afraid to
 > leave Mistress Carlin here unguarded! She'd be totally helpless if
 > Daija slithered in here and I was gone. I attacked the way I did
 > earlier because I thought you might be her, or working for her."
 
 KOUSOU: Yep, that's me. Attack first, ask question... never!

KOUSOU: I've always lived my life by a simple principle. 
TAKENOKO: What?
KOUSOU: Attack first, and... attack some more later!
NAAZA: I like this guy! Can we keep him?

 > "Me? For her?" Takenoko harumphed. "Not likely. The woman's a
 > total loon."
 >
 > "She's nesting a few miles from here. I set up our farm nearby
 
 "Nesting"...? Um... intriguing. ^_~

Ain't it, though? Puts all kinds of nasty thoughts in a person's head,
doesn't it? ^_^
  

 And I'm beginning to suspect that Jackie's friends never reached their
 destination because they were intercepted by this Daija woman. 

You're getting very good at guessing, my friend. Either that, or I'm getting
predictable. 

And we can't have that, now can we? (insert maniacal laughter)

 I wouldn't be
 surprised if Jun and Co. end up fighting them for some reason. It sound
 so... Morgan Hudson-ish.

Okay, so you won't be surprised if I do it. Will you be surprised if I don't
do it? Just asking... 
  

 <I LIED! HAHAHAH!>
 
 > "You don't know what you're getting into, Jackie. That Jun
 > kid - he's got this way of getting his nose in stuff. Don't get me
 > wrong; he's a great kid, he means well, it's just... Things got this
 
 You need a period here, either after "kid" or after "well".
 
 > habit of going straight to hell around him. He's, like, a karmic
 > hurricane, or something."
 
 RANMA: Been there, done that.

Yeah, but a lot of people seem to think that Jun earned the one he's stuck
in. He did a lot of annoying things as a "kid sidekick" that he needs to
either live down or make up for. ^_^
  

 > Kousou raised his hands placatingly and
 > smiled slightly. "You do realise what kind of creatures you're actually
 > travelling with, don't you?"
 
 TAKENOKO: Yes.
 KOUSOU: I feel your pain, man. It must be horrible travelling with...
 TAKENOKO: Teenagers. C'mon, you can say it.

Heh. You're really good at these! ^_^
  

 > "Yeah," the minotaur grumbled, rubbing the back of his thick
 > neck. "I kinda figured it out a day or two ago. One of 'em accidentally
 > changed into her true form. Took me a while to realise what I'd been
 > looking at, though." The heavy head suddenly snapped up, beady eyes
 > narrowing in suspicion. "Wait a minute... How in the hells did YOU
 > figure out what they are?"
 
 MORGAN: Damn! Good question... er... uh...
 
 ^_^

Hang on a second; I'm sure I can come up with SOME kind of lame-ass
excuse... Uh, let's see... 

Oh! How about the one right below? ^_^

 > "The blue-haired one," Kousou answered. "I'm a snow demon,
 > Takenoko, remember? Don't you think a bobcat like me can recognise a
 > tiger like her when I see one? It's like looking eight steps up the
 > food chain. Once I realised what she was, I figured the other two had
 > to be the same. I just don't understand what they're doing slumming
 > around with lower life forms - no offence."
 
 Okay, _this_ is where I started to tell myself "What the hell..." 

Always a good reaction. "What the hell?" is usually a good reaction. "WTF?",
on the other hand, is usually not a good reaction. I'm glad I didn't cross
that fine line with this one. ^_^

 This was a
 very unexpected plot twist. As I said at the beginning of the C&C, this

is

 one of the aspects of the fic I enjoy the most. You think you know these
 characters, and suddenly...

I have to do SOMETHING to keep us all interested, right? Nothing like
turning a few small details on their heads every once in a while to wake up
the audience. ^_^

Besides, I thought it was about time I started to clear up a few of the
standing mysteries in this arc. After all, it helps make room for all the
new ones. ^_~
  

 > "None taken. I thought they might be stuck the way they are,
 > but that brunette was able to switch her bodies around like she was
 > changing socks. At least, when she got mad enough, she could. And why
 > would she change back, if she'd gone back to normal?"
 
 It might have taken more of her than Takenoko realizes. After all, she

was

 unconscious when she came back, which makes me believe the change wasn't

all

 that smooth.

Perhaps, but Thunderstorm was able to turn INTO the cat with little or no
effort; she just got really mad, and then... shazam! What Takenoko is asking
is that if they can all shift out of their human bodies like that, why
haven't they? And why did Thunderstorm change back into hers, ESPECIALLY
since, as you pointed out, it obviously took a lot out of her? The
"switching her bodies around" that he refers to is the initial change from
girl to cat, not the change from cat back into girl. 
  

 > The tall blue youma shrugged. "Beats me, but if they're willing
 > to take a few rounds out of Daija for me, I want to let them. You told
 > anybody else what you know?"
 >
 > "What, that the Storm Senshi are a bunch of friggin'
 > elementals? Who would I tell? I'm pretty sure THEY already know. None
 
 And HERE is where I fell off my chair, and decided to reread Inner

Battles,

 and see what I'd missed. :-p

I like to do that to people. It gives me a warm feeling inside. ^_^

 My question is the obvious one: how can they be elementals (which are, I
 think, beings of pure magic based on the forces of nature -- correct me

if

 I'm wrong), when they are supposed to be human clones? 

Well they ARE clones, in that their human bodies are genetically identical
to the human bodies of the Inner Senshi. However, you can't clone magic.
Wiseman used elementals to provide the Storm Senshi with souls and magical
powers, much like he used Usagi's memories and opinions of her friends to
create personalties for them. 

(Of course, in order to make them EVIL, he had to reverse everything he got
from Usagi's head. Thus, Makoto's clone wound up as nasty as Makoto is nice,
Ami's clone is as silly as Ami is serious, Minako's clone is as serious as
Minako is silly, and Rei's clone... well, Rei's clone was AWFULLY
obedient... ^_^)

 Unless Wiseman lied
 to Jadeite, and the Storm Senshi only _look_ human, if you know what I

mean.

It wasn't so much a lie, as he wasn't given a chance to finish his
explaination. You may recall that Jadeite interrupted and told him to cut to
the chase instead of wasting everyone's time with a boring description of
how the Storm Senshi were made. 

"Save the details for people willing to pretend they're listening," were the
exact words, if I remember...

 And I did notice the tiger that appeared behind Thunderstorm when she met
 Jadeite for the first time. Talk about plotting ahead... 

Thanks. Also, yin and yang are sometimes seen as the tiger and the dragon,
so, since the dragon is Makoto's symbol, it makes sense that her opposite
would be a tiger of some kind.

 Of course, it won't
 be so easy with the rest, but let's see if we can guess the other two's

true

 forms.

Good luck! ^_^

 You did describe a sort of "web" when Icestorm came into view, so a
 spider isn't out of the question. 

She's not a spider. The web was just a visual effect. 

 Of course, I don't think a spider is cute
 enough for such a gal, so... a bear? Like a big teddy bear, but just

meanier

 and scarier? ^_^

A teddy? She might wear one, but she doesn't turn INTO one. 
  

 And Lightstorm, I don't have a clue (a bird of some kind? A phoenix? Or
 maybe I'm just watching too much Robotech?). 

There is NO SUCH THING as too much Robotech! ^_^

 But I'm going to think real
 hard, so beware!

I always do; you're eerily good at guessing my moves. ^_^ 

BTW, you forgot someone: what about Firestorm? She was an elemental too,
right? So, what kind of form do you suppose she might have changed into? 
  

 > of the tin soldiers would believe me, and the kid wouldn't understand.
 > He's a human. Probably doesn't know an elemental from a hole in the
 > ground."
 
 JUN: Hey, I read manga, y'know!

Heh. I'll bet Jun doesn't read much shonen manga any more. After living in
one, they probably lose their appeal. Maybe some nice comedies? Sports
manga? ^_^
  

 <SNIPpy>
 
 > "I'll be waiting," he said darkly. "And I'll be counting, too,
 > Jackie-boy. Three girls. One kid. Or no you."
 >
 > "I understand," Kousou responded, as he exited, "but Daija
 > might have different ideas."
 >
 > **********
 >
 > To Be Continued...
 
 ...or I'll be in trouble, because rereading the story Latin_D has just
 remembered all about the HHHH.
 
 Damn, this was good. And long, which in my book makes it all the better.

Yeah, these pesky chapters just keep getting longer and longer, don't they?
They're coming out less often, too. I wish I could do something to change
that, but I work on them as fast as I can. Speaking of which, there ought to
be another one done pretty soon. You know, barring some kind of gypsy curse
or system crash, or something. ^_^

 Sorry again it took me this long to send you some comments, but the

length

 and my own messy life kept me from C&Cing more than a scene at a time,
 believe it or not. 

Worry not, my friend: I'm more than happy to wait for good C&C. I just wish
I could have replied to this before my own misfortune struck and left me out
of the loop for such a long time. 

So... I forgive you the late C&C, you forgive me the late reply, and we're
all friends. Sound good? ^_^

 Next time, I'll try to write more timely comments.

Just as long as you write them, pal, just as long as you write them. 
  

 Anyway, what else is there to say? I could tell you had fun writing this
 chapters, because I sure had fun reading it. 

I always try to enjoy myself when I write these chapters. My theory is that
if I don't enjoy writing it, how can I expect someone to enjoy reading it? I
will admit though, that Jun and his little troupe made the chapter pretty
easy for me to enjoy. They're all sorts of fun to write about. ^_^ 

 Jun, much like Naaza, lightens
 up the story, and the Storm Senshi are crazy enough to back him up. 

Don't forget Takenoko and the youja, though; they serve an important job in
making sure that Jun and the Storm Senshi don't get too out of control.
Every good bit of comedy needs a little bit of seriousness to keep it down
to earth. 

 As
 always, the new characters were --so far-- well developed, and... so

special

 that they fit in the DK perfectly. 

Thanks. I always try to make my original characters flawed enough that they
fit in with the rest of this nuthouse as seamlessly as possible. And, of
course, the quirks help to make sure people can tell them apart. ^_~

 Dialogue was as witty as always, and the
 description had your usual quality.

Thanks again! ^_^
  

 The "elemental" approach was definitely unexpected, and I want to see how
 you explain it in the following chapters. 

Well, I shall do my best not to disappoint, then. ^_~

 Not to mention I still want to
 know what their true forms really are. I shudder at the thought of those
 missing Outer Senshi 

I would like to go on the record here as saying that I have never once
claimed that those other clones were of the Outer Senshi. I never said that
they weren't, but I never said that they WERE. 

 (or maybe not Outer Senshi, and something else?) clones
 being elementals, too... Ah, we'll see.

Well, they would be elementals, yes. Made in much the same way that the
Storm Senshi were, by Badamon.

And they WILL turn up eventually. Just not in this story arc. They'll be
getting an arc all of their own. Some day. ^_^
  

 Next chapters we should see more of Pedri, and Haruka and Michiru, right?
 And if we're lucky, we might get some Tuls.... ^_^

All of the above, actually, to say nothing of Vyne, Erdge, and Holts, too. I
may even try to squeeze in Tytolung, but I'm not sure he'd be awake yet.
We'll see. ^_^
  

 Hope to have helped, somehow. Talk to you later, and take care,
 
 Latin_D

You always help, buddy. Talk to you later, man! ^_~

Farewell!

-Morgan Hudson





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