Akari! Yanei!' Summoned by an authoritative bellow, their forms wavered into reality, the first, a short female, dressed in a pale gold officer's uniform, with long red hair, orange eyes, a slender, well-formed body, and an childish whim. The second, a slightly taller male, was dressed in a uniform of pale blue, opposite of the woman aside him. His stocky build, dark blue hair and lighter eyes contrasted hers beautifully, as if designed carefully to strike that effect between them.
Immediately, before speaking, they bowed before their elder.
'What would you require of us, sensei?' the man requested respectfully in Japanese. It was true; he was their teacher, having trained the both of them since they were old enough to wield weapons.
He trusted them more than even the foolish Queen Beryl who had failed so recently. Hand picked senshi had their advantages. He did not have any confidence in Galaxia's religious selection of so called 'champions' who had more faith than brains, power, or fighting capability. To her, it was not a matter of capability, merely servitude. Many centuries ago he had decided to entrust the knowledge of war with his senshi and it had earned him much respect in the eyes of his Queen. Enough respect to command several small armies. Not that he had lacked any faith in her on his own terms. He merely had a more efficient method of dealing with those who were deemed her 'enemies.'
Even knowing that list included 'everyone.'
So far all was going well. The lion demon Yalen had successfully neutralized the Sailor Senshi, and made the struggle to send them to another dimension much less… costly. He only paid attention to their apparent dilemma on occasion, when he felt like a good laugh. Their struggles he found quite humorous, and changes also most interesting. One thing surprised him; none of them were yet dead. Many of them had come close, but they still survived.
Is it possible I have underestimated them? he mused thoughtfully. It is true that the Moon Princess only seems to gain strength from such events, yet I was certain this would crush her soul…
'What is it, sensei?' asked a gentle female voice.
'Hm? Oh. I was just thinking on the success of my plan,' he replied evenly. He stood, and drew his staff in assistance to his step. 'I have a task for the both of you. One which I am quite sure you will experience no difficulty with.'
Akari smiled lightly, eager to see action. 'Anything!'
The man read the eagerness in his student's eyes. 'You are my most pliant students, if not the brightest. No matter. I do not expect you to have to trouble yourselves with many variables.'
Akari merely awaited his command. Yanei, on the other hand, pouted. 'You think us fools? Old man, you confuse us with Beryl's asinine fledglings.'
The man merely smiled. 'No, dear Yanei. If you were my equal, would I make use of you? Think on that. And no, I would not.' She bowed her head, pout fading to a frown. He continued, 'But not now. I have other matters of greater concern.'
'Hai, Uraki-sama,' she replied sullenly.
The man hobbled up to his two champions, and examined them, eyes gazing over their forms. 'I have eliminated the Bishojo Sailor Senshi as a factor in our war. They are no longer a concern to us.' He turned away and began pacing slowly, unevenly. 'There is only one person who concerns me now. It is the Earth Guardian, Mamoru. He is stronger now since Beryl lost him to Usagi.'
He shook his head. Idiot woman. Why Galaxia entrusted her with the task of destroying them I still cannot fathom, he lamented in his mind. How many times he had remarked on her inability he could no longer count.
'I want you to lure him to the Moon, and then destroy him.' His voice hung on the second to last word, in emphasis. 'How you do this is not my concern. You will not fail me. Hai?'
'We would sooner perish,' Akari replied in earnest.
'I would advise you to be watchful of this… wildcard… as well.' He waved his hardwood staff vaguely, creating a circular portal of second sight in the air. Within it appeared a simple girl of waist length brunette hair, and an energetic countenance. She sprinted home adorned in the grey sailor suit uniform of her school as she tossed a glaringly green tennis ball between her long fingered hands.
'What problem might she pose, as lovely as she is?' Akari queried.
'She is pretty, indeed. It is the way of our enemies, to be continuously attractive, it seems. Nonetheless, for a reason I cannot fathom, she has been deemed a threat. So much so, that I would have you capture her.'
Yanei rolled her eyes. 'Her beauty pales to mine, wouldn't you say, Akari?' she yawned, undoing buttons enough of her tunic to reveal several sundry inches of her more than mid-sized cleavage.
Akari failed to notice, his eyes locked upon the vital body of the youth.
'Akari!' He faced her, his eyes dropping to the displayed flesh.
'Hai my beloved. Much more…' he murmured distractedly.
'Enough games!' Uraki declared impatiently. 'You will see her captured and brought to me. I will give you a week of respite with which to question her as you might, but do not kill her. I have a sense she may be of use.'
Both bowed deeply.
'Of course, my lord.'
'Ours is only to serve,' Yanei added.
'Then there is nothing more to be said here. Go.'
Both students bowed, and returned to the faded state from which they had come.
@~%~~~
There was a somewhat distressed regard upon that young woman's face as she strode quickly towards her appointed destination: Central Tokyo. She had been told the Kei-san had gone into hiding, due to the recent threat.
Hiding? If she gets to hide, then what are we supposed to do? she thought, terribly upset by the recent culmination of events. Even hardball hadn't helped, even though she'd tromped Cale, Ayla, Meisu, and most notably Masurani, among others of lesser notice. It was those four in the game that had interested her most greatly. It was coming so close to the final selections, and she was being set aside like this? It was confusing.
There was a noise, somewhat like the strangled mew of a kitten. A flash of alarm tore through Xalia, and the fact that the freedom of the very world itself was being threatened ceased to matter, beyond the sudden search for a very frightened sounding baby cat. As she rounded the corner, a startled voice caught her off guard.
'Xalia!' blurted the tones of a voice the target dully recognized to be her sensei.
'Nasura-sensei?' she queried, peering about swiftly. 'I'm kind looking for a lost kitten, have you seen.. uh.. oh!'
The tortoise shell colored cat gave a squeak as she was swept into the young woman's arms.
'Cuuute!!' she spouted, tossing the frightened looking cat up into the air briefly before hugging her tightly.
'Shimatta! Xalia! Stop!' protested the little feline desperately, its voice choked by Xalia's smothering attentions. Just as she had begun, she halted, holding the cat so as to gaze into its yellow eyes.
‘Nasura?!' she gasped, stunned.
'Hai! Would you put me down? You scared the living daylights out of me!'
'So sorry Kei-san!' she bowed, setting her down in the process.
'Nevermind Xalia-chan,' she replied, 'We have matters of greater import to attend to.'
'Sensei-san, may I ask a question?'
'Hai.'
'Why are you a cat?'
'It shields me from their detection, young one,' was the reply. 'Oh, I have decided to Knight you.'
'Um, are you sure this is such a good idea? Not that I'm about to openly refuse or anything…'
'Such a good idea? I'm afraid there's really no choice.'
She glanced curiously at the brown and silver haired cat perched on the pavement at her feet. The feline returned the regard, but somehow much more seriously than any ordinary cat might. 'Don't forget why you were sent here,' she chided, pawing the young woman's leg. 'It's your duty to…'
'Sssh! Someone's coming.' With a congenial smile, she took the cat into her arms and began stroking her gently. A fellow of short dark hair, silk pants and a black
sweater approached with sunglasses, and a dark expression upon his face. 'Oh no! It's Mamoru!'
'Don't worry!' the feline whispered. 'He doesn't know…mmpph!'
Feeling her gaze upon him, he glanced up, only to see her giggling and waving nervously. Normally, he would have passed her by, but as a result of recent events, he wasn't taking any chances.
'Hi,' he began, half-smiling. 'Do I know you?'
Is this some kind of stupid pick up line? Somehow, I doubt it…
'Uh,' she giggled. 'No.'
He pulled his hands out of his pants pockets and folded them across his chest, as if readying further interrogation, when a scream tore through the small business sector.
'Oh, that's my cue!' she blurted, bowing her head quickly and making a mad dash towards the source of the noise. As she tore down the sidewalk, the cat matching her running pace tersely commented:
'Why did you have to say that? Do you want to get caught?'
'Nasura! What was I supposed to say?'
'Anything else! Just not that!'
She rolled her brown eyes, her waist length brunette hair flying out behind her. 'Too late now.'
'I suppose so. Okay, stop!' she commanded, drawing to a halt in front of a restaurant, which seemed rather vacant. The small feline closed her eyes and bowed her head, after which a palm sized shining jade crystal appeared on the pavement at her feet.
'Take it,' she commanded, and after she did so, ordered: 'Hold it and say: Sailor Ether - Sugoi Henshin!'
'Uh, sure,' she replied, raising the crystal above her head and pronouncing: 'Sailor Ether - Sugoi Henshin!'
As she did, swirls of energy produced a uniform that suited her every desire as to how she envisioned herself one of the Bishojo Sailor Senshi. As she fell into her final pose, adorned in the greens and white of her uniform, she gave herself a once over glance.
'Eeek!' she exclaimed, pushing at the microskirt. 'It's so short!'
'It's what you wanted!' Nasura explained. 'This is how you envisioned yourself as a Sailor Senshi.'
'Great,' she sighed, then spotted the stylish dark green mid-calf length boots upon her feet. 'Oh cool!'
'Don't forget, you've got a job to do!'
'Oh, right,' she blinked, snapping out of her trance. 'How do I stomp it?'
'You control wind, and have incredible speed. You run fast enough that the human eye cannot detect you. You can also fly.'
'Huh?' she muttered, practically drooling.
'Fly. You have wings, you ninny! And you can't be seen when you run,' she stated on a flat, slightly disappointed sounding note. 'Don't be afraid to use your kick boxing, or to get creative with your powers. Nothing is defined yet. It's all up to you.'
'Oh, wings!' she laughed, flapping them experimentally. Her expression turned to puzzlement, which slowly found Nasura. 'What do I throw at it?'
'When you want to throw something just shout “Wind Blade - Slice” and act like you're throwing your strikeout fastball,' she hinted, sulking. 'But don't be afraid to experiment. Play with your powers.'
'Oh, sure.' Whatever that means. She made a single running step, and was gone.
'Look! It's Sailor V! She'll save us!'
To the four dozen men and women trapped in the demon besieged restaurant, she was both recognizable - in a vague fashion, despite the unusual colour of hair and undeniable presence of wings - and their only savior.
'Halt beast of the NegaVerse! Release that woman!' The rotund sumo wrestler-like black skinned creature smiled a toothy, blood filled smile, and proceeded to tear the woman in two. Before it could complete the task, the young woman proclaimed “Sailor V” shouted:
'Wind Blade - Slice!”
Despite the strangeness of the declaration, four cloud-like free flying chakram blades rapidly sought the distracted demon. As the new senshi landed on her feet, the hands attempting to segment the victim fell to the ground, allowing the internally rent woman to collapse in agony.
'I am Sailor Ether! I live to destroy all evil! I won't stand by and watch you harm another living being! Prepare to be punished!'
'You think you can beat me, little girl?' growled the beast gutturally, swinging its abruptly regenerated clawed hands and easily decapitating a nearby business suited man as it laughed loudly. With a lunging toss, he hurled the grimacing head at her. Deftly, she dodged the attack, leaping towards the creature.
As she did, she seemed to disappear.
'It's no use hiding! I'll ge-aaaaagggh!!!'
The beast fell to the earth, its collapsed skull rolling free from its gutted body. The gory spray of blood turned into a fine grey dust as the creature dissipated, banished from the realm to which it had been summoned.
'So who's hiding?' she smirked, holding a blackened crystal in her hand, watching uninterestedly as it turned to powder in her palm.
Chapter 13
Problem Solvent
Starlit Ruins Page 14