Absence - By Kirika
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Chapter 5 - Adversaries
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Rei was walking home after a long day at work. There was a full moon in the sky, casting it's pale light over the badly lit street. Graffiti adorned many of the buildings' walls that Rei passed. This was a dangerous part of town, and Rei knew it, but she didn't care. She was the Senshi of fire after all; anybody who confronted her would be in for the worst day of their lives. And in her current mood, she wouldn't pull any punches.
If I have to pour one more cup of coffee today I'm going to go insane! thought Rei. She wondered if you could get repetitive stress disorder from too much pouring.
Rei couldn't wait to get home and take a long, hot, relaxing shower and then call it a night. That was unless Tsubasa pulled his oh-so-funny prank again by using all the hot water up just before she arrived. Though after the chewing out Rei gave him the last time, he would have to have a death wish. She hated sharing a bathroom.
The flutter of wings startled Rei out of her reverie. She looked up and saw a couple of crows settling down for the night on a building's ledge. They reminded Rei of her birds, Phobus and Deimos, back at Hikawa Jinja. She hoped her Grandpa was taking care of them. Rei continued to look up at the sky as she walked, looking at the full moon.
"A permanent reminder of her," sighed Rei.
Rei looked at the ground and shoved her hands in her pockets. How very bland her life had become. She had no purpose anymore, no reason to go on. The light of her life was gone... but it was for the best.
Is this how it's always going to be from now on? Working in a dead-end job by day and staying in a tiny `apartment' by night? The slightest thing reminding me of whom I left behind, causing me to be miserable for the rest of the day? Is this my life now?
Rei thought that maybe she could go back to school in Yokohama. She had simply abandoned high school when she had left Tokyo. She had a false name and no parents to back her up... but Makoto had done it (except for the false name part), so why couldn't she?
They'd probably want old school records or something... or maybe -what was that? Rei was brought out of her thoughts by a noise ahead of her.
"Probably just a rat," murmured Rei, as she walked a little more cautiously up the street.
She looked down a dark alley to her right. She could see a bunch of garbage cans and a lot of garbage that didn't make it into the cans. The sound had come from down there.
Yeah right, like I'm going to go down a dark, spooky alley in the middle of the night to investigate a strange noise? I have been to the movies thought Rei sarcastically.
Rei began to walk off, but stopped when she heard the noise again. It sounded like...
Sounded like somebody crying... somebody could be hurt, or in trouble... or it could be some junkie needing a fix This was a bad neighbourhood after all.
Rei debated with herself for a couple of seconds, and then sighed.
"Damn it," she swore, and carefully entered the alley.
Augh, this place is filthy! There's probably a whole swarm of cockroaches just waiting for the right time to ambush me Rei thought in disgust, I hope they're tied up fighting with the alley's rat population
Rei slowly made her way deeper into the alley, carefully picking her steps for maximum stealth, her breathing becoming shallow and quick as adrenaline pumped through her veins.
Alright, nothing to be scared of... it was probably your imagination... nobody horrendously disfigured is going to jump out and stab you to death... there, a sound!
Rei strained her ears, trying to pick up the noise. It was like something was scraping against the brick wall of the alley. But there was something else...
Hmm... sounded like someone was humming... that can't be right, humming? No, that can't be right... Rei shook her head slightly at the thought.
Rei moved a little closer to the source of the noise, trying to see through the gloom. She saw too figures. One appeared to be a woman, sitting against the wall of the alley, moving weakly. The other was very different. It was humanoid in shape but was bulky, like someone who had done very heavy weight training all his or her life. Rei squinted her eyes. It was wearing something on its head... some strange hat. It stood over the woman, one of its large hands over her face, which caused her moaning to be muffled making her seem to hum. The figure didn't notice Rei's presence.
Okay, I've got to do something Rei smiled a grim half-smile, like throw a few fire souls at this scumbag
As she prepared to transform, she hesitated. Rei couldn't transform into Sailor Mars. Sailor Mars was supposed to be dead. If the bulky thing with the weird hat escaped or the woman saw her, Rei's secret would be out. Sailor Mars was a recognisable figure.
Maybe I can take this bruiser without transforming... I'm not completely helpless as just Re- Megumi. Grr, come on, a woman's life is in danger, I can't hold back! ...hmm, Minako had a mask when she transformed to Sailor V; how did she do that? Rei's thoughts raced.
Rei swallowed a gasp as the bulky figure pulled the woman's face towards him and pushed back, hitting the back of her head against the wall with a sickening crack. The woman stopped moving altogether.
I don't have time to hold a summit meeting in my head! I'll just try to will my senshi fuku to change. I'll add a mask or something like Sailor V... or Tuxedo Kamen
With those thoughts held in her mind, Rei transformed
"MARS CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE UP!" yelled Rei, breaking the silence of the night.
Rei felt her fuku take form around her, and willed it to change. There was a slight pause in the transformation and then it continued. Rei felt her legs and arms being covered and something slide over her face. It was all over in a split second.
The figure let go of the woman and stepped towards the now revealed Sailor Mars. With her eyes completely adjusted to the darkness and in range of the figure, Sailor Mars saw that this was no big body-builder bullying a woman. Nor was it wearing a hat. The creature stood a head taller than Mars and possessed bestial features. Its lower body was covered in a thick silver fur, while it's upper-half was hairless and the colour of raw skin. Entwined antlers sprouted from its head. Its characteristics made it look demonic and obviously not human.
Sailor Mars moved into a combat stance. "I am Sai- um... I'm..." Mars didn't know who to say she was.
"I am a fighter of justice!" recovered Mars, "you will pay for hurting a defenceless woman!"
The creature, the youma, seemed unperturbed by this. In fact, it looked pleased. "A fighter," it hissed, a forked tongue flicking out its mouth, "then fight, fighter!!"
The youma roared out a battle cry and charged at Sailor Mars. Mars darted to her right, leaping onto a dumpster. The youma quickly responded with a swipe at Mars' legs with a taloned hand. Mars leapt upwards, grabbing a fire escape ladder and swung outwards, landing behind the youma. As Mars prepared to use a fire soul, she hesitated.
My powers will identify me as Sailor Mars! Ack, there's no choice... besides, this thing won't tell anyone once I'm through with it!
But Sailor Mars' hesitation was enough to give the youma an opening. It lashed out behind it with a furred leg, catching Mars in the sternum. Mars flew backwards, landing in a trash pile at the end of the alley.
Mars silently gasped, trying to force air back into her lungs.
The youma turned around and ran at Sailor Mars, its maw elongating to a length that hardly seemed possible. When the youma was almost upon her, Mars rolled to her left and struggled to her feet. She ran forward. The youma turned after her, strings of drool trailing after its mouth. Sailor Mars leapt into the air and turned around, facing the youma.
"FIRE SOUL!"
A fireball launched from Mars' fingertips, careering towards the youma's open mouth. The youma, with a surprising display of reflexes, grabbed a trashcan lid and held it in front of him, absorbing the flames. As Sailor Mars landed, it threw the lid like a frisbee. Mars desperately moved her body, trying to avoid the projectile. She screamed in pain as the lid scraped against her tender ribs.
Bastard! This youma will burn!! raged Mars.
The youma laughed heartily at Sailor Mars' scream and resumed its charge.
Mars pulled out an ofuda. "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen. Akuryou taisan!"
When the youma was right in front of her, Sailor Mars nimbly dived through its legs, turning onto her back despite the afterglow of hurt from her ribs, and slapped the ofuda on the creatures back. The youma halted its charge, suddenly paralysed.
"What... have you... done?!" it choked out, its distorted mouth affecting its speech.
Sailor Mars quickly moved in front of the youma.
"I've destroyed you," Mars said grimly, "FIRE SOUL BIRD!"
A bird of flame streaked at the youma's open mouth. This time the shot did not miss.
After the youma was nothing but ash, Sailor Mars moved over to the woman. She had cuts all over her arms, probably from the youma man-handling her. Mars carefully felt behind her head. It felt moist. The woman moaned and opened her eyes... and shrieked at the sight of Sailor Mars.
"Its okay, its okay," said Mars soothingly, "that thing is gone now... and I won't hurt you."
The woman continued to look at Sailor Mars warily. Mars wondered what her sailor fuku looked like now. She hoped it wasn't what was frightening the woman.
Probably just the shock of some ugly thing whaling on you and then a weird stranger showing up to save you rationalised Mars.
"Can you move?" asked Sailor Mars, "come on, lets try."
Sailor Mars put an arm under the woman's armpit and helped her to her feet. The woman swayed uneasily and touched the back of her head. She cringed and looked at the blood on her hand. Then she promptly passed out.
Mars caught her as she fell. She sighed. Now I'm going to have to carry her all the way to the hospital. What a day. Well, at least I didn't have to pour any coffee...
Sailor Mars made for the nearest hospital.
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The hospital staff looked at Sailor Mars strangely when she entered, but when they saw that she had an injured person in her arms, they got into action. Her work done, she disappeared into the night.
Curious to what her sailor fuku looked like, Sailor Mars stopped to look at her reflection in a shop window before detransforming. She got quite a shock.
Who the hell am I supposed to be, Tuxedo Mars?!
Her fuku had taken on some startling changes. You couldn't even call it a fuku anymore. Mars had on a long, black two-tailed coat, collar up, buttoned in the middle over a loose black tunic and pants, which were tucked into boots. Her hair had been bundled under a black wide-brimmed hat. A crimson veil over the lower part of her face completed the ensemble.
"God, no wonder everyone looked at me like I was nuts, I look like some urban ninja," moaned Sailor Mars.
Mars wondered why this outfit had appeared. Just a mask would have been fine. Sailor Mars punched a fist into her palm. She had it.
Damnit, this is what you get when you think about Tuxedo Kamen! Thinking about how he looked must have influenced what my fuku would change into... oh well, I can always change the fuku into something else the next time I transform
Sailor Mars got out of sight and detransformed. Tsubasa had better not have had used all the hot water. His life depended on it.
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Khairephon slouched in his chair. Was he ever bored. He missed his sister terribly. Sure they fought like banshees, but that was just their way of showing affection for each other. Makareus and Thrinakie didn't understand; it was annoying when they kept separating Laodameia and himself.
Khairephon let out a weary sigh. He was always stuck with the boring jobs. They only called him when they needed some tough heads bashed. So he liked fighting, the lust for the kill. Who didn't? The way blood spurted from a severed artery, the sound that bones make when pulverized... that look in your enemies eyes as he realises he is about to die by your hand... there was nothing like it. They didn't understand. Makareus and Thrinakie always wanted to take over worlds, enslave the inhabitants. Even Laodameia did. Khairephon would rather just systematically slaughter them all, putting their remains on display as a warning to all who would think they could defeat him. He was tired of waiting for word from the others. Sure, it wasn't long ago that they left but he was growing uncomfortable in his human form. It felt like his insides were trying to scratch there way out of his skin. He just wanted to let loose.
Khairephon looked over to the youma in the room with him. All of them were loyal to him, the other youma who were left behind by his siblings preferring to not partake in the festivities. The room was below a rave nightclub that had been bought before his arrival by Makareus' followers.
They were always good at infiltration, the back-stabbing sneaks
The bass from the music above helped to drown out all the noise. The room was filled with the cries of battle, his youma fighting one another to increase their skills, and for sheer pleasure. The room was also filled with the screams of torment, the moans of the suffering. It was sweeter to Khairephon's ears than any music. Humans died so very easily. And hardly any of them had the courage to face pain and death with dignity.
Look at them, chained and whimpering for mercy Khairephon thought in disgust.
Khairephon had ordered his youma to gather humans from areas in the city that they would not be missed from. His youma needed food and entertainment. Thrinakie's youma came in handy finding the right areas. He never realised humans were so weak. They were dying by the dozen each day. He was certain he could clean out this entire city single-handedly in a matter of days. But instead he waited, his youma abducting humans and coming through the sewer system to the nightclub.
A metal cover on the floor was knocked on twice, once, then three times, signalling that the latest raiders had returned. As the youma entered the room from below carrying their unconscious prizes, Khairephon realised that one was missing.
"What happened to Vethuzial?" he asked.
The youma raiders shrugged or shook their heads... if they had one.
Better not be a deserter thought Khairephon angrily. He really hated having to hunt down deserters.
Khairephon put his hands behind his head. Did he ever wish for some strong adversary to occupy his time with.
Part Six |
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