Sanjuro wandered into the newsroom of the Yokohama Daily and over to his desk. He dumped himself down into his chair, causing it to give an ominous creak, then dropped his bag onto the floor. These eight o’ clock starts were a killer and running around all night in a dangerous neighbourhood after a mysterious woman didn't help either. Sanjuro ran his fingers through his black, short, spiky hair and exhaled heavily. They didn't pay him enough to get up this early. "Hey, Sanjuro! Still alive, huh? Or did you take my advice and stay home?" Ryoji said as he approached, throwing Sanjuro's breakfast on top of the man’s desk. Sanjuro perked up when he saw Ryoji, mainly because he came bearing food. "For your information, my plan worked," he retorted with a smug smile, relaxing back in his seat and putting his hands behind his head, before planting his feet up on the desktop. "Sure, Sanjuro," Ryoji drawled out, obviously not believing him. "It did, alright! You wouldn't believe what I saw! Do you realise there are monsters out there? I mean real, honest-to-goodness, *monsters*. I saw people die, man! And that woman, the masked hero? She can throw fireballs and stuff! She really kicked some ass last night..." Sanjuro gazed up at the ceiling, remembering. "She's so cool...." he finished in a whisper. Ryoji shook his head and let out an exaggerated breath. "It's a shame when such a star reporter cracks," Ryoji remarked sarcastically. "I suppose she gave you her number as well and asked you to call her?" "No, but I gave her mine," Sanjuro said, causing Ryoji to roll his eyes. "My work number anyway." "This reaches a whole new level of pathetic for you. Congratulations," Ryoji deadpanned, giving a fake smile to his colleague. "It's true, I swear! I even took pic--" Sanjuro stopped when he realised he didn't exactly have those pictures. "Took pictures?" Ryoji finished for the spiky-haired man. "Then give me a look at them." "Uh... they haven't been developed yet..." Sanjuro mumbled, looking away from his friend. Ryoji gave Sanjuro a pointed look. "Right... how convenient." "Ahh, screw you. You just wait until I write this story. I smell promotion, I smell awards--" Sanjuro began irritably. "I smell BS," Ryoji laughed. Sanjuro scowled at him. "Go away," he ordered. He had had enough of being made fun of. Ryoji continued laughing as he walked over to his own desk. Sanjuro decided to ignore the annoying man and checked the 'in' tray on his desk instead. He picked up the only sheet of paper in it. ‘High School fair brings in record numbers’ the paper was labelled at the top, with the details about the story following beneath it. Riveting stuff. The editor really expected Sanjuro to write this boring drivel? He balled up the report request and threw it in the trashcan beside his desk. Sanjuro decided that he should get started on his article about the masked woman instead. That story was much more interesting and exciting; it would definitely appeal to more readers than that other dull story. Sanjuro knew that he had told the woman that he wouldn't put a report about his experiences last night in the Daily, but it was all right to merely get a head start. Maybe he could get a job at the Gazette or the Telegraph with this story and have it printed there. She never said he couldn’t do that, did she? But first he needed a name to call her. Something like, ‘The Fiery Avenger’ except more... dynamic.... Sanjuro shoved some of his breakfast in his mouth and then began to jot down some notes. The story of the year was in the making! ****** Santhesis began typing on his computer keyboard again as the human, Ryoji Yamamoto, walked past him. The youma had been working at the Yokohama Daily, a medium to distribute information happening in the city and the world to the human masses, for nearly a month now and finally his strategic placement here had paid off. He was supposed to spread false information in the event that the newspaper obtained evidence of the impending invasion. But instead, the disguised youma infiltrator had become quite adept at writing human sports coverage, a skill he was not particularly proud of, since the humans had been completely clueless about what was happening in their world... until now. It seemed that the dim-witted male, Sanjuro Watanabe, had actually stumbled upon one of Lord Khairephon’s raiding parties and somehow escaped with his life. But that was not all. As an added bonus, the reporter also knew about the female with the power of fire at her fingertips. Rodoth would be most pleased. Santhesis stopped typing once Ryoji had settled down at his desk, and picked up the human’s long-range communication device, the 'telephone' resting on his own desk. The youma spy dialled the number for the Ragnarok nightclub, the headquarters for Lord Khairephon’s force in Yokohama. "Ragnarok," answered the human voice on the other end of the line. Santhesis spat a guttural phrase quietly into the receiver. The other end was silent for a moment, then another human voice spoke. "Report," it ordered firmly. Santhesis recognised the voice as Makareus' appointed youma leader for this city, and his own commander, Rodoth. "This is Santhesis reporting from the Yokohama Daily. I have encountered important information...." ****** Rodoth put down the phone and allowed himself a small smile. So, they now had a lead on the special human. With any luck, the reporter at the Yokohama Daily Santhesis had mentioned would feed the agent more information about the female, and eventually, they would have enough to strike directly at her. Of course, it wouldn't be necessary if Rodoth's currently devised plan worked. Khairephon wanted the human alive however, no doubt to challenge her to a fight and kill her for himself; he was prone to behaviour like that. It would be unfortunate that the berserker would only have the female’s dead body to indulge his violent nature with. Threats were to be erased, not toyed with. That was Lord Makareus’ way... the *correct* way. Rodoth turned towards the door as one of Thrinakie's youma entered. All of Thrinakie's followers had been charged with finding new rips in reality that could be used as gateways to their home dimension, and judging by the youma's excited appearance, a new one had finally been found. Rodoth would have to ask Khairephon if more of Lord Makareus’ youma agents could be sent through. Stealth rather than violence was always the best way to work. ****** Rei walked through the Hikodo gangland late at night, making no effort to hide herself. The miko was just a lone, helpless and innocent, girl walking the unsafe streets late in the evening on her way home. She hoped that she made a tempting target for the youma... and tried not to think about what else would be tempted. Damn youma; why did they have to choose this hellhole of a neighbourhood to congregate to? Rei sighed. She knew why. The youma could hunt here all they wanted and not have to worry about the local authorities investigating the unfortunate people’s disappearances. No police officer would patrol this area no matter how much they were paid. Besides, the police probably wouldn't care if some indigent who lived in the Hikodo gangland vanished without a trace. Who cared if some homeless person or drug addict got killed after all? Rei made a face and shook her head at the thought. It was a sad and bitter truth. Rei continued walking until she heard frightened cries for help coming from a distance. She cursed and quickly ran in the direction of the shouts. As the calls grew louder and clearer to Rei’s ears, she came towards what looked, at first, like a long wide trench. She then realised that it was actually, in fact, a large light grey concrete half-pipe apparently used for draining rainwater. It had to be at least ten feet wide and a hundred metres in length. There were several barred holes dotted along either side of the sluice where they connected to the sewer system. The cries were originating from the bottom of it. Rei got on her stomach once she neared the canal and crawled 'commando style' over to the edge to take a cautious peek down inside. The Fire Senshi saw that there were about three rather nondescript people, two men and a woman, cowering in the middle of the half-pipe structure. They were all shouting for help while a tall gangly man stood menacingly over them. Rei’s brow creased as her sharp senses attuned to the paranormal pricked up at the sight of the lithe figure. No, it was not a man. The youma had a pale brown complexion--the colour of decay--and its body was completely devoid of hair. Its dangling arms were long and spindly, with its hands reaching just slightly past its knees. The monster’s fingers also seemed overly long, but as Rei strained her eyes, she realised that they weren't exactly just fingers. No, they were mostly its fingernails... and each one was like a stiletto. The Senshi of Fire imagined that the youma had to be extremely careful when it was picking its nose. The youma turned its head a little, as if searching for something, and inadvertently gave Rei an unobstructed view of its face. It certainly wouldn't win any beauty prizes. The youma didn't appear to have any lips and its mouth was in a permanent rictus of a wide, sinister, sharp-toothed grin. And its eyes... the youma's eyes were black holes. Rei looked at them and shivered. It was said that the eyes were the windows to one's soul... and this creature’s soul was black. The youma appeared to be waiting for something, or someone. It ignored the wails of the three people, not at all disturbed by them, and looked around the canal instead. Rei surmised it was probably waiting for its ugly buddies to come and help it carry its ‘prey’. However, the monster’s wait was about to be cut short. It was time for baldy to learn that no one kidnaps innocent people in this neighbourhood while the Senshi of Fire was around! With that last resolved thought, Rei stood up and transformed, willing her fuku to change into the last battle outfit she had worn. "MARS CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE UP!" "I am a fighter of justice," shouted Sailor Mars, down at the youma, her transformation complete, "and I will punish you!" The youma turned its head slowly up at her and then tilted it casually to one side, giving the Fire Senshi the impression that the creature was mocking her. However, the youma then abruptly imploded, completely disappearing into nothing. The only remaining part of the creature that could be seen was its shadow. "What the...?" breathed a puzzled Mars. Sailor Mars watched the youma's shadow as it moved up the other side of the canal and across the street at the top, before blending into the other shadows in the moonlight, effectively vanishing from view. "I must have a reputation now," mused Mars once the youma had fled. The Senshi of Fire gazed down at the people who were still cowering in the half-pipe structure below. With almost laid-back ease, she jumped off the edge of the sluice and agilely slid down the smooth side to the bottom on the balls of her feet. Once Sailor Mars had reached the bottom of the sluice, she quickly approached the people, who had all now ceased their cries for help. "Hey, you're all okay now." she said in a soothing voice. "That, um, man is gone...." However, all three still cowered. Mars sighed wearily... but then, that youma had been pretty scary looking. She supposed it was only natural for the people to still be frightened. Undeterred, Mars reached down and placed her hands under a man's armpits, and began to lift him to his feet, hoping a little bodily assistance would snap at least one member of the group out of their fearful states. "Here, on your fe-- AHH!" One of the 'people' pulled her arm-turned-blade out of Mars' side, red droplets dotting the pipe floor. The miko let go of the man with a gasp and staggered backwards, holding her right side, eyes wide with shock. She stumbled and fell, landing on her backside. Sailor Mars looked on with rising panic as the three people dropped their human masquerades and turned into their true forms; youma. The youma that had stabbed Mars was female and looked quite human... except for her green skin and the arms that ended in long, sharp, sword-like blades... one of which was red with the Fire Senshi’s blood. The man who she had tried to help looked like he was made of rock and was absolutely huge. His head almost reached the top of the canal and his ham sized fists looked like they could shatter steel. The last youma was also built for close combat; it was almost as large as his rock companion and appeared crustacean. It was covered in armoured plates with giant pincers for hands; the snipping claws seemed positively eager to cut Mars in two. Sailor Mars mentally cursed herself for ignoring her instincts. It was clear now that it had been a trap. The presence of the gangly youma earlier had waylaid the attention of her astute senses, making her believe that the signals she was getting from around the canal were residual ones from the creature. Damn it; she had been stupid! She should have known! Mars gritted her teeth in pain and in anger at herself. Gods, her side hurt so much! And if that wasn’t enough, she was losing blood... and lots of it. The rock youma raised both his fists high above his head, and brought them down at Sailor Mars, attempting to pulverise her to a mushy paste. Mars scrambled desperately backwards and spread her legs as the fists cracked the concrete floor between them. Mars let go of her weeping side, her hand soaked with blood. She rolled deftly backwards and into a standing position, leaving a red handprint behind. More of her blood decorated the floor of the sluice with the movement. "FIRE SOUL BIRD!" Sailor Mars let loose a bird constructed of fire at the rock youma. The bird smashed squarely into his chest, the flames licking around his stone form. Mars swallowed down her panic as she saw that her attack had done nothing to harm the creature, bar leaving his tough skin slightly blackened. There was a wild shriek from the blade youma as she defied the laws of physics and began running along the right vertical side of the smooth grey canal towards Mars. The miko darted backwards as one blade slashed in front of her face, nearly badly gouging her features. The youma followed the blow smoothly, hacking with the other blade high at Sailor Mars' leg, tearing a large gash along her left thigh before the girl could react. Mars retaliated by smashing her right blood-covered fist directly into the face of the youma, temporarily stunning it. Then she executed a leg swipe, ignoring the pain of her injuries. The bladed youma was deposited on her side but quickly swiped at Mars' legs, no doubt hoping to catch the raven-haired girl unawares. It was to be disappointed, though, as it was met with air while Mars leapt further backwards, narrowly evading the strike and putting some distance between her adversaries and herself. Sailor Mars knew she had to escape from this fight; there was very little chance she could win while she was bleeding all over the place. The sneak attack to her side would be a mortal one if she didn’t get the stab medical attention soon. Already the blood loss was starting to affect her mind, making it feel as though she was floating on air. The Fire Senshi wished she could just have a chance to sit long enough to regain her bearings... not to mention catch her breath. However, there was no time for Mars to even indulge in the shortest of respites. The armoured youma lumbered forward, stepping over the prone blade youma, his huge feet barely missing stomping his ally into the concrete floor. As the gigantic humanoid crustacean snapped its pincers threateningly at Sailor Mars, she knew that if she got caught in the creature’s grasp, she would die for sure. Or at the very least, lose a limb. The youma lunged with one claw, trying to grab the miko. Mars strafed as nimbly as she could with her wounds to the right, dodging it, and then ducked as the second pincer flew at her midsection. She immediately rolled backwards as the claw sailed overhead, looking at the end of the waterless canal behind her as she did so. It ended in a smooth wall. How was Sailor Mars supposed to get out of this situation? The half-pipe sides looked... they looked... really... steep. Mars swayed unsteadily on her feet as her head felt even lighter than it had previously, causing her vision and thoughts to swim. Sailor Mars shook her head hard to clear it. Her eyes refocused, only to see the rock youma's tombstone-sized fist coming straight for her face. Mars let herself fall backwards, allowing the fist to fly over her body. She then frantically rolled to one side as a pincer demolished the floor of the canal where she had lain. Mars hurriedly jumped to her feet, only to be cut shallowly across the forehead by a blade. She was going to die. Her head was beginning to float again, addling her mental processes and affecting her ability to react to the relentless onslaught of attacks. Sailor Mars was going to die and no one even knew she was here. No one knew about the youma in Yokohama, or about Kar... Khain... what was the name again...? The Senshi of Fire was brought back to some semblance of reality when she realised a large flat granite surface was careening towards her. She moved on pure reflex to her left, but it was too late; the rock youma's fist scored a glancing blow to her right shoulder. The force behind even the slightest impact from such a strike was enough to make the girl feel as though she had been smacked by a heavy sledgehammer. Mars screamed in agony as her body spun around in the air while being thrown backwards. She hit the concrete floor and skidded along the middle of the canal, eventually coming to rest near the end wall. Sailor Mars lay on her back looking up at the stars twinkling in the dark night’s sky through half-closed lavender eyes. The ground was trembling with a thud-thud sound beneath her, the vibrations occasionally sending rhythmic jolts through her prone body. Her right arm felt strange... and the right half of her coat was all wet. Her head... the thud sound was coming closer now... but it was nice to just take in the beauty of the night sky. Mars’ eyes shifted lazily to the clear full moon that shone brighter and more vibrant than any star in the heavens above. The moon... it was so beautiful. The moon. Sailor Mars was sure that it held some great significance she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Unbidden, a tear suddenly leaked out of one of her eyes. An image of a smiling blonde girl with long hair styled into twin odangos came into Mars’ mind. The girl was important somehow. She was... special to Sailor Mars. Usa... Usagi... Yes. That was the girl's name. Usagi Tsukino. The thudding noises were even closer now. The image of... Usagi... changed, a crescent moon appearing emblazoned on her forehead. The moon... Sailor Moon... Yes. Usagi was Sailor Moon. But... no. She was more than that. Usagi was something even more important than Sailor Moon. The image in Sailor Mars’ mind’s eye changed yet again with Usagi now dressed like royalty; in a rich gown adorned with delicate butterfly wings on the back and with a golden crown gracing her blonde head. The moon... the Moon Princess... Yes. Usagi was the Moon Princess also. But that still wasn't it... there was something very important that Mars was forgetting, something that she should never forget. The image of Usagi turned back to the first form, the girl simply dressed in her school uniform. Sailor Mars almost had it now. It was so close... more tears flowed from the miko’s eyes. The thudding was now nearly upon her... The moon... Usagi was the princess. Yes, that was correct, but... no, Usagi was *her* princess; she was her... love. Sailor Mars loved that girl in her mind, she loved her! Usagi was the love of her life; she was her true love, her only love. How could Mars forget such a thing? Her princess was the love that she would die eternally for, the reason she fought. Mars fought for Usagi, the Moon Princess, because she loved her! She would continue to fight for the angel until her last breath was gone, until her body became dust, until Time itself ended. And none of those moments had occurred yet. No, not yet. So Sailor Mars should fight. She should get up and FIGHT! Sailor Mars leapt to her feet and rammed her right shoulder against the wall, popping the joint back into place... but there was no pain. She turned and caught the blade youma's downward slice with one hand and smashed the palm of her other straight into the monster's face, shattering her nose in a shower of cartilage and purplish liquid. The youma stumbled backwards, letting out a screech of pain, before toppling over. Mars ducked as a pincer ripped into the wall behind her, scoring a large groove in the concrete. She nimbly rolled under the thick carapace-covered legs of the crustacean youma and in front of it, effectively vanishing briefly from the creature’s sight. Sailor Mars heard a heavy grinding movement behind her and she immediately leapt as high as she could, performing a perfect leg split in the air... and just in the nick of time. The crustacean youma's claw flashed under Mars’ legs and tore into the rock youma's chest behind the raven-haired girl. The iron-like pincer burst through the hard stone skin and into the soft flesh beneath, literally shredding its vital organs. Sailor Mars landed skilfully on top of the crustacean youma's extended arm, using her own arms to balance herself. "FIRE SOUL!" A roaring ball of fire flew point blank into the crustacean youma's unarmoured eyes, cooking them until a steaming viscous fluid popped sickeningly from the blackened orbs. The flames continued to burn along the monster’s optic nerves inside his skull, reaching the brain and liquefying it into a hot soup instantly. Sailor Mars bounded off the falling hulk and to the floor of the half-pipe, only to meet the blade youma's furious charge. Mars violently forestalled her rush by kicking out hard and hitting the youma in her stomach, sending her over to its rock companion’s decaying corpse. "BURNING MANDALA!" The youma collapsed to her knees, her skin running like wax as a barrage of fire rings burnt it asunder. The metallic blades that were her arms began to drip onto the concrete, forming two pools of silver. The creature burnt until her body was nothing but grey ashes. Only slowly solidifying, almost mirror-like, puddles shining in the moonlight on the canal's floor were left of her. Sailor Mars panted with exhaustion as she dropped to her knees, the pain of her serious wounds returning. She didn't know exactly what had come over her, but she had fought like never before. Mars gingerly felt the inside of her coat... it was soaked with blood. She had to get medical attention, and soon. It had been a miracle that she had snapped out of her dreamlike daze while sustaining such blood loss. Sailor Mars used the huge bodies of the rock and crustacean youma to help her climb out of the sluice before they disintegrated... although the agony radiating from her shoulder and right side hampered her all the while. Once she had escaped the concrete canal, the Fire Senshi staggered laboriously through the Hikodo gangland leaving copious amounts of red fluid dripping behind her... and an unintentional red trail for the shadows.... ****** Sailor Mars leaned heavily against an alley wall. The hospital was right across from her, at last. The miko hadn’t thought she was going to make it. She was so tired... she just needed to rest her eyes for-- no! Mars shook her head furiously, trying her utmost to stay awake. She knew that to give in to the lethargy that threatened to consume her mind was to give up on life. Sailor Mars detransformed and began to struggle to the hospital entrance when she spotted something odd. If that wasn’t enough, a familiar tickling sensation on her sharp senses accompanied the strange sight. At least her instincts were still in working order despite her wandering mind. That man standing rigidly near the double-door entrance of the medical facility seemed to be looking for something... or someone. He was wearing a suit that seemed somewhat uncomfortable for him, and was busy looking around the street... clearly in the most inconspicuous fashion he could manage... which, Rei observed, wasn’t very inconspicuous at all. It was the way he carried himself; it just wasn't normal. It wasn't... human. Rei quickly retreated into the darkness of the alley, making sure that the suited man hadn’t noticed her. The youma had this particular hospital staked out... damn. The enemy had certainly gotten all of the angles covered this time. There wasn't another hospital nearby that Rei thought she could live to see... so she took the only other option she had left. As Rei moved back down the alley, sliding her body against the wall, her dark red blood smeared a macabre form of graffiti for the brickwork. ****** Tsubasa lounged on his rather worn couch in his apartment watching late night television. He had been staying up late the past few days awaiting the sound of Megumi's return, even though he was usually exhausted in the morning. Tsubasa worried about that girl... more than he ought to. Megumi abused him almost everyday with insults, but for some reason, Tsubasa liked her. A lot. The twenty-one year old felt as though he had some sort of schoolboy crush. Though, in truth, that tended to happen more times than he cared to admit. There was just something about her... she was so pretty... her hair... and her eyes... Tsubasa shook his head, clearing the thoughts. He shouldn't be so shallow, but he couldn't deny that Megumi was the picture of beauty. Despite her apparent acerbic temperament, he was sure that inside she was just as beautiful. Tsubasa perked up and sat upright as he heard the plodding footsteps of someone climbing up the apartment building staircase outside his apartment door. It was probably Megumi; he knew none of the other tenants would still be up at this time of the night. To make sure, the man glanced at his clock on the wall... it was a quarter past one in the morning. Tsubasa wondered exactly what it was that Megumi did all evening. Most likely she was out clubbing or something similar. Tsubasa sighed. She really shouldn’t do that when she needed to get up so early for work in the morning. Tsubasa heard Megumi's apartment door open and then a loud thump. Curious, and wanting to see if the raven-haired girl was okay, Tsubasa got up from the couch and opened his apartment door... revealing a most unwelcome sight. "Megumi!" ripped involuntarily from his throat. Megumi was sprawled halfway in her apartment, a large smear of blood on the door. Tsubasa rushed anxiously to her side, his heart in his mouth and panic mounting inside him... which rapidly hastened in its rise as he got a closer look at how drenched with blood his neighbour’s clothes were. "Megumi! Can you hear me?!" Tsubasa shouted frantically. Megumi simply lay there, totally unresponsive. Tsubasa hurriedly felt for her pulse, sweat starting to bead on his brow. It was still there, thank god, but it wasn't very strong at all. All of a sudden Megumi’s eyes fluttered open, but then closed again slightly, becoming lidded. "Megumi?! Don't move; I'll call an ambulance!" Tsubasa looked madly around Megumi's apartment, searching for a phone, but it appeared the girl didn’t have one. As he was about to run to his own apartment to make the call, Megumi mumbled something. "No... no ambulance... no hospital... danger..." Rei croaked out through parched lips. Tsubasa stared incredulously at her. No ambulance? Was she delirious? She had to be wearing most of her body’s supply of blood! "You need an ambulance Megumi, you've lost a lot of blood!" Tsubasa declared, as he looked at the girl uneasily, taking in her sickly pale face. "No... ambulance... I can take it... healing..." the girl went on weakly. Tsubasa cursed and then dashed into the bathroom, pulling out as many medical supplies as he could from the medicine cabinet. He knew first aid, but he was sure this was beyond his skill. When he returned, Megumi was moaning and crying out for someone, her feeble and begging voice pulling at his heartstrings. Tsubasa pointedly ignored her cries and set about trying to save her life. ****** To be continued.... Author's ramblings: Chapter eight is done. I got sort of mushy and slightly cheesy with Mars' delirium part, but it was the best I could do... it took me ages to get it to be not quite so lame.
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