Chapter 7

The rest of the evening was spent in training. Mei, Daichi, and Hikari went through the same trainings with the rest of the Senshi as they had done before. What had taken Mei and Hikari several days to learn was learned by the other four by the time the stars began to brighten. They slept little that night. The impending war weighed heavily on their minds. To add to that, they all awoke early to train. They hadn't planned on awakening so early, but they worked it out nonetheless. The rest of Daichi's training was completed in half a day's time. As they stopped at mid-day for a break, the sounds of explosions rocked the air. From the entrance of the castle, they could see explosions of dark energy rocking to the far east. The Mei Kingdom was striking the Shio Provinces.

"There is nothing we can do," Queen Taloral told them soon after in the counsel room. "The provinces have requested that Daichi, Aria, and the Royal County keep to themselves so as to not weaken defenses."

It was with that heavy news that the Senshi returned to training. There were no more lessons from Daichi for the moment. Instead, she put the older Senshi into a very dusty training routine she had unearthed from the Royal County archives. While they went through the routines, Daichi took Aria and Elementus aside. It didn't take long for Elementus to get into the groove of training. They were unsuccessful in forming a possible transformation, but the little princess quickly got the hang of her earth and air abilities.

The darkness of night swept over the castle, bringing the Senshi together on the veranda for dinner. Their meeting brought quite a surprise. While the Senshi had gone through the training routine, Mei and Hikari inadvertently summoned the Twilight Daggers. To add to that, Hikari had summoned the Staff of Golden Day. "It is imperative that each of you summon the weapons of your line," Talor said as she picked at her dinner. "Daichi has already summoned the Ibarakei. Now the Twilight Daggers are here, as is the Staff of Golden Day. If you all can summon your gifts and learn to wield them, we can have a strong advantage." The Senshi nodded in agreement. "Princess, how is your training?"

The little princess looked up at Talor. Her cheeks were large, stuffed full of food. It made it quite clear that she couldn't reply. "She's progressing quickly," Daichi said in her place. The little girl nodded before putting her full attention back on her food. "There is yet no sign of a Senshi transformation, but Aria and I have been able to train her in her powers of earth and air. She shall need to train further with Sou and Asa to better her powers of fire and water."

"Kaki and Shio," Talor corrected. Daichi glanced side-long at Talor with a soft look of irritability before standing up and pushing her plate away.

"Princess," she said, "When you are ready I want you to train the rest of your powers with Kaki and Shio." Elementus nodded with her cheeks still full of food. Then Daichi turned to Aria. "When you are finished, join me in the courtyard." With that, she turned and left the veranda. Aria blinked a few times and looked at her food. She took one more hurried bite and shoved the plate away before charging after Daichi.

I worry for Aria, Mei said, keeping her thoughts confined to the four remaining Senshi. Daichi seems to get along with Aria and the princess, but it is my understanding that she is not tolerant of children.

Where did you get your information? Hikari asked.

A woman who says she was Reiko's attendant, Mei replied as she poked at the meat on her plate with disgust.

I do not think there is need to worry, Shio replied, somewhat nervous about speaking through thoughts.

"I didn't say you needed to rush," Daichi said as Aria came up on her in the courtyard.

"Well, we're going to train, right?" Aria asked. "It isn't good to train with too full of a stomach because you can get sick." Daichi smiled and turned to the little Senshi of wind. "Am I right?"

"Correct," Daichi said with amusement. "You're rather intelligent for only being twelve." Aria didn't know whether or not to take that last statement as a compliment or a snide remark, so she stayed silent. "Let us see."

"See what?" Aria asked. She had barely finished her last word when a mountain of dirt came up from the ground and threatened to swallow her. She gasped fearfully before burying a torrent of wind into the soft dirt, barely propelling herself out. As she hovered in the air, a tangle of dangerous-looking vines shot up at her. She used another jet of wind to push herself away, letting her land on the railings of the second level. Daichi hadn't yet moved from her place in the yard. "This is clearly a test," she said to herself. "I'm going to put in all I have." She kicked off of the railing. She soared in the air for several moments before putting her hands palm to palm in the shape of an arrow. "Cyclone!" she shouted, sending a spiraling twister of air at Daichi.

Daichi glanced up at the attack. She sighed and swept up her hand, bringing with is a thick wall of dirt. The tip of the twister struck the wall with a slow grinding, and Daichi expected that to be the end of it, which is why she was quite soon after buried by the dirt of the wall before being thrown up into the air. She was quite surprised to be spiraling around Aria's twister. "This is going to be more amusing than I thought," she said as she summoned up a tangle of vines. The vines gently wrapped around her and pulled her free of the wind. As soon as she left the twister it disappeared. "No mercy." She spun to her left and shouted, "Tremble!" Just as the tip of Aria's slipper touched the ground, a wave of vines came up around her and wrapped around her. The ground beneath her broke apart and the vines pulled her in. Little Aria screamed.

Her scream brought about the attention of the other Senshi. Just as they entered the courtyard, Aria's scream was turning into pulsing waves of air that tore at both ground and vines. Daichi summoned a column of earth that shot her into the air. She landed on the second level railings in a crouched way. "You're sloppy Aria!" she shouted. "Clean it up! No one benefits from inattentive attacks! You need to learn control!"

Aria shot a look up at Daichi before clenching her fists. In turn, the air around the courtyard became clenched and suffocating. "Why?" she whispered. Then, in a heartbroken way she scream, "Why?" It was long, almost purposefully drawn out. Through the courtyard her scream sounded. It resonated through the halls, all the way to the ends of the castle and into Queen Taloral's chambers. By then, however, it was not a word, but a wave of emotion carried in a horrific scream. As the confused queen tried to discover the source of the scream, Aria's emotions were building.

"Why is nothing I do good enough?" she shouted in a sobbing voice. "I try and I try, but nothing is good enough! Whether it be the training here or things past, my best simply isn't good enough!"

"Your best won't save people," Daichi replied. Aria's emotions built further.

"I know I'm a Senshi, but I'm only twelve years old!" Aria shouted in reply. "You are holding me to standards I'm not meant to reach!" Then suddenly, the air became stale. Then it began to leave the area of the courtyard. The Senshi gasped for breath as Aria collected the air around her. "I hate you!" The air around her exploded into a screaming tornado. "Cyclonic Revolution!" Aria shouted as she swiped her glowing hand at Daichi. The Senshi of earth didn't try to avoid it. Rather, she took it head-on. The winds of the tornado spread and engulfed the entire courtyard. Mei and Hikari put up their barriers to protect them and their fellow Senshi. The force of the tornado shook the castle, until suddenly it died. The wind stopped and the air returned to its normal flow. The part of the second level where Daichi had stood was gone; the level had a huge gapping hole in it.

Mei and Hikari released their shield. Princess Elementus started to run out to the courtyard, but Talor stopped her. Little Aria's braid was no more. Rather, her loose hair hung limply all the way down her back. She was breathing heavily, her small chest rising and falling harshly. She was shaking, and unbeknownst to her she clutched in her hand a white glow. When she finally noticed it, she lifted it to be level with her eyes. The glow vanished, leaving in its stead a white crystalline fan with light blue tassels. Then, just when her shaking seemed to stop, the fan closed of its own accord. Before her eyes, the fan became a crystalline harp with silver strings.

The Senshi were about to go to Aria when they saw Daichi appear out of nowhere. She stepped up to Aria, who hesitantly looked up. She was surprised to see Daichi smiling. She placed her hand on Aria's shoulder and said, "That will do, Aria, that will do." Then she turned and left. Aria was very confused. Then, she came to a realization.

"You mean you put me through all of that so I would summon this?" she shouted in surprise. Daichi nodded and held up her hand in confession. "But wait! I don't understand!"

"You can figure it out!" Daichi called to her. "For now, I need a drink."

The Senshi did not see Daichi for the rest of the evening. Princess Elementus trained with Kaki and Shio, quickly learning the ins and outs of her powers of fire and water. Aria and Talor spent their time sparring and training with Aria's fan and harp. She had little difficulty in commanding both. She did, however, accidentally put Talor to sleep. Mei and Hikari spent their time in meditation and using their unconscious powers to test each other. However, they did not cross into the mental void to do so.

When their training evening was finally over, the Senshi gathered to share their progress. In training, Shio had summoned the mirror of her line. Mei summoned the Staff of Silver Night, twin to Hikari's staff. In their little meeting, Kaki expressed her frustration.

"Why haven't I been able to summon the sword?" she asked. "It's ridiculous! Everyone has summoned their gift but me."

"It will come in time," Talor said reassuringly. "Patience, Kaki, patience." Having said that, Talor bid the Senshi good night and took Elementus to escort her to her room. The Senshi all parted to go their separate ways.

Sou took her time in going back. Her inability to summon her gift weighed heavily on her mind. As she passed by the entrance to the castle, Sou looked out over the horizon. Explosions still echoed from the Shio Provinces. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her father. She feared the worst for him, knowing that he could very well have been tortured or killed because she had become a Senshi. She also wondered about her mother. King Vandir had said that Sou's mother had been the previous Sailor Kaki. Sou had never known her mother. She wondered if the king had been truthful. Then, just as lights began to rocket into the dark sky over the Aria Highlands, Sou had an idea. It was a desperate one, but she had a feeling that she didn't have much of a choice. Having decided that she darted into the dark streets.

The Senshi gathered in the queen's counsel room. Daichi was already there with the queen. "The Hikari Kingdom has attacked the Aria Highlands," the queen said without looking at them. "I'm sure you already guessed it. I fear the Kaki Islands could attack at any moment. I want all of you on your guard." The queen adjusted her long robe as she spoke.

Daichi looking at each of the Senshi. "Where is Kaki?"