I really do appreciate constructive criticism from my readers, because it helps me grow as a writer, and an artist ::very critical of her own work:: And for the record I do my best to "research" how the characters act, and I have been told several time's I make Suna a little too cold toward the other (inner) scouts. And I do admit I make her a little cold, but for this story I felt it was sort of necessary. But one thing I feel I must point out! Imoto, Page 15, Book 8, the first 2 panels clearly show Hotaru using a mysterious power to heal Rini's arm. n.n And for the record, I know Darien has healing powers as well, but I like Hotaru better so she gets to take care of Fluffy-sama : ) I would also like to point out that I haven't read any farther than book 11, due to lack of funds… And I'm not really partial to the anime, I mean I like it but I prefer the manga. : ) Also I'm not very fond of Small Lady myself…not sure why, she just grates my nerves.
Ch.9: Scout-napped!
Clearing in Inuyasha's Forest:
Sailor Moon stopped training for a moment, and she walked over to the wall of tree's that surrounded the group. her thought's drifted to her future daughter, and Hotaru, she had felt uneasy watching them disappear into the dense darkness of the forest earlier that morning. Sailor Uranus came up to her and clapped a hand on her shoulder. Sailor Moon snapped out of her daze and turned to look at Uranus.
"They'll be fine Sailor Moon, they're stronger than you think. You just need to put your faith in them." Sailor Moon nodded.
"You're right Uranus, c'mon lets go train. I'm sure I could use more practice." The two walked back to the group and the scouts paired up and began fighting. Every once in a while a stray demon would come across to see what was going on, then it would try to fight them. But they all failed. Little did the scouts know that the demons were sent to test them. And Naraku was watching their every move, learning their techniques.
Open Field:
Sailor Saturn and Chibi Moon ran towards the direction that the sun had risen in. They stopped briefly after running for a long while. Chibi Moon held her side gasping for breath.
"Oh, ow. Man how far away is she?" Saturn clenched her side for a minute and inhaled deeply.
"They must have been far away. They left about half way through the night and Inuyasha didn't come back till just after dawn." Chibi Moon plopped on the ground and lay back in the grass. Saturn followed her example. The two lay there for a moment feeling the gentle breeze flow seamlessly across their faces. Then Saturn jumped up and her Silence Glaive appeared in her hand. "Chibi Moon! Something's coming, from that direction!" Saturn pointed her Glaive to the North.
"What is it?" Chibi Moon jumped up, turning her gaze to the north. The slight breeze ruffling her hair.
"I'm not sure, but it does feel familiar. It's strange." Saturn narrowed her gaze and tried to concentrate. 'I know I've felt this presence before...but where?'
"Saturn! Look out!"
"Wha...?" Chibi Moon tackled Saturn just as a wave of demons came down upon them. The demons flew just inches above the two cowering girls. "Ahh!" They could both smell the rotting stench of the demons flesh. "Chibi Moon are you alright?"
Chibi Moon stayed low to the ground she squeezed Saturn's hand to let her know she was alright. "Saturn! We need to get out from under them! On three we roll!"
"Right!"
"One. Two. Three!" The two girls rolled opposite ways and came out from under the massive wave of demons. Chibi Moon stood up and gawked at the wall of demons. "Oh my...Saturn! If you can hear me and your alright, shout back!" Silence. 'Oh no! Hotaru...' Then she heard the familiar cry.
"Death Reborn Revolution!" There was a blinding light and a large hole appeared in the wall between them. "Chibi Moon! Use your scepter!"
(Okay simply for the purpose of people not accusing me of screwing up her attack, that is the only attack Saturn has that I know of, and in my defense I played the RPG for Super Nintendo and it didn't bring about 'The Silence' it just dealt a great deal of damage. Okay back to the story...)
"Right!" Chibi Moon held out her hand and her Heart Moon Scepter appeared in her outstretched palm. "Pink Sugar Heart Attack!" The attack took out few of the remaining demons. "It's not working! I could only take out a few of them."
Saturn noticed a shadow flowing swiftly across the ground toward Chibi Moon. 'What is that?' Then she looked up above her in the skies. It was a woman on a feather, and she was swooping down towards Chibi Moon. "Chibi Moon! Look out behind you! Run!" Chibi Moon turned around and saw the woman coming toward her.
"Ahh!" Chibi Moon spun around and froze. Saturn's eyes grew wide and fearful.
"Run over here! Run towards me! Chibi Moon run! NOW!" Chibi Moon shook her head and began to run towards Saturn. She was about to dive beneath the, now reformed, wall of demons towards Saturn. "Hurry! Oh no, Chibi Moon look out!" The woman swooped down and her large fan was visible from the ground.
"Dance of the Dragon!" Saturn dove beneath the wall of demons and scrambled to the other side. She felt the earth beneath her shake with the impact of the whirlwinds.
"Ahhh! Saturn help! Ahh!" Saturn could see Chibi Moon, she shoved herself forward and tried to grab her hand but it slipped through her fingers.
"No! Chibi Moon! Noooooo!" Saturn scrambled out from beneath the wall just as Sailor Chibi Moon was lifted up by one of the pillars of wind. Chibi Moon screamed and put her hand on her chest. Saturn saw her clasp her locket tightly and pull it away from her chest. "NO!" It took only a second before her transformation was reversed and Rini was flailing through the air in her school uniform. She mustered all her strength and threw her locket at Sailor Saturn.
Rini drew a deep breath. Tears running down her face she screamed as loud as she could. "Saturn, RUN!" Saturn caught her locket and cried. She began to run towards Rini's pillar but she was blindsided by a second pillar of air. it knocked her to the ground. Then a third pillar plowed her body into the soft soil.
"AHHHH!" Her agonizing cry echoed through the air. Then the woman on the feather flew by Rini and grabbed her around the midsection, and threw her behind herself on the feather and she flew off. Saturn gasped for breath in the dust filled air. "RINI?! NOOO BRING HER BACK! RINI! AHHH!" Then Saturn's body became limp, the wall of demons began disappearing, following Kagura back to Naraku. Saturn's limp body was lying in the hole the whirlwind had driven her into. Clenched in her hand was Rini's locket with the Silver Crystal still tucked safely inside.
Fields Leading To Inuyasha's Forest:
Sailor Pluto and Sesshoumaru were sprinting back towards the forest when a dark cloud touched the horizon. Pluto stopped and stared at the cloud. Sesshoumaru stopped as well.
"What is that? It can't be a cloud, it's far to dense. Something doesn't feel right." Pluto narrowed her eyes and stared hard at the cloud. There was something far to strange about it.
Sesshoumaru took a step closer in the direction of the mysterious cloud. "It looks like a horde of demons."
"Demons... Oh no! Rini and Hotaru are coming from that direction!" Pluto began to flat out run in the direction of the "cloud". 'Oh no what have I done...' She hadn't made it more than a hundred yards when Sesshoumaru caught up to her.
"It will be faster to travel this way..." He lifted her up with his arm and began to run towards the retreating horde of demons.
Open Field:
It took only a short time for Pluto and Sesshoumaru to reach the spot where the demons had been. When they reached the field Sailor Pluto spotted a small figure lying in a hole on the ground, immediately she jumped from Sesshoumaru's grasp and ran to the apparently 'unconscious' figure.
"Hotaru!" Pluto fell to her knee's beside the limp body of her adopted daughter. She had silent tears flowing down her round cheeks as she lifted Saturn out of the hole her body had made, and laid her in her lap. "Hotaru...Hotaru please wake up..." Sesshoumaru came up behind Pluto and stared down at the small pale child she held in her lap.
Saturn moved slightly and she groaned. Her hand fell open and Sailor Pluto saw the small heart shaped locket slip out of her grasp. For a minute Pluto just stared at the small locket, she felt her blood freeze in her veins and her breath caught in her throat as she slowly came to a realization...
Pluto stood up slowly, still holding Saturn, she was shaking slightly when she turned and handed Saturn to Sesshoumaru, who took her in his arm and held her gently. Pluto turned and picked the locket up off the ground, then she glanced around the field scanning it for any sign of Rini, she saw none. She stepped away from Sesshoumaru, who watched her curiously, and slowly she began to pick up pace. She walked quickly to the center of the field where large gashes in the soil showed signs of Kagura's involvement.
"Setsuna-mama..." Sailor Pluto turned at the sound of Saturn's voice, and she ran back to the pair standing by the hole. She placed her cool slender hand against Saturn's dirt stained face. There were twin streams of tears running down her cheeks.
"Hotaru, are you alright?" Saturn nodded. Then she noticed the locket in Pluto's hand.
"I... I'm sorry...I couldn't save her. She got taken by a lady with red eye's and black hair...she was riding on a giant feather... She picked Rini up with a whirlwind...Rini took her locket off and threw it to me...then I was hit with another whirlwind and I can't remember anything after that..." She stared at Pluto with sad amethyst eye's. Pluto placed the locket in her fuku and took Hotaru from Sesshoumaru and held her close.
"It's alright Hotaru. We'll get her back. For now I think you should detransform and rest. I will carry you back to the campsite." Saturn nodded, she felt exhausted. She took a deep breath and took out her henshin pen and reversed her transformation. She now sat in Pluto's arms, plain old Hotaru, she was wearing a dress, that resembled Rin's, in a violet hue. She hugged Pluto tightly, then she looked at Sesshoumaru.
"Is he the demon that's going to help us fight?" Pluto nodded. Hotaru studied him for a moment, it took her a minute to realize his left arm was missing. "Your arm is gone." Sesshoumaru looked at Hotaru, he didn't acknowledge that he had heard her comment. "How did you lose it? Was it in a battle?" At this a small growl escaped Sesshoumaru's lips. Hotaru showed no sign of fear. Pluto stroked her soft ebony hair.
"Hotaru, his arm is why we need your special gift." Hotaru turned her gaze to Pluto. Pluto looked up at Sesshoumaru then back to her adopted daughter. "Hotaru, would you be able to replace his arm?" Hotaru nodded.
"I can do it right now. Before I rest, I have enough strength to try." Hotaru's gaze returned to the Taiyoukai. "Do you want me to try?" He nodded slowly. Hotaru nodded. "Okay. Setsuna-mama, I need to hold his shoulder." Pluto nodded and took a step closer, and lifted Hotaru a bit higher. Hotaru reached out and lifted up Sesshoumaru's sleeve. He had to fight his urge to pull away, and kill Hotaru. "Hold still. Please." Hotaru placed her cool hands against Sesshomaru's stump of a shoulder and closed her eyes. In a few minutes the small trio was engulfed in a faint violet light. The light seemed to flow towards Sesshoumaru's arm. It soon began to form bone and muscle, then flesh. After a good ten minutes of this his entire arm had been replaced, and Hotaru, dripping with cold sweat, collapsed backwards against Pluto's warm body. She took a deep breath and smiled up at Pluto. "Did I...?" Then she passed out from her exhaustion.
Sailor Pluto turned Hotaru around in her arms, pulled her close and planted a small kiss on her forehead. "You did well, my little one."
Sesshoumaru stood still, stunned. This child had returned his arm to him. He flexed his "new" limb. It felt strange. He looked up at Pluto, who looked first at his arm, then to his face.
"How is it?" Sesshoumaru flexed it again.
"It is just as it was before Inuyasha severed it." Pluto nodded.
"We should go back... We can't wait any longer. We must strike soon..." Sesshoumaru nodded. Pluto turned and began walking, and after a few minutes she broke into a run and finally she began to leap from area to area. Sesshoumaru keeping pace the whole time, still studying his arm.
Clearing in Inuyasha's forest:
The group sat around the clearing, most of them exhausted. Uranus and Jupiter were still full of energy. Uranus looked around at the group. She opened her mouth, she had planned to reprimand them for lying down when they should be training but she was interupted before she could even start.
"It's Kagome and Inuyasha!" Shippou jumped up and ran over to Kilala when she landed and jumped into Kagome's arms as she dismounted. "Kagome! I missed you! Did you find...?" But his question was answered as a whirlwind blew into the clearing, and stopped beside Kagome.
"Hey runt!" Kouga grinned as he stopped beside Kagome. Shippou shook his head and sighed.
"Never mind." He jumped down from Kagome's arms and ran over to Inuyasha as he entered the clearing. "Hey Inuyasha. Are you okay? You don't look so good..."
Inuyasha nodded. "I'm fine. Did Sesshoumaru and that woman return yet?" Shippou shook his head. "I see." Inuyasha looked up and saw Mars walking towards Kouga, who seemed none to keen to speak to her. She walked up to him and extended her hand.
"I'm sorry about earlier." Kouga grinned arrogantly.
"No prob. But I know how you can make it up to me." He grinned and looked to Inuyasha then he leaned over and whispered in Mars' ear. For a moment she just stood there and listened, then she backed up and glared at the wolf prince.
"No! Absolutely not!" She reached into her fuku and produced several wards, which she then placed on Kouga. Kagome looked at Mars stunned, and Inuyasha did his best to stifle a laugh.
"Raye?!" Mars shook her head.
"Leave him like that for a while, maybe it will help his attitude!" She turned and staked back over to the other senshi. Kagome followed her, she was going to try and convince Mars to remove the wards as she was unable to do so herself.
"Raye...?" Kagome placed a hand on Mars' shoulder and turned her around. "Raye why did you...?" Mars smiled knowingly at Kagome then turned and glared at Kouga.
"He asked me to paralyze Inuyasha so he could have a private moment with you, to make up for paralyzing him earlier." Kagome turned and looked at Kouga then shook her head.
"Oh. I didn't know." Mars smiled.
"I think we can leave him like this for now. It might be better for all of us." Kagome smiled and nodded.
"Okay." She then turned to the other scouts, most of whom were stifling giggles had at Kouga's expense. "Why don't we take a break for lunch. I have instant ramen." Everyone nodded in agreement. "Alright then. Miroku, why don't you and Raye start the fire. Sango, you and Mina, right?" Venus nodded. "'Kay why don't you two get the water?" Sango and Venus nodded. Venus pulled out her pen and reversed her transformation. She appeared, after the light faded, in an auburn summer kimono.
"Let's go." Sango smiled and the two set off through the trees toward the stream. Miroku and the now detransformed Raye began to set up the fire. The scouts exchanged looks and one by one they reversed their transformations until they were all back to normal.
As everyone sat down to rest and help cook the ramen Serena wandered over to the Eastern edge of the clearing and stared through the tree's. Darien stepped up behind her and wrapped his long arms around her slender shoulders. She sighed heavily and leaned into him. Darien rested his head on top of hers.
"I'm sure they're fine." Serena nodded.
"I know you're right. I can feel her Silver Crystal close by...but I still feel like something is wrong. She's our daughter, I can't help but worry." Darien lifted his head and nodded.
"I know Serena. I'm worried too. But it's like Haruka said, we have to have faith in them, and in Setsuna." Serena smiled and nodded.
"Okay. I have faith that Setsuna will bring them both back, safe and sound..." She turned around and kissed Darien. The two broke apart only when they heard noise in the trees behind them. Darien picked up Serena and stepped back. Inuyasha jumped up and sniffed the air.
"They're back." As he said it, Sailor Pluto stepped thought the tree's carrying Hotaru in her arms, and Sesshoumaru beside her. Serena sighed with relief.
"You're all okay... I was so worried... I..." She stopped and looked at the trio. "Where...where's Rini...?" Sailor Pluto lowered her head shamefully. Serena stepped forward and grabbed Pluto by the arms. "Setsuna look at me! Talk to me! Where is my daughter?!" Serena's voice was full of panic. She could feel Rini's crystal but her daughter was nowhere to be found. "Setsuna! Where is my child?!" Pluto did not look up as she spoke.
"I'm so sorry..." Serena looked even more worried.
"What happened? Tell me!"
"She was taken, by Naraku..."
Dun dun duun dramatic reverb!!! Hahaha! I came back with a new chapter! Now I'm going to make you suffer with a really bad cliffie! Mwahahahaha! Seriously though be ready for some very OOC action from Serena in the upcoming chapter (halfway done whoo for me ; ) ) Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'm so sorry for the long wait... I've had a lot going on...but anyway enjoy your chapter and look forward to another one in the next month at least :)
