Chapter Ten:
"A Legendary Meeting"
Lindsay had spied her cousin walking into the building with five extremely nice looking young men. She recalled seeing the red-headed young man some years before at a social gathering event Nakahara-san had set up, as for the others? Well, she didn't recall seeing them before…Well she might have, because they felt familiar.
"What are you looking at?" Michelle asked idly sipping at her drink.
Lindsay quickly smirked, "Elayne just walked in."
Hotaru let out a low moan; it was times like these she really felt sorry for Lindsay's cousin…Galaxy you could get along with all too easily, but Lindsay was horrendous to try and stand.
Amara gave a snort, "You're more interested in those five men she brought in."
"Oh you know me so well," the woman smirked, running a hand through her green-hair, "I'll be back." She got up and made her way over to the group.
"Who's going to save Elayne this time?" Trista inquired raising an eyebrow; the older Senshi had developed a habit of dragging Lindsay away in order to give the young girl a breather.
Amara and Michelle just shrugged carelessly to the question, both still trying to locate the Inner Senshi…But the club was so crowded tonight, it was hard to see them.
"Elayne, nice to see you," Lindsay sweetly said, batting her eyelashes.
'Wish the feeling was mutual,' Elayne mentally grumbled, though she said aloud, "Where have you been Lindsay? I was worried."
Both knew the other was lying anyway; it was just their way of dealing with each other…They acted polite and semi-affectionate in public, but that was as far as they would go.
"Oh, just hanging out with Trista and the girls," Lindsay tossed her pretty head, studying the young men, "I see you found more people to adopt, while I was gone."
Elayne snorted loudly, "No, I adopted these guys ages ago." She motioned to the blonde, "You might remember him, Nakahara-san and Date-sama were best friends after all."
Lindsay thought about it for a minute, "Oh Sage, of course, how silly of me. I'm sorry."
"That's all right," Sage vaguely remembered Lindsay and what he did remember of her, he didn't necessarily like.
Elayne looked to the Torrent Ronin and spoke, "You've seen Cye before too. What was it…"
"Oh that party Nakahara-san threw about six or so years ago," Lindsay finished, and asked, "How is your mother doing?"
"Very well, thank you," Cye answered politely, idly wondering how Elayne could be this civil to her cousin considering how much she said she hated her.
"Oh good, I'm glad to hear it," She flashed a smile, "But I don't think I know the rest of you."
Elayne shook her head, "No, you've heard me mention them. And, you know of Rowen at least," She pointed to Strata's bearer, "His father is Genichirou."
Lindsay's eyes lit up, "Ah Hashiba-san! Nakahara-san was a big fan of his projects. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise miss," Rowen offered a small grin in response. Her silver-eyes were really starting to bother him; there was no way that was a natural eye-color. Then again, most people didn't think his blue-hair was natural either.
'If she mentions old man Daiki one more time I'm going to strangle her,' Elayne inwardly scowled.
"Rei Faun Kento," Hardrock's bearer spoke up this time around, saving Elayne from having to introduce him again.
"Oh your family owns that restaurant in Yokohama! I've been there a couple of times," Lindsay turned her attention to Ryo, a frown on her face, "Wait! Your Sanada-san's son, Ryo."
"Ya," Ryo blinked, he didn't know Lindsay at all only what he had heard about her from Elayne. So how did she know him?
"Oh you look so surprised! See, An-chan," Lindsay tried not to smirk in satisfaction as her cousin glowered at her, "Has pictures of when you two were little all over the place. You really don't look all that much different." She quickly added in her head, 'Though you're an awful lot more handsome, now. Honestly, these guys are definitely good eye-candy.'
'I heard that,' Elayne intruded into her cousin's thoughts, 'If you so much as think about laying a paw on any of them, I'm telling your current boyfriend just how many times you've dated. Cause I so know you lied to him.'
'Okay, okay I won't bother your precious oniichans,' Lindsay grumbled back.
'Good,' Elayne was somewhat content, though that was not going to stop Lindsay from ogling over the five Ronins all night…Oh well; they'd just have to deal with that. But hey, if they handled an evil emperor and his entire dynasty, they ought to be able to handle her cousin. Well…She could hope that they'd be able to deal with Lindsay.
Before an awkward silence could come about, Hotaru came up, and cleared her throat, "Sorry to interrupt, but Trista wants you Lindsay."
"Oh you'll have to excuse me guys, nice meeting you," She quickly walked away, not even bothering to say goodbye to Elayne.
Elayne didn't seem to care; she quickly enveloped her friend in a hug, "Thank-you for saving us! I owe you one Hotaru!"
'Yes, saved from the slutty cousin who starts every sentence with 'OH! And that fake smile of hers…' That remark was just enough to cause Elayne's mind to go off on a full tirade about the vileness of her cousin.
Hotaru let out a small laugh, "Not a problem, you know that." She studied the five young men for a moment, a thoughtful frown enveloping her features. She knew them from somewhere, their presences felt familiar and she could sense…Something was different about them, though she didn't know what.
Sage was trying to focus more on the drink in his hand, trying being the keyword. First Lindsay with her strange aura, and now this girl, Hotaru…He too was frowning, because for some odd reason he felt like he knew her once.
"Hotaru meet the guys, guys meet Hotaru," the girl snapped out of her mental rant. Obviously she was already getting tired of saying the Ronins names, and she wasn't even done introducing them to people yet! She still had to find the Inner Senshi; boy it really was turning out to be an awful long night.
Kento let out a chuckle, prepared to do the introductions all over again…
"Ah that's okay, I caught your names on the way over here," Hotaru smiled, and then grimaced, "And if not, I'm sure Lindsay will be babbling on about you all night, so I'll be sure to get them straight later"
The teen waved and then skipped back off to the table, task complete.
Elayne couldn't help it she started to laugh; the look on the Ronins faces was priceless.
"Shut-up, An," Rowen grumbled in complaint, quickly gulping down his drink and ordering another.
Elayne ignored this and said to Sage, "Told you my cousin was a nightmare."
"I remember her being different, but not that bad," he admitted, before letting his eyes wander the room. He felt like they were being watched again…Sure, he was used to going out and having girls stare at him, but this wasn't the same thing.
It was almost as though someone was trying to scan him to see if he were normal or not, and whoever it was had a presence of fire, like Ryo's though it was more muted.
"What's the matter Sage?" Cye asked in concern, tilting his head to study his friend.
Sage swallowed what he had in his mouth, and responded quietly, "Someone's watching us, but can you feel that?"
"The heat?" Cye responded voice low as well, "I thought I was imagining it, but if you feel it, then I'm not dreaming it up."
"No you're not, and it's not just heat, its fire," the Halo Ronin commented, looking around the room, locking eyes with the person finally.
Rei swore under her breath and quickly diverted her gaze back to those around her; well her hunch was correct…That young man was certainly anything but normal. Granted, the Mogami girl did have a tendency to hang out with 'unique' people, the Scouts were proof enough of that. Most of Elayne's friends outside of the Senshi were psychics or seers, as well as those with a genuine belief in the paranormal and supernatural.
It tended to be easier for the girl to hang out with people that had talents similar to hers, the ones normal people would call bizarre or generally peg as fakes.
But what bothered the miko was the fact that this young man wasn't just a little bit different. When she studied him, she could feel hidden strength and power, and for some odd reason she got the feeling said power was light and spirit based.
The other four were similar to the blonde but each had a different degree of strength, and the energy they gave off was rather diverse. The red-head made her feel as though she were submerged in water, the one with blue-hair was linked with the air; the ash-haired was earth…
And the young man with the raven-hair, who was currently talking with Elayne was definitely fire…And what concerned her was the fact the presence of the elements was very strong.
Ami approached with refills for those who had asked, and inquired, "What's wrong, Rei?"
"Thanks," she took her refill, answering with a frown, "Those guys with Elayne."
"Ya so not fair she knows them," Mina said with a pout, "They're absolutely drop-dead gorgeous."
"Agreed," Lita acknowledged, sighing out something about one of them looking like her old-boyfriend.
"That's not what I meant," Rei scowled, she couldn't disagree and say they weren't good-looking, because they were fine, "There's something different about them, I'm sensing different kind of energies, the type only we're supposed to have. And, it's a lot stronger than ours."
Serena was leaning against Darien, Rini safe and probably sound asleep at the Tsukino residence, she spoke quietly, "I get the feeling I know them. Not from pictures or word of mouth, like I actually know them from somewhere."
"You don't think they could be from our time, do you?" Lita asked in a low voice.
"Why didn't Luna or Artemis tell us about them then?" Rei just couldn't figure it out, "Unless they just didn't know. In that case why hasn't Serenity-sama told Elayne to tell us?"
"Good point," Darien acknowledged, he felt he knew the young men from a past lifetime…It couldn't have been any other.
"If they are allies, she would've warned us a long time ago," Mina stated, and then let out a small laugh, "But then again, Serenity-sama does things by her own rules."
"I would like names to go with the faces," Rei grumbled out.
"The one with blue-hair is Hashiba Rowen, the man next to him is Rei Faun Kento, the one bickering with Elayne is Sanada Ryo, and the red-head is Mouri Cye. I didn't catch the other one's name," Ami supplied upon the girl's request…This caused her friends to stare at her in amazement.
Ami didn't look ashamed that she knew the information, "What? I went up there to get the refills remember? I over-heard them talking and caught their names."
"The blonde Rei decided to lock-eyes with is Date Sage," Elayne broke-in from behind the Senshi of Mars.
"Eep!" Rei yelped in surprise, before calming herself, "Don't do that An!"
The girl merely sniggered in response to that, offering a grin to the others around the table.
"Elayne," Serena began quietly, before Rei could jump the gun, "Are they more of your 'unique' friends?"
She nodded, "Ya, Sage and Cye are empathetic…Sage more so than Cye, he's had the ability longer and knows how to use it better. The other three also have their own special niches. Why?"
"I sensed power coming from them, and a lot of it," Rei narrowed her eyes at the girl.
"Really?" Elayne decided to play dumb, because she could be a pretty good actress when she wanted to be, "Are you sure you haven't had a few too many Rei? Cause I've been told alcohol does fuzz up any extra sense a person has. And technically, you guys are underage."
Rei shook her head amused, "You've got a point. I probably have had a little too much."
"Sh!" Lita clamped a hand over Elayne's mouth, "Someone will hear you!"
The girl got out of the hold and scoffed, "Please, you know they don't proof here. The owner doesn't care so long as you don't drink and drive. I'm not going to rat you out, and the others haven't. I wouldn't be so worried."
"Others?" Serena blinked at the girl in confusion.
"The Outers are here," the girl frowned, having thought the Inner Senshi would've picked up on that.
"I sensed them but I didn't see them any place," Rei admitted to the looks she was getting.
"You all had no problem seeing my oniichans," Elayne pointed out with a smirk, "But then again, they are guys, and you girls have this habit of window shopping."
"AN!" The group of girls chorused in embarrassment.
Darien just shook his head, wondering how he got himself stuck in this mess in the first place. Oh yeah, that's right, he recalled now, never mind.
"We're on stage in two minutes," Kirstin announced, snapping her leather wrist-band on.
Aurora sighed through her nose, not really that concerned about performing, she was more concerned about the young men Elayne had introduced to them…They felt familiar in a sense, and she could also tell they were 'unique.'
Callista finished messing with her hair (it had the tendency to be impossible) turned her attention to Vanessa, inquiring of their group empath, "Well?"
Vanessa finished putting her aquamarine choker on, "They're different all right. But what really bothers me, is they have elemental based power, and a lot of it."
"What!" the other three collectively shouted in shock.
"Not so loud," Vanessa hushed them, "I'm dead serious, and I know my reading isn't wrong. Because the other Senshi are coming across at the same level they always are."
"They're all here tonight?" Callista asked with a frown.
The red-head nodded, "Ya all of them."
"Mmm," Aurora murmured thoughtfully, "We were warned that something was coming and to be on guard. So if all the Senshi are here, whatever is coming isn't that far away."
"Agreed," Kirstin tightened her pony-tail holder, "Especially since there have been more Raikken about."
"But, I'm concerned about these guys," Aurora was scowling, "They have our elemental based power, and it's stronger than ours? That's not good, why hasn't…"
A knock and gruff, 'you're on' interrupted her and she sighed grumbling out instead, "Queen Serenity's personal bodyguards reduced to this, ugh."
"This place isn't all that shabby," Rowen commented, downing his third and final drink for the evening.
The Ronin leader gave a nod, though his mind was on other things at this point in time.
Cye noticed and clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Don't worry Ryo, we'll get started tomorrow. We can't do much right now, we're all tired."
"I know," he offered a smile, though it didn't reach his eyes, as he quickly took a look around the room, "Where'd Elayne go?"
"She's talking to those girls," Sage said with a nod in the Inner Senshi's direction.
Ryo quickly picked up on the tone of Sage's voice, quick to inquire, "What's wrong?"
"There's something different about all of them, and for some odd reason they seem familiar to me," the swordsman of Halo was frowning, and then he raised both eyebrows seeing that Elayne was looking at him.
Rowen let out a low groan, "She's motioning us over there."
"Elayne," Mina shrieked out, "Don't call them over here!"
"You all are such wimps, would you relax? They don't bite, the only one they snap at is me after I've pressed a few too many buttons," the girl commented, settling to glower at the five young men when they seemed to blanch at her request.
Sage let out a reluctant sigh, and walked over, "Good evening ladies. Something you wanted An?"
The other four Ronin were quick to follow their blonde headed friend, with all he had said they thought it best not to leave him alone. They were in a public place, but you could never be too careful.
"Well, I figured you all could ogle at one another up close instead of doing it half-way across the room." She smirked at the response shot got, a mixture of shrieks, dirty looks, embarrassment, and one or two comments about how she was going to be dead later.
Not like it bothered her much, if they all knew why she was doing this in the first place, she would've been dead anyway.
"Darien," the prince of Earth was quick to introduce himself, before an awkward silence could settle in.
"You already have their names, but from left to right," Elayne said in a bored tone, "Ryo, Cye, Sage, Kento and Rowen."
The five young men gave the girl a strange look, but if she caught it, she really didn't let it show.
"I'm Tsukino Serena," the blonde girl on Darien's arm then motioned to her friends, saying their names in turn, "Aino Minako, Kino Lita, Mizuno Ami, and Hino Rei."
"And you already met "the thing", and Tomoe Hotaru," Elayne commented, pointing to the people standing right behind the Inner Senshi, "But the blonde is Ten'ou Amara, she's Kaiou Michelle, and that's Meio Trista."
"Minna!" Serena swerved her head to look at the Outer Senshi, "We've been wondering where you were."
Amara offered a slight pout, "Aw An, you ruined the whole point in us sneaking up behind them."
"Oops?" Elayne offered with a slight shrug of her shoulders not really caring that she'd spoiled the woman's fun. Silence was unable to take hold of the table, as both Inner and Outer Senshi talked amongst themselves…The more out-going ones of each group making an attempt to talk to the Ronins, Lindsay for once was silent her cousin's earlier warning fresh in her mind.
Ryo shifted nervously, he wasn't good in large social gatherings and right now he was starting to feel claustrophobic. Elayne must've noticed for she took a glance at her watch and then latched onto his arm, "Come on."
Aurora and the others had yet to come out, and the single artist that had been playing before had already left the stage. So, she needed to go and get them moving before the manager came out and asked her to do so…Forcing Ryo to go along with her, gave him the chance to get some air.
A few eyebrows were raised in her direction, and she flashed a grin, "The girls are taking too long. I have to bait them with something. I'll be back; play nice boys and girls just try not to party too hard, kay?"
"Elayne!" it was a collective shout, and caused the other patrons in the lounge to pause and look in the direction the shouting had come from.
The girl pulled Ryo along with her, cheerfully quipping, "Yes, that's my name. Very good, I'm impressed you remembered it."
Sniggering from the bar and tables the closest to it, resounded throughout the room, as the regulars went back to what they'd been doing before her name had been shouted out.
Ryo blinked slowly coming out of his stupor, "You did that because?"
"Cause most everyone here knows me or knows of me, so when a group of twenty people screech my name out like they want to murder me…Everyone stops what they're doing and looks to see what is going on, or what they missed."
"Oh, you wanted to steer the attention away from the others," the Wildfire Ronin easily translated, asking, "And what do you mean your going to use me as "bait"?"
She chuckled at him, having stopped tugging his arm to walk casually beside him, "It was an excuse. I remember you have issues with being around so many people you don't know, you were starting to freeze up. Plus, you and the others are the hottest guys here. Every female I know, especially Aurora-tachi, happen to be suckers when it comes to good looking men."
"You…" He paled considerably, "You're not seriously going to use me as bait?"
Elayne burst out laughing, "Ryo! It was a joke, okay? It got you away from them, didn't it? Calm down, you're getting to be as paranoid as Sage when it comes to women."
Ryo gave a snort, "No one is that paranoid."
1 Minna everyone
2. -tachi is a suffix used to denote people with a person; in this case it means Aurora and everyone with her
A/N: I am not advocating underage drinking in any country, at any time, or any place. Just want to make that clear; legal-drinking age in Japan is 20. With punishment for underage drinking, but as many as 70 of high-school students reported they had some experience with alcohol (the survey I found had been done on a national scale). I'm lumping the Senshi into that 70 category, because they fight demons and are rather entitled to kick-back. And hey look! I updated.