8 | Clearing an Infestation
Violet eyes cautiously peered around the corner as anxiety flowed through every vein of their owner. She was utterly certain there was something immensely evil in that very sacred room, but every attempt at obtaining even the smallest glimpse of it ended in outright failure. Her pale skin tingled with both anticipation and fright as she held her breath and inched her head further through the threshold. This time she would succeed in locating the foul being, whatever it was, and either trap or destroy it—whichever fate it ultimately chose. She had an ofuda already in hand and was prepared to toss it at a moment's notice. However, she would not get the opportunity as the second she was able to clearly see the interior of the room the evil sensation disappeared. Strangely, at that same moment the Sacred Fire flared up tremendously before extinguishing itself, leaving nothing behind but darkness and a few warm cinders that clung tenaciously to the kindling.
What the hell? Rei's fury grew the longer she stood in the middle of the nearly pitch-black chamber. The fire was pretty strong, and then it died just like that. And, whatever was in there with it disappeared at the same time… again.
She made her best attempt at searching her surroundings for any trace of malevolent energy, but much like her previous tries they only seemed to appear when she wasn't looking for them. Her already high frustration only increased with that latest failure, as did her anger. That she knew she couldn't possibly have gone insane was her solace. Instead, the constant cat-and-mouse game caused the girl to become extremely suspicious of what was happening within the temple.
I know there's something here that doesn't want me finding it. I'm not making this up, as my grandpa also can feel it. My guess is the Dark Kingdom is doing this. They know who I am, but instead of coming after me they're just trying to slowly drive me crazy. What the hell kind of tactic is that?
She shook her head in disgust, opened her eyes, and stomped out of the murky room, headed for her bedroom so she could don her ceremonial robes once more. It was an early Wednesday morning which meant that it was a school day, the second day into her eighth year. Being late was the last thing on her agenda, but she had to restart the fire before she could leave. The last thing she wanted was to be distracted by whatever creature was messing with her mind, but as long as she was unable to find the abominable thing its unwanted presence would be her sole thought. The cruel games it played with her only worsened since she first detected the negative spiritual energy it intensely yet sporadically emitted two days ago. On the first day that enigmatic being appeared only once and did nothing more than shock and frighten her. The next day it appeared three times before letting her recover from the fright. Both times the psychological assaults occurred early in the day, while she was performing her chores and preparing for school. That she had no sense of what it was that incessantly perturbed her only deepened her fear.
However, instead of being consumed by anxiety, she decided to confront the source of the problem. She convinced herself a youma had infiltrated the shrine with orders to make the fire senshi's life miserable. A clear part of that order had to be to flee whenever she was close to spotting the creature, or else she would have trapped the thing with her ofuda and attacked it a long time ago. Instead it kept running away, disappearing to places unknown only to reappear when she dropped her guard and left, slowly building her frustration up to the extremity attained upon knowing she would have to reignite the Sacred Fire.
I sincerely hope I can get rid of that annoying thing once and for all, she thought as she purposely strode down the hallway. She did not notice her grandfather running after her until she was about to open the door.
"Rei!" She froze and slowly turned slightly dimmed eyes to him. "I take it you've already noticed that there's an evil presence here."
A frustrated sigh preempted her petulant response. "Not just that, but it managed to put out the Sacred Fire. I was just about to get dressed so I could restart it."
"I'll have Yuuichirou-san take care of that, so don't worry about it." His gentle expressions swiftly turned dour as he spoke of the more pressing subject. "Anyway, I think we should take some measures to defend the shrine from this evil spirit."
"It's most likely just a dumb youma the Dark Kingdom sent to mess with me. I can deal with it once I find the thing, but I'm not sure it's anything too serious."
"But still, I believe it's a smart thing to do, especially for something powerful enough to extinguish the Sacred Fire. Besides, you're not going to be here all day, and who knows what this thing is capable of or what its aims are."
That latter comment forced Rei to momentarily freeze in place. "Do you think I should stay here and deal with this thing?"
"Only if you truly feel you must. I'm not forcing you to skip school and stay here for our sake."
The shrine maiden slowly shook her head before worriedly gazing at her beloved grandfather. "I'm sure things will be okay if I took one day off, even if it is the second day of the new term. I'll probably be punished for my absence, but I don't care. If I left and something happened to you two in my absence, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."
"Very well." He walked over to the girl and gave her a brief but heartfelt hug. "I'll get everything we need prepared so that, hopefully, we can get rid of this thing once and for all."
"While you're doing that, I'll go restart the fire." By then her tone had eased, though internally she remained quite miffed at the thought of dealing with that aggravating being.
Her grandfather nodded before departing, leaving Rei to remove her school uniform and dress once again in her ceremonial robes. A few minutes later she exited her bedroom wearing the traditional red and white garb and headed toward the fire room. She made sure she had her transformation pen handy as she was determined to rid the place of the bothersome youma upon finding its hiding place. As she approached the door leading to the Sacred Fire she felt the familiar negative aura that signified the presence of that very threat grow with each step.
"Okay, I'm done playing around with this damned thing," she muttered under her breath as she reached into her pocket and removed the transformation pen.
Yet, even as she was prepared to take the form of the senshi of Mars the painful tingling sensation that indicated the existence of negative energy disappeared, apparently along with its source. It left her simultaneously feeling confused and enraged as she knew the thing was playing with her once again. Nonetheless, she opted to continue with the act of transforming, and after a few seconds and the obligatory bright flash of red light the fire-imbued warrior was charging toward the door. However, as soon as she crossed the threshold she froze in her tracks and blankly stared at the scene that greeted her in middle of the room.
What the heck is going on?
Dancing before her eyes were the tremendous yellow flames of the Sacred Fire. Complete and absolute astonishment was not enough to describe her feelings of the sight.
Grandpa couldn't have done this since it's only been a few minutes since I told him about the fire going out. I'm sure Yuuichirou didn't do it either.
"Hello, Rei-san. I hope you don't mind me restarting the fire for you, as I knew you were about to do that anyway." The smug, feminine voice sounded strangely familiar to the girl's ears. However, it was muffled enough that she couldn't associate a name or face with the voice.
"Who are you?" Comparatively, her tone was quite shaky.
"Somebody you know very well, and yet nobody in particular."
"You're the one responsible for the negative energy, aren't you?" By then her fear had morphed into anger. Her eyes darted about the room in a frantic attempt to locate her conversation partner.
"What negative energy? I don't feel anything particularly evil around here. I would know if there was, especially since sensing auras is my specialty."
"I'm not talking about right now, but earlier."
"That might have been true, but as far as I know there is nothing here you should be afraid of. Not anymore."
"I don't believe you!"
"That's a shame." Disappointment laced her loud exhalation. "I came all this way to look after you and the first thing you do is accuse me of being evil. All I want to do is help you."
Rage swiftly morphed into disbelief. "Help me?"
"Yes. Help you." The woman then adopted a more pleasant tone. "I was told that you needed help in taking care of something that was bothering you, and so I came to assist you. I don't quite know what I'm supposed to be looking for since I just got here, but I hope whatever it is shows up again so we can deal with it."
"Who told you to come here to 'help' me?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. Not right now. That person doesn't like to release her identity, as it makes her job much easier."
"Well, if that's the case, how is it possible that I can trust you if I don't know anything about you or what you intend to do?" Rei had started to turn red with fury. She would have pointed furious eyes at the source of her anger but for the fact she had yet to find it.
"I'm sorry to say, but you'll just have to for now. Maybe through my actions I can earn your trust."
Rei merely snorted in response to the suggestion, which was an amazing display of self-control given her famously short temper. Instead she attempted to calm down well enough to slip into a state of deep concentration and pinpoint this mysterious woman's location. She figured the being could not have been too far away as she could clearly hear her. Her eyelids slid shut and a few seconds later her body emitted a pale red light as she attempted to sense any extant forms of energy. Indeed, she managed to find a tremendous source of negative energy within the fire room. Unfortunately for her, it was extremely powerful—so much so that simply touching it might have been instantly lethal—and stupendously quick. Furthermore, it was bearing down on her position, and there was no probable way she could move fast enough to evade the strike. It appeared her first true contact with the creature that haunted the shrine and previously annoyed her to no end ultimately would lead to her demise.
—|1|2|3|4|5|—
Minako exhaled a heavy sigh before looking down at her plate and the food heaped upon it. Her mouth watered slightly from the smell and the sight. Not every day did she have the opportunity to eat such food, let alone two days in a row if her visit the previous evening was counted. Maybe a hamburger wasn't the healthiest thing she could have chosen to eat, but it tasted exceptionally good, and that was all she cared about at the moment when it came to sustenance. She lifted the burger from the plate and was about to take a bite from it when her eyes spotted a familiar chestnut brown ponytail belonging to a tall girl at the far end of the café.
Makoto… A mood of panic swept her.
The appearance of her fellow senshi created a dilemma for the girl who, at least for the moment, was the leader of the group. One part of her wanted to duck away and hide as she knew Makoto was not happy with her. Another argument with a girl who obviously surpassed her in physical strength was not something that sounded inviting. She remembered—barely—what happened to Rei in their last confrontation. However, a separate part of her soul wanted to do whatever she could to fix the problems between the two girls as quickly as possible so that they could return to being friends. Weeks had passed since the girls had seen each other, a length of time she felt was utterly ridiculous. It was that latter facet that ultimately triumphed and prevented her from doing something potentially embarrassing. So, as the brunette spotted the blonde and slowly approached the booth, Minako made no attempt to leave.
"Would you mind if I joined you?" Makoto asked tentatively, as though the two had never before been acquainted.
Minako slowly shook her head and extended a hand to the empty bench across from her. "I'm actually glad you came."
Makoto slid into the seat and latched onto the gaze coming from her booth partner with a similarly glum stare. The pair remained in a quiet deadlock for several seconds before Makoto finally found enough resolve to break the proverbial iceberg.
"How are things?"
"I wish I could say they were good, but I would be lying."
"What's wrong?"
"You mean, beyond the obvious?"
Makoto slowly nodded, fully expecting some sort of further response. What she did not anticipate was nearly a full minute of uncomfortable silence wherein Minako's stare was wholeheartedly fixed on the tabletop. During that entire time, the blonde just sat there almost frozen, not even bothering to touch the burger sitting in front of her despite her powerful hunger. When she did speak, her solemn words delivered in an almost inaudible whisper came as a near shock.
"I've done some horrible, horrible things."
"We all did."
"No, I'm talking about what I did to you. Sure, I was a terrible leader in ordering you to attack Usagi-chan, but even worse was when I tried to do the same to you." Makoto's eyes narrowed slightly as she easily recalled the incident that Minako painfully described. "Could you find it in your heart to forgive me?"
Even though the entire atmosphere of the conversation pointed toward that inevitable request, the question still caught the brunette slightly off guard.
"What?"
"Please, Mako-chan!" Minako said more forcefully as she finally lifted her eyes to meet the puzzled gaze aimed at her. It was blatant from the tear streaks on her pale red cheeks that she had been silently crying, and she continued to do so as she reiterated her plea. "I'm sorry for attacking you and for trying to take away your transformation pen. I'm sorry for calling you a traitor. I'm sorry for trying to hurt you the same way I hurt Usagi-chan. I can understand if you don't want to accept my apology, but I'm begging you…"
Makoto's eyes widened as she felt a mixture of concern and sympathy before those same eyes narrowed once again. Understandably she was skeptical, as Minako was a good actor and could be quite convincing when necessary. However, in her heart she knew that the girl was unquestionably sincere in her apology, and it would have been both inappropriate and unhealthy to hold a grudge against her. So, she did what she believed to be the most sensible thing. She reached across the table and gently grasped one of Minako's lightly trembling hands. The gesture seemed to work as the convulsing stopped and the tears lessened.
"I'm also sorry. I overreacted when you and Rei-chan confronted me and I almost killed you. I didn't want to, but I did."
Tears flew from Minako's cheeks upon her shudder and sharp gasp. "Y-you tried to… to kill me? When? How? I don't remember you trying to do anything like that."
Makoto shook her head in dejection and sheepishly averted her gaze. "I didn't mean to. Rei-chan tried to grab the transformation pen from my hands and I tossed her away. However, I ended up throwing her into you and you hit your head against the stone so hard that I thought for a second that you were dead right then and there. You were out cold and apparently didn't wake up until later that day when someone from the Dark Kingdom—I figure it has to be Kunzite—came to the shrine and attacked you."
"Kunzite was at the shrine?"
Minako's countenance shifted from one of perplexity to unadulterated horror. In her distress, she almost forgot she was surrounded by other patrons and allowed her voice to rise. In response, not just to Minako's actions but the blonde's unwitting response to her unspoken question, Makoto exhaled a heavy sigh.
"I'm afraid I hurt you far worse than I thought I did. I'm sorry for that as well."
The fearful look disappeared from Minako's face and she merely stared at Makoto with a quizzical expression for several seconds before responding with optimism. "I guess we're both sorry for a lot of things. But, as long as we're willing to forgive one another for them we can move on and become friends once again. And I'm willing to forgive you."
"In that case, I absolutely forgive you as well." A tiny smile graced her lips as she spoke, one that was reciprocated by the blonde.
Silence dominated once again, but the tension that had wracked both girls was gone. Instead, the atmosphere between them was one of contentment. It provided them a vital sense of serenity. Minako certainly needed that more than the brunette as she had yet to repair her relationship with Usagi. However, what was more important that evening was that it gave her an opportunity to finally eat the hamburger that had taunted her the entire time. And eat it she did, in a manner of voraciousness that would have made her princess proud.
—|1|2|3|4|5|—
The mere fact she could open her eyes at all both surprised and delighted the fire senshi. Only seconds ago, she was all but certain she was dead. She was ambushed and caught flat-footed, and as a result she could not evade the oncoming attack. All she wished for was that her demise would come swiftly and painlessly, and that her grandfather and Yuuichirou would not join her in meeting such a dismal fate.
However, she did not die. She did take a brutal hit, one that tossed her clear across the room and left her entire body aching and probably bruised, but she somehow survived. By some miracle, she was rescued by something… or someone.
"Are you alright?" That strange woman's voice seemed to resonate about the fire room, but in no way did it reveal her location—if she even had one.
"Barely," Rei said between ragged breaths.
"I'm glad, as I barely had enough time to erect the shield needed to protect you from that sudden blast."
"T-thanks, I guess."
"It seems that whatever being has inhabited this spiritual place has stopped trying to annoy you and instead is trying to eliminate you." The woman's voice had calmed from the strangely ominous tone it carried moments ago. "The good news is it shouldn't be able to leave here as I sealed this chamber with my magic. The problem is that it's still invisible, which means we can't do anything to stop it until we can actually see it."
"So… you're saying you can't do anything about it either?"
"Hey, I'm not a god or anything like that. I'm constrained by my capabilities just like you. And, just like you, I can't hit what I can't see. But, if you don't want my help with this, I'll leave you to your fate."
Rei briefly shuddered as she remembered what could have happened to her if that woman's shield did not materialize just in time. "Okay. I'm sorry. I guess nearly dying made me jumpy and irritable. But, I do honestly appreciate what you did for me."
The familiar negative aura returned a few moments later, followed shortly thereafter by a blast of dark energy that originated from the far corner of the room. It was a tremendous swirling red and violet orb that moved much slower than the previous strike but was no less lethal. At the same time the sphere traversed across the room, the flames from the Sacred Fire that hitherto had been burning steadily flared and rose to lick the ceiling before suddenly dying out. Rei had been tracking the sphere but briefly lost her concentration when the fire went out and pitched the room into darkness. She did not know where the attack was until she felt something slam harshly into her side and fling her into the wall.
"Rei-san!"
Much like in the aftermath from the previous impact, the shrine maiden felt immensely thankful to still be alive, albeit in incredible pain. Despite the raucous complaints from her muscles she slowly pushed herself from the cold hardwood floor and onto her feet. The anger boiled inside her and searched for an outlet, though with nothing tangible at which to direct her rage she found it difficult to control. It was starting to dominate her emotions and guide her actions, which by all logic was an extremely perilous way to conduct a battle. However, there was no way she was going to let that vile creature defeat her in her own home, especially with her cherished family so dangerously close.
"Where are you, you goddamned youma? Come out and show yourself!"
"Please calm down, Rei-san," the woman said as gently as possible. "That's not going to help you."
"Oh, and what is going to help me?"
"You must remain patient. The thing that is attacking us is doing so because it feels it is cornered and cannot escape. That much I can clearly sense. If we can get it to expend so much energy that it becomes weak and drops its invisibility spell, then we should be able to find and destroy it."
"But how do we get it to do that without it throwing that energy at me? I'm hurting enough as it is."
"The thing is targeting you specifically, so I don't know if I have an answer to that question." Sensing Rei's imminent explosion of anger, she deftly added, "I'll do what I can to fortify the shield that protects you so you won't be injured so much."
Another attack sped toward Rei, this time an odious green sphere that cackled with white-hot bolts of lightning. Her eyes reflexively widened in terror as the electrified sphere raced at her head, prompting her to duck. Like the first attack, however, it moved faster than the impulse from her brain could travel through her nerves and down to her leg. Suddenly it exploded right in front of her face, shoving her backward a few feet but causing her no further injury. Nevertheless, it did instill within her mind an amount of fear that was on par with the earlier attacks.
"It's lashing out, but the shield blocked its attack that time."
"I-I'm glad. T-thanks for t-that."
No matter how hard Rei tried at that moment, she couldn't stop from trembling. It likely was the reason she missed and was not put off by the woman's haughty tone.
"Hey, it's why I'm here."
The pervasive atmosphere of dark energy that existed since the second attack slowly dissipated, and the Sacred Fire flared back to life for the second time that day. The energy's abrupt absence utterly baffled Rei as the creature responsible for it had seemed intent on killing the girl.
"What the hell is this thing doing now?"
"I wouldn't let my guard down if I were you. It could just be biding its time, conserving its energy while waiting for another opportunity to strike. However, I won't leave your side and I'll do my best to help you."
Rei slowly turned about as she tried to survey the area around her and perceive as best she could the energy that filled the room. All she could feel was the warmth and positive energy from the fire, that in spite of the enigmatic woman's insistence that she had erected a shield specifically designed to prevent the loathsome creature from leaving. However, the lack of a negative aura was not a sign of the being's absence, and she was not about to relax or reduce her concentration for fear of being ambushed. No, she was going to do whatever it took to rid the shrine of the deadly pest, even if it meant remaining at the peak of alertness for several hours without respite, and without any overt sign of a threat.
—|1|2|3|4|5|—
The tips of Usagi's golden pigtails nearly touched the floor as she sprawled lazily across the unbelievably soft and comfortable bed and wearily stared up at the ceiling. It was not quite the same as her own bed—which likely was sitting in storage somewhere in Kyoto by that juncture—but she felt she could become accustomed to it. In any case, she felt fortunate to have the bed for that night, the result of a plan she and Ami had conceived to alternate who gets to sleep on the far more bearable mattress. As a reflection of their magnanimous natures, that arrangement arose from the fact that both girls constantly tried to take the firmer cot while graciously offering the bed to the other person. That Wednesday it belonged to Usagi, but she remained slightly reluctant as she wholeheartedly believed the water senshi deserved it more. After all, that girl was the one who, for all intents and purposes, was brutally and painfully killed.
However, she was not about to make any complaints that evening as she was exhausted after a long day of school. Her classes were more advanced and consequently more difficult than what she had taken while she was a student in Juuban. It was her decision to challenge herself mentally, and she was not second-guessing her choice one bit, but the need to remain constantly attentive during lectures still was new to her. Only a few weeks ago, the blonde was a horrible student who did not bother to demonstrate her plainly evident mental aptitude. No, she was not nearly as brainy as Ami, and math still was practically unfathomable to her, but neither was she stupid. That much she proved unequivocally.
How on Earth could Ami spend so much time in school? One session per day is enough for me right now. Doing cram school on top of that would make me go insane.
Exhaling a sigh, she rolled onto her side and glanced at the time of 5:30 PM displayed in bright red numbers on the alarm clock. It meant that Ami would not return home for at least another hour as she had to complete the three-hour period of cram school. That annoyed Usagi to no end. How else could she sate her nagging desire to continue with Ami their conversation about the fancy new communicators? She briefly considered using hers to text Ami while she was in class, but her more logical side quickly nixed that idea. Not only would that not have been proper use of senshi equipment, she did not want to face an exasperated Ami—especially not after creating the bother in the first place.
Instead, after completing the mountain of homework her teachers assigned that day, she decided to indulge in one of her greater passions. She pulled from her shoulder bag a brand-new sketchpad and box of colored art pencils and set them down on the desk. It was the second sketchpad Saeko had purchased for her—willingly, of course. She still had no idea what happened to the first one she received from the doctor, and ravaging her bag failed to turn up any sign of it. Meanwhile, her original sketchpad was in storage along with the rest of her belongings. The blonde hoped to see them again soon as they knew they did not have to continue with that aspect of their deception, but in the interim she was grateful to have something she could use to draw.
Now, what am I actually going to draw?
The answer came soon, and just as quickly she grabbed a pencil and began to make light strokes across the smooth white paper that took the vague form of a human. Indeed, after a few minutes it was evident that the person whose figure progressively became clearer and more refined was the lightning senshi. It was a bright and cheerful image of Makoto, one that utterly contrasted with the girl's distressing childhood. Usagi decided to place her within a background consisting of the lush forest that composed a significant part of Higashiyama ward and Ikuko's magnificent garden. It only made sense to Usagi, given Makoto's love of nature. It took a little longer than a half hour to complete the sketch that she fully intended to give to her newly recovered friend the next opportunity she had to visit her.
"I sincerely hope she likes it," she said softly as she carefully detached the page from her sketchbook and placed it into a protective sleeve. A warm smile crept onto her lips. "No, I'm positive she'll love it."
At about that time the melodious ringing of her cell phone broke the silence. She reached into her bag and removed the handset but did not immediately answer the call. The number displayed on the outer screen was not one immediately familiar to her, but she had the uncanny feeling she had seen it somewhere before. Hesitantly she flipped open the lid and raised the phone to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Ah, hello. May I speak with Tsukino Usagi?"
Usagi instantly recognized the lady's polite tone and how she knew that telephone number. As such, her buoyant reply fit perfectly.
"It's me, Azusa-san. I'm so glad to hear from you. How are you and Mariko-san?"
"We're doing rather well, all things considered." A muted cough punctuated a brief pause. "I don't know if you've heard or not, but our studio had received quite a bit of damage a few weeks ago."
Of course Usagi knew, but in no way was she about to reveal such awareness over an unsecured telephone connection. Still, she couldn't help striking such an apologetic tone, one that nearly gave everything away.
"I heard a little bit about that. I'm sorry that it happened to you guys."
"I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's true that, right now, nobody knows who did it or their motive for trashing the place. We hope the police are able to uncover more information about that and find the perpetrators. However, it's only a small setback in our plan to produce the photo book, and we intend to start shooting in early July as planned."
"I'm glad."
"I figured you would be. As I said, the shoots themselves weren't affected by this, though some of our camera equipment was destroyed. The bigger problem is that we'd need to find a new place to house the studio, which isn't so much a concern when we're on location but it will be afterward when we're processing the photos."
A few seconds of silence fell over the line. Usagi's mind wrestled with conflicting thoughts during that agonizing eternity. On one hand, she knew that secrecy concerning her identity was of utmost importance, and that the fewer people knowing equated to fewer people placed in mortal danger. Of course, her family had to know, especially since they were nearly killed despite their prior ignorance. With the Dark Kingdom knowing so much about them already, that wasn't much of a threat. The only person she could immediately justify letting in on her secret was Naru, and that was because she considered the girl one of her best friends. In fact, she probably was closer to a sister, and probably the only true friend she had who was not a senshi. However, her need to conceal her identity clashed with her intense desire to give Azusa some closure and an honest explanation of what had occurred that fateful evening. She had every intention in joining the photographer and her partner in their photo shoot. Because of that, the last thing she wanted was to feel so much excruciating guilt every time she encountered one of the two women. But, despite not being the one known for such a logical personality, that mindset eventually overcame her natural compassion. She balled her free hand into a tight fist, clenched her eyes shut, and took a deep breath in an attempt to find calm before she spoke once again.
"D-do you, um… know where the new studio is going to be?"
Azusa heaved a loud sigh. "Right now, I have no idea. If worst came to worst, I could do it at my home, though space is at a definite premium here. On the other hand, our current studio might be salvageable if everything works in our dealings with the insurance company."
"I absolutely hope it does." Her words were barely a whisper by then, but somehow Azusa was able to hear them.
"I do too." By then, she seemed more at peace with her situation, though Usagi could not say the same thing. "I'm sorry that I had to tell you any of this, but I figured it was important that you knew since you're so integral to this project of ours."
"Really?"
"Oh, of course!" Azusa began to chuckle. "Mariko-chan still can't shut up about you, even though she hasn't seen you for weeks. If Kousuke-san wasn't in her life, I'd seriously wonder if she weren't infatuated with you. And, even then, I'm not entirely sure. She just might change her mind the next time she sees you."
Usagi counted her fortunes that she was on the phone and not speaking with the woman face-to-face. That way, her wide-eyed expression of utter shock and nervousness could remain hidden. However, her voice was less able to conceal those emotions.
"I-I'm… uh, happy she f-feels that way about me, I g-guess."
"I'm kidding, Usagi-san." By then, Azusa was on the verge of full-blown laughter. "If there's any truth in this universe, it's that Mariko-chan's heart fully belongs to Kousuke-san, and vice versa. Having said that, it's definitely true she likes you a lot."
Though she still felt some apprehension, Usagi allowed a faint smile to tug at her lips. "Well, maybe I'll get a chance to see her again sometime in the future."
"I do hope so. I know you're quite busy at this time with school just starting for you, but if you ever have a break one of these weekends, we'll be thrilled to see you. Just let me know ahead of time so I can put Mariko-chan on a leash."
"You don't have to worry about that. I've survived her enthusiasm twice before."
"That's good." The two shared mirthful giggles for a few seconds. "Anyway, I have to go now. The last thing I want is for Mariko-chan to keel over from exhaustion. I know she tends to push herself to the brink, but that time she collapsed truly frightened me. That's something I never want to experience ever again."
"I understand. Please take good care of her, and tell her I said hello."
"Absolutely. Have a good night, Usagi-san."
"You too, Azusa-san."
The blonde closed the phone shut and allowed the hunk of metal and plastic to fall from her hand as she collapsed across the bed once again. Unlike before, her exhaustion did not arise from the loads of schoolwork she had to endure. Her eyes dimmed and eventually began to water as she blankly stared at the ceiling. She could all but sense the guilt eating at her soul, yet there was nothing she could do about it. Neither Mariko nor Azusa could know the truth, not at the current juncture. Maybe not ever. It certainly was not the only time she had to be deceptive about her secret, nor would it be the last. But, for some reason, this lie hurt a lot more than the others. Tears ran freely down her cheeks as she forced her eyes shut and tried to find sleep.
—|1|2|3|4|5|—
Time seemed to move at an agonizingly slow pace as Rei continuously surveyed the room holding the Sacred Fire, checking every inch of the chamber over and over again for any sign of the enemy that had attempted on three separate occasions to kill her. She intermittently sensed surges of negative energy that were indicative of an impending attack and, upon each occurrence, quickly spun about to face the apparent threat. However, each time the signal mysteriously disappeared before she could lay her eyes on her intended target, assuming such a thing even existed. For five solid hours she tried to locate and combat what she thought to be a youma that haunted that room and persistently pestered her. Fatigue had long since set in despite the encouraging words vocalized by that enigmatic and hidden woman. It was one o'clock in the afternoon, meaning she had been awake for almost nine hours. Moreover, she did not have an opportunity to eat breakfast before the battle, and lunch certainly was out of the question given her precarious state. However, she believed her demise would come at the hands of that obscured beast if she dropped her guard for even a few seconds, thus placing Yuuichirou and her grandfather in severe danger. That was not something she would ever allow if she had the choice.
"Are you doing alright, Rei-san?"
"I'm fine," Rei replied, although her lethargic tone belied her optimistic words.
"Just hang in th—watch out!"
At that moment, a massive blast of negative energy, taking the appearance of a swirling orb of red fire through which passed several bolts of greenish-white lightning, raced at the startled senshi. Only at the last second could she feel the attack bearing down upon her from behind, meaning that it was too late for her to dodge upon swiveling to meet it. The gargantuan and immensely powerful glowing ball struck her headlong and tossed her into the solid wall twenty feet behind her. Luckily, she had the presence of mind to raise her arms over her had to provide a modicum of protection from the attack, but it was not enough to prevent the worst effects of the second impact. She groaned in agonizing pain as her body fell from the wall and to the floor.
What the hell? Did that woman's shield not work?
She attempted to push herself up from the hardwood floor, but the attack weakened her so greatly that she could hardly budge from the cold surface.
"Rei-san! Rei-san, stay awake! The youma is about to show itself!"
The fiery warrior was still conscious despite her pathetic state and could hear the woman's pleas, but words alone were of little assistance. Nausea and dizziness had forced her eyes shut, and a constant ringing in her ears since the moment her head struck the wall impaired her hearing. Nevertheless, she could sense, and somewhat see through her eyelids, a pair of tremendous flashes of light, the latter occurring about five seconds after the former. Immediately thereafter the negative aura that already was forceful with the latest assault grew even stronger.
"That must be the energy from the youma that attacked me," Rei groggily whispered to herself.
As she made that statement, the pain that previously overwhelmed her was replaced by a passionate fury and desire to exact her revenge against the monster. She soon rose to her feet and turned her eyes in the direction of the apex of that evil energy. For the first time that day—and the two days prior—she saw something tangible against which she could deliver her attacks and her vengeance. She wasted no time in taking advantage of her opportunity by pressing together her hands and igniting a massive ball of red flame at the tips of her index fingers.
"Fire Soul!"
If the shrine maiden's vision were clearer, she would have observed that her opponent was just as surprised to be assaulted as she was eager to be dispensing that strike. Supposedly a woman with long, violet hair and pale blue eyes, one whom Rei had seen many times before though always in passing, in reality it was a youma. However, Rei did not know that youmas were not all the same. The more adept its ability to mimic a human, the lesser its offensive capability. Bar a few details only noticeable upon very close inspection, this youma imitated a person to perfection.
However, Rei did not know this. The only thing she knew as the ball of flame hit the youma and caused it to explode into a pile of sandy dust was that she was finally free from the relentless threat it supposedly represented.
"Finally!" she shouted as she felt the negative energy depart from the chamber.
Or so she thought. Almost as soon as she felt exaltation from defeating one youma, she saw another brilliant flash of golden light erupt in the far corner of the room. Negative energy surged in kind, which caused her to immediately presume that the two beings that materialized within the chamber were responsible for that aura. Those two youmas were very similar to the initial creature in possessing humanlike manifestations. Much like that first youma, they were utterly shocked to abruptly find themselves inside the shrine instead of surreptitiously monitoring the compound from the nearby tree line.
"Watch out, Rei-san! There were two more of those monsters hiding in here! I'll take care of one while you get rid of the other."
Rei retrieved an ofuda and held it in her hands as she leveled a menacing stare at one of the startled youmas, a feminine being similar to the first but with paler skin and differently colored eyes and hair. Not that any of those details mattered to her one whit. She tossed the enchanted paper at the otherwise evil creature while shouting Akuryo Taisen, ultimately causing the youma to become frozen in place. The warrior then turned her attention to its partner, leaving that particular youma to its fate at the hands of the strange woman. Instead, she would concentrate her efforts on the youma that took the appearance of a taller man as she guessed that particular one was the more powerful adversary. She repeated her earlier actions and launched yet another flaming ball from her extended fingers. As expected she received similar results, causing her satisfied grin.
Yeah! Got that bastard!
Meanwhile, the youma Rei decided to leave alone to the woman suffered a far crueler fate than it would have received from experiencing the business end of the senshi's scorching attack. The being's skin bubbled and pulsated, changing from opalescent to purple and finally to black as it was filled with far more negative energy than it could handle despite being born from evil. The creature wanted to shout in agony but the pressure on its airway prevented it from making any sound. Soon it exploded with a dazzling flash of yellow light, spreading golden dust across the room in its wake. Its only mercy was that the attack lasted mere seconds before its ultimate demise.
"I-Is there a-anything else we h-have to deal with?"
Indubitably, exhaustion caught up to Rei once again, and it caused her to speak sluggishly as she struggled to catch her breath. There were a few seconds of silence before the answer arrived, but the response was the one desired by the weary senshi.
"Nothing that I can sense. It seems your problem is solved."
"G-Great. T-thank you v-very much for your h-help."
"It truly is my pleasure. I hope that's the end of your troubles, but if it isn't I'll be around to help you as best as I can. Until then, I hope you stay safe."
A small burst of air that flew around the chamber and slightly perturbed the flames from the Sacred Fire marked both her disappearance and the only palpable sign of her presence. The winded shrine maiden then fell to her knees as she heard the doors slam open. Burgeoning reverberations of footsteps foretold the appearance of Yuuichirou and her grandfather at her side. She was grateful for their safety in light of her recent destruction of what she considered vicious youmas.
"Rei…"
Her grandfather bent down at her side to help lift the girl to her feet. Yuuichirou crouched at the other side of the girl and gently placed an arm under hers.
"Don't worry. I finally got those youmas," Rei said softly as she allowed her transformation to fade with a dim flash of red light. The pair momentarily was stunned by the act as she returned to wearing her ceremonial robes.
Yuuichirou's expression as he looked toward the exhausted girl screamed outright confusion. "So, the thing that was haunting the shrine was an enemy?"
Rei nodded languidly. "There were three of them here, and they almost killed me, but there was this woman who came and protected me."
"Woman? What woman?" her grandfather asked.
"I—I'm not quite sure. I couldn't see her at all, but she could talk to me and I could talk to her, and she blocked many of the attacks. I probably would've been dead hours ago if she weren't around." The two men briefly turned perplexed and startled expressions to one another before the shrine maiden reassured them of her health. "I said don't worry. I'm just a little tired, that's all."
"Well, in any case I sincerely hope there won't be a repeat of this as Yuuichirou-san and I placed protective wards around the shrine. We tried to get you to help us but there was no way we could open the doors until just now."
"That was the work of that strange woman trying to keep the youmas from escaping." She gave the pair a light smile and received a pair of understanding nods in return. "Anyway, I think I need a long nap and something to eat, although right now I don't know which one I want first."
"I'll go make us all lunch," the elderly man said with a chuckle. "You'll definitely want that before you go to bed."
"Now that you say it, I think that probably is a better plan."
With Yuuichirou's much-needed assistance just to maintain her balance, a horribly blushing Rei slowly staggered out of the fire room. It was blatantly evident she would need the remainder of the day to restore the energy sapped by the long and arduous fight, but there was plenty of time left in the afternoon for doing exactly that. Without school or any further responsibilities required of her, and the immense satisfaction gained from clearing the shrine of the bothersome youmas, the raven-haired girl knew she would have a truly restful and enjoyable slumber.
