Ryuusei Houkou
***She walked slowly through the hall, admiring its beauty. The whole castle was made of marble, etched in silver and gold. She casually let a black gloved hand trail along one of the walls. As she made her way through the hall, she heard the click of heels on stone. She turned slightly, her violet eyes searching the hall. They came to rest upon a beautiful young girl gliding up the hall behind her. The girl had knee length black hair, dark eyes, and wore a lovely red ball gown. The raven-haired girl waved, and The Wanderer smiled.
"Lady Ryuusei Houkou! I've been looking for you everywhere!" The girl stopped a polite distance from the violet-eyed woman and bowed, her red dress rippling as she moved. Her dark eyes were filled with laughter. "Did you hear? It's official! I'm now one of the senshi for Queen Serenity's daughter!"
"Congratulations, princess. So, you have finally completed your training. Your mother must be very proud. She can now retire in peace." The Wanderer's vision flashed, and the image before her changed. She saw the same young girl in a red sailor fuki fighting for her life. She wielded the power of fire in battle against an army of darkness, her fellow senshi fighting beside her. One by one, the senshi fell, including the beautiful young girl with the long, black hair. Her vision cleared, and she smiled tightly at the new senshi. "Just be careful, my friend. These are dark times, and you may be called upon to use your new powers sooner than you would like."
The young girl leaned forward and eagerly grabbed the older lady by the arm. "Do you know something? You have to tell me! I know you were on your way to talk to the Queen. I've heard rumors that there is a problem with one of the kingdoms on Earth. I bet you know something! You only come here when the Queen asks you to. The Outer Senshi have been in conference with her off and on all week! Please, Lady Ryuusei! Tell me!" She looked up at The Wanderer, her dark eyes pleading.
The Wanderer gently disengaged herself from the young girl. "You know I can't say anything unless the Queen gives me leave." The Wanderer sighed, and rubbed her aching temples. "I can say this, however. The sunspots we've been noticing are not natural. I'm sure the Queen will be sending me to investigate them soon."
The young princess' eyes grew wide. "Wow, I wish I could go with you. I love traveling in space."
The Wanderer's eyes narrowed, and she stepped forward, looking down at the young girl. In her heels, she towered head and shoulders over the new senshi. "I'm not going for a joy ride, this is serious. Never forget, what we do, we do for the safety of all those who need us. This is not some game. Being senshi is a very important duty. Have no doubt, that some day you may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice. You give your life so that others may have a better place in which to live."
The young girl looked at the floor, her dark hair falling forward to shield her face. "Gomen nasai. I know this is serious. I've been taught that every day of my life." She sighed and looked up at the tall woman, her dark eyes searching The Wanderer's violet ones. "You know, you're more serious than usual. You're worried, aren't you?" The Wanderer looked away, but said nothing. "You are, I know it." The young girl stepped forward again, and took The Wanderer's hand in her own. "If you're worried, I know its bad. I promise to take this seriously, but promise me you'll be careful. I don't want anything to happen to one of my best friends." She gave the hand a gentle squeeze.
The Wanderer squeezed the hand back. "Of course, I'll be careful. I'm sure everything will work out fine."***
Menagi woke up the next morning, her arm throbbing dully. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and rolled over in her bed. What an odd dream, she thought. She sighed and rubbed her temples. I should be used to having them by now, though I wish I knew what they meant. I've been having them ever since... She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the painful memory. After a moment, when her emotions were back under control, she opened them again. She spotted Rhea curled up on the bed next to her, purring softly. Menagi smiled, and reached out to stroke Rhea's soft fur. She gently touched the light orange patch on Rhea's brow. The color of the fur there made it look like she had a crescent moon with a star cradled between its points etched on her brow. Menagi remembered asking Rhea about it, and the light orange and white colored Persian had said that it was a symbol from where she came from, a place long dead. As her long fingers gently stroked the soft fur between the cat's ears, Rhea opened one golden eye lazily. "Good morning," Menagi said quietly.
Rhea's mouth opened impossibly wide in a yawn. "Mmm. Good morning. How's your arm?"
The young girl rubbed her left wrist lightly, and felt it throbbing beneath her fingers. "It still hurts. I healed it last night, but I still think it's fractured."
Rhea stretched lazily, as only a cat could. "Well, heal it again, then. Close your eyes and concentrate."
Menagi did so obediently, following her friend's instructions. The pendant at her throat started to glow slightly, and the radiance traveled down her arm, into her injured wrist. After a few moments, the glowing stopped. Beads of sweat ran down from the girl's forehead from the exertion. "That's it," she gasped. "That's all I can do." She collapsed back against the pillows, and promptly fell back asleep.
The sun was high in the sky when she next awoke. Her wrist still hurt, but now it was just a dull ache. She could live with that. She looked at the clock, and sat up with a start. It was three in the afternoon. She'd slept most of the day away. With a groan, she got up, and looked around for Rhea.
She found the cat working on the computer, as odd as it sounds. Since the young girl happened to be the owner of one of the largest computer corporations on the planet, getting access to the technology she needed was no problem. The system she used was voice activated, and she had a special touch pad made so Rhea could physically use the system as well. It also had a direct link to a portable unit, a special laptop that Rhea and Menagi had spent months inventing. Either system had incredible tracking capabilities, spectral scanners, and all sorts of other things that supposedly weren't even invented yet. Or, at least, not on this world. Rhea had a wealth of knowledge from other worlds that she shared with the young girl in order to make a "suitable, functional computer system." Some of it, frankly, boggled Menagi's mind.
Menagi grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and wandered over to the computer desk. She munched contentedly on it as she looked at what the feline was up to. Several maps of Tokyo lay on the table, and the screen held 2 more satellite pictures Rhea was currently manipulating. Apparently, her friend had been busy while she was recovering some of her energy. Around a mouthful of apple, Menagi asked, "So, what's all this stuff?"
Rhea looked up. "I've hacked in to the Tokyo Police data base, and listed off all the unusual phenomena for the last 6 months. Apparently things have been quite for a while. The two incidents were the detonation of Mugen High School for the Gifted and then the unexplained freezing of more than half of Tokyo under ice. Those were about 3 months ago. Before that, there were several UFO sightings, reports of sunspots, hundreds of incident reports I've yet to sort through. If the pattern holds true, though, they go in spurts." The cat clicked a couple of times on the keyboard and brought up a chart. "If you look here, it seems that there is a period of activity, then about 3 months of inactivity. Then it starts back up again. It's like its some sort of cycle. If the pattern holds true, Tokyo is just about due for some more unusual activity."
Menagi smiled. "Timing has always been one of my better qualities. So, all we need to do is sit and wait, then."
Rhea shook her head. "I've already felt some strange vibrations at work around here. I want you to go back to that temple and talk to the people there. I don't know why, but I feel that it's important. Volunteer there, maybe. There are many sites of power in Tokyo, but that one feels especially strong to me."
"I've got to go back there today, anyway. I promised those girls that I would. They seemed nice, and I'm sure they were worried about me. I'll just have to watch myself around the odango. She'll be the death of me if I don't."
"Good. You need to make more friends anyway. Oh, and while I think about it, think about signing up for school in the area. You're still not done with your education. No, don't roll your eyes at me, young lady. School is important, and Japanese schools are some of the best in the world. Besides, think of all the gossip that you'll get in on once you make some new friends. Maybe you'll learn more about what's been going on around here. It couldn't hurt." Rhea winked at her, and Menagi groaned.
After a quick shower, Menagi decided to go back to the temple. She found her favorite lavender sundress to wear, and after a look in the mirror to make sure she was presentable, she left. On her way, she thought she saw the tall brunette with the ponytail and the blonde with the big, red bow. The pretty blonde waved, and nudged her friend in the ribs, and Menagi waved back. They made their way over to Menagi.
"Konnichiwa!" they said in unison, and bowed.
"Good afternoon," Menagi replied, and bowed as well.
"You're the girl from the temple yesterday, right? I'm Minako Aino, and this is my friend Makoto Kino." The blonde girl bowed again.
"Everyone calls me Mako-chan," the brunette piped in.
"Its nice to meet you. I'm Menagi Starnigh." The American girl held out her hand, and shook hands with each girl in turn. Good, no shocks. That's a start. "I was just on my way back to the temple to tell the nice young priestess there that I'm ok."
Minako laughed. "Rei-chan? Nice? You're joking, ne? I'll have to tell her that."
Mako-chan elbowed her friend in the ribs. "That's rude. We were heading that way as well, why don't we go together?" Menagi nodded and the girls started off.
The two Japanese girls made polite conversation on the way over. Minako was excited to find out she was from America. "I've always wanted to go live there. I lived in London for a few years, but America is so exciting! What's it like?" She proceeded to ask about American culture from the foreigner.
"So, why did your family decide to move to Japan?" Mako-chan asked.
They didn't, I did," Menagi replied shortly.
"They let you come hear by yourself? Wow, my parents would never let me do that!" Minako marveled.
"My parents are dead."
Both girls gaped at Menagi like strung fish, not being used to such a blunt way of speaking. Mako-chan recovered first. "Oh, wow. I'm so sorry, Menagi-sama. I understand how you feel, I lost my parents at a young age, too." She laid a comforting hand on the American girl's shoulder.
Menagi looked first at the hand, and then at Mako-chan. "I'm sorry, it's still hard for me to talk about. It's only been 2 years." She looked off in the distance. "Just when I think it won't bother me anymore, it does. I still have nightmares of the crash." She shivered slightly.
Makoto shivered, too, and withdrew her hand. "I know. To this day, I'm deathly afraid of airplanes."
Menagi looked up sharply. "They died in a plane crash?" Mako-chan nodded. "That's how my family died."
Minako let out a low whistle. "And you still flew over to Japan? You're very brave."
Menagi shook her head as she started up the temple steps. "No, its just I had no choice. It was my destiny to come here." The two girls exchanged looks, and followed her into Sendai Hill Temple.
***She walked slowly through the hall, admiring its beauty. The whole castle was made of marble, etched in silver and gold. She casually let a black gloved hand trail along one of the walls. As she made her way through the hall, she heard the click of heels on stone. She turned slightly, her violet eyes searching the hall. They came to rest upon a beautiful young girl gliding up the hall behind her. The girl had knee length black hair, dark eyes, and wore a lovely red ball gown. The raven-haired girl waved, and The Wanderer smiled.
"Lady Ryuusei Houkou! I've been looking for you everywhere!" The girl stopped a polite distance from the violet-eyed woman and bowed, her red dress rippling as she moved. Her dark eyes were filled with laughter. "Did you hear? It's official! I'm now one of the senshi for Queen Serenity's daughter!"
"Congratulations, princess. So, you have finally completed your training. Your mother must be very proud. She can now retire in peace." The Wanderer's vision flashed, and the image before her changed. She saw the same young girl in a red sailor fuki fighting for her life. She wielded the power of fire in battle against an army of darkness, her fellow senshi fighting beside her. One by one, the senshi fell, including the beautiful young girl with the long, black hair. Her vision cleared, and she smiled tightly at the new senshi. "Just be careful, my friend. These are dark times, and you may be called upon to use your new powers sooner than you would like."
The young girl leaned forward and eagerly grabbed the older lady by the arm. "Do you know something? You have to tell me! I know you were on your way to talk to the Queen. I've heard rumors that there is a problem with one of the kingdoms on Earth. I bet you know something! You only come here when the Queen asks you to. The Outer Senshi have been in conference with her off and on all week! Please, Lady Ryuusei! Tell me!" She looked up at The Wanderer, her dark eyes pleading.
The Wanderer gently disengaged herself from the young girl. "You know I can't say anything unless the Queen gives me leave." The Wanderer sighed, and rubbed her aching temples. "I can say this, however. The sunspots we've been noticing are not natural. I'm sure the Queen will be sending me to investigate them soon."
The young princess' eyes grew wide. "Wow, I wish I could go with you. I love traveling in space."
The Wanderer's eyes narrowed, and she stepped forward, looking down at the young girl. In her heels, she towered head and shoulders over the new senshi. "I'm not going for a joy ride, this is serious. Never forget, what we do, we do for the safety of all those who need us. This is not some game. Being senshi is a very important duty. Have no doubt, that some day you may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice. You give your life so that others may have a better place in which to live."
The young girl looked at the floor, her dark hair falling forward to shield her face. "Gomen nasai. I know this is serious. I've been taught that every day of my life." She sighed and looked up at the tall woman, her dark eyes searching The Wanderer's violet ones. "You know, you're more serious than usual. You're worried, aren't you?" The Wanderer looked away, but said nothing. "You are, I know it." The young girl stepped forward again, and took The Wanderer's hand in her own. "If you're worried, I know its bad. I promise to take this seriously, but promise me you'll be careful. I don't want anything to happen to one of my best friends." She gave the hand a gentle squeeze.
The Wanderer squeezed the hand back. "Of course, I'll be careful. I'm sure everything will work out fine."***
Menagi woke up the next morning, her arm throbbing dully. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and rolled over in her bed. What an odd dream, she thought. She sighed and rubbed her temples. I should be used to having them by now, though I wish I knew what they meant. I've been having them ever since... She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the painful memory. After a moment, when her emotions were back under control, she opened them again. She spotted Rhea curled up on the bed next to her, purring softly. Menagi smiled, and reached out to stroke Rhea's soft fur. She gently touched the light orange patch on Rhea's brow. The color of the fur there made it look like she had a crescent moon with a star cradled between its points etched on her brow. Menagi remembered asking Rhea about it, and the light orange and white colored Persian had said that it was a symbol from where she came from, a place long dead. As her long fingers gently stroked the soft fur between the cat's ears, Rhea opened one golden eye lazily. "Good morning," Menagi said quietly.
Rhea's mouth opened impossibly wide in a yawn. "Mmm. Good morning. How's your arm?"
The young girl rubbed her left wrist lightly, and felt it throbbing beneath her fingers. "It still hurts. I healed it last night, but I still think it's fractured."
Rhea stretched lazily, as only a cat could. "Well, heal it again, then. Close your eyes and concentrate."
Menagi did so obediently, following her friend's instructions. The pendant at her throat started to glow slightly, and the radiance traveled down her arm, into her injured wrist. After a few moments, the glowing stopped. Beads of sweat ran down from the girl's forehead from the exertion. "That's it," she gasped. "That's all I can do." She collapsed back against the pillows, and promptly fell back asleep.
The sun was high in the sky when she next awoke. Her wrist still hurt, but now it was just a dull ache. She could live with that. She looked at the clock, and sat up with a start. It was three in the afternoon. She'd slept most of the day away. With a groan, she got up, and looked around for Rhea.
She found the cat working on the computer, as odd as it sounds. Since the young girl happened to be the owner of one of the largest computer corporations on the planet, getting access to the technology she needed was no problem. The system she used was voice activated, and she had a special touch pad made so Rhea could physically use the system as well. It also had a direct link to a portable unit, a special laptop that Rhea and Menagi had spent months inventing. Either system had incredible tracking capabilities, spectral scanners, and all sorts of other things that supposedly weren't even invented yet. Or, at least, not on this world. Rhea had a wealth of knowledge from other worlds that she shared with the young girl in order to make a "suitable, functional computer system." Some of it, frankly, boggled Menagi's mind.
Menagi grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and wandered over to the computer desk. She munched contentedly on it as she looked at what the feline was up to. Several maps of Tokyo lay on the table, and the screen held 2 more satellite pictures Rhea was currently manipulating. Apparently, her friend had been busy while she was recovering some of her energy. Around a mouthful of apple, Menagi asked, "So, what's all this stuff?"
Rhea looked up. "I've hacked in to the Tokyo Police data base, and listed off all the unusual phenomena for the last 6 months. Apparently things have been quite for a while. The two incidents were the detonation of Mugen High School for the Gifted and then the unexplained freezing of more than half of Tokyo under ice. Those were about 3 months ago. Before that, there were several UFO sightings, reports of sunspots, hundreds of incident reports I've yet to sort through. If the pattern holds true, though, they go in spurts." The cat clicked a couple of times on the keyboard and brought up a chart. "If you look here, it seems that there is a period of activity, then about 3 months of inactivity. Then it starts back up again. It's like its some sort of cycle. If the pattern holds true, Tokyo is just about due for some more unusual activity."
Menagi smiled. "Timing has always been one of my better qualities. So, all we need to do is sit and wait, then."
Rhea shook her head. "I've already felt some strange vibrations at work around here. I want you to go back to that temple and talk to the people there. I don't know why, but I feel that it's important. Volunteer there, maybe. There are many sites of power in Tokyo, but that one feels especially strong to me."
"I've got to go back there today, anyway. I promised those girls that I would. They seemed nice, and I'm sure they were worried about me. I'll just have to watch myself around the odango. She'll be the death of me if I don't."
"Good. You need to make more friends anyway. Oh, and while I think about it, think about signing up for school in the area. You're still not done with your education. No, don't roll your eyes at me, young lady. School is important, and Japanese schools are some of the best in the world. Besides, think of all the gossip that you'll get in on once you make some new friends. Maybe you'll learn more about what's been going on around here. It couldn't hurt." Rhea winked at her, and Menagi groaned.
After a quick shower, Menagi decided to go back to the temple. She found her favorite lavender sundress to wear, and after a look in the mirror to make sure she was presentable, she left. On her way, she thought she saw the tall brunette with the ponytail and the blonde with the big, red bow. The pretty blonde waved, and nudged her friend in the ribs, and Menagi waved back. They made their way over to Menagi.
"Konnichiwa!" they said in unison, and bowed.
"Good afternoon," Menagi replied, and bowed as well.
"You're the girl from the temple yesterday, right? I'm Minako Aino, and this is my friend Makoto Kino." The blonde girl bowed again.
"Everyone calls me Mako-chan," the brunette piped in.
"Its nice to meet you. I'm Menagi Starnigh." The American girl held out her hand, and shook hands with each girl in turn. Good, no shocks. That's a start. "I was just on my way back to the temple to tell the nice young priestess there that I'm ok."
Minako laughed. "Rei-chan? Nice? You're joking, ne? I'll have to tell her that."
Mako-chan elbowed her friend in the ribs. "That's rude. We were heading that way as well, why don't we go together?" Menagi nodded and the girls started off.
The two Japanese girls made polite conversation on the way over. Minako was excited to find out she was from America. "I've always wanted to go live there. I lived in London for a few years, but America is so exciting! What's it like?" She proceeded to ask about American culture from the foreigner.
"So, why did your family decide to move to Japan?" Mako-chan asked.
They didn't, I did," Menagi replied shortly.
"They let you come hear by yourself? Wow, my parents would never let me do that!" Minako marveled.
"My parents are dead."
Both girls gaped at Menagi like strung fish, not being used to such a blunt way of speaking. Mako-chan recovered first. "Oh, wow. I'm so sorry, Menagi-sama. I understand how you feel, I lost my parents at a young age, too." She laid a comforting hand on the American girl's shoulder.
Menagi looked first at the hand, and then at Mako-chan. "I'm sorry, it's still hard for me to talk about. It's only been 2 years." She looked off in the distance. "Just when I think it won't bother me anymore, it does. I still have nightmares of the crash." She shivered slightly.
Makoto shivered, too, and withdrew her hand. "I know. To this day, I'm deathly afraid of airplanes."
Menagi looked up sharply. "They died in a plane crash?" Mako-chan nodded. "That's how my family died."
Minako let out a low whistle. "And you still flew over to Japan? You're very brave."
Menagi shook her head as she started up the temple steps. "No, its just I had no choice. It was my destiny to come here." The two girls exchanged looks, and followed her into Sendai Hill Temple.