Rei Hino loved her grandfather with all her heart but there were times when she wished he would act his age. Rei's grandfather was on a mission of great importance. It was mission to find the perfect shrine acolyte and that person had to be a female and young. For some reason Rei's grandfather got a charge out of seeing young women dressed in the traditional hikama and robes of a temple maiden. Sure his granddaughter dressed that way whenever she wasn't in her school uniform or out with her friends but if another young woman dressed like her his heart beat so fast that he had stirrings where an old man shouldn't get stirrings at his age.
It was widely known that whenever a female high school or junior high school student came to the shrine on Sendai Hill Grandpa Hino would attempt to get then to work at the shrine. The girls would always giggle and call Grandpa a funny little man while Rei would get mad and scold her grandfather telling him he needed to act his age. Grandpa would then scold Rei back for not respecting her elders.
Rei's friends knew she cared a lot about her grandfather but there were times when they would say she was worrying about him far too much, especially the other Senshi. Usagi would tell Rei that her grandfather could take care of himself just fine and she should try and learn everything she could from him about running the shrine then she would compare him to Muten Roshi. Ami would tell her to respect her grandfather and that it was normal for a man like him to think about those things and thank the Kami he wasn't as bad as Happosi. And finally Makoto would say Rei was lucky to even have any type of family and she should spend as much time with him as possible. After much arguing and debating Rei would always sigh and forgive her grandfather for what he had said.
Rei had reason to worry about her grandfather though. Ever since she was twelve it had always been just Rei and her grandfather living at the shrine but soon all that was about to change.
********
Tsukai Hino had lived a good portion of his seventy plus years of life in the Hikawa-jin shrine on Sendai Hill. The seasoned man had raised a daughter within the shrine walls and was now raising his granddaughter there as well. His granddaughter Rei had made the shrine priest very proud. Rei had wanted to follow in her grandfather's footsteps and run the shrine. It was Tsukai's greatest dream to keep the shrine within the family.
Tsukai, or Grandpa as people called him, usually spent his nights sitting on the roof of the shrine staring up at the stars in the sky. Rei worried her head off that her grandfather would fall of the roof of the shrine and hurt himself. But Grandpa had yet to fall off the roof and would smirk at his granddaughter and comment about how her old grandfather still had it in him.
Grandpa was once again sitting on the roof looking up at the constellations in the sky. In his younger days Tsukai would gaze up at the bright full moon in the sky. But the mysterious disappearance of the moon eleven years ago had taken that pleasure away from him. His granddaughter like many of the young people in the world couldn't remember what the moon looked like.
As Tsukai gazed up at the spot in the sky where the moon once was an odd looking man in a gray uniform appeared above the shrine. With his green eyes and long sandy blonde hair the effeminate man approached Tsukai. Pulling out a strange looking black crystal the effeminate looking man turned his attention to Grandpa and addressed him.
"Soon you shall be returned to what you once where." The effeminate man said.
With that he held the crystal over Grandpa and began to concentrate his energy. The crystal began to glow a strange color causing Grandpa great pain. Believing the man to be a demon Grandpa reached into his robes and pulled out a small slip of paper with several characters written upon it. Flinging the ofuda at the effeminate man Grandpa stopped the attack. His attacker, however, was quite angry with what Grandpa had done to him.
"How dare you attack Zoicite of the Dark Kingdom!" Zoicite yelled, "For that you shall be killed."
With one thrust of his hand Zoicite sent forth his own attack.
"Zoi!" he yelled as the pink crystal energy slammed into Grandpa.
The force of the blast knocked Grandpa off the roof to the ground below. Zoicite was about to make another attempt with his black crystal when Phoebus and Diemos, woken by the commotion, swooped in and began attacking the intruder. Zoicite began yelling loudly trying to get the pair of crows off of him.
Inside the small shrine house Rei had heard all the noise coming from the yard and went out to investigate it. As she rushed outside Rei could have sworn she saw the figure of an effeminate looking man with long hair pulled back at the nape pf the neck vanish into the night. Her loyal friends and guardians the shrine crows flew over to her landing on her arm giving out a few short caws of an explanation. Rei then looked over to her grandfather and went to help him off of the ground.
"Are you alright grandpa?" Rei asked him.
"I'll be fine. There ain't nothing this old body can't handle." Grandpa told her.
Rei smiled at her grandfather and as she did a loud moan could be heard coming from the direction of the vast shrine steps. Going over to the steps Rei and her grandfather were greeted by the sight of a scruffy looking young man with blue eyes hidden under a messy mop of brown hair that grazed the bottom of his neck. He was dressed plainly in a pair of blue denim jeans with a black t-shirt under a white dress shirt. The clothes looked to be very expensive. The young man looked up and caught the sight of Rei standing above him in a pair of simple red cotton shorts and a white tank top with a pair of brown Birkenstock sandals over big thick white socks. Her long dark hair had been held out of her face with a large black butterfly clip. It was love at first sight as the young man got large hearts in his eyes.
"Excuse me sir but who are you and why are you sleeping on our steps?" Rei asked him.
Whether it was the sound of Rei's voice or the fact that he was somewhat drunk the young man immediately bowed before Rei and her grandfather and began begging to learn their ways.
"Please humble priest I am Yuuichirou Kumada and I am but a simple lost soul who wishes to become your student. Please say you'll take me under your wing." Yuuichirou begged.
Rei rolled her eyes at the corny way Yuuichirou asked if he could stay with them while her grandfather smiled because they would soon have a new acolyte at the shrine. Well at least he's a better choice then Jedite, Rei thought.
"My boy welcome to the Hikawa-jin shrine." Grandpa said.
********
Guardians of the Earth
Episode Sixteen: Grandpa
********
It was another bright sunny spring afternoon and Usagi and her friends were sitting in a large booth at the Crown Fruit Parlor having an impromptu Senshi meeting. Rei had called the other Senshi during lunch and told them she needed to see them after school. She had even told them to drag Ranma along because he just might be able to help with her problem.
"Rei why did you call a Senshi meeting?" Makoto asked her.
"This isn't a Senshi meeting per say it's more of an I need help desperately meeting." Rei explained to her friends.
"Oh so what's the problem you need help with?" Usagi asked.
"It probably would be best if I show you. Why don't we head for the shrine." Rei said.
With that the small group of five and one feline made their way out of the Crown and headed for the Hikawa-jin shrine. On the way to the shrine Rei gave the girls some background on the current situation at the shrine.
"Last Friday night an intruder came to the shrine and tried to attack my grandfather while he was on the roof knocking him to the ground. Fortunately for Grandpa my crows Phoebus and Diemos drove off the intruder. When I came out to see what was going on I could have sworn I saw the intruder vanish into thin air. I then went to check on Grandpa and while I was doing so we heard a noise coming from the shrine steps. Going over to investigate the source of the noise we found a somewhat drunk grungy looking man lying on the steps with a good sized duffle. He introduced himself as Yuuichirou Kumada and then begged my grandfather to take him under his wing. Grandpa was more than willing to accommodate his request and we now have a new shrine acolyte." Rei told them.
When the group reached the gates to the shrine they could hear strange sounds coming from the top of the steps that led to the shrine.
"You're not yelling loud enough boy!" Grandpa Hino yelled.
"Please forgive me noble sensei I will do whatever it takes to be worthy to be your student." Yuuichirou begged the older man.
As the group reached the top of the shrine steps they saw Rei's grandfather and a man they had never seen before standing on one of the branches in the prayer tree. Both Grandpa and the unknown man were dressed alike in the same hikama and robes with matching cloths tied around their necks. Grandpa was holding onto a thick rope that had a large knot in it and dove off the tree. A few short moments later he let go of the rope and executed a perfect flip before landing on his feet. Then Grandpa went over to the tree and tossed the rope up to the young man who caught it and held onto it for a few moments.
Yuuichirou folded his hands into a prayer position around the rope and began praying to the spirits of the shrine for guidance.
"Noble spirits please help me to be just like my sensei. Please help me be a worthy student." Yuuichirou prayed aloud.
With the prayer said and done Yuuichirou put his other hand around the rope and jumped off the tree. Then just as Grandpa had done Yuuichirou let go of the rope. But instead of executing a perfect flip and landing on his feet Yuuichirou landed flat on his face.
"Oh bummer man that's the fifth time I've done that this hour." Yuuichirou said.
Grandpa saw the fallen boy and decided it was the perfect opportunity to play a little joke on the new shrine acolyte. Reaching inside his robes Grandpa pulled out a small bag of marbles and dumped its contents on the ground. When Yuuichirou stood up and began to walk back to the tree he stepped on the marbles and lost his footing falling flat on his behind. Grandpa began laughing and went near the tree to initiate phase two in operation Get the New Guy. When Yuuichirou got up again and made another attempt to get back into the tree Grandpa pulled on a rope and dumped an entire buck of water on the acolyte's head leaving him soaked to the bone. Grandpa then left the tree laughing hysterically.
"Ever since Yuuichirou over there arrived Grandpa's been doing nothing but joking around acting like a little kid." Rei said, "If this keeps up then no one will want to come to our shrine."
Frustrated and angry Rei went over to her grandfather to have a few words with him.
"Grandpa if you don't quit acting like a little kid and take your job more seriously we're going to loose the trust in the shrine." Rei scolded him.
"Aww come on Rei loosen up a bit you need to have more fun." Grandpa said just before he patted her on the back with a joy buzzer.
Grandpa began laughing at the face Rei made when she was buzzed and headed into the shrine house. Ami came over to see if Rei was alright and checked her back. Usagi just stood there and let a snicker come out of her mouth.
"I bet you think this is real funny eh Usagi?" Rei asked sourly.
"Gee Rei I never knew your grandfather could be so funny. Mine worries my mom is going to give herself a heart attack too much." Usagi said between giggles.
Rei got real mad at Usagi and began getting red in the face. She needed her friends to help her figure out what to do about her grandfather's behavior not make jokes about it.
"Usagi will you just stay out of this!" Rei yelled at her.
"Gee Rei I didn't mean it that way." Usagi tried to explain.
Rei didn't buy Usagi's explanation and charged at her with a swift punch. The female Saiyan was taken by surprise and landed up getting punched in the mouth. Rei's punch was hard enough to cause Usagi's lower lip to swell up and begin to turn a bit purple. Upon feeling her lip get two sizes bigger than it was Usagi became very angry.
"So that's how you want it Hino? You think that just because I've never been around city people very much you can hit me when I do something I didn't know I wasn't supposed to do. I thought we were friends but I guess not." Usagi yelled as she unconsciously let her Ki level rise.
Rei was unaware of what was happening and took Usagi's yelling as a challenge and returned her anger with anger of her own.
"You want to fight then we'll fight." Rei yelled back as she dropped into a ready stance.
Ranma and Ami felt the sudden rise in Ki when their danger senses kicked in. The pair of martial artists knew Usagi was loosing control of her Saiyan side and could seriously hurt Rei. Rushing up to their friend Ranma grabbed Usagi while Ami tried to talk some sense into her.
"Usagi you have to calm down before someone gets seriously hurt." Ami said.
"She hit me first Ami." Usagi replied deadly calm.
"I hate to say it but Ami's right Usagi." Ranma said as he struggled to contain her
Makoto saw that Ranma was loosing his grip on Usagi and went to help out the aquatransexual martial artist. Grabbing a hold of Usagi's free arm Makoto helped Ranma pin Usagi to the ground.
"Snap out of it Usagi!" Makoto yelled.
While the three martial artists were trying to subdue their friend Luna went to go and talk some sense into the Senshi of Mars.
"Rei this isn't going to get you anywhere. Hitting people isn't the answer to all your problems. Do you want to get yourself killed? If those three hadn't pinned Usagi down that's exactly what would have happened. From what I've gathered so far Usagi has a problem keeping her sanity in check during a fight if she let's her Saiyan side take over. My best advice would be to back off." Luna scolded.
Rei's face suddenly became ashen at the thought of Usagi tearing her apart. The little she had witnessed of Usagi's Saiyan nature during battles with the youma they had faced had the miko scared. Luna then turned to the others and suggested it would be for the best if they left.
"I think the best course of action we can in this situation is to get Usagi as far away from Rei as possible." Luna said to the others.
"I think your right Luna. There is no way Usagi is going to calm down anytime soon." Ami replied assessing the situation.
With that Ranma, Makoto, and Ami dragged the irate Demi-Saiyan away from the shrine with Luna following close behind.
Upon seeing her friends leaving the shrine Rei became angry once again because they did nothing to help her with her grandfather.
"Those guys left without even helping me out." Rei yelled in frustration.
********
Rei sat on the porch of the shrine house that night after dinner watching the sun set in the evening sky. The shrine miko tried to remember a time when she would sit outside with her mother watching the sun go down and the moon rise in the night sky. Now there was no mother and no moon. For eleven years Rei had been without both. Now Rei's world was being turned upside down once again. Mamoru was becoming distant and spent little time with her while her father ignored her completely. And now it seemed her grandfather was beginning to loose his mind.
Rei didn't mind the fact that her grandfather had let Yuuichirou stay with them they needed the extra help around the shrine. In fact, Rei actually liked Yuuichirou better than Jedite. Sure he could be annoying at times but he was a lot nicer and a whole lot easier to get along with than the previous acolyte her grandfather tried hiring for a while.
As Rei stared at the stars in the sky she felt a firm yet gentle hand being placed upon her shoulder. Looking up at the owner of the hand she saw Yuuichirou standing over her with a concerned look on his face. The recent addition to Hikawa-jin shrine could tell something was bothering Rei.
"Mind if I sit with you?" He asked her.
"No not at all." Rei replied.
Yuuichirou took a seat next to Rei and looked up in the direction she was staring at moments before. Raising his hand he pointed to the empty place in the sky.
"Right there that's where the moon should be." He said.
Rei looked at him with a bit of shock in her eyes. Yuuichirou was one of the few people younger than her father who remembered what the moon looked like.
"You remember what the moon was like?" she asked him quite surprised.
"Yeah I was nine when it vanished. At least that's what everyone else believes. I'll keep sticking to my belief that it blew up and caused that strange meteor shower a week later." Yuuichirou said.
You should talk to Usagi, Rei thought; she can introduce you to the one who actually did it.
"Grandpa always talks about the moon. He said he used to go out every night and look up at it from the roof of the shrine and pray to the moon goddess to watch over his family. Now he just stares at a dark star filled sky. I'm worried about him Yuuichirou." Rei replied.
Yuuichirou looked at Rei and could see she was looking for some kind of answer as to why her grandfather was acting very strange.
"Don't worry Rei your grandpa is just acting the way he is because he has Spring Fever. You see each spring men start to do crazy things because the weather finally gets warm again and they try and go after the ladies. This spring it just happens to be your grandpa that has the fever." He explained.
Rei got a smile on her face and began to laugh. Even though Yuuichirou hadn't been around Grandpa that much he had the older man figured out perfectly.
"Yeah that sounds like Grandpa alright. Thanks I needed that." Rei said between giggles.
********
School was over with the following day and Rei and Yuuichirou were out running some errands for the shrine. They had then stopped into a few stores where Rei had made several purchases both for the shrine and for herself. Yuuichirou had, in his great infatuation with her, offered to carry the bags and boxes filled with Rei's purchase. And as he did so the shrine acolyte could swear they were being followed.
Usagi used her Saiyan speed to duck behind a tree before setting Luna down. The female Demi-Saiyan was on her way to apologize to Rei for what she said the day before when she spotted the shrine maiden out shopping with Yuuichirou. Now she was on a mission to bring the pair closer together. Usagi could tell Yuuichirou had a thing for Rei.
"I've got to figure out a way to get those two together without being noticed." Usagi said.
Luna looked up at her charge with a look that the female Saiyan she wasn't too pleased with what she was attempting to do.
"Usagi you just might make things worse if you attempt this." Luna said.
"Oh hush up Luna. What harm can come out of this?" Usagi replied as she pulled out the disguise pen from her subspace pocket.
Luna saw the oversized pink pen and knew exactly what Usagi was planning.
"Usagi you know you can't be using the disguise pen for personal use." Luna tried to remind her.
Usagi ignored what Luna had said and held the pen up in the air and called forth its power.
"Disguise Power! Change me into a wizened old fortune teller." Usagi said.
A pink light came out of the pen and wrapped around Usagi changing her into a little old fortune teller. Usagi was now wearing a man's blue kimono and glasses and had a long thin mustache. Her long hair was underneath a matching hat done up in a single bun. Around her neck was a tray with what looked like several pickup sticks on it.
Usagi went over to where Rei had stopped with Yuuichirou at a nearby park bench. Trying to look as inconspicuous as possible Usagi walked over to the pair to put operation matchmaker into effect.
"Excuse me young lady but would you like to have your fortune told." Usagi said in a voice that sounded like a bad imitation of Muten Roshi.
Rei turned her attention to the fortune teller and wondered what the little man wanted. Something didn't seem right about him. As she watched the little man toss his sticks onto the tray Rei tried to figure out why he seemed oddly familiar and had a back mustache with blonde hair.
Pretending to read the sticks Usagi gave Rei her fortune.
"The sticks tell me you have feelings for a man, strong feelings but there is another man in your life now and he has feelings for you. You can tell he loves you but you do not want to hurt his feelings by rejecting him. They also tell me you are starting to care for the new man in your life. They say the only way to know for certain if you truly care for him is to kiss this young man right now. So go over there and kiss the boy so you can tell if you like him in the same way he likes you." Usagi said.
Taking a good look at the little man Rei saw through the disguise and noticed he was really a she and Rei knew exactly who that she was, Usagi. Becoming angry that her supposed friend was meddling in her personal life Rei turned to Yuuichirou.
"Let's go." Rei barked out.
"Y-y-yes Rei." Yuuichirou said quite startled as he fumbled for her things.
Before she left the small park Rei turned back to Usagi and confronted the disguised Moon Senshi.
"What are you doing? I already have Mamoru." Rei hissed at Usagi.
Then just as she was about to leave Rei looked back over her shoulder and yelled one final thing at the female Demi-Saiyan.
"I'll have nothing to do with you again!" Rei yelled.
With that Rei and Yuuichirou left the park and Usagi.
********
Usagi was in a terrible mood when she returned to Kinmoko hall. She knew she and Rei weren't the best of friends but she thought they had a healthy respect for one another. Now it seemed as though any hope of a friendship they might have was fading fast. As Usagi walked into the lobby of the dorm she went over to the mailboxes and checked to see if there was any mail for either her or Ami. Looking in the box Usagi saw a slip of paper that told her she had a package.
Usagi walked over to Kimiko's studio apartment and knocked on the door. Fortunately for Usagi the older woman was at home and opened the door with a huge smile that soon faded when she saw the look on Usagi's face.
"Usagi is something wrong?" she asked the female Saiyan.
"I think one of my friends might hate my guts." Usagi replied.
"It's not Ami is it?" Kimiko wanted to know.
"No it's my friend Rei. She goes to TA. We had a big fight and she said she wanted nothing to do with me ever again." Usagi explained fighting the tears that were forming in her eyes.
"That's too bad. But I think I have something here that just might make you feel better. Come on in while I go and get it." Kimiko said.
Usagi walked into the tiny apartment and stayed on the small foyer so she wouldn't have to remove her school shoes. A couple of minutes later Kimiko walked out of the back room carrying a medium sized box that had some pictures drawn on the side of it. Usagi knew right away who drew the chibiized caricatures of her entire family. Sure it was only oversized heads but it was defiantly her little brother's handiwork. Usagi could feel a small smile creep onto her face.
"Thanks Kimiko." Usagi said as she took the box.
Usagi and Luna went up to their room with the box and opened it to see what was inside it.
Inside the box underneath a layer of tissue and a note card were many things that looked to be sent to her from her entire family. There was a plastic tub with daifuku inside, a few apples, some drawings, and a stuffed monkey and bunny. Usagi opened the tub with the daifuku inside and then began reading the note card her mother had more than likely written.
"Usagi, I am sending you this care package because you sounded a bit down after our last phone conversation. Everyone in the family put something in the package to help cheer you up. I made you daifuku while your father put in a few apples from the big tree on the first pick of the year. Goten made you a few pictures as well as decorating the outside of the box. And finally your futago Gohan decided to send you Nanners and Bunbun after I cleaned and fixed them. Hope this picks up your sprits and things get better for you. Remember you can call us anytime you need to talk to someone. We all love you, mom, dad, Gohan, and Goten." Usagi read.
Usagi stared at the daifuku for a moment while thinking about what happened that afternoon. After few moments of contemplating her situation Usagi buried her head in her knees and began to cry while she pulled them close to her chest.
"Rei-chan hates me now." Usagi said between sobs.
Luna walked over to her charge and gently placed a paw on her leg to try and comfort her.
"Rei-chan isn't the type to hold a grudge for very long and will most likely forget about all of this by tomorrow." Luna commented.
"But she said she doesn't want anything to do with me anymore." Usagi said.
"She only said that because she's under a lot of stress lately and she doesn't need people making an already complicated situation any worse. You have to understand most people don't promise to marry the first girl their age they come across." Luna replied.
Luna took one of the daifuku out of the tub and began eating it. If Usagi wasn't going to have one then Luna was.
"Usagi, this daifuku is very good." Luna commented.
Usagi looked over at Luna, who was eating the sweet cake desert, for a moment and then turned her attention to the window over her desk.
"I can't eat daifuku at a time like this." Usagi moaned.
Luna tried once again to get Usagi to have one.
"But it's very good." Luna said again.
Usagi looked over at Luna once again and became drawn to the sweet desert when she saw the lunar feline take another bite of the cake. Taking out a daifuku of her own Usagi took a bite and was very surprised when she discovered that the desert was in fact very good like Luna had said.
"Yeah, it is good." Usagi said.
"I told you so." Luna replied.
Usagi then got a sly little smile on her face as a thought crept its way into her head.
"I think I'll bring this to Rei-chan. I'll make up with her by using the daifuku as a piece offering. What a great idea." Usagi announced.
Luna looked at Usagi and knew how she was around food.
"Yes and by the time you reach the shrine you'll have eaten all the daifuku." Luna said.
"Don't worry I won't eat any of it." Usagi said as she put the lid on the tub.
Luna didn't think Usagi should go and talk to Rei so close after an argument and voiced her opinion on the matter.
"I don't think this is such a good idea Usagi." Luna protested.
But it was too late for no sooner had the words come out if her mouth Usagi was out the door and on her way to the shrine. With a sigh Luna hopped out the conveniently open window and set off to follow the young female Demi-Saiyan.
********
Yuuichirou Kumada may have looked like the typical slacker but he was far from it. The young man who had recently come to the Hikawa-jin shrine came from one of Tokyo's elite families. Like Rei's father Yuuichirou's family was loaded. Unlike Rei's father Yuuichirou was happy doing the simple things in life. One of those simple pleasures for Yuuichirou was backpacking through the Japanese countryside. It was only recently that the young traveler returned to Tokyo where he hooked up with a group of friends and drank to his heart's content before going back out on the road. And it was the fact that the local hostel was closed and his parents were themselves gone on their own vacation that Yuuichirou found himself sleeping on the steps to the Hikawa-jin shrine.
Now the young man on a journey to find himself had become an apprentice to the Shinto priest that ran the shrine and wanted to never leave the young miko in training who lived there. The recent problems of the shrine soon became his problems and the worries of one raven haired shrine maiden lay heavy on his own mind as he practiced some of the more sane portions of the training Grandpa Hino had put him through that afternoon. Yuuichirou was performing some basic tai chi moves.
I sure hope Rei can help her grandfather out, Yuuichirou thought.
********
Rei had decided on spending her time that night sitting in a hot relaxing bath. Soaking in the tub had always helped clear Rei's mind and she had a lot on her mind that night. The problems with her grandfather had Rei worried. If there was something wrong with him Tsukai Hino wouldn't be able to continue on as shrine priest and the Hino family might loose the shrine. That was something Rei did not want to happen. She was determined to do whatever it would take to keep the shrine in the family.
"What am I going to do about Grandpa?" Rei thought aloud, "There's something terribly wrong with him and I can't seem to place my finger on it."
Yes this was one problem that would force Rei to soak in the tub until her fingers were wrinkled and the water was ice cold.
********
Tsukai Hino knew there was something wrong with himself. Ever since the strange floating man had attacked him at the beginning of the weekend Grandpa had not been feeling like himself. Sure he made comments about all the ladies that came to the shrine but he started to do things that went against his nature. Grandpa was acting like a fool and playing practical jokes on the new acolyte. Tsukai was surprised that Yuuichirou had stayed at the shrine this long. It was obvious the young man was either dedicated to his teachings or head over heals in love with his granddaughter Rei. Tsukai was certain it had to be the latter but hoped some of the former were true as well.
Because of his odd behavior Grandpa decided to do something he hadn't done in a long time. Tsukai Hino was going to perform a fire reading and consult the sacred fire. And so the seventy plus year old man knelt in front of the sacred fire in a meditative trance trying to find the cause of his strange behavior over the last few days.
"Oh sacred flames show me the cause of my strange behavior." He requested of the flames.
No sooner had he made the request than a strange laughter filled the small prayer room followed by a shower of sakura petals. The strange effeminate looking man appeared out of nowhere and floated above the flames unaffected by the heat. Then looking directly at Grandpa the sandy haired man addressed the shrine priest.
"You won't be so lucky this time old man!" he yelled at Grandpa.
Then with a quick thrust of his hand the effeminate looking man attacked Grandpa once again.
"Zoi!" he cried out as he sent the pink energy crystals straight for the older man.
The sheer force of the attack sent Grandpa flying out of the prayer room and onto the shrine grounds. His attacker quickly followed.
********
Rei sat in the tub thinking about what she could do to help her grandfather when a sudden flash hit the young woman sending her Ki sense out of control. There was someone on the shrine grounds that was pure evil. Hopping out of the tub Rei grabbed her red and black kimono and rushed to put on her clothes.
********
"It's time for you to return to the Dark Kingdom old man." The sandy haired man said as he pulled out a black crystal.
Holding the crystal over Grandpa Zoicite concentrated his Ki pouring it into the crystal. When his Ki was at its peak he summoned the crystal hidden deep inside the body of Tsukai Hino local Shinto priest.
"Rainbow crystal I summon you. Come to me!" Zoicite commanded.
The black crystal began to glow as the crystal inside Grandpa began reacting to its power. Trying hard not to cry out in pain Grandpa fell to his knees and grabbed his head in sheer agony. The dark blue almost purple indigo colored crystal floated out of Grandpa's body and went into the waiting hand of the effeminate dark general. Letting a sly grin cross his face Zoicite believed he was truly successful this time.
Zoicite's success was not to last for long however. Mere moments after the crystal made its way to Zoicite's hand a red streak knocked it out of his hand. There on the ground was a perfect red rose. Looking in the direction the rose had come from Zoicite saw the silhouette of Tuxedo Mask standing in the shadows on the shrine grounds.
"How dare you attack an old man. The elderly should be loved and cherished not harmed by the likes of you." Tuxedo Mask said as he pulled out his cane.
The moment Tuxedo Mask made himself known Zoicite pulled out the black crystal once again and held it over the now shaking form of Tsukai Hino. This time Zoicite was going to bring forth the shadow warrior trapped within the indigo crystal.
"Jiji, I command you to come forth!" Zoicite said.
The light from the crystal engulfed Grandpa like a cocoon over a caterpillar. When the light had faded Grandpa was no more and Jiji shadow warrior of the Dark Kingdom stood in his place. Jiji was the same size as Grandpa and had red skin and yellow eyes with long white hair, oversized ears, and claws. The tiny shadow had earrings in his ears and several chains and bangles adorning his neck and wrists. And while Jiji had no mystical attacks he had an arsenal of physical attacks at his disposal.
"Jiji destroy the caped blunder." Zoicite commanded.
Jiji charged the dapper defender and rammed into him knocking him back a bit. Taking advantage of the distraction Zoicite picked up the fallen crystal and headed for the small forest near the shrine. Upon seeing the dark general leave the shrine Tuxedo Mask went after him. But it would end in vain for Zoicite had sized the opportunity to vanish from the scene.
********
Yuuichirou had head the commotion coming from the main shrine yard and went to investigate it. Going over to the main yard Yuuichirou saw the small yet deadly shadow warrior. Like everyone else in Tokyo he had heard the rumors about the youma that had been attacking the people in the Mintako ward. Now he was face to face with proof that the rumors were true. Freaking out Yuuichirou ran to the one place he could think of where he would be safe, Rei's room.
Opening the door to her room Yuuichirou was able to catch a glimpse of Rei in nothing but her hikama and bra from behind. Waiting until she put her robe on Yuuichirou got Rei's attention so he could tell her about the youma out in the shrine yard.
"Rei there's a really creepy looking youma out in the shrine yard." Yuuichirou blurted out.
Rei turned around and saw a frantic looking Yuuichirou standing in her doorway. Rei was about to address the scruffy looking acolyte when the aforementioned youma appeared behind him. Yuuichirou turned around when he saw the look on Rei's face and saw the youma standing mere inches away from his face. Panicking once again Yuuichirou rushed into Rei's room and grabbed her by the wrist and led her away from the youma and to safety.
Jiji followed the young pair chasing them to a part of the shrine yard where they would not be able to leave easily. Seeing there was no way for the both of them to escape Yuuichirou got between Rei and Jiji in order for the miko to escape.
"Rei hurry up and get out of here. I can die for you." Yuuichirou said.
Yuuichirou decided to stop the youma on his own and buy Rei some time so she could escape and rushed at the youma. As he was about to tackle the youma Jiji used his powerful hands and punched Yuuichirou in the face very hard causing him to pass out.
Rei took a good look at the youma and searched its soul using her Ki sense. After a few moments of searching Jiji's soul Rei could detect a very familiar Ki pattern coming from the youma. The youma was once Tsukai Hino, her grandfather. Rei needed help and fast. The shrine miko ran as fast as she could but the youma caught up with her and grabbed her by the neck. Seeing there was only one course of action she could take Rei began to plead to the youma's human side.
"If you have any human feelings left you shouldn't attack me." Rei pleaded.
The youma ignored what the miko had said and began to sharpen is claws on the stone pavers in the shrine yard. Then pulling back its hand the youma prepared to strike a blow directly at Rei's head with his claws out in front like five daggers. Rei saw what the youma was about to do and ducked just moments before Jiji could connect with her head.
Jiji saw what Rei had done and prepared to strike once again, but before he could even get the attack in a familiar voice called out across the shrine yard.
"Don't hurt my friend Rei." The voice pleaded.
Both Rei and the youma looked in the direction of the voice to see Usagi standing near the shrine steps with Luna by her side. Usagi then pulled out her henshin broach and prepared to transform.
"Moon Prism Power!" Usagi called out.
When the light had faded Usagi stood before Rei and the youma as Sailor Moon.
Reaching into her subspace pocket Sailor Moon expected to bring out the moon rod but instead she pulled out the plastic tub containing the daifuku. Looking down at the plastic tub Sailor Moon decided to go with the flow and use the incident to her advantage. Opening the tub Sailor Moon pulled out a daifuku and began commenting on it.
"Rei this daifuku is very good. You should try it sometime." Sailor Moon said.
Luna began to get frustrated with Sailor Moon. She knew the female Saiyan's large stomach was running things or at least that's what she thought.
"This isn't the time for that." Luna scolded.
Sailor Moon looked over to the youma and saw the confused look on its face. The plan was working. With the youma distracted Sailor Moon prepared to blast the youma. Preparing to use her tiara Sailor Moon charged it with her Ki. Rei saw what was about to happen and tried to stop it before it could even get started.
"Sailor Moon that's not a youma that's my grandfather." Rei yelled to the Moon Senshi.
Not wanting to hurt the older man Sailor Moon hesitated and tried to figure out a way to weaken him without hurting him. Seizing the opportunity Jiji charged towards the two girls and gave chase. Running from the youma Sailor Moon got an idea.
"Rei use one of your ofudas on the youma that should slow it down." Sailor Moon said.
Rei nodded her head and took a firm stance while she pulled out an ofuda and began chanting.
"Akyrou Taisan!" Rei yelled out as she flung the ward at the youma.
The ofuda did its job and stopped Jiji from being able to move. Seeing that the youma was now weakened enough Sailor Moon pulled out her moon rod and called forth its healing power.
"Moon Healing Escalation!" Sailor Moon called out.
Once again a cocoon of light covered the older individual. When the light faded the youma was once again Grandpa who was currently passed out.
********
Ami and Ranma were worried when they had gone to Ami and Usagi's room to find it empty. The abandoned opened care package told the pair that Usagi had been there but she was more than likely on her way to the shrine to share whatever she had received. Rushing out of the dorm the pair made their way towards the shrine.
Along the way to the shrine Ranma and Ami ran into Makoto who was also on her way to the shrine to see if she could do something to get Rei and Usagi on speaking terms once more. The newly formed trio made their way to the shrine and stopped at the bottom of the shrine steps. Expecting to hear arguing and yelling the trio got the surprise of their lives utter silence.
"That's odd; you think they would be at each other's throats by now." Ranma commented.
"I kind of like it this way." Ami replied.
"Yeah but it isn't like them to not fight" Makoto added.
It was then they heard the faint sounds of laughter coming from the shrine.
********
Tsukai Hino had been returned to normal and now Rei could relax and enjoy herself once again. Usagi and Luna had decided to stick around and make certain both Rei and her grandfather were alright. Luna wanted to make certain there were no side effects to having the indigo crystal removed from Grandpa's body while Usagi saw this as the perfect time to make peace with Rei.
When Yuuichirou had come to Rei had concocted a story about him falling out of the tree again while practicing the things Grandpa had taught him. It made for a good reason as to why he was passed out near the prayer tree. But that had not been the original location where he passed out. Usagi had moved the acolyte in training to make the story more believable. And when the girls had determined there was nothing wrong with him they offered him some of the daifuku Usagi was sharing with her friend.
Yuuichirou had brought the story the girls had come up with but something didn't seem right to him. The acolyte could swear he had seen a strange looking youma earlier.
"Um Rei what happened to the youma?" Yuuichirou asked her.
Usagi looked at Yuuichirou funny and began to backpedal in order to make the earlier story even more believable.
"Youma what youma I didn't see any youma. Nope no youma here. Maybe it was all just a dream." Usagi said.
Yuuichirou looked at Usagi seriously and defended what he had said earlier.
"I really don't think that was a dream." He told her
Rei just looked at Yuuichirou and smiled. Yes she liked him better than Jedite and now she liked him even better. He had proven himself to be strong and courageous and a very good friend. Leaning over she kissed the young man on the cheek. Yuuichirou got a goofy grin and began to get a pink tint on his face. Then the acolyte placed his hand where Rei had kissed him and held it there.
"That was for being strong and having a lot of courage." Rei said.
Usagi looked at the way Yuuichirou looked after the kiss and took in what Rei had said and came to her earlier conclusion that Rei must love the poor guy.
"I think you like Yuuichirou." Usagi said with a sly grin.
"I was only being nice because Yuuichirou keeps getting scolded by Grandpa." Rei explained.
Tsukai had heard what his granddaughter had said and decided to add his own two cents to the conversation between Usagi and Rei.
"I'm not going to let you marry an older man like Yuuichirou Rei." He said.
Rei got mad because her grandfather had assumed she was in love with the scraggly looking acolyte. Grabbing a nearby bamboo broom Rei bopped her grandfather on the head and started chasing him around the shrine yard.
"Grandpa I do not live Yuuichirou!" Rei yelled as she ran after him.
Usagi and Yuuichirou saw the scene before them and began to laugh.
And it was that exact scene that greeted Ami, Ranma, and Makoto as they walked to the top of the shrine steps. Yes Rei and Usagi had become friends once more.
********
Yeah I finished another chapter! Six down and one to go. And for those of you who are wondering the Senshi still have that yellow crystal. Mamoru has two of them by my count and Zoicite is in possession of four of them. I started this chapter at home and as I write my author's notes I am surrounded by trees and water in Wisconsin. The summer is coming to a close as the last day of August gives us a chilly reminder fall is on the way. And so without warm weather and cable I am resigned to writing on my laptop. Some of you said I needed to find a way to always have a computer with me and I have done just that. Now I can get more written while I am away from home.
In this chapter I tried to get Ranma more exposure. It wasn't much but he was in there. Now you might be wondering why I gave Grandpa a first name. Well I figured the old guy deserved to have a first name. Rei's name as some of you might know means spirit of fire so I decided to go along similar lines for Grandpa. His name means messenger of fire, it kind of goes hand in hand with his position as priest at the Hikawa-jin shrine.
The daifuku Chichi sent to Usagi in the care package are described in the Sailor Moon Encyclopedia as a Japanese desert with a soft mochi outside and anko and sweet bean paste on the inside. The apples in the box came from the large tree Goku and Gohan picked apples from in one of the episodes during the nine day waiting period for the cell games to begin. I threw in the monkey and the bunny as toys the Son twins had when they were babies. Gohan had the monkey and Usagi had the bunny. I figure they went with the nicknames Goku gave them as babies. They were his monkey and his bunny.
Next up for our crew the violet or purple crystal, but is it really inside a little girl or the large fat cat she carries with her everywhere she goes. Watch out Ranma those are real cats chasing after Luna there. It's Rhett Butler, the neko-ken, kitty love, and another revelation in the relationship that is Ranma and Ami in episode seventeen Kitty Love.
It was widely known that whenever a female high school or junior high school student came to the shrine on Sendai Hill Grandpa Hino would attempt to get then to work at the shrine. The girls would always giggle and call Grandpa a funny little man while Rei would get mad and scold her grandfather telling him he needed to act his age. Grandpa would then scold Rei back for not respecting her elders.
Rei's friends knew she cared a lot about her grandfather but there were times when they would say she was worrying about him far too much, especially the other Senshi. Usagi would tell Rei that her grandfather could take care of himself just fine and she should try and learn everything she could from him about running the shrine then she would compare him to Muten Roshi. Ami would tell her to respect her grandfather and that it was normal for a man like him to think about those things and thank the Kami he wasn't as bad as Happosi. And finally Makoto would say Rei was lucky to even have any type of family and she should spend as much time with him as possible. After much arguing and debating Rei would always sigh and forgive her grandfather for what he had said.
Rei had reason to worry about her grandfather though. Ever since she was twelve it had always been just Rei and her grandfather living at the shrine but soon all that was about to change.
********
Tsukai Hino had lived a good portion of his seventy plus years of life in the Hikawa-jin shrine on Sendai Hill. The seasoned man had raised a daughter within the shrine walls and was now raising his granddaughter there as well. His granddaughter Rei had made the shrine priest very proud. Rei had wanted to follow in her grandfather's footsteps and run the shrine. It was Tsukai's greatest dream to keep the shrine within the family.
Tsukai, or Grandpa as people called him, usually spent his nights sitting on the roof of the shrine staring up at the stars in the sky. Rei worried her head off that her grandfather would fall of the roof of the shrine and hurt himself. But Grandpa had yet to fall off the roof and would smirk at his granddaughter and comment about how her old grandfather still had it in him.
Grandpa was once again sitting on the roof looking up at the constellations in the sky. In his younger days Tsukai would gaze up at the bright full moon in the sky. But the mysterious disappearance of the moon eleven years ago had taken that pleasure away from him. His granddaughter like many of the young people in the world couldn't remember what the moon looked like.
As Tsukai gazed up at the spot in the sky where the moon once was an odd looking man in a gray uniform appeared above the shrine. With his green eyes and long sandy blonde hair the effeminate man approached Tsukai. Pulling out a strange looking black crystal the effeminate looking man turned his attention to Grandpa and addressed him.
"Soon you shall be returned to what you once where." The effeminate man said.
With that he held the crystal over Grandpa and began to concentrate his energy. The crystal began to glow a strange color causing Grandpa great pain. Believing the man to be a demon Grandpa reached into his robes and pulled out a small slip of paper with several characters written upon it. Flinging the ofuda at the effeminate man Grandpa stopped the attack. His attacker, however, was quite angry with what Grandpa had done to him.
"How dare you attack Zoicite of the Dark Kingdom!" Zoicite yelled, "For that you shall be killed."
With one thrust of his hand Zoicite sent forth his own attack.
"Zoi!" he yelled as the pink crystal energy slammed into Grandpa.
The force of the blast knocked Grandpa off the roof to the ground below. Zoicite was about to make another attempt with his black crystal when Phoebus and Diemos, woken by the commotion, swooped in and began attacking the intruder. Zoicite began yelling loudly trying to get the pair of crows off of him.
Inside the small shrine house Rei had heard all the noise coming from the yard and went out to investigate it. As she rushed outside Rei could have sworn she saw the figure of an effeminate looking man with long hair pulled back at the nape pf the neck vanish into the night. Her loyal friends and guardians the shrine crows flew over to her landing on her arm giving out a few short caws of an explanation. Rei then looked over to her grandfather and went to help him off of the ground.
"Are you alright grandpa?" Rei asked him.
"I'll be fine. There ain't nothing this old body can't handle." Grandpa told her.
Rei smiled at her grandfather and as she did a loud moan could be heard coming from the direction of the vast shrine steps. Going over to the steps Rei and her grandfather were greeted by the sight of a scruffy looking young man with blue eyes hidden under a messy mop of brown hair that grazed the bottom of his neck. He was dressed plainly in a pair of blue denim jeans with a black t-shirt under a white dress shirt. The clothes looked to be very expensive. The young man looked up and caught the sight of Rei standing above him in a pair of simple red cotton shorts and a white tank top with a pair of brown Birkenstock sandals over big thick white socks. Her long dark hair had been held out of her face with a large black butterfly clip. It was love at first sight as the young man got large hearts in his eyes.
"Excuse me sir but who are you and why are you sleeping on our steps?" Rei asked him.
Whether it was the sound of Rei's voice or the fact that he was somewhat drunk the young man immediately bowed before Rei and her grandfather and began begging to learn their ways.
"Please humble priest I am Yuuichirou Kumada and I am but a simple lost soul who wishes to become your student. Please say you'll take me under your wing." Yuuichirou begged.
Rei rolled her eyes at the corny way Yuuichirou asked if he could stay with them while her grandfather smiled because they would soon have a new acolyte at the shrine. Well at least he's a better choice then Jedite, Rei thought.
"My boy welcome to the Hikawa-jin shrine." Grandpa said.
********
Guardians of the Earth
Episode Sixteen: Grandpa
********
It was another bright sunny spring afternoon and Usagi and her friends were sitting in a large booth at the Crown Fruit Parlor having an impromptu Senshi meeting. Rei had called the other Senshi during lunch and told them she needed to see them after school. She had even told them to drag Ranma along because he just might be able to help with her problem.
"Rei why did you call a Senshi meeting?" Makoto asked her.
"This isn't a Senshi meeting per say it's more of an I need help desperately meeting." Rei explained to her friends.
"Oh so what's the problem you need help with?" Usagi asked.
"It probably would be best if I show you. Why don't we head for the shrine." Rei said.
With that the small group of five and one feline made their way out of the Crown and headed for the Hikawa-jin shrine. On the way to the shrine Rei gave the girls some background on the current situation at the shrine.
"Last Friday night an intruder came to the shrine and tried to attack my grandfather while he was on the roof knocking him to the ground. Fortunately for Grandpa my crows Phoebus and Diemos drove off the intruder. When I came out to see what was going on I could have sworn I saw the intruder vanish into thin air. I then went to check on Grandpa and while I was doing so we heard a noise coming from the shrine steps. Going over to investigate the source of the noise we found a somewhat drunk grungy looking man lying on the steps with a good sized duffle. He introduced himself as Yuuichirou Kumada and then begged my grandfather to take him under his wing. Grandpa was more than willing to accommodate his request and we now have a new shrine acolyte." Rei told them.
When the group reached the gates to the shrine they could hear strange sounds coming from the top of the steps that led to the shrine.
"You're not yelling loud enough boy!" Grandpa Hino yelled.
"Please forgive me noble sensei I will do whatever it takes to be worthy to be your student." Yuuichirou begged the older man.
As the group reached the top of the shrine steps they saw Rei's grandfather and a man they had never seen before standing on one of the branches in the prayer tree. Both Grandpa and the unknown man were dressed alike in the same hikama and robes with matching cloths tied around their necks. Grandpa was holding onto a thick rope that had a large knot in it and dove off the tree. A few short moments later he let go of the rope and executed a perfect flip before landing on his feet. Then Grandpa went over to the tree and tossed the rope up to the young man who caught it and held onto it for a few moments.
Yuuichirou folded his hands into a prayer position around the rope and began praying to the spirits of the shrine for guidance.
"Noble spirits please help me to be just like my sensei. Please help me be a worthy student." Yuuichirou prayed aloud.
With the prayer said and done Yuuichirou put his other hand around the rope and jumped off the tree. Then just as Grandpa had done Yuuichirou let go of the rope. But instead of executing a perfect flip and landing on his feet Yuuichirou landed flat on his face.
"Oh bummer man that's the fifth time I've done that this hour." Yuuichirou said.
Grandpa saw the fallen boy and decided it was the perfect opportunity to play a little joke on the new shrine acolyte. Reaching inside his robes Grandpa pulled out a small bag of marbles and dumped its contents on the ground. When Yuuichirou stood up and began to walk back to the tree he stepped on the marbles and lost his footing falling flat on his behind. Grandpa began laughing and went near the tree to initiate phase two in operation Get the New Guy. When Yuuichirou got up again and made another attempt to get back into the tree Grandpa pulled on a rope and dumped an entire buck of water on the acolyte's head leaving him soaked to the bone. Grandpa then left the tree laughing hysterically.
"Ever since Yuuichirou over there arrived Grandpa's been doing nothing but joking around acting like a little kid." Rei said, "If this keeps up then no one will want to come to our shrine."
Frustrated and angry Rei went over to her grandfather to have a few words with him.
"Grandpa if you don't quit acting like a little kid and take your job more seriously we're going to loose the trust in the shrine." Rei scolded him.
"Aww come on Rei loosen up a bit you need to have more fun." Grandpa said just before he patted her on the back with a joy buzzer.
Grandpa began laughing at the face Rei made when she was buzzed and headed into the shrine house. Ami came over to see if Rei was alright and checked her back. Usagi just stood there and let a snicker come out of her mouth.
"I bet you think this is real funny eh Usagi?" Rei asked sourly.
"Gee Rei I never knew your grandfather could be so funny. Mine worries my mom is going to give herself a heart attack too much." Usagi said between giggles.
Rei got real mad at Usagi and began getting red in the face. She needed her friends to help her figure out what to do about her grandfather's behavior not make jokes about it.
"Usagi will you just stay out of this!" Rei yelled at her.
"Gee Rei I didn't mean it that way." Usagi tried to explain.
Rei didn't buy Usagi's explanation and charged at her with a swift punch. The female Saiyan was taken by surprise and landed up getting punched in the mouth. Rei's punch was hard enough to cause Usagi's lower lip to swell up and begin to turn a bit purple. Upon feeling her lip get two sizes bigger than it was Usagi became very angry.
"So that's how you want it Hino? You think that just because I've never been around city people very much you can hit me when I do something I didn't know I wasn't supposed to do. I thought we were friends but I guess not." Usagi yelled as she unconsciously let her Ki level rise.
Rei was unaware of what was happening and took Usagi's yelling as a challenge and returned her anger with anger of her own.
"You want to fight then we'll fight." Rei yelled back as she dropped into a ready stance.
Ranma and Ami felt the sudden rise in Ki when their danger senses kicked in. The pair of martial artists knew Usagi was loosing control of her Saiyan side and could seriously hurt Rei. Rushing up to their friend Ranma grabbed Usagi while Ami tried to talk some sense into her.
"Usagi you have to calm down before someone gets seriously hurt." Ami said.
"She hit me first Ami." Usagi replied deadly calm.
"I hate to say it but Ami's right Usagi." Ranma said as he struggled to contain her
Makoto saw that Ranma was loosing his grip on Usagi and went to help out the aquatransexual martial artist. Grabbing a hold of Usagi's free arm Makoto helped Ranma pin Usagi to the ground.
"Snap out of it Usagi!" Makoto yelled.
While the three martial artists were trying to subdue their friend Luna went to go and talk some sense into the Senshi of Mars.
"Rei this isn't going to get you anywhere. Hitting people isn't the answer to all your problems. Do you want to get yourself killed? If those three hadn't pinned Usagi down that's exactly what would have happened. From what I've gathered so far Usagi has a problem keeping her sanity in check during a fight if she let's her Saiyan side take over. My best advice would be to back off." Luna scolded.
Rei's face suddenly became ashen at the thought of Usagi tearing her apart. The little she had witnessed of Usagi's Saiyan nature during battles with the youma they had faced had the miko scared. Luna then turned to the others and suggested it would be for the best if they left.
"I think the best course of action we can in this situation is to get Usagi as far away from Rei as possible." Luna said to the others.
"I think your right Luna. There is no way Usagi is going to calm down anytime soon." Ami replied assessing the situation.
With that Ranma, Makoto, and Ami dragged the irate Demi-Saiyan away from the shrine with Luna following close behind.
Upon seeing her friends leaving the shrine Rei became angry once again because they did nothing to help her with her grandfather.
"Those guys left without even helping me out." Rei yelled in frustration.
********
Rei sat on the porch of the shrine house that night after dinner watching the sun set in the evening sky. The shrine miko tried to remember a time when she would sit outside with her mother watching the sun go down and the moon rise in the night sky. Now there was no mother and no moon. For eleven years Rei had been without both. Now Rei's world was being turned upside down once again. Mamoru was becoming distant and spent little time with her while her father ignored her completely. And now it seemed her grandfather was beginning to loose his mind.
Rei didn't mind the fact that her grandfather had let Yuuichirou stay with them they needed the extra help around the shrine. In fact, Rei actually liked Yuuichirou better than Jedite. Sure he could be annoying at times but he was a lot nicer and a whole lot easier to get along with than the previous acolyte her grandfather tried hiring for a while.
As Rei stared at the stars in the sky she felt a firm yet gentle hand being placed upon her shoulder. Looking up at the owner of the hand she saw Yuuichirou standing over her with a concerned look on his face. The recent addition to Hikawa-jin shrine could tell something was bothering Rei.
"Mind if I sit with you?" He asked her.
"No not at all." Rei replied.
Yuuichirou took a seat next to Rei and looked up in the direction she was staring at moments before. Raising his hand he pointed to the empty place in the sky.
"Right there that's where the moon should be." He said.
Rei looked at him with a bit of shock in her eyes. Yuuichirou was one of the few people younger than her father who remembered what the moon looked like.
"You remember what the moon was like?" she asked him quite surprised.
"Yeah I was nine when it vanished. At least that's what everyone else believes. I'll keep sticking to my belief that it blew up and caused that strange meteor shower a week later." Yuuichirou said.
You should talk to Usagi, Rei thought; she can introduce you to the one who actually did it.
"Grandpa always talks about the moon. He said he used to go out every night and look up at it from the roof of the shrine and pray to the moon goddess to watch over his family. Now he just stares at a dark star filled sky. I'm worried about him Yuuichirou." Rei replied.
Yuuichirou looked at Rei and could see she was looking for some kind of answer as to why her grandfather was acting very strange.
"Don't worry Rei your grandpa is just acting the way he is because he has Spring Fever. You see each spring men start to do crazy things because the weather finally gets warm again and they try and go after the ladies. This spring it just happens to be your grandpa that has the fever." He explained.
Rei got a smile on her face and began to laugh. Even though Yuuichirou hadn't been around Grandpa that much he had the older man figured out perfectly.
"Yeah that sounds like Grandpa alright. Thanks I needed that." Rei said between giggles.
********
School was over with the following day and Rei and Yuuichirou were out running some errands for the shrine. They had then stopped into a few stores where Rei had made several purchases both for the shrine and for herself. Yuuichirou had, in his great infatuation with her, offered to carry the bags and boxes filled with Rei's purchase. And as he did so the shrine acolyte could swear they were being followed.
Usagi used her Saiyan speed to duck behind a tree before setting Luna down. The female Demi-Saiyan was on her way to apologize to Rei for what she said the day before when she spotted the shrine maiden out shopping with Yuuichirou. Now she was on a mission to bring the pair closer together. Usagi could tell Yuuichirou had a thing for Rei.
"I've got to figure out a way to get those two together without being noticed." Usagi said.
Luna looked up at her charge with a look that the female Saiyan she wasn't too pleased with what she was attempting to do.
"Usagi you just might make things worse if you attempt this." Luna said.
"Oh hush up Luna. What harm can come out of this?" Usagi replied as she pulled out the disguise pen from her subspace pocket.
Luna saw the oversized pink pen and knew exactly what Usagi was planning.
"Usagi you know you can't be using the disguise pen for personal use." Luna tried to remind her.
Usagi ignored what Luna had said and held the pen up in the air and called forth its power.
"Disguise Power! Change me into a wizened old fortune teller." Usagi said.
A pink light came out of the pen and wrapped around Usagi changing her into a little old fortune teller. Usagi was now wearing a man's blue kimono and glasses and had a long thin mustache. Her long hair was underneath a matching hat done up in a single bun. Around her neck was a tray with what looked like several pickup sticks on it.
Usagi went over to where Rei had stopped with Yuuichirou at a nearby park bench. Trying to look as inconspicuous as possible Usagi walked over to the pair to put operation matchmaker into effect.
"Excuse me young lady but would you like to have your fortune told." Usagi said in a voice that sounded like a bad imitation of Muten Roshi.
Rei turned her attention to the fortune teller and wondered what the little man wanted. Something didn't seem right about him. As she watched the little man toss his sticks onto the tray Rei tried to figure out why he seemed oddly familiar and had a back mustache with blonde hair.
Pretending to read the sticks Usagi gave Rei her fortune.
"The sticks tell me you have feelings for a man, strong feelings but there is another man in your life now and he has feelings for you. You can tell he loves you but you do not want to hurt his feelings by rejecting him. They also tell me you are starting to care for the new man in your life. They say the only way to know for certain if you truly care for him is to kiss this young man right now. So go over there and kiss the boy so you can tell if you like him in the same way he likes you." Usagi said.
Taking a good look at the little man Rei saw through the disguise and noticed he was really a she and Rei knew exactly who that she was, Usagi. Becoming angry that her supposed friend was meddling in her personal life Rei turned to Yuuichirou.
"Let's go." Rei barked out.
"Y-y-yes Rei." Yuuichirou said quite startled as he fumbled for her things.
Before she left the small park Rei turned back to Usagi and confronted the disguised Moon Senshi.
"What are you doing? I already have Mamoru." Rei hissed at Usagi.
Then just as she was about to leave Rei looked back over her shoulder and yelled one final thing at the female Demi-Saiyan.
"I'll have nothing to do with you again!" Rei yelled.
With that Rei and Yuuichirou left the park and Usagi.
********
Usagi was in a terrible mood when she returned to Kinmoko hall. She knew she and Rei weren't the best of friends but she thought they had a healthy respect for one another. Now it seemed as though any hope of a friendship they might have was fading fast. As Usagi walked into the lobby of the dorm she went over to the mailboxes and checked to see if there was any mail for either her or Ami. Looking in the box Usagi saw a slip of paper that told her she had a package.
Usagi walked over to Kimiko's studio apartment and knocked on the door. Fortunately for Usagi the older woman was at home and opened the door with a huge smile that soon faded when she saw the look on Usagi's face.
"Usagi is something wrong?" she asked the female Saiyan.
"I think one of my friends might hate my guts." Usagi replied.
"It's not Ami is it?" Kimiko wanted to know.
"No it's my friend Rei. She goes to TA. We had a big fight and she said she wanted nothing to do with me ever again." Usagi explained fighting the tears that were forming in her eyes.
"That's too bad. But I think I have something here that just might make you feel better. Come on in while I go and get it." Kimiko said.
Usagi walked into the tiny apartment and stayed on the small foyer so she wouldn't have to remove her school shoes. A couple of minutes later Kimiko walked out of the back room carrying a medium sized box that had some pictures drawn on the side of it. Usagi knew right away who drew the chibiized caricatures of her entire family. Sure it was only oversized heads but it was defiantly her little brother's handiwork. Usagi could feel a small smile creep onto her face.
"Thanks Kimiko." Usagi said as she took the box.
Usagi and Luna went up to their room with the box and opened it to see what was inside it.
Inside the box underneath a layer of tissue and a note card were many things that looked to be sent to her from her entire family. There was a plastic tub with daifuku inside, a few apples, some drawings, and a stuffed monkey and bunny. Usagi opened the tub with the daifuku inside and then began reading the note card her mother had more than likely written.
"Usagi, I am sending you this care package because you sounded a bit down after our last phone conversation. Everyone in the family put something in the package to help cheer you up. I made you daifuku while your father put in a few apples from the big tree on the first pick of the year. Goten made you a few pictures as well as decorating the outside of the box. And finally your futago Gohan decided to send you Nanners and Bunbun after I cleaned and fixed them. Hope this picks up your sprits and things get better for you. Remember you can call us anytime you need to talk to someone. We all love you, mom, dad, Gohan, and Goten." Usagi read.
Usagi stared at the daifuku for a moment while thinking about what happened that afternoon. After few moments of contemplating her situation Usagi buried her head in her knees and began to cry while she pulled them close to her chest.
"Rei-chan hates me now." Usagi said between sobs.
Luna walked over to her charge and gently placed a paw on her leg to try and comfort her.
"Rei-chan isn't the type to hold a grudge for very long and will most likely forget about all of this by tomorrow." Luna commented.
"But she said she doesn't want anything to do with me anymore." Usagi said.
"She only said that because she's under a lot of stress lately and she doesn't need people making an already complicated situation any worse. You have to understand most people don't promise to marry the first girl their age they come across." Luna replied.
Luna took one of the daifuku out of the tub and began eating it. If Usagi wasn't going to have one then Luna was.
"Usagi, this daifuku is very good." Luna commented.
Usagi looked over at Luna, who was eating the sweet cake desert, for a moment and then turned her attention to the window over her desk.
"I can't eat daifuku at a time like this." Usagi moaned.
Luna tried once again to get Usagi to have one.
"But it's very good." Luna said again.
Usagi looked over at Luna once again and became drawn to the sweet desert when she saw the lunar feline take another bite of the cake. Taking out a daifuku of her own Usagi took a bite and was very surprised when she discovered that the desert was in fact very good like Luna had said.
"Yeah, it is good." Usagi said.
"I told you so." Luna replied.
Usagi then got a sly little smile on her face as a thought crept its way into her head.
"I think I'll bring this to Rei-chan. I'll make up with her by using the daifuku as a piece offering. What a great idea." Usagi announced.
Luna looked at Usagi and knew how she was around food.
"Yes and by the time you reach the shrine you'll have eaten all the daifuku." Luna said.
"Don't worry I won't eat any of it." Usagi said as she put the lid on the tub.
Luna didn't think Usagi should go and talk to Rei so close after an argument and voiced her opinion on the matter.
"I don't think this is such a good idea Usagi." Luna protested.
But it was too late for no sooner had the words come out if her mouth Usagi was out the door and on her way to the shrine. With a sigh Luna hopped out the conveniently open window and set off to follow the young female Demi-Saiyan.
********
Yuuichirou Kumada may have looked like the typical slacker but he was far from it. The young man who had recently come to the Hikawa-jin shrine came from one of Tokyo's elite families. Like Rei's father Yuuichirou's family was loaded. Unlike Rei's father Yuuichirou was happy doing the simple things in life. One of those simple pleasures for Yuuichirou was backpacking through the Japanese countryside. It was only recently that the young traveler returned to Tokyo where he hooked up with a group of friends and drank to his heart's content before going back out on the road. And it was the fact that the local hostel was closed and his parents were themselves gone on their own vacation that Yuuichirou found himself sleeping on the steps to the Hikawa-jin shrine.
Now the young man on a journey to find himself had become an apprentice to the Shinto priest that ran the shrine and wanted to never leave the young miko in training who lived there. The recent problems of the shrine soon became his problems and the worries of one raven haired shrine maiden lay heavy on his own mind as he practiced some of the more sane portions of the training Grandpa Hino had put him through that afternoon. Yuuichirou was performing some basic tai chi moves.
I sure hope Rei can help her grandfather out, Yuuichirou thought.
********
Rei had decided on spending her time that night sitting in a hot relaxing bath. Soaking in the tub had always helped clear Rei's mind and she had a lot on her mind that night. The problems with her grandfather had Rei worried. If there was something wrong with him Tsukai Hino wouldn't be able to continue on as shrine priest and the Hino family might loose the shrine. That was something Rei did not want to happen. She was determined to do whatever it would take to keep the shrine in the family.
"What am I going to do about Grandpa?" Rei thought aloud, "There's something terribly wrong with him and I can't seem to place my finger on it."
Yes this was one problem that would force Rei to soak in the tub until her fingers were wrinkled and the water was ice cold.
********
Tsukai Hino knew there was something wrong with himself. Ever since the strange floating man had attacked him at the beginning of the weekend Grandpa had not been feeling like himself. Sure he made comments about all the ladies that came to the shrine but he started to do things that went against his nature. Grandpa was acting like a fool and playing practical jokes on the new acolyte. Tsukai was surprised that Yuuichirou had stayed at the shrine this long. It was obvious the young man was either dedicated to his teachings or head over heals in love with his granddaughter Rei. Tsukai was certain it had to be the latter but hoped some of the former were true as well.
Because of his odd behavior Grandpa decided to do something he hadn't done in a long time. Tsukai Hino was going to perform a fire reading and consult the sacred fire. And so the seventy plus year old man knelt in front of the sacred fire in a meditative trance trying to find the cause of his strange behavior over the last few days.
"Oh sacred flames show me the cause of my strange behavior." He requested of the flames.
No sooner had he made the request than a strange laughter filled the small prayer room followed by a shower of sakura petals. The strange effeminate looking man appeared out of nowhere and floated above the flames unaffected by the heat. Then looking directly at Grandpa the sandy haired man addressed the shrine priest.
"You won't be so lucky this time old man!" he yelled at Grandpa.
Then with a quick thrust of his hand the effeminate looking man attacked Grandpa once again.
"Zoi!" he cried out as he sent the pink energy crystals straight for the older man.
The sheer force of the attack sent Grandpa flying out of the prayer room and onto the shrine grounds. His attacker quickly followed.
********
Rei sat in the tub thinking about what she could do to help her grandfather when a sudden flash hit the young woman sending her Ki sense out of control. There was someone on the shrine grounds that was pure evil. Hopping out of the tub Rei grabbed her red and black kimono and rushed to put on her clothes.
********
"It's time for you to return to the Dark Kingdom old man." The sandy haired man said as he pulled out a black crystal.
Holding the crystal over Grandpa Zoicite concentrated his Ki pouring it into the crystal. When his Ki was at its peak he summoned the crystal hidden deep inside the body of Tsukai Hino local Shinto priest.
"Rainbow crystal I summon you. Come to me!" Zoicite commanded.
The black crystal began to glow as the crystal inside Grandpa began reacting to its power. Trying hard not to cry out in pain Grandpa fell to his knees and grabbed his head in sheer agony. The dark blue almost purple indigo colored crystal floated out of Grandpa's body and went into the waiting hand of the effeminate dark general. Letting a sly grin cross his face Zoicite believed he was truly successful this time.
Zoicite's success was not to last for long however. Mere moments after the crystal made its way to Zoicite's hand a red streak knocked it out of his hand. There on the ground was a perfect red rose. Looking in the direction the rose had come from Zoicite saw the silhouette of Tuxedo Mask standing in the shadows on the shrine grounds.
"How dare you attack an old man. The elderly should be loved and cherished not harmed by the likes of you." Tuxedo Mask said as he pulled out his cane.
The moment Tuxedo Mask made himself known Zoicite pulled out the black crystal once again and held it over the now shaking form of Tsukai Hino. This time Zoicite was going to bring forth the shadow warrior trapped within the indigo crystal.
"Jiji, I command you to come forth!" Zoicite said.
The light from the crystal engulfed Grandpa like a cocoon over a caterpillar. When the light had faded Grandpa was no more and Jiji shadow warrior of the Dark Kingdom stood in his place. Jiji was the same size as Grandpa and had red skin and yellow eyes with long white hair, oversized ears, and claws. The tiny shadow had earrings in his ears and several chains and bangles adorning his neck and wrists. And while Jiji had no mystical attacks he had an arsenal of physical attacks at his disposal.
"Jiji destroy the caped blunder." Zoicite commanded.
Jiji charged the dapper defender and rammed into him knocking him back a bit. Taking advantage of the distraction Zoicite picked up the fallen crystal and headed for the small forest near the shrine. Upon seeing the dark general leave the shrine Tuxedo Mask went after him. But it would end in vain for Zoicite had sized the opportunity to vanish from the scene.
********
Yuuichirou had head the commotion coming from the main shrine yard and went to investigate it. Going over to the main yard Yuuichirou saw the small yet deadly shadow warrior. Like everyone else in Tokyo he had heard the rumors about the youma that had been attacking the people in the Mintako ward. Now he was face to face with proof that the rumors were true. Freaking out Yuuichirou ran to the one place he could think of where he would be safe, Rei's room.
Opening the door to her room Yuuichirou was able to catch a glimpse of Rei in nothing but her hikama and bra from behind. Waiting until she put her robe on Yuuichirou got Rei's attention so he could tell her about the youma out in the shrine yard.
"Rei there's a really creepy looking youma out in the shrine yard." Yuuichirou blurted out.
Rei turned around and saw a frantic looking Yuuichirou standing in her doorway. Rei was about to address the scruffy looking acolyte when the aforementioned youma appeared behind him. Yuuichirou turned around when he saw the look on Rei's face and saw the youma standing mere inches away from his face. Panicking once again Yuuichirou rushed into Rei's room and grabbed her by the wrist and led her away from the youma and to safety.
Jiji followed the young pair chasing them to a part of the shrine yard where they would not be able to leave easily. Seeing there was no way for the both of them to escape Yuuichirou got between Rei and Jiji in order for the miko to escape.
"Rei hurry up and get out of here. I can die for you." Yuuichirou said.
Yuuichirou decided to stop the youma on his own and buy Rei some time so she could escape and rushed at the youma. As he was about to tackle the youma Jiji used his powerful hands and punched Yuuichirou in the face very hard causing him to pass out.
Rei took a good look at the youma and searched its soul using her Ki sense. After a few moments of searching Jiji's soul Rei could detect a very familiar Ki pattern coming from the youma. The youma was once Tsukai Hino, her grandfather. Rei needed help and fast. The shrine miko ran as fast as she could but the youma caught up with her and grabbed her by the neck. Seeing there was only one course of action she could take Rei began to plead to the youma's human side.
"If you have any human feelings left you shouldn't attack me." Rei pleaded.
The youma ignored what the miko had said and began to sharpen is claws on the stone pavers in the shrine yard. Then pulling back its hand the youma prepared to strike a blow directly at Rei's head with his claws out in front like five daggers. Rei saw what the youma was about to do and ducked just moments before Jiji could connect with her head.
Jiji saw what Rei had done and prepared to strike once again, but before he could even get the attack in a familiar voice called out across the shrine yard.
"Don't hurt my friend Rei." The voice pleaded.
Both Rei and the youma looked in the direction of the voice to see Usagi standing near the shrine steps with Luna by her side. Usagi then pulled out her henshin broach and prepared to transform.
"Moon Prism Power!" Usagi called out.
When the light had faded Usagi stood before Rei and the youma as Sailor Moon.
Reaching into her subspace pocket Sailor Moon expected to bring out the moon rod but instead she pulled out the plastic tub containing the daifuku. Looking down at the plastic tub Sailor Moon decided to go with the flow and use the incident to her advantage. Opening the tub Sailor Moon pulled out a daifuku and began commenting on it.
"Rei this daifuku is very good. You should try it sometime." Sailor Moon said.
Luna began to get frustrated with Sailor Moon. She knew the female Saiyan's large stomach was running things or at least that's what she thought.
"This isn't the time for that." Luna scolded.
Sailor Moon looked over to the youma and saw the confused look on its face. The plan was working. With the youma distracted Sailor Moon prepared to blast the youma. Preparing to use her tiara Sailor Moon charged it with her Ki. Rei saw what was about to happen and tried to stop it before it could even get started.
"Sailor Moon that's not a youma that's my grandfather." Rei yelled to the Moon Senshi.
Not wanting to hurt the older man Sailor Moon hesitated and tried to figure out a way to weaken him without hurting him. Seizing the opportunity Jiji charged towards the two girls and gave chase. Running from the youma Sailor Moon got an idea.
"Rei use one of your ofudas on the youma that should slow it down." Sailor Moon said.
Rei nodded her head and took a firm stance while she pulled out an ofuda and began chanting.
"Akyrou Taisan!" Rei yelled out as she flung the ward at the youma.
The ofuda did its job and stopped Jiji from being able to move. Seeing that the youma was now weakened enough Sailor Moon pulled out her moon rod and called forth its healing power.
"Moon Healing Escalation!" Sailor Moon called out.
Once again a cocoon of light covered the older individual. When the light faded the youma was once again Grandpa who was currently passed out.
********
Ami and Ranma were worried when they had gone to Ami and Usagi's room to find it empty. The abandoned opened care package told the pair that Usagi had been there but she was more than likely on her way to the shrine to share whatever she had received. Rushing out of the dorm the pair made their way towards the shrine.
Along the way to the shrine Ranma and Ami ran into Makoto who was also on her way to the shrine to see if she could do something to get Rei and Usagi on speaking terms once more. The newly formed trio made their way to the shrine and stopped at the bottom of the shrine steps. Expecting to hear arguing and yelling the trio got the surprise of their lives utter silence.
"That's odd; you think they would be at each other's throats by now." Ranma commented.
"I kind of like it this way." Ami replied.
"Yeah but it isn't like them to not fight" Makoto added.
It was then they heard the faint sounds of laughter coming from the shrine.
********
Tsukai Hino had been returned to normal and now Rei could relax and enjoy herself once again. Usagi and Luna had decided to stick around and make certain both Rei and her grandfather were alright. Luna wanted to make certain there were no side effects to having the indigo crystal removed from Grandpa's body while Usagi saw this as the perfect time to make peace with Rei.
When Yuuichirou had come to Rei had concocted a story about him falling out of the tree again while practicing the things Grandpa had taught him. It made for a good reason as to why he was passed out near the prayer tree. But that had not been the original location where he passed out. Usagi had moved the acolyte in training to make the story more believable. And when the girls had determined there was nothing wrong with him they offered him some of the daifuku Usagi was sharing with her friend.
Yuuichirou had brought the story the girls had come up with but something didn't seem right to him. The acolyte could swear he had seen a strange looking youma earlier.
"Um Rei what happened to the youma?" Yuuichirou asked her.
Usagi looked at Yuuichirou funny and began to backpedal in order to make the earlier story even more believable.
"Youma what youma I didn't see any youma. Nope no youma here. Maybe it was all just a dream." Usagi said.
Yuuichirou looked at Usagi seriously and defended what he had said earlier.
"I really don't think that was a dream." He told her
Rei just looked at Yuuichirou and smiled. Yes she liked him better than Jedite and now she liked him even better. He had proven himself to be strong and courageous and a very good friend. Leaning over she kissed the young man on the cheek. Yuuichirou got a goofy grin and began to get a pink tint on his face. Then the acolyte placed his hand where Rei had kissed him and held it there.
"That was for being strong and having a lot of courage." Rei said.
Usagi looked at the way Yuuichirou looked after the kiss and took in what Rei had said and came to her earlier conclusion that Rei must love the poor guy.
"I think you like Yuuichirou." Usagi said with a sly grin.
"I was only being nice because Yuuichirou keeps getting scolded by Grandpa." Rei explained.
Tsukai had heard what his granddaughter had said and decided to add his own two cents to the conversation between Usagi and Rei.
"I'm not going to let you marry an older man like Yuuichirou Rei." He said.
Rei got mad because her grandfather had assumed she was in love with the scraggly looking acolyte. Grabbing a nearby bamboo broom Rei bopped her grandfather on the head and started chasing him around the shrine yard.
"Grandpa I do not live Yuuichirou!" Rei yelled as she ran after him.
Usagi and Yuuichirou saw the scene before them and began to laugh.
And it was that exact scene that greeted Ami, Ranma, and Makoto as they walked to the top of the shrine steps. Yes Rei and Usagi had become friends once more.
********
Yeah I finished another chapter! Six down and one to go. And for those of you who are wondering the Senshi still have that yellow crystal. Mamoru has two of them by my count and Zoicite is in possession of four of them. I started this chapter at home and as I write my author's notes I am surrounded by trees and water in Wisconsin. The summer is coming to a close as the last day of August gives us a chilly reminder fall is on the way. And so without warm weather and cable I am resigned to writing on my laptop. Some of you said I needed to find a way to always have a computer with me and I have done just that. Now I can get more written while I am away from home.
In this chapter I tried to get Ranma more exposure. It wasn't much but he was in there. Now you might be wondering why I gave Grandpa a first name. Well I figured the old guy deserved to have a first name. Rei's name as some of you might know means spirit of fire so I decided to go along similar lines for Grandpa. His name means messenger of fire, it kind of goes hand in hand with his position as priest at the Hikawa-jin shrine.
The daifuku Chichi sent to Usagi in the care package are described in the Sailor Moon Encyclopedia as a Japanese desert with a soft mochi outside and anko and sweet bean paste on the inside. The apples in the box came from the large tree Goku and Gohan picked apples from in one of the episodes during the nine day waiting period for the cell games to begin. I threw in the monkey and the bunny as toys the Son twins had when they were babies. Gohan had the monkey and Usagi had the bunny. I figure they went with the nicknames Goku gave them as babies. They were his monkey and his bunny.
Next up for our crew the violet or purple crystal, but is it really inside a little girl or the large fat cat she carries with her everywhere she goes. Watch out Ranma those are real cats chasing after Luna there. It's Rhett Butler, the neko-ken, kitty love, and another revelation in the relationship that is Ranma and Ami in episode seventeen Kitty Love.
