Sailor Moon: On The Edge Of Yesterday

Chapter Five: Ancient Japan


Sailor Venus gasped as she hit the hard ground, which was cold
and damp with morning dew. She winced as she tried to put her weight
on her wounded leg. Turning around to look back at the time portal,
she put up a hand to shield her eyes from the brightness of the time
stream.

Sailor Jupiter sailed out of the portal, landing a few feet away.
Sailor Moon followed, landing in a rather undignified position. The
two cats flew out and landed nimbly on their feet, Artemis checking to
make sure Luna was all right, and Luna telling him rather firmly to
mind his own business.

Sailor Moon glanced up from where she had fallen. "Tuxedo Mask?"

At her words, the light shifted, and Moon ducked as Tuxedo Mask
flew over her head. He landed with a thump in the grass, rubbing his
shoulder. "Geez, Mercury... throw me a little harder, next time..."

As Sailor Jupiter struggled to her feet, Sailor Mercury shot out
of the portal, knocking them both sprawling to the ground. "Mercury!"
Jupiter exclaimed, but Mercury was already on her feet, activating her
visor as she began scanning the portal. She sidestepped as Mars tumbled
out, and the red-skirted scout missed her, knocking Jupiter over
again, instead.

"Oh great... maybe I'll just stay here..." Jupiter said, sitting
in the grass with a irritated look on her face. Mars looked just as
irritated, as well as a little embarrassed, as she crawled off of her
friend's lap.

"Come on, Pluto..." Mercury was saying. She stared at the portal,
one fist held up to her mouth, as she stared at the patterns of light
flashing through the time stream. Then, as suddenly as it had opened,
the portal closed.

"No..." Mercury muttered, her eyes wide.

"I... I think she's gone," Mars said slowly, getting to her feet.
"She was... overwhelmed. I wanted to help, but..."

He voice trailed off. "We've lost so much..."

Artemis looked around. "Where are we?"

"I'm checking on it..."

Even as Mercury spoke, the ground began to tremble, and suddenly
a group of soldiers on horseback broke onto the field from the woods
nearby. They were dressed in ancient Japanese armor, wielding swords,
and shouting. The Sailor Scouts leapt aside, flinging themselves to
the ground, as the warriors raced past.

Suddenly a second group burst from the trees. They were clearly
charging after the first group.

"We're in the middle of a BATTLEFIELD!" Artemis yelled.

"What do we do?!" asked Venus, still crouched in the grass,
cradling her wounded leg.

"RUN!!!!!" Tuxedo Mask grabbed Sailor Moon's hand and ran hard
off to the left, away from the two war parties. Behind him, Mercury
scooped up Luna, Artemis leaping onto her shoulder as she passed.
Jupiter unceremoniously grabbed Venus in both arms and picked her up,
ignoring the blonde's protests.

"Head for the trees!" Mercury shouted, still punching commands
into her computer. "Ashikaga?" she said to herself.

"WHAT?!!" Tuxedo Mask turned pale.

Before she could answer, a small group turned away from the
charging horsemen. One of them pointed at the Scouts and shouted an
order. He reined his horse around, and he and several of his men took
off in a gallop towards them.

"We're in for it now!" Tux said. His face was still pale.

"Not as much as they are," Mars said, her voice dangerous. She
turned and brought her hands together, but Mercury stopped her.

"NO! We can't take any action in the past that would threaten the
future. Until we know where we are, and what is going on, we can't
risk using our powers..."

Artemis swore under his breath as the horsemen swept around them
in a circle. The Sailor Scouts slowed to a halt as the Ashikaga
surrounded them, leaving them trapped in the middle of their circle.

Two men broke the circle, reining their horses in closer. Luna
looked quickly at Artemis *NOT A WORD!* she thought in mindspeak.

"I am Togonara Kei," the first of the two men said. "I am the
leader here. You are all dressed so strangely..." He glanced around
at the girls, his gaze settling on Tuxedo Mask. "Who are you that you
have so many women travelling with you, with no other men to defend
them?"

The warlord's eyes narrowed, as he drew himself up on his horse.
"To whom do your swear your allegance... the Ashikaga, or Emperor
Diago and his demons?"

Tux blinked, and swallowed, but before he could speak, Mercury
answered. "Please, honored warlord... we are strangers here. We do not
know any of these people that you speak of, but if you wish, we will
leave..."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Mercury realized they were a
mistake. The warlord turned to look at her, the look on his face one
of admonishment, and anger. "Whoops..." she said to herself. "This is
ancient Japan. Women do not speak unless spoken to..."

Mercury's eyes widened, and she blushed deeply, looking away.
Thus, she didn't see the change in the warlord's expression as he
looked the slender little Scout over. Togonara's frown seemed to
fade, replaced with a half-smile, and a hint of curiousity.

The second man, however, seemed intrigued by another of the
girls. "Do your women always speak for you, peasant!" He demanded of
Tuxedo Mask. "I like this one, warlord!" He pointed at Sailor Moon.
"I think I will take her as a tribute!"

"Darien?" Sailor Moon stepped back, frightened.

Tux's eyes flared as he drew his cane. "That woman is under my
protection!" He snapped, his voice suddenly shaking with rage. "Touch
her and you answer to me!"

"Hmph!" The samurai snorted. "You ARE a fool... Warlord, this man
insulted me! Let me teach him a lesson!"

Tux just glared at him, his cane at the ready, but inside he was
admonishing himself. "Just great," he told himself, "we had a chance
to deal with these Ashikaga in peace, and you had to let yourself get
angry. How do I always seem to get into these messes..."

The samurai dismounted as Sailor Moon cowered behind Tuxedo Mask.
"I don't WANNA be a tribute!" she wailed. Tux just stood his ground,
as the samurai drew his sword. "Now we're in for it," he told himself.

Before either of the two men could move, however, Mercury was
between them. "My brother!" she said to Tuxedo Mask, "please, do not
aggravate these good men! They are all the chance we have to survive
in this hostile land! Those horrid demons that killed our fellows, and
stole all our clothes but these circus costumes... they must be the
ones that this mighty warlord spoke of!"

Tux eyed Mercury with a hint of disbelief, but he was careful not
to let it show to Togonara and his samurai. Mercury was kneeling at
his feet, even trembling, playing the role of the submissive woman
who'd worked up the nerve to question her "master" to the hilt.

"Please... apologize to this noble warrior. I'm sure that he did
not know that you and Serena are husband and wife..." Sailor Moon's
eyes went wide, and Mercury rose to her feet before their leader's
look of hormonal bliss gave it all away. She grabbed Moon by the arm.
"Come, sister-in-law. Let us let my brother deal with these men."

As she turned to walk away, she turned face to face with Tux, and
winked at him. "And keep your emotions in check," she said, in a voice
for his ears only, "or I will turn you into a popsicle."

Mercury led Moon away, Luna leaping onto her shoulder as she
passed. "Quick thinking," the cat said quietly, as she nuzzled against
Mercury's ear. "I was just about to suggest that myself..."

Tux let a part of his mind chuckle in wonder at the slender
little Scout, but then turned his attention back to the warlord and
his men. "She is right. I apologize," he said to the samurai, "I have
been too long among the peasants, and seem to have forgotten how a
noble man behaves. I am sorry that I insulted you."

"Am I to accept THAT?" cut in the samurai. "You are a poor excuse
for a man indeed!"

"Perhaps," Tux answered, his head bowed. "But I have apologized
anyway."

"Let me teach him a lesson!" The samurai said to Togonara. "He
insulted me!"

"And what of your insult to me, Hamasa?" said the warlord.

The man's eyes widened. "What?"

"You spoke before I gave you permission, Hamasa Wu," said
Tognara, with a hint of a smile. "*I* was speaking to this man, and
yet you interrupted me."

Hamasa's face went white, and he bowed his head, hurriedly. "I am
sorry, warlord, I did not think..."

"No, I suppose not."

He reined his horse backwards. "You will come with us to meet
with Shogun Takauji," he said, to all of the Scouts. "He will decide
what is to be done with you."

"Then, if you still wish, Hamasa Wu, you may challenge this man
for the insult he has done you." He looked at Tux. "If your skill with
a sword is as sharp as your anger... or the wit of your sister..." he
indicated Mercury. "and if you defeat Hamasa, I would consider having
you join me as a samurai."

Tuxedo Mask bowed. "I would be honored, warlord."

"Now..." Togonara urged on his warhorse, drawing up alongside
Mercury. "Pretty lady, I would appreciate your riding with me on the
trip back to Kyoto..."

Mercury started, looking, for the first time ever, completely at
a loss for words. She looked back at Jupiter, then at Mars and Venus.
But no, the warlord was looking at her...

"Th... Thanks," she managed, and climbed up behind him. She
grabbed for Luna as the cat jumped off her shoulder, as if grasping
at a lifeline. Luna landed neatly on the ground, and turned back to
regard Amy with a mischeivous grin.

"What is your name, pretty one?" Togonara asked.

Mercury wondered for a moment why she was trembling. "Um..." She
didn't want to use her Sailor name. "Amy."

"Amy... that's a beautiful name." For some reason, Amy found
herself even more nervous. "So, you are circus perfomers?"

"Yes."

"I would be honored if you would perform for the Shogun..."

Amy gulped, trying to get rid of the growing lump in her throat.
It didn't work. "We would be more than happy to."

Togonara grinned at her discomfort. "And *I* would like to see
*your* performance, in particular."

"Warlord..." Amy began, looking up at the man. "Did you say that
there are demons serving Emperor Diago?"

Togonara shot her a look of suprise. He glanced at Tuxedo Mask.
"Your sister is not afraid to speak her mind, is she?"

Tux frowned at her. "I have had trouble dealing with her, yes...
maybe what she needs is a firm hand to guide her..."

"That'll teach her to crack wise with me..." He said to himself,
grinning a little.

"I am sorry..." Sailor Mercury held tightly to the warlord,
pressing her face against his back. "It is my fear that makes me
ask these questions. I am so... I am so afraid that those demons
will come for us again..."

She looked up at Togonara. Her voice was small and scared. "You
will protect us from those monsters, won't you... ?"

"Of course I will..."

Tuxedo Mask supressed the urge to burst out laughing. "Well," he
thought. "*This* is a new tactic."

"They are, indeed demons, little Amy," Togonara said. "But you
have no need to fear them."

"I know," Amy said. "Please, tell me. Where do these demons come
from? Do you know anything about them?"

"You *are* a curious one, aren't you?" The warlord said, grinning.
"Very well. The demons arrived only a few weeks ago, and they have
been working for that devil of an Emperor ever since. There does not
seem to be anything we can do against them. I have faced them many
times, myself, and once they attack a city or fortress, nothing seems
to stop them."

"But do not worry. You will be safe in the palace. Diago and his
men would not dare attack Kyoto. And even if they did, I will not let
them harm you."

Amy said nothing. She'd gotten what she wanted, information, and
yet the little bit of triumph she felt at that didn't quite seem to
calm her rising sense of panic. "What is wrong with me?" she thought,
wrapping her arms tighter around the warlord, as he brought his horse
around to face the others.

"Hamasa... you will take the young man and his wife back to the
city." Hamasa Wu looked like he'd just swallowed a bug, but he nodded.
"Yes, warlord."

While Tux and Sailor Moon climbed onto Hamasa's horse, another
trotted out of the circle to stand beside Jupiter. The samurai on it
was a handsome man, Jupiter noted. He looked a little like her old
boyfriend.

"Your friend is hurt," he said, looking at Venus.

"It's not that bad," Venus started, but Jupiter cut her short.

"We could use a ride, too," Jupiter said, giving the man a
flirtatious smile. The smile faded, however, as she realized that he
was STILL looking at Venus.

"Oh, great..." she said to herself. "First Mercury, now Venus.
And I get left out in the cold."

With a sigh, she pulled herself up onto the horse behind Venus,
and tried to supress a growl as the blonde wrapped her arms around the
man and sighed contentedly. Another of the samurai had picked up Mars
and the cats, and the group of them set off into the forest.

"Just great..."