Guardian Stars: Part 2- All Begins Again
"Fujiwara Aki."
"Ohyume Naoko."
"Nakazaki Miyuki."
"What are you guys talking about?" demanded the pink haired girl.
"Our terran names," Aki answered slowly, as if she couldn't believe how dense the other was for not knowing.
"I repeat; NANI?!" she uttered with a bewilder look on her face, still not comprehending what the brunette had just suggested to her. Usually she wasn't that thick, but she was still a little overwhelmed by the invaders.
"Right, girl. We're going to leave those Elemental Seeds in earth, while anyone could turn the power within into destruction." Miyuki simplified the brunette's statement sarcastically. She can practically see the click in the other's mind. Miyuki turned to the yellow-orange haired fighter, expecting her to say something, but was startled to find that the girl had a thoughtful look on her face.
"Okay, I got it. But what happens to the Dimension Gate?" the leader inquired.
"She got a point. We cannot exactly abandon our duties here," the yellow-orange haired girl stated firmly.
"We know. I'm not any more excited about going back to Earth any more than you do. But only each individual of us can sense each different Elemental Seeds, so we all have to go. Since we don't know what we're facing and only Sirius possesses her Elemental Seed, she has the most power right now. The five creatures of elements still have power within them, even though they won't have help from their seeds. It's not much of a comfort, but we don't exactly have a choice either," Naoko said softly. The blue haired girl had always been the practical one.
The others nodded grimly. Everyone was silent for a moment.
"Dokuda Kazuko," the yellow-orange haired fighter murmured finally.
The other girl glared at Kazuko accusingly for taking sides, or so she believes.
"What's wrong?" Kazuko asked, slightly amused. "I, for one, know a dead end when I see it."
* * *
Purple. Everything was in that same shade of color: dead violet. The cold, vicious wind was tearing through Rei Hino's bare skin, leaving many cuts on her arms and legs. At the same time, her skin felt fiery, like it was being burn by the very depths of fire. It seemed impossible to breathe and she also was feeling no different than being engulfed by the mighty sea itself. The combination led her to scream in foreign pain, and being helpless against it increased the velocity. There was nothing, no one in sight except for one, black sphere. The strong wind whipped her long hair, blowing strands of it in front of her face. She squinted her eyes to see the object better. Slowly, very slowly, the orb began to morph into what looked like the outline of a human. But as it's already gnarled fingers grew longer and claws emerged, Rei was convinced it was anything but human. The evil aura around it was so thick it seemed palpable and can easily be the cause of her suffocating. The girl tried to take a step forward, but her body did not heed. Rei's eyes widen at the sudden discovery that purple vines had fastened themselves around her, refusing to let her budge an inch. An unexpected wild wind struck up a sandstorm. Sand found it's way to Rei's eyes as pain smeared through them, leaving tears glistening on the corners.
'What is this place?' Rei cried out silently. 'And why is it like I'm in hell?' She thought with anger as well as agony.
"I'm afraid this is earth, sweetheart. But don't worry. Hell is what will become of earth," a jagged, emotionless voice stated.
An immediate chill swept through Rei, just by hearing the voice. She forced her eyes open . . . and wished she hadn't. For once they were opened, she cannot close them again; she felt like she had no control over herself anymore. The orb was now gone, leaving only a dark figure. Its eyes were closed, but its mouth was shaped with a terrifying cruel smile, with many fangs glimmering. Rei was able to make the figure out as a 'he'. He wore a simple piece of the very old styled, black Japanese clothing and his hair was tied behind like the old days. Rei's eyes traveled up to its face again . . . and she was petrified with fear. His eyes are opened, and they were also empty. He gave a heinous smile, then raised his hand and disappeared. Rei was surprised but relief at his sudden disappearance. But not for long. He suddenly reappeared less than an inch away from her face, that smiled never wavering. Then he backed a step away and brought his claws across her face. A scream echoed throughout the darkness . . .
Rei shot up of her futon bed, still hearing the deathly scream from the fatal pain. It took her five minutes to discover that it was herself screaming. She abruptly gained a grip on herself and stopped. Rei held her head that was still throbbing with pain. Her breath quickly slowed down, but her throat was still sore from the screaming.
'Was it . . . all a dream?' Rei thought, dazed. She shuddered to find that she remembered every single detail of that dream. She furthermore realized that the other times she had dreams like this was the warning about the messiah of silence, Sailor Saturn. 'Maybe I should tell Usagi . . .' she thought, then immediately discarded that idea, 'As if she'll take me seriously. Probably say I'm paranoid. All she thinks about is food,' She sweat dropped as an image of Usagi surround by sweets popped in her mind. The dark haired girl regained somewhat control of her shock and relaxed her shoulders a bit. Her eyes wandered to her alarm clock. "Shimatta! I'm supposed to meet the girls at the Hana Park! Erg, I'm already ten minutes late!"
Suddenly, Rei's door was banged open, and Yuuichirou rushed in.
"Rei-san! I heard you screaming! Daijabu?!" Yuuichirou exclaimed.
The scene freezes with shocked faces on both Rei and Yuuichirou: Rei shocked to find Yuuichirou in her room without knocking, and Yuuichirou shocked to see Rei, *ahem*, still in bed. The words "Silence" scrolled across in Japanese [sorry, this is Amanda-san's fanfic influence].
"What," Rei said unusual quietly (the scene went back to normal), "Do you think you're doing?" she ended up screaming at him, while reaching for the nearest object-her alarm clock.
The clock bonked Yuuichirou on the head *hard*. It didn't stop there. Other stuff flew toward him. He regained enough senses to run out the door and slamming it shut to avoid being clobbered by a dictionary, a small, yet solid, marble statue. Yuuichirou leaned against the paper door, sighed in relief, and yelled, "Gomenasai!" back to Rei.
"Bothering a woman in bed. How disgusting," Grandpa said nonchalantly, not bother to stop his stroll across the hallway.
"No! I-I wasn't-"
"Whatever! Save it for judgement day!"
Yuuichirou had a bewildered look on his face, not knowing did Rei say it or her grandfather. Perhaps both did.
* * *
Five figures sat besides the lake in the park, staring at the flat mirror water.
"Really, did you have to take so long to find the stupid name?" grumbled Aki. It had took the pink haired leader a good fifteen minutes, during teleport and after together, to find a name.
" 'Shouiriki, Miwa'. ' Beauty of Harmony'. A nice name, ne?" Miwa declared proudly.
"She means 'Beast of Harmony'," Aki stage-whispered to the others. She looked away from Miwa's annoyed glance, whistling. Miyuki, Naoko, and Kazuko sweat dropped.
"Do this seem familiar to any of you?" Kazuko murmured to the rest, changing the subject. "Sensei's last words were, 'Remember the Law of Life. Within three feet of where snakes lie, there is cure for snake poison. Within three feet of safety, there is danger. Impossibility does not exist. Locate the expected in the unexpected location.'".
" 'Locate the expected in the unexpected location'. Kazuko, do you mean . . ." Naoko trailed off.
"Yes, I think sensei had predicted about the Elemental Seeds. But you have to know the 'locate the expected' statement can mean a lot of things." Kazuko replied bluntly.
"Prediction or no prediction, we have to find a place to settle down. Miyuki, will you do the honors?" Aki asked slyly.
"Okay then, if we're going to find an apartment, might as well search for a fancy one," Miyuki responded.
* * *
On the other side of the park, another group of five reunited.
"Gomen, minna! I'm sorry I'm late!" Rei rushed to her friends, gasping for breath.
"That's a surprise! And I thought Usagi was late!" exclaimed Minako.
"You see? Rei is more irresponsible! I'll bet she was drooling over some cute guy," Usagi cried happily. She was half an hour late, but Rei was over an hour late.
Makoto and Minako were suddenly in front of Rei's face. "Is that true? Who, who?!" questioned both Makoto and Minako at the same time.
Ami, Usagi, and the cats' sweat dropped.
"Did not, baka!" snapped Rei angrily, her eyes flashing.
Everyone suddenly sobered. Rei was known for her temper, but she usually has more patience than that.
"Rei, is something wrong?" asked Ami, concerned.
Rei caught herself in time from biting another uncivil comment. "I'm sorry, minna. I-I'm a little tired," she sighed.
"So why are you late anyway?" Usagi asked, this time a little bit more serious.
"Yuuichirou busted into my room this morning, while I was still in bed," Rei replied sardonically. It wasn't a complete lie.
Ami, sensing there is something more, asked, "Is there something else in your mind?"
Immediately, images from Rei's dream drifted hauntingly back to her. Rei shook them off. "No, that's all. I'm feeling pretty evened out. After all, Yuuichirou did get hit by my alarm clock."
Disappointed that Rei didn't meet another guy, Minako's and Makoto's mind was back on their previous plans. "Alright, let's hit the grand opened mall, right now!" they both said.
With that, they all headed for the mall; no one suspecting the feeling that Rei had built walls around. All except for the ever so observant Ami.
* * *
"We would like to rent this house," Miyuki announced for the other four girls, who were looking around. The place was equipped with furniture and necessaries for someone to be able to move right in. It was an extremely big house, a mansion in fact, with polished cherry wood floors and glamorous, twinkling glass pieces around each and every ceiling light. With five rooms, two bathrooms, a dining room, kitchen, and a huge living room, this house was rented out for 58,485,000 yen a year-the worth of an actual luxurious, new house.
The agent was looking doubtful. How would five ordinary looking high school girls pay for such an expensive home, the agent must be thinking. Miyuki smiled knowingly. It was not the first time she had seen that look.
"We're able to pay now. If it's convenient, we want this house before the weekend," Miyuki murmured, putting a hand on the agent's shoulder nonchalantly, then held on. First the agent looked shocked, then his eyes went blank and glassy.
"Yes, ma'am," the agent muttered as he seemed to bend forward and pick up something. There was nothing of course, but the agent sees otherwise. "It's yours. The paper works shall be done before Friday," he said, dazed, and walked out the door.
"Miyuki, how long will the illusion hold?" inquired Miwa
"For as long as needed, until I snap my fingers and tell him the wake up," Miyuki half-joked. "Which will probably be never. This place is amazing!" She added, pleased.
The others can only chuckle in agreement.
* * *
While the two groups of five were enjoying themselves, a dark figure sat in his throne, gazing at the black orb in which was floating a few inches above his hand; he paid mild attention to the shadowed five kneeling respectively in front of him.
"We have come as you summoned, Akuma-sama. I am Dokuja Koudo [earth's poisonous serpent]," introduced the women with beady eyes and wavy red hair. "And this-" she pointed to someone on her left, a man with white hair," . . . is a kaiyo Jaki [evil ocean spirit] named Jaki Ika [squid spirit],"
Ika acknowledged his presence with a respective nod
"This is Urufu-kin [wolf of metal]," Dokuja continued, indicating her right.
Like Ika, Urufu-kin gave the lord a polite nod. "Action requested by Akuma-sama shall be done," he said confidently.
"I am the leader yokai of the Yuurin tribe, Torimoku [wooden bird]," the first of the row with blond hair stated.
"And I'm Honoo Hana [flower of the flame] at your service. I am also known as Hano." The last one finally finished, being the only one that sounds rather cheerful.
"We will find all five elemental seeds," Dokuja added.
"Make sure that you do," the figures on the throne acknowledge with a strong voice. "Keikan [crown of thorns] had been already sent to Tokyo, the suspected location of the elemental seeds for the same task."
"Demo, Akuma-sama," Hano started, very startled, "Keikan is a *human*. Why is _he_ on this mission too?"
"That fact is known. But he has corrupted soul and manipulating talent can prove he is better than the supernatural strength yokai. Now go."
With a wave of his hand, the group of people, or creatures, was dismissed, vanishing. 'Damn those brats. If it weren't for them, the Elemental Seeds would be within my grasp. I'll kill them, I promise. Starting from that baka with the fifth seed that broke my bond with the Elemental Seeds. . . What was her name? Oh yes . . . Sirius.' He thought with hatred. The orb in front of him began to glow. His eyes wandered back on the orb. 'You agree don't you? And for centuries, everyone thinks you don't have a mind. Thanks to your power, my plans are proceeding.' The orb glowed back.
To be continued . . .