Of This World and Yesterday

Wish the moon to fall and alter our tomorrow.

-Angeles, Enya

Moon has fallen.

Will moon rise again?

-Last of the Amazons, Steven Pressfield

Chapter 15- Enduring

On the lip of the pool, Karasu rested her head, the cool stone hard under her cheek. Her straight black hair was rumpled, matted on one side from being smashed against the desktop in her lab. Binding was a fairly clean-cut task; the process itself was simple, a poppet, some ribbon or thread. But to place such a spell on someone as strong as Sailor Pluto was more than draining. Despite that, there was work to be done, and Karasu had managed to pull herself from the dregs of a dream, pulling open black eyes and going about her business with all the precision of a robot.

Obviously, she needed to know the power levels of the new arrivals. No use using something more creative than one of the hydra creatures. It was just a test, after all, nothing serious. A game. Though it did provide opportunity for her to test out her newest spell, an imitation and adaptation of one she saw long ago. Kugutsu, it was called.

In her hand, there was a broken poppet, the center of it freshly sliced through from a strand of her ebony hair. The poppet itself was shaped as a Witch called Eudial, the form she had taken when arriving in this world from Tau Ceti. Of the group of Witches Kaolinite led, Karasu had watched Eudial closely; she wasn't the most powerful of the group, but she was rather clever, very hardworking, a thing Karasu could respect. The one named Viluy was the same way, though the two had contrasting powers.

But it had worked. Overall, the test run was quite a success. She had the information she needed to work now. Blearily, she dropped the broken halves of her kugutsu to the ground, yawning and rubbing a knuckle in her eyes, removing sleep. She was still in her lab coat, muscles sore from the awkward sleeping position at her desk. She'd been working long hours, and binding Pluto was taxing. She'd bought herself some time by preventing Sailor Pluto from interfering any more. No more time traveling. That was good.

She didn't like using a bomb, but it really was the easiest way to do things. Nothing major, a small explosive that Evermore had been able to deliver. No clever crows flying around Higurashi jinja the way there were some at Hikawa. The family didn't even bat an eyelash at seeing a bird flying around, not noticing its presence or the boxy object in his claws.

Her eyes slid to the image in the water, shifting and floating through the shallow depths. The one named Kagome was talking, and the hanyou was moving to pick up the fallen Meioh Setsuna. Karasu yawned again, pulling herself upright and attempting to focus on the scene before her. She would need to know where they were going, and sound wasn't exactly one of the scrying pool's advantages.

A fluttering of wings drew her attention momentarily away from the assembled groups. Evermore was landing on the pool's rim, shaking his wings and folding them back, beady eyes peering down into the water as well. "Ah, Evermore..." Karasu sighed, sinking back a bit and reaching out with a hand to stroke the bird's feathers. He ruffled them and squawked at her, chiding. A thin smile formed on her lips, and she petted him. "So sorry, Evermore. I never did clean you up from those nasty temple crows yesterday, did I? How's your wing?"

Indignantly, the offended bird tossed his head, lifting a wing to let Karasu see the faded injury. New feathers poked out of the flesh, still slightly pink from healing, but closed.

"Sorry, Evermore. I got a little upset, didn't I?" she petted him again, coaxing, and he slowly calmed under her ministrations, making quiet chittering sounds. She smiled, pushing herself up onto her knees, then unsteady feet. "You need to eat?"

Her response was a flash of mental imagery, and a feeling of a contented stomach. Evermore did his own hunting in the alleyways of downtown. "Good...good..." she sighed, relieved she wouldn't have to stay up much longer. She wanted sleep, in her own bed. Shakily, she unbuttoned her white lab coat, slinging it over the back of her chair and making her way across the lab, towards a glowing green 'Exit' sign. In the distance, she could hear the flapping of wings, evidence her familiar was circling, following her as she keyed in the code to open the door.

It slid back, revealing an elevator, and she stepped inside, a whoosh sounding as the door closed again, admitting Evermore at the last moment. The top floor of the building was swept clean, neat marble tiles gleaming slightly red in the evening sunlight, pouring in from the windows on the room's opposite end. Through them, she could see the empty space down the street, where a tall building once stood. A place called Mugen Academy. Now, it was forgotten, the land recently marked with a large sign declaring it was going to be made into a city parking lot. She sniffed, heading across the bare floor and into what should have been a corner office. Instead, it was a makeshift bedroom.

"Evermore...keep an eye out, won't you?" she asked as she pushed open the door to her room. The soft bed in its center looked quite inviting, due to current weariness. Slipping out of her heels, she glanced at him as he perched on one of her dressers, hopping over a stack of cd's. "Keep an eye on things...just watch. Make sure everything is going right. Do try to avoid those mean beasties at the Hikawa Jinja. No more pecking."

As Karasu collapsed into the soft folds of her bed, she saw Evermore leap up, turn on a wingtip and fly out of the room. So she closed her eyes and slept.

Opening her eyes, Aino Minako groaned. Her back was numb, and she still had the remains of a headache. It was fading, and she was glad of that. Blinking, she turned her head, finding herself in an unfamiliar room, though with the figures of some familiar people. It was a living room, and she was stretched out on a couch, her blonde hair spilling over the side of the cushions and touching the ground. One of the figures heard her groan of awakening and turned her head to watch as Minako gathered herself together and sat up.

"How are you feeling?" Hotaru asked, a pensive expression on her face. She was kneeling beside a reclining chair, occupied by a sleeping Setsuna. Chibiusa was settled in one of the room's other chairs, knees tucked up to her chin and with her thin arms wrapped around them. Diana sat on her head, worriedly looking down at the pink haired future princess.

Somewhat disconcerted, Minako put her feet tentatively on the ground, looking at the different girls there with her. "All right," she decided after a moment, wincing as a final shot of pain lanced through her head. "I got bodyslammed, didn't I?"

"Into a brick building," came the reply from Diana, then she grew silent, as though afraid to upset Chibiusa by talking too much.

The expressions on both of the youngest senshi worried Minako, though in the distance, somewhere upstairs, she could hear the sounds of people moving and talking, feet on the floorboards of the house's upper level. Her blue eyes focused on the slumbering senshi of time, her face somewhat tense in her sleep.

Chibiusa was depressed. Hotaru was kneeling beside her 'mama.'

A vague feeling of fear began to roll over Minako. "What happened to Setsuna-san?"

Her head lowered, and Chibiusa hid her face in her arms. Diana slipped around her shoulder and purred in an attempt to cheer her up. It was Hotaru who replied, purple eyes sad. "After you were knocked out, Mako-chan, Sango-san and Miroku-san brought you here...Karasu destroyed their well." Minako's eyes widened as Hotaru hesitated, folding her small hands in her lap. She was still dressed for school, eyes downcast. "It seems to have sealed up the temporal distortion. Setsuna-mama was going to reopen it for them, but something happened." Her gaze slid to the sleeping form beside her. "Miroku-san says it was some kind of binding spell on her powers. They backfired on her somehow." Hotaru lifted her hands, looking at the traceries and patterns of chains and lines on her palms, crossing the supple skin, slightly callused from practice with her Glaive. They were gentle hands, better made for healing than killing. Though the senshi of Death she remained.

"Kagome's family is going to be staying at Hikawa Jinja. They don't know about Rei, unless they guess. Kagome's going to stay with us...Inuyasha with Mamoru-san. He and Usagi went to make sure everything was okay with Kagome's family...Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama went home to get the car, so we can take Setsuna-mama back. Artemis was here for awhile, but Luna said they should go check on the remains of hydra at the arcade, since you were all right. Nobody'd notice a couple cats with so many people looking around. The others are helping Kagome get her things together upstairs." As she finished speaking, Hotaru lifted somber eyes to meet Minako's, her empty hands uplifted slightly. "I've been trying to heal Setsuna-mama. Ami said there wasn't anything wrong with her physically...maybe that's why nothing is happening...it's her mind."

"Then can't Kami-san...."

"Onee-san says she will do what she can tonight," Hotaru bit her lip, sighing. "Setsuna-mama needs her sleep though. Rest will help her recover. At least that's what onee-san and Ami say."

Minako folded her arms around herself, hugging her shoulders and fighting off a partial shiver. Hotaru, though grasping the power of Death through her planet Saturn, contained healing powers. Perhaps some balance between the two extremes...life and death, both in her very small hands. And now one of her adopted 'parents' was struck down by one claiming to be a Death Buster. Hotaru did not need to relive being Mistress 9, turning against people she loved, hurting them. Physical pain could be healed easily enough; Minako knew that normally she would have been crushed by the blow the hydra dealt her earlier that day. But she was a senshi, and she was made of stronger stuff. A mental attack, a backlash of her own power...her eyes flicked to Setsuna's face. Mental injury was a longer and more difficult process. Setsuna could be out for days, if not weeks. Hopefully, having Kami around would help, using her powers over the sleeping mind. If not....

Running a hand through her hair, Minako retied her red ribbon, straightening it out and adjusting it to its usual neatness and standing. For a moment, the room spun, but straightened itself out. She shook her head to clear it. "Don't worry, Hotaru-chan," she smiled encouragingly. "You too, Chibiusa-chan. Cheer up. Setsuna-san's been around for how long? One little backfire isn't going to take her out that easily. She's too strong for that."

Chibiusa looked up, and Minako noticed a slight puffiness around her eyes, as though the girl were trying not to cry. The youngest of them was one of the closest to Pluto, the eldest senshi being her only friend for a very, very long time. Until she came to the past, and met the rest of them. She was taking it at least as hard as Hotaru was. But Minako's smile and confidence was encouraging, and a tentative grin formed on the corners of her lips. Hotaru, however, placed her hand on her 'mama's' and squeezed it for reassurance.

"I'm going to head up to Kagome's room and see everybody else...you going to be all right?"

There was a slight pause, and then Diana answered for the other two. "We'll be okay."

Minako winked at them, turning and heading into the rest of the house, looking around for the stairs. There was a banging noise above, and some raised voices, so she glanced upward at the ceiling, wondering what just happened. Turning, she found the kitchen instead, a bottle of soy sauce overturned and dribbling onto the table. Stepping inside, she uprighted it, avoiding the sticky brown puddle on the linoleum floor. Someone else had the sense to turn off the stove, and a pan still sat on one of the burners, some fish laid out inside it. With a sigh, she picked it up, making sure she was dumping it into the garbage disposal and not the adjacent sink. Usagi did that once, at Ami's apartment, an entire bowl of chicken. What a mess that'd been.

Scraping out the pan, she glanced up seeing Sango through the unexploded window, making her way around the house. Apparently, not everyone was upstairs helping Kagome with her things. The taiji-ya was carefully picking her way forward and disappearing out of Minako's sight. It didn't take much to guess that she was headed towards the ruins of the wellhouse. If it was destroyed, then the time displaced group would have an additional problem. Getting home. The present was probably fun to visit, but it was unlikely they'd want to stay there. Telling one of them to simply 'cheer up' would not work.

There was the sound of a footfall behind her, and Minako started, half leaping around, still somewhat edgy from earlier today. Miroku was standing there, scratching the back of his head and looking somewhat sheepish.

"Miroku-san? Oh, careful, it's a mess over there...."

He blinked, noticing the spilled soy sauce and shrugging. "You're up. Feeling better?"

"Yeah," Minako sighed, setting the pan back into the sink and turning around completely. "You got kicked out of upstairs, I take it?"

He closed his eyes, folding his arms and looked serious as he explained, "Accidentally discovered the wrong drawer in Kagome-sama's room."

Minako tried not to giggle. She could take a couple guesses as to what the houshi accidentally found that got him kicked out, judging by the small discussion at the Fruit Parlor with Sango. "Ah, so you were the banging sound I heard I minute ago."

"Inuyasha does not take such things lightly."

Minako chortled, thinking about the rather jealous tendencies the hanyou might possess. That, of course, brought her into thinking about the pairings in the newcomer group, and the fact Miroku was now free, and Sango was aimlessly wandering around outside. Minako's romance radar suddenly went shooting off the charts. He may be an eechi, but she did see him fight earlier. He wasn't bad, and if Sango liked him...well then she was all for hooking up friends.

Airily, Minako waved a hand, smiling. "Ah, well, you know what they say! Many hands makes a load of trouble!"

Miroku pondered that for a moment. Wouldn't it make more sense if many hands made the load lighter? But Minako was continuing already, snapping her fingers and lighting up with a brilliant idea. "Ah! Miroku-san! You're a houshi, ne?"

"Well...yes...."

"Can't you do something to protect the well? Once Setsuna-san recovers, I'm sure she'll reestablish the time warp for you! Hotaru-chan told me what happened...I'm sorry. But maybe you can post ofuda or check it out and make sure Karasu hasn't put some kind of spell protecting the place up or trying to prevent us from doing anything else...."

Somewhat puzzled at Minako's sudden rambling spree, he cocked his head to the side, trying to figure out what she was up to. Though she did have a point...in the rush to take care of Setsuna and get Kagome-sama ready to move for a couple days, no one had checked to make sure there were no wardings placed around the house. He still did have a couple extra ofuda on him; it wasn't a bad idea, actually.

"...I'll clean up here and then go up and help Kagome and Ami-chan and Inuyasha pack. It's a good idea, right?" Minako was finishing, somewhat breathless from talking non-stop.

"I suppose...." Miroku admitted reluctantly, still getting the feeling the senshi was scheming something against him. She'd been the one to whisk Sango away earlier today, but at least she didn't look ready to kill him the way the other one had.

"Great!" Minako cheered, looking around and noticing that the kitchen led to a foyer with a door leading outside. "Just check on things, okay? I'll finish up here." She reached back and hefted the pan in the air meaningfully. If he didn't go, she'd chase him out with it. "That should lead outside..." she finished, pointing towards the foyer. "Be careful."

He still got the feeling he'd been manipulated into something, but had no clue what it was. The man he spoke to for a moment at the Arcade earlier said that she was 'Hurricane Aino.' This apparently was yet another example of the blonde senshi's exuberant personality.

"Very well...tell the others I'll be outside then," he told her, carefully heading out the way she pointed.

When he was gone, Minako dropped the pan back into the empty sink, and quickly found the stairs. She'd need a good vantage point to see how this turned out....

Despite the destruction that laid waste to the wellhouse, Kagome's home was generally peaceful. It was sunset now, and Miroku could see the clouds turning into a canvas of brilliant colors, deep purple settling against a backdrop of vivid scarlet, all colors hemmed in golden threads, gleaming. In the distance, he could hear the sounds of traffic, of the things called 'cars' and 'busses' and 'trains.' All were strange things to him, alien as the Crown Arcade. Wonderful, slightly terrifying things that existed in Kagome-sama's world. The jinja was an island in the sea of time, peaceful and reminiscent of the past, of an era he wanted to return to. His hand formed a fist, and he heard a faint clacking of beads as his rosary shifted under the fabric of his long sleeved shirt. The evening was a bit cooler, and he wasn't as uncomfortable as he had been over the course of the day. The senshi of time would get up. She had to get up. She had to reestablish the time warp in the well. This was not the way things were supposed to end, failing to reach Naraku because they were trapped in the wrong era.

There were no signs of further interference from Karasu, at least not around the house. Heading into the courtyard, he finally realized what Minako had been up to, and he smirked, shaking his head. Meddling female.

Sango was standing with her arms folded across her chest, Kirara beside her. She'd worked her way a bit closer to the well, avoiding the various broken boards from the exploded building. The colors suited her, and though it seemed odd for her to be in foreign clothing, it was a dress that enhanced her figure. He hadn't been able to truly appreciate the change of clothing on Sango earlier that day, giving in to a rather unexpected round of jealousy. It was a strange feeling, seeing her standing next to someone else. For once, he thought he understood what Inuyasha must feel when Kouga was hanging around Kagome. In reality, he knew perfectly well Kagome wasn't interested in the wolf youkai. But he got jumpy and possessive nonetheless. His fist tightened again, watching as Sango knelt down, pushing aside one of the wooden boards, a stream of black hair falling into her face, catching slightly on the faint wind.

"Sango?"

Her head snapped up, and she looked over her shoulder to see him approaching. Without the shakujyou in his hand, there was no ringing noise to warn her that he was creeping up from behind. He could be very quiet if he wanted. There was a serious expression on his face, somber and quiet, watchful. Her eyes slid back to the ruin, seeing the charred crater in the center, sunk in on itself. The only way home.

Kohaku was still on the other side of the well. She'd taken it as her responsibility to break him out of Naraku's grasp, to find him and find a way to keep him alive, out of the influence of the shikon no kakera in his back. He was her brother. No one else in her family was alive. She wanted to see him again, make sure he was all right. Now they had another enemy to contend with, another enemy to finish off before things could be put right. She stood, dusting off her hands and smoothing out her skirt as Kirara bounded in a bit closer. Her smaller form was light, and able to pounce from board to board.

The well was gone.

Setsuna-san would have to wake up. Simply have to. She had to get back.

The well was gone.

A hand suddenly enveloped hers, and she glanced up to see Miroku standing there, silently waiting beside her. For once, she didn't mind the contact, closing her eyes and lowering her head. Having fun shopping earlier that day seemed to have been such a waste. She shouldn't have fun, not while there was an enemy to face. One to face quickly, and then to return. Could something have happened differently, had they not wasted any time that afternoon? Maybe they could have stopped this 'bomb' thing before it came. Killed it or something. Found out how it could blow something that size up without gunpowder or magic. Maybe there was a way to defeat something like that. It was such a feeling of helplessness....

"We'll get back," she heard Miroku say, and felt him give her hand a slight squeeze. "If the senshi are as powerful as they seem, this will not be the end of things. We will return."

The cynic in her wanted to come up with some sharp retort, not really feeling like cheering up. But she remained silent, lips drawn thin as she considered being stranded here. Never returning. Never seeing the last of her family. Never.

Miroku took her silence as depression, the pained expression on her face as thoughts of what still lay on the other side of the well. Fun for awhile, visiting, but this was not where he wanted to be either. They did not belong here.

Sango was too deep in her thoughts to be startled when Miroku turned in front of her and hugged her, wrapping arms around her back and pulling her close. She simply let him, feeling the warm fabric of his cotton shirt against her cheek. It was comfortable there, she realized distantly, somehow protected and safe. Slowly, she pulled herself out of her reverie, pulling herself upward and fighting against the despairing feeling that tugged her down. As she did so, she began to realize that Miroku was leaning against her as much as she was against him, the muscles in his back tense against her hands.

After a moment, she understood. Miroku was afraid. Possibly more than she was. The knowledge of that fact made her feel cold suddenly, as the implication settled in. If they truly were stranded there, all of them could survive. Shippou was still a growing child, and he'd adapt easily. Inuyasha would have Kagome, if nothing else. She would never see Kohaku again, but her life was not on the line. Miroku's, however, was.

If they did not return, there was very small chance Naraku would be killed. If he was not, then eventually Miroku's kazaana would swallow him whole. He would die.

Quietly, she let him lean against her.

From the upstairs window, a small, satisfied smile formed on the lips of Aino Minako. It wasn't exactly passion she was spying on, but there was certainly something there. Not quite romance, but maybe something a bit more enduring. She turned to head into the next room, where she could faintly hear the sounds of the others finishing up.

It was good to be the Soldier of Love.

Hm, well, another 'connecting' chapter. Did get to play a bit with Minako and her romance radar though, which is always fun. We'll be back to plot in a couple chapters, but right now, connect things together and do a little character development in the meantime. If you can't tell, I really like the Sango/Miroku pairing...eh heheh....^^; They're just fun to play with. And of course mixing in Minako just makes everything crazy. Ah well. Next chapter is another connecting chapter, but it's all humor. ^.^ A light touch amid the chaos.

Til next storytime.

Ja ne!

~Queen

Coming up next, in Chapter 16: Sideways-

"Press the red button on the top of that."

Folding his arms, Inuyasha glared, getting the feeling that he was being set up. "Why the hell should I? What is that? It's not another thing like that stupid Luna Pen is it?"

Miroku shifted a couple of textbooks aside, then leaned back into the cushions. "Of course not. It turns that on," he replied, nodding sagely towards a dark black box across from the couch he sat on. "The...tee-vee."