Of This World And Yesterday
Cold as death, death bearing.
Stay and die, unguided.
Brave and braving, linger.
This way was twice decided.
-Anne McCaffrey, Dragonflight
Chapter 18- Stalemate
"Taiji-ya-san, houshi-sama. I, Viluy, at Level 202 Death Busters...shall defeat you."
There was silence in the jewelry store, a kind of disbelieving breathlessness, held by the handful of people scattered at the various glass cases, wide eyed at the announcement. Perhaps if it had been said differently, someone would have laughed, thinking it a joke. But there was a deadly seriousness underlying the woman's tone.
In the instant before the witch attacked, Miroku lifted his voice, shouting, "Everyone get down!"
The result was simultaneous, people screaming and diving down in the same moment Viluy drew back her arm, aiming between Sango and Miroku. "Mosaic Buster!"
The blast impacted behind the counter, Sango and Miroku splitting apart as they leapt to the sides, avoiding the spray of strangely glittering flecks of blackness. Osaka Natsumi jerked backward in her panic to avoid the things, which shot straight for the place she had been running. She watched as they embedded themselves in the wall behind her, digging into the smooth surface and sending tiny sparks up the wiring. At the sound of Miroku's warning, she decided to head for the silent alarm, to call for help, to call the police. Now, popping noises were coming from the wiring system, and the acidic smell of charred metal was filtering outward.
Looking up from where he landed, Miroku watched as their clerk grew pale, sinking below the countertop with wide eyes. She had been heading for something, and now whatever it was had been destroyed. Lacy speckles of blackness were tracing their way outward in the white wall, stark against the paleness and chewing through the surface.
"Ah, you see it then?" came Viluy's voice silkily, and he looked back at her, noticing that Kirara had emerged beside Sango, her hackles raised but not yet transforming. They were too close to others, and people could get hurt. Another one of Osaka-san's clerks was quietly urging people behind the counter with her, behind the tentative safety of the cases. Made of glass, they were of more comfort than defense, but it kept them aside and out of the way.
The dark veins in the wall were growing steadily blacker, tiny crackles of blue energy chewing through the drywall and revealing electrical systems underneath. The attack itself seemed like a blur, a blue white beam that sliced through the air. If it were only that, then what was creeping through the walls? It was consuming them....
Viluy was watching him with narrowed eyes, a faint smile on her face as he began to understand what he was witnessing. "My nano-robots are my own invention. They consume the flesh, leaving only your pure soul, your Hoste, behind." She lifted her arm up again, indicating the heavy blue bracelet. "How fascinating it would be, to watch them enlarge that hole in your hand, houshi-sama. I wonder what happens to it when it gets too big?"
From where she knelt, Sango saw Miroku tense, stiffening as he realized any effectiveness of the kazaana had just been eliminated, unless he chose to run the risk of dying. If what the witch said was true, then even hiraikotsu would be ruined within a few moments of contact with the...nan-oh-ro-bots. It was made of youkai bone, strong though still made of an organic substance. This witch's attack left them nearly helpless. In the small space of the store, there was even less room to maneuver, increasing the chances of her scoring a hit on either herself, houshi-sama, Kirara or one of the other people in the store. This was not a good place to fight.
If she was a kugutsu, the same way the Eudial one was, then she would need to find a way to cut her through the chest, destroying the poppet inside. The two introduced themselves the same way, and if the Death Busters were all dead, then that was the only reasonable conclusion. She was a kugutsu. With their attacks nearly useless, they'd need help. That meant buying Miroku enough time to use that communicator thing Michiru had given him before they separated. She just hoped he remembered how to make it work properly.
With Viluy's attention on Miroku, she only saw Sango move out of the corner of her eye, a flash of motion before the other woman was grabbing onto her, hands wrapping around her wrists and pulling hard, jerking the one decorated with a bracelet into the air and out of firing range. "Houshi-sama! The communicator!"
She heard him begin calling into the thing, "Uranus? A jewelry store..."
The warning sent to the senshi resulted in a shriek of outrage from Viluy, and she struggled harder against Sango's death grip. Fighting this way was not easy- it was clumsy and ineffective, trying to jerk the kugutsu around to buy time. It would take only a few moments to break out of the hold, but while she held on, Sango knew for certain this was no human, in any sense. As they grappled, she could feel no bones under the skin, nothing shifting or grating as she squeezed. Though this was not a human, it had a human appearance and human strength, finally stepping forward to unbalance Sango, then jerking a wrist out of its lock to jab an elbow backward towards Sango's stomach.
"Kirara!"
The cat had been waiting for a signal, and at Sango's call and release of Viluy, she leapt forward, transforming as the two collided, sending them both flying outward in a screaming ball of flames. The glass doors to OSA-P shattered as they busted their way through, one shearing off its hinges as the other exploded into a waterfall of glass shards, scattering on the ground.
People on the street began screaming as they broke into the pavement, Kirara landing with the witch beneath her, fangs bared, but leapt up and away as soon as she saw the two human arms brought forward, aimed at point blank range at the firecat's chest. Snarling, the firecat landed on top of one of the parked cars, roaring as much at Viluy as at the audience around them. Too many people around made things dangerous, too many unarmed civilians to get hit by one of the nano-robots being used. A fierce youkai cat would, if nothing else, frighten them back. Fortunately, she was successful, alarmed pedestrians edging away as Viluy rolled back to her feet in time to face off with Sango and Miroku, who were running through the front doors.
As they made it to the sidewalk, they watched as Viluy carefully positioned herself at an angle so she could keep both the two humans and the youkai cat in her vision. The struggle with Sango and the attack from Kirara had unsettled some of the witch's composure, injuring her. The blue hat was gone, knocked aside as she crashed through the doors, and cuts from glass had sliced her bare arms and back. Below the skin's surface, there was a rippling, and small shoots could been seen sprouting through from where there were gashes. Made of plants and roots, the kugutsu was appearing less than human, and the observers did not know what was going on. Two people and a youkai cat, facing off against a bizarre, inhuman woman. The attention to the sidewalk had slowed and stopped traffic, drivers parking their cars to step out and see what was causing the traffic jam.
"There are too many people here," Miroku began reasonably, still ready in case Viluy attacked again. "This is no place to fight, and you know it as well as we do."
She nearly snorted, bringing up her hands to a ready position. "Their welfare," she said, referring to the crowd, "does not concern me."
Her hesitation on attacking was enough to confirm the fact that she knew their situation as well; this was no place to fight. No room, too many people. At the moment, she was half surrounded, with two people in front of her, and a youkai cat almost beside her, ready to pounce. If she moved against the humans, the cat would attack. To try to escape the cat, the humans would have enough time to reach her, drawing any weaponry they had as they came. Either way, she could take out one, but in the end, not be able to finish off all of them, failing. Though at the same time, she knew that no matter who she hit, she would take out at least one member of their fighting force. Also, she could easily hit someone in their audience, and that they could not allow. That meant one thing.
Stalemate.
The people watched, uncertain as to what they were witnessing. It was Kirara that was most puzzling, since those outside the store had not seen Viluy attack magically with her nano-robots. They edged around, wanting to watch, but also too afraid to grow any closer. The din of traffic in the distance grew fainter as they watched each side size the other up, each attempting to read the others next move, to counter it as it began.
It was the crowd itself that provided the breaking of the silence. From up the street, a ripple began to force people apart, startled cries mingled with audible gasps. The approaching sounds snapped their concentration, and each moved in the same instant.
"Mosaic Buster!"
This time, Viluy chose Sango as her opponent, aiming for the taiji-ya as she leapt to one side, rolling back to her feet as Kirara took to the air, landing beside Sango and allowing her to grab on as she bounded upward again, using the side of the building to pivot midair, turning just above where the nano-robots had hit, already embedding themselves into the brick. Seeing that her first blast failed, Viluy swept her arm around, firing a second time at Miroku as Kirara pounced down, Sango sweeping out a hand to catch Miroku's, sweeping him up as they cleared the ground just as the second shot sped out into the crowd.
"Deep Submerge!"
A globe of glowing saltwater blazed outward from the audience as two new figures arrived, the people making way as Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune appeared from behind, running, Neptune still with her hand out, the energy of her watery attack impacting head on with the nano-robots. There was a crackling from within the deluge of water. The tiny size of the nano-robots allowed them to slice through the liquid, emerging on the opposite end.
Sailor Neptune ran straight into them.
Her scream was half strangled as they sped around her, eyes widening in shock at the immediate retaliation, the nano-robots having met with something living, something breathing and alive. From the air, Miroku heard Sango gasp, and she urged Kirara down again, drawing hiraikotsu from the faintly glowing bracelet on her left wrist. Uranus had frozen as her partner was hit, abruptly stopping to turn and witness the other slowly crumple to her knees.
"Neptune!"
The sound of Uranus' voice cut through to her, and Neptune lifted her head, meeting the other's eyes, hard. As hiraikotsu was flung downward from above, Viluy leapt aside, the sharpened end of the boomerang embedding itself into the ground where she had stood. For years now, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune had fought alongside one another. Together, they discovered their powers. Together, they fought the Death Busters alone, long before joining with any other senshi. They knew the way each other thought, perhaps better than even Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen, fighting and acting as one. And as the nano-robots began to dig their way into her skin, the expression Neptune gave Uranus was also an order. Keep away.
Uranus turned in time to see Viluy turn once more, watching as Kirara leapt higher into the air, circling around for a run at hiraikotsu. Viluy knew she had a moment before they were a threat, and spun to see Sailor Uranus look away from Neptune. There was an unreadable expression on her face, both blank and furious, a rage building up inside her as their eyes locked.
"Mosaic Buster!"
"World Shaking!"
The two attacks collided, Uranus running forward, a half step behind the orb of golden light she released from her fingertips, a weapon forming in her hands. If her attack did not destroy Viluy's, then she was taking her down as the nano-robots dug onto her own skin.
Inside the planetary orb of light, the tiny machines were crackling, their surface tension beginning to snap under high pressure they were trapped in. They popped, erupting into a tiny shower of electrical sparks, flying outward around Sailor Uranus as she gripped her sword with two hands, meeting Viluy at the same moment the first attack shocked her.
"Space Sword...Blaster!"
A blade of golden light sliced through the air a fraction of a second before the blade itself met with the kugutsu of Viluy. Her attacks meeting at almost the exact same moment, Viluy shuddered as she began to split apart, eyes flying wide with shock as she collapsed, the roots and dirt that composed her puppet body breaking away onto the sidewalk, cascading out from a tiny, broken doll in its center.
Kirara landed silently beside hiraikotsu, and her two passengers watching as Sailor Uranus stood, her sword vanishing back into subspace.
A murmur ran through the onlookers, and they warily stepped away from the area before OSA-P. People saw the senshi, close. Saw them fight and saw one fall, watching as they destroyed an enemy. Two of the braver onlookers tried to step forward, one beginning to kneel down to where Sailor Neptune fell, curling up on her side on the cement.
Then there was a furious roar, "Get away from her!"
Quickly, they backed away as Sailor Uranus ran the few steps back to Neptune, turning her over and brushing away a lock of aqua colored hair.
Sango reached over, tugging hiraikotsu out of the ground, and letting it slide back into its pocket warp, hearing a jangle of beads from behind her as Miroku opened the kazaana, sucking away the remains of the kugutsu. Kirara lifted her head, making a half growling sound and alerting Sango that something was wrong. Uranus was holding up Neptune, her eyes tightly closed. They were close enough for Sango to see that there were pock marks left on Neptune's skin, tiny black spots where the nano-robots had impacted. Though they were no longer glowing, they remained, despite the destruction of the kugutsu.
Uranus was cradling Neptune, holding her upward and running a hand over the black scars. "Neptune. Neptune?" Her response was for Neptune's eyes to flicker open a moment, then flutter closed again. Panic began to well up inside Uranus as Neptune went limp, head turning to the side as she was pulled closer, face paling as Uranus bent her head, feeling a faint, familiar heartbeat beside her ear.
The world had become very quiet outside the store, people averting eyes in respect for the fallen senshi. That kind of silence could be overwhelming, drowning out sound and thought in a white wave, destroying everything as it let the world sink into itself.
Far in the distance, a bell began to sound.
In the stillness, no one listened. It was easy to drown out everyday sounds, things you hear repeatedly. Unless they are important to you, why pay attention to them? After all, this was a bell that sounded every afternoon, signaling the end of that day of school.
Uranus' head lifted suddenly, blue eyes flying wide.
Those standing closest to them heard her say, "She'll be home."
And then, Neptune in her arms, she was running faster than she ever had before.
Adjusting the straps of her bunny shaped backpack, Chibiusa sighed with resignation. In light of current events, she'd decided to stop at Hotaru's house after school to check on Setsuna. Knowing the other senshi, they'd be on their way there relatively soon as well, wanting to know if there was any change. The Outers house was in the fringes of Juuban, with a wide, well kept lawn, hedged with blooming rainbow colored flowers. The brightness of them was faded though in the afternoon sunlight, the color there dimmed through the assorted worries running through Chibiusa's mind. She sighed, unfolding a piece of stiff white paper, instructions for a new school assignment typewritten across the page.
"You'd think," she grumbled, "between Kami-san's being here and our current visitors, I'd get either the Heian or the sengoku jidai. But what does sensei assign me?" Sighing again, she refolded the paper and tucked it into the pocket of her backpack, "The Meiji. I could have had eyewitness accounts of what life was like then for the report, and I get stuck with the era nobody lived through."
Beside her, Hotaru stopped moving on the sidewalk leading to her home. Silently, she pulled her books up to her chest, hugging them slightly as Chibiusa realized her friend was no longer beside her, pausing to turn back. "Hotaru-chan?"
There was a distant look on Hotaru's face, her purple eyes downcast and still, short hair falling diagonally past her chin. "I'm sure Setsuna-mama has some books you can borrow in the library, Chibiusa-chan. I'll help you look."
Mentally, Chibiusa kicked herself. Of all people, she herself should have been more considerate. After all, she was going home with Hotaru to visit Puu, the first friend she ever made; the Guardian of Time who watched the eras pass from her distant post at the Timegate. Since Chibiusa caught up with Hotaru at her school, the senshi of Saturn had remained quiet, even for Hotaru. Watching her, there was something hanging about her presence that reminded Chibiusa oddly of the time just before Mistress 9 took over her mind and body. Wistful, sad, and distant, though still thoughtful towards her friend. "Hotaru-chan. Puu'll wake up. It's like Minako-chan said yesterday. Puu's too strong to be knocked out like this," she peered around a bit, trying to see Hotaru's expression. "It's her own power. It may knock her out, but your own powers won't kill you."
Hotaru closed her eyes slowly, taking a calming breath and focusing on Chibiusa's worried face. "Our own powers are strong, Chibiusa-chan. They're made for killing. But you're right. Setsuna-mama won't die from this," she pushed a smile onto her face, and Chibiusa tried to smile in return, her brows knitting together, suspecting Hotaru was cheering up only to keep her from worrying. The slightly taller girl began to walk forward again, reaching into her pocket and taking out a key as she climbed the steps to the wide front porch, slipping it into the lock and turning it as she continued, "There must always be a Guardian of Time."
Opening the front door, they headed towards the living room, pausing in the arch of the entranceway to watch. Over the last couple days, with Haruka and Michiru returning from Vienna, added to the extra sheets and clothes lent and brought by Sango and Kagome, the laundry at the home of the Outer senshi had become somewhat similar to a mountain of fabric, currently piled high in a bushel on the coffee table. Apparently the fighting, injuries, and time displaced travelers were not enough excuse to prevent Kami from running the house while everyone else was out. At the moment, the petite senshi of dreams was shaking out a bundled up bedsheet, the rose colored folds flying outward from her hands as the fabric unfurled, smelling faintly of spring scented detergent. Below her, Shippou was running around with his hands up, trying to snatch at the free ends.
"Oy! I can help!"
Kami smiled, flapping the loose end higher and out of his reach. "Ah, Shippou-kun, your arms aren't long enough. Mine barely are," she laughed, arms wide as she pinched the ends, halving the length of the cloth, then folded it over again down the middle. "You're too small. I'll finish..." she trailed, then noticed the arrival of Hotaru and Chibiusa, the pink haired future princess shrugging her backpack off her shoulders as Hotaru set her stack of textbooks on one of the reclining chairs. "Welcome home, Hotaru-chan, Chibiusa-chan," Kami greeted, her smile fading slowly away as she waited for them to ask the inevitable question.
"How's Puu?"
The pile of folded sheets grew a bit taller as Kami dropped the one she was holding on top, running a hand over the cotton surface to pat it down. "The chills seem to be gone," she told them as Shippou clambered up onto the coffee table, leaning forward and glancing between the various senshi. "She's resting more easily now, though she hasn't stirred."
"We've been keeping an eye on her all day," Shippou added after a moment. "Has anything happened? We've just been doing laundry and stuff."
Hotaru shook her head, then picked up her books again, trying to decide whether or not to go sit with Setsuna for awhile. "Not that we know of. We came straight home, in case Setsuna-mama woke up...you'd have to call Haruka-papa or Michiru-mama to see if they found anything with Sango-san and Miroku-san today."
From the coffee table, Shippou sighed, glancing at the sheets still left to fold in the bushel. He'd been introduced to the washing machine and the dryer today, both equally dull, though he saw how they'd be useful. "Would they call if they found anything? On the tela-phone?"
"Communicator," Chibiusa told him, rummaging through her bags. "If there was time for anything important, or if they couldn't handle it. Hotaru-chan, I'm going to check on Puu...you want to come with or...."
Her words were sharply cut off as the front door was kicked open, left unlocked from their recent entrance. Haruka stood there, breathing hard, an unconscious Kaioh Michiru cradled in her arms. Through the entranceway, she saw Hotaru at one of the chairs, a startled expression on her face from the abrupt arrival. "Hotaru!"
It took barely a moment for everyone to move, seeing the look of barely contained panic on Haruka's face, and the limp form of Michiru with her, the dark folds of her dress rumpled from what was apparently a very fast trip. "Haruka-papa? What happened?"
"Her body isn't rejecting the nano-robots naturally," Haruka was saying, the words tripping rapidly from her mouth in a rush as she shoved her way past everyone, laying Michiru out on the couch as Hotaru quickly moved to her other side, seeing the black flecks that marred her white skin. "They seem dormant, but they're not leaving, and she hasn't regained consciousness, and I don't know why she wouldn't reject them!"
From behind, Shippou pushed back a lock of Kami's hair, having taken a seat on her shoulder as everyone scurried either towards Michiru or away from Haruka, giving them space to act. Behind him, he heard new footsteps, familiar ones, as Sango and Miroku burst through the front door, a small Kirara bounding along behind them. On reaching the scene, each drew up sharply, watching the strange display being played out before them.
Hotaru knelt beside Michiru, brushing waves of aquamarine hair from her face, then resting thin hands on her cheeks, cupping her face gently as she leaned closer, her eyes becoming slightly vague, the purple of her irises spiraling larger, making her gaze an empty void. Straight dark hair slanted forward, cutting a sharp angle along her chin and veiling her face as her hands drew on a brightness, a faint light that caressed the familiar face of her adopted mother.
"What is she doing?" Shippou breathed, eyes wide as a prickling sensation raced up his spine. The image before him was eerie, haunting somehow, though not quite frightening. There was a warmth to it, though laced with a chill.
Lightly, Kami drew her hands up to her lips in thought and nervousness, watching Hotaru as she worked. "Hotaru draws her power from Saturn, the planet of death and destruction. Perhaps the power of healing comes as some small compensation for the duty of being the soldier of silence."
They stood still for a moment, watching as the faint brightness in Hotaru's hands strengthened, flickering slowly over the length of Michiru's body. As the light progressed, Sango and Miroku slowly straightened up, relaxing slightly as Hotaru continued. To heal with the power of a planet of death....
Hesitantly, Miroku began, "There were these things she threw out. Another kugutsu. She called them nan-oh-ro-botos," he managed, trying to remember what had been said. "She called herself Viluy."
"Viluy?" Chibiusa repeated, lifting her head to look at Miroku, who stood beside her. "She was another one of the Witches 5. Ami-chan was hit by the nano-robots before, when the real Viluy attacked her at Mugen Academy. But..." she glanced at Haruka, who was standing just behind Hotaru, her fists clenched and face strained with worry. "As Mercury, she rejected them immediately. She was just out for a little while."
"Kugutsu aren't supposed to be as strong as the real thing," Sango murmured, holding Kirara a bit more tightly. "If they'd been rejected before, wouldn't they be rejected again? The...things?"
"I don't know," Chibiusa sighed helplessly, shaking her head. "Ami would know more, it happened to her. But if the kugutsu isn't really Viluy, maybe those nano-robots are something else. Maybe they just look like them, and she was saying they were real."
Kami was nodding silently, and Shippou shifted around to keep his balance. "Ne, Chibiusa," he asked the pink haired girl, "what's a nano-ro-bot?"
"A little machine," she told him, holding up her hands and showing him with her fingers. "A 'nano-robot' is just a really little one, and Viluy controlled them."
"So they're metal?"
That earned him a nod in reply, and he glanced at Miroku. "Kugutsu are made out of roots and dirt and stuff, right?"
Miroku blinked at the kitsune once, then a thoughtful look crossed his face. "An imitation of the real thing," he realized, following Shippou's train of thought and glancing again at the couch again. The light around Michiru's body had faded, and Haruka was leaning closer as Hotaru's treatment ended. "One that would take root in the body if hit."
"Seeds, houshi-sama? Without looking close, we wouldn't be able to tell...and they spread inside the walls at the store place."
"That is possible," he agreed, folding his arms and rocking back on his heels. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. Some kind of magic, mimicking the real attack. The kugutsu of Eudial had used fire; that was easy to replicate. Machines, he had discovered, were hard to create. At least he thought so, not having a clue as to how to make one. "Having some form of life on their own, they may not necessarily be rejected by the death of the kugutsu."
"I'm going to kill the bitch who did this," Haruka remarked, half to herself, half to anyone within hearing distance. As Hotaru leaned back on her knees, the older senshi leaned down, placing a hand on Michiru's cheek. Her own expression softened slightly, relaxing as she saw the pain that had been there was gone. "Arigatou, Hotaru-chan," she told her absently, bending down and scooping up Michiru again, gently. "I'm going to make sure she's all right," she finished, and as a thought crossed her mind, she turned back as she began to leave. "How's Sets?"
"Asleep," Kami replied quietly, clasping her hands together tightly. "Resting."
"Good," she acknowledged brusquely, then looked to where Hotaru still sat, head bowed. "Hotaru-chan, get some sleep yourself, ne? We don't need you keeling over on us too."
"Yes, Haruka-papa," Hotaru agreed quietly resting an arm of the coffee table beside her and closing her eyes as the leader of the Outer senshi left the room, heading upstairs.
"Hotaru-chan?" Kami began, taking a tentative step forward and reaching out a hand.
Softly, Hotaru sighed, "I'm fine," as she lifted her head, turning pale eyes on them. "What were you saying? I wasn't listening...."
"Just that it was an imitation," Chibiusa told her, biting her lip nervously and taking a step closer. "Kugutsu are made of earth and roots...it might have been seeds or something, an imitation of Viluy's old attack...."
Hotaru agreed silently, cupping her hands and looking at them. They were fine, small and tapered, callused where she held the Silence Glaive, practicing sparring with the halberd, to be more effective when needed. "They burrowed into her skin...Michiru-mama is strong. She fought it." Tensely, Hotaru ran a hand through her hair, letting her hand rest on her own shoulder for a moment as she sighed, then stood slowly. "I'm going to lie down, Chibiusa-chan, onee-san. Good night," she bowed slightly towards Sango and Miroku, turning and heading into the dimness of the hallway, lit only by a patch of light let in from the screen door. Soft footfalls sounded above them, and then faded into silence.
"She doesn't look so good," Shippou commented as he turned around to see Kami's face. She looked pensive, lips drawn thin and lavender eyes still trailing after the vanished form of her younger 'sister.' The usually gentle expression on her face was gone, replaced with something harder, more determined.
"I will be working tonight," Kami said, the others looking at her a bit oddly. "Something is not right with Hotaru-chan."
"We'd better call Kagome-chan and Inuyasha," Sango decided as the silence hung. "And the rest of your friends. They'll want to know about this."
"I'll call," Chibiusa announced, heading for her bookbag and rummaging until she found her own communicator. "It won't take long for everyone to get here."
After a moment, the sounds of Chibiusa contacting the senshi filled the living room, and the others settled down to wait.
Another Witches 5 kugutsu. Viluy only had one episode in the Sailormoon anime, but I liked her...she was the brainiac of the bunch, in both anime and manga formats. She faced off with Sailor Mercury, (so of course I had to liker her storyline...yay, more Ami-chan!) and in the manga, it seemed like Ami was able to reject the nanorobots and heal fairly quickly from them. Kugutsu-Viluy's 'nanorobots' are basically just an imitation. Though the kugutsu look, talk, and act like the real thing (or at least Karasu's memories of the real thing....) they are not...Viluy's nanorobots were metallic, computerized things and I doubt Karasu would spend that much time putting that much detail into her puppets. ^.~ I figured if she was basically a bunch of roots, then her imitation would be seeds.
Neptune's falling scene was a bit melodramatic, but...that's what popped into my head. The school bells tolling in the background. Hotaru has her healing abilities in both anime and manga formats of Sailormoon.
And one last thing that I've been somewhat neglecting- I always listen to music while I write, and for this particular chapter, the 'soundtrack' would be the background music to Rurouni Kenshin, particularly the Warrior's Suite for the battle sequence and Neptune's fall. If you have the music, pop it in the cd player (or put it on Winamp...) and play. Though I guess that information doesn't do too much good here at the end of the chapter now that you've read it. Ah well. ^.~
Til next storytime.
~Queen
Coming up next, in Chapter 19: Matches-
Kagome's frown was deepening as she looked at the neatly seperated quarters in front of her. Viluy's not having anything with her suggested haste, as though it was something thrown together at the last moment. But they were being watched, weren't they? Shouldn't she be prepared by now? "Like she was just attacking them to..." Kagome shook her head, trying to clear it. If they were distractions, what were they being distracted from?