Of This World And Yesterday
...the roots go down and the plant goes up and no one really knows how or why....
-Robert Fulghum, All I Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten
Chapter 25- Spiral
The battle was already in motion.
Sailor Moon's imminent arrival would not be enough to stall an attack. In fact, it made it safer, particularly since the youngest of the senshi often seemed like the weakest, the most easily removed from the fight. She was also alone, a little pink-clad form standing in front of her school with her own scepter in hand, currently pirouetting as a tangle of vines snaked their way through the air, ends reaching for her.
Sailor Chibimoon considered the woman across from her. Walking out of school as the bells began to ring, she'd been saying good-bye to her friends, insisting that she had to leave, since she was expecting to meet Hotaru soon. She didn't want to tell them that the spiraling cloud formations overhead sent the skin on the back of her neck prickling with negative energy, and that she hadn't eaten more than an apple at lunch due to nerves. No messages had made their way to her during the day, though she wasn't surprised. If anyone would be warned, it would be Usagi and the Inners, and probably Hotaru since it was her 'parents' doing the reconnaissance that morning and afternoon. She'd hear about things from Hotaru-chan as soon as they met up after classes were out.
Instead, the dark sensations crackling through the air manifested themselves in the figure across from her now. The bell had rung, she had walked out of the building, and then came an eruption of screams as heavy, jungle vines began to tear up through the pavement, scattering kids in several directions; some ran back into the school for safety, while others escaped across the parking lot in full flight. Sending Momo and Kyusuke back inside ahead of her, Chibiusa slipped away as they frantically headed back towards their classroom and shouting teachers. Sirens were splitting the air inside, since someone had set off the fire alarm. Chibimoon groaned internally. Getting a ring of firetrucks into this battle was not needed.
"Stop right there!"
The familiar figure paused where she stood, glancing bemusedly at the defiant little figure presenting herself as an opponent. Chibimoon, though, remembered exactly how her first battle with Tellu had happened. Before then, she had no weapon to call on...and then her own Moon Scepter had formed out of her Luna-P, and she had attacked for the first time. Her first Pink Sugar Heart Attack had shifted the Witch's form, and then a well placed Dead Scream had finished her off. The question this time was how to attack? Her powers had adapted and grown since their last battle with Nehelenia...though could she use a Meditation without a Kaleidoscope? Or should she try the same method as Sailor Moon herself? A Therapy Kiss?
"How dare you attack this school and place of learning! I am the pretty sailor suited soldier of love and justice...Sailor Chibimoon! And in the name of the future Moon, I will punish you!"
From the distance, Chibimoon could tell that the kugutsu of Tellu was exact- the same light green hair, pulled up into loose odango on the sides of her head, the same sharp green eyes and the same, flowerlike black dress. The same weapon. All duplicated exactly.
The voice that came from her mouth was also the same, light and somewhat sarcastic, haughty. "Don't you think you're a bit small for playing battle games, chibi? I, Tellu, at Level 404 Death Busters, shall defeat you."
She lifted up a hand, and Chibimoon tried to see exactly what she was commanding. A tallish plant stood behind her, rooted deeply into the ground, breaking up the grass of the lawn in front of the elementary school. Large, red blossoms had opened on the plant's top, while broad leaves had spread their way out around the base. It was unlike anything Chibimoon had ever seen, slender yet warped, twisted around the stalk where the leaves grew. Vaguely, it resembled the soul-stealing Tellun plants the real Tellu had once tried to sell, though the leaves were blank of the oddly geometric designs the Tellun had. At Tellu's signal, there was a faint brightness around the red petals at the top, and she saw ribbons of vines break out from the grass at her feet, trying to entangle her.
So she turned, bringing around her scepter and trying to choose the best place to hit. Tellu at this stage was too well protected. If she was going to use that overgrown houseplant as some kind of weapon first, then it would be that she had to remove from the fight.
What attack to try? Pink Sugar Heart Attack? Moon Gorgeous Meditation? Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss?
And where to aim?
Tellu would see her power up, and block. The plant itself...who knew what its capabilities were? If she shot at it, would it simply absorb the energy and feed on it?
A couple weeks ago in school, they had tried a science experiment. They planted seeds in styrofoam cups, watering them and keeping them in sunlight, watching them grow. Though it was important for the plant above the soil's surface to have light, the roots below needed to be watered to survive as well. Nutrients also came from below. If that were true, then would it be possible to destroy the plant at its source? Whatever she chose, it would have to be strong enough to get rid of the roots in one blow. Who knew when help would arrive?
She leapt into the air to avoid another tangle of roots from below, though one of them anticipated her, snaking up around her boot and tensing, sending her crashing down. It was only an instant before two more had climbed up around her arms, and she strained against them, trying to bring up her scepter, while keeping an eye on the smirking Tellu.
Then Chibimoon smirked back.
Cresting the corner that led to Chibiusa's school, Sailor Moon watched as the representative of the future Moon went crashing down to the ground, vines shooting forward and climbing over her. She barely had time to build a scream in her throat before she saw Chibimoon get her scepter in the air, then suddenly flip it over, intricate, decorated side down, and aim for the ground.
"Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"
Opalescent cherry light bloomed upward from where she knelt, a bubble of bright light encompassing the girl for a moment, washing out her form inside. Tellu had thrown her hands up over her face to ward it off and protect her eyes. Then she realized what was going on. Her own plan of sprouting up from below and attacking had just been anticipated. The more shallow roots were evidence of that, as the pink light of Chibimoon's attack shot up through them, tearing up the ground to the source.
She watched as it was enveloped in light, then crumbled to dust.
From where she was running forward, Sailor Moon was trying not to cheer. That was her daughter that just killed an evil, rampaging plant all by herself. But Tellu was still standing. Time for her to step in. The Moon Tier formed in her outstretched hands, and she took her place to the side, as Chibimoon stood, freed of her restraints.
"How dare you attack Sailor Chibimoon! For that, I will never forgive you!"
Raising her hand to the air, she prepared herself for battle, summoning her power for a straightforward blast.
"I'm getting tired of you senshi and your stupid speeches," Tellu sniffed, angling herself so that she could watch both Chibimoon and Moon at once. She swiveled between the two, then saw that Sailor Moon was still bringing her weapon to bear. "Mandragora Buster!"
Her blue eyes widened as she began to speak the words of her attack, abruptly cut off as Tellu's raced out ahead of her, still poised from the throw. She heard Chibimoon screaming at her, and somehow knew she was also preparing another blast of her own.
Black streamed across her vision, and she felt herself flung down and covered as the emerald energy of Tellu's flew overhead, skimming along the air she had just emptied. Tuxedo Kamen was half sprawled, half kneeling, trying to get to his feet and pull her up at the same time.
"Tuxedo Kamen-sama!" Sailor Moon sighed in relief, glad that Mamoru was there, though reminding herself not to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him for the last moment rescue. He was so good at those.
Chibimoon was ready. "Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"
Another stream of cherry colored light flowed outward from Sailor Chibimoon, striking Tellu with little warning, since she was still facing the rescued Sailor Moon. As a kugutsu, her reaction to being hit was similar to the real Tellu's; she began to change form, expanding and growing, grotesque, limbs contorting into new shapes, of dirt and vines, not an unusual element for the plant user of the original Witches 5.
Tuxedo Kamen stepped aside, letting Sailor Moon present herself to finish the fight.
With a flourish, she twirled the Moon Tier in her fingers, batonlike, then aimed. "Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"
Silver light mingled with pink, swirling together and spiraling upward, consuming the charging, pulsing remains of Tellu. There was a cracking sound from inside the thing, and the makeshift body crumbled, revealing a tiny wax figure inside, which snapped, clattering to the ground.
Tiny cheers sounded up behind them, and the three figures on the schoolyard lawn turned to see people crouching in the windows of the school, teachers and young students who were too curious to keep themselves from watching the battle.
Sailor Moon smiled and waved, earning a louder cheer, and several more heads to pop up from below the sill. She giggled and waved again.
Sighing, Chibimoon edged away from the school, trying to keep herself at an angle, and wishing Sailor Moon wouldn't do that...this was her school after all. She may be transformed, but getting recognized by her friends wouldn't help matters at this point. She knew most of the kids waving, and thought she saw Kyusuke and Momo in one of the classrooms.
Fortunately, Tuxedo Kamen also seemed to be aware of the attention. "We need to go...."
"Right," Sailor Moon agreed, winking one last time at their audience as she turned to leave. "We're headed towards the old Mugen site. Chibimoon, will anyone notice you missing?"
"Probably not," the pink haired girl shot back as she fell into step alongside the elder Moon and Tuxedo Kamen. "Everyone scattered when the attack began. Some took off across the parking lot and headed into the city. I'll say I went that way too. Hopefully my friends will believe...Hotaru!"
Chibimoon skid to a halt, then spun backward wildly. "Hotaru-chan! She'll be waiting for me! We have to go back for her!"
"She's probably already on her way towards Mugen," Sailor Moon mused as she slowed a step to wait for Chibimoon. "I contacted Uranus already. It won't take long for word to spread."
"The cloud formation in this area is dispelling," Tuxedo Kamen remarked as he glanced skyward, waiting for the two girls under his care. Quickly looking around the rest of the Tokyo's skyscape, he tried to see how many there were in total at the moment. Buildings rising slowly around them blocked some of the view, though there was another swirl not far away that matched the one above them; it looked unraveled, like a string cut loose. "If these are markers for the locations of the kugutsu, then at least one other has also been destroyed."
"Probably Uranus," Sailor Moon told the worried Chibimoon as she followed Tuxedo Kamen's gaze. "She and Neptune were fighting when I contacted her. They must have taken theirs out already."
Agreeing slowly, Chibimoon nodded, pigtails bobbing in the rising wind. If Uranus and Neptune were already with Hotaru, then things were probably fine. As Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen began to run again, she followed them, but for some reason couldn't shake the feeling that she needed to go back.
There was a certain calm in the steady motion of sweeping, of the end of the broom flicking over the stone surface of the courtyard, sending dust and a few stray green leaves into neat piles. The foul weather worried Grandpa Hino, the forbidding appearance of the sky giving him the creeps. Still, he shook it off, telling himself to be practical. He had guests to think of, and worrying the Higurashi's wasn't something he wanted to do. They'd come to his home a couple days ago, saying their shrine had been the victim of some graffiti and destruction, asking to stay there while it was cleaned up and some security was installed. A shame that a shrine could be attacked in such a way. They deserved a bit of peace after that, and he hoped that at the Hikawa Jinja, they'd find it for awhile.
Higurashi Jii-chan was sweeping not too far away, brushing is own side of the courtyard into a somewhat scattered pile of twigs and leaves and dust. It did make things easier, to have help. Even now, he could pick up a faint scent of oden beginning to waft from the house. Rei would cook every once in awhile, though usually he took care of the kitchen so she could study, do her own chores, meditate, or be with her friends. Mama Higurashi was an excellent cook he discovered, last night's dinner being savory and fine.
"This weather is making my bones ache," the other man called to him, rubbing his elbow as though pained. "You almost done, Hino?"
"I'll get the garbage in a minute," Grandpa sighed, glancing at the afternoon's work on the ground. At least he didn't have to make food as well. Rei would be on her way home by now, and Higurashi's grandson Souta. It was too bad the older grandchild, Kagome, decided to stay with friends instead. Rei was a bit older than Kagome would be, but it would have been interesting for the two of them to have met. "Still have to get the backyard, but this'll be enough for today. If it rains, this'll turn into a soggy mess."
"Ah yes, the rain, blessed from the heavens shall pour down on the earth and make everything grow...." Jii-chan began, making Grandpa grin wryly and look down at the ground. He'd almost forgotten how wrapped up old Higurashi could get in his spirits and folklore. Grandpa already felt like he knew as much 'history' about the Higurashi Jinja as he did his own. Jii-chan felt compelled to compare the two of them as soon as he noticed a difference.
In the warm humidity, the wind blew cold, snatching at two leaves and sending them skidding across the ground. With a sigh, Grandpa chased after them and caught them on the end of the broom, preparing to put them back into the rest of the pile. But before he could, he glanced over towards the shrine's entrance and saw the figure of a woman crest the steps, looking around and then stopping when she noticed the elderly men caring for the shrine.
"...rain is always beautiful, and the stormclouds overhead remind me of the time when I was a boy and my own grandfather told me about when...."
"Ojii-san!" the woman called out, interrupting Higurashi's rambling historical account. Grandpa Hino had already paused, holding his broom lightly and waiting for the woman to come closer. There was something eerie about her, the way she carried herself and dressed. High heels and a crimson halter top and pants, with some kind of black, pleated skirt on top of it. It was odd clothing for any time of year. "Is this the Hikawa Jinja?" the woman continued, walking forward with clicking heels. A small smile was playing on her red lips, and Grandpa took a step back as two canine forms appeared a length behind her, silently trotting forward on small paws. They were sleek and black, carrying themselves low to the ground as though hunting, with golden, glowing eyes and small snouts. Jackals? Grandpa shook his head. That was ridiculous. They had to be some breed of dogs, mutts maybe. "I'm looking for a Hino Rei. Is she in?"
"My granddaughter?" Grandpa Hino asked, frowning at the ruby eyed woman, who was still making her way across the courtyard, the two canines tailing her distantly. "Who are you?"
"An old friend," came the coy reply, and Grandpa and Jii-chan exchanged a wary look. The woman was unsettling. "We met a few months ago, at Mugen Academy, before it closed. Are you her grandfather?"
"I am."
In the woman's' hand was a staff, thin and of yellow gold, the tip twisted and holding a black star. She held it aloft with a venomous smile and said, "Then you'll do." Dark energy began to shimmer around the staff, setting it alight. "Fire Buster!"
The two elderly men were barely able to move before a column of fire blazed its way out from the woman's hands, sweeping in towards them and filling the air with the smell of char and ash, tinged with pungent sulfur.
"Fire Soul!"
A second wave of flames tore out from the wavering trees, blossoming out in front of the first column and rose high, swirling forward in a cross, catching the first blast in its own blaze, absorbing the fire but sending the guarding firewall spluttering and roaring upward as they clashed. Ribbons of fire snaked out from the base, as the Fire Buster began to crack through the makeshift defensive attack.
From where they stood, hands over eyes to protect them from the heat, Grandpa and Jii-chan watched a new figure emerge, standing on their side of the flames. Long, raven black hair fell around her waist, and she turned to face them, a look of alarm on her shadowed features. Over the roar of the fires, she called to them, "Are you all right?"
"Y...yes...." Grandpa called back, not sure if he should step away or see if the unexpected arrival needed help. What kind of help he could give, he didn't know, but there was an oddly familiar feel to the determined stance the girl was taking. "We're fine!"
"Then get into the house! Stay there until it's silent! Call the fire department as soon as it gets quiet! Now go inside!" the girl commanded, and when the two men hesitated, still stunned, she repeated, in a louder voice, "Now!"
As they turned and fled, Sailor Mars brought her attention back to fighting.
It hadn't taken her long to realize that one of the weather phenomenon in Juuban was centered over her home. Seeing that the clouds swirled darkly there, she transformed and rushed ahead, arriving in time to see Eudial throwing a Fire Buster straight at her and Kagome's grandfathers.
The Fire Buster finally broke through, weakened with its fight with her Fire Soul, and spluttered halfway across the jinja, burning out before it reached the house and the fleeing figures of two Shinto priests. As the blaze flickered down, Sailor Mars stepped into the gap in the flames, poised for battle.
"How dare you attack this sacred place, endangering people I care about! With the blessings of the planet of fire and war, Mars, Sailor Mars!"
The response was calm. Her opponent brought down her staff from the air, and Mars noticed that she was not alone. Two animals were with her, low to the ground and growling. More daimon-youkai hybrids, canids of some kind. Not wolves or hyenas, but not domesticated enough to be dogs. "And I, Eudial, at Level 78 Death Busters, shall defeat you."
Mars tensed as she prepared herself to take on another Fire Buster. She had successfully fought with the real Eudial before; Sailor Moon had finished her, but if this Eudial- more than likely another kugutsu- had similar strength levels, a Flame Sniper should be strong enough to finish her off, in theory.
The kugutsu lifted a hand instead.
At the order, the two jackals leapt forward at once from her sides, fangs bared as the sleekness of their bodies grew muscular, warping in the heat around them.
One Flame Sniper could not take out two daimon, coming in from different directions. It would fly between them at worst, or take out one at best. She switched directions.
"Fire Soul!"
Aimed at the ground, the stones of the courtyard exploded under the close range of her attack, shooting upward and cascading back down in a hail of melting rock, forcing the two canines to veer to the sides. Behind her, she heard a sudden screech, and as one of the jackals switched directions and aimed at her again.
Twin black streaks streamed past Sailor Mars, sharp talons extended.
"Phobos! Deimos!"
The recovered jackal swerved, yelping in sudden pain as the two crows teamed up against it, one pecking from behind as the other swept in towards the eyes, clawing and scratching to keep it away from their mistress.
Where was the other? Mars spun in time to see it leap upward through the last of the falling rubble, paws extended and fangs bared. She lifted a hand to aim, drew breath to shout. But she was beaten to it by a familiar voice.
"Venus Love-me Chain!"
A golden line of glowing hearts shot out, wrapping themselves around the neck of the snarling creature and suddenly jerking it backward with a yelp. Landing, it swiveled, and followed the leash back to the source, the blond haired and red ribboned Solider of Love, braced for a tug of war with the daimon.
"Dammit...." Eudial snarled, turning to see what had interrupted the fight. Seeing Venus' arrival, she began preparations for another attack, only to hear Mars' sharp voice cut through the smoky air.
"Eudial! I'm your opponent!"
A bow of fire had appeared in her hands, and an arrow of flame was strung through it, poised and aimed for the imitation of one of the Witches 5. With Phobos and Deimos handling one of the jackals on their own, and Venus there to occupy the second of the pair, that left Eudial free for her to finish. She was stronger now.
Black arches of light were crackling to life around the star tipped staff, laced with tongues of flame, strengthening as Eudial readied herself, turning back to Mars and assessing the situation. Her brows drew down over determined ruby eyes. Then she leapt forward, racing along diagonally as Mars reacted an instant later, keeping the arrow of fire ready for flight. The kugutsu knew where she was standing. Grandpa and the Higurashis were inside the house, and she was aware that her home was precariously close to the fighting area behind her. Eudial was was trying to get around her, closer to her home to apply pressure and distraction. Mars tried to keep herself ahead and in front of her home.
A Fire Buster against a Flame Sniper.
Fire against fire.
With the senshi separated, there was no Mercury or Neptune nearby to cancel out the flames with a watery strike. If she failed to deflect a volley from Eudial, both her grandfather and Kagome's family could be killed. She would have to watch for the moment Eudial was ready and attack first, to get through to her before their powers clashed.
Eudial suddenly stopped and turned, the energy around her staff built up and strong.
Still half a heartbeat behind, Mars' eyes widened as she watched Eudial spin and take aim. She leapt forward, beginning both her retaliation and defense. "Mars...."
"Fire Buster!"
"...Flame Sniper!"
Placing herself between her home and Eudial, she closed her eyes.
And released her arrow.
Sailor Venus felt the wave of heat before she realized what was happening across from where she stood in the jinja's courtyard. Light blossomed outward, and the scent of char intensified in the thick air around her, making it hard to breathe. Still struggling against the weight of the jackal daimon, both she and the creature flinched away as the two blasts of fire impacted each other, creating a fireball between the two antagonists. In the air, Venus saw two small, dark specks soar out of the red glow of fire, taking to the skies.
Eudial's column of flames met Mars' arrow at midpoint between them, colliding and creating a fireball that seemed uncertain which way it wanted to go. It was a long instant as the arrow disappeared into the center of the larger pillar of flame, leaving a churning trail of smoke in its wake. Venus' eyes watered as she tried to remember to hold on to her chain, though at the moment it was slack with lack of resistance. Her own opponent seemed as alarmed over the fire as she was, taking small, darting steps back and forth between the senshi holding it and the fireball consuming a quarter of the stone yard.
Then, the flames collapsed in on themselves, and from the center of the blaze, a single pointed ray shot out, the fire behind it curling around the arrow's fletching. The single arrow had absorbed Eudial's attack, and was now turned against her, piercing the false body's chest.
The kugutsu's scream was muted in the roar of the fire, sweeping through her body and reducing it to ashes.
In her hands, the Love-me Chain faded away as Venus watched Mars take a half-step forward, then sigh heavily in relief, shoulders slumping a bit as she cast a furtive glance at the building behind her. Faces were pressed in the windows, two elderly males and one middle aged female, wide eyed and with hands pressed to their mouths. Abruptly, Sailor Mars turned away, hoping they wouldn't look too closely at her face. Waves of heat still rippled the air, and she stepped forward uncertainly, glancing around. Tinges of fire flickered at the end of the stones, the humidity in the air dampening the grass and keeping it from alighting easily. Stopping, she looked at her feet and saw a small puddle of melted wax, black and red paint droplets staining it in colors. Looking up, she saw Phobos and Deimos begin to swing backward, claws out again as they dove for the remaining enemy, the single jackal that was now sniffing the ground frantically not far from where she stood.
It had come to a stop over a long, black char mark on the ground, an armslength from the lawn. As the two crows screeched inward, it snapped at them, standing on top of the ash and snarling upward at them, golden eyes glowing furiously.
"Mars! Call off your birds!"
Surprised, Mars blinked and looked at Sailor Venus as she hurried over, watching the canine defending itself. She frowned at the soldier of Love and lifted a hand. With the kugutsu reduced to ash and wax, this wouldn't take long to complete. "What? I'm going to finish it off now, before it hurts anyone."
"There were two of them when I got here, right?" Venus pressed, lips drawing thin as she looked at the youkai creature fighting the crows.
"Yes, why?" Mars sighed in irritation.
"I think you just obliterated that one's mate."
Another snarl and a yelp of pain sounded as wings flapped in the jackal's eyes, while a sharp beak pecked at a muscular shoulder. Phobos darted away into the air as Deimos circled around and out of the way, preparing for another run at the creature. In the fireball's blaze, the birds had escaped upward. Though the daimon-youkai did not have the ability to take to the air, it ran. The intensity of the flames had overtaken it, swallowing it as they warred.
And all that was left was ash.
"Phobos! Deimos! To me!" Sailor Mars lifted her hands as she called to them, and silently, they stopped their attack, gliding to the red clad senshi and alighting on her wrist and shoulder, flapping their wings and cawing as they flicked their gazes between senshi Mars and the growling enemy that stood over the remains of her partner. Mars glanced at Venus, and saw how pale she looked. "We can't just let it roam around. It'll hurt someone. It is a daimon."
"I know..." Venus replied, softly but with worry. "It can't live without its mate...." She stepped forward slightly, raising her fingers to her lips as she prepared herself for an attack. "I...I'll do it."
There was a half start and another yelp from the jackal, ending in a snarl as the blonde hesitated, then took a breath. "Venus..."
Instinctively, the youkai knew it was under attack, and leapt forward to fight.
"...Love and Beauty Shock."
Golden light struck the creature, sending it reeling backward, collapsing as a shudder rippled through its body. It writhed for a moment, then, on the edge of the ash, lay still.
"It really doesn't seem fair."
Mars looked at Venus as she straightened up. "Letting something like that roam around Tokyo to kill people? Venus, we need to get going. Grandpa's going to come out any second. I don't want to take any chances."
"I know. We're going to Mugen," Venus told her as they turned, falling into step and picking up stride as the two crows accompanied them overhead, rising on the magically warmed currents of wind. "But it still doesn't seem fair."
"You're worried about a couple of daimon?"
Venus glanced at her and shrugged noncommittally as they leapt down the steps, heading into Juuban. The spiral of clouds overhead unwound, the blackness fading into a sickly grey, swirling into the rest of the cloudcover. Softly, under her breath, Venus replied, "No. I was worried about a couple of youkai...."
Sorry this chapter didn't pick up right where chapter 24 left off- remember how fast everything is happening at this point. Miroku and Sango on Kirara are still en route to Hotaru's school. Ah, but will she be able to help when they get there? dodges even more tomatoes I know, I'm being cruel, aren't I? Don't worry, they're back next chapter.
I've tried to keep a balance between Inuyasha and Sailormoon universes in the fic- Inuyasha and Kagome got their own chapter a couple chapters back, and the way this worked out, this was the senshi's turn for their own chapter- though Jii-chan made a cameo, didn't he?
Manga Chibimoon is also stronger than anime Chibimoon. 'Pink Sugar Heart Attack' actually damages stuff in the manga, where it's almost a joke in the anime. Grandpa Hino also looks different- he's not the weird looking eechi chibi-man like in the anime.
So til next storytime.
~Queen
Coming up next,in Chapter 26: Breathe-
"Saturn, I need your help." He lifted his eyes from Sango's slack face to look at the empty expression on the senshi's. "Saturn, Sango was hurt the way Neptune was yesterday. Another kugutsu of Viluy appeared, and we fought her. She's not looking very well..." he mananged, surprised at how thick his voice sounded. He squeezed his eyes shut against the encroaching blackness in his vision, and tried to keep himself awake....