Jirian hummed the tune she'd written that day as she walked to her fencing
class, swinging her duffle bag, her sword strapped onto her back. So
engrossed was she in her humming, that she failed to notice the person in
shadow following close behind her. Closer and closer the person crept and a
hand began to descend...
"Don't even try it, Yaten," the American said, turning her head a little. The silver-haired man laughed a little, stepping up beside her.
"Damn. I thought you hadn't noticed me."
"I didn't. Until you came out of the trees." She pointed to the ground where their shadows stretched out long in front of them. Yaten scratched his head then laughed again.
"You're pretty observant."
"I try my hardest." Jirian glanced over at him, still swinging her duffle bag. "Is there something you wanted?"
"Well, yes, actually. It was about that date. I was wondering if—"
"Hold that thought." Jirian suddenly shoved her dark blue bag into the man's hands, pulling her sword off of her back.
"Hey, whoa! If you didn't want to go out, all you had to do was say--!!" Yaten started. But instead of advancing on him, the woman had turned around and was walking to a group that was behind them.
There were about five boys, all looking a little older. They had a younger girl cornered and were pushing her around as if she were some kind of volleyball. Yaten winced when he heard the sharp CRACK! of the flat side of Jirian's sword coming into contact with their arms, legs, and back of the neck. The boys yelped in surprise, their game stopping.
"The next one of you that touches her gets a LOT more than a hit on the back of the knee," Jirian snarled, standing in front of the terrified girl, her sword held out in front of her. The boys exchanged glances then turned and bolted for their lives. "That's what I thought." She smiled and turned to the girl, putting her fencing sword back into its sheath on her back. "You alright?"
"H-hai. Thank you for helping me." She smiled at Jirian and she smiled brightly back, helping her pick up her fallen books.
"It was no trouble." The girl waved and ran off.
"That was a pretty nice thing you did, Jirian-san," Yaten remarked, stepping up behind her.
"I don't allow bullying of any kind in my presence," she replied, turned and taking her bag from the man.
"That makes sense. Well, anyway, about that date—"
"Oh no! I'm late for fencing! I'll talk to you later, Yaten!" The silver- haired man slumped when he saw the American was already halfway down the sidewalk.
"I'll never get that date!"
"Fresh meat," Higashi laughed to himself, watching the girl run away from Jirian. He tracked her easily, dropping in front of her when she entered a deserted park. She fell back with a cry, her purpley eyes wide with fright.
"W-who are you?! What do you want?!"
"Relax, my dear," Higashi said, withdrawing a black crystal from his pocket. "It's not you I want per say. I just need your body for a little while."
The girl's scream was lost in a sudden flutter of birds rising from the trees.
"Point!" Jirian stepped back, removing her helmet and shaking out her blonde hair. She shook hands with the girl who had lost to her then went over to sit on the bench while she waited for her next turn.
"Jirian-san." The woman jumped to her feet as the sensei of the class walked over to her. She bowed low.
"Hai, sensei?"
"I'm quite impressed with your recent advancement. I want you to know that I'm seriously considering in nominating you for the tournament to be held in a few weeks."
"Really?! That would be great!" Jirian cried, her blue eyes bright with excitement. "I-I mean...thank you, sensei," she corrected, bowing again. The older man laughed, clapping a hand on her shoulder.
"It's alright to be excited, Jirian-san. Just keep up the good work and you'll be in, no problem. I wouldn't be surprised if you took top marks." He threw her a wink before turning and going back over to his seat to watch the next match.
"Wow! Top marks! I can't WAIT to tell Peiti and Usagi! Jirian said excitedly to herself as she walked out into the hall to get a drink from the fountain. Once she was finished, she leaned back against the wall beside it, daydreaming a little. 'I wonder what Yaten will think...' she thought, pink tingeing her normally pale cheeks.
The high-pitched, terrified scream of a woman shattered her pleasant dream.
"N-nani?" She dashed to the door of the fencing gallery, throwing it back.
The younger girl from earlier was standing in the center of the room, her purple eyes far-away and glassy. The students from the fencing class were spread out in a wide circle around her, unconscious in large puddles of water. When Jirian entered the room, she turned her glassy gaze on her, raising a hand.
"What are you doing?!" A large wave of water suddenly rose up in front of her, forcing her to leap sideway. Still, it hit her side, knocking her against the wall.
"STAR SENSITIVE INFERNO!" The girl was engulfed in a blinding light and she screamed, falling to her knees. Jirian's eyes went wide and she ran forward.
"NO! You'll hurt—AHHH!" Her sentence ended in a scream as a huge wave of water slammed into her body, wrapping itself around her. She gurgled, fighting against the cold, wet coffin, but she began to feel heavy and her head dropped...
"...princess..."
"Hmm?"
"Princess Oberon...you can't give up yet...your task is not yet over...you must continue to fight..."
"I can't...the water is so heavy...I can't breathe..."
"Open your eyes, Princess Oberon. See your destiny..."
Slowly, Jirian's blue eyes opened. Swimming before her in the frigid, murky waters was a glowing, silver sword.
"Take it in your hand...and speak the words of power..."
Feeling as if someone else were controlling her body, Jirian's hand stretched out and her fingers closed around the sapphire-set handle. Unbidden, the words rose to her lips:
"OBERON CRYSTAL POWER! MAKE UP!" The wave broke and a bright light fell upon the area. When it cleared, a scout stood there, head bowed, eyes closed.
A soft wind blew through the area, making the long silver streamers of her bow flap gently. The bands of her gloves had disappeared and the bow on the front of her fuku was now longer and darker. Slowly, she raised her head, the silver of her tiara flashing in the light from the windows. The diamond on her choker flashed, throwing rainbows of color over the walls and creating splashes of color in the air as the watery mist fell over the room.
"I am Sailor Oberon. Protector of the weak and helpless, defender of the fragile maidens. And I will not let you hurt anyone else!" She raised her hand in the air and a blast of wind rolled through the room, knocking the possessed girl back. A sword flashed into being, gently falling into Oberon's extended hand. "OBERON HAILING WIND!"
The blinding flash washed over the girl and she screamed once. When it cleared, she was lying facedown on a mat, a smoky crystal resting beside her hand. Jirian lowered her silver sword, her blue eyes wide.
"Look out!" She was suddenly knocked aside as a knife whizzed through the air. It struck the spot she had been moments before. The silver-haired woman sprawled out on top of her looked VERY familiar. With a start, she realized it was one of the women she'd seen in an earlier fight with Nishi.
"Damn you!" Both women looked up to see Higashi floating there, face twisted in fury. The crystal floated off of the floor and into his waiting hand. "Don't think I'm finished with you, Oberon! Or your partner!" His cloak snapped around him and he was gone.
"Oberon!" Callisto came running up in an altered uniform, similar to Oberon's. "Are you alright?"
"Aside from someone trying to kill me, yes." Realizing the silver haired senshi was nowhere to be seen, she looked around, but didn't see her.
"What is going on with these people trying to kill us? Or rather you..."
"Nani?"
"That man...he said his master wanted me, but not you...What is going on?"
"You think I know? Come on, we need to tell Puck and Elara."
"Let me get this straight. This general tried to capture you, Peiti and kill you, Jirian?"
"Hai. Only we don't know why."
Elara frowned. "Well, we know one thing, Jirian is being considered disposable by the enemy, but not Peiti. We can use that."
"How?"
"Decoy," Puck said around his mouthful of seeds. Peiti frowned.
"Yes, I suppose. But why would this general's master want me? Jirian is much more powerful than I."
"Actually you're about even. Maybe a bit more, but not much. Don't worry, Peiti. We'll think of something." A knock on their door made Peiti and Jirian start.
"Hai? Come in." Usagi came in.
"Are you two alright? When you got home from your clubs, you seemed a little tired. Mama had me bring up some snacks."
"Thanks, Usagi. Fencing and archery is hard work." Jirian smiled. "Its a good thing, too, otherwise we'd get fat."
"Yeah. Maybe that's what you need, Usagi! A club that makes you work hard." Peiti grinned.
"You two are being mean!"
"Oh, come on. We'll share the snacks with you."
"Yay!" The girls laughed and sat down to enjoy the food. Jirian and Peiti were both still thinking about the problem with the general...
"Idiot!" Higashi went flying across the room, slamming hard into the opposite wall and falling to the floor.
"Please...my lord..."
"Instead of disposing of them, you gave them a chance to become even more powerful!" Magasasu advanced on the fallen general, swirls of smoke curling around him.
"My lord, please," Higashi said, getting to his knees. "I will dispose of the blonde and bring the other to you. I will go myself this time. Neither of them will get away."
"If you had not served me well before the fall of our kingdom, Higashi, I would have sent you back to the darkness a long time ago. This is your very last chance. If you fail, by the time I'm through with you, you will pray for the eternal darkness. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, my lord. And I promise you: this time, I will succeed."
"Don't even try it, Yaten," the American said, turning her head a little. The silver-haired man laughed a little, stepping up beside her.
"Damn. I thought you hadn't noticed me."
"I didn't. Until you came out of the trees." She pointed to the ground where their shadows stretched out long in front of them. Yaten scratched his head then laughed again.
"You're pretty observant."
"I try my hardest." Jirian glanced over at him, still swinging her duffle bag. "Is there something you wanted?"
"Well, yes, actually. It was about that date. I was wondering if—"
"Hold that thought." Jirian suddenly shoved her dark blue bag into the man's hands, pulling her sword off of her back.
"Hey, whoa! If you didn't want to go out, all you had to do was say--!!" Yaten started. But instead of advancing on him, the woman had turned around and was walking to a group that was behind them.
There were about five boys, all looking a little older. They had a younger girl cornered and were pushing her around as if she were some kind of volleyball. Yaten winced when he heard the sharp CRACK! of the flat side of Jirian's sword coming into contact with their arms, legs, and back of the neck. The boys yelped in surprise, their game stopping.
"The next one of you that touches her gets a LOT more than a hit on the back of the knee," Jirian snarled, standing in front of the terrified girl, her sword held out in front of her. The boys exchanged glances then turned and bolted for their lives. "That's what I thought." She smiled and turned to the girl, putting her fencing sword back into its sheath on her back. "You alright?"
"H-hai. Thank you for helping me." She smiled at Jirian and she smiled brightly back, helping her pick up her fallen books.
"It was no trouble." The girl waved and ran off.
"That was a pretty nice thing you did, Jirian-san," Yaten remarked, stepping up behind her.
"I don't allow bullying of any kind in my presence," she replied, turned and taking her bag from the man.
"That makes sense. Well, anyway, about that date—"
"Oh no! I'm late for fencing! I'll talk to you later, Yaten!" The silver- haired man slumped when he saw the American was already halfway down the sidewalk.
"I'll never get that date!"
"Fresh meat," Higashi laughed to himself, watching the girl run away from Jirian. He tracked her easily, dropping in front of her when she entered a deserted park. She fell back with a cry, her purpley eyes wide with fright.
"W-who are you?! What do you want?!"
"Relax, my dear," Higashi said, withdrawing a black crystal from his pocket. "It's not you I want per say. I just need your body for a little while."
The girl's scream was lost in a sudden flutter of birds rising from the trees.
"Point!" Jirian stepped back, removing her helmet and shaking out her blonde hair. She shook hands with the girl who had lost to her then went over to sit on the bench while she waited for her next turn.
"Jirian-san." The woman jumped to her feet as the sensei of the class walked over to her. She bowed low.
"Hai, sensei?"
"I'm quite impressed with your recent advancement. I want you to know that I'm seriously considering in nominating you for the tournament to be held in a few weeks."
"Really?! That would be great!" Jirian cried, her blue eyes bright with excitement. "I-I mean...thank you, sensei," she corrected, bowing again. The older man laughed, clapping a hand on her shoulder.
"It's alright to be excited, Jirian-san. Just keep up the good work and you'll be in, no problem. I wouldn't be surprised if you took top marks." He threw her a wink before turning and going back over to his seat to watch the next match.
"Wow! Top marks! I can't WAIT to tell Peiti and Usagi! Jirian said excitedly to herself as she walked out into the hall to get a drink from the fountain. Once she was finished, she leaned back against the wall beside it, daydreaming a little. 'I wonder what Yaten will think...' she thought, pink tingeing her normally pale cheeks.
The high-pitched, terrified scream of a woman shattered her pleasant dream.
"N-nani?" She dashed to the door of the fencing gallery, throwing it back.
The younger girl from earlier was standing in the center of the room, her purple eyes far-away and glassy. The students from the fencing class were spread out in a wide circle around her, unconscious in large puddles of water. When Jirian entered the room, she turned her glassy gaze on her, raising a hand.
"What are you doing?!" A large wave of water suddenly rose up in front of her, forcing her to leap sideway. Still, it hit her side, knocking her against the wall.
"STAR SENSITIVE INFERNO!" The girl was engulfed in a blinding light and she screamed, falling to her knees. Jirian's eyes went wide and she ran forward.
"NO! You'll hurt—AHHH!" Her sentence ended in a scream as a huge wave of water slammed into her body, wrapping itself around her. She gurgled, fighting against the cold, wet coffin, but she began to feel heavy and her head dropped...
"...princess..."
"Hmm?"
"Princess Oberon...you can't give up yet...your task is not yet over...you must continue to fight..."
"I can't...the water is so heavy...I can't breathe..."
"Open your eyes, Princess Oberon. See your destiny..."
Slowly, Jirian's blue eyes opened. Swimming before her in the frigid, murky waters was a glowing, silver sword.
"Take it in your hand...and speak the words of power..."
Feeling as if someone else were controlling her body, Jirian's hand stretched out and her fingers closed around the sapphire-set handle. Unbidden, the words rose to her lips:
"OBERON CRYSTAL POWER! MAKE UP!" The wave broke and a bright light fell upon the area. When it cleared, a scout stood there, head bowed, eyes closed.
A soft wind blew through the area, making the long silver streamers of her bow flap gently. The bands of her gloves had disappeared and the bow on the front of her fuku was now longer and darker. Slowly, she raised her head, the silver of her tiara flashing in the light from the windows. The diamond on her choker flashed, throwing rainbows of color over the walls and creating splashes of color in the air as the watery mist fell over the room.
"I am Sailor Oberon. Protector of the weak and helpless, defender of the fragile maidens. And I will not let you hurt anyone else!" She raised her hand in the air and a blast of wind rolled through the room, knocking the possessed girl back. A sword flashed into being, gently falling into Oberon's extended hand. "OBERON HAILING WIND!"
The blinding flash washed over the girl and she screamed once. When it cleared, she was lying facedown on a mat, a smoky crystal resting beside her hand. Jirian lowered her silver sword, her blue eyes wide.
"Look out!" She was suddenly knocked aside as a knife whizzed through the air. It struck the spot she had been moments before. The silver-haired woman sprawled out on top of her looked VERY familiar. With a start, she realized it was one of the women she'd seen in an earlier fight with Nishi.
"Damn you!" Both women looked up to see Higashi floating there, face twisted in fury. The crystal floated off of the floor and into his waiting hand. "Don't think I'm finished with you, Oberon! Or your partner!" His cloak snapped around him and he was gone.
"Oberon!" Callisto came running up in an altered uniform, similar to Oberon's. "Are you alright?"
"Aside from someone trying to kill me, yes." Realizing the silver haired senshi was nowhere to be seen, she looked around, but didn't see her.
"What is going on with these people trying to kill us? Or rather you..."
"Nani?"
"That man...he said his master wanted me, but not you...What is going on?"
"You think I know? Come on, we need to tell Puck and Elara."
"Let me get this straight. This general tried to capture you, Peiti and kill you, Jirian?"
"Hai. Only we don't know why."
Elara frowned. "Well, we know one thing, Jirian is being considered disposable by the enemy, but not Peiti. We can use that."
"How?"
"Decoy," Puck said around his mouthful of seeds. Peiti frowned.
"Yes, I suppose. But why would this general's master want me? Jirian is much more powerful than I."
"Actually you're about even. Maybe a bit more, but not much. Don't worry, Peiti. We'll think of something." A knock on their door made Peiti and Jirian start.
"Hai? Come in." Usagi came in.
"Are you two alright? When you got home from your clubs, you seemed a little tired. Mama had me bring up some snacks."
"Thanks, Usagi. Fencing and archery is hard work." Jirian smiled. "Its a good thing, too, otherwise we'd get fat."
"Yeah. Maybe that's what you need, Usagi! A club that makes you work hard." Peiti grinned.
"You two are being mean!"
"Oh, come on. We'll share the snacks with you."
"Yay!" The girls laughed and sat down to enjoy the food. Jirian and Peiti were both still thinking about the problem with the general...
"Idiot!" Higashi went flying across the room, slamming hard into the opposite wall and falling to the floor.
"Please...my lord..."
"Instead of disposing of them, you gave them a chance to become even more powerful!" Magasasu advanced on the fallen general, swirls of smoke curling around him.
"My lord, please," Higashi said, getting to his knees. "I will dispose of the blonde and bring the other to you. I will go myself this time. Neither of them will get away."
"If you had not served me well before the fall of our kingdom, Higashi, I would have sent you back to the darkness a long time ago. This is your very last chance. If you fail, by the time I'm through with you, you will pray for the eternal darkness. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, my lord. And I promise you: this time, I will succeed."