Mysterious Enemies Lurk in the Shadows. The Future Holds New Surprises.
"So," Sulfir started slowly, leaning casually on a large rock, "What do you know Alexandrite?"
"What are we to do now?" Lapis asked.
"What are your orders?" Lazuli asked as well, her voice the same as her twins. Despite being around them for quite some time, their uncanny similarities, being mirror images of each other, still made him shudder at times.
Collecting himself, he began smoothly, "Well, Blaze is definitely here as are her reinforcements. I can feel their presences; however the actual girls, as I assume them to be Sailor Senshi, themselves are masked very well so I cannot pick them out of a crowd. We need to scour the city for any unusual people that just arrived. Sneaking into the palace is risky but could be invaluable. Tourmaline, Sailor Blaze does not know you, does she?"
The pink-haired girl shook her head. "I have never seen her and she has never seen me, but she could sense me, I'm sure," Tourmaline answered softly.
"I can count on you, then, to get in and collect information?" he asked, raising a thin eyebrow.
She nodded, "I would need an appropriate disguise."
"A guard would be good," Lazuli suggested.
"Yes, a guard," Lapis echoed.
Another shiver ran down Alexandrite's spine.
"How about me?" Sulfir demanded, "What can I do?"
"You're too obtrusive Sulfir," Alexandrite answered, "Blaze would recognize you in a moment. I need you to check hotels for new arrivals within the last day. I am almost certain that the girls are not staying at the Crystal Palace." Before the blond could retort he firmly turned his attention to the twins, ignoring Sulfir's angry glare, "Lapis and Lazuli, you should stay separate from each other as the pair of you would attract attention looking so much alike. Wander the streets and look for anything unusual. Report back this evening."
"How about you? What will you be doing Alexandrite?" Sulfir asked slyly.
"I will be doing the same as Lazuli and Lapis," he answered calmly, refusing to be provoked.
"So you will be needing disguises?" Lazuli asked.
"Yes," Lapis answered then listed, "School uniform for Alexandrite, guard's uniform for Tourmaline, something business-like for Sulfir, and casual for you and I."
Sulfir grimaced as her usual uniform was replaced by a woman's sport coat and short skirt to match.
Asatsuyu and Kenjou stood quietly in front of a classroom full of girls all clothed in brown uniforms. How boring. They could have been more creative with colors. Asatsuyu thought idly.
At last the teacher began, "We have two new students with us today, both transferred here from the southern part of Tokyo. This is Kaiou Kenko and her sister Kaiou Asagao. Please welcome them into our class nicely." She paused and turned to the sisters, "Please sit down in those desks behind Murasaki and Sumiko."
Both Kenjou and Asatsuyu obeyed. As they situated themselves, the brunette girl Sumiko turned back to them and asked quietly, excitement dancing in her eyes, "Are you two at all related to that amazing violinist Kaiou Michiru?"
Kenjou glanced blankly at Asatsuyu, who looked nervous. The older girl answered slowly, "No, but people do tend to think that frequently. I am a fan of her music though." Beside her Asatsuyu heaved a sigh of relief.
"Kenko! Sumiko!" The teacher snapped, "Pay attention! The lesson is beginning. Now everyone take out your math books. We will start today with some work on quadratics. I would like to see all the problems on page forty-two done in fifteen minutes."
All of the girls immediately put their pencils to paper and worked away. Asatsuyu's tongue protruded from the corner of her mouth as she tried her hardest to work out the problems that were a little beyond her. Kenjou, on the other hand, knew the material from long ago and plugged through each exercise absently, her mind on other things. Why are we in school now when we could be training? I don't understand this. It's not like anyone is out looking for us so we need to blend in…
Hidenka sat munching on her lunch with her nose in a book. She knew better than to sit near Korai, because there were not supposed to know each other already. Quickly glancing at Korai, she noticed her fellow senshi eating with a handful of other quiet students, all scribbling on homework while they ate.
Just then, a group of chatty girls sat at Hidenka's end of the table, drawing her attention back to her own book. After settling in, one called out to her. "Hoonoko!" she said brightly, "Where did you say you were from?"
Caught off guard, she searched her brain wildly for a location, "Kobe," she said quickly, "But I've been in the Tokyo area for a while before transferring here."
"Where did you transfer from," another girl asked eagerly as she listened to her small musical player, tiny ear-speaker clipped onto her left ear.
"TA," she responded without a thought, and then regretted her answer.
"You mean that snotty other private school for girls on the other side of the city?" a third girl commented without thinking.
"Hana!" the first girl exclaimed.
"I—" Hana stuttered.
"No really," Hidenka interrupted, "It's okay. That's why I left. It wanted a school that values education more than trends." She smiled inwardly. That couldn't have been more untrue. She loved following in her mother's footsteps at TA.
"Right idea," the first girl nodded and ate some of her tempura. After swallowing, she continued, "This is one of the best girls' schools in the area. You cannot go wrong."
"As long as your parents can pay for it," a raven-haired girl called flippantly from the other end of the table.
"Hush Emi!" someone scolded, "Stop flaunting your money. It gets obnoxious."
"Aren't all of you right?" Emi retorted loftily.
"You'll get used to Emi, she's alright," the girl next to Hidenka reassured her quietly.
"Don't worry Shiori," she replied, "I don't mind people like that. I'm used to them. TA had more than enough of them."
"Hmm," she pondered, "That Tokino Raiko is new today too. How strange to get two new students in one day. I wonder where she is from."
"I heard Hokkaido," Hana suggested, "She doesn't talk much in my class at all."
"Where in Hokkaido?"
"I'm not sure."
"It's really cold up there, isn't it?"
"Noriko!" the teacher scolded, "Just because this is your first day does not mean you can be disruptive. Leave Tei alone, as I can see she wants to be a good student even if you do not.
"Yes Asami-sensei," Norikiken answered grudgingly.
As soon as they reached partner work time, the brunette immediately buddied up with Teisei, pushing her desk up to the green-haired girl's.
Not looking at the brunette, Teisei started, "You know, I didn't know you very well before we moved. Why are you suddenly so friendly?"
"It's..." Norikuken started slowly, searching for words, "It is so refreshing to see a familiar face."
"You should be making other friends," Teisei retorted dully, pulling out the worksheet they were to work on, not that they really had to anyway.
"But I'm afraid I won't be able to," she protested, also taking out her work, "Besides, I hardly know you."
Teisei groaned inwardly. Her comrade did not seem to understand that they had to act out of character so as to blend in. It was odd for two transfer students to know each other.
"Anyway, this worksheet," she started, turning her attention on their work. Unlike Teisei who had not covered the material before, Norikiken flew through the assignment then dictated quietly to Teisei.
"You didn't have to do that, you know," the younger girls said in a low voice once Norikiken had finished, "We wouldn't have to do any of this if we didn't want to."
"I don't see any reason for Blaze-sama to put us in schools for now, other than keeping our skills up," she shrugged, "So we might as well make the best of it. I helped you because it's pointless to make you struggle over something you have no chance of knowing."
Teisei grinned, "Thanks then!"
The pair proceeded to chat quietly about their favorite musicians from their past in low voices so none of the other students would suspect that the pair was not from their time.
"Neko-chan!" Musha grumbled as she peered up from her book, "Could you stop humming that It is really hard to work with you doing that."
"Oh," Koneko said and stopped, "Gomen."
A moment later she started humming absently again.
"Neko!" Musha snapped, closing her book abruptly to glare hard at the mint-haired girl.
"Keika-chan," a girl near them by the name of Unagi said sweetly as Koneko ceased her humming again, "Take it easy on her, she is just as new to this school as you are."
Mush grumbled and flipped her book open again, reading and ignoring them.
"So Neko-chan," Unagi started calmly, "What were you humming again? It sounded vaguely familiar."
"C'est la Vie, by Aino Minako," Koneko answered in her soft, sweet voice.
"C'est la Vie?" a boy near them blurted, "That song is old."
"Can it Yosuke!" Unagi scolded, the boy smirked and returned to his work, "I really like that song too. Aino Minako is great, even if she isn't super popular any more."
"Yea," Koneko said regretfully. She isn't? As her mind wandered, she heard a door shut into the hallway and footsteps echoing down it. Koneko absently listened to the noise as an odd feeling welled up in her chest.
"You know, Ryo Amiko, what I need to talk to you about," an authoritative voice of a male teacher echoed down the hallway.
The feeling in Koneko's chest worsened as she comprehended what she heard. Amiko? She transferred here?
The teacher continued, "You have been--"
Koneko immediately covered her ears as the throbbing in her chest increased to an unbearable level. Only after the sound was completely shut out, did the feeling begin to recede. After it was completely gone, she lowered her hands from her ears.
"Neko-chan?" Unagi asked, "What was that about?"
"Um," she stammered then lied, "I heard and odd buzzing in my ears and I thought covering them might help."
"Oh?" Yosuke asked confused.
Mush shot her a suspicious glare.
Tonda exited the school at the end of the day to find Chibi already there waiting for her.
When she met up with the smaller girl and they began to walk together, she absently tugged a the rose-colored collar of her shirt. "I need to get out of this uniform," she whined, "It is so feminine and pink."
Chibi didn't respond, she only struck up a new topic. "You look different than yesterday," she observed.
"What?" Tonda stammered.
"You look maybe a year older than you did yesterday," she clarified quietly, "It might be the time travel."
"You don't look any older," Tonda argued, "I can't believe it would only be me."
"Just look at the others at the meeting tonight," Chibi suggested, "I'm sure at least someone else had the same thing happen."
"Maybe..." she pondered, "I still find it hard to believe."
"This is all hard to believe," Chibi observed as they halted at a bust stop, waiting for a bus to take them back to their hotel before they proceeded to the Crystal Palace.
By the corner of the building behind them, an inconspicuous woman with sparkling blue hair and amber eyes watched them, trying to catch their conversation. These two somehow interested her.
After a quiet dinner off in an obscure corner of the Crystal Palace, Sailor Blaze found yet another inconspicuous place for the girls to spar in. While transformed they looked completely different than their disguised selves.
When the ten girls were tired and worn out for the night, the red soldier from the future spoke loudly, "Unfortunately, things are not as simple as we thought."
The girls silenced immediately and turned their attention to Sailor Blaze.
"We have company," she said slowly, "but do not let that unnerve you too much, and do not go looking for them. They are dangerous and none of you yet have the power to face them. Be on your guard, but do not try to battle them. I fear their goal is to kill you all before you get to the future."
"They're from the future?" Mercury blurted.
"We're not supposed to be worried?" Uranus muttered.
"Who are they?" Neptune asked.
"How did they get here? Have they found us?" Earth asked slowly and suspiciously over the other questions.
Sailor Blaze sighed inwardly but did her best to appear confident, "Yes, they are from the future, they followed me to this time. They are some of Chaos' top minions, yet they do not know exactly where you are or who you are yet, so do your best to fit in. For no reason, however, should you seek any of them out."
"Not yet at least," Sailor Saturn commented.
Blaze ignored her and continued, "That being said, get yourselves back to your hotels as inconspicuously as you can."
Each girl returned to her disguised appearance and trickled from the hall. Before Sailor Mars could do the same, Blaze called to her, "Hidenka, come over here for a moment."
The salmon-haired girl nodded and walked slowly towards the woman.
"Is your sixth sense still weak?" Sailor Blaze asked flatly.
Casting her eyes to the ground, she nodded.
Blaze sighed, "As I feared. You absolutely much improve your sense. This new threat of Chaos' generals requires your skills more than anything before. I will not be here with you much longer so you need to be able to watch for them, never off guard."
"But I can't," Mars protested.
"Yes you can," Sailor Blaze answered firmly, "You have not fine-tuned your skills yet. Meditate at least an hour each day in your free time. Practice."
The girl nodded shamefully, still staring at her shoes.
"Now get back to your hotel," she concluded.
Sailor Mars quickly un-transformed and slunk back to her hotel.
