The Masquerade Continues. First Encounters with Enemies!
Three days had passed with the girls continuing to attend school each day. Between school and their training each evening, they were left with little energy for their free time. Hidenka flopped down on her bed, exhausted, after another hard day of training. Korai followed her into the room shortly after, sitting stiffly on the end of her own bed. She sighed quietly.
"Hino-san," she started quietly, "What do you think of these 'enemies' we keep hearing about? I mean, we have not seen a single one or even caught a sign of them."
Hidenka groaned, "Some times I wonder if these 'enemies' are just a reason to scare us into being obedient, and staying in school."
Korai nodded thoughtfully, "Aijou-san mentioned something like that when we were sparring. She said something like that she wanted to prove that they were just making all this up."
"I'd like to too," Hidenka agreed, "But how can we?"
After a short silence, Korai added, "Don't you have the sixth sense? Wouldn't you be able to tell if they were around or not?"
"Well," Hidenka stammered, "I should be able to, but..."
"But what?" Korai asked.
"But I'm not very good at it, my sense isn't strong," she grudgingly admitted.
"Is there anything to make it stronger?" Korai persisted, "It could be very useful in the future."
"Yes," Hidenka sighed, "Blaze wants me meditating at least an hour a day."
"I have not seen you doing that," Korai observed.
"I'm always too tired to do it after sparring and I have no time otherwise," Hidenka whined from where she lay sprawled out on her bed.
"Excuses," Korai said coldly, "We need you to have your sixth sense. This is not just for you; it's for all of us. Do you want this mission to succeed or not?"
Not responding, Hidenka groaned and sat up in her bed. She got up and walked over to the window, where she sat down on the floor. Before closing her eyes, she said firmly, "Don't disturb me until an hour has passed."
Silence followed.
"I can't believe this!" Musha ranted, pacing outside the doors to their hotel, "We get worked harder and longer than ever tonight then we get locked out of our hotel! What kind of place locks up when it still has guests out anyway?"
"I guess we could go back to the palace and try to stay the night there," Koneko suggested.
"I know we could, Neko-chan," Musha said, still fuming and pacing, "But wouldn't that be a bit conspicuous?"
"As if our training there isn't conspicuous," Koneko pointed out.
Musha sighed, "Do we have any other option?"
"I don't think so," Koneko said softly, "Maybe we should just head back now. They'll let us stay there for sure."
"And in the morning," Musha said angrily, "I'll come back and chew them out. What kind of place is this anyway?"
Koneko giggled, "Let's get going."
So the two started off down the dark streets, which were still occupied by light crowds of people, other late travelers.
"I'm so tired," Musha complained as they walked, "Let's take a bus."
"There aren't any going there this time of night," Koneko pointed out, "We'll have to walk."
Just then, a blond businesswoman stepped out of the shadows. Although she was dressed professionally, her messy blond hair hardly fit the outfit. "Where are you two headed this time of night?" she asked.
Musha answered first as Koneko opened her mouth to speak, "To a family friend's house. We were locked out of our hotel."
"Why coming back so late?" the woman persisted.
"We had a late night cram school session followed by a study session for our test tomorrow," Koneko lied.
"Oh, good girls," the woman said, smiling, "Which hotel are you staying in?"
"The Silver Gateway," Musha responded.
"You know," the woman said, "I was just there, chatting with the managers. It should be open now. They must have accidentally locked the doors while we were talking."
"Oh," Musha said awkwardly, "Thank you."
"Any time!" the woman said a she hurried off into the shadows again.
The pair turned around and walked back towards their small hotel.
"That was lucky," Koneko observed.
"That was odd," Musha disagreed, "While I'm glad we can get to our rooms now, there was something about that woman..."
"Mother always says, 'don't talk to strangers'," Koneko said sweetly, "You're just being paranoid with all these warnings we have been getting lately."
"I suppose you're right," Musha sighed as they reached their hotel.
Sure enough, the worker at the front desk at returned. She pressed a button on the wall and the doors slid open, admitting the pair.
Before Musha could get angry with the receptionist, Koneko gently pushed her towards the elevator saying, "Thank you. Have a nice night!"
Sulfir, in the guise of a businesswoman, strode down the streets, stopping at yet another smaller hotel. "Bara Inn," she mused to herself, noting its name on her clipboard above the empty lines for any new check-ins from the past few days. She moved towards the doors, which slid open automatically in front of her.
"Can I help you?" the small receptionist asked almost immediately when Sulfir entered.
"No one else down here in the lobby?" Sulfir observed.
"Pardon?" the receptionist asked.
"I'm here to," Sulfir paused, making up a lie, "To inspect the facilities here. I am from the," she paused again, "Public Safety Department."
"I was unaware of such an appointment," the woman responded curtly, "I shall have to contact the manager before you can take a look around."
"You really shouldn't do that," Sulfir advised with a smile.
"What do you—?" she started.
Before she could finish her statement, Sulfir pulled down the sleeves of her sport-coat revealing a matching pair of golden bracelets set with yellow stones. With a laugh, she aimed them at the receptionist and released their energy.
The poor woman took in a sharp breath in surprise but fainted too quickly to scream. She toppled off her chair and landed on the granite-tiled floor with a soft thud.
"It's too easy," Sulfir laughed and moved behind her desk, pushing the woman out of her way with her foot. The disguised woman rummaged through the papers and pamphlets on the desk until she found what she was looking for: the guestlog. She flipped it open and paged to the most recent entries. "Six new ones?" she said to herself, writing their names on her notes in her nearly illegible scrawling hand.
She laughed and strode confidently out of the building, "This is a much simpler job than I thought!"
Kenjou walked over to their small fridge, glass in hand, and opened the freezer. She groaned, setting the glass down on the counter near by. "Asatsuyu, we're out of ice again," she called to her sister, "Want to go down to get some more with me?"
"Sure!" Asatsuyu said, bouncing in from the other room. She already had their ice bucket in hand. "The ice machine is down in the lobby, right?"
Kenjou nodded. And the two headed out of the room and down the elevator.
"I don't know how much more of this I can handle," Asatsuyu whined, "I'm always so tired and school is so hard. I'm not used to this material."
"Yea," Kenjou agreed, "If we are always this tired, how will we fight in the final battle? But then again, we might need this much training."
"But school!" Asatsuyu whined as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open.
Kenjou immediately made for the ice machine, Asatsuyu sulking after her with the bucket. The younger girl handed the bucket to Kenjou, who promptly held it under the ice chute, which ice proceeded to cascade down from.
Suddenly, Asatsuyu gasped, hurrying over to the main desk. "Ma'am?" she asked urgently, "Are you all right? Ma'am?"
Kenjou turned around to look as well. The receptionist lay sprawled out on the floor behind the long desk. Forgetting the ice, she hurried over to the woman. Kneeling down beside her, she placed two fingers on the woman's neck. "She's still breathing and alive," Kenjou observed, "But what—"
The woman groaned and stirred. A few moments later, she opened her eyes and asked groggily, "What happened?"
As Kenjou helped her up, she responded, "You might have fainted."
"Odd," the receptionist commented, "I can't think of any reason why that would have happened."
"You're sure you're okay," Asatsuyu asked, concerned.
The woman nodded unsteadily, "Yes, I'll be fine. Thank you though."
Suddenly, Kenjou gasped, "The ice!" She dashed over to the machine and snatched the bucket from beneath the spout and the sensors, ice spilling out all over the floor.
"Oh no!" Asatsuyu exclaimed, hurrying over to clean it up.
Glancing down at her guestlog open on the table, the receptionist looked confused, "I don't remember having this out... Oh! Don't worry about that spill. It's okay. I will have someone clean it up. You two look like you need some rest. Get to bed."
Kenjou nodded, holding on to the ice bucked, "Thank you, and good night."
"My pleasure," the woman said, yawning.
Asatsuyu bowed politely and retreated to the elevator, Kenjou following. Once on and ascending to their floor, Asatsuyu observed, "That was weird. What could have happened with her?"
"She probably just fainted," Kenjou shrugged.
Teisei lay on her bed, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling. When I agreed to this, I had no idea it would be like this. I have never been so exhausted. I wish we would have days off once in a while. It seems like Blaze-sama wants us to practice even harder on weekends. While I was happy to get rid of juku, this is much worse. She sighed.
"What's the matter Tei-chan?" Norikuken asked from her portion of the room, "Worried about those villains?"
"Not really," she answered softly, "It's just that I'm so tired."
"Aren't we all?" Norikuken responded flatly.
Suddenly, the phone rang shrilly, lights flashing on the monitor. The words "Crystalline Blossom Hotel" lit up on the screen. Teisei launched herself out of bed and across the room towards the phone pressing the 'on' button, the ringing ceased and Chibi's face appeared before her.
"Tei! I knew I would find you there!" she exclaimed, looking worried.
"What's the matter Chibi-chan?" Teisei asked.
"It's Ton— err, Tongari. She's disappeared," Chibi panicked, "I think she went looking for them, to prove Blaze-sama wrong."
"Oh no," Norikuken moaned from across the room.
"I'll be right over," Teisei assured her, "We can look for her together."
"Thank you Tei-chan!" Chibi exclaimed, "I knew I could count on you!" The screen became black and Chibi faded from view.
Teisei nodded, determination in her green eyes, and returned to her bed where she sat to put on her shoes. She had been too tired to undress after their training.
Norikuken hesitated thoughtfully then declared, "You're not going anywhere without me." She paused to bend down and retrieve her own shoes, "I can't let you travel alone at night, especially with the threat of those generals from the future."
"I guess you're right," the green-haired girl nodded, "But we can't waste any time."
"Fine," Norikuken nodded, and headed for the door.
A short walk, a bus ride, and a slightly longer walk brought them to Chibi and Tonda's hotel. Teisei smiled at the receptionist then led her companion up the elevator, directly to their friends' room. She knocked on the door and Chibi quickly answered.
"You're here," she exclaimed, "Great!" The tiny girl closed the door behind her, which locked automatically. "Let's go," She urged.
Norikuken patted her on the head, "Good to see you Chibi."
She glared up at the brunette but did not respond. Quit treating me as less than you!
"How long ago did she leave?" Teisei asked.
"Just after we got back," Chibi answered, "From what she was saying, I think she was going away from the palace."
Teisei nodded.
As they headed down the elevator, Norikuken asked, "Tei-chan, how did you know your way here so well?"
"She walks me home sometimes, when Blaze-sama holds Tongari after to lecture her on teamwork," Chibi answered for her.
"I can't believe I haven't notice that before," Norikuken mumbled.
"That reminds me," Teisei started as they exited the elevator, "Chibi-chan, did you tell Blaze-sama about this?"
She shook her head, "I guess I forgot to,"
Teisei walked over to the front desk. After hesitating a moment, she asked, "Excuse me, ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"May I use your phone?" she asked politely.
The receptionist nodded and pointed to a small monitor behind the desk, "As long as you keep it short."
"Thank you," Teisei nodded and hurried behind the desk.
"And no video calls," she added, "The headset for private calls is below it."
Teisei nodded again, "Thank you." She slipped the earpiece over her ear and the thin tube-like microphone hung down below her mouth. Plugging it into the monitor, she dialed the number.
"Crystal Palace, Hino Blaze speaking," a familiar voice sounded in her ear.
"Blaze-sama! We have a problem."
"Tei?"
"Hai!"
"What's the matter?"
"Tongari has disappeared. Chibi thinks she went looking for them."
"Haven't I told her over and over again—!"
"Noriko, Chibi, and I are going out to search for her."
"I will come and find you and then Tongari. I will be able to sense your presences, so don't wait for me. Thank you Tei. Ja ne!"
"Ja!"
Teisei took off the headset and returned it to its place.
"So?" Norikuken asked impatiently.
"She will come and find us, and help," she explained.
"Let's go!" Chibi urged and hurried for the door, the other two following.
Tonda walked purposefully along the streets, bright advertising signs lighting her way. She held her fists clenched. I'll prove to her, and to all of them, than there isn't any danger. Then we won't have to waste our time at school any more. If they were so worried about the battle in the future, we should be training all day. Most of all, I wish they would tell us more! Why keep us in the dark?
Suddenly, she found herself alone on a dark and empty side street. She paused, surveying the street warily. She had not been paying attention to where she had been going and now was in a place she did not recognize. Despite that, she kept moving. Now, more than ever, she had to keep looking.
Tourmaline purposefully strode about the Crystal Palace, as any guard going someplace would do. So far, after several hours of blending in, she had heard nothing of interest from the people at the palace. She decided it was time to risk entering the royal quarters of the palace.
Just when the petite woman thought she had taken a wrong turn, she heard voiced around the corner. Tourmaline stopped and listened hard, forgetting her guardly posture.
"Blaze-san sure left in a hurry."
"She said there was some urgent trouble with the girls."
"I think it was Aino-san's daughter, she ran off."
"What kind of idiot is she?"
"One that doesn't heed warnings."
"Blaze-san knows what she is talking about."
"Hold on a second..."
Tourmaline heard footsteps coming towards her. She quickly straightened up, standing professionally. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a tall and thing girl, in her mid-twenties, with and odd and tall red ponytail that almost reminded her of a circus performer.
"I don't remember seeing a guard stationed here before," the girl said to herself, but loud enough for Tourmaline to hear. "You there!" she called, "Are you supposed to be here?"
"Hai!" Tourmaline nodded stiffly.
The girl walked over to her, red eyes scanning Tourmaline from head to toe. Meanwhile, three other girls peered out from around the corner; one with pink hair, one with green hair, and the smallest with blue hair, all in exotic styles. "Show me your identification," the red-haired girl ordered.
Tourmaline looked frantically over her uniform for something like an ID card. After a moment, she stammered, "I can't find it."
"As I thought," the girl smirked, "You're not a guard at all! Vesta Power, Makeup!"
The other girls chorused in, "Ceres Power, Makeup!"
"Pallas Power, Makeup!"
"Juno Power, Makeup!"
Tourmaline found herself surrounded by four Sailor Senshi. These aren't the ones we are looking for. Fearfully, she looked over all of them. "Sayonara!" she said, then suddenly disappeared from the palace.
Sailor Ceres, who had just been preparing to attack, stumbled forward. "That must have been one of the enemies Blaze-san was warning us about."
"I wonder how much she heard," Sailor Juno pondered.
"That was weird though," Sailor Pallas commented
"Security has to be tighter now," Sailor Vesta reminded them, "We can't allow them to kill the girls."
Juno, Pallas, and Ceres all nodded in agreement.
Alexandrite prowled in the shadows, still wearing his navy blue school uniform. Not much longer and there will be anyone on the street worth watching. I begin to wonder how the others did. If we find them soon, before they are strong, killing them will be easy. What have we here? A girl with light pink hair in a long, thick braid marched determinedly around the corner. He watched her from his dark nook. It was odd to see a girl of 15 wandering the streets alone at this time of night, but Alexandrite sense nothing unusual about her.
Just before she moved out of sight around another street corner, three more girls hurried into the alley. "I thought I just saw her go—" a girl with medium-length green hair said.
"There she is!" A taller brunette girl called.
"Tonda!" the smallest girl called, "You can't go off like this! It's dangerous at night!"
"Tonda!" the green-haired girl called again when the lone girl made no response. She broke into a run after her, the two others following.
Interesting. Now I really do wonder what that girl was up to. Tonda... He stored the name in his mind. Once they had all disappeared from sight, he abandoned his dark corner and walked casually after them. Just before reaching the end of the alley, he froze. "Sailor Blaze," he murmured softly. Instantly, his school uniform disappeared, replaced by his outfit of green and fuchsia.
"Alexandrite," Hino Blaze murmured from where she sat in the back of the large palace car. She looked out through the dark windows. No sign of him, but she knew he was near. She gasped, "The girls are close by too! I hope—" The worst thing they could do is transform in front of him... She called to the front, "Driver! Stop. Let me out here."
"Yes Lady," came the driver's answer, and the car came to an abrupt halt. There was no traffic in this district at this time of night, so it was not a problem. As she stepped out onto the sidewalk and closed the door behind her, she said, "Thank you." The driver nodded and drove away.
Ducking into an alley, she raised her hand and yelled, "Mars Cosmic Power, Makeup!" A moment later, she had become Sailor Blaze and was running down the dark alley, in the direction that her sense told her.
Teisei finally caught up with Tonda and grabbed her arm. "Tonda! What do you think you're doing?" she hissed.
Tonda shook off the smaller girl's grasp and replied in a harsh whisper, "I'm not Tonda, remember?"
"Right, sorry," Teisei apologized quickly.
"You can't be out here like this," Chibi reminded her, struggling to keep up, "Let's go back home."
"Why are you so worried?" Tonda asked coldly, "I don't believe that we're in danger."
"I don't care what you believe," Norikuken snapped, "But there are other dangers too. Gangs?" Criminals? I want no more of your bravado! Let's go." She snatched Tonda's wrist and began to drag her back in the direction they had come. Suddenly, she stopped and gasped.
A longhaired, caped figure advanced calmly down the street towards them.
"Criminal..." Chibi gulped quietly. Instinctively, the girls huddled closely together.
"What might you girls be doing out so late at night," he asked, chuckling, "alone?"
"She," Teisei stammered fearfully, "She was running away. We wanted to stop her."
"Oh?" he asked, advancing still further.
Meanwhile, Norikuken calculated their possible courses of action. This was obviously one of the villains Sailor Blaze had spoken of, or maybe some other dangerous person. They could turn and run, but that would do little good if he had a gun or magical attacks. They could henshin, but they were weak and tired. Then he would know who his targets to kill were. Also a bad idea. They could yell for help, but who would hear them?
"I don't know who you are," Tonda said angrily, "But I don't like you. Leave us alone!"
"We don't have any money," Chibi bravely declared, pretending not to understand who he was, "There's nothing worth stealing."
Alexandrite chuckled. If they are the reinforcements, they will transform very soon. They will see they are in danger. Maybe they need some encouragement? He raised his hands in front of him, jeweled bracelets towards the girls, "Chaotic Force!" Green and pink energy shot through the darkness.
The four girls shrieked and dove away from the attack's path. Teisei wrapped one arm around Chibi as she leapt out of the way, protecting their leader. Norikuken landed near Tonda, who reached into her pocket for her henshin pen. Norikuken quickly swatted her hand away. "Don't!" she hissed.
Just then, they hared hurried footsteps coming towards them through the darkness. Sailor Blaze burst out of a side street, putting herself between the four girls and Alexandrite. Her entrance startled everyone, and not a single person moved.
"Alexandrite! How dare you!" Sailor Blaze panted, leaning on her long staff, "Do you find terrorizing young, innocent, Crystal Tokyo girls to be fun? I don't even want to think about what you planned to do with them."
"Sailor Blaze," Alexandrite responded with forced calm, "fancy seeing you here." He slowly moved his braceleted arms into position, hoping his enemy would not notice. Destroying her would be wonderful too.
"Don't play coy with me!" she threatened, then saw his plan, "Ruby Inferno!"
Alexandrite found himself engulfed in flames, screaming with pain. With a flourish of his cape, he disappeared.
Sailor Blaze scowled. He got away! Turning to the girls and casting a particularly harsh glare on Tonda, she said, "Don't be out at night. Now go home."
