Test 5: Sibling Rivalry! Battle of the Zanzoken
Motoko Aoyama approached the main doors of Hinata House. Though she did not know exactly who she would find there, she showed no hesitation in her stride. She knocked soundly on the door with the hilt of her kendo stick.
A young man opened the door. "Are you here for a room?" he asked politely.
"No, I'm looking for some people who are living here."
"Hmm. Well, I'm not one to deny entrance to someone so polite. My name is Keitaro Urashima, the manager of this house. At the moment, they are probably all in the living room. Follow me." He led her to a short square table flanked by a couch and a few comfortable chairs on each side. Three girls sat on the couch, discussing homework. A fourth lazed on a reclining chair, watching a baseball game on a small TV. They looked up when Keitaro and Motoko entered the room.
Motoko spoke loudly. "Which of you are the soldiers of Hinata? I'm here to train."
Everyone gawked at her.
"What is she talking about?" Keitaro asked.
Naru Narusegawa laughed nervously. "Um, that… is the nickname of our study group at school! Since we live here, for the moment anyways. And now, Miss…"
"Motoko. Motoko Aoyama."
"Well, follow us right this way, and we'll fill you in on the rules of joining our little group." She pushed the dumbfounded girl down the hallway. Shinobu Maehara and Mutsumi Otohime, the two other members of the "group," followed.
"We'll take care of this, Keitaro," Shinobu said as she left.
Keitaro could only nod in confusion. Then Kitsune Konno, the only one left in the room, motioned him over to watch the game on TV.
The girls eyes Motoko suspiciously. Naru had brought Tama from the hot springs, hoping she might know about this newcomer.
"So, Miss Aoyama," Naru asked, "Why are you here? And what do you want with those soldiers you were referring to?"
Motoko replied, "As I said, I wish to train with you, if you are indeed them. I was sent here by Grandma Hinata to give them information and perhaps gain power from them."
"Hinata? The owner of this house?" Shinobu asked.
"Keitaro talked about her a few days ago, remember? She travels a lot," Mutsumi supplied.
"Yes, and there is more, but I can only tell what remains to the people she asked me to find."
A new voice popped up. "And you have found them." It was Tama, looking concerned; well, as concerned as a turtle can look.
"A turtle?" Motoko looked in surprise. "…talks?"
"I said, you have found us. I am Tama, the advisor of the soldiers of Hinata. And I can sense that you are meant to be Hina Jupiter. I suppose that is why she sent you."
"She is a soldier too?" Naru said.
"The… turtle talks," Motoko murmured. She shook off the queasy feeling she had. "Yes, she sent me to gain the powers of a true soldier."
"That's fine, but you shouldn't have been so obvious. The two people in the other room don't know about our secret," Naru chided.
"I'll keep that in mind next time, but I have other things on my mind. Such as my sister, Tsuruko, who has been taken over by dark forces."
"What?"
"She is the most powerful swordswoman in my family. And a dark power took her. Now she has come back under a new name, Nephlitaro, and attacked other people from my family, as well as people from the dojo where I trained. Grandma Hinata helped me escape, trained me, and told me to seek you out and tell you about the leader of the dark forces."
"And who is that?" Mutsumi asked.
"Hinata's own adopted granddaughter, Kanako, who now has added the title of queen to herself."
"She must be the one who controlled Kentaro!" Naru said. "But where is she?"
"If Hinata knew, she wouldn't say. But she said she would tell us more later in person. As for now, show me how to get the power I need to fight my sister and save her."
Nephlitaro knelt in front of the dark queen Kanako. Behind her were two rows of shadowed figures who also knelt in servitude.
"The only other disciple of the God's Cry School is Motoko, but she escaped."
"Find her and bring her to me."
"Yes, Kanako-sama."
"Alive."
"As you wish."
"Keitaro, we are going to go study at Motoko's house," Naru told him as they approached the door.
"Do you need any help?" he asked.
"From you? Ha! A mime could tell us more than you could."
He frowned. Naru's snide remarks were like daggers to him, but he took the insult without retaliation. He would get through to her eventually.
The girls took a bullet train out of town, and then approached the dojo Motoko was leading them to on foot.
"This was a hidden place until we were attacked. Please don't tell anyone about it."
"Of course," Naru told her.
"They might be watching the area, so we should transform now, before we arrive."
"Okay. Hina Moon Power!"
"Hina Mercury Power!"
"Hina Mars Power!"
"Hina…Jupiter Power!"
Nephlitaro watched as four people approached the God's Cry School. Though she couldn't recognize most of them, she could see through the disguise of the last one. She landed in front of the door and waited for them to arrive.
"So, you've come back to accept your fate?" she asked Motoko.
"No, I've come to save you, sister. Even if I have to rely on others to do it," Motoko as Hina Jupiter replied.
"Together as one! We are the soldiers of Hina! Sailor Hina Moon!"
"Hina Mercury!"
"Hina Mars!"
"And Hina Jupiter, the soldier of kendo!"
Nephlitaro smiled. "Well, aren't you all so precious? But I have my orders. And you know you cannot defeat me. Not with my skill and the master sword Shisui. Soon, we will be together again, in the darkness!"
"My sword is no longer a mere wooden bokken." Motoko held out her hand, and a sword appeared in it. "This is the sword of Jupiter, Kisei."
"Is that so? Well, let's find out whose sword is stronger then."
The two sisters rushed at each other as the other sailors looked on. The attacks and parries were quick and efficient.
"So this is all you learned in the God's Cry School?" Nephlitaro asked. "Pathetic." She jumped to the roof of the dojo.
"Hina Moon Retribution!" Naru attacked Nephlitaro, but the beam was deflected with a slight movement of the sword.
"Don't interfere!" Nephlitaro shot a blast of some sort of cosmic energy at Hina Moon. "This is between me and her."
"And I'm gonna win!" Hina Jupiter jumped above Nephlitaro, and held the sword up. "Thunder Zanzoken!" A bolt of lightning from the blue sky hit the sword. Motoko pointed the sword down at her sister, and the bolt blasted downwards.
There was a huge explosion as the roof of the dojo caved in from the force of the impact. As Hina Jupiter landed nearby, she looked for any traces of her sister, but the dust cloud concealed any possible movement in the area the bolt of lightning had struck. The other soldiers rushed up to flank her as the smoke cleared. No one was on the roof.
"I'll give you a hint," a voice came from above them, hidden in the trees around the dojo. "You missed."
The four girls discussed a strategy while Nephlitaro chuckled with amusement in her hiding place.
"She is toying with us!" Naru said. "Her speed and power are more than enough to beat any one of us. But together, maybe…"
"No, this is my battle. I just have to find a weak point, a time to hit her with everything I've got." Motoko still held the Kisei in a defensive position, in case her sister decided to attack again.
"We will draw her attention. That might give you an opportunity to catch her off guard."
"Please allow us to help you!" Shinobu said.
"Very well. Do what you want, but I want to end the battle myself."
"I hope you can," Naru told her. "We were able to recover someone overtaken by darkness, but nearly were killed doing it."
"I understand. I'll give it my best shot."
Nephlitaro watched with amusement, and then decided they had enough time.
"Did you say your last goodbyes?" she asked them as she landed on the steps behind them. She had put them between her and the dojo, knowing they couldn't use it to hide in with the roof smashed in. "Or perhaps you were trying to conceive a plan to beat me? Please, go ahead and try. It is fun to watch your efforts."
"Kotatsu HeatWave!" Mutsumi blasted the steps with heat, but Nephlitaro dodged.
"Hina Kick!" Naru attacked from the side, but Nephlitaro changed direction in midair, right into an attack coming from Motoko!
"Cutting Evil Slash!" She swung the sword with a speed that surprised Nephlitaro, who moved slightly from its path. Motoko and Naru landed, and looked up at Nephlitaro. Her face had a sharp cut across her left cheek. She put a hand up to the mark, bleeding a little.
"Not holding back? Good. Neither will I then. Dark Star Bolts!" She blasted at the girls, who dodged or took cover behind trees.
"I thought your teamwork was good, but then you all go off in opposite directions. Too bad."
Hina Jupiter came down the steps to face her sister again. The other soldiers reappeared from the trees surrounding the steps.
"I've wasted enough time," Nephlitaro told them. She sheathed Shisui and clapped her hands. Dark forms began to appear around the four soldiers. They were humans, clad in dark clothing.
"Those are… the defeated members of the God's Cry School," Motoko said.
"Yes, and they are our minions now. And soon you will be too!" Nephlitaro and then returned directly in front of Hina Jupiter. "Let us take our duel elsewhere." And they vanished.
"Hina Jupiter!" The other soldiers yelled. But they were caught up in a fight of their own as the new enemies advanced towards them, surrounding them.
"Thereare about two dozen of them," Shinobu said. "Can we beat them?"
"Definitely," Hina Moon replied. "I'm more worried about Motoko."
Nephlitaro and Hina Jupiter appeared by a large waterfall.
"I thought this would be a proper setting for our final duel. After all, you will be our servant when I am done with you here."
"I serve no one! Thunder Zanzoken!"
Nephlitaro held up Shisui. As Hina Jupiter watched in horror, the sword absorbed her attack.
"Face it, my dear sister. You've lost."
"I will not accept defeat!"
"Then accept this. Thunder Zanzoken!" She pointed her sword at Hina Jupiter, and the absorbed attack was sent back. Motoko blocked it as best as she could with Kisei, but was thrown back into a boulder.
"Shisui can absorb attacks and use them against the one who performs them. But you knew that, didn't you?"
"…Yes. But I can't give up!" And yet, Motoko thought, what could she do? She would have to find some way to defeat her sister, with or without the power of thunder, or she would pay a hefty price.
Extra Credit Preview! What can Motoko do? She's caught between a rock and a sharp place. Her new attack is ineffective. Does she have the skill to harness the true power of Kisei? Can the other three soldiers of Hinata beat a group of disciples of the God's Cry School? Stay tuned!
End Test 5