In the northeastern corner of the Shima ward, and the district as a whole, were a large number of schools, making sense given the amount of people there, and those who came to school in Tokyo, from the surrounding towns. Within this, was East Shima Junior High, your usual school. Though, at this point, they had something that was rather uncommon for them. The school's principal, a man with graying hair, sat in his office, looking outside at the hustle and bustle of the city around him. He took a sip of the coffee on his desk, as he looked down at the files of four girls who'd come to enroll in his school. As he looked across their files, he noted one thing. No recorded Family, no identities. It was a somewhat common case, though that wasn't a fact that he very much enjoyed.
"Kuhakumo, Huh?"
The principal was snapped out of his thoughts by the appearance of one of the school's senseis. A woman with an older appearance. He glanced at her, before speaking, letting a raspy voice out.
"Corect... I'll put them in Hagiwara's class. He's the only one with any open seats."
This gained a nod from her, as she began walking away,
"I'll let him know."
Kuhaku no Kodomo(Blank Children). It was unfortunate that a class of people like that existed in this country. But, that simply went to show how the war had affected them all.
The subjects of the conversation made their way toward the new school, unaware of the talk about them. It was good for them that they managed to get into a school without many questions asked, though it seemed a tad strange. They hadn't found out much more in the time since their arrival, but that would only make sense. Given they were much more focused on getting their situation in order. Though, one among them seemed to have regained her usual demeanor.
"Alright, time to make lots of friends, Maybe I'll even see some cute boys!"
As the bun-headed girl spoke, Rei deadpanned.
"Why am I not surprised?"
Usagi glanced back at her.
"What's that supposed to mean, Rei-Chan?"
Rei said nothing in response, as she simply continued her way forward. Until they took note of the building they'd been to before, to cement their enrollment. Makoto began to walk faster than the others.
"Alright, here we are."
The brunette only increased her speed as she spoke. Though her friends were not far behind. They soon passed the school's gate, and past the door, luckily for them, they were in the very same class. They walked through, mostly ignored by the student's around them. Who had a number of varied conversations between them.
"Our classes should be on the third floor. Let's get up there." Said Usagi.
They began to make their way up to the school's third floor, and began making their way to 3-B, their class. As they entered, they looked around at the variety of people who populated the classroom, it was nothing out of the ordinary for them, save for one sitting in the very back, with a scar going down his eye. Though they noticed, they decided not to question it, especially as they took notice of somebody entering behind them, an older man with a large frame, his auburn hair tied into a shoulder length braid. The same color as the beard on his chin.
"You're the new students, correct?"
As they took note of how he towered over them, they began to back away, or rather… Usagi did, this man was even taller than Mamo-Chan, not to mention how angry he looked to be. Did he just look like that all the time? The few students there didn't seem phased. Rei was the first to step forward.
"Yes."
"Alright… I'll have you all introduce yourselves."
With that in mind, they waited for the classroom to fill in, staying silent all the while, until the bell rang, signifying the start of the school day. The students stood, bowing to their teacher, before taking their seats once again, as the students looked around, their focus fell upon the unfamiliar students. In the very back, one of the students, a youth with an orange pompadour, and his blazer open, revealing the white shirt underneath, leaned back into his chair.
"Yo, teach', Who are these girls supposed to be?"
Their gazes went to the rather... Laid back, boy. Anyone could see what he was, at the least..
"Once again, Ueda, It's Hagiwara Sensei to you… And if you must know, these are our new students. Now then, If you'd introduce yourselves."
"Tsukino Usagi!"
"Mizuno Ami"
"Kino Makoto"
"Hino Rei"
"Aino Minako, Future idol!"
"Alright, Now then, Take your seats."
Apparently, they did not luck out this time around, as none of the empty seats were by each other. It wasn't as if they were seperated, however, so it wasnt that much of a concern to them. They began walking to their desks. As they took their seats, A holographic display rose from a device on the wooden table in the clasroom's front.
"Now then, We're going to resume where we left off yesterday. The Biology of a Proto-Human."
This piqued the senshi's They'd heard people bring up the name beforehand, but they never did find out what they were. This especially interested Ami, she was a woman of science, after all.
"Can anyone tell me how proto-humans are created?"
One of the students raised her hand, and the teacher gestured toward her.
"By being the biological child of another proto-human, or encountering protomis in its natural form"
The sensei nodded.
"Almost there, but, remember, it's FORMS."
"So… We know where they come from, but. What are they specifically?" Ami thought.
"Now can somebody tell me how a proto-human activates their abilities?"
"Life n' death, of course, Even kids know that."
So maybe these, "Proto-humans" Were something similar to them? Did they have some sort of magic? And...What did they mean by life and death? Apparently, the rather attentive teacher took note of the confusion on their faces, because he began to speak.
"Correct. When an in-active proto-human is pushed into a life or death situation, the body will begin creating protomis, in a fight or flight response, to protect itself. Usually an attack of some sort. After that, changes in the body will begin, becoming more visible after the initial activation. The body will become sturdier, more agile, etcetera, these will be the first changes one sees-"
Ami's mind began to drift off from the lecture, as did the other senshi. For a moment, they thought they'd seen some similarity, but… Given what was being said here, these "proto-humans'' were not anything like themselves. It was something that remained interesting to her, however. They might end up encountering one, after all. Though, it wasn't as if she knew what to look for.
The rest of the school day went relatively normal, they learned more and more about the world they populated. Ancient aliens that came to earth, called the "Qun'Mi" who, unlike the two they'd seen, looked nothing like humans… More like insects than anything else. Either way, it looked like they were long gone now. Not before leaving technology behind , however, left in vaults created by the ancient cultures of the world. By the time the senshi had exited their class, they still found themselves confused about the world, after all- all they had was their short time within, and a few classes to go off. But, at least now, they weren't COMPLETELY uninformed.
"So, what now? Should we get something to eat?"
As Usagi spoke, Rei moved her gaze away from her.
"With what money, Usagi?"
Her mouth went agape at this… But, she ultimately closed it, not able to refute her statement.
"Welll, Uh..." She trailed off, scratching the back of her head.
"Idiot.." Rei Continued
"I'm sure we can find some way to make money…"
Though Usagi said that, she was even unsure of that much, given her tone.
"IF we look somewhere, I'm sure somebody will give us a job."
As the blunette spoke up, they turned down the stairs, and made their way back to the first floor, before exiting the building. As they walked, they took note of something, the very same boy with the pompadour, as well as the scarred one, on one of the side paths. In a circle with a number of other's dressed in the same way. Most stayed away, trying to steer clear of them. Not a surprise given the reputation the group had built. Not seeing any reason to interact with them, the senshi were about to do the same, until they heard a conversation begin between them.
"So, you guys heard about the fight that's going on tonight. Sounds like it's gonna be crazy…"
"A fight?" Ami asked.
They began to draw closer as their talk continued.
"I know, Apparently Corde and Hashimoto are fighting again. Those two have some insane power…"
This certainly piqued their interest. They'd just heard about these "Proto-Humans" earlier. Perhaps Whoever those two are were part of that group?
"Well, if nothing else, it helps us figure out more about wherever we are." Makoto stated, as she began to walk toward them.
They began to walk toward them as well. They went unnoticed, until, the one with a pompadour poked the scarred one, catching his attention, before he pointed at the oncoming group of girls… Why would they be approaching THEM? That much almost never happened.
"Scuse me, if you don't mind me asking, who are these two you're talking about?" Minako questioned.
Rather than the man with the pompadour, it was another one of them, with blue locks who responded.
"So, you Don't know about Corde or Jirou, huh... Guess you must not be from Tokyo, huh."
"I guess you could say that." She responded.
The pompadour boy spoke up once more.
"Those two guys are the 9th and 10th demon Pillars. 2 of the 10 strongest guys in Tokyo."
"They're around the same age we are, too…"
This surprised them… To be known as that strong at their age?
"Some of the strongest here, and still in middle school…?"
"Yeah, bout' two years back Corde clobbered one of the demon pillars in one hit, the Tenth, Okimoto Kazumi. Turned the delinquent world upside down. Made everyone realize they weren't so invincible, people got bold. The other pillars were getting pushed out of their positions one by one after that… "
"Then I'm guessing he's well known around here?" Asked Ami.
"Yeah. Not many people want to fight Corde. Nor Hashimoto. He's the son of the Hashimoto-Kai's chairman.. Fighting the heir to a Yakuza group is a big risk for the guys around here. Especially when he's as strong as he is. He and Corde never managed to finish a fight between them. Guys keep trying time after time"
"Yakuza?! " Yelled Usagi, catching the attention of some of those around them.
"Yeah… If you guys are interested, they're gonna be out on the edge of town. Just south of here. At about 11:00"
The senshi glanced at each other as they listened to him speak, and nodded.
"In that case, we might check it out."
Finally, the leader of the group,or at the least, the apparent one spoke. The man with the scars began to walk toward them.
"If you do, I'd suggest not getting too close, a battle between those two can get pretty destructive… And, Don't go too far south. Wouldn't want to go into the exclusion zone, after all."
Exclusion zone, What was the story behind that? Before they got to ask, the scarred boy had turned back to his allies.
"Alright you Bozos, let's get moving. We got other things we need to handle."
"Right." The orange-headed man replied.
Soon, the group began to walk off. While one of its members waved at the Senshi.
"That's Pretty late to be out, isn't it?" Said Usagi.
"It's not like we haven't done something similar. Either way, let's see what kind of people we're dealing with," Rei replied.
And, just like that, they walked off from the school. They began exploring their surroundings to pass the time. Taking in the unfamiliar world they'd gotten themselves into. It was but a few hours later that they finally arrived in the area they'd been told about, it was a Grouping of Abandoned warehouses, and industrial buildings. Long abandoned, it looked like. Something that made it a great location for a common activity among many of the youth of tokyo. And as expected, they arrived in droves. Today, the district was loud, and it was active, a far cry from it's usual eerie silence. The senshi noted the number of youths, mostly male, though some females spread through them. However, they mostly went ignored by them all.
".. I guess they really do know these two around here." Said Usagi.
Minako nodded.
"Let's hope we can get close in time." She mumbled.
Eventually, they reached a large clearing, about the size of a baseball field. And, to the far sides. Stood crowds of people, standing in anticipation, waiting for the exchange of blows… It was only after this, that they saw the two who stood in the center. Two Youths, who, despite their age, were rather bulky, and well-built. Much more so than their peers would be, out of the ones they'd seen, at least. One had dark skin, with wild, spiky black hair. His clothing was casual, a simple black t-shirt, and basketball shorts. And a few meters away, stood one with silver hair, around the same height as his opponent, and dressed similarly as well. The crowd began to quiet down as they stopped within striking range of one another.
No sooner did those around the Senshi begin to pull out the holographic devices. Which they'd learned were the, aptly named, Holo-phones.
"Well...Look who decided to show up, Corde." said the silver-haired one, cracking his knuckles.
The Black-haired one scoffed at his statement.
"Like there's any way I'd let the chance to fight you slip by, Hashimoto." Said Corde.
So now, they knew who's name belonged to who.
"Do you think we should stop them?" Asked Minako.
"I don't think we need to, but-" Rei started.
She Cut off as a storm of dust raised from the area where the two stood, and debris went flying out. Whatever the case was, the battle had begun. Soon after, out from the dust, came Jirou Hashimoto, sent flying out of the dust cloud. However, he swiftly stopped himself mid-air, before, flying out, was Arctaius, smashing a left hook into his jaw, forcing his head upward. However, as Arctaisu went to follow up, he found his fist stopped in its tracks by jirou. Before he attempted to slam his knee into his ribs, something that succeeded. And yet, the fighter seemed to ignore the pain, before pushing to continue. The fighters began to weave through the air, attempting to launch strikes on vital points of the other's body. The Brutal battle continued, all the while, cheers resounded through the crowd, Even as the bodies of both became a blur, and shockwaves radiated as the two struck each other. Well, that was the case, save for the five girls.
"I'm starting to see how they're well known…" Minako mumbled.
"This could get really bad." Makoto noted.
Eventually, however, their conversation was cut off once more. The senshi felt yet another shockwave radiate out, as the two fighter's respective fists clashed into each other. Now, they returned their gazes forward, taking note of the fact that not only were they nearly uninjured, save for some scratches, and a trickle of blood down their lips, what they also took note of is that… They were smirking!
"They're enjoying this… What more would I expect from this kind of crowd?" Rei questioned.
The battle would soon resume from there, as Corde jumped back, flying back over 100 meters. As he came to a stop, the youth threw his arms out. Something followed by electricity swarming around him, the blue bolts rapidly moving to saturate the area around him, something that Makoto took note of, given the similarity to her own. Moreso as he shouted out.
"Shocking Cannon!!"
The formerly uncontrolled arcs condensed into a single line, A lighting strike smashed into his opponent, sending him crashing into the ground, breaking the earth that lies underneath. All the while, the senshi continued to watch as the two maneuvered around their opponent's strikes, trying their best to get a good hit on eachother. Truthfully, it wasn't all that different from what they'd see on their own. Save for everybody knowing the cause, that was.
"This is only gonna get worse." Rei commented.
They took note of Corde being taken to the ground, even though the Yakuza hadn't touched him. No sooner, he began to sink further within. Though he strained, trying to get up, this didn't become a reality, with the process only continuing, making about half the crowd cheer louder.
"It's the Gravity press!"
"Didn't Corde get past that last time?!"
"He must've been training."
At this point, Rei was prepared to transform and handle this herself. One's throwing around lightning, the other is messing with gravity, and they still sat here to watch?! What was wrong with these people? Though, it seemed she was a tad late. As electric arcs appeared where corde once was, with the man himself gone…
"Where did he go?" Questioned Ami, answered, as corde appeared behind Jirou, clasping his hands together, and smashing his fists down onto the back of his head, Sending Jirou bounding into the ground. Not for long, however, as he stopped himself, before beginning a rapid ascent, Arctaius did the same, until the two broke past the clouds, moving far above the senshis' reach. Something followed by shockwaves and booms emanating from different areas of the sky, seemingly tens of times in a second. At this point, they were the only ones even able to perceive the two.
At the least, until they stopped once more, and began to descend closer to the ground. By now, the damages had become much more clear. Corde's shirt torn, revealing a scar-laden body, With Jirou's the very same. Both covered in bruises, and cuts, a result of the punches they launched at each other. They huffed as they stared one another down. It didn't take too long for them to touch the ground, laying on their backs soon after.
"Damn... Looks like I'm out of juice." Jirou noted.
"You too, huh?" Corde Responded.
From the audience, the crowd seemingly began to break up. The fight was over, all of them acknowledged that, conversations beginning soon after.
"That was a good fight."
"Someone get Tanaka, we gotta get this land fixed up."
"Looks like they handled it themselves. That aside…" Minako began to trail off, as she focused her gaze on one of the two in particular, Jirou Hashimoto. Though it was unknown what went through her head. There was a question to be asked, would anyone want to know? Rei took note of this and promptly turned on her heel, and began walking away.
"If you ask me, we should keep watch on them."
Soon enough, Usagi followed.
"Calm down, What's the worst that can happen?"
Rei slowly turned her attention to Usagi, staring at her soon after.
"Did you really just ask that?"
It didn't take long for the other Senshi to begin leaving as well, ignoring the conversations around them, as they began to make their way back to the apartment building they converted into their home, even if temporary.
2016
For a year, they'd lived in this world, with no sign of their previous one returning to them. Things had progressed in spite of that, as they found themselves in high school. Though some conflicts raged across the world, such as that between Great Viet, and the Siamese Empire, Japan, or, Yamato, as it was known here seemed to be peaceful, safe.
Seemed to be.