Seiji swore and kicked as hard as he could at the…..thing that kept trying to come at them from the shadows. It was irritatingly equal measures of persistence and invincibility, and he had to admit, the inability to call on Korin was making him angrier than he should be. A soft, feminine moan of pain from somewhere behind him ratcheted up the pressure cooker between his ears. The blonde Senshi still hadn't woken up. He'd done what he could for her, but that hadn't been much before the literal shadows started attacking.

Worse than that, he was alone. Seiji hated being separated from the others. They were his brothers. He needed to be with them. Needed to be sure they kept Ryo out of trouble. And he needed to get the blonde warrior back to her companions. The shadows darted at him again, and he concentrated, putting as much force into his strike as possible.

…And then hit the dirt face first when something came at him from behind. He was on his knees, still spitting grit out of his mouth when the whole world went blindingly bright, and the shadows all disappeared, leaving him in still night once more. Seiji blinked, trying to clear the spots from his eyes, and wondered what in the hell had happened.

"Well. That was a hell of a wake-up call," a feminine voice rasped. Seiji whirled around, rising to his feet to take in the blonde Senshi. She was gripping a nearby tree trunk for support, one hand on her head, eyes closed and brows furrowed as she massaged a temple with her free hand.

He strode over to her, feeling his spirits bolster now that she was awake. Relief that she'd recovered and would probably be ok combined with the buoyancy of knowing that he was a little less alone, leaving him lighter on his feet.

"This place hasn't exactly been welcoming. I'm glad you're awake. How are you feeling?" He put a hand on her shoulder, hoping to comfort her. She groaned and scrubbed her free hand over her face, swaying unsteadily on her feet.

Without thinking, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, surprised at how delicate they felt. She blinked up at him, eyes glassy, and he realized that she might not be as recovered as he thought. Damn. Had those monsters hurt her? What was that flash? Her lips moved, and he belatedly realized she'd been saying something to him. He shook his head. "Um…what?" his inner voice rolled its eyes.

Suddenly she was wrapping fragile but strong fingers around his arm and yanking him down. He hit the ground again in time for something to go whizzing by his head. Another shadow. He scowled into the darkness, and then the feminine warrior was climbing to her feet with slow, painful movement. Her body trembled, and she appeared to be…glowing. She held up her hands, where energy was coalescing. Her fingers shook, but the light remained steady.

She let out a wordless yell, and the attack flew out, making their surroundings bright again. When the darkness came back, they were alone once more, the stillness like a thick blanket of snow around them. She stood, body shaking, breath heaving.

Seiji lunged for her, getting to his feet in enough time to wrap an arm around her as her legs gave out. "I've got you. Hold on.", he soothed. She melted against him with a quiet sigh and he pulled one of her arms carefully around his shoulders.

The feeling of her trembling against him only darkened his anger. She'd been ripped from her own world. She'd been wounded in battle, watching her friends hurt in turn, and now she was exhausted and in pain. And still protecting him. And he couldn't reach Korin.

No matter. He'd find another way to keep her safe. He'd faced threats without his full armor before, and he could do it again now. It was just going to require some new strategy. He hoped Ryo and the others were doing ok.

The first part of his strategy was finding himself and his companion a safe place to regroup. He looked down at her. She was looking ahead of them, with that same, glassy eyed stare. He frowned.

"Miss….are you ok to move? We should find someplace with some cover at least. I don't like us being out here in the open." She bobbed her head in assent and firmed her feet underneath her, features tightening with determination. He felt something inside his chest soften as he looked down at her.

"I'm Minako. Aino Minako." She murmured, voice strong, but quiet. "Thanks for the help."

He blinked at her in surprise. "I'm Date Seiji. And I was thinking you're the one who saved my butt. My armor seems to be on the fritz. Thanks for the save."

She nodded at him absently, still focused on their surroundings.

"We're alone?" she asked, her tone suggesting she already knew his answer.

"Yeah. I'm not sure where everyone else is, but we'll find them," he told her resolutely. She nodded.

"We will. Any idea where we are?" she asked, a degree of hopeless frustration in her tone. Seiji hated that he could do nothing but confirm that he had no idea where they'd landed. She nodded again.

"That's fine. We're going to find everyone. And then we're going to figure out who's behind all this and make sure they can't do it ever again. Then I'm going home and getting in a nice, hot bath," she said in a flat tone that sounded more as if she were reciting facts than making a vow. Seiji admired her tenacity even as he tried not to think about her naked and soaking in a tub.

"That sounds like a plan to me," he replied, shouldering her more firmly. To his surprise, she pulled away from him and stood firmly on her own two feet.

"Thanks, I've got it from here. Any idea where we should head next?" she wondered, hands on her hips as she took in their surroundings again with a sharp eye. Seiji took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment as he tried to focus in on the connection between their armors. He didn't think he'd have much luck with Korin buried so deeply, but after a moment, he could feel something….faint. The connection was barely noticeable, but it was all he had to go on, so Seiji did his best to solidify the link in his mind and opened his eyes.

He pointed in the direction where the pull seemed strongest. "That way, I think," he said. She nodded and simply began moving forward. Seiji frowned, uneasy with how willing she was to simply follow his lead, but he moved so that he was beside her, pushing the thought aside. He was uneasy with taking the lead, but his instincts might be all they had to go on right now.

And Minako was counting on him to get them both to the others safely.

Seiji refused to let her down.