Chapter 50
If he didn't manage to get his thoughts under control, he wasn't going to be useful to anyone, but especially not his students. Seiji arranged himself in the proper posture and tried to quiet his mind.
His grandfather hadn't fought him too hard on opening a new branch of their dojo in the city, but Seiji was under the impression that even the old man had felt it was a good idea for the Troopers to stay closer together. If he didn't focus and ensure that this representation of their family name did well, however, his grandfather's opinion might change.
Seiji didn't want to give him any reason to be disappointed.
Especially since at some point in the future, he'd be introducing Minako to his family.
Reluctantly.
It took everything he had in him not to just give up being productive and head to Nasuti's. That was where he wanted to be. But the Senshi had been absolute in their resolve: They wouldn't shut the Troopers out, but they also wouldn't tolerate the Troopers setting their lives aside until things had been resolved.
Minako had pointed out to him that the list of their previous enemies was very long, and so far they'd only seen the beginning of it. This could drag on for an indeterminate amount of time.
Unfortunately, hearing her say that had the opposite effect on his desire to go back to his everyday life. The idea that there could be hundreds of vengeful enemies out there hunting her down made his blood run cold. How safe were they at Nasuti's if they had enemies scouring the city for them? It would only be a matter of time.
Ami had reassured them all she'd have the conclusions on her research this evening at dinner, and Seiji was hoping that would ease the tension running through the Troopers.
It felt like they'd only just gotten the Senshi here, gotten them safe, and now they were in danger again. Touma had warned them that it wouldn't be a matter of if – it would be a matter of when, and logically Seiji knew Tenku was right, but it just seemed so soon. Minako hadn't even fully recovered yet. And Makoto…
The fact that she'd seen somebody suspicious and just walked up to them had practically given Touma hives. Jupiter had acted like it hadn't been a big deal, and Tenku was rightfully worried about what might happen the next time she saw someone. Usagi had cheerfully informed them that Mako-chan was the Guardian Senshi, and she was always like that – they'd met when Makoto had leapt in front of an oncoming car to save her.
The fact that Makoto had rolled her eyes and then teased Usagi about how she hadn't been paying attention to where she'd been going, like it was some kind of big joke now, spoke volumes about Makoto's character.
Protective. Strong. And maybe a bit too selfless.
Touma had been…less than calm since. Seiji couldn't blame him.
He hadn't exactly been calm himself.
This wasn't like him. This sort of angry, out-of-control emotion was usually Ryo or Shuu's characteristic but not his own. He liked to feel calm and focused when it came to problems or even enemies. It helped him feel prepared.
He didn't feel prepared for this. Not at all. He'd seen what this monster could do, firsthand, and he was lying to himself if he thought he could be calm and ready. The bigger problem was that he didn't know how to make himself calm and ready.
A good start might be some meditation, he told himself sternly. He reaffirmed his posture, closed his eyes, and took some measured breaths…
…By the time the students for the first class wandered in, Seiji was tired, irritated, and far from calm. He grit his teeth and did his best to be the patient, observant, and mindful teacher his students deserved. None of them seemed to notice anything different, or if they did, they didn't comment, and Seiji wondered if maybe he should be leading them all through some meditation.
It felt like the longest day of his life, and the knowledge that there were only more like it coming didn't help. By the time classes had ended and he'd showered and changed, he'd worked up a good head of steam.
With absolutely no outlet.
Their other enemies had always moved hard and fast and directly – unless he counted Suzunagi – which, to Seiji's mind, had been a completely different situation. She'd targeted the Troopers directly. But this method of quietly manipulating things behind the scenes – of using the faces of enemies from the Senshis' past to put them on the defensive – wasn't something he was familiar with. He didn't like it. This enemy that crept through the shadows, silently maneuvering pieces on a chess board. He knew how devastating they could be. He didn't like being in the dark while it moved against them.
Anxiety had him by the throat, so as he hopped on the train to Nasuti's, he forced himself to focus on being present in the moment – thinking only about the train ride, the walk to Nasuti's, the scenery he passed.
By the time she opened the door for him he was considerably calmer.
Which turned out to be incredibly beneficial.
Dinner was quiet and tense. The Senshi were subdued and troubled, which told Seiji that whatever news it was Ami had, they were already aware of it, and it probably wasn't good. Usagi was pushing her food around on her plate, which seemed so wrong Seiji nearly asked her if she was ok. He and the other Troopers struggled to make small talk with so much tension hanging overhead, and Nasuti carried the conversation.
Thankfully, Ami didn't make anyone wait. Clean-up went quickly, The Troopers scuttling Makoto and the other Senshi out of the room to wait in a more comfortable spot. As soon as the Troopers had joined them in the living room, Ami simply moved forward without preamble. Fidgeting, she eyed them all from her seat beside Ryo. Rekka looked a little lost, but didn't seem to know how to help her. She stilled herself, and cleared her throat delicately.
"Touma, Nasuti, and I set up a few scans, and I've been compiling data for the last two days," she began reluctantly. "And it does appear that we may have some trouble."
Minako leaned forward in her armchair. "What kind of trouble?" she asked, voice tense. Ami favored her with a small, nervous smile.
"Well, if this were anything else, it looks an awful lot like Point D trouble," she said.
The Senshi didn't react the way he'd expected. Truthfully, he didn't know what sort of reaction he expected, but the quiet stoicism that fell across their group wasn't it. Makoto sighed.
"Are we starting at the beginning?" she asked. Seiji hoped somebody clarified what she meant.
Usagi shrank back in her chair, pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around them, her expression haunted. She looked to Ami, her expression almost begging the girl to say otherwise. Ami hunched her shoulders beneath the expression, but then firmed her resolve.
"I can't say. Because while this looks like Point D, the energy signature is absolutely not Metalia or the Dark Kingdom. It's something that I haven't been able to identify yet," she replied. Usagi perked up a bit at that.
Minako shot a look at Makoto, frowning. "Mako-chan, I don't think this would be starting at the beginning. That's too much time. I wouldn't be surprised if the Shittenou are an attempt at distraction. I think whatever is going on at Ami-chan's Point D might be something we need to investigate though." She looked up at all the Senshi.
"Ami-chan says this isn't Metalia or the Dark Kingdom, which means, whatever is going on, we can't get caught up thinking about this like it's something we know. We assume this is a new enemy and a new attack. We need to investigate Point D. Ami-chan, where are the coordinates? Can we teleport there?" she asked Mercury.
If she ever told him again about what a crummy leader she was, Seiji was going to throw her in the lake.
Ami nodded. "They're in the arctic circle, so we should be able to teleport, but I can't verify yet what we'd be teleporting into," she said, clicking keys on her computer.
"Yeah. I don't like this plan," Touma said in a grave voice. He held up a hand, palm out, when Minako began to protest. "I hear you. I agree it needs to be investigated, but teleporting sight unseen into a potential enemy stronghold when we don't even know what they're up to sounds…suicidal."
Seiji nodded in agreement along with Shin. Ami sighed.
"We wouldn't be teleporting in now. I'd want to get more data first. I just…don't' know how long that might take or what I'll be able to find out," she said wearily.
"Um. Am I the only person here who doesn't like the idea of teleporting at all," Shuu chimed in, raising his hand. Ryo nodded, crossing his arms.
"Even if we thought we had a good idea of what was going on, that still seems…really risky to me," he said in agreement. Minako scowled, but Nausti help up a hand.
"What about Kayura and the Masho? Can we ask them?" she chimed in. The room went silent for a moment.
"Sure. It might be helpful to know if they're picking up anything strange in uh…wherever they are," Minako agreed, the scowl dissolving into a tentative expression.
"The Youjakai," Rei said as Ami continued to type furiously on her computer. Minako shrugged.
"Sure," she replied.
"Ok so hang on though. What is a Point D?" Shuu wanted to know. Beside him, Usagi still had her arms wrapped around her legs, her face a mix of uncertainty and sadness. Ami looked up from her typing, blinking owlishly at Shuu. She paused, her expression thoughtful.
"In our Universe, it was an area near the North Pole that harbored and attracted negative energy," Ami intoned matter-of-factly. "It's not necessarily even that there is a Point D here – I'm just seeing some suspicious activity in a location that would generally be similar to Point D," she concluded.
"It's the same thing," Usagi said quietly into her knees. "And the last time we had Point D problems, everybody died. I don't like that this feels the same. I don't want anyone going there."
It had been a quiet statement, but it seemed to suck the air from the room like a vacuum. Seiji knew they'd died – at this point it was well known, but somehow connecting what was happening now to something that had definitively killed them last time made things a little too…raw for him. If the looks on the other Troopers' faces were anything to go by, they agreed with his own internal dialogue.
The Senshi didn't seem nearly as impacted as Seiji felt they should be, in the face of the connection Usagi had made. Minako and Ami both looked ready to protest. Rei looked resigned, and Makoto looked determined.
"Usagi," Minako's tone was patient, but firm. "This is what we do. It's what we've always done. If we don't investigate this, who knows what could happen? Who else is going to do it?" she said. Usagi straightened, mouth open to protest before Ryo interrupted.
"Uh, I thought we said Kayura and the Masho?" he replied, raising his eyebrows at Minako. "Let them figure this out and see what they come back with."
"I thought you guys didn't trust them?" Makoto fired back. "Are you really ok letting them take the lead on something that could be this important?" Ryo clenched his fists, irritation painting his face, and Seiji held up a hand in an attempt to stop a fight before it got started.
"The Youjakai has just as much stake in what happens with this as we do. They don't want their entire realm devoured any more than we do," he said. "In this case, I think we're safe turning this over to them." Touma and Shin nodded.
"I agree. Let's contact them." Touma added. Nasuti bobbed her head and got up to retrieve the kamidana. Seiji suppressed a shiver as he thought about the object. It still creeped him out in a major way.
Minako turned a thoughtful look on Ami then. "Ami-chan, do we know what happened to the uh…actual Shittenou?" she asked. Ami frowned at her.
"You mean the spirit stones?" she asked. Minako bobbed her head.
"We couldn't find them," Rei said, closing her eyes and sighing. "They were lost. But they weren't the Shittenou. It was just a means to contact them. You'd need the golden crystal to even make the connection," she said. "And that's presuming there still is a spirit world to contact," she added under her breath.
"Uh. Do we know what happened to the golden crystal exactly?" Makoto said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Presumably, Mamoru is still using it," Ami said quickly, shooting a worried glance at Usagi.
Minako, Makoto, and Rei all looked troubled. Minako rolled her lips and shot another look in Usagi's direction. She swallowed and then said, "Uh, is that ok? I mean. It's the golden crystal. It's linked to…" she trailed off, biting her lip nervously.
"I'm aware," Ami said shortly. "I'm keeping an eye on it."
The Senshi all shot looks at each other over Usagi's head, alarm and trepidation in the expressions, but they didn't say anything further. Seiji was going to need to get that out of Minako later. What was the golden crystal, and why was it a problem that Mamoru was using it?
"Hold up, I'm confused. Are these people, or rocks we're talking about?" Shuu piped in.
"Neither. They're spirits, technically," Ami said. "They were contacted through stones."
"So are they ghosts or what? Are we fighting a bunch of ghosts?" Ryo muttered, his expression indicating he was already at the end of a lit temper fuse.
Minako sighed. "We don't really know. They didn't feel like ghosts to me," she muttered. Seiji tried not to remember the way Kunzite had simply manifested right next to her and then carted her off. He certainly hadn't seemed as insubstantial as a ghost then.
"Ami, is this impacting the starseeds in any way?" Rei asked. Ami shrugged helplessly, gesturing at her computer.
"The Outer starseeds haven't changed their accelerated growth rate, so while it's possible they're responding to whatever is happening at this Point D, they don't seem to be reacting specifically to the most recent development.
The Senshi bobbed their heads. "Hopefully that's a good sign," Makoto said optimistically.
As far as Seiji was concerned, none of this was a good sign. The Outer Senshis' starseeds were accelerating their growth because they sensed a threat – but not the Guardian starseeds. Presumably because the Guardian starseeds were tied to the heart of a monster in another universe. Factor in the recent reappearance of old enemies now hunting the Senshi down, and this was all pointing to a not good very bad series of problems in Seiji's opinion.
And the fact that nothing had come after the Troopers yet was starting to give him a case of paranoia. Why come after the Senshi here, but not the Troopers?
Why go after the Senshi in the first place, but leave the Troopers alone while pretending to be after the Troopers?
There were so many things that didn't add up, and initially, he'd ignored the paranoia and the instinct that he was missing something – to disastrous consequences.
He wasn't going to ignore either of those things now.
But maybe that was a private conversation to have with Nasuti and the Troopers. The Senshi seemed…a little too pragmatic when it came to concerns about their wellbeing, and Seiji understood that they'd been through a great deal of…tragedy…that might push them in that direction.
But that didn't mean the Troopers had to accept it.
"I'm going to recommend that no Senshi goes anywhere alone. And I mean at least one of us should be with you now," he said into the silence that followed Makoto's optimism, crossing his arms.
Minako, Makoto, Ami, and Rei all frowned, ready to protest, but it was Usagi that cut them off.
"He's right. Nothing can happen to any of you, ok? Please. Don't go out alone," she begged them tearfully. The other Senshi closed their mouths and nodded reluctantly.
Nasuti returned then with the kamidana. She set it down on her coffee table, angling it up with some sort of stand she must have borrowed from something else in her collection. Seiji was struck by how…odd it was to be looking at a portal to the Youjakai calmly in Nasuti's living room. Mentally, most of him was still fourteen when it came to dealing with Kayura or the Masho – in that his philosophy was not to.
Nasuti, however, knocked on the mirror without hesitation.
"What's happened?" the Empress asked immediately as her face became visible. It didn't bode well in Seiji's mind that she already seemed on edge.
"We've noticed some suspicious activity near the Arctic Circle and the Senshi have seen entities that shouldn't have been rebirthed with the starseeds," Nasuti answered brusquely. Kayura appeared to think for a moment.
"We've noticed some odd activity at the edge of our borders here – it's an area that has previously been exploited for access to your realm. We've kept it under guard, but the presence there…isn't from the Youjakai. We just don't know what its origin is," she finally responded.
This day kept getting better and better, he thought sourly.
His feelings must have been obvious, as Minako leaned forward and put her hand on one of his own. Grateful for the contact, Seiji turned his own hand and intertwined their fingers. She gave him a gentle squeeze in reply.
"Are you able to gather any additional information about it?" Ami prodded gently. Kayura smiled, but the expression had an edge to it.
"We sent scouts, and none of them returned. I've sent Rajura and Anubis to investigate. I anticipate them back in the next few days. If they don't come back, I'll be taking an offensive to our borders," she said, something hard and dark behind her tone.
She was clearly every inch the ruler.
Ami nodded. "Keep us posted please. If we can assist, please let us know," she replied. Kayura nodded.
"Let's plan to meet in person in a week's time. If that changes, I'll be in touch," she said. The mirror went blank before they could reply.
Clearly, things were not on the up and up in the Youjakai, which just made things so much worse to Seiji. And now all they could do was wait and see what developed. He eyed Shuu and Ryo and tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, but it this strange, tense calm would probably last about twenty-four hours before the two of them would be bouncing off the walls looking to take action.
"In the meantime, I'll plan to continue my monitoring and research," Ami said, back to typing in the Mercury computer.
"We'll help," Touma said, giving her a smile that was friendly, but firm. When Ami gave him a grateful expression in return, his posture relaxed a bit. Well. At least the Senshi weren't planning to shut them out.
Usagi's stomach growled so loudly then they all heard it. Rei rolled her eyes. Nasuti smiled, and Ami giggled as the tension in the room burst.
"C'mon Usagi. I'll fix you a snack," Makoto said gently, rising from her chair. Usagi smiled at her, getting up, and next to him, Minako rose as well. "Better make sure I supervise, or Usagi's going to have you working all night," the blonde quipped.
Rei rolled her eyes. "Don't you mean both of you will have Makoto working all night?" she groused, crossing her arms and one leg over the other at the knee. Both blondes stuck their tongues out at her as Makoto laughed, and then they all disappeared into the kitchen.
Rei turned immediately to Ami.
"Mamoru?" she asked curtly.
Ami shot Rei an openly anxious expression. "The Golden Crystal is definitely in his starseed, but I haven't seen anything strange. I have so many questions about what that means, but no way to answer them right now. I'm simply monitoring," she replied. Rei nodded, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"It's ok Ami. It's not your job to have all the answers. I'm concerned that this…thing might try to use Mamoru against us," she explained, trying to be reassuring. Ami put a hand to her chin, clicked through a few screens, and then shook her head.
"He was rebirthed with the starseeds. His starseed is not in the cauldron, so reasonably, his essence couldn't be used," she said. Both women seemed to relax a bit then. Rei nodded.
"Good. That's good," she replied.
The room fell into silence again for a moment before Rei suddenly leveled a sharp gaze on the Troopers.
"Part of the reason I agreed to stick together when we go out is because I feel strongly that all of you should be on your guard. It strikes me as suspicious that nothing has come after any of you yet," she said. Ami nodded, her face stern. Seiji felt a jolt knowing her thoughts had been so close to his own.
Touma huffed a short laugh. "Yeah. I'd be lying if I said that hadn't already crossed my mind…a lot," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head self-consciously. She nodded approvingly at him.
"Good. The Senshi have been trying hard to learn from our past mistakes. There's no reason the Troopers can't from our mistakes either," she said curtly. "I will lay my life down before I permit anything to happen to this Universe, and not just because we've rebirthed our starseeds here," she paused, looked down for a moment before making a fist. "I can't let what happened to our Universe be in vain. I can't let that…thing…do this again. I won't." she said vehemently. She looked up, pinning them all with the intensity of her gaze.
"I'm not going to assign blame here, because guilt serves no purpose. However, I do agree that covering every angle is important, and I've already been conducting my own analysis there," Nasuti said quietly. Everyone blinked at her, and she smirked.
"I made a career out of studying the armors, remember? Based on all the information I have, my leading theory is that whatever this is doesn't yet know how to seize control of the armors. It's not just the bearers that would stand as an obstacle, but the armors themselves and their creators, if that makes sense," she explained. Seiji watched Touma's face light up then with the possibilities.
"That would make sense. There was such a big deal about finding the right masters for the armor – there might be something behind that – some kind of fail safes maybe?" he chimed in.
Nasuti bobbed her head. "Yes, I think so."
"I hate to bring everybody down, but that only presents a higher risk for the five of you – and the Masho, presumably," Ami interrupted. Rei nodded. "In our experience," Mercury went on, "Anytime an enemy wanted something and couldn't get direct access to controlling it, they did the next best thing – " here she trailed off as Rei coughed "The Silver Crystal," under her breath. Ami sighed and continued, " – they simply controlled the person who held it instead." She and Rei paused to let the statement sink in.
Seiji couldn't stop a shiver running down his spine, and the feeling wasn't helped when several sets of eyes focused on him, most of the Troopers looking anxious. He scowled. Difficult as it was to think about, it was important.
"They're right. It's happened before, and that's worth remembering," he muttered, ignoring Rei and Ami as they sent him inquisitive looks. Rei eyed him when the Troopers held their silence, but after a moment she shrugged.
"It's happened to us, more than once, so it's something to take into consideration," she said, bypassing the moment and moving them forward. Seiji sent her a grateful look, but she ignored it.
"Ok. So everybody be careful. Got it," Shuu said with a sigh.
"I think that's the wisest course of action for right now, but I fear it will make things difficult for all of you. We'll try not to be too much of a burden," Mercury said, closing her laptop.
"No need. The Troopers will work it out," Shin said calmly, and the rest of them nodded. It was difficult enough, trying to go through his normal routines knowing the Senshi and Nasuti were vulnerable.
They all nodded in agreement and Ami sighed, closing her computer and gesturing it out of existence. It still impressed him, every time she did that. "We'll be as accommodating as we can," she said.
"Be careful guys. I don't like this. I'm worried that there's too much we're missing, so make sure you watch your own backs." Nasuti cautioned them. "I'll help Ami get to the bottom of things, so hopefully we'll get through this quickly."
"Mm, yes. I agree," Ami said firmly as she leaned back from the table. "I don't trust completely in any data right now because we only have a partial picture. But we'll need to start thinking a lot more about where this could be going," she said.
Shuu eyed the rest of the Senshi as they came out. Makoto smiled at them all as she put a platter on the table loaded with a fruit tart and plates. Seiji wasn't generally a dessert person, but he eyed it with interest. Pretty much anything Makoto made was worth eating, in his opinion. This tart had a pleasing variety of fruit arranged in a precisely symmetrical pattern, glistening beneath the lights. It looked as if she'd pulled it from a cooking magazine.
Usagi had a hand loaded with what appeared to be cookies, and as she flopped back down in her chair, his suspicion was confirmed when she passed half of them to Shuu. Kongo's face lit up as he accepted them, and then the two of them sat, side by side, shoveling cookies into their mouths. Seiji shook his head as Minako sat down beside him.
When she tipped her head at him inquisitively, he gestured discreetly in Usagi and Shuu's direction and she giggled a bit behind her hand.
It struck him, in that moment, that the Troopers had all found something here. The Senshi brought light and happiness to them in a way they'd never experienced before. They balanced the Troopers, and in a way, seemed to anchor them.
He watched as the tall brunette dished an extra-large slice for Touma last, Tenku's face brightening considerably as he accepted it and she sat beside him with a much smaller one for herself. As conversation turned to lighter topics, Seiji felt contentment war with his inner turmoil.
He needed this, he realized. He needed to be part of this new family. He needed the Troopers to be happy too. And he needed the Senshi to be happy. To be safe and feel like they belonged.
Most of all, he needed Minako. He needed her to be happy. He needed her to feel settled.
And he needed her to know that he would keep her safe. That he had her back.
Always.
