Aces High - Chapter 2
Gazing outside of her bedroom window towards the street which she lived on, Chomei Eichi was purposely distracting herself from work with her very own mind, and an incredible video game soundtrack. Just losing herself in thought and retracing her steps through her mind was a hobby of its own, though today was different. The events of the day were brushed away from her mind as she began to ponder other things in life. As a student, she was purposely making herself face more and more challenging courses. And while most of her classes during this year were Honors and two were Advanced Placement, the attention that she got from her grades, rather than her personality or looks, was rather overwhelming. Most people would rather talk to her for the sake of getting her to do their homework for them, instead of making real conversation or complimenting her on something other than her intelligence. Her laptop was closed so that she would not have to bother with fellow students chasing her through e-mail and instant messaging services for the sake of answers to homework, something that greatly annoyed her. A steel-framed rectangular picture frame engraved with "Makes my world go 'round" held a picture of her, with star sapphire eyes and short waving titanium-silver hair with long bangs framing her face that floated just above her shoulders, between fraternal twins, both with ebony hair and golden-amber eyes. The girl on Chomei's right had her dark bangs covering her forehead, but not her eyes, which sparkled with mirth, and medium-length hair that reached to the top of her spine, the boy on Chomei's left with bangs just brushing his eyes and bearing a complacent smile. Chomei smiled as her eyes fell upon his, and let out a barely audible sigh. To have eyes like those was something really unique, and they were one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen in her life. Heck, he was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen in her life, and she could say that with absolute certainty after knowing him for as long as she had.
"Lady Aries is still unfamiliar to her power, and though her intentions may be good, she does not act with caution. Your assistance may be required, Lady Aquarius."
Chomei sighed as she pushed her Trigonometry book to the side, placing the ruled notebook paper on top of the pages that contained her homework. "Is there really another, Axel?" Her slightly higher-pitched voice contained lilting tones of delight, perhaps at feeling a little less out-of-place. A rummaging in her jewelry drawer gave way to a golden-haired male pixie who looked back at her with wide-open and curious sienna eyes. "Is there?" He asked out of rhetoric, eyes wandering in blank space to avoid eye contact and not end up in yet another hour-long debate with Chomei. After a few moments, they seemed to settle on something. "This quickly, too..." He said softly as his eyes filled with concern, translucent wings fluttering as he floated out of the mahogany box. "Chomei, you should go. It would be better if you investigated, and if it really is another Senshi, she'll need help, right?" Chomei nodded with a smile, excited at the prospect of another Senshi. "Yeah, I'll go." From the right side of her desk, she opened the second drawer from the top, where, amidst a bevy of pens and mechanical pencils, lay a small wand not much bigger than Axel himself, the handle palest blue, though the symbol in the middle of the silver five-point star, Aquarius, shone with all the colors of the rainbow. Axel raised a questioning brow. "Why are you keeping it there?" He asked, somewhat confused at the action. Chomei turned to grin at the pixie. "Because I can." Raising the wand above her head, she uttered the words that kept her hanging on to the world outside of her mind, outside of circle of friends:
"Aquarius Celestial Power, Make-Up!"
Chomei let herself be lost in that pure feeling of the moment, as slick ribbons of cool water cradled her fragile body, weaving through her hair to tie back one layer and affix itself as such in a light azure color. Traveling down from her forehead, the ribbons left a silver tiara with a star sapphire in the center, and a pale blue choker on her neck, attached to a dangling six-point star of silver. A plain white bodysuit was quickly ornamented with a pale blue bow on the front at the bottom of her medium blue collar, as well as a longer version of the same bow on the back of the bodysuit, above her double-layered skirt, medium over pale blue. The ribbons unraveled themselves from her arms and legs last of all, leaving elbow-length white gloveswith three pale blue protectors and a pair of high heels in that exact shade. The ribbons then converged upon themselves to form a silver staff that measured to be just an inch or two above Chomei's height, with a swirling spiral design at the top to encase a gleaming star sapphire. Taking this staff in hand, Chomei backflipped to pose, holding her staff at her side.
"It's finally time, Axel. They've put their plans into action."
Meanwhile, in Tenshi Toy Store, Sailor Aries could very well have been the most confused person on the face of the Earth at the time. While the door had been mysteriously unlocked and the store darkened and chilly inside, nothing seemed to add up to what the radar had been telling her. An Akuma, here? There had to have been some mistake, since this place would be rather laughable for an evil creature of any sort. Looking left and right with apprehension, an innocent, child-like voice called out to her from the inky dark.
"H-help...me...!"
Aries nearly jumped at the sound of a voice, and hastened towards its origin. "Don't move, you're going to be all right." She said gently, to try and soothe whatever child was in this rather creepy-looking establishment. Soon, she came to a corner near a small window, the area lit by the eerie pale luminescence of moonlight. A small girl, definitely older than five and younger than nine, was huddled in the corner, sobbing, her knees to her chest. The moonlight gave her platinum blonde hair a strange silvery sheen, something that Aries was apt to notice as so. Kneeling down on one knee next to the child. "What happened? Are you hurt?" The child sniffled several times, reaching out towards Aries. Without a moment of hesitation, Aries offered the girl her hand. Seconds later, the girl had grabbed onto Aries' wrist and flung her into the side wall.
"Heh. So you came after all, Aries." The girl spoke, standing up, keeping her head bent down so that her long bangs obscured her face and eyes. She wore a frilled dress, and the word "lolita" immediately zoomed into Aries' mind as she slowly picked herself up from the floor and the wonderful Yuuki-shaped indentation in the wall, now feeling a pounding headache. "My, you're pathetic...one strike and you're down already. Not even a hint of a fighting spirit. So sad..." She smirked, her canines revealed to be longer than was normal for humans.
"Aries, stay focused! She just wants you to let down your guard!" Shani called from a few feet away, only to be silenced by a flying porcelain doll, one of eight that gathered around the little Akuma in a circle, all of them radiating a violet aura. "Now, it's time..." The Akuma smirked, sending the dolls at a breakneck speed towards Aries, who was completely unarmed, left with the futile options of dodging or blocking. Dodging came first, but it was not long before the dolls soon came back full-circle to the Akuma. "Is that it?" The demon of a child sounded disinterested and completely apathetic, sending her dolls to swarm Aries. Panicked and surrounded by floating possessed dolls, Aries struck out with her fists, only to be grabbed by the dolls and slammed into another, more structually sound, wall, the dolls staying to secure her arms and legs to the wall as the Akuma sent a series of dark energy blasts into Aries' abdomen, eliciting one scream of pain after another from the Senshi. Aries found herself with hazy vision and a sweat drenching her forehead, and she could make out the shape of the Akuma and the remaining dolls making some sort of strange formation...Shani was saying something, but it was being lost in the sound of her own ears ringing. What could have been so important to say it this late...?
The Akuma's dolls, including the ones holding Aries hostage, were suddenly obliterated by several speeding strikes from a staff, leaving the demon itself extremely confused as to where its dolls had gone and where the attack had come from. Aries brought herself to her feet with a stagger, allowing herself to collect her thoughts and shake off her weariness, her vision clearing to see a girl, similarly dressed in a pseudo-school uniform outfit, carrying a staff, now facing off with the Akuma. "You..." The Akuma seethed, irritated at her minions being destroyed so easily. "Who are you?" The other girl gave the Akuma a self-assured, almost dazzling smile, putting her right staff arm down to the side, turning to the Akuma at an angle, her left foot pointed towards the creature. "That isn't the point of importance here so much as is hers." The girl gestured towards Aries, who showed quite a deal of shock before breaking into a short-lived argument with the other girl. "W-what? What's that supposed to mean?"
The girl only smiled and shook her head. "In due time, Aries, in due time. For now, I will take my leave." A thick mist filled the room, giving Shani the opportunity to hasten to Aries' side. "All right, this is it! She's vulnerable now! Call your weapon and destroy her!" This would have been simple enough, Aries knew, if she actually had a weapon. On cue to that thought, two large, spiked chakram appeared in her hands in a flash of light, each with a radius of about a foot each, with handles that would meet at perpendicular angles in the center. Taking a moment to familiarize herself with the feel of the new items, Aries tightened her grip on the handles as the fog began to thin and dissipate, and she was left alone in a dark room with a pixie and an enranged Akuma. "You were fortunate enough that you had that much help..." The Akuma gave a sick, strange giggle of a laugh as she brandished a large serrated knife which gave off a strange gleam in the dim lighting, charging towards Aries. "But it ends here, fledgling."
How desperate. Aries couldn't help but think it, as she bent her knees in preparation for some sort of offensive motion. A strange sensation, similar to that she had felt from her transformation wand, passed from the weapons in her hands through her nerves and into her mind, and a new phrase began to form on her lips, a phrase to save her life from the rage of a wayward Akuma:
"Inferno Dance!" In an instant, both chakram had ignited themselves with flame as she threw them at the same time with a horizontal motion similar to that of a discus thrower with both her hands, so that her arms crossed in front of her chest. Racing towards the Akuma, both chakram tore through her small body as the demon let out a shrill cry of defeat as she was both sliced apart and set aflame, disintegrating into a strange ash onto the floor of the building, in the shape of a black circular dragon crest. Both chakram flew back towards Aries, who caught them and let her arms fall to her side in a more casual manner. Shani was ecstatic, though Aries wasn't quite sure at what - was it at her victory, or the identity of that other person who had shown up? Stepping through the room and to where the ashy remains of the Akuma lay, she knelt on the floor and brushed away the ash to reveal the dragon crest on the floor. What is this supposed to mean? Aries wondered, as the crest sent a jolt through her arm at her touch before disappearing. The chakram disappeared from her hands in a quick but gradual fading effect, leaving Aries to stand as she examined her hand for any damage before signaling to Shani. "I think it's time to go home now."
Shani complied, flitting to her mistress's side, as Aries first strolled out of the store before breaking into a faster sprint in order to reach home before anyone saw her in this ridiculous outfit. What have I gotten myself into? What's going on? This 'Lady Aries' business...
"What did you just up and leave for, Lady Aquarius? Lady Aries could have been killed!" Axel scolded the passive Chomei, who had resumed her task of finishing her loathed Trigonometry homework. "Leaving an inexperienced Senshi alone like that! Honestly, I know you're more distant than others, but I didn't think you were that distant!"
"She's alive and well, isn't she? Yuuki, I mean." Chomei replied calmly, gesturing towards the window of her bedroom which faced the Katakeru household. "That was a low-level Akuma. You know as well as I do that if she is, she's experienced enough to begin handling them." She paused for a moment, finishing a problem before setting her book, her homework paper slipped inside it, onto her desk. "And besides that, I told you before to stop calling me Lady Aquarius. I'm Chomei Eichi. Not a queen, not a prophet, not a dead person. I'm a student, a musician, and a Zodiac Senshi. But I'm not your Lady Aquarius, and I would like to be treated that way." A long pause filled the room, as Axel hung his head in silence.
"I'm sorry. It's just..." He sighed before continuing, knowing that what he was about to say would probably rub Chomei the wrong way. "You...remind me so much of her. What you just said...she told me something just like that when she became Queen. I'm sorry for suddenly pushing this onto you, I really am." It was Chomei's turn to pause as she mulled this over.
"Don't take it personally."