Episode 4: The Wisdom of the Flame Star
For 14-year-old Shingo Tsukino, his routine had changed for the relatively and decidedly strange. For example, his family had adopted a stray white cat that had taken a liking to the eldest child of the family. This cat was named Artemis by Shingo, but that was as much as the rest of the family knew. Shingo (and his new friend, Ayato Mizuno) knew otherwise, for the cat had introduced himself to the boy much earlier. As it just so happens, Artemis could talk, which was very helpful when other people weren't around.
Both Shingo and Ayato were both chosen by some sort of entity as the protectors of the Earth, Tsuki no Zangetsu and Suisei no Uzumaki, respectively. It was common sense that the two kept their identities secret, lest their family and friends be targeted by their enemy, the Dark Kingdom (and their lieutenants, the Shittenou). After having foiled his latest plan, it seemed that the first of the Shittenou, Jadeite, attempted to drain energy through the use of bewitched clocks. Said clocks affected and skewed everyone's perception of time, except for Ayato and Artemis. Together (using a pocket computer procured by the cat from somewhere), the two managed to track down the youma responsible. This youma could manipulate time, making for a very fearsome foe. Thanks to some timely assistance from Tuxedo Mask, Zangetsu and Uzumaki were able to best the monster.
With the way things were going now, another supernatural event was going to surely happen sooner rather than later...
It was now becoming a regular occurrence for Jadeite to be summoned in front of Queen Beryl to answer for his incompetence, which greatly irked the Shittenou. In point of fact, the critique had gotten even harsher with the appearance of another Samurai. However, it seemed that he was in for a lecture from the woman this time, which was somewhat out of the usual.
"If those troublemakers that appeared on Earth get a hold of the legendary Silver Crystal, which we are looking for," she monologued, "we'll have a serious problem on our hands! Our empire is the only one who should have it. I will show no mercy to anyone who tries to hinder the march of the Dark Kingdom! Haven't you found that crystal yet?"
"My apologies, ma'am," the blonde general responded.
"You already have several failed efforts on your hands," she retorted, clearly not in the mood for his games. "However, I am gracious enough to grant you another chance, Jadeite. All you must do is gather life energy. If these 'samurai' attempt to intervene, eliminate them."
"As you wish, my Queen," the man responded.
Sirens blazed through the streets as patrol cars raced down the road. Shingo and Artemis glanced at them as they passed by. Did something happen? the boy wondered to himself. As he followed them with his eyes, he noticed a certain blue-haired schoolboy... who was wearing the same exact school uniform as he was. "Hey! Ayato!" the blonde called out.
Ayato Mizuno was reading through a book, no doubt studying, when Shingo called. "Shingo, Artemis," he smartly responded.
"Nice to see you again, Ayato," the white cat responded as he bounded into the kneeling genius' arms.
"Where are you headed off to?" Shingo asked his new friend.
"My cram school," the blue-haired genius replied; ever since the mass hypnotizing incident, health officials had closed down Crystal, forcing those attending to seek other options.
"On a bus?" the blonde disbelievingly inquired.
"If it's a good one," Ayato responded, "then I'd even take a plane to attend a cram school." Ayato glanced at Shingo's face, and the genius noted that his friend's eyes looked blank. "I'm a Samurai," he sighed. "I need to study hard to gain even more knowledge and help lighten Artemis' load."
"Wow!" Artemis brightly complimented (Shingo merely sweat-dropped). "I see that you have a lot of dedication, Ayato. Let's keep it up! Then again," the white cat glared at Shingo, "compared to a certain other person that shall remain nameless..."
"If you mean me," said certain blonde boy, "you should have said so in the first place! Besides, the bus isn't here yet." However, no sooner had Shingo stopped talking that another patrol car zoomed on by. "I wonder what's got the cops on full alert..." he mused.
"Hey, guys!" a voice from behind called; Naru and a black-haired schoolfriend of hers had just arrived, which meant that all talk of the Samurais' duty had to cease. "Did you hear the rumors behind one of the local buses?" the girl with black hair asked.
"Rumors?" the blonde inquisitively repeated. "No, haven't heard any."
"Well, they say that a bus with some passengers left here just after 6:00 PM. The thing is... the bus just up and vanished with them in it," the girl explained.
"Whoa. Sounds pretty serious," Shingo commented blandly.
"It is," Naru confirmed. "You know there's a bus stop ahead called Sendaizaka Ue, right?"
"Oh yeah, where the five slopes are," the blonde schoolboy responded.
"Bingo," the brunette confirmed. "The bus that vanished had about 50 passengers on board."
"...and it's said that they disappeared around there," the raven-haired girl continued. By this point, Shingo, Ayato, and Naru were listening intensely (with the latter starting to tremble). "The police suspect that it's some sort of mass kidnapping, and they managed to keep things under wraps momentarily. However, they decided after a while to publicly release the information so that they could more openly investigate."
"In other words," Ayato summed up, "there's a 6:00 bus that's been cursed..."
"Man, talk about bad service..." the blonde quipped, though inwardly, he was starting to get scared.
"It's downright scary, that's what it is!" Naru cried out.
"That reminds me," Shingo recounted. "There's a shrine over by Sendaizaka. If I remember correctly, they sell charms to ward off evil spirits. Maybe you should buy one, Naru." ...and snag me a talisman too, he inwardly ruminated. That story really gave me some bad creeps!
"That's a great idea!" the brunette cheered. "Maybe we should all go! I heard that one of the priests that lives there has psychic powers, and his fortune-telling is extremely accurate."
"And I've also heard that their amulets really work too!" the black-haired schoolgirl added.
"A visit to the kannushi, eh?" Shingo wondered out loud. "Why not? It might be a good experience."
"Indeed. It's a shame that I'll have to miss it," Ayato groused.
"Huh? Why?" the blonde asked.
"Cram school, remember?" the genius responded. "Besides, I have an important mock exam coming up, and it just wouldn't do for me to catch a cold before I begin studying."
"Wha..." the spikey blonde paled.
The light purple of the evening sky hung over the Hikawa Shrine as crows took flight and bells slightly chimed in the soft breeze. At the prayer box, three school girls from somewhere other than Juuban were praying for good luck.
"May the boy I like also like me in return," a light-brown-haired girl requested, standing beside another girl with longer, darker brown hair and yet another with red hair. As the girls tittered once the prayers were given, a certain blonde-haired man (unnoticed by the trio) could have been seen sweeping the temple grounds. As he heard them, he turned his head as if to look... then gave a slight yet sinister smirk.
That's it, the man silently encouraged. Pray more! Fill your heart with the energy of burning desire.
…
Within an inner room of the shrine, a great fire endlessly burned in front of a 14 to 15-year-old boy with wavy black hair who was wearing a unique white upper shirt robe with red robe slacks. The boy continually waved an ounusa in front of the flames, then held the shaft horizontally before him. He returned the ounusa to the proper place, clasped his hands together and sat on a mat directly in front of the fire, his eyes closed as he meditated.
"It's coming..." he said to himself, opening his eyes once more. "Something evil is coming closer."
A crow cawed as the priest boy gazed into the burning flames.
…
As the girls continued to pray, a strange individual had somehow sneaked up behind them. "Oh, you girls are so pretty," the presence announced. The girls opened their eyes and looked to their right; they saw a little old man with a slight tan standing with a straight back. He was bald, though his uni-brow could be seen as somewhat compensating for that fact. He was dressed in a white and light-blue priest's outfit, and as if underscoring that fact, he also held an ounusa behind his back. "Wanna work part time as miko?" he asked.
The girls, eyes wide, looked as though they had never experienced this kind of interest before. Such a scene would make one wonder if the old man had sincerely beneficial thoughts in mind. Either oblivious to the girls' vacant stare or just not caring, he ventured closer to them. "Well?" he requested.
"A... All we wanted to do was buy amulets for love..." the girl with light-brown hair explained. "That's the only reason why we're here..."
The old man let out a huge laugh. "Relax!" he cried out. "I was just kidding about that job request!" He then glanced down at the golden watch he wore on his left wrist. "5:30. Excellent..." he mused, soon after apparently looking back at the girls; his eyes had been perpetually closed. "As usual, I'll perform a special ceremony for all of you, so that your prayers of love can be answered," the man announced.
Silence reigned. Then, the man abruptly began to energetically wave the ounusa in front of him, in what had to be the silliest ritual invocation that one could possibly see in Japan. "O god of flames!" he sang. "Please make sure these girls' thoughts reach their loved ones, and make their wishes come true!" The girls snapped out of their amazement and respectfully bowed as the man danced around. The ritual complete, the man held the onusa's shaft horizontally over his bald pate. "You girls are from somewhere far away, right?" he inquired, swiftly returning the onusa behind his back. "Since you're here, why not draw a fortune slip, too? Just so you know, we also sell votive paintings of horses for passing exams. Wanna buy one?"
"Thanks for the concern," the girl with light-brown hair bowed. The three then swiftly made for the exit of the shrine, excitedly talking about the strange old man who just so happened to be a priest. Behind the stone entrance, the man that had swept earlier watched as the girls left, unnoticed by anyone.
…
Once again, the old man had sensed a group at the prayer box, so he had decided to pay them a visit. "Oh, you girls are so pretty," he announced to the group, who turned to look at him.
"I hate to tell you this, pops," a certain spikey blonde deadpanned, "but I'm a boy."
"Oh, that's alright!" the man cried out. "Say, do any of you want to work part time at this shrine?" Shingo, Naru and her black-haired friend could only look on in stupefication.
"Grandfather, what are you doing?" a voice from behind the old man asked. The new arrival, another priest by the looks of it, had short, wavy black hair with amethyst eyes and ivory skin and wore an outfit resembling a miko's. If it weren't for the fact that he had a male-sounding voice, he'd have probably been mistaken for a girl. "I thought we had this discussion before," the young priest condemned, arms folded.
"Oh! Ryu!" the old man, apparently the grandfather to the comparatively taller other priest, greeted.
"There are plenty of bad rumors going on about you in the neighborhood," Ryu the priest admonished, cutting across his grandfather. "You don't need to keep perpetuating them through your actions."
The grandfather merely and sheepishly laughed.
"Wow!" Naru gasped, she and her friend blushing. "He's so cool... and so cute... I wouldn't mind being a miko if it meant being around him..."
"Yeah..." the black-haired girl agreed.
What's he got that I don't got? Shingo inwardly ruminated, sweat-dropping all the while.
…
As the previous group of girls descended down the steps to the street, the sweeper had hidden himself in some nearby bushes. With yet another sinister smirk, he sent a wave of unknown invisible energy towards them. The girls gasped in shock...
…
Ryu's eyes widened as he let out a soft gasp, sensing this unknown evil force. The crows cawed in response...
…
Under the wave's influence, the girls' eyes drooped, as though they were being hypnotized into following some heinous commands.
…
"A strange aura..." the young priest announced. "Could it belong to an evil spirit?" Those in the immediate vicinity blinked a couple of times in response. Taking no heed, Ryu began to concentrate. "Try as you might to bring misfortune to our shrine," he called out, "you shall always fail as long as I am here!" He reached into the lining of his priest robes, pulling out a piece of paper. Inscribed on it were the characters for 'Akuryou Taisan'. With a yell that announced just what had been written, Ryu leapt into the air, talisman in hand... and proceeded to slap said talisman onto poor Shingo's forehead.
"Huh?" was all that escaped from his lips when he collapsed to the ground, eyes rotating in swirls.
"Shingo!" the brunette cried out in concern for her friend.
"Wha...?" a wide-eyed Ryu eeked out. "Not again..." Those were the last words the blonde heard as his world disappeared into darkness.
When the boy next opened his eyes, he was surrounded by an unrelenting mass of black. "Well, this is odd..." he said to no one in particular... but perhaps that was because there was no one around. "Hey! Is there anyone else here?" he called out, half expecting someone else to answer. Nothing of the sort came. "Guess it was too much to hope for..." Shingo mumbled as he folded his arms. Then, quite suddenly, and without warning, a glimpse of light shimmered on the edge of his vision. He turned to face it – not knowing how he could do so, yet he did – and he saw a specter he had seen in a dream from earlier: the woman in white. Just as he recalled, her blue eyes – precisely the shade of his eyes, the boy realized – were filled with deep sadness. Her ivory skin practically shone, and her blonde hair – done up in a style resembling odongo and pigtails combined – fluttered, even though there was no wind. "Who are you?" he tentatively asked the girl.
"Search..." she said. Shingo could tell there more words after that, but he could not hear them.
"What was that?" he requested of the woman.
"Search..." she cryptically repeated.
"What do you mean by search?" the spikey blonde demanded. "Do you mean search for you?"
"Search..." she stated for the third time, radiating even more light. It was so overwhelming that the boy had to close his eyes to keep him from being blinded...
He opened his eyes. Apparently, from what he could tell, he was lying on his back in a futon, which was resting on the floor.
"Shingo!" a voice from his right side called out. He turned his head to see Naru and her friend pleased with the boy's return to consciousness. He suddenly noticed a small pressure on his midriff. One quick glance told him that it was the white cat that continually stuck by his side. Shingo turned back to the two girls at his bedside.
"What happened?" he asked the two.
"I accidentally knocked you out, that's what happened," another voice explained from his left. Turning his head once more, Shingo saw Ryu the priest sitting on his knees next to the futon. "It's almost 7:30," he stated.
"I've been out that long?" the blonde boy inquired.
"Basically..." the priest confirmed, his eyes closed in shame. After a few seconds, he opened them again. "I don't believe we've been fully introduced. My name is Ryu Hino, one of the priests that work at this temple. As you could probably tell from that little exchange before things went goofy, I'm the grandson of the head priest here, Gennosuke Hino."
"Shingo Tsukino," the blonde gave in reply.
"A pleasure, Tsukino," Ryu Hino responded. "After you passed out, your friends helped carry you inside the living quarters of the shrine. This is a spare room."
"Living quarters?" the schoolboy pondered. "Does that mean you...?"
"Yes," the priest answered. "This shrine is, for all intents and purposes, my home."
"I see..." Shingo nodded. At that moment, the sliding room to the room opened, revealing a blonde man who was wearing priest robes as well.
"Sir Ryu," the man softly stated, "I have brought you water and a towel, just in case." He then placed a yellow tray next to the entrance to the hallway; on it was a pitcher of water and aforementioned towel.
"Thanks, but we won't be needing it right now. He just came around," the black-haired boy explained.
"Oh? If that will be all," he simpered, making to close the door. Unnoticed by almost anyone, Artemis had been glaring at the man ever since he had announced his presence.
That guy... the white cat thought to himself. Where have I seen someone like that before?
Slowly, but surely, the door was closed by the strange blonde priest. As Shingo started to get up into a sitting position, Artemis leapt off of the futon's covers. Naru and her friend, on the other hand, were both blushing furiously. I think it's obvious as to why they're all red... the schoolboy ruminated.
"Mr. Hino... was that man possibly your brother?" the brunette timidly asked.
"Did it even look like we were related?" said priest snapped. Upon realizing how he had phrased that, he closed his eyes once more. "I'm sorry. It's just been a rough couple of days, and my grandfather isn't helping matters."
"Yeah, I got the sense that he wasn't exactly the most trustworthy of priests," Shingo stated.
"You don't know the half of it," Ryu deadpanned. "He likes to hit on anyone regardless of gender. The other day, the man you just saw visited this shrine. My grandfather, in his 'infinite' wisdom, decided to hire him out of the blue as a live-in helper. He didn't even check to see if he was qualified."
"Oh my," Naru commented. "He sounds very... interesting."
"Well, moving on past that topic, I would like to apologize to you, Tsukino," the priest told him.
"What for? You made a mistake, nothing to apologize for," the spikey blonde responded.
"You don't understand," Ryu explained. "That wasn't supposed to happen. You see, something very strange has been going on recently. Usually, my sixth senses and prophecies are supposed to be extremely accurate, but they've been going haywire as of late."
Silence reigned throughout the room for a short time. Artemis was looking at the priest with some disbelief in his eyes. Prophecies? he thought to himself. Could it be that he's the princess? ...no, no, that sounds totally ridiculous. Yet, even as the cat thought this, some doubt remained. Who really knew how reincarnation worked anyways? At that moment, stomping footsteps could be heard approaching the room. It soon slid open, revealing a middle-aged woman in a lavender sweater with white undershirt and purple skirt, whose black hair was done up in a bun. She looked both livid and scared at the same time.
"Excuse me!" she boomed. "Where is the head priest?"
"Ma'am," Ryu addressed to her. "Anything concerning our head priest should be directed to me. What seems to be the problem?"
"My daughter didn't come home today, and the last place that I know she was at was here at your shrine, where she bought your amulets!" she claimed, stepping into the room. Oblivious to the stares she was getting, the concerned mother pressed on. "I heard from a reliable source that your head priest performs a so-called special ceremony everyday at 5:30. Are you completely certain that he's not forcing people onto that haunted 6:00 bus?"
"Geez, I wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition..." the priest snarked. "Look, the 5:30 ceremony has been offered here at this shrine since long before I arrived on its doorstep. I therefore ask that you not make any wild accusations. After all, we have already been asked these questions by the police. Since they probably have more information, why don't you take your concerns to them?" He got up and approached the woman. "Let me be completely clear: my grandfather has nothing to with these disappearances. If that is all, then please leave."
"How dare you?" the woman cried in outrage. "I come here to voice my concerns, and you turn me away just like that? Such rudeness!"
"You are the one being rude, bursting into my home without warning. Once more, I ask that you leave."
The others could only look at the argument in silence.
The next day, Shingo and Artemis had made their way to the Hikawa Shrine once more, in order to best determine what was going on.
"I don't like this, Shingo," Artemis confessed while the two had huddled in the shadows, where they wouldn't be seen by the nearby gaggle of schoolgirls at the shrine's prayer offering. "Something about this whole mess really smells."
"You think this has something to do with the Dark Kingdom?" the blonde questioned.
"Possibly. It'd probably be best to contact Ayato. After that, we'll figure out what we have to do," the cat responded.
"At this time?" Shingo inquired; it was currently almost 5:15. "I mean, Ayato's probably attending his cram school by now..."
"Shingo, the future of the world is at stake!" the cat exclaimed. "Surely this could be considered an exception!"
"Alright, alright, you made your point," the boy conceded. "I'll get in touch with him." Shingo closed his eyes and began to concentrate. After a moment's time, a golden symbol had begun glowing on his forehead. It was the character for Jin or Righteousness. It was not long before the boy heard the word Trust echo in his mind; Ayato had responded.
Ayato, the blond thought out, I know that you're busy with cram school, but Artemis says this is important. You see...
Approximately half an hour later, Shingo, Artemis and Ayato made their way over to Sendaizaka Ue, the blue-haired genius having made some sort of excuse to get out early. On the way, the two planned to board the 6:00 bus so as to find out what was happening to the missing passengers. Knowing the Dark Kingdom, if they were behind this plot, the results would not be pretty.
Arriving safely, the two boys and cat slightly took in the scenery. "So this is what Sendaizaka is like," the genius groused.
"Yeah, I've never really been here before, either," the blonde mused, since it was so far out of his usual area of activity. Turning around to his back, Shingo noticed the large group of schoolgirls lined up at the bus stop. "I guess we've found our errant schoolgirls..." he deadpanned, which caused Ayato and Artemis to look at them as well. "Didn't expect this many, though..."
"Neither did I..." Artemis remarked.
Ayato stared at them intensely, as though he were trying to see some important detail. "Take a close look, you two," he pointed out. "Aren't those charms they're carrying from the Hikawa Shrine?"
"Now that you mention it," Shingo remarked, the duo and a cat moving closer to the gaggle of girls at the stop. "Yeah, they must have prayed for love there..."
"I just don't get it," the blue-hair groused. "Why would they chase after boys when there's more important things in life, like school?"
"I've got an idea, Ayato," the blonde teased. "Why don't you do some research into the hearts of fair maidens? Then you could write a book explaining all of the weird things girls do so that boys can understand them! At the very least, I'll get a free copy out of it."
"Such fickle jokes are the mark of one who is not ready for love," the genius shot back. Shingo sweat-dropped in response, complete with beady eyes. A loud, rumbling sound soon reached the boys' ears; they turned their heads to look down the road. "That must be it..." Ayato remarked. "The 6:00 bus..." With an ominous, yet regular everyday roar, the white bus, Red 66 via Sendaizaka, swiftly came to a stop right where it was supposed to.
"I don't get it," the white cat admitted. "It just looks like your normal bus."
"I agree," the genius stated. "There must be something more..."
The folding door opened to reveal a middle-aged female bus driver with auburn hair, blue hat and gray uniform. One by one, the girls entered, as though each were in a trance. All too soon, Shingo, Ayato and Artemis were all that was left.
"It's time, Shingo," Ayato announced. As soon as the genius was about to step over the threshold, though, he stopped: his friend had not moved at all. "What's the matter?" he asked. No response came from the blonde boy. Ayato swiftly moved back to Shingo and tried to pull or push him into the bus, but the blonde simply wouldn't budge. If the genius had bothered to take a closer look at his friend's face he would have seen that the pupils had dilated in sheer terror. After a few moments, the door closed and the bus zoomed off. "Too late," the blue-haired boy muttered. "Why didn't you get on, Shingo? That was the perfect opportunity to get down to the bottom of this mess!"
"Um... well..." Shingo eeked out, twiddling his fingers with teardrops dangling from his beady eyes.
"Are you afraid of buses?" the cat asked in exasperation.
"I don't think that's it, Artemis," Ayato reasoned. "Whatever it is, it'll have to be dealt with by tomorrow. Our next best bet will be getting on that bus then."
It was at that time that the genius boy saw something... astonishing. Without any heed to the laws of physics, the bus lifted itself off the ground as it kept moving. Shingo had noticed as well and the amateur investigators watched as the floating bus drifted into some sort of vortex in the sky, whereupon it vanished from the world.
"What the...?" Shingo muttered after the bus had disappeared into the void.
"A black hole?" Ayato hypothesized in shock. "No, a fourth-dimensional space? A hole in the earth's magnetic field, maybe?"
"Whatever that was," Artemis realized, "I think it's safe to assume that the Dark Kingdom really is behind these bus-nappings..."
All of them continued to look at the spot where the bus disappeared from in shock.
In a space of its own devising, the youma (currently impersonating a bus driver) could only chuckle at yet another job well done; after all, none of the intended victims were awake nor realized their predicament... just as planned.
"Master Jadeite," she spoke to thin air, "today's operation was just as successful."
"Girls who pray do seem to have large amounts of energy," the Shittenou commented, his voice coming from all around at once. "Remember, draw it out of them nice and slowly. We don't want them dying too quickly, after all."
"At once," she growled, revealing her permanently perturbed eyes to no one. An evil light began to fill the bus...
EYECATCH
"Eat up, Phobos, Deimos," Ryu quietly offered his two crows as they pecked at assorted seeds in their master's hand. Yet again, another bus had gone missing for the third straight time and his fire-reading still had yet to show results. This fact had continued to frustrate the priest to no end. Approaching footsteps ended his private monologue; one glance had told him who the visitor was. "Tsukino, what brings you to our temple this time?" he requested.
Shingo and Artemis had once more returned to the shrine after school for a very specific reason. The crows, Phobos and Deimos, glared at the white cat. Naturally, as omens of death, this made Artemis flinch. "I was there last night when the bus completely vanished at 6:00," the spikey blonde reported.
"And this concerns me... how?" the priest slightly retorted.
"The schoolgirls in that particular line all had charms," Shingo revealed to Ryu with narrowed eyes. "They came from your shrine, didn't they?"
"Are you insinuating that either myself or my grandfather have something to do with this mess, just like that woman the other day?" Ryu demanded.
"No, not at all," the blonde boy denied, waving his hands in front. "I just wanted to know what you know..."
"Do you honestly think that if I had not given the police satisfactory answers that we would be here having this lovely chat?" Ryu responded in kind.
"You don't have to get defensive with me!" Shingo shouted. "Man, do you irritate your friends just as much?" Ryu averted those amethyst eyes of his from the blonde. Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. "Hey, look..." Shingo said softly, holding his hand out. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
"I have no friends..." Ryu flatly stated, keeping his eyes averted. "I also have no need for friends." He turned his back to the spikey blonde. "I would appreciate it now if you would leave."
"But–!" Shingo tried to protest.
"Leave!" the priest once more commanded. Silence reigned for a time. When he turned back around, Shingo Tsukino was nowhere to be seen. The nerve of that boy...! he ruefully thought. He turned to return to the shrine when something sparkling on the ground caught his attention; it was a small coin. What's this? Ryu inwardly wondered. It was a little larger than a normal yen coin. On one side was engraved a stylistic flame; the other had a male gender symbol etched with precision. An odd feeling of familiarity rose up inside of him as he flipped the coin around in his hands. After a short time, he pocketed it. But if this belongs to me somehow, he pondered, where did it come from in the first place?
"We want to buy good-luck amulets for love!" a duet of female voices rang out. That snapped the priest out of his reverie, and forced him to look at the nearby stall, where the new hired helper was busily selling said talismans.
"Sure," he cheerfully said. "Which color would you prefer?"
"Which one?" the red-haired girl in front of the window repeated. "Umm..."
All the while, Ryu continued to look at the sale in progress. Ever since that man came to our shrine, he internally narrated, we've been selling more amulets and charms than usual... and as a result, we've had more visitors. Still... He then retreated from the grounds.
…
Ryu hoped to find his answers in the Great Pyre, the bonfire that burned eternally within the shrine's inner sanctum. After following through with the regular ceremonies, he kneeled before the raging flames in another fire-reading attempt. Still, he wondered, why do the buses vanish from in front of our shrine? Why? The unnatural cawing of Phobos and Deimos disrupted the priest mid-rite. "Who's there?" he called out.
The door opened to reveal the man that had not but a few minutes ago been selling the charms for love to those two girls. "Your meal is ready, Sir Ryu," he simpered.
"Leave me," Ryu calmly ordered. "I cannot concentrate on my meditations."
"My apologies," he responded, and slowly but surely, he closed the door, a brief flicker of flame illuminating one of his glassy eyes.
Those eyes of his... the priest ruminated. ...they're like ice... Perhaps they're the cause of my clairvoyance troubles lately?
Back at the Sendaizaka Ue bus stop, Shingo and Artemis crouched in hiding near the massive line of girls already there.
"Hey, Artemis," the blonde whispered. "Why'd you leave that medallion for Ryu?"
"I just want to check something," the white cat replied.
"Alright, I'll bite," Shingo turned to Artemis. "What is it that you want to check?"
"Not now," Artemis pressed. "Let's just concentrate on getting you onto that 6:00 bus, Shingo."
"I know, but..." Shingo nervously began.
"Now's not the time to give into fear!" the cat cut his charge off.
Shingo dragged his pointer finger across the ground in annoyance. "Geez, things would be a lot easier if Ayato were here. What's holding him up?" he wondered aloud. Just then, however, a familiar rumbling coming from down the road disrupted his train of thought.
"That's our bus," the white cat announced.
"Wait, what?" Shingo gasped in shock. Indeed, there was no mistaking it from where they were at; it look suspiciously similar to the bus that vanished before their eyes the day previous. The spikey blonde said nothing as it drew closer.
"We don't have any choice here, Shingo!" Artemis exclaimed. "We'll have to get on this bus by ourselves!" The bus stopped right where it was supposed to, and the girls started to board when the door slid open. "Let's do it!" the cat announced, but when he turned around, Shingo was frozen stiff. "What is the matter with you, Shingo?" Artemis demanded in exasperation.
"You wanna know?" Shingo responded shakily. "Fine. That ghost story's scared me stiff, that's what."
"You mean it's such a childish notion that's got you scared stiff?" the white cat yelled. "This is no time to be a little boy! Man up!"
"Hey! Even men get scared by ghosts!" the blonde defended, even as Artemis chomped on his pants' leg and tugged. The blonde attempted to shake him off.
"I don't care!" Artemis exclaimed as he waved up and down in the air. "You are getting on that bus whether you like it or not!"
"Yeah, right! I am not getting on that bus!" the boy cried out in fear. However, it was at that moment that an odd look came over his face. "That's it... 'I' am not getting on that bus..." he shrewdly began. Managing to finally get his cat off of him, Shingo held his left arm out and began to concentrate.
"Shingo, what are you up to?" said cat wondered. It didn't take long for him to notice that familiar trails of energy began to emanate from the boy's fingertips...
…
The bus' doors were about to close...
"Wait!" a rather husky voice cried out. It belonged to what looked like a young mechanic with blue eyes; strands of blond hair poked out from the back of his white-and-blue baseball cap, while he also wore a white t-shirt with blue overall jeans and was carrying a hand bag in which a monkey wrench stuck out. Following behind him was a certain white cat. "Wait!" the mechanic cried out once more to the driver. The doors stayed open long enough to allow the human and cat in. "Sorry about this," the mechanic panted in the entrance-way. "I need to hitch a ride to your..." That was when he noticed the girls from the bus stop were all unconscious, slumped in their seats. "Ummm... did I miss something, or did company policy change without me noticing?" he quipped. The only response the female driver came up with was to close the door and apply pressure to the gas pedal. "Whoa! Don't you need me to stay behind the white line before you go?" the mechanic irately yelled, but the driver didn't seem to hear him. All too soon, the mechanic tumbled to the back on account of the bus beginning its flight. "Come on! Don't I get an in-flight movie?" the mechanic demanded, grabbing onto a metal leg that belonged to one of the bus' seats. The white cat let out what sounded like a groan.
Shingo, Artemis ruminated, digging his claws onto the disguised boy's pants leg, now's not the time to be making jokes!
...
Little else transpired as the bus vanished, much to a certain boy's terror. The blue-haired genius had seen the bus go through the strange portal, and had to assume the worst seeing that Shingo and Artemis were nowhere nearby. "Not good..." Ayato breathed. At this point, there was little he could do to help.
"O, Great Pyre!" Ryu called out. "Who is responsible for bringing misfortune upon our temple? I beseech thee!" He then formed a sign with both hands, beginning the advanced rite. "Rin!" he cried, then thereafter shifted his hands into another sign. "Pyou!" he yelled, repeating the process with more signs and words of power describing each. "Tou! Sha! Kai! Jin! Retsu! Zai! ...Zen!" Instantly, the flames billowed, showing the shrine itself. Whoever it is hides within this shrine? he wondered in amazement. "Who?" he asked. "Who is it?" The image disappeared... revealing nothing else. Even this clue was not enough. Is this... he thought in despair. Is this... all I can do? Have I hit a brick wall? At that very moment, he felt a warm energy upon his chest. It came from the inner pocket of his robes, so Ryu plunged one of his hands into it: it was the strange coin he had picked up earlier, and it was now, not hot, but pleasingly warm. The coin was also giving off a faint red light, and the priest found himself, without a conscious thought, holding the coin in front of him. The coin's radiance shone upon the flame, and a new vision came out to the priest's eyes: that of a blonde-haired man with ice-cold eyes. Ryu let out a gasp of shock and realization. Gathering his resolve, he placed the coin back within his robes and left the Chamber of the Great Pyre.
He had his answer.
The question now... was why.
…
The man glanced behind him as two great oak doors swung open. Ryu Hino was standing in the entrance.
"Sir Ryu," the man simpered. "What brings you here?"
"Cut the act," the priest demanded. "I know for a fact that you're the source of the evil plaguing our shrine."
"What are you talking about?" the man asked in confusion.
"I just told you not to play dumb! The Great Pyre has told me that it was you sending those girls to who knows where. And I always trust what the Great Pyre tells me," Ryu explained. "It is time for you to reveal your true form!"
At this, the man turned to face Ryu with those ice-cold eyes of his, complete with a very sinister smirk. "So, you found me out," he said with evil dripping from his tongue. "I'll just have to send you where I sent those foolish girls!" Behind the evil impostor, a black hole opened.
"What the...?" were the only words that came from the priest's mouth before he was sucked into the void along with Phobos and Deimos, yelling in terror all the way. As he disappeared, Jadeite could only snicker and smirk at the boy's idiocy.
In a space that was surely extra-dimensional by design, a fourth bus joined the three already inside. When it stopped, the bus' door opened and a certain mechanic and white cat came tumbling out, crashing straight to the ground.
"Alright, what the hell is this place?" the mechanic irately demanded, looking around.
"I think that would have been obvious, considering that buses are hovering over our heads," Artemis retorted.
"Gee, thanks, Captain Obvious," the mechanic quipped.
The bus driver wasted no time in jumping out the bus with murderous intent, but she inexplicably soared above the duo rather than land right in front of them. The reason soon became apparent as another black portal opened, shunting the priest from the Hikawa Shrine out of it. The driver caught him in her arms and held the boy in a choke-hold, shedding her human guise as well.
"A youma!" the mechanic cried out as said monster chuckled sinisterly.
"Now might be a good time to..." Artemis began.
"Yeah, yeah," the mechanic dismissed, digging into his handbag, "don't need to tell me twice!" After a moment of searching, he pulled out what he was looking for: another smoke bomb.
"Huh?" the cat gasped in amazement. "How'd you get your hands on another one?"
"Like I would know!" the mechanic yelled as he threw the bomb to the ground, whereupon it exploded and concealed the man from view. After a few moments, the smoke cleared, revealing a man clad in golden armor... or what he looked like judging from his back, as that was the only thing the youma could see.
"In this world, there exists a service," the man in the armor monologued. "It's intent is to ferry people from location to location with little fuss and expert precision. We call this thing... public transportation!"
"Who are you?" the youma growled.
"Who am I?" the man echoed. "Very well; I'll tell you..." He then turned around revealing that he was, indeed, a samurai. "The light of the moon is the light of the heart! The power of the moon is also the power of the heart! I am the Samurai of Righteousness! Tsuki no... Zangetsu! And for the sake of the moon, I..." the samurai pointed at the monster, "will defeat you!"
"So, you finally decided to show yourself, Zangetsu," the youma growled. "I've been waiting to tear you to shreds!"
As she spoke, however, she did not notice that a symbol had begun glowing on the captive priest's head: it was the male gender symbol to those that did not know their astrology.
"That mark...!" Artemis cried out, for he had recognized it as the sign of the planet Mars.
"Let the priest go now!" the golden samurai demanded, having noticed Artemis exclamation.
"And if I don't?" the youma threatened.
Zangetsu made no other retort than to utter "Hissatsu!" The horns on his head separated from the main body of the helmet, soaring up into the sky. Soon, they came down in the form of a large, curved blade that was meant to be tossed at any enemy that was unfortunate to be targeted, aglow with light. "GEKKOU...! DAI! SHA! RIIIIN!" He tossed the blade at the foul beast, but with a smirk, she jumped up into the air, avoiding the cutting weapon. However, she could not as easily evade the two crows, whose swooping forced her to release her hostage. The blade came back around for another strike, but she managed to catch in in her clawed hand with little difficulty.
"Did you honestly think you could beat me with such toys?" she mocked.
"ENCIRCLE!" Zangetsu cried. The glowing blade morphed upon command, wrapping its new tendrils around the creature, binding it firmly; it seemed as though that the samurai had meant to entrap his enemy all along.
The priest, meanwhile, coughed to get air back into his lungs. When he looked up, he saw the samurai kneeling down in front of him. "Thanks for the rescue," he eeked out.
"You alright, Ryu?" the samurai asked in concern.
Wait, how does this guy know my name...? the priest wondered. "Yeah, I'm fine," he answered out loud.
"Ryu, there's no time to waste," the white cat spoke. "You need to equip your armor, pronto!"
"Huh?" Ryu boggled. "Is it my imagination, or did you just talk?"
"No time to explain!" Artemis shouted. "Yell out 'Kuchirikatabira'! Hurry!"
"Boy, you're one insistent cat," the black-haired youth sighed before standing up and taking a deep breath. "KUCHIRIKATABIRA!" he cried out; in a flash of light, Ryu's priest uniform was replaced by what looked like a futuristic jumpsuit. Unlike Shingo and Ayato's chain mail, however, Ryu's chain mail had red highlighting all over.
"Next," the white cat continued, "you need to yell out 'Busou! Kasei!' This will equip your suit of armor!"
"OK, the chain mail I get, but equipping a full-on suit of armor with a silly catch-phrase?" Ryu dubiously questioned. At that moment, however, the three heard the youma giving off a grunt of effort; they wheeled around to see her triumphantly throw off the bindings, whereupon they fell to the floor and momentarily transformed back into the Daisharin before it disappeared and reappeared in a flash of light upon Zangetsu's helmet.
"We don't have time to argue about this! Just do it!" the golden samurai demanded.
"Persistent, aren't we?" the priest snarked. Inwardly, however, Ryu knew that the only way out of their current predicament was to do as they said and hope for the best. Taking another deep breath, he started to concentrate on summoning the armor they said he would equip. "BUSOU! KASEI!" he yelled as instructed, gathering a mysterious force in his hands. As he did so, an empty suit of armor in sitting position – or, rather, the image of one – burst forth. The armor's helmet had yellow horns on the sides of its helmet, and the suit as a whole was colored in a shade of crimson. With a grunt, he forced the ball of energy in front of him as it shone a brilliant red. Immediately, all around him, scrolls appeared and started to unwind themselves around Ryu. The energy continued to crackle as the scrolls themselves ventured higher and higher above. When they could soar no longer, they shattered into slowly-falling petals of light. A spotlight then shone, and as Ryu opened his eyes, a mouthplate concealed in the helmet of the armor he was now wearing snapped shut.
The youma, having averted her eyes towards the spectacle, took a cautious look when the light show had subsided; 'shock' could not begin to describe the look etched onto her inhuman face. "Another one?" she muttered in disbelief.
"Take heed, demon! I am the Samurai of Wisdom, Kasei no Honoo!" the new samurai announced. "Prepare yourself, for I shall now exorcise you!"
Zangetsu looked shocked as well, but not as much as the youma was. "So Ryu's the third samurai?" he wondered aloud.
The youma charged with a war-cry. Ryu – no, Honoo – merely ducked as she came closer and, when she was as close to him as possible, delivered a mighty gut-punch that sent her flying backwards.
"You have already lost," he coldly stated, ironically contrasting the fire in his amethyst eyes. "Because I already know how to win." He then raised his right hand out in front of him. "Yomi!" he shouted, and a stream of flames emerged from his outraised hand, spreading to the left and to the right in a narrow line. The flames soon subsided, leaving behind an elegant, yellow archer's bow. A panel on Honoo's back then slid open, the nock and red feather visible along with the upper part of the arrow's silver shaft. Drawing it with his left hand, the red samurai slid the notch into the bow-string and pulled the arrow back, tensing the string while taking aim. When he could pull the arrow back no longer, the steel arrowhead began to glow red.
"HI..." he cried as the glowing began to get more intense. "YAAAA!" He then loosed the arrow from his fingers; as it flew towards its still struggling target, the arrow burst into flames. When the arrowhead pierced the youma's torso, time seemed to stop for a short eternity as all color was drained from the environment. But that ended all too soon as violent shades of red flared up; a raging, infernal pillar rose from the ground, her body being consumed by the searing flames in an angry roar.
…
The orb of energy dissipated in Jadeite's hands, signaling the death of another of his youma, Kigarn. He was in his Shittenou outfit once more, yet this was not a sign of victory; rather, it was one of defeat. Needless to say, Queen Beryl would not be pleased with this unfortunate change of events.
…
"And that's that," Zangetsu announced.
"Now all we need to do is to get the hell out of here," Honoo added.
The two then looked all around them, but it was Zangetsu who first noticed: "Look! The portal's shrinking!" And indeed it was, as Phobos and Deimos attempted to fly through it, the boundaries racing out of the twin crows' reach.
"It must be because of the youma's demise," the white cat hypothesized. "If we don't get out of here soon, we'll be trapped here forever... or worse..."
"Then how do we get out?" Honoo demanded.
"I don't know!" Artemis cried in frustration.
"Not good..." the golden samurai mused as he gazed upon the shrinking exit. "Not good..."
…
His hands held in a sign of concentration, the boy began to focus his energy that coursed throughout his body. Shingo, he thought. Artemis. Everyone, please... come back... A faint blue glow swam across his body, and the kanji Shin, or Trust, radiated from Ayato Mizuno's forehead.
…
At that precise moment, a twinkle of light shone in the center of the portal. As said twinkle descended, it emitted a pillar of blue light, keeping the exit from closing.
"This light..." the golden samurai mused. "Looks like Ayato's giving us a hand..."
"I doubt that he can keep it up for long," Artemis assumed.
"That's where I come in!" a female voice from nowhere announced.
A honking bus horn forced the trio to look up: gazing upon them was Tuxedo Mask, who had somehow managed to enter this extra-dimensional space and commandeered a bus. The aforementioned bus was also seen towing the other buses that had gone missing during this incident. "If you climb aboard, I'll give you a lift!" she called out.
"Nice timing, Tuxedo Mask!" Zangetsu praised. "Come on, it's time we weren't here," he told the other two.
Tuxedo Mask... Honoo thought to himself. She may dress like a bachelor, but there's something about her that exudes true beauty...
The three then hopped into the lead bus, which proceeded through the portal along with the buses it was dragging behind it.
…
As soon as he heard a honking horn, Ayato opened his eyes. In the lead vehicle's windshield, he saw Tuxedo Mask, Zangetsu, and a new samurai clad in red armor. They did it! Was the thought that echoed through his mind as the golden samurai merely waved.
…
Jadeite was watching as all of the buses he had purloined touched the ground. While he was not able to see into that pocket dimension, he was able to sense what was going on. That dread feeling was confirmed when a figure clad in crimson steel stepped out along with Zangetsu. The new warrior could have been that priest he had disposed of, but then again, perhaps not. It did not matter at this point. Hmph... They'll prove to be no match for me in the end... he ruminated before disappearing into thin air.
…
"Artemis! Shingo!" Ayato cried out in relief as soon as the two samurai had disembarked.
"Ayato!" the cat responded as he jumped up into the genius' arms.
"Thanks, Ayato," Zangetsu complimented as he approached his blue-haired friend. "You really saved our butts back there."
Tuxedo Mask looked back at the happy reunion. Her emotions just could not be read by any onlookers or passerby as long as she wore that white mask over her eyes. This is where we part ways... until next time... she inwardly waved.
Honoo, his eyes closed in thought, had turned back to thank Tuxedo Mask for all her help... but... "Hey! Where'd Tuxedo Mask go?" he wondered. Everyone else present turned their heads to look at the driver's seat: sure enough, it was empty, as Tuxedo Mask had pulled yet another one of her disappearing acts.
"Well, I'd say that's par for the course at this point..." the golden samurai sweat-dropped.
"I see..." Honoo affirmed. "But there's one question that's been nagging me this whole time: what is this thing, and why was it so effective?" he asked, producing the coin that he had used earlier to sniff out the fake helper.
"That is the Medallion of Fire," Artemis explained. "It is a holy relic from the planet Mars, able to increase one's spiritual awareness."
"OK," the red samurai noted. "However, I don't need this to perform my fire readings. Perhaps I'll only use it when I absolutely need to."
"That's probably for the best," the white cat admitted.
"I guess it's a good thing we've got Honoo on our side, then, huh?" Zangetsu stated. He heard a mere sigh from Honoo as he made his way back to the shrine. "What's up?" the golden samurai asked.
"I'll see you at the shrine tomorrow after school," Honoo almost commanded.
"Huh? What for?" Zangetsu wondered.
"What else?" the red samurai responded, looking over his shoulder. "Training."
"Huh? Hey! Who died and made you leader?" Zangetsu demanded, getting into Honoo's private space.
"Well, I didn't see anyone else stepping up to the position!" Honoo shouted, getting so close in that the two's foreheads were touching each other.
"Listen, buddy! I'M the leader around here!"
"Yeah? On what grounds?"
"On the grounds that I was the first to show up!"
"That doesn't mean anything! For all you know, I have better leadership potential than you!"
"Shove off!"
"No, YOU shove off!"
"Grrrrrr..."
"Rrrrggghhh..."
Poor Ayato and Artemis could only helplessly look on as the two samurai continued to stare each other down. Hopefully, this would not be a recurring scene. But, one knows what one says about wishful thinking...
Shingo: Well, we have a new samurai in our ranks. Hoo... ray...
Ryu: What was that supposed to mean, moon-boy?
Shingo: Moon-boy? Why I oughta...
Ayato: Not now, you two! Jadeite's just sent out a personal challenge to face the three of us!
Shingo: Alright! Time to finally show him what we're made of!
Ryu: Hold on, you idiot! It's a trap!
Shingo: Next time, on Tsuki no Zangetsu: "Jadeite's Last Stand!" For the sake of the moon, I'll defeat you!
A/N: I am so sorry that this chapter took so long to write up! I had to really think about how to weave Rei's powers into this new universe, and I am rather pleased with the result. First, a few clarifications to get out of the way:
1) If one were to write Ryu's name in kanji, his given name would be the kanji used for "style"... that is, a martial arts style. In Japan, archery is not a sport, but rather a martial art. Considering that Ryu's armor is a color-altered version of the Armor of Tenkuu from Samurai Troopers, this makes a good deal of sense.
2) Rei's grandfather never received a name in any medium, so I decided to give him one. "Gennosuke" comes from character Prof. Gennosuke Yumi from Mazinger Z. Considering that Go Nagai created both Mazinger and Devilman (Rei's favorite manga in Takeuchi's original work), I thought it would be fitting. That, and it was the first name that popped into my head.
3) This is the second time the woman in white has shown up in Shingo's head. I will say that this is significant, just not how yet.
There are two new reviews that I'd also like to address before we get to the translation notes below. Xenite Trekker writes: "I find that this was well done and I look forward to seeing more adventures of who I choose to call the 'Samurai Senshi' as opposed to Sailor Senshi..as a side note..a follow-up to this fanfic could have a cross-dimensional rip in which the Samurai Senshi actually meet the Sailor Senshi" First off, I do not have the right to force you to call my merry band of heroes by any particular name. However, I will note that my own personal preference is to call them "Samurai", nothing more, nothing less. As for the cross-over idea, I will admit that it's something that I have been lightly toying around with. Maybe sometime in the future, perhaps?
The second comes from one of my favorite writers, Kamen Rider Chrome (If you haven't read the likes of Rosario + Kiva or Love Hina Double Trouble, do yourself a favor and read them – they're that good): "I see...so a Gender Bender story with Samurai Sensei instead of Sailor Senshi, huh? Wonder what else will happen to Shingo." It's alright to wonder or hypothesize about upcoming twists... though, if you know your Sailor Moon trivia, you may predict what's coming up anyways!
I hope you continue to read, review, and spread the word! Remember, nothing good comes out of being a maniac like myself!
T/N:
"Kasei" is the Japanese name for the planet Mars.
|A "Kannushi" is, if I'm not much mistaken, the male equivalent of a miko.
"Hi-Ya" roughly translates to "Flame Arrow".
A "Yomi" is an archery bow.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any characters associated with Sailor Moon, its creator, Naoko Takeuchi, or any of the animators or publishing companies. For the most part, this story is my own personal universe that just happens to use these characters.