Quiet Magics 4
Another Fine Mess
By the ancestors this is boring. Xian'Pu sat still as a statue on the lip of one of the ruined buildings surrounding the site of last night's battle. Curse her great grandmother for making her do this. She should have been out hunting for Ranma, not sitting here watching silly shop keepers and cowardly law people scurry away from a cursed chunk of broken road. Every second here allowed her wayward lover to gain a greater lead.
This probably wasn't even a Joketsuzoku matter anyway. Stupid monsters attacked this silly neighborhood all the time. Everyone knew it. What the hell was she supposed to find here anyway? Nearly the whole day had passed and absolutely nobody who looked like they knew anything had come even close to this place.
Just as Xian'Pu wound down from her silent litany of complaints, movement from below caught her eye. Two school girls were creeping suspiciously along the abandoned road towards the police line. Well, actually only the blonde one was creeping suspiciously. The one with the short dark hair was shaking her head and doing her best to ignore her companion's antics.
Within moments, the two teens passed below Xian'Pu's perch and crossed under the yellow tape and into the center of the blasted courtyard. Apparently this was their destination. The short haired girl took out a little box and began fiddling with it while her friend played lookout. There they sat, holding a quiet conversation in the middle of a cursed battleground while darkness settled around them.
Xian'Pu smiled. There were only a few types of people who would intentionally stay in such a horrible place, and since these girls clearly weren't shop owners or government officials, that meant they were in the most interesting category of all; people who were interested in the fight. They'd likely have the information her great grandmother needed.
How to approach the situation though? They certainly didn't look like any kind of demon hunter Xian'Pu had ever seen. They had no weapons, no scars, no honor trophies, and no armor. They were slight of frame and they didn't carry themselves like warriors… well, maybe the blonde did, but certainly not a very good one.
Perhaps they were servants of the demon. Such creatures were known to possess those of weak will, and unfortunately Xian'Pu could ascribe that descriptor to nearly everyone she'd met in this infernal country. The only people she'd met on this island that weren't sheep tended to congregate around her would-be husband.
If they were slaves of the dark one, then there was no point in subtlety. Xian'Pu slipped over the short lip that separated her little ledge from the roof proper. Earlier in the day she'd arranged what tools and equipment she had with her for quick and easy access.
The young warrior's hand came to rest on the grip of her Bon'bari for a moment. It was a good weapon for close in fights and could deliver punishing damage, but if these women were possessed by powerful spirits, it would be exactly the wrong sort of tool.
The spear! That was a better choice. It would be useful in a stand-off fight, could be turned instantly lethal, and still it was versatile enough to be a useful instrument for prying information out of a target. Xian'Pu grabbed the weapon, as well as her horn-bow and a small quiver just in case things went really wrong, and slid back to the edge of the building.
The two women were leaving via a quiet side-alley that ran along the eastern wall of the building Xian'Pu was on. Perfect! The young warrior pulled up the hood of her cloak and silently lifted herself onto the edge of the promontory she'd occupied earlier.
The two women ducked the yellow tape and stopped just inside the alley. The one with the short dark hair started talking again. Her blonde companion turned to face her. Oh, this was just too perfect. Xian'Pu smiled under the darkness of her hood and leaped.
"That place, it was affecting our life energy somehow. I think-"
Ami's next words were cut off as a dark mass from above crashed into her blonde friend. The shape quickly resolved itself into a cloaked and hooded form wielding an ancient spear.
The figure stepped off the twitching Minako and leveled the deadly blade at the blue haired senshi. Ami's eyes crossed as she tracked the length of the weapon to the razor sharp point just millimeters from her nose.
A slender hand pushed back the cloak's hood to reveal an exotic and foreign beauty seldom seen. Lustrous purple tresses spilled out as the woman shook her head free of its confinement. The stranger raised her chin imperiously, her heavily lidded eyes focused like lasers, boring into Ami's soul.
"You!" the woman demanded. "You tell what you know about this place and maybe you no get hurt too bad."
Ami tried to ease her way back from the strange woman. It wasn't a tactic that would work for long. Back would lead deeper into the alley, and farther away from help. Sure enough, the cloaked warrior seemed more than happy to follow farther into the growing darkness.
Behind her attacker, Ami could just make out her companion. Minako had stopped her spasms and was now lying completely still on the filth encrusted ground. This was bad.
"You no start talking, you end up like your friend." The stranger took longer strides, shortening the gap between the two of them. At this range, a good thrust would skewer the sometimes senshi's head with plenty of room to spare.
"I… I really don't know what you're talking about." The edge of a dumpster clipped Ami's arm as she stumbled backwards, farther into the alley.
The unexpected loss of balance was apparently all the invitation her attacker needed. The shaft of the woman's weapon blurred in an arc, crashing into the underside of Ami's left cheekbone with terrible force.
The world toppled as spots of bright color exploded across the senshi's vision. The dizzying trip ended abruptly when her head impacted the far wall. Shocked back into clarity, Ami felt her face grate against every jagged brick as she slid to the sour earth.
When she finally came to a stop, the girl's hands moved to cover her broken face, shielding it from farther harm. It took a few moments of panicked probing before Ami was willing to believe that the blinding attack hadn't torn off half her head, but as the shock of agony gave way to a more manageable ache, Ami turned her still good eye back towards her assailant.
Through the fog of pain, Ami could see that the cloaked warrior had averted her attention momentarily, choosing instead to examine a blurry blue rectangle that she held lightly in one hand. The Water Senshi felt her blood freeze in her veins. Before her painful trip, she'd been holding the Mercury Computer.
The strange woman glanced back at Ami out of the corner of her eye, one delicate eyebrow inching up ever so slightly. "Is okay. We do this hard way if that what you want." With one hand, the purple haired warrior whipped her spear around, burying it deeply in the patent leather toe of Ami's right Mary Jane.
Ami's heart jumped into her throat at the impact. Between her toes she could feel the cold steel of the stranger's weapon.
"Why you come to this place," the mysterious assailant demanded. "What this little box tell you? You be nice and answer, or maybe you loose some toes next time." With that, the woman yanked her spear from the torn shoe and readied herself for a second stab.
"I… we," Ami worked around the pain, trying to formulate some believable story that wouldn't give away her identity. "We were just curious about the fight. We heard the senshi were involved."
"Senshi?" the woman turned fully towards Ami once more. "They demon hunters, yes? How you know they fight here?" There was more than just a little suspicion in the woman's heavily accented voice.
"Who else would it be?" The laser like gaze of the foreign beauty didn't ease in the slightest. "Monsters show up and then the senshi fight them. That's the way it goes."
The woman's scrutiny intensified. "Just senshi and demon? Nobody else here this time?"
Ami's eyes widened ever so slightly. This woman knew about the stranger? How? Had somebody else been watching the battle? "I… I don't know."
Slowly, the cool metal of the woman's spearhead lowered, its tip coming to rest in the hollow of Ami's throat. "Very bad things happen to people who lie. You is very pretty girl. Doesn't mean you stay that way."
Ami shut her eyes and tried to breathe steadily. This woman's questions were hitting way too close to the mark. "Honestly, we don't know exactly what happened here." When in doubt, tell the truth creatively. "We were just hoping we might find some souvenirs."
The slight pressure that the spear's point had been exerting lifted. Ami held her breath, waiting for the blade to fall again. Her eyes remained firmly shut. Whatever mutilation her tormentor was about to inflict, she didn't want to see it coming.
The sometimes Senshi of Mercury heard her attacker's pole-arm whistle through the air.
Minako pushed through the haze of unconsciousness. The rancid stench of filth filled her lungs, burning away the cloud of darkness. The senshi of Venus managed to suppress a gagging fit.
Slowly she cracked open one eye. She was still in the alley, lying face first in a sticky puddle of… best not to think about that. A throbbing ache at the back of her skull sent streamers swimming through her vision with each beat of her heart.
"I… I really don't know what you're talking about." It was Ami's voice. Minako twisted her head slightly to try and see what was happening further down the corridor. Her friend was being herded into the deeper darkness by a cloaked figure holding some sort of pole-arm.
A faint clang of metal sounded somewhere down range and suddenly the cloaked figure blurred into motion. The senshi of Venus heard a terrible crack, her friend shrieked in pain. Minako had to suppress the urge to bolt up and charge the attacker. If her short lived solo career as Sailor V taught her anything, it was that reckless heroics without a plan was a fast way to get hurt.
In the gloom, Minako could see her friend sliding awkwardly down a brick wall to settle into a crumpled heap on the floor. Slowly, the senshi of Venus lifted herself to her hands and knees, mindful of every whisper and sigh of her school uniform, every creak of her joints.
The cloaked figure turned away from her current target for a second. Minako froze. The strange woman bent down and picked something up off the floor. Minako held her breath as she studied the stranger's profile, praying the exotic warrior wouldn't spare a glance in her direction.
Farther in the darkness, Ami's erratic gasping eased into a more controlled breathing. Their attacker noticed the change as well. The woman glanced back at the blue haired senshi, but didn't turn.
"Is okay. We do this hard way if that what you want." Suddenly the woman's weapon twisted violently and plunged into the ground.
This time Minako couldn't contain herself. She was on her feat and half a stride down the alley before any thoughts of stealth managed to slow her. Fortunately the bite of the spear and Ami's subsequent gasp managed to cover any sound she might have made.
"Why you come to this place," the woman demanded. "What this little box tell you? You be nice and answer, or maybe you loose some toes next time." Minako crept towards the scene as the mysterious assailant prepared to inflict further harm on Ami.
As she drew closer, Minako cursed herself for not going to find a place to transform. What the hell was she thinking, sneaking up on a super powerful armed assailant in her school uniform?
"I… We… We were just curious about the fight. We heard the senshi were involved." That's it Ami, get the psychopath talking. Minako continued to inch forward, winding her way carefully through the refuse strewn alley.
"Senshi? They demon hunters, yes? How you know they fight here?" That's right, pay attention to Ami. Nothing going on behind you that you need to worry about.
Just another three meters, Minako thought, and then I can do something really dumb. With luck I'll last long enough to buy Ami the time she'll need to go make the smart decision. Man, sometimes it sucked being the stupidly heroic one.
"Who else would it be? Monsters show up and then the senshi fight them. That's the way it goes." Minako smiled. In a few minutes the psychotic bitch was going to get some first hand experience with the way it goes.
"Just senshi and demon? Nobody else here this time?" Minako froze. Did the ditzy psychopath know about Hotaru's mystery hunk?
"I… I don't know." Oh crap. Honestly, didn't Ami have a better poker face than that?
"Very bad things happen to people who lie." Great, it looks like the bitch isn't as dumb as she sounds. "You is very pretty girl. Doesn't mean you stay that way."
The blade of the woman's spear dipped down to rest at the hollow of Ami's throat. Minako crouched, ready to pounce.
"Honestly, we don't know exactly what happened here." This was it. "We were just hoping we might find some souvenirs."
The woman drew back her spear…
Go time!
Minako lunged forward, groping for the shaft of the weapon. The mysterious warrior turned. The spear whistled through the air.
The sometimes senshi of Venus felt the wind rush from her lungs as the butt of the spear buried itself in her stomach. Fortunately, years of warrior instinct allowed her to cling to her enemy's weapon in a vice-like death grip even as she struggled to suck in air.
The stranger's eyes narrowed contemptuously and she yanked the back end of the spear around in a wide arc to dislodge the gaping Minako. The blonde senshi managed to hold fast to the weapon, but the swing lifted her bodily from the ground as though she weighed nothing.
Minako's feet planted as she came around. It wasn't a stellar landing, but she still had a grip on the weapon and she hadn't fallen down. "I've got this!" she yelled over her shoulder. "Go get help!" Behind her, she could hear erratic footfalls as Ami bolted into the darkness.
The exotic warrior frowned. "It not nice to interrupt conversation. Maybe you need lesson in manners?" With that the woman yanked on the spear, forcing Minako to stumble forward. The purple haired brute's arm snapped up as the senshi fell off balance, catching the would-be heroine squarely in the nose with an open palm strike.
Minako's head jerked back with an awful crunch. Through the haze of stabbing pain, the young woman was vaguely aware of the wooden shaft tearing itself from her grasp. Drunkenly, she stumbled back as she shook off the motes of darkness that swam in her vision. Out of habit she fell into a loose combat stance, bracing for violence as she shook off the stunning blow.
Strangely, the woman considered Minako for a moment rather than simply running her through. Whatever she saw, it apparently met with her approval. Minako watched her nod ever so subtly before backing up a few paces. The stranger thrust the head of her spear into the ground and stepped away from it to fall into a loose kung-fu stance of her own. There she waited, a sinister grin stretched across her face.
Not daring to take her eyes from the unusual warrior, the Senshi took the reprieve to thumb her nose, causing her to wince in pain. There was a warm river of blood pouring from the abused organ. Damn it! That was going to leave a hell of a mark!
Minako grit her teeth. Fine, if the silly bitch wanted a fist fight, she'd get one! The Senshi of Love raced towards her assailant. At the last instant she twisted herself into a spin, throwing her inertia into a devastating hook kick.
The strange warrior jolted back faster than Minako's eyes could follow. The senshi's kick whistled harmlessly past the still smiling woman's face.
Even before the first kick landed, Minako launched herself into a series of spinning combinations, hoping to capitalize as much as she could on her charge. Each one met little more than air as the strange warrior bobbed and wove imperceptibly around every attack.
As Minako's inertia began to bleed off, the stranger made her move. The senshi launched one last roundhouse kick at the woman's face with the last of her forward momentum. The mysterious warrior's hand bolted up, caught the senshi's leg just above the ankle, and stopped the powerful kick dead cold.
The stranger's smile vanished. Her fingers tightened like miniature hydraulic presses, each one crushing into Minako's shin. "That all you have? People here has strange ideas of what fighting is. You in luck. I show you."
Minako felt herself being pulled off balance once more as the woman exploded into motion. The one leg still on the ground was the first thing to go. The poor blond didn't even have time to recognize the leg sweep before she found herself suspended horizontally in the air.
As gravity tried to take hold of her, the young woman's exposed flank was subjected to a punishing shower of tightly clenched fists. The devastating assault was concluded with an axe kick that denied gravity its prize, forcing the abused Senshi to the ground with terrible force.
For the second time that night, Minako struggled to get her battered lungs to obey her as darkness crept into the edge of her vision. Her assailant waited patiently as she gulped down air, the woman's slippered foot still pinned her to the ground.
"You ready to talk now, or you need another demonstration?" The stranger scowled down at the fallen Senshi.
Minako focused through the pain, snapped her hands around the woman's leg, and twisted to the side for all she was worth, throwing a sweeping kick as she rolled. The Senshi's foot made violent contact with the other woman's leg, sending the stranger falling backwards.
The blond's elation was short lived, however, as the woman managed to turn her fall into a handspring that put her well out of range of any follow-ups. Still, it bought Minako enough time to pull herself back to her own feet.
The two young women squared off once again. Minako tried her best to look fierce, but the blood still trickling from her broken nose was probably ruining the effect.
Suddenly the stranger darted forward. The senshi of Venus braced for the impact. The gap between the two began to close. This was going to-
"Shining Aqua Illusion!" A crushing column of water slammed into the pavement between the two women, freezing into a bristling circle of ice as it broke, and forcing the stranger to abort her charge.
Both combatants looked up to the alley wall, to the source of the impressive attack. There, resplendent with power, stood the sailor suited senshi of Mercury, pointing a wickedly barbed sword of ice at the purple haired barbarian.
"I think that's quite enough! I won't let you continue to torment innocent people. In the name of Mercury, you shall be punished!"
Xian'Pu sprang away from the freezing torrent, ran a few steps along the alley wall, and came to rest next to the silly blonde woman who was stupid enough to challenge her. The road behind her was encased in a cascade of icy barbs. Damn it, why did it always have to be water?
The Joketsuzoku warrior turned towards the source of the attack. Standing on the promontory of one of the ruined buildings was a proud and magnificent huntress. Power poured from the radiant being in palpable waves, filling Xian'Pu with a sense of awe and wonder.
"I think that's quite enough! I won't let you continue to torment innocent people. In the name of Mercury, you shall be punished!"
Xian'Pu looked from the ascendant being to the weak blond girl she'd been toying with. The blond flashed a malicious smirk and backed away a few steps, apparently very much at ease in the radiant presence of the mysterious warrior.
"Um… oops?" The young Joketsuzoku warrior chuckled weakly and began to creep slowly back towards her spear. The figure stared down at her with an icy gaze. Now that's what a demon hunter was supposed to look like. Maybe the two girls Xian'Pu attacked were her servants? Whatever the case, the avenging goddess didn't look at all happy right now.
"Shining Aqua Illusion!" Once again, a deluge of freezing water burst towards Xian'Pu. This one continued to follow her as she evaded wildly, bouncing off the alley walls in an effort to stay ahead of the blast. In her wake, the potent attack left an impressive gauntlet of jagged ice.
The Joketsuzoku warrior's mad flight through the alley ended as she snagged the shaft of her spear and leaped to the top of the building farthest from the enraged demon hunter. The icy trail of destruction followed her up the wall and splashed over the short lip of the roof as Xian'Pu rolled for cover.
Well, this was turning out to be a wonderful day. Her wayward groom had no doubt gained some serious ground, she'd been forced to sit and watch nothing happen on an abandoned street all day, and to top it off now she had an irate demon hunter to deal with. This country sucked.
Xian'Pu hazarded a quick glance over the edge of the roof only to duck for cover as the huntress below peppered the side of the building with more shards of ice. Damn it, it didn't look like the woman was in much of a talking mood. Maybe it would be a good idea to let her cool down a bit.
Xian'Pu backed away from the short wall and began to ease herself towards the far end of the roof. As she moved, she slipped her horn-bow off her shoulder and readied an arrow. Getting into a fight with someone who hunted demons for a living was never a good idea, but the Joketsuzoku warrior would be damned if she died over this little misunderstanding.
The icy huntress sailed over the edge of the roof in a blur. Xian'Pu loosed her arrow. The deadly projectile whistled through the air. Faster than her eye could track, her opponent lashed out, deflecting the missile so it sailed harmlessly into the darkness beyond.
The frozen gaze of the demon hunter bore down on the young warrior. The woman's arm snapped forward as she uttered her potent incantation once again. Xian'Pu broke, scurrying across the rooftops in erratic flight.
Mercury stared out into the night, following the path of the strange woman who'd attacked them. Who was she? Why was she so interested in this battle? What did she know about the monster Hotaru and the boy had fought? Mercury frowned as she reached up to touch the sapphire gem of her earring. Blue light flooded her vision, banishing the darkness and highlighting the fleeing form of her assailant.
The Senshi of Mercury turned as Venus landed beside her. The blonde warrior absently rubbed at her face, smearing a trail of blood from her nose to the edge of her cheek. "Are you alright?"
"Nothing an ice pack and some foundation won't fix." The senshi of Venus looked around. "Hey, where'd the psycho go?"
Mercury pointed towards the highlighted form racing across the distant rooftops. Her companion wouldn't be able to see the woman, but it didn't matter. "She's about a kilometer in that direction and moving fast. She'd probably have made it farther if she wasn't zig-zaging so much."
"Damn! We'll loose her!"
Mercury smiled. "No rush. She's got my computer with her. I could probably find her anywhere in Japan."
Venus frowned. "Shouldn't we be worried about getting it back? I mean, couldn't she use it to, you know, get information about us or something?"
"No," the Water Senshi shook her head. "I doubt she could manage to get through its security systems. Besides, I could just summon the computer back if I needed to."
"Okay, so if we're not in a big hurry to grab her, what, exactly, are we doing?"
Mercury shrugged. "I don't know about you, but I'm a bit tired of the long defense strategy. Aren't you curious to know where she's going and how she's connected to all of this?"
"Oh, I get it!" Venus grinned. "This way we can find out what's going on and maybe get on the offensive from the start! Good thinking!"
Hotaru stumbled through the halls of her home, making her way wearily towards the guest bedroom. Stupid nightmares… It's not like she hadn't been in worse fights. Why did this one have to keep her from getting a good night's sleep?
The young woman leaned against the hallway wall for a second, pulling her comforter around herself more tightly. Curse Setsuna-mama for tempting her. Yeah, curling up in bed with the boy kept her from having nightmares, but how the hell was she supposed to sleep knowing that he was right there, practically touching her! Every time she moved, she bumped up against him, and then she'd notice how warm he was, or how smooth his skin was, or how cuddly he looked. She'd spent two hours lying there trying not to move and reprimanding herself for having naughty thoughts. It was the exact opposite of restful.
Then Haruka-papa had walked in. Why couldn't her adopted guardian have been more like a normal father and just freaked out? Instead the blasted woman just started laughing uncontrollably. Honestly, shouldn't she have been yelling about the inappropriateness of it all?
Of course, when the woman walked in, what she found was Hotaru lying stiff as a board on the very edge of the bed with eyes the size of saucers and a blush that went to her roots. It probably was a pathetically funny site. The girl sighed. Apparently even her parents thought the idea of her and the boy as a couple was a joke.
Hotaru picked up her feet and began wandering back down the hall like a zombie. Of course by lunch Haruka had told Michiru. That had been a fun meal. Sly winks, elbow nudging, and jokes at Hotaru's expense all over a bowl of soba. At least the food had been good.
The girl finally shambled to the guest bedroom door and began to fumble with the handle. Cursed thing… Why did they even bother closing it anyways? Finally the latch turned and the door swung open, spilling a bar of light across the foot of the boy's bed.
Hotaru let out a sigh of relief. After lunch she'd decided to try and sleep in her own bed. It didn't go very well. Here it was, six hours later, and she'd probably only gotten two hours of sleep. Every time she got close, she'd have that dream again, the one with the yellow eyes and the dead hands and the blood and the screams of all of her friends. The Senshi of Saturn shook off the memory. It would be best to put thoughts of the dream out of mind.
Hotaru stumbled into the room on auto-pilot. It looked like she had a long night on the rocker to look forward to. Hotaru dragged her feet over to the infernal chair and stared at it.
Maybe it would be best to just fold the comforter up and use it as a cushion. It was warm enough in the house that she could make do without the blanket, and if it got to be too much, she could just go back to her room and get some sweatpants or something.
Hotaru pulled the comforter off her shoulders and began to fold it up and position it on the seat of the rocker. A slight draft raised some goose bumps on her bare legs and the girl shivered.
Maybe she should just go back and get those sweatpants to start with. Hotaru bent over to tuck the edges of the blanket down through the arms of the chair as she thought. After all, if her Haruka-papa found her sleeping in here with nothing but a threadbare camisole and pair of cotton panties, she'd probably never live it down. And besides, what if-
"Um… hi…"
The flood of adrenaline banished Hotaru's sleepy haze in a heartbeat. Slowly, the girl glanced back over her shoulder. Sure enough, there sat the boy of her dreams, studiously trying not to look at her exposed backside. The girl swallowed a lump in her throat. Heat spread across her cheeks. "Oh, you're awake."
Author's Notes-
Yeah, I know it's a mean place to leave everyone hanging, but I wanted to get this thing out. It's been a pain in the butt of a chapter for some reason.
The bad news- the chapter updates will probably be slowing down just a little bit. My wife is getting tired of me spending all my time writing fan-fiction. I'm still going to try and hit at least one chapter every two weeks. If you want anything faster, leave lots of reviews. They really do inspire me to get off my lazy butt and write.
Also, if you're interested, I drew a picture to go with the story. You can find a link to it on my author's page here. Hope you enjoy.