Chapter Nine:

Two Days Later

Ryo sat down at the table with a cup of tea in his hand. The temperature had warmed up to the point where what would have been snow was now rain. Perhaps it was just as well, it had begun to rain late yesterday afternoon and the system showed no signs of moving off anytime soon.

The rain better suited his dour mood, oh sure he was feeling a lot better than he had been, but that did nothing to ease the concerns now weighing on his mind. The one that was on the surface was what had happened between the Strata Ronin and Elayne.

He felt awful about that, having heard every word exchanged all too clearly. He had understood why she left the door open, and the girl was right in that he simply would have gotten up to open it himself. What happened after she entered the room also bothered him.

Elayne's face clearly showed the fact she was extremely distraught and that she also looked worn and tired now. Far different from how she had left the room, that was for certain.

"You okay?" Ryo looked at her helplessly, and made move to get out of the bed. He halted when she held up her hand and shook her head no at his action.

"It's fine," the girl finally responded in a disheartened tone, as she slid against the wall and sat down on the floor. "I don't believe I just did that." White Blaze padded over to her and rubbed against her emitting a low whine, purring when she stroked him.

"Neither do I," while still concerned, Ryo was not dumb enough that he had missed the fact there was something behind her actions. "Why are you trying so hard to put up a barrier between yourself and the rest of us? Don't play games with me, Elayne, I know you."

She had not looked surprised to be found out, far too used to him calling on her 'bluffs,' "He backed me into a corner Ry. What was I supposed to do? Besides, the more distance the better."

"What for? Rowen says things faster than he can think about them; you said what you did on purpose," Ryo just could not wrap his head around it.

Elayne gave a deep sigh, and paused in her stroking of the tiger, "I've been nothing but trouble and can easily bring you more. Trust me, it's better this way."

"What did you see?" He softly queried, tilting his head to study her.

"Too much."

Ryo's blue eyes refocused on the liquid in the cup he was holding, and he let out a heavy sigh. He could review it over in his head as many times as he wanted, but he'd never come any closer to understanding it. Plus, that was not the only thing he had to worry about.

The odd energy they had all been sensing, which had been steadily growing, had spiked not more than 7 hours ago. It had been traced back to its potential source, a large cave, that seemed to span on forever.

It was strange that the warriors had never really taken notice of it before…Regardless, the problem was what were they to do about it now? They were starting to run out of options, and no one knew that better than Ryo did.

The Ronin Leader placed his cup down on the table, and clasped his hands together as his eyes started to slide out of focus. Someone placed their hand on his shoulder and he immediately looked up to see who it was.

Cye had a frown on his face, "All right there, Ryo?" The Ronin of Torrent moved and then sat down across from the bearer of Wildfire.

"Sort of," he offered his teammate a half-smile.

The Torrent Ronin gave a nod, "What's on your mind this time? Or do I have to go to Kayura to get the information?"

Ryo chuckled at the man's stab of humor, but soon became solemn, "I'm just worried about what's transpired in the past few days."

"Ah, us finding this energy and that…" the Warrior of Trust paused and tried to pick out the right words, "Interesting event two days ago? Worried about Elayne are we?"

"Don't joke Cye, it's not funny," the Wildfire Ronin stood up then, "It's not what she said that got to me like it did you guys. Don't, I've never seen any of you so floored. It's why she said it, and the affect that's going to have. I just, I don't get it. I feel like I should have done something."

The Ronin of Torrent could not help but chuckle, "So what else is new? Ryo she never would have let anyone, especially you, put yourself into that situation. I have a feeling she knew exactly what she was getting into. She even told us to stay out of it."

"Ya, but-" Ryo began to protest.

Cye held up a hand; he wasn't quite finished, "Elayne is her own person, if she feels the need to do something, who are we to talk her out of it? Nothing for nothing, she did help us out a great deal. Rowen's pretty much back to his normal self, albeit really guilty."

"Mmm," the Ronin Leader closed his eyes for a moment, "She said it was Strata. The armors are uptight because whatever they are sensing is bothering them…In trying to warn us, they're apprehension is leaking through. Whatever is up they obviously don't like."

"Elayne told you all that?" Cye was out and out gaping…He didn't realize she could pick up on that much.

"She wouldn't have had to if she did," Ryo commented, querying, "You mean to tell me, you can't feel Torrent?"

"Oh no, I can," the man was frowning, "It's odd, really, but the more this goes on, the more I can sense from it. But, you're right. Something is going to happen, and whatever it is they are livid about it."

Both of them fell silent for several minutes, pondering on things before Ryo broke it.

"So, when is this meeting supposed to start?"

The others had wanted to have a talk about what had been found, so it had been agreed they would all meet in the living room and discuss their options, and decide on a plan of action if one was necessary.

"Ten minutes," Torrent's bearer responded after checking his watch.

Ryo gave a snort and rolled his eyes, "I'll try and contain my excitement." He began to move out of the room, and Cye got up and followed behind him with a chuckle.

Apartment Complex in Tokyo

Amethyst eyes returned to the door in front of her, before she reached up with a pale hand and pressed the doorbell. Hotaru shifted her weight from one foot to the other, kept dry by the overhang on the building. Otherwise, she would have gotten drenched waiting for a response.

Then again she already was, having allowed Amara to drive her over here on the motorcycle. But, the Senshi of Saturn tended to take what she got. Besides, she had never minded the rain that much anyway.

Hotaru did not have very long to wait, she could hear the sounds of someone moving around inside. The door opened but a few short seconds later.

"Yea-" a rather pre-occupied Elayne opened the door, but quickly let out a small smile, "Come in, imouto."

Hotaru quickly stepped inside, shedding her coat and slipping into a pair of slippers that had been laid out for her, "Thanks, Nee-san. Expecting me?"

"Mhm," the girl had vanished into the kitchen and now re-emerged with a tray of tea. "I sensed your energy 'bout twenty minutes ago. Need a towel?"

"No thanks, roads are drenched anyway," the youngest of the Senshi answered, taking the cup as it was offered to her. "Are you all right? You don't look well."

"I'm fine," Elayne tiredly responded sipping at her tea. "Too much work I'm afraid. Add to that all the negative energy, and it equates to one over-exhausted yours truly."

"I see," Hotaru was quiet for a few minutes before speaking again. "Part of why I wanted to come see you. Plus, I have been kind of worried after what transpired the other day. You left without saying goodbye to anyone."

"Didn't realize I had to send out farewell cards before I go to work," Elayne joked not willing to discuss the topic at this point.

The ploy didn't work as the Senshi of Saturn failed to be amused seeing right through it, "You've been acting strange since December. It isn't like you. Nor was getting into the middle like that."

"You don't know everything about me imouto. Standing in the way, is very much like me," the girl placed her cup down, agitation starting to slip through into her features.

Hotaru could see the tension in her body, and opted for a different tactic. Her voice lowered and she put down her own cup, "There's a storm coming, Nee-san."

Elayne went from tense and agitated to tired and solemn, "I know."

The Warrior of Saturn let out a sigh now understanding what was likely going through Elayne's head. She knew what was coming, and was trying to distance herself to keep out of their way.

"But," Elayne offered the Senshi a grin, "You've weathered plenty of other storms. So, I'm sure you'll make it through this one too."

"You don't sound that confident," Hotaru pointed out. "Not as sure as you normally do anyway."

"Sometimes imouto," the girl got to her feet and let out an exasperated sigh, "You're worse than Seiji-nii-chan."

"I try," the amethyst-eyed teen quipped, before deciding to press again. "Nee-san, please just tell me what's really bothering you."

"I know you popped over here just before having a meeting with the others. I heard you traced the energy back to its source," she paused when Hotaru gave a nod, and then continued. "I know you all; you are definitely going after it. Once you get into that place, it's going to be an uphill struggle all the way. "

Elayne's eyes slipped out of focus, "It's been bothering me for days. And even now, you go through with this, and all I see is death."

Hotaru waited for her to come back and then sit down, before giving a nod, "I know, I've seen it also. The question is though, what are you going to do about it?" Hotaru's amethyst eyes locked onto Elayne's hazel-violet ones, "Nee-sama."

The girl was back on her feet in an instant, not having missed the intentional emphasis placed on the honorific. Her eyes were wide with shock, but she quickly got her emotions back under control. Really, she knew better than to be surprised.

She threw the Senshi of Saturn a wry grin, "Oh, I'll come up with something."

"You always do," Hotaru finished for her, getting up now.

Elayne laughed but the amusement quickly left and she became grim, "Be careful Hotaru. This, most likely, will not end well."

"I know," the Senshi of Saturn gave a nod, and then grinned. "See you later, Elayne-nee-san."

She gave a bow of her head and then exited the apartment, leaving Elayne to only stand there and shake her head. The girl rolled her eyes, "Figures she'd know."

Outside on the Street

"Well?" Amara raised an eyebrow, leaning against her motorcycle. The rain had died down to a slight drizzle, but the sidewalk and streets were soaked and puddles had formed at the spots that were not level.

Hotaru was solemn faced, "She felt what Rei and Sage did, and saw the same thing I did."

"Ah," the blonde handed over a helmet for the younger Scout before slipping onto her bike. "You never did say what you saw Hotaru-chan."

"For me to know," the Senshi of Saturn responded, before snapping the visor on the helmet down.

The Warrior of Uranus gave a soft snort to this, but didn't bother to try and pry for further information. She happened to understand that Saturn only got warnings when they were important, and would only reveal them if they were so grave intervention was needed.

Either intervention was not needed, or Hotaru had come to the conclusion things would work out on their own. Amara did not spend anymore time worrying about it, she started the bike and they sped off. It probably would not have been very kind to keep the others waiting. Supposedly this meeting was going to be important.

She doubted it though, it wasn't going to be anymore than a restatement of facts they already knew, a decision needed to be made about what to do, things like that. Really? The way she saw it the whole thing was pointless, but it wasn't like having a plan would kill them. Of course, having one wasn't going to help them very much anyway.

Back At The Mansion

Rowen flipped through a book on ancient Japanese mythology, before gently casting it aside. He rubbed at his temple, and leaned back in the chair letting out a strangled sigh.

It was impossible for him to focus on anything. Anytime he tried to sit down and do something, the image would pop into his head. The look on Kayura's face as her resolve cracked, and how he had just kept going.

The Ronin of Strata had been right in saying what he did; it had needed to be said. For as much as his own good as anyone else's; he would have never been able to move past it, if he had not confronted her.

Now, though, he just wished what he had said had come out differently than what it did. He also regretted the fact that it had come very close to turning into an international incident.

One or two others, and it might have been all right he would not have overreacted, but all the armor wearers? It had only served to put Rowen further on edge. If Elayne hadn't stepped in and nipped it in the bud like she had, the archer knew very well things would have gone a lot worse.

It never had to go as far as it did, but Rowen couldn't change that now. He would just have to deal with the guilt, and find a way to apologize which was not going to be a simple task, but he'd try at any rate.

"Yo, Ro!" Kento called out, poking his head into the study and then frowning, "You're not reading?"

Rowen quickly snapped back to the world around him at hearing the Hardrock Ronin's voice, "Nah, have a headache. What's up?"

"Time for the group powwow," the Warrior of Strength announced.

"Oh hell," the blue-haired archer groused as he got to his feet. "Is it even necessary to have it?"

"Probably not," Kento admitted as the two walked out of the study and started down the hall. "But, we're going to have to do this anyway. Might as well have a game plan."

"AH!" the Ronin of Strata quickly grasped at his heart. "You learned something from Sage after all!"

Kento rolled his eyes skyward, reached up a hand and smacked the archer in the back of the head.

"OW!"

"All present and accounted for," the leader of the Elemental Senshi announced, taking note that Darien had just now joined them.

The living room was oddly quiet considering just how many people were in it, but something hummed just in the background. The air was thick and heavy, and the silence just seemed to add to the tension.

"All right," Ami rubbed at her forehead, "So, we all know Cye and Sage managed to trace the energy back to its source. Most, if not all of us by this point, have gone to check out the cavern."

"We know all the highly sensitive ones have looked," Lindsay snorted out. "But, what's the verdict?"

"Back when I was able to connect," Rei gave a shake of her head, "I was shown briefly what would occur. And this energy now, seems to match what I felt from that vision. It unnerves me."

"I don't like it either," Vanessa had a scowl on her face. "This energy isn't negative, it's downright vile."

Hotaru said nothing, not really willing to take part at this point. What she had seen was for her eyes only, and whenever she got such warnings she tended only to make them known if they called for desperate measures. This one, in her opinion, did not require such action.

The Seasonal were listening to the ongoing discussion rather intently, but at the same time they were having one of their own.

'Trap?' Anubis offered up in suggestion.

Dais gave a slight nod, 'Undoubtedly. Otherwise we would have noticed this anomaly before.'

'Are they that desperate to have Inferno's power?' Sekhmet mentally grunted.

Cale was quick to point out the answer with a question of his own, 'Exactly how desperate was Talpa?'

Sage snorted deeply, and the ongoing verbal discussion halted as everyone looked at him. His violet eyes, however, were on the Seasonals, "Pretty desperate. You guys project your conversation any louder and Elayne'll pick it up."

"I think it stinks you guys can communicate mentally and we can't," Mina lamented.

"Be grateful you can't," the nine men simultaneously said, and then all of them looked at each other and blankly stared.

Kayura bit down a laugh, "Where's the Ancient? He witnesses something like that and he'll die, again."

Ryo gave a shake of his head in amusement, but then steered things back to the topic, "Sage, Cye? What do you two think?"

The two men exchanged looks with each other, and both frowned. After a moment Sage gave a nod to the unspoken question Torrent's bearer had posed, and Cye finally spoke.

"It's a way into Akemliek's domain, it has to be."

"Here on the Estate property?" Callista blinked, slightly taken aback, "Are you guys serious?"

"That makes sense," Michelle brought in now. "What other explanation is there? Think about it. The Raikken always seem to be lurking around the forest, why would they be there unless the entrance is nearby? They are rarely in the city, unless we happen to be there ourselves."

Sekhmet gave a nod to this, "Yes, and not to mention there are demon wards on every building in this area. Why would they be there, unless there was an imminent threat?"

"Makes sense," Lita admitted. "Doesn't mean it's good though and why haven't we noticed before? Why are we only seeing this now?"

Kento had noticed that the Senshi of Saturn had tensed upon hearing this, and now he could see the agitation in her small form, "Hey, Hotaru, you okay?"

"This land is scarred," she murmured in a quiet tone. "Too much has happened in this area, destruction as well as death. That residual energy masks the negative signatures, it's why we haven't noticed before. Since the enemy is letting more leak out, we can sense it now. They are waiting for us to make a move, because theirs is ready to go."

Destruction and death? Ryo had done his best not to outright wince when she had said that. With his memories back, he knew one horrible truth. Not even a mile from where this mansion stood is where Akemliek had slaughtered them…All of them.

"Good, so we all do agree that this is a trap, right?" Kirstin queried, not surprised when everyone nodded. "And that were stupid in walking straight into it?"

Serena let out a despairing sigh, "Yeah. We also know we don't have a lot of options left, right?"

Those words gained another long silence. Every person there knew it, but it was not something they wanted to admit. Walking into traps by accident was something they had all done at one point in the past, or another. But willingly walking into one, especially when the enemy they were facing them was hell-bent on killing them?

No, that was something new. Something they weren't quite sure they had to try. It had always been different before. They had always been fighting with their lives on the line for the good of the planet. Not fighting just so that they could survive.

Nobody wanted to say it aloud, so Rowen did.

"Yeah," the archer acknowledged. "But at this point, what other choice do we have? None."

Kayura was grim-faced, "Rowen is right. We're all thinking it, might as well say it. We are going to go through with this, because we're not the types who are going to keep sitting on the side-lines like this. Let's put it to a vote anyway though, all those for going?" Every hand went up, including her own.

"Unanimous," Trista announced, not like she was surprised. She rather knew how this went.

Serena eyed Darien, saying, "Looks like you luck out."

"Huh?" the young man blinked in confusion.

"Dude," Kento tried not to laugh at him. "You have to fly out to Osaka tomorrow remember?"

Darien rubbed at the back of his neck in embarrassment, "Well, I could-"

"No," the blonde shook her head, "Don't skip out on your responsibilities. We'll be fine. Besides, from what Universe told the Outers, this isn't our fight anyway. We're just supposed to offer assistance."

"Wait, she actually showed herself to you all? Finally?" Rowen queried raising a blue-eyebrow.

"No," Ami shook her head. "She's done intervening we're sure, but she's not made a point of announcing the fact that it's her."

"And we only saw Neo-Universe," Amara pointed out, all of the armor bearers stared at her with blank expressions on their faces, except for Ryo.

"What was her future form doing here?" Wildfire's bearer inquired with a frown.

"Nee-sama decided the information we were getting wasn't good enough," Hotaru answered not taken aback by the question like Amara and Michelle were. "That, and the future she came from, Rini's future, was in bad shape when she left it."

"Great," Ryo groused, basically sulking in his chair now. "Meaning she couldn't change anything more there, and had to come back here to meddle. Cute."

"She already has," Kayura murmured, gaining the room's attention. "And the result is things are occurring at a more rapid rate. Whether it helps in the long run, we will have to wait and see."

Yes, and for right now they had to focus on the task at hand. This meant coming up with a plan of action they could all agree to, and then carrying it out. An hour later said plan had been hammered out. All that remained was for it to be put into action, which would occur soon enough.

A/N: I realize I do this often, but anyone who has watched subtitled anime will under the use of the honorifics. For those of you who really don't I recommend locating Nina's YST FAQs, and looking at her Simple Japanese: -san, -kun, -chan, -sama(K) section.

Imouto: little sister

Nii-chan: older brother

Nee-san: older sister

Nee-sama: this also means older sister, however the honorific 'sama' is used in this case to denote higher respect. You're all welcome to guess why this is ;)